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A Way to Early Post Draft VHLM Rankings

Grape

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Grape

Grape 619

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With the VHLM Draft concluded and the team rosters actually having players, it’s time to look into each team and where they stack up as of now. Note that this is purely TPE based, and does not take into account claiming potential and history, as well as builds, as that would take way too long to look into. There were a fair bit of inactives, especially on the defense side (where the draft was pretty weak), so teams who look good now after taking those will fall in the future below teams with more active players. The strategy for this draft was definitely to go for goalies and defense first, and while we may not see that now in how the teams break down now, that will definitely be noticeable as the season proceeds. Keep in mind that this is also under the assumption that all players picked will be playing in the M for this season. There are a number of players who exceeded the 200 TPE cap but may choose to stay under for a season.

 

10. San Diego Marlins

Forwards: 10th
Defensemen: T-10th

Goaltending: 7th
 

A not very active draft day for the Marlins, as they only picked four times in the draft, and now they have four players on their team. I was a bit confused that they took a decent goaltender with their first pick, as I feel like that tender may only be around for a season before making the jump. They also did not draft any defensemen, opting to instead get a full forward line out and work from there. I’d wager that none of the forwards make the jump after a single season, so at the very least, they have a forward core to build around next draft.

 

9. Philadelphia Reapers


Forwards: 7th
Defensemen: T-10th

Goaltending: 8th
 

I’m a big fan of what Philly did in the draft. They went hard on forwards and have a solid group of players for now and the future. The same issue as San Diego though, as Philly did not get any defensemen and are now barren at that position. I could definitely see this team move on from some of their more high end forwards to bring in solid claiming defensemen to prepare for next season, as well as maintain mediocrity for this season. This is a team that could cause a bit of volatility in the standings, as I do have high hopes for their forward core claiming wise, but as of right now they look pretty weak.

 

8. Ottawa Lynx

Forwards: 8th
Defensemen: T-10th

Goaltending: 3rd

 

A really decent draft by Ottawa, snagging a great tender and some quality forwards. Again, just like the last two teams, the issue is on defense. Teams are really going to go hard for defensemen in Free Agency and if Ottawa can snag a few good ones, they’ll definitely have a well-built team. They have a forward core that will grow to be fairly decent and a goalie only a few TPE away from being capped. Out of the three teams without any defensemen, this is the best one, but coming out of the draft, it’s hard to overlook that when comparing them to other teams with a more fleshed out roster before free agency.

 

7. Saskatoon Wild

Forwards: 9th
Defensemen: 7th

Goaltending: T-1st

 

Unlike the previous teams, Saskatoon actually has defensemen, although they could use a bit of aging. Their forward core is also pretty barren, only having three forwards. They’ll be one of the few teams looking into acquiring some forwards in free agency, which there is surely to be a good handful of. As of right now, they’ll be banking on their goaltender, who is capped, to keep this team competitive. Out of the gate, it may be a bit rough, but with some savvy free agent pickups and a fair amount of growth sprinkled in, this team could at least manage to stay out of the basement.

 

6. Mississauga Hounds

Forwards: 5th
Defensemen: 6th

Goaltending: T-10th

 

A really short draft for Mississauga, as they only had two picks, and due to the lateness of those picks, I believe the players they got are not very active. This is a team that has a lot of holes and will be one that slides down the rankings unless they make some really good free agency pickups. As of now, their numbers are inflated due to the high TPE inactives they got, but unless the GM can convince them to come back, it might be a pretty brutal year for the Hounds.

 

5. Houston Bulls

Forwards: 6th
Defensemen: 1st

Goaltending: T-10th
 

Houston had a pretty good draft, building up a very strong forward core and, as of right now, have the best defense pairing in the league. They’ll need to grab a tender in free agency but I don’t think that will be the problem. I’d want them to get more depth on defense and I think that will be where they struggle. Defensemen are going to be highly courted in free agency and I don’t know if Houston will be able to bring in any top guns. While their forward core looks to develop into one of the best in the league, I can see their defense dropping down a bit. Still a competitive team but I have concerns as to whether or not they’ll be a true juggernaut or just competitive.

