Below The Ice
  • Home
  • AJHL
    • All Bonnyville Pontiacs Brooks Bandits Calgary Canucks Camrose Kodiaks Canmore Eagles Drayton Valley Thunder Drumheller Dragons Fort McMurray Oil Barons Grande Prairie Storm Lloydminster Bobcats Olds Grizzlys Sherwood Park Crusaders Spruce Grove Saints Whitecourt Wolverines
      AJHL

      Spruce Grove get the better of Sherwood Park on opening weekend

      September 19, 2021

      AJHL

      Inside The Cru – May 27 – Feat. Kevin Love & Spencer Love

      May 27, 2021

      AJHL

      Inside The Cru – May 19 – Feat. Zafir Rawji

      May 19, 2021

      AJHL

      Inside The Cru – May 12 – Feat. Jeff Woywitka

      May 12, 2021

      Bonnyville Pontiacs

      The Kash Rasmussen Story

      March 2, 2021

      Bonnyville Pontiacs

      Yaks Yap: Pontiacs Split Opening Weekend In Grande Prairie

      November 19, 2020

      Bonnyville Pontiacs

      The AJHL Report: July 22, 2020

      July 23, 2020

      Bonnyville Pontiacs

      Seven AJHLers Taken In NAHL Draft

      July 22, 2020

      Brooks Bandits

      Seven AJHLers Taken In NAHL Draft

      July 22, 2020

      Brooks Bandits

      The AJHL Report: July 21, 2020

      July 22, 2020

      Brooks Bandits

      The AJHL Report: Weekly Wrap

      July 20, 2020

      Brooks Bandits

      The AJHL Report: July 15, 2020

      July 16, 2020

      Calgary Canucks

      The AJHL Report: July 22, 2020

      July 23, 2020

      Calgary Canucks

      The AJHL Report: Weekly Wrap

      July 20, 2020

      Calgary Canucks

      The AJHL Report: July 15, 2020

      July 16, 2020

      Calgary Canucks

      The AJHL Report: July 6, 2020

      July 7, 2020

      Camrose Kodiaks

      The AJHL Report: August 3, 2020

      August 4, 2020

      Canmore Eagles

      Dylan Witzke: From South to North

      April 15, 2021

      Canmore Eagles

      Young selected by San Jose Sharks in 2020 NHL Draft

      October 15, 2020

      Canmore Eagles

      The AJHL Report: July 20, 2020

      July 21, 2020

      Drayton Valley Thunder

      Cru Wrap – Game 4 vs Drayton Valley

      November 22, 2020

      Drayton Valley Thunder

      The AJHL Report: July 22, 2020

      July 23, 2020

      Drumheller Dragons

      The AJHL Report: August 3, 2020

      August 4, 2020

      Drumheller Dragons

      The AJHL Report: Weekly Wrap

      July 20, 2020

      Fort McMurray Oil Barons

      The AJHL Report: July 20, 2020

      July 21, 2020

      Fort McMurray Oil Barons

      The AJHL Watchlist: Michael Hodge

      July 13, 2020

      Fort McMurray Oil Barons

      The AJHL Report: July 9, 2020

      July 10, 2020

      Grande Prairie Storm

      Seven AJHLers Taken In NAHL Draft

      July 22, 2020

      Grande Prairie Storm

      The AJHL Report: July 21, 2020

      July 22, 2020

      Lloydminster Bobcats

