Mid-Season Review

The big news of the season was the blockbuster trade between the Steve and the Giraffes. The Steve picked up superstar centre Jeff Carter, D-man Shea Weber and Alex Picard in a trade which saw Duncan Keith, Erik Gudbranson and Brayden Schenn and a prospect go the other way.


GM J-Iggy recently gave an interview with the Colombian press. Here are some of the highlights of what he had to say:

"We had a solid start to the season but even when we were leading the league it was clear we needed more scoring. Our D has been exceptional all season, and it was an area where we felt we could give up a little to help our forwards. We have Ryan Strome, Nicolas Kerdiles and Nail Yakapov all a season or two from coming into the pros and all three have the ability to become top 6 forwards. Along with Nino, Carter, Perron, Hansen, Cammy, Fisher and Carter our forwards look very strong for the future. We have some top D-men on the team, but were low on top 4 defensive prospects and we will be looking to address this through the draft and any future trades."


So at the midway point the Steve find themselves 12 points clear at the top of the Zinger division. After a great start the team went on a poor run and their lead was cut to just a few points. Since the Carter trade the team has picked up again and are 7 - 3 - 0 in their last ten.

Nino Niederrieter continues to lead the team in scoring. This is Nino's 1st full season for the Steve and he has not let them down. David Perron has found his scoring touch recently and has climbed up to second in team scoring. Since his trade, Jeff Carter has once again found form and is better then a point per game for the Steve.
Bob Ring has found his ice time increase as the season has progressed. He is now on the 2nd line with Fisher and Perron and will be looking to continue his impressive rookie season.
On D, Shea Weber has picked up where Duncan Keith left off, and is leading the Steve D in scoring. Weber has also improved his + - since joining the Steve.


Down on the farm:

The Brian Dinosaurs score goals, and then a few more goals to rub it in! They were the first farm team to 100 goals, and last night became the first team to 200 goals. This, combined with the 4th best defensive record in the league sees them topping their division by 14 points.

Jeremy Williams continues to run riot on the 3rd line. A team leading 30 goals and 64 points is far above what anyone was expecting from Williams. Nicolas Kerdiles is right on Williams tail and now also has 64 points. Playing as the 2nd line C, Kerdiles has seen his value improve dramatically and may even find himself playing ahead of Ryan Strome come the end of the season. Speaking of Strome, 52 points from 44 games is an impressive return by most standards, but he is being overshadowed by Kerdiles excellent play. Strome will need to improve his production if he wants to hold onto the 1st line spot he currently occupies. Nail Yakapov had started to pick up the pace after a slow start. Nail has 49 points currently but has been sidelined for the next few weeks with an injury.
On D, free agency signing Ian White leads the D in scoring with 35 points. Closely behind is late round draft pick Marc Newyakar with 32 points and an impressive +20. If Newyakar can get his passing up to a reasonable standard, he has the potential to be a top defenseman for many years to come.