NHL draft guide: How stars lead to titles

By Rick Morris

As announced previously in this space, Sportsology and FantasyDrafthelp.com are joining up to produce HOCKEY DRAFTOLOGY, a comprehensive guide to the 2008 NHL Entry Draft and offseason as a whole. The issue will be released online, for free, at these two websites and SportsTalkNetwork.com this week (IMPORTANT NOTE: we had substantial bonus content come in at the last minute -- as such, the June 10 release date is null and void -- we apologize for that, but we assure you that the product will be more than worth the wait). Until then, the features to be contained in the guide will be released here individually in serialized form.

Today, we examine the role that the players at the top of the NHL Entry Draft will be expected to play for their teams.

As a team sport by and large incapable of devolving into the often-selfish “Me Ball” of the NBA, the NHL is rightfully held up as exemplary of true team play. However, does this tendency devalue the effect that true mega-stars have on the ability to win championships? FantasyDrafthelp.com decided to find out, in an attempt to ascertain exactly how important it is for teams to hit on their picks in the NHL Entry Draft.

First, we ranked the top players in our opinion in the last quarter century into three tiers, the top five, the second five and the third five. Then, we took a look at which teams had captured the Stanley Cup during that period of time and looked for any correlations. The results were very revealing.

Here’s the designation of the best players on each tier, in no particular order on each tier:

A) Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Nicklas Lidstrom, Patrick Roy, Martin Brodeur

B) Steve Yzerman, Mark Messier, Ray Bourque, Dominik Hasek, Jaromir Jagr

C) Joe Sakic, Ed Belfour, Brett Hull, Paul Coffey, Al MacInnis

And here’s who’s won the Stanley Cup over the past 25 years:

1984: Edmonton A (Gretzky), B (Messier)*

1985: Edmonton A (Gretzky), B (Messier)

1986: Montreal A (Roy)

1987: Edmonton A (Gretzky), B (Messier)

1988: Edmonton A (Gretzky), B (Messier)

1989: Calgary C (MacInnis)

1990: Edmonton B (Messier)

1991: Pittsburgh A (Lemieux) B (Jagr)

1992: Pittsburgh A (Lemieux) B (Jagr)

1993: Montreal A (Roy)

1994: New York Rangers B (Messier)

1995: New Jersey A (Brodeur)**

1996: Colorado A (Roy) B (Sakic)

1997: Detroit A (Lidstrom) B (Yzerman)

1998: Detroit A (Lidstrom) B (Yzerman)

1999: Dallas C (Belfour) C (Hull)

2000: New Jersey A (Brodeur)

2001: Colorado A (Roy) B (Sakic) B (Bourque)

2002: Detroit A (Lidstrom) B (Yzerman) B (Hasek) C (Hull)***

2003: New Jersey A (Brodeur)

2004: Tampa Bay****

2006: Carolina****

2007: Anaheim**

2008: Detroit A (Lidstrom) B (Hasek)*****

* The ‘80s Edmonton teams had several other players who would have rated as “Honorable Mention.”

** Scott Niedermayer, who won Cups with New Jersey and Anaheim, would have rated as “Honorable Mention,” as would Chris Pronger with Anaheim and Scott Stevens with New Jersey.

*** To properly appreciate the greatness of the 2002 Red Wings, consider that Luc Robitaille and Chris Chelios would have rated as “Honorable Mention.”

**** If this feature was revisited in another decade, Vincent Lecavalier would probably make the cut, with Martin St. Louis and Brad Richards probably at least meriting “Honorable Mention.” Eric Staal would have a very good chance to make the list at that time also, so this “megastar principle” may yet prove to be the case for the 2004 and 2006 champions as well.

***** Neither Hasek nor Chelios skated for Detroit in the Finals.

So essentially, it’s every bit as important to have high-end impact players in the NHL as it is in the NBA. Only seven times since 1984 has a team won a title without an “A” caliber player on this list and also in a minority of cases (11), a team has captured the title without at least two players on this list. So after reading this feature, whether one quibbles a bit or not with the rating of certain players, this much is certain: teamwork matters, and so does coaching, but the high-octane engine of superstar power almost invariably is needed if a team is to hoist Lord Stanley’s Cup in the end.

