Gavin Minton

HHH and Julius Freeman are both Vancouver superstars who have an excellent shot at reaching the HOF. Today we break down both players stats to see who will have the better chance or if both players can get into the HOF. Most of the league has HHH as a shoe in for the HOF but does the underdog Freeman actually have the better chance?

If you compare Freeman to HHH, Freeman is currently leading HHH in most stats up to this point in their career.

Both Freeman and HHH have 5 seasons played in the VHL. Freeman playing 355 games while HHH playing 354 games. Lets take a closer look at the stats.

Goals:

Freeman is currently sitting at 157 career goals with his highest total of 44 being scored last season.
HHH is at 151 career goals with the highest, just like Freeman, being attained last season with a total of 42
 
Assists:
 In assists both players currently sit with 185 assists lifetime. Career highs were reached by both players last season with Freeman setting up 45 goals while HHH set up 50 goals.

Points:
As you can see above both players have had great careers so far and they still have plenty of game left. If you add up the point totals Freeman is currently sitting at 342 points while HHH is at 336. If they both continue playing at the same pace as they have over the last couple seasons, Freemans lead will slowly continue to build over HHH.

These point totals are still a little short of the “bar” required to enter the HOF which I believe is 600 points but both players still have a lot of hockey left and are on one of the better teams in the VHL. This goal can be achieved if they have a couple more great seasons before they retire.

+/-

While probably not a very important HOF stat, it is important to look at this to see if the player is a plus or a liability on the ice. You can have great superstar scorers who are just terrible on defense and always cause a disadvantage defensively while on the ice.

Both these players do not fall under that category as Freeman has a lifetime +/- of 74 while HHH is at 69.
Both players are assets to the Wolves on both ends of the ice and are not just one dimensional players.

Conclusion:

Both players are having great seasons with still a lot of game left. The one drawback for HHH is that he has not yet won a cup while Freeman has. While not the biggest need to enter the HOF it does help if you can have multiple cup wins attached to your name.

Both players have a good shot at the HOF if they continue their magnificent play but unless something drastic changes, I have to give a slight advantage to Freeman going to the HOF over HHH. Even playing in the shadow of HHH, Freeman has managed to outscore him so far in his career.

@Beaviss @rjfryman

It’s a rare rainy evening in Los Angeles, California. A blacked out car pulls up to the back entrance of the Staples Center. Two men get out, both are dressed to the nines. They walk calmly through the rain proceeding to the doors held open by two large bouncers. Inside of the arena, there are nearly 20,000 people waiting patiently. They are all in attendance for the S80 Victory Hockey League Hall of Fame induction ceremony. A yearly event, it sees the best of the best being immortalized forever in the Victory Hockey League history books. Some players, like Matthias Chouinard, wait a lifetime. Others, are lucky enough to still have ice on their skates when they get the call. The two players being inducted today were locks before they even played their final games. Their eight season careers were filled with competition between each other, both having success and failures along the way. We go live to them now, awaiting the green light to take the stage…

   “You ready for this, man?” asked one of the two players to the other.
   “Ready as I’m going to be”, said the other.

   The producer rushed into the green room, “You’re up first!” he pointed to the larger of the two men.

The larger man walked out and stood near the entrance to the stage, just out of sight of the watching crowd. The man inducting him was reading a well thought out speech.
 
   “When you think of a defenceman that can do it all, this is the player who comes to mind. He not only was an elite shutdown player in his own end, finishing his career as the all-time leader in shots blocked and top ten in hits, he was a force on the offensive side of the rink. In 576 games, he scored 175 goals and added 362 assists. He also had some hardware with those numbers, winning three Sterling Labatte Throphies, and one Jake Wylde. He also captured the sweet glory of winning the Continental Cup, earning playoff MVP honours. Allow me to introduce…HUGH JASS!!”

   “Lastly, but definitely not least, another defenceman. One who had arguably one of the best careers that we’ve seen. Bursting onto the scene as a rookie, this player had a record number of points by a rookie defenceman. From there on out, he followed the path of many offensive defencemen who have come before him. But somewhere along the path, he became the trailblazer, not the follower. Smashing records left and right, he won an astounding seven Jake Wylde trophies as the league’s top offensive defenceman. He also was a part of three cup winning teams, capping off an illustrious career with one in his final year. His personal stats are what truly jump off the page. Having three 100+ point seasons, and remaining over point per game in all but his final season, he scored 245 goals and 402 assists for an incredible 642 points. Allow me to introduce to you…ROQUE DAVIS!!!!”
 
