CCHL holiday schedule and OT change

 Hi everyone,  

I'll add this to the blog section as well to make finding it easier later on as well.  

One of the things I love about the Simon simulator is the numerous options but it's also one of the things I hate the most as well.  

I did some digging this week because I was reviewing players on the ice in OT as something seemed off for me.  Turns out, I was very correct.  

There is a setting that I have never checked off for us to have a tab for OT where we can set out players that we want on the ice in OT.  What has been happening is they have been taking the players we have set for the 3 man PK, and in most lineups those are the most defensive players.  We've been treating our fans to some very boring overtimes folks!  

I discussed quickly fixing this and adding the setting with the executive committee.  It was unanimous that everyone wanted to set their 9 forwards for OT and 5 defencemen that can go on the ice, in the order, they want them out there.  I'm not normally about a change in the middle of the season but this should have been in place and in the million options, I missed it.  It will reduce the number of shootouts as well since players will be on the ice in OT that actually want to score.  I apologize for that but it will be added after games on Monday night.  

You will need to send in a new lineup to account for this before games resume after our break, but please do not do so immediately.  By the time I upload if you send right away, the file will be too old so I need you to wait until the 27th when I do an update on the files.  

I'm posting a schedule of events below so we know and everyone will have two days to send it for the resumption of games.  

After games tomorrow night, we will have a one-week holiday break.  

December 21-28 - Christmas break for games.  

December 27th - files will be uploaded and updated.  All teams must send a lineup before games resume on December 29th.  

December 29th - games will resume at 7:00PM.  

Trade freeze:  No trades will be permitted after games tomorrow night until after games start back up on the 29th.  After the games are played, you may submit trades again.  

Please let me know if you have any questions.  

Thanks,

Matt

CCHL Prospects tournament postponed - not cancelled

 I'm sure this is a long-overdue blog and explanation as to why we haven't heard anything about the CCHL prospects tournament this year, so let's try to discuss it here.

The intent back in the summer was to always do the tournament over the Christmas holidays but a few things are in the way.  

One of those is that it is a busy time of year for us at work and as a result time is limited.  It wasn't supposed to be but I literally had half my team go off on maternity leave which left an enormous challenge ahead of me and left me working a lot of extra hours and weekends.  

Secondly, in that time, my wife decided that we needed to go on vacation over the Christmas holidays now that the border has opened back up to cross over the bridge.  So, with that being said, I'll be away over the holidays for a bunch of days.  

I loved the tournament last year and I think that the best thing to do is move it annually to the beginning of September each year.  

Why you ask?  

Well traditionally based on the responses and emails, most of us are starved for some sort of CCHL action after basically having nothing all summer.  What better way than to have the draft in July, compile combined rosters with your lethal lottery partner, and do the tournament starting just after Labor Day?

An added bonus to this is that we will have just completed the CCHL draft, meaning the players we picked in the entry draft will be eligible to play as well.  It's almost like the Traverse City rookie tournament and for that reason, I really love the timing of doing it then.  

It also works a LOT better for my schedule as well, and unfortunately, that does have to be a factor in things.  

With that said, we'll probably take a break on game action from the 21st to the 28th of December - a complete trade freeze for the holidays. We'll open back up the 29th for trades and a file update with games resuming on the 30th.  

I do apologize for the rescheduling of the tournament this year but I'm excited to have it go when it does in early September.  

Yours in hockey,

The beloved (or hated) CCHL Commish

Fort Erie Making Kessel Available?

Fort Erie will be making Kessel available after game 41 is played due to an embarrassing incident that took place at a team event at our arena naming rights holders restaurant.

Phil went to attend a team event at Happy Jacks Chinese Food restaurant but became outraged when the only had spare ribs and could not provide his food of choice - the hot dog.

Phil became a bit enraged and turned over an entire table of King Bo Guy Ding and really upset the arena sponsor in the process.

After turning over the table Phil looked at the owner of the famed establishment and said “see what happens when you don’t have hot dogs?  It’s not good, eh?”

Seeing as industry isn’t exactly booming in Fort Erie, the team cannot afford to lose this corporate sponsorship and have agreed to move the hot dog monger as a result.

Kessel has some great ratings on this disk and should get dealt to a contender in the NHL too.

In the right deal, we are willing to cover salary too.

Happy to take a pick or prospect (how good depends on salary covered) and/or a player from the roster if you need to move a body.

Phil can help a team bridge a gap to prospects or solidify a top 9 forward group.

All offers will be responded to in prompt fashion in order to please our values sponsor.

