Riga Reign

[Will 4,660]

 

     The story of the Season 40 Riga Reign does not begin in Season 40, but back in Season 35. After winning the Continental Cup in Season 33 and losing in the Finals in Season 34, then General Manager Mike Szatkowski made the decision to start a re-build in Season 35, trading away multiple roster players for a plethora of picks. In the Season 35 VHL Entry Draft, the Reign selected defensemen Edwin Encarnacion, then heralded as a top defensive prospect. However, after training issues, Encarnacion was traded in a straight one-for-one swap to the Seattle Bears for winger prospect Brennan McQueen, who was having his own issues with the Seattle Bears organization. In an exchange of one problem player for another, it’s safe to say that the Reign came out on top of this deal, as McQueen went on to become a potential Hall of Fame player, while Encarnacion would eventually become an old-school defensive defensemen, with zero offensive talent to speak of. This trade was the first step towards the Reign becoming a top contender in the European Conference.

 

     After selling off his players, Mike Szatkowski found himself with four 1^st round picks and a 2^nd round pick in the Season 36 VHL Entry Draft. It was here that Mike would form the majority of his core. In addition to his own player, goaltender Mike Szatkowski Jr, the Reign would add centers Robin Gow and Daemon Tyrael, wingers Robert Gow III and Johan Hallstrom, and defensemen Phil Villenueve. While Tyrael and Hallstrom would eventually be traded away for various reasons, the rest of the players in this draft would stay with the Reign for the vast majority of their playing careers. While the Reign would finish as the second worst team in the league, the seeds were planted for a cup contending team.

 

     After winning the lottery, the Reign were awarded with the first overall selection in the Season 37 VHL Entry Draft. With this pick, Riga selected Slaeter Fjorrstrom, who would become a rock solid presence on their back end. While Fjorsstrom’s practice would eventually screech to a halt, the defensemen still practiced enough to become a more than solid player in the VHL. Season 37 was the first of many times the Reign attempted to boost their team through trade deadline deals in order to vault the team to the top. In the only trade made during the season, the Reign sent their next two 1^st round picks and a 2^nd round pick to the Cologne Express for star forward Kameron Taylor, top pairing defensemen Malcom Spud, and much maligned winger Guido Schwarz Esq. After being equal in points with the Vasteras Iron Eagles during the season, the Reign would go on to beat them in the playoffs, 4-2. However, in what will soon sound like a broken record, the Reign would fall to the HC Davos Dynamo 3-4 in the Conference Finals.

 

     With no worthwhile picks in the Season 38 VHL Entry Draft, the only addition to the roster came in the form of an in-season trade which saw defensemen Doug Clifford move from the Quebec City Meute to the Reign for a Season 40 2^nd round pick and a Season 39 3^rd round pick. The Kameron Taylor led team achieved must as much success as the Season 37 edition. After finishing second in the European Conference during the regular season, the Reign would once again defeat the Vasteras Iron Eagles in the opening round of the playoffs, this time with the score of 4-1. However, they would again fall to the Dynamo in the next round, with an ironic 1-4 defeat. With the loss of Kameron Taylor and Malcom Spud, and a lack of prospects to call up, the future of the team was in doubt.

 

     Once again with no picks in the upcoming draft, change to the Riga roster came through trades. During the off-season, the Reign swapped struggling center Konstantin Azhishchenkov for young winger Tyrone Williams, as both a way to try and upgrade the Reign’s future and for cap reasons. During the season, the team would add defensemen Niklas Valiq and center Jakub Kjellberg for futures. The hope was that Kjellberg and Valiq would succeed where Taylor and Spud failed, as the rest of the team had improved from previous seasons through natural progression.  The team finished third in a strong European Conference, behind the conference winning Dynamo and ever present Iron Eagles. However, the Reign would upset the Iron Eagles in a close seven game series. As was tradition, the Reign once again were defeated by the HC Davos Dynamo, this time in a series which went all seven games. However, to the relief of the entire Riga organizations and fan base, the Dynamo would sell off after this season, and be gone from the top of the European Conference.

