snipealldaylong

Claim 2 points.

Something came up. I am going to have to skip out and do welfare this week.

Toronto

Quebec City

Davos

Toronto

2-0 Seattle.

"Legion Battling For Top Spot"

185

Dynamo Dominance

Davos, Switzerland is the venue on the agenda for me this week, a city of over eleven thousand people and 109 square miles and situated in the southeastern portion of Switzerland. Davos may not be very large in population but there many surrounding cities that also provide fan support for sporting events in Davos. The city is primarily known for skiing with the Swiss Alps in close proximity and was also a pioneer in speed skating, many international events being held in Davos. There are six main ski areas which stretch over 200 miles and two ice hockey teams, HC Davos of the Swiss National League A and HC Davos Dynamo of the Victory Hockey League. The Dynamo have won the Continental Cup seven times (S11, S13, S20, S24, S25, S31, S36) and have made twelve finals appearances (S11, S13, S19, S20, S21, S24, S25, S28, S29, S30, S31, S36) as well as numerous VHL hall of famers and individual award winners in their history.

Davos brought in up and coming center, Naomi Young from the rebuilding Helsinki Titans in exchange for a pair of first rounders and a second rounder in the off-season, as well as veteran defenseman, Nikita Lebedev from the Toronto Legion for a depth defenseman and a bunch of draft picks. They then dealt Matteo Gallo to Riga for a second round pick and Odin Tordahl (who was leaving via free agency) to the New York Americans for a first round pick. The defending champions have not slowed down, posting a record of 35-10-4 and leading the league after 49 games played and are a big threat to repeat. Davos is an offensive team who take advantage of their opportunities, leading the league in goals for per game while ranking third in shots for per game (3.41 and 36.51 respectively). The Dynamo defense in nearly as good as their offense, ranking first in shots against per game (23.29) and third in goals against per game (2.18). Special teams for the Dynamo have been nearly unstoppable as well, ranking first in penalty-killing (89.32%) and second in powerplay success (21.72%) and have been the best faceoff team by far, winning 62.62% of their draws. Davos is one of the least physical teams, throwing just 16.06 body checks per game but still rank fifth in penalty minutes per game at 10.55.

Leading the way for Davos is Sergey Brovalenko, who in his final season, is on pace for career-highs in many categories and should be a favourite to win the Scotty Campbell Trophy with 72 points on the season. Thomas Landry has put 65 points on the board while Naomi Young and Davey Jones have put up 56 and 54 points respectively. Patrolling the blueline, Shane Baker has put 45 points on the scoresheet with 55 body checks and 73 shots blocked. Matt Bentley has been a monster, making 133 body checks, blocking 65 shots and scoring 41 points while Nikita Lebedev has put up 40 points with 43 body checks and 56 shot blocks. In goal, Lennox Moher has not had to be all that sharp but has done what it takes to get the job done, posting a 91% save percentage with just over two goals allowed per game and five shutouts. He hasn't faced all that many shots but is still among league leaders in wins with 27. Davos has dominated the European Conference once again and I fully expect to see them in the finals and wouldn't be surprised to see them winning back-to-back championships.

Interview with Matt Bentley:

What will be the biggest challenge presented to the Dynamo on their quest to repeat as champions?

Complacency without a doubt. On our day I am confident we can defeat any team in the league but we can't afford to get lazy, complacent or overconfident. Last season we really pushed ourselves when we went down 3-1 to Toronto but I don't think that would go unpunished again. This doesn't just apply to the finals as well, we've been struggling against Vasteras in recent weeks and we need to address that if we meet them, or any other unfavoured team, in the playoffs.

Sergey Brovalenko has broken out in a huge way this season. Is he the hands-down favourite to win the Scotty Campbell Trophy at this point?