 

Roque Davis (left) shares a story from his playing days as Hugh Jass (right) laughs and looks on.
 
   Is this just a foolish article written to earn a few uncapped TPE? Maybe. Or could it be a look at what’s to come? Are there two future HOF’ers currently in the VHLM, destined for greatness? Only time will decide.
 
@TheFlash
@Josh
 
 
540 words.

As the unofficial overlord of HOF discussions in the BOG, my role means constant tracking of potential ballot members. In the glorious age of the portal, this is a pretty straightforward job – go to the player list, filter by TPE (or TPA depending on how I feel) and go through the stats, career pace, and awards of some of the star players in the league. On occasion it is also useful to sort by draft year to keep an eye on all the players close to retirement and make a final decision if someone has a chance or should be written off.
 
Here are my current cliff notes in the spirit of this HOF theme week:
 
Kriketers, McWolf, Borwinn, Tzuyu? Pepper? Wilinsky? - Wilinsky especially might just slither in
Sullivan Jr. (?), Wahl? Davison? Bailey?
Smitty (?)
Jaguar (?), HHH, Freeman
Funk (?)
 
So let's talk about this. S63s I won't bother you too much with, I've already written about them in some length a couple weeks ago. Kriketers, McWolf, and Borwinn will almost certainly make it in, and I just love my note about Wilinsky which is the main reason I left this in.
 
Class of S64 we might as well start writing off. Bailey probably would have a great shot if he stayed active but falling off the face of the earth means he never had the prime superstar season and now depreciation will hit him hard and fully derail that train. Sullivan Jr. was a far cry from his dad as a defenceman but switching position and playing with Matt Thompson seemed to give him new life (and the league's last (ever?) 100-point season). However, Malmo and Ryan without Thompson have not had a fun time.
 
There's a few solid goalies from the S64 draft, but none really have the consistency needed for the Hall of Fame. If Pepper remains a big question mark, then you can count out Rift and Wahl. Davison is a slightly different story as he has had his moments, but really needed a Kriketers-like year in S70 to have a chance.
 
All of a sudden we're in S65 which was possibly the weakest draft of the decade. That said, it might have produced the single best player of the decade. It's not often you say about a defenceman in the VHL but Smitty is that type of generational player. Two Labattes already, almost certainly a third on the way, and quite possibly a sweep of all 3 defensive trophies this season. That is elite and he has in my opinion already transcended the need for a Continental Cup ring to get the call. It wouldn't hurt though.
 
As I said in that S63 article, Jet Jaguar is the only active player outside Kastelic, Borwinn, and Bailey with a career point-per-game pace or better. That is both insane and puts him in very good stead as he continues through his prime years. A few individual trophies in S70 would go a long way to cementing his, still young, case. S66 rivals of Jaguar remain unclear. HHH and Freeman broke out in S69 it seems but still haven't had that big season. So far, their career trajectory is looking more like Kastelic than Borwinn.
 
And finally Rayz Funk. Like Smitty has complete dominance of his position, so Funk is primed to be the greatest goaltender of his time. He is already the TPA leader among league goalies, less than halfway through his career, and his two playoff MVP trophies to his name. The imminent retirement of Kriketers and Pepper, and the S64 goalies soon after, means that he will also be older than all his competition and therefore, in theory, the best bet for Shaw Trophies. Of course, things don't always work out quite that simply, but in a league of few certainties, my money is on Funk making the Hall of Fame in S75.

I’m going to pick a player from each season remaining and get a short blibit in about each.  Basically, my predictions for one of each season’s future hall of famers.
 
S63: Kallis Kriketers @hedgehog337
This one is a fairly easy pick. Four time Greg Clegane winner, three time Aidan Shaw winner, a Scotty Campbell trophy, a Brett Slobodzian trophy and one Continental Cup. Also as of right now every goalie with over 300 wins is in the hall of fame so with 321 wins I can’t see Kriketers not making the Hall of Fame.
 
S64: Finn Davison @Poptart
Goalies in back to back seasons seems unlikely but there’s just too many of them this season to not see one enter and Davison has had the most success. While this doesn’t say much as his Aiden Shaw and Greg Clegane awards came when Davos finished fifth in the league, Davison is still the best in his class and is by far the most consistent of the classes goalies. Also he played on Davos for 5 seasons.
 
S65: Smitty Werbenjagermanjensen @flyersfan1453
Smitty is experiencing his biggest success in recent seasons as he picked up back to back Sterling Labatte trophies in 68-69 and received the Jake Wylde and Alexander Valiq in those seasons. Four of his six seasons so far have been over 60 points which for a defencemen is quite good. I expect to see Smitty continue his ways in his last two seasons as he will spend the next one with Moscow before exploring FA in his final season.
 
