Sales and the S82 VHL Awards

[thadthrasher 1,692]

The S82 VHL Awards have come and gone and the league is still buzzing in excitement from the festivities. Due to a variety of changes in rules and regulations within the VHL, which take effect in S83, the S82 VHL Awards were unique, and incredibly special. While every fan had their favorite player to watch, many were expecting to see one player’s name listed for the final time in his career, Thadius Sales.

 

Sales, as many know, began his career as a waiver signing with the Halifax 21^st of the VHLM. He then was drafted to the Miami Marlins, traded to the Las Vegas Aces, and eventually made his way up to the New York Americans. In his rookie season he was named the starter for the New York Americans, which was a load of pressure that some thought was too much for a rookie goaltender. While he handled it the best that he could, the New York organization seemed to struggle with the formation of a solid team, which left Sales to bear the brunt end of the responsibility on the ice. With only 1 playoff appearance in 5 seasons with the New York organization, the team was looking rough. Then, it all changed.

 

Sales was notified that he had been traded to the Vancouver Wolves while New York received a S81 CHI 3^rd, a S81 VAN 4^th, and a S82 VAN 2^nd. Moving only for picks, Sales didn’t cross paths with anyone on the way out, and frankly he wasn’t sure how this trade was going suit him. But, quickly, he learned that he wanted to play hard for the Wolves. Knowing that his career wasn’t going to last much longer, Sales had a fire that was lit under him by the Vancouver management, and wow did it show up on the ice. For example, Sales’ best season with the New York Americans was S78 where Sales went 32-28-4, had a .919 SV%, a 3.27 GAA and 1 shutout. Compare that with Sales’ best season with the Wolves which was his final season in the VHL, S82, where he went 49-11-4, had a .926 SV%, a 2.89 GAA and 3 shutouts. This move was clearly a good one for both Sales and Vancouver.

 

While Sales only saw playoff action with New York for 4 games in S78, he would see 32 playoff games with Vancouver, helping the organization to capture 2 Continental Cups during his time with them. Sales’ performance on the ice was not only recognized by the Wolves organization as being outstanding, but by the VHL as per their most recent awards show.

 

Sales walked away with the following awards:

Victory Cup (S81, S82)

Continental Cup (S81, S82)

Greg Clegane Trophy (S81, S82)

Aidan Shaw Trophy (S81, S82)

Daisuke Kanou Trophy (S82)

All VHL 1^st Team (S81, S82)

 

After the show, Sales had this to say:

“I always dreamed of this, but I never thought I would get here, especially at the beginning of it all. I found myself missing the New York organization after the trade, but Vancouver was such a different environment. They wanted to win, and that lit something in me that I didn’t know about. The chemistry on the ice and off the ice was phenomenal, and I couldn’t have asked for a better team to spend my last 2 seasons with. Now, I look forward to what retirement has to bring to me. I can’t sit still for very long though, so who knows, maybe you’ll see me again as a coach or working with young players. Anyways, to everyone who has cheered for me, given me constructive criticism, supported me, and challenged me to do better, I couldn’t have gotten here without you all. Thank you for this and thank you VHL for the second chance in life. This is Prison Mike saying “see ya later” for the last time."

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650 words, claiming week ending 17 April 2022

[Hoopydog 195]

Nice job on this media spot! You do a good job of keeping each section of the piece brief but still managing to hit all the key points in a nice level of detail. I like they way the article flows from talking about the season to the awards and then to the little interview segment at the end. Next time, you could add some headings to help break up each section to make it a little easier to follow. Overall, really good job! 9/10