[NHL19] We them Dragons - Dragons of Houston

Collapse

Recommended Videos

Collapse
X
 
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts
  • Lumpjaw
    Rookie
    • Nov 2013
    • 48

    #1

    [NHL19] We them Dragons - Dragons of Houston


    Record: 35-40-7 | 7th in Central, 13th in Western Conference, 27th in NHL

    After barely playing NHL for the last two editions I decided to buy it after christmas. After playing around with some threes and HUT I decided to wander into franchise mode. Expansion team it was and I felt it was time for Houston to get their team. So let me introduce Houston Dragons, who will play in the Western Conference as a part of the Central Division forming a rivalry with the Dallas Stars. As AHL team we have the newly founded Alabama Rockets. I turned of Owner Mode for this one as it's my first one. Also, the first ever game for Houston Dragons ended with a 9-1 loss against Vegas as I decided to try out AlTito's sliders. Safe to say I was not used to them. Injuries, morale and assistant making line up changes was turned on while simming.

    We did however score the first goal in the game and the historical first goal in franchise history will forever belong to Mark Letestu who tucked it past Malcolm Subban in the Vegas net. This was the only game I played the first season as my main priority was to get used to all the things off ice and try to maximize the return of our assets. We ended up with a 35-40-7 record which places us 7th in the division, only Nashville were worse, and 27th in the league. Not at all bad for the inagural season. After the draft lottery we ended up with the 2nd overall pick in the 2019 entry draft. The result from that draft will follow in the review of season number two. The first captain of the Dragons franchise was Mattias Ekholm with Rick Nash and Tyler Myers as assitant captains. Adam Henrique and Mark Letestu later replaced Nash and Myers. The reasons for that? Continue reading.

    The Houston Dragons will play in three different jerseys with the primary color being maroon and gold. White and black will be the supporting colors in the team identity. A maroon home jersey, white away and black third as shown below.



    After looking at the exposed players in the expansion draft I was sure of one thing. There were plenty of good defensemen out there and not much to write home about regarding at center. Therefore the strategi was to pick as many good defensmen as possible no matter the salary as we'd not be near the salarcy cap when it was all said and done. And all in on defensemen it was. Mark Giordano, Adam Larsson, Mattias Ekholm, Josh Manson and Houston native Tyler Myers was quickly picked with intention to swap atleast a couple of them before the inagural season was over. Alex Killorn, Jesper Fast and Mark Letestu was probably the "best" forward picks. In goal the thought was to have Jaro Halak with Dell backing up – but a big blooper from the front office happened as Halak somehow was let go to the free agency and there we stood with Dell and Linus Ullmark as our duo. Givet it was the inagural season we decided to run with Dell and Ullmark.

    NHL Expansion Draft 2018
    PickTeamPlayerPosHtWt
    AnaheimJosh MansonD
    ArizonaFreddie HamtiltonC
    BostonRiley NashC
    BuffaloLinus UllmarkG
    CalgaryMark GiordanoD
    CarolinaTrevor CarrickD
    ChicagoConnor MurphyD
    ColoradoSven AndrighettoRW
    ColumbusMark LetestuC
    DallasGemel SmithC
    DetroitMatt PuempelLW
    EdmontonAdam LarssonD
    FloridaColton SceviourRW
    Los AngelesAlec MartinezD
    MinnesotaGustav OlofssonD
    MontrealKerby RychelLW
    NashvilleMattias EkholmD
    New JerseyJimmy HayesRW
    NY IslandersJaroslav HalakG
    NY RangersJesper FastRW
    OttawaTom PyattC
    PhiladelphiaTaylor LeierLW
    PittsburghCarl HagelinLW
    San JoseAaron DellG
    St. LouisOskar SundqvistLW
    Tampa BayAlex KillornLW
    TorontoBrad SmithC
    VancouverReid BoucherLW
    WashingtonAlex ChiassonRW
    WinnipegTyler MyersD



    The first entry draft the Houston Dragons participated in was the 2018 one. Seven picks, one in each round, was at the disposal of the new franchise. We picked 6th overall and while we missed out on Rasmus Dahlin we were more than thrilled to make Filip Zadina our first overall NHL Entry Draft pick. We then followed that up with picking Ty Dellandrea, Adam Ginning, the russian Markus Kozhevnikov, canadian Henman before rounding it all off with Arnason and then the finnish defenseman Tuukka Ruutu who has low Top 4 potential. Apart from Zadina, there may not be much to say hooray for – but I hope for the best. If it stinks, I´ll blame the rookie GM.

