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charlieconway · 07-24-2020, 11:31 PM

Just a few of my thoughts on the S54 IIHF tournament.

Japan’s Heavy Hitters

And when I say hitters, I don’t just mean hitting. Chicago’s star forwards Daniel Smeb and Martijn Westbroek led the round robin in scoring with 21 and 20 points respectively. Buffalo’s Monkey D. Luffy wasn’t far behind, with 18 points. Japan is by no means the biggest nation in the IIHF, so it’s really notable when they can put up such a dominating performance from such a highly skilled group of forwards. The scariest thing? None of them have hit regression. Smeb and Luffy are set to hit their peak TPE next tournament, and Westbroek is slated to hit his the season after. Add in Akira Ren, Disisde Dayudie, Nicholas Owens, Satoshi Zizagooney, and the rest of the Smeb brothers, and you’ve got the groundwork for a dominating team in the tournaments to come.

Phelps’ Swan Song?

Robert Phelps has put in a lot of good years for the Canadian national team, but that exemplary record of service may be coming to a close. Phelps is very deep into regression at that point, and has a few notable forwards nipping at his heels to make the roster. Ryan Shepard actually made the roster last tournament, but his spot was handed to a returning Maxime Bouchard for this year’s edition. And Jean-Paul Boivin was left off the roster despite finally arriving as a major point producer for the Blizzard in S54. Phelps averaged just over five minutes a game for Canada, and it may be time for some new blood into the roster. But one thing is for certain: Canada’s captain will not be forgotten, and Canadian fans everywhere will have looked on with pride as the late-thirties forward had the gold medal hung around his neck.

Team USA’s Quarterfinals defeat.

While I’m more than willing to admit that Team USA has an unbelievable roster, I wonder how much their success in the past four tournaments is down to factors beyond just having players with high TPE. For example, imagine flipping three coins. You know, statistically, that the chance of getting three heads is 1/8, or 12.5%. But if you actually flipped the coins and got heads all three times, that low percentage doesn’t matter, does it? What I’m trying to say is, when you look at the last four tournaments, the United States has obviously been great: three golds and a bronze. But I don’t think FHM is necessarily as predictable as it might seem. For all we know, you could have replayed last season’s tournament five times and gotten five different winners. They were a great team this year but it’s not like they were unstoppable, as was proven in the quarters versus Japan. Sometimes you just hit that 12.5%... sometimes good teams just lose.

Andreas Kvalheim: Best forward in the SHL?

This opinion is somewhat a result of a recent project I’ve undertaken to determine, without being effected by the knowledge of players’ TPE, who the top forty forwards are. I may go into more detail if I ever wind up publishing that ranking, but to sum it up quickly, it uses a points system that values point production, hitting, penalty minutes, shot blocks, defensive prowess, and PK time to find the players that a fictional viewer of the SHL might deem the best. After tallying the results and sorting the findings, I was a little surprised to see Kvalheim so high on the list, but I think now I understand why: he’s the quintessential complete player. Produces points, he’s physical, plays both high quality powerplay and penalty kill minutes, and is a noticeable boon to his team when he’s on the ice, and his absence is felt when he’s on the bench. If you’re someone that thinks hockey is more than just putting up points, then you should really like the type of player raymond3000 has put together with Kvalheim. Texas is lucky to have him in the SHL, and Norway is lucky to have him on their team going forward.

Rapid fire:

Sweden’s lack of discipline. Noah Gallagher, Dylan Karlsson, and Hippo Passamus were all top-5 in PIMs during the round robin. What was it that was making these Swedes so angry?

Cow, or a Goat? Julio Tokolosh followed up a fantastic year for the Blizzard with an exceptional tournament for Team USA. If you wondered whether this bovine was for real, I think it’s time to put those questions to bed.

Kastrba’s Time Management. Despite only averaging less than 17 minutes a game, Czechia’s David Kastrba tied with USA’s Julio Tokolosh and Japan’s Martijn Westbroek for top goalscorer of the round robin. Ten goals in twelve games… Manhattan will be hoping that form will continue into the season.

Foreign Fisticuffs. There were a total of three fights during the round robin: Switzerland’s Anthony Archer got the best of Canada’s Adam Barron; Ireland’s Hercules Rockerfeller took down Great Britain’s Nick Brain; and Germany’s Philip Winter got tossed by Austria’s Brendan Kennedy Jr.

Workhorse of the Tournament: Japan’s Chico Smeb played, on average, nearly half of his team’s games: his average for the round robin was 28:02, beating out Finland’s Poopity Scoop who averaged 26:58.

Fiddle Me This: It’s no secret that Tampa Bay is neck deep in a rebuild, so it’s nice to see guys like Tom Fiddler, Anthony Archer, and Michael Fitted get some playing time in a high stakes tournament like the IIHF. Fiddler goes back to Tampa with a silver medal around his neck, while Archer will have to settle for a Quarterfinals defeat to Canada.

Young Guns in Goal. Is it me, or are the top goalies getting younger? Ireland’s Elizabeth Doyle, Canada’s Frans Eller, Japan’s Olli Saarinen Jr., Great Britain’s Luca del Vecchio, Russia’s Samat Beibitzhanov, and USA’s Strom Chamberlain all had fine tournaments. Norway’s Cillian Amundsen, Austria’s Cale Amundsen, Finland’s White Goodman, and Switzerland’s Markus Tegernako had outings as their teams’ backups, and will look to challenge for the #1 spot next season. Not bad for such a young group. ■

[1,006 words, 2x IIHF bonus]