OrbitingDeath

Mike Szatkowski Jr. - G - Class of S77 Position: Goalie Birthplace: Canada Height: 6-foot-3 Weight: 220 lbs. Drafted: VHLM - S35 - Ottawa Lynx - 1st round (2nd overall) / VHL - S36 - Riga Reign - GM Selection Username: @Mike Career Awards S41 Scotty Campbell Trophy (Most Valuable) S41 Aidan Shaw Trophy (Top Goalie) S40 Continental Cup Some Hall of Fame players do not have to wait long until their name is forever written in the history of the Victory Hockey League, others might grow old before their name is finally called. Mike Szatkowski Jr. certainly belongs to the latter group, it’s been 44 seasons since his retirement, but the day that he joins his father in the Hall of Fame is finally there. The road to the Hall of Fame was long and after his retirement he has seen a lot of players being inducted. Now it’s his time, so it’s time to have a look at how he got there. S35 - Ottawa Lynx (VHLM) Regular Season Statistics Record: 60-8-4 - Save% 90.8 - GAA: 2.16 - Shutouts: 7 Playoffs Statistics Record: 8-1-0 - Save%: 88.8 - GAA: 2.53 - Shutouts: 0 He got selected 2nd overall to the Ottawa Lynx in the VHLM draft and this was the beginning of something great. The Lynx were a team that were ready to compete. They secured four of the top six picks in this draft, so after they selected Mike Szatkowski Jr. They also acquired Robin Gow, Robert Gow III and Conner Low. Add these players to players that they already had like Matt Rielly, Brennan McQueen and VHLM Legend Jeevan Samuelsson and you know you can expect that they won't settle for anything less than a title. So in his debut year in the VHLM, he took the league by storm and posted 60 wins with the Lynx, enough to grab the first seed in the playoffs and give them a bye. The dominance of Ottawa continued and they won the semi finals with four games to one. So in his debut season, he would play the Founder's Cup finals. He managed to secure victories in each of the first four games, the first prize in his career was secured. Now it was time to do the same in the big league. S36 - Riga Reign (VHL) Regular Season Statistics Record: 14-49-1 - Save% 90.9 - GAA: 3.62- Shutouts: 1 As a GM pick, Mike ended up on the Riga Reign, this was in the era where General Managers could claim a certain player as their own for their franchise, letting these players bypass the draft. A hard season to start of the career, as the Reign were not yet a competitive team. Being a rookie goaltender is never easy, let alone on a team like this. He did get his first shutout of his career though, something that he would experience more the further he got in his career. S37 - Riga Reign (VHL) Regular Season Statistics Record: 40-20-4 - Save% 92.0 - GAA: 2.44 - Shutouts: 3 Playoffs Statistics Record: 7-4-2 - Save%: 92.8 - GAA: 2.28 - Shutouts: 1 Coming into Mike Szatkowski’s sophomore season the Reign were one of the stronger teams in the league. While the league was dominated by Legion and Dynamo at this point, there was a group of three teams just below them, the Reign was one of these and they managed to finish just above the Vasteras Iron Eagles on a tie-breaker. His personal numbers still could use some improvement, his save percentage was the fifth best that season, his goals against average was seventh best. But despite these numbers, the Reign were looking strong going into the playoffs. In the playoffs we saw Mike elevate his play, both his save percentage and goals against improved. In the first round the Riga Reign needed six games to get past Vasteras. The true test for them would be the Davos Dynamo, Europe’s first seed. The first game Mike posted a legendary 95.3 save percentage as the Reign stole this game. Mike faced 43 shots in total, while the Reign only fired 25 shots themselves, good enough to get a third star. He repeated this feat in the next game, where Riga once again stole a game from Davos with another 95 save percentage for Mike. It almost felt like Riga were about to pull off something no one expected, but two losses followed. In an overtime thriller, Riga managed to also win game five, but game six and seven fell prey to the Dynamo, ending Mike’s sophomore season after a stellar playoff performance where he almost helped the Reign steal away a conference championship. S38 - Riga Reign (VHL) Regular Season Statistics Record: 40-18-6 - Save% 91.8 - GAA: 2.06 - Shutouts: 12 Playoffs Statistics Record: 5-4-1 - Save%: 88.8 - GAA: 2.78 - Shutouts: 0 In his third season for the Riga Reign, Mike grew more confident in his play and it showed on the ice. His goals against average dropped to just above two a game, but he was an excellent piece on Riga defensive strength as he posted 12 shutouts that season. Davos remained the strongest team in the conference, but thanks to his excellent play, Riga got much closer as only three points separated them. Next to that, Riga had gotten the least amount of goals against in the conference. Things were looking promising for the team. The playoffs that season showed a different story, it all started off nicely with beating the Vasteras Iron Eagles in five games. The conference finals however did not went as Riga hope they would have. During the first game visiting Davos, The Reign were the more dominating party on the ice. They managed to get 1-0 and 2-1 up versus the Dynamo, but a Jarkko Olsen goal early in the third got Davos into overtime. After one overtime period both goaltenders had stand tall and not given up a single thing, but when Felix Zamora scored after almost six minutes in the second overtime period, the chance