Yellowknife Wraiths
8-6
Second in NSFC
Round 1: Lost to Baltimore Hawks


The Good

@`ardiesavea` said something about being unbiased despite the Yellowknife Wraiths being the team that I play for. So let me get this out of the way before I begin. The Wraiths are an amazing organization, and I could easily write twenty bullet-points on how good they are. But for the sake of this article, I’ll stick to only three.

Number One: Points for. Despite only having a point differential of positive five, the Wraiths scored 32 more points than anyone else in the conference, with 300 on the season, and were second to only the Ultimus winning Arizona Outlaws in the league. It is clear that the Wraiths have one of the most fire-powered offenses in the league, led by pro bowl players everywhere on that side. Quarterback Chris Orosz, running back Bubba Nuck, receivers Josh Garden and Bailey Cook, tight end Ricky Maddox and linemen Mat Akselsen and Jogn Floggity are all receiving a great deal of votes to represent the conference in the trivial game. This shows that no matter where you look, they have stars on offense. It is no surprise they posted 300 points after looking at the lineup this team boasts.

Number Two: The mid-season acquisition of A.C. Hackett. The ex-San Jose SaberCats linebacker was the defensive leader of this team during the second half of the season. He finished the year with 114 tackles and 6 sacks. He was the only member of the Wraiths defensive corps who had at least 100 tackles, and it wasn’t even close. Rookie Kevin Cushing showed prowess with 88 tackles and 5 sacks, but without Hackett, an already barren defense looks a lot worse. Now only time will tell if the prized backer can be retained or if he will jump ship again.

Number Three: Good ol’ Archibald Booter. The Booter is a less talked about bright spot of this team. Kicking can often make a huge difference in a football game, and you need a guy who can go out onto the field time and time again and hit some field goals. The season 1 draftee did just that, connecting on a league leading 93.3% of his attempts. In comparison, nobody else in the league had a clip over 90%. He also made 28 of 31 extra points, which could have been better, but also could’ve been a lot worse. He is also incredibly committed to training, so it looks like the team is committed to keeping the fan favorite “Booter” around!


The Bad

And now I have to write about the bad aspects of my own team, which is hard, but there is definitely material to pull for this.

Number One: Points against. Lets play a little “point, counterpoint” (pun intended) here. I said my praises for how many points the Wraiths scored, now I’ll criticize how many they gave up. 295 to be exact, which is the most among the teams who aren’t from San Jose or Las Vegas. I already said that the defense didn’t have all that much, and that statement surely still stands. The defensive line is pretty bare. Bork Bjornsson is on the rise as a player in this league, but there was much left to be desired this season. Jason Spearhead, and Everest Teagarden were not exactly the same, despite the slight improvements of waiver pickup Shiterrick Skidmarks. It wasn’t a task too arduous for opposing linemen to block these rushers, and that is why the Wraiths also struggled so much with recording sacks. Look for this to be addressed sooner rather than later.
Number Two: Safeties. The position, not the two point score, to be clear. Marcus Kane was picked in the Season 2 Draft, but, like many of the players on the Wraiths defense, is just not ready for this level of play yet. Alex Hansen is a little bit more capable, but a lax approach in the training room hasn’t helped him out any. He is good for now, but as the league grows, he may get lost, although I'm confident he will turn it around. And then there’s converted running back Levon Novel, who may have found more success at a different position, or sticking around as a running back somewhere else. This position is at a premium in the league, so the Wraiths will hope that the current cast of characters can kick it into gear sooner rather than later.
Number Three: The rest of the offensive line. Akselsen and Floggity are doing a fine job holding it down, but two men don’t make a complete set. Matt James, Tyron Smith and Jughead Jones are not exactly an elite group, and for a bottom three, could probably be labeled as below-average. The Wraiths did not get the projected activity level out of those three. Matt James stated that he has had some medical issues, so if he comes back, I suppose that’s another good one. But it certainly is an area of need.

The Future

Bias aside, it is not hard to see that the future of this team is quite bright, and the Yellowknife Wraiths look to continue to be a perennial contender in this league. Despite making the playoffs, they will be picking third in this season’s draft, because they have the Liberty’s first round pick. There should be plenty of blue chip prospects available at that point, and a need such as defensive or offensive line is quite likely to be addressed. The rest of the offense looks pretty much good to go, even getting commitment from fullback Eric Kennedy and desire to return expressed by backup running back Erlich Burnsman. The biggest question surrounding this team is the future of A.C. Hackett, which is very much in question at the moment. He has stated that he will be testing free agency, and that the Wraiths are still a top destination, but in this league, nothing is guaranteed. The offseason will give the rest of the defense more time to develop, and this squad will be coming out poised next season.