CowboyinAmerica

Davos -- So far this season, it's been the Quebec and Calgary show, even to the point where one (hilariously misinformed) article recently posited whether we should just skip ahead to the finals. Of course, missing from that statement was the defending champions, HC Davos Dynamo, who was expected to make that duo a trio. Of course, anything could happen in the playoffs anyway, but it seems Davos fans may not need to wait that long. The Dynamo have just reeled off their longest win streak of the season at five games, including one win over Calgary in that stretch. While they're not yet close to the top two in the standings, they've put 10 points of distance between themselves and fourth place Riga, indicating they're a team to be reckoned with moving forward. "We haven't gone anywhere, we're just getting our stuff in order," forward Gabriel McAllister said after the most recent win against New York. "It's a long season, we're only halfway, and I feel confident about where our team is going forward." There's certainly reasons to be optimistic if you're a Davos fan. Now-forward Ay Ay Ron is the obvious one, providing another top-flight talent on the first line to put pucks in the net. Another unreported reason, though, may be simple regression to the mean - it's highly unlikely a goalie of Shawn Brodeur's talent will have as poor a second half as his first. Either way, the goal for Davos should be a top three finish and a first round bye, and from there, anything can truly happen in the playoffs.

It would have been so, so much fun, even though I was retired by #4. But yeah, happy to have been the spoiler for #1 and #4 on the list. What bad playoff luck I had with my first player has been more than counterbalanced with the last two.

McAllister +5

Oh, sweet. I like Pandar, but time's running out for McAllister and I'm for a win now move.

3-2 Reign

120 Meute @ Titans 121 Legion @ HC Dynamo 122 Bears @ Wranglers 123 Reign @ Americans

Exactly

I've given serious thought to creating a defenseman and just going for as many SBs as humanly possible.

I was rushing doing something before going away for the weekend, my bad. I included him at least!

Positional strength seems to ebb and flow within the VHL. About 10 seasons ago, it was all about the goalies, with names like Hans Wingate, the Cleganes, Ariel Weinstein, and Jakub Holik leading a shot-saving revolution. Then, it was the era of strong top lines, especially with Riga and Helsinki leading the way with record-breaking totals from veteran forwards. Now, it's still the age of forwards - but it's not veterans leading the way. Take a look at the top of the scoring charts, and you'll find names like Podrick Cast, Vyacheslav Smirnov, Edwin Preencarnacion and Matt Thompson - all rookies and sophomores that are making a name for themselves much earlier than expected. Especially with a dearth of talent still around from the S55 and S56 draft classes, and those you might expect like Gabriel McAllister and Niko Bogdanovic starting out slow, it's time for the young guys to shine. "I wouldn't be surprised if you see four or five guys from that S61 draft class be Hall of Fame caliber, and the S62 and 63 draft classes are just as good," McAllister told reporters after a recent game. "I think we're entering a golden age of VHL talent here. I couldn't be more excited to see where the future leads these guys, and I'm just happy I'm finishing my career before they really overtake me."

McAllister +5

G Johnny Carison @Tagger

Evan Lawson @Victor

F Vyacheslav Smirnov @Tagger

F Niko Bogdanovic @Victor

41 HC Dynamo VS Wranglers 42 Americans VS Meute 43 Legion VS Reign 44 Titans VS Bears

Dynamo 3-2

( @Will )

Holy hell, 2 goals in 2 shots for Axelsson. Sure, I'll get on the MVP hype train.

Brodeur coming up big in a big game! (And just as important, hell yeah @jacobaa19 with the fight win)

Looks good to me as well - only thing I might think is worth a mention is some of the playoff overall stats. Know Wingate's first all-time in playoff wins, think he's up there in GAA and shutouts too. Much better playoff goalie than regular season. (Victor's spreadsheet from the other day for reference)

Yeah an underrated part of his career was that he was like highest or second highest in TPE for goalies from his second season on since nobody was making goalies (or retired them early) - it was great for awards and playoffs, but not regular stats since everything was so offense-oriented. I only caught the beginning of that S49-53 stretch where goalies just dominated and there was like no scoring.

Appreciate you getting it done!

D Casey Jones @Tagger

D Ay Ay Ron @Victor