18. Milestones
S79 SMJHL Milestones
Total TPE: 3
 
1.     Fan Appreciation Day
There are no better fans in the J than the rabid diehard fans in St. Louis.  They come out to games and get loud through thick and thin and help contribute to the home ice advantage that the Scarecrows enjoyed this season.  Because of this the Scarecrows organization is eager to show their appreciation to the fans.
 
This season’s fan appreciation night is to honor both the fans and one of the Scarecrow’s star players.  Every fan that comes through the gates gets a Louis Belanger bobblehead.  This is not just your run of the mill hockey player bobblehead.  Louis’ oversized head is bobbling up and down on the body of a scarecrow hanging up on a post wearing a Belanger Scarecrows jersey.  A straw hat sits atop Louis’ head instead of a hockey helmet.  A great collector’s item for all of the Scarecrows faithful!
 
Word Count: 145
 
 
7. Winner Winner Chicken
The Four Star Cup is an extremely prestigious and sought after trophy that takes an unbelievable amount of sacrifice, grit, toughness, skill, and determination to lift over your head.  Every player in the Juniors is giving the playoff tournament everything they have in order to get their name engraved on the Cup.  However, despite the best efforts from every player on every team, only one team can win when it is all said and done.  This year the last team standing was the Quebec City Citadels.
 
The Citadels capped off an incredible regular season with an incredible playoff run.  You never know what is going to happen when the sixteen teams in this league enter the playoffs.  Truly anything can happen as different teams get hot and underdogs begin to silence their critics.  However, I think this year the safe money was being bet on the first seed Citadels to win the whole tournament.
 
How did the Citadels gain the first seed in the tournament and a first round matchup versus the lackluster Vancouver Whalers team?  The Quebec City Citadels’ regular season performance was nothing short of dominant.  Out of the 66 regular season games played they boasted a staggering 46 win, 18 loss, and 2 OT loss record, resulting in 94 points on the table.  They tied the Newfoundland Berserkers, who were also an incredible team this year, in points but what truly set them apart was their goal differential of +126.  Stingy defense, great goalkeeping, and an unstoppable offense made them the best team in the league this season, hands down.  The team had two players with over 100 points at the end of the season including leaguewide points leader Cristoforo Roccamontepiano.  Six of the top ten players in +/- this season were Quebec City players.  Four of the top five players with the most hits this season were Quebec City players.  They truly dominated every aspect of the game and it was no surprise to see them win the championship.  I don’t think anyone around the league would argue that they didn’t earn it.
 
Word Count: 347
 
 
12. On the Radar
There are many exciting players in this year’s SHL draft that it will be hard for teams to determine who will be the best fit on their roster with so many attractive choices.  One player that is sure to be on many team’s radars is the St. Louis Scarecrows winger Boogan McGillicuddy.  Boogan was a player that fell to the third round of the SMJHL draft but was given a spot on the top line in St. Louis.  He made the most of this opportunity by amassing 26 goals and 48 assists in his rookie season, totaling in 74 points, second most on the team.  He logged minutes both on the power play, tallying 24 PP points, and on the penalty kill where he scored 3 short handed goals and a short handed assist.  Boogan also logged 155 hits.
 
Boogan is a dynamic player who combines speed, strength, physicality, and skill.  He stepped into a power forward role and executed this role well.  He has a hard, accurate shot, can handle the puck well, and has solid ability to gain separation from the defense and find himself in the right spots of the ice to make offensive contributions.  He is strong, fast, and athletic.  Where Boogan could improve upon most is his defensive game.  He is physical and can rack up hits but he needs a more well rounded defensive skillset if he wants to do well matching up with the SHL’s best players.  Look for him to make strides in this area of his game.
 
Everything considered Boogan would be a great addition to most of the organizations in the SHL and has shown a lot of promise early in his career.  I would not expect him to fall as low in the SHL draft as he did in the SMJHL draft.
 
Word Count: 303
 
 
Total Word Count: 795