OFFENSE
The Shockers held one of the poorest goal for and goals per game stats in the league and in turn that makes it extremely difficult to win games if there is nothing going in the back of the net. The bad news, if it could get any worse, is that the Diabo Duo of Steve and Chris will not be returning to the full-time roster which will hurt up front since Steve did lead the team in points. Steve had mentioned to the press that he would consider to fill in as a spare from time to time but cannot guarantee full-time commitment. Chris, however, is out of the question as he has signed his full-time duties to ice hockey. Also, a heart and soul player is also questionable to return, Jonathan Sante, has not guaranteed anything to the team as he will be starting in a new career path starting October. There are also rumors that assistant captain, Andrew Stevens, despite having a disappointing season on the scoresheet is pulling a Mats Sundin and will be leaving his decision to last minute. Which leaves us with the question, who will replace these guys? Well, as much as everyone thought Sal Amato would have been a good fit up front but he has confirmed that he is uncertain he can do a full-time schedule. So with management up in arms about who to get, there has been some serious talks with other teams outside the NABHL to acquire forwards who are not currently on contract.
Points to work on: It is clear that the Shockers had a rather disappointing run for goals for but it is contributed by the lack of shots on opposing goalies. There are several guys on the team with decent to excellent shots and they should start using them even if it is from their own end. We have seen several fluke goals by weird and strange shots that may or may not have been tipped and NABHL is living proof that in this league, any shot can be a goal.
DEFENSE
Unlike the situation up front, the defense should be close to remain the same except for the exception of new acquisition Derek Androlet who has already some experience in the Shockers line-up and then there is the questionable attendance of Greg Emmanuel.
Points to work on: The defensive pairings need to work on getting the ball out of the zone as we have seen the Shockers struggle with this all season. However, it is not all the defense fault, as a successful zone exit takes the cooperation of both the offense and defense.
GOALTENDING
Giancarlo Capaz will make his return to the Shockers as their number one goalie since the Division One Blues have officially moved out of the NABHL and in turn breaking their binding contract with Capaz. Capaz made it clear that he would prefer to stay in the NABHL. However, the team cannot deny the excellent performance of Eric Archambault in the Shockers last game and then there was courageous efforts made by Chuck Ghazarian in two games during the season which leaves management to make a decision on who will be the number two.
WHAT TO EXPECT
The Shockers will definitely have a couple of new faces for next season and expect them to come out firing on all cylinders as the team is disappointed about their abrupt finish of their debut season. On a side note, it has been announced that the Shockers will be handing in the bleu, blanc, rouge for something a little different this upcoming season. This is be their default jersey unless the colors don't work out with the opposing team then you will see them back in the bleu, blanc, rouge but until then here is the prototype jersey for next season.
Another great article! Even though I cannot commit to you guys as I truly wish I could, I will definitely be following your progress through this blog.
ReplyDeleteI really hope to be able to play, or to fill in often. I feel that there is ice-time to be won with some departures, and I would thrive in those conditions.