VHL Draft: All-Time Best #18 - #13

[animal74 1,855]

 

Thanks for joining VSN for Part 2 of our look at the all-time best picks of the VHL Draft covering picks #18 - #13. Check out Part 1 (#24 - #19) which was expertly crafted by my esteemed VSN colleague and legendary wordsmith, @Doomsday. Be sure to check out all the other fantastic content being produced for your visual perusal by the rest of the fabulous VSN crew!

 

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#18. Norris Stopko, G @Bushito

Drafted: 2nd Round, 8th Pick, S57 

Teams: , , 

Highlights: VHL Hall of Fame (S65), Continental Cup Champion x2 (S62, S64), Aidan Shaw Trophy x3 (S61, S62, S64), Daisuke Kanou Trophy x2 (S63, S64), Greg Clegane Trophy x2 (S61, S62), Dustin Funk Trophy (S61)

 

Aside from Alex Gegeny drafted at #22, legendary goaltender Norris Stopko might just be the next biggest draft day steal in VHL history when the Stockholm Vikings selected the Canadian netminder with the 18th pick in the S57 Entry Draft. Stopko played only one ill-fated season with the Vikings before they merged with the Calgary Wranglers which led to him playing out the rest of his storied career in his native country. It took three seasons for the Wranglers to catch up to Stopko’s growing brilliance and then he was almost unbeatable as he took them to three consecutive Cup Finals, including one win and then orchestrated another Cup win with Toronto in his final season. His outstanding playoff performances resulted in two Daisuke Kanou (Playoff MVP) Trophies including a co-win despite losing in the Finals. He has the best career save percentage (0.932) of any goalie who has played in 44 or more playoff games. Stopko was ranked the #48 best player in the VHL’s first 75 seasons.

 

Honorable Mention: Jardy Bunclewirth, LW @JardyB10: S16

 

 

#17. Brad Janssen, C/D @BRAD JANSSEN

Drafted: 3rd Round, 1st Pick, S1 

Teams: , , 

Highlights: Continental Cup Champion x3 (S2, S6, S7), World Cup Gold (S4)

 

Although Brad Janssen is not one of the more well-known stars of the VHL’s early years, he was nevertheless a fantastic player in his own right and one of the first multi-positional trailblazers in the league. He was the second player in league history to win a Continental Cup with three different teams (Scotty Campbell was the first). After two successful seasons in Calgary including the Wranglers first Championship in S2, Janssen was moved to Helsinki where he changed to defense and helped the Titans make the Cup Finals three times in four seasons culminating in the franchise’s first Continental Cup in S6. That season he also became the second defenseman in VHL history to scored 40+ goals (41). He won his third Cup with Avangard in S7 and after his final season in S8, Janssen finished his career with 703 points (7th all-time as of then) and 42 points in 51 playoff games.

 

Honorable Mentions: Berocka Sundqvist, D @Berocka: S67, Finn Davison, G @Poptart: S64

 

 

#16. Thomas Landry, RW @Doomsday

Drafted: 2nd Round, 6th Pick, S33 

Teams: , ,

Highlights: Continental Cup Champion x2 (S36, S38), Grimm Jonsson Trophy x2 (S36, S37) World Cup Gold (S34)

 

It’s hard to imagine now that power forward Thomas Landry was passed over by every other team in the VHL (some of them three times) by the time New York made their first pick in the S33 Draft at 16th overall. The little-known American was on the rise after consecutive Founder’s Cups. He then captained Team USA to the S34 World Cup Gold and his reputation as an up-and-coming leader was officially launched. He was traded to Davos after his rookie season where he cemented his Mark Messier-like status. He was the captain of the Dynamo from S36-S39 and led them to the Continental Cup Finals each of those seasons winning two championships in S36 and S39. Landry produced one of the penultimate clutch playoff performances in S36 when the Dynamo were down 3-1 in the Finals against Toronto. He posted 2-1-3 in the next two elimination games and then scored the opening goal in Davos’ 2-1 Game 7 win to push his team to the victory. His seven points in the three final games doubled his production in the previous 10 games. He would win the Grimm Jonsson Trophy as the league’s Top Leader in S36 & S37 and finish his career with a season in Calgary and 621 points.   

 

Honorable Mentions: Petr Shirokov, D @nibbz: S1, Brody Hodgson, C @Tylar: S28

 

 

#15. Slava Aleksei, RW/D @Tyler

Drafted: 2nd Round, 5th Pick, S54 

Teams: , ,

Highlights: Continental Cup Champion x3 (S57, S58, S61), Mikka Virkkunen Trophy (S56)

 

This was a very close choice as there are no HOFers ever drafted at #15, but a couple of blueliners emerged as the best, albeit they were totally different players in different eras. While the HM Michael Angelo was a premier offensive defenseman for six seasons and won a Continental Cup and Rookie of the Year honors, Slava Aleksei, who was selected by Riga as a right winger, switched to defense after his rookie season and became an all-around rock for three Continental Cup teams (two with Riga and one with Davos). Aleksei took a while to reach the big league but once he did he was second in rookie scoring in S56 with 82 points and zero penalty minutes which garnered him the Mikka Virkkunen Trophy (Most Sportsmanlike). He continued his gentlemanly ways totaling less than 100 penalty minutes in his first five seasons. The likeable German was also as consistent as they come as he was a plus player, scored 14+ goals and 60+ points and made the playoffs in each of his six VHL campaigns.

