Thoughts at the Mid-point

[Beaner]

Ok well, it took me a while to get this done, but luckily game 36 happened right at the Xmas break so it gave me some timne to get this done in-between work and the Festive Season.

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TEAM STATS
POINTS – 56 out of 72 2nd overall.
SHOOT-OUTS – 3 wins (Sea/PG/BRN), 3 losses (SPO,CGY,EVE).
OVERTIME- 2 Wins (MH,LET), 3 Losses (SEA,POR,EVE)
WIN% - 0.778 2nd overall
PIM – 815 7th overall
PP% - 52/289 18.0% 8th overall
PK% - 25g/272chances 90.80% 1st overall
GF – 125 7th overall
GA – 72 2nd overall
SF - 1233 (34.25 shots per game)
SA - 807 (22.42 shots against per game)

TEAM RECORD (w-l-otl-sol) 25-5-3-3

1st Quarter Record: 16-1-1-0 (33 Points) 0.916 Win %
2nd Quarter Record: 9-4-2-3 (23 points) 0.638 Win %

Schedule to Date:
Home:
Por, Spo (2), Chi (2), PG (2), SC, Sea (3), Sas, Brn, Kel (2), Kam, Reg, Tri, Eve
Away:
Sea (3), PG (2), Chi, Spo (2), RDR, MH, CGY, LET, Por (2), Tri, Kam, Eve

vs. teams over .500 – (SC, SEA *6, BRN, RDR, MH, Spo*4, KAM*2, TRI *2, EVE*2, CGY, LET) 12-5-2-3 **2 SOW, 2OTW **
vs. teams under .500 – (CHI*3, KEL*2, SAS, POR*3, PG*4, REG) 13-0-1-0 **1 SOW**

vs. BC Division – 9-2-0-0 **1 shootout win**
vs. US Division - 10-2-3-2 **1 shootout win**
vs. East Division - 4-0-0-0 **1 shootout win**
vs. Central Division - 2-1-0-1 **2 Overtime wins**

Home Games – 16-2-0-1 **1 Shoot-out Wins** 0.868 Win %
Away Games – 9-3-3-2 **2 Shootout Wins, 2 Overtime Wins** 0.678 Win %

GOALTENDERS

Sexsmith 16-4-2-2, 4so, 3sow, 2otw 0.912 Save %
I am still happy with Sexsmiths progress thus far this year. Gives us solid tending every night, nothing spectacular but calm and steady. Seems to have dealt with the departure of Slade well, and taken to the extra play time well. Could be a concern, if he plays too much, but, I expect him to get a break once Neufeld gets back.
Neufeld
Well, no review for Neufeld for this quarter as he has been injured since his first start in a Giants uniform.

DEFENCEMAN:

Cody Franson – 11g 25a +4 36pim
I still like what I am seeing out of Cody thus far this year, but I still want to see him using that body of his and crush a few more guys along the boards. Besides that still nothing to complain about.
Brett Festerling 3g 7a +18 42pim
Huge improvement in the second quarter, not that Brett was playing poorly, but he has really taken his defensive game to a whole other level. Still not doing much offensively, but when you are almost single handedly killing penalties by yourself for the entire 2 minutes, you need a break sometimes.
Jonathon Blum – 6g 23a +19 24pim
Just keeps getting better and better. Decision making is excellent, top 6 in scoring, leads the team in +/-, and is upping the physical play a bit. What can you say, if he keeps going like this he may just play his way into a top 10 draft spot come June.
Brendan Mikkelson – 1g, 16a -5 36pim
Still not impressed. Great wheels, and solid hands, but seems to make a lot of poor decisions with the puck. Almost like his hands are a step or 2 behind his brain. Maybe getting bounced from the WJC team will make him elevate his game, I will have to wait and see.
Jon Flatters – 2a –1 75pim
Jon is doing his thing, and not taking stupid penalties that cost the team. Still trying to play physical, but just doesn’t have the foot speed to catch up to the faster forwards in the league. Solid 5/6 dman minutes though.
Brett Regner 1g 4a +10 8pim
Brett continues to improve, and I really like what I see. Is going to be a very good Dman in the near future, especially once he starts to get Top 4 minutes..
Nolan Toigo 1a, +1
Only 14 games thus far for Nolan, but in the limited ice time and game action he has seen he has played well.

....pt2

[Beaner]

