This is for a GM point task for Darian and I, but I'm posting as media too as that's been allowed every other season.

<div align="center">TORONTO NORTH STARS SEASON PREVIEW -- SPECIAL EDITION

BY THE TORONTO STAR -- SEPTEMBER 11, 2013
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2,750 words

Overview:

Another exciting season in the SHL is upon us, and after an off-season of change in Toronto, the appetite for hockey in one of the largest markets in North America is growing. The regular season is just weeks away and a number of big names have joined the Stars since the team was eliminated by the Manhattan Rage last season, meaning the anticipation for the start of a season could be at its highest yet.

The Stars are one of the best teams in SHL history when it comes to their regular season record, but what's clear is that fans are growing impatient with the team's inability to win in the playoffs. For the last several seasons, the team has been arguably the league's best on paper, but has just one Presidents' Trophy to show for it, and last year frustrated fans more than ever with a first round sweep at the hands of a divisional rival.

Now the situation is tense in Toronto. The team has never been as hyped as it is now, and fans expect results immediately. Will the dream team rise to the expectations, or crumble under the weight of tremendous pressure?

This preview will evaluate the team's off-season changes, and predict just what's in store for the Toronto North Stars.

Last Season:


For yet another season the Stars opened hot out of the gate, sitting in first in the division at the one-third mark of the year. But another mid-season losing spell knocked the team down a few pegs, leaving the Stars in a heated battle just for a third-place finish in the division that they would eventually lose out on.

It was the team's worst finish since the last time they missed the playoffs, and without gaining any notable momentum heading into the playoffs, the team was swept by the Manhattan Rage in four games.

The team also entered last season with a new look, but the addition of Jaska Tiilikainen didn't appear to pay dividends on the ice right away as the veteran goaltender struggled, particularly in the playoffs.

Meanwhile, the additions at the trade deadline of Jed Mosley and Markus Backlund didn't appear to have any kind of positive impact in the playoffs, as the team searched for answers heading into the off-season despite already having a loaded roster.

The Off-Season:


While long-time Stars' GM JJ Krever and recently-hired Darian Scherbluk didn't have plans to blow the team up, especially considering that the team already has an all-star calibre core in place, both knew some wrinkles had to be made -- particularly with the Hamilton Steelhawks surging as one of the youngest emerging teams in the league and the New England Wolfpack also gearing up for a run at the division crowd.

Neither Krever nor Scherbluk could have imagined the additions the team could have made in one off-season, significantly altering its core without removing any key cogs from the lineup.

The team managed to add four perennial All-Stars and possible future Hall of Famers, as well as a first overall pick that the team could build around for many seasons.

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ADDITIONS:

Alex Smirnov (via trade w/ NE)
Drizzy Drake (via trade w/ CGY)
Armin Brovalchuk (via trade w/ WPG)
Josef Heiss (free agency via MAN)

SUBTRACTIONS:

Kaspar Abraham (retired)
Brent Button (released)
Jaden Button (via trade w/ CGY)
Kody Clute (released)
Onni Lehtinen (released)
James Marushin (released)
Dennis Seidenberg (via trade w/ WPG)

With the additions of Smirnov and Brovalchuk up front, the Stars were able to add two legitimate first-line players who were actually top contributors on their former teams. Kesler lent a major hand in leading the Wolfpack to their first appearance in the Challenge Cup finals against the Texas Renegades, while Brovalchuk has been a huge part of sustained success in Winnipeg despite not yet winning a Championship in his SHL career.

Both will fit well into the team's top-six and add a scoring punch, while allowing the team to play a shut-down third line that can also score featuring the likes of Backlund, Dar, and Whisonant, all of whom would be top-six forwards on many teams.

With the extra depth at forward, the team is also now allowed to move Jed Mosley to his natural position on the point, where he is a sure Hall of Famer in the future as well as a multiple Challenge Cup winner. Mosley is one of the greatest defencemen of all-time, and should provide a veteran presence on the back-end as well as a potent scoring punch.

Drizzy Drake was equally important of an acquisition on defence for the Stars, particularly in the future as Patrick Pelletier and Jed Mosley prepare to hang up the skates following this season. It was looking like the team would have a vacancy in its top-four following this year, but now Drake fills that void with ease as he's actually a top-pairing defenceman in anyone's lineup card.

