Grocery Shopping, aka Team-Building

[cberg]

There are always options for teams in how they build their teams, and with 32 teams in the league, it turns out many different options for doing so.  Some of those differences come down to market expectations, some to management style, perhaps where the team is in the rebuilding 'cycle', and some to money.  Across the league, I'd say there are several common themes, but also drastic differences, and considering where the Flames are right now, let's look at some of the differences, what the Flames are trying to do, and perhaps even why.  

 

Maybe we could think of it like buying groceries.  There is a need, to feed yourself and your family(hiring enough players to field a team), and there is a budget(in this case with mins and maxes defined externally),  although that can be somewhat flexible because there is also debt, which still has to be paid but puts repayment off till into the future(eg draft picks).  There is also the possibility of increasing the budget by selling off some items you already have(eg trades to increase cap space), by not spending as much on other budgeted items(eg internal salary management), or by raising more money by other means (eg ticket sales).  When you go to the grocery store you have to figure out your shopping list based on what the essentials are, what is available at that moment, plus its price and what your particular needs are, for example, are you buying extra to celebrate something special, ie birthdays or anniversaries, or do you have special recipes, ie health/celebration needs, or an upcoming competition?   In addition, you have to look at the shelf life of the items you buy, and the "Best Before" dates on your purchases.  Finally, it is not just the basics that are required for life, but the quality of food that can add extra energy, strength, and stamina, and help fight off disease to keep everything functioning at a peak rate.  This is a daily to weekly chore that is quite complex and a critical one.

[cberg]

Looking at the Flames, I believe you have to look at their local market as a key contributor to their basic team-building philosophy.  First and foremost, the Flames are a small market team, in a locale with other exceptional options for entertainment dollars, eg the mountains.  I think this drives a lot of their thinking, as they have to stay relevant because if not it is so easy for fans to turn to other options.  In addition, Calgary is a center for corporate offices and big money, perhaps more so than other teams and it is easy to cater to them versus regular fans.  To keep the corporates happy means corporate boxes and keeping the team in the discussion at all times.  I believe that defines the seeming Flames' mantra of "Make the Playoffs, Anything Can Happen".  In other words, Mediocrity IS THE GOAL, though of course it is coached in more favorable terms, like making the playoffs year in, year out... we've got a chance. 

 

Contrast that to Edmonton, similarly a small(er) market team, but without the same level of nearby options, nor for that matter Corporate offices.  Does this drive them to be more fan-based, and demanding of actual success?

 

If you agree that the Flames are "make the playoffs" driven there are certain consequences, like being in the mushy middle and never drafting at the top of the draft board, which has been their history.  If you can't draft at the very top where most of the top players are, you've got to find them in other ways.  Seems to me one of the key ways the Flames do this is to become "Unicorn Hunters", and specifically look for unicorns that other teams tend to pass up or ignore.  If you look back at their history that would include at least these two types of hockey players.  The first, and primary class would be tiny players, those "too small to be pros" or at least bucking the trend in a BIG way.  The Flames have had exceptional success over the years in this regard, drafting several future HOF/exceptional players like Martin St Louis, Mike Vernon, Theoran Fleury, Adam Fox and Johnny Gaudreau.  I'm not sure of any more successful team.  They continue to do this and Dustin Wolf arguably may join that esteemed group in the future.  

 

The second class of players would be what I would call late-developers, guys who were under-the-radar good players early on but grew to become exceptional players with maturity.  Unfortunately, there were many spectacular failures, versus more conventional picks, such as Mason Macdonald (versus Thatcher Demko), and drafting Mark Jankowski and Hunter Smith.  From reports it seems these may have been more from incomplete scouting but still.... 

[Heartbreaker]

I think that another class of player that the Flames have historically done well with is the reclamation project. Players that have a ton of potential, but aren't reaching it on their former team for any number of reasons. To be clear, the Flames lose a lot of these players as well, but a few success stories might include players like Kristian Huselius, Jiri Hudler, Rene Bourque, and even Elias Lindholm. None of these guys are among the elite in the league, but they were all great Flames.

 

This doesn't always work, though—James Neal, Ales Kotalik, I'm looking at you.

