Joel Castle - Hello Europe

[animal74 1,832]

Joel Castle, G, #74

 Hello Europe (Geneva Rush) 

 

After a mostly successful season with the Las Vegas Aces where we made it to the Founder’s Cup Final only to lose to the Philadelphia Reapers, I was excited to see which VHLE team would draft me for the S86 season. After a few pre-draft interviews, I was slightly surprised to be selected by the Geneva Rush at 11th overall. Another nice surprise was that the Rush also added my VHLM rival and friend Ash Sparks @DarkSpyro later in the draft. We were excited to have the chance to play together and share the crease for Geneva. Unfortunately, due to various circumstances, the rest of the roster was not set and Ash and I quickly realized we would be very busy most nights and we were. With the shorthanded roster, we usually faced 50+ shots a night and while it did elevate our save percentage, the rest of our statistics suffered individually and as a team. We both ended up winning only six games each and the Rush finished dead last in the VHLE standings. 

 

I think it would be safe to say that we both had higher expectations for our season in the E. And as I was expecting to play only one season with Geneva I had been hoping for a better experience. I hadn’t played in the VHLE yet and I must say, I was not enamored with how the season went at all.

 

Geneva goaltender Joel Castle

 

I did play well and I was happy with my performance most games but I obviously did not get the results I wanted. After having such a good season with a Founder’s Cup contender in Las Vegas in the VHLM, going to the opposite end of the spectrum with Geneva was hard to fathom. I was able to improve my game and show that I could compete with (and sometimes beat single-handedly) the best goalies and teams in the VHLE. I also showed that I could handle an extreme workload and mentally and physically handle facing 50-60 shots in a game.     

 

After witnessing a similar situation with the winless Mississauga Hounds in the VHLM in S85, I was shocked that this scenario would also happen in the E. It was demoralizing and hard to stay social in an almost empty locker room. I think that roster stability guidelines need to be put in place in the E as were in the M after the Hounds’ debacle of a season. If not, the league will be hard pressed to retain any players aside from loyal players who know how things cycle past their season in the VHLE if they have to go through what Geneva did in S86. I hope this will be looked at. There are either not enough players to go around or too many teams. Having one extremely weak team in a league is bad for that roster’s morale and an unfair advantage for other teams who play that weak team more often. Chasing true parity is like chasing an invisible unicorn but even the bottom teams need to have enough players to make a minimum roster.

 

I look forward to S87 with the Toronto Legion!

 

Joel Castle
 

Edited January 2, 2023 by animal74