Claimed:Elijah Incognito - HoF Article [Final 6/6]

D- Elijah Incognito 

Birthplace: Assiniboia, Canada

Height: 6'0" 

Weight: 189lbs

Jersey Number: 4

Drafted: S27 SEA (1/4)

Username: Incognito4/Strummer

Elijah Incognito was never a player who liked the spotlight. He was the type of leader who would offer the Continental Cup to a rookie to lift up before he would. It would seem almost dubious as to why he got into the Hall of Fame if one were to simply look at his stat-line. But stats are just numbers. They give no context as to the importance of those numbers. Incognito's long list of team awards are not there by coincidence and are the foundation of his place here. He was a key piece in almost every one of those trophies and without a doubt is one of the most successful defensemen of his era. 

Career Awards:

Season 27 - Victory Cup (Seattle)
Season 28 - Victory Cup (Seattle)
Season 28 - Devon-Marlow-Marta Trophy (Seattle)
Season 28 - Continental Cup (Seattle)
Season 29 - Victory Cup (Toronto)
Season 29 - Devon-Marlow-Marta Trophy (Toronto)
Season 29 - Continental Cup (Toronto)
Season 32 - Victory Cup (Riga)
Season 32 - Terence Fong Trophy (Riga)
Season 32 - Alexander Beketov Trophy
Season 32 - Sterling Labatte Trophy
Season 33 - Terence Fong Trophy (Riga)
Season 33 - Continental Cup (Riga)
Season 33 - Daisuke Kanou Trophy

Season 27 Statistics:

Regular Season:
S27(SEA) - 72GP / 7G / 46A / 53P / +76 / 46PIM / 68HIT / 110S / 65SB / 1GWG 
Playoffs:
S27 (SEA) - 7GP / 1G / 3A / 4P / -1 / 6PIM / 10HIT / 9S / 12SB / 0GWG 

Stuck in a draft class that brought us the likes of Alexander Chershenko, David Smalling, Phil Rafter, and Nic Riopel, Elijah Incognito would need to do something special with his career in order to keep up with these phenomenal players. Drafted at fourth overall by the Seattle Bears in the Season 27 VHL Entry Draft, there was little doubt that Incognito would have an impact in the league. His player agent, Dustin Funk, had a history of working with great players. Olivier Scarlett and Hall of Famer Dust'n Funk were two classic examples of this. Incognito entered a strong Seattle team, who last season fell just short of capturing the Devon-Marlow-Marta Trophy and were looking to do even more damage this season. Incognito would mainly be along for the ride. Between Baldwin and Peters leading the team offensively, Higgins and Mjers cleaning up on defense, and CAL G having a phenomenal season between the pipes, Incognito drifted haplessly along. He finished 2nd to last on his team with 53 points and was nowhere close to keeping up in hits or blocked shots with the other highly touted rookie defenseman, Riopel. Regardless, he finished with +76, good for 3rd in the league and helped Seattle capture the Victory Cup. They were set for another Conference Finals match-up with New York, the team that ousted them last season. It was a hard fought, back-and-forth series that went to seven games, but unfortunately, a powerplay goal in the 3rd period of game seven was the difference and New York got the better of them once more.

Season 28 Statistics:

Regular Season:
S28(SEA) - 72GP / 11G / 53A / 64P / +68 / 26PIM / 42HIT / 140S / 68SB / 2GWG
Playoffs:
S28(SEA) - 13GP / 1G / 4A / 5P / +2 | 6PIM / 7HIT / 23S / 19SB / 0GWG

Incognito didn't suffer from a sophomore slump per se, but he didn't improve much either. Despite Seattle's scoring going up, he had dropped in plus/minus and hits and only recorded 3 more blocked shots. At least his offensive production had picked up slightly, tallying 11 more points than his rookie season. Seattle, mainly led by Lebedev, Jenkins, and CAL G, successfully defended their Victory Cup, just edging out New York on goal difference, as both teams were stuck on 115 points. They played the Wranglers in the first round, outing them out in seven games. They went on to play New York in the finals. This was the third straight season these teams met in the playoffs and once again, the series went all the way to game seven. It was a very low scoring series due to the fact that the two best goaltenders in the league were involved - CAL G and Benjamin Glover. However, in the first period of game seven, Incognito slid the puck over to Lebedev, who snapped it home to score on the powerplay what was the only goal of the game. Seattle won their first Continental Cup since Season 17.

