- The season got off to a great start last week
and was highlighted by a number of trades in Tier-2, this week the trade wire
was quiet which is probably a reflection of teams wanting to let the dust
settle to see what all the collected parts amount to.
· - That said, a few items to consider about trades:
o
It’s been one week and
Saqib Sheikh hasn’t been traded yet. According to sources from Vegas it’s
inevitable that the amiable player will be moved to another team as he is the
most traded player in I-Slam history. The only question is when?
o
Prior to the draft Ikhlas
had a vision of the players they wanted playing on their team. With a series of
trades they’ve managed to land everyone they wanted except for league MVP
Waseem Bangash. If GM Multani pulls that off he should automatically receive
the GM of the Year award.
· - Haya and Ikhlas players should steer far away from any buckets/garbage cans they find in the
team bench. Apparently both teams have
players who have a habit of filling it during the game with the aftermath of their
dinner!
· - Ihsan is reported to be short on D this coming
week due to planned player absences as well as injuries, the question is that
after the strong showing from their forwards last week will they push someone
back or try to call up a Defenseman from Tier-2. The do have players with some versatility to
drop back and with the performance from their second line last week they have
options so it will be interesting to see what they do
· - Taqwa got a measure of revenge on Sabr in Week
One, the two met in the finals last season where Sabr took the title with an OT
win (Video Recaps are coming eventually...we promise) however Taqwa managed to
snag to key players from Sabr in the draft.
Farooq Khan who put up a hat-trick in the Championship game including
the OT winner and Luqman Arshad who was a thorn in their side with his
play. Despite the assumed animosity with
Arshad, Taqwa recognized his skill and grabbed him in the draft to give their
defense core a boost
- Emaan had their trademark pedal to the metal
approach in their first game but this style is likely to burn them as much as
boost them over the season as their fast physical approach will put them in a
PK position more often if they aren't careful
· - Back to Taqwa, Shaukat Khan got his season off
to a strong start with a goal and two assists, the young forward has blossomed
into an offensive threat every time he's on the floor
· - Ikhlas got a surprising boost from their second
line last week as their speed and tenacity kept Zuhd trapped deep and Azim
Siddique put up two goals and an assist in the win. Early pundits have thrown his name out there
for Most Improved Player – an early assessment considering we are only a week
into the season
· - Ridha was missing some key players last week and
it showed as the players forced into unfamiliar positions seemed to struggle with
their new roles, that said Abdul Wahab Mohammad seemed to give their back end
some speed on the attack so it will be interesting to see if he remains there
for Ridha's next game
· - In his first ever shift
of organized ball hockey, Haya defenseman Omar Khalifa was left with a shiner
after being hit in the face with the ball.
He proved his competitiveness by completing his shift and playing
through the pain for the remainder of the game – let's hope he invested in a
visor for his next game
· - Haya seemed to benefit
from the coaching of Kashif Taqiuddin, or "Coach K" as he insists his
players call him, Taqiuddin is rumored to be looking to knock off Ibrahim Hindy
as the best coach in Muslim Ball Hockey but he has his work cut out for him as
Hindy has successfully coached his team to successive Salaam Cup Titles. Taqiuddin did draft a strong team and the
draft selection of Mehmed
Rizvanovic seemed to already pay dividends and puts Haya as one of the
strongest teams in Tier-2 this season
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