Alex

I mean, he'll likely pass a couple players in the near future, however being over 100 TPE behind fellow S98 draft picks is considerable.

@courtjestr19 Hi everyone with the season just about halfway over, I figured it would be a great time to take a look at the league’s top 10 prospects. Let’s dive right in! TOP PROSPECTS First off to accurately assess the league’s top prospects I made a fairly simple formula taking into account draft season, TPE, and position. The current top ten VHL prospects are as follows: Cardinal Copia @Beketov Rank: 1 Draft: S98, 1st Overall Team: Malmo Nighthawks Position: RW TPE: 418 The 1st overall pick from the last draft has maintained their spot at the top of the prospect ranks, largely due to having considerably more TPE than any other skater. This season Copia has been good in the VHLM with a total of 19 goals and 21 assists for a total of 40 points in 46 games, 4 of which has been for Houston following a recent trade. Copia is doing well, and their production has improved from last season but, a larger step would be good to see. With that being said, Copia does project as a true franchise forward, and will be a key piece in Malmo’s rebuilding process. Gingy @MexicanCow123 Rank: 2 Draft: S98, 4th Overall Team: HC Davos Dynamo Position: C TPE: 387 Since the draft, Gingy stocks have only rose as they find themselves in the number 2 slot. This season Gingy is very much in the same boat as Copia as they are producing at a decent level just below a point per game with 43 points in 45 games, now with Houston Gingy will be looking to pick up the pace a bit before making the jump to the VHL, where they will join Davos and their existing core. Peter Venkman @Josh Rank: 3 Draft: S98, 2nd Overall Team: Warsaw Predators Position: D TPE: 364 Peter Venkman has been good this season, having already surpassed their total from last season with 36 points in 46 games. With them joining Warsaw next season Venkman will be the first piece in a long list to get Warsaw back into contention and into the playoffs, but Venkman is a great start to doing just that. Tina Hughes @tinafrombobsburgers Rank: 4 Draft: S98, 8th Overall Team: New York Americans Position: D TPE: 363 Tina Hughes is in a awkward spot of being the 2nd best defensemen in this draft and as a result will likely always be compared directly to Venkman since they are fairly similar. However, Hughes hasn’t enjoyed the same offensive success that Venkman has in the M with only 27 points in 46 games, while playing on the same team. Hughes will join to good New York team next season and get to learn from a few of the league’s top defensemen! Sidney Sheppard @GoodLeftUndone Rank: 5 Draft: S98, 9th Overall Team: HC Davos Dynamo Position: C TPE: 359 Unlike every previous player, Sidney Sheppard slid considerably in the draft, however they have maintained their spot as a top prospect in the league. Additionally, they are the first player on this list that is above a point per game in the VHLM as they have 25 goals and 23 assists for a total of 48 points in 46 games played. They will be joining Davos alongside Gingy next season. Toby Bob @Baby Boomer Rank: 6 Draft: S98, 3rd Overall Team: D.C. Dragons Position: G TPE: 419 The only goalie on the list today, Toby Bob was drafted 3rd overall last draft and falls in our rankings largely due to being a goalie. Bob has been good this season for Saskatoon and has posted a 25-17-4 record with a 0.922 SV% and a 2.27 GAA. Bob will be joining the goaltending mess that is D.C. next season as they already have 2 goalies, one of which is signed long-term, IA, and about to hit depreciation, making