Historical Battles: McAllister vs. Thompson (1.0)

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HISTORICAL BATTLES - EDITION 1.0

Gabriel McAllister vs. Matt Thompson

 

OVERVIEW

These two legendary Victory Hockey League forwards have become faces of the generation in the midst of some of the top offensive performers the league has seen since its inauguration. Gabriel McAllister ruled much of the 50’s, with his rookie season coming in Season 56 and his final season happening in Season 63.  Matt Thompson is a more recent retiree, finishing up in Season 68 and starting during McAllister’s later years, in Season 61.  

 

There were a few reasons that I decided to make this my first historical battle.  One is that they are both relatively recent players (last twenty years) which makes finding the information pretty simple.  Second, both players were tremendous offensive players who put up nearly identical statistical totals while also being very physical players.  Third, they both spent five or more seasons in Seattle, leaving towards the beginning of their regression period for other teams that play over in Europe.  There are so many parallels between these two players and the fact that they briefly crossed paths makes it that much more of an interesting study.

 

I personally have no idea who will come out better in the end, and I think that’s the true measure of whether this is a good matchup or not.  I know McAllister has a likely more prolific awards cabinet while Thompson finished with a more legendary resume when it came to scoring goals.  Admittedly, as I write this, I haven’t checked whether or not one of them stood out more internationally, or finished in the top ten in scoring more or even how their eras compare.  Therefore, get strapped in for this in-depth comparison as we look at the careers of these two-way legends of the Victory Hockey League.

 

JUNIORS

These two players have pretty different experiences in the VHLM, and while I won’t really be weighing these accomplishments in the overall verdict, I think they are at least worth looking at.  

 

Gabriel McAllister

Regular Season

Season 54 (SSK): 17 GP, 13-8-21, +10, 17 HIT, 2 GW

Season 55 (SSK): 72 GP, 58-56-114, +37, 95 HIT, 11 GW

Total Regular Season: 89 GP, 71-64-135, +47, 112 HIT, 13 GW

 

Playoffs

Season 54 (SSK): 11 GP, 12-9-21, +5, 15 HIT, 3 GW

Season 55 (SSK): 10 GP, 9-12-21, +11, 12 HIT, 3 GW

Total Playoffs: 21 GP, 21-21-42, +16, 27 HIT, 6 GW

 

International

Season 55 (USA WJC): 8 GP, 5-7-12, +2, 9 HIT, 0 GW

Total International: 8 GP, 5-7-12, +2, 9 HIT, 0 GW

 

Gabriel McAllister had an incredible time in the VHLM, recording 21 points in his first 17 games after being signed by the Saskatoon Wild to a one year contract.  This is rather unheard of as most players struggle extensively in their pre-draft year. He would cap this off by tallying a ridiculous 12 goals and 21 points in 11 playoff games, on route to the Skylar Rift Trophy for Playoff MVP, despite the fact that the Wild lost in the Founders Cup finals.  

 

McAllister’s second VHLM season was even more impressive than his first, as he finished his post-draft season with 58 goals and 114 points in 72 games.  The Wild would visit the finals for a second consecutive season with this one ending up differently. The Wild would win the Founders Cup in four games and McAllister would win his second straight Skylar Rift Trophy by recording 9 goals and 21 points in 10 games.  He became the second player to ever win two straight Rift Trophies, with Atticus von Braxton IV being the only other to accomplish this. Finishing off his season, McAllister would play 8 games at the WJC for Team USA, recording 12 points, showing he was truly elite among his peers.

 

Matt Thompson

Regular Season

Season 59 (YUK): 20 GP, 0-0-0, +10, 14 HIT, 0 GW

Season 60 (OTT): 72 GP, 35-28-63, +10, 105 HIT, 6 GW

Total Regular Season: 92 GP, 35-28-63, +20, 119 HIT, 6 GW

 

Playoffs

Season 59 (YUK): 10 GP, 0-2-2, +7, 9 HIT, 0 GW

Season 60 (OTT): 13 GP, 7-3-10, +4, 17 HIT, 3 GW

Total Playoffs: 23 GP, 7-5-12, +11, 26 HIT, 3 GW

 

Matt Thompson, on the other hand, accomplished far less as a VHLM player.  His pre-draft season saw him record 0 points in 20 games for the Yukon Rush.  The team would make the playoffs and go on to win the Founders Cup, with Thompson recording just 2 points in those 10 games.  The eventual star forward did perform pretty well defensively over these thirty games though, split between the regular season and playoffs, as he was a +17 over this time.

