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Arkz · 10-25-2020, 04:49 PM

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Good afternoon one and all! Today we'll be talking about and looking into the top candidates Anrikkanen Trophy from the S57 class. This class started small, but really came together as the season went on and a few extra members joined after the draft. We'll be looking at a number of potential finalists for this award, broken down by position to make it easier to digest. This has been a somewhat tumultuous class, and some impact players were added late so if I missed anyone that you think should be on this list, comment below and shame me. First up, we'll take a look at some of the forwards before getting into the defense and goaltenders.

CENTERS

Cian McFelter - Kelowna Knights - Knights

The overall leading point-getter for the S57 class, Cian McFelter was a free agent signing by Kelowna early in the year and he paid dividends for the team all season. Putting together an 8 goal, 17 assist campaign for the Knights, he was actually finished the season as their leader in points as well. And he did all that by only averaging 15 minutes a night on the ice. Yeah the plus/minus wasn't where you would want it to be and he gave away the puck a lot, but I look at that as a reflection of the team around him, which struggled to find a footing all season. Still, McFelter was a bright spot for the Knights, and should find himself with much more ice time next season, particularly on the power play.

Luukas Lilja - Carolina Kraken - Kraken

Luukas was another free agent pick up in the S57 class (get ready, there will be more), and found his niche as a set-up man for the dominant Kraken. 2 goals and 17 assists do a lot to tell the story for this talented center, who was very careful with the puck, only giving it away six times all season (with eight takeaways). Still, he's going to have to work on his accuracy for next year - those two goals weren't due to lack of trying. Luukas' shooting percentage was a rough 3.77% on the year, but with one of those goals coming on a short-handed chance. If he's able to work on his accuracy and finally find the back of the net, the league better watch out.

Sonata Diamante - Colorado Raptors - Raptors

You're not going to believe this, but Sonata was again a free agent pick up after the draft. The first center on our list with a positive plus/minus, Sonata scored six goals and added eleven assists on the season in only 45 games. Three of those assists came on the power play, and he had a shooting percentage of 14.3% on the year. All of that with only 9:18 time on ice. If he played a whole season she probably would not have passed McFelter in points, but its possible he would have broken the twenty point plateau for himself. The forward field is crowded this season so he won't make the finalists list, but Colorado has to be happy with his production and hia future outlook.

Honorable Mentions: Jonathan Granstrom (DET), Pablo Salvatici (ANC)

LEFT WINGERS

Bas O'Bigbers - Newfoundland Berserkers -

Now this is where its going to start getting a bit competitive. Our friend Bas here went in the first round with the ninth overall pick to the defending champion Berserkers, and he's played about as well as Newfoundland could hope. 9 goals and 13 assists with about 12:19 in ice time is very solid. He also chipped in an impressive 30 hits for himself. The giveaway/takeaway numbers are a little lopsided in the wrong direction for Bas, but that's a skill he can work on going forward in his career. He also took a ton of shots, 86 on the season. If he's able to boost that shooting percentage just a bit, he'll be a real force for Newfoundland in the seasons to come.

Freyja Hellström - Carolina Kraken - Kraken

Here we have the overall goal scorer for the S57 class, with an impressive 13 goals over the course of the season to add to 8 assists. Freya was another first round pick, going right after Bas with at 10th overall. But Freya was more than just a goal-scorer out there. She also chipped in with 49 blocked shots, an impressive amount given her position. To put that into context, only two other left wingers in the entire S57 class even broke thirty and no one went passed 36. Freya has the potential to be a more complete player than Bas, at least when it comes to playing both ways and that might give her the edge when the Committee is putting together their list of finalists.

Noah Jones III - Nevada Battleborn -

Look, Noah had a great season but he's probably on the outside looking in when Bas and Freyja had such strong rookie campaigns. Still, he managed to be the one of only two players in the rookie class to score double digit goals and assists (we'll get to the other one soon). A matching ten goals and ten assists for Noah, who also boasted a pretty ridiculous 23.81% shooting percentage. That explains his impressive totals when he only got 9:08 minutes of ice time a night. A third round pick, Nevada got a ton of value when they took Noah at 29 overall, which has the potential to be one of the steals of the draft.

Honorable Mentions: Jarmo Kekalainen (COL)

Right Wingers

Igor Petrov - Quebec City Citadelles -

Remember when I said we were going to get to the guy who also had double digit goals and assists? Well, I'm a man of my word and here we are! Igor here also had ten goals and ten assists on the season, including a goal and assist on the power play. Igor had a bit more ice time than the previous wingers on this list, with 13:53 but he made the most of that time with a 14.29% shooting percentage, 34 blocked shots and 33 hits. He needs to take care of the puck more, but Quebec City probably feels pretty comfortable letting Petrov play such extended minutes. Look for him to be closer to 17 minutes on the ice next season.

