S68 SMJHL regular season recap
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Leatherneckmike
Registered Senior Member
With the S68 regular season done and dusted it’s time for the playoffs and time to look back at all 14 teams and see just how the season went and what might have led them to those results.
Anchorage: The armada had the 2nd worst goal difference of any team that made the postseason, they were only +9 throughout the regular season. That being said they are in the playoffs and the 4th seed because of the league’s tied 3rd best home record, taking care of business will get you far in the playoffs as long as you have home ice which they do for series 1. What will really help them is the league’s 3rd best defense. Their best player was center Connor Mckeil, 76 points in the regular season was 11th in all of the SMJHL and his 13 +/- was best on the team. His 23.7% Shooting percentage is 4th best in the entire league. The issue for this team is that other teams are just better. They have been a very good team and should be proud of the 4th seed, but the +/- shows that they might be a little worse than the record shows and the 2nd worst away record of all playoff teams can kill them in round 2 and hurt in round 1 if they drop a home game. Overall, what can you say. They are a 4 seed and are the dividing line between the elite teams and the very good teams. A solid season. Carolina: The Kraken have had a kraking season that saw 3 players over 70 points and the net minder with the 2nd best save percentage out of all goalies that started at least 50 games. They lay claim to a top 3 offense and a +64 goal differential due to said offense. This team is built for the playoffs, 23-10-0 at home and the 2nd best away record in all of the J at 20-12-1. They cooked at home or away and are the 3 seed heading into the playoffs. The issue is the defense. It was not bad, let me be clear, and the goal keeping has been great. But there in lies the issue that could come between this team and a championship. They are a track meet kind of team and have plenty of offense to participate in that. Just how good are the defenders themselves is the big question. Overall, this is a very good team. Totally capable of making noise in the postseason, 2nd or 3rd favorite to the title depending on your valuation of Battleborn’s road record. The trio of Justice, Prpich and Kirby will need to beat the other front lines they face and have the depth play the same as they are to beat everyone else in these playoffs. Colorado: The defense stuck out on what otherwise was a rough season for the Raptors. Davies had positive +/- and Toughnuts, Jason JR and Forty One were not that far behind at -2,-4,-4 respectively. The team had a better defense than offense. Defense was 8th in the league in goals allowed. But that is near the end of the good news. This just wasn’t their season especially with the more veteran players they had. The bad is rather rough, 4th worst offense in the league with only 1 player over 60 points. More than that they even had bad luck. They were 2-8 in games that went to post OT shootouts which was the worst percentage and tied with Anchorage for the most shootouts participated in. They only have 2 top 30 players in the S69 class so the team is older than you would hope for the season they had. Overall, It’s a challenge to find a good spot for this team, but transitioning from one core to another is always rough. A disappointing season but next year always brings hope to every team. They’ll need that hope for next season. Detroit: The positive is overwhelming, the best defense, offense and point differential and literally everything in the league. The MVP the best goalie who could finish top 3 in MVP, the list just keeps going. Nothing really even needs to be said before that. They are by far the top favorites for the big prize, anything short of a title win is a huge disappointment after the regular season they have had. The 3 most efficient shooters in the league, the ENTIRE, yes i said the ENTIRE top 10 in +/-. I dont have a negative to be honest, There is always room for improvement because they lost games, but that’s as good as I can say for needing improvement. Someone beat them at some point This is an unstoppable juggernaut on offense and defense. Please pass go and collect your free title as the pay off for the work this team has put in over the years together. Well done. Great Falls: And what a great fall this is from the very top to the very bottom. The only good to say here is they had a good S69 class and weren’t the worst team in the league on the road. Worst goal differential, Fewest wins, 2nd worst goal differential, worst point percentage and of course fewest points. One word describes this season for GFG. YIKES. Overall this season they were terrible but I mentioned a positive. They do have hope for the future and it is already on the team. James Dion and Pork Torkelton are both in the top 10 in their class for true talent and Great Falls got them well outside round 1. 2 steals and a solid draft besides leaves a good thought for the future in Great Falls. Fans were thinking about S70 all season no doubt. They certainly didn’t wanna think about S70. Kelowna: Staying near the bottom of the league it’s on to Kelowna, and just like the two teams closest to them in geography they missed the playoffs. They were consistent.. And that is rather unfortunate. The positive here is in most categories they were 12th out of 14 (which isn’t last). Also, 3 of the top 5 players on the team in points were either sophomores or true rookies. Petr Verana looks like he is the standout player in his class. Ranked 1st in true talent! The bad revolves around the worst defense in the J with 266 goals allowed and a 2nd worst -77 goal difference. This will very much need to improve going forward. Overall, young teams do young team things. They will have to go defense in this coming draft however. It is very badly needed. Maine: Last seasons champions are back in the playoffs again from the 7th seed. The posted a very nice front line of forwards this season. Swift, Salad and Meowski all having at least 24 goals (Meowski 24, the other two 27) So you really don’t know who on that line is gonna score against you on a particular night. They punched above record in goals for (6th in the league) and goals against (5th in the league). That combines for a respectable 6th best goal difference in the J. The bad part for them is, well they were last season's champs and this is a big step back for a champion. 85 points down to 76 and from the 4 seed and some home ice to the 7 and nearly no chance for home ice. Is this slide in part due to a more top heavy league and Detroit existing on a different plane, yes of course. But it still remains that they lost a lot from last year and aren’t as good. Look no further than having 6 20 goal scorers a year ago and this year having only 4, and no one over 30 goals where last season they had 2. Overall, a solid season for a team who lost a lot but I can’t see them making much noise in the playoffs. But hey, trimming off that many goals and making it back is a testament to a well built team with depth. Given they have 3 of the top 25 players from the S69 class. it is reasonable to expect them back in good form next season as well. Nevada: The Battleborn have been one of the J’s most consistently good franchises. Making the playoffs at, at worst, the 5th seed, in the last 5 seasons. They find themselves once again sat firmly in 3rd, where they sat last season and even finished with the same number of points. This season they had the 2nd best goal difference in the league (+65), and the SMJHL’s 2nd best offense. Led by probable top 5 MVP finisher Alex Piastri and his incredible 103 point season with a mind blowing 60 goals. This offense will be a force to be wrecked with. The negative side isn’t as much a negative as a reality. They put up a fight against Detroit this season going 4-2 (2 losses being decided by 1 goal) but in the end Detroit is better offensively and defensively. They also probably lose Piastri, Boom stick, and others after the season so this could be one more shot on this great run. Overall, Nevada is high powered and a damn good team and should have a good shot at getting through Carolina and getting to the finals. The problem is, the Falcons likely await. That’s it for part 1 of my S68 recap! 8 teams down 6 to go 1594 words |
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