VHL 20 in 20 #13: Cats and Dogs

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Cats And Dogs

Rivalries definitely exist in the VHL, but probably not to the extent of other professional sports leagues. Think about the big NHL rivalries such as Montreal-Boston, Calgary-Edmonton, Detroit-Colorado, or Islanders-Rangers. All of these rivalries contain a certain amount of animosity between both the players and the fans. When you look back on the VHL’s first 20 seasons, there aren’t many rivalries that exist to this extent. The rivalries in the VHL mostly came from teams that met up a lot in the playoffs, such as Calgary-Vasteras. During these games, the players rose their level of performance and made sure that they brought out the best in themselves for every game. However, no rivalry incorporated both the high on-ice intensity with the off-ice mutual hatred quite like the Riga-Davos rivalry. The rivalry still exists today, but it certainly doesn’t hold a candle to what he rivalry used to be.

The Riga/Davos rivalry really seemed to begin in Season 10, when the Dynamo (still the Avangard Havoc at the time of the draft) drafted defenseman and future Hall of Famer Tomas Jenskovic with their 1st overall selection. They also drafted one of the toughest players of all-time, Da’Brickashaw O’Neal, with the 9th overall selection, and Baron Von Jonsson went right after him. O’Neal, already a polarizing figure in the league, could have and maybe should have gone higher in the draft due to his amount of practice hours. However, O’Neal’s attitude definitely scared many teams away (myself included, as I picked Zach Parise and Noah Lefevre before O’Neal was selected). This attitude would continue, and definitely made O’Neal, along with agent Matt Cornell, a “like me or hate me” character in the league. Add Jack O’Riley, Zach Arce, and Benoit Devereux to the mix, and you have an up-and-coming team that was poised to breakout very soon.

Going into Season 10, the Riga Reign had just come off a defeat in the Continental Cup finals at the hands of the Toronto Legion, who had won their first (and only) VHL championship. The Reign gave up a 3-1 lead in Game 7 of the finals as Toronto stormed back and, thanks to Jochen Walser’s OT goal, broke the hearts of the Latvian fans. However, things were still looking up in Riga. With players such as Layken Heidt and Torsten Schwarz emerging as leaders on the team, the Reign were poised for another cup run in Season 10. They would acquire players like Kyle McLeod and Zak Rawlyk over the offseason, and would eventually also bring in Brandon Rush. With franchise goalie, Marek van Urho, in nets, the Reign were definitely the team to beat in Season 10. Needless to say, Davos and Riga were on a collision course.

”Riga was the team to beat and Davos was on the up swing so it just seemed natural that we'd be rivals in the game. Davos kind of had a lot of unique personalities and Riga was pretty outspoken as well so things definitely culminated on the boards, forming arguably the best rivalry in league history.” – Tomas Jenskovic

Season 10 was dominated by Riga in the European Conference. With 105 points, they finished easily ahead of Avangard for the top spot in the conference. However, they only finished with the 3rd highest amount of points overall thanks to a strong battle between the Toronto Legion and the Seattle Bears. Layken Heidt, who had a huge season for the Rein with 145 points, including a league-leading 66 goals, led Riga to their strong finish in Season 10. Not far behind were Torsten Schwarz, Tomas Ziegler, Ace Lightning, and Terence Fong who all finished ahead of Avangard’s leading scorer, Alec Miller. The playoffs series between these two teams was quick; as the Reign swept the Havoc and went on to have a re-match with the Toronto Legion in the finals. There, in almost storybook fashion, the Reign upset the Legion with a Game 7 overtime goal, this time scored by Riga’s rookie Zak Rawlyk. The Havoc, meanwhile, would pack their bags and leave Avangard in hopes of finding more success in the Swiss city of Davos. The newly-crowned Dynamo were quite confident in their future and looked forward to proving their worth in Season 11.


Riga in Season 10

In Season 11, it was a hard-fought battle between the two European teams throughout the season. The two teams faced each other 10 times. Davos, who had made the move to Switzerland by now, won 4 times, Riga won 3 in regulation, and 3 more in a shootout. In the actual standings, it was 2 shootout losses by the Havoc that put them over the Reign for 1st place in the European Conference. The Dynamo were blessed with a breakout season by Jonathan Matthias, and a strong shutdown season by Benoit Devereux. The Reign, meanwhile, went with a more balanced attack and stronger defense. A top 4 of Torsten Schwarz, Blake Beukeboom, Vladimir Kliment, and Kyle McLeod was a big key to Riga’s success, and Marek van Urho was solid for them in goal. Naturally, the impending playoffs matchup between these two teams was majorly hyped up as being one of the all-time great series in VHL history.

The two teams did not disappoint. They would battle back and forth and would move on to one of the most memorable Game 7 matches in VHL history. The Reign led 3-0 and even when Tuvia Bielski scored, the Reign responded with an Ace Lightning goal that put them back up by a score of 4-1. However, a big fight would erupt about halfway through the 3rd (the 2nd general fight in that game) that clearly motivated the Dynamo. Riga’s big lead evaporated when Davos scored 3 goals in 14 seconds (shattering the NHL record of 3 goals in 20 seconds) and took the Reign to overtime. In the end, they went to the 2nd overtime period where Tomas Ziegler, fresh off a Continental Cup win with the Riga Reign, would score to eliminate his old teammates and send Davos to the finals, where they’d eventually capture the franchise’s 2nd Continental Cup by defeating Seattle in 6 games.

