London United Season 91, Assessing Secondary Offensive Output

[JCarson 604]

I am writing this media spot after the sim of game 8, London has had a reasonable start to the season and currently sits with 12 points, tied for first in the European Conference with Prague, Davos, Helsinki, and Riga. Yes, 5 of the 8 teams in the European conference are sitting with 12 points, but that is not the focus of this media spot. As I noted in last week’s edition, this season’s media spot (except for theme week) will look at how depth players play a role in the success of a team. We are doing this by evaluating the contributions of three players: Sjin, Ivan Retoslav and Thor Odinson. 

Here are the stats in the categories we are reviewing: 

                                  Sjin      Ivan    Thor 

Goals                          3          2          2  

Assists                        4         2          0 

Points                         7          4          2 

+/-                              4          3          3 

Penalty Minutes        4          7           2 

 

Sjin – based on these statistics Sjin is providing a great secondary support for the team. For a team that has low scoring, having seven points (just less than point per game) is a great start. This level of production can easily support Sjin’s expectations of being Rookie of the Year. A +/- of 4 shows that the Sjin is providing secondary support defensively. 4 penalty minutes in 8 games is very reasonable. 

 

Ivan Retosav – based on these statistics Ivan is providing a reasonable level of support for the team. With four points, Ivan is below where he wants to be in production, as he has a target of 50 points for the season. (this allows him to reach 500 career points) However from a secondary scoring perspective on what has so far been a low scoring team it is within expected levels. A +/- of 3 shows a positive impact on the team. His 7 penalty minutes are slightly higher than his linemates which may be why he is slightly lower in production than he wants, can’t score if you aren’t on the ice. That said his penalty minutes are within acceptable range at less than 1 penalty every 2 games. 

 

Thor Odinson – based on these statistics Thor is providing acceptable depth to the team. 2 points in the first 8 games will project out to 18 points on the season. This is in line with last year’s production, which we were hoping would surpass. There is still room for improvement so this is not a huge issue at this point. Thor’s +/- is sitting at 3 which provides terrific value to the team. Thor only has 2 minutes in penalties which is well ahead of expectations. 

 

After looking at the information we have from the first 8 games it can be concluded that the secondary offense is assisting London in meeting the target of being a playoff team and pursuing another championship. Small productivity improvements would help meet personal goals, but with London’s strong defensive play, it doesn’t seem required to win games. All things considered; these players are providing adequate secondary offensive output for the team, are supporting defensively, and aren’t creating unnecessary issues by taking excessive penalties. 

 

We will continue to monitor as the season progresses.