Jacob Stone makes VHLE debut

[scoop 3,382]

In electing to play in the VHLE this season, Jacob Stone put himself in a position where he will be up against the toughest competition he has faced yet. He had performed adequately in his brief stint in the VHLM last season and in the JST during the off-season, but there was no clear indication that he was ready for the next level. A concern when deciding to fast forward one's career by not playing a full season in the VHLM is that you may be a liability to your VHLE team. After four games with the Stockholm Vikings, that doesn't seem like it will be the case for Stone, though by no means did he dominate.

 

The Vikings went 2-2, with Stone leading the team in minutes played, averaging 29.22 per game. He got his first point out of the way in the first game, and his first goal came in game four. In addition to the two points in four games, he had seven hits and eight blocked shots. All in all, his numbers were rather pedestrian. The high point of his game thus far has been his ability on the penalty kill. He has yet to commit a penalty himself, which has left him to get plenty of time on the ice down a man, averaging 3.45 minutes on the penalty kill per game. He has been a big part of the success of the Stockholm penalty kill, which has allowed just two goals on 17 attempts.

 

There is a lot of season left to be played, but thus far Jacob Stone hasn't embarrassed himself in the VHLE, and given where he is at in terms of his development, the expectation is that things will only get better from here on out.