A Rookie Class Struggles for Riga

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The Riga Reign have received many plaudits for their most recent draft class. They drafted (or traded for) the following rookies: RW Mikko Aaltonen (360 TPE), C Hunter Hearst Helmsley (493), RW Arnor Sigurdsson (320), LW Chico Smeb (302), D Apollo Hackett (281) and D Aron Nielsen (313). They are all part of a class which is heralded as Riga’s future. However, the rookies all seem to be struggling. Here’s a look at why they might be failing to adapt to the league this season. 

 

Better Competition

All of these players were considered the best of the best in the VHLM last season. Helmsley led the league in points. Aaltonen and Sigurdsson were point-per-game players. Nielsen was a great scoring defenseman, and Hackett put up a lot of points in his limited time last season. Yet, with better players both on their side and against them, there seems to be a struggle. These boys haven’t played against a Veran Dragomir or a Brick Wahl or a Maxim Kovalchuk yet before this season, so adjusting to the higher level of play has been a challenge for these talented rookies. 

 

A Lack of Performance

Another reason they’ve struggled has been a lack of performance. They’ve all struggled with scoring. Sigurdsson, who was a noted point per game player in the juniors last year, has scored a mighty 7 points this season, good enough for second worst on the team behind Hackett, who has 6. Nielsen, Smeb, and fellow rookie (from S65) Anthony Matthews are all on 7 points. Aaltonen has been able to produce a bit, with 11 points, and Helmsley has a very solid 17 points, catapulting him to the top of the rookie leaderboards. The lack of good play for the bottom 6 forwards (including Smeb and Sigurdsson) should be a bit of an alarm for the Reign management, but I wouldn’t be worried. 

 

Discipline? Oh Yeah, I Sure Hope They Have It

Sigurdsson and Hackett particularly have struggled with a lack of discipline. Sigurdsson has 28 penalty minutes, which pales to Hackett’s 64, which leads the team. These two notoriously had problems with discipline last year, as Sigurdsson had 74 penalty minutes in the VHLM with Yukon last season, while Hackett had 56 penalty minutes with Saskatoon. If they don’t curb these issues, they’ll be in for a world of trouble, as their GM will probably lecture them on their bad discipline. 

 

These Men Don’t Hit Nobody

While Hackett (with a nice 69 hits), Sigurdsson (41), and to some extent, Nielsen (21) haven’t been hesitant about throwing their bodies around, the same can’t be said for the other rookies on the team. It’s obvious that Aaltonen, Helmsley, and Smeb are finesse players, but it doesn’t mean that they can’t have an edge to their game. Yet, here we are, with the three boasting a combined 19 hits. Aaltonen has THREE. Helmsley leads them with NINE! Any good team has good power forwards, and Sigurdsson is developing into one, but if these guys are two-way forwards, they need to add an edge to their game, or else they’ll have a target on their back as a guy who won’t hit back if he gets some. 

 

In closing, the Reign have a bright future with a young core. Sigurdsson, Smeb, Aaltonen, Helmsley, Hackett, Nielsen, and Anthony Matthews are all fresh out of the VHLM, and Aleksander Rodriguez (218 TPE), Anthony Amerback (194 TPE), Milan Griffin (199 TPE) and goalie Sunny Burst (140 TPE) are all waiting in the wings for a call-up that may come next season. This is a team built on youth and steady experience from Ryan Kastelic, Podrick Cast, Edwin Preencarnacion, Kallis Kriketers, and Randoms. They’ve got all the potential for a run at the championship this year, and if the rookies, bar Helmsley for the most part, ramp up production and turn into some great players right off the bat instead of flashing their potential (but not fully unleashing it yet), Riga should be regarded as favorites for the Cup. Y’all should be fearing us. We’ll be coming for you.