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Samsung virtual assistant · 11-17-2018, 06:31 PM

The Toronto North Stars are definitely the most surprising thing in the standing so far this season. They're leading the league and are 13 points ahead of the 5th placed Minnesota Chiefs. It's particularly funny because the last couple of season Buffalo has shit talked them so much about how bad they are and how Buffalo is on the rise. Now Toronto sits in 1st place at 42 while Buffalo is in 6th place at 22.

CanadianDuck · 11-17-2018, 07:37 PM

Today I'll be making my picks for 3 of the SHL awards. These are based on my own opinions alone.

Ryan Jesster Award (Top Rookie) - Leshaun King
King was expected to be a big part of the Pride thus year and so far he has been very good.

Scott Stevens Award (Top D) - Brady McIntyre
With 31 points and a +8 is enough to be awarded this achievement.

John McBride Award (Best goalie) - Michael McFadden
It's not often when a player takes a strong lead for an award this soon, but Michael has done just that.

Rabidsponge21 · 11-17-2018, 07:56 PM

Damien Littleton Award (Most Dedicated)

Easily Ludwig Koch Schroder, for despite having the 4th most TPE in league history has taken the gifts and essentially done nothing with it compared too many of his other defensive peers. It takes special dedication to reach those limits, more to actually fight of regression still even though he's terribad.

Bonk · 11-17-2018, 08:50 PM

3. What player on the Individual leaderboard is most surprising?
Otis B. Driftwood being second on the PIMs leader board. Especially considering he has had zero fights. Although when you consider what a sloppy and undisciplined player Otis is maybe it is not surprise.

@Slappydoodle

FlappyGiraffe · 11-17-2018, 10:57 PM

2.

I would say that the surprise team in the standings is the Toronto North Stars. Coming into the season I saw Toronto as a bubble team that would compete with Minnesota for the 4th seed, however they have blown my expectations out of the water and are leading the way in the eastern conference.

hockeyfan · 11-17-2018, 11:15 PM

My strongest 2nd half take is that Texas is going to hit a roll and ride their momentum all the way to third in the West. Then they'll win the cup or whatever.

Keygan · 11-17-2018, 11:26 PM

My surprise in the standings this season would have to be without a doubt the Buffalo stampede, I had them finishing a top two team in the league.

CFJ · 11-17-2018, 11:57 PM

3. What player on the Individual leaderboard is most surprising?

Tor Tuck at #5 in Scoring is a surprise for me. I see him more a defensive defencemen then an offensive one. But good for him.

Thanks to prettyburn, TML, Carpy, JNH, Jepox, Engi, Karey, Flappy, Skolpadder, Mook, DollarAndADream, Smirnov and Toe for the sigs.

Code:
Crossfit's First Career SHL Goal, 4. Manhattan Rage , Crossfit Jesus 1 (Pedro Sarantez, Nucky Toohoots) at 5:51

Code:
Devitt's First Career SHL Goal, 5. Calgary Dragons , Prince Devitt 1 (Barry Batsbak 21, Mike Izzy 14) at 10:43

DollarAndADream · 11-18-2018, 03:16 AM

My hot take for the second half is that the Calgary Dragons are going to get some consistency and roar into 1st place in the standings. Mike and Joe will put the team on their backs, with Esa getting some points along the way, while the goalies will display some strong play in net. That's my prediction.

//

NJBadApple · 11-18-2018, 09:19 AM

Despite having a loaded roster, the Winnipeg Jets fail to reach the 4th and final playoff seed halfway through the season. They have been outplayed and outmatched so far by the Texas Renegades, a team not many expected to be sitting above the Jets this far through.

sarmo · 11-18-2018, 11:48 AM

What is your strongest 2nd half Prediction/Hot take?

I think minny will settle down and get hot and streak into the playoffs. They're shopping around their best players and trades are imminent but even if they lose Odegard, depending on the return, they could still make a run with their veterans leading the team.

Baelor Swift · 11-18-2018, 11:59 AM

2. Obvious surprise is Buffalo. They seemed to take a big step last season and then to be 8 points out of a playoff position now? It's obviously a cause for concern but I could see them going on a late season run.

*Leppish* · 11-18-2018, 12:04 PM

3. What player on the Individual leaderboard is most surprising?

Leshaun King for me, everyone knew he would be a star in the league but not this fast, especially with the slow start he had. But now he's 6th in scoring for Centers sitting at a solid 26 points after 31 games.

dizzyDC · 11-18-2018, 12:10 PM

2. Who would you say is the surprise team in the standings? (for good or bad)

100% I would say the Toronto North Stars leading their division was the biggest surprise for me. I know that they have been steadily improving, but I guess I'm so used to seeing them in the bottom half that them being at the top is rather shocking. I think that is really good for them and the organization. I love seeing parity in the league.

c00kies · 11-18-2018, 12:42 PM

11-15-2018, 10:07 PMGoonerBear Wrote: Who would you say is the surprise team in the standings? (for good or bad)

It's about time the North Stars made significant advances in the standings. Chris York's monumental efforts had been going to waste for seasons while he lorded over the League in scoring, though even he could not carry Toronto to playoffs alone. With a team effort and still putting on a high-level performance thus far, it's a good surprise for TNS to lead the East halfway through.

I think a huge reason for Toronto's success is the play of goalie Michael McFadden. McFadden leads the league in every category, with a .933 save percentage, a GAA of 1.92 (the only goalie below 2.00), 3 shutouts, and 19 wins. With these numbers he is a shoe in for the John McBride Award and maybe even a chance at an MVP, which would be remarkable for a goalie to win.

There are some worrying factors with the Stars though. They are a big hitting team and hit the most in the league (which is actually good), but it does get them in penalty trouble, as they are the 2nd most penalized team in the league (only behind Buffalo). They do have a middle of the pack penalty kill at just over 80%, but really strong teams in the playoffs will make teams pay for taking penalties, so they are best to reduce their PIMs once they are in the playoffs (they can probably get away with it for the remainder of the season). The other concern is their face-off success, as they are 7th at just over 50%. The main worry here is that they are only better than one playoff team (Texas), and will probably be at a bigger disadvantage come playoff time when they match-up against the elite face-off teams. A team that doesn't control the puck is chasing the puck, and that can also lead to penalties, so their two problems feed into each other.

With all this said, I do think Toronto finishes first in the East and has a good chance of having home-ice throughout the playoffs, which should be a key for a long, Cup run.

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