State of the Loons - After the first quarter

After a disastrous pre season, the Loons came out flying once the regular season started. Even with a few set backs as of late the Loons are still in the Corfield Conference top 4. We knew this was going to be a transition year as we start to integrate our top prospects into the lineup. Our goal is to make the playoffs and go from there. We are not kidding ourselves by thinking that we are bringing a championship home this year and we try to remind ourselves that every time a interesting player gets put on the trade block. 

Our forward group is still a work in progress. Right now we lack fire power. It may not be that way next year with the progression we are seeing out of Wahlstrom, Zegras and Garland. But right now we simply do not score enough goals to compete with the Seattle's, Comets, Falcons and Miners of the world. We have been in the market for an upgrade, but only if it makes sense to both our payroll and the direction of the team of building around youth.

Our blue line is undoubtedly our strength and is what is winning us games. McAvoy has been the MVP and is proving to be well worth the investment we made in him. At only 23 he will be winning the Loons games for a long time. Newcomer Justin Faulk's success in the neon green and black is going to create headaches for us once the off-season arrives. Both him and Kreider will be UFA and we are already scheming on how we can possibly keep both after misinterpreting the UFA rules... That executive has been subsequently terminated. A few seasons ago the Isotopes posted a blog around defensive prospects around the CCHL and the Loons were toward the bottom of their list. That one blog created a change in our philosophy and now we believe that our back end will be in good shape for the long term with Perunovich, Thrun, Harris and Rathbone waiting in the wings to fill in behind McAvoy, Werenski, Brodin and Carlo.

Our goaltending has been all over the place this year. It was Grubauer, then Campbell, Grubauer again, Rask, Vasilevskiy stopped by briefly, Oettinger left and returned and now our battery seems to be set at Bobrovsky and Gibson. The Loons future in net will be built around Oettinger and Commesso once they are ready to take over.

After a few promotions our farm system still is in decent shape, here is our updated top 10 if any CCHL team is looking to send some offers our way

10. Henry Thrun - Solid, good all around D man at Harvard that has recently gone through a small offensive explosion. 

9. Jordan Harris - Just hoping Jordan's Boston roots pushes him to choose free agency over signing with the evil Canadiens

8. Drew Commesso - playing great in net behind a surprisingly lousy BU team

7. Tyler Boucher - learning the ropes at BU - size is already there just needs to work developing his game against players who can match his physicality 

6. Jakub Lauko - is ready for the NHL just waiting for his spot

5. Jack Rathbone - NHL ready plays a similar game to Quinn Hughes - may need to get away from the Canucks to get a real shot

4. Scott Perunovich - is destroying AHL competition, hopefully St Louis trades him

3. Matt Boldy - was destined to make the Wild after a strong camp but an ankle injury keeps him on our prospect list

2. Matt Beniers - the second of our Matty B's - expected to see time with the Kraken later on this year

1. William Eklund - made the Sharks and is showing that he will be a star once he packs on some muscle

Amos after 30

 After a stable start, the Comets GM made a lot of moves between game 20 & 30.

 

Players acquired:

• Patrick Kane
• Tyler Toffoli
• Alexandre Texier
• Jaroslav Halak
• Brendan Montour

 

Players out:

• Ondrej Palat
• Lars Eller
• Jake Allen
• Justin Faulk
• Multiple prospects gone too

 

Still standing on 3^rd place along with the Georgetown Millers, the 10 last games were pretty hard on us (3-6-1). Our Lineup coach made multiple illegal lineups which led to the waiving of C. Wolanin & J. Lammikko. Too many unwanted starts for Jack Campbell who now has 28 starts left. Halak might play a lot for us in the next days!

 

Hamilton’s & Dvorak continue to produce as they still have 1pt/gp.

Kane & ROR a pretty solid too! ROR as 14pts in 10 games as a Comet and Kane as 12 pts in 8 games since being traded.

 

Weber might be back soon and help us solidify on the defensive side. We are currently giving up too many good chances that are leading in too many goals.

 

Still have a lot of works to do!

The Nickel Report – Evaluating the 2021-22 Sudbury Miners: Volume 2

 The Nickel Report - Volume 2.

Enjoy!

The Nickel Report – Evaluating the 2021-22 Sudbury Miners:  Volume 2

 

CANADIAN PRESS (Sudbury, ON):

 

Up to games ending on October 31, 2021

Miners 10 Game (Dime) Record:  6 wins, 4 losses, 0 OT loss.

Miners League Standing:  13 wins, 6 losses, 1 OT Loss = 27 points total.  Currently sit in 2nd place in the Canosa Conference, 3rd overall in the CCHL.

