Seattle Battle Cats - NHL18 32nd Expansion Team Franchise

[SeattleBattleCat]

THE SEATTLE BATTLE CATS - HEAR THEM ROAR!

The citizens of Seattle are buzzing with excitement & anticipation as they welcome the new NHL Battle Cats Franchise to their city.

My Personal Introduction:

Spoiler

Hi to all in Operation Sports

I am new to this so apologies if this is not flashy to begin with. For some time now I have been posting monthly updates in the "How's your Franchise Mode going" thread in the NHL Hockey forum of my team, the Seattle Battle Cats.

I began the franchise like I have for many many years playing EA NHL titles, by playing every game for the 82 game season. Of course I went through and won the championship in the inaugural season however when you play every game the challenge is somewhat not so high.

Yearning for a new challenge in the 2nd season, I changed to playing only every 5th game and simming in between (& for finals, I can only play games 3,5,7). This meant the fate of the team was largely put onto how well I constructed and managed the team outside of my own gameplay.

I wouldn't say I am an outstanding player, I play pro with pretty much my own set of sliders I think I am comfortable with. I do tend to win most games, however I do get caught out by the CPU and can even go on horrendous losing streaks from time to time. Most importantly, I enjoy playing the game and to me that is what matters most, otherwise I don't think I could invest the time I have making this dynasty thread.

You will notice the next post after this one is a rolling full history of my dynasty, I just thought it would be an important almanac looking back after many seasons, which I hope to get through.

Following the Season History Post, I start with the condensed reports of the 1st & 2nd seasons together on one post. I have pieced these together going through old game saves to help to tell the story of the Battle Cats. I had only just found Operation Sports during the 2nd season and decided then and there I wanted to share how I went (even if it only appeases my own needs to share lol). The 3rd season is where the updates start coming month to month.

If you have any feedback, tips or tricks for me to improve, please do reply as any help and advice is hugely appreciated.

Hope you can enjoy. Cheers,

Dan.

House Rules and other Particulars:
Regular Season: Play every 5th game, sim rest. (Beginning Season 2)
Playoffs: Play games 3,5,7 (Beginning Season 2)
Difficulty: Pro
Period Length: 5 min
Waivers: On
Injuries: On
Player Morale: On
GM Firing: On

AHL Affiliate:
Burnaby Aces

Seattle Battle Cats Jersey's

Spoiler

Home - Season 2022/23 - Current:


Away - Season 2028/29 - Current:



Alternate Jersey - Season 2023/24 - Current:



Jersey Archive (see inside spoiler)

Spoiler

Home Jersey - Season 2017/18 - 2021/22:


Away Jersey - Season 2017/18 - 2021/22:


Away: - Season 2022/23 - 2027/28:


Alternate Jersey - Season 2019-20 - 2021/22:


Alternate Jersey - Season 2022/23:

[SeattleBattleCat]

Seattle Battle Cats - NHL18 32nd Expansion Team Franchise

Season Records & Player Achievements

Season History:


Player Awards:
2017/18 - Calvin De Haan - James Norris Memorial Trophy (all-round Defenseman)
2017/18 - Martin Hanzal - Conn Smythe (Playoff MVP)
2017/18 - James Van Riemsdyk - Ted Lindsay Award (Most Outstanding NHLPA)
2019/20 - James Van Reimsdyk - Art Ross (Most Points)
2019/20 - James Van Reimsdyk - Hart Memorial (MVP)
2019/20 - James Van Reimsdyk - Ted Lindsay Award (Most Outstanding NHLPA)
2020/21 - Joonas Korpisalo & Malcolm Subban - William M Jennings Award (Least Goals)
2021/22 - (AHL) Niklas Hansson - John B Sollenberger Trophy (AHL Most points)
2021/22 - (AHL) Niklas Hansson - Les Cunningham Award (AHL MVP)
2021/22 - (AHL) Niklas Hansson - Eddie Shore (AHL Best Defenceman)
2021/22 - Nick Suzuki - Conn Smythe (Playoffs MVP)
2023/24 - (AHL) Ulf Enlund - Aldege "Baz" Bastien Memorial Award (Best Goaltender)
2023/24 - (AHL) Ulf Enlund & Dan Vladar - Harry "Hap" Holmes Memorial Award (Least Goals Against Average)
2024/25 - Neil Yip - Conn Smythe (Playoff MVP)
2024/25 - Neil Yip - Ted Lindsay Award (Most Outstanding NHLPA)
2024/25 - Neil Yip - Frank J Selke (Best Defensive Forward)
2024/25 - Malcolm Subban & Len Frigon - William M Jennings Award (Least Goals)
2025/26 - Bruce Derkson - Ted Lindsay Award (Most Outstanding NHLPA)
2026/27 - Neil Yip - Conn Smythe (Playoff MVP)
2026/27 - Neil Yip - Ted Lindsay Award (Most Outstanding NHLPA)
2026/27 - Malcolm Subban & Ulf Enlund - William M Jennings Award (Least Goals)
2026/27 - Malcolm Subban - Vezina Trophy (NHL Best Goalie - voted by NHL GM's)
2027/28 - Neil Yip - Art Ross (Most Points)
2027/28 - Neil Yip - Hart Memorial (MVP)
2027/28 - Neil Yip - Ted Lindsay Award (Most Outstanding NHLPA)
2027/28 - Neil Yip - Frank J Selke (Best Defensive Forward)
2027/28 - Neil Yip - Maurice Richard Trophy (Most Goals)
2027/28 - Nick Suzuki - Conn Smythe (Playoff MVP)
2027/28 - Cody Hensick - James Norris Memorial Trophy (all-round Defenseman)
2027/28 - Malcolm Subban & Ulf Enlund - William M Jennings Award (Least Goals)
2027/28 - Malcolm Subban - Vezina Trophy (NHL Best Goalie - voted by NHL GM's)