S66: Julius Freeman @rjfryman
While not the most decorated player Julius Freeman has been showing strong since his sophomore season he has had four straight seasons above 65 points. Freeman picked up a Continental Cup in 67 and received the Kevin Brooks Trophy in 69 with a mere 44 goals.
 
S67: Rayz Funk @Rayzor_7
While I don’t want to toot my own horn too much but with the class not experiencing much success (only one player with one season at or above PPG) and the trophy case already holding two Continental Cups, Two Daisuke Kanous and the Christian Stolzschweiger trophy, it would be a hard to argue against Funk right now.
 
S68: Condor Adrienne @OrbitingDeath
Adrienne has shown flashes of skill in his three seasons with Malmo, joining them after a Founders Cup in Philadelphia. His skill has been enough to show Malmo that he’s worth locking up for the future as he signed a three-year extension.
 
S69: George Washington @Enorama
We come to the point where it’s more about the user than the player. Enorama is a whore and we all know it from looking at Kastelic. Washington will likely be the same and I assume we will see his stat’s improve even more. Though 54 points through 66 games is pretty good for a sophomore player.
 
S70: Edwin THE Encarnacion @Tagger
Not much to say. Encarnacion showed his greatness in the VHLM last season with 122 points in 72 games for the unchallenged Saskatoon team. But 15 points in 66 games this season isn’t too hot so far.
 
S71: Stone Wolski @DollarAndADream
Wolski is doing well with Houston showing a .916 save percentage and a 2.12 GAA through 65 games. He looks like he will be a solid Goalie for the upcoming seasons for whoever picks him up.

I ran some quick numbers to learn what it takes to become a VHL Hall of Fame player. The average HOF player has 727 points, with a standard deviation of 120. That means a player has a good chance of joining the HOF if they get to 600 career points. To reach that mark, a player needs to average 75 points per season over the course of their 8-year career. For defensemen, the bar is a little bit lower. HOF defensemen have an average point total of 617 with a standard deviation of 87, making 530 career points, an average of 67 points per season, the likely bar to get into the HOF for them.
For this article, I’m going to evaluate all active players who have had an 85+ point season and state if I think they are going to make it into the Hall of Fame.
 
Julian Borwinn @Jubo07 Prediction: Definite Hall of Famer
Player
GP
G
A
P
+/-
SHT
PIM
HIT
SB
GW
PPG
SHG
Julian Borwinn
570
321
373
694
132
3181
513
1156
248
55
80
9
 
This one is a pretty straight forward one to predict. Borwinn is definitely making it into the hall. The Halifax hero had a fantastic career winning many personal awards including an MVP in his fantastic Season 66 which included a Continental Cup.
 
Jet Jaguar @gorlab Prediction: Lick
Player
GP
G
A
P
+/-
SHT
PIM
HIT
SB
GW
PPG
SHG
Jet Jaguar
354
155
241
396
82
1520
143
123
103
16
45
5
 
I gave Jaguar the lick rating, predicting he’ll make it into the hall. He’s currently 200 points shy of the 600 point bar with 3 seasons to go. Based upon his current rate of 1.11 points/game, I’ll guess he ends up in the 650 area when it’s all said and done, more than enough to get him in. It’s looking like he’ll win some personal hardware this season which always helps, but a cup would really pad his resume.
 
Hunter Hearst Helmsley @Beaviss Prediction: Loses the belt
Player
GP
G
A
P
+/-
SHT
PIM
HIT
SB
GW
PPG
SHG
Hunter Hearst Helmsley
353
150
184
334
68
1585
412
802
128
29
35
4
 
Since day 1, HHH has been predicted to be in the Hall. Unfortunately, I Just don’t see how he gets in. Here’s a fact, there is not a single HOF forward who had a career average below 1 point/game.   And just getting a point a game is 576 points, below the 600 point bar. HHH needs to average 81 points per season to just make it to a point a game, and average 89 points per season to get to 600 career points. He’s only broken the 75 point barrier once in his career. I think the only way he has a chance to get in is to go on an absolute tear over the next 3 seasons, winning multiple MVPs and Continental Cups.
 
