After qualifying for the playoffs for the first time in franchise history last season, the Sudbury Miners came into the 2019-2020 season with some raised expectations and a hunger for more success.
In his season-opening press conference, General Manager Terry James talked about his idea that a lot of his young prospects gained valuable experience and that he expected them to take another step this year and establish themselves as one of the top teams in the CCHL.
But sometimes, things don’t always go to plan. The inconsistent play would plague the team all season, to the point where the Miners would not finally clinch a playoff spot until Game 80. They would end up finishing the season in 6th place in the Canosa Conference, good for 10th overall in the league. The prize for their efforts this season was a re-match of last years’ series versus the Springfield Isotopes. Springfield had finished in 3 rd place in the conference and easily dispatched the Miners in 5 games last year.
This year would be different though. The Miners picked the right time of the year to play some of their best hockey and upset the Isotopes in 6 games. The Miners would eventually fall to the top-seeded Siberia IceCats in 6 games, the last one being in double overtime.
Despite the inconsistency throughout the season and playoff loss, the Miners were able to take some positives from this season. Winning their first playoff series in franchise history and pushing a top team like Siberia can only be viewed as another valuable step for the Miners.
Going into the off-season, the Miners are armed with 17 picks in this year’s Entry Draft, including three (3) first-round selections. The Miners feel that they are well-positioned to fully transition to one of the top teams in the CCHL within the next few years.
On that note, as always with every year-end, here is the Good, the Bad and the Ugly for the 2019-2020 edition of the Sudbury Miners.
THE GOOD
Playoff Series Win
Simply put, winning their first playoff series in franchise history cannot be seen as anything but good. Getting that victory and avenging last season’s playoff loss to Springfield made this just a lit bit more satisfying.
Tyler Seguin
The Miners top scorer was simply brilliant this year and was their team MVP most nights. He finished with 102 points (good for 5th overall) and was one of three Miner players (Sebastian Aho and Dylan Larkin being the others) to break the 30 goal barrier. He goes into this off-season as a restricted free agent, but Sudbury is expected to re-sign their top center.
THE BAD
• Lack of Physicality
The Miners finished 19th in the CCHL in Hits, with only an average of 16.7 per game. To put this in perspective, the Niagara Falls Thunder led the league with an average of 20.18 hits per game. That may not seem like a big difference but too many times this season, the Miners could not respond if physically challenged and this lack of engagement, especially in their own end, would often lead to a scoring chance for the opposition.
THE UGLY
• Inconsistent Play
This was a problem for the Miners all season long. They would lose 4 games in a row, then reel off 5 wins, or be below .500 for a 10 game stretch but then lights out for the next 10. It was hard to know what Miners team you were going to get on a nightly basis. Because of this, the playoffs were in jeopardy until the final few games……too close for comfort for Miners management.
All in all, it could be classified as a roller-coaster year in Sudbury but ended on a pretty decent note with their playoff success. Management will be careful not to set expectations too high for next year, given how most of this year transpired. Having said that, the Miners should be well-positioned to try and continue their climb up to the upper echelon of CCHL teams.
Next year has the potential to be a big year for the Miners, but only if that potential turns into
results.
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