S46 SMJHL Playoffs
First Round Analysis

After looking at the other first round matchup, the Colorado Raptors against the Halifax Raiders, I want to take a closer look on the second in which the Detroit Falcons will face the Vancouver Whalers in the Series that starts tomorrow. Unfortunately, there isn't too much hype in the media regarding the playoffs right now so I hope I can get some excitement going. Without further ado though, let's take a closer look at the matchup.

 Detroit Falcons (9) - (8) Vancouver Whalers 

Season Review: The Detroit Falcons ended the season with a record of 22-24-4 (48 Points), finishing two games under .500. Looking at their games, the Detroit Falcons never really went above or below .500 too much. They had some 3-4 game winning streaks here and some 3-4 game losing streaks there. They never had a realistic shot at the first round bye. After finishing 1st in the last season and making it to the Playoffs finals, they sure hoped to get another shot at it this year. But losing guys like David Fantobens and Hippo Passamus to the SHL wouldn't be easy for any team. 

The same could be said about the S46 Vancouver Whalers. They had a promising start with eight wins in their first eleven games, but they were a prototypical .500 team after that with more losses than wins sprinkled in. The Whalers lost some good guys as well, first of all Jack Kennedy and his 60 points which would far and away be the best in this season as well. Than they lost another two very solid forwards in Noah Nowes and Shaquille Derisraka and defensemen Tauras Karazija and Barret McCarthy. The Whalers were a very, very deep team last year with scoring coming from everywheren. This year though, there was only one scoring line which isn't enough. Still, this was always a transition year for the Whalers so everything that comes now is bonus.

Season Series: There are some conclusions to make if you look at the regular season series between the Detroit Falcons and the Vancouver Whalers. While the matchups between the Colorado Raptors and the Halifax Raiders were pretty close, the Vancouver Whalers had the Falcons' numbers during the regular season. The Whalers were able to win five of the seven games between both teams and since the first round is a seven game series as well, maybe this could be a solid indicator.

Player Comparison: The Falcons relied heavily on top forward Raino Kyllonen. Kyllonen was able to put up 32 points in his rookie campaign which was a very remarkable number and now was able to become even better, scoring 42 points for the Falcons. Then there is forward Kit Smeb who put up respectable 38 points. Kyllonen is 3rd Overall for Centers scoring wise and Kit Smeb even 2nd OVerall for Left Wings.But then the scoring goes down. There are some guys who scored in the 20's and defensemen Stolp Skottson and Aaron Freakin Rome who both put up 25 points, but in the end, that just isn't enoug secondary scoring. Top defender Skottson had a shocking season defensively. While he was able to be a +14 last year, he was a very bad -15 this year, absolutely worst on the team. Only defenseman Jimmy Cahill is close with -13. At least Cahill was able to crack the Top 10 in Shots Blocked and Hits though. S46 First round pick Espen Knutsen Jr. had a pretty solid rookie season, scoring 21 points and finishing 7th Overall in Rookie scoring. There rest of the rookies were pretty bleak scoring wise. 

The Vancouver Whalers are best described with one term: Top Heavy. They had the best scorer in the league, Borromini Cannellini with 54 points and the 2nd best scorer, Petr Mikulak with 44 points. They also have Rookie Cullen Gray who finished 1st in rookie scoring with 35 points. But then there is a whole bunch of nothing scoring wise. You've got Andy Kerr with okay 24 points, but you would expect more out of him in his third season. One name that has to come up is rookie defenseman Jax Duggan who was able to put up 22 points, which is good for 5th overall in rookie scoring and actually the best for rookie defenseman. The Whalers played a lot of rookies in dominant roles but except for Gray and Duggan, they weren't really noticeable. The Whalers have a big problem on the defensive side - there is no top defenseman that can lead the Whalers in the playoffs. They do have some veterans like Kucherov and Vrzala but offensively, they rely a lot on Jax Duggan which can be problematic in the playoffs. The Whalers are very solid shot blockers though, have three defenseman in the Top 10 (Egor Kucherov, Vernik Vrzala and Joe Ackroyd).

The Whalers have an advantage in the goal though and we all know that goaltenders can carry teams in the playoffs. Starting goaltender Casimir Stevens went 16-11-6 with a 90.4 SV% and a GAA of 2.38. Stevens is 2nd in both SV% and GAA, only trialing to Patrice Nadeau of the Lethbridge Lions. If Stevens is on his game, he can help the Whalers go far. Starting goaltender Jakub Hasek of the Falcons did have a solid season, too, finishing 6th in SV% (89.0%) but only 8th in GAA (2.80). Rookie backup Luke Derion of the Falcons had a pretty good season, getting 11 wins for his team and saving 88.8% of the shots he faced. He actually had a better GAA with 2.70. So if Hasek is starting to struggle, expect to see Derion in. But even the backup of the Whalers is better as Eddy Ask Jr. had a 89.1 SV% and a GAA of 2.62. If everything goes normal, the Whalers are the better team in net. 

