Just like last season, my first half was extremely disappointing, but I managed to hit 30 points which is a little short of my career high of 32 last season.  I attribute a fair amount of this to the minutes I played compared to last season as I bounced around between the second and third lines, but the whole team seemed to be in a funk this season too and while we won our fair share of games, we haven’t really gotten it going offensively despite having a much better group of forwards than in previous seasons.

This is my last season in the SMJHL and will be heading to Baltimore to compete in the SHL where I will be one of the top line players for the foreseeable future.  While I don’t have amazing expectations for the team just right yet, I hope that I can be one of the better players on the Platoon no matter what role I am placed in.


Since this really is a simulation league and not tied in any way to reality, I think there is really no reason to continue to avoid expanding outside of Canada and the United States.  I really like the idea of putting a team in Scandinavia as hockey is very popular there.  Specifically I think putting a team in Helsinki, Finland would be a great idea as Finland’s number one sport is, in fact, hockey.  I also think putting teams in Oslo, Stockholm, and Riga would round out the beginning of a European expansion and could potentially attract more Europeans to the site and of course to those teams as well.


This is so easy to pick for the SMJHL.  The Anchorage Armada absolutely should have made the finals, but choked three games in a row after going up 3-1 in their series against Maine.  Until that moment, the Armada had everything going for them.  They had the least goals against in the regular season and the third best goals for, which gave them the best goal differential of all teams.  Scoochie Stratton, who led the league in GAA, save percentage, shutouts, and wins, was a shell of himself in the postseason and was even pulled in the critical Game 7 in the 2nd period, winding up with a 4.08 GAA and 0.849 Save % as the team was shelled by Maine’s stellar offense.


Along with Jumbobone, I am Team USA’s WJC GM and I’m really hoping that we can repeat as champions. We have a much better lineup this time around and plan on utilizing it to the best we can in the tournament. We should once again be a top contender for the title having so many returning players, instead of a huge field of rookies. I think UCORCAL will be one of the biggest threats once again with the emergence of the Petrovs. I think Canada also makes a big comeback after failing to reach the final four last season and that the biggest surprise will be Team World. Despite the shortcomings to their roster, they have some talented managers and I think they will be great at strategy. Also no disrespect to DACH, but I think they will get bounced early once again. They have a stacked roster, but I don’t think it will carry them.


Despite both teams being great defensively, Buffalo has a slight edge having better top end players in Cassius Darrow, Alexander Selich, and Poopity Scoop.  While Kirkby has been an absolute force this season, he hasn’t even been the best on defense compared to DeMaricus Smyth and Lyle Odelein III, while Alexander Selich has a decent chance at getting a Bojo nomination.


For the Stampede, this is absolutely the case.  They are a much better team at home than on the road having only lost two games in Buffalo in the regular season and so far only one game in the playoffs.  On the other hand, New Orleans, is just about as good on the road as they are at home, so they really need to steal one or two games on the road if they are going to have any chance at winning this series.


I don’t really think there will be much impact at all.  While this may keep the Stampede from getting a lot of net front presence and perhaps back down from the physical play, I don’t see it being a huge factor since they have a much easier time at getting open and are in general a stronger team that would not be easily knocked off the puck once they control it.  As long as the Stampede can play their game and avoid the physical aspect, they should cruise in this series.


Verification word: sh33p

16/16 TPE