Tyler Burnett - Detroit Falcons - Falcons

Our first player from Detroit on this list, Tyler was taken in the third round in the last draft. Still he managed to put together six goals and 8 assists on the season, on 14 minutes of ice time. Tyler was eighth on his team in total goals and played some hard minutes for the Falcons. Unfortunately his plus/minus is not anywhere near where you want it to be, but that's more of a reflection on the team as a whole instead of the player. Still, he'll need to take better care of the puck going forward, but he'll have all the opportunities he needs to improve on Detroit.

Bobby Motz - Colorado Raptors - Raptors

Bobbbbby Motz sliding in here on our shortlist for right wingers with his impressive eight goals and five assists. Another third round pick, Motz is one of the only right wingers in the class with a positive plus/minus, and that's doing it on a team that overall finished with a barely positive goal differential. Motz was an absolute sniper, with a shooting percentage of 19.51% while also being fairly careful with the puck (11 giveaways and 9 takeaways). He did this while getting roughly 10:33 minutes of ice time a night, which is also the fewest on this list. Motz is a guy who does the most with the puck he can when he has it on his stick, and there's not much more you can ask for in a rookie.

Honorable Mentions: Kyle Murray (CAR), Steve Tkachuk (ANA), Marabelle Octive (STL)

Left Defense

Arsene Leclerc - Anaheim Outlaws - Outlaws

If you asked me to pick a favorite for the Anrikkanen at the mid-point of the year, Leclerc would have been my pick hands down. Part of that vaunted Anaheim offense, Leclerc scored seven goals and pitched in fifteen assists on the season. He had four points on the powerplay, helping to feed some of the talented scorers on the Outlaws. That said, as the Outlaws slowed down towards the end of the season, Leclerc seemed to slow down as well. Leclerc never saw a shooting lane he didn't like, taking a whopping 125 shots in the regular season. To help everyone with the math, that means he finished the year with a 5.6% shooting percentage. Still, he had 44 hits, 35 blocked shots and 22 takeaways on the year, giving him the picture as the most complete defensemen in the class. That's what you would expect from the first overall pick in the draft.

Bjorn Thornsen - Anchorage Armada - Armada

A second-round pick in the draft, Bjorn here had a solid year. Four goals and fifteen assists, to go alone with his 51 hits and 22 takeaways. Bjorn unfortunately doesn't stick out in one way or the other in terms of his performance. He's basically a slightly less effective Leclerc. However, that's still pretty damn good for a rookie. Still, the future is promising for this rookie and he will have a lot of chances to try and seperate himself from the S57 defensemen class.

Farley Hank - Anaheim Outlaws - Outlaws

Pretty rare for there to be a second defensemen from the same team on this list. Especially rare for them to be playing on the same side. Farley had six goals and eleven assists, and an impressive plus/minus of 7. By comparison, Leclerc was at -2. Hank here was a third round pick, but has found a way to produce regardless. He's outhit Leclerc with 45 and blocked more shots at 40. Offensively, though, Hank has given the puck away an astonishing 42 times. On the defensive end, Hank has been solid and there's been enough offensive talent to bail him out when times get difficult, but he'll have to tighten that up for next season.

Honorable Mentions: Wen Baters (DET), Ashy Larry (CAR), Ruggs McOoooh (COL)

Right Defense

Jari Heikkinen - Quebec City Citadelles -

The first round pick for Quebec City, Jari has been solid on the right side of the defense. He's scored seven goals and pitched in thirteen assists on 8.05% shooting. One of the very few players on this list with a positive differential in takeaways to giveaways (18 TkA, 14 GvA), Jari has been solid with the puck all season while he's been part of the top line defensive pairing for Quebec City. He's even been helping out on the power play as well, and has a goal with the special teams unit. By far the most complete defensemen in the rookie class on the right side, he probably is competing with Leclerc in terms of top defensemen in the class so far.

Unger Oda - Carolina Kraken - Kraken

A free agent pick up, Oda has played in 46 games this season, but has found a way to be effective. Six goals, nine assists, and a positive three in the plus/minus department, he's another play who has added points on the power play with a power play goal. He's been mostly careful with the puck, with only 14 giveaways on 9 takeaways. However, he's also brought the physical play, leading all right defensemen in hits and being in the middle of the pack with 26 blocked shots. To top that all off, Unger also leads all right defensemen in time on ice and is actually third on the Kraken. He's a trusted, valued member of a team with great playoff expectations.

