Gaikoku-hito 1,661 Posted May 30, 2023 Share Posted May 30, 2023 (edited) S88 Vancouver Wolves Season Awards It is that time of year again where we are handing out some team hardware. It was an up and down season in Vancouver with a horrible start to the season but the team turned things around and made another run towards the play-offs before once again meeting the Seattle Bears. It was a close series and if the Bears don`t choke should be the team taking home the cup this season. Vancouver Wolves will start looking towards next season and that all starts today with the team awards. So lets get started...... Best defenseman: How the defence changed as the season progressed as the team started the season with D - Pierre Emile Bouchard @Gaikoku-hito, D - Jimmy MacElroy @Xflexz, D - Jens Lekman @Bobcat and D - Ryuji Sakamoto @der meister as the team looked to the defence for early season success at shutting down the leagues offense. Clearly after about 20 games this wasn`t going to work and D - Ryuji Sakamoto @der meisterwas traded to Helsinki Titians for D - Marcel Janser @Morcar80 & S89 RIG 2nd. Who didn`t even have a cup of coffee with the team before he was traded to London United for D - Branden Skuin @DrunkMonkey23 and S89 DAV 2nd. One week later and both D - Branden Skuin @DrunkMonkey23 and S89 DAV 2nd would be traded for LW - Kyle Peace @Peace from Toronto Legion that would really help turn the Wolves season around. Team completed the rebuild with the signing of UFA D - Logain Ablar @Kesler. Jimmy MacElroy @Xflexz had a very strong season with 61pts and 158 SB but struggled a bit on the defensive side of the puck with a -9 by the end of the season and D - Jens Lekman @Bobcat also had a very strong season with 32pts, 139 SB with a +23 by the end of the season but at the end of the day it was clear who was leading the back end of the team and the award is given to: Spoiler Pierre Emile Bouchard @Gaikoku-hito 72GP 23G-55A-78pts +22 281shots 126PIM 200Hits 171SB Similar to last season, Bouchard was expected to anchor the defense but this time with Ryuji Sakamoto providing a lockdown defender to aid in the task but for whatever reason it didn`t work as Bouchard struggled and so did the Wolves. After the trade, Bouchard was back on form as one of the best defenders in the league and helped the team back into play-off contention by the end of the season. Finished top five in defensive scoring again this season. Rookie of the Year: The Vancouver Wolves were blessed with two great rookies this season joining the roster in RW - Oreo McFleury @JB123 and RW - FISTED ANALLY BY A CIRCUS MONKEY Analfist @STZ. They have made it really tough this season to pick a winner of this award as both had really similar numbers with RW - Oreo McFleury @JB123 finishing with 9G – 20A – 29pts but a -14. While RW - FISTED ANALLY BY A CIRCUS MONKEY Analfist @STZ had 8G – 13A – 21pts and +17. So, are we going with the points leader or better defensive minded rookie this season? The Rookie of the Year is: Spoiler Oreo McFleury @JB123 72GP 9G – 20A – 29pts -17 182shots 26PIM 71Hits 14SB It was a very tough choice but in the end we believe that FISTED ANALLY BY A CIRCUS MONKEY Analfist benefited from playing on the top line protected by veteran players in Dogwood Maple and Henry Eagles while McFleury was asked to drive his line with last season Rookie of the year winner Wann Kerr. Unsung Hero: Easily one of the hardest awards to give out yearly as they aren`t aways at the fore front but always seem to be chipping in and doing the right things to help the team win. As I actually added this recently to as Press Conference question it was interesting to see the divided response from the locker room as cases being made for RW – Bob Vladovechsenkchushkin @Grape, D - Jimmy MacElroy @Xflexz, D - Jens Lekman @Bobcat and LW - Kyle Peace @Peace showing just how difficult it is to award the Unsung Hero award. Finally, the Unsung Hero Award is awarded to: Spoiler LW - Kyle Peace @Peace 40GP 14G – 12A – 26Pts -7 261shots 12PIM 43HIT 5GW After the trade from Toronto things just changed for the Vancouver Wolves and this could be tracked right back to one player in Kyle Peace as he ended the season leading the team in game winning goals and helped the team go from a bottom of the conference to the play-offs. His arrive triggered a complete 180 for the team and by far had the biggest impact on the season compared to any other player. Most Energetic: Why are some of these awards so tough to hand-out? Either way when I think of this award winner I think of Character, activity and energy around the teams locker room. Last season we had four players consider for this award but this year it was clearly three players that stood out in the locker room in Wann Kerr @VattghernCZ, Dogwood Maple @dogwoodmaple