    Houston Dragons 2018 Entry Draft
    PickTeamPlayerPosHtWt
    5HoustonFilip ZadinaRW
    35HoustonTy DellandreaC
    67HoustonAdam GinningD
    99HoustonMarkus KozhevnikovRW
    131HoustonLuke HenmanC
    163HoustonMicheal ArnasonC
    195HoustonTuukka RuutuD




    We started off with filling in some holes after the expansion draft with signing Rick Nash on a one year deal. JT Brown, Sean Kuraly and Mackenize Weeger was also signed as UFA to bolster the NHL roster. Scott Wedgewood, Matt Hackett, Fredrik Claesson, Corey Tropp, Emilie Poirer, Travis Morin, Brian Flynn, Miro Altonen and Jeff Schultz to go play on the farm.

    The interesting stuff however was done in trades. A grand total of seven trades were made before the trade deadline passed. As we were not shooting for playoffs we had our mind set to maximize the value for our assets. As talked about earlier we hade picked as many good defensemen as possible, with purpose on shipping a couple or more out during the inagural season. The first one who got traded was Alec Martinez who went to St. Louis together with Carl Hagelin and a 2nd round pick in 2020 in exchange for Jordan Kyrou, a 1st round pick 2019 and a 2nd round pick in 2020.

    Trade number two was with Florida who gave up Aleksi Heponiemi, Jamie McGinn and a 1st round pick (2019) in exchange for Mark Giordano. Adam Larsson were seconds later shown the door and flew to Anaheim with a 2nd round pick in 2023 for Adam Henrique. Henrique quickly became our 1st line center and top scorer, he also got the assistant captain duty when Rick Nash were traded to the Kings for Sean Durzi and a 2nd round picl in 2019. Henrique then signed a three year extension with an AAV of $5.4 million.

    Houston native Tyler Myers were shipped to the Rangers with a draft pick and 50% retained salary for the last months of his contract. Houston Dragons instead got Pavel Buchnevich, a 3rd round pick and Marc Staal back. Buchnevich is a great prospect, but Staal was a throw in to even the salary out. We'll have to ship him out soon though as he's on the books until 2021.

    After all the trades we hade secured three picks in the first round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, which is a great situation to be in. Hopefully I don't messed up the picks and scouting leading up to them.

    Trade summary:
    Spoiler



    Houston Dragons Stats - 2019-20 | * Indicates player was acquired during season
    SkatersGPGAPTS+/-GWPIMSOGSPCT
    Adam Henrique (A)82213556-101218811,2
    Alex Killorn77213354-412616113,0
    Jesper Fast81193150041018510,3
    Pavel Buchnevich*73182543-623313213,6
    Riley Nash82142943-56331648,5
    Mark Letestu (A)82132538-1441211711,1
    Alex Chiasson82141832-203210313,6
    Sean Kuraly8292332-41261009,0
    Colton Sceviour82151227612810114,9
    Jimmy Hayes8212152761198713,8
    Jamie McGinn*72121426-2323611910,1
    Josh Manson7571825-30421484,7
    Connor Murphy7361622-242361195,0
    Mattias Ekholm (C)693161910201252,4
    Marc Staal*8221517-18044842,4
    Mackenzie Weegar4558132012687,4
    Sven Andrighetto476511-4086010,0
    Gustav Olofsson82279-11031882,3
    GoaliesGPWLTGAATOISVSV%SHO
    Aaron Dell62292662,943754169790,21
    Linus Ullmark2161413,76121254787,80
    Last edited by Lumpjaw; 02-06-2019, 10:45 AM.
  • Lumpjaw
    Rookie
    • Nov 2013
    • 48

    #2
    Re: [NHL19] We them Dragons - Houston Dragons

    The plan going forward is updates after every month with stats, transactions and a look at the farm. Bigger transactions and other big happenings will get their own post. Just tweeted out some bits during the last week for season one at my twitter and then realized I should write something too. Will continue to tweet aboute the franchise over at @lumpjaw_fm if anyone want to follow along.

    As I work full time and try to spend time with my girlfriend when we both have time off, I can't guarantee at what tempo this franchise thread will get updated, but I aim for atleast a couple of updates every week - with some days getting more and some less depending on how much I play.

    Stay tuned for updates about the 2019 Entry Draft and the 2019 off season.
    Last edited by Lumpjaw; 02-02-2019, 12:52 PM.

    Comment

    • Lumpjaw
      Rookie
      • Nov 2013
      • 48

      #3
      Re: [NHL19] We them Dragons - Dragons of Houston





      The first event of the 2019-20 season was the NHL Entry Draft and after the deals during last season Houston had a grand total of ten picks in the 2019 draft, including three in the first round and four in the second round. As no interesting trades were offered, neither from us to other teams or the other way around, we used all of the then picks to bolster our prospect core.

      The ten picks were the following ones: #2, 21, 32, 38, 43, 46, 64, 102, 134, 166, 198.

      And with further ado...



