A Weekly Look at the 2019-20 Sudbury Miners: Volume 13 (Games 52-59)

CANADIAN PRESS (Sudbury, ON):

Miners Weekly Record: 2 wins, 4 losses, 3 OT loss.
Miners League Standing: 30 wins, 21 losses, 8 OT Loss = 68 points total.

Currently sit in 5th place in the Canosa Conference, 8th overall in the CCHL.

Miners Special Teams: Power Play – 21.5% (6th); Penalty Kill – 81.2% (11th)

Miners Scoring Leader: Center Tyler Seguin (28G – 74A = 72 pts; 8th Overall in the CCHL)

Simply put, the Sudbury Miners are in a slump and the timing isn’t great.

Because of their recent stretch of play (7 out of a possible 18 points), the Miners have now seen
their lead shrink to just 4 points ahead of 6th place Victoria and 7 points ahead of 7th place Georgetown.

“This is not the time of year for us to be playing our worst hockey of the year”, stated Miner's
defenseman Josh Morrissey. “We need to right the ship and do it quickly, or else we are going to find
ourselves on the outside looking in, and we know we are better than that but we need to perform…..talk is cheap.”

In an effort to bring a little more scoring to the Miners, General Manager swung a deal with
Capeside for forward Kyle Palmieri in exchange for a pair of mid-level prospects in Alex Vlasic and Bobby Brink. The hope is that Palmieri will bring some scoring depth and a veteran presence as the Miners hit the stretch drive, looking to secure a playoff berth. He is scheduled to be a RFA this summer, but should not command too much salary, so look for him to remain in Sudbury after the season.

According to Coach Derek Sutton, “we finally have everyone healthy and with the additions made,
we are just trying to find the combinations that work best and give us the chance to win. Unfortunately, it getting close to crunch time and not ideal to find what works best…we need to figure it out and do it fast.”

MINERS PLAYER PROFILE OF THE WEEK: Ryan Suter
This veteran rearguard has built his career around being a responsible, well-rounded workhorse,
who plays big minutes in every situation. He is versatile and effective in all situations. He closes down space and cover gaps with his deceptive mobility and stickwork and has shown little signs of slowing down late in his career. Suter’s overall value has not been diminished much, as his physical play in the defensive zone and his ability to eat up minutes are still noticeable and valuable. The veteran is an unrestricted free agent this year.

MINERS PROSPECT NEED TO KNOW: Ryan Johnson
Johnson was a key driver of his Sioux Falls’ squad’s postseason run to a Clark Cup
championship last season. While he doesn’t have that “wow” factor, one needs to watch him a few times to really appreciate his offensive skills which are still developing. With that being said, he is a smooth skater, with good speed and great edges and agility. His defensive zone game is also ahead of other players in his age bracket. Now a freshman at the University of Minnesota, Johnson looks like a future second pairing mainstay, and possibly more if his instincts in the offensive zone continue to grow. Expected CCHL arrival: 2023-24.

CCHL POWER RANKINGS FOR 1/25/20...

  The newest CCHL Power Rankings don't have a lot of big changes in them but are still interesting nonetheless. The Icecats cut significantly into the Falcon's lead and make no mistake, Fort Erie and Siberia seem to be the top two teams at the trade deadline.  Then comes a cluster of three teams (HAM, SPR and SUD) that fall in after the top two. Just behind that trio we see Dayton and the Puffin. After them, Gillam is the best of the bunch and 7 other teams fighting for four playoff spots. Twenty games or so remain for most teams and we should see some clarity this time next week, not a lot but a sudden hot or cold streak with dwindling games remaining can reveal what the playoff field may wind up as.

POWER RANKINGS FOR 1/25/20...

