Season 24: Year In Review

[Matt_O 896]

After last years continental cup victory for the Wranglers, we can come into Season 24 with a different look. Toronto is facing stiff competition, New York is on the rise, and Vasteras is looking poised to fight for a spot in the European Division. To try to help their playoff chances, they made a blockbuster of a trade during the offseason. The Legion had their second disappointing playoff defeat in as many years, and they snapped. They shipped off Lars Berger and James Bencharski to Vasteras in exchange for the S22 first overall pick Clint Guite, veteran defenseman Jordan Berglund and Regie Johnson. This was a move that Toronto hoped would changed their fortunes in this upcoming season, and Vasteras wanted to make the playoffs for the first time in a while. The Legion also had a few minor trades, such as acquiring everyones favorite player Robin Big Snake. It was a culture change in Toronto, one that they believed was necessary for playoff success.

 

 

 

DRAFT

 

This draft was littered with the Bears all over it, and they had 12 draft picks. Riga took Mathieu VanCoughnett with their first overall pick, followed by Carlos Vasquez by Seattle. The most notable name was Daniel Braxton, who would go on to have an illustrious career with the Americans after being drafted third overall.

 

Generally, the team recap starts with the victory cup winners. This time, I needed to start with the Wranglers. They capped off a very bizarre season with a 20-47-5 record, just one year after winning it all. Basically they did what the Bears did after Season 21; they blew it up after a very successful year. They shipped off Mathias Chiounard for David Vidal and Davos' first, which put Davos in a position to seriously contend once again. They then traded away Jake Steen and Roman Andreev for two second round picks. After that, they still weren't done dealing, and they shipped off Joey Clarence and Dante Terragni for a second rounder and prospect Milos Langdon. This team was horrendous, by the way. The most notable thing about them was that one of their players was named CAL FUCK YEAH. He finished with 3 points and was -48. 

 

The Legion once again wrapped up another dominant season and were on top of the North American conference. Phil Gerrard and Peyton Nydroj were their superstars, both stacking up with 120 points. Clint Guite had a very solid sophomore season, and the legendary Robin Big Snake as well as Joe Nash were a fierce duo and would lay people out every game. Aidan Shaw, the ageless wonder, had one of his best seasons, with a 1.77 GAA and a .931 Save Percentage. The Legion looked good and were poised for a deep playoff run.

 

 

Right behind Toronto was HC Davos, who were led by Anton Brekker, the duo of young studs with Leeroy Jenkins and Pavel Koradek, Japinder Singh manning the blue line, and of course Daisuke Kanou. On top of an already solid squad, they added Mathias Chiounard from a Calgary team that had started to blow things up, who finished with the most points on the team. This team, despite finishing with fewer points than Toronto, was probably better than them on paper. 

 

Now, we can look at Helsinki, a thorn in Davos' side. While Davos was better than them, both teams were capable of beating each other in a seven game series. Led by Cam Fowler, who was playing in his final year, alongside Tarik Saeijs and Ignatius Feltersnatch, they were the big three of Helsinki. They were helped by their goaltender Jakob Kjeldson, who had another stellar year. The Titans were peaking but still would have to get through the Dynamo in round one.

 

A controversy in this season between the final spot in the playoffs took place. The Vasteras Iron Eagles had 93 points this season, compared to the Americans 76. However, since New York was in the North American Conference, they made it to the playoffs. It was an outrage, as the efforts of Lars Berger, James Bencharski, Andreas Bjorkman and Cam Merrill went without a reward, while New York had a below .500 season and still got in. Jukka Hakkinen finally made the playoffs after years of carrying the Americans, alongside Keon Anderson and Zach Gagnon. They also acquired Joey Clarence at the deadline. Rookie Daniel Braxton finished with 46 points in his first season with the Americans. Unfortunately for Vasteras they got screwed by the playoff system pretty badly.

 

If you remember back to Season 23, during the offseason, the Titans acquired Tarik Saeijs in a trade centered around prospect Mitch Higgins. Higgins was later traded from Riga to Seattle during this season, in an exchange of prospects. Higgins lead the Bears with 60 points in his rookie year, and fellow rookie goaltender Carlos Vasquez had a very respectable season as well. Those two could not save the Bears from sucking though, as they ended they year with a pathetic nine wins. The Reign managed to sign Evgeni Fydorov in free agency, but he was the lone bright spot on Riga. Their first overall pick did not play for them this season. They finished with 24 wins in yet another tank year for them.

 

 

As we have previously mentioned, there were various trade deadline deals this year, especially with Calgary. The only notable trade we did not talk about already was when the Reign acquired prospect Guy Finchley and a S35 Davos second rounder, for Sigmund Olofsson. This is only notable because of the strange draft pick, one that was eleven seasons from the current point in time. The player they picked would go inactive after 100 TPE.