Team Captains:
2017/18 to 2022/23 - Martin Hanzal
2023/24 to 2027/28 - Roman Josi
2028/29 to Current - Neil Yip

Previous Stanley Cup Champions (from 1st year of Franchise):

2017/18 - Seattle Battle Cats
2018/19 - Washington Capitals
2019/20 - Dallas Stars
2020/21 - New York Islanders
2021/22 - Seattle Battle Cats
2022/23 - Vancouver Canucks
2023/24 - Calgary Flames
2024/25 - Seattle Battle Cats
2025/26 - Vancouver Canucks
2026/27 - Seattle Battle Cats
2027/28 - Seattle Battle Cats

Seattle Championships: 5 (2018, 2022, 2025, 2027 & 2028)


Seattle Retired Numbers:

[SeattleBattleCat]

Seattle Battle Cats - NHL18 32nd Expansion Team Franchise


Season 2017/18

Pre Season Report:
Expansion Draft Squad Selections (Prior to Trades - Final lines below)

Spoiler

RW Justin Williams
LW Jason Zucker
D Alec Martinez (Los Angeles)
C Ryan Dzingel (Ottawa)
RW Andrew Shaw (Montreal)
C Antoine Vermette (Anaheim)
LW Scott Wilson (Pittsburgh)
D Calvin De Haan (NY Islanders)
D Matthias Ekholm (Nashville)
RW Jesper Fast (NY Rangers)
LW Shawn Matthias
LW Joakim Nordstrom
D Patrick Weircoch
D Xavier Oulette (Detroit)
D Zac Bogosian
LW Demitri Jaskin
C Brad Richardson (Arizona )
C Dennis Rasmussen
RW Ales Hemsky (Dallas)
RW JT Brown (Tampa Bay)
LW Brendan Gaunce (Vancouver)
D Brett Kulak (Calgary)
D Seth Helgeson
C Jujhar Khaira (Edmonton)
LW Jussi Jokinen (Florida)
C M Karlsson (San Jose)
LW Joffrey Lupul (Toronto)
G Michael Neuvirth (Philadelphia)
G Joonas Korpisalo (Columbus)
G Malcolm Subban (Boston)

Key Draft Picks:
#2 - C Nolan Patrick (77ovr Med Elite)
#11 - LW Samuel Bucek (59ovr High Top6F)

Free Agent Signings:
C Martin Hanzal (& named the Inaugural Captain of the Battle Cats)
RW Jaromir Jagr
RW Andre Burakovsky (RFA)

Key Trades:
Seattle Trade Erik Johnson 83 Top4D to Toronto for James Van Riemsdyk 84 Top6F
Seattle trade Alec Martinez back to LA for pick #11 in 2017 draft (which became Samuel Bucek)


Season 2017/18 Review:
Lines:
Forwards:
Van Riemsdyk - Hanzal - Burakovsky
Williams - Karlsson - Jagr
Jokinen - Patrick - Burmistrov
Foligno - Vermette - Shaw

Defensemen:
Ekholm - De Haan
Dumoulin - Oulette
Gelinas - Nemeth

Goalies:
Neuvirth
Korpisalo

Season highest points: Martin Hanzal 92
Season highest Goals: James Van Riemsdyk 45
Season highest Assists: Martin Hanzal 53

Season Result: Won Stanley Cup (vs Ottawa Senators)

(AHL) Burnaby Aces: Did not Qualify for playoffs


Season 2018/19 -

Pre Season Report:

2018 DRAFT:
A disappointing, almost disastrous 2018 draft, trading Dumoulin out to Minnesota along with pick 31, in exchange for their pick 13. All it resulted in was a Medium top6 D-Man (Ryan Merkley - 57ovr)... all the other picks were quite average also.
However in what would be a massive windfall for the Cats a season later, during the draft, Boston offered the Cats their 2019 1st round pick in exchange for defender Chris De Haan (Med Top4 D) which I took.

FREE AGENCY (2018)
Had some impressive signings:
Signed RW Cam Atkinson (85 MED TOP6F) for 6yrs @ $6.1M
Signed D Kevin Shattenkirk (84 Exact TOP4D) for 3yrs @ $4.5M
Signed LW Patrick Marleau (82 Exact TOP9F) for 2yrs @ $2.1M
Signed D Josh Manson (84 Med TOP4D) for 3yrs @ $4.3M


Lineup for season start 2018/19*

Van Reimsdyk - Hanzal (C)- Marleau
Scherbak - Patrick - Burakovsky
Burmistrov (A) - Helm - Shaw
Foligno - Vermette - Fast

Shattenkirk- Ekholm (A)
Manson - Nemeth
Miller - Gelinas

Korpisalo
Subban

Reserves: JT Brown, Kulak, Helgeson

*As above, Cam Atkinson was signed from Free Agency on a 6 yr deal however he was injured with a herniated disc in his back during the 2nd game of the season (hence why he is not shown in the lineup above). Atkinson went on to miss 36 games with that injury and then another 10 games on a knee injury (46 games total) but made it back in time for finals.

