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BLITZ 07 TEAM REVIEW - WINNIPEG - B LEAGUE


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Here is a review of Eggink's Winnipeg Jets. I'm nearly through all the B teams, at which point I was thinking of a table listing the teams from 1-12. Then i'll head on & finish the A league, unless any particular requests come in beforehand.

WINNIPEG JETS - BLITZ 07 B LEAGUE

COACH: EGGINK

TEAM LINK: http://www.blitz94.com/draftab/rosterinfo.asp?team=WPG

TEAM OVERVIEW

Is this the biggest, most monsterous, down right scary looking team in Blitz this season? The Jets built a physical team for Blitz 06, and they've followed the same tactic this season. They've lost a couple of big players from last seasons but have added more muscle in their place. What looks different for Blitz 07 though is the addition of some lightning speed and a little bit of finesse which could change their playing style and fortunes for the better.

After finishing in 7th place in the B league last season before losing in 6 games to Champions San Jose in the first round of the playoffs, Eggink & the Jets will be hoping they can improve their standing this time around with the different options they've added since last season.

TEAM MAKE-UP

First of all who's still here from 06? Last season's beastly team has been largely kept together for Blitz 07 with elite goalie Bob Essensa teaming up again with Dave Andreychuk, Rick Tocchet, John Leclair, Kjell Samuelsson and Chris Joseph. 6 familiar faces keep good continuity, and they all have lots of positives to offer, giving Winnipeg a very solid base from which to start from.

Essensa is top class in front of the net, just below the Roy, Belfour, Fuhr level. Great agility, speed, stick and glove ratings, he's got it all, and will surely win points for this team. He also posted a career best 0.733 save % for Eggink last season, and has a career % just below 0.700. They don't come too much better than this. Dave Andreychuk combines huge size and checking with average skating and passing skills, but an excellent 4/4 shot means he can put the chances away when he gets them. An excellent 2-way player, he's going to do as much to win games helping out on D as he will at the other end in possession. Kevin Stevens has moved on to Ottawa this season, so the Jets are going to need Andreychuk to be at his very best and carry more responsibility in this forward line. 150 points in Blitz 05, including 122 goals for chris1knights shows the ability is there, but his other seasons have been average in comparison in terms of point scoring.

Joining Andreychuk again on Winnipeg's front line will be Leclair and Tocchet then. Leclair is another 11 weight monster, but not quite with the checking ability of Andreychuk. His skills are more average, but he does have nice 4/3 skating. He may be more suited to an enforcer's role than a creative force. Tocchet on the other hand may be the sleeper in this bunch. At 9 weight he's another tough customer, but his big weapon is his 4/5 shooting, combined with 5 Off awareness. He's going to stay on his feet under pressure, get in position to shoot, and he's going to finish chances. The big setback is his 2/2 skating, but he looks a great onetimer option to finish the plays others create for sure. Surprisingly he's not really had much of a chance in his Blitz career, but did get 10 points in 16 games for Eggink last season, and 20 in 15 games, including 11 goals for Clockwise in Blitz 02. This is a tough, skilled option off the bench who may well be worth his weight in gold and goals if the right way to use him can be found.

This is where it gets interesting. Last season's Jets were all big bruisers, with Bob Sweeney & Patrick Poulin also featuring in the 06 roster, but this season things could be a little prettier with the addition of forwards Mike Modano and Russ Courtnall. Do these 2 lightweights hold the key to pushing Winnipeg further up the table this season? Modano is the best passer on this season's team with a 4 rating, and with his 5/5 skating and 5 stick handling he looks like the playmaker who'll add the creativity the Jets may have been lacking in 06. His 5/2 shot may not be the most accurate, but he's going to boom a few in over the course of a season for sure and looks a superb addition to the roster. He has over 100 points in 4 of his 6 Blitz seasons, which is pushing him up there with the elite players in the league, and if he starts firing for the Jets they've got a true star on their hands. Russ Courtnall is not quite at Modano's level in terms of points, but his 5/6 speed is going to scare the life out of any defence. With a 4/3 shot and 3 passing he can contribute to the offence but he might be more suited to deking the goalie on breakaways as part of a counter-attacking game plan. These 2 combined could make the difference between an average and a great season for Winnipeg!

