Halifax 21st SuperSailor #12 (S94-Week 5): Ty Duke

[LucyXpher 1,585]

 

Did you know that Ty Duke was almost an Ottawa Lynx?  Well, not really... but kinda.  In the Season 93 VHLM draft, a confusion with the draft order led to Ottawa selecting Ty Duke with the 64th pick before Halifax could make the 62nd selection.  When the order was straightened out behind the scenes, the Halifax 21st, who had actually selected a different player at 62, changed their selection to draft Ty Duke.  I just thought I'd throw that little bit of draft day trivia in there for you since Halifax almost missed out on a player who has become one of the best in the VHLM over the past two seasons.  

When Ty Duke was drafted in the 7th round, 62nd overall, he only had 66 TPE and was a player that, quite frankly, flew under the radar of a lot of teams.  In another draft, Duke may have been drafted as high as the 3rd or 4th round, but in that super deep Season 93 draft that saw a 130 TPE goalie drafted with the 70th and final pick, Ty Duke was a diamond in the rough, waiting to be unearthed.  During the course of S93, Duke played a depth role on a crowded Halifax team and managed a respectable 14 points in his first 72 games with the team.  A consistent earner since he was drafted, however, Duke quietly began to build himself up, getting better and better with each passing week.  During the offseason, as he approached the 200 TPE league cap, Duke was a player that completely overhauled his game, rebuilding himself to maximize his potential on the ice.  With Season 94 underway, Duke continued to build weekly and finally reached the league TPE cap after the 3rd week of the season.  In a recent press conference, when asked which player might be overlooked, underappreciated, or deserving of more acclaim, most Halifax players named Ty Duke.

 

With game 72 of the regular season wrapping up last night, Ty Duke completed the season with an outstanding 43 goals (2nd on the team) and 54 assists (6th on the team) for the 3rd highest point total on the roster with 97 points!  Duke outscored his S93 point total of 14 by nearly 7 times and was a huge part of Halifax's 1st place league finish and capturing the third Prime Minister's Cup in team history.  As the team's top line center, Duke took the most faceoffs in the VHLM, many of them against the league's other top centers, and won an impressive 59.55%, which was the 3rd highest percentage in the league.  Averaging 29.11 minutes of icetime per game, Duke was the 2nd highest minute-muncher on the team, only behind defenseman Dustin Moore, and finished the season with a +63 rating.  Duke is an impressive two-way forward with really high defensive IQ and that was a huge factor in his dominance all season long.  

Off the ice, I've personally chatted with Duke's agent @TheDuke almost every week since he joined the team.  Though he may not be the most visibly active in the team locker room, what has always impressed me was his responsiveness, consistency, and enthusiasm in the team's success.  I totally understand that the discord locker room is not everyone's cup of tea or life is busy. Everyone has their preferred way of enjoying the VHL and I totally respect that.  With Duke, there was never any question of his consistency or care for the team, which is really commendable because of how far he had to come from 66 TPE to the 220 he is currently at.  Duke is a player who is long overdue for some acknowledgment for the very important role he's played on this team over the past two seasons and I couldn't be more happy to see him having this success at the VHLM level now since he's really earned it!  Next season, Duke will be graduating to the VHLE where he'll begin play for the Stockholm Vikings, but not before the Halifax 21st take to the ice to chase their first ever Founder's Cup!  Congratulations to Ty Duke for being named this week's SuperSailor and for a fantastic regular season!

 

Honorable mention this week goes to Kendra Cavill @Firekiss who went 4-2-1 with .911 SV% and a 1.66 GAA with 1 shutout in a very important game against Mexico City! 

 

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Edited July 4 by LucyXpher

[diacope 1,696]

Duke is the definition of an underrated talent! If I had to trade attributes with another player it'd be Ty in a heartbeat. I thought my player was the most consistent.. Nope, It's Ty Duke! 

Edited July 5 by diacope