CHL 97-98 Preview - Toronto St. Michael's Majors
Oct 18, 2020 16:48:02 GMT -5
Toronto Maple Leafs and Buffalo Sabres like this
Post by xx - Former Calgary Flames on Oct 18, 2020 16:48:02 GMT -5
Season Preview - Toronto St. Michaels Majors
Over the next few days, I will be scouring through the rosters of the CHL, trying to find strengths and weaknesses of the team, not only for my strategic advantage (which all of you know, I don't use strategy at all), and for anyone who doesn't know some schmoe from Europe. The goal is to have a team done per day, starting on October 10th.
The Team
Forwards
The forward core of the Majors will be led by the little men up front, who is Martin St. Louis and Scott Gomez. Both are very speedy, offensive minded wingers who are capable of scoring. St. Louis is a player who can slowly take over a game at any point, so having him as your primary option will be deadly for Toronto. Alongside those two will be the playoff performer in Justin Williams. This will be crucial for this Majors squad, who have a very solid top six forward group, and look to be one of the teams that could have a playoff position. To balance the scoring, the Majors also have guys like Ryan Malone, Jarret Stoll and Ruslan Fedotenko, who are quality two-way players who can score, but are just as capable on the defensive end.
What will test the Majors on the forward side of things will be their bottom six. Can guys like Jason Williams, and Lubos Bartecko balance the team well, or will they falter when on the ice? There's a lot of little known names past the top guys, such as Michel Ouelett, and big gritty grinders like Brian Sutherby and Matt Pettinger. However, despite the little known names on there, there is a great balance of two-way and grit on that side that could surprise a lot of people. Don't be too shocked if that third line takes over as well, and you hear goals from the lesser Williams or from Ouelett.
Defense
It's another case of very lesser known names in Toronto, but reliable talent. Lubomir Visnovsky will lead the way, and he is a very capable offensive minded defenseman, and along his side will most likely be Paul Martin, who can be an elite puck stopper on the right day. And the puck stopping defense doesn't stop there, because players like Lubomir Sekeras and Brian Pothier are just as capable puck stoppers, and with Sekeras, he does have some puck moving abilities as well. Jeff Finger is also a very decent option on the two-way front, but could be the crutch on the defensive side of Toronto. He's capable of being a very stable defender, but there's also moments where he is more of a pylon than anything else. It'll be the support of whoever will be pairing with him, whether it be the solid Bryan Allen or the sneaky puck moving play of Petteri Nummelin, but they'll need to help out Finger for him to be the stable defender they need him to be.
Goaltending
The goaltending might be the shakiest of the bunch in the CHL. As much as I like the name alone from Antero Nittymakki, he's not the most stable of starting goaltenders here in the league. The man did have a stable run as a decent starting goaltender, but that's just it - he was stable, and sometimes pretty pedestrian. He can steal you a few games, but this team up front will really have to carry the load for Nittymakki to succeed. Behind him is another goalie whose name I love, in Jason LaBarbera, but just like Nittymakki, he was a very pedestrian option for a lot of teams as well. If the Majors are going to succeed this season, it won't come from goaltending. They need their forward core and the defense to step up as much as possible, and support the goalies.
The 'Real Season' of the Toronto St. Michaels Majors
The Majors ceased operations back in 1961 from the CHL due to the Basilian fathers being too concerned about the academics of the players of the team - and they had a good case, considering at that time the Majors were in 98 regular season games in 1960 alone. They went to a shortened 33-game season for 1961-62, but the fathers were still concerned, and ceased operations. The team was revived in 1996, by the mind of Eugene Melnyk, who wanted to see the Majors succeed again, so this 1997-98 season was their first, as they just selected their players in the expansion draft.
Needless to say, the Majors weren't good.
Now, I could start listing off names from that 1997-98 squad, but nobody, and I mean nobody, would know who these guys are. The Majors finished with a very abysmal 15-42-9 record. The only upside from that season would be the fact that the Majors played their games in the famous Maple Leaf Gardens. That's... uh, that's about it.
