DAY 5 - The Moonstone Brewers
General Manager: Sean Atkinson
Established: 2003-04 as the Bramalea Nordiques
Years Active: 8 (2003-04 to 2010-11)
Lifetime Record: 408-441-96 (.483) 912pts
7th overall in points, 13th overall in winning pct.
Best Finish: 1st (2005-06 as the Barrie Nordiques)
Worst Finish: 11th (2006-07 as the Barrie Nordiques)
Cups: 1 (2005-06 as the Barrie Nordiques)
2009-2010 Results: 10th - 62-77-15 (.451) 139pts as the Moonstone Nordiques
League Records: Best +/- 22 in 2003-04 and Most Assists 33 in 2005/06
Alternate Logos:
Moonstone Nordiques (2008-09 to 2009-10)
Barrie Nordiques (2007-08)
Barrie Nordiques (2005-06 - 2006-07)
Barrie Nordiques Alternate (2007-08)
Bramalea Nordiques (2003-04)
The Moonstone Brewers lead by an RHL founding partner Sean Atkinson were established in 2003-04, as the Bramalea Nordiques, when the league was created. They have went through some location and name changes over the years and remain as one of the Original Seven that still participate today. The Nords made the playoffs during the leagues first season in fifth place but were knocked out of the first round quite easily by the Mullets.
After the lockout year, The Nordiques moved to Barrie to begin assembling the best team they would ever put together, that would eventually travel a long and hard road all the way to the RHL Cup in only their second season. The team was Captained by the young Sidney Crosby and somehow GM Atkinson was able to assemble a core of players who would ultimately surprise the entire league. No one could have expected the breakout seasons of Olli Jokinen, Andy MacDonald, and Eric Staal. Another pleasant surprise was the Nords rookie defenseman Dion Phaneuf. Other players such as Ilya Kovalchuk and Mike Fisher also had great years, improving on their point totals from the previous season. They were also strong in the crease as Veteran Curtis Joseph had a solid year as the goaltending partner of another breakout rookie, Ryan Miller. This young dynamic team was able to battle to the final playoff berth, but the key to the championship was veteran leadership from Mats Sundin, who dominated the RHL in playoff scoring as the Nordiques were unstoppable on their way to the Cup. First, they had their rematch in round 1 with the Mullets who were responsible for the Nordiques early exit in 2003-04. In round 2, they defeated the Lindsay Wazooz which would set up the ultimate final against his founding partner Trevor Filion. The Nordiques had an easy time with the top seeded Red Wings and would defeat them 6-1 to capture their first and only RHL Cup.
The following season, GM Atkinson could not replicate his winning formula as the Nordiques finished 11th and they missed the playoffs again in 2007-08 as they landed in 9th. The franchise moved to Moonstone in 2008-09 and saw a slight resurgence. The Moonstone Nordiques finished 3rd in the regular season and were defeated second round of the playoffs by Commisioner Filion's new Georgetown Raiders. They very next season, the Nords would again miss the playoffs and finish in 10th place.
Despite three playoff appearances and an RHL Cup, GM Atkinson's newly dubbed Moonstone Brewers have the worst record amongst original 7 teams and the third worst winning percentage overall among active teams. If History will repeat itself, a new team name means they will make the playoffs this year.
GM Atkinson has always been known to take a lot of chances on draft day and is known for taking rookies much higher than ranked. This method, although worked very well in 2005-06, has been what has kept his team out of the playoffs more than they have been in. We can expect the Brewers to be more prepared this season, and you should see a more reserved GM taking safer picks. The combination of this with some key moves during the season should put the Brewers in the playoffs somewhere around the 5-7 spot.
INTERESTING FACT: Every time this team has moved and made a name change they have seen success. They won the Cup in 2005-06 after moving to Barrie and they finished 4th in 2008-09 after moving to Moonstone.
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