{"id":264,"date":"2023-10-14T17:28:50","date_gmt":"2023-10-15T00:28:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sfhl.ca\/wordpress\/?p=264"},"modified":"2023-10-15T16:37:18","modified_gmt":"2023-10-15T23:37:18","slug":"sfhl-2023-24-season-preview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sfhl.ca\/wordpress\/sfhl-2023-24-season-preview\/","title":{"rendered":"SFHL 2023-24 Season Preview"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Here\u2019s the thing.  Frankly, the Forecaster is becoming trash.  It\u2019s a downloaded PDF only.  The player photos are mid-90s era computer graphics.  But worst of all, they cut a category I use for the annual rankings.  The Breakthrough player category is no more.  Instead, they appear to have expanded the On The Rise category, since our total players there rose from 19 to 32.  As well, either we\u2019re all gambling more this year or they were harsher in their evaluations for On The Rebound and Buyer Beware categories, because we rose from 18 and 10 to 27 and 24, respectively. So, what to do?  Answer: still provide you with the stats, because I\u2019m stubborn and refuse to give up on them.  I like to keep the continuity as best as possible.  But!  I also noticed that The Athletic has an Annual Tier ranking.  Now in its 4th<\/sup> year and covering the top 125 players (up from 100 the first 3 years), I\u2019m also providing the listing of this for each team.  Double the data!  How they break down the 4 Tiers (their descriptions):<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tier 1 \u2014 MVP
<\/strong>A top 10 skater.
A player that is very likely to get serious trophy consideration at season\u2019s end and one that championship caliber teams are built around. The best player on almost any team in the league.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tier 2 \u2014 Franchise
<\/strong>A top 32 skater. A player that is the best player on a contending team or second best on a championship caliber team. An elite top line forward or number one defenseman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tier 3 \u2014 All-Star
<\/strong>A top 60 skater.
A player that wouldn\u2019t be the best player on a contender, but would be an integral part of any contending or championship core. A strong top line forward or average number one defenseman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tier 4 \u2014 Top Line
<\/strong>A top 125 skater.
A player that would be a strong support piece within a contending or championship core. A below average top line forward or average top pair defenseman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The one caveat for the Athletic listing: it does not include goaltenders.  Still, I\u2019ve often considered it the least important of our categories (note to self: maybe see if that\u2019s why I haven\u2019t won in a decade?).  And no, I didn\u2019t miss a player from their \u201cMVP \u2013 Top 10 Player\u201d category \u2013 it really did only list 9 players.  As well, The Athletic list technically breaks each Tier down in to sub-tiers (Tier 1A, Tier 1B, etc).  I chose not to attempt to cover 13 categories across 12 teams because I\u2019m not a total psychopath. (But I did think about it\u2026).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Avalanche<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Forecaster:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • Elite: Heiskanen<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Breakthrough: N\/A<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • On The Rise: Byram, Power, Seider, Luukkonen<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • On The Rebound: E. Lindholm, F. Forsberg, Carlson, Demko, Jarry<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Buyer Beware: none<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    The Athletic:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    • Tier 1: none<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Tier 2: Heiskanen<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Tier 3: Seider<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Tier 4: Bratt, Forsberg, E Lindholm, Power<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

      Comments: If you look at it from the perspective of the Forecaster, they\u2019re not good.  But if you look at it from the perspective of The Athletic, it\u2019s also not good.  The Athletic has them with the least players overall, and none from Tier 1. It does sound like this is part of the plan, to draft high again and build from the ground up.  They do have 4 On The Rise players, so there\u2019s something there to build on.  But this won\u2019t be a quick turnaround.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Blackhawks<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

      Forecaster:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \n
      • Elite: Makar<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Breakthrough: N\/A<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • On The Rise: Couturier, Mercer<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • On The Rebound: Wheeler, Werenski<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Buyer Beware: Norris, Copley<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

