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+---- Thread: Season 13 Outlook (/showthread.php?tid=22451)
- Keenan - 04-09-2013
With the 13th season of the SHL on the horizon I thought it would be fun to look back to the offseason and look forward into the season to see how each team is likely to fare. I know most of the questions involve goalies, but they were the best ones I could think of, sorry. Enjoy.
WESTERN CONFERENCE:
Calgary Dragons
===============
Last Season: 2nd place: 27-18-5 (59)
Leaders: G: Webb (24), A: Drake (38), Pts: Webb (53), +/-: Smirnov (22), PIMS: Malyckyj (83)
Offseason Additions: D Chuck Weird, RW Ryan Haan, C Oliver Harris
Offseason Losses: D Mark Malyckyj, D Shayne Steele
Regressors: G Ryan Jesster, LW Trevor Smith, RW Josh Simmons, LW Josh Hockridge, LW Colin Holmes, D Claude Malenfant
Last season: At the end of last season the Dragons were nestled snugly in the 2nd spot in the Western Conference. Kain Webb paced the club offensively with 53 points (24G, 29A) which was good for second in the league. After Webb, a trio of defensemen were next in scoring: Drizzy Drake (8G, 38A), Vladislav Smirnov (8G, 36A), and Mark Malyckyj (10G, 23A).
This season: Heading into this offseason, from an outside stand point, the Dragons needed forward depth. Webb performed extremely well, and Trevor Smith, Cam Wilson, and Antero Salmelainen also had respectable seasons, but if this team wants to go far they'll need more offense from their forwards. Drafting Ryan Haan was a good call, but one wonders if he'll even make the team off the bat, let alone be ready to contribute at a good pace. Combine this with Drizzy Drake being suspended for the start of the season, Mark Malyckyj being traded, and many important players (especially Jesster and Smith) regressing and Calgary seems to be on the outside looking in.
Major Question: Who will start the most games in goal? Jesster has been the Dragon's starter since the start, but his time is clearly running out. With regression hitting Jesster hard this offseason, will Calgary turn to stud prospect Mike Verminski between the pipes, or will they let Jesster be their man for at least one more season?
Prediction: Webb has another beautiful season, but Calgary finishes 5th in the West.
Edmonton Blizzard
=================
Last Season: 3rd place: 24-20-6 (54)
Leaders: G: Dooley (18), A: Reinhart (29), Pts: Dooley/Haan (40), +/-: Smith (11), PIMS: Dooley/Haan (71)
Offseason Additions: D Logan Valentine, G Jakub Aittokallio, C Smirnov Light
Offseason Losses: C Sean Gallagher
Regressors: RW Ronan O'Keefe, LW Ideen Fallah, RW Zach Dooley, G Viari Latypov
Last Season: Even though the Blizzard scored more goals and allowed less than the Dragons last season, the latter finished higher in the standings. Edmonton finished with 6 players over 30 points: Zach Dooley (18G, 22A), Michael Haan (17G, 23A), Cole Reinhart (7G, 29A), Jed Mosely (13G, 20A), Laraque Obama (14G, 18A), John Langabeer (10G, 22A). As you can see by that list, Edmonton has a very strong defensive core, with their top four scorers all being natural defensemen (although Dooley now plays RW).
This season: This season the Blizzard look to have one of the best (if not the best) teams on paper. They will hope to go far this year because after this season they will be losing three big players to retirement (O'Keefe, Corcoran, Light). They should still be a great team in the future, but this may be their best chance at a cup for the next few years, and they will be a tough team to beat.
Major Question: Do the Blizzard sell any of their (soon to be) retirees? One would have to assume that Corcoran is staying in Edmonton as Aittokallio is probably not ready to become a starter in the league, but with their pretty deep depth on forward one could see them dealing either O'Keefe or Light in order to build a more competitive team for the near future.
Prediction: I'll say Dooley leads the team in scoring again and they finish first in the west. Cup finals are very likely in my opinion.
