Claimed:(S33 Class) CAL G - Player [FINAL 6/6]

[.sniffuM 1,741]

G - CAL G

Birthplace: Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Height: 6’4”

Weight: 205 lbs.

Jersey Number: 69

Drafted: S25 CAL (via GM Rule)

Username: Jardyb10

 

CAL G came into the league as one of the more anticipated goaltenders of the post-Aidan Shaw era. Created by then-Calgary General Manager Jardy as a Season 25 player, the player’s name was a bit of a joke about what he would be to the organization for the long term. Ironically, CAL G ended up playing no games in Calgary. Instead, he played out his first year of VHL eligibility in the VHLM and then saw his rights shipped to Seattle for a package of picks (one of which ended up being Hall-of-Famer Phil Rafter). CAL G now sits sixth in career wins despite less games played than everyone above him and many below him, and has the fourth best save percentage along with the best Goals Against Average in league history. One of the best goaltenders in the VHL’s storied history, CAL G gets his dues today with a Hall-of-Fame induction.

 

Career Awards:

S24 Founders Cup (Saskatoon)
S24 Sawchuk Trophy (Top VHLM Goaltender)
S25 Founders Cup (Saskatoon)
S25 Sawchuk Trophy (Top VHLM Goaltender)
S26 Christian Stolzschweiger Trophy (Top Rookie)
S27 Victory Cup (Seattle)
S28 Continental Cup (Seattle)
S28 Victory Cup (Seattle)
S28 Daisuke Kanou Trophy (Playoff MVP; shared with Felix Peters)
S29 Aidan Shaw Trophy (Top VHL Goaltender)

Season 24 Statistics (VHLM):

Regular Season: Saskatoon Wild [VHLM] 72 GP / 64-7-1 / 0.921 SV / 2.45 GAA / 5 SO
Postseason: Saskatoon Wild [VHLM] 11 GP / 8-1-2 / 0.919 SV / 2.36 GAA / 1 SO

CAL G was drafted third overall in the Season 24 VHLM Dispersal Draft by the Saskatoon Wild. On a roster that was bolstered by Gunnar Axelson’s ridiculous 185-goal season with strong contributions also coming from Mike Molholt and a young Vladimir Boomchenko, CAL G had little problem leading Saskatoon to 129 points, 23 more than any other team in the VHLM. He was able to leave his stamp on the minor league, posting a .921 save percentage (Andreas LaFontaine was the only other goaltender with at least 25 games played and a save percentage over .900) and pacing the league with five shutouts. The Brampton Blades pushed Saskatoon to the brink in a North American Conference championship that really featured the VHLM’s best teams, but G was able to lead the Wild to a 4-3 series win before a 4-0 sweep of the Oslo Storm. CAL G won the Sawchuk that year as the VHLM’s top goalie but surprised many when he chose to stay down in the VHLM for his first year of VHL eligibility rather than ascend to the Calgary Wranglers’ top netminder position.

 

Season 25 Statistics (VHLM):

Regular Season: Saskatoon Wild [VHLM] 72 GP / 59-8-4 / 0.920 SV / 2.20 GAA / 2 SO
Postseason: Saskatoon Wild [VHLM] 10 GP / 8-2-0 / 0.907 SV / 2.65 GAA / 1 SO

With CAL G and Vladimir Boomchenko returning, the Wild looked like strong favorites to repeat. Also adding the services of future Hall-of-Famer Jarvis Baldwin, Saskatoon was able to finish with the VHLM’s best record for the second consecutive season. CAL G once again won the Sawchuk Trophy as he established himself as the only elite young netminder in the minors. In the postseason, the Wild had little trouble, winning both of their series’ 4-1 despite a less resolute postseason effort from the hyped goaltender. Going into the VHL as only the third multi-Sawchuk winning goaltender in VHLM history, expectations were high for CAL G.

