Martin Kemp ends his VHLM regular season career

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Martin Kemp has now finished his VHLM regular season career. Kemp signed with houston last season and then was drafted by the Bulls so he's spent his whole VHLM career in Houston. 

 

Current season comments 

 Kemp is having a good season this year with 34 goals and 33 assists. Kemp was also one of the more deadly players on the powerplay this season with 9 goals which ranked him tied for third in the VHLM. Offense is a big part of Kemp's game but he also brings a hard nosed physical presence. This season Kemp finished 7th in the league in hits with 189. The Bulls will be hoping Kemp keeps up this style of play in the playoffs as that's old time playoff hockey. The Bulls had 3 players in the top 10 in hits as Kemp finished 3rd ok his team. The Bulls aren't afraid to lay out a big hit and fans will be hoping that will make a big difference in the playoffs.

 

Career VHLM stats comments 

In his VHLM career he scored an even 37 goals and 37 assists in 90 games. One big step forward in his career so far is that he was plus 32 this season while last year he posted a -2. Although most people are not a fan of that stat it's always good to be above 0. The real reason that his plus minus is so high is that the Bulls had a goal differential of 68 however he does rank 3rd on the team in that category. This left him at plus minus rating of 30. Now we will turn to hits where he broke the 200 mark with 203. Kemp greatly improved his hits per game going from just under one per game to over 2.  

 

Draft outlook.

 

It will be interesting to see where Kemp ends up being drafted in both the VHL and the VHLE. He is currently ranked 13th in TPE so one would suspect he would be ranked around there. Team needs also may play a large factor in where Kemp might ende up. Although he is currently 13th overall he has the highest TPE at his position LW. If we group all wingers together then he would be ranked the 4th highest winger at the time of this article. Kemp's strength is clearly his offensive game. He has a good shot and has a good ability to pass the puck as evident in his even split of goals and assist in the VHLM. He also loves to through the body around but his defensive game needs some work. Kemp is a great player in the other teams zone but needs to work on his position and defensive awareness to become a strong 200 foot player.

 

 This means that Martin Kemp is likely to be a late first or an early second round pick. A player like Kemp is more of a risky pick as there are many power forwards who excel in the minors but can't make that next leap in the pros. He also needs to work on his defensive game but at the very least he could be a useful player on the power play and can be counted on to throw his body around when the time calls for it.