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Who has been the best Challenge Cup Winner of the last decade?
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reidRegistered winnipeg aurora legend
[3750 words, ready for grading]
Quarantined in a world with COVID-19, I got a little stir crazy and bored, so thought I would write some media comparing the past 10 seasons of champions in the SHL. As someone new to the site, I do not have any background or memory of these former playoff runs, but I will be analyzing the winners, and ranking them. I only could seem to open the last 10 seasons of index’s, otherwise I would have gone back farther. As it stands, 10 seasons is a nice number anyways. Lets start by introducing each of the last 10 champions. *Note: Beside each stat is the team’s ranking in the league in that category*  S52: Manhattan Rage Win Percentage: 56% Goals/Game: 3.22 (7th) Goals Against/Game: 2.78 (3rd) Shots For/Game: 32.46 (8th) Shots Against/Game: 33.58 (12th) Leading Scorer (Stat Line): Alex Winters (19-35-54) (T3rd in League) Playoff Results: R1: Bye R2: 4-3 over Chicago Syndicate R3: 4-2 over Buffalo Stampede Finals: 4-2 over San Francisco Pride Team Overview: The most recent challenge cup champions, Manhattan had a below average regular season among the Challenge Cup winners. Based on my TPE analysis article (shameless plug HERE), I believe that they underperformed in the regular season, as they are strong on all fronts, and have a lot of high-end players. Where they did stand out in the stats I collected was their GA/G where they were third in the league. Interestingly, they allowed a putrid 33.58 shots against per game, worst among the analyzed teams. This to me really shows how their goaltending stepped up throughout the regular season, and if not for him, they could have been starting out without a bye in the playoffs. Speaking of the playoffs, their series against the Syndicate was a nailbiter, before a convincing 4-2 series win against perennial contender Buffalo, and a huge 4-2 finals win against the Pride that never really felt out of their control.  S51: Hamilton Steelhawks Win Percentage: 62% Goals/Game: 3.92 (1st) Goals Against/Game: 3.28 (11th) Shots For/Game: 39.12 (1st) Shots Against/Game: 31.34 (6th) Leading Scorer (Stat Line): Robert Phelps (23-37-60) (T5 in League) Playoff Results: R1: Bye R2: 4-0 over Buffalo Stampede R3: 4-1 over Manhattan Rage Finals: 4-1 over Edmonton Blizzard Team Overview: Hamilton was an offensive dynamo this season, leading the league in both goals per game and shots per game. This season of Hamilton was very one sided however, as they allowed the 6th most goals against per game, and a fairly high 31.34 shots against per game. This team was so one sided, that their SF/SA differential was a whopping 7.78, highest amongst the analyzed teams by over 2 shots per game. In the playoffs, Hamilton was untouchable, losing only two games total: one to the Rage in the semi-finals, and one to the Blizzard in the finals. They were by far the most dominant post season Challenge Cup winner who I took a look at, and their dominance converted into a 86% win percentage in the playoffs. No other teams got beyond an 80% win percentage, and the average was 73%.  S50: Calgary Dragons Win Percentage: 54% Goals/Game: 3.16 (8th) Goals Against/Game: 3.02 (7th) Shots For/Game: 31.22 (11th) Shots Against/Game: 31.12 (7th) Leading Scorer (Stat Line): Mike Izzy (18-33-51) (T10th in the League) Playoff Results: R1: 4-1 over Los Angeles Panthers R2: 4-0 over San Francisco Pride R3: 4-0 over New Orleans Specters Finals: 4-3 over Tampa Bay Barracuda Team Overview: A very interesting Challenge Cup winner, Calgary had a mediocre regular season by championship team standards, but turned the dial all the way up to 11 when it mattered most in the playoffs. In the regular season, the Dragons were better defensively than they were offensively, although only slightly. Despite this, the fact that they were 11th in shots for/game but 8th in goals for/game shows that they had a relatively high shooting percentage, or at least that they outperformed those expectations. As mentioned, in the playoffs, the Dragons shot out of the gate, losing only 1 game in the first three rounds. They were on fire as they came to a finals matchup with the Tampa Bay Barracuda. In a tightly contested matchup that went down to a deciding game 7, the Dragons were victorious, capping off a Cinderella story for a team that came in as a wild card team.  