ahockeyguy

Great article! Only mistake I see here is that Moscow wasn't #1 ❤️ 

MOSCOW MOSCOW MOSCOW

Another season is underway, and that means an update for Future Watch! Here on Future Watch, we take an in-depth look at each VHL team’s prospect pool. Last season, the EU Conference dominated, taking all of the top 4 spots. Can they replicate that? How will the new expansion teams fit into the list? Let’s take a look and see.
 
Before we begin though, I’d like to inform you of some of VSN’s latest content. @PatrikLaine brings a fresh new voice to the writing crew and has already contributed nicely with his season preview. Be sure to check it out among the rest of VSN’s great work!
 
 
 

 
RIGA REIGN | 8th in EU | 15th Overall
Top Prospect: Bobby Wyman - S72 3rd Round (29)
 
After two graduations, one retirement, and an expansion draft claim, it’s safe to say Riga’s prospect pool is not what it used to be. Their only active prospect, Bobby Wyman, does have some decent upside though. Selected in S72’s third round, Wyman was a very consistent TPE earner before a drop in his activity recently. Being a member in the SBA, the renewed partnership between the SBA and VHL could really help the defender get back on track. Wyman is an extremely physical player on the back end, with a defence-first mindset that could work unbelievably well with the more offence-oriented DeFenz Mann as soon as S74. Riga does only have one active prospect, but he fits perfectly with their team.
 
 
 
 
MALMO NIGHTHAWKS | 7th in EU | 14th Overall
Top Prospect: Kirishima Wakaro - S73 2nd Round (29)
 
Malmo’s prospect pool is not a deep one either, though they do have some fantastic young pieces on their roster. The only prospect to show VHL potential so far has been Kirishima Wakaro of the Miami Marauders. Wakaro was picked by Malmo in this past offseason’s draft and looks to be a solid top 4 defenceman at the VHL level. He has flirted with inactivity a couple of times, but his TPE earning has been largely consistent. I would say his build is slightly more defence-focused, though there is some offensive upside there too.
 
Another S73 prospect in Malmo’s prospect pool is Kevin Sterk. He has consistently claimed practice facility for six consecutive weeks, but the only other claim he’s made is for training camp. If Sterk shows an ability to earn capped TPE in the near future, he could turn into a more notable prospect, but only portal claims like practice facility and training camp will limit his potential quite a bit. The Nighthawks have a young and exciting team, so hopefully, both of these players can find their way onto the squad to be a part of it soon.
 
 

 
LONDON UNITED | 6th in EU | 9th Overall
Top Prospect: Alec Volchenkov - S73 1st Round (12)
 
The London United have done a pretty good job building a prospect pool in their short time in the league so far, adding players through both the entry and expansion drafts, as well as through trade. Their first-round pick, Alec Volchenkov, has been producing TPE at an extremely high pace for quite some time now. With 159 TPE over his last 7 weeks, which averages out to 23 per week, Volchenkov has proven that he is bound to be a massive piece for the team’s future. Having your future number one centre after your very first draft is a really great early step towards success, and Volchenkov is looking like just that.
 
Another player who is coming up to London next season is former Moscow prospect Keith Krestanovich. The 16th overall selection in the expansion draft has shown potential to be a pure goal scorer in the VHL, reflected in his build and his stats. He had a bit of a down week recently with no capped TPE, but in the likely case that it was just a hiccup, he seems to be a pretty high-quality offensive winger moving forward.
 
Nils Friedriksen was acquired through trade and has gone through a rough patch in terms of TPE production lately. After three inactive weeks, Friedriksen returned with 14 TPE (2 capped, 12 uncapped) last week. Not long ago he was a pretty highly touted goalie prospect, so if he can build on that and return to form, London could have a really nice VHL goaltender on their hands. If everything works out, he could be their starter as soon as next season.
 
Two more players were added in the later stages of the S73 draft, and those would be Tim Kamashev and Antti Paakarainen. Neither of them have claimed any capped TPE, so they haven’t shown too much potential. However, they have both updated recently, so if they’re still active then they may be able to figure out capped TPE earning, which will increase their value greatly. Overall, London has a quality group with some wildcards, but the potential is there for sure.
 
 

 
HC DAVOS DYNAMO | 5th in EU | 6th Overall
Top Prospect: Jer Lefebvre - S72 2nd Round (23)
 
Davos has been a team on the rise over the past couple seasons, and with that comes the likely decline in prospect quality. However, despite not having one of the top prospect pools in the league anymore, Davos has formed a prospect pool with plenty of good pieces that will come up and make an impact throughout their cup window. There are a lot of players here with a high floor, and will probably serve as really useful supplementary players down the road to the young core they’ve already built.
 
In the crease, they’ve got John Poremba, who they received in the ACL TEAR trade. Poremba has progressed about as consistently as one possibly can, dropping below 8 TPE in only two weeks during his career, and never below 6. He may not have superstar potential, but he will be an extremely reliable option with the upside to become a decent starter as well. 
 
A fair amount of the Dynamo’s current prospects have struggled a bit with consistency in staying active, yet have the potential to be important parts of the team. An example of that would be Empty. After a successful career with Pat Svoboda, StamkosFan went inactive for a while with Empty. However, he then came back for two weeks earlier this month, earning 10 TPE in that span. He hasn’t shown a ton of potential yet, but you can never rule out StamkosFan from turning it around and making another great player. King Kruul and Gino Alkamino find themselves in similar situations, where they seem to dip in and out of activity. They’ve both shown flashes of quality but will need to put it all together quickly if they want to be real difference-makers at the VHL level. Centre Turner McHugh finds himself stuck in inactivity, but as it’s only been three weeks, he still has a chance to be a great player if he gets back to form.
 
This team has done pretty well in the latter part of the draft too, drafting three noteworthy prospects past 40th overall. The first would be Chance Rust, selected at number 40 exactly. Rust has been a staple on team USA’s defence for two seasons now at the world juniors and could make it three in S73. He is a tremendous puck-moving defenceman with remarkable vision, and he could be a big part of Davos’ defence in the future. Next, we have a pair of wingers: Jared Willis and Vlad Imir. They were both selected past 40 as well in the past two drafts. Willis is the definition of an offensive threat, with a versatile skill set that allows him to score in all situations. What he may be lacking is a defensive side to his game, which is where Imir comes in. Imir has a balanced build with a nice grasp of the defensive aspect of the game. They’ve both been earning TPE at a good, steady rate, and could become linemates one day.
 
Lastly, we have the team’s top prospect, Jer Lefebvre. Other than a little bump in the road with an inactive 07/19 week, Lefebvre has been a pretty exciting prospect as a goal-scoring forward. He is currently over a goal per game in the VHLM and is sure to surpass last season’s 29 by a significant amount. Since the young Canadian is already at the VHLM’s TPA cap, he will be on the big league squad in S74. Davos continues to have remarkable depth in their group, which even outweighs the pure upside of some of the smaller groups in my opinion.
 
 

 
PRAGUE PHANTOMS | 4th in EU | 4th Overall
Top Prospect: Andre Lebastard - S73 1st Round (15)
 
Even with last season’s top prospect retiring, Prague’s group takes a massive step forward, going up from 9th overall to 4th despite four new teams being added. The group has some nice depth, and two players really lead the way for the others.
 
Forwards Andre Lebastard and Dan Baillie Jr are the two big names here, selected in the S73 Draft at 15th and 21st overall respectively. Lebastard is more of a playmaking centre, while Baillie Jr complements him nicely as a scoring winger. The duo are both very respected among their peers. For Baillie Jr, he has a very accomplished family and he more than lives up to the name. In Lebastard’s case, he managed to become Miami’s very first captain in franchise history. They are really neck-and-neck in terms of my decision for top prospect, but I believe Lebastard may have a slightly higher upside. Regardless, both of these players are not only bound to be on the Phantoms soon, but they could also be real catalysts for the team at their peaks.
 
On defence, Prague has a talented asset in Riley Knight Gee. He has torn up the VHLM season so far with 10 more points than anyone else. This is no one-off either; The Houston Bull has produced well over a point per game over his career in the minors. His TPE production has really picked back up in these last couple weeks as well, and he is looking more and more like a key part of this team’s tomorrow.
 
