By the Numbers: Noarlunga Stars

by Eric Balnar

You've seen their roster, we've predicted their line combinations, but what do we see from a statistics point of view from the Noarlunga Stars?

You know I love my numbers, so let's dive in. 

Here's a look at their roster and their point totals from the 2021 Premier League season in South Australia.

There's a few "X-Factors on this list. 

- Jarred McDonnell led the A-Grade Blackhawks with 13 goals in 17 games this year. He also chipped in 6 assists. Make no mistake - McDonnell is a high-level player who was certainly playing "down" in a no contact league and has AIHL experience

- The Harding Brothers. Let's start with Josh. The 36-year-old last played the 2018 Premier League season and chipped in 28 points in 13 games from the Blue Line. He had 185 points in 250 games in the AIHL and is one of the best defenseman in Australian hockey history. His brother, Luke, is 33-years-old and hovers around a point-per-game in the Premier League.

- Sam Hodic. He's an interestate player and a very talented one at that. The 25-year-old had 14 points in 25 games in the last AIHL season.

Some interesting stats

- It's a fairly young team! The average age is 25.11 but what is striking is the age of the defense. Yes Josh Harding is 36 and Dave Madsen is 37, but the other five don't even combine to reach 100. However, Tim Benson, Marko Komazec and Jake Hazel have already won multiple championships with the Jokers. 

- Ryan Foll and Jake Riley finished #1 and #2 on the Premier League scoring list. They also make up exactly 50% of the goal scoring from this draft list. Who else steps up after that? 

- Young Guns will need to step up. Daniel Chen (turns 18 in December) and Zach Steele (19-years-old) are two of Australia's best and brightest talent. Chen chipped in 10 goals playing on a line with Benson and Riley this year. Steele had 9 from the blue line but is more natural as a forward. Look for him to step up.

- The Stars might distribute the puck better than anyone on paper. Combined, they had 126 Premier League assists. That's first by a wide margin. The Brewers had 82, and the Xtreme had 98.

- 12 different players on the Stars scored a Premier League goal - more than any other team. 

- Of all the teams, the Stars have the least amount of points-per-game from the defensive position. Their players average 0.29 points per game combined (30 points in 105 combined games). They're going to need someone to step up and move the puck.