Tui Sova HOF Article

[VattghernCZ 989]

Position: D

Birthplace: FJI

Height: 6-ft-3

Weight: 210lbs.

Drafted: S78 - 7th overall (Malmo Nighthawks)

Username: @v.2

 

When you think about the greatest defensemen to never win a defenseman trophy, not many names – if any – come up before Tui Sova, the greatest hockey player to ever come from Fiji. Already in the VHLM, everyone could see Sova was a special two-way talent, when he finished his season as the seventh highest scoring defenseman and the top shots blocker in the league. Despite Tui's efforts, his Mexico City failed to advance into postseason. But don't worry, there's a lot of team success later in Sova's career, as he never missed playoffs in his VHL career. His stellar season in the VHLM earned him the 7th overall spot in the S78 VHL entry draft, where the Malmo Nighthawks pointed at him in an absolute steal of a selection. Sova started his VHL career as a defense-first defenseman, building up his scoring abilities, skating, puck handling and physicality during the "meta" era, and keeping the theme of shot-first two-way defenseman in the hybrid era as well.

 

Career Stats

 

Regular Season:

576 GP / 168 G / 448 A / 616 P / +120 / 2326 SHT / 816 PIM / 1259 HIT / 1178 SB / 26 GW / 75 PPG / 4 SHG

 

Playoffs:

82 GP / 25 G / 49 A / 74 P / +5 / 272 SHT / 134 PIM / 150 HIT / 160 SB / 3 GW / 14 PPG / 0 SHG

 

Individual Awards

 

(S84) Alexander Beketov Trophy (Assists Leader) (DCD)

 

(S85) Alexander Beketov Trophy (Assists Leader) (DCD)

 

Team Awards

 

(S79) Victory Cup (Best Regular Season Record) (MAL)

 

(S79) Continental Cup (Championship Team) (MAL)

 

(S85) Continental Cup (Championship Team) (DCD)

 

S78 – Malmo Nighthawks

 

72 GP / 8 G / 32 A / 40 P / +6 / 167 SHT / 108 PIM / 148 HIT / 169 SB / 1 GW / 5 PPG / 0 SHG

 

Playoff:

10 GP / 4 G / 3 A / 7 P / +/-0 / 24 SHT / 13 PIM / 15 HIT / 19 SB / 1 GW / 2 PPG / 0 SHG

 

Tui Sova went to his VHL team straight from the draft. Malmo were a perennial wild card team two years removed from winning the Continental Cup, looking to get back on top. And Sova was to be a huge part of the turnaround. And he immediately delivered, being one of only 3 rookies to score 40 or more points (3rd among rookies), which was a major part in earning him a Christian Stolzschweiger Trophy nomination. He really stepped up his game in the postseason, as he was the team's top goal scoring defenseman and one of only four players not in minus in +/- stat. The Nighthawks's playoff run was cut short by Warsaw in quarterfinals.

 

S79 – Malmo Nighthawks

 

72 GP / 18 G / 28 A / 46 P / +19 / 227 SHT / 107 PIM / 128 HIT / 121 SB / 5 GW / 11 PPG / 0 SHG

 

Playoff:

19 GP / 7 G / 6 A / 13 P / -1 / 50 SHT / 24 PIM / 27 HIT / 28 SB / 1 GW / 5 PPG / 0 SHG

 

While S79 didn't see a big step forward in Sova's defensive game, the biggest improvement in his game was his shot and its utilization. He was regularly showcasing his shot from the point on powerplays, as he was the most active powerplay shooter and top powerplay goal scorer among the Nighthawks' defensemen, fueling the league's second best man advantage unit. This season was more succesfull for Malmo than the previous one, as they won the Victory Cup with 106 points, 7 points ahead the second place Seattle Bears, and would go on to win the Continental Cup. Sova led the Nighthawks' blue line in goals, points, powerplay points and powerplay shots during the run.

 

S80 – Malmo Nighthawks

 

72 GP / 22 G / 50 A / 72 P / +14 / 263 SHT / 104 PIM / 158 HIT / 165 SB / 1 GW / 8 PPG / 0 SHG

 

Playoff:

8 GP / 2 G / 8 A / 10 P / +5 / 32 SHT / 4 PIM / 4 HIT / 10 SB / 0 GW / 0 PPG / 0 SHG

 

Sova's last season as a Nighthawk was a true breakout season that saw him crack the point-per-game plateau for the first time, while still maintaining his physicality and shutdown play – highlighted by team leading 165 shot blocks. While most of Tui's offense had come on powerplay previous year, this year he made huge strides towards being a dominant two-way player at even strength as well. Malmo clinched the playoff spot, and managed to sweep Warsaw in quarterfinals before being swept themselves by Moscow in semifinals. Despite the heartbreaking elimination, Sova's career as a Nighthawk ended on a high note individual performance wise, as he led the team in shot blocks, +/- and defensemen scoring.