The final forward slot is occupied by Mark Janssens this season. Another solidly skilled 11 weight enforcer. A nice player to have, but may find his chances limited with the other, more skilled enforcers the Jets have on their roster. One thing's for sure, an Andreychuk, Leclair, Janssens forward line to hold on to a slim lead in the 3rd is a daunting prospect for opposition sides this season. If you're behind late on against Winnipeg they really do have the personnel to close out the game!

So on to the defence. They've lost superstar Al Iafrate from the lineup this season, which will be a big disappointment. His 12 goals last season were a big help to the Jets' offence and without him there's no one who looks like they can add anything offensively this time around. These are all big bruisers, there to bust some heads and break up the opposition plays, nothing more. Kjell Samuelsson is NHL94's version of the Frankenstein's monster. 14 weight and big checking make him the hardest hitter on this Winnipeg team. He's just a brute though. 2/2 skating and 2 passing means he's not the most agile and will struggle to start the offensive plays once he's won the puck. Chris Joseph is smaller at 10 weight but still hits hard and with 3/3 skating & 3 passing is more mobile than Samuelsson and can play his part in possession too. Joining these 2 beasts are 2 more beasts! Uwe Krupp and Randy Ladouceur. Krupp is another huge 14 weight Dman and although he doesn't hit quite as hard as Samuelsson he's still going to take down 99.9% of the forwards in the league with ease, and he has a nice 3 pass over Samuelsson. His 2/2 skating also make him a lumbering Mummy lookalike too (Borrowing Muhammad Ali's description of George Foreman there), so it's hard to imagine Eggink will want to partner both his monsters in the same line? Ladouceur is another good hitter, and like Joseph his 3/3 skating makes him more mobile than his bigger team mates, but his skills are dire. 1 passing and a 1/1 shot offer nothing to the team in possession. Win it, and get it to the nearest forward as quickly as possible is the order of the day for this defensive group!

There's no doubt that this roster is scary as hell! Bodies are going to be flying all over the place and no opposition team is going to have time to settle on the puck. Defensively you imagine they'll be a nightmare to play against with the amount of big forwards that can get back to help on D, and with the additions of Modano & Courtnall they should make up the points lost from Iafrate's departure. Providing the D is mobile enough to cope with quick, agile offences it seems the Jets have a great mix of ability and muscle for Blitz 07.

STARS

There are so many players on this roster that Winnipeg will feel they can count on this season (Remember a "star" is just identifying the star of the team, not saying he's a star of the league or game in general). On offence they'll look to Andreychuk to be an enforcer who can also play his part in the offensive plays, and will expect big points from him this season. With Modano & Courtnall they have 2 great speedsters who are capable of poaching a few goals in addition to setting them up too.

On D the enormous Krupp & Samuelsson are going to be laying out big reputations all over the ice and are a scary proposition for any forward line to deal with.

WEAKNESSES

First of all, as big as this defence is, is it mobile or skilled enough to deal with the best offensive players? You imagine a Gretzky, Robitaille, or Mogilny loving the opportunity to duck and weave around these guys, who for the most part are going to be turning like trucks. They look like they may be susceptible to agility and speed, and opposition teams may get a lot of success getting behind them for the pull back or to go 1 on 1 with the keeper.

