1927 MHL Offseason: On the Ice

With 3 teams leaving the MHL, there were lots of good names available for the remaining 12 to take. It also meant that some players who had spots in the league in 26-27 wouldn’t necessarily be in the league for 27-28, since there were now 39 less roster spots. Teams had to be smart on who they kept, who they signed, and who they lost.

In Boston, the Harpers made two key signings, acquiring Kingston star Cody Trice, and Syracuse goalie Caleb Ross. Trice had 143 points in 235 games for Kingston, their all-time leader. The 28-year old American now looks to continue his success in Beantown. Ross hasn’t had the best stats, but also hasn’t been on the best teams either. He looks to find stability in the crease, fighting against Alex Graham for the #1 spot.

In Brooklyn, the Kings made 3 major moves, re-signing Frank Clercius, Paul Anderson, and Andrew Williams. Clercius in the team’s wall in net, being regarded as the best in the league in his position. the 31-year old is now signed until he turns 40. Anderson is the team’s captain, and huge presence both offensively and defensively. Lastly, Williams is seen as Clercius’ successor for when he starts to decline, and the Kings are happy to have a great young talent in waiting to continue their strong play in the crease. 

In Chicago, the Wildcats’ biggest move was signing Syracuse’s superstar, Roy Parent. Analysts feel that his true potential was being hidden in Syracuse, and now that he’s able to form a partnership with 2x reigning leading goalscorer Dan Vanderbeken, the Wildcats are looking like they could be a force. Other moves included signing depth centre Harper Reid, and signing promising young winger Henry Baumgartner to his first pro deal.

In Indy, the Chauffeurs’ biggest move was signing Pittsburgh’s David Collins. Collins is a solid two-way defenseman, who hasn’t gotten too much love from analysts simply because he’s not a superstar. He’ll be a solid addition to an extremely young blueline. Other moves made by the Chauffeurs include re-signing young Irish-born defenseman Jack O’Connor, and signing Boston backup Leon Campbell, who looks to fight for the starting job alongside Kenneth Oppenheimer.

In Montreal, the Barons made the move that likely would’ve caused riots if they didn’t: re-sign reigning leading scorer Robert Courbouche. The hometown kid is loved in the city, and it wouldn’t feel right if he played anywhere else. Other signings included the re-signings of F.C. Gauthier and Rick Cardinal, and signing of rookie Robert Durant.

Staying in Montreal, the Greys didn’t make many changes to their roster. The “big” move was signing rookie defenseman Joseph Gill, who while considered a legitimate prospect, wasn’t one of the can’t-miss young guns. Their other moves were re-signing veteran forward Joseph Champagne, and re-signing defenseman Rudolf Seward, who impressed in his limited playing time in 1926-27.

In Nassau County, the Lynx signed Pittsburgh winger Larry Nelson. At only 23, he has scored 44 goals combined the past two seasons. Alongside Tom Robert, there should be lots of good offense for the Lynx. Dean Shaw from Kingston was another solid add for Nassau. Shaw, who played all 6 years for Kingston, scored almost 70 goals for the team, and was among their most consistent performers.

In Manhattan, the Blue Birds made one singular signing, signing Syracuse’s John Tabor Jr. Tabor only has one season under his belt, scoring 10 goals and 15 points in 48 games. He’ll look to be a depth player on the consistent juggernaut that is the New York Blue Birds.

The Newark Yellow Jackets made waves when they signed MHL all-time leader in goals (216) and points (263) Joseph Ocking, one of the hottest free agents available. When asked about this, Ocking said “the prospect with the Yellow Jackets is undeniably promising. I am prepared to don my skates and contribute to forging a legacy with them." Other moves made by the Yellow Jackets were signing rookies, with G Marc Friesen and W Bob Murray joining the team.

In Ottawa, the Lumberjacks had three signings. First was the signing of Syracuse defender Derrick Dorvilus. Dorvilus had a fantastic rookie year in 24-25 but hasn’t been able to replicate it the past two years. Ottawa is hoping a change of scenery can help out. They also re-signed Brent Colsavage, you had a career high 21 goals for the team in 26-27. Lastly, they signed former leading goalscorer Jacques Julien to a 5-year deal. Julien is aging, but can still be a big help to an Ottawa blueline that is quickly becoming one of the best in the league.

The Peoria Foxes made some good moves in the offseason, first by signing Pittsburgh G Denis Jones. Jones has a career record of 197-145-5, all with Pittsburgh. One of the top goalies in the league, he should help a Peoria team that struggled defensively last year. They also signed former Int Michael Stevenson, and rookie Gerald Martin to shore up their depth.