S49: Edmonton Blizzard Win Percentage: 52% Goals/Game: 3.36 (4th) Goals Against/Game: 3.44 (13th) Shots For/Game: 31.8 (10th) Shots Against/Game: 31.12 (7th) Leading Scorer (Stat Line): Tony Pepperoni (25-30-55) (3rd in League) Playoff Results: R1: 4-2 over Los Angeles Panthers R2: 4-3 over Calgary Dragons R3: 4-2 over New Orleans Specters Finals: 4-0 over New England Wolfpack Team Overview: With the second worst points total out of the past 10 Challenge Cup winners, the S49 Edmonton Blizzard seemed to battle it out and ride a good offense to victory. In the regular season, Edmonton had a negative GF/GA differential, and a barely positive SF/SA differential. Despite this, (and similar to S50 Calgary) they outperformed their shot for numbers and had the 4th most goals per game, which is likely what carried them to victory. The playoffs saw no easy series in the West, as they battled through a similar gauntlet that Calgary trivialized the next season. 4-2 series against the Panthers in the wild card round and Specters in the semi finals, along with a intense 7 game series against Calgary ended up being the toughest challenge for the Blizzard all season. A 4-0 sweep of the New England Wolfpack was one of only 3 sweeps we have seen in the finals in the last 10 seasons, and the only one to be completed against an Eastern Conference team.  S48: Buffalo Stampede Win Percentage: 54% Goals/Game: 3.1 (8th) Goals Against/Game: 3.0 (5th) Shots For/Game: 34.82 (2nd) Shots Against/Game: 31.38 (4th) Leading Scorer (Stat Line): Louie Garrett (23-24-47) (T15th in League) Playoff Results: R1: 4-0 over Toronto North Stars R2: 4-3 over Tampa Bay Barracuda R3: 4-1 over West Kendall Platoon Finals: 4-2 over Winnipeg Jets Team Overview: 8th in the league standing at the end of the regular season, this team was a little snake bitten during regular play, as they had the 2nd highest shots for/game but only scored the 8th highest goals/game. They performed in the top 5 for goals against/game and shots against/game, showing that they had an elite defense throughout regular play. Their leading scorer – Louie Garrett – had only 47 points, tied for lowest of leading scorers on championship teams. In the playoffs, the Stampede had a tight series against the Barracuda, eeking out a 4-3 series win before going on an 8-3 rampage to defeat the Platoon in the semi-finals and the Jets in the finals to win the cup. This was the first champion to have started from the wildcard round – with some due to the wild card round being introduced in S46.  S47: West Kendal Platoon Win Percentage: 72% Goals/Game: 4.18 (1st) Goals Against/Game: 2.84 (3rd) Shots For/Game: 34.82 (2nd) Shots Against/Game: 30.14 (5th) Leading Scorer (Stat Line): Crossfit Jesus (25-36-61) (T2nd in the League) Playoff Results: R1: Bye R2: 4-0 over Chicago Syndicate R3: 4-3 over Buffalo Stampeders Finals: 4-0 over Calgary Dragons Team Overview: One of the truly dominant Challenge Cup winning teams among those that we have looked at, S47’s West Kendall Platoon were top five in goals per game, goals against per game, shots per game, and shots against per game. They had the second most points out of a team that has won the challenge cup in the last 10 seasons, as well as winning a crazy 72% of their games played. Their 4.18 goals per game was the most among the champions by a large margin, despite their shots per game being middle of the pack among the 10 teams. This year of the Platoon was certainly an offensive dynamo and took advantage of the chances they created. Unlike S52 winners the Hamilton Steelhawks, they were not one dimensional, and ranked third in the league in goals against per game. In the playoffs, they easily took care of the Chicago Syndicate (in their second year of existence!) before getting a scare from the Buffalo Stampede with a lengthy and contested 7 game series. After they squeaked by Buffalo, they swept the Calgary Dragons to easily take the Challenge Cup, the second sweep