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icewindoo · 12-10-2024, 01:22 AM

I've done it once before, so now it's a tradition: my seasonal look at some of the outstanding SHL players who were not nominated for an award in certain categories. No shade whatsoever to those players who were nominated or to the awards committee, but here are some players who just maybe coulda woulda shoulda been nominated.

Best Rookie: Brayden Point - TBB

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Unlike the trio of Edmonton Blizzard rookie forwards who scored more than 60 points in S79, Tampa Bay centre Brayden Point (hmm, why does that sound familiar?) came into his team with no expectation of contributing immediately. But buried on the third line playing just 17 minutes per game, Point put up 32 goals in a breakout rookie campaign, good enough for third among rookies. Not content to merely score more than all but one of his teammates, Point showed a refreshing commitment to team defence, and his +/- rating of +16 was second-best among Tampa forwards.

Best Two-Way Forward: Lasse Zeigler - TOR

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Toronto forward Lasse Zeigler is the prototypical two-way forward. For the second season in a row, Zeigler led Toronto in both points and +/-. He played over three minutes per game on the power play and more than two minutes per game on the penalty kill. He leads by example at both ends of the ice.

Best Defensive Defenseman: Dirty Boots - TEX

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Dirty Boots is a grizzled veteran of 19 seasons in professional hockey, and his highest individual award in all of those seasons is being named a 3rd-team All Star four seasons ago. But in season 79 Boots was a monster on the defensive side of the ice. Shot-blocking is highly valued around here for defensive defenders, but according to this writer blocking shots matters far less than helping your team actually keep the puck out of your own net, and by that measure, Boots was elite. On one of the best teams in the league, Boots led all teammates in +/-, and it certainly wasn't due to his offensive contributions, which were meagre. The fact that he also led all teammates in ice time on an above-average penalty kill just adds to his reputation for defensive excellence.

Best Defenseman: Willow Soderberg-Snooks - LAP

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Blessed with oodles of talent, the LA Panthers have two elite defenders on the same line. Sometimes it's hard to tell which is which, but it says here that Willow Soderberg-Snooks is no less important to LAP's success than her somewhat more lauded linemate Elena Maximova. Soderberg-Snooks tied for second among all defenders with 58 points, and led LAP defenders in assists, points, shots, total time on ice, PP TOI, and SH TOI. Whatever LAP needed this past season, Soderberg-Snooks was able to provide.

Best Goaltender: Beau Kavanagh - BAP

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It's pretty hard to compete with the three goalies that were nominated, but Beau Kavanagh put up a consistently impressive season that is worthy of attention. His .903 save percentage was well above league average and his 20 GSAX was fourth-best in the league.

Most Valuable Player: Toasty Soderberg-Snooks - SFP

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It's always hard to compare forwards and defenders for an award like MVP, since the roles are so different. But despite being nominated for two other awards, Toasty was overlooked for an MVP nomination, and perhaps that was an oversight. Toasty led all defenders by a whopping 15 points, and also led all defenders in goals, assists, and shots. His +58 rating was second among all players. He led his team in TOI, had the fewest giveaways, and the most takeaways. Simply put, Toasty was the best player on the league's best team.

***Anthique*** · 12-11-2024, 10:26 AM

Thanks for doing this, very interesting!

spidey · 12-11-2024, 11:46 AM

Great analysis on another perspective on these awards.

Troy_McClure03 · 12-11-2024, 03:03 PM

Always love these cards too!

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