Warsaw: From Playoff Miss to Contention

[MetalToday 266]

                The expectation for Warsaw has increased exponentially with the new off-season acquisitions. With the new roster additions, the team went from a team hopeful to make the playoffs to a team that is likely going to contend for the cup probably this upcoming season. With last seasons roster playing so hard but just falling short, there is a clear distinction between that of last season, and the roster this season. The new additions are all such hardcore and competitive players clearly looking to win the cup, and it seems like they will all lead each other rather than 1 lead the team. I think with the team provided, it is unlikely that the team could even come close at missing the playoff, but if they do, this article will not age, as I believe that to be next to impossible.

 

                The Predators claimed young defenceman Travish DeGroot and Tui Sova from the Los Angeles Stars for Barron Kruulenstien and goaltender Tater Tot. This trade seems to be a great trade for Warsaw as both received players have great defensive talent. As Sova is in his prime looking to collect the next cup as soon as possible, with many seasons left to his name, and Travish DeGroot, well, he is a rookie that has nothing but high potential, defensive abilities, scoring abilities, and what have you. Everyone seemed to be surprised that Warsaw got so much from a deal like this that didn’t even include the 2^nd overall pick in this upcoming draft. I think Warsaw really won that trade and they will only improve with the core that they have. They do not believe this team will tank or miss the playoffs anymore, and this can be huge moving forward for Warsaw.

 

                Yes, I did say that Warsaw won the lottery, well the 2^nd place lottery for the upcoming season 83 draft, they now have great young players graduating, and great prime players looking to get through the playoffs and win the big trophy. Since this would add on something huge, Warsaw did the logical thing… They traded it. But it wasn’t a small trade whatsoever, it included top line defence in Hari Singh Nalwa and forward Omi Aberg. This was another great trade by the Warsaw GM as Hari Singh Nalwa is a player breaking out further and further ahead of the rest, likely going to be the next elite defenseman on the team, as has still a new player in the bigs. What about Omi? What about him? Warsaw did not need anything crazy when it came the forward group, he had a great top line last year that had great chemistry, and this year is expected to only improve that line with the extra time they have had, so Omi, not a crazy first line center, but can execute the 2^nd line roll very easily, and will dominate with the new players coming up this next season. One might then ask, was this sufficient for the potential franchise player this next season will produce? Well, I think, with the top loaded draft class, this was an absolute beast of a trade for Warsaw. I am thinking in many ways both trades were Warsaw victories and will prove to be steals with seasons to come.

 

                With all these trades and new players coming in, who will be the captains and alternates this season? Well, I know many of the players will disagree with my take, but I believe that the captains should not change from last year, yes there is better players in the line up now, but I dislike the idea of stripping away someone’s captaincy to give it to one of the shiny new objects, I think the team liked the captain last season as they have shown dedication to Warsaw that nobody else can say the same. So, with that being said Zach Kisslinger II and Brian Moreau should keep the As and Bogdan Trunov should stay as the man the myth the Captain.

 

                What would be expected for the lineups at the start of season 83? Well, I think the top pairing defense is quite clear with Hari Singh Nalwa and Tui Sova as the 1 and 2, where the next line can have the killer rookies in Travish DeGroot and Brian Payne. The offense is much deeper this year, but I think the top line still needs to be the same with Brendan Marner, Zach Kisslinger, and Bogdan Trunov as their chemistry was proven last year to be insane, and unexpected quick click. The next line would need to consist of the rookie Girts Galvin with Brian Moreau and Omi Aberg. However, I think if Robert Wilk comes back things may change, and Galvins and Wilk may alternate in the second or third line. Obviously, with the only goalie in Fire Fletcher, you can expect him to be the starter for the upcoming season.

 

                Is there anything else that Warsaw should look to improve? Well I would say so, the goaltending is nowhere where most people want to see it, I love the rookie, and we don’t need a crazy high end goalie, but I think we might need another goalie to fall back on if we need to give this rookie a break at some point, I think it can be seen as harsh to throw him in without a spare, so I think in free agency Warsaw should look to at least grab an average goalie to alternate the starts and give the rookie more breaks where needed. Having this extra depth is going to help the team have some fall-back option unlike last year, so with that I like the team Dlamb created.

 

                With the high-end talent on the team this year the likeliness of Warsaw collecting a playoff run grew exponentially. With so many trade wins the team is confident the GM will do what is best for the team, and will push Warsaw to victory. I think this team right now can contend with the top teams in the league, but who knows, Dlamb is smart, and we will just have to see if he has another trick up his sleeve.  

[MetalToday 266]

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