Andrew Su HOF Article

[Spartan 4,005]

Position: C

Birthplace: Edmonton, Canada

Height: 6'0"

Weight: 190 lbs

Jersey Number: 7

Drafted: S72 Round 2, Pick 13 (Vancouver)

Username: @Da_Berr

 

Few people expect a 2nd round draft pick to develop into one of the best forwards of a generation, but Andrew Su always exceeded expectations and made history in the process. Even with rumors of early retirement swirling around the draft that Su may retire early, Vancouver took a chance on the young center in the S72 draft and was rewarded with four 100+ point seasons, a championship, and a two-time MVP winner along with many other individual awards. Coming off of an era of low scoring, Su seemingly broke through and set the stage for the high scoring mid-S70’s into the S80’s, becoming the first player since S70 to record over 700 points in a career. At the end of the day, Andrew Su might just have been one of the best players of the VHL decade, and one who will be entrenched in the history books due to the immense success he had in the league.

 

Career Stats

Regular Season
576GP / 301G / 412A / 713P / +109 / 2971 SHT / 260 PIM / 396HIT / 234 SB / 41 GWG / 74 PPG / 2 SHG

Postseason
69GP / 28G / 43A / 71P / +12 / 375 SHT / 72 PIM / 58 HIT / 25 SB / 0 GWG / 7 PPG / 0 SHG

 

Career Awards

(S71) Founder’s Cup (OTT)
(S74) Continental Cup (VAN)
(S76) Mike Szatkowski Trophy (VAN)
(S76) Scotty Campbell Trophy (VAN)
(S77) Brett Slobodzian Trophy (VAN)
(S77) Alexander Beketov Trophy (VAN)
(S77) Scotty Campbell Trophy (VAN)
(S77) Mike Szatkowski Trophy (VAN)

 

 

S71 Ottawa

Regular Season
73GP / 51G / 48A / 99P / -3 / 340 SHT / 38 PIM / 107 HIT / 67 SB / 6 GWG / 3 PPG

Postseason
14GP / 7G / 13A / 20P / 0 / 76 SHT / 6 PIM / 23 HIT / 4 SB / 0 GWG / 2 PPG

 

In Andrew Su’s debut VHLM season, he chose to sign with one of the favorites to win the Founder’s Cup - the Ottawa Lynx. Despite playing behind three of the eventual top point scorers in the VHLM, Su managed to carve out a role of his own in his first foray into VHL-affiliated hockey. Playing alongside Iangenere Risteneen and Izzy Valencia on the second line, the wide-eyed rookie scored 51 goals and notched a total of 99 points. Su and the Lynx would continue their dominant streak, starting and finishing their playoffs with sweeps, dropping only 2 games total in the playoffs. Su pitched in as much as you can hope for from a rookie, with 20 points in 14 games to secure the first piece of hardware of his soon-to-be legendary VHL career.

 

 

S72 Vancouver

Regular Season
72GP / 9G / 10A / 19P / -2 / 110 SHT / 33 PIM / 38 HIT / 16 SB / 0 GWG / 0 PPG

 

Despite a mild pre-draft scare where rumors circled that Su may leave the VHL entirely, the Vancouver Wolves managed to pick one of the top prospects of the VHL draft with the first pick of the 2nd round, 13th overall. Vancouver was a young team in S72, featuring rookies Joe Proto, Jungkok, and Gino DiGiannantonio alongside Su, and the team struggled as such - finishing with 69 points in the NA conference, barely missing on the playoffs by 1 point. Su struggled in his debut season, posting just 19 points in 72 games mostly playing alongside Joe Proto and Dalton Wilcox. Regardless, all experience is good experience and Su had shown enough potential for the Wolves to continue to build a team around him. 

 

 

S73 Vancouver

Regular Season
72GP / 34G / 43A / 77P / +3 / 363 SHT / 32 PIM / 38 HIT / 31 SB / 2 GWG / 10 PPG

Playoffs
5GP / 0G / 1A / 1P / -3 / 20 SHT / 4 PIM / 10 HIT / 1 SB / 0 GWG / 0 PPG

 

With a season of experience under his belt and a disappointing end to the S72 season, Su went into S73 looking to help Vancouver make the playoffs. With the addition of one of the top defensive prospects of Micah Adrienne and adding on veteran defenseman Griff Manzer, the Wolves were able to make the playoffs as the fourth seed. Su took a major step forward, improving from 19 total points in S72 to 77 points in S73. Clearly a season learning from veteran superstar Brock Louth paid off, as Su broke a point per game in just his second VHL season. In the first playoffs of the new expansion format, Vancouver found themselves facing off against the D.C. Dragons in the wild card round. Su seemingly faced his own share of playoff jitters, recording just 1 assist in 5 games as the Wolves were eliminated.