 

Honorable Mention: Michael Angelo, D @Advantage: S18

 

#14. Zach Arce, RW @Arce

Drafted: 2nd Round, 6th Pick, S9 

Teams: /,

Highlights: VHL Hall of Fame (S15), Continental Cup Champion x3 (S11, S13, S14), Gretzky (Scotty Campbell) Trophy x2 (S12, S13), Lemieux (Mike Szatkowski) Trophy x2 (S12, S13), Brett Slobodzian Trophy x2 (S12, S13), Mikita (Alexander Beketov) Trophy (S13)

 

Despite a short five-year career, Zach Arce quickly ascended into the VHL list of legends as his sublime passing skills dazzled fans and opponents alike. The Danish star was Avagard’s fourth pick in the S9 draft but was the only player in his class to reach the Hall of Fame, only one of three to win a Continental Cup and the only player to win three Cups. After a moderately successful rookie campaign of 56 points, Arch and his teammates kicked off their first season in Davos with the franchise’s second championship. Arch averaged over 116 points in his final three seasons, leading the league in scoring twice, assists once, and was handed both MVP trophies (voted by the league – Gretzky Trophy - and by players – Slobodzian Trophy) twice. He would win the Cup again with Davos in S13 and help New York win its first Cup in S14. He finished with a 1.36 points/game in the regular season and 44 points in 41 playoff games.

 

Honorable Mention: Christoph Klose, LW @der meister: S40

 

#13. Chris Julien, LW @arcbee07

Drafted: 2nd Round, 5th Pick, S1 

Teams: //

Highlights: Grimm Jonsson Trophy (S3), World Cup Gold x2 (S2, S6)

 

Although there have never been any HOFers selected at #13 in the history of the VHL, (and that may soon change after Andrew Su winds down his career), this was still a tough decision. Go with the player with the most points who many see as an HOF snub? Or the really good player who won four Continental Cups with the dynasty Seattle Bears? Or the aforementioned future inductee who’s still going strong with an overflowing trophy case? Long before the likes of stars such as Fredinamijs Krigars, Edwin Prencarnacion, Podrick Cast, and Lincoln Tate suited up for the Riga Reign, there was Chris Julien. The Stockholm Thunder’s second-ever draft pick in the league’s first season would become the first face of the franchise and set a high bar for those who came after him. While team success was not a common theme in those early days in Sweden, Julien would lead the then-named Rams to the S4 Continental Cup Finals against Scotty Campbell’s Seattle Bears where the Bears would prevail in five games. Julien was second in playoff scoring only to Campbell, finishing with 18 points in 11 games and two game-winning goals. That would be the closest he would get to a VHL championship although he did win two World Cup Gold Medals with Team Switzerland in S2 and S6. He was named team captain in three separate seasons and his leadership was recognized league-wide when awarded the Grimm Jonsson Trophy in S3. Chris Julien remains the franchise’s all-time leading goal scorer with 341 goals (tied for 40th all-time in league history) and second to Krigars with 711 points and is one of only seven players with 700+ points not in the Hall of Fame.

 

Honorable Mentions: Scott Greene, C @DoktorFunk: S67, Andrew Su, C @Da_Berr: S72

 

In conclusion, the majority of the players we looked at were 2nd-rounders and as expected, had more success than the first group of #19 - #24 picks. There were four Hall of Famers mentioned and there’s more to come. Stay tuned next week as our countdown continues, going from the 12th overall pick down to the 7th overall pick!

Edited April 20, 2022 by animal74
Tagging @Arce

[JardyB10 4,868]

Of course an all-time great has to be drafted in my storied 18th overall

[DoktorFunk 810]

Well, Scott Greene was at least CLOSE to greatness. I guess he'll just have to settle for having his name on the Cup four times 

[Banackock 8,137]

2 hours ago, DoktorFunk said:

Well, Scott Greene was at least CLOSE to greatness. I guess he'll just have to settle for having his name on the Cup four times 

he was ok

[animal74 1,855]

2 hours ago, DoktorFunk said:

Well, Scott Greene was at least CLOSE to greatness. I guess he'll just have to settle for having his name on the Cup four times 

Yeah, four Cups just doesn't cut it anymore.

[Victor 11,021]

Offended Jardy didn't beat out Stopko tbh.

[animal74 1,855]

8 hours ago, Victor said:

Offended Jardy didn't beat out Stopko tbh.

You would be as you were the only panelist out of 6 to rank Jardy ahead of Stopko in the Top 75! 

[Beketov 9,101]

On 6/11/2021 at 6:05 PM, animal74 said:

Yeah, four Cups just doesn't cut it anymore.

Stats > Individual awards > Cups

 

Cups are cool and fun but they are a team thing. An average player can get onto a dynasty team and get a bunch of cups.

[JardyB10 4,868]

16 hours ago, Victor said:

Offended Jardy didn't beat out Stopko tbh.

 

3 hours ago, Beketov said:

Stats > Individual awards > Cups

Admittedly I’m not familiar with Stopko’s stats, but by this metric he may be a bit better (though I would argue Awards > Stats). Jardy just had the four very strong seasons out of six, and never won a playoff MVP. Although, counterpoint for Jardy, Stopko never won a Campbell.

 

 I’m still offended though! 

Edited June 14, 2021 by JardyB10

[animal74 1,855]

Claim #2 (1200+ words)