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sharksisback · 02-24-2019, 11:53 PM

The SMJHL preseason has begun and every hockey fan in Halifax has finally gotten up from the fetal position following the Raiders’ heartbreaking loss to the Detroit Falcons in last season’s playoffs. To the surprise of everyone not in the Halifax locker room, the Raiders are off to an incredible start to the preseason. Before we dive deep into the hot start the Raiders are off to, we must address the comments that will surely come up. “Well it’s only preseason, it doesn’t matter”. Well listen here, we haven’t had any hockey in a while so how about you just can it and appreciate the fact that we can even analyze any of it. Don’t be so ungrateful and just enjoy what you get. I bet you complained about your Christmas presents too, you little sniveling bastard. (EDITOR’S NOTE: what the hell made you think this was a good idea to put in an article?)

The Raiders have begun the preseason with a 12-3-1 record, which is incredible. Of course, temper your expectations because changes will be made through the preseason and who knows if they can keep it up. But with all of the players returning from last year’s squad, the Raiders just might be dark horse candidate to have an unbelievable season. First of all, their locker room chemistry is amongst the best in all of sports. Everybody in that locker room gets along very well, and captain Dominic Montgomery is the best leader in the league. It’ll be a sad day when he finally moves up to the big leagues, but his impact has been felt in Halifax.

If you don’t believe us, just look the SMJHL’s current leading goal scorer (i can’t believe this), Troy Reynolds. At the moment, Reynolds leads the pack with 10 goals in 16 games. After last year’s tremendous playoff run for Reynolds, we all expected him to take that next step, and he may be well on his way to meeting expectations. He leads the league with a 29% shooting percentage, which should fall back down to earth eventually, but it’s a very welcome development for the Raiders to see their former resident troublemaker to be producing at a high level in the preseason. Once again, we know it seems like a bit much to make a big deal of these preseason stats, but Reynolds putting in this level of effort in the preseason is a big development in itself. As reported earlier, Dom Montgomery took Reynolds on a fishing trip to get him straightened before the preseason, and it looks like it had a large effect on the American.

We even tried to get comments from Reynolds following the Raiders 5-3 victory against the Colorado Raptors, and we found it striking how different the answers we got from him were compared to last season.

“Troy, you had a goal and an assist tonight, did you find it easy playing against Anastasia O’Koivu?”

“No no, not at all. Ya know, she’s a competitor out there and she isn’t afraid to finish her checks or block a shot. She played a great game out there and we just played a better one.”

“Parker Smeb said that he agreed with your comments on his brother Kit, do you have any comment on that?”

“Ah ya know, Parker is a hell of a player. He took a bunch of penalties tonight but we’ve all got improvements to make ya know? Anyway yeah, I’ve said a few things here and there about Kit but that was last year. It’s a new year, gotta start it off right.”

“...do you have anything to say about anyone?”

“Nah man, I’m here to play some hockey with my boys and just enjoy it. Hopefully, we can do it longer than we did last year.”

It seems like Reynolds took Montgomery’s words to heart about turning off the trash talk. It...was incredibly awkward seeing Reynolds in an element where he seemed comfortable acting like a normal hockey player. It almost makes you miss when he would just choose a player seemingly at random to insult. Almost.

Helping Reynolds produce on the first line is two of his buddies, Matt Kholin and Jimmy Slothface. People expected Reynolds to be the one racking up assists with these offensive dynamos, but they’ve been the ones dishing out assists. To no one’s surprise, Matt Kholin is leading the team in points with 6 goals and 11 assists. Jimmy Slothface is not far behind with 6 goals and 8 assists. This first line could be the most lethal line in the SMJHL. Matt Kholin led rookies last year in points, and everyone had high expectations for Jimmy Slothface coming into the season. But if they’re paired with a high functioning Troy Reynolds, that’s a line made in heaven.

Other S45 draftees, such as Dylan Karlsson and Andrej Doskocil, are also putting some points up. Doskocil has been a facilitator, dishing out 11 assists and only shooting the puck 7 times so far. Karlsson has been one of the more quiet members of the Raiders, but if he continues racking up the points like this, that could quickly change.

Dom Montgomery lies in the middle of the Halifax pack in points, but we’ve already covered the real effect he has had on the team. By the time he’s done in Raiders gear, his jersey number will surely be in the rafters. Speaking of influential members of the Halifax locker room who have steered clear of the old Troy Reynolds shenanigans, Gaspard Boone returns to Halifax and has already scored a game-winning goal, along with a shootout-clinching goal. Boone has made significant progress since joining the Raiders midway through the most depressing stretch of hockey the entire world has ever laid eyes on. My Toronto colleagues still curse at the mention of West Kendall for snagging Boone right before the North Stars could.

And to Detroit, your kids may be alright, but our kids are looking to be great. Esa Parmborg and Joseph Laraque both have 5 points so far, which is a good start and they are only going to get better. Of course, Parmborg comes in with lofty expectations as the number one overall pick, but has the benefit of many veterans taking the pressure off of his shoulders. Laraque looks to get payback against the GMs who snubbed him along the way as he somehow made it to the Raiders in the second round.

Ender Zavala has been a force to reckoned with on the blue line, with 16 blocked shots and is a +6 so far in the preseason. Isaiah Reese has also shown some of the grit that Halifax fans love, as he’s the only player on the roster with a fighting major.

And of course, between the pipes is The Wizard, Mike McKorsy. To tell you how good Mike McKorsy is, Troy Reynolds may have put it best. He was born to be a goalie and stop pucks. There is no harder working goalie in the SMJHL, and the Raiders lucked out when they drafted him last season. The stability he provides to the team will pay off in dividends in the regular season and in their playoff run that may be on the horizon.

Perry Morgan is also playing.

There’s no telling if the Raiders will be able to keep this pace up, or if Troy Reynolds can continue to be a decent human being, or if the other teams will adjust to them. As of now, the Raiders are dominating. There have been some rumors of drama swirling about the team’s first line. We have no details of what they could be, but we’re just gonna pray that they’re wrong and that Troy Reynolds hasn’t done anything stupid. That first line is money, and hopefully they stick together and keep it up.

Jim Jones
Halifax Gazette

Gary, if you put in another fucking editor’s note, I will gut you like a fish.

(1335 words)

***blix900*** · 02-25-2019, 12:10 AM

bilbo · 02-25-2019, 12:14 AM

"Perry Morgan is also playing." lmaooooo so brutal yet so safe.

"captain Dominic Montgomery is the best leader in the league." Remind me to always call you my favorite. (Jk, I don't need a reminder for that. Heart

)

Flareon · 02-25-2019, 12:29 AM

02-24-2019, 11:53 PMsharksisback Wrote: Perry Morgan is also playing.

debatable tbh

SecondSucks22 · 02-25-2019, 03:48 AM

Sounds like that circle jerk in the boat did Troy some good, just dont listen to everyone from detroit saying preseason is irrelivant and that the cup isnt won in preseason

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