Vancouver Wolves: The curse of the letters?

[Gaikoku-hito 1,625]

Vancouver Wolves: The curse of the letters?

 

 

As I was writing an article for the Vancouver Wolves this past few weeks, I noticed a disturbing tread; unintended but still disturbing either way. Once a player is announced as a team captain their days seem rather limited as we take a look at the past few seasons of what has happened to the said Captains, leaders of the team and what might become of the new leadership group.

 

 

Season 84 or was it season 85? I am already confused!! LOL!! Either way Season 85 is where I started my time with the Vancouver Wolves so we will look at the first announced captains starting during this season. Also due to the fact that previous announced captains were back in S81 under different management group. I might for interest visit this later depending if I am interested enough.

 

 

      S85 Captains     

Captain – Alexandre Leduc

@Lemorse7

Assistant – Nico Pearce @Spartan

Assistant – Nathan Powers @JB123

 

 

Season 85 started off with a bang for the Vancouver Wolves with a flurry of trades and signing seeing the team turn from one of the worse teams in the league to a contender but this also brought three experienced players in Leduc, Pearce and Powers to the team seeing them named captains. This also blows my theory wide open already with the very limited changes taking place between season 85 and season 86 in way of Captains to start the season anyways. Only Nathan Powers would be replaced at the start of season 86 but this was down to the player retiring rather than what I assumed was going to be trend of GM trading away said leadership group.

 

 

 

       S86 Captains    

Season 86 Leadership group started as:

Captain – Nico Pearce

@Spartan

Assistant – Alexandre Leduc @Lemorse7

Assistant – Biggie Cheese @a_Ferk

 

 

Is this where I believe the kiss of death was given? Nico Pearce took over the captain’s role from Alexandre Leduc in a not so surprising switch as Nico had clearly been the teams MVP the following season. Leduc was still a great leader but clearly Nico would be the leader of the team if they were going to win a championship this season. Biggie Cheese replaced the retired Powers as the other assistant and would eventually step up hugely as the season went along.

 

 

Mid-season

Vancouver as team is playing just above .500 hockey and Pearce is struggling on the ice to produce as expected at around point per game pace but more was expected from the newly appointed captain. Was it the weight of trying to lead a team or simple putting too much pressure on one self to carry a team that was struggling. No one will know for sure but a change was required as middle of the pack season wouldn`t cut it for the Vancouver Wolves; who had all but pushed in all the chips for the season.

 

Nico Pearce traded to Moscow  Menace  for Sergey Preobrazhensky

 

“Both players were struggling with their respective teams and both teams were struggling so swap of players was viewed simple as wake-up call both teams and players required. It was just a matter if it would pay-off for one of the teams or both?”

 

 

Vancouver Wolves if I remember correct dropped the next five straight games and quickly found themselves outside the play-offs looking in.

 

“It was an ugly moment but it really had nothing to do with this singular trade as we actually made; hindsight a very bad trade as we gambled on trying to run a three-defender core by trading away Wattson Power; a core member of our defense at the time hoping that Bouchard would carry more of the load. It didn`t work and we quickly scrabbled to make a trade to bring in another defender in Obi Adesanya from Riga Reign before we self-imploded.”

 

That seemed to stabilize the team and history would back and agree with the trade as Vancouver Wolves would go win the cup at the end of the season with Sergey Preobrazhensky being a key member. I am also now heading off track; dummy!! Shouldn`t forget that the trade also included a lot more improved forward depth coming back in return for Power as he was traded with William Futch @Futch for Donny Carter @TheNeonShaman & S88 RIG 3^rd (and God knows where @Frank traded that away to)

 

 

So, what happened to the other leaders?

 

 

Biggie Cheese @a_Ferk traded moments after the Vancouver Wolves won the championship and named joint play-off MVP. As like at the mid-season mark of the season Vancouver Wolves manager was throwing all his weight and support behind the much young Pierre Emile Bouchard @Gaikoku-hito due to salary cap reasons but also trying to keep the forward core that had just won the championship together. The trade seen Biggie Cheese & S88 Van 4^th exchanged for S88 WAR 1^st & rights to: Vasile Lamb @dlamb; which we would require a bit of trade tree here but this is already getting longer than I expected and away from the topic but in the end, Vasile Lamb @dlamb would land Vancouver Wolves current back-up Jeremy Swayman @Agito and the S88 WAR 1^st would be packaged later with our other assistant that we need to talk about:

 

Alexandre Leduc @Lemorse7 traded away just hours before free agency opened and the night before the draft with S88 WAR 1^st and S88 CHI 3rd for S87 NYA 1st, S89 NYA 2nd and rights to: Hasbulla Magomedov @Motzaburger. Again, if you follow the bouncing ball of the @Frank trades you will already know that Hasbulla Magomedov @Motzaburger, S87 NYA 1st and S89 NYA 2nd all became something else. In the end @Frank has currently turned Alexandre Leduc @Lemorse7 into Reese McFleury @Spaz, Oreo McFleury @JB123 & S89 HSK 3rd; not to mention the cap space to sign Nezuko @Baozi.

 

 

 

       S87 Captains    

Fast forward to the start of this season and announcement of the captains as follows:

 

 

Captain – Pierre Emile Bouchard 

@Gaikoku-hito

Assistant – Dogwood Maple @dogwoodmaple

Assistant - Sergey Preobrazhensky @Bulduray_1

 

With the weight of having to carry the load on defence this season after trading away Biggie Cheese @a_Ferk also see the added weight of being named Captain for Pierre Emile Bouchard @Gaikoku-hito. It really is future is now moment for the Vancouver Wolves as they also announced fellow draft classy Dogwood Maple @dogwoodmaple as an assistant as the reigns of the team have clearly been passed over to the youth after three seasons in the league and Pierre Emile Bouchard @Gaikoku-hito entering his fourth actually. So that leave only Sergey Preobrazhensky @Bulduray_1 left to be concerned right? Actually, Yes & No!! Sergey Preobrazhensky @Bulduray_1 currently would seem like he holds all the cards as both himself and Nezuko @Baozi are pending unrestricted free agents. At the moment it seems like Vancouver has enough cap space to keep both of these players next season and run it back for another season if they would like too.

 

 

 

Only time will tell in the trend continues with Vancouver Wolves captains seeing year on year turn over as we have in the past three or four seasons. It would be funny to start seeing players actually not wanting a letter and saying the memorable quote from Michael Scott from the office.

 

 

Are the players named Captain concerned at the moment? It currently doesn`t seem so but will they be traded away in the next season or two? That I cannot answer so maybe ask @Frank

 

1200 words (Two week claim Feb 5th & 12th)

Edited January 31, 2023 by Gaikoku-hito

[Gaikoku-hito 1,625]

Should I also add Bo Horvat to the list!!

[Daniel Janser 1,979]

27 minutes ago, Gaikoku-hito said:

Should I also add Bo Horvat to the list!!

Well technically he is the Captain of the minor league team Vancouver Orcas (according to the Jersey he wears), so no...

[Gaikoku-hito 1,625]

The next weeks claims; Feb 12th and final biggie of a claim!!