Nighthawks Among League Leaders

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Nighthawks Among League Leaders

 

After a surprising S77 that saw the Malmo Nighthawks sneak into the play-in round of the playoffs, many analysts suggested that success was a fluke and would not do as well in S78 after the mid-season trades of Chris Hylands and Marshall James Frostbeard. Well, a third of the way into the season and Malmo is again in a play-in spot as they fight for the 5^th seed in the European Conference. While the Nighthawks have been receiving contributions from a determined roster, there are a few players who have been leading the league or near the top of numerous statistical categories.

 

In a somewhat surprising off-season move, Warsaw shipped breakout winger Muffbeav to Malmo for picks and the American has made himself at home in Sweden. Up until recently being overtaken by Chicago’s Lee Xin, Muffbeav had been leading the VHL in goals for much of the season and is still second with 21 goals through 25 games – four off his career-high of 25 he scored last season. He is also leading the league in shots by a decent margin with 218. His 38 points has him tied for fourth in scoring and has been the dominant replacement for Hylands that Malmo was hoping for. He is also among leaders for power play goals with 6 and a career-high 4 game winners.

 

At the top of the VHL hit list (giving not taking) is the snarl to Muffbeav’s snipe, first-year captain, Druss Deathwalker. It’s no secret what Deathwalker’s desire is – to win and to hit. And he’s been doing a lot of hitting. After finishing 7^th in the league in hits in S77, Malmo’s captain has been leading the league in hits for much of the season and currently has 120 which puts him on pace for 345. He faces stiff competition from Riga’s Addison McLaren, but he’s never been one to shy away from a rival. He’s also among league leader in – not surprisingly – penalty minutes with 75.

 

His teammate and rugged defender Randy Marsh is currently second in the league in that category, his 103 penalty minutes only 4 of off the leader, LA’s Ove Dyrdahl. Marsh is every bit as gritty as Deathwalker and is also on the leaderboards for hits with 104 and shots blocked with 67 but has provided a fair bit of offense as well with 26 points and a plus-11.

 

Other Nighthawks who are among the leaders of the VHL are veteran defenseman Viktor Alexei Kamenov who has been jockeying for the blocked shots lead with Calgary’s Cowboy Prout and New York’s Kosmo Kramerev all season but is currently in third with 76. Sophomore winger Brendan Telker is also high on the shots leaderboard with 185. Rookie blueliner Tui Sova who was selected in the first round of the S78 draft has slowly been climbing the rookie scoring ladder with 11 points. Center Kevin Sterk is leading the Nighthawks in plus/minus with a plus-12 which is tied for 5^th and also has a hat trick. Starting goalie Artem Tretiak has been a rock between the pipes in spite of facing a barrage of rubber many nights. He is second among starters with a sparkling 0.930 save percentage and is also in the top half of starters with a 3.04 GAA.

 

As the season progresses, it will be interesting to watch whether Malmo can stay in the playoff race. With these players leading the way and the other Nighthawks laying it on the line every night, that shouldn’t be a problem.

 

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Edited June 1, 2021 by animal74

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