Oyorra Arroyo Hall of Fame Article

[Corco 1,124]

Position: LW
Birthplace: Puerto Rico
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 177 lbs
Drafted: S60 2nd Overall, Calgary Wranglers
Username: omgitshim

 

Career Awards
S62 Continental Cup (Calgary)
S64 Kevin Brooks Trophy (Most Goals)
S64 Continental Cup (Toronto)
S65 Continental Cup (Toronto)
S65 Brett Slobodzian Trophy (Most Outstanding Player)
S65 Scotty Campbell Trophy (League MVP)
S65 Kevin Brooks Trophy (Most Goals)
S65 Mike Szatkowski Trophy (Most Points)

 

While Oyorra Arroyo may not have dominated the VHL for extended periods of time such as his fellow Hall-of-Famers might have, it can be said without question that Arroyo’s peak in the mid-S60s was one of the most dominant time periods for a single player in recent memory. In the timeframe of Arroyo’s career, only generational talents Matt Thompson and Podrick cast scored more points; in fact, Arroyo only trails those two in nearly every major stat category from said timeframe. In the time dominated by those two, Arroyo was always playing third fiddle, but finally he now gains the recognition he deserves with his induction into the Hall of Fame.

 

 

S60
CGY | GP: 72 | G: 25 | A: 30 | PTS: 55 | +/-: +21 | 3 GWG
Arroyo came along at just the right time for the then-rebuilding Calgary Wranglers; of the SEVEN picks the Wranglers had in the S60 Entry Draft, only two really made a big impact at the VHL level (Arroyo and Jóhannes Vilhjálmsson). The Wranglers made the right choice, as only one other player in that entire draft would win a Continental Cup (Noel Roux in S61). In S60, Arroyo would finish 2nd in rookie scoring (25-30-55) behind the player who was taken one spot above him in the draft a season prior, Veran Dragomir (42-38-80). Dragomir would go on to have a more consistent career than Arroyo, although Dragomir would not reach the same peak that Arroyo did. Arroyo’s Wranglers would be ousted in the semifinals by the New York Americans, with Arroyo providing little help on offense, only scoring 2 points in 9 games.

S61
CGY | GP: 72 | G: 31 | A: 26 | PTS: 57 | +/-: +14 | 8 GWG
S61 didn’t bring Arroyo much difference in statistics; his goal total increased while his assists decreased and he barely improved on his point total from the season prior. Despite his pedestrian regular season, Arroyo would explode onto the scene in the playoffs that season, scoring 12 points in 14 games and being a major factor in the Wranglers playoff run that season. This performance would also be the first of FIVE straight postseason campaigns of scoring 10 or more points, a feat matched only by Keaton Louth and HoF Matt Thompson.

 

S62
CGY | GP: 72 | G: 43 | A: 60 | PTS: 103 | +/-: +83 | 11 GWG
Arroyo picked up right where he left off after the S61 postseason in S62, setting career highs in every major statistical category, notching the 1st 100-point season of his career. Arroyo was a key piece in a dynamic Calgary offensive attack that had FIVE 100+ point-scorers (Jasper Canmore, Keaton Louth, Mats Johnsson, Niko Bogdanovic, and Arroyo himself), and the Wranglers rode that prolific offense to a 123-point season and a 1st-place finish in S62. The heavily-favored Wranglers dispatched Seattle in 6 games, and would go on to win the Continental Cup in seven games over the Quebec City Meute, atoning for their near-miss the season prior. Arroyo would contribute 13 points on the scoresheet during the run. 

 

S63
CGY | GP: 72 | G: 38 | A: 45 | PTS: 83 | +/-: +50 | 8 GWG
Arroyo saw a large dip in production (-20 points) for what would be his final season in Calgary; the Wranglers would reach the Cup finals for a 3rd straight season, although this time they would not be victorious, falling to the Riga Reign in 6 games. Calgary would opt to rebuild in the offseason, shipping off two eventual Hall of Famers (Arroyo and Norris Stopko) & Keaton Louth to the Toronto Legion to Aksel McKnight and picks. Calgary certainly got their money’s worth when they picked Arroyo 2nd overall in S60; you would be hard-pressed to find a GM who wouldn’t take a guaranteed 3 finals appearances and 1 Cup victory with a player over the unknown.

 

S64
TOR | GP: 72 | G: 56 | A: 53 | PTS: 109 | +/-: +26 | 7 GWG
Arroyo adapted about as well as any player possibly could in his first season as a member of the Toronto Legion; he set career-highs in Goals and Points, as well as taking home some individual hardware for the first time in his career. Both he and Matt Thompson would score a VHL-leading 56 Goals, giving us a dual Brooks-Trophy win in S64; Arroyo was only an assist shy of taking home two MORE co-trophies as well (Beketov and Szatkowski Trophies), but he would have to wait one more season for those. He would also lead the VHL in playoff scoring for S64 with 21 points in 12 games, although he would narrowly lose out on a Kanou Trophy (Playoff MVP) to teammate Norris Stopko, en route to a Toronto Continental Cup.

