(S47 Class) Aksel Thomassen - Player

[Smarch 2,939]

C – Aksel Thomassen

Birthplace: Denmark

Height: 6'3" 

Weight: 211lbs

Jersey Number: 19

Drafted: S39 QUE (Via GM Rule)

Username: Frank

Career Awards:

Season 41 – Brett Slobodzian Trophy
Season 41 – Mike Szatkowski Trophy
Season 41 – Alexander Beketov Trophy
Season 41 - Dustin Funk Trophy
Season 42 – Victory Cup (Quebec)
Season 42 – Devon Marlow Marta Trophy (Quebec)
Season 42 – Mike Szatkowski Trophy
Season 42 – Alexander Beketov Trophy
Season 42 – Mikka Virkkunen Trophy
Season 44 – Victory Cup (Quebec)

 

 Season 40 Statistics:

Regular Season:
S40 (QUE) - 72GP / 22G / 29A / 51P / +23 / 344SHT / 4GWG / 22PIM / 43HIT / 8SB / 53.1FO%
Playoffs:
S40 (QUE) – 7GP / 0G / 4A / 4P / +/- 0 / 36SHT / 0GWG / 2PIM / 2HIT / 2SB / 50.0FO%

After being placed on the Quebec Meute due to the General Manager rule that is in place in the Victory Hockey League, Thomassen spent the season in the minors with the Ottawa Lynx before making the jump to the big club in Season Forty-Seven. In this first season in the league and with the Meute, Thomassen struggled to find their ground right off the get go. Although it wasn’t the greatest year offensively for the Danish forward, he still managed to put up twenty-two goals and twenty-nine assists in his seventy-two game debut.

Thomassen and the Meute were able to grab the second spot in the North Americans Conference heading into playoffs, where they would face-off against the Calgary Wranglers. Quebec pushed the series to seven games, but was unable to get past the Cinderella story Wrangles. Thomassen would head home after his rookie season in the VHL looking for more as he headed into year two of his beloved career.

 

 Season 41 Statistics:

Regular Season:
S41 (QUE) - 72GP / 44G / 92A / 136P / +67 / 446SHT / 11GWG / 8PIM / 21HIT
/ 30SB / 62.5FO%
Playoffs:
S41 (QUE) – 10GP / 1G / 11A / 12P / +10 / 67SHT / 0GWG / 0PIM / 1HIT / 5SB / 58.92FO%

After a regular season that didn`t go exactly as Thomassen and company thought it would, Thomassen came into camp looking like a different player right off the hop. The landscape in Quebec had changed drastically from a year ago and Thomassen knew he was going to be looked up to lead the way in just his sophomore season. Thomassen really lit the VHL on fire during his second season in the big leagues doubling all his offensive totals from his rookie season. Thomassen led the way offensively for the Meute in Season Forty-One putting up, forty-four goals and ninety-two assists. The amazing regular season led to Thomassen taking home a handful of hardware, including the Brett Slobodzian trophy for the league’s most outstanding player as voted on by his peers. Although the regular season was a step in the right direction for the Meute and Thomassen the dream ended prematurely as they ran into the powerhouse New York Americans in the round two of the VHL playoffs. Thomassen himself had a decent showing in the playoffs, putting up over a point per game with his one goal and eleven assists. After the earlier exit than one would have liked, Thomassen was looking for even more heading into Season Forty-Two.

