Welcome one and all. We are indeed back again with S34's Walk down Memory Lane. You could call it a Deep Dive if you want. You could call it a Rewind of Reminiscence. No matter what sounds best to you, it's a chance for us to look back. Especially with how large in population this league has gotten. Heck, i may have been here for about 30 seasons now, but there are some 5 season vets here who are on their first players who may appreciate some of the lore. So that said, lets dive it!

Graders, words were 1945 in total

Starting with the West. Honestly because in the old STHS indexes it lists the West first.


Breakdown:


After last season's 63 point campaign and 3rd place finish, the Panthers are on top of the West this time with a stunning 68 points and a 30 win year. Noted 50 point man Jaxson Reynolds split them evenly, 25 goals, 25 assists. Don't worry, this deep team still scores by committee as they have 8 players over 30 points. Of course that includes team leader Reynolds. Timo Haas is the mainstay in net and had a much better outing this time around too. 0.918 SV% and a GAA of 2.45 is strong. 5 Shutouts is crazy. Also shout out to rookie Tord Yvel and his 20 points. Always important to see rookies having a great start to their careers.

:Admirals:
Table feels like it has flipped. Last season, they only managed 20 wins and 46 points. THIS season they got 30 wins and 64 points! Talk about a turn around. Jonathan Lundberg had 48 points to lead the way. Him and 5 others were worth 30 points or more. One of those 5 was defenceman Samee Iqbal who came over from Minnesota. He drummed up 34 points in 33 games before the trade. For Portland however. 9 in 16 including 5 goals. Pretty good for a defenceman. The Admirals also went 11-3-2 after that trade so safe to say it went amazing. Mark Harter came over from Toronto to play starter and give a great chance for Kyle Wahlgren who went 4-0-2 as a backup with a shutout by the way, to gain experience during his sophomore season. Harter had a SV% of 0.918 and a GAA of 2.54. Massive part of the quick turn around out west, 2 shutouts too.


Another team here who missed the playoffs last year, if just barely. The Winnipeg Jets managed 60 points and that 3 seed spot. Luke Fleming BLAZED away with 70 points. Man must have been running on Jet Fuel. Another full 8 30 point players. Holy hell, who did they ONLY get 60 points? Lukas Berger had a solid outing in his 44 starts but a minor backslide from last season's .895 SV% with this season's .891 SV%. 3.07 GAA means that the Jets likely have to win their games 4-3 or 5-4 most nights. No hate to Lukas, want to see him improve. Playoffs, we will see if he rises to the occasion.


From last in the league last season to the last spot in the west. Things are looking up in the Lone Star State. Jack Durden lead the way with his 54 points. Another team here with 8 30 point men is ridiculous. Though this Texas team is a lot like the LA Panther's of last season. Scoring by committee. One of those 8 guys is Adam Falk wo got into 21 games for the Renes after coming over from the Platoon. His 16 points in that time has been a higher pace. Should help them in the playoffs just a bit. Rookie Netminder Georgette Pel was rock solid. Posting a 0.900 SV% and a GAA of 3. Its not amazing, but for a rookie? From a team that was dead last last year? Hell Yeah! Even did it without a shutout.


I am not sure what happened, its not like the Dragons are a bad team. But here they are after leading the Conference and going to the Cup Finals. Now there sitting outside the playoffs? What changed? Bubba Nuck lead the team this year with 53 points. Which is awesome. Like almost every other team, they had another 8 30 point players. Hunter Wong's numbers were similar too. .899 SV% and a GAA of 2.76. Only 1 shutout though. Maybe that could be the weakness? I dont know man. Its hard to dunk on a Hall of Fame goalie and the Dragons only just barely missed the playoffs. This is a blitp and they should be back again.


After their 60 point, first round exit last season. Seattle seems to have taken a step back. Patrick Brumm went from 42 points to scoring 62 himself. Amazing and one of the biggest totals all year. Only 3 others had at least 30 points though, which is why we see them so much farther away. Michael McFadden is back and just lights out. .916 SV% and a GAA of 2.58. If only the Riot could score. They would have made it if they could score. 3 of His 18 wins were shutouts, but Seattle could only buy 21.


