Inside the VHL’s Single Season Hit Record

[CowboyinAmerica 3,007]

 

Tough Guy: Gabriel McAllister's 461 Hits

 

You know what they say: Records are meant to be broken. But that often doesn’t hold true in the VHL. Scotty Campbell still dominates the goals and points records from early on in the VHL’s lifespan. Few teams will ever touch Vancouver’s highs during the meta days of the late ‘70s. And it’s unlikely that we’ll ever see as many goalie shutouts as the early ‘50s days of the two player era.

 

Indeed, in the vein of Tough Guys, the VHL record for Hits in a regular season might also never be broken. That record was set in Season 61 by then-Davos forward Gabriel McAllister, created by yours truly. Ultimately a Hall of Famer and named a Top 5 player all-time in the VHL's Season 75 countdown, McAllister’s 461 hits far outpaced the previous record of 441 set by Seattle forward Simon Valmount in Season 49, which itself had topped Tukka Reikkinen’s 430 from Season 30. (And yes, I partially just mention that to note Valmount, an Ahma player who didn’t play exclusively for Davos.)

 

But look at the record books, and it’s still McAllister, Valmount and Reikkinen near the top. In fact, since McAllister set the record in Season 61, the most hits that any player’s had in a single season was Phil Marleau’s 418 in Season 74, good for just eighth all-time. Even Tommy Sleeves, the current VHL hit king, has topped out at just 411 in one season - only 14th all-time.

 

So what gives with McAllister’s record? Here’s a few fun facts about this particular Tough Guy’s big hit season.

 

1. McAllister wasn’t supposed to be a hitter

 

When I created McAllister, I had one goal in mind, and it was, well, goals. Early writings on McAllister paint the picture of a pure sniper out on the wing, somebody who was supposed to play off of a strong center and put the puck in the net. And if there’s one thing I specifically didn’t want McAllister to do, it was to be a bruiser. In fact, take a look at his rookie profile and you notice something very odd below the (now broken linked) weaknesses section:

 

Quote

Checking: The Mikka Virkkunen Trophy has become somewhat of a punchline for many members in the VHL; it’s rarely ever a goal that players actually aspire to win. For McAllister, though, a Virkkunen or two certainly seems to be in his future. He has no checking ability whatsoever, and due to his small 5’10” frame, he doesn’t really show an inclination to learn any time soon. I wouldn’t be surprised to see McAllister max out his other abilities before going anywhere near checking or strength.

 

And know what? That was true! Take a look at his stats, and you’ll see that McAllister had 87 hits in his first season, but that was a function of being basically the only active player on a rebuilding Seattle team. His second season, he only had 19 hits the entire season, obviously a very low total for a 93 point player. It wasn’t until his third season that his hit totals started to creep up. Candidly, that’s largely a function of running out of things to update, especially in an era with a different update scale and the points per week cap increasing to 12 right in the middle of his career. But at the same time, I started to see a new path towards awards and, frankly, fun.

 

2. From zero to 60

 

Once McAllister started hitting, though, he didn’t let up. Between seasons three and eight, McAllister never had less than 244 hits in a single season. And between his sixth season, when he set the record, and the end of his career, he never had less than 326 hits in a single season. For the final six seasons of his career, McAllister averaged 329 hits per season.

 

That’s a wild total for somebody who had 106 hits total in his first two seasons. And that also makes the all-time record books a bit wonky. Because even with those first two seasons a wash, McAllister still ended with 2079 total career hits - good for 33rd on the all-time list. If he had averaged 329 hits per season over the life of his career, that would give him 2632 hits, which would exactly tie Lord Karnage for 10th all-time.

 

3. MVP caliber

 

These days, VHL hit merchants tend to be of the Tommy Sleeves mold - out there for hits and not much else. But that’s not the case for McAllister: In fact, the season he set the hits record, McAllister also won his second MVP!

