Thursday, October 1, 2009
Prediction Time
12:36 PM | 
Posted by
Nick Mendola
The stage is set for all things stick and puck, and when the Leafs and Canadiens face off at 7 p.m. Thursday night in Toronto, it'll start the marathon that will be the 2009-10 NHL campaign.
WGR's staff is back with predictions on where everyone will wind up. Pay extra attention to Paul Hamilton's picks, as last year his 11 correct predictions were one more than three runners-up. The decisive prediction? Paul was the only guy to pick the Sabres to miss the playoffs in 2008-09.
No one picked Pittsburgh to win the Cup, nor did anyone back San Jose to win the Presidents Trophy, though Greg Bauch was half-right (Barack Obama). Perhaps that's the reason Greg finished in last. That, or the Nashville over Montreal finals prediction.
Onto this year (Check back later in the day as we add Mike's picks)!
Northeast Division
"Bounce back year for Les Habitants. I think it will be Jaroslav Halak, not Carey Price, to get this team back to the next level," -Joe Buscaglia
Howard Simon- Boston
Jeremy White- Boston
Nick Mendola- Boston
Paul Hamilton- Boston
Brian Koziol- Boston
The Bulldog- Boston
Joe Buscaglia- Montreal
Greg Bauch- Boston
Atlantic Division
"If Fleury stays healthy and can play 70 games, I love the Pens to repeat. They clearly have the best one-two punch on offense with Malkin and Crosby and I like how defensive they played down the stretch in the playoffs. How can you not like a guy like Brooks Orpik on the blueline?", Brian Koziol
Howard Simon- Pittsburgh
Jeremy White- Pittsburgh
Nick Mendola- Philadelphia
Paul Hamilton- Pittsburgh
Brian Koziol- Pittsburgh
The Bulldog- Philadelphia
Joe Buscaglia- Pittsburgh
Greg Bauch- New Jersey
Southeast Division
"The only good team in this division is Washington. Carolina is okay," Jeremy White
Howard Simon- Washington
Jeremy White- Washington
Nick Mendola- Washington
Paul Hamilton- Washington
Brian Koziol- Washington
The Bulldog- Washington
Joe Buscaglia- Washington
Greg Bauch- Washington
Central Division
"Detroit has the best depth, and is a team so good that their goalie doesn't matter," -Jeremy White
Howard Simon- Chicago
Jeremy White- Detroit
Nick Mendola- Detroit
Paul Hamilton- Detroit
Brian Koziol- Detroit
The Bulldog- Detroit
Joe Buscaglia- Detroit
Greg Bauch- Chicago
Northwest Division
"With the addition of Jay Bouwmeester, Dion Phaneuf and the best goalie in the West in Miikka Kiprusoff in net, the Flames will win the Northwest with defense. A full season of Olli Jokinen as well,". Brian Koziol
Howard Simon- Calgary
Jeremy White- Calgary
Nick Mendola- Calgary
Paul Hamilton- Calgary
Brian Koziol- Calgary
The Bulldog- Vancouver
Joe Buscaglia- Vancouver
Greg Bauch- Calgary
Pacific Division
Howard Simon- San Jose
Jeremy White- San Jose
Nick Mendola- San Jose
Paul Hamilton- Anaheim
Brian Koziol- Anaheim
The Bulldog- San Jose
Joe Buscaglia- Anaheim
Greg Bauch- San Jose
Sabres in Division, Conference, Playoffs?
