This time out we tackle shooting in part 3 of Magness Mayhem’s exclusive Denver player survey, which returns for a second year.

This season, 23 of the 27 players on the roster responded, or 85 percent. That should make the survey statistically reliable.

The 2018-19 season survey includes 25 questions, broken down into various categories. Players were given multiple choices and promised anonymity for their answers. Questions pertaining to skaters only had skaters listed, same for goalie-related questions.

I hope you enjoy this fun exercise that picks the Pioneers’ brains to help shed light on which teammates they view as the strongest in various categories.

MORE SURVEY RESULTS

Part 1 (Questions 1-4) deals with skating

Part 2 (Questions 5-7) deals with strength, checking and toughness

Part 4 (Questions 11-14) is all about the hands

Part 5 (Questions 15-17) looks at the eyes

Part 6 (Questions 18-22) gets defensive

Part 7 (Questions 23-25) hard work and leadership

Question 8: Which player has the hardest shot?

• Jarid Lukosevicius – 11 votes (48 percent)
• Jack Doremus – 8 votes (35 percent)
• Tyson McLellan – 2 votes
• Les Lancaster, Brett Stapley – 1 vote

Analysis: There are several reasons Lukosevicius has surpassed 16 goals the past two  seasons and likely will top 20 for the second campaign in a row, and the force he fires away with is one of them. What’s interesting about Doremus, who also figured prominently in a few of the skating categories and got a vote in functional strength, is he hadn’t played until the final game before the break. Look for him to see the ice a lot more in the second half after how well he played at North Dakota. McLellan surprisingly hasn’t scored a goal yet this season, and he’s one of a handful of Pioneers I’d figure will have a much stronger second half.

Question 9: Which player has the most accurate shot?

• Jarid Lukosevicius – 8 votes (35 percent)
• Liam Finlay, Ian Mitchell – 3 votes (13 percent)
• Cole Guttman – 2 votes
• Ryan Barrow, Michael Davies, Slava Demin, Jack Doremus, Jaakko Heikkinen, Emilio Pettersen, Brett Stapley – 1 vote

Analysis: When 11 players on your team are deemed accurate shooters, that’s obviously a good thing. Ironically, the team’s shooting percentage this season is a bit over 11 percent. Last season it was slightly more than 9 percent after sitting at 10 percent during the national championship season. This season, Lukosevicius’ is nearly 17 percent (on his nine goals) after 10.6 a year ago. Finlay’s is an unreal 29 percent (no wonder assistant coach Tavis MacMillan wants him to shoot more!), while Mitchell’s is around 8 percent. Guttman’s is 20 percent. Finlay and Guttman are tied for second in goals with seven apiece.

Question 10: Which player has the quickest release?

• Jarid Lukosevicius – 11 votes (50 percent, one vote abstained)
• Emilio Pettersen – 3 votes (14 percent)
• Jack Doremus, Kohen Olischefski, Tyler Ward – 2 votes
• Sean Comrie, Brett Stapley – 1 vote

Analysis: Lukosevicius, to me, was the obvious choice here. The senior unloads it just about as fast as any college player I’ve seen in two decades of covering the sport. Of the other six on this list, four are freshmen and the other two (Doremus and Olischefski) are sophomores. Olischefski falls in the McLellan category for me – way too good to go the entire season without a goal. Lukosevicius led the voting in every shooting category, but Doremus and Stapley (who has 12 points in 14 games) also appeared in all three categories.

NEXT: Stickhandling, passing and mitts

©First Line Editorial 2017-18