VSN Presents: S86 VHL Preview

[Alex 2,869]

@v.2

 

Helloo Everyone, and thank you for taking the time to read our S86 VHL season preview! We should be in for a very exciting season with close playoff races in both conferences that should make S86 a truly unforgettable one! Just to preface the article, Both Forward and Defense ranks are based off of the average TPE of the players assuming teams are running with 6 forwards and 4 defense to account for bots where needed. Goalie ranks are based strictly off of starting goalie TPA, and the overall rank is based off of the sum of each of the ranks, due to goalies being very close in TPA this season the rank was divided by 2 so that it would have less of an impact than forward and defense ranks on the overall rank. The position teams are placed in is based off of the public league vote that was posted a couple days ago. Without further to do let's get into the article:

 

NORTH AMERICAN CONFERENCE

Vancouver Wolves – 1^st

Forward Rank – 5^th

Defense Rank – 3^rd

Goalie Rank – 5^th

Overall Rank – 1^st

The Vancouver Wolves are a wagon this season, led by perennial top talent Nico Pearce @Spartan who is only 1 season removed from a league MVP win. On offense Vancouver has supplemented Pearce’s talent with Alexandre Leduc @Lemorse7, a solid secondary forward that is set to improve off of their breakout S85. The biggest question mark for Vancouver on offense comes with their depth and if Dogwood Maple @dogwoodmaple can take the needed step forward in their sophomore season. Vancouver has nothing to worry about defensively with their very well-rounded defense and Brandt Fuhr @Tate between the pipes. The sky is the limit for this group as they will look to make their way back to another Continental Cup.

 

Calgary Wranglers – 2^nd

Forward Rank – 4^th

Defense Rank – 9^th

Goalie Rank – 11^th

Overall Rank – 7^th

Once again, the Calgary Wranglers look to be one of the biggest threats in the league and there is no reason why they won’t be one of the top teams in the North American Conference. They have a real three headed monster of forwards with Daniel Janser @Daniel Janser, Leandro Goncalves @leandrofg, and Landon Wolanin @jacobcarson877 and a very solid D-core led by AirRig GoodBrandSun @Rhynex Entertainment. The main question mark for Calgary comes in goal as franchise goaltender Ben Dahl @Ben will need to continue his play from last season where he posted a 0.925 SV%.

 

D.C. Dragons – 3^rd

Forward Rank – 2^nd

Defense Rank – 14^th

Goalie Rank – 6^th

Overall Rank – 8^th

The S85 Continental Cup champs are back! While they did lose several key pieces in the offseason due to retirement, they appear ready to defend their title. While their forward core led by Ronan Lavelle @Arce and solidified with the signing on Jonathan Ori @ROOKIE745 is the best forward group in the conference, their defense is the opposite and while they do have 3 solid players, there will surely be a lot of pucks sent towards goaltender Bubbles Utonium @fishy and they will need to be on top of their game all season to keep D.C. in contention.

 

Chicago Phoenix – 4^th

Forward Rank – 6^th

Defense Rank – 11^th

Goalie Rank – 2^nd

Overall Rank – 5^th

Last season the Chicago Phoenix put together a miracle run in the playoffs making it all the way to the conference finals. This season they will look to build off of that playoff run and brining in Kakapo Bushtit @Esso2264 in FA was a great start that will improve their forward core. On defense Bo Johansson @Shindigs has really developed into a superstar and will be set to hopefully capture the first of many awards at the end of the season. In goal Cole Pearce @N0HBDY will need to have a great season in order for Chicago to replicate their success given the gaps in the forward and defensive lines, although being the 2^nd best goalie in the VHL that should be no problem. It is also important to note that Chicago still has a considerable amount of cap space and could make a real splash in the trade market.

 

Seattle Bears – 5^th

Forward Rank – 9^th 

Defense Rank – 8^th

Goalie Rank – 12^th

Overall Rank – 11^th

Seattle rebuilt their way to a very complete roster with very few gaps and centered around 2 elite talents in Hulk Hogan 2 @Hogan and Tavish DeGroot @rory , both of whom will look to bring Seattle into the playoff picture and put them in a position to compete in what was meant to be a rebuilding season. The lone area for improvement for this group is in goal, but with the team in front of Dusty Wilson @dustywilson22 there should be no need for concern. Seattle could shock everyone this season and find themselves near the top of the conference.

