Friday, August 23, 2019

Winnipeg Ice 2019-2020

Forwards

Jack Cowell(20)(.72)
Peyton Krebs(18)(1.06)
Isaac Johnson(20)(1)
Brad Ginnell(19)(.6)
Cole Muir(18)(.4)
Connor McClennon(17)(.63)
Nino Kinder(18)(NA)
Austin Schellenberg(19)
Jakin Smallwood(18)(.45)
Owen pederson(17)(.19)
Brandon Machado(19)(.13)
Michal Teply(18)(NA)
Michael Milne(17)(.18)
Murray David(20)(.22)
Holden Kodak(18)(.2)
James Form(17)(NA)
Bruce Skyler(16)(NA)



I think someone forgot to tell Winnipeg they are in the CHL not CFL. Their fielding an insane roster of players. If your a team short on forward depth give the Ice a call, in a couple weeks they will be dealing.

I count 4 PPG players, 4 more in the .75PPG range. That's almost 3 lines so their depth has significantly improved.  They have a lot of OA questions in their lineup. I see it being difficult for them to keep 2 OA forwards due to their need on defence. I'd say this group is a slightl notch above average.

Defence


Jonathan Smart(20)(.4)
Chase Hartje(20)(.43)
Marco Creta(19)(.3)
brenden Kwiatkowski(19)(.09)
Carson Lambos(16)
Patrick Zachary(18)(.13)
Anson McMaster (17)(.1)
Karter Prosofsky(16)
Benjamin Zloty(17)
Michael Ladyman(18)(.09)
Reece Harsch(20)(.35)
Nolan Orzeck(18)(.22)

They have more defenceman that PA has forwards. I feel like the Ice will almost be forced to go with 2 OA defenceman. Otherwise, I feel this group lacks top-end depth and experience. If they only go with 1 OA defenceman, Creta jumps to the top line and suddenly their defence looks very average.

They do have some interesting young talent with Carson Lambos the 2nd overall draft pick in 2018 looking to make their rsoter.

There will be a lot of competition and that is never a bad thing, but that competition is still very young.I'm marking this group as average.

Goaltenders

Jesse Makaj(18)(.878)
Duncan McGovern(19)(.868)
Will Rurski(17)(NA)

The save percentages don't look great but save percentages are an interesting statistic because a .868 on Kootenay could have translated into a .898 on a different team. If we look at their game by game logs there are lots of games with 6,7,8 goals scored against and lots of games with 40+ shots. These goalies were largely left in to handle whatever was thrown at them.

I'm putting this group tentatively, at average. It's hard to judge goalies who get shellshocked in the previous year. I could see Makaj having a better year with a much better team in front of him.

Draft History


Year/DOB
Age
Notes
Pos
2018(2003)
16
Extra 2nd, no 3,4
2nd
2017(2002)
17
Extra 4th,5th
2nd
2016(2001)
18
2 4ths
1st
2015(2000)
19
No 1st, No 5th
12th
2014(1999)
20
No 3rd
11th

In the 2019 draft, they had the 1st and 2nd overall pick, that is 4 straight years of high selections. They should be rolling in talent.  Their 16,17, and 18yr old year age groups should be above average. This table suggests to me that they are still a year away from having a dominant team, but they should start being difficult to handle.

Import & OA

Not only did the Ice have 4 OA already, but they also traded for 2 more! I count 6 overages.  5 are likely to compete for roster spots, or good enough to find trade value on other teams.

Nino Kinder and Michal Teply are both signed imports

Initial Thoughts

I feel like Kootenay is similar to Prince Albert, and Saskatoon. They have a good core group and will be above average, but there are some holes to fill. I feel like they concentrated on their offence, and may have not paid as much attention to their defensive group.

 Their training camp roster was announced at 69 players. Their main camp is likely to see 40 players
With having so many Overagers and soo many players it is a bit difficult to read them. Trades will be likely because if they don't they are risking losing a lot of value. I think they are a bit volatile with lots of depth up front, but their defense looks average.

I can see them finishing anywhere from Behind Saskatoon, PA, Brandon, to in front of all of them. They should be in competition for a Home Ice spot, but with 4 teams fairly close it will be anybody's guess to where they finish. 

Next Up
Regina Pats

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