The Newfoundland Berserkers are just too god damn good right now. 14 games into the season, they have cemented themselves as the clear #1 team in the SMJHL right now, having only lost a single game - a 5-2 loss to the Quebec City Citadelles, the current 3rd place team. With their 26 points, the Berserkers are a whole 6 points ahead of their closest competition - the Colorado Raptors. Let's break down how they got here, shall we?

Looking at overall team stats, it looks like Newfoundland's early schedule has been on the slightly heavier side, with them having played more games than 7 of the 12 teams, being tied with 4 of the others - only Kelowna has played more, at 16. This may actually give Newfoundland a slight advantage later in the season, where their schedule will be lighter, thus their players will be less worn out and be able to deliver even better performances. As for GF-GA, Newfoundland's offense actually doesn't stand out all that much. They are 4th in the league with 50 goals scored - only slightly above average in that department. Good, but maybe not what you would immediately expect to see from a team playing as well as they are. The GA tells a different story though. Newfoundland is very clearly 1st in GA, with only 21 goals allowed in their 14 games. 2nd place Anchorage have only conceded 2 more goals, however they also have 2 less games played, and 3rd place Detroit is a whole 12 goals behind - and with 2 less games played. From this we can deduce that Newfoundland's greatest strength seems to be in their own zone, allowing remarkably few goals while also scoring a good amount themselves. And, if you look at their roster, it immediately makes sense why they're so good.

The Newfoundland Berserkers are old as fuck.

No, seriously, they only have 6 players who are S60 or younger. The rest of the roster consists of S59 and S58 players - the VAST majority of whom have hit the 425 TPE cap. The only players who haven't are RW Erik Andrews, at 420 TPE and G Tim Allen Jr. at 190 TPE, who has not played a single game this season. As for their rookies, they've got 4 - two goalies (one of whom has not played a single game, and the other, Jonas Johansson, is their backup), RD Jannik Nordstern and LW Emeril Lagasse - both of whom seem to be gaining TPE at a solid pace, with Nordstern being at 233 and Lagasse at 216. The age of their roster, though, is probably the closest thing this team has to a weakness. With only two rookie skaters, their overall roster is not going to be improving much throughout the season, so maybe expect the other teams to catch up a little bit towards the end. However, I do think that the Berserkers, as it stands right now, are VERY clear favorites for the Four Star Cup. Their future is a little bit questionable, as all of those S58 and S59 players are approaching the end of their time in the juniors, however their present is incredibly bright. They've got one hell of a core, and every other team should see them as the team to beat - but I don't know how they'll do it.

The Newfoundland Berserkers are too good right now.

@monochroma GRADED! +5 TPE