London Knights 2023 - 24 Season Thread (Part 4)

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Otto

Lynch Syndrome. Know your families cancer history

Holden Caufield

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Oct 9, 2020
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This 14 game win streak has really been something!;
Outscoring opponents 89-27 over that stretch.
Averaging over 6 goals per game.
Allowing fewer than 2 goals per game.

Contributions from all 4 lines.
All 6 defensemen have been solid.
Both goalies are playing well.
About half of this streak was earned with multiple star players away from the team (WJCs) or suspended.

This team is the definition of firing on all cylinders.
The only worry as a fan is if this team is peaking too early, because this can’t be sustainable.
As far as worries go… that’s not a bad one to have.
 

Millpond

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Dec 5, 2015
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Fergus31

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Jul 17, 2021
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This 14 game win streak has really been something!;
Outscoring opponents 89-27 over that stretch.
Averaging over 6 goals per game.
Allowing fewer than 2 goals per game.

Contributions from all 4 lines.
All 6 defensemen have been solid.
Both goalies are playing well.
About half of this streak was earned with multiple star players away from the team (WJCs) or suspended.

This team is the definition of firing on all cylinders.
The only worry as a fan is if this team is peaking too early, because this can’t be sustainable.
As far as worries go… that’s not a bad one to have.
Good post. Peaking too early can be a worry. There is a degree of randomness to hockey too whether it’s injury, puck luck, etc. Anything can happen going forward.

I agree about the defence especially. I think that’s a competitive advantage London has over a lot of teams. They invest a lot of draft capital in defence. Peterborough did that last year as well and they went to the Memorial Cup. The days of rolling four D all game are over.

Another thing that I think is tipping the scales in London’s favour is the physical play. You still need to be able to play a tough brand of hockey to succeed. That doesn’t necessarily mean fighting or even hitting but London’s puck pursuit and grit to get the puck is good. There is very little time and space for the opposition. Just an observation. Prayers for Logan.
 

LDN

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Sep 29, 2017
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Good post. Peaking too early can be a worry. There is a degree of randomness to hockey too whether it’s injury, puck luck, etc. Anything can happen going forward.

I agree about the defence especially. I think that’s a competitive advantage London has over a lot of teams. They invest a lot of draft capital in defence. Peterborough did that last year as well and they went to the Memorial Cup. The days of rolling four D all game are over.

Another thing that I think is tipping the scales in London’s favour is the physical play. You still need to be able to play a tough brand of hockey to succeed. That doesn’t necessarily mean fighting or even hitting but London’s puck pursuit and grit to get the puck is good. There is very little time and space for the opposition. Just an observation. Prayers for Logan.
I agree this is one of the more physical teams (in comparison to other OHL clubs) that I’ve seen over the years and I love it. It helps in the playoffs to have guys like Sim and McCue who set the tone. Say what you want about the Boultons but they bring a solid amount of physicality
 

Buttsy

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Jul 28, 2015
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Logan Hunter battling pancreatic cancer

Yikes all Cancer's are serious but my understanding is this one is one of the toughest to battle. Good Luck Logan and may the big guy above be with you all. Beautiful family ..... trying to recall how does Logan fit in the Hunter clan exactly? Dale's son or Mark'?
 
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GoKnightsGo44

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Aug 31, 2006
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Thought I would go down the Moneyball route here with some basic mathing sheets.... Ultimately NB has the easiest schedule but is behind in winning percentage so their schedule advantage is mitigated.

As you can see London has an easier schedule and holds a massive statistical advantage in terms of winning percentage vs average competition at .198 winning % gap.

In terms of difficulty of schedule relative to teams success its: (easiest to hardest)

1. London (0.198)
2. Saginaw (0.157)
3. Sault Ste. Marie (0.147)
4. Kitchener (0.113)
5. North Bay (0.107) (Weaker schedule but weaker team to begin with)

Let me know your thoughts or if there is other stats that jump out to you.
 

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Holden Caufield

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Knights record with consecutive wins is 22 I believe by the 2012-2013 London Knights. OHL record is 25 wins in a row by the Rangers.
Good call.
The record 31 game unbeaten streak in 04/05 had some tie games mixed in.
18 consecutive wins was the most they had between ties.
 
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Slowpace

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Jan 8, 2018
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Thought I would go down the Moneyball route here with some basic mathing sheets.... Ultimately NB has the easiest schedule but is behind in winning percentage so their schedule advantage is mitigated.

As you can see London has an easier schedule and holds a massive statistical advantage in terms of winning percentage vs average competition at .198 winning % gap.

In terms of difficulty of schedule relative to teams success its: (easiest to hardest)

1. London (0.198)
2. Saginaw (0.157)
3. Sault Ste. Marie (0.147)
4. Kitchener (0.113)
5. North Bay (0.107) (Weaker schedule but weaker team to begin with)

Let me know your thoughts or if there is other stats that jump out to you.
Thanks for this, very interesting. The league schedule is very unbalanced....teams don't play opposing teams equal number of games. Same with game scheduling.....Knights played four 3 in 3 weekends in the first half and have another coming up. Kitchener played 2 in the first half, and I believe no more coming up. Obviously, arena availability causes much of this, but greatly affects standings.
 
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GoKnightsGo44

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Aug 31, 2006
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Thanks for this, very interesting. The league schedule is very unbalanced....teams don't play opposing teams equal number of games. Same with game scheduling.....Knights played four 3 in 3 weekends in the first half and have another coming up. Kitchener played 2 in the first half, and I believe no more coming up. Obviously, arena availability causes much of this, but greatly affects standings.