The biggest acquisition of all, however, came between the pipes, where the team was able to land a mammoth free agent after missing out on several of the big names at first. While the team watched the likes of David Winter, Nick Fisher, and Jareth Sto Helit sign with division rival Hamilton, the Stars came out and landed the prize pig of free agency in Josef Heiss.

Heiss is without a doubt the top goalie in the league, and was strongly contemplating choosing Hamilton as his destination, especially after having his rights acquired by the Hawks before the free agency period opened.

But the veteran goaltender chose to go to Toronto to work with Jaska Tiliikainen and the North Stars, giving the Stars their best goalie of franchise history, up there with Mike O'Brien. GM JJ Krever has in the past called Heiss the best goalie to ever play, and even before Heiss was drafted said the German keeper was a generational prospect.

Of course with that signing, not only are the Stars backed by a superb goalie, but their biggest threat in the division the Hawks are left with a raw, unproven rookie in James Reimer, who will get his first extended action this season in the role of starting goaltender.

Finally, the Stars were able to address their future this off-season as well, after getting the first overall pick in the SHL Entry Draft and using it to select Logan Court. The Stars landed what would turn out to be first overall a season ago, when they swapped Rashad Thomas and a second round pick for Ja'Far Dar and a first round pick.

Thomas was seen as a slight upgrade over Dar, so the Stars were compensated by the Chiefs in the form of moving up from the second round to what was expected to be the late first round. But the Chiefs had their worst season in franchise history, finishing at the bottom of the league. One draft lottery later, the Stars had the first overall pick, and used it to select the next great SHL centre.

Logan Court was the most polished player in junior, and while many called for Krivokrasnov to go first, there wasn't much between either of the players as both project to be future Hall of Famers.

Court is a very smooth-skating player and a prototypical, pass-first centre that will undoubtedly be a first-line player by a very young age. He is a franchise player that you can build a team around, and that's something that the Stars have failed to acquire through the draft in their history.

In fact, the only home-grown players of significance on the roster right now are Grigori Pajari, who was an undrafted free agent, and Phil Schenn, a second-round pick who's turned out to be one of the team's top forwards as well as perhaps the most underrated player in the SHL.

Court is already becoming a fan favourite as just the second first overall pick the team has had in its long history, and while he won't be likely to hit the ice with the Stars in regular season action this season as he's returned to the Firebirds of the junior league, he'll be ready to make an impact starting next season.

All in all it was a very busy off-season for the Stars and they've got a number of brand new stars to add to their previous group, leaving them with more star power than any team in the league, from within their own crease to the face off dot at centre ice.

Here is the team's official roster heading into training camp:

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Forwards


TPE     Name                           Height        Weight              Birthplace                      
985   Grigori Pajari                    6'3"           232            Magnitogorsk, RUS
915   Benjamin Wong                     5'11"          185            Toronto, CAN
900   Yousuf Scherbluk                  6'2"           195            Kiev, UKR
807   Phil Schenn                       6'0"           185            Burlington, CAN
798   Armin Brovalchuk                  7'1"           192            Moscow, RUS
750   Alex Smirnov                      5'9"           180            Vancouver, CAN
544   Bryan Whisonant                   6'3"           225            Warsaw, POL
533   Ja'Far Dar                        6'3"           195            London, ENG
535   Markus Backlund                   6'2"           195            Helsinki, FIN
432   Danielle Hogan                    5'11"          195            Ottawa, CAN
365   Nathan Wong                       6'3"           205            Toronto, CAN
303   Logan Court                       6'2"           210            Calgary, CAN    





Defense


1030  Darian Scherbluk                  6'6"          240            Odesa, UKR
847   Aidan Richan                      6'3"          220            Kingston, CAN
723   Drizzy Drake                      6'3"          203            Toronto, CAN
749   Patrick Pelletier                 6'0"          230            Rimouski, CAN
669   Jed Mosley                        6'3"          215            Chicago, USA
593   Giovanni Mortellaro II            6'3"          235            ITALY
306   Chris Serpe                       6'2"          190            Chicago, USA



Goaltenders


1079   Josef Heiss                      6'6"         210            Frankfurt, GER
596   Jaska Tiilikainen                 6'7"         203            Helsinki, FIN
339   Mika Aalto                        6'2"         215            Seinäjoki, FIN

The key to this off-season is the Stars have now officially addressed all of their needs, more than sufficiently. Some years in the past there were question marks on defence, with the team deploying a defence core of just four active players and loading them up with ice-time, leaving a lot of pressure on their top-four defencemen.

