[S35] Playoffs - Early Seeding Predictions

It's trade deadline week, so I decided to ask the same group of 8 GM's & AGM's from the Super 16 post what they thought the top 5 seeds would be in each division come playoff time. Each person gave me their list and I combined them together to create a final list.

An example of this would be 'Team A' received 8 first place votes for a total score of 8. I would then take that total and divide by 8 which would equal 1. 'Team B' received 3 5th place votes for a score of 15. Since 'Team B' only received 3 votes, I will add in 5 more votes at 6 points each for a total of 30. That will be added to the 15 making 'Team Bs' total 45 and when you divide that by 8 you get 5.625.

Alright now that all of that is explained, let's get into it.



Eastern Atlantic:

1. Providence Bruins (1.25)
2. Charlotte Checkers (1.75)
3. Wilkes Barre Scranton Penguins (3.375)
4. Hershey Bears (4.25)

5. Lehigh Valley Phantoms (4.375)

VS

Through 6 weeks, these two teams have matched up twice. Providence took home 4 points while Hershey only managed to snag 1 point from an OT loss. The Bruins and the Bears both rank inside the Top 5 in PP%. The Bruins also rank inside the Top 5 in PK% while on the other hand the Bears are a bottom 10 team on the PK.

Providence Win Splits: W1-3 (16) W4-6 (19)
Hershey Win Splits: W1-3 (13) W4-6 (14)


VS

Both of these teams have each taken a game from one another this season. The Checkers and Penguins are ranked #1 & #2 in PK% this season. Wilkes Barre struggles on PP though while the Charlotte is a Top 10 PP unit. It's interesting that Charlotte made a trade for @Lets Get Weeird when they had a good goalie duo already, but even so it looks like they have the advantage in goaltending.

Charlotte Win Splits: W1-3 (14) W4-6 (17)
Wilkes Barre Win Splits: W1-3 (16) W4-6 (12)​

Eastern North:

1. Syracuse Crunch (1.00)
2. Toronto Marlies (2.375)
3. Rochester Americans (3.125)
4. Belleville Senators (4.00)

5. Binghamton Devils (5.375)
5. Utica Comets (5.375)

VS

In the one game they played this season (2nd game was a FF win for Belleville), the Senators won 6-1. In the beginning of the season Belleville didn't look so hot, but they won 15 of 18 games between weeks 3 & 4 and that was a turning point for them. Syracuse has not had a losing week all season. The Crunch have also given up the 2nd least amount of goals all season. Goaltending is huge come playoffs. Between weeks 1-3 the Crunch have splits of 18/18. The Senators splts are 14/17.

Syracuse Win Splits: W1-3 (18) W4-6 (18)
Belleville Win Splits: W1-3 (14) W4-6 (17)


VS

I will start off by saying that this will be a fun first round matchup if it happens. Both games this season between these teams have been a 1 goal game. Rochester has taken both games, but Toronto salvaged a point in their first bout. These teams are interesting. The goaltending is lacking for both in my opinion. When it comes to offense, the Marlies have depth and it shows in the stats. The Americans on the other hand have what looks to be one line. Now that line is great, but in the playoffs they will need to have at least one other line win a game and they will have to win all three of theirs. Here's to Game 7's!

Rochester Win Splits: W1-3 (16) W4-6 (14)
Toronto Win Splits: W1-3 (18) W4-6 (13)

​

Western Central:

1. Milwaukee Admirals (1.00)
2. Grand Rapids Griffins (2.625)
3. Iowa Wild (3.375)
4. Manitoba Moose (3.625)

5. Rockford IceHogs (5.00)

VS

The season matchup sits 1-1 with both teams recording a shutout against one another. The Admirals have been one of the best teams throughout the entire season. Milwaukee had a hiccup in weeks 4 & 5, but bounced back with an 8 win week 6. Manitoba has 3 of the Top 10 scorers in the league (they all play together), but after that it gets murky. I feel like this battle would be high scoring come playoffs.

Milwaukee Win Splits: W1-3 (21) W4-6 (15)
Manitoba Win Splits: W1-3 (13) W4-6 (16)


VS

The Griffins are up 2-0 in the season series against the Wild. The one loss for the Wild was in OT, but a 3rd period collapse where they gave up 6 goals is the reason for the other loss. @CubsCrusher14 & @DONNYWOOD have made some great moves for the Griffins and have pushed them up the standings the past few weeks. They can run 3 lines and have a chance to win each game. The Wild are hard to wrap my head around. Started off hot and have cooled off big time lately. In my opinion, they are going to need to get in a winning groove for the remainder of the season in order for them to make any noise in the playoffs.

Grand Rapids Win Splits: W1-3 (12) W4-6 (17)
Iowa Win Splits: W1-3 (15) W4-6 (12)
​

Western Pacific:

1. Tucson Roadrunners (1.00)
2. Palm Springs Firebirds (2.375)
3. Colorado Eagles (2.875)
4. San Jose Barracuda (3.75)

5. San Diego Gulls (5.00)

VS

After a week 1 defeat, the Roadrunners got a win back in week 5 to tie the season series at one a piece. Tucson is the best team in the AHL right now and have allowed the fewest amount of goals in the league. This probably shouldn't surprise anyone as Tucson runs the trap! I give them some props though because to get an entire team to play a certain playstyle is amazing. The Barracuda have quietly been great this seaosn. They'd be tied for 1st in the Eastern Atlantic and in 2nd place in the other two divisions. The goalies have been stellar for this team, but if this matchup happened in the playoffs, they'd need to get up early to hopefully avoid the trap.

Tucson Win Splits: W1-3 (18) W4-6 (20)
San Jose Win Splits: W1-3 (14) W4-6 (18)


VS

Palm Springs has won both games against Colorado this season. The last game was a 2OT thriller. I have to admit that I know basically nobody on Palm Springs, but am pleasantly surprised to see that they are playing great hockey right now. @Johnkenne y01 leads the league with 75 points and has been up near the top all season. Colorado has talent and it has shown during this season when they were leading the division. The top 2 lines are what will have to get Colorado moving on through the playoffs. Special teams will probably be a big factor if this playoff matchup happened. The Firebirds rank inside the Top 10 in both PP%& PK%.

Palm Springs Win Splits: W1-3 (16) W4-6 (21)
Colorado Win Splits: W1-3 (18) W4-6 (16)
​

 

Great write up! Loving the media you put out

 

Shameee The cuda traded the defense in that tucson win

Nice media i appreciate it!

 

solid content dude

 

Seems as though it was more of the forwards that beat Tucson seeing as they’ve done it again