The Pacific Divison

Calgary Flames

GM: Kevin Switzer

Top Forwards: Joel Eriksson Ek, Brady Tkachuk, Alex Debrincat

Top Defenders: Adam Fox

Goaltender: Marc-Andre Fleury

Dark Horse: Kirby Dach (will score 50/60 points in NHL)

Weakness: Defense

Prediction: 1^st in the Pacific Division. Kevin had a very lion echelon off season, making plenty of power moves to speed up his team’s window as he saw an opportunity to grasp. Ultimately caving into an unnamed GM’s demands for Tkachuk, Kevin has built a solid team this offseason. There is plenty of depth with his current crop of forwards. The only weakness is his defensive crop. Led by Fox, there is not much else. However, with the combination of a strong offense, okay defense and an elite rated Fleury, this team is destined for a 1^st spot finish in the Pacific.

 Anaheim Ducks

GM: Devonte Cordell IV

Top Forwards: Mika Zibanejad, Brad Marchand, Joe Pavelski

Top Defenders: Victor Hedman, Mark Giordano

Goaltender: John Gibson

Dark Horse: Andrei Svechnikov (will score 70 points in NHL)

Weakness: He Is A Cordell

Prediction: 2^nd in the Pacific Division. Devonte had only one notable move to make this off season and it was a humongous splash with fellow BRHL PODCAST MAFIA LEADER and MEMBER, Estephan Villeneauve. This splash landed Devonte elite players such as Marchand and Hedman. This team is well rounded with an above average group of forwards and a very sound defensive core. The team clearly has a window to win now especially with Marchand and Hedman half retained. Role players like Pateryn, Palat, Kane and Lee will be pivotal for this team’s success especially if the top dogs like Zibanejad, Karlsson, Svechnikov are not performing. This team will be battling for 1^st spot but will ultimately finish 2^nd.

Edmonton Oilers

GM: Leonidas Yu

Top Forwards: Connor McDavid, J.T Miller, Jonathan Marchessault

Top Defenders: Cale Makar, Jaccob Slavin

Goaltender: Connor Hellebucyk

Dark Horse: Joel Kiviranta (will pot 22-24 goals in the NHL)

Weakness: Lack of Depth

Prediction: 3^rd in the Pacific Division. Leonidas had sub-par summer. Stayed quiet for the most of it as he spent time travelling. He did make a couple splashes including trading Ristolainen for a first and then trading that first back to the same team for J.T Miller. Any team being led by McDavid is destined for success. Leon has a superstar in each position, McDavid, Makar and Hellebuyck. Unlike the real-life oilers, McDavid has a decent supporting cast in BRHL’s version of the Oil. Surrounded by Norris, Miller, Schmaltz, Marchessault, JVR. The defense is also fairly strong as it is led by Makar, Slavin, Rielly and Kulikov. Leon has a well-rounded team and should be destined for a 3^rd place finish in the Pacific. However, if the season does not start too well, I believe Leon will go full throttle and change pace for a full-scale Tobias Cordell style rebuild.

Los Angeles Kings

GM: Tyler W (not Tyler Rumpel as he was let go for unnamed reasons which will remain unnamed)

Top Forwards: Nico Hischier, Evgeni Malkin, Clayton Keller

Top Defenders: Seth Jones, Aaron Ekblad, Noah Hanafin

Goaltender: Elvis Merzlikins

Dark Horse: Nolan Patrick (will easily have a breakout year in the NHL, 55pts +)

Weakness: Goaltending

Prediction: 4^th in the Pacific Division. Tyler took over Rumpel’s team at the beginning of the off-season. Leading off the summer by trading Bergeron, Laine and also acquiring Hischier. Maybe the moves will be the keys to this team’s success – to de-stack a stacked roster. The forward group is led by Hischier, Malkin, Teravainen, Keller and the team has solid depth forwards including Acciari, Namestnikov and a young Patrick. The Kings also have three top defenders (as seen above). The only downside of this team that they failed to address is goaltending. Both Raanta and Elvis have awful ratings this year. If Tyler were to address goaltending I would say this team would be easily contending for 2^nd the 2^nd spot – until then, they will be battling for 4^th.

