1977 THL OFFSEASON


Breaking News: Oreskovich Arrested for Heroin

Just a week after the Marcotte Cup, a huge story broke from an investigative reporter named Tilly Kasera of Vertex Report as she had been covering the myriad of issues in Trowburgh's locker room. Herons star forward Adam Oreskovich was arrested and taken into custody by Trowburgh Police for criminal possession of heroin with intent to distribute.

The arrest was the pinnacle of a 10-month police investigation in conjunction with federal authorities into Trowburgh's infamous Red Light district to clean up the rampant drug problems and numerous dealers working out of the area. Widespread use and sale of heroin had recently migrated from the United States who had dealt with their own epidemic over the issue. The side effect of the operation was that many high level financial executives and people in state positions had been indicted and several federal organizations had been brought in to assist.

Direct links to the THL's Trowburgh Herons and the UHA's Trowburgh Eagles were discovered which ultimately led back to Oreskovich, 23, who was not only a frequent user of heroin but also had been dealing on the side to a wide variety of high level clientele, including a group of fellow hockey players and former teammates. Oreskovich was from Yubay but two of his closest friends, defensemen Dave Novak and Danny Millings, were both from Podangrad where the trio had played Indy League hockey together. Novak, 28, and Millings, 24, were both drafted by Trowburgh in 1972 but were both currently assigned to the Herons' Indy League affiliate in Monin. Novak was the original catalyst of the dealing scheme but Oreskovich being a star player had the money and connections. Both were arrested for criminal possession and Novak was also charged with distribution.

A second connection was discovered with players originally from Putnam who had crossed paths with Oreskovich, including current Herons forward Ty Burchfield, 21, drafted by Trowburgh in 1974, and former goalie Allan Kaplan who was currently playing for the UHA's Trowburgh Eagles. It was thought that Kaplan, 22, was also a secondary dealer with Oreskovich. Another Putnam-born player, defenseman Donnie Altenhofen, 31, who was undrafted in 1965 and played for the Glaciers' Indy League team until being picked up by the Vensessor Swans in 1975, was also indicted under suspicious activity related to the Oreskovich ring. Forward Casey Holt of the Yubay Falcons had been a Putnam school friend of Burchfield and Kaplan but he was absolved of any drug connection.

Several Indy League teams were investigated, including the Putnam Pinetoppers, Podangrad Pathfinders, Certonrack Oil Kings, Loebury Lunatics, and Monin Mill Rats, as the named players all had stops with those teams.

The news shook the league to its core and Commissioner Hatch immediately held a press conference that the league would take decisive action and cooperate fully with authorities to fully investigate the matter. Every player indicted by law enforcement was immediately indefinitely suspended by the league and permission granted to the teams to terminate their contracts.


Coaching Carousel

With the debacle in Trowburgh, head coach Anderson Lamb was let go after just one season. He was then reunited with Jonas Rayburn in Guilden to be an assistant. The Herons also fired their GM Mac Russo and replaced him with Ed Smalls. They hired 38-year-old Ken Delaney to helm the squad, and he will have a tall task ahead of him to repair the damage in Trowburgh.

Notable Retirements

Buddy Dupree hung up his skates, retiring a year early due to the debacle in Trowburgh. The forward known for excellent passing spent 12 seasons in Chasonne where he won two Cups. He was selected by Trowburgh in the 1972 expansion draft, spending 5 more seasons there as the captain of a young team.

Aging star forward Lou D'Angelo announced his retirement after 12 seasons in Chasonne and 5 in his hometown Port Alrene. D'Angelo was a brilliant scoring forward, winning two Cups with the Heralds and one with the Anchors. He was a 10-time All-Star and selected to the All-Gold team 9 times. He was Best Forward in 1963 and took home Finals MVP hardware in 1964. As part of the blockbuster Gary Wiz trade in 1972, D'Angelo made an immediate impact in Port Alrene and continued his lustrous career. He will be a surefire Hall of Fame selection upon eligibility.

1977 Hall of Fame Inductees

Two players were inducted into the THL Hall of Fame for the Class of '77.

