Hawks, Flyers built for success

Hockey Betting Lines

06/08/2010 - Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - No, this is not another tired and circular tirade on the merits of trading draft picks.

Rather, it is a closer look at how the Philadelphia Flyers and Chicago Blackhawks have built championship-caliber teams by picking players with a certain pedigree.

With the success of the Detroit Red Wings over the last 20 years, it is hard to argue that contenders can only be built on a foundation of Canadian passion and American brawn.

Since the fall of the "Iron Curtain", the NHL has diversified significantly and players from across the globe have come together in pursuit of the goal of winning the Stanley Cup.

However, the one common trend among this year's cup finalists is not a player's country of birth, but instead, where they laced up before cracking the NHL.

In the last five finals, only the 2007-2008 Red Wings have hoisted Lord Stanley's mug while dressing a significant number of players who came from overseas (they had 11 in total that year).

The Carolina Hurricanes, Anaheim Ducks and Pittsburgh Penguins each had no more than four European players on their playoff roster.

Of the players who have suited up for the Hawks' run to the final, 14 have come from the Canadian Hockey League (nine from the Western Hockey League and five from the Ontario Hockey League), five from college and only three played competitively in Europe...two of them being goalies.

The Flyers, meanwhile, dress 17 players from the CHL (seven from the OHL and five apiece from the WHL and Quebec Major Junior Hockey League), three by way of the NCAA and two from overseas.

It is not, however, a negative reflection of European players, as the Hawks' Marian Hossa and Tomas Kopecky honed their skills in the WHL, while Lukas Krajicek and Oskars Bartulis of the Flyers crossed the pond to play in the OHL and QMJHL respectively.

While European leagues are capable of producing top-flight players, the fact of the matter is junior hockey and developmental programs in North America provide a better training ground for the style of play most effective in the NHL.

Leading up to the 2010 NHL Entry Draft in Los Angeles, there is once again a heavy dose of North American talent in the first round and beyond.

In most mock drafts and rankings, the consensus is that an average of 19 players will be taken from the CHL while another eight are projected to be selected from the U.S. minor hockey and collegiate system, while only three international players are expected to go in the opening round.

Keep in mind, those figures are estimates and that no one outside the 30 NHL teams themselves knows how things will shake out on June 25.

It should also be noted most general managers wouldn't pass up a potential elite European or Russian talent to grab a North American player with less upside, although this has happened in the past (see Alexei Cherepanov in 2007).

But after watching the rugged yet highly skilled style of play exhibited by the Hawks and the Flyers these playoffs, it is no surprise that prospects from a North American system are preferred to those unaccustomed to the rigors and rules of the NHL.

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Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.


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