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Thor Odinson entered the league after the S53 SMJHL Draft and his appearance went largely unnoticed at first - only two teams offered Odinson a contract and he quickly signed on with the league favourite Detroit Falcons as the backup goalie. While not a lot was expected from this backup due to his late arrival and lack of previous experience, he went on to be a force to be reckoned with that aided the Falcons (with a significant amount of assistance from the rest of the squad, it's a team game after all and the goalie can't score - much to Odinson's dismay) to have such a succesful season. This is a brief recap of his performance and statistics throughout the games he played over the course of the season in the SMJHL backing up A. Jobin in the net for Detroit.

Maine Timber - Game 1
Odinson's first game on the ice in the juniors, while many expected he may show nerves coming into the game the rest of the Falcons kept him well protected and only allowed 18 shots on goal. While this seems outstanding, it became almost expected of the defense to keep their new goalie well covered while he found his feet. The Timber couldn't get much of a rhythm going and over the sixty minutes Odinson only allowed one goal to get by him - providing an outstanding first game sv% of 0.944. He comes off the ice at the end of the game to applause from the Detroit bench - he has found his home and they appreciate him being there to give Jobin a rest - we wont see Odinson again next game, but he makes his return soon after.

Newfoundland Berserkers - Game 2
This game was expected to be another early season test for Odinson, after a fairly easy time in his first showing this time he faced an offense that at least managed more than 20 shots on goal - ok, 25 shots on goal still doesn't seem like that many, but it was the third highest shot total that Thor saw over the course of the season. Coming off a great game against the Timber, Odinson exuded confidence and rejected every single one of the Berserkers shot attempts giving the Falcons their first shutout of the season, and himself the first shutout of his career. We don't have to explore the sv% on this one, it's a cool 1.000 and a GR of 98. The Falcons are once again provided confirmation that Odinson was a great waiver pickup and should be here to stay for the long run.

Kelowna Knights - Game 3
We have a five game stretch here where we don't see Odinson aside from occasional glances towards the Falcons bench - but he makes his return to relieve Jobin in the first of a three game stretch playing against Kelowna. As the only other team who offered Odinson a contract, the Knights know what to expect from him, and while the Falcons only allow 17 shots on goal the Knights still manage to get one past Thor. This gives him a save percentage on the game on .941 and a GR of 69 (nice). So far this is Odinson's worst performance, and not one to be disappointed by. Jobin takes the net in the next game, but we'll see Thor again in just one games time.

Kelowna Knights - Game 4
In the third consecutive game against the Knights Thor is looking to redeem himself from a game that many tendys would be enthused by - it's unusual to give Jobin a second rest after just a one game break and we suspect Thor may have asked the coaches to be in net for this game specifically as at first we weren't expecting to see him again until they played the Timber. There's only one way to improve on a one goal game, and Odinson delivered it - his second shutout in his career and also the second on the season for Detroit. Facing 22 shots on goal, Odinson turned them all away earning himself another 1.000 sv% and an incredible GR of 100. We are four games into this man's career and he's only allowed two goals, who will be the ones to steal Thor's thunder?

Maine Timber - Game 5
After another one game break for Jobin, Thor takes his place in the net for what was originally planned to be his fourth game, but has ended up being the fifth. Having seen the Timber in his career debut and only allowing a single goal, Odinson prepares for another dominant showing... only to be brought back to earth in a dramatic fashion. Maine put 24 shots on goal, and Thor seemed a step behind every play allowing the highest goal count on his season so far of 5 into the back of the net. The GR plummets to 28 and the sv% is a pitiful .792, the Falcons wonder if they have given him too much responsibility too soon. A vicious thunderstorm follows the game and much of the city loses power for the night, we wonder if this is at all related to what was undoubtably the opposite of an electrifying performance.

Maine Timber - Game 6
The Falcons present Thor with another redemption game, but this time it's actually a significant scoreline to be made up for. The Falcons protect Odinson better in this game, only allowing 17 shots at the net - but Odinson looks a bit shaken after the last performance and still lets three slide past. The Falcons faithful begin to question whether his early season performance was a fluke as his sv% falls to .824 - below .900 for the second time on the season. A GR of 52 fairly represents Thor's performance here and he has work to do to make up for a few very sloppy games.