them near impossible to move, and the other is the GM’s player. D.C.’s choice here likely comes down to when they project to be competitive. Zak Trokker @Peace Rank: 7 Draft: S98, 10th Overall Team: Warsaw Predators Position: LW TPE: 343 Zak Trokker largely got over-looked at the draft due to concerns regarding their long-term potential and while they have slowed down slightly. They have had a good season so far in the VHLM with San Diego as they currently have 36 points in 46 games. Trokker does still project as a good top-line forward and will be joining Warsaw next season. Alex Bridges IV @Oatex Rank: 8 Draft: S98, 7th Overall Team: Prague Phantoms Position: RW TPE: 339 Alex Bridges IV has been fairly solid in the VHLM this season and is one of many top prospects on Houston. Their scoring is very similar to both Copia and Gingy which is a great sign for Prague. Next season Bridges will join Prague where they will likely just replace a retiring forward and provide a good compliment to the existing core. Agustin Martinez @SleepyPlayz Rank: 9 Draft: S98, 5th Overall Team: D.C. Dragons Position: RW TPE: 336 Martinez has seen the largest drop out of any player in the S98 draft class in the top 10, this is partly due to inconsistent growth. This season their production has been on par with most the S98 class as they do have 40 points in 46 games played. Next season they will be joining D.C. who should be looking to make a step this offseason. CJ Daniels @xNJDevilsFanx Rank: 10 Draft: S97, 13th Overall – Seattle Bears Team: HC Davos Dynamo Position: RW TPE: 467 Lastly, in the 10 spot we’ve got CJ Daniels, who’s VHL journey has been slightly controversial as their rights have bounced around to 4 different teams since the draft, but they appear to have found a home in Davos and be focused on the future. In the VHLM, Daniels has been one of the league’s best players with 30 goals and 36 assists through 46 games and sits 3rd in points and 1st in goals. They will be joining Davos next season alongside their existing impressive group of rookies. Prospects Ranked 11-50: Rank Player Name Position Season TPE Team 11 RW - Ryan Mantzz RW 98 321 NYA 12 G - Chad Powers G 97 469 SEA 13 G - Pepe Silvia G 97 465 NYA 14 D - Bazooka Joe D 98 253 MAL 15 LW - Jakub Kovar LW 98 263 WAR 16 LW - Hater Tottingham LW 97 368 MAL 17 LW - MacGregor Walcott LW 98 220 MOS 18 LW - Lorenzo Mancini LW 98 215 LDN 19 D - Remain Six Meters Back From Me D 98 191 WAR 20 D - Darko Alexander Malkovich SR D 98 178 HSK 21 RW - Jacob Seed RW 97 324 LAS 22 D - Jack Jack D 97 308 CGY 23 D - Ron World Peace Jr D 97 306 LAS 24 D - Petr Novak D 97 304 DCD 25 D - Kurt Bachmann D 96 435 MAL 26 RW - Joseph Poole RW 97 310 CGY 27 RW - Raoul Cyr RW 97 302 WAR 28 RW - Nick Sansoe Jr RW 98 168 LDN 29 RW - Spallsy McDavid RW 97 299 MOS 30 D - Chris Barbre D 98 139 CGY 31 D - Dog Jagr D 96 393 VAN 32 RW - Avery Acres RW 97 260 CHI 33 D - Feka Ohi Kau D 96 372 CHI 33 C - Michael Lee Jr C 97 250 DCD 35 C - Ethan Ashcroft C 97 243 TOR 36 LW - ALTO RED LW 97 243 TOR 36 LW - Fortnite Moneygang LW 98 111 LAS 38 RW - Arochimaru Shahar RW 97 235 DCD 39 C - Gordie Howl C 98 96 NONE 40 LW - Alex Versti LW 97 232 NYA 41 D - Manuel Ceson D 96 345 DCD 42 D - Hank Smith D 97 212 MOS 43 D - Victory Hockey League D 96 343 LAS 43 RW - James Harle RW 98 94 CHI 45 G - Brian S G 97 274 DAV 46 G - whiteknight G 98 140 HSK 47 C - Jackson Jeannot C 96 348 NYA 47 D - Elisa McMuffin D 97 206 MOS 49 C - Jagger Bomb Jr C 97 213 HSK 50 G - Kim Chi G 98 135 HSK Thank you all for reading! Next week we’ll be looking at teams prospect pools and ranking them! 1401 words (2 weeks)