      Seven AJHLers Taken In NAHL Draft

      July 22, 2020

      Lloydminster Bobcats

      The AJHL Report: July 21, 2020

      July 22, 2020

      Lloydminster Bobcats

      The AJHL Report: Weekly Wrap

      July 20, 2020

      Lloydminster Bobcats

      The AJHL Report: July 14, 2020

      July 15, 2020

      Olds Grizzlys

      The AJHL Report: August 3, 2020

      August 4, 2020

      Sherwood Park Crusaders

      Spruce Grove get the better of Sherwood Park on opening weekend

      September 19, 2021

      Sherwood Park Crusaders

      Inside The Cru – May 27 – Feat. Kevin Love & Spencer Love

      May 27, 2021

      Sherwood Park Crusaders

      Inside The Cru – May 19 – Feat. Zafir Rawji

      May 19, 2021

      Sherwood Park Crusaders

      Inside The Cru – May 12 – Feat. Jeff Woywitka

      May 12, 2021

      Spruce Grove Saints

      Cru Wrap – Game Two vs Spruce Grove

      November 15, 2020

      Spruce Grove Saints

      Seven AJHLers Taken In NAHL Draft

      July 22, 2020

      Spruce Grove Saints

      The AJHL Report: July 21, 2020

      July 22, 2020

      Spruce Grove Saints

      The AJHL Report: Weekly Wrap

      July 20, 2020

      Whitecourt Wolverines

      Dylan Witzke: From South to North

      April 15, 2021

      Whitecourt Wolverines

      The AJHL Report: July 23, 2020

      July 24, 2020

      Whitecourt Wolverines

      The AJHL Report: July 22, 2020

      July 23, 2020

      Whitecourt Wolverines

      The AJHL Report: July 21, 2020

      July 22, 2020

  • WHL
    • WHL

      Oil Kings Move Prospect To Silvertips

      August 5, 2020

      WHL

      Oil Kings Go Big In CHL Import Draft

      July 1, 2020

      WHL

      Dylan Guenther: The Journey From First Overall at WHL Draft to Offensive Star For The Oil Kings

      June 18, 2020

      WHL

      Welcoming The Unofficial Regina Pats Podcats

      June 11, 2020

      WHL

      EOK | Rockies Road Trip

      November 30, 2019

  • Crusaders
    • Crusaders

      Inside The Cru – November 25 – Feat. Matt Shatsky

      November 25, 2020

      Crusaders

      Mueller Named To NHL Central Scouting Watch List

      October 27, 2020

      Crusaders

      Inside The Cru – October 5 – Feat. Michael Benning & Carter Savoie

      October 6, 2020

      Crusaders

      Inside The Cru – July 8 – Feat. Kevin Love

      July 9, 2020

      Crusaders

      Hughes Ready For Crusaders Jump

      June 26, 2020

  • Shows
  • Join Our Team
  • Target Photography

Below The Ice

Banner
  • Home
  • AJHL
    • All Bonnyville Pontiacs Brooks Bandits Calgary Canucks Camrose Kodiaks Canmore Eagles Drayton Valley Thunder Drumheller Dragons Fort McMurray Oil Barons Grande Prairie Storm Lloydminster Bobcats Olds Grizzlys Sherwood Park Crusaders Spruce Grove Saints Whitecourt Wolverines
      AJHL

