Jack Hammer
Halifax, NS -
It's hard to believe it has been 20 games already. Amazing, its like watching your kid grown up in fast-forward. But here we are. 20 games in and the Chaos have represented the City of Halifax very well.
Leading the charges is superstar in waiting, Dominick MacLellan. At 19, it would have been impossible to have imagined the impact he would have on this team to start his career, or for that matter on the league. MacLellan has only gone out and put up numbers that best a point per game. He has 23 pts in 19 games and leads the Chaos in goals (by a far margin) with 11 so far. "Mac's been amazing to say the least", said team captain Ananin. "Mac has great energy, can skate like the wind and just always seems to be in the right place at the right time. You can't teach hockey sense, thats a given and he has more than his fair share of it!".
The first line has been exactly as advertised as well. Hohka, Ananin and Lalancette have combined for 55 pts, of which 20 have been goals. The line combines speed, power, skill and smarts. A tough combo of attributes to defend against. "I love playing with Hohka and Maksim. It is so easy to play with guys with their skill level and Maksim opens up so much room for me with his speed." said Ananin.
The D has been led by Rasmus Koso. He has 11 assists in 20 games and averages 24 min a night manning the blueline. "Let's just say that if I hadnt be named captain, Rasmus would have been," said Ananin. "The team has so much respect for him and the way he commands the D. He is a true leader and has been instrumental in helping our younger D".
In net, there was never any doubt that Valenzuela would be the go-to-guy for the Chaos. He has a 7-3-1 records and seems to be getting stronger as the season wears on. What is very encouraging is the play of youngster Terrance Audet. Audet has a GAA below 2.50 and is 4-1-1. The young goalie has been very good in spot duty and should see more crease time as they season goes on. Last and not least is the play of Presley Acton who has been very good when called upon due to fatigue to the his other crease mates. Acton is 2-1 and has played hard when needed.
What will the next 20 games look like in Halifax? Well, with younger Yarkovoi sent down along with Kolesnikov, we should see more of Matthew Forest and Kazimir Iovsky. Both will fill roles on the 3rd and 4th lines but should be a stabilizing influence on their linemates. At 35, Forest brings a mountain of experience and has the offensive acumen that they felt Yark needed to work on in the minors. "Yark is going to be a great player in this league, maybe even as soon as next year but he wasn't going to steal ice time on the top two lines so it made sense to get him more time in the minors. Same with Koles, we know he needs more ice-time so the move to the Yeti should help him get his confidence back. I know he already excelling there so we are pretty confident that both players will be back at some point this year to help us down the stretch." said Head Coach Randy Williamson. "Listen, I am really proud of these guys and the hard work they put in every night!"