"This is not an indication of the Sabres being a bad team. Ottawa got better, Toronto got better, Montreal got better, Boston got a little worse but are still better than Buffalo, and the Sabres kicked it in to neutral. I have a lot of optimism heading in to the year, I'm just hoping to be pleasantly surprised rather than expecting the moon and only getting to the first cloud in the sky, so to speak," -Joe Buscaglia
Howard Simon- 3rd, 7th, out in 1st round
Jeremy White- 3rd, 6th, out in 3rd round
Nick Mendola- 2nd, 6th, out in 2nd round
Paul Hamilton- 2nd, 7th, out in 1st round
Brian Koziol- 2nd, 8th, out in 1st round
The Bulldog- 3rd, 8th, out in 1st round
Joe Buscaglia- 5th, 10th, no playoffs
Greg Bauch- 3rd, 7th, out in 2nd round
Final Four
"Noted choke artists San Jose have too much talent to not make it this far... before folding at the hands of a nasty Calgary defense/goaltending combination in Alberta. Out East, I love the Caps with a year's experience, and the Flyers are improved goaltending away from being an absolute beast. Expect them to be good all year and then pick up a Dwayne Roloson or Martin Biron from Long Island," -Nick Mendola
Howard Simon- Pittsburgh, Boston, Calgary, Chicago
Jeremy White- Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Detroit, Calgary
Nick Mendola- Washington, Philadelphia, Calgary, San Jose
Paul Hamilton- Washington, Boston, Chicago, Calgary
Brian Koziol- Pittsburgh, Boston, Detroit, Chicago
The Bulldog- Boston, Washington, Detroit, Anaheim
Joe Buscaglia- Washington, Boston, Vancouver, Anaheim
Greg Bauch- Boston, Washington, San Jose, Detroit
Cup finals
"I may be falling into the same trap I have for years, but with Miikka Kiprusoff having Jay Bouwmeester, Dion Phaneuf and Jarome Iginla on board, it's grit to the third power for Calgary, who will be Canada's first Cup since Kirk Muller's Habs in 1993," Nick Mendola
Howard Simon- Pittsburgh over Chicago
Jeremy White- Calgary over Pittsburgh
Nick Mendola- Calgary over Washington
Paul Hamilton- Washington over Chicago
Brian Koziol- Pittsburgh over Chicago
The Bulldog- Anaheim over Washington
Joe Buscaglia- Vancouver over Boston
Greg Bauch- Detroit over Boston
Most goals (NHL and Sabres, respectively)
"I like Vanek to score 50 this year. He’s so good in front of the net and since he’ll play all 82 games(we hope), the PP should benefit," Brian Koziol
Howard Simon- Alexander Ovechkin and Thomas Vanek
Jeremy White- Alexander Ovechkin and Thomas Vanek
Nick Mendola- Alexander Ovechkin and Thomas Vanek
Paul Hamilton- Alexander Ovechkin and Thomas Vanek
Brian Koziol- Alexander Ovechkin and Thomas Vanek
The Bulldog- Alexander Ovechkin and Thomas Vanek
Joe Buscaglia- Dany Heatley and Thomas Vanek
Greg Bauch- Thomas Vanek and Thomas Vanek
Most points (NHL and Sabres, respectively)
"Thornton plus Heatley equals 120 points for Joe, maybe more," - Nick Mendola
Howard Simon- Evgeni Malkin and Jason Pominville
Jeremy White- Sidney Crosby and Derek Roy
Nick Mendola- Joe Thornton and Derek Roy
Paul Hamilton- Pavel Datsyuk and Tim Connolly
Brian Koziol- Evgeni Malkin and Derek Roy
The Bulldog- Evgeni Malkin and Jason Pominville
Joe Buscaglia- Sidney Crosby and Jason Pominville
Greg Bauch- Joe Thornton and Thomas Vanek
Worst record
Howard Simon- Phoenix
Jeremy White- NY Islanders
Nick Mendola- Florida
Paul Hamilton- Phoenix
Brian Koziol- Colorado
The Bulldog- Colorado
Joe Buscaglia- Phoenix
Greg Bauch- Phoenix
Presidents Trophy
"How do you get points? For Washington, it's by playing dog teams, and while Carolina's a nice team and the Lightning are coming along, Florida and Atlanta will continue to struggle mightily," -Nick Mendola
Howard Simon- Pittsburgh
Jeremy White- Detroit
Nick Mendola- Washington
Paul Hamilton- Washington
Brian Koziol- Boston
The Bulldog- San Jose
Joe Buscaglia- Washington
Greg Bauch- Taft
Email: nick@wgr550.com
WGR's staff is back with predictions on where everyone will wind up. Pay extra attention to Paul Hamilton's picks, as last year his 11 correct predictions were one more than three runners-up. The decisive prediction? Paul was the only guy to pick the Sabres to miss the playoffs in 2008-09.
