District V PeeWee Hockey: My All-Time Lineup

David Hartman — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 05:32:26 -0400

I know that the Open Mic this week is geared more towards actual teams, but I am going out on a limb here.

It's 1992, I am six years old and about to sit through the first all hockey movie of my life —Disney's The Mighty Ducks. What a movie!

Full of Oscar worthy performances, and possibly Emilio Estevez's best performance EVER. Emilio stars as Coach Gordon Bombay and let's be honest, the rumors that he fabricated the "flying-V" play just by watching ducks fly must be true. Anyway, back to the topic.

Here is my all-time lineup for District V Peewee Hockey—The Mighty Ducks:

Offense

Line One

LW—Alexander Ovechkin
C—Wayne "The Great One" Gretzky
RW—Evgeni Malkin

I feel this first line would be one of the best possible combination of raw skill, feel, and offensive power. The combination of two snipers in AO and Gretzky, as well as, Malkin's ability to set-up for his big slap shot would be unstoppable.

Line Two

LW—Paul Kariya
C—Sid "the Kid" Crosby
RW—Teemu Selanne

I had to throw in a couple of the Mighty Ducks greats in this line. Combined with the finesse/speed/awesomeness of "the Kid," this would be a hard line to shut-down. The overall speed of the line would also prove difficult to contain.

Line Three

LW—John LeClair
C—Eric Lindros
RW—Mikael Renberg

My checking line. Yes, this is an actual line from the 1990s, known as the Legion of Doom. It's possibly the best line in Flyers history. This line could both score and shut down opposing offenses. Also, the chemistry is unbeatable as Mikael Renberg and John Leclair are basically nothing without a superstar centre (such as Lindros).

Line Four

LW—Sean Avery
C—Joe Thornton
RW—Steve Downie

I really enjoy having a checking line consisting of two hard-nosed wingers who like to fore-check and a centre with the size to sit in front of the net waiting for a rebound or the one-time deflection from a pass out to the point from the end boards. This would be a difficult line to contain once they get into the offensive zone.

Defense

Line One

OFD - Chris Pronger
DFD - Scott Niedermayer

This is identical to the defensive unit the Ducks used to win the Cup a couple years back, sorry I just like this blue-line combination, get off my back.

Line Two

OFD - Brian Campbell
DFD - Kimmo Timonen

Defense meets offense in this combination, which can shut anyone down and score a one-timer from the blueline or assist a sniper by a pass to the slot.

Line Three

DFD - Adam Foote
DFD - Dan McGillis

How can you go wrong with some random DFD? You can't.

Goalies

Patrick Roy
Bernie Parent

Enough said.

I took this semi-seriously. I know that the Mighty Ducks is not an actual team, but if Gordon Bombay was coaching these players there is no way in hell that the Hawks could stop them. That's right Coach Riley I am gunning for you.

I do believe that a team comprised of these players in a salary cap-less NHL would prove unbeatable.

Thanks for reading.

The Development of the Young Flyers - Also a Thank You to the Coach

David Hartman — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 06:47:19 -0400

During what was the worst Flyers season since my birth in April of 1986, John Stevens was appointed head coach of the Flyers after the firing of Ken Hitchcock - in October of that season. You could tell through watching the players the rest of that season and early into this season that Coach Stevens actions, words and dedication was and is helping to transform this young team.

We cannot overlook the impact that Homie had in the off-season. The signing of Danny Briere and bringing veteran defenders Timonen and Smith to the team also helped. These veteran defensemen are helping to teach the young defensemen of the club: Coyburn, Parent and Sbisa.

Although Smith left for the Sens, we still have a great core working with these young players, in Kimmo, Derian Hatcher (pending his status) and Desjardins, the new development coach (more on him later).

John Stevens was also very humble with the acceptance of this award, giving acknowledgement to his players, the coaching staff and upper management. This shows his leadership and demeanor off the bench, and also gives us a glimpse into how he acts on the bench.

Stevens is a winner, other than his recognition for "Coach of the Year" Coach Stevens is also a champion. He has won four Calder Cup Championships, three while in a uniform and one while wearing a suit behind the bench. Although these are not Stanley Cup Championships, Coach Stevens end-all goal would be to bring Stanley's Cup back to Philadelphia. At least, I sure as hell is hot hope so.

Back to Desjardins.

It only looks good for our Flyers for the next few years. Coach Stevens has prime youth and veteran players. The youth that the Flyers currently have will be educated by the veteran players and a well respected Flyers alumnus.

Desjardins signed on to help develop the young budding NHL ready prospects. Bringing leadership into the development of these players, as Desjardins was one of the Flyers captains of the past, and a true leader of the team during his tenure.

In summation, the supporting cast behind the Flyers will hopefully help the players to continue to grow on and off the ice. I look forward to seeing the development of a team that will become a household name again (at least in Philadelphia). With recent contract extensions in this off-season I expect the Flyers to continue to compete at a championship level.

Bleacher Report - Articles by David Hartman

District V PeeWee Hockey: My All-Time Lineup

The Development of the Young Flyers - Also a Thank You to the Coach