 

Love.

[Thebrewcrew]

It's pretty basic, but they have to build through the draft. Every team has to, but even more so when you're a small-market, cold weather team.

 

The draft is the easiest way to acquire elite talent. There is an element of luck involved, but the more picks Conroy can acquire, the better. It's the best path to replacing Lindholm. 

 

The old core of the Flames got close to being a regular playoff team.  They had some really good seasons, it was too bad we didn't get to see that core a few seasons longer. I think the 14/15 season hurt them, it was a fun season, but they overachieved and essentially ended the rebuild. The other was Bennett not panning out. He is a good player, but it's unfortunate when the highest pick in franchise history hits a high of 36pts in his tenure.

[robrob74]

55 minutes ago, Thebrewcrew said:

It's pretty basic, but they have to build through the draft. Every team has to, but even more so when you're a small-market, cold weather team.

 

The draft is the easiest way to acquire elite talent. There is an element of luck involved, but the more picks Conroy can acquire, the better. It's the best path to replacing Lindholm. 

 

The old core of the Flames got close to being a regular playoff team.  They had some really good seasons, it was too bad we didn't get to see that core a few seasons longer. I think the 14/15 season hurt them, it was a fun season, but they overachieved and essentially ended the rebuild. The other was Bennett not panning out. He is a good player, but it's unfortunate when the highest pick in franchise history hits a high of 36pts in his tenure.

For me, the tool ended a few years too early and created holes that were still see are there.

 

Im glad they chose to retool as I wanted them to about 4 years ago because they were in and out every other year and that wasnt  going to get it done with that group 

[sak22]

1 hour ago, Thebrewcrew said:

It's pretty basic, but they have to build through the draft. Every team has to, but even more so when you're a small-market, cold weather team.

 

The draft is the easiest way to acquire elite talent. There is an element of luck involved, but the more picks Conroy can acquire, the better. It's the best path to replacing Lindholm. 

 

The old core of the Flames got close to being a regular playoff team.  They had some really good seasons, it was too bad we didn't get to see that core a few seasons longer. I think the 14/15 season hurt them, it was a fun season, but they overachieved and essentially ended the rebuild. The other was Bennett not panning out. He is a good player, but it's unfortunate when the highest pick in franchise history hits a high of 36pts in his tenure.

I still don't really agree with this, if you look at the peak of the old group in the 2022 season the majority of homegrown players came from the 2015 and 2016 drafts.  I never bought into that 22 year old Dougie Hamilton or Michael Frolik were signals of a shift in the organization.  I think the team failed in getting a top C, but outside that they inability to get stability behind the bench or in goal are IMO the two biggest reasons why the team had the highs and lows (Fox didn't help either).  I don't get the point of alternate universes where the team wasn't good in 2015, sure easy to see the potential of getting McDavid, Marner, Eichel, Rantanen, or Barzal, but the possibilities of Hanifin, Strome, Zacha or Provorov also exist and would've been a negative impact.  And also if Marner can't win in Toronto it is hard to believe he was the missing link for Calgary, or that Barzal would be the #1C we needed when he had his troubles at C in New York and is now a winger.

[robrob74]

1 hour ago, sak22 said:

I still don't really agree with this, if you look at the peak of the old group in the 2022 season the majority of homegrown players came from the 2015 and 2016 drafts.  I never bought into that 22 year old Dougie Hamilton or Michael Frolik were signals of a shift in the organization.  I think the team failed in getting a top C, but outside that they inability to get stability behind the bench or in goal are IMO the two biggest reasons why the team had the highs and lows (Fox didn't help either).  I don't get the point of alternate universes where the team wasn't good in 2015, sure easy to see the potential of getting McDavid, Marner, Eichel, Rantanen, or Barzal, but the possibilities of Hanifin, Strome, Zacha or Provorov also exist and would've been a negative impact.  And also if Marner can't win in Toronto it is hard to believe he was the missing link for Calgary, or that Barzal would be the #1C we needed when he had his troubles at C in New York and is now a winger.

Mine is D & C. It was the inability to shore up true #1 in both those positions.