Season 29 Statistics:

Regular Season:
S29(TOR) - 72GP / 10G / 62A / 72P / +27 / 87PIM / 108HIT / 211S / 94SB / 2GWG
Playoffs:
S29(TOR) - 12GP / 1G / 6A / 7P / -4 / 6PIM / 22HIT / 34S / 29SB / 0GWG

Season 29 brought a change of scenery for Incognito. Seattle had entered a retooling stage and needed to acquire draft picks. Despite the young age of Incognito, Seattle had decided to trade him. In exchange for two firsts, a second, and fellow draftee Damon Wolfe, the Bears sent incognito packing to Toronto along with two lower first round picks. With New York fully in the midst of retooling and Seattle on the brink of it, the Legion were now ready to pounce. They captured the Victory Cup with 107 points. Incognito kept his contributions growing, collecting 72 points but dishing out over 100 hits and just under 100 blocked shots in the cause. He still hadn't had a break-out year, but his steady improvements were a sign of things to come. The Legion dispatched the Americans in 6 games and met Davos, in the finals. The series was close, as all games were decided by 2 goals or less, but in game 6, the Legion scored 4 first period goals and won 4-3, with Incognito assisting on the winning goal. Incognito happily lifted his second Continental Cup.

Season 30 Statistics:

Regular Season:
S30(TOR) - 72GP / 16G / 59P / 75P / +3 / 90PIM / 132HIT / 248S / 118SB / 3GWG

Interestingly enough, the defending champions had a tough time this season. Despite only losing Dougie Daniels and gaining their top scorer, Kasey Braun, the Legion finished last in the insanely strong North American Conference with 91 points. That would have been 9 points behind the leaders of Europe - Davos - but the Bears and Americans were already recovered from their rebuilds and back on top. This would be the only season of his career where he would fail to make the post-season. Elijah was 3rd on his team in scoring with 75 points and led the team in blocked shots. His performance was still nowhere to be seen on the leaderboards but once again he showed steady improvements. 

Season 31 Statistics:

Regular Season:
S31(RIG) - 72GP / 27G / 67A / 94P / +47 /125PIM / 173HIT / 272S / 135SB / 4GWG
Playoffs:
S31(RIG) - 11GP / 2G / 10A / 12P / 0 / 35PIM / 37HIT / 34S / 9SB / 1GWG  

Season 31 marked the first year of the VHL expansion. This meant that there were three playoff spots per conference. The Legion, after failing to make the playoffs and losing a couple of players to retirement, decided a rebuild was imminent. So fellow defensemen and draftees Riopel and Incognito found themselves off to Riga in exchange for two firsts and a second. It seemed appropriate that Funk's player should end up in Riga. Scarlett spent the vast majority of his career in Riga, as Funk had held the GM role there, and his other player signing, Dust'n Funk, also ended his career in Riga. So there was little surprise when this deal went through. The Reign split the top of the Conference with rivals Davos with 111 points, but Calgary were the strongest team that year amassing 123 points with the help of Chershenko, Rybak, and Henchoz. Incognito was on fire that season. He earned a career-high 94 points and had a team-leading 135 blocked shots. Despite all his personal success you would still not be able to find him close to the top of the leaderboards. The closest he came was tied for fifth in Power play goals with 13. The Reign easily dispatched Helsinki in the first round but were overwhelmed by Davos in 6 games en route to their first Continental Cup win of that era. 

Season 32 Statistics:

Regular Season:
S32(RIG) - 72GP / 31G / 96A / 127P / +67 / 146PIM / 239HIT / 378S / 158SB / 5GWG
Playoffs:
S32(RIG) - 11GP / 2G / 12A / 14P / +1 / 20PIM / 34HIT / 27S / 21SB / 0GWG

With Davos entering a rebuild, the Reign saw a golden opportunity to earned the Continental Cup. The heavily experienced team won the Victory Cup, that being Elijah's fourth. He achieved his career-best 127 points, leading his team and all defensemen in that category. He also earned the newly named Beketov Trophy for most assists with 96. He was 3rd in plus/minus and eighth in shots blocked with a career-best 158 (which is quite an accomplishment for being on such a competitive team). For his efforts he also captured his only Sterling Labatte Trophy - the VHL's top defenseman. The Reign played the Titans for a spot in the finals, where they swept them and went on to meet New York. It was another very closely fought series in which all games were decided by one goal - until game seven. The Americans over-powered Riga, pounding 40 shots and only giving up 17 to win 4-1. It was a disappointing end to the season but no one could fault the captain for that.

