Fayt Leingod

Fayt Leingod (born February 19, 1990) is a former Victory Hockey League (VHL) forward who played five seasons in the league from S13 - S17. Leingod was selected 8th overall in the S12 VHL Entry Draft by the HC Davos Dynamo. In his career, Leingod spent at least one full VHL season at every forward position. Leingod's 160 goals with the Dynamo is the second most in franchise history. He is a two-time Continental Cup Champion (S13, S17), a three-time World Cup medalist (one Gold, two Silver), and a three-time All-Star (S14 - S16).

Before the VHL
Fayt sucked a lot of dick and decided it was his job. So he made it a full-time thing. Leingod played two seasons at left wing with the now-defunct Rungsted Cobras of Denmark's AL-Bank Ligaen before declaring for the S12 VHL Entry Draft. He was scouted by the Toledo Scorpions (now the Bern Royals). The Scorpions GM Zach Arce was just one of two Danish players, at that time, to have ever played in the VHL.

VHLM Career
S11

Leingod was claimed off waivers by the Scorpions during S11 with 59 games remaining in the season. He spent those games as a left wing on the Scorpions' second line. Leingod struggled, finishing the season with just seven goals and eight assists. All of his goals came in power play situations. The team also did not see much success, finishing with the second worst record in the VHLM. However, due to the weakness of the European Conference, they were just four points behind the Gothenburg Eagles, a playoff team.

S12
Leingod was drafted by the HC Davos Dynamo, the parent club of the Scorpions. The team determined that it would be best to have him spend another season developing in the VHLM, which meant he would be playing for the Scorpions once again. With Zach Arce no longer a part of the organization, Leingod stepped up and took over management duties for the Scorpions. He vastly improved on the ice, leading the team in both goals (50) and assists (65). He recorded a four-goal game, his only VHLM hat trick, in a 7-6 loss to the Kolari Wolves. Despite Leingod's improvement, the Scorpions were even worse than the prior season and once again had the second worst record. The downfall of the team was a lack of depth and quality goaltending.

VHL Career
S13

During the previous season, it became evident that Leingod would be called up to the Dynamo for S13, making him the third player from Denmark to play in the VHL. He played this season as a right wing on the second line, allowing Da'Brickashaw O'Neal to stay at left wing. The transition from VHLM to VHL, as well as left to right wing, went rather smoothly for Leingod, as he had a consistent rookie season. He played the whole season right around the point-per-game mark, finishing one behind with a total of 71, including a rookie-leading 26 goals. The Dynamo won the Victory Cup with a point total of 121. Their route to becoming the Continental Cup champions included two seven-game series. Leingod was not much of a factor for Davos in the playoffs, scoring 12 points in the 14 games but finishing with a -2 rating. He was on the ballot for the Christian Stolzschweiger Trophy but did not receive a vote.

S14
Davos saw the departure of many stars in S14, which meant Leingod would have to step up and become more of a leader. He made another positional change for the betterment of the club, as Davos was in need of a center. Leingod spent extra time working on his face-off skills and assumed the role. Now playing on the first line, he struggled at the outset of the season. The struggles did not last, however, and he went on to finish second in the league in points to teammate Tomas Jenskovic. Leingod was the only player that season to reach the top five in both goals (43) and assists (67). He really came to life late in the season, which included two hat tricks in a span of three games. While he did have success scoring, he won a sub-par 42.87% of face-offs. The Dynamo finished second in the European Conference and lost in the first round of the playoffs in six games. Leingod won the Francis Trophy and was on the MVP ballot. He was also voted into his first All-Star Game where he played center. During S14, Leingod sign a four-year extension, which included a no trade clause, worth $13,500,000.

S15
The Dynamo continued to decline and Leingod saw his personal success take a huge dip as well. He led the team with his 40 goals, but he managed just 38 assists, which would be the lowest in a single season during his VHL career. During the season, it began to appear that Tomas Jenskovic, Davos' GM, did not care about the team anymore. Leingod spoke out about this and looked for the league to do something to help the ailing franchise, but they did not want to force any changes in the middle of the season. The lack of effort from Jenskovic had Leingod already regretting having signed the extension. The team finished with its first losing record since S9 and the first since relocating to Davos from Avangard. Despite the 32 point drop off from the previous season, Leingod was selected to appear in his second straight All-Star Game, this time playing right wing.