in the finals that we have seen so far, out of three total. S46: Buffalo Stampede Win Percentage: 56% Goals/Game: 3.44 (4th) Goals Against/Game: 2.78 (1st) Shots For/Game: 34.64 (3rd) Shots Against/Game: 29.16 (2nd) Leading Scorer (Stat Line): Viktor Marius (28-31-59) (T5th in the League) Playoff Results: R1: Bye R2: 4-1 over Hamilton Steelhawks R3: 4-1 over Manhattan Rage Finals: 4-3 over New Orleans Specters Team Overview: This might explain why S47 West Kendall Platoon had problems getting by Buffalo! The S46 champs were an elite defensive unit, leading the league in goals against per game and placing second in the league in shots against per game. They allowed the second fewest shots against per game among the Challenge Cup winners that I looked at, and were T3 among the same teams in goals against per game. They were no slouch offensively either, ranking 4th in the league and among CC winners in goals per game, as well as 4th in the league and 5th among CC winners in shots per game. Come playoffs, they Stampeded all over the Hamilton Steelhawks and Manhattan Rage 4-1 apiece, before facing off with the first-year expansion team New Orleans Specters in the finals. They defeated the upstart team, but it took them 7 games, and they ended the Cinderella story for the Specters. S45: Edmonton Blizzard Win Percentage: 82% Goals/Game: 3.72 (1st) Goals Against/Game: 2.16 (1st) Shots For/Game: 35.86 (2nd) Shots Against/Game: 28.96 (1st) Leading Scorer (Stat Line): Joe Kurczewski (22-37-59) (4th in the League) Playoff Results: R1: N/A R2: 4-0 over Los Angeles Panthers R3: 4-3 over Texas Renegades Finals: 4-3 over West Kendall Platoon Team Overview: And here we have the most dominant team to win the Challenge Cup in the last 10 seasons. The S45 Edmonton Blizzard lead the league in goals per game, goals against per game, and shots against per game, while ranking second in shots for per game. They also only lost 9 total games, with 3 of them being overtime or shootout losses. This defense was the cream of the crop, the truly elite out of all championship teams. Their 2.16 goals against per game was the lowest by a country mile among all Challenge Cup winners. The gap between the S45 Blizzards and the second place S44 Winnipeg Jets was the same as the gap between the second placed Jets and the 9th placed S51 Hamilton Steelhawks. They were also the leaders in shots against per game among CC winners, and were no slouch on offense either. They placed 2nd and 3rd in shots per game and goals per game respectively among the CC winners. In the playoffs, the best team doesn’t always win, as evidenced by a lot of these teams. In season 45 however, the best team won. They dispatched the Los Angeles Panthers in 4, before having two extremely tight series with the Texas Renegades and the West Kendall Platoon, both going to 7. The one weakness in the Blizzard is probably how they faltered in the playoffs, as they did not take care of opponents with as much ease as they did in the regular season. They still won the cup however, so they cannot be considered chokers in that regard.  S44: Winnipeg Jets Win Percentage: 58% Goals/Game: 3.34 (2nd) Goals Against/Game: 2.72 (4th) Shots For/Game: 32.76 (5th) Shots Against/Game: 29.74 (3rd) Leading Scorer (Stat Line): Jason Visser (19-28-47) (T16th in the League) Playoff Results: R1: N/A R2: 4-2 over Los Angeles Panthers R3: 4-2 over Edmonton Blizzard Finals: 4-2 over West Kendall Platoon Team Overview: Fresh off a season where he scored 74 points and lead the Winnipeg Jets to the finals, Jason Visser lead the Jets in scoring again, and this time to the Challenge Cup victory as well. This year was different for him and the Jets, as he only scored 47 points, and the Jets as a whole won from their defensive side more than their offensive firepower. In a comparison to the other Challenge Cup champions, they ranked 2nd in goals against per game, as well as third in shots against per game. They were 7th in shots per game among the analyzed teams, and 6th in goals per game, so an average team in terms of their championship offense. In the playoffs, they never had an easy round, as they first defeated the Los Angeles Panthers 4-2, then the Edmonton Blizzard 4-2, and finally faced