I would love Brovy to get some recognition at the end of his career and if he leads the league in points I can see him winning the Campbell. However, the only trophy I think is his to lose is the Virkkunen, what with him having no penalty minutes to date. There are many deserving candidates for the Campbell this season, Tordahl, Low, Tukio, Bagelface, to name but a few, it's very close right now. I do have to take a MVP on the team with some caution since a stand-out performer on a team effort casts a shadow on that team effort. Brovy's in with a chance but he, like all of us, puts Davos first, which may cost him individually in the end.

Your club looks solid from top to bottom. Is there anything that you can identify that could be improved?

We really go full on offensively and that comes at the expense of solid defence. The stats look good for all skaters but as a unit, we could be doing more to help out Moher at the back, or he will look like the scapegoat which is totally unfair. Lots of people will look at his save percentage and say he's underachieving but the problem is there's constant lapses of concentration and they cost us. The shots against totals might be low but the quality of those shots is high. It's something to address so better teams don't exploit it. On the whole though, I'm very pleased with the team's play this season.

The Dynamo look to be the favourites from the European Conference while the North American Conference is a crap shoot. Who do you like to represent North America in the Continental Cup Finals?

Every opponent offers something different. Toronto will seek revenge, Quebec has experience poring out of itself, Seattle will have a point to prove since they're hoping to just scrape into the playoffs, and New York is really similar to us last season in the sense that you don't know what to expect and that might be the most dangerous. I can't say any team would be an easier match for Davos, we've dropped points to everyone of note it seems. I've got a hunch that whichever one of Seattle and New York makes it in will go absolutely rampant and knock out the two favourites and maybe even us, if of course we don't meet a sizzling force of our own in Europe. But it's unpredictable and to be honest with you, that's great.

Toronto

Riga

Davos

New York

3-0 Seattle.

"Dynamo Dominance"

Good luck with the baby STZ.

184

Bears Clawing Their Way In

I am in Seattle, Washington this week, a city that provides a ton of fan support for their hometown sports teams. Seattle is home to a prfessional football team (Seattle Seahawks), a professional baseball team (Seattle Mariners), a professional Soccer team (Seattle Sounders FC) and a professional basketball team (Seattle Storm). They also house another soccer team (Seattle Reign FC), a junior hockey team (Seattle Thunderbirds) and the reason I am in Seattle this week, their professional hockey team, the Seattle Bears. The Bears have had plenty of success, winning the Continental Cup five times (S4, S5, S12, S17, S28) and making eight finals appearances (S4, S5, S11, S12, S15, S17, S28, S30). Seattle has also won the Victory Cup five times (S4, S5, S6, S27, S28) and have numerous individual award winners and VHL hall of famers.

Seattle had a tough go of it last season, but eventually made it into the playoffs for the first time since Season 31. To attempt to eliminate their early season struggles that they faced during Season 36, the Bears went out and made some off-season trades. The first deal they made was sending Mikey Blade and GIYGAS to Riga in return for Damon Tyrael. Next, they made a big move, acquiring Ethan Osborne and Willie Weber from Helsinki in exchange for Gregory Glass, a S38 first-round selection, a S39 first-round selection and a S39 second round-selection. The trades were expected to assist the Bears in becoming serious Continental Cup contenders but they started Season 37 once again and have had to play catch-up just to contend for a playoff spot. Seattle currently hold down the fourth spot in the North American Conference with a 20-14-3 record and 43 points, tied with the third-place New York Americans. Offense is not how Seattle wins games, ranking 7th both shots for and goals for per game (32.24 and 2.25 respectively). The Bears defense has not been great, but it has not been terrible either, ranking 5th in shots against per game and 6th in goals against per game (27.27 and 2.24 respectively). Special teams have been amazing in Seattle this season, ranking third in both powerplay (19.14%) and penalty-killing (86.21%) percentages, while bearing down and winning 54.57% of their faceoffs (ranked fourth). They have been very physical, delivering 18.83 body checks per game (ranked second) and taking 11.30 penalties in minutes per game (ranked seventh).