NHL draft guide: Silly Q&A

By Rick Morris

As announced previously in this space, Sportsology and FantasyDrafthelp.com are joining up to produce HOCKEY DRAFTOLOGY, a comprehensive guide to the 2008 NHL Entry Draft and offseason as a whole. The issue will be released online, for free, at these two websites and SportsTalkNetwork.com on June 10. Until then, the features to be contained in the guide will be released here individually in serialized form.

Today, we go back into the archives of the notebook of Sportsology's Russ Cohen. He's covered several past NHL Entry Draft events and he furnishes for HOCKEY DRAFTOLOGY a look at the lighter side of prospect interaction with the media.

The Baseball Question

For the past 3-4 years, I have routinely asked the Cubs or Sox question to the Chicago Blackhawks’ pick to see which team they want to see. Most hockey players (North American ones, anyway) are baseball fans. Jonathan Toews was drafted third overall in 2006 by Chicago and after the interviews were over and the cameras were turned off, my colleague Shane Malloy and myself asked him the question. At first, he said he didn't know and that's when Shane jumped in and said, “You can't waffle like Cam Barker, we need an answer.” Two years before that when I asked Cam that question, he answered Cubs, but then soon became a "big" Chi Sox fan right around World Series time.

Getting back to Toews, he then turned to me and asked, "Who should I pick?" I thought I would help out the Winnipeg, Manitoba native and told him to pick the Cubs for the sake of fun and the better ballpark or pick the Sox if you are trendy. The Blackhawks PR representative turned to me and helped out the youngster by revealing he would be seeing the White Sox when he hits town because of scheduling. He saved him from being called a "bandwagon fan" as Malloy has told Barker in person.

The Anaheim Ducks picked Logan MacMillan in the 19^th slot, but there was something more pressing to ask him about.

Q: Will you go Angels or Dodgers?

MacMillan: I’m not sure. I was a Yankees fan, so I will have to get that switched off pretty quick.

The Golf Question

Nicklas Backstrom was the first victim of this question in 2006. The fourth overall pick handled it very well.

Q: Do you play golf?

Backstrom: Yes, I play golf.

Q: Are you very good or are you just learning?

Backstrom: I am learning.

Q: Are you better at putting or driving?

Backstrom: I think driving.

Q: Does it relieve some tension that hockey can bring on?

Backstrom: Yeah, absolutely [it relieves tension].

Phoenix draft pick Peter Mueller was the 8^th overall pick in 2006 and he was talking about golf once he overheard the conversation, and he immediately spilled the beans about fellow Team USA teammate and first overall pick Erik Johnson.

Mueller: I called Erik to go golfing the other day. He likes it, but he throws his clubs a little bit. He gets a little temper going on…but who doesn’t? I would say I’m better, but he is probably better.

Johnson: Oh no. He threw me under the bus.

Q: Why do you throw them?

Johnson: I get upset. I dump the ball and I just whip that thing. He throws the club, too. I don’t know what he is talking about!

Q: He didn’t say he did that.

Johnson: He throws the clubs.

The Style Question

Washington defenseman Karl Alzner was drafted fifth overall in 2007. He was sporting a perfect Windsor knot and something told me that he wasn’t the person that pulled that off.

Q: Did you tie that or did somebody in your family help you?

Alzner: I tied it about 15 or 16 times. My sister tied it once or twice. My dad tied it once, and then my agent tied it for the final time. I didn’t know how to do the double Windsor, and I wanted something that looked good, so I let him do it.

Next up was Logan Couture of the San Jose Sharks. He was the ninth overall pick in 2007.

Q: How many teeth are real at this point?

Couture: All of them. They are all real. I haven’t lost any yet. I got hit with the puck right here (as he pointed to his lip and lower teeth) for 13 stitches, but I was lucky enough I wear a mouth guard. I’m one of the smart few.

