Riga in WJC [1/2]

[hedgehog337 3,483]

I was so excited to see a bonus TPE opportunity for the WJC related article. Till I realized that this will only be for 1 capped(!) TPE. Shaking my head. However, I've decided to still do this since I want to do another shameless tag campaign on Riga players hehe. I will mention players and prospects who made it into the WJC teams. 

 

Team World

 

D - Aron Nielsen @solas. There are a tons of pass-first or just straight defensive defencemans in this league. And then there's Aron Nielsen with a rare heavy-shooting build. Perhaps he will get passing higher at some point, but his current 62/90 setup is kind of a unique one. However, the sim engine isn't liking it very much as Nielsen actually isn't shooting much and doesn't have much points either. A further proof that being a rookie these days is harder when the league has a lots of players. This WJC is a chance for a player from the Faroe Islands to show his full potential as the first D in the World team. 

D - Anthony Amberback @Oost. Currently Anthony is playing in minors for Saskatoon. He's being a defensive leader of this team with a good all around performance. He is definitely planning to continue this in the junior championship, albeit from the second pair behind Nielsen and Buefordsson or Vandehuge (an ex-Reign player, btw). Gotta boost a morale before joining the big league. 

 

Team Europe

 

LW - Arnor Sigurdsson @bluesfan55. The Icelandic two-way youngin came into the big league from a very solid performance in minors. Right now, he has 9 points and 67 hits in 36 games. May not be the best numbers even for a rookie. But you have to take into the account that he is a third line player, hence limited playing time. His shooting percentage suggests that he can do better with more minutes and this WJC can be a proof for that. 

LW - Milan Griffin @Sogarn. A quiet member with a player who is making much noise for Saskatoon right now. He has slowed down with updating and I only see two reasons for that. Either real life or he feels like playing in minors is more fun than in bigs (at this moment, he's at 200 TPE). Either way, he is about to form a good two-way 1-2 punch with Sigurdsson as they both have 70 at checking. 

 

Team Asia

 

LW - Chico Smeb @xDParK. First of all, the GM of this team is none other than @Enorama. And yes, this fact deserves a mention. As for Smeb, he started this season as the third liner. But then was promoted to the second line cause I wanted to find lines chemistry. At this moment, he has 9 points (like Sigurdsson). Also, he is one of the most disciplined player in the league with only 4 penalty minutes. Which is impressive, knowing that majority of our guys aren't about that. Staying on the ice is one of skills that Ryan Kastelic would be ecstatic about (as the player who only amassed 12 PIM's. As the defenceman). 

 

Team Canada

 

C - Anthony Mattews @Anthony Matthews. Another Reign's third liner. So don't even ask me about his stats since it doesn't reflects his real potential anyways. By the way, he even put his updates on hold to make it into the team. So it shows how important this tournament is for the likely Canada's 1C. He will fight for the spot with another player who was a part of Riga (although for a short time), Connor McDavid. But I think Matthews' build gives him an edge. Also, speaking about PIM's: Matthews has NONE so far. His shoot percentage is one of the best in this league so expect him to do a big damage in this tournament. 

 

Team USA

 

RW - Alexander Rodriguez @Jtv123. He has decided to stay in minors for one more season. By looking his stats, I can say that this was the right decision. He is currently an offensive leader for the Kings and one of the main reasons why this team is comfortably in the playoff zone, rather than fighting with Las Vegas for the last playoff spot. He likely won't be a first liner in this team as he is still at 200 TPE. But the potential is there, that is what matters most for Riga. 

 

D - Apollo Hackett @Renomitsu. Speaking about discipline - here we have the exact opposite of Smeb and Matthews. He is the Reign's PIM leader (third in the league) and one of hits leader, only behind Randoms. So other teams better watch out, this player will definitely try to rip some heads off. He is also cappable of getting some apples: right now he has 9 helpers. He may add some more to his collection in an upcoming event. 

 

 

So this was a little WJC preview from Riga Reign perspective. But...one more question:

 

Who will I root for?

 

I'm more of a neutral fan here. All teams has at least one Riga player so I can't choose one team, it's just isn't possible. 

 

World - a familliar team for me. I was playing a lot for them in the big WC with Zeptenbergs and probably with Petenis+Krīgars too. I was GM'ing this team in S48(?) and won the gold in last event with Kallis and maybe Randoms too(?). 

Europe - I believe Kallis was playing for them in the S62 or 63 WJC and maybe Randoms at some point too. Less familliar than World, but I still was a part of this team. 

Asia - Obviously never was a part of this team, as much as for Canada or USA. But Enorama as the GM gives me a reason to root for them as well, plus Chico Smeb. 

Canada - Can't snub this team either with Matthews being a part of them as one of the best players there. 

USA - the same for the Americans (not NY. But Big Apple is a part of USA so maybe them also). The only difference is they have two Riga players. 

 

Didn't even mention ex-Reign players who will perform there too. Glover, Vanderhuge and probably others. So yeah, this is not about which team I will root for. This is about me rooting for all Riga players as it would be awesome to see all of them getting big numbers. 

 

 

Ok, now I'm done. 

 

That's it and I'm out. 

 

6x2=12 TPE goes to Randoms. 

 

20.05 - 26.05

27.05 - 02.06

 

[ThePerfectNut 563]

I won't let you down chief

[bluesfan55 103]

ya 

yeet

everyone finna get beat

go europe

[Anthony Matthews 65]

Wasn't this the tournament that I made Team World last season with a Bronze medal finish, then proceeded to be named to the all-tournament team?

 

Could I be named twice to the all-tournament team with two different teams?

Edited May 28, 2019 by Anthony Matthews
fact checked

[Renomitsu 934]

Review - Aww, look at us participating in world events! I'm sad to see a couple of these players no longer with the team, but that's a bit beside the point.

 

This is nicely-written, but there are a couple of awkward sentences (e.g. 'Either real life or he feels like playing in minors is more fun than in bigs (at this moment, he's at 200 TPE') - the bolded bit is an odd start). It's nothing glaring or distracting - they're just the kind of sentences that will make me stop for a split second and then keep reading as if little else was wrong.