For a little bit of context the Colorado Raptors didn't start the season off to a very good start, and on top of that they had a, fair to say, horrendous pre-season only getting 15 wins and 4 over time losses out of 50 games. Needless to say this season looked grim. However, with these past 3 games the Raptors have managed to climb their way into a playoff spot. We asked several Raptors players a few question pertaining to their recent success in winning two out of their last three games.

How have you felt about your play lately? Anything you wish you could do better?

Andrew Martin: "I scored my first goal in our game against the Montreal Militia, so I felt pretty good about that, I also managed to assist Derek Deffner in his first goal a few games ago against the Armada. I started off pretty slow this year and even though those are my only two points so far I feel like I am capable of more and plan on trying hard to reach the expectations I set for myself. At the beginning of the season I volunteered to play out of position at center so I worked super hard during training camp to get my faceoffs down, so far that practice has proved successful as I have floated around the top 10 in the league for face off percentage. I hope to get my defense up a bit, but that takes time."

Nate Forseberg (@NamelessNate): "I can't say I'm too ecstatic about how I'm playing. I do have a pretty good +/- ratio at 5 but I'd rather be scoring more points and goals."

Troy McClure III (@Troy_McClure03) "I started the season on an unbelievable pace,  but recently I've been slumping. I think our record and lack of winning has really taken the wind out of our sails.  I'm hopeful to find another gear and get some more momentum heading forward. My weakness has always been scoring, but I've already got a season high in goals,  so I'm not too hard on myself for it[color=rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7)].[/color]"

Has anyone else stuck out to you as playing particularly well?

Andrew Martin: "So far our entire first like of Nate Forseberg, Gvidas Kazlauskas (@CaptainCrazy), and Sulak O'Hritea (@MyLittleHexx). Nate has been killing on the faceoff circle, as he was another player who volunteered to play out of position at center, and Kazlauskas and O'Hritea have been putting up points like crazy. O'Hritea is number 8 in the league with 4 goals and has an 18.18% shooting percentage, good for 10th in the league. He is also the third best rookie in the league right now. Kazlauskas has the sixth most shots in the league with 35, is the 6th best left wing in the league with eight points, and is the fourth best rookie in the league. And Nate Forseberg has played incredibly well in the defensive zone with a plus minus of 5, something that we are lacking as a team right now. Another two players I wanna shout out are Troy McClure III (@Troy_McClure03) and Maui (@UncleLeosKomrade). Troy has been an incredible captain to this team and been a great leader in the locker room along with on the ice. He has the 6th most points on the league for defensemen with 7 and has the second most blocked shots in the league with 19, only seconded by Sachimo Zoidberg Jr. (@Jala)  who has 22. Maui has the most points in the league by a defenseman with 13, and he has kept that almost the entire season so far, which is super impressive considering the fact that we are only sixth in the league and he is playing second d pairing minutes."

Nate Forseberg: "Yeah Andrew Martin is killing it in faceoffs lately. He should get a lot more chances at faceoffs than he's currently being afforded in my opinion. He hasn't been scoring like he wants but if he were placed on a better line we could really see him shine."

Troy McClure III: "Our forwards have some growing to do,  but our D core has been great.  We have been staying in games and not getting blown out,  I think we are a few weeks away from being a really solid team."

What has changed between now and the pre-season that helped elevate the team to this level of success?

Andrew Martin: "I think that since a lot of us are rookies initially we were totally nervous about playing in such a highly regarded league, and it has also helped that our coaches have helped us rookies train in the ways that would help improve our game the most."

Nate Forseberg: "I think one big thing is our team is winning more faceoffs than before, and it really helps that our pre-season training was finally recognized by the league. I feel like they didn't notice the hours we put into training until after pre-season was finally over."

Troy McClure III: "A solid group is solidifying even more. We miss the massive amount of players we lost in the offseason,  but we are filling in nicely."