1. FOR - 14
2. SIB - 17
3. HAM - 37
4. SPR - 40
5. SUD - 44
6. DAY - 50
7. REK - 52
8. GIL - 60
9. SEA - 69
10. GEO - 72
11. DRT - 74
12. CAP - 76

13. VIC - 77
14. CGY - 80
15. WIS - 81

LOOKING AT THE CANOSA CONFERENCE: The top five teams seem set in the Conference, with just the final seedings to be determined. Victoria holds a slim three-point lead over the charging Millers who hold a game in hand in the battle for the last post-season berth in the Conference.

OVER IN THE CORFIELD CONFERENCE: Only the top three teams seem safely bound for the playoffs with everybody a muddle behind them. Of note is the recent surge by the Parry Sound Orrsmen who, on the heels of an 8-2-0 stretch, sees them just six points behind 6th place Capeside.

See you next week!

Max on his way out of town?

Fort Erie, ON

It is becoming increasingly apparent that Max Pacioretty's days in Fort Erie appear to be numbered. 

The veteran left-winger appeared poised to ink an extension with the Falcons in the offseason to become a top-six winger next year but the addition of Artermi Panarin appears to have changed those plans. 

"Yes I've asked for a trade," said Pacioretty after practice yesterday. 

"I thought next year I would be a key contributor on this team but Panarin changes it.  There just aren't enough minutes for all of us to play in Fort Erie so I think a change is best, for sure." 

While it's true that the addition of Panarin changes things, GM Matt Young isn't so sure that Pacioretty will be the guy to go. 

"I like Max a lot.  He's played here before.  We have the basis of a 3 year, 5.5 million dollar contract agreed to for beyond this year.  If he doesn't want to stay, I'm open to dealing him now or making it a sign-and-trade in the post-season.  We need to be clear though - we never told Max he wasn't in our plans whatsoever.  He's made that decision for us." 

When asked what it would take to pry the 30 goal, 70 point guy (projected numbers for next sim season) away from the Falcons, Young was honest. 

"You see the players in that room?  It's cost us a lot of prospects and picks to put that team together so we need picks/prospects to replenish the system as we don't know when Casey (Mittelstadt) and Jesse (Puljujarvi) are going to be ready to contribute regularly upfront here.  Luckily for us, we have Dylan Strome ready to go for next year or if somebody goes down this year." 

Looking around the league one can't help but wonder how Young's phone or email is not being flooded with calls for the scoring winger.  There are a number of teams that could use scoring but remain inactive with the trade deadline quickly approaching. 

It could be an interesting week in Fort Erie as Young looks to augment his team for what he hopes is an extended playoff run. 

An Outsiders look at the CCHL finances

With only a season and a half under our belts here in Capeside, we still consider ourselves outsiders here in the CCHL. This article is by no means is criticism as I am not sure what has been tried in the past. This is just an outside perspective.

Financial Issue #1 - Revenue Model

What makes the CCHL a great league to be a part of is the financial side of it. It keeps the league balanced by not allowing teams to load up and stay on top year after year. The financial aspect allows the owners to be more involved and invested. When I look quickly at the financial page on the website, only 6 out of 22 teams are predicted to make money this year. I feel like that is an issue. Last year I was lucky enough to win 54 games in the regular season which earned $90 million. However, a team with half those wins earned only $7 million less. Where is the incentive to field a competitive team? I think the goal of the CCHL is to be as realistic as possible and if an NHL franchise were to not have a competitive team that franchise would lose revenue through a loss of ticket sales and fan support. My solution is that there should be a wider gap between the revenues for a win and a loss.

Financial Issue #2 - UFA bidding

A quick way to CCHL bankruptcy is building a team through the UFA bidding process. For the first 3 rounds, the starting point is the NHL salary, this leads to good players making high salaries and then they even get a raise off of their higher then NHL salary if a team wants to use their one UFA resign on them down the road. Last year Chara was making $13 million even though his highest salary in the NHL was $7.5 million. I understand that it's an owner's choice to bid on a UFA and it's one of many different ways to construct a roster, but I feel that there would be greater involvement and greater strategy if the bidding were to start at a point below the NHL contract.

