Plate

This is not an article I plan on claiming. Jordan Bennett will finish his career in the VHLE. I wanted to weigh in on why I think Jordan Bennett gets the Jake Thunder Trophy.

First we have to talk about the candidates. And in my opinion, those would be Jordan Bennett (COL), Leif Reingaard (VAS) and Mina (BRA). Now interestingly enough both Reingaard and Mina were picked back to back in the S91 draft, and everyone knew they would pan out to be incredible defensemen in their position. Both of these players are going to be competing with each other throughout their careers in the VHL. 

Here in the VHLE there is a third player we can't overlook. WHLE veteran Jordan Bennett. Now, I'm going to start with the case you can make against Bennett and why you would pick the other two options over him. First of all, for a very large portion of his career, he was inactive. So really had he not been inactive he would not have been in this position. And yet, even though Bennett has been in the VHLE for 7 seasons, in only one of those was he in the conversation for the Jake Thunder Trophy, which is this season.

So what did Jordan Bennett do this season better than the other options? In a race that is so close you'd be splitting hairs on individual stats?

He won the Renaissance Cup for the third time in a row.

Not only did Bennett win the Renaissance Cup for the third time in a row, but he also beat Reingaard in the finals to win that cup. And Mina? Well they performed well but it was on a team that did not make the playoffs. And great players on bad teams overperform their skill to certain extents. 

Bennett is not an inactive andy anymore. He is very much a beloved player by the person that is managing him. And has been ever since he signed with Cologne in S89. Not only that but he is the blueline cornerstone of the dynasty that is the S89-S91 Cologne Express. And you can't have a Dynasty without pieces that make the puzzle fit. 

Bennett more than deserves the Jake Thunder Trophy, off of his persistence, clutchness, and monumental contributions to the best team in VHLE history.

This is not an article I plan on claiming. Jordan Bennett will finish his career in the VHLE. I wanted to weigh in on why I think Jordan Bennett gets the Jake Thunder Trophy.

First we have to talk about the candidates. And in my opinion, those would be Jordan Bennett (COL), Leif Reingaard (VAS) and Mina (BRA). Now interestingly enough both Reingaard and Mina were picked back to back in the S91 draft, and everyone knew they would pan out to be incredible defensemen in their position. Both of these players are going to be competing with each other throughout their careers in the VHL. 

Here in the VHLE there is a third player we can't overlook. WHLE veteran Jordan Bennett. Now, I'm going to start with the case you can make against Bennett and why you would pick the other two options over him. First of all, for a very large portion of his career, he was inactive. So really had he not been inactive he would not have been in this position. And yet, even though Bennett has been in the VHLE for 7 seasons, in only one of those was he in the conversation for the Jake Thunder Trophy, which is this season.

So what did Jordan Bennett do this season better than the other options? In a race that is so close you'd be splitting hairs on individual stats?

He won the Renaissance Cup for the third time in a row.

Not only did Bennett win the Renaissance Cup for the third time in a row, but he also beat Reingaard in the finals to win that cup. And Mina? Well they performed well but it was on a team that did not make the playoffs. And great players on bad teams overperform their skill to certain extents. 

Bennett is not an inactive andy anymore. He is very much a beloved player by the person that is managing him. And has been ever since he signed with Cologne in S89. Not only that but he is the blueline cornerstone of the dynasty that is the S89-S91 Cologne Express. And you can't have a Dynasty without pieces that make the puzzle fit. 

Bennett more than deserves the Jake Thunder Trophy, off of his persistence, clutchness, and monumental contributions to the best team in VHLE history.

This is not an article I plan on claiming. Jordan Bennett will finish his career in the VHLE. I wanted to weigh in on why I think Jordan Bennett gets the Jake Thunder Trophy.

First we have to talk about the candidates. And in my opinion, those would be Jordan Bennett (COL), Leif Reingaard (VAS) and Mina (BRA). Now interestingly enough both Reingaard and Mina were picked back to back in the S91 draft, and everyone knew they would pan out to be incredible defensemen in their position. Both of these players are going to be competing with each other throughout their careers in the VHL. 

Here in the VHLE there is a third player we can't overlook. WHLE veteran Jordan Bennett. Now, I'm going to start with the case you can make against Bennett and why you would pick the other two options over him. First of all, for a very large portion of his career, he was inactive. So really had he not been inactive he would not have been in this position. And yet, even though Bennett has been in the VHLE for 7 seasons, in only one of those was he in the conversation for the Jake Thunder Trophy, which is this season.