Miners Special Teams:  Power Play – 22.1% (9th); Penalty Kill – 80.0% (11th)

Miners Scoring Leader:  Center Auston Matthews (13G – 10A = 23 pts; 6th Overall in the CCHL)

 

There is no amusement park in the Greater Sudbury area, but in the past 10 games, the Miners provided their fans with a bit of a roller coaster ride.

After starting out this last 10 game stretch with a 3-game losing streak, the Miners seemed to figure things out and have won 5 of their last 6, including a 4-game win streak.  It’s no secret that management would like to have the team start playing with a bit more consistency and a high level. 

 “We have been having some lazy habits starting to creep in our game lately”, stated Coach Craig Berube.  “It seems like guys have read some of their own press about being Kehler Cup contenders and are forgetting that the games are played on the ice and not on paper.  Hopefully, this last run of games has made us realize that we need to work on the ice to get where we want to be.” 

The next run of games will be very important to the Miners, as they play 8 out of their next 10 games versus division opponents.   A good record in this next stretch is what management and the team is shooting for.

 

MINERS PLAYER PROFILE OF THE WEEK:  Ondrej Palat

Acquired in the off-season in a trade with Amos, Palat is seen as a creative, playmaking two-way winger. He is shifty and can be very elusive one on one.  He has all the skills and ability to be a natural point producer and is ideally suited for a 2^nd or 3^rd line role.   His attention to detail in his own end, also make him a valuable commodity.  Palat is slated to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2021-22 CCHL season.

 

MINERS PROSPECT NEED TO KNOW:  Wyatt Johnston

Johnston, who was drafted in the second round by the Miners this past summer, is seen in scouting circles as a tactical two-way forward who has some positional versatility with the ability to play on the wing or down the middle.  He is quick and is a shifty “in-your-face”, two-way forward who uses speed and hustle to neutralize opposing breakouts.  He has a good hockey sense and thinks the game at a high level for an 18 year-old.  Johnston will use this year in Windsor (OHL) to further develop his offensive game moving forward.  Projected CCHL arrival:  2023-24.

Amos after 20

 Currently sitting on 3rd place in Canosa’s is better than expected. With Weber out month due to a groin injury, the GM is really happy about how the situation turnt.

 

Jake Campbell has been the ultimate difference maker so far being 5-2-1 in 8 games with 2 SO and a .926% PCT.

Dougie Hamilton is still putting a lot of points on the board being first in the CCHL in points for Dmen (26pts in 20gp).

Christian Dvorak (10 + 14) & his linemate Nick Suzuki(5 + 17) are still making a huge difference in front while Logan Couture is leading the team in goals with 12.

 

The addition of Jared McCann, Phil Danault and Erik Cernak all solidify the defensive in from of Campbell. McCann also has 5pts in 8gp as a Comet.

 

With Weber 2 weeks away from a come back, we just hope that the team will keep pushing forward. This season seems to be a bit calmer in the trade department than last season. This might be a good sign of a GM being confident about his team.

State of the Loons; The first quarter

 After a disastrous pre season, the Loons came out flying once the regular season started. Even with a few set backs as of late the Loons are still in the Corfield Conference top 4. We knew this was going to be a transition year as we start to integrate our top prospects into the lineup. Our goal is to make the playoffs and go from there. We are not kidding ourselves by thinking that we are bringing a championship home this year and we try to remind ourselves that every time a interesting player gets put on the trade block. 

Our forward group is still a work in progress. Right now we lack fire power. It may not be that way next year with the progression we are seeing out of Wahlstrom, Zegras and Garland. But right now we simply do not score enough goals to compete with the Seattle's, Comets, Falcons and Miners of the world. We have been in the market for an upgrade, but only if it makes sense to both our payroll and the direction of the team of building around youth.

Our blue line is undoubtedly our strength and is what is winning us games. McAvoy has been the MVP and is proving to be well worth the investment we made in him. At only 23 he will be winning the Loons games for a long time. Newcomer Justin Faulk's success in the neon green and black is going to create headaches for us once the off-season arrives. Both him and Kreider will be UFA and we are already scheming on how we can possibly keep both after misinterpreting the UFA rules... That executive has been subsequently terminated. A few seasons ago the Isotopes posted a blog around defensive prospects around the CCHL and the Loons were toward the bottom of their list. That one blog created a change in our philosophy and now we believe that our back end will be in good shape for the long term with Perunovich, Thrun, Harris and Rathbone waiting in the wings to fill in behind McAvoy, Werenski, Brodin and Carlo.

Our goaltending has been all over the place this year. It was Grubauer, then Campbell, Grubauer again, Rask, Vasilevskiy stopped by briefly, Oettinger left and returned and now our battery seems to be set at Bobrovsky and Gibson. The Loons future in net will be built around Oettinger and Commesso once they are ready to take over.

