Division I Champions of '09

I dont know if you read my comment fully or what but no where did i say you dont have talent. I'm pretty sure i gave you credit as being one of two teams most capable of winning the title. The only thing i said that might lead you to that is that you dont have any real proven scorers. You cant really disagree with that. Not saying Issaquah returns huge scorers either but Jones and Director both finished in the top 15 in the state in scoring and Goldstieins at 39... MI's highest point scorer is at 33rd in Wettack and the next highest who played any minutes at all is Caditz at 77...

and obviously teams can still get better if they lose their top two scorers. No one ever said otherwise. It happens to most teams every year and last time i checked the league doesnt just keep getting worse and worse.

i actually play for the islanders, and know first hand the talent there. And yeah i have to agree that we are losing the 1 and 2 but isnt that what has happened every year for us? almost every year its the case, and we come back, next year it will be stronger than before

Let me start by saying i fully believe the championship game next year will be MI vs Issaquah. Each team returns by far the most complete squad. BI has a solid chance but their strength has been their defense and its all gone. Curtis could make a run as well but they are lacking defensively also and will miss their faceoff guy next year.

Alright so three things.

First- in response to icepicks comment you forgot to mention MIs best player last year... danny shields... who lead the team in points and initiated their entire offense. I know he is a junior but he was brought in from australia and can only play one year. So there goes MIs number one and number two scorers in choe and danny.

Two- The stat everyone should look at is as follows.... MIs returning players accounted for 88 points in league in 2008. Issaquahs returning players 155. That doesnt need much explanation past the fact that Issaquah has guys who are proven scorers while MI is banking on expected growth - and a lot of it.

Three- I understand that many could argue MI returns a better defense and they are right. They return all three poles and Hap who for all intents and purposes is returning. I dont see Issaquah being weak either though. They return two starting poles, one of which was second team all state.

All in all its going to be a battle between these two teams and an exciting one at that. 2007 MI blew Issaquah out by 10, 2008 Issaquah blew out MI by 9. In 2009 the meeting will undoubtably be much closer and a battle for respect: MI to prove that they dont just have familiar last names and Issaquah to prove that they did not simply ride the coat tails of an All American and a strong senior class.

Prediction: Impossible to guess... It comes down to who prepares in the offseason and who steps up when asked to finally lead their team to the title.

I'm not sure MI would be state champs next year. Don't get me wrong, they are going to be a very good team graduating only a few key players, and their defense is going to be one of the strongest defense in the state next year. But there aren't going to be much goal scorers next year. Their top two goal scorer are leaving, one of which took most of their faceoffs, and then there's a huge gap until the next top goal scorer on the team (Wettack). The only reason Wettack has so many goals is because he has a pretty good shot from the outside and is only able to wind up and score on man ups. Many people might disagree with me, but I believe Curtis maybe a strong contender for state. Only key players they graduate are Lehr and Sheldon. Sheldon takes faceoffs and Lehr score goals. Lehr isn't their leading scorers, and there are a bunch that can score. And then of course Landon Carr, if he stays healthy and out of trouble, he will make a huge impact next year.

could see that i guess, many teams who were topping D1 had quite a few starting seniors who played key roles, with Mercer finishing 3rd and losing only a few key starters-choe, ho, franklin i wouldnt be surprised to see them take it all next year

I would imagine the Islanders would be strong in '09 after a rebuilding year this year. The core of this year's team was juniors and sophomores, and I think they'll be hungry for a state championship next year.