Ethan Osborne has found some chemistry with his new team, now leading the Bears in goals (22) and points (42) with Zack Sound leading in assists (27) and tied with Osborne in points (42). James Lefevre has been a physical force, delivering 116 body checks and blocking 80 shots, while putting 24 points on the board. Sebastian Ball Jr, Karsten Olsen, Damon Tyrael and Willie Weber have not put up great numbers to date this season, but there is still time for them to turn it around. In goal, Steven Smyl has been solid, posting a 92% save percentage with a 2.23 goals against average and two shutouts, facing 896 shots in the process. The Bears have been on a roll lately, winning eight in a row and if they can keep finding ways to win, there is no doubt that they will be a playoff team this season.

Interview with Willie Weber:

A tough start to the season for the Bears. How do you put that behind you and focus on the present and future?

Yeah. It has been a tough start for us but we just need to keep our minds set on the task at hand. If we concentrate on what we are trying to accomplish here, I have confidence that we will be able to get the job done. We just have to take it one game at a time and not get too high when winning or too low when losing. I know those are some of the oldest cliques out there, but it is the truth here.

Individually, you have started slow this season as well. What can you attribute to this?

Yeah. I expected more out of myself this season to be honest. I guess joining a new team and trying to find chemistry could be blamed for that but I do not make excuses. It's all on me. I need to be better and that's no secret. Going forward, I will do my best to get back to the level that I was at last season, or even better. Training hard physically and mentally will help me accomplish that.

You've been a Bear for over half a season now. How has your time in Seattle been so far?

It's been great. The boys have been really supportive in the locker room. There are some really great leaders on this team and it makes the transition much easier when you play in that kind of environment. When a teammate like Oz comes with you in a deal, that makes it much easier as well. We all get along great and if we continue to gel as a team, I like our chances at making the playoffs and beyond.

Speaking of the playoffs, should Seattle make it in, how do you like your team's chances?

Well, last season, with a similar roster, the Bears nearly upset the North American champs. This season, we have many of the same players who have developed more as well as adding some more developed pieces. As long as we keep coming together as a unit and developing into better players, I expect us to put up a good showing. Anything can happen in the playoffs so we need to bring our A game on any given night.

"Bears Clawing Their Way In"

4-2 Riga.

Quebec City

Cologne

Toronto

Davos

Happy birthday.

183

Titans Fall From Grace

Well that was a fun week in Calgary and this week I travel across the world to Helsinki, the largest city in Finland and a city that has a lot to do from museums, to music and arts, theaters and the reason why I am here, sports. Most people in Finland enjoy football (known as soccer in North America) or hockey and there are many teams to choose as your favourite from these sports in the city of Helsinki such as Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi (HJK) in football and IFK Helsingfors (HIFK) or Jokerit in hockey. Helsinki hosted the 1952 Summer Olympics as well as standing alone as the only city to host the World Championships in Athletics on two occasions (1983, 2005). The Helsinki Marathon is an annual event held in the city since 1980 and the European Figure Skating Championships were hosted by Helsinki in 2009. The Titans are Helsinki's representative in the Victory Hockey League and have a rich history, winning five Continental Cups (S6, S15, S22, S27, S34) and ten finals appearances (S3, S5, S6, S14, S15, S22, S23, S27, S34, S35). The Titans have numerous players who have won individual awards as well as many players in the VHL hall of fame.

Helsinki decided to rebuild during the Season 36 off-season, blowing the team up in exchange for high draft picks, trading Ethan Osborne and Willie Weber to Seattle, Anatoli Zhumbayev to Toronto, Tuomas Tukio to Quebec City, and Naomi Young to Davos. Needless to say, the Titans are not the powerhouse of the European Conference that they once were, posting a record of 1-21-2 in the first 24 games of Season 37. The offense has been god-awful and is ranked dead  last in the league, scoring just 38 goals while the defense has allowed 110 against and again, ranked last in the VHL. The Titans have taken the least shots in the league (23.08 per game) while giving up the second most (45.17 per game) and are one of the worst face-off teams, winning just 33.74% of their draws (9th). The powerplay unit has not been all that bad, ranking 9th and succeeding 10.26% of the time, meanwhile the penalty-kill is ranked 9th with a 78.90% success rate. Helsinki is about middle-of-the-pack in penalty minutes taken per game with 10.04 (6th) and rank 8th in hits delivered per game (16.42).

