Grape

Maxing grit like every good player should

For the better part of a month, I have been constructing and updating a statistical analysis of each VHLM team and ranking them accordingly. The tests used are a normal distribution, a T distribution using each team’s data, and another T distribution, but treating the league’s data as another sample. Basically, a bunch of nerd stuff. 

Keeping track of the changes in the rankings in both the data and the league, I feel pretty damn confident that it’s somewhat accurate. Without further adieu, let’s get into the rankings.
 
10. Mississauga Hounds

Mississauga’s forwards and defense ranks at the bottom of the league for every test by a significant margin. In fact, for the normal distribution, they are the ONLY team that had an offense that was a full z-score below the mean (offense average was about 50 TPE below league offense average). On the T test, their offense was TWENTY T-scores below the league mean. They’re gonna remain at the bottom of the league for the rest of the season.
 
9. San Diego Marlins

Based on the normal distribution, San Diego is ranked 9th in the league for both offense and defense; however, on both the T distributions, their defense is slightly higher rated at 7th. Their offense is a real weak spot for the team statistically speaking, with them being over 2 and a half t scores below the league average. Another basement team but definitely not as bad as Mississauga.
 
8. Halifax 21st

Halifax boasts the 8th best offense in the league and the 7th best defense on the normal distribution, while having the 8th best on the T distributions. There isn’t much difference between Halifax and San Diego in the rankings, with their difference being only a few percentage points, but I give Halifax a slight edge. Still a bad team though.
 
7. Ottawa Lynx

Ottawa has the 7th best offense and the 5th best defense. On the normal distribution, their defense is pretty close to being above the league average, but the T distributions show that they’re around 15% below average. Another not good team that won’t go deep in the playoffs (change the M playoff system please 8/10 teams don’t belong in the postseason).
 
6. Miami Marauders

Miami is the first team so far that has something ranked above the league average, with their offense being ranked 5th, being 3% above the average on the normal distribution and 6% on the t distributions. Despite having a positive offense, their defense is absolutely atrocious, with it being ranked 8th on the normal distribution and 9 on the t distributions. Unless they bolster their defense, they’ll remain a pretty weak team.
 
5. Las Vegas Aces

Vegas is rocking with the 6th best offense and defense. Logic would say that’d slot them in at 6th, however Miami’s horrid defense pushes them down and there’s a decent enough difference between the Ottawa and Vegas offense that it gives Vegas an edge, and a much less significant difference between the two teams’ defenses to give either a decent edge. Miami makes it tough to really place either since they’d feasibly be better than Vegas, but I have to give Vegas the edge over Miami and Ottawa.
 
4. Mexico City Kings

Mexico is the first team so far that has both offense and defense ranked above average, with their offense and defense ranked 4th (kinda just speaks to the really piss poor level of parity in the M). There’s somewhat of a gap between the teams below Mexico City, Mexico City, and the teams above Mexico City. They’re definitely a good team, but the top three teams are just too strong for them to surpass, and the teams below them are too bad for them to drop.
 
3. Houston Bulls

Houston rocks the top rated offense on the normal distribution, 2nd on the t distribution, and the 3rd ranked defense. This team has been an absolute unit out of the gate and for a while it was really between them and Philadelphia for the top. I mean, their offense is only a sliver past a percent short of hitting 100% CI for offense (translation: basically god level). All they need is a little more help on the blue line and they’ll be near unstoppable.
 
2. Philadelphia Reapers

Philadelphia started out this season as being the best in all categories and was on top of the league. As of now, they have the 2nd ranked offense on the normal distribution, 3rd on the t distribution, and a defense ranked at 2nd on all distributions. This team has been on a heater right out of the gate and has continued to play solid and get good growth from their players. Definitely a team to watch going down the stretch
 
1. Saskatoon Wild

This team has really surprised me. While I’m updating my stats, they’ve just kept climbing. I believe they started the season with the 5th ranked offense and a pretty poorly ranked defense as well. As of now, however, on the normal distribution, their offense ranks 3rd, but on the t distribution, they have the number 1 rated offense. They also boast the best defense in the league as well. This team has been on a tear lately and has been climbing in the standings. Their defense is 5% better than Philadelphia’s, and has a CI of over 99%, less than a percent towards 100% (fun fact: literally impossible, but rounding). This is definitely the best team in the league as of now, and if all things keep trending in the right direction, they should be at the top of the league by the end of the year.
 
The big issue with the data gathered is, since it’s based on player TPE, and people update whenever they feel like updating, the numbers keep changing, so the rankings keep changing. Defense overall has been bouncing around, with the teams being above average fluctuating between 4 and 5 pretty much every day. Because of that, I’ll try and do updates based on the statistics, although over time, these teams have begun to solidify their positions so not much change should be seen.
 
(1028 words)

For the better part of a month, I have been constructing and updating a statistical analysis of each VHLM team and ranking them accordingly. The tests used are a normal distribution, a T distribution using each team’s data, and another T distribution, but treating the league’s data as another sample. Basically, a bunch of nerd stuff. 

Keeping track of the changes in the rankings in both the data and the league, I feel pretty damn confident that it’s somewhat accurate. Without further adieu, let’s get into the rankings.
 
10. Mississauga Hounds

Mississauga’s forwards and defense ranks at the bottom of the league for every test by a significant margin. In fact, for the normal distribution, they are the ONLY team that had an offense that was a full z-score below the mean (offense average was about 50 TPE below league offense average). On the T test, their offense was TWENTY T-scores below the league mean. They’re gonna remain at the bottom of the league for the rest of the season.
 
9. San Diego Marlins

Based on the normal distribution, San Diego is ranked 9th in the league for both offense and defense; however, on both the T distributions, their defense is slightly higher rated at 7th. Their offense is a real weak spot for the team statistically speaking, with them being over 2 and a half t scores below the league average. Another basement team but definitely not as bad as Mississauga.
 
8. Halifax 21st

Halifax boasts the 8th best offense in the league and the 7th best defense on the normal distribution, while having the 8th best on the T distributions. There isn’t much difference between Halifax and San Diego in the rankings, with their difference being only a few percentage points, but I give Halifax a slight edge. Still a bad team though.
 
7. Ottawa Lynx

Ottawa has the 7th best offense and the 5th best defense. On the normal distribution, their defense is pretty close to being above the league average, but the T distributions show that they’re around 15% below average. Another not good team that won’t go deep in the playoffs (change the M playoff system please 8/10 teams don’t belong in the postseason).
 
6. Miami Marauders

Miami is the first team so far that has something ranked above the league average, with their offense being ranked 5th, being 3% above the average on the normal distribution and 6% on the t distributions. Despite having a positive offense, their defense is absolutely atrocious, with it being ranked 8th on the normal distribution and 9 on the t distributions. Unless they bolster their defense, they’ll remain a pretty weak team.
 
5. Las Vegas Aces

Vegas is rocking with the 6th best offense and defense. Logic would say that’d slot them in at 6th, however Miami’s horrid defense pushes them down and there’s a decent enough difference between the Ottawa and Vegas offense that it gives Vegas an edge, and a much less significant difference between the two teams’ defenses to give either a decent edge. Miami makes it tough to really place either since they’d feasibly be better than Vegas, but I have to give Vegas the edge over Miami and Ottawa.
 
4. Mexico City Kings

Mexico is the first team so far that has both offense and defense ranked above average, with their offense and defense ranked 4th (kinda just speaks to the really piss poor level of parity in the M). There’s somewhat of a gap between the teams below Mexico City, Mexico City, and the teams above Mexico City. They’re definitely a good team, but the top three teams are just too strong for them to surpass, and the teams below them are too bad for them to drop.
 