on upsetting the Dynamo that game seemed gone. Zamora also got the game winner in game two, again with a 3-2 score and again with the Reign having most shots at net. Szatkowski Jr. his best game this series would be game three. Finally playing on homeground he saved 29 of the 30 shots, good for a 96.7 save percentage. Game four and five however, these are games that he is rather not remembered about. Davos slaughtered Riga, and therefor the hopes for Szatkowski Jr to make his first continental cup final. S39 - Riga Reign (VHL) Regular Season Statistics Record: 38-20-6 - Save% 91.7 - GAA: 2.14 - Shutouts: 7 Playoffs Statistics Record: 7-5-2 - Save%: 94.1 - GAA: 1.72 - Shutouts: 3 Season 39 bookmarked a season where the European Conference seemed a lot stronger then the North American one. The New York Americans cruised to an easy Victory cup, while the European Confference was a three way battle between the Dynamo, Iron Eagles and Reign. This year did not seem a big success for the Reign, but despite the worst numbers of the three, they did manage to qualify for the playoffs. Szatkowski still played a decent season, but compared to the season before, all of his numbers had declined a bit. How different the playoffs would look for Szatkowski Jr. , after having a bad playoffs the year prior, Szatkowski proved to be the glue to hold the Reign together this year. The series versus the Iron Eagles was a nailbiter. Mike started this series with a shutout in game one, only to lose in overtime in game two. It was a miracle that the Reign had made it to overtime, but with Mike stopping 29 out of 30 shots in regulation, they had the fighting chance. Another shutout followed in game three, while game four once again was lost in overtime. This time Mike was basically Riga’s Miracle Man, during the first overtime period alone he stopped all 16 of the shots, while the Reign only got three themselves. This continued in OT2 with a 9 to 1 shot differential. It wasn’t until Willem Janssen scored in OT3 before Riga had to give up. The series were tied again, but Mike was the reason why Riga almost was able to sweep Vasteras. With Mike having an offday in game five, the Reign were now looking 3-2 down and Mike took this loss personally. He regained his energy for game six and shut out the Iron Eagles for the third time this series. Fittingly, game seven went into overtime again, the Iron Eagles confident that they would close down overtime the third time in a row. But Niklas Valiq scored his first of the season and with a magnificent 45 saves, Mike saw his Reign advance again! The next two games, Mike posted excellent numbers versus Davos to, a 97.5 and a 95.8 game followed, giving the Reign a 2-0 lead in the series. Out of the last five games, Davos however managed to win four of them. After perhaps one of Szatkowski’s best playoff series versus Vasteras, the Dynamo once again stopped the Reign’s tracks. S40 - Riga Reign (VHL) Regular Season Statistics Record: 39-23-2 - Save% 92.4 - GAA: 2.02 - Shutouts: 11 Playoffs Statistics Record: 12-4-0 - Save%: 92.3 - GAA: 2.10 - Shutouts: 1 S40 was the end of the dominance of Davos in Europe, and once again it was a race between three teams. The Cologne Express won the conference title, but in the last two games the Reign managed to get past the Titans, mostly due to a solid game by Mike in a heads up battle which the Reign won 5-2. In order to reach the conference finals, it was that exact Titans team who they had to beat. And things did not go as they had hoped. In the first game Mike got six goals scored against him and also their second home game they lost three to one. Being two games down after two home games, did not bode well for the Reign, but they bounced back in game three and four, while getting that important overtime win in the latter one. Game five the Reign lost again and they were on the brink of elimination. They had to win the last two games. They won game six and in game seven, Szatkowski Jr played out of his mind again, stopping 28 out of 29 shots. Sending his Reign to the conference finals where Cologne waited. While the Express had the most regular season points, the extra games the Reign played proven to be vital for team chemistry. The team was in a solid rhythm, they won game and two in regulation, game three was won in overtime and to have a chance to play in his first contintental cup finals they just had one more game to win. The team got together for this, they couldn’t let it slide and they put up a 54 shot performance against Cologne, who only shot 12 times back at Mike, he stopped them all. It was his only shutout of the playoffs, but it was the one that send his team to the Continental Cup finals! In the finals it were the New York Americans who waited for them and game 1 was a real even game, but Szatkowski Jr played the best out of them two, only allowing two goals on 36 shots. Game 2 Mike played even better, stopping 27 out of 28. Luckily his team scored more, with the shorthanded equalizer of Brennan McQueen as highlight reel. The Reign were now up 2-0. Game 3 was another low scoring game, with a 2-1 result. With a save percetnage of 95.5%, Mike’s name was once again shouted from the Riga stands, with a 3-0 lead, what could go wrong? In game four however, the Reign crowd was silenced as New York fought hard to get back in the series and despite 36 saves, Mike couldn’t stop the Americans from taking this game from them. The series went back to New York for game five. The Americans outshot the Reign in regular playtime 31 to 21, giving up three goals. After