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***luke*** · 03-05-2024, 07:06 AM

Darian Scherbluk
@leafsftw1967

You know when you are at the point of talking about the 12 best players in league history, you are talking about legendary players. Like, the best of the best. So it is crazy to think that 2 of them were drafted in the same year, by the same team. In the S8 SHL Entry Draft, the Hamilton Steelhawks selected Joe McKeil at 3rd Overall, and then at 5th Overall selected Defenseman Darian Scherbluk. Also in the same draft the Hawks selected Darian’s brother Yousuf at 15th overall, who became a great player in his own right. But it is Darian who we talk about now, because by the time D Scherbluk’s career ended 22 seasons later, he had re-written the record books and established himself as one of the premier players of the first third of SHL history, as well as in the conversation for best defenseman of all time.

Darian had a moderate start to his career, joining his brother as true rookies on the S8 Hamilton team, scoring 10 pts in his rookie season. S9 to S11 was the Inflation Era, and Darian saw his points increase from 10 to 39 then 55 in S11 for a point per game season in just his 4th. This era not only saw an increase in points, but a big increase in hits. Darian was a wrecking ball in that stretch, getting 169, 176, then 131 hits. S10 was also the season Darian earned his first trophy, with 198 penalty minutes including 12 fights, he handily won the Turd Ferguson award. At this point he was showing that he was a tough contender indeed.

S12 sees the league move away from the inflation era, and Scherbluk’s stats take a corresponding dip. He has a 4 season stretch of good but not great. But then S16 comes around and a trade happens which changes the trajectory of his career. We see Scherbluk on the move to Toronto, in exchange for 2 players, a first round and a second round pick.

S16 sees Scherbluk’s stats take a big uptick, he scores 49 points and 136 hits, showing his two-way abilities he earns his first all-star award and also receives his first nomination for the Stevens award for best defenseman.

S17 is another great year for him, with 47 points and 131 hits, this is finally his year and he wins his first Stevens Award - it is a tie with Partlow, the first time a major award had co-winners. The two of them would go on to battle each other for D-Man Supremacy for the next decade. He is also named as a First team All-Star. He also earns his second Turd Ferguson award, with 150 penalty minutes including 8 fights. He is proving himself to be a star in the league. But in a shocking turn of events, Toronto trades away Scherbluk in a big swap with Manhattan before the Draft, citing a need to get younger with Scherbluk regressing. So with his Stevens trophy still warm, he is off to his 3rd team, joining the Rage for S18.

He doesn’t slow down at all, in fact he has one of his best seasons ever since the inflation era. With a huge 17 goals and 53 points, he ends up tied for 3rd in scoring in the entire league. This not only gets him a 2nd straight Stevens Award, but he is also nominated for the Mexico for league MVP, and another First team All-Star.

S19 sees another stellar season for Scherbluk, he scores 45 points - a bit of a drop but scoring has gone down league wide and it is enough to lead all defensemen. He becomes the first player in league history, and still the only one, to win 3 consecutive Stevens Awards. But Manhattan is unable to win a Cup despite being a top team, and with Scherbluk a pending UFA, the player and the team part ways. And where does Scherbluk end up? Back in Toronto!

Scherbluk continues his dominant ways in S20, with 45 points he is nominated again for a Stevens, the 5th time in a row. He narrowly misses out to his main rival, Chris Partlow, as the two of them seem to always be nominated every year, both being 1st team all stars for 5 consecutive seasons now.

The next few seasons saw the expected drop in production as he saw his points dip to 36 in S21 and then 40 in S22. But he had a resurgent year in S23, potting 42 points but also seeing one of his best defensive years to date with 139 hits and a career high 81 shot blocks. This newfound return to a two way defender earned him another Stevens nomination and another 1st team all-star.

S24 was his 17th season in the league, and he proved to have one last great season in him. For the 3rd time in his career he broke the ppg mark with 51 points, good enough to lead his team by a margin of 10 points. The league recognized his brilliance by bestowing his 4th Stevens award of his career. He was the first player to ever win 4 Stevens awards out of 7 nominations. And for the 7th time in 10 seasons he was a first team all-star.

He played 5 more seasons after that, all with Toronto, but regression finally caught up and he saw his ice time and production dwindle. He finally retired after S29, spending over 2 decades in the league. His career totals were 1107 games played, 178 goals and 575 assists for 753 points. When he retired he was the leader in every offensive category for defensemen. He still sits 2nd in all time scoring by a Dman, 2nd in all time assists, and 5th in penalty minutes. He was a dominant force no matter where he went, and when you see his 4x Stevens + 3 noms, a Mexico nom, 2x Turd Ferguson wins, and 7 times a first team all-star, you know that he was one of the best of his era, and one of the best of all time.

Written by @Muerto

[Image: aZSXz8y.png]

***Muerto*** · 03-05-2024, 08:00 PM

This article goes up and I pull a Scherbluk card. Coincidence?

Also what a fantastic player and career!

**leafsftw1967** · 03-05-2024, 11:47 PM

Thanks for the great trip down memory lane and for the kind words Luke! Looking back I can't believe it has been over 14 years irl since I created my first player in the SHL when I wasn't even a teenager yet

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