So what did Jordan Bennett do this season better than the other options? In a race that is so close you'd be splitting hairs on individual stats?

He won the Renaissance Cup for the third time in a row.

Not only did Bennett win the Renaissance Cup for the third time in a row, but he also beat Reingaard in the finals to win that cup. And Mina? Well they performed well but it was on a team that did not make the playoffs. And great players on bad teams overperform their skill to certain extents. 

Bennett is not an inactive andy anymore. He is very much a beloved player by the person that is managing him. And has been ever since he signed with Cologne in S89. Not only that but he is the blueline cornerstone of the dynasty that is the S89-S91 Cologne Express. And you can't have a Dynasty without pieces that make the puzzle fit. 

Bennett more than deserves the Jake Thunder Trophy, off of his persistence, clutchness, and monumental contributions to the best team in VHLE history.

This is not an article I plan on claiming. Jordan Bennett will finish his career in the VHLE. I wanted to weigh in on why I think Jordan Bennett gets the Jake Thunder Trophy.

First we have to talk about the candidates. And in my opinion, those would be Jordan Bennett (COL), Leif Reingaard (VAS) and Mina (BRA). Now interestingly enough both Reingaard and Mina were picked back to back in the S91 draft, and everyone knew they would pan out to be incredible defensemen in their position. Both of these players are going to be competing with each other throughout their careers in the VHL. 

Here in the VHLE there is a third player we can't overlook. WHLE veteran Jordan Bennett. Now, I'm going to start with the case you can make against Bennett and why you would pick the other two options over him. First of all, for a very large portion of his career, he was inactive. So really had he not been inactive he would not have been in this position. And yet, even though Bennett has been in the VHLE for 7 seasons, in only one of those was he in the conversation for the Jake Thunder Trophy, which is this season.

So what did Jordan Bennett do this season better than the other options? In a race that is so close you'd be splitting hairs on individual stats?

He won the Renaissance Cup for the third time in a row.

Not only did Bennett win the Renaissance Cup for the third time in a row, but he also beat Reingaard in the finals to win that cup. And Mina? Well they performed well but it was on a team that did not make the playoffs. And great players on bad teams overperform their skill to certain extents. 

Bennett is not an inactive andy anymore. He is very much a beloved player by the person that is managing him. And has been ever since he signed with Cologne in S89. Not only that but he is the blueline cornerstone of the dynasty that is the S89-S91 Cologne Express. And you can't have a Dynasty without pieces that make the puzzle fit. 

Bennett more than deserves the Jake Thunder Trophy, off of his persistence, clutchness, and monumental contributions to the best team in VHLE history.

Choo Choo!

The Cologne Express offers a 1-season extension to Defenceman Jordan Bennet. @Plate, please respond to this post to accept.

Something I've always wanted to work in the VHL is proper two-way forwards. Before the hybrid attributes, the best "two-ways" had the most points among forwards. Since +/- is the most direct stat to track how responsible your player is. It's hard to justify naming true defensive forwards without things like puck interceptions, take-aways, etc. 

These are player types that are incredibly important for team success. In a league where almost every forward tries to get as much scoring and passing as possible, the direct counter will always have a ton of value. Hockey isn't just about putting the puck in the net. It's also about keeping it out of yours. 

It would be nice to see the defense placed on a higher pedestal. As I described, it's impossible to do from a technical standpoint within STHS. But I don't think it would be unrealistic to run a script that shifts through the game data and pulls out the number of times you stripped the puck or got hit off the puck or something to that effect. 

Something I've always wanted to work in the VHL is proper two-way forwards. Before the hybrid attributes, the best "two-ways" had the most points among forwards. Since +/- is the most direct stat to track how responsible your player is. It's hard to justify naming true defensive forwards without things like puck interceptions, take-aways, etc. 

These are player types that are incredibly important for team success. In a league where almost every forward tries to get as much scoring and passing as possible, the direct counter will always have a ton of value. Hockey isn't just about putting the puck in the net. It's also about keeping it out of yours. 

It would be nice to see the defense placed on a higher pedestal. As I described, it's impossible to do from a technical standpoint within STHS. But I don't think it would be unrealistic to run a script that shifts through the game data and pulls out the number of times you stripped the puck or got hit off the puck or something to that effect. 

