Chatting with Poptart - LVA GM

[Spartan 3,997]

On this fine Monday evening, I got a chance to sit down with @Poptart, the beloved GM of the Las Vegas Aces. After about a third of the season, I wanted to pick his brain and find out his thoughts on how the Aces have performed so far this season.

 

Overall, he feels great about the state of the team, noting that "we are only 3 points back of the 2nd spot in the league with a rookie goalie," and impressive feat for sure. Offensively, the Aces are in the top 2 in the league in goals scored at 128 which surely contribute to the team's success. However, Poptart acknowledges that there is still "a little bit of work to do on the defensive side," as the Aces have given up 103 goals on the season, a mediocre statistic. However, Poptart is confident that as the season progresses and the rookies continue to develop, the Aces will hit their stride and surge in the playoffs.

 

When asked about the biggest challenge the Aces face as a team, he was quick to point to the number of rookies on the team. Without much experience playing together, the team needs time to develop chemistry and figure out the "combinations that work and how everyone works together." However, he did mention that the team has been doing well to adapt on the fly, as the Aces have rarely lost back to back games this season.

 

Lastly, I asked Poptart about what has surprised him the most so far this season. Fairly, he mentioned that not much has been surprising from what he expected before the season started. His preparation and knowledge of the team has certainly paid dividends, as the team has been extremely competitive through the first 27 games of the season. After a pause, he admitted that the play of one Alex Letang has been a pleasant surprise. The organization was high on the first-gen player before the draft, and expected Letang to be a "Day 1 contributor, but not this much!" Through 27 games, Letang has slashed a 2/17/19 along with a +19 rating, certainly decent for a rookie.

 

Overall, it's clear that Poptart has done an exceptional job putting together and running this team. We will all be watching closely to see how the Aces improve over the rest of the season!

 

Thanks to Poptart for the time and patience for this interview, and hopefully I get to chat with some more folks around the league in the future!