<div align="center"> We are just past the half way mark of the season 27 regular season and I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to look back the recent success and "not so" success stories so far this season, otherwise known as 5 up and 5 down. Here we go!
5 Up
1. Buster Killing-it
Quick, who is leading the league in scoring currently? If you guessed the rugged right winger Buster Killington you’re either a cheater, a wizard or just up to date on the state of the SHL. The Portland Admirals first expansion draft selection has been nothing short of excellent this season racking up 18 goals and 15 assists for 33 points in just 27 games. To add to an already impressive stat line the hulking winger has 94 hits (4th best league wide) and a tidy +7 rating. His scoring prowess has rubbed off on line mate and Admirals captain Nikolaus Scholz as well who is currently 16th overall in scoring with 25 points in 27 games. The bulk of which has come in the form of assists as the German playmaker has already collected 19 apples (6th best league wide). Despite Busters monster performance thus far the race for point leader is still wide open as only 5 points separate 1st and 10th place including a pair of incredibly consistent Steelhawks up next.
2. Consistency is Key
Only 4 players in the league have managed to maintain over 1.0 points per 20 minutes of ice time; Buster Killington (POR), Jamers Both (WIN), Griffin Simons (HAM) and Rider Clitsome (HAM). Buster already received enough praise for his performance above and Jamers, although still impressive, is largely due to his low minutes per game at 13.37. What is particularly interesting is the last two are not only on the same team, but are on the same line. Griffin and Rider have kept the reigning Challenge Cup Champions firmly in contention for a repeat performance and show no signs of slowing down. The last member of the Hamilton trio is Dean Colt who is quietly putting together a solid season as well with 21 points in 27 games (39th overall).
3. We the North
Most goals for with 99, most points with 41 and 2nd fewest goals against with 65. What do these stats all have in common? The Edmonton Blizzard. The Blizzard have been nothing short of excellent this season, including a ridiculous 9-1 record in their last 10. One of the big reasons why is the play of Chico Salmon who has posted a stunning 29 points in his first 27 games of the season. You don’t have to look much further for the next reason why too, as Theo Kane and Jackson Rogers-Tanaka (JRT) have 27 and 26 points respectively and are both inside the top 20 in scoring league wide. Lastly veteran netminder Jakub Aittokallio has provided exactly what the Blizzard needed, consistent goaltending. You won’t find him in the top 5 save% or GAA league wide, but who cares when you’re winning games!
4. Chiefly Rookie
Speaking of goaltending one name that has received plenty of attention is rookie sensation Robert Andersson. In his rookie SHL season the Minnesota Chiefs goal tender has posted an insane 0.911 save% (3rd overall), 2.50 GAA (5th overall), 1653 minutes played (1st overall), 779 shots face (1st overall) and a modest 13 wins (7th overall). After an explosion of offense in season 26, in which several players found themselves well within the top 10 in league wide scoring, Minnesota’s top point producer doesn’t even crack the top 30 this season (Chernika Banananov with 21 points). Despite this lack of production the Chiefs find themselves in a playoff position due largely to the amazing performance of rookie ‘tender Andersson. He may not be the favorite to win the McBride award for top goaltender, but he is firmly in the race for the Jesster award for top rookie.
5. Here comes the... Stampede?
There have been many surprises this season, including the many names already mentioned above, but no team has been as big of a surprise as the Buffalo Stampede. The season 25 expansion team was predicted by many to falter again this season (much like it’s western expansion counterpart the Portland Admirals), but so far the Stampede have gone on to post a tidy 14-8-4 record (32 points) and find themselves firmly in a playoff position at the half way mark of the season. One huge reason is last season’s goalie acquisition, Tyler No Nerves. The Stampede net minder has been equally impressive as the recently mentioned Andersson, boasting a 0.915 save% (1st overall), 2.36 GAA (2nd overall), 3 shutouts (2nd overall) and 14 wins (5th overall). To add to that the Stampede have several players contributing consistently at the other end of the ice. Niklas Stryker (27 points), Adrian Thomaz (25 points) and first ever draft selection and current captain Robb Wind (24 points) are all within the top 25 in scoring league wide and each boasts an even or positive rating thus far.
5 Down:
1. Not so Admirable
As mentioned earlier there were two teams introduced in the season 25 expansion, the Buffalo Stampede and the Portland Admirals. Whereas Buffalo has gone on to post solid numbers so far this season, Portland has failed to achieve the same level of success posting a meager 10-16-1 record thus far (21 points). Not to say that they have totally crashed, in fact they were ranked 7th in power rankings prior to the latest sim (now ranked 12th), but they will need to improve significantly, and quickly, if they hope to catch up with the rest of the west. Fortunately they have Buster Killington, Nikolaus Scholz and recently acquired Beau Ballard all within the top 20 in league scoring so although difficult it is definitely possible to regain some ground in the 2nd half of the season.
2. Back to the Basement
Had this report come out a week ago this “down” would have belonged to the Los Angeles Panthers, but they seem to have found their groove as of late and gone on to post a 7-2-1 record in their last 10 games and are currently ranked 3rd overall in the power rankings. Instead we will highlight the troublesome New England Wolfpack. After a successful season 26 that saw them post a 26-21-3 record that earned them a playoff berth, and a moderately successful pre-season that saw them post an 8-10-4 record, the Wolfpack are right back to their rebuilding days with eastern conference worst 10-14-3 record and an ugly 3-7 in their last 10 games. Much like the Minnesota Chiefs the Wolfpack have struggled to produce goals on a consistent basis as their top 2 players point-wise, Blake Sherrill (22) and Nathan Russell (21) are well outside the top 30, ranked 35th and 38th respectively. Fortunately for them you could argue they are still in the playoff hunt, especially if this next team fails to regain its recent year’s success.
3. Troubles in West Kendall
If the last “down” was any indication I am referring to the fall of the eastern conference goliath, the West Kendall Platoon. After back-to-back seasons of 1st place regular season finishes in the eastern conference, including a 1st place finish league wide in season 26, the Platoon find themselves outside of the playoff picture with a satisfactory 12-11-4 record (28 points). Fortunately for them they are only 1 point back of the final playoff position, so not all hope is lost yet, but it highly unlikely we will see the Platoon of old (or Platoon of recent years I should say) in season 27.
4. Reigning #1
After a fantastic season 26 regular season performance that saw him post 55 points (19 goals and 36 assists, 2nd overall league wide) and earn the #1 overall player in the recent edition of the top 100 SHL players, the Texas Renegades superstar Liam Kinsler has taken a significant step back. With just 18 points in his first 27 games of the season he is on pace to score 33 points, more than 20 less than last season’s total. To make matters worse he boasts a league worse -16 rating. Fortunately for Texas fans this hasn’t put a dampen on their season thus far. They currently sit 3rd overall in the west with a 4 point cushion on 5th place Seattle, due largely in part to the consistent production of 2nd line center Maxim Horvat who has 30 points through 27 games (4th overall league wide).
5. Minus/Minus
This might be double dipping, but the situation called for its own “down”. A +/- rating should always be taken with a grain of salt, but when 3 players from the same team find themselves within the top 5 league worst ratings it bears some discussion. Liam Kinsler, Chara Brojled and Kaspars Tsizling have combined for a startling -35 so far this season with a -16, -9 and -8 respectively (1st, 3rd and 4th overall). There is still plenty of time left this season to turn these numbers around, but if the trend continues the Renegades may find themselves losing their current playoff seed.
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karlssens
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