VSN Presents: S82 VHL Awards Race

[Alex 3,248]

@v.2

 

Coming a little bit later than usual, we have our mid-season VHL award races to keep an eye on and there are a few that are closer than ever that could go any which way, while others have become a one horse race at this point. While you’re here feel free to check out some of the other recent VSN articles below!

The Talents Behind the Trophies: the Aidan Shaw Trophy| Alpha Wolf: The Rise of Jerome Reinhart and the Fall of Postseason Records

 

Victory Cup

The Victory Cup is awarded each season to the team with the most regular season points, as of right now it’s a clear battle between 2 teams with Vancouver and Los Angeles currently tied with 78 points for the league lead. The next closest is London with 64. 

 

Mike Szatkowski Trophy (Most Points):

 

Rank	Player Name	Points
1	Dan Dan @MMFLEX	109
2	Jerome Reinhart @MexicanCow123	103
3	Taro Tsujimoto @Gustav	102
4	Matt Avens @Mr Bohannan	89
4	Nathaniel Minion @Minion	89

 

Kevin Brooks Trophy (Most Goals):

 

Rank	Player Name	Goals
1	Dan Dan	44
2	Jerome Reinhart	43
3	Henry Tucker @NSG	42
4	Darth Kaprizov @Darth Kaprizov	41
4	Reylynn Reinhart @Ricer13	40

 

Alexander Beketov Trophy (Most Assists):

 

Rank	Player Name	Assists
1	Dan Dan	65
2	Jannik Nylen @DreMin15	63
2	Taro Tsujimoto	63
4	Pistil Stamen @DMaximus	61
4	Robin Galante Nilsson @RomanesEuntDomus	61

 

 

Greg Clegane Trophy (Lowest GAA):
 

Rank	Player Name	Goals
1	Thadius Sales @thadthrasher	2.84
2	Rara Rasputin @Victor	3.04
3	Sirkants Klamasteris @hedgehog337	3.07
4	Tobias Reinhart @Spaz	3.15
5	Kunibuni UnGuri @Berocka	3.17

 

 

Scotty Campbell (MVP):

Similarly to previous seasons the MVP race is down to about 3 players right now, each of whom is a major reason why their team has had it’s success this season. First and foremost Dan Dan has been a force for Los Angeles this season and currently leads the league in all major offensive categories. Right behind him in the scoring race sits Jerome Reinhart and Taro Tsujimoto, both of whom could have a considerable case for the accolade come season’s end. At this point it’s hard not to say that Dan Dan is deserving of the award, although either Reinhart or Tsujimoto could snatch the award at any given moment.

 

Brett Slobodzian (Most outstanding): 

Similar to the previous award any player could run away with this award at any given moment. At this moment it’s hard not to say that Dan Dan is the favourite as they currently lead the league in points, assists, and goals. In previous seasons this award has usually gone to the league's leading scorer and with that if Reinhart or Tsujimoto can catch him the award could be theirs for the taking.

 

Sterling Labatte (Top Defensemen): 

All the defensive awards are a very close race right now and could very well go any way. This season Battre Sandstrom @Acydburn is the likely favourite right now given their defensive play relative to the other top scorers as they are a part of a 3-way tie for first in defensive scoring with Tui Sova @v.2 and Robin Galante Nilsson, with Jannik Nylen only 1 point behind. Sandstrom currently has 172 hits and 112 blocked shots. Considerably more than a majority of the top defensive scorers. Other players in the race include Hard Markinsson @STZ, Tom Eagles @Greg_Di, Corey Kitson @Nykonax, and Kristof Welch @Juice.

 

Alexander Valiq (Offensive Defensemen): 

As explained in the previous award, this award is a very close race that there’s no clear front runner at the moment with a 3-tie at 77 points for the lead in scoring between Sandstrom, Sova, and Nilsson. Nylen also sits 1 point back and Eagles and Kitson are at 73 points each, making this a very interesting race that we may not know the results of until the awards presentation following the season.