1. I think we'll have about 10 or so. Anything less and I would be surprised. 
2. Joachim Bryngelson is such a hard name to say, I love it. 
3. I would fire @jacobcarson877and replace him with @jacobcarson877.
4. I was hoping that Jordan would be a ppg player, but with the recent changes I'm glad that scoring is overall lower. It must be really special for those players out there who are above a PPG. 
5. As a defensive forward, 1-0 is a much more comfortable win than 8-7. 
6. There was a chicken pot pie from swiss chalet that we bought frozen and honestly it was pretty decent. 

1. There's a strong chance we stay at the top. In the battle of San Diego vs Las Vegas, the battle will be whoever wins the regular-season series will win the league. 

2. Wit da Hoodie is definitely the best acquisition for the team. It cost an arm and a leg but overall the skill on the back end was definitely worth it. 

3. Probably the most contested 1st round series has to be Toronto vs Tampa. I have Tampa winning the series in seven games. It's really hard to bet against back-to-back Stanley Cups against a team that regularly falls short in the playoffs. 

4. The hardest part about growing a business is centered around keeping the community that you have. I think a problem the league has is it doesn't reward active members enough. 

5. I have been CRANKING Paramore for the past week or so. Their song Ignorance is probably of my top 5 favorite songs. 

6. Goalies are better but that's because players are now using literally half their TPE's worth of points. A 200 TPE goalie is 200TPA, but a 200 TPE player is 100 TPA. 

This is for all who have recently read @Platerecent article about Shindigs writing 11 articles in a week, totally dominating the .com forum and coming up with topic after topic as if he has nothing else on his mind other than VHL and documenting whatever is in his brain.  The question is…. Shindig an overworker or an overachiever?  Or can he be both?  @Shindigsis one of the well established members of VHL.  He has been one of my “GO TO” for questions and advice as I navigate through this game.  Who knows how many others reach out to him for answers, which just puts more on his plate and gives him more to do.  He’s leading the Las Vegas Aces as GM all the while he’s dealing with his team captain’s idiosyncrasies, @dylanjj37.  And now he’s on an article spree.  Does shindigs sleep?  Does shindigs have a life?
 
Plate was spot on with his article identifying the productive week by shindigs.  And if you ever read his posts on discord as he motivates @dylanjj37to get his TPE done for the week, shindigs is typing away creating yet another week of articles for all to read.  Perhaps shindigs’ AGM, @eagle_3450could slow shindigs down a bit so burn out doesnt come up too soon.  What would we all do if shindigs wasn’t available to respond to our trivial needs?  
 
And lastly, there is still the highly anticipated fight yet to occur between @Scurvyand @Shindigs, when the two meet on the ice.  The Vegas odds are currently in shindigs favor 5 to 2.  I have dumped all of my salary into this bet and cannot wait for the stars to align and the battle to occur.
 
Now, its up to all of you to decide.  Is shindigs an overworker or overachiever?

@Shindigs has written 11 vhl.com articles over the past eight days. I didn't know if anyone was going to bring it up or anything, but I think he needs a hobby. For newer members in the community, no, this is not normal, and you don't need to write ten plus articles in a week.
 
This kind of raises another discussion. Is this a strategy to hoard TPE for the future? Now, I'm asking this genuinely because I don't know. Do the multiple allowable articles rules apply to .coms? Because you can only have up to two active media spots to claim from simultaneously. I don't know if that's the same with .coms. At the start of the thread, I read through the rules and didn't find anything about it. 

But in all seriousness, that's a lot of work, roughly 2200 words, and I would like to shout out the amount of commitment it takes to pump articles like that. There's a strong possibility that it was a locker room event to promote activity. Either way, Shindigs is a beast. 
 

1. There's a strong chance we stay at the top. In the battle of San Diego vs Las Vegas, the battle will be whoever wins the regular-season series will win the league. 

2. Wit da Hoodie is definitely the best acquisition for the team. It cost an arm and a leg but overall the skill on the back end was definitely worth it. 

3. Probably the most contested 1st round series has to be Toronto vs Tampa. I have Tampa winning the series in seven games. It's really hard to bet against back-to-back Stanley Cups against a team that regularly falls short in the playoffs. 

4. The hardest part about growing a business is centered around keeping the community that you have. I think a problem the league has is it doesn't reward active members enough. 