        The Athletic:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

          \n
        • Tier 1: Makar<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Tier 2: none<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Tier 3: Nylander, Barzal<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Tier 4: Burns, Werenski, Marchessault, Carlson<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

          Comments: After a poor season, the Blackhawks ended up with the #2 pick in the draft and acquired the #4 pick in a trade.  Both picks landed them some highly talented forwards that could be the cornerstones of a future contenders.  What that doesn\u2019t do is help them with the present.  There is some quality (even elite) talent on defense, but it will take some time for those prospect forwards to arrive and return the team to contender status.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Bruins<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

          Forecaster:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \n
          • Elite:  none<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • Breakthrough: N\/A<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • On The Rise: K. Johnson, Boldy<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • On The Rebound: Knight<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • Buyer Beware: Compher, Konecny<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

            The Athletic:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

              \n
            • Tier 1: none<\/li>\n\n\n\n
            • Tier 2: Eichel<\/li>\n\n\n\n
            • Tier 3: Meier, Pietrangelo, Buchnevich<\/li>\n\n\n\n
            • Tier 4: Boldy, Eriksson Ek, Hertl, McCann, Marino<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

              Comments:  Last year was a great disappointment to the Bruins, as they failed to achieve meet their expectations.  And by \u201cmeet their expectations\u201d, I mean \u201cfinish dead last\u201d.  They proved to be slightly too good, while not tanking quite as blatantly as others (ie: they actually put players in their lineup).  Still, they\u2019re not good this year either, ranking last or 2nd<\/sup> to last on both lists and in most categories.  Expect them to be in true contention for the top pick again this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              Canadiens<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

              Forecaster:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                \n
              • Elite: Crosby, Hamilton, Sorokin<\/li>\n\n\n\n
              • Breakthrough: N\/A<\/li>\n\n\n\n
              • On The Rise: Sergachev, Skinner, Swayman<\/li>\n\n\n\n
              • On The Rebound: Rielly<\/li>\n\n\n\n
              • Buyer Beware: Danault<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                The Athletic:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  \n
                • Tier 1: none<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                • Tier 2: Crosby, Aho<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                • Tier 3: Panarin, Hamilton, Theodore, Keller, Sergachev<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                • Tier 4: Rielly, DeBrincat, Malkin, Danault, Caufield, Hanifin<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                  Comments:  Last year ended in disappointment for the Canadiens, as they were once more victims of the dreaded \u201c3rd<\/sup> place finish\/playoff upset\u201d.  Shockingly, the Canadiens enter the season with the 2nd<\/sup> most Total Players per the Athletic.  What they don\u2019t have is any Tier 1 players (though Crosby ranked 10th<\/sup> and just missed), indicating that they have depth but no game-breakers.  The Forecaster is a little more generous on the high end, with 3 Elite players, and ties them for 4th<\/sup> in Total Players.  But they were very quiet in free agency and enter the season with by far the fewest players on their roster.  The likely outcome of the season?  A number of trades at the deadline and the commencement of a rebuild.  The current core failed, and it\u2019s time to begin moving on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  Devils<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

                  Forecaster:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                    \n
                  • Elite: MacKinnon, McDavid<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                  • Breakthrough: N\/A<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                  • On The Rise: none<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                  • On The Rebound: E. Kane, Hedman<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                  • Buyer Beware: Benn, H Lindholm, Zucker, Olofsson, Bobrovsky, Ullmark<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                    The Athletic:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      \n
                    • Tier 1: McDavid, MacKinnon<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                    • Tier 2: Hedman<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                    • Tier 3: Stone, H Lindholm, Zibanejad<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                    • Tier 4: Dubois, Nichushkin, Orlov<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                      Comments: Look, I\u2019m just going to say it. That\u2019s a lot of Buyer Beware players.  For a team that should be contending, they\u2019re clearly taking a huge gamble on a group of players, even if it is on the depth end of things.  The Athletic doesn\u2019t think they\u2019re much better.  They\u2019ve got 2 Tier 1 players (the same as the number of Elite players), but at only 9 total players they\u2019re below average.  They\u2019ll push hard for a Cup, but at some point the question will become: will they consider trading McDavid while he still has enormous trade value, in an effort to jump start a rebuild?  Or will they hold on to him until it\u2019s too late?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      Flyers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

