Putting our all-local NHL team on ice
We’re just a day away from the NHL opening its regular season. Which got us wondering, what kind of team could you put together with just Hamilton-area players?
Let’s just say there’s good news and there’s not-so-good news.
Before we dive into both ends of that pool, let’s take a quick step back. It was just five seasons ago that this area hit a highwater mark when 13 local players wore an NHL sweater in at least one regularseason game. It was a terrific moment for the sport in this area that had struggled for so long to land graduates in the big league.
A lot has changed since. Brian McGrattan and Krys Barch have retired, Ray Emery tragically drowned this summer, Kevin Bieksa hasn’t signed with a team for this season, Jordan Szwarz is in the minors, and Spencer Abbott, Matt Carey and Mark Visentin are in Europe.
However, with final roster cuts not yet made (the deadline is Tuesday at 5 p.m.) there are still nine locals in the mix for this season.
Most, if not all, will start the campaign in the NHL. So on with building our team.
First, the good news. Team Hamilton should be pretty good on the back end. Cam Talbot (Ancaster via Caledonia)
didn’t have a great year for the Edmonton Oilers last season — who did? — but he’s an elite goalie and should bounce back. He’s a great cornerstone from which to build.
We have some choices to make for the two defence spots. Good choices.
Ottawa’s Ben Harpur (Hamilton), Winnipeg’s Ben Chiarot (Hamilton), Edmonton’s Darnell Nurse (Hamilton) and Nashville’s Ryan Ellis (Freelton) are all in the mix.
Ellis is a shoo in. Not just because he’s the highest-scoring active local player with 173 points and not just because he recently signed a tasty new $50-million, eightyear deal. He’s become an excellent rearguard who can both score and look after his own end.
The other spot comes down to a choice between Nurse and Chiarot. Both are big. Both are gritty. The former is a little better with the puck, the latter is a little better on the defensive side. We’ll go with Nurse here as his ceiling is higher. He and the Oilers could both have a big year.
Ironically, Nurse and Ellis could’ve been a real-life defensive pairing had the Oilers not taken eventual journeyman winger Magnus Paajarvi with the 10th pick in the 2009 draft, letting Ellis slip to the Predators one pick later. Oops.
Now the not-so-good news. As good as the Hamilton team is going to be in its end, the forward situation is a little thin. We apparently do a really good job creating players who skate backwards, less of a job making guys who go straight ahead.
Calgary’s Mark Jankowski (Dundas) is our only true centre. That’s OK, we would’ve taken the Flame anyway. He’s big and by the end of last season he was starting to show the scoring touch for which Calgary drafted him.
By default, we’ll take Columbus’ Josh Anderson (Burlington) on right wing since he’s the only right winger we have. That’s OK, though. He’s a good player who could easily be a 25-goal scorer if he can stay healthy.
On the left? This comes down to and Tampa Bay’s Cory Conacher (Burlington) and Nashville’s Zac Rinaldo (Hamilton). Small skill vs. toughness. We’ll go with the former and take what we can get from a guy who may have the best story of the bunch. A man who won rookie of the year, MVP and playoff MVP in his first season in the AHL, made it to the big league, played well, got traded, saw his career sag, landed in Europe and appeared on his way to obscurity only to return and carve out a spot on one of the top teams in the league again. All wearing a diabetic pump. We’ll take him for inspiration alone.
As for the rest? Our general manager will be Stoney Creek’s John Chayka who’s in charge of the Arizona Coyotes. Our head coach will be Peter DeBoer of the San Jose Sharks. He’s from Dunnville. Close enough.
The whole line comes in with a salary cap hit of $12,956,667 this season.
How would we do against an average NHL unit? You decide.
And how would this group do against, say, the best active lineup of former Hamilton Bulldogs? Which would be Montreal’s Carey Price in net with Nashville’s PK Subban and Toronto’s Ron Hainsey on defence, and
Montreal’s Brendan Gallagher, Vegas’s Max Pacioretty and Montreal’s Charles Hudon up front?
Next question, please.
sradley@thespec.com 905-526-2440 | @radleyatthespec Spectator columnist Scott Radley hosts The Scott Radley Show weeknights from 6-8 on 900CHML