their opponent from the previous Challenge Cup final in the West Kendall Platoon. They won 4-2 this time and became league champions. For a team that didn’t particularly dominate during the regular season, they turned it on during the playoffs, and played consistent hockey. S43: West Kendall Platoon Win Percentage: 46% Goals/Game: 3.2 (5th) Goals Against/Game: 3.1 (6th) Shots For/Game: 34.74 (2nd) Shots Against/Game: 30.06 (6th) Leading Scorer (Stat Line): Dani Forsberg (20-37-57) (T4th in the League) Playoff Results: R1: N/A R2: 4-2 over Hamilton Steelhawks R3: 4-1 over Buffalo Stampeders Finals: 4-0 over Winnipeg Jets Team Overview: Wow. I think exactly 0% of people would have seen this coming based on the Platoon’s regular season. Finishing 10th in the league – below two teams from the west who were eliminated thanks to conference rules at the time – this team was objectively bad in the regular season. Their underlying numbers stand out as better than their final ranking however, which is probably how they were able to turn it around in the playoffs. West Kendall’s offense was one of the better in the league, scoring at a top 5 rate, and getting the second most shots per game on net. Their defense was not as good, surrendering the 6th most shots and goals in the league. Among Challenge Cup winners, they were the third worst in terms of goals per game and goals against per game, but were actually top 4 for shots against per game among the winners. Come playoffs, they took the league by storm, dropping only 3 games the entire playoffs – good for an 80% win percentage, tied 2nd best out of the 10 winners. The teams they faced were no joke either, beating the perennially contending Hamilton Steelhawks and Buffalo Stampeders before sweeping the strong Winnipeg Jets team that won the Challenge Cup the following year. Before I get to ranking, here are some quick stats I found interesting about the champions: 1. The most common regular season seed number among Challenge Cup champions was 1 (shocking) and the average was 5. o 1: 3 o 2: 0 o 3: 1 o 4: 0 o 5: 1 o 6: 1 o 7: 1 o 8: 2 o 9: 0 o 10: 1 2. Each winning teams record in the finals over these 10 years: o (2-2)o (1-2)o (2-1)o (2-0)o (1-1)o (1-0)o (1-0)3. The average number of wins from a Challenge Cup winner was 29.6, and the average number of points was 62.8 Challenge Cup Champion Rankings:
Now down to the rankings. Here I considered mostly their regular season performance, but I also took into account their playoff record and how they won.
10. S52 Manhattan Rage : No offense to the Rage, they are the final Challenge Cup Champions that Simon awarded, and they have a very strong team. They just did not stand out among the last 10 victors. Having an average regular season where they finished 6th in the league, allowing a negative shot differential, and only ranking in the top 5 of the stats I collected for one of the major stats hurts them. Combine that with the lowest winning percentage of any of the champions during the post season, and that is why they ended up at 10.9. S49 Edmonton Blizzard : Another team that had a rough regular season among champions, allowing a negative shot differential, as well as the worst goals against per game and second worst shots for and against per game amongst the 10 winners. I ranked their regular season as second worst, and while their post season was better thanks to a sweep in the finals against the wolfpack, they still took long series to dispose of their other three rounds, and ranked in the bottom half of post season performance.8. S44 Winnipeg Jets : A very good defensive team in the regular season, the Jets were the 4th ranked regular season in my mind. Their low end defense among the 10 champions hampered them a little, and their post season was tied for the second worst win percentage, as they took 6 games to eliminate all three of their opponents. The Jets are a step up from our previous two teams, but not enough to crack the top 7.7. S43 West Kendall Platoon : This team was very hard to place. Obviously the worst regular season team, as they finished with a sub 500 record, I placed them here mostly because of their amazing Cinderella post season run. Losing only 3 games in the post season en route