Congratulations to everyone involved in this history-making season. As great as it was to watch this team in the regular season, the real fun begins on Friday night - the MJHL playoffs.
With that in mind, it is time for some playoff predictions, so here it goes, starting with the Addison Division.
Winnipeg South Blues (27-27-2-6) vs Winnipeg Saints (36-19-3-4)
The battle of Winnipeg featured a young up-and-coming team against a veteran squad with speed to burn.
The Saints bolstered their goaltending in late December with the acquisition of goaltender Justin Leclerc from the Melville Millionaires. Leclerc played five seasons in the Western Hockey League, including 34 games as a 16-year-old rookie and began this season with the Kamloops Blazers. The 20-year-old finished the MJHL season with an 11-2-0-2 record with a 2.88 GAA and .915 save percentage.
When it comes to the playoffs goaltending is a huge factor and the Saints clearly have the edge in that department.
They are also deeper up front than the young Blues, who are led by rookie sensations Brendan O'Donnell, the MJHL's Rookie of the Year, and Zach Franko, who finished 1-2 in scoring for the Blues.
The Blues have played their Winnipeg counterparts tough all season, but the playoffs is a whole other season. Look for the Saints to win in five.
Winkler Flyers (29-25-7-1) vs Selkirk Steelers (36-25-0-1)
This is a tough one to call. On paper it has the potential to be one of the best series in the opening round. But Selkirk struggled in February, when they still had a chance at first place, finishing the season 4-6 and Winkler has been the model of inconsistency all season.
Many people, myself included, were expecting the Flyers to finish first in the division this season, based on a strong group of returning vets. But Winkler was hot and cold all season and finished just four games above .500.
Like Winkler, the Steelers had a solid cast of returning players and challenged for first place until fading late in the season. They have a potent offence which will tell the tale of this series. I'm taking the Steelers in six.
Swan Valley Stampeders (34-22-2-4) vs Portage Terriers (35-17-4-6)
Talk about two teams heading in opposite directions.
The Terriers finished the regular season on an 11-game winning streak and have 12 wins in their last 13 games. Since the new year, Portage has compiled a record of 16-5-2-0. Their late-season surge carried them past the Stamps and into second place, giving them home ice advantage in their first-round series.
The Stamps, meanwhile, faded down the stretch. Swan Valley is 7-10-0-1 since the Jan. 10 trade deadline and was just 3-5-0-1 in February, scoring 24 goals while giving up 42.
At one time, this looked like it would be the best series of the opening round. Now it looks to be a short series in Portage's favour. If the Stamps can find whatever it is they lost, it will go the distance. If not, Portage in five.
As for the Kings and Natives... you'll have to head down to Credit Union Place to catch all the action live (and don't forget to make some noise!).
• Doug Zywina is a sports reporter with the Dauphin Herald and he will be checking into dauphinkings.com weekly with his thoughts on your Dauphin Kings and the MJHL.
