Claimed:One-Two Punch

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One-Two Punch

 

In every sport a coach wishes he had a tandem that will set their team apart from the rest. For the past three seasons the Cologne Express have focused a lot of their offensive production around Reggie Dunlop and Kameron Taylor. Both players are still on the team and still producing, but a new face has arisen in the Express lineup. Davey Jones made the jump from the VHLM to the VHL pro level this past training camp and it has been a great experience thus far. The Express still rely on their heavy first line with Dunlop and Taylor, but another dimension is starting to write it's own story. You may be looking at a very bright future for the Express down the middle of their forward groups.

 

 

It is no secret that Davey Jones is a great player with a ton of potential; but there is more to the young guy than his ability. In fact, in the case of the Cologne Express there is way more of a dimension Jones brings to the look of the team. Having Taylor as the number one center has been pretty much a staple in the Express lineup. Having Davey Jones come out after him, as the number two center is even more of a big deal. For years the National Hockey League preached the importance of having depth down the middle in the center position. Preaching only resulted in many teams achieving what they wanted; which is the ultimate prize in the Stanley Cup. The Chicago Blackhawks had a cast of Jonathan Toews, Dave Bolland and Andrew Shaw steer them to victory this past June. The Boston Bruins achieved greatness using Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci and Chris Kelly. It became no secret to times after the 2004-2005 lockout that having quality centerman is the key to a successful playoff run. The importance of winning face-offs and having a back checking center ice player was becoming a huge focus for many teams. The Cologne Express are hoping Kameron Taylor and Davey Jones are their keys to victory.

 

 

Through fourteen games so far this year, Davey Jones and Kameron Taylor have combined for 26 points thus far. Both are centering their respected lines and both are averaging over 3.5 shots per game. Taylor leads his team with a 60.51% success rate in the face-off circle and Davey is close behind with a 52.80% success rate. One of the biggest surprises is that Davey Jones is leading the Express with five power play points and is only three points shy of the rookie lead in overall offensive production. The ability for the Express to use these two workhorses will be key going towards the stretch drive. Cologne is hooping their depth down the middle can help them in the playoffs, an area they seemed to be thin at last season. Another advantage these two have moving forward is there size. Kameron Taylor is 6'5 on skates and tips the scales at 215 pounds of pure mass. Taylor's nickname in the Cologne locker-room is "Skeena" which was a huge train that ran just outside of Taylor's hometown in Cochrane, Alberta. Davey Jones is listed as 6'2 on skates and weighs in on the scales at a built 200 pounds. Davey hasn't been given a nickname yet but we are sure it may get formed from the two giants skating down the ice.

 

 

Jones and Taylor are a great complement to each other but even more for a squad who bolstered it's lineup in the off-season with the addition of Malcolm Spud. Evgeni Chekhov is still their meal ticket, but the Express hope their one-two punch down the middle can drive them to victory. Next stop, Playoffs!

[Doomsday 4,130]

Content: 3/3 - Davey Jones is the best-kept secret of the VHL. He was a blast to have as a teammate in Bratislava and I was hoping to get to play with him again in the bigs. From the day he came to the VHL, I knew that he would be a force to be reckoned with.

 

Grammar: 2/2 - Didn't see a thing, well done.

 

Appearance: 1/1 - Yessum.

 

Overall: 6/6 - All that and a big bag of chips.

[Toast 887]

Content: 3/3 - A nice one-two punch here from Cologne. Fantastic point totals from the two of these guys this season and if things keep up the duo will definitely be a force other teams have to watch out for. Keep up the good work guys!

 

Grammar: 2/2 - Fantastic work overall. Just watch up for numbers above 10. Gotta be written out in number form.

 

Appearance: 1/1 - Yep.

 

Overall: 6/6

 

FINAL: 6/6

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