      With the second overall pick we selected center Kirby Dach from the Saskatoon Blade with medium elite potential. Dach score 69 points in 71 games for his Saskatoon who misses the playoffs. The 18 year old will return to the WHL for atleast the upcoming season. We then used the 21st pick of the first round to grab Finnish right wing Kappo Kakko from TPS in Liiga. Kakko, with medium elite potential was signed and will play top minutes in the AHL this season - along with top minutes during the NHL pre season. Swedish center Kim Renberg was our last pick in the first round with the pick we got from the Stanley Cup champions from St. Louis. Like Dach and Kakko, he has medium elite potential.

      The second round yielded two left wingers and two defensemen in Mattias Hagelin, Miiro Linjala, Nils Höglander and Michael Vukojevic, with Hagelin and Vukojevic having medium top 4 potential while Linjala clocks in at medium elite and Höglander low top 6 potential.

      Finnish defensemen Ville Hurme was our pick in the 4th round and comes in with a medium elite potential, followed by fellow countryman Samu Suhonen. Suhonen is a medium starter goaltender.

      The last two picks in the draft gave us Kari Selanne, a finnish defenseman with medium top 6 potential and russian goalie Yuri Safronov who at the time was unscouted and then showed up as a backup medium potential.

      I have high hopes for Dach, Kakko, Renberg, Linjala and Hurme who all have elite potential. With some luck, we can get Hagelin and Vukojevic to reach their potential as top 4 defensemen too. If we, like we hope to do, climb the standings in the future I think we have either a solid core to build around or they could be used as trade chips in the hunt for a championship.

      Houston Dragons 2019 Entry Draft
      PickTeamPlayerPosHtWt
      2HoustonKirby DachC
      21HoustonKappo KakkoRW
      32HoustonKim RenbergC
      38HoustonMattias HagelinD
      43HoustonMiiro LinjalaLW
      46HoustonNils HöglanderLW
      64HoustonMichael VukojevicD
      102HoustonVille HurmeD
      134HoustonSamu SuhonenG
      166HoustonKari SelanneD
      198HoustonYuri SafronovG

      Now, we look forward to the free agent window opening shortly. Our primary goal is to strengthen the middle of the ice with a couple centers and hopefully we can add a real starting goaltender too. Both Pekka Rinne and Semyon Varlamov will be UFA and are showing interest to sign with us, but I´d imagine they are both going to contenders instead of a buildin expansion team. On the offensive side name such as Jeff Skinner, Blake Wheeler and Tyler Seguin will be free agents and we'd love to add Skinner or Seguin. I doubt we get both of them.

      More on our off season in the next update...

      Comment

      • SeattleBattleCat
        Pro
        • Nov 2017
        • 710

        #4
        Re: [NHL19] We them Dragons - Dragons of Houston

        Great start & great presentation. You have some great building blocks to base the foundation of a mega dynasty there with Dach, Kakko, Zadina etc. Can’t wait to read on, best of luck with your ‘chise.
        Last edited by SeattleBattleCat; 01-28-2019, 05:27 PM.

        Comment

        • Lumpjaw
          Rookie
          • Nov 2013
          • 48

          #5
          Re: [NHL19] We them Dragons - Dragons of Houston





          Following the 2019 NHL Entry Draft the big happening started on the 1st of july, as it does every year. The free agency had opened. Beforehand, Houston Dragons front office and coaches had two positions they really wanted to land a marquee signing at - center and goalie. And there were signs the newest franchise were serious about making a splash with names like Tyler Seguin, Joe Thornton Pekka Rinne, Semyon Varlamov on the market. There were rumours about Matt Duchene and Auston Matthews hitting free agency too, but they decided to stay with Ottawa and Toronto.

          With almost 30 million in cap space we decided to go after Seguin, Rinne and Varlamov in hope of landing atleast one of them. After a couple days of negotiationg we got a "Thank you but no thanks, I want to win" answer from both Rinne and Varlamov which was a hard blow as they were clear cut top two goalie named in the free agency.

          However, we got a center...



          From our rivals down in Texas we poached one of the best centers in the league in Tyler Seguin who decided to stay in Texas after getting a six year contract worth $70,35 million dollars. Seguins contract will eat 11,725 million against the cap every year but given he's only 27 years old he will have plenty of mileage left in the tank. He's the first marquee signing in the history of the franchise and he will offer us a whole new level regarding offensive threat and the will take care of the number one center role foreseeable future.

          With Seguin on the books and both goalie targets going elsewhere there were only minor signings done by Houston, mostly to bolster the Alabama Rockets of the AHL. Three signings for the Dragons however was Austin Czarnik and Chandler Stephenson, both centers who will battle it out for 3rd and 4th line duty while Taylor Leier comes in as a depth signing.

          Some interesting signings for Alabama includes Oliver Kylington who was let go from Calgary while Brandon Pirri, Matt Puempel and Miro Aaltonen all returns for a second season. Other noteworthy names are Dominik Simon, Tomas Hyka and Collin Delia.