Anton O'Reilly, considering one of the best defensemen of his era, played 15 seasons in the THL all with the Whales as their captain and star player. He won two Cups with Portarra while racking up awards. He won Best Defenseman 5 times and was a 12-time All-Star. His best season was in 1974 when he won the coveted League MVP. He was also named Finals MVP in 1963. O'Reilly was known as a do-it-all defenseman, tough as nails, quiet and humble off the ice, and a terror when on it. His #9 sweater has been out of circulation in Portarra and will be officially retired by the Whales.

Defenseman Carey “Wags” Waggoners, always a fan favorite, played his first season in Kirlow before being traded to Port Alrene where he was a standout player for 11 seasons. He was traded back to Kirlow in 1971, where he played for 4 more years. A native of Hemhall, “Wags” was a 6-time All-Star and won Best Defenseman in 1971. He won two Cups as a member of the Anchors. His #25 sweater will be retired by both organizations.

Player Trades and Signings

With Geno Pasternak completing his unofficial 3-year contract with the Pioneers, though he was not an official free agent due to the THL's continued use of the Reserve Clause, GM Scott Hauser honored their agreement and orchestrated a trade back to the Falcons upon his request. In addition to sending Pasternak back to Sava Side, the Pioneers would flip their 1977 first round picks (YUB 6th Overall, PTP 9th Overall) and send F Dominik Stave to Portarra.

The Captains then offered the Falcons their top-5 draft pick for Van Swedden but were turned down. With Keenan Draper, Gerry McKnight and Lauri Rikhard all being 35, owner Don G decided to go for broke and infuse some extra talent into the roster to potentially make one last run. He found a trade partner in Kavalos where Finnish forward Sam Toivonen (23) had been a disappointment. The Captains sent F Paul Careno in return for Toivonen and flipped their first-round picks. (KRK 5th Overall, KAV 8th Overall). The Captains hope Toivonen will have better success being second fiddle to Draper.


Up Next: Offseason to continue... THL Draft, Team Identity Updates

Wow, who had Heroin bust on their bingo card? 

Happy to hear that none of my Falcons were involved and that we didn't deal Van Swedden, getting Pasternak back is also big.

Looking forward to seeing how we do this year. Go Falcons!

Wow!  That's is a big shocker!  Kudos for the story, as that definitely could have happened in real life around this timeframe!  Sucks for the Herons, that'll set them back for years no doubt.

1977 Offseason Cont'd

1977 THL Amateur Player Draft - 1st-Round (1977)

1 – TRO – F Jan Luc Ryba (Poland)
After the roster was decimated from legal trouble, new coach Ken Delaney has a tall order to restock the shelves in a light draft pool. The Polish forward Jan Luc Ryba is a nice player, still developing his skills and better finishing instincts but can step in and soak up a lot of minutes right away.

2 – LEC – D Chuck Cisarik
Lecayne had a tough choice at #2 with very little separation in the top prospects but elected to go with Cisarik who is a tough defenseman with sneaky speed.

3 – GLD – D Gil Van Nuland
Van Nuland is light for a defenseman but he possesses a full set of skills and intangibles. His speed and communication will go a long way for a veteran group already long in the tooth in Guilden.

4 – CHA – F Sten Zaal (Holland)
The Heralds are pleased with the progress of their rebuild but still lack a true finisher around the net to team with Robert Bertucci. Dutch forward Zaal has the right skills to fit the roster and help establish a nice 1-2 punch in Chasonne.

5 – KAV (via KRK) – G Gregg Steinecke
The Electrics, with their swapped pick from Kirkenport, surprised a bit by going for a goaltender in Steinecke. He's a converted former defenseman so he doesn't have much experience in the net but has looked good in a short period of time. The Kavs are banking on potential here.

6 – PTP (via YUB) – F Terry Valentini
Pasternak is back in Yubay, Musgrove is 36, and the second line needs complete retooling. Valentini is a local Portarra product and just the type of hard working forward/winger that GM Hauser likes.

7 – NAR – F Rod Longo
The Neptunes are still riding the high from winning a Cup and also get to pick at #7. The lines are crowded but Olivar Hagen is 36. Rod Longo is a similar player to Hagen who can play either wing.

