Claimed: Three-Way Race for the Virkkunen Trophy

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Three Forwards in the Running for the Virkkunen Trophy

Tom Lincoln, Rudolph Schmeckeldorf, and John Locke are the three forwards currently vying for the lead in the S54 Virkkunen race.

 

The description for the Mikka Virkkunen trophy is as follows: Awarded to the player deemed to be most sportsmanlike. This award was renamed from the Francis Trophy to the Mikka Virkkunen Trophy in S31 to honour the career of Mikka Virkkunen. Virkkunen won the award three times; S16, S17, and S19, while also being one of the top forwards and a well-respected figure during his illustrious Victory Hockey League career. Virkkunen played with the Calgary Wranglers and Riga Reign during his career. We are now slightly past the halfway point in the S54 VHL season, and there are currently three forwards who are in the running; Quebec City's John Locke, Helsinki's Rudolph Schmeckeldorf, and New York's Tom Lincoln. All three currently have 0 penalty minutes and less than ten hits, so its still anybody's ball game.

 

Tom Lincoln - The most likely candidate to take home the Virkkunen award this season. Lincoln has won the award for the past few seasons now, and all signs point to him winning it again, possibly making a case for the award to be re-named after him post-retirement. Lincoln is currently tied for the league lead in points with 77 (34G 43A), the other league leader being his linemate, Unassisted. He has also taken the most hits (130) of any of the three candidates, and has not retaliated once, even to the point where Lincoln has not even laid out a single hit so far in the season. If I were a betting man, I would bet on Lincoln taking the award home again.

 

John Locke - Last seasons VHLM superstar, John Locke is adjusting well to the VHL, with 48 points (27G 21A), 2nd only to Riga forward Fredinamijs Krigars among rookies. Locke and Schmeckeldorf seem to be vying for 2nd place, as Locke has much better overall stats than Schmeckeldorf, although he has 6 hits compared to Scheckeldorf's 1. Locke has been integral in the Meute's surge to being a powerhouse in the North American conference, over Tom Lincoln's more favored New York Americans. Should he continue this strong play, Locke could possibly make a move for Lincoln's hold over the award.

 

Rudolph Schmeckeldorf - Arguably one of the biggest disappointments in the entire VHL this seasons, winning the Virkkunen would be a silver lining on an otherwise dismal season for the Swiss rookie. Schmeckeldorf only has 5 points on the season, and 3 of them have come on the powerplay. Rudolph plays a very non-physical game, as he has only taken 6 hits and dished out 1. If he can improve his point production, Schmeckeldorf could make a play for the award, but that looks pretty unlikely at the moment.

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