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*roastpuff* · 04-06-2020, 04:14 PM

1651 words, ready for grading

Flight School: Winnipeg Jets Prospect Report
By Geoff Merak
For SHN News Network
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Hello and welcome to the first take-off for Flight School: Jets Prospect Report! Today we will be looking at the fledgling Winnipeg Jets prospects who are earning their wings in the SMJHL, and learning how to fly. When looking down from the sky there is a lot of ground clutter so let us help you see how they are doing! In this series of articles we will be focusing on the active prospects for the Winnipeg Jets, of which there are five players in order of seniority: Theo Golury, playing for the Kelowna Knights; Bale and Strom Chamberlain, who are playing for the Anaheim Outlaws; Magnus Liljestrom and Reid Sutherland, playing for the Detroit Falcons.

So far, we are a week into the SMJHL season, and the Detroit Falcons have absolutely smashed everyone else except for one game against the Anchorage Armada in which they looked human. All the other games have been clearly dominated by the Falcons, and they have posted an absurd shot and goal differential. The Kelowna Knights are two points back in the Western Conference from tying for first place, but they have played more games than most other teams and posted less than .500 for the games that they have played. The Anaheim Outlaws are not in a stellar position, being one point ahead of the Vancouver Whalers for dead least in the Western Conference - but on the bright side they have a few points in hand compared to the Carolina Kraken or the Maine Timber for dead last in the league.

With the advent of the FHM era, we also have easy access to advanced statistics, and we will also take a look at this to see how each player is performing individually besides point production. We will be able to see their Corsi, Fenwick and overall game rating as per FHM6, and use these to determine how each player is doing even though their team might not be doing well as a whole.

Remember to radio the tower for clearance, set your flaps, check the fuel mixture and ensure that the runway is clear for take-off!

Starting in reverse order of seniority:

Reid Sutherland, Center, Detroit Falcons Falcons

Sutherland has been a very versatile playmaking center for the Detroit Falcons, having bounced up and down the lines as necessary, but mostly slotting in on the 2nd line as the linchpin between Jmac NCheese and fellow sophomore Burlok Sulfurgold. This line has been dangerous since the start of the season, with Reid Sutherland setting up plays with NCheese and Sulfurgold parked in front of the net to clean up any rebounds. They have also been excellent defensively, not giving up many chances and effectively backchecking to prevent scoring opportunities from opposing teams.

Not the most physical of players, Sutherland plays a smart positional style with an active stick, only has 1 hit to his name and no penalty minutes so far. He’s also not a volume shooter with only 27SOG and a 3.7% shooting percentage, preferring to pass instead. He currently has 1 goal and 9 assists, good for 10 points, T-6 in the league, and averages about 17 minutes a game in terms of ice-time.

In terms of advanced stats, Sutherland has a high PDO of 107.2, with gaudy Goals For differential of 4.4, and has excellent Corsi and Fenwick numbers. The fact that his relative Corsi and Fenwick are slightly negative is likely due to the quality of team-mates that he has rather than personal failings - in any other team, he would be a first line center and would excel in such a role. An item that he could improve upon would be his faceoff percentage, as well as his shooting percentage, which is quite low. Currently, Sutherland is sitting at about 51.4% in terms of faceoff wins but his game-to-game performance is streaky.

Magnus Liljestrom, Defense, Detroit Falcons Falcons

Liljestrom, originally a right defenseman, was shifted to the left side by the Falcons due to the departure of their previously capped winger-turned-defenseman Khabib Nurmagomedov, the acquisition of Zbigniew Pokrywka, and a couple of incoming rookies. It took him a few games to settle in, and now that Liljestrom has acclimatized, has begun to show his offensive skill once again. Defensively, Liljestrom hasn’t faltered at all, and continues to provide excellent defense with smart, skilled plays to box out players and separate the puck from the carrier. His active stick and willingness to lay the body has also resulted in a lot of blocked shots, with a team leading 15.