3. Houston Bulls

Houston rocks the top rated offense on the normal distribution, 2nd on the t distribution, and the 3rd ranked defense. This team has been an absolute unit out of the gate and for a while it was really between them and Philadelphia for the top. I mean, their offense is only a sliver past a percent short of hitting 100% CI for offense (translation: basically god level). All they need is a little more help on the blue line and they’ll be near unstoppable.
 
2. Philadelphia Reapers

Philadelphia started out this season as being the best in all categories and was on top of the league. As of now, they have the 2nd ranked offense on the normal distribution, 3rd on the t distribution, and a defense ranked at 2nd on all distributions. This team has been on a heater right out of the gate and has continued to play solid and get good growth from their players. Definitely a team to watch going down the stretch
 
1. Saskatoon Wild

This team has really surprised me. While I’m updating my stats, they’ve just kept climbing. I believe they started the season with the 5th ranked offense and a pretty poorly ranked defense as well. As of now, however, on the normal distribution, their offense ranks 3rd, but on the t distribution, they have the number 1 rated offense. They also boast the best defense in the league as well. This team has been on a tear lately and has been climbing in the standings. Their defense is 5% better than Philadelphia’s, and has a CI of over 99%, less than a percent towards 100% (fun fact: literally impossible, but rounding). This is definitely the best team in the league as of now, and if all things keep trending in the right direction, they should be at the top of the league by the end of the year.
 
The big issue with the data gathered is, since it’s based on player TPE, and people update whenever they feel like updating, the numbers keep changing, so the rankings keep changing. Defense overall has been bouncing around, with the teams being above average fluctuating between 4 and 5 pretty much every day. Because of that, I’ll try and do updates based on the statistics, although over time, these teams have begun to solidify their positions so not much change should be seen.
 
(1028 words)

For the better part of a month, I have been constructing and updating a statistical analysis of each VHLM team and ranking them accordingly. The tests used are a normal distribution, a T distribution using each team’s data, and another T distribution, but treating the league’s data as another sample. Basically, a bunch of nerd stuff. 

Keeping track of the changes in the rankings in both the data and the league, I feel pretty damn confident that it’s somewhat accurate. Without further adieu, let’s get into the rankings.
 
10. Mississauga Hounds

Mississauga’s forwards and defense ranks at the bottom of the league for every test by a significant margin. In fact, for the normal distribution, they are the ONLY team that had an offense that was a full z-score below the mean (offense average was about 50 TPE below league offense average). On the T test, their offense was TWENTY T-scores below the league mean. They’re gonna remain at the bottom of the league for the rest of the season.
 
9. San Diego Marlins

Based on the normal distribution, San Diego is ranked 9th in the league for both offense and defense; however, on both the T distributions, their defense is slightly higher rated at 7th. Their offense is a real weak spot for the team statistically speaking, with them being over 2 and a half t scores below the league average. Another basement team but definitely not as bad as Mississauga.
 
8. Halifax 21st

Halifax boasts the 8th best offense in the league and the 7th best defense on the normal distribution, while having the 8th best on the T distributions. There isn’t much difference between Halifax and San Diego in the rankings, with their difference being only a few percentage points, but I give Halifax a slight edge. Still a bad team though.
 
7. Ottawa Lynx

Ottawa has the 7th best offense and the 5th best defense. On the normal distribution, their defense is pretty close to being above the league average, but the T distributions show that they’re around 15% below average. Another not good team that won’t go deep in the playoffs (change the M playoff system please 8/10 teams don’t belong in the postseason).
 
6. Miami Marauders

Miami is the first team so far that has something ranked above the league average, with their offense being ranked 5th, being 3% above the average on the normal distribution and 6% on the t distributions. Despite having a positive offense, their defense is absolutely atrocious, with it being ranked 8th on the normal distribution and 9 on the t distributions. Unless they bolster their defense, they’ll remain a pretty weak team.
 
5. Las Vegas Aces

Vegas is rocking with the 6th best offense and defense. Logic would say that’d slot them in at 6th, however Miami’s horrid defense pushes them down and there’s a decent enough difference between the Ottawa and Vegas offense that it gives Vegas an edge, and a much less significant difference between the two teams’ defenses to give either a decent edge. Miami makes it tough to really place either since they’d feasibly be better than Vegas, but I have to give Vegas the edge over Miami and Ottawa.
 
4. Mexico City Kings

Mexico is the first team so far that has both offense and defense ranked above average, with their offense and defense ranked 4th (kinda just speaks to the really piss poor level of parity in the M). There’s somewhat of a gap between the teams below Mexico City, Mexico City, and the teams above Mexico City. They’re definitely a good team, but the top three teams are just too strong for them to surpass, and the teams below them are too bad for them to drop.
 
3. Houston Bulls

Houston rocks the top rated offense on the normal distribution, 2nd on the t distribution, and the 3rd ranked defense. This team has been an absolute unit out of the gate and for a while it was really between them and Philadelphia for the top. I mean, their offense is only a sliver past a percent short of hitting 100% CI for offense (translation: basically god level). All they need is a little more help on the blue line and they’ll be near unstoppable.
 
2. Philadelphia Reapers

Philadelphia started out this season as being the best in all categories and was on top of the league. As of now, they have the 2nd ranked offense on the normal distribution, 3rd on the t distribution, and a defense ranked at 2nd on all distributions. This team has been on a heater right out of the gate and has continued to play solid and get good growth from their players. Definitely a team to watch going down the stretch
 
1. Saskatoon Wild

This team has really surprised me. While I’m updating my stats, they’ve just kept climbing. I believe they started the season with the 5th ranked offense and a pretty poorly ranked defense as well. As of now, however, on the normal distribution, their offense ranks 3rd, but on the t distribution, they have the number 1 rated offense. They also boast the best defense in the league as well. This team has been on a tear lately and has been climbing in the standings. Their defense is 5% better than Philadelphia’s, and has a CI of over 99%, less than a percent towards 100% (fun fact: literally impossible, but rounding). This is definitely the best team in the league as of now, and if all things keep trending in the right direction, they should be at the top of the league by the end of the year.
 
The big issue with the data gathered is, since it’s based on player TPE, and people update whenever they feel like updating, the numbers keep changing, so the rankings keep changing. Defense overall has been bouncing around, with the teams being above average fluctuating between 4 and 5 pretty much every day. Because of that, I’ll try and do updates based on the statistics, although over time, these teams have begun to solidify their positions so not much change should be seen.
 
(1028 words)

For the better part of a month, I have been constructing and updating a statistical analysis of each VHLM team and ranking them accordingly. The tests used are a normal distribution, a T distribution using each team’s data, and another T distribution, but treating the league’s data as another sample. Basically, a bunch of nerd stuff. 

Keeping track of the changes in the rankings in both the data and the league, I feel pretty damn confident that it’s somewhat accurate. Without further adieu, let’s get into the rankings.
 
10. Mississauga Hounds

Mississauga’s forwards and defense ranks at the bottom of the league for every test by a significant margin. In fact, for the normal distribution, they are the ONLY team that had an offense that was a full z-score below the mean (offense average was about 50 TPE below league offense average). On the T test, their offense was TWENTY T-scores below the league mean. They’re gonna remain at the bottom of the league for the rest of the season.
 
