VHLM Superthread Rankings

[Grape 533]

Disclaimer: Numbers not completely up to date. Calculations were made at the beginning of the week.

 

Mexico City Kings

Current Ranking: 8

My Ranking: 10

 

Mexico City is clearly the worst team in the VHLM at this time. They have the weakest forward group and defense group, and the only shining spot on their team is in goal. It’s pretty obvious that this is a tank season for the Kings, hoping to snag some top tier talent in the draft, and with the removal of the draft lottery due to the promotion of 2 VHLM teams to the VHLE, that’s pretty much guaranteed. In terms of draft picks, they hold all their picks plus an extra 5th and 6th. With few players primed to graduate to the VHLE next season, they could be a top end team by next season. Selling off the few pieces they have could give them an extra kick in terms of draft capital. Feel free to dismiss this team for this season, but beware of them next season.

 

Miami Marauders

Current Ranking: 10

My Ranking: 9

 

While Miami is definitely better than Mexico City, it’s not by much. Their offense, defense, and goaltending are all 9th on my list, basically determining the Marauders as the 9th best team in the league. Just like Mexico City, it's tank season. In terms of draft picks, they hold all theirs but their 6th, but also have an extra 4th and 5th. Examining the team, however, there appears to be more pieces they could sell off. They have several players, at least one for each position who could be moved. Nevertheless, Miami and Mexico are in a tank competition, and with the assets Miami holds, they could very well stay 10th and beat out Mexico for 1st overall.

Las Vegas

Current Ranking: 4

My Ranking: 8

 

This team pisses me off. Now I know my numbers are a bit outdated, but they have not improved enough within the week to be doing this well in the league. Their forwards and defense are below average, yet they’re finding success. It is still early in the season and teams are usually jumbled around. Some start hot and some start cold, and in the case of Las Vegas, they’ve come bursting into this season. I expect them to cool down and sink near the bottom of the standings. I doubt they’ll sell any pieces. The start they’ve gone on will likely cause the team to buy some much needed star talent to boost their forward core. If they can get some big TPA players on both offense and defense, they’ll be justified sitting near the top; as of right now, however, I’m just waiting for them to burn out.

Mississauga Hounds

Current Ranking: 2

My Ranking: 7

 

Mississauga is similar to Las Vegas in that despite their relatively weak roster, they’re finding a great deal of success. Both offense and defense are below average, and the roster isn’t fully fleshed out. If this team wants to maintain its position in the league, it needs to bring in some high level talent. Much like Las Vegas, without any big changes made, I fully expect this team to fall off.

Philadelphia Reapers

Current Ranking: 5

My Ranking: 6

 

Despite both the offense and defense being ranked 7th on my standings (outdated likely but kiss my ass), I see them finishing one above those rankings as 6th. During the week in which I was a lazy fucker, they ended trading their top goalie to somewhere (probably Halifax). Even with the downgrade in goal, I’m pretty confident that the team will slot in at 6th.

Saskatoon Wild

Current Ranking: 7

My Ranking: 5

 

Saskatoon looks to be a pretty average team. They’re filled up with mostly rookies, so growth is the main thing going on with the team. They’re not going to be a world beater this season, but should look better next season. If they do decide to go on a run, and they have some pieces there, they’ll need to flesh out their defense and bring in some star forwards, but expectations for this team going into the playoffs are pretty low. 

Halifax 21st

Current Ranking: 9

My Ranking: 4

 

Halifax 100% deserves to be better. They have a very strong offense and an above average defense. The thing that’s killing them right now is goaltending. They NEED a better goalie. No hate towards the ones they have, but they just aren’t high enough TPA to put this team in contention. This is a strong team that’s really just one piece away from having the record of a good team. Make the move Halifax. Just do it so I can feel a little better about my rankings.

San Diego Marlins

Current Ranking: 6

My Ranking: 3

 

San Diego is a very strong looking team. They have very good goaltending and a very formidable defense and an average offense. The biggest thing that San Diego needs to do is bring in some more higher end forwards. Defense and goaltending is very strong, and it’s hard to necessarily find a weak spot in the team, but forward is their weakest area. Of course they’re a step behind the 2 teams ahead of them, but one can only do so much.

Houston Bulls

Current Ranking: 3

My Ranking: 2

 

Houston is a powerhouse of a team. Their offense and defense are both 2nd in the league, and, planning this out, I had their weakness being goaltending, they go out and acquire a high end goaltender. The only thing the team needs to do is finish up their roster, acquiring one more forward and defenseman. They’re not going to be above the 1st place team, that team is an absolute wagon, but they are definitely secured in the number 2 spot.

Ottawa Lynx

Current Ranking: 1

My Ranking: 1

 

Ottawa is a superstar team. There’s always at least one every season, and it’s Ottawa this year. They have the top offense in the league. They have the top defense in the league. They have a very solid goaltender and backup. This team is going to shred up the regular standing, and then probably lose in the 2nd round. All Ottawa needs to do is add some forward depth to finish up their roster, but other than that, it’s easy riding for the rest of the season.

 

Conclusion

Since I was a lazy little boy and didn’t write this shit earlier in the week, the numbers I came up with are a bit outdated; however, my assumption is that everyone grew and applied at an average rate, and therefore teams should be slotted in relatively back in their correct spot. The evaluation lengths felt a bit dwindling the further along I went on this, but there’s only so much one can write about a team. I could go much more in depth with them, but I’m lazy so no thanks.

Words: 1161

[ROOKIE745 572]

review time: I always enjoy seeing power rankings, or as you called it superthread rankings. Seems like you put in a lot of work to it, adding the team logos, using bold and including where they are in the standings where you see them. I think you wrote enough for each team to explain your reasoning why you see them where you do, I do think adding there records would have been a nice detail for the reader. Also using italics for the summary of each team would have added a bit more to but that's just me. Overall I think this is very good 9/10

[Shindigs 1,771]

12 hours ago, Grape said:

Mississauga is similar to Las Vegas in that despite their relatively weak roster, they’re finding a great deal of success. Both offense and defense are below average, and the roster isn’t fully fleshed out. If this team wants to maintain its position in the league, it needs to bring in some high level talent. Much like Las Vegas, without any big changes made, I fully expect this team to fall off.

Playing against Miami's backup goalie 11 times in a row to start the season "may" have helped with that. So it's probably true that they shouldn't be that high. But they also have massive morale as a result, so who knows?

 

12 hours ago, Grape said:

San Diego is a very strong looking team. They have very good goaltending and a very formidable defense and an average offense. The biggest thing that San Diego needs to do is bring in some more higher end forwards. Defense and goaltending is very strong, and it’s hard to necessarily find a weak spot in the team, but forward is their weakest area. Of course they’re a step behind the 2 teams ahead of them, but one can only do so much.

Don't underestimate the forwards in San Diego, they have The Board Game Clue on Skates. A truly scary force to be reckoned with! @MubbleFubbles #TeamClue

 

12 hours ago, Grape said:

Halifax 100% deserves to be better.

Let's just blame @JardyB10 for everything and call it a day?

[Grape 533]

Claiming again for week ending 12/12

[atw2592 286]

Reviewing:

Not a bad ranking for the VHLM, a lot of thought was put into this piece and you went through each team individually and made a thorough evaluation of each team. I especially liked the Houston write up, but I am slightly biased and think they should have been at number one, but Ottawa is clearing deserving as they have a dominant team early on. I liked the conclusion as well because I thought some of the numbers were old but hey it was a long article and you gotta get that word count! 10/10