Franchise Cornerstone HOF Article [1/2]

[.sniffuM 1,741]

Position: C
Birthplace:  Oulan-Bator, Mongolia
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 190 lbs
Jersey Number: 97
Drafted: S53 Round 1, Pick 1 (Helsinki)
Username: Boubabi

 

When players enter the VHL, they hope to make their impact known as one of the greatest to ever grace the ice in the world’s greatest league. When a team drafts a player with the first overall pick, they hope to add a player that can become the franchise cornerstone for the new era of hockey that the team is set to enter. In the case of Helsinki in Season 53, things became all too literal, as the selection of center Franchise Cornerstone ushered in one of the most successful runs in recent VHL memory. Cornerstone’s handler, Boubabi, may have been a highly controversial member, but one thing that is certainly undeniable is that the player lived up to both his name and his handler’s reputation for generating dominant VHL players.

 

Career Awards

(S52) Ethan Osborne Trophy (VHLM goals leader)
(S52) Alexander Chershenko Trophy (VHLM points leader)
(S52) Mitch Higgins Trophy (VHLM regular season MVP)
(S53) Grimm Jonsson Trophy (VHL top leader)
(S54) Grimm Jonsson Trophy (VHL top leader)
(S56) Scotty Campbell Trophy (VHL regular season MVP)
(S56) Kevin Brooks Trophy (VHL goals leader)
(S58) Scotty Campbell Trophy (VHL regular season MVP)
(S59) Scotty Campbell Trophy (VHL regular season MVP)
(S59) Brett Slobodzian Trophy (VHL regular season MVP as voted by the players)
(S59) Mike Szatkowski Trophy (VHL points leader)
(S59) Kevin Brooks Trophy (VHL goals leader)
(S59) Scott Boulet Trophy (VHL best two-way forward)
(S60) Scott Boulet Trophy (VHL best two-way forward)

 

S52 Ottawa

 

Regular Season

72GP / 61G / 64A / 125P / +66 / 515SHT / 24PIM / 119HIT / 56SB / 14GWG / 11.84%

 

Postseason

11GP / 9G / 7A / 16P / +7 / 61SHT / 24PIM / 15HIT / 18SB / 2GWG / 14.75%

 

In his lone VHLM season, Franchise Cornerstone dominated the league. Although his numbers of 61 goals, 64 assists and 125 points don’t pop off as much as many other great VHLM seasons in the league’s long history, it should be noted that not only did Cornerstone lead the league in goals by 15 and finish third in assists with only five less than the leader, he also paced the entire minor league by 25 whole points. He even finished tied for 22^nd in the league with a solid 119 hits. And despite pacing the league with a ridiculous 515 shots taken, his 11.84% conversion rate on shots was the best of any player with at least 200 attempts fired at the net. Cornerstone’s amazing performance resulted in a Mitch Higgins Trophy as the MVP of the regular season, along with an Ethan Osborne win (most points) and an Alexander Chershenko win (most goals), but once it came to the postseason Ottawa faltered. Cornerstone played well once again, but couldn’t quite maintain his torrid pace as the Lynx fell in the semi-final round 4-1 against the eventual champion Bratislava Watchmen. It was still clear Cornerstone was the best player to be had in the VHL Draft, and he ended up going first overall to the Helsinki Titans following his pre-draft season.

 

S53 Helsinki

 

Regular Season

72GP / 21G / 51A / 72P / +38 / 183SHT / 39PIM / 1HIT / 11SB / 4GWG / 11.48%

 

Postseason

13GP / 5G / 10A / 15P / +1 / 39SHT / 5PIM / 1HIT / 1SB / 0GWG / 12.82%

 

After a brutal season in Season 52, in which the Titans won just nine games, totaled only 24 points in the standings, didn’t have a human goalie on the roster, and had no player top 58 points, expectations were low for Helsinki entering Season 53. The team quickly blew those expectations out of the water, winning 48 games and logging 101 points in the standings. The team re-tooled its entire roster, with only Jim Lahey and Maksym Barnyashev returning from the previous season and having significant roles. Cornerstone immediately proved he belonged in the VHL, notching 72 points in 72 games while leading the team in face-off attempts and holding his own on the dot. Once in the postseason, Helsinki was able to pull off a solid win in seven games over the Cologne Express before running out of steam against the Stockholm Vikings. Perhaps the biggest achievement of Cornerstone’s rookie season is that he won the Grimm Jonsson trophy as the league’s top leader despite it being his inaugural year.

