That was the most Homer response you could have fielded.
You expect to win top spot in the West with the 21st leading scorer and the 13th leading goal getter?
Look at the competition of Minnesota, they are the team to beat in the West. Straight up in Goals and Points they get consistent point production from their line up, but most especially from their top scorers. Minnesota's top line combined for 220 Points this season. New Orleans top line barely cracked 130. Further to that how many games did your goalie steal for you? At least 4 confirmed because he posted 4 shutouts which is tied for most in the league. New Orleans has a hot goalie but lacks the offence.
I am not denying New Orleans has performed well for an expansion team but lets not pretend like they are the team to beat, after all you don't make friends with salad.
BS on your BS!
New Orleans has made the trade for lundberg at the trade deadline to help fix their depth, and their team has a lot more depth than Minnisota. Lets not pretend that just because Minnisota has a really good 1st line it doesnt mean that their whole team is good. Their defense in terms of TPE is not that good, and their Goalie is alright at best. The reason they have been winning is that their 1st line has been killing it in points. If someone can shutdown their 1st line then they will get beat. A well rounded team is better than a good 1st line and that about it.
BS³
Results speak for themselves. Minnesota has shown they can win and no one in the league has been able to shut down their juggernaut scoring. If you give them even so much as an inch they will take a mile. The only power horse NOR has going for it that might shut down Minnesota is their goaltending.
- Minnesota Chiefs Terrance Nova, Bobby Watson and Dick Skillstedt were the greatest line is SHL history
For: Originally I was going to say that I Was against this as I feel that LPF was a Minny all time great and should be on that line and that any line would include him. He had also played with Nova so I thought maybe one of those lines would be it that the two of them were on together. However after looking at those stats, holy cow. That line will be tough to match for sure and congratulations to them and @sarmo specifically back to my old Minny days on his excellent season
Kelowna Knights Nickolas Klaus, Nolan Sawchuk and Bobby Sharp make up the best line in the SMJHL
Against: Even though the Klaus, Sawchuk, and Sharp line is the top line of the Kelowna Knights (first place team in the regular season), overall their production has slowed down from last season and they're not even the highest scoring line this season. Their combined points tally up to 114, whereas the Whalers' top line has a combined 133 points. Even in terms of +/-, the Knights line is behind the Whalers line, coming in at a combined +/- of 41 vs 58. Also, how can we even say that the Klaus, Sawchuk, and Sharp line are the best in the league when they're barely the best line on their team?
Code:
Scoring in the juniors is way down this year due to all the top level talent leaving to the SHL this season
Against: This argument makes no sense since the historic rookie draft class of S46 now has the majority of their players capped and playing on the top lines of each of their teams. I'd wager that the league has never had this many capped players before, and I'd also say that the number of capped goalies in the league is higher than it's been for a long time. That, combined with a lot of capped defensemen in the league, contribute to the lowered scoring numbers across the league. Maybe in the past when the draft classes were smaller, there was just a higher proportion of dedicated/capped forwards, whereas this time around we've got a much more even spread of forwards/defensemen/goalies.
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This is the 1st year since S40 that Halifax isnt in the bottom 2 of the standings, the franchise has officially turned the corner.
For: Halifax's rebuild is finally over. They've finally overcome their perennial bottom 2 finish and finished bottom 4 instead. Jokes aside, this is the most stacked Halifax team in many seasons, and their recent acquisitions of Evans and Scarn make them quite scary in the playoffs. I would say that they're poised as a dark horse this time around and have a good shot at upsetting a few teams and making a deep run. I said way back at the S46 draft that Halifax had the best draft of the season, and I still stand by that statement. I believe their S46 draft class is good enough to carry the team to an even better standing next season, and the franchise has officially turned a corner.
Signatures by Vulfzilla, Jepox, Jess, rum_ham, Ragnar, and myself
This is the 1st year since S40 that Halifax isnt in the bottom 2 of the standings, The franchise has officialy turned the corner.
For:
Halifax' roster is really stacked right now, and even if they lose few people to callups, they should stay a decent force in the upcoming season. After all, they lead the league for half the season until they decided to be Halifax for a while and lose 11 in a row. After that though, some trade deadline aquisitions have made Halifax a truly dangerous team not only in the minds of their players, but also on the paper.
