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dylanjj37 · 11-13-2019, 06:45 PM

Samuel Michaud: A Review

For those of you who don't know Samuel Michaud – actually, I don't know why you wouldn't know Samuel Michaud, given that he is one of the best, if not the best, defenseman of the S50 draft class. Adam Barron? Forget him. Augustus Wang? Definitely not. Disisde Dayudie? Still no. If you need an S50 defenseman, Samuel Michuad is your best bet. Michaud has played for the Anchorage Armada for the past two seasons before getting called up to play for the Hamilton Steelhawks. I previously wrote about Samuel Michaud's first season on the Anchorage Armada in my S49 Anchorage Armada Rookie Review which you can read here. As I have already talked about last season, I will focus on the season that has just finished.In preseason, Michaud played exceptionally. He had prime position on the power play and was a top pairing defenseman (sort of). He may have only scored four goals but he scored a huge twenty seven assists. Here are some stats showing Samuel Michaud's performance compared to those defenseman that were drafted higher than him in the S50 SHL draft. The numbers represent where the position they were drafted. Barron plays for the Halifax Raiders and was drafted by the Winnipeg Jets. Wang also plays for the Anchorage Armada and was drafted by the Buffalo Stampede. Dayudie plays for the Lethbridge Lions and was drafted by the Los Angeles Panthers.

+/-

1. Adam Barron: -7
6. Augustus Wang: -10
7. Disisde Dayudie: -13
18. Samuel Michaud: 5

Shooting Percentage

1. Adam Barron: 12.20%
6. Augustus Wang: 13.24%
7. Disisde Dayudie: 10.14%
18. Samuel Michaud: 14.29%

Hits

1. Adam Barron: 63
6. Augustus Wang: 12
7. Disisde Dayudie: 35
18. Samuel Michaud: 92

In the regular season, Anchorage performed much better than they had the previous season, jumping up the standings from a dismal last place to finishing in second overall, only narrowly missing the top spot by just one point, losing to the Colorado Raptors. This dramatic change in fortune was likely due to Samuel Michaud, the greatest player on the team. Michaud started the season off with a bang, scoring his first goal in the very first game of the season. This would be the start of a wonderful season for Michaud, in which he also scored an amazing twenty eight assists. Again, here is a small sample of comparative stats for the highest drafted defensemen.

Hits

1. Adam Barron: 43
6. Augustus Wang: 15
7. Disisde Dayudie: 34
18. Samuel Michaud: 82

In the playoffs, the Anchorage Armada made it all the way to the semi finals. Out of the four highest drafted defensemen, only Michaud (and by default Wang) made it this far in the playoffs. Michaud was the key player for the Armada during these playoffs and I think without him they wouldn't have even made it to the playoffs. Samuel Michaud managed to get 10 points in just two series, a truly staggering amount of points. Once again, here are the stats for comparison.

Points

1. Adam Barron: 4
6. Augustus Wang: 6
7. Disisde Dayudie: 3
18. Samuel Michaud: 10

Hits

1. Adam Barron: 3
6. Augustus Wang: 4
7. Disisde Dayudie: 3
18. Samuel Michaud: 16

Shots Blocked

1. Adam Barron: 4
6. Augustus Wang: 5
7. Disisde Dayudie: 5
18. Samuel Michaud: 19

Points per 20 minutes played

1. Adam Baron: 0.58
6. Augustus Wang: 0.49
7. Disisde Dayudie: 0.56
8. Samuel Michaud: 0.91

Given that Samuel Michaud was also the only one of these four players to also be called up to play for his SHL team, the Hamilton Steelhawks in their playoffs, despite being the lowest drafted player of the four, I think it is safe to say that the Steelhawks got a real steal (no pun intended). Samuel Michaud has gone from probably the worst player on the team last season, to by far the best player on the team, if not the best in the league. When I asked him what caused this transformation, he said “I cut down on the random women I think”. I don't know if he thinks this is the reason or if he isn't sure he cut down on the random women but either way, whatever he did worked. Next season, Samuel Michaud will be playing in the SHL with the Steelhawks, meaning Gabe Johnson will no longer be their best defenseman, and I expect big things from him.