Create Account

S76 Minnesota Monarchs Media Guide
#1

Minnesota Monarchs Media Guide
[Image: MinnesotaMonarchs1.png?ex=6614dcba&is=66...height=964]
S76

Minnesota Monarchs
3M Center
199 Kellogg Blvd W, Saint Paul, MN
Capacity: 20,000


Owner, Governor, President and Ceo - Greg Walker
Senior VP, Alternate Governor - Cal Labovitch
Executive VP, General Manager - Izem Abioye
Associate General Manager - Dymo Ranjan
Vice President, Hockey Operations - Eero Hamalainen
Head of Scouting - Jayden Cloutier
Pro Scouts - Maria Maximova, Eric Pelletier
Amateur Scouts - Collin Gibbles, Taaro Kkakonen

Meet Our Staff

Greg Walker

Walker enters this, his 20th season as owner of the franchise, with a finer understanding of what the team has meant to him since his purchase of the team during the 56th SHL season. Overseeing the franchise's rebrand from the Chiefs, Walker has seen 8 trips to the playoffs in his tenure, and has high expectations this season.

Walker, a native of Cambria, California, grew up a fan of baseball and soccer before going to college at UCLA, graduating with a Master's degree in Business and a minor in computer science. He put those skills to the test with the creation of several successful tech infrastructure startups, helping to bolster his wealth. During the 51st SHL Season, Walker moved to St. Paul, Minnesota, where he became a fan of the then-Chiefs, and when they came up for sale, he sold his stake in one of his companies and bought the team, swiftly renaming the team to Monarchs, the name they play under today.

Cal Labovitch

Labovitch enters this season with a new role as Senior VP, allowing Walker to promote him out of the General Manager position he served for just two seasons. He looks to bring his skills as a people-person to good use in establishing a workplace culture for the Monarchs front office.

Cal is a Monarchs legend, selected 9th overall in the S52 SHL Draft, the Swiss forward immediately, scoring 20 or more goals 8 times in his career, including a 72-point season in S62. He finished his career with 575 SHL points in 694 games, good for 6th all time for a Monarch. After retiring as a member of the Baltimore Platoon, he went back to Europe to coach before being hired as Assistant General Manager for the Monarchs, promoted to the role when Eero Hamalainen stepped down.

Izem Abioye

Abioye brings his passion and drive from his game as a minor league defenseman to his first full season as Monarchs General Manager, and has made his bones as an executive building teams through the draft and through bold moves, something coming to define his tenure as GM in Minnesota.

Abioye began his life in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, the son of well-off parents who were able to build a culture of sport around the young man. Drafted to the SMJHL by the St. Louis Scarecrows, Abioye played 3 unproductive seasons before a car accident ended his professional career. Serving as an amateur scout for the Falcons for several years, he eventually moved to Baltimore's front office, before being hired onto the scouting staff in Minnesota. Promoted to Assistant General Manager, Abioye took the role vacated by Labovitch last season.

Player Information

Jeff Newman #1
Age: 26
DOB: January 4th
Place of Origin: Liverpool, England, UK
Height: 6'4"
Weight: 202 lbs
Catching Hand: Left
Drafted: S68, Round 3, Pick #41

Last Season: Served as starter for the first time in his career, posted a career-best in wins, goals against average, goals saved against average, and save percentage, with a 17-17-3 record, delivered the Monarchs two wins in the playoffs.

Notes: Newman credits his mentor, former Monarchs goaltender Enes Gundogan with his work ethic and playstyle.

Brendan Laroux #2
Age: 27
DOB: December 22nd
Place of Origin: Sainte-Verge, France
Height: 6'5"
Weight: 224 lbs
Shooting Hand: Right
Drafted: S67, Round 1, Pick #11

Last Season: Served 2nd-pair power play minutes and posted a career high 20 goals, including 17 on the power play, had a career high points total of 51 over a full 66-game season. Nominated to his first All-Star game appearance.

Notes: Won bronze this season in IIHF play for Team Ireland

Nevek Kove #4
Age: 27
DOB: April 28th
Place of Origin: Quebec City, Canada
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 195 lbs
Shooting Hand: Right
Drafted: S67, Round 1, Pick #1

Last Season: Entering his 5th year as Monarchs Captain, Kove looks to bounce back from a statistically unimpressive season that saw him lead the Monarchs in minutes played. Kove remains one of just four Canadians on Minnesota’s roster.

