A Look at the Donuts in the World Junior Tourney...

In a rare spur of the moment, even the Donuts will contribute to the blog bonanza. These are the WIS prospects at the WJC-20 in Vancouver. It will all develop in the early mornings in Sweden, but no problems, I took a vacation.

Canada: none

Czech Republic: Martin Kaut, RW, 22nd pick 2018 in CCHL. Playing in AHL for first year and adopting but will be part of an interesting offensive team with questionable defense. the team could go far if they get the defense together and Kaut could be a big part of it.

Denmark: Jonas Rondbjerg, LW/RW, 77th pick 2017 in CCHL. Having a kind of an off year in SHL but will be looked at as an important part the Danish offense. Denmark has had strong years but will struggle to avoid relegation play.

Finland: none

Kazakhstan: none

Russia: Nikolai Kovalenko, RW, 191st pick in 2018 in CCHL. Playing in KHL and establishing himself there this season. Might not be on the top line but has deceptive qualities on a team in the mix for the gold.

Slovakia: Adam Ruzicka, C/W, 99th pick in 2017 in CCHL. Big power forward type player that plays in OHL. Not as dominant as last year but still a good season and will be a go to guy for a team that probably will not be in contention of the medals.

Sweden: Johan Sodergran, RW, the 213th pick in 2018 in CCHL. Playing in SHL and has established himself on the roster and had a hot start to the season and then somewhat faded. Will be looked at to provide offense on a team that has questions on the offensive side. Elias Pettersson would have been star addition if he was able as would Timothy Liljegren would anchor the defense, if not injured. The team will struggle on offense and without scoring will not find any medals.

Switzerland: Philipp Kurashev, C, 147th pick in CCHL. A youngster that will lead a team that mostly will fight to stay out of relegation round. He plays in QMJHL for the third year and is one of the top players in the league.

USA: none

So an interesting mix of players (almost all wingers and no defenders nor goalies) from mostly lower rounds and still could dominate their teams, For WIS  this is an unusually low amount of Swedish players but still an interesting bunch to follow in the tournament.

SUD Weekly Report Vol 10.

A Weekly Look at the 2018-19 Sudbury Miners: Volume 10

CANADIAN PRESS (Sudbury, ON):

Miners Weekly Record: 3 wins, 0 losses, 0 OT loss.
Miners League Standing: 19 wins, 13 losses, 5 OT Loss = 43 points total. Currently sitting in 4th place in the Canosa Conference, 9th overall in the CCHL.
Miners Special Teams: Power Play – 22.1% (12th); Penalty Kill – 78.9% (11th)
Miners Scoring Leader: Center Vincent Trocheck (15G – 32A = 47pts; 8th Overall in the CCHL)

If there is a team that may be sad to see the Christmas Break come, it would be the Sudbury
Miners. The Miners were rolling last week, going a perfect 3-0 in their games, to see them now vault into 4th spot in the Canosa Conference. A few more weeks like this and the Miners will begin putting a little distance between themselves and being one of the teams on the outside looking in.

"I looked this morning at the standings and the separation is getting bigger" Miners defenceman
Josh Morrissey said after his team won their third-in-a-row. "But this league is tough and we've got to
keep winning here if we want to be a part of that (playoff) race. Take a break, fall asleep and you will be out of the (playoff) race before you blink. It’s that close."

MINERS PLAYER PROFILE OF THE WEEK: Timo Meier

Meier is a strong, well sized forward with good puck skills and a powerful shot. He is just starting
to scratch the surface of his potential. He plays with an edge and is physical and mean, often dishing out punishing open-ice hits. His aggression can get him into trouble at times, so he will have to learn how to dial it back into certain situations. He has sound positioning in the defensive zone and is a strong shot-blocker. His development continues to progress and he is becoming more difficult to contain 1-on-1. If this trend continues, his trajectory is developing into that of a power forward  capable of producing solid numbers.

