North America power rankings

[scoop 3,447]

Yeah, I gave my Europe power rankings a full article, but that's because Malmo is in Europe and honestly, the only reason I even did those power rankings is because Malmo is good now. But I'll go ahead and write a quick couple hundred words on North America as well. I'm going to put them into tiers so I don't have to put as much thought into the order.

 

Top Tier - VAN, TOR, SEA

Vancouver and Seattle look a bit different, but they still manage to be good. Toronto made some huge acquisitions, along with a few players hitting their prime, that could help them jump up very far in the standings from last in the conference a season ago. Seattle could have found themselves a tier lower if not for the Clueless Wallob addition. I think Vancouver's top six forwards are the best group in the VHL; although they may not have the best top end, unlike most teams, they should be able to ice two lines that don't have any glaring weakness.

 

Mid Tier - LAS, DCD

Maybe Los Angeles could be in a tier of their own between D.C. and the above trio, but it's just easier to put these two together as my expected wildcard teams. D.C. is kind of relying on Jason and Vincent Laroche-Gagnier, but that is something that they have that the bottom teams don't. I think the Stars have potential, but I don't think the players they have are good enough to make up for the smaller 5F/3D lineup. The more I look, though, I do think there is a clear distinction here. I see Los Angeles as closer to the top three, and D.C. as closer to the bottom three.

 

Bottom Tier - CGY, CHI, NYA

This is pretty clear-cut, though you could make a case for putting the Dragons in a tier with maybe Calgary or Chicago, but New York is certainly on the bottom. The Americans had their playoff moment last season, but I think it's back to the early off-seasons for them. Chicago and Calgary both have large rosters, but with no real stars, you shouldn't expect too much from them.

Edited August 17, 2023 by scoop