The all time SHL hits record is held by the infamous Mike Izzy, who put up a monstrous 3585 hits across his long career. Shortly behind in second place is Taylor McDavid is 3434 hits, and then there is a sizeable gap to Jonathan Lundberg, Wille Weber, and Andreas Kvalheim who round out the top five with less than 20 hits separating the three in the high 3100s. These gaudy hit numbers are relics of an bygone era in the SHL, and these career records may never be broken if the current sim engine persists. This past season, the league leader had 177 hits, and someone would need to repeat these hit totals for over 20 seasons to even match Izzy's record. Kvalheim and Slip McScruff, the two oldest players in the SHL, are also the only two active players in the top 30 all time, and they sit fifth and sixth. While Kvalheim seems guaranteed to take over third place next season, the top two are likely out of reach, and who knows when someone else will even have the chance to sniff this record.
Written Task: Write about any team, player, or record that is important to SHL history, and why. It could be something your player did, or maybe not! What parts of SHL history do you think are most interesting and exciting? Is there an old part of the site's history that you feel is important but often forgotten? Why should more people know about it? Take this chance to brag about how historically important your player is, or to get on your soapbox about how cool someone else is! (150+ words)
So this one goes out to a user who had an insanely long GM career. I only joined the league just as they were ending their reign however I did get to see the last 5 seasons. I am talking about GM Litteton, Leafs4ever, who GM'd the Winnipeg Jets from S1 until S31. In this 31 seasons strech of a GMing career the Jets won 4 Challenge Cups including the very first cup in S1. The others would come in S7, S19 and S25. Being a GM is an insanely time consuming and hard job. It's a job I have only held for a few seasons in various leagues, just cuz I am not cut out of the cloth to GM. So for someone to do this for what is essential a couple IRL years is just mental. I do not know if this is still the longest GM career in this league, however it was the first I experinced so it is one I will always carry with me.
[170 words]
Thank you Fever, sköldpaddor and OD for the amazing sigs!
Hockey, to me, is the best sport to watch period. Unlike many other sports, there is a constant element of danger, chance, and excitement in every play. Each time a puck is dropped, a pass made, or a hit delivered, there's a chance that something magical can happen. In baseball, the pace of play is so incredibly slow that you could be waiting a while before something unexpected happens. In football, there is an element of danger but usually its a long, sustained series of events. In soccer, the pitch is simply too large for something to happen quickly. And that is no to say that all these sports are exciting to watch or that the players involved aren't supremely talented. It is just that, in hockey, the whole game could flip at any moment. A huge save, a breakaway, a power play in the offensive zone. So many little inflection points that make it a joy to watch.
I think by far the most interesting thing about all history books and records related to not only Hockey but pretty much any sport that exists is how the different eras of the game and how it is played compare to one another. You can even see this occur today across how even hockey today have different rink sizes that can really change how the game is played and how the eventual stats are racked up by a player. The biggest one in the news right now is obviously Ovy going for the great ones goal record, which in and of itself is absolutely insane to think about. Gretzky and his ilk played in such a different era of the game, where some players were racking up multi point games AVERAGES over the course of many seasons, something which was looked at as being all-star standard now but just doubling or tripling it. Just the idea that a player could impact the game so much back in the day is hard to imagine if you weren't watching since then and seeing the game change in front of you. I can't even imagine how the NHL was to watch where some players were so dominant and so different than your baseline. The only hockey I have ever known really is lower scoring with a lot of physical play and goalies with massive pads and great agility. That is really what is so special about these records, you can have someone looked at as the best to ever do it, and feels like unexpectedly we now have this singular player who has such a weird or unique stat spread compared to his peers in the same era going for a record most people would feel safe betting their life savings on never being broken. I don't think anyone will ever be able to reach the overall points record in the NHL, the goalies are just that much better that it will just never happen again most likely, especially with baseline players being so much better now as well, but just the idea that a player who had like a 1% or less chance to even getting in the top 2-3 in goals was able to even come within striking distance despite the era just really goes to show you how special some players are, and how they can somehow fight against the game itself to break a record that was set in a much more favorable era.