MINERS PROSPECT NEED TO KNOW: Eric Comrie

There was a time not all that long ago, that Eric Comrie was ahead of Connor Hellebuyck in scouting
circles. He had been drafted higher and also had some international experience with Canada. However, that ship has long since sailed but it is hard to blame Comrie for that though. He is an adequate all-around goalie whose best attributes are his glove hand and his ability to read the play. But, goalie development takes time and Comrie has been no exception to that. He has been inching his way forward over the last three seasons in the AHL, with a career-best .916 save percentage last year. He is again performing well in the AHL this year and should be slightly favored to win the  CCHL backup job within the next two years. Expected CCHL arrival: 2020-21.

2019 World Juniors Preview: Who to watch from a Miners perspective.

CANADIAN PRESS (Sudbury, ON)

This years’ World Junior Championship tournament runs from Dec. 26-Jan. 6 in both Vancouver and Victoria.  It marks the first time since 2006 that the tournament is back in British Columbia. 
And this year, there is no shortage of Miners prospect talent from all the countries involved.
To get you prepared for the event, here are a few of the Miners prospects to keep an eye on.  All of these players will play important roles for their respective countries in the hunt for Gold!

CANADA
• Owen Tippett, RW, Mississauga (OHL)
Tippett has incredible talent but his play has been criticized over the years by a lack of consistency. This season, he’s seemed to take his game to another level. He has great speed and a great shot, and this year he has flashed some real high-end playmaking, as well. He’s expected to play a top role on Canada’s team.

• Ian Mitchell, D, University of Denver (NCHC)
Mitchell has been a monster for Denver this season, logging heavy minutes and showing he is one of the best defensemen in the NCHC.  Mitchell is a quality all-around player who may be small but showed at Canada’s summer U20 camp he can be reliable at both ends of the rink and provide offense.

• Michael DiPietro, G, Ottawa (OHL)
The former Memorial Cup winner was listed as the third string goalie for Canada last spring at the World Hockey Championships and for good reason.  His athleticism is exceptional. He makes saves he has no business making. The obvious downside of him is his size, but despite that, he’s stolen game after game at the OHL level. He’s the No. 1 starter for Canada and is the favorite to be the top goalie at the tournament.

USA
• K’Andre Miller, D, University of Wisconsin (Big 10)
Miller currently is Wisconsin’s leading scorer, which is pretty good for a guy who played mostly a defensive role with the USNTDP last season. Miller’s always had the size and great skating, but he’s shown more confidence with the puck this season, leading to a lot more offense. He’s expected to play a significant role for Team USA and is one of the top CCHL prospects on the team.



• Joel Farabee, LW, Boston University (Hockey East)
Acquired in a trade this season with Fort Erie, Farabee, was a CCHL first-round pick last summer.  He has been one of the few bright spots on a mediocre BU team this season. He has fantastic hockey sense, showing the ability to see the ice and make plays at a quick pace. He competes hard and has good soft skills.  Farabee generates a lot of shots and will likely line up in a top-six role for USA

• Mattias Samuelsson, D, Western Michigan (NCHC)
Samuelsson has looked solid at WMU this season and is producing offense despite not getting much power play time. His game has been very steady, even as an 18 year-old.  He moves well for a guy his size and positions himself well. He’s also a massive defenseman who isn’t afraid to lean into his checks.  Samuelsson could provide solid defensive minutes for USA.

CZECH REPUBLIC
• Martin Necas, C, Charlotte (AHL)
Necas was one of the top scorers in last year’s tournament and enters this year’s tournament as a favorite to be one of the very best players in the event.  He’s having a great season in the AHL, as well. He has all the tools between his great speed, puck skills and vision to dominate a shift offensively, and competes well, too.  Necas is currently one of the best players outside the NHL and can showcase here why he could be an impact guy for Sudbury in the near future.

RUSSIA
• Grigori Denisenko, LW, Yaroslavl Lokomotiv (KHL)
Denisenko’s season has been just so-so due to playing against men in the KHL and lacking physical strength.  However, at the U20 level he’s looked dominant. His puck skills, creativity, playmaking and pace are all high-end. He looks on track to play on Russia’s top line and be one of their go-to players. There is a lot of optimism about him despite not great numbers, and this tournament could be a place where he shows that he is a legit top prospect.

