The Sports Corner

NHL 2008/09 Preview: Pacific Division

With three dominant Western teams and another on the rise, the Pacific division is not an easy place to play. As San Jose, Anaheim, and Dallas looks to punish the rest of the West, Phoenix will be pushing for a playoff position after a six-year absence. The Kings, on the other hand, will have to endure another re-building season.

San Jose Sharks

07-08 Record: 49-23-10 (108 points)

General Manager: Doug Wilson

Coach: Todd McLellan

Important Additions: D Dan Boyle, D Rob Blake, D Brad Lukowich

Key Departures: D Brian Campbell, D Matt Carle, D Craig Rivet

Crease Critique: You can’t go wrong with Vezina runner up Evgeni Nabokov, who collected 46 wins last season. The question in net though is how many games will Nabokov play as the netminder played in 77 games last season. Look for backup Brian Boucher to get more calls to play goal, especially later on in the season when the Sharks have already clinched a playoff spot.

Up and Comer: Czech rookie Tomas Plihal will probably get some checking line duties this year after playing in only 22 games last season due to injuries. The 25-year-old was a plus-4 last season with two goals. Lukas Kaspar - a 2004 draft pick - might also get a shot on the team this season if preseason goes well for him.

Hosea’s Star Sniper: On a team that holds many offensive weapons, it was the defense that helped them excel last season. The 19th-ranked offense will once again count on Joe Thornton, Jonathan Cheechoo, Milan Michalek to lead the pack, while hoping that captain Patrick Marleau can revive his game. Although they lost late-addition Brian Campbell in the back end, they replaced him with two shooting defensemen in Boyle and Blake, who will both be providing the Sharks with points on the board. 

TSC Prediction: 2nd in West - Just like last season, the Sharks will once again reclaim the Pacific division title, but only after a hard fought battle to the very end. There will be stiff competition from the rest of the group.

Anaheim Ducks

07-08 Record: 47-27-8 (102 points)

General Manager: Brian Burke

Coach: Randy Carlyle

Important Additions: C Brendan Morrison

Key Departures: D Mathieu Schneider, LW Todd Bertuzzi, C Doug Weight

Crease Critique: Although J.S. Giguere is the set number one man in goal for the Ducks, look for backup Jonas Hiller to get more playing time. Recently re-signed, the sophomore might take some pressure off of Giguere as Hiller recorded a 2.06 GAA and a .927 SP in his rookie year. 

Up and Comer: The most notable rookie inclusion this season will definitely be Bobby Ryan, who was drafted second overall behind Sidney Crosby. Hoping to finally make the big jump to the NHL, Ryan will probably be provided full time minutes in order to help out the scoring. On the backend, Anaheim will have two former Vancouver Giants to try out as Brendan Mikkelson and Brett Festerling will hope to land a full-time job on the Ducks’ defense, as will be ‘05 pick Brian Salcido.

Hosea’s Star Sniper: With a surprisingly third worst offense in the league last season (2.40 GPG), the Ducks will need it’s two young stars to step up even more, as Ryan Getzlaf (82 points) and Corey Perry (54 points) will no doubt be the official face of this year’s team. To help out on offense will be newly re-signed Teemu Selanne, Brendan Morrison and Chris Kunitz, as will all-star defensemen Chris Pronger and Scott Niedermayer.

TSC Prediction: 4th in West - The Ducks will be in a dog fight for the division crown up to the bitter end but will come up short once again. However, with strength in nearly every aspect of their game, Anaheim will spend another season dominating opponents.

Dallas Stars

07-08 Record: 45-30-7 (97 points)

General Manager: Brett Hull/Les Jackson

Coach: Dave Tippett

Important Additions: LW Sean Avery, LW Fabian Brunnstrom

Key Departures: C Stu Barnes, LW Niklas Hagman, D Mattias Norstrom, RW Antti Miettinen

Crease Critique: It’ll be another busy season for Marty Turco as one of the league’s top puckhandling goaltender will be heavily relied on to keep this Stars team amongst the best in the West. The always-dependable starter will have to stay healthy or else the Stars will be in trouble, especially with rookie Tobias Stephan backing him up.

Up and Comer: The early offseason hype Fabian Brunnstrom will be making his NHL debut soon enough, but how will the Swede fare, and how much playing time will he get? That depends on his preseason performance as he’ll probably battle other rookies such as James Neal and Ray Sawada for a fourth line spot.