Right, this is where you have to take into account the relative strength of opponents and relative strength of the team in focus. The difference between those numbers is an objective metric to compare all schedules across the league.
 

Knights2729

Registered User
Oct 24, 2016
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London
I heard a rumour that the Knights havent named a captain after the deadline because they are superstitious to a small extent and they dont want to mess with the streak but they may name one when and if the streak comes to an end. The fact that Julien, George, Edward and Sim rotate the A and McCue wears one all the time makes me think that McCue will be the Captain when and if they actually name one
 
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bobber

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Jan 21, 2013
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Kitchener Ontario
Logan Hunter battling pancreatic cancer

As s person that has battled some serious cancer more than once my thoughts and prayers go out to Logan Hunter and his family. Massively stressful time to go through for a family with young children.
 

rve24

Registered User
Oct 26, 2022
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As s person that has battled some serious cancer more than once my thoughts and prayers go out to Logan Hunter and his family. Massively stressful time to go through for a family with young children.
TY for sharing. Hope all is well now! We need ya posting for many more years ;)
My better half works in Peds Oncology and I have no idea how. It sucks. (And at any age)
Thoughts n prayers to Logan n family.
 

dmead

Code Spelunker
Jan 12, 2018
962
1,688
London
This 14 game win streak has really been something!;
Outscoring opponents 89-27 over that stretch.
Averaging over 6 goals per game.
Allowing fewer than 2 goals per game.

Contributions from all 4 lines.
All 6 defensemen have been solid.
Both goalies are playing well.
About half of this streak was earned with multiple star players away from the team (WJCs) or suspended.

This team is the definition of firing on all cylinders.
The only worry as a fan is if this team is peaking too early, because this can’t be sustainable.
As far as worries go… that’s not a bad one to have.
Geez. You pulled that post right out of my head. How did you do that? 😄
 
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EvenSteven

Registered User
Sep 3, 2009
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Yikes all Cancer's are serious but my understanding is this one is one of the toughest to battle. Good Luck Logan and may the big guy above be with you all. Beautiful family ..... trying to recall how does Logan fit in the Hunter clan exactly? Dale's son or Mark'?
I’m thinking / guessing Dale and Mark’s older brother Ron. A former Kitchener Ranger.
 
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LDN

Registered User
Sep 29, 2017
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I heard a rumour that the Knights havent named a captain after the deadline because they are superstitious to a small extent and they dont want to mess with the streak but they may name one when and if the streak comes to an end. The fact that Julien, George, Edward and Sim rotate the A and McCue wears one all the time makes me think that McCue will be the Captain when and if they actually name one
I think they have so many leaders that it almost doesn’t need one
 

Ringing Iron

Registered User
May 8, 2011
1,840
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I heard a rumour that the Knights havent named a captain after the deadline because they are superstitious to a small extent and they dont want to mess with the streak but they may name one when and if the streak comes to an end. The fact that Julien, George, Edward and Sim rotate the A and McCue wears one all the time makes me think that McCue will be the Captain when and if they actually name one
Mackinnon was going to be named captain before his injury prevented him from returning. They'll go without a captain this season andkeep with the four As
 

tjziel

Registered User
Nov 20, 2012
2,423
1,937
London
What a crazy weekend. I think the first game 4-2 was a more adequate representation of the two teams. As far as if the Knights are peaking too early, nah.

I haven’t seen playoff Simpson yet. He has been solid, but I think he has another level where he can steal a game.

The only concern I have is Saginaw, Kitchener and the Soo will only get better.

Kitchener will make adjustments and will need to figure out how Sale, Savard and Martin fit into their team. If they get a top line of Sale -Rehkopf - Mesar going, look out. That line could be a wrecking crew.

Saginaw is big “if”. They have a lot of pieces that need to gel together after a lot of trade deadline acquisitions. Sometimes adding too many players doesn’t work out. I see Kitchener of last year. However I don’t know if they will make it all the way through the playoffs but they will be a threat in the Memorial Cup if they get ousted from the playoffs early cuz they will have enough time to gel.

The Soo are the real threat. They are fast and have a system in place. They are the team that can keep up with the Knights. And they are relentless… I wish we played them again so we could measure up against them.
 

TheOrangePylon

Registered User
Jan 4, 2023
471
825
London, ON
What a crazy weekend. I think the first game 4-2 was a more adequate representation of the two teams. As far as if the Knights are peaking too early, nah.

I haven’t seen playoff Simpson yet. He has been solid, but I think he has another level where he can steal a game.

The only concern I have is Saginaw, Kitchener and the Soo will only get better.

Kitchener will make adjustments and will need to figure out how Sale, Savard and Martin fit into their team. If they get a top line of Sale -Rehkopf - Mesar going, look out. That line could be a wrecking crew.

Saginaw is big “if”. They have a lot of pieces that need to gel together after a lot of trade deadline acquisitions. Sometimes adding too many players doesn’t work out. I see Kitchener of last year. However I don’t know if they will make it all the way through the playoffs but they will be a threat in the Memorial Cup if they get ousted from the playoffs early cuz they will have enough time to gel.

The Soo are the real threat. They are fast and have a system in place. They are the team that can keep up with the Knights. And they are relentless… I wish we played them again so we could measure up against them.
You will get your wish, London Vs. SSM Feb. 16th at the bud and Friday March 15th at the bud.
 
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