2023 in review

• 2023 record – 3^rd in Hellyer Conference, 5^th overall (17W – 0OTW – 1OTL – 8L)

The AIHL welcomed the Thunder back in 2023, and they promptly made it back to Finals weekend, courtesy of a key win over the Newcastle Northstars in the Play-in. This was built on a strong second-half of the season, after a revolving door of imports early in 2023 made for a patchy start to the year. A semi-final loss to the CBR Brave takes none of the gloss off an impressive season.

Figure 1: Perth Thunder key stats in 2023 AIHL Season

 

Something of note for Perth in 2023 was an improved defensive structure – which kept their opponents off Stead in net. Often in the past, the Thunder have had a very high-end goalie, but have allowed that goalie to be peppered. By keeping shots against Stead below 32 per game was the best result for some time.

Table 1: Perth Thunder top 5 scorers in 2023

Table 2: Perth Thunder 2023 goalie stats

History

Perennial AIHL semi-finalists, the Thunder have been a strong outfit over most of the past decade – only missing Finals weekend once inside that period- in 2014. Unfortunately, they only have the one semi-final win, where they upset the Northstars in front of home fans in 2019 – something they have turned into a habit.

A strength of Perth teams through this period has been in goaltending. A high-calibre parade of import goalies have come through the Thunder over the years, with names like Peter Di Salvo, Thomas Heemskerk and more recently, Kristian Stead occupying the net. This has led them to be the only team in the league to post an average save percentage over 0.900 for the period.

Supporting this strong goaltending has been a procession of (often French-Canadian) import forwards who have put up big points totals, and possibly bigger time on ice numbers- if we kept those. However, in recent years the local players in Perth have became a larger part of the scoring, with players such as Andrew Cox, Jordy Kyros and Kieran Webster all putting up strong production, and the local defensive duo of captain Jamie Woodman and Rob Haselhurst proving a challenge for opponents.

Something else that is a feather in the cap of the Thunder, is their record on the road – they take a higher percentage of points in away games than they do in home games – 59.2% vs 60.4%. Given they have the toughest travel schedule in the competition, that is a key to their success.

When it comes to opponents, they have winning records against all except 2 teams – with only the Brave and Mustangs getting the better of the Thunder more than the Thunder get the better of them.

The tables below show the top scorers for the Thunder, goalie performances for some of the recent Thunder goalies, as well as Peter Di Salvo – who has played more in net than anyone else for the Perth in the past decade, as well as the top scorers against the Thunder.

Table 3: Perth Thunder top 10 scorers, 2013 to 2023

Table 4: Perth Thunder key goalie stats, 2013 to 2023

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

Table 5: Top 10 scorers against Perth Thunder, 2013 to 2023

New players/imports

Canadian forward Jeremiah Addison brings experience in both Europe and North America, and in leagues where he would be expected to be a key performer, which will hold him in good stead. We project him to produce around 60 to 65 points for the Thunder.

The Thunder are no stranger to an import goalie, and this season brings Leo Bertein – a French tender with a lot of experience after a decade in pro hockey – mainly in the Ligue Magnus, with a few seasons in the French second tier. He also has some experience as a goaltending coach, which might be useful for young WA goalies like Rhys Pelliccione.

A big local signing for Perth is Zane Jones, who fresh off his best AIHL season yet in 2023 where he put up 47 points in 20 games. With Perth being a little less high-scoring a venue than Newcastle, he is projected to score between 45 and 50 points on a 25 game season.  

Player to watch

After his first AIHL season in 2023 yielded production over a point-per-game, with 23 points in 22 games, Riley Langille stands out here. Having turned 19 in December, the future holds some real promise and he has spent the off-season playing Junior B hockey in Canada with a very strong record. This sets him up well for a strong AIHL campaign – especially with the opportunity to fill the hole left by new GM Andrew Cox as he steps off the ice and into the front office.

Keys for 2024

The first thing on coach Ben Breault’s wishlist for 2024 is probably some stability in import recruitment – with seven different imports taking the ice in 2023, having a set contingent would help to get some consistency in the team.

Aside from that, the local contingent will need to to cover for the absence of Cox, who has scored more points for the Thunder than all except Breault. Expect more pressure to be on the strong core of Breault, Jordy Kyros, Kieran Webster, Jamie Woodman, Rob Haselhurst and Lyndon Lodge, as well as the emerging youth in Langille, Yannic Lodge and Jake Ruck. Bringing in Zane Jones will certainly help with this issue, and is an important addition.

A quirk around the 2023 season was that Perth scored less goals from defenceman than all teams except the Adrenaline and the Ice – despite having some of the best local D men around the league . If this is a priority to address, expect to see an import D man in Perth colours this year – and with Breault now counting as a local, that gives them the ability to use an import slot in this way.