[jjgallow]

10 hours ago, Thebrewcrew said:

It's pretty basic, but they have to build through the draft. Every team has to, but even more so when you're a small-market, cold weather team.

 

The draft is the easiest way to acquire elite talent. There is an element of luck involved, but the more picks Conroy can acquire, the better. It's the best path to replacing Lindholm. 

 

The old core of the Flames got close to being a regular playoff team.  They had some really good seasons, it was too bad we didn't get to see that core a few seasons longer. I think the 14/15 season hurt them, it was a fun season, but they overachieved and essentially ended the rebuild. The other was Bennett not panning out. He is a good player, but it's unfortunate when the highest pick in franchise history hits a high of 36pts in his tenure.

 

It's good to mix things up.   

[cberg]

On 2/13/2024 at 10:43 AM, Heartbreaker said:

I think that another class of player that the Flames have historically done well with is the reclamation project. Players that have a ton of potential, but aren't reaching it on their former team for any number of reasons. To be clear, the Flames lose a lot of these players as well, but a few success stories might include players like Kristian Huselius, Jiri Hudler, Rene Bourque, and even Elias Lindholm. None of these guys are among the elite in the league, but they were all great Flames.

 

This doesn't always work, though—James Neal, Ales Kotalik, I'm looking at you.

 

Love.

I agree there have been a few reclamation projects, though I don't believe as many, or as significant as, for instance, the Oilers, who seem to be experts at it....

[cberg]

20 hours ago, Thebrewcrew said:

It's pretty basic, but they have to build through the draft. Every team has to, but even more so when you're a small-market, cold weather team.

 

The draft is the easiest way to acquire elite talent. There is an element of luck involved, but the more picks Conroy can acquire, the better. It's the best path to replacing Lindholm. 

 

The old core of the Flames got close to being a regular playoff team.  They had some really good seasons, it was too bad we didn't get to see that core a few seasons longer. I think the 14/15 season hurt them, it was a fun season, but they overachieved and essentially ended the rebuild. The other was Bennett not panning out. He is a good player, but it's unfortunate when the highest pick in franchise history hits a high of 36pts in his tenure.

Agree, the draft is USUALLY the way to do it, but as I stated above, because of the Flames' "playoffs" mantra they rarely get a great top of the draft pick.  Point made, Bennett at 4th overall as our highest pick after over 40 years has got to be one of the worst in the entire NHL.  The ONLY way for the Flames to obtain elite/generational players is by beating the draft via a "diamond in the rough", or an avenue the Flames have succeeded at, a tiny "too small to play" player.  I don't think they can arguably draft a generational player from mid-level picks, though a very, very, very few occasionally are found by other teams.  Even with the current retool, we aren't getting any high picks so the story will be the same.  Hopefully, they will be able to find multiple, high-level NHLers and put together a "hyenas" type squad that can win.  Vegas' success came with at least 2 elite players, Stone and Eichel, both obtained through trade that the Flames were unwilling to pony up for.  It should also be noted that Eichel was only traded because of his unique, medical impasse situation.... 

[cberg]

18 hours ago, sak22 said:

I still don't really agree with this, if you look at the peak of the old group in the 2022 season the majority of homegrown players came from the 2015 and 2016 drafts.  I never bought into that 22 year old Dougie Hamilton or Michael Frolik were signals of a shift in the organization.  I think the team failed in getting a top C, but outside that they inability to get stability behind the bench or in goal are IMO the two biggest reasons why the team had the highs and lows (Fox didn't help either).  I don't get the point of alternate universes where the team wasn't good in 2015, sure easy to see the potential of getting McDavid, Marner, Eichel, Rantanen, or Barzal, but the possibilities of Hanifin, Strome, Zacha or Provorov also exist and would've been a negative impact.  And also if Marner can't win in Toronto it is hard to believe he was the missing link for Calgary, or that Barzal would be the #1C we needed when he had his troubles at C in New York and is now a winger.

Agree with Marner, he has to be a piece of a properly constructed team versus the key himself.  The problem with the Leafs is they are constructed to sell tickets (highlight offense) rather than to win a Stanley Cup, ie focus on goalie and defense first....

