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Word Count: 2,100.... ready for grading

The mid-season version of Something Positive About Every Team. Each team was sitting at 24 games played when this article was written. Pre-season version.

Calgary Dragons
Powerplay Calgary’s powerplay is top of the league at 26.56%.  Four different Dragons have 3 goals on the powerplay, Casey Creller, Adam Kaiser, Joe Kurczewski and Mikle Izzy. They are helped out by Shooter McGavin who has 6 assists on the powerplay. Their powerplay is so good that despite having the 2 worst penalty kill at 77.61%, their combined Powerplay and Penalty Kill is 4th in the league at 104.17%. This powerplay has the Dragons with the t-4th (EDM) best record in the SHL, and tied for second in the West. The Dragons are sitting at 14-8-2 for 30 points. In the pre-season take, it was noted that Mike Izzy and Roman Augustus were keeping the Dragons in the race for 1st seed of the Western Conference. That remains true, but others are playing contributing roles as well.

Edmonton Blizzard
Oisin Fletcher, Scoring, and Special Teams Edmonton has a lot going for them: star forward Oisin Fletcher is tied for leading scorer with 30 points in 24 games, the team is first in Goals For, averaging 3.71 goals per game, 89 goals in 24 games, and leading the combined Powerplay+Penalty Kill stat  with 108.10%. In addition to being 1st in Penalty Kill% with 84.29%, their Powerplay is 4th best at 23.81%. This stellar Special Teams play and top of the league scoring, led by Oisin Fletcher, is the reason the Blizzard are tied with Calgary for 4th. In the pre-season take, Oisin Fletcher and Cory Knouse stood out as the positives for Edmonton. Fletcher remains a big positive and is helping ensure that The Blizzard return to post-season glory.

Los Angeles Panthers
Best in the West After the first 24 games of the season, the Panthers have a 15-7-2 record for 32 points, best in the West, and third best record overall. The Panthers are led in scoring by Sophia Bennett with 12 goals, 16 assists, 28 points; tied for third in the league. Defenseman James Johnson is poised to have a breakout seasons with 5 goals in the first 24 games, last season Johnson scored 7 goals in 50 games played. Johnson’s shooting percentage is quite high at 16.67%, 5th best in the league. The pre-season take had the Panther's "best record in the league" as their biggest positive. This doesn't remain constant at mid season, thanks to some Eastern teams outperforming them. Panthers have been playing really well lately and can possibly see themselves with the best record at the end of season take.

San Francisco Pride
Hitting and Leshaun King San Francisco leads the SHL in hits per game at 20.42, well above the 19.33 average. The hitting hasn’t translated in to wins yet, but it should be giving The Pride the physical edge in their games. Perhaps the players are venting their frustrations on not catching any breaks afte losing 5 games by only 1 goal. Their scoring is led by Kelly Rivet with 9 goals, 14 assists, 23 points. Right up there with Rivet is the rookie scoring leader, Leshuan King with 8 goals, 13 assists, 21 points. Leshaun King will be instrumental in the Pride's efforts to getting into the SHL Challenge Cup Playoffs. The pre-season take focused on Jack Tanner's 41-point campaign, the difference here is likely the rapid development that Lesaun King has been experiencing. You can see the training translate into results on the ice.

Seattle Riot
Louie Garrett Ninth leading scorer of the league with 12 goals, 13 assists, 25 points; Louie Garrett is doing well on a team that has regressed from Season 43. Garret is responsible for nearly 20% of Seattle’s goals. He is playing a big role in keeping Seattle out of last in West (and league). Seattle is playing disciplined hockey with only 7.25 penalty minutes per game, below the league average of 7.65 penalty minutes per game. The Riot could hit a hot streak if Louie Garrett keeps up the scoring pace of over a point per game, and Seattle could be sniffing the 4th seed by the end of the season. Some things do stay the same, Louie Garrett was the biggest positive in the pre-season version of this piece. He follows it up here at mid-season, proving to be the star of Seattle.

Texas Renegades
4th Seed The Renegades find themselves in a playoff spot halfway through the season, they are only 4 points behind 1st seed. With a good streak, the Renegades could propel themselves into 1st in the West, and realistically aren’t too far away from 1st in the league. Texas’ second line Jensen, Konn and Hagan are outplaying their opponents, the linemates having either a +7 or +8. The second line might be the difference makers on the back nine of this season. Texas was able to end pre-season in a playoff spot, and that was the biggest positive for them, and it remains the same halfway through the season.

Winnipeg Jets
Goal Differential Despite being on the outside-looking-in, the Jets have the 3rd best goal differential in the West. This bodes well for the team currently only 2 points out of the playoffs. The Jets have 4 overtime losses, those 4 points have kept them right in the hunt for the playoffs. In the scoring department, Zach Evans leads the team with 27 points, 8 goals and 19 assists. He is in 7th place for scoring league wide, and tied for third in assists league wide. The pre season takeaway was that The Jets were dominant on the powerplay. And while they're up there near the top, it's the goal differential that is the biggest positive halfway through the season.

Buffalo Stampede
Penalty Kill Buffalo is doing really well killing penalties, which is good news since they have the most penalty minutes. Buffalo’s PK is 2nd in the league at 83.58%. Additionally, defender Alexis Metzler is in the hunt for the scoring title with 27 points through the first 24 games. His 20 assists is good for second in the league, trailing McIntyre by one. While his points are there yet this season, Flacko Lagerfield has seen a big increase in ice time. Prior to the season, Lagerfield was barely getting any ice time. Pre-season saw Lagerfield riding the bench most of the time. The message must have been received, because Lagerfield is now playing over 16 minutes a night on the third line. Lagerfield has a tremendous amount of hyped around him, he was selected 1st overall in Season 41 draft and has been developing well over the course of time. The biggest positive in pre-season was Dermot Lavelle, and while his numbers are nothing to scoff at, he's not having the same pace. This could change with a big game from the center, but for now, at the midway point of the season, the Penalty Kill is the biggest positive.