          We also noticed Jeff Skinner being let go by the Hurricanes and he showed interest in signing with Houston, as well as defenseman Tyler Myers. Myers who as you know were used in a trade to get Pavel Buchnevich, a draft pick and Marc Staal last season. They both decided they wanted to win and did not believe they could not do that in Houston and therefore picked other destinations.

          In total the Houston Dragons handed out 24 contracts during the free agency period up until the 31st of august.

          Free agency summary
          Spoiler

          Next up: Preseason, trades and 2019 opening day roster

          Comment

          • Lumpjaw
            Rookie
            • Nov 2013
            • 48

            #6
            Re: [NHL19] We them Dragons - Dragons of Houston

            Originally posted by SeattleBattleCat
            Great start & great presentation. You have some great building blocks to base the foundation of a mega dynasty there with Dach, Kakko, Zadina etc. Can’t wait to read on, best of luck with your ‘chise.
            Thank you! Yeah, that was part of the plan, to load up on picks the first year to set a great foundation going forward. Either they stay and is a part of the building or they're used as parts in deals. Win win!

            Comment

            • Lumpjaw
              Rookie
              • Nov 2013
              • 48

              #7
              Re: [NHL19] We them Dragons - Dragons of Houston




              Record: 3-4-0
              vs. Jets, 4-1 W | vs. Blues, 2-3 L | @ Stars, 5-2 W | @ Wild, 2-3 L | vs. Predators, 4-6 L | @ Blackhawks, 1-5 L | @ Avalanche, 6-1 W


              With the free agency out of the way we shifted focus to the preseason and in contray to the common of using a big pre season roster we went the other way and rolled with eight defensemen, 15 forwards and two goalies to get the room together after a summer with some big movements given Seguin coming in, Filip Zadina arriving from the juniors and a couple more moves. In total there was seven preseason games planned and we ended up going 3-4-0 with a clear standout in Reid Boucher.

              The nifty left winger Boucher was the top scorer in Alabama last year with 33 goals and 32 assists in 82 games. Safe to say he played his way in to the roster during the preseason beating Sven Andrighetto for the last forward spot. Rookie Kappo Kakko was given lots of ice time during pre season, but will start in the AHL as we do not want to rush him in to the show.

              When the pre season games were over we hada week to make changes to the opening day roster before the first game of the season was due, against Vegas in Vegas.

              2019-20 Preseason Stats -
              SkatersGPGAPTS+/-GWPIMSOGSPCT
              Tyler Seguin7268-202287,1
              Reid Boucher75164001533,3
              Mattias Ekholm7156300128,3
              Pavel Buchnevich7235-3101513,3
              Jesper Fast7145010119,1
              Chandler Stephenson7145002128,3
              Colton Sceviour73144001225,0
              Alex Killorn7224-3061612,5
              Austin Czarnik7224302633,3
              Adam Henrique7134-104195,3
              Erik Gustafsson7134200911,1
              Josh Manson7112112911,1
              Gustav Forsling5022-20040
              Filip Zadina7022-200189
              Kappo Kakko7101004911,1
              Marc Staal7011-20270
              Taylor Leier701120230
              Connor Murphy700000030
              Mackenzie Weegar200000040
              GoaliesGPWLTGAATOISVSV%SHO
              Aaron Dell63302,3535715091,50
              Linus Ullmark10105,1085,32985,30


              Now we head over to the trade department of the pre season. Three trades were made by the Dragons front office...


              HOU acquires: (G) Carter Hart | PHI acquires: (D) Sean Durzi, 2nd rnd pick 2021, 3rd rnd pick 2025

              As you know, we missed out on a goalie during the free agency so we explored the trade option. In Philadelphia there was a youngster named Carter Hart that sounded like the answer to our prayers - atleast in a longer term. We started dealing with GM Fletcher, and were clear that we would not give up a first rounder, of the Flyers and after a while we finalized a trade were we sent Sean Durzi, a 2nd round pick in 2021 and a 3rd rounder in 2025 in exchange for Carter Hart. The Flyers said they felt like they were hitting a home run with this but we strongly believe that Carter Hart will turn out to be a starter and elite goalie in the NHL. You rarely get a elite NHL goaltender with a second or third round pick. Hart will be the starting goaltender in AHL with Alabama, and his contract is expiring after the season so we will be looking to extend that before next summer.