                      Forecaster:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                        \n
                      • Elite: Draisaitl, Kucherov, M. Tkachuk, Georgiev<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                      • Breakthrough: N\/A<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                      • On The Rise: McTavish, Bouchard, Husso<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                      • On The Rebound: Thomas, Duchene, Terry, Klingberg, Letang, Matheson, Kuemper<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                      • Buyer Beware: Toffoli, Ekblad, Karlsson<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                        The Athletic:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                          \n
                        • Tier 1: Draisaitl, M Tkachuk<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                        • Tier 2: Kucherov,<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                        • Tier 3: B Tkachuk, Pavelski<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                        • Tier 4: Thomas, Bouchard, Letang, Miller, J Skinner, Terry, Ekblad<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                          Comments:  Alas, the jokes at the Flyers expense have come to an end.  Their longest Cup drought ever is over, and they enter the season as strong contenders to repeat.  The Athletic has them with the 3rd<\/sup> most total players and the Forecaster has them tied for 2nd<\/sup>.  The Forecaster also has them with the most players that might Rebound (7), meaning that there\u2019s the chance for them to be even better.  If there\u2019s one disappointment for the Flyers, it\u2019s that they were unable to deliver another Cup to Getzlaf, the star forward having previously retired from the organization in disappoint over their continued mismanagement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                          Golden Knights<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

                          Forecaster:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                            \n
                          • Elite: Kaprizov, Hellebuyck, Oettinger<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                          • Breakthrough: N\/A<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                          • On The Rise: Peterka, Dostal<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                          • On The Rebound: Kuznetsov, J. Gaudreau<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                          • Buyer Beware: Duclair, Krug, Montour<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                            The Athletic:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                              \n
                            • Tier 1: none<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                            • Tier 2: Kaprizov<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                            • Tier 3: Spurgeon<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                            • Tier 4: Tavares, Ovechkin, Montour, Pelech, Jones, Kempe, Scheifele, Nurse<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                              Comments:  Hey, the Knights are\u2026maybe alright?  A number of big trades last year landed them 3 Elite players for this year per the Forecaster, and The Athletic has them with the most Tier 4 players (8).  For once, they might actually be Adequate (and per Phil Hartman on Newsradio, that\u2019s a high compliment).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                              Lightning<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

                              Forecaster:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                \n
                              • Elite: Pettersson, Rantanen, Fox, Q Hughes, Josi<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                              • Breakthrough: N\/A<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                              • On The Rise: Cozens, Reichel, Raymond, Vilardi, Dunn, Samsonov<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                              • On The Rebound: Svechnikov<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                              • Buyer Beware: Binnington, Hill<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                                The Athletic:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                  \n
                                • Tier 1: Fox<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                                • Tier 2: Rantanen, Pettersson, Josi, Hischier<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                                • Tier 3: Svechnikov, Q Hughes, Stamkos<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                                • Tier 4: Dunn, Laine, Necas, Cozens<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                                  Comments: The Forecaster really likes this team, and frankly it\u2019s not even close. More Elite (5), more On The Rise (6) and more Total Players (11) than anyone.  Heck, for total player it\u2019s 4 more than the next closest teams.  Not surprisingly, the Athletic is also high them though doesn\u2019t rank them first but instead tied for 3rd<\/sup>.  However, it\u2019s the quality of player from the Athletic that pushes them higher \u2013 1 Tier 1 and a league best 4 Tier 2 players.  They may have only 1 Cup to date, but don\u2019t be shocked to see them in the final again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                  Penguins<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

