BREAKING NEWS

LAS VEGAS — In a move that has sent shockwaves through the LTLHL, veteran goaltender Andrew Wiewel has officially requested a trade from the Las Vegas Voltage. Sources close to the situation confirm that the 35-year-old netminder is deeply frustrated with his current playing time and a historically rocky start to the Season 6 campaign.

Wiewel, an elite talent and one of the league's most decorated players, arrived in Las Vegas back in May via a trade with the Massachusetts Militia in exchange for Luca Almond and a 4th-round draft pick. The move was expected to solidify the Voltage crease, bringing a three-time All-Star, former regular-season MVP, and Goalie of the Year winner to the strip.

Instead, the relationship has quickly soured.

A Rough Start in the Desert

Wiewel’s tenure with Las Vegas has been a nightmare on paper. Through the early stretch of Season 6, the veteran has found himself glued to the bench, receiving just 2 appearances (both starts). In those 120 minutes of action, things went off the rails. Wiewel posted an uncharacteristic 0-2-0 record, allowing 9 goals on 83 shots.

His current stat line tells the story of his frustration:

GAA: 4.50

Save Percentage: .892

Record: 0-2-0

For a goalie carrying a career .922 save percentage and 115 wins across five stellar seasons with the Militia, a 4.50 GAA is entirely uncharted territory. The lack of consecutive starts has seemingly prevented the veteran from finding any semblance of a rhythm, leading to the trade demand.

The Voltage front office now finds itself in a tight spot: try to smooth things over with a proud, former MVP, or look to recoup assets for a $2.7M asset who no longer wants to be in Las Vegas.

More updates to follow as this story develops.

The committee nominated 7 coaches for the LTLHL Coach of the Year: Kris Lemieux (Razorbacks), Chris Martin (Voltage), John Moyer (Blues), Julian Trudel (Tridents), Kent Gould (Twisters), Louis Roy (Royals), and Matt Binns (Harfang).

Congratulations to St. Paul’s coach Kris Lemieux and the Razorbacks! The now-retired 69 year old Canadian earned 7 first place votes from the committee.

- S5 Razorbacks - 47 wins & 98 points - 1st in LTLHL, 1st in Southern Conference, 1st in MidWest Division

- S4 - 38 wins & 84 points - 19th in LTLHL

Here are the nominations from the Awards Committee:

- “Lemieux of the Razorbacks for coach of the Year. Razorback had a +14 improvement and finished at the top.”

- “Kris Lemieux - Razorbacks: Missing the playoffs last year, the Razorbacks had a 14 point improvement, winning the president's trophy (or our equivalent). Was 3rd in total goals scored for the 2nd consecutive season. A +41 goal differential compared to just a season ago.”

- “I submit Kris Lemieux as the best coach of the year. The Razorbacks had the most wins this season, had the best GF/GA differential in the league and finished at the very top of the standings. All that after finishing at the 19th rank in the standings last year.”

- “Took the 19th place team last season to 1st place this season. Most wins with 47 Best goal differential with +30 Got fired.”

The committee nominated 6 players for the LTLHL Rookie of the Year: RW Eddi Scholler (Razorbacks), D Aake Listemnaa (Voltage), C Greyson Troduff (Twisters), LW Jan Poulsen (Mighty Moose), D Milos Levers (Mighty Moose) and D Rene Pietila (Razorbacks).

Congratulations to St. Paul’s RW Eddi Scholler and the Razorbacks! The S5 6th overall pick earned a unanimous selection (11 first place votes) from the committee.

Scholler’s Statline:  80 GP - 34 G - 38 A - 72 Pts - +12 - 48 PIM - 12 PPP - 3 GWG - 11.97 S% - 91 Hits - 18 TA - 68 GA - 31 SB

St. Paul Razorbacks - 47 wins & 98 points - T-1st in LTLHL, 1st in Southern Conference, 1st in MidWest Division

Here are the nominations from the Awards Committee:

- “Eddi Scholler - Razorbacks - led all rookies in scoring, led all rookies with 34G and was a +12.”

- “Eddi Scholler- Dominant season with 72 pts, Rene Pietila 38 pts and an impressive +36.”

- “Eddi Scholler - Lead the league in goals and points. Almost 20 more points than the next rookie. Nearly 300 shots.”

- “S5 ROTY: Eddi Scholler - led all rookies in goal and points, second in assists and had less than 17 minutes a night on average.”

- “RW Eddi Scholler of the Razorbacks. Lead all rookies in goals, points, shots and a solid 1.09 p/20. Ended up 3rd in scoring on the best team in the league this year.”

- “RW Eddie Scholler - Razorbacks: finished first in all rookie scoring with 72 points. Was first in rookies for shots, PP goals, PP points, and was 3rd on the best team during the regular season. Also had a +12 rating.”