”It was drawn right down the middle. Sure, the Reign captured and made the playoffs more so than Davos did, but our championship in S10 came after knocking out Davos in the first round. Meanwhile, Davos' championship in S11 came after knocking us out in the opening round. There were some good battles, no doubt, and it certainly made for good entertainment for the fans and the players around the league.” – Layken Heidt

”Both teams took their lumps against each other, and it was competitive. That competitiveness is what made the rivalry so good. I think Davos might have had a bit of an edge, but it was tight. A lot of those games could have gone either way and I think anyone who played for either of those teams probably really enjoyed that point in the league.” – Tomas Jenskovic


Davos celebrating a goal

Season 12 saw the Dynamo fall out of playoffs contention and start to fade. The Vasteras IK managed to edge out the Swiss team by a mere 13 points for the 2nd playoffs spot. That didn’t stop Zach Arce from leading the league in points, nor did it stop Benoit Devereux from having significantly better stats than every other goalie in the league. Still, it wasn’t enough for Davos to make the playoffs, so the league-leading Riga Reign would go on without them. Layken Heidt would lead the Reign in points, but the next 4 point-getters were all defensemen, as Rawlyk, Rush, and Lightning all had slow seasons for the Reign. Luckily, Marek van Urho was lights-out in goal, and helped the Reign defeat the Vasteras IK in 7 games so that they could move on and face Seattle in the finals. The Reign would take the Bears to Game 7, where Josh Vestiquen ended the series in – you guessed it - overtime. He fired a quick shot on goal just 25 seconds into overtime and it trickled by van Urho for a Bears win.

However, in Season 13, it was Riga’s turn to miss the playoffs. Losing players like Heidt, Schwarz, Rawlyk, Lightning, Beukeboom, and McLeod significantly crippled the Latvian team and kept them 25 points out of that 2nd playoffs spot. The Vasteras IK would take 2nd, and the newly rejuvenated Dynamo would finish 1st, both in the European Conference and in the entire VHL. Zach Arce would lead the league in points once again, and Matt Bentz, coming over from Calgary, would finish right behind him. Another strong year from Devereux in goal really solidified Davos as the clear frontrunner for the Season 13 Continental Cup. Davos would do just that as they downed Vasteras in 7 games, which set them up with the New York Americans in the finals. Once again, the series would go to 7 games. Game 7 was a back and forth game that saw Davos take a 2-0 lead, only to see New York storm back with 3 quick goals in the 3rd to take a 3-2 lead. Davos would then respond with 2 goals, also in the 3rd, to close out the series with a 4-3 win and the franchise’s 3rd Continental Cup. It was really around this time that, most would say, the real Davos/Riga rivalry was put to and end as most of the main players had since retired or left the team.

”Some would argue that in S13, Davos won their second Continental Cup of the rivalry period. However, by that point, the makeup of each team was totally different. I’m biased, but we were a classier bunch and had a better reputation for keeping it respectful so I think we would win in that area.” – Torsten Schwarz

To be honest, though, everyone knows that it wasn’t just the on-ice battles that made this rivalry special. If it just came down to two strong teams meeting up and trading cup runs, then this rivalry would be no different than some of the other rivalries that we’ve had in the VHL over the past 20 seasons. What truly made this rivalry memorable in the eyes of VHL fans and players was the animosity that clearly existed between these two teams and the players that belonged to them. It seemed as though the right personalities got together at the right time and made for an excellent, passionate, and certainly interesting rivalry that lasted for a few seasons.

”The rivalry really stemmed from the group we had, compared to the group of individuals Davos had. They had a lot of "talk" guys and they were given free reign (no pun intended) to say whatever they pleased; it just fueled both sides, resulting in some heated discussions and games. The games were intense, and obviously there was some tension felt around the league because of this rivalry.” – Layken Heidt


This happened a lot during the games

As mentioned, the groups of individuals on both teams were very, very different. The Riga Reign were led by Schwarz, Heidt, Rawlyk, and Rush. These guys were well respected by everyone because of their maturity, and they conducted themselves accordingly. They generally didn’t get too involved with the off-ice shenanigans that many of the league’s other players engaged in, and would instead oversee these players and make sure nothing got too out of hand. They showed up to every game not in a bus, but in limousines. The players had to wear suits at all times unless they were on the ice, or training. Generally, everything on Riga was well structured and orderly.

Davos, meanwhile, was quite the opposite. Jenskovic, O’Neal, Devereux, and James Platts led them. Many of these guys were also well respected, but for different reasons. They were liked because of their popularity with the other members of the league. They generally were the cause of many of the off-ice shenanigans that the rest of the league liked to get involved in. Most of the Davos players would show up to the arena in the big team bus and they wore whatever they wanted. Da’Brickashaw O’Neal was even rumored to often walk around the arena naked on game day for good luck. Generally, everything on Davos was chaotic, but fun.

