The Menace's new faces

[Seabass 593]

Hello VHL!

 

Today I'll be focusing the subject of this week's media spot on the Menace's new blood. That's right I'm talking about our new faces to this season whether it be rookies making their VHL debuts, players who have been traded to the team or seasoned veterans that have been around the VHL for year and have signed on during the Unrestricted Free Agent (UFA) season. 

 

The Moscow Menace last season didn't do all too well as they spent most of their season near the bottom of the VHL standings. At the end of the year they had the honors of participating in the end of season VHL lottery tournament after missing out on the playoffs by five points. The team failed at finding any consistency on the ice and would let in too many goals against at times. However, that is expected considering the team also featured a young core of players and a total of seven rookies on the roster. Considering this team's inexperience I think they actually did pretty well, they only finished 5 points shy of a wildcard slot and were able to score some big goals. Their downfall was they just let in more goals than they scored. The GM was tasked with trying to solve this problem and improve his team further this offseason and continue building his team around his two stars, Paul Atreides and Duncan Idaho. 

 

The GM made acquiring a defender one of his top priorities for this offseason and it seemed like he had found it right away in a deal with the D.C. Dragons. In the deal the Menace gave up their starting netminder, Kevin Malone to the Dragons in return for a 2nd round pick and defender Alex Letang. Letang was Spartan's returning player that had previously been drafted by the Menace in S72 and played 4 seasons as member of the Menace before moving on to the Dragons in S77. In the end it made a lot of sense, the Menace improved their roster by acquiring a talented and familiar blue liner and considering they had Andrew Bowman who had great numbers in S78 to fall back on in net so this seemed like a great deal to make. However, the GM had somebody else specifically in mind that he desperately wanted to add to his team.

 

Papa Emeritus

@Beketov

 

As soon a Letang was reacquired he was off yet again to another team as Moscow had decided to trade him to the Los Angeles Stars in order to move up 4 positions in the draft from the 5th overall selection to the 1st overall selection of the S79 VHL Entry Draft. Seemed like a steep price to pay at the time just to move up 4 spots but Spartan had someone specific in mind for that first overall selection and he went ahead and drafted goaltender, Papa Emeritus of the S78 Founder's Cup Winning Yukon Rush. Emeritus backstopped the Rush to a VHLM best record of 57-11-4 last year and posted a respectable .892 save percentage. He seems at his best and thrives on the big games. He brings a winning resume, not only did he elevate his game in the Rush's trip to the cup but he also managed to played very well in the World Juniors and scored himself a gold medal at the event beating out me and my Canadian Team (fuck you Bek). So yeah this guy is clutch af and will be a very important core piece for the Menace moving forward in their chase for another championship. Keep in mind goalies usually take more time for a team to develop and Emeritus may have to spend more time playing behind veteran goaltender and learn the ropes before we see him backstopping this team to what is hopefully another Continental Cup.

 

Now lets move on the S79 UFA Frenzy. The Menace were poised to win big that day either way as they didn't really lose any prominent players after S78 ended. They only managed to lose winger Owen Taylor who only scored 6 points after going inactive at the beginning of his rookie season and defenseman Bahram Kamkar who retired half way through his rookie campaign. Neither of them were really members of the team by the end of the year so no big loss there. 

 

Silas LeFriend

@yevty

 

Due to being still weak on the blueline after the departure of Letang the team's big and only free agent signing this year was defender Silas LeFriend who was previously a member of the Prague Phantoms for 3 seasons after being drafted by the team in the 3rd round of the S75 Entry Draft. LeFriend came to Moscow after having a poor season with the Phantoms that seen him only posting up 11 points for the year. That was mostly due to being under utilized by the Phantoms as he played the least amount of minutes on the team that year as he fell down the Phantoms depth chart since coming into the league as a rookie in S76. Before getting his ice time cut in S78 he was actually a good two way defender posting two 30+ point seasons and going +16 in S77. So far LeFriend has been a great addition to the team and not only had LeFriend returned to form but I'd like to say he's been playing the best hockey of his career here in Moscow. He's already scored 11 points this season, which is only 6 shy of him reaching his last season's point total despite this season not even being close to being over. He's also been steady and responsible in his own end and has thrown his body in front of a ton of shots. This guy was seriously a solid low-key pickup by @Spartan to fill a hole he had in his roster.

 

 

Jaromir Lemiuex

@hockeyis66

 

Lemiuex is the only rookie to make his debut for the Menace this year else than backup goaltender Papa Emeritus and already looks to be a steal of a pick so far. Lemiuex was selected 18th overall in the S78 Entry Draft and has absolutely torn it up offensively in whatever league he's been in since being drafted by the team. Last season in the VHLM he hit triple digits in points ( 108 ) and was among the league's top 10 scorers. He was also among the top 10 players in plus/minus (+48) and he accomplished all that while playing mostly on the Yukon Rush's 2nd line. Like Emeritus, Lemiuex adds some winning pedigree to this team as he too managed to both win a Founder's Cup and a WJC Gold Medal. He seems to have transitioned to the VHL very well and has even worked his way up to the Menace's 1st forward line. He currently has 5 goals and 22 points in 27 games and his been one of the team's best offensive contributors out of the gate this season. He's currently also 3rd in rookie scoring and has become an early contender for the Christian Stolzschweiger Trophy. Lets hope the kid can stay hot!

 

Aurelien Moreau

@Frank

 

Literally as I was writing this media spot Moscow completed another big trade bringing in one last new face to this year's Menace team, defender Aurelien Moreau. Moreau was acquired for a 1st round pick in S80 and a 2nd round pick in S81 and has immediately committed himself to Moscow for a good chunk of his career, signing a huge 4 year extension after the trade. This is now the 2nd time Moreau has been moved this season. During the offseason, he was traded along with Vick Fairchild to Toronto from Helsinki in hopes to help turn Toronto into a competitive team. That obviously hasn't worked out as Toronto is at the bottom of the North American Conference and this most recent trade was a way for Toronto to recoup some of the cost they paid to first acquire the pair. Moreau had a solid start for the Legion posting up 19 points in 24 games and wasn't no slouch the season before in Helsinki putting up 60+ points. Moscow is adding a very capable defender who is responsible in his own zone and has confidence while handling the puck. This gives Moscow another defender to go to for offense and a powerplay partner for Hard Markinson. I think this move gives Moscow a much better chance at improving their 10-14-3 record and perhaps challenge for a playoff spot at the end of the year but Moreau not only helps the team now but figures to be a important piece in the future as well. We'll have to keep an eye out and see how well Moreau's transition to the Menace turns out.

 

I want to welcome all our new players to Moscow and wish all the best of luck to my new team mates. I hope to eventually share some success stories with you guys in the future and i'm looking forward to get to know you guys.

 

 

Other Mentions: @OrbitingDeath  @Mr_Hatter @STZ

 

1500+ words

 

 

 

 

 

[BOOM 8,846]

Good looking team in Moscow with some great users. Enjoy your season. 

[Birdman 59]

Review: I really like how every player gets their own color for  their section. It really gives the article a visual pop. The only downside is that I had a little trouble reading Emeritus' and Lemiuex's sections due to the lack of contrast on my laptop. I really like in depth review of how they got to the team and what makes them stand apart. There is a good variety and none of the sections feels too repetitive. Solid 8/10 from me.

[Seabass 593]

Claiming week 2/3

[Seabass 593]

claiming week 3/3