Who is Davos' true rival?

[CowboyinAmerica 2,900]

 

Does HC Davos Dynamo have a true rival?

 

Before they came back to participate in the VHLE, I was one of the people loudly calling for Vasteras’s return. But it wasn’t just because there was a lot of VHL history there, or because of some personal connection to the franchise. (I had never played on Vasteras before the VHLE, in fact.) Instead, what I really wanted was something that I think the VHL has largely lacked in recent seasons: a villain.

 

If you think about sports as a whole, a lot of the fun is the bad blood and rivalries. Think Leafs/Bruins. Yankees/Red Sox. Cowboys/Eagles. Heck, even short-term rivalries are fun - I’m definitely going to want to watch the first WNBA game between the Lynx and Liberty next season. While the VHL had its share of villainous teams in the early years, including Vasteras but also the Meute, Americans and Wranglers at varying times since I’ve been a part of the league, I don’t think there are too many rivalries recently that have naturally emerged.

 

That’s why a recent press conference question from @kirbithan got me thinking: Who all would I even consider HC Davos’ primary rival? Is there anybody with any sort of bad blood, particularly in the European Conference where playoff matchups may have got contentious?

 

That’s why I’ve decided to look at each other European team to see how often they’ve played Davos in the playoffs since the most recent VHL expansion in Season 73, including wild card matchups. And what I’ve found is - not really, a lot of the playoff battles are evenly spread out among most European teams. But there’s some potential there.

 

 Helsinki Titans

Davos Playoff Series Record Against: 0-1

Series Played Against: S91

 

It surprised me a bit that the Dynamo and Titans have only faced off one time, but it makes sense that the two teams were often on opposite paths. The Titans were dominant in the mid-70s when the Dynamo were down. Then the teams switched for most of the 80s, with Davos a stronger squad the second half the decade. The Titans did have a few strong years in the late 80s, but now that Davos has rebuilt again, the Titans are once again retooling on their own. However, the one playoff series there is was a doozy: The Wild Card Titans took down the top seeded Dynamo en route to a miracle finals run in Season 91. If the two sides had played a few more times before the Titans rebuilt, that certainly could have been the start of something.

 

 London United

Davos Playoff Series Record Against: 2-1

Series Played Against: S86, S88, S90

 

Part of the issue with fostering a true rivalry is that you need to see teams a few times in a row, having a point of direct comparison. However, between Season 73 and Season 95, Davos only once played a squad in the playoffs multiple seasons in a row. The closest they got was the series against London, where they played three times in five years, but always with a season in between meetings. Still, I wouldn’t really call London a rival for Davos, since the two teams were often separate in the standings - the first of those matchups was a wild card matchup, and the other two saw one seed Davos taking on Wild Card London. (But not without peril - in the one Davos loss, London did upset top seed Davos in S88 en route to their title.)

 

 Malmo Nighthawks

Davos Playoff Series Record Against: 2-1

Series Played Against: S79, S85, S87

 

One could argue that the closest series Davos has had in the past 22 seasons occurred against Malmo. In Season 87, the first seeded Dynamo and the third seeded Nighthawks played a killer series in the European Conference finals, with both sides going back and forth trading games before Davos was able to pull off Game 7. One could certainly see that as the potential start of a rivalry - but alas, the Nighthawks would soon rebuild, the Dynamo would follow them a few seasons later, and the bracket has fallen such that in the past couple seasons they have not played again. (And given the age of Malmo’s squad, who knows if they will again before another rebuild.)

 

 Moscow Menace

Davos Playoff Series Record Against: 3-1

Series Played Against: S84, S86, S88, S95

 

If you asked me the answer to this question at the end of Davos’ last run in S91, the answer would have probably been Moscow. The two sides faced off in some consequential matchups that served as a sign post for where Davos would need to be. Davos’ first playoff appearance after a rebuild ended in a quarterfinals sweep from Moscow in S84. Then, upsetting Moscow in S86 as a wild card team marked Davos as a true contender. Finally, taking down Moscow in a hard-fought 7 game series in S88 let people know that Davos was here to stay. The matchup took a back seat for a few seasons while Davos rebuilt, but last season’s Davos sweep (reminiscent of S86) could be enough to spark this contest up once again. To be sure, Davos is one game from potentially playing Moscow once again this season, and both teams are built to continue to make the playoffs for seasons to come.

