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***sve7en*** · 01-13-2024, 12:21 AM

[See you tomorrow for one more.]

One of the most dynamic players in the modern SHL on and off the ice, Jimmy Wagner never blew the cover off the record books. He rarely went above a point per game (though that was also the era he played in), but he rarely drifted far below that mark. He elevated teams, elevated the players around him, and with some key decisions to stay in Los Angeles and move to Seattle, shaped a large portion of the SHL history over the past 4 calendar years and 23 seasons.

The plan, since leaving for Seattle, was to come back to Los Angeles and be there for the next window. Ride some coat tails, chase some bulk stats (damn it @Scrufdaddy), and be the last one standing out of the legendary S53 class. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like it will quite unfold like that, but I've come to terms with it.

This is a greatly abridged story of something I never could have imagined on my own, shoutout to everyone involved - you'll probably be tagged tomorrow.

End of Season 51

Jimmy Wagner arrives in North America for the first time. In his head are dreams of a bright future in the SHL, but he’s in town a week ahead of the SMJHL draft because top international prospects are being collected for a WJC team. Among the international prospect roster are future stars Steve Harrington (@Lime), Ryuuji Minamino (@Nhamlet), Burlok Sulfurgold (@leviadan), (Clean) Andrei Kostitsyn (@Clean Andrei Kostitsyn), and Toki Wartooth (@Pickle Juice) as well as future manager of the Carolina Kraken, Chris Conner (that's me!). Wagner champions the Prospect team to the bracket stage with 12 points in 18 games before succumbing to the older players on their international teams.

Energized with the success, Jimmy excels at the combine, wowing teams with his on ice speed and off ice professionalism and charisma. He comfortably sits as a top 15 prospect in many rankings, and in one of the greatest draft classes in the modern era he is selected 6th overall in the S52 SMJHL Entry Draft by the Carolina Kraken - joining a draft class of hockey royalty including Ambacas Cuddles (@trella) and Frans Eller (@Ace).

(@sve7en)

Season 52

The early 50s Kraken are loaded with talent. Fresh off a pair of SMJHL titles, Fox McCloud has his eyes on more with a roster overflowing with SHL talent. One Joseph Weston (@ACapitalChicago) that pushes for Jimmy Wagner to be drafted by Carolina is joined by Keith Lee (@TheDangaZone), Tom Fiddler (@PremierBromanov), Michael Fitted (@Fitted2106), Kenny Creller (@Mook), and Alexei Rykov (@RaginCajun) to make up a core that’s more than capable of contending for the cup.

Jimmy struggles in his first full season, racking up just 14 points in 50 games on 12 minutes of ice time. His game is not suited to North American hockey and it shows. Carolina, Detroit, and Colorado tie for the regular season crown, and the Kraken are bounced in the semi-finals.

SHL teams still recognize the young Austrian’s ceiling is incredibly high, and the Los Angles Panthers trade up to select him 5th overall behind the previously mentioned Cuddles and Harrington, as well as future all stars Magnus Liljeström (@roastpuff) and Edward Williams (@Aephino).

(@Wasty)

Season 53

Jimmy Wagner stands at the front of the Kraken team ready to take the ice. A second year captain of the team, he looks to carry the team into a new era for the organization with many players graduating to the SHL and a new era for the league as sweeping rule changes have changed what the game will look like, forever. Future stars again dot the roster, Dwight Knight (@hockeyiscool), Panda Panico (@peej2189), and Adam Friedland (@Bongo) don the orange and black, but the season is a wash - as expected with the talent that departed. Carolina finishes 8th in the league and Jimmy joins Lee as 30 point scorers in a slow start for the next generation.

(@sve7en)

Season 54

The talent has fully developed at this point. Jimmy has evolved into a complete player, the roster has taken big steps forward as a whole, and a young defensive pair has emerged as the future of hockey in the southeast. Axel Foley (@Mazatt) and Conner Hutton (@overdoo) join up with a Sven Yxskaft (@kenvald) rental to make a defensive core of 5 future names to know in the SHL. Wagner puts his name on the map for SHL fans watching the next generation with 53 points, a share of the scoring title, and the MVP award. They finish 2 points off the leaders in the regular season but find a formidable St. Louis team waiting for them. Facing elimination in overtime of Game 6, Jimmy scores the breakaway game winner, giving them momentum to carry Game 7 before beating the Outlaws in 6 games to bring a third cup to the Carolinas in just 5 seasons since the team’s relocation.