After a few promotions our farm system still is in decent shape, here is our updated top 10 if any CCHL team is looking to send some offers our way

10. Henry Thrun - Solid, good all around D man at Harvard that has recently gone through a small offensive explosion. 

9. Jordan Harris - Just hoping Jordan's Boston roots pushes him to choose free agency over signing with the evil Canadiens

8. Drew Commesso - playing great in net behind a surprisingly lousy BU team

7. Tyler Boucher - learning the ropes at BU - size is already there just needs to work developing his game against players who can match his physicality 

6. Jakub Lauko - is ready for the NHL just waiting for his spot

5. Jack Rathbone - NHL ready plays a similar game to Quinn Hughes - may need to get away from the Canucks to get a real shot

4. Scott Perunovich - is destroying AHL competition, hopefully St Louis trades him

3. Matt Boldy - was destined to make the Wild after a strong camp but an ankle injury keeps him on our prospect list

2. Matt Beniers - the second of our Matty B's - expected to see time with the Kraken later on this year

1. William Eklund - made the Sharks and is showing that he will be a star once he packs on some muscle

Seattle Brew

 (AP) – With the 2021-22 CCHL Season well underway let’s take a look at how the 2020-21 Champion Seattle Reign have performed year to date and if there are any indicators of how their season may unfold.

Repeating as Champion is never easy in any sport or league and as we find ourselves in the 20^th season of the CCHL it should be noted that only twice has a team repeated Bismarck in the 3^rd and 4^th CCHL season and in seasons 12 and 13 by Copenhagen.

Seattle returns a large portion of their roster form last year’s Championship team but there were a few changes and perhaps the biggest is behind the bench as former coach Scott Stevens declined an extension and Dean Evason was brought on board.

While we only have a small sample size to assess how Evason is doing as coach, early results are both promising and worrisome and the true test will be where the Reign find themselves come the end of the year and if they make the playoffs how far they are able to advance.

Will it be considered a failed season and coaching performance if Seattle does not win it all, in the strictest sense yes, there will be 21 teams who fail each CCHL season with just one being successful.

However we tend to grade things on the curve so a playoff appearance and winning a round  or two might be looked upon favorably but until then let’s go through some early season winners and losers for the Reign.

Winners

Dean Evason – I know we said it’s too early to truly judge how good a coach he will be for Seattle but things are trending upwards. The Reign are currently riding a league best 6 game win streak and find themselves with an 8-5-1 record good for 4^th place in the Corfield Division. While they are still behind the 10-1-3 1^st place Fort Erie Falcons their record is better than the 4-8-2 start from last year and the 6 game winning streak is 1 game more than their best winning streak from last season.

Defence – The big acquisition in the free agency for Seattle was the signing of Damon Severson. The veteran blueliner was added to take some of the pressure of Matias Ekholm and strengthen the top 4 as he could absorb minutes and play in all situations. The team has surrendered 13 fewer goals than they did last season 51 compared to 64, through the 1^st 14 games so if that trend continues a decrease of around 75 goals against would be something to get excited about.

Jakob Chychrun -  Chychrun was a highly touted draft prospect who slid down the CCHL draft board back in 2016 so expectations were tempered when Seattle chose him. Just a handful of years later he appears to be exceeding those expectations. His breakout 21g-48a-69pt season from 2020-21 was a great boost to Seattle’s back end. This season he is just ahead of last season’s pace with 5g-10a-15pt in 14 games played while playing fewer minutes per game. Seattle knows they can rely on him to produce offensively and at just 23 years of age they hope his development will continue and he will be an anchor on the Reign’s blueline for the next decade plus.

Mattias Ekholm – Why? Because it’s Mattias Ekholm doing Mattias Ekholm things.

Losers

Forwards – Seattle didn’t add any big name forwards but picked up some depth for the 4^th line. 14 games in and the offensive production is nearly identical to last season 53g in 2021 compared to 51g in 2020. While that might seem fine 27 of those 53 goals have occurred during their current 6 game winning streak. They are one of only 3 CCHL teams whose top two point producers are defenceman, and the only one of those teams with a record above .500. Whether the current run of goal production can be sustained remains to be seen, but if the offence from the defence dries up or either of the top two lines slows down will there be any contribution from the bottom six to help out? The current situation indicates that it is doubtful.