 

Thompson’s second season was slightly more successful, after being drafted by the Ottawa Lynx.  The forward recorded 35 goals and 63 points in 72 games, finishing with a +10 rating and 105 hits.  His playoff run was more successful individually as well, recording 7 goals and 10 points in 13 games.  Unfortunately for Thompson and the Lynx though, the team would ultimately fall just short, losing in game 7 in the finals.  

 

As stated prior, this part of the comparison doesn’t really weigh into the decision of who ultimately has the bigger legacy, but it is pretty clear that the only thing these two had in common was that they both made the finals in both their respective seasons, and also both won one Founders Cup.  Otherwise, McAllister was a more dominant junior league player and would go down as the best playoff performer in VHLM history.

 

REGULAR SEASON STATISTICS

The simplest and most common way to compare players is looking at the regular season statistics of individual players over an entire career.  This section will look at the regular season performances from both players over the course of their careers, and we will look at where they place all-time statistically.

 

Gabriel McAllister

Season 56 (SEA): 72 GP, 43-46-89, -13, 87 HIT, 8 GW

Season 57 (SEA): 72 GP, 47-46-93, +19, 19 HIT, 7 GW

Season 58 (SEA): 72 GP, 51-56-107, +45, 292 HIT, 11 GW

Season 59 (SEA): 72 GP, 39-41-80, +28, 290 HIT, 6 GW

Season 60 (SEA): 72 GP, 61-59-120, +57, 244 HIT, 11 GW

Season 61 (DAV): 72 GP, 50-49-99, +38, 461 HIT, 10 GW

Season 62 (DAV): 72 GP, 51-48-99, +47, 326 HIT, 10 GW

Season 63 (SEA): 72 GP, 55-84-139, +65, 360 HIT, 5 GW

Total Regular Season: 576 GP, 397-429-826, +286, 2079 HIT, 68 GW (1.434 P/G)

 

Gabriel McAllister was an incredibly consistent forward recording a dazzling 826 points and 2069 hits over his eight season career.  McAllister currently sits tied for ninth all-time in goals, eighteenth all-time in points and twenty-first all-time in hits.  

 

As a well-rounded forward, McAllister didn’t start his career as much of a physical presence, proving to be rather timid over his first two seasons.  However, in his final six years he recorded at least 240 hits to go along with his consistent offensive showings each and every season. How good was he offensively? His down year saw him record 39 goals and 80 points while his peak saw him record 55 goals and 139 points in his very last regular season.

 

While McAllister did consistently record strong numbers during his eight season career, he perhaps didn’t dominate too many seasons offensively like you’d expect someone with 826 points to have.  You will see some of this analysis later when I look at top-10 finishes, but McAllister only finished top-5 in points twice during his career which paints the picture that he was consistently a very good point contributor who consistently was one of the league’s elite two-way player, but doesn’t necessarily paint him as the best offensive player of his generation (with perhaps someone like Franchise Cornerstone taking that title).

 

Matt Thompson

Season 61 (SEA): 72 GP, 33-23-56, -69, 101 HIT, 3 GW

Season 62 (SEA): 72 GP, 76-74-150, +38, 274 HIT, 16 GW

Season 63 (SEA): 72 GP, 51-51-102, +70, 178 HIT, 9 GW

Season 64 (SEA): 72 GP, 56-54-110, +39, 311 HIT, 7 GW

Season 65 (SEA): 72 GP, 52-49-101, +48, 283 HIT, 11 GW

Season 66 (HSK): 72 GP, 51-50-101, +29, 275 HIT, 9 GW

Season 67 (HSK): 72 GP, 43-40-83, +7, 223 HIT, 10 GW

Season 68 (MAL): 72 GP, 60-62-122, +52, 182 HIT, 9 GW

Total Regular Season: 576 GP, 422-403-825, +214, 1827 HIT, 74 GW (1.432 P/G)

 

Matt Thompson had a similarly consistent career with a few exceptions.  First, he had an awful rookie season overall which tanks his plus/minus statistic and was nowhere near as strong as the rookie season that McAllister had.  Second, he had a couple absolutely dominant seasons in Season 62 and 68 with a number of strong elite showings throughout his prime as well. In comparison to McAllister (who had two top-5 point finishes), Thompson finished top-5 in points on four different occasions.

