State of the Loons ; Homestretch

 After roaring out of the gates the Loons have watched themselves slide right out of the playoffs. Heading into December the Loons were holding strong in the top 4 but our lack of fire power has finally caught up with us and the collapse has been quick and painful. The Loons have been amongst the worst in 5 on 5 play this year and will have to be addressed in the off season. Only 5 Loons are plus rating - seriously 5: Pitlick +8, Nosek +4, Blackwell +4, Zegras +3 and Garland +1. Our captain checking in at a -27 is alarming and will have to change if this team is ever going to contend.

The rapid decline does have a few bright spots in terms of our finances. Czepiel was able to work the phones (email and app) and was able to shed a few contracts and has put the Loons in a position to actually make some money this year. Though it will be doubtful that money will be used in UFA bidding, the Loons have committed to building from within and that is unlikely to change with Zegras, Boldy, Oettinger and possibly Beniers ready to take a prominent role at the top of the lineup next year. 

The rumors out of Capeside are that we could be looking to bring in a top line RW. The development of Wahlstrom and Garland has not been where we hoped and both are looking to be middle six guys not a top liner like we had hoped. Capeside has made no secret that the POR 1-22 that we own is available in a deal for a upcoming scoring RW. Bringing in a veteran RW does not make a lot of sense for us in the later stages of our rebuild. We are hopefully to have long term success with this young group and are not looking to move valuable assets for a quick band-aid fix. 

As of today the Loons are still holding out hope to sneak into the playoffs. We are only 3 points out of the 8 seed but have a killer schedule to wrap up the year. Looking back maybe we should of held on the that Capeside first after all.

For a quick look at out top 10 prospects:

10.    Jay O'brien has been tearing it up at BU as of late and could be ready for the AHL after the college season ends. God knows the Flyers could use some new         blood.

9.      Sasha Pastujov has seen his production slow as of late in the OHL but 45 (22/23) points in 38 games is still a successful season. Sasha needs to keep                    working on his foot speed and skating in order for this to translate at the next level.

8.     Jordan Harris has continues to play like the top defenseman in Hockey East. Still praying that Jordan remembers his roots and chooses free agency over the            Habs next month.

7.     Jack Rathbone has been dominant in the AHL as of late and needs to be on Vancouver soon.

6.    Sean Farrell continues to show that his lack of height is not going to hold him back.  Sean is over a point per game at Harvard this year and has 6 pts in 3         games against mainly men in Beijing.

5.     Drew Commesso was the youngest American goalie in history to start an Olympic game for the red white and blue the other night and showed he belonged         with a 24 save shutout. Drew is also having a successful year for the Terriers with a 2.48 gaa and .915 % which has been the biggest reason for BU's         midseason turnaround. 

4.     Chaz Lucius continues to have a successful freshman season for the Gophers (19 pts / 24 games) while he adjusts to the NCAA.

3.     Jacob Perreault continues to refine his defensive game in the AHL and has seen some NHL action for the Ducks this year. Can't wait to watch Jacob blast         home one timers for Zegras next year.

2.    Matt Boldy has shined since being brought up to the Wild. It's no coincidence that the Wild took off once Boldy entered the lineup. The combination of         responsible defensive play and 10 pts in 12 games has the Loons excited for Boldy to someday take over top line duties

1.    Matty Beniers barely holds off Boldy for one more blog. Beniers has taken on more of an offensive role in Michigan this year with 36 pts in 28 games, but has         shown that he has not lost his shutdown defensive play in Beijing as he has been the TOI leader amongst USA forwards each of the first 3 games against         mainly older competition in the Olympics. Matty will likely join the Kraken next month and the Loons next year. 

Invalid Lines On The Rise

 As part of the job of commissioner, it's my job to review all of the information before me at all times to identify trends and/or concerns.  

The one thing I've noticed lately is a significant rise in invalid profiles.  In saying that, every year following the trade deadline there is typically a drop-off in lineups sent and a rise with respect to invalid lineups; however this year there is a significant increase as we have been averaging three a day or more for the past week and a half.  

