Mock Montreal Expansion Draft: the TIG Draft

It’s time for part two of our Montreal Expansion draft experiment. In this installment, our writers were tasked with selecting 6 forwards, 4 defenders, and 2 goaltenders from last year’s six PHF squads to start an expansion team in Montreal. The twist: you can’t pick three players from any one team, which means you need to pick two players from each of last season’s squads.

But, you couldn’t just build an All-Star squad of the best of the best — a TIG creator created a protected list for each of the six squads, limiting the player pool.

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Mock Montreal Expansion Draft: the protected lists

Mike’s Montreal Expansion Team

Boston: Kali Flanagan (D), Lovisa Selander (G)
Buffalo: Jenna Suokko (F), Anjelica Diffendal (F)
Connecticut: Tori Howran (D), Alyssa Wohlfeiler (F)
Riveters: Rose Alleva (D), Emily Janiga (F)
Minnesota: Sydney Baldwin (D), Ashleigh Brykaliuk (F)
Toronto: Tera Hofmann (G), Michaela Cava (F)

Well, this was definitely trickier than I thought it would be. I made goaltending and puck-moving defenders my priority and love the goalie duo and the star power I have on the blue line. The trio of Flanagan, Howran, and Baldwin is a borderline unfair core to build around and I am a fan of Alleva’s steady, understated game after watching her with the Rivs last season. Selander, in my opinion, was the best goalie available and I had to take her even though I would have loved Mallory Souliotis, Sammy Davis, or Tori Sullivan from Boston’s roster.

I made natural centers my priority with my forward picks and I feel confident with the mix of skill, experience, and potential that I have. There may not be a superstar in the mix but I like the skill that Wohlfeiler, Suokko, Cava, and Brykaliuk bring to the table. Diffendal has great size and potential. Janiga was inconsistent in terms of production last season but she takes fewer trips to the box than Babstock, so I went with her.

I passed on a lot of talented players that were unprotected but that didn’t surprise me. There was so much talent on the ice in the PHF last season.

Dan’s Montreal Expansion Team

Boston: Kali Flanagan (D), Tori Sullivan (F)
Buffalo: Taylor Accursi (F), Lovisa Berndtsson (G)
Connecticut: Janine Weber (F), Melissa Samoskevich (F)
Riveters: Lenka Čurmová (D), Emily Janiga (F)
Minnesota: Chelsey Brodt Roenthal (D), Maddie Rowe (D)
Toronto: Tera Hofmann (G), Natalie Marcuzzi (F)

I made my picks above, but with the amount of talent available I could have selected 12 completely different players and still been happy with my assembled squad. I opted for skill and size up front, and putting the puck in the back of the net shouldn't be an issue with players like Accursi, Samoskevich, and Sullivan. And with Marcuzzi, Janiga, and Weber causing havoc in front of the crease, there will be plenty of opportunities to score on long shots, deflections, and net mouth scrambles.

On the blueline, Flanagan can act like the talented rover she is while Rowe, Čurmová, and Brodt Rosenthal make crisp outlet passes and tend to the physical side of things when situations get spicy. In goal, it was hard to pass up on Lovisa Selander (and her two rings), but with the group I’ve put together, I don’t think Berndtsson and Hofmann will have to do much work because we plan to play the majority of the game in the opposition’s zone.

Meredith’s Montreal Expansion Team

Boston: Lovisa Selander (G), Evelina Raselli (F)
Buffalo: Jenna Suokko (F), Lovisa Berndtsson (G)
Connecticut: Janine Weber (F), Rebecca Morse (D)
Riveters: Lenka Čurmová (D), Romana Košecká (F)
Minnesota: Ashleigh Brykaliuk (D), Patti Marshall (D)
Toronto: Michela Cava (F), Leah Marino (F)

I’m a firm believer in seeing talent from all over the world do its thing. This isn’t a traditional roster based on flashy stats (as sexy as they are, because let’s be real: numbers); rather it’s based on players who developed their game outside of the North American bubble before coming to the league.

Hockey likes to advertise itself as a global game, yet so much of the focus remains on the United States and Canada and their myriad titles. The game’s talent is global, even though the parity, coverage, and resources aren’t, yet. This roster is designed to change that a little bit.