Russian Dream Team?

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Russian Dream Team?

 

As I got notified on our new theme week, I realized it would be more enjoyable if I put a twist on the team. And that’s when it hit me - what about an all Russian Dream Team? That’s right, many different and astounding players residing from the homeland of the Russian Federation have been given the opportunity to play in the VHL. Today we’ll look at some of the Russian greats, and combine them into an All-Russian Team. 

 

RW - Aleksei Federov [S53 - S61]

Minors [S53]

 

Aleksei Federov, a fellow Russian, started off his VHL journey with the Brampton Blades in Season 83. Posting up an amazing 93 points in 73 games. Almost all of his points came from assists. Federov posted 74 assists in contrast to his 19 goals in his VHLM campaign. The Blades went on to finish third in their conference, granting them a playoff spot. Just to lose in the second round to the Yukon Rush. 

 

Seattle [S54 - S60]

 

After a pleasant season in the minors with Brampton, Aleksei finally got called up to play with Seattle. Which is the city where he spent the most part of his career in. In the first couple of seasons with the team, he had a rough offensive start to his VHL career. Scoring 43 points in season 54 and then plummeting to just 36 points in season 55. But after that, things changed for the better, Federov miraculously pulled his act together and posted 80 points in season 56. Things were smooth sailing after that, Federov posted at least 75 points a season after his terrible offensive production in S55. 

 

Helsinki [S61]

 

In Season 61, Aleksei was shipped off to the Helsinki Titans, he didn’t disappoint. Federov had record highs in both goals (51) and points (110). He then retired shortly after his arguably best season in the VHL.
 

LW - Maxim Kovalchuk [S61 - S69]

 

Minors [S61]

 

Maxim Kovalchuk was a smart left winger with a medium and strong build, weighing in at 6’3 and 208 lbs. He was a fast guy on the ice and was known for his offensive skills, especially in his early years with the Seattle Bears. He started out with the Oslo Storm in Season 61, and posted promising offensive stats while helping the team to a Founders Cup in his first ever season with the team. 

 

Seattle [S62 - S65]

 

The Seattle Bears picked up Kovalchuk through the draft, and boy did their draft efforts pay off. Maxim made an immediate contribution to the Bear’s team, scoring a career high, 117 points in S62. Although all of his years in Seattle had been productive, this season for sure stood out to everyone. Through his time in Seattle from S62-S65 he scored 339 in 288 games, everyone knew that Maxim had talent, but the numbers he put up were unreal. 

 

Calgary [S66]

 

Maxim Kovalchuk was then traded to the Calgary Wranglers in Season 66. The left winger contributed tons to the jam-packed lineup full of talent. Which ended up losing in the second round of the playoffs to the Vancouver Wolves. His offensive stats for Calgary included 27 goals and 59 assists. After the end of the season, Calgary decided to ship Kovalchuk out of Calgary, back to his original team of Seattle.

 

Second Stint With Seattle [S67 - S69]

 

Maxim spent the rest of his career over in Seattle, although he was getting older and less agile. He was still a force to be reckoned with, and in Season 69 he decided to hang up the skates. Maxim did very well with the Seattle team and will forever be remembered in the Seattle history books. 

 

C - Bogdan Trunov [S77 - Present]

 

Minors [S77/S78]

 

Bogdan Trunov was just too good to be left out on this list. He spent two seasons in the VHLM, one with the San Diego Marlins while the other with the Ottawa Lynx. Although his first season with the Marlins was less than impressive in means of offensive production - 9 goals and 11 assists in 72 games. Trunov bounced back the next VHLM season with 80 points in 72 games.

 

Warsaw [S79 - Present]

 

With Bogdan dominating in the VHLM with Ottawa, it shouldn’t come to as a surprise that he’s excelling in the VHL. Coming off his most recent season with Warsaw, he racked up over 107 points. In Season 82 he so far has been able to achieve 97 points in 53 games played, Trunov is right on track to break his career high in points. Trunov has proved time and time again that he’s Warsaw’s savior, many are excited to see how far Warsaw can go with Turnov on the team. 