              HOU acquires: (G) Steve Mason | NJD acquires: (G) Linus Ullmark, (RW) Markuss Kozhevnikov

              But Hart was for the future, and we were not sure about the tandem of Aaron Dell and Linus Ullmark. New Jersey had placed Steve Mason on the block and were looking for a backup goalie so we offered Linus Ullmark straight up for Mason. The Devlis said no, but also added they liked Ullmark so we continued talking. When we added our fourth round pick from the 2018 draft, Markuss Kozhevnikov, they liked it enough to accept and we felt like this would be a good deal for our roster given that Carter Hart is in the minors and will be our starter within a couple years. Mason have two years left on his contract with an cap hit of 1.825 million and played 21 games in the NHL last season, winning 10 while posting a .899 saving percentage and a 2.94 GAA. (He did however go from 83 overall to 80 overall before opening day...)


              HOU acquires: (D) Henri Jokiharju, 2nd rnd pick 2021 | CHI aquires: (D) Adam Ginning, (LW) Nils Höglander, 3rd rnd pick 2022

              The last trade we made before opening day was poaching Finnish defenseman Henri Jokiharju from Chicago. The Blackhawks had placed him on the tradingblock and we swinged for it and were happy when they accepted a deal that saw us swap prospects Ginning and Höglander with a third round pick in 2022 return for Jokiharju and a second round pick in 2021. Sure, we lost Ginning who was poised for a top 4 role according to our scouts and Höglander who could crack the top 9 if things rolled the right way, but getting Jokiharju and upgrading the draft pick was a great deal for us I think. Especially since we used our own second rounder in 2021 to get Carter Hart. Jokiharju scored 64 points form the blue line in 63 games for the Portland Winter Hawks in the WHL last season and will report to Alabama to lift heavy minutes on the top pairing.


              After all the free agency moves, all the preseason games and the trades we have finally arrived for the second season in Houston Dragons history. After a inagural season resulting in a 7th place in the Central Division the newest team in the NHL looks to continue to add to ther short history and to continue to set them up for greatness in the coming years.

              The biggest story before the season is the signing of superstar Tyler Seguin who will be the biggest start of the team the coming season. Another topic that have fans on their feets is the arrival of Filip Zadina, the first ever entry draft pick in franchise history, who comes with a 65 point in 59 games season in for the Halifax Mooseheads in QMJHL on his back. During preseason he has played on a line with Alex Killorn and Adam Henrique but after Kappo Kakko has been sent down to the minors there is a spot open at right wing in the first line beside Pavel Buchnevich and Tyler Seguin.

              Mattias Ekholm and Josh Manson will continue to controll the blue line with Connor Murphy showing signs of stepping upp to be a good top 4 defender. Beside those three, there is three spots open for Marc Staal, Erik Gustafsson, Gustav Forsling and Mackenzie Weegar to fight about.

              Pending UFA Aaron Dell and veteran Steve Mason will battle it out in net.

              Dragons Opening Day Roster
              #CENTERSAGEHTWTSHOTNATION
              91Tyler Seguin (A)27185 cm91 kgRCANADA
              16Adam Henrique (A)29183 cm89 kgLCANADA
              20Chandler Stephenson25183 cm92 kgLCANADA
              28Austin Czarnik26175 cm72 kgRUSA
              #LEFT WINGSAGEHTWTSHOTNATION
              89Pavel Buchnevich24188 cm87 kgLRUSSIA
              17Alex Killorn30185 cm89 kgLCANADA
              24Reid Boucher26178 cm88 kgLUSA
              21Taylor Leier25178 cm79 kgLCANADA
              #RIGHT WINGSAGEHTWTSHOTNATION
              37Filip Zadina19183 cm87 kgLCZECH REPUBLIC
              18Jesper Fast27183 cm87 kgRSWEDEN
              8Colton Sceviour30183 cm88 kgRCANADA
              10Jimmy Hayes29196 cm97 kgRUSA
              11Sven Andrighetto26178 cm85 kgLSWITZERLAND
              #DEFENSEAGEHTWTSHOTNATION
              14Mattias Ekholm (C)29193 cm97 kgLSWEDEN
              42Josh Manson28191 cm96 kgRCANADA
              7Connor Murphy26193 cm96 kgRUSA
              22Gustav Forsling23183 cm84 kgLSWEDEN
              19Marc Staal32193 cm95 kgLCANADA
              29Erik Gustafsson30178 cm82 kgLSWEDEN
              53Mackenzie Weegar25183 cm96 kgRCANADA
              #GOALIESAGEHTWTCATCHNATION
              31Aaron Dell30183 cm91 kgLCANADA
              35Steve Mason31193 cm95 kgRCANADA


              Down at the farm, in Alabama, we have a couple interesting names. They missed the playoffs last year but were only eight points away. This year we have put more effort to put together a stronger lineup to get the team in to the playoffs and giving our prospects some valuable experience. The most interesting prospects in Alabama is Kaapo Kakko, Jordan Kyrou, Aleksi Heponiemi, Henri Jokiharju, Oliver Kylington and Carter Hart. There is a debate if the right thing to do was signing Kakko and place him in the AHL between fans and experts, but Dragons front office do believe that was the thing to do. The future will act as a judge in this case.