Issue #3 - UFA resigns

A team gets only 1 UFA to resign a year and a raise comes with that resign. I would propose that a UFA resign should be treated like the RFA resign and stay the same or match the NHL salary. In a case like Chara whereas he has gotten older he took less money, A CCHL franchise should be able to receive the same benefit when resigning one of their own players.

I imagine these ideas are not perfect but maybe it can create some conversation throughout the league.

CCHL POWER RANKINGS FOR 1/18/20...

The 2020 CCHL Trade deadline is a week away and our new power rankings have gotten more interesting. This week we had to include sixteen teams that we see as having a serious shot at the playoffs. The Dartmouth Lakers make their first appearance in the power rankings at #11th overall due to a mix of them playing slightly better but also some of the teams around them playing worse. Dartmouth jumped from 15th last week overall to 12th and sit just four points from a Corfield Conference playoff spot. The offense as much as anything is responsible for the Lakers improvement as they sit 6th overall in goals scored and 6th in power-play conversion percentage. We also recognize the Wisborg Donuts who have cracked the power rankings on the basis of their 6-2-2 hot streak in the last ten games.

Will Dartmouth make a deadline or two to upgrade their blueline? We'll have to wait and see...

Here's this week's updated CCHL Power Rankings:

1. FOR - 10
2. SIB - 22
3. SPR - 37
4. SUD - 37
5. HAM - 40
6. DAY - 48
7. REK - 57
8. SEA - 65
9. GIL - 70
10. GEO - 71
11. CGY - 73
12. DRT - 78
13. CAP - 79
14. VIC - 83
15. ISL - 84
16. WIS - 85

OBSERVATIONS: 

WHO'S HOT: FOR, SIB, HAM, SPR, PAR & WIS...

WHO'S NOT: HIL, GIL, POR & MIN...

FOR GOODNESS SAKE: The Falcons hang onto the top spot in our rankings and this week, on the strength of a seven-game winning streak, have separated themselves from the rest of the pack by posting a season-low 10 point total power ranking score. How impressive have they been? They rank no worse than THIRD in ANY of the power rankings categories.

SECONDS ANYONE: A tip of the hat to Siberia who, while not quite on the level of the Falcons, sit alone in second place in the league - a healthy distance from the third-place Homers & Miners.

TIGER OR TIGGER? We need to watch Hamilton closely going forward. Since the first week of our power rankings, three weeks ago, HAM has slipped from 3rd to 4th to 5th this week. They are very close to recapturing the 3rd or 4th place but given how stacked that team is, we wonder of GM Taylor might make a deal or two this week to try and fortify the roster for the playoffs. The Tigers are a team I suspect no one really looks forward to playing...and....depending on what Chuck does...they might get stronger soon...

CONGRATS TO CAM: For cracking the top ten for the first time this year!

VICTOR/VICTOR: Also, props to Donpaulo Canosa and his Ronin for their 5-3-2 stretch over the last ten games which has kept them in the driver's seat in 6th place in the Canosa. The Millers and Express are right on his ass and the last playoff berth could go to any one of three or four teams...

See everyone next weekend with new power rankings!

Canosa Conference Scouts weigh in on trading Pekka Rinne in Dayton...

The league is abuzz about word out of Dayton earlier today that stud netminder Pekka Rinne may be moved before the deadline. Rinne has put sterling numbers together so far this season and leads the league in wins and sits top three in most other goalie stats. Dayton is mediocre when it comes to offense, but defensively they own the league's stingiest defense.

Let's examine the pro's and con's of Dayton putting Rinne on the market before the trade deadline. We've asked a few scouts from a few teams in the Canosa Conference for their candid thoughts...


