Toronto S71 Stat Predictions

[Peace 1,518]

Yes... I am absolutely stealing this idea from @Jubis. It reminds me of the time I used to buy hockey magazines, I wanted to see what the writers thought about the teams I enjoyed watching, but over time I found they became more and more similar and it became a 'new shit, different pile'. One of the things I always looked at -- if they were in the magazine -- was stat and team predictions. Every writer seemed to have their own opinions, and it really became the only differences I perceived. 

So I thought I'd do one for Toronto. 

Bjorn Scoringsonn
Last Season: 18 G - 20 A - 38 P
This Season: 15 G - 38 A - 53 P

For the majority of last season Scoringsonn was partnered with Chad Magnum and Nethila Dissanayake, and while Dissanayake produced reasonably well, Scoringsonn was never able to elevate his play to a similar level while on the first line and finished the season nearly tying his career high in points. 

Scoringsonn will once again be featured on the Legions' top offensive line, however he has two entirely different teammates. Okay, sure, Chad Magnum is still the teams top center but things have changed. Rookie Magnum was mostly a checking forward, focusing on a lot of hits with a bruising style of play. Sophomore Magnum worked through the off season developing the offensive side of his game, and will contribute on the score sheet far more than his rookie season. 

Then you have Erik Killinger taking Dissanayake's spot, and with that brings a more defensively responsible but offensive game. With Magnum's development, the introduction of Killinger and his own talents I suspect Scoringsonn to play a key role in Toronto's production. 


Chad Magnum
Last Season: 7 G - 17 A - 24 P
This Season: 20 G - 31 A - 51 P

Chad Magnum -- as we mentioned above -- was a role player, a checking forward if you will, but for the entirety of his rookie season while playing nearly thirty minutes a game. During the off season, however, Magnum focused on his skating, puck handling and offensive abilities like his shot and positioning. It's an easy assumption that Magnum will have a far better season statistically on a line with Killinger and Scoringsonn.  

If we use Dissanayake's 50+ points on the left side of Magnum and Scoringsonn last season, we can safely assume that Chad Magnum's sophomore season in the VHL will be a significant improvement from the 24 points he had prior. In fact, I'd put him in the conversation to win most improved, especially if the line gels right from the start. 

Chemistry wise it should be all set, and it kinda makes sense actually. Killinger is a two-way forward with strengths at both end of the ice, while Magnum is a physical forward with a developing shot and they're both coupled with Scoringsonn's comparatively better passing. If anything, you can predict how this line will function. 
 

 

Nethila Dissanayake
Last Season: 30 G - 28 A - 58 P
This Season: 22 G - 20 A - 42 P

Dissanayake's team leading 58 points was -- in all honestly -- a pretty remarkable feat considering the roster Toronto had in S70. The team used a '6F-4D-1G' setup, and Dissanayake was at the helm of it all. His thirty goals is a reach for some Legion players, while others a future achievement. As we've mentioned above, Dissanayake's line mates last season were Chad Magnum and Bjorn Scoringsonn, but this season he's being shuffled to the second line with McDagg and Miniti. 

Despite being shuffled down the lineup, it could be argued that the line he shares with McDagg and Miniti is more balanced than the one he had with Magnum and Scoringsonn previously. Although it's reasonable to assume his production will drop, he'll still be relied upon to score goals for the Toronto Legion with his reduced but still heavy ice time.

Dissanayake will return to his more physical roots, sharing a similar story with McDagg, and might just be a troublesome lineup for some teams to manage. I suppose we'll see, right? 
 

 

 

Zeno Miniti
Last Season: 6 G - 16 A - 22 P
This Season: 14 G - 20 A - 34 P

Miniti was quite clearly nothing more than a depth player for the Legion in S70. He had just over 11 and a half minutes per game, yet he still managed to register 22 points for an impressive (considering his role) 0.53 points per twenty minutes -- which was, in fact, forth best on the Legion roster. Perhaps he was under utilized during his past season, but there are no complaints coming from his player agency so they must have been alright with it. 

