Unofficial VHL S86 Playoff Predictions

[badcolethetitan 921]

Unofficial VHL S86 Playoff Predictions

 

 

**DISCLAIMER: I haven't really paid attention religiously to every single VHL team this season, and I am lacking on my knowledge about a lot of the NA teams. I just did this for fun so I hope everyone can enjoy!**

 

Wildcard Round:

 

 (4) Vancouver Wolves vs. (5) Seattle Bears

 

In the NA conference, we'll be seeing the Vancouver Wolves taking on the Seattle Bears in the wildcard round of the playoffs. The Vancouver Wolves come in at 43-27-2, which is good for 88 points and barely missing out on the third seed at the end of the season, by losing one of their final games and unfortunately sliding to the wild card. Regardless, Vancouver has found their way into the post-season led by defenseman Biggie Cheese, who has 85 points, 20 goals, and 65 assists to lead the team. Scoring is fount everywhere on this roster, as they have seven players over the twenty goal mark, so scoring really isn't a problem for the Wolves. Their goaltending is not too shabby in Brandt Fuhr, who held a 35-27-2 record, with a .918 sv% and a 2.59 GAA. The star player in this series for the Vancouver Wolves is certainly going to be Biggie Cheese and what he can bring to the team in the playoffs, coming off a hot regular season finish for him. On the other side, their opponents the Seattle Bears made it into the playoffs at the last second, scraping in because of goal differential. Seattle has had ups and downs during their season, but they are led by the dynamic duo of Tavish DeGroot and Hulk Hogan 2, who seem to be carrying the workload for the team. Their goaltending too is what got them here, as Dusty Wilson has a 30-29-3 record, with an impressive .934 sv% and a 2.22 GAA. The Bears will be relying on their duo to carry them in the wildcard round, as they don't really have the scoring depth that the Vancouver Wolves have in their arsenal. All in all, this should be an easy series for the Vancouver Wolves unless Dusty Wilson can steal Seattle a game.

 

Prediction:  3-1

 

 (4) London United vs. (5) HC Davos Dynamo

 

On the other side of the bracket, we have the London United taking on HC Davos Dynamo in the other wildcard round of the playoffs. London United had a better season than some anticipated, as they found themselves at 43-25-4, good for fourth in the already tough European Conference. This team is led by none other than Molly the Cat, as I'm pretty sure Dil literally has a shrine of Molly the Cat that he prays to every single night. This team has some pretty solid scoring depth too, as they've got five players with twenty goals or more, something you're going to have to have for a deep playoff run. On top of that, this team has had very good goaltending in the regular season, whether it be from David Davis or Jesse Teno, both have very good numbers. This team overall has a pretty solid lineup and I'd expect London to do some damage to Davos in this series. On the other side, we have the HC Davos Dynamo who were expected to be towards the top of the conference this season, but weren't able to get there. Davos has had a lots of ups and downs during this season, but they weren't able to stay consistent at the end of the day. Davos is led by Forward James Teekirque, who put up 50 goals on the season and also had 44 assists, impressive to say the least. They also have the one-two punch of Jake Thunder and Siyan Yasilievich who are going to provide a challenge for London, however they don't have the scoring depth as much as London does. On top of that, Xavier Booberry had an off-season, going 35-22-7 between the pipes with a 0.926 sv% and a 2.52 GAA. This series in my eyes will be much closer than the other wildcard series, and I could honestly see either team taking at the end of the day. However, with how much Davos has a curse on them and they consistently choking, I'll be giving it over to London to move on.

 

Prediction:  3-2

 

NA Conference Semifinals:

 

 (1) Calgary Wranglers vs. (4) Vancouver Wolves

 

Now we finally move onto the real playoffs! The Calgary Wranglers will be taking on the Vancouver Wolves in the NA Conference Semifinals and I think this'll be a pretty entertaining series. Looking at Calgary, they've had an unbelievable season, especially Daniel Janser who had 54 goals, 66 assists and a 120 points. When I say this team is absolutely stacked, they are extremely stacked, with having three players above ninety points, and having four point-per-game players. Ben Dahl in net has also provided some stable goaltending, he isn't a superstar goalie, but he gets the job done and that's what Calgary realistically needs. This team has great players across the board and they're going to be tough to beat at the end of the day. I've already covered Vancouver a bit, but they'll need their forwards to step up big time if they want to be able to take down and upset Calgary. With the likes of Daniel Janser and Landon Wolanin leading the way, I think this'll be a series win for the Wranglers.