5. I have been CRANKING Paramore for the past week or so. Their song Ignorance is probably of my top 5 favorite songs. 

6. Goalies are better but that's because players are now using literally half their TPE's worth of points. A 200 TPE goalie is 200TPA, but a 200 TPE player is 100 TPA. 

Hold up, when did I write 11 .com articles? And how did I miss that I did it?😅

Truer words have never been said.

1. Our friggin goaltender has like 75% of his wins as shutouts, and it takes more than 60 minutes to beat him. Our team is a combination of defense and goaltending so I think it's hard for teams to the puck past the goal line. 

2. I would probably change to a center and put points in faceoffs as winger two-way forwards aren't worth as much as centers. 

3. My favourite outdoor activity is goolf by far. My uncle owns a golf course down the road from me a ways so I get to play there regularly. 

4. Best thing that happened to me was breaking up and getting my ex out of my life entirely. 

5. GET JIGGLY IN HERE YOU GUYS. LET HIM IN. LET HIM IN. 

6. Honestly I prefer cold rain. Warm rain has like a weird musty smell, but cold rain at least chills you down a bit and is almost refreshing. 

"They have been underperforming to the degree that strategies need to be adjusted."
 

- 10th (-2)
There's no other way to put it besides Mexico City is terrible. And by that, I mean they traded away every active player they had this season to spare them. I would be surprised if any other team made it to this spot throughout the season. But yeah, Mexico currently has no defense, no goalies, and two passive players. 

 - 9th (+1)
Houston moves up the rankings. While they've played solid games and kept most battles within 1 goal against similarly ranked teams, they've been blown out of the water recently. In particular, their 1-0 loss to Miami proves that there's a tiny bit of fight in them this week. 

- 8th (-1)
Philly has been a reasonably consistent team this season. However, their only wins are against Houston and Mexico City. They haven't committed to a rebuild or a retooling this season, even though some pieces could be traded away or built around. We'll see what they decide to do.  

- 6th (-1)
One would expect Mississauga to top out against Saskatoon. You would even expect them to be mid-table. They have been underperforming to the degree that strategies need to be adjusted. Hopefully, we can see a return to form for this Hound team coming out of this rolling start. 
 
- 7th (+3)
When I first wrote this list, this team was near the bottom. As I kept writing and did some more research Saskatoon somehow climbed out of the gutter and into a spot that's twice above their rank in the standings. How? Well, the short answer is they consistently beat Mississauga. And they did so with a goal diff of 1 with three games played. This means that against everyone else, they sucked. Who were those other teams they sucked against? Las Vegas and Ottawa. 
 
- 5th (-1)
Ottawa and Halifax played exclusively against each other this week. The first 6 of the Lynx's eight games have been against Halifax. It was incredibly even with Ottawa getting a 3-3-0 record in that mini-series. Eventually, their extra two wins come from games against Saskatoon. A couple of free-agent signings could push Ottawa above Halifax if they keep it up.
 
- 4th (-2)
Halifax has the most significant drop this season. Only barely edging out Saskatoon in their six-game stint. It is a disappointing start for this team as they get a clean win against Houston and even squeeze a point out of Miami in an even game. Ultimately they fit right at 4th, dropping two spots from last week. 

- 3rd (+2)
Miami will be a stronger contender than I think most of us thought. They had the most challenging week 0 start of any team in the VHLM. Playing three games against San Diego and a game against Halifax means that the Marauders had the most challenging week yet. Miami earned 11 points out of a possible 16 against the tough competition. 

 - 2nd (-1)
San Diego is quite expectedly one of the top teams in the West. Most VHLMers believed that the Marlins would be the top dog so far. An overtime win against Miami means San Diego gets the second spot this week. Though I should mention, the Marlins have added defenseman AK92 Wit da Hoodie to round out their back end. We should see a spike in defensive depth because of it. 

 - 1st (+1)
Las Vegas has dominated the field in the first week. They have the most significant goal differential at 20, which is nuts considering they've only played eight games. And all through their series with San Diego so far is 1-0-1, their dominant win streak and consistent champion style play well earn them the top spot of week 1. 

Hello, resident burnout legend Plate here coming at you live with some quality advice. 

First of all, you should have signed with San Diego. @Shindigs is an absolute goon. 