Goaltending – Yes Seattle has yielded fewer goals through 14 games than last season but #1 goalie Semyon Varlamov has not been good enough to warrant confidence for Reign fans to think they could make an extended playoff run. Despite a 6-3-1 record his .890 SV% and 3.67 GAA is worse than future starter Thatcher Demko’s .902 SV% and 3.04 GAA. Varlamov has started 12 of the Reign 1^st 14 games this season and has been pulled twice in those starts compared to being pulled in 3 of his 10 starts in the Reign’s first 14 games last year however he also posted 2 shutouts in those 10 starts in 20-21 and this season has yet to post any. Seattle fans may soon be seeing more of Demko between the pipes unless Varlamov’s play improves.

Physical Play – Seattle ranked near the bottom of the league in hits with just 222 after 14 games. Now granted the team is not built to play physically trying to lean on their skating, speed and skill to move the puck quickly. However battling for loose pucks along the boards and fore-checking and defending does require a team to use physicality and win those battles. Even though Seattle was not overly physical in winning it all last year but it may benefit them to be a bit more physical especially against some of the bigger bodied teams who play that style.

The Nickel Report – Evaluating the 2021-22 Sudbury Miners: Volume 1

 ANADIAN PRESS (Sudbury, ON):

 

Up to games ending on October 12, 2021

Miners 10 Game (Dime) Record:  7 wins, 2 losses, 1 OT loss.

Miners League Standing:  7 wins, 2 losses, 1 OT Loss = 15 points total.  Currently sit in 2nd place in the Canosa Conference, 4th overall in the CCHL.

Miners Special Teams:  Power Play – 24.5% (8th); Penalty Kill – 80.0% (12th)

Miners Scoring Leader:  Defenceman Seth Jones (6G – 7A = 13 pts; 4th Overall in the CCHL)

 

Despite having a bit of nice run of summer type weather, make no mistake that winter is coming and it will be a little more like true hockey weather as the calendar turns to mid-October.  And with it, the CCHL season is now in full swing.

For the Sudbury Miners, they are looking to build on last season’s playoff run and finish what they started.  With the number of off-season acquisitions, management has given this team their another shot to potentially go on another deep playoff run and give the hard-working fans in the Nickel City something to cheer about.  

“We are a confident group right now”, stated Coach Derek Sutton.  “It seems like we have found the right combinations and the guys are hit the ground running to start the year.  I believe our guys realize their window to win is wide open but can quickly shut tight.   It’s up to them to grasp the opportunity and run with it.” 

 

MINERS PLAYER PROFILE OF THE WEEK:  Sebastian Aho

A fan favourite since his arrival, Aho is a driver of offence for the Miners.  He is known for his outstanding playmaking skills and has plenty of offensive acumen and good skating ability. He plays with energy and a lot of flair, which the Miner fans love, but he is also productive and responsible defensively. He is a true, versatile top-6 forward who the Miners will rely heavily on to deliver.

 

MINERS PROSPECT NEED TO KNOW:  Nils Lundkvist

There is no doubt Nils Lundkvist should be a player in the CCHL sooner rather than later. The Miners prospect won the Salming Trophy for the SHL Defenceman of the Year at only age 20, after an impressive season with Lulea HF.  He is a smooth-skating offensive contributor who likes to move the puck and make plays.  Lundkvist has scored at least 30 points in the SHL for two seasons in a row.  The knock on Lundkvist is that he is not very big and his defensive play needs work, which could be said for all young defenceman.  Make no mistake though, he has the potential to be an elite, offensive defenceman one day.  Projected CCHL arrival:  2023-24.

Amos Blog

 After a long summer, we had a lot of hype about this season. New coach, a lot of new players and a new captain. Besides all that, the 6 victories in 10 games weren’t good enough for the GM.

 

As we’ve just past the 10 games mark in Amos, it marks the end of an era. After a rough season debut, Vasilevskiy been traded to Capeside in return of Jack Campbell and Jake Oettinger. While Campbell manage to get his first W as a Comet, Vasilevskiy might make is Loons debute on October 13th. He was part of the awesome run we had last year while we loss to Siberia in 7 games.

 

Besides Jack & Jake’s trade, new faces are coming to Amos. As we’ve traded to bring back Phil Danault who should help to balance our top 6. Erik Cernak is also part of the trade that sent Ryan Strome & Justin Holl back to Fort Erie. Cernak is the PK unit we needed, a tough guy to play against and a young veteran.

 

After the 10 first games of the season, with no surprise Dougie Hamilton is #1 in points with (3+10) in 10 games. The surprise is Christian Dvorak, 7 goals(7+5) in 10 games. Well served by his linemates Nick Suzuki(2+10) & Logan Couture(7+4). On the other side, that 3rd line Hayes(1+1), Bailey(1+3) & Atkinson(2+3) might need a shake up to bring a balance in the offensive production.

 

Let’s hope the 10 next will be better for us!

