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(GRADED) Deep Dive #2: Wollker Division Preseason Thoughts, Pt 2
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(This post was last modified: 01-17-2022, 05:28 AM by Opera_Phantom.)

What’s the average time between deep dives? I thought about waiting to put this one out for a day or two, but I couldn’t help myself. The Wollker division is just too exciting! After highlighting the top two performances of the preseason, I’m here to tell you why you can’t sleep on anyone in this division!

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Team 3: The Anchorage Armada

Third? The fabled “boat team” is sitting in third? Well, not so fast, naysayers. Armada fans can relax a bit, because while the boats are sitting in the bottom half of the division after a seven game preseason, third place in this division also happens to be third place in the SMJHL. Anchorage enters the regular season with the 5th best offense in the league, scoring an average of 2.73 goals per game, and letting in only 1.73 (third in the league, and you already know who’s ahead of them). While strong at even strength, it was special teams play that let the Armada down in the preseason, scoring only one goal on the powerplay over seven games. After losing several players to the SHL, Anchorage has only three players over 400 TPE, and will rely heavily on wingers Jarrow and Koivu for their scoring, along with Cup Noodle on defense. Despite the clear need for defensemen and a starting goaltender, the Armada picked up three forwards in the rookie draft, and will rely on high-scoring games to keep up in the standings.

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The Armada’s preseason offense came, as expected, from their forwards, with Johnny Jackson and Alf Magnusson netting six points, and winger Paul Koivu leading the team with three goals. While Anchorage didn’t have any point-per-game players in the preseason, they did spread the offense effectively, with only three players failing to register a point. Those players? Rookies Red Kirkby, Lord Zomp and Jarvis Jenkins. It’s not uncommon for rookies to struggle in the preseason, and throughout their first year, but it’s still a concern the Armada will need to address if they want to live up to the high expectations that always surround a team of their historic caliber.

Team 4: The Anaheim Outlaws

The bad news? The Outlaws are in last place in the division. The good news? They’re still .500 on the preseason, and 8th in the league overall. In a weaker division, we’d be raving on their potential, but such is the fickle nature of seeding in this league. You shouldn’t sleep on Anaheim, though, and their roster is full of talent, especially at forward, with three fully capped players and loads of depth. Anaheim focused on defense in the draft, picking up Robert Bergen and Michael Charles to hold the blue line alongside Enes Gündoğan between the pipes, and they followed up a strong draft by picking up UDFA Daniel Benson at center, a position that’s always in demand.

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So what went wrong for Anaheim in the preseason, and what went right? 8th in scoring, the Outlaws averaged 2.24 goals per game, and let in 2.76 (also 8th). Special teams defined the team’s performance, though, as they racked up 49 penalty minutes, the highest of their division and third highest overall, while leading the league in powerplay goals with six over seven games. Forwards Stephan Gill and Lesgo Brandon led the team in points, but it was defenseman Doug Glatt who found the back of the net the most for the Outlaws, scoring four goals. In net, rookie goaltender Gündoğan struggled, playing all seven games with a save percentage of .898 and allowing an average of 3.11 goals per game. The blame wasn’t all on the goalie, though, and Anaheim will need to focus on discipline and defense if they want to claw their way back to contention in a division stacked with talent. In the Wollker division, all things are possible, and nothing is guaranteed.

Good luck to all in the regular season!

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Approved!

+5 TPE @RAmenAmen
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