The Wann Kerr Chronicles

[VattghernCZ 1,014]

 

Time really flies, when you’re having a good time, right? It feels like not long ago, when @Shindigs (miss ya, buddy) was giving me The Talk as a part of the S85 VHLM dispersal draft scouting interview. I’m talking about earning and realiatic expectations depending on how I had been earning, jeez. It’s really hard to believe it’s been a whole year. My player, Wann Kerr, is now a 1000+TPA center who’s slowly closing out the first half od his VHL career and I should start thinking about banking TPE to fight depreciation. Kerr being my first gen player, and being a part of the awesome LR @Frank and @Gaikoku-hito have built in Vancouver are arguably the biggest reason Kerr’s transformation from the shy, clueless rookie to one of the better players in the league happened faster than I’ve been realizing.

 

The road so far…

 

Junior review:

 

Prospect scouting report:

 

Rookie experience:

 

S87: Strong rookie season with the Victory Cup winning team

 

(72 GP | 20 G | 24 A | 44 P | +27 | 26 PIM | 32 HIT | 16 SB)

 

It was hard for me to set expectations for Kerr’s rookie season. Not really knowing what to expect, I said I’d like my player to score 20 goals. The S87 Wolves were an absolute powerhouse, with their offense sporting the S86 Cup winning core of Dogwood Maple @dogwoodmaple, Henry Eagles @Greg_Di, Sergey Preobrazhensky @Bulduray_1 and Svatopluk Puk @Otaznik, along with a newly acquired high end winger Nezuko @Baozi. Regularly playing in the right wing position on the second line alongside two 1000+TPA forwards Nezuko and Preobrazhensky, Kerr’s rookie season was much better than I had anticipated. To be honest, I had been losing faith in finishing with 20 goals before the season started as I was looking through rookie season stats of players around the league. Kerr’s teammates were able to let him score twenty on dot, with a team leading 10%+ shooting percentage.

 

S88: Sophomore Slump

 

(72 GP | 17 G | 26 A | 43 P | -14 | 36 PIM | 113 HIT | 25 SB)

 

Nezuko, Preobrazhensky, Puk, all gone. Replaced by a solid veteran Bob Vladovechsenkchushkin @Grape, and two high-ceiling rookies $nubbed Analfist @STZ and Oreo McFleury @JB123, leaving Maple and Eagles the only true gamebreaking forwards on the team. The team offense took a massive hit, as they fell from scoring league-leading 250 goals in S87 to middle-of-the-pack 217 goals in S88. Kerr was moved to center, and playing with much lower TPA players than season prior he showed he still needs help and is not ready to drive his own line yet. His line was regularly being exploited by the opponents, as evident by the negative +/- rating. Even though he made some strides in his two-way game, Kerr’s production was abysmal for most of the season. Precisely until Frank made a move and acquired Kyle Peace @Peace from Toronto. Kerr and Peace formed a strong secondary scoring tandem behind Maple and Eagles, and finished the season hot. Unfortunately, they were not able to carry their momentum into the playoffs, as the Wolves were bested by the Bears for the second straight season.

 

S89: Breakout season

 

(72 GP | 38 G | 46 A | 84 P | +16 | 82 PIM | 134 HIT | 32 SB)

 

„Hey, Wann, you wanted to play with Nico? You’ve got a chance now. Go and f#$&king earn it!“

 

Maybe it was this text message from Frank what set Kerr on fire. Nico Pearce @Spartan , former Wolves captain, has joined Vancouver once again for one last season of hockey. With Peace and Vladovechsenkchushkin gone, Nico Pearce was exactly the type of winger the team needed. Now, in vast majority of games, Kerr would play with either Pearce or Eagles on one wing, and a Sophomore Stud – Analfist or McFleury – on the other wing. Despite a bit slower start, this definitely was a recipe for success for Kerr, as he really broke out around quarter of the season in. There was even a stretch of dozen or so games where he averaged about 2 points per game, and along with Pearce was borderline dominant in all areas of the ice. Even though he somewhat let the foot off the gas to end the season, the postseason was a true coming out party for him. Vancouver fought their way all the way to the top, where they met their demise in Lachlan Summers @kirbithan. But when all was said and done, Kerr was the most beaten up player, leading the league in hits taken. And yeah, I almost forgot, he was also league’s top scoring forward and a top goal scorer (in a 3-way tie) in the whole postseason. If the Wolves were able to beat Lachlan Summers in the finals, Kerr would undoubtedly be one of the strongest Daisuke Kanou Award cases.

 

S90: No goals, but a lot of on-ice f#$&k you

 

(16 GP | 6 G | 13 A | 19 P | +3 | 37 PIM | 63 HIT | 9 SB)

 

The offseason loss of Nico Pearce (retirement) and Henry Eagles (trade) was always going to be brutal for the team offense. Hockley Mann @Sen amd a former Brooks Award winner Girts Galvins @Girts are both very solid pieces in the last season of their careers, but there’s no doubt it’s a step back compared last season. And the new look Vancouver offense hasn’t been delivering so far. The team’s top forwards Maple, Kerr and Galvins have been especially snakebitten, all converting their shots in career low rate despite being among the team’s most active shooters. Kerr is already breaking the curse, and Galvins and Maple are on the track as well. Not being able to beat goalies clean creates a lot of second chances, so assists have been piling in an uncharacteristic rate, but the frustration from the pucks not going in is really visible in Kerr. He always seems to play pissed off. While fans love Kerr hitting everything that moves, blocking everything that flies his way (he leads the Wolves‘ forwards in hits and shots blocked at the time of writing this) and rubbing it in the opponents‘ face, coaches are definitely not happy with how the penalty minutes are adding up.

 

So, what’s next for Wanker?

 

He’s just hitting his prime. With how he’s been developing, I’m confident sky is the limit for Kerr. I’ve set up three career goals for him:

 

1) Play at least 504 games for Vancouver. I’d like to play all 576 games here, but ultimately, that’s not just up to me. Kerr’s current contract expires after S92, leaving me with 2 seasons left after that. We’ll see if Kerr is worth an extension by then.

 

2) Win The Cup with Vancouver. We’ve come oh so close in S89. In the M, Kerr’s Aces lost in semifinals. In the E, his Rome lost in finals. Internationally, Kerr has had some success, winning gold medal in S86 WJC, but this is VHL. We all know what trophy this is about.

 

3) Win the Boulet. I’m building a two-way center with some physicality. My build goal has gone through many changes, winning Boulet or at least being nominated would be a great validation for me as a wannabe build nerd.

Edited August 31, 2023 by VattghernCZ
typos

[Scurvy 1,518]

Great article