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jkrever · 04-05-2013, 09:32 PM

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579 words, 3 pics

THE CANADIAN PRESS
APRIL 5, 2013

TORONTO -- It hasn't taken recent North Stars' acquisition Aidan Richan long to make an impact in the centre of the hockey universe.

True, he hasn't even stepped on the ice yet in a North Stars jersey, but the six-foot-three, 220-pound defenceman currently leads the entire SHL in jersey sales in the time since he was traded to Toronto in exchange for Oliver Harris, Daniel Malenfant, and the sixth overall pick in the S13 SHL Draft.

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Even without stepping on the ice, Richan is the hottest name in hockey right now.

Richan, already being hailed as one of the league's top defencemen ever, has sold more than 5,000 jerseys this off-season -- 3,000 more jerseys than the second-best jersey seller, Jon McBride of the Winnipeg Jets.

"This shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone," said Mike Cross, Vice President of Hockey Marketing in the North Stars' organization. "Richan is one of the most hyped up defencemen the league has ever seen. And now that he's joined the most hyped team in the league, this is something that was inevitable."

Richan was already the 13th-highest jersey seller in Season 12, an impressive accomplishment considering the fact that he played in one of the smaller hockey markets in the SHL.

The smooth-skating defenceman had his best season in Season 11, when he finished 14th in the league in scoring with 71 points in 50 games, to go with a league-best 301 hits and a rating of plus-19 -- also among the league's best.

Last season his production dropped off a little bit with 40 points in 50 games, but he was still among the league's highest-scoring defencemen and added 135 hits and a plus-14 rating.

This season he'll be paired with another superstar defenceman, Darian Scherbluk, forming arguably the league's top defensive pairing.

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Richan looks on during last year's first-round playoff matchup in Texas.

"The fact that the Stars are going to have Scherbluk and Richan together is scary, because they could very well be the top two defencemen in the league -- at least, two of the top three, maybe aside from Jason Due," said one SHL pro scout who asked not to be named.

"They'll complement each other so, so well because they're both incredible skaters, they know when exactly to jump into the rush and when to play it safe, and they're both amazing at producing offence and feeding pucks up to the forwards."

"Containing these guys offensively is going to be a major issues for most teams, let alone trying to get past them to score."

The Stars have led the league in jersey sales annually every season since the league's inception, selling on average 64,000 jerseys per year.

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Ben Wong can usually be counted as a player that will sell a lot of jerseys.

Here are the team's highest-selling jerseys last season:

1. Ben Wong -- 16,304
2. Darian Scherbluk -- 10,190
3. Robert Spezza -- 10,036
4. Yousuf Scherbluk -- 7,662
5. Patrick Pelletier -- 5,319

This year, Richan is projected to eclipse Wong's mark of 16,304 last season, and could give Danielle Hogan a run for most jerseys ever sold in a single season for the North Stars' franchise.

Hogan sold more than 20,000 jerseys after being selected first overall in Season 5 SHL Entry Draft. Former captain John Falkirk, meanwhile, sits second all-time for the team in single-season jersey sales, and first all-time in overall jersey sales.

Spangle · 04-05-2013, 09:33 PM

snubbed

Dion · 04-05-2013, 09:34 PM

Very creative and unique article.

Aaron "AAA" Allen · 04-05-2013, 09:59 PM

Nice stuff...always a good read from the Star's GM, so much team pride!

I like it and am looking forward to a good rivalry this season between the Rage and the Stars!

Cheers