GWMHL

Archive for the ‘Teams’ Category

Passing of the Torch in Denver

In DEN on October 16, 2015 at 8:33 am

By Richard Poelker, Denver Spurs

Denver SpursSome stalwarts in the history of the Denver Spurs franchise have recently been released. While it was tough to see some of these franchise leaders go, it was time to bring in youth.

Three of the players released were fan favorites and team leaders so they will not only be missed by the most loyal fans in the GWMHL but by the organization and teammates as well.

In a special pre-season ceremony at the Denver Coliseum, home of the Denver Spurs, the first to be honored was the #2 scorer in franchise history with 767 points, Captain Vinny Lecavalier. Vinny has been a member of the franchise since he was picked number 1 overall in the 1999 rookie draft when the franchise was known as the Brooklyn Blackhawks. This lasted through the ’02-’03 season when the team moved to Illinois for one season in ’03-’04 and was known as the Illinois Chiefs. From there Vinny packed his bags and moved with the club to the sunny climes of California for the Sun Cats jersey from ’04-’05 through the ’07-’08 season. Then it was onto Texas to be known as the Midland Bulldogs from ’08-’09 through the ’10-’11 season.

Then the franchise arrived at their current home in Colorado at the Denver Coliseum and has been known as the Denver Spurs from the ’11-’12 through the present. So Vinny’s tenure with the club lasted 16 hard played seasons with many moves over the years! A bunch of nomads to be sure. Perhaps the club should be named the Nomads! I digress. Not only is Vinny the #2 all time scorer in franchise history (a mere 30 points behind Bill Guerin), he also is #3 in goals (293), #1 in assists (474), tied for 4th in PPG with 64, 6th in SHG with 7, 3rd in GP (1042) and surprisingly 4th in hits with 1,544!! It’s safe to say that Vinny’s skates won’t be filled for a very long time, if ever. His only regret has to be that he never hoisted the Gump Cup in his illustrious career and only went as far as the Conference finals 3 times when in California and Midland.

Also honored was Danny Briere, 6th in goals (228), 5th in assists (340) and 5th in points (568) in 734 GP (9th all time on the franchise leader board).

Next up was Mike Richards, who also appears in several of the franchise leader categories with some of the most notable being 12th in goals (139), 12th is assists (234), 11th in points (373), 14th in GP (625), 3rd in SHG (12), 5th in FO (50.46%) and #1 in corner win Pct (61.58).

Also leaving the franchise, but in a trade, was #1 all time franchise +/- leader Brian Campbell with a +184!! The offensive blueliner also was 17th in goals with 84, #2 in assists behind Vinny with 396, #6 in points with 480. Not bad for a blueliner in 704 gp. Pominville was the key acquisition in dealing Campbell. Another fan favorite for sure! Also leaving in a trade was Joffrey Lupul who was #9 in goal scoring in franchise history with 157.

As previously mentioned, all these will most certainly be missed by the fans and organization but hopefully the future is bright with recently drafted youngsters Josh Jooris, Cedric Paquette, Jiri Sekac, Curtis Lazar, Duncan Siemens & Joel Armia.

A Stick-Tap for Selanne

In EDH, News on October 14, 2015 at 8:55 am

With retirement on the way and his rights on the verge of being relinquished for good, we bid adieu to one of the GWMHL’s all-time greats.

The El Dorado Lynx‘s Teemu Selanne was unquestionably one of the best offensive players in league history. After 21 seasons, all with the same franchise, Selanne is 1st all-time in both goals and points, and 4th in assists. Those records may fall in the next season or three — Jarome Iginla is 69 goals behind while the ageless Jaromir Jagr trails Selanne by just 38 points — but none of that matters today. Selanne, who began his GWMHL career as the first overall pick in the league’s first ever draft, retires a legend.

Selanne now passes the mantle to Jagr, who is now the only remaining active player from the inaugural GWMHL season.

Selanne’s legacy in a nutshell:

  • – 17 seasons with 20 or more goals, with 5 breaking 50
  • – 4 100-point campaigns
  • – 4 league championships

Check out our first retrospective about the Finnish Flash right here.

