Throwing the mitts...

[Daniel Janser 2,322]

So this article will be a little similar to @Scurvy's contribution for theme week. I knew he would jump on this topic at the drop of a hat mitt.

 

I will not go with a top five list (which CGY was graciously admitted to), but rather some unstructured ramblings which I will try to bring in some semblance of order.

 

So when I started in the VHL in S81, there were some notorious heavy weights in the league. Vinny Detroit @dasboot, Phil The Rock Johnson @Phil and of course the legendary Malmö-Lifer Druss Deathwalker @animal74 who would hold the all-time hit record league wide at the end of his career.

 

Now Boot and Phil seem to like building physical players. The Rock held the Calgary Franchise record in hits at the time of his retirement. Until he was dethroned by... Phil Strasmore another one of Phil's players (I wonder whether Sakic is going for the threepeat there).

 

Vinny Detroit sacrificed his body for five different franchises through his eight years in the league and was the epitome of a grinding forward, even though he had three seasons with a PPG or better. Alas, he was clearly primarily hired so you did not have to play against him. And that is not meant to be shitting on the player, I mean this as a compliment.

 

Now Tommy Sleeves, the soon-to-be-leader in hits in the hybrid era writes a different story. Granted he is a defender and not a forward like Detroit was and hence lower scoring is to be expected. However, he stayed loyal to Helsinki for the entirety of his career, and while he never reached 50 points (and his final season seems not to promise a breakout scoringwise as of yet), he set milestones in hits, PIM and shots blocked (and it is not even close) which will be difficult to top for any future HSK player.

 

Vasile Lamb @dlamb gets not mentioned enough when it comes to physical players. He was a 200-foot player and was unlucky in the award section. Always in the 300 range when it came to checks and only in his final three seasons did he fall below the PPG benchmark. I remember the S86 Award show streamed by @Spartan  and Lamb was nominated for the Scott Boulet (which DJ ended up grabbing) and it was a close call. 

 

And there is HOFer Brian Payne, who was a brawler with a brain and showed not only grit but also talent and was a pillar for Warsaw and Vancouver respectively.

 

A special place in my heart is reserved for Larry Abbas Jr @RileyL, who played for Calgary and scored the cup winning goal in S87, breaking a 24 season cup draught for the Albertan franchise (in his rookie season, mind you). He played for four different organizations and even eclipsed the 100 point barrier in S91.

 

And then there is the elephant in the room. One of the hardest checker in the league at present, but also a contributor on the score sheet. My own player CGY Janser who is regularly mentioned in Scurvy's list of people who should be incarcerated. I tried to build a player who is similar to NHL HOFer Scott Stevens. A player you rather play with than against and who is feared by the opponents for all the right reasons. So far it looks to be working.

 

 

 

 

[Scurvy 1,743]

Man!  I forgot about Druss and Phil.  True killers