Season 2018/19 Review
*Started my house rule of playing every 5th game and simming the rest just after the start of this season. (Playoffs I am only allowed to play games 3,5,7)

Line up @ Regular Season's End:

Van Riemsdyk (87) - Hanzal (C 86)- Atkinson (85)
Patrick (81) - Marleau (82) - Burakovsky (84)
Burmistrov (A 80) - Helm (79) - Scherbak (78 Rookie)
Foligno (79) - Vermette (79) - Shaw (80)

Nemeth (79) - Ekholm (A 84)
Shattenkirk (85) - Gelinas (79)
Manson (82) - Miller (79)

G - Korpisalo (83)
Subban (80)

reserves - JT Brown (77), Fast (78), Quincey (78)


Regular Season - 45-33-4 (3rd Central Division)

Top 5 Regular Season Stats
J.Van Riemsdyk 49g 30a 79pts 25+
M.Hanzal 21g 51a 72pts 24+
N.Patrick 18g 34a 52pts -1
A.Burakovsky 19g 28a 47pts 4+
P.Marleau 14g 29a 43pts 4+

Regular Season (played every 5th game)
Finished out 3rd in the Central just narrowly beating out St Louis (by 2) and Minnesota (by 2) who both secured Wild cards into the finals and Anaheim who finished 9th (by 3 pts).

Playoffs (play games 3,5,7)
Round 1 - vs Dallas (2nd Central) - WON Series 4-2

Round 2 - vs Winnipeg (1st Central, 1st WC) - WON Series 4-1

Round 3 Conference Final - vs Minnesota (7th Wild Card) - LOST 3-4
Eliminated Game 7 Western Conference Final to Minnesota

Played game 7 myself, blew a 3-1 lead in the 3rd to lose 4-3. The game went a little mental, you know, the usual silly goals that the CPU tends to score, yet I put 41 shots on goal and couldn't build on my lead. I was a little devastated at the time of the loss, but all in all it was an enjoyable game & I eventually put my bad mood down to something akin to how I feel when the Red Wings or my favourite Aussie Rules Football team loses.

Stanley Cup Champions - Washington (in 5 games vs MIN)
Ovechkin finally takes home Stanley!
Conn Smythe -Brayden Holtby

Overall a great season. It was a first time for me simming most of the season rather than playing every single game and I really enjoyed the format I chose

AHL - Burnaby Aces Season: 45-33-4 (did not qualify for Playoffs!)

I will put up a 2019-20 season preview shortly.

[SeattleBattleCat]

Re: Seattle Battle Cats - NHL 32nd Expansion Team Franchise


SEASON #3
Seattle Battle Cats 2019/20

2019-20 Season Preview

The Seattle Battle Cats 3rd Season in the NHL is about to get underway.


Jerseys

Spoiler

Home Jersey (same as previous post)


Away Jersey


New Alternate Jersey for 2019-20
(I seem to like this, let me know if I'm crazy)

2019 Draft Result

Trades during the draft-
*Traded BOS 2019 pick #4 and Josh Manson (82 Top4 D) to Pittsburgh for PIT 2019 pick #2 (in order to secure Steven Crane - 80 overall Medium Elite OD)

*Accepted offer - Traded Patrick Marleau to SJS for 2019 2nd Round pick. Just seemed right that he went home to finish his days with the Sharks. The pick wasn't great but there wasn't really space for him on the roster with new signings and emerging players.

Picks:
2 S Crane - 80 Med Elite Offensive D
29 V Tikhonov - 55 Med Top9 RW
36 V Ovechkin - 55 Med Top6 D
51 P Lawson - 54 Med Top 9 C
114 J Kultanen - 54 Bottom6 RW
157 H Koch - 56 Low Elite Centre
163 J Goertzen - 54 Low Top6 D
195 J Antonio - 56 Low Top9 RW
221 B Stephenson - 54 Low Backup Goalie
Only Crane, Ovechkin & Koch have been offered entry contracts so far.

Very excited to have picked Steven Crane, already rated @ 80 overall & he will fit straight into the lineup with Manson leaving for Pittsburgh.

2019 re-sign & Free Agency Period:

Released:
Marcus Foligno, JT Brown, Kyle Quincey, Joakim Nordquist (AHL), Josh Westin (AHL)

TRADE!:
Traded Jesper Fast & future SEA 2020 3rd round pick to Anaheim to reacquire SEA 2020 2nd round pick (Traded away last season) for the below deal to work.

RFA Offer - Logan Brown from Ottawa Senators:
Signed Restricted Free Agent - Logan Brown, 81 Med top6 Centre to 2 yr 2.7m contract in exchange for SEA 2020 2nd round pick. (Ottawa did not match the offer)

Signings:
Signed Undrafted 20yr old Goalie Len Frigon - 60 Med Elite - 3yrs .925M - huge pick up, an undrafted Medium Elite who I can either keep and develop, or use in a trade to get another piece in the jigsaw puzzle that is missing. With Korpisalo already an Elite I wont need both of them eventually.

