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[Double Media Week - Holidays Edition] [SJHN] S57 Power Rankings (Mid-Season Edition)
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(This post was last modified: 12-26-2020, 05:45 PM by Arkz.)

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Hello and welcome to another edition of the SJHN Power Rankings! We’ve spent the season so far charting the performances for teams across the league, and as we enter (and pass in a few cases), the midseason mark, it's time to take stock once again. We have asked our panel of “experts” to go through and rank the teams based upon statistics and the eye test. No fancy algorithm for us, just good human fallibility. If you have any questions or comments about our rankings, please feel free to reply below. As a quick note, the rankings were originally pulled about a week ago, but with the holiday we took a little extra time in the creation of this document. But, without further ado, lets get into it.  

Stats and rankings set prior to regular season start date of 12/21/20

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12. St. Louis Scarecrows
Previous Rank: 12

Shuff: Let’s just say they haven’t been having the greatest season of all time. It’s been the offense that has been the real issue for them, scoring the least goals in the league by a wide margin. They have had brutal PDO to be fair, and it’s mostly a low shooting percentage, the goalkeeping has been fine, in Antonenscu and the rookie Kit Kirkstone. Adrian Ayers leads the team in scoring at 11 goals, but nobody else on the team is over seven. Young Logo and Colin Lambert are supposed to be the leaders of this team, but both are not having exactly amazing final seasons in the J. 
Arkz: Honestly, the Scarecrows might still be down here but they are probably having a more promising season this year than they were in S56. There’s still a lot of work to do here, don’t get me wrong, and the ‘Crows are paying for some unfortunate luck with the S56 SMJHL Entry Draft talent, but that’s the way it goes sometimes. So despite their best efforts, this is another building year for St. Louis but there might be some light at the end of the talent finally, if they are able to add a bit more offensive firepower. 

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11. Nevada Battleborn
Previous Rank: 9

Shuff: The Battleborn are underperforming. We had them as the top team preseason, and they just keep on falling. The underlying stats say even worse. A high PDO means they are getting lucky, which is incredible for a team, that, well, sucks. Just four points ahead of the red hot Vanocouver Whalers despite five games at hand, for last place in the west. For them it’s the offense and the defense. Their possession stats are a total disaster. Not set to really be decimated by call-up, maybe next season will be prettier for them. For now though, it’s “Heck, everyone makes the playoffs, let’s do some damage” for the Battleborn.
Arkz: Before you blow us up in the replies, make sure you read the top of the article and pay attention to when we pulled the rankings. Nevada is a curious case where the sum of the parts isn’t adding up. There’s talent up and down in this lineup, but either luck or bad chemistry is holding them back. Still, if they are able to find an answer, there’s nothing stopping this team from rattling off a number of victories and getting themselves back into contention (HINT HINT). 

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10. Detroit Falcons
Previous Rank: 8

Shuff: Last week I mentioned their difficult upcoming schedule and their high PDO. Well the PDO came down, and they had a more difficult stretch of games, and boom, here they are, down two slots from eight to ten. The schedule gets a bit easier from here, maybe they will climb right back up. The goalkeeping has been an issue, Valterri Aalto has been a work in progress back there. They weren’t supposed to be good, and they seem to be discovering that now.
Arkz: Detroit will most likely bounce around the 8-10 range for the rest of the season. It's just where the talent on this team is at and the fact they still are filling some gaps. Thor Odinson’s shadow still looms large over this team, but at least they’ve figured out how to score goals and that gives them some sign of hope. As Shuff mentioned, the schedule should get a bit easier for them and if a few other teams sell at the deadline, Detroit might be able to claw their way to the top-half of the East. Maybe. 

