Lachlan's Offseason Adventures

[kirbithan 1,368]

 

Lachlan Summers, the Australian goaltending stud, had quite the eventful offseason leading up to S89. To start things off, he first was invited to attend the VHL Awards where he was nominated for three awards! Although he would have ultimately chosen the Continental Cup any day, his impact as a rookie was immense and he will surely improve and protect Davos’ crease for many seasons to come.

 

In his first full season as Davos’ starter, he couldn’t have asked for anything more. The Aidan Shaw Trophy (Top Goaltender), Christian Stolzschweiger Trophy (Top Rookie), and Brett Slobodzian Trophy (Most Outstanding) were all within reach. 

 

He sat in the crowd, alongside his husband Frankie, sister, brother-in-law, and mother, eagerly awaiting for his name to possibly be called over the loudspeaker for one of three awards. While the Shaw went to Xavier Booberry— who was Davos’ previous starter and Lachlan’s mentor figure— and the Slobodzian was awarded to Ronan Lavelle, Lachlan managed to secure the Stolzschweiger for Top Rookie, with all 11 members of the board casting their vote for him!

 

He finished the season with a 39-18-7 record, a .932SV% and 4 shutouts, and these stats were similar to last season’s winner Matt Murdock. The Aussie netminder made his way to the stage, thanking the commissioners, his general manager Alex, teammates, friends, and family who have all pushed him to be better than he was the previous day. The hope is that this award win will be the start of a legacy for Lachlan in the Victory Hockey League, especially after a heartbreaking defeat in the European Conference final in Game 7 at the hands of London United.

 

After the VHL Awards concluded, Lachlan and Frankie returned to Australia to spend some quality time with family and friends in the land down under, taking a trip to Bondi Beach, snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef, and revisiting all of Lachlan’s favorite places in his hometown of Brisbane, which cured most of his homesickness, at least for now. After two weeks, they flew to Sorel-Tracy, Quebec— Frankie’s hometown— to do it all over again in Canada. This was beginning to become a tradition since Lachlan barely had any time to travel during the season due to time constraints. 

 

Their travels didn’t end there, as they booked a flight to Riga, Latvia two weeks before training camp started, where they attended Lachlan’s longtime friend and former teammate Sadie St-Louis’ wedding. Sadie had approached Lachlan a few months prior with the opportunity to be her best man, which he was ecstatic to accept. The ceremony ran smoothly and Lachlan, although not being as suave with words as some others may be, wrote a speech and made a toast to the happy couple.

 

Then came training camp, which proceeded after an eventful offseason for Davos in which GM Alex had pulled off a momentous trade to bring in Skor McFleury to the Dynamo, finally securing the core of their defense for seasons to come. Lachlan was locked in the entire camp, wanting to build that synergy with his teammates, new and old, although Davos opted to keep most of that Cup run team from last season barring a few retirements and trades. 

 

As of the week of June 25th, Davos is leading the European Conference with Lachlan backstopping the team to a few crucial wins. Could this finally be the year for the Dynamo to bring home the coveted Continental Cup?

 

Edited June 26, 2023 by kirbithan