Lastly, the Toronto Lakers shored up their depth, signing two young players in Stephen Keenan and Mathieu Lafleur. Keenan was a solid secondary contributor for the Icemen that past two years, while Lafleur had a very impressive rookie season for Pittsburgh in 1926-27. Their other move was signing hometown kid Gregory Bekkering to his first MHL contract. Bekkering is a speedy player, known for his playmaking.

TOP 10 SIGNINGS/ACQUISITIONS OF 1927:


1927-28 MHL Preseason:

The MHL moved the number of games per season up to 58 this year. As well, they went for a very divisional-heavy schedule, with teams facing divisional opponents 9 times, and all other teams twice. This was done to promote healthy rivalries between close teams, according to commissioner James Burris. The playoffs also went back to being just the top two in each division, instead of the top 3 like in 26-27. The semifinals would be best of 3, and the finals best of 5. 

Slapshot Kirby wrote:

Hopefully the Blue Birds can pull off the three-peat! Also, I'm sorry if this has already been brought up, but who is the Abbott Cup named after?

No need to apologize for asking about something I haven't brought up! In this timeline, it's named after Thomas Abbott, a friend of commissioner James Burris, who went from being born into a poor family, to slowly progressing through hockey's off-ice ranks, eventually becoming one of hockey's most influential and notable pre-MHL executives. He likely would've been commissioner instead of Burris if he wasn't so old when the league was founded. He's an unofficial advisor of Burris, and will likely continue helping out unofficially until he passes away.

1927-28 MHL Season: Second Half

The second half of the 1927-28 season saw some movement, more in one division than the other. Like many other years, one of the playoff spots came down to the wire.

Finishing 1st, both in the West and overall in the league, were the Toronto Lakers. It didn’t take too much for them to wrap up the division, but they still played very well to close out the year. Their offense continued scoring at a much higher clip than anyone else, averaging a full 0.45 more goals per game than the 2nd-place teams. All in all, they’re looking like the team to beat this year. They finished at 40-18.

Finishing in 2nd were the Ottawa Lumberjacks, who finally got their first playoff berth in their 8th season. A key part of their success was their road record, 2nd in the league, only behind Toronto. As well, the rise of Sam Cruciani, who went from scoring 15 points in 26-27 to 35, tied for second overall this year. Lots of things are going right for Ottawa, who finished at 32-25-1.

Finishing in 3rd were the Chicago Wildcats. It was a better second half for them, but still not close to enough to challenge for the playoffs. They were the highest-event team in the league, scoring a lot, but giving up more. The duo of Dan Vanderbeken and Roy Parent showed lots of promise for their first year together, but there’s still room for improvement overall. Chicago finished at a perfectly mid 29-29.

In 4th were the Peoria Foxes, who had their best season in franchise history. It’s not much, but they did actually manage to go above 0.500 in the latter half of the season, giving them a somewhat respectable finish. However, it’s uncertain if they’ll have another season in Peoria, as they’ve already had to go on hiatus. This will be something to look for in the offseason. The Foxes finished at 26-32.

The bottom 2 teams are the Indianapolis Chauffeurs and Newark Yellow Jackets. Indy struggled with lots of injuries in the second half, and in the end nobody on their roster played a full 58 games. With that, it’s hard to have any success really. No players really stood out league-wide either. It’s a year to build off of for Indy, who hope to make that next step. In Newark, The Yellow Jackets continued being far and away the worst in the league, but they did string some wins together. It was better than their inaugural year, which isn’t exactly the highest bar to clear. However, there’s some potential within this roster, and a player like Joseph Ocking should help the rest of the team get more in sync for 1927-28.

In the East, it was the Brooklyn Kings who got their second divisional title in 3 years, claiming that top spot. Their defense continued being oustanding, and playing at the brand-new Brooklyn Auditorium, they were almost unbeatable, going 23-5-1. Young C Laurence Antoine finished a breakout year, leading the league in points with 36. In net, Frank Clercius was a little more beatable, but was still the league’s leading goaltender. The Kings are not going to be easy to beat. They finished at 38-17-3.

In second, snatching the final playoff spot were the Boston Harpers. It was neck-and-neck between them and the Blue Birds for the stretch, but it came down to almost the very end. A win over the Greys clinched the spot, their first playoff appearance since 1923. Lots of players impressed over the season, particularly W Hugh Mathieu and G Caleb Ross, who rose to the occasion when needed. Boston finished at 32-23-3.

