• For users coming over from tmlfans.ca your username will remain the same but you will need to use the password reset feature (check your spam folder) on the login page in order to set your password. If you encounter issues, email Rick couchmanrick@gmail.com

Brit Leafs Fan

Britleaf

Britleaf

New member
Hey folks

Leafs fan from UK here..

I have been following the leafs whenever I can for about a year now, only way I can get to see the games is via the wee rivers that flow through the net. I am kind of new to the ice hockey scene so I might have a few question for you all as I try to get a better understanding of the game.

I first got hooked about a year ago watching a NHL game online, I wasn't a fan of any particular club at the time but as the season progressed I seamed to be rooting for the leafs whenever they played.

This whole Draft thing is new to me too so if anyone can explain it to me I would be grateful.

Anyway i thought I would into myself and let you know I am looking forward to another rollercoaster leafs season :)

Jim
 
Welcome to the boards! Always nice to see interest in our game from someone where it's not so popular and good on 'ya for picking the buds (God help you.)  8)  As far as the draft goes, very simply, teams select prospects in reverse order from from their finish from the previous year - The draft is 7 rounds long. It's been a difficult last few years with the last 2 being very much rollercoaster-like indeed. I think most of us are not looking forward to another one.   

 
Britleaf said:
This whole Draft thing is new to me too so if anyone can explain it to me I would be grateful.
Click to expand...

Welcome to the boards and the mixed blessing that is Leafs fandom.

The draft is a method to disperse new players around the league so as to maintain competitive balance and limit a young player's bargaining power.

It works like this, all 18 year old players are put into a pool. Teams then select from those players in the reverse order of their place on the league table(or standings, as we call it). So the Leafs, finishing with the 5th worst record in the league, got to choose 5th overall. Once drafted, a team has exclusive negotiating rights to the chosen player for three years. Players usually sign with the team that selects them because salary is determined for entry-level players by the league's collective bargaining agreement as opposed to individual negotiations.

This goes on for 7 rounds, or 210 picks, over the course of three days. Teams are permitted to trade their picks with one another and often do throughout the course of the year, either for other picks or players under contract(that's why Wahington chose eleventh and sixteenth yesterday, having acquired Colorado's first round pick in exchange for goaltender Semyon Varlamov last summer).

There are a few wrinkles in terms of selection order. To avoid the worst teams losing on purpose so as to get the highest pick, all of the teams that fail to qualify for the Cup playoffs are put in a random lottery where the winning team can move up three places in the draft order(meaning any of the bottom 4 teams can, if they win the lottery, select first). The worst team has the best odds in the Lottery but it's only around 50/50 that they have the first pick. Edmonton won the lottery this year, jumping over Columbus for the first pick.

The Cup playoff qualifying teams' selection order is determined by how they fare in the playoffs, which is why the Cup winning LA Kings chose 30th despite only having the 13th best record in the league.
 
Thanks for the explanations, I am a wee bit wiser now and understand a lot of whats going on. Sounds like a huge bartering system I kind of like the idea though and will be watching this with interest (as long as the rivers don't dry up).

I think I like the leafs because they remind me of my native Football Team (soccer), who Like the leafs haven't won any silverware for a loooonnng time. They frustrate the hell out of me, often they play with a lack of purpose, often they play brilliantly but don't get far... somehow though I cant stop loving my team. This year when the season ended, we were places 5th in the league, which means we play European football next season.

Hopefully this will be the season to shock the fans and the leafs might make the playoffs...  ;) :)

Some have said I am a dreamer.... but I'm not the only one....

Cant wait for the season to start, now all I need to do is find a legit website I can watch the games on.

I may have other questions so please be patient :P

Jim
 
Britleaf said:
I think I like the leafs because they remind me of my native Football Team (soccer), who Like the leafs haven't won any silverware for a loooonnng time. They frustrate the hell out of me, often they play with a lack of purpose, often they play brilliantly but don't get far... somehow though I cant stop loving my team. This year when the season ended, we were places 5th in the league, which means we play European football next season.
Click to expand...