Las Vegas Kings
===============
Last Season: 5th place: 22-25-3 (47)
Leaders: G: Duddy (16), A: Due (30), Pts: Due (42), +/-: Duddy (9), PIMS: Due (100)
Offseason Additions: LW Isabella Esparza-Osvaldson, D Matthew Buchesnar, LW Martin Walker
Offseason Losses: C Steven Stamkos, D Kyler Lange
Regressors: RW Kiernan Cassidy, C Riley Raycroft, LW Joshua Bothelo, D Eric Scheib
Last Season: Las Vegas stormed out of the gates last season and were in the playoff hunt until the very end, but ultimately lost out on the spot to Texas. The goaltending tandem of Marshall MacPheron and Yehudah Ben-Lev played quite well, while midseason acquisition Christoph Klose added some offensive spark to a team that struggled to find scoring outside of Jason Due, Thomas Duddy, Kyler Lange, Riley Raycroft, and James Blaine.
This season: The Kings lost defender Kyler Lange to retirement, but they still have premier offensive d-man Jason Due to pace the offense. With many high picks in recent drafts, Kings prospects such as Robin Karlsson, Jrue Harden, Isabella Esparza-Osvaldson, and Matthew Buchesnar should be ready to light a spark under the offense. Combine that with the fact that they were able to re-sign UFA Kristoph Klose to man their first line, the Kings are looking good this season.
Major Question: Does Las Vegas move MacPherson? Both Kings goaltenders put up eerily similar stats last season, is it Ben-Lev's time to be the starter in Vegas? There are quite a few teams that could be suitors for MacPherson should the Kings decide to move him and bring in more young talent.
Prediction: Las Vegas begins to see the results of having so many high draft picks recently: 4th in the conference.
Los Angeles Panthers
====================
Last Season: 6th Place: 18-25-7 (43)
Leaders: G: Light (22), A: Light (37), Pts: Light (59), +/-: Light (3), PIMS: McZehrl (72)
Offseason Additions: D Bohemund Hardrada, D Erik Karlsson, RW Ben Booth, D OJ Simpson, D Shawn Velevra, LW Kaspar Abraham, G Jamie Shetler
Offseason Losses: C Smirnov Light, D Dennis Seidenberg, RW Joe Momma
Regressors: RW Corey Michael
Last Season: Last season the Panthers launched full into their rebuild and the results were surprising when they finished with many more points than most anyone would have guessed, especially with C Chris McZehrl missing half the season.
This Season: The Panthers should expect more of the same. No one is expecting the Panthers to compete, but they made some major deals this offseason and were able to bring in some great young players, including goalie Jamie Shetler, who fills a big hole for the Panthers and defending Rookie of the Year Shawn Velevra.
Major Question: Will Chris McZehrl be dealt? McZehrl is the odd man out in L.A. Most of the team are sophomores or rookies, yet McZ will be entering his 6th season. With 926 TPE, if GM Taron47 can move McZehrl (and come the trade deadline, there will be many teams interested) he can add even more pieces to what can be considered the top group of prospects in the league.
Prediction: 6th place, plain and simple, but I think Velevra will continue his wonderful play and Kylrad should be able to break out even more so than he did last season.
Texas Renegades
===============
Last Season: 4th place: 22-21-7 (51)
Leaders: G: Armia (23), A: Gibbon (31), Pts: Armia (52), +/-: Gibbon (27), PIMS: Marcco (84)
Offseason Additions: C Simo Hayha, D Giovanni Mortellaro II, D Eustache Eustachian, LW Victor Ansev, D Mark Malyckyj, C Daniel Malenfant
Offseason Losses: C Jan Benda, D Erik Lidstrom, D Vyacheslav Onoprienko, C Oliver Harris, D Aidan Richan, D Logan Valentine
Regressors: C Daniel Malenfant, RW Edgar Marcco, RW Jay McDonald, RW Carmine Pellone, RW TJ Barbeau, C Valdas Kremer
Last Season: The Renegades were lead into the playoffs by strong seasons from Elias Armia (23G, 29A), Brendan Gibbon (15G, 31A), Aidan Richan (10G, 30A), Logan Valentine (16G, 22A), TJ Barbeau (10G, 27A), and Chris Partlow (10G, 21A). Armia has been one of the best players these past few seasons and the rest of the group includes a very good defensive core (Richan, Valentine, Partlow).