St. Louis Scarecrows - Game 7
Odinson has had time to rest, another two game break as the Detroit coaches look to find the right rhythm in the net for their two tendys. A new team to Odinson presents a fresh beginning, and while the Scarecrows manage to get 26 shots on goal, Thor redirects all but one - seemingly picking up right where he was before a couple of disastrous games against the Timber. The coaches continued faith in Thor pays off as he presents a GR of 84 and a sv% of .962. He's finding his stride again, and the coaches figure he has earned himself a bit of a longer break this time.

Carolina Kraken - Game 8
Thor comes back into the net after Jobin has a four game starting streak to face the Kraken - but Detroit have other plans, Odinson nearly wasn't even required on the ice as the Falcons limited the Kraken offense to only 9 shots. Thor was seen staring off into the crowd, apparently distracted by the lack of action when Carolina snuck one around his pads - their only goal of the night. Due to such a low amount of shots Odinson's GR and sv% were dragged down significantly by the lone goal to 51 and .889 respectively.

St. Louis Scarecrows - Game 9
After Jobin's extended starts, the coaches give him an extended break by starting Odinson two games in a row so that Jobin can return for the second game of a back to back. Another game against the Scarecrows sees Thor face another shot count over 20... well... of 20, and this time they improve on their one goal effort with a second goal. It doesn't help them win, but it might make the Scarecrow team feel a little bit better to bring the backup goalie's GR to 61 and his sv% to .900. This would turn out to be their best performance of the season against the wall of thunder that is Thor Odinson.

Newflounderland Berserkers - Game 10
No that's not a typo, last time we saw the Berserkers absolutely floundering against Odinson as they gave him his first career shutout. The Falcons coaches decide that if it ain't broke don't fix it, and after a two game break Thor returns to the net to give Newfoundland a chance to improve on a dismal effort in their previous matchup. It turns out that it was not the Berserkers time, as they not only failed to score against the wall of thunder again, but they managed to get less shots on him with a total of 17. You know what that means at this point, another beautiful 1.000 on the box score and a third shutout for Odinson's outstanding rookie season. With less shots on goal, the GR this time is "only" a 78, but the team don't care about that when it's a 0 on their scoreboard.

St. Louis Scarecrows - Game 11
I can only assume at this point in the season the coaches have the rotation of tendys all figured out and we see Odinson in the net against the Scarecrows for the third time this season. The St. Louis offense put up 23 shots in this one, but Odinson kept them to one goal on the board by deflecting 22 of them. The Scarecrows don't quite seem to have an answer for this god in the net, and some players have reported hearing thunder and seeing flashes of lightning in their nightmares. This game is good for a GR of 80 and a sv% of .957.

Colorado Raptors - Game 12
As a new opponent for Thor, the Raptors present an unknown situation for the Norwegian goaltender who has become relatively complacent competing against the same teams. In this one we see Odinson struggle a little, as off only 15 shots the Colorado offense get two into the net. A subpar showing against this team keeps the coaches from putting him in the net against them again with a sad GR of 55 and sv% of .867. Jobin will cover a few games while Odinson thinks long and hard about what he's done.

Maine Timber - Game 13
So far the Timber have proven to be Thor's biggest test - the only team to score multiple goals against him in multiple games. This game proved to be no exception as they forced Odinson to face a season high 27 shots on goal - they also continued their streak against him by scoring on two of these attempts. Still good for a sv% of .926, the numbers don't look atrocious until we see the GR of 66 - far below Thor's season average. We wouldn't expect to see Odinson facing the Timber again, but who knows what is going through the minds of the coaches as their season starts to come to a close and a playoff spot is all but locked up.

Carolina Kraken - Game 14
Another game for Thor against the Kraken, having had success against this team (and most) so far, the team and Odinson himself are still expecting big things on an every game basis and this is no different. Matching up with Carolina for the second time after letting one get by him in the first on only 9 shots, Thor is out to prove he wont be distracted again - with great success. This marks Odinson's fourth shutout of the season putting him in second place for shutouts in the league. Another big ol' 1.000 along with a staggering GR of 91, this is just about the only way that Odinson can continue to improve his averages - a testament to the season he's having with the Falcons.

