VSN Scouting presents: Unsung Prospects

[Will3 467]

Graphics by @Jason kranz

 

It is closing in on award season time in the VHL. The best will rightfully be celebrated for their excellent play. Nothing wrong with that. But what is personally bothersome is the fact a player can be ignored completely if they end up on a underperformed team. There are VHLM players going into the next VHL and VHLE drafts that haven't max earned and were stuck on a bad VHLM team whose individual efforts this season were meritorious. It's time to put a spotlight on there worthy players, hand out some unofficial awards, and to highlight some unsung prospects.

 

There are some simple requirements for becoming an unsung prospect. The first is that a player must be a member of the current draft class. (S90 in this case) The second is that the player must be a member of the four worst VHLM teams in the regular season. The third is that the user behind the player must be active at least by the time of writing. The lower the TPE, the better is a guideline but can vary depending on the team and limitations the three rules impose, as it will be seen below. Other than those rules and the guideline, the players selected for the unofficial honor is at the sole discretion of the writer. If there is a worthy player left in the dark, write about it below. Now it's time to meet some unsung prospects.

 

The first player of note hails from the second worst team in the Western Conference. In S89 that would be the Saskatoon Wild. The Wild just never had enough of the quality players to contend. That however allowed players like Ontario Leblanc Jr @Psanchez55 room to prosper. Ontario is a five foot ten inch tall and one hundred sixty-five pound seventeen year old center from the United States. In the S89 regular season, the man produced twenty-six goals and fifty-two goals for seventy-eight assist. Also include in the goal total is a significant nine power play goals. The man has clearly produced more than his 159 TPE would suggests. The player projects to be the defensive two way center that managers want on their team. Performing above the TPE in spite of quality of the team is the ture mark of a unsung prospect.

 

The next prospect worthy of attention comes from the Ottawa Lynx, the second worst team team in the Eastern Conference. Given the amount of top players on the Lynx in S89, the regular season failure of this team is mysterious. With all the soon to be promoted players getting most of the attention, Tommy Sleeves @dasboot receives little attention. Tommy is a big six foot eight tall and two hundred fifty pound monster blue liner from Canada. He has produced ten goals, thirty-five assist, one hundred penalty minutes, and one hundred seventy-eight hits in S89. Tommy is the classic hard hitting defensive defender that are a boon to any team's defense. He may have the highest TPE on this list, but it feels like he isn't as talked as much as his linemate and top prospect YaBoi Oven @Doomsday. Hopefully in the playoffs Tommy's hits can have an impact on general managers and assistant general managers and get this man some well deserved attention.

 

Next up is a look at the roster of the Las Vegas Aces, the worst team in the Western Conference. The Aces has neither skill or luck to do much this season but Jaja Dingdong Jr @Jaja Dingdong still played well.  is a sixteen-year-old Norwegian defender who is six foot six inches tall and weights two hundred and eight pounds. On the Aces Jaja has produced fourteen goals, thirty-one assist and one hundred ninety one hits. He would do all of this with 127 TPE. Jaja is a more modern versionof the classic defender. He can hit slap shots with the best of them, but rather than defending with hits, he defends with the poke check. Just because his team wasn't good and his TPE is not high doesn't mean that Jaja shouldn't be looked at, especially with that unique build he has.

 

 

The last player to be honored today hales from the Miami Marauders, the worst team in the Eastern Conference. Many new careers started in Miami this season. Goaltender Amir Redzic @Slav_Sloth has been one of the best of these new recruits. The Marauders netminder is six foot six inch tall weights two hundred twenty-two pounds and is only the second player from Bosnia and Herzegovina to join the VHL. In the fifteen games he played in this season Amir has a record of eight wins, four loses and one overtime loss with a 0.906 save percentage and a 3.15 goals against average. Not bad stats for a prospect with only 102 TPE. Amazing reaction times, quick hands and agile moves are what make Amir the effective netminder he is. With some work Amir could become the scary shutdown goaltender that all managers fear facing.

 

Those are the four unofficial honorees of the Unsung Prospect Award. Perhaps they should called the Average Joe Award. Not entirely sure on about that. Regardless of what the award is called, all of these players were good for teams that underperformed this season. Thus these player deserve some recognition for the ability that they have shown. Hopefully these guys can stand out in the playoffs and the upcomming junior tournaments and get some deserved hype before the drafts begin. If there are other unsung prospects worthy of recognition, feel free to shout out them below.

 

For VSN Scouting, this is @Will3 signing off.

Edited August 9, 2023 by Will3