Mid-season Team Guide - The Stars

Welcome back to the NHSL. It's been a few weeks since our last game on December 17 but the action still promises to be as hot as ever when it returns on January 14, 2022.

It's a big game, too. A battle for the second and final playoff spot is about to take place when the Stars and Brewers go head-to-head.

If you're already a fan, welcome back. This will be a great refresher for you.

If you're new, welcome aboard. It's a great time to be a hockey fan in Adelaide.

Here's your mid-season refresher and guide for the Noarlunga Stars as we hit the midway point. 

Here's the review for the Port Adelaide Brewers.

How have they gone so far? 

November 12 – Brewers 4 def Stars 3 (OT)
November 26 – Xtreme 6 def Stars 4 
December 3 – Stars 4 def Brewers 3 
December 17 – Xtreme 4 def Stars 3

The Stars have 1 win, 2 regulation losses and a single OT loss for a total of three points. Their season so far can be asked in a lot of “what ifs” and described as “oh so close.” 

Three points puts them at the bottom of the ladder but a win on Friday over the Brewers puts them in a playoff spot and just a single point behind first. A loss puts them in a tremendous hole.

The Stars dropped their first game of the season in OT to the Brewers in a game they never trailed until the last shot of the game. In Game #2, they allowed three goals in the first seven minutes and then arguably outplayed the Xtreme the rest of the way. It was just too big of a hole to get out of. After beating the Brewers 4-3, the Xtreme lost a very tight one-goal game vs the Xtreme and they certainly had their chances.

A couple plays here and there and we could be talking about a first place club. Unfortunately you are what your record says you are the Stars have some work to do.

But there are some promising signs…

What are the trends? 

Let’s start with the good stuff…

- They have three full lines. It’s hard not to like this forward group when they are at full strength. Getting 18-year-old Daniel Chen into the line-up now that he is of age to play is a massive inclusion. He showed how dynamic he is by scoring one of the best goals of the season. When Melbourne FIFO player Sam Hodic is here that adds another great element. It leaves them with arguably seven undisputed Top 6 forwards in Jan Koubek, Jake Riley, Yoann Levesque, Sam Hodic, Daniel Chen, Ryan Foll and Zach Steele. Their third line of Luke Harding – Tyson Boyd – Jarrad McDonnell has been hard to play against all year too. The forward depth is great.

- Yoann Levesque has been a revelation this season. The French-Canadian, who moved to SA from Western Australia after being taken in the development draft, is the leader in the clubhouse in a few categories. He leads the league in points (8) and in +/- (+7). Levesque can be used in pretty much any position up front and has been used on multiple lines.
- Goalie Glen Forbes White allowed three goals on his first four shots. Since then he’s been superb. After that moment, Glen has stopped 98 of 108 shots that have gone his way. 

- Honestly, they’re trending upward. There are a few young players on this squad like Connor Smith, Timothy Benson and Zach Steele who are eating big minutes that are getting better with every game played. That will help the team as a whole. 

And now the not-so-good…

- The Stars are 3-35 on the power play. An 8.5% clip while having the most opportunities with the man advantage simply won’t cut it. The Stars were 0-8 in a 4-3 loss to the Xtreme and 0-9 in a 4-3 OT loss to the Brewers. If the Stars convert on just one of those chances per game we might be talking about a first place team.

- Penalty trouble. With 137 penalty minutes, the Stars lead the competition by 50 minutes in terms of being the most penalised. They have to stop taking penalties when it matters the most. 

- Only two different players (Jake Riley and Jan Koubek) have multiple goals this season. That’s bottom in the league. They certainly have the forward talent to do it but they’ll need more consistent goal-scoring production from some of the players on the top line. 
 

Who are the key performers? 

Scroll to the bottom for the full breakdown of players and stats. But here are five players who you should know about on the Stars:

1. Yoann Levesque. He’s turned into arguably the best player on the Stars and he wasn’t selected until AFTER the draft. Levesque is versatile, plays hard and is a leader. He has more points than anyone in the NHSL and is one of five players to have a point in every game he’s played. 

2. Jake Riley. The flashiest player and probably the guy with the most upside in the entire league. The 21-year-old can score anytime he touches the puck. He’s a good skater, has a great shot, and is very tricky to play against. The South Aussie leads the NHSL in goals with five and is an excitement machine. 

3. Daniel Chen. He had to wait to turn 18 to play but when he did was it ever fun. Chen stole the puck from his brother Andrew (on the Xtreme), dangled Tom Tait, and scored a gorgeous backhand goal in what might be the highlight of the season. He brings work rate, skill and an eagerness to learn. One to watch going forward. 

4. Jake Hazel. At 19-years-old, Hazel has got a lot better and more steady over the last few seasons. South Australia doesn’t have a long list of top-tier defenseman and Hazel you feel like is on the cusp of breaking through. He is a sponge for knowledge and is working hard to up his game. 

5. Josh Harding. The 37-year-old came out retirement for the NHSL. He is arguably the greatest defenseman ever to play Australian ice hockey. They need Harding to be healthy and consistently in the line-up. When he plays he can captain the power play.

6. Jan Koubek. I’m breaking my rule and adding a sixth. Jan Koubek is the captain of the team, a marquee player, and a key set-up man. He’s led the Premier League in assists in recent seasons and brings so much experience to the team. 

The biggest reason to feel optimistic is…

The Stars feel so damn close to winning a lot of games. What if their power play was a bit better? They haven’t had a full strength line up once this season, what if that happens?

What if starting goalie Glen Forbes White wasn’t hurt to start the year?

What if they didn’t take so many penalties?

Yes injuries and line-up exclusions will happen. But you feel like this young Stars team will get better with time as they gel. They can also eliminate simple mistakes (like penalties) and be a little more opportunistic. 

They’ve had chances to win every game they play. Now it’s time to take them. I like this team.  

Quote from the Coach, Sami Mantere

It’s definitely a unique time to try and assemble a hockey team.

We have lost some of our top scorers to isolation during the holidays times, others for personal reasons have decided to self quarantine and as we speak looks like our starting goalie might miss this Friday's game as he’s had to isolate as well.

But we don’t wanna use any of that as an excuse as we know what the situation is: We’re in the last place with only 4 games to go. We need a good run of games. We’ve got enough talent available to us to get the job done, end of story.

Daniel Chen and Jan Koubek in particular have looked extremely good the last few trainings. I think our forward lines now have got the ability to carry a huge load shift in shift out.

The Boyd line was probably one of the best performing lines in the league the last few games.

But we gotta make sure we play the way we need to play consistently in each zone. I think our biggest issue start of the season has been inconsistency.

We fly for 10 minutes or a period and then drop off. We gotta do the right things for 60 minutes.

Player Stats