We're now 5 games into the preseason, and things are looking very promising for the young Vancouver Whalers squad. The Whales are skating multiple rookies, including: 

1. Dara McQuick, skating at RD with an emphasis on solid positioning and strength. Dara has had an impressive showing early, posting 1 goal and 1 assist today with a +2 rating and 5 shots on goal. 

2. Mario Abeebehboosedibadibo, a C with a great shot. Mario has added 1 goal and 3 assists so far, with a +2 rating of his own.

3. Sven Svechnikov, a LD with an emphasis on creating offensive opportunities. He has 1 assist and a +1 rating to his name so far, and is averaging around 19 minutes of ice time a night. 

4. Robot Sunfish, a RW focused on getting and keeping the puck. His efforts have been very noticeable, as Vancouver has only been outshot in one matchup in the preseason so far.

5. Strawberry Sailfish, another RW with good puck sense. Sailfish notched their first goal of the season today, and has been relentless in the offensive zone.

6. Alexis Saint-Michel, who joined as a DFA looks to make quite a splash this year. A RW with a focus getting open and making opportunities count, he's lit the lamp already this preseason once and is looking for more with a +3 through 5 games. 

7. Rounding up the new blood we have Mats Lafleur, a LW with a right shot and fancy stick work. Mats has added 3 assists as well, and is rocking a +3 through 5 games.

Looking through these stat lines, its very obvious that the Whalers have a promising rookie squad that's ready and capable of producing right away. This squad has no shortage of motivation, and their potential is sky high. As a team they're averaging around 40 shots a game, and if they can keep that pace up it promises to be a very good season for them. Any team would be excited to have a rookie core that is all in the green column of +/-. Of course, that wouldn't be possible without some veteran leadership from returning players that are destined to make a name for themselves sooner rather than later in the SHL. 

Returning faces like Jon St. Ark, the brick wall who's sporting a 40% shutout rate in preseason so far. KnockedOut byOvechkin with 5 points in 5 games, Nikolaj Boyle with 5 goals in as many games, and Zebulon Leavitt laying out his body for multiple blocked shots every game. I could go on, but I think the point is clear. Everyone has bought in to the Whaler Way™ and it's showing. Morale is high among the team and everyone is pulling their weight and then some. Production is coming from every position, from every skill level, from every draft class. Good luck to anyone trying to stop the Whalers this year, they're going to need it.

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Approved. @steveoiscool +5 TPE.