Colton Gillies was pretty loose after being picked by the Minnesota Wild 16^th overall in 2007.

Q: Are you trying to make a fashion statement with that tie? Who picked that out for you?

Gillies: The guy that gave me, the guy that picked up my suit kind of thing. He said, “Here this will look good with this,” and I said okay, I’ll wear it.

Star Struck?

Detroit’s defenseman Brendan Smith (27^th overall pick in 2007) was in awe of the next question (well, sort of!).

Q: Are you going to try to get Yzerman on the ice to see if you can stop him?

Smith: I’ll try. I don’t know, it’s Yzerman right (he said as a fan)! I grew up watching him. I am just in awe. Coming up there (on the draft podium with him), I couldn’t even get words out.

How Strong Are You?

Olivier Fortier was picked by the Canadiens with the 65^th overall pick in 2007 and wasn’t afraid to talk about his strength.

Q: Is it the physical battles you are talking about winning?

Fortier: I’m not big but I will get bigger and I will be big enough to be in that league (he’s currently around 5’11, 170 pounds)….I am stronger than my weight.

Q: Can you bench-press 180 pounds? That was an issue in the NBA draft.

Fortier: 180 pounds? I can bench more than that.

Q: See, you can bench more than Seattle’s Kevin Durant.

Fortier: LOL

Famous Families

I ran into Brandon Sutter of the Carolina Hurricanes (the 11^th overall pick in 2007) the day he was drafted and I asked him this:

Q: Brandon, if you played in a pickup game with the Sutters against the Staals, who would win?

Sutter: I think we outnumber them so it would probably be the Sutters. Those are two pretty good families.

The day after, he answered this question about playing for his dad like a pro.

Q: Let’s say you have a bad game. You guys lose 6-0, you’re not in a good mood, dad is not in a good mood, you get home, mom’s trying to keep everything happy and you are trying to get away from the game for a while. That can be different?

Sutter: Actually I live in a billet family. Which is obviously a very good idea because I can’t imagine being at home after a loss. Yeah, it’s nice to get away, but there are some times where he is gonna …you’ll hear it from him, but he’s pretty good about it.

Do You Fight?

Patrick O’Sullivan, who was drafted by the Minnesota Wild with the 56^th overall pick in 2003, is now with the Los Angeles Kings. He had a great sense of humor, and I noticed that he was sizing up Zach Parise, who was standing next to him for a few hours the day before the draft. Parise went #17 overall and O’Sullivan went much later but the sparks flew early!

Q to O’Sullivan: Do you think you can take Parise?

O’Sullivan: In a fight?

Q: Yes.

O’Sullivan: I think it would be a good tilt. That’s the funniest question I‘ve heard so far.

Q to Parise: O’Sullivan said you guys were pretty much the same size and it would be a pretty good fight between you too. Do you agree with that?

Parise: It would be a good scrap. He would probably beat me up.

The Donut Question

Eric Staal was the second overall selection by the Carolina Hurricanes in 2003 and he was giving all the right answers. He plays hard, plays chippy, will fight if he has to. When he mentioned that he didn’t hear enough weird questions I obliged and the inspiration came from my Sportsology partner Doug Cataldo (who thought it up).

Q to Staal: What’s your favorite donut?

Staal: A Bismarck (a chocolate and maple glazed donut with a custard filling).

Q: Is that Canadian (my American was showing)?

Staal: Yes, it’s from Tim Horton’s.

Ask Me Anything

Ryan Getzlaf was my last interview of the day in 2003 and he was giddy. Maybe it was the fact that he felt he would be the 19th overall pick by the Anaheim Mighty Ducks (at that time), or maybe his blood sugar dropped.

Q to Getzlaf: What can you tell me about you that nobody else knows about? Were you a bully in school, or did you not go to your senior prom?

Getzlaf: (chuckle)

Q: Do you have a secret move like slew footing a guy or holding the stick? What was your favorite tactic to get the edge?

Getzlaf: I never really thought about that all that much.

Q: You play a totally clean game?

Getzlaf: No, I play the same as everybody else, chippy…I had three fights last season.

