The Nighthawk Chronicles: Expanding into the Future

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The Nighthawk Chronicles: Expanding into the Future

By Christopher Miller

 

 

With the expansion to Malmo, the Nighthawks have decided on the players that they want to forge ahead with.  Christopher Miller had this to say on the process: “We have chosen the eight guys that we want to start our team off with.  We feel that with these eight players, we have found the core we need to build ahead going forward.”

 

Therefore, here are the eight players the Nighthawks chose with comments from Miller on each player’s future with the club and what he thinks they will bring to the table.

 

From the Calgary Wranglers, Brian Strong: “I have known Wheaties for a little while and he’s a solid dude that has actually been a General Manager of mine in previous leagues.  Strong is a big and powerful winger that can find the back of the net with ease.  Brian Strong will be a solid fixture in our top six going forward but will start the year in the VHLM on the Saskatoon Wild.  We debated between a couple of names but we have a very strong belief in Strong and feel he is going to be a hard player to play against in the future.

 

From the Davos Dynamo, Jack Lynch: “Lynch was actually the first guy I decided on taking in the draft.  He has shown great development since being drafted and had expressed interest in being a leader on Malmo.  We are thrilled to have someone that can step right into our lineup as a two-way forward that will be a leader now and going forward.  We believe Jack Lynch will be a threat for us for quite some time and we are excited to see how he progresses into the future.”

 

From the Helsinki Titans, David Harrison: “Harrison is someone that was developing pretty strongly but had some things go on that forced him to take some time away from the league.  We are hoping that he returns and develops into a solid second line center that can bring the offense required of someone that can be an impact player in the Victory Hockey League.”

 

From the New York Americans, Matthew Materazo: “Matthew Materazo should be one of our best scorers going forward.  He was a solid player for the Americans last year and projects as a future top line scoring winger for us.  I could see him immediately stepping onto our top line and finding the back of the net a fair amount.  It wouldn’t surprise me if six or seven seasons, if Materazo is at the top of the goal scoring charts for all-time Nighthawks.”

 

From the Riga Reign, Teagan Glover: “We actually saw Glover as potentially a future first line pivot down the middle for us.  He has a really great skillset and has the offensive production potential to be a huge threat in the future.  Even on day one for Malmo, Glover can fit nicely for us on our second line and be someone to count on in the future.  If he can step in and immediately be a threat, the Nighthawks offense will show a lot of promise that it will continue to grow."

 

From the Seattle Bears, Sergei Kovalev: “Laflamme is someone I actually used to share a city with and I’ve gotten to know him through leagues decently well because of it.  He is one of our most experienced players and will be counted on to be a leader and a talented scorer right off the bat.  We know his future won’t be as long as others, but we are counting on Kovalev to be a tremendous leader on and off the ice for the next few seasons.”

 

From the Toronto Legion, Johnny Havenk Carison: “The Marc-Andre Fleury of our Expansion Draft.  JHC is a two-time Continental Cup winning goaltender who was Playoff MVP this past season.  To get him was very fortunate for the Nighthawks, and we are thrilled to have him on our squad.  This season marks a big one for him as he will be a Free Agent after it, so we hope we can convince him to stay by being a competitive team.”

 

From the Vancouver Wolves, Matthew Kai: “Matthew was one of the players that was most excited to be on the Nighthawks, and we definitely are confident that he can be an excellent young winger that will produce at a high level.  Matthew Kai was looking for a fresh start and I definitely think he can have that with us and with how young he is, I expect him to be as energetic as anyone on our squad.”

 

The Nighthawks surprised many by taking so many forwards in the Expansion Draft, with seven of the eight being up front.  No defenders were taken whatsoever and when asked why, Miller gave a pretty simple reason: “The only defender that we liked that was available was Basaraba Moose, and we are making a move to acquire him as was reported this morning.  We saw both him and Glover as very valuable pieces that could benefit our Nighthawks team.  Other than him though, there simply wasn’t any defenders I liked enough to be on this team.  At the very least, not over the available options.”

 

Time will tell if this Nighthawks roster can compete in the short and long term, but it will be interesting to see if the General Manager of the team can forge a good enough team to make Malmo competitive from the get-go, or whether they will be a traditional rebuilding team that tanks their way to high-end top picks.  As for where he wants to go with the team: “Yeah, I definitely expect to be a tough team to play against right off the bat.  I’m not sure how successful we will be in year one, but we don’t want to be a steppingstone for everyone else.  We are hoping to be a team that many will want to play for and many will fear to play against."

 

 

- 1000+ Words

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Better than Moscow and a season younger. On the right track to me IMO.