The S96 Nighthawks Roster

[tcookie 927]

Over the past several seasons, the Malmo Nighthawks have a well-established track record of both great regular season success and great playoff failure. For the players involved it's been frustrating, but they have remained steadfast in their belief that this is the right core to get the job done. Malmo GM Victor Grachev @KaleebtheMighty has made tweaks around the same central core to no avail, but the philosophy is to continue putting a talented team on the ice and eventually they should break through.

 

Heading into S96, the only change from last season's lineup sees Isaac Mclflopper entering the Malmo lineup in place of the retiring Randy Bobandy @AJW. Let's review the squad that hopes to break the now-infamous playoff curse.

 

FORWARDS
Phillip Rave @tcookie
Rave has come a long way from being a second-round pick in the S91 draft, with the third-most TPA in the entire league at time of writing. He's a dynamic sniper, strong on the puck with quick hands and an excellent defensive game and should play a huge role for Malmo this year. Maybe Rave's ascendance to stardom could be Malmo's missing piece? Last season's 45 goals and 89 points were career highs, but on paper, he is capable of a place among the VHL leaders.

 

Viktor Jensen @Advantage
Jensen has been the face of the Malmo franchise up front for the past several seasons, with 533 career points in a Nighthawks uniform and four straight 85+ point seasons to his name. He's a complete player; a good playmaker with a well-rounded game and one of the league's best face-off men.

 

Ronald Johnson MacWallace III @RJMW
With a career-high 94 points last year, MacWallace is a physical presence who is still a threat to score and take care of his own end of the ice. He has steadily improved throughout his time in the VHL and should continue to be a key contributor for the Nighthawks.

 

Savaisk Tzesar @comrade cat
While MacWallace is a physical presence, Tzesar is an outright menace on the ice; one of the more physical forwards in the entire league. He is an excellent two-way forward and offensively leans into a more shoot-first style of play. Tzesar is a former 40-goal scorer and should continue to threaten the 40 goal, 80 point, and 300 hit marks, numbers he has been right around each of the past three seasons.

 

Martin Kemp @leafsman
Kemp's first season in Malmo saw him put up 60 points and 233 hits. He plays similar to Tzesar whose physicality is turned down slightly, although he probably has a little more offensive tendency to his game, with a better shot but a little weaker defensively. Wherever he lines up, Kemp will surely contribute to giving Malmo two great offensive lines.

 

Isaac Mclflopper @sportexperts show
Mclflopper is the lone addition to the Malmo roster over the off-season, and he fits the same mold as Tzesar and Kemp. Drafted in the second round of S91 just like Rave, he has become a great VHL forward in his own right, breaking out last season for 43 goals and 82 points. He could stand to protect the puck a little better in traffic, but has an excellent shot.

 

DEFENSEMEN
Jacob Stone @scoop
For the last several seasons, Stone has been Malmo's best player. A lynchpin on the back end who has logged big minutes season after season - generally as the #1 defenseman for one of the best defenses in the league - Stone is one of the best defensive defensemen of his era, and the two Wylde Trophies he's earned prove it. But he's got plenty of offensive punch too, with four straight 20+ goal, PPG seasons including career-bests with 35 goals and 95 points in S95. Stone is entering his final VHL season looking to put an exclamation mark on his potential Hall of Fame resume.

 

Conference Prince-de-Galles @UnkemptCL4PTP
His physicality and all-around game have been a boon to the Nighthawks' defense since he was acquired in S92, and he's evolved into a very reliable player having posted 182 points and a +117 rating in his four VHL seasons. His main calling card is his excellent vision on-ice, being one of the best puck distributors on the blueline in the entire league.

 

Vlad Von Carstein @Dom
Von Carstein is kind of an old-school defender, with a massive 6'8, 240 pound frame and nasty physical presence to his game. On the other hand, he doesn't have a ton of offense to speak of and is a relatively weak skater. Nevertheless, he is a fantastic compliment to the other Nighthawks defenders and certainly carries his weight as a second-pairing player.

 

GOALIES
Jorgen Lovstrom @Pifferfish
All you can really say about Lovstrom's first VHL season is that it was a resounding success, as he led the league in GAA and SV% and captured the Clegane Trophy in his first VHL action. Were it not for a platoon with Karl Herzlich for most of the season, Lovstrom probably would have won the Shaw, too, but his chances were diminished playing just 43 games instead of the standard 64 for a VHL starter. What the Nighthawks hope for is that Lovstrom will continue to excel with the increased workload this year, and consistently elite netminding would certainly keep them dangerous in the EU.

 

The Nighthawks are, once again, a team built around a deep, balanced lineup offensively with several players capable of contributing. They have six forwards who you could easily place on the first line of a contending team without them looking out of place, so they will have the freedom to mix and match to find something that works for them.

 

Defensively, they have been an elite team season after season, and the influence of Jacob Stone has to be a factor. Stone will likely once again play first-pairing minutes alongside a bot defender, and his ability to continue to succeed that role will play a factor in how successful the Nighthawks can be defensively. If history is any indication, they will be one of the best defensive teams yet again, especially with the success of Lovstrom between the pipes as the last line of defense.

 

---

 

1000+ words for this week and next

[AJW 2,192]

Gonna miss playing for this franchise, good luck this season y’all!

[comrade cat 303]

Going to be an exciting season for this team for sure

[tcookie 927]

Claim week 2/2