I don't think many people realize just exactly how much history there is with our sport. There's a great series on YouTube about the history of hockey, and it's 7 or 8 episodes long with each one being over an hour long. Really interesting stuff, all the way back to ancient times where they played a game very similar to modern day hockey. Anyway, there are also a lot of cool little fun facts about the game. My favorite is probably Gordie Howe played his first NHL game before Bobby Orr was born, and retired after Orr was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Just incredible longevity. As far as current players chasing down records, the most obvious one is Ovechkin trying to take over Gretzky as the all-time goal scorer. Now that he's over 800, I think just about all players and fans will be watching as he chases it down over the next couple of seasons.
I think one of the greatest moments in the history of NHL came in the 1970 Stanley Cup finals game between Boston Bruins and The St. Louis Blues. In game 4 of the series. Bobby Orr received a pass from teammate and skated into the Blues' zone. As he approached the net, Orr was tripped by Blues defenseman, causing him to fall to the ice. Despite being down on the ice, Orr managed to flip the puck past Blues goaltender Glenn Hall and into the net, scoring the game-winning goal.
As Orr fell to the ice, he was lifted off the ground by the momentum of the shot and ended up sliding on his back across the ice, his arms raised in triumph. The image of Orr's celebratory slide has become one of the most iconic in hockey history and has been used on countless posters and other promotional materials.
Orr's goal not only won the game for the Bruins, but it also helped secure their first Stanley Cup championship in 29 years. The goal is remembered not only for its dramatic finish, but also for the skill and athleticism that Orr displayed in scoring it. It remains one of the most memorable moments in NHL history.
I believe I have said this in the past, but I am not a big hockey person. My sport of choice is gridiron football, but as a sports fan at all there is one name that has come up time and time again across my feed. That name is Wayne Gretzky who is hockey's GOAT according to all I know, and arguably the GOAT of GOATs when it comes to the big four in North America.
A lot of people look at how absurd his stats are in totality to define his dominance, but I want to point out just how absurdly dominant they were relative to his peers. In the 1981-82 season Gretzky set the single season goal record with 92 goals, and to put into perspective that would be good for 18th in the league in points. Now in terms of just goals though that 92 beat out second place by 28 as Mike Bossy came in with 64 on the season. The difference between Gretzky and Bossy as one and two was as large as the gap from two and thirty-five.
In the 1981-82 season Gretzky also set the then single season assist record with 120 assists which would be good for sixth in the league for points. It was also 27 more assists than second place Peter Stastny who came in with 93 on the season. The gap from one to two was as large as the gap from two to eleven. That by itself is pretty impressive, however we are just getting into what truly made the season so utterly bonkers.
That season Gretzky set the goals record, assists record, and logically by extension the points record with the first 200 point season which has only been done three times since all of them also by Gretzky. Now to put it into proper perspective his 212 on the season beat out Mikey Bossy's 147 by 65, and third place Peter Stastny's 139 by 73. Just the points he scored over second place would put him at 87th in the league out of 407 players who scored at least 10 points. The gap from one to two in points was the same as the gap from two to forty.
I could go on longer about this, but basically Gretzky's absurd performance in comparison to his peers is the thing I find most fascinating about real world hockey. This is someone who led in goals in 5 seasons, assists in 16 seasons, and points in eleven seasons. Linking back to my preferred sport the GOAT Jerry Rice by comparison led in receptions 2 times, receiving yards 6 times, and receiving touchdowns 6 times. Rice led in any receiving category 14 times total and Gretzky has two more seasons with a statistical lead just from his assists. Hard pressed to find a greater of all time than that.
When I go back and look at history one of the first things I am always interested in is who won it all first. That is something that cannot be broken and a record that cannot be replicated. The team that won it all first was The Winnipeg Jets. No I don't know where the Jets are now but regardless of where they are or where they ended up, that team and those players will always be able to say that they were the first champions. That to me is impressive cause no one else is able to say that while many can say that broke 'x' or 'y' record, which can always change. That was the quickest and coolest thing that I was able to find since I won't have much time later today to write anything better. So yeah the Winnipeg Jets are the only ones who can brag about being first for the rest of time.
While it was discussed in a lot of detail in the past off-season I want to discuss just how incredible it was for the Maine Timber to go all the way through the post-season and manage to win the Four Star Cup. Throughout the FHM expansion era in the SMJHL no other team has been able to win the Four Star Cup when they don't get a first round bye. Due to the weird post-season bracket limitations within FHM 6 and 8 we are stuck with the first seed teams getting the bye and potentially running through the weaker competition. With these "weaker" teams having to slug it out in the first round it's unheard of for them to put up a fight against the stronger teams. Somehow though Maine was capable of some incredible comebacks. The 3-0 reverse sweep of Nevada in the semi-finals is something that won't be forgotten and despite falling behind Quebec City in the finals Maine was able to persevere through that round as well and get to hold the trophy high. We'll have to see if this is more common with the fight for parity by the league but it was awesome to experience at the time.
