Best teams to never win a cup [1/2]

[Victor 11,043]

Best Teams to Never Win a Continental Cup

 

The VHL does a great job of remembering past successes, of engraving the names of victorious teams and players into the record books. What often slips through the cracks is the near-misses – the times when things fell apart in the playoffs, when a team just couldn't take the final step, through circumstance or sheer bad luck. Playoff disappointment is usually not the end of a road for a team, so we have excluded any run which ultimately led to a Continental Cup, even if there could have been more. It's also not necessarily the end for a player, but for a GM, it could be the difference between judged a great or a failure. Below is a ranking of the best teams to never win a cup, starting with a few honourable mentions:

 

S53-S55 Stockholm

It would turn out to be the last attempt to turn around the fortunes of the much-maligned Vasteras/Madrid/Stockholm franchise. Getting one of the VHL's most celebrated GMs in Chris Miller was seen as a coup and the early signs were positive. However, this version of the Vikings never fully convinced. A run to the finals in S53 came too soon, and they would never win another playoff series again, thwarted by the fledgling Helsinki dynasty and more damningly, an underdog Davos in S55. Future Hall of Famer Rhett DeGrath performed miracles in goal, which is perhaps more of an indictment on the Vikings' offence – names like Pietro Maximoff, Tyson Kohler, Lee King Snatch just missed out on tangible success with Stockholm and also this list. The trigger was pulled on a rebuild in S56, but two seasons later, the franchise fell victim to contraction. RIP.

 

The most recent entries: S59 Toronto and S60 New York

The last 3 Victory Cup winners have failed to deliver in the playoffs and for Toronto and New York, it's meant a painful return to the rebuild. It's hard to rank their most recent runs without much hindsight just yet – how many of Fook Yu, Torstein Ironside, Colton Rayne, and Casey Jones will end up in the Hall of Fame for example? Both these teams had several 'what if' stories – Bo Boeser, Chase Keller, Ike Arkander, Roman Sokolov, Pablo – and perhaps over time we will come to understand how damaging those playoff losses were, but it's too early to rank them now.

 

And so, onto the proper ranking:

 

10. S18 Madrid

We start all the way back with a team which most have forgotten existed. The Madrid Thunder experiment was killed off after around six seasons, but in that time it did offer hope of breaking away from the 'Vasteras Curse'. That is, of course, until they blew their best chance to win a championship. Season 18 was a season of great change in the VHL, and Madrid stocked up with the stars of the time to become pre-season favourites, and won the regular season too. It all fell apart in the playoffs though, as the Thunder scraped through the first round before being dispatched all too easily by the unfancied Wranglers in 6 games. It was the end of the road for the star attractions, Hall of Famers David Henman and Carl Jacobs, while some other luminaries like Frans Spelman, Marek Schultz, Ryley Dawson and franchise goaltender Zach Voss would find success elsewhere.

 

9. S26-S28 New York

A strange one this – the Americans had something of a curse of their own, having only won a cup in S14 and it was exacerbated by four straight finals losses from S25 to S28. Moreover, New York ended up winning it all in S32 and didn't miss the playoffs in between, but it was very much a new core by then, most importantly without the Hall of Fame duo of Benjamin Glover and Daniel Braxton, both of whom retired cupless. While S25 was a bit of an underdog run, the Americans probably should have won one of the next three finals, but the writing seemed to be on the wall when even Vasteras broke a 25-season drought against them. Several big names of the time like Adam Schultz, Pavel Koradek, and Kristian Carlsson came and went without pushing New York over the edge, as the offense never really seemed to click like their rivals' did.

 

8. S52-S53 Seattle

I was surprised to learn recently that the Bears won back-to-back Victory Cups in S52 and S53, yet their rosters never looked like those of cup favourites, particularly in S52. Perhaps a contributing factor to that is that the core of the team – Jakab Holik in goal, Bogdan Podarok and Sven Wolf up front – all either retired too early or in Holik's case were overshadowed by contemporaries. The supporting cast was not too shabby either, but probably changed too much to really stand out – from Biggu Kyanon and Joel Jarvi in S52 to Zach Parechkin, Pietro Maximoff, and Jeff Hamilton in S53 when Seattle really went for it. In the end, they were twice eliminated by the Americans who won cups in both seasons – if only they shared the prize around.

 

7. S43-S45 Stockholm

Back in the early days of the Vikings, there was a sense that the Vasteras curse would be lifted by relocation. Those hopes would look terribly misguided about 15 seasons later, but Stockholm under the stewardship of Benoit Prevost looked well placed to exploit a very open VHL in the early 40s. Instead, a sole Victory Cup in S43 would prove to be the highlight, at least until a surprise run to the finals in S47, just when it looked like the moment had passed. Hall of Fame two-way forward Lord Karnage was the leader on and off the ice and Tom Slaughter made a cameo appearance, but the Vikings couldn't get past the high-scoring O'Malley-powered Cologne Express. A few of the players never quite went from good to great either, in particular Jody 3 Moons, Lloyd Light, Francis York Morgan, and Jerrick Poole. In the end, it was a sign of things to come for the doomed franchise.

