Today in this deep dive I am going to discuss the Carolina Kraken, last season the Carolina Kraken were only good enough for 10th place in the league out of the 14 teams playing, the league has since increased now up to 16 teams in season 76 but the Kraken have also improved a whole lot more in the quality of the team. In season 75 the Kraken had a total of 29 wins, 6 OTL, and 64 points. We are currently 33 games into season 76 and the Carolina Kraken have 24 wins, 2 OTL, and 50 points, only 14 points shy of the end of last season. Carolina finds themselves atop the Southern Conference with a five point lead and 3 games in hand on the second place Maine Timber, who found themselves as one of the bridesmaids of the playoffs losing in round 3 to the newfoundland berserkers. At the current rate the Carolina Kraken are expected to finish second in the league and first in their conference. So what has changed since last season with them? The team actually lost their two leading scorers from season 75 as Betzee Nickelback and Corn O Cob are no longer with the team, you will also notice that Rence Sykut has since moved on as well, normally when you lose three out of your top four scoring skaters your team would get worse, but for the Kraken they went the other direction. The development of Jack Keigan, Roger Murdock, Jamie Frasier, Walter Melon, and the addition of Swedish Chef have really made the team rise above the rest. Swedish Chef is in his first season in the league and yet he's 5th in scoring on the team with 35 points and 33 games, for the young rookie this is quite the feat. I think the biggest reason for improvement though is the fact that the team now has a higher percentage of players at the 425 cap, one player that is now between 350 and 425 and gaining TPE, and three other players at the 350 cap. Combine that with some over performing rookies and you have a team that seems to be playing close to their peak performance. At the halfway point in the season I am extremely optimistic on the chances that the Carolina Kraken will be near the top of the playoffs, very likely making it to the finals and possibly even winning a four star cup this year. From the perspective of Swedish Chef, Carolina was really one of the best possible locations that he could have landed given that he was expected to be taken in the top five and most other teams in that range are no where near Carolina in the standings. Having an immediate chance at being the top seed in the conference for the playoffs it's an amazing opportunity, one that it doesn't seem Swedish Chef is going to squander by playing subpar hockey. You might say that the chef is really cooking something up, or as he likes to say "bork, bork, bork".

Luc Blouin || RD || Philly Forge || PEAK TPE 2011
Age: 27
Height: 6'5"
Weight: 225 lbs
Number: 42
------------------------------------------------------------
Career Stats:
S56 VAN(Jr) GP: 4 G: 0 A: 0 P: 0 +/-: +2 PIM: 0 HIT: 3
S57 DET(Jr) GP: 66 G: 6 A: 21 P: 27 +/-: -6 PIM: 28 HIT: 37
S58 DET(Jr) GP: 66 G: 6 A: 24 P: 30 +/-: +30 PIM: 30 HIT: 16
S59 DET(Jr) GP: 66 G: 8 A: 25 P: 33 +/-: +19 PIM: 18 HIT: 52
S60 DET/VAN(Jr) GP: 66 G: 9 A: 26 P: 35 +/-: +25 PIM: 14 HIT: 46
------------------------------------------------------------
Transactions:
S56: Signed as a Draftee Free Agent by the Vancouver Whalers
S57: Drafted 2nd Overall by the Detroit Falcons
S58: Drafted 1st Overall by the Tampa Bay Barracuda
------------------------------------------------------------
Awards:
S56: Four Star Cup (Vancouver Whalers)
S57: WJC Silver Metal (Team Sweden)
S59: Zach Miller Trophy (Most Dedicated SMJHL)
S59: Alexis Metzler Trophy (Best Defensive Defenseman SMJHL)
S59: WJC Bronze Medal (Team World)