1. Interesting to say the least, good to shine a light on players that largely get ignored. 2. faking their own death since it’s kind of in their name 3. black and white coloured tape 4. not really since they are a goalie 5. I joined in 77 6. probably Toronto since they are in a weaker conference and seem to be pulling away slowly.

tldr: threatening to retire gets you sent to enjoy Malmao’s rebuild

When looking at the standings in the VHL right now all things look good, every team in a playoff spot has a winning record and the conferences look fairly even. However, there was one team who spent big in the offseason, and they seem to be struggling and find themselves 7 points behind a “rebuilding” team; what is going on in Prague!? At the start of the season, they we’re the 10th ranked team in the VHL, a good step behind top contenders, but at the same time 1 step ahead of everyone else, including London. Notably they do still have the VHL’s 3rd best defense on paper, yet they have the 5th most goals against through 28 games played. On the offensive side of things that’s where things seem to be going wrong, their forwards are just ahead of most rebuilding teams (ranked 10th), and it shows as they have the 11th most goals for. As for goaltending their starting goalie Ondrej Vencko is the 13th best starting goalie, but does currently have the 11th best SV%, which just isn’t good enough for a team with these aspirations. Lastly, Prague’s special teams have been abysmal with the leagues worth PK (4th most PIM as well) and the 12th best powerplay. As for individual players only 1 player is actually performing as advertised, that being Matteo Steffano, who is currently Prague’s only player above a point per game. Other players just haven’t taken a step or fulfilled the role that they were brought in to do. Lucy Leitner a huge offseason acquisition is on pace for their worst season since their rookie campaign and Pan Daffleck just hasn’t progressed offensively despite being the 1st overall pick 3 seasons ago. The player that was meant to lead their offense this season, Erik Thorvaldsson has been lackluster with only 12 goals and a total of 26 points in 28 games played. Of note almost the entire roster has a positive +/-, with the odd man out being the aforementioned Dafleck, meaning that special teams really is the issue for this team. Now what can Prague do to bridge the gap to the playoff teams and catch London? Step 1 has to be addressing their goaltending by bringing in Roger Eagles from LA, however that would be expensive and at a minimum cost Prague their top 2 prospects. A better option could be trading for Ryan Artyomov from Chicago since they are retiring after this season which will just give Vencko that much more time to develop into a feasible goalie. As for their forwards, there’s two players that would help fill the gap, either Gustav Mathias who could be a good budget option, or Joshua Schwarzer who while more expensive would be a truly top end solution for the Phantoms that would breathe new life into their offense and special teams. Can Prague still make the playoffs? Yes, but will it be an uphill battle 100% as with each sim the gap to the playoffs only gets more difficult to overcome. Keep in mind now that I've written this they will win their next 10 straight. 509 words

1. So far it has been our offense, would be nice to see it round out a bit. 2. Moscow, their goalie is a garbage person, and their GM is old @Spartan 3. Yes! would be funny 4. MORE TPE 5. locker room activity 6. a red panda... that is dead

2/2

Tampering! Ban this man!

We were purple first, therefore pressure is the one and only fake purple. It’s also not a rivalry since Prague is just bad.

