VSN Presents: S79 VHLM Power Rankings #1

[Alex 2,869]

Now that the season has had some time to take shape it brings us to our first VHLM power rankings of the season. There’s a lot of teams that are neck and neck and it will be very interesting to see how the season shapes up as we near the playoffs. We’ve got a tight race among the top three teams that could have realistically been in any order and then most other teams are in a close battle for the rest of the playoff spots. While you’re here be sure to check out some of the other awesome VSN articles!

 

A Sit-Down With the New VHLE GM's and Commissioners | Season 79 Off-Season Trade Reviews

 

 

Current: 1

GM @KaleebtheMighty has put together a team that is currently on fire winning their last 14 games to advance to a record of 22-4-1. During this stretch, Philadelphia’s offence has been the best in the league as Darth Kaprizov @Darth Kaprizov, Miroslav Tsarov @PadStack, and Gregory Bates @Tyler find themselves 2nd, 3rd, and 4th in league scoring respectively, with Tsarov leading the league in goals.Philadelphia’s defensive group has been the very definition of shutdown defense and have as they have allowed only 77 goals against specifically, waiver signing NinelQPro @NineIQ v2 has worked their way to a +24 and the hard hitting Ron Gorgonzola @Ron Gorgonzola is on their way to a solid season themselves. In net, Tobias Reinhart @Spaz looks to build on his previous season in Philadelphia and hopes to carve his name into the Philadelphia record books as they are quickly closing in on 4th all time in wins and SV%. Philadelphia has proven themselves to be a true powerhouse in the league and it is without a doubt that they are currently the team to beat in the league and will have a game against another Eastern Conference favourite later today that may bring the streak to an end.

 

Current: 2

The Hounds take the spot here given their solid record and that they will only get better as the season goes along. Currently 16-4-2 and in 2nd place in the eastern conference the Hounds are trying to make a statement. Led by off-season trade acquisition Otto Numminen @Otto Numminen who’s recorded 37 points on the season so far. Alongside Numminen you’ll find Nathaniel Minion @Minion and Sigard Petrenko @SlapshotDragon, both of whom already have over 30 points. On the defensive side of things is where Mississauga falters a little bit, as they lack defensive depth like most teams in the M this season. A top pair of Corey Kitson @Nykonax  and Tony Adams @fonziGG is solid, and both will approach the 250 TPE cap towards playoffs. In net is longtime VHLM veteran Luke Spinelli @Lspinelli who has put together a 24-4-2 record with a 2.70 GAA, and a 0.899 SV%. Over the course of the rest of the season Mississauga will try to work their way back to being the favourites after suffering losses to Saskatoon, Ottawa, and Yukon.

 

Current: 3

The Mexico City Kings have worked their way to a dominant lead over the rest of their conference and have proven difficult for other top teams as well. Led by Sunrise van de Schubbekuteveen @Thunfish who is currently 5th in VHLM points with 47 points in 28 games, as well as Deke Rike @JCV who has recorded 34 assists. The true leader of the Mexico City Kings however comes in net, with Bastian Greiss @ThatsGreissy who has put together an MVP like performance so far this season posting a 2.58 GAA, 0.907 SV%, on his way to a 23-5-0 record. In front of Griess Mexico has a solid defensive core that does leave a little to be desired, but with pieces like Rhys Trenton @DeeGoat and Flynn Remy @jhatty8 they will only get better as the season goes on. Mexico has found their way to being the team to beat in the west by playing a solid defensive game and limiting the opponent's scoring chances. It will be interesting to see if they can be caught down the stretch by Saskatoon.

 

Current: 4

After coming into the season as a potential favourite Miami struggled against Philadelphia losing the season series after going 3-5-0. Since then, Miami has found their stride breaking out to a 14-10-3 record, good enough for third in the eastern conference. Offensively Mikey Makarov @JetsFan81 has put together a respectable season for Miami scoring 22 goals and having 47 points in 27 games. Supporting Makarov, Matty Fire @MattyIce and Roberts Stuzle @Coldex are both above a point per game. Miami has possibly the most complete defensive group in the VHLM following a trade that saw them acquire Bob Beach @Big Bob and Ryan Vidot @Enorama from Yukon in exchange for draft picks, adding onto an already strong group featuring Alessandro Nano @leafsman and Hari Singh Nalwa @Dil. Backstopping this team, S79 10th overall pick Em Em Flex @oilmandan looks to be a great addition after having a 2.90 GAA, and 0.896 SV% through 27 games. Miami has worked their way back into the title conversation following a rough start to the season and will only get better as the season goes on. Miami will likely find themselves in a battle with Saskatoon for the 4th seed and home ice advantage in a tight battle with Saskatoon.