 

     Season 40 sent a shockwave through Riga, as long time General Manager Mike Szatkowski stepped down and handed the reins to newcomer Jim Gow. To the surprise of no one, the Reign had no draft picks in the next draft which would have the ability to make an immediate impact. After sending away fan favorite Johan Hallstrom and failed prospect Tyrone Williams for cap space, the Reign would make a series of moves which saw star center Niklas Lindberg, wingers Jarkko Olsen and MF Percy Miller, and defensemen Ville Sixten added to the team. With perhaps the strongest team seen in Riga in many seasons, this was the first time that the Reign were the favorites out of the European Conference. After a somewhat disappointing regular season which saw the team capture only 94 points, the Reign’s first round opponent in this season’s playoffs was the Helsinki Titans. In an extremely close series that went 7 games, the Reign’s top line of Brennan McQueen, Robin Gow, and Robert Gow III went off, combining for 10 points in a 5-1 victory. Up next was the Cologne Express, an up and coming young team who, like previous iterations of the Reign, made moves at the deadline for veteran players in order to try and put them over the top. However, similar to the Reign, it didn’t work, as Riga won in a convincing fashion, 4-0. Goalie Mike Szatkowski Jr. shut the door in game 4 with a 12 save shut out. Up next were the New York Americans, a team which had dominated the North American Conference for seasons. After going up 3-1 in the series, the Reign would find themselves down 3-0 in game 5. However, the team clawed back after scoring 3 goals in the 2^nd period, forcing overtime. With their 31^st shot of the game, winger Jarkko Olsen would go down in the history books, as his goal clinched the Continental Cup for the Riga Reign, and closed the books on Season 40.

 

 

     With the unsuccessful Cup run in Season 39 and the dwindling hopes at a playoff spot in Season 40, Vasteras management suggested a retooling be done. This ended up resulting in dealing one of their star players to Riga at the trade deadline. This deal was paramount in Riga's success plans as it deepened their forward core to almost unstoppable depths. Niklas Lindberg, who threw up 108 points the previous season and had an unbelievable 97 points in the first 51 games of the season for Vasteras, found himself in Latvia. He was dealt there in exchange for a Vasteras first rounder in the Season 42 draft. He was put on the second line to play with Miller and Olsen, ending with 65 goals and 129 points. His phenomenal offensive play earned him the Szatkowski, Brooks, and Slobodzian awards in the off-season. During the playoffs he was a very well marked man. He only managed 5 goals, despite his team-leading 100 shots, which was more of a function of him being very well marked rather than poor shooting. He still finished with 15 points in the playoff run and 39 hits, fulfilling his defensive responsibilities. It is widely understood that he was the final piece of the puzzle and the x-factor that was needed to complete Riga's successful Cup run. 

 

 

Brennan McQueen was drafted  7th overall in the Season 35 Entry Draft by Seattle with a pick, rather appropriately, garnered from Riga. Although he was drafted by the Bears, he never played a single game for them. In the middle of the S35, while McQueen played blissfully in the VHLM, he was traded to Riga in exchange for the power-hitting Edwin Encarnation. McQueen would spend the entirety of his career with the Reign. In S40, on the top line with the Gows, McQueen accumulated 98 points, only behind Lindberg on the team in scoring. He dished out 384 hits and netted 11 game winning goals, only just being beat out for his third Boulet trophy by Xin Xie Xiao. McQueen's rock-em-sock-em style of play worked very well with the more finesse-driven play of the Gow brothers. In the playoffs, McQueen led Riga with 26 points and 81 hits deservedly winning the Kanou Trophy for playoff MVP and lifting the Continental Cup for the only time in his career.

 

 

Mike Szatkowski Jr. bypassed the VHL Entry Draft and joined the Riga Reign via the General Manager Rule. While he didn’t win a major award during this magical run, Szatkowski Jr. was an instrumental part of the Reign’s Continental Cup win in Season 40. With a defense group that had depth but lacked top end talent, Mike was able to put up a more than respectable 39 wins, .924 SV%, 2.02 GAA, and 11 shutouts, all on 1,706 shots against. Szatkowski Jr. was able to keep up the good work in the post-season, with a stat line of 12 wins in 16 games, .923 SV%, 2.10 GAA, and 1 shut out.With such close series against the Helsinki Titans, Cologne Express, and New York Americans, the success of the Reign often came down to the stead goaltending displayed by the Riga great. By keeping his team in every game, Szatkowski Jr. helped propel the Reign to their Season 40 Continental Cup.

