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Back during the NHL’s centennial anniversary, we compiled a team of the top players born in B.C. to play in the NHL. Not everyone agreed with the content of the list, but mostly it was a fun exercise during a slightly down period of the NHL year.

With the Canucks out of playoff contention and the team a little bit depressing to write about at this point, it only felt natural to return to the NHL Province Experiment.

And, since the Straight is obviously a B.C. publication, we’re in the business of asking how teams from other provinces would measure up against the team from Beautiful British Columbia.

Here’s the B.C. team for your reference.

* - Hall of Famer

^ - currently playing

Forwards

Paul Kariya*-Joe Sakic*-Mark Recchi*

Jamie Benn^-Steve Yzerman*-Cam Neely*

Geoff Courtnall-Ray Ferraro-Glenn Anderson*

Greg Adams-Peter McNab-Danny Gare

Defencemen

Shea Weber^-Doug Bodger

Brent Seabrook^-Barry Beck

Doug Lidster-Dan Hamhuis^

Goaltenders

Carey Price^

Cecil ‘Tiny’ Thompson*

Andy Moog

Now, Alberta.

This couldn’t have been done without the help of certain websites (including hockeydb.com, quanthockey.com and hockey-reference.com, which lists 575 players from the province).

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Forwards

Johnny Bucyk*-Mark Messier*-Jarome Iginla

Ray Whitney-Norm Ullman*-Lanny McDonald*

Taylor Hall^-Tom Lysiak-Stan Smyl

Ryan Smyth-Trevor Linden-Shane Doan

Canucks fans will be of two minds when looking at this list. Let’s start with the bad news. Yes, Mark Messier is the number one centre. Frankly, it’s not even close. Third all-time in points, ‘Moose’ has certainly earned his spot at the top of the depth chart, even as Vancouverites don’t have fond memories of the former Lay’s spokesperson.

Messier is the centre of a powerful first line (all from Edmonton) that would just as soon drive you into the ground as it would put a puck in the net. On his left wing is Hall-of-Famer Johnny Bucyk, who played an incredible 20 straight seasons with the Boston Bruins that started in the late-50s. On the right side is a more recent player, former Calgary Flames great Jarome Iginla, who will surely be a first-ballot Hall inductee when he finally hangs them up (he’s currently an unrestricted free agent who hasn’t called it quits yet, despite not being on a team).

The second line is a trio of solid, mostly unheralded veterans who were able to build strong NHL careers. All three were never the best forwards on their teams, but they all played more than 20 seasons and all registered over 1,000 points in their careers. McDonald and Whitney have hard-earned Cup rings as well.

Is Taylor Hall on the third line a case of recency bias? Maybe. He’s having a spectacular season this year and has entered the Hart Trophy discussion as the NHL’s most valuable player. But his place on the list is not unearned. He’s sixth in points per game among Albertan players, and he’s done that in an era that’s been much harder to score goals in than, say, the 80s and 90s. Hall is one of the NHL’s brightest young stars and here’s betting that when it’s over, he makes a serious push for Bucyk’s spot on the top line.

Former Atlanta Flame Lysiak and his third-among-Albertans points percentage centres Hall and, the first good piece of news for Canucks fans, Stan Smyl. Smyl was a force on some mostly bad Canucks teams, and though his production faded a bit as he got older, he’s still more than worthy of holding down a spot on Alberta’s third line. His 18 points in 17 playoff games in 1982 remain entrenched in the minds of older fans.

The fourth line is just an embarrassment of power forwards. Two former soldiers who both held the nickname “Captain Canada” (because of how often they captained Canadian teams at the World Championship after their teams were eliminated from playoff contention), Smyth and Doan were both known for their willingness to battle in the corners and in front of the net.

They anchor a tough-as-nails fourth line along with Trevor Linden, who, even though he wasn’t the most prolific point producer, is impossible to leave off the list. Before Smyth and Doan, Linden was the prototypical hard-working power forward who was good in his own zone and admired by fans. Eighth all-time in points among Albertans, Linden earned his spot on this team.