Key Matchup: They key matchup is between the top centers of both teams, Borromini Cannellini for the Whalers and Raino Kyllonen for the Falcons. As both teams seem to be pretty top heavy, it is on the best forwards to carry their respective teams. There is a lot of pressure on Cannellini who nearly got his team a first round bye and he needs to deliver if the Whalers want to have a shot at the Cup this year. In this matchup though, expect Cannellini to be the better player. 

Team Comparison: Both teams are pretty equal in goal scoring. Both are teams that rely a lot on their first lines and both teams weren't too successful doing so. The Falcons had 2.62 Goals per Game while the Whalers had 2.60. Pretty much the same. The Whalers were a little bit better defending the net, though. They're third in the league, allowing only 2.62 Goals per Game while the Falcons allowed 2.82, good for 6th in the league. So the Detroit Falcons end up in 9th place in GF/GA% with 92% while the Whalers end up 6th with 99%. This stat is showing again how it correlates with the standings. 

The special teams won't be able to make a difference in all likelyhood. While the Whalers had the better PP, the Falcons had the better PK. They're pretty much the same if you add both PP and PK up, the Whalers being at 99.28% while the Falcons are at 99.06%. Not much to see here. The series will be deecided on even strength.

Prediction: This series is Vancouver's to lose. They have the advantage in net and they have proven in their season series against the Falcons that they're the better team and the Falcons have problems matching up with them. Still, shutting down the Whalers could be pretty easy as they rely on their top line a lot and the Falcons have some solid defenseman like Rome and Skottson and Cahill. Since the Whalers don't have a lot of scoring from the back end, the Falcons need to retain the Whaler's top line to stand a chance. And of course, that is easier said than done. The next MVP Borromini Cannellini wants to show the world he is a playoff performer and he wants to start doing so against the Falcons.

Prediction: Whalers in 5.

Sami Rieder | Vancouver Whalers | Hamilton Steelhawks | C | S47 | 433 TPE
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Transactions:
Drafted 16th Overall by the Vancouver Whalers in the S46 SMJHL Entry Draft
Drafted 11th Overall by the Hamilton Steelhawks in the S47 SHL Entry Draft
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Career Stats:
S46 (VAN): GP: 50 | G: 3 | A: 8 | P: 11 | -11 | PIM: 6 | Hits: 16 | SH: 4.23%

S47 (VAN): GP: 50 | G: 13 | A: 17 | P: 30 | +3 | PIM: 18 | Hits: 33 | SH: 9.56%

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Career Playoff Stats:

S46 (VAN): GP: 5 | G: 0 | A: 2 | P: 2 | -1 | PIM: 5 | Hits: 3 | SH: 0.00%

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Interesting matchup between two teams that probably have improved the most during the season due to having a lot of S47 rookies on their team.

Alvin Towne || G || S66 Draft Class || Peak: 155 TPE

Adrian Ayers || RW || S56 Draft Class || Peak: 1154 TPE

Gordie Boomhover || LW/C || S46 Draft Class || Peak: 1076 TPE

 | Player | Update Thread | Gordie#6746 | Manual Lineup Sheet | HockeyNation |

Should be a interesting matchup but like you said the Whalers will probably win!

Nice article

Twenty Twenty- Proud member of the Colorado Raptors

The falcons suck and should secede from the league

Aleister Cain - S42-S57
HOF GOALIE- CLASS OF S60- SECOND BALLOT
S54 CHALLENGE CUP
S54 RAZOV

Ville Kurri - S57-S70
BEST SMJHL DEFENSIVE FORWARD S60
That's pretty much it

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The falcons suck and should secede from the league

Can't tell if he means it, or if it's literally his job to scare away birds...

Team Ireland || Ragnar Lothbrok || San Fransisco Pride
                          Drafted 42nd Overall in SMJHL
                   Drafted 12th Overall in the SHL Draft

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The falcons suck and should secede from the league

Can't tell if he means it, or if it's literally his job to scare away birds...

Oh I mean it. Fuck the falcons

Aleister Cain - S42-S57
HOF GOALIE- CLASS OF S60- SECOND BALLOT
S54 CHALLENGE CUP
S54 RAZOV

Ville Kurri - S57-S70
BEST SMJHL DEFENSIVE FORWARD S60
That's pretty much it

|  |

man scared of skrees, more at 11

VILLE VIRTA || Center || Detroit Falcons
Age: 17
Birthplace: Nokia, Finland
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 215lbs

Number: 85
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Career Statistics:
SMJHL Regular Season
S50

 

Kielbasa Kock will block your shot and place the puck in your net

lets dance gei boiz

skreeee

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