The Nickel Report – Evaluating the 2020-21 Sudbury Miners: Volume 3

 CANADIAN PRESS (Sudbury, ON):

 

Up to games ending on November 8, 2020

Miners 5-Game (Nickel) Record:  3 wins, 2 losses, 0 OT loss.

Miners League Standing:  11 wins, 5 losses, 2 OT Loss = 24 points total.  Currently sit in 3rd place in the Canosa Conference, 8th overall in the CCHL.

Miners Special Teams:  Power Play – 19.5% (11th); Penalty Kill – 80.8% (12th)

Miners Scoring Leader:  Defenceman Roman Josi (4G – 18A = 22 pts; 19th Overall in the CCHL)

 

If recent activity is any indication, then it appears that the Miners are all in for the next couple of years.

In acquiring both winger Nikita Kucherov and defenceman Ryan Ellis, Miners management sent a message to both the team and their fans, that they are in a win-now mode.

“We paid a price no question to acquire both of these players”, stated General Manager Terry James.  “But, we feel these two additions can compliment our group and give us a push in a very tight Canosa Conference.  We owed it to the team and our fans to try and put our best foot forward”.

However, initial results have not been good.   The Miners have failed to register a point since both players arrived and their special teams, that once sat in the top 5, have dipped to middle of the pack.   Both Miners management and fans are hopeful that the right chemistry can be found quickly, and get back in the win column soon.

 

MINERS PLAYER PROFILE OF THE WEEK:  Bo Horvat

Simply put, Horvat an excellent two-way player.  He skates well, has very good hockey sense and is a sound positional player most of the time.   He has a knack for coming up big in clutch situations. Horvat is good on face-offs and plays with plenty of grit.  He may never be a big point producer in the CCHL, but he is a better all-around player given his defensive ability.

 

MINERS PROSPECT NEED TO KNOW:  Peyton Krebs

Scouts agree that Krebs is a talented, versatile playmaker with upside.  He is an extremely fast skater with great burst and the ability to be quick with the puck on his blade.  He is not a liability when he does not have the puck and is good at working the defensive side of the game for a player of this age.   At times, he may be guilty of passing the puck when he should be shooting it.  He can play both wing and center, which adds to his overall value.  Expected CCHL arrival:  2023-24.

31 Thoughts that are actually 5 thoughts by the affable CCHL Commissioner

 Welcome, welcome, welcome back to the third edition of your favorite weekly column - 31 thoughts that I condense into five pieces of pure brilliance!  

Alright, so it may not be pure brilliance but it's still pretty good stuff!  Without further adieu, let's get the pontification going!  

1.  The Sudbury Miners kicked off a flurry of league-wide trade activity this week when they acquired Nikita Kucherov from the Moscow Freezing Bears.  Kucherov did not come out of the gates flying in Moscow this year with 14 points in 16 games, and many thought he'd be rejuvenated moving to a contender from the Polar Bears.  

The early results have not been good for Sudbury as Kucherov has been held without a point and is a -1 in two games as a member of the Miners.  While it's still really early to evaluate that trade, you have to wonder if Kucherov will fit in good with that group given his playing time will be reduced given the talent on the roster.  

2.  Home Cooking in the Corfield!  What is it about the home cooking in Chippawa, Niagara Falls, and Parry Sound this year?  Chippawa has gone 1-6-2 at home while both the Thunder and Orrsmen are 2-7 on home ice this year where they have the last change advantage.  

You'd have to think all 3 would have much better records even if they were .500 at home this year but hockey is a funny game.  

3.  Las Vegas find themselves tied for second place in the Canosa Conference and they have been the recipients of some great goaltending performances from the immortal Mike Smith.  Smith has a save percentage of .923 in 9 games for the Aces this season and has been a pleasant surprise.  

Of course, Sidney Crosby leading the way with 25 points and Kevin Shattenkirk has made a living with seven powerplay points to give him 19 for the season.  It's a great start to the season for Darrell and the Aces this season!  

4.  Is it just me or does anyone else feel like the penalty minutes in the CCHL are a bit high this year?  Well, being me, I did a little research as I thought the average of 14 penalty minutes per team was a little high.  

