(864 words)

(I started this last night, so stats/individual rankings have likely changed after today's sim.)

We are 6 days into Season 47 of the SMJHL and the Detroit Falcons find themselves dead last in the league standings. Earning just 2 league points in 6 games so far, the Falcons are 1-5-0 to start the season. Detroit's lone win on the young season saw the Falcons upend the St. Louis Scarecrows by a scoreline of 6 - 3. Just under 2 minutes into the game, rookie and first overall draft pick Travis Bitties opened the scoring for Detroit with his first career goal. The Falcons would then ride the momentum of an eventful third period, including 5 total goals and a line brawl, to pick up their first win of the season. Despite having an explosive offense capable of posting 6 goals in a game, the Falcons still can't find a way to win consistently. 

Offense is not the issue in Detroit, as the Falcons scored 20 goals in their first 5 games before being shutout by Anaheim in their latest game. Detroit and the Montreal Militia have each scored 20 goals this season to tie for second in the league so far, behind only Anchorage who have scored 22 goals. While they have been scoring plenty of goals, they have also been conceding plenty of goals. Detroit leads the SMJHL in goals allowed with 24 through their first 6 games. It is also worth mentioning that the Falcons have displayed a major lack of discipline so far. Detroit has had to kill more penalties than any other team and have a sub-par kill percentage. If they are unable to figure things out on the defensive side of things, they will need to find ways to score even more goals if they are to start winning more games. This would require a talented group of forwards and also would require them to see production throughout each of the four forward lines. 

I will now briefly discuss the group of forwards playing in Detroit this season and compare their TPE to the forwards of the other teams in the SMJHL.

Forward Line 1:
C - Raino Kyllonen (350 TPE): Kyllonen, who is serving as captain of the Falcons, has started strong and is averaging a point per game. Through the first 6 games, Raino has recorded 1 goal and 5 assists. He has also won 53.6% of his face offs. 
LW - Josh Driver (292 TPE): Josh Driver is an assistant captain this season and is getting a shot at playing on the top line. He has netted 3 goals through the first 6 games, tying with two other players for the team lead. He will have to work on his discipline, however, as he is second in the league with 13 penalty minutes (5 of which came from the brawl with St. Louis).  
RW - Espen Knutsen Jr. (350 TPE): Last season's playoff hero for Detroit, Knutsen Jr. is an assistant captain this season. He has started strong this season, recording a total of 3 goals and 4 assists through the first 6 games. While he is playing as a winger, he is listed as a center and his 7 points have him ranked 4th in league scoring by listed centers. Knutsen Jr. leads the team in shots on goal with 15. 

Forward Line 2:
C - Kalvins Zvejnieks (350 TPE): Zvejnieks is a clinical playmaker and has recorded 5 assists through the first 6 games.
LW - Franz Cooper (350 TPE): Cooper has 3 goals and 2 assists for 5 points through the first 6 games and will likely be a top scorer for the Falcons all season long.
RW - Lunga Gumba (318 TPE): Lunga Gumba has netted 2 goals so far on the season and will continue looking to take advantage of sharing a line with Zvejnieks. 

Forward Line 3:
C - Gabster TheMagnificent (277 TPE): Gabster has recorded 1 goal and 2 assists this season. 
LW - Savoli Tankovic (236 TPE): Tankovic has scored 2 goals this season, including the game winner against St. Louis.
RW - Travis Bitties (207 TPE): The first overall draft pick has tallied 1 goal and 1 assist so far. 

Forward Line 4:
C - Lex Peters (210 TPE): Peters has recorded 2 goals and 1 assist to start the season, providing good production form the 4th line.
LW - Marc Palicka Jr. (155 TPE): The rookie has started his career off with 1 assist so far.
RW - Oleg Scoreov (197 TPE): Scoreov has 2 points through 6 games, tallying a goal and an assist.

Average TPE: 275.9

Average TPE of each SMJHL forward group (capped players calculated at 350):
1. St. Louis - 307.6
2. Anaheim - 301.3
3. Lethbridge - 295.3
4. Montreal - 292.7
5. Vancouver - 287.7
6. Kelowna - 281.3
7. Detroit - 275.9
8. Halifax - 273.8
9. Anchorage - 271.8
10. Colorado - 239.3

Although Detroit is ahead of only three other teams in terms of average forward TPE, they have still managed to score a lot of goals so far. They will need to continue this, and see even more production from here on out in order to find success this season.

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