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NONAME · 04-26-2024, 01:20 PM

We are now deep into season 77 of the SMJHL season and the Quebec City Citadelles have shown that they are a level above everyone else currently. They hold a 35-10-1 record (71 points) which is only 4 points above the 2nd place team, the Newfoundland Berserkers, however, the way they win is just pure dominance. Lets look a little deeper into some of the numbers to get a better idea of what I am saying.

Goal Differential

Surprisingly, Quebec doesn't lead the league in goals for or have the least amount of goals against. Quebec's potent offense runs through the Solberg's who have a combined 49 goals and 119 points this season but they also have insane depth with a total of 6 players with over a point per game average. In total, they have potted 207 goals (4.50 goals per game) which puts them in 2nd place behind Newfoundland who has 208. What makes Quebec so good, is that they don't sacrifice their defensive play to create offense. If anything their offense is created through the elite blueline that the Citadelles carry. 5 of their defenseman have 425 TPE! This has allowed them to shutdown teams and only allow 126 goals against which is good for 2nd place in the league again, following behind Carolina who has only allowed 111! The strong play on both ends of the ice has them at a goal differential of +81 currently which is +14 more than the 2nd best team, the Carolina Kraken.

Corsi

What stands out to me the most is the CF% of the Quebec players. If you look at the league leaders in CF%, the first 14 players are all Citadelles. That is all but one of their players, that is insane. When you start to look at the rest of the players, it's a mix from throughout the league. It's not like it's just all of another team. The offensive pressure the Citadelles apply is unmatched within the league currently. What is really cool to see is that the top line of Quebec hasn't been the most dominate in this stat. It's actually the 3rd line of the team with Skovgaard, King, and Goat. They each posses a CF% relative to the rest of the team of 4.3%, 4.5%, and 4.8%! It doesn't matter who is on the ice for them, they are going to control the play and wear you down.

The large goal differential mixed in with the strong possession play has Quebec sitting pretty in the standings and as the favourite's to win the championship this year in my opinion. If any team is going to start to change that narrative, it's time for them to show it as we are heading down the stretch of the season. In my opinion, the Carolina Kraken are the 2nd favourites and if they can get their offense going at a pace closer to Quebec they could make some noise. With their younger guys like Swedish Chef gaining more experience, that gap can be closed before the playoffs!

*CptSquall* · 05-04-2024, 10:30 AM

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