[cberg]

On 2/13/2024 at 10:43 AM, Heartbreaker said:

I think that another class of player that the Flames have historically done well with is the reclamation project. Players that have a ton of potential, but aren't reaching it on their former team for any number of reasons. To be clear, the Flames lose a lot of these players as well, but a few success stories might include players like Kristian Huselius, Jiri Hudler, Rene Bourque, and even Elias Lindholm. None of these guys are among the elite in the league, but they were all great Flames.

 

This doesn't always work, though—James Neal, Ales Kotalik, I'm looking at you.

 

 

[cberg]

Assuming the Flames follow through and trade both Tanev and Hanifin, with Kylington a UFA and status unknown, the Flames could be left with just 2 strong D going into the draft.  If they also trade Markstrom the goaltending will also be in flux.  I’m not against it because a major rebuild is needed.

 

Question is should Conroy shift from the multiple bullets trade approach to 1 for 1, looking for a single, higher end piece in return?  I believe 1for1s has been the best success in the past, eg Iginla, Regher and others….

[cberg]

Since it looks like the Flames are going to be worse at least the next 3 drafts, and likely into lottery territory, does anyone know if there any exceptional/ generational prospects coming up in the next three drafts?

[cberg]

Unfortunately, it seems the team’s will has wilted and several players have checked out.  Considering all the media and speculation that is not unexpected.  For the sake of the team hopefully the trades happen asap, or we can expect it to get nasty, especially with the fans.  Now, wouldn’t it just have been easier to take the NYR route so everyone is on the same page?

[cberg]

On 2/13/2024 at 7:03 PM, Thebrewcrew said:

It's pretty basic, but they have to build through the draft. Every team has to, but even more so when you're a small-market, cold weather team.

 

The draft is the easiest way to acquire elite talent. There is an element of luck involved, but the more picks Conroy can acquire, the better. It's the best path to replacing Lindholm. 

 

The old core of the Flames got close to being a regular playoff team.  They had some really good seasons, it was too bad we didn't get to see that core a few seasons longer. I think the 14/15 season hurt them, it was a fun season, but they overachieved and essentially ended the rebuild. The other was Bennett not panning out. He is a good player, but it's unfortunate when the highest pick in franchise history hits a high of 36pts in his tenure.

 

On 2/13/2024 at 7:03 PM, Thebrewcrew said:

It's pretty basic, but they have to build through the draft. Every team has to, but even more so when you're a small-market, cold weather team.

 

The draft is the easiest way to acquire elite talent. There is an element of luck involved, but the more picks Conroy can acquire, the better. It's the best path to replacing Lindholm. 

 

The old core of the Flames got close to being a regular playoff team.  They had some really good seasons, it was too bad we didn't get to see that core a few seasons longer. I think the 14/15 season hurt them, it was a fun season, but they overachieved and essentially ended the rebuild. The other was Bennett not panning out. He is a good player, but it's unfortunate when the highest pick in franchise history hits a high of 36pts in his tenure.

Disagree about the need to draft your high end talent. Look at last year's SC champs, VGK.  Their top two players, Eichel and Stone were both brought in via trades.  Actually the Flames were in on both trades but were unwilling to put together a compelling package to close the deals.  

 

If you look back over the Flames history, and the greatest ever Flames, NONE were drafted by and remained their full careers here.  Iginla, Neiwendyck, Fleury, Regher, Mullen, Roberts, Tkachuk, Macinnis, Vernon, Kiprusoff... all either brought in or traded.  Draft is fine, but NOT the only way to success.

[robrob74]

25 minutes ago, cberg said:

 

Disagree about the need to draft your high end talent. Look at last year's SC champs, VGK.  Their top two players, Eichel and Stone were both brought in via trades.  Actually the Flames were in on both trades but were unwilling to put together a compelling package to close the deals.  

 

If you look back over the Flames history, and the greatest ever Flames, NONE were drafted by and remained their full careers here.  Iginla, Neiwendyck, Fleury, Regher, Mullen, Roberts, Tkachuk, Macinnis, Vernon, Kiprusoff... all either brought in or traded.  Draft is fine, but NOT the only way to success.

