Media s29 West Central - post bidding review

As promised to my follow up of my pre-bidding management/assets post. These will mimic my other post putting teams into three “tiers”: playoff bound, playoff contenders, bottom feeders. As per usual I’ll try my best to stay as unbiased as possible.

West Central​

Playoff bound:​

Manitoba Moose: No surprise here folks, @rG Breezyy and @Lorenzo x 24 get to playoffs, it’s what they do. I’ve played with a lot of the guys on this roster and I’ll be interested to see how the final lines shape up. No matter how they do lines, they will have a very strong 1-2punch that will essentially be two 1st lines. There is high praise and hopes for the 8M man, PSN LA Kings GM @Kev_F88 , as I believe he was a strong recommendation by former AHL management stud @Im4thLineWorthy . This roster has some solid NHL veteran presence in @Torball99 , @TheRunningChief , and Kev. While they did splash on Kev, they managed to steal RunningChief for 500k. This could be partially due to the fact he played defense in the NHL, but it should be noted he’s recently had two solid seasons in the AHL as a RW. Though it’s looking like @Saucin Pucks will once again move off LW and into C for the season, I’ve been hearing great things about their draft pick, @Arctic Blur. It is possible he will come up and keep Saucin on the LW which would have their LW absolutely stacked: Lozo, Kev, Saucin. Which would leave out @Soxfan7744 unless he moves to the RW. The more I look at this roster, the scarier this offense looks, they just have so many options. Their defense is no slouch either, only one question mark in the rookie @Ekachi , but should have no problem with the help of a solid proven defensive core. Last but not least, they bring in a solid goalie tandem in @Z3R0CR45H and their old s25 Wheat Kings goalie @Anndroo . All in all, this is easily the best team top to bottom that Breezy and Lorenzo have been on in the last two seasons and they’ve been in the Calder twice. This could finally be their season.

Cleveland Monsters: The Gulls.. Sorry, the Monsters* look to repeat their solid s28 with an even better roster than last years. I believe @LukeForceWalker had a total of 4 or 5 players to bid on, which means nothing but good things for these guys because chemistry, chemistry, chemistry. They got rid of a free goalie contract and instead replaced it with @RemmyDarko who looks to build on his impressive start to his AHL career after a brief s28 hiatus. They put down 2.75M split between @Darcy Kuemper and @PitcheRxSwaGx between the pipes which will likely be one of the strongest goalie tandems in the league. And lastly picked up @iAm Timbo Slice and @MAGNABALL to build onto of their already proven solid defensive core. This in my opinion is top 2 defensive cores in the AHL for s29. The only slight problem is their lack of LW’s, with only Luke signed up as one, but I don’t see it hurting them in their bid for a playoff spot. So to recap, I think these guys have potentially the top goalie tandem, top defensive core, and a potent offense that’s familiar with themselves… I guess these guys have earned the name change to Monsters. I can’t wait to see these guys fight it out with Manitoba for the top spot in the Central.

Iowa Wild: In all honesty, I am not convinced these guys are playoff bound in any other division, but they benefit from the fact that the Central is a little weak. While I don’t know many of the names on this roster, it seems @Und3rsh0tkid87 and @l Murray x 30 l have opted for a heavy veteran presence on this squad. 4 out 9 forwards and 3 out of 6 defenders have at least one season in the NHL if not more. They will need one of their RW’s to switch over to LW this season, which hopefully won’t cause them any problems. They do seem to have a decent RW group in @lDatsyuk x l13l , @Some fat gezer , and Undershot. I’ll be interested to see how they make out down the middle as they have @Rapier x 11 who seems decent, @DADDYRIDESBIKE who is changing from defense to C, and lastly @TOMFTW88 coming up from the CHL. Their defense should be OK, they will at the very least be very balanced as they seem stronger on the left than right. Oh, and Murray in net, he’s a good goalie.

Playoff contenders: ​

Rockford Icehogs: Though his brief stint of NHL management for Vatty and the Ducks will likely go down as a nightmare for him, @Air Raiders has decided to move up once more after a successful CHL management campaign in s28. Another popular “RIP” location in the chatbox, I think this team will surprise a few people this season if they can properly use their resources. Speculation has @NeNe being called up, and apparently Rockford will be receiving two solid defenders as well as a 3rd line ready NHL forward. I was also told they will have access to six s30 picks to use however they please, whether it be use them for next season, or trade them away for useful tools this season. In any case, even with all this at their disposal, they will need to see some good seasons out of a few guys who I’ve seen being called “good” in the CHL chatbox. Time for those guys to prove themselves, I am looking at you @Marr570 and @I Henrique 14 I . Their defense has the potential to surprise people, I think with the defenders apparently being sent down and NeNe going up, they will shape up quite nicely. Both @Marchand x l63l and @Westerhof x88x have seen a fair amount of games in the NHL and hopefully will be able to help stabilize their blue line to help out @Payner and @FriskyBeaverr in goal. If they can skate by the first couple weeks till they get their roster figured out, these guys should make playoffs in this division.

