S68 Sterling Labatte Favourites; Part I

[McWolf 3,115]

It would have made more sense to release this as a full media spot, but I need a VHL.com article to cap, so I'll do this in 2 parts. Each part will present 3 players I think have a shot at winning the Sterling Labatte Trophy this season.

 

Joseph McWolf 

The two-time Labatte winner (S64, S67) is a favourite to repeat and win it again in S68. Joseph McWolf started slow last season, but his production skyrocketed in the second half of the season, when Kastelic made the move to center, as he didn't have to fight him off for points. This season, he'll be the #1 defenseman on the team from the start, so his numbers might even go up a bit.

Projected statline: 20 goals, 60 assists, 80 points, 250 hits, 120 shots blocked.

 

Smitty Werbenjagermanjensen 

The current TPA leader among defensemen could very get away with this one. Smitty Werbenjagermanjensen's offensive numbers went up every season he's been in the league, so far. The problem is his defensive stats actually dropped 2 seasons in a row now. If these could go back up a bit, as Davos seems poised to have more success this season than in the previous one, he could be the actual favourite. His biggest rival for this award though is teammate Shawn Glade. Exactly how much they'll be stepping on each other's toes is still unknown, but the #1 probably won't play at his full potential unless one of them moves or ends up playing forward. If they don't change position and I have to pick one of them, I'm saying Smitty explodes and Glade is stuck in his shadow.

Projected statline: 25 goals, 50 assists, 75 points, 150 hits, 120 shots blocked.

 

Jerry Garcia 

The Nighthawks are due for a big step up this season, especially after Matt Thompson announced he was signing for one year with the team. Jerry Garcia is the player that should benefit the most from this rise, as the team's clear #1 defenseman. He should still be near the top of the leaderboards when it comes to hits and shots blocked and, on top of that, he should now inherit a ton of assists on goals scored by their very solid forward group.

Projected statline: 15 goals, 60 assists, 75 points, 180 hits, 150 shots blocked.

 

Who do you guys think are in Part II of this list, and who do you see going home with the trophy at the end of the season?

Edited September 11, 2019 by McWolf

[McWolf 3,115]

I have me at first and I have no shame.

[Fire Tortorella 2,653]

I'm the current TPA leader among defensemen?

 

Where can you even look that up?

Edited September 11, 2019 by flyersfan1453

[McWolf 3,115]

6 hours ago, flyersfan1453 said:

I'm the current TPA leader among defensemen?

 

Where can you even look that up?

gotta check player pages one by one, sadly. You're like 6th in TPE but the 5 above you (Twinger, Glade, McWolf, Crosby, Tzuyu) all got hit by depreciation so you're above us in TPA. And you're not even getting hit next season, so you'll be at the top for a while.

Edited September 11, 2019 by McWolf

[diamond_ace 3,112]

Wolf Stansson Jr