to sweeping a strong Jets team in the final as the 10th best team in the regular season is unbelievable. Their post season performance ranked 2nd in my eyes.6. S48 Buffalo Stampede : The first of the two championship Stampeders teams, the S48 team ranked slightly lower in regular season play due to their lowly offense (3.1 goals per game) which landed them the 8th seed in playoffs. Their postseason was slightly better than the S46 team, as they were a bit more dominant, only struggling to dispatch the Barracuda in the second round. A convincing 4-2 win over the Jets in the final gives them the edge in the post season, but ultimately it is not enough to overcome the discrepancy between being the 8th seed and the #1 seed which the S46 team achieved.5. S46 Buffalo Stampede : As mentioned, this was a very close call as to who would get the 5th or the 6th spot in the rankings. What really stands out here is Buffalo’s elite defense, allowing only 2.78 Goals against per game, 3rd among the victors, and 29.16 shots against per game, 2nd among the same group. They are the lowest ranked #1 seed on this list, mostly due to the fact that they did not have all around dominance.4. S50 Calgary Dragons : S50 Calgary was very close with the two Buffalo teams. In fact, they were tied in my rankings, but I chose to put the Dragons on top between the three teams. Despite finishing in 7th place league wide in their winning season and having an underwhelming regular season, the Dragons stand out for their fantastic post season. Dropping only 1 game in the first 3 rounds set them up to have one of the most dominant post season runs for a wild card team ever. They had a tightly contested 4-3 series victory over the Tampa Bay Barracuda to win the Challenge Cup, but I think their brilliance in the post season speaks for itself and is what gives them the edge over both Stampeders teams. 3. S45 Edmonton Blizzard : If this ranking was based on purely the regular season, Edmonton would be first by a mile. I talked about it before, but they were ridiculously dominant, and that deserves to be recognized. What hurts them is the 8th ranked post season in my eyes. As a team that was meant to dominate (and lost all of 6 games in regulation during the regular season) they struggled to win when it mattered most, and lost 6 games in the post season in a much shorter time frame. They struggled against the Renegades and the Platoon, and while those are both solid teams, the Blizzard were supposed to be on another level.2. S47 West Kendall Platoon : On the second step of the podium, we have S47 West Kendall Platoon. They had a dominant offense during the regular season with a ridiculous 4.18 goals per game, the only team of the champions to cross the 4 goal barrier. They were a little weaker, although still above average on defense as well. They had a very good playoffs, bookending their post season with series sweeps in the second round as well as the finals against the Dragons. The one blemish was a 7 game series against the Dragons, but seeing as Calgary is a strong team, that is not enough to knock them off their perch.1. S51 Hamilton Steelhawks : Probably overall the strongest offense among the teams, the S51 Hamilton Steelhawks outshot opponents by almost 8 shots per game. The team was boom or bust, relying on the “best defense is a good offense” style of play, but they excelled at out gunning their opponents. What really sets the Steelhawks apart is their post season. With an 85% win percentage, and only dropping 2 games the entire post season, Hamilton dominated the entire way through. They dispatched strong teams in Buffalo, Manhattan, and Edmonton on their way, but no team could muster more than 1 win. This utter dominance when it counts is what really seals the deal for me as the best Challenge Cup Champion in the last 10 seasons.So that about wraps it up, Hope everyone enjoyed! Sorry if mistakes were made, as I am still very new to this league, and I have only been around for one of these Challenge Cup victories. Thanks Wasty, Carpy, JSS, TurdFerguson, Geekusoid and Awesomecakes for the sigs!
![[Image: reidsuth.gif]](https://sig.grumpybumpers.com/host/reidsuth.gif)
JMacNCheeseRegistered Senior Member
Amazing work!
