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*thedangazone* · 10-28-2023, 06:43 AM

So this season's leaders are pretty close for the most part and one could make a fair argument for any number of about 6 different skaters based on their point totals for the season. I'm going to focus on the 2 who are just that small cut above the rest in Thomas Sawschuk and Jeff Hunziker. With 97 and 98 points respectively at this time each one is just playing at insane level. With 2-3 games to go depending on which, they both have a legit shot at 100 points as well and I think they will do it. Sawschuk while having 1 fewer point does have a much better +/- which I know is a team state, but, it also shows that his line is trying a little harder on defense overall. I also think there could be 1 goalie in the conversation here where most people forget about goalies. Scary Jerry for Vancouver right now has a 2.53 GAA and a .918 sv% which is well above everyone else in the league and it's not even close. While he's only 3 wins behind the leader in wins this season he's gotten his with 11 fewer games played and could still catch up there too if given the starts to end the season.

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Cobbenstein · 10-28-2023, 08:56 AM

The Ideen Fallah Trophy for SMJHL MVP can go to any number of players for their outstanding seasons in S72. The obvious first pick would be the league leader in points, Jeff Hunziker of the Quebec City Citadelles. Putting up 98 points through 64 games is no small feat. The next closest Citadelles player is Celeste Desjardins with 84 points. The 14 point gap betweens them shows how much of a play driver Hunziker has been this season for Quebec. When considering a league MVP I like to look at both sides of the ice when evaluating forwards and leads me to my favorite candidate for the Ideen this season. I believe the proper candidate is Thomas Sawschuk of the Nevada Battle Born. Coming at 97 points only 1 point behind Hunziker its obvious they are equals on an offensive front. The real difference maker that puts Sawschuk over the top for me is the 3:13 of average short handed time he plays. It's nearly a minute more on average than Hunziker meaning that Nevada relies heavily on Sawschuk not just to score but to defend as well. I believe a true league MVP has to play both sides of the puck to be considered the most valued.

unconfident69 · 10-28-2023, 04:02 PM

https://probaseballexperience.jcink.net/...ntry645721

*NaomiMannequeen* · 10-28-2023, 10:10 PM

It's honestly very hard to officially determine who should win League MVP. With many players going above and beyond to try to help their teams get a head start towards the Four Star Cup and only one being allowed to have the luxury of being called the League's Most Valuable Player, the award is coveted by many and all. From offensive talents like Tomas Sawschuk from the Battleborn, Jeff Hunzicker from the Citadelles or Lily Jin Morrow and Inactive Forever from the Whalers to defensive walls like Nik Smith from the Raptors or Bog Damsel from the Scarecrows to even the netminders who save their team's ass all the time like Stun Gun from the Armada or Scary Jerry and Joulu Kuusi from the Whalers again, many people are worthy of winning the MVP title.

But in my mind, no one is more deserving than the player who leads their team with the intangibles. A rallying force in what was supposed to be an incredibly dark time for Québec City, Net Man was more than capable of mentoring the rookies of his team to being incredible producers like Céleste Desjardins who had an incredible rookie campaign of 87 points, or making them defensive stalwarts like Leo Roze who finished tied for 8th in blocked shots as a rookie. He was also able to motivate some of the older players like Jeff Hunziker, the first player to reach 100 points in QCC history and Ryland Murphy who just broke the QCC single season assist record. If the MVP isn't someone who creates more MVP candidates, I don't know who is.

*kenvald* · 10-29-2023, 12:32 PM

The obvious first statistic the award committee and people in general look at is points. So if we look at the leaderboards we see the following four players leading the league in scoring: Jeff Hunziker, Thomas Sawschuk, Erik Erikson, and Shootin Blanks. The last two being tied for 3rd place.

But something that we should also look for is just how well these players played compared to the rest of their team and their team's situation. Was someone the sole reason enabling their team to reach their team's place in the standings?

And among our four players one stand out above the rest when compared against their own teams: Thomas Sawschuk. While almost all of them were involved in more than 1/3 of their teams' goals this season. Comparing Thomas against the other three top scorers, we get this list of top-4 team goal contributors:

1. Thomas Sawschuk, 37.6%
2. Jeff Hunziker, 36.5%
3. Erik Erikson, 35.5%
4. Shootin Blanks, 32.1%

So I believe the top three players in this list, are most likely to be considered for the award. And Thomas is expected to be the winner.

