Halifax and Las Vegas of the VHLM swap prospects: A Breakdown

[Kairi 31]

Two young guns of the VHLM have been swapped, giving the Las Vegas Aces and the Halifax 21st a new look on the ice for the rest of the season. 

 

24 games into the VHLM regular season, the Halifax 21st and the Las Vegas Aces have come to terms with a trade that swaps two bright young guns that can hopefully propel each team to the top of the standings. While the Aces will be receiving the physical defenseman of the future in Bobby Rockwell, Halifax will be getting a young, brooding centerman in john your door. From the outside, it looks like each team got what they were looking for in this trade. 

 

Let’s break it all down and see what this trade will mean for each team now, and in the future. 

 

First, the Las Vegas Aces will be acquiring the services of Irishman Bobby Rockwell, an undersized but physical defenseman who has looked good at times, but shaky in others. Rockwell prioritizes the defensive end far more than the offensive end and has made his game look rather one dimensional at times. With 24 games under his belt so far in his career, the Irishman has put up three points and a –12 while switching between second and third line minutes which, while doesn’t look too pretty on the scoresheet, does look a little nicer when considering the 4-19-1 record of his previous team. His 31 hits and 10 blocked shots is the cherry on top for an up-and-coming defenseman who is trying to make a name for himself in the VHLM as the physical sparkplug teams seek to raise their club to the next level. Seeing as Rockwell is still young, the main thing he will need to do is improve his ability to shut down opposing attackers more effectively. Losses resulting from tight games have been a staple of the Halifax 21st's recent games and the Las Vegas Aces are no stranger to them either. Though many of their games have been blow-outs one way or another, there have been a handful of games that have come down to the wire and Rockwell will need to step up and prove himself as the reliable defenseman who will keep opponents off the scoreboard. This was something the Irishman was tasked with during his stint in Halifax and while he was able to do them often, wasn’t able to produce enough to bring them more than 4 wins this season. Still, adding a young defenseman with high potential does look like it will help the Aces pull in those tougher matchups and keep games close when needed.  

 

"Before the trade even happened, my AGM Mubble had been doing research on VHLM players’ development habits throughout the season,” Las Vegas GM AJ explained in the press conference after the trade, “He let me know that Bobby has been improving well over the average player and thought would be a good add to the team if we could get him. Halifax’s GM had an interest in John and was looking for a trade, so I took this opportunity to grab Bobby.” 

 

“It’s an exciting time,” Rockwell said when he was met with media as he got off his flight from Halifax, “I loved Halifax and everyone there, but I think it’s a good thing I’ve been traded. They needed some more firepower in the offensive end and I wasn’t producing the offense they needed to win games. With this trade, they got what they were looking for and as much as I didn’t want to leave, the staff there do what they have to do.”

 

The biggest question will be how the Aces will utilize Rockwell in their lineups going forward. The team’s defense depth has a good number of rookies who have already proven themselves worthy of a spot. Defensively, Rockwell has put up solid numbers with Halifax, but does not bring much to the table in terms of offense. This might hinder his minutes and may see him coming in and out of the lineup, skimming third line defensive paring minutes every few games. While Vegas doesn’t need an offensive defenseman with their current firepower on their forward lines, it will be a positive if Rockwell is able to help produce some points and may end up being what decides how many minutes he is given. Rockwell was used to playing night in and night out during his tenure in Halifax and it will be interesting to see how he fares with the new environment and the competitiveness it brings when it comes to ice time. 

 

“I don’t really know yet,” Rockwell replied when he was asked about his new role in Vegas, “It’s not really for me to say. The Aces are a strong team and there are a lot of solid defensemen in the lineup. I know that first-hand after facing off with them a handful of times already. What I do know though, is that I’m going to continue to work hard and do what I do best and that’s play solid defense. I’ve heard the coaching staff is great here and I think my development will be accelerated once I get used to the place. As long as I continue to improve, playing time will come.” 

 

On the other side of the trade are the Halifax 21st and the acquisition of forward john your door, the 6’8 center coming from the United Kingdom. Known by his teammates in Vegas as JYD, john your door is a well-rounded forward that has looked promising so far in the VHLM season. After 18 games played in the western conference, he has a solid 2 points and has been a great depth option on his previous team, often picking up fourth line minutes. Halifax’s recent run of many one goal games may be coming to an end with this new addition, seeing as this offensive-oriented centerman can be a sparkplug they were looking for to bolster their offensive end. While he has looked a little shaky in his start in the VHLM, there is no doubt he is a future star in the league. Regular spectators of the VHLM have seen flashes of brilliance in JYD’s playmaking and finishing ability and given more minutes, Halifax will find a dependable offensive threat in the young UK native. 

 

What the 21st will be looking for from JYD is immediate impact though. Since he is still relatively new to the league, fans have not seen his full potential just yet and the young forward will need to show his mettle as the missing link Halifax was looking for. Fans of the 21st will most likely be seeing JYD slotting into either the third or fourth line trio. Halifax has been in a tough rut lately and will be needing JYD to step up as fast as possible. 