 

State of the Soviet Blog

 In its first report to the Supreme State Soviet for Sport and Physical Education, the Director of the Soviet Wings of Moscow hockey club reports as follows:

1) Team performance has so far exceeded expectations. The club is effectively designed to build through the draft and peak in the future, but our socialist collective of downtrodden veterans and eager youth has banded together to achieve surprising excellence early in the 2021-22 hockey season;

2) Chief reason for success is top-of-league powerplay, whereby we have been able to apply socialist principles to reach unprecedented achievement in the field of excellence;

3) Otherwise, our underlying stats suggest a middling to below average record, so I wish to emphasize that any future struggles would be indicative of a regression to the mean, rather than any flagging of socialist spirit;

4) The goaltending looks to be an achilles heel, as the reins are in the hands of an aging veteran and a once-starring drunkard. We will do what we can - perhaps Anton can still recall the young pioneer spirit of his youth;

5) Andrew Copp is a young communist who has led the collective in all situations. We have received numerous trade offers for him from the capitalist lackeys, but they have all been laughably inadequate so far. Unless we are overwhelmed with an offer, Comrade Copp will continue as our team leader during the transition.

FOR goalie problems continue

Despite an outstanding start to their season, all is not well for the Fort Erie Falcons.

The offence has certainly been good and with Alex Debrincat now scoring after firing blanks for his first 30 shots on goal, chemistry seems apparent throughout the lineup.

The problem for the Falcons however is in goal with Marc-Andre Fleury and Curtis McElhinney both posting save percentages in the .880 range.

“Our goaltending hasn’t been good enough. I think Marc and Curtis would tell you that as well,” said GM Matt Young. 

"This is sports, and it's a results-driven business.  I'm definitely fighting the puck a bit these days but the guys are playing great in front of me, I'm just not stopping the puck.  The new pads have been tough to break in as well, but I can't use that as an excuse, I just need to be better.  They brought me in to solidify the position and I've done anything but that so far," said Fleury of his struggles in Fort Erie.  

The biggest challenge is that last year it was Vasilevsky in this spot, although he was playing much better. The salary for Fleury is far less but the results need to be better.

It sounds like the Falcons are shopping Fleury in the marketplace. They realize that perhaps a goalie with lower ratings may do the trick on a team where goaltending doesn’t have to be great, just good.  It seems to be the formula every year as Khudobin and Blackwood suggest from the past two seasons.

Fleury would be an upgrade for many teams in the league that rely on goaltending more. If interested, the rumor is that the Falcons will certainly listen and entertain a change.

Sudbury Miners - 2021-22 CCHL Season Preview

 CANADIAN PRESS (Sudbury, ON):

 

The window is wide open now for the Sudbury Miners.  After making the Kehler Cup final last, the Miners goal this year is simple - to get back to the Kehler Cup Final and avenge last years defeat at the hands of Seattle.

 

Kehler Cup odds: 7-1

Key Additions: Tim Stutzle - LW; Blake Wheeler - RW;  Teuvo Teravainen - W.

Key Departures: Johnny Gaudreau - LW;  Jake DeBrusk – W; Tanner Pearson - W

 

The Sudbury Miners ended their 2020-21 season with a 54-18-10 record, good for 1st in the Canosa Conference, 2^nd Overall.  They were able to parlay that regular season success all the way to the Kehler Cup Final, only to lose to the Seattle Reign in 5 games.  

But, now pressure begins for the Miners.  Management and the fans have tasted success, and feel that the time is now for the Miners.  Despite the loss of winger Nikita Kucherov to Injured Reserve, they are still deep and talented and expectations are to contend for another Canosa Conference title.   

 

UP AND COMING PLAYER TO WATCH

While he may spend most of the year in the minors, keep an eye on highly touted winger, Tim Stutzle.  The Miners pulled off a significant trade with Fort Erie late in the off-season in order to acquire him.  He has the offensive skills and grit to become one of the Miners most productive players in the coming years.  It is not unreasonable to expect 25-30 goals from him when he finally makes his full debut next season.

 

WHAT A SUCCESSFUL 2020-21 SEASON WOULD LOOK LIKE

In the words of Jake Taylor from Major League fame, “Win the whole f**king thing!”   A classic line but it is easier said than done, as the Miners learned last year.  But, it seems to be the general consensus between both management and fans alike.   The fans want to taste victory and the players want those Championship rings.

 

 

 

BIGGEST REMAINING QUESTION

Ideally, the Miners repeat last year’s regular season success and deep playoff run.  But there are heightened expectations this year from both fans and management that anything less than another berth in the Kehler Cup Final will be a disappointment.  The real question is that with these heightened expectations, how will this team respond when they are expected to win?