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9. Vancouver Whalers
Previous Rank: 11

Shuff: Whalers! My team! We have been scorching hot, winners of seven straight before dropping a game on Saturday’s sim. Wins over Newfoundland twice, Quebec twice, Anaheim, Colorado, and Carolina have woken what has been a sleepy season for the Whalers. Narrowly under .500, it seems they may not be getting much respect being ranked this low. The advanced stats show the Whalers with a low PDO, but also bad corsi, which does not seem too good for the Whalers. By win percentage, they go from the second easiest schedule to date to the second toughest remaining. It would not be a surprise to see them flounder a little bit down the stretch. Oh, and that seven game winning stretch I mentioned? Two games decided in the last minute, two overtimes and one shootout. A bit of luck there for sure. [Update: They have traded Dee Centerman IV to Anchorage. That creates a huge hole down the middle for Vancouver, the defensive presence that Centerman brought was a large part of their championship run last season. A third and fourth is about value assuming Centerman goes up to the SHL next season. If he does not this is a heist by Anchorage, but I can assume there is more knowledge there than I have. I didn’t have Centerman as one of the players I thought would be traded, I assumed it would be Devin Basher (or perhaps Johnny Shuffleboard) but this is a good trade for the Whalers.]
Arkz: Wow that was a long write-up by my guy Shuff there. I can try and sum it up as best I can. Vancouver lost a lot of talent in the offseason, as you would expect from a team stacked with talent that won a cup. The team has battled back a bit, particularly in recent weeks, but this just isn’t a team that’s deep enough to make a deep run. To top that with a trade with Anchorage to pick up some draft capital, and Vancouver seems to know exactly where they stand. Time to retool and reload for hopefully brighter seasons to come.

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8. Carolina Kraken
Previous Rank: 7

Shuff: Defense? Who needs defense? While not giving up goals at a high rate, the Kraken bleed shots and shot attempts. Blunt Man has been truly special this season, and that has kept  the Kraken from being embarrassed too much. They score at around league average, led by Vincent Wolfe and Freyja Hellstom, both with 15 goals and 12 assists. 
Arkz: Carolina finds themselves in a similar spot as Vancouver (though unfortunately without the Cup to show for it) in that they are dealing with big gaps on this lineup due to callups. Still, they have Blunt Man, as skilled a goaltender as there exists in the SMJHL and that makes a huge difference. He’ll keep Carolina in some gaps and maybe allow them to win more than they should, but having already announced his retirement, Carolina will need to find a different answer next season. 

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7. Newfoundland Berserkers
Previous Rank: 10

Shuff: The trade of Liam Slate will likely move the Berserkers down in coming weeks, but they have had a very solid season for a rebuilding team. Outside of Quebec the east has not been special at all, and the Berserkers have been right in the mix. Trading Slate for picks and a prospect is nice and all that, but the Berserkers are officially throwing in the towel on the season. [Update: They traded Niccolo Livius to Anaheim. Livius is a goon of a  RW, that is an interesting deal. A bit of a heist by Newfoundland in my opinion. It will still hurt them a bit this season.]
Arkz: What is this, life in Newfoundland? They’ve managed to climb back a bit, perhaps due to some of the weak teams in their division. Bad luck for Newfoundland (and Carolina) that they are both rebuilding at the same time, as it's basically allowed Quebec City to just feast on these teams. Newfoundland and Carolina will continue to duel for the dubious title of “King of the Trash” in the East all season, and with Newfoundland trading away Slate maybe they are ceding the fight to Carolina. 

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6. Anaheim Outlaws
Previous Rank: 5

Shuff: And now we start talking about the real contenders. We have Anaheim here at six, the lowest of the contenders, and a bit down from last week. It wasn’t a very pretty week for them, losing a bunch of games, and getting slaughtered by Vancouver and Colorado in the process. Their offense feels a bit off right now, over the season it's been very good, but this week it was nothing special, right about even with Colorado, a much more defensive team. Asclepius Perseus Flitter seems to be the only player scoring right now for them, and that is not sustainable. [Update: They have acquired Niccolo Livus from Newfoundland. Livius has seven points with 48 PIM. He will provide a physical presence for them.]
Arkz: As Shuff mentioned, there is a chasm of difference between the bottom half, and top half of the league. The next few teams (minus Anchorage and Quebec City) could honestly be ranked in any order, and it will come down to the last few weeks of the season to see who really stands on top. All of these teams have some defined strengths but also some inconsistencies and can drop games to teams that they really should beat. Anaheim and Colorado still have some questions to answer about their team, and they are running out of time to figure it out. 

