Wow, that was far longer than it needed to be but time is one of those things that seem to fix all. I did a little networking tweek between my desktop and network and all is well again. So, the playoffs have been nearly as surprising as the regular season was to me and I think front and center is the Golden Misfits line in Vegas.
Center
William Karlsson
Poor Wild Bill has had to change locations a few times in the last 5 years. Since 2014 he has played for 6 different clubs but it is with Vegas he as truly found a home. Hard to believe he was once a Duck but it is true. He played 18 games with them scoring 2 goals and an assist during that time. Then during trade deadline 2015 he found himself shipped to Columbus as part of the failed James Wisniewski deal which was a disaster for Anaheim and James didn't even suit up for a single playoff game. After stealing him away from Anaheim, Columbus lost him in the expansion draft and the rest is history. 43 goals and 78 points in the regular season and 12 points in 13 playoff games mean Wild Bill is money!
Above is the front and back of his Trilogy Rookie Premieres card. It is numbered to /225 and I landed it years ago in a lot deal. Might have paid 2-3 dollars a card at the time.
Right Wing
Reilly Smith
While William Karlsson was clearly the biggest surprise of the line, both the other two guys are players clearly showing they belong among the leagues elite and have put together a great season thus far. Reilly Smith had a great year finishing 4th in team scoring with 60 points but he did so only playing 67 games. Prorated you are looking at a player who would have had 73 points this year. Unlike Karlsson, Reilly has had some success in the past including two seasons where he broke 20 goals and he also hit at least 50 points. Reilly was a player who has done well but was more of a salary dump by the Panthers who felt they had loads of other young players set to get big pay days and needed the room. Good for a team with a need for talent and lots of cap space.
Above is a Panini Prime Rookies parallel which is numbered to /50. I picked this one up after Reilly's first 20 goal season when he was with the Bruins. Reilly has technically been traded 3 times and wasn't an expansion pick up. He was traded out of Dallas as part of the Seguin trade. Then he was traded to Florida as part of a salary dump of Marc Savard and then he was traded to Vegas as a dump of his own salary (5 yr, 25 million) which as he current production is a great deal. This post season Smith has had 14 points in 13 games.
Left Wing
Jonathan Marchessault
Last one from the top line is my favourite player of the three and arguably maybe even the most talented. Originally Jonathan Audy-Marchessault, he was a player who played very well in the Q but always was deemed too small. However, he managed to score very well in the AHL as well but despite some excellent production (295 games, 254 points) he would only see 49 NHL contests between the Jackets and Lightning over three seasons. Caught deep in the depth chart meant he was expendable and the Panthers decided to give him a shot. A few injuries to the Panthers roster gave him some more ice time and he delivered scoring 30 goals with the Panthers last season. Seeing there was a looming salary cap issue (perhaps Luongo's crazy contract has lead to these issues) they didn't protect him and Vegas said thank you very much!
While technically his goal production was "down" this season, with just 27 goals instead of 30, his assists were up significantly as he managed to bump his career high from 51 points last year to 75 points this year. Above is his Select Auto Rookie which is numbered to /399. I landed this one from the LCS last year from pocket change (about 3 dollars) just as he was starting to heat up for the Panthers.
So time will when this Cinderella story will end and regardless of it's outcome I know this will be among one of the greatest stories in modern NHL history and we can certainly say the top line had much to do with the success Vegas has achieved.
What are your thoughts? Have you had a few of the Vegas players in your collection without realizing it? When do you think this season will end for them?
I am loving this Cinderella run by the Knights! I'm really hoping the beat Winnipeg - and Tampa if they are able to get that far. My first choice is Washington though.
ReplyDeleteI'm kicking myself for not buying a Marchessault RC when he was on Florida. I had a Karlsson as part of a Young Guns set that I sold, so my VGK collection is pretty non-existent, other than a Shea Theodore rookie relic and maybe a Jon Merrill from his Devils days.
Hahaha funny you mention that I don't know how many times this year I have to remind myself Merrill is there. Shame he isn't growing as expected I always hoped he would be a good 3-4 Dman.
DeleteNice trio there Dave! I'm pulling for Vegas out of the four teams remaining here, would be an amazing tale if they can go all the way (hell, it already is).
ReplyDeleteSo very true!! Well if they do end up winning I will be thinking of you!
DeleteIt's funny, when I started watching the sport last year, I never heard anything about William Karlsson. I think the first time I heard his name on TV was the expansion draft...and now he's become a legitimate superstar!
ReplyDeleteThis season has been amazing...as you may remember I only started watching last season when the Golden Knights debuted their logo, I put on NHL Network to see it and got hooked. I never imagined this season would have gone so well, but I've been loving it. I fully expect them to raise the Cup.
That's awesome Billy, I don't think you are alone in that either as many new fans are getting hooked! Hope they save something for an encore.
DeleteI watched less hockey this season that I had in years. I think a lot of it had to do with Vegas. I got so tired of every hockey-related thing talking about them from the beginning of the season. I swear, the Puck Podcast should be renamed the Knights Podcast. It got to a point where I stopped listening. I didn't watch NBC pre or post game shows anymore. I just watched the Stars and Hawks games and that was it. My interest in the rest of the league is nil because they've been shoved down our throats forever. Go Caps!
ReplyDeleteI must say, I am a bit with you there. It seems like its a bit over the top and to be honest I am not on their side. I do enjoy the underdog story but when I think about guys like Marcel Dionne and Mike Gartner who slaved for decades and didn't get this success I almost think it's a slap in their faces to have a team pull it off so quickly.
DeleteI haven't bothered looking for any since I really don't have too many new hockey autographs that aren't either Sharks or hand picked stars. As for the Knights... it's been pretty cool to see Las Vegas go wild over them. I've been down there four times in the last few months to visit my parents and they're all over the news. You know it's crazy when my 80+ year old parents have become fans. I was a little bitter that the Knights knocked out my Sharks... but I'm rooting for them now in support of my parents.
ReplyDeleteHaha, I can appreciate that. I too sometimes will support friends or family when I don't have any skin in the game. I will be curious to see if Vegas develops a larger following outside their home state with some many NHL teams close by.
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