”I guess it was just that both teams had really different personalities and team dynamics. I would say Davos kind of had the "we're the cool kids" mentality, while Riga had more of "the league hates us, let's show them up" mentality. Naturally, that was the catalyst for the rivalry on the boards, and obviously in the games as both teams were highly competitive and had a ton of depth.” – Tomas Jenskovic

” The guys on their team showed respect to nobody on the other teams. They were just a bunch of goons playing hockey – a real unclassy bunch of fools.” – Torsten Schwarz

The individuals in particular were incredibly vital to the advancement of this rivalry. Perhaps the most popular figure in this battle was the big man, Da’Brickashaw “McBlackenstein” O’Neal. O’Neal was a large monster of a man who prided himself on taking penalties and giving out big hits. He also talked a big game and especially loved to take shots at the Riga Reign. He simply didn’t care about the consequences and drew most of the ire from the opposing team’s players. There were few people in the league that O’Neal and agent Cornell didn’t anger at some point or another. I remember getting into an argument with Cornell and that’s what really caused me to skip over him in the Season 10 draft. We’ve patched things up, and I was spared from most of his joking.

Following O’Neal was legendary goaltender Benoit Devereux. Devereux, regarded as one of the greatest goalies in VHL history, also had no shortage of trash talk for his Latvian counterparts. Devereux’s agent, Matt Defosse, was the host of Ode to Aramark, a podcast that involved Defosse shooting off on whatever he disapproved of in the VHL. Naturally, this probably got him as much negative attention as it did positive attention. Naturally, the Reign added Devereux to the list of players that they did not approve of. You could tell they didn’t like Devereux as they often tried to take runs at him during games. More often than not, however, Devereux stood his ground and prevailed.


Devereux and O’Neal celebrating a job well done

On Riga’s side, perhaps the biggest player in the rivalry from them was Torsten Schwartz, along with agent Joey Kendrick. Both player and agent were not about to let themselves be belittled by the Davos players without fighting back, and fight back they did. Schwarz’s retorts were often mocked by the Dynamo players, but you can’t deny that he got his shots in and knew how to anger and incite Davos just as well as they riled up the Reign. Agent Kendricks has always been known as being very opinionated, and this shone through time and time again as he continued to put his neck on the line for his team. As you can see today, he still harbors some bad blood for the Dynamo players of yesteryear.

To a lesser extent, Layken Heidt along with Brett Slobodzian would get involved in the feud as well. Though likely not as brash as the other 3 guys were, Slobodzian and Heidt were not opposed to getting involved in the arguments that often came during Riga-Davos games. Perhaps the most notable incident was during Game 7 of the Season 11 European Conference finals. Heidt was in there right away to defend his team as they were being called out as whiners by Davos. The Dynamo would go on to win that game, along with the Continental Cup, but Slobodzian stood his ground and for that, he is definitely remembered as a central figure in this heated exchange.

Obviously, this all occurred back when the Riga/Davos rivalry was in its peak. In my opinion, the rivalry still exists today, as evidenced by this season where Riga and Davos fought to the bitter end in both the regular season and the playoffs. Davos would eventually win the series against Riga after 7 hard-fought games between the two rivals. However, despite this, it’s clear to say that the rivalry is not what it used to be. The maliciousness and ferocity that we saw between these two teams back in the early 10’s on the VHL’s existence has now been replaced by a mutual respect. The passion is still there, but you won’t see Riga and Davos players taking shots at each other like they used to.

”I think there's more respect for one another than there was before. The character types of players have toned down and have evolved since that time. Sure the rivalries are good on the ice, but they aren't as widely regarded off the ice as they were back then. While Davos liked to do their talking out in the open, we preferred to let our play do the talking. I think that's changed where the energy spent on gaining the upper hand in speech has changed to focusing solely on the on-ice performance.” – Layken Heidt

”I think there's more mutual respect. If you put the same players back on those teams, I think you'd generate a lot of animosity once again not only because the teams had similar skill levels, but also because their personalities really clashed.” – Tomas Jenskovic


Heidt and Schwarz are not amused

I asked each of my interviewees this week to sum up their thoughts about their former rival in one word. I felt that this would let me know whether the bad blood truly still exists or not. This is what I got:

”Resilient” – Layken Heidt

”Impressive” – Tomas Jenskovic

”Overrated” – Torsten Schwarz

Clearly, opinions differ here. Either way, this Riga/Davos rivalry represents something that we rarely see in the VHL – a true hatred for your fellow hockey player. While that seems counterproductive for the greater good of all mankind, who doesn’t love to see some animosity between rival sports teams? Think of those years in the VHL as the “Attitude Era” of the WWE. Not only did we have this rivalry, we had a lot of guys mouthing off to each other and general chaos around the league. These days, things are subdued and while we have our arguments, they’re more respectful, and well thought out. I honestly don’t know if we’ll ever see another rivalry come close to the animosity felt during the Riga/Davos rivalry, but I certainly hope we will.

End of Part 13
Special thanks to Layken Heidt, Torsten Schwarz, and Tomas Jenskovic