Now that we are in the midst of mid-July, I figured it would be a good time to try out an idea I've been considering for awhile.
Last off-season, I picked starting lineups for the All-Province and All-Nation teams of Flyers players, taking the best individual seasons of their careers. The blog got a tremendous response, and people had fun debating the composition and strength of the respective "teams".
This year, I figured I'd adjust some of the lineups, pit them against one another in a fantasy tournament and let the readers pick the winner. In some cases -- which will be painfully obvious as you reach them -- it was a strain to come up with a complete starting lineup. In other cases, it would been easy to create virtually an entire roster, and not just a starting lineup. I only created rosters for provinces and countries for which a full starting lineup can be created (hence, no maritime province representation, etc.).
In a few instances, I placed forwards out of their natural/preferred position in my starting lineup. It just made more sense, for example, to make sure I included someone like Ross Lonsberry (although he played center only sporadically and was a left winger about 90 percent of the time) instead of listing a natural center but much lesser Flyers player such as Drew Callendar.
Note: I vacillated on whether to place Claude Giroux on Team Quebec. Although he hails from Ontario (the mostly francophone town of Hearst), he played his junior hockey in the QMJHL. On last year's original blog, I placed Simon Nolet on the right wing of Team Quebec. This year, for sake of both differentiation and competitive balance, I ultimately decided to make Giroux an honorary member of Team Quebec in order to get him into the tourney. If I had kept him as a Team Ontario candidate, he would not have beaten out Eric Lindros.
Team Ontario
LW: Bill Barber -- Callendar, ONT (1975-76 season)
C: Eric Lindros -- London, ONT (1994-95 season)
RW: Tim Kerr -- Windsor, ONT (1986-87 season)
D: Chris Pronger -- Dryden, ONT (2009-10 season)
D: Bob Dailey -- Kingston, ONT (1977-78 season)
G: Bob Froese -- St. Catherines, ONT (1985-86 season)
Profile: Lots of offensive talent, size and physicality on this roster. However, the goaltending may ultimately not be up to the standards of some of the other lineups.
Team Quebec
LW: Simon Gagne -- Sainte-Foy, PQ (2005-06 season)
C: Claude Giroux -- Hearst, ONT (2011-12 season)
RW: Danny Briere -- Gatineau, PQ (2010-11 season)
D: Andre "Moose" Dupont -- Trois-Rivieres, PQ (1974-75 season)
D: Eric Desjardins -- Rouyn-Noranda, PQ (1996-97 season)
G: Bernie Parent -- Montreal, PQ (1973-74 season)
Profile: Undersized up front but this lineup has plenty of skill and competitive drive. Apart from Briere, it is filled with strong two-way players and apart from Dupont, it is a smooth-skating group. Moose provides the toughness. Parent is the top goalie in the tourney. The Hockey Hall of Famer's representative season was his career-best year.
Team Manitoba
LW: Pat Falloon -- Foxwarren, MAN (1995-96 season)
C: Bobby Clarke -- Flin Flon, MAN (1975-76 season)
RW: Reggie Leach -- Riverton, MAN (1975-76 season)
D: Ted Harris -- Winnipeg, MAN (1974-75 season)
D: Terry Ball -- Selkirk, MAN (1969-70 season)
G: Ron Hextall -- Winnipeg, MAN (1986-87 season)
Profile: There are some significant weaknesses in this lineup, but does feature the explosive offensive pop of two-thirds of the famed LCB line, and also has Ron Hextall in his Vezina Trophy and Conn Smythe Trophy winning rookie form.
Team Saskatchewan
LW: Scott Hartnell -- Regina, SASK (2011-12 season)
C: Ross Lonsberry -- Watson, SASK (1973-74)
RW: Brian Propp -- Neudorf, SASK (1984-85 season)
D: Ed Van Impe -- Saskatoon, SASK (1973-74 season)
D: Brad McCrimmon -- Plenty, SASK (1985-86 season)
G: Glenn "Chico" Resch -- Moose Jaw, SASK (1986-87 season)
Profile: A dark-horse team but it features two rawhide-tough and highly effective defensemen, good two-way players in Lonsberry and Propp, as well as Propp's explosive scoring ability and Hartnell's power forward presence. The goaltending is weak, though, as Chico was well past his prime by the time he got to Philly.
Team Alberta
LW: Murray Craven -- Medicine Hat, ALTA (1987-88 season)
C: Ron Sutter -- Viking, ALTA (1988-89 season)
RW: "Cowboy" Bill Flett -- Vermillion, ALTA (1972-73 season)
D: Braydon Coburn -- Calgary, ALTA (2007-08 season)
D: Tom Bladon -- Edmonton, ALTA (1975-76 season)
G: Pete Peeters -- Medicine Hat, ALTA (1979-80 season)
Profile: Some good two-way players and some grit, but not nearly as much firepower as some of the other lineups. Goaltender Peeters was an NHL All-Star as a rookie in 1979-80 and was part of the Flyers' 35-game unbeaten streak and run to the Cup Final.