SWEDEN
• Isac Lundestrom, C, San Diego (AHL)
Lundestrom has looked quite impressive this season.  Scouts questioned his offensive upside last year but after watching him in camp and how he has performed in the AHL this year, those concerns have subsided.  He’s quick, skilled and very smart, and projects to play a lot of minutes in all situations as Sweden’s No. 1 center.

• Rasmus Sandin, D, Toronto (AHL)
Sandin has transitioned remarkably well to the AHL as an 18-year-old, playing significant minutes and producing offense at a rate that has been unexpected from him this early in his career. He’s confident and very poised with the puck, showing near elite level hockey sense. He’s trending up and could play a significant role on this team. 

Around the CCHL: 12/23/18...

Let's catch up with the latest news from around the CCHL:

1) Hottest Team? The Seattle Reign - what a story so far... Springfield and Georgetown have both righted their ships of late and look to be climbing up the standings if they can maintain it.

2) Coldest Team? Gillam Sharks with just 6 points in their last ten games. ISL, PAR & FNT are in close company, however...

3) Most OT Wins? MIN leads with 4, followed by CAP, DAY & NIA with 2 each...

4) Most Shootout Wins? CAP & DRT lead the league with 5 SO victories, followed by DAY, HAM & POR with 4 each...

5) Most OT Losses? Sudbury has 3 OT losses with SIB, MIN & POR checking in with 2 losses each...

6) Most Shootout Losses? The Portland Owls have had 5 SO losses already this season. But, right behind them is HAM, PAR, SPR & WIS each with 4...

7) GM Change in Fonthill - We're on the hunt for a new GM for the FNT franchise. Stephen had some time issues related to work responsibilities that prevented the level of participation he'd hoped for. If you know of anyone who'd be interested, alert either Matt Young or me, asap...

8) Sample size growing, corrections seem to be arriving- After cold starts, Georgetown, Fort Erie, and Springfield all seem to be earning their share of points over the last few weeks. Our reigning Champions, the Calgary Chinook have shown flashes of their potential but generally speaking, haven't hit their stride yet this season. As with any professional sports season, it's a work in progress. To some degree, players and teams usually revert to their mean statistically. Sudden statistical fluctuations for the good and/or bad usually are revealed to be aberrations more often than a "new normal" with established players. Younger players can often improve and reach new levels and older ones can decline in the later stages of their careers, but still seems to be predictability to these things. It takes study of underlying conditions to often see why something happened out of nowhere to a player. Was it a normal progression of a career? A normal regression? How are the supporting numbers like ice time, special teams time, shooting percent, etc., trending? Was it an injury that forced someone into a different role in which they may have thrived for some time? Did the performance of a team-mate alter the time on ice and opportunity for some player?

(Over time, usually, our best players wind up being our best players. Usually, lol...)

9) Upcoming Schedule Change - I'll be out of town on a holiday scouting trip through Cleveland and Pittsburgh from the 28th until the 30th. Games will be simmed as usual on Thursday the 27th, with the next games being simmed on Sunday evening the 30th, likely by 7:00pm, Dayton time...

10) 41st Game for UFA Signees fast approaching - A reminder that players signed during the most recent UFA bidding period will be able to be traded, waived, etc.. after their team has played its 41st game of the season. Once your team has played in its 41st game, all existing restrictions on player movement will be lifted.

To wrap things up in this issue, overall, the new sim seems to be challenging for all of us. Races are competitive in both Conference moreso than usual at this time, surprises await all of us and it should be a fun run to the trade deadline and beyond.

Have a great holiday, be safe, hold loved ones close and enjoy the rest of 2018.

2019 will be here before we know it!

Thanks!

