snipealldaylong

Riga Rebuild Rolling.

If Weber won't work, use Gudas for my sig please.

+5 DF

+5 ST

Awesome. Can't wait for mine

The Beat is done.

This means I can't have Shea Weber?

180

Meute Cup Hunt Stalled

Last week in Germany, covering the Cologne Express was a fun time and I had the chance to obtain some new experiences. This week should be more of the same, as I visit the beautiful, pristine Quebec City in central Quebec. It is one of the oldest cities in Canada and a sports crazed city who used to be home for the Quebec Nordiques of the National Hockey League. I travel to Quebec City to cover the Meute hockey club of the Victory Hockey League. The Meute won the Season 35 Continental Cup, knocking down the Helsinki Titans a peg or two on the way. In Season 36, Quebec City was expected to be a favourite to win the championship again and to represent the North American Conference in the finals, at the very least. The off-season is here, the Continental Cup has been awarded, and as we all know, that is not how things shook down during the playoffs. The regular season was a two horse race in North American between Toronto and Quebec City, fighting all season long to obtain the top spot and a first round bye during the playoffs. It was tight right down to the wire and Toronto eventually prevailed by a single point.

Quebec City's offense was one of the best in the league, scoring 248 goals in the regular season and ranking them 2nd in the league behind Davos (who scored 264 goals). The defense for played solid for the Meute as well, allowing just 137 goals and ranking them 2nd in the league, behind Toronto's 130 goals against. The special teams in Quebec City were fairly good, finishing in the top half of the league in both powerplay and penalty killing numbers. The Meute powerplay scored on 65 of 343 chances, a 18.95% success rate (3rd) while the penalty kill unit killed 213 of 252 powerplay chances against, a 84.52% success rate (4th). They threw around 37 shots on net per game (4th) while allowing under 26 against per night (2nd). They also played a well-disciplined game, taking a tad over 8 minutes in penalties a night (2nd) and were a good faceoff team, winning about 57 1/2 percent of their draws (2nd). Quebec City, however, was not tough enough to play against, throwing only a bit over 16 hits per game (9th).

Wesley Kellinger, Doug Clifford and Yuri Grigorenko lead the Meute offensively up front, scoring 99, 93 and 88 points respectively, Kellinger and Clifford also very active in throwing body checks with close to 250 each. On defense, Alex and Niklas Valiq lead the team with 95 and 71 points respectively and 202 hits for Alex while Niklas wasn't as physical, finishing with just 93 body checks. They finished with a 119 shots blocked each and were one of the best defensive pairings in the VHL. Alex has a chance to take home the Sterling Labatte Trophy as top defenseman in the league. In goal, Skylar Rift had a great final season, finishing 2nd in both save percentage and goals against average, behind Remy LeBeau in both categories with a 92.9 save percentage and 1.85 goals against average. Rift notched 13 shutouts and 48 wins, the most in the league. He faced only 1675 shots but the Aidan Shaw Trophy should be between LeBeau and Rift.

With the retirement of Skylar Rift, Quebec City was in need of a starting goaltender to stay afloat as a competing team in the North American Conference. Earlier today, Pavel Koradek went out and acquired Tuomas Tukio from the rebuilding Helsinki Titans, a netminder that has been solid throughout his career during the regular season but has never been a great playoff performer, although he does have a Continental Cup. If Tukio can overcome that hurdle, the Quebec City Meute will once again be one of the favourites to win it all in Season 37.

Interview with Alexander Valiq:

Quebec City was expected to make it to the Continental Cup Finals in Season 36. How disappointing were the playoffs for the team?

It was definitely upsetting for everyone in the locker room not being able to go further. After losing the conference we could tell it wasn't going to be an easy playoff route, but making it to the conference finals is still an accomplishment in itself.

You came withing a point of notching 100 from the back end and played very physical and defensively sound. Are youi satisfied with that individual performance?

Yeah, I think it was an overall successful season individual season. I didn't eclipse 100 like I wanted to, but my numbers were fairly good considering the fact that it was a low scoring season all around for defensemen.

The Meute acquired a new starting goalie in Tuomas Tukio, do expect any more moves to come before the start of the season?