 

6. S16-S17 Toronto

Before David Knight built a dynasty which led to the top GM trophy being renamed after him, he experienced two devastating Game 7 defeats in back-to-back seasons. A hotly contested rivalry with Seattle went Toronto's way in S16, but the Legion fell in the finals to a surprise package in Riga. The following season, Toronto vs Seattle was the deciding battle in the league and this the Bears would come out on top, famously winning 3 games in overtime. In a battle between two teams stacked with veteran stars, it was very much winner-takes-all and this time the Legion would be on the wrong side of history. As part of the team, so would some big names of the time like David Henman, Carl Jacobs, Alexander Sauve, Brandon Rush, Zak Rawlyk, and Tayson Barabash.

 

5. S7-S8 Vasteras

Starting off the top half of the list is what might be considered the start of the Vasteras curse. Some might argue that it started by trading Scotty Campbell after S3, but in truth Vasteras rebuilt well and had a star-studded team by S8. Mike Szatkowski and Alexander Beketov now have awards named after them and were mainstays of the team, while Anton Nygard was one of the top goaltenders of his time. In the 'Hall of Famer for hire' seat, Vasteras could call on Brannan Anthony in S7 and Matt Defosse in S8. In the end, they fell short to a young Riga team in S8 and desperation was the name of the game for far too much of the rest of the franchise's history.

 

4. S42-S44 Quebec

Quebec's role as league villains had been well established following a maiden cup win with substantial help from free agency in S35, and by the time Clinton “Brovy” Chevy took over as GM, the hatred was in overdrive. If you're hated so much, the only thing you can do is win, and the Meute missed some glorious opportunities to add to their cup collection. With an all-time great attacking partnership in Bruno Wolf and Aksel Thomassen, Jake Wylde on defence, and the likeable Travis Boychuk providing scoring support, Quebec were favourites in S43 and S44 but lost to underdogs in Seattle and Calgary, respectively. Their only finals appearance weirdly came in S42, when it was the Meute who were the underdogs. At least this generation could later console itself with the fact that there was more bad luck to come.

 

3. S51-S52 Calgary

Building a team through free agency can backfire terribly, but things were going really well for the Wranglers after they signed Black Velvet, Aleksi Koponen, Unassisted, and Tyson Kohler before S51. With Ariel Weinstein in goal, and a young Theo Axelsson also a part of the team, S51 Calgary had one of the greatest VHL regular seasons. Their playoffs lasted just 5 games however, as they were shut down by Greg Clegane and the fourpeat-chasing Toronto Legion. The Wranglers looked like having the last laugh when they made the playoffs and the Legion didn't in S52, but again were eliminated early on and the team assembled through free agency, predictably fell apart through free agency.

 

2. S20-S21 Seattle

It was a case of role reversal in the famous Toronto vs Seattle rivalry, with the Legion exacting some serious revenge by blocking a very strong Bears team from even making a finals appearance. In S21, the race for the North American crown was as heated as ever, with an already strong attacking core of Markus Strauss, Cam Fowler, and Phil Gerrard bolstered by defensive reinforcement – most notably Patrick Bergqvist and Geno Esposito. Two mainstays of the team in goalie Joey Clarence and defenceman Dante Terragni were also unlucky to miss out on the Hall of Fame. The Bears pushed the Legion to the limit but would fall in Game 7 and a rebuild ensued – for a long time this would be the best team to never win a cup.

 

1. S49-S50 Quebec

With five future Hall of Famers – Greg Clegane, Aleksi Koponen, Jeff Hamilton, Tom Lincoln, and Unassisted – and a modern-day record 27 game winning streak, the S49 Quebec City Meute were easily the biggest casualty of the Toronto threepeat. Their playoffs ended at the hands of the Legion in both S49 and S50 in what was surely the most star-studded conference finals match-ups of all-time (Toronto boasting five Hall of Famers of their own by S50). This team was in truth the inspiration for this article and the only one which was easy to rank, culminating a horrific decade for Quebec from a playoff perspective (but some great regular season achievements). The drought almost carried on through the 50s, but the Meute did manage to win one of their four straight finals and seem to be better for the experience.

 

[Beketov 9,140]

I firmly believe that if Holik hadn’t of been such a playoff scrub we could have won in S53. Not that I blame our playoffs entirely on myself , there were other issues, but mediocre play in net certainly didn’t help.

[Victor 11,043]

11 minutes ago, Beketov said:

I firmly believe that if Holik hadn’t of been such a playoff scrub we could have won in S53. Not that I blame our playoffs entirely on myself , there were other issues, but mediocre play in net certainly didn’t help.

It seems to have been the classic offence vs defence match-up, and STHS has clear preferences. 3 HOFers for NY of Unassisted, Maxwell, and Lincoln seemed to make up for a rookie goalie and an OK defence.

[Beketov 9,140]

6 minutes ago, Victor said:

It seems to have been the classic offence vs defence match-up, and STHS has clear preferences. 3 HOFers for NY of Unassisted, Maxwell, and Lincoln seemed to make up for a rookie goalie and an OK defence.

