Las Vegas Aces: Fold or All-In?

[McLovin 470]

*This is Marcus Svedberg, reporting from sunny Las Vegas, with an update on, you guessed it, the Las Vegas Aces of the VHLM!"

 

Hello again! It's been a while since I sat down in front of this desk and wrote a media spot on a player or team in the wonderful VHL, so I figured what better time to do that than now! Today, we're gonna be looking at the Las Vegas Aces of the VHLM, and doing a bit of a rundown of their year as the regular season draws ever closer to the playoffs. As things stand, the season could be going a lot better on paper, but there is a conversation to be had about Las Vegas potentially being a dark horse candidate for a deep run in the S88 playoffs. As of writing this, Las Vegas sits in 4th place in the Western Conference with a record of 24-27-9. Let's take a deep dive into the team and assess the pros and cons going into the postseason. 

 

A quick look at team scoring and you can tell immediately that this roster is made for scoring. 6 players are at least a point per game, with Assistant Captain RJMW III @RJMWleading the way with 70 points (34g, 36a) in 60 games. Winger and 6'8" behemoth Jeremia Barbaslov @Je Barbaslov and defenseman Leo Lewkowicz @BeanSobie are both rapidly approaching 50 assists each, with 22 goals & 10 goals respectively to scratch as well! Center @Taro TsujimotoTarro Tsujimoto rounds out the 50 point scorers with 23 goals and 34 assists. Rounding out the high end production with the likes of Dank Turtle @DankTurtle & Aces legend Juan Ceson @dylanjj37who are both also putting up very respectable and strong efforts in the lineup too, it makes you wonder why a team of this offensive caliber is struggling to keep its head above water in the playoff hunt. It becomes more apparent, however, as you dig deeper into what's making the team click and the poor luck they've had in their quest for another Cup.

 

Scheduling is always a concern for teams that are considered fringe playoff teams, and the competition this year has been heavy for Las Vegas. When the likes of the Mexico City Kings or San Diego Marlins (who are also on a 7 game winning streak at the moment!) come into town, it's gonna make your life a little bit harder. Given that they're also in the same conference, you can almost guarantee that should Las Vegas keep their head above water and make the playoffs, they have their work cut out for them and THEN some in the top dog competition that is the VHLM these coming playoffs. And their troubles don't end there, unfortunately. Sitting in the fourth to last place, you'd think that they are completely shot and that they only have a handful of players keeping it alive, right? You then see the team scoring and realize that this team is actually one of the better offensive teams in the entire VHLM, outscoring the likes of the Houston Bulls by 15 goals despite being 10 points behind them in the standings. So what's holding this team back you might be wondering?

 

It's the Achilles heel of any professional hockey team. Shaky goaltending. This, mind you, is not a flaming of the goaltenders and casting all blame on them. Don't get me wrong, hockey is a team sport and it's a team that makes or breaks a good season. When you look at the facts, however, you start to see why this could be a source of many problems for Las Vegas going into the postseason, and even beyond. Looking at the goaltending of the teams at the top of the league, it becomes very apparent what a good team, and even great teams rely on for their success day in and day out. Goaltending. Not just your market value beer leaguer either, no, we're talking standing on their head, making diving saves at the buzzer, brick wall goaltending. When you're facing an elite tendy like Jonny Elgar @Jonny or Ross Glagau @Zetterberg who are putting up 38 and 36 win seasons, with a .913 sv% & 2.48 GAA or .915 sv% & 2.48 GAA respectively, you're gonna have a real hard time. Then you have to face goalies the likes of Olivier Gauthier @fonziGG putting up an absolutely mind bending 41 wins with a .927 SV% & 2.15 GAA, you're gonna have a really bad time.

 

Looking inwards towards the Aces goaltending, and sadly you don't get that same level of production. Max Schuett @Schutte put up a decent record of 13-10-5, but the numbers that being 0.894 sv% and a 3.06 GAA, it was not what you were hoping for in a rookie goalie, and could possibly been what contributed to Max being released from their contract in the same season. Linden Moore @orbit has since taken the reigns and is doing his best to revive a dragging team behind him. This being his rookie season though, production hasn't been up to par of the rest of the league with a 11-17-3 record being posted since being signed to his rookie deal. An 0.886 sv% and 3.66 GAA to go along isn't earth shattering either, but one can hope that should Linden choose to return to Las Vegas, hopefully he can continue to build his game and become one of those highly touted goalies in the league. Until then though, the Aces struggle. Moving on past that though, let's end on a happier note and something the Aces can look forward to in the coming future.

 

Trade deadline is an exciting time for VHLM GM's as new players come into the fold and are picked up by the team to play the last few games of the season. This year was no different for the Aces as they went out and acquired a few players to bolster their roster hopefully for the foreseeable future. First off, we have Jack Foster @0kmemie who's having a great start to his VHLM career. 12 points, 5 goals and 7 helpers in 15 games is a very strong start, and Vegas adds yet another strong center to their team to stack that offense. They also went out and grabbed Nose Nacho Montana @Nose Nacho Montana, who's only played two games so far. We'll definitely keep an eye out on them though as their career is looking to be another strong future for Las Vegas. Rounding out the acquisitions for the Aces is Maxim Anisimov @McLovin. Maxim's only played 6 games in his own VHLM career, but has put up 6 points and a +5 (a stat in which he leads the team crazily enough.) Being projected to be VHL drafted in S90, Maxim has a long, long time to develop his game in the minors and looks to be aiming for playing his entire minor league career with Las Vegas. Whether they draft him is still to be determined, but with a strong couple of futures in their hands, so long as the Aces figure out what to do in net scouts are expecting them to come out absolutely swinging for S89. What happens this season though is very much in their own hands, however, so all we can do now is wait and see.

 

This is Marcus Svedberg, reporting from Helsinki, Finland. Go Titans Go!

 

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1,240 words, claiming for next two weeks 

[RJMW 129]

Gotta know when to fold em