Team X

Conference	Western
Division	Risen
Founded	2003
Arena	X-Dome
Owner	Lance Timothy
GM	El Goliath (de facto), Marcus Butler
Coach	Jean Theirron
Captain	Nick Phillips
Affiliates	Exterminators
SHL Cups	4
Conference Championships	5
Kingship trophies	4
Status	Active

Team X is a street hockey team based in the upper reign of Canada. They are members of the SHL and the Original Four as one of the first four teams in the league where they played a short, 20 game season. They are known for their hard ethic and for the Great Dispersal, where four teams came out of four former players of the Team itself. Andy Martin, Oliver Marton, Oakley Marrow, and David Fijin split from them to make the Astral Aeroes, Ultimate Royals, Orange Orators, and the Black Blades. Team X has won the SHL Cup a record four times in 12 seasons (ten 70-game seasons), in the years of 2004-2005, 2006-2007, 2009-2010, and 2014-2015, and until the 2016-2017 Season, have never lost earlier than the second round of the playoffs. They, and the Branton Nickels, remain the only team since the SHL's formation to have never missed the playoffs. In addition, they are the only team that has never failed to win the SHL Cup the same season as winning the Kingship Trophy.

The team itself and it's players have set multiple records and achievements within the league itself, and because of their prowess and skill, Team X is regarded as the greatest of the SHL's teams. They have the most retired numbers of any team in the league, and they are known for their widely-respected coaching and development system which has, according to several players such as Frazer Acterpoff and Clint Barrie, become better players. However, they are known for their "surprising" undrafted players such as Volker Janns, Kris Capelli, and Michael Torio who have become known to be at a "superstar" level, and because of this, CEO Nolan Gattsburg has had to create a rule to disallow large amounts of undrafted players to keep the game at what he calls "a fairer level".

History

2009-2010 Season

The 2009-2010 Season was regarded as one of the league's most interesting seasons, adding the first four expansion teams, the Crozac Cardinals, Ashtown Horsemen, Brown Buccaneers, and the White Warlocks. For Team X, it would unfold to become the greatest season they ever had, and as described by SHL analysts and CEO Nolan Gattsburg; "the most dominant team you will ever experience".

Lance Timothy, GM of Team X, managed to sign Mike Bardo, known as one of the league's greatest ever playmakers from the Astral Aeroes in exchange for Sam Quaid, Cal Rest, and the draft picks from the next two seasons for him. Though initially hesistant, Dirk Sutton agreed to the deal. It was regarded as one of the "greatest trades" in history, considering Mike's impressive 104-point season the year prior and with Quaid and Rest having 35 and 61 point seasons respectively. In addition, Lance signed rookie Mark Salter to fill in the defensive void, who was drafted by Team X in 2009.

Team X went off to a blazing-hot start, winning their first 16 games and scoring an average of 6 goals a game at the time. In their first twenty games they went 18-2-0, losing to the Ultimate Royals 3-2 and to the Koren Killers 2-1. After the midway mark, they had 32 wins and 3 losses, the most of any team before the half. In addition, they had already scored 270 goals, and have only allowed 52 goals from their opponents. At the time, Nick Phillips had 40 goals and 78 points, and was projected to hit 70 goals and 140 points by the end of the year. Team X was known to be so dominant, that if they lost, analysts called it "breaking the wall" or "befalling a titan". They would later go on to go 28-7 in the second half of the series, losing to the Orange Orators 4-2 and 3-2 respectively; they were the only team to beat Team X twice that season. In their final game where they were 59-10-0, Team X won 7-0 against the Black Blades; Nick Phillips scored a hat trick and an assist to become the first player (and so far the only) one to score 80+ goals in a season (81) and recorded 150 points. Team X had seven players with 100+ points that season; Nick Phillips, Chad Mackenzie, Brenden Donaghy, Mike Bardo, Ted Greene, Raul Kozac, and Evgeni Nopitov, and Buck Kampra had a 1.06 GAA with 16 shutouts and 40-5-0 record. At the end of the season, they had 553 goals and allowed 114, with a +339 differential. They were one of the two teams (the other being the Benton Bruisers) to have a completely healthy team all season.