Also signed following 2-way contracts to strengthen the Burnaby Aces :
Tyler Bertuzzi
Teemu Pulkkinen
Brendan Lemieux
Kenny Agostino

Seattle Battle Cats Game 1 lines:
Forwards:
Van Riemsdyk (87) - Hanzal (C 86) - Atkinson (84)
Scherbak (82) - Patrick (83) - Burakovsky (83)
Bucek (R 82) - Brown (81) - Shaw (80)
Burmistrov (A 80) - Vermette (78) - Helm (78)

Defensemen:
Shattenkirk (85) - Ekholm (A 84)
Crane (R 80) - Nemeth (79)
Collins (79) - Gelinas (79)

Goalies:
Korpisalo (86)
Subban (83)

Healthy Scratches:
Russo (76) Kerdiles (77) (+1 vacant roster spot)

3 new faces on the Battle Cats lines for the 1st game of the year & 2 reserves:
#98 Samuel Bucek 82 High Top6 LW Rookie bought up from Burnaby Aces (AHL)
#21 Logan Brown 81 Med Top6 C - acquired via RFA offer not matched by Ottawa.
#62 Steven Crane 80 Med Elite OD Rookie. Pick #2 in 2019 draft.
#18 Robbie Russo 76 Med 7th D Rookie. Bought up from Burnaby Aces
#17 Nic Kerdiles 77 Med Top9 RW. Bought up from Burnaby Aces. Acquired through Waivers last season. I nickname him "Croc" - get it? Croc-Kerdiles! Haha

Also have Nick Suzuki Med Top6 C acquired from Boston last season and Timothy Liljegren Low Elite D Drafted 35th in 2017, both sitting in the AHL. Won't be long and they'll be in the main side also.

Hopefully we make the playoffs again with an only slightly better team than last season however we are still building. If going poorly up to the trade deadline there will be a drastic change or 2.
Excited!

[SeattleBattleCat]

Re: Seattle Battle Cats - NHL 32nd Expansion Team Franchise

Seattle Battle Cats 2019-20 season

End of October 2019 update:

Record: 4-4-1 (9 games played)
6th in Central Standings

Leaders:
Goals - 9 - J Van Riemsdyk (1st NHL)
Assists - 10 - M Hanzal (3rd NHL)
Points - 11 - J Van Riemsdyk & C Atkinson

Notes - In October I Played one game only - Season opener @ home vs Predators - Lost 6-7 in overtime. Goalies were terrible on both sides.
(First game in November is the next game for me to play)

The Cats went 3-0-1 in first 4 games, only to go 1-4-0 in the next 5. Hopefully a return to form in November will happen.

Van Riemsdyk scored 2 Hat-tricks in the 2nd & 4th games of the year (under sim conditions as well!) and currently leads the league in Goals Scored.

Martin Hanzal is 3rd in league assists.

Injuries - Suffered injuries to Antoine Vermette (Knee), Nic Kerdiles (Mild Concussion) & Burakovsky (Ribs), all were out for approximately 1 week each - all have returned)

Call ups - With 3 forwards out injured all at once - Called up Teemu Pulkinen from AHL. He scored 1G, 1A in 4 games before being sent back down the end of the month. Cleared Waivers and is back with Burnaby.




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[SeattleBattleCat]

Re: Seattle Battle Cats - NHL 32nd Expansion Team Franchise

Seattle Battle Cats 2019/20 season
End of November Update

Overall Record 16-6-2 (24GP - 1st in Central Division)
Nov. Record 12-2-1

Currently on a 9 Game winning streak! (Last 10 Games: 9-0-1, embarrassingly the OTL is mine haha)

Most Goals - J Van Riemsdyk - 20 (1st in NHL)
Most Assists - C Atkinson - 24 (1st in NHL)
Most Points - C Atkinson - 34 (1st in NHL)

Goalies
J Korpisalo - 20GP 14W 4L 2OTL .897SV 2.98GAA
M Subban - 6GP 2W L3 0OTL .876 4.10GAA

Some photos (SEA vs TBL):

Spoiler

AMAZING Run in November -
JVR, Atkinson and Hanzal have been absolutely owning the net. Quite something else especially with most of these games being simmed.
Nolan Patrick has also been great on the 2nd line with 25pts in 24games played.

Rookie News-
Rookies Samuel Bucek (83 LW) and Steven Crane (81 OD) have both made slight skill increases & both have 10 points in 24 games.
But the big news has been Rookie 7th D-man, Robbie Russo - 2 goals in his 1st ever NHL game and whilst covering for Matthias Ekholm he scored 6goals from 9 games. This forced Ekholm to sit an extra game after recovering, then Patrick Nemeth was benched in the last game as it has proven that Russo has been much more productive than both players put together.

Trade Announcement
Florida offered the following deal which was accepted - Florida 2020 Rd5 pick & Chris VandeVelde (78 - Exact Bottom6 C - injured) to Seattle in exchange for Toronto 2020 Rd5 pick. (Swapped a Rd5 pick and picked up a 78 rated 4th line centre to either play in main list or AHL side). Vandevelde recovered from his mild concussion and was sent down to the Burnaby Aces clearing waivers.

Injuries
Alternate Captain Matthias Ekholm sat out twice over a span of 7 games this month with seperate injuries. Has been disappointing with only 1G, 1A in 17games.
Nikita Scherbak missed 2 games due to a mild concussion
After win 7 in a row, Martin Hanzal sufffered a mild concussion ending his November early missing the last 2 games of the month. Should miss at least one more game before returning.
Rookie Steven Crane strained his hamstring against the Coyotes on Nov30 and will be out for 1 week in December

Lines at the beginning of December look like the following with Martin Hanzal and Steven Crane out.

