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Moreorless89 · 01-07-2021, 02:42 PM

Good morning, Star Gang. It is I, your Keyboard Warrior, bringing you a look at the rookie season of Luffy Richard. My roommate entered this season far behind many of the players in his draft class, and far below the heavy hitters that spent this season welcoming him into the league with punishing hospitality.

The Toronto North Stars ended the season on a down-note, but they played in their final game against the Chicago Syndicate whose goal song makes me want to tears my eyes out, stuff them into my ears, and make them an offer they cannot refuse just to change the song so I never have to listen to that blue-eyed rubber plant again. The final score was six to four in favor, of course, of the Syndicate. Chicago jumped out to a heavy lead, going up three to one in the first. But the North Stars battled back to make the game a little more interesting before they ran out of runway. The Syndicate outshot the North Stars forty-nine to twenty-five, ouch, and outhit the Toronto boys thirty to sixteen, double ouch.

Luffy Richard had a decent finish to his troubled season. He had an assist, was a plus-two, and a blocked shot. My roommate, the neurotic turd, finished the season with thirteen points. He had two goals and eleven assists and was a minus-11. That is a blemish he will try and improve as he begins his offseason training. The North Stars are counting on him being a defensive anchor on the bottom pairing so that his more offensively inclined partners have some room to breathe. Luffy also had seventy-two hits, but I'm sure he will want to increase that number as he works on his defensive positioning and checking, as well as forty blocked shots. Next season, I'm sure Harry Carpet would appreciate it if he got into the way of more shots, and gave the team more opportunity to move to puck up and out of the defensive zone.

Luffy Richard was last on the team in terms of plus-minus, goals, assists, and points. Basically, if it called for offense, Luffy was sucking eggs at it. One thing Luffy did excel at this season was staying out of the box. He only took two penalties this season, so he rarely put his team on the penalty kill. On the physical side, Luffy had more hits than a handful of the rest of the defensive corp, but he was at the bottom for blocked shots. His give away to take away ratio was two to one, something he is really going to need to work on to help his team get out of the defensive zone, and help chip in on offense. His puck possession stats on the advanced side of things (the nerd side [who can keep up with all those symbols and stuff?]) show a player who is hurting his team when he is on the ice. No player wants to hear this, and when I told Luffy--gleefully I might at--he put down his food and went into the cry closet. That is our special closet we use for crying when, but not the corner of crying which is for a different type of crying that only people secure with their emotions would understand. Anyway, I've never seen him put down food, so you can imagine what a blow this has been to Luffy Richard.

Ryosuke Sato, Luffy's stalwart companion, is the other Whaler alumni who was part of that historic cup winning team last season, had a better transition into the Simulation Hockey League, though his struggles can be linked to his pairing with Luffy, and the Toronto North Stars being in the Great Lakes Division with heavyweight teams, Buffalo Stampede, Hamilton Steelhawks, and the Chicago Syndicate. Having to play the top three teams in the league (Hamilton had a hundred and ten points, Chicago had a hundred and five points, and Buffalo had a hundred and three--for reference, the top team in the west, the Edmonton Blizzard, had ninety-five points,) more than anyone else put a ton of pressure on a young Toronto squad. Sato had three goals and twelve assists for fifteen points, and was a minus-nine, with ten penalty minutes. He also had seventy-nine hits and a hundred and sixteen blocked shots, so he was sacrificing his body all over the ice to give his team a better shot. Next season, he will most likely shoulder more ice time in an expanded role as the North Stars seek to get more offense out of their nimble defenseman. Consider this season growing pains for a player who is destined to be a North Star Legend, and a Star to look out for season after season as Toronto completes their rebuild.

Last season, the Toronto North Stars had nineteen wins, twenty-eight losses, and three overtime losses for forty-one points. They were the bottom sixth of the league and marked for easy points amongst the top teams in the league. This season the league expanded the season to sixty-six games. They had thirty-four wins, twenty-six losses, and six overtime losses for seventy-four points. This is their first winning season in the FHM era. More importantly, in this expanded season, they managed to have two fewer losses than last season. I believe, as an unbiased Toronto based reporter, is that this trend will continue upwards as the North Star roster continues to improve. They may have to contend with Buffalo and Hamilton for the top of the division, but in the years to come, they will not be outsiders looking in, but stars looking down (that was genius you are all welcome). The next step for this hungry Toronto squad is to make the playoffs. With a long off-season ahead, there is plenty of time to think and train for the players and management.

I asked Luffy how he felt about the season, and he told me it was exciting to face such fierce competition. It made him realize how big the gap is, and how much harder he has to work to improve. He told me that the season wasn't how he wanted it to go, but management has laid out a plan for his success in the league, and a path for his growth that will not only make him an asset for the seasons to come but a player that will force others to always keep their heads up on the ice. He told me switching over to defense shook his confidence somewhat, but once he learned to skate backward, he started getting more comfortable. The extra coaching and time with Sato and Ursin helped him feel out the position, so by next season, he will be more of a positive force on the ice instead of a black hole sucking all the success from the Toronto North Stars. He hopes that the work he is going to put into the off-season will pay off, both for him, and the team. He already has his work regiment, his homework, and all the video he could hope to watch to keep him busy.

Season fifty-eight is looking up, Star Gang, so keep the faith and keep an eye out for the upcoming draft. The future of the North Stars is being planted, and the future is looking brighter than a field of glorious sunflowers. The road ahead may be rocky for this squad, but challenge hardens players, and hardened players create success, and success creates a winning culture, and winning creates champions. Winning seasons and making the playoffs are not the end goal for this team. They want the cup, we want the cup, and through the fire and the flames, we will win the cup.

Until next time,

Shine on!

(1328 words)