Zero 114 Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 MY HEART HURTS Those who know me and my history would agree that of my numerous VHL players, J.D. Stormwall stands above the rest, and I'd agree with them. He had the individual accolades, he had the team success, and he was a well-respected leader and proven winner who rightfully earned his place in the VHL Hall of Fame about 20 seasons ago. Many would also agree that aside from Stormwall, my player resume isn't all that impressive. Jon Church had promise, but was ultimately doomed to fail. The same can be said for Wesley Kanaan, and I don't think Jensen Bracken ever had much hope to become anything great. As for Penis Anthony Doubligné/Hudson, he was more for the laughs than anything else. I hope to change that with Bitch Higgins. There's one name I left out, and that would be the one time I ever built a goalie: Dominik Stryker. If many of you are seeing this name for the first time, I would not be surprised because he retired almost 30 seasons ago, and never had the individual accolades or Hall of Fame induction that would immortalize him in VHL lore. However, my heart still hurts when I look back and reflect on how Stryker's career would have gone had he not been stuck on Helsinki for the majority of his career. In Season 6, Dominik Stryker was drafted 2nd overall to the Helsinki Titans, where we promptly won a Continental Cup in the following season. After that, the GM at the time, falco (Daric Radmonovic) handed the reigns over to me, and both he and just about everyone else on that team who was good was either traded away, left via free agency, or retired except for Dominik Stryker. Stryker barely saw any playoffs action until I stepped down as GM several seasons later (I want to say Season 12) and Stryker was traded to the New York Americans in what would be his final year. After that, I retired him and went on with Stormwall. I guess I've always wondered about how good of a career Stryker could have had if I declined to take the GM position in Helsinki, and if someone more competent at the job had been in charge. If you want an idea of how alone Stryker often was on some of those Helsinki teams, take a look at the all-time stats. At the time of his retirement, nobody had faced more shots than Dominik Stryker's 18,697. Today, I learned that not only does that record still stand today, but that no goalie has even come close to touching it. 2nd all-time behind Stryker is Remy LeBeau at 16,564 - more than 2,000 shots less in about 60 more games than Stryker ever played. Yet still, with so many shots faced, Stryker's save percentage is 7th all-time with a .924, behind no less than three Hall of Fame goalies (Benoit Devereux, CAL G, Tuomas Tukio), and ahead of many others. That said, aside from the Continental Cup run in Season 6 (and a Founder's Cup win with the now defunct Toledo Scorpions in Season 5, earning him the Esposito/Skylar Rift trophy), Stryker never managed to fill up his trophy case. He has 20 career playoffs games to his name, most of which came in that first Continental Cup run, and as good as he was, he was never the best in the league in any given season. Plus, again, he just wasn't on many good teams. His 215 losses rank him 4th all-time, but every goalie ahead of him as a save percentage of .910 or less. His goals against average of 3.24 is 64th all-time, which is terrible yet understandable, and his 188 wins place him 27th. At the end of the day, those stats, while being more team-focused, just aren't very good. I don't really know why I wrote this, or why I'm only claiming 2 points for it (really relying on that podcast I guess) but I just feel it was a long time coming. There aren't even that many people left in this league who would remember those days, that are now around 6 years ago, but still, I think this was cathartic to write. I don't expect any HOF nominations to come out of the woodwork, nor do I think Stryker deserves them, but I do think he was - and still is - underrated, and was definitely overshadowed by some terrible teams where he was often the only one showing up to work. Though he's not a real person, I'm hoping old Dominik is reading this in his rocking chair up in Bavaria, Germany and smiling, feeling the silent vindication he's been longing for, but again, he's not a real person so...probably not going to happen. THE END jRuutu, Munk, BOOM and 1 other 4 Link to comment https://vhlforum.com/topic/22771-my-heart-hurts/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
sterling 1,997 Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 http://www.vhlforum.com/index.php?/topic/732-s29-class-detective-zero-builder/ Link to comment https://vhlforum.com/topic/22771-my-heart-hurts/#findComment-253246 Share on other sites More sharing options...
sterling 1,997 Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 Now that your back, Victor, you and I need to collaborate on a 50 in 50 - We've made it to 40 now Link to comment https://vhlforum.com/topic/22771-my-heart-hurts/#findComment-253248 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Victor 10,943 Posted August 5, 2015 Admin Share Posted August 5, 2015 Holy Media Spot Batman. http://www.vhlforum.com/index.php?/topic/732-s29-class-detective-zero-builder/which one of us wrote that? I want it to be me but I'm pretty sure I write worse now. That's a good article there powered by love. Now that your back, Victor, you and I need to collaborate on a 50 in 50 - We've made it to 40 nowChallenge accepted. Link to comment https://vhlforum.com/topic/22771-my-heart-hurts/#findComment-253268 Share on other sites More sharing options...
sterling 1,997 Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 which one of us wrote that? I want it to be me but I'm pretty sure I write worse now. That's a good article there powered by love. God, I can't tell. The only thing that jumps out to me is the one use of Parenthesis Link to comment https://vhlforum.com/topic/22771-my-heart-hurts/#findComment-253277 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Victor 10,943 Posted August 5, 2015 Admin Share Posted August 5, 2015 http://oldvhl.com/smf/index.php?topic=23084.msg236061#msg236061 #pride I legitimately write shittier now, wtf. Link to comment https://vhlforum.com/topic/22771-my-heart-hurts/#findComment-253310 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zero 114 Posted August 6, 2015 Author Share Posted August 6, 2015 Now that your back, Victor, you and I need to collaborate on a 50 in 50 - We've made it to 40 now I'm in Link to comment https://vhlforum.com/topic/22771-my-heart-hurts/#findComment-253517 Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLastOlympian07 2,388 Posted August 6, 2015 Share Posted August 6, 2015 I remember Dominik. He was almost like Desny 2.0. Drafted by Helsinki and stuck behind some bad teams. Link to comment https://vhlforum.com/topic/22771-my-heart-hurts/#findComment-253809 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil 5,119 Posted August 6, 2015 Share Posted August 6, 2015 http://oldvhl.com/smf/index.php?topic=23084.msg236061#msg236061 I refer Zero to the fourth comment... haha Link to comment https://vhlforum.com/topic/22771-my-heart-hurts/#findComment-253876 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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