VSN Presents: S88 VHL Season Preview

[Alex 2,876]

Hey everybody! Welcome to this season’s VHL Season preview, after a busy offseason, full of roster changes there’s been a considerable shift in team’s outlooks this season. One thing that is important to note, is that due to a major trade between Chicago and DC, the community vote outcomes for the entire North American Conference are not an accurate reflection of the conference. So, without further to do, let’s jump right into it!

 

North American Conference

 

1 - Calgary Wranglers 

Forward Rank - 1
Defense Rank - 14

Goalie Rank - 2

Community Vote - 1

Conference Rank - 2

League Rank - 6

 

Coming off of their first Continental Cup win in some time, the Calgary wranglers are back with a near identical roster to that of last season, with the only difference being that Marcel Janser @Morcar80 has departed from the team. Calgary’s offense is as strong as ever with Daniel Janser @Daniel Janser, Leandro Goncalves @leandrofg, and Landon Wolanin @jacobcarson877, all of whom will be looking to continue their play from last season. With that being said, Calgary’s entire season likely could fall on the shoulders of playoff MVP, Oskar Lindbergh @Doomsday, this should be a good season in Calgary and could very well be the final season with the current iteration of the team.

 

2 - Seattle Bears 

Forward Rank - 2
Defense Rank - 12

Goalie Rank - 1

Community Vote - 3

Conference Rank - 4

League Rank - 8

 

Similarly to Calgary, Seattle is a very forward heavy team that will rely on a retiring goalie in Xavier Booberry @CowboyinAmerica to keep them in every game. Offensively Seattle does look very strong with Hulk Hogan 2 @Hogan, Tavish DeGroot @rory, and Vasile Lamb @dlamb, all of whom are poised to have a good season as their careers near the end in the coming seasons. Seattle also has a very strong youth movement with Randy Bobandy @AJW, Elias Lampi @Pifferfish, Yaroslav Bogatyrev @Bojovnik, and Ash Sparks @DarkSpyro. Seattle looks to be a top team in the North American Conference as they look to take revenge on Calgary.

 

3 - Chicago Phoenix 

Forward Rank - 3
Defense Rank - 6

Goalie Rank - 15

Community Vote* - 7

Conference Rank - 1

League Rank - 4

 

The Chicago Phoenix swung for the fences right as the offseason ended by bringing in Ryan Vidot, DB III, and Corey Kitson from D.C. in exchange for several future draft picks. Given the age of the acquired players and a roster where one of their top players in Bo Johansson is IA and about to regress quickly, this season is very much an all-or-nothing type of season for the Phoenix and only time will tell if their trade will pay off.

 

4 - Los Angeles Stars 

Forward Rank - 8
Defense Rank - 9

Goalie Rank - 3

Community Vote - 4

Conference Rank - 5

League Rank - 9

 

Los Angeles also made several big moves this offseason in order to bring in a great 3rd defensemen with Dabnad Shaw @Dabnad, and made a massive trade to bring in Nezuko @Baozi and Robert Wilk @Tomat0 to drastically improve their offense. The Stars are probably one of if not the most well-rounded team in the league and their is a real chance that they could overcome the odds and take the North American Conference by storm this season.

 

5 - Vancouver Wolves 

Forward Rank - 12
Defense Rank - 1

Goalie Rank - 5

Community Vote - 2

Conference Rank - 3

League Rank - 7

 

The Vancouver Wolves went out this offseason and focused on improving their defensive core by moving out several key offensive pieces. Of the players they brought in this offseason, Ryuji Sakamoto @der meister is probably the biggest name and posted a career high 58 points last season, which is very impressive for the defensive defensemen. Additionally the arrival of top draft picks; FISTED ANALLY BY A CIRCUS MONKEY Analfist @STZ and Oreo McFleury @JB123 should provide a needed boost to Vancouver’s offense. At the end of the day, Vancouver’s season is highly dependent on the play of Brandt Fuhr @Tate, and by the looks of it he has a very strong defensive team around him.

 

6 - New York Americans 

Forward Rank - 6
Defense Rank - 13

Goalie Rank - 10

Community Vote - 5

Conference Rank - 6

League Rank - 12

 

The New York Americans currently have the longest play-off drought ever as they have not made the playoffs since S78. With that being said there is some reasons for optimism this season in New York, they were able to bring in the top free agent with Vinny Detroit @dasboot, they probably won the draft by bringing in 3 elite young talents, and Napoleon Dynamite @thadthrasher and Alexandre Leduc @Lemorse7 are poised for breakout seasons as they will be the driving force behind New York’s offense. New York should be in the battle for a playoff spot this season, and should make things interesting down the stretch.

 

7 - D.C. Dragons 

Forward Rank - 14
Defense Rank - 10

Goalie Rank - 6

Community Vote - 6

Conference Rank - 7

League Rank - 14

 

The D.C. Dragons came into this offseason under new management with GM @FrostBeard, who made the always difficult decision to go into a full-rebuild. While the roster might not feature many elite talents outside of Bubbles Utonium @fishy, they do have a lot of depth and could be looking to steal points off of the heavy-weight teams this season. The future is bright in D.C. and Frostbeard’s experience is showing as he has taken a very good approach to this rebuild.

 

8 - Toronto Legion 

Forward Rank - 16
Defense Rank - 15

Goalie Rank - 16

Community Vote - 8

Conference Rank - 8

League Rank - 16

 

Toronto on the other hand has been rebuilding for a while now and while they do have some very strong young pieces, they are just not quite at the point of being able to carry the team yet. Their recent draft picks in Mac Atlas @v.2 , Jimi Jaks @kelvi, Joel Castle @animal74, and Bobby Bob @Baby Boomer certainly look like the real deal, and should be able to propel Toronto back into a playoff spot in the coming seasons.