Buffalo phoenix

Hi everyone, as the offseason is coming to an end, let’s take a look back at each teams offseason, recap all the moves, and signings, and look at how each team will enter the next season! North American Conference Calgary Wranglers Acquired: Yaboi Oven @Doomsday Boris Bone-Breaker @RileyL Jean-Pierre Devote @eagle_3450 S98 2nd (x2 – 21, 24) S100 3rd Moved Out: Leif Reingaard Carson Tripp S100 1st S100 2nd Free Agency: None Draft: 21 – C. Barbre @The Wreckening 24 – V. Martinez @bigdolla Grade: B Calgary had just a very tidy offseason, 1 huge trade gives them both a top defensemen for the short term, and a top young player, only concern would be replacing Oven next season, but for now it was a very well done and simple offseason for the Wranglers. Chicago Phoenix Acquired: Jacob Smith Jr @jacobaa19 S99 2nd S99 3rd S100 1st (2x) S100 2nd (3x) Moved Out: Karol Lamb Vanuza Kolesinka Spanish Moon Moth Lionel Collberg YaBoi Oven Jean-Pierre Devote Boris Bone Breaker S99 4th S100 3rd Free Agency: Eno Velvson @Nykonax Draft: 22 – J. Harle @James Harle Grade: A Chicago had a very good selling offseason and probably one of the best in the league when you consider that they really didn’t have much to sell. The focus on the S100 draft is a great place to start and build for the next generation. D.C. Dragons Acquired: Yaroslav Trunov @qripll Leif Reingaard @Zetterberg Dan Jr @Danzo S98 1st (3) Moved Out: S98 1st (2x – 12, 13) S98 2nd (2x – 21, 24) S99 1st S99 2nd S100 4th Free Agency: Nikita Yolishev @Joel Main Draft: 3 – T. Bob @Baby Boomer 5 – A. Martinez @SleepyPlayz Grade: B- D.C. deserves a round of applause for their draft trade where they just fleeced London for 3rd overall! However, they have set up a very difficult goaltending situation moving forward with 2 young prospects and their current starter (Benson) signed for 3 more seasons creating a long-term issue. Los Angeles Stars Acquired: Bret Weier @Quanack S98 2nd (23) S99 2nd Moved Out: Hater Tottingham Free Agency: None Draft: 20 – Pick forfeited due to violation of spirit of competition rules 23 – F. Moneygang @Max77 Grade: F Moved out a solid prospect for an older one with a considerably lower ceiling, did gain 2 draft picks but those likely won’t materialize into much given the limited depth of upcoming drafts. While the roster does have young players coming up, larger pieces could have been moved to help move the rebuild along and speed things up. New York Americans Acquired: Guntis Gavilrovs @Girts UghSike @UghSike Moved Out: Wayne Gretzky S99 3rd S100 4th Free Agency: None Draft: 6 – R. Mantzz @Rkhockey9 8 – T. Hughes @tinafrombobsburgers Grade: A+ New York did very well this offseason and may have just done everything right, they gain a much needed 2nd elite defensemen, and arguably won the draft. Very clean work for the Americans and they go into the season as a favourite in the North American Conference as a result. Seattle Bears Acquired: Slava Kovalenko @OblivionWalker Bric Sheithaus @Oldhead91 S99 1st S99 2nd Moved Out: Vladimir Trunov Theo Allard S98 3rd S99 2nd S100 1st S100 2nd S100 4th Free Agency: None Draft: None Grade: B Seattle’s recent plan of trading picks for established prospects continues to work well for the defending champs. The Trunov/Allard trade likely could have gone better for Seattle (given further Trunov trades), but at the end of they day a very good offseason from DA BEARZ! Toronto Legion Acquired: Spanish Moon Moth @Renomitsu S100 3rd Moved Out: Wayne Shotzky S99 2nd S99 3rd Free Agency: Raimo Tuominen @SlapshotLegion Toby Kadachi @ROOKIE745 Draft: None Grade: B+ Toronto had a very good offseason, while the roster did get older, they managed to extend their window another season without sacrificing their impending rebuild which looks like it will start off with the S100 draft. It is also worth mentioning that the Legion did very well in free agency to land the top 2 available players. Vancouver Wolves Acquired: Wayne Gretzky @MubbleFubbles Lionel Collberg @Masu Chan Dog Jagr @koty_k S99 2nd S100 1st Moved Out: Guntis Gavilrovs Matteo Stefano S98 3rd S100 2nd Free Agency: None Draft: None Grade: C There’s a place called cap hell, and Vancouver is there. Going into the season with a very limited roster seems to be both a good and bad thing for the Wolves and their success is likely dependant on their ability to use their remaining cap space to improve the roster later in the season. European Conference HC Davos Dynamo Acquired: S98 1st (4) S99 3rd S99 4th S100 4th Moved Out: Grimgor Ironhide UghSike Armas Jortikka Borat S98 2nd (25) S99 2nd S99 3rd S99 4th S100 4th Free Agency: None Draft: 4 – Gingy @MexicanCow123 9 – S. Sheppard @GoodLeftUndone Grade: A+ @Pifferfish aided with grading for Davos (I’m bias). Davos’s offseason was a very easy one as they had some great cap management with the Ironhide trade, and with that the draft went as well as it could have as they landed 2 of the top 5 players in terms of TPE. Helsinki Titans Acquired: Karol Lamb @dlamb Vanuza Kolesinska @chikn Martin Kemp @leafsman Grimgor Ironhide @FrostBeard Philip Rave @tcookie Jorgen Lovstrom @Pifferfish Conference Prince-de-Galles @UnkemptCL4PTP Wayne Shotzky @Kenamatic S98 2nd (25) S98 3rd S98 4th S99 2nd S99 3rd S99 4th S100 3rd S100 4th Moved Out: Piston Maicupp Austin Goulet III