Leonard Triller - Peaking Early

[Triller 1,684]

Peaking Early

 

 

 

          Heading into London for Triller's S88 rookie season there were many unknowns.  The United's GM, Dil, had announced their retirement from not only GM'ing, but the league as a whole.  This left the team and its prospects wondering what the future would hold for the leadership group.  Rumor's swirled as to who would land the job but only one candidate had been endorsed by the former GM, Jacob Carson.  Applications were taken and after some time, the former San Diego Marlins GM was brought in to lead the London United.  Having won a Founders Cup with Jacob, Leonard was excited to be paired with a GM he had a past connection with and that excitement kept going as the new VHL GM started executing the plan for his new team.  Off-season moves brought in high level talent while maintaining London's core.  Mainstays improved over the off-season and we're better than ever.  The team had high expectations for themselves and Triller hoped to deliver in his rookie season.  Being a top candidate for the Christian Stolzschweiger award, he needed to shine and contribute to his team's success.  A debut in the playoffs in his first season would go a long way to securing his spot on the team and with a new GM in place and new teammates to play with, things were feeling great!  Before the season began, Leonard was chosen as an Assistant Captain, which was exciting news but also a heavy burden that he knew he had to earn in the LR and on the ice!

 

1st Half of Season

           We are officially at the halfway point in Triller's rookie season and things could be going better in London.  With an 18-13-4 record the United sit at 5th in the European Conference.  Struggling to find consistency, the team continues adjusting to the roster changes.  While mostly outplaying their opponents they seem to lack the finishing to bring these games to the win column.  As for Leonard, he is performing quite well in his rookie debut.  Sitting 3 points and 3 games back of first in points among rookies at 26, his playmaking skills have translated well to the VHL.  It is interesting to note as well that his former teammate on the Geneva Rush, Kronchy Kardashian is who he is chasing.  With 21 assists, he has been able to contribute and make an impact on the team.  GM Jacob has shown trust in the rookie by playing him mostly on the first line alongside Igor Molotov and fellow S86 Founders Cup Champion, Adam Rage.

 

 

TEAM	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	SHT	HIT	SB
Vancouver Wolves	3	0	3	3	0	2	10	6	2
Calgary Wranglers				0
Los Angeles Stars				0
Chicago Phoenix	2	0	0	0	-1	4	6	1	2
Seattle Bears	1		1	1	1	4	4	4	0
New York Americans	2	1	0	1	1	2	1	4	1
DC Dragons	2		2	2	2	4	11	4	1
Toronto Legion	2	1	0	1	2	0	4	2	1
NAC Totals	12	2	6	8	5	16	36	21	7
TEAM	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	SHT	HIT	SB
HC Davos Dynamo	4	0	1	1	1	6	10	11	0
Moscow Menace	3	0	1	1	1	2	9	3	3
Malmo Nighthawks	7	2	6	8	6	6	20	13	2
Riga Reign	5	1	3	4	1	10	9	3	2
Warsaw Predators	1	0	1	1	0	0	3	0	0
Prague Phantoms	1	0	1	1	0	0	3	0	0
Helsinki Titans	3	0	2	2	0	0	7	6	0
London United				0
EUC Totals	24	3	15	18	9	24	61	36	7
TOTAL	36	5	21	26	14	40	97	57	14

 

 

Second Half of Season

          The second half of the season has come to a close.  London fought hard for the third spot in the conference but fell just short to Moscow by a single point, finishing with a 39-25-8 record.  A 21-12-4 record for the second half of the season.  After some creative line juggling by Jacob the team found a bit more consistency that had them in the third spot for most of the second half.  A few OT losses that couldn't be closed out were a contributing factor to the drop to 4th.  Leonard finishes the season leading all rookies in points with 47, 11 goals and 36 assists.  With a bit less output than the first half of the season, he would fall just shy of 50 points.  Triller has made large strides this season in his defensive play and it has shown with a +17 along with 106 hits.  Knowing in his rookie season that he would not be dominating the league in points, Leonard focused on defense to help his team win.  An overall, impressive, regular season rookie experience and one that Leonard Triller can be proud of.