 

That MVP win is actually one of the more controversial MVP wins in history, given that McAllister only finished with 99 points, which was not the highest point total that season. But a little context helps with both the award and the hits total. After spending five seasons helping revitalize the Seattle franchise (giving Bana his first title in the process), McAllister was traded to Davos before the S61 season. In Davos, he joined a team that was middle of the road, barely squeaking into the playoffs in 5th out of 8 teams with 75 points. McAllister was really the team’s only addition and was expected to make a big difference.

 

And make a difference McAllister did. McAllister’s 99 points were 22 more than any of his teammates - forwards Joseph Bassolino and The Charm tied at 77, while no other teammate had more than 61. McAllister’s 461 hits, meanwhile, represented 33% of the team’s total that season, as only one other teammate (Noel Roux, 301) topped 150 hits. Behind McAllister’s play, the Dynamo jumped up to 103 points and third place in a tough top half of the VHL. So while he didn’t have the highest point total in the league, the lack of help and McAllister dragging Davos to the top gave him an MVP nod.

 

4. … and finals MVP caliber

 

But it wasn’t only the regular season MVP - Davos won the title that year! It was once again McAllister that paved the way, helping Davos win two seven-game series against the second-seeded Titans and first-seeded Wranglers. In those 14 games, McAllister finished with 12 goals and 11 assists - and crucially, a whopping 87 hits - en route to Davos taking the title. For his efforts, McAllister was awarded with his second Kanou Trophy for Playoff MVP, one of the very few recipients of two Playoff MVPs with two different teams.

 

This run would cement McAllister as a Davos legend for a number of years. In fact, this S61 title would be the last one that Davos would win until much later, when the streak was finally broken by the S89 Davos team. And even in just two seasons played for the squad, McAllister still sits in the top 25 of all-time Davos regular season hits (787, 20th), playoff hits (115, 14th) and playoff goals (18, T-13th), as well as Top 50 in regular season goals (101, 41st).

 

5. There’s an influence on Bucatini

 

While I don’t think Bucatini or anybody else will be touching 461 hits any time soon, McAllister has certainly had an influence on Bucatini, only my second created forward after McAllister. Much like McAllister, I went into Bucatini’s career mostly wanting to be a playmaker, envisioning a smaller center out of Italy who would spend her time on the ice skating and puck handling with the best of them. But also like McAllister, I abandoned those plans rather early into her career, morphing her into more of the hitter she is today.

 

Although I was originally shooting for sportsmanship awards with McAllister, he somehow ended up winning three Boulet Trophies for best two-way forward. Similarly, Bucatini was a finalist for the Boulet Trophy last season, probably is on the shortlist once again this season, and probably will be up there for the remainder of her career. While I don’t think Bucatini will achieve McAllister’s hits heights or awards shelf, in large part because the competition in the VHL is much deeper today than it was in the ‘50s and ‘60s, the same trajectory is there.

 

And honestly, when it gets down to it, I think that’s because I’m drawn to creating bashy players. I never played organized hockey myself, but when I’d play street hockey or on video games with friends, I always tended towards a more physical style. That’s what appeals to me for my created players as well, perhaps even more so when the meta is going away from hitting to try and reduce penalty minutes as much as possible. Forget metas, I just want to hit somebody.

 

Gabriel McAllister was a definite Tough Guy who wasn’t supposed to be a Tough Guy, but did very well at that role anyway. Perhaps it makes sense that a player canonically from the south side of Chicago was forced into that role. I’m glad he was, because most hits in a season is a fun record to have, and I selfishly hope nobody ever breaks it. But at the same time, I hope people keep trying, because hits are fun. And as McAllister’s S61 and career proves, you can be a Tough Guy and a Top Guy at the same time.

 

[CowboyinAmerica 3,007]

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

 

4/6

4/13

4/20

[CowboyinAmerica 3,007]

On 4/3/2025 at 4:05 PM, CowboyinAmerica said:

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

 

4/6

4/13

4/20

 

Claim 3

[ROOKIE745 629]

Kadachi and his 443 hits (good for second place if if I'm not mistaken) last season would like to have a word with you.

[Ahma 1,493]

fun fact: I was inactive the season Valmount broke the record. Imagine had I been active!