Claimed:Brookside: Season of an Era?

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Brookside: Season of an Era?

 

Brookside, seen here for Bratislava

 

VHLM goaltender Martin Brookside of the Bratislava Watchmen is having a phenomenal season; a 1.43 goals against average and a .924 save percentage have him leading the league by a hefty margin in both categories. Additionally, his 16 shutouts thus far are four times as many as his nearest competitor, and probably one of the best all time, with 14 games to go to earn even more shutouts. There’s really no question he’s the best goalie in the league this year, but then again, that was expected of him going in. He’d spent much of the prior year with the Oslo Storm and spent more time on the ice practicing than any other VHLMer going into the season. The question that would then naturally arise, given how dominant Brookside has been just this season, is how he might stack up when compared to his counterparts from other seasons. Is Brookside having one of the best seasons of the era, or does he fall behind other dominant VHLM goalies?

 

Que Cumberbatch, last season's best

 

The best goaltender last season was Que Cumberbatch, playing for the Minot Gladiators. Brookside played last season, but was earlier in his development and didn’t really threaten Cumberbatch. Based on regular season stats, Cumberbatch had a .914 save percentage (.010 behind Brookside’s current numbers) and a 2.11 goals against (a hefty 0.67 behind Brookside). Cumberbatch also only recorded 9 shutouts on the whole season, a number Brookside might very well double by the end of the season. Mike Szatkowski Jr. led the league in wins last season with 60; Brookside stands on 52 so far and only needs a measly 8 wins in the remaining 14 games to match or beat Szatkowski.

 

Lennox Moher, Evgeni Chekhov, and Mike Szatkowski Jr., three of the VHLM's recent best

 

Going back a little farther, taking into account the Sawchuk Trophy winners in all seasons from S30 on, the best goals against was Lennox Moher in season 35 with a 1.94. That is impressive in itself, falling below 2.00 in a league that prides itself so highly on scoring, but nonetheless Brookside is currently over half a goal per game below Moher’s mark. Save percentage is a much tighter race, and in fact only barely favors Brookside. Evgeni Chekhov of season 32 held a .923 save percentage, a number that Brookside is only beating by a thousandth of a point and might very well finish behind that number by the end of the season. As for the wins cap, Moher’s season 35 total was 60, which matches Szatkowski. Brookside is again on pace to beat both. Moher’s 10 shutouts have already been surpassed by Brookside.

 

Brookside stretching back for a remarkable save

 

Taking into account the Sawchuk winners from the very beginning of the league on (and again, this is just the Sawchuk winners, so a goalie might have had a higher individual stat in any one of these seasons but was not adjudged to have the best overall season), Brookside still holds up quite well in comparison. Only season 7 winner Drew Barclay and season 8 winner Marek Van Urho can boast a better goals against than Brookside, with a 1.41 and 1.26 respectively, to Brookside’s 1.43. By the end of the season Brookside might fall below season 6 winner Greg Eagles and his 1.47, but he has just as strong a chance to pass up Barclay’s 1.41 (Van Urho’s 1.26 is almost assuredly safe). In save percentage, Brookside’s .924 matches Van Urho for what would currently be second all time, behind only Barclay’s .927. Near competitors (.920 and over) are season 6, Greg Eagles, .922; season 18, Aidan Shaw, .923; season 24, Cal G, .921; season 25, Cal G, .920; season 28, Pekka Svenson, .921; and the aforementioned Chekhov. Greg Eagles holds the highest shutouts with 19, a number that Brookside should be at about 50/50 to beat.

 

Van Urho in his prime

 

On the whole, it looks like Brookside’s performance this season is not only the best of the season, but the best of the season 30 and onward era. Additionally, he might have one of the top three VHLM goaltending seasons of all time, if this pace keeps up. To be mentioned even in the same sentence as guys like Van Urho, Shaw, and G is an honor that few players get, but Brookside has earned it with his play.

[Doomsday 4,120]

Content: 3/3 - All these records, big numbers... STATISTICALLY CLUTCH.

 

Grammar: 2/2 -

 

Appearance: 1/1 - So many pretty pictures!

 

Overall: 6/6 - Bully!

Edited February 6, 2014 by Doomsday

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