 

 Prague Phantoms

Davos Playoff Series Record Against: 1-3

Series Played Against: S80, S86, S89, S90

 

If you listen to Davos forever legend Ahma, this is probably the correct answer for Davos’ true rival. First of all, there is the fact that Davos had claim to being the VHL’s purple team first, with Prague being deemed as Fake Purple upon their entry to the league. But more pressing is those back-to-back European Conference finals matchups in S89 and S90, the only time Davos has faced a team in the finals back-to-back seasons. In S89, it was Davos getting the upper hand, taking down Prague in five games en route to a title. In S90, the Phantoms returned the favor, beating Davos in five games in capturing a title of their own. Recent seasons have seen the teams move in opposite directions though, with Prague still in the middle of a deep rebuild while Davos has become a contender once again. This would be a fun matchup to see have some life again, but for now, it’s dormant.

 

 Riga Reign

Davos Playoff Series Record Against: 3-1

Series Played Against: S84, S87, S89, S95, (S96 TBD)

 

Gun to my head, if you asked me who Davos’ biggest rival is right now, it’s Riga. That’s partially because of the back-to-back playoff matchups, which Riga won last season in the European Conference Finals, and Davos is currently up 3-2 this season as of the writing of this article. But these two teams have also been on largely parallel paths in their rebuilding cycles over the past 20 seasons, have a lot of familiarity between the team’s GMs in Alex and Lemorse, and as of this season, Riga is Davos’ most played playoff opponent in the past 23 seasons. I wouldn’t be surprised if there are more playoff matchups between these two in coming seasons as well, adding a bit more juice to a potential rivalry.

 

 Warsaw Predators

Davos Playoff Series Record Against: 0-2

Series Played Against: S81, S85

 

An 0-2 record against Warsaw in the playoffs is a tough thing to look at, a record that I’m sure Davos fans aren’t happy about. But neither series was a particularly consequential matchup for either team, lessening the rivalry potential a bit. Season 81 saw the two sides face off in the wild card round, which Warsaw won, but they were promptly swept by top seeded Malmo a round later. In Season 85, top seeded Warsaw beat a wild card team in Davos in 5 games - but the Predators promptly got swept by Moscow in the conference finals, prematurely ending what they hoped would be a championship run. Especially since the two teams haven’t faced off in the playoffs in ten-plus seasons, there isn’t any juice for a rivalry here.

 

Final Thoughts

 

Taking a look at the figures as a whole, I’m not really sure the Dynamo have any sort of current rival. Even though the team made the playoffs a number of seasons between S84 and S91 in particular, they faced a number of different teams during that time, and very rarely any team twice in a row. Although the Davos/Prague battles in consecutive conference finals got very close to a rivalry, nothing was sustained long enough for me to consider any particular bad blood.

 

But I will say, that has a chance to change quickly. Last season, Davos played Moscow and Riga in their two playoff matchups. This season, Davos is already playing Riga - and if they win one more game, they play Moscow once again. All three teams have the potential to be in the playoffs once again in the next couple of seasons as well. That’s the type of consistent matchups that start to formulate some bad blood - and we will see whether Davos does develop Riga, Moscow, or someone else as a true rival here in the near future.

 

[CowboyinAmerica 2,900]

1500+ words, claiming in VHL and SBA for three weeks ending:

 

12/1

12/8

12/15

[Victor 10,969]

There is only one correct answer

[kirbithan 1,728]

So awesome to see a presser question be expanded into a full write up. Great insight and read, CIA!

[Ahma 1,431]

18 hours ago, CowboyinAmerica said:

 

If you listen to Davos forever legend Ahma, this is probably the correct answer for Davos’ true rival. First of all, there is the fact that Davos had claim

Not true, I say that Fake Purple is our recent/current rival, but overarchingly and historically it's Riga.

[Ahma 1,431]

Just now, Ahma said:

Not true, I say that Fake Purple is our recent/current rival, but overarchingly and historically it's Riga.

And that has probably changed as well with us facing Riga more in the playoffs recent seasons than Fake Purple