 

S54 Helsinki

 

Regular Season

72GP / 28G / 53A / 81P / +61 / 316SHT / 22PIM / 0HIT / 15SB / 5GWG / 8.86%

 

Postseason

18GP / 4G / 10A / 14P / +4 / 63SHT / 0PIM / 2HIT / 2SB / 0GWG / 6.34%

Season 54 saw the Titans once again make the playoffs as the second-best team in the European Conference, with 108 points in the standings. This second season was, arguably, the weakest of Cornerstone’s career despite the uptick in goals and points. Yes, he did finish sixth in points among centers and sixth in face-off percentage as well, but he saw his shooting percentage dip not only into single digits, but below 9% as well. His hit total also dropped by an astounding 100%, from one hit as a rookie to none in his second season. Despite this, Cornerstone was able to contribute to a great cup run that saw the Titans steamroll through an amazing Stockholm Vikings team as well as the Quebec City Meute en route to winning the whole thing. Cornerstone’s numbers were down for this cup run as well, but he was at least named the league’s top leader once again, making it two consecutive Grimm Jonsson trophies.

 

S55 Helsinki

 

Regular Season

72GP / 51G / 58A / 109P / +58 / 461SHT / 10PIM / 13HIT / 27SB / 9GWG / 11.06%

 

Postseason 

12GP / 6G / 7A / 13P / +5 / 82SHT / 0PIM / 0HIT / 6SB / 1GWG / 7.31%

 

This was the season that the Titans would become the kings of the regular season, winning the Victory Cup with 118 points. Despite being one of three players to top 100 points on Helsinki, Cornerstone led the way on the team with 109 points and 51 goals. He finished second to Diana Maxwell in both goals and points on the season leaguewide, while finishing fifth in face-off percentage (albeit behind teammate and defenseman-turned-center Black Velvet). Although his amazing regular season didn’t result in any awards, it did help lead Helsinki to a third consecutive playoff berth, this time giving the team a first round bye in the playoffs. The team had little trouble beating the HC Davos Dynamo in five to win the European Conference, setting up a re-match of last year’s finals matchup with the Quebec City Meute. This time around the series went to seven games, but for the second consecutive season, Helsinki hoisted the Continental Cup, becoming the fifth instance of back-to-back championships in league history. Cornerstone once again didn’t play the best in the postseason, but he helped a team achieve something few other teams in league history have been able to do.

 

S56 Helsinki

 

Regular Season

72GP / 62G / 61A / 123P / +71 / 468SHT / 20PIM / 1HIT / 40SB / 11GWG / 13.25%

 

Postseason

7GP / 2G / 4A / 6P / +0 / 46SHT / 2PIM / 0HIT / 7SB / 1GWG / 4.35%

 

Season 56 saw Franchise Cornerstone enter the prime of his career with a roar. He led the league in goals, resulting in a Kevin Brooks trophy win, while also winning the Scotty Campbell award as the league’s regular season MVP. Unfortunately, however, Helsinki was not able to make nearly as strong a push for a threepeat as they would have liked, dropping to 91 points in the regular season and finishing third in Europe. The team fell in seven games to the HC Davos Dynamo, with Cornerstone continuing his pattern of relative struggles in the playoffs. This time around, those struggles were very pronounced, with only two goals on 46 shots in the seven game series. Helsinki needed their former top leader to step up his game as they weren’t the kings of the league anymore.

 

S57 Helsinki

 

Regular Season

72GP / 46G / 69A / 115P / +76 / 516SHT / 12PIM / 9HIT / 27SB / 6GWG / 8.91%

 

Postseason

9GP / 7G / 7A / 14P / +10 / 62SHT / 17PIM / 1HIT / 5SB / 2GWG / 11.29%

 

With Davos shifting into a rebuild the Titans were able to maintain their team and get back to some regular season success, notching 101 points in the regular season and climbing back up to second in Europe. Cornerstone dipped below 10% on his shooting percentage for just the second time in his VHL career, but led the way for Helsinki with a strong 115 points, good for fourth in the league. The first round of the playoffs was all but a formality for the Titans, as they took on a 21-45-6 Cologne team and steamrolled them, outscoring them 17-3 in a four game sweep. This earned them the right to take on the dominant 60-win Riga Reign, who took care of business 4-1 against the Titans. Cornerstone had a great postseason with 14 points in nine games, but the Reign team was too strong to stop and ended up taking part in every European Conference team’s favorite pastime, beating Quebec in the finals.

 

S58 Helsinki

 

Regular Season

72GP / 55G / 58A / 113P / +65 / 540SHT / 37PIM / 91HIT / 40SB / 13GWG / 10.19%

 

Postseason

7GP / 3G / 8A / 11P / +3 / 32SHT / 2PIM / 7HIT / 6SB / 0GWG / 9.38%

 

A career that had started with so much promise was beginning to look more like a great player trading team success in exchange for personal dominance. That narrative was flipped on its head in Season 58, when Franchise did everything he could to will a mediocre Titans roster into the postseason in the freshly-contracted VHL. Finishing second in the league with 55 goals and third in points with 113, Franchise Cornerstone won his second career Scotty Campbell trophy as the VHL’s regular season MVP as he established himself as a force on face-offs as well. Still, Helsinki would notch only 86 points despite Cornerstone’s efforts and then fell to the 83-point New York Americans in seven games to open up their playoff run. Despite having to do it all for the Titans in the regular season, Cornerstone opted to play playmaker in the series, taking only 32 shots in the seven games and notching three goals and eight assists. With his career winding down, Cornerstone’s chances at winning another cup were beginning to look bleak.

