PBE +3


I think that this was a good year for Alex Petrenko. At this point, the main thing I hope for is consistent improvement and we saw that. Sure, he wasn't the shot blocking machine that he was last year, but that was primarily because he actually has a few teammates to help him out these days. He still got a nice share of defensive stats (his defensive grade of 86 was in the top tier of the league) and also improved on offense. Yes, this is another case where having better teammates helps, but he was definitely able to make his presence known, especially on the power play. This is an area where he shined in his SMJHL career and it's good to see him given the opportunity to flex his muscles in that regard. Alex is set to keep his steady improvement next season and with some great prospects getting called up, people are going to have to start paying attention to the Pride! (165 words)


Charity work is very important to Alex. He's been very fortunate to be able to play hockey for a living and it gives him a platform to help people. Right now he sees a lot of people being negatively impacted by the pandemic, not just people directly impacted by Covid, but those who have lost their jobs and are having trouble making ends meet. He has trouble understanding why a government would let its people suffer economically from a disease they have no control over, but for now he does what he can. One charity he really likes is the Mission Food Hub, who is providing groceries to people who are having trouble paying for food and also provides free Covid testing so people have the information they need to be as safe as they can. He'd like to do more, though, so this is just a start. He has the means to help people and doesn't think he's doing enough so he'll definitely find more places in the community to help this offseason. (174 words)


The finals went a bit as expected this year, with the teams with the best regular season records meeting in the finals, the Chicago Syndicate and the Hamilton Steelhawks. However, the Buffalo Stampede were only a game behind Hamilton in a very tough Eastern Conference and could have very easily held their own in the finals. Led by Bobby Sharp and Monkey D. Luffy, they had one of the more formidable offenses in the league and could hold their own on defense as well. It's a shame they had to run into the eventual champs before the final round. If they had Hamilton's draw I think they definitely would have been in the championship series. (115 words.)


If I'm doing this on the Thursday before it's due, am I *really* a procrastinator? Anyway, I have to give props to Gunnar Soderberg. The guy was a goal scoring machine throughout the playoffs and certainly did his part here, so he'd be my pick. However, Chicago is a very balanced team and got contributions from just about their entire roster. They were the best team in the regular season, the best team in the playoffs, and simply could not be stopped. Smeb and Connolly would be other potential MVP choices because while they didn't contribute quite as much on offense, they did bring more on the other end. Overall, it was a great run for Chicago and something the whole team should be proud of. (126 words.)


cheese