 

Current: 5

Saskatoon has had another season where they are sneaky good and pose a threat to any of the top teams. Lead by an offensive juggernaut in Duncan Montana @124715 who has had more than 2 points per game so far this season. Additionally, Kyle Peace @Peace has found his way to being 8th in league scoring alongside Montana. In stark contrast to their offence Saskatoon’s lacks a clear number 1 defenseman and would benefit greatly from another D-man or 2. In goal Leroy Johnson @Vkobe-v has taken the starting job and ran with it to a 17-4-2 record as backup Orion D H Chiester IX @Donno100 struggles and has yet to earn a win in 6 games played. Look for Saskatoon to try to add some defensive depth as the trade deadline nears as they’ll need it to truly be competitive with the top teams. 

Current: 6

The Ottawa Lynx have had a tough start to the season in a very tough Eastern Conference and have stolen games from both Philadelphia and Mississauga, proving that they can compete with the big dogs. Ottawa boasts a very well-rounded team with no one standout player, a top line of John Baard @Birdman, Zen Raider @bRaidsz, and Armani Calamari @WildfireMicro shows promise and will continue to improve. On the defensive side of things, the free agent signing of New Player @I'll change this later has been mutually beneficial, and will likely continue to be a great signing. Alex Parise @Joker_TM has the pleasure of backstopping this team and will likely be under a lot of pressure as the season goes on to perform to the best of their abilities as they will be instrumental to Ottawa’s success. Ottawa appears to be targeting a run for the Founder’s cup next season as they currently have a pair of first round picks in the upcoming draft. Should Ottawa choose to they could just as easily go all in and quickly find themselves in the mix for one of the top spots in their conference. 

 

Current: 7

The Storm currently have the worst goal differential in the league, to Minnesota’s credit they have also already played the top three teams a few times each in which they have had a few very close games. Like Halifax Minnesota could see their playoff hopes dwindle throughout the season as teams in the Western conference play each other more. Minnesota does have a good top forward line of Finn Davis @M1nT, Logain Ablar @Kelsier, and Caleb Gaudette @Gaudette. Possibly Minnesota’s biggest trade asset comes in their number 1 pure offensive defenseman Jocke Jockesson @ThomasSyster, who has found themselves in the midst of a close defensemen scoring race and only trails by a few points. In goal, Minnesota has their likely goaltender for next season in Alexei Volkov @Silver Warrior who has only allowed 1 goal on 35 shots against during the one game they have played. Minnesota’s window to win a Founder’s cup may have closed with their previous team but, they could very well find themselves back in the playoffs this season if they are able to shore up their lackluster defensive play.

 

Current: 8

The 21st may just sneak into a playoff spot this season after clearly defining themselves as sellers by shipping Jlloyd Blloyoiderson @Cxsquared to Miami for season 80 draft picks. Halifax still has some scoring options with Jacob Richard @Jacob Richard, Bryn Yrwy @dylanjj37, and Zach Kisslinger II @Kisslinger up front of a near empty defensive group. Truthfully, Halifax’s playoff hopes ride on one person and one alone with David Davis @Josh in net. Davis has had a good season so far with a 13-10-5 record, 3.52 GAA, and a 0.883 SV%. At this point I think it’s fair to assume that we will start to see Halifax slide down the standings and possibly out of the playoff picture all together. Crazier things have happened though and Halifax could hit a stroke of luck and suddenly be battling with the other teams in a stacked eastern conference as the playoffs near.

 

Current: 9

Prior to the season Las Vegas was one of the favourites to come out of the western conference, a deep forward group, a solid top 2 D, and a good goalie. With this combination of pieces, we could very well see Las Vegas start to climb the standing any day. Las Vegas has one thing not a lot of teams in the VHLM have, 2 top defensemen in Zdeno Chara @Agito and Pistol Pete @PistolP who have both had a great season already with 34 and 23 points respectively. Las Vegas has a solid tandem in net with Anime Protagonist @Jericho and Pekka Grubauer @Tendy, Grubauer will likely take over for Protagonist next season as the starter in Las Vegas and currently has the pleasure of watching a long-time VHLM great. The Aces offensive group has more depth than any other team in the VHLM with 10 total skaters, featuring a top line of Mats Zuccarelo @Battlepopcorn, Bill Nye @Big Newff, and Giles Sweeney @Giles Rigel, all of whom have at least 15 points so far this season. With Las Vegas’ already deep forward group, and good defence and goalie this team should be performing better, and I’m sure we will see a sign from them on what their direction this season will be soon as they very well could start to climb the standings and battle it out for a playoff spot. Don’t be surprised if you see this team up around the 6th/7th seed come playoffs as they nearly have all the necessary pieces to pull off an impressive playoff run.