 

Thompson also was a slightly better goal scorer over his tenure in the Victory Hockey League.  While his rookie season brings him down slightly, Thompson recorded six 50+ goal seasons over the course of his career.  On top of that, he was a strong two-way player during his time in the VHL, with the league seeing less physicality than usual.  Ultimately though, he had around two-hundred hits less than McAllister over the course of his strong career.

 

Where does Thompson sit all-time statistically? His huge startling number is the fact that he currently is fourth all-time in goals with 422.  The only three players with more are Scotty Campbell (600), Christian Stolzschweiger (449) and Mike Szatkowski (434), who all played during the first decade of the Victory Hockey League, which saw weaker goaltenders in the league as a whole.  Thompson also sits nineteenth all-time in points and forty-fifth all-time in hits. While McAllister was probably a slightly better all-around player, Thompson is the best goal scorer we have seen in sixty seasons, and his legacy may ultimately wind up better as a regular season performer, given he also showed to be a physical two-way talent and probably the best of his era in that regard.

 

PLAYOFF STATISTICS

While the regular season is often the most common way to compare players, the playoffs are what make legends.  Playoff performance is one of the main things I championed back in the day, to be included in the Hall of Fame discussion.  It is the main reason that the likes of Brick Wahl and Brennan McQueen have been inducted, and while these players would have been inducted regardless of playoff performance, it is their dominance that has put them into the conversation of being two of the best in league history.  They both were elite playoff scorers, with each of them being top ten all-time in points per game, and with each finding their name on the Continental Cup Trophy, they both proved capable of leading their teams to the ultimate prize. Who did it better? That is the question we are here to answer.

 

Gabriel McAllister

Season 56 (SEA): - did not make the playoffs - 

Season 57 (SEA): - did not make the playoffs - 

Season 58 (SEA): 13 GP, 10-5-15, +5, 53 HIT, 2 GW

Season 59 (SEA): 16 GP, 11-17-28, +17, 62 HIT, 2 GW

Season 60 (SEA): 6 GP, 3-6-9, +5, 22 HIT, 0 GW

Season 61 (DAV): 14 GP, 12-11-23, +0, 87 HIT, 2 GW

Season 62 (DAV): 7 GP, 6-7-13, +6, 28 HIT, 2 GW

Season 63 (SEA): 6 GP, 2-2-4, +0, 29 HIT, 1 GW

Total Playoffs: 62 GP, 44-48-92, +33, 281 HIT, 9 GW (1.484 P/G)

 

Gabriel McAllister currently sits tenth all-time in points per game in the playoffs, and third all-time for players that started their career after the VHL’s first decade (only behind Matt Thompson and Alexander Chershenko).  His overall accolades saw him record 98 points in 65 career playoff games while averaging well over three hits per game, showcasing the tremendous two-way talent he was known for.  

 

Additionally, McAllister did more than just tally up the numbers as he would put his name on quite a bit of hardware as well, winning two Continental Cups and winning the Daisuke Kanou Trophy (Playoff MVP) for both of those runs as well.  These runs saw him record 28 points in 16 games for Seattle in Season 59 and 23 points in 14 games for Davos in Season 61.

 

Ultimately, while the fact that he missed the playoffs in the first two seasons led to him having less overall playoff points than Thompson, McAllister still did incredibly well for the six playoff campaigns he did participate in.  Ultimately, his playoff numbers were a little less empty given the extra Continental Cup he won and the Kanou Trophy performances as well.