 

PLAYOFFS

 

 

The matchups were set; A much hyped rematch of last year between the Titans and Dynamo, and then the not as exciting match between the Legion and the Americans. Lets go to North America first, where the Americans could prepared to be humbled by the Legion. In game one, the Americans actually controlled the tempo and the game in general, but Toronto won 2-0, as Aidan Shaw stopped 43 shots. Game two went New Yorks way, as Keon Henderson, Jukka Hakkinen and Zach Gagnon scored for New York in the 3-2 win. Game three was in New York, where the Americans once again outplayed Toronto, despite losing 3-0. They had 32 shots compared to the Legions 24, but Aidan Shaw was a brick wall in net once again. Game four was a similar story, as the Legion won 2-1 in game four as Shaw made 20 saves, and their two first period goals were to much for the Americans. With a 3-1 series lead, the Legion didn't look back, and they won game five 3-2. Joe Nash, a rookie on Toronto, scored two goals, his third and fourth of the postseason to send the Legion back to the finals.

 

 

Now, the more exciting series. The Titans and Dynamo were setting up for an intense rivalry series. Game one went the distance, after Davos erased the Titans 3-1 lead in the third period. Kanou had 29 saves, while Kjeldson had 39 saves. In overtime, Anton Brekker scored and Davos won game one. Game two was a different story, as the Dynamo outclassed Helsinki. Leeroy Jenkins scored his first playoff goal, and the Dynamo won 4-1. Game three in Helsinki was shockingly the exact same script; Kanou played his best hockey, making 23 saves and winning game three 3-1. Game four was now a must win for Helsinki, who were locked in a battle in this game. It went to overtime scoreless, before Kevyn Hesje scored to win the game for the Titans. Kanou had 26 saves, while Kjeldson had 31 saves. Game five is where the Titans run would end, as the Dynamo won 3-0 as Brekker scored two goals in the third period and Kanou made 28 saves in the win. The Dynamo were heading  back to the finals, while Cam Fowler would end his legendary career off with a bittersweet ending. 

 

 

The heavily hyped Continental Cup Finals between the Legion and the Dynamo was here. They met in back to back years in season 20 and 21, where Davos won in their first meeting and the Legion won the second meeting. Game one was in Toronto, where the Dynamo showed no fear. They won 2-1, and shut down the Legions offense. They only allowed 16 shots en route to the win in game one. Game two went back to Toronto, as they took a narrow 2-1 win in game two. Kanou had to make 41 saves in the loss for him. Game three, we headed to Europe, where the Dynamo would make no mistakes. They won 1-0 in game three off of Brekkers first period goal, and Kanou made 24 saves. Game four was another incredible defensive effort by Davos, who won 3-0 in game four. Kanou had 26 saves, and Mathias Chiounard had two goals in the win. Game five, with Toronto down 3-1, was a must win for them. They put up an incredible fight, allowing a mere 12 shots on goal. That being said, it was still a scoreless game after sixty minutes. We headed to overtime, where Phil Gerrard only needed a minute and a half to win the game for the Legion. Game six, back in HC Davos, would be seemingly a must win for both squads. If you're Toronto, you are down 3-2 in the series. If you're Davos, you don't want to go back to Toronto for game 7. Davos had a 2-0 lead early in the third, but David Walcott cut the lead in half. Just three minutes later, Adam Schultz would give Davos a two goal lead once again, and the Dynamo wouldn't look back. They allowed only 15 shots and had 43 shots on net, and the Dynamo won their fourth cup in franchise history. Daisuke Kanou was awarded as the playoff MVP, and rightfully so. He had a 0.98 GAA and a .962 save percentage in ten games.

 

Phil Gerrard of the Legion would go on to win MVP, with 122 points leading the Legion. Mathias Chiounard won the Mike Szatkowski trophy, with 124 points for Davos. Peyton Nydroj scored 58 goals for Helsinki, to win the Kevin Brooks trophy. Dante Terragini, acquired in a deadline deal, won the Sterling Labatte trophy for best defenseman. Aidan Shaw and Daisuke Kanou shared the Top Goaltender award, and Mitch Higgins and Benjamin Glover shared the Rookie of the Year award.

 

 

 

After the Dynamos continental cup win, are the Legion finally fading? Will the Americans take that next step forward in their rebuild? Will Vasteras finally make the playoffs? How will retirement and age affect the Titans? Can Davos repeat? Find out the answer to all these questions and much more next week in our review of Season 25.

 

 

END CREDITS

 

Peyton Nydroj- @Bushito

Daisuke Kanou: @tfong

Anton Brekker: @DGFX.

Phil Gerrard: @Phil

David Walcott: @Knight

Lars Berger: @Victor

Japinder Singh: @8Ovechkin8

Jukka Hakkinen: @James

Mitch Higgins: @Higgins

Tarik Saeijs: @frescoelmo

Cam Fowler: @CoachReilly

 

Edited May 6, 2019 by Matt_O

[Matt_O 896]

I hope I got all the tags right

[Phil 5,072]

2 hours ago, Matt_O said:

I hope I got all the tags right

 

Confirmed. You nailed it