Claimed:Where Are They Now?

[Spangle 49]

Mathias Chouinard while with the Calgary Wranglers

 

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

by Thor Ludvigsen, VHL.com

 

Long ago, the agent known as "Spangle" was a revered name in the VHL due to his efforts in creating borderline Hall of Fame winger Mathias Chouinard. However, since Chouinard left the VHL following three straight cup wins, a VHLM championship, and a pair of Gold Medals in the World Cup, Spangle has swung and missed on two straight prospects.

 

After Chouinard, he immediately turned his attention to center JaMarcus Simmons, who was hyped as a power forward who was not afraid to use his body as a weapon. However, he quickly flopped and left the VHL to try his hand elsewhere. Spangle then turned his attention to Italian defenseman Mario Linguini who, like Simmons, had plenty of hype surrounding him when he first declared his intent to play in the VHL. Sadly, he wound up being a bust as well, though he did have a long, solid career in the VHL, an improvement on Simmons.

 

Now that Chouinard has returned to try his hand with Belgian goalie Soren Douffet, we here at VHL.com ask, "Where are Spangle's previous players now?" The answer is quite simple for all three, as all of them went on to play hockey elsewhere, but let us take a look at how they are doing and what team they are currently lacing up their skates for.

 

Right winger Mathias Chouinard

After his illustrious VHL career, Chouinard followed the path blazed by many players before him and moved to the NHL, joining the New York Islanders. Much like his VHL career, his NHL career has been quite fruitful for him. In just two seasons with the Islanders, Chouinard tallied 142 points in 158 games, along with a +43 plus/minus, and 80 hits, proving that he is just capable on offense and defense as he was in the VHL. In spite of his success with New York, he realized he needed to move on from playing for such a bottom feeder and demanded a trade, listing the Los Angeles Kings, Vancouver Canucks, and Minnesota Wild, as the three teams he would like to join the most. Luckily for him, the Islanders granted his wish and sent him to the Los Angeles Kings, where he has spent the past four seasons and has won two Stanley Cups.

 

"Winning a Stanley Cup is like nothing else," said Chouinard. "I loved every second of my time in the VHL, but nothing matches the adrenaline rush you get from lifting that Cup over your head."

 

In his four seasons with the Kings, he has averaged approximately 62 points a year, a +35, and 37 hits, a season. He has also recently signed a three-year contract extension with the Kings and has stated his desire to play the rest of his career in Los Angeles.

 

Simmons has struggled to keep his cool since leaving the VHL

Center JaMarcus Simmons

As somebody born on a US Army base in Germany, one would expect Simmons to have a lot of fight in him. Sadly, he did not get those genes and is instead a lazy head case. After leaving the VHL, Simmons was convinced he was good enough to play in the NHL, in spite of the fact that nobody wanted him. Eventually, he accepted this fate and signed on with the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL. He had a great season in Syracuse, putting up 50 points and recording 150 hits with the Crunch. His performance garnered the attention of the Calgary Flames, where he wound up signing a contract. Sadly, his only season in Calgary was marred by injury problems and his refusal to play anywhere but the first line. His refusal to practice also rubbed many in Calgary the wrong way and when he was not injured, he was suspended for conduct detrimental to the team.

 

Shockingly, his behavior in Calgary turned off many NHL teams from signing him, but not the Vancouver Canucks, who saw the potential he carried. However, he was released after just two weeks for punching Ryan Kesler in the face. Since then, he has not played hockey and has turned to his second passion in life; eating.

 

Not much has changed for Linguini since leaving the VHL

Defenseman Mario Linguini

There is not too much to report on Linguini, as he just recently left the VHL following Season 37. During his VHL career, he developed a reputation for being a solid blue liner, capable of moments of brilliance, though those moments were few and far between. Since leaving the league, he has joined on with the AHL's Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. In his first season with the squad, he tallied 20 points, a +15 +/-, and 110 hits. He is currently attempting to find an NHL team for next season, though it seems likely that he will wind up returning to the Penguins due to lack of interest. He is also reportedly considering a move to Europe.

 

Only time will tell if Spangle's return to the VHL will be fruitful or not, but one certainly has to hope that Douffet can reach the heights of Chouinard, rather than being another player to flame out like Simmons. As a goalie, he will have plenty of expectations on his shoulders and a long way to go to become a viable option in the VHL, but according to Spangle, he believes he will be the player to return him to glory.

 

900 words

Edited July 11, 2014 by Spangle

[Guest Svoboda_3]

Content: 3/3

Liar, it's 915 words . In all seriousness, this was excellent. I'm glad you came back and hopefully you are motivated after your hiatus. I loved the backstory on Chouinard and Linguini and the structure overall was superb.

Grammar: 2/2

I saw nothing.

Appearance: 1/1

Nicely presented.

Overall: 6/6

[Ball 453]

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