Octopus Thrower’s Preseason Predictions

Sep 28, 2013; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Detroit Red Wings right wing Mitchell Callahan (57) celebrates scoring a goal during the third period in a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Air Canada Centre. The Toronto Maple Leafs won 3-1. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports

Welcome to the preseason predictions for the 2013-2014 season! Last year, we did a fun and crazy version that had everyone commenting on everyone else’s predictions and while it was fun and hilarious, it was a little too much to handle.

This year, we opted just to make our own predictions. And hey, maybe we’ll comment on them at the end of the season to see how poorly we did and tell ourselves to be smarter when next year comes around.

We made sure some were believable and others were just a little too over the top. In seven/eight months, we’ll see how they stack up.

Let the great experiment begin!

—

Dylan’s Predictions

1. Pavel Datsyuk will win the Ted Lindsay/Lester B. Pearson award, but not the Hart Trophy

2. Justin Abdelkader will earn a spot as the 13th or 14th forward on the U.S Olympic roster

3. Detroit will place first in the Eastern Conference this year

—

Jeremy’s Predictions

1. Gustav Nyquist will score 20 goals

2. Jimmy Howard will start for the U.S. in Sochi

3. Danny DeKeyser will garner a Norris nomination

4. The Red Wings will not lose to the Bruins this season

—

Sep 19, 2013; Boston, MA, USA; Detroit Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard (35) handles the puck during the second period against the Boston Bruins at TD Banknorth Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

Jordan’s Predictions

1. Detroit finishes 2nd in the Atlantic Division

2. Jimmy Howard starts for Team USA in Sochi

3. Stephen Weiss outpoints Valtteri Filppula

4. Wings win the Stanley Cup

—

John’s Predictions

1. Analysts everywhere will continue to mention how Wings such as Nyquist, Andersson and Tatar should be nominated for the Calder Trophy despite the fact that none of them are eligible based on the number of games they’ve played

2. The Wings’ leader in goal scoring and points will not be Datsyuk or Zetterberg

3. Team USA will win a gold medal in the Olympics with Jimmy Howard backing every game

4. John will become the writer that everyone loves to read at Octopus Thrower, and everyone will love him and the compliments to all his articles will shower him with compliments

—

Christina’s Predictions

1. Mikael Samuelsson will waive his NTC for the good of the team’s roster and be traded to any team that’s not Detroit (I can hope and pray, can’t I?)

2. Darren Helm will return before the halfway point of the season and rack up 15-20 points

3. Daniel Cleary will only miss five games total and have a 40 point season, but fans will still harp on him for something…like not having functioning knees or secretly being Frankenstein’s monster

4. Pavel Datsyuk will have two hat tricks this season and fans in the Metro Detroit area will happily ingest the free Arby’s curly fries. Dangle Fries. Yep, they’re called Dangle Fries if it’s a Datsyuk hat trick

—

Peter’s Predictions

1. Tomas Tatar will score 15+ goals this season

2. Justin Abdelkader will lose his spot on the 1st line to Daniel Cleary

3. Petr Mrazek will stay the year in Detroit and Jonas Gustavsson will be put on waivers

4. Adam Almqvist will be the defensive call up, over Sproul and Ouellet, from Grand Rapids if a defenseman goes down due to injury.

—

There you have it. Octopus Thrower’s preseason predictions. Seems like many of us were on the same wavelength–quite a few mentions of Tatar as well as Howard starting in the Olympics.

And John trying to score some brownie points with readers. Hey, don’t you worry about readers, let me worry about blank.

It’s safe to say that we here at Octopus Thrower have a soft spot for Tatar. From my article written about why he deserves a spot on the roster back in February to Jordan’s article about it a few weeks ago to John’s article about a potential Calder nomination/win (even if it isn’t possible)… yeah, we kind of like Tatar. You shouldn’t be surprised by how many people predicted something about him.

So who do you agree with? Who do you think is completely daft? Why aren’t there more about getting rid of Samuelsson?And which ones would you sell your firstborn child to see actually come true?