Teemu Lehtinen, Roberto Martucci and Tyler Owens lead the team statistically, Lehtinen and Martucci posting 24 points each and Owens with 18. Lehtinen an Martucci sport decent plus/minus ratings at -6 and -5 respectively while Lehtinen and Owens have used their bodies effectively, throwing 58 and 59 body checks respectively. Tyler Owens leads the league in shot blocks with 98 and in goal, HEL G has been decent for what has been thrown at him, posting a 90% save percentage and 4.47 goals against average, facing the most shots in the league at 1084. General Manager, Vincent Wong has a tough road ahead in re-building the Titans but future superstars in Kimmo Salo and Jake Wylde, alongside Dexter Morgan (who should be a solid VHL'er) is a good start. Wong also holds 8 first round and 4 second round selections in the next two entry drafts which should get the re-build off to a great start. The Titans are in a low spot right now but if they tough it out, the future is definitely going to be bright for the young club.

Interview with Vincent Wong:

"Titans Fall From Grace"

3-1 Riga.

Davos

Seattle

New York

Toronto

182

Wranglers Wreeling

I am in Calgary, Alberta this week to cover the VHL's Calgary Wranglers. Calgary is home to the Calgary Stampede, the Calgary Tower, the Devonian Gardens as well as countless other attractions, even hosting the Winter Olympics in 1988. Calgary is a sports-crazed city with many profession teams such as the Calgary Flames (NHL), Calgary Stampeders (CFL), Calgary Roughnecks (NLL) and of course, the Calgary Wranglers. The city has hosted numerous sporting events such as the Grey Cup (1975, 1993, 2000, 2009), the Labatt's/Nokia/Tim Horton's Brier (1980, 1997, 2003, 2009), the World Junior Ice Hockey Championships (2012), and the Stanley Cup Finals (1986, 1989, 2004). The Calgary Wranglers have a rich history of their own, winning the Continental Cup on 7 occasions and making 10 appearances in the finals. They also have 6 Victory Cups (the team with the best regular season record) and many individual award winners. Calgary is currently rebuilding the Wranglers and have not made the playoffs since Season 35, following a game 7 overtime loss in the Season 34 finals to the Helsinki Titans.

Season 37 is about one-eighth of the way into the season and the Wranglers sit last in the North American Conference with a 2-6-1 record, a place they have been familiar with last season. Calgary finished last season with just 6 wins and are on pace to finish 16 in Season 37, a big improvement. The offense has not been bad, currently ranked 6th, scoring 21 goals on the season while the defense has allowed the second most goals against with 32. The Wranglers powerplay unit has been lights-out, scoring 8 goals on 32 chances (21.05%) and ranking them 3rd in the VHL while the penalty-kill unit has been awful, allowing 12 goals on 63 chances (80.95%) and ranking them 8th. The Calgary offense has averaged 31.22 shots per game (6th) and the defense has allowed an average of 47.78 shots against per game (9th), a typical blueprint of a young team. They have taken the body a lot with 22.67 body checks per game (1st) but have played undisciplined, taking 19.44 penalty minutes per game (10th) and have been god-awful in the face-off dot, winning just 35.50% of face-offs taken (10th).