 

 Season 42 Statistics:

Regular Season:
S42 (QUE) - 72GP / 52G / 89A / 141P / +69 / 472SHT / 11GWG / 4PIM / 8HIT
/ 20SB / 63.3FO%
Playoffs:
S42 (QUE) – 12GP / 7G / 5A / 12P / +1 / 83SHT / 2GWG / 0PIM / 2HIT / 9SB / 53.0FO%

Season Forty-Two started with slightly different expectations as the previous two seasons for Thomassen and the Meute. With the Americans getting past their prime, the North American conference was ready to be taken by another team. The Meute played lights out during the regular season, putting up fifty-four wins of their way to taking top spot in the conference. Thomassen also did what many around the league doubted he could do and improved on his amazing 136 point performance from his sophomore season. For the second season in a row Thomassen was able to take home the Mike Szatkowski trophy as the league’s top scorer, as well as the Alexander Beketov trophy for having the league’s most assists. After a second straight amazing regular season, Thomassen was hoping to help lead the franchise back to the Continental Cup finals for the first time since winning it all back in Season Thirty-Five, but the big bad Americans stood in their way once again. After receiving the bye during the first round of the playoffs, the Meute again took on the Americans in the playoffs who had bounced them from the playoffs a season earlier. The series was back and forth until the decisive game seven, where at the 17:28 mark of the second period, Thomassen put home a goal on the power play that turned into the eventual game winner. With the thorn in the back of the Meute behind them, Thomassen and the Meute turned their attention to the Cologne Express in the cup finals. After throwing everything they could to beat the Americans, Thomassen and the Meute were just too gassed to make any noise again the Express and would eventually fall in five games. After another great regular season without the desired playoff results, Thomassen headed back to the drawing board to improve his play heading into Season Forty-Three.  

 

 Season 43 Statistics:

Regular Season:
S43 (QUE) - 72GP / 39G / 66A / 105P / +53 / 448SHT / 7GWG / 20PIM / 55HIT / 25SB / 65.7FO%
Playoffs:
S43 (QUE) – 5GP / 1G / 4A / 5P / +1 / 21SHT / 0GWG / 2PIM / 6HIT / 1SB / 64.88FO%

The Meute entered Season Forty-Three with high hopes matched by higher expectations, as they team had been a top tier team in the VHL the past two seasons but were unable to cap those seasons off with championships. Thomassen was coming off two seasons where he led the league in points and was looking to really cement his status in the league as a superstar in Season Forty-Three. Thomassen once again led the way for the Meute offensively, but didn`t blow the rest of the league of the water with his point total this time around. Thomassen still put together a decent season, posting thirty-nine goals and sixty-six assists through the teams’ seventy-two games. Thomassen and the Meute took the top spot in North America again in Season Forty-Three and awaited the winner between Seattle and Toronto. After the Bears pull the upset against Toronto, Quebec were chomping at the bit to take on a team that was a surprise to be in the North American Semi-Finals. After taking the first game of the series at home, the Meute must have lost their focus and the Bears took full advantage and won the next four games to take the series. It was another season of an early playoff exit for Thomassen and the Meute, something that had become all but too common during his past three seasons in Quebec. 

 

 Season 44 Statistics:  

Regular Season:
S44 (QUE) - 72GP / 38G / 70A / 108P / +60 / 457SHT / 5GWG / 94PIM / 132HIT / 32SB / 63.9FO%
Playoffs:
S44 (QUE) – 5GP / 0G / 2A / 2P / -5 / 24SHT / 0GWG / 4PIM / 6HIT / 5SB / 61.86FO%

 

 With an roster that was starting to show it`s age and the completion in North America slowly starting to catch up to Quebec, many around the league and inside the Meute organization felt Season Forty-Four was the last kick at the can for the current core. Thomassen was entering his fifth seasons in Quebec which meant his best days were almost behind him in the league, so he was looking to help the only franchise he knew back to the promise land. Of course everyone knows they say hockey is a young man’s game, but Thomassen showed he still had a lot of game left in his stick with his thirty-eight goals and seventy assist season. The Meute again entered the playoffs as the number one seed in North America and were looking to exercise some playoff demons. Thomassen and the Meute started their playoffs on Saturday August 15<sup>th</sup>, and before you could turn around twice they came to a crashing halt Tuesday August 18<sup>th</sup> when the Wranglers demolished the Meute 6-0 in front of a very shocked home crowd. Thomassen could have shouldered a lot of the blame from the playoff loss as for the first time in his career he failed to make an impact even in a losing effort. Thomassen only managed two assists in the five games his team played in, something you can`t have from your star forward. With the Meute looking to re-coup some assets from the core they have built over the course of the past five seasons, Thomassen would see his last game as a member of the Meute during that game five loss against Calgary. 