 

 

Robin Gow was drafted second overall by the Riga Reign in the Season 36 VHL Entry Draft. Gow produced quite well for the Riga Reign in Season 40. In seventy-two games, he scored thirty-two goals and sixty-five assists, for a total of ninety-seven points on the season. On the defensive front of the season, Gow had a highly respectable +50 rating for the season, in conjunction with perhaps a less impressive sixty-three hits on the season. Gow only had twenty-two penalty minutes through the regular season, so he did his team a great service in avoiding his teammates being forced to kill power-plays. During the playoffs, Gow was second on his team in points, having a total of twenty-three in sixteen games. He was unquestionably a key reason for the Reign winning the Season forty Continental Cup and will forever be remembered as a key presence on the team. 

 

 

Robert Gow III joined the Reign as the 5^th overall selection in the Season 36 VHL Entry Draft. The diminutive winger was mostly known for his scoring prowess, but he had some playmaking skills as well. As a complimentary winger to captain Brennan McQueen and center Robin Gow, “RGIII” put up a solid 36 goals and 43 assists for 79 points during the regular season. However, it was his play in the playoffs that really showed off the winger’s skill, as he put up 9 goals and 12 assists for 21 points, the third most on the team. While he may have forever lived in the shadow of Brennan McQueen and Robin Gow (even dating back to their time on the Ottawa Lynx), Robert Gow III always scored up in the box score when it counted. Every super hero needs their side kick, and RGIII was one of the best side kicks in the VHL.

 

 

Phil Villeneuve was drafted by Riga in the season 36 draft. Phil went 8th overall. In season 40, Phil's stats were nothing shy of underwhelming. In 72 games, Phil managed to get 11 goals and 37 assists for a total of 48 points. Phil was also +33 for the season - not bad until you consider the fact that his defensive pairing had a +55 rating. Villeneuve was the team leader in penalty minutes with 152 PIM. On the defensive end Phil had 162 hits and 107 shot blocked, both semi-respectable tallies. During the playoffs is when Villeneuve really started to pick up his game. He earned 15 points in the 16 games and was second on the team in hits and shots blocked. The vast improvement came from recent hours of practice dedication.The big thing for Villeneuve wasn't so much the fact that he and Riga won the Continental Cup - but that it marked the return of Villeneuve to the rink and Phil Knight to the boards. Villeneuve had been an inactive up until that point. Perhaps the most potent attribute he brought to the team was his psychic ability, demonstrated before the season begin when he announced his return and posted, "S40 Champs you say?"

[Molholt 2,185]

Where is Olsen's sig?

 

JARKKOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[Higgins 3,618]

No Funk? Wrong season.

[Victor 10,940]

I guess Riga didn't really have anyone around who could help with any earlier history, S10 is probably my fave of their championships.

But this one's good too, great playoff run that.

[eaglesfan036 4,602]

I was a good sidekick :3

[Mike 708]

S10 Riga cheated still bitter about it.

Edited May 1, 2015 by Mike

[Higgins 3,618]

S10 Riga cheated still bitter about it.

Typical Riga move

[Victor 10,940]

S10 Riga cheated still bitter about it.

lolwut

[Phil 5,119]

YAY! A season I was actually on! Oooohh the feels. Great historical context and bios. I actually loved the simple understated layout to this. It, in my mind, brings out the words' impact more. But maybe I'm just biased. 

 

There was that word ironic again.. goddamit Alanis Morissette. Nice work on the sigs Jamie! I also love the title picture. It fits in perfectly with the style of this presentation.

 

Such a shame that  I was inactive for the first half of Villeneuve's career, but I think it was definitely necessary at that time in my life. I think it has also allowed me to come back stronger, more motivated, and hopefully more helpful than ever... 

 

oh, and more psychic,

 

 

 

 

Doubt it

 

[Victor 10,940]

Sheriff just missed out :/

[Molholt 2,185]

Sheriff just missed out :/

I tried to get him to stay with Jarkko.