Our four-part season preview is complete! Catch up here:
Plante East
Plante West
Sawchuk East
Sawchuk West
And here’s a recap, and a ranking, of where these teams could be headed in 2018-19.
But first, a note: When we began compiling these previews, we were absolutely determined to keep science out of it. (If you want science, here’s your freaking Martin Ratings already.) The, ahem, evidence for this is clear: we’ve chosen too many playoff teams in each conference! Chalk it up to wanting to keep the hope alive.
Plante
1. Parry Sound – Contender
2. Baltimore – Contender
3. Salem – Contender
4. El Dorado – Playoffs
5. Pittsburgh – Playoffs
6. Winnipeg – Bubble
7. Charleston – Rebuilding
8. South Side – Rebuilding
9. Great Lakes – Rebuilding
10. Denver – Rebuilding
Sawchuk
1. Delta – Contender
2. Ice Harbor – Playoffs
3. Hamilton – Playoffs
4. West Virginia – Playoffs
5. Adirondack – Playoffs
6. Boston – Bubble
7. Farmington – Bubble
8. Portland – Bubble
9. San Jose – Rebuilding
10. Vancouver – Rebuilding
An interesting trend emerges when you look at the conferences this way. In the Plante, it’s go-big-or-go-home, as it hosts three of the league’s true powerhouses, and a couple of dark horses. Nearly everyone else is full-on rebuilding. The Sawchuk is much closer (as we saw in last year’s tight playoff race), with Delta the only sure-fire contender, and Ice Harbor a near-contender. Neither even made the playoffs last year, and the next five or six slots are anybody’s guess.
Now let’s drop that puck!
Gump Worsley Memorial Hockey League 