In third are the New York Blue Birds, who miss the playoffs on the heels of back-to-back titles. While they didn’t play bad, it wasn’t the same standard of hockey they’d shown they could do for the past 5-ish seasons. While Andrew Moehring had a great year, other players like Victor Gosselin, Lewis Urban, And Moses Addison struggled at times. With their best players not getting any younger, next year should be interesting, to see if they rebound or continue like this. The Birds finished at 32-25-1.

In 4th are the Nassau Lynx, who finished above 0.500 for the first time in franchise history. They were in contention for the playoffs for a good amount of time, but fell away toward the end. With players like Darrell Humphrey and Larry Nelson showing lots of promise, and an average age of only 23.4, the Lynx are a team that will only keep getting better and better. Nassau finished at 29-27-2.

The bottom two teams were the Montreal teams, who both had years to forget. The Greys had a better second half, but for a team that made the playoffs the year before, it still wasn’t at all good enough. They did have a couple of league leaders though, as James Urban was the only player to break 30 goals, and Alan Clercius led the league in SV% for the second time. For the Barons, they struggled mightily in the second half, going from playoff hopeful to bottom of the division. Star forward Robert Courbouche only played 40 games, not something the Barons wanted, as the offense flows through him. In the end, both Montreal teams finished with 53 points.



League Leaders:



Playoff Predictions:

W1 - Toronto Lakers vs W2 - Ottawa Lumberjacks
Previous Meeting: None
Result: N/A

Toronto meets Ottawa in a Battle of Ontario. The Lakers have made the playoffs every year, while this will be Ottawa’s first playoff series. 

The two teams met 9 times during the regular season, and amazingly, Toronto won all 9 of those meetings, in which Ottawa only scored 12 total goals. All-time, the Lakers have won 24 of 36 meetings, so it’s been a one-sided ‘rivalry’ between the two. It’ll take a lot of work and luck for Ottawa to win here. 

My pick: While it may take a miracle to win, the Lumberjacks will get that miracle, shocking Toronto with a 2-0 series win.

E1 - Brooklyn Kings vs E2 - Boston Harpers
Previous Meeting: None
Result: N/A

It’s another first-time matchup in the East, with the Kings and Harpers meeting here. Neither team have made an Abbott Cup final, so we’re guaranteed a first-time finalist no matter how this series goes.

Despite Brooklyn being the higher seed, The Harpers were the team that won the season series, going 5-3-1. Brooklyn scored more goals overall in those meetings, but it’s wins that matter, not how many you score. This series could really go either way, and it should be real exciting.

My pick: Boston will be no match for Brooklyn, as the Kings dominate and take the series, 2-0.

can't decide what's better, the fact that boston is in the playoffs or the fact that new york isn't. also very cool to see ottawa finally make the playoffs; I'll be rooting for a jacks-harpers final but that probably won't happen

1928 MHL Playoffs: Abbott Cup Final

(W1) Toronto Lakers (40-18) vs (E1) Brooklyn Kings (38-17-3)

Games 1 and 2 were to be played at Toronto’s Lakeshore Arena. The Old and small arena still had its charm, and the home crowd was rowdy. It was a great atmosphere for a matchup between the league’s top two teams. Toronto went 20-9 at home during the regular season, while Brooklyn had a surprising record of only 15-12-2 on the road.

The visiting Kings got started early. Laurence Antoine took a shot that deflected off a defender and right to Paul Anderson, who beat Jerome Bouchard and gave Brooklyn the lead just 46 seconds into the series. Toronto would get some chances to come back, but former Laker Frank Clercius did his job and turned all the shots away. Antoine had another chance late, but his shot rang off the post and out, keeping the score at 1-0 after 20 minutes of play.

In the second period, there was another early goal, this time from the home Lakers. Greg Mullins, usually known for his playmaking, ripped a laser shot past Clercius, that went in and out of the net so quickly that Clercius didn’t realize it was a goal. Besides the goal, the second period was very similar to the first, with the Lakers outchancing the Kings. There would be no further scoring, and they headed to the third tied at 1 apiece.

In the third, it was more of the same, Toronto getting more chances, but Brooklyn still getting some good looks of their own. However, in this period both Clercius and Bouchard stood tall, not letting anything past them. The final buzzer sounded, and the two teams were headed to overtime. 

The opening frame started shaky for Brooklyn, as they gave Toronto a net-front scramble in the first minute. Greg Bekkering had a clean look, but Clercius robbed him. 3 minutes later, Brooklyn’s Laurence Antoine grabbed the puck in the offensive zone, and took a shot while Bouchard was screened. It went right past him and in, and Brooklyn won their first ever Abbott Cup game, 2-1 in overtime.