regular time, the scoreboard showed three goals each. In overtime, Mike had nothing to do. Nothing at all. The Reign suddenly outplayed AND outshot the Americans 10 to 0, and after 6 minutes, Jarkko Olsen shot in the goal that would crown the Riga Reign as Continental Cup champions. Mike Szatkowski Jr. had done it, he helped his fathers team win the Cup, he was now a continental cup winner himself! S41 - Riga Reign (VHL) Regular Season Statistics Record: 41-19-4 - Save% 92.6 - GAA: 1.89 - Shutouts: 13 Playoffs Statistics Record: 7-5-1 - Save%: 91.7 - GAA: 2.40 - Shutouts: 0 Coming into the season as a Continental Cup all eyes would be set on Mike Szatkowski Jr and his Riga Reign. Winning that cup boosted his confidence and level of play as this year he won his first personal hardware. And not just the Aiden Shaw for the league’s top goaltender, but his performance this season also got him the Scotty Campbell trophy given out to the league’s most valuable player. Mike had a solid 92.6 save percentage, but next to that he saw his goals against average drop below 2 for the first time in his career, 1.89. The 13 shutouts was just the cherry on the cake of an already stellar season. The Reign captured the conference title, giving them a walkover for the first round of the playoffs. The Titans awaited them after they beat Cologne in five games. And for the first five games of the series both teams capitalized on the home advantage, it wasn’t in the overtime thriller in game six that the Reign managed to win this series. And despite Szatkowski Jr. not having the best game, his pass on RIG RW1, was the pre-assist on the series winning goal of Robert Gow III. They had sent the Reign back into the Continental Cup finals again where once again the New York Americans waited for them. The finals didn’t start as Mike had hoped, in game 1 he only faced 17 shots, but let in two of these while his counterpart posted a shutout. He improved again in game two where he helped the Reign reach overtime and took the series back to Riga with one game each. The series continued like this, each time one team would win, the other would tie it again, so it all came down to game seven. Mike had to face 32 shots here, but with less then three minutes to play, the Americans scored the final goal off the series and stopped the chances of Szatkowski Jr to become a back to back champion. It would also become the last game he had played for the Reign. S42 - Helsinki Titans (VHL) Regular Season Statistics Record: 43-17-4 - Save% 92.2 - GAA: 2.07 - Shutouts: 10 Playoffs Statistics Record: 3-3-1 - Save%: 90.5 - GAA: 2.23 - Shutouts: 1 The Helsinki Titans wanted to make a push for this season, while Riga felt it was time to rebuild. In exchange for Kimmo Salo and a S43 1st round pick, the Helsinki Titans added Mike Szatkowski Jr. to their roster. The addition certainly paid off as the Helsinki Titans were the least scored on team of Europe that season. Only the New York Americans got one goal against less. The Titans secured an easy victory on their conference this season and Mike’s 10 shutouts definitely contributed to that. The playoffs didn’t go as the Titans had hoped. Being shutout by the Cologne Express in game one showed that it would not be a walkover as expected. Szatkowski Jr. proved he still had it in game two when he returned the favour, stopping the few shots that the Express fired. And where Cologne hardly shot on Mike during game two, they opened up a barrage of shots in the third period in game three where a total of 23 shots were fired. Here Mike had to give up two of them which resulted in a 3-2 loss. Game four also went to Cologne, so the Titans were down 3-1 in the series. Mike helped the team gain two more wins in overtime, before game seven ended the playoffs too soon. S43 - Helsinki Titans / Toronto Legion (VHL) Regular Season Statistics Record: 43-21-7 - Save% 92.6 - GAA: 1.84 - Shutouts: 11 Playoffs Statistics Record: 0-3-1 - Save%: 87.5 - GAA: 3.20 - Shutouts: 0 Mike started the season again for the TItans, but this time the Titans werent as competitive anymore. After 10 games into the season, the Toronto Legion had sent Zachary Young to Helsinki in exchange for Mike his services. His numbers for the struggling Helsinki team were rocky at best, but in his games with Toronto, he played the best goaltending of his career. a 92.8 save percentage together with just 1.67 goals against average and 11 shutouts, he had a great ending to his regular season career. The Legion finished second in the North American conference and would have to deal with the Seattle Bears in the playoffs. Mike Szatkowski Jr. has showed himself an excellent goaltender, but his age was catching up on him. In his final four games of his career he could not make a stand against the Bears, the eventual Continental Cup Champions. After this series, he finally hang up his skates and could enjoy retirement. Career Totals Regular Season Statistics Record: 298-187-34 - Save% 92.0 - GAA: 2.25 - Shutouts: 68 Playoffs Statistics Record: 41-28-8 - Save%: 91.9 - GAA: 2.26 - Shutouts: 6 When looking at the numbers, you see that Mike Szatkowski Jr. was a real solid goaltender in both the regular season and the playoffs. You could always rely on him and he has been a vital piece in the success the Riga Reign had during his time. While he had to wait a while for his induction he knew that it only was a matter of time. I hope this article was worth the wait Mike. It was nice to be able to delve back into the history and have a deeper look at Szatkowski Jr.’s career.