Henrik Larsson has lead the way on offense with 15 points (8 goals, 7 assists) with 20 body checks, a blocked shot and a +6 plus/minus rating. Damien Sandow, Michael Haan and Lars Lessio have given their best on the back end but have struggled to keep the young Wranglers competitive in the tough North American Conference. The trio have combined for 18 points, 70 body checks, 66 shot blocks and a +2 rating. In goal, Martin Brookside has been a very busy man, turning away 399 of 431 shots and sporting a 92.8% save percentage with a 3.41 goals against average. He has been able to post a shutout with 3 assists and should steal many games for Calgary this season. The Wranglers have promising prospects, Travis Boychuk and Jack Ryan waiting in the wings while holding two 1st round selections and three 2nd rounders in the next pair of drafts. The future looks bright for Calgary.

Interview with Jason Glasser:

After having a successful team in Calgary for so long, it must be tough for the Wranglers to be going through a rebuild. How do you keep yourself from straying off of the path of rebuilding the club the right way?

There is no straying off the path. I've done rebuilds before, both here and in other leagues. All I really need to do is just do the same thing as I did back in S27 when I took over the GM position. Jardy had just stepped down after a run of competing, we were going into a rebuild, and I had to manage it. That one was a little easier as I had Cal G to trade, but I'm not worried about this one either. If anything, the only thing I expect to be different is the length of the run. I didn't make some moves the last time because I wanted to honor what my players wanted, and had I made the moves when I should have, we might not be in this position. That and Henchoz retiring early and having to kind of scrap things together, that made all the difference the first time, this time if I stick to the plan once I get there it should be better. Honestly, rebuilds are the easy part, just pick, pick, and pick some more. Staying competitive for a longer time is the hard part.

Calgary is on pace for a much better season than they had in Season 36. Does the management have any goals that they expect the team to meet in year 2 of the rebuild?

Not really. I mean we're on a better pace because we've played Helsinki twice. We'll probably do better this year than last, but mostly just because there's another team down here that's worse and we get to beat up on them every so often. We're still far from the other teams and I expect to be for a while still.

Travis Boychuk and Jack Ryan are a couple of promising prospects that currently play in the VHLM. When do you expect them to make their VHL debuts?

Boychuk should be up as soon as next season. He's a premier prospect and as such, I don't expect him to be eligible for the VHLM beyond this season. If we were a team fighting for a playoff spot, I'd consider calling him up at the deadline, but as we're not, there will be no need for that. Ryan, on the other hand, has had a slower development. He's discussed an increase in development once the summer arrives, but as for now, I'd plan on him being down an additional season. Who knows though, he may surprise people.

How long do you expect the rebuild to last before the Wranglers become competitive again?

I want to make the playoffs in S39. We probably won't be a real cup contender, more like Cologne last year, but Quebec should be done by then, and who knows where Toronto and Seattle will be. I don't fully expect to contend until LeBeau retires, though. By that point, Smyl should be on the dwindling end of his career, and it'll really be us and New York in the NA. It's never ideal to be a season or two behind a conference competitor, but that's not something that can really be timed for, either.

The Beat will be writing about Calgary. "Wranglers Wreeling" will be the name of the article.

Sick work

5-1 Toronto.

Seattle

Riga

Quebec City

Davos

chparsons71@gmail.com

181

Riga Rebuild Rolling

Visiting Quebec City last week was a fun and new experience for myself and this week, I will find myself in Riga, the capital city of Latvia. Latvia has not been a hockey hotbed to say the least in the past but recently, it has become more popular. More and more Latvians are being drafted into the NHL and the Olympic team finished in the top 8 at the 2014 winter Olympics. The Victory Hockey League is home to a professional hockey team in Riga named the Reign who have won just 3 championships in franchise history (S10, S16, S33). The club is in the middle of a rebuild at the moment and are on track to build a great team. They may have finished last in the European Conference during Season 36 but they were in no way the worst team in the league. The Reign are full of young players and prospects (including S37 1st overall pick, Slaeter Fjorsstrom) and will grow as a team with each passing season. They finished Season 36 with a record of 17-53-2, scoring 153 goals for and allowing 257 against in the process. The European Conference got much weaker this off-season, thus giving Riga a much better chance at making their first playoff appearance in 3 seasons.