Looking at the 2019-2020 NHL season, it turns out that each team was only averaging eight penalty minutes per game.  I get that fighting is a lot more prevalent in the CCHL but the powerplay and penalty kill numbers seemed high and now we know why.  It's not just an illusion folks - Kerry Frasier and crew like to raise their arms!  

5.  Speaking of penalty minutes, Wisborg, Seattle, and Calgary have been lethal on the power play this season.  Wisborg has scored 31 goals which is 42% of their entire offensive output.  

Calgary and Seattle have both scored 27 goals with the man advantage as well.  That's good for 41.5% of both teams offensive firepower this season.  If you are going to play these teams, staying out of the box will be critical to your chances of leaving with a victory!  

Well would you look at that; we're already at five thoughts for the week.  Sorry everyone I've used up all of my thoughts for the week (my wife will argue that's five more than normal) so I think we'll end this week's column.  

Have a great week everyone!  

Commish out!  

The Nickel Report – Evaluating the 2020-21 Sudbury Miners: Volume 2

 CANADIAN PRESS (Sudbury, ON):

 

Up to games ending on October 27, 2020

Miners 5-Game (Nickel) Record:  4 wins, 1 losses, 2 OT loss.

Miners League Standing:  8 wins, 3 losses, 2 OT Loss = 18 points total.  Currently sit in 3rd place in the Canosa Conference, 6th overall in the CCHL.

Miners Special Teams:  Power Play – 23.1% (5th); Penalty Kill – 84.1% (7th)

Miners Scoring Leader:  Winger Bryan Rust (7G – 10A = 17 pts; 8th Overall in the CCHL)

 

It is still early in the 2020-21 CCHL season, but for the Sudbury Miners, if the last 5 games are any indication, things seem to be coming together for the team this season.

By going 4-1-0 in their past 5 games, their recent run of play has now vaulted the Miners into 3^rd place in the Canosa Conference, 1 point behind the division leading Long Island Express, who hold 2 games in hand.

“We are happy with our start, and our special teams have been good so far this year”, stated Sudbury Coach Derek Sutton.   “But it is early, and there are areas that we need to improve and get some better production out of some of players.   We are a work in progress but we feel like we are heading into the right direction”.

What Sutton was referring to was the production from the third line, which has seemed to be non-existent this season.  In an effort to shake up the lines and try to light a fire under some players, General Manager Terry James acquired center Bo Horvat from Fort Erie, in exchange for winger Timo Meier.  Initial results have been decent, but it will take some time to find the right combination and have this group come together.

 

MINERS PLAYER PROFILE OF THE WEEK:  Roman Josi

Another one of the Miners main off-season acquistions, Josi has wasted no time making is mark in Sudbury.  Josi has great puck-moving skills, outstanding skating ability and a very low panic threshold. He has shown that he can produce big numbers and log huge amounts of ice time, and it has been no different this year in Sudbury. He can be a little loose in his defensive play from time to time, so he could stand to tighten things up a little bit more, but there is no question that he is a true No.1 defenceman.

 

MINERS PROSPECT NEED TO KNOW:  Rasmus Sandin

Sandin is one of the Miners top defence prospects currently in their system.  Sandin’s main strength is that he is an excellent passer who skates very well and thinks the game smartly. While capable of putting up a lot of points, he can also defend his position well due to his cerebral approach and active stick.  All he needs is to become a more consistent performer when he does not have the puck and to add more bulk, since he is a bit undersized.  Expected CCHL arrival:  2021-22.

31 Thoughts that are actually 5 thoughts by the affable CCHL Commissioner

 Welcome, welcome, welcome back to the second edition of your favorite weekly column - 31 thoughts that I condense into five!  

Alright, enough of the appetizer, let's get to the meat and potatoes of this thing, shall we?  

1.  Through the early part of the season it's been one of those things where it seems the teams are really struggling with respect to the penalty kill.  It seems there are a lot of teams that are really below where one would think is an acceptable level; well perhaps that level is 90% if you are an old school guy like I am.  

However, when you actually look, CCHL teams were averaging 81.7% as a whole killing penalties this week which is actually just under two percent better than what the NHL was in 19-20 at 79.9.  