 

4. Miami Marauders

Forwards: 4th
Defensemen: 4th

Goaltending: 4th

 

It was hard not to place Miami at 4th. I mean when every part of their team ranks that, that’s where they probably should be. They have a really good one-two punch that they acquired through a trade, basically nuking the rest of their draft, but they’ll be pretty good this season. A bit top heavy to start, but hopefully their players will stay active and be a nice compliment to their big guns. Defense is somewhat a concern for me, but that’s how it is for pretty much every team.

 

3. Halifax 21st

Forwards: 1st
Defensemen: 5th

Goaltending: 6th

 

Halifax looks like a team that will be really solid out of the gate then slow down and fall off a bit. Their defensemen are concerned on the activity front and there isn’t too much room for growth for forwards. This is a team that needs a big free agency to remain a top contender. Depth is going to be the focus for this team. They already have the top players, at least for the forwards. Now they just need to add some complimentary pieces

 

2. Las Vegas Aces

Forwards: 2nd
Defensemen: 3rd

Goaltending: 5th

 

Las Vegas, I thought, had one of the best drafts out of every team. They made a lot of savvy, smart picks to flesh out their roster and have a lot of room for growth. I think adding one more defenseman would completely solidify this team positionally, and then hope that activity stays high and players keep claiming. I will say, this team looks like maybe a one year core, as a lot of players are already in the 100+ TPE, so expect them to make some big moves both in free agency and in the trade block as they try to push for a championship.

 

1. Mexico City Kings

Forwards: 3rd
Defensemen: 2nd

Goaltending: T-1st

 

Mexico City had an amazing draft, arguably the best out of every team. They went out and got a top tier goaltender who’s already at the cap, as well as a handful of players in the upper 100s TPE wise as well in both forwards and defense. What’s nice to see with this team as well is that one could see some players needing two seasons in the M, which helps this team compete both now and next season. An incredibly strong team who looks to get even stronger. I would like them to pick up another defenseman and probably another forward too just to even out the lines, but all-in-all, an exciting team to watch.

 

This is looking to be a very exciting season in the VHLM. There are a ton of teams that are only a few pieces away from being top contenders in the league. I would like to note that this is looking purely at TPE and it is right out of the draft. There are a ton of solid players in free agency that will change the outlooks of multiple teams. Also, inactives inflate the values. Since I’m not doing a deep dive into every team and their players (maybe I’ll do that for another article), high TPE inactives are going to make some teams look better. While I can’t really factor that, as the season rolls along those will end up fixing themselves. My plan is to look into the lineups and alter the scores on my spreadsheet to compliment ice time allocation, although that might be really difficult and I’ll probably just end up sticking to what I have. A big thing that may be confusing for some is with the goaltender rankings, they are kinda all over the place. I’d like to say that the difference between 1st and 4th is 6 TPE, and every team that actually has a goaltender has one in the mid 100s TPEwise. Goaltending is an important factor, but at least for this season, it isn’t super major since many teams are really close to each other. One last thing to note is that defensemen are going to be the biggest of the three factors at least for a couple of seasons. The defenseman class for both this draft and allegedly the next draft are small compared to the forward class, so teams who are able to bring in solid defensemen are going to fair much better, since they’ll more easily find complimenting forwards to flesh out their lineups than forward heavy teams looking for defensemen to do the same. With all this being said, please take this with a massive grain of salt, as pretty much everything is going to change come the start of the season.

(1688 words. Big claim piece right here 🥵)

Edited by Grape
Needed to add my cute lil pics
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Grape

Grape 619

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9 hours ago, ShawnGlade said:

Idk, I feel like Halifax and LV outdid Mexico in this draft. But hey thats just me

I feel that Mexico City had the best draft, with Las Vegas a close second. Halifax did well but I don't think they did stellar. We'll just have to wait and see.

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Daniel Janser

Daniel Janser 2,111

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On 9/4/2022 at 6:20 AM, jacobcarson877 said:

tell all your friends to make defensemen please 💞

Reminds me of the Outro of almost every Steve Dangle video I have seen: Tell all your friends something something related to the video. (often: IF YOU ARE A GOALTENDER, TEND THE GOAL!!!)

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