 

Season 26 Statistics:

Regular Season: Seattle Bears 64 GP / 47-12-5 / 0.912 SV / 2.15 GAA / 11 SO
Postseason: Seattle Bears 6 GP / 2-4-0 / 0.903 SV / 2.64 GAA / 1 SO

Following a franchise-shaping offseason deal between Seattle and Calgary to send CAL G to the Bears, there were a lot of expectations for the Saskatoon product in net with a massively talented roster in front of him. G responded with a league-leading 11 shutouts, while finishing fourth in the league in save percentage and third in Goals Against Average. The Bears, who had gone 25-38-9 in the previous season, finished with 109 points in the standings as six different players accounted for at least 100 points. In the postseason Seattle faltered on the back of a poor effort from CAL G, but his great regular season was enough to net him the Stolzschweiger Trophy as the league’s top rookie. It was becoming increasingly clear that a star was rising in the VHL.

 

Season 27 Statistics:

Regular Season: Seattle Bears 65 GP / 53-8-4 / 0.928 SV / 1.60 GAA / 19 SO
Postseason: Seattle Bears 7 GP / 3-3-1 / 0.918 SV / 2.32 GAA / 1 SO

CAL G had easily the greatest season for a VHL goaltender that wasn’t named the league’s top goaltender. His 19 shutouts remain a league record today, as does his 1.60 GAA. It seems pretty ridiculous nowadays to see that Andreas Bjorkman’s save percentage being .003% higher could trump these records en route to an Aidan Shaw Trophy win. CAL G led Seattle to a Victory Cup in Season 27 as the league’s winningest team, but the team was shocked by the New York Americans in the North American Conference Championship 4-3. G played well in the series, but many were beginning to doubt his ability to lead a team after a second consecutive first round loss.

 

Season 28 Statistics:

Regular Season: Seattle Bears 62 GP / 49-11-1 / 0.921 SV / 1.75 GAA / 8 SO
Postseason: Seattle Bears 13 GP / 8-5-0 / 0.917 SV / 2.03 GAA / 1 SO

After a record-setting season, CAL G took a bit of a step back but still produced a fantastic season. For a second straight year, Seattle managed a Victory Cup win, solidifying them as one of the premier teams of the late-Season-20’s. Of course, this era is known for the advent of cross-over, a system that allowed three teams from one conference to make the playoffs (back when there were still only four in each conference) if the other conference only had one deserving team. It’s a system that was short-lived, as VHL expansion took away the need for it, but it created interesting matchups, including CAL G’s first ever postseason showdown against his former Calgary Wranglers. Led by rookie Marius Henchoz, Calgary nearly stole the series, but CAL G instead picked up his first VHL postseason series victory 4-3 to set up a rematch against the New York Americans, who had eliminated the Bears in the playoffs a season ago. This time, Seattle prevailed 4-2 to win the league’s Continental Cup, while CAL G shared the Daisuke Kanou Trophy as the league’s postseason MVP with teammate Felix Peters for his efforts.

 

Season 29 Statistics:

Regular Season: Seattle Bears 64 GP / 43-15-6 / 0.932 SV / 1.70 GAA / 10 SO
Postseason: Seattle Bears 7 GP / 3-3-1 / 0.881 SV / 2.98 GAA / 0 SO

CAL G breeded a lot of expectations following his leading Seattle to a Cup in Season 28, and boy did he deliver. After a major snub for the Aidan Shaw Trophy two seasons back, CAL G was able to claim the trophy as the top VHL goaltender for the first time in his career with a fantastic year. Still, Seattle took a bit of a step back, following behind the upstart Toronto Legion in the chase for the top record in the North American Conference. Against Davos in the first round of the postseason, CAL G played uncharacteristically poor, and Seattle found themselves bounced in the first round for the third time in four years.