Game 1: Brooklyn 2, Toronto 1 (OT) (Brooklyn leads 1-0)

Game 2 was held at Lakeshore Arena once more, and though the home crowd left disappointed the night prior, they were back again and rowdier than ever.

The first period was the most energetic period so far in terms of play, and chances. The two teams combined for 18 shots, a lot of which were grade-A opportunities. However, Bouchard and Clercius continued their elite goaltending, and none of those chances went in. Through 20 minutes, it was 0-0, and through just over 80 minutes overall, there had only been a total of 3 goals in the series.

In the second, Toronto took control of play. Their defense became suffocating, and Brooklyn’s chances became few and far in-between. When they did shoot, it wasn’t very high quality either. Kenneth Moore opened the scoring for the home side 4 minutes in, and the crowd loved it. Their defense continued playing well and hitting hard, and the crowd grew louder with every hit. The 1-0 scoreline held through 40.

In the third, Toronto’s defensive masterclass continued, and got even better. After Stephen Keenan scored to make it 2-0, their defense tightened up even more, allowing Brooklyn 2 shots total for the remainder of the game. The final buzzer went, and the Lakers celebrated tying up the series. Jerome Bouchard only needed to make 13 saves, but he was still solid as always, shutting out Brooklyn.

Game 2: Toronto 2, Brooklyn 0 (Series tied 1-1)

Game 3 saw the two teams travel to Brooklyn, where the brand-new Brooklyn Auditorium was hosting the Abbott Cup final in its first season. The home crowd was loving every second prior to puck drop, and hoped they’d continue in their cheering as play started.

In the first, Toronto kept playing suffocating defense and blocking Brooklyn’s attack, however this time the Kings capitalized on their few opportunities. Daniel Covington scored on a tight angle early on to open the scoring, much to the home crowd’s delight. In another rare Kings chance late in the period, Covington was all alone in front and scored again. Toronto had chances of their own, but Clercius stood tall. In 3 games he had yet to give up a first-period goal.

In the second, play finally opened back up for both teams, though Toronto was still outchancing Brooklyn. In the first part of the period, there were plenty of chances, but the goalies shut the door. Eventually, Edward Nicholson scored on a rebound for Brooklyn, making it 3-0. Soon after, Toronto would finally get on the point, with Gerald Washington putting home a rebound Clercius had no chance of saving. That was what Toronto needed to score, because he was saving every saveable shot. After 2, Brooklyn led 3-1.

After a very open and fast-paced second, play returned to slow and tight in the third. Sylvain Ermengille scored 29 seconds in to get Toronto within 1, but from that point on it was pretty clear Brooklyn was only playing to protect the lead. Despite numerous rushes by the Lakers, they were seemingly blocked every time. It paid off for the Kings, who held on to win 3-2, and were now a win away from their first ever Abbott Cup.

Game 3: Brooklyn 3, Toronto 2 (Brooklyn leads series 2-1)

Game 4 was the most tense and excited the Brooklyn crowd had ever been. Something thought impossible was now a win away from becoming a reality: A team other than the Lakers and Blue Birds winning the Abbott Cup.

From the get-go, you could tell that Brooklyn wasn’t nervous, just focused on getting it done. They got the lead early, with a nice shot from Richard McGrath, and the home crowd exploded. Despite Toronto once again outchancing them, Brooklyn was leading in the only stat that mattered: goals. Frank Clercius stood tall as usual, and Brooklyn held that 1-0 lead through 20 minutes. 40 minutes to go.

In the second, Toronto continued to outchance the Kings. However, They weren’t getting anything going, and Brooklyn continued to roll. Chaz Clarke scored on a similar shot to McGrath’s, and then Lewis Brown caught Clercius playing the puck, took it from him, and scored on the wide open net. The crowd somehow continued to grow louder and louder. At this point, it seemed like they couldn’t be stopped. up 3-0 and with all the momentum through 40, they were now just 20 minutes away from the coveted trophy.

In the third, Brooklyn continued rolling. Off one of their innovative behind-the-net passing plays, Covington scored his 3rd goal in 2 games, making it 4-0. Up by this much, it was clear that Toronto wasn’t going to come back. The crowd screamed, jumped and chanted for the remaining 13 minutes of play, then the final buzzer went and everyone went bananas. The Brooklyn Kings had done it. After 7 years of only 2 teams winning the Abbott Cup, Brooklyn had finally become the third team to win it all. 

Game 3: Brooklyn 4, Toronto 0 (Brooklyn wins series 3-1)

Last edited by NoE38 (3/03/2024 6:24 pm)