Some players here have been a little inconsistent, and others very much so. Starting with the former, we have Jack John, Bobbie Cheechoo and Theodore James St Louis. A few weeks ago I would’ve told you that three things are certain in life: death, taxes, and Jack John earning six TPE every week. When his TPE production lowered recently it did cause a bit of concern for me, but I definitely wouldn’t count him out from making his way onto this Prague team yet. He has displayed incredible consistency before and just needs to get back in that rhythm. Cheechoo and St Louis are both S73 players who have had some inactive weeks recently but have shown VHL potential before. All they need is to find some regularity in earning TPE, and the Phantoms will have themselves another useful duo. They have fairly similar builds as scoring right-wingers and could be players to look out for soon enough.
 
Now we move on to the lesser active players. Ernie King, Zachariah Kisslinger and Secel Keller make up this group. They all made comebacks after activity droughts in the week of 07/19, and two have continued their progression since then. Kisslinger has been claiming welfare and whatever uncapped opportunities he sees, leading him to a really solid 27 TPE over his last 2 full weeks. His build is very balanced, leading a bit more towards defence. If he continues to develop as he has lately, he could be an interesting prospect down the line. Keller came back from an extremely long break, and really impressed with a 33 TPE week last week. It remains to be seen if he can keep this up, but there’s no doubt the defensively responsible winger will be among the better prospects in the game if he can. Prague’s group is full of reliability at the top, and some untapped potential which is ready to be unleashed at the bottom.
 
 

 
HELSINKI TITANS | 3rd in EU | 3rd Overall
Top Prospect: Patrik Laine - S73 1st Round (9)
 
It’s truly miraculous that Helsinki has managed to put forward back-to-back seasons with a top 3 prospect pool in the VHL after all of their best prospects graduated this past offseason. What kept them here is a fresh new batch of prospects who are surely going to be difference makers for the club real soon. Kicking things off with a pair of right-wingers, Patrik Laine and Oh Sens are top tier talents. They both cap out often and earn an abundance of uncapped TPE as well. Laine has made his mark on the league early in his career with his articles, even earning himself a spot here at VSN in the process. Both playing in Miami this season, the two could quite possibly form some chemistry that could carry over to Helsinki next season. With Laine being a pure goal scorer and Sens being a more balanced threat, they could have the makings of quality linemates.
 
In net, Helsinki has two prospects worth noting. Hex Valentine has been weaving between earning TPE at high and low rates, but if he can find a way to make those highs more often than not, he has the potential to be a decent VHL goaltender. Also between the pipes is Calvin Harvey, who fell in the S73 Draft a bit because of the sheer amount of goaltenders available. This is no knock on his individual skill though because he is an outstanding prospect. He puts up around 8-12 TPE most weeks but blows that out of the water fairly often too. There’s a ton of potential here, and he will make a fantastic tandem with Zamboni Driver very soon. While Helsinki doesn’t have a crazy amount of players, there is some unquestionable talent at play here.
 
 

 
MOSCOW MENACE | 2nd in EU | 2nd Overall
Top Prospect: Wolf Stansson - S73 1st Round (13)
 
After last season’s first-place finish, the Menace only move down one spot in the rankings. They’ve kept two high-upside players from last season’s group, on top of some wonderful additions.
 
In the S73 Draft, the team added a pair of terrific defensemen. In the first round, they went for Wolf Stansson, a two-way defender with huge upside. The 17-year-old cracked 30 goals in S72 and will look to build on that this time around. There’s really no weaknesses in his game, and he is almost a sure thing to be a top-pairing defenceman one day for this team. Fat palloon was picked up in the second round, and he looks to be a decent prospect as well. His weekly TPE totals can fluctuate quite a bit, but the bottom line is that he gets the job done. The Rush defenceman has managed to be over a point per game this season so far despite his defence-first mindset. Both him and Stansson will be a great boost to the Menace in the near future.
 
The Menace acquired Michael Hall in a trade with Davos, and he was on pace to becoming a decent VHL player before going inactive three weeks ago. If he comes back, he is one to keep your eyes on. For now, our focus concerning the S72 Draft lies on Cole Newhook and Pietro Angellini. Both of these players were nothing short of a straight robbery at their draft positions. Newhook had a bit of an off week with no capped TPE last week, but that’s not a big deal if he can rebound by the end of this week. The two centres have earned TPE at the same rate as some of the top prospects league-wide, and are must-see players to say the absolute least. Angellini is more of a natural centre, while you could likely place Newhook in any offensive position. Both of them are amazing scorers, though Angellini has shown a bit more of that in his VHLM career so far. I could go through the checklist of what makes a great player, and these guys check all the boxes. There’s honestly no limit to how good this group can become, yet only time will tell how it all turns out.
 
 

 
WARSAW PREDATORS | 1st in EU | 1st Overall
Top Prospect: Dakota Lamb - S73 1st Round (10)
 
And here we have it, S73’s top prospect pool! And who better to have this honour than one of our brand new franchises, Warsaw. The club had an extraordinary draft and picked up another tremendous player in the expansion draft too. The positional depth here is unbelievable, and the raw talent on display in this group is unmatched.
 
Perhaps the most impressive part of this group is their centre depth. Consisting of 10th overall pick Dakota Lamb and 3rd overall expansion pick Arthur Dayne, the centre of the ice is more than secure for plenty of seasons to come. They’ve both got very well-put-together builds for the middle of the ice, and have been capping out regularly as well. The balance of capped and uncapped TPE is there, and Lamb has even grabbed the position of a backup graphic with VSN! These two are nothing short of elite players, and will play a huge role in this team’s success.
 
Another forward who is primed to make an impact for Warsaw is Mexico City’s, Jeremy Lin. Lin has been a steady TPE earner, usually around 9-12 per week. Last week was a big moment for him though, where he posted an impressive 30 TPE. He is a versatile offensive threat with a scoring touch that has allowed him to be over a goal per game to date in the VHLM this season. His potential isn’t necessarily as high as Lamb or Dayne, but his floor is incredibly high, and his reliability is something that can’t be understated.
 
Transitioning to the back half of the ice, the Predators look great in goal and on defence as well. Their future starter, Ajay Krishna, has gone from an impressive goalie prospect to one of the most highly touted young goalies in the league lately, at least in my opinion. The reason for this is an adjustment in his TPE production. Not only does he earn every possible capped TPE every week, but he is also now earning high amounts of uncapped TPE along with it. Krishna will be the club’s first true number one goalie, and an exceptional one at that. In front of him will be yet another top tier prospect in Victor Grachev. The Russian defenceman has found his bread and butter as a defensive-minded puck mover from the back end and will be an integral piece of their blueline. Grachev joined considerably late in S73 eligibility and wasted no time catching up to his competition. Watch for him to continue this, and to keep garnering more respect across the league. I think it’s fair to say Warsaw has set themselves up for the future quite nicely, and it will heavily benefit them sooner than one might expect.
 
 
That’s it for this season’s EU Future Watch! As always, you can follow these players through the VHLM Weekly series here on VSN, as well as through our WJC coverage whenever it begins! I wish all these players the best in their careers and hope they can find their way into the VHL soon enough.
 
Players mentioned: @Lefty_S @Snussu @TenZi @SirRupertBarnes @Boragina @Biggreen10 @Ninjaboi @SeamusSv @CrlineDijohn14 @StamkosFan @LefLop @ChaceT @Turner @turkey2349 @Jared Willis @Big Dee @Jer_Lefebvre @Andre LeBastard @wcats @KnightRiley @GoadenGoalie35 @Sharkie @Nick Kirkpatrick @Greg Ernest @Kisslinger @xsjack @PatrikLaine @osens @DrHexDex @Mrpenguin30 @ahockeyguy @UnkemptCL4PTP @Hops @GrittyIsKing09 @okifenoki @dlamb @Infernal @jman9theman9 @Hooperorama @KaleebtheMighty 

Great stuff guys. I will always recommend Miami as long as you guys are heading it up. Great year!

Review: 9.5/10
Great work you hockey guy you! I like how you've found your voice as a reporter, the style and voice and flow is fantastic. I like that the article is timely and relevant to games happening now. I like that you're not afraid to criticize your own player publicly. Adding a picture spruces things up a bit too. It's a damn good article!!