S16
With Leander Kaelin replacing Jenskovic as the Davos GM, Leingod took on a larger role in the team's management. Although he was never officially an assistant GM, Kaelin treated him as the second in command. Leingod was the the Dynamo representative at the draft. He rebounded from his previous season, but he failed to reach the 100-point mark. His production during the season fell when Kaelin, who he had established a connection with on the ice, was traded. Leingod ended the season tied for third in the league with 51 goals, easily the most for the Dynamo. His 47 assists was better than S15, but it was the still the lowest total for any of the league's top twenty scorers. He was also the only player on that list to have more goals than assists. Davos dropped in the standings once again, this year finishing tied for last in the league. He was once again picked to play in the All-Star Game, playing left wing for the first time since S12 in the VHLM.

S17
With Davos in the midst of a rebuild and Leingod announcing he would retire following S17, he was traded to the New York Americans during the off-season. However, upon deciding that they did not feel they were ready to compete, the Americans traded him to the Championship-hopeful Seattle Bears during the preseason. Leingod's versatility was shown once again as he went back to left wing, where he played first line minutes alongside Grimm Jonsson and Sandro Desaulniers, who were also slated to retire at the conclusion of the season. He had his highest point output this season with 119. That had him tied for fifth in the league, yet it was just tied for third on Seattle. His season included a career-high 69 assists. The Bears made the playoffs, where they met the Toronto Legion in the first round. It was a series that went down to a Game Seven overtime goal. Leingod had a three-assist performance, which included setting up Grimm Jonsson with the game winner, in that decisive game. The Bears went on to sweep the sweep the Riga Reign in the finals. Leingod had six goals and nine assists over the 11 games. Even though he had his best season statistically, Leingod missed out on an All-Star Game selection.

Awards

 * Continental Cup | S13 - HC Davos Dynamo, S17 - Seattle Bears


 * Francis Trophy | S14 - HC Davos Dynamo Victory Cup | S13 - HC Davos Dynamo


 * Punch Imlach Trophy | S17 - Seattle Bears


 * Vladimir Kostka Trophy | S13 - HC Davos Dynamo


 * European Conference All-Star | S14 - HC Davos Dynamo, S15 - HC Davos Dynamo, S16 - HC Davos Dynamo

International Career
Much like the rest of his VHL career, Leingod's versatility has come into play during his World Cup appearances. He represented Team Sweden in three tournaments, playing in one as a left wing, one as a right wing, and one as a center (in that order). In the 36 games he played for Team Sweden, he scored 19 goals but only managed to put up 12 assists for a total of 31 points. The most notable game of his World Cup career was his two-goal performance, which earned him the first star, in a semifinal game against Team Switzerland during the S12 World Cup to advance Team Sweden to the Gold Medal Game. Leingod was the GM of Team Sweden in the S16 World Cup, winning a Silver Medal.

Retirement
Retirement Leingod retired from the VHL after winning his second Continental Cup in S17. His career has been marked by inconsistency from season to season, and he was no better than average during his postseason and international career. He was not a star, but he was a versatile player, playing in at least one full season, an All-Star Game, and a World Cup at every forward position.

Transactions History
Contracts

S12 | F. Leingod signs a 3 year, $3 Million Dollar Contract with the HC Davos Dynamo

S14 | F. Leingod signs a 4 year, $13.5 Million Dollar Extension with a No Trade Clause with the HC Davos Dynamo

Trades
07/12/10 | Davos trades Fayt Leingod to New York in exchange for Janelle Henley and Seattle's S18 2nd.

07/15/10 | New York trades Fayt Leingod to Seattle in exchange for Lee Classified and Seattle's S18 3rd.

Career Statistics
Regular Season Statistics