 

 

S74 Vancouver

Regular Season
72GP / 44G / 56A / 100P / +29 / 444 SHT / 36 PIM / 67 HIT / 34 SB / 7 GWG / 8 PPG / 2 SHG

Playoffs
19GP / 9G / 13A / 22P / +6 / 51 SHT / 2 PIM / 7 HIT / 1 SB / 0 GWG / 1 PPG

 

S74 may have been the turning season in Andrew Su’s career. In just his third season, he recorded his first 100 point season, notching 44 goals and 56 assists. Su’s efforts alongside captain Jeff Downey and superstar Brock Louth helped the Wolves go 43-20-9, finishing in first place in the NA Conference. Despite being the anchor of the team’s second line, Su showed just how underrated he was, leading the way for the next generation of superstars to take over the league. The Wolves met the Dragons for a second straight season in the playoffs, this time with the Wolves taking the series win, and then advancing to a tight 7 game series with Toronto where they would eventually end up victorious. In the finals against Helsinki, the series was split 2-2 after the first four games, but Vancouver would take the next two, along with a 2 point game 6 from Su to win the Continental Cup - the first VHL hardware in Andrew Su’s career. 

 

 

S75 Vancouver

Regular Season
72GP / 43G / 63A / 106P / +27 / 450 SHT / 58 PIM / 79 HIT / 25 SB / 6 GWG / 8 PPG

Playoffs
7GP / 2G / 3A / 5P / -2 / 51 SHT / 2 PIM / 7 HIT / 1 SB / 0 GWG / 1 PPG

 

With both Jeff Downey and Brock Louth departing the team after the S74 championship season, Vancouver needed both a new leader and a new face of the franchise. Coming off a hundred point season, it was clear that the homegrown talent, Andrew Su, was ready to step up into big shoes. Named captain of the team and also promoted to first line center, Su continued his fantastic production despite playing against top competition. Playing alongside Onde Sandstrom and sophomore Gregg Stallion, Su scored 43 goals and 63 assists for a total of 106 points, continuing his trend of increasing his point totals each season. The Wolves narrowly missed out on first place in the NA, falling 4 points short to the Victory Cup winning Calgary Wranglers. In the playoffs, the Wolves ran into the red hot Dragons yet again - a team that finished the regular season on an 8-1-1 run. In a hard fought 7 game series, the Dragons got their revenge over the prior year’s defeat, eliminating the Wolves and holding Su to just 2 goals and 3 assists.

 

 

S76 Vancouver

Regular Season
72GP / 47G / 74A / 121P / +20 / 483 SHT / 43 PIM / 84 HIT / 37 SB / 10 GWG / 14 PPG

Playoffs
9GP / 5G / 2A / 7P / +2 / 50 SHT / 15 PIM / 8 HIT / 7 SB / 0 GWG / 1 PPG

 

Not content to settle with just playoff appearances, Vancouver acquired the former first overall selection in Andrew Su’s S72 draft, SS Hornet in an effort to add another level of firepower to their roster. Despite the addition, it was clear that Su remained the face of the franchise - and performed as such on the ice. Su sniffed a 2 point per game pace, scoring 47 goals and 74 assists for a total of 121 points in 72 games, tying for first in the league for point scoring and receiving his first Mike Szatkowski trophy. For the fourth straight season, the Wolves faced off against the Dragons in the playoffs, winning handily in a quick 5 game series. One of the recent expansion teams, the Chicago Phoenix, shocked the league with a 4 game sweep of the Wolves team most predicted would be the favorites for the championship. Su struggled as per his usual lofty standards, recording only 7 points in 9 games, failing to elevate his team past Chicago as he had done for the Wolves organization all season. Despite the playoff loss, his superhuman efforts resulted in the fifth year forward winning the Scotty Campbell MVP Trophy.

