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Ardal Ekrub, fictional General Manager of the fictional Saskatoon Westerns, is a patient man. After two seasons of mediocre results on the ice, he's not the least bit worried about his team's future prospects. Indeed, it's because of the team's prospects that he's happy with his club. His plan to rebuid the ex-Blues is centered on the draft, using his Project-a-Tron draft rankings to hopefully gain an advantage over his competitors. In 1984, he was able to nab both Doug Bodger and Jeff Brown, for example, while he has a very large number of Europeans and college players on his hit list, since these are the players that other teams systematically undervalue at this time. He doesn't pursue Europeans in order to get Europeans, for example; he pursues them because they're the best players left after other teams have drafted.
It's a bit unusual at the 1985 NHL Entry Draft, however, since it's not only the other teams' drafting habits that would result in Ekrub looking outside of major junior hockey for his draft picks. This season, the Project-a-Tron tells him that most of the best draft-eligible players played outside of Canada in 1984-85. Among the 10 top-rated players (see table below), only two major junior players appear, at numbers six and nine. The most outstanding performance was recorded by Craig Simpson, who although playing against much older players, scored 84 points in 42 games for Michigan State, which led the CCHA by a good margin. The system sees this season as basically off the charts, but of course having only the ninth overall pick, the Westerns have no chance to get him as he goes second overall to Pittsburgh.
Top 30 Players Available at 1985 Entry Draft
Rank Player Pos League PGVT+ Drafted
1 Craig Simpson F CCHA 30.0 2
2 Joe Nieuwendyk F ECAC 14.0 27
3 Mikko Laaksonen F Fin 13.0 -
4 Ulf Dahlen F Swe 12.3 7
5 Lane MacDonald F ECAC 8.9 59
6 Dana Murzyn D WHL 8.0 5
7 Kari-Pekka Friman D Fin 7.6 -
8 Robert Kron F Cze 7.0 88
9 Len Nielsen F WHL 6.8 -
10 Calle Johansson D Swe 6.7 14
11 Kay Whitmore G OHL 6.7 26
12 Ryan Stewart F WHL 6.5 18
13 Craig Duncanson F OHL 6.2 9
14 Fredrik Olausson D Swe 6.2 81
15 Sean Whitham D HE 6.2 -
16 Tomas Kapusta F Cze 6.0 104
17 Sean Burke G OHL 6.0 24
18 David Latta F OHL 5.8 18
19 Ladislav Lubina F Cze 5.8 -
20 Brent Gilchrist F WHL 5.7 79
21 Brent Fedyk F WHL 5.6 8
22 Jiri Latal D Cze 5.6 106
23 Drago Adam G WHL 5.6 -
24 Randy Taylor D ECAC 5.5 -
25 Dan Gratton F OHL 5.4 10
26 Sean Evoy G OHL 5.4 -
27 Darryl Gilmour G WHL 5.1 48
28 Scott Metcalfe F OHL 4.8 20
29 Jose Charbonneau F QMJHL 4.8 12
30 Mario Brunetta G QMJHL 4.8 162
Ekrub is well-pleased, of course, when his turn comes and Cornell's Joe Nieuwendyk is still available. His system pegged the lanky young center as the second-best player available in the draft. As we know now, this will end up being an outstanding pick for the Westerns. Their second pick, Mikko Laaksonen, is projected as the third-best player available but will have a very mediocre career. These are the ups and downs of the Entry Draft. Even if you have an advantage over the other teams, there's no way to be right every time.
