Steve Hand

As a token of appreciation to the players that laced them up for the Jenkins Cup Champion Red Army team this late fall and early winter, the blog will be highlighting each player's season and doing a brief recap of a few defining moments that the player made to help Mother Russia dance her way to greatness.

Steve Hand
Regular Season Stats: 12 GP: 11 G, 8 A, 19 P
Postseason Stats: 4 GP: 2 G, 3 A, 5 P
(All stats per Hendricksmemoryability)

Oh captain, my captain. Steve Hand, born February 5, 1988, was the first, and to date, only, captain in the Red Army's history to lead his team to the promise land. Yes, some of the players to have ever worn the "C" for the Red Army possessed more skill than Hand. Yes, some of the ex-captains established more physical presences, it is true. But none, and by that I mean absolutely zero, of those captains before him had the leadership to rally the entire squad and ensure that the last game the Red Army played in the season would be a win.

His timely goals, all of which were scored in Red Army victories (9-0 regular season, 2-0 post season), earned him the nickname "The Kiss of Death". Like the Silver Surfer appearing on a planet a few days prior to its impending doom, Hand's goals, regardless the stage of the game that they were scored in, set off a series of irreversible events that would inevitably end in two points for the Soviets, regardless of the feeble attempts of Bronze Division rivals.

Hand scored two goals in the playoffs, one in the third round game against Prestige Worldwide and the other, the eventual game winner, in game one in the championship series against the Puck Ewes. His linemate, Tony Horton, and him went goal for goal with Mark Hendricks and Pat King in the four playoff games, and despite being dubbed the "second" line with hopes of providing "secondary" scoring, the two of them played first rate and were a primary reason the Soviets have a title to defend.

Also, Hand played goalie once in an early season Red Army victory. That's just showing range.

Appropriately it was the captain who first got to lay his paws on the Jenkins Cup T-Shirts and hoist it above his head. He had led his team from the depths of the division, to a first round bye, and then to the top of the world. But hey, that's why he wears the "C".

REGULAR SEASON GRADE: B+
POST SEASON ROUNDS 2 & 3: A
CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: A+