Just like everyone predicted, the Halifax 21st, the year one expansion team run by someone who has ZERO management experience, are first in the VHLM. A large part of their success has been contributed to the activity of their members. Every single one of their players is claiming TPE every week which is allowing the team to grow together. After starting 12-1-0, the 21st have had a few few days, going 2-3-0 in their last 5. However, things seem to be looking up for the 21st, as they won their last game with the help of Shawn Glade and Tyler Smith. After Cole Mertz's rough week, Smith took over the cage and has been the best goalie in the league. However, Cole Mertz is expected to keep the starting job, as a little hiccup week won't be enough to lose the starting role. Another large part of Halifax's success has been their insane defense. Dmen Tzuyu and Shawn Glade are both top 10 in points and top 5 in defense men, despite being on two separate pairings. The main goal of this was to even out scoring, and boy has it worked. Shawn Glade seems to be producing more of the two, placing second in league-wide points only behind teammate Karl von Moltke, and leads all defencemen in the league with 26 points in 18 games. New acquisitions Juri Rykonen and Toby Fitzgerald are also feeding off these two studs and are racking up assists like nobody's business. Up front, the 21st seem to be scoring from anywhere with anyone. The entire forward is tallying points like crazy with the help of star forwards Karl von Moltke and Nikita Flipachyev leading the way. Centers Nathan MacKinnon and Anthony Dabarno are doing fantastic in their roles and continue to fight for the 1C spot after a very strong week from MacKinnon. New acquisitions King Gow and Lars Tommernes have come right out of the gate and started producing fantastic numbers and lookign to hit at least 1 PPG pace by the end of the season.
The 21st are the league's arguably best team even after a small setback from LVA and OTT (which btw are the only 2 teams to beat them). How long will they keep up this monster pace?