Hosea’s Star Sniper: No longer will Mike Modano be the go-to guy as Dallas will be looking for a similar showing from Mike Ribeiro and Brendan Morrow along with improved seasons from Jere Lehtinen, Loui Eriksson and Joel Lundqvist. Also, one player that will be making noise is newly-signed Sean Avery, who won’t just be stirring up controversy but will be putting up points as well.

TSC Prediction: 5th in West - Another of the tough Pacific teams, the Dallas Stars have a strong group heading into the new NHL season and will once again depend on their defensive style to carry them deep into the playoffs. If this team stays healthy, look for an even higher final standings position, if not, then the Stars might falter.

Phoenix Coyotes

07-08 Record: 38-37-7 (83 points)

General Manager: Don Maloney

Coach: Wayne Gretzky

Important Additions: C Olli Jokinen, RW Todd Fedoruk, D Kurt Sauer, D David Hale, LW Brian McGrattan

Key Departures: D Keith Ballard, D Nick Boynton, LW Marcel Hossa, C Niko Kapanen, RW Radim Vrbata, LW Mike York, LW Mathias Tjarnqvist

Crease Critique: There is no doubt that Ilya Bryzgalov can be the saviour in net for the Coyotes, but he’ll have to be consistent for that to happen. When on top of his game, Bryzgalov can be ranked amongst the best goaltenders in the league, but that’s a rare occurence, for now. Phoenix will look for Ilya to improve his game even more, and he’ll have to in order for this team to succeed.

Up and Comer: Following the surprising performances from last season’s rookies, the Coyotes can expect even more from this year’s group. Led by ‘07 pick Kyle Turris, the deep prospect pool in Phoenix will be given a shot to make the team. This includes two ‘08 first round picks Mikkel Boedker and Viktor Tikhonov, along with 22-year-old Kevin Porter.

Hosea’s Star Sniper: Besides the potentially dominating line of Peter Mueller, Olli Jokinen, and Shane Doan, the rest of the offensive pack in Phoenix looks a bit weak. Unless players like Dan Carcillo, Martin Hanzal and Todd Fedoruk can improve their point totals drastically, the Coyotes will bein tough for points. However, they can expect plenty from defensemen Ed Jovanovski and hopefully more from Derek Morris.

TSC Prediction: 8th in West - Since their last playoff appearance in 2002, this year will be Phoenix’s best chance to get in. If Bryzgalov stays in top form all year long, the lack of offense will be overshadowed by superior goaltender, making Phoenix the darkhorse team in the West to claim a postseason spot.

Los Angeles Kings

07-08 Record: 32-43-7 (71 points)

General Manager: Dean Lombardi

Coach: Terry Murray

Important Additions: C Jared Stoll, D Matt Greene, D Denis Gauthier, RW Brad Richardson

Key Departures: D Rob Blake, LW Mike Cammalleri, LW Scott Thornton, D Lubomir Visnovsky

Crease Critique: With no true number one netminder on the team, the Kings will be trying out all their options during the preseason and possibly throughout the first month of the regular season. The man most likely to get the call will be Jason LaBarbera, who was decent down the stretch, but with so many potential top goalies waiting in the wing, L.A. will have to be disillusional not to test them out. Goalies such as Erik Ersberg and Jonathan Bernier will definitely get a shot at that top spot.

Up and Comer: All these years of bottom feeding is already paying off for L.A. as the Kings are collecting a dominant collection of young players, many of whom might have the opportunity to play this season. One hoping to land a top-six spot will be speedy winger Teddy Purcell, who can fill that sniper role left vacant by Cammalleri. Oscar Moller is already impressing in the preseason and can sneak his way onto the starting lineup. On defense, the Kings are loaded with young talent, most of whom are unproven at the NHL level but look for Drew Doughty, Alec Martinez, and Thomas Hickey to battle for a top-six defensive spot.

Hosea’s Star Sniper: L.A. will be hard pressed to find much offense this season after their number one line. Anze Kopitar, Patrick O’Sullivan and Dustin Brown will be top on the team, as will Alex Frolov. However, the list falls off unless Michal Handzus or Kyle Calder can live up to that offensive role this season.

TSC Prediction: 14th in the West - It’ll be a season to test out the youngsters as the Kings won’t be much of a threat. With such an inexperienced lineup, L.A. will probably find themselves drafting another top 10 pick come next year.