Reapers Off To Hot Start in S75

[tcookie 897]

Expectations are high in Philadelphia for the VHLM's Reapers, following a VHLM draft in which the team collected several picks in one of the deepest drafts the league has ever seen.

Those expectations are being met early in the year, as the Reapers ran an 8-game winning streak to begin the year and currently sit atop the league with a 9-1-1 record. The Reapers have been downright dominant in most games, and they have four of the league's top-nine scorers in Robert Bouchard, Darius Marimoto, Addison McLaren, and Robin Galante Nilsson.

Galante Nilsson's impact has perhaps been most unexpected. Marimoto was a key player for the team last season, and Bouchard and McLaren were both first-round picks in the most recent draft, while Galante Nilsson dropped down to 36th overall. Yet, the young defenseman has surely bolstered his draft stock for the S76 VHL draft with his rate of improvement and an impressive 17 points in 11 games, including a league-leading 16 assists. McLaren is just behind Miami's Ryan Ryker with 43 hits (Ryker has 45), while also chipping in 8 goals and 19 points, while Bouchard is tied with another Miami player, Cabe McJake, for the league lead in scoring. "Our line, with myself, Bouchard, and Marimoto, we're just clicking. They are both smart, talented players that are easy to play with," McLaren says.

Having seen their first taste of defeat against Halifax, and then Miami after that for a second-straight loss before rebouding to beat Minnesota, the Reapers are hoping to get back to good habits and start a new winning streak with upcoming games tomorrow against the Saskatoon Wild and Ottawa Lynx.

 

"It's important to keep working on our game and not get complacent with a hot start," McLaren commented. "We obviously are very happy with our first 11 games but it's how you finish, not how you start, that matters. Obviously I experienced that first hand from one perspective in Miami last year so we have to keep at it, keep improving. In this league everything tends to start evening out as the year goes on, so we have to make sure we're ready."

[RomanesEuntDomus 442]

Nice read, the start to this season has been a blast so far and you did a good job summarazing it and highlighting some key factors. The coloring through me off a bit at first glance but it made sense when looking at it a second time. It still looks a bit weird though for an article like this where the quotes are concentrated towards the end.

 

Review: 10/10 cause it praised me, obviously.