Review: You always find a way to write material that is genuinely interesting to read. The article is structurally sound and your grammar is on point. Not many people use pictures but I like the use of pictures in media spots. Building on your character and showing us different sides of Stansson has been a cool journey to follow and I am excited to read whatever you come up with next. Rating: 9/10

Serious Michael Jordan in the Last Dance vibes, and that worked out pretty well for him

No, I’m unfortunately not talking about the Will Ferrell movie conveniently sharing the same name as this article. What I’m referring to are the players currently in the VHLM who may not be the superstars of their teams or leading their teams in scoring/points. I’m talking about those individuals on the ice that consistently benefit their team even though they may not score a lot or garnish their stats with a lot of assists. I’ve poured through quite a number of games over the past couple of days and looked at plays that happen during them as well as stat lines that show how valuable certain players are. So without further ado, here are a few of those players that I want to highlight.
 
1. Gabriel Johnson - D (81 TPE) @GeckoeyGecko
Playing only on the 3rd Defensive pair for Houston, I am extremely impressed with Johnson’s +/- ratio of 10, which is 2nd overall for defensemen and 4th overall on Houston. And that’s only out of 11 games played. They may not have the offensive tenacity like some of their teammates, but they focus primarily on defense which has allowed them to support their team and help carry Houston to a high placement in the VHLM standings.  
2. Angel Wachiure - LW (92 TPE) @inflastud
While running only on the 3rd forward line as well as the 2nd power play and 2nd 3PK unit, Angel has put up an impressive 10 points in 11 games (5G, 5A). Although only 5th in points scored on the team, they average only 16.75 minutes compared to the 21-25 minutes or so of the top liners in Las Vegas. With that lower amount of playing time, Angel continues to contribute offensively when it really matters.  
3. Eoin Byrne - D (118 TPE) @LatinViking
Primarily playing on the 3rd and 4th line D pairing as well as PK work in both 4 player and 3 player formats, Byrne holds a 13 +/- ratio which is tied for 3rd best in Miami. Similar to Johnson, Byrne doesn’t hold the offensive production seen amongst his teammates but contributes considerably on defense. Also seen as a great locker room presence, Byrne is a valuable piece to a loaded Miami roster this season.  
4. Riley Couture - C (78 TPE) @Riley_Couture
The 2nd line, 2nd PK, and 2nd 4v4 center playing just under 20 minutes a game is producing a great number of assists for his team. Although they don’t have any goals yet this season with other players on the team accumulating more points, Couture has 8 assists which is tied for 2nd overall amongst all of the players on Saskatoon. Additionally, they have the second best +/- ratio of 8 on the team. They have proven themselves to be an important cog in the Saskatoon team this season, even with a lower playing time than the top players.  
5. Michael Olson - G (85 TPE) @MSO94
For a goalie, especially one just starting out earlier this month, Olson’s stats may not tell the full picture. They hold an 0.875 SV% and 5.56 GAA as their stat line. However, considering where Olson is playing, the picture begins to show their true colors. Mexico City sits 3rd to last in the VHLM this season. They don’t have a single defenseman that is not a bot on their roster. That porous defense has allowed 500 shots total on net in 11 games, of which Olson has faced 456 (avg. of 41.45 per game). Even with those aspects, somehow Olson has 1 shutout already and 3 wins under his belt. Considering the situation Mexico City is in, I am extremely impressed with some of Olson’s hidden stat lines so far.  
So there you have it: 2 forwards, 2 defensemen, and a goalie that I feel deserve some spotlight even if they aren’t the best on their respective teams at the moment. Without them, I feel that their VHLM teams would be suffering a little bit more considering these players’ impacts. I hope to do this again a few times this season, especially to highlight some newer players that join later this season!
 
—————
 
Although this is considerably longer than the word requirement for a VHL.com article, I’ve already put up a graphic for this week and am in the midst of moving across the USA, plus I really wanted to get this idea done. ??‍♂️

Through the first six games of the VHLM season, the Miami Marauders have gone 5-0-1. This is about as good of a start to the season as one could have hoped for. How did Wolf Stansson do during this time? Well, he has one goal on ten shots and six assists for seven points in six games. That’s a better-than-one-point-per-game average, which is decent. If he continued at this pace (with this early sample size), he would finish with 84 points, one point ahead of what he did last season.
 
               When we look a little further, we’ll see how his production differs. Stansson is not nearly on pace to record what he did last season in goals (30) or power-play goals (15). This is due to the plethora of goal-scorers this season on the forward position. Instead, Stansson has seen his assist numbers go up (he’s on pace for 72), while looking at his hits given and shots blocked reveals he has taken on that role. His lone goal on the season has come on the PP unit, meaning he’s shooting 20% on the PP, while he has gone 0-for-5 on even strength shots. He’s averaging 0.96 points per 20 minutes so far this season. His average minutes per game is 24.38, which is about five minutes lower. All of this suggests Stansson’s points-per-20-minutes performance is higher this season than last season. What will happen next remains to be seen, but it should be an entertaining ride.

1. Wolf Stansson @ahockeyguy has been grinding tpe the last 2 weeks, nice to see?
2. Lethbridge AB!
3. Moscow Mammoths.
4. Pavlov is aging well on and off the ice haha,
5. 4?
6. Early 30’s, just the vibe for some reason

Through the first six games of the VHLM season, the Miami Marauders have gone 5-0-1. This is about as good of a start to the season as one could have hoped for. How did Wolf Stansson do during this time? Well, he has one goal on ten shots and six assists for seven points in six games. That’s a better-than-one-point-per-game average, which is decent. If he continued at this pace (with this early sample size), he would finish with 84 points, one point ahead of what he did last season.
 
               When we look a little further, we’ll see how his production differs. Stansson is not nearly on pace to record what he did last season in goals (30) or power-play goals (15). This is due to the plethora of goal-scorers this season on the forward position. Instead, Stansson has seen his assist numbers go up (he’s on pace for 72), while looking at his hits given and shots blocked reveals he has taken on that role. His lone goal on the season has come on the PP unit, meaning he’s shooting 20% on the PP, while he has gone 0-for-5 on even strength shots. He’s averaging 0.96 points per 20 minutes so far this season. His average minutes per game is 24.38, which is about five minutes lower. All of this suggests Stansson’s points-per-20-minutes performance is higher this season than last season. What will happen next remains to be seen, but it should be an entertaining ride.

Generally for a goaltender, you want to have an average above 90%, with anything above 92% being fantastic. Anything below 90 is under average, just like the NHL. 
 
It's a little different in the VHLM. Goalies are fine being a little under 90% because in the minors, the attributes are a little more all over the place because people are still rounding out their player builds. 

Where's Wolski?
 
Did something happen to Stone Wolski over the off-season? This is a question that some analysts and fans are asking after his bad start to the season. He definitely needs to look for some consistency real quick and find his stride, otherwise the D.C. Dragons are in trouble.
 
Wolski has started the season with a 1-4-1 record, carrying a 0.897% saves and a 3.34GAA. His first season of 14 games is his best one so far, and this current one is worse than the last. It strikes as very odd that the more training hours he puts in, the worse he gets. If Wolski wants to make a career out of this, he needs to make a sharp turn and start playing a lot better.
 
Let's take a look at his previous games:
 
NY Americans vs. DC Dragons
4-0 NY
This one does not look very competitive on paper. Julius Freeman and Owen Nolan put New York up by 2 goals in the 1st period, then Acyd Burn scored a PP goal in the 2nd to put a bit of a dagger in it. Julius Freeman scored again in the 3rd period as New York domintaed this game and won 4-0. The Americans outshot the Dragons 45-26, which definitely did not help Wolski at all in net, but he still could have been better. Stone Wolski saved 41 of 45 with 91.1% saves, which is actually one of his better games this season. 
 
DC Dragons vs. Chicago Phoenix
3-2 DC
In this game we had a Dragons team face off against the expansion Chicago Phoenix. This is a game that DC was expected to win, and luckily for them, they did just that. Luciano Valentino scored 2 quick goals to start off the 1st period for DC, and Benny Graves added another at the halfway point to bring DC up 3-0 after one. After a 15-3 shot, dominated 2nd for DC, Chicago crawled out of that one still down by 3, heading into the 3rd period. Chicago's Milos Slavik would score 2 goals for the Phoenix to bring them close, and kill Stone Wolski's numbers, but that was it as the door was held shut the rest of the way. The Dragons won that game in a nail biter by a score of 3-2. Wolski saved 14 of 16, which isn't great, but it's hard to find comfort in net when your team outshoots the opposition 49-16.
 
