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Deep Dive # 2 - To Dynasty or to not Dynasty. A Short History on the Best Ever Teams
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ghamssSMJHL HO Member
08-21-2024, 09:36 AM
(This post was last modified: 08-21-2024, 10:31 AM by ghamss. Edited 1 time in total.)
In the NHL, there are nine coveted teams that are in the Hockey Hall of Fame as “Dynasties”. They are the 1919 to 1927 Ottawa Senators, 1946-1951 Toronto Maple Leafs, 1949-1955 Detroit Red Wings, 1955-1960 Montreal Canadiens, 1961-1967 Toronto Maple Leafs, 1964-1969 Montreal Canadiens, 1975-1979 Montreal Canadiens, 1979-1983 New York Islanders and the 1983-1990 Edmonton Oilers. The definition of a sports dynasty is up for debate, but there is one thing these teams did that isn’t a debate. They won and they won a lot.
I decided I wanted to dive into the history of the SMJHL to look for teams that dominated the league like those mentioned above and could be considered dynasties. To do this, I had to come up with a definition for what I thought a dynasty was. I used two metrics to determine if a team should be considered a dynasty. The first metric was if a team won three or more consecutive cups I considered them a dynasty. The second metric I used was if a team won the cup in greater than 50% of consecutive seasons with a minimum of 4 seasons (e.g. three out of four seasons they were cup champs, three out of five, four out of six, etc.). Using these two metrics, I analyzed all 77 seasons thus far. In the end, five dynasties exist. The earliest dynasty is the season 14-19 Vancouver Whalers. During this period the Whalers won 4 championships in six seasons (S14, S15, S18, S19). Immediately after, a second dynasty was established in the Kelowna Knights who won three championships in five years (S21, S22 and S25). It took another 15 seasons before another group of players etched themselves in SMJHL history (by GHamss definition) by winning three consecutive titles. From S40 to S42, the Kelowna Knights couldn’t be stopped. It didn’t take long for another team to be added to the list as the St. Louis Scarecrows won three consecutive titles from S44 to S46. It took fourteen seasons before the most recent dynasty was established. The Newfoundland Berserkers dominated from S60-64 winning four championships in five years including three in a row. I didn't want to stop there though (plus I haven't hit my word count minimum yet) so I continued digging. I now wanted to know which franchises had a history of winning. I did this by looking at the average number of seasons per championship. I couldn't figure out how to insert a table so I've listed out the teams and the historical data associated with their championships below. Sorry it is difficult to read. Team
Seasons Played Championships Season/Championship Championship % Anchorage Armada
76 6 12.7 7.89% Carolina Kraken
76
9
8.4
11.84%
Colorado Raptors
53
2
26.5
3.77%
Detroit Falcons
76
9
8.4
11.84%
Great Falls Grizzlies
16
0
N/A
0.00%
Kelowna Knights
76
12
6.3
15.79%
Maine Timber
52
5
10.4
9.62%
Nevada Battleborn
22
1
22.0
4.55%
Newfoundland Berserkers
32
6
5.3
18.75%
Ottawa Highlanders
3
0
N/A
0.00%
Quebec City Citadelles
22
3
7.3
13.64%
San Diego Tidal
3
0
N/A
0.00%
St. Louis Scarecrows
72
8
9.0
11.11%
Thunder Bay Walleye
16
0
N/A
0.00%
Vancouver Whalers
76
13
5.8
17.11%
Yukon Malamutes
32
2
16.0
6.25%
**One championship was won by the defunct Los Angeles Archangels which was not included above. As you can see, the Newfoundland Berserkers have the lowest average of seasons per championship at 5.3 seasons. This is followed by Vancouver (5.8 seasons) and then Kelowna (6.3 seasons). Vancouver and Keowna are two of the original teams which makes their low seasons/championship and championship percentage that much more impressive. They have been able to win consistently for a very long time. On the opposite side of the spectrum are the Colorado Raptors and the Nevada Battleborn. Both of which are averaging 20+ seasons per championship. Nevada has a slight excuse, compared to Colorado, as they have been around for less than half the time that Colorado has been. In the end, the SMJHL is not much different from the NHL. We have had a handful of dominant teams over the seasons that can be considered dynasties and we’ve had a few franchises that have consistently been good while overs have struggled at winning championships. Go Kraken! 
jaypc8237SHL GM S72 Four Star Cup Champion
Awesome job!
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