The final week of the 2024 regular season was intense, with crucial matchups deciding playoff standing in all four divisions. For many teams, this weekend was the most important game of the season up to this point. Many commentators made the observation that to some extent, the playoffs had already started.
Not so for the Wind Chill.
While other teams were clashing against division rivals and fighting tooth and nail for their spot, Minnesota was hosting a one-win Detroit Mechanix team, having secured their #1 seed weeks ago. Despite being completely irrelevant to the postseason, the Wind Chill were taking it seriously. This game was an opportunity for them to get one more set of reps on the field as they look forward to the playoffs. With a couple of weeks until the next game, I wanted to look back at this historic regular season and see what can be taken away as the team moves forward, hunting a Central Division title and a chance at the championship.
Youth Leading the Charge
A key storyline we’ve been following since the pre-season has been the young stars of the Wind Chill. Early in the season, we highlighted players like Thomas Shope and Leo Sovell-Fernandez as individuals to keep an eye on. As the season progressed, the young players continuously made an impact game after game, generating key blocks, goals, and commanding the field with the disc.
At the risk of saturating our content with their names, Will Brant and Gordon Larson both had incredible seasons. These two are an absolute battery on the field, not just generating points but putting an energy in the team that only youth can do. Add in guys like Matt Johnson, Ian McCosky, Noah Hanson, Cam Lacy, and you have yourself a very clear core for this franchise going forward.
I’ll talk about roster depth being an important and championship winning quality across sports and skill range until the cows come in (do people still say that?). It’s my belief that confidently utilizing the next generation will cultivate that depth, and bring the team success in the short and long term. Relying on these younger guys to bring energy and momentum could end up being the difference maker the deeper into the playoffs we go.
The Stats Section
Normally, I’m not the numbers guy; I usually leave that up to Jay and Jeph. But I’m trying to appeal to all audiences here.
The Wind Chill end the 2024 regular season with reasonable placement in all the current stat categories, with a solid offensive showing thanks to guys like Jordan Taylor, Colin Berry, and Matt Rehder. However, their completions and completion percentage show a stark weakness of this Minnesota team. Throwing the disc is the only way to move it up field, and disc movement is— especially upon receiving a pull— is incredibly important to break defenses. This season we’ve seen the Wind Chill struggle to utilize the handler space well, relying on bail out cuts from Tristan Van De Moortele and Flash Gordon. Taking advantage of the yardage gained with handler movement is something to focus on in the postseason. While I wouldn’t say the Minnesota offense is anything historic, I do believe with some cleaning up it has what it takes to make a showing at championship weekend.
For the fourth straight season the team finished top three in blocks, showcasing the Chill’s well-known ability to generate turnovers. Matching up against high-level offenses requires an active defense. Multiple games this year have been won with a block, such as Noah Hanson’s in Chicago in Week 10. Clearly the defense can play defense. But with a D-line conversion of just 51%, it leaves a little to be desired. I don’t buy into the argument of “wearing down” their offense by prolonging a point. I buy into the argument that when you get a block, you need to march it down and score. If you’ve been following us for a while now, you know how important and game winning defensive conversion is, especially at a championship level.
While earlier I mentioned a cleaner offense, I do want to look back at something we may have been blind to during the season: Huck percentage. The Wind Chill end the season in the bottom three teams. At the time we knew they had a few off games, but seeing it laid out shows a trend that can’t be ignored. Perhaps directly tied to their completion percentage, perhaps unrelated. Either way, you still need to be able to execute on those shots if you’re taking them in the postseason. And while their red zone conversion is certainly higher than in seasons past, it isn’t enough to compensate for the frankly poor huck percentage.
Time to Fine-Tune
Now, I may seem like I’m harping on the Wind Chill, but I promise I’m not. All these notes are trends we’ve had to wait until this point in the season to examine. We needed the sample size to look back on in order to move forward. I sincerely believe the Wind Chill have had the perfect season to push them to be the best team they can be.
A turbulent Central Division race combined with marquee matchups against unfamiliar high-level opponents has sharpened the Wind Chill into a team ready to bring it to Championship
Weekend. Week after week we’ve seen player after player step up and make an impact. We’ve watched our boys go up against some of the toughest in the league, and they’ve come out after 12 games looking stronger than ever.
With a first round BYEEE, we’re looking forward to watching the Wind Chill at home on what day is that again? When they will be hosting either the Chicago Union, or the Madison Radicals. Will Minnesota be able to make a run in back to back years? Follow along with us to find out.
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