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.