 

Current: 10

Much like Las Vegas San Diego did look like they could extend their playoff streak to 3 seasons and still very well could as they have filled the gap in their first line center position with recent free agent signing Brock Hampton @SamTwoSix who joins San Diego after being released by Halifax due to inactivity. With the new signing, San Diego has a great starting lineup and has been able to gain a lot of offensive depth with waiver signings. San Diego also has an above average top 2 D pair in Jyuunya Pureya Oneri Desu @Guriinwoodo and Vanek Lospenov @usouj, the latter of which has shown some discontent with San Diego’s position in the standings as they clearly want to win now. In goal San Diago has their goalie of the future with Calgary Wranglers prospect Elijah Mikaelson @Da Trifecta who will need to improve their play for San Diego to have a chance at the post season as they currently have a 0.865 SV% and a 4.06 GAA, with this it is important to note that San Diego has allowed the 5th most shots on goal so Mickaelson will be in for a long season ahead. Much like Las Vegas, this San Diego team could make a run at making the playoffs and the signing of Brock Hampton appears to be indicative of that, the question is with San Diego already 9 points back of the final playoff spot it may just be too deep of a hole for them to climb out of.

 

Current:  11

The season 78 Founder’s Cup champions may just squeak their way back into the playoffs this season in a weak western conference. This is a team full of players who will more than likely be back in the VHLM next season as Yukon will look to win it’s second Founder’s Cup in 3 seasons. Earlier this season Yukon traded their top 2 defensemen for a handful of draft picks to build on their already massive number of picks. This season their playoff hopes fall on their goalie like a few other teams as Oskar Lindbergh @Doomsday will need to carry this group to the playoffs and just maybe into postseason success. Currently Lindbergh has a very impressive 0.911 SV% good enough to be one of the best goalies in the league. Only time will tell if this Yukon Rush group can make some noise this season having already pulled off an underdog victory against Mississauga, we may be in for a show in the near future though as Yukon has all the draft picks they need to be a number 1 contender next season.

 

Current: 12

The Houston Bulls have a great starting lineup but lack depth as a whole for this very reason they find themselves near the bottom of the league and could start to sell pieces soon, as GM @rjfryman will be going to the VHLE next season and could look to leave the new GM with a mountain of draft picks to build the team their own way. As a result, we should look for Houston to be a top contender in the coming seasons and potentially be Founder’s cup favourites in seasons 80 and 81 under their new management team.

 

That’s all for this edition of the VHLM power rankings, and we are left with a lot of questions at this point; will Philadelphia be able to continue their ridiculous winning streak, will Mississauga crumble under the pressure as they have done in previous seasons come playoffs, will Las Vegas and San Diego be able to climb the standings and compete for the final few playoff spots. Only time will tell, and we should get some answers soon as the season moves along. Comment down below if you agree or disagree with the rankings. Until next time stay safe and have a good day!

Edited August 6, 2021 by Mr_Hatter

[Enorama 1,980]

1 minute ago, Alex_J32 said:

Ryan Vignot

 

Who dat

[Viper 528]

4 minutes ago, Enorama said:

 

Who dat

ryan vidot's cousin

[AJW 1,738]

[Darth Kaprizov 98]

we'll see what happens in about 30 min....

[Alex 2,869]

19 minutes ago, Darth Kaprizov said:

we'll see what happens in about 30 min....

Realistically 1 and 2 will be decided with the sim, it was so close I went with recent play and the overall strength of each teams schedule to figure it out

[Agito 212]

[Ron Gorgonzola 50]

WE ARE NUMBER 1

 

WE ARE NUMBER 1

[NineIQ v2 30]

This is news to me I don't even look at my +/- only at my points, goals and that other I don't want to bother typing.

[N0HBDY 1,005]

Did Halifax dirty