Aces trying their luck with a new formula

[oilmandan 686]

RENO,NV.   It's an exciting and optimistic time in the desert right now. After a disappointing second round exit,  at the hands of ultimately the Founders Cup Championship Ottawa Lynx, the Las Vegas Aces cleaned house in upper management. After losing many players as well to the VHL draft and ahead of the VHLM dispersal draft, the Aces were looking very thin across the board.

 

After naming former assistant general manager  Julian Borwinn the new head man, Julian hired newcomer Dan Wilinsky as his right hand man.

 

The first task to the new management team was to fill the mostly vacant roster and rebuild the depth.

 

Without a first round selection, the Aces needed to make quality, safe bets with the picks they did have. Borwinn managed to make a deal shortly before the draft gaining an extra pick in the S63 draft and swapping picks in the S64 draft with the Ottawa Lynx.

 

With the first selection in the second round, the Aces grabbed Jorgon Weyed, a winger that had spent the past year with the Aces. The familiarity that the club and player had made the selection an easy one.

 

Midway through the third round, with the pick acquired from Ottawa, Las Vegas got hard nosed winger Randoms, who had provided much needed grit to the Lynx the year before. This Aces hoped his playoff experience and work ethic would help the young team.

 

Later on in the round, Joel Ylonen was picked to complete the teams first forward line. With two returning defenders to the team and the top forward line set, the Aces went to work finding solid players for supporting roles. Defenceman Eric Parker was chosen late in the fourth round as well as Andrew Taylor, late in the fifth.

 

After that it was a matter of selecting players they hoped would turn out as long term projects. Wingers Bugz Bunni and Wilson Ristau rounded out the forward haul in the draft, while netminder Fizz was nabbed to hold down the fort until a free agent goalie could be secured. James Coleman was selected with the Aces final pick to provide depth on the blue line.

 

Overall the Aces management group was happy with how the draft had gone. The potential was there to be a competitive team in the upcoming season, and although there were still some holes, there was plenty of time to address them.

 

There was also very little time to celebrate any successes from the night before. Free agency opened up the next day and Borwinn had some very pressing needs to complete his vision for the S63 campaign.

 

Less than a few hours in, the Aces were able to write their netminding tandem in place, as they signed much coveted Brick Wahl for the season. Goaltending had been the one large cloud looming over Las Vegas and the entire fanbase breathed a sigh of relief after this transaction was completed.

 

With new rules implemented by dictator Banackock, limiting free agent signing to basically forcing everyone to have one signing before there could be any second signings, the Aces had to wait patiently until their next opportunity came along. And they made it count as well, signing another well sought after defenceman by the name of Evgeni Komarov.

 

That completed the roster for the preseason. Joined by the only two holdovers, Jack Lockwood and James Lombardi, the Aces were set and ready for training camp in Reno. With 8 of its top 10 scorers moving on from the previous season, it will be a much younger team and new faces to lead the way.

 

On the first day of training camp the Aces new on ice leadership group was announced. Top pick and second year Ace Jorgon Weyed was tapped to lead the young group for the season. Another second year Ace James Lombardi was announced as an alternate captain. And in a rare move netminder Brick Wahl was named the other alternate. Asked why he made the move Borwinn stated "We believe Brick is a future star in this league and has all the wisdom and charisma of a seasoned professional".

 

After that it was back to work as the team began preparing for the season ahead.

 

700+ words