Looking at our year-over-year participation numbers, there is a definite decline in lineups submitted this year as we are trending to be under 1000 for a whole season for the first time since 2016-17; and this is our fifth straight year of declining numbers.  

There are still some strong teams as nine teams are over 40 lineups sent, with most of those being close to a lineup per game sent in.  I pick 40 because that's roughly what the average is across all 22 CCHL franchises.  

For the whole season, we are already at 114 invalid lineups which is already seven higher than last season's 107 for the entire season.  Overall, our total number of invalid lineups is up 2.5% this season compared to last year.  

We already have three teams that have forfeited the easiest bonus money you can get in the CCHL by keeping your lineup valid, with three more teams within three or fewer invalid lineups away from forfeiting the lineup bonus money.  Last season we had four in total and are in danger of having over 25%| of our league potentially throwing away the bonus money.  

By contrast, we still have seven teams that are on pace to receive all bonus money this season while last year there were only six teams that received the entire bonus payment.  

Now one of the reasons for this might be that teams just don't care about the money because they are getting expansion money, but I'd hope that isn't it.  

I think that there might be an appetite to discuss the potential of forfeiting all bonus money (across all categories) if teams are guilty of ten or more invalid lineups but that's something for the future.  The argument being if you aren't icing a competitive team on a nightly basis, then the bare minimum has not been done to run the franchise.  Again it's early but I think it's something to entertain however I would rather not penalize but five straight years of declining lineups and rising invalid lineups has me questioning whether or not this needs to be looked at.  

All in all it's been a good year for trade participation though so it feels like the lineups are the true issue, with the post-deadline decline really contributing in a negative way.  

I just wanted to point out some observations given where we are at with respect to the rising invalid lineups.  

Look forward to announcing the new divisions in the next day or two!  

-The Commish 

CCHL Division Names Announced for 2022-23

 As we continue our re-alignment for the upcoming year to introduce our expansion teams, we also must have names for our divisions. 

Yes, we have the Corfield Conference and the Canosa Conference, but we need to name the divisions within those two conferences. 

There were several ideas that the executive committee had to vote on and you can see them below. 

The traditional:  Norris, Smythe, Patrick, and Adams

 

The All Time Greats:  Howe, Orr, Gretzky, Lemieux

 

The Fisticuff Four:  Probert, Williams, Clark, Nilan

 

The All Time Salad enshrinement:  Messier, Jagr, Iafrate, Lafleur

 

The shore shins club:  Ludwig, Carbonneau, Skrudland, Daneyko

 

The Anna Kournikova club:  Bure, Fedorov, Phillippoussis and Igelsias

 

We scored 50 once:  Leeman, Cheechoo, Brown, and Carson

 The reality is that as much as we’d love to name it after some of hockey’s greatest fighters or hairstyles, that was never going to fly.

Also naming it after Anna Kournikova’s lovers was likely also not a very great option, however fun that may have been. 

While scoring 50 goals in a single season is also a great feat, doing it once just really doesn’t justify having a whole entire division in the prestigious CCHL named after you either. 

The all-shins club was also one that was glossed over by the executive committee.  While there is bonus money given for shot-blocking, that’s where it begins and ends for our group when it comes to honoring the bravery put forth by these pseudo goaltenders. 

At the end of the day it came down to the All-Time Greats and the ever so traditional conference names, and when it came to the vote, it wasn’t even close. 

Our division names starting in the 2022-23 season will be the traditional Smythe, Norris, Patrick and Adams division, finishing first on all but one executive committee ballot (it was second on that one). 

Perhaps it is a sign of our collective ages, or a simpler time in the game of hockey, but the fondness displayed for these division names was very evident in the discussion. 

In a coin flip, it was determined that the Norris and Smythe (keeping the old Campbell Conference divisions together) will be played in the Canosa Conference, while the Patrick and Adams divisions will belong to the Corfield Conference. 

Personally, I love the choice and am excited for next week when we unveil the teams belonging to each division! 

Enjoy your week and make sure you keep on top of your lines.  This is the time of year, post-trade-deadline, where teams tend to cost themselves a lot of lineup bonus money.  The statistics are proving that this year is no exception to that as well.  Please stay on top of your lines to ensure the competitive balance is maintained in the drive for the playoffs! 

