GWMHL

Archive for the ‘Teams’ Category

The 5 Biggest Letdowns of 2010-2011

In BOS, CHA, Special Features, STE, STL, VAN on June 11, 2011 at 8:34 am

Who doesn’t like a feel-good story? When a player breaks through and makes a difference, it makes for good headlines… to bury in the sports pages next to the cricket scores.

Because if there’s one thing we all like more than a feel-good story, it’s a tale of misery and woe. An 82-game car wreck.

Failure is fun.

So here it is – the companion to our profile of the biggest breakthroughs of 2010-2011 in the form of five brilliantly disastrous performances from the season gone by.

5. Justin Williams, Charleston Chiefs

Williams has had all kinds of injury trouble in recent years, but the Charleston winger is a lot better than the four – four! – goals he scored in 38 games this year. The Chiefs needed a big bounce-back season from him after a one-goal 2009-2010, and he quadrupled that output, so… success?

4. Cam Ward, Saint Louis Blues

Saint Louis was one of the league’s best teams for much of the season, so it’s weird to list their starting goaltender. But Ward just wasn’t very good. His .901 save percentage – a big drop from last season – doesn’t say “starter on a league-leading team” and if it wasn’t for Scott Clemmensen’s 15-5-2 record, the Blues might have struggled to make the post-season at all.

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All-Time Greats, Part 2: Teemu Selanne

In EDH, Special Features on June 4, 2011 at 2:04 pm

When Ice Harbor’s Keith Tkachuk hung them up this year, he did  it with his name in the GWMHL record books as the league’s all-time leader in goals and points. But Tkachuk’s records aren’t safe – not as long as El Dorado winger Teemu Selanne is still in the hunt.

This season, Selanne passed Joe Sakic on the all-time points list, is just four behind Brendan Shanahan and 13 behind Jaromir Jagr. He notched his 600th career goal this season, and trails Shanahan by just two. Tkachuk is still 36 goals ahead – but the lead is in sight.

Selanne was the first overall draft pick in the first-ever GWMHL Rookie Draft in 1993. Since then, he’s been one of the league’s most consistent offensive performers – all with the same franchise. He’s scored 50 goals four times and 40 twice. And the scary part? He’s still good. Hobbled by injuries this year, he still managed 26 goals in 54 games.

Selanne was also been a key player in one of the most fascinating dramas to unfold in Gump Cup history.

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2011 Playoffs: Ding, Dong, the Hawks Are Dead

In News, PWH on June 3, 2011 at 8:07 am

One of the biggest questions heading into this post-season was who, if anyone, could do the impossible and unseat the Portland Winterhawks.

Winners of four straight Gump Cups, the ‘Hawks quietly put together another great regular season and looked poised to keep their dynasty going. Their scorers were clicking. Their blueline was about as good as it’s ever been. And they had Martin Brodeur.

That all came crashing down this week as the Winterhawks were ousted in the first round by the Sawchuk Conference’s bottom seed, the Farmington Fighting Saints.

It took six games – but the Saints won twice in Portland and made Brodeur look fallible. The winningest goalie in GWMHL history finished the series with horrible numbers, including a 4.87 GAA and a save percentage of just .835. Farmington’s netminding was no great shakes, either – it was a high-scoring series – but they got it where it counted. Mikael Samuelsson led the way with 9 goals, including a hat trick in the deciding game.

The Fighting Saints now await the winner of the other Sawchuk semifinal, either Saint Louis or West Virginia. And the Winterhawks have a long, long off-season to think about what went wrong. For the first time since 2006, the GWMHL will crown a new champ.

Click here to see all the latest 2011 playoff results!

Does Darryl Sydor Hold the Most Unbreakable GWMHL Record?

In SFS, Special Features on May 31, 2011 at 8:31 am

"Hee hee. I'm famous."

In a record-breaking year that saw some of this league’s all-time greats put their names into the history books, one name went neglected.

Darryl Sydor.

The defenseman, who announced his retirement this year, has the distinction of the worst career plus-minus in the GWMHL.

In fact, so amazing was Sydor’s defensive ineptitude throughout his career that no other player is even close. His -350 puts him 158 ahead of… uh… behind… former teammate Frantisek Kaberle.

Sydor’s statistical dominance is virtually unchallengeable.

Sydor’s GWMHL career ended this year with that ultimate indignity – being released by the Oregon Rugrats at mid-season. Fortunately, the Rugrats’ Nick Boynton and Matt Cullen have the worst career plus-minus numbers of all active players, so there’s something for fans to cheer for.

What were those relocation rumors again?

Worst Career Plus-Minus

Darryl Sydor      -350
Frantisek Kaberle -192
Nick Boynton      -183
Darcy Tucker      -183
Matt Cullen       -166

Milestone: Iginla Joins 500 Goal Club

In News, PWH on May 28, 2011 at 12:02 pm

Portland Winterhawks winger Jarome Iginla has become just the 6th player ever to join the 500 goal club.

He now has 502 career goals, two more than Brett Hull, and sits at 5th all-time.

Iginla joined the Portland dynasty in 2007 as part of a landmark 7-player trade. He instantly became a part of one of the most potent lines in league history with Joe Thornton and Ilya Kovalchuk.

Iginla’s led the GWMHL in points three times and holds the all-time single season record with 171 in the 2008-2009 season – a campaign that also saw him score 81 goals. He’s one of the best pure goal scorers in the league, and if he wasn’t a lock for the Hall of Fame before, he sure is now.