Edmonton was a hair away from top in the league last season. What happened? They also only managed 21 wins, they are LAST in the west. Theo Kane only managed 46 points this time around. 4 others managed at least 30 points. It just kind of seems like if you can't score, your not going to make it. Brett Broadway was better with his .908 SV% and a GAA of 2.84, no doubt they got shelled.



Breakdown:


If you thought last season's champions were good, New England has returned as a certified wagon for S34. 71 points is THE most. 192 goals for is THE most. 10 players with at least 30 points, including 4 over 50! Topped by Mainio Makinen's 66, is THE MOST! What do these guys and gals not have going for them? Mikke Laukkanen grabbed 29 wins with a SV% of .900 and a 2.99 GAA. Sure it is not great in the way of numbers. But he does not see as much rubber as other goalies. Even more so, is likely a netminder who thrives on staying busy. Better than last yeah, this team would be the smart pick to go all the way.


Another team that missed the playoffs last year. Post season hockey is back in The Big Apple! A top heavy team that just went nuts. 60 points almost purely on the back of their 29 wins. VLAD McZehrl was a bad man on the ice, leading his team with 79 points! Him and another 6 had 30 points at least. Interestingly 4 of those other 6 had over 50. The depth really didnt get going all that much, which could be a problem. Worse yet was the rough run for Jason Aittokallio who ran with a .897 SV% as well as a GAA of 3.19. Very rough and he will HAVE to be better for them to not be upset here. We know he can be better however. On the note of the crease, Rookie Backup Ekaterina Rudnikova was a stunner in 6 games going 5-1 with a .920 SV% and GAA of 2.34 as well as her first career shutout, helping to bring the Rage into the playoffs.


Last but not least of the teams who went from bust to boom, the Minnesota Chiefs are here for the playoff hockey. 56 points isn't amazing, sure but Lord Pretty Flacko lead their scoring with 63 points and 32 goals too. Only 3 players with over 30 points, though rookie Halfdan Thorstein managed 28, so close. Robert Andersson manned the net with a .909 SV% as well as a GAA of 2.98 and 2 shutouts too. It is a solid arrangement.


The Toronto North Stars are the last team into the playoffs with 55 points. It was still a 9 point jump up the teams who didn't make it. But they still are the lowest seed and the scoring kind of shows. Unlike almost every team in the playoffs, the North Stars leading scorer, Sven Karlsson, has 44 points. BUT another 6 had over 30, so they are very deep and score by committee. Jeff Kirkstone is the man behind the mask and rocking a solid .903 SV% with a 3.18 GAA chaser and 2 shutouts. His 20 wins wouldn't be enough and it could have been close, however backup Tyler No Nerves was stellar in his 7 games, winning 5 of them with 2 shutouts. Got the job done.


Well, this certainly is a time. The Hamilton Steelhawks missed the playoffs this year, though not a bad team, just no good enough yet. Jon Ross lead them with 43 points and, like Toronto, another 7 30 goal guys. Just a bit of a tough go. Big Ben Waters in net had a .903 SV% and a 3.01 GAA. Not bad, not terrible. Problem is, he only won 19 games. His backup, also lost all 6 starts. Better luck may have seen them challenge Toronto for that last spot.


Similar to Hammy, the Toonza never really got off to a strong march. same 46 points, though 3 more wins. Mikko Linna lead them with 43 points but only 4 others had over 30. Not enough firepower to get anywhere to be honest. You just have to try something. Matt Lewis-Flood and his .897 SV% were not good enough. However when paired with his 2.83 GAA, it seems a lot like he was absolutely shelled night in, night out.


One thing i can tell you about the S30s is that the Buffalo Stampede were starting up their rebuild here. Remember this team joined the SHL in the mid S20s and got good by the early S40s. Here in S34, they only managed 39 points. Eduard Selich was one of their few stars with 63 points. Maximilian Wachter had 50 and Steven Stamkos Jr. managed 39. Other than that nobody got over 30. Rookie Tommy Salami did reach 27 on this team which is a bright spot for the future. Goaltender Casey Holmes saw THE most rubber all season. Her .902 SV% and GAA of 3.29 are respectable numbers for how hard she had to work.


That is the rough outline of how the season went. Come back for PT.2 where we look at the first round matchups and break down how they went.