So without further adieu, here is word for word his roster and arguments for these players that he emailed me:
NHL Roster:
by Andrew Welch
When I saw Thomas saying that he was looking for someone to
make a dream NHL team, I jumped at the bit. I love trying to make dream teams
in both the NHL and MLB as it’s always entertaining. Unlike the MLB though, NHL
dream teams are going to have to contain one thing unlike the other, chemistry.
Chemistry plays an integral part of any team. Chemistry allows the players to
know where their linemates are without having to look around the ice.
To make
the perfect dream team, you look for two more important factors, playmaking and
scoring. You want the passers and stickhandlers coupled with the best snipers
in the game who aren’t selfish, *cough* *cough* Ovechkin. So without further adieu, your perfect dream
team.
LW James Neal C Sidney Crosby RW Evgeni Malkin
Not much of a surprise with this
line, Neal has shown himself to be a premier scorer the last two years playing
alongside Malkin. Sidney is arguably the best player in the NHL and Malkin is
in the same conversation. Malkin does have experience playing the right wing
alongside Crosby and that makes this the top line for the dream team.
LW Zach Parise C Steven Stamkos RW Martin St. Louis
It’s a
bit difficult to find the perfect match for Stamkos and St. Louis because you
want to find a line that’s likely to be used in Sochi for the 2014 Winter
Olympics. Although Parise is not Canadian, it shouldn’t be a hindrance to this
line. Parise was the most coveted Unrestricted Free Agent last year and is one
of the better scorers in the NHL. Stamkos and St.Louis are the example of
perfect chemistry. They always play on the same line and each player knows
where the other is at all times. St. Louis is one of the best playmakers in the
NHL as he led the league in points and assists, 60 and 43 respectively. This is
St. Louis’s second Art Ross trophy in his career as the highest scorer in the
NHL. Steven Stamkos is the most feared goal scorer too. He’s already won two
Rocket Richard trophies as the player with the most goals in the NHL and he
almost won a third this year. He’s got his own patented shot, called the
Stamkos shot, which is a one timer from the left circle, which he releases on
the Power Play. He also isn’t afraid to go into the crease and pick up the
garbage goals and tip-ins, he’s exactly what you’d wish for when looking for
the perfect scorer.
LW Daniel Sedin C Henrik Sedin RW Henrik Zetterberg
Your all Sweden line. Henrik and
Daniel are twin brothers playing for the Vancouver Canucks. These two are some
of the most fun to watch in the NHL as they literally know where each other is
all the time. It’s like some sort of telepathy! SERIOUSLY, you’ll never see
more no look tape to tape passes end up in the back of the twine than when
you’re watching these two play. It’s just mesmerizing and absolutely fantastic.
Henrik Zetterberg is their perfect compadre. He does it all, he scores, he
passes, he leads, he dekes. He’s the perfect recipient for the passes from
Henrik and Daniel while being the perfect setup guy for either two. This line
is seriously the one you’ll never want to ever see coming at you on a three on
one or three on two.
LW Pavel Datysuk C Ryan Getzlaf RW Corey Perry
It’s hard to argue against this
line, most people will fight you about whether Pavel Datysuk is the best player
in the league or not but he’s obviously the best puck handler. The things he
does with puck should be illegal and get you put in jail. He’s also one of the
best passes as he always goes tape to tape and puts them through and over
players. Getzlaf and Perry are two very good tandems too. Getzlaf is a bigger,
tougher, and more physical forward but he has a certain finesse in his game
when it comes to passing. Perry is still regarded as one of the top goal
scorers in the league as he also has a Richard Trophy to his name.
Defense:
Key to defense isn’t so much chemistry as it is the ability to recognize the
plays from forwards and their tendencies along with having a good sense of
offensive attack
LD:
Erik Karlsson RD Alex
Pietrangelo
Two of the best defenseman on the
face of the Earth and the best offensive defenseman period. Both have the
ability to be forwards if they wanted but they play defense at such a high
level it’s hard to ignore. They both feature active sticks in their own zone
and are able to knock away pucks with ease.
LD
Duncan Keith RD Brent
Seabrook
Teammates and usual partners on the
Blackhawks blueline, Keith and Seabrook are one of the best pairings in the
game. They can both score while playing fantastic defense and their awareness
is close to unparalled as a tandem.
LD
Victor Hedman RD Zdeno Chara
This past season saw Victor Hedman
vault himself into the top ten of defenseman in the league. His ability to join forwards on the rush made
a noticeable difference in the Tampa attack as Hedman scored 3 goals on the rush. He was head and shoulders
above any defenseman in Tampa, and without him, Tampa’s putrid defense would’ve
been among the worst in the league. Zdeno Chara is the tallest player in the
NHL, standing 6’10, his stick is close to being as big as Marty St. Louis and
it likely reaches blue line to blue line. He also contains the fastest shot in
the league and knows how to use it. Hard to argue leaving him off of a perfect
dream team.
Scratches: Jonathon Toews, Patrick
Kane, PK Subban.
Goalies
Starter:
Henrik Lundqvist
Backup:
Pekka Rinne
Don’t get me started on goalies,
it’s too hard to pick who’s better than who with some of the top goalies in the
league. Henrik and Pekka are recognized as being two of the best in the league
at stopping the puck but there many others worthy of being on this team.
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