Chad Alfa - Newfoundland Berserkers -

With the first pick in the third round, the Berserkers took an absolute Chad. In his rookie campaign, Alfa scored five goals and added nine assists. His plus/minus is a bit scary (in a bad way), but again we're going to generally consider that a team stat. When he has the puck, Chad has been careful with it, only giving it up 15 times. He's also added 13 takeaways in that span, to go along with his 42 hits and 28 shots blocked. Still, Chad has the second lowest plus/minus on the team and so will have to work on expanding his skills et if Newfoundland is going to trust him with more minutes in his sophomore season.

Honorable Mentions: Michael Scotch (ANA), Sean Gatez (MET)

Goalies

Vincent Mietitor - Anaheim Outlaws - Outlaws

Taken in the second round, Vincent was the second goalie off the board. He was also second for rookie goalies in terms of games played, appearing in 36 contests for the Outlaws. In those games, Vincent went 19-13-3, with a 3.08 GAA and .900 SV%. Its never easy to be the starting goaltender for a team in your first year, but Vincent has handled the pressure and the spotlight well. His backup has similar stats, but Vincent has managed to do it over a much longer span of time. Its difficult for a goalie to win the Anrikkanen, but regardless Vincent has made a name for himself in the league and with Anaheim fans everywhere.

Tyler Ward - Quebec City Citadelles -

In their search for a backup to the legendary Mat Smith, the Citadelles may have found a start in young Tyler Ward. Ward came in part-way through the season, but managed to appear in 15 games for Quebec City, putting together a 9-3-1 record. He's been a bit of a brick wall out there, with a GAA of 2.28 and a SV% of .923, not to mention he also had two shut outs in his limited appearances. Statistics-wise, Ward was fairly similar to Smith which is actually a testament to Ward's promise and potential skill as a top netminder in this league. The Citadelles were near the bottom in terms of goals allowed as a team this season, and Ward was a reason why.

Jon St. Ark - Vancouver Whalers - Whalers

The only Whaler to appear on this list, St. Ark was taken with the sixth overall pick in the draft. In fact, St. Ark was actually Vancouver's only pick in the draft, and fortunately for the Whalers this one seemed to have worked. He appeared in 24 games for the Whalers this season, going 19-4-0 on the year. He led all goalies with a 1.62 GAA and a .930 SV%. He didn't face as many shots as some of the other more tested goalies in the league, but when the puck was fired on net he was there to make the stop. With veteran keeper Name Redacted most likely being called up full time next season, the Whalers will count on this rookie All Star to pick up where he left off.

Honorable Mentions: Yanno Rosejac (COL)

Finalists

Now that we just covered all the of the potentials, lets try and narrow this down to a group of finalsts, in no particular order:

Arsene Lecerlec - RD - Anaheim Outlaws -
Freya Hellstrom - LW - Carolina Kraken -
Jon St. Ark - G - Vancouver Whalers -
Cian McFelter - C - Kelowna Knights -
Jari Heikkinen - LD - Quebec City Citadelles -

Regardless of who wins the Anrikkanen this season, this has been a tremendous class full of talent and names that we'll hear over and over again over the next few seasons. While the above are potential finalists, there have been impressive seasons for a large number of players. And while they might not be on the shortlist for the award this season, they will be numerous opportunities in the future. As mentioned, if there are any errors please let me know and they will be addressed in a timely manner. Congratulations to all my fellow rookies on a tremendous first season in the SMJHL!

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Split with no one because I wrote this all myself.

Dextaria · 10-25-2020, 04:53 PM

I see you there with Jon St. Ark as a finalist :eyes:

***Faelax*** · 10-25-2020, 04:59 PM

Lots of Citadelles in here

Mr. Finland · 10-25-2020, 05:33 PM

Kind of sad that Sonata get mention, but Anton doesn't.

spooked · 10-25-2020, 09:45 PM

I am VERY interested to see how the voters value a 1b goalie who did amazing in limited (and potentially sheltered :p) starts. Great write up and season <3

*DELIRIVM* · 10-26-2020, 02:33 AM

St. Ark should be the runaway Rookie of the Year. I am biased but when was the last time you saw a rookie with a statline of 19 Wins, 4 Losses, 1.62 GAA, 3 Shutouts, and a SV% of 0.930. Honestly you should win Goalie of the Year and Rookie of the Year.

MattyIce · 10-27-2020, 12:43 AM

Sonata is a dude btw. Nice writeup!

Arkz · 10-27-2020, 12:30 PM

10-27-2020, 12:43 AMMattyIce Wrote: Sonata is a dude btw. Nice writeup!

Whoops, my bad Matty. Sorry about that, fixed!

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