Theme Week: The S11 HC Davos Dynamo

[Arce 755]

S11 HC Davos Dynamo

 

 

It is amazing to me how much time has passed since the earlier days of the league. 95% of the league has no idea what happened during the earlier seasons of the VHL, or just how different the league was. All they can do is listen through the stories of the older members, and HOF articles if they care to. As someone around during the OG days, I like shedding light on the history and informing those around me who may have any kind of interest in it. Gather around the campfire, and let Arce give you guys story time. Milk and cookies will also be provided for the experience. This one holds dear to me personally, and that is the S11 HC Davos Dynamo team. We had a team full of personalities, and this was definitely one of the best teams EVER to be iced in the VHL. The build started by GM Matt Defosse, and completed by his successor Scotty Campbell. The rivalry between the HC Davos Dynamo and Riga Reign was intense, it was fun and full of virtual blood. S10-S13 the exchanges on the game threads were nasty, it got to a boiling point. Individual awards were won, and most importantly the biggest piece of hardware was raised and given for the first time in franchise history to the rebranded HC Davos Dynamo.

 

The Personnel

 

The S11 HC Davos Dynamo team, little did they know at the time would be full of Hall of Famers. Many of these players actually had an average, or "good" season but had not yet even reached their peak performance. That is what made this S11 roster to unique. The one thing that was clear off the bat, is the Dynamo had their goaltender. Benoit Devereux ended up becoming one of the best of all time, and his S11 season was the start of all of that. Nevermind the fact that in just S9, Devereux posted up a G.A.A of below 2 in the VHLM. Devereux finished the S11 season with a dashing 51-7-6 record. He also posted up a league leading .940% and a 1.95 GAA. Devereux also tacked on 6 shutouts on the year. Benoit Devereux was no one trick pony, as he showed up in the playoffs and won the Howe Trophy, as the main reason Davos was able to capture its first Continental Cup and start its dynasty.

 

Where there is success in the crease, there is usually good defense involved. This was certainly the case as Devereux had HOF defenseman Tomas Jenskovic as a #1 defenseman. Jenskovic posted p 24 goals, 60 assists for 84 points in S11, literally doubling his S10 rookie season totals. He also turned his -2 from the previous season into a +86. Jenskovic also played a goon role as he posted up 238 penalty minutes. That can be attested to being on the ice with Da’Brickashaw O’Neal as the two were always getting into mayhem when on the ice together. Jenskovic also laid his body on the line 137 times during the regular season and scored 3 game winners. Jenskovic followed up in the S11 cup run with 8 points in 13 games, while blocking 27 shots and landing 30 hits. Jenskovic’s gritty defensive play may have been underappreciated on the stat sheet, but the film doesn’t lie. Jenskovic would go on to win the Vladimir Kostka Trophy in S11, and then one up himself in S12 as he won the Sterling Labatte Trophy after another dominating performance.

 

The S9 Danish HOF, whom no one expected would mount to much started the bend to his Hall of Fame career in S10. After a rough year on a young, inexperienced Avangard squad, Zach Arce took the reins in the S10 playoffs. Arce finished the regular season with 28 goals, 56 assists for 84 points. Arce’s S10 assist total equaled his S9 point total, so the jump was definitely noted. Arce also recorded 3 game winners, and a dazzling +91 rating. In the playoffs, Arce was a thorn in the Riga Reign’s side. He recorded 2 game winners in the series, and setup the series clincher in a game Davos fans will never forget. #51 now reigns up in the banners, as Arce won 2 cups, 2 MVPs and 1 playoff MVP award with the Dynamo during his tenure.