Riga's offense ranked 9th in the league, ahead of the last place Wranglers who scored only 88 goals while their defense was also ranked 9th, Calgary only allowing more goals against with 357. The special teams in Riga again finish ranked at 9th in both powerplay (13.51%) and penalty-killing (80.22%) percentages as well as shots against per game (39.13). The club was ranked 8th in shots taken per game (27.29) and faceoff percentage (43.90%) at the end of Season 36, while they delivered the 7th most body checks per game (17.78) and took the 5th least penalties in minutes per game (9.63). The Gow brothers lead the Reign on offense, combining for 141 points (Robert with 74, Robin with 67) while Brennan McQueen was a monster, delivering a league-leading 371 body checks and chipping in 63 points. Dan Tremblay put 47 points and 312 body checks from the back-end, blocking a league-leading 274 shots along the way. In goal, Mike Szatkowski Jr. faced a heavy workload with 2515 shots against (2nd in the league) and put up a 90.9% save percentage with a 3.62 goals against average and a shutout.

The Reign will be a much better club this upcoming season with the aforementioned Slaeter Fjorsstrom joining the club alongside Mikey Blade, Matteo Gallo and Phil Villeneuve as newcomers to the Reign with the possibility of Konstantin Azhishchenkov joining the team late in the season or in the playoffs, should Riga earn their spot for a chance to win the Continental Cup. The rebuild appears to be right on track for Mike Szatkowski and the Riga management and I fully expect them to be in the playoffs at the end of 72 regular season games.

Interview with Robert Gow III:

What will the acquisition of Matteo Gallo bring to the Reign team?

Gallo should be a solid depth player if he stays inactive; hopefully the trade may spark Quik's interest in the league again. Assuming Quik does not become active, Gallo is built really well to produce as a goal scoring depth player on Riga with 95 scoring. In theory, it seems as though he would best produce with someone like Robin Gow who is a pass first player in order to best use Gallo's abilities.

With the blow-up of the Helsinki Titans team, that should open the gates for either Riga or Vasteras to make the playoffs in Season 37. What are your thoughts on the Reign's chances in making their first playoff appearance since Season 34?

I think this team has a great chance to make the playoffs due mainly to what should be a greatly improved defense on paper. Last season, we didn't really have any impact defensemen. This is where #1 overall pick Slaeter Fjorssom will help a lot as he has the potential to be a star #1 defenseman. Also helping out on defense this year will be Phil Villeneuve, as he was devolving with the Watchmen last year and also has the potential to be a star defenseman. Lastly, our defense should improve immensely this year due to the development of our goalie, Mike Longlastname. This year, Mike will have much more tpe and also will hopefully not receive the awful luck he had with the sim last year. 

Offensively, Riga scored a good amount last year, and our offense will be even better this year due to player development from last year and trades for Mikey Blade and Gallo.

Riga brought in two more exceptional talents via the Season 37 VHL Entry Draft. What impact will Slaeter Fjorsstrom and Konstantin Azhishchenkov have for the team now and in the future?

Slaeter Fjorsstrom should provide this team with something every cup contender needs; a star number one defenseman. He is already the best defenseman on the team this year, and as he improves could become one of the best in the league. Fjorsstrom and Villenvue have the potential to be a top defensive pairing in the league, and hopefully they can help bring us a cup.

KJA adds to our already strong forward core as he projects to be our #2 center. He could probably project to be a #1 center on most teams, but Robin Gow has an extra year of tpe production and will likely remain the number one center. I'm also excited to have KJA on Riga because we often have some interesting chat conversations (I have someone else to make fun of Mike with).

Slaeter Fjorsstrom will have a lot of pressure on him to win the Christian Stolzschweiger Trophy. Does he have what it takes to bring it home for Riga?

Fjorsstrom definitely has what it takes to win the Christian Stolzschweiger Trophy as I think he will be a top defenseman his whole career. He has the talent to win it for sure, and if the sim is fair to him he should win it.