1921 Preseason

Off-ice, the whole preseason consisted of making sure that each team was set up to make the jump from amateur to professional. As part of this, Burris stated that no player personnel moves were to be made before the league’s first games.

While team officials were working hard around the clock, journalists were working tirelessly to make their predictions for how the league’s first season would play out. Frederick Winton, one of the most widely-respected journalists in the game, made a comprehensive list of each team’s strengths and weaknesses in each position, ranking the top teams in all categories. Here is what he concluded:

Forwards:
1. MTL Barons
2. York
3. Cleveland

Defense:
1. Cleveland
2. Toronto
3. Binghamton

Goaltender:
1. Toronto
2. Pittsburgh
3. Binghamton

Overall:
1. Pittsburgh
2. Toronto
3. Cleveland

Winton also listed who he thought the league’s best players were in terms of how they played, not necessarily the points they scored.

1. Frank Clercius, G, TOR
2. Andrew Moehring, D, NYB
3. Tom Robert, C, CLE
4. John Leblanc, D, CLE
5. Denis Jones, G, PIT

The stage has been set! For the season posts, I'll be doing two per season, one at the halfway point and one at the conclusion of the season. Watch out for the 1920-21 halfway post tomorrow!

1920-21 Regular Season: First Half

The league internally debated on whether or not divisions were needed for the entire preseason, so much so that they didn’t make their decision until 3 days before the first games were to be played, and the schedule had already been released. This meant that for the inaugural season, the concept of divisions was pointless. Nevertheless, they still decided to use divisions for the official standings, but the top 4 teams overall would make the playoffs. The league made sure to tell reporters multiple times that divisions would make much more sense when they were to be straightened out in 1921-22.

The first game in MHL history was held in Ottawa’s Rideau Gardens on November 23, 1920, before a crowd of 8,000. New York’s George King scored the first goal 1:14 into the first period. Robert Willis broke a 2-2 tie in the third period, giving the Bluebirds the first win in the league’s history.

Other scores from the league’s first games included:
A 4-3 road win by the championship favourite Ints in Brooklyn,
A 3-3 tie in Cleveland between the Wolves and Bears,
A dominant 6-2 win by the Wildcats over the Greys in Montreal,
A surprising 2-1 win by the Royals over the Lakers in the Battle of Toronto,
And a 3-1 win by the Barons against the Colts.

Because of the divisional schedule imbalance, there emerged a massive rift between the two by the halfway point. The Western Division held an overall record of 79-70-2, while the East had a record of 70-79-2.

In the west, as everyone anticipated, it was the Toronto Lakers leading the way, at 17-8-1. However, due to multiple forward injuries early on, their defence made them so strong. Frank Clercius, who many predicted to be the league’s #1 goalie, wasn’t entirely playing up to his normal level but was still playing well.

Behind Toronto were the Cleveland Wolves, at 13-9-2. The Wolves were playing well both on offence and defence, helping them hold on to the final playoff spot. They didn’t have any superstars carrying the team, but their teamwork was a big factor in helping them win the majority of their games. Edwin Robinson led the MHL in assists with 10 at the halfway point.

Two points behind Cleveland were the York Royals. Despite being at 0.500, they weren’t seen as too much of a threat, as they had been quite inconsistent to start, and had a negative goal differential. However, the emergence of defender Robert Andrews as a hard-hitting and hard-shooting player gave them many moments in the spotlight.

The bottom three teams in the West (Chicago, Pittsburgh and Buffalo) all stood deadlocked at 24 points. Chicago and Buffalo were having the same story as York: inconsistent play, but also moments of hope with a chance to sneak into the playoffs.
Pittsburgh, despite being projected as the #1 overall team, wasn’t playing like that at all. They were basically being carried by goalie Dennis Jones, who led the league in save percentage and GAA. their offence was futile, and Jones was the only reason they weren’t in the basement of the league.

In the east, it was a surprise team on top, the Montreal Barons. They weren’t projected to be bad, but they definitely weren’t projected to have the league’s best record of 18-7-1 either. This was all thanks to superstar Robert Courbouche, who was tied for the league lead in goals (30), while also leading the league in points (36). He was dubbed as the budding league’s “first superstar”, and at the age of 22, the sky is the limit for his career.

Sitting 2nd in the east and 3rd overall were the New York Bluebirds. They weren’t amazing in any one category, but they were great all around. They also had a knack for winning close games, helping them to a 15-10 record halfway through.

In the 3rd spot in the east were the Binghamton Bears. Despite uncertainty about their future in the league, they played very well, sitting at 12-12-1. 

In Ottawa, despite being 10-16, the Lumbermen were actually playing above expectations, as many projected them to be last place and nothing more. However, their 4.08 goals against per game was not a good statistic.

Second-last in the East and the league were the Montreal Greys. Their main issue was playing on the road, as they were actually above 0.500 at home, but a measly 3-10 away from it. As well, they have lost all 3 of their meetings against the Barons so far, leading to their faithful not having the best time on the streets of Montreal.

Last at the halfway point was a major surprise, the Brooklyn Kings. While injuries were a big factor in their futility, they were still only averaging 2.16 goals for per game, while the league average was at 3.31. They should be expected to do better in the second half, but this start looks like the worst possible scenario for their first year in the MHL.



League Leaders:

Goals: 
Robert Courbouche (MTL/CAN) (30)
Jacques Julien (BUF/CAN) (30)
Robert Andrews (YRK/USA) (24)

Assists:
Edwin Robinson (CLE/CAN) (10)
Lewis Urban (NYB/CAN) (9)
Denny Knight (9)

Points:
Robert Courbouche (MTL/CAN) (36)
Jacques Julien (BUF/CAN) (33)
Robert Andrews (YRK/USA) (27)

Save Percentage:
Dennis Jones (PIT/CAN) (0.912)
Frank Clercius (TOR/CAN) (0.903)
Kermit Ward (BNG/CAN) (0.892)

Goals Against Average:
Dennis Jones (PIT/CAN) (2.45)
Frank Clercius (TOR/CAN) (2.47)
Alexander Graham (MTB/CAN) (2.69)

Let's go Bluebirds! A solid showing to begin. Also glad to see the crosstown Kings in the basement.

Section30 wrote:

I don't have faith that either team will be able to stick around but until something happens I'm gonna be pulling for Binghamton and York

YEAH! BEAR BROS!

Let’s go Wolves! Poke those little Bears in their hiney’s! Sad to see the Royals leave as well.