 

Miniti will be stepping up into a greater role with the team, and he's got the talent to do so. In previous seasons with Prague, Miniti was a 67 and 44 point scorer for the expansion team, and Toronto will be hoping to unlock that potential once again. Miniti is a non-physical but offensively oriented player, so it can be assumed that he'll be the offensive catalyst for the second unit. They get him the puck, create some space, and he'll find room to shoot. 

The second line will be an energy line, there is no doubt about that, but they've got some quality scorers too. 
 

 

 

Aron Nielsen
Last Season: 10 G - 28 A - 38 P
This Season: 14 G - 41 A - 55 P

We're predicting an impressive point increase on Nielsen's offensive numbers simply because the Toronto Legion have become more dangerous offensively compared to the Legions' S70 roster, along with other factors we've mentioned below. He is the power play quarterback and top defender on the team, so he will -- much like last season -- be on the ice quite a bit during scoring chances and the likelihood of him contributing to a successful opportunity are higher than ever now. 

Nielsen is coming off a career season with Toronto, and there is no signs of him slowing down, but he has announced this will be his final season in the Victory Hockey League. Surprisingly enough -- despite facing natural regression -- he has reported to the team in better shape than he was last season, so retirement comes as a surprise. One last hurrah for Nielsen would be nice, and perhaps a chance to win the top team trophy (pending a trade to a proper contender, of course.)? 



Rusty Shackleford
Last Season: 7 G - 37 A - 44 P
This Season: 10 G - 31 A - 41 P

It doesn't make any sense, right? What exactly is the reason Nielsen is projected to have a far better season with a better team, but Shackleford -- nearly coming off a career season with Toronto - is expected to take a slight dive in his own production? The answer is quite simple, actually, and that was somewhat covered above in Nielsen's segment. Nielsen has reported to Toronto in the best shape of his life, while Shackleford reported to Toronto having aged slightly. Obviously it's possible Shackleford continues his offence from the blue line, but with what is being reported from Toronto's training camp, it's not unreasonable to assume it won't be as impressive. 

The only reason he maintains 40+ points is because Toronto has a new identity up front, and Shackleford will likely see more ice time this season than he did in S70. 



Boone Jenton
Last Season: 11 G - 23 A - 34 P
This Season: 13 G - 26 A - 39 P

Jenton is the second defensive pairings offensive catalyst... wait, what? No, Puigdemont scored fifty three points last season. What are you talking about? 

Well... yes. 

With reports coming out of the Legions' training camp indicating Puigdemont is forth on the depth chart for all Legion defenders, it's pretty clear that he's lost a step or two in his abilities, so to have Jenton the go-to #3 defender in point production makes sense. Jenton's point totals will be inflated slightly as the team around him gets better, but it's more or less his average. 



Carles Puigdemont
Last Season: 12 G - 41 A - 53 P
This Season: 9 G - 30 A - 39 P

Puigdemont is still a servi- well, no, actually he isn't. Any other team and he'd be less than depth -- he'd be bought out, as would Jenton, but on Toronto he has an opportunity to to simply play the game of hockey... and quite a bit of it, actually. His stats by sheer involvement alone have been impressive, 38 and 53 respectively in his two seasons with Toronto, but both of those seasons he was actually a serviceable defender.

 

After reporting back to the Toronto Legion in almost unfit shape, a steep decline in production is a reasonable prediction to make, although we have him and Jenton coming in at 39 points each due to the higher offensive abilities of the Legions' S71 roster. 




A lot of Legion players from last season aren't returning, but have been promptly replaced by developing prospects from the VHLM, so our predictions were made after comparing the rosters of S71 TOR to S70 TOR. Teemu Lehtinen Jr won't be returning, but is replaced by a stronger player in Erik Killinger; Matthew Kai leaves the team, but Kristopher McDagg climbs up from the VHLM to take his place; Owen May was traded, but rookie starter Jaxx Hextall is already a better goaltender; and finally Edu Stava's departure allows Miniti to move up the depth chart. 

It'll be an interesting season for Toronto, and I'm excited to see how close my predictions are. 


Now we'll cover the rookies... in a VHL.com article (sike!). 

1500+ words. 

Edited March 23, 2020 by Peace

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