Ryan Kastelic @Enorama Prediction: Just misses
Player
GP
G
A
P
+/-
SHT
PIM
HIT
SB
GW
PPG
SHG
Ryan Kastelic
569
169
443
612
92
2005
612
1142
701
39
66
1
 
It will be really interesting to see how HOF voters end up evaluating Kastelic. He broke the 600 point bar, and did get a cup in his rookie season, but has not won any other awards. Is a solid, consistent career without any standout performance or recognition hall worthy? I’m not so sure.
 
 
Kronos Bailey @Quik Prediction: Sadly, no.
Player
GP
G
A
P
+/-
SHT
PIM
HIT
SB
GW
PPG
SHG
Kronos Bailey
498
197
307
504
147
2288
698
1055
188
34
39
6
 
There’s not a whole lot to talk about here outside of being sad at Quik’s abrupt departure from the league. In another universe, Bailey is well on his way to completing his HOF career.
 
 
Julius Freeman @rjfryman Prediction: Hidden in the shadow
Player
GP
G
A
P
+/-
SHT
PIM
HIT
SB
GW
PPG
SHG
Julius Freeman
354
157
184
341
75
1729
109
282
99
29
31
2
 
It feels like Freeman and HHH’s careers are intertwined. I think that will be the case for the HOF as well. With both players likely falling just outside of the standard HOF entrance parameters it’s even less likely either of them make it in, because how could you take one but not the other? And how could you let both in with such marginal resumes? The same caveat I wrote for HHH applies to Julius as well, tear it up these last 3 seasons and make a convincing argument to put both of you in. I just don’t see that happening.
 
Tzuyu @tfong Prediction: A whisker away
Player
GP
G
A
P
+/-
SHT
PIM
HIT
SB
GW
PPG
SHG
Tzuyu
570
142
399
541
167
1621
311
462
1077
23
63
1
 
This is a really tough call. Tzuyu’s numbers are similar to Kastelic in the fact they’re both just over the bar for their position. Tzuyu has one more cup and a personal award over Kastelic. Maybe that means he’s in? The main thing holding me back from a yes is how poor Tzuyu’s final 2 seasons have been.
 
 
Ryan Sullivan Jr @Advantage Prediction: No chance
Player
GP
G
A
P
+/-
SHT
PIM
HIT
SB
GW
PPG
SHG
Ryan Sullivan Jr
498
114
309
423
76
1291
791
1245
595
22
43
1
 
A position switch to forward in S68 led to a 103 point season on the expansion Malmo team. That’s the only reason he’s on the list. One great season does not get you into the hall. Still being part of Malmo’s great run to the finals in S68 will mean he never has to pay for a drink in Malmo again.
 
Randoms @hedgehog337 Prediction: No
Player
GP
G
A
P
+/-
SHT
PIM
HIT
SB
GW
PPG
SHG
Randoms
498
224
244
468
87
2416
934
1823
203
44
49
5
 
Randoms has really flourished in his time with Moscow, unfortunately one of his 8 seasons was in the VHLM and he struggled to put together strong seasons until joining Moscow in S67. His numbers are far too low. He’s got a chance at securing a 2nd Boulet for top two way forward and will definitely be remembered in Moscow if they’re able to snag a cup in this, his final season.
 
Smitty Werbenjagermanjensen @flyersfan1453 Prediction: Werberyesofcoursehesinjenseman
Player
GP
G
A
P
+/-
SHT
PIM
HIT
SB
GW
PPG
SHG
Smitty Werbenjagermanjensen
426
99
305
404
127
983
788
1179
746
9
49
3
 
With 2 seasons left Smitty needs to average around 63 points per season to reach the defenseman HOF bar of 540 points. His worst season in the last 4 was 63 points. He’ll likely charge past that bar and land somewhere in the 550-560 range for career points. If that wasn’t enough, he’s collecting personal hardware like crazy and is clearly the best defenseman for multiple consecutive seasons. If he had a cup or two, it would be a perfect HOF resume. But even without a cup, he’s in.
 
1,188 words. Will claim for two weeks and use for theme week.

As Julian Borwinn closes in on 700 carrer points and the end of his amazing career we start talking about Hall of Fame. Borwinn has done it all from winning MVP to winning championships. So I want to dive into his career and talk about all the feats this legend has accomplished. 
 
     Borwinn career begins during season 63 with HSK. Borwinn instanly looked like a superstar and put up insane numbers for a rookie. 42 goals which is an impressive feat no matter how long you have been in the league. He also put up 42 assists in his rookie season, which once again a hard number to meet.
 
     Season 64, Borwinn had high expectations going in. Borwinn had a major dip in goals that year with only 28, which would end up being his career low. Despite the downgrade in goals he still had 43 assists. Season 64 would be the first time that Borwinn would lead Helsinki to the cup final. Sadly Helenski would be swept by Toronto.
 
