Season 8 Player Reviews

The Colombia Steves had their most successful season in franchise history. Finishing 1st overall in the league with an incredible 73-7-0 record, and winning the playoffs after a tough battle with The Stevenage Beef. The Steves scored a league high 368 goals while also conceding the least goals of an team with just 214 conceded. Special teams were also a strength. The PP was at 25.77% over the season while the PK was 82.48%. Both specials tams ranked number 1 in the league.

GM J-Iggy has issued an evaluation of each players performance over the season.

Jeff Carter: 40 Goals, 76 Assists, 116pts & +64. Ever since we acquired Carter a few seasons ago, he has led our team on and off the ice. He remained consistent in his performances all season long, even when his line mates changed at various points. Carters Play Off performances were a little below what we have come to expect, but he was a solid contributor throughout.

Ryan Strome: 43 Goals, 52 Assists, 95pts, +44 & 0 PIMs. This was Ryan’s first full season in the pro league, and what a season it was. Second in team scoring and leading the team in goals scored all from the second line. Ryan is pushing Carter hard for that top line spot and is a very exciting prospect, still at a very young age. 0 PIMS over an 80 game season is an incredible performance, and Ryan should be very proud of his season. In the Playoffs Ryan led the team in goals scored, and was key to our success.

Wojtek Wolski: 40 Goals, 55 Assists, 95pts, +41 & 0 PIMs. Wolski was a former Steve for a very short period of time. He was traded in a move that bought Ryan Strome to the team shortly after J-Iggy took over as GM. The LW position had always been one that the Steves had struggled to fill and Wolski was bought in to fill that gap. Wolski exceeded all our expectations. He was the most consistent player on the team all season long and continued that level of play into the playoffs.

Nino Neiderieter: 35 Goals, 56 Assits, 91pts, +40 & 234 Hits. Nino has had another solid season. His physical play allows the likes of Strom & Wolski to play their natural games and is very important to the team. That said, Nino had a disappointing playoffs, and while 91 points looks great, I think Nino still has a lot more to give. Nino has the potential to be the best player in the league, and I hope that he works hard through the off season and comes back better than ever for Season 9.

Philip Castle: 34 Goals, 53 Assists, 87pts. Castle is still only 19 years old, and in his first full season as a pro was over a point per game all while playing on the 3rd line. The depth of quality on the team this year is what led us to the cup, and Castle was a big part of our success. Castle still has some room for improvement, and needs to work on his defensive game a little, but his young age he will continue to get better and better. I would have been thrilled if Castle had put up half of the point he did. What he achieved this season was way beyond expectation.

Mathew Dumbass: 31 Goals, 55 Assists, 86pts, +57 & 210 PIMs. Like Castle, Dumbass is also just 19 years old and this past season was his first full season in the pro league. Dumbass saw top pairing minutes all season long and never once looked out of place. 31 Goals for a defenseman is very impressive and his +57 shows he was effective at both ends of the ice. As his name suggests, Dumbass is prone to taking stupid penalties. 210 PIMs is amongst the highest in the league, and we would like to see this reduce over the next few years. If Dumbass can reduce his PIMs he can become one of the league’s elite defensemen.

Cam Fowler: 19 Goals, 56 Assists, 75pts & +39. Fowler has a lot of talent, but has never managed to perform at the highest level. I took a risk on trading for Fowler a couple of seasons ago and we worked very hard with him in the farm system last year. This season he has finally started to furfill his potential, and is a perfect foil for Dumbass. Just short of a point per game, and a solid +39, Fowler has grown in to a top player. Alongside Dumbass, the Steves have a high quality top D pairing for years to come.

David Perron: 32 Goals, 42 Assists, 74pts & +58. David is always a solid contributor to the team. He is effective at both ends of the ice and can play on any line. David has become one of the leaders in the team and he has helped the younger players make the transition into the team. David has been on a bargain contract for the last few years, a big pay rise looks set to be his reward.

Nail Yakupov: 22 Goals, 52 Assists, 74Pts & +54. Nail has been around the team for a couple of seasons now, and it’s easy to forget just how young he still is. When we drafted him, he was touted as a goal scorer with little interest in defence. Nail has worked very hard on that aspect of his game and has shown what he is capable of with an impressive +54. Nail is looking set for a breakout season, and were hoping he can start finding the back of the net more frequently.

Nicolas Kerdiles: 19 Goals, 40 Assists & 59 Points. Kerdiles was in his rookie season this year and impressed for the majority of the season. Playing on the 3rd line a return of 59 points is excellent. Kerdiles did struggle a little towards the end of the season, but that is to be expected of a young rookie.

Anton Babchuk: 17 Goals, 31 Assists, 48pts +58 & 0 PIMs. Babchuk has been the leader of our defence for the past few seasons. This year he was key in the development of both Dumbass and Fowler. Splitting time on the ice with both of the rookies Babchuk put up solid numbers and had a great season.

Alex Edler: 40pts & +40. Edler split his time between the 2nd and 3pr parings this season. Like Babchuk, he was an important part of the rookie D’s development. Edler is always a physical presence at the back and a leader in the dressing room.

Alex Picard: 35pts. Picard had a great start to the season and was a big part of our PP success. An injury took him out for 19 games, and he struggled to find his form after that. Picard needs to rest up during the offseason and come back strong next year. There is a lot of competition for places and Picard will need to get back to his best if he wants to stay in the pros.

Phillip DiGuissepe: 23pts +13. Phillip was selected to fill a hole on the 3rd line. During his time on the farm he always seemed to overachieved and was one of the hardest working players in the team. Phillip was able to translate the level of play to the pros, and while his numbers where lower, he was a big reason why his line mates, Castle and Kerdiles had the success they had. He always making the gritty plays and doing the thing most players don’t want to do.

Mark InJay: 19pts +22. Mark was a late round draft pick who almost immediately found himself on the pro team. Mark has a limited skill set, but he knows his game very well and is an effective player. I am very happy with Marks performance this season.

Henrik Lundqvist: 36 Wins, .907 SV%, 2.69GAA. We have tried several goalies over the last few seasons and each time Henrik proves to be the best. We keep extending his contract by I year a t a time. I think this season with Henrik and Conz splitting the starts so successfully, Henrik has earnt a multi-year deal and we will be hoping he can continue to mentor Conz until he is ready to take over at star 65 games a season.

Benajmin Conz: 37 Wins, .903 SV%, 2.58GAA. Conz continues to improve as a goalie and is still at a young age. He matched Henrik all season and there is nothing between them in terms of stats. We are looking to continue with Conz and Lundqvist for the next few seasons and gradually develop Conz into our number 1.