Year	Name                    GP   G	  A	PTS	+/-	PIM
93-94	Rochester Chenes Royale	84   73	  39	112	-25	55
94-95	Rochester Chenes Royale	42   26	  19	45	-1	26
95-96	Rochester Chenes Royale	74   27	  29	56	8	12
96-97	Rochester Chenes Royale	79   20	  34	54	8	22
97-98	Morgan Hill Lynx	80   59	  42	101	17	56
98-99	Morgan Hill Lynx	75   50	  33	83	19	50
99-00	Morgan Hill Lynx	75   55	  40	95	30	38
00-01	Morgan Hill Lynx	79   40	  34	74	29	20
01-02	Morgan Hill Lynx	73   31	  47	78	45	44
02-03	Morgan Hill Lynx	82   35	  30	65	19	66
03-04	Morgan Hill Lynx	82   24	  28	52	28	38
04-06	El Dorado Lynx		78   11	  8	19	-22	44
06-07	El Dorado Lynx		80   48	  64	112	16	76
07-08	El Dorado Lynx		82   57	  55	112	32	12
08-09	El Dorado Lynx		26   12	  19	31	7	18
09-10	El Dorado Lynx		69   29	  35	64	-11	56
10-11	El Dorado Lynx		54   26	  34	60	21	16
11-12	El Dorado Lynx		73   32	  54	86	11	37
12-13	El Dorado Lynx		82   25	  52	77	18	64
13-14	El Dorado Lynx		46   14	  17	31	2	24
14-15	El Dorado Lynx		59   3	  7	10	-4	10
Totals			     1,474  697	 720	1,417	247	896

Prospect Trade, Goalie Cuts Highlight Reopening of Transaction Period

In BAL, STL, Transactions on September 5, 2013 at 10:55 am

With the 2012-2013 season in the books, teams made their off-season cuts today – and while the list features the usual assortment of fourth-liners and bottom-pairing defensemen, two cuts – Jaroslav Halak and Anders Lindback – are likely to be snapped up by goalie-starved team once free agency opens.

In other news, Saint Louis and Baltimore swapped young wingers, with Nino Niederreiter heading to the Blues in exchange for Jaden Schwartz.

2013 Cuts
Ice Harbor – Maxim Lapierre
South Carolina – Jason Blake, Mike Komisarek, Louis Leblanc
Portland – Brett Connolly
Sterling – Yannick Weber
Denver – Cory Sarich, Anders Lindback
Baltimore – Jaroslav Halak
San Francisco – Cory Emmerton, Raphael Diaz, Bobby Butler, Alec Martinez, Ryan Shannon
Saint Louis – Ian White, Patrick Dwyer, Jacob Josefson
Winnipeg – Chris Tanev
Great Lakes – Tim Brent, Tom Wandell, Darren Helm, Anton Lander, Matt D’Agostini, Jack Skille
Vancouver – Mathieu Garon

Salem Wannabees Win 2013 Gump Cup!

In NAS, News, SAL on September 4, 2013 at 10:23 am

They’re ‘Wannabees’ no more. In their third finals appearance in four years, the Salem Wannabees are finally bringing the coveted Gump Cup to the Willamette Valley with a 4-3 win in game 6 over the Cinderella Nashville Knights.

Salem, a perennial regular season powerhouse, overcame shaky netminding from Craig Anderson – and outstanding work by Mike Smith at the other end – to sew up the championship. The turning point in the series came one game earlier, when Salem snapped Nashville’s home playoff winning streak in game 5. Nashville kept game 6 close but couldn’t claw back from a second-period deficit.

Salem’s Patrick Sharp led all skaters with 12 goals and 22 points. Nashville’s Claude Giroux was surprisingly quiet, but the Knights got clutch postseason work from Henrik Zetterberg (18 points and 3 game-winning goals) and Smith.

2012-2013 Award Winners

In BOS, NAS, SAL, SFS, Special Features, STL on August 7, 2013 at 9:07 am

In a season notable for a lack of headline-making offensive performances, many players still shone in the 2012-13 GWMHL regular season. As a few select teams battle it out in the playoffs, we take a (totally biased and absolutely unscientific) look at the players who made the biggest mark on the year.

