2014/15 Ricks Picks
As the year comes to a close and the first third of
the HHLseason approaches, Ricks Picks is certainly
overdue. The only thing that takeslonger than putting
together this list is Rammer tying his shoes. As usual,goaltending and an unexpected hot player or two can
skew the balance of thestandings at this time of the
year. But the cream will rise, and at the end,lift the Hamber Cup in
this the 19th season of HHL hockey.
On the Outside Looking In
Los Diablos- Dead Last
2013 – Champion
2014 – Runner Up
2015 – Stinky https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lz3ZCKBb2jo
After a couple dominant years, all the trades and
dealing ofdraft picks has caught up with Los Diablos.
The championship was worth it. Lastyear was not. Now
the long road to redemption begins. Toews may be the bestplayer in the world, but he isn’t the best scorer. Getzlaf will be in the topfive at
the end of the year. Big Buff moving to the wing has not helped thisteam. The defense is bad. Prediction isfor this re-draft pick will be dealt to a contender. Let
the re-build begin.
Tri-City Flood 14th
After a 2nd and 3rd place finishearlier in the decade the Flood has settled into the
position of plankton onthe HHL food chain https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rU8Oa_UifNQ . The two lone bright spots are theaging
Lunqvist and Jamie Benn. Benn looked like he was
ready to explodefollowing the Olympics, and while he
sits near a point per game, has not beenable to lead
the Stars to a decent start. I love Danny Sedin, but
70 pointswould be a great year. D – corps being led
by Phaneuf, a former darling of theGreeks, is a very
ominous sign. No hope up the middle. It’s a sad state ofaffairs
this year, and not much chance of anything good happening soon. TheFlood
Team Chaos 13th
And yes, once again there is chaos. If only Datsuyk wouldstay healthy. If
only the Devils could score two goals a game, if only youhadn’t
picked Thomas Fleischmann, who is challenging Cody Hodgson for the worstperformance of the year. Zetterberg is sweet, but all
on his own on the wing.Henrik is still dishing out
passes better than Rarr at 1 a.m. at the Pit Pub(Seriously did they close the Pit Pub?). Defense is okay,
in fact perhaps thehighlight of the team, which isn’t
saying much. It’s gonna be a long coldwinter
of failure in Chaosville. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vK5q1PcZSA
Kurgens Killer Krew12th
Here is a GM who seems to have hockey savvy, and a littleswagger. But the shine is off this squad. Lots of
good names, and if this wasan NHL team, rather than
an HHL team they would be tough to beat. Why does T.J.Oshie
suck when we know he can do this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLuDVRz868E Why is Shane Doan on your roster? DidBobrovsky
just win the Veizna? Jake Virtanen is the only Canuck
drafted who hasfewer points than Bieksa.
That being said, there are a few gems on this squad.Johansen,
who the Greek would like to see do the Lebron James
thing and comeback to play in his hometown some day. Nash is finally over a
point per game.The defense is great, Pietrangelo, Ekblad, Hamilton and
Ekman-Larson and alllegit. Defense win Stanley Cups,
not Hamber cups. Add a goalie at the redraftand this
team moves up the standings, but the post season if for another year.
Comox Crunch 11th
Dear Crunch. You are only able to count a single
goalie, soif you are going to have four on your
roster, make sure they are not allshitty. Like the
Greeks of old this team is showing its age which leads tofewer
games played. Dupuis, Letang,Kunitz,
Staal all missing time. Too bad their best young studs
are also gettinghurt. Skinner (always hurt), Stepan and Hedman need to play.
Only one player ona point per game pace and it’s Juri Hudler.
80 points for Hudler https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QHHGHve_N0
Get ready for a second half free fall
Barney Hardcore 10th
This is a team for the future, and the future is certainlynot now. Despite his soccer mom status, and
endless hours available forresearch in the coffee
shop, the Hardcore could not change the culture of thislineup. However, going forward the Greek loves the
McKinnon, Nugent-Hopkins,Quick
core. Tough break with the D, as Sekera looked like
and up and comer,instead
just a dud. Not enough firepower on the wing. This has some potential.This
year though, not enough to get into the post season.
No Video link due to the graphic nature of the
content.
The Greeks 9th
Woe is me. Neal traded from the Pens to the Preds. Shitty.Who the fuck hired
Barry Trotz to coach Alexander Ovechkin? Did my
goalie justtwist his ankle at a rock concert? At
least it was a rock show and notsomething like this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rs9HC3slop4 . Deep on the wing, but nobody off to agood
start. Always be concerned when Tlusty is a counting
player on your team.Nice collection of D men, but
just average. Weak up the middle with Bozakperforming
the best against expectations. Crawford in and out of the lineup.Was
hoping for more top line minutes for Hertl, and a
bounce back to Calderform for Huberdeau,
but these guys are years away at best. Optimism is givingaway
to dread early this year for the Greek. It’s going to be hard to look inthe mirror after another missed playoff year for the
Greeks. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8X7W-oPhY48
The Playoff Teams
Spanish Bitches 8th
Blah. This is the opposite team from his former ragingroomy. George is up, Elaine is down, Mr. Happy is in
the middle. I suggest youstart with this
strategy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fnmiiJG0RE No star power, no holes in the lineup. DoesKopitar seriously only have 12 points in 22 games? WTF?
Duchene has taken a bigstep back like the rest of the
Avs. Little chance to make any big moves, littlechance to make a run for anything but a playoff spot.
My favorite thing aboutthis team is that it includes
the captain of the HHL all name team HumpusLindholm.
Enough to make the playoffs, but no title challenge here.