Sounds like a Newcastle man to me. Welcome to the site Jim.
 
Welcome aboard chief.

Been around these parts for about ten years, from Glasgow originally so I know how hard it can be to follow the team from over the pond. I'm in California now and following the Leafs is much easier.

If you ever need a stream for the games, let someone know in the gameday threads that usually appear just before puck drop and someone should be able to help you out.

Cheers!
 
seahawk said:
Britleaf said:
I think I like the leafs because they remind me of my native Football Team (soccer), who Like the leafs haven't won any silverware for a loooonnng time. They frustrate the hell out of me, often they play with a lack of purpose, often they play brilliantly but don't get far... somehow though I cant stop loving my team. This year when the season ended, we were places 5th in the league, which means we play European football next season.
Click to expand...

Sounds like a Newcastle man to me. Welcome to the site Jim.
Click to expand...

I thought the Maggies had a great season - I think he's a Spurs fan
 
seahawk said:
I said Newcastle as they finished 5th in the Prem. Spurs finished 4th.
Click to expand...

Newcastle didn't make CL tho...actually neither did. He must mean the Europa League? Hopefully he can clear this up for us.

Jim!!
 
Plus they did win the Football League Championship in 9/10 and got repromoted...so there has been some sort of celebration in the past handful of years. If anything he sounds like a City fan...but that can't be possible anymore either

Jim!!!!
 
My Guess is that he's a Chelsea supporter. Newcastle finished 6th i think. Where spurs finished top 4 and were robbed from their CL spot by Chelsea winning the title and therefore having an automatic birth into the tourney next year. Because of this, Modric will prob leave spurs and go to UTD. Bastards.
 
puckhog78 said:
My Guess is that he's a Chelsea supporter. Newcastle finished 6th i think. Where spurs finished top 4 and were robbed from their CL spot by Chelsea winning the title and therefore having an automatic birth into the tourney next year. Because of this, Modric will prob leave spurs and go to UTD. Bastards.
Click to expand...

Spurs 4th, Newcastle 5th, and Chelsea 6th.
 
Hey folks thanks for the welcome :)
Yep as some have guessed I am a Geordie living in the south of Scotland (well the borders) and my team has always been Newcastle United, I know i said we havent won any silverware but maybe I should have said major silverwear as in competitions FA Cup etc. Whilst the Championship league win was awesome, it wasn't celebrated as a major trophy as such (apart from those in the bigg market etc) but it helped to ease the relegation feeling of the season before.

I do in fact mean the Europa Competition but to be fair to Newcastle its still a major breakthrough. Some folk have said we were lucky to finish where we did,  and if that is the case, I for one will grab it with both hands and hold on for the ride however bumpy it will be. I don't get much time now to attend matched due to a few factors, a couple of them being the distance to travel and the fact that I have an elderly parent I look after on a full time basis. However I lend my support where I can.

I'm beginning to feel the same way about the leafs, no matter how crap they play or how lucky we get I will still lend my support as little as that is right now :P.

I would love to see the leafs get into the playoffs and will celebrate when that eventually happens, no matter how long it takes.

BTW I am probably going to get shot for this but, Tyler Bozak is one of my fav players, I like how he plays. He has potential but hes far from perfect I guess.

Jim
 
Welcome aboard! So glad you are from the north. Won't be any snobbery then  :P

I have an aunt from South Shields I think its called. Never been.

 
Snobbery? Hell no couldn't afford to be a snob :P Yes I know South Shields, some good folk from there.

Thanks for the welcomes folks... I am feeling a little impatient for the season to start tho :P

Jim
 
Britleaf said:
Thanks for the welcomes folks... I am feeling a little impatient for the season to start tho :P

Jim
Click to expand...

Take a number and join the queue on that point. I suspect more than a few folks have the season opener marked on the calendar.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top