Veteran Corner

[Smarch 3,153]

Edition 324:

 

Veteran Corner 

 

The most exciting time of the year is once again upon us in the Victory Hockey League, as late last week the playoffs started. Since then both the North American and European Conference Quarter-Finals have ended and games one and two of the Semi-Finals have been completed. With four teams remaining in the hunt for the Continental Cup, we’ll take a look this week at some veteran players on some of those teams who have been or need to make an impact during the playoff run.

 

Sir William Covington III (Helsinki):

 

After a strange VHL trade deadline to say the least, Covington found himself traded twice before finding his final home for Season Fifty-Three  with Helsinki. The Covington acquisition paid off wonderful during the regular season as he helped the team find some secondary scoring putting up nine goals and thirteen assists in sixteen games with the Titans. While the playoffs are a different beast, Covington has spent a lot of his career in them, so the pressure doesn’t seem to get to the Las Vegas, Nevada native. So far in the Titans nine playoff games, Covington has put up six goals and eight assists to lead the Titans in playoff scoring. With the Titans currently tied in their Semi-Final match-up with the Stockholm Vikings, Covington will need to keep up the scoring to help the Titans back to the Continental Cup Finals.  

 

Essian Ravenwing (New York):

 

A few weeks back we wrote about how Ravenwing was breaking out and becoming more of a household name in the VHL. While we caught wind that Ravenwing himself reads the magazine and couldn’t have agreed more with our assessment. Now it appears as though the Season Fifty draftee is trying to get our attention each and every week with his stellar play. Ravenwing has been a playmaker since entering the VHL, never putting up more than twenty goals in a season, but that all changed in Season Fifty-Three. Ravenwing put up thirty goals and sixty-nine assists in the regular season, and he hasn’t stopped putting the puck in the back of the net during the Americans seven playoff games. Ravenwing has been consistent on the scoring sheet with four goals and four assists, which puts him in a three way tie for the teams lead in points in the playoffs. Ravenwing isn’t looked upon to lead the way just yet for the Americans, but look out for him to reach the century mark in points and beyond next season.

 

Jakab Holik (Seattle):

 

Not to kick a man while he is down and out but Holik hasn’t really looked like himself in the first two games to start his Season Fifty-Three playoffs. While the team in front of the net minder hasn’t really done him any favours in the two games against the New York Americans, Bears fans would have to say they would likely expect more out of Holik. Holik also had a tough start to Season Fifty-Three, but he quickly bounced back and put up very good numbers. Holik started sixty-four games for the Bears in the regular season, posting fifty wins to go along with his .927 save percentage and 1.58 goals against average. So far in the playoffs Holik has posted some awful numbers including a .854 save percentage and 3.50 goals against average. While the Bears were the toast of the VHL during the regular season, so far their nemesis in the North American conference have had their number once again in the playoffs. While the team is far from done, Holik will need to pick up his play to give his team a chance.

Edited March 20, 2017 by Smarch

[Smarch 3,153]

Edition 325:

 

Veteran Corner

 

As the VHL awaits the end of the Continental Cup finals between the New York Americans and Stockholm Vikings, people around the league are starting to gear up for the upcoming off-season. VHL off-seasons usually see tons of movement of players and draft picks and we believe this off-season will be no different. Recently VHL Commissioner Mitch Higgins made a valid point about how stale the playoffs and specifically the VHL finals can be for members not in the playoffs. While Higgins, we at VHL Magazine heard you and want to do something for those people on the outside looking in, so today we are going to look at some veteran players that might see a change of scenery in a few weeks.

 

Jakab Holik (Seattle):  

 

A very obvious name on the list of possible players changing teams this off-season after Seattle was bounced from the playoffs for a second straight season by the New York Americans. Holik has been a reliable goalie during his six seasons in the league, although he hasn’t been able to secure the biggest trophy of them all during his time in the league. Holik has only known two franchises during his VHL tenure playing only a season and a half with Davos before coming to Seattle. Holik has found his greatest success with Seattle the past two seasons helping lead the take home the Victory Cup as the league’s top regular season team. Like we stated earlier Holik hasn’t been able to help bring home a championship during his time with Davos and now Seattle, but we all know hockey is a team sport and Holik isn’t the main reason for no cups. With twenty-three playoff games under his belt, Holik could be a good pickup and stopgap for a team with a younger goaltender in Season Fifty-Four.