and FISTED ANALLY BY A CIRCUS MONKEY Analfist @STZ. This season Most Energetic award goes to: Spoiler Wann Kerr @VattghernCZ A huge part of the future in Vancouver after winning Rookie of the Year last season seemed to say the right things at the right time in the locker room. Kept the team upbeat and believing as the team struggled early only to rebound later in the season. Most Valuable player: Oh, In the past this was always a bit easier to award than this season as we had two standout seasons from two players looking to lead the team for the next few seasons in C - Dogwood Maple @dogwoodmaple and RW - Henry Eagles @Greg_Di. Really there isn`t much difference between the two players as they are only separated by five points. This was also asked a press question not that long ago with one of the players summing it up the best;” these two are peanut butter and jelly.” Bouchard @Gaikoku-hito was also given a nod but I am not considering him due to having a down season compared to previous one. The Vancouver Wolves MVP is: Spoiler Dogwood Maple @dogwoodmaple 72GP 41G – 50A – 91Pts. +21 483shots 120PIM 125Hits In the end it was game winners that tipped the scales for Maple this season but it could have really been given to either one of them. Both players were asked to lead the team as assistant this year and neither disappointed. With these two paired together the Wolves look destined to lead the league again next season. Little Wolf Award (Most Hits): Spoiler Henry Eagles @Greg_Di 239hits Throw 39 more hits than his closet rival for this award in Pierre Emile Bouchard at 200hits and almost 100 more than third place Jimmy MacElroy at 147hits. His hits were timely to create space from himself and his linemates as shown by finishing second in points and first in goals this season. Sniper Award (Shooting percentage): Spoiler Jimmy MacElroy @Xflexz 10.42% Surprised but also not surprised as MacElroy started the season on fire leading the team in goals after the first few weeks of the season. While he didn`t maintain that pace throughout the season it was clearly enough claim this award this season. QB Award (PP Assists): Spoiler Henry Eagles @Greg_Di 16A With Sergey Preobrazhensky being trade away in the off-season; we were always going to have new winner of this award this season. This actually surprised me slightly as I expected Maple, Bouchard or even MacElroy to possible lead this category due to finishing higher in assist than Eagles but it shows once again what I know!! Tooth Fairy (PIM Award): Spoiler Pierre Emile Bouchard @Gaikoku-hito 126PIM Second time winner actually cleaned up his act from the previous season where he had 172PIM so just for a slight moment I thought he wasn`t going to win this award again. Second was 26PIM behind was Maple and Third was Eagles showing the referees might have had it out for our top scores slightly or we were gooning It up this season. Always responsible (Plus/Minus): Spoiler Henry Eagles @Greg_Di +29 Responsible at both ends of the ice with timely hits and goals this season so it wasn`t a huge surprise that Eagles lead the plus/minus this season. Finished ahead of Jens Lekman and Pierre Emile Bouchard for this award. Oops Sorry Eh!! (Least hits): Spoiler FISTED ANALLY BY A CIRCUS MONKEY Analfist @STZ 33hits This one actually surprised me but in the end, I guess you cannot hit someone if they are already laying on the ice as he played with two of the biggest hitters on the team this season in Eagles and Maples but clearly this will be an area of growth for the VHL rookie. It wasn`t me (Least PM): Spoiler FISTED ANALLY BY A CIRCUS MONKEY Analfist @STZ 8PIM Not surprised since these last two awards seem to go hand and hand with each other. Don`t throw hits so cannot get into too many extras and not to mention that his line mates were once again leaders in this category. Again we expect he will work on his strength and toughness this off season like Kerr did after winning these two awards in his rookie season last year. Shoot the lights out (Most shots): Spoiler Henry Eagles @Greg_Di 523shots 40 more shots than Maple this season and 155 more than third place finisher Bob Vladovechsenkchushkin. Eagles clearly came into the season looking to make a big impact as he was clearly shooting the puck more compared to last years 415shots (108+). Work Horse Award (AMG): Spoiler Dogwood Maple @dogwoodmaple 2134 (29.65) Overall average ice time was spread-out a bit more this season due to having more players coming in and out of the line-up but it doesn`t surprise me that they three most impactful players this season in Maple, Bouchard and Eagles would finish 1,2 & 3. Common Coach (Least played): Spoiler FISTED ANALLY BY A CIRCUS MONKEY Analfist @STZ1443 (20.05) Again, not overly surprised since this award always seems to