              We signed the best players from last year in Pirri, Puempel, Aaltonen and added a couple seasoned players with NHL experience to help the younger players during the season.
              Alabama Rockets Depth Chart -
              1ST LINE2ND LINE3RD LINE4TH LINE
              LWBrandon Pirri (78)Matt Puempel (75)Dmytro Timashov (72)Pierre Engvall (69)
              CDominik Simon (75)Jordan Kyrou (69)Miro Aaltonen (73)Freddie Hamilton (74)
              RWKaapo Kakko (57)Aleksi Heponiemi (65)Tomas Hyka (77)Jayce Hawryluk (77)
              D #1Henri Jokiharju (75)Matt Gilroy (74)Kyle Wood (76)
              D #2Oliver Kylington (75)Gustav Olofsson (77)Petteri Lindbohm (75)
              GCarter Hart (73)Collin Delia (69)

              Next up: October recap

              Comment

              • PFellah
                Rookie
                • Oct 2011
                • 276

                #8
                Re: [NHL19] We them Dragons - Dragons of Houston

                Originally posted by Lumpjaw
                As I work full time and try to spend time with my girlfriend when we both have time off, I can't guarantee at what tempo this franchise thread will get updated, but I aim for atleast a couple of updates every week - with some days getting more and some less depending on how much I play.
                My big problem is sharing the PS4 with a teenage son. :P

                Good job so far, hope the youth movement pans out for you.

                Comment

                • Lumpjaw
                  Rookie
                  • Nov 2013
                  • 48

                  #9
                  Re: [NHL19] We them Dragons - Dragons of Houston

                  Originally posted by PFellah
                  My big problem is sharing the PS4 with a teenage son. :P

                  Good job so far, hope the youth movement pans out for you.
                  Luckily for me, I only have myself to share the PS4 with haha. My girlfriend just play mobile games or an occasional session of The Sims on the computer

                  Thank you, and I really hope so – if not, the Dragons may be in some seriours trouble :P

                  Comment

                  • Lumpjaw
                    Rookie
                    • Nov 2013
                    • 48

                    #10
                    Re: [NHL19] We them Dragons - Dragons of Houston


                    October recap
                    Record: 5-3-1 | Total record: 5-3-1

                    After a busy off season the Houston Dragons was looking forward to making strides forward compared to last season when the calender turned to October 14th and the first game of the season when the team travelled to Vegas for a rematch of last seasons opener, that ended in a horrible 9-1 loss for Houston. This years season opener would turn out much better for The Dragons. After domination possesion and peppering Marc-Andre Fleury with shots the Vegas defence could not hold the fort anymore and Tyler Seguin got a dream start to his tenure in Houston with two goals in the first period. Two goals were also scored from the stick of Filip Zadina where the second one was a dandy as he batted the puck in mid air to seal a 6-4 win.

                    Houston continued the first month of the season with another four straight games on the road which ended up with two losses, one win and one shootout win before heading home for the first home stand of the season when division rival Nashville came to town. A hard fought battled ended with a shoot out win after Zadina fooled Pekka Rinne with a low shot close to the post on Rinnes glove side. A 6-3 win over Detroit on the road led to a 1-0 loss at home in front of a disappointed crowd before we ended the first month of the season with another shoot out win, the third of the year in nine games, to earn a 5-3-1 record and a second place in the division going in to november.

                    The standout player was the star of the franchise, Tyler Seguin, who were a point per game player during october, close followe by Reid Boucher and Pavel Buchnevich at eigt points each in nine games. The rookie, Filip Zadina, had six points in nine games for a good start of his NHL career.

                    One transaction were made during october. We had a surplus of defensemen down on the farm in Alabama, a whopping total of 10 defensemen were under contract which was not optimal. We looked around to see if any of the guys outside the lineup could get us anything on the tradeblock and when Anaheim offered us a 7th rounder in 2020 for Alexandre Carrier, we accepted it. We try to raise the prize to a fifth rounder with no luck and the same with a sixth - we rolled with the seventh rounder.