(861 words)

(Sig Credit: toedragon84)


Jolmi Koivu || RW/C || Colorado Raptors || 289TPE
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SMJHL Regular Season Stats
S55 - COL || 66GP || 12G ||23A || 35P || +/-: 9 || 129 SOG
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Player History
Drafted Round 3 pick 36 to Colorado Raptors



Andrew Martin || C || Hamilton Steelhawks || 722TPE
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SMJHL Regular Season Stats
S42 - COL || 50GP || 8G || 8A || 16P || +/-: -1 || 44 SOG
S43 - COL/VAN || 50GP || 16G || 32A || 48P || +/-: 15 || 124 SOG
S44 - VAN || 50GP || 16G || 33A || 49P || +/-: 8 || 113 SOG
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SMJHL Playoff Stats
S42 - COL || 4GP || 0G || 2A || 2P || +/-: 0 || 5 SOG
S43 - VAN || 10GP || 7G || 4A|| 11P || +/-: 4 || 23 SOG
S44 || 14GP || 6G || 7A || 13P || +/-: 0 || 33SOG
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IIHF Stats
S43 - GER || 12GP || 0G || 0A || 0P || +/-: -3 || 5SOG
S44 - GER || 1GP || 0G || 0A || 0P || +/-: 0 || 0SOG
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SHL Regular Season Stats
S44 - HAM || 50GP || 12G || 13A || 25P || +/-: -13 || 95SOG
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Player History

S42:
Drafted 46th Overall by Colorado Raptors
Named Alternate Captain of the Colorado Raptors
Signed 1 year 3 million dollar deal with Raptors

S43:
Drafted 17th Overall by Hamilton Steelhawks
Signed 1 year 3 million dollar deal with the Steelhawks
Traded to Vancouver Whalers from Colorado Raptors
Won the S43 Four Star Cup with the Vancouver Whalers

S44:
Signed 1 year 2 million dollar deal with the Steelhawks

Asclepius Perseus Flitterwind || RW || S55 || Anaheim Outlaws || Hamilton Steelhawks Prospect

Age: 18

Height: 6ft 3in

Weight: 213 lbs

Number: 27

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Transactions:

Signed $1,000,000 contract with Colorado Raptors for S53

Drafted 30th overall by Colorado Raptors in the S54 SMJHL Draft

Signed $4,000,000 contract with Colorado Raptors for S54

Drafted 47th overall by Hamilton Steelhawks in the S55 SHL Draft

Signed $2,500,000 contract with Hamilton Steelhawks for S55

Signed $3,000,000 contract with Hamilton Steelhawks for S56

Traded from Colorado Raptors to Anaheim Outlaws (S56)

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IIHF Career Statistics

S54 LAT GP: 12, G: 0, A: 1, P: 1, +/-: -8, PIM: 0, H: 2, SHT: 2, SB: 3, TOI: 6:55, GR: 49, OGR: 51, DGR: 47

S55 LAT GP: 12, G: 1, A: 0, P: 1, +/-: -9, PIM: 0, H: 0, SHT: 3, SB: 2, TOI: 6:35, GR: 48, OGR: 51, DGR: 45

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SMJHL Career Statistics

S53 COL GP: 12, G: 1, A: 0, P: 1, +/-: -2, PIM: 4, H: 2, SHT: 8, SB: 3, TOI: 8:32, GR: 50, OGR: 50, DGR: 51

S54 COL GP: 50, G: 12, A: 7, P: 19, +/-: +1, PIM: 12, H: 9, SHT: 96, SB: 21, TOI: 14:12, GR: 57, OGR: 58, DGR: 56

S55 COL GP: 50, G: 18, A: 24, P: 42, +/-: +5, PIM: 18, H: 26, SHT: 138, SB: 29, TOI: 18:02, GR: 64, OGR: 62, DGR: 65

S56 COL/ANA GP: 51, G: 15, A: 23, P: 38, +/-: -17, PIM: 10, H: 21, SHT: 139, SB: 37, TOI: 16:49, GR: 65, OGR: 71, DGR: 57