Because of their dominance, some players, such as Markus Pavlet stated "You weren't going to win. Hell, they were up 6-0 at the end of the 1st, and we have five shots. FIVE shots on net. We're not going to win this the way we play" and because of this, some players reportedly quit the games, leaving because of a lack of effort. Rick Dowan, who was with the Orange Orators at the time, has said "There were games they had like 50, 60, I think there was a 70-shot game, and if you could win against that, you had to pat yourself on the back. I've beaten them twice, but lost to them once 9-2 with 54 shots on net. They're not gonna be easy."

During the playoffs of the season, Ted Greene, after Game 1 against the Astral Aeroes, a 5-0 victory, was part of a car accident that ended up with him becoming a paraplegic. Because of these events, Team X's morale ultimately suffered, and despite them winning the next three against the Aeroes, they only scored seven goals and their shots on net per game was reckoned as nearly halved. Nick Phillips said "It was like we had an irreplacable piece. Ted was watching us, but he wasn't playing with us." Because of the events, some fans and rioters proclaimed the Aeroes "set up" the accident. GM Lance Timothy bolted at the accusations, saying "That's extremely classless to say some dumb <expletive> like that. You call yourselves fans? The Aeroes and X are both respectable teams, and I can assure you that they are in no way responsible for such an unfortunate act." After the fourth game ended, the Aeroes held a moment of silence, unknown to Team X in their own dome to honour his skills as a player and the tragedy he had suffered.

Team X later played the Black Blades and Team Daiku beating them both in a six-game series. Their offense struggled but was slightly better, due to hearing of Ted making a full recovery but being unable to cheer them on. Wyatt Drannan later was injured due to a tough hit from Mark Moroes, and Mark Salter missed the series due to a deflected puck off a skate that hit his head from Mark Nilsson. Team X later went on to play the Orange Orators and stated they weren't feeling good about the finals. However, Team X managed to win the first three games of the series and held Orange to a 3-0 deficit. They won 4-2, 3-0, and 2-1, another display of their weakened offense. On Game 4, which is known as "The Game", Nick Phillips stated to everyone in the locker room that today was the day they'll lift it for Ted. To their surprise, Ted Greene was at the game, and no one other than Lance Timothy and Jean Theirron in the organization knew, and he said he wanted it to be a surprise. They stormed out of the room and saw Ted, stating, as quoted by Rick Dowan, they were "reinvigorated". Nick Phillips ushered a praise which is now said by fans; "THIS IS FOR TED!", and went on to win Game 4 by a result of 7-0. When the cup was handed over, Nick Phillips broke tradition of the captain hoisting it first and handed it to Ted Greene who was in a wheelchair at their end of the arena, and told him to hoist it first, which Ted did. Oakley Marrow called it "the classiest thing I've ever seen", and Rick Dowan described the game as "You don't want them to win because you have a series to win and a cup to defend, but at the same time you didn't want them to lose knowing what and who they had lost." In the annual photo of the cup winners, Ted sat in the middle hoisting the cup above his head, and to this day remains the only photograph where someone other than the captain holds it in the middle.

2013-2014 Season

Team X had a lesser season, finishing with a 37-27-6 record, and finishing tenth overall in the league. Chad Mackenzie led the team in points, finishing with eleven points in his last six games to take the lead and finish fifth overall in the league's roster.

Making the playoffs, Team X faced the Green Hornets, defeating them in a 4-1 decision. Next, they versed the Scarlet Saviors, defeating them 4-0, with the final game of the series going to triple overtime, before Robert Thorman scored a shorthanded goal. In the third round, they played the Black Blades, and during the series they lost Gustav Magerkoff and Brenden Donaghy to injuries. Black defeated them 4-2 in the series and advanced to the SHL Cup final where they lost in seven games.