9. San Diego Marlins

Based on the normal distribution, San Diego is ranked 9th in the league for both offense and defense; however, on both the T distributions, their defense is slightly higher rated at 7th. Their offense is a real weak spot for the team statistically speaking, with them being over 2 and a half t scores below the league average. Another basement team but definitely not as bad as Mississauga.
 
8. Halifax 21st

Halifax boasts the 8th best offense in the league and the 7th best defense on the normal distribution, while having the 8th best on the T distributions. There isn’t much difference between Halifax and San Diego in the rankings, with their difference being only a few percentage points, but I give Halifax a slight edge. Still a bad team though.
 
7. Ottawa Lynx

Ottawa has the 7th best offense and the 5th best defense. On the normal distribution, their defense is pretty close to being above the league average, but the T distributions show that they’re around 15% below average. Another not good team that won’t go deep in the playoffs (change the M playoff system please 8/10 teams don’t belong in the postseason).
 
6. Miami Marauders

Miami is the first team so far that has something ranked above the league average, with their offense being ranked 5th, being 3% above the average on the normal distribution and 6% on the t distributions. Despite having a positive offense, their defense is absolutely atrocious, with it being ranked 8th on the normal distribution and 9 on the t distributions. Unless they bolster their defense, they’ll remain a pretty weak team.
 
5. Las Vegas Aces

Vegas is rocking with the 6th best offense and defense. Logic would say that’d slot them in at 6th, however Miami’s horrid defense pushes them down and there’s a decent enough difference between the Ottawa and Vegas offense that it gives Vegas an edge, and a much less significant difference between the two teams’ defenses to give either a decent edge. Miami makes it tough to really place either since they’d feasibly be better than Vegas, but I have to give Vegas the edge over Miami and Ottawa.
 
4. Mexico City Kings

Mexico is the first team so far that has both offense and defense ranked above average, with their offense and defense ranked 4th (kinda just speaks to the really piss poor level of parity in the M). There’s somewhat of a gap between the teams below Mexico City, Mexico City, and the teams above Mexico City. They’re definitely a good team, but the top three teams are just too strong for them to surpass, and the teams below them are too bad for them to drop.
 
3. Houston Bulls

Houston rocks the top rated offense on the normal distribution, 2nd on the t distribution, and the 3rd ranked defense. This team has been an absolute unit out of the gate and for a while it was really between them and Philadelphia for the top. I mean, their offense is only a sliver past a percent short of hitting 100% CI for offense (translation: basically god level). All they need is a little more help on the blue line and they’ll be near unstoppable.
 
2. Philadelphia Reapers

Philadelphia started out this season as being the best in all categories and was on top of the league. As of now, they have the 2nd ranked offense on the normal distribution, 3rd on the t distribution, and a defense ranked at 2nd on all distributions. This team has been on a heater right out of the gate and has continued to play solid and get good growth from their players. Definitely a team to watch going down the stretch
 
1. Saskatoon Wild

This team has really surprised me. While I’m updating my stats, they’ve just kept climbing. I believe they started the season with the 5th ranked offense and a pretty poorly ranked defense as well. As of now, however, on the normal distribution, their offense ranks 3rd, but on the t distribution, they have the number 1 rated offense. They also boast the best defense in the league as well. This team has been on a tear lately and has been climbing in the standings. Their defense is 5% better than Philadelphia’s, and has a CI of over 99%, less than a percent towards 100% (fun fact: literally impossible, but rounding). This is definitely the best team in the league as of now, and if all things keep trending in the right direction, they should be at the top of the league by the end of the year.
 
The big issue with the data gathered is, since it’s based on player TPE, and people update whenever they feel like updating, the numbers keep changing, so the rankings keep changing. Defense overall has been bouncing around, with the teams being above average fluctuating between 4 and 5 pretty much every day. Because of that, I’ll try and do updates based on the statistics, although over time, these teams have begun to solidify their positions so not much change should be seen.
 
(1028 words)

For the better part of a month, I have been constructing and updating a statistical analysis of each VHLM team and ranking them accordingly. The tests used are a normal distribution, a T distribution using each team’s data, and another T distribution, but treating the league’s data as another sample. Basically, a bunch of nerd stuff. 

Keeping track of the changes in the rankings in both the data and the league, I feel pretty damn confident that it’s somewhat accurate. Without further adieu, let’s get into the rankings.
 
10. Mississauga Hounds

Mississauga’s forwards and defense ranks at the bottom of the league for every test by a significant margin. In fact, for the normal distribution, they are the ONLY team that had an offense that was a full z-score below the mean (offense average was about 50 TPE below league offense average). On the T test, their offense was TWENTY T-scores below the league mean. They’re gonna remain at the bottom of the league for the rest of the season.
 
9. San Diego Marlins

Based on the normal distribution, San Diego is ranked 9th in the league for both offense and defense; however, on both the T distributions, their defense is slightly higher rated at 7th. Their offense is a real weak spot for the team statistically speaking, with them being over 2 and a half t scores below the league average. Another basement team but definitely not as bad as Mississauga.
 
8. Halifax 21st

Halifax boasts the 8th best offense in the league and the 7th best defense on the normal distribution, while having the 8th best on the T distributions. There isn’t much difference between Halifax and San Diego in the rankings, with their difference being only a few percentage points, but I give Halifax a slight edge. Still a bad team though.
 
7. Ottawa Lynx

Ottawa has the 7th best offense and the 5th best defense. On the normal distribution, their defense is pretty close to being above the league average, but the T distributions show that they’re around 15% below average. Another not good team that won’t go deep in the playoffs (change the M playoff system please 8/10 teams don’t belong in the postseason).
 
6. Miami Marauders

Miami is the first team so far that has something ranked above the league average, with their offense being ranked 5th, being 3% above the average on the normal distribution and 6% on the t distributions. Despite having a positive offense, their defense is absolutely atrocious, with it being ranked 8th on the normal distribution and 9 on the t distributions. Unless they bolster their defense, they’ll remain a pretty weak team.
 
5. Las Vegas Aces

Vegas is rocking with the 6th best offense and defense. Logic would say that’d slot them in at 6th, however Miami’s horrid defense pushes them down and there’s a decent enough difference between the Ottawa and Vegas offense that it gives Vegas an edge, and a much less significant difference between the two teams’ defenses to give either a decent edge. Miami makes it tough to really place either since they’d feasibly be better than Vegas, but I have to give Vegas the edge over Miami and Ottawa.
 
4. Mexico City Kings

Mexico is the first team so far that has both offense and defense ranked above average, with their offense and defense ranked 4th (kinda just speaks to the really piss poor level of parity in the M). There’s somewhat of a gap between the teams below Mexico City, Mexico City, and the teams above Mexico City. They’re definitely a good team, but the top three teams are just too strong for them to surpass, and the teams below them are too bad for them to drop.
 
3. Houston Bulls

Houston rocks the top rated offense on the normal distribution, 2nd on the t distribution, and the 3rd ranked defense. This team has been an absolute unit out of the gate and for a while it was really between them and Philadelphia for the top. I mean, their offense is only a sliver past a percent short of hitting 100% CI for offense (translation: basically god level). All they need is a little more help on the blue line and they’ll be near unstoppable.
 