(@sve7en)

Season 55

Primed to repeat that success, Carolina finishes just a point outside of the regular season race and Jimmy once again stands out with a top 10 scoring season, but the Kraken end Jimmy’s 3 season captaincy run with a loss in the semifinals to continuous rivals Newfoundland, Minamino, and Harrington, the eventual cup winners they were one point behind to.

Off the ice, Jimmy’s hockey career is the subject of many twitter rumors. In the limited interaction over the last few seasons there have been notable schisms with members of the Panthers. Multiple teams are interested in trading for who they believe could be a future hall of fame talent. Eventually, as management turns over in Los Angeles, shocking many, Jimmy decides to stay a Panther.

Domestically or internationally, depending on your perspective, Jimmy also has a public falling out with his international federation. He skips training with the international team and files paperwork to forfeit his citizenship.

(@sulovilen)

Season 56

The new era in Los Angeles is spearheaded by a rebuild to get younger and develop prospects, and rebuild they do as Fox McCloud drafts Carolina teammate Grape Fruit (@canes2112), Hall of Fame candidate “Long” John Donair (@GCool) and the greatest defenseman of all time, Jonas Kahnwald (@Festinator) on the word of Wagner and his assistant manager in Carolina, Conner. Immediately named an alternate captain, Jimmy joins began to lay the groundwork for seasons to come with 22 points in his opening campaign. Jimmy Slothface (@slothfacekilla) and Michael Fox (@FuzzSHL) stand out and provide a veteran presence as the team begins the 7 Season Rebuild.

(@sve7en)

Season 57 - Season 59

Head down, get to work.

In season 57, similar to 56, Wagner continues to adjust to the SHL’s physicality, but manages to move up to 5th on the team in scoring with 41 points. Elias Kierkegaard (@Count Chocula) joins the Panthers, the first of the new era to join Wagner.

In season 58, Jimmy continues slow progression towards the peak and Fruit and Kahnwald join the roster. Internationally, Austria sees massive shifts in their hockey federation (which would benefit the nation long term) but not before Jimmy steps away from the team permanently. Off the ice, Wagner’s charity work and contributions to the hockey community win him (me) the Littleton Award.

In season 59, Donair joins the fold, laying the groundwork for one of the most dangerous lines in hockey between the pairing of Elias and Jonas with Donair’s scoring and Wagner’s playmaking. It still needs more time to develop, but Jimmy has established himself as a near point per game player. Internationally, he continues his hiatus from IIHF play.

In season 60, Jimmy helps bring Elijah Jones back to Los Angeles, and Sean Gatez (@SewingWithNancy) emerges from Maine, as a contending roster begins to take shape. While the Panthers still struggle to get out of the first round of the playoffs, it truly seems like only a matter of time now. Off the ice, Jimmy marries his wife Kate and through that joins the Swedish national team.

(@sköldpaddor)

Season 61

Before the season, Jimmy erupts for a point per game in his first international tournament in three years, bringing the Swedes a bronze medal - their first medal in three seasons.

Back in Los Angeles, turnover was nearly complete. Jimmy is given the captaincy, Bryce McMahon (@MN_Moosey) and Aleks Blixstrom (@Exilate) have arrived. The team win 31 games as the youth movement takes hold, and confirming an average of 30 wins per season while going through an entire rebuild.

(@Nokazoa / @sve7en)

Season 62

In the offseason, Jimmy helps recruit all stars Rock Strongo (@Leafs4ever) and Sarah Burke (@Kyamprac), while the team trades for Cormac Ponaire (@wumaduce). It is full steam ahead for the Panthers, and Jimmy responds in kind with a 38 goal, 48 assist campaign that skyrockets him to Mexico discussion alongside the friend who he once shared the J scoring title with, Ryuuji Minamino. Both make the all-pro team, Minamino takes MVP, but they don’t meet in the Western Conference Finals as Chicago and Los Angeles both sequentially fall to Texas.

After that performance, Jimmy is named captain of the Swedish IIHF team, but we don't talk about that tournament.

(@dirigiblejones)

Season 63

Jimmy is joined by Bobby Lane (@Rich), and the pair both score 60 points during the season. In the postseason, Jimmy takes it one step further and scores a team high 19 points, carrying the Panthers to their first Challenge Cup Final in 22 years where they fall to Hamilton.

Internationally, Jimmy continues his hot run as a letter wearer for Sweden, winning the IIHF tournament’s top forward award.

[Image: Wagner.png?width=306&height=420]

@karey

Season 64

Jimmy follows up his back to back high scoring campaigns with a 70 point effort as he reunites Joseph Weston and goes point per game in the playoffs again, only to be upset before reaching the WCF. The anger from that postseason carries Jimmy to a near PPG performance and a silver medal for Team Sweden.