Despite Team X's loss, many of the analysts predicted that if they versed the Red Nukes or the Astral Aeroes in round three, Team X would have gone to the SHL Cup final, since they held 3-0-1 and 4-0-0 records against them that year specifically, and 2-2-0 against the Blades.

2014-2015 Season

Team X started their season by acquiring possible candidates from the lower leagues, and signing Igius Gonzalez from Team Daiku in exchange for Anton Carlyle and a 2nd round pick. Team X had an initally strong season, which then evolved. Team X set a record for the franchise and for the league, recording 20 straight wins. This streak ended against the Red Nukes in Game 21, where they lost 3-2 on the road. Buck Kampra and Michael Torio both recorded back to back shutouts, making Team X unable to be scored on for four games, and 265:32 minutes exactly. Their "unscoreable streak" ended against the Benton Bruisers who scored the first goal in the second period of Game 5. However, Team X went on to win the game 4-2.

This season became a new source of rivalry as well for the team, as the Airdrie High Angels were on a hot streak as well for their first 20 games, collecting a 11-7-2 record in twenty games. Several players and fans of the team boasted that they would be "X's new rivals", which would attract the attention of the Ultimate Royals, who as seen by the league, are their true rivals. Team X's first appearance against them was on the road in Game 16, where they shutout Airdrie 3-0.

Team X;s CEO admits that as Team X keeps playing that the teams were all after them since the {[RedSmall}} Red Nukes proved they could be beat. Despite gaining more losses, including two in overtime, Team X stayed strong, and set a new record for the fastest to 20, 30, 40, and 50 wins, where they earned them in 20, 32, 45, and 57 games respectively. These are only a handful of the records that Team X holds this year. As of now, they are currently the highest ranked team in terms of points this season, and will win the Kingship Award at the end of the season.

Team X is partaking in the new fifth line rule, and is picking players from the lower leagues to generate offense. They have decided to make some changes and will be announced during the playoff season.

Playoffs

Team X eliminated the Crimson Ninjas from the playoffs in the first round, winning the series 4-0 and outscoring Crimson 12-2.

In the second round, Team X faced the Black Blades, defeating them in five games. However, Black handed Team X their first home loss of the season losing 3-2 in OT from a goal by Matthias Falleaf.

In the third round, Team X faced Airdrie High Angels who became their hardest obstacle, taking them to seven games. Game 7 of the series was revered as the best game of the playoffs, where Team X won 5-3 over Airdrie. The game involved a bout between Nick Phillips and Kevin Johnson, where Kevin challenged Nick to a fight, which resulted in his loss. After being down 2-0, 3-2, Nick Phillips tied the game, and then scored the game winning goal on a breakway against Eamon Thael. Afterwards, Airdrie pulled Thael, where Nik Incideus nearly scored on Michael Torio. After Chad Mackenzie and Brenden Donaghy passed the puck to Nick, Nick deeked Kevin Johnson and fired down to the empty net, resulting in a 5-3 win. The series was compared to the 2004-2005 final against the Ultimate Royals.

Team X managed to face the Red Nukes, who became a challenge with players such as Ben Beccam and Taoshi Kobasigawa. The games were close, all within wins by a single goal. Team X lost twice, but managed to secure three straight wins to put Red at elimination at one point, being 3-1. Red won Game 5, but lost in Game 6 in double OT from a goal from Nick Phillips. Nick slap shot a puck off Ben Beccam's leg that redirected into the net of Taoshi Kobasigawa under his left arm. Team X then became the 2014-2015 SHL Cup champions, and won their fourth cup. 