 

Los Angeles Stars – 6^th

Forward Rank – 12^th

Defense Rank – 2^nd

Goalie Rank – 8^th

Overall Rank – 6^th

The Los Angeles Stars will be looking to take a big step forward this season with the free agency signing of Poopy Peepants @JardyB10 which will drastically improve their defense and hopefully make it so that Art Vandelay @Gustav carries less of a load. On the offensive side of things LA will be needing Sirdsvaldis Miglaskems @FrostBeard to continue to carry the load offensively. Expect to see Los Angeles on the playoff bubble this season.

 

New York Americans – 7^th

Forward Rank – 7^th

Defense Rank – 12^th

Goalie Rank – 9^th

Overall Rank – 12^th

The New York Americans made a plash this offseason by trading away Daniel Weaver and acquiring Napoleon Dynamite @thadthrasher. New York then turned to free agency, where they made several huge signings with Zaza Colors @McWolf, Sven Eightnine @BarzalGoat, and Jared Carter the 2st @jaredc7 to round out their roster. While New York does have several strong pieces and do have a very well-rounded roster and could very well make the playoffs this season, the North American conference is very tight, and we could see just about each of the teams vying for a playoff spot.

 

Toronto Legion – 8^th

Forward Rank – 15^th

Defense Rank – 6^th

Goalie Rank – 7^th

Overall Rank – 13^th

Toronto has gone into a full rebuild, with that being said they do still have a solid core with Kyle Peace @Peace, Ryuji Sakamoto @der meister, and Oskar Lindbergh @Doomsday. Toronto does have the potential to play spoiler this season, but to think that they make the playoffs would be a stretch. It should be interesting to see what they can do at the draft as new GM @Moon builds the team from the ground up.

 

European Conference

Prague Phantoms – 1^st

Forward Rank – 3^rd

Defense Rank – 5^th

Goalie Rank – 10^th

Overall Rank – 3^rd

Prague had probably the busiest offseason of any team, bringing in Matty Fire @MattyFired, Nils Godlander @Moon, Saku Kotkakoivu @DollarAndADream , Erlantz Jokinen @jRuutu, and Mikhail Kovalchuk @Banackock, pretty much an entire elite starting lineup. Prague is by far the favourites to come out on top of the European conference. With all the new star-power around franchise center Perry Laperierre @KaleebtheMighty Prague is in a great place and is without a doubt the team to beat.

 

London United – 2^nd

Forward Rank – 11^th

Defense Rank – 1^st

Goalie Rank – 3^rd

Overall Rank – 4^th

JEROME REINHART @MexicanCow123! Similarly to Prague, London had a very busy offseason as a team was pretty well built around Reinhart and budding star Molly the Cat @JCarson. London also made a splash in free agency with breakout candidate Yun Chiang @nurx who will be looking to shatter his career high of 35 points this season. Additionally, London has a top goalie with David Davis @Josh who posted a 0.940 SV% last season in 20 games with Helsinki following a trade from Davos. It should be very exciting to watch and see how London does this season.

 

HC Davos Dynamo – 3rd

Forward Rank – 8^th

Defense Rank – 4^th

Goalie Rank – 1^st

Overall Rank – 2^nd

In stark contrast to London and Prague, Davos focused on bringing in rookie players this offseason to play key roles in their lineup with trades to acquire Alfred Champagne @Anthique, Maxwell Mathias @Underclass_Hero, and Isamu Knievel @TMGSosa. Additionally, Davos made a significant move to acquire top defensive defensemen Deron Nesbitt @AW13, who should be the perfect linemate for Siyan Yasilievich @badcolethetitan or Jake Thunder @Thunder. Davos’s biggest strength comes in goal with Xavier Booberry @CowboyinAmerica who posted a league best 2.04 GAA in 20 games with Davos last season. Lastly, Vinny Detroit @dasboot has become the focal point of Davos’s offense and is primed to have a breakout season. The top of the European Conference should be very interesting to say the least!

