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MD9

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    Claimed: Player's Tribune: Farewell Saskatoon [1/2]

    in Archived Media Spots

    Posted

    Player's Tribune: Farewell Saskatoon

    Written by Jake Scheel

     

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    The Saskatoon Wild may have been my home for my two-season VHLM career, but not everyone took my joining the team particularly well. When I walked in the locker room, I was met with open arms and everyone was polite right off the bat. But my decision to choose Saskatoon over the Las Vegas Aces, who at that time were undefeated, was met with some confusion -- and perhaps even a little laughter. A couple people assumed I was mistaken in choosing the team I did, but the opposite was true. I wanted to join a team that wasn't already 'finished', one where I would be able to make an impact and enjoy my time in the league -- where if I won, it would really feel like I earned it.

     

    It took one more season than I initially hoped, but in the end, I'm leaving Saskatoon having achieved just that. I was truthfully only a very small part of the team that won the championship. Thanks to some very good management, the team ended up being very well balanced. Powerful without being outright stacked. I think that the Wild's victory this season was perhaps positive for more than just our team for that reason -- although one of the stronger teams in the league won, it wasn't the consensus pick that seemed to stack the cards in its favour. Of course, there's nothing wrong with trying to build a winning team, and going to great lengths to do it -- but for the sake of league parity, the first place team not winning the championship can only be viewed as a good thing.

     

    Of course, the honour goes to the Las Vegas Aces for that, as they were the ones that defeated the team that had effectively became the Aces 2.0. It's a little ironic, but it's true. And playing against the Aces in the finals only offered a shot at revenge after we lost to them last season.

     

    The point of this article though isn't just to retread this season or last season -- plenty of articles about the Wild, the Aces, and the Storm have, and will cover similar topics, as the fallout of the playoffs is a story that has, and will continue to dominate the VHLM until the off-season gets into full swing. Rather, this is more or less all just a preface to my saying farewell to the Wild, and to thank them for having me on their team for however brief it was. I was happy to join them to begin with, and I was even happier when they made the move to bring me back after I was entered into the draft as a mid-season signing. 

     

    I'm glad I got a chance to play alongside a great group of guys and girls, and that we were able to make good on the promise we showed this season and sealed the deal, to end the season on the highest note possible. At this point, a lot of our careers are going to be splitting off into every which direction, but I hope to be able to play against and alongside my now former teammates with the Wild for many seasons to come. Some of you, like McAllister, Ron, and Do, are probably going to be bigger stars than me -- but maybe one day I'll manage to find my way onto one of your guys lines so you can make me look good by scoring off my passes all over again. And maybe we can win again, you know -- that's always nice too.

     

     

    Claimed: Scheel Finds Redemption, Along with Wild

    in Archived Media Spots

    Posted

    Scheel Finds Redemption, Along with Wild
     

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    After losing to the Las Vegas Aces in a heartbreaking close to S54's campaign, the Saskatoon Wild had an unexpected opportunity to claim revenge (and redemption) after the Aces surprised and defeated the Oslo Storm to make it to the finals for the second year in the row. Once matched up against each-other, the Wild were clearly the team with something to prove -- and they played like it, winning four straight games to claim the championship. Out-shooting the Aces at every turn, the defending champions simply couldn't keep up with the Wild, and appeared stunned at times by the onslaught. That being said, they did a good job of grinding down and keeping some of the games close, and deserve all the credit in the world for making it so deep into the post-season when many had written them off.

     

    That being said, there's little doubt that for the Wild, being able to sweep the Aces -- even a weaker version of the Aces -- provided a measure of satisfaction, given some of the more negative aspects of last season's competitive atmosphere. Links to last season can be found through the return of players such as Gabriel McAllister, Jake Scheel and Daring Do -- the first of whom has repeated his previous success, with his second straight year as the playoff points leader. Players like Ay Ay Ron and Emil Martinov have established themselves even further with their campaigns, and on the Las Vegas side, Rask Rowe and Rudi Ying have proved that their personal success wasn't merely the result of a stacked team.

     

    Calling back to an earlier couple of articles published on this site, the win has some added significance for sophomore Jake Scheel. Last year, we discussed at length his postseason struggles in which he recorded a meager seven points in eleven games, far below his regular season pace. This came hand in hand with his decline in the draft rankings from the consensus no. 2 or no. 3 selection, to falling anywhere from no. 5 or no. 6. This season, his sluggish training pain for part of the season raised even further questions about his spirit, his drive to improve, and above all else, his ceiling as a player. This year, Scheel recorded seventeen points in seven games, a much improved rate, finishing tied for second along with Rudi Ying and Mattias Forsberg amongst centers. Granted, Ying played more games than Scheel and Forsberg played less, making the statistic somewhat skewed, but the fact remains that at least this year Scheel didn't play well below what he displayed during the regular season.

