Although most people seem to agree that the Raptors would be bottom feeders this season, they have been a pleasant surprise in the eyes of the fans. They have been sitting around the middle of the pack for most of the duration of the season so far, currently sitting in 8th place with a record of 10-11-4. This may not sound particularly promising but after a quick glance at the underlying statistics the Raptors quickly become a very interesting team with a ton of potential.

First, lets go over the positives;

Defensively sound
The Raptors are currently one of the best defensive teams in the SMJHL with an average of 24.68 shots against per game (2nd in the league) and 2.96 goals against per game (4th in the league). Defence really is not the problem for the Raptors.

Young Stars
The rookies have also been a pleasant surprise. The team is currently fielding 10 rookies (tied for 3rd most in the league), 7 of which are at or above the league average for rookie points production which currently sits at 5. This bodes well the team moving forward.

Faceoffs
The Raptors have been fantastic in the faceoff circle, currently sitting first in the league with 52.28%. Getting possession of the puck is no doubt an important part of any game, so this is definitely a big positive of the team.

Now, lets go over the negatives;

Offensively lacking
The Raptors really are a bipolar team. Great defence but a very lacklustre offence. They are currently last in the league as far as shots for goes with a meagre average of 23.72 per game and second last in the goals for category with an average of only 2.64 per game. This makes them the worst offensive team in the league.

Specialty teams
This, for me, is the biggest problem that the Raptors are facing. They have the worst special teams in the league, currently sitting 9th in powerplay percentage with only 15.46% and 10th in penalty kill percentage with an 77.01%. This adds up to an abysmal 92.48% combined special teams percentage.


All in all there are some great pillars for the team to build upon and if they can only fix their offence and special teams situation and get them up to the league average they would truly be a team to be reckoned with.