Currently, Liljestrom is paired with a more aggressively-oriented partner in Jack Kanoff, who has been racking up the points. This leaves Liljestrom as the fallback man if the play doesn’t proceed as planned, and that has limited his offensive output somewhat. With a single goal and five assists to his name, Liljestrom is making the most out of his ice time and defensive posture, chipping in where he can. Liljestrom also doesn’t play on the power play as much as either O’Shea or Kanoff, which reduces his scoring opportunities, but instead gets the lion’s share of short-handed minutes with a team-leading average of 2 minutes and 14 seconds.

With a PDO of 100.1, Liljestrom doesn’t seem to be enjoying any extra puck luck, but neither is he suffering from a lack of luck. His Corsi and Fenwick numbers are well above average (as is most of the Detroit team, to be fair) and is slightly behind his team mates due to the tough minutes that he faces. Items for improvement include making less risky plays, as he’s given the puck up a few times due to the low-percentage passes that he chose, and perhaps choosing where he shoots from better, in order to improve the chances of a rebound and creating chaos in front of the net.

Bale, Right Wing, Anaheim Outlaws Outlaws

Bale has been deployed on Anaheim’s top line this season, after a Cup-winning last season where he played a big role in getting Anaheim to go all the way. Currently, Anaheim is struggling significantly due to a lack of defense, and some goaltending issues, but the scoring drive is as strong as ever, with 11 players on the team having five points or more. Bale is leading the team with 10 points, good for T-6 in the league. He is also leading the team in terms of powerplay points, with 4 points earned on the man-advantage, and shots, with 48 total shots.
Bale currently has a slightly below average PDO at 97.2, but has the best Corsi and Fenwick stats for any forward on the Anaheim Outlaws team, just behind the defensive duo of Alex Petrenko and Emilia Bergman. Hopefully, as the team continues to grow (especially the defensive prospects), and the goaltending issues are fixed, these numbers will continue to improve and Anaheim can show the form that got them all the way to the Four Star Cup finals last season.

Strom Chamberlain, Goaltender, Anaheim Outlaws Outlaws

What a start it has been for Strom Chamberlain. Fresh off a Cup win, Chamberlain was expected to be the backstop for an Outlaws squad that lost quite a few members to call-ups and age, but unfortunately has not had the performance that he had hoped for due to a hand injury that caused him incredible agony every time he tried to glove the puck. Still the soldier, Chamberlain started two games and tried his damnedest both times. Unfortunately, Anaheim would go on to lose both games, and opposing teams took advantage of his obvious pain by trying to shoot glove side whenever they could.

His stats aren’t great to look at, with a save percentage of 0.860% and a Goals Against Average of 4.72, but we have hope that his numbers will improve as he has recently had rehab for the injured hand. The lack of defense in front of the Anaheim goalies has not helped either, with only one defenseman who is not a rookie player, but that issue will only be cured by time. FOr now, the goalies will have to contend with a thankless task, and try their best to give the team a chance at outscoring the opposition. The Anaheim Outlaws are desperately hoping for the goalie that backstopped them to the Four Star Cup to re-appear, and the league as a whole would be better for it as well.

Theo Golury, Left Wing, Kelowna Knights Knights

Theo Golury has been on a bit of a slump lately, with his development stalling and the Kelowna team deploying him in a more defensive posture. He has been surpassed by the three skaters behind him in terms of TPE, and hasn’t shown much activity lately. Nevertheless, he is still a useful piece for the Kelowna Knights team which showed so much promise during the pre-season.

Golury averages about 16 minutes a game, with a role on the second powerplay unit and second penalty kill unit. Being more defensively oriented in his new role, he has 15 blocked shots and a pretty good defensive game rating, but unfortunately has given away the puck quite a few times. Interestingly, he has a relatively decent plus-minus rating of -2, and contributed quite a few shots with a team-leading 37 shots. With a Corsi and a Fenwick below 50 percent, Golury isn’t doing so hot advanced stats-wise, and could be better.

There is still time for Theo Golury to improve and make a comeback, but unfortunately it isn’t looking very good for this Winnipeg draft pick to actually make the jump to the SHL in the future.

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That brings us to a close of the first take-off for Flight School. We hope that you enjoyed the experience, and we hope to see you on future learning flights!