Tiger Talk

Just a post to show up at the top. Haven't been able to get out my predictions yet, planning on this weekend.

Regina Pats 2019-2020

Forwards

Riley Krane(19)(.38)	Dawson Holt(20)(.36)	Austin Pratt(20)(.75)
Garrett Wright(18)(.41)	Ty Kolle(19)(.44)	Duncan Pierce(19)(.4)
Carter Massier(18)(.17)	Cole Dubinskiy(17)(.19)	Logan Nijhoff(18)(.29)
Haydn Delorme(19)(.13)		Blake Allan(18)(.1)
Robbie Holmes(20)(.5)
Drew Englot(17)(NA)
Danil Gushchin(17)

Regina is one of those teams I didn't follow very much last year. The teams I don't follow very much are usually the teams I get wrong.

Regina has had some bad luck before the season has begun. 3 players have decided to not join the team. Sebastian Streu(20) has signed in Europe, Koby Morrisseau(19) has decided to play MJHL and their Import Pick Danil Gushchin(17) is looking to stay with Muskegon in the USHL, (the team he played with last season).

Before learning of those players not coming back, I was initially thinking that Regina looked to have an above-average offense.  

Right now I count 3 near PPG players (Holt, Holmes, Pratt) as well as 4 more that will hit the .5ppg+ mark. The players I have marked as PPG players, 2 of them are volatile in hitting that. Holt and Homes points have varied during the past couple of seasons. 

I would list their offense at about average. If they had gotten everybody to come back and their import to report I would have listed them as slightly above average.

Defenceman

Kyle Walker(19)(.28)	Ryker Evans(18)(.24)
Nikita Sedov(18)(.28)	Tyson feist(18)(.17)
Steven Zonneveld(18)(.17)	Makai Mitchell(17)(.04)
Sam McGinley(17)(NA)

I know very little about this group, so I feel a bit out of the loop on writing anything here. They are a bit young with only 1 19yr old. 

 These players are either listed defenceman or late-round draft picks. If I was going to make a blind guess I'd be more likely to side on the case of below average over above average because of their ages and draft positions. Their GM does have above average skill for recognizing younger talent though.

 I understand kyle walker will be one of their mainstays at the point while Sedov and Evans are more of the offensive type. Grabbing a veteran is a short term fix but could be a difference in them making the playoffs.

Goaltenders

Dean McNabb(19)(.875)

Max Paddock(19)(.896)

Mathew Pesenti(18)(NA)

I'm going to list this group as a slight notch above average. Paddock had memorial cup experience as a 17yr old. Regina should be a little better than last season so I expect a plus .900 save percentage. 

Draft History

Year/DOB	Age	Notes	Pos
2018(2003)	16	No 1,2,3	Late
2017(2002)	17	No 1,2,3 Ex 4th	random
2016(2001)	18	No 1,3, Ex 4th	Mid
2015(2000)	19	No 2nd, Ex 3rd	14th
2014(1999)	20	No 3,4

This doesn't look too good for their immediate future.  This says they should be in the basement this season and for the next 3 years after that. I'm actually impressed with their offense for such a lack of draft picks, but they seem to be in a similar spot recovery wise as swift current.

Import & overage

Danil Gushchin - It looks like he is going to stay in the USHL to play hockey. There was an article in Regina's newspaper about it. Muskegon does have a lot of returning players and was on top of the USHL last season so I could see how it could be difficult to snap him away to a team in the WHL that isn't expected to challenge. It's a tough blow for Regina as they had the 7th overall CHL import pick

Sebastian Streu has apparently signed a contract in Europe

Koby Morrisseau who was shut down last season due to concussion issues has signed with the Dauphin Kings MJHL.

Initial Thoughts

I feel like they will be better than last season. I think at best they are shooting for a wildcard spot. My initial thoughts say better than Moose Jaw and could compete with Brandon &  Lethbridge for one of the last wildcard positions.

Next Up

WHL Eastern Conference Review - This may take me a few days to Finalize.

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