Post by chlnetwork on Jun 13, 2010 1:15:48 GMT -5
Through the first week of Continental Hockey League play, the parity has been high and the competition intense.
So far, the Tulsa Twisters have risen to the top of the West Divsion, based mainly on the play of netminder David Stumpel. His .905 save percentage is tops in the CHL thus far. Offensively, Cesar Hoggan leads the squad with 4 goals and 7 points, while Bryan Goc and Avery Zanon have 6 points a piece as well. The Tulsa offense ranks fourth in the league, but their defense thus far has been the best and that's why they are where they are.
The second place squad in the West is the Grand Forks Northstars, where Brayan Gustavsson has stolen the show. The diminutive winger was known for his offense talents; he now is tied for the league lead with 8 goals and fourth with 11 points. 19-year-old Ezekiel Farrish has 9 points of his own. Defenseman Kaeden Sabol has been a revelation: the 15th rounder has six points and has been steady with and without the puck.
The Richmond Guardians have struggled out of the gate to a 2-6-0 record. Their problem has been that top picks haven't produced up to expectations - they've certainly got some late round steals. Dominik Niemi wasn't picked until the 24th round of the inaugural draft, yet he's scored eight points in eight games to time for the team scoring lead. Meanwhile, #1 overall pick Josh Gainey has just three points and is a dismal -6. Goaltending has also been an issue: Richmond has allowed the most goals in the league (tied with Toronto) and their goalies' combined save percentage is just over .870.
At the top of the Eastern Division, the Oshawa Ravens have surprised. Although their GM often favoured youth, he apparently managed to get plenty of talent along the way: Oshawa boasts four of the league's top six point getters, each above ten points. Sidney Lunde leads the way with 14 while linemates Joshua Romanchych and Tony Walton have 13 each; they are by far the league's top scoring line with 40 points. In fact, the next highest scoring line, Grand Forks' trio of Farrish-Gustavsson-Haakana, have barely scored as many as Lunde and Romanchych alone, with 27. The Ravens also have seven players with 6 or more points. The defense may be a concern down the line, however.
The Toronto Wolverines are 4-4 and most of that is due to the very disappointing play of Maxim Duncanson between the pipes. Touted as a future superstar and the CHL's Martin Brodeur, Duncanson instead has an .868 save percentage - the worst among CHL starters. Colin Winkler has 11 points to lead the team and the Wolverines have found solid secondary scoring as their next two top scorers are from lower lines, however, they would like a little more production from D Jaylan Fontaine (5 points in 4 pre-season games but just 2 so far in 8 regular season contests) and improved play from Duncanson is a must.
The Cobourg Hype got off to a quick start, but their offense has cooled. They've only scored 20 goals (league-low by 5) and only have three players on the team scoring at better than a 0.5 PPG pace. Aaron Karamnov has scored 4 points in 3 games, so look for the team to get him some more action. Colton Butler has provided sound goaltending play (his .899 save percentage is essentially tied for second in the league (Grand Forks' Colin Swarbrick, .900, is officially second) when in net, but backup Billy Clancy has looked out of place when forced into action. Fortunately for the Hype, they should be able to use Butler quite a bit.
So far, the Tulsa Twisters have risen to the top of the West Divsion, based mainly on the play of netminder David Stumpel. His .905 save percentage is tops in the CHL thus far. Offensively, Cesar Hoggan leads the squad with 4 goals and 7 points, while Bryan Goc and Avery Zanon have 6 points a piece as well. The Tulsa offense ranks fourth in the league, but their defense thus far has been the best and that's why they are where they are.
The second place squad in the West is the Grand Forks Northstars, where Brayan Gustavsson has stolen the show. The diminutive winger was known for his offense talents; he now is tied for the league lead with 8 goals and fourth with 11 points. 19-year-old Ezekiel Farrish has 9 points of his own. Defenseman Kaeden Sabol has been a revelation: the 15th rounder has six points and has been steady with and without the puck.
The Richmond Guardians have struggled out of the gate to a 2-6-0 record. Their problem has been that top picks haven't produced up to expectations - they've certainly got some late round steals. Dominik Niemi wasn't picked until the 24th round of the inaugural draft, yet he's scored eight points in eight games to time for the team scoring lead. Meanwhile, #1 overall pick Josh Gainey has just three points and is a dismal -6. Goaltending has also been an issue: Richmond has allowed the most goals in the league (tied with Toronto) and their goalies' combined save percentage is just over .870.
At the top of the Eastern Division, the Oshawa Ravens have surprised. Although their GM often favoured youth, he apparently managed to get plenty of talent along the way: Oshawa boasts four of the league's top six point getters, each above ten points. Sidney Lunde leads the way with 14 while linemates Joshua Romanchych and Tony Walton have 13 each; they are by far the league's top scoring line with 40 points. In fact, the next highest scoring line, Grand Forks' trio of Farrish-Gustavsson-Haakana, have barely scored as many as Lunde and Romanchych alone, with 27. The Ravens also have seven players with 6 or more points. The defense may be a concern down the line, however.
The Toronto Wolverines are 4-4 and most of that is due to the very disappointing play of Maxim Duncanson between the pipes. Touted as a future superstar and the CHL's Martin Brodeur, Duncanson instead has an .868 save percentage - the worst among CHL starters. Colin Winkler has 11 points to lead the team and the Wolverines have found solid secondary scoring as their next two top scorers are from lower lines, however, they would like a little more production from D Jaylan Fontaine (5 points in 4 pre-season games but just 2 so far in 8 regular season contests) and improved play from Duncanson is a must.
The Cobourg Hype got off to a quick start, but their offense has cooled. They've only scored 20 goals (league-low by 5) and only have three players on the team scoring at better than a 0.5 PPG pace. Aaron Karamnov has scored 4 points in 3 games, so look for the team to get him some more action. Colton Butler has provided sound goaltending play (his .899 save percentage is essentially tied for second in the league (Grand Forks' Colin Swarbrick, .900, is officially second) when in net, but backup Billy Clancy has looked out of place when forced into action. Fortunately for the Hype, they should be able to use Butler quite a bit.