Match #1 – COOK vs. GELARDI
The top two captains from last season battle it out to establish themselves right off the bat. Dwayne drafted his good friend Mitch Dubell (182) in the first round, giving himself an early second round pick, while Trevor took Alyssa Campbell (245) the highest remaining average on the board. Two very different draft strategies going head-to-head first week of the 2021-2022 season. On paper Team Cook is the favourite with even matchups at lead-off and anchor, but with a distinct combined 34 pin advantage in the 2 nd and 3rd positions.
Key Matchup Look for Robbie Hendrickson to be the wildcard in this match as he was on a tear last season but has had an injury plagued summer that may carry into the first few weeks.
Author’s Pick: Team Cook
Match #2 – YOUZWA vs. BARTRAM
Two relatively new captains and long-time friends going against each other for early bragging rights. Both used very similar draft styles, with Jeston opting to take Cordell Galbecka (245). He will present even tougher competition for Colton who will look to the top half of his lineup for extra support. The lead-off and 2nd position have a distinct average advantage for Team Youzwa with Jenna Gillrie (224) and Mark Prystupa (194) going up against league rookies Colton Harris (201) and Derek Sanderson (182). These two will have their work cut out for them.
Key Matchup
Watch to see if Chloe starts up where she left off last season where she was averaging close to 250 and took the anchor position away from Wayne King for the majority of last season. If so, then Team Youzwa will have a deadly duo at 3rd and anchor positions. This match will feature two spares with Dan Sim filling in for Jenna Gillrie and Derek Orne sparing for Cordell Galbecka. Dan will provide an even more daunting challenge for Colton Harris as he is a previous captain, and Derek is one of the top tier bowlers in the city. Both spares have the ability to turn the tides for their respective teams.
Author’s Pick: Team Youzwa
Match #3 – RODYCH vs. DEVENNEY
Might as well rename this match the Devenney family. Family matchups always make things interesting and look for this to be no exception. This match comes in pretty even with most matchups being less than a handful of pins apart in average. Team Rodych will be an interesting dynamic to keep your eye on as you have an experienced YBC coach in Amanda on a team with several YBC bowlers she is familiar with. This could provide an added edge in the background if one of them begins to struggle, never hurts to have your coach in your ear.
Key Matchup The biggest advantage comes in the 3rd position with Amanda Devenney (228) having a distinct 11 pin advantage over Holly Chaikowski (217). Watch the battle in the 3rd position as these are two very capable bowlers and look for neither of them to go down easy. In my mind the team that wins this matchup will be victorious tonight.
Author’s Pick: Team Rodych
Match #4 – C. JEFFERS vs. COUSINS
This match is a true battle of the sexes with Cindy drafting the only all-female team in the league this season. Look for this to be another match with matchups that could go either way, especially given this is week 1 and some people may still be knocking off the summer rust. Once again this will be a key battle of 3rd bowlers, Corey Chaikowski (233) making his return to Friday against Char Hurd (220). Corey seems motivated being back in the league this season and can be one tough competitor when he gets on a roll.
Key Matchup
Watch for league newcomer, Gillian LaMonica, to make a big first impression in her rookie season after being a dominant spare last season. As an up-and-coming YBC bowler she should have plenty of potential to grow her game even further this season, especially with a solid team around her, and I would expect that 210 average to go up by end of year.
Author’s Pick: Team C. Jeffers
Match #5 – KING vs. STEVENSON
This will be a match of youthful energy versus wisdom and experience. The King team may need some extra time to warm up but watch out when they do because almost everyone one of them alone has more experience than the entire Stevenson team. That being said, I could see the Stevenson team coming firing out of the gate with lots of energy. The bottom 3/4s of the lineup has a strong advantage for the King team with each matchup coming in at roughly a 10 pin average gap. This is balanced out slightly with the heavy 18 pin advantage Tyler Reynolds comes in with at lead-off.
Key Matchup
Watch for the legend herself Karen (f***ing) Armstrong to make her return to the league, Dylan better prepare his A-game or Karen will run away with this one.
Author’s Pick: Team King
Match #6 – B. JEFFERS vs. LOURENCO
This match is almost indescribable… mostly because I actually know next to nothing about my team members. However, we have two young captains looking to start the season off strong, look for this matchup to be a fairly even split between Belle and Ben. The same can be said at the lead-off position as Cody Oullette and Sam Hunt come in with nearly identical averages. This match will come down to which team can get back into the bowling groove quicker and who finds that winning team chemistry early on.
Key Matchup
One of the more average disparaging matchups of week 1 will be Ethan Buckman (238) taking on Tyson Nelson, myself, (260) a 22 pin difference. Take this with a grain of salt as this is a pro-rated average and will need to be proven before taking it at face value. The other skewed matchup in this match features Scott Saunderson (209) going up against Dave Duncan (223). Both will be challenges, but don’t count out an underdog. Tyson and Belle are always competitive and expect that to carry into the atmosphere of the pit through the whole night.
Author’s Pick: Team B. Jeffers
Match #7 – LAMONICA vs. ORNE
This match features another pair of captains that will be seeing their first-round picks takeover the anchor position week 1. You never want to bet against established WCBT players and Sam Gelardi despite having been away from the game for nearly two years is always a tough competitor, look for him to provide a tough challenge for the quite consistent Darren Maxwell. Andrew and Linda should have a fairly even match look for this to be a split decision.
Key Matchup
The lead-off matchup of Cyndie Barnett (184) facing David Wastle (207) may prove to be a key factor in which team will take this match. Cyndie typically is closer to hovering just over the 200 mark in past years. If that Cyndie shows up on Friday look for team LaMonica to have a slight advantage.
Author’s Pick: Team Orne
Match #8 – ENNS vs. HURD
The final match of the night features the first two captains in the draft looking to test out their respective draft picks against each other. Brett Hendrickson and Glen Howarth at the 1st and 2nd picks surprised no one this year, as one is a competitive and always challenging bowler and the other is Brett. With all matchups being within 5 pins this match could really go either way and will probably come down to which bowler gets hot on Friday. Glen is making his return after several years of being away from the league and is eager to jump back into it, even spotted earlier this week practicing and throwing some pretty good-looking games.
Key Matchup
Look to the captain’s matchup in the 3rd position as you have veteran experienced captain Craig going up against second time captain Chad to see how these two influence their team and get watch them go head-to-head in what should be a back-and-forth battle.
Author’s Pick: Team Enns
Well Mr. Nelson, I guess your prediction for the 'King versus Stevenson' was a little presumptious. Yes, the King team has the longest experience, but you can't count out the younger competitors. Good prediction though, well done.