      Spruce Grove get the better of Sherwood Park on opening weekend

      September 19, 2021

      AJHL

      Inside The Cru – May 27 – Feat. Kevin Love & Spencer Love

      May 27, 2021

      AJHL

      Inside The Cru – May 19 – Feat. Zafir Rawji

      May 19, 2021

      AJHL

      Inside The Cru – May 12 – Feat. Jeff Woywitka

      May 12, 2021

      Bonnyville Pontiacs

      The Kash Rasmussen Story

      March 2, 2021

      Bonnyville Pontiacs

      Yaks Yap: Pontiacs Split Opening Weekend In Grande Prairie

      November 19, 2020

      Bonnyville Pontiacs

      The AJHL Report: July 22, 2020

      July 23, 2020

      Bonnyville Pontiacs

      Seven AJHLers Taken In NAHL Draft

      July 22, 2020

      Brooks Bandits

      Seven AJHLers Taken In NAHL Draft

      July 22, 2020

      Brooks Bandits

      The AJHL Report: July 21, 2020

      July 22, 2020

      Brooks Bandits

      The AJHL Report: Weekly Wrap

      July 20, 2020

      Brooks Bandits

      The AJHL Report: July 15, 2020

      July 16, 2020

      Calgary Canucks

      The AJHL Report: July 22, 2020

      July 23, 2020

      Calgary Canucks

      The AJHL Report: Weekly Wrap

      July 20, 2020

      Calgary Canucks

      The AJHL Report: July 15, 2020

      July 16, 2020

      Calgary Canucks

      The AJHL Report: July 6, 2020

      July 7, 2020

      Camrose Kodiaks

      The AJHL Report: August 3, 2020

      August 4, 2020

      Canmore Eagles

      Dylan Witzke: From South to North

      April 15, 2021

      Canmore Eagles

      Young selected by San Jose Sharks in 2020 NHL Draft

      October 15, 2020

      Canmore Eagles

      The AJHL Report: July 20, 2020

      July 21, 2020

      Drayton Valley Thunder

      Cru Wrap – Game 4 vs Drayton Valley

      November 22, 2020

      Drayton Valley Thunder

      The AJHL Report: July 22, 2020

      July 23, 2020

      Drumheller Dragons

      The AJHL Report: August 3, 2020

      August 4, 2020

      Drumheller Dragons

      The AJHL Report: Weekly Wrap

      July 20, 2020

      Fort McMurray Oil Barons

      The AJHL Report: July 20, 2020

      July 21, 2020

      Fort McMurray Oil Barons

      The AJHL Watchlist: Michael Hodge

      July 13, 2020

      Fort McMurray Oil Barons

      The AJHL Report: July 9, 2020

      July 10, 2020

      Grande Prairie Storm

      Seven AJHLers Taken In NAHL Draft

      July 22, 2020

      Grande Prairie Storm

      The AJHL Report: July 21, 2020

      July 22, 2020

      Lloydminster Bobcats

      Seven AJHLers Taken In NAHL Draft

      July 22, 2020

      Lloydminster Bobcats

      The AJHL Report: July 21, 2020

      July 22, 2020

      Lloydminster Bobcats

      The AJHL Report: Weekly Wrap

      July 20, 2020

      Lloydminster Bobcats

      The AJHL Report: July 14, 2020

      July 15, 2020

      Olds Grizzlys

      The AJHL Report: August 3, 2020

      August 4, 2020

      Sherwood Park Crusaders

      Spruce Grove get the better of Sherwood Park on opening weekend

      September 19, 2021

      Sherwood Park Crusaders

      Inside The Cru – May 27 – Feat. Kevin Love & Spencer Love

      May 27, 2021

      Sherwood Park Crusaders

      Inside The Cru – May 19 – Feat. Zafir Rawji

      May 19, 2021

      Sherwood Park Crusaders

      Inside The Cru – May 12 – Feat. Jeff Woywitka

      May 12, 2021

      Spruce Grove Saints

      Cru Wrap – Game Two vs Spruce Grove

      November 15, 2020

      Spruce Grove Saints

      Seven AJHLers Taken In NAHL Draft

      July 22, 2020

      Spruce Grove Saints

      The AJHL Report: July 21, 2020

      July 22, 2020

      Spruce Grove Saints

      The AJHL Report: Weekly Wrap

      July 20, 2020

      Whitecourt Wolverines

      Dylan Witzke: From South to North

      April 15, 2021

      Whitecourt Wolverines

      The AJHL Report: July 23, 2020

      July 24, 2020

      Whitecourt Wolverines

      The AJHL Report: July 22, 2020

      July 23, 2020

      Whitecourt Wolverines

      The AJHL Report: July 21, 2020

      July 22, 2020

  • WHL
    • WHL

      Oil Kings Move Prospect To Silvertips

      August 5, 2020

      WHL

      Oil Kings Go Big In CHL Import Draft

      July 1, 2020

      WHL

      Dylan Guenther: The Journey From First Overall at WHL Draft to Offensive Star For The Oil Kings

      June 18, 2020

      WHL

      Welcoming The Unofficial Regina Pats Podcats

      June 11, 2020

      WHL

      EOK | Rockies Road Trip

      November 30, 2019

  • Crusaders
    • Crusaders

      Inside The Cru – November 25 – Feat. Matt Shatsky

      November 25, 2020

      Crusaders

      Mueller Named To NHL Central Scouting Watch List

      October 27, 2020

      Crusaders

      Inside The Cru – October 5 – Feat. Michael Benning & Carter Savoie

      October 6, 2020

      Crusaders

      Inside The Cru – July 8 – Feat. Kevin Love

      July 9, 2020

      Crusaders

      Hughes Ready For Crusaders Jump

      June 26, 2020

  • Shows
  • Join Our Team
  • Target Photography
FeaturedNHL

Sustaining a Winner

written by Tyler Yaremchuk March 9, 2016

(photo via forbes.com)

This time of year the obsession is always based around deadline pickups, but after taking a look at the last 6 Stanley Cup Champions, and comparing the rosters of those who repeated, it became even more evident than before that you can’t rely on free agents, deadline pickups and outside help if you want to get on top, and stay there.