I wouldn't rule anything out. We still have a few guys to get extensions to but after that we'll just be filling in the nooks and crannies where we can. As far as the other teams go, there's probably a few things being finalized right now.

The North American Conference is shaping up to be very competitive in Season 37. How tough will it be for a team to make the playoffs?

It's nice to see a bigger number of teams looking to compete all at the same time. I'd say its a fair assumption Toronto will be one of those teams making it through, after that it's a pretty fair race between Seattle, Quebec, and NY for the other two remaining spots.

chparsons71@gmail.com

If you need help with the draft article, I'm in. If not, I will be writing about Quebec City for The Beat.

179

Express Derailed

I spent last week in New York City, covering the Americans hockey club and I had a blast while there. This time around, I am spending the week in a city with an abundance of history in Northwestern Germany, the city of Cologne. I will checking out the Cologne Cathedral for sure and testing some of the brew that is made in the city at the breweries. Enough about what I will be doing in my spare time, I am here to cover the Cologne Express hockey club. Season 36 was a weird one for the franchise who were expected to make a step forward this season, and unfortunately for them, that was not the case. For a considerable amount of the season, they were on the wrong side of the playoff cut line so they decided to sell some players at the trade deadline. Following that decision, the Express turned up their game and that resilient play earned them a spot into the playoffs and a meeting with the Helsinki Titans, a rival of Cologne.

Cologne's five on five play in Season 36 was average at best and probably would be best described as a bit below average. They finished the season, scoring 200 goals (6th), while allowing 176 goals against (T-5th). The special teams for the Express were not much better either, and I would not call them special. Their powerplay scored 44 times on 297 advantages for a 14.81% success rate (7th) and the penalty kill unit killed off 269 of 322 powerplays against, a penalty kill that was efficient 83.54% of the time. The team fired nearly 32 shots on goal each night (6th), and allowed just 28.5 against (5th), yet another average or below average statistic. Their face-off success was another element of the game that they were average at during the season, winning 52.28% of the draws (5th), Taking the body was the best part of Cologne's play, as they were able to deliver an average of 19.5 hits per night (3rd), although they were the second least disciplined team in the league, spending an average of 11.15 minutes in the penalty box each night.

The Express had a bright spot from a player at each position (forward, defense, goaltender) on the team. Up front, Kameron Taylor once again led the team on offense, finishing with 123 points (60 goals, 63 assists) and challenged for the goal scoring title. He finished 5 goals back on Helsinki Titans captain, Ethan Osborne who scored 65 on the season. On the blue line, Malcom Spud had a breakout season, scoring 17 goals and 72 assists (89 points) and he challenged for the assists title, finishing 4 back of Titans winger, Anatoli Zhumbayev who tallied 76 for the season. Spud also compiled 198 body checks and 129 shot blocks on the season. In goal, Evgeni Chekhov kept his team in games more often than not, stopping nearly 92 percent of the 1841 shots that were fired his way during the season. The Russian netminder allowed under 2.5 goals per game and posted 10 shutouts but the team in front of his was just not deep enough, permitting him to win oly 29 games on the season.

At the trade deadline, Cody Inko was dealt to Vasteras with a 3rd round pick for Jaden Button and a 1st rounder, followed up by Reggie Dunlop packing his bags and heading to Toronto with a 2nd round pick in exchange for Jamie Shetler, a 1st round pick and a pair of 2nd rounders. The club also made a few minor deals and it looked as though they were giving up on the season and getting ready to enter a rebuild. Things are not always what they seem though, as the Express went on a run and beat Vasteras out for the last playoff spot by just 3 points. Cologne's playoff appearance did not last long though, Helsinki disposing of them in 4 straight game for the sweep. The series was a lot closer than it looks, the only blowout coming in game 3 on a 7-1 Titans win. Game 2 was decided by 2 goals and games 1 and 4 were decided by a single goal, including a double overtime thriller in game 4. They put up a good fight but it just wasn`t good enough against the stronger Titans club and now Cologne will look forward to next season and beyond.

Interview with Evgeni Chekhov:

It was a very weird for Cologne. A team who played much better after dealing away some of their best players. How can this be explained?

ts hard to explain really. There is no logical reason we should have played better. I think it just comes down to chemistry. Something wasn't working for us with the pieces we had but after the trades things just began to mesh for us.

