VSN - Started from the top, now we're here (Seattle Bears)

[SlapshotWrangler 864]

One of the most interesting stories of the season is Seattle. Well, by season, I mean the last two seasons. Last season, Seattle was first place in the regular season with a record of 52-14-6 but this year they were last with a regular season record of 23-40-9. Which begs the question, what the fuck happened?

 

Maybe you can find the answer in their trades? They lost a superstar in Vyacheslav Smirnov when they traded him away for a 2nd round pick and a 4th round pick (both for the S67 draft). Smirnov had scored 106 points with the Bears before he was traded to Calgary. They also traded away Veran Dragomir to Davos for a S67 1st round pick and a S68 2nd round pick. Dragomir scored 120 points with Seattle before going to Davos. They also lost a good offensive defenseman in Piotr Jerwa, trading him to New York for a first round draft pick in S67. Despite the fact they gained a star player in Scott Shawinganen (who has 92 points this season), it doesn't change the fact that they lost some key players to their success last year. Regardless, I am not criticizing the trades as they were obviously done to prepare for the future, just stating why these trades could've impacted their results this season.

 

Plus, they also lost Matt Thompson to free agency. He signed with Helsinki. Last season, with Seattle, he got 101 points. That's gotta hurt considering his offensive prowess. Also, it was free agency, so they didn't gain anything.

 

You could also blame offensive depth. On Seattle, only 4 players have broken the 50 point mark, those players being Shane Mars, Samuel Gate, and the aforementioned Scott Shawinganen. The closest out of the rest of the players only had 36 points. Or maybe it was the defense? After all, nobody except Jakub Vilhjalmsson had a positive plus-minus rating but then again he was a rookie who only played 55 games.

 

Goaltending? While both backstoppers for the Bears both had GAAs over 3, it wasn't all their fault. Plus, Clayton Park is a rookie goaltender finding his path in the Victory Hockey League, so he might yet have success. Most rookie seasons are like this and him being the starter might have put a lot of pressure on him.

 

While the Seattle Bears might have had a bad season, it's not all bad. As mentioned before, their goaltender Clayton Park is a rookie and hasn't done half bad, despite the standings. He has time to grow as a player and potentially be great. The Bears have also acquired a lot of good picks from trades this season so you can only expect them to find a gem, or multiple in this years draft.

 

Still, I will never forget the time the best team in the league was brought to its knees.

Edited June 26, 2019 by SlapshotDragon

[Walter Fizz 84]

2 hours ago, SlapshotDragon said:

One of the most interesting stories of the season is Seattle. Well, by season, I mean the last two seasons. Last season, Seattle was first place in the regular season with a record of 52-14-6 but this year they were last with a regular season record of 23-40-9. Which begs the question, what the fuck happened?

 

Maybe you can find the answer in their trades? They lost a superstar in Vyacheslav Smirnov when they traded him away for a 2nd round pick and a 4th round pick (both for the S67 draft). Smirnov had scored 106 points with the Bears before he was traded to Calgary. They also traded away Veran Dragomir to Davos for a S67 1st round pick and a S68 2nd round pick. Dragomir scored 120 points with Seattle before going to Davos. They also lost a good offensive defenseman in Piotr Jerwa, trading him to New York for a first round draft pick in S67. Despite the fact they gained a star player in Scott Shawinganen (who has 92 points this season), it doesn't change the fact that they lost some key players to their success last year. Regardless, I am not criticizing the trades as they were obviously done to prepare for the future, just stating why these trades could've impacted their results this season.

 

Plus, they also lost Matt Thompson to free agency. He signed with Helsinki. Last season, with Seattle, he got 101 points. That's gotta hurt considering his offensive prowess. Also, it was free agency, so they didn't gain anything.

 

You could also blame offensive depth. On Seattle, only 4 players have broken the 50 point mark, those players being Shane Mars, Samuel Gate, and the aforementioned Scott Shawinganen. The closest out of the rest of the players only had 36 points. Or maybe it was the defense? After all, nobody except Jakub Vilhjalmsson had a positive plus-minus rating but then again he was a rookie who only played 55 games.

 

Goaltending? While both backstoppers for the Bears both had GAAs over 3, it wasn't all their fault. Plus, Clayton Park is a rookie goaltender finding his path in the Victory Hockey League, so he might yet have success. Most rookie seasons are like this and him being the starter might have put a lot of pressure on him.

 

While the Seattle Bears might have had a bad season, it's not all bad. As mentioned before, their goaltender Clayton Park is a rookie and hasn't done half bad, despite the standings. He has time to grow as a player and potentially be great. The Bears have also acquired a lot of good picks from trades this season so you can only expect them to find a gem, or multiple in this years draft.

 

Still, I will never forget the time the best team in the league was brought to its knees.

 

No mention of Kennedy huh