Scoring Champ

Claude Giroux, Nashville Knights
Giroux won his first-ever — and not likely his last — scoring title in style. With 108 points, he was the only player to surpass 100 and was 11 points up on his nearest competition. Most remarkably, and we’ll circle back to this, is that Giroux finished the year with 42 points more than his nearest teammate, Patrick Kane. Where would the Knights have gotten without him? Not very far.
Honourable Mentions: Erik Cole, Saint Louis Blues (97 points), Patrik Elias, Boston Banshees (96 points)

Sniper Award

Erik Cole, Saint Louis Blues
Erik Cole was lighting it up even before Saint Louis started acquiring a deep supporting cast at the trade deadline.  We didn’t see many stratospheric point totals this season, but Cole had some close competition in the goals race, but the winger — who had 32 goals last season and just 16 the season before — just kept ticking en route to his league-leading 54.
Honourable Mentions: Steven Stamkos, Charleston Chiefs (51 goals), Milan Lucic, Boston Banshees (47 goals)
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Which Deadline Pickups Made the Biggest Impact After 24 Games?

In DEN, NAS, SCA, Special Features, STL, VAN on June 12, 2013 at 9:42 pm

streit

It was the most active trade deadline in recent memory. 24 games later, most of the players who found new homes have had a chance to show what they’ve got. But which teams’ acquisitions made the biggest difference?

1) Saint Louis Blues (17-6-1 since deadline)

The Blues were a good team before the deadline, but that didn’t deter them from making bold moves – and it paid off. Daniel Alfredsson (9 goals in 24 games) and Alex Steen (13 points in 12 games) were notable producers, but the real impact was on overall team depth. They’ve never been harder to defend.

Read the rest of this entry »

Bobrovsky Dealt to Baltimore in Deadline Blockbuster

In BAL, NAS, News, Transactions on May 8, 2013 at 8:10 pm

It finally happened.

Just one hour before the trade deadline, the Nashville Knights finally found a taker for Sergei Bobrovsky. With a logjam in goal and the specter of losing Bobrovsky’s rights at the end of the season, Nashville pulled off an eleventh-hour blockbuster, sending the netminder along with their first round pick in 2013 to the Baltimore Crab for winger Daniel Sedin and defenseman Mark Streit.

It’s a clear commitment for a total rebuild for the Crab, who also shed Alex Burrows two weeks ago. For the Knights – already laden with high-end offense – it’s a major push for a playoff spot, with division leader Vancouver falling off its first quarter pace.

Alfredsson Gets New Start in Saint Louis

In BOS, News, STL, Transactions on May 8, 2013 at 12:58 pm

After more than 11 seasons, veteran winger Daniel Alfredsson is on his way out of the Boston Banshees franchise. The team’s second all-time leading scorer has been traded to the Saint Louis Blues, who continue to load up on experienced talent, in exchange for winger Matt Frattin and Ice Harbor’s 3rd round pick in 2013. It marks the fourth major deal of the season for the Blues and the second move this week for the Banshees.

Fire Ants Bring In Defensive Help

In BOS, News, SCA, Transactions on May 6, 2013 at 7:02 pm

It isn’t the type of head-turning deal we’ve seen leading up to the trade deadline, but there really are no small moves. Today, the South Carolina Fire Ants acquired the services of defenseman Matt Greene from the Boston Banshees for a third round pick in 2013.

The Banshees have made it known they aren’t giving up – if the playoffs started today, they’d be in – but fine-tuning. In Greene (who was once cut from the Fire Ants, and has 9 assists in 40 games this year) the Ants add another veteran as they try for the post-season. Notably, they’ve now dealt their top three picks in this year’s rookie draft.

Trade Action Continues, Fire Ants Load Up

In News, PIT, SCA, Transactions on April 29, 2013 at 6:48 pm

Not to be left out of the white-hot trade market, the South Carolina Fire Ants have made a move, picking up veterans Brad Richards and Sergei Gonchar from the Pittsburgh Hornets. That experienced scoring came at a price, as the Ants surrender their first and second round picks in 2013, along with young blueliner Travis Hamonic.

But South Carolina badly needed a player like Richards, who likely slots into the first line, in the absence of Travis Zajac. The Hornets, meanwhile, continue amassing a young defense corps also highlighted by Victor Hedman, Dmitry Kulikov, and Slava Voynov.