Manhattan Rage | General Manager
thanks Sulovilen for the sig!
D | Manhattan Rage | Czechia
This is the 1st year since S40 that Halifax isn't in the bottom 2 of the standings, The franchise has officially turned the corner.
AGAINST, The Raiders had a decent season but I think they need to show a little more before you can say they've officially turned the corner. They also didn't exactly have a dominant season 23-21-6 isn't a horrible record but it doesn't exactly scream "team on the rise to me"
They've certainly improved don't get me wrong but they still finished the season with a negative goal differential, didn't have a single player above ppg and were only 4 points out of the bottom two. To me that says that a few of those points can be attributed to luck rather than skill.
They might be in the process of turning the corner, but to say they've fully done it is taking it one step too far.
This is the 1st year since S40 that Halifax isnt in the bottom 2 of the standings, the franchise has officially turned the corner.
For: Halifax's rebuild is finally over. They've finally overcome their perennial bottom 2 finish and finished bottom 4 instead. Jokes aside, this is the most stacked Halifax team in many seasons, and their recent acquisitions of Evans and Scarn make them quite scary in the playoffs. I would say that they're poised as a dark horse this time around and have a good shot at upsetting a few teams and making a deep run. I said way back at the S46 draft that Halifax had the best draft of the season, and I still stand by that statement. I believe their S46 draft class is good enough to carry the team to an even better standing next season, and the franchise has officially turned a corner.
I'm glad I bribed you $2 million for this
sarmo Registered
S2, S5, S12, S39 Challenge Cup Champion and The MVP
Posts:4,201 Threads: 117 Joined: Nov 2011 Reputation:17
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03-22-2019, 03:45 PMAndybj Wrote: - Minnesota Chiefs Terrance Nova, Bobby Watson and Dick Skillstedt were the greatest line is SHL history
For: Originally I was going to say that I Was against this as I feel that LPF was a Minny all time great and should be on that line and that any line would include him. He had also played with Nova so I thought maybe one of those lines would be it that the two of them were on together. However after looking at those stats, holy cow. That line will be tough to match for sure and congratulations to them and @sarmo specifically back to my old Minny days on his excellent season
Thanks Andy
For and I'm a little disappointed by the hate the line is getting but I guess you're not doing it right unless you got haters :shrugs: For all the people saying how can one line carry a team, see Crosby Malkin kessel or gaudreau Monahan lindholm. Two players above 1600 tpe and one above 1300 tpe. Those are alistar calibre players being played MVP minutes and delivering. You can try replicating that line with your own stars but I doubt anyone will get the same results or it would have been tried already. I didn't really see anyone counter the line other than the line itself going cold for a stretch and this isn't the first time we've seen the line get hot like this. Last time it was in season 44 with nova and wozy in the playoffs, putting up 27 points in 14 games each with Watson picking up 14 points and 10 goals.. leading a very depleted chiefs squad who were supposed to be rebuilding to a full 7 game series against the Platoon in the ECF. This line literally put the Chiefs into serious contention with minimum help and also carried the defense for half the season until they got some help before the trade deadline. Without them the Chiefs wouldn't even be a bubble team instead they're the top seed and score a bye week. Truly an SHL MVP line with great chemistry.
- The Better Conference is now.. the Eastern Conferance
Against. Not tryna sound like a homer but check the standings.. there's alot more parity in the Western conference.. pride and Texas both tied in points with dragons and Edmonton yet still missed the playoffs, even the jets were only 4 wins shy of making it. The west was tough this season.
Doubt is a dream killer
karlssens Registered
S28, S45, S49 Challenge Cup Champion
Posts:4,002 Threads: 182 Joined: May 2015 Reputation:73
Discord: karl#3942
Pronouns: He/Him
Player: Oskar Scholz
03-22-2019, 12:11 PMkarlssens Wrote: - Minnesota Chiefs Terrance Nova, Bobby Watson and Dick Skillstedt were the greatest line is SHL history
For.