December 3rd 2019 - @ Edmonton (12-11-1)
Van Riemsdyk (87) - Patrick (83) - Atkinson (84)
Scherbak (82) - Brown (84) - Burakovsky (83)
Bucek (83) - Burmistrov (80) - Shaw (80)
Helm (79) - Vermette (78) - Gaunce (77)

Shattenkirk (84) - Gelinas (79)
Nemeth (78) - Miller (80)
Ekholm 83) - Russo (77)

Korpisalo (86)
Subban (83)

Scratchings:
Kerdiles (77)

Injured
Hanzal (C 85), Crane (R 81)

AHL: Burnaby Aces
17-5-2 (3rd in North Division)
Most points - Eric Tangradi 22 (from 24GP)


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[SeattleBattleCat]

Re: Seattle Battle Cats - NHL 32nd Expansion Team Franchise

Seattle Battle Cats - Season 2019/20
End of December 2019 Report

Overall Record 24-10-3 (1st in Central Div)
December Record 8-4-1

Most Goals - J Van Riemsdyk- 24 (2nd in NHL)
Most Assists - C Atkinson - 33 (2nd in NHL)
Most Points - C Atkinson - 47 (1st in NHL)

Goalies
J Korpisalo 28gp 19-5-3 0so .907sv
M Subban 13gp 5-7-0 1so .885

Current players points

Spoiler

C Atkinson 37gp 14g 33a 47p 15+
J Van Riemsdyk 37gp 24g 20a 44p 16+
M Hanzal 34gp 10g 28a 38p 6+
N Patrick 37gp 12g 20a 32p 5+
K Shattenkirk 37gp 5g 19a 24p -5
A Burakovsky 32gp 8g 15a 23p 0
N Scherbak 35gp 6g 11a 17p -8
S Bucek 37gp 9g 7a 16p -1
S Crane 35gp 1g 14a 15p 2+
L Brown 37gp 5g 9a 14p 1+
A Burmistrov 37gp 5g 9a 14p 3+
C Miller 37 4g 6a 10p 6+
A Shaw 37 8g 1a 9p -1
A Vermette 31gp 3g 6a 9p -3
R Russo 16gp 6g 1a 7p 5+
D Helm 27gp 3g 4a 7p -6
M Ekholm 30 2g 5a 7p 0
E Gelinas 36gp 4g 2a 6p 2+
P Nemeth 31gp 2g 3a 5p 8+
B Gaunce 8gp 1g 2a 3p -1
T Pulkkinen 4gp 1g 0a 1p -2
N Kerdiles 14gp 0g 1a 1p -5

Some photos

Spoiler

JVR

Malcolm Subban

3stars of the game - 1st Line Dominance Simmed game OTT @ SEA - Final score SEA 7 - OTT 2

Burakovsky injured in dying seconds of game vs Florida. Game finished & then no injury announced - He's fine and good to go against Carolina!

Overall decent month for the Battle Cats, winning 8 out of the 13 games in December. Unfortunately JVR slowed down in scoring, only finding the back of the net in 4 games. Has slipped to 2nd in the league behind the great Alex Ovechkin. Cam Atkinson holds a 2 point lead over Connor McDavid with 47 (14g33a).
As we approach the new year the side is Injury free, teamwork is coming together nicely. No decisions made yet on whether a late trade in February may occur to strengthen defence.

Injuries December -
Quiet month for injuries, only losing Korpisalo to a groin injury and Eric Gelinas with Hamstring strain. Cam Atkinson just played his 37th game this season, which is one more game than he managed for the entire 18/19 season due to a herniated disc - Hopefully that injury never returns!

Jonas Korpisalo - Groin missed 3 games
Eric Gelinas - Strained hamstring - 3 games

Contract Extensions
Sebastian Olsson (AHL)- 73 Med Top9 Centre - 22yrs old. 2-way 3yrs @ $950k per yr
Scott Helgeson (AHL) - 75 Exact 7th D -29yrs old. 2-way 2yrs @ $900k per yr

Current Lines 1st Jan 2020 - @ Carolina

Van Riemsdyk (87) - Hanzal (C 85) - Atkinson (85)
Bucek (83) - Patrick (83) - Burakovsky (83)
Scherbak (82) - Brown (84) - Shaw (80)
Burmistrov (80) - Vermette (78) - Helm (79)

Shattenkirk (84) - Ekholm (83)
Crane (R 81) - Miller (80)
Gelinas (79) - Nemeth (78)

Korpisalo (86)
Subban (83)

Scratches
Kerdiles (77), Gaunce (76), Russo (77)

AHL - Burnaby Aces
Overall Record 27-8-2 (1st in North Div)
Leading Scorer - Nick Suzuki 36p (7G 29A)

Hope the winning continues. LETS GO CATS!