Also of concern has been goaltending, even after seemingly solving the issue last season with the addition of Jaska Tiilikainen.

The theme of the team in this era, up to this season, was always "amazing team, decent goaltending." Now, though, the goaltender is good. So good, in fact, he could be better than the core in front of him, something that should make a huge difference for North Stars fans.

Stars GM JJ Krever said that while the Stars already had a championship calibre core, and that Tiilikainen could have easily backstopped this team to a Championship, Heiss is a game-changer.

Josef is a game-changer in every way possible. There's more to a goalie than being skilled, and he defines what it means to be the total package. Sure, he's supremely skilled -- but so are a lot of goalies in this league. What Josef has is something that can't be measured in a goalie's skill-set, and that is poise. In a market like this, you have to be poised.

You can't second-guess yourself, you can't be tentative, you can't be unsure of anything. Heiss is the kind of goalie that gets to the top of his crease, plays big, and ultimately, plays like nothing's going to get past him. If you were to ask him at the start of every game how he's going to do, his answer will be that he's going to get a shutout. And he's the kind of goalie that if he lets up one goal in a 5-1 win, he'll tell you he should have stopped the one that went in.

Heiss is not only the most skilled goalie in the SHL, but he's also the most poised, and coming to a city where there is tremendous pressure to win immediately, on a team that's never won a championship and has to get that ridiculous monkey off its back, that attribute is an absolute must-have.

Of course, on top of Heiss, the Stars also still have Tiilikainen, giving them the best goaltending duo in the league. Tiilikainen is better than half the starters in the league and could be a starting goaltender elsewhere if he were interested, but when given the choice by JJ Krever he requested to remain in Toronto, where he will get some playing time to keep Heiss well-rested.

Tiliikainen is a goalie that continues to improve, and is the ultimate team player who wants to win the cup. But his impact in Toronto could go beyond just what he brings to the room, as he is expected to earn meaningful starts in goal throughout the regular season.

Krever also says another important factor is the team's depth at centre, which is something he's always focused on as an SHL GM. He believes that it's the most important position on the team outside of goaltending, and that you need great hockey players that can generate offence, play solid two-way hockey, and also bring something physically. With Brovalchuk in the mix, the Stars now have a small team of players able to play centre, including Brovalchuk himself, Grigori Pajari, Yousuf Scherbluk, Ja'Far Dar, Jed Mosley, as well as Nathan Wong.

Finally, the team is deeper than it's ever been on defence as well. Last season the Stars added Giovanni Mortellaro II to play in the top-four on defence, but since he's become a bottom-pairing guy for the time being -- a testament to just how deep this team is defensively.

The addition of Drizzy Drake gives the Stars a top-pairing option to go with Scherbluk, as Richan moves to the second pairing to play with Mosley, who's been moved to defence as a result of the team's depth up front. Then, on arguably the league's best third pairing, perennial all-star and fan favourite Patrick Pelletier will lineup alongside bruising defender Giovanni Mortellaro II.

Here is how the team's lineup projects for opening day:

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Yousuf Scherbluk -- Grigori Pajari -- Phil Schenn
Armin Brovalchuk -- Alex Smirnov -- Benjamin Wong
Ja'Far Dar -- Markus Backlund -- Bryan Whisonant
Nathan Wong -- Chris Serpe -- Danielle Hogan

Darian Scherbluk -- Drizzy Drake
Aidan Richan -- Jed Mosley
Patrick Pelletier -- Giovanni Mortellaro

Josef Heiss
Jaska Tiliikainen
Mika Aalto

Prediction

78 points, 1st in East

With a full slate of all-star players and depth at every position, the Stars truly are a dream team on paper. If everything plays out as it should, the Stars should have one of the best regular seasons the league has ever seen.

Half of the teams in the East are now rebuilding as the Rage also enter rebuild mode, meaning the Stars, Wolfpack, and Steelhawks should all enjoy more points in the regular season than usual against the East's weaker teams.

Meanwhile, the Stars now have the goaltending to give them an edge over both teams, something that should separate them from the other two contenders in the division. The Stars have always had the firepower to be the league's highest scoring team, and the physical defenders to slow down opposing attacks -- but with Heiss now in goal, they also have the goaltending to steal them a game when the rest of the team doesn't quite play up to par.