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WJC Career Statistics

S54 UCL GP: 12, G: 3, A: 4, P: 7, +/-: 0, PIM: 4, H: 2, SHT: 18, SB: 8, TOI: 12:51, GR: 57, OGR: 60, DGR: 57

S55 UCL GP: 12, G: 2, A: 1, P: 3, +/-: 1, PIM: 2, H: 6, SHT: 10, SB: 7, TOI: 14:06, GR: 60, OGR: 57, DGR: 60

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IIHF Playoff Statistics

S54 LAT: Did not qualify

S55 LAT: Did not qualify

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SMJHL Playoff Statistics

S53 COL GP: 4, G: 0, A: 1, P: 1, +/-: -2, PIM: 0, H: 2, SHT: 3, SB: 1, AMG: 8:20, GR: 50, OGR: 50, DGR: 50

S54 COL GP: 5, G: 1, A: 2, P: 3, +/-: -1, PIM: 0, H: 2, SHT: 12, SB: 0, TOI: 14:03, GR: 59, OGR: 56, DGR: 60

S55 COL GP: 6, G: 0, A: 3, P: 3, +/-: 0, PIM: 2, H: 0, SHT: 15, SB: 4, TOI: 22:06, GR: 62, OGR: 59, DGR: 65

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WJC Playoff Statistics

S54 UCL GP: 3, G: 0, A: 1, P: 1, +/-: -1, PIM: 4, H: 1, SHT: 3, SB: 0, TOI: 11:47, GR: 55, OGR: 57, DGR: 53

S55 UCL GP: 3, G: 0, A: 1, P: 1, +/-: 0, PIM: 0, H: 2, SHT: 0, SB: 1, TOI: 13:44, GR: 61, OGR: 60, DGR: 59

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Awards:

Named to SMJHL All-Rookie Team (S54)

The Casius Darrow Throphy (most outstanding rookie in Raptors) (S54)

WJC Gold Medal with UCORCAL (S55)

Named to SMJHL All-Star Team (S56)

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Achievements:

First goal with first shot in SMJHL (S53)

First hat-trick in SMJHL (S54)






Gvidas Kazlauskas || LW || Retired

Age: 21

Height: 5 ft 10 in

Weight: 191 lbs

Number: 27

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Transactions:

