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Ronniewalker · 04-22-2025, 10:09 AM

Lemo Pihl was my first player in the SHL. I had discovered the SHL after googling for hockey manager games and decided to try it out.

Lemo was created just after the S55 SMJHL draft, as the new season was starting, so he was signed by the Anchorage Armada as an undrafted free agent. He would play 46 games of the then 50-game season, amassing only a modest 6 points over the whole season with an average ice time just under 10 minutes a game. He was new to the league and it took time for him to find solid footing. Luckily the Armada were happy to give him a chance anyway, as he was an diligent earner. On the same token he was drafted to the SHL by the Texas Renegades with the 29th overall pick in the S56 SHL draft.

The next season (56) saw his duties and performance increase somewhat, if still not spectacularly, finishing the season with 22 points with just under 15 minutes a game. Lemo started to come into his own in his third season (57) with the Armada, with 39 points and tied for the team lead in plus-minus with also +39. The Armada also managed to win the Four-Star Cup that season, giving Lemo his first championship at this level.

Lemo had also joined Team Finland by then and captured the WJC gold with them both in Season 57 and 58.

Next season (58) saw a big drop in the Armada's performance across the board and Lemo finished with only 30 points and no other notable contributions.

In Season 59 Lemo was finally called up to join the SHL with the Texas Renegades, a team that was poised to move from rebuilding status to true contendership after some great management by the teams management in the previous seasons. Lemo scored a decent 33 points in his rookie season and the Renegades were crowned the Challenge Cup champions right in Lemo's first season in the big league!

While focusing more on the defensive side, he nonetheless continued to enhance his production with 37, 45 and 47 points in the following seasons and the Renegades captured another Challenge Cup in Season 62!

That season was also the first of the three Team Finland IIHF gold wins that came in S62, S64 and S66, giving Lemo the Quad-Gold Club membership already in just 7 seasons in the SHL universe!

After that season it was time for Lemo to assume more responsibilities and he responded by scoring 64 points in S63 and finally eclipsed PPG rate with 76 points in S64.

But with the Renegades team changing management and the new management opting to go into rebuild mode, it was time for in-his-prime Lemo to be used as a prized trade piece to help bring Texas some needed new blood and Lemo was traded to the Toronto North Stars in the offseason before S65.

Lemo spent two seasons in Toronto, scoring 70 and 71 points, but somehow it didn't feel like a good fit at the time and he decided to try free agency.

He joined the Philadelphia Forge from S67 and went on to play 7 seasons with them before finally retiring. He reached new career highs of 77 and 78 points and also managed to contribute to another Challenge Cup championship with the Forge in S69!

Despite never really becoming an all-star caliber player, Lemo's diligent earning and responsible style of two-way play allowed him to have a successful career in all the levels of the SHL universe and achieve more of the various championships than he ever could have dreamed of when first joining the SHL!

chetib · 04-22-2025, 02:35 PM

Approved +5 TPE

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