Hope in the Crease [Reviewed]

[Toast 887]

YOUTH LEADING RIGA’S WAY
Ilya Kopralkov made a statement in the post-season, can he do it again?

 

Ilya Kopralkov just barely making a save at home against HC Davos

 

RIGA, LV — With pre-season right around the corner, the Riga Reign are looking for someone to step up and lead the charge for the next season. That man just might be Ilya Kopralkov.

Kopralkov did not start the season with Riga strongly and was regarded as arguably the worst goalie across the league. Coming in young is always an issue for goalies, but Kopralkov did not really have the option as the team found themselves without a goalie heading into S49.

Joining Kopralkov on the Reign were fellow S49 draftees, first-overall pick Titan Kronos and eventual Stolzschweiger winner, Pietro Maximoff. Not much was expected from the youngsters, but they found immediate chemistry with veterans on the team, such as Bronson Faux.

Kronos and Maximoff would both get nominations for awards, but Kopralkov’s season was one to be forgotten about quite easily, that was until the playoffs came around.

Somehow the Riga Reign were able to pull through and punched their ticket to the post-season for the first time since they had started their rebuild phase. Calling it a rebuild just doesn’t make sense however, with the team struggling to find a way to move current talent for future picks.

That left Faux on a team that quite frankly, wasn’t worth his time. Fortunately enough, the kids were all right. Virtanen, Maverick, Maximoff, and Kronos all helped lead the charge and got the team to where they needed to be.

Then Kopralkov stepped up to the plate. Going into the playoffs, the goalie was working harder than anyone could imagine to make sure his game was at its best when the team met long-time rivals HC Davos in the first round. With an all-around spectacular effort, the team was able to eliminate a much stronger Davos and move on to their first European conference final in many seasons, relieving a curse in the process.

While Riga would bow out to the Express, the team showed they could go with the best, and Kopralkov was no exception. Kopralkov was potentially goalie of the entire playoffs with numbers that rivaled those of Hans Wingate. In fact, Kopralkov had the best save percentage of all goalies in the post-season with a 92.6 percentage. Wingate was merely a .2 percentage away and had a much lower goals-against-average due to the team in front of him, but no one can disregard the play from Kopralkov in the post-season.

Now it’s up to Kopralkov and the rest of the Reign to make sure that they are at the top of their game and willing to put in the work to compete with the best. Davos has loaded up for another run, potentially crippling their future in the process, and the Express look to repeat as conference champions. As they have proved before though, the Reign are not a team to be counted out. Just when you do, that’s when they’ll shock you.

Edited July 18, 2016 by Toast

[CowboyinAmerica 2,705]

Give it two seasons, and I honestly do think Riga's best in the league, or at least close to it. I see a lot of S46-47 Toronto in Riga.

[Fire Tortorella 2,653]

Helsinkis getting good the same time as the Reign. That never bodes to well for Riga....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[FacePuncher 1,343]

Review:

Kopralkov has a soft spot in my heart from his time in Saskatoon, and i hope he does well! You guys already took the first step and guaranteed that Kronos would be Riga for life, keep it up and you'll be a contender! hopefully you play in the finals against Seattle

 

498 words

Edited July 18, 2016 by ADwyer87