To put into perspective just how good a 78-point season is, that would mean having to win at least 39 of 50 games this season -- something they feel is a reasonable goal given this roster. Both previous times the Stars won the Presidents' Trophy, they recorded 70 points, and both of those seasons included very large winning streaks.

This season, the Stars would love to gun for their third Presidents' Trophy, which would give them the most in SHL history. But more importantly, all of that will be pushed aside when it comes to the playoffs. By that time, nothing else will matter.

This team is already seemingly assured a playoff spot, as the top three in the East are almost certainly clear. The question is whether they can secure the top spot in the division and a first-round matchup with one of the weaker teams (that aren't the big-three of Toronto, Hamilton, or New England), and even further than that, get through two playoff rounds en-route to an appearance in the Cup Finals.

Many of the questions about this team won't be answered until the playoffs, but for now, the Stars are the league's top team on paper heading into the SHL's 15th Anniversary Season.

for cup

Wow...impressive when your GM does articles like this!

Thanks for the kind words...looking forward to S15!

Added 3 superstars***

Which players do you think will help you get to the playoffs ?

Doubt is a dream killer

Brovy and Pajari once destroyed the international play together, and I know 1/2 is hoping that they'll be reunited this season

Awesome read Krever, as always.

An IMPRESSIVE article Mr.Krever...
Thoughts........
If Logan is a franchise player as you say..
Why did Court only sign for 1 year?
.. and Why return him to Juniors?
Have the Northstars ever considered a logo makeover?
I read a 'McSlapdyk' column where he compared the current logo to the packaging of a certain little Girls toy.
Lastly,Will you file a complaint with the Managing Editor of the Toronto STAR ?
..the Pressmen couldn't keep the font sized properly.

I saw O'B somewhere in there


Nice article.

Originally posted by sarmo+Sep 11 2013, 10:56 PM--><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (sarmo @ Sep 11 2013, 10:56 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Which players do you think will help you get to the playoffs ?[/b]

all of 'em!

Originally posted by Abdeezy@Sep 12 2013, 01:07 AM<br />Brovy and Pajari once destroyed the international play together, and I know 1/2 is hoping that they'll be reunited this season

Awesome read Krever, as always.

Thanks man! We'll get 'em together for sure, I just wanna start a new season with a familiar line that's had success before.

<!--QuoteBegin-Ghostspeed@Sep 12 2013, 03:00 AM
An IMPRESSIVE article Mr.Krever...
Thoughts........
If Logan is a franchise player as you say..
Why did Court only sign for 1 year?
.. and Why return him to Juniors?
Have the Northstars ever considered a logo makeover?
I read a 'McSlapdyk' column where he compared the current logo to the packaging of a certain little Girls toy.
Lastly,Will you file a complaint with the Managing Editor of the Toronto STAR ?
..the Pressmen couldn't keep the font sized properly.[/quote]
Thanks for the questions. We agreed to a one-year deal because the rookie minimum is three years, and with his rights being protected by restricted free agency anyway, it's become somewhat of a norm for us to sign our rookies to a one-year contract. That way we can give him a long-term extension the following off-season.

The reason he'll return to junior is because we have a deep lineup with established star players on the top three lines, meaning his only chance to fit in this season is on the fourth line. Obviously it's not beneficial for his development and especially enjoyment to be playing four minutes a game on the fourth line, so we've both agreed that he's better off returning to junior where he can play 20+ minutes a game and help lead his team to a championship. Next season he will be with the Stars for sure as he'll be a strong enough player to be in the top-nine, and one player in our core up front is retiring.

Haha, not now, I think we'll be doing something different for he league's 20th anniversary season. I really liked how this logo went down because it captures Toronto with the shape of City Hall and the colours (this is actually very similar to Toronto's actual flag:

It was important for us as well to go to blue and white because those are the city colours, and it's probably a colour scheme we'll continue with in the future. Teams in this league seem to switch logos far too frequently and we'd like to go with something that lasts. This one has lasted for a while now and I hope to get five more seasons out of it.

Haha, I will not file a complaint, they write nice things about us.. usually.

best article ever

Excellent article Krev.

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Ryan Jesster - HoF Goalie (S1-S14)
Proud Calgary Dragon Alumni 
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