 

Moscow Menace – 4th

Forward Rank – 10^th

Defense Rank – 7^th

Goalie Rank – 4^th

Overall Rank – 9^th

An era is potentially coming to an end in Moscow as Papa Emeritus @Beketov is the final remaining member of the Moscow finals appearances and is going to come close to breaking more franchise records this season as he is currently 39 wins away from the franchise record. With that being said, Moscow is no where close to a rebuild as they have a future all-star goalie in the backup spot with Matt Murdock @Acydburn and several key young pieces in Hammar Voss @BOOM, AK92 Wit da Hoddie @hedgehog337, and Tomas Sogaard @Brandon. Moscow as always will be a team to watch in the EU and for all we know could make yet another finals run.

 

Warsaw Predators – 5^th

Forward Rank – 1^st

Defense Rank – 13^th

Goalie Rank – 13^th

Overall Rank – 10^th

The Warsaw Predators are a very different team from previous seasons with Brian Payne @Scurvy being the only of their 3 defensemen with top-2 talent. With that being said the Warsaw offense is the best offense in the league and is built around several elite players in Zach Kisslinger II @Kisslinger, Brendan Marner @MetalToday, Vasile Lamb @dlamb, and Girts Galvins @Girts. Warsaw could very well continue their dominance of the EU this season and if they do, they will likely win a lot of high-scoring games.

 

Malmo Nighthawks – 6^th

Forward Rank – 13^th

Defense Rank – 10^th

Goalie Rank – 14^th

Overall Rank – 14^th

Malmo is in a very interesting spot right now as while they do have a lot of great pieces right now and an offense built around S83 3^rd overall pick Igor Molotov @Dom, who has signed in Malmo for the remainder of their career and a very solid defensive core with Dabnad Shaw @Dabnad and Max Torq @Steve who have the potential to keep Malmo in every game. Furthermore, Malmo’s biggest asset right now could very well be their $6 million in cap space which will allow for the to add a couple of massive pieces as we move towards the trade deadline. Expect to see Malmo hang around the playoffs all season and potentially make a push towards the end.

 

Helsinki Titans – 7^th

Forward Rank – 16^th

Defense Rank – 15^th

Goalie Rank – 15^th

Overall Rank – 16^th

It’s safe to say that at this point Helsinki is back in a rebuild and does have a very bright future with Juan Sano III @denns, Reid Johnson @TopTiddee2, and Tater Tottingham @Trunkxolotl. Additionally, Helsinki probably has the top prospect pool in the league with Daryl Dixon @Ricer13, Rick Grimes @tinafrombobsburgers, and Fuukka Rask @Jubis. It’s safe to say at this point, while this may not be Helsinki’s season the future is very bright!

 

Riga Reign – 8^th

Forward Rank – 14^th

Defense Rank – 16^th

Goalie Rank – 16^th

Overall Rank – 15^th

Similarly, to Helsinki Riga is in full rebuild with an already promising pool of young players on the roster featuring The Frenchman @OrbitingDeath , Henry Tucker Jr. @NSG and Daniel Weaver @ThePerfectNut, all of whom are primed to have a good season for the new-wave Riga Reign. As far as prospects go, Sadie St. Louis @sadie looks like the real deal and if Riga can pick up a top defenseman in the S87 draft this team will be set for several seasons to come.

 

Thank you all for reading, and best of luck this season to everyone!

Edited November 17, 2022 by Alex

[Gustav 6,100]

1 hour ago, Alex said:

Art Vandelay

 

[Dom 1,440]

8 hours ago, Alex said:

Igor Molotov @Dom, who has signed in Malmo for the remainder of their career

3 seasons!

[NSG 495]

Ono not me last place goalie  

[BarzalGoat 728]

11 hours ago, Alex said:

several huge signings

smh, Sven has been with NYA for 3 seasons now! 

[Banackock 7,642]

Soon