 

S59 Helsinki

 

Regular Season

72GP / 67G / 66A / 133P / +65 / 611SHT / 202PIM / 341HIT / 25SB / 14GWG / 10.97%

 

Postseason

14GP / 5G / 10A / 15P / +2 / 93SHT / 16PIM / 66HIT / 6SB / 2GWG / 5.38%

 

Many VHL players have a tendency to begin slowing down once they reach their sixth or seventh season. Cornerstone ended his seventh year with career best marks in goals (67) and points (133). He also notched 341 hits, despite entering the season with 115 hits in his career (91 of which came in Season 58). The Titans came back up to 98 points, third in the league, while Cornerstone collected enough hardware to dedicate a trophy case specifically to this season. In Season 59, Cornerstone won his third Campbell (regular season MVP, his second Brooks (league leader in goals), his first Slobodzian (MVP as voted by the players), his first Szatkowski (league leader in points), and even his first Boulet (best two-way forward). After having a bye in the first round, the Titans upset the New York Americans in seven games, before facing the upstart fifth-seeded Seattle Bears in the finals. Despite expectations being for Helsinki to win this series, the Bears prevailed in a hard fought seven game battle. Cornerstone regressed back to his old playoff ways, putting up a solid 15 points in 14 games but notching only five goals on a massive 93 shot attempts.

 

S60 Helsinki

 

Regular Season

72GP / 54G / 55A / 109P / +35 / 463SHT / 123PIM / 380HIT / 50SB / 10GWG / 11.66%

 

Postseason

13GP / 8G / 7A / 15P / +1 / 66SHT / 24PIM / 64HIT / 8SB / 2GWG / 12.12%

 

Here we have Franchise Cornerstone’s farewell season. Already one of the most potent players in league history, sure to enter the famed 800-point club and looking to lead Helsinki to the playoffs in every season of his career, Cornerstone entered Season 60 on a mission. His numbers dipped some, with 54 goals and 109 points (ending a four-season 110+ point streak), but his checking ability continued to improve, with him notching a career high 380 hits this time around. This resulted in Cornerstone winning a second consecutive Boulet award. Franchise was in fact able to lead Helsinki to the playoffs once again, and the team even had one of their best seasons under his leadership with 112 points in the regular season, second to only New York. After a bye, Helsinki got their revenge against Seattle, the league’s third 100+ point team, setting up an epic finals showdown against the Americans as the Titans tried to give Cornerstone the ultimate send-off. The series began with back-to-back road losses for Helsinki, before two strong home wins gave the team momentum. So much momentum, in fact, that the team was able to win game five in New York. The Titans lost game six at home, before taking game seven, once again in New York, and the series with a 3-1 victory. Franchise Cornerstone brought his lifelong franchise a third cup, with one of his finest postseasons as well.

 

Career

 

Regular Season

576GP / 384G / 471A / 855P / +456 / 3558SHT / 465PIM / 836HIT / 235SB / 72GWG / 10.79%

Postseason

93GP / 40G / 63A / 103P / +26 / 483SHT / 66PIM / 141HIT / 41SB / 8GWG / 8.28%

 

All things told, Franchise Cornerstone was destined for greatness from day one and lived up to the hype. He helped a moribund franchise find its way, resulting in eight consecutive postseason berths and three cup wins. Cornerstone took home enough hardware to fill a Home Depot in his career and was a unanimous choice for the Hall-of-Fame as a member of the 800-point club.

[.sniffuM 1,741]

I know this starts to look wonky after a bit. Basically, fuck microsoft word (and the forum for not letting me copy and paste certain things so I had to do some stuff in word and re-paste it in).

[Banackock 8,141]

@boubabi fuck u r god

[Victor 11,021]

On 9/3/2018 at 3:36 AM, .sniffuM said:

becoming the fifth instance of back-to-back championships in league history.

I count eighth.  

[.sniffuM 1,741]

19 hours ago, Victor said:

I count eighth.  

 

I blame your spreadsheet tbh

[Victor 11,021]

9 hours ago, .sniffuM said:

 

I blame your spreadsheet tbh

Excuses

[JG10 28]

2445 words wow. Great article, looks like a lot of research was done too. Usually I'd tell you to add a picture but your formatting was good enough to make it appealing even without a picture