 

Matt Thompson

Season 61 (SEA): - did not make the playoffs - 

Season 62 (SEA): 9 GP, 6-16-22, -3, 34 HIT, 0 GW

Season 63 (SEA): 6 GP, 3-1-4, +1, 36 HIT, 0 GW

Season 64 (SEA): 6 GP, 7-3-10, -2, 22 HIT, 0 GW

Season 65 (SEA): 6 GP, 6-6-12, +2, 33 HIT, 0 GW

Season 66 (HSK): 9 GP, 10-6-16, +9, 49 HIT, 2 GW

Season 67 (HSK): 13 GP, 3-12-15, -3, 27 HIT, 0 GW

Season 68 (MAL): 16 GP, 10-9-19, +3, 53 HIT, 2 GW

Total Playoffs: 65 GP, 45-53-98, +7, 254 HIT, 4 GW (1.508 P/G)

 

Matt Thompson didn’t win any Daisuke Kanou Trophies, but there is an argument that he should have.  Season 66 saw his only Continental Cup win, as a member of the Helsinki Titans, and in what was a close debate, lost the award to his goaltender Alexander Pepper.  Both players had tremendous runs but it was deemed that it was Pepper who really propelled the Titans to the holy grail. Ultimately though, the reality is that they probably don’t win without either player’s incredibly strong performances.

 

Matt Thompson is probably the best playoff performer of all-time to never be crowned Playoff MVP, especially considering the era he played in.  He finished in double-figures for scoring in six of his seven playoff campaigns, despite the fact that he only played double-digit games in his last two runs (Season 67 and 68).

 

In the end, Thompson would finish with slightly more points and a better P/G average, but did finish with less hits, game-winning goals and did not win a Playoff MVP despite his best efforts.  Given the extra Continental Cup as well for McAllister, and I think while this is a close comparison, the argument is there that Thompson’s playoff resume is slightly less qualified than McAllister’s.  

 

INTERNATIONAL

I do tend to believe that international accomplishments don’t make or break one’s inclusion into the Hall of Fame (since we rarely look at them), I did feel that these comparisons would benefit from an international analysis.  While these are rather small sample sizes, showcasing your skills on the world stage has always been one of the ultimate ways to formulate your legacy.

 

Gabriel McAllister

Season 56 (USA WC): - statistics unavailable - 

Season 58 (USA WC): - statistics unavailable -

Season 60 (USA WC): 13 GP, 7-12-19, +4, 49 HIT, 1 GW

Season 62 (USA WC): 12 GP, 9-10-19, +2, 56 HIT, 1 GW

Total International: 25 GP, 16-22-38, +6, 105 HIT, 2 GW

 

One of the major reasons I am rather skeptical of putting a lot of stock into international performance is the sheer lack of games by McAllister on the world stage that we were able to find.  We do know that McAllister played for Team USA in the Season 56 and 58 World Cup’s, but neither are listed on Corco’s complete stat listing for international tournaments. Now I can imagine that neither of those performances were as good as the above ones due to him being more or less in his prime during both of those tournaments, but it’s difficult to actually confirm this.  Nevertheless, it is clear that McAllister was the elite player we became accustomed to seeing, when he was donning the Team USA jersey.

 

Matt Thompson

Season 60 (MER WC): 11 GP, 3-0-3, -8, 3 HIT, 1 GW

Season 62 (CAN WC): 12 GP, 10-8-18, +19, 24 HIT, 2 GW

Season 64 (CAN WC): 11 GP, 5-5-10, +0, 14 HIT, 1 GW

Season 66 (CAN WC): 13 GP, 8-4-12, +3, 28 HIT, 1 GW

Season 68 (CAN WC): 11 GP, 4-4-8, +1, 30 HIT, 2 GW

Total International: 58 GP, 30-21-51, +15, 99 HIT, 7 GW

 

We have a much more complete picture of Thompson’s time on the international stage.  For one, he participated in five World Cup’s representing the Mercenaries in his first go-around and was then a mainstay for Team Canada in the other four.  His first World Cup was a little rough given his age and his lack of development at that time (after-all it was prior to his rookie VHL season). Therefore, his numbers get a little skewed because of it, but make no mistake about it, Matt Thompson was a force for Team Canada.  His best performance was certainly for the Canadians in Season 62 but he was a steady goal-scoring presence tallying up 17 goals in 35 games over the last three tournaments he participated in. Ultimately, his overall statistics do not really tell the whole story and what is quite clear is that Thompson was a tremendous sniper who also played a physical role during his five international spectacles.  