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[SeattleBattleCat]

Re: Seattle Battle Cats - NHL 32nd Expansion Team Franchise


Seattle Battle Cats 2019/20 Season
end of January 2020 Report

Overall Record 33-12-4 (1st in Central Division)
January Record 9-2-1

Most Goals - James Van Riemsdyk 31 (2nd NHL)
Most Assists - Cam Atkinson - 44 (1st NHL)
Most Points - James Van Riemsdyk - 64 (1st NHL), Cam Atkinson - 63 (2nd NHL)

Goalies -
J Korpisalo 35gp - 25-6-3 1SO .903
M Subban 18gp - 8-8-1 1SO .887

January Wrap-up
Another great month after a slow start. 1st 2 games were a 4-3 loss to Carolina, then 4-3 Shoot out loss to Buffalo, then the Cats jumped into gear, winning 9 straight until finally a loss to the Blackhawks in Chicago to wrap up the month.
James Van Riemsdyk sustained a hip injury in a game against the Kings (game played by me lol) struck by an errant puck in front of the net, however thanks to a light January schedule, he only missed 2 games.
The following game at home against Calgary, with JVR missing from the lineup, Captain Martin Hanzal stood up for his team and Scored a Hattrick in a 5-4 victory. This was Hanzal's 1st hat trick with the Battle Cats franchise.
Injury aside, Van Riemsdyk had a cracker month not only scoring goals but also ticking up plenty of assists, surpassing Atkinson for the Points lead.

Injuries
The major Injury this month was clearly JVR out for 2 games. however the team kept it together winning both matches that he missed.
Mattias Ekholm - Leg Injury 1wk (3 games)
James Van Riemsdyk - Sore hip 1week
(2 games)
Burmistrov - mild concussion 1wk (3games)
Antoine Vermette - Mild Concussion 1 wk (2games)
Collin Miller - Hamstring Strain 1wk - currently out.

Current Lines - Next game 1st Feb 2020 @ Montreal

Van Riemsdyk (87) - Hanzal (86) - Atkinson (85)
Scherbak (82) - Patrick (83) - Burakovsky (84)
Bucek (83) - Brown (84) - Shaw (80)
Helm (79) - Vermette (76) - Burmistrov (80)

Shattenkirk (84) - Ekholm (83)
Crane (83) - Russo (77)
Gelinas (79) - Nemeth (78)

Korpisalo (86)
Subban (83)

Scratches
Kerdiles (77), Gaunce (76)

Injured
Miller (80)

AHL- Burnaby Aces
Overall Record - 34-13-2
2nd in North Division

Leading Scorer - Eric Tangradi - 17G,29A, 46P


*Hope you are enjoying the read. This team is really exceeding expectations, especially during simulation (I simulate 4 & play 1, simulate 4, play 1 and so on), must be the chemistry in that 1st line I guess?




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[SeattleBattleCat]

Re: Seattle Battle Cats - NHL 32nd Expansion Team Franchise

Seattle Battle Cats Season 2019/20

End of February / Trade Deadline report.

Overall Record 43-16-4 (1st Central Division)
February Record 10-4-0

Most Goals - James Van Riemsdyk 34 (10th NHL)
Most Assists - Cam Atkinson 51 (Leads NHL)
Most Points - Cam Atkinson 79 (Leads NHL)

Goalies -
Joonas Korpisalo - 45GP 33-8-3 2SO .913sv
Malcolm Subban - 22Gp 10-10-1 1SO .883sv

Wrap up-
Overall another solid month. JVR has slowed down in goal scoring completely, only netting 3 for the whole of February however Hanzal (25), Atkinson (28) and rookie sensation, Samuel Bucek (24)have kept the net busy & Goalies frustrated in his place.
Great month for injuries, with not one player missing game time.
With the team performing strongly and in firm control of the Central division's top spot, the decision was made not to alter the line ups at Trade Deadline, however they did make one trade in a move to bolster defence next season. (Read on further below)


Trade Deadline
Although no changes made to affect the immediate future, The Cats are in need of more youth in its stocks of D-men to later accompany Steven Crane in the years to come. Hence the following trade was made:
Seattle trades Harvey Wiseman LW (20yrs old, 59 overall, Med Top6) to Philadelphia for unsigned RFA Travis Sanheim D (23yrs old 83 overall, Med Top4).

Wiseman has 12 points from 55 games with the Cats AHL affiliate the Burnaby Aces, whilst Travis Sanheim has not played a game in season 19/20 due to not coming to terms with his RFA contract with Philadelphia during this past offseason.
Sanheim was on Philadelphia's trade block who have a full salary cap and are currently languishing in last place in the league, his chances of playing next season for Philly was minimal again. The Cats traded a rookie with some really good potential however have gotten a very good replacement in return. The Cats will offer Sanheim a full contract during the upcoming offseason.

Rookie Watch -
Samuel Bucek (83overall High Top6 LW -draft pick 11 - 2017) is 2nd in league rookie scoring with 40 points including 24 goals.
Bucek scored his 1st career hat trick against the Buffalo Sabres in 5-4 win.
Young defender Steven Crane (84 overall Med Elite OD - Draft pick#2 - 2019) is 6th in rookie points standings with 26 (4G,14A).

Contract Extension
Logan Brown signed an extension worth $3.9m per year over next 3years. Brown in his 1st season has 31 points (7G 24A) from 63 games in his first season with the Battle Cats.

Current Lines - 2nd March vs Montreal
Van Riemsdyk (87) - Hanzal (86) - Atkinson (86)
Scherbak (82) Patrick (83) - Burakovsky (84)
Bucek (83) - Brown (83) - Shaw (80)
Helm (78) - Vermette (76) - Burmistrov (80)

Shattenkirk (84) - Ekholm (83)
Crane (84) - Miller (80)
Gelinas (79) - Nemeth (78)

Thinking ahead to next season, realistically I have 8 players vying for the top 6 fwd spots - with this in mind and to free up cap, I may look at moving Burakovsky during the off season allowing Bucek to move into the 2nd line & stall Browns progress for one more season as Hanzal will likely start his decline soon (he's 33 next season. JVR and Atkinson probably have at least another 3-4 seasons of good playing in front of them so will keep them up in the 1st line for the foreseeable future. However the options remain open especially if the teams performance drops.
We'll wait and see I guess.