 

The HC Davos Dynamo also had a deep, gritty support system. GM Scotty Campbell made it very clear he was going to outhit other teams to wear them down and then rely on his top line to generate the offense, while leaning on MVP Benoit Devereux. Jonathan Matthias Davos stay was short, but it was well remembered. He tallied 235 points in 144 games. The team had the O’Neal brothers in Da’Brickashaw and Jartavious O’Neal. Da’Brickashaw had offensive talent to backup his fighting/gritty style of play meanwhile Jartavious was all muscle. Back in the day, it was always the move to call up players from the minors to play a fourth line role, and that recipe usually led to success. Captain Jack O’Reily never disappointed as he centered Zach Arce, and Tomas Ziegler. Ziegler’s signing came highly controversial as he was formally with Davos’ bitter rival, the Riga Reign. If Riga were to beat Davos, Ziegler would be crucified for making the wrong decision. Fortunately for him, he didn’t and he played a big role in making sure of that. The O’Reily to Ziegler connection played a key role in what eventually gave Davos the series against Riga. Sebastian Perrin played an important in depth role for the Dynamo and even got a chance to play with the likes of O’Reily, Arce, and even the O’Neal brothers. Jochen Walser and James Platts (Mr. Welfare himself!) also made quite the underrated duo. Although for a majority of the season one of them was playing with Tomas Jenskovic, they got time together in the playoffs and actually made a different in key PK situations.

 

The Key Moment:

The HC Davos Dynamo-Riga Reign rivalry was straight up nasty. It was intense, and the two teams absolutely hated another. There were things said in game day threads that would not fly in to day’s VHL, and probably rightfully so. You can imagine the intensity on the forum as game 7 of the European Conference Final was about to begin. This series was better than the Continental Cup Final. 10:49 is on the clock in the 3^rd period, and Riga looks as if they are about to advance to the cup final as they are up 4-1 and keeping Davos in check up to this point. 14 seconds changed everything. (I still love to read Will’s take on this in the HOF forum). Davos decides to mix up their lines to see if they could get a spark going, desperately trying to get back in the game. Ziegler-O’Riley-Matthias was the new line and took the ice. O’Riley finds Ziegler in front of the net for the easy tap in to make it 4-2 Riga. The line still fresh returned to the faceoff dot, where O’Riley won the faceoff and Perrin sent Jonathan Matthias streaking for a breakaway goal to a suddenly now 4-3 Riga lead! The same line returns to the ice where O’Riley wins another faceoff, Jenskovic passes over to Perrin who throws another phenomenal breakout pass to Mattias, who ripped a shot from the crosshairs, off the crossbar and down in for a tied 4-4 game. 14 seconds is all it took, 14 freaking seconds for Davos to get back in the game and punch Riga in the chest. A Riga Reign finals guarantee suddenly has turned into a 4-4 lock, and the two teams were going into OT after Riga re-grouped. The first overtime was uneventful, as the two teams were playing more conservative. It seemed it was a game of chess instead of checkers. In OT 2, things opened up and the teams started to generate opportunities. Finally, Zach Arce found Tomas Ziegler streaking to the net where Ziegler ripped it home passed his former goaltender Marek Van Urho to clinch a finals appearance for Davos.

 

This was one of the most brilliant moments in the VHL history, and it was such a special season to be apart of and worth bringing to light to today’s VHL. The Davos Dynamo then went on to beat the Seattle Bears in 6 games to capture their first ever Continental Cup. Benoit Devereux rightfully so won the Howe Trophy for most valuable player in the playoffs. He really didn’t give Seattle anything in that series, and the series could have closed out quicker had Davos made the most of their opportunities as they outshot Seattle in the games they had lost. This was only the start of something special for Davos as well. It was their first ever Continental Cup, and it would lead to them capturing their second one in S13 before retooling the following season.

 

Word Count: 1503

Claim for Weeks: 7/17, 7/24, 7/31

Edited July 19, 2022 by Arce

[animal74 1,855]

Great read @Arce!

 

If anyone wants to read more about players like Tomas Jenskovic, Jochen Walser and Zach Arce, check out these links:

 

 

 

[Arce 755]

Claim for week 2/3 for the VHL’s Birthday. Will use for theme week next week as well, as this fits into the theme.

[Arce 755]

Claim for week ending in 7/31 for theme week.