Career Goals (through 2010-2011)

1  Keith Tkachuk      659
2  Brendan Shanahan   625
3  Teemu Selanne      623
4  Jaromir Jagr       534
5  Jarome Iginla      502
6  Brett Hull         500
7  Mats Sundin        463
8  Peter Bondra       461
9  Sergei Fedorov     460
10 Paul Kariya        449

The 5 Most Surprising Breakthroughs of 2010-2011

In BAL, PWH, SFS, Special Features, STL on May 28, 2011 at 10:46 am

Every year, players rise, players fall. Here are five who unexpectedly broke through in the 2010-2011 regular season, shattered their own career numbers, or otherwise made a difference.

5. RW Tyler Kennedy, Saint Louis Blues

Cast as a roleplayer, Kennedy found himself playing with some of Saint Louis excellent group of centres and delivered with a rock-solid 24 goals. Of those, 5 were game-winners.

4. RW Alexandre Burrows, Baltimore Crab

Burrows’ stock has been rising every season, but nobody saw his 49-goal 2010-2011 performance coming. The agitator led the Crab in scoring on a team that also features names like Evgeni Malkin, Daniel Sedin, and Anze Kopitar. Burrows also led the team in plus-minus and scored 8 shorthanded goals.

3. D Lubomir Visnovsky, Portland Winterhawks

Visnovsky is an excellent offensive defenseman – he’s shown it before and has even cracked the 70-point barrier a couple of times. But he added goal-scoring to his resume in 2010-2011, exploding in the second half to finish with 27 goals – more than any other defenseman in the league.

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Oregon Rugrats Sold; Move to Bay Area Rumored

In News, SFS on May 27, 2011 at 12:43 pm

The Oregon Rugrats, under receivership and league control for what seems like forever, have a new owner. Mike Jordan has taken control of the team, which has just wrapped up a 29-44-7 season in which they allowed the second most goals in the league. Rumors are already swirling that the team could be moving to San Francisco in the off-season. Stay tuned!

Sidney Crosby Captures Scoring Crown

In News, SAL, WVR on May 24, 2011 at 11:21 am

It took until the final days of the regular season, but West Virginia River Rat Sidney Crosby has captured the GWMHL scoring title for 2010-2011.

Crosby edged out the Salem Wannabees‘ Patrick Marleau in the fourth quarter, finishing with 136 points to Marleau’s 134. Not only is it Crosby’s first scoring title – it’s the first time the star centre has led his own team in scoring. His 84 assists lead the league.

It’s no surprise that Marleau couldn’t match his record-setting early-season pace. But he still finishes with an incredible league-leading 77 goals – matching the totals of last year’s leader, Midland‘s Zach Parise.

5 Draft Day Near-Rejects Who Made It Big

In DEN, FFS, PIT, Special Features, STE, WIN, WVR on May 21, 2011 at 11:48 am

There’s no art to the late-round draft steal. You take a deep breath and pray… and probably release your pick before he ever plays a game. While quite a few serviceable players have squeaked into the high seventies in the GWMHL Rookie Draft over the years – especially goaltenders – rare is the player taken in the last few picks who makes a real impact.

But here are five taken in the final 10 slots of their respective drafts who defied the odds and made an impact.

5. LW Kyle Calder, 77th overall in 2000 by Staten Island

Winger Calder never lived up to his potential, more or less settling into a 10-15 goal groove for the Staten Island Gems and San Diego Gulls early in his career. But he makes our list for one reason alone: possibly the most surprising single campaign in league history. In 2006-2007, Calder went on a sudden tear, scoring 60 goals and amassing 110 points with the Gulls.

He disappeared just as quickly, chasing his breakthrough with 8 goals total over his next three seasons, then obscurity.

Year   Name                       GP    G    A  PTS  +/-  PIM
01-02  Staten Island Gems         24    0    2    2  -13   10
02-03  Staten Isle Gems           81   14   35   49    0   79
03-04  Staten Island Gems         82   12   13   25   -6   36
04-06  San Diego Gulls            40   13   12   25    4   15
06-07  San Diego Gulls            79   60   50  110   23   52
07-08  San Diego Gulls            69    5   10   15  -12   30
08-09  San Diego Gulls            64    2    5    7  -21   20
09-10  San Diego Gulls            61    1    9   10  -11   18
                  Totals         439  106  127  233  -25  242

4. G Olaf Kolzig, 76th overall in 1994 by Tidewater

Kolzig was taken last overall by Portland in ’94, and he’d be much further up the list if his career numbers – a career goals against average way on the wrong side of 3.00 – weren’t so shaky. But Kolzig was a solid starter in the GWMHL for many seasons, despite playing for some struggling teams. He gets major points for longevity.

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All-Time Greats, Part 1: Keith Tkachuk

In IHS, Special Features on May 13, 2011 at 10:03 am

In 2009-2010, Ice Harbor Storm winger Keith Tkachuk overtook Jaromir Jagr for the GWMHL all-time lead in points and passed Brendan Shanahan for career goals.

Tkachuk will retire at the end of this season. And although this season’s edition of the Storm – a rebuilding squad that’s on its way to missing the playoffs – might not have been able to provide the perfect last hurrah for the winger, he still hangs them up with a Gump Cup in 1999 and well over 600 goals and 1300 points to his name. He’s the first GWMHL player to break either of those barriers and one of the best players the league has seen.

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