 

 

S77 Vancouver

Regular Season
72GP / 47G / 73A / 120P / +8 / 475 SHT / 43 PIM / 84 HIT / 37 SB / 10 GWG / 14 PPG 

Playoffs
4GP / 0G / 4A / 4P / -1 / 24 SHT / 0 PIM / 1 HIT / 0 SB / 0 GWG / 0 PPG

 

Going into S77, Vancouver had cause for concern - the team lost both SS Hornet and forward Venus Thightrap, leaving just Andrew Su and a handful of other homegrown talent to then continue the pursuit for another championship. Hurting the cause was also the loss of starting goalie Jimmy Spyro, leaving Markus Emerson Jr between the pipes for S77. With the loss of so much talent, the team seemed to need yet another MVP-esque performance from Andrew Su. And MVP performance they received, with Su topping 100 points for the fourth straight season, solely leading the league in points and assists as well. Despite the superhuman efforts that merited Su the Beketov, Szatkowski, Campbell and the Slobo MVP as voted by the players, Vancouver just squeaked into the playoffs as the 5th seed in the NA and were eliminated in 4 games by the LA stars in the wild card round. However, this season cemented Andrew Su as one of the best forwards of the era, amassing an impressive collection of individual hardware and leading the league in points in back to back seasons.

 

 

S78 Calgary

Regular Season
72GP / 36G / 46A / 82P / +6 / 316 SHT / 14 PIM / 18 HIT / 32 SB / 5 GWG / 15 PPG

Playoffs
7GP / 4G / 5A / 9P / +3 / 27 SHT / 0 PIM / 2 HIT / 3 SB / 0 GWG / 1 PPG

 

With Vancouver just barely stumbling into the playoffs in S77, Vancouver management decided it was time to make some changes to their roster. Su was the first domino to fall, being sent along with VAN’s S78 1st rounder to Calgary in exchange for Sheldon Juniper and CGY’s S78 1st and 3rd round selections as well. With Calgary, Su who was approaching his twilight years, no longer needed to be the sole performer on the team. Captain Luke Thornton had established himself as one of the better wingers in the league, and the Wranglers team was well rounded, eliminating the need for a sole standout member. The depth showed, with 15 players recording points in the season, and 8 players topping 50 points. Su didn’t reach the 100 point plateau for the first time since S73, but maintained his point per game pace with an 82 point season. The Wranglers headed to playoffs with the 3rd seed, but eventually fell in a tight 7 game series to the Seattle Bears with Su recording 9 points.

 

 

S79 Seattle

Regular Season
72GP / 41G / 47A / 88P / +18 / 330 SHT / 7 PIM / 28 HIT / 15 SB / 5 GWG / 8 PPG

Playoffs
18GP / 8G / 15A / 23P / +7 / 83 SHT / 21 PIM / 10 HIT / 1 SB / 0 GWG / 3 PPG

 

After being defeated in the S78 playoffs by the Seattle Bears, Andrew Su found himself entering his final season as a Bear after the Wranglers accepted a 4th round pick in compensation for him. With the former superstar getting ready for retirement and the Wranglers looking to retool with some younger players, Su was granted the ability to play for a championship contender. The Bears were one of the hottest teams in the league featuring fellow S72 stars Valtteri Vaakanainen and Timothy Brown, along with former Vancouver teammate Jungkok. Arguably even deeper than the S78 Calgary team with 8 players topping 60 points, Su was able to produce one final season at over a point per game pace, finishing with 88 points. Seattle steamrolled their way to the top seed in the NA, where they headed off to the playoffs hoping to send Su off as a champion. Yet again, Su faced off against the D.C. Dragons where he easily dispatched them in 5 games, closing the chapter of the unspoken rivalry between himself and the organization. In a nailbiter of a series, the Bears were able to topple the LA Stars in the semifinals in 7 games, but were dispatched in the finals in 6 games by the Victory Cup winning Malmo Nighthawks. To his credit, Su was consistently one of the best players on the ice, finishing the playoffs with 23 points in the 18 games he played, finishing both his regular season and postseason career at over a point per game pace and closing his VHL career as one of the most talented players of the 70’s.

 

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Congratulations on a fantastic career and the well deserved HOF nod, @Da_Berr!

 

For HOF - @Victor

[Garsh 1,087]

Su Su Su Su!

[Banackock 7,696]

Suuuuuuu