 

Prediction:  4-1

 

 (2) Chicago Phoenix vs. (3) D.C. Dragons

 

Heading to the other side, we've got the Chicago Phoenix taking on the D.C. Dragons in the NA Conference Semifinals! Now, I am pretty excited for this series because I think it's going to be an absolute banger and here's why, starting with Chicago. Chicago coming into this is absolutely star-studded with offense, with their three superstars being Baby Bob, Bo Johansson, and Scotty Sundin. This trio does a ton of the heavy lifting for Chicago, but it's not to say that other players on the team don't do their job also. The Board Game Clue on Skates also has to be talked about, as they put up 42 goals, 37 assists, good for 79 points on the season. I think the most impressive player on this team though in my opinion is Bo Johansson, who has put up 94 assists in the regular season, an impressive feat to say nevertheless. They've also got star goaltending Cole Pearce in net, who went 43-18-3, with a .933 sv% and a 2.05 GAA. I really like what Chicago has going for them and I think they have the potential to go far, but let's talk about the D.C. Dragons next. D.C. comes in as the 3rd seed, and with good reason. They're led by Ronan Lavelle, who put up 51 goals on the season and 43 assists, good for 94 points on the year. This team seems to have some great forwards, as they have four forwards who are above that 84 point mark, but after that it seems to fall off hard in the point production. On top of that, they have Bubbles Utonium in net, who went 35-21-8 with a 0.923 sv% and a 2.54 GAA in net, a goaltending duel is for sure going to take place! At the end of the day though, I think Chicago's offense is going to be too much for D.C. to handle and they'll unfortunately bite the dust in the first round.

 

Prediction:  4-2

 

EU Conference Semifinals:

 

(1) Moscow Menace vs. (4) London United

 

Now we're heading over to the EU, where the Moscow Menace will be taking the London United on in the first round of the playoffs. Moscow coming in has shown that they consistently can stay at the top of the EU conference and it's a masterclass by Spartan. This team has scoring depth across the board, not really relying on a superstar to do most of the heavy loading. You could basically pick out any player on the roster and say that they're an important part of Moscow, because that's just how their team is built. However, their team leading in points was Tomas Sogaard putting up 32 goals, 48 assists, good for 80 points on the season. In net, they have the one and only Papa Emeritus, who in his last season went 43-17-4 with a 0.929 sv% and a 2.46 GAA, very solid between the pipes. London will have some games under their belt heading into this series, but I don't really think they can stand up to the titans that are the Moscow Menace in the playoffs. This team has shown time and time again that they're going to go to the finals, one way or another and sadly London is in their path. Moscow should be able to take down London pretty easily in my eyes and should be eyeing at minimum heading to the EU conference finals.

 

Prediction:  4-1

 

 (2) Warsaw Predators vs. (3) Prague Phantoms

 

The final series for the EU Conference Semifinals is the Warsaw Predators taking on the Prague Phantoms. I personally think out of every single series in this round, this one will be the closest, but lets start with talking about the Warsaw Predators. The Warsaw Predators have found themselves in the playoffs as the 2nd seed, under N0HBDY with his first regular season under the belt. Warsaw is all about offense, and scoring goals, attempting to outscore their opponent in high scoring games. This team almost has four players above 100 points, which is extremely impressive and not many teams can match that. This team has two 50 goal scorers in Girts Galvins and Vasile Lamb, so goalscoring is not a problem for this team. On the defensive front, they've really only got Brian Payne as the other two defenseman are not the strongest and they also have a bot defenseman. They also have Wumbo in net who went 42-18-4 with a 0.929 sv% and a 2.55 GAA, very solid between the pipes. On the other side we have the Prague Phantoms who shocked some people and were able to actually finish 3rd in the European Conference. I will say Warsaw has a slight edge on Prague mainly on offense, but defending is where I believe Prague has a fairly big advantage. Not only does Prague have four defenseman, but they have a disgusting one-two punch of Erlantz Jokinen and Mikhail Kovalchuk who will prove scary for the Warsaw Predators to handle. They also have Clueless Wallob in net, who went 34-22-8 with a 0.926 sv% and a 2.55 GAA, almost identical stats to Wumbo. This series is going to be an absolute banger, but I'm going to have to go with an upset in this one and give the win to Prague, due to the fact of that extra defenseman being very key for them.

 

Prediction:  4-3

 

NA Conference Finals:

 

 (1) Calgary Wranglers vs. (2) Chicago Phoenix

 

For the NA Conference Finals, we have the Calgary Wranglers taking on the Chicago Phoenix, in which is in my opinion, the better of the two Conference Finals series. Both of these teams are evenly matched and throughout the regular season, all of their games were decided by two goals or less, with only one of them being a two goal game and the rest being a single goal. I seriously think this is going to go to seven games and all these games will be decided by two goals or less. You can literally pick any matchup and it's going to a banger player matchup, but I'm going to have to go with the duo of Daniel Janser and Landon Wolanin vs Baby Bob and Scotty Sundin. Both of these duo teams are extremely talented and the fact that we can possibly see them faceoff is going to be a treat to watch. This is not to discredit anyone else on the roster, because both of these teams are deep with depth on their roster and maybe all they need is for someone further down on the point sheet to have a great series to push one team over the other. I hope this matchup ends up happening as it'll be one of the best series in the playoffs, but at the end of the day I'm going to have to give Calgary the win, just barely.