 

S81 – Los Angeles Stars

 

72 GP / 21 G / 71 A / 92 P / +27 / 322 SHT / 134 PIM / 223 HIT / 145 SB / 3 GW / 5 PPG / 1 SHG

 

Playoff:

4 GP / 1 G / 3 A / 4 P / +1 / 11 SHT / 14 PIM / 16 HIT / 5 SB / 0 GW / 0 PPG / 0 SHG

 

While S80 was Sova's breakout season, his first season in Los Angeles was the season where he really established himself as one of the league's best two-way defenders, with then-career high numbers all across the board. Compared to his stint in Malmo, he was tasked to be more of a puck mover rather than a shutdown defenseman, so the little decrease in shot blocks is understandable. On the other hand, he was more active on both backcheck and forecheck, leading to career high amount of hits. Paired with highest assist total and second highest point total on the team – and top 10 point total among defensemen in the league – this is the type of two-way dominance you wish to see from your number 1 defenseman. This season rightfully earned Sova a Sterling Labatte Trophy nomination. LA finished the regular season as a wild card team, and the physicality Tui brought to the playoffs was not enough to carry the team past the wild card round.

 

S82 – Los Angeles Stars

 

72 GP / 29 G / 69 A / 98 P / +10 / 363 SHT / 136 PIM / 214 HIT / 121 SB / 4 GW / 13 PPG / 1 SHG

 

Playoff:

11 GP / 5 G / 5 A / 10 P / +2 / 39 SHT / 20 PIM / 22 HIT / 27 SB / 0 GW / 4 PPG / 0 SHG

 

To show S81 was not a fluke, Sova built on it with even more impressive S82 season, when he regained his confidence as a powerplay triggerman to re-add another weapon to his arsenal, and scored career high goal total and powerplay goal total. It's not a coincidence the Stars' powerplay went from mediocre to elite, while also being the best penalty killing team in the league. The fact a season where Tui improved on a stellar, Labatte nominee worthy season didn't bring him any award nomination is just a testimony to how fierce the competition between top defenders was in this era, and how hard it was to remain one of the best year after year. Sova was once again a top scoring defender on the team, and one of the more physical players, while also being the second highest goal scoring defenseman in the league. The Stars finished the season with 107 points, just 3 points shy of the Victory Cup winning Vancouver. They were not able to translate the regular season success into the postseason success as they were swept by Vancouver in semifinals. Sova brought his goal scoring touch to the playoffs, along with tighter shutdown game, and definitely was one of the Star¨s bright spots during their run.

 

S83 – D.C. Dragons

 

72 GP / 24 G / 45 A / 69 P / -24 / 306 SHT / 48 PIM / 92 HIT / 177 SB / 3 GW / 11 PPG / 1 SHG

 

Playoff:

3 GP / 1 G / 0 A / 1 P / -3 / 11 SHT / 2 PIM / 2 HIT / 6 SB / 0 GW / 0 PPG / 0 SHG

 

S83 was a bit tougher one on both Sova and his newest team, the D.C. Dragons. Immediately after arriving, Sova was awarded the captaincy and went on to lead yet another blue line in goals, powerplay goals (7th league-wide) and points. The transition to the hybrid era brought Tui's hit totals to a career low, but he logged the career high in shots blocked, which also led the team and ranked him 9th league-wide. His usually high assists total took a slight dip, which probably prevented Sova from being a Valiq Trophy nominee, but the Dragons were one of the lowest scoring teams in the league. Still, their powerplay was elite, that's what Tui brought to every team he played for. Disappointing season led to a disappointing postseason, where the Dragons were swept by Chicago in the wild card round.

 

S84 – D.C. Dragons

 

72 GP / 29 G / 77 A / 106 P / +40 / 365 SHT / 74 PIM / 129 HIT / 132 SB / 7 GW / 12 PPG / 1 SHG

 

Playoff:

9 GP / 3 G / 8 A / 11 P / -3 / 35 SHT / 25 PIM / 17 HIT / 23 SB / 1 GW / 2 PPG / 0 SHG

 

You can say Tui Sova was one of those players who age like fine wine. With much improved team around him, his seventh season in the VHL saw him absolutely explode for league leading assists total and points total, along with once again leading the team's defenders in goals (2nd league-wide), powerplay goals (2nd league-wide) and points. Sova's physicality was also slowly getting to where it used to be earlier, though his tenacity never matched his days in LA. He was counted on to move the puck and create plays from the blue line, and that's what he excelled at. As shown by winning the Beketov Trophy, and being a Valiq Trophy and Labatte Trophy nominee. S84 was a great season for the whole team, as they finished as the top North American team, but weren't able to advance past semifinals, despite great effort from the whole core, including the team's captain Tui Sova.

 

S85 – D.C. Dragons

 

72 GP / 17 G / 76 A / 93 P / +28 / 313 SHT / 105 PIM / 167 HIT / 148 SB / 2 GW / 10 PPG / 0 SHG

 

Playoff:

18 GP / 2 G / 16 A / 18 P / +4 / 70 SHT / 32 PIM / 47 HIT / 42 SB / 0 GW / 1 PPG / 0 SHG

 

Everything must come to an end, including such a phenomenal career. In his last season, Sova showed he still has a lot of gas left in the tank, as he decided to light the league on fire once more and win one more Beketov Trophy. Do I even need to say he led the team's defensemen in goals and powerplay goals, and earned a Valiq Trophy nomination? There was a slight drop in his goal total, it's hard to keep the scoring abilites elite in late stages of the career. But compared to the previous season, Tui played with more grit and shutdown game. To truly go out with a bang, after making the playoffs, the Dragons went on to win the Continental Cup, a second one for Sova, who was an instrumental part of the run and earned a Daisuke Kanou Trophy nomination for his effort. What a fitting way to end a career.