This has been one of the most frustrating seasons I can remember.  Season 53 was a great success by every stretch of the imagination.  Posting the best record in the league by a long shot at 41 wins, seven losses, and two over time losses, their closest opponent was Kelowna, a full 19 points behind them.  All expectations were that General Manager Tig should have expected similar results this year.That has not been the case by any stretch of the imagination.  Posting a dismal 14 wins, 20 regulation losses, and three over time losses, Detroit currently sits in fourth place in the East, a full 29 points behind Newfoundland.  How did this happen?  What changed that has caused this dramatic downturn in production from so many of the maxed TPE players?  Did the rest of the league just get that much better?  We will try to look at the numbers for answers and see what it tells us.

There is no doubt that scoring is down for the Falcons this year.  Detroit scored 204 goals last season while only allowing 89, a massive 115 differential.  The next closest team scored 45 less goals and the closest in goals against, allowed 34 more goals.  No matter how you look at it, Detroit dominated the league in the first season in the new sim engine.

Four out of the top 10 in points were Falcons.  Edward Williams led the league in all three scoring categories with 30 goals, 34 assists, and 64 points.  Guy O'Shea and Jack Kanoff were second and third in scoring for defenseman respectively.  Looking at the plus minus, it's no surprise that the top 15 players were all from Detroit.  That meant they had depth and scoring in every line on the squad.

This season has been an entirely different story.  Detroit has noone in the top 30 in points scored and only one person in the top 25 for goals.  Detroit has only one person in the top 50 for plus minus.  Edward Williams has dropped off in production significantly despite continuing to be a strong TPE earner.  Guy O'Shea after leading the league in plus minus last year is an abysmal minus 8 on the season and his scoring has dropped off as well.  Jack Kanoff has continued to play some solid hockey and is on pace for a good season, one of the lone bright spots in this terrible season.

When you look at the goaltending, I think you can say that is another bright spot.  Jobin has been solid with a 2.70 Goals against average and a .914 save percentage.  His GAA has gone down from last year but he's saving more shots.  In 33 games last year he faced 648 shots, this season he has already faced 781 in just 25 games.  In 13 games Odinson has really preformed well with an even better 2.4 GAA and a .923 save percentage on 378 shots.  That has been a common theme this season that Detroit has been outshot significantly in many losses.  Jobin and his back up Thor Odinson have had to stand on their heads to keep the puck out.  

As far as teams that have improved, Newfoundland has found something this season and is trying to chase the record that Detroit set last season for points.  They won't get it but they have six more wins than they had all last season with 10 games to go so they have been beating up on Detroit and the rest of the league all season.  Carolina, a perennial power house who had a down year in season 53, is back in form in second place in the east with 12 games to go.  St. Louis is another team that has taken a step backwards this year although nowhere close to that of Detroit.  They sit third in the division right now, a game over .500.  Maine has improved a bit this season and has a chance to put up more points than they did last year.  Kelowna has proven to be the most consistent team between the two seasons.  They have improved on their first place record from last season in the west.  They have beaten up on the rest of the division and has clearly separated themselves as the top seed.  Anchorage is another team who has fallen off this season compared to last year which is likely where most of the improvement for Kelowna has come from.

From a TPE standpoint, Detroit has almost an entire roster of 425 max players.  The line up should be one of the strongest in the league.  There are a number of other top teams who also have very stacked lineups now though and it is possible that at this point it will take some more analysis of the best builds to make sure that players are maximizing their output.  It could also be the balance of player types on the teams.  One of the more concerning things long term is the lack of young depth that will be needed to replace many of the players who will graduate at the end of this season.  Looking at the Season 55 class, Detroit only has two players in top 40 in TPE and the second is 38th.  Season 54 has the 19th, 24th and 33rd highest TPE.  Season 53 has a lot more top earners with five players in the top 20 including Jack Kanoff as number 2 just one point behind for the lead.  The problem will be that some of those players may get the call to join their SHL clubs.

Overall, the team has improved over the season but never enough to challenge the top teams for the division.  Time will tell whether Detroit can sneak into the playoffs and surprise everyone with some late season heroics.  They certainly have the talent, they just need the results.  I'm sure the rest of league is rejoicing in Detroit's downfall but there is still some season to be played and the team has every intention of making the playoffs and defending the championship from last year.

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S53 Four Star Cup Champion- Detroit Falcons
S56 Challenge Cup Champion - Hamilton Steelhawks

SKREEE :(