The best of our PK teams is five percent over the average and the worst is three percent under. It's always frustrating to lose a game because your penalty killers couldn't get the job done, but from a recreation standpoint, they are doing quite well compared to that other league, the NHL.  

2.  A few surprises in the top ten scoring with Jake Guentzel, Brock Nelson, and Bryan Rust all seeing their name appear in the top ten at this point.  Guentzel is obviously talented but is playing a ton of minutes which is something Tampere should be concerned about given his questionable durability rating.  

GM Gayle Zuk should be pleased with Nelson's production as it's finally meeting the expectations that the Express has had on him since the day his gigantic body was drafted.   Nelson's former teammate Rust is also flourishing in Sudbury but with 88-90% of the season still to play, a lot can change.  

3.  Through eight games this season, the Niagara Falls Thunder have only scored a paltry 15 goals.  It's almost impossible to believe that a team with Stamkos, Couture, Doughty, Reinhart, and Marchand would be having trouble scoring goals.  Aside from Stamkos, the other three forwards mentioned only have three points in eight contests which is massively underachieving for a group that talented.  Something tells me that the group is due to explode soon or their GM might be forced to look at a hard trade in order to give the group a much-needed spark.  They are a playoff team so it's only a matter of time until they show that in the standings.  

4. The CCHL is on the way to a record pace in terms of waivers this year.  Seven players have found the waiver wire in the last week with only Carter Hutton being claimed by a team.  It's interesting to see the team's so willing to pay to get rid of players compared to past years.  

5.  The CCHL is also on the way to setting a record for most profiles received in a season.  I am not sure if it's the result of just having to hit yes to upload and making it easier or something else.  It's definitely nice to see though and I appreciate everyone keeping up with their rosters to ensure they do not have illegal lineups.  So far we have only had 4-5 illegal lineups so it's good to see that at the current pace, everyone should get something in terms of bonus cash for keeping their rosters updated!  

That's all for this week's thoughts.  Until next week, for the CCHL Commissioner, I'm the CCHL Commissioner.  Bye!

The Nickel Report – Evaluating the 2020-21 Sudbury Miners: Volume 1

 CANADIAN PRESS (Sudbury, ON):

 

Up to games ending on October 18, 2020

Miners 5-Game (Nickel) Record:  2 wins, 1 losses, 2 OT loss.

Miners Season Record:  4 wins, 2 losses, 2 OT losses.

Miners League Standing:  4 wins, 2 losses, 2 OT Loss = 10 points total.  Currently sit in 4th place in the Canosa Conference, 8th overall in the CCHL.

Miners Special Teams:  Power Play – 22.7% (7th); Penalty Kill – 83.3% (13th)

Miners Scoring Leader:  Winger Bryan Rust (4G – 7A = 11 pts; 6th Overall in the CCHL)

 

The weather is quickly becoming 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.  With the number of off-season acquisitions, management has given this team their best shot to potentially go on a playoff run and give the hard-working fans in the Nickel City something to cheer about.

“We are still trying to shake off some of that summer rust and figure some things out.  There has been a lot of changes here, so building some chemistry takes time”, stated new Miners defenseman Roman Josi.  “We just need to continue to work our asses off, and the wins will follow more consistently.  We will get there”.

 

MINERS PLAYER PROFILE OF THE WEEK:  Artemi Panarin

One of the big acquisitions for the Miners this off-season, Panarin is one of the best offensive talents in the CCHL.  He is a supremely skilled winger who oozes creativity and is equally adept at setting up his line-mates and finishing off plays himself.  His puck skills are off the charts and his shot is wicked.  He is a true game-changing talent in the CCHL and big things are expected of him in Sudbury this year.

 

MINERS PROSPECT NEED TO KNOW:  Barrett Hayton

One of the Miners top prospects, Hayton is seen as a sure-fire CCHL player with top six upside and a middle six floor.  He is a good playmaker with a very high hockey IQ. The captain of last year’s Gold Medal winning team for Canada at the World Juniors, Hayton plays a very mature game and can be used in all game situations He may not have as much upside as a goal-scorer compared to current players such as Jonathon Toews for example, but his game is similar.  Expected CCHL arrival:  2021-22.