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[SeattleBattleCat]

Re: Seattle Battle Cats - NHL 32nd Expansion Team Franchise

The wheels have fallen off the Battle Cats, started the month of March 1-5-0 .... worse start to a month all season and the 1st line have disappeared it seems.


Maybe I should have made a trade or two lol [emoji23]

Will report March through to April in the next update.



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[SeattleBattleCat]

Re: Seattle Battle Cats - NHL 32nd Expansion Team Franchise

It just gets better....

Another mid-month update....

Seattle Battle Cats RW Cam Atkinson was injured in the 1st period in tonight's grizzly clash against the Buffalo Sabres. Atkinson had 2 goals before going off in the 5-2 victory.

Centre Nolan Patrick is expected to fill Atkinson's position on the 1st line and a reshuffle of the 2nd/3rd lines also.

Atkinson is expected to be out until the 28th March missing the next 5 games. Atkinson was tied as leagues highest point scorer with Connor McDavid of Edmonton.

Cats are 2-5-0 in March


Lines vs Colorado - 17th March 2020:

Van Riemsdyk (87) - Hanzal (86) - Patrick (83)
Bucek (83) - Brown (84) - Scherbak (82)
Burakovsky (84) - Helm (79) - Shaw (80)
Kerdiles (77) - Vermette (76) - Burmistrov (80)

Shattenkirk (84) - Gelinas (79)
Crane (84) - Miller (80)
Ekholm (83) - Nemeth (78)

Korpisalo (86)
Subban (80)






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[SeattleBattleCat]

Re: Seattle Battle Cats - NHL 32nd Expansion Team Franchise

Seattle Battle Cats Season 2019/20
End of March Report

Overall Record 48-25-4 (Tied 1st Central)
March Record 5-9-0

Most Goals - James Van Riemsdyk- 40
Most Assists - Martin Hanzal - 61
Most Points - James Van Riemsdyk - 95 (Tied 1st with Connor McDavid (EDM))

Goalies -
Joonas Korpisalo 55GP 37-14-3 (3rd NHL)
Malcolm Subban 11-13-1
(Tempted to turn off auto rotate Goalies, Subban can't stop a beach ball when he plays lol)

Appalling month compared to how the rest of the season has been. The Cat's 1st line went missing for the best part of the month & Cam Atkinson sustained an injury in a game vs Buffalo, missing 4 games.
Simming most games all season had been enjoyable until now haha!


Injuries
14th March - Cam Atkinson 4 games -Returned 25th March.
28th March - Mattias Ekholm knee returning 8th April -
29th March - Patrick Nemeth ankle returning 4th April.

Call up -
30th March - Timothy Liljegren (77 overall Low Elite) has been called up with Nemeth & Ekholm out. The upcoming game against New Jersey will be his 1st for this season and 5th overall NHL game.
Liljegren has certainly earned the call up with 39pts (13G 26A) from 77 games with Burnaby this season.

Another update on the last 5 games coming shortly. Can the Cats hold the lead in the Central?


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[SeattleBattleCat]

Re: Seattle Battle Cats - NHL 32nd Expansion Team Franchise

Seattle Battle Cats Season 2019/20
April - End of Regular Season / Playoffs Preview

Overall Record 50-28-4 (Qualified 2nd Central Division)
Last 5 Games 2-3-0

Most Goals - James Van Riemsdyk -44 (7th NHL)
Most Assists - Martin Hanzal - 64( Tied 1st NHL with Ondrej Palat TBL, though played less games than Palat)
Most Points - James Van Riemsdyk -100 Finished 1st in NHL

Spoiler

JVR scores his 100th point.

Players Season Stats -

Spoiler

J Van Riemsdyk 80gp 44g 56a 100p 36+
C Atkinson 78gp 37g 59a 96p 30+
M Hanzal 79gp 28g 64a 92p 29+
N Patrick 82gp 22g 41a 63p 13+
A Burakovsky 77gp 21g 38 59p 8+
K Shattenkirk. 82gp 13g 46a 49p -3
S Bucek. 82gp 30g 24a 54p 4+
N Scherbak. 80gp 22g 21a 43p -2
L Brown. 82gp 10g 30a 40p 5+
S Crane. 80gp 6g 26a 32p 11+
A Burmistrov. 80gp 10g 21a 31p 2+
A Shaw 82gp 12g 17a 29p 1+
A Vermette. 75gp 10g 16a 26p 6-
D Helm. 72gp 12g 11a 23p 4-
C Miller. 79gp 7g 9a 16p 9+
E Gelinas. 82gp 6g 10a 16p 18+
P Nemeth. 74gp 7g 8a 15p 29+
M Ekholm. 68gp 3g 11a 14p 4+
R Russo. 26gp 7g 2a 9p 10+
B Gaunce. 11gp 1g 5a 6p -1
N Kerdiles. 19gp 1g 4a 5p -3
T Liljegren. 2gp 1g 1a 2p 3+
T Pulkkinen. 4gp 1g 0a 1p -2

Goalies
Joonas Korpisalo 60gp 39-17-3 2SO .907sv%
Malcolm Subban 27gp 11-14-1 1SO .889sv%

Last 5 games of the regular season were also disappointing. The Battle Cats have literally crawled their way into the playoffs with a poor record of 7-13-0 in the last 20 games. Danger signs are there for an early exit from the playoffs if the form from earlier in the season is not rediscovered.

