Advantage 2,891 Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 Defensive Studs: Consistent Staple for the New York Americans I could not even tell you the last time I wrote a media spot for the league. Generally I’ve been a member of a podcast or been a part of the Magazine, so I was struggling to figure out what I wanted to write about. With the New York Americans’ run clearly coming to an end, I wanted to look at something that has been pretty consistent with this team for quite some time. The New York Americans have made the playoffs in sixteen of the last nineteen seasons, and their defensive dominance might be the biggest reason why. On top of having excellent goaltenders like Benjamin Glover, Skylar Rift, Alexander Labatte and Brick Wahl, the New York Americans have consistently had one of the best defenders in the league, if not the best. Let’s take a look at just how good they have been: Sterling Labatte Trophy (Top Defenseman) Season 27: Daniel Braxton - 28G 75A 103P +18 212H 117SB Season 28: Daniel Braxton - 35G 74A 109P +17 236H 133SB Season 29: Daniel Braxton - 32G 66A 98P +13 221H 162SB Season 33: Ryan Sullivan - 26G 81A 107P +48 308H 119SB Season 34: Ryan Sullivan - 20G 86A 106P +28 265H 160SB Season 36: Conner Low - 19G 64A 83P +11 288H 178SB Season 37: Conner Low - 27G 79A 106P +28 292H 141SB Season 38: Conner Low - 26G 66A 92P +41 243H 134SB Season 39: Conner Low - 16G 76A 92P +43 179H 86SB Season 40: Conner Low - 18G 83A 101P +49 206H 119SB Season 41: Matt Bentley - 21G 81A 102P +61 223H 105SB Season 42: Matt Bentley - 25G 83A 108P +44 214H 106SB If that isn’t consistent dominance I don’t know what is. Three consecutive seasons of Daniel Braxton winning the Sterling Labatte Trophy, before he was moved to Davos (where he would his record fourth consecutive Labatte). Considered one of the top five defenders to ever play in the VHL, Braxton along with goaltender Benjamin Glover, were the faces of the Americans team that made the finals four consecutive times but came up unsuccessful every single time. Regardless, Daniel Braxton started this clear trend that has been going for quite some time with his strong campaigns in twenty-seven, twenty-eight and twenty-nine. Then came another top five defender all-time after Ryan Sullivan was traded to the Americans for Skylar Rift. While Rift would go on to play only one year with Calgary before finding quite a lot of success with Quebec, Sullivan would go on to win the second and third Labatte trophies of his career in season thirty-three and thirty-four. Sullivan, who broke Braxton’s Labatte streak in thirty-four, would only spend two seasons in New York and break their three year winless streak of the trophy. After Sullivan, the Americans entered a rebuild and you would think it would be quite some time before they even sniffed the award again. However, after Clark Marcellin won the award in season thirty-five, a new face emerged wearing the familiar colours of the New York Americans. “Conner Low though.” That is the phrase so often attached to the mystique and career of Conner Low. Drafted in the Season Thirty-Five Entry Draft, Low was the first piece of the Americans rebuild and did he ever become a great one. Conner Low was the face of the franchise and it did not take long for him to strike, winning his first ever Labatte Trophy in his first ever season. This trend would continue as he went on to win the next four (breaking Braxton’s Labatte record) before switching to forward due to a positional need in New York. His run probably makes him the greatest defender to ever play in the Victory Hockey League, and when you consider he also is the only player to ever lead the league in assists three times, that opinion has legs. The final player we will feature here is the reason Conner Low switched to forward. When Odin Tordahl retired, the New York Americans had to look for a replacement. However, the best player on the market was Matt Bentley and their General Manager thought it was best to strike there. He moved what would become two low first round draft picks for Bentley, and Low immediately offered to switch positions, shocking the rest of the league. Matt Bentley had been greatly screwed by Low due to his impressive consistency and had not won a Labatte at that point. However, this is New York we are talking about, and they pretty much own the award. Bentley would go on to easily win the award in his first season and while the votes are not officially in, he looks to be a clear lock for it this year. If he does win the award, the New York Americans will have won it for seven consecutive years. An unprecedented number that has never been duplicated and may never be again. All in all, I don’t want to call it the secret to my success, because a lot more goes into a team than a great defender. With that being said, the New York Americans have won the award for seven consecutive years and twelve of the last sixteen seasons. The only names to grace the award during that run are Daniel Braxton (on Davos), Ryan Sullivan (on Calgary), Elijah Incognito and Clark Marcellin. That is three Hall of Fame players and a player who had one ridiculous season during a rebuilding year for the Americans. It does seem that the one true staple that seems consistent for New York is that great defender. Who will be the next one? Victor 1 Link to comment https://vhlforum.com/topic/19236-claimeddefensive-studs-consistent-staple-for-the-new-york-americans-final-66/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laflamme 376 Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 Content: 3/3- Great article! Strong D New york has had. Escabar is definitely the next by the way Grammar: 2/2- Nothing I could see. Appearance: 1/1- Picture and title. Good Job. Final 6/6 Link to comment https://vhlforum.com/topic/19236-claimeddefensive-studs-consistent-staple-for-the-new-york-americans-final-66/#findComment-205403 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Victor 10,943 Posted April 20, 2015 Admin Share Posted April 20, 2015 Who will be the next one?Cheeky Link to comment https://vhlforum.com/topic/19236-claimeddefensive-studs-consistent-staple-for-the-new-york-americans-final-66/#findComment-205453 Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOOM 8,752 Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 That'll be 3 TPE for use of the GFX please. Advantage 1 Link to comment https://vhlforum.com/topic/19236-claimeddefensive-studs-consistent-staple-for-the-new-york-americans-final-66/#findComment-205494 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jericho 917 Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 Broke Braxton's streak in 34? Motherfucker he retired in S31. Link to comment https://vhlforum.com/topic/19236-claimeddefensive-studs-consistent-staple-for-the-new-york-americans-final-66/#findComment-205566 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Molholt 2,185 Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 I'll be the next great NY defenseman. Also, I'm naming my player Daniel Braxton. He'd be about 40 years old right? Don't worry, I'll get him a ring. diamond_ace 1 Link to comment https://vhlforum.com/topic/19236-claimeddefensive-studs-consistent-staple-for-the-new-york-americans-final-66/#findComment-205569 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kesler 1,514 Posted April 27, 2015 Share Posted April 27, 2015 Claimed Link to comment https://vhlforum.com/topic/19236-claimeddefensive-studs-consistent-staple-for-the-new-york-americans-final-66/#findComment-210223 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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