Killinger settling in as a defender.

[Peace 1,562]

TORONTO, ONTARIO -- We'd be lying if we said Killinger's first season as the teams top defensive asset wasn't rough -- we all know that is wrong because it was -- but there were plenty of highlights to the Legions' go-to guy on the blue line. To start the twenty-something year old had a career season, improving from his rookie output in nearly every category, while growing into a more demanding on ice presence expected from him by the clubs management and roster. Killinger's bread and butter for the majority of the season wasn't his defensive play, but rather his ability to generate offense from the blue strip that enabled the Legion to stay competitive most nights, obviously in tandem with the rest of the roster. 

When the playoffs started, however, Erik Killinger grew into the defender the Toronto Legion needed. Despite only playing seven games in the post-season, the developing defender ground down the high flying Calgary Wrangler team by throwing forty hits, which -- at the time -- were the most among any defenders at the conclusion of the first round. It was Killinger's hits in the offensive zone that caused turnovers, which resulted in Legion goals, and that was one hell of a series for any hockey fan. Killinger grew into form when it mattered most, and even though he only registered two points during the series, it was his on ice presence that was finally felt. That presence was missing during the regular season, especially on the Legions' eleven game tumble off the face of a cliff. 

 

The future for a forward-turned-defender is bright, and the club is excited, but there are certainly things he needs to continue working on. His discipline is lacking, shockingly, as he was a well disciplined player at both the VHLM and VHL level of play. We can't quite put our fingers on it, but we suspect his more aggressive style since switching to defense -- kinda obviously -- has impacted his ability to be more disciplined. You don't just increase your penalty minutes by an honestly mind boggling one hundred and ten minutes without some kind of underlying variable, there is something amiss and Killinger needs to work with the team to discover what it is.

None of that takes away from his perceived effectiveness during the Legion-Wrangler best of seven showdown.

"He was excellent in that series," GM Peace agreed. "While we would have liked more offensive contributions from him, he was a rock for us, but that goes for any of the prime three Legion players and our supporting roster. Hextall was brilliant when he needed to be, Magnum's five goals pushed us further than we've ever been, and the team behind those three fought exceptionally hard."

"I think our physical play slowed them down," Killinger answered. We had asked if the series between Toronto and Calgary, where Toronto put up one hundred and fifty two hits, had any impact on Calgary's eventual post season defeat. "I never really paid much attention to the playoffs after that, but I think our physical play contributed to eventually wearing the Wranglers down by the time they were in the finals. I imagine it was another physical series with New York, and two seven game series takes quite a bit out of you. Riga was rested and ready to go, Calgary was tired and bruised."