 

Prediction:  4-3

 

EU Conference Finals:

 

(1) Moscow Menace vs. (3) Prague Phantoms

 

On the other side of the playoffs, in the EU Conference Finals we have the Moscow Menace taking on the Prague Phantoms. I wish this series would be as hype as the other series, but this series itself will be determined by defending overall. I think that both these teams do have the offense capabilities to put up goals, but they're not like Calgary and Chicago where they'll be in an offensive shootout on who will win the game. The season series between these two teams were actually all one goal games, so this series in my eyes will be fairly close. However, all these games were played at the beginning of the season and the rosters have changed a bit, but it should still be a good series. The matchup I'll be looking forward to most is AK92 Wit da Hoodie vs Erlantz Jokinen, two defenseman who I feel like will play very big roles for their team in this series. As I said, I think defense will be the name of the game for this series, and that's why I've highlighted these two players, as they lead their team defensively. While this series might not have the fireworks and high-octane offense like the other series, it'll still be a close one at the end of the day, where I think Moscow will edge out Prague.

 

Prediction:  4-2

 

S86 Finals:

 

(1) Calgary Wranglers vs. (1) Moscow Menace

 

We've finally made it, all the way to the finals where the Calgary Wranglers, the NA champions, take on the Moscow Menace, the EU champions. Now I know it's not very original, picking the two first seeds to make it all the way to the finals, but I truly believe that these two teams have the best chance to make it all the way to the finals, I mean they were first for a reason. These teams played each other four times during the regular season, where the series was split 2-2, so it really could go either way for these teams. Both of these teams are in the finals for one reason over the other teams and one reason only, scoring depth. Both of these teams have proven that they don't just need a couple players to carry there team, they have deep rosters with offensive and defensive capabilities across the entire lineup. I'm going to have to pick one of these two teams to win it all, and it's going to be tough, because in my eyes they're really close in skill. However, I'm going to have to give it over to Calgary for one reason and one reason only, Moscow always finds a way to fumble in the finals. It seems like this curse has been going on forever now and Moscow cannot find a way to win the finals, they can always get there, but they can't finish it off at the finish line. If I were to pick one player in this finals who is going to have an impact that isn't really one of the main players for the team, I'm going to go with Leandro Gonclaves. He has had a really solid season so far and seems to always show up when playoffs come around, being a PPG in both of the playoff runs that Calgary had previously. Maybe he's the secret to Calgary winning the cup, maybe not, who knows?! At the end of the day though, I'm going to give the cup to Calgary!

 

Prediction:  4-3

 

Winner: Calgary Wranglers

Playoff MVP: Daniel Janser

 

Alright, that'll be all! I hope you enjoyed reading this article, I didn't really put too much time into it analytically and I haven't really followed a ton of storylines so I'd like to apologize for that. This is just my thoughts of what'll happen in the playoffs and I'm sure I'm going to be completely wrong. I tried to mention players who had great season and even some who maybe were hiding behind superstars. At the end of the day, there's a reason why it's a "prediction", because it might not even happen. I might write an M one, maybe not, but I've paid attention more to the M so they'll be a bit more accurate. Regardless, I hope you liked the article and enjoy!

 

2000+ words, more stuff to claim yay!

 

Players Mentioned:

Spoiler

@a_Ferk @Tate @rory  @Hogan @dustywilson22 @JCarson @Josh @aimkin @Mongoose87 @Thunder @badcolethetitan @CowboyinAmerica @Daniel Janser @jacobcarson877 @Ben @Baby Boomer  @Shindigs @fromtheinside @N0HBDY @Arce @fishy @Brandon @Beketov @Girts @dlamb @Scurvy @Fire Fletcher @jRuutu @Banackock @DMaximus   @hedgehog337 @leandrofg

 

[N0HBDY 1,119]

MoscoL

[badcolethetitan 921]

3 minutes ago, N0HBDY said:

MoscoL

 

got further than Warsaw did in my predictions  

Edited December 20, 2022 by badcolethetitan

[Daniel Janser 2,181]

17 minutes ago, N0HBDY said:

MoscoL

by that logic it should also read LarsaL

[leandrofg 1,160]

#BlameCole

 

Not only did you manage to jinx the Wranglers, you specifically jinxed my Finals performance.

 

Much love, Cole!

Edited December 20, 2022 by leandrofg

[Daniel Janser 2,181]

2 minutes ago, leandrofg said:

#BlameCole

 

Not only this you manage to jinx the Wranglers, you specifically jinxed my Finals performance.

 

Much love, Cole!

[JCarson 730]

@badcolethetitansmall correction.  @Dil has an Alter (not Shrine) to Molly the Cat and he offers Nightly Sacrifices (Not prayers).

[badcolethetitan 921]

7 minutes ago, JCarson said:

@badcolethetitansmall correction.  @Dil has an Alter (not Shrine) to Molly the Cat and he offers Nightly Sacrifices (Not prayers).

 

[dustywilson22 133]

Literally just glad to be in the playoffs lets get one bears! and more!

[dlamb 1,326]

You forgot that a bot d actually IMPROVES the team

[Shindigs 1,771]

#blamecole at least you got MoscoL losing in the finals right (most likely).

Edited December 21, 2022 by Shindigs

[Jubis 1,349]

Let's hope so

[leandrofg 1,160]

Nice work on those Finals, @badcolethetitan.

[badcolethetitan 921]

10 hours ago, leandrofg said:

Nice work on those Finals, @badcolethetitan.

 

I cannot describe how sad I am..