Over the past couple of weeks AFAFlightPath.com has unveiled its third annual Air Force hockey player survey in seven parts.

Today, we break down the results in the eighth and final part. If there is one thing that stands out it’s how well rounded this roster is. Every player was named, and a remarkable 13 players were named in seven or more categories. That means nearly half of the roster was cited in almost 30 percent of the questions.

Players were polled anonymously in early December. The survey included 25 questions that covered a range of skills. Nearly 80 percent of the players on the Air Force roster responded.

MORE OF THE SURVEY

Part 1 examined skating

Part 2 dealt with strength, checking and toughness

Part 3 revealed the shooting stars

Part 4 tracked the good hands Falcons

Part 5 focused on the eyes

Part 6 got defensive

Part 7 tackled hard work, resilience and leadership

Now on to the results:

Which players received votes in the most categories?

• 18 – Matt Pulver
• 14 – Zach Mirageas
• 13 – Brady Tomlak
• 12 – Joe Tyran
• 11 – Kieran Durgan
• 10 – Erich Jaeger, Shawn Knowlton, Trevor Stone
• 8 – Marshall Bowery, Luke Manning
• 7 – Max Harper, Jake Levin, Alex Mehnert

Analysis: The most well rounded of the well rounded appear here. Pulver received votes in an unreal 72 percent of the categories, Mirageas in 56 percent and Tomlak in 52 percent. Three more seniors – Tyran, Jaeger and Stone – appeared in 40 percent or more. Knowlton and Durgan are two of the more offensively skilled players on the team. Zach LaRocque and Alex Schilling were cited in all three goalie-specific categories.

Which player was voted No. 1 the most times?

• Zach Mirageas – 7
• Matt Pulver – 6
• Alex Schilling – 3
• Kieran Durgan, Brady Tomlak, Joe Tyran – 2 apiece
• Erich Jaeger, Jake Levin, Alex Mehnert – 1 apiece

Analysis: It’s no secret that Mirageas and Pulver do a lot of things well. I’d put Tomlak on that short list of the players who excel in many areas on both sides of the puck, too. Schilling went 3 for 3 in the goalie specific categories.

Which players won categories by the widest margins?

• Brady Tomlak, face-offs – 19 votes
• Matt Pulver, leadership – 12 votes
• Zach Mirageas, both checking and functional strength – 9 votes
• Mirageas, toughness, and Joe Tryan, top-end speed – 6 votes

Analysis: Who is the strongest where? It’s tempting to rename face-offs “Tomlaks”. Players, coaches and staffers have raved about Pulver’s leadership since he earned the C last spring, so that isn’t a surprise either. What makes these margins more impressive is most categories had only a one- or two-vote spread because the team is so balanced.

Which categories featured the most players receiving votes?

• Hockey sense – 15
• Sound positioning – 12
• Skating agility, explosiveness of skating stride, stickhandling, forcing turnovers – 11 each
• Best vision – 10
• Passing in traffic, defensive forward, resiliency – 9 each

Analysis: This question gives you a pretty good idea of the profile of your typical Falcons player – intelligent, skates well, prioritizes defense and has some pretty good hands.

Curious about how the 2017-18 and 2018-19 rosters broke down? Click on the respective seasons to find out.

©First Line Editorial 2020