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***sve7en*** · 07-15-2020, 10:57 AM

[1625 words]

This is part one of six in a deep dive on the MVP race candidates as selected by myself and fellow SJHN reporters and analysts. I wanted to take a holistic look at the various players and storylines that have all converged at potential nominations and votes, much like my group at Hockey Talk Tonight did last season when discussing the MvdH / Williams and Laggerfield / Wagstrom races. This season especially, the competition for the title of Most Valuable Player is incredibly tight, and it only gets harder to decipher when you consider the various definitions of the award. The companion piece on offensive, defensive, and total point share used for some of these metrics will be released simultaneously with the final player review.

You can find the prior entries in the series below:

The Case for the S54 J MVP - Ryuuji Minamino
The Case for the S54 J MVP - Cillian Kavanagh
The Case for the S54 J MVP - Jimmy Wagner
The Case for the S54 J MVP - Rikard Hammarberg
The Case for the S54 J MVP - Jaska Seppälä

Let’s begin.

Adam Friedland

@Bongo

Let's talk point shares

Stats (league rank in parentheses):
Scoring
Goals . . . . . . . . . . 16 (t-12)
Assists . . . . . . . . . 26 (12)
Points. . . . . . . . . . 42 (10)
Shots . . . . . . . . . 134 (18)
Shooting Pct  . . . . 0.1194 (51)
Percent of team goals 0.2295 (25)

ES PP SH
Goals 12 (t-12) 4 (t-22) 0
Assists 20 (t-7)   6 (t-24) 0
Points 32 (t-6)   10 (t-23) 0

Non-scoring
TOI . . . . 1115 minutes, 22:18 per game (t-12th overall and among defensemen)
+/- . . . . 30 (1)
PIM . . . . 88 (1)
Hits . . .   81 (t-27)

Advanced
Game Rating . . . . . . 66 (t-32 overall, t-23th among skaters)
Offensive Game Rating . 66 (t-15)
Defensive Game Rating . 62 (t-59)
PDO . . . . . . . . . . 101.6 (t-41)
GF/60 . . . . . . . . . 4.3 (2)
GA/60 . . . . . . . . . 2.3 (t-64)
SF/60 . . . . . . . . . 37.6 (8)
SA/60 . . . . . . . . . 23.6 (t-30)
Corsi . . . . . . . . . 60.4 (18)
Offensive Point Share 4.54 (4)
Defensive Point Share 3.97 (2)
Total Point Share . . . 8.51 (3rd overall, 1st among skaters)
% Team Point Share . . 0.100 (4th overall, 1st among skaters)

Roles:
Lines
Floating top 4 defenseman
Powerplay LD (Wagner / Lee / Viticek / Friedland / [Cuddles / van Dijk / Dakari]

Linemates
Ambacas Cuddles - 7G, 18A, 25P
Ben van Dijk - 7G, 27A, 34P
Michael Lee - 1G, 8A, 9P (24 GP)
Sven Yxskaft - 3G, 16A, 19P (Acq. in trade)

The story

One man alone has turned the SMJHL on it's head these last two seasons. Initially a rookie fighter that would end up taking other players off the ice for 5 minutes at a time, Friedland exploded in offensive production, leading all defensemen in points (8 more than his common linemate Ben van Dijk) and was the only 350 capped player recognized in this series of articles. That's not to say he stopped fighting though, he racked up 14 fights and outright won half of them, meaning that of his 88 PIM, only 18 were from non-fighting offenses. Adam found himself in a strong quarterbacking role, often supporting Carolina's top two lines of volume goal scorers, and the space and attention demanded by the roster allowed Friedland to thrive as well, as he took the 4th most shots on the team, and shared a spot among the league's best goal generators with a second in the league 4.3 goals per 60, which is massive considering his top level ice times.

While his volume numbers might not stack up to the other skaters listed in this series due to his being a defenseman, a deeper look into both advanced stats and how Adam Friedland compared to other defensemen in the league tell a wild story. Regarding offensive production as a defenseman, Friedland's season was a massive outlier. He's the first person in now two SMJHL FHM seasons to crack 40 points, and there were only 8 other 30 point seasons by defensemen so far since the FHM swap. He led defensemen in goals, and would have led in assists too if it wasn't for Ben van Dijk. Looking at the deeper numbers his season holds up to the scrutiny with a 2nd best in the J goals for per 60 (behind teammate Kwame Dakari), and a top ten shots for per sixty, both best in the league among defensemen. While his shots against per 60 isn't elite, going deeper into the stats and looking at defensive point shares tells a different story (for a deeper look at what point shares are, click here). Of the 6 players to contribute 3.5 expected points with their defensive play, 4 are on the notably elite Kelowna defense, one is Jack Klompus, and the last is Friedland. Looking at point shares, the sophomore defense-man was both among the best on offense (bested only by Minamino, Seppala, and Wagner), he was elite on defense (sporting similar numbers to the Kelowna top pairing).

The MVP moment

November 2nd, 2020 - Anaheim, California
Carolina Kraken @ Anaheim Outlaws

Friedland put his name on the map as an offensive defenseman in a week long stretch at the end of October, racking up 3 straight multi point games, punctuated by a night at the Outlaw Saloon. With the game tied after the first, the Carolina quarterback scored his 5th and 6th on the season in quick succession to break the game wide open, but his biggest impacts were felt when the lamp wasn't even on. Adam was a possession monster in Anaheim that night, recording a game high 79 offensive game rating as a quarterback from facilitating a massive amount of offensive zone time for the Kraken and not committing a single turnover in his almost 24 minutes of ice time. His one shot that didn't go in the net missed entirely and was actually recovered by the man himself.

Friedland was stepping up when they didn't have the puck as he always did, with a team and game high four shots blocked, recording two hits, not taking any penalties or fights, and forcing two turnovers that didn't directly result in takeaways. While obviously his two goals were a massive highlight to the night, Friedland was an imposing presence all night, and truly controlled the game from start to finish on both ends of the ice, something not always seen in the J, and rarely from a defenseman.

Why not Friedland?

Detractors to Friedland have a very simple case, if you had any above average forward registered as a winger the results might look the same, and in that case Friedland is just a beneficiary of the "D" next to his name. He played the game as a point guard on offense, surrounded by firepower, and with one of the best teams in the league at playing in the slot offensively, allowing him to rain down shots and rack up assists. Also contributing to the idea that his play was very much that of a forward lining up at defense lies in the very same statistics that initially made his case. Friedland's defensive prowess is highlighted by a massive league leading plus-minus and elite defensive point share, but one of the core flaws of the latter is it's dependence on the former. As said before, Carolina sports one of the league's best top nine forward cores, and being good enough to not be a liability is easy plus minus and defensive point share. Without the plus-minus factor in point share analysis, Friedland's DPS is a pedestrian 18th in the league among defensemen (where defenseman DPS are intrinsically higher than forward DPS as well).

Why you’re picking Adam Friedland for MVP

You believe numbers don't lie, and those numbers say Adam Friedland had the most contribution of any player in the league.

Bongo · 07-15-2020, 02:16 PM

You’re too humble.. YOU ARE the true MVP

***hotdog*** · 07-15-2020, 02:36 PM

looks like a bug

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