2015-2016 Season

As of the new fifth line rule, Team X is adding five new players to their lineup, and have callups still on board if needed. Team X has signed five new players and have moved three players to the fifth line. Igius Gonzalez, Travis Turnburg, and Richard Mayer will fill the C, LW, RW of the fifth line, and will be joined by two undrafted players, Kris Capelli, who was a former pick for the Ultimate Royals, and Volker Janns. Both of these players will be defense. To fill the C, RW, and LW of the fourth line, Team X has hired Bob Richard for LW, Eddie Puckett for RW, and former Airdrie prospect David Eir for C.

Before the actual season, Team X traded Nate Myers and Damien Norton, as well as a 2016-2017 draft consideration to the Ultimate Royals for draft picks Luc Zukov and Andy Parker. They also traded Richard Mayer to the Crimson Ninjas for Will Bettz.

Nick Phillips led the team in goals (60), points (111) and GWG (13), winning the Iron Puck Trophy for the second consecutive year, and finished second in overall points. Brenden Donaghy led the team in assists (57) and was tied with Chad Mackenzie for GWA (9). The team suffered multiple injuries, despite finishing with a 45-19-6 record for 96 points, and being first in their division. Only three players played a full 70-game season; Nick Phillips, Travis Turnburg, and Andy Parker. Buck Kampra finished the season as the winner of the Goliath Ironwall Trophy, facing 1,270 shots and stopping 1,202, with a 94.6% SV% and 10 shutouts. Team X faced 2,541 shots in total, the most in the entire league.

2016-2017 Season

Team X acquired Patrick Wright, a draft pick from the Kimberly Knights, in exchange for Ricky Klassen. Edward Victor, Frazer Acterpoff, and Brent Cassidy were unsigned, becoming free agents, being signed by the New Arbour Rockets, New Harbour Blues, and Orange Orators respectively. Seth Mackenzie and Daniel Olsen through their self-regulation chose to become upcoming players; Gustav Magerkoff and Thomas Bronec took their place on the first line. Volker Janns, David Eir, Kris Capelli, Bob Richard, and Eddie Puckett were kept as permanent players, their contract remaining for one more year. Buck Kampra's contract was renewed until the 2020-2021 Season.

Team X selected Ethan Chase in the 2016 SHL Draft, who will "likely play next year" but now plays for the Exterminators.

In the first round, Team X played Team Daiku, defeating them in a four-game sweep, recording two shutouts in the stretch. Team X scored 9 goals in the series compared to TD's 3. In the second round, Team X faced off against the Scarlet Saviors. Despite some late-game heroics, including shutting them out once, Team X lost to the Saviors 4-3 in a best of seven. Jean Theirron cited that they were outplayed by a "better two-way team". Gustav Magerkoff remarked "it was disappointing, considering it's the big man [Jean]'s final year, we wanted to get him one more ring." Team X scored 25 goals, and faced 15 against; it was the first time they have lost in the Second Round in the playoffs.

Team X has later signed Garrett Theodore as their new coach, who had been the assistant coach of the team for the last three seasons, and is described by Jean Theirron as "a better replacement".

2017-2018 Season

Team X traded Giovanni Lettier and Ron Dowl to the Cochrane Wildcats in exchange for Bryce Ritchie and future draft pick considerations. They selected Alex Krieger in the 2017 SHL Draft, who made his first appearance in the first game of the season and is signed to a three-year entry level deal.

Gustav Magerkoff, Thomas Bronec, and Robert Thorman revealed before the preseason that the 2020-2021 Season will collectively be their last season.

Seasons

Team X have played since 2003-2004.