@Ragnar

Season 65

The final pieces of the puzzle are put into place as former Kraken Luukas Lilja (@retuperkele) joins the Panthers. They win the Presidents Trophy for the first time in 33 years. Captain Wagner refuses to be denied, scoring 18 points as they sweep the divisional rounds, and finish 16-4 in the playoffs with a win over Tampa Bay in what would set the record for alumni from one SMJHL team competing in a single Challenge Cup Finals (14 Kraken alumni) and end one of the longest droughts in SHL history, giving Los Angeles their first title in 48 years.

Season 66

Primed to repeat, Los Angeles surge into the playoffs, winning the division once again. However, the run, and era, is slammed closed by the Seattle Argonauts. With cap hits looming and the age of the roster in question, Los Angeles management face tough decisions in the offseason ahead. The SHL world is rocked one offseason morning, as the Panthers and previously mentioned Argonauts finalize a blockbuster trade. The Panthers, in recognition of the times ahead, send Wagner, the future Hall of Famer Lilja, and the GOAT defenseman Kahnwald to Seattle. Jimmy pushed for the trio to go to Seattle if a move like this had to happen, and in a heartfelt message to Los Angeles, he vows to return home but acknowledges it’s for the best for everyone involved.

(@sulovilen)

Season 67

It is clearly good move for Seattle and the dividends are there immediately. The Argonauts see Wagner put up 60 once again and Lilja put up 38 points in the playoffs as they rip through Winnipeg in route to the Finals where Jimmy scores two points in Game 7 to help deliver the first championship to Seattle in franchise history.

(@sve7en)

Season 68

In a near carbon copy of 67, Seattle is even more dominant. Jimmy secures his 2nd President’s Trophy with a second team in 4 seasons. The playoffs are eerily similar as Seattle cruise through the West, once again meeting Manhattan in the finals. Manhattan looks to flip the outcome, clawing back from 3-1 down to force another Game 7, but the Argonauts hold. Kahnwald notches 2 assists, including one on Lilja’s game winner. They are back to back champions, the first repeat winners since the S30/S31 Wolfpack.

In the offseason, Jimmy caps off the peak of his career by completing the Triple Crown as Sweden won their first gold medal in 20 seasons.

Season 69

Seattle is looking to be the first three-peat winner in league history. In their way, Winnipeg, the behemoth on retained salaries looking to start their era of dominance. Both teams win 50 games, but Lilja is gone. Jimmy puts up another consistent season, but the Argonauts fall in game 7 of the Western conference finals.

Sweden also falls short to Canada in IIHF, as Jimmy adds a 4th medal in 10 seasons.

@enigmatic

Season 70

Seattle once again has the roster to reach the Western Conference Finals, but it’s now clear that the time of one eyed boats is nearing a conclusion. With one more gasp, the Argonauts end their 5 season WCF run at three finals and two titles. Jimmy’s run ends at 9 seasons, 7 WCF, 4 Cup Finals, and 3 Cups. Their core dominant, elevated by Mihalov and the Panther trio orchestrated in part by Wagner, they leave their mark on the league record books.

In the offseason, Jimmy once again wins Silver with Sweden. More importantly for this story, the Argonauts recognize their window is also over. Wagner’s long time friend Jonas is traded home to Chicago, and the former captain returns to Los Angeles.

(@sulovilen)

Season 71 - Season 74

The epilogue.

“Home is where the heart is”, but Jimmy now had many.

Back in Los Angeles, it was time to take a back seat to the new era of Panthers. No longer the dominant player of the 60s, Jimmy sits back and mentors where he can, joining the vets in guiding the developing roster to playoff series wins in three of the last four seasons.

Now, finally, with the roster close to where it was at a decade ago, 1238 games later, (224 more in the postseason) the work is nearly done. While there might be one more team to mentor for a season, and 12 more points to score, Jimmy sits among elite company atop the league’s history. There were better statistical seasons and careers out there, but Jimmy Wagner wasn't ever going to make the Hall of Fame being that player. But I think the Hall goes beyond that, as it does in the real world - Jimmy elevated and sculpted, both the team around him and the story of the SHL:

9th in games played

19th in assists

23rd in points

24th in goals

2nd all time in points (LAP)

2nd all time in assists (LAP)

3rd all time in goals (LAP)

2nd all time in games played (LAP)

2nd in shots in a single season (FHM6)

3x Challenge Cups (S65 / S67 / S68)

Ended 48 year LAP drought

First repeat winners in 36 years