Chicago Phoenix vs. DC Dragons
5-4(OT) Chicago
This game was a bit of a barn burner, and an exciting one especially for the new Chicago Phoenix team. Groovy Dood and Benny Graves put the DC Dragons up 2-0 early in the 1st period. Chicago would come back within one, but Mikko Aaltonen would restore the lead with DC leaving the 1st period up 3-1. The 2nd period started off nicely for DC, where Aaltonen scored another and brought his team up 4-1. Chicago did not take that lightly and decided to turn things around. Vladimir Shaposhnikov scored 2 goals for the Phoenix, bringing the score to 4-3 DC after the end of the 2nd. In the 3rd, Nikita Kulikovich would score his first of the season around the 12 minute mark, tying up the game, and erasing the Dragons' 3 goal lead. That momentum carried itself into OT, as Charles Drumm's penalty put Chicago on the PP, where Squirrely dan scored the OT winner, 14 seconds in to seal the deal for Chicago. Both goalies weren't great, but Stone Wolski was worse than Jean Pierre Camus. Wolski only saved 19 of 24, which is good for 79.2%.
 
If the Dragons are going to go anywhere this season, they will need to start scoring, and Wolski will need to build off of that good performance against NY that he had in net. Consistency will be key, but there's no need to worry just yet, only 6 games in.
 

A young Swedish defenseman has made his way to the VHLM, determined to achieve a dream that he's had since he was a young child of playing professional hockey. Gabriel Akerström has been a student of the game for a long time, playing alongside some of the best young talent in Sweden since a young age and hoping to learn everything he can. He isn't the biggest player on the ice, but his style of play is very suited to make the most out of what he has. A mobile player who likes skating with the puck and who has a good eye for setting up his teammates, Akerström's puck handling skills are good enough to get the job done and make some offense happen from the point. But with this in mind, what is it that brings Akerström to the VHL out of all the hockey leagues out there? Well for him, it's the global element of the league that makes it so attractive. While some leagues such as the NHL are bigger and more successful, the ability to play in a league that spans the globe and features teams in so many different countries holds a lot of appeal for a player who wasn't born and raised in North America. The focus the VHL allows for a more European style of a play that is what Gabriel has been used to so far would mean that there's less of a transition and change required to what he knows, and that will allow him to spend his time more on developing his abilities. The first question that will need to be answered is where Gabriel will begin his career, playing in the VHLM. When it comes to the VHLM, there is no preference of team for Gabriel. He has never been to North America before and so has no affiliation for any of the teams or places in the league. He's totally open to playing for whichever team decides that they would like to add him to their roster for the season to come. He would be extremely grateful for any opportunity that he's offered, and he's looking forward to potentially getting the opportunity to find a new place in the world to explore and play the sport he loves in. Gabriel will need to spend a lot of time working on his game to get to where he wants to go, but he's hopeful that he has the potential to achieve his goals and make a successful career in the VHL. He's hoping to become a contributing member of a team unit, both on and off the ice. If any teams in the VHLM are looking for a defenseman to bolster their roster for this season and many more to come, then they could definitely do a lot worse than adding an eager young player like Gabriel to their ranks. It's going to be interesting to follow over the next few days how the story develops and to see where we eventually see Gabriel end up!
 
(508 words)

I remember doing one of these a month ago, and it did pretty well. I've met with new members in the community who I have never talked to before and I've had a lot of fun. So, who has caught my eye this month?
 
A Trio of Bulls
I thought I would put these 3 together because they all happen to play for my former team. The first member is one I have been talking with a lot and he happens to be an excellent writer, just like me. Of course, I am talking about the one and only @Plate! The final two, I don't talk to as much, but we still chat and they seem like pretty cool people to talk with. I am talking about the duo of @Renomitsu and @BladeMaiden!

The second coming of Hasek
I was introduced to this gem of a person when I was playing for Houston last season. We signed him off of waivers and he helped us win 6 games that year in the last half of the season. He also happens to be playing with another great friend of mine on an expansion team. I am talking about the second coming of Dominik Hasek himself, @DreMin15!
 
An assortment of GMs
I came in contact with 2 of these GMs through the VHL Draft and the other 2 through where my VHL journey takes me. One happens to be leading an expansion team into it's first season of existence and the other one is one I'll be playing with in about 8 weeks. Of course, I am talking about @McWolf and @Jubo07! That leaves us with 2 more general managers on the board. One is the GM of my current VHLM team, and the other one is someone I am working with. You expected both of these names and they are @Motzaburger and @Ricer13!

New teammates
I was of course nervous joining my new teammates over in Miami, but a few of them stood out to me immediately. All very kinds to me the moment I stepped into that locker room and great on the ice as well. I'm talking about these wonderful people: @Andre LeBastard @dlamb @Bacon @KaleebtheMighty @LatinViking @IamMOOSE @bigAL @ahockeyguy!
 
Writing partner
Last, but certainly not least is a person who I am fortunate enough to work on a VHL series with in the near future. They were extremely fun to talk to before I got to work with them and now we get to do a series together which is amazing. I am talking about the man, the myth, the legend, the one and only @Hylands
 
I'll do another one of these if you guys want near the end of August. If you have any suggestions or ideas you would want to see me write, feel free to message me on the VHL site or via reply on this post!
 
Cheers!
- Patrik Laine

Excellent work. And now I feel that we at Miami are due for some kind of fall. That is nearly impossible to live up to!

Excellent work. And now I feel that we at Miami are due for some kind of fall. That is nearly impossible to live up to!

Welcome again to my expectation’s media spot! Where I go through the most in-depth power rankings post you have seen yet! This is where I rank how each team will perform, and I also project their wins and losses over the season! Incredible!
 
Mind you, I can’t account for things like trades, busts, people leaving, signings or TPA growth. Basically, all the independent variables that a teams TPA is depended on. Which is why the result at the end of the season might be VERY different.
 
Method
If you want to know my method, you can read this. There will be a bunch of formula and math jargon going on here. You can feel free to skip this and just look at the list. My feelings won’t be hurt.
 
This was a two-step process. The first step was figuring out the baseline wins and losses for every team. Then the second part was adjusting the number of wins and losses total so that it fit the 432 games that are played in the regular season.
 
I took all the teams’ players and threw them onto a spreadsheet. Then I added up all their TPAs together. From when I did this segment the last season, I discovered the TPA per point was 29. Meaning for every 29 TPA a team had, they got a point in the regular season. I used this as a baseline. I had to round to the nearest whole number because you can’t have half a point.
 
Halifax has 603 TPA on their team.
603/29 = 21
 
When I did that for every team, I got a small problem. It totals up to 350 wins and 514 losses. I wanted both numbers to be at 432 because there are 432 games played in the season. So, I needed to do some adjusting by spreading out 82 wins among our 12 teams. How did I get to decide how many wins a team got? I’m glad you asked!
 
I added up all the TPA in the league from all the teams. It turned out to be 20,303 TPA. I then divided the amount of TPA each team had to get a percentage. Again, I rounded to the nearest whole number because you can’t have a part of a win. It’s either you lost, won, or went into overtime.
 
There is 20,303 TPA in total. Halifax contributes to 0.03% of that.
20,303*0.03
 
I used the 0.03% TPA contribution that Halifax had as the amount of wins they would get from the 82 left over. Because they had 0.03% of the TPA in the league, they would get 0.03% of the 82 wins available.
 
Halifax has 0.03% of the TPA in the league. There are 82 win up for grabs.
82*0.03 = 2
Congratulations Halifax you just got yourself two more wins! Because of the rounding, there were two more wins than I needed this way. Philadelphia was supposed to get 2 wins out of that slice of pie, but I cut them because they had the lowest amount of TPA. Sorry Philly fans.
 
I’ll be going down the list in reverse order. From the worst team to the best. You won’t believe who’s first!
 
Philadelphia Reapers 
Grade: Rebuilder
Record: 9 - 63 - 0 
Points: 18
 
Philly stands strong at 524 total TPA in their roster. Philly saw most of their players move up to the VHL or get drafted high in the S73 Dispersal Draft They’re going to be settling into rebuild territory for a while. There isn’t much else to say about this season for them.
 
The Reapers might spare some of their players by trading them away to contending teams. I mostly mean their goaltender, John Poremba, for a 1st and other assets to a team that needs a goalie. It will be interesting to see if Philadelphia can post a better record that last seasons Houston Bulls.
 
Halifax 21st 
Grade: Rebuild
Record: 13 – 58 – 1
Points: 27
Halifax is poised slightly higher than Philadelphia. Not that it matters down at the bottom of the league. With 603 TPA on their roster they could squeak a couple more wins out. Next season Halifax is going to be completely insane. Even though they won’t be dong great this year, you can watch out for them in the future.
 