Wasn't Niewendyk was drafted in the 2nd round by the Flames, but used the pick they got for Kent Nilsson. 

[Thebrewcrew]

5 hours ago, cberg said:

 

Disagree about the need to draft your high end talent. Look at last year's SC champs, VGK.  Their top two players, Eichel and Stone were both brought in via trades.  Actually the Flames were in on both trades but were unwilling to put together a compelling package to close the deals.  

 

Vegas is very much the exception, not the norm. Calgary could have traded for Stone but that was a pure rental. Eichel would have been nice for sure. I don’t think the Flames would have been much better off though. Doubt he would have been enough to convince Johnny and Tkachuk to stay.

 

The guts of recent champions are acquired via the draft. Look at the teams that have won multiple cups the past decade or so

 

TB- Kucherov, Stamkos, Vasilevskiy, Point, Hedman

CHI- Kane, Toews, Seabrook, Keith, Crawford

LA- Quick, Doughty, Kopitar, Brown

 

PIT- Fleury/Murray, Crosby, Malkin, Letang 

 

5 hours ago, cberg said:

 

If you look back over the Flames history, and the greatest ever Flames, NONE were drafted by and remained their full careers here.  Iginla, Neiwendyck, Fleury, Regher, Mullen, Roberts, Tkachuk, Macinnis, Vernon, Kiprusoff... all either brought in or traded.  Draft is fine, but NOT the only way to success.

Anyway, my point is that Calgary isn’t a sexy market. The Flames are never gonna be able to sign a McDavid or Matthews in free agency. That leaves the draft as the best way to acquire elite talent in this day and age. Trade is also an option but it’s so hard to get the amazing returns these days. Gone are the days where you trade a former high pick like Filip Forsberg for a rental in Martin Erat.

[cberg]

13 hours ago, robrob74 said:

Wasn't Niewendyk was drafted in the 2nd round by the Flames, but used the pick they got for Kent Nilsson. 

Yes, exactly, but he went on to be traded in his prime after 8+ seasons with the Flames, and his first SC, then played 7 full seasons with Dallas, including a second SC, then traded again late in his career and played out his final 3+ seasons with three additional teams.  My point being that star, HOF players are often traded and rarely stay whole careers with a single team.

[cberg]

8 hours ago, Thebrewcrew said:

Vegas is very much the exception, not the norm. Calgary could have traded for Stone but that was a pure rental. Eichel would have been nice for sure. I don’t think the Flames would have been much better off though. Doubt he would have been enough to convince Johnny and Tkachuk to stay.

 

The guts of recent champions are acquired via the draft. Look at the teams that have won multiple cups the past decade or so

 

TB- Kucherov, Stamkos, Vasilevskiy, Point, Hedman

CHI- Kane, Toews, Seabrook, Keith, Crawford

LA- Quick, Doughty, Kopitar, Brown

 

PIT- Fleury/Murray, Crosby, Malkin, Letang 

 

Anyway, my point is that Calgary isn’t a sexy market. The Flames are never gonna be able to sign a McDavid or Matthews in free agency. That leaves the draft as the best way to acquire elite talent in this day and age. Trade is also an option but it’s so hard to get the amazing returns these days. Gone are the days where you trade a former high pick like Filip Forsberg for a rental in Martin Erat.

Sure, Vegas success was somewhat exceptional due to the expansion draft, yet 7/19 of the players you listed were traded while still having plenty of gas left in the tank.  Several more are likely to go (ie: PIT, TBL) in the next several years.  My other point is many of them were top 3 draft picks, and the Flames have NEVER drafted that high in their existence.  Because the Flames have a philosophy and location almost guaranteeing that will continue, the ONLY way, outside of a lottery win, to get TOP draft picks is via trades.