Notes: Won bronze this season in IIHF play for Team Ireland, the third international competition medal he has acquired (Bronze, S69 w/ British Isles, Gold, S71 w/ Ireland).

Binko Koivu #6
Age: 30
DOB: April 17th
Place of Origin: Gobabis, Namibia
Height: 6'8"
Weight: 300 lbs
Shooting Hand: Right
Drafted: S64, Round 2, Pick #31

Last Season: A 2nd Team All-Star and Jeff Dar Award Winner last season, Koivu was a late trade acquisition for the Monarchs, is the only player besides Knight on the team to have scored 100 points in multiple seasons.

Notes: Koivu and Beausoleil share a junior connections, as they are both Colorado Raptor products.

Meta Knight #7
Age: 27
DOB: May 17th
Place of Origin: Dreamland
Height: 6'3"
Weight: 193  lbs
Shooting Hand: Left
Drafted: S67, Round 2, Pick #37

Last Season: Knight continues to climb up the franchise scoring records, and looks to move into the top 3 if he has a season like his last, Knight looks to rebound from a dip in scoring from last season.

Notes: Knight’s jersey is the highest-selling piece of Monarchs merchandise for the team for the past two seasons running.

Bastien Primeau #8
Age: 26
DOB: April 16th
Place of Origin: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 200 lbs
Shooting Hand: Right
Drafted: S68, Round 2, Pick #25

Last Season: Primeau looks to step into a permanent role as a 2nd line wing with Hai Nam Hoang, providing offense to a defensively stable middle of the roster, looks to prove his potential as a top scorer with Detroit in the SMJHL.

Notes: Primeau and Newman both won the Four Star Cup with Detroit in S68.

Xavier Beausoleil #12
Age: 21
DOB: September 10th
Place of Origin: Saint-Gabriel-de-Brandon, Canada
Height: 6'5"
Weight: 236 lbs
Shooting Hand: Left
Drafted: S73, Round 1, Pick #3

Last Season: Broke the SMJHL Raptors’ career assist record with 209 in his 4-year career, led Colorado to Four Star Cup, S76 callup, the only S73 player with the Monarchs this season.

Notes: Beausoleil holds two franchise records for the Raptors, assists and hits in a career.

JR Frankenstero #22
Age: 30
DOB: March 9th
Place of Origin: Reykjavik, Iceland
Height: 6'0"
Weight: 192 lbs
Shooting Hand: Right
Drafted: S64, Round 1, Pick #15

Last Season: Scored a career-best 38 goals, solid two-way contributor looking to play a large role in the twilight of his career on the 2nd line and penalty kill for the Monarchs.

Notes: Frankenstero is yet another Colorado Raptors product, alongside Binko Koivu and Xavier Beausoleil.

Hai Nam Hoang #27
Age: 26
DOB: April 4th
Place of Origin: Buon Me Thuot, Vietnam
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 151 lbs
Shooting Hand: Right
Drafted: S68, Round 2, Pick #21

Last Season: The league-leader in faceoff win percentage the past two seasons, Hoang saw his scoring dip while remaining a quality 30-assist player the past three seasons, looks to benefit from a new look for the 2nd line.

Notes: Hoang is, to date, the only Vietnamese player to play at the top level of hockey (SHL, SMJHL, IIHF, WJC).

Jacques Hammer #28
Age: 27
DOB: April 27th
Place of Origin: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Height: 6'0"
Weight: 220 lbs
Shooting Hand: Right
Drafted: S67, Round 1, Pick #14

Last Season: Posted a career-high 85 points for New England, Hammer looks to bring his defensive stability and offensive upside to the 3rd line for Minnesota, along with his experiences as a 2-time Challenge Cup Champion.

Notes: Won Bronze twice in his WJC career for Canada in S67 and S68.

Ally Mathieson #31
Age: 22
DOB: April 3rd
Place of Origin: Ski, Norway
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 181 lbs
Catching Hand: Left
Drafted: S71, Round 3, Pick #55

Last Season: A statistical downturn from a stellar rookie campaign, Mathieson will look to split starts with sophomore starter Newman, has eclipsed 3000 minutes played in a season once with Atlanta.

