I want to talk about the 2nd place Kelowna Knights for a hot second. Their top line in Tah Pucheese, Josef Novotny, and Raquel Castillo Gutierrez has really been shining for them this season. I think what s most notable is that they are seen all over the ice. The highlight really is their center who has the 2nd highest FO win % in the entire league as well as a stellar defense for both 5v5 and penalty killing. Raquel is #7 in the league for shots taken. Tah Pucheese is on a 5 game goal streak and that is just one of the players who is currently on a hot streak for their team. The entire line seems to play well both ways with 35 shots blocked between the three forwards. This more than any other forward line in the league. When they’re on the ice, their team knows they can be counted on for defense and scoring. They have put up 341 shots out of the teams 1026. While the three don’t play as much of a physical game, that doesn’t stop them from being the line goes to when the team is in trouble or needs to hold the line.
I am in agreement with @Naosu and @"jfisherr". That top unit of Nicolaj Muller @esilverm, Mika Kandinsky @Mika_Kandinsky, and Barrett Blackwood @MrStennett is a force to be reckoned with.
There are seven players with more than 40 points at the time of this writing. Three of them are the names I mentioned above. When it comes to pure production, the Muller-Kandinsky-Blackwood trio has the stats to back up being mentioned in this conversation.
However, I think it's more important to note how important this trio has been to their team. St. Louis currently sits fourth in the league with a record of 21-17-4. Interestingly, their goal differential is -8, which is actually worse than the two teams immediately below them: Montreal (-2) and Vancouver (-7). As a matter of fact, Muller, Kandinsky, and Blackwood are the only forwards on the Scarecrows with a positive +/-.
Let me put that on its own line: on a team with a goal differential of -8, and on a team where the next closest forward has a +/- of -4, Muller, Kandinsky, and Blackwood are a combined +58. The team has scored 58 more goals with them on the ice than it has given up.
They've also come through in clutch time disproportionately more than the rest of their team. They have 8 game-winning goals and 5 game-tying goals as a line. That means they're helping the Scarecrows win games by showing up in the game's biggest moments.
This line is disproportionately important to the Scarecrows' success, which is why they get my vote for the most key line in the league. There are a lot of great top lines in the SMJHL, but I don't think there's a team that would miss theirs more than St. Louis would miss these three.
With the end of the season drawing near a lot of forward lines in the SMJHL are really starting to click! However the forward line that is clicking the most by far is the St. Louis Scarecrow trio of Mika Kandinsky, Nicolaj Muller, and Barrett Blackwood.
This trio has been absolutely deadly combining for 129 points and a plus minus of +58. While all players on the line are elite SMJHLers, what is perhaps most impressive is the ability of all three players to play solid defense. They are able to force a large number of opposition turnovers and capitalize successfully on them. The line also blocks more shots combined than all the other forwards on the Scarecrows combined. This shows that they aren’t afraid to sacrifice their body in order to secure the win. When the trio gets to play on the power play, they become even deadlier and have already amassed a combined 38 power play points.
It goes without saying that this line is carrying the team, if St. Louis can have their other lines step up they should be a favourite for the cup!
Sig Credits: Gorlab and Kylrad
puolivalmiste Player Progression Director
Posting Freak
08-28-2019, 05:41 AM(This post was last modified: 08-28-2019, 05:41 AM by puolivalmiste.)
It is clear that Mika Kandinsky, Nicolaj Muller, and Barrett Blackwood of St.Louis is best line in SMJHL currently but I want to take a closer look on line that is performing better than most would expect.
Ivan Maximus, Lallo Selman and Leonid Kofix are Anaheim Ourlaws current first line and while their performance compared to top of league has not been outstanding, what makes it interesting is that Ivan Maximus is a rookie yet he is playing center of teams first line and so far has 3 goals and 19 assists for total of 22 points, while his linemate Lallo Selman currently has 18 goals and 15 assists for total of 33 points, so it is quite clear that Maximus's passes find Selman on high scoring opportunities . Currently lines other winger is Leonid Kofix who has 9 goals, 18 assits and 27 who can take advantage of Ivan's passing abilities or feed Lallo with great passes himself. All of them are also important part of teams powerplay and their performance shows that even rookies can be high impact players when they get right support from their linemates.
This year's key line pie is definitely the Whalers second line of Jean-Paul Boivin, Marcus Ohlsson, and Sami Reider. Following the big shake up that the Vancouver Whalers saw at the trade deadline where they shipped out their top two players in return for future picks, some young players have been given a chance to shine in the spotlight amongst the top six on the Whalers roster. This young second line consists of a youthful presence that will be extremely important towards the Whalers success moving forward, and relying on these players will be massive. In their first few games together they've been able to string together some pretty impressive stats, and have been looking completely comfortable in their new roles on the team from the second line. Continued offensive production and reliability in the defensive end of the game will bolster this young stars into the team's face of the franchise in the near future.
