Claimed:At a Crossroads – Season 35 could be crucial for Cologne, Collier

[RomanesEuntDomus 442]

At a Crossroads – Season 35 could be crucial for Cologne, Collier

 

It has been a tumultuous off-season for the Victory Hockey League, but about two weeks ago, the VHL finally began its 35th season. For both David Collier and his team, the Cologne Express, Season 35 could be the most important campaign since they came into the league. So far Collier has scored 16 points in 23 games, with 7 of them being goals – barely an improvement over the numbers he had in his junior year. He might be carrying an above average +5, but Collier still isn’t happy with his offensive output, especially considering that he has been playing with the teams two best offensive players in Kameron Taylor and Reggie Dunlop:

“I expect more from myself, it’s as simple as that. I’m not a rookie anymore, I’ve played an extra season in the VHLM and a full year in the VHL since being drafted and now it’s time that I don’t just roll along, enjoy the ride and rely on guys like Kam and Reggie to carry us. It's time I become one of the leaders for our team as well. Our management has put a lot of trust into us as a team by sacrificing some of our future to bring in a great experienced player in Malcom Spud. Now we have to prove that we deserve that trust, and that our current group has what it takes to go all the way. They have been very patient with us so far but I think that this patience is slowly coming to an end and that they want to see results and I can’t blame them. This team has faced a lot of tough situations in its short history, we had some bad luck more than once and it’s especially frustrating that we never seem to be able to get any help through Free Agency. To be completely honest, while these and others were indeed very unlucky situations for us, I think that we also kind of got used to using them as excuses. Things like 'When we failed to make the playoffs it wasn’t really our fault because of the fact that we are an expansion team,' or 'When we failed to make an impact in the postseason, it was because of those stupid Free Agents who didn’t want to come here,' and so on and so on... Nothing about this is necessarily wrong, but we dug ourselves deeper and deeper into a hole where we could wallow in self-pity and deny any responsibility for our shortcomings – and this is something we have to put a stop to!”

 

This season could be one to set the trend for the Express for years to come. Can their current core carry them deep into the playoffs and eventually allow them contend for the cup or will they be in-betweeners for years to come? Will they be a team that sometimes makes the postseason and sometimes falls short, lacking the quality to ever be a threat to the established teams? It isn’t just a make-or-break season for the Express, but for David Collier as well, who is in a contract year for the first time in his career. After three years with the Express, Collier will be an Unrestricted Free Agent at the end of this season and so far little is known about his plans for the off-season.

“It’s something that I haven’t spent much thought on yet. It’s early in the season and there is still a lot of hockey to be played. I feel like all these talks about contracts, terms and money can really drag a player down, so I want to avoid them for now and just focus on what happens on the ice. Obviously I want my next contract to be a good one and in order to get a good offer, I first need to show that I can be a true top-line player and not just someone who you need to put with top-players in order to be effective. That’s what I’m planning to do this season.”

Of course there’s always two sides to a contract negotiation, and so far the Express organization has been just as secretive about their plans for the young German as Collier has about his intentions. Some reports out of Cologne say that Collier is asking for more money than the Express organization expected, and that they will take their time to determine if Collier is worth becoming one of the highest-paid players on the team, or if the Sophomore is overestimating his own value.

Edited October 26, 2013 by RomanesEuntDomus

[Guest]

I like this article! Well written!

[Doomsday 4,048]

Content: 3/3 - Pretty awesome article giving great insight towards the frustrations of your player. I doubt Cologne will let you go easily, so I hope you do like it there, since you're probably going to become a big-time part of their franchise.

 

Grammar: 2/2 - Just one little thing I caught:

 

stupid Free Agents = stupid free agents

 

Appearance: 1/1 - DAAAA RAAAIIIIDDDDAAAASSSSSS

 

Overall: 6/6 - Well done sir.

[Toast 887]

Content: 3/3 - Good look at the not so good things going on in Cologne and with your player. With the constant effort you have been giving though towards improving I doubt Kendrick will be letting you run off to another team. Hopefully things turn around for you soon!

 

Grammar: 2/2 - I got nothing to add.

 

Appearance: 1/1 - Looks good!

 

Overall: 6/6 

 

FINAL: 6/6 

[Guest]

Claimed