Notable Omissions: Brent Sutter, who had a solid career and a strong points percentage but lost the fourth line centre role to Linden because he didn’t play for the Canucks (c’mon, some homerism has to be expected) and the fact Mike Bossy allowed him to stockpile points in his early years with the Islanders; Murray Craven didn’t play with the Canucks for long, but he was a key contributor during the team’s ’94 playoff run and produced high-scoring campaigns for the late-80s, early-90s Philadelphia Flyers.

Dave Babych

Defencemen

Scott Niedermayer*-Dave Babych



Glen Wesley-Mike Green^



Bill Gadsby*-Dion Phaneuf^

Is this Scott Niedermayer and a bunch of other dudes? Somewhat. Niedermayer is far and away the best rearguard on this list, and it’s not particularly close. Among Niedermayer’s lengthy list of accomplishments: a Norris Trophy as the league’s best defenceman, a Conn Smythe Trophy as the player judged most valuable in the playoffs, and four Stanley Cups. He’s in a league of his own as one of the best defenders of his generation and probably one of the 20 best blueliners to ever play.

Former Canucks fan favourite Babych gets on the top pairing, as he’s second in points by Albertan defencemen. While he was mostly cast in a defensive role with Vancouver, Babych was something of a productive scorer in his days with the Winnipeg Jets and Hartford Whalers, even registering 74 points one year with the Jets.

Stay-at-home rock Glen Wesley and the offensively inclined Green make an ideal second pairing. Green’s production has waned, but his early years were truly terrific. He scored at more than a point-per-game with the 2009-10 Washington Capitals and came second in Norris Trophy voting twice in a row. Wesley leads Albertan defenders in games played with 1,457 and would provide the pairing with a responsible presence and a Stanley Cup ring.

Like Green, Dion Phaneuf’s scoring exploits as a youngster are often forgotten due to a mostly unfortunate stint with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Phaneuf was once nominated for both the Calder and Norris trophies, and still brings a heavy shot and capable defensive abilities to the Los Angeles Kings. Beside him is Hall-of-Famer Bill Gadsby, who was a First-Team All-Star three times and, in 1958-59, set a record for assists by a defenceman with 46. Gadsby has a warrior mentality which fits with the rest of the team, as he was able to play through polio (seriously).

Notable Omissions: Darryl Sydor had a strong career, including two Stanley Cup rings; Jay Bouwmeester isn’t finished yet, but has been a workhorse on the blueline and has Olympic and World Cup medals.

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Goaltenders

Grant Fuhr*

Chris Osgood

Mike Vernon

This one is relatively straightforward. Was Grant Fuhr the main reason the Edmonton Oilers won four Stanley Cups in the mid-80s (and then another in 1990)? No. He even served as the backup for that 1990 team, and his .887 save percentage isn’t much to brag about, even in that era. But he was capable enough to win five Cups, which very few goalies in NHL history can claim (actually only two can—legends Jacques Plante and Ken Dryden).

Keeping with the theme of decent goalies on great teams, Chris Osgood and Mike Vernon once battled for time on the Detroit Red Wings of the late-90s. Both won multiple Cups (Vernon with the Flames and Red Wings, Osgood three times with Detroit), and both were beaten up by Patrick Roy, on separate occasions. They also shared the William Jennings Trophy awarded to the goaltenders on the team with the fewest goals against.

Osgood gets the nod over Vernon for the backup role, due to having more wins and a better save percentage, but it would be a shame if Team Alberta didn’t eventually switch between the two, just for old times’ sake.

Notable Omissions: Kelly Hrudey has a decent case, but his work as a broadcaster has more than used up any goodwill he built.

Who would win a seven-game series?

This is tough. Alberta’s strategy would undoubtedly centre around a strong forecheck and trying to bash in B.C.’s skilled forwards. But it’s not like the B.C. team is lacking in grit up front or on defence. With a better defensive core and stronger goaltending, we think this matchup is British Columbia’s for the taking.

Follow @ncaddell on Twitter and get into the debate