Lesieur's S70 Performance Update: Final Installment

[KC15 340]

With the results of the D.C. Dragons first playoff appearance in franchise history not yet final (down 3-1 to Calgary), I am hoping to get the final installment of the Guy Lesieur S70 progress report in.

 

With all 72 games played, Lesieur stands at 525 TPE with the following final results:

 

Goals Scored

 

Guy finished the season with 25 goals. This is more than double his S69 performance of 12 which is certainly something to celebrate. What is even more to celebrate is the growth of the team as a whole. In S69, those measly 12 goals were good enough to rank Lesieur as the 4^th highest goal scorer on the D.C. Dragons. This year, his 25 goals rank him as … still the 4^th highest goal scorer on the D.C. Dragons. More than double the goals and yet still only the 4^th best. Guy’s teammates really stepped it up around him and there were acquisitions of veteran FAs that certainly improved the squad as well.

 

Assists Notched

 

There is a similar story to be told on this side of the score sheet as well. Lesieur ended the year with 22 assists. Again, this was more than double his total from S69 – just 10. But again, the improvement in the team in general made for no progress in his ranking among his Dragons teammates. In S69, Guy was the 9^th highest for assists and in S70, Guy was the 9^th highest for assists.

 

Shots Fired

 

It is in this category where we can explain part of the huge increase in goals scored from S69 to S70. In S69, Guy put 145 pucks on net for 3^rd place on the team. In S70, he shattered his personal best, but not quite by double, by putting 271 shots on goal. Ironically, even increasing by nearly 200%, Lesieur dropped from 3^rd highest shooting Dragon to 5^th.

 

Shooting Accuracy

 

This is where I am most pleased with Guy’s S70 performance. Of course, if you put more goals on net, you are going to score more goals overall. Even a blind squirrel finds a nut occasionally. But Guy upped his game in accuracy as well. In S69, Guy ranked 8^th on a very young team with a shot percentage of 8.28%. Not particularly good. But in S70, Guy raised his by almost a whole percentage point to 9.2%. This was good enough for 5^th place on a much better Dragons team. It’s not where he wants to be (double digits and moving toward 12-13%), but it is definitely solid improvement and proves that hard work does pay off.

 

So, what’s the conclusion? Simply that Guy Lesieur is making remarkable progress and has a great career ahead of him in the VHL. It is also clear that M. Lesieur is very fortunate to have been drafted – well actually, drafted in the first round and traded – to the D.C. Dragons where knowledgable and involved GMs and super supportive teammates have made playing for a very young expansion team a blast and where he was encouraged to grow into his potential.

 

Hopes are high for a turnaround in the first round of the playoffs – and for a great season next year!