go to a Rookie but considering this rookie played top line minutes at times during the season really suggest that he should be well placed for a breakout season next year; He just needs more playing time. Bruised and Battered Award (SB Award): Spoiler Pierre Emile Bouchard @Gaikoku-hito 171SB Down from last season 198SB sort of speaks for the season that Bouchard had overall but heading into the final week of the season he was actually top 10 in SB but as the team focused towards more offense so did Bouchard as his SB slowed but points production increased. A case where you would like to see him block more as it means less goal scoring chance. Three Star Award: Spoiler Dogwood Maple @dogwoodmaple 510pts (10 - 1st Stars, 8 – 2nd Stars & 5 – 3rd Stars) Rather back-up the choice of making him the teams MVP as he led all players in 1st star selections was second in 2nd star selections and second in 3rd star selections. Eagle was by far the next closest player in star selections with actually being selected more often at 25 compared to Maples 23; showing once again how these two players were clearly stuck together this season. 1ST Star 2nd Star 3rd star Total Points Dogwood Maple 10 8 5 23 510 Henry Eagles 5 9 11 25 440 Brandt Fuhr 3 8 3 14 280 Pierre Emile Bouchard 5 5 2 12 270 Kyle Peace 4 3 4 11 220 Bob Vladovechsenkchushkin 3 2 2 7 150 Jimmy MacElroy 3 0 1 4 100 Wann Kerr 0 4 1 5 90 Matt Avens 0 2 4 6 80 Freddy Freeze 0 3 1 4 70 Oreo McFleury 1 0 2 3 50 Jens Lekman 0 2 0 2 40 FISTED ANALLY BY A CIRCUS MONKEY Analfist 0 1 1 2 30 Logain Ablar 0 0 0 0 0 Ryuji Sakamoto 0 0 0 0 0 Branden Skuin 0 0 0 0 0 Top Prospect Award: Spoiler FISTED ANALLY BY A CIRCUS MONKEY Analfist @STZ As someone put in best in a press conference question when asked if this award should be given out this season since we had no prospects in the minors with the simple put answer;” A roster member can still be considering a prospect.” No truer words have been spoken and considering FISTED ANALLY BY A CIRCUS MONKEY Analfist made the jump straight from VHLM to the VHL with the Wolves, he is clearly still a prospect that has shown great ability to make such a leap and hopefully will benefit from the early exposure to the big leagues. He is still very much a bit part of the Vancouver Wolves future and also happens to be here presently!! Final Thoughts: It was a great season of growth and sadly slightly expected that we would take a slight step back this season due to having a young roster that will be set for the next few years as we have set the team up for success and another run at a Cup. This season seen a ton of growth throughout the line-up with break out season for Maples, Eagles, and Jimmy. Two rookies joined the roster and will only improve alongside last years rookie Wann Kerr. Will look for slightly better season from Bouchard & Fuhr but overall, the team seems to be in good shape heading into next season. It was an up and down season but overall we managed to scare a lot of the other teams with the way we bounced back and made the play-offs. Sadly we say good-bye to some veteran players that played a huge role in our turn around this season in Kyle Peace, Matt Avens and Logain Ablar. You will always be part of the pack!! @Frank@Gaikoku-hito@Grape@dogwoodmaple@Greg_Di@JB123@STZ@VattghernCZ@Morcar80@Xflexz@Bobcat@Kelsier@Tate@G_Rush@Franklin@nikkisixx089@Peace@Mr Bohannan 2149 + Words Claims for June 4th, 11th, 18th & 25th Edited May 30, 2023 by Gaikoku-hito AJW, Subject056, Greg_Di and 5 others 1 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VattghernCZ 667 Posted May 30, 2023 Share Posted May 30, 2023 Tons of growing pains in this young team, and a void after Nezuko and Preo leaving that was hard to fill. But I think we've showed there's always some fight in us. We might be down, but never out. And the David Knight worthy moves by Frank only highlighted that. Can't wait to get back on top within next 2 seasons! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaikoku-hito 1,661 Posted May 30, 2023 Author Share Posted May 30, 2023 1 hour ago, VattghernCZ said: Tons of growing pains in this young team, and a void after Nezuko and Preo leaving that was hard to fill. But I think we've showed there's always some fight in us. We might be down, but never out. And the David Knight worthy moves by Frank only highlighted that. Can't wait to get back on top within next 2 seasons! Next Season!! VattghernCZ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Janser 1,982 Posted May 30, 2023 Share Posted May 30, 2023 Analfist FISTED ANALLY BY A CIRCUS MONKEY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank 4,772 Posted June 1, 2023 Share Posted June 1, 2023 Gaikoku-hito 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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