 

Black Velvet (Helsinki):

 

Velvet is another player that was knocked out of the playoffs earlier on, but before so he helped the Titans throw a scare into the eventual European champion Stockholm Vikings. Velvet came to the Titans organization via an off-season blockbuster trade with the Calgary Wranglers. Velvet had spent the past two seasons with the Wranglers after bolting from Toronto after their three-peat. Velvet didn’t see the team success that he had hoped for when he signed with the Wranglers back before Season Fifty-One, never making it to the Continental Cup finals with the club. After two years of less than stellar team results in Helsinki, Velvet was brought into Helsinki to stabilize a very young roster. Velvet had another great season this year with Helsinki after a slight down season with Calgary in Season Fifty-Two, leading the Titans in points this season with nineteen goals and seventy-three assist on the season. Although the time wasn’t quite right for Velvet and the Titans to take over Europe just yet, that time might just be right around the corner.

 

Max Von Hohenzollern (Cologne):

 

Playing on a team with a much depleted roster, Max Von Hohenzollern put up amazing numbers in Season Fifty-Three.  After spending a few extra seasons in the VHLM after being drafted by the Seattle Bears Seventh Overall back at the Season Fifty VHL Entry Draft, Von Hohenzollern made his rookie debut last season. Von Hohenzollern had a very good rookie season with Cologne but it couldn’t prepare the VHL for the 136 point performance Von Hohenzollern turned in in Season Fifty-Three. Von Hohenzollern took full advantage of the increased ice-time with Cologne last season, putting him in the upper echelon of points in a single season in the VHL. Although some around the league are saying that Season Fifty-Three was just a fluke for Von Hohenzollern, but with 234 points already in his two seasons in the VHL, you might not want to sleep on Von Hohenzollern anymore.

[Smarch 3,153]

Edition 326: 

 

Veteran Corner

 

The last time I sat down to write another edition of Veteran Corner, the Stockholm Vikings and the New York Americans were battling it out for the Continental Cup. As we all know now, the Americans walked away with the win and we have no started another season of VHL hockey. As per usual with our first edition at the beginning of the season, we will take a look at those around the league that will be skating on VHL for a final time in Season Fifty-Four.

 

Tom Lincoln (New York):

The first name on our list is a player that has seen a lot of success in the VHL, posting over 100 points the past five consecutive seasons. Lincoln was acquired by the Americans from the Cologne Express during the Season Fifty-One off-season, a move that would work out wonders for both Lincoln and the Americans. In Season Fifty-Two and Season Fifty-Three Lincoln helped the Americans to back to back Continental Cups, and now in Season Fifty-Four Lincoln is looking to help his team to the league’s second only three-peat and leave on the highest of high notes. Lincoln enters this season with 334 goals and 374 assists, which sits him forty-ninth overall all time, in points in the VHL. If Lincoln can beat all odds and put up another 100 plus point campaign this year, the future Hall Of Famer should climb into the top twenty in all time points.

 

Felipe Rodriquez (Seattle):

Rodriquez was a highly touted defenseman when he arrived in the VHL after being selected by the Quebec Meute in Season Forty-Eight, Third Overall. Rodriguez had three decent seasons with the Meute before being shipped off to the Seattle Bears in the Season Fifty off-season and that is where he has played since. Now that Seattle has decided to sell off assets and move away from competing, Rodriquez is the lone holdover on the Season Fifty-Four Bears roster. Rodriquez switched to forward before the beginning of last season and had a breakout that saw him put up a team leading 115 points. After an amazing season, Rodriguez came into his final season with the hopes of competing at least one last time, but a deal has yet to be reached to move Rodriguez out of Seattle.

 

Sir William Covington III (Helsinki):

Sir William Covington III is another eight year veteran that has saw a string of success in the VHL. Playing on his fourth VHL roster in those seven of his eight seasons played in the VHL, Covington is looking to add another Continental Cup to his resume before bowing out of the league. After winning the Christian Stolzschweiger Trophy as the league`s top rookie, Covington added back to back Continental Cups in Season Fifty-One with Riga, and Season Fifty-Two with New York. Covington is now in his second season with the Titans and after bowing out early to the Vikings in last year’s playoffs, Covington will look to leave the VHL with his third cup ring.

