Krok-o-dill's Top Players NOT in the LGHL - Left Wing

Hello, and welcome to the 5th of 5 installments of “Krok’s Top Players NOT in the LGHL PSN”. Today I’ll be sharing with my thoughts on Left Wing. To be eligible for this list you needed to be listed as a LW and play most of your games in the league at that position.

As an introduction to how this column is constructed, I checked through the current rosters (as of February 20th) and created a short list of all the “Best” players from the position being covered (LW). I determined who was “Best” by assessing Meaningful NHL Experience, AHL Dominance, and Past CHL Promise. Players who are Management are NOT included in this list because you chose to be in the AHL. Then, from that short list I narrowed it down to Gold, Silver, & Bronze Players (in honour of the Olympics, and to be different) based on comparison of statistics to the Short List and my opinion.

Please keep in mind that this is my opinion combined with the stats that have been recorded in LG across all LG PSN leagues. I did not investigate other league stats, Xbox stats, or any other factors. Keep in mind also the date in which this was composed. Just doing this for fun and seeing if there is a desire for me to continue writing articles such as this. So be nice!

*IMPORTANT NOTE: With the addition of full TCs to each AHL roster, sorting through statistics for every single listed position has become…daunting. With this in my please note that I am only looking at players now on Active AHL Rosters. I’m sorry if this causes any inconvenience. If there is a TC that you feel needs to be given props, please share with a comment below.

Left Wings get a lot of shit, but after I completed this analysis I was shocked at how shallow this position is compared to the 4 others I have done. This was one of the more difficult ones to rank, so be aware.

Gold – @MattTheCoolCat – Iowa Wild

The 9-million-dollar man himself is (in my opinion) the AHL’s top Left Wing. He has a 103 point AHL season on his resume from S2. He has spent meaningful time in the NHL and has a 70-point (ish) season in S3. Scuttled around in S4 and took S5 off. S6 was back but in the CHL for some reason where he (of course) dominated. Had 6 ECUs in the NHL: 6 wins and 20 points. Clearly, he is an NHL calibre player who is in the AHL with a big salary this year. Anything less than 80 points and at least 16 wins will be a disappointment. With that salary some might expect 20 wins and 100 points, but it might not be realistic.

Silver – @Matsab1515 – Charlotte Checkers

Season 3 Calder Cup winner and Season 5 All-Star, Matsab has been around in the AHL for some time. After an impressive CHL season, he broke into the AHL and won a championship in his first season on the back of a (almost) 60 point season and 17 wins. S4 saw him rise to the NHL and go .500 with a 54 point season. Back down to the AHL in S5 where he hit 63 points (37 goals) and went 15-7-2. S6 (his best yet) saw a career high 64 points (38 of them goals) and a 12-5-2 record. Mats has gotten better every season he has played in LG which is why he is my Silver pick. I like guys who are trending up and Mats has been doing that since day 1. He is back on the Checkers this season who were a tire fire in week 1. He managed to put up 7 points in 3 games (0-2-1). Someone please save Matsab so this pick doesn’t look so bad by the end of the season (to no fault of his own)


Bronze – @Bigbwoyqc – Milwaukee Admirals

Another guy with a lot of NHL experience. Big has 3 seasons in the NHL on his resume. He had a great S3 with 17 wins and 70 points, but S4 and S5 showed heavy regressions. S6 found Big back in the AHL where he went 15-3-1 and 50 points. He is a heavy assist skewed player which screams pass first. Will be interesting to see if he can be dominant again this season.


Honourable Mentions (no order):

@davyl4 – Binghamton Devils – Davy had a great CHL career in S5 and a 74 point AHL rookie season with 17 wins. He was shot out of a cannon to start this season going 3-0 this past week with 12 points playing with Squid and Gally. He is a noticeable difference maker when I have played with him and another big season will get him to elite status.

@Deathmachine475 – Bridgeport Sound Tigers – A solid S5 Rookie Season followed up by a 19 win 77 point S6. Great progression from one season to the next. Plus minus is S6 was off the charts at +41. Machine is now away from the happy situation in Rockford. This season will be a good indication of if he’s more S5 than S6.

@Gastr604 – Chicago Wolves – Back to back 18 wins ~70 point seasons is nothing to ignore. Always more of an assist guy than a pure goal scorer. Career +/- is solid. Seems like a consistent player and should hit similar thresholds this year on what should be a good team.

@Bearinarctic – Laval Rocket – Calder Cup winner in S5 with 2x 70+ point seasons. Rough season last year in his rookie season. Back to the AHL where he trends better and knows how to win. Should be a good bounce back year in Laval.

@VoltageFusion – Manitoba Moose – Voltage has a ton of experience with 3x full NHL seasons under his belt. 50-point seasons in S3 & S4, but really struggled with the Devils last year. Never has really dominated at any level, except for S1 in the AHL but lots of time has passed since then. Should be interesting to see how he fairs this year on a solid team.


