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A long awaited Hulk Hogan Hall of Fame Article

jacobcarson877

By jacobcarson877
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jacobcarson877

jacobcarson877 2,527

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Hulk Hogan - Class of S79

 

Position: Defense

Birthplace: Canada

Height: 6'6"

Weight: 210 lbs

Drafted: 5th Overall (Seattle Bears)

User: @Hogan

 

Career Awards

S74 - World Cup Silver

S73 – Victory Cup

S73 – Continental Cup

S71 – Alexander Beketov Trophy

S71 – Continental Cup  

S69 – Continental Cup  

S68 – Continental Cup  

S66 – Ryan Sullivan Trophy  

S66 – Vladimir Boomchenko Trophy

 

Hogan has always been a force of nature in the VHL. Whether cracking jokes or spouting random song lyrics in general chat, it is clear that where Hogan is, chaos will ensue. Hulk Hogan, and the incredible legacy he has is a product of this fire, this force that Hogan exudes wherever he goes. A furious earner, a loyal teammate and a major reason for Seattle’s continued success in the 60s and 70s.  

 

S66 – Mississauga Hounds (VHLM)

 

Regular Season

GP: 72    G: 17    A: 77    P: 94    +/-: 17    SHT: 155    PIM: 118    HIT: 181    SB: 128


Playoffs

GP: 5    G: 0    A: 5    P: 5    +/-: -1    SHT: 2    PIM: 16    HIT: 11    SB: 5

 

Hogan wasted no time getting settled into the VHL. Taking the VHLM by storm, he led D in points-scoring that season, and was tied for 7th in overall point-scoring. He helped lead the Hounds to the playoffs, losing in the first round to eventual finalist Ottawa Lynx. A force offensively and defensively, we knew that Hogan was a star right from the start. Hogan was rewarded with some hardware as well, having accumulated the most assists, and being named the top defenseman.

 

S67 – Seattle Bears (VHL)

 

Regular Season

GP: 72    G: 7    A: 36    P: 43    +/-: -8    SHT: 80    PIM: 220    HIT: 155    SB: 138

 

After a dominant stint in the VHLM, and being drafted 6th overall in the draft, Hogan’s rookie season was slower than the award winning one before, but still rather impressive for a rookie. Brought in to solidify the 2nd pairing, the rebuilding Bears had a rather tumultuous season, ending 18 points out a playoff spot, only gathering 69 (nice) points. But Hogan impressed, immediately getting on the scoreboard, and as the season went on, it was clear that Seattle had landed a diamond, who just needed a bit more time to polish. This was right on Seattle’s timeline, and with a season to squander, they used their time wisely to earn and prepare for the next season.

 

S68 – Seattle Bears (VHL)

 

Regular Season

GP: 72    G: 8    A: 60    P: 68    +/-: 19    SHT: 109    PIM: 125    HIT: 169    SB: 123

 
Playoffs

GP: 14    G: 1    A: 11    P: 12    +/-: 8    SHT: 16    PIM: 14    HIT: 38    SB: 18

 

 

The concept of a sophomore slump wasn’t even a though in Hulk Hogan’s mind coming into Season 68 with the Bears.  Putting up a cool 60 assists, as the Bears rose into contention. Still on the second pairing, Hogan turned the Bears into a 2-unit team, one that you couldn’t have a good matchup against. Dominating a weak NA conference, Hogan and the Bears dominated the playoffs, only dropping games to their first-round opponents, the Toronto Legion. 10 straight victories to take home the Cup. Hogan played a huge role, even as a second pairing D.

