Colombia Steves Season Review

The Colombia Steve have completed their most successful season in history. 52 wins is a big improvement on the 42 wins from last season, and 105 points beats are previous best of 90. The Steve are the first ever winners of the new Zinger division and are the only team from the Zinger division to qualify for the playoffs.

The Steve have been good at both ends of the ice, and average of 3.53 goals per games is the 5th highest in the league, and a goals against average of 2.68 per game is the second lowest.
Special teams have been a bit up and down this season, a league leading PK of 85.80% is a great achievement, but they find their PP lagging towards the bottom of the pile at just 16.99%. This is something that will need to improve if the Steve are to be successful in the playoffs.
An average of 34.21 shots per game and 27.7 shots against combines for the 2nd best for/against ration in the league.
Discipline sees the Steve firmly in mid table. 11.18 PIMs per game is 8th in the league and 16.76 Hits sees them sit 9th.

GM J-Iggy has issued the following player ratings:

Jeff Carter: 10/10
With the Steve - 45 Games, 28 Goals, 36 Assists, 54 Points, +24.
Season Total - 40 Goals, 51 Assists, 91 Points (8th highest Centre), 55% FO. 14.08% shooting.
Early in the season we were loosing a lot of low scoring games, usually by 1 goal. Our defence was excellent, but we need more scoring. We gave up a lot to get Jeff, but he's proven to be worth it! He scores, he passes, he defends, he truly is one of the leagues elite players. If were to have any success in the playoffs, Jeff is going to be a big part of that.

Nino Niederreiter: 10/10
35 Goals, 53 Assists, 88 Points (7th highest RW), +44 (2nd best in league), 176 Hits, 2 Hat Tricks.
The fans here worship this guy, he does it all and he does it with an edge to his game. This was Nino's first full season in the pros and he has lead this team right from game 1. There are not many players who can play a high skilled game while also being physical, but that’s what Nino does. This kid is only going to continue to get better and better.

Anton Babchuk: 9/10
15 Goals, 47 Assists, 62 Points, +28, 97 Blocked Shots.
Despite all the changes with our D, Anton has remained solid and consistent. Whoever he plays with he performs to a high level, and has the ability to get the best out of those around him. Anton has firmly established himself as one of leagues best defensemen.

David Perron: 8/10
24 Goals, 43 Assists, 67 Points.
David has been slightly hindered by Nino taking ownership of the RW spot on the top line. 67 points is a solid return but we know he's capable of much more. Were looking at a position change for David, and its likely he could be playing alongside Nino next season. With David's passing skills and Nino's eye for goal, we hope they can form a formidable partnership.

Mike Fisher: 8/10
30 Goals, 35 Assists, 65 Points, +18, 205 Hits.
Signing Carter really took a lot of the pressure off of Fisher, and his play benefited from that. He's found a good home as the 2nd line centre and finished the season very strong. We hope he can continue he's recent strong play into the playoffs.

Mike Webber: 8/10
With the Steve: 43 Games, 11 Goals , 26 Assists, 37 Points, +22.
Season Totals: 61 Points, 200 Hits, 213 PIMs (4th highest)
Mike had some big shoes to fill replacing Duncan Keith. He struggled early in the season playing for MKG. He came straight into our line-up and hit the ground running. He's a big physical presence and teams don't like facing him. We do need Mike to keep a cool head more often as 213 PIMs is far too high.

Bob Ring: 8/10
17 Goals, 36 Assists, 53 points, 3rd in rookie scoring.
Bob was 50/50 for making the team this year. We gave him the opportunity to step up and show us that he belonged here. It became clear very quickly that Bob was more then good enough to play in this league. He spent the second half of the season on the 2nd line and has earned PP time too. Bob is still young and will continue to improve. He will need to continue to work hard as there is a lot of competition for places on the wings.

Mark Injay: 8/10
34 Games, 7 Points, +1.
Stats do not tell you just how much mark is worth to this team. A lower round pick in the recent draft, Mark was called upon to get us under the salary cap. Mark has surprised us all with how easily he adjusted to playing in the pro league. He's solid defensively and plays to his strengths. At just 18, Mark has plenty of time to develop the weaker areas of his game, and he's going to get the opportunity to do the with this team.

Alexander Edler: 7.5/10
33 Points, +14.
Alex has done a better job of keeping out of the penalty box this season. We can always rely on him to eat up big minutes when we need it and he's a solid contributor to the team. Alex is a natural leader on and off the ice.

Ryan Parent: 7/10
11 Points, +7.
Many had written Parent off as a career farm guy. While its true that Ryan flourishes in the farm league, he's shown he can step up and hold his own in the pro league. Ryan is a big part of why this team were one of the top defensive teams in the league this season.

Janik Hansen: 7/10
54 Points, +25, 0 PIM's
Janik has bounced around a few different lines this year. He is a solid two way winger and contributes at both ends of the ice. Competition for ice team is tough, and he needs to improve his production if he wants to step up to a top six role. 80 games with 0 PIMs is a great achievement.

Mike Cammallari: 7/10
23 Goals, 42 Assists, 65 Points, +18.
We moved Cammy back to the wing this season. We felt his defensive play was an issue and wanted to free him up to do what he does best, score goals! Cammy has the ability easily be a 30 goal scorer, we want him to continue working hard at his game and getting back to the level we know he can be at. Cammy really stepped up his defensive play this year, and we hope he can take confidence from that.

Shane Doan:
20 Goals, 42 Points, 202 Hits.
Age may be catching up to Doan, and his numbers may be on the decline, but he still brings a hard physical game every night. We have discussed plans for the future with Doan, and if he wants to continue playing, there is a contract ready and waiting for him.

Frans Nielsen:
19 Points, +1.
Frans was a guy we picked up to help keep things tight, protect leads and to lead our PK. Well, that’s exactly what he did. He may not be a high scorer but he's been a big part in us have the best PK in the league.

Ryan Malone: 1/10
4 Points.
Malone has spent most of the season in the press box. Competition for places is very tough and unfortunately Ryan hasn't quite made the cut. We know his value and have discussed options with him for next season. If there is a pro team that can use his talents, we will let him go, otherwise we want him to join up the Brian Dinosaurs, where he's experience will be of most value.


Goalies:

Jonas Hiller: 9/10
29 Wins, 9.01 SV%, 2.64 GAA, 1 Shut Out.

Peter Budaj: 9/10
23 Wins, 9.08 SV%, 2.62 GAA, 5 Shut Outs.

Both goalies have been solid all season long. We believe its important to have two goalies playing at the top of their game if your going to be successful. Both goalies are in the top 3 for GAA and Budaj's 5 shut outs is the 2nd most of any goalie this season. As with our farm goalies, we are the only team to have two goalies amongst the top ten for wins.