Login

Randominoe · 11-22-2022, 12:27 PM

In this season's deep dives, I will be evaluating and presenting the two teams that I expect to be competing for this season's four-star cup by the season's end. The first of the two teams that I believe have what it takes to win it all this season is the Carolina Kraken. This is exemplified by the fact they just finished the first day of the preseason with a flawless record through three games.

The SMJHL rulebook dictates that a minimum of 2 goalies and 15 skaters must be dressed, this typically results in teams lining up three forward lines and defensive pairs. Therefore, in this analysis of the Kraken's on-ice strength relative to the rest of the league, I will present the average applied TPE of the top nine forwards, their top six defencemen, as well as their goaltender tandem.

Starting with their forwards, Carolina has 13 players under team control, and this results in them having the strongest assembly up-front of any team in the league for S68. Their top-9 forwards have an average applied TPE of 378, which is surprisingly above the 350 cap for first and second-year players. This suggests that a significant number of their forwards are in their third and fourth seasons of Junior hockey and poised to be significant contributors as the Kraken seek Four-Star glory.

Moving backward, Carolina has just 5 players under contract at either right or left defense, leaving them rather shorthanded on the blueline. We will include the next highest forward to round out the average of applied TPE for the defencemen, which is actually 283 TPE, ranking them much lower than their first-overall placement upfront. If the Kraken are serious about their chances to become the SMJHL champions by season's end, then they may need to make a trade for a contributing defenceman to get that done.

Meanwhile, between the pipes, they have a relatively weak tandem of Otter Von Bismarck and James Lao, with the former serving as the starter and the latter as the backup. 274 TPE for a starter is absolutely below-average for the SMJHL this season, and their backup is fresh off being drafted and looks to be remaining at base TPE for the entirety of the season and their career.

Another aspect of this analysis of contending teams will be their growth potential since meaningful games are still weeks away with tons of development still to be had especially for the younger players. When we consider the Kraken roster and the players we've included in this analysis thus far, there are three rookies who are so far showing potential to grow into more significant contributors by the time playoffs roll around. That fact could improve the lackluster average applied TPE for the defensemen by 5-10 points, still leaving it below average in my opinion. Early signs point to a severe lack of growth potential for the goaltenders, and most of the forwards have reached the peak of their growth at the junior level, so don't expect to see any gains in that regard.

510 Words

*CptSquall* · 11-24-2022, 08:41 AM

Approved, +5 TPE to @Randominoe

Navigation

Extra Menu

About us