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Regression applied, but not regressing Buffalo thundering forward
#1

The offseason has just begun, and already the Buffalo Stampede are poised to perform better than they did last year.

Regression hits hard, and as the legendary Season 31 draft class begins their slow descent, a lot of teams around the league find themselves taking steps in the wrong direction as the centerpieces of the franchise begin losing a step. Buffalo is not one of those teams. Only Toronto and Seattle can boast having lost less talent in the recent regression announcement. Of course, failing to regress doesn’t make your team a playoff contender on it’s own. You have to actually get better. Fortunately, the Stampede have done just that.

Thus far, Buffalo has yet to sign any free agents, yet they have already added significant talent to their roster. In Season 41, Dermot Lavelle will play his rookie season in Buffalo. Look for him in rookie of the year tracking. He will be a contender. The newly called-up center marks the last of the Stampede’s Season 38 draft class. League-wide, it may not have looked like a remarkable group. For Buffalo, however, it was a strong start to what is on the verge of becoming a league-dominating pack. Let’s take a look:

Nico Gross (<a href='index.php?showuser=21' rel='nofollow' alt='profile link' class='user-tagged mgroup-3'>Brandon</a>): Drafted 6th overall. 660 TPE. You may remember Gross from my recent article on hit efficiency. Despite being a rookie last season, Gross was one of the top 10 cleanest hitters in the league, dishing out punishment left and right without taking the hits or penalties a lot of other enforcers wind up with.

Kevin Hamilton (me): Drafted 11th overall. 848 TPE. You guys know my stats as I write about them and how they aren’t as pathetic as the look approximately 27 times per season. This will be the season my initially horrible build comes together and produces.

Dermot Lavelle (<a href='index.php?showuser=2815' rel='nofollow' alt='profile link' class='user-tagged mgroup-17'>White Cornerback</a>): Drafted 12th overall. 771 TPE. Having been capped at 350 until now, Dermot still has a lot of TPE waiting on claims (and gear to buy, which he has the money for), so expect a big jump from him in the next week now that his new TPE will matter (EDIT: He is already at 811 without gear). He’ll be playing center on the second line.

T.J. Bayley (<a href='index.php?showuser=454' rel='nofollow' alt='profile link' class='user-tagged mgroup-3'>Panda</a>): Drafted 21st overall. 752 TPE. Possibly the biggest steal of the draft, and of course it went to a team already doing a great job of loading up on talent. Bayley was a contender for rookie of the year in S39, despite being an S38 player, but lost to someone who’d had more time to build up before leaving the SMJHL. Bayley has been great for Buffalo for two major reasons. 1) a nose for the goal that has propelled Bayley to the top line, and 2) a remarkably team-friendly deal allowing Finn to keep this amazing group together.

Quick Mafs <a href='index.php?showuser=2789' rel='nofollow' alt='profile link' class='user-tagged mgroup-54'>Rindiee</a>): Drafted 26th overall. 454 TPE. Despite having the worst group of forwards in the league at the time, Finn realized that eventually the defense would need fresh talent as well. Mafs has been solid depth on what is genuinely one of the best defenses in the league (though in the past the forwards were so bad it didn’t matter).

Coming up this year will be S40 1stOA Connor MacGregor, who will be anchoring a MUCH-improved 3rd line of forwards that might very well be the best 3rd line in the league.

Between call-ups and earned TPE, the Buffalo Stampede have not only ALREADY made up what was lost in regression, but have already made it all up AND added about another 500 TPE on top of it. As if that isn’t impressive enough, the addition of new call-ups has allowed the Stampede to re-shuffle some of their players, improving what has been their biggest weakness. In S40, Eduard Selich, Buffalo’s second-best forward, played second line, since the Stampede lacked a forward who could fill the center role passably enough. With Lavelle now able to take over that responsibility, Selich was able have all of his regression taken from that role, making him a solid top line winger. So despite the slight regression of franchise all-star Alexis Metzler, the combination Buffalo’s top 5 skaters has improved by 357 TPE already.

Is Buffalo a contender? Probably not, at least not yet. Despite the improvement to the top line, it is still one of the weakest top lines in the league. With their top tier defense and impressive depth, though, expect to see them win more than their share of overtime games. Right now, Buffalo looks to be #5 in the East, and probably #11 in the league. Still, with a great haul in S38, followed by 3 straight years of first overall picks without being the worst team in any of the preceding seasons, the Stampede are getting ready to trample. If you are a top-notch forward looking to make an impact, this is the place to do it. In a few more years, though, we’ll be one of the best teams in the league even without free agents.
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#2

Missed opportunity to say Buffalo stampeding forward

smh

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#3

Quote:Originally posted by JumpierPegasus@May 9 2018, 09:31 AM
Missed opportunity to say Buffalo stampeding forward

smh

Dammit. I thought about it, but was like "nah, too obvious." Regretting it now.
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#4

Your 3rd line can't hang with the Glamour Line pshhhh

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Prince George Firebirds GM (S34-S36)
Toronto North Stars GM (S37-S43)
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#5

Tigole Bitties and Theo Kane have something to say to you about top tier third lines. :eyes:

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#6

<a href='index.php?showuser=2458' rel='nofollow' alt='profile link' class='user-tagged mgroup-13'>Symmetrik</a> and <a href='index.php?showuser=2761' rel='nofollow' alt='profile link' class='user-tagged mgroup-10'>Keygan</a>, I really wish we could do specific game strategies, because it would be so much fun to put the 3rd liners with top line minutes for those games.
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#7

Still won’t surpass last year’s Jets 3rd line, which had like 1000 TPE average Wink

Buffalo might be a decent shout to sneak in the playoffs though, real talk.

#GOJETSGO
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S32 SHL Draft No. 1 Overall

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Max Weber || D#39 || Portland Admirals/Winnipeg Jets ||
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#8

Thanks for the mention <a href='index.php?showuser=2793' rel='nofollow' alt='profile link' class='user-tagged mgroup-3'>kckolbe</a>

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Thank you OrbitingDeath! <3
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#9

Stampede on the come up

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