When looking at league scoring you can clearly tell there are 2 lines that are tearing up the league. MTL's top-line & STL's top-line in Mika Kandinsky, Nicolaj Muller & Barrett Blackwood. Even though both lines are close, I would have to go with STL's top line as the best line in the SMJHL. Those 3 players occupy 3 of the Top 7 spots in the league scoring; while combining for 131 points on the season so far in 43 games. Each of the players is average about almost a point per game. Looking through these lines stats, and it is absolutely clear that this line is tearing up the league at a crazy pace. Each member of the line is shooting above 13.5% while being a combined +52 on the season so far. If this line can keep up the pace, it is clearly going to have an amazing regular season and the line is going to finish with incredible numbers. It seems as though this line just plays together great and they built some nice chemistry early on in training camp, and that momentum is carrying into the regular season at full force.
08-29-2019, 12:45 AM(This post was last modified: 08-29-2019, 12:45 AM by charlieconway.)
I've chosen St. Louis' top pairing of Lyle Odelein III and Noah Brusky.
The most a coach can ask for from his top pairing is to be responsible at both ends of the ice. Don't stifle offensive opportunities, but don't give up prime chances in your own zone, either. Odelein III and Brusky, as a pairing, are about as balanced as you can get in the SMJHL.
Lyle Odelein III is a supreme offensive talent. His ability with the puck is nearly unmatched at the junior level, and he boasts an excellent sense of timing, something that manifests in yeoman work on the penalty kill and countless blocked shots.
Noah Brusky is a physical force to be reckoned with. He has 86 hits on the season, good enough for 8th in the entire league. He's been knocked for having a low natural ability for scoring, but he's worked hard to overcome that deficiency, and has actually tallied one goal more than his linemate Odelein.
Put them together and they become even more than the sum of their parts. The St. Louis Scarecrows may finish the season outside of the top-3, but when you look at their top forward line and top pairing, it's clear they have the horses to go all the way.
Finn Rhys and Taisei-Tiikeri Wawazat currently make up what is one of the top defensive pairs in the league. I really like both of these guys and how they work together and they've done really well for the Halifax Raiders so far this year. Both of them are at 350+ TPE which means they are at peak performance for the league and have really shone as important parts of the Halifax team. With both being pass first players, they make up a great puck moving tandem and have been super good at making opportunities for their team by breaking the puck out of their end with some good passing and shot blocking. As great defenders they are certainly two of the best d-men in the league and will probably be a big reason that Halifax may go far in the playoffs, but it's all to be seen.
If you are talking about the best defenseman pairings you got to think about Anahimes previous first line . Noah Tedla and Ursin Zimmermann. From the get go it was clear they need to play togheter. Their chemistry was insane. Like allways knowing where the other one is on the ice. If one took a penalty the other one took one as well just so they could sit together on the penalty box. The chemistry also showd it's benefits on the ice. One player allways knew what he had to do. Togheter fit togheter like a pair of socks.
Noah allways watched out for the rookie Ursin and Ursin tried his best to pull Noah out of all the shit he got into. Sadly their line got split up after 41 games because the pairing was just to good for the league. Maybe their way will once again unite in the shl.
One of the most effective lines, and teams, in the SMJHL has would easily be Kelowna Knights in my opinion. With no bias whatsoever, has got to be third line of Shepard, Eriksson, and Barbashev II.
Between the three of them, they have scored 16 goals, and 15 assists so far this season. And a quarter of the goals scored, were game winning goals for the Knights this season. Unfortunately, all three of them sit a zero for plus/minus this season. They have had a vital role in the success so far for Kelowna, and if they continue to be active will only improve. Also Shepard, Barbashev II and Eriksson are all in their rookie years have been able to perform right out of the gate, which has helped the Knights immensely this season only 2 points behind Detroit for first place.
All 3 players are a part of the S50 regression class, and the longer they stay a part of Kelowna, the future looks bright for everyone involved.
Big raging machine no BRM actually stands for boone rykov morris the number one line of the montreal militia that has terrorised the smjhl so far this season. A line that potentialy is made up of 2 very high first round picks in the future and one whos already been selected in boone. A line with exceptional 5 on 5 capabilitys and a rookie in Rykov who is 5th in rookie scoring this line is especially relied on due to the fact the militia play more rookies than any team in the smjhl. The star of this line of course is Gaspard Boone who averages 1.09 points per 20 minutes of icetime and an elite 18 percent shooting percentage while also tied for the league lead in goals. Off the ice boones leadership cant be over quantified along with alternate captain Morris they help guide 14 smjhl rookies and teach them the day to day of being a major junior player and what it takes to build yourself into a succsesful player. Whether its proper training good, good discipline or just how to relax after maybe a tough loss and how to rebound from that they are always front and center to offer advice. Its just my humble opinion but i think Rykov has benefited most from this not the just the fact the Rykov shares the ice with these to but also film time and gameplan meetings and for someone as fresh as Rykov that experiance can be invaluable. Although the team has been on someone of a bad stretch its not unusual for such a young team to have high highs and low lows but you can count on this top line with the playoffs approching and if they can get hot and carry the team its likely no one can stop them. This has been stan savern with another edition of militia madness tune in next week when we have a sit down interview with Phineas Gold.