No one picked Pittsburgh to win the Cup, nor did anyone back San Jose to win the Presidents Trophy, though Greg Bauch was half-right (Barack Obama). Perhaps that's the reason Greg finished in last. That, or the Nashville over Montreal finals prediction.
Onto this year (Check back later in the day as we add Mike's picks)!
Northeast Division
"Bounce back year for Les Habitants. I think it will be Jaroslav Halak, not Carey Price, to get this team back to the next level," -Joe Buscaglia
Howard Simon- Boston
Jeremy White- Boston
Nick Mendola- Boston
Paul Hamilton- Boston
Brian Koziol- Boston
The Bulldog- Boston
Joe Buscaglia- Montreal
Greg Bauch- Boston
Atlantic Division
"If Fleury stays healthy and can play 70 games, I love the Pens to repeat. They clearly have the best one-two punch on offense with Malkin and Crosby and I like how defensive they played down the stretch in the playoffs. How can you not like a guy like Brooks Orpik on the blueline?", Brian Koziol
Howard Simon- Pittsburgh
Jeremy White- Pittsburgh
Nick Mendola- Philadelphia
Paul Hamilton- Pittsburgh
Brian Koziol- Pittsburgh
The Bulldog- Philadelphia
Joe Buscaglia- Pittsburgh
Greg Bauch- New Jersey
Southeast Division
"The only good team in this division is Washington. Carolina is okay," Jeremy White
Howard Simon- Washington
Jeremy White- Washington
Nick Mendola- Washington
Paul Hamilton- Washington
Brian Koziol- Washington
The Bulldog- Washington
Joe Buscaglia- Washington
Greg Bauch- Washington
Central Division
"Detroit has the best depth, and is a team so good that their goalie doesn't matter," -Jeremy White
Howard Simon- Chicago
Jeremy White- Detroit
Nick Mendola- Detroit
Paul Hamilton- Detroit
Brian Koziol- Detroit
The Bulldog- Detroit
Joe Buscaglia- Detroit
Greg Bauch- Chicago
Northwest Division
"With the addition of Jay Bouwmeester, Dion Phaneuf and the best goalie in the West in Miikka Kiprusoff in net, the Flames will win the Northwest with defense. A full season of Olli Jokinen as well,". Brian Koziol
Howard Simon- Calgary
Jeremy White- Calgary
Nick Mendola- Calgary
Paul Hamilton- Calgary
Brian Koziol- Calgary
The Bulldog- Vancouver
Joe Buscaglia- Vancouver
Greg Bauch- Calgary
Pacific Division
Howard Simon- San Jose
Jeremy White- San Jose
Nick Mendola- San Jose
Paul Hamilton- Anaheim
Brian Koziol- Anaheim
The Bulldog- San Jose
Joe Buscaglia- Anaheim
Greg Bauch- San Jose
Sabres in Division, Conference, Playoffs?