 

 Season 45 Statistics:

Regular Season:
S45 (RIG) - 72GP / 45G / 44A / 89P / +25 / 483SHT / 7GWG / 95PIM / 180HIT / 33SB / 64.8FO%
Playoffs:
S45 (RIG) – 4GP / 1G / 0A / 1P / -2 / 17SHT / 0GWG / 2PIM / 12HIT / 2SB / 66.67FO%

 

 During the Season Forty-Four off-season, Thomassen along with another member of the Meute were shipped off to the Riga Reign in exchange for a lottery pick in the Season Forty-Five VHL Entry Draft. The Thomassen era finally came to an end in Quebec after five seasons, five seasons that saw Thomassen as one of the biggest offensive threats during that time. Now with Riga Thomassen was looking to wind down his career with a team looking to make some noise in the European conference. Thomassen came in and immediately made an impact for the Reign as he managed to lead the team in points in his first season with the club. Although Thomassen failed to make it to the century mark in points for the first time since his rookie season, he still put up a very respectable forty-five goals and forty-four assists in seventy-two games. Thomassen was ready to redeem himself in the playoffs after a tough go around with the Meute last season, but the Reign ran into brick wall during their playoff match-up against the HC Davos Dynamo.  Thomassen and the Reign were easily disposed of by the Dynamo in a series sweep, a series that saw Thomassen struggle and only put up a single point in those four games. With his time winding down in the VHL, Thomassen was hoping to find that elusive Continental Cup before it was too late.  

 

 Season 46 Statistics:

Regular Season:
S46 (RIG) - 72GP / 38G / 57A / 95P / +37 / 369SHT / 4GWG / 29PIM / 57HIT / 27SB / 65.5FO%
S46 (RIG) – 4GP / 1G / 1A / 2P / -2 / 25SHT / 0GWG / 4PIM / 4HIT / 3SB / 65.52FO%

 

 Just days before the puck was about to drop on Season Forty-Six in the VHL, the Riga Reign called a press conference. It was there that Thomassen announced that he would be playing one last season in the VHL before calling it quits at seasons’ end. Now in his seventh season in the VHL, Thomassen was looking to go out on top, but it would be easier said than done in a very competitive European conference. With a fresh young face in James Faraday in the fold in Season Forty-Six, Thomassen had a bit of a pick-up in his game, besting his offensive performance from Season Forty-Five by posting thirty-eight goals and fifty-seven assists. While the slight increase in points was nice for Thomassen he was more than looking forward to making some noise come playoff time. The Reign would square off against the Dynamo for the second straight year in the playoffs. One of the most unthinkable things happened when the Dynamo for the second consecutive season swept the Reign in the opening round of the playoffs. With the quick playoff exit Thomassen saw his VHL career come to an end without the ultimate win in a championship game.  

 

 Career Totals:

Regular Season:
504GP / 278G / 447A / 725P / +334 / 3019SHT / 49GWG / 272PIM / 496HIT / 175SB / 62.89FO%
 
Playoffs:
47GP / 11G / 27A / 38P / +3 / 273SHT / 2GWG / 14PIM / 33HIT / 27SB / 60.12FO%

After seven seasons in the VHL, each that saw Thomassen in the playoffs, he hung up his skates for good. Although he didn`t come away with a Continental Cup during his five seasons with Quebec and two other with Riga, Thomassen was one of the most feared offensive threats of his era. Aside from hitting the century mark in points for four straight seasons, Thomassen also was a much underrated face-off man. Thomassen will forever be remembered as one of the best Meute players of all time now with his rightful place in the VHL Hall of Fame.

Edited March 22, 2017 by Smarch

[Smarch 2,939]

For Mar 27th- Apr 3 

*For Snatch*