It has been a long time coming for the Saint John Kings organization and for the fans in the Loyalist City. After 10 long seasons of ups and downs, as well as too many first and second round playoff heartbreaks the Kings have finally succeeded. The Kings have finally won the ODBHL Cup!
Once again it was that time of year where all the hard work and effort put in by the players came to a head and we really see which teams rise to be the cream of the crop. Over the past 10 seasons this was also the time that spelt heartbreak for Saint John Kings fans. It seems no matter how well this team performed during the long tumultuous season, good or bad the luck for the Kings would spoil like old milk. Here in Saint John we have seen our beloved Kings bow down to a hard hitting Royals teams, Melons of various sizes, a hellish Devils team as well as some down home folks from Albert County to name a few. Now after all these seasons things have finally clicked where we have seen our beloved Kings manage to remove the Devils from the playoffs in a first round match up in 5 games. This was a series the Saint John management was not looking forward to after being picked apart 6 games to 2 in the regular season. The Kings went on to face the Royals in a majestic series, also ousting the Riverview team in 5 games. This is another team that has always been a thorn in the side of the Kings. As the finals approached fans were unsure what to expect coming up against the hard hitting, defensive monster known as the South Esk Scotsmen. Logan Thompson stood tall and Nikita Kucherov stepped up leading the Kings past his former team of 4 seasons to win their first cup in the ODBHL history.
With all the changes GM John Kenny made with this team since it’s inception, it will be interesting to see how he moves forward after the ODBHL Cup hangover subsides!
Irwin P Freely
Telegraph Journal
12/16/2024 - 352 words