 

D - Vladimir Pavlov [S65 - S74]

 

Minors [S65/S66]

 

Vladimir Pavlov spent two years in the minors in Season 65, he spent time doing virtually nothing for his team. So there isn’t much to comment about his performance. But Season 66 was a different story for the young Pavlov, he showed flashes of offensive capabilities while being able to be physical on the ice. With 28 goals and 24 assists as well as 72 hits.

 

Moscow [S67 - S74]

 

Vladmir Pavlov spent his whole VHL career with the Moscow Menace, and he’s had his fair share of success with the team. Like winning the Continental Cup with the Menace in Season 70. He had a slow start in the VHL, but once he got going, there was no stopping him. Like in Season 74, his last year before retirement was the best season Moscow got out of Pavlov. With career highs in both hitting (263) and points (108).

 

D - Victor Grachev [S72 - S80]

 

Minors [S72/S73]

 

Victor Granchev spent two years in the minors with the Phillidelphia Reapers and the Miami Marauders. In his first season with the Reapers, he had limited offensive production with 3 points in 26 games. But he flipped the script on that next year, in Season 73 with Miami, scoring 52 points in 72 games. 

Warsaw [S74-S80]

 

Grachev spent most of his time in Warsaw as a VHL player, he was popular among the fans. Even winning them a Continental Cup in Season 78.  His best season came in Season 79 when he had unprecedented amounts of offensive production, including 101 points. He was known to be more of a playmaker than a goal scorer, resorting to being more of a passer than a shooter.

 

D.C [S80]

 

Warsaw got rid of Grachev in his final season with the league, but he had to give it another go with a different team. This time, Grachev was instructed to play in D.C until further notice. And he did just that, scoring more than a point per game. Although he faced amazing success in Season 80, he knew it was time to hang up the skates.

 

G - Rara Rasputin [S75 - Present]
 

Minors [S74]

 

Rara Rasputin was known to be a ginormous tank in the net. Listed at 6’8 and 250 pounds, he takes up a lot more space compared to others playing the same position. Rara first started out in the Miami Marauders organization as a minor league player. Showing very promising numbers for a rookie, including a 31-34-2 record with a .882 save percentage and a 3.16 GAA. This led to many teams keeping an eye on Rara, one of those teams was the Moscow Menace..

 

Moscow [S75]

 

It was a short lived stay in Moscow for Rara. Only played 12 games in S75 for the team before the end of the season. Just to then get traded to Seattle in the off-season. His season 75 totaled to a .919 save percentage and a 2.77 GAA. 

 

Seattle [S76 - S79]

 

Rara stayed in Seattle for four years through Season 76 to Season 79, he led the Bears to a Continental Cup in Season 77. Seattle heavily relied on Rara’s heroics to propel their way to success. Rara has had some of his best seasons in Seattle, and was widely considered and one of the best in the league at what he does. This led to his former team wanting his talents back…

 

Second Stint with Moscow [S80]

 

In Season 80, Rara signed with the Moscow Menace in free agency. He had a solid season with Moscow to say the least, posting up a 38-18-4 record and a 3.0 GAA. Moscow got exactly what they needed out of Rara to make it to the VHL Finals. Just to lose to the Vancouver Wolves. (Damn you Vancouver!)

 

Los Angeles Stars [S81 - Present]

 

After a short stay in Moscow, Rasputin was back in free agency. This time instead of choosing Moscow, he chose the Los Angeles Stars. Rara being goaltender for the Los Angeles team was one of the key reasons why the Stars are doing so well this season. So far, in Season 82, Rara has a 36-9-0 goalie record with a .921 save percentage and a 3.05 GAA. This year is the last year for Rara to collect another Continental Cup before he retires.

 

Phew! And there you have it folks! That is my All Russian Team!

 

1525 Words

Claiming for 2/27, 3/6, 3/13

Edited February 28, 2022 by Bulduray_1

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Claiming for week 3/6

Edited March 7, 2022 by Bulduray_1

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Claiming for week 3/13

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