In the SHL and in the NHL, the best team does not always win the championship. Try as some teams might, building a superteam is not always the path to winning the Challenge Cup, especially in the STHS era of the SHL. So when the Edmonton Blizzard loaded up for Season 45, expectations were high, but nobody would have been surprised if the team came up empty handed. After all, the team had gotten bounced in the Conference Finals by their rivals the Winnipeg Jets (now Aurora), despite winning the President’s trophy that season.

Edmonton had no taste for superstition in S45 however, as they put up an astounding 41-6-3 record, which broke a record for best season previously held by the Dragons since S10. This unbelievable season was only beaten by the Hamilton Steelhawks in S56, during their dynasty years. The S45 Edmonton Blizzard stands as the 2nd best record in the S1-56 Era.

At the time of the Championship win, I would argue that the S45 Blizzard were the best team of all time. They not only had the record to back it up, but the roster was truly loaded with talent from top to bottom. Many of the players on this roster ended up in the Hall of Fame, and became some of the best players the league has ever seen. Today, I will discuss this legendary roster and its merits to being the greatest team of all time.

Let’s start in the net with goaltender Tommy Tuck. Tuck picked up his first of two championships in a truly illustrious career in which he cemented himself as one of the best goalies in SHL history. Tuck finished his career with a 333-208-39 record and a .906sv% in the regular season and a 55-40-9 record with a .912sv% in the playoffs. Tuck is a 3x 1st team all star, 3x 3rd team all star, all rookie team, 2x Challenge Cup Champion, 1x Ron Mexico Winner, 3x Mcbride Winner, 4x Honcho Winner, with a few other nominees. During the regular season in S45, Tuck put up a 38-5-1 record and a .931sv%. In the playoffs, he went 12-6 with a .910sv%. Tuck won the Mexico, Honcho, and was a 1st team all star in S45.

I would also like to shoutout Aleister Cain, who was the team’s backup during the regular season as a prospect callup. While his name is not on the Cup Roster due to roster rules in the playoffs as he was on a run in the J with the Scarecrows, Cain was still a part of the team that broke the SHL team points record at the time. Cain went 3-1-2 and secured crucial wins for the team as the backup that season. Cain also was inducted into the Hall of Fame due to his excellence with the New Orleans Specters later in his career.

On defense, there is nobody better to start with than Tor Tuck. Yet another Hall of Fame player on this roster, Tuck went on to become one of the best SHL defensemen ever. In 1082 regular season games, Tuck scored 135 goals and 516 assists totaling 651 points. He also amassed over 2000 hits and over 1300 shot blocks. In the playoffs, Tuck had a statline of 214GP-23G-78A-101P-446H-297SB. He is a 2x 1st team all star, 1x 2nd team all star, 3x 3rd team all star, all rookie team, 2x Cup Champ, 2x Stevens Winner, 2x Ferguson Winner, 1x Mexico Nominee, and 1x Richan Nominee. A 2nd team all star in S45, Tuck scored 40 points in 50 games along with 133 hits and 69 shot blocks. In the playoff, Tuck scored 15 points in 18 games with 62 hits and 24 shot blocks.

Also on the blue line is Hall of Famer Brady McIntyre, who had a great career with the Blizzard and the Inferno. In 998 regular season games McIntyre scored 143 goals and 475 assists totaling 618 points, with 1400 hits and 1500 shot blocks. In the playoffs his statline was 183GP-28G-92A-120P-258H-298SB. McIntyre is a 3x All Star, 2x Cup Champ, 1x Richan Winner, and 1x Stevens Nominee. Having to fight for the spotlight with Tuck for most of his career, McIntyre still was one of the best defenders in the league despite his lack of individual accolades in comparison to Tuck. In S45, McIntyre scored 40 points with 21 hits and 74 shot blocks. In the playoffs, he scored 13 points with 17 hits and 27 shot blocks.

The Blizzard were also loaded at forward in S45, starting with Hall of Famer Piotr Czercawski. Czercawski was in the beginning stages of his career, and despite only putting up 14 points in the regular season and 5 in the playoffs, he was a great supporting piece playing in the top 6. Czercawski ended his career as a 2x 1st Team Allstar, 2x 3rd Team Allstar, 2x McDonald Winner, 1x Cup Winner, 1x Richan Nominee, and 1x Mexico Nominee. In the regular season, his stat line was 1030GP-319G-443A-762P-1627H-427SB. In the playoffs, his career totals are 147GP-35G-51A-86P-248H-38SB.

Next up is yet another Hall of Fame forward, this time it’s DeMaricus Smyth. Smyth went on to become a superstar with 4 different franchises, including Edmonton. A very decorated player, Smyth goes down as a 2x Cup Champ, 1x Mexico Winner and Nominee, 1x Kahn Winner, 1x Karpotsov Winner, 1x McDonald Winner, and 1x Ferguson Winner. In the S45 regular season, Smyth scored 31 points playing on the 3rd line. In the playoffs, he contributed another 8 points. In his career, his regular season stat line was 998GP-264G-382A-646P.