 

S69 (nice) – Seattle Bears (VHL)

 

Regular Season

GP: 72    G: 5    A: 52    P: 57    +/-: 28    SHT: 54    PIM: 140    HIT: 134    SB: 137

 
Playoffs

GP: 19    G: 2    A: 12    P: 14    +/-: -1    SHT: 23    PIM: 40    HIT: 30    SB: 32


After a championship season, it is only reasonable to take a bit of a step back. Losing major pieces in the offseason, Seattle came back to S69 (nice) with an impressive roster despite the losses. There was now another competitive team in the NA Conference, who took the league by storm, leaving the Bears 10 points behind. Hulk Hogan struggled to generate offense off the shot this season but compensated for it with his continued dominant playmaking abilities. Seattle’s path to winning wasn’t as easy this season, as the noted playoff-making Americans managed to bring them to 7, and Vancouver took them to 6 before the finals had even begun. Riga cruised to the finals this season, but in the end, the Bears managed to defend their title, winning in 6. Hogan led his unit effectively, and even scored a game-winner.

 

S70 – Seattle Bears (VHL)

 

Regular Season

GP: 72    G: 11    A: 34    P: 45    +/-: -12    SHT: 149    PIM: 127    HIT: 161    SB: 101

Playoffs

GP: 11    G: 4    A: 10    P: 14    +/-: 4    SHT: 20    PIM: 21    HIT: 12    SB: 20

 

 

After more roster turnover, Seattle found themselves skating into a now lethal NA Conference, narrowly making the playoffs by one point. Hogan was once again leading the second unit, albeit a much shallower one than previously. Seattle struggled to score, with none of their players reaching a point-per-game. Hogan did experience some growing pains this season but grew an invaluable talent: goal-scoring. Finally beginning to put up shots, and having them go in, Hogan became a threat from the blue-line and would only grow into this in future seasons. Seattle upset the first-seed Wolves in the first round but found the Wranglers too tough to surpass this season. For once in Hogan’s young career, the Bears could not get him a Cup, despite a more than point-per-game personal effort. 

 

S71 – Seattle Bears (VHL)

 

Regular Season

GP: 72    G: 8    A: 63    P: 71    +/-: 10    SHT: 162    PIM: 109    HIT: 131    SB: 110

  Playoffs

GP: 17    G: 0    A: 7    P: 7    +/-: 0    SHT: 32   PIM: 28    HIT: 34    SB: 21

 

 

The Bears learned from a “down” season, grabbed some new young talent and once again headed into the season looking for a Cup. Another Cup they would find, but first the league had to witness Hulk Hogan. Leading the league in assists from the second pairing, Seattle used their identity as a 2-unit team to bring themselves 1 game off a conference lead going into the playoffs. They would not need it though, as they won a hard-fought battle against the Dragons before waltzing their way through Vancouver (who must have been getting pretty annoyed at STHS by now), and Moscow, the returning EU champs. Hogan improves to 3 for 5 in winning the Cup and although had a bit of offensive inconsistency in the playoffs, looked primed to dominate again in S72.

 

S72 – Seattle Bears (VHL)

 

Regular Season

GP: 72    G: 16    A: 62    P: 78    +/-: 10    SHT: 179    PIM: 114    HIT: 187    SB: 131


Playoffs

GP: 5    G: 0    A: 5    P: 5    +/-: 3    SHT: 6    PIM: 14    HIT: 14   SB: 14

 

Hogan finally put together a point-per-game season, showing the assist generation and the goalscoring on separate occasions, but the force that we know as Hulk Hogan was finally assembled here in S72. Putting up a very respectable 97 points, coming once again second in the NA Conference, this time behind the Wranglers, Seattle put on a bit of an offensive show. Hogan netting 16 alone certainly contributed to this, all the while assisting on another 62. For once Seattle seemed to really struggle in this playoff, losing in 5 to New York? Hogan did what he could, but whatever was in the water in New York worked.  

