Evaluating Akerstrom's VHLM Career

[Mason 81]

 

Evaluating Akerstrom's VHLM Career

 

It's likely that at the conclusion of this season's VHLM playoffs, Halifax 21st defenseman Gabriel Akerstrom will have played his last game in the league. He has expressed a keen desire to make the jump to the VHL next season, and after two seasons playing in the league it's understood that he's looking to try and face some new challenges. The defenseman was drafted in the first round by the Helsinki Titans in last season's VHL Entry Draft, and is one of the team's most valuable prospects so it wouldn't be a surprise to see the team look to incorporate him into their lineup as soon as they can. The time that Gabriel has spent in the VHLM over the last two seasons has been ultimately very frustrating. The sense that he could have performed a lot better with the opportunities that were given to him is something that he can't get away from, and even though he was able to play as part of a great team in Halifax this season, there were several occasions when he felt like the weak link and that he wasn't living up to his draft spot or his hype.

 

Gabriel played his first VHLM games in S73, when he joined the Las Vegas Aces as a free agent pickup for the majority of the season. Playing in 61 games, Gabriel was a useful contributor for the team, scoring 5 goals and tallying 48 assists for a 53 point season that seemed to hint at him being capable of notable production offensively. The Aces were an upstart team that season who were able to play far beyond the expectations that had been set for them, and Gabriel enjoyed being a part of the overachieving group. It was a great season for Gabriel in all facets, as he was able to produce eye catching numbers defensively too, with 92 shots blocked in the 61 games played. It all pointed to a breakout season being on the cards when he returned to the league the following season, with some additional experience and development.

 

It didn't quite work out like that however. After being selected by the Halifax 21st with the second overall pick in the S74 VHLM Dispersal Draft, Gabriel joined a team with a clear goal of winning a championship. The roster certainly had the strength to do it, evidenced by the team's ability to earn the best overall regular season record in the league. Based on the strength of the players around him and the success of the team, you'd think that Gabriel would have recorded some monster numbers, but that couldn't have been further from the truth. Tallying just 51 points in the 72 games played, Gabriel's production fell off a cliff. His shot blocking numbers declined sharply also, leading the frustrated young defenseman to wonder where it had all gone wrong. I think ultimately, I'll look back on this season as a positive because it's been fun to be able to be part of such a competitive squad, but I'm a bit mystified about how adding TPE to my player's build has lead to him playing worse. It is what it is, I'm looking forward to facing a new challenge next season and can't wait to see how Gabriel adapts to playing in the VHL. 

 

(555 words)

Edited October 28, 2020 by Mason

[Jubo 1,839]

Really looking forward to having Akerstrom join our blue line in Helsinki. It is prospects like you that keep us afloat as a competitive team each season

[Ledge 1,131]

Review: It sure looks to me that Akerstrom is ready for the VHL. Good luck in Helsinki next season. 

Nice picture of Josi, whenever I see Josi I think of Akerstrom now. Nice paragraphs, nice boldness. 

9/10

[Crstats23 342]

Review another great article easy to read and nice paragraph spacing so thoughts don’t run into each other, good picture and detail about the difference a year can make 

rating 10/10