Bric Sheithaus Maple Dogwood Matthew Highmore Elf Shoes Kurt Bachman S98 1st (4) S99 1st (2x) S99 2nd (2x) S100 1st S100 2nd Free Agency: None Draft: 16 – D. A. Malkovich Sr @AColdCanadian 19 – whiteknight @shaun1979 25 – K. Chi @AW13 28 – X. Dumont @Xavier Dumont 29 – C. Rowsonet @Coleman23224 32 – K. Fugel @STLblues77 Grade: D+ Helsinki had a weird offseason, they bought while the existing roster was nowhere ready to compete, and as a result their window is suddenly really short. While most trades on the surface didn’t go well, they did manage to hit the Lovstrom trade straight out of the park! London United Acquired: S98 1st (13) S99 1st S99 4th Moved Out: S98 1st (3) Jacob Smith Jr Free Agency: None Draft: 13 – L. Mancini @GioSivo 19 – N. Sansoe Jr @Tipskid97 31 – J. Stilevbeks @jpach52 Grade: D London was doing really well by just doing nothing this offseason, letting the young players grow, and just being patient. However, they left a lot of people scratching their heads as they moved the 3rd overall pick in a strong early part of the draft for a clicker/welfare+ prospect and a future 1st round pick from a playoff hopeful team. IF that pick ends up in the lottery and wins it’s a huge win, but if it doesn’t it will be very difficult to look at this trade as a win. Malmo Nighthawks Acquired: Kurt Bachman @Blutch Hater Tottingham @Trunkxolotl Elf Shoes @ELF_SH0ES Matthew Highmore @NineIQ v2 Austin Goulet III @Tuchy Piston Maicupp @MandyManiac Armas Jortikka @Kavadar S98 1st (2x – 1, 12) S98 4th S99 1st (2x) S99 2nd (2x) S99 3rd (2x) S99 4th S100 4th Moved Out: Lucy Leitner Martin Kemp Bret Weier Phillip Rave Jorgen Lovstrom Conference Prince-de-Galles Vlad Von Carstein S98 2nd (23) S98 4th S99 2nd S99 3rd S99 4th S100 3rd Free Agency: Robin Sierra @ethanjaeda Draft: 1 – C. Copia @Beketov 12 – B. Joe @ScottyP Grade: B+ Malmo got a lot for Leitner, more than anyone would have expected, which really set the offseason off with a bang. Outside of that trade they did acquire probably around 2 prospects with a decent long-term outlook, but other than that starting out a rebuild building around the S98 and S99 draft classes could be very tough, when the depth of the classes is rather limited. Getting Copia is a huge win, however, Lucy will be put to the test as they try and build around them. Moscow Menace Acquired: S99 2nd Moved Out: Tommy Shelby Free Agency: Carson Tripp @Cartripp14 Draft: 14 – M. Walcott @Spade18 30 – H. Elsetronningen @Albifon Grade: B+ Moscow did borderline, essentially nothing, extended key pieces, and did a overall very good job of managing the cap in a season where it could be their last before a minor re-tool. Overall, a very good offseason, just not much to talk about for the Menace. Prague Phantoms Acquired: Lucy Leitner @LucyXpher Matteo Stefano @mmrs617 S98 3rd Moved Out: Dog Jagr S98 1st (1) S98 2nd (23) S98 4th S99 2nd (2x) S99 3rd S99 4th S100 1st Free Agency: Filip Zinek @FiZi Draft: 7 – A. Bridges IV @Oatex Grade: D If Helsinki buying was confusing, Prague buying is perplexing. Trading 1st overall was a weird one, and while they did get a good top end player, they have 2 players who will be better in 2 seasons. Patience would have paid off huge for Prague, however, they did do a couple things really well, and as a result they are still trending in the right direction, but will likely have a similar season to S98. Riga Reign Acquired: Maple Dogwood @dogwoodmaple Vlad Von Carstein @Dom Tommy Shelby @Will Theo Allard @InstantRockstar S99 2nd S100 4th (2x) Moved Out: Dan Jr S99 1st S99 2nd S100 3rd Free Agency: None Draft: None Grade: B It’s tough to quantify Riga’s offseason as they were very limited in what they could do. With that being said they did do a good job to stay competitive for one last season before hitting the reset button after S98. Warsaw Predators Acquired: S99 2nd S100 1st S100 2nd Moved Out: Slava Kovalenko Free Agency: None Draft: 2 – P. Venkman @Josh 10 – Z. Trokker @Peace 11 – J. Kovar @MichkovSzn 15 – R. S. M. B. F. Me @Gaming Ringleader 17 – K. El @Viper 26 – D. Novak @tworivers 27 – D. Pasta @Agito Grade: C+ The Kovalenko trade for Warsaw essentially just pushes their timeline a few more seasons down the line, however they did do very well in the draft, and should be looking to pick up a top goaltending prospect in the near future or the next draft to round out their future core. Season preview coming tomorrow! 1600+ words

Honestly for me it just came down to that IF Malmo had a league average goalie they are still very much a top 2 team in the EU last season, GAA is a weird stat since it's very much a team stat, and while Lovstrom did have a spectacular season, they really weren't the main reason for Malmo's success given that they did have the 3rd most goals in the league. Whereas, Toronto was carried into the playoffs by Callahan and he was without a doubt the main reason for Toronto's success.

The easy solution and what I used to do is to go back to the nominee post and just bold the winners. That is also supposed to be done so people have a clear post to claim TPE from.

Honestly you’re probably dead in the middle, will make the playoffs, but a good step behind Davos/Moscow.

Note: TPE Values maybe dated as they were input at a earlier date Written by: @Pifferfish, me, and @Doomsday (2 weeks for doom)