                                  Forecaster:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                    \n
                                  • Elite: Stutzle, Saros, Vasilevskiy<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                                  • Breakthrough: N\/A<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                                  • On The Rise: Frost, W.Johnston, Dobson, Sanderson<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                                  • On The Rebound: Markstrom<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                                  • Buyer Beware: Horvat<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                                    The Athletic:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                      \n
                                    • Tier 1: none<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                                    • Tier 2: Point<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                                    • Tier 3: Stutzle<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                                    • Tier 4: Connor, Ehlers, Fiala, Horvat, Nugent-Hopkins, Suzuki<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                                      Comments:  The Forecaster gives them 3 Elite players, but 2 of them are goalies and the Athletic doesn\u2019t measure that.  And unfortunately for the Penguins, the Athletic ranking doesn\u2019t favour them with too many Total Players either.  They\u2019re not an awful team, but they\u2019re likely to be near the cut off for the playoffs this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                      Red Wings<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

                                      Forecaster:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                        \n
                                      • Elite: J. Hughes, Matthews, Marner, Dahlin<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                                      • Breakthrough: N\/A<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                                      • On the Rise: Tomasino<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                                      • On The Rebound: Cirelli, Korpisalo<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                                      • Buyer Beware: O\u2019Reilly, Raanta<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                                        The Athletic:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                          \n
                                        • Tier 1: Matthews, J Hughes<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                                        • Tier 2: Marner, McAvoy, Dahlin<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                                        • Tier 3: Bedard, Larkin, Ekholm, Weegar<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                                        • Tier 4: Tuch, Hyman, Kyrou, Schmaltz, Chychrun<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                                          Comments: The Forecaster thinks they\u2019re good, with the 2nd<\/sup> most Elite players but only 5 total players, putting them in the middle of the pack.  The Athletic thinks they\u2019re an absolute juggernaut, with 2 Tier 1, 3 Tier 2, and 14 total players, the most of anyone.  They might end up being one of the real indications on which system (Forecaster vs Athletic) is better.  They might also be the most hated team in the league right now.  After last year\u2019s blatant tank job, it\u2019s likely more than a few GMs are hoping they aren\u2019t rewarded with a Cup win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                          Sharks<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

                                          Forecaster:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                            \n
                                          • Elite: Pastrnak, Shesterkin<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                                          • Breakthrough: N\/A<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                                          • On The Rise: Gustavsson<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                                          • On The Rebound: Johansen, Huberdeau<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                                          • Buyer Beware: Barrie, Fleury<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                                            The Athletic:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                              \n
                                            • Tier 1: Pastrnak<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                                            • Tier 2: Marchand, Karlsson<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                                            • Tier 3: Doughty<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                                            • Tier 4: Kopitar, Morrissey, Reinhart, Huberdeau, Kreider, Nelson, R Andersson<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                                              Comments:  I\u2019m running out of ways to say \u201cthe Sharks were predicted to be bad, but they were not\u201d.  Their GM is already on record as saying they\u2019re taking one last run at it before a rebuild, and who are we to doubt them?  They\u2019ll finish mid-table, make some big acquisitions near the deadline, and be a team no one really wants to face in the playoffs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                              Stars<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

                                              Forecaster:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                                \n
                                              • Elite: Robertson<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                                              • Breakthrough: N\/A<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                                              • On The Rise: Beniers, Thompson, Jarvis, Vanecek<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                                              • On The Rebound: Hart<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                                              • Buyer Beware: Petry<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                                                The Athletic:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                                  \n
                                                • Tier 1: none<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                                                • Tier 2: Robertson, Hintz<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                                                • Tier 3: Thompson, D Toews, Guentzel, Verhaeghe<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                                                • Tier 4: Beniers, Chabot<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                                                  Comments:  Every year, there\u2019s a few younger players who unexpectedly come out of nowhere to put up big numbers.  While the rest of the league might shy away from drafting or bidding on these players, the Stars look at it as proof of concept.  It\u2019s a method that\u2019s landed them some higher end talent in Robertson (Elite\/Tier 2) and Thompson (OTR\/Tier 3).  While both of those players are good, the stats say there\u2019s not quite enough talent to contend right now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                                  Bonus content:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

