Career Reflection - Sadie St-Louis

[sadie 671]

It's time for Sadie St-Louis' final season, finally donning the purple of HC Davos Dynamo as she hopes to have one more shot at the playoffs before retirement. The journey to Davos has seen her move through 6 other cities, marking very different chapters of her life. Breaking through to the VHLM in S84 with notable names like Lachlan Summers @kirbithan and Vincent Laroche-Gagnier @vincentlg2007, San Diego helped St-Louis make some early connections that would last a career. This wave of talent was too late to salvage what had been a disastrous season in San Diego, despite the admirable efforts of GM @jacobcarson877. Despite missing the playoffs, St-Louis says she has great memories of the teammates, management and locker room there. The VHLM Dispersal Draft in the offseason saw her picked 4th by the Ottawa Lynx, where she enjoyed a very successful regular season but in the end suffered an agonizing first round series lost against Mexico City after previously being up 3-0.

VHLM Stats

S84 (SDM) - 13GP, 7G, 13A, 20P

S85 (OTT) - 72GP, 37G, 48A, 85P

S85 (OTT Playoffs) - 7GP, 5G, 2A, 7P

Reg. Season Totals - 85GP, 44G, 61A, 105P

 

The offseason after S85 was a busy one; Sadie received interest from several teams before the long-awaited VHL Entry Draft. Riga, Helsinki, Seattle, Moscow, and Davos expressed interest. She ended up being selected at 4th overall, definitely before she thought she would be, by Riga and GM @hedgehog337, who had already selected The Frenchman @OrbitingDeath , consensus #1 and future superstar. But before -making the jump to top-league play, it was determined she'd spend a year in Europe developing, and said as much in the pre-draft interviews. Stockholm Vikings GM @MubbleFubbles reunited St-Louis with longtime friends Lachlan Summers and @John Cimarno, and there was a really optimistic feeling around the team heading into the season. But even with amazing performances by Lachlan Summers (.922 SV%) as well as really strong offensive seasons from Larry Abass Jr @RileyL and Sadie St-Louis herself (100 and 95 points respectively), the team couldn't muster enough wins to climb into the playoffs. A lack of offensive contribution greatly contributed here, as the dropoff from 2nd to 3rd place on the team was a whopping 31 points. Finally, St-Louis was ready to jump into the VHL.

 

VHLE Stats

S86 (STO) - 72GP, 47G, 48A, 95P

1.32 Points/Game

 

Riga welcomed Sadie with open arms and she is very glad they decided to select her in the draft; it was a good group of people and a very dangerous looking team. A commanding sophomore performance from The Frenchman, netting him 77 points in 72 games, was one of the most important factors along with 82 points from leader Daniel Weaver @ThePerfectNut and a very impressive 42 from the young defenseman Skor McFleury @Alex fresh out of the VHLM. Sadie was able to accrue 59 points, the most among all S87 rookies, and she was nominated for the Christian Stolzschweiger Trophy awarded to the top rookie each year. However, Matt Murdock @Acydburn had an absolutely stellar season and unanimously (and deservedly) won. This, barring a last-gasp miracle, is the closest St-Louis will ever have come to an individual honor. In the playoffs, Riga suffered a heartbreaking game 7 loss, and everyone came out of the season feeling like they could have done more. But this trend would, disappointingly, continue. S88 saw a surprising decrease in points from 59 to 55, the dreaded sophomore slump. Riga were swept in the first round and yet again a season was wasted. In S89 and S90, Sadie rose above both the 30-goal and 40-goal plateaus for the first time, with 34 in S89 and a current career high 41 in S90. Her point totals were well above a point per game but it seemed like it was never enough. Skor McFleury had already departed for Davos, but the chances still seemed excellent for Riga to accomplish something. Brian Kowalski @Wheaties recorded two incredible seasons at 108 and 80 points respectively in S89 and S90, all in vain. The Frenchman had 100 but left after S89. Riga had suffered two more losses in the Conference Semifinals, leaving St-Louis with an 0-4 record in the department of rounds won. Riga's window was now, for all intents and purposes, closed and an era of St-Louis' career ended as she was shipped off to Calgary going into S91.

 

VHL Stats

S87 (RIG) - 26G, 33A, 59P

S88 (RIG) - 23G, 32A, 55P

S89 (RIG) - 34G, 43A, 77P

S90 (RIG) - 41G, 46A, 87P

S87 (RIG Playoffs) - 7GP, 1G, 3A, 4P

S88 (RIG Playoffs) - 4GP, 3G, 1A, 4P

S89 (RIG Playoffs) - 5GP, 3G, 4A, 7P

S90 (RIG Playoffs) - 7GP, 3G, 2A, 5P

 

S87 Stolzschweiger Nominee

 

In Calgary, St-Louis experienced one of the greatest locker rooms in the VHL and some of the most helpful and caring management in GMs @Ricer13 and @leandrofg, but her play suffered tremendously in that first year, tallying only 48 points, a career-low, but one she bounced back from. S92 saw a return to more normal form, hitting 30 goals for the third time in her career with 34, and 68 points total. But Sadie's playoff woes continued- in both years, the Wranglers made the playoffs but failed to reach the Conference Finals. Now having tried and failed 6 times for any playoff success (7 if you count the VHLM), she was sent to the Seattle Bears knowing she only had 2 chances left. Seattle wasn't regarded as a likely cup contender, rather as one of the lower-tier playoff teams, but GM @Banackock helped his team defy the odds on the way to a first place finish in the North American Conference. Seattle lost out on the Victory Cup by just 3 points to Malmö though. Severus Targaryen turned in a fantastic season with 106 points, Henry Eagles @Greg_Di followed close behind with 101, and coming in via a trade midway through the season with a .933 save percentage and terrifying 21-2-3 record was Fuukka Rask @Jubis. Seattle made it past the first round in 6 games against the New York Americans, and took down the vaunted D.C. Dragons team in 6 as well, setting up a finals matchup between the Bears and the London United led by goalie Jesse Teno @aimkin in the form of his life. The Bears were generating tons of offense but Teno was in superhuman form, eventually setting up a dramatic game 7 in which Seattle won 4-2. St-Louis finally has her cup and in the offseason, was traded to Davos for a 3rd.

 

VHL Stats (continued)

S91 (CGY) - 26G, 22A, 48P

S92 (CGY) - 34G, 34A, 68P

S91 (CGY Playoffs) - 5GP, 2G, 3A, 5P

S92 (CGY Playoffs) - 6GP, 3G, 3A, 6P

 

S93 (SEA) - 72GP, 30G, 37A, 67

S93 (SEA Playoffs) - 19GP, 7G, 7A, 14P

 

S93 Continental Cup Champion

 

Looking back on goals for her career:

 

1. Win the Continental Cup

It might have taken a while, but that Seattle team got there. Cut it a little close!

 

2. Play in the VHL with Lachlan Summers @kirbithan

I think St-Louis got to Davos just a little too late for that- next player we'll make sure we do.

 

3. Score 100 points in a season

87 is as close as we were able to come. If my earning hadn't gone off a cliff due to school once I got to Calgary, there's no telling if I would have had a different career best.

 

Overall, this career has been pretty good. There were pretty big ups and pretty big down but St-Louis got the cup she deserved so I'd consider it a success. Maybe Davos can sneak into the playoffs this year and surprise everyone- anything could happen.

[kirbithan 1,464]

8 minutes ago, sadie said:

2. Play in the VHL with Lachlan Summers @kirbithan

I think St-Louis got to Davos just a little too late for that- next player we'll make sure we do.