(S60 Class) Rhett DeGrath [WIP] [1/2]

[Enorama 2,038]

Rhett DeGrath

Class of S60

Position: G
Birthplace: Squamish, British Columbia, Canada
Height: 6'6"
Weight: 225
Jersey Number: 31
Drafted: S52 2nd overall (Stockholm)
Username: STZ

 

Career Awards:

S59 - Aidan Shaw Trophy (Top Goalie)
S59 - Greg Clegane Trophy (Lowest GAA)
S55 - Scotty Campbell Trophy (MVP)
S55 - Brett Slobodzian Trophy (Most-Outstanding)
S55 - Aidan Shaw Trophy (Top Goalie)
S54 - Aidan Shaw Trophy (Top Goalie)

From the day he entered the league, Rhett DeGrath was among the best goalies around. It only took him until his third professional season to pull in an Aidan Shaw trophy as the top goalie in the VHL, a feat that he repeated just a year later, in addition to the MVP and most-outstanding awards he also took home in S55. Although he had to retire without a Continental Cup and with only two trips to the finals, he still managed to grab one last Shaw trophy as well as the Greg Clegane trophy for lowest GAA league-wide in his final year. After considering his personal accomplishments, DeGrath may be one of the greatest individual players with the least playoff success.

 

S52

Regular season
52 (STO) 64GP | 13W - 42L - 9OTL | 0.914SV% | 3.31GAA | 6SO | 215GA | 2486SA | 3896MP

In his rookie season, DeGrath (like so many other top prospects) was stuck on a rebuilding team. Even though he put up more than respectable personal numbers, with .914SV% especially standing out, S52 was just not the Vikings' season. In 64 games played, DeGrath only managed 13 wins and 9 overtime losses. One other interesting note about this season is that nearly half (6/13) of DeGrath's wins came from shutouts, which should tell you how important he was to his team's victories when they did come around.

 

S53

Regular season
53 (STO) 64GP | 46W - 12L - 6OTL | 0.908SV% | 1.98GAA | 14SO | 127GA | 1387SA | 3841MP
Playoffs
53 (STO) 13GP | 7W - 6L - 0OTL | 0.896SV% | 2.75GAA | 1SO | 36GA | 347SA | 786MP

It only took the Vikings another season to totally turn their franchise around. DeGrath himself nearly totally flipped his record, after recording just 13 wins in his rookie season, he put up only 12 losses in his sophomore season. His SV% declined slightly, but that could be a result of him seeing less action, as his shots against dropped by a staggering 1100 from the previous season (2486->1387). S53 also saw DeGrath's first trip to the playoffs, where Stockholm ran their way into the Cup finals, only to be dropped by the Americans. DeGrath saw a regression from his regular season performance, with his SV% dropping to below .900 and his GAA jumping by .77 to 2.75.

 

S54

Regular season
54 (STO) 64GP | 58W - 4L - 2OTL | 0.933SV% | 1.33GAA | 16SO | 86GA | 1278SA | 3867MP
Playoffs
54 (STO) 6GP | 2W - 4L - 0OTL | 0.879SV% | 3.11GAA | 0SO | 18GA | 149SA | 347MP

Continuing on from their dominant performance in the S53 regular season, Stockholm just absolutely walked through the S54 regular season, with DeGrath only losing 4 games in regulation and achieving a .933SV% and as a marker of the success of both himself and the team as a whole, DeGrath achieved an incredibly low 1.33GAA. Upon entering the playoffs, however, the Vikings' season quickly took a turn for the worst. After thrashing the opposition in the regular season, the Vikings lost in the semis in 6 games. DeGrath found himself with a sub-.900 SV% for the second playoffs in a row. Heading into the off-season, Stockholm and DeGrath were once again seen as playoff disappointments.

 

S55

Regular season
55 (STO) 64GP | 52W - 11L - 1OTL | 0.941SV% | 1.25GAA | 17SO | 80GA | 1358SA | 3847MP
Playoffs
55 (STO) 7GP | 3W - 3L - 1OTL | 0.928SV% | 2.1GAA | 1SO | 15GA | 209SA | 427MP

Following up on their outstanding regular season performances in S53 and S54, Stockholm and DeGrath once again skyrocketed to the top of the VHL in the regular season. DeGrath hit a .941SV% across the regular season, a figure which became and would remain his career best. His 1.25GAA would also remain a career best for him. However, in what had become a familiar story, Stockholm's stellar season came to an end early in playoffs. This time around, DeGrath himself put up respectable numbers on the back end, and the Vikings pushed the series to 7, but once again, they were out in the semi-finals. With their core not getting any older, and DeGrath still not having the chance to experience playoff success, the Vikings shipped him off to the HC Davos Dynamo in the offseason in return for another goalie.