                                                  Pre-Season Rankings<\/strong>
                                                  12) Avalanche
                                                  11) Bruins
                                                  10) Blackhawks
                                                  9) Penguins
                                                  8) Canadiens
                                                  7) Stars
                                                  6) Golden Knights
                                                  5) Sharks
                                                  4) Devils
                                                  3) Flyers
                                                  2) Red Wings
                                                  1) Lightning<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                                  2023-24 Stats<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
                                                  Forecaster<\/span><\/strong><\/td><\/td><\/td><\/td><\/td><\/td><\/tr>
                                                  Team<\/strong><\/td>Elite<\/strong><\/td>Breakthrough<\/strong><\/td>OT Rise<\/strong><\/td>Total Players<\/strong><\/td>OT Rebound<\/strong><\/td>Buyer Beware<\/strong><\/td><\/tr>
                                                  Avalanche<\/td>1<\/td>NA<\/td>4<\/td>5<\/td>5<\/td>0<\/td><\/tr>
                                                  Blackhawks<\/td>1<\/td>NA<\/td>2<\/td>3<\/td>2<\/td>2<\/td><\/tr>
                                                  Bruins<\/td>0<\/td>NA<\/td>2<\/td>2<\/td>1<\/td>2<\/td><\/tr>
                                                  Canadiens<\/td>3<\/td>NA<\/td>3<\/td>6<\/td>1<\/td>1<\/td><\/tr>
                                                  Devils<\/td>2<\/td>NA<\/td>0<\/td>2<\/td>2<\/td>6<\/td><\/tr>
                                                  Flyers<\/td>4<\/td>NA<\/td>3<\/td>7<\/td>7<\/td>3<\/td><\/tr>
                                                  Golden Knights<\/td>3<\/td>NA<\/td>2<\/td>5<\/td>2<\/td>3<\/td><\/tr>
                                                  Lightning<\/td>5<\/td>NA<\/td>6<\/td>11<\/td>1<\/td>2<\/td><\/tr>
                                                  Penguins<\/td>3<\/td>NA<\/td>4<\/td>7<\/td>1<\/td>1<\/td><\/tr>
                                                  Red Wings<\/td>4<\/td>NA<\/td>1<\/td>5<\/td>2<\/td>2<\/td><\/tr>
                                                  Sharks<\/td>2<\/td>NA<\/td>1<\/td>2<\/td>2<\/td>2<\/td><\/tr>
                                                  Stars<\/td>1<\/td>NA<\/td>4<\/td>5<\/td>1<\/td>1<\/td><\/tr>
                                                  Total<\/td>29<\/td>0<\/td>32<\/td>60<\/td>27<\/td>25<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
                                                  The Athletic<\/span><\/strong><\/td><\/td><\/td><\/td><\/td><\/td><\/tr>
                                                  Team<\/strong><\/td>Tier 1<\/strong><\/td>Tier 2<\/strong><\/td>Tier 3<\/strong><\/td>Tier 4<\/strong><\/td>Total<\/strong><\/td><\/tr>
                                                  Avalanche<\/td>0<\/td>1<\/td>1<\/td>4<\/td>6<\/td><\/tr>
                                                  Blackhawks<\/td>1<\/td>0<\/td>2<\/td>4<\/td>7<\/td><\/tr>
                                                  Bruins<\/td>0<\/td>1<\/td>3<\/td>5<\/td>9<\/td><\/tr>
                                                  Canadiens<\/td>0<\/td>2<\/td>5<\/td>6<\/td>13<\/td><\/tr>
                                                  Devils<\/td>2<\/td>1<\/td>3<\/td>3<\/td>9<\/td><\/tr>
                                                  Flyers<\/td>2<\/td>1<\/td>2<\/td>7<\/td>12<\/td><\/tr>
                                                  Golden Knights<\/td>0<\/td>1<\/td>1<\/td>8<\/td>10<\/td><\/tr>
                                                  Lightning<\/td>1<\/td>4<\/td>3<\/td>4<\/td>12<\/td><\/tr>
                                                  Penguins<\/td>0<\/td>1<\/td>1<\/td>6<\/td>8<\/td><\/tr>
                                                  Red Wings<\/td>2<\/td>3<\/td>4<\/td>5<\/td>14<\/td><\/tr>
                                                  Sharks<\/td>1<\/td>2<\/td>1<\/td>7<\/td>11<\/td><\/tr>
                                                  Stars<\/td>0<\/td>2<\/td>4<\/td>2<\/td>8<\/td><\/tr>
