They call him PAUL

[Mr_Hatter 1,608]

Now entering his third season, the Duke Paul Atreides has found himself at the forefront of the Moscow Menace team, along with his trusty right-hand man Duncan Idaho. Though a few truly veteran players remain on the squad, such as Cole Newhook and Pietro Angellini, Atreides and Idaho are the top talent at this stage; the responsibility to win games starts with them. It is a situation the young Duke is not unfamiliar with, as he has been forced into the spotlight numerous times before, and has thus far proved equal to the task each time. To start off this season, however, he is sitting a bit off the pace, with 4 goals and 11 assists in 16 games, just shy of a point per game. Considering he had 76 in 72 last season, you really don't want to hit a mid-career slump this early. What's more worrying, however, is his lack of concentration in front of net so far, as he has 4 goals, at which pace he is only projected to hit 18 goals, which is less than half as many as he had in the prior season. Even fewer than his rookie campaign that saw him on the all VHL rookie team and in contention for Rookie of the Year award, where he at least broke 30 goals. 

 

 

That being said, there is a lot of time left in the season to make an improvement, and realistically, the Menace aren't looking to truly compete for another season or two, at which point 1st overall pick and future franchise goaltender Papa Emeritus should have developed enough to help bring the Menace into contention. Nonetheless, its always worrying when a star player isn't performing. The questions inevitably come up: what's wrong, is there an issue within the team, why is he only beautiful instead of heart-wrenchingly gorgeous today? Despite some of the worrying signs early in the season, the GM of the Menace saw fit to agree to a contract extension with House Atreides, extending both the Duke and Duncan Idaho through Season 82, with an additional player option for Season 83. Really, that's all you need to see to get an understanding of the level of trust that the Menace front-office holds in the two stars. Along with the rest of the talented young core this Moscow team has managed to bring together, the boys in yellow are going to be a force to be reckoned with in the coming seasons. 

MOSCOW MOSCOW MOSCOW

[Spartan 4,402]

16 hours ago, Mr_Hatter said:

is there an issue within the team, why is he only beautiful instead of heart-wrenchingly gorgeous today?

Oh don't lie to yourself, you're always heart-wrenchingly gorgeous