Wranglers Hitting Stride [GRADED 6/6]

[DollarAndADream 3,356]

The Wranglers have had their fair share of ups and downs during this season. This season, one where there have been plenty of new faces to the roster and many hurdles to overcome with that being said. It takes time getting used to your teammates when so many different key players have joined the squad. The Wranglers have been more or less inconsistent for most of the year. In recent times, they have picked up the pace and are looking like the team that many fans in Calgary have waited for.

 

Through 26 games, the Wranglers are 15-10-1 while currently on a 4 game winning streak. The team has not been amazing offensively, struggling to find the net on many occasions but it seems to be on the rise. If they keep winning the way they have been, the goals will follow in full swing. With these 4 wins in a row, this also gives them 7 wins in their last 10 games. Pretty good for a team who was having a hard time trying to find it's identity early on. All the pieces of the puzzle look to be coming together and if offense, defense and goaltending can get to a consistent level, the Wranglers will be a legitimate threat coming out of the west.

 

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Among the fairly balanced group of forwards, 2 players have shined the brightest. Travis Boychuk and Thomas Landry have made a 1-2 punch for Calgary. Both of these players have 27 points a piece, while Boychuk has 2 more goals than Landry. The leadership on this squad seems to be firing on all cylinders lately. Although Boychuk has not been the Top 10 player he was in previous years, he has not been a disappointment. Boychuk started off the season slow, like much of the team but he found himself after around the 10 game mark. During that time, Landry held down the fort while the captain struggled. It is expected that both players will continue to rise to the occasion.

 

Rookie Lukas Nykvist has been exactly what Calgary has asked for this season as well. Though not as noticeable as Boychuk was in his first season in the VHL, Nykvist has stepped into the role that was asked of him. He was not expected to be a superstar in the league right away by any means. He has come in and scored 19 points in 26 games, which are very respectable numbers for a rookie. As highly touted of a prospect he is, it is expected for him to continue to grow into a strong player for the team. Easier said than done, but Nykvist has quite the resumé and there is a ton of time for him to develop into a star.

 

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In other news, their defensive squad has been great offensively. Godavari Yumalatopinto and Edwin Encarnacion have been studs on the blue line so far this season. Both of them have been chipping in in a big way, with a fair amount of points and plenty of hits. It remains to be seen if they can up their game to another level and prevent some more goals past goaltender Martin Brookside, though. Yumalatopinto has logged many minutes and is sitting at a -3. Yumalatopinto has 19 points and Encarnacion with 17. As well as those 2, Kravinen and Stark have been superb so far. Kravinen with 16 points and Stark with 15. The balance on defense is well known with all 4 defensemen having such similar numbers.

 

As the season goes on it is going to be a nice story to follow and see if the Wranglers will continue to have success or dive back into inconsistency. Consistency is something that Calgary has been lacking for years, but with all of the talent joining the team recently that should change quickly. There has been an abundance of leadership on the roster and the team will be leaning on Travis Boychuk to get the job done.

[Da Trifecta 1,899]

Content: 3/3 Another great read from you. The Wranglers seem to doing better than I think they expected. Boychuk is making a huge difference for the team.

Grammar: 2/2 I didn't spot anything here

Appearance: 1/1

 

FINAL: 6/6