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***Jexter*** · 11-02-2023, 11:34 AM

Well, I feel like I was very wrong with a lot of my predictions last time out, but after an entertaining first round of the SMJHL Playoffs, here is my updated Power Rankings. For the record, this will be the last power ranking by me until the preseason.

Now into the Playoff Picture and Power Rankings Based on Loose Facts

1.    Vancouver Whalers. League rank: 1. Conference rank: 1. Division rank 1. Round 1 Result: Bye. Nothing really to report here. Facing the Great Falls Grizzlies should heavily favor them. I say should because the Armada were the heavy favorites against the Bears and they just got sent home. If the Whalers don’t take the Grizzlies too lightly and continue their domination that we’ve seen from them all year, the Great Falls should have a great fall.

2.    Maine Timber. League rank: 2. Conference rank: 1. Division rank 1. Round 1 Result: Bye. The Timber were the hottest team in the SMJHL after rocketing up the leaderboard. Only time will tell if they are able to maintain their late season form as they will face the soaring Falcons who just trounced Quebec City.

3.    Regina Elk. League rank: 5. Conference rank: 2. Division rank 1. Round 1 Result: Bye. They will face the Berserkers who have had a shaky start to the playoffs. Mercedes Baylé will likely need to use all 300 pounds to get the Elk across the line as these two teams only finished 5 points apart in the regular season, meaning really anything could happen in this series.

4.    Yukon Malamutes. League rank: 10. Conference rank: 5. Division rank 1. First Round Result: Bye. Let’s be clear, the main reason that the Malamutes are this high in the standings is because their opponent just went through a grueling seven game series that gave the pups a chance to rest up and game plan. As we mentioned last time, look for notable veterans like Theodore Svatos and Florian Söderberg-Motyla to hold down the fort as high-flying rookies like Tentacles and Bread get acclimated to Playoffs.

5.    Nevada Battleborn. League rank: 4. Conference rank: 3. Division rank 3. Round 1 Result: 4-3 win over the Kraken. The Battleborn spent way too much time with the big squids and now they get to play against a fresh and waiting Malamutes Squad. Sawschuck’s 11 points in 7 games was impressive, but teammates VINSen and Samson out shone him with 14 and 13 respectively.

6.    Detroit Falcons. League rank: 8. Conference rank: 5. Division rank 3. First Round Result: 4-1 win over the Quebec City Citadelles. They played fantastically against the Citadelles with Kenny Omega getting 8 points in 5 games. They were able to beat the team just edged them out in standings in the regular season and now they get to do it again against the Timber.

7.    Newfoundland Berserkers. League rank: 6. Conference rank: 3. Division rank 2. Round 1 Result: 4-3 win over the Scarecrows. It took a major comeback from a 3-1 series deficit in order to defeat St. Louis, which is why they have fallen on this power ranking list. The Elk will have to find ways to neutralize the Berserker stars of Dan Craig, Pierre Mailloux, Sad Ketchup and Erik Erikson.

8.    Great Falls Grizzlies. League rank: 14. Conference rank: 7. Division rank 3. First Round Result: 4-3 win over the Anchorage Armada. I didn’t give the Grizzlies a snowball’s chance in hell of making this a tight series with Anchorage, let alone taking it to Game 7. But these furry warriors took it to the boats in the bay, dominating the streams like they were full of salmon. Their reward for such an amazing upset over the fourth best team in the league? A date with the best team in the league. As someone who loves a bit of chaos, I’m rooting for you Grizzlies.

A quick ode to our eliminated teams:

Quebec City Citadelles. League rank: 7. Conference rank: 4. Division rank 2. First Round Result: 1-4 Loss to the Detroit Falcons. This young team tried very hard against their rival birds, but came up very short. This was a team I was high on, and they just had tough breaks, including a late offsides in the 5th game against the Falcons that led to a faceoff win for Detroit that killed any chance of continuing the comeback. Celeste Desjardins continued to perform well, but for a team with this many rookies, they look to be very deadly in the coming seasons.

Anchorage Armada. League rank: 3. Conference rank: 2. Division rank 2. Round 1 Result: 3-4 Loss to the Great Falls Grizzlies. This is perhaps one of the biggest collapses in a SMJHL Season history. A team with plenty of skating talent and elite goaltending who got 42 wins in the regular season fell to the last place team who garnered 20 wins less in the regular season. Hats off to the Grizzlies, but this is a major disappointment for the Armada who likely could have been looking at a deep run to at least the 3rd round of the playoffs.

Carolina Kraken. League rank: 11. Conference rank: 5. Division rank 2. First Round Result: 3-4 Loss to the Nevada Battleborn. The Kraken nearly pulled off the upset against a Nevada team that fell off in the second half of the season. Alas, it wasn’t to be, but the valiant effort by a team in the double digits of ranking should get more praise. In fact, they would if a bigger upset had not actually happened.

St. Louis Scarecrows. League rank: 9. Conference rank: 6. Division rank 3. First Round Result: 3-4 Loss to the Newfoundland Berserkers. While some would congratulate St. Louis on punching up at Newfoundland, the Scarecrows should have had this series won. They had triple series point on the Berserkers after going up 3-1. Instead, they gave the other team an inch and they took a mile. And so the Scarecrows return to the fields.

Kelowna Knights. League rank: 13. Conference rank: 7. Division rank 4. They were in no danger of making the playoffs down the stretch and only barely missed out on being last in the league. They will look to improve in the offseason and focus on player development.

Colorado Raptors. League rank: 12. Conference rank: 6. Division rank 4. And here they are. The Raptors were insane to watch and were a box of chocolates this year (you never know what you’re gonna get.) It’s unfortunate that they happened to be in an absolutely stacked division and were denied a playoff appearance, but the Raptors will be back next season with a vengeance.

Reporting irregularly in Yukon by Tapper Ib-Arelinoher, The Yukon Duwitt News “Woof” March 21st, 2040.

WC: 1238