It’s early and we’re talking about real small sample sizes, but the CHL Top 10 was released Wednesday, and one thing stood out: Barrie better get its act together.
Full disclosure: I haven’t watched a single minute of Colts hockey this season. But a quick glance at CHLStats tells me that there are some interesting things happening in the Top 10.
I reiterate, small sample sizes, but the Colts are 16th (16th!) in OHL estimated Fenwick Close and first in PDO, by a wide (wide) margin. Now, while CHL teams always have wild differences in underlying numbers from top to bottom—the talent gap is much wider—Barrie is setting a wicked pace while going 4-1-0 against teams that have stumbled out of the gate.
That PDO is 106.4, a full 1.5 percentage points ahead of the second-highest mark in the CHL’s Top 10. Couple that with 44.35% EstFC, and the numbers will tell you that the Barrie isn’t controlling the play. What the Colts are doing is scoring on the power play (7 of their 16 goals) and putting a lot of pressure on Mackenzie Blackwood, who has posted a .963 save percentage while facing an average of 37.8 shots per game, six more than they’re managing on the opposition.
You might call this a hot take, but you don’t need to watch a hockey team to know that relying on your goaltender to bail you out game after game is not a recipe for success. In any league.