     

    All this is to say that perhaps, despite his off and on struggles on the eyes and the difficulty of last season's playoff run, Jake Scheel's personal story-line has really just been following that of the Saskatoon Wild as a whole. He showed up late in S54, surprised a lot of people with how well he played, managed to drive up some hype for himself before ultimately falling off at the very end of the season, the exact worst time to fall off, before coming back this season with a stronger, and ultimately winning campaign. Questions now linger for both Scheel and his team. As Scheel looks towards the VHL proper, he faces the likelihood of coming up against much stronger, much more challenging competition, while the Wild themselves will be looking to replace a number of the key pieces that led this championship run in the off-season, and avoid the post-victory decline that so many junior teams have to go through.

    VHLM Finals predictions

    in VHLM Fantasy Zone

    Posted

    1 hour ago, punkhippie said:

     

    Or was it you last year that said you don't want to hate your own team, but also want to be a realist and get TPE, but then later said they wished they picked themselves :P

     

    I think I picked Saskatoon last year too. I don't like to jinx it by betting against myself.

    Claimed: Prospect Watch: Jake Scheel Season Recap

    in Archived Media Spots

    Posted

    Prospect Watch: Jake Scheel Season Recap

     

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    With the playoffs in full swing, players are now focused solely on pushing their way towards a championship -- and rightfully so. But for longtime fans of the VHL, the long-term outlook is also an interesting thing to follow, even as the greatest hockey of the year is being played. Calgary Wrangler's prospect Jake Scheel has both positive and negative news attached to him, and both are worth discussing. For the sake of starting strong, we'll look at the good news first: after some concerns raised earlier in the year about his potential to play at a high level deeper into his career, Scheel ended the season strong, finishing with 99 points (including an impressive 71 assists). He also ended at a +36 rating, along with an impressive 61.65% faceoff percentage. Overall, he finished 10th in goals, 5th in assists, 7th in overall points, along with the 3rd best faceoff percentage. He also finished 2nd in points among centres: a statistic that would be much more impressive had the first place centre, Mattias Forsberg, not finished with 56 points more than him.

     

    So, what does all this say? Mostly that despite some early disappointment, Scheel can relax in knowing that he was a very good juniors player, at least during the regular season. He recorded a high number of points despite his two-way focus, and was extremely reliable on the draw. The Wild got a fairly good return on their initial risk in signing him, given he's not represented by a particularly well-known or reputable angency.

     

    What's the bad news, then?

     

    Last week, Jake Scheel reportedly missed every single practice with the Wild with a vicious flu. Although he appears to be doing better now, the incident raised a number of concerns among scouts. Firstly, some criticized Scheel for not practicing through the pain, given that the playoffs were coming right around the corner. Others argued that taking the time to recover was more responsible, to ensure he wouldn't put himself further out of the playoffs. More to the point however, even a week of missed training can put a dent on a player's reputation, and perhaps his development. Scheel had previously been remarkably consistent with attending practices and training, often being the first one to arrive at the rink in the morning.

     

    With Scheel wanting to crack the line-up of the Calgary Wranglers this coming season, he well and truly can't afford to miss any training opportunities. Although the VHL is not a team with much depth to speak of, it is a league with some extremely talented players at the top. Talent that, needless to say, Scheel wishes to both contend with, and perhaps one day rise above to make his own mark on the league. With that in mind, he needs to ensure that this sort of thing does not happen again -- or at least not often. There's no doubting now that the potential is there for him to be a solid roster player, but he still needs a lot of work before the noticeable kinks in his game can be sorted out.

     

    The current playoffs will prove to be something of a proving grounds, to be slightly redundant, for Scheel -- as well as for his teammates on the Saskatoon Wild. Just as last season an article was published questioning Scheel's character due to his poor performances early in the season, a good showing in the playoffs this year could show not just development as a player, but development as a person, and as an athlete. Either way, Calgary Wranglers fans will be watching closely to ensure that last week's anomaly hasn't had an impact on his game, or his development.

     

    Scheel and Do Help Lead Saskatoon to Victory

    in VHL.com Articles

    Posted · Edited by MD9

    Scheel and Do Help Lead Saskatoon to Victory
    Game 1 of the Semi-Finals

    VHL.com // J.S. Augusta

     

    After finishing the season on a high note, Daring Do dazzled in the first game of the VHLM semi-finals with a three point performance, including two goals. Line-mate Jake Scheel also notched three points, two of which were assists, to help lead the team’s offense. The Wild ultimately won the game, defeating a very game Ottawa Lynx. This hot start of the playoffs should come as some relief to fans of the Saskatoon Wild, as -- although one game is far too early to predict a player’s performance throughout the whole of the postseason -- it’s a rather welcome departure from the early-playoff struggles that plagued players like Scheel and Do last season.

     

    Although the Wild ultimately surrendered the second place position to the Lynx, this early victory secures them home ice advantage over the Lynx. It only takes one loss at home for the Lynx to gain that back, but with how close the two teams are in all aspects of the game, even a slight early advantage could prove itself to be a significant one. It’s also worth noting that two of Do’s three points came on the power-play, as the Wild were able to take advantage of a less-disciplined Lynx team.

