JB123

Word Count: 1505 Believe it or not, we are already a week in to the 77th season! That means 13 or 14 games played per club (as I am writing this). I have decided to do some power rankings, based on this past week. A number of variables will be taken into account, including: record (of course), streaks (winning or losing), and goal differential. I will also take a look at top performers for each team. Without further ado, here’s what I came up with: 12. Mexico City Kings Record: 2-12-0 Streak: L12 Goal Differential: -34 The Kings are currently last in the league. They won their first two games before losing the next 12. Their goal differential is by far the worst in the league. Key players for Mexico City this season have been right wing Anze Miklavz, with 15 points in 14 games, left wing Watson Stonebridge, scoring at a point per game pace, including 10 assists, and defenseman Big Mortie with 13 points in 14 games and 24 shots blocked. 11. Halifax 21st Record: 5-7-1 Streak: L1 Goal Differential: -10 At the moment Halifax sits in 5th place in the East. You may be asking why I put them here instead of someone like Yukon or Philly, etc. The reasoning is that Halifax is on a losing streak (even if it is one game), they have the third worst goal differential in the league, the second least goals scored, and the fourth most goals against. However, I am not here to insult any team, so I will point out some of the positives. Goalie Jonathan Bustard has been on fire as of late, going 1-1 with a shutout, a stellar .941 save percentage, and 1.50 GAA. Right wing Kyle Glass has also been playing quite well, with 18 points in 13 games played. Left wing Baldur Poulsen has been unbelievable, scoring 9 goals and 16 points, WITH A +9 RATING. 10. Yukon Rush Record: 5-9-0 Streak: W1 Goal Differential: -5 Next up we have the Rush. Currently second last in the league, the Rush have won three of their last 4 games. Although they are trending upwards, they still have given up the second most goals (which is partly my own fault). That being said, the scoring has been there for the Rush. Currently tied for second in the league in terms of scoring, the offense has picked up a lot of the slack for Yukon. As it stands, the Rush have two of the top three scorers in the league. Key performers for the Rush this season have been: left wing Gaspar Zakrevsky, with a league leading 33 points in 14 games played, and center Lorgo Pompronkimishkonov, with 26 points, tied for second league-wide. The dynamic duo are one and two in goals, respectively, with 18 and 13. 9. Philadelphia Reapers Record: 5-8-1 Streak: W2 Goal Differential: -12 Although towards the bottom of the standings, Philly is on the rise with a win in each of their past two contests. They do still have the second worst goal differential in the league, though, and the third most goals given up (56). Their scoring is middle of the pack, with 44 goals scored this season. The Reapers are lucky to have the second best player in terms of points, center Kjell Nilsson, with 26. Left winger Genghis Khan has also been excellent, with 13 goals and 24 points. Further, the club has defenseman Zeljko Ranogajec, the league leader in assists, with 19. Ranogajec is a Nighthawks prospect. Not only is Ranogajec’s offensive game superb, his defense is arguably even better. So far this season, he has 39 hits and has blocked 20 shots. Forgot to mention: he is 49 and is adamantly defying Father Time. 8. San Diego Marlins Record: 6-5-2 Streak: L3 Goal Differential: +2 On to the Marlins. They enjoyed a pretty good start (6-2-2), but have yet to regain their form. They are right around the middle in both goals scored and goals given up. Defenseman Arvid Johansson has been incredible, scoring at a point per game pace, while adding 22 shot blocks and a +5 rating. Just ahead of Johansson with a +6 is The Loch Ness Monster, also a defenseman. The LNM has 19 shot blocks and 35 hits, and 13 assists in 13 games. 7. Minnesota Storm Record: 5-7-1 Streak: W1 Goal Differential: -8 The Storm have not been great, but they did earn a boost with a win in their last game. The first thing to mention here is without a doubt, defenseman Barron Kruulenstien. Blocking an INSANE 37 shots, Kruulenstien has added 7 assists. Right wing Grapes has been great too, with 11 goals and 19 points. 6. Ottawa Lynx Record: 7-6-0 Streak: L1 Goal Differential: -7 The Lynx are an interesting story. On the one hand, they have a winning record and are in a playoff position. On the other, they score the least goals in the league (36). Their defense and goaltending has managed to save them most of the time. They have some hard-hitters on the back end, with three players combining for 67 hits. Defenseman Kirby Pandora in particular has been playing good, with 4 goals and 7 assists for 11 points in 13 games, while adding 16 blocked shots and a game-winning goal. 5. Las Vegas Aces Record: 7-4-3 Streak: L1 Goal Differential: +4 What’s happening in Vegas right now is mostly staying in Vegas, and that is winning. The Aces are a solid all-around team. Left wing Darryl McDagg leads the team in points with 23. Defenseman New Player has blocked 27 shots and has 22 hits. On offense, New Player has 18 points. Fellow D-man Sven Reikkinen has 30 hits and 20 blocked shots. 4. Miami Marauders Record: 7-6-0 Streak: W1 Goal Differential: +10 Miami has scored 50 goals thus far this season, good for fourth in the league. They have allowed only 40 goals, also fourth in the league. Center Alexander The Great has 17 assists and 25 points in 13 games. Right wing Trevor Wallace has 10 goals and 18 points. Center Napoleon Bonaparte has provided a great physical presence on offense, with 30 hits. 3. Houston Bulls Record: 10-3-1 Streak: W1 Goal Differential: +9 The Bulls have played extremely well this season. Currently second in the league and first in the West, Houston has given up the second least amount of goals (34). The first shoutout goes to goaltender Aike van Giersbergen, who has been their MVP. Van Giersbergen is 10-3-1 with a .912 save percentage and 2.33 GAA and a shutout. The defense isn’t too shabby, either. Defenseman Germano Henchoz has 16 points in 14 games, 38 hits, 32 blocked shots, and 3 game-winning goals. All the makings of an elite, franchise defenseman. It doesn’t stop there though. Defenseman Drakon Zabastovka has 11 assists and 13 points, and 19 hits along with 26 shots blocked. It’s also hard to ignore center Bradley Senjo, who has 18 assists and 25 points, with 33 hits. 2. Saskatoon Wild Record: 10-4-0 Streak: L1 Goal Differential: +20 I was tempted to put the Bulls here, but the Wild’s goal differential was too much to overlook. Saskatoon leads the league in goals with 59. They have given up the third-least amount of goals (39). They are a complete team. Center Griff Mackenzie has been terrific, scoring 11 goals and dishing 13 apples for 24 points. Just like Mackenzie, left wing Duncan Montana has 24 points. Defenseman Tanky plays a very physical game, handing out 66 hits. Offensive-minded defenseman David Tavau has 18 assists and 20 points. 1. Mississauga Hounds Record: 12-1-0 Streak: W1 Goal Differential: +31 I’m sure for most of you this comes as no surprise. The Hounds have been the powerhouse of Season 77 so far, and rightly so. They are tied for second in goals with the Rush (56) and have only surrendered 25 to their opponents. Goalie Luke Spinelli has been DOMINANT, posting the same great record of Mississauga, a .910 save percentage, and a 1.92 GAA. Center Guy Lambert has 21 points, left wing Angel Wachiure has 10 goals and is shooting at a prolific 25% rate, and defenseman Hard Markinson has 6 goals, a +11 rating, and 43 hits. I hope you all enjoyed my first article of this length! I certainly had fun analyzing all the VHLM teams and top players. Some of you are insanely good! Many, many good players were not mentioned, just keep in mind there are more great players than could be mentioned. Don’t take it personal if your team was ranked low (because so was mine!). I hope to keep this up in the future and want to try to cover some different topics too. Let me know if you have any suggestions, comments, etc. and feel free to review honestly. Best of luck to everyone in the league the rest of the way! There are a lot of contenders for the cup and it’ll be interesting for sure.