 

Vincent Virtanen (Riga):

Although not really a household name to casual VHL fans, Virtanen is well known to the Latvian hockey fans in Riga. Virtanen was drafted to the Reign Sixth Overall back in Season Forty-Seven. Although Virtanen is under 500 TPE in his last season, his depth was a key piece to the Season Fifty-One Continental Cup win by the Riga Reign. Being only one of two players who have won a cup from that draft class, Virtanen proved the draft choice was one of the good ones for Riga. With a career high in points put up in Season Fifty-One with seventy-eight points, Virtanen was never known as an offensive threat, but his two-way style of play worked wonders for him and Riga. Now in his last season and with Riga likely to miss the playoffs again in Season Fifty-Four, Virtanen might take his swan song slightly earlier than others on this list.

[Smarch 3,153]

Edition 327: 

 

Veteran Corner

 

We have almost played 100 total games in the VHL as I sit down to write another edition of Veteran Corner, time flies when you’re having fun. It’s looking like the normal two horse race in both the North American and European Conference again here in Season Fifty-Four. The New York Americans and Quebec Meute are currently tied for First in North America, while over in Europe Stockholm has a slim four point lead for first over the Helsinki Titans. In this weeks’ edition we’ll look at some important veteran faces on those four teams that are helping bring home the wins each and every night

 

Unassisted (New York):

 

Unassisted has been on fire for the Americans since he stepped on the ice for the first time in Season Fifty-Four. It has continued through the Americans first eighteen games of the season, as he sits second on the team in both goals (16), and points (35). Not only has Unassisted turned into a top scorer in the VHL, he has really worked on becoming a great face-off man, and it seems that it is also paying off. Unassisted leads the VHL through the first eighteen games with his 65.73 win percentage, almost a full 2 points ahead of the next center-man. As one of the two players on the Americans that have logged over 600 minutes to date, Unassisted will need to continue to be a huge part of Americans scoring machine as the team seems to have their full confidence in them.

 

Titan Kronos (Quebec):

 

It you are a VHL fan are not really recognizing the name, we don’t overly blame you. Kronos was a late free agent addition to the Quebec Meute this past off-season after taking a short hiatus from the league. Kronos was first drafted mistakenly back in Season Forty-Eight through a paper error by the Meute, but was then swiped away when he rightfully re-entered the draft in Season Forty-Nine by the Riga Reign. After winning a championship in this last year of his rookie contract with the Reign, Kronos took some time to walk from the game he loved in pursuit of other job opportunities. Now back in the league in Season Fifty-Four Kronos is looking like he never left the game, leading the way offensively with the Meute, with twelve goals and twenty-one assists. Hopefully Kronos can find his forever home again in the VHL and enjoy what he has left of his hockey career in the league.  

 

Maksym Barnyashev (Helsinki):

 

Barnyashev was the Ninth Overall draft choice for the Titans was back in the Season Fifty VHL Entry Draft and although he a longer path to the VHL, the Titans couldn’t be happier to have the Moscow Russia native helping patrol the blue-line. Now that the Titans are in full compete mode, Barnyashev is providing the Titans with great depth beside Black Velvet on the blue-line. Although Barnyashev sits fifth on the team in scoring, his sixteen points in the teams’ first eighteen games has helped the club with some solid secondary scoring. Not counted on to carry the load for the Titans, Barnyashev will be a key clog in the Titans machine if they wish to have a deep playoff run in Season Fifty-Four.

 

Pietro Maximoff (Stockholm):

 

Maximoff fell slightly during his draft season in Season Forty-Nine until the Cologne Express snapped the Romanian forward at Fifth Overall. Although at the time Maximoff said that being drafted so low didn’t faze him, his play seemed to try to prove otherwise. After winning the Christian Stolzschweiger Trophy in his first season in the league, Maximoff continued to improve until putting up an amazing 139 points with the Reign in Season Fifty-Two. Now Maximoff is coming off his second straight 100 point season, this time with the Seattle Bears, and looking to make the same noise with the Stockholm Vikings. So far in the Vikings first eighteen games Maximoff is leading the way offensively with fifteen goals and seventeen assists. With Stockholm being the top team in Europe currently, Maximoff will look to carry the load for the Vikings the rest of the way to hopefully told off the Titans and capture another Terrance Fong trophy come playoff time.  

