Reviewing a Gritty and Star Studded Start to the Junior Showcase Tournament

[Timmy Turner 18]

             The start of this junior showcase tournament has certainly been a sight to behold. From the high-octane offence to the gritty rivalries beginning to take shape, the first 4 games of the showcase have been nothing short of exhilarating. It is clear that each of these teams has come in to prove that they are not going to be pushed around. 

 

             Of everything that happened the penalties are certainly going to be the main talking point for most teams heading forward in the tournament. With an average of 223 penalty minutes per game, the first 4 games of the showcase have totalled to 892 penalty minutes. With what seems like an entire seasons worth of penalty minutes there were obviously a few punches thrown. However, despite all the fighting not much was ever resolved. The vast majority of fights ended in ties and the leader in fights won was Zaza Colors of the Steel with 2 victories. Seeming to only care about having to a dance partner, Wattson Power also of the Steel, lead the league in fights tied with a total of 5. And in the competition for the biggest losers in our first games of the showcase we have Sullian O Julivan (Warriors), Eric Carsen (Warriors) and Jorgen Von Strangle (Steel) each with 2 loses under their belts. And last but certainly not least, we have a tie for our leaders in penalty minutes and total fights. At the top of each category we have 2 hard-nosed defensemen who have showed they are not going to get pushed around this tournament. Scotty Schultz (Royals) and Wattson Power (Steel) have made their presence felt on the ice each accumulating 50 penalty minutes and 6 fights in 4 games. The rest of the league should certainly take note to keep their heads up when these two are on the ice.

 

            Although it was exciting, going into the next set of games GMs will need to instil discipline into their teams if they want to be successful going forward. From a press conference released by the Steels AGM Minion it was asked to the players: “After the first sims we had a lot of fights, how to you think we could have fewer fights and minutes in the Box”. Some players took this to heart, clearly showing that the penalties were something that they were not happy about in the teams game. Mikael Mursu was extremely animated stating: “Discipline. We lost our sh*t too easy when they were provoking us”. While other players were not as bothered by the lack of discipline such as Masu Chan who stated: “ The fighting wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. We came into the league and made sure other teams understood that we wouldn’t be pushed around. We showed our fangs these two games. Now it’s time to focus on winning and scoring goals”. It seems that some internal team discussions need to be had to determine how they want to play as a team. 

 

            Although we have had a gritty start to the tournament there has been plenty of flashes of brilliance from stars in the showcase. All these penalty minutes have given the stars lots of ice time on the power play. However, many teams have failed to capitalize on their opportunities. It seems the most successful team on the power play have been the Steel. Along with having the most power play goals thus far, they also have the 3 top ranking skaters in terms of power play points. Sitting at the top of the leaderboard with 2 power play points each Bradley Buzzer, Gunnarwolfe Vomacka and Zaza Colors have been solid contributors to an already powerful Steel offence. If the Steel can continue to produce on special teams, they should certainly be a team to look out for in the tournament. 

 

            So we have had lots of high scoring games but relatively slow power plays, so where have all the goals come from? The obvious answer would be during even strength, which is correct, however if we take a look at the score sheets we can notice that the top left wingers of the Royals, Brigade and Steel have dominated the tournament thus far. Matt Avens (Royals), Austin Towbaker (Brigade) and Gunnarwolfe Vomacka (Steel) have combined for 15 goals (5 each). The production of these players in their first 2 games has accounted for an astounding 24.5% of the entire tournaments goals. This means that in a tournament filled with exciting young prospects, almost a quarter of the goals have come from the same 3 players. They have certainly shown up for their teams and given scouts something to notice. Don’t be surprised to see these players stay at the top of the leaderboards as we continue along in this tournament. 

 

            While watching the tournament you can’t help but notice there is plenty of fresh talent looking to make a name for themselves before draft day. However, there has been one clear standout in the first couple games. Tied for the league lead in goals and leading the league with 6 assists Gunnarwolfe Vomacka has a had an inspired start to his tournament. Producing 9 points in his rookie debut against the Warriors and contributing on both of his teams goals in their second game against the Warriors it is no surprise that he leads the league in points, and it is not close at the moment. Gunnarwolfe Vomacka has had a blistering start to his career and looks to be the tournaments way to early to predict MVP frontrunner. 

 

            After taking a look at all the flashy stats, lets take a look at some of the players flying under the radar so far. Despite only producing 3 points, William Groves of the Brigade is managing to sit in 6^th for point per 20 minutes. Perhaps it may be time for a boost in ice time for the young left-winger to see if he can match this production with more opportunity. We also tend to overlook defensemen since they usually don’t show up on the score sheet as often as the forwards. Leading the league with a +5 in the giveaway/takeaways category, Biggie Cheese of the Royals has proven to be a great defensive asset to his team. Certainly something for scouts to look out for if they are seeking a prospect to shore up their defence.

 

            With so much more tournament to go we can only wait and see how everything will unfold. The only thing we know so far is that we have been treated to a tournament unlike any other before which is sure to continue going forward. 

 

 

1100 words

Edited September 8, 2021 by Timmy Turner

[MetalToday 266]

Definately a crazy start to the tournament! I think it would have been interesting to talk about the shot counts as well, games getting more than 100 shots total. Also the 16-10 game would have been a funny thing to mention as well, it was a crazy game. I loved reading about the crazy and heated games, 892 PIM in 4 games is absolutely insane! 8/10 great read!

[Timmy Turner 18]

claim 2/2