Signed $3,000,000 contract with Kelowna Knights for S41

Drafted 65th overall by Colorado Raptors in the S42 SMJHL Draft

Signed $3,000,000 contract with Colorado Raptors for S42

Drafted 43rd overall by Los Angeles Panthers in the S43 SHL Draft

Signed $9,000,000 contract with Los Angeles Panthers for S43, S44 and S45

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IIHF Career Statistics

S42 LAT GP: 10, G: 1, A: 0, P: 1, +/-: 0, PIM: 0, H: 4, SHT: 5, SB: 0, AMG: 6.35

S43 LAT GP: 10, G: 1, A: 1, P: 2, +/-: -2, PIM: 0, H: 2, SHT: 7, SB: 0, AMG: 7.44

S44 LAT GP: 10, G: 1, A: 2, P: 3, +/-: +1, PIM: 0, H: 2, SHT: 19, SB: 0, AMG: 8.21

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SMJHL Career Statistics

S42 COL GP: 50, G: 19, A: 20, P: 39, +/-: +8, PIM: 18, H: 35, SHT: 150, SB: 4, AMG: 17.18

S43 COL GP: 50, G: 12, A: 14, P: 26, +/-: +8, PIM: 6, H: 29, SHT: 147, SB: 6, AMG: 15.95

S44 COL/DET GP: 50, G: 16, A: 19, P: 35, +/-: -5, PIM: 6, H: 45, SHT: 158, SB: 10, AMG: 16.63

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WJC Career Statistics

S42 LAT GP: 10, G: 3, A: 7, P: 10, +/-: 0, PIM: 6, H: 12, SHT: 22, SB: 1, AMG: 18.10

S43 LAT GP: 14, G: 9, A: 7, P: 16, +/-: +6, PIM: 10, H: 15, SHT: 53, SB: 3, AMG: 19.01

S44 LAT GP: 14, G: 1, A: 8, P: 9, +/-: -1, PIM: 13, H: 12, SHT: 54, SB: 2, AMG: 19.69

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IIHF Playoff Statistics

S44 LAT GP: 3, G: 0, A: 1, P: 1, +/-: +1, PIM: 0, H: 1, SHT: 3, SB: 0, AMG: 9.11

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SMJHL Playoff Statistics

S41 KEL GP: 15, G: 0, A: 0, P: 0, +/-: +2, PIM: 2, H: 2, SHT: 3, SB: 0, AMG: 3.77

S42 COL GP: 4, G: 1, A: 0, P: 1, +/-: -1, PIM: 2, H: 6, SHT: 10, SB: 0, AMG: 19.66

S43 COL GP: 7, G: 4, A: 2, P: 6, +/-: +5, PIM: 7, H: 8, SHT: 21, SB: 1, AMG: 15.68

S44 DET GP: 7, G: 0, A: 3, P: 3, +/-: -1, PIM: 2, H: 3, SHT: 20, SB: 0, AMG: 15.04

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WJC Playoff Statistics

S42 LAT GP: 1, G: 1, A: 1, P: 2, +/-: +1, PIM: 0, H: 2, SHT: 7, SB: 0, AMG: 22.30

S43 LAT GP: 2, G: 0, A: 0, P: 0, +/-: +1, PIM: 2, H: 1, SHT: 11, SB: 0, AMG: 18.93

S44 LAT GP: 1, G: 0, A: 1, P: 1, +/-: +1, PIM: 0, H: 0, SHT: 2, SB: 0, AMG: 18.48

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Awards:

S41 Four Star Cup with Kelowna Knights

S42 Esa Anrikkanen Trophy - Top Rookie

S44 Laurifer Trophy - Team with best overall Record - with Detroit Falcons

S44 IIHF Silver Medals with Team Latvia

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Achievements:

Best point scorer (39 points) among rookies in SMJHL (S42)

Best goal scorer (19 goals) among rookies in SMJHL (S42)

3rd best goal scorer (19 goals) in SMJHL (S42)

5th best point scorer (39 points) among LW in SMJHL (S42)

1st Hat Trick in SMJHL (S43)


Justs Sirmais || C || Retired
Name: Justs Sirmais

Position: C

Player Type: Sniper

Height: 6 ft 5 in

Weight: 231 lbs

Number: 7

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Signed 2-yr/$2.5mil deal with Portland Admirals

Traded to Hamilton Steelhawks

Signed 3-yr/$4mil deal with Hamilton Steelhawks

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Awards:

S30 KEL MVP

Laurifier Trophy: Kelowna Knights

Roberto Martucci Trophy: Justs Sirmais

Solid article brah

Colorado Raptors Capitan S42-Until Forever!
Czechia Wants you! Ask about a transfer!!

S74 - Troy McClure IIII
Late To Draft - Signed by Regina Elk
Drafted 18th overall in SHL Draft to New England Wolfpack






S42-Troy McClure III- D-Retired
Undrafted Signing-S41
S43-S52 SHL Totals: 500 games played 32 goals 189 assists 891 hits 10227 minutes
S41-S42 SMJHL Totals: 100 games played 10 goals 52 assists 187 hits 1818 minutes
S41-S52 Czechia Totals: 124 games played 12 goals 42 assists 230 hits 2468 minutes




Awards
S41 WJC Gold Medal Champion Co-GM!!
S42 Quilha Agante Trophy Winner
S42 Ideen Fallah Trophy Winner
 S44 Champion Cup Champion - Winnipeg Jets
S53 Champion Cup Champion - Hamilton Steelhawks