Tommy Sleeves: The VHL's Next Great Pugilist

[animal74 1,867]

 Nothing But Hits Up His Sleeves 

Tommy Sleeves: The VHL’s Next Great Pugilist

 

 

When Tommy Sleeves @dasboot was picked by Helsinki 23^rd overall in the S90 Draft, the Titans’ fourth of six players selected in that draft including 1^st overall defenseman YaBoi Oven @Doomsday, few would have guessed that seven seasons later, Sleeves would be the only player left from that draft still on the Titans’ roster.

 

Now, partially through S97, Sleeves has cemented himself as one of the toughest and most physical players ever to touch blades on VHL ice. He is already a record-holder and by the end, he may become the greatest pugilist ever. Since starting his career in S91, no one has garnered more penalty minutes (1656 - through 30 games this season) or hits (2052) and he’s led the VHL in PIM the last three seasons.

 

Last season, Sleeves set the record for penalty minutes in a season by a defenseman with 336, the second-highest single-season total ever, smashing Noah Lefevre’s mark of 313 set in S11. He’s also the only player to reach 288 penalty minutes or more (a 4 PIM per game average) three times in a career. After finishing S96 in 10^th all-time in career PIM, he’s accumulated 116 in 30 games in S97 putting him in 7^th (passing Ove Dyrdahl) and is on pace to break Peter Payne’s 82-season-old all-time record of 1858 by season’s end!

 

He also doles out the hits more than almost any defenseman in VHL history. As mentioned above, no player, let alone defenseman, has posted more hits since the start of his career. He currently sits 41^st all-time and at his current rate, he could reach the Top-20 by the end of the season. Last season, he led all players with 411 hits, which was the third-highest total ever by a blueliner (just behind Edwin Encarnacion’s 414 and Nick Fisher’s 413) and the highest total since Druss Deathwalker had 413 in S82. He is the fifth player in VHL history to record two seasons over 400 or more hits and the only defenseman to do it.

 

But he’s not just a thug on the ice – he can also play his position. He led the VHL in blocked shots last season with 272, the second-highest total in a decade and was nominated for the Jake Wylde Trophy as the league’s best defensive defenseman. In fact, he’s the 28^th player in VHL history to reach 1000 hits, 1000 PIM, and 1000 blocked shots and he was the quickest to do it (only six seasons).

 

With one more year left to play after this, what else could Tommy Sleeves accomplish? All-time defenseman hits leader? Top-10 in hits all-time? Top-10 in blocked shots? Top-5? Helsinki’s all-time leader in games played? Or maybe top of the list is to help the Titans get to the playoffs one more time in his career? Only he knows, but the possibilities are vast.

 

One thing is for certain: Tommy Sleeves is one of the greatest tough guys in the history of the VHL. He is also a beloved Helsinki legend. However the rest of his hockey career plays out, fans will remember Tommy Sleeves. And the skaters he crunched will probably remember him longer.

[animal74 1,867]

Sorry, this was supposed to be posted in Media Spots. Could someone with perms please do that? Thanks!

[Victor 11,044]

Stealing my love for Tommy Sleeves and wanting to get things moved? OK fine