Reviewing Pre-Season Breakout Candidates from Every Team

[TheNeonShaman 214]

Here's a link to the predictions if you haven't read it yet: 

 

 

Right before the season started I made predictions on breakout candidates for every single VHL team. Now I think it’s a perfect time to review! Also it’s worth noting that my definition of breaking out usually hovers around getting at least 50 points, though with some players in the previous article I made more specific predictions, so my judgment might be different depending on the player. Yes I do brag when I get a prediction right.

 

Calgary Wranglers

Vincent Laroche-Gagnier @vincentlg2007 (S86)

 

VLG put up 21 goals and 43 points total in 72 games. He didn’t manage to break 55 points like I expected, even with the two elite centers. I wouldn’t call it a bad season or a failure, but it’s just a little lower than I expected. Still plenty of time for VLG to breakout.

 

Chicago Phoenix

Alexander Minion @UnknownMinion (S85)

 

What a season for Minion. Finally put into a starting role, they got almost 40 wins and boasted a sparkling 0.923 save percentage. Minion backstopped the Phoenix to the 4th best record in the league. Even in Chicago’s in and out of the playoffs, Minion had a 0.939 save percentage, proving the Phoenix should be confident in goaltending for seasons to come.

 

DC Dragons

Lucas Grey @emidas (S86)

 

With a 21 point season, it would be hard to say that Grey broke out. However, the Dragons were also last in the league, so some of the lack of production might have been an across the team epidemic.

 

HC Davos Dynamo

Lachlan Summers @kirbithan (S86)

 

I should just predict goalies at this point. Summers had a stellar season (just as expected, not to pat myself on the back). Just like Minion, Summers had nearly 40 wins, but put up the 3rd best save percentage in the league to go with it (0.932). She had a good playoff performance too, not nearly as good but still with a 0.920 save percentage and 7 wins before Davos bowed out.

 

Helsinki Titans

Daryl Dixon @Ricer13 (S86)

 

I’m super proud of this one. I didn’t just say Dixon would breakout, I said he would be over a point per game, and I was right. Dixon was a bright spot on an otherwise gray season for the Titans. I would not be surprised to see him have another fantastic year next year.

 

London United

Leonard Triller @Triller (S86)

 

I would say it was a decent year. Calling it a breakout might stretch it a little, however a 47 point rookie season is pretty good. I would be surprised if Triller didn’t start to make a big impact in London going forward, but this season wasn’t as big as I expected with the star power down the middle that London has.

 

Los Angeles Stars

Sunglasses Joyo @JetsGoalie101 (S85)

 

I was really hoping that I could hit on this one, but unfortunately Sunglasses did not hit the 55 point mark I predicted. However, with a 51 point season I think it’s safe to say Joyo definitely contributed quite a bit to the depth of the Stars, and helped to make them a better team. It’s hard to call it a breakout, as Joyo had 38 points last year, so I was looking for just a little more. A solid season nonetheless.

 

Malmo Nighthawks

Yaroslav Trunov @qripll (S87)

 

Trunov did not breakout, scoring 38 points on a rebuilding Malmo team. I may have been premature in thinking that more ice time would help, and Trunov was even outscored by the Nighthawks 1st round pick from the season 88 draft in defenseman Jacob Stone. However there’s no reason to panic on the young winger, and I’m sure Trunov will find his footing sooner rather than later.

 

Moscow Menace

Left Alone @okochastar (S86)

 

Left Alone had a nice solid season. 43 points is actually a great jump up from last season in Seattle, where they had 14 points. Playing pretty far down the depth chart, one could only hope that Alone might get some more opportunities next season and showcase some more of the obvious talent. Is it a breakout? I would say it could be considered one. 43 points isn’t as high as some players that didn’t have breakout seasons, but Alone increased their season point total by nearly 30, which is very impressive and a much bigger increase than other players showed.

 

New York Americans

Babay Shrimp @Blazzer (S85)

 

With one of the higher point totals of the players on this list, Shrimp manages to still not hit my expectation of 60. I feel a little bad saying Shrimp didn’t break out though, as 57 is very close and a good point total. 16 points better than her previous best season. A very solid year for Shrimp.

 

Prague Phantoms

Nikolas Kauppi @Tetricide (S85)

 

With no players left to breakout on the Phantoms. I gave Kauppi the expectations of exceeding his rookie year total of 54 and getting close to point per game. Unfortunately he did the opposite, and the sophomore slump took Kauppi down to 39 points. A rough year for the winger.

 

Riga Reign

Skor McFleury @Alex (S87)

 

McFleury had a great year. 55 points and not to mention 23 goals as a defenseman. I would say he’s made a name for himself as a very talented defenseman in this league. I said Skor would take a big step towards being a point per game, and I would say while not the biggest step, it’s still big enough to classify as breaking out. Especially as a defenseman.

 

Seattle Bears

Yaroslav Bogatyrev @Bojovnik (S86)

 

It feels so good to hit on some of my more ambitious predictions. In Seattle I could have gone with talented rookie Randy Bobandy, and I would have been right there too as Bobandy had a very nice 60 point sophomore year. However I decided to shoot my shot and predict that Bogatyrev would not only breakout, but put up 70+ points this year. With a very nice 77 point season, I would say that matches the prediction. What a great season.

 

Toronto Legion

Jimi Jaks @kelvi (87)

 

Jaks had a decent rookie year. I wouldn’t really classify it as breaking out, but a 43 point rookie season is pretty good. I might be putting him back on next seasons list.

 

Vancouver Wolves

Wann Kerr @VattghernCZ (S86)

 

Kerr along with FISTED ANALLY BY A CIRCUS MONKEY Analfist and Oreo McFleury, who I also mentioned, did not break out. Kerr actually had the most points between them, with 43. Swing and a miss.

 

Warsaw Predators

Tim Riggins @Jayhawk (S87)

 

In hindsight it might have been wishful thinking for Riggins to break out, just barely eligible for the VHL out of the VHLE, Riggins probably wasn’t ready for the big leagues this year, only putting up 8 points. Better luck next year!

 

Review

So out of the 16 predictions I made, 6 came true. There were also a few that were close but didn’t seem to me like breakouts, or I gave specific thresholds of points that didn’t get hit. Lots of young talent in the VHL, not everyone can be a star. But for the 6 players who did breakout, there are some new stars in the making ready to make some waves.

 

Word Count: 1193

For Weeks of 6/4, 6/11

Edited June 4, 2023 by TheNeonShaman

[VattghernCZ 902]

Kerr is gonna break out this season

[Frank 5,072]

3 hours ago, VattghernCZ said:

Kerr is gonna break out this season

[Gaikoku-hito 1,997]

[TheNeonShaman 214]

Claim 6/11