CowboyinAmerica 2,887 Posted August 20, 2015 Share Posted August 20, 2015 No playoffs to finals? A rarity in the VHL Ask many people—particularly those located in and around Quebec—and the Calgary Wranglers should not be in the finals. That’s a cynical view, but it’s not a particularly unreasonable one, given where the franchise was not long ago. This time last season, Calgary fans were worried about lottery odds with the worst overall record in the league, not fighting for a championship. My, how things change. As I wrote in a media earlier this year, last year’s Seattle team is the only team since expansion to miss the playoffs and win the championship the next season. Not mentioned, however, is also the fact that they were the only team to even make the finals despite not having made the playoffs the year before. Until S43 Seattle and S44 Calgary, every other finals participant since Season 31 had used a playoff berth as a stepping stone the year before. As an homage to this Wranglers team, I decided to take a look back at the four other post-S18 teams that have made the finals the season after missing the playoffs. (An artificial stopping point, sure, but one that also allows me to see all indexes for the season before.) Calgary Wranglers – Season 30 How they finished: Beat Seattle in the finals 4-3 What happened the season before? Last in a strong North American Conference There were certainly downsides to the old VHL’s way of determining playoff seeding by total points instead of conference, but there were upsides as well. When one conference was utterly stronger than the other, for instance, three teams from the stronger conference could still make the playoffs. But what about four? The Season 29 Calgary Wranglers finished with 78 points, putting them in last place in the conference... and fifth overall. The young team, though, had time to gel. With young stars Alexander Chershenko, Ryan Sullivan, Volodymyr Rybak and others, Calgary would put it all together the following season to win the title. It’s not that Calgary was bad the season before; rebuilding simply peaked at the right time. Toronto Legion – Season 29 How they finished: Beat Davos in the finals 4-2 What happened the season before? Final rebuilding year, fourth in North American conference The Legion, meanwhile, are an extremely odd blip on the radar. In Season 29, Toronto cruised, racking up 107 points and never facing a severe challenge from neither New York nor Davos en route to the title. It was the franchise’s first title since Season 21... which makes sense, because Season 29 was their only playoff appearance between Season 26 and Season 33. The Legion rode entering-their-prime stars such as Nic Riopel, Elijah Incognito, and Alexander Labatte, but the next season, despite the same team, the Legion brutally missed the playoffs with that same tough North American conference that bit Calgary the year before. What could have been the beginning of a dynasty ended in rebuilding for Sandro. Helsinki Titans – Season 22 How they finished: Beat Toronto in the finals 4-2 What happened the season before? Final rebuilding year, lost tiebreaker for playoffs Another team, another rebuilding project that paid big dividends—except this one led Helsinki to two straight titles and three Continental Cups in six seasons. Season 21 was supposed to be the stepping stone to the playoffs for the young team that included the wonderfully named captain Ignatius Feltersnatch, early Advantage player Michael Angelo and others. But it wasn’t for another season that Helsinki would find its footing, finishing in a tie in the European Conference once again, but this time for first place. Davos gave them a bit of trouble in the first round, but ultimately, Helsinki was able to make the leap from out to champions. HC Davos Dynamo – Season 19 How they finished: Lost to Calgary in the finals 4-0 What happened the season before? Just missed playoffs, fifth place Here we have our first team that actually lost in the finals after making a huge leap, but it turned out to be just a stepping stone for the Dynamo. In Season 18, Davos finished in fifth place with 76 points, seven behind Riga, and figured to take a huge leap the next season. The team did so, primarily for two main reasons. The first was the additions of winger Anton Brekker defenseman Patrick Bergqvist, stabilizing both of those units. Perhaps more important, though, was the emergence of second-year goaltender Daisuke Kanou. Now considered one of the best goalies in VHL history, it would be a while before Davos missed the playoffs again—until Season 26, to be exact. The Dynamo would make five finals and win three championships over that span. What have we learned? First of all, it doesn’t really matter that Calgary didn’t make the playoffs the year before; their chances are seemingly just as good against Cologne, given past performance. This year’s Calgary team cannot be judged on past performance, even facing a team going to its third straight finals. However, it’s also safe to say that there’s no real historical equivalent to this year’s Calgary squad, either. Every single one of these teams missed the playoffs by exactly one spot before going to the finals the next season. Most of the past missed-playoffs-to-finals teams were the result of a rebuild, but Calgary traded the farm to go for it all. We’ll see if it worked when the finals start tonight. 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Toast 887 Posted August 20, 2015 Share Posted August 20, 2015 Content 3/3 - I have always been a big fan of these articles that take a look at the history of the league, and I have been a big fan of Calgary this season as well. Hopefully you guys make one heck of a run in this series and actually win the damn thing. That would make quite the story! Get it done, Wingod. Grammar 2/2 - I never find anything in your articles and I hate you. Appearance 1/1 - Colours and a picture save the day. Final 6/6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Victor 10,934 Posted August 20, 2015 Admin Share Posted August 20, 2015 "except this one led Helsinki to two straight titles and three Continental Cups in six seasons." what also I suppose it's just easier to make the playoffs these days. Or harder to suck so much as to miss them and then suck so much less the following season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CowboyinAmerica 2,887 Posted August 20, 2015 Author Share Posted August 20, 2015 "except this one led Helsinki to two straight titles and three Continental Cups in six seasons." what Finals* Too much scrolling and shit on that spreadsheet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Victor 10,934 Posted August 20, 2015 Admin Share Posted August 20, 2015 ah S27 was a completely different team but better Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoachReilly 688 Posted August 25, 2015 Share Posted August 25, 2015 Claimed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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