Jokester

Keaton Ellerby was grilled about his joking around in the WHL.

Q: So do you think you are the funny guy on the team (meaning Kamloops)?

Ellerby: I can be.

Q: That’s what some of the guys are saying.

Ellerby: Who was that (the source was never disclosed)?

The Show Stopper

The Atlanta Thrashers drafted themselves a talented player and a new quote-master by snagging Bryan Little with the 12th overall pick in 2006. In Little's bio is a little blurb that claims he would like to go out to eat with two other famous people and sexy siren Jessica Simpson was the third. Maybe he threw that in there figuring the folks that put together the draft guide would forget to print it, or maybe he himself forgot about it.

Q: Will you ask out Jessica Simpson to dinner now?

Little: I don't know? Maybe?

Q from an unknown reporter: What's that a reference to?

Little: That was in that book I think, yeah...if I could.

Benoit family tragedy -- a look back

By Rick Morris

This column tackles the stages of grief a person goes through as a fan when somebody you admire passes away suddenly and shockingly -- and you find out that the person committed monstrous, heinous crimes and was completely unworthy of your respect. The person going through those phases was me, last June. I'm not someone who engages in a lot of writing about personal topics involving myself, but as a writer and someone fascinated by human psychology, I was really blown away by what I expressed at the time and I knew that others of similar interests would be enthralled as well.

Inspired by a couple of different factors (Jason's recent post about leaving thoughts on message boards and my realization that the first post-Benoit WrestleMania is just round the corner), I decided to revisit my thoughts at the time of the Benoit murder-suicide last summer. This blog was still almost two months away from being created, but I was posting regularly on the wrestling message board at SportsTalkNetwork.com. One of my associates at STN remarked to me that my participation in the Benoit tragedy thread almost amounted to a live-blog over several days as the evolution of my emotions and analysis was on full display -- the necessary background here is that Chris Benoit was my favorite wrestler and somebody I personally admired as an example of great perseverance in his career. I do find this as I look back a fascinating display of evolving thinking under unthinkable circumstances -- as fascinated as I am by matters of psychology, I find my thoughts and coping mechanisms to be really, really interesting.

Here is the thread with the comments of all posters on the Benoit tragedy from the STN message board.

Here's Part One of my thoughts, posted at 7:10 PM EST on June 25, when the earliest details were making their way out to the public:

"I am the typical internet smark. Benoit was my favorite.

I am just numb right now. So many in this industry drop dead early that it gets easier to accept all the time, no matter how much you were a fan of theirs. As with the Owen Hart tragedy, I'm struck by the fact that we're probably diminished as human beings for continuing to support an industry that takes such a toll on people. But I'll keep watching, as will 99.9% of us, so it's a sad commentary, I guess. I guess by next week we'll all start justifying again about how it's the life they chose.

I am taping tonight's RAW and will probably rewatch it a bunch of times. I know that Benoit spoke of his wrestling being like art, which is what I loved about him. I'd like to think that he would find it fitting and flattering that we will remember him for his body of work, but I can't be sure of that.

And I really, really hope that there was not any foul play here, although it certainly doesn't look good.

RIP, thoughts and prayers to the family."

Here's Part Two of my thoughts, posted at 9:48 PM EST that same night reflecting on Benoit and some unfortunate foreshadowing on my part:

"Carbon monoxide could certainly be possible, but since I tend to look at everything in life in terms of probability, here's what I wonder: what are the odds of something that would be noteworthy enough to make the news, albeit maybe just regional news, happening to somebody of his level of (relative) fame? It's not often that something that random happens to someone even marginally famous.

But, man, I really hope that this was just an accident. As horrible as this is with the three of them passing away, to have it be from any murder/suicide would be simply unbearable. To have arguably the greatest wrestler's wrestler ever be remembered not for what he gave us all these years but to be remembered by the mainstream as an unseemly tabloid headline -- I can't even fathom that.

As an example of what I mean by that, my best friend is not a wrestling fan, doesn't have much use for the business. But he was with me one time when I flipped on wrestling and he said, "That guy's your favorite wrestler? He's pretty good." I don't want people like my buddy who don't know or care about the business to know him as a tabloid headline.

