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Toivo · 11-06-2018, 03:02 AM

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Rady for grading.... word count 2,000

Something positive about every team

This is an article I do over on GOMHL from time to time where I just talk about a team stat, player, or something else that’s positive for each team. This article uses pre-season stats found here.

Buffalo Stampede

Dermot Lavelle improved on his Season 43 numbers during this pre-season. They are only expected to go up with Buffalo’s coaching staff putting in the extra time during the regular season to maximize their player’s potentials. The 1st line center was drafted 6 seasons ago and is entering into his prime years. Expect big numbers for Buffalo’s 1C this season and going forward. During pre-season, Lavelle was 9th in scoring for centers, with a balanced 21 goals and 21 assists for 42 points. Additionally, he played the physical game and got into 5 fights and won 2 of them.

Hamilton Steelhawks

First in the East, the Steelhawks finished pre-season with a 31-15-4 record, 66 points, good enough to take the East by a win. Additionally, they boasted the second best goal differential of the East with +24, only trailing the Toronto North Stars by 4. The Steelhawks put a distance of 6 wins between them and the 5th seed New England Wolfpack. Hamilton was led in scoring by Robert Phelps with 18 goals and 34 assists, 52 points. The Steelhawks should be happy with their pre-season performance and hoping to carry the momentum into the regular season. The strong pre-season gives Hamilton fans optimism about making a runn for the Challenge Cup in Season 44.

Rage

Manhattan Rage Rage

Cedric Moreau, the rookie goaltender, put up some impressive numbers in pre-season. Moreau started 32 times, recorded 16 wins, 14 losses, and 2 overtime losses. He had a 0.919 save percentage, good for 3rd in the league, and a 2.68 goals against average. Moreau did play much less than the other goalies in the running for the best save percentage, but it’s still impressive for the team at the bottom of the East. Manhattan fans have reason to worry after the amount of losses the Rage suffered, but they can hang their hats on the promising young goaltender, Cedric Moreau. They may not be where the fans hope they would be at this point in the rebuild, but Manhattan is poised for a great future with some excellent hockey stars. Keep them on your radar!

Chiefs

Minnesota Chiefs Chiefs

Shots Against Minnesota was the second best in pre-season at 28.68 shots against/per game. The Chiefs were able to keep other teams from shooting against them by nearly 2 shots per game fewer than the league average of 30.58. This bodes well for Minnesota, allowing them to focus on getting more shots for. With just 0.09 shots for more per game, the Chiefs would be in the 100% territory for Shots For / Shots Against. Additionally, defenseman Caelan Fearghal was a team +6 plus/minus rating , had 7 goals, shooting at a 26.92 percentage. This pre-season showed Chiefs management and their fans where the stand currently and where they need to work hard on to make their team the best in the East.

New England Wolfpack

Rafe Ulrich is a top prospect in the SHL and had a strong pre-season. Ulrich’s performance in the pre-season has put him in discussions for as a favorite for the rookie of the year trophy. Ulrich will need to carry this performance over into the regular season and continue to improve, but if he does, he could help the Wolfpack find their way back to the playoffs. The rookie played so well in the SMJHL that the New England coaching staff placed him on the second line from the get go with forwards Xander Green and Manuel Gotze. Rafe’s statline reads in 50 games played: 12 goals, 17 assists, for 29 points, and impressive 82 hits to 42 hits taken ratio. Season 44 will be about watching the future of The New England Wolfpack before they reach their prime. The young team is poised to surprise everyone and disappoint no one, in a season where many don't expect a whole lot. With strong performances from Tigole and Dieter, along with their youthful supporting cast, the Wolfpack can shock the SHL.

Stars

Toronto North Stars Stars

Special Teams was the highlight of the North Stars’ pre-season. 26.47% powerplay, 85.951% penalty kill, good for a combined 109.34%. This special teams stat leads the SHL in the pre-season. Up over 2% the second placed Winnipeg Jets. This strong special teams puts them 3rd seed in the East with 59 points and will have them competing for 1st seed in the East during regular season. Additionally, Chris York is continuing to play great for the North Stars. Toronto fans have good reason to feel positive about their dominant specials team and their star forward. Watching their stars play with their future stars is certainly something North Stars fan can get behind. Season 44 will be interesting for the North Stars and where Toronto sits in the scheme of things.

Platoon

West Kendall Platoon Platoon

Shots For / Shots Against leaders of the pre-season, West Kendall controlled the puck during games and outshot their opponents. They led the league in Shots For at 35.16 per game, the league average is 30.58 shots per game. Their Shots Against was right below the league average at 30.02 shots against per game. These result in their 117.12% Shots For / Against team stat and helped the Platoon end in the 4th seed spot with a +18 goal differential. Forwards Alex Light and Dani Forsberg have been playing well with 59 and 58 points, respectively. Forsberg led the league in goals during pre-season, Alex Light and Jon Ross led the league in assists with 36, and all three ended up with a +17 plus/minus rating. For the Platoon to repeat in Season 44, they will need to carry this puck control into the regular season. Additionally, the Platoon have the most potent offense, scoring more goals than any other team. They will tear apart teams with so-so defenses, and give the elite defenses a true test.