8 – KRK (via KAV) – G Lloyd Metzler
Lack of goalie depth was a killer for the Isle last season. They'd prefer to grab a forward but Metzler can help immediately in shoring up the net duties behind Gerry McKnight.

9 – YUB (via PTP) – D Dennis Overstreet
The Falcons continue to focus on their blue line with Geno Pasternak back in the fold. Overstreet projects as a solid second line anchor who is smart and communicates well.

10 – FTB – F Arthur Delassus
Fort Bevin gets their guy in Delassus, who they believe will excel as the point man for the second line. Delassus was briefly flagged during the Oreskovich case due to his being from Putnam but he is clean and is an excellent passer and technician.

11 – POR – D Delbert Young
Good defensemen are hard to find and Shane Galbraith is 37 though still working wonders. Young can immediately slot into the second line and infuse more energy on the blue line for the Whales.

12 – KIR – F Ray Patsko
Kirlow was elated to scoop up a sliding Patsko and add him to their potent roster. Patsko isn't an exciting prospect but he's technically sound and will be an assist machine at the pro level.

13 – CHA (via PA) – D Jesse Munson
With their pick from the Anchors, the Heralds reached a little bit for defenseman Jesse Munson who is very raw and green and will need time in Indy to reach his potential.

14 – YBG – F Rocky Pomeroy
A stacked roster in Niko Side means Pomeroy will have plenty of time to refine his game in Indy which may benefit him as he lacks many technical skills.


Team Identity Changes

Several teams made updates to their looks after two years of no changes.

1977 Kirlow Kodiaks (New Logo)




​The biggest offseason change came in Kirlow who completely overhauled their logo. The new Roaring Bear replaces the much-maligned Standing Bear. The new logo features a 3/4 profile of a bear roaring set into a roundel. The uniform redesign from 1975 stays the same with the addition of the new logo.

I essentially traced over a similar image to get the general outline but filled it in with my own shapes and style to get this look for Kirlow and added a few features of my own. I'm still fine-tuning it but I think it works well enough for now. Let me know what you think!

(I also previously showed Pascal Brink as wearing #17 when in fact he wears #13. I think there was some Mandela effect going on or something because I would have sworn he wore #17. Fun roster data moment.)

1977 Portarra Whales



The Whales made some very minor adjustments for just the second time in their history, this time adjusting their numbers to be slightly bolder and adding the league-mandated NOB's. 

1977 Fort Bevin Rockets


The Rockets made their first adjustment since their league introduction in 1972, only adding outlines to their jersey numbers and adding NOB's.

1977 Kavalos Electrics


The Electrics made a bevy of changes, some seemingly haphazardly. Sources close to the situation in Kavalos reported that the redesign went through several phases all headed up by different people. Owner Sandy Goetz had originally requested a new logo design to be made by Apex, who immediately began the process. Several prototype submissions were made but none were approved. While Goetz was on vacation, the process was turned over to GM Cleo Osteen who used an in-house design team to work up some new uniforms for the Kavs, using the unapproved prototype. Osteen, not having any design experience, told the team to go for it. The design team leader, misunderstanding the situation, used the unapproved prototype and ordered new uniforms. Once Goetz returned from vacation and saw the new set he was furious but with so little time before the season the team will be forced to settle for them.

A slew of changes include adjusted sleeve and shoulder striping, adjusted hem, pant, and sock stripes, along with outlines added to the jersey and TV numbers. The unapproved logo is added with "Electrics" circling the logo. The previous logo is relegated to a shoulder patch on the right side.

NOB Additions

In compliance with updated THL uniform regulations, the last remaining teams added NOB's to their sweaters.


1977 Kirkenport Captains
1977 Narva Neptunes
1977 Port Alrene Anchors
1977 Trowburgh Herons
1975 Portarra Pioneers (not previously shown)

That concludes a very busy offseason. What do you guys think of the new looks and adjustments?
C&C appreciated!

I think Kirlow was an upgrade that was much needed. The bear looks good, I don't think he needs the blueberry eye though.

Kavalos has a new logo that seems on brand. It is much better than their original, but not complete. Guess there was a reason it was a prototype, huh? Best part of the change has to be "ELECTRICS" curling around the logo. I enjoy that a lot.