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Grapehead · 07-30-2024, 11:18 AM

JLC’s Swan Song Season:

After 15 seasons in the SHL, Jimmy Larkin-Conway has announced that his 16th will be his last. We now know that JLC has signed a one-year deal to finish his career in the same city it got started in, and join the Winnipeg Aurora. This means that Jimmy will get the opportunity to reach the 1,000 games played milestone, and that was a big factor when deciding whether or not to hang up the skates this offseason. So let’s take a look back over the path that led from Winnipeg, all the way back to Winnipeg.

SMJHL Seasons and SHL Draft

The Nevada Battleborn selected Jimmy with the 19th overall pick in the S59 SMJHL draft. The team was still fairly new at this point, having only been founded in S55, so there were some growing pains, but for JLC it was all part of the process of getting to the SHL. Following a pretty mediocre rookie season, Jimmy was selected 27th overall by the Baltimore Platoon at the S60 SHL draft, and was carrying relatively low expectations as a result. In S61 he scored 69 points for Nevada, which was at the time the franchise record for points in a season, but coincidentally this was the only season in the SMJHL that Jimmy and the Battleborn didn’t participate in the playoffs during his 4 seasons. It seemed as though Jimmy was on track to join a strong SHL team, and enjoy sheltered minutes with veteran support, but in the offseason before S63 Baltimore made a trade with Winnipeg.

Rookie and Sophomore SHL Seasons

Winnipeg was building a juggernaut when Jimmy arrived, and it seemed that he was a good fit with the age of the core group they were building around. I was familiar with a lot of the people in the LR at the time, and was particularly excited to reunite with @tweedledunn. It was still a young team though, and it was a rough rookie season, but I don’t think expectations were high anyway. My activity was wavering a bit around then, as life dictates sometimes, and so Jimmy’s TPE just fell off the trajectory of the rest of the team. As a former GM, I understood completely the decision to make the trade with Toronto, but I was still bummed to have my player traded two offseasons in a row. The North Stars were my first player’s first SHL team, so it was exciting to head back there after like 30 seasons or however long it was. Jimmy improved on his rookie season with 46 in his sophomore season, and the Stars were feeling good about what they had in the young winger.

Murphy Maple & Jimmy Making Magic

In S65, Jimmy took a big leap forward in his offensive production, shooting to 81 points in his 3rd season, which earned him the Aidan Richan Award; given to the SHL’s most improved player that season. I'd credit his linemates Ty Murphy (@Pickle Juice) and Dogwood Maple (@dogwoodmaple) for helping elevate his game to that next level. It wasn’t until S66 that the magic trio of Dogwood Maple, Ty Murphy, and JLC really caught fire, but once they did it was an uncontrollable inferno that devastated the defenses of the SHL for 3 seasons. They combined for 828 points in those 198 games, making them a terrifying assignment for even the veteran SHL defensemen. Those seasons were so much fun, because it felt like we grew together as a line and were watching it pay off big time. @Wally did a phenomenal job putting our team together, and I’m so glad I had the chance to play with this group as a result. Unfortunately all good things will come to an end eventually. Our competitive window was closing, we didn’t have the picks or prospects to fill from within, and so with the writing on the wall after S68 the management group decided the best course of action would be to initiate a rebuild.

Dark Days North of The Border

I let Wally know that if it was good for the team to trade Jimmy, then go for it, but that I was more than happy to stick around through the rebuilding seasons to help usher in the new group. So Jimmy stayed in Toronto, and the team struggled to put wins up, but the picks and prospects were being accumulated. There wasn’t a lot to get hyped up for in those early days of the rebuild, but at least Jimmy was still putting up points in those losses. He maintained a PPG pace over the next six seasons, before passing the torch on in S75 to the younger crop of North Stars. After that the Toronto management let Jimmy know that he wouldn’t be getting a new contract offer from them for S76, and so he was on the move once again.

Jimmy Goes West

At first I didn’t hear anything from GMs, but most likely that’s because I had been signing many short-term contracts with Toronto, so I presume they thought I was just going to re-sign again. I threw out a short article to declare Jimmy’s free agency, and got a few messages right away. It went from feeling like he might not get a contract, to having to decide between a few different teams that all seemed like good choices. In the end, I decided to take JLC to Seattle to play for the Argonauts. It was clear that Jimmy was past his “best before” date, but it was fun to keep pushing toward 1,000 games, and maybe even 1,000 points if luck helped out a bit. The team was in the growing stages, so expectations were low, and it felt like playing in Toronto back in S69 or S70 a bit. After just 73 points in 132 games, the JLC experiment in Seattle had run its course, and the young guns were ready to take the wheel. At this point I was pretty sure Jimmy had played his last game, and turned my attention to creating a new player.

Winnipeg Taking Jimmy To 1000 Games

Starting a new player can be such a rejuvenating thing for someone’s activity, especially when they’ve been dragging the corpse of they’re previous player to near Cleo Green levels. So when Ace reached out to extend an offer to play out Jimmy’s final season in Winnipeg, I had a moment of “oh ya, Jimmy’s still eligible for one more season!” I didn’t hesitate at all, cause personally I love the good hockey storylines we’re able to create for our players here, like returning to your first team to finish out your career. I don’t know what kind of production we can expect from JLC at his ripe old age, but presumably it won’t be a career high. He’s just 10 games shy of 1000, but 49 points away from 1000, so it would truly be a miracle if he were to hit both. That being said, honestly I think Jimmy was a great player, and I think some people will remember him, but he’s not at a HOF level by any means. I could have pumped more money into him, and dragged him a little further until he finally reached 1000 points, but I think he belongs just short of that. Hitting 1000 games played is unbelievable to me on its own, because I really didn’t envision JLC having the staying power. So I’m happier to ride off with that milestone, and keep Jimmy’s PPG average closer to 1, than I would be trying to push through regression to get 1000 points in S83 or something. My time and effort is better spent on my new player now, but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to be sad as hell to say goodbye to Jimmy.

***sköldpaddor*** · 07-30-2024, 11:33 AM

Grape you were such a huge part of that first crew we had in Nevada, I can't imagine those first few seasons without your help in the war room and activity in the locker room while we were going through the rebuild. I wish we could have gotten JLC a cup back then, but I will always be thankful you stuck around as we got through the tough seasons back then! <3

***Ohtaay*** · 07-30-2024, 12:00 PM

Albeit it short, it was great having you in Seattle!

All the best this season my friend!

*Carpy48* · 07-30-2024, 12:27 PM

I've followed your entire career and it was great playing together in Toronto - with two different players even. We've had some pretty good seasons there in the mid/late 60s. Now I'm looking forward to playing with JLC again, this time in Winnipeg and getting you to those 1000 games.

Grapehead · 07-30-2024, 01:12 PM

07-30-2024, 12:27 PMCarpy48 Wrote: I've followed your entire career and it was great playing together in Toronto - with two different players even. We've had some pretty good seasons there in the mid/late 60s. Now I'm looking forward to playing with JLC again, this time in Winnipeg and getting you to those 1000 games.

It's really cool that Jimmy played with Harry Carpet in his 1,000th game, and now Rhett Carpet is playing with Jimmy in his 1,000th game.

By-Tor · 07-31-2024, 02:14 PM

Love that we got to play together in two different stints from a fellow S60 class member.

Credit to enigmatic, Merica, tweedledunn, and jaypc8237 for sigs

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