Dragons

Calgary Dragons Dragons

Mike Izzy’s +24 plus/minus rating led the league during pre-season. He did this while scoring 18 goals, 29 assists, 47 points in all, only second to Roman Augustus’ 38 points. Izzy earned 10 points on the powerplay and played a big role in the Dragons’ strong 27-19-4 pre-season record. The Dragons were one of only 3 Western teams with a positive goal differential. Strong performances by Mike Izzy and Roman Augustus in the regular season, similar to the ones they had in pre-season, will keep the Dragons race for 1st seed in the Western Conference.

Edmonton Blizzard

Cory Knouse and Oisin Fletcher have found their chemistry and had a combined 95 points during the pre-season. They both ended up being +15 plus/minus rating, alongside sophomore Piotr Czerkawski. The Blizzard led the league in one team stat, faceoff%. They won 54.08% of their faceoffs with Oisin Fletcher winning 55.13% of his faceoffs taken, and Teodors Cukurs winning 55.44% of his faceoffs, and Nikolaus Scholz winning an impressive 56.62% faceoffs after taking 823. Winning faceoffs will help the Blizzard control the puck and help their efforts of making the playoffs. Blizzard have the opportunity to bounce back in Season 44 and do better than their Season 43 performance.

Los Angeles Panthers

Best Record The panthers managed to go 34-14-2, earning 70 points in the standings, 4 more than the next best Steelhawks with 66 points. The Panthers were dominant in outscoring their opponents with a league best +49 goal differential. The Panthers were led in scoring by Matthew Auston with 54 points, 20 goals and 34 assists. Panthers led in Goals against with 2.42 goals against per game; and was second in goals for with 3.40 goals per game. Goals For / Goals Against was 140.50%, whereas the second best, Toronto North Stars, were at 122.58%. The dominant outscoring of opponents makes it no surprise that the Panthers earned 70% of the possible points in the standings during pre-season.

pride

San Francisco Pride pride

Jack Tanner the defenseman led the Pride in scoring with 8 goals and 33 assists, 41 points in all. While it’s hard for the Pride fans to find many reasons to be positive, performances like Jack Tanner give them hope. An interesting stat is that the San Francisco Pride were 7-3 in their last 10 games played on the road. This impressive road performance allowed them to close out the pre-season with a winning last 10 games record of 5-4-1. Hopefully the Pride are able to carry the momentum into regular season and as players continue to train hard and improve, so will the Pride’s position in the standings.

Riot

Seattle Riot Riot

Louie Garrett remains the star of Seattle based on his pre-season scoring. Garrett managed to maintain a point-per-game pace with 26 goals and 24 assists. Garrett was racking up a lot of minutes as well, rotinuely reaching the 25 minutes per game mark. Garrett’s play, alongside center Alexander Zajac, kept the Seattle Riot in the hunt for the playoffs. The Seattle Riot were one point behind the Texas Renegades in the standings. Both teams ended the pre-season with 4-4-2 records in their last 10 games. It’s very close and the difference in going to overtime instead of losing in regulation could make the difference for Seattle. Seattle fans remain optimistic that their team can contend for the playoffs and make it back.

Texas Renegades

Playoffs the Renegades were the 4th seed, edging Seattle out by 1 point. The Renegades had -16 goal differential, but Seattle had a -28 one. This bodes well going into the regular season. The Renegades know that they’re not being outscored as badly as the Riot, and this could help fuel them in the tight race for the playoffs. It seems like this 4th seed spot will be a battle until the end of the regular season, and right now, it looks good for the Texas Renegades. In net, Walter Hobbs puts up a decent 0.910 save percentage and 2.75 goals against average. Renegades' fans can not help but be excited by a strong their strong pre-season performance.

Jets

Winnipeg Jets Jets

Powerplay The Jets had the best powerplay of the pre-season, scoring 26.47% of the time, nearly 2.5% more than the second best West Kendall Platoon with 24.03%. The jets scored 45 powerplay goals, helping them end up with the 2nd seed of the West. Corey Bearss led the Jets in scoring with 23 goals and 28 assists, for 51 points, despite being a -1 plus/minus player. Bearss strong pre-season was good for 6th in scoring in the league. The Jets also did well in their last 10 away games, winning 7, losing 2 and losing one in overtime. Jets' fans are hoping that their strong pre-season will carry over into the regular season and they can win the President's trophy once more. Winning the regular season back to back is a difficult thing to do, but the Jets seem up for the task.