ROTY's from S80-S85: Where did they go?

[Daniel Janser 2,269]

As I saw the topic for this season's theme week I knew immediately that I was going to look at the Stolzschweiger winners during the time I am in the league. When @CowboyinAmerica article dropped my heart skipped a beat as I feared he beat me to it, but luckily, he took the inverse approach.

 

I will analyze the careers of the Stolzy winners from S80-S85 as this was the time I started in the league and I think it is too early to rate the career of the S90 and later ROTY's just yet. I will put them each candidate in one of three categories: HOF, Hall of very good and Hall of not bad. I do not think that anyone getting a trophy deserves any worse than the latter. With that out of the way, here are the players in chronological order of their Stolzy wins:

 

S80, C Matty Fire @mattyIceman

Rookie season stats: 72gp, 49g, 64a, 113pts, -17, 13 PIM, 31 hits, 97sb, 1gwg, 6ppg

Career stats: 648gp, 302g, 420a, 722pts, +83, 548 PIM, 1,259 hits, 346sb, 39gwg, 51ppg, 7shg

Matty Fire had a very solid career, mostly in Toronto, but never reached the same scoring level as in his rookie season. He had another 100+ point season in S82 though, and a total of six season with a point per game or better. Outside of the Stolzschweiger he has not won any further trophies, neither individually nor on a team level dressing for Prag, Malmo and Helsinki in his later years. Toronto was a bottomfeeder team in S80 (this partly explains why only one of the 49 goals was a game winner) and apparently only six skaters were eligible for the ROTY award, if the index can be trusted. Nevertheless, I rate Fire as 'Hall of Very Good' as for the HOF his trophy cabinet is not full enough and the first (though impressive) season was his best.

 

S81, G Em Em Flex @oilmandan

Rookie season stats: 65gp, 39-20-5 record, .918 saving rate, 3.25GAA, 3SO

Career stats: 176gp, 110-47-15 record, .921 saving rate, 2.84GAA, 13SO

Arguably the biggest 'What if' on this list. Flex only played three seasons in the VHL (all for the Bears) before retiring. And he got better every season. He won the Kanou as well as the Continental Cup in his final season. This for me catapults him into the 'Hall of Very Good' for me, and if his career was longer with the same progression (or at least keeping his level) would have easily made the HOF.

 

S82, RW Nils Godlander @Moon

Rookie season stats:72gp, 53g, 78a, 131pts, +65, 87 PIM, 213 hits, 27sb, 4gwg, 12ppg, 2shg 

Career stats: 504gp, 273g, 284a, 557pts, +136, 354 PIM, 759 hits, 181sb, 41gwg, 63ppg, 5shg

Another career cut short, and again their best season was their rookie campaign. Godlander was part of a London team that won the European Conference, just to be eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. After winning the ROTY no further trophies came this forward's way and their production was too inconsistent for my taste. The Swedish prodigy could never leave up to the hype generated in their inaugural season, despite another 100 point season in S86 with Prague. Due to the rollercoaster scoring (three consecutive seasons under a point per game), I rate this player as 'Hall of Not Bad'.

 

S83, D Bo Johansson @Shindigs

Rookie season stats: 72gp, 10g, 71a, 81pts, -5, 28 PIM, 87 hits, 170sb, 0gwg, 5ppg

Career stats: 576gp, 111g, 551a, 662pts, +80, 616 PIM, 931 hits, 1,230sb, 12gwg, 65ppg

Johansson was a pass first, non-physical defenceman and played his whole career for the Phoenix and it baffles my mind why his jersey has not been retired by the franchise yet (I personally #blamecole @badcolethetitan for that). BoJo followed up his shared ROTY with a Beketov, Valiq and a Labatte in S86. That season him and Janser shared almost all of the skater trophies amongst them with only Wylde-winning Payne @Scurvy able to break the Swedish-Swiss deadlock. Bo has received votes for a HOF induction on multiple occasions and I am sure if Shindigs did not go AWOL, he would already be there. That is why I rate him as HOF.

 

S83, G Ben Dahl @Ben

Rookie season stats: 64gp, 33-27-4 record, .926 saving rate, 2.74GAA, 2SO

Career stats: 333gp, 155-111-30 record, .923, 2.66GAA, 13SO

Dahl played seven seasons for Calgary and Helsinki before hangig up his skates for good. He could not repeat his performance of the first season as a starting goalie and had a losing record in his three seasons with the Titans. That leaves the question whether he was a winning goalie in Calgary because they had a good team already or on his own merit. Especially since Calgary only won their cup once they replaced Dahl with Lindbergh @Doomsday, after the former has gone IA. However, that does not take away that Dahl won also the Victory Cup in S86. Ben was a reliable goaltender in Calgary, not more but also not less. All in all, I think the disappearance hurt this player's career and I cannot rate him higher than 'Hall of Not Bad'.

 

S84, G Augustus Kennedy @InstantRockstar

Rookie season stats: 65gp, 25-34-5 record, .931 saving rate, 2.8GAA, 6SO

Career stats: 386gp, 162-184-38, .927 saving rate, 2.58GAA,21SO

While a losing record does not seem a good justification for a ROTY netminder at a first glance, a saving rate of .931 does. The Americans did not have any starpower in their S84 campaign and none of the skaters reached the point-per-game threshold. That certainly helps with putting that less-than-ideal record in a better light. Kennedy went on to win the Clegane in his sophomore season. After six seasons which he spent exclusively with New York, Augustus called it quits and retired. In terms of shutouts and SV%, he peaked in his rookie season, in terms of GAA in his sophomore. Normally that would put him in the 'Hall of Not Bad'. However, Kennedy was very consistent (never below .924, always between 2.5-2.8 GAA, and at least one shutout every season). And so were his team mates. Only one player had (barely) a point per game from S84-88, so I think the blame for being a losing goalkeeper cannot be put in Kennedy's lap and hence I will put him in the 'Hall of Very Good'.

 

S85, RW Molly the Cat @JCarson

Rookie season stats: 72gp, 36g, 37a, 73pts, +13, 72 PIM, 149 hits, 24sb, 8gwg, 10ppg, 1shg

Career stats: 576gp, 301g, 305a, 606pts, +49, 636 PIM, 1,407 hits, 246sb, 55gwg, 72ppg, 3shg

The Cat spent all his career with London and was in five of eight season above a point per game, including his rookie season. In S91, his second-to-last season he even peaked with 52 goals and 107 points to his name. London could rely on Cat to score thirty goals and sixty points a season. In S88 Molly lead United to the hockey throne for their first Continental Cup. Unfortunately, for the Canadian winger, no further individual awards came his way. But this is not the sort of player Cat was. The team came always first. For his reliability, the elementary contribution to the London Cup run in S88 and the jersey retirement for London, for which he was a franchise player, I put Molly into the HOF.  

 

There you have it. Feel free to disagree, as I openly admit I am not free of bias, yet tried my level best to be fair to all the nominees and hope I have done all of them justice.

 

1273 words

Edited August 29, 2024 by Daniel Janser

[VattghernCZ 1,127]

I miss Shindigs 

[mattyIceman 1,238]

420 apples... I never noticed that

[Daniel Janser 2,269]

2/2