2. Philadelphia Reapers

Philadelphia started out this season as being the best in all categories and was on top of the league. As of now, they have the 2nd ranked offense on the normal distribution, 3rd on the t distribution, and a defense ranked at 2nd on all distributions. This team has been on a heater right out of the gate and has continued to play solid and get good growth from their players. Definitely a team to watch going down the stretch
 
1. Saskatoon Wild

This team has really surprised me. While I’m updating my stats, they’ve just kept climbing. I believe they started the season with the 5th ranked offense and a pretty poorly ranked defense as well. As of now, however, on the normal distribution, their offense ranks 3rd, but on the t distribution, they have the number 1 rated offense. They also boast the best defense in the league as well. This team has been on a tear lately and has been climbing in the standings. Their defense is 5% better than Philadelphia’s, and has a CI of over 99%, less than a percent towards 100% (fun fact: literally impossible, but rounding). This is definitely the best team in the league as of now, and if all things keep trending in the right direction, they should be at the top of the league by the end of the year.
 
The big issue with the data gathered is, since it’s based on player TPE, and people update whenever they feel like updating, the numbers keep changing, so the rankings keep changing. Defense overall has been bouncing around, with the teams being above average fluctuating between 4 and 5 pretty much every day. Because of that, I’ll try and do updates based on the statistics, although over time, these teams have begun to solidify their positions so not much change should be seen.
 
(1028 words)

There's been a ton of great feedback from the community here, I appreciate it everyone!

1. Get rid of the meta. It's super boring and in general just sucks. It cuts out the creativity one could have for their players. May it be swapping out some attributes with ones that are more useful, or just boosting alternative build paths, maybe put more emphasis on defensive play, or something to that extent, there needs to be some sort of shift.
2. Axe the E. I know it's early but it already has the stench of a failed system. It's spreading us too thin and it'd be better to allocate more players to the other two leagues. Activity is pretty low and it's hard to boost it when numbers stay thin. My player has only experienced the E for about a week and I'm not a fan (partly because my first GM didn't communicate with me at all, never added me to the discord, and then traded me. Actual bad GM moment)
3. There needs to be some sort of revamp in the M. There's a pretty big disparity in the LR sizes of the teams which hurts the interaction because it's hard to just talk and have fun conversations and all-in-all create a good LR experience, when there's only 9 players, some may not even be "active", whereas it's pretty easy to create a good environment when you have nearly 20 players, again some not as active as others. With how the M is structured, every season, there's gonna be like 3 super filled teams, and the rest be middling, and maybe 1-2 teams with like 5 players, then the next seasons all the team's swap in size. A possible solution would be to remove the E, and instead raise the TPE cap in the M to 300-350. At this point, M teams can have an actual core to build around for at least a bit, and not have to go through the same method of trade away all players for picks -> Pick a bunch of players and become good -> Trade away all your picks for players -> Turn to shit -> Trade away all players for picks.
4. Offseason Activities is a must. The most boring part for a regular player is the offseason, because there is legitimately nothing to do. I know it can be pretty busy for GMs, but not everyone in the league has the luxury of having something to keep them occupied in the league. If I have to sit around for a handful of weeks with nothing to do in the league, I'm going to lose interest. There needs to be a reason to come back to the site every day, and as of now, there really isn't.

1. Get rid of the meta. It's super boring and in general just sucks. It cuts out the creativity one could have for their players. May it be swapping out some attributes with ones that are more useful, or just boosting alternative build paths, maybe put more emphasis on defensive play, or something to that extent, there needs to be some sort of shift.
2. Axe the E. I know it's early but it already has the stench of a failed system. It's spreading us too thin and it'd be better to allocate more players to the other two leagues. Activity is pretty low and it's hard to boost it when numbers stay thin. My player has only experienced the E for about a week and I'm not a fan (partly because my first GM didn't communicate with me at all, never added me to the discord, and then traded me. Actual bad GM moment)
3. There needs to be some sort of revamp in the M. There's a pretty big disparity in the LR sizes of the teams which hurts the interaction because it's hard to just talk and have fun conversations and all-in-all create a good LR experience, when there's only 9 players, some may not even be "active", whereas it's pretty easy to create a good environment when you have nearly 20 players, again some not as active as others. With how the M is structured, every season, there's gonna be like 3 super filled teams, and the rest be middling, and maybe 1-2 teams with like 5 players, then the next seasons all the team's swap in size. A possible solution would be to remove the E, and instead raise the TPE cap in the M to 300-350. At this point, M teams can have an actual core to build around for at least a bit, and not have to go through the same method of trade away all players for picks -> Pick a bunch of players and become good -> Trade away all your picks for players -> Turn to shit -> Trade away all players for picks.
4. Offseason Activities is a must. The most boring part for a regular player is the offseason, because there is legitimately nothing to do. I know it can be pretty busy for GMs, but not everyone in the league has the luxury of having something to keep them occupied in the league. If I have to sit around for a handful of weeks with nothing to do in the league, I'm going to lose interest. There needs to be a reason to come back to the site every day, and as of now, there really isn't.

1. Get rid of the meta. It's super boring and in general just sucks. It cuts out the creativity one could have for their players. May it be swapping out some attributes with ones that are more useful, or just boosting alternative build paths, maybe put more emphasis on defensive play, or something to that extent, there needs to be some sort of shift.
2. Axe the E. I know it's early but it already has the stench of a failed system. It's spreading us too thin and it'd be better to allocate more players to the other two leagues. Activity is pretty low and it's hard to boost it when numbers stay thin. My player has only experienced the E for about a week and I'm not a fan (partly because my first GM didn't communicate with me at all, never added me to the discord, and then traded me. Actual bad GM moment)
3. There needs to be some sort of revamp in the M. There's a pretty big disparity in the LR sizes of the teams which hurts the interaction because it's hard to just talk and have fun conversations and all-in-all create a good LR experience, when there's only 9 players, some may not even be "active", whereas it's pretty easy to create a good environment when you have nearly 20 players, again some not as active as others. With how the M is structured, every season, there's gonna be like 3 super filled teams, and the rest be middling, and maybe 1-2 teams with like 5 players, then the next seasons all the team's swap in size. A possible solution would be to remove the E, and instead raise the TPE cap in the M to 300-350. At this point, M teams can have an actual core to build around for at least a bit, and not have to go through the same method of trade away all players for picks -> Pick a bunch of players and become good -> Trade away all your picks for players -> Turn to shit -> Trade away all players for picks.
4. Offseason Activities is a must. The most boring part for a regular player is the offseason, because there is legitimately nothing to do. I know it can be pretty busy for GMs, but not everyone in the league has the luxury of having something to keep them occupied in the league. If I have to sit around for a handful of weeks with nothing to do in the league, I'm going to lose interest. There needs to be a reason to come back to the site every day, and as of now, there really isn't.

1. Get rid of the meta. It's super boring and in general just sucks. It cuts out the creativity one could have for their players. May it be swapping out some attributes with ones that are more useful, or just boosting alternative build paths, maybe put more emphasis on defensive play, or something to that extent, there needs to be some sort of shift.
2. Axe the E. I know it's early but it already has the stench of a failed system. It's spreading us too thin and it'd be better to allocate more players to the other two leagues. Activity is pretty low and it's hard to boost it when numbers stay thin. My player has only experienced the E for about a week and I'm not a fan (partly because my first GM didn't communicate with me at all, never added me to the discord, and then traded me. Actual bad GM moment)
3. There needs to be some sort of revamp in the M. There's a pretty big disparity in the LR sizes of the teams which hurts the interaction because it's hard to just talk and have fun conversations and all-in-all create a good LR experience, when there's only 9 players, some may not even be "active", whereas it's pretty easy to create a good environment when you have nearly 20 players, again some not as active as others. With how the M is structured, every season, there's gonna be like 3 super filled teams, and the rest be middling, and maybe 1-2 teams with like 5 players, then the next seasons all the team's swap in size. A possible solution would be to remove the E, and instead raise the TPE cap in the M to 300-350. At this point, M teams can have an actual core to build around for at least a bit, and not have to go through the same method of trade away all players for picks -> Pick a bunch of players and become good -> Trade away all your picks for players -> Turn to shit -> Trade away all players for picks.
4. Offseason Activities is a must. The most boring part for a regular player is the offseason, because there is legitimately nothing to do. I know it can be pretty busy for GMs, but not everyone in the league has the luxury of having something to keep them occupied in the league. If I have to sit around for a handful of weeks with nothing to do in the league, I'm going to lose interest. There needs to be a reason to come back to the site every day, and as of now, there really isn't.