 

S56

Regular season
56 (DAV) 64GP | 49W - 13L - 1OTL | 0.917SV% | 1.92GAA | 11SO | 119GA | 1429SA | 3709MP
Playoffs
56 (DAV) 20GP | 11W - 7L - 2OTL | 0.917SV% | 2.28GAA | 2SO | 48GA | 577SA | 1261MP

The change of scenery barely made DeGrath falter. His SV% took a slight hit from his previous two peak years, but him and the Dynamo saw just as much success as a team, with DeGrath pulling in 49 wins and 11 shutouts in his 64 games played. When playoffs rolled around, DeGrath and the rest of the Dynamo showed that they would not be content to repeat outcomes that he'd been dealing with up to this point in his career and he stormed out of the gate into the Continental Cup finals. As though cursed, however, this was still not DeGrath's year, as he fell one win short of the Cup for the second time in his career. 

 

S57

Regular season
57 (DAV) 64GP | 14W - 41L - 9OTL | 0.935SV% | 2.53GAA | 3SO | 163GA | 2494SA | 3868MP

After they came oh-so-close to the Continental Cup, Davos unfortunately entered an immense downswing. Following up their outstanding regular season performance, they dropped like a rock through the standings. DeGrath, however, maintained an elite level of play, and actually achieved a higher SV% than the year previous. After missing the playoffs and with his team in a veritable freefall, DeGrath was sent to the New York Americans in return for a draft pick. He was to pursue his dream of winning the Continental Cup somewhere else.

 

S58

Regular season
58 (NYA) 47GP | 25W - 15L - 6OTL | 0.922SV% | 1.98GAA | 7SO | 92GA | 1179SA | 2788MP
Playoffs
58 (NYA) 12GP | 5W - 4L - 3OTL | 0.9SV% | 2.98GAA | 0SO | 35GA | 350SA | 705MP

As an expiring free agent, DeGrath and the Americans had to make their cases to one another about why their partnership should be extended. Although his starts were more limited than they'd ever been before, the tender still had a successful season, even as he aged. The Americans themselves didn't exactly excel, but they were a team on the upswing, after finishing last in the conference the previous year, they managed to win a playoff series in S58. Believing in the future of the franchise, DeGrath signed a 1 year extension with New York for what was to be his final season in the VHL.

 

S59

Regular season
59 (NYA) 63GP | 45W - 15L - 3OTL | 0.93SV% | 1.89GAA | 12SO | 117GA | 1670SA | 3709MP
Playoffs
59 (NYA) 7GP | 3W - 3L - 1OTL | 0.932SV% | 1.85GAA | 0SO | 13GA | 190SA | 420MP

In his penultimate season, DeGrath kept up his elite performance. He achieved a rare .930SV% while achieving triple the amount of wins as he did regulation losses. Unfortunately for both him and the Americans, their regular season success didn't translate into the post-season. Despite DeGrath's .932SV% performance, New York was still ousted in 7 games. After 8 outstanding seasons in the league, DeGrath had to retire without a Cup, cementing himself as one of the greatest to have never truly achieved playoff success.

 

Career totals:

Regular season
Totals 494GP | 302W - 153L - 37OTL | 0.925SV% | 2.03GAA | 86SO | 999GA | 13281SA | 29525MP
Playoffs
Totals 65GP | 31W - 27L - 7OTL | 0.909SV% | 2.51GAA | 4SO | 165GA | 1822SA | 3946MP

 

 

Edited September 13, 2018 by Enorama
All done

[Jose Gonzalez 33]

JGRS Review
Information: 9/10 Good information
Readability: 6/10 Maybe explain what happened in every season and explain what that means
Roleplay NA
Total Score: 15/20 Good article could use with some work though.

[Enorama 2,038]

On 9/9/2018 at 8:22 PM, Jose Gonzalez said:

JGRS Review
Information: 9/10 Good information
Readability: 6/10 Maybe explain what happened in every season and explain what that means
Roleplay NA
Total Score: 15/20 Good article could use with some work though.

 

The [WIP] denotes a work in progress  

[Enorama 2,038]

On 9/9/2018 at 8:22 PM, Jose Gonzalez said:

JGRS Review
Information: 9/10 Good information
Readability: 6/10 Maybe explain what happened in every season and explain what that means
Roleplay NA
Total Score: 15/20 Good article could use with some work though.

It's done now if you want to have another go at it