With the modern salary cap and the economy in the state it’s currently in, there needs to be a solid base of home grown talent so when key pieces are let go, they can simply be replenished at a fraction of the cost.

Take the Chicago Blackhawks of this year, with so much money tied up in their core (Keith, Kane, Toews, Seabrook, Crawford, Hossa) they really had no other choice then to fill the rest of their lineup with homegrown talent like Teravainen, Panarin, Shaw and Van Riemsdyk.

Stan Bowman deserves most of the credit, for developing a system that hasn’t really been matched by any other franchise, except for maybe the LA Kings.

Here’s my breakdown of the year by year Stanley Cup Winners and what hindered (or allowed them) to be repeat champions.

NOTE: A regular is defined as having played a strong majority of the team’s playoff games, generally more than 15.

2009/2010 Chicago Blackhawks

20 Regulars on Playoff Roster

Drafted In Round 1/2 Drafted After Round 2
Toews Niemi (undrafted)
Kane Byfuglien (245th/2003)
Keith Hjalmarsson (108/2005)
Bolland Brouwer (214/2004)
Seabrook Burish (282/2002)
Bickell Hendry (undrafted)

Out of their 20 regulars players during this run, a stunning 12 players were homegrown, with 6 of them coming outside of the second round of the draft. Another interesting aspect to this is noting what year those players, who were mostly all crucial to the cup win, we’re drafted in and the development curve this took. But that’s a conversation for another day.

This team was the best modern example of how to build a team in a cap world. In the offseason they saw a lot of these key players leave, but they rebounded by using a similar philosophy.

2012/2013 Chicago Blackhawks

19 Regulars

Drafted In Round 1/2 Drafted After Round 2
Toews Hjalmarsson (108/2005)
Kane Shaw* (139/2011)
Keith Kruger* (149/2009)
Seabrook
Bickell
Crawford*
Bolland*
Saad*

11 out of their 19 regulars were homegrown talent. Names like Niemi, Brouwer, Byfuglien, Burish and Ladd were replaced by Chicago drafted players like Crawford, Bolland, Saad, Shaw and Kruger. They had a deep enough system where they could let those guys go and return to glory within a few short years. Nothing short of outstanding.

2014/2015 Chicago Blackhawks

Drafted In Round 1/2 Drafted After Round 2
Toews Hjalmarsson (108/2005)
Kane Shaw (139/2011)
Keith Kruger(149/2009)
Seabrook
Bickell
Crawford
Saad
Teravainen*

While building the second championship winning team, the most astonishing feat was how Stan Bowman and the rest of the organization could replenish the talent pool. This year, although they did add Teravainen, it was amazing how they could retain everybody.

Throughout their three Cup championships, they managed to fight off the cap by not constantly bringing in outside help, but instead building through their own system, especially with value picks late in the draft like Kruger, Shaw and Hjalmarsson.

The LA Kings are the next team I looked at who ran a system very similar to that other Hawks in that they used a heavy amount of homegrown talent.

2011/2012 LA Kings

18 Regulars 

Drafted in 1st or 2nd Round: Kopitar, Doughty, Brown, Voynov,  Lewis

Drafted After the 2nd Round: King (109th in 2007), Martinez (95th in 2007), Quick (72nd in 2005), Nolan (186th in 2009)

They ran with 11 homegrown talents, similar to Chicago in their last two wins. The Kings were able to stay under the cap and competitive by using the bargain deals they had with players like Jordan Nolan, Dwight King and Alec Martinez to fill out the bottom of their line-up.

For their second run, when they lost production from Mike Richards and didn’t have Dustin Penner, they replaced those players with in-house, homegrown talents like Tanner Pearson and Tyler Toffoli. It was key contributions from those bargain type players and some breakout runs from guys like Alec Martinez that allowed them to improved with some outside help because they had that cap space.

