Task #1

SMJHL Playoofs - Top 5 Hitters

#1 - Angelo Odjick (VAN)
35 Hits in 9 GP - Absolute demolisher. Was second in playoff hits despite player less games than everyone else. Bone crushing hits set the tone for his teamn on their way to a Four Star Cup

#2 - Colton Hagan (COL)
48 Hits in 17 GP - Hit everything in sight. Maybe not the hard hits as Odjick, but he was all over the ice. Made his presence known every night

#3 - Mike Izzy (KEL)
31 Hits in 12 GP - Izzy was a killer in the regular season, and he stepped up huge for the Knights in the Playoffs

#4 - Casey Creller (COL)
31 Hits in 17 GP - Creller's draft stock has been skyrocketing since the rankings came out. His physical performance was eye opening for scouts in the playoffs.

#5 - Jake Sanders (KEL)
20 Hits in 12 GP - Off the bopard pick. His hit count wasn't high, but every hit was harder than the last. Each hit could count as two on the pain meter!

Task #2

Mercer Church Interview

Q: There were a lot of high hopes for the Knights going into the season. The pre-season showed Kelowna had the skill, yet over the course of the season we all witnessed the wheels come off. After the team sold off their captain, and basically wrote off the season, the team came back and fought their way into the playoffs. What does this say about the core group moving forward?

MC: Don't forget to mention that we batted into the second round as well. This team is improving at a rate you can't ignore. We are a young group, and we had a tough start to the year. After we lost Langabeer we knew we had to step up, and we got some fresh voices in the locker room, and we realised that we are just as skilled as any other team. We showed that the will to win can sometimes overcome skill to win. Next season we go in with that same determination, and with even more skill. We should terrify teams planning on competing next season. This is the next great SMJHL core coming through, and we are ready to have success. This year we showed that we had the potential, but next year we will show we are ready to take the next step.

Task #3



Task #4

Playoff MVP - Carrick Murray

My selection for the SMJHL Playoff MVP is Carrick Murray of the Four Star Cup Winners Vancouver Whalers. This is a team that was loaded up on high end prospects, who dominated in the regular season. Murray should probably win the best regular season goalie this year, and he didn't disappoint in the 9 post-season games he played in. He only lost 1 game in the post season, and I think that is the biggest stat - after all isn't that the only stat the matters in the post season? On top of that stat he also was second in the league in Save Percentage, only Kelwona Knights goalie had a better percentage, and he didn't make the Finals. Murray always was best in GAA. Goalies have the hardest job on a team and Murray proved that he was up to the task. He was resilient through the regular season, and elevated his game onto another level when playoffs came around. There are many factors that come into play for a win, but you have to get great goaltending to get consistent wins like Vancouver did.

Task #5