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**leafsftw1967** · 04-23-2020, 01:32 AM

Making A Case Why Cale Amundsen should win the Esa Anrikkanen Trophy for SMJHL Rookie of the Year

The Newfoundland Berserkers have been one of the biggest surprises this year in the SMJHL. They were pegged as a rebuilding team predicted to be at the bottom of the standings due to their large influx of first year rookies and a lack of returning veterans in comparison to most other teams in the juniors. While the Berserkers had a rough time last week only having one win in their fifteen games played, it should not take away from their low tpe miracle run that they have been on for half of the regular season which has led to them being a competitive team in the eastern conference. They are already looking to have turned the corner from their slump having five wins, and two over time/shootout losses in the last seven games this week and have shown that they can still be a considerable threat come playoff time.

With the young makeup of the franchise and the team identity of an extremely competitive, hardworking and easy going group it is only fitting that rookie goaltender Cale Amundsen has been one of the clear cut leaders on the ice for the Newfoundland Berserkers. While the team has had its ups and downs throughout the regular season, Cale has consistently been one of the best if not the best player on the ice night in and night out. His laser focus, elite talent, legendary work ethic along with his cool collective demeanor has reminded me of a resemblance to NHL goaltender Carey Price when he was in his prime.

As the thirteenth overall pick in the S53 SMJHL draft, Amundsen was the second highest goalie selected in the draft and one of the top goalie picks in the Berserkers’ franchise history. Thrown right into the fire as a true SMJHL rookie starting goaltender Cale Amundsen has exceeded the extremely high expectations the Newfoundland Berserkers put on him to carry the bulk of the load in net and depend on his stellar play for team success. Goalies are not often drafted within the top fifteen selections but Cale has already been proving that he was well worth the pick and that he has a superstar franchise goaltender potential.

(Cale Amundsen on draft day putting the Berserkers jersey for the first time)

While Amundsen was somehow not selected as an SMJHL eastern conference all-star (which has to be one of the biggest snubs ever), I want to put forth a case why Cale should not be snubbed again in the considerations for the Esa Anrikkanen Trophy as the SMJHL rookie of the year. There has been some absolutely stellar performances this year by rookie defensemen such as Alexei Petrikov (twenty three points, sixteen shots blocked and thirteen takeaways so far this season) and Mathew Sawful (eighteen points, plus ten rating, twenty three takeaways and thirty shots blocked so far this season) that deserve recognition, as well as, fellow rookie goalie Cal Covid (thirteen wins, 2.74 goal against average, .917 save percentage so far this season). However, I think so far nobody has been more deserving of winning the rookie of the year award than Cale Amundsen. Here are the numbers why Cale standouts from the rest of the other likely candidates for the award:

1. The quality of wins Cale Amundsen has earned-

At the time of writing this article Cale has more wins than any other rookie goalie in the SMJHL and is third in the entire league ranking above many more experienced goalies and only trailing the Detroit Falcons and Kelowna Knight’s starting goalies who have already been developing in the SMJHL for three seasons each. The Falcons and Knights sit in first and second place in the overall SMJHL standings as well so it makes sense their starters are first and second in wins. Whereas Cale sits in third for wins even though Newfoundland is ranked sixth in the league in points and has a higher percentage of his team’s overall wins in comparison to any other goaltender in the SMJHL.

Many argue that a goaltender’s wins are a team oriented stat and I totally agree. Based on the average tpe strength of each SMJHL team per position, the Newfoundland Beserkers rank ninth in tpe per centre (average of two hundred and eighteen tpe per skater), seventh in tpe per winger (average of two hundred and ninety four tpe per skater), tenth in tpe per defenseman (average of two hundred and forty five per skater) and ninth in tpe per goalie (average of two hundred and nine tpe per goalie) in the league in terms of their development ratings. The Beserkers started the season right after the draft with a whopping five inactive players on their team with only one active centre and seven send downs (with only one being a S52 or older player) in their lineup which are relatively small numbers in comparison to most other teams in the juniors. The Berserkers also signed five active undrafted free agents that play significant roles on the team even though they are under developed in terms of having equal opportunities to earn tpe as their peers on opposing teams yet. All of these numbers indicated a team headed towards sitting at the bottom of the league but instead on the back of strong goaltending Newfoundland’s Cale Amundsen has still been able to rack up a bunch of wins for Newfoundland.

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(Amundsen celebrates with teammate PBJ Souppan after a hard fuaght team win)

In addition, Cale has played more minutes than any other goaltender in the league and faced the second most shots out of any goaltender in the SMJHL (next to Frans Eller, the Kraken’s goaltender who’s team sits in second last place in the league and are in full rebuild mode). These underlying stats really show how Cale has had to earn each and every single one of his wins this season, never really being given a night off to coast to victory with a shot total against regularly being in the thirties instead of the teens or low twenties like some other top team goaltenders are used to.

2. Cale Amundsen’s ability to absolutely steal games-

So far Cale has come up with an impressive four shutouts on the season, just one behind the league leader Cillian Kavanagh who is a third year veteran in the league having the best team in the west in front of him. Cale’s number of shutouts is even more impressive because of where the goaltender is in the development of skills. I honestly do not remember the last time a true rookie was able to dominate the way he has against much older opponents and has enabled the Berserkers to be in pretty much every game this year even if the team in front of him has not brought their “A” game.

3. Cale Amundsen’s rookie development pace-

At two hundred and fifty one tpe, Amundsen has already added ninety six tpe since declaring for the SMJHL draft ranking him twelfth amongst his draft class in terms of tpe. With his active training habits I would expect Cale to continue his excellent developmental pace and become one of the strongest goalies in the SMJHL next season in terms of his tpe rating. Cale also currently has a respectable 0.916 save percentage and a goal against average of 2.78 which should only continue to get better as the season progresses and Amundsen continues improving.

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(Amundsen has been flashing the glove quite a bit this season with his big saves leaving opponents frustrated)

Overall Verdict

While it is quite difficult to compare rookie skaters and goaltenders, I think it is safe to say that Cale has been the best rookie goaltender in the juniors this year and has made the most significant impact on the ice in comparison to what any other rookie has done for their team. Put simply without Cale Amundsen the Newfoundland Berserkers would definitely be out of a playoff spot and sitting at the bottom of the league standings. Instead Newfoundland is sitting comfortably in third place in the eastern conference with a competitive chance of making it to the eastern conference finals as they have proven in game that they can beat the St. Louis Scarecrows who are likely going to be their first round opponent. If their last meeting is any indication the Scarecrows and Berserkers would be one hell of an entertaining first round match up if the five to four shootout score from today’s sim suggests how evenly matched these teams are.

Anyways, while I definitely have a bias view being a member of the Berserkers and there are still some games left to play before the final regular season stat lines are solidified, I hope that the awards selection committee takes these facts into heavily considering Cale Amundsen for SMJHL rookie of the year and maybe even a consideration for the Tom Corcoran trophy as the top SMJHL goalie. Cale deserves to have his exceptional rookie season recognized and I expect that he will finish off the regular season strong leading the Berserkers into the playoffs. I just hope he does not get snubbed once again.

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