     During season 65 Borwinn would have a bounce back year goal wise scoring 36 goals. He had 39 assist which would be his worst season in the assist category. Borwinn would have his best playoff peformance of his career with 8 goals and 11 assists, he led Helsinki to the cup for the second time in a row to sadly once again fall to Toronto.
 
     Season 66 would be a legendary one for Borwinn. Borwinn would score 51 goals, and have 61 assists. He would lead Helenski to a 55-14-3 record and the victory cup. But the most memorable part of this season was the playoff run. Helenski was unstoppable, winning game after game but we had seen this before, Helenski dominating their conference yet falling in the cup. Not this season, Helsinki would sweep Vancouver to finaly give Borwinn his well deserved cup.
 
     Season 67, Borwinn would once again be a top scorer in the league, though not a 50+ goal season. He would end the season with 37 goals, he would have 40 assists to go along with those goals. Borwinn played great through the playoffs. He would score 9 goals and have 8 assists as he led Helsinki back to the cup for the forth season in a row. Sadly for the third time in four years Helsinki would fall in the cup final. This would be Borwinn's final cup apperance
 
           Season 68 would be a great regular season for Borwinn he would score 46 goals and 50 assists. Borwinn would not play as well as he had during the regular season when the playoffs came. He would have 2 goals and 4 assists. Helenski would not make it through the first round.
 
            Season 69 was once again a great year for Borwinn. He would have 42 goals and 51 assists. He would not have a goal in the playoffs, but he would have 4 assists.

 
             Borwinn had an excellent career and he deserves to be in the HOF. Hope the best for you @Jubo07 moving forward. 

We all know how important a logo is to a team, it is the first way you identify a team, a logo in many ways is the teams identity We all have favorite teams, favorite players, and favorite logos. I will be telling you my top 3 VHLM logos.
 
3. Yukon
Yukon went risky with the simple logo. If a simple logo isnt done right they dont work out and end up looking pretty bad, Yukon got it right, nice and sleek, and is very identifiable.
 
2. Minnesota
Minnesota's logo does excalty what it is suppose to do, make me think of Minnesota. Lets congratulate Minnesota for not only being the best team in the legue this season, but for also having one of the best logos in the league
 
1. Mexico City
Mexico City probaly a suprising answer but I just love everything about it, a good color scheme, a creative logo, and it fits the team. So take this victory Mexico City you have the best logo in the VHLM.

We all know how important a logo is to a team, it is the first way you identify a team, a logo in many ways is the teams identity We all have favorite teams, favorite players, and favorite logos. I will be telling you my top 3 VHLM logos.
 
3. Yukon
Yukon went risky with the simple logo. If a simple logo isnt done right they dont work out and end up looking pretty bad, Yukon got it right, nice and sleek, and is very identifiable.
 
2. Minnesota
Minnesota's logo does excalty what it is suppose to do, make me think of Minnesota. Lets congratulate Minnesota for not only being the best team in the legue this season, but for also having one of the best logos in the league
 
1. Mexico City
Mexico City probaly a suprising answer but I just love everything about it, a good color scheme, a creative logo, and it fits the team. So take this victory Mexico City you have the best logo in the VHLM.

We all know how important a logo is to a team, it is the first way you identify a team, a logo in many ways is the teams identity We all have favorite teams, favorite players, and favorite logos. I will be telling you my top 3 VHLM logos.
 
3. Yukon
Yukon went risky with the simple logo. If a simple logo isnt done right they dont work out and end up looking pretty bad, Yukon got it right, nice and sleek, and is very identifiable.
 
2. Minnesota
Minnesota's logo does excalty what it is suppose to do, make me think of Minnesota. Lets congratulate Minnesota for not only being the best team in the legue this season, but for also having one of the best logos in the league
 
1. Mexico City
Mexico City probaly a suprising answer but I just love everything about it, a good color scheme, a creative logo, and it fits the team. So take this victory Mexico City you have the best logo in the VHLM.

Player Information
Username: Gavin Minton
Player Name: Gavin Minton
Recruited From: YouTube
Age: 21
Position: RW
Height: 72 in.
Weight: 165 lbs.
Birthplace: United States of America

Player Page
@VHLM GM

Player Information
Username: Gavin Minton
Player Name: Slov Loski
Recruited From: YouTube
Age: 21
Position: RW
Height: 72 in.
Weight: 165 lbs.
Birthplace: Estonia

Player Page
@VHLM GM