Stickman wrote:

With their second Adams Cup victory, Los Angeles Titans owner Stickman celebrated eagerly.... by severely over drinking himself into a stupor, (though some suspect he also went overboard due to the dismissal of a lawsuit involving canned tuna, aluminum foil, and a belligerent hobo).  After yelling several incoherent words, he wobbled about the owner's booth, nearly falling many times, (this became known as the "Stumbling Stickman" incident that was the source of many video views on the internet.... and much embarrassment for him).

In all seriousness, while it was a sweep, it looks like the Gargoyles put up a heck of a fight, as all 4 games were close, including two overtimes!  Good series New York!  Also, congrats to the Wranglers!
 

Ok.....

It is odd that we are celebrating the AltHL Legacy Project's 10th Season.  That means that we have been in quarantine for over ten weeks.  On one hand it has flown by while on the other it has truly dragged on.  I really miss sports on tv! But luckily the AltHL and the AltFL have given us a chance to distract one another while building the histories of our favorite teams.  

The project was designed so that have realistic results from season to season.  Like real hockey we have had our fair share of playoff mainstays like New York, Minnesota and Toronto.  We have had teams that have had immediate success and then came back to earth like San Francisco and Halifax.  We have had teams that started on the bottom and slowly built themselves into contenders like Montreal and Los Angeles.  We have had some interesting storylines like the Charlotte Curse - that despite 9 playoff appearances in 10 years they have no Adams Cups to their trophy case.  The Winnipeg Arrows have won the Goalie of the Year Award 6 times! We have also had teams that have not sniffed postseason success like Denver, Chicago, Portland, and Quebec.  But luckily for those teams we have 10 more years to go.  

For now, I wanted to look back on the first ten years in a couple of ways.  First we are going to reveal and compare the two All Decade Teams, then we are going to reveal the all decade standings.  

Let's start with the CHL All Decade Team


CHL ALL DECADE TEAM

Forward - #99 - Wayne Gretzky - Quebec Owls
The Great One started this decade with three straight MVP Awards and went to the all star game 6 times.  He led the Owls to the finals once.  He along with Luc Robitaille were dominate during the first part of the decade.  He also spent the end of the decade with Boston and Philadelphia.  He won his lone career title with the Founders before he retired.

Forward - # 88 - Eric Lindros - Vancouver Glaciers
First there was the Great One then there was the Next One.  No one came out of juniors more highly touted that the Big E.  His combination of size and skill were unmatched.  And unlike his time with the Flyers he was the captain for two championship teams.  He was also a perennial all star and one time MVP.

Forward - #19 - Joe Sakic - Montreal Chevaliers
There was no worse team to start the decade than the Chevs.  The Chevs were a distant last place for the first three years of the decade.  At the helm was captain Joe Sakic.  He was the leader that brought the league's worst team to title contention every year.  Personally he was the MVP once and made a number of all star games.

Defense - #7 - Chris Chelios - Halifax Kingfishers
An almost dynasty were the Kingfishers who won back to back titles in 2001 and 2002.  The leader of that team was 6-time all star Chris Chelios.  

Defense - #4 - Scott Stevens - Minnesota Loons
He may not have the personal accolades of his peers, but he was the captain and defensive stalwart of the decade's most prolific defense.  Unlike the offensive teams of the CHL, the Loons took another approach to team building.  They employed a defensive trap style that thwarted their rivals annually.  Stevens was the face of that team and deserves a spot on our list.

Goalie - #39 - Dominik Hasek - Winnipeg Arrows
I forgot how dominate he was until the Legacy Project brought me back into the world of 90's hockey.  It is hard to believe that Ed Belfour...a three time GOY winner from Halifax did not make the all decade team.  Instead the Dominator makes the list for winning the award 5 times! He also added back to back MVP Awards (the only goalie to do it once!).  He did all of this on an Arrow team that had limited postseason success.

Honorable Mentions: John LeClair (VAN) Sergei Fedorov (TOR) Steve Yzerman (TOR) Mats Sundin (CGY)

Now compare them to the AHA All Decade Team



The AHA All Decade Team

Forward - #68 - Jaromir Jagr - Charlotte Racers
Often overshadowed by Super Mario we cannot overlook Jagr.  Jagr was one of the most prolific scorers in the AHA during this time period.  He was a three time MVP and five time All Star.  He also led the Racers to the playoffs during the absences of Lemieux during his back injury and cancer battle.  

Forward - #66 - Mario Lemieux - Charlotte Racers
Super Mario was the face of the league for much of the decade.  Despite significant time on to his back problems and his cancer battle he was the best player in the league when he was on the ice.  That garnered him 4 MVP Awards.  Unfortunately for both Jagr and Lemieux the ultimate prize has continued to elude them.

Forward -  #11 - Mark Messier - Portland Sawblades / Philadelphia Founders
Messier is the example of a player who can have success no matter where he goes.  He started the decade in Portland where he won 2 MVPs and was named to four all star teams.  He eventually moved on and was picked up by Philadelphia.  In Philly he turned in individual accomplishments for leading the Founders to three Adams Cups.

Defense - #77 - Ray Bourque - New York Gargoyles
Ray Bourque was the first captain to ever raise the Adams Cup.  He also was the constant soothing presence of the one of the leagues most consistent teams. He made the all star team during each of the league's first seven seasons! 

Defense - #2 - Brian Leetch - Philadelphia Founders
Brian Leetch was the defensive backbone of the Founders championship teams.  He also owns the great honor of being the only defenseman to ever win the MVP Award.

Goalie - #33 - Patrick Roy - San Francisco Dragons
Eddie the Eagle should be on either of these teams but unfortunately his time split between the two leagues diluted his accomplishments.  Instead we are going with Saint Patrick here.  Three-time GOY and led the Dragons to four division titles.  Eventually he would move on to be the winning goaltender of the Chevaliers in the CHL (although I didn't take that into account here).

Honorable mention - Brett Hull (BOS)

So which team is better? CHL versus AHA?




 

Darn, I thought I'd be ranked higher.

Plus sad that Brett didn't make the all-decade team

Shoutout to our brothers, the Titans. It's interesting being in a club with more championships than All-Stars. It's interesting that a team (tied) with the most championships in the league could be ranked second-last. I still consider this a good decade, though. Let's hope that the next ten years and beyond bring stability and greatness to Wranglers hockey!

Really interesting stats here!  

The CHL seems like it's been really balanced so far, with 6 of 8 teams winning the Canadian Shield.  The AHA, less so, with only 5 teams winning the Adams Cup, even less so when you consider 3 different teams have won 8 of the championships (luckily including my own!).  And yeah, it's pretty hilarious that the Titans (and Wranglers) somehow have more championships than All-Stars.  Guess having a solid, no name team can work out sometimes!

Tough to be a Ghosts fan during this time with no playoff appearances, but maybe the next decade will be much better for them!