Season 33 Statistics:

Regular Season: 
S33(RIG) - 72GP / 18G / 75A / 93P / +25 / 50PIM / 67HIT / 261S / 132SB / 5GWG
Playoffs: 
S33(RIG) - 20GP / 10G / 24A / 34P / +3 / 34PIM / 35HIT / 83S / 46SB / 2GWG 

Incognito was now a wily veteran in his penultimate season. The Reign was on the decline but still good enough to finished 4th overall in the standings. Elijah once again led his team in points with 93, which although was much less than last season, it still took him to second among all defensemen. It was overall a seemingly understated season for Riga. They slipped into the playoffs to face their rivals Davos. The series went all the way to double overtime in game six with Riga facing elimination before Incognito ended it with a powerplay goal to take it to a seventh game. Riga pulled out all the stops and ensured a place in the Conference Finals with 2 late third period goals. They then met Helsinki in the next round which also went to game seven, where Incognito score the series-winning goal in the second period. Facing off against New York in the Finals, Incognito was searching for his third Continental Cup. Riga ended it all in overtime in game six, capturing the Continental Cup in true under-dog fashion, playing a massive 20 games in their playoff run. Incognito went into his final season of his career with an incredibly long playoff beard, a gleaming smile, and a Daisuke Kanou Trophy (MVP of the Playoffs) for his troubles.

Season 34 Statistics:

Regular Season:
S34(RIG) - 72GP / 22G / 53A / 75P / -4 / 64PIM / 110HIT / 219S / 134SB / 1GWG
Playoffs:
S34(RIG) - 11GP / 4G / 10A / 14P / -2 / 7PIM / 17HIT / 55S / 23SB / 1GWG

Riga's run was over. Their fairytale of last season was a reminder to all the teams that you didn't necessarily need to perform a complete cyclic rebuild/compete strategy to win. However, without a starting goalie for the first half of the season and a handful of players in their final year, it seemed like a repeat was impossible. Despite this, at the trade deadline their finally picked up a goalie from Seattle and managed to finish second in Europe again with a respectable 81 points. Elijah's age was clearly showing as his production was down. However, he still finished with 75 points which was 3rd best on his team and best 5th in the league among defensemen, but his age never stopped him from throwing himself in the way of incoming pucks. He collected 134 blocked shots which was second most on the team. Riga swept the Express and met Helsinki in the Conference Finals, where Elijah was involved in his sixth game 7. Elijah's last ever game played in the VHL will be one he'll never forget, but will desperately try to. They were embarrassed 7-1 with the Titans scoring 6 unanswered goals, despite the Reign out-shooting them. The Titans eventually went on to win the Cup but the feeling of disappointment shown on Incognito's face as he hung up his skates after that was apparent to the world.

Career Totals:

Regular Season:

576GP / 142G / 511A / 653P / +309 / 634PIM / 939HIT / 1839S / 904SB / 23GWG

Playoffs:

85GP / 21G / 69A / 90P / -1 / 114PIM  / 162HIT / 265S / 159SB / 4GWG 

In spite of the cruel end to his career, Elijah Incognito had one of the most winning records of any player to ever play in the VHL. He not only lifted the Continental Cup 3 times, but won the Victory Cup 4 times and his respective Conference Titles 4 times. It took a while for him to get into the Hall of Fame because of his lack of personal accolades. Eventually, it became blatantly apparent just how integral the part he played on all of these winning sides. Incognito was a quiet giant throughout his career who always had shown extreme professional, leadership, and is one of the most well-respected players to ever find his place in the Hallowed Halls of the VHL.

It's a miracle!

Now time to dissect and humiliate.

dick

Content: 3/3- Great Career man. Looks like you had a wild ride. Can't wait to see how your recreate turns out. 

Grammar: 2/2- Looks good man i can tell some time was put into this. 

Appearance: 1/1 - Very professional. Good work.

Final 6/6 

lol - wasn't my player - was Dustin Funk's player. I just wrote the HoF article for Incognito, but seriously that is one of the biggest compliments you could ever give a VHL member. 

Also, in the future - you don't need to grade these - they are auto-6's + 3. Actually tbh, I don't know why we post them here first and don't just put them in the Hall of Fame - I suppose because a proof-read is always good.

I think I've now done 5 HoF articles for this site. I want to do more.

Claimed