You had a very good season in the net for the Express. Are you satisfied with your play or what could have you done better?

I'm honestly not satisfied with my play, I personally wouldn't call it a good season. This was the season most people, including myself, expected me to push in as a top three goalie in the league. I personally don't think that happened. Some may say it comes down to the team around me but personally I think I just didn't perform my best. I guess I just wish I could have been more consistent. To go from shutting teams out to letting in 4 goals the next game just won't work.

It looks as though Cologne is headed for a rebuild. What does this mean for Evgeni Chekhov?

ts really hard to say what it means for me. In theory it means I could be traded like many of my former teammates. With the current market for goalies being basically limited to Quebec though it might be unlikely that I go anywhere right now. I'm just planning on rolling with the punches and seeing what management thinks is best.


It must have been tough to be swept in the opening round of the playoffs but most of the games were kept close. Are you satisfied with the team's effort in the series?

Surprisingly enough I am. Halfway through the season no one had even given us a chance at making the playoffs; doing so became our goal. Everything else was just a bonus as far as we were concerned. It was tough to go out in 4 games but we were outplayed and Helsinki deserved their wins. I'm still proud of our guys for even getting to that point.

Davos

Davos

"Express Derailed" for The Beat.

Great start boys. It's awesome to see me at the top of the scoring leaders Lets beat those pricks from Davos!

178

Americans Overhaul Thriving

After our stop in the capital city of Finland last week, The Beat will be back in North America this week. New York City is where i will be spending the week, covering the New York Americans. "The Big Apple" is home to one of the most storied sports arenas in the world, Madison Square Garden and it is only fitting that one of the most storied franchises in the VHL, the New York Americans play their home game in that venue. The Americans are in the middle of a rebuild and taking a look back at their season, you have to say it was a successful one for them. New York sat in the third and final playoff spot in the North American Conference for much of the season until they were knocked out by the surging Seattle Bears during the final days of the regular season. The Bears beat the Americans out by just five points for that final playoff spot and it has to be comforting for the New York management to see their club competing for a playoff spot this early in the rebuild.

Like any good young team, the New York Americans' offense was the best part of their game in Season 36, They ranked 5th in goals scored (221) and held the best powerplay percentage in the VHL (21.57%). The ranked 2nd in both shots fired on net per game (37.67 average), and body checks per game (20.10 average). On the flip side, their defensive numbers were one of the worst in the league, ranking 8th in goals allowed (243), and penalty killing percentage (82.17%). The New York Americans collected the 4th most penalty minutes in the league (745), while allowing the 3rd most shots on their own net (36.99 average). The face-off dot was also not a strong point for New York, ranking 9th in winning faceoffs (40.96%).

Rookie of the year and top defenseman candidate, Connor Low had a hell of a year on the blue line for the Americans, potting 19 goals and 64 assists for 83 points and ranking him 17th in league point scoring. He added a plus 11 rating, 188 penalty minutes, 288 body checks, and 178 shot blocks. Simon Tremblay was the top scoring forward for the Americans, finishing with 82 points (45 goals, 37 assists). He added a plus 8 rating with 35 penalty minutes, 77 hits, and 59 blocked shots. Rookie, Xin Xie Xiao also notched himself a admirable year, piling up 72 points in 72 games, 151 penalty minutes, a plus 12 rating, 366 hits, and 30 shot blocks. In goal, Brick Wahl was not so fortunate, facing the 3rd most shots (2200) and has to be brilliant on most nights for the Americans to have a chance to win. His 91% save percentage, ranked him 7th in the league while his over 3 goals allowed per game, ranked him 8th. He finished with a record of 25 wins, 30 losses in regulation time, and 5 overtime or shootout losses. He notched just 2 shutouts in 60 games played and finished in a tie for last in that category.

The rebuild in New York appears to be well ahead of schedule and with 3 of the first 4 first round selections in the upcoming Season 37 VHL Entry Draft, they are poised to improve significantly. Some moves via the trade market or attracting top tier free agents to come to New York could make the franchise even more ahead of schedule. Season 37 should be a good one for the Americans, and the young guns should make an appearance in the post season for the first time in 3 seasons. I anticipate the Americans to be back in as Continental Cup contenders very soon.