 

Finally, everyone seems focussed on elite, no, generational players as essential to a win.  Neither Mathews nor McDavid have won anything, literally, unless you consider going to the final 4 and getting steam-rolled "success".  Ironically, "second best" Eichel got a SC before McCrybaby... The KEY element to hockey success is a great TEAM, not a generational player, and in fact a generational player is somewhat a detriment to achieving a great team because almost all of them are unwilling to sacrifice personal success, like personal trophies(scoring stats) and money, in league-leading contracts.  The example of the Washington Capitols, and Ovechkin, is case in point.  Ovechkin was annually a superstar scorer, but only when he started playing a complete game did the Caps ever win.  I'd take 2-3 HOF superstars over a generational player most days, and a fully functioning, solid TEAM over both every day, especially in hockey where that is essential.

[Thebrewcrew]

1 hour ago, cberg said:

Sure, Vegas success was somewhat exceptional due to the expansion draft, yet 7/19 of the players you listed were traded while still having plenty of gas left in the tank.  Several more are likely to go (ie: PIT, TBL) in the next several years.  My other point is many of them were top 3 draft picks, and the Flames have NEVER drafted that high in their existence.  Because the Flames have a philosophy and location almost guaranteeing that will continue, the ONLY way, outside of a lottery win, to get TOP draft picks is via trades.

 

 

My question to you would be, how are the Flames going to trade for these top draft picks or players?

[cross16]

19 hours ago, cberg said:

 

Disagree about the need to draft your high end talent. Look at last year's SC champs, VGK.  Their top two players, Eichel and Stone were both brought in via trades.  Actually the Flames were in on both trades but were unwilling to put together a compelling package to close the deals.  

 

If you look back over the Flames history, and the greatest ever Flames, NONE were drafted by and remained their full careers here.  Iginla, Neiwendyck, Fleury, Regher, Mullen, Roberts, Tkachuk, Macinnis, Vernon, Kiprusoff... all either brought in or traded.  Draft is fine, but NOT the only way to success.

 

 

They were very wiling, they just didn't have the best package in the deal. 

 

In the case of Mark Stone, he was only willing to sign a contract with Vegas so all other teams were rentals. Flames weren't willing to include Valimaki for a rental but Vegas was willing to do Brennstrom (who they drafted BTW) to make the deal because they knew they were getting him long term. Stone wanted to play for Kelly Mcrimmon again. 

When it came to Eichel I think the Flames actually had the better package because I have heard they offered Tkachuk. It made Vegas part with Tuch and that's who the Sabres really wanted. Vegas was extremely lucky to get a player like Tuch in the expansion draft. 

 

So sure you can trade for the players but it relies on factors that can be outside your control, namely luck. Also if you don't draft well you won't have the assets necessary to make these deals. 

 

So really it comes down to the need to draft high end talent because if you are relying on trades to do that, well good luck. 

[cberg]

8 hours ago, Thebrewcrew said:

My question to you would be, how are the Flames going to trade for these top draft picks or players?

First would be the most likely way, trading a young, high value asset to a team on the decline with still-valuable vet stars.  These could potentially be Pittsburg and/or TBL.  Each have very valuable assets but their teams definitely are in need of a major reset, soon.  How much would a Brayden Point, Hedman, Kopitar or Crosby cost, assuming 3-5 more good years from each?  

 

Second way would giving up our high value vets for non-protected top5-6 1st round picks?  Would we be willing to give up a slowing Anderson, or perhaps Weegar?  They are top guys I'd want to keep, but if you had a high chance of picking up a young Hedman-like D would it be worth it, especially since your target "success" date is 3-4 years down the road?  Ottawa and Arizona come to mind as potential trade partners.

[cberg]

4 hours ago, cross16 said:

 

 

They were very wiling, they just didn't have the best package in the deal. 

 

In the case of Mark Stone, he was only willing to sign a contract with Vegas so all other teams were rentals. Flames weren't willing to include Valimaki for a rental but Vegas was willing to do Brennstrom (who they drafted BTW) to make the deal because they knew they were getting him long term. Stone wanted to play for Kelly Mcrimmon again. 

When it came to Eichel I think the Flames actually had the better package because I have heard they offered Tkachuk. It made Vegas part with Tuch and that's who the Sabres really wanted. Vegas was extremely lucky to get a player like Tuch in the expansion draft. 

