The Gutzwilers: Underrated Stars of the 21st

[Gwdjohnson 40]

As the 69th regular season for the Victory Hockey League Minors draws to a close, the Halifax 21st have managed to clinch a playoff spot, sealing a 5th placed finish with a game left in the season. The two players at the forefront of their good fortune are Ben Storm and Liam Rooney, who both managed to hit the 100 point mark, but a pair of rookies sitting right below them on the scoring sheet have made their presence known too despite not quite getting the same spotlight: the Swiss siblings Leon and Gabriel Gutzwiler.

 

Gabriel Gutzwiler, a winger, was drafted by Halifax and went immediately into the team from there, but Halifax were determined to have both these brothers linking up just like they did playing in Switzerland, so they traded a small package of picks to acquire younger brother Leon. It has paid off in spades to have both brothers at the club and playing on a line together, as they currently sit 3rd (Leon) and 4th (Gabriel) in team scoring, as well as 2nd (Gabriel) and 3rd (Leon) in team goals. Overall in the league, their impressive outputs put them 31st (Leon) and 33rd (Gabriel) in league scoring, and they are really establishing themselves as threats to opposition that will likely be even more dominant as a pairing next season.

 

Leon has 33 goals and 46 assists this season, giving him an incredible rookie season output of 79 points in 70 games at the moment. He leads the team in faceoffs taken, so despite having a worse faceoff output than #1 center Rooney, he is still being relied on to shoulder big responsibility at center, and he also leads the team in shots on goal, averaging a whopping just over four shots per game. However, as it always has been for them as children, Leon prefers to be the setup man for Gabriel, who likes to be the one putting the chances away. Despite the shots difference between Leon and Gabriel, the former has more assists due to his preference of finding his brother in open space on the wing to create chances.

 

As for Gabriel Gutzwiler, his output has been fantastic too, having a perfectly balanced 35 goals and assists for 70 points in 71 games, also sporting an efficient shooting percentage of 13.41%. His plus/minus is a very impressive +52, behind only star defenceman Boheem Bismarck (+53) for best on the team. With Leon providing him consistent support from center, Gabriel has been thriving in getting chances, and has been making good of them. Gabriel is tied for the team lead in the goal scoring categories of: game winning goals (5), game tying goals (2) and hat tricks (2), clearly establishing himself in the league as a fantastic marksman on the wing with a great eye for goal.

 

There has been some criticism of the 'togetherness' of the Gutzwiler brothers, as it does not seem to be a coincidence that the third members of their line finds points hard to come by, but it's hard to blame the inseparable Swiss brothers when you consider how much of a winning formula they always have been when playing together, and they truly have established themselves as stars in the making in their rookie campaigns.

 

(548 words, doubles week theme)