Claimed:S33 Bratislava Watchmen - Where Are They Now?

[Corco 1,237]

The Men of the Watch

Doug Clifford, Eggly Bagelface, and Thomas Landry were just three of the many prospects on the S33 Bratislava Watchmen  that went on to have respectable VHL careers

 

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia - With the S40 VHLM Dispersal Draft tonight and the VHL as a league approaching it's historical 40th season, it seemed fitting to have an analysis of a team five seasons ago; the S33 Bratislava Watchmen, then managed by current Helsinki GM Vince Wong. Looking back, the team was nearly bursting at the seams with future VHL stars, although back then it I don't think anybody expected so many members on that team to have lengthy, successful careers. Thus, without further ado, let's take a look the team's roster and where they are now.

 

 

Willem Janssen - LW

Current Team: Helsinki Titans

Role: Aging Star Forward

Analysis: Janssen's career didn't exactly take off to a flying start, as he and teammate Eggly Bagelface both went to the Vasteras Iron Eagles after their Founders Cup win; Janssen did not put up many points in his first few seasons, staying under a point-per-game in his first three seasons, despite his high offensive output in Bratislava (90 points in 72 games). With whispers being said around the league about his true offensive potential and whether or not he deserved his captaincy, Janssen exploded onto the scene offensively, scoring over 100 points in each of the next three seasons. However even with the help of other stars, Janssen and the Iron Eagles could not get past the first round of the VHL playoffs, leading to a rebuild for the soon-to-be relocating Vasteras Iron Eagles; the first rebuilding move being Janssen traded to the Helsinki Titans for futures.

 

 

 

Thomas Landry - RW

Current Team: Calgary Wranglers

Role: Savvy Veteran Scorer

Analysis: When discussing some of the best leaders of the VHL in the current era, Thomas Landry's name is almost a guarantee to come up. Landry's first VHL season was a bit of a disappointment, with him scoring only 30 points in 72 games with the New York Americans. Shortly thereafter in the off-season, the Americans traded the struggling young winger to the HC Davos Dynamo, which is where he made his mark in the league for not only being a very vocal leader/captain in the locker room, but also for being a threat to score as well. With the Dynamo, Landry would score 428 total points in 360 games, a pretty impressive feat for a player who looked to possibly be a future bottom line checking forward after his rookie season. Currently, Landry will play his final season in a Calgary Wranglers uniform as a result of a rebuild in Davos. Look for the grizzled veteran to provide leadership to a relatively young Calgary team that needs it.

 

 

 

Niklas Lindberg - C

Current Team: Vasteras Iron Eagles

Role: Dynamic Veteran Two-way Forward

Analysis: Lindberg has arguably had the best career after making the jump from the Watchmen to the VHL. After scoring 216 points in 144 games with the Watchmen in the VHLM, Lindberg went on to score 588 points in 432 games with the Toronto Legion and the Vasteras Iron Eagles. In every single season of his career, Lindberg has never been south of a point-per-game, which is quite an impressive feat. However beating opponents on the scoreboard is not Lindberg's only talent; in his career, he has managed to collect over 1,000 hits (1,018), which should take him into the Top-50 all-time if he keeps up his current pace in his upcoming final season. Look for Lindberg to be traded to a contending team at some point in the future for a final cup run, as the aforementioned Iron Eagles are currently selling.

 

 

 

Davey Jones - C

Current Team: Retired

Role: Inconsistent, yet Talented Center

Analysis: Jones had a solid, yet unspectacular career, no doubt. Despite being relatively quiet in his time with the Watchmen on and off the scoreboard (67 points in 72 games), Jones become widely known during his time in the VHL for his mouth. When he grew tired of playing for the Cologne Express, Jones was shipped off to the Dynamo, where he played out the rest of his career as an enigmatic and shifty offensive forward. One criticism of his play-style was that Jones was not engaged enough defensively, as evidenced by his relatively low PIM totals and his anemic total hits.

 

 

 

Eggly Bagelface - G

Current Team: Vasteras Iron Eagles

Role: Elite Starting Goaltender

Analysis: Given the situation throughout the beginnings of his VHL career, Bagelface has some strong career statistics despite him rarely having a strong defense core around him. His current career stats include a .918 Save percentage, 2.44 GAA, 184 wins, and 33 shutouts place him in the top 25 for all-time statistics. Despite his abysmal stats in his first season in the VHL (.897 Save percentage and 4.04 GAA), the rest of his career is strong, given his save percentages of .909, .928, .931, .923, and .927 in all of the following seasons. His GAA statistics are also very respectable, as his highest aside from his rookie season was 2.65, and even after that, 2.18 was the highest of the last four seasons. However most cannot look at those numbers and be impressed without ignoring the fact that despite his stellar regular season play, Bagelface and the Iron Eagles have never been past the first round of the post-season. It looks like Bagelface's last season will be spent as possibly the best player on a stripped-down Vasteras squad, given the weak goalie market and his high cap hit ($4,500,000).

 

 

 

Doug Clifford - RW/D

Current Team: Retired

Role: Streaky Secondary Scorer

Analysis: Despite being a vital part of the Watchmen's S33 run (116 points in 72 games), Clifford never really showed that same dynamic offensive explosiveness in the VHL. He did have two seasons that saw him score more than 90 points, but aside from those two years, Clifford was mostly an average power forward. Clifford played four and a half of five seasons with the Meute, with the last half season of his career spent on the Riga Reign as a trade deadline rental. Perhaps the redeeming factor of Clifford's career was that he was a noted playoff performer, as he scored 33 points in 17 games while the Watchmen were en route to their S33 cup win; and while scoring 38 total points in 50 career playoff games with the Meute and the Reign.

 

 

 

Lauris Prikulis - D

Current Team: Quebec City Meute

Role: Depth Defenseman

Analysis: Of all of the members of the S33 Watchmen that made it to the VHL, Prikulis' road took the longest and was the least impressive. Prikulis stayed with the Watchmen in the VHLM for two more seasons before finally being signed to a VHL contract by the Cologne Express. But, despite being signed by Cologne as an undrafted free agent, Prikulis never played a game there, and he was traded to the Vasteras Iron Eagles for a 2nd round pick. Vasteras would be Prikulis' home for the next few seasons, where he scored 73 points in two and a half seasons before being dealt to the Meute in S39 in an effort by the Iron Eagles to shed salary. Prikulis will be suiting up for the up and coming Meute this season, where the team will look to make their way back to the playoffs as a contender.

 

[Victor 10,940]

What a team. Possibly the best percentage of eventual good VHLers.

[Da Trifecta 1,899]

Content: 3/3 Look at this long list of scrubs. I mean champs. This seemed like it was so long ago. We dominated the VHLM after being underdogs.

Grammar: 2/2 Nothing noteworthy

Appearance: 1/1

 

FINAL: 6/6

[Da Trifecta 1,899]

Claimed

[Ball 453]

Claimed