The finals for the S81 SMJHL have been set. Rising from the deeps of the South returns the red-hot Carolina Kraken, looking to change the script from last year’s finals loss and win its first Four Star Cup since S54. From the North charges the upstart Kelowna Knights; lead by a blistering offense, this team is a worthy challenger for the championship after storming through the playoffs enroute to its final’s matchup against the Kraken. Every member of each team will be counted upon to bring their A-game, and even the most unlikely rookie (looking at you, Bartholomew) might emerge as the player of the series, but my task today is to select 3 players from each side that I believe will be the Impact Players of the Series™.
 
Carolina’s offense has been the talk of the town in this season’s playoffs, and not without merit; currently 5 members of the Kraken dominate the top 10 in goals, assists and points. This team is scoring at a torrid pace and that starts with Walbilly Koala. With 34 points, Koala actually shares the scoring lead with linemate Hetaksh, but Koala’s 16 goals in 16 games, and the 34 hits to go along with it, puts them narrowly ahead in our Impact Ratings™. Expect Walbilly and that dangerous first line to keep putting on the pressure.
 
It's too easy to pick any of the other forwards on Carolina to be one of our Impact Players of the Series™, so we’re switching gears a bit here and nominating Kenneth Lind. Playing sound, defensive hockey from the back-end is a challenge in a system that wants to score 10 goals every game, but somehow Lind has managed exceptionally. Leading the team in takeaways, blocked shots, CF% and FF%, Kenneth narrowly edges out their teammate Chuck Stewart here. Lind is currently third amongst all dmen for assists.
 
Finally, the hardest position to play for this team has to be goaltending. Currently first in the league for wins and GAA, second for GSAA and SV%, and third for saves, Honza Havran is being absolutely peppered by the opposition these playoffs, but is managing to weather the storm. Should they continue to do so, Havran easily could be the Impact Player of the Series™ and lead this team to glory.
 
 
Now we shift to the Knights. The Knights made it to the cup finals playing a game very similar to that of the Kraken; score first, ask questions later. Currently there are 3 Kelowna players in the top 10 for points, but for this nom, we’re going with David Corrigan. A sophomore that was in contention for the J scoring title, Corrigan has put up a staggering 23 points in 15 games while playing third line minutes. That’s right, in an average of 19:09 a game, David has managed to get to 7th in the league for points. If that isn’t Impact™, I don’t know what is.
 
Again, uber-offensive strategies like this put a huge spotlight on the defensive core of a group, and this club is a bit thin at the position, with 3 rookies (2 of them out of position) currently trying to survive on the backend. Critical to this position is elite two-way defenseman Erik Johnson. Whether putting his body on the line to block that crucial shot, or getting the puck on the tape of one of the many Knights offensive threats, Johnson is a huge piece of Kelowna’s success and has earned the nomination of Impact Player of the Series™.
 
Our last nomination. Yes, this spot is a goaltender. Yes, it looks like I’m mirroring the Carolina nominations from earlier. Yes, I am a broken record stating that goalies are left to die with score first teams, but this list would be a sham not naming Jon-Issac Forty-One as the last Impact Player of the Series™. After a relatively average season, Forty-One cranked up the heat, managing a respectable 3.27GAA and above .900SV% in the crease, to allow the Knights forwards a chance to give the opposing goaltenders sunburn. You don’t need to save them all, but this goalie will save that one that would cost Kelowna the game.

TORONTO GM CAREER

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Trophy Case
S78 | Lance Uppercut Nomination
S78 | Joe McKeil Nomination

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Regular Season

S78 | Co-GM | GP: 66 | W: 38 | L: 25 | OTL: 3 | P: 79

S79 | Co-GM | GP: 66 | W: 39 | L: 23 | OTL: 4 | P: 82

S80 | Co-GM | GP: 66 | W: 23 | L: 35 | OTL: 8 | P: 54

S81 | GM | GP: 66 | W: 27 | L: 35 | OTL: 4 | P: 58

4 SHL Seasons | GP: 246 | W: 127 | L: 118 | OTL: 19

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Playoffs

S78 | Co-GM | GP: 7 | W: 3 | L: 4

S79 | Co-GM | GP: 6 | W: 2 | L: 4

S80 | Co-GM | GP: 19 | W: 11 | L: 8

S81 | GM | GP: 4 | W: 0 | L: 4

4 SHL Playoffs | GP: 36 | W: 16 | L: 20

Approved for 5 tpe.