 

TOP-10 FINISHES

 

Gabriel McAllister

Points - 1,1,6,8

Goals - 1,2,4,4,8,9,9

Assists - 2,9

Hits - 1,1,2,8,9

 

What surprised me most about these finishes is that McAllister didn’t really dominate the overall points category as much as you’d expect someone with his accolades to do.  He was only top-5 twice (albeit he was first both times) and finished twice more in the top-10. His goal finishes are pretty impressive though, finishing seven out of eight seasons in the top-10 overall.  He was also a very physical player as well, twice leading the league and finishing another time second. This actually reminded me a lot of Alexander Ovechkin, being a higher-end goal scorer with physical dominance but just being a truly top-tier point accumulator only a couple of times during his career.

 

Matt Thompson

Points - 1,1,2,3,6,8,9

Goals - 1,1,1,2,3,4,4

Assists - 4,7,9

Hits - 2,5,7,7

 

Matt Thompson, on the other hand, was far more consistent offensively as an elite player.  On seven different occasions he finished top-10 in points and goals. He led in points twice and was top-5 four different times.  He led the league in goals three times and was a ridiculous top-5 seven different times! He was a physical player but finished with far less impressive hit totals and finishes compared to McAllister.  I have to say that I was quite surprised to see such a disparity in these finishes and I do believe this has to be a clear win for Thompson, where perhaps playoff totals were a clear win for McAllister.

 

AWARDS

 

Gabriel McAllister

2x Continental Cup Winner (League Champion)

3x Scotty Campbell Trophy (League MVP)

2x Brett Slobodzian Trophy (League MOP)

2x Daisuke Kanou Trophy (Playoff MVP)

2x Mike Szatkowski Trophy (League Leader in Points)

1x Kevin Brooks Trophy (League Leader in Goals)

3x Scott Boulet Trophy (Top Two-Way)

1x Christian Stolzschweiger Trophy (Top Rookie)

 

Gabriel McAllister truly does have one of the most impressive award cabinets ever seen, and ultimately it is clearly stronger than Thompson’s.  He is one of five players to ever win the Scotty Campbell Trophy on three different occasions (Scotty Campbell, Grimm Jonsson, Thomas O’Malley and Franchise Cornerstone being the other four).  He was also a dominant playoff performer, proven by his two Daisuke Kanou trophies. On top of all of his offensive accomplishments, including two Szatkowski trophies and one Brooks Trophy, he also took home three Scott Boulet trophies to showcase how well-rounded he is.  Ultimately, his biggest key versus Thompson in awards is that his advantages are more substantial with the three MVP titles and his two Playoff MVP titles.

 

Matt Thompson

1x Continental Cup Winner (League Champion)

1x Scotty Campbell Trophy (League MVP)

2x Brett Slobodzian Trophy (League MOP)

2x Mike Szatkowski Trophy (League Leader in Points)

3x Kevin Brooks Trophy (League Leader in Goals)

4x Scott Boulet Trophy (Top Two-Way)

1x Dustin Funk Trophy (Most Improved)

 

Matt Thompson does have a couple of edges in his award cabinet, more specifically leading the league in goals three different times instead of one for McAllister.  He also has one extra Boulet Trophy for best two-way, but it is important to consider that his competition for this award was a lot less than it was in previous decades.  Ultimately, Thompson still has one of the best award cabinets ever, but it just simply isn’t as meaningful as McAllister’s given the clear disparity in overall MVP and Playoff MVP’s.