![[Image: BnanaNWaffles.gif]](https://sig.grumpybumpers.com/host/BnanaNWaffles.gif) | 63 GP | 3 G | 16 A | 19 P | 4 | 0 PPP | 0 SHP | 10 PIM | 16 H | 64 SOG
| 66 GP | 17 G | 23 A | 40 P | -17 | 5 PPP | 0 SHP | 26 PIM | 97 H | 124 SOG | 604 FOW - 414 FOL - 59.3 FO%
Jared Hanson Trophy (Regular Season Points Leader) - 96 points
Roberto Martucci Trophy (Regular Season Goals Leader) - 47 goals
Alex Light Trophy - Most Improved Player
Ideen Fallah Trophy - SMJHL Awards Committee MVP
Raymond Lindsay - Most Outstanding Player as Voted on by the League
Laurifer Trophy - 59-5-2 120pts
S68 - 4 STAR CUP CHAMPIONS
Laurifer Trophy - 54-11-1 109pts ![[Image: lIYTYDN.png]](http://i.imgur.com/lIYTYDN.png) ![[Image: qtbn8zh.png]](https://i.imgur.com/qtbn8zh.png) ![[Image: wu5MVvy.png]](http://i.imgur.com/wu5MVvy.png)
DaftRaincloudRegistered Senior Member
Oh boy, here we go..
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golden_apricotIIHF Federation Head Trade Me
BudgieRegistered Senior Member
dmills3Registered back and worse than ever
lukeSHL GM Admiral of the Data Seas
ACapitalChicagoRegistered :boblincoolright:
I'm sure this ranking is going to go over well
![[Image: 59269_s.png]](https://signavatar.com/59269_s.png) S66 Damian Littleton ![[Image: CsnVET2.png]](https://i.imgur.com/CsnVET2.png) || || ![[Image: c8B2LE3.png]](https://i.imgur.com/c8B2LE3.png)  |  | 
golden_apricotIIHF Federation Head Trade Me
hotdogSHL GM RIP Dangel
Awesome work! If you're still stir crazy and bored and feel like doing a lottttttt more work lol, I'd be really interested to see similar research on the best teams to not win the Challenge Cup in the past decade.
Not interested enough to actually do all the work myself, but interested enough to nudge someone else to do it :D good stuff @"reid_sutherland"
goldenglutesACP Access binko
I'm just here for Tomen's team, we've got a healthy number of people already:
![[Image: sgqj1lj.png]](https://i.imgur.com/sgqj1lj.png)
![[Image: glutes2.gif]](https://sig.grumpybumpers.com/host/glutes2.gif) Signatures by Vulfzilla, Jepox, Jess, rum_ham, Ragnar, and myself ![[Image: 9vAsr7c.png]](https://i.imgur.com/9vAsr7c.png) ![[Image: tkMQzhf.png]](https://i.imgur.com/tkMQzhf.png) ![[Image: tdKmZA0.png]](https://i.imgur.com/tdKmZA0.png)
CementHandsRegistered Posting Freak
AcsolapSHL GM Me go boats 03-19-2020, 02:52 PMluketd Wrote: “ S51 Hamilton Steelhawks outshot opponents by almost 8 shots per game” Who would dare exploit the sim engine? Couldn't be me. ![[Image: 66624_s.gif]](https://signavatar.com/66624_s.gif) ![[Image: 56096_s.gif]](https://signavatar.com/56096_s.gif) Credit to Ml002, King, Wasty, Carpy, Bruins10, Rum_Ham, Turd Ferguson, Ragnar and Enigmatic for the sigs.        Player page | Player updates ![[Image: wMGKypg.png]](https://i.imgur.com/wMGKypg.png)
reidRegistered winnipeg aurora legend 03-19-2020, 02:52 PMhotdog Wrote: Awesome work! If you're still stir crazy and bored and feel like doing a lottttttt more work lol, I'd be really interested to see similar research on the best teams to not win the Challenge Cup in the past decade.You guessed my next project!! Thanks Wasty, Carpy, JSS, TurdFerguson, Geekusoid and Awesomecakes for the sigs!
golden_apricotIIHF Federation Head Trade Me 03-19-2020, 02:58 PMreid_sutherland Wrote:03-19-2020, 02:52 PMhotdog Wrote: Awesome work! If you're still stir crazy and bored and feel like doing a lottttttt more work lol, I'd be really interested to see similar research on the best teams to not win the Challenge Cup in the past decade.You guessed my next project!! Hamilton S52 |
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