Let's win this war!

In five seasons, I hope to be a VHL veteran, with a shot at a cup (or with one or more already). Hopefully I’ll have my defense maxed out by then, with my passing and skating skills much improved as well. In addition, it would be awesome to have a job as a GM somewhere. It is one of my big goals in this game, to become a VHL GM. I plan to gain some experience in the short term, continue to develop my player, and get drafted. From there, I’ll try to get a VHLM GM position (or AGM). My number one priority is to win at least a cup as both a player and a GM. It’ll be interesting to see what team(s) I end up with in my career. In Season 82, I’ll have three seasons left before I retire, so I better hope for something good! Gradually, I want to elevate my graphics and articles too, and create a portfolio. In five seasons, I hope to have many of these completed works. Back to my player - of course I want to upgrade my attributes, which will lead to exponential growth in my statistics. It will be cool to see my stats by season, and how they grew, in several different categories. My main focus is going to be on defense, as I’m a defenseman first (lots of hits, many shots blocked, solid + rating). Furthermore, I hope to maintain a decent number of assists, with a few goals here and there. Overall, in 5 years, I want to grow my game, both from a player and executive perspective.

Great sig! The jerseys are great with the blue and gray. The light background keeps things simple and doesn’t take over the image. The stroke of different blues is cool as well. Only downside is you used Tarasenko raising the cup which pains me as a Bruins fan Great job, 9.9/10

These are ! The dark green looks awesome with the black and white. Although a smaller detail, the font you chose fits the jersey well. Overall a very clean and great design. 10/10

Thanks a lot! Looks awesome

1. To continue improving mostly, and help the Rush get some wins. 2. Hopefully good, only time will tell if another defenseman arrives. I will do my best and take advantage of the opportunity on defense. 3. Team success. Definitely. 4. Right now things are going very well. So, no, not at the moment. 5. Hmmm...Miracle on Ice, 10/10! 6. Let's go with Chick-Fil-A. Not that they deliver, but...too good not to mention.

1. Well, I happen to be one of those picks, so I have to think that. I promise to not disappoint. 2. It feels awesome to be drafted by such a great franchise like the Rush. Hopefully we can achieve a lot this season. 3. Remain competitive while also stacking some assets for the future. That's a lot to ask, but just maintain a high standard for the team above all else. 4. I wasn't here, but I joined the game recently. I am currently playing another GM game, since last year, too, called Hockey Dynasty. Really cool as well, check out! 5. My favorite club is the Bruins. Been watching for a long time now. Favorite player is Bergeron, but Pastrnak, McAvoy, and Marchand stars too. 6. Favorite unpopular food? Hmmmm....I don't know. I like potates, but those aren't really unpopular.

Player Information Username: JB123 Player Name: Nathan Powers Recruited From: Member (PatrikLaine) Age: 17 Position: D Height: 72 in. Weight: 187 lbs. Birthplace: Canada Player Page @VHLM GM