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Yagoyi · 02-27-2023, 06:49 AM

Ryu Jones fell all the way to the 5th round in the S54 SMJHL entry draft. He was picked up by Anaheim at 47th overall. Little did the world know, that this player would go on to become one of the SHL's greats. And possibly one of the most cursed.

Ryu had a rather uneventful career in the SMJHL. His rookie season was unimpressive, posting 6 goals and 22 assists for 28 points. That had him 7th on the team's scoring. He did better in the playoffs, posting 8 points as the team made it to the second round. Unfortunately, they were eliminated, in what seemed to be their best shot at the cup. The Toronto North Stars made a huge bet on Ryu, by drafting him 3rd overall in the S55 SHL Entry Draft. Would he live up to the hype of being a top 3 pick? You really wouldn't be able to tell by looking at his SMJHL stats. In the following two seasons, the Anaheim Outlaws failed to make it out of the first round. Ryu particularly had a strong year in season 56, his best year in the SMJHL. 43 points in the regular season, with an additional 6 points in 7 playoff games. He fell off in season 57, posting an abysmal 28 points. However, he seemed to take more of a team-first role, as Anaheim made it to the cup finals. They unfortunately lost in 5 games, and Ryu Jones was called up by Toronto in the following season.

Ryu started out strong in the SHL. In his rookie season, he posted 16 goals and 20 assists for 36 points. The team was 3rd in the league, but fell to Buffalo in the conference finals. That effectively ended Toronto's cup window. The team absolutely collapsed in their following seasons. Ryu had 2 seasons with 40+ points, in seasons 59 and 62. He couldn't even crack 30 in seasons 60 and 61. The North Stars completely missed the playoffs twice. The other two years? They got swept, and bested in 5 games. Ryu Jones quickly became one of Toronto's most valuable players. As the previous starpower left, Ryu became the main guy. And with Toronto in the midst of a rebuild, it made sense to trade Ryu while his value was high. A team looking to take the next step was the Baltimore Platoon. They had lost to the Hamilton Steelhawks in two consecutive conference finals. Would Ryu be the solution to this problem? Not exactly, but Baltimore has no regrets. In his first season, Ryu Jones posted 82 points. It still wasn't enough, as Hamilton eliminated Baltimore in the conference finals. Baltimore took a step back, losing in the 2nd round in season 64. They took another step back, losing in the first round in season 65. In season 66, they missed the playoffs completely. Was Ryu Jones cursed? Every team he joins seems to get worse and worse. His play was spectacular. In 264 games with Baltimore, he put up 331 points. He was a mainstay in the SHL's top scorer leaderboards. A consistent first round fantasy pick.

Baltimore was now in a full rebuild, and traded Ryu to the Chicago Syndicate for a 1st round pick. Deja vu from 4 seasons prior. Chicago had already won a cup in season 63, they were looking to extend their window. Ryu has continued his above point-per-game production to this day. In the past 3 seasons with Ryu, Chicago has lost in the first round, lost in the conference finals, and lost in the first round. What's next for Ryu Jones? He's been one of the SHL's top players, yet he just cannot get his hands on a cup of any kind.

*CptSquall* · 03-02-2023, 12:18 PM

Approved, +5 TPE to @Yagoyi

SFresh3 · 03-02-2023, 11:04 PM

Thanks for the haunting memories @Yagoyi. I kid, this is actually really awesome.

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