@Cold_Killa-77 – Rockford Ice Hogs – Consistency is key here. 4 full 50-point seasons in the AHL on a lot of different teams. Might not score a ton but has only had a very abrupt S5 with a negative record. Pretty much know what he is at this point, but gets a shout out for doing his thing for so long.

@ColinEastern – San Antonio Rampage – Very good CHL season and an amazing rookie AHL season. 18 wins and almost 80 points is a top liner on most teams. I had the chance to play a few games last season with Colin in the NHL where he ECUed and even though we struggled (1-4) you could see that with familiar line mates he could be a NHL player. Interested to see if he can repeat last year again with the Rampage.

@Shortshadey14 – Springfield Thunderbirds – Good year, so-so year, good year, so-so year. According to his career stats, this year should be a good year. High end he good for 70 points, low end is 40. A ton of variance between a good and a bad season is risky, but with the right linemates (who I think he’ll have this year) there should be no issue. I’ve already played him once this year and I thought his whole line was great.

@KF1ELD – Texas Stars – A good friend of mine and my former line mate in S4 on Iowa. Solid CHL career led to a fantastic rookie season in S4 with a 22-win season and 69 points. This guy is responsible for my 45 goal season at Center, and I consider myself a “pass-first” player. K has terrific vision, but hasn’t been the same since S4. Played on a bad Condors team and a bad Heat team. Points have been declining (48,36 in the last 2 seasons). Nice to see him land with the Stars who look to be better this year. One of the guys in the AHL that I root for every year, I think he deserves to be on another good team with solid, everyday line mates. Give him the puck down low and get open, he’ll find you.

@xXDuFrEsNe27Xx – Stockton Heat – Interesting player, who puts up points but has never had a truly dominant record. Usually hangs around .500. good for 60+ points and 30+ goals. Shoots a lot and gives the puck away a ton. Has really struggled in NHL ECUs, and maybe plays more of a traditional “AHL” style of game.

@Rob4343 – Toronto Marlies – Kind of came out of nowhere with his last season success after middling in the CHL for a bit. 15 wins and 70 points. Already started off the season 3-0 and is on a good Marlies team that I will see a lot of being in the same division. Another good season and he’ll be up there in a shallow LW pool in the AHL.

@JLBSHOW – Belleville Senators - 78 points in S4 in the AHL and great CHL peripherals. Has taken a few seasons off but is back now and with a good team in the Sens. Should get a good idea if he’s still got it within a few weeks.

@BennettX96 – Binghamton Devils – AHL & CHL All star who had a 70 point AHL debut last season. This guy is sick, I see him play all the time first hand. I think he 100% will exceed his point totals from last season with the line mates and team we have. 1 more solid AHL season and he’ll be at the top end of this list for sure.

@Traz615 – San Jose Barracuda – This guy has been around the block and was close to being in my top 3. Calder Cup winner with the surprise Checkers. I played a playoff series against this guy and he can play. Last 2 seasons have been rough, but he makes this list because of his history. Fully expect him to get back on track this year with the Cuda.

@eye2797 – Toronto Marlies – A 50 point NHL season and 2 solid AHL seasons on the resume in S3 and S4. The other seasons he has played have been so-so. I’ve played a bit with Eye and I think he is a lot better than his LG stats state (which I’m sure is the case for a lot of players I’ve analysed). He’s on what should be a powerhouse team this season and is in my division, so I’m sure he’ll make me pay for not ranking him in the top 3 (or at least try). 3-0 with 11 points in week 1 is a great start to S7. 66 point career high is certainly attainable & exceedable.

Left Wing's To Watch:

*Note: These are players that, when doing my research, I see the potential to be above average to great AHL Players. I would not be surprised if they enter this conversation with more service time in the League/AHL.

@LG McDonald – Bakersfield Condors

@I Am Wonger – Chicago Wolves

@Johnkenney01 – Lehigh Valley Phantoms

@TidePods__ - Ontario Reign

@JDFRYE31 – San Jose Barracuda

@skullpuckyamotha – Syracuse Crunch

@Bigkountry57 – Tucson Roadrunners

@Chucky-514 – Tucson Roadrunners

@XTailsy – Tucson Roadrunners

Anyways, that’s all folks! Please participate in the Poll above and feel free to leave comments of LW’s who you think are the best of the best!

 

bigbwoyqc is gets a medal and an honorable mention?

 

Very surprised I made the players to watch list.

 

ayyyy my dude gastr

 

RIP

 

Fixed, my bad!

 

Reason i couldnt include you was that you played alot of center in your NHL season. Not a true LW in the sense.

 

Saaaaddd

 

This @I Am Wonger is a 2x champion. He has a Calder and Stanley Cup under his belt.

 

Sooooooooo where would I be too on here if I wasn't gm

 

Awww okay that is fair

 

@MeatyTenderStix you suck

 

I didn't even make it on the players to watch ?
Well rip my life.