Bill

A Weekly Look at the 2018-19 Sudbury Miners: Volume 9

A Weekly Look at the 2018-19 Sudbury Miners: Volume 9

CANADIAN PRESS (Sudbury, ON):

Miners Weekly Record: 0 wins, 2 losses, 1 OT loss.
Miners League Standing: 16 wins, 13 losses, 5 OT Loss = 37 points total. Currently, sitting in 6th place in
the Canosa Conference, 12th overall in the CCHL.
Miners Special Teams: Power Play – 22.1% (13th); Penalty Kill – 78.8% (12th)
Miners Scoring Leader: Center Vincent Trocheck (12G – 30A = 42pts; 17th Overall in the CCHL)

Fresh off of a week where the Sudbury Miners landed 7 out of a possible 8 points in their four
contests, they were looking to keep the momentum going and further solidify their playoff position in the Canosa Conference. But, as is the case with a young team, growing pains can rear their ugly at any time. The Miners are no exception to this, as they would go winless in their three games last week. They still remain in the final playoff spot in the Canosa conference, but there continues to be no room for error. Only 7 points separate the 5th and 11th place teams in the conference.

“This was a tough week for us”, stated Miner's defenceman Andy Greene. “It just shows how
quickly things can change in the CCHL from week-to-week. Last week, we were on top of the
world……this week, we were s**t. We just need to keep an even keel and keep working hard and the
results will come”.

MINERS PLAYER PROFILE OF THE WEEK: Christian Dvorak

Dvorak is an intelligent and skilled playmaker boasts good size and a keen hockey sense. His
skating lacks explosiveness, but he uses his power efficiently and sustains a steady high stride tempo.
Dvorak shows off his creativity with skilled and savvy stickhandling and distributes the puck efficiently, often finding seemingly impossible lanes that don’t initially appear at first glance. His best weapon though is a heavy wrist shot, using a sneaky and reflexive shooting release. Defensively, he is alert and hard-working away from the puck, excellent in support and quick on assignments. He applies backside pressure, and always keeps his feet moving, giving effort in all three zones. With his toolbox, he has developed into a solid penalty killer.

MINERS PROSPECT NEED TO KNOW: Gabriel Fortier

Fortier is an undersized winger who skates very well and has a knack for putting the puck in the
net. He plays the game with a two-way mentality and brings more of a physical nature to his game than many of his size do. He is an energetic player who can lead by example but having said that, he lacks the dynamic tools expected for top six forwards. He is seen as more of a depth player at this point, with the potential to develop into a top-nine forward. Expected CCHL arrival: 2022-23.

Roster Review for the Victoria Ronin...

There was an unfortunate omission from the last report regarding the Ronin wingers. Luke Kunin's agent Pete Tutili immediately contacted the Victoria front office to inform them that Luke is in fact a valued member of the team. In fact the team traded Caleb Jones & Carl Soderberg to Minnesota to acquire him ! The franchise has sent a letter of apology to Luke and offered him first choice for his number if and when he makes the club.

Luke joins both Dylan Sikura and Taylor Raddysh on the right side on the depth chart. Apparently the torn ACL is now fully healed and Luke put up 15 points in 21 games for the AHL Iowa wild before being called up to Minnesota where coach Boudreau has said he plans to insert him into a top 9 role but is expecting more from him going forward.

Now on to a review of the defensive status of the team.

Unlike the forwards or goalies the team has approached the defensive side of things from a different perspective. The decision was to build the club around established younger players with NHL experience rather than draft them for the most part. The thinking was that defensemen often take a little longer to percolate before becoming full time NHL players so with that in mind the club went ahead and traded a number of picks in the upcoming draft and some older established players in order to improve the talent level of younger players at the higher levels.

The top 2 true defensive prospects are Lucas Johansen and Dennis Cholowski. While Dennis appears to have established himself at the NHL level, Lucas also appears to have an NHL future. Both are puck moving skaters who can hopefully jump into the play to create offensive chances for the Ronin in the future. Cholowski was initially passed over by the Ronin in talks with the Musicmen, but when given a second chance they didn't hesitate to pull the trigger. His ice time may have more to do with a lack of talent in Detroit but he is making the most of his opportunity.

The remaining players are already in the NHL for the most part. We'll start with Tomas Chabot who checked into a few different CCHL clubs before finding a home in BC. Like Cholowski, Chabot has also made the most of his opportunity in the NHL and has put up some very impressive numbers. Look for him to make his debut in Victoria next season. Esa Lindell is now an NHL defensemen but is still quite young. The Ronin have plugged him into the lineup and keep him there for the future. He played 80 NHL games last season and has 32 so far during the current one.