 

Jake Wylde (Defensive Defensemen): 

The Jake Wylde award is likely one of the most subjective awards for VHL players as it goes to the best defensive defensemen. In contrast to previous seasons some of the best defensive defensemen in the league have also been producing offensively. Currently Tom Eagles has been a force of Calgary’s blueline and currently sits 5th in blocked shots with 167 and has 136 hits. Poopy Peepants @JardyB10 has also been stellar defensively with 220 hits and 95 blocked shots. Additionally, Hard Markinsson looks like they could take the award home with 183 hits and 133 shots blocked. Other players in the race are Chicken Wing @chikn, Tui Sova, Ryan Vidot @Enorama, and Battre Sandstrom.

 

Aiden Shaw (Top Goalie): 

The Aiden Shaw award recognizes the top goalie in the league every season and with that it is always an interesting race to watch. Currently Thadius Sales appears to be the favourite here as they currently lead starting goalies in wins (40), save percentage (0.927%), GAA (2.84) and shutouts (3). Right behind him in every category sits Rara Rasputin who has been a major reason for Los Angeles success this season. Rasputin has 33 wins, a SV% of 0.923%, and a GAA of 3.04. There are a couple of other players who are close behind them in Cole Pearce @N0HBDY, and Sirkants Klamasteris. Although at this point it’s pretty well down to Sales and Rasputin.

 

Christian Stolzschweiger (top Rookie): 

At this point in the season the award for the top rookie is as close as they can get with three notable rookies battling it out. This award will end up going to a player that plays for London with Matt Avens leading all rookies in points with 89 and their teammate Nils Godlander @Moon only 5 points behind at 84. The current favourite comes with London’s goaltender, Cole Pearce. Pearce is currently 3rd in wins with 30 and also has a 0.912 SV% and a 3.48 GAA. Another player who may find themselves on the outside looking in is Zaza Colors @McWolf and the two highest scoring non-London rookies Florida Man @zepheter (69 points) and former first overall pick Vasile Lamb @dlamb with 62 points.

 

Scott Boulet (Top two way forward): 

The Scott Boulet award is given to the top two-way forward every season and with that Duncan Idaho @OrbitingDeath  (7) is coming off of their second consecutive Boulet Trophy. This season once again looks to be Idaho’s to take home with him being the standout two-way forward by a wide margin as no other player that is in the top-10 in hits even comes close to Idaho in scoring as they currently have 88 points. The next closest is Taylor Mourning @scoop with 78 points and 230 hits, followed by Alex Johnston @Alex with 69 points and 231 hits. At this point the Boulet is Idaho’s to lose and we are expecting to see Idaho continue the trend started by Mikko Lahtinen @Beketov and Groovy Dood @bigAL as they both completed the three-peat of Boulet Trophies.

 

David Knight (top GM):

The David Knight Award is presented to the top GM in the league, as of right now it appears that it is likely going to end up in the hands of @McWolf , the London GM might have finally struck gold as London leads the European conference by 5 points and it appears that his seasons of patience and drafting well have paid off as London might be set to win their first playoff series ever. There are several other GMs who will likely be nominated and could just as easily win the award with @hedgehog337, the Riga GM, and @Acydburn, the Prague GM.

 

Dustin Funk (Most improved):

The final award we’ll look at today is the Dustin Funk Award, this award is given to the player who shows the greatest amount of improvement and as expected had more players be predicted to win it than any other award. Surprisingly only 3 names were brought forward by VSN members and those were Dan Dan, Joe Madison @samx, and Jannik Nylen. Of the players listed, both Dan Dan and Jannik Nylen have easily surpassed their previous career highs.

 

Thank you for reading and stay tuned as we watch how these races develop throughout the season! Best of luck to everyone in the race!

Edited February 27, 2022 by Alex

[Beketov 9,101]

Got my hopes up just to make me realize you were just bringing up my last, far superior, player

[rory 1,943]

madison gonna finish under last seasons totals and be a MOST IMPROVED nominee? bahahahahaahahahah vsn needs to CHECK THEIR BIAS

[animal74 1,855]

Leading the league in hits, one of the top forwards in blocked shots and not even a sniff at the Boulet...