Colorado Eagles: The Eagles get the nod for the “I think they could be playoff bound with a couple roster moves”; for example @x Jonny 97x without Kelly. Never a fan of the free goalie contract, but regardless they have a solid goalie tandem in @AG Tomza and @DOLPHWEEEEEEEEN . Their defense will rely heavily on @Caminator66 who is down for a conditioning stint, alongside a few of these guys who will have to prove they can be 1st/2nd line defenders in the AHL. I am looking at @AintGetinNoRepZ as a favorite to take on some of that responsibility. This is another example of a team who has a few good pieces and are a couple trades away from being a bit more solid, the only problem being they only have 500k in cap left. They did manage to get a PSN Stanley cup champ in @Furdayzbuddy at only 2.25M which they tried to sign to a 3-year deal (signed 2-year). Don’t know much about PSN folks but he has the potential of being a sleeper pick. My last thoughts on this team is if they somehow manage to get @Gilbzey on the team, we could be seeing this team in the playoffs for this division easily. Had to be mentioned considering they are cousins, I am sure @This Guy l 27 l has likely approached him already.

Milwaukee Admirals: @SenSei Dropshot tries his shot at management in the AHL in hopes to echo his success from the CHL management days. I had him pegged as checked out last season, which he admitted, but he seems more interested this season already which is good news for these Admirals. IMO he made a questionable trade pre-season, but he did receive a good player in return in @ROMAN95 . I played with this guy during my short stay in Laval last season and he seemed like an all-around smart player. I’d gladly rock this guy on my LW in the AHL. @adrenaline15 comes back after his break during s28, arguably this guy should have moved up that season so it will be interesting to see how he pans out now that he’s returned. I almost put this team in the bottom feeders, but I think they can put together a pretty good 1st line, maybe 2 lines depending on how they spread the talent. @POTU5 is a solid tendy and should have a decent defensive in front of him. Not sure how deep their defense is, but only time will tell.

Bottom Feeders: ​

Grand Rapids Griffins: They acquired a good goalie in @Yantzer x 84 , which should be fairly well protected behind this Griffins defense. Hard to make an opinion on @JD l23l but I am assuming he’s decent considering he’s on a 2 season. The decent here looks pretty good. They do have a few question marks back there such as @MayerTopKat100 switching to defense? But he’s a smart player and should be alright as the rest of them have a fair bit of experience. @carl0419 getting paid at 5.75M, seems a little steep so hopefully he can live up to the contract. Their forward core has players who seem to have had some hot and cold seasons. If say @Billsmafia1186 could repeat s27 and go 21-5-2, and @J4YGE can pick up where he left off last season with his 14 GP – 48pts, it could go a long way into a playoff bid. In conclusion, I think a couple trades or having some players step up could get @jdj71 and the boys in talks about playoffs.

Chicago Wolves: The 500k army. To everyone’s disbelief, @ll 7th ll managed to not win a single bid for nearly 24hours. Bold move. What they were left with is 5/9 FWD’s on 500k contracts. In reality, this could be a good thing if some of these guys turn out to be gems. They also paid @Dr Nylander , a PSN memorial cup winner the big bucks at 5.25M, he will need to carry over his success to Xbox AHL if Chicago looks to be a contender as I think this FWD core is questionable. I have never seen any of them play, and their stats aren’t great; but I am a firm believer that it doesn’t necessarily mean they are bad. If a couple of them can click, you never know! This team is that they are pretty decent on the blue line and in the crease, which should help them figure it out the first couple weeks.

Good luck to all teams in the West Central​

 

I was working all night, leave me alone

 

Always fun to read you’re stuff fox, well done.

 

The more i’m mentioned, the more I like , great writeup buddy

 

Even after the first 24 hrs, Chicago has one of if not the best D core in the AHL. In front of two good goalies, they'll have no problems keeping the puck out of their own net. They'll definitely be a force.

 

ya but we work together so that doesnt help, its not like I missed any bids since I started at 7:30 am anyway

 

I am bad, but at least @i BeLeaf x is semi decent I guess

 

Great write up

 

Y'all are sleeping on @Flash x 91 and @DSA Caron18

 

@Marr570 is nothing without @Admiralcrap carrying him

 

I suck

 

The monsters have schizo so that potent offense takes a big hit

 

lol

 

Here to collect @MetalGhost0 and @l Murray x 30 l for my backpack

 

I can't wait until I actually get mentioned in something.... till that day I will enjoy reading your articles Fox!