 

ERA COMPETITION

 

Gabriel McAllister

Main Competition:

Franchise Cornerstone (384G, 471A, 855P, 836 Hits)

John Locke (355G, 337A, 692P, 491 Hits)

Fredinamijs Krigars (332G, 406A, 738P, 624 Hits)

 

Minutes Played:

S56 - 2146 

S57 - 2144

S58 - 2067

S59 - 2126

S60 - 2123

S61 - 2067

S62 - 2087

S63 - 2086

Total Minutes Per Game - 29:24

 

League Goal Scoring Strength:

S56 - 1860 Goals (5.17)

S57 - 1798 Goals (4.99)

S58 - 1427 Goals (4.95)

S59 - 1451 Goals (5.04)

S60 - 1620 Goals (5.63)

S61 - 1488 Goals (5.17)

S62 - 1806 Goals (6.27)

S63 - 1698 Goals (5.90)

 

Over the course of Gabriel McAllister’s career, the clear main competition was Franchise Cornerstone.  He finished with the most points of his era with 855, finished with three Scotty Campbell trophies, two Scott Boulet trophies, one Brett Slobodzian Trophy, one Mike Szatkowski Trophy and two Kevin Brooks trophies.  He likely has the best resume of anyone that either McAllister or Thompson played with or against, besides each other.  

 

Another major competitor for McAllister was the often overlooked John Locke, who snuck into the Hall of Fame mainly due to his incredible scoring resume that saw him finish with 355 goals during his eight season career.  He won one Brett Slobodzian Trophy, two Kevin Brooks trophies and a Daisuke Kanou Trophy to go along with his impressive four Continental Cup’s to showcase how strong he made his team around him.

 

Third and finally, Fredinamijs Krigars is someone I barely had heard of going into this article due to me taking a break for much of his career.  It caught me greatly by surprise to see how incredibly productive he was during his career with his 1.46 P/G (which is actually above McAllister and Thompson’s total).  Krigars didn’t win a ton of hardware during his career, but what he did win was still very impressive. Krigars retired with one Brett Slobodzian Trophy, two Mike Szatkowski trophies and one Alexander Beketov Trophy.  He had the second best P/G during his era, only slightly behind Cornerstone, and ultimately he was one of McAllister’s biggest competitors offensively.

 

In regards to minutes played and league goal scoring trends, I anticipated that McAllister would have played far more minutes and participated much of his career in a higher scoring era.  While McAllister did play more minutes, he only averaged about thirty-five extra seconds per game, which isn’t enough to draw any conclusions that matching ice time would have made much of a difference. I was also pretty surprised to see that McAllister’s era was actually lower scoring on average, likely due to more parity in Thompson’s era with less awful rebuilding teams leading to generally higher scoring outcomes.  Nevertheless, this did not match the hypothesis I had entering this analysis into the league trends, and this is definitely a favourable result to McAllister.

 

Matt Thompson

Main Competition:

Podrick Cast (379G, 467A, 846P, 487 Hits)

Sebastien Ironside (263G, 423A, 686P, 2053 Hits)

Julian Borwinn (325G, 380A, 705P, 1165 Hits)

 

Minutes Played:

S61 - 2307

S62 - 2167

S63 - 2106

S64 - 2094

S65 - 2075

S66 - 2072

S67 - 2051

S68 - 1771

Total Minutes Per Game - 28:89

 

League Goal Scoring Strength:

S61 - 1488 Goals (5.17)

S62 - 1806 Goals (6.27)

S63 - 1698 Goals (5.90)

S64 - 1605 Goals (5.57)

S65 - 1920 Goals (5.93)

S66 - 2144 Goals (5.96)

S67 - 2188 Goals (6.08)

S68 - 2536 Goals (5.87)

 

We have all heard and seen the comparisons of Thompson vs. Cast and without much of a surprise, he was his main competitor over his eight seasons in the Victory Hockey League. Cast had more points than both McAllister and Thompson, and ultimately looks like the Cornerstone of his era, being the more offensively complete player but perhaps not getting the overall recognition one would expect.  Cast was a two-time Scotty Campbell Trophy winner, a one-time recipient of the Brett Slobodzian Trophy and also won both the Mike Szatkowski Trophy and Kevin Brooks Trophy on one occasion each. An offensive marvel, Podrick Cast was easily the biggest competition Thompson had during his eight season career.