Mazatt · 10-29-2023, 03:05 PM

Thus far we've got a pretty simple criteria for MVP: points. Slight bias for goals, but let's just go top 3 in points. With the tie-breaker being goals we have;
Jeff Hunziker
Thomas Sawchuk
Shootin Blanks

However, Blanks tied with Erikson. So, how do we figure out who gets the final spot? Let's throw VINSen in for fun here and go to some advanced stats. For starts, RelCF% related to the team. For me personally I feel MVP denotes importance to the team themselves on top of outstanding performance on a league-wide scale, and getting a look at the support in place can help determine the most impressive performance. So for example, Hunziker is a front runner but with CF and FF rel%, they rank 2nd and 5th on the roster respectively. It paints the picture that Quebec City's success this season has come through a team game and Hunziker has been the primary beneficiary.

So;
Shootin Blanks comes in with 2.7% CFRel & 1.6% FFrel, 1st and 3rd respectively
Erik Erikson comes in with .3% CFRel & -1% FFrel, 7th and 13th respectively
Aksel VINSen comes in with 8.8% CFRel & 8.9% FFrel, 2nd and 3rd respectively

This paints an interesting picture. VINSen has the highest relative %'s standalone and is essentially ranked the same as Blanks. However, there is a major component to consider before claiming VINSen is in the top 3 for MVP with Sawchuk and Hunziker--Sawchuk and VINSen are on the same team. This leads to a more interpretive, personal question that gets asked alot in real life. Can someone be a top MVP vote-getter if their teammate is the front-runner? To me it depends on proximity to the candidate themselves. So if they are on the same line and benefit mutually, it feels right that one player sees the votes funnelled to them. But if they are on two separate lines that drive the success of a team I find it completely fair to view them as unrelated successes that happened to occur on the same team.

In the case of Nevada, only 5 players have a positive CF and FF Rel% and with most of the team being under 50% there is a strong case to be made that the top line and pairing have carried Nevada. With that in mind, Sawchuk and VINSen were both on that top line which has us coming away with the same conclusion as before--just with an order adjustment.

Thomas Sawchuk
Jeff Hunziker
Shootin Blanks

With the advanced stats taken into consideration, Sawchuk is the clear top candidate, Hunziker's scoring still holds them in 2nd place, and finally, Blanks takes 3rd place off of strong relative performance to their team, and VINSen's proximity to Sawchuk.

Tsunny · 10-29-2023, 05:40 PM

It is safe to say that there are many players who have done a fantastic job and deserves a shoutout for the MVP award. As such it is hard to list all the players who deserves a chance but in my oppinion the following players are definitely in the run for the MVP award.

1.: Based solely on numbers i feel like there is not many players more deserving than Inactive Forever from the Whalers as he is having a very impressive season and is one of the main contributer in Vancouver's title run.

2.: Another player on Vancouver's roster who's having a fantastic season is Lily Jin Morrow who is not far behind Inactive Forever when it comes to points earned for Vancouver.

3.: When it comes to the rookies drafted this season it is hard to argue that anyone's having a better season than Quebec City Citadelles rookie Celeste Desjardins. Of course they are not the one with the most points earned for Quebec but they are definitely the best out of the rookies as such deserves a chance for the award.

Arctic · 10-29-2023, 09:59 PM

Inactive Forever is certainly an MVP candidate to look at. The winger is leading the top team in points and is second in hits, and surprisingly only 18 penalty minutes while playing 20 minutes a game. I was torn between mentioning Forever or Lily Jin Morrow, but I gave Forever the nod due to his insane 5.6% CF% relative, which is a whopping 2.2% higher than the next player on the Whalers. As a Battleborn faithful, of course I have to nominate center Thomas Sawschuk! Sawschuk ended the season ranked 2nd in overall points, with a crazy 8.8% CF relative. The entire Nevada top line was amazing this season, and helped the team outperform expectations, but Sawschuk was the glue that held it together. Rounding out my MVP candidates is the man who led the league in not only points, but also goals scored, Jeff Hunziker. The third year player had a total breakout season with 52 goals and 51 assists.