Scott Mayfield took a bit longer to make the team but now that he has, it appears he has earned the faith of the head coach and is getting quality minutes in the NHL for Long Island. I've seen him play the last few minutes for his team on more than one occasion so clearly Trotz trusts him. Brett Kulak made the Flames last season and played 71 games as the #6 dman. Personally I think that is a major statement as Calgary is very deep, yet he became a victim of the numbers game and was dealt to Montreal. For the last couple of games he has been paired with Weber. Not sure how I feel about his ratings next season but he now appears to be a regular for the Habs. Julius Honka has also made the Stars but was scratched for a 7 game stretch before getting back into the lineup yesterday. He currently at 20 games played and is battling with other younger players to get into games under coach Montgomery. The Dallas blueline is really young and hopefully develops into a solid unit, I know I'm pulling for them not just because I have 2 of the kids there.

The last possible candidate is Jordan Schmaltz. Schmaltz is the same age as Ben Hutton, Esa Lindell and Jacob Trouba yet has not broken into the Blues lineup. Like Honka he has played in 20 games so far this season so perhaps all he needs is to improve on his consistency to earn the coach's trust. Its doubtful he ever plays minutes for the Ronin, but with the right move or circumstances anything can happen.

So overall the Ronin look to have quite a lot of depth on the blueline, but they will have a tough time breaking into a roster that has Tyler Myers, David Savard, Marco Scandella, Travis Hamonic. They also have Ben Hutton who according to reports decided to commit to offseason training and proper eating habits. He may not be a world beater but coach Green is playing him quite a lot so far this season so perhaps last season's benching for poor conditioning hit home.

All the players listed are under 30 years of age which is exactly what the Ronin had hoped to accomplish when they began their retooling project.

Thanks for reading!

So Far So Good for the Norsemen!

At the time of this write-up, the Minnesota Norsemen sit atop the Canosa Conference at the 35-game mark with a 23-9-3 record. Which is also just on the heels of the Seattle Reign for tops in the CCHL. This being the league's inaugural season using the Simon T simulator, Norsemen management is pleased so far with the overall result.

"It's a completely different animal for sure," said General Manager, Blake Wendt. "We really tried to play with the sim in the Summer League, and see what we were dealing with. We had a lot of success with what we were doing (winning the Summer League Championship over the Fort Erie Falcons), but it was such and abbreviated season, and some teams weren't playing their 1's full time, it was hard to really gauge what that success really meant."

But sitting back and running on auto pilot with that lineup was not and has not so far been a part of the plan.

"Outside of clearing up who our top-six forwards were, there's not really much we have stuck to during the regular season so far," said Wendt. "We've tinkered with things, and we've given the coaches the green light to go with what they think has worked and will work. But for sure we're a little more locked in with our personnel group at forward. The acquisition of Blake Comeau really filled in a hole on the Sissons line that we were growing more worried about as we went on. Soderberg has fit in really nicely off Colton's left wing, and we had hoped that the success Bjugstad had shown in Dartmouth would translate here. It hadn't (and Bjugstad has since been sent to the minors), and we just really coveted another defensive forward to add to that line. Comeau fit what we were looking for."

The blueline is still a little more fluid in finding what works consistently.

"Our defense is something that I don't know if we completely lock down pairings this season at all," said Wendt. "We have a good mix of puck movers and shutdown guys. I had hoped for more points from the back end. But really, at this point, and with with as many 1-goal wins as we have this season so far, I'll take the defense that keeps the puck out of our goal more than the defense that puts it in the other goal."

One of the biggest surprises with the new sim, is seeing which teams have adapted and which ones are struggling.

"I know we're where we wanted to be and expected to be at this point in the season," said Wendt. "But yes, it is somewhat shocking how things are falling into place in the Canosa Conference. I won't get into the Corfield, because we've only just started to play some inter-conference games. But yeah, I'd be lying if I thought the Ice Cats, Puffin and Isotopes would currently be on the outside looking in, and the Aces, Ronin and Miners would be in playoff contention. There's obviously still a lot of season left to go, but this is not how I saw this playing out. It's fun though. There's no sleeping on any team in this league. It's very competitive every night, and that's what I really like."