Saskatoon Westerns 1985 Entry Draft Picks
Pick Player Pos League PGVT+
9 Joe Nieuwendyk C ECAC 14.0
30 Mikko Laaksonen C Fin 13.0
51 Lane MacDonald LW ECAC 8.9
57 Kari-Pekka Friman D Fin 7.6
72 Robert Kron C Cze 7.0
93 Len Nielsen C WHL 6.8
114 Sean Whitham D HE 6.2
135 Ladislav Lubina LW Cze 5.8
156 Drago Adam G WHL 5.6
177 Randy Taylor D ECAC 5.5
197 Sean Evoy G OHL 5.4
218 Jiri Kucera C Cze 4.5
238 Brian Verbeek C OHL 2.6
The Westerns' roster moves over the offseason are minimal. In desperate need of a backup goaltender, GM Ekrub ships two Bobs, Brooke, and Crawford, to Minnesota in exchange for Mike Sands and a second round pick in 1986. Brooke has a penchant for penalties that doesn't sit well with his GM, while Crawford is aging a bit and coming off of an injury, limiting his playing time last season. Sands is young and had a very good season in the AHL in 1984-85; all Saskatoon needs him to do is to not bleed goals when starter Don Beaupre is resting, which is what Rick Heinz did. Spare parts Richard Zemlak and Roger Hagglund are then traded to Quebec for a third round draft pick. Ekrub would much rather have such a pick than two players he sees as having no future on the major league roster. Goaltenders Dave Parro and Paul Skidmore are released, and former draft pick Peter Abric is not signed, since the team has enough goaltenders already. Skaters Jack Brownschidle, Rob Tudor, and Pat Rabbitt are also let go, no longer being needed.
Saskatoon Westerns 1985-86 Reserve List
Pos Name Age (1985-86)
G Adam, Drago 18
G Beaupre, Don (k) 23
G Bishop, Mike (k) 20
G Evoy, Sean 19
G Heinz, Rick (k) 30
G Riendeau, Vincent (k) 19
G Sands, Mike (k) 22
D Albelin, Tommy 21
D Andersson, Peter 20
D Bodger, Doug (k) 19
D Brown, Jeff (k) 19
D Delorme, Gilbert (k) 22
D Dore, Andre (k) 27
D Friman, Kari-Pekka 18
D Giles, Curt (k) 26
D Julien, Claude (k) 25
D Maciver, Norm 22
D McCrimmon, Brad (k) 26
D McKay, Darren (k) 23
D Norwood, Lee (k) 25
D Posavad, Mike (k) 21
D Stewart, Bill (k) 27
D Taylor, Randy 20
D Whitham, Sean 18
D Wilson, Rik (k) 23
C Bradley, Brian (k) 20
C Callander, Jock (k) 23
C Conroy, Al (k) 19
C Derkatch, Dale (k) 20
C Federko, Bernie (k) 29
C Gilmour, Doug (k) 22
C Groulx, Wayne (k) 20
C Helminen, Raimo (k) 21
C Johansson, Mikael 19
C Jooris, Mark 21
C Kames, Vladimir 20
C Keskinen, Esa 20
C Kron, Robert 18
C Kucera, Jiri 19
C Laaksonen, Mikko 18
C Lemieux, Alain (k) 24
C Lomow, Byron (k) 19
C McMillan, John 20
C Nielsen, Len 18
C Nieuwendyk, Joe 19
C Pepin, Steve (k) 20
C Tookey, Tim (k) 24
C Wickenheiser, Doug (k) 24
C Verbeek, Brian 18
LW Fenton, Paul (k) 24
LW Gosselin, Claude (k) 20
LW Kastak, Kamil 19
LW Lubina, Ladislav 18
LW MacDonald, Lane 19
LW Pehrsson, Joakim 19
LW Pettersson, Jorgen (k) 29
LW Propp, Brian (k) 26
LW Tikkanen, Esa (k) 20
LW Torkki, Jari 20
RW Chernomaz, Rich (k) 22
RW Ganchar, Perry (k) 21
RW Graham, Dirk (k) 25
RW Klima, Petr (k) 20
RW Markell, John (k) 29
RW Michayluk, Dave (k) 23
RW Mullen, Joe (k) 28
RW Paslawski, Greg (k) 24
RW Reeds, Mark (k) 25
RW Rosol, Petr 21
Players on Reserve List (Maximum 80): 69
Players Under Contract (Maximum 50): 44
For the first time, an Ekrub draft pick makes a significant contribution to the NHL team: Doug Bodger taking a regular turn on the blue line and showing as the team's third-most valuable defenseman, and Petr Klima breaking in on the second line and chipping in valuable goals. It's the same core of established players providing much of the team's value, though Jorgen Pettersson fades significantly as Klima and Dirk Graham take more and more playing time on the wing. Excellent seasons by Don Beaupre and especially Brad McCrimmon are the biggest reasons for the team's success.