Interview with Brick Wahl:

You had a very tough season individually, playing in front of a very young defense. How do you shake that off and improve your game for next season?

I was fine.  Most goalies don't have seasons like that as rookies so I think I played quite well.  Nothing to shake off for me.  I am just looking to keep improving through consistent training and practice.

4-2 Quebec City.

177

Helsinki Taking A Step Back

The Beat heads back to Europe this week, following a stop in Seattle last week. The Helsinki Titans have owned the European Conference for the past three seasons prior to this one. That has not been the case this season with a new contender emerging in the form of the HC Davos Dynamo. Helsinki has been knocked off their throne atop the European Conference and will have to settle for second place with the Dynamo clinching the conference title and sitting 16 points up on the Titans. The likely opponent for Helsinki in the opening round of the Continental Cup Playoffs will be the Cologne Express, barring a meltdown from them. Cologne sits 8 points up on the Vasteras Iron Eagles for the final playoff spot with five games remaining on the schedule for Vasteras.

The season series between the Helsinki Titans and Cologne Express has been a tight one and should prove to be a great opening round playoff series. In 8 games played this season, the Titans have a record of 5 wins, 3 regulation losses, and a shootout loss versus the Express. Two of Helsinki's wins came via overtime and the Titans outscored the Express by three goals (21 to 18). Helsinki has owned the faceoff circle against the Express with a 57 percent success rate, but special teams have belonged to the Express. Cologne's penalty kill unit has killed off 90 percent of the powerplays against them and have scored on about 23 and a half percent of the powerplays given to them by the Titans. In the physical aspect of the game, the Express have outhit the Titans by about 50 body checks (153 to 104) but have been a lot less disciplined, taking about 80 more minutes in penalties (132 to 53). This undisciplined play could come back to bite them in the playoffs but it should prove to be a series for the ages and bring the rivalry between the two clubs to the forefront.

On the front end, Ethan Osborne and Anatoli Zhumbayev have taken the league by storm and dominating other teams night in, and night out, combining for an astounding 245 points. Osborne leads the VHL in goals (62), points (128), shots on goal (592), plus/minus (+46), game-tying goals (6), and hat-tricks (5). He also sits fourth in assists (66) and powerplay goals (13), second in faceoff percentage (65.14%), and third in game-winning goals (11). Zhumbayev leads the league in assists (74), plus/minus (+46), and shorthanded goals (2). He sits third in point scoring (117) and shots (525), fifth in goals (43), tenth in hits (254) and sixth in game-winning goals (8). After Osborne and Zhumbayev, production drops off significantly with Naomi Young notching 60 points, Al Wilson with 47, Jeevan Samuelsson with 29, and Walter Mitty with 23. On the blue line, Willie Weber has lead the way with 20 goals and 56 assists for a total of 76 points (4th among defensemen), 162 minutes in penalties, 188 body checks, and 113 shots blocked. He may not be Sterling Labatte Trophy material quite yet but he's getting there. After Weber, there is a big drop-off in point production again with Brandon Merritt netting 27 points, Tyler Owens with 9, and Michael Haan with 4. In goal, Tuomas Tukio has posted a record of 37 wins, 20 regulation losses, and 4 overtime/shootout losses. He has posted a 92 percent save percentage and a 2.30 goals against average with 4 shutouts. Tukio probably will not have the numbers to win an Aidan Shaw Trophy but has notched himself another solid campaign.

Interview with Anatoli Zhumbayev:

Davos

Quebec City

Seattle
Cologne

5-4 Davos.

"Helsinki Taking A Step Back"

3-1 Helsinki.

Riga

New York

Davos

Toronto

Playoffs are almost here. Time for us to go on a run.

176

Bad News Bears

This week "The Beat" will be covering the Seattle Bears. After a fun time in Sweden last week, I caught a long flight back to North America. I landed in Seattle, Washington just in time to catch a cab to the ShoWare Center, the venue where the Bears were playing a home game that night. Seattle is a very young team and it has been an up and down Season 36 for them. They still have a good shot at punching their ticket into the Continental Cup Playoffs and it will be a very exciting finish to the season for Bears fans everywhere.