A Weekly Look at the 2018-19 Sudbury Miners: Volume 8

A Weekly Look at the 2018-19 Sudbury Miners: Volume 8

CANADIAN PRESS (Sudbury, ON):

Miners Weekly Record: 3 wins, 0 losses, 1 OT loss.
Miners League Standing: 16 wins, 11 losses, 4 OT Loss = 36 points total. Currently sit in 5th place in
the Canosa Conference, 11th overall in the CCHL.
Miners Special Teams: Power Play – 24.4% (10th); Penalty Kill – 78.1% (11th)
Miners Scoring Leader: Center Vincent Trocheck (11G – 30A = 41pts; 10th Overall in the CCHL)

The Sudbury Miners needed a week like this. After a week of taking 7 out of a possible 8 points
in their four contests, the Miners have now vaulted into a playoff spot and currently sit in 5 th place in the Canosa Conference.

“I know its early, but it does feel good to be in the thick of things this far into the season”, stated
Miners forward Vincent Trocheck. “After last year, it nice to see that we are making progress as a team and for our fans. I think this is just the beginning for our group but we can’t rest on our laurels. We have to keep working and once you get in……you just never know”.

Miners General Manager Terry James, appears to share Trocheck’s view about the team this
year. As a result, he made a couple of trades over the week to bolster the line-up and both moves should help the team now and in the future.

In acquiring both Kevin Fiala and Anthony Mantha, both under 25 years old, the Miners have
improved their depth at wing with two players who are just starting to scratch the surface of their potential. Along with that, comes cost certainty and fits within their internal cap structure. The Miners will need this flexibility sooner rather than later, as they will have to sign players such as Brayden Point etc… in the near future.

MINERS PLAYER PROFILE OF THE WEEK: Sam Reinhart

Blessed with intelligence and skill, highlighted with elite vision and keen hockey sense, Reinhart
can line up as a winger or center. He is an efficient skater but lacks explosiveness to blow by
defencemen on the rush. He is maturing physically and is starting to adapt better to the physical game
along the boards. Recently, he has started to emerge as a PP net-front presence and has become very
effective orchestrating play below the goal line. He is smart and structured and his attention to technical details in the defensive zone have continued to grow. Reinhart is a great competitor and often drives play. For the Miners, he is often the straw that stirs the drink.

MINERS PROSPECT NEED TO KNOW: Rasmus Sandin

Sandin is a nimble puck-moving defenseman with outstanding agility and closing speed. He is a
reliable option for breakouts since he can beat back a forecheck with either his wheels or crisp, timely
passes. He is very strong on his skates and can ward off bigger forwards that try to shove him off the
puck. Sandin’s vision and creativity are underrated aspects of his offensive game, and he has a hard
enough shot that makes it difficult for goalies to control their rebounds. For his age, Sandin is defensively reliable in slot coverage and along the boards. With his soft hands, keen vision and continued development defensively, he could very well become one of the best players to come out of the 2018
CCHL draft. Expected CCHL arrival: 2020-21.

State of the Loons; 30 Games in...

"It's official, our hopes are officially up," Czepiel told reporters last night after watching the Loons sweep the grueling back to back against Dayton and Calgary. Prior to facing Dayton on Sunday, Czepiel tweeted that the upcoming games against two of the top CCHL teams were  - "make or break", and the Loons responded. What was most impressive about the two games was how the Loons fought through adversity. On Sunday the Loons controlled the game and heavily outshot Dayton, but with ten seconds left and the Dayton net empty, the Musicmen were able to tie the game at 2 and send it to overtime. Instead of getting down and letting the game get away from them, Coach Janney was seen screaming at his players prior to OT and it worked. Just 35 seconds into overtime, Bobby Ryan tipped home a Giroux wrister giving the Loons a 3-2 win. On Monday, Janney watched on as the Loons fell behind by two goals early, but were able to fight back. Capeside wore the Chinook down in the second period, tied the game late in the third and pulled off the win in the shootout.

