VSN Presents: VHLM Midseason Update

[TopTiddee2 186]

 

@v.2

Good evening VHLers! As you might know, I have covered Jeid Rohnson's career so far on Fox 39 News, however, I was recently given the position at the Victory Sports Network to cover the VHLM. I am very grateful for this opportunity and look forward to a long relationship with the community! Without further ado, let's take a look into the VHLM season so far!

 

STANDINGS (Overall)

x-Clinched Playoffs, y-Clinched Conference, z-Regular Season Champions

1st. Philadelphia Reapers (46-9-3) - y

2nd. Houston Bulls (38-12-8) - x

3rd. San Diego Marlins (37-14-7) - x

4th. Mexico City Kings (31-22-5)

5th. Mississauga Hounds (28-22-7) 

6th. Halifax 21st (26-30-2)

7th. Miami Marauders (22-29-7)

8th. Ottawa Lynx (18-27-12)
9th. Las Vegas Aces (22-32-4)

10th. Saskatoon Wild (21-34-3)

 

Team that has surprised me the most: Halifax 21st

Based on my Week 1 post regarding the VHLM week recap, Halifax started out at 3-7-0, and sitting at the bottom of the league. Key additions to their F core at the trade deadline (C Jeid Rohnson and RW Maxim Anisimov via LVA) has boosted their scoring production and has propelled them up the standings. While it seems like this team is going to be a one-and-done in the playoffs, they have the potential to go farther than most have them. Only time will tell if they can prove they belong, as they have a middle-of-the-road schedule for the rest of the season. 

 

Most disappointing team: Las Vegas Aces

The future looked bright for the Aces, as they started off in the middle of the pack and looked to have a young group of guys who could develop into MVP candidates. Now that they have dropped to 9th place in the league, they have begun rebuilding their squad and were very active at the trade deadline. Sending capped D Walter Fitzroy Jr to Houston in exchange for RW Jason Lajeunesse Jr and D Harjen Van Kraken started off the fire sale, looking to add raw depth to their team. Just two days later, the Aces packaged C Jeid Rohnson and RW Maxim Anisimov and sent them to Halifax in exchange for a high volume LW in Quinndillus Whopper and HFX's S91 3rd round pick. It will be interesting to see how LVA adjusts to this new era now that they are in prime position of securing the 1st overall pick.

 

SCORING LEADERS (Top 10)

1. Axle Gunner (PHI) (37 G, 49 A, 86 PTS)

2. Miroslav (HFX) (30 G, 49 A, 79 PTS)

3. Brad Marchand (SDM) (38 G, 41 A, 79 PTS)

4. Carson Walker Jr. (MEX) (39 G, 38 A, 77 PTS)

5. LeBen Aky (PHI) (37 G, 39 A, 76 PTS)

6. Catia Goncalves (MIS) (34 G, 40 A, 74 PTS)

7. Dominik Kopecky (MIS) (26 G, 45 A, 71 PTS)

8. Sjin (SDM) (26 G, 44 A, 70 PTS)

9. Tyler Swift (PHI) (20 G, 49 A, 69 PTS)

10. Anthony Simmons (PHI) (23 G, 46 A, 69 PTS)

 

GOALIE LEADERS (Top 5)

1. Karl Herzlich (PHI) (45-8-3, .918 SV%, 2.22 GAA)

2. Devon Giguere (HOU) (38-12-8, .904 SV%, 2.43 GAA)

3. Clark (SDM) (37-14-7, .909 SV%, 2.3 GAA)

4. Jose Avocado (MEX) (31-18-5, .906 SV%, 2.61 GAA)

5. Pierre-luc Dutil (MIS) (28-22-7, .901 SV%, 2.92 GAA)

 

MY TOP 3 MVP CANDIDATES:

Axle Gunner, C, PHI

The best scorer in the league on the best team. Gunner has the perfect combination of goal scoring ability and playmaking ability to help his team find the back of the net on most nights. With a tight race for the top of the scoring leaderboard, only time will tell if he can keep up the production to help Philly clinch the Regular Season title.

 

Karl Herzlich, G, PHI

You know what they say, defense wins championships. However, a big part of this mighty Reapers squad has been the production of Herzlich in between the pipes. Now that Philly is heading to the playoffs to defend their title, they are relying on him to become a key contributor in what is expected to be a deep playoff run for the Reapers. If he wins the Playoff MVP, there's no doubt in my mind he can win League MVP.

 

Carson Walker Jr., RW, MEX

It was hard to choose if I should've gone D or another F for this final spot. I chose Walker Jr. primarily due to his goal scoring ability, a league-leading 39 goals have come off of his stick. He is a big contributor to Mexico City's success and is in the hunt of securing a sneaky MVP award.

 

Honorable Mention:

Tyler Swift, D, PHI

It was hard not putting a D in the Top 3, so I gave D Tyler Swift of Philly an honorable mention. Swift appears in numerous categories as one of the top, if not, the best Dmen in the M. He sure has to be keeping G Karl Herzlich happy considering Philly is an unstoppable force at the moment.

 

FINAL THOUGHTS:

It's shaping up to be a very entertaining finish in the VHLM, I think the most out of any season that comes to recent memory. I think there's a clear favorite in the Reapers to repeat as Founder's Cup Champions, however, anything can happen and we've seen it before. The most entertaining part of the standings, however, is who will make it out alive? Both Las Vegas and Saskatoon need to have long streaks of wins if they want to sniff a bottom seed in the playoffs this year, but based on current trends, the window continues to close. This ending is shaping up to be a good one! Good luck to all teams!

 

For VSN, I'm Chris Rock.

Edited July 15, 2023 by Alex