 

Moreover, the trade will also make some room for the other depth forwards in the Las Vegas system to play more minutes and bring some consistency to their forward lines while Halifax will be looking to add another defenseman in Rockwell’s absence to slot into their third line defensive paring. Who they choose to add may decide which team has come out on top after this trade. 

 

Since two games have passed since this trade was announced, we can already see some early returns as well. 

 

For the Las Vegas Aces, they have come out 2-0 with a tight 4-3 win against Halifax and a dominant 6-2 win against the second place Mississauga Hounds. Against his old team, Bobby Rockwell logged just under 12 minutes and didn’t look as effective as Vegas fans were hoping, only putting up a single shot and a –1. In his second game, it was no different, laying the body once and other than that, a clean score sheet full of goose eggs. 

 

When asked about how it felt to play against his former team, Rockwell laughed. “You know, it was fun. Got to see familiar faces and I have a pretty good understanding of how they like to play. The game was a little tight, but that’s how it goes for them. I’m just glad we came through with the victory.” 

 

In the case of john your door, while the team still dealt with the narrow defeats fans were used to after a 4-3 loss against the Aces and a 3-2 loss against the Mexico City Kings, JYD found the back of the net for the first time this year in his second game as a member of the 21st. Finding himself as the third string centerman on the ice, it looks like he has found his footing rather quickly on his new team. There is no doubt 21st fans are enjoying the immediate returns the UK native is bringing. 

 

“Despite the losses, we’re very happy that John was able to get that monkey off his back early with the team,” Halifax assistant GM JardyB10 commented in their press conference after the game against the Kings, “He’s a talented player with lots of potential and we’re hoping there’s more to come for the rest of the season.” 

 

We tried to reach out to JYD for comment as well, but he fled the press conference early along with a bunch of his teammates, most likely to celebrate getting that “monkey of his back” as JardyB10 would put it. 

 

All in all, it looks like a good trade. While short term gains were bigger for the Halifax 21st, both parties have gotten what they were looking for and both john your door and Bobby Rockwell will most likely play a key role in their respective teams' future successes. 

 

Thank you's to @JardyB10 and @ajwllmsn for the comments! Wouldn't have been able to hit that 1.5k words without you!

1616 words

Claiming for weeks ending on Dec 12th, 19th, and 26th

[MubbleFubbles 1,288]

Terrific article @Kairi! Like AJ said, I was very impressed with how well you were earning TPE and you're certainly continuing to show that with this piece, look forward to having you around the locker room and on the ice for the Aces! 

[AJW 2,155]

Great work @Kairi!!

[JardyB10 4,865]

This was a great read man! I'm still we weren't able to see your development through to the end of the season, but I'm thrilled that you've already had near as many wins in your first sim as you did with us the rest of the season.

[Shindigs 1,771]

10 hours ago, Kairi said:

While Vegas doesn’t need an offensive defenseman with their current firepower on their forward lines, it will be a positive if Rockwell is able to help produce some points and may end up being what decides how many minutes he is given.

If only there was a product that could help Defensive Defensemen with this very issue. But wait, there IS such a product. And since your AGM @MubbleFubbles is a proud member of #TeamClue I'm sure he would be happy to apply some Clue Glue™ to your stick, your hair and any other place that you might need to elevate to the next level. Given some time and tutelage under #TeamClue I have no doubt that Rockwell will end up with the type of killer offense that will have you yelling "it was Bobby at the blue line with literally all 6 weapons at once, how is this even legal?!".

[Kairi 31]

4 hours ago, Shindigs said:

If only there was a product that could help Defensive Defensemen with this very issue. But wait, there IS such a product. And since your AGM @MubbleFubbles is a proud member of #TeamClue I'm sure he would be happy to apply some Clue Glue™ to your stick, your hair and any other place that you might need to elevate to the next level. Given some time and tutelage under #TeamClue I have no doubt that Rockwell will end up with the type of killer offense that will have you yelling "it was Bobby at the blue line with literally all 6 weapons at once, how is this even legal?!".

Um... Am i allowed to ask where you get Clue Glue™ from? 

[Shindigs 1,771]

9 minutes ago, Kairi said:

Um... Am i allowed to ask where you get Clue Glue™ from? 

Just ask your AGM. He's got a stash. In a more serious note, the change that I justified with "Bo put Clue Glue™ on his stick" was just dumping 30 TPE in passing over night as I had a bunch of Career TPE and a new week roll over at once. So he went from like 40 to 70 overnight and started getting more points (and significantly less turnovers...usually) So it's a defensive stat that just happens to give him offense. At least that's how I view it.

[Kairi 31]

Claiming week of Dec 19th.

[Kairi 31]

Claiming week of Dec 26th.

[Rhynex Entertainment 478]

Excellent read! A very well written article. It is very tough writing long articles! Very good sentence structure for easy read. Not sure what it was like 3 weeks ago, but now LVA has a log jam in the back end  Keep up the good work! 9.5/10