[Smarch 3,153]

Edition 328:  

 

Veteran Corner 

 

Although most of the readers of the VHL magazine might now notice, but Veteran Corner is slowing approaching it’s twenty-eighth appearance in the weekly magazine. I have enjoyed writing these articles for the most part, trying to go out of my way to expose some of the older players around the league. More than not these players have been written about before in their careers, but I don’t want us to push them aside when the new stupid sexy Flanders of the VHL appears each year from the VHLM. Without any more bullcrap, I’ll now dive into my usual banter about players around the league.

 

Bobby Digital (New York):

I believe this is the first time Digital has found himself in an edition of Veteran Corner and I feel terrible it’s taken this long to give this man his rightful recognition. After being drafted Third Overall by the HC Davos Dynamo back in the Season Forty-Nine VHL Entry Draft, the Digital camp asked for a trade shortly after and that’s how the Digital story got started in the VHL. After a bit of a slow first three years to his careers, Digital has been a rock for the Americans Continental Cup wins the past two seasons. Digital was never brought in to be an offensive powerhouse for the Americans, but over the past two seasons Digital has been putting up the assists like they have been going out of style. With the Americans still in the thick of things in terms of challenging for the right to head back to the Continental Cup Finals as the North American representative, Digital will be looked upon even more heavily this season as he is and will be the only defenseman the team will dress this season.

 

Tyson Kohler (Stockholm): 

Kohler has been such a reliable player since being selected by the Cologne Express in the Season Forty-Eight VHL Entry Draft. It wasn’t until Kohler left Cologne and joined the Calgary Wranglers that the league knew of the carnage that Kohler could unleash on the ice. In the past three seasons, two with Calgary and the past season with Stockholm, Kohler has put up an amazing 369 points. Compared to the 205 he put up in his time in Cologne, it’s safe to say that Kohler finally broke out from behind whatever was holding him back during him time in Germany. Now thirty-four games into Season Fifty-Four Kohler has continued on the torrid pace he has been on the past three seasons. Kohler has twenty-six goals and twenty-five assists in the Vikings thirty-four games, good enough numbers to put him second on the Vikings roster in points. With Stockholm being considered a top threat in Europe, Kohler will need to help the team offensively if they wish to make a return trip to the finals.

 

Guntis Pentis (Riga): 

Some of you that actually make it this far down the magazine will wonder why I am writing about Pentis, but as an old timer hockey lover I just am amazed with the play of Pentis this season. Pentis leads the VHL in fighting majors this season with seven in Riga’s thirty-four games, but the most amazing part of this is that Pentis has knocked the opponent down and won the fight five out of those seven times. Pentis is proving this season is more than knocking you out though as he currently sits second on the roster in points with fifteen goals and twenty-eight assists. Riga is currently in the third and final playoff spot in the European conference, something they may not be greatly pleased about in this stage of the rebuild, but Pentis and the men are more than happy to be looking at playoff hockey in a few weeks.

[Smarch 3,153]

Veteran Corner

 

The VHL magazine is back on shelves around the world again this week with the league announcing the hiring of a new editor and contributors in the past few weeks. The magazine was a huge part of the league and something I believed was needed to help showcase the league and our talented members. I am thrilled to be back as a writer for the magazine and will of course be back with at it writing about the veterans around the VHL. So let’s get right back at it and look at who’s making noise in Season Fifty-Six in the VHL.

 

Lukas Muller (Quebec):

Muller is coming off his second straight 100 point season in just his third full season in the VHL, putting him in very elite category early in his career. He was selected second overall back in the Season Fifty-Three VHL Entry Draft so big things were expected of him from the onset of his career, but not even Muller himself saw his game as something that would catapult him to the top of the VHL scorers leaderboard. Now with eighteen games played in Season Fifty-Six, Muller finds himself in that exact position with forty-one points in those eighteen games. Muller has been a huge key in the cog of the Meute’s success this season with the team only losing one game in regulation so far this season, something that has a lot to do with Muller’s amazing offensive production in those games. With the Legion well in the rear-view mirror early on in the season, Muller will look to help Quebec back to the cup finals as the representative for the North American Conference for the third straight year.