"This is not an indication of the Sabres being a bad team. Ottawa got better, Toronto got better, Montreal got better, Boston got a little worse but are still better than Buffalo, and the Sabres kicked it in to neutral. I have a lot of optimism heading in to the year, I'm just hoping to be pleasantly surprised rather than expecting the moon and only getting to the first cloud in the sky, so to speak," -Joe Buscaglia
Howard Simon- 3rd, 7th, out in 1st round
Jeremy White- 3rd, 6th, out in 3rd round
Nick Mendola- 2nd, 6th, out in 2nd round
Paul Hamilton- 2nd, 7th, out in 1st round
Brian Koziol- 2nd, 8th, out in 1st round
The Bulldog- 3rd, 8th, out in 1st round
Joe Buscaglia- 5th, 10th, no playoffs
Greg Bauch- 3rd, 7th, out in 2nd round
Final Four
"Noted choke artists San Jose have too much talent to not make it this far... before folding at the hands of a nasty Calgary defense/goaltending combination in Alberta. Out East, I love the Caps with a year's experience, and the Flyers are improved goaltending away from being an absolute beast. Expect them to be good all year and then pick up a Dwayne Roloson or Martin Biron from Long Island," -Nick Mendola
Howard Simon- Pittsburgh, Boston, Calgary, Chicago
Jeremy White- Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Detroit, Calgary
Nick Mendola- Washington, Philadelphia, Calgary, San Jose
Paul Hamilton- Washington, Boston, Chicago, Calgary
Brian Koziol- Pittsburgh, Boston, Detroit, Chicago
The Bulldog- Boston, Washington, Detroit, Anaheim
Joe Buscaglia- Washington, Boston, Vancouver, Anaheim
Greg Bauch- Boston, Washington, San Jose, Detroit
Cup finals
"I may be falling into the same trap I have for years, but with Miikka Kiprusoff having Jay Bouwmeester, Dion Phaneuf and Jarome Iginla on board, it's grit to the third power for Calgary, who will be Canada's first Cup since Kirk Muller's Habs in 1993," Nick Mendola
Howard Simon- Pittsburgh over Chicago
Jeremy White- Calgary over Pittsburgh
Nick Mendola- Calgary over Washington
Paul Hamilton- Washington over Chicago
Brian Koziol- Pittsburgh over Chicago
The Bulldog- Anaheim over Washington
Joe Buscaglia- Vancouver over Boston
Greg Bauch- Detroit over Boston
Most goals (NHL and Sabres, respectively)
"I like Vanek to score 50 this year. He’s so good in front of the net and since he’ll play all 82 games(we hope), the PP should benefit," Brian Koziol
Howard Simon- Alexander Ovechkin and Thomas Vanek
Jeremy White- Alexander Ovechkin and Thomas Vanek
Nick Mendola- Alexander Ovechkin and Thomas Vanek
Paul Hamilton- Alexander Ovechkin and Thomas Vanek
Brian Koziol- Alexander Ovechkin and Thomas Vanek
The Bulldog- Alexander Ovechkin and Thomas Vanek
Joe Buscaglia- Dany Heatley and Thomas Vanek
Greg Bauch- Thomas Vanek and Thomas Vanek
Most points (NHL and Sabres, respectively)
"Thornton plus Heatley equals 120 points for Joe, maybe more," - Nick Mendola
Howard Simon- Evgeni Malkin and Jason Pominville
Jeremy White- Sidney Crosby and Derek Roy
Nick Mendola- Joe Thornton and Derek Roy
Paul Hamilton- Pavel Datsyuk and Tim Connolly
Brian Koziol- Evgeni Malkin and Derek Roy
The Bulldog- Evgeni Malkin and Jason Pominville
Joe Buscaglia- Sidney Crosby and Jason Pominville
Greg Bauch- Joe Thornton and Thomas Vanek
Worst record
Howard Simon- Phoenix
Jeremy White- NY Islanders
Nick Mendola- Florida
Paul Hamilton- Phoenix
Brian Koziol- Colorado
The Bulldog- Colorado
Joe Buscaglia- Phoenix
Greg Bauch- Phoenix
Presidents Trophy
"How do you get points? For Washington, it's by playing dog teams, and while Carolina's a nice team and the Lightning are coming along, Florida and Atlanta will continue to struggle mightily," -Nick Mendola
Howard Simon- Pittsburgh
Jeremy White- Detroit
Nick Mendola- Washington
Paul Hamilton- Washington
Brian Koziol- Boston
The Bulldog- San Jose
Joe Buscaglia- Washington
Greg Bauch- Taft
Email: nick@wgr550.com
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