I’m hoping this PT can be a bit more subjective as I’d like to be selfish and talk about the rookie or “kid” line that Kelowna put together on the 3rd line for the Knights. The reason I want to talk about this third line, is because we aren't the biggest point producers, but we also have not been hindering our team, which I believe will come to a larger importance come playoff time. The line I am referring to is the Barbashev II-Shepard-Eriksson line. Between the 3 of us, we have a total of 37 points in 45 games and are a +1. We are expected to be the future in Kelowna and may end up being lifelong line mates in the SMJHL. Shepard has been the consensus #1 pick all season and he’s done a great job of allowing his wingers to just play their game while he worries about the defensive side of things. Again, we aren’t the most “effective” or “dynamic” line out there, but our strong play in the season should carry into the playoffs and at the end of the day, depth wins championships. Next season you can expect us to be in Kelowna’s top 6 and possibly first line by the end of next season. Look out for the BES line.
The top line in the SMJHL could be argued in many different ways, however my thought process would be to look to the best line on the best team. That would take you to the top trio for the Kelowna Knights; Josef Novotny, Raquel Castillo Gutierrez, and Tah Puhcheese. This group is leaned on heavily by the Knights, as not only do they lead the way offensively, but these 3 lead the forward group defensively as well, all 3 receiving heavy PK minutes. Gutierrez is currently leading the team with 42 points, somewhat of a balanced stat line with 20 goals and 22 assists and could be seen as the glue guy for the line. Novotny is the playmaker of the group, with 26 of his 41 points coming as assists. Novotny also is second in the league in face-off %. Puhcheese could be seen as the finisher of the group, potting 21 goals to go with his 39 points and an absurd 19.27 shooting percentage. Look for this line to continue leading the pack as the playoffs grow near.
When it comes to the most productive offensive line in the league one cant help but be drawn to the St Louis Scarecrows first line, consisting of Nicolaj Muller (25 goals, 28 assists) and Barret Blackwood (21 goals and 23 assists) on the left and right wing respectively and centered by Mika Kandinsky (15 goals, 28 assists). They really have put up quite an impressive offensive season, totaling 140 points between the three of them, putting them at over a point per man game played (138 games at the time of writing). What makes this even more impressive is that the scarecrows top line has one of the worst combined FO% of any first line in the SMJHL with only 46.89% yet they still manage to gain control of the puck and put it in the net, proving that they are a capable checking line as well that can be relied on to be responsible on the ice. One could make the argument that skating has been a key for the line in this regard as they all boast some fairly impressive skating skills for the junior level. Either way, they have produced a very impressive season together and they are my pick for the key line in the league.
Z0REM![[Image: seamsu_500.png?ex=66b438d3&is=66b2e753&h...96a382d50&]](https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/605817252062822410/1266595334684020838/seamsu_500.png?ex=66b438d3&is=66b2e753&hm=f1f564ccd5445799439b78bd09f7c95fdc0c7b825cfdbff4e9b4cb496a382d50&)
![[Image: gXlAFBa.png]](https://i.imgur.com/gXlAFBa.png)
|| ![[Image: 8CbZQAJ.png]](https://i.imgur.com/8CbZQAJ.png)
![[Image: 60354_s.gif ]](https://signavatar.com/60354_s.gif )
![[Image: 1yZYUXK.gif]](https://i.imgur.com/1yZYUXK.gif)
puolivalmiste![[Image: ws92zPV.png]](https://i.imgur.com/ws92zPV.png)
![[Image: gurbs.gif]](https://sig.grumpybumpers.com/host/gurbs.gif)
![[Image: NkarYB0.png]](https://i.imgur.com/NkarYB0.png)
![[Image: QJINy8y.png]](https://i.imgur.com/QJINy8y.png)
![[Image: yUlku5j.png]](https://i.imgur.com/yUlku5j.png)
![[Image: Fitted_3.png]](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/707653716320190484/741476808381169746/Fitted_3.png)
![[Image: QhAQn2i.png]](http://i.imgur.com/QhAQn2i.png)
![[Image: yIvjn4j.png]](http://i.imgur.com/yIvjn4j.png)
![[Image: 7ICBY0z.png]](https://i.imgur.com/7ICBY0z.png)
![[Image: 15Ng51w.png]](https://i.imgur.com/15Ng51w.png)
![[Image: JvI8fTp.png]](https://i.imgur.com/JvI8fTp.png)
![[Image: 9tINabI.png]](https://i.imgur.com/9tINabI.png)
![[Image: c97iD9R.png]](https://i.imgur.com/c97iD9R.png)
![[Image: uDjThoa.png]](https://i.imgur.com/uDjThoa.png)
![[Image: urawa4.jpg]](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/323061921261551616/608406668581142712/urawa4.jpg)
![[Image: puolivalmiste2.gif]](https://sig.grumpybumpers.com/host/puolivalmiste2.gif)
![[Image: 9ZNnX19.png]](https://i.imgur.com/9ZNnX19.png)
| 
| 
![[Image: Bananabread.gif]](https://sig.grumpybumpers.com/host/Bananabread.gif)
![[Image: szY1Nbi.png]](https://i.imgur.com/szY1Nbi.png)
![[Image: vwglei8.png]](https://i.imgur.com/vwglei8.png)