 

TOP 10 PROSPECTS

1.  Spencer Knight, G – Boston University (NCAA)

2.  Nils Lundkvist, D – Lulea HF (Swe.)

3.  Vitali Kravtsov, RW – New York Rangers (NHL)

4.  Victor Soderstrom, D – Tuscon (AHL)

5.  Ozzy Weisblatt, RW – Prince Albert (WHL)

6.  Dominik Bokk, RW – Charlotte (AHL)

7.  Braden Schneider, D – Brandon (WHL)

8.  Ridly Greig, LW – Brandon (WHL)

9.  Wyatt Johnston, C – Windsor (OHL)

10.  Matias Maccelli, LW – Ilves (Fin.)

 

PREDICTION:  2^nd in Canosa Conference.

Sudbury Miners 2021 CCHL Draft Review

 CANADIAN PRESS (Sudbury, ON):

 

The Sudbury Miners are hoping that they found some prospect gold in Capeside, home of the 2021 CCHL Entry Draft.

With the Draft now in the books, that’s the question that the collective media and fans of the Sudbury Miners will be asking General Manager Terry James in the years to come.

James offered up a quick summary to reporters this past weekend before the summer holidays and gave a quick review on how he felt his team did during this years’ draft.

“We are very pleased with the prospects we were able to add, given our limited number of picks and draft positions,” James said.  “We drafted players they we feel can be real contributors to our team but there will obviously need some development time.  I think we’ve added some skill at different positions and hopefully it bodes well for the future.”

The Miners only had 7 picks in this years’ CCHL draft, which has been widely reported as weaker than past drafts, but there was still some decent talent available.  The Miners were able to add some talented young men and improve their prospect pool, as they continue to try and build a team that will be in Kehler Cup contention for years to come. 

The Miners did pull off one significant trade after the draft, trading 16^th overall pick, Brennan Othmann and prospect Cole Perfetti to Fort Erie, in exchange for Tim Stutzle and the Falcons 2^nd  round pick in 2023.  

Below are some of the Miners more notable picks from this years’ draft and some scouts comments about the prospect:

·         Samu Tuomaala – RW (2^nd Round, 39^th Overall):   "He’s a shoot-first player and has a really quick and dangerous wrist shot. He’s a fast skater with good acceleration and possesses solid, if unspectacular, puck skills."

 

·         Wyatt Johnston – C  (3^rd Round, 61^st Overall):  "Johnston’s a talented, versatile, Jack-of-all-trades-type who is always on the right side of the puck, moulds his game to his linemates, excels in the faceoff circle, and plays with pace."     

 

·         Dylan Duke – LW (4^th Round, 87^th Overall):   "Whether shooting in space or banging in goals, he has a knack for the net. While his ceiling isn’t tremendous, Duke has all the makings of a rock-steady utility forward with goal-scoring upside."

 

·         Ryder Korczak – C (5^th Round, 90^th Overall):  "Korczak helped keep the young Warriors in most games with gritty two-way play and selfless playmaking in the offensive zone.”

 

Overall, fans should not expect to see any of these players with the Miners next year, or even the year after, but it should be a draft that pays  a few dividends down the road, given the ceiling for a good majority of the players picked.

State of the Loons; Recapping the Draft

 The Loons 2021 Draft Class is now official. Looking at this class - Beniers is obviously the headliner and as much of a sure thing as you can get in this years draft. After Matty B the rest of the class appears to be full of question marks just like most things in 2021. The 2021 draft has been referred to as a poor draft but a lot of that is based on not having a top end, franchise altering player at the top of the draft. Another factor has been the lack of games that these prospects have been able to play and impress the scouts. However I feel like this draft has a lot of depth and I will be interested to see how many late rounders become productive NHLers due to all the uncertainties from this year. Hopefully its some of these new Loons!

Our 2021 draft class consists of 5 left wings, 1 center, 4 defensemen and a goalie; 6 Americans, 2 Canadiens, 2 Swedes and a Russian.

2. Matt Beniers

The absolute highlight of our class. Matty caught our eyes during the 2020 World Juniors. Going from limited playing time on the 4th line at the beginning of the tournament to centering the 2nd line alongside of fellow Loon Matt Boldy in the gold medal game. Matty is constantly labeled as a high floor, second line center that can play in all situations. We see a chance for more then that. Matty has always played over his age group and our hope is that his offense will catch up to the rest of his strong game, making him a top liner for Seattle. Matty projects as Capeside's third line center with Eichel and Zegras ahead of him on the depth chart. 