                                                  Total<\/td>9<\/td>19<\/td>30<\/td>61<\/td>119<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                                                  Here\u2019s the thing.  Frankly, the Forecaster is becoming trash.  It\u2019s a downloaded PDF only.  The player photos are mid-90s era computer graphics.  But worst of all, they cut a category I use for the annual rankings.  The Breakthrough player category is no more.  Instead, they appear to have expanded the On The Rise category, since […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sns_share_botton_hide":"","vkExUnit_sns_title":"","_vk_print_noindex":"","sitemap_hide":"","_veu_custom_css":"","veu_display_promotion_alert":"common","vkexunit_cta_each_option":"","_lightning_design_setting":{"layout":"default"},"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[11],"class_list":["post-264","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-previews","tag-preview"],"veu_head_title_object":{"title":"","add_site_title":""},"yoast_head":"\nSFHL 2023-24 Season Preview - SFHL<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sfhl.ca\/wordpress\/sfhl-2023-24-season-preview\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"SFHL 2023-24 Season Preview - SFHL\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Here\u2019s the thing.  Frankly, the Forecaster is becoming trash.  It\u2019s a downloaded PDF only.  The player photos are mid-90s era computer graphics.  But worst of all, they cut a category I use for the annual rankings.  The Breakthrough player category is no more.  Instead, they appear to have expanded the On The Rise category, since […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sfhl.ca\/wordpress\/sfhl-2023-24-season-preview\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"SFHL\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-10-15T00:28:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-10-15T23:37:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Greg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Greg\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"10 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sfhl.ca\\\/wordpress\\\/sfhl-2023-24-season-preview\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sfhl.ca\\\/wordpress\\\/sfhl-2023-24-season-preview\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Greg\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sfhl.ca\\\/wordpress\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e77a3223b187e8250ff1a7b66d16787c\"},\"headline\":\"SFHL 2023-24 Season Preview\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-10-15T00:28:50+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-10-15T23:37:18+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sfhl.ca\\\/wordpress\\\/sfhl-2023-24-season-preview\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":2165,\"keywords\":[\"Preview\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Previews\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sfhl.ca\\\/wordpress\\\/sfhl-2023-24-season-preview\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sfhl.ca\\\/wordpress\\\/sfhl-2023-24-season-preview\\\/\",\"name\":\"SFHL 2023-24 Season Preview - SFHL\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sfhl.ca\\\/wordpress\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2023-10-15T00:28:50+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-10-15T23:37:18+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sfhl.ca\\\/wordpress\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e77a3223b187e8250ff1a7b66d16787c\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sfhl.ca\\\/wordpress\\\/sfhl-2023-24-season-preview\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/sfhl.ca\\\/wordpress\\\/sfhl-2023-24-season-preview\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sfhl.ca\\\/wordpress\\\/sfhl-2023-24-season-preview\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sfhl.ca\\\/wordpress\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"SFHL 2023-24 Season Preview\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sfhl.ca\\\/wordpress\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sfhl.ca\\\/wordpress\\\/\",\"name\":\"SFHL\",\"description\":\"Super Fantasy Hockey League\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sfhl.ca\\\/wordpress\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sfhl.ca\\\/wordpress\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e77a3223b187e8250ff1a7b66d16787c\",\"name\":\"Greg\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/cf08a27b1c4c0473a4f254118d31470640f69fc0f84bb69cb9a632b8a65bf690?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/cf08a27b1c4c0473a4f254118d31470640f69fc0f84bb69cb9a632b8a65bf690?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/cf08a27b1c4c0473a4f254118d31470640f69fc0f84bb69cb9a632b8a65bf690?