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+---- Thread: (GRADED)Deep Dive #2 - S71 Detroit Expectations (/showthread.php?tid=131324)
(GRADED)Deep Dive #2 - S71 Detroit Expectations - Aephino - 05-30-2023
We'll be taking a look into this season's expectations for the Detroit Falcons. Projected player stats, regular season finish, and playoff run potential.
Extrapolating from both the 7 preseason games and 3 games already played, let's begin by diving into player stats. I will highlight the projected points, followed by other key stats.
S71 Regular Season Detroit Player Stats:
Tobias Wrexks - C - 40g - 33a
Trevor Lahey - C - 33g - 40a
Walter Ulrich - RW - 26g - 40a
4 Chainz - C - 46g - 20a
Billy Herrington - LW - 26g, 33a
Paul Matz - LW - 7g - 40a
Khris Ray-Thiago - LW - 20g - 26a
The Murray - RW - 13g - 20a
RIP Pat Stay - LD - 0g - 33a
Aurora Azjha - RW - 13g - 20a
Lucas Manning - RD - 0 - 26a
Zedward Zilliams - LD - 7g - 13a
Drew Meyer - LD - 0g - 20a
Olaf Hofmann - RD - 0g - 13a
Martin Csiszar - C - 0g - 13a
Based on the results from the preseason and first 3 games of the regular season, we expect the leading point-scoring forward to be Tobias Wrexks and Trevor Lahey, as well as Walter Ulrich and 4 Chainz. Hopefully we see more point production from Billy Herrington. Let's take a look at the remaining key stat projections.
Blocked Shots Leaders:
Zedward Zilliams - 178
Lucas Manning - 92
The Murray - 66
Olaf Hofmann - 59
Paul Matz - 53
Hits Leaders:
The Murray - 277
Drew Meyer - 244
Paul Matz - 231
Walter Ulrich - 224
Lucas Manning - 191
RIP Pat Stay - 191
PIM Leaders:
Lucas Manning - 99
Drew Meyer - 40
Zedward Zilliams - 40
Khris Ray-Thiago - 40
Zedward will be the key starting defenseman and should expect to see a large number of blocked shots this season. Detroit have the ability to be a physical team, with a number of big hitters. Lucas Manning would do well to stay out of the penalty box this season.
Now let's move onto regular season finish. We begin with the Bastien Marchessault Division, which contains the Detroit Falcons, Regina Elk, and Vancouver Whalers. Preseason finished DET - 6, REG - 6, VAN - 5 after 7 games. Currently the regular season sits REG - 6, VAN - 4, DET - 2 after 3 games. This small sample size suggests that Regina would lean towards finishing 1st or 2nd, Vancouver finishes 2nd or 3rd, leaving Detroit to finish anywhere! If we look closer, at the first 3 results, Regina began by beating Kelowna, followed by Anchorage. Detroit has already lost to both the Knights and the Armanda, which leads me to believe that Detroit will fall to Regina. Vancouver lost to Newfoundland and St. Louis, but scraped by the worst team in the league, Great Falls. That begin said, both Vancouver losses were in OT. While they may not have the X-factor required to beat Regina, I don't believe they will come last in the division.
Projected Bastien Marchessault Division:
1. Regina Elk
2. Vancouver Whalers
3. Detroit Falcons
This three-team division means everyone gets to advance to the playoffs. For the playoff picture, I will simply use the current standings to extrapolate to the end of the season. The two teams projected to miss playoffs would be the Colorado Raptors and Anchorage Armada. This would put Detroit as the second-worst record for playoff teams. The first four teams get a bye, so Detroit would play the #6 seed, which is currently the archrivals of St. Louis. The Falcons and Scarecrows have only met 2 times in the playoffs in the current FHM era:
S60: Detroit 0-4 St. Louis
S53: Detroit 4-3 St. Louis
I think it will be really difficult for Detroit to beat St. Louis over a 7 game series, but we would certainly give them a worthier fight than S60.
RE: (GRADED)Deep Dive #2 - S71 Detroit Expectations - CptSquall - 05-31-2023
Approved, +5 TPE to @Aephino