"Entering Award Season", S82 VHLM Awards Predictions.

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"Sports are not about awards or world championships, though those are great. They're about the relationships we have with each other."

 

Wise words from the soccer icon and former forward for the USWNT, Mia Hamm. But this regular season has finished, and some players deserve recognition.

 

Not only do they deserve these awards... we love to hypothetically give them.

 

 The Mitch Higgins Trophy, for the MVP

 

 

There's no going around it. The Most Valuable Player is going to be an offensive player. It doesn't matter whether you've played the best season of your life as a defenseman. The intangibles don't matter even with the glowing appraisal of analytics in hockey.

 

Now that we're on the same page, we can look at the contenders for VHLM MVP this season. I'm sorry to say I tried to go somewhere other than the top-3 points scorers this season, but they are remarkable. It's going to be one of the three.

 

Igor Molotov. Scotty Sundin. Sebastien Dokis.

 

Let's discuss Sebastien Dokis, who completed his third season in the VHLM with the Reapers. It's fantastic to witness his steady growth, albeit slower than most he's now turned himself into a player worthy of a shot in the VHLE. This year he's had the best P/20 with a whopping 1.72 and the most PPP in the league.

 

What about Scotty Sundin, the number 1 prospect on the S83 draft rankings? His talent is indisputable. But his stats suffered, maybe due to playing for Houston. He ranked 2nd in SHT% (players with >200 shots), 2nd in P/20, 2nd in points, and 2nd in goals. He only ranked 1st in one category, plus/minus, but the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place are all Bulls with great stats. We're left with the feeling that his potential is yet to be seen, and if we had seen it, he'd be the MVP.

 

Finally, Igor Molotov the number 2 prospect on the S83 draft rankings behind Sundin. Playing in the worst team of these 3 players, Igor took it as a challenge. He decided to guide the team, putting them on his back and taking them to the playoffs as a 6th seed. He's played the 2nd most minutes of any forward in the league, being on the ice almost 10 more minutes per game than Dokis. While doing this, he still ranks 8th in SHT%, with a 2% difference from Scotty. 3rd in the P/20 column, with a .27 and .15 difference from Dokis and Sundin, respectively. He's had 150+ more shots than Sundin and 34 more points, all while displaying much more effort on defense. He deserves praise this season, and he's going to get it.

 

Before giving out my prediction, I must make an honorable mention for MVP. Hammar Voss, a so-called Defenseman for the Bulls, ended the season with 121 points with a +66 on the plus/minus column. Had he played defense... he'd be a strong MVP contender.

 

Prediction

Spoiler

Igor Molotov 

 

 The Ryan Sullivan Trophy, for the top Defenseman

 

 

Hockey is an ever-evolving sport. Nowadays, players are faster and more technical than ever. You see the tall, strong defensemen doing things nobody thought were possible a decade ago. We must adjust when evaluating these players, and that's why we have such differences in the players considered for the prize.

 

Hammar Voss in Houston and Siyan Yasilievich in Philadelphia are the new breed. Hammar has a knack for goals, while Siyan has a pass-first mentality to the game. They are the only defensive players with P/20 over 1.00, which is better than many offensive players. Of course, they play for the best teams in the VHLM, and their records are fantastic. One of them leads the Defensemen in Goals, the other in Assists, as they finish 1st and 2nd in points. They are amazing. But they aren't defensemen.

 

These next two are. Ryuji Sakamoto and AirRig GoodBrandSun. Two very different players, one's 6'5'', the other 5'7''.

 

We start with Ryuji Sakamoto and the Mexico City Kings. How can such a compact guy display this kind of defensive ability? Heart, that intangible, invisible, unexplainable ability... is that it? Probably not, but his defensive IQ is off-the-charts, which carries his game. He's quite literally the definition of a defensive player - because he offers little to the offense. He added 79 points to the team, albeit 63 are from assists, and let's be fair, they're mainly secondary. Defensively you ask? A perfect average of 2 PIM per game, 266 Hits, and 227 Shots Blocked. The only thing to not like about his impact on the ice is his plus/minus of -17... not what we'd expect from a top defenseman. While some of this is caused by the Kings' struggles, many of his teammates hold a positive number.