Christ, these prompts are tough for me as someone who doesn't really follow sports history, or even the SHL's sim league history. But I suppose from a historical perspective, I could look at Leon's growth through the years. I don't know if it's actually tracked anywhere, but I'd have liked to see how Leon stacked up against other 34th overall picks in history. I certainly doubt Leon will have the top spot in terms of scoring, having never actually attained a PPG season, but I think he'd certainly be in a fairly decent position to make the top 10, or maybe the top 5. Maybe that's one of the things I'd say would be important to the SHL's HOF, tracking more career stats with additional context such as draft position. I'd certainly use that information to create some articles comparing players across eras or even juxtaposing Leon's progression.
A quick, not so quick, fun fact about the Vancouver Canucks is that they used to play in a different arena, not in downtown Vancouver. The Vancouver Canucks used to play in Pacific Coliseum which is well east of downtown Vancouver and is where the Vancouver Giants played until 2016 before they themselves moved to Langley. Pacific Coliseum was where the Canucks played their first NHL playoff finals in 1982 against the New York Islanders, as well as their second NHL finals in 1994 against the Rangers. The 1977 NHL All-Star Game was also hosted at the arena and to my knowledge occasionally the Canucks still practiced there then on afterwards during the offseason. More interesting facts about the Pacific Coliseum is that it also hosted events for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver for figure skating and short track speed skating. Ultimately, the Pacific Coliseum has a lot of NHL ties and history and it is very interesting to hear about the Canucks before they played in Rogers Arena.
Chris has been focused on defensive play since day one. In just his second season, he held the regular season lead for blocked shots. This off-season he's going to be putting more effort into his ability to read the defensive plays and his passing skills, to drive even more D-zone takeaways and offensive breakouts. With his focus on creating offense out of good defense, he's got his sites set on eventually joining some of the greats of defensive play, such as the SHL all-time Blocks leader Slip McScruff with 2,932 total blocks. While joining some of the elite players in defense may be a lofty goal for a sophomore player in the SMJHL, there's some truth to the old saying of 'If you shoot for the Moon, you'll land among the stars.' That's really the primary hope here; play a consistent game with a focus a desire to be one of the greats.
The thing that stands out to me most are the absolutely bonkers stats surrounding Wayne Gretzky. These are going to be off the top of my head so may end up being incorrect, this is just how I remember it. He's the only player in major American sports to win the MVP award more than 4 times. He won it 9 times in the 1980s alone. Gretzky is the only player to score 200 points in a single season. He did it four times. During a record 50ish game point streak, Gretzky averaged over 3 points per game. If you ignored all his goals, Gretzky would still be the highest scoring player in history by a huge chunk. In the early 80s he scored 50 goals in under 40 games. He scored like 350 points in his last season of some kids league. This guy was absolutely bonkers.
I think one of the most interesting statistics that was posted in the most recent season of the Simulation Hockey league was the incredible +45 that rookie defenseman Graj Virrok of the Philadelphia Forge put up, Second and third place were at +42 and +35 respectively, and had 200 more and 50 more TPE at the start of the season, respectively. For such a young player - and in fact the only S67 player in the league - to lead all rookie players in +/-, and to be 4th in Hits, as well as be top 10 in +/- in the league and just generally being an above-average defenseman in the league, it is very impressive. This is a very good sign for seasons to come for young Graj, as being this good at such a young age and still having a few seasons before his peak means that he could very well end up being one of the all-time greats that the SHL has ever seen.
(PHI): 66 GP | 39 G | 52 A | 91 P | +42 | 277sog | 14.08sh% | 19 ppp | 71 hits | 64 blks | 65 pim
GP | 327 G | 506 A | 833 P | +394 | 2448 sog | 13.4sh% | 194 ppp | 920 hits | 659 blks | 436 PIM
[pbl]Won Silver in IIHF with Sweden in S69
[pbl]Won the S72 Jeff Dar Award with the Philadelphia Forge