I'll speak on behalf of everyone and say that you were genuinely missed. You achieved a feat that not many members do. You broke the 1000 TPE threshold as a first-gen. On top of garnering plenty of experience in the VHLM as a general manager. Trade the picks, trust the process. That is the mentality of a general manager who puts their locker room at the forefront of their mind. That is the mentality of a general manager that embodies the values of the VHLM. To create an active locker room and have a sustainable community in one of the most marketable franchises in the VHLM. 

As someone who's a bit of an expert at burning out, and as someone who NOBODY would be surprised by if I left tomorrow, I can tell you this as much. The VHL is not about; 
Maxing out every week (Though every GM out there agrees with this but won't openly admit otherwise) Meta builds (Though most people will try to make their scoring as high as possible anyway) Being the best GM and making the best trades (Though I wrote a 5k mega article about it) The VHL is a forum-based simulation hockey league. You, the BoG, me, and everyone else is here for fun. That is why you were missed. Because you made the VHL experience fun for everyone you came across, even when you fucked up in a bad trade. 

On a more personal note, I'm glad that you're feeling better from COVID. You'll find employment that's sufficient. The issue you're having now is not uncommon for people your age. Once you find a job and work at it for a bit, your inexperience will turn into experience. 

It's going good, chief. Welcome back. 

 
 

Hello, resident burnout legend Plate here coming at you live with some quality advice. 

First of all, you should have signed with San Diego. @Shindigs is an absolute goon. 

I'll speak on behalf of everyone and say that you were genuinely missed. You achieved a feat that not many members do. You broke the 1000 TPE threshold as a first-gen. On top of garnering plenty of experience in the VHLM as a general manager. Trade the picks, trust the process. That is the mentality of a general manager who puts their locker room at the forefront of their mind. That is the mentality of a general manager that embodies the values of the VHLM. To create an active locker room and have a sustainable community in one of the most marketable franchises in the VHLM. 

As someone who's a bit of an expert at burning out, and as someone who NOBODY would be surprised by if I left tomorrow, I can tell you this as much. The VHL is not about; 
Maxing out every week (Though every GM out there agrees with this but won't openly admit otherwise) Meta builds (Though most people will try to make their scoring as high as possible anyway) Being the best GM and making the best trades (Though I wrote a 5k mega article about it) The VHL is a forum-based simulation hockey league. You, the BoG, me, and everyone else is here for fun. That is why you were missed. Because you made the VHL experience fun for everyone you came across, even when you fucked up in a bad trade. 

On a more personal note, I'm glad that you're feeling better from COVID. You'll find employment that's sufficient. The issue you're having now is not uncommon for people your age. Once you find a job and work at it for a bit, your inexperience will turn into experience. 

It's going good, chief. Welcome back. 

 
 

So uhh... Hey. It's been a while hasn't it?
 
A lot has changed since I left the VHL. A lot of new faces, but still a lot of familiar older ones. Now before I start going off and reintroducing myself, I wanna clarify that I've been gone for only a few months. Though I'm making it sound like I'm an ancient relic of the past. With that in mind, uhh hey! If you don't know me, I'm JigglyGumballs. Most people simply refer to me as Jiggs. I've been a member of the VHL since June 2020 so technically I'm heading towards year two now. So that's nice. In terms of contributions in the VHL, I've been an AGM and eventually the GM of Las Vegas in the M for a period of time.  Sorta did some weird draft picks and made some dumb trades. Also spammed the term "TRADE THE PICKS TRUST THE PROCESS" when I could. Anyways, I guess this is my shameless attempt to milk TPE out of a sort of catch up post on what I've been doing since I left so if you don't really give a shit. Then uh, how's it going chief?
 
To start things off, why come back now? Well, I did say in my last post that when I feel comfortable of earning the max amount of TPE per week again, I'd return to the VHL. So here I am attempting to fulfill that promise. Along with that the introduction of a new stats system that overhauls the previous meta. I thought that it might be a good time to come back and learn all the new stuff. In terms of my player, I honestly kinda want to dick around with my build. It's leaning towards another defensive defenseman like how I did my last player, but I'm really hoping for a more goon build that only makes slapshots. If this becomes a viable build as part of the new meta, then you're welcome for ruining the new attributes.
 
