Claimed:Potaytoe or Potahtoe?

[Smarch 3,100]

Are Potatoes Better With Age?

 

 

Spud made himself eligible for the Season Thirty-One Victory Hockey League Entry Draft a draft with many names that turned out to be superstars, including Kameron Taylor, Remy LeBeau and Sergey Brovalenko. Spud was eventually picked up by the Vasteras Iron Eagles with their second pick in the first round, Seventh Overall. Spud was the third defenseman picked on that day but as the Season Thirty-One draftees time winds down in the league, Spud looks to be the best defensive pick out of that draft.

 

After the draft Spud headed back to the VHLM in Season Thirty-One playing for the season for the Bern Royals.. He has an impressive offensive season finishing the season with twenty-seven goals and fifty-two assists, good enough to lead all defenseman on the team and to sit second on the Royals entire club. Spud's VHLM career and his season with the Royals would end when they were eliminated by the superior Vasteras J-20 in six games. Spud would quickly shift focus to now wreck havoc on the VHL.

 

 

Spud was very excited to start his VHL career with the Iron Eagles, hoping to prove his worth as a top draft choice. The season was sailing along with Spud hovering around the point per game mark with the club, then the Iron Eagles who were looking to upgrade their forward corps found a willing partner but they wanted the young defenseman included in the trade. Spud and Henrik Larsson were shipped off to the New York Americans, while winger Nikolai Chershenko headed back to Vasteras. Spud spent less then a season with the team that drafted him, but Spud headed to the powerhouse New York Americans with his head held high. Spud put up twenty-six points in those thirty-four games with the Americans, but majorly improved his defensive game with a plus forty-three. The Americans headed into the playoffs as underdogs against both Conference foes, but in the end it was New York hoisting the Continental Cup over their heads with convincing wins over Quebec and Calgary, before coming from behind against Riga in the finals.

 

 

After winning a championship in just his second season in the VHL, Spud was feeling good about where he was career wise, but before he knew it that high was hit with yet another trade. Spud was headed back to the European Conference along with Troy Athera to the team they just defeated in the cup finals, the Riga Reign. Spud and the Reign were playing in a fairly weak Conference in Season Thirty-Three, so they were basically handed a playoff spot behind the mighty Helsinki Titans. The team struggled to find secondary scoring and Spud himself had a down year compared to his first two. Spud would finish the season with just sixty-one points and was one of the only two players on the roster to register a minus. The team entered the playoffs six points ahead of the Dynamo, but fell into a quick hole with the Dynamo picking up three out of the four first games. Spud and the Reign roster knew they had to show up each and every game from there on in and they did that and more. The Reign would win the next three games to win the series over the Dynamo then proceed to do the exact same thing next round against the Helsinki Titans. The Americans and the Reign would face off for the second straight year in the Continental Cup finals, and again Spud found himself on the winning side of the equation.

 

 

 

For the first time in his career Spud was to begin a second season with a single VHL club in Season Thirty-Four, another weak season for many clubs playing in the European Conference. The Reign finished second in the Conference with eighty-one points, but scored just six more goals then they allowed. Individual stats reflected the six more goals scored then allowed and Spud was not excluded from that list. Spud had another down year in Riga putting up just fourteen goals and thirty-six assists, which was better than just two roster players. They Reign again headed to the playoffs where they easily disposed of the Cologne Express in four games before meeting up with the Titans again for the second straight season. There was no Cinderella magic this time for the Reign as they went the distance with the Titans but this time it was Helsinki who would move on to the cup finals. Spud played considerably better in the playoffs putting up fourteen points in eleven games. The Reign were now in full rebuild mode heading into the Season Thirty-Four off-season and Spud knew what that meant for his career once again. The Cologne Express came calling about Spud during the fire-sale that Riga has having and were told of the steep price tag for the two time Continental Cup champion. The Express finally ponied up with the offer of two mid round firsts for a return of Spud and a low first round pick. Spud was headed to Germany to start another chapter in his VHL career.