2013/2014 LA Kings

Drafted in 1st or 2nd Round: Kopitar, Doughty, Brown, Toffoli, Pearson, Voynov, Clifford, Lewis

Drafted After the 2nd Round: King (109th in 2007), Martinez (95th in 2007), Quick (72nd in 2005)

It’s clear to see what worked for the two teams that have repeat championships. There was a clear system that worked. So why didn’t the Boston Bruins do that?

 

2010/2011 Boston Bruins

Drafted in 1st or 2nd Round: Bergeron, Seguin

Drafted After the 2nd Round:  Krejci (63rd in 2009), Marchand (71st in 2006), Lucic (50th in 2006)

The Bruins got close to winning multiple Cups. Very close. But just by looking at their rosters it’s clear to see what their fatal flaw was. When they won this championship they did it with outside veterans like Ryder, Recchi and Kaberle. When those names were gone they didn’t have anyone waiting in the wings to take over from them.

They almost did the opposite of what they should have when they dealt Seguin to Dallas for a dismal return. The Lucic trade was more in line with getting a stronger base for the future and it finally looks like they have some names ready to take over for the Chara’s Krejci’s and Bergeron’s of this team.

Guys like Pastrnak, Spooner, Randell, Morrow and Krug appear ready to take the torch and the Bruins needed the wake-up of not making the playoffs to catch on with how teams are built, and how they have to be built in todays NHL.

Sustaining a Winner was last modified: March 10th, 2017 by Tyler Yaremchuk
Boston BruinsChicago BlackhawksLA Kings
0 comment
0
Facebook Twitter Google + Pinterest
Tyler Yaremchuk

You can hear Tyler on TSN 1260 every day from 10am-12pm when he produces The Lowdown with Lowetide. If you want to read more, you can also find him on Oilersnation.

next post
TMT Sports MARCH 8th

You may also like

The NHL’s Top 20 Defensemen

August 14, 2018

Cru Wrap: October 24 vs Drayton Valley

October 25, 2018

Inside The Cru – March 1

March 1, 2018

The Friday Three’s: Coaching Edition

November 22, 2018

Inside The Cru: Adam Manah

March 30, 2017

Mr. 200

December 14, 2016

Cru Wrap: December 4th vs Brooks

December 5, 2016

The AJHL Report: June 4th, 2020

June 5, 2020

The Case for Alex Galchenyuk

March 11, 2016

Three Things to Watch – The West

September 10, 2019

About Below The Ice

Below The Ice is Alberta's #1 source for Junior Hockey news, reports, podcasts & opinions! With exclusive interviews, breaking news, and regular game recaps, no one covers Junior Hockey like BTI!

Latest Tweets

  • The season four finale of Inside The Cru with @tyleryaremchuk is out now! This week, he was joined by both Kevin… https://t.co/SIarLmuejy

    27-May-2021

    Reply Retweet Favorite
  • Season 4 of #InsideTheCru with @tyleryaremchuk continued this week as he talked about rookie defenseman Cale Ashcro… https://t.co/E6a4poKsCv

    19-May-2021

    Reply Retweet Favorite
  • What's the biggest offseason need for the @SPcrusaders ?? @tyleryaremchuk asked @wildcatwoywitka that yesterday on… https://t.co/CniK3Vn9HL

    13-May-2021

    Reply Retweet Favorite
  • A brand new episode of #InsideTheCru is out now! @tyleryaremchuk chats with @wildcatwoywitka about the… https://t.co/RdbzZPYezI

    12-May-2021

    Reply Retweet Favorite
  • Which players have surprised @LiamHorrobin this season? He talked about it on Inside The Cru with @tyleryaremchuk… https://t.co/9afJXZKbOz

    06-May-2021

    Reply Retweet Favorite

Popular Posts

  • Industry Talk With Sportsnet’s Kyle Bukauskas

    October 24, 2016
  • The Search for Canada’s Next Great Goalie Prospect

    January 13, 2020
  • Dylan Guenther: The Journey From First Overall at WHL Draft to Offensive Star For The Oil Kings

    June 18, 2020
  • Germany: The Worlds Largest Resource of Untapped Hockey Talent

    January 31, 2020
HF Boards

@2016 - Below The Ice. All Right Reserved


Back To Top