Robert Phelps || C || Hamilton Steelhawks || Retired
Age: Old
Height: 6'3"
Weight: 210 lbs
Number: 52
------------------------------------------------------------
Career Stats:
S34 VAN(SMJHL) GP: 50 G: 10 A: 22 P: 32 +/-: -17 PIM: 29 HIT: 63
S35 VAN(SMJHL) GP: 50 G: 11 A: 28 P: 39 +/-: 20 PIM: 39 HIT: 76
S36 VAN(SMJHL) GP: 50 G: 11 A: 26 P: 37 +/-: -3 PIM: 59 HIT: 85
S37 HAM GP: 50 G: 18 A: 26 P: 44 +/-: -7 PIM: 29 HIT: 36
S38 HAM GP: 50 G: 14 A: 30 P: 44 +/-: 7 PIM: 0 HIT: 17
S39 HAM GP: 50 G: 18 A: 27 P: 45 +/-: 16 PIM: 40 HIT: 27
S40 HAM GP: 50 G: 10 A: 33 P: 43 +/-: 9 PIM: 10 HIT: 49
S41 HAM GP: 50 G: 22 A: 36 P: 58 +/-: 15 PIM: 19 HIT: 62
S42 HAM GP: 50 G: 14 A: 28 P: 42 +/-: 8 PIM: 34 HIT: 100
S43 HAM GP: 50 G: 23 A: 29 P: 52 +/-: 3 PIM: 50 HIT: 96
S44 HAM GP: 50 G: 16 A: 30 P: 46 +/-: -7 PIM: 14 HIT: 73
S45 HAM GP: 50 G: 21 A: 27 P: 48 +/-: 5 PIM: 24 HIT: 140
S46 HAM GP: 50 G: 21 A: 32 P: 53 +/-: 16 PIM: 33 HIT: 159
S47 HAM GP: 50 G: 23 A: 21 P: 44 +/-: 2 PIM: 30 HIT: 114
S48 HAM GP: 50 G: 18 A: 27 P: 45 +/-: -7 PIM: 34 HIT: 159
S49 HAM GP: 50 G: 19 A: 32 P: 51 +/-: -2 PIM: 53 HIT: 155
S50 HAM GP: 50 G: 20 A: 35 P: 55 +/-: 10 PIM: 14 HIT: 88
S51 HAM GP: 50 G: 23 A: 37 P: 60 +/-: 13 PIM: 50 HIT: 86
S52 HAM GP: 50 G: 17 A: 32 P: 49 +/-: 18 PIM: 27 HIT: 56
S53 HAM GP: 50 G: 25 A: 37 P: 62 +/-: 37 PIM: 26 HIT: 47
S54 HAM GP: 50 G: 33 A: 32 P: 65 +/-: 35 PIM: 12 HIT: 60
S55 HAM GP: 50 G: 22 A: 21 P: 43 +/-: 25 PIM: 31 HIT: 26
S56 HAM GP: 50 G: 14 A: 25 P: 39 +/-: 35 PIM: 4 HIT: 36
------------------------------------------------------------
Transactions:
S34: Drafted 1st in the SMJHL Draft by Vancouver Whalers
S34: Awarded the position of Alternate Captain for VAN
S35: Drafted 1st in the SHL Draft by Hamilton Steelhawks
S38: Awarded the position of Alternate Captain for HAM
S39: Awarded the position of Captain for HAM
------------------------------------------------------------
Awards:
S34: Zach Milller Trophy (Most Dedicated SMJHL)
S35: Four Star Cup (Vancouver Whalers)
S35: Occasus Trophy (Vancouver Whalers)
S36: Four Star Cup (Vancouver Whalers)
S36: Laurifer Trophy (Vancouver Whalers)
S36: Occasus Trophy (Vancouver Whalers)
S37: Ryan Jesster Trophy (SHL Rookie of the Year)
S37: Rookie Team All-Star
S38: IIHF Bronze Medal (Team Canada)
S39: President's Trophy (Hamilton Steelhawks)
S39: IIHF Gold Medal (Team Canada)
S41: Damien Littleton Award (Most Dedicated SHL)
S42: President's Trophy (Hamilton Steelhawks)
S42: IIHF Silver Medal (Team Canada)
S50: IIHF Bronze Medal (Team Canada)
S50: 2nd Team All-Star
S51: 2nd Team All-Star
S51: Matthias Chouinard Trophy (Hamilton Steelhawks)
S51: Challenge Cup Champion (Hamilton Steelhawks)
S53: 2nd Team All-Star
S53: Matthias Chouinard Trophy (Hamilton Steelhawks)
S53: Challenge Cup Champion (Hamilton Steelhawks)
S54: Matthias Chouinard Trophy (Hamilton Steelhawks)
S54: IIHF Gold Medal (Team Canada)
S54: 3rd Team All-Star


Teddy Phelps || Former GM || Hamilton / Vancouver / Canada
------------------------------------------------------------
Transactions:
S35: Hired as Adviser for the Vancouver Whalers
S35: Hired as Federation Head of Team Canada
S36: Hired as Co-GM of the Vancouver Whalers
S37: Hired as GM of the Vancouver Whalers
S40: Stepped down as Head of Team Canada
S42: Stepped down as GM of the Vancouver Whalers
S42: Hired as GM of the Hamilton Steelhawks
S45: Stepped down as GM of the Hamilton Steelhawks
------------------------------------------------------------
Awards:
S35: Four Star Cup (Vancouver Whalers)
S35: Occasus Trophy (Vancouver Whalers)
S36: Four Star Cup (Vancouver Whalers)
S36: Laurifer Trophy (Vancouver Whalers)
S36: Occasus Trophy (Vancouver Whalers)
S36: Bronze Medal (Team Canada)
S38: Bronze Medal (Team Canada)
S39: Gold Medal (Team Canada)
S39: Occasus Trophy (Vancouver Whalers)
S41: Laurifer Trophy (Vancouver Whalers)
S41: Mathias Chouinard Award (Top SMJHL GM)
S42: Lance Uppercut Award (Top SHL GM)

 |  

we got the chef and we’ve been cooking<3

Betzee Nickelback | C | Carolina | Manhattan | Great Britain | S72 - | 1055 TPE

Height: 6'5

Weight: 245 lbs

Number: 22

-------------

(S72) Drafted 18th Overall by the Carolina Kraken

(S73) Drafted 2nd Overall by the Manhattan Rage

-------------

Career Highlights

S73 - CAR - Named Alternate Captain

S73 - SMJHL - All-Star Team

S73 - CAR - Slothface Leadership Award

S73 - CAR - Jordan Nugent Hall Award (Most Dedicated Player) 

S73 - CAR - Kurtis Hunter Award (Team's Choice MVP 

S73 - SMJHL - Zach Miller Award Winner (Most Dedicated User) 

S73 - SHL - Damian Littleton Award Winner (Most Dedicated User) 

S74 - CAR - Named Alternate Captain 

S74 - SMJHL - All-Star Team 

S75 - CAR - Named Captain