Funnily enough a few seasons later when I was chasing a cup in NY we failed partially because we only had 1 defenseman. STHS is a fickle bitch.

[Baozi 1,664]

Stupid Kyanon.

[Victor 11,043]

3 minutes ago, Beketov said:

Funnily enough a few seasons later when I was chasing a cup in NY we failed partially because we only had 1 defenseman. STHS is a fickle bitch.

OK like there's a limit lmao - 1 defenceman is probably pushing it.

[Beketov 9,140]

9 minutes ago, Victor said:

OK like there's a limit lmao - 1 defenceman is probably pushing it.

We knew it would be, was an interesting season haha. We were kinda testing how far we could push STHS’ “offense first” mentality. It didn’t work out.

[McWolf 3,116]

Even if I only a know a little about league's history as a whole, I agree with the #1 on the list.

[Tyler 885]

Totally forgot Braxton and Glover never won a cup. Seems wrong we need to rewrite history and give them S27.

[Victor 11,043]

15 minutes ago, Tyler said:

Totally forgot Braxton and Glover never won a cup. Seems wrong we need to rewrite history and give them S27.

S27 Helsinki was too much fun though. Kora, Bora, Jenkins scoring at will.

[Tyler 885]

Also pretty sure I had a player on those Legion teams that kept losing in game 7 lol. Was legitimatley so brutal at 15 to suffer such heartbreak.

[Victor 11,043]

2 minutes ago, Tyler said:

Also pretty sure I had a player on those Legion teams that kept losing in game 7 lol. Was legitimatley so brutal at 15 to suffer such heartbreak.

yeh, the shittier Evans

 

Denis was also on the slightly worse Quebec.

[Tyler 885]

22 minutes ago, Victor said:

yeh, the shittier Evans

 

Denis was also on the slightly worse Quebec.

 

I honestly don't remember much from Denis' career. Half because I just did welfare half because I drank too much.

[TheLastOlympian07 2,388]

On 8/27/2018 at 12:07 PM, Tyler said:

 

I honestly don't remember much from Denis' career. Half because I just did welfare half because I drank too much.

milos denis the playoff hero #80%ofhisplayoffpointscameina5gameseries

 

remember when @eaglesfan036 voted for Denis to win the Playoff MVP

[Higgins 3,618]

After looking at #3 thank god there was no 4peat I never would have lived that down leaving Toronto for Calgary in free agency after winning 3 cups during Velvets entry level contract

[Higgins 3,618]

That off season was really fun though orchestrating a huge free agent team with 4 of the leagues best players. Wild 

[Tyler 885]

1 hour ago, TheLastOlympian07 said:

milos denis the playoff hero #80%ofhisplayoffpointscameina5gameseries

 

remember when @eaglesfan036 voted for Denis to win the Playoff MVP

 

Smart guy 

[Victor 11,043]

6 hours ago, Higgins said:

That off season was really fun though orchestrating a huge free agent team with 4 of the leagues best players. Wild 

You assholes couldn't wait for me to come back from vacation and paid the price.

[Victor 11,043]

11 hours ago, TheLastOlympian07 said:

milos denis the playoff hero #80%ofhisplayoffpointscameina5gameseries

 

remember when @eaglesfan036 voted for Denis to win the Playoff MVP

Not as bad as Von Axelberry getting half of playoff MVP thanks to three good games in the wildcard round.

[Beketov 9,140]

12 hours ago, Higgins said:

After looking at #3 thank god there was no 4peat I never would have lived that down leaving Toronto for Calgary in free agency after winning 3 cups during Velvets entry level contract

Also @Molholt would have been insufferable

[Molholt 2,185]

9 minutes ago, Beketov said:

Also @Molholt would have been insufferable

 

Meh. We had no business being in the finals that year, running on absolute fumes.

[Banackock 8,160]

Nice

[Victor 11,043]

3 hours ago, Molholt said:

 

Meh. We had no business being in the finals that year, running on absolute fumes.

[Victor 11,043]

Also I saw @Hybrid1486 looking in this thread and was reminded of another honourable mention: S19-S20 Riga. Didn't win a Victory Cup and didn't think of them either.

 

S20 particularly they had an insane offense and actually got stopped by superior goalie and defence. One of the few times STHS decides to switch things up haha @Beketov

[Beketov 9,140]

5 minutes ago, Victor said:

S20 particularly they had an insane offense and actually got stopped by superior goalie and defence. One of the few times STHS decides to switch things up haha 

I’ve long since stopped trying to understand how STHS functions. There are so many times where it just sorta decides to flip it’s usual logic on its end and do things that make no sense.

 

It also has an insane ability of taking 2 players with nearly identical builds and making 1 mediocre and the other a legend. I think that mostly comes down to luck of the draw for just that perfect combination of teammates but it’s odd how it always seems to work out for certain guys. @STZ for example only produces legends somehow. Zhields I’m sure would have been had he stuck around.