Hold them tightly together and sort of scoop them like a spoon.

1. Probably American Football. Not many other sports are that fun to watch.
2. Doing a lot of speed and endurance drills. Since they'll be moving up to the VHLE, they gotta get up to that level.
3. Not really. He came in with the singular goal of leading the league in checking and fell just short.
4. Brooklyn style with bacon and pineapple. Truly the best pizza.
5. Moving up to the next level (and finally being able to apply TPE again)
6. Beef is waaaaaaaaaaay better than chicken. Like chicken just cannot compete.

You're (I believe) the only person left active who was on that first Houston team, so fun fact that I'm just now realizing myself: I guess I've known you longer than anyone else here! I loved having you on Davos, and likewise I hope we end up in the same place at the same time somewhere.

Very sad to see you go. You are one of the few people that have really made this whole thing fun for me, and if it wasn't you at the helm of Davos, I probably would've had my last player bounce around the league instead of stick with the team for their whole career. I do apologize for the early retirement, although it probably didn't hurt the team too badly. May it be between players, GMs, or whatever, I hope we come together soon. Be good to yourself big man.

Very sad to see you go. You are one of the few people that have really made this whole thing fun for me, and if it wasn't you at the helm of Davos, I probably would've had my last player bounce around the league instead of stick with the team for their whole career. I do apologize for the early retirement, although it probably didn't hurt the team too badly. May it be between players, GMs, or whatever, I hope we come together soon. Be good to yourself big man.

The VHLM regular season is nearing a close, with about 20 games left for each team to play. Few teams are necessarily settled into their spots, and there is a chance for a fair bit of movement in this final stretch, but let’s take a glance at where each team is.



Halifax 21st
Current Ranking: 10
My Estimated Ranking: 4
 
Goddamn was I off on this one. When I was looking over their roster, it looked fairly competent. The only piece that they needed was a goalie, and that was killing them early. Maybe their players aren’t building the right way or the sim hates them or something, because they never really were able to dig out of that early hole they were in. I still don’t really know why this team is doing so terribly. They’re not at all the worst team in the league, yet their record says otherwise. Although playoffs aren’t out of the picture, they’ve done too poorly to actually compete for anything. Better luck next season I guess.


Miami Marauders
Current Ranking: 9
My Estimated Ranking: 9
 
We knew what we were getting out of this team this season. I guess I benefited from Halifax being so bad for some random reason. This team is completely awful from every direction. They’ve gotten some good growth from their players, and I could definitely see them being decently competitive next season, with a few pieces moving on up, but in general this team is going to probably stay near the bottom for the rest of the season


Mexico City Kings
Current Ranking: 8
My Estimated Ranking: 10
 
This team has seen a pretty fair amount of growth, much like Miami (and probably every team let’s be honest. TPA is always much higher than previously, but we assume every team has the same average growth, and it’s usually true) but still sits near the bottom. They’re pretty much in the same boat as Miami, just with less players. They’re gonna be a pretty tough team to play against next season, but for now, they’ll sit near the bottom. They’re in a playoff spot as of now, and have a good chance to hold onto it, with Miami and Halifax being 9 and 10 points behind them respectively. While not unsurmountable, current trends will keep Mexico above water.


Saskatoon Wild
Current Ranking: 7
My Estimated Ranking: 5
 
This team has had a pretty brutal season with scoring. Not a lot of offense comes out of this squad (You know it’s a bad sign when my player, basically a pure enforcer, is tied for 3rd in points on the team). Despite their offensive struggles, they sit utop 3 other teams and are sitting in a playoff spot. While I don’t expect too much going into the playoffs, this team can at least be happy with a somewhat average season and a good bit of growth. Yet another team that can look towards next year to really compete. To be honest this team is only really doing as well as they are due to the overtime points, having the most OTLs in the league, while also being tied for lowest GF. If this team could actually score, they’d probably be right where I had them.


Philadelphia Reapers
Current Ranking: 6
My Estimated Ranking: 6
 
Another team right on the money. I don’t know why, but every time I look at the VHLM, Philadelphia is always above 4 teams. They’ve never been super good or super bad. When they downgraded their goaltending, I was pretty confident that they’d slot in this slot. They’re the last team with a negative goal differential, and they have a fair lead above Saskatoon, while being a fair bit behind San Diego. They’re awkwardly in their own section, away from the really awful, yet a step behind the actual competitive. Don’t necessarily expect much out of them in the playoffs, but they’ll likely last longer than the two teams below them going into it.


San Diego Marlins
Current Ranking: 5
My Estimated Ranking: 3
 
I had pretty high hopes for this team when I first looked at them. Although not super low, and the gap between them and 3 of the teams ahead of them isn’t massive, they are decently behind and likely won’t move up. Basically, they’re the de facto average team of this season (weird not seeing Philadelphia in this spot but I digress).


Mississauga Hounds
Current Ranking: 4
My Estimated Ranking: 7
 
I’d like to say I severely underestimated this team, and while that’s true, I still don’t necessarily disagree with my earlier rating. Depth was a big issue going into this season for this team, and it was slowly addressed due to growth. What was weird is that with teams like this, they usually have a bad start and eventually get better, but for this team it seemed that they just stayed good. I guess the sim just screws one team (Halifax) and then helps another.


Las Vegas Aces
Current Ranking: 3
My Estimated Ranking: 8
 
Ight screw me I guess. I was against how well this team was doing and they decided to just flip me off even harder than they were and keep doing well. Again, looking at this team, they don’t really have the star power to be this good, yet they are. I don’t know, maybe I’m just stupid. This team is good, apparently, and will stay good, and probably will win it all because why not.


Houston Bulls
Current Ranking: 2
My Estimated Ranking: 2
 
Yea this team is pretty damn good, and I kinda feel bad for them because of that. So good yet still a step behind the top team. Star studded and full of depth, yet still not good enough. It’s sad, it really is, but in the end, it doesn’t really matter. They’re a great team, and it’ll be interesting to see what they can do in the postseason.


Ottawa Lynx
Current Ranking: 1
My Estimated Ranking: 1
 
Not too much to deliberate about. They’re a top tier team. Most of their roster is maxed out on TPA. They have the best GF and GA. A true dominating squad that will probably end up getting bounced in the 2nd round because the sim doesn’t care about good teams. Let there be chaos
 
(1058 words. Claiming for weeks 12/26 and 1/2)

completely accidental as well 😅

The VHLM regular season is nearing a close, with about 20 games left for each team to play. Few teams are necessarily settled into their spots, and there is a chance for a fair bit of movement in this final stretch, but let’s take a glance at where each team is.



Halifax 21st
Current Ranking: 10
My Estimated Ranking: 4
 
Goddamn was I off on this one. When I was looking over their roster, it looked fairly competent. The only piece that they needed was a goalie, and that was killing them early. Maybe their players aren’t building the right way or the sim hates them or something, because they never really were able to dig out of that early hole they were in. I still don’t really know why this team is doing so terribly. They’re not at all the worst team in the league, yet their record says otherwise. Although playoffs aren’t out of the picture, they’ve done too poorly to actually compete for anything. Better luck next season I guess.