The case to trade Pekka Rinne: 

Dayton owns the 15th best offense and the best defense in the league. Despite countless attempts to generate more offense, it really hasn't come together yet this year. The other teams the 'Men would have to face would all have better offenses than Dayton and an offense this weak puts an incredible amount of stress on the defense and goaltending to play error-free hockey. Let alone do it for at least three but maybe four playoff rounds. Unless Dayton's offense explodes over the next ten days or so, they should sell off Rinne and perhaps a few other valuable assets and retool for what should be an exciting season in 20-21. Rinne should bring a substantial return as perhaps the biggest difference-maker on the market.

The case to keep Pekka Rinne: 

Even without a stellar offense, Dayton has been a consistent force all year and been in the top five teams for a while. The playoffs are a case study in small-sample size madness and anything can happen in a seven-game series. Dadonov will be fully healthy soon and the Musicmen have plenty of quality depth on offense, defense and in nets with Mike Smith. Dayton will be a team nobody wants to play due to their ability to shut good scoring teams down.

The true story behind the turnaround in Steeltown

The true story behind the turnaround in Steeltown...


The Hamilton Paper Tigers completely self-destructed at the beginning of the season. They stumbled out of the gate and at the quarter pole Hamilton was 3-8-2 at home and barely over .500 on the road. The team was in eighth place in the Canosa Conference, things had begun looking bleak and the team chemistry was nonexistent. Things came to a head at practice when after losing their 6th in a row a line brawl broke out. The dressing room was a mess with cliques that had formed within the players. The staff was demoralized and goalie coach Rollie Melanson quit in despair.

Team Owner Chuck Taylor was forced to step in. “I was about to blow everything up and go into
rebuild mode. I have been spending like water to build the best team in the CCHL and the spoiled
millionaires couldn't get along.” This was an ultimate Hail Mary but I remembered En vino veritas and we needed some truth. The Tigers lost two more in a row then had a 4 day layover. Taylor loaded the entire team up after a game in Dayton, including training and medical staff and flew to Budapest.

The franchise still owns training facilities located there from their previous incarnation as the Honved. A In the Pearl of the Danube over many bottles of slivovitz and a few barely refereed bare knuckle bouts the team worked out their differences. Mark Crawford and his staff departed on the first day after objecting to being told they might be expected to answer the bell and take a turn in the cage.

New head coach Kirk Muller arrived the next morning and the mood of the team changed when he KOed a mouthy Boo Nieves. Once a few missing teeth were dealt with, stitches were installed and Neives cleared concussion protocol everyone was on the same page. During the return flight, Ilya Kovalchuk was dropped off with single-A affiliate Jarvis Corn Kings of the Federal League to “Work on his attitude.” Kovalchuk was about to wing his way back to Russia and the KHL when his agent pointed out a clause in his contract that states if he refuses to report he would have to return the entirety of his $7,000,000 salary. “Was last chance contract. We hate busses but already spent much money and can no pay back. So bus we go.”

Hamilton lost their next game in regulation with only Muller behind the bench and definitely not because of the extended hangover. Assistants Chris Nilan, Saku Koivu, and goaltending coach Felix Potvin joined the team the next day Since game 25 the Tigers rose like the mythical phoenix-like from the ashes of what looked like a failed season. During that period these Steel Tigers have gone 20-0-7 going unbeaten in regulation in 27 games climbing from being on the playoff bubble to 2nd place in the conference and 2pts out of 1st overall.

Kovalchuk also made great strides on his tour of small-town North America. He scored 30 goals and
47 points in his 10 games in the Federal League and after an interview with Muller was promoted to the Brantford 99's of the ECHL. Kovy averaged 4 points a game in the Telephone City despite the bus-lag and spent 6 games there before moving on to the Spiders in the Big Smoke. Due to an injury on the main club, Kovalchuk made an appearance in the Hammer picking up an assist and according to team sources acting like a team first player before returning to Toronto. He seems primed and ready to make his full-time CCHL return.

With the trade deadline rapidly approaching the question in Hamilton fans minds is will Taylor stand
pat? With his team flying high will he on a roll the dice on team chemistry. Would it even be possible
to move Kovalchuk? We will know in just 16 days.