Season 36 was supposed to be a season for Seattle where they made the jump from a rebuilding club to a playoff club. It has yet to be determined if that will be the case, but they have proved that they are a playoff contender at the very least. The Bears should have been a lock for the third and final playoff spot in the North American Conference with the Calgary Wranglers and New York Americans both in rebuild mode. That has not been the case thus far this season with the Americans surprising a lot of people and holding down that final playoff spot. A recent turnaround for the Bears have launched them to within a single point of New York (who hold a game in hand). With less than twenty games remaining on the regular season schedule, it should be a fight right to the end for that final spot.

Seattle's record sits at 23 wins, 28 regulation losses, and 4 overtime or shootout losses, totaling 50 points for the club after 55 games played. The goal differential for the Bears is on the verge of become positive, sitting at a minus seven as we speak (143 goals for, 150 goals against). They rank 7th in the league with those 143 goals for, as well as 7th in the goals against department with the 150 that they have allowed. The powerplay unit has been fairly good, sitting at 5th in the league, scoring on about sixteen and a half percent of chances. The penalty kill unit is whole different story and has been awful, sitting at 8th in the league at just over an 82 percent success rate. The Bears are right around the league average in hits per game (18.47) and faceoff percentage (51.72%) but have been one of the most undisciplined teams in the league (10.73 PIM per game), and that could be cause for concern.

Up front, Sebastian Ball Jr. has been the Bears best and most consistent point producer, without a doubt. He has posted 38 goals and 32 assists for 70 points and sits at 9th in league scoring. After that, the offense drops off significantly from the forward position with Mikey Blade putting up 49 points, Giygas putting up 48 points, and Yumalatopinto putting up 31 points. OIn defense, the Bears have two players with 50+ points in the form of Karsten Olsen (54) and Jack Sound (50). Sound has also been a beast in taking the body, throwing 240 body checks while Olsen has thrown 182 of his own. James Lefevre leads the team in shot blocks with 95 while Gregory Glass has 88, and Karsten Olsen has 85. In goal, Steven Smyl has not been great, posting a save percentage of just over 90% and allowing 2.60 goals per game. He has one of the lowest shot totals in the league (1362) and has only three shutouts to his name. Expect a big push from the Bears during this final stretch of games to vault themselves into the playoffs. If Smyl can amp up his game a bit, I see no reason why Seattle cannot be a playoff team this season.

Interview with Steven Smyl:

Personally, you cannot be happy with your statistics thus far this season. What do you need to do to help your team win more games?

You're definitely right. I was expecting a lot better going into this season. I have been working hard every week on the ice trying to get better and something just doesn't seem to be clicking, that or the players just know me too well already. I've had just about the same total practice hours as Bagelface, but he (in my opinion) is the goalie of the season. Something obviously isn't right with what I'm focusing on, but as long as I keep giving it my best, we'll get there. I'm not going to let this discourage me.

The race for the final playoff spot in the North American Conference is a tight one. What do the Bears need to do to ensure that they are the team that claims that final spot?

We know that the race is getting pretty serious. We have been neck-and-neck with the Americans all season. When you look at the rest of the schedule though, things are looking pretty nice in our favour. We don't have the strongest opponents coming up so as long as we show up and give it our all, I can easily see us making the playoffs while sending a message to the rest of the NA Conference.

The Bears penalty kill unit has been well below average this season. Is that expected with such a young team or can it be remedied?

We're still adjusting to the competition level in this league, and with the penalties we have been drawing, well it's not too shocking. We have had some games where we are taking up to six penalties a game. Discipline is definitely something we're going to need to work on to compete with the rest of the league, and I think that comes with experience in the VHL. Give it a bit of time and I'm sure the problem will be gone.

Sebastian Ball Jr. has shone brightly for Seattle this season. Where would the team be without him?

Ball has been one of the hottest skaters all season for us, and without him I don't think we would be where we are. He's one of the more experienced guys compared to guys like Blade and I, so his leadership in the locker room is definitely something that keeps the morale up. He never lets loses keep him down and is often starting plays up on the ice. He has been great for us all season and deserves every bit of recognition he's getting.

"Bad News Bears" for The Beat.