Login

***luke*** · 03-09-2024, 09:13 AM

Randy Randleman
@Ballerstorm

The S24 SHL Entry Draft was something else for the Calgary Dragons. At 12th spot they selected VLAD McZehrl, who came in #10 in these rankings. But with the First Overall Pick in that draft they selected the player who winds up in 8th place on this list and that is the legendary Randy Randleman! Randleman spent basically his entire career with the Dragons (barring one season with Manhattan near the end of his career) and was a huge part of the team winning 5 Cups. He was one of the most dominant players of the S30’s and collected a whole room full of trophies and awards along the way to go with those Cups.

Looking back at his career, it started off with a bang as he joined the Dragons in S26. His statline for his first season was 21 goals and 16 assists, As a rookie he broke into the top 10 goal scorers on the season, showing his scoring prowess right off the bat. He was rewarded with the Ryan Jesster for top Rookie, as well as named to the rookie all-star team.

Randleman’s early success continued as he helped the Dragons win 2 Cups in the next 3 seasons. In S27 he led the team with 20 goals then added another 15 points in the playoffs. In S28 he broke the point per game mark for the first time, collecting 51 points, leading the team in scoring. In S29 he had a bit of a dropoff, only getting 40 pts in the regular season, but he collected another 17 points in the playoffs on the way to earning another Cup. 4 seasons into his career and he is already a big part of a double Cup winning team.

At this point his production takes a bit of a downturn. The next 3 seasons he only goes 42, 41, then in S32 he only gets 37 points. But at the same time he is adding a new physical element to his game and we see his hits in that same time frame go up and up, with 111, 140, and 168 hits from S30 to S32. not just a one-dimensional sniper any more, he is more of a power forward. And to cap S32 off, Randleman and the Dragons are rewarded with a 3rd Challenge Cup!

And this is when Randleman decides he’s the best player in the SHL. He’s already got the 3 Cups, now he wants the individual awards. For the next 7 seasons he had a run which has rarely been duplicated in the SHL.

In S33 he scores 64 points, good for 3rd in the league, and adds 152 hits. This earns him a second team All-Star, his first Dar nomination for two-way forward, and his first Mexico nomination for league MVP. S34 is a bit of a down year again but he still gets a ppg at 51 points. Then in S35 he regained his elite form, once again tallying 64 points in addition to 244 hits. He is top 3 in scoring and top 4 in hits. This achievement sees him get named to the First All-Star team, he wins the Jeff Dar for the first time, and for the second time he is nominated for the Ron Mexico award.

In S36 Randleman has a season to remember for all time. With 37 goals and 37 assists for a cool 74 points, one of the highest in the STHS Realism era. He wins the Jay McDonald award handily, as well as the Karpotsov for most points. Obviously he is the first team All-Star as well, and to put the cherry on top he also finally earns the Ron Mexico and also the Sarmad Khan. And with 189 hits on the season it is no surprise he also wins the Jeff Dar for the second season in a row. 5 Awards and a first team all-star is a season players only dream of! As a fun side note 37 goals also goes down as the 2nd most ever in a single season in the STHS realism era, and 74 points was the 5th best of that time.

S37 showed that it was no fluke. This time he puts up 68 points, leading the league in assists. This 68 points earns him consecutive Karpotsov awards for leading the league in points, and he also gets back-to-back Mexico awards as league MVP, and for the 3rd straight season makes the First Team All-Stars.

S38 was not a great regular season, but in the playoffs Randleman was dominant, which earned him his first and only Razov nomination. He led in goals and points in the post-season, but unfortunately for the Dragons they fell short in the finals.

S39 was Randleman’s last great season - with 27 goals he was 3rd in the league, and 60 points was good for 4th. He was nominated for the Mexico award for the 5th time, and an All-Star for the 5th time, this time as a 2nd Team. From S33 to S39, Randleman scored 430 points in 350 games, an unreal pace which unfortunately he could not sustain.

After 14 seasons Randleman’s career was never the same. The Dragons won 2 more Cups in S40 and S42, even though he was more of a support player at this point. But he still got the rings and became one of the few players to be part of 5 championships with the same team. His late career fizzled out as he only scored 14 points combined in his last 4 seasons, including 1 with Manhattan Rage but he came back to the Dragons for his final seasons to retire with the team that selected him 1st Overall.

When all was said and done he played 1037 games total and scored 389 goals and 437 assists for 826 points. If you don’t count his final 4 seasons as a zombie player, he was almost a ppg for his entire career. As when he was active and not on the 4th line, he had 850 games played, and 812 points. Along with 5 Challenge Cups, he had 3x 1st Team All-Star, 2x 2nd Team All-Star, 2x Mexico wins and 3x additional nominations, 2x Karpotsov, 2x Dar wins and 1x nomination, a Khan, a Jesster, and a McDonald trophy.

For all of his awards, the one I find the most compelling on why he is in the top 10. Is the 2 Ron Mexico wins and 3 additional nominations. Only Ron Mexico himself has had more wins/nominations. You’ll see more in the next upcoming days. Along with VLAD McZehrl who had 1 win and 4 nominations. There is no one else with 5+. Not only showcasing how important he was to the Dragons, he also went around and won the Dar 2 times as well. Once during a Mexico win, and another during a Mexico nomination. Randleman is a part of the small group of 17 players to win the Karpotsov more than once, as well as one of 12 players to win the Challenge Cup more than 5 times.

At his peak years he was The Guy, in an era where there were many legends vying for that top spot every year, he stood out as the best of them all, and is well deserving of a spot in the top 10 of all time.

Written by @Muerto

As we get into the top 10, we are also going to be sharing where they got ranked on everyone’s ballots. Randy had 4 Top 10(6-1) votes and 5 Tier 2(11-25) votes.
[Image: 2W6YL6y.png]