 

TEAM	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	SHT	HIT	SB
Vancouver Wolves	4	0	4	4	-1	2	11	10	3
Calgary Wranglers	4	3	5	8	4	0	12	5	2
Los Angeles Stars	4	2	2	4	-4	2	5	4	0
Chicago Phoenix	5	0	2	2	0	8	8	5	6
Seattle Bears	4	0	1	1	-2	6	9	6	1
New York Americans	4	1	0	1	2	8	5	6	0
DC Dragons	4	0	2	2	4	6	13	7	3
Toronto Legion	4	1	2	3	2	2	15	7	1
NAC Totals	33	7	18	25	5	34	78	50	16
TEAM	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	SHT	HIT	SB
HC Davos Dynamo	6	0	1	1	1	6	17	14	0
Moscow Menace	5	0	1	1	-2	4	13	5	3
Malmo Nighthawks	7	2	5	7	5	6	19	9	2
Riga Reign	5	1	3	4	1	10	9	7	2
Warsaw Predators	5	0	2	2	2	0	15	7	2
Prague Phantoms	5	0	2	2	-1	2	10	5	1
Helsinki Titans	6	1	4	5	6	2	14	9	1
London United				0
EUC Totals	39	4	18	22	12	30	97	56	11
TOTAL	72	11	36	47	17	64	175	106	27

 

          The London United now find themselves playing for a spot in the playoffs as a Wildcard against the Riga Reign.  Despite being 7 points ahead in the standings, London has struggled this season against Riga with a 1-4 record.  With a goal, 3 assists and a +1, Leonard has found success against Riga in these mostly losing affairs.  However, he will have to stay disciplined as he has taken his most penalties against Riga with 10 PIMs.

 

Wildcard VS Riga Reign

          In this wildcard series, Leonard would get his first taste of playoff hockey and would use it to steady his nerves and settle in with the team.  Handily taking the series 3-1, London would show it was ready to dig into the playoffs.  Triller started slow and exited the series with only 1 goal in the 4 games but with a +3 rating, he made sure he was keeping the puck out of harm's way when on the ice.  His defensive play showed as he had 8 hits which is 1 more than in 5 games against Riga in the regular season while managing to stay out of the penalty box the whole series.  Next up, the Prague Phantoms.

 

Conference Semi Finals vs Prague Phantoms

          After developing some playoff legs against Riga, London would face the Phantoms who, like Riga, had bested them 4-1 in the regular season.  Leonard did not see much success against Prague having only tallied 2 assists with a -1 rating.  One of only five teams he had a minus rating against throughout the season, but it became evident very quickly that Triller had changed his game for this playoff series.  In game one, Leonard would net his first career Hat-Trick, putting his passing on the backburner for a short time.  London would continue to dominate the series going forward with everyone on the team contributing to the 4-1 series defeat of the Prague Phantoms.  Leonard would continue to be a prominent player throughout the series with 7 points and a +6 rating.  Triller continues to keep his opponents on their toes as the hits keep coming with 13, resulting in only 2 PIMs.  Discipline continues to be a factor and will need to remain going into the conference finals.

 

Conference Finals vs HC Davos Dynamo

          After a decisive win in Prague, London comes in fresh against a well worn Davos team that managed to defeat Moscow in a huge series comeback.  The Dynamo are the first team the United will face in these playoffs that did not have a winning record against them in the regular season.  With a 4-2 record, the United look to continue their dominance over the Dynamo.  Leonard however looks to up his game again having only 1 assist in those 6 games.  With a +1 rating though, he looks to maintain his defensive stature and in this series.  After a hard fought back and forth series that sees a game 7, London clinches the European Conference Championship with a decisive 5-2 win over Davos.  Leonard finishes off the series with 2 goals and 3 assists, crushing his point production of 1 assist in 6 regular season games against the Dynamo.  Triller keeps showing up for his team in the playoffs and the rest of his team is doing the same.