There aren’t many all-star talents on the 21st. Which is okay, because even the greats had to start somewhere. Their best player, Hex Valentine, is a piece that you might see ship off. Consider this season for Halifax a bit of a quiet one as they explode into S74. 
 
Mississauga Hounds 
Grade: Rebuild
Record: 18 – 53 – 1
Points: 37
 
 
Mississauga is singing the same song as the rest of the rebuilders. However, with a couple more pieces to fit into their roster next season. They sit with a steady 851 total TPA at their disposal. This will be a forgettable season in their history. Yet an important one in their rebuild as they try to gain as many picks as possible.
 
Micheal Mac and Gavin Harris lead this team as their best forward and defender. Harris is a solid defensive defenseman that can lay out the body. The two way player Mac will be looking to lead the team in points and goals. Depending on their aspirations, could be trade bait or pieces for Mississauga next year if they stay under the 250 TPA limit.
 
Mexico City Kings 
 
Grade: Rebuild
Record: 21 – 50 – 1
Points: 43
 
Mexico City went all in last season trying to hoist the Founders Cup. With one draft pick for this season, Ottawa’s 1st, and a squad lacking a bit of depth, this season might be a bit tough. There’s 970 TPA on this roster so they’ll break 1000 in no time. The Kings wont be the worst team in the league.
 
Mexico is a team that still has some very good pieces. Their top pairing defensemen, Chance Rust and Kirishima Wakaro, would be a good enough pairing for almost any team in the league. The depth isn’t there. With one solid defensive and offensive line Mexico is going to be a seller as the season progresses.
 
Yukon Rush 
Grade: Hopeful
Record: 27 – 44 – 1
Points: 55
 
Yukon is the first team on the list to break 1000 TPA on their roster with 1247. It’s possible that Yukon can turn it around with a goalie prospect for next season. This is an upswing season for the Rush. There were great selections in the draft.
 
The first line of Jeff Odinson, Alek Andreshnikov and Vlad Imir will only look better as the season moves along. The back end and goaltending pose a few questions. It isn’t to say that Yukon can’t perform this season with the skaters they have on their roster. But if they want to unlock the full potential, looking for a starting goaltender and defensemen would help solidify a possible 1st round upset.
 
Las Vegas Aces 
Grade: Hopeful
Record: 32 – 40 – 0
Points: 64
 
Las Vegas isn’t as good as last season. They’re in the middle of the pack with 1495 TPA in the locker room. I would say Vegas will be a .500 team by the end of the season. Coming into the playoffs might be able to turn an upset but won’t go far. Watch this age well.
 
There are still good pieces on Las Vegas that are going to hit the TPA cap. Nils Fiedriksen, Onde Sandstrom and Gary Rush are all going to be excellent talents come the playoffs. With some signings and a couple trades Las Vegas could push themselves from hopefuls to contenders.
 
Houston Bulls 
Grade: Contender
Record: 39 – 32 – 1
Points: 79
 
Houston is almost a purely offensive team. Sitting with 1820 TPA in their roster. Being in their LR, I will say there are quite an active number of members. Compared to the other top teams in the league though, the numbers say they will get 39 wins. The Bulls are a team that will get better with time.
 
There is a considerable amount of star talent on this team. Which will be a trend the farther down the list we go. S74 prospects include Aloe Dear, Venus Thightrap and Markus Schauer, who are all top 10 prospects. Riley Knight and Drew Minott are veterans of the club and tie things together nicely. This is a Houston much different from the one last season.
 
San Diego Marlins 
Grade: Contender
Record: 44 – 27 – 1
Points: 89
 
San Diego came out of the last draft looking at cup contention. 2066 TPA is in their locker room, the first team to break the 2000 TPA mark. The S73 draft treated them well. They quickly sprouted from going 2nd last in the league, to potentially in the top 5. That’s a very good climb. The Marlins are looking high and mighty as the first real contenders for the founder’s cup.
 
There are two players that start at the cap already for the Marlins coming into the season. 1st overall selection John Merrick and Pietro Angellini. Doug Dimmadome is a solid starter that will be an elite goaltender come the playoffs. Don’t sleep on Marlin prospects Ryan Shwartz or John LeClair II. The left wingers that will be key pieces as the season goes along.
 
Ottawa Lynx 
Grade: Champion
Record: 52 – 20 – 0
Points: 104
 
Ottawa, my former team, is looking poised as one of the top 4 teams in the league. It’s a close race between them and their former first round opponent Saskatoon. Perhaps the two cats will have a rivalry going this season? Their S73 draft set them up for this season so you can look for them to make the most of it. It won't be difficult for them to make the most of their 2425 TPA either. 
 
Spearheading the charge is their 2nd overall selection Alec Volchenkov. The two-way passer with a build unlike most in the VHLM. Ajay Krishna is an absolute STUD in the net and is easily the best goaltender in the league. Jiggly Gumballs and Mikeal Keef lead this Ottawa defense. With defensive builds and an elite goaltender, good luck scoring on this Lynx squad.
 
Saskatoon Wild 
Grade: Champion
Record: 52 – 19 – 1
Points: 105
 
The team that is almost tied, but eclipses Ottawa by a single point, is Saskatoon. It would be a disservice to forget to mention they are the S72 founders cup champions. While they did lose good pieces in the dispersal draft, McWolf left this team in capable hands. This team isn’t just good, they’re going to be eying up the cup as one of the favourites to win. This team has a very solid 2462 TPA to start.
 
Keith Krestanovich, Dan Baillie Jr, Bobby Wyman and Emi Rune are your top liners for this team. Cal Conway is another top goaltender in the league. With a good balance of scoring and defense, expect this team to just play solid hockey throughout the season. S73 will be a ride to the playoffs.
 
Minnesota Storm 
Grade: Champion
Record: 59 – 12 – 1
Points: 119
 
Minnesota finished top of the league last season. There's an incredible 2752 TPA in that locker room. Though they didn’t win the founders cup, this team is poised to go right back again. Under normal circumstances a team with 2752 TPA in their starting roster would be enough to put them as the best in the league. This time around, it’s not the case.
 
The storm have the players and the experience needed to go deep in the playoffs. Shawn Glade III and Ziarie Anigbogu are both 250 TPA and their starting pairing defensemen. Elite. Couple that with Cole Newhook, Jer Lefebvre and John Brewitt on your first line and you have the elite players needed to make other teams shudder. The scoring on this team is deep too. Joe Exotic and Jack John make excellent depth pieces.
 
Miami Mauraders 
Grade: Champion
Record: 66 – 6
Points: 132
 
3088 TPA. Last years Minnesota Storm had finished the regular season with about the same number. Miami is an absolute unit. They are the clear winners of the last draft and the favourites to win the cup this season. Can’t wait to see Miami dominate this season and work into a finals cup run.
 
Eight players in the 200 TPA range and five of them being at the cap already. Miami was fortunate enough to win the Patrick Laine sweepstakes, for starters. I could talk about the talent of Andre Lebastard, Dakota Lamb, Oh Sens, Wolf Stansson, Matty Stocks, Kevin King, Victor Grachev or Luke Thornton. But honestly, that was enough and I’m already past 2000 words.
 
Final Standings Table: 

 
Thanks for reading and I hope that my standings are accurate! Enjoy! Words: 2118
 
Mentions (I just finished and this is a lot of mentions, very sorry):
@ahockeyguy @IamMOOSE @fishy @Jtv123 @KaleebtheMighty @osens @PatrikLaine @Andre LeBastard @dlamb @GoadenGoalie35 @Joe Exotic @JBrew42 @GrittyIsKing09 @Jer_Lefebvre @ngine4 @ShawnGlade @Shaka @Boragina @wcats @Lefty_S @Emi @JigglyGumballs @Hooperorama @SirRupertBarnes @Esso2264 @Enorama @flyersfan1453 @Steve @okifenoki @Renomitsu @BladeMaiden @DreMin15 @KnightRiley @Biggreen10 @fonziGG @G_Rush @CrlineDijohn14 @DrHexDex @LastOneUp @BigIrish @turkey2349 @Snussu @GoldGear88 @PuckPushers @Big Dee
 
 

S73 VHL SEASON PREVIEW
 
The S72 offseason has come and gone which means it is time for a new season of hockey to begin! We will be taking a look at the situation of all 16 VHL franchises heading into S73. We will be starting with the expansion teams and then be making our way up the standings from last to first. Without further ado, let us begin!