But if it was ... I do believe that some good can come out of anything, no matter how small a trace. If this was a gruesome act of horror perpetrated from within that family, the slime from this will stick to the business and Vince won't get away with rationalizing what this business does to people. The long-overdue PR hit for operating the business in such a subhuman manner will come. As I said to a friend tonight, "The business is guilty until proven innocent." I think that's the only reason that we could even entertain the notion of he or his wife perpetrating this.

Again, I don't believe the murder/suicide theory, probably because I can't bring myself to do so. I think the police are obligated to start by checking for foul play, so I make no assumptions based on that.

I'll always remember Wrestlemania XX, watching it at Harpos, with all of us making the salt and pepper shakers jump on the table at the end as we pounded our fists yelling, "Tap, tap, tap." I can only speak for myself, but I was cynical enough to believe that HHH wasn't going to put him over, so I was so overjoyed when he did. I'll also remember getting my picture taken with him at the first Pillman tribute show (damn, when you add Pillman and Benoit to the "extended family," the Harts are right up there with the Von Erichs for tragedy). And I'll remember the fans giving him that shocking standing ovation at the end of the 2003 Royal Rumble match against Kurt Angle. That match was designed not to get him over, but to give Angle at strong win heading into Wrestlemania XIX. The spontaneous reaction was the ultimate rebuttal to those who thought his alleged lack of mic skills would keep the people from getting behind him enough to become a main event star.

We're definitely going to talk about him on the next Lounge on July 1. I'm not saying that in the usual manner of my FDH promotion on these boards, because I'll honestly tell you that it may not be our greatest segment ever. I just need to vent a little bit to feel better personally."

Here's Part Three of my thoughts, posted at 11:28 PM EST that same night, as the unthinkable is settling in:

"Bizarre indeed, Liam. This is truly uncharted territory for this business.

It seems that we can't run from the truth of what apparently happened anymore. The phrase "where there's smoke, there's fire" really applies in instances such as these. Too much has come out, albeit on background, from police sources who must know everything already.

There are two innocent victims in a horrific murder/suicide and my favorite wrestler, someone who I admired for his work ethic and for his leadership skills in the locker room, is not among the innocents. It's a sign of how quickly things move in the Internet age that I've come to grips with this in a matter of hours. The trick now, for me and for so many, will be to separate our pleasurable memories that Benoit gave us from the man who murdered his wife and young son. We didn't know his true nature at the time, so we're not culpable for having admired him. But is it still possible on any level to admire his work?

I never thought that admiring a Chris Benoit match would be like trying to find merit in a painting by Hitler, but here we are."

Here's Part Four of my thoughts, posted at 7:42 AM EST the next morning, as the anger and betrayal are in full effect:

"Mike, I don't begrudge you that perspective. We all deal with things in our own way. I just don't share it.

I'll never deny what he did in that ring and the fact that I thought he was the best, largely because he could work any style convincingly. But as I said above, my enjoyment could only come because I did not know what he was capable of -- killing his wife and young, young son, these are such cowardly acts ... for me personally (and a great many others, I suspect), I'd be right there with you in mourning him if his final acts on this earth were not so despicable.

It's going to be so surreal going back and tracking in this thread what we said with what we knew at the time, because I was full of heartfelt sentiments towards him with my first few thoughts I posted. But now?

F Chris Benoit."

Here's Part Five of my thoughts, posted at 10:28 PM EST that next night. In this post, I recopy a column about the situation that I wrote for our FantasyDrafthelp.com blog:

"Posting here since word broke has been a kind of therapy for many of us. Certainly, my posts trace my thought process at the various stages of what I knew whe. It was kind of like an instant time capsule for all of us. I am glad that nobody on these boards has displayed the kind of idiocy I'm routinely seeing in other corners of the internet.

I did collect my thoughts somewhat for a short essay on the FDH blog. I'm reprinting here for the benefit of anyone struggling to make sense of their own thoughts right now.