The Westerns' 88 points are their best finish in three years, and finish third in the Smythe Division behind Edmonton and Calgary. The real-life Blues had 83 points this season, so the fictional Saskatoon team has no significant advantage over their real world brethren just yet.
Saskatoon Westerns 1985-86 NHL Season
GP W L T GF GA Pts Finish
80 40 32 8 321 309 88 3rd place, Smythe; 7th overall
Player Pos GP OGVT DGVT GVT
Beaupre, Don G 53 0.0 23.7 23.7
McCrimmon, Brad D 80 6.0 13.1 19.1
Propp, Brian LW 80 9.2 4.5 13.6
Federko, Bernie C 80 10.1 2.6 12.7
Mullen, Joe RW 77 9.9 0.9 10.8
Giles, Curt D 69 1.8 5.0 6.8
Bodger, Doug D 79 1.6 5.0 6.6
Graham, Dirk RW 80 3.5 2.7 6.2
Gilmour, Doug C 74 2.7 2.8 5.5
Norwood, Lee D 71 1.4 3.8 5.2
Klima, Petr RW 74 3.8 0.8 4.6
Lemieux, Alain LW 71 3.7 0.3 4.0
Reeds, Mark RW 78 0.7 2.9 3.6
Wickenheiser, Doug C 36 1.0 2.0 3.0
Paslawski, Greg RW 56 2.0 0.9 2.9
Delorme, Gilbert D 64 -0.5 2.9 2.4
Fenton, Paul LW 76 2.1 0.3 2.4
Pettersson, Jorgen LW 70 1.1 1.1 2.2
Helminen, Raimo C 64 0.6 1.4 2.0
Brown, Jeff D 8 0.8 0.8 1.6
Dore, Andre D 65 0.4 0.9 1.3
Sands, Mike G 27 0.0 1.1 1.1
Tikkanen, Esa LW 36 0.9 0.1 1.0
Julien, Claude D 13 -0.1 0.5 0.4
Wilson, Rik D 31 0.1 0.3 0.4
Ganchar, Perry RW 3 -0.1 0.0 0.1
Chernomaz, Rich LW 8 0.0 0.0 0.0
Bradley, Brian RW 5 -0.2 -0.1 -0.3
Total 80 62.7 80.3 143.0
Playoffs, First Round
For the first time in their existence, the Westerns do not draw Wayne Gretzky's Oilers in the first round of the playoffs, instead facing the Calgary Flames. Saskatoon is buoyed by not having to face the league's best team, and take the first game 3-1. A blowout loss (10-4) in the second game, however, dims their fans' spirit briefly, but the team responds with victories of 3-2 and 3-0 produce the Westerns' first playoff series victory, three games to one (even though the goals were even at 13-all).
Playoffs, Second Round
The Oilers couldn't be avoided forever, of course. Saskatoon wins their usual single game in the series (6-4 in game three), but losses of 2-0, 4-2, 6-2, and 4-2 once again result in the Westerns watching an Oilers celebration. |
Pucks From The Past (10/12)
2 comments have been left for this article. 
The system sees this season as basically off the charts
That's not a very good chart, then. By definition shouldn't every season be on it?
P.S. Do comments have any purpose other than needling Iain and/or making Chelios jokes?
Your comments seem to serve no other purpose, Rob...
As for the charts, I've mentioned somewhere before that because some factors used in the system are exponential, a player who is far enough above the norm can break the system, so an arbitrary cutoff of 30 GVT is assigned (for forwards). There are only a few players this applies to (from 1983 to the present), off the top of my head Mario Lemieux, Sidney Crosby, Paul Kariya, and Craig Simpson. (One of these things is not like the others...) Victor Hedman is the only defenceman it applies to, as I recall.
It's like growth charts for kids - they cover the third percentile to the ninety-seventh or what have you, and those above that are "off the charts", meaning they're enough standard deviations above the norm that they're too rare to be fairly represented on the chart.
Please excuse any typos. I'm writing this without my glasses.