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Greg\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sfhl.ca\\\/wordpress\\\/author\\\/greg\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"SFHL 2023-24 Season Preview - SFHL","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/sfhl.ca\/wordpress\/sfhl-2023-24-season-preview\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"SFHL 2023-24 Season Preview - SFHL","og_description":"Here\u2019s the thing.  Frankly, the Forecaster is becoming trash.  It\u2019s a downloaded PDF only.  The player photos are mid-90s era computer graphics.  But worst of all, they cut a category I use for the annual rankings.  The Breakthrough player category is no more.  Instead, they appear to have expanded the On The Rise category, since […]","og_url":"https:\/\/sfhl.ca\/wordpress\/sfhl-2023-24-season-preview\/","og_site_name":"SFHL","article_published_time":"2023-10-15T00:28:50+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-10-15T23:37:18+00:00","author":"Greg","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Greg","Est. reading time":"10 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/sfhl.ca\/wordpress\/sfhl-2023-24-season-preview\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sfhl.ca\/wordpress\/sfhl-2023-24-season-preview\/"},"author":{"name":"Greg","@id":"https:\/\/sfhl.ca\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/person\/e77a3223b187e8250ff1a7b66d16787c"},"headline":"SFHL 2023-24 Season Preview","datePublished":"2023-10-15T00:28:50+00:00","dateModified":"2023-10-15T23:37:18+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/sfhl.ca\/wordpress\/sfhl-2023-24-season-preview\/"},"wordCount":2165,"keywords":["Preview"],"articleSection":["Previews"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/sfhl.ca\/wordpress\/sfhl-2023-24-season-preview\/","url":"https:\/\/sfhl.ca\/wordpress\/sfhl-2023-24-season-preview\/","name":"SFHL 2023-24 Season Preview - SFHL","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sfhl.ca\/wordpress\/#website"},"datePublished":"2023-10-15T00:28:50+00:00","dateModified":"2023-10-15T23:37:18+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/sfhl.ca\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/person\/e77a3223b187e8250ff1a7b66d16787c"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/sfhl.ca\/wordpress\/sfhl-2023-24-season-preview\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/sfhl.ca\/wordpress\/sfhl-2023-24-season-preview\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/sfhl.ca\/wordpress\/sfhl-2023-24-season-preview\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/sfhl.ca\/wordpress\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"SFHL 2023-24 Season Preview"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/sfhl.ca\/wordpress\/#website","url":"https:\/\/sfhl.ca\/wordpress\/","name":"SFHL","description":"Super Fantasy Hockey League","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/sfhl.ca\/wordpress\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/sfhl.ca\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/person\/e77a3223b187e8250ff1a7b66d16787c","name":"Greg","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cf08a27b1c4c0473a4f254118d31470640f69fc0f84bb69cb9a632b8a65bf690?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cf08a27b1c4c0473a4f254118d31470640f69fc0f84bb69cb9a632b8a65bf690?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cf08a27b1c4c0473a4f254118d31470640f69fc0f84bb69cb9a632b8a65bf690?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Greg"},"url":"https:\/\/sfhl.ca\/wordpress\/author\/greg\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sfhl.ca\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sfhl.ca\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sfhl.ca\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sfhl.ca\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sfhl.ca\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=264"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/sfhl.ca\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":275,"href":"https:\/\/sfhl.ca\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264\/revisions\/275"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sfhl.ca\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=264"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sfhl.ca\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=264"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sfhl.ca\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=264"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}