(S63 Class) Markus King

[Enorama 2,039]

Markus King - Class of S63

 

Position: G
Birthplace: Victoria, B.C., Canada
Height: 6'4"
Weight: 202 lbs
Jersey Number: 50 
Drafted: S54 9th overall, Calgary Wranglers
Username: Kendrick

 

Markus King was a generational goaltender whose hardware would be even more impressive than it already is had the league instituted the Greg Clegane trophy for lowest GAA just a couple seasons earlier, because in addition to winning the trophy in S59, he also lead the league in GAA in both S56 and S57. After allegedly going through some locker room troubles in Cologne during S54, King was moved across Europe to Riga, where he would go on to see massive success and raise two consecutive Continental Cups. If it weren't for the unusually strong HOF class of S62, King would have been a shoo-in for instant induction. Nonetheless, he didn't need to wait long before heading into the Hall of Fame.

 

Career Awards

S56 Aidan Shaw Trophy (Top Goalie)
S57 Continental Cup
S57 Aidan Shaw Trophy (Top Goalie)
S58 Continental Cup
S58 Daisuke Kanou Trophy (Playoff MVP)
S59 Greg Clegane Trophy (Lowest GAA)

 

S54

Regular Season
54 (COL) | 64 GP | 17 W - 40 L - 7 OTL | 0.925SV% | 2.8 GAA | 5 SO

Before the season even started, King was shipped from his draft team, Calgary, overseas to Cologne, Germany. In his VHL rookie season, King already showed signs of greatness. On (a honestly pretty bad) Cologne, he managed to post 5 shutouts, representing almost a third of his total wins on the season as well as a .925SV%. However, King and Scott Anderson (Cologne's GM) reportedly had issues behind closed doors that lead to King being shipped to the Riga Reign for a 1st  and a 2nd round pick.

 

S55

Regular Season
55 (RIG) | 64 GP | 15 W - 45 L - 3 OTL | 0.923 SV% | 2.9 GAA | 5 SO

Unfortunately for King, although his locker room situation may have improved, his team's success took a step back from what he enjoyed in his rookie season. Even though he won two less games and had five more regulation losses than the previous season, his personal performance remained high, with a .923SV% and another 5 shutouts. Once again, his 5 shutouts represented a large portion of his team's wins on the season, demonstrating how he was putting the team on his back.

 

S56

Regular Season
56 (RIG) | 65 GP | 53 W - 10 L - 1 OTL | 0.93 SV% | 1.71 GAA | 14 SO
Playoffs
56 (RIG) | 6 GP | 2 W - 3 L - 1 OTL | 0.92 SV% | 2.32 GAA | 0 SO

S56 saw a massive turnaround for the Reign. King performed only marginally better on a personal level, bumping his SV% up to .930 from .923, but Riga stepped up their team defense and allowed the Canadian goaltender to put up a record of 53 wins with only 10 regulation losses on top of a staggering 14 shutouts. Riga was unable to carry over this success into playoffs, however, as they bowed out in a 6 game series. In the off-season, King collected his first Aidan Shaw trophy as the best goalie in the VHL regular season.

 

S57

Regular Season
57 (RIG) | 65 GP | 56 W - 2 L - 2 OTL | 0.928 SV% | 1.54 GAA | 14 SO
Playoffs
57 (RIG) | 11 GP | 8 W - 3 L - 0 OTL | 0.921 SV% | 2.27 GAA | 0 SO

After his staggering win total in S56, King decided to one up himself and threw up an additional 3 wins, resulting in a record of 56-2-2. That's only two regulation losses across a full season for the netminder. His personal stats were no joke either, as he matched his personal best in shutouts (14) and set a new career high in goals-against average (1.54). Also, this time, Riga was able to storm into playoffs the same way they did the regular season and came away with the Continental Cup. King also collected his second straight Aidan Shaw trophy as the best goalie in the VHL regular season.

 

S58

Regular Season
58 (RIG) | 65 GP | 47 W - 10 L - 4 OTL | 0.913 SV% | 2.11 GAA | 9 SO
Playoffs
58 (RIG) | 11 GP | 8 W - 2 L - 1 OTL | 0.939 SV% | 1.85 GAA | 1 SO

King and the rest of the Reign took a step back after their monumental regular seasons in S56 and S57. Stepping back still means a 45+ win season for King and a solid playoff berth. It was the playoffs of S58 where King really came out and stepped right up to the plate. In 11 games, King posted a .939SV% and dragged the rest of his team to their second consecutive Continental Cup. Because of his playoff exploits, King was also awarded the Daisuke Kanou trophy for the most valuable player of the S58 playoffs.

 

S59

Regular Season
59 (RIG) | 67 GP | 34 W - 22 L - 8 OTL | 0.921 SV% | 2.07 GAA | 10 SO
Playoffs
59 (RIG) | 3 GP | 1 W - 2 L - 0 OTL | 0.896 SV% | 4.21 GAA | 0 SO

For the second season in a row, Markus King and the Riga Reign under-performed in the regular season when compared to the previous one. This time, the team's record was low enough that they had to play in the wild card round of the playoffs. King himself continued his strong career with a .921SV% but the team as a whole was not what it used to be. They bowed out of the wild card round after playing all three possible games and went into the off-season knowing that something had to change.

 

S60

Regular Season
60 (SEA) | 64 GP | 42 W - 17 L - 5 OTL | 0.925 SV% | 1.96 GAA | 7 SO
Playoffs
60 (SEA) | 6 GP | 2 W - 3 L - 1 OTL | 0.924 SV% | 2.66 GAA | 0 SO

Riga GM Benjamin Zeptenbergs kicked off the team's rebuild in the off-season between S59 and S60 by sending King, along with defenseman Mathieu Bourdon, to the Bears for a couple of picks and some roster players (presumably to make the salary and roster limits work). As had become the usual for him, King posted a stellar regular season, posting his fourth 40+ win season of his career and projecting Seattle into the playoffs. In a story that has become too familiar to him at this point, King and the Bears were bounced in a six game series and headed to the links.

 

S61

Regular Season
61 (HSK) | 66 GP | 49 W - 13 L - 4 OTL | 0.928 SV% | 1.75 GAA | 10 SO
Playoffs
61 (HSK) | 6 GP | 3 W - 2 L - 1 OTL | 0.896 SV% | 3.17 GAA | 0 SO

The off-season preceding S61 marked another move for Markus King, as he was shipped from Seattle to Helsinki in a monster deal that saw 5 veteran players go from the Bears to the Titans. Once again, King eclipsed the 40 win mark, making it five times on his career that he surpassed 40 wins, and he fell just shy of hitting 50 wins or more for the third time in his career. Unfortunately, King saw his season (and career) end in a 7 game series in the playoff semi-finals. It was a rather sad end to an otherwise astounding career, as King fell below .900SV% for the first time.

 

Career Totals

Regular Season
Totals | 520 GP | 313 W - 159 L - 34 OTL | 0.924 SV% | 2.11 GAA | 74 SO
Playoffs
Totals | 43 GP | 24 W - 15 L - 4 OTL | 0.92 SV% | 2.46 GAA | 1 SO

Playing mostly with the Riga Reign and being a pivotal part of their back-to-back cup wins, Markus King saw regular season success in every market he played (barring the hiccup with Cologne at the beginning of his career). Winning was simply in his blood.

 

Edited February 27, 2019 by Enorama

[Advantage 2,899]

Man i should have done this more when I did a few HOF back in the day. Once wrote over 2000 words before accidentally closing it and losing it all