Miami Marauders
Current Ranking: 9
My Estimated Ranking: 9
 
We knew what we were getting out of this team this season. I guess I benefited from Halifax being so bad for some random reason. This team is completely awful from every direction. They’ve gotten some good growth from their players, and I could definitely see them being decently competitive next season, with a few pieces moving on up, but in general this team is going to probably stay near the bottom for the rest of the season


Mexico City Kings
Current Ranking: 8
My Estimated Ranking: 10
 
This team has seen a pretty fair amount of growth, much like Miami (and probably every team let’s be honest. TPA is always much higher than previously, but we assume every team has the same average growth, and it’s usually true) but still sits near the bottom. They’re pretty much in the same boat as Miami, just with less players. They’re gonna be a pretty tough team to play against next season, but for now, they’ll sit near the bottom. They’re in a playoff spot as of now, and have a good chance to hold onto it, with Miami and Halifax being 9 and 10 points behind them respectively. While not unsurmountable, current trends will keep Mexico above water.


Saskatoon Wild
Current Ranking: 7
My Estimated Ranking: 5
 
This team has had a pretty brutal season with scoring. Not a lot of offense comes out of this squad (You know it’s a bad sign when my player, basically a pure enforcer, is tied for 3rd in points on the team). Despite their offensive struggles, they sit utop 3 other teams and are sitting in a playoff spot. While I don’t expect too much going into the playoffs, this team can at least be happy with a somewhat average season and a good bit of growth. Yet another team that can look towards next year to really compete. To be honest this team is only really doing as well as they are due to the overtime points, having the most OTLs in the league, while also being tied for lowest GF. If this team could actually score, they’d probably be right where I had them.


Philadelphia Reapers
Current Ranking: 6
My Estimated Ranking: 6
 
Another team right on the money. I don’t know why, but every time I look at the VHLM, Philadelphia is always above 4 teams. They’ve never been super good or super bad. When they downgraded their goaltending, I was pretty confident that they’d slot in this slot. They’re the last team with a negative goal differential, and they have a fair lead above Saskatoon, while being a fair bit behind San Diego. They’re awkwardly in their own section, away from the really awful, yet a step behind the actual competitive. Don’t necessarily expect much out of them in the playoffs, but they’ll likely last longer than the two teams below them going into it.


San Diego Marlins
Current Ranking: 5
My Estimated Ranking: 3
 
I had pretty high hopes for this team when I first looked at them. Although not super low, and the gap between them and 3 of the teams ahead of them isn’t massive, they are decently behind and likely won’t move up. Basically, they’re the de facto average team of this season (weird not seeing Philadelphia in this spot but I digress).


Mississauga Hounds
Current Ranking: 4
My Estimated Ranking: 7
 
I’d like to say I severely underestimated this team, and while that’s true, I still don’t necessarily disagree with my earlier rating. Depth was a big issue going into this season for this team, and it was slowly addressed due to growth. What was weird is that with teams like this, they usually have a bad start and eventually get better, but for this team it seemed that they just stayed good. I guess the sim just screws one team (Halifax) and then helps another.


Las Vegas Aces
Current Ranking: 3
My Estimated Ranking: 8
 
Ight screw me I guess. I was against how well this team was doing and they decided to just flip me off even harder than they were and keep doing well. Again, looking at this team, they don’t really have the star power to be this good, yet they are. I don’t know, maybe I’m just stupid. This team is good, apparently, and will stay good, and probably will win it all because why not.


Houston Bulls
Current Ranking: 2
My Estimated Ranking: 2
 
Yea this team is pretty damn good, and I kinda feel bad for them because of that. So good yet still a step behind the top team. Star studded and full of depth, yet still not good enough. It’s sad, it really is, but in the end, it doesn’t really matter. They’re a great team, and it’ll be interesting to see what they can do in the postseason.


Ottawa Lynx
Current Ranking: 1
My Estimated Ranking: 1
 
Not too much to deliberate about. They’re a top tier team. Most of their roster is maxed out on TPA. They have the best GF and GA. A true dominating squad that will probably end up getting bounced in the 2nd round because the sim doesn’t care about good teams. Let there be chaos
 
(1058 words. Claiming for weeks 12/26 and 1/2)

The VHLM regular season is nearing a close, with about 20 games left for each team to play. Few teams are necessarily settled into their spots, and there is a chance for a fair bit of movement in this final stretch, but let’s take a glance at where each team is.



Halifax 21st
Current Ranking: 10
My Estimated Ranking: 4
 
Goddamn was I off on this one. When I was looking over their roster, it looked fairly competent. The only piece that they needed was a goalie, and that was killing them early. Maybe their players aren’t building the right way or the sim hates them or something, because they never really were able to dig out of that early hole they were in. I still don’t really know why this team is doing so terribly. They’re not at all the worst team in the league, yet their record says otherwise. Although playoffs aren’t out of the picture, they’ve done too poorly to actually compete for anything. Better luck next season I guess.


Miami Marauders
Current Ranking: 9
My Estimated Ranking: 9
 
We knew what we were getting out of this team this season. I guess I benefited from Halifax being so bad for some random reason. This team is completely awful from every direction. They’ve gotten some good growth from their players, and I could definitely see them being decently competitive next season, with a few pieces moving on up, but in general this team is going to probably stay near the bottom for the rest of the season


Mexico City Kings
Current Ranking: 8
My Estimated Ranking: 10
 
This team has seen a pretty fair amount of growth, much like Miami (and probably every team let’s be honest. TPA is always much higher than previously, but we assume every team has the same average growth, and it’s usually true) but still sits near the bottom. They’re pretty much in the same boat as Miami, just with less players. They’re gonna be a pretty tough team to play against next season, but for now, they’ll sit near the bottom. They’re in a playoff spot as of now, and have a good chance to hold onto it, with Miami and Halifax being 9 and 10 points behind them respectively. While not unsurmountable, current trends will keep Mexico above water.


Saskatoon Wild
Current Ranking: 7
My Estimated Ranking: 5
 
This team has had a pretty brutal season with scoring. Not a lot of offense comes out of this squad (You know it’s a bad sign when my player, basically a pure enforcer, is tied for 3rd in points on the team). Despite their offensive struggles, they sit utop 3 other teams and are sitting in a playoff spot. While I don’t expect too much going into the playoffs, this team can at least be happy with a somewhat average season and a good bit of growth. Yet another team that can look towards next year to really compete. To be honest this team is only really doing as well as they are due to the overtime points, having the most OTLs in the league, while also being tied for lowest GF. If this team could actually score, they’d probably be right where I had them.


Philadelphia Reapers
Current Ranking: 6
My Estimated Ranking: 6
 
Another team right on the money. I don’t know why, but every time I look at the VHLM, Philadelphia is always above 4 teams. They’ve never been super good or super bad. When they downgraded their goaltending, I was pretty confident that they’d slot in this slot. They’re the last team with a negative goal differential, and they have a fair lead above Saskatoon, while being a fair bit behind San Diego. They’re awkwardly in their own section, away from the really awful, yet a step behind the actual competitive. Don’t necessarily expect much out of them in the playoffs, but they’ll likely last longer than the two teams below them going into it.