 

S65
TOR | GP: 72 | G: 62 | A: 63 | PTS: 125 | +/-: +34 | 8 GWG
Just when you thought Arroyo couldn’t get any better, he turns around and gives you a season for the ages. Arroyo nearly swept the main offense VHL awards (Most Outstanding, Most Goals, Most Points, & MVP), making up where he came short a season earlier. Arroyo’s stellar season, along with help from The Charm, Tzuyu, and Robert Malenko, would guide the Legion to a 3rd-place finish in the North American conference in S65 and set up a 1st-round matchup with the Riga Reign. Toronto would easily dispatch the Reign in five games, and best the Helsinki Titans in a hard-fought seven game series to secure their 2nd straight Continental Cup victory. Arroyo was less of a dominant force in the S65 postseason than he was a season prior (perhaps his torrential regular season wore him down), only scoring 11 points in 12 games.

 

S66
TOR | GP: 72 | G: 41 | A: 42 | PTS: 83 | +/-: +6 | 4 GWG
The penultimate season of Arroyo’s career wasn’t fruitful for either Arroyo or the Legion; Arroyo would post his lowest numbers in three seasons and take home no individual awards, whilst the Legion would end up finishing 8 points out of a playoff spot in the North American Conference. This would be the first time in Arroyo’s career that he would miss the postseason.

 

S67
TOR | GP: 72 | G: 37 | A: 42 | PTS: 79 | +/-: +22 | 8 GWG
Arroyo and the Legion entered S67 with a big chip on their shoulders; it was Arroyo’s final VHL season and he certainly wanted to go out on top. Toronto proved their doubters wrong the whole season, steamrolling the rest of the VHL en route to a 113-point season. No other team in the VHL would even come within 20 points of the Legion; Arroyo posted the worst numbers of his career since his sophomore season in Calgary, but he was no longer the main straw that stirred the drink in Toronto. The torch had been passed to Rylan Peace, who’s agency would eventually come to manage the Legion. Dreams of a storybook ending to Arroyo’s career would be cut short by the upstart Vancouver Wolves though, as they ousted the heavily-favored Legion in 5 games en route to a Continental Cup victory. Arroyo’s 8 points would be the lowest postseason point total since his rookie season.

 

 

Totals
CGY/TOR | GP: 576 | G: 333 | A: 361 | PTS: 694 | +/-: +256 | 57 GWG
Oyorra Arroyo certainly wasn’t a shoo-in Hall of Famer upon retirement; he didn’t win as many awards as many other Hall of Famers and was never a flashy player. However, what he lacks in Hardware he makes up for in consistency; he was a consistent difference-maker in the postseason, having been a part of 3 cup-winning teams. He was arguably the 2nd-best playoff player of his generation, only trailing Matt Thompson in postseason goals & points from S60-S67. We don’t talk about Arroyo that much in terms of historical greats, but that’s thanks to forever playing in the shadow of two of the greatest players of all-time in Matt Thompson and Podrick Cast; there’s no doubt in my mind that Arroyo would have entered the Hall sooner had Cast and Thompson never played in the VHL.

 

 

1,300 Words

[Beketov 8,642]

Arroyo gets his article first.

 

Cast and Thompson: 

[Peace 1,518]

Just now, Beketov said:

Arroyo gets his article first.

 

Cast and Thompson: 

Can we even earn TPE for Hall of Fame articles anymore? 

I was told that because Eno whored them all it was taken away. 

[Beketov 8,642]

5 minutes ago, Peace said:

Can we even earn TPE for Hall of Fame articles anymore? 

I was told that because Eno whored them all it was taken away. 

Eno got a bit behind so we're letting Corco write some to catch us back up. It's still not back to being open.

[Peace 1,518]

Just now, Beketov said:

Eno got a bit behind so we're letting Corco write some to catch us back up. It's still not back to being open.

I don't see why not, tons of potential writers around that could do it. No one had the chance, really. 

[Beketov 8,642]

Just now, Peace said:

I don't see why not, tons of potential writers around that could do it. No one had the chance, really. 

Too much TPE being thrown around and inconsistent writing styles / quality.

[Corco 1,124]

22 hours ago, Beketov said:

Arroyo gets his article first.

 

Cast and Thompson: 

Finally bested those two in something!

Edited March 26, 2020 by Corco

[Corco 1,124]

Claiming week 2