How did your team do in the 60s? - Part 2

[Victor 10,940]

For part 1 giving a solid 7/10 to Calgary, Seattle, and Toronto, and talking down New York, refer to this link: https://vhlforum.com/topic/76494-how-did-your-team-do-in-the-60s-part-1/

 

 

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Vancouver

Here is a franchise which started the decade in Quebec City and midway through moved to the other side of the country and now resides in Vancouver. You would think that would feel like a bigger change but the key word for the Meute/Wolves franchise has long been continuity. Keeping the same logo since S31 certainly helps, as does the fact they have had one GM for all of the 60s (as have three other teams; Riga, Calgary, and Seattle). Furthermore, Keaton Louth is only the fourth GM in franchise history (with two stints by Frank Chadwick), which is pretty good going for a team which might still be associated with expansion for old folks but has actually been around for 40 seasons now.

 

What also helps is that the Wolves have missed the playoffs just twice this decade – at the very start, in S60, and in the first season in Vancouver, in S65. They were the young team full of potential which forced the favourites from Calgary to Game 7 in the S62 finals, then when that didn't really blossom into anything bigger Louth retooled and the team came back stronger in a new location, with two finals appearances and finally a championship in S67. There was enough of a link between the two teams (namely Rauno Palo and Beau Louth down the middle) that it still felt like part of the same project and that theme has continued with an altogether younger team to end the decade.

 

Vancouver ends S69 with a starting goalie who was the backup in S67 in Greg Eagles and who has potential to be the franchise's best since the great Apollo Skye retired in S57. Some of the key players of the current team, like Julius Freeman and Shawnomir Jagr, were mere rookies when they won the cup, but are now ready to lead a new generation. It's an approach to team-building which means it's hard to see how it will end which means there's plenty to look forward to after already a successful 10 seasons.

 

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Davos

The theme of the decade for Davos is false dawns. It started off with the end of one of the longest cup droughts in VHL history in S61, particularly important for a franchise which made its name for winning a lot of cups through its first 30 seasons. That S61 team wasn't the most star-studded team in Dynamo history, relied quite heavily on the heroics of Gabriel McAllister, and just about squeezed through two Games 7s as the slight underdog but it's worth remembering that this was often the Davos way. Plenty of the historic cups won by the Dynamo were also against the odds and in very tight series against, on paper, superior opposition – this was a franchise whose reputation was about luck as much as anything else. And in S61, it looked like the luck had turned back.

 

Nearly 10 seasons on, we can safely say that is not the case. Once that cup-winning team was disassembled it's been another pretty wretched decade for Davos, perhaps the worst in franchise history. Tyler Owens, having now two curses broken on his resume (Vasteras being the first), stepped down and let the rookie GM Shawn Glade take over and it was a steep learning curve for him. There's been an element of misfortune like building around the weaker S64 and S65 drafts and the constant expansion drafts during the decade, but also some odd choices. The promising S66 team was broken up due to internal turmoil and the likes of Elias Dahlberg and Rylan Peace moved on, while the S68 retooled edition had some big names at the back (Smitty Werbenjagermanjensen, Finn Davison) but couldn't score and then imploded via free agency.

 

Some good players have passed through Davos during the 60s but never formed a cohesive team. As they start from scratch again in S70, it will be interesting to see if the tide will finally turn back in the Dynamo's favour, as it's increasingly hard to see how it could get any worse.

 

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Helsinki

The Titans came into the 60s as the polarising Franchise Cornerstone dynasty was coming to an end, knowing they were the franchise to beat both for their success on the ice and the way they carried themselves off it. Cornerstone and his partner in crime Rudolph Schmeckeldorf got their third cup in S60, then the team managed another season of contention at almost no cost, before yet another smooth GM transition from one legendary Helsinki GM in Mitch Higgins to another in Matt Bailey. Cue four straight finals and another Continental Cup in S66 won without breaking sweat in a record-tying 9 games.

 

It's quite easy to rattle off some fun facts about Helsinki to showcase just how consistent and successful the team has been. For one, Mitch Higgins drafted Dan Montgomery with his last ever draft pick in S62, he has now retired after eight terrific seasons in Finland playing for two other GMs. Secondly, the Titans are the only franchise to win a championship in every VHL decade and you wouldn't bet against them keeping the streak going going forward.

 

With both Higgins and Bailey being in their second stints as Titans GMs, Julian Borwinn is actually the first new GM of the franchise since Daniel Anderson's forgettable two-season reign ended in S50. In fact, it's largely forgotten that things looked pretty dire for Helsinki's future at that point in time, but now Anderson's time as GM is a mere footnote between two back-to-back cup winners (S45/S46 and S54/S55). Borwinn may have overseen the earliest playoff exit in six seasons in S69, but he's much more a continuity candidate than Anderson ever was and should navigate the retirement of a golden generation without too many issues.

 

Riga

A few teams seemed to master consistency throughout the 60s, but arguably none more so than the Reign. Vancouver moved across the country, Helsinki changed GMs, Seattle kept the same GM but rebuilt twice. Riga in the meantime came into S60 with the same GM they had for most of the 50s and after their absurdly high-scoring performance in S62, they haven't missed the playoffs since. The playoff streak has now reached 8 seasons, a full VHL career, and is the third-longest in league history – behind Helsinki's 9 seasons from S53 to S61 and New York's 11 seasons from S24 to S34.

 

Until S69, the Reign's playoff streak seemed much closer in nature to those old Americans, if not worse. New York famously lost 5 finals in 7 seasons before finally getting their hands on the Continental Cup in S32; Riga couldn't even make the finals after getting a cup early on, in S63. The constant first-round exits hung over the legacy of the Podrick Cast-Edwin Preencarnacion duo who were individually brilliant for 6 seasons, but rarely showed up in the playoffs. In S67, the torch was passed onto two younger teammates – the generation's best goaltender in Kallis Kriketers and first-gen flag-bearer Ryan Kastelic – but they too hit their head against the glass ceiling of the conference finals repeatedly.

 

Then for one final push, with the impending retirements of the likes of Rauno Palo and Elias Dahlberg, the Reign finally got over the hill and made the finals for a second time this decade. Does that make the decade a bit more successful for them? Maybe, although another cup would have been nicer. That said, this second half of Zeptenbergs' reign has long since transcended decades – it's now more about how long he can keep this going.

[Gustav 6,407]

9 minutes ago, Victor said:

it's increasingly hard to see how it could get any worse

 

IS THAT A CHALLENGE MY GOOD SIR

[Mr_Hatter 1,608]

moscow when?

[Victor 10,940]

1 hour ago, Mr_Hatter said:

moscow when?

When we do enough that I can praise us incessantly. 

[Victor 10,940]

Week 2 of 2.