If you guessed another Hall of Fame forward was coming up, you would be right! And this time, its truly one of the best forwards in SHL history. Joe Kurczewski became a legend mostly through his time with the Calgary Dragons and the New Orleans Specters, but in between those two franchises he made some history in Edmonton. Joe K led the Blizzard in points in the regular season and the playoffs in S45, with 59 and 19 respectively. Kurczewski has a long list of accolades, he is a 1x 1st Team Allstar, 4x 2nd Team Allstar, 1x 3rd Team Allstar, 1x Mexico Winner, 1x Kahn Winner, 1x Razov Winner, 1x Dar Winner, 5x Cup Champ, 1x Mexico Nominee, 2x Razov Nominee, 2x Dar Nominee, and 1x Richan Nominee. In his regular season career, Joe K had a statline of 1143GP-403G-537A-940P-2437H-336SB.

Up next is Oisin Fletcher, yet another Hall of Fame forward on the team. Fletcher had a shorter career than the last few players, but left a huge mark on the league and the Edmonton Blizzard in their time. Fletcher scored 41 points in the regular season and 16 in the playoffs and was one of the team’s best players. In their regular season career, their statline was 650GP-240G-307A-547P-787H-227SB. Their accolades are 2x 1st Team Allstar, 1x Cup Champ, 1x Mexico Winner, 2x Karpotsov Winner, 1x McDonald Winner, 1x Jesster Nominee, and 1x Mexico Nominee.

I hope you’re not tired of Hall of Fame forwards because up next is Teddy Cuddles, yet another!. Cuddles spent his whole career with the Blizzard and was a big contributor to the team. In the S45 regular season, Cuddles scored 37 points, and in the playoffs he scored 18, which was enough to win him the Razov Trophy that season for Playoff MVP. In his career, Cuddles was a 1x 1st Team Allstar, 1x 2nd Team Allstar, 2x Cup Champ, 1x Razov Winner, 1x Richan Winner, 2x Dar Nominee, and 1x Razov Nominee. His career regular season statline was 700GP-231G-331A-562P-2195H-131SB.

Finally, our last Hall of Fame forward on this team is none other than Nikolaus Scholz. Scholz was the heart and soul of the Blizzard for his time playing there and was consistently one of the best players on the team. In the S45 regular season, Scholz scored 29 points, and he scored 6 in the playoffs. In his career, Scholz never won any individual awards, but was a 3x Cup Champ, all with the Blizzard and all in 2 different eras of the team. His career regular season statline was 1050GP-302G-508A-810P-655H-256SB.

Now technically, that was the last Hall of Fame player on the team, but I think it's fair to assume that Tony Pepperoni himself is going to be put in the Hall once the Committee gets caught up. Pepperoni joined the team as a rookie in S45, scoring 23 points in the regular season and just 1 in the playoffs. In his career, Pepperoni was a 1x Mexico Winner and Nominee, 1x Dar Nominee, 1x Kahn Winner, 2x Razov Nominee, 1x Karpotsov Winner, and 2x Cup Champ. His career regular season statline was 1128GP-439G-607A-1046P. In the playoffs, his statline was 222GP-61G-109A-170P.

The S45 players had all of this Hall of Fame talent, but still had an astounding amount of depth. Cory Knouse, Hercules Rockefeller, Connor Tanner, Chippy Chiclets, Ensio Kalju, and Theodors Cukurs all had great careers and were fabulous players in their own right, especially Knouse (EDM’s captain) and Rockefeller.

Here’s a screenshot of the roster at the end of the playoff run:


To recep, the S45 Edmonton Blizzard went 41-6-3 in the regular season to break the record for team standing points at the time. They went on to hoist the cup later on that season. On the roster, the team has 2 Hall of Fame Goalies, 2 Hall of Fame Defensemen, and 7 Hall of Fame Forwards. While there are many amazing teams that have existed in each season of the SHL, I think it would be hard to find a team as loaded as this one and that actually did the job of winning the President’s Trophy and the Challenge Cup, in STHS no less.

If you made it this far, thanks for reading and going on this journey with me. Shoutout to all the Blizz homies who won this cup with me. Thanks for all the memories

Code:

1667 Words, 2x Media

Thanks to @karey and @JSS for the sigs!