This Season: The Renegades lost two amazing defenders in Richan (trade) and Valentine (FA) but they were also able to bring in two good defenders via trades (Malyckyj and Mortellaro II) along with top prospect Eustachian. One thing that hurts the Renegades is that outside of Armia, Gibbon, and Barbeau their scoring from their forwards leaves a lot to be desired. New additions Malenfant and Ansev should look to see major playing time for the team.
Major Question: Do the other lines step up? Last season outside of Armia, Gibbon, and Barbeau the highest scoring forward was third liner Abdullah Muhammed Jabir with only 15 points. If they intend to go far, they'll need more help from their other lines.
Prediction: 3rd place in the conference. I think that 3rd, 4th, and 5th will be a tight race between Texas, Calgary, and Las Vegas, but I feel that Texas not having questions between the pipes and being home to Elias Armia should be able to sneak into the 3rd spot.
Winnipeg Jets
=============
Last Season: 1st place: 31-16-3 (65)
Leaders: G: Turkkonen (20), A: Weber (25), Pts: Turkkonen (42), +/-: Donini/Mortallero II (11), PIMS Weber (63)
Offseason Additions: G Lauris Prikulis, D Vyacheslav Onoprienko, D Erik Lidstrom
Offseason Losses: D Giovanni Mortarello II
Regressors: D Gareth Ramos, C Ron Mexico
Last Season: The Jets advanced to the finals last season before ultimately falling short against Minnesota. They were lead by legendary goaltender John McBride along with a forwards Ezekiel Turkkonen, Armin Brovalchuk, Jordan Hall, Brandon Donini and defenders Zach Myers and Willie Weber. Their midseason trade for C Luke Riggs hasn't paid off yet, but he'd going to be dangerous in season 13.
This Season: This will be the final season for two of the best players on the Jets, with both John McBride and Zach Myers calling it quits this season. As they are still on the team though, this team has a wonderful chance of going all the way. Donini and Riggs are the two leading scorers from the season 11 draft, and should look to continue their success while possibly playing on the same line.
Major Question: Who is Winnipeg's goalie in season 14? The smart money is on first round pick Lauris Prikulis following McBride as the Jets' netminder, but they could always sign a free agent on a one year deal or make a trade for a netminder to give Prikulis another year of progression before stepping in as the full time goalie.
Prediction: 2nd place in the conference, I think that Edmonton is better than them (at least on paper) but Winnipeg will make it very interesting, especially if they meet in the semi-finals.
EASTERN CONFERENCE:
Hamilton Steelhawks
===================
Last Season: 3rd Place: 33-17-0 (66)
Leaders: G: Witzel (19), A: Martucci/LeBacon (26), Pts: Witzel/Martucci (43), +/-: Ekblad (24), PIMS: Witzel (88)
Offseason Additions: RW Chad Levasseur, C Marcus Jones,
Offseason Losses: C David winter
Regressors: LW Eoghan O'Donnell, RW Roberto Martucci, RW Raymond Lindsay
Last Season: To begin with the Steelhawks had a whopping 4 players over 40 points: Brodie Witzel (19G, 24A), Roberto Martucci (17G, 26A), David Winter (18G, 24A), and Joe McKiel (18G, 23A). Unfortunately for Hamilton they were unable to win back to back cups, but they did perform admirably.
This Season: Last season's leading scorer Brodie Witzel has made it known that he does not want to play this season and will be retiring. While it seems that Steelhawk management will honor his request, that could change quickly if Hamilton stutters out of the gate. The Steelhawks still have a very good core, including youngsters Roman Schultz and Rehn Miller, two of the top three TPE earners from the season 11 draft.
Major Question: Is Cyan Winters the answer in net? Heading into the season 11 draft Cyan Winters was considered a can't miss goalie prospect, he seems to have dropped a bit in his activity, but if he returns to his old ways, he should be the next goalie for Hamilton. With Andersson ending his career, Hamilton is going to need a good young goalie, which they hope is Winters.