 

Season 30 Statistics:

Regular Season: Seattle Bears 64 GP / 40-16-8 / 0.922 SV / 1.97 GAA / 3 SO
Postseason: Seattle Bears 12 GP / 7-5-0 / 0.927 SV / 1.94 GAA / 1 SO

Seattle was able to ascend once more to the top of the North American Conference in an era that was extremely low on scoring. CAL G didn’t perform as great in Season 30 as he did the year before but was still an instrumental piece in Seattle’s success. Still holding a grudge over the Season 27 playoff defeat, the Bears dominated New York in the first round of the postseason 4-1, setting up an epic finale between two North American teams, as CAL G went in to face Calgary once again. A matchup with a ton of great narratives (although CAL G1 would unfortunately never see the net for the Wranglers), it was an extremely hard fought and close matchup that proved one of the greatests finals series’ in VHL history. Calgary asserted themselves with a 3-1 lead before the Bears won a huge game five in triple overtime. Following a CAL G shutout to even the series at three, Marius Henchoz put up a shutout of his own in game seven to secure another Bears disappointment. G had his best postseason performance in his career, but it wasn’t quite enough to hold off the upstart Wranglers.

 

Season 31 Statistics:

Regular Season: Seattle Bears/Vasteras Iron Eagles 56 GP / 27-25-4 / 0.930 SV / 2.28 GAA / 8 SO 

It became abundantly clear that Seattle no longer had the roster to compete with the new-guard in the North American Conference. In 36 games in Seattle, CAL G had a 16-17-3 record despite a fantastic 0.934 save percentage. Seattle then chose to blow up the whole thing, sending G, Jarvis Baldwin and Genghis Khan to Vasteras for four players and four picks. In Vasteras, CAL G played only 20 of the last 36 games, as the team was looking to give playing time to young goaltender Vincent Vega as well, but in his 20 starts G helped Vasteras to 11 of their 24 wins on the year. After years of being regarded as a franchise goaltender, CAL G had fallen back to playing a gatekeeper role, despite his immense talents clearly still being intact.

 

Season 32 Statistics:

Regular Season: Vasteras Iron Eagles 64 GP / 44-13-6 / 0.934 SV / 1.79 GAA / 9 SO
Postseason: Vasteras Iron Eagles 7 GP / 3-4-0 / 0.911 SV / 2.72 GAA / 0 SO

It was clear that Vasteras made the move to add CAL G and Jarvis Baldwin with an eye towards Season 32 rather than Season 31. Vincent Vega had fallen out of favor with the organization, allowing CAL G to reclaim his rightful place as a full-time netminder, and he played exceptionally. One of five goaltenders to finish with a save percentage over 0.925 and one of three to go over 0.930, Season 32 was defined by franchise goaltenders, as a performance on the level of CAL G’s in Season 32 could bring in an Aidan Shaw Trophy in almost any other season. Vasteras finished the year with 104 points, although that was only good for third in the European Conference, and the team lost in seven in the first round against the upstart Helsinki Titans in CAL G’s final VHL games.

 

Career Stats:

Regular Season: 439 GP / 303-100-34 / 0.926 SV / 1.88 GAA / 68 SO
Postseason: 52 GP / 26-24-2 / 0.913 SV / 2.33 GAA / 4 SO

CAL G may have only won one Continental Cup, but even at his worst he was still easily in the discussion as one of the top four goaltenders in the VHL. Stick him in nearly any other era, and his Aidan Shaw trophy collection would likely include three wins rather than one. He still holds the single season shutout and GAA records, and held the career shutout record until Alexander Labatte passed him by one. Overall, CAL G is one of the league’s truly elite goalies, putting him up there with the likes of Aidan Shaw, Daisuke Kanou, Labatte, and Benjamin Glover, among a couple others.

Edited January 25, 2015 by alfie fornever

[Phil 5,119]

Great work Damien!

[DollarAndADream 3,356]

Content: 3/3 - Lots of great stuff here. It was lengthy but it was a good read. It definitely gave me some information about VHL history that I didn't know.

Grammar: 2/2 - Nothing that I noticed, which is awesome for all of the writing you have done.

Appearance: 1/1 - There's no pictures, but there's enough there that it doesn't look sloppy by any means. Usually without pictures it would lessen the quality, but here it looks completely fine. All of the stats and write ups are very organized.

Overall: 6/6

 

Great work.

[Frank 5,209]

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