Notes: Mathieson is one of very few players to make the All-Rookie team in both the SHL and SMJHL.

Emil Egli #35
Age: 28
DOB: June 3rd
Place of Origin: Bern, Switzerland
Height: 6'5"
Weight: 196 lbs
Shooting Hand: Right
Drafted: S66, Round 1, Pick #5

Last Season: A landmark year for the Swiss defenseman, Egli scored 25 goals and 60 points while logging a career-high and league-leading 70 penalty minutes. Looks to be the replacement on Kove’s right with Florsch moving to the wing.

Notes: The most-decorated player on the Monarchs this season, Egli has won gold 4 times in his international career, and has a Challenge Cup and Scott Stevens award under his belt.

Adelie de Pengu #41
Age: 35
DOB: April 23rd
Place of Origin: Suisun City, California (Swedish national)
Height: 6'0"
Weight: 200 lbs
Catching Hand: Left
Drafted: S61, Round 1, Pick #4

Last Season: The oldest Monarch this season, Pengu looks to make an impact even with age on the 3rd pair with Minnesota, looking at her first full season with the team after a trade from Chicago.

Notes: Pengu remains a valued contributor to the Swedish National Team, with 3 gold medals and a Top Defensive Award.

Julian Florsch #42
Age: 28
DOB: April 27th
Place of Origin: Geneva, Switzerland
Height: 6'0"
Weight: 200 lbs
Shooting Hand: Left
Drafted: S66, Autoselected

Last Season: A switch to the wing for the heart of the Monarchs yielded a solid 64-point campaign for the former All-Rookie defenseman, shoring up a key position vacated by Piastri and Pane over the past two seasons.

Notes: Florsch will also look to help Switzerland return to glory with his new teammate Emil Egli.

Elena Maximova #64
Age: 24
DOB: June 16th
Place of Origin: Odesa, Ukraine
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 151 lbs
Shooting Hand: Right
Drafted: S70, Round 1, Pick #3

Last Season: The newest and youngest alternate captain for Minnesota, Maximova will look to accommodate to an uptick in usage from the previous season, a strategy for deployment that lowered her offensive output but led to solid success, looking to be the next great defenseman for the Monarchs moving forward.

Notes: Maximova is the latest Monarch to serve on the SHL’s All-Rookie Team, in S73.

Kevin Kim #96
Age: 23
DOB: May 12th
Place of Origin: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 200 lbs
Shooting Hand: Right
Drafted: S71, Round 2, Pick #26

Last Season: A growing offensive threat and faceoff specialist, Kim looks to build on his success in his past two seasons with the team, that each saw him collect more than 40 points and 20 goals.

Notes: Kim trains with Hoang in the offseason and on off-days to work on faceoffs.

Lazer Gato #99
Age: 23
DOB: April 21st
Place of Origin: Tijuana, Mexico
Height: 5'5"
Weight: 150 lbs
Shooting Hand: Left
Drafted: S70, Round 1, Pick #3

Last Season: The youngest defenseman for the Monarchs squad, Gato looks to build off a season where short deployment stints helped the diminutive left-shot defenseman, now paired with his best partner of his young career, Pengu.

Notes: With no Mexican IIHF squad, Gato has been a contributor to two Rhine silver medals in S72 and S73.

(Word Count: 1938)

[Image: TRVzgUB.png]

GrizzliesGrizzliesGrizzliesMonarchsMonarchsMonarchsMonarchsMonarchsMonarchsMonarchs

shl-oldshl-oldshl-oldUsaUsaMonarchsMonarchs
Reply
#2

Nice write up! Good luck this season

[Image: Oats.gif]




Player Page | Player Update
[Image: 401.png] [Image: S42cup1.png] [Image: r-Wt4-AB350oooo.png][Image: WuTGq5J.png][Image: XUMDqMO.png]
Reply




Users browsing this thread:
1 Guest(s)




Navigation

 

Extra Menu

 

About us

The Simulation Hockey League is a free online forums based sim league where you create your own fantasy hockey player. Join today and create your player, become a GM, get drafted, sign contracts, make trades and compete against hundreds of players from around the world.