120. Ryan Ufko

Through much of the draft we had been contacting teams in order to move up to grab Ryan, but thankfully he fell in our lap at pick 120. Ryan was on our radar once he committed to UMASS. We previously had been holding on to a much earlier pick in order to draft a different UMASS commit. However, we ultimately decided that Ryan's more well rounded game made him the better choice for us. We are excited to see how UMASS can take Ryan to the next level after watching the success of Cale Makar and Zac Jones. 

155. Lucas Forsell

It's not everyday that a 17 year old gets to see time in the SHL, but Lucas did this year. Lucas missed being 2022 eligible by a week making him one of the youngest players in this draft. Lucas has high end skill but needs to improve his strength and build in order to handle playing against men day in and day out. Lucas is definitely a gamble but one that could have a huge payoff.

156. Liam Gilmartin

Liam will never be top liner or probably never even in the top 6 but he is an extremely hard worker and will do whatever it takes to make the team better. He plays a physical game has good hands - will need to work on his skating next year in the OHL with London.

158. Kyle Masters

We believe that Kyle is one of those players that can drastically out produce his draft spot. Kyle has missed a lot of time the past two years due to injury and covid shutdowns, however the skill is there. Kyle is a tremendous skater with great puck moving skills. Was ranked as high as 38 by Elite we feel Kyle can be an absolute steal in the 8th round.

171. Oskar Jellvik

Oskar was a highly touted player in Sweden a few years ago however his play has leveled out lately. Skill is still there but he needs to spend some time with Liam and get his head on straight. Honestly -  was picked because he is a Bruin.

183. Justin Janicke

Justin is the brother of fellow Loon Trevor Janicke, but Justin is the much more skilled Janicke. Justin is a fantastic skater with top end speed. After being the first overall pick in the USHL entry draft , Justin will look to improve his overall strength in the USHL before heading off to join Trevor at Notre Dame.

200. Arsenii Sergeev

After failing to be able to draft Svedeback, Sergeev was the best goalie available. After struggling in the USHL two seasons ago Arsenii bounced back in a league I have never heard of (NAHL). Arsenii is a project and adds goaltending depth to our system.

222. Nate Benoit

Nate is a local project that is committed to the University of North Dakota. Nate will definitely get great coaching there.

241. Ty Murchison

Scouting reports rave around Ty's skating and vision, but will need to work on his strength and defensive game in the NCAA to get the most out of his potential. 

244. Jalen Luypen

Jalen was eligible last year and passed up by the NHL. After a solid year of work he was drafted by Chicago this year. Jalen is known as a hard worker and has seen steady improvement in the WHL. High potential for a 7th round NHL pick - well worth a gamble at 244

*Two picks were also sent to Tampa for a 7th & 8th round pick in the 2022 draft. 

This draft was all about Matty Beniers, anything else we get out of this class is gravy.

CCHL GMs draft their Seattle Kraken teams from the NHL protection lists

 Don Paulo's (Victoria) Seattle Kraken:

Johansen, Ryan

Zucker, Jason

Domi, Max

Bailey, Josh

Tierney, Chris

Kerfoot, Alexander

Virtanen, Jake

Namestnikov, Vladislav

Bastian, Nathan

Gauthier, Julien

Rubtsov, German

L'Esperance, Joel

Ritchie, Nick

Khaira, Jujhar

Donato, Ryan

Gaudette, Adam

Bunting, Michael

Landeskog, Gabriel*

DeMelo, Dylan

Soucy, Carson

Fleury, Haydn

Clague, Kale

Bean, Jake

Foote, Cal

McCabe, Jake

Kylington, Oliver

Dunn, Vince

Price, Carey

Vanecek, Vitek

Driedger, Chris

Blake's (HALIFAX) Seattle Kraken:

Matt Young (Fort Erie's) Seatle Kraken:

Aaron Stacey's (Springfield's) Seattle Kraken:

FORWARDS (17)

Tarasenko, Vladimir

van Riemsdyk, James

Zucker, Jason

Drouin, Jonathan

Domi, Max

Rask, Victor

McCann, Jared

Eakin, Cody

Namestnikov, Vladislav

Turris, Kyle

Pánik, Richard

Wagner, Austin

Fischer, Christian

Carpenter, Ryan

Maroon, Patrick

Blackwell, Colin

Merkley, Nick

DEFENSE (9)

Giordano, Mark

Johnson, Erik

Simek, Radim

Fleury, Haydn

Beaulieu, Nathan

Brown, Joshua

Clifton, Connor

Bowey, Madison

Bean, Jake

GOALTENDERS (4)

Bishop, Ben

Ingram, Connor

Vanecek, Vitek

Driedger, Chris

Terry Jame's (Sudbury's) Seattle Kraken: