The S75 Las Vegas Aces: A Story of a Team That Went All In.

[Bobo 470]

Las Vegas Aces: 

“A story of a team that went all in.”

 

Las Vegas; the city of gambling and going all in. That describes the team that plays there very well. The Las Vegas Aces, led by GM Spartan and AGM JigglyGumballs, have gone all in this trade deadline. Let’s take a look at their additions and their send-offs. 

 

ADDITIONS:

 

Goaltender Thadius Sales: 

Being the starting goaltender for the Marauders and Aces this season, Thadius Sales started in 67 games in total between the two teams, and put up a record of 38-24-3, with a save percentage of .892% and a goals against average of 2.8. He was involved in a blockbuster trade, seeing the Aces’ old goaltender Matthew A. Sovick Jr. went back to his previous team, with a fifth, for Sales. If that sounded confusing, then here's the trade on the forums. Sovick is a very capable goaltender, and could see some big minutes in the Marauders’ cup-defending run. When it comes to Sales, he could also see big minutes with the Aces this offseason, along with backup netminder Aksu Maronen. I would give this addition a 9/10 for the Aces; a great rental pickup for them, but they did risk a goaltender for a lot of potential. They are clearly going for the cup this season. 

 

Forward Jordan Tate:

Coming from a not so great Mississauga Hounds squad, Jordan Tate was one of the players who shined there. This season, he put up 62 points (26 goals, 36 assists) in only 49 games played with the Hounds, before putting up an additional 10 points (2 goals, 8 assists) in an additional 23 games with the Aces. Tate was traded along with fellow teammate Dan Dan to the Aces, for Jah Coon, Noah Mashford, and a SSK S76 1st and 4th. In the long run, the Hounds won this trade, but the Aces won the trade in the now. When it comes to the player, Tate is an outstanding player with great VHL upside, who will undoubtedly have an impact on the Aces’ cup run this season. I would give this addition a 8/10 for Vegas; great player for the now, not later. 

 

Forward Dan Dan:

Being one of the two assets the Mississauga Hounds sent to Vegas, Dan Dan put on the hard hat for MIS, lighting it up alongside Jordan Tate, with 60 points (31 goals, 29 assists) in 49 games, Dan was a bright spot there. He was traded for a couple of decent picks and two players. The Aces made a great move in acquiring Dan and Tate, as they set their eyes on the founders cup this season. The move, in my opinion, was made to fit together the pieces for their perfect playoff team. Great player, great trade, hopefully great outcome. 

 

Forward Sheldon Juniper:

 

Sheldon Juniper’s season prior to moving to Las Vegas may have not been as impressive as these other additions, but still is great, producing 39 points (18 goals, 21 assists) in 45 games. After the move, he’s kept up with roughly the same point rate, falling 5 points short of a point per game. His trade involved the Aces giving up a depth forward and a 2nd round pick in S77. Not a bad price to pay for a quality asset. Juniper will help the Aces secure their top 6, along with Tate and Dan. It’s all about going all in in Vegas, and that couldn’t be more prevalent with this year’s Aces team. 

 

Picks Received:

 

S76 SSK 1ST AND 4TH, AND S76 MIA 1ST. 

 

REMOVALS

 

Goaltender Matthew A. Sovick:

 

Matthew A. Sovick, previously mentioned, is a solid starting netminder with both teams he’s played for this season. For Las Vegas, he put up a 27-19-4 record, had 3 shutouts, a .888 save %, and a 3.0 GAA. Now, for Miami, he put up a 7-7-5 record, 0 extra shutouts, a .886 save %, and a 3.06 GAA. From those numbers, he played better before getting traded. Their newer goalie, Thadius Sales, has put up better numbers this season than Sovick has, but Sovick can grow for one more season, considering the fact that he is yet to be capped at 250 TPA. Sales is good for a current cup run, Sovick is better for the future cup runs. However, being back in his old home of Miami, he can turn it around and produce great numbers there next season. Only time will tell. Let’s look at our next sendoff. 

 

Forward Jah Coon:

 

A couple of words describe forward Jah Coon the best: a work in progress. Coon only put up 2 points (2 goals) in 48 games with the Aces this season, before moving to Mississauga, where he put up an additional 15 points (7 goals, 8 assists) in an additional 23 games. Needless to say, there was a clear improvement when he went over to the Hounds, considering their stance in this season. He got more ice time, and in return produced more; it’s how the VHL works. His lack of point production has to do mainly with his lower-than-average TPE, and his spot on the Aces. That explains why he was traded; he wasn’t needed on that team at that time. He has a bright future with the Hounds, and I can’t wait to see what happens with him next. 

 

Forward Noah Mashford:

 

Forward Noah Mashford has had quite the bumpy ride in the M this season, boasting a below average point total of 9 points (5 goals, 4 assists) in 46 games, before getting traded to the Hounds, where he put up better numbers with 12 points (2 goals, 10 assists) in 23 games. Like Coon, the Hounds fit his player’s needs more than the Aces did at the time. They both needed more ice time, and more of a role on their teams in order to produce at better rates. Mashford got what he wanted. The trade was a new, fresh slate that he took and improved off of. Seeing his improvement in Mississauga, I can’t wait to see what’s in store for this promising forward. 

 

Forward Nathan Askarov:

 

After he was moved from the Aces to the Rush, Nathan Askarov has become a slightly better player than what he was before. With the Aces, Askarov put up three points (1 goal, 2 assists) in 43 games. But, with Yukon, he put up an additional four points (2 goals, 2 assists) in an additional 27 games. It’s an improvement, but only by so much. Once Askarov finds his footing, he can become a well balanced scoring forward in the VHL, with point totals ranging from 50 to 60 points a season. He’s made moves, but he needs to step it up if he wants a promotion. Being 89 TPE with 2 seasons under your VHLM career isn’t a great place to be in. Once he finds his play style, however, he can turn into a deadly force for the Rush’s offense. He just has to trust the process. I would say that the move positively impacted his career. 

 

Defenseman Alexis LePrince:

 

Being the first defenseman we’re covering in this article, Alexis LePrince needed to show some improvement in his new home, and has done just that. After the move from Las Vegas to Saskatoon, LePrince put up two extra points (2 assists) in 7 extra games. For being a depth defenseman option, on a team like SSK, he’s showing signs of great potential at a VHLM level. He’s a defenseman, so his points aren’t the things that show, it’s more of his other stats like his SB, or P/M. In those departments, he’s put up a total of 22 SB and a P/M of +1. So, he’s done quite well for himself. Like a lot of these other players, having a new and fresh slate, has seemingly helped LePrince accelerate his progression as a player. In my opinion, the move impacted him for the better, as he has been playing better in SSK, and it shows in the stats. 

 

Picks Given Away:

 

S76 LVA 5TH, S76 SSK 1ST AND 4TH, S77 LVA 2ND, S77 LVA 1ST, AND S76 LVA 6TH. 

 

WRITTEN AND EDITED BY DARIUS MARIMOTO. 

 

WORD COUNT: 1381 WORDS, 7334 CHARACTERS.

 

TAGS: @thadthrasher @fyrefly @MMFLEX @Aye my name jeff @aksuko @JigglyGumballs @Spartan @matt sovick @denns @Mashy @NathanM2983 @AnthonyOuellet @

 

[Bobo 470]

2ND WEEK CLAIM

[Spartan 3,997]

Outside of just their on ice value, the users behind the players we received were what we look for as Vegas players. Zeke, Flex, Fyrefly, and Thad are all fantastic people, and I have a long standing relationship with the first two players. While it was disappointing to lose others who were key parts of our LR, knowing that we were getting back great people made the decisions a bit easier for us to make. Great article!

[SimmerDown99 39]

Was a great read, I actually didn’t know all this stuff happened this season. I did see the block buster trade come through though when it happened. This was a great way to highlight the moves this year and taught the assistant captain he isn’t very updated 10/10 article.

[Bobo 470]

3 hours ago, SimmerDown99 said:

Was a great read, I actually didn’t know all this stuff happened this season. I did see the block buster trade come through though when it happened. This was a great way to highlight the moves this year and taught the assistant captain he isn’t very updated 10/10 article.

Thanks Simmer. I’m glad I can educate once and a while. 

[Bobo 470]

5 hours ago, Spartan said:

Outside of just their on ice value, the users behind the players we received were what we look for as Vegas players. Zeke, Flex, Fyrefly, and Thad are all fantastic people, and I have a long standing relationship with the first two players. While it was disappointing to lose others who were key parts of our LR, knowing that we were getting back great people made the decisions a bit easier for us to make. Great article!

That’s interesting, Spartan. I need to have you on my podcast some time! I always enjoy your podcast work; it’ll be an honor.

[Spartan 3,997]

Just now, dariusmarimotoman said:

That’s interesting, Spartan. I need to have you on my podcast some time! I always enjoy your podcast work; it’ll be an honor.

hit me up man, I'm down to record as long as it works with my schedule

[Bobo 470]

5 minutes ago, Spartan said:

hit me up man, I'm down to record as long as it works with my schedule

For sure, for sure. I’ll have you on for an interview or a chat.

[Laine 1,361]

This is a well-written article. I love the breakdown for each of the players to show what the changes have done and the way they performed before. I also like how you displayed the net assets and picks lost/gained at the bottom. Overall, I think this is a very good article, definitely would recommend it to others, 9.5/10.

[Xflexz 158]

Very very good article. Good in-depth read on the team and formatted very nicely (except paragraphs aren't indented) Also love the title being a gradient really catches the eye! 10/10

[Bobo 470]

3 hours ago, Xflexz said:

Very very good article. Good in-depth read on the team and formatted very nicely (except paragraphs aren't indented) Also love the title being a gradient really catches the eye! 10/10

I made a document prior to the article being posted on here with indents. I guess they just never carried over.

[Bobo 470]

4 hours ago, PatrikLaine said:

This is a well-written article. I love the breakdown for each of the players to show what the changes have done and the way they performed before. I also like how you displayed the net assets and picks lost/gained at the bottom. Overall, I think this is a very good article, definitely would recommend it to others, 9.5/10.

Cheers! Thanks for the positive feedback.