 

Sebastien Ironside was my second main threat on this list despite the fact that he was a defender during the first two seasons of his career.  The fact is that Ironside rattled off four consecutive one-hundred point seasons as a forward and while the end of his career wasn’t as shiny and decorated as Thompson’s, his overall accolades as a two-way player are the biggest reason he is on this list.  He was a Scotty Campbell Trophy winner, a Kevin Brooks Trophy winner, finished top-5 in goals one time, top-5 in assists three time’s, top-5 in points four time’s and top-5 in hits four time’s. He was the major two-way threat over much of Thompson’s prime and while his award cabinet is a little more bare, his statistical finishes show just how dominant Ironside was in his prime.

 

Julian Borwinn had two of his best season’s after Thompson retired but that didn’t stop him from having a bunch of consistently good seasons mixed in with an absolutely monstrous Season 66 campaign and another dominant Season 68 one.  Borwinn established a relatively solid two-way presence toward the end of his career and took home a Boulet Trophy in Season 68, snagging it from Thompson who was in contention for the award. Additionally and certainly more importantly, Borwinn was able to win one Scotty Campbell Trophy, one Brett Slobodzian Trophy, one Mike Szatkowski Trophy and one Kevin Brooks Trophy while Thompson was still in the league.  Borwinn would go on to complete his legacy with another Szatkowski Trophy in Season 69 and a Campbell Trophy in Season 70. Ultimately, while he was mainly competition for Thompson in his later years, Borwinn still represents the transition from Ironside to Borwinn as Thompson’s second major threat after Cast in the league.

 

While I already stated I expected Thompson to play a lot less minutes, I was surprised to see only one year (a Campbell Trophy year nonetheless) where Thompson really experienced the reality of having three lines in the VHL.  He played far more minutes in his opening season and far less in his last, but settled with a relatively close icetime figure to what McAllister recorded. What really shocked me is the goal strength of the S61-68 period in the Victory Hockey League.  When looking at the thirteen seasons covered by these two legends, the most offensively potent six seasons saw Thompson playing in them, while McAllister only played in two of them. While I certainly expected one thing, it actually showed that league parity has boosted offensive totals and therefore led to results I definitely wasn’t predicting.

 

VERDICT

Who was better? This is clearly the tough question this article set out to answer, and to be honest, I don’t know if it’s a clear-cut result.  Both players have very clear cases to why they should be considered the greater player. Gabriel McAllister’s case hinges on his potent playoff resume, his award cabinet and the fact that he played in an era that saw less goals scored per game than Thompson.  

 

McAllister’s playoff resume saw two Daisuke Kanou trophies, while Thompson simply didn’t win any.  Though, to combat the playoff resume argument, one could argue that Thompson had arguably more individual success and that it just led to less team success, including one less Continental Cup. He had an argument that his one cup should have saw him win a Kanou Trophy, but ultimately he has to stand by the fact that his performance clearly improved come playoff time (1.508 P/G vs. 1.432 P/G).

 

It is also pretty apparent that Matt Thompson’s award cabinet isn’t as impressive despite his accolades still being quite decorated.  McAllister won three MVP’s and two Playoff MVP’s which really put his overall impact on a higher platform than what Thompson accomplished.  With that being said though, the argument for Thompson is that those awards are voted for, while his three Kevin Brooks trophies (as opposed to one for McAllister) are results based and not voted.  Thompson also has the extra Boulet Trophy, although as I pointed out already, winning one during McAllister’s era seems more impressive (however, this could be due to parity taking a toll on hits totals). 

 

Thompson’s argument has to hinge on his statistical finishes, which may be the ultimate telling of one’s domination of their era.  McAllister, while recording impressive accolades, sorta underwhelmed me a bit, especially when looking at points. I expected far more domination than just two top-5 finishes in points and four top-10 finishes.  He certainly showed to be a far bigger physical presence in his eight seasons though and had very respectable goals and assists finishes. That being said, Thompson clearly wins in this area, especially in regards to his four top-5 finishes in points and seven top-5 finishes in goals.  He clearly dominated his era more offensively and while physically he wasn’t quite as impactful, this is the best argument going for Matt Thompson.