Janney was quoted after Monday's shootout win, "Everyone is waiting for this team to collapse, but not here in this locker room. We have a great mix of guys that work well together and can contribute in all areas of the game." The Loons are winning with a balanced attack throughout the roster. After 30 games there are only 4 Loons who are minus players, trailing only Seattle in goal differential with a +23. GM Czepiel - " I would be lying if I were to say that we expected this amount of success- this fast. We went into this year with modest goals. We wanted to become financially sound and reshape the roster to get younger and more talented. As amazing as it is to have 22 wins at this point, the season is 82 games not 30. Our focus has to remain on the future and long-term success. We do not want to be a one year wonder and we will continue to look at our roster and make moves that are for the best interest of the team."

Czepiel continues to try and restock his draft picks and it has been rumored that newly acquired Giroux is being dangled in trade talks to add a younger center that can play long term with Captain Dubois. The league is quickly approaching the half-way point when UFA signings are allowed to be moved. Will pending UFA Niskanen or seldom used Niemi be moved? Maybe Czepiel will just enjoy the success, but we doubt it.

Around the CCHL: How to manage SIMON Fatigue on your roster...

Three things this week:

1) Exhaustion issues/ benching: A few guys are still having issues with players being pulled out of their lineups due to fatigue. Fatigue doesn't equal injuries and doesn't show up on the injury report each night.

Injury - A player has sustained an actual injury and will be out for X number of days.

Fatigue - is a "condition" whereby a player is tired from his most recent game and at a minimum, his performance may be affected OR if he's so fatigued that his CON rating falls below 96 or so, SIMON will automatically put him on your bench and replace him with a different player.

It's up to us to put him back in our lineups...We can put the player back into our starting lineup after his CON has improved to the 96 or higher range. (We can't do it before.)

So, right now, for example, GIL has Austin Matthews (AM) out for a day because of "exhaustion." That means he's on the GIL bench. He will stay on the bench until Dan puts him back into his starting lineup and sends me a new file with updated lines.

It's best to download the updated league files after I've simmed each night and open up your team and look to see if anyone has been sent to the bench. Also, I suspect most of us are carrying smartphones. Send yourself a Google reminder to put your player back into the lineup once he's no longer tired.

2) Let's look at fatigue and see if there's a way to better manage it...

Using Matthews as an example.. (Not picking on GIL, but AM is a great example...)

If you go to the Pro Team Scoring report you'll see the shooting percent column is wider than most of the other columns and is easy to spot near the middle of the page. Just to the right of it, you'll find a column with the abbreviation AMG (Avg. minutes per game). Scrolling down to Matthews, we see so far, he's played 23 minutes per game.

Is that good? Is that bad? How do we know?

Go to NHL. com and click on player stats. Adjust the report to reflect NHL 17-18 stats and also select from the team drop-down menu, the Maple Leafs. NHL. com has a column way over on the right, 3rd from the end) TOI/GP, where we see Matthews averaged 17:40 of ice time for every game he played last year.

SIMON goes off of last year's NHL actuals to determine each players condition ratings.

So far, GIL is using AM almost 6 more minutes than he's rated for by SIMON based on last year's NHL actuals. I won't tell Dan how to run his team, but I suspect if he cut AM's ice time back a bit here and there - AM wouldn't get benched for exhaustion very often.

Unrealistic results: Some of our teams are rightfully frustrated. On paper, fine lineups, no big holes that I can see, a quality goalie, etc.  Yet, a handful of teams seem to be underperforming to some degree.  Would that have happened in APBA? I suspect not. So why then in Simon are the results for some teams so different than what we expect them to be?

In a way, it makes no damn sense.

Except, that it does.

We're about 37% percent into the first season under a new simulator. A simulator that is decades newer and substantially more sophisticated than our last one. APBA was fun, but it was badly-outdated and had become unworkable to deal with. Further, its results, even when league size was factored in, weren't remotely realistic, were they?

Last season, the eventual champs, Calgary finished with a W/L record of 69-10-3 for 141 pts. The best team in the NHL finished with 117 pts.