- “The league’s most recent 6th overall pick sure played the #1 pick all season. Scholler started all 80 games and led all rookies in points (72), goals (34), and shots (284). The rookie helped the Razorbacks win the Southern Conference and Midwest Division.”

The committee nominated 5 players for the LTLHL Goalie of the Year: G Andrew Dumont (Knights), G Kylian Lind (Dynasty), G Tsurayaki (Trident), G Sampa Poununen (Blues), and G Terence Audet (Royals).

Congratulations to Los Angeles G Kylian Lind and the Dynasty! The 6’7 Canadian earned 7 first place votes from the committee.

Lind’s Statline:  53 GP - 31 W - 18 L - 1 OTL - 0 SO - 2.90 GAA - .921 PCT - 2959 MIN

Los Angeles Dynasty - 42 wins & 89 points - 11th in LTLHL, 7th in Southern Conference, 2nd in Southwest  Division

Here are the nominations from the Awards Committee:

-“Kylian Lind - Dynasty - great record, led Dynasty up the standings. Great story since he did all this after coming off the FA list. Best SP% of goalies who played 50 games or more.”

-“Kyllian Lind: 3rd in wins (31); 2nd in SV% (0.921); 5th in GAA (2.90); Without him the dynasty would not have made the playoffs, even with the offensive output.”

-“I nominate Kyllian Lind of the Dynasty for Goalie of the Year. Was just one win off the league lead with 9 and 13 less games played than the leaders. Had a solid winning% of 59.4, just behind the league leader with greater than .920 save percentage and under 3.00 GAA.”

-“Kyllian Lind - Dynasty: was 3rd in goalie wins and tied 2nd in sv%. The dynasty were around middle of the pack for goals against and PK%. But a stable force in nets was what helped the dynasty secure their first ever playoff birth. The offence took care of it's job, and Lind came in to help stabilize a net that was a problem when controlled by Macleish.”

The committee nominated 8 players for the LTLHL Defenseman of the Year: D Ed Zandbeek (Militia), D Charlie Esau (Moose), D Eric Picklyk (Dockheads), D Konosuke Matsui (Stormbreakers), D Arnt Pfeffer (Trident), D Curtis Gordic (Blues), D Curtis Rowlands (Moose), and D Spencer Lafortune (Privateers).

Dockheads’ defender Eric Picklyk’s stranglehold on this award has taken a break this year as we have a new winner. Congratulations to Massachusetts' D Ed Zandbeek and the Militia. The 35 year old Canadian earned 7 first place votes from the committee on his way to winning.

Zandbeek’s Statline:  80 GP - 9 G - 55 A - 64 Pts - -1 - 121 PIM - 6 PPP - 2 GWG - 5.63 S% - 119 Hits - 109 TA - 31 GA - 189 SB - 24.57 AM/P

Massachusetts Militia - 41 wins & 91 points - 9th in LTLHL, 5th in Northern Conference, 2nd in Northeast Division

Here are the nominations from the Awards Committee:

- “While he does not have the best +/- ratio, he lead the league in takeaways by a huge margin (he has 109, next best is at 77. Its also a league record for most takeaways in a season) AND lead the league in shots blocked with 189 (189 is also 2nd most for shots blocked in a season in league history). He was the 5th most utilised player in the league, averaging a crazy 24.57mins per game. Zandbeek could've also been considered for the regular season MVP award, as he also led his team in points with 64 in 80 GP (2nd best for a Dman last season).”

- “Zandbeek, at 35 years old, started all 80 games and had a career year. Amongst qualified defenders, the Militia captain finished 1st in blocked shots (189: 40 more than the next defender) and takeaways (109: 32 more than the next player), 2nd in scoring (64p), T-2nd in PIM (121), 4th in average minutes per game (24.57), 11th in shots (160), and Top 50 in hits. His -1 plus/minus is certainly a blemish, but he played on a team that tied with Denver for the most goals allowed (294) while simultaneously scoring the most goals in the league (296). Zandbeek was the leading scorer on the LTLHL’s highest scoring offense and his 55 assists were T-8th amongst all skaters. I think it is fair to say he should have been considered for MVP.”

- “Ed Zandbeek - Militia - 64 pts - led all D in A, durable and played all 80 games”

- “I nominate Ed Zandbeek of the Militia for Defenseman of the year. Always a monster defensively with crazy shots blocked and take away totals but also put up 64 points making him a huge threat at both ends of the ice.”

- “I nominate Ed Zandbeek for DOTY. 2nd in league scoring for D men, only 3 behind Picklyk but a much more respectable +/-. Most shot blocks in the league. Decent amount of hits Good mix of offense and defense.”

- “Ed Zanbeek - Militia: one of two dmen with 60 points (2nd in the league), over 100 shots, hits, and closing in on 200 blocked shots (which was the most in the league). Averaged the 5th most minutes per game. Had 109 takeaways, by far the most by over 30!”