Teddy Cuddles  |  RW  | Edmonton Blizzard | Hall of Fame
Player Type : Two Way Forward
Height: 6'5" | Weight: 220 lbs | Age: 19
Number: 79
Birthplace: Providence, Rhode Island, USA
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Regular Season Stats :
S35 | STL | GP:28 | G:2 | A:1 | P:3 | PIMs:5 | HIT:7 | Shots:25 | +/-:-4
S36 | STL | GP:50 | G:10 | A:10 | P:20 | PIMs:5 | HIT:97 | Shots:88 | +/-:-1
S37 | STL | GP:50 | G:13 | A:27 | P:40 | PIMs:56 | HIT:120| Shots:146 | +/-:+10
S38 | EDM | GP:50 | G:6 | A:7 | P:13 | PIMs:62 | HIT:114 | Shots:83 | +/-:-18
S39 | EDM | GP:50 | G:7 | A:15 | P:22 | PIMs:36 | HIT:161 | Shots:78 | +/-:-10
S40 | EDM | GP:50 | G:13 | A:29 | P:42 | PIMs:46 | HIT:197 | Shots:109 | +/-:+7
S41 | EDM | GP:50 | G:17 | A:17 | P:34 | PIMs:49 | HIT:143 | Shots:121 | +/-:-4
S42 | EDM | GP:50 | G:17 | A:24 | P:41 | PIMs:52 | HIT:135 | Shots:132 | +/-:+9
S43 | EDM | GP:50 | G:14 | A:23 | P:37 | PIMs:24 | HIT:121 | Shots:121 | +/-:-2
S44 | EDM | GP:50 | G:21 | A:32 | P:53 | PIMs:28 | HIT:131 | Shots:214 | +/-:+19
S45 | EDM | GP:50 | G:13 | A:24 | P:37 | PIMs:51 | HIT:170 | Shots:185 | +/-:+9
S46 | EDM | GP:50 | G:29 | A:31 | P:60 | PIMs:53 | HIT:152 | Shots:195 | +/-:+9
S47 | EDM | GP:50 | G:17 | A:33 | P:50 | PIMs:46 | HIT:182 | Shots:199 | +/-:+8
S48 | EDM | GP:50 | G:22 | A:23 | P:45 | PIMs:26 | HIT:182 | Shots:210 | +/-:+7
S49 | EDM | GP:50 | G:20 | A:25 | P:45 | PIMs:36 | HIT:149 | Shots:208 | +/-:+1
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Post Season Stats :
S35 | STL | GP:7 | G:0 | A:0 | P:0 | PIMs:0 | HIT:2 | Shots:4 | +/-:+1
S36 | STL | GP:6 | G:1 | A:1 | P:2 | PIMs:7 | HIT:14 | Shots:12 | +/-:+3
S37 | STL | GP:13 | G:4 | A:5 | P:9 | PIMs:26 | HIT:26 | Shots:30 | +/-:+7
S38 | EDM | Did not qualify
S39 | EDM | GP:7 | G:3 | A:3 | P:6 | PIMs:4 | HIT:18 | Shots:10 | +/-:+1
S40 | EDM | GP:7 | G:1 | A:6 | P:7 | PIMs:4 | HIT:33 | Shots:15 | +/-:+2
S41 | EDM | GP:7 | G:2 | A:3 | P:5 | PIMs:12 | HIT:15 | Shots:15 | +/-:+1
S42 | EDM | GP:11 | G:5 | A:8 | P:13 | PIMs:10 | HIT:25 | Shots:38 | +/-:+1
S43 | EDM | Did not Qualify
S44 | EDM | GP:11 | G:4 | A:7 | P:11 | PIMs:12 | HIT:31 | Shots:42 | +/-:+3
S45 | EDM | GP:18 | G:7 | A:11 | P:18 | PIMs:24 | HIT:56 | Shots:68 | +/-:+8
S46 | EDM | GP:4 | G:0 | A:0 | P:0 | PIMs:2 | HIT:9 | Shots:11 | +/-:-5
S47 | EDM | GP:6 | G:3 | A:2 | P:5 | PIMs:6 | HIT:24 | Shots:25 | +/-:+2
S48 | EDM | GP:5 | G:2 | A:2 | P:4 | PIMs:0 | HIT:11 | Shots:19 | +/-:0
S49 | EDM | GP:23 | G:7 | A:17 | P:24 | PIMs:18 | HIT:76 | Shots:89 | +/-:-2
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Awards and Achievements:
S37 | STL Kanye Summers Award for Regular Season Team MVP
S37 | STL Bradley Wingels Award for Best Forward
S40 | Gold Medal Winner
S40 | Aidan Richan Trophy Winner
S44 | Became 4th player in Edmonton Blizzard History to reach 1000 Hits
S45 | Challenge Cup Champion
S45 | Anton Razov Trophy for Playoff MVP
S45 | Silver Medal Winner
S46 | 1st Team All Star
S46 | Sarmad Kahn Nominee
S46 | Jef Darr Nominee
S47 | Jef Darr Nominee
S49 | Challenge Cup Champion
S49 | Anton Razov Nominee
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Draft/Signing/Trade History:
S35 | Signed to STL
S36 | Drafted to Calgary 26th overall
S36 | Traded to Edmonton


Ambacas “Femboy Hooters” Cuddles | D | Tampa Bay Barracuda

Former USA Fed Head, Carolina Kraken Co-GM, Tampa Bay Barracuda GM

Piotr Czerkawski induces trauma for reasons I won't explain
Actually Chiclets too
Great article!

Thank you to @Revontulete for the sig!

This team was soooo loaded