you will have my vote

Congrats @Thunfish♡

Great news Lets see what happens ! Congrats so far and hope the agent gets you signed somewhere

1. The playoffs/off-season is upon us. What have you managed to accomplish this season the planned to accomplish? Have not accomplished my goals, as I started playing horrible during the season. I'm sorry I let the fans down. 2. If you are new to VHL, how was your first season? If you returning member, after this season what areas do you think we can improve in? I need to play better, score more and just not suck lol. 3. What are your plans for the off-season? Defense and Scoring should hit 99. Then I'll work on my puckhandling / skating skills some more. 4. Do you think that will be an underdog this playoff season that will make it to the semi-finals and potentially the finals? There is always an outside chance for an upset, will be fun to see who will be this years'. 5. Which 2 teams do you think will face each other in the finals this season? Warsaw vs Chicago, an all expansion team finals. 6. Who would you say was the one person that was there when they were needed the most this season? Shaggy Tipton, he finally got the attention he deserved with the 3rd star of the game

Nice to see and Idaho is looking mediocre here

Enjoy your trip and dont worry about these weeks

1. Who you think going to win the next round of playoffs, Tampa Bay Lightning or New York Islanders? Hoping for the Islanders, its been a while since they got this far. 2. Lets say you just made a new character and he is at 250 TPE and VHLE is now a thing. Would you choose to go to VHLE or move up straight to VHL and why? I would love to go for a 9 year vhl career to be honest 3. Riddle me this. Which question can you never "Yes" to? Do you want to work 24 hours a day? 4. This week is a theme week and the theme is VHLE. What you think about it and are you going to do anything for the theme week? If so what is it going to be? Made a logo for the Vatican City Elite, so yeah I participated in the event 5. We are a bit more than half way through the season. Who do you thing have been out most valuable player thus far? Paul Atreides, he is showing great promise! 6. Paul Atreides @Mr_Hatter is currently sitting at #7 for top 10 goal scorers for this season, only 3 goals behind the #1 spot. Do you think he can climb up hire potentially taking the #1 spot and any word of encouragement for him? You got this Hatter, we believe in you

PT Claimed for upcoming week

Condor Adrienne made Vatican City hockey great. Why not continue on that

Uncapped portion for theme week Will claim PT next week

A Schooner

The search for the S36 statistics I decided it would be a good idea to do a Hall of Fame article sometime, so when the opportunity presented itself, I had the choice between Mike Szatkowski Jr. and Jeff Downey. Considering I was in the league longer than Spartan, who would write the other, I opted for Szatkowski Jr, and this has bitten me in the ass ever since, as old information might be hard to come by when pages are missing on the portal. So I am looking for the S36 information, how was his rookie season, who played who in the playoffs etcetera. But the page just isn't there and also an old index thread on the forum no longer contained the information. I asked Will to look into it and he said he would, but even after a reminder there was no further update about this. I know I still need to write the other seasons as well, but I would like to do it chronologically, so i'm currently in a bit of a standstill here. Hopefully with this article, there is someone that has a file somewhere which we can upload to access the actual data of that season, so I can continue writing this article. Requesting this with a vhl.com might not be the most efficient way to get the information, but I needed to do one regardless for the monthly affiliate checks, so atleast this gave me something to write about. And to @Mike, I promise you, your article will come Sorry for the delay!