State of the Loons; NHL Draft edition

 Nothing is normal in 2020 and that also goes for the CCHL. For nearly 20 years the NHL draft provided CCHL general managers a road map during the entry draft. In 2020 - we were on our own, and I for one loved it. Going in to this draft our front office made the decision to prioritize this year's draft as the corner stone of our rebuild. After multiple trades and CCHL dollars we ended up with 31 picks. My favorite aspect of being on our own I loved having to rely on my research, the Loons hired 7 different online "scouts" and from there I put together my own draft board. Obviously it will take a few years until we really know how well our draft went, but for now lets compare my general managing skills to the paid professionals.

1.2    Tim Stutzle : CCHL (2) NHL (3)  Our most criticized pick and biggest gamble even though only 1 spot different the the NHL. 9 out of 10 gms would have gone Byfield but not us after Bob McKenzie got in our ear.                                                                       Stutzle has already has broken his arm so we are not off to a great start - time will tell. Wisborg rating +1

1.22  Jacob Perreault (22) / (27)         Even though he was selected lower in the NHL - we are thrilled to see him end up in Anaheim. Perreault a pure goal scorer alongside an pure passer in Zegras sounds like CCHL                                                                       success. Wisborg rating +7

2.7    Lukas Reichel  (29) / (17)           Not out best bargain but considering its 12 spots in the 1st round it might end up being our most impactful. WIsborg rating -12

2.15  Drew Commesso (37) / (46)       Our favorite pick of the draft. Many CCHL gms snickered when we traded up in the draft and took Commesso at 37. Drew was not expected to be taken til the late 3rd round at best in                                                                the NHL. Wisborg rating +9

3.14  Theodor Niederbach (58)/(51)     Anytime Steve Yzerman agrees with your pick you can't help but have high hopes. WIS rating -7

3.20   Yan Kuznetsov (64)/(50)            Strong D minded defenseman with offensive upside. Went to Calgary so may end up with Eugene at some point. WIS rating -14

5.3    Ian Moore  (91)/(67)                    Was on our radar due to being a local kid - Bob Murray and I have a special mind meld going. WIS rating -24

5.11  Emil Heineman (99)/(43)             Our first big steal. WIS rating -56

6.8    Theo Rochette  (118)/ NA           Our first big dud. Our scouts loved him, women loved him enough to give him mono. NHL scouts hated him. Hoping for next year and to settle down with a nice lady. WIS doesn't                                                                   rate the misses but we will take a +25 for a 6th round miss.  CAP rating +25

6.18  Ryder Rolston (128)/(139)          We remember the great times we had watching his dad in a Bruins uniform. WIS rating +11

6.21  Thimo Nickl  (131)/(104)              Bob Murray and I at it again. Unfortunately Thimo was sent off to Bismark for Blake Biondi. We will be reconnecting with Mr. Condon in order to bring this Mighty Duck home. WIS                                                                  rating    -27 

7.2  Landon Slaggert  (134)/(79)           Borat would call this a great success! Probably a reach by the Black Hawks but we will take it. WIS rating -55

7.9  Artem Shlaine  (141)/(130)             Artem took the time to like us on twitter when we announced his - we have his back! WIS rating -11

8.2  Lucas Mercuri  (156)/(159)             We thought we reached for him at 156 since he is headed to UMASS but Carolina agreed with us so who knows. WIS rating +3

8.5  Devon Levi  (159)/(212)                 With 31 picks and being weak at goaltending prospect this is where we started to take some chances. WIS rating +53

9.2  Jakub Konecny (178)/(212)            Just happy he was drafted. WIS rating +34

9.4  Wyatt Schingoethe (180)/(195)       WIS rating +15 

9.9  Brayden Peters (185)/ NA               Took a risk on a goalie that didn't work out - hopefully 2021   CAP rating +10

9.11  Will Cranley  (187)/(163)               We hit on the goalie. WIS rating -24

9.12  Garin Bjorklund (188)/(179)          Two in a row! WIS rating -9

9.13  Hayden Fowler (189)/NA               NHL gms didn't want to take a chance on him and his injury history was probably the reason. Was overage going into this draft so probably was a wasted pick for us. CAP rating                                                                     +10

9.18  Oliver Tarnstrom (194)/(92)           Now we're talking! We liked him but not as much as the Rangers. Full credit to out "scout" Larry Fisher on this one. WIS rating -102