                    October in pictures
                    Spoiler


                    Houston Dragons October Player Statistics - 2019-20
                    SkatersGPGAPTS+/-GWPIMSOGSPCT
                    Tyler Seguin96390044314.0
                    Reid Boucher9358-2101717.6
                    Pavel Buchnevich9268012238.7
                    Mattias Ekholm9167102137.7
                    Filip Zadina93363023010.0
                    Adam Henrique92460021811.1
                    Austin Czarnik9145-1001010.0
                    Jesper Fast9224-3001711.8
                    Alex Killorn9224-1041414.3
                    Josh Manson9134-1014147.1
                    Chandler Stephenson9134-100156.7
                    Taylor Leier9213-2001118.2
                    Colton Sceviour9123-204147.1
                    Connor Murphy902230890
                    Marc Staal9022-4010130
                    Jimmy Hayes9101-112128.3
                    Gustav Forsling9011200140
                    Erik Gustafsson9000-70930
                    GoaliesGPWLTGAATOISVSV%SHO
                    Steve Mason53202.38302120.9090
                    Aaron Dell42113.36249111.8880

                    Comment

                    • Lumpjaw
                      Rookie
                      • Nov 2013
                      • 48

                      #11
                      Re: [NHL19] We them Dragons - Dragons of Houston


                      November recap
                      Record: 7-7-0 | Total record: 12-10-1

                      After a strong start to the season, November hit us with a real fifty-fifty when we look at the results. We started of nice with a solid win over Minnesota at home after controlling the game from the start. Aaron Dell held his first shut out of the season with a 22 save game, including a huge glove save in the dying seconds of the game. The win over Minnesota was the highlight of the month combined with fellow shut out wins over Boston and San Jose, the later one away from our home ice advantage. This shutout was held by Steve Mason, his first of the season.

                      Back to back losses against Montreal, who added both Varlamov and Jeff Skinner who we was in the bidding for during off season, and Tampa Bay were not what we hade planned for and the guys looked tired in the third period of the Tampa game and were not able to mount a comeback in the third period. All in all this showed that we are not perhaps really ready for a serious push in the playoffs, but we have for sure we are a team that should be over .500 and atleast should be in the race for playoffs.

                      Like in october, we made one deal involving a defenseman. This time it was Erik Gustafsson, who played all nine games in October who were dealt for a fifth round draft pick to Pittsburgh. Gustafsson was clear about his decision to not sign a new deal with us and we felt like we did not want him to move on for free and we managed to get a fifth rounder in the 2020 draft from Pens.

                      In the road win against Winnipeg, captain Mattias Ekholm tog a slapshot from Jacob Trouba on the foot and was ruled out for ten days. With Gustafsson already traded and his role as the sixth guy in the line up take by Mackenzie Weegar we decided to call up Henri Jokiharju from Alabama. Jokiharju played the five remaining games in the month while Ekholm was out with injury and posted an assist in his second game in the 4-1 loss against Anaheim. When Ekholm returned to full health on the 1st of December, Jokiharju was sent down to Alabama again.

                      November in pictures
                      Spoiler


                      Houston Dragons November Player Statistics - 2019
                      SkatersGPGAPTS+/-GWPIMSOGSPCT
                      Tyler Seguin2312719411010111,9
                      Reid Boucher2397160205516,4
                      Pavel Buchnevich2331114216466,5
                      Filip Zadina2358138013578,8
                      Adam Henrique234913-214547,4
                      Alex Killorn235510-40124012,5
                      Jesper Fast234610-504527,7
                      Mattias Ekholm18371021122711,1
                      Chandler Stephenson23268114405,0
                      Austin Czarnik23156-300244,2
                      Colton Sceviour231342010333,0
                      Taylor Leier18213-4021513,3
                      Jimmy Hayes23213-312287,1
                      Connor Murphy230334016270
                      Marc Staal23033-3021330
                      Gustav Forsling23112112372,7
                      Mackenzie Weegar14011002110
                      Henri Jokiharju501100090
                      Sven Andrighetto500010020
                      GoaliesGPWLTGAATOISVSV%SHO
                      Aaron Dell146712,5283338591,72
                      Steve Mason106402,1555821891,61

                      Next up: December recap

                      Comment

                      • m1a2lt
                        Rookie
                        • Dec 2011
                        • 356

                        #12
                        Re: [NHL19] We them Dragons - Dragons of Houston

                        You really took it to the Blues in that trade; if that was real life, I'd be hunting down Doug Armstrong and burning an effigy in his front yard.

                        Lines look promising but you have some real strength in the minors. To a good year!
                        FOLLOW THE 2018 EXPANSION TEAM - DEEP IN THE HEART OF TEXAS

                        Comment

                        • SeattleBattleCat
                          Pro
                          • Nov 2017
                          • 710

                          #13
                          Re: [NHL19] We them Dragons - Dragons of Houston

                          Loving the uni designs of the team. I really like the goalies equipment.
                          Will be an interesting season to watch unfold, good luck.

                          Comment

                          • Lumpjaw
                            Rookie
                            • Nov 2013
                            • 48

                            #14
                            Re: [NHL19] We them Dragons - Dragons of Houston

                            Originally posted by m1a2lt
                            You really took it to the Blues in that trade; if that was real life, I'd be hunting down Doug Armstrong and burning an effigy in his front yard.

