At the start of every season most publications try and predict the season ending standings, something I would never want the task of doing. I decided to take a look back at the The Hockey News predictions for the 2011/2012 season compared to the final standings and for the most part they were way off. This is absolutely nothing against The Hockey News or our awesome local reporter who picked them, just wanted to look back. It’s almost impossible to predict how 30 teams will finish when their lineup in September will likely be completely different once the season starts and throughout.
I don’t think anyone could have predicted the Norfolk Admirals of all teams to win their last 28 games of the regular season for a historic finish. The list could go on but since I had posted the predictions back in October I thought I’d see how the results were.
Western Conference
| Predicted | Final Standings |
|---|---|
| Charlotte Checkers | Oklahoma City Barons |
| Peoria Rivermen | Toronto Marlies |
| Chicago Wolves | Chicago Wolves |
| Rochester Americans | Abbotsford Heat |
| Toronto Marlies | Milwaukee Admirals |
| Houston Aeros | San Antonio Rampage |
| Hamilton Bulldogs | Rochester Americans |
| Lake Erie Monsters | Houston Aeros |
| Texas Stars | Charlotte Checkers |
| San Antonio Rampage | Lake Erie Monsters |
| Rockford IceHogs | Peoria Rivermen |
| Grand Rapids Griffins | Rockford IceHogs |
| Abbotsford Heat | Grand Rapids Griffins |
| Oklahoma City Barons | Hamilton Bulldogs |
| Milwaukee Admirals | Texas Stars |
Eastern Conference
| Predicted | Final Standings |
|---|---|
| Hershey Bears | Norfolk Admirals |
| W-B/Scranton Penguins | St John’s IceCaps |
| Portland Pirates | Bridgeport Sound Tigers |
| Springfield Falcons | W-B/Scranton Penguins |
| Manchester Monarchs | Hershey Bears |
| Syracuse Crunch | Connecticut Whale |
| Worcester Sharks | Syracuse Crunch |
| Connecticut Whale | Manchester Monarchs |
| Binghamton Senators | Portland Pirates |
| Bridgeport Sound Tigers | Adirondack Phantoms |
| St John’s IceCaps | Springfield Falcons |
| Albany Devils | Providence Bruins |
| Norfolk Admirals | Worcester Sharks |
| Providence Bruins | Albany Devils |
| Adirondack Phantoms | Binghamton Senators |
I dare you to try and predict next seasons results and see how you do!