 

European Conference

 

1- Moscow Menace 

Forward Rank - 7
Defense Rank - 2

Goalie Rank - 8

Community Vote - 1

Conference Rank - 1

League Rank - 1

 

Moscow will be finally looking to get over the hump this season and capture the elusive Continental Cup. While they have struggled to make it out of the first round recently, this team cannot be underestimated. Matt Murdock @Acydburn appears to be the next elite goalie in the VHL with their recent Stolzschweiger win, and with the majority of their roster currently in their prime, this may just be Moscow’s season!

 

2 - HC Davos Dynamo 

Forward Rank - 5
Defense Rank - 4

Goalie Rank - 14

Community Vote - 2

Conference Rank - 2

League Rank - 2

 

Having been so close last season Davos made some big changes this offseason in order to improve offensively. This included bringing in Brian Kowalski @Wheaties on the back end and Svatopluk Puk @Otaznik who should bring a good boost to the team's offensive core. Possibly the biggest change in Davos is that Lachlan Summers @kirbithan will be the starting goalie this season and will be looking to repeat what Murdock did last season. We can expect Davos to be battling it out for the top spot in the European Conference again this season.

 

3 - Prague Phantoms 

Forward Rank - 4
Defense Rank - 8

Goalie Rank - 4

Community Vote - 3

Conference Rank - 3

League Rank - 3

 

After the disappointment of missing the playoffs last season, Prague is back and potentially better than ever. Bringing in Nico Pearce @Spartan , Deron Nesbitt @AW13, and trading for Moritz Stauffer @GoodLeftUndone after a draft day blunder, this Prague team looks ready to compete. Last season Prague’s biggest issue was keeping the puck out of their own net, which means that their success is primarily dependent on Clueless Wallob @DMaximus having a bounce back season, which is certainly possible. Prague should by all means make the playoffs this season, and it should be an entertaining race.

 

4 - London United 

Forward Rank - 9
Defense Rank - 3

Goalie Rank - 7

Community Vote - 4

Conference Rank - 4

League Rank - 5

 

Similarly to D.C. London is also under new management this season with @jacobcarson877, who chose to lead his team in the opposite direction, spending big on Siyan Yasilievich @badcolethetitan and Igor Molotov @Dom with the end goal of winning London’s first playoff series ever. London should make the race at the top of the European Conference very entertaining as on paper, Moscow, Davos, Prague, and London are all fairly close and should make a very entertaining playoff race.

 

5 - Riga Reign 

Forward Rank - 10
Defense Rank - 5

Goalie Rank - 9

Community Vote - 5

Conference Rank - 5

League Rank - 10

 

Riga proved that they were back in a big way last season as they made the playoffs and won a wildcard series when nobody thought they could. Off of that success Riga went out and bought this offseason bringing in some veteran presence with Sergey Preobrazhensky @Bulduray_1 and Max Torq @Steve, both of whom should have a massive impact on this teams success this season as they will look to make it back to the playoffs and pull off another upset.

 

6 - Warsaw Predators 

Forward Rank - 11
Defense Rank - 7

Goalie Rank - 12

Community Vote - 6

Conference Rank - 6

League Rank - 11

 

The Warsaw Predators are nearing the end of an era with Zach Kisslinger II @Kisslinger, and Brendan Marner @MetalToday retiring after this season and GM @N0HBDY has given Warsaw the best chance possible at success without sacrificing the future by bringing in Cole Pearce, who should provide some very solid goaltending for the team. Warsaw will likely challenge for a playoff spot this season, and should be in a good position for further success down the road.

 

7 - Helsinki Titans 

Forward Rank - 13
Defense Rank - 11

Goalie Rank - 13

Community Vote - 7

Conference Rank - 7

League Rank - 13

 

Helsinki is back this season and should make the European Conference playoff race an interesting one with 7 teams in the Conference being very competitive. For Helsinki their big change this offseason comes with bringing in Marcel Janser and Nils Godlander @Moon, both of who will play a huge role for this quickly improving team. Furthermore, the development of their prospects is going to plan and Daryl Dixon @Ricer13 looks like a prime Funk Candidate this season!

 

8 - Malmo Nighthawks 

Forward Rank - 15
Defense Rank - 16

Goalie Rank - 11

Community Vote - 8

Conference Rank - 8

League Rank - 15

 

After a remarkable playoff run last season, Malmo decided to pull the plug and rebuild, starting with top S88 player Jacob Stone @scoop, who should make an impact right away for the Nighthawks. While the playoffs are likely out of the question, Malmo has amassed a lot of draft picks for the future, and are likely planning for the coming drafts!

 

Thank you for reading this season’s VHL preview! On a personal note, as a VHL GM I would like to thank @KaleebtheMighty and @FrostBeard for using their remaining cap space to ensure that no active player goes without a team this season! Thank you both!

[Banackock 7,654]

Dear VSN,

 

Please see: VHL Drug and Alcohol Policy. 

[samx 1,095]

I was gonna say this hasn't aged well but like it's only 44 minutes old and isn't that accurate so good start 

[Banackock 7,654]

23 minutes ago, Banackock said:

Dear VSN,

 

Please see: VHL Drug and Alcohol Policy. 

 

You too, Bana

[Ricer13 2,593]

Very Funky!

[MetalToday 266]

Underrating the talents of Brendan Marner is a MISTAKE!!!

[MetalToday 266]

Warsaw #1