A Challenger Appears

[ColeMrtz 571]

Zeljko Ranogajec the VHL defenseman shares a name with a real world gambler of Australian origin. The name was chosen as any player I make is guaranteed to be a gamble, and I might as well embrace it at this point. However, this season begs an interesting question for Zeljko, which may push him to become a true top pair D-man for the VHL should it go his way. That question: Is Zeljko Ranogajec the best defenseman in the VHLM? There is definite merit to this question, which I never thought Zeljko would even be near that conversation. On one of the league's bottom feeding teams this season, Zeljko led all defensemen in points and the entire league in assists, with 90 and 84 respectively. But being an offensive threat doesn't make you a strong defenseman, if you don't excel at the other end of the ice that point generation is all for nothing. No worries, as Zeljko also placed 4th in shots blocked and 3rd in hits, at 127 and 292. While +/- suffered this season, which is to be expected from a non-competitive roster, few other defensemen consistently punched in the top 10 across the other primary defensive metrics, and those who did fell a ways behind the Australian defender. Only time will tell if Zeljko walks away with the award, but it is a very real possibility.

 

I realized after writing everything that the portal has fucked up metrics for players who were traded so it may not be 100% accurate, but regardless Zeljko still punches very high in this seasons defensive ranks.