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5. Colorado Raptors
Previous Rank: 2

Shuff: Their top line has slowed down a little, but it’s still of the most fearful units to face. They have improved their possession game and that should help them down the stretch. They have a great defense, that is the strength of their team right now, and second year goaltender Yanno Rosejac has been good enough.
Arkz: The Raptors are sliding a bit here, and find themselves in the same neighborhood as Anaheim, which is really not where you want to be if you can help it. Colorado came out of the gate strong, but their recent performances have left a lot to be desired. Still, this is a team that has the potential to be near the top of the league, they just have to figure out how to claw themselves out of the bloodbath that is the West division right now. 

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4. Maine Timber
Previous Rank: 6

Shuff: You know that pretty spot on the corsi graph? Where is the league average corsi against and the league average corsi for cross? Well the Timber are literally on that line, just a tad more corsi for and tad more against. A very league average possession team. Preseason I was worried about the goalkeeping, but Bigga Foryu has been up to the task, with a .920 SV% on the season, on the week he was second among all starting goalkeepers with a .935 SV%. 
Arkz: Maine is a team that I feel should be ranked higher, but I’m not sure I can really make a case for putting them over Kelowna and certainly not Anchorage or Quebec City, so here they go. Aside from Quebec City, Maine is the only team in the East that I think has the capacity to reach the semi-finals, and if that offense in Quebec City hits a skid, maybe they could even steal a series. Maine will continue to feast on the regressing East as the rest of this season goes, and may even finish with the third best record in the league. That’s a good step forward for this crew. 

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3. Kelowna Knights
Previous Rank: 3

Shuff: Wasn’t I just talking about goalkeeping? Well Peter Ramsay just had a week where his save percentage was 94%. That’s incredible. The Knights are riding Ramsay when he is in, and they are doing that well. Damein Vertigo just about splits time with Ramsay, and on the season has been better, but this week it was Ramsay who was the hot hand, Vertigo having about a league average week. They Knights do manage to win for both of them, credit to their offense, Kynwyl Pearce, the leading scorer league wide on the week, seems to have a piece in every Knight goal.
Arkz: Honestly, to me, Kelowna is the most interesting story in the SMJHL this season. This team was dead in the water going into the playoffs last season. But they upset Anaheim and have carried that momentum into this season. The offense has been strong and the goaltending has been a welcome surprise. I still can’t tell you where Kelowna is on a map, but this team could surprise a lot of folks by the time postseason play rolls around. Wait, Kelowna is near Vancouver? Since when? 

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2. Anchorage Armada
Previous Rank: 4

Shuff: Gabe Sucks. Anchorage stands atop the west, and it is due to their great job in keeping pucks out of the net. Tendy has a .925 SV% on the season, and was right about there this week. Their possession game is superb, they actually had better possession numbers this week than Quebec. [Update: They have acquired Dee Centerman IV from Vancouver. Centerman has great possession stats, and a nice bunch of assists. Centerman will provide a veteran presence down the middle for Anchorage, and a great PKer as well.]
Arkz: If not for Quebec City, Anchorage would be grabbing all the headlines. This is a team that feels confident in their chances to get a Cup this season, as seen by their trade for rental Dee Centerman IV. Lost in all the Quebec City hype, Anchorage is having a tremendously strong season and might even be the better team over Quebec City. 


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1. Quebec City Citadelles
Previous Rank: 1

Shuff: Cits are the league's best team and that really hasn’t been in doubt all season. They have been at one for two straight weeks, and now adding Liam Slate their offense gets even better. They do not have an elite defense or goaltender, so this team can actually get even better which is crazy enough to imagine. 
Arkz: Well, this is what happens when you have a tremendous team and almost every other team in your division is a dumpster fire. Quebec City’s offense is the story for this team, as they almost score a preposterous 4 goals a game. Still, they’ll play Anchorage a handful of times to end the season, which should be a preview of what is to come in the playoffs. Maybe even the Cup final. 

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And that's it everyone! We're going to see if we can get another updated Power Ranking to you all this week, but until then also happy for feedback, questions, complaints, and other recipes to share below. Thanks for reading!

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Please split between @Arkz and @mee.

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#2

#Killowna
Knights

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Knights|Dragons|Austria
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#3

#Killowna

Let's go Knoots!

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#4

This was in no way delayed a week to get the 2x media. For sure not.

Class S55
Reincarnated- Class S71

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#5

Timber Timber Timber Timber
Yeah Ill take 4th. Go Timber!

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