Season	GP	W	L	OT	P	GF	GA	DIF	Playoffs
2003-2004	32	24	8	0	48	172	128	+44	No playoffs this season.
2004-2005	70	46	24	0	92	302	120	+182	Defeated Team Daiku 4-1 Defeated Kimberly Knights 4-2 Defeated Koren Killers 4-3 Defeated Ultimate Royals 4-3 SHL Cup Champions (16-9)
2005-2006	70	43	25	2	88	304	172	+132	Defeated Kimberly Knights 4-0 Defeated Team Daiku 4-2 Defeated Citadel Centurions 4-1 Lost to Ultimate Royals 3-4 (15-7)
2006-2007	70	50	20	0	100	365	142	+223	Defeated Kimberly Knights 4-1 Defeated Mountain Flyers 4-3 Defeated Orange Orators 4-1 Defeated Astral Aeroes 4-2 SHL Cup Champions (16-7)
2007-2008	70	39	25	6	84	264	172	+82	Defeated Kimberly Knights 4-3 Defeated Astral Aeroes 4-0 Lost to Branton Nickels 3-4 (11-7)
2008-2009	70	35	28	7	77	220	192	+28	Defeated Team Daiku 4-2 Defeated Kimberly Knights 4-1 Lost to Orange Orators 3-4 (11-7)
2009-2010	70	60	10	0	120	553	114	+339	Defeated Astral Aeroes 4-0 Defeated Black Blades 4-2 Defeated Team Daiku 4-2 Defeated Orange Orators 4-0 SHL Cup Champions (16-4)
2010-2011	70	40	26	4	84	305	168	+137	Defeated Yellow Flash 4-0 Defeated Koren Killers 4-3 Lost to Black Blades 3-4 (11-7)
2011-2012	70	40	23	7	87	269	158	+111	Defeated Citadel Centurions 4-1 Defeated Black Blades 4-0 Lost to Team Daiku 2-4 (10-5)
2012-2013	70	45	21	4	94	270	170	+100	Defeated Scarlet Saviors 4-2 Defeated Black Blades 4-0 Lost to Kimberly Knights 3-4 (11-6)
2013-2014	70	37	27	6	80	217	165	+52	Defeated Green Hornets 4-2 Defeated Scarlet Saviors 4-0 Lost to Black Blades 2-4 (10-6)
2014-2015	70	57	11	2	116	421	112	+309	Defeated Crimson Ninjas 4-0 Defeated Black Blades 4-1 Defeated Airdrie High Angels 4-3 Defeated Red Nukes 4-2 SHL Cup Champions (16-6)
2015-2016	70	45	19	6	96	266	177	+89	Defeated Airdrie High Angels 4-3 Defeated Scarlet Saviors 4-2 Lost to Black Blades 3-4 (11-9)
2016-2017	70	43	22	5	91	244	187	+57	Defeated Team Daiku 4-0 Lost to Scarlet Saviors 3-4 (7-4)
Total	942	604	289	49	1249	4172	2287	+1885	4 SHL Cup Championships Postseason Record: 161-87

Players

This is the current roster. For a list of ALL players who have played for Team X, see Team X Players. The following numbers have been retired, 33 and 66.

2016-2017 Season

This is the current roster for Team X.

#	Player	GP	G	A	P	+/-	EN	PP	SHG	GWG	GWA	S	S%	HT	PM	RAT
	Nick Phillips	70	60	48	108	+36	7	17	2	9	8	188	31.9%	6	52	96
	Brenden Donaghy	62	23	57	80	+28	4	9	1	4	10	164	14.0%	2	44	93
	Chad Mackenzie	60	31	44	75	+25	8	12	3	7	9	170	18.2%	3	60	93
	Gustav Magerkoff	65	8	38	46	+30	2	4	0	1	10	67	11.9%	0	44	92
	Thomas Bronec	64	8	34	42	+29	2	3	0	1	10	72	11.1%	0	46	91
	Igius Gonzalez	60	14	36	50	+18	3	4	1	3	5	94	14.9%	1	22	91
	Giovanni Lettier	63	13	25	38	+12	1	2	0	2	4	88	14.7%	0	28	89
	Robert Thorman	68	15	25	40	+15	2	4	0	5	4	108	13.9%	1	30	90
	Kris Capelli	69	5	28	33	+21	1	1	0	1	3	58	8.6%	0	30	91
	Volker Janns	68	10	24	34	+22	1	3	2	3	4	72	13.9%	1	32	92
	David Eir	58	18	20	38	+4	1	6	1	2	1	74	24.3%	1	30	90
	Bob Richard	69	5	15	20	-2	1	1	0	0	2	88	5.7%	0	22	86
	Eddie Puckett	69	5	13	18	+1	1	1	0	0	1	78	6.4%	0	28	86
	Patrick Wright*	67	3	13	16	-4	0	1	0	0	2	42	7.1%	0	34	86
	Ron Dowl	67	3	12	15	-9	0	1	0	1	2	46	6.5%	0	40	88
	Luc Zukov	70	6	12	18	-3	0	1	0	1	2	87	6.9%	1	42	86
	Travis Turnburg	70	5	12	17	+4	0	2	0	2	2	84	6.0%	0	34	85
	Will Bettz	66	6	13	19	-3	0	2	1	1	5	74	8.1%	0	36	84
	Andy Parker	68	4	12	16	-6	0	1	0	0	1	43	9.3%	0	42	85
	Raj Stamkos	68	2	12	14	-12	0	1	0	0	1	45	4.4%	0	38	85

