2023 in review

• 2023 record – 4^th in Rurak Conference, 9^th overall (4W – 0OTW – 1OTL – 21L)

In their first season since 2019, the Adrenaline found the going tough again – but managed to complete a few key milestones. Probably the most significant of these was their first win since July 2018, over the Rhinos in Erina early in the season. The season did end on a high note as well, with an upset over the soon-to-be Goodall Cup winners, the Melbourne Mustangs, in the final game of the season.

While the Adrenaline had some younger players who showed a lot of promise, such as Matus Trnka in net and Julian Friederich up front, the area where they struggled the most was in import production. The Adrenaline imports scored at 0.900 points per game, while across the league imports averaged 1.699.

Table 1: Adelaide Adrenaline top 5 scorers in 2023

Table 2: Adelaide Adrenaline 2023 goalie stats

History

The last few years have not been the best for Adelaide, with a winless 2019 the low point, after a real changing of the guard. This came after the retirement and departure (at least from regular appearances) of fixtures in the Adrenaline team such as Greg Oddy, Darren Corstens, Wehebe Darge, Josh Harding, and David Huxley. Throughout this period, the Adrenaline have only picked up 29.4% of the points on offer, with an overall record of 48W – 14OTW – 22OTL – 136L and no finals weekend appearances. They have been a little stronger at home than away, collecting 31.2% of the points at home, and 27.5% away.

However, their record against different opponents has varied considerably. Their favourite opponent has been the Rhinos in 2023, where they picked up two wins and an overtime loss. On the other hand, they may have some restless nights’ sleep ahead of games against the Ice – the Adrenaline only have three regulation and one overtime wins in 30 games.

A consistent issue for Adelaide has been a lack of firepower. They are the second-lowest scoring existing team over the decade (behind only the Rhinos), and the only team against which goaltenders have a save percentage of 0.900 or better – going at exactly 0.900 against the Adrenaline.

The tables below show the top scorers for the Adrenaline, goalie performances for the two current goalies, as well as Peter King – who has played more in net than anyone else for the Adrenaline in the past decade, and the top scorers against Adelaide.

Table 3: Adelaide Adrenaline top 10 scorers, 2013 to 2023

Table 4: Adelaide Adrenaline key goalie stats, 2013 to 2023

*Per game calculations based on 60 minutes, not 50.

Table 6: Top 10 scorers against Adelaide Adrenaline, 2013 to 2023

New players/imports

What can we expect from players announced already?

Josh Adkins – the first big signing for the Adrenaline in 2024, the import comes off a season with the Northstars in 2023 that yielded 2 points per game (48 points in 24 games). Having spent half a season in the NIHL in the UK, we project his production to be slightly lower in 2024 without the strength of Newcastle -but not by much – 40-50 points for the season (based on 28 games).

Ty Wright – the Kiwi/Canadian defenseman is a good signing for the Adrenaline, and will help shore up the blueline. As a stay-at-home D-man, he won’t be expected to put up huge scoring numbers, but will be important in keeping opposition from the Adrenaline net.

Player to watch

There are a number of options for this one, but we’re going to go with Julian Friederich. Having spent a lot of the 2023 season playing first line minutes, and a northern winter playing junior hockey (U20) in the Swiss second tier, the 18 year old is ready to take the next step and be a key local cog for the Adrenaline.

Keys for 2024

Two key pieces of the puzzle for the Adrenaline in 2024 are continued progression from their young brigade of players, and improved import production.

The core of the Adrenaline is built on a group of players who will be 24 and under at the start of the 2024 season. Trnka, Friederich (x2), Benson, Maley, Handberg, Chen (x2), O’Handley are where the future is in Adelaide. Combining this with the experience and leadership from guys like newly-minted local Joey MacDougall, Steve Best and Zach Boyle, this should give the Croweaters the basis for a strong team.

Having higher-producing imports would ease the pressure on that young core as well. The acquisition of Josh Adkins is a great step in the right direction here. If a top line of imports (or imports spread over the first two lines) were able to put up 1.5 points per game (or better), this will be a massive step forward. Combining that with the local talent provides for 3 solid lines of scoring threat, and the ability on the blueline to keep opponents honest. This is always easier said than done, but the Adrenaline’s best players need to be better for them to climb up the ladder.