FORWARDS

Tim Kraus 11g 23a +3 34pim
Tim seems to be in the games some days, on vacation the next. Needs to bring it every single night no matter how his personal game is going. I would have to say a very inconsistent first half for Tim.
Michal Repik 15g 18a +7 33pim
Tim seems to be in the games some days, on vacation the next. Needs to bring it every single Repik finally got going when he was told by team Czech that he wasn’t a lock for the team and he better start playing or else he would be back in Canada during the WJC. This is the Repik we all remember from last year, and he needs to keep playing full throttle if he wants to have any success this year.
J. D. Watt 18g 11a +10 100pim
JD really impressed me the first 18 games this year, but his second half he has fallen back into his old habits. Floating around the ice, giving 50% effort beaking at the Refs etc. Just seems that when things aren’t going well for JD he has no interest in actually playing. Back into the doghouse with you JD.
Kyle Lamb 11g 10a +4 46pim
Not sure what is up with lamb, but I expect a lot more effort out of 1 of our only 2 20 year olds. Going to be riding the pine if he doesn’t start playing with a lot more intensity like he did during the pre-season and the start of the year.
Mario Bliznak 7g 12a +4 16pim
Started to actually generate a bit more offense and his stats are slowly improving. Still one of our top Face-off men and I would say top defensive forward.
Milan Lucic 13g 18a +10 83pim
Really improving and has caught more than his fair share of D-men flat-footed as he goes around them on the outside. Speed and skating have improved to go along with his other elements. One of the Top 5 tough guys in the league and can score as well.
Spencer Machachek 6g 7a +3 14pim
Where are you Spencer? He has missed a few games due to injury but when he has played has been invisible. Time to step it up, and soon, or he could be seeing a lot of time at the end of the bench or in the press box. Say hi to JD in the doghouse for me.
Mitch Czibere 4g 7a +9 12pim
Still like what I see from Mitch game in and game out. Trying hard playing well, and chipping in with a few valuable points. No complaints, just keep working hard.
Garet Hunt 4g 1a +2 119pim
Another great quarter from Garet. Takes on all comers, gives energy every shift and is quickly playing his way into one of the 3 20 year old spots for next year. Getting under the oppositions skin quickly, and not taking the dumb penalties, easily the fan favorite this year thus far.
Kenton Dulle 3a -1 14pim
Not much to say, sees limited games and limited ice time. Not sure if Vancouver is the place for him to develop his game as he just cant seem to earn the ice time. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him moved before the deadline.
Craig Cunningham –3 24pim
Still bringing it every night, just not capitalizing. He will be a solid WHL’er if he keeps this work ethic up.
James Wright 2g 1a +1 16pim
Getting better and better every game and is quickly working his way up the lines. Easily the giants rookie of the year, and could be our #2 center very soon if he keeps his solid play up.
Lance Bouma 1g 3a +3 16 pim
Lance seems to be stepping up a notch and showing what made everyone so high on him last year. Really stepped up the physical play and the work ethic and finally got rewarded for it with a goal this year.

TRADES
Blaine Neufeld for a 5th Rounder – 2007
Kendall McArdle for Jason Reese and a 2nd Round -2007 pick

The Neufeld trade had to happen after the Slade incident just glad it didn’t cost too much and we still keep our 20 year old spot open.

Losing Reese hurts, but I will take this trade in a MC year every single time. McArdle was the player I was hoping the giants would make a play for in the pre-season, and I really happy that they pulled this off. Once he gets back from the WJC and gets settled in with his new teammates he should really provide that veteran spark the giants are looking for.

Hard to judge McArdles play this year, as I only saw him a couple times, before he went off for the WJC.

TEAM OVERALL

Team has taken a bit of a stumble in the 2nd quarter, but still are still playing quite well. The work ethic seems to have dropped a notch that will have to change very quickly if the Giants want to hold onto first in the BC division and keep up with Everett for first in the west.

I would have to say that the Giants are playing at 80% of where they started the year. It’s hard to keep that intensity up for 72 games, but the boys are going to have to do that as every team that plays the Giants brings their A-game, hoping to beat the MC hosts and the defending WHL champs.

A good time for the team to really bring their lunch buckets, with 4 of their regulars out of the lineup until the middle of January. Lots of valuable points up for grabs during this time.

Have to think the giants’ brass still has a couple moves left in them, especially to fill that open 20 year old spot. My personal favorite/ hope is for Chris Ray from Kelowna, but more on that in a future thread.

NEXT QUARTER PREVIEW

9 Road games, 9 Home.
1 @ 3 games in 3 nights
1 @ 4 games in 5 nights
vs East - 2
vs Central - 4
vs US - 4
vs BC – 8

(KAM*3,CHI*2,MJ,RDR,MH,LET,KTN,EVE*2,KEL*3,TRI,PA, POR)

Looking forward to the Everett re-match with full lineups in January to see how these 2 teams match up at full strength. Should be interesting as the trade deadline will have passed and both teams look to make some kind of move at the deadline.

Couple big games against Kamloops as well, that the Giants need to step up and win. Those 2 games could really determine what kind of moves both these BC division teams make at the deadline.

[Knuckles Muldoon]

Good post(s), Beaner.
Agree with most of the assessments. The D have been very good for the most part. A little disappointed with Mikk and Flatters, very happy with the terrific Jon Blum and the eye-opening play of Regner. Cody's played okay, but can still do more. I honestly expect him to ramp up the intensity in the second half and lead this team. Festerling has been simply fabulous.
Sexsmith is doing very well, but I'm still kind of uneasy about having a 17 yo taking us into the playoffs and MC. Getting Neufeld plenty of game action (to make sure he's ready in case Sexy falters) is very important, I think.
The forwards by and large have been very in and out. We won't win the WHL title unless they pick it up. Kraus, Watt, Lamb, and Machacek have all been very inconsistent. We need these guys to be good every night. I think they will start getting it together on a consistent basis as the focus picks up towards the playoffs. Hunt, Lucic, Repik and Bliznak have all been very good in the first 36, although I'd still like to see Bliznak generate a little more offense for his line. The 16's have been okay. They seem to be improving, and we'll need tangible contributions from them. Wright seems to be taking bigger steps in the last 6-8 games. McArdle is a real key. We need him to produce. He's got to be better than a point-a-game guy in the second half. Him, Kraus and Watt need to be a force every game. That's a huge challenge for these guys. They have the ability, but they need to make the commitment to be a productive #1 line.
As for other things:
1. I'm a big fan of Chris Ray. As for 20 yo's, he's definitely the one I'd like to see here.
2. I want to see the PP grab a killer instinct. For a very good team, the PP at times looks brutal. Sometimes getting that PP goal is the one that makes the difference in a big game. It's just got to be more business-like and dangerous.
3. I'm satisfied that the players are well aware that it would be deemed a failure to lose in the playoffs and have to play in the MC as the host team only. I've heard them say it in interviews, I hope they have the focus to see it through. I know Hayzer will be keep them sharp in this area.
4. I'm still not opposed to a trade for a solid vet Dman to round out the group. You can never have enough depth on D when you need to go 4 rounds deep in the playoffs.
Onward!