Expansion Team Conferences Unveiled!

 Expansion continues to heat up in the CCHL these days with the teams getting names and Head Coaches over the past few weeks. 

With that determined, it is now time to unveil the conferences that our newest franchises will be in, come the 2022-23 CCHL season. 

Some obvious storylines that exist are the fact that the Quesnel brothers could find themselves in the same Conference.  While that’s a funny possibility, it would be even funnier if both ended up in the same division, but that possibility is such that we’re putting the cart in front of the horse at this point, seeing as we haven’t determined their CCHL Conference yet. 

The reality is, for the first few years, the Conference assignment will be somewhat meaningless as the teams attempt to build themselves into a contender.  Expectations could be low for the expansion teams; however, they could also represent a tough night at the office for many CCHL teams if the expansion crew are active in free agency and study the rules to make the most out of the expansion draft. 

With that said, it was time to determine the respective conferences that the Crystal Lake Campers and Val-d’Or Golden Nuggets would be assigned to in their inaugural seasons. 

With just two teams involved, we used the old-fashioned, scientific method of a coin toss to determine the results.  Crystal Lake was assigned “heads” while the Golden Nuggets were given the esteemed “tails” side of the coin.  The team that came up first would be assigned to the Corfield Conference, aptly named after the original game simmer Bill Corfield. 

A coin was flipped high in the air by our rather attractive commissioner, and it landed squarely on tails, meaning the Val-d’Or Golden Nuggets would play in the Corfield Conference and forever ending dreams of a family feud between the Quesnel crew. 

Crystal Lake would obviously end up in the Canosa Conference to begin play next year. 

Stay tuned next week as we continue to discuss our alignment into four divisions as we unveil our division names!  

Is a Soviet Tank the Best Kind of Tank?

 Well, after an unexpected start to the season, the Soviet Wings find themselves in a desperate battle with the Crackerjacks to make up a 6 point deficit... The Central Committee was concerned those unnecessary early wins would come back to haunt us, as the largely talent-less squad has shown a great deal of pluck and stubbornness in the face of stronger opposition, as one might expect when Darryl Sutter is behind the bench.

Perhaps a young Finnish import is the man to lead us to the promised land. Some have called on Coach Sutter to bench the unduly prolific duo of Cam Fowler and Hampus Lindholm, but Sutter has responded with a raised eyebrow and a dismissive smirk...

It seems it is all on the shoulders of our goalies... Can Chippewa be caught? Probably not, but let's hope for a spirited sprint to the finish line!

Expansion teams select Head Coaches

 As the date of the CCHL Expansion Draft continues to get closer, the league's newest franchises have made one of their most important decisions yet.  

Ok, yes I know they have already named their respective organizations but what I'm referring to in this instance, is the naming of their first-ever Head Coach.  

While some may not consider it important, it sets the bar for how their organization wants to play the game and how they are looking to play in their inaugural season.  

While the roster construction remains anyone's guess, we at least now know who will be guiding the players when the new franchises take to the ice this fall!  

The V'al-d'Or Golden Nuggets kicked things off and immediately went big-game hunting as they reached an agreement with former Fort Erie Falcons' Head Coach Jon Cooper to lead the team.  

While Cooper struggled in Fort Erie this season, there is no doubt he was heavily favoured to catch on with one of the new upstart franchises in the CCHL.  Cooper is known to get the best out of players and there is no doubt that the Golden Nuggets will come prepared to play each and every night this season.  

Shortly after that, the Crystal Lake Campers completed their search as well, inking Jeff Blashill to become their first coach.  Blashill has always been best known for his work in the minor leagues but comes with a wealth of experience and will no doubt be a great fit for the Campers as they pitch tents this fall.  

This coming weekend our newest franchises will find out what CCHL Conference they have been assigned to for the upcoming season.  In another week we'll announce the four division names and then towards the end of the month, we'll see what teams will play in each division.

While the big game might be this Sunday, we have a lot of big things coming up in the CCHL and I can't wait to see how everything plays out.  

- The Commish!