Vaydar + Pajari = Best Veteran Duo

[Toasty 57]

A lot of good things have been happening to the Nighthawks recently. First, we saw a freshly extended Johnny Havenk Carison be exposed in the expansion draft. We also saw Jack Lynch, Matthew Materazo and Teagan Glover be exposed, 3 players I am huge fans of. Malmo then made a series of great trades, ending with the trade for Mikka Pajari. Pajari is a very good player, who has unfortunately been stuck on the second line in Riga, behind many of the league's top players. He had trouble finding sucess early on in his career, and for 3 straight seasons, scored no higher than 45 points, until suddenly Pajari had a breakthrough season and scored 77 points, double what he got the season before. He was considered for the most improved player award and planned to play a bigger role with Riga in the future, when suddenly he was dished to Malmo. Now on the older half of the VHL spectrum, being an S61 draftee, he will provide a good veteran presence for Malmo this season and is likely to be on the first line.

 

On the other hand, we have a very different player joining the team in very different circumstances. Vaydar Odinsson joined as a free agent, and unlike Pajari, enjoyed a healthier career earlier on, from the day he set foot in the league, but has slowed down a noticeable amount since. Although he has not yet matched his rookie totals from 3 seasons ago when he scored 82 points in 72 games, Odinsson has still been a solid producer for both the Helsinki Titans and New York Americans for 2 seasons straight, putting up 40 and 62 points respectively. He joins the Nighthawks as their star player in the team's inaugural season, and along with Pajari, could create one of the most deadly veteran duos in the league next season. Pajari comes in having struggled to find the spotlight in his career until recently, while Odinsson had more success early and faltered a bit in his 2nd and 3rd seasons. It will be interesting to see how these two great players come together to form the first line for Malmo this season.

[BOOM 8,745]

I'm hoping to get Odinsson playing up to his potential, but I'm impressed with the entire active roster. I think Vaydar is just a caretaker until the great prospects in Malmo are ready to be the dominant force. 

 

Good read.