Team British Columbia
LW: Ron Flockhart -- Smithers, BC (1981-82 season)
C: Mel Bridgman -- Victoria, BC (1978-79 season)
RW: Mark Recchi -- Kamloops, BC (1992-93 season)
D: Jimmy Watson -- Smithers, BC (1975-76 season)
D: Joe Watson -- Smithers, BC (1974-75 season)
G: Darren Jensen -- Creston, BC (1985-86 season)
Profile: Another underdog roster due to its weakness in goal. Recchi's representative season remains the highest single-season point total in Flyers history. Five-time NHL All-Star Jim Watson and his two-time All-Star older brother Joe are a steady D pairing. Bridgman provides toughness and two-way play in the middle.
Team USA
LW: John LeClair -- St. Albans, VT ( 1996-97 season)
C: Jeremy Roenick -- Boston, MA (2001-02 season)
RW: Paul Holmgren -- St. Paul, MN (1979-80 season)
D: Mark Howe -- Detroit, MI (1985-86 season)
D: Derian Hatcher -- Sterling Heights, MI (2005-06 season)
G: Brian Boucher -- Woonsocket, RI (1999-2000 season)
Profile: This lineup could beat any other team in the tournament. It has plenty of scoring, size and toughness and also boasts the best defenseman in franchise history in his career year in the NHL. Goalie Boucher was a rookie sensation in the second half of 1999-2000 and played well in the playoffs, too.
Team Sweden
LW: Pelle Eklund -- Stockholm (1989-90 season)
C: Peter Forsberg -- Örnsköldsvik (2005-06 season)
RW: Mikael Renberg -- Piteå (1994-95 season)
D: Kim Johnsson -- Malmö (2003-04 season)
D: Kjell Samuelsson -- Tyngsryd (1987-88 season)
G: Pelle Lindbergh -- Stockholm (1984-85 season)
Profile: A very solid, if injury-prone, lineup across the board. Defensively sound, offensively potent and it has Lindbergh's Vezina-winning and Hart Trophy finalist season to backstop the team in goal.
Team Finland
LW: Ilkka Sinisalo -- Valkeakoski (1984-85 season)
C: Ville Leino -- Savonlinna (2010-11 season)
RW: Sami Kapanen -- Kuopio (2003-04 season)
D: Joni Pitkänen -- Oulu (2005-06 season)
D: Kimmo Timonen -- Kuopio (2007-08 season)
G: Antero Niittymäki -- Turku (2008-09 season)
Profile: Much like the real Team Finland, this group may be greater than the sum of its parts. Sinisalo was one of the most underrated two-way players in franchise history, and there is leadership and competitive drive in both Kapanen and four-time NHL All-Star Kimmo Timonen. The enigmatic Pitkänen appeared to be on the brink of NHL stardom in his representative season.
Team Russia
LW: Andrei Lomakin -- Voskresensk (1991-92 season)
C: Alexei Zhamnov -- Moscow (2003-04 season)
RW: Valeri Zelepukin -- Voskresensk (1998-99 season)
D: Vladimir Malakhov -- Sverdlovsk (2003-04 season)
D: Dmitri Yushkevich -- Chrepovets (1992-93 season)
G: Ilya Bryzgalov -- Togliatti (2011-12 season)
Profile: Zhamnov and Malakhov were both outstanding in their brief stints in Philadelphia in 2004. Zelepukin and Lomakin were responsible defensively but scored inconsistently. Yushkevich loved to hit and added occasional offense. Bryz is Bryz.
Team Czech Republic
LW: Josef Beranek -- Litvanov, CZE (1993-94 season)
C: Vaclav Prospal -- Ceske Budejovice, CZE (1996-97 season)
RW: Jaromir Jagr -- Kladno, CZE (2011-12 season)
D: Petr Svoboda -- Most, CZE (1995-96 season)
D:Miroslav Dvorak -- Hluboka, CZE (1982-83 season)
G: Roman Cechmanek -- Gottwaldov, CZE (2000-01 season)
Profile: This squad could be outstanding or awful, depending on when you catch them. Svoboda and Dvorak were both underrated defensemen. Note: There are not enough Slovaks in Flyers history to create a full lineup, but if there was a combined Czech/Slovak roster, Michal Handzus would deserve consideration.
Below, you can vote on which teams you think would finish first, second, third and last. In the comments section, feel free to pick a tournament MVP, a top goaltender and top defenseman in the competition.
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Coming tomorrow, a blog on Zac Rinaldo and Tom Sestito. On Friday, I will look at Marc-Andre Bourdon.
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