Claimed:How Are They Doing – Cologne Express #2

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How Are They Doing – Cologne Express #2

 

We are back with a new edition of “How Are They Doing?”. Bringing you the second part of our look into the Cologne Express roster. In this issue we will look at the team’s defensive players, all statistics in this article were collected at the 56-game mark.

 

Cody Inko – 9 Goals + 34 Assists = 43 Points, +19, 39 PIM, 63 Hits, 100 Shots Blocked

 

A lot of young players, like teammate David Collier for example, go through a bit of a sophomore slump once they have settled into the Victory Hockey League. That isn’t the case for Cody Inko, who follows an already decent rookie year with a great sophomore season. This season has seen him score 43 points, including 9 goals, through the first 56 games of the season. On top of that, Inko has been the top shot blocker for the Express (100 shots blocked) while sporting a very good +19 rating. Already a legitimate top-pairing Defenseman, the sky is the limit for Inko, who needs to keep working hard now as he seemed to have slowed down with his training a bit recently.

 

Gregory Glass – 6 Goals + 26 Assists = 32 Points, +17, 83 PIM, 138 Hits, 84 Shots Blocked

 

Gregory Glass has been a mainstay on the Express blue line for years now and is having another very good season. The veteran is slowly entering the last stage of his career. He is leading all Cologne defensemen in Hits and is second in both penalty minutes and shots blocked. Glass has actually turned his physical game down a notch this season in order to become more responsible in his own end, and that transition has worked wonders for him. He went from a -35 to a +17, by far the biggest improvement for any Cologne player, and is on pace for a new career high in points as well. There are some rumors out there that Glass is contemplating retirement, but with the way he is playing right now it looks like he could easily go another five seasons.

 

 

Malcolm Spud – 16 Goals + 36 Assists = 52 Points, +28, 85 PIM, 103 Hits, 67 Shots Blocked

 

Cologne’s biggest trade acquisition in recent memory is having an exceptional first season with the Express. Malcolm Spud, who General Manager Joey Kendrick brought in from Riga this offseason for a package including a 1st round draft pick, has put up some dominant performances already this season and is looking for more. The offensive-minded defenseman leads Cologne’s blue liners in almost all categories, including goals, assists, points, plus/minus and penalty minutes and has already eclipsed his point totals from last season (50). Scoring almost at a point-per-game pace this season has been a blessing for Malcolm. Spud is giving the Express the star power at the blue line that the team seemed to have been missing for so long and I don’t think that we are getting ahead of ourselves if we say that if he stays with Cologne, he could eventually become the best defenseman this franchise has ever seen!

 

Riley Stevens – 0 Goals + 10 Assists = 10 Points, +4, 63 PIM, 63 Hits, 56 Shots Blocked

 

The quietest one of the Express Top-4 is Riley Stevens, who likes to leave the spotlight to his more talented teammates and tries to just play a simple, quiet and mistake-free game. Although he is still waiting for his first career goal, Stevens is on pace for a very decent rookie season and if he keeps refining his game he could become a very effective defensive Defenseman who you rarely notice, but who could be integral to a teams success.

 

Evgeni Chekhov – W 31 – L 21 – OTL 3, 91.4% Save Percentage, 2.20 Goals Against Average, 6 Shootouts

 

After years of being one of the younger Goaltenders going up against great teams with little support from his own troops, it looks like Evgeni Chekhov is finally getting into a situation that allows him to have more success. Chekhov has consistently worked on his game over the last few years to get rid of any holes and weaknesses and it is starting to pay off now, as is the fact that the Express have been playing some very good team defense this year. Even though his save percentage has barely changed (91.4% compared to 91.0% last year), his goals against average is down by about half a goal (from 2.70 to 2.20) and through 56 games he has already tied his win totals (32) from last season. Chekhov is definitely a goalie on the rise and if both he and his team continue playing like that, he could be among the VHLs best very soon.

 

That concludes our “How Are They Doing?” article for the Cologne Express; we hope you enjoyed the read!

 

[philthethrill81 134]

Thanks for the kind words, great article Collier!

[Guest]

Yeah good article buddy!

[Mike 708]

Spud is clearly the best D-man in the league.

[Guest]

oh you

[philthethrill81 134]

Spud is clearly the best D-man in the league.

 

Clearly.

[Doomsday 4,034]

Content: 3/3 - The Express got some good dudes on their team apparently, but Riley Stevens needs to score a goal because it breaks my heart. See y'all in the playoffs!

 

Grammar: 2/2 - A couple errors, but not too bad considering the length of the piece. 

 

who General Manager Joey Kendrick -> whose General Manager Joey Kendrick

offseason -> off-season

the Express Top-4 is Riley Stevens -> the Express' Top-4 is Riley Stevens

a teams success -> a team's success

younger Goaltenders -> younger goaltenders

 

Appearance: 1/1 - Pirates? Ahoy there!

 

Overall: 6/6 - Do you hang around in dockside bars?

[Guest]

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