'The eulogy that wasn't

24 hours ago, I was preparing a written tribute in this space for Chris Benoit and his family. In an admission that will admittedly brand me an internet smart mark, I will say that he was my favorite wrestler. The operative word here is "was."

My words were going to express the notion that my all-time favorite athlete, Steve Yzerman, retired almost a year ago and that I wrote a tribute to him. I was prepared to express how much harder it is to pay tribute to someone who's passed away than to someone who's retired ... until I learned the circumstances.

There are a million different perspectives out there about this tragedy, and I can respect all of them -- except for the immature clowns on message boards who either want to use the blood of innocents to bash pro wrestling fans, or, on the other extreme, to defend Benoit as "a good man who became sick at the end" and can't let go of the man they wanted to believe existed.

For those who only now know him as a tabloid headline, let me give you the meat of the tribute I was going to write for him. Chris Benoit was a man who said that he treated his profession as art, and many of us loved him for the way that he applied that philosophy to his matches. He almost never had a bad match, even with the least talented wrestlers in the industry. He could work any style in a believable manner. He gave us some of the greatest moments in wrestling history, whether it be the shocking standing ovation he was given at the end of the 2003 Royal Rumble, his Wrestlemania XX triumphant moment with the late, great Eddy Guerrero, his J-Cup highlights from Japan or any hundred other matches. He worked hard, set an example of how to be a professional for wrestlers coming up, and really shined with his leadership in that capacity.

Now for the parts I wasn't going to include ...

Because of what he did in the ring, the fact that his colleagues invariably cited him as one of the most respected wrestlers in the industry (the quintessential "wrestler's wrestler," if you will) and his quiet, humble nature, we all overlooked a few things. Like the fact that he got together with his current wife Nancy at the expense of her existing marriage (and his relationship with the mother of his other children) during the infamous "Kevin Sullivan booked his own divorce" period 11 years ago. And the obvious use of steroids, HGH, or any similar product to pack the unnatural amount of musculature on his relatively slight frame. Nobody's perfect, right?

Well, that's an obvious understatement right now.

In the end, Chris Benoit was all of those things, and that was all we knew at the time -- so it was valid to look at him with the great appreciation that we did. I don't begrudge myself the fun I had at the time from his efforts.

But now? Appreciating Chris Benoit for his work would be like appreciating Adolf Hitler for some paintings that he might have created. Benoit murdered his wife and child in cold blood before taking the coward's way out at the end of a rope. The details of last weekend, combined with confirmation of previous spousal abuse that was not publicly known until now, conspire to make this story keep getting more nauseating by the hour. He deserves none of the glory that many of us were ready to give him when we first learned of his demise prior to absorbing the gory details. He deserves ... well, exactly what he's getting right now and for eternity. Let's leave it at that.

We who appreciated Chris Benoit saw in him the good side of an industry plagued by repetitive and numbing premature death and general sleaze. We thought he stood for the positive side of what is admittedly a morally challenged industry. But in the end, he exemplified to the "nth degree" the open sewer that the business really is. It's a sad measure of how addictive the entertainment can be that so few of us (and I don't exempt myself from this) will abandon it in long-overdue outrage.'"

In the span of under thirty hours, I digested the fact that a man I greatly respected, someone who had provided me so many hours of great entertainment, turned out to be a vile, sick individual unbeknown to us all. My earlier thoughts were still of a type of hero worship that makes me wince to revisit it -- before my outrage kicked in fully. One of the truly outstanding posters on that board, Liam in England, said it best so succinctly when he called the evening the news broke the most surreal night of his 14 years of being a wrestling fan.

My lasting thought on the matter is that I am saddened by how little has changed. The WWE claims to be enforcing a strict drug policy, but still pushes wrestlers constantly with a 'roided-up look to them. If the greatest shock to the system the business ever endured, a matter that might be termed the "9/11 of the wrestling business" (not nearly on that scale, certainly, but purely in terms of the sadness and depression it caused to so many) couldn't bring lasting changes to benefit the performers who bring us such fun, what possibly could?