 

 

Spud found himself in a different position when he came to Cologne, as they team was just starting to see their young core develop into everyday VHL players. Spud was the undisputed number one defenseman for the first time in his career and this seemed to re-spark that old Spud the league seen in his first few seasons. Spud put up eighteen goals and fifty-one assists, while also improving his plus minus to a plus forty-eight. Spud was once again headed to the playoffs in the VHL, once again in the European Conference. The Express meet the Dynamo in the first round and Spud experience some Cologne history when they won game five against Davos and won the club's first playoff series. The Express would go on to fall in six games in the next series against Helsinki, but the play of Spud and the entire Express roster had Germany's fourth largest city excited headed into Season Thirty-Six.

 

 

 

Season Thirty-Six was a first for Spud when the Express stumbled out of the gate and fell behind Vasteras for the race for the final playoff position. The team bonded together down the stretch going winning twenty-one of their final twenty-nine games of the season to squeeze into the playoffs just three points ahead of the Iron Eagles. As always Kameron Taylor led the way for the Express, but surprisingly to many in the VHL Spud was second on the Express in scoring with eighty-nine points, while also leading the team with seventy-two assists. The Express would enter the playoffs as huge underdogs against the Titans, who were on their farewell tour and would fall in four straight games against the veteran club. Unsure of what the following season held for hockey in Cologne, Spud headed home during the off-season to hit the gym hard in hopes of helping carry the club to another playoff appearance in Season Thirty-Seven.

 

 

As we sit just past the half-way point during the thirty-seventh season in the VHL, Malcolm Spud is having yet another stellar start to his sixth VHL season leading the entire league with forty-three assists, while also leading all defenseman in points with fifty-four. If Spud continues to play this way in the second half of the VHL season their should be no doubt in anybody's mind that the young man from Burlington Ontario, Canada should win the Labatte Trophy come seasons end for the first time in his very storied career, which would come as no surprise to the people that know Spud best including current team-mate Kameron Taylor.

 

 

Malcom has been a blessing in disguise for us. He had traveled from team to team before he caught on with our team. His vision from the back-end allows us forwards to position ourselves in threatening spots. The ultimate leader too, I've never heard him say anything discouraging or negative on or off the ice. I know my career has benefited greatly from his strong play in both ends". - Kameron Taylor

Quote Not my Words

Edited March 30, 2014 by Smarch

[RomanesEuntDomus 442]

One of the more underrated guys around here, we are really luck to have him in Cologne

[Guest Svoboda_3]

Content: 3/3

1,358 words. This was possibly the longest Media Spot you've written from what I have encountered. I learned a lot historically from this 'Spot in terms of what Spud brought to the table and what he had to go throughout to get to this juncture.

Grammar: 1.5/2

Still too many for my liking despite the lengthy word count.

 

Draft a draft = Draft, a draft

playing for the season for the Bern = playing the season with the Bern

He has = He had

Royals = Royals'

less then = less than

career wise = career-wise

They Reign again = The Reign once again

has having = was having

as they team = as the team

meet = met

Spud experience = Spud  experienced

going winning = winning

VHL Spud = VHL, Spud

season their should = season, there should

Burlington Ontario = Burlington, Ontario

both ends". = both ends." (that one is on Kendrick)

Appearance: 1/1

Awesome job!

Overall: 5.5/6

[Guest]

Slobo, I quoted that so it's not incorrect. I quoted my punctuation for him

[philthethrill81 134]

Thanks for the praise Smarch! Great article!

 

Low is still pretty close with Spud though, so I wouldn't rule yourself out of the Labette any time soon.

[Guest Svoboda_3]

Bumping so that it doesn't get lost further down on the list.

[AwfulHomesick 148]

Content: 3/3 - Spud has definitely aged like fine wine, and not like milk. I would love to have you in front of me, saving my ass when I start playing games for the Express!

 

Grammar: 1.25/2 - The length of the media spot really could attest for the amount of errors found here, but it's still a considerable number.

 

Appearance: 1/1 - Very nice.

 

Overall: 5.25/6

 

Final: 5/6

[Fire Tortorella 2,653]

The number of mistakes may be considerable, but for the length of the media spot, it really isn't that bad.

 

FINAL: 6/6

[Kesler 1,514]

Claimed