***SpartanGibbles*** · 10-29-2023, 10:28 PM

I think that there are several outstanding candidates for this season's Most Valuable Player award. Some seasons we see a single player dominate the league and make the choice easy, but I think this season will be far more open to interpretation. Two obvious picks are Jeff Huniziker and Thomas Sawschuk who were the only skaters to cross over the 100 point mark. There's also the Shot Blocking giants Nik Smith and Boho Biscuit who posted a high amount of defensive ability and saved their netminders. Between the pipes you could also make an argument with Scary Jerry who stood above the rest of the leagues goalies in multiple categories. If you view hits as an important criteria for team performance then Ryland Murphy would be the obvious choice for voters. Johhny Shuffleboard and I-Stir My Pudding were at the top of the league in takeaways with generous ratios that spell team success. Or maybe Schnopple Lopple who had the most time on ice was the MVP.

vic03 · 10-29-2023, 11:23 PM

I think it’s important to differentiate “most valuable” and “best”. I don’t care who the best is, who is the person who is needed the most on a team. My answer to that question, and my answer as clear MVP is NET MAN! What a legend. He has singlehandley given the QCC rookies something to fight for. If QCC didn’t have Net Man and his so called “cult” (defamation lawsuit currently in the works btw) would QCC even had made the playoffs? I’m not sure. His sheer presence has made everyone else around him better. No one on any other team has the impact that Net Man has for QCC, therefore it makes him the most valuable.

If we’re going off “best” though I’m going with another QCC player, Jeff Hunziker is a beast. Leads the league in goals and points at the end of the regular season, hard to think another skater would take the award from him.

UberBJ · 10-29-2023, 11:24 PM

There is only one player who could realistically be the SMJHL MVP. He is a man borne from the streets. Taught by the rabid dogs of the vacated alleyways. Fed off the blood of the innocent who got lost on their tourist vacation. I am, of course, talking about Gewmba Stolemahmoney.

The Center turned Goalie turned eventual Center has show the utmost of skill and flexibility when he joined the league. Noticing they lacked active Goalies, he answered the call from the sounding gjallahorn. He threw down his stick and stripped off his pads in a mighty flourish, and donned the goalie helm and blocker pad with gusto. His crowning glory was being drafted and then deciding to become the greatest Goalie in all the land. Or at least in his apartment.

All that aside, he's played pretty good and should get a special award, even if its not MVP, for playing as a goalie willingly for a season. While he will be transitioning to Center in the upcoming offseason, he hopes to have set some records in career percentages during his time in between the pipes.

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caltroit_red_flames · 10-29-2023, 11:44 PM

PBE PT

locrianmidwest · 10-30-2023, 12:23 AM

The S73 SMJHL season has wrapped up, and what better way to celebrate than to bicker endlessly about the league’s best? Here are my personal hat-in-the-ring picks for league MVP. If we’re like real world sportswriters and league MVP goes to the best offensive player then look no further than Citadelles darling Jeff Hunziker. An absolute offensive menace, leading the league in points (103) and goals (52). Jeff is also the only player to get both 50 goals/assists and did it on non-insane shooting percentage too! If you’re of the kind that defense wins championships, it’s a bit more complicated. As for me I’ve gotta go with Colorado’s Nik Smith. The Raptors may not be making noise in the postseason, but Smith had a season to be proud of, racking up an astonishing 295 blocks, 78/12 TA/GA, and 33 assists! And if you’re a goalie sicko? Enter Vancouver’s very own Scary Jerry, just in time for Halloween! A lot of the goalies in the J with a lot of playtime tend to have middling to low save percentage. Not Jerry. Leading the league with a .918 save percentage, 4 shutouts, and 2.49 GAA, he damn near Cask of Amontillado’s the net with the way he creates an unbreakable wall in front of net. If you don’t want any of that criteria? Got nothing for ya, head back to camp. Surrender

Randominoe · 10-30-2023, 02:08 AM

While there have been some incredible individual performances in this 74th iteration of the SMJHL, it cannot be argued that Vancouver has been the most dominant on-ice team and is the current favorites for the four-star championship. Therefore, two of my three nominations for MVP come from that team with Inactive Forever and Lily Jin Morrow. These two players were heads and shoulders over their whaling compadres in terms of point production and are significantly impactful as to why the Whalers are at the top of the pile after 66 games. Beyond these incredible team-oriented stars for the west-coast team, we have the runner-up for the goal-scoring award in Shootin Blanks. This player was among team leaders for the Maine Timber in scoring goals and assists and if the team wants any chance of knocking down the Whalers then their offense will need to continue exploiting Blanks’ strengths as often as possible.

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