06-13-2017, 12:32 AM
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#2
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MVP
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Re: OBG's Quebec Winterhawks Video Highlight Franchise Season Three
Finally...here we go. Team preview with a recap of last season, including who won Lord Stanley. Which for some reason...I still never told...probably because its shocking. lol
Massive Changes In Quebec As Season Kicks Off Tonight
The new look Nords take the ice tonight in Quebec against the Montreal Canadiens, who eliminated the Nords (nobody calls them the Winterhawks anymore) in 7 games in the 2nd round of the playoffs.
Datsyuk Retires
The biggest change tonight is the loss of Pavel Datsyuk who was aquired in an mid-season trade and catapulted a struggling Quebec squad with 21 goals in 36 games. The Nords caught fire and played excellent hockey down the stretch, being shut down by Price and the Habs after beating Detroit in 6 games.
New Additions, Challenging Losses
The Nords have 3 interesting new faces this year: Brian Little, Darnell Nurse, and Ryan Reaves. Rookie Logan Brown (rated 83 by Central Scouting) will make his NHL debute tonight.
Key Losses include goaltender Craig Anderson, forwards Clark McArthur, JG Pageau, and the aforementioned Pavel Datsyuk.
No Clear #1 Center; But Strong
The loss of Datsyuk has the no one center position up for grabs between Brian Little, Derick Brassard, and Ryan Spooner. This should promote a good sense of competition among the trio.
Weak Goaltending
The biggest concern in Quebec this season is the goaltending. Central Scouting has starter Marc Subban rated at just 84 OVR and backup Chris Driedger has never started an NHL game, yet has appeared 3 times in the NHL...as a substitute.
Subban is a huge question mark as the sole owner of an NHL starting assignment. He played 45 games last season, winning 27 games but had a GAA of 2.80 and had some really poor stretches of play. Not too comforting as last years recipe of Craig Anderson and Subban who could bail each other out of tough stretches.
Stellar Defense
The Nords D may be in the top 5 of the league with a top pairing of Nurse (91 OVR) and Karlsson (93 OVR). The rest of the D remains solid with Ceci leading the rest of a solid bottom 4.
Nervous Fanbase
Quebec hockey fans aren't stupid. They know damn well that last seasons magic came from the jolt of a huge trade that brought Datsyuk to Canada for an amazing finish to a illustrious career. The replacement, Brian Little, isn't exactly what fans had in mind and the acquisition of Darnell Nurse has also confused the fanbase as we already have a great offensive defenseman in Erik Karlsson. What gives?
Trade Winds?
Who knows but its that time of year again and hockey is alive and well in Quebec.
UPNEXT: AROUND THE NHL
Last edited by onlybygrace; 06-13-2017 at 01:10 AM.
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