Hamilton Steelhawks
Controlling the puck Hamilton is 2nd in Goals For/Against at 124.62%, also 2nd on Powerplay% at 25.76%, and leads the league in shots for with 36.92 shots per game. The average team shoots 31.97 shots per game, Hamilton is far above that, and lower than the average for shots against. The Steelhawks are out-shooting their opponents on a nightly basis. This control of the puck has them slotted as the #3 team of the East. Hamilton should easily make the playoffs with at least the 3rd seed if they keep it up. While Manhattan is right behind them, the Steelhawks have a +15 goal better differential than the Rage. At the conclusion of pre-season, the Steelhawks were #1 in the East, and while they aren't up there any longer, the Steelhawks are still in a good position. Their control of the puck outshines their 3rd seed position in the East.

Manhattan Rage
4th Seed, Goaltending, and AittokallioManhattan is in the 4th seed with a respectful 4 point lead over the 5th seed Chiefs. Manhattan’s Cedric Moreau is still playing really well, helping the Rage position themselves as a Playoffs? team. Not many predicted Manhattan to be where they are now, so it’s very impressive to see the Rage rack up the victories. Rookie, Jax Aittokallio, seems to be the only considerable threat to Leshaun King’s road to the rookie of the year award. With 6 goals, 12 assists, 18 points; Aittokallio is making important contributions on a Playoffs?bound team. In the pre-season, I noted Cedric Moreau as the biggest positive of Manhattan, and he remains as one of the biggest positives. Obviously, up there with him is the fact that Manhattan is making waves as a Playoffs? team.

Minnesota Chiefs
Isak Ødegård The defenseman is racking up big minutes, 26.62 minutes per game, and big point totals. With 10 goals, 14 assists, 24 points; Isak leads the Chiefs in scoring. Isak sits just 6 points from the leading scorer of the league. The Chiefs are only 4 points out of the playoffs halfway through the season, and if they mount a successful comeback, they will owe Isak a big thank you. Minnesota’s powerplay%, 19.70%, is a bit above the average 18.92%. The Chiefs take fewer penalties than the average, demonstrating the disciplined nature of their game. Quite interestingly, despite Ødegård being one of the big positives of the Chiefs, rumors have swirled that Ødegård is on his way out. The pre-season take on the Chiefs was that their Shots Against was a good bit better than the league average.

New England Wolfpack
Tigole Bitties The star center is tied for leading scorer of the league with 15 goals, 15 assists, 30 points. Bitties has been apart over 40% of all Wolfpack goals, scoring on over 20% of them, and of the Wolfpack goals he did not score, he’s assisted on over 25% of them. Also looking good is Dieter Dominique with 10 goals, 11 assists, 21 points. The team is rough around the edges currently but full of promising youth that at times this season have been fun to watch. NEW fans must feel positive about the potential of the young team. Rookie Rafe Ulrich was the takeaway biggest positive at the conclusion of pre-season. Tigole Bitties' impressive play has stolen the spotlight in Boston.

Toronto North Stars
T-1st, Goalie, and Top Line The North Stars find themselves tied for first in the league in terms of points with a 16-6-2 record. All 16 of their wins have come in regulation. They boast the best goalie in the league, Michael McFadden. McFadden has a 0.932 save%, a 1.94 Goals Against Average. Additionally, the Top Line of the North Stars, Lyndis Vakarian - Chris York - Jonathan Lundberg, is play really well.  Lyndis Vakarian and Chris York have 23 and 21 points, respectively, and Lundberg has 84 hits. Their top line combines an offensive threat with a physical one. Toronto's biggest positive in pre-season was their special teams unit. Now, their position atop the standings is clearly the biggest positive.

West Kendall Platoon
T-1st, Goal differential, and Dani Forsberg The Platoon is the other team with 34 points, so far in the season. Their record is 15-5-4. The Platoon has the best goal differential of the league at +19, 84 goals for and 65 goals against. Dani Forsberg is leading the team in scoring with 14 goals, 10 assists, 24 points. Also, Trevor Wilson and Leafer Rielly are right up therewith 23 and 21 points, respectively. Forsberg is on a point-per-game pace, and the Platoon have two other good forwards right on the verge of being point-per-game. With their goal differential, it’s no surprise that their Shots For/Shots Against is 2nd in the league at 122.39%. Pre-season saw West Kendall's control of the puck as their biggest positive. Like Toronto, being tied for the top position in the league is the biggest positive. The Platoon will rely on their control of the puck, however, if they want to finish the season as the undisputed best team in regular season.

Wrapping up The sequel Something Positive About Every Team saw changes for a lot of the teams. The most surprising is probably Manhattan's position in the standings. Unsurprising is Louie Garrett's impressive play, his efforts to try and carry Seattle on his back. I suspect that the reason for some of the changes is that in pre-season some Coaches were still on vacation and some were experimenting with lineups and strategies. Pre-season is a useful time to evaluate things you might not ordinarily try in regular season. I plan on an update at the conclusion of the season, perhaps earlier if time allows.

Reed Kobo - Winger - #33
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Elijah Jones - Winger - #33 Retired
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Toivo Kosonen - Defenseman - #33 Retired
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Thanks for the mention man. Good read.