Claimed:Kickstarter: Riga Dynamo attempt to take Europe

[Toast 887]

Mag replacement, so this gets 7TPE. Grigory's MS.

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Kickstarter: Riga Dynamo attempt to take Europe

 

Written by Toast

RIGA, LATVIA — Here we go again.

In one of the busiest off-seasons in recent memory for the Riga Reign, GM Steve Smeall lived up to the promise that the organization would be making some serious moves with a strong free agency class. Perhaps the biggest move came before any of the free agents signed.

In a follow up to the Riga-Stockholm trade in the previous off-season that saw Riga give up their invaluable S52 first-round pick for Stockholm’s S51 first-round pick (which became second overall), the Reign finished off the deal by acquiring Seattle’s first-overall pick as well from the Vikings. When the entry draft rolled around, the Reign had no problem selecting goaltender Apollo Skye and defender Robert Jelen. It’s what happened moments later that still has the Riga fan base talking.

Riga flipped Skye and Jelen, along with Vincent Adultman and Jory Rose, to HC Davos in return for center Kai Roberts and goaltender Sandro Clegane, two players who have been a real pain for Riga throughout the past couple seasons. The move mostly came as a shock because the Riga organization went and selected Skye and Jelen just moments before, but made the move when the opportunity presented itself. 

So here we go again. While Riga does have a solid core with their prospects in Maximoff, Kopralkov, and Kronos (now joined by Roberts), the team will be relying on the veteran play from Clegane to help get the team to the next level after Clegane played a major role in eliminating Riga from the playoffs in just the recent post-season. 

Most of the blame for Riga’s quick exit in the playoffs has fallen on young goalie Ilya Kopralkov who still seems to be figuring out his game, and despite his decent play through the regular season, Kopralkov was not able to keep it together against the Dynamo. 

Fortunately, Riga is not going to have to worry about Davos in S51. It appears Davos is ready to start a rebuild with most of their roster ready to test free agency, which gave Riga the opportunity to take their shot.

While Clegane will most definitely help relieve the pressure off Kopralkov, many fans are excited about the arrival of center Kai Roberts, who was a close second to Maximoff when Pietro was named rookie of the season for S49. Now Roberts and Maximoff are expected to be line-mates and have the chance of becoming one of the most dangerous young duos in the league.

Riga is going to have to find a good connection on their lines early in the season with the retirement of Bronson Faux taking away a lot of the talent on the team. What the Reign have proved time and time again as of late, the team will do whatever it can to make sure that they are making a push for a Continental Cup. 

The time is now for the Reign to strike, and there is no way they are going to let this opportunity slip by.

[Jericho 917]

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