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good_dude_great_hands · 09-13-2017, 07:15 PM

1538 words

With the season behind us and the playoffs looming, I think it’s a good time to check out the Scarecrows top line performance in the regular season this year.

Finn Jakobsen – Tigole Bitties – Scotty Steele

The Scarecrows top line is one paper one of the best two-way lines in the league, with all three skaters featuring a defensive rating over 70. On top of that, the mesh of skills seems to be top-notch. The two wingers (Steele on the right and Jakobsen on the left to close out the season) both being prominent playmakers, each showcasing strong playmaking abilities and very strong vision. Tigole Bitties rounded out the offensive capabilities of the line with his hugely underrated shooting ability.

However, as is often the case, on paper ability rarely translates directly into on-ice success. None of the players were within .66 PPG, and that is of course a huge disappointment for any player with elite ambitions. Bitties spoke on this matter directly when asked about his season, “It was really frustrating for me, personally, and I shoulder a lot of the blame for our offensive woes this season. We had such a great preseason with Louie Garrett, and I feel if I performed a bit better he'd still be with us for the playoffs.” Indeed, the loss of the Scarecrows’ captain jumpstarted the roster, with the team playing their way up from the bottom of the league to clinching a playoff spot with a 3rd place finish. “Garrett really took the lead on this team from the day I arrived here” says Steele, a trade acquisition before the season began in a trade with the Militia, “Along with the other guys in the locker room, he really made the transition easy. When Jack and I arrived from Montreal, It’s really apples and oranges with the culture here. Coming from a team with a poor outlook for the season and not much of a team culture to a team like the Crows where there’s almost this expectation. You really feel like you are going to win it all while still getting that Juniors experience. Garrett was really one of the drivers and when we weren’t doing well he was in our ear to get us going. Home leaving in a trade was really the kick in the balls we needed to turn this season around.”

And turn it around they did. The two SMJHL Sophomores and Junior turned it up to end the season 13-5-2 in the last 20 for 28 points out of a possible 40 and a final point percentage of .590. Both Jakobsen and Steele finished Eighth in point production among their respective postions (Steele tying former captain Louie Garrett, now a firebird), and Bitties finished the season a respectable 10th among centres. Finn also showed his physical abilities, finishing 7th in the league with 113 hits, which will surely help the line wear down opposition in the playoffs. When asked, Kortesi the GM had this to say, “Id say the top line was good, not great. It took a lot of line shuffling, but once we discovered the magic of Bitties, Jakobsen, and Steele (The BJS) line, we really started to mesh a lot better by season's end.”

C – TIGOLE BITTIES, TPE: 482
CK = Checking: 40
FG = Fighting: 25
DI = Discipline: 62
SK = Skating: 70
ST = Strength: 61
EN = Endurance: 72
DU = Durability: 50
PH = Puck Handling: 70
FO = Face Offs: 70
PA = Passing: 70
SC = Scoring: 80
DF = Defense: 70
PS = Penalty Shot: 40

The sophomore centre out of Greenland is really one of the more well-rounded players on the crows’ roster. His shot is his only very good stat, but there also aren’t any weaknesses that jump out at you. He’s capable of gobbling minutes at the SMJHL level without a significant decrease in the quality of those minutes, he’s a good enough skater to keep pace with his light-footed wingers, he wins more draws than he loses (as shown by his gleaming faceoff percentage while winning over 54% of the over 1300 draws hes taken), while having the hands and hockey IQ to make you look silly. “Bitties is a great guy to play with” says Steele, “you always know he’s in the right place on the ice, and he’s got a great 200-foot game that you can rely on while maintaining that offensive flash.”

While this wasn’t the season Bitties would’ve wished for offensively with a lackluster 24 points in 50 games played, one must think that he’s due for an uptick. There aren’t many players in the game who are as skilled as he is, and you can bet he’s geared up to make a splash in the playoffs. Another encouraging stat, is that although his scoring has been relatively infrequent, it has been clutch. Sporting a gleaming record of four game winning goals and one game tying goal, you know Bitties is the kind of player who turns it on when it counts.

LW- FINN JAKOBSEN, TPE: 338
CK = Checking: 60
FG = Fighting: 25
DI = Discipline: 62
SK = Skating: 70
ST = Strength: 55
EN = Endurance: 75
DU = Durability: 50
PH = Puck Handling: 68
FO = Face Offs: 42
PA = Passing: 75
SC = Scoring: 60
DF = Defense: 77
PS = Penalty Shot: 42

The Norwegian winger out of Oslo showed that he’s got the mettle to stick with an SMJHL top line this season, sporting the second highest point total on the squad. Another minute-gobbling forward, Jakobsen differs from his centreman in that he has a relative lack of shooting prowess, although you wouldn’t guess so from his totals. Where Jakobsen likes to make the opposition pay if by exploiting his incredibly good vision and instincts when feeding teammates while again being one of the more agile players on his squad.

Tying Bitties for the team lead in goals at 12 due to his ability to get in front of pucks to tip them in or be at the right place at the right time for a feed from one of his line mates and supplementing that with a respectable 19 assists, Jakobsen lands second in team scoring and 8th among Left Wingers. He’s also developed a reputation for being a pest, amassing 18 minor penalties for a total of 36 minutes, Jakobsen has primed himself to be the physical driver for his line in the playoffs, and as a player named first star three times already this season, he will certainly make a splash.

RW- SCOTTY STEELE, TPE: 392
CK = Checking: 40
FG = Fighting: 25
DI = Discipline: 62
SK = Skating: 80
ST = Strength: 71
EN = Endurance: 71
DU = Durability: 50
PH = Puck Handling: 70
FO = Face Offs: 40
PA = Passing: 75
SC = Scoring: 67
DF = Defense: 72
PS = Penalty Shot: 40

Steele, a preseason acquisition by way of the Militia, had quite a slow start to his season. However, when the team started to hit their stride, Steele was one of the leaders in the effort to turn the season around. When sked, Bitties was quick to give him props for his contribution, “Steele was a stud for us though this season, and he deserves a lot of the praise for us rebounding and finishing where we did.” The best skater on the roster by a relatively large margin, coupled with elite instincts and above average passing, Steele is known for being a complete player and he will need to be for the crows to do what they need to do to come home with a cup.

Leading the team with 32 points broken into 11 goals and 21 assists, he continues to cement his reputation as a capable playmaker. Hidden behind those numbers however, was a ghastly 7.43 shooting percentage. Is Steele simply a bad shooter? Or are we due for a break-out in goals when the playoffs hit? On top of his offensive contributions, Steele added on a +7 rating and four game winning goals, making both his complete 200-foot game and clutch playstyle more evident.

Baelor, the GM of the Minnesota Chiefs (who hold his SHL rights) glowed when asked about Steele’s play this season and potential in the playoffs, “Scotty had a great regular season and put on display why he was a first round draft pick for us just a couple seasons ago. He was one of the Scarecrows' most reliable and clutch players, leading the team in points and plus minus, helping to propel his team to one of the top records in the league. St. Louis will need Steele to continue his excellent play if they're going to go toe to toe with the Raiders and Whalers and I believe he very well can do that. One of the best playmakers in the SMJHL, I'm not sure it's a matter of him making the right passes - that's all but a given. If his linemates can take advantage of the way Steele can feed them the puck, the Scarecrows will go far in the playoffs.”

DeletedAtUserRequest · 09-15-2017, 11:32 PM

Nice insight.. good read.

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