The worst thing that happened to Oliver Cleary this season was not PR based. The worst thing to happen to Oliver Cleary was once again losing in the second round. For Cleary, round 2 losses have become a habit. When in LA, Oliver Cleary lost in the conference finals, which at that time was round 2, twice in two seasons in a row. In Manhattan, Oliver Cleary lost multiple times in the round second also. After getting traded to BAP, Oliver Cleary was hoping things would be different. Round one was the same, another easy victory. Round 2 against Atlanta saw Baltimore look like the heavy favourites. It just wasn't meant to be though when Atlanta took out the Platoon in 6. Once again, the Cleary second round curse would rear its ugly head. When S61 hits, Cleary is hoping that the worst thing that happens to him is PR based instead of another disappointing season end.



If Oliver Cleary could switch with one player in the finals, it would be his former teammate in Manhattan, Jukka Timonen. The reason he would pick Juke is the fact that he would finally teach Juke how to be a good player. Juke has always been a player who has had a lot of hype and just fallen a bit flat. Cleary would finally come in and show him how its done. He would implant the skills needed to be a high impact player. But the most important thing is he would come in game 7. Cleary would just play the way he does in his normal body. He would chip in offensively well playing solid defensively. Though the only issue would be now that Cleary is in Juke's body, Juke would have to deal with the Cleary second round curse. Chicago would instantly lose in the finals and Buffalo would win another cup. Everyone would be sad.



If I had to draft a new SMJHL playoff format, I wouldn't actually go 8 teams or 12 teams. What I would do is an NBA style format with 10 teams. The 7th ranked team would end up facing the 10th ranked team while the 8th and 9th teams would face off against each other. The idea behind this is to have a prove yourself wild card round before the top 8 are set. The winners ranking would be based on season seeding. So if 7 and 9 make it, 7 is the higher seed and faces 2nd. The wild card round would also be best of 3. Make it quick and dirty while making it so each lower seed has to prove they deserve to be in the playoffs.



I may be tipping my cap a little bit being that I am on the awards committee and have a vote for the MVP award. So I will highlight a player on the losing team. For this playoffs, it is very hard for me to look past the contributions of Martijn Westbroek this playoffs. He did it all for the Syndicate. 13 goals, 30 points while leading the top line for Chicago. Westbroek has been an absolute stud for Chicago for a long time and he is very deserving of the Razov to cap off a Hall of Fame career. Though I am a member of the committee, I do have a hard time imaging I would vote against him had Chicago brought home the W.



Buster


Oliver Cleary milestones +3

16/16