In terms of irl stuff. Uh to those interested, I've applied for a college now. Yay... I'm also struggling to find a job because I didn't consider getting any sort of work experience or volunteer hours earlier in highschool. Double yay... And guess what, I got COVID and extended my spring break by two weeks LET'S GOOOOO. Depressing shit aside, I'm doing really well now. After an honestly disappointing experience with COVID, I'm at the back half of highschool. I've spent a lot more time with my friends and just been enjoying life on a day by day basis. In terms of what I want to achieve in my second coming in the VHL, I hope to some day go back to the GMing/AGMing scene though I'm not quite ready for that now. I also hope that I can be just as active as I was before. With all the new changes and new faces, I really want to re-experience the VHL in a new light. So excuse me in advance for being a dumbass and not knowing new things. So yeah. I'm back, and I hope I don't die and become inactive anytime soon.
 
 

533 words.

I think we need a minimum swear word threshold to meet in order to claim TPE.  Like one every fifteen words.

Does elmo in your sig get progressively bigger or am I tripping

Hi, Plate here for a review. FUCK, man, this is so nice. You have no idea. I love the color background you chose. And the subtle fact that it's darker around the edges to pull the player's profile into view makes it pleasant. The color palette chosen based on the marlins logo is inherently complimentary, so there are no issues. I love that you opted to go for the white box and names instead of just making the names white against the background. There wasn't a lot going on over there, so it makes it come together really nice. Jersey swap is excellent as always. The only issue I have is there's no "San Diego Marlins" text anywhere, so if you don't recognize the logo, you don't know what team this is. Also, it's hard to see the assistant and captain roles under the names. Otherwise, excellent job. 9/10. 

claiming week of May 1st

"They have been underperforming to the degree that strategies need to be adjusted."
 

- 10th (-2)
There's no other way to put it besides Mexico City is terrible. And by that, I mean they traded away every active player they had this season to spare them. I would be surprised if any other team made it to this spot throughout the season. But yeah, Mexico currently has no defense, no goalies, and two passive players. 

 - 9th (+1)
Houston moves up the rankings. While they've played solid games and kept most battles within 1 goal against similarly ranked teams, they've been blown out of the water recently. In particular, their 1-0 loss to Miami proves that there's a tiny bit of fight in them this week. 

- 8th (-1)
Philly has been a reasonably consistent team this season. However, their only wins are against Houston and Mexico City. They haven't committed to a rebuild or a retooling this season, even though some pieces could be traded away or built around. We'll see what they decide to do.  

- 6th (-1)
One would expect Mississauga to top out against Saskatoon. You would even expect them to be mid-table. They have been underperforming to the degree that strategies need to be adjusted. Hopefully, we can see a return to form for this Hound team coming out of this rolling start. 
 
- 7th (+3)
When I first wrote this list, this team was near the bottom. As I kept writing and did some more research Saskatoon somehow climbed out of the gutter and into a spot that's twice above their rank in the standings. How? Well, the short answer is they consistently beat Mississauga. And they did so with a goal diff of 1 with three games played. This means that against everyone else, they sucked. Who were those other teams they sucked against? Las Vegas and Ottawa. 
 
- 5th (-1)
Ottawa and Halifax played exclusively against each other this week. The first 6 of the Lynx's eight games have been against Halifax. It was incredibly even with Ottawa getting a 3-3-0 record in that mini-series. Eventually, their extra two wins come from games against Saskatoon. A couple of free-agent signings could push Ottawa above Halifax if they keep it up.
 
- 4th (-2)
Halifax has the most significant drop this season. Only barely edging out Saskatoon in their six-game stint. It is a disappointing start for this team as they get a clean win against Houston and even squeeze a point out of Miami in an even game. Ultimately they fit right at 4th, dropping two spots from last week. 

- 3rd (+2)
Miami will be a stronger contender than I think most of us thought. They had the most challenging week 0 start of any team in the VHLM. Playing three games against San Diego and a game against Halifax means that the Marauders had the most challenging week yet. Miami earned 11 points out of a possible 16 against the tough competition. 

 - 2nd (-1)
San Diego is quite expectedly one of the top teams in the West. Most VHLMers believed that the Marlins would be the top dog so far. An overtime win against Miami means San Diego gets the second spot this week. Though I should mention, the Marlins have added defenseman AK92 Wit da Hoodie to round out their back end. We should see a spike in defensive depth because of it. 

 - 1st (+1)
Las Vegas has dominated the field in the first week. They have the most significant goal differential at 20, which is nuts considering they've only played eight games. And all through their series with San Diego so far is 1-0-1, their dominant win streak and consistent champion style play well earn them the top spot of week 1.