 

AirRig GoodBrandSun is one of the most intricate names in the league. It may not have been easy playing beside fellow Bull Hammar Voss, but he did the most of his opportunity. He's had one of the best seasons for a defenceman in the VHLM. Not only did he provide great offensive support, even behind a greater Hammar Voss, but he also did what the latter couldn't... Defense. Offensively, AirRig finished the season 3rd in points, achieving a more than respectable .98 P/20. Defensively he was as good as Ryuji, if not better. A true menace. While he played fewer minutes than Ryuji, 2261 to 1914, he was as impactful as the latter when on ice. PIM is about the same when adjusted to playing 2261 minutes AirRig's number would be equivalent to 148. The hits would go up to 264, and the Shots Blocked to 139. The latter is where we see the most difference between the two, but Houston, as a team, also allowed fewer shots on goal. 

 

While it is not the focal point of a defensive player, his offensive production is now also under scrutiny from everyone. That sets AirRig apart from his fellow defensemen. His ability to impact both sides of the game.

 

Prediction

Spoiler

AirRig GoodBrandSun 

 

 The Benoit Devereux Trophy, for the top Goaltender 

 

 

What makes a Goaltender great? Opinions may vary when we enter this conversation. Should we approach the technical side of the position, granting a heavier percentage of the approach on athleticism? Or maybe the effect they have, commanding the team's defensive effort?

 

Let's start with Jay Saucey, Miami's number one goalie. He holds a 37-21-8 record on the season. The .56 win percentage doesn't bode well for him, but when you better evaluate, it only gets better. He spent the 2nd most time on ice, had the most shots against, but maintained a .908 save percentage, which was the best in the VHLM, and the 3rd best GAA only behind the two following Goalies.

 

Ali Des Aves in Houston played with arguably the best team in the VHLM, and he played his part. Holding the league's 3rd best save percentage at .900 and the 2nd best GAA at 2.86, he did this with (far) fewer shots against than Saucey. So Houston's defense played its part in removing Shots from the equation, and that's a team effort. There's another minor detail to consider, minutes played. With 65 games, Des Aves should have 3900 minutes played, considering no OTs, which is not true since he has a 46-11-3 record. But he has only 3672 minutes played, which means he got pulled quite a few times. And that's not good.

 

Augustus Kennedy, goaltender extraordinaire. This guy played every game for the Saskatoon Wild. Yes, really. What a draft pick he was at 43 in the S82 VHLM Draft. Every way you look at it, he seems brilliant. Endurance? He had 355 more minutes played than Jay Saucey. And in those minutes, he allowed the lowest GAA in the VHLM, at 2.76, finishing with a 53-17-1 record. Alright! Now, when you look at it, he did play for Saskatoon... and in those 355 more minutes in goal, he saw 225 fewer shots. Which, in the end, left him with the lowest save percentage of the three, at .895.

 

Before we jump to our prediction, let's mention another player's effort during the S82 season, Brandt Fuhr from the Mexico City Kings. He played (far) fewer games than the other 3, as he split the King's net with his number 2, Freddy Freeze. He managed to cement the 2nd best save percentage on the season, with a .905, although he had the highest GAA of the four.

 

Prediction

Spoiler

Jay Saucey 

 

Another season has passed in the VHLM. Stories have been written, and milestones have been reached. It's time for the playoffs, and we've already been treated to some fantastic games and series. Many of the players in this article will have the opportunity to show their worth in the VHLE and maybe the VHL next season. Could we see an article like this about them in their respective league next season? 

 

This is where stars are created, the VHLM.

 

Players mentioned in this article: @fromtheinside, @Sebastien, @Dom, @Rhynex Entertainment, @BUM, @badcolethetitan, @der meister, @ToooSaucey, @Tate, @InstantRockstar, @G_Rush, @ViprVipe.

Edited April 5, 2022 by leandrofg
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