 

Chicago Phoenix
Expansion Team
 
Honestly, If I am a Chicago fan right I would be pretty excited for the kind of damage this team will be able to do a few years down the road. You may not have the best roster right now, but it is filled with future stars. The forward core is led by Adam Syreck, Squirrely Dan, Vladimir Shaposhnikov and Milos Slavik rounding out the top-six forward group. In net, they have their first-round draft pick in Jean Pierre Camus. They are lacking a lot defensively with the only notable name being Nikita Kulikovich, but if their forward core plays well and Camus has a great season, they can be a dark horse playoff contender.

 

London United
Expansion Team
 
London is another team that could do some damage if things go right. They have a solid offence with the likes of veteran forward Guy Lesieur along with some young forwards like Mac Hooper, Jay Jones and The Terrible Trivium. Defensively, they have James Rose who had a great season with the Houston Bulls in the VHLM last season. London’s biggest issue will be in the crease. Their starter going into this season will be Clayton Park, a career backup goalie who hasn’t fit too well into a starting role and this looks like his last season, so London may need a quick fix at goaltender but other than that I can see them possibly making a playoff push depending on what happens before the trade deadline.

 

Los Angeles Stars
Expansion Team

 
I could see LA easily making the playoffs this season. They look to be in the best position out of all of the expansion teams. Offensively, they are led by veterans Sigard Gunnar and Tyler Barabash Jr while sprinkling in some youth with Markus Nygren, Gary Neal and first-round pick Jeffrey Pines rounding out the forward core. Defensively, They are led by the trio of Rusty Shackleford, Gert B Frobe and Kaspars Claude. The only issue I see in their team kind of like London is in the crease. They also have a career backup this time in Kolur Bjoernsson. It will only be like this as both their defence and goaltending will be rounded when second-round picks Jiggly Gumballs and Drew Minott are expecting to come up to the VHL.

 

Warsaw Predators
Expansion Team
 
Warsaw is just like LA where their team looks like a fringe playoff contender, but can easily go further. Warsaw has the best centre depth out of all 4 expansion teams, with Hunter Hearst Helmsley and Zeno Miniti filling the roster down the middle. On the wings, they have 2 players with VHL experience in Dalton Wilcox and Damien Wolfe. Defensively, They have veterans Danny DeYeeto and Hugh Chan along with a younger player in Alex Bridges. Warsaw also has a solid goaltender in Nicolas Fomba. Mix this in with the first-round pick Dakota Lamb coming up to the VHL next year and this can be a dark horse candidate both this year and next year.

 

Malmo Nighthawks
Last Season: 26-41-5 (12th in VHL)
Did not make the playoffs
 
Malmo is a very different team from last season, having 3 first-round picks and nailing all of them. They still have a veteran presence in Aston Martin offensively but throw in young guns Chris Hylands, Ray Shields and top draft pick Marshall James Frostbeard and this team looks extremely dangerous offensively. This team was concerning defensively last year. What better way to fill that hole by taking the S73 draft’s top defender, Tyler Walker at 2nd overall. Mix that with the current core of Zyrok12 and Condor Adrienne and the call-up of Viktor Alexei Kamenov and this is a miles better defence then it was last year. In net, Malmo has long term stability in 6th overall pick Grekkark Gyrfalcon who is poised to have a breakout year in the VHL. This is a solid Malmo team that I can see as a dark horse candidate for a Continental Cup run. 
 

D.C. Dragons
Last Season: 30-38-4 (11th in VHL)
Did not make the playoffs.
D.C. is one of those teams that can do some serious damage. They had a stroke of luck last offseason, moving up to 1st overall to select LW Groovy Dood. Dood has been working hard to fit in with the D.C line up for his rookie year in S73. D.C is led offensively by 2 young guns in Dood and RW Xaiver LeFlamant and veterans in Raleigh Ritchie, Mikko Aaltonen, Boris the Forest and Benny Graves, who is looking like he is prepared for a career year. Defensively, D.C is no slouch either being led by veterans Charles Drumm, Luciano Valentino, Ricky Johnson and a new younger defenseman in Liam Flaten. D.C also has more stability in goal as starting goaltender Stone Wolski did some hard training this offseason and looks poised to be one of the best goaltenders this year. With a team like that, you must be excited if you are a D.C fan as they could easily be a Continental Cup contender. I see them making the playoffs.

 

Vancouver Wolves
Last Season: 32-35-5 (10th in VHL)
Did not make the playoffs
 
Vancouver is a really unpredictable team. Keeping a lot of the players from last season but also sprinkling in some of the young talented players can do that to a team. Offensively, they are still led by centres Brock Louth and Andrew Su, but up the wings, they look deadly. On the right side, they have Jungkok, Gregg Stallion, Gino DiGiannantonio and Mat Tacco and on the left, they have Joe Proto. They will need to shift one or two of their right wings over to the left but they still a dangerous offence. The defence was a bright spot for Vancouver last season as they were 5th in the league in total goals against and they managed to grab Micah Adrienne at 3rd overall in the draft to further solidify their defence. Mix that in with the veterans in Jeff Downey, Andrej Petrovic and Griff Manzer and you have an excellent top 4. In net, they have stability in the starter position with Jimmy Spyro and they have Isak Sjostrom backing him up. If Vancouver can play up to their potential, they will be a tough team to beat this year, but it all depends on how they come out of the gate. They will be a playoff contender but the step to a cup contender depends on how things go.

 

Toronto Legion
Last Season: 33-35-4 (9th in VHL)
Lost in Conference Semi-Finals to CGY 4-3
 
Despite how bad S72 looked for Toronto fans, they were in a playoff spot and managed to push the eventual conference champion Calgary Wranglers to 7 games. Not too shabby. Toronto could make a splash this year with an offence lead by Jeff Blaze, Teemu Lehtinen Jr, Chad Magnum and Kristopher McDagg. However, I expect incoming LW Joseph Gainer to have a good season. He is coming off a solid season in the VHLM and has developed nicely down there. Defensively, they are led by a young core of brothers in Gabriel and Leon Gutzwiler, Erik Killinger and a veteran piece in Fredrik Elmebeck makes for a dangerous top 4. In the crease, Toronto is no slouch either, having a solid young goaltender in Jaxx Hextall, who will only continue to get better. Add all of this to 5th overall pick John Merrick being ready to play for S74 and this Toronto team will get dangerous really fast.

 

Prague Phantoms
Last Season: 32-32-8 (8th in VHL)
Did not make the playoffs
 
Missing the playoffs was a bummer for Prague, who despite finishing better than the playoff-bound Toronto Legion ended up ultimately missing the big dance due to S72’s stacked European Conference. Prague has a powderkeg offence led by Thomas Landry II, Ondrej Ohradka, Dagmar Havlova and Alex Pearson. Defensively, they still have the 3 headed-monster of Cinnamon Block, Seabass Perrin and Wolf Stansson Jr. In the crease, they still have Virgil Ligriv in net for his last season but behind him is the young goalie Woody McPine, who was a force in the VHLM last year. Things can turn around for Prague really fast, with centre Andre LeBastard coming up from the VHLM next year.
 

HC Davos Dynamo
Last Season: 35-30-7 (7th in VHL)
Lost in Conference Semi-Finals to RIG 4-0
 
HC Davos was absolutely steamrolled in the first round by the eventual champion Riga Reign in S72. This doesn’t change the fact they have a solid lineup, led offensively by SS Hornet, Jet Jaguar, Soren Jensen and Jerry Garcia. Davos’ defence remains mostly the same led by David O’Quinn and Roque Davis but Davos made a splash move to bring in Charlie Paddywagon from Calgary to round it off. Davos has the young up and coming Joakim Bruden in net who has a chance to have a great season. I see Davos returning to the playoff, but they can go farther than just playoffs.

 

Moscow Menace
Last Season: 35-29-8 (6th in VHL)
Lost in Conference Finals to RIG 4-0
 
Just like Davos, a sweep at the hands of the eventual champion Riga Reign doesn’t take away how good the Moscow Menace was last season. Moscow still has a deadly first line with Nate Telker, Ryo Yamazuki II and Henrik Zoiderberg leading the way offensively but with upcoming stars Vin Calia and Lucas Brandt, those holes that come up once the first line leaves will be easy to fill. Defensively, they still have the deadly duo of Vladimir Pavlov and Oskar Lagesson but added the dangerous VHLM star Alex Letang to an already loaded back end. In net, they still have Raymond Bernard. This will be a tough Moscow team to beat this year and I expect them to be a cup contender.

