Quick Hits: Hemsky, Playoffs Round 1 & 2

Everyone has their opinions on who is the best hockey player, or who is in the top 5, or who is better then who... But really, thats all subjective and opinionated, so I thought I would tackle another topic. This topic is one that covers a wide spectrum of topics...

1 – it's going to bash the Ales Hemsky
2 – in turn, is going to piss off my blog mate
3 – it's going to dispel the myth that Hemsky is a 'top 15 or 30' player in this league.

Basically, i've taken the scenario, 'I would have (insert name here) instead of Hemsky if I was to start a team'. I've created 4 categories to sort through my players: Elite, Equal, Potential and Defencemen. Now, of course, not everyone is going to have every player in the exact category I have (Toews, for me, is an equal, not an elite) and, I've come up with 100+ names, so even if you disagree with 30 or 40, thats still 60+ players in the NHL that you would rather have then Ales Hemsky. And I didn't even touch goaltending (I figure another 15-20 players I'd rather have)...

OBVIOUS ELITE

Getzlaf
Kovalchuk
Savard
Vanek
Iginla
Kane
Nash
Datsyuk, Hossa, Zetterberg
Gaborik
Parise
Alfredsson,, Heatley, Spezza
Carter, Richards, Gagne
Doan
Malkin, Crosby
Thornton
Lecavalier
Ovechkin, Semin

EQUALS

Perry, Selanne
Roy
Cammalleri, Jokinen
E Staal
Havlat
Hejduk
Ribiero, Richards, Morrow
Frolov, Brown
Kovalev
Arnott
Elias
Antropov, Gomez, Drury, Naslund
Briere
Marleau
Kariya
St Louis
D Sedin, H Sedin, Sundin

YOUNG POTENTIALS

Kessel, Lucic
Stafford
Toews
Wolski, Stastny
Filatov
Cogliano, Gagner
Frolik
Kopitar, Moller
Zherdev
Giroux
Mueller, Boedker, Lisin, Turris
Pavelski, Michalek, Clowe
Boyes, Berglund
Stamkos
Grabovski
Backstrom

DEFENCEMEN

Neidermayer, Pronger
Chara
Phaneuf
Campbell, Keith Seabrook
Lidstrom, Rafalski, Kronwall
Souray
Bouwmeester
Doughty, J Johnson
Markov
Weber, Suter
Streit
M Staal
Timonen, Coburn
Letang, Gonchar
Boyle, Blake
E Johnson
Meszaros
Schenn, Kaberle
Green

So, take this list with a grain of salt. I'm sure some names don't belong, while I have neglected more deserving names, but you get the jist of the list, Hemsky = Over-rated.

On another topic, here are some of my thoughts from Round 1...

= I wonder if Steve Mason's asshole hurts from bending over for Chris Osgood...
= Oh St Louis, I didn't think they would win the series, but I thought they would put up more of a fight...
= Gino Malkin quietly leads in scoring with 9 points in 6 games...
= Washington, undoubtedly, has the best goal horn in the NHL. Period.
= Getzlaf vs. Thornton, great tilt. Too bad Big Joe couldn't keep the momentum going...
= Anaheim/Detroit is going to be just a barn burner...
= Look at the leading scorers in the playoffs: Malkin, Crosby, Getzlaf, Ryder, Semin, Ovechkin, it just goes to show, you need your best players to play at their best, if your going to advance...
= Sergei Gonhar. Wow. Hurt all season long, he leads the playoffs in TOI/game with 26+ minutes...
= Montreal is pathetic. Absolutely pathetic.
= I picked 7 of 8 correct series (ANA over SJ was my miss)

Here are some Round 2 thoughts...

= Ovi won the battle, but Crosby won the war. Impressive hat-tricks by both players with Ovi's Capitals coming out on top in the game, but Crosby showed up in Game 7 when the chips were down, while Ovi did not...
= I think that 6-2 drubbing is GOOD for this rivalry... It's going to fester in the minds of Boudreaux and Ovechkin for years to come and theydefinitely will be ready the next go-around. This is exactly the type of series that makes a rivalry born.
= The forgotten man, Gino Malkin, quietly has 19 points and sits 3rd in scoring...
= I need to admit I was wrong about John Franzen. I thought he was a one-playoff wonder (see Fernando Pisani), but the guy is doing it all over again...
= Hossa is 43rd and Datsyuk is 75th in playoff scoring, and Detroit is still winning... Just wait until these monsters awake...
= While the Habs put up a pathetic performance in their series, Vancouver is just hovering above that with their elimination game collapse...
= The best Dman, you have never heard of, is Jonathon Ericsson in Detroit. Just you wait.
= Cam Ward and Eric Staal have played their way onto the 2010 team, no doubts. Joe Thornton played his way right off of it, in my humble opinion.
= 5 bucks to the guy who can name me the leader in Playoff Minutes played... JONI PITKANEN!
= I can't explain why, but I still can't take Chicago seriously against Detroit. They are still just too young and inexperienced, while Detroit is too skilled and battle-tested...
= I went 2-for-4 this round, I had the West picked, but missed both Eastern teams.

3rd Round Predictions...

I'll take the Wings in 6, and... Wow. I'm not sure I can pick an East team just yet. If Gonchar is healthy, Pens in 7. If not... Yikes. Carolina is upset special just waiting to happen, no team is as high or as hot as they are.

Cheers.
-Smith

p.s. Character Maroon win. 6-2 feels damn good.

p.s.s. When Bob McKenzie was asked about who the NYI should take at #1...

'Ill take Victor Hedman. But I won't say they will take him at #1. By the time it's all said and done, the Islanders will have Hedman but not necessarily pick him first overall'.

The plot thickens...