The shining light however was of course a little rejuvenation in the Cat's 1st line with James Van Riemsdyk scoring his 44th goal and 100th point (@ Montreal in a 5-3 loss) in the second last game of the season.
JVR edged out Connor McDavid for the Art Ross Trophy by 3 points (Atkinson finished 3rd with 96).

Injuries-
Mattias Ekholm had another injury, missing another 4 games. Ekholm played 68 games in total this season.
Patrick Nemeth missed 2 games.

Rookie Watch
Samuel Bucek (LW High Top6 83) finished a strong rookie season with the Cats, tallying 54 points (30G 24A) in 82 games, which was enough to finish in overall 2nd in Rookie scoring - 6pts behind Mathew Barzal of the Islanders.
Steven Crane (OD Med Elite 84) had a great season also, netting 6 goals and 26 assists in 80 games. He also climbed 4 skill points from the start of the season.
Timothy Liljegren (D Low Elite 77) was called up to play 2 games in April to fill a depleted Defense. Liljegren scored a goal and an assist before being sent back to Burnaby in the AHL. Strong indications are for a permanent spot in the NHL roster for next season.

Playoff Contenders -

Spoiler

WEST
Central-
1. Dallas Stars
2. Seattle Battle Cats
3. Nashville Predators

Pacific-
1. Calgary Flames
2. Edmonton Oilers
3. Vegas Golden Knights

Wild Cards
1. Minnesota Wild
2. Winnipeg Jets

EAST
Atlantic-
1. Toronto Mapleleafs
2. Tampa Bay Lightning
3. Montreal Canadiens

Metropolitan-
1. Pittsburgh Penguins
2. Washington Capitals
3. New York Islanders

Wild Cards-
1. Columbus Blue Jackets
2. Ottawa Senators

Spoiler

1st Round Stanley Cup Playoff series - Seattle vs Nashville Predators.
Starting lineups - Game 1 @ Seattle

Van Riemsdyk (87) - Hanzal (86) - Atkinson (85)
Scherbak (82) - Patrick (83) - Burakovsky (83)
Bucek (83) - Brown (84) - Shaw (80)
Helm (78) - Vermette (76) - Burmistrov (80)

Shattenkirk (84) - Ekholm (83)
Crane (84) - Miller (80)
Gelinas (79) - Nemeth (78)

Korpisalo (86)
Subban (83)

Excited & a little nervous to see how these playoffs go especially with the poor finish. Time to shine again. Go Cats!

AHL
Burnaby Aces

Overall Record 54-21-7 (2nd North Div)
1st time qualified for playoffs in Franchise history.
Best Player Record - Eric Tangradi 77p (30g 47a) & Nick Suzuki 77p (16g 61a) - 82games each.






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[SeattleBattleCat]

Re: Seattle Battle Cats - NHL 32nd Expansion Team Franchise

Seattle Battle Cats Playoffs Round 1
(Play games 3,5,7)

Game 1 - NSH 4 @ SEA 0 L
Game 2 - NSH 2 @ SEA 4 W
Game 3 - SEA 4 @ NSH 1 W (
Game 4 - SEA 1 @ NSH 2 L
Game 5 - NSH 2 @ SEA 5 W
Game 6 - SEA 4 @ NSH 3 W

Seattle wins series 4-2.

Next round vs Dallas Stars (1st Central)

Steven Crane injured Game 3 - mild concussion (missed games)

Leading Goals - Cam Atkinson 5
Leading Assists - Martin Hanzal 5
Leading Points - Cam Atkinson 8

Goalie -
Joonas Korpisalo 6gp 4-2-0 0SO .920sv%

AHL
Burnaby Aces win 1st round playoff against Rochester Americans 3-0

Next opponent: Binghamton

Both teams got it done. Tougher opponent next.


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[SeattleBattleCat]

Re: Seattle Battle Cats - NHL 32nd Expansion Team Franchise

Seattle Battle Cats Playoffs Round 2 vs Dallas Stars
(Play games 3,5,7)

Game 1 - SEA 1 @ DAL 2 L
Game 2- SEA 1 @ DAL 3 L
Game 3 - DAL 6 @ SEA 9 W
Game 4 - DAL 3 @ SEA 2 L
Game 5 - SEA 8 @ DAL 3 W
Game 6 - DAL 5 @ SEA 1 L

Dallas win the series 4-2.

Leading Goal - Atkinson, Scherbak - 6
Leading Assists - Atkinson - 7
Leading Points - Atkinson 13

Well, there you go folks, a disappointing finish to a season that went extremely well in the beginning. Time for the boys to hit the shower and think about the season that was.
JVR never really repeated his form, only notching 8 points (4g 4a) in 12 Games.

We'll be back next season, better & stronger!

Stanley Cup Champion: Dallas Stars (defeated defending champs Washington in a 4-0 sweep)
Conn Smythe Trophy: Jason Spezza

AHL - Burnaby made it all the way to the Calder Cup and lost game 7 to Stockton Heat.


TROPHY NIGHT!:
JVR won 3 trophies!
1. Art Ross (points)
2. Hart Memorial (MVP)
3. Ted Lindsay Award (most outstanding)
We want Stanley back next year JVR ok!


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