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ztevans · 06-16-2017, 08:46 PM

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ready to grade - 1,152 words

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1. Holy offense, Vancouver. Last season, the Whalers mustered 2.4 goals per game, good for seventh in the SMJHL. However, they led the league in the preseason with 3.47 goals per game, and backed it up with five goals in each of their first two games, wins against Prince George and Halifax. With an extra season under their belts, many of the rookies on last season’s Whalers are now lighting the lamp with regularity (see: Sophia Bennett’s hat trick against Halifax). Also, adding Brandon Gauthier following a trade from Detroit has added a veteran presence as well. Good on you, Vancouver.

2. To no one’s surprise, two of the early stars in net are Sebastian Thompson of Kelowna and Thaddeus Prince of Montreal. Thompson and Prince have won the last two Tom Corcoran Trophies, and currently sit first and second in the save percentage charts at this early stage of the season. Both goalies also have some strong defensive performers in front of them. Montreal’s Jack Hansen has anchored the Militia defense with prolific shot blocking, and Lui Koller is performing admirably alongside him in her first full season in the SMJHL. Meanwhile, Eddie Andrezjack staked an early claim on the Quilha Agante Trophy with 35 points and 53 blocked shots in the preseason.

3. Then there’s the Jimmy Wagner Experience. Last season, Wagner was the starting goaltender for the St. Louis Scarecrows team that won the Laurifer Trophy and played for the Challenge Cup. However, he was seventh in the league in save percentage among starting netminders. Wagner’s fortunes seemed to turn in the offseason Fantasy Series, leading the Huntsville Goats to the title. Wagner had a stellar preseason entering S35, but immediately got rocked by Kelowna in the season opener. Since then, Wagner has won three straight. I have a better chance of giving you tomorrow’s Powerball numbers than figuring how Wagner will do this season.

4. Much was said (in undoubtedly mocking and derisive tones) about Halifax’s preseason struggles, but they find themselves in a tie for seventh after five games with Prince George. Not only do the Raiders and Firebirds have matching 1-4-0 records, they also have the same goal-scoring ratio (12 goals for, 19 goals against). Halifax is not much of a surprise considering their results last season – it will take time for their talented rookies to develop. Prince George, however, is clearly at a loss in dealing with the departures of Caelan Fearghal, Chris York, and Isaac Cormier-Hale. Hopefully they can turn it around, but it has been a slow start for the Firebirds.

5.

Quote:Originally posted by ztevans@Jun 10 2017, 07:22 PM
6. Speaking of making playoffs, may God have mercy on whichever applicants are deemed worthy of stepping into the now-largely-vacant SMJHL Head Office. Jumping in post-draft while many organizations are already in the process of completing roster submissions and budgets will be a nightmare. There will probably be considerable pressure publicly for them to repeal or tweak decisions from the previous regime, most notably the playoff format. Oh, and they’ll have to deal with the typical struggles of being in a head office, such as being told you suck daily. It should be a fun gig.

Well, I guess the joke is on me with this one. Although I can confirm, the mid-preseason transition was a lot smoother than I expected and I’m already warming up to being told I suck daily. It’s not that different from my playing career.

6. While we are doing call-backs to last week’s submission, it pleases me to see the Awards Committee did indeed name the new Rookie of the Year award the Esa Anrikkanen Trophy, as I humbly suggested in this space. It’s a fitting name for the award, as well as a tribute to one of the most successful players and managers in both the SHL and SMJHL. It was, however, odd to see a player who finished tied for second in goal scoring named Most Underrated. Perhaps he was overshadowed by Noro Wozy chasing Hans Moleman’s Falcons franchise points record. Perhaps his more reserved nature cost him exposure compared to the likes of Crossfit Jesus and Leafer Rielly. Perhaps people just like ignoring Detroit, which would explain how Detroit players have won the Vyacheslav Onoprienko Trophy three of the last five seasons. Who can really tell?

7. Speaking of the Vyacheslav Onoprienko Trophy, this seems like a good time for my yearly reminder that this award is bleeping cursed. Four of the seven winners prior to Starkonov have already ended their hockey careers (Quinn Stevenson, Dos Diablo, Martin Svensson, Joey Ryan), one seemed like a promising prospect whose development has stalled (Mikael Talo), one is a fellow Russian entering her rookie SHL season (Zinaida Titova), and another is my scrub ass. Godspeed, Starkonov!

8. I briefly mentioned Sophia Bennett’s hat trick against Halifax, but let’s revisit another highlight from that Vancouver-Halifax game – the first fight of the SMJHL Season 35 Regular Season. Less than two minutes into the first period, Trucker Grogan dropped the gloves against Brandon Gauthier, with Grogan taking the decisive upper hand in the scrap. Grogan fought three times as a rookie in Season 34, but this marks his first victory according to people who study juniors hockey fights, you sick, twisted people. Congratulations, Trucker!

9. Perhaps one of the big surprises so far in Season 35 has been the performance of Colorado’s defense. With Niklaus St. Croix and Lukas Muller (the first one) getting called up to the SHL and Rambo retiring to prepare for Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3, the Mammoths defensive core appeared suspect entering Season 35. However, Finn Kruger and a group of rookies such as Casey Creller, Chase Byron, and Mark Ruggeri have answered the call. Colorado currently leads the league in goals against and shots allowed, which I don’t think even Mammoths’ management would have expected at this stage.

10. Mercer Church is clearly motivated by falling into the second round of the SMJHL Entry Draft. The center out of Saskatchewan has four goals in the first five games of the season, including two goals in a 6-2 victory over Colorado. Kelowna has shown a knack of finding great two-way forwards in recent seasons, such as Trevor Wilson, Cory Knouse, and Vasily Horvat, and Church is no exception. He’s the right player in the right place, with plenty of post-draft motivation he has been sharing leisurely with the media. Church is going to be a very dangerous player this season.

11. Last but not least, my favorite quirky stat of the very early stages of Season 35. The Prince George Firebirds have accrued 42 penalty minutes through five games. Of those 42, 18 belong to Arthur Dayne, the league’s leader in PIMs. Arthur Dayne has piled up those 18 penalty minutes without a single fight. That’s a man after my own heart.