 

Franchise Cornerstone (Helsinki):

Cornerstone is another player fresh out of his rookie contract in the VHL, coming off a season that saw the Mongolia native put up 100 points for the first time in his young VHL career. Cornerstone was the second best offensive player in the VHL last season posting a fifty-one goal campaign to go along with fifty-eight goals, which placed him second in the league in points behind the Americans Diana Maxwell. Cornerstone showed the league what he was capable of last season with the Titans, helping the franchise to back to back Continental Cups, but Cornerstone wasn’t happy with the status quo as evident by his incredible play here in Season Fifty-Six. Cornerstone is second in the league, just slightly behind Muller, in the race for the VHL scoring lead. Cornerstone has put up seventeen goals and twenty assists, but the most impressive stat has to be the three fighting majors he has received this season, as Cornerstone is showing the league he is here to play and won’t be pushed around.

 

Fredinamijs Krigars (Riga):

Krigars hasn’t been surrounded by the most talent in the VHL in the past two years with Riga, but now with the cupboards full of talent in the Riga, Krigars is taking full advantage of his new surroundings. Coming off a disappointing sixty-three point season last year, Krigars wanted more from his third season in the league and has shown he is serious about being better in the Reigns first eighteen games this season. Krigars lead the Reign in points with his seventeen goals and eighteen assists in those eighteen games, providing solid second line center depth to the roster. With the Reign is win now mode, Krigars will need to play his best hockey of his career through the rest of the season and into the playoffs.

[Smarch 3,153]

Veteran Corner

 

As we inch closer to the middle of the VHL season, the elite are starting to separate themselves apart from the rest of the league in the scoring race. With only ten players above the fifty point mark with thirty-two games played in the league, scoring hasn’t seem to be as easy this year in the league. In this week’s edition of Veteran Corner, we will look at three players on the top teams in the VHL who will be very important moving forward if the teams want to see success deep into the season.

 

Apollo Skye (Quebec):

Skye has been a solid goalie since joining the Meute before Season Fifty-Three began. Since then Skye has gone on to win a Scotty Campbell Trophy, while also backstopping the Quebec based franchise to two Continental Cup finals. Now in the midst of his fourth season in Quebec, Skye appears to be headed to another career year as he has posted amazing numbers in the thirty-two games he has appeared in this season. Skye has posted twenty-seven wins to go along with a .934 save percentage and a 1.40 goals against average. With Quebec in the top spot in the North American Conference and entire VHL at this point in the season, Skye and the rest of the Meute look poised to head back to the cup finals again this season.

 

Diana Maxwell (Davos):

Maxwell was brought into the Dynamo organization to lead the way offensively with the young forward core in Davos, and of course she has done just that. Maxwell leads the way offensively for the Dynamo with twenty-five goals and thirty assists in the team’s thirty-two games. The Dynamo got off to another slow start in Season Fifty-Five, so they will have an uphill battle to the number one spot in the European Conference the rest of the season. Maxwell will be a key component in that race for first, as the Dynamo have struggled at times on the road to find secondary scoring from rest of the roster. Maxwell also hasn’t been afraid to thrown her weight around this season as she sits second on the Dynamo roster with 133 hits, which is good enough for sixth in the hit totals in the VHL. Maxwell hopes that after a few seasons away from the cup finals, she hopes to be able to again lead a team to that elite status.

 

Essian Ravenwing (Riga):

Ravenwing is having a great first year in Riga after being acquired by the Latvian club in the off-season prior to Season Fifty-Five. Coming off his first 100 point season in the VHL, Ravenwing was a hot commodity on the trade wire during the off-season before landing in Riga, and now he is re-paying the Reign big time with his offensive performance in the teams’ thirty-two games this season. Ravenwing is tied for the team lead in points with twenty goals and thirty-seven assists, while also holding down a sixty-five percent face-off winning rate. Ravenwing has been really holding down the fort for the first-line in Riga this season in terms of offensive production, so it’s only a matter of time before he breaks out even more.