On offence there may be a lack of playmaking and regular goal scoring to really push this team to the next level. As mentioned Modano is the team's best passer with a 4 rating. Everyone else is 3 or lower. That's hardly elite if the team want's to hold on to the puck and build intelligent plays. After Tocchet's 4/5 shot Andreychuk is the best shooter on the team with a 4/4 rating. Tocchet is unlikely to be a starter you'd think, so, again, is there going to be the quality and consistency there to count on 1 or 2 guys to put the puck in the net every game? When Winnipeg face St. Louis say, and you're expecting Mogilny to bag 3, 4 or 5 goals for the Blues, who is going to return fire for the Jets to an equal number?

PRE-SEASON PREDICTION - PLAYOFF QUALIFICATION

Despite the weaknesses I like the make-up and balance of this team, and I can see them placing higher than last season based on the new attacking options and variations they have now. The offensive chemistry looks key to their success this season. With Iafrate gone there's no help on offence from the Dmen, so they've gotta find out what works best in the forward line. A counter-attacking game looks the obvious choice, with the slow Dmen winning it & quickly moving it to Modano or Courtnall for them to go 1 on 1 at the other end.

I can't see who is the obvious C man right now to bring the 70 or 80 goals needed for a high league finish, but if Andreychuk or Modano can be that man they seem to have it all on offence. At the back Eggink will have to work hard to get the very best from his slow, limited Dmen, but they have lots of great defensive forwards to get back and help out so it may not pose too much of a problem.

There's no reason why this team, with it's offensive development can't achieve more than they did last season. Being so hard to beat on D and having good variation on offence is going to make them a difficult opponent.

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Great writeup! I'm still tinkering with my lines, but for now it's Modano at C and the goons Kjell and Krupp on D. While they can consistently take down any forward except for maybe Lindros, I fully expect (like last year) to give up many breakaways. The difference is that hopefully this year I can get some breaks of my own and the speedsters can come back and b-check.

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Actually, I'd probably put in Andreychuk on C because while he's got some good offensive stats, his stickhandling leaves something to be desired, especially if you pass it on his wing. On center, the turnovers won't be as terrible and you can still keep the speed if you have Modano on one of the wing positions where you can exploit his speed and boomstick.

Of course, that's just my opinion. You have to decide whether you want speed and playmaking or toughness that goes with a grinding style.

Your defense is full of good hitters, but they handle like a mack truck on a narrow passage in the Andes mountain range.

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These are fun to read. Do my team next!

Thanks. They're fun to do. It´s pretty weird the way you can just look at the numbers on the roster & start coming to conclusions about how the team will play, where their strengths & weaknesses will be etc.

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Thanks. They're fun to do. It´s pretty weird the way you can just look at the numbers on the roster & start coming to conclusions about how the team will play, where their strengths & weaknesses will be etc.

but you could be wrong. but anyway the writeups are good but it i think should be team previews not reviews

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but you could be wrong. but anyway the writeups are good but it i think should be team previews not reviews

Sure, it's totally subjective and open to debate, as opposed to KingRaph's team rankings, which are based purely on the numbers and nothing else, which is why I think they work so well together. Raph may rank a team really high based on their numbers, but then on the review of the team I might point out "But hey, look, these Dmen are very small, and there's no offensive speed" to add detail to what you have to consider when you're looking at that team.

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Actually, I'd probably put in Andreychuk on C because while he's got some good offensive stats, his stickhandling leaves something to be desired, especially if you pass it on his wing. On center, the turnovers won't be as terrible and you can still keep the speed if you have Modano on one of the wing positions where you can exploit his speed and boomstick.

Of course, that's just my opinion. You have to decide whether you want speed and playmaking or toughness that goes with a grinding style.

Your defense is full of good hitters, but they handle like a mack truck on a narrow passage in the Andes mountain range.

I plan on keeping my lineup fluid. I played a few exis with Modano in the middle and he kept getting flattened. I likely will switch it up based on matchup and maybe during the game if I'm not flowing...the good news is I have options on offense.

The D will be an adventure. They do tend to stay back, but at times the lack of speed and even moreso agility is a pretty big liability. It's key that I get back in transition with the speedsters to limit breaks.

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