Prediction: 4th in the conference. Any time you lose players of Witzel's and Winters' skill level, it's tough. We'll have to see how Hamilton deals with it, but I could see them finishing anywhere in the top 4.
Manhattan Rage
==============
Last Season: 4th place: 26-22-2 (54)
Leaders: G: Nugent-Hall (21), A: Nugent-Hall (28), Pts: Nugent-Hall (49), +/-: Nugent-Hall/Kulikov (13), PIMS: Grossmann (77)
Offseason Additions: LW Ivo Willems, D Jareth Sto Helit, LW Karl Tony, C Jan Benda, G Anthony Tremayne, C David Winter
Offseason Losses: LW Nike Kickz, D Jardy Bunclewirth, C Simo Hayha
Regressors: LW Zac Goonathan
Last Season: The Rage, like the Kings, started off very strongly last season, before falling back down to Earth. The Rage lost to the President's Trophy winning Toronto North Stars in the playoffs, and another subpar season was in the books.
This Season: The Rage surprised everyone in the offseason by acquiring two of the premier players league wide in Ivo Willems and Jareth Sto Helit before signing another superstar, David Winter, in free agency, with these three along with young players Jordan Nugent-Hallm Kyle Keenan, John Grossmann, Benoit Charlebois, Meb Keflezighi, and Josef Heiss and veterans Mike Ochocinco, Yuri Kulikov, and Jordan McArthur, the Rage look poised to finally win a playoff series for the first time in franchise history.
Major Question: How will all of the new additions pay off? Sometimes when adding skilled players a team ends up playing worse than they had before due to chemistry being messed up. While it seems like it won't happen to the Rage, it shouldn't be out of anyone's mind.
Prediction: I may be a bit biased, but I see the Rage finishing 1st in the division and advancing to the cup finals. What will happen then is anyone's guess.
Minnesota Chiefs
================
Last Season: 2nd place: 33-15-2 (68)
Leaders: G: Williams (24), A: Wagner (32), Pts: Williams (50), +/-: Stevenson (22), PIMS: Doran (68)
Offseason Additions: LW Blake Laflamme, RW Christian Bauer
Offseason Losses: C Charlie Chiclets, LW Brent Button, RW Pavol Skvoznak
Regressors: D Jordan Okalik, LW Michael Western, D Howie Feltersnatch
Last Season: The Chiefs won their second cup in three years last offseason. They were lead by the leading goal scorer in the SHL (tied with Kain Webb) Reggie Williams. Along with Anton Wagner, Jackson Turska, Zach Miller, Charlie Chiclets, Sean Stevenson, and Nick Fisher, Reggie Williams made up the group of Chiefs scoring over 30 points. Only two players on put up a minus rating on the season and even just so (-2): Jon Doran and Jordan Okalik.
This Season: Like many teams on this list, the Chiefs will be hit hard by retirement in a season so this is their best chance for a season or two. Leaving after this season will be Laflamme and Wastlund. Skvoznak and Chiclets will not return from the cup winning squad, but they still have quite a bit of talent left for the season.
Major Question: When will Minnesota get a new goalie? It's no secret that Brandon Sawyer is old and will be retiring very soon. Minnesota originally had Edwin Ask as the next in line, but last offseason he was dealt to Hartford (now New England) and heading back to Minnesota was Takoda DeMarse. DeMarse was once a decent prospect, however he seems to have dropped off. Minnesota will either have to make a deal or draft a goalie in the upcoming draft to avoid having to start DeMarse for anything more than the required 6 games.
Prediction: I'll go with 2nd in the conference. They're still a powerhouse, but for how long? They should still make a splash but I don't think it will be enough to advance to the cup finals.
