Claimed:The Reign of Higgins - Part I

[Will 4,660]

The Reign of Higgins (Part 1)

 

 
The Helsinki Titans certainly have a storied history in this league as one of the original eight teams. From the five Continental Cups that they call their own, to the retired numbers that hang proudly from the rafters in the historic Hartwall Arena; the Helsinki Titans have been representing Finland for the past 40 Seasons. Now, those 40 seasons are far too much for me to cover in this article. So, I’m going to break it down into one of the more recent Helsinki eras; the reign of hardball General Manager Mitch Higgins.
 
Mitch Higgins, or, simply Higgins as he is known by around the boards, sat down in the driver’s seat of Helsinki in the off-season before Season 30. His predecessor was Claudio, who served for just two seasons. Higgins held the reigns of Helsinki for a total of seven seasons, stepping down from his position in Season 36.
 
Season 30 (22-47-3):
Upon his arrival in Helsinki, Higgins wasted no time getting to work. Season 30 was, essentially, the year of trades for the organization. Helsinki was just coming off of a very disappointing Season 29, coming last in the league, and Higgins immediately began to rebuild the Titans. First, he picked up a S30 Davos 1st, as well as a S31 Davos 2nd, in exchange for rookie winger Aldo Scharpes. Next, he moved the S31 Helsinki 2nd round pick to Seattle and picked up another young player, Theseus Athera. Both of those trades were actually done during the Season 29 off-season, but for all intents and purposed we will list them as Season 30.

Throughout the regular season, Higgins continued building the Titans draft pick bank. In a deal that sent his own player, Mitch Higgins, to Seattle, he picked up Seattle’s S31 1^st round selection and he also reacquired the S31 Helsinki 2^nd round pick that he traded to them in the off-season. A move with Calgary was up next. Leeroy Jenkins was, like Mitch Higgins, nearing the end of his career. He was moved to Calgary in exchange for a S31 Calgary 2^nd rounder and S32 Calgary 3^rd round pick. And for his final move of the season, Higgins moved winger Aidan Richan to New York in exchange for a S31 New York 3^rd. Helsinki finished second to last in the league in Season 30, just barely ahead of the Riga Reign.
 
Season 31 (37-29-6):
In what was a crazy off-season for trades, the Titans were relatively quiet. Higgins made just one move, with Vasteras, sending Lucas Smith and S32 Helsinki 4^th rounder to the Iron Eagles in exchange for their S32 2^nd round selection. The rest of Season 31 was quiet as far as trades go.
 
This season was the first playoff appearance for the Titans under the leadership of Higgins. Fun fact: It was also the year of the expansion. Anyways, who cares about that? After narrowly sneaking into the playoffs ahead of the newly created Cologne Express, the Titans were eliminated in the first round by the Riga Reign.
 
Season 32 (54-12-6):
At this point, Helsinki’s rebuild was in full swing and Higgins continued that by moving the Season 32 Helsinki 1^st and 2^nd round picks to Seattle, in exchange for the Season 32 Vasteras 1^st round pick. This pick was used on Anatoli Zhumbhayev, a player that would become a key player in Helsinki’s future success. Higgins also brought in a bit of experience this season, moving a Season 34 Helsinki 2^nd rounder and Felix Leiter to Riga in exchange for defenseman Nic Riopel.
 
Later on in the season, in preparation for playoffs, Higgins made one of his more high profile trades. He acquired centreman Phil Rafter from HC Davos in exchange for a Season 34 Helsinki 1^st round pick, a S33 Helsinki 3^rd rounder, and a S33 Cologne 3^rd round selection. After defeating the Iron Eagles in the first round off the playoffs, the Titans were unfortunately swept in the second round. Once again, at the hand of the Riga Reign.
 
Season 33 (61-6-5):
After the disappointing playoff elimination, the Titans continued to build. In order to move up in the draft, Higgins moved defensemen Theseus Athera plus a S33 Helsinki 1^st round pick to Seattle in exchange for S33 Vasteras 1^st round pick, which turned in to Willie Weber.
 
This season, the Titan recorded the best regular season record since Season 4 of the VHL. They finished first in the European Conference, and therefore went straight to the conference finals. However, in a close 4-3 series, the Titans were once again defeated by the Riga Reign, who would go on to win the Continental Cup that year.
 
Conclusion to Part 1:
That’s it for part one. I’ll cover the rest of Higgins’ tenure next week. Obviously this isn’t a hall of fame article and I didn’t go as in-depth as I could have. For example, I hardly spoke of his fantastic draft selections. There just isn’t enough room in a media spot for that shit. Hell, this is 850 words as is and I mainly only talked about trades and records. Anyways, check back next week as we embark on the final three seasons of the hardballer’s tenure.

Edited September 15, 2014 by Draper

[der meister 3,132]

No mention of the Till-hammer?

[Will 4,660]

No mention of the Till-hammer?

 

Thats a whole nother' article 

[Victor 10,831]

confirmed multi

[Higgins 3,618]

Greased me with the title

[der meister 3,132]

Thats a whole nother' article

I expect to see this soon

[Frank 5,057]

confirmed multi

 

Someone called. 

[Da Trifecta 1,896]

Content: 3/3 Pretty solid write up of Riggins (I mean Higgins). He has accomplished so much it's no mystery he is a blue man. He was a great GM for Helsinki and he worked his magic with them. Would be nice to see him get back in the game one day.

Grammar: 2/2 I didn't see anything

Appearance: 1/1

 

FINAL: 12/12 (Doubled)

[Frank 5,057]

Claimed