 

 

 

Continental Cup Finals vs Seattle Bears

          With one thing left to accomplish, the United gear up to go for glory against the Seattle Bears who are coming off a 4-2 series win against the Calgary Wranglers.  With a 1-3 record against the Bears in the regular season, London comes into the series with the same mentality they had against Riga and Prague, the regular season record doesn't mean anything and Leonard is looking to match that sentiment.  With only 1 assist against Seattle, he looks to flex his playoff build and increase that point production while also locking down Seattle's stars.  The Continental Cup is all that remains and all the London United needs are four…more…wins.

 

          After dropping to 3-1 in the series against Seattle, London's magical cup run seemed to be over, but you wouldn’t have known that in the locker room.  The team buzzed with excitement at the chance to fight their way back into the series, and fight they did.  Game after game, London would start to pile up the wins.  OT wins, decisive wins and outshot wins, all while fighting discipline issues.  The penalty kill was solid and even more so, Jesse Teno.  With everyone contributing at opportune times the United managed to pull off what everyone would have said was impossible, becoming the Continental Cup Champions!

 

TEAM	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	SHT	HIT	SB
Riga Reign	4	1	0	1	3	0	9	8	1
Prague Phantoms	5	4	3	7	6	2	17	13	2
HC Davos Dynamo	7	2	3	5	-1	2	23	14	6
Seattle Bears	7	0	4	4	2	18	12	12	4
Playoff Totals	23	7	10	17	10	22	61	47	13

 

          Leonard Triller finishes off his Rookie Season as a Continental Cup Champion for the London United!  Contributing again in the final series with 4 assists and a +2.  Leonard found the series to be a challenging one that would test his patience as a rookie.  Racking up 18 penalty minutes, Seattle knew what buttons to push.  Unable to stay out of the box as much as he would have liked, Triller still managed to bring the physical edge he brought to other series with 12 hits.  It is a learning experience he will not soon forget.  With more experience, hopefully he learns to keep his cool down the stretch.  Triller would end the playoffs tied for 8th overall in points, as well as tied for 7th overall in goals.  He leads all rookies with 17 points, 3 more than teammate Hunor Solyom who is second and 13 more than the third place holder.  He was also 8th overall in +/- with +10.  A rookie season to remember on a team he will never forget.  Time to defend this cup!

 

Milestones

Game 1

First Career Point: First Period vs Warsaw Predators

London United , Hari Singh Nalwa 1 (Sock Monkey 1, Leonard Triller 1) at 3:38

Game 6

First Career Goal: First Period vs Warsaw Predators

London United , Leonard Triller 1 (Sock Monkey 4, Hari Singh Nalwa 4) at 9:11

 

Contract Extension Signed

S89: $1,500,000

S90: $1,500,000

S91: $1,500,000

S92: $1,500,000

S93: $1,500,000

Option: Mutual

 

Playoffs Game 1 Conference Semi Finals vs Prague Phantoms

First Career VHL Hat-Trick

1. London United , Leonard Triller 2 (Siyan Yasilievich 7, Hunor Solyom 3) at 7:41

4. London United , Leonard Triller 3 (Siyan Yasilievich 8, Molly the Cat 4) at 4:59

5. London United , Leonard Triller 4 (Siyan Yasilievich 9, Hunor Solyom 4) at 8:21

 

Nominated for the Christian Stolzschweiger Award

Named to the All-VHL Rookie Team

European Conference Champion

Continental Cup Champion

 

 

     

[kirbithan 1,762]

great write up! it was awesome to read all about your incredible rookie season in one place, the graphics are always a plus of course! (also thank you for making this look nice and readable on mobile as well, sometimes the tables can be an eyesore but that’s not the case here )

[Aimee 1,148]

Love love love! So happy to see your progress over the whole season. I remember how pumped we all were for that hat trick. I cannot wait to see what Leonard does this coming season!