 

So sure you can trade for the players but it relies on factors that can be outside your control, namely luck. Also if you don't draft well you won't have the assets necessary to make these deals. 

 

So really it comes down to the need to draft high end talent because if you are relying on trades to do that, well good luck. 

I wasn't aware that Eichel was only re-signing with Vegas, at least at the time.

 

I agree there is a lot of luck in hockey, both on the ice as well as drafting and trades.  I recall the Flames were super-excited to have drafted the Minnesota Mister Hockey, #16 overall in 1986.  Unfortunately he was killed in a car wreck in August after the draft.  A big part of the fan inside of me died that August... I always pictured him as a late-developing, American version of Eric Lindros.  We will never know.  Here is his story:

 

by Austin Monteith

"BEMIDJI, Minn. -- His name is nearly as legendary in Bemidji as Paul Bunyan, and his stature nearly as great. George Pelawa is synonymous with Lumberjack hockey. 

The towering 6-foot-3, 240-pound right winger possessed the physicality of an ox, but with the scoring touch of a gentle giant. 

"He was unbelievably fast and powerful," said linemate Jason Meyer. "He could play fullback on the football team, but he was actually tailback. He could either plow up the middle or he could outrun you along the side. He was just an unbelievable natural athlete." 

The Bemidji High School star propelled the Lumberjacks to consecutive state hockey tournament appearances in 1985 and 1986. Despite recording only nine points -- all assists --  in his sophomore season, his teammates could see the potential. 

"He was pretty darn good as a sophomore but just didn't score a goal," Meyer said. "But by the junior year, now he was growing into his frame."

 

Pelawa exploded onto the scene his junior season, tallying 26 goals and 11 assists for 37 points. He achieved those numbers while not even playing on the team's top two lines. 

"Our junior year we were actually the third line because the first two centers were seniors," said Meyer, the center on Pelawa's line. "But we started against the other team's first line almost every game just because we could hold our own. If we could play even, or even outscore the first line, our other two lines would dominate their other two lines. That was partly because of how dominant George was, physically and speed and skill wise." 

By his senior year, Pelawa had firmly established himself as one of the top players in the state. Pelawa became the program's sole Minnesota Mr. Hockey winner in 1985-86, racking up 29 goals and 25 assists for 54 points, breaking the program's single-season scoring record that had previously been held by Gary Sargent. 

 

 

The Bemidji Lumberjacks celebrate with their fans after winning the 1986 Region 8 championship. File Photo

Considering how imposing a figure Pelawa was to opponents, his game included more than just a hard shot. 

"You didn't really want to get on his bad side because he could make you pay, but he just wasn't that kind of guy," Meyer said. "He was just a great guy. On the ice you didn't want cross him because that where he'd really make you pay." 

Pelawa had suitors from three sports seeking his services: Notre Dame, Minnesota and Penn State recruited the all-state linebacker for football. 

On the baseball diamond, Pelawa played first base and led the Bemidji American Legion team to the state tournament in 1985, which garnered interest from the Minnesota Twins. 

But hockey was his sport of choice. 

 

The Gophers also wanted Pelawa to play hockey, though he ultimately committed to North Dakota. 

Not long after, the Calgary Flames drafted Pelawa with the No. 16 overall pick in the first round of the 1986 NHL draft. No Minnesota-born forward had ever been picked as high. 

Tragically, hockey fans will never know how his burgeoning career could have played out. Pelawa was killed in an car accident Aug. 30, 1986, just north of Bemidji. 

More than 32 years later, those who played with Pelawa will never forget Bemidji's Mr. Hockey. 

"He was always smiling and laughing," said former teammate Rob Aitken. "He certainly would have everybody's back, both on the ice and off the ice."

[cberg]

As more and more teams seem to be slipping away from realistic playoff hopes and opening up new trade-eligible players, eg: Pittsburg, Arizona, NJD... and contenders incur serious injuries in key players, eg: FP, TBL, VGK and come to realize their chances are significantly less than they were thinking, I get the feeling there is a change underway from a seller's market to a buyers market.  With only 10 days till the deadline, prices are going to have to come down lest sellers be left holding the bag, aka untraded and unsigned UFAs at the deadline.