San Diego Marlins
Current Ranking: 5
My Estimated Ranking: 3
 
I had pretty high hopes for this team when I first looked at them. Although not super low, and the gap between them and 3 of the teams ahead of them isn’t massive, they are decently behind and likely won’t move up. Basically, they’re the de facto average team of this season (weird not seeing Philadelphia in this spot but I digress).


Mississauga Hounds
Current Ranking: 4
My Estimated Ranking: 7
 
I’d like to say I severely underestimated this team, and while that’s true, I still don’t necessarily disagree with my earlier rating. Depth was a big issue going into this season for this team, and it was slowly addressed due to growth. What was weird is that with teams like this, they usually have a bad start and eventually get better, but for this team it seemed that they just stayed good. I guess the sim just screws one team (Halifax) and then helps another.


Las Vegas Aces
Current Ranking: 3
My Estimated Ranking: 8
 
Ight screw me I guess. I was against how well this team was doing and they decided to just flip me off even harder than they were and keep doing well. Again, looking at this team, they don’t really have the star power to be this good, yet they are. I don’t know, maybe I’m just stupid. This team is good, apparently, and will stay good, and probably will win it all because why not.


Houston Bulls
Current Ranking: 2
My Estimated Ranking: 2
 
Yea this team is pretty damn good, and I kinda feel bad for them because of that. So good yet still a step behind the top team. Star studded and full of depth, yet still not good enough. It’s sad, it really is, but in the end, it doesn’t really matter. They’re a great team, and it’ll be interesting to see what they can do in the postseason.


Ottawa Lynx
Current Ranking: 1
My Estimated Ranking: 1
 
Not too much to deliberate about. They’re a top tier team. Most of their roster is maxed out on TPA. They have the best GF and GA. A true dominating squad that will probably end up getting bounced in the 2nd round because the sim doesn’t care about good teams. Let there be chaos
 
(1058 words. Claiming for weeks 12/26 and 1/2)

I've been somewhat vocal in my disliking of the build meta. It's boring, it's overused (obviously), and, in all honesty, it probably doesn't help retention all that well (no data to back that up but just a hunch). I mean, why would someone sit through their whole career just to repeat the build they had because that's what works. There's too much of a focus on the offensive production for a player that if you want success, you need to do the meta build so you can squeeze that offensive production out of the player. What needs to be done is to shift towards defense. It's hard to really build a pure defensive player. Sure max out checking and defense, but you're not that effective as a shutdown player. Discipline doesn't really do anything, and once you hit 99 on both checking and defense, and probably skating because you need to be able to move for those things to actually be effective, what else is there? Leadership and Discipline, and probably Penalty Shot too, should be removed and replaced with defense oriented stats, or break down defense into those stats instead of it being just a general thing. Creating the pieces to build a good defensive archetype could give a fresh shake-up to the current meta, as well as shift the focus of some awards towards defensively responsible players. Sometimes I don't want to be a point generator, I want to be a brick wall.

I've been somewhat vocal in my disliking of the build meta. It's boring, it's overused (obviously), and, in all honesty, it probably doesn't help retention all that well (no data to back that up but just a hunch). I mean, why would someone sit through their whole career just to repeat the build they had because that's what works. There's too much of a focus on the offensive production for a player that if you want success, you need to do the meta build so you can squeeze that offensive production out of the player. What needs to be done is to shift towards defense. It's hard to really build a pure defensive player. Sure max out checking and defense, but you're not that effective as a shutdown player. Discipline doesn't really do anything, and once you hit 99 on both checking and defense, and probably skating because you need to be able to move for those things to actually be effective, what else is there? Leadership and Discipline, and probably Penalty Shot too, should be removed and replaced with defense oriented stats, or break down defense into those stats instead of it being just a general thing. Creating the pieces to build a good defensive archetype could give a fresh shake-up to the current meta, as well as shift the focus of some awards towards defensively responsible players. Sometimes I don't want to be a point generator, I want to be a brick wall.

1. Not necessarily. My player hits indiscriminately. Everybody gets crushed equally.
2. I'll always have something special with Houston. It's a unique feeling every time I go there.
3. Loud, easygoing guy who never stops yapping.
4. It'll be a bit but I'll be 21 in 2022 so that'll be fun.
5. Being able to go back home and be with my friends and family. It's nice to spend time with them, especially my friends since nowadays we rarely see each other.
6. There's this amazing caramelized porkchop with a side of bacon mac and cheese that is just heavenly. 

Disclaimer: Numbers not completely up to date. Calculations were made at the beginning of the week.
 

Mexico City Kings
Current Ranking: 8
My Ranking: 10
 
Mexico City is clearly the worst team in the VHLM at this time. They have the weakest forward group and defense group, and the only shining spot on their team is in goal. It’s pretty obvious that this is a tank season for the Kings, hoping to snag some top tier talent in the draft, and with the removal of the draft lottery due to the promotion of 2 VHLM teams to the VHLE, that’s pretty much guaranteed. In terms of draft picks, they hold all their picks plus an extra 5th and 6th. With few players primed to graduate to the VHLE next season, they could be a top end team by next season. Selling off the few pieces they have could give them an extra kick in terms of draft capital. Feel free to dismiss this team for this season, but beware of them next season.
 

Miami Marauders
Current Ranking: 10
My Ranking: 9
 
While Miami is definitely better than Mexico City, it’s not by much. Their offense, defense, and goaltending are all 9th on my list, basically determining the Marauders as the 9th best team in the league. Just like Mexico City, it's tank season. In terms of draft picks, they hold all theirs but their 6th, but also have an extra 4th and 5th. Examining the team, however, there appears to be more pieces they could sell off. They have several players, at least one for each position who could be moved. Nevertheless, Miami and Mexico are in a tank competition, and with the assets Miami holds, they could very well stay 10th and beat out Mexico for 1st overall.


Las Vegas
Current Ranking: 4
My Ranking: 8
 
This team pisses me off. Now I know my numbers are a bit outdated, but they have not improved enough within the week to be doing this well in the league. Their forwards and defense are below average, yet they’re finding success. It is still early in the season and teams are usually jumbled around. Some start hot and some start cold, and in the case of Las Vegas, they’ve come bursting into this season. I expect them to cool down and sink near the bottom of the standings. I doubt they’ll sell any pieces. The start they’ve gone on will likely cause the team to buy some much needed star talent to boost their forward core. If they can get some big TPA players on both offense and defense, they’ll be justified sitting near the top; as of right now, however, I’m just waiting for them to burn out.


Mississauga Hounds
Current Ranking: 2
My Ranking: 7
 
Mississauga is similar to Las Vegas in that despite their relatively weak roster, they’re finding a great deal of success. Both offense and defense are below average, and the roster isn’t fully fleshed out. If this team wants to maintain its position in the league, it needs to bring in some high level talent. Much like Las Vegas, without any big changes made, I fully expect this team to fall off.


Philadelphia Reapers
Current Ranking: 5
My Ranking: 6
 
Despite both the offense and defense being ranked 7th on my standings (outdated likely but kiss my ass), I see them finishing one above those rankings as 6th. During the week in which I was a lazy fucker, they ended trading their top goalie to somewhere (probably Halifax). Even with the downgrade in goal, I’m pretty confident that the team will slot in at 6th.


Saskatoon Wild
Current Ranking: 7
My Ranking: 5
 
Saskatoon looks to be a pretty average team. They’re filled up with mostly rookies, so growth is the main thing going on with the team. They’re not going to be a world beater this season, but should look better next season. If they do decide to go on a run, and they have some pieces there, they’ll need to flesh out their defense and bring in some star forwards, but expectations for this team going into the playoffs are pretty low. 