How is Idaho improving? Duncan Idaho had a decent rookie season which landed him the rookie of the year title. A title he definitely wanted to share with his fellow rookie linemates, as it was the three of them that did it together. But we're now one season further down his career, so let's see how he is improving. Goals: Rookie season: 29 Current season: 22 On pace for: 40 (rounded down) This would be big if he could keep this up, but after two four goal games, it's unlikely he will keep this pace up. Being a 40 goal guy is definitly a goal for Idaho and therefor he will continue to focus on his scoring. With 96 scoring there are just a few more points to be gained, so expect him to be 99 scoring around the end of this season or the start of the next season. Assists: Rookie season: 30 Current season: 18 On pace for: 33 Assist wise, we don't see a big change. Most of this will also depend on the scoring proweness of his linemates, as Idaho always has and always will be a horrible passer. Without training this skill, any assist he picks up is mostly not a pass, but a rebound given up by the goalie finished off by one of his linemates. Points: Rookie season: 59 Current season: 40 On pace for: 73 (rounded down) Getting a point per game was something that was important to Idaho, he even told his manager to try to get him to this mark as soon as possible. And the first real possibility for this will be during his sophomore season. He has slowed down alot though the last games, so hopefully @Spartanhas some tricks up his sleeve to get him going again. Shots: Rookie season: 344 Current season: 182 On pace for: 336 This is something that is actually unexpected. He is shooting less than his rookie season. Only be a small amount though, so nothing to groundbreaking yet, but with getting time on the first line, this is something where I also expected an increase. PIM: Rookie season: 120 Current season: 64 On pace for: 118 While adding to his checking (and not discipline) its good to see a small decrease in the penalty minute department. I expected this to actually have gone up with more playtime/checking. Hits: Rookie season: 258 Current season: 154 On pace for: 284 While hitting people is something you do not need much skill for, adding to checking during this season has helped him out in this department. Idaho has picked up his hitting pace and is now on pace for 284 hits. While this is nothing close to being to Boulet numbers, it does show he has the potential to become a strong two-way forward in this league All in all, we can see that Duncan Idaho certainly is improving, but he might have had higher expectations of himself. At least he is not experiencing a sophomore slump yet and is still on track for a point per game season. It will be challenging with his declining output over the last few weeks, but the chances for this are still alive. Let’s see how it goes once the 72 games are done.

We lost thanks to Duncan Idaho. Scrub

Seattle Steelhawks bana

What is something you couldn't live without? Wouldnt be able to live without my wife and kids What is one thing ritual you do before every game? Sleep, and alot of it, I love my sleep What is your favourite pre-game meal? Something greasy with garlic, that when i dish out some hits, its comes with nasty breath If you had to play another sport what would you play? Soccer probably, despite not as fast paced as hockey, i love playing it What is your go to shoe when you're relaxing? Anything that is oversized If you could put a team anywhere in the world where would it be? Nijmegen, the town I was born. A great theme would be something Roman, as its known here as ' the emperor city'

He has 4 p's?

The green part of the image is really well made, great job!

A hand full of games have come and gone. Who do you think has been our most valued player thus far? Bob brings a lot of grit on the ice, without him we wouldnt be where we are today How have you performed thus far and based on that performance, what would you like to improve next? Still above a point per game, so quite satisfied about it. I want to hit more though! What is your thoughts on the new league announcement, the VHLE? I don't really mind, I won't be playing in it a lot though If you were put in charge of something for a day, what would you like that to be and what would you change or do? I would like be in charge of FC Barcelona and disband the team Who do you thing going to be our biggest rival this season? Ourselves, we can win on any given day if all goes in our favor What's your favorite ice cream flavor? Magnum double chocolate, but they stopped selling that here

PLAY JA JA DING DONG

@dshervillpick your guy and we're done @Domg5how long until you want to give him an autopick?

@dshervillotc Skipped @Domg5 pick whenever

Amstel Tijgers

Fine, I'll give you my approval if you also do the Riga one with the crown.