The Cieling
St. Louis and Gomez lead the way in scoring, as the complimentary forwards keep pace with them, and the defense remains solid enough for Nittymakki and LaBarbera to steal more than enough games, and the Majors find their way raising that coveted trophy that have won four times prior
The Floor
The floor of the Majors will simply come from Nittymakki and LaBarbera. If they can't perform, they won't win the crucial games. The forward core is good enough in this league, as well as the defense. If Nittymakki posts the average to below-average numbers he's accustomed to, Toronto won't be going anywhere.
The Team
Forwards
The forward core of the Majors will be led by the little men up front, who is Martin St. Louis and Scott Gomez. Both are very speedy, offensive minded wingers who are capable of scoring. St. Louis is a player who can slowly take over a game at any point, so having him as your primary option will be deadly for Toronto. Alongside those two will be the playoff performer in Justin Williams. This will be crucial for this Majors squad, who have a very solid top six forward group, and look to be one of the teams that could have a playoff position. To balance the scoring, the Majors also have guys like Ryan Malone, Jarret Stoll and Ruslan Fedotenko, who are quality two-way players who can score, but are just as capable on the defensive end.
What will test the Majors on the forward side of things will be their bottom six. Can guys like Jason Williams, and Lubos Bartecko balance the team well, or will they falter when on the ice? There's a lot of little known names past the top guys, such as Michel Ouelett, and big gritty grinders like Brian Sutherby and Matt Pettinger. However, despite the little known names on there, there is a great balance of two-way and grit on that side that could surprise a lot of people. Don't be too shocked if that third line takes over as well, and you hear goals from the lesser Williams or from Ouelett.
Defense
It's another case of very lesser known names in Toronto, but reliable talent. Lubomir Visnovsky will lead the way, and he is a very capable offensive minded defenseman, and along his side will most likely be Paul Martin, who can be an elite puck stopper on the right day. And the puck stopping defense doesn't stop there, because players like Lubomir Sekeras and Brian Pothier are just as capable puck stoppers, and with Sekeras, he does have some puck moving abilities as well. Jeff Finger is also a very decent option on the two-way front, but could be the crutch on the defensive side of Toronto. He's capable of being a very stable defender, but there's also moments where he is more of a pylon than anything else. It'll be the support of whoever will be pairing with him, whether it be the solid Bryan Allen or the sneaky puck moving play of Petteri Nummelin, but they'll need to help out Finger for him to be the stable defender they need him to be.
Goaltending
The goaltending might be the shakiest of the bunch in the CHL. As much as I like the name alone from Antero Nittymakki, he's not the most stable of starting goaltenders here in the league. The man did have a stable run as a decent starting goaltender, but that's just it - he was stable, and sometimes pretty pedestrian. He can steal you a few games, but this team up front will really have to carry the load for Nittymakki to succeed. Behind him is another goalie whose name I love, in Jason LaBarbera, but just like Nittymakki, he was a very pedestrian option for a lot of teams as well. If the Majors are going to succeed this season, it won't come from goaltending. They need their forward core and the defense to step up as much as possible, and support the goalies.
The 'Real Season' of the Toronto St. Michaels Majors
The Majors ceased operations back in 1961 from the CHL due to the Basilian fathers being too concerned about the academics of the players of the team - and they had a good case, considering at that time the Majors were in 98 regular season games in 1960 alone. They went to a shortened 33-game season for 1961-62, but the fathers were still concerned, and ceased operations. The team was revived in 1996, by the mind of Eugene Melnyk, who wanted to see the Majors succeed again, so this 1997-98 season was their first, as they just selected their players in the expansion draft.
Needless to say, the Majors weren't good.
Now, I could start listing off names from that 1997-98 squad, but nobody, and I mean nobody, would know who these guys are. The Majors finished with a very abysmal 15-42-9 record. The only upside from that season would be the fact that the Majors played their games in the famous Maple Leaf Gardens. That's... uh, that's about it.
The Cieling
St. Louis and Gomez lead the way in scoring, as the complimentary forwards keep pace with them, and the defense remains solid enough for Nittymakki and LaBarbera to steal more than enough games, and the Majors find their way raising that coveted trophy that have won four times prior
The Floor
The floor of the Majors will simply come from Nittymakki and LaBarbera. If they can't perform, they won't win the crucial games. The forward core is good enough in this league, as well as the defense. If Nittymakki posts the average to below-average numbers he's accustomed to, Toronto won't be going anywhere.