 

S73 – Seattle Bears (VHL)

 

Regular Season

GP: 72    G: 24    A: 69 (nice)   P: 93    +/-: 17    SHT: 261    PIM: 94    HIT: 148    SB: 129


Playoffs

GP: 19    G: 0    A: 17    P: 17    +/-: -1    SHT: 78    PIM: 26    HIT: 34    SB: 46

 

At Hulk Hogan’s peak now, and with a measly 3 cups in the bag, he really didn’t have much left to prove. Seattle had dominated in the regular season and the payoffs over the course of Hogan’s career, and folks, it wasn’t over yet. Slamming back a 49-win 103-point season and winning Hogan’s only Victory Cup somehow, another Cup was the only thing these Cup-hungry fiends were thinking. Unsurprisingly, they took out the Dragons, overcame the Wranglers before putting Helsinki out of their misery (or I suppose into their misery) in the finals. 4/7 on cups now in Hogan’s career. One final season for Hogan to come, and enough hardware to make any player in this era cry.

 

S74 – Seattle Bears (VHL)

 

Regular Season

GP: 72   G: 26   A: 68   P: 94   +/-: 20   SHT: 276   PIM: 96   HIT: 127   SB: 115

 

Playoffs

GP: 4    G: 3    A: 1    P: 4    +/-: -3    SHT: 39    PIM: 12    HIT: 23    SB: 3

 

Funnily enough, this was the season I joined the VHL. So as I was looking around, trying to make sense of anything, I looked through the VHL stats and such, and Hulk Hogan was a name that stuck in my head. Not only because it is a memorable name, but because of the important role he played on the reigning champs. 94 points as a defenseman was wild to me, despite other defensemen scoring more. What made it all the more wild was the goalscoring. 26 goals is more than respectable in a forward, but in a D, shooting 9.42% was amazing. Vancouver returned this season, taking top spot in the NA Conference, but it was the Toronto Legion, the only team to take games off of Seattle in 68 that would end Hogan’s career.

 

I’m always skeptical of players that get into the Hall of Fame because they won a lot of cups. I knew Hulk Hogan was a Cup machine and I also knew he was pretty good, but it wasn’t until I took this deep dive that I understood just why Hulk Hogan was a bona fide Hall of Famer. Hulk Hogan was rarely a top line player. Not because he wasn’t good enough, but because running a second unit, and beating teams through superior depth was the most important thing for the Bears. Many great players played in Seattle alongside Hogan, but very few can be considered just as crucial as Hulk Hogan was. He didn’t win 4 cups in 8 seasons by riding backseat with the stars. Hulk Hogan enabled players to be stars. Hulk Hogan wasn’t in contention for scoring titles often, nor was he the most physical player, and he sure loved to take a penalty. But what Hulk Hogan did was dominate play offensively, defensively and spark his team to be the very best they could be. The Bears were Hulk Hogan, and Hulk Hogan was the Bears.

 

 

Even now, Hulk Hogan 2 patrols the blue line for Seattle, picking up right where Hulk Hogan left off. Hogan’s identity has bled so much into what Seattle was, is and will be for seasons to come. He has defined their style of play, their league image and their constant championship contention. With one Cup already under Hulk Hogan 2’s belt, it shall be interesting to see if the second coming will be just as glorious as the first.  

 

Career Stats

 

Regular Season

GP: 576    G: 105    A: 444    P: 549    +/-: 84    SHT: 1270    PIM: 1025    HIT: 1212    SB: 984    PPG: 0.95

 

Playoffs

GP: 90    G: 9    A: 64    P: 73    +/-: 12    SHT: 185    PIM: 149    HIT: 170    SB: 155    PPG: 0.81

 

I don’t have many personal anecdotes to end off this induction article for Hogan, as I managed to spend a lot of time in the EU Conference, and overall, not in the Seattle Bears sphere of influence, but what I can say about Hogan is that there is never a dull moment when Hogan is around. Definitely a lot of confusion on my end, but I can always appreciate someone willing to just say their thing and rile people up (in a non-hurtful way) and generally that’s how Hogan rolls. We have experienced a lot alongside each other as people who read general chat sometimes, and for that I’m sure there’s some solidarity in there.

 

Congratulations on a great career Hogan and here’s to a ton more Hogan-ing in the seasons to come!  

2004 words!

 

Edited by jacobcarson877
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