Vancouver Canucks

GM: Rob Botham

Top Forwards: Anze Kopitar, Phil Kessel, Bryan Rust

Top Defenders: Alex Edler, Vince Dunn

Goaltender: Thatcher Demko

Dark Horse: Filip Zadina (will score 35 goals in the NHL this year)

Weakness: Traded 40M BRHL Bux for Juolevi who is literally getting waived as we speak in NHL

Prediction: 5^th in the Pacific Division. Robert had a powerful off-season. Seeing an opportunity to capitalize on Demko’s reign in Vancouvers net for years to come, Robert has embarked on a journey to turn BRHL Canucks back into a playoff team. Robbie acquire Kopitar, Barzal, Zadina, Tolvanen, and Rust this off season along with other pieces. In a short span, Robaaay was able to add pivotal pieces to turn this team into a WC threat. The defense is a weak spot however there is enough decent DF rated players for STHS to treat this team nicely. Robb has built a team that will score a lot of goals but also get scored on a lot which is not a very good recipe for success but as mentioned, he crafted this team in an off-season. Look for Robert to be a threat in the Pacific in the upcoming years.

Las Vegas Golden Knights

GM: Joe Bast aka Joseph Bastion the Third

Top Forwards: Ryan Nugent Hopkins, Zach Hyman, Filip Forsberg

Top Defenders: Shea Weber, Ivan Provorov, Brent Burns

Goaltender: Linus Ulmark

Dark Horse: Jesse Puljujarvi (will have an elite season scoring 76+ points in NHL)

Weakness: Goaltending

Prediction: 6^th in the Pacific Division. Joseph had a wild off season. Trading Eichel to a Lion for a package including the 3^rd overall pick, a first next season and RNH. Joe also shocked the draft when he took young phenom Yaroslav Askarov with the third overall pick. A power move to say the least as the goaltending position is one of the most important in the sim. Joe originally started off rebuilding this off season however after looking at what his team was able to do in the pre-season, he can potentially have a really good year. Solid forward depth all around with Oloffson, Puljujarvi, Forsberg, Faksa and Carter along with Weber, Burnss, Provorov on defense – this team is able to put up wins to potentiall contend for a WC spot. The biggest weakness on this team right now is their goaltending. Ullmark has the best ratings out of the three. Without any goalie improvements this season, Joe will find himself battling for a WC spot or completely get destroyed by the Pacific division gauntlet.

Arizona Coyotes

GM: Joel Mireau

Top Forwards: Sam Reinhart, Nick Suzuki

Top Defenders: K’Andre Miller, Ethan Bear

Goaltender: Mackenzie Blackwood

Dark Horse: Nick Suzuki (will have an elite year in Montreal, elite numbers expected, 20g – 50a)

Weakness: Would Not Trade Sam Reinhart to San Jose

Prediction: 7^th in the Pacific Division. Joel has been a great trade partner this off season. I traded for 3 or 4 of his players and I ended up trading most of them anyways. He unfortunately will not trade me Reinhart but that is ok. Joel is one of the only teams in the Pacific that is clearly trying to lose and rebuild. Easily one of the worst depths in the division. However, some amazing foundational pieces on the pro team including Suzuki, Krebs, Reinhart, Miller, Bear and Boqvist. Blackwood will fetch the team some unneeded wins. Joel is prepared for the long game but has the right pieces to perhaps do some damage in 2-3 seasons time. Until then, he will be battling in the basement of the division.

San Jose Sharks

GM: Sumit “The Lion”

Top Forwards: Johan Larsson, Gaeten Haas, Rudolfs Balcers

Top Defenders: Radek Simek, Scott Harrington

Goaltender: Joel Rumpel, Philip Grubauer

Dark Horse: Patrik Laine (I expect a 40-goal season in the NHL)

Weakness: Will Probably Trade 77% of the Team by the Deadline

Prediction: 8^th in the Pacific Division. If you compare the roster from when I took over to now – there is not one single player that has remained. Players are leading my first official season and we such as Larsson, Haas, De-La-Rose, Reider, Petan and newly acquired superstar (and waiver pickup) Scott Harrington. This team lacks depth and truculence. I expect an awful season.