Halifax 21st
Current Ranking: 9
My Ranking: 4
 
Halifax 100% deserves to be better. They have a very strong offense and an above average defense. The thing that’s killing them right now is goaltending. They NEED a better goalie. No hate towards the ones they have, but they just aren’t high enough TPA to put this team in contention. This is a strong team that’s really just one piece away from having the record of a good team. Make the move Halifax. Just do it so I can feel a little better about my rankings.


San Diego Marlins
Current Ranking: 6
My Ranking: 3
 
San Diego is a very strong looking team. They have very good goaltending and a very formidable defense and an average offense. The biggest thing that San Diego needs to do is bring in some more higher end forwards. Defense and goaltending is very strong, and it’s hard to necessarily find a weak spot in the team, but forward is their weakest area. Of course they’re a step behind the 2 teams ahead of them, but one can only do so much.


Houston Bulls
Current Ranking: 3
My Ranking: 2
 
Houston is a powerhouse of a team. Their offense and defense are both 2nd in the league, and, planning this out, I had their weakness being goaltending, they go out and acquire a high end goaltender. The only thing the team needs to do is finish up their roster, acquiring one more forward and defenseman. They’re not going to be above the 1st place team, that team is an absolute wagon, but they are definitely secured in the number 2 spot.


Ottawa Lynx
Current Ranking: 1
My Ranking: 1
 
Ottawa is a superstar team. There’s always at least one every season, and it’s Ottawa this year. They have the top offense in the league. They have the top defense in the league. They have a very solid goaltender and backup. This team is going to shred up the regular standing, and then probably lose in the 2nd round. All Ottawa needs to do is add some forward depth to finish up their roster, but other than that, it’s easy riding for the rest of the season.

 
Conclusion
Since I was a lazy little boy and didn’t write this shit earlier in the week, the numbers I came up with are a bit outdated; however, my assumption is that everyone grew and applied at an average rate, and therefore teams should be slotted in relatively back in their correct spot. The evaluation lengths felt a bit dwindling the further along I went on this, but there’s only so much one can write about a team. I could go much more in depth with them, but I’m lazy so no thanks.

Words: 1161

Disclaimer: Numbers not completely up to date. Calculations were made at the beginning of the week.
 

Mexico City Kings
Current Ranking: 8
My Ranking: 10
 
Mexico City is clearly the worst team in the VHLM at this time. They have the weakest forward group and defense group, and the only shining spot on their team is in goal. It’s pretty obvious that this is a tank season for the Kings, hoping to snag some top tier talent in the draft, and with the removal of the draft lottery due to the promotion of 2 VHLM teams to the VHLE, that’s pretty much guaranteed. In terms of draft picks, they hold all their picks plus an extra 5th and 6th. With few players primed to graduate to the VHLE next season, they could be a top end team by next season. Selling off the few pieces they have could give them an extra kick in terms of draft capital. Feel free to dismiss this team for this season, but beware of them next season.
 

Miami Marauders
Current Ranking: 10
My Ranking: 9
 
While Miami is definitely better than Mexico City, it’s not by much. Their offense, defense, and goaltending are all 9th on my list, basically determining the Marauders as the 9th best team in the league. Just like Mexico City, it's tank season. In terms of draft picks, they hold all theirs but their 6th, but also have an extra 4th and 5th. Examining the team, however, there appears to be more pieces they could sell off. They have several players, at least one for each position who could be moved. Nevertheless, Miami and Mexico are in a tank competition, and with the assets Miami holds, they could very well stay 10th and beat out Mexico for 1st overall.


Las Vegas
Current Ranking: 4
My Ranking: 8
 
This team pisses me off. Now I know my numbers are a bit outdated, but they have not improved enough within the week to be doing this well in the league. Their forwards and defense are below average, yet they’re finding success. It is still early in the season and teams are usually jumbled around. Some start hot and some start cold, and in the case of Las Vegas, they’ve come bursting into this season. I expect them to cool down and sink near the bottom of the standings. I doubt they’ll sell any pieces. The start they’ve gone on will likely cause the team to buy some much needed star talent to boost their forward core. If they can get some big TPA players on both offense and defense, they’ll be justified sitting near the top; as of right now, however, I’m just waiting for them to burn out.


Mississauga Hounds
Current Ranking: 2
My Ranking: 7
 
Mississauga is similar to Las Vegas in that despite their relatively weak roster, they’re finding a great deal of success. Both offense and defense are below average, and the roster isn’t fully fleshed out. If this team wants to maintain its position in the league, it needs to bring in some high level talent. Much like Las Vegas, without any big changes made, I fully expect this team to fall off.


Philadelphia Reapers
Current Ranking: 5
My Ranking: 6
 
Despite both the offense and defense being ranked 7th on my standings (outdated likely but kiss my ass), I see them finishing one above those rankings as 6th. During the week in which I was a lazy fucker, they ended trading their top goalie to somewhere (probably Halifax). Even with the downgrade in goal, I’m pretty confident that the team will slot in at 6th.


Saskatoon Wild
Current Ranking: 7
My Ranking: 5
 
Saskatoon looks to be a pretty average team. They’re filled up with mostly rookies, so growth is the main thing going on with the team. They’re not going to be a world beater this season, but should look better next season. If they do decide to go on a run, and they have some pieces there, they’ll need to flesh out their defense and bring in some star forwards, but expectations for this team going into the playoffs are pretty low. 


Halifax 21st
Current Ranking: 9
My Ranking: 4
 
Halifax 100% deserves to be better. They have a very strong offense and an above average defense. The thing that’s killing them right now is goaltending. They NEED a better goalie. No hate towards the ones they have, but they just aren’t high enough TPA to put this team in contention. This is a strong team that’s really just one piece away from having the record of a good team. Make the move Halifax. Just do it so I can feel a little better about my rankings.


San Diego Marlins
Current Ranking: 6
My Ranking: 3
 
San Diego is a very strong looking team. They have very good goaltending and a very formidable defense and an average offense. The biggest thing that San Diego needs to do is bring in some more higher end forwards. Defense and goaltending is very strong, and it’s hard to necessarily find a weak spot in the team, but forward is their weakest area. Of course they’re a step behind the 2 teams ahead of them, but one can only do so much.


Houston Bulls
Current Ranking: 3
My Ranking: 2
 
Houston is a powerhouse of a team. Their offense and defense are both 2nd in the league, and, planning this out, I had their weakness being goaltending, they go out and acquire a high end goaltender. The only thing the team needs to do is finish up their roster, acquiring one more forward and defenseman. They’re not going to be above the 1st place team, that team is an absolute wagon, but they are definitely secured in the number 2 spot.


Ottawa Lynx
Current Ranking: 1
My Ranking: 1
 
Ottawa is a superstar team. There’s always at least one every season, and it’s Ottawa this year. They have the top offense in the league. They have the top defense in the league. They have a very solid goaltender and backup. This team is going to shred up the regular standing, and then probably lose in the 2nd round. All Ottawa needs to do is add some forward depth to finish up their roster, but other than that, it’s easy riding for the rest of the season.

 
Conclusion
Since I was a lazy little boy and didn’t write this shit earlier in the week, the numbers I came up with are a bit outdated; however, my assumption is that everyone grew and applied at an average rate, and therefore teams should be slotted in relatively back in their correct spot. The evaluation lengths felt a bit dwindling the further along I went on this, but there’s only so much one can write about a team. I could go much more in depth with them, but I’m lazy so no thanks.

Words: 1161