                            Lines look promising but you have some real strength in the minors. To a good year!
                            Haha, yeah. He said that he felt like they hade made a steal, and they won the cup so I guess he's still happy haha. But I won't complain as Kyrou is Alabamas top scorer this season and he's still getting better so I think he will turn out great for us. And I really hope Kim Renberg and Michael Vukojevic will be good for us going forward – but they are atleast 3 seasons away.

                            Originally posted by SeattleBattleCat
                            Loving the uni designs of the team. I really like the goalies equipment.
                            Will be an interesting season to watch unfold, good luck.
                            Thank you! Was very inspired by the Minnesota Golden Gophers and Arizona Sun Devils teams when going for the colors.

                            A december recap will follow this night – have not been able to play that much lately.

                            Comment

                            • Lumpjaw
                              Rookie
                              • Nov 2013
                              • 48

                              #15
                              Re: [NHL19] We them Dragons - Dragons of Houston


                              December recap
                              Record: 6-8-0 | Total record: 18-18-1

                              We keep playing every other game sort of. After a 7-7-0 November we followed it up by a 6-8-0 December and I´m not really sure of what kind of team we are. I was not expecting us to be a playoff team, but I thought we perhaps would be a bit more consistent, to the good side. We are maybe lacking a bit off secondary scoring, a good second defensive pairing and a good goalie, but other than that I can't find out what is biting us in the arse looking at the results.

                              However. On to the bright sides. After losing against Buffalo at home with 4–0 Steve Mason had some back spasms and was ruled out for 25 days. It was time to summon the Hart, Carter Hart. And he got off to a flying start as he won his first game in the NHL when we beat Florida 4–2 after a 21 save performance from Hart who was third star of the game. One of the saves was on a shoot out warly in the first. It was a tight game where Panthers took the lead in the first period, Tyler Seguin scored two quick ones in the second before Florida tied it with just six minutes to go in the third. But with 2.30 left to play Reid Boucher was cash in front of the net after Adam Henrique forced a turnover and Jesper Fast rounded it off with an empty netter.

                              Harts second game was the 5–1 loss against Coyores while his second win come in a 5–2 win over Canucks, after Mason had been hurt again while backstopping us to a 3-1 win over Carolina and Dell won us a game against Washington. Hart then got to play against St. Louis but let six pucks slip by him and with Mason back he was sent down to the AHL again. A promising showcase for the future.

                              Besides the double injuries to Mason we also lost Jesper Fast until the 7th of january after a hand injury that he got in the win over Vancouver, which means he will miss atleast five games.

                              We kept doing trades during December to try strengthen our team both for the future and right now. I felt we were lacking som speed in the third and fourth line and were looking for some speedy guys, atleast some guys with a bigger toolbox than some of our third and fourth liners. In Vegas, we found a partner who were willing to take on the last 1,5 year of Marc Staals contract with 5,75 million AAV. We had to include our third line center Chandler Stephenson, but given what we got back I feel it was really worth it even if we had to eat 1 million of Staals contract. We go defenseman Deryk Engelland who like Staal has 1,5 years left on his contract, but with an AAV of just over 2,2 million. We also got Cody Eakin who is a better third line center than Stephenson and also prospect Brendan Lemieux who will give us some skill and grit.

                              New Jersey Devils had Cedric Paquette on the tradeblock and when we offered Austin Czarnik, who had not done much good for us, straight up and they accepted we were happy to do the deal.

                              To bolster our defensive core we brought in pending UFA Mark Stone from Calgary in exchange for Chris Bigras, who were playing on the third paring in Alabama, and a third round pick in 2021.

                              December in pictures
                              Spoiler


                              Houston Dragons December Player Statistics - 2019
                              SkatersGPGAPTS+/-GWPIMSOGSPCT
                              Tyler Seguin37231336831014915,4
                              Filip Zadina379182712013959,5
                              Pavel Buchnevich37520256210697,2
                              Reid Boucher37111223-3308413,1
                              Adam Henrique3761319-838926,5
                              Alex Killorn378816-90187211,1
                              Jesper Fast356814-1004767,9
                              Mattias Ekholm32310133114506,0
                              Josh Manson373690032674,5
                              Colton Sceviour373581016585,2
                              Mark Stone30164-1112362,8
                              Connor Murphy37066-3018440,0
                              Cody Eakin14235-4021711,8
                              Jimmy Hayes36314-918437,0
                              Cedric Paquette34224-6010248,3
                              Gustav Forsling37134-714531,9
                              Derek Engelland14101-2010911,1
                              Brendan Lemieux301110240,0
                              Sven Andrighetto19011-404160,0
                              Mackenzie Weegar21011402170,0
                              GoaliesGPWLTGAATOISVSV%SHO
                              Aaron Dell25101312,77136261190,72
                              Steve Mason127502,2663825291,31
                              Carter Hart42202,92279589,60

                              Next up: January recap

                              Comment

                              Working...