Merica celebrates is over time game winner against Minnesota.
Everyone wants to make an immediate impact when they join a new team, and the case stays the same with superstar Daniel Merica. Expectations are sky high for the winger, and Manhattan is expecting him to lead them to the playoffs…a lofty goal given their roster, which is talented, but lacking in depth, which means they are going to need Merica to log career high minutes, to say his endurance will be tested is an understatement. It’s early in the season, and maybe it’s just Merica being Merica putting on an early show to get the fans into it before he sputters out, or maybe it’s the beginning of a career year for Daniel. We are starting to think the latter, and you’d be foolish to think otherwise.
In Manhattan’s first game of Season 21 against the Minnesota Chiefs, Daniel Merica lit up the net twice. But that’s just the surface of things. The game went into overtime, which is where we saw Merica do what he does best, which is perform in the clutch and carry a team on his back, to put confidence in his teammates that is he going to do everything he can in his new role. After a missed shot by a teammate, Merica skated behind the net on the fly to intercept the rebound, spun around Mr. Feeny, deked right past another defender and skated around the net where he backhanded the puck top shelf, sending the Rage into a frenzied celebration. Merica, in true fashion, pumped his fists in victory and sported a wide grin. This is why the Rage traded so much away for him, he is a difference maker.
After the game, Merica was asked his thoughts on his first game for Manhattan and his game winning goal: â€It was crazy, it felt great to lace up with these guys, we are going to surprise a lot of people this season, we have incredible talent in all the right places…As for the goal, man, I was in the zone on that one, completely locked in, those were some of the most fluid moves I’ve made in my career, and I won’t lie, it feels good to open up the season with the game winner against a rival like Minnesota and Feeny.â€
Rarely does the pre-season carry over the regular season, it’s just a very rare thing, but it seems like Manhattan hasn’t skipped a beat, opening up the year 2-1 after finishing 8-3 in the pre-season. CJ James has been lights out in net, with a 1.99 GAA so far, and the Rage look like a very confident group of players so far. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, they will lose games, their lack of depth is going to catch up with them and Merica won’t be able to carry them every single game…eventually all of those minutes have to weigh him down…right? I can tell you right now neither the Rage nor their fans are thinking about that, their just enjoying the moment.
In Manhattan’s second game they fell to the Wolfpack, a game in which Merica was held scoreless and took only one shot, but Manhattan came out strong in their next game, also against the Pack, and Merica once again showcased his incredible skill, opening up the game with two quick goals which would turn out to be all they would need in their 3-1 victory. â€I feel fantastic right now, these guys are feeding me the puck and I’m doing what I do best, which is score goals and put this team in a position to win…Were focused, there’s no debating that, we understand what it will take to make the playoffs and were approaching every game like it’s game seven, a must win. That kind of mindset is how we won the Cup in Seattle, and we lost that focus in the next couple seasons, but I won’t let us lose it here.â€
Aside from Merica, we must give goaltender CJ James his props. After being replaced by Jackson Weekes after a first round playoff exit, the Rage swept in and traded for him, seeing the immense potential James has and determined to let him show that with no pressure of a rookie creeping up on him. â€There isn’t enough I can say about CJ right now, he’s been on another level since he came here…a level we knew he had in him, and after this season I think LA will be regretting shoving him out the door.†Said Merica after we asked him about James. It’s true, James has been locked in and seems to be on a mission to show the SHL he is an elite player.
It’s early, but we can’t blame Manhattan for having some excitement swirl around their locker room and fan base. If Daniel Merica can continue to light up the goal light at this pace the Rage won’t have to worry about their offense, and with James locking things down in net, they have stars in all the right places. It will be interesting to see how they perform once star defenseman Roy Razin heats up, who after a hot pre-season has cooled off early. After a career high in points last season, we expect Razin to find his stride soon, and when he does it will add another element to the Rage’s offense.
Bottom line: Daniel Merica is on another level, and do not sleep on the Rage.
S2, S5, S18, S22 Challenge Cup Champion
Hall Of Famers: (S7) Alex Reay | (S28) Daniel Merica
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