 

Helsinki Titans
Last Season: 36-26-10 (5th in VHL)
Lost in Conference Semi-Finals to MOS 4-2)
 
Helsinki had a good season in S72, ending with a fantastic 6 game series against Moscow where they easily could have taken it. Helsinki is led offensively by a top line of Hiroshi Okada, Jim Bob and Erik Draven. They also have some solid 2nd line and depth pieces in Ben Hafkey, Jared Spaz and Valtteri Vaakanainen. Defensively, they have Erik Summers and Kyle Andersen leading the way along with rookie Spencer Elsby. In net, Helsinki has the two-headed monster in Zamboni Driver and Samuel Ross. Adding all of this with S73 draft picks Patrik Laine and Oh Sens coming in next season and Helsinki can easily win a Continental Cup.

 

New York Americans
Last Season: 38-26-8 (4th in VHL)
Lost in Conference Finals to CGY 4-3
 
New York’s playoff run last year came to a heartbreaking end in game 7 against the Calgary Wranglers, giving up the game-winning goal with just 30 seconds to play. New York’s offence is still as dangerous as ever with a top-six forward group made up of Julius Freeman, Acyd Burn, Owen Nolan, Jerry Wang, Bjorn Scoringsonn and Richard Penisson. Defensively, they have the tenacious trio of Micheal Gary Scott, Lance Flowers and Hugh Jass. In net, it is also the same with A Red Guy being the starter. This team can easily make a cup run and I expect them to be a contender all season long.

 

Riga Reign
Last Season: 39-25-8 (3rd in VHL)
Won S72 Continental Cup!
 
The defending champion Riga Reign definitely have something to be proud of, going 12-1 throughout last year's playoffs and easily taking the Continental Cup and with a lineup like theirs, who says they can’t go back to back? They are led by the insane centre depth as you have Phil Marleau, Kyl Oferson, Pengu and Codrick Past roaming the middle. They also have Patrik Tallinder and Shush Nyko up the wings making this a dangerous team in the offensive zone. Defensively, they still have their top pair in Lincoln Tate and Guy Saskamoose. Those two will be just as dangerous this year. However, the biggest X-Factor in this team’s success lately, goaltender Greg Eagles. He was the big reason why Riga won the Continental Cup last spring and if he plays even close to the way he did in the postseason, I see Riga going back to back.

 

Seattle Bears
Last Season: 47-22-3 (2nd in VHL)
Lost in Conference Semi-Finals to NYA 4-1
 
Just because Seattle lost in round 1 last season doesn’t mean anything. This team is still extremely dangerous, led offensively by veterans Scott Greene and Ambrose Stark as well as young stars Ola Vikingstad, Uhtred and Timothy Brown. Defensively, Seattle has Hulk Hogan, Berocka Sundqvist, Odin Omdahl and Randy Marsh rounding out an impressive top 4. In the net, Rayz Funk looks like he is going to play his final season, but Seattle was prepared and snagged top goaltender Jacob Tonn in the S73 draft to back him up and take the reigns once Funk retires. Seattle can easily go all the way back and win their 4th Continental Cup in 6 seasons.

 

Calgary Wranglers
Last Season: 49-16-7 (1st in VHL)
Lost in Continental Cup Finals to RIG 4-1
 
Calgary went through a lot of games last season and ended up just short of a Continental Cup, but there isn’t any reason they can’t go back. They still have RJ Jubis, Kris Rice, Mikko Lahtinen, ACL TEAR and Willie Dredge leading offensively. Defensively, it is mostly the same, with Edwin THE Encarnacion and General Zod enforcing their will. Calgary traded Charlie Paddywagon this offseason, leaving a big hole there and it is expected that incoming rookie defender Kosmo Kramerev will fill that hole. Calgary still has Jacques LaFontaine in the net. The question for Calgary isn’t whether they can win a cup, the question is can they do it now? Their window is closing fast, the next 2 seasons are probably the best chances they will have at a cup run before they have to retool everything. Your move, Calgary.


 
If you came here looking for a prediction, forget it. What I say now will either trigger one of three things and I will list them here.
 
My predictions will be wrong by the trade deadline.
I will predict the playoff picture correctly, but everything will just fall off at that point.
My predictions will be wrong by the end of the first week.
- VSN Writer Patrik Laine
 
 

Hi wolfie!  This article was really interesting and I really liked how you structured your text. It was easy for me to understand everything so that is great! Although this idea of article is nothing original or surprising, but I have done these type of articles, so nothing against you! 
I liked that you put the picture in the right side, instead of the middle, because this way I am not getting interrupted while reading! 
Next time try to use more synonyms, because sometimes words were repeating frequently.
This was really solid article, good job Wolfie!
 
8/10

The following is a guest-post written by Wolf Stansson. His unique perspective allows him to write a brief season preview for the Miami Marauders.
 
                This season there are twelve forwards and four defensemen who will see significant ice time for the Miami Marauders. Many people were surprised last season when my teammates and I made it to the playoffs in our inaugural season. That surprise will not be present this year. It was also no secret last season we had relatively few players overall who played with us for the entire season. We had only two active D-men, one of whom, Kramerev, has departed for the VHL. So who do we have this year?
 
                First, the forwards: We have Dakota Lamb. Lamb is maxed out at 250 and he’s ready for goal-scoring action. He’s a strong skater and has a great sense of defense (something I am partial to). Next, we have the man with the C, Andre Lebastard. Lebastard is the heart and soul of the Miami spirit, and he too will soon be maxed out. I expect Lebastard to lead the forwards in the assists department. Next, we have newcomer Patrik Laine of Finland. Laine is a guy whose scoring is cranked and from whom we can all expect great things! He’s a right-winger by nature and has a heck of a finish. Oh Sens is great with the media—you guys should love him—and he’s going to be even better as a player this year. Kevin King is a newbie center who’s attracting a lot of attention as he’s shooting up the charts with his skill level. If you’re looking for a trio of left-wingers, look no further than Jared Willis, Luke Thornton, and Rocket. The re-acquiring of Rocket was one of Krice’s best moves as GM yet, and Willis and Thornton are sure to add scoring and passing, respectively. The final three are the lowest in TPE but are going to have chances to be great earners. They are: Center Janiina Juutila, the teenager of Finland, center Shawn Aalto, the faceoff master of Finland, and center Kirk Holloway, the all-around player out of Canada. Basically we have more centers than we know what to do with.
 
                Now for the D-men. The only returning active D-man for the entire season from Miami’s roster is yours truly. I am currently the only maxed out defenseman, but that is sure to change. Why? Because of Matty Socks. His team-high defensive rating and excellent stats in nearly every other area basically make him our number one defender, as far as I’m concerned. Next is Victor Grachev, who is also likely to hit 250 very soon. He’s a well-rounded defenseman, with skating, puckhandling, and passing making up for his lack in scoring. Last, but not least, we have Eoin Byrne. Byrne came on as a very late-season addition and was thrust into the spotlight for the playoffs. Many would have buckled, but Byrne persevered and came back this season to play. Byrne is a D-man’s d-man, someone who is not going to be afraid to mix it up when things need to be. Expect him to be a mainstay on the penalty kill.
 
                Finally we have the goalies. Specifically, two of them this year! Bacon returns as the presumptive starter to save our, well, bacon. He excels at coming up big when being peppered with a lot of shots. It may be interesting to see how he reacts when facing fewer shots. Russell Rattie is starting out, but is already well-rounded in each of the areas. It remains to be seen what Rattie will focus on for his skillset.
 
                Are we expecting a championship? That’s not really something that one dude should say to another dude, to quote Evil Medical School’s most famous graduate. Nonetheless, it should be an awesome season!
 
Note: This is my triples week PT.

The following is a guest-post written by Wolf Stansson. His unique perspective allows him to write a brief season preview for the Miami Marauders.
 
                This season there are twelve forwards and four defensemen who will see significant ice time for the Miami Marauders. Many people were surprised last season when my teammates and I made it to the playoffs in our inaugural season. That surprise will not be present this year. It was also no secret last season we had relatively few players overall who played with us for the entire season. We had only two active D-men, one of whom, Kramerev, has departed for the VHL. So who do we have this year?
 