     

    While Do and Scheel may not have become the dynamic duo some thought they would, instead scoring most of their points off of other teammates, the prospect of both players getting hot early is encouraging. If they can continue to play as they did in game one, and players like McAllister and Ron continue to perform (or even play at their regular season pace), the Wild may be a team to watch. 
     

    Claimed: Ottawa Overtakes Saskatoon

    in Archived Media Spots

    Posted

    Ottawa Overtakes Saskatoon

     

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    VHL.com // VHLM Subsidiary 

     

    The VHLM is not known for its parity, to say the least. Last season, the league was all but dominated by the Las Vegas Aces, while the Saskatoon Wild emerged as the best hope to dethrone the presumptive (and eventual) championship winners. This year, the Oslo Storm was the team that jumped to an early and commanding lead. Early on, Saskatoon looked primed to repeat last season's success (so to speak) as the 'favourite' underdog, as much of an oxymoron as that is. However, the Ottawa Lynx have recently overtaken the Wild to claim the second place spot in the lead, proving that they're worthy of being viewed as a contender to upset the Storm this coming post-season. Although fans in Saskatoon may worry now as their team has struggled on more than one occasion to claim wins against theoretically weaker opponents, and as a consequence have dipped in the standings -- granted, still holding a rather unsettling lead over the bottom two teams -- this does seem to suggest something positive for the league.

     

    There's more than two contenders this year.

     

    Certainly, anything can happen in the playoffs, but almost anyone could have predicted that the finals was going to be Saskatoon against Las Vegas, given how well the Wild played after they made a few moves early in the season. This year, barring a stunning upset, it appears that the league may see an actual legitimate question-mark in the battle between Ottawa and Saskatoon. Something they can at least market on. 

     

    To put it bluntly, the VHLM is not doing well right now. Even with two moderately strong teams (and one powerhouse), there remains two teams that haven't even cracked a .350 winning percentage. The fact that the third place Wild have over double the amount of wins than the team one slot below them speaks to how little parity really exists. But, seeings as how there's at least come controversy to build off of, the VHLM can rest assured that its playoff attendance and television ratings might not face as steep a decline as they might be suspected to, after the predictable finish of last year. In fact, the potential of an Ottawa-Saskatoon rivalry is an enticing one, as it pits a team relying upon depth and role-players to succeed, against one relying more upon star-power. Where Ottawa lacks a single point-per-game player, Saskatoon has three -- yet still, the Lynx have proved to be a tenacious team. Rather than viewing the possible series as a duel between McAllister, Ron or Scheel against another highly touted prospect, it can be seen as a clash of styles. Predicting such a battle is difficult, if not entirely infeasible -- while the impressive offense of a player like McAllister could help lift the Wild to a victory, a game or two where the Wild's top stars almost always spells a lost. For example, not long ago Daring Do managed to record a hat-trick -- but without any of the other team's major names really showing up to play, it wasn't enough to grant the team a victory.

     

    So, in conclusion -- Ottawa and Saskatoon battling it out in the standings is something of a silver lining in a league which, as it stands, needs all the help it can get to drum up interest. Three competitive teams and two so far out of the picture they barely seem worth mentioning barring some serious line changes is hardly the league most would like to see. But it's better than just having one or two teams, isn't it?

    VHLM Strategies At a Glance

    in VHL.com Articles

    Posted

    VHLM Strategies At a Glance

    VHL.com // J.S. Augusta

     

    At t his very moment, there are five teams in the VHLM. A glance at these five teams reveals that three rely upon the same basic strategy. That being the '1-1-2' spread between offense, defense, and physicality across all lines in equal fashion. The two teams which have shirked this strategy are the Las Vegas Aces, who play a high offensive style modified by line to better suit the players playing, as well as the Saskatoon Wild, who play a more two-way style with little physical play on their top offensive and defensive pairings. This is similar to the basic strategy -- the 'default' strategy, so to speak -- but differs as it too is focused on the individual players on the team.

     

    With Oslo the most dominant team this year, it's apparent that the same general strategy that most teams use does indeed work. Trying to create a system for the team itself could perhaps yield an even more dominant showing by Oslo, but at the same time, you can't question chemistry. What is more surprising than Oslo sticking with the strategy that got their team to the top -- as a well balanced strategy inevitably pairs well with a stacked team -- is that the teams at the bottom, failing to make any gains in the standings, have not adjusted their style of play to attempt to turn around their fortunes.

     

    It's difficult to say why coaching in the VHLM seems to follow such a predictable mould, but it is interesting to note -- whether it's simply due to the past success of the 1-1-2 system or due to coaches not wanting to disadvantage certain players who might be forced to leave their comfort zones. This does appear to happen to a lesser extent in the VHL, with two teams following this system, but that's still a minority of teams -- as some have opted for either different, yet still conventional strategies, or outright bizarre strategies such as the Express.

     

     

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