New England Wolfpack
====================
Last Season: 6th place: 16-28-6 (38)
Leaders: G: Westbrook (16), A: Sto Helit (23), Pts: Westbrook (37), +/-: Gooseneck/Willems (3), PIMS: Weird (72)
Offseason Additions: LW Alexey Kovalenko, LW Nike Kickz, D Jardy Bunclewirth, D Shayne Steele, LW Christopher Raymond, C Adam Johansson
Offseason Losses: C Peter Iannitelli, LW Ivo Willems, D Jareth Sto Helit, D Chuck Wierd, C Frankie Gooseneck, LW Kaspar Abraham
Regressors: D Matt Smith, D Jardy Bunclewirth
Last Season: The Hydras finished last in the whole league last season. Their scoring was lead by Joel Westbrook with 37 points (16G, 21A) with Jareth Sto Helit (10G, 23A), Bryan Whisonant (12G, 19A), and Frankie Gooseneck (11G, 20A) also scoring more than 30 points. Edwin Ask performed quite well in his first full season as a starter.
This Season: After a name change, the Hydras are now named the Wolfpack and will not be winning many games this year, but that's all by design. The GMs are content with blowing up the team from last year and focusing on the future, which is a strategy that can pay off quickly. The offense should be paced by the first line, whoever that ends up being, although the best guess would involve a combination of Whisonant, Westbrook, Raymond, Faulkner, Kickz, and Kovalenko.
Major Question: How Long Before the Wolfpack is competitive? Right now, New England has a good group of prospects and has many picks in the next draft, which looks to be a very good one. Even with the best outcome one would assume it would take at least 2-3 seasons.
Prediction: Just like last season, they'll be sixth in the conference. They're not going to do much, although one would have to guess that there's a strong possibility that the Rookie of the Year will be from New England, with strong forwards Nike Kickz and Adam Johansson eligible.
Toronto North Stars
===================
Last Season: 1st place: 33-13-4 (70)
Leaders: G: Schenn (21), A: D. Scherbluk (33), Pts: Schenn/D. Scherbluk (42), +/-: D. Scherbluk/Smith (22), PIMS: Wong (79)
Offseason Additions: C Charlie Chiclets, LW Brent Button, D Aidan Richan, G Mika Aalto, C Jaden Button
Offseason Losses: LW Blake Laflamme, C Daniel Malenfant, G Jamie Shetler
Regressors: LW Castiel Lee, G Mike Honcho, G Alex McFallahan, C Charlie Chiclets, D Kody Clute
Last Season: Last season the Stars won the President's Trophy, and for the first time in their existance they won a playoff round. No doubt they were helped by 5 skaters scoring 40 points or more: Phil Schenn, Darian Scherbluk, Yousuf Scherbluk, Robert Spezzam and Grigori Pajari. Veteran goalie Mike Honcho also played extremely well although that can be partially attributed to the stellar defense in front of him.
This Season: The Stars lost Laflamme, but gained Chiclets so their forward core is just as strong, if not moreso. The addition of Aidan Richan is going to help the team quite a bit, but Mike Honcho regressing is potentially very dangerous.
Major Question: How will Mike Honcho fare this season? Honcho has been a good goalie for many seasons, however he doesn't train anymore and regression is starting to hit harder for him. With Shetler being traded in the offseason, Toronto's backup is rookie Mika Aalto, who should probably spend at least another year in the NWJHL before he's ready to be a full time starter.
Prediction: It was a tough decision to decide #2 and #3, but I ultimately decided to put Toronto third, just due to the fact that they'll need Honcho to perform above average to be a great team, and with him getting hit by regression again it's going to be harder.
West Kendall Platoon
====================
Last Season: 5th place: 15-26-9 (39)
Leaders: G: Raymond/Marshall (14), A: Velevra (28), Pts: Velevra (39), +/-: Marshall (3), PIMS: Kovalenko (98)
Offseason Additions: C Sean Gallagher, C Peter Iannitelli, D Dennis Seidenberg, C Frankie Gooseneck, LW Tuomos Vitikka, C Rufus Reinhart
Offseason Losses: LW Alexey Kovalenko, D Shawn Velevra, LW Christopher Raymond
Regressors: LW Jamie Campagniorni, C Jared Hanson, C Gregory Lazaro, D Dominic Turcotte
Last Season: The Platoon were lead by Rookie of the Year defenseman Shawn Velvra last season. Julien Marshall and Teemu Nurmi also pitched in more than 30 points. Alex Smirnov, acquired at the deadline pitched in 5 points in 7 games for the Platoon. Goalie Jaska Tiilikainen was one of the best members of the Platoon on the season.