- An asterisk denotes rookie season begins in 2016-2017

	GOALIES	GP	W	L	OT	GA	SA	SV	SV%	GAA	SO	MIN	RAT
	Buck Kampra	40	26	12	2	92	1377	1285	93.3%	2.23	6	2476	96
	Michael Torio	20	11	6	3	50	661	613	92.7%	2.40	2	1252	90
	Nikita Dayton*	10	6	4	0	25	334	311	93.1%	2.42	2	620	88

Leaders

• Nick Phillips - Leads in goals, assists, points, +/-
• Chad Mackenzie
• Brenden Donaghy

Draft Picks

Team X has had several draft picks over the years.

Year	Player	Position	Pick	Rating	Alma	Notes
2005 SHL Draft	Sean Potnik	Forward	16th	83	H-S Drop-In	--
2006 SHL Draft	Thomas Gateau	Defense	15th	80	Drake Lange	Never signed, claimed by Koren Killers.
2007 SHL Draft	Ted Greene	Forward	16th	85	H.P. Briar	"Outstanding Performance" recipient, allowed draft one year prior to normal eligibility.
2008 SHL Draft	Markus Coglar	Forward	10th	84	SL Ava	Traded to Orange Orators for Wyatt Drannan.
2008 SHL Draft	Wyatt Drannan	Defense	14th	83	SL Ava	Acquired via trade from Orange Orators in exchange for Markus Coglar.
2009 SHL Draft	Mark Salter	Defense	14th	83	Russo Tech	--
2010 SHL Draft	Liam Gagliani	Forward	20th	81	Russo Tech	Never signed, claimed by Yellow Flash.
2011 SHL Draft	Michael Torio	Goaltender	17th	84	Russo Tech	"Outstanding Performance" recipient, allowed draft one year prior to normal eligibility.
2012 SHL Draft	Travis Turnburg	Forward	18th	83	H.P. Briar	--
2013 SHL Draft	Matt MacDonald	Forward	18th	81	Abe Tech	Traded to Team Daiku with Anton Carlyle for Igius Gonzalez.
2014 SHL Draft	Anton Carlyle	Goaltender	17th	84	Gomez Open	Traded with Matt MacDonald to Team Daiku for Igius Gonzalez.
2014 SHL Draft	Igius Gonzalez	Forward	1st	91	H.P. Briar	Acquired via trade for Matt MacDonald and Anton Carlyle.
2015 SHL Draft	Zendo Vartev	Forward	24th	83	Gomez Open	Traded to Ultimate Royals for Luc Zukov and Andy Parker.
2016 SHL Draft	Ethan Chase	Forward	22nd	83	Abe Tech	--
2017 SHL Draft	Alex Krieger	Defense	25th	83	Louise	--
2017 SHL Draft	Bryce Ritchie	Forward	27th	83	SD Tech	Acquired from Cochrane Wildcats in exchange for Giovanni Lettier.