 

I am ultimately not sure who I lean to.  I think Matt Thompson would get the slight edge for me given his incredible statistical finishes but I know that those that value awards higher than anything will certainly lean to McAllister.  I think the arguments for playoffs are fair to McAllister but I also stand by the belief that Thompson should have won one Kanou and had the better overall playoff statistics during his career. The era comparison also is slightly in favor of McAllister but ultimately this one could go either way.

 

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So what say you?  Does McAllister’s playoff resume and award cabinet while playing in a lower scoring era give him the edge? Or does Thompson’s amazing statistical finishes and clear domination of his era while still being tremendously decorated with awards give him the overall win?

Edited April 16, 2020 by Advantage

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Word Count - 4103

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Good lord I hope you manage to make it through all the articles, this is something else.

 

 

And McAllister won a cup with Davos. S61 Davos too. 'Nuff said.

[Advantage 2,899]

7 minutes ago, Victor said:

Good lord I hope you manage to make it through all the articles, this is something else.

 

 

And McAllister won a cup with Davos. S61 Davos too. 'Nuff said.

Shouldn't be an issue. I enjoyed writing this and have four weeks between each one to finish (this took 3 days). 

[Beketov 9,095]

Definitely a fun read. I’ll admit I wasn’t expecting it to be this tight. I think I only really paid attention to McAllister near the end of his career when we crossed paths and by that point he was slowing down a bit.

 

Thompson not getting a Kanou is still a bloody travesty.

[Advantage 2,899]

4 hours ago, Beketov said:

Definitely a fun read. I’ll admit I wasn’t expecting it to be this tight. I think I only really paid attention to McAllister near the end of his career when we crossed paths and by that point he was slowing down a bit.

 

Thompson not getting a Kanou is still a bloody travesty.

I wasn't here for much of McAllisters time so it was fun catching up.

[CowboyinAmerica 2,911]

An absolutely spectacular breakdown, I really appreciate you writing. Was fun to take a bit of a trip down memory lane as well. I don't think there's a clear cut between the two either; I'm more than happy calling Thompson the regular season winner and me the playoff winner.

 

One thing I will note, not that it would move the needle much either way - McAllister actually did do a decent amount on those two Team USA teams without stats, winning a bronze and a gold in those years. He also actually played for Team USA in S54 while in the VHLM as well, winning silver. I purposefully picked a team where I'd be able to play right away, Team USA wasn't as strong in the early days when McAllister was starting out.

 

And also, while Thompson definitely takes the stats edge, especially in S60-62 McAllister didn't have too much scoring help, which helped his awards case but knocked the overall stats figures. That's the main reason I won MVP one of those Davos years despite being only at 99 points - at the time it was viewed as dragging them to a top record.

Edited April 17, 2020 by CowboyinAmerica

[Rayzor_7 741]

16 hours ago, Beketov said:

Thompson not getting a Kanou is still a bloody travesty

You're welcome

[Victor 11,009]

2 hours ago, CowboyinAmerica said:

And also, while Thompson definitely takes the stats edge, especially in S60-62 McAllister didn't have too much scoring help, which helped his awards case but knocked the overall stats figures. That's the main reason I won MVP one of those Davos years despite being only at 99 points - at the time it was viewed as dragging them to a top record.

Yeah and S62 was the main reason Thompson got more goals than you. I knock both Cast and Thompson down a peg for benefiting from S62.

[Beketov 9,095]

9 minutes ago, Victor said:

I knock both Cast and Thompson down a peg for benefiting from S62.

Because it's so challenging for you to knock me down pegs

 

[Advantage 2,899]

Claim 4/26 Week (2/4)

[Advantage 2,899]

On 4/20/2020 at 12:19 AM, Advantage said:

Claim 4/26 Week (2/4)

Since we had theme week last week I am actually now claiming my 2/4 for the new week.

[Victor 11,009]

Poll results still disgraceful smh

[Enorama 2,039]

53 minutes ago, Victor said:

Poll results still disgraceful smh

 

Too many youngins not putting the respecc on McAllister's name.

[Advantage 2,899]

Claim 5/10 week

Edited May 5, 2020 by Advantage

[Advantage 2,899]

Claiming last week.  5/17