I was going to argue the Theo Kane, Pedro Sarantez, Ivan Koroviev line back in S33 for the Blizzard was better, but they finished with 72, 69 and 56 points respectively for 1st, 2nd and 10th in league scoring and only barely managed to squeeze Edmonton in to a playoff spot. What the Chief boys did in S46 far exceeds that as they [almost] all passed Theo Kane's 72 points and locked up the top spot in a difficult western conference.
@karlssens -> What about those Jason Visser, Corey Bearrs, Pietra Volkova lines in the late 30's?
They were good too but I don’t think they ever went 1, 2, 3 or even 1, 2 for that matter like the names I mentioned.
- 1st year franchise, the New Orleans Specters are the team to beat in the Western Division playoffs
Against.
If you take a look at the standings, it could go either way. The standings were fairly tight and the obvious teams you'd be looking at are Los Angeles, New Orleans and Minnesota. It's very impressive being in their first season and going where they went. It's incredible the accomplishments that were achieved by such a new team so quickly. I will give them that but at this time, I will not give them the team to beat title of the West. I think, despite doing better in both seasonal series between LA and Minnesota, an upset is coming and were going to see some thunder. For me, Minnesota's offense this season has been extremely impressive and if Primeau can find a way to keep pucks out of the net better, it could very well be Minnesota. The same thing could be said about LA, too. If LA finds the right gears heading into the playoffs, great things could be happening and long cup droughts could be ending.
At the very end of it, we were forced to choose a side. It's going to be very interesting to see which of these 3 teams reign supreme.
1st year franchise, the New Orleans Specters are the team to beat in the Western Division playoffs
I am against this post because there is one other team who finished above them and that is the Minnesota Although they only finished with 1 more point than them in the standings. Their road record was 16-9 and securing victories in the playoffs as the visiting team can mean the difference between moving onto the next stage or watching the games from home sweet home. This is why i am against the New Orleans as the favourite in the West, don't get me wrong though they are an amazing team but can they replicate what the Vegas Golden Knights did in the NHL? Time will tell.
BS
You are very right to point out that Minnesota finished ahead of New Orleans and even smarter to point to the home ice advantage in the playoffs. But I think you have to take into account the fact that Minnesota's top players played heavy minutes all season long. Are they going to have enough energy for an extended playoff run? Are their legs going to actually fall off? I feel like it would be tough to play hockey without legs, although some of those sledge hockey players are pretty legit. I am just not sure Minnesota's top players have enough time to learn how to use the sleds.
Massive agree here. Minnesota is a very top-heavy team that lacks in depth. That Skillstedt - Nova - Watson line carried them all season, and I'm not sure they have any sufficient back up plans if everything goes awry. I don't see them winning the cup this year, as NOLA has better depth and spreads around their production more.
ty to @High Stick King @EvilAllBran and @Ragnar for the sigs
No defined scorers:
- Roman Augustus 21 Goals, 28 Assists for 49 Points. Tied for 21st in the league in scoring
- Joe Kurczewski 23 Goals, 18 Assists for 41 Points. Tied for 13th in Goals.
Clutch Goals:
- Roman Augustus 6 Game Winning Goals. Tied for 4th in the league
- Xavier Paquette 5 Game Winning Goals. Tied for 6th.
- DeMaricus Smyth 3 Game Tying Goals. Tied for 4th.
BS!
That was the most Homer response you could have fielded.
You expect to win top spot in the West with the 21st leading scorer and the 13th leading goal getter?
Look at the competition of Minnesota, they are the team to beat in the West. Straight up in Goals and Points they get consistent point production from their line up, but most especially from their top scorers. Minnesota's top line combined for 220 Points this season. New Orleans top line barely cracked 130. Further to that how many games did your goalie steal for you? At least 4 confirmed because he posted 4 shutouts which is tied for most in the league. New Orleans has a hot goalie but lacks the offence.
I am not denying New Orleans has performed well for an expansion team but lets not pretend like they are the team to beat, after all you don't make friends with salad.
I'll admit to it being a homer response, however Minnesota may be the team that took advantage of everyone they just couldnt get over on us all season long. The following stats are vs each team in the west that made the ploffs.