                First, the forwards: We have Dakota Lamb. Lamb is maxed out at 250 and he’s ready for goal-scoring action. He’s a strong skater and has a great sense of defense (something I am partial to). Next, we have the man with the C, Andre Lebastard. Lebastard is the heart and soul of the Miami spirit, and he too will soon be maxed out. I expect Lebastard to lead the forwards in the assists department. Next, we have newcomer Patrik Laine of Finland. Laine is a guy whose scoring is cranked and from whom we can all expect great things! He’s a right-winger by nature and has a heck of a finish. Oh Sens is great with the media—you guys should love him—and he’s going to be even better as a player this year. Kevin King is a newbie center who’s attracting a lot of attention as he’s shooting up the charts with his skill level. If you’re looking for a trio of left-wingers, look no further than Jared Willis, Luke Thornton, and Rocket. The re-acquiring of Rocket was one of Krice’s best moves as GM yet, and Willis and Thornton are sure to add scoring and passing, respectively. The final three are the lowest in TPE but are going to have chances to be great earners. They are: Center Janiina Juutila, the teenager of Finland, center Shawn Aalto, the faceoff master of Finland, and center Kirk Holloway, the all-around player out of Canada. Basically we have more centers than we know what to do with.
 
                Now for the D-men. The only returning active D-man for the entire season from Miami’s roster is yours truly. I am currently the only maxed out defenseman, but that is sure to change. Why? Because of Matty Socks. His team-high defensive rating and excellent stats in nearly every other area basically make him our number one defender, as far as I’m concerned. Next is Victor Grachev, who is also likely to hit 250 very soon. He’s a well-rounded defenseman, with skating, puckhandling, and passing making up for his lack in scoring. Last, but not least, we have Eoin Byrne. Byrne came on as a very late-season addition and was thrust into the spotlight for the playoffs. Many would have buckled, but Byrne persevered and came back this season to play. Byrne is a D-man’s d-man, someone who is not going to be afraid to mix it up when things need to be. Expect him to be a mainstay on the penalty kill.
 
                Finally we have the goalies. Specifically, two of them this year! Bacon returns as the presumptive starter to save our, well, bacon. He excels at coming up big when being peppered with a lot of shots. It may be interesting to see how he reacts when facing fewer shots. Russell Rattie is starting out, but is already well-rounded in each of the areas. It remains to be seen what Rattie will focus on for his skillset.
 
                Are we expecting a championship? That’s not really something that one dude should say to another dude, to quote Evil Medical School’s most famous graduate. Nonetheless, it should be an awesome season!
 
Note: This is my triples week PT.

Shite Sports News 
cacatum non-veritas
 
 
Last season, as an expansion club the Miami Marauders had no expectations ahead of their debut season in the VHLM. Neither did they have much pressure to perform. What they did have, however, thanks to the sound draft policy of the hockey clubs management team, was a collection of players with the 'right stuff'.  Just what the right stuff is, of course, is open to debate; however, you can take it as given that it contains a healthy dose of what coaches like to call intangibles.  Often in the hockey world, the word intangibles is a  euphemism for lack of skill. There is no doubt that as an expansion team, the Miami Marauders hockey club suffered from a definite lack of skill. Yet in this case, that lack of skill was overcome by that other often overused component of intangibles: attitude. In this case, we can call it the 'Miami spirit'.
 
There is an old adage that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, which is an excellent parable for the Miami Marauders and the success they had in S73. How else can you explain the over achievement of this collection of players last season? At the start of their first-round playoff series against Minnesota, the Marauders had one player at or near triple figures in TPE, their opponents had six. Yet the Miami upstarts managed to take what should have been a commanding 3-1 lead in the series, before eventually succumbing in seven games.  Most Miami players that we spoke with talked of the Miami spirit or the feeling that pervaded the locker room at the time. Many stated they were simply overjoyed to have made the playoffs at all and against the odds, never mind contemplating a 3-1 series lead.
 
That the club lost the opening round 4-3, didn't even seem to put a dent in the player's feelings, sure there was disappointment at what could have been, but there was something else, a pervading sense of achievement and a coalescing of pride and accomplishment regardless of the end result. Most players and indeed many pundits felt that for Miami, the series exit could be chalked up to inexperience, after all, none of the players had been in that position before and didn't know what to expect. Playoff performance in many cases is about that collective institutional experience gained by trying and then failing, before utilising that experience gained to improve the performance next time out.
 
For the new S74 edition of the Miami Marauders, the question remains can the club from management to the playing roster inculcate their newest crop of players with that 'Miami spirit' and use that to cope with the twin obstacles that will confront the club in its upcoming sophomore season: Expectation & Pressure. The expectation to improve on last seasons performance and the pressure that comes with said expectation. 
As their Captain Andre LeBastard said in part, in a private message to the club ahead of the new season, which was leaked to Shite Sports News last night:
 
"Last season we had a tight group of players with a spirit that led us to our first-ever playoff berth in our very first season, as we met and surpassed each challenge we faced. What made most, if not all of us proud, however, was the spirit we all felt in the Locker Room. This was the Miami spirit, something no one could take away from us..."
 
To paraphrase Admiral Lord Nelson, ahead of the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805: 
 
'Miami expects...'
 

PATRIK LAINE PRE-CAMP INTERVIEW
 
MIAMI - We are only one day away from Marauders training camp here in Miami and there have been a number of players already out on the ice including a scrimmage played last week spearheaded by Patrik Laine and Andre LeBastard. We were able to catch up with Laine for this thoughts on training camp through a video call he did in his hotel in Miami.
 
Reporter: Thanks for joining us, Patrik.
 
Laine: It is my pleasure.
 
Reporter: So, how has the first week been in Miami for you?
 
Laine: It's been pretty good. I've been on the ice for 6 hours every day getting ready for the season. Even back home in Finland I had a lot of ice time so I can't wait for tomorrow.
 
Reporter: Are you going to stay in a hotel the entire season?
 
Laine: I'm not sure yet. I could always rent an apartment or I could move in with one of the guys like LeBastard or Lamb for the year.
 
Reporter: The lines for the Marauders were released this morning and they have you play on the second line. Do you have any comment about that? Any disappointment?
 
Laine: Well, I'm not upset at all. Sens is a good winger as well. If we win more with me being on the second line, then that is what it takes. I'm on the first power play unit so that okay. Lamb and Thornton are good guys to play with so I'm still pretty excited.
 
Reporter: We heard many reports about you possibly going VHL which scared teams off during the VHLM draft. What ultimately made you stay down?
 
Laine: After I went to Helsinki in the VHL draft, I had a talk with Jubo after the draft and he told me it would be best for my development, so I decided to stay down after talking with him and he knows what is best for me so those are my kind of comments.
 
Reporter: What do you think of Miami so far?
 
Laine: It is a nice city honestly. The people are nice and love the Marauders. Everywhere I go, kids are approaching me for autographs and of course I say yes. I sign sticks and gear for them. Nice hockey town.
 
Reporter: What do you think about the team and what do you expect?
 
Laine: I think we have a solid forward core with Lamb, Thorns, Sens, Andre and Willis. Defensively, we have a solid starter in net with Bacon and the top 4 of Socks, Grachev, Stansson and Byrne so I think we can be a contending team. We'll know when Tuesday comes?
 
Reporter: We heard whispers about other teams picking you up in the draft. Can you give us some comments about that?
 
Laine: Well in total, 8-9 teams had contact with me and Calgary's GM told me if I was still on the board at 11 they would have chose me so I knew a bit of where I was going and kept the talks between me and the GMs secret.
 
Reporter: How excited are you for training camp?
 
Laine: Really excited, ready to go out there with the boys and get to know the team.
 
Reporter: I seen a report that you will be bringing back you Mennonite beard from a few years ago. Are those reports true?
 
Laine: Yeah, I lost another bet with my cousin so I am growing it out again. It worked well last time so hopefully it works again.
 
Reporter: Last question here. If you were to share a hotel room with anyone on the team during road trips, who would you share it with?
 
Laine: Uh.....Probably Lamb. Me and him have become pretty good friends this past week. We have a lot in common so it would be fun.
 
Reporter: Kiitos.

Laine: Kiitos.
 
 
643 words, 3307 characters written by @PatrikLaine

Can't wait to learn from Pavlov and Lagesson before taking over the #1 spot. Looking forward to playing with @ahockeyguy in the near future!