The season prior to that, Dayton had the best record and a total of 136 points, whereas in the NHL the best team finished with 118 pts.

The season before that, Dayton again had the best record and finished with 135 pts, compared with the NHL's best 120.

APBA was in the end, outdated and easily manipulated. Simon so far presents a far, far more realistic sim experience for our league. It's going to be harder than APBA was, maybe a LOT harder.

That's part of the fun, right?

Every year we see a handful of teams in the NHL not play up to their billing. They may look great on paper but something doesn't click and the team goes nowhere. Simon is perhaps (I can't be sure) reflecting that element so far in our 2018-19 season.

We all need to do our homework, far more than we did in the old sim. Review the manual, know and understand the ratings. Print off lines for each game and then study the boxscores and write yourself notes on what worked and what didn't. Compare your rosters, position by position and see where your strengths and weaknesses are.

It's a long season, friends.

A Weekly Look at the 2018-19 Sudbury Miners: Volume 7

A Weekly Look at the 2018-19 Sudbury Miners:  Volume 7

CANADIAN PRESS (Sudbury, ON):

Miners Weekly Record: 2 wins, 2 losses, 1 OT loss.

Miners League Standing:  13 wins, 11 losses, 3 OT Loss = 29 points total.  Currently sit in 7th place in the Canosa Conference, 13th overall in the CCHL.

Miners Special Teams:  Power Play – 25.5% (10th); Penalty Kill – 77.2% (13th)

Miners Scoring Leader:  Center Vincent Trocheck (9G – 27A = 36pts; 13th Overall in the CCHL)

            The Sudbury Miners are quickly realizing that any chance of making the playoffs will be a fight.  With a busy schedule last week versus four division opponents, the Miners needed good result in order to try and make some headway in their quest for a playoff spot in the Canosa Conference.  But much like the Miners season so far, consistency has been a problem, and as a result, the Miners were unable to gain any ground and still remain two points back of Long Island for 6th place and the final playoff spot.

The Miners started the week positive with two big wins over Fonthill and Victoria, and having them temporarily in the final playoff position.  A home-and-home series versus Reykjavik, who before their two games with the Miners, was sitting in the bottom three of the CCHL standings.  It seemed like a perfect recipe for the Miners to take one, or perhaps both games and open up a small cushion on that final playoff spot.  But, it was not to be.  The Miners dropped both contests to the Puffin, and in turn, dropped to 7th in the Canosa Conference and out of a playoff position.

“It was a positive start to the week with our two wins over Fonthill and Victoria”, stated Miners defenceman Josh Morrissey.  “We were confident going into the weekend games versus the Puffin.  We did not take them lightly, but to lose both games was tough.  We need to recognize these opportunites that present themselves and capitalize” said Morrissey.  "If not, we will find ourselves back on the golf course in the spring, and I hate golf".

MINERS PLAYER PROFILE OF THE WEEK:  Brandon Montour

            Montour is seen as a slick, offensively talented blueliner that can push the pace.  He is high risk, high reward puck mover and can rush it or pass it out.  He has soft hands and a powerful shot from the point.  His skating is one of his best assets, as he is an agile skater and is skilled at making plays while in motion.  He has great edge work and a smooth ability to transition from forward to reverse.  Montour also shows poise and composure under pressure which is not common in a player this new to the league.  He is still making gains still as a defender, as he is learning to developing better structure and body angling.  He doesn’t initiate physicality consistently and relies mostly on skilled stickwork and positioning.  He will be a fixture on the Miners powerplay for years to come.

MINERS PROSPECT NEED TO KNOW:  Troy Terry

            Known for his shootout heroics on the World Junior stage, Troy Terry’s ridiculously quick hands and creativity with the puck on his stick has translated well in other facets of his game. The former NCAA champion with Denver uses his phenomenal puck-handling to get past defenders and his patient, but lethal shooting ability to snipe pucks past fooled goaltenders.  His positioning is solid, and his two-way game has been steadily improving over time.  All he needs to do is get stronger and grow into his 6-1” frame, but it appears that the Miners have found themselves a steal of a late-round forward.  Expected CCHL arrival:  2019-20.