Shout out to ml002, schultzy, slashacm, tedward!
I I I I
09-05-2018, 10:04 PMBeaver Wrote: Wow look what the PT affiliation has done to our pristine league.
12-19-2018, 12:31 AMBeaver Wrote: I personally blame the PT affiliation for handing out massive amounts of free TPE to all these players, inflating the TPE they're at when they get called up.
- Minnesota Chiefs Terrance Nova, Bobby Watson and Dick Skillstedt were the greatest line is SHL history
Against: How many minutes a game are these guys playing? There has to be something to be said about a team that is willing to sacrifice the success of many of its other plays in exchange for their all star players getting ungodly stats. I think many teams could replicate these results if they were willing to stack minutes and throw their second and third lines to the freaking wolves.
- The Buffalo Stampede will go from last place in the East in S45 to Challenge Cup champions in S46
For: They built a solid roster long ago with some actives and it is finally paying some dividends. The result of last season didn't really show what this team was.
- After 7 seasons straight of missing the playoffs, the Manhattan Rage move into the S46 post season as 1 of the favorites to win a title.
For: The Rage have been bad for as long as I can remember, I am ok with them rising from the ashes and being a top tier team in the league. Their GM is a good guy and they have some solid pieces.
- West Kendall Platoon missing the playoffs marks the end of a great run of prosperity.
Against: Lets just wait and see what happens in the next few seasons before we say WKP are dead. They are a good team with some good pieces, though I don't mind them missing out on the playoffs.
- Calgary capturing a playoff spot on the final day over Texas is a complete shock.
Against: Calgary making the playoffs should not be a shock to anyone.
- 1st year franchise, the New Orleans Specters are the team to beat in the Western Division playoffs.
For: Expansion draft was rigged! Down with HO! New Orleans got a great haul in the draft and managed to snag a lot of great FAs to boot.
Tampa Bay Barracuda will become the first franchise to move past the 4 vs 5 game by defeating Hamilton.
Against: I don't believe in the TB Barracuda.
- The Better Conference is now.. the Eastern Conferance
Against: It is one season, the East is not here to stay.
The fact that Buffalo even missed the playoffs at all during the last 2 seasons was a massive fluke. The fact that Buffalo has managed to lose in the first round 6 out of 7 times visiting the playoffs is a massive fluke- especially when 3 of them were game 7 losses, and on at least one of the others we were screwed by simmer error. The fact that anyone was stupid enough to underestimate Buffalo's roster for so long is a colossal fluke. Anything less than winning the cup would be a massive disappointment.
Totally agree with this.
Anything less than a Challenge Cup would be an absolute embarrassment for this team. Every player on the squad would need to hang her or his head in bitter shame if they were to somehow blow this leadpipe lock of a playoff run. I can’t see a single solitary way this assembled amalgamation of awesome and amazing automatons could fail to bring home the franchise’s first championship. I would go so far as to say, if this team doesn’t win a championship an official inquiry should be implemented to ascertain what sort of shenanigans are afoot. But, of course, all this negative talk should be put aside, as I am sure my good buddy Alexis Metzler will be hoisting up that cup for a victory lap around the ice in front of his ecstatic fans...........right Avakael?
03-22-2019, 06:06 PMErM Wrote: - Minnesota Chiefs Terrance Nova, Bobby Watson and Dick Skillstedt were the greatest line is SHL history
Against: How many minutes a game are these guys playing? There has to be something to be said about a team that is willing to sacrifice the success of many of its other plays in exchange for their all star players getting ungodly stats. I think many teams could replicate these results if they were willing to stack minutes and throw their second and third lines to the freaking wolves.
Considering two of our 2nd Liners still got 40+ points and after that it's 2 rookies and a bunch of Inactives, not sure who's getting thrown to the wolves.
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Although they only finished with 1 more point than them in the standings. Their road record was 16-9 and securing victories in the playoffs as the visiting team can mean the difference between moving onto the next stage or watching the games from home sweet home. This is why i am against the New Orleans 
as the favourite in the West, don't get me wrong though they are an amazing team but can they replicate what the Vegas Golden Knights did in the NHL? Time will tell.