10.1  Alex Jefferies  (199)/(121)             We love our local kids and love it even more when NHL teams do too. WIS rating -78

10.5  Trevor Kuntar  (203)/(89)              Ok so ... Let's me honest. We drafted him cause his name was Trevor and he is an American. But then the Bruins drafted him! If we didn't hate Don Sweeney we would be threw                                                                     the roof. WIS rating -114

11.1  Jake Ratzlaff  (221)/NA                 The pick we are most angry about. Our scouts really liked Jake but Jake screwed us. Just make up your damn mind Jake! He is still deciding between hockey and football. I'm                                                                       sure not being drafted won't help him pick hockey. We still think highly of him and will hope for next year.  CAP rating +5

11.2  Max Glotzl  (222)/NA                     We are just sad about this one. We bragged about what a steal he would be for us after drafting him and now we look like idiots. Let's hope he works on his shot and gets drafted                                                                   next year. CAP rating +5

11.22 Riley Duran (242)/(182)               A home run for us as Riley was selected by his home town team the Bruins. Again with Sweeney picking who knows - but we love our Bruins in Capeside. WIS rating -60

12.1  Tucker Tynan (243)/NA                We knew that this was likely a wasted draft pick after a horrendous injury was likely to scare off NHL teams. We believe in Tucker and hope he rebounds and is drafted next year. 

                                                              CAP rating of -5 (we are taking a - since its a feel good story)

12.2  Tomas Chlubna (244)/NA             We couldn't even find his picture on the internet so we didn't have high hopes. CAP rating 0

12.7  Alex Ljungkrantz (249)/(90)          We would be running our mouths here but we will save that for our next pick - plus this has a big bust factor but who care is was pick 249 for us. WIS rating -159

12.11 Gage Goncalves (253)/(62)        HOME RUN! Credit to Bill Placzek for this one. He was higher on our list and honestly we just forgot about him as he blended in with all the cross outs. This second year eligible                                                                    player put on muscle to go with his strong offensive skills.  Nothing beats getting a NHL second rounder on the stanley cup champs in the 12th round! WIS rating -191

How many of you made it to the end of this blog to see me pat myself on the back? So for the final results.......... I was a -765 overall!!!!!! If i can bring my scouts with me (Cam Robinson, Bob McKenzie, Larry Fisher etc) I think it may be time for me to take over for Don Sweeney, right? I would love to do the draft like this every year

31 Thoughts that are actually 5 thoughts by the affable CCHL Commissioner:

 1)  Welcome to our new GMs Richard and Sylvain.  We're happy to have you aboard and look forward to seeing what you do with your teams to get them moving in the right direction again.  Both come with challenges, no doubt.  Hamilton is scraping the bottom of the fiscal Barrell while Tampere was hampered by the previous owner's inability to actually make a decision.  Sorry if that seems harsh but being half-pregnant is not the way to run a CCHL team.  Fortunately for the league, both franchises will have stable management going forward.  

2) Speaking of returns, BIS is off to a solid start under the returning Matt Condon.  Yes, any team with Auston Matthews should be remotely decent but Mr. Condon has added some nice pieces in his time with the league.  

3)  Speaking of surprises, did anyone see the Amos Comets soaring out of the gates like this?  A solid 4-0 start has Maxime Quesnel pretty happy.  There was a lot of player movement to get there and even Maxime would likely agree that he's surprised by his team's hot start.  

4)  Through the first week of the year it appears that special teams will be so very important in the CCHL this season.  Seven teams are over 20% on the powerplay while seven are under 80% on the penalty kill.  It could literally make or break a team making the playoffs given the large swing from the top of the leaders to the bottom.  

5)  Does somebody want to tell the Moscow Freezing Bears it's important to win the faceoff in the offensive or defensive zone.  48.73% in the defensive zone and 47.85% in the offensive zone is offset by a 58.18% when the puck is dropped in the neutral zone through the first week.  I guess this shouldn't be a surprise if Kadri is taking most of the offensive draws given his 46.32 success rate in the circle.  

That's it for this week's inaugural edition of 31 Thoughts that are actually 5 thoughts.  For the CCHL Commissioner, I'm the CCHL Commissioner.