Kevlar 7th
I said it last year, and I’ll say it again. When
you haveCrosby and Malkin, you should be in
contention every year. Who new Kari Lehtonen
(who makes saves likethis https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ijm2lJYj4tI), and the Dallas Stars would play like the Sardis Senior Boys Hoops
squad circa1988, rather than the Agassiz provincial champs. The departure of Rinne lookedlike no big deal
until the Stars started to suck. May not have a winger on this roster who will
crack 60points. “Elbows” Mc-Keith is the only D man producing. McDonough is a
stud, but6 points is not helping anyone. This team is so top heavy that Ramsbottom hasbeen seen scouting
them weekly.
Only a trade of one of the big two will give this
squad ashot at anything but the post season.
Disco Godfathers 6th
Disco kicked off opening night this year with this
to getthe crowd pumped https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nieNjGjjK_I The awesome top three of Kessel, Stamkosand
Seguin will carry this squad for years to come. Uber rookie Filip Forsbergis starting to slow, but looks good to pop his
rookie cherry this year. Now ifKevin Lowe would just
do the Disco a favor and move Eberle to an team with NHLplayers on its roster, he may have a chance to move up
the standings. The D issolid but not spectacular.
Goaltending is an issue. When the Blues GM has to sign a42 year old to push
Jake Allen you should be concerned. But goalies come cheap,so I am saying there is a chance https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMRrNY0pxfM
Just not this year.
Dynasty 5th
The team we all love to hate, earned a little more
ire bynearly pulling off the double trophy haul. He
did catch the big fish, and weknow Ramma likes ‘em big. This line-up
is star studded, and sprinkled with someflakes of cheese
and wife beaters. Did you really draft Hemsky?
Kane, Perry and Karlson are the belles at theball. Normally a stud D core is only working on two
cylinders. Jumbo Joe can’tbe happy in Silicone Valley (Ramma, however,
a big fan of silicone), and hispoint totals show it.
Carter was red hot to start, but now so cold his nipplesare
erect. This is a thin line up, but the big guns will make them a threat tothe end. Unfortunately this team is only a C-Cup this
year, not the Double Dthe Dynasty rode to the championship
in 2013/14.
No Video link due to the graphic natureof the content.
Liberals 4th
The flag will fly at half-mast out front of the
Jean ChretienStadium to honor the fallen Cpl. Nathan Cirillo. A nice tribute. This is a good team, just ask
Buzz. Comes atyou like a Mongolian Death Worm https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_VkkiEeEIw A two Headed Goalie monster will givethe
Libs some serious trade fodder. Miller will cool down as will my belovedNucks, although he is currently living up to Buzz’s
prediction at the draft ashim being the best buy in
the auction for a $1.00. Voracek is outscoring thenext best winger on this squad by almost 20 points.
Great for Voracek, very,very bad for the rest. Tavares will heat up and
Tyler Johnson is scoring likehe did last year.
Kronwall, Leddy, and Fowler can get the job done.
Will be in the mix, but no crown for the Libs
Wallis Jets 3rd
This team could be scary if the roster wasn’t
loaded with Jets.Can we just add Brodeur
back onto Walli’s roster, and get it over with? It justdoesn’t seem right that Fluery
is there on his own. Speaking of Fleury, thispace is
too hot to maintain, but early points never go away. If you throw paintat a wall for ten years, you may someday come up with
a masterpiece. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DV68gBlNMZE If you pick five rookies every year for 10years,
sooner or later you’ll find a gem. Johnny Hockey is that guy. He is way
better thanI expected, and despite having the height
of the Commish and the body of Colebefore
he left Cranbrook, this guy looks legit. Sammy Vatanen looks awesome aswell. Backstrom, like Ovi, will suffer
from the Trotz effect. The splash ofrookie
talent and hot goaltending will keep the Jets in contention all year long.
Korean AssassinsRunner-Up
Teddy’s movie career must be going well. Well
enough todistract him from destroying his HHL roster,
and drafting semi-retired injured players. Last year Teddy was rippedfor taking Okposo, who for years looked like a 50
point/year player. Now afterthree years of riding
shotgun for John Tavares he is the real deal. The rest ofthe
wingers are solid but not spectacular. Hossa is a player you’d love to haveon you NHL team, but backchecking
counts for Jack-Shit in the HHL. This team isled from the back end with a
spectacular D core. Burns move back to D was agreat
break, Giordano is hot, and Carlson has taken over as the Capitols numberone scoring D man from the always injured Mike Green.
Up the middle Pavelski isnot
blossoming just yet. Granlund looked like he was
ready to breakthrough, butJacques Lemaire’s
ghost still haunts the Wild, and we may never see what couldbe.
Tuuka Rask isn’t going yet, but the big Z will return
and the shutouts willas well. Why not a little TGK
Link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYxSQn2BKhM
Rarr’s Rage Champion
It looks like the Dark Lord of Dump will be hanging
on tohis assets this year. The Greek loves a roster
that is near the top of theleague with some gaping
holes in their line-up. Tarasenko!!! Is this guy fun towatch?
His hands are almost as good as Wilsons at 3 a.m. in a FPS fog.Pacioretty
is a stud, but there is some room for improvement on the wing.Giroux
will return to the top 10 in NHL scoring again this year, but after thatis a collection of high draft picks who are nowhere
near ready to produce. ThisD core is studly, and will be the class of the HHL by a considerable
margin byyear’s end. Pecker Rinne
is healthy, playing every night, and the Preds areeven trying to score this year. Move a prospect or two,
add a piece in theredraft, and this team will be one
to be reckoned with. No golfing early thisyear https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykqqgDaOB7Q Get ready for something special.