Pre-WWII 2023 - Draft Thread I

[BenchBrawl]

I wasn't anticipating this level of anxiety where everyone picks the players I was hoping to get.

Welcome to the show !

 

[tinyzombies]

Toe Blake should be able to keep up with Morenz and clean up/help wherever needed (tho Morenz is a great backchecker too).

 

[BenchBrawl]

Seattle selects a man whose name has come to stand for marvellous speed, unerring shooting, magnificent endurance and generalship of Napoleonic brand, Tommy Phillips, LW.

Phillips is one of those players whose value increased a lot for me during the pre-merger project.

 

[tinyzombies]

Seattle selects a man whose name has come to stand for marvellous speed, unerring shooting, magnificent endurance and generalship of Napoleonic brand, Tommy Phillips, LW.

View attachment 765247

Was debating him, but figured Blake was a better fit for Morenz. That's a crazy first line you got there.

 

[Professor What]

Seattle selects a man whose name has come to stand for marvellous speed, unerring shooting, magnificent endurance and generalship of Napoleonic brand, Tommy Phillips, LW.

View attachment 765247

Phillips is one of those players whose value increased a lot for me during the pre-merger project.

I had him on my radar.

 

[Habsfan18]

Portage Lakes will also select from a position that doesn’t have a hell of a lot of depth and continue this little mini-run on LW’s by selecting a player who has proven chemistry with Frank Nighbor. He puts the puck in the net and acts as a policeman of sort to make sure Frank isn’t taking any unnecessary punishment.

Cy Denneny, LW

 

[Dr John Carlson]

The Halifax Crescents select Bryan Hextall Sr. Need a goal-scoring winger to finish our rushes, and need some size and toughness in front of the net.

@seventieslord

 

[Professor What]

The Halifax Crescents select Bryan Hextall Sr. Need a goal-scoring winger to finish our rushes, and need some size and toughness in front of the net.

@seventieslord

@jigglysquishy You get to see my dreams dashed right here. I know how you feel, man.

 

[tinyzombies]

The Halifax Crescents select Bryan Hextall Sr. Need a goal-scoring winger to finish our rushes, and need some size and toughness in front of the net.

@seventieslord

Was him or Blake for me, not sure if I got it right. Denneny was great but didn’t have the speed of o keep up with Morenz. Phillip’s would have made the line too small (tho they managed fine with Joliat…).

 

[Dr John Carlson]

Was him or Blake for me, not sure if I got it right. Denneny was great but didn’t have the speed of o keep up with Morenz. Phillip’s would have made the line too small (tho they managed fine with Joliat…).

I think Blake pairs better with Morenz than Hextall does. I think of Howie as more of a goal-getting centreman than Taylor was, so Hextall on his wing could've been slightly redundant.

 

[rmartin65]

I think the HoH project probably underrated Phillips a bit. We don't have great fidelity on his stats out West, but the opinions of his contemporaries make him out to be one of the best, if not the best, players ever/of his time (which is quite impressive, considering the high regard that Bowie and UNDRRAFTED were held in).

Additionally, I think Phillips' 1908 season is a good feather in his cap. I'm only going to use the non-split stats for this since it is getting late and I don't feel like bouncing between spreadsheets, but Phillips led the ECAHA in points with 34 (Bowie was second with 30). This is great in-and-of itself, but I think it is more telling that he got this lead due to his assists (he tied for the league lead with UNDRAFTED); Phillips was actually "just" third in goals. It is a small sample size, so we can't say for sure, but this leads me to believe that his offensive value has historically been undervalued, as we have never really had (and still don't, IMO) reliable assist data, and the (as previously admitted) small sample size indicates that Phillips may have brought a good chunk of value there.

He was on my list when I picked last round, FWIW.

EDIT: Removed the name of two undrafteds but I'm sure you all know the two names I am referring to

 

[BenchBrawl]

Was him or Blake for me, not sure if I got it right. Denneny was great but didn’t have the speed of o keep up with Morenz. Phillip’s would have made the line too small (tho they managed fine with Joliat…).

Tommy Phillips was not small. He was more or less the same size as Toe Blake playing 30 years earlier.

 

[BenchBrawl]

I think the HoH project probably underrated Phillips a bit. We don't have great fidelity on his stats out West, but the opinions of his contemporaries make him out to be one of the best, if not the best, players ever/of his time (which is quite impressive, considering the high regard that Bowie and UNDRRAFTED were held in).

Additionally, I think Phillips' 1908 season is a good feather in his cap. I'm only going to use the non-split stats for this since it is getting late and I don't feel like bouncing between spreadsheets, but Phillips led the ECAHA in points with 34 (Bowie was second with 30). This is great in-and-of itself, but I think it is more telling that he got this lead due to his assists (he tied for the league lead with UNDRAFTED); Phillips was actually "just" third in goals. It is a small sample size, so we can't say for sure, but this leads me to believe that his offensive value has historically been undervalued, as we have never really had (and still don't, IMO) reliable assist data, and the (as previously admitted) small sample size indicates that Phillips may have brought a good chunk of value there.

He was on my list when I picked last round, FWIW.

EDIT: Removed the name of two undrafteds but I'm sure you all know the two names I am referring to

I red all your posts on Phillips, but of course there's nothing like doing the research yourself for absorbing the intuition. From what I red, there's just WAY too much smoke around Phillips' greatness for it not to be a real fire underneath it all.

Good point on the assists. What a headscratcher pre-consolidation is when it comes to star power vs. stats.

 

[seventieslord]

My next pick has to be a defenseman. I have to pick Hod Stuart, right? What else would one do?

 

[seventieslord]

@jigglysquishy you're up

 

[jigglysquishy]

With the 25th overall pick, the Regina Capitals will draft the first western Canadian born superstar, Frank Fredrickson.

Another big riser in the pre-merger project, he was not just a speedy goalscoring centre. He had a mean streak and strong defensive play, becoming an all-around force and one of the best players of his era. This diversity was best on display in the 1925 Stanley Cup Final as he effectively shut down Howie Morenz leading the Victoria Cougars to their only Stanley Cup.

 

[Professor What]

Ottawa enters the goalie market with yet another Ottawa native, and another three-time Stanley Cup champion. Introducing Clint Benedict!

 

[Claude The Fraud]

Georges 'Buck' Boucher and Ivan 'Ching' Johnson

 

[Professor What]

Time to move out to the wing and get some goals on the roster. Ottawa welcomes Busher Jackson.

 

[jigglysquishy]

The Regina Capitals draft the goal-scoring phenom, with the best shot of the 1920s, from the Toronto St. Patricks, right-winger Babe Dye

@seventieslord

 

[tinyzombies]

This draft feels like it’s putting things right, like the pre-merger rankings.

 

[BenchBrawl]

Time to move out to the wing and get some goals on the roster. Ottawa welcomes Busher Jackson.

Steal of the draft

Conacher was close

 

[Habsfan18]

Time to move out to the wing and get some goals on the roster. Ottawa welcomes Busher Jackson.

Great pick. I considered him quite strongly but decided to go with Denneny and his proven chemistry with Nighbor.

 

[seventieslord]

I know I'm up. Gotta get home and see my list.

 

[seventieslord]

It's too tempting! The chance to have this much strength down the middle.

I will take the guy who I think is "BPA AINEC", Nels Stewart, C.

Tough to build around? We'll see about that. Bring it on!

@Dr John Carlson