This Season: With Velevra gone most of the offense will have to be handled by Marshall, Nurmi, Smirnov, Fortescue, and new acquisition Gooseneck. Rookies Vitikka and Reinhart should also factor into the offense for the Platoon.
Major Question: Who leads the Platoon in points? As I mentioned before the Platoon are not the most offensively gifted team. Since they've traded their leading scorer from last season it's anyone's guess who will lead the team in scoring. I feel like Alex Smirnov is as good a guess as any, but don't rule out Marshall and Nurmi.
Prediction: 5th place in the conference. West Kendall will be very good very soon, but for the time being they're still be watching the playoffs from home this season.
Code:
Words: 3547- Velevra - 04-09-2013
I absolutely love your articles Keenan, keep up the good, nay amazing work! Though I hope to prove you wrong with that 6th place prediction for the panthers
- jkrever - 04-09-2013
great stuff, thanks!
- JNH - 04-09-2013
Keenan. Wtf. Stop writing such great articles, you make everyone else look bad <_< Btw, you forgot Jackie Lee! :ahh!:
- Ace - 04-09-2013
Great fucking read, good analysis on my squad.
- Tim Bisley2 - 04-09-2013
Another good one! I should make you write more articles about me. :ph34r:
- Jaymay - 04-09-2013
Keenan is my fave.
- Bacon - 04-10-2013
Lack of Lebacon but good stuff
- joecool37 - 04-10-2013
Quote:Originally posted by kebrik@Apr 10 2013, 06:59 PM
Lack of Lebacon but good stuff
- Keenan - 04-10-2013
Quote:Originally posted by Pjaney+Apr 9 2013, 06:32 PM--><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Pjaney @ Apr 9 2013, 06:32 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->I absolutely love your articles Keenan, keep up the good, nay amazing work! Though I hope to prove you wrong with that 6th place prediction for the panthersThanks janey, the Panthers are gonna be really good pretty soon, just have to wait through the rebuild.
Quote:Originally posted by jkrever@Apr 9 2013, 06:40 PM<br />great stuff, thanks!Thank you for the comment
Quote:Originally posted by JmanPens19@Apr 9 2013, 06:44 PM<br />Keenan. Wtf. Stop writing such great articles, you make everyone else look bad <_< Btw, you forgot Jackie Lee! :ahh!:
thanks buddy. Also I wrote this quite a few days ago, before we signed Lee. I just waited for the Winter/Klose before publishing.Quote:Originally posted by Ace@Apr 9 2013, 07:02 PM<br />Great fucking read, good analysis on my squad.Thanks
really hoping Nike wins ROTY for you. Take good care of him, alright?Quote:Originally posted by Tim Bisley@Apr 9 2013, 07:09 PM<br />Another good one! I should make you write more articles about me. :ph34r:I guess I can always follow Izzy around in the bushes and write about what I see :lol:
Quote:Originally posted by JayMay@Apr 9 2013, 08:49 PM<br />Keenan is my fave.Thank you very much, Jamie
(I hope I spelled that right).Quote:Originally posted by kebrik@Apr 10 2013, 11:59 AM<br />Lack of Lebacon but good stuff Thanks, maybe I'll add something about you, since you commented.
<!--QuoteBegin-joecool37@Apr 10 2013, 12:00 PM
[/quote]Thanks to you too :D
- Maxy - 04-10-2013
Great read, Don't think Kesler will lead our team in points as he's out half the season <_< Damn Kesler
- Patches - 04-10-2013
nice read
- Bacon - 04-10-2013
Quote:Originally posted by Keenan@Apr 10 2013, 01:36 PMI'm already there actually as assist leader B) (tied with some Martucci scrub)
Thanks, maybe I'll add something about you, since you commented.