Titans start season off strong with massive team effort

[Laine 1,361]

Helsinki, Finland - Not much was expected of the Helsinki Titans heading into this season. They still had a very good core, but with the departures of key forwards Hiroshi Okada, Jared Spaz and many defenders, Helsinki had a lot of rookies coming into the lineup. Analysts seen the club making the playoffs, but not being the juggernaut they have been in seasons past. Defying expectations, Helsinki has surprised everyone to open the season. Ola Vikingstad has been playing like an MVP, leading the league in points on a line with veteran forward Bob Helminen and up-and-coming superstar Patrik Laine. Valtteri Vaakanainen has been a great mentor to the upcoming rookie forwards in Dan Dan, Vick Fairchild and Victor Foles on the second line. On defense, Helsinki has had it in spades. The blue line, much like previous seasons has been led by veteran Erik Summers and a defender in his prime in Spencer Elsby. Emi Rune has been a very good add for the Titans, meshing well with rookies Gustav Hjalmarsson, Kate Upton and their S76 first round pick in Gunnar Odinsson. In the crease, Zamboni Driver has been one of the league's best so far. He has a solid backup behind him in John Poremba. The team currently sits with a 19-7-0 record, good for 3rd in the European Conference and only 1 point behind the Warsaw Predators and Moscow Menace for the conference lead. Each game has been a massive team effort for them, and even in the ones they haven't won, they have barely had an off night. It is exciting to see a young roster like this defy expectations and I expect them to be among the league's best teams by the end of the season.

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