Newfoundland Berserkers - Game 15
A one game break has Thor back in net for this game against Newfoundland, a team he has dominated through the season so far and has found the most success against. The Berserkers are out for revenge and make their presence known with the fourth highest shot total Odinson has seen on the season. Despite this, Thor still only allows two goals in to secure the win for the Falcons - many of the Berserkers seemed to be just happy to put some points on the board, but at the end of the day it's the win that really counts. A solid sv% of .917, but a comparitively mediocre GR of 65 for Thor in this final matchup with the Berserkers.

Carolina Kraken - Game 16
Thor sees himself in net for the second game in a row as the team once again prepares Jobin for the second game of a back to back. The Kraken have proven to be challenging for Odinson, but one that he has handled amicably so far, as we experience once again in this game. While the Kraken send 22 shots at Thor, he only has one of them get past him - Carolina are seen to be confused and can't seem to understand how this keeps happening to them, but it's just another day at the office for Thor. A sv% of .955 and GR of 83 continues to push Odinson's season averages higher on what has already been an incredible rookie campaign.

Maine Timber - Game 17
I'm not sure what the coaches were thinking here, but after Jobin plays three straight they put Odinson out onto the ice against the Timber one last time, maybe to redeem himself and finally keep them to a single score or less? Whatever the logic, Thor falls flat on his face one last time against his apparent Maine achilles heel. While we see only 21 shots on goal, Odinson allows the Timber to continue their run of multiple scores on him with three goals in the net. The Timber prove to be his greatest personal challenge on the season, keeping his sv% below .900 once again, briging his GR to 56 and sv% to .857. This seemingly wraps up Thor's rookie season, barring any freak scorelines against Jobin in the playoffs the Falcons will look to keep their strongest players on the ice.


Season Totals

There's no doubt that Odinson has had one of the best seasons on record as a rookie backup goalie, his season stats top the charts in nearly every category and over the 17 games he started, only 2 losses occured. While this statistic on its own cannot be solely attributed to the goalie in the net, it definitely is the culmination of all of the other outstanding statistics he has achieved. Odinson is third on the list for SV% at 0.927, behind Dhami out of Anaheim with only 6 minutes played, and the backup from Newfoundland, Stevlaco (0.933) who also had less than half the minutes that Odinson saw.

Odinson was tied third in shutouts, with 4 on the season - behind Amundsen and Kavanagh on 5 and tied with Potvinov, however Odinson played only 17 games compared to 43, 44 and 32 respectively - this gave Thor a shutout in nearly every fourth game that he played on average and even puts him to tied second place for shutouts in the modern era.

Odinson led the league in GAA with a 1.47 and even broke not only the Detroit Falcons modern era record, but the league modern era record for this statistic. While Dhami again had a better result (0.00) we are excluding him from this stat with such little ice time. The next closest goalie was Odinson's friend and teammate Jobin at 1.92, the only two tendys to manage a sub 2.0 GAA on the season.

While many of these statistics can also be attributed to a stellar Falcons team, there's no doubt that Odinson contributed to this success as well with his time in the net. Time will only tell if this season was luck, or something able to be repeated - but we can say for sure (with absolutely no knowledge of any league history) that it was one of, if not the best rookie backup goalie seasons of all time. With Jobin likely to still be spending time in the net next season, the Falcons can look forward to a strong goalie tandem in the future, and an excellent started when it is Thor's time to move up into that role. While there are several other strong rookie prospects coming into the S54 draft, there is no doubt that Odinson will be a steal for the team that misses out on the 'top' prospects as he has worked hard to be a solid contributor this season, and should continue to make an impact on whichever team he lands on once they are prepared to call him up to the big league.

While several teams have reached out to Odinson, many have mocked him after goalies who have not only performed worse, but have lower attribute scores as well - leading him to believe that the scouts are doing a much better job of understanding the goalie draft board than the pundits. Based on these interactions, Thor expects to be off the draft board before the end of the second round, if a team were able to pick him up beyond this point it would be an absolute steal. We would be surprised if he wasn't the second or third goalie taken. While he has been a quiet achiever, there is no doubt that he is an achiever and will be one for the foreseeable future. Detroit has their goalie for the next few seasons, and one lucky team will get their goalie for the next 15-20 from the wisest pick up of the draft.