VSN Presents: VHLM Power Rankings: Weeks 1 & 2 Edition

[McLovin 393]

 

Hello, and welcome to this VSN Presentation of the VHLM’s Power Rankings for Weeks 1 & 2 of the S90 Regular Season! We’ve got a lot to cover in these, as we’ll be going over projections into the future, current projection and a lot more. That being said, without further ado, let’s get into the rankings!

 

 

1st. Mississauga Hounds

12-1-0, 24 Points, 1st in Eastern Conference, 1st in League Standings

 

Staring off our power rankings, we have the Mississauga Hounds! It’s very easy to understand why they're in first place as well when you look at what they’ve already accomplished. Five of their players are near the TPE ceiling for the VHLM, so having all-stars on almost every line certainly helps, and with the seasons that some of them are having, primarily Grimgor Ironhide @FrostBeard, Gremlis Lielais @Anomalijs, and Howdy Doody @BigIrish. It’s safe to say that unless something drastically changes for the Hounds, expect to see them up here in this place quite a bit.

 

2nd: San Diego Marlins

9-2-1, 19 Points, 2nd in Western Conference, 3rd in League Standings

 

Next on our list, we have the Marlins. The reason we’re not ranking based off standings solely is because there are deeper factors to consider besides standings placement, as they don’t tell a whole story, or where a team deserves to be over where they are in the standings. 5 players at a PPG pace thus far, elite goaltending, and the second highest GDiff in the league has them placed second on our standings. An overall very well rounded team that has potential to compete with Mississauga for first place in the league should the elite players of San Diego step up even more and take off in production.

 

3rd: Las Vegas Aces

9-2-2, 20 Points, 1st in Western Conference, 2nd in League Standings

 

After a few seasons of inconsistent performance, the Aces seems to have found their stride in waivers signed by GM McLovin in the offseason. Bric Sheithaus @Oldhead91and Stinky @taylorherd lead the way in point totals, and a majority of the team is actually nearly at or above point per game production. The only reason they’re not second in the rankings however is because of their defensive game. Of the top 6 teams in the standings, Las Vegas has by far the biggest goals against total among them. If they’re able to round up their defensive game a bit and keep pucks in the opponents net instead of their own, I see them shooting up to second very easily.

 

4th: Miami Marauders

8-4-1, 17 Points, 2nd in Eastern Conference, 4th in League Standings

 

Moving on, we’ve got Miami. A surprising addition to this list, as they aren’t one of the teams you’d expect to see this high in the rankings. Led by Joakim Norden @Kaldolmar in the scoresheet, they boast a surprising lethal offense that’s certainly been helping them win key games to be up at this point. The only weakness is their lack of defensive depth on the blueline. Only having two defensemen is never a perfect strategy, and they’ve been partially burned for it, but despite this they’ve managed to rank 4th in the standings, as well as here in our VSN Power Rankings. 

5th: Philadelphia Reapers

7-6-0, 14 Points, 3rd in Eastern Conference, 6th in League Standings

 

Entering the halfway mark of the rankings, we have the Reapers. After their remarkable season in S89, they’ve slowed down and are looking to be either leaning on waivers to join up midway through the season, or dedicating to the rebuild. They hold a solid record at 7-6-0, only a goal differential of +1, and seem to be a very steady middle ground team that can go one way or another seemingly as they choose. Having won their last two games, and with players like Eno Velvson @Nykonax leading the way, the future is promising for Philadelphia. If they manage to acquire more depth to fill the holes in the lineup, expect to see them shoot up in the rankings very quickly. Time will tell, however.

 

6th: Saskatoon Wild

6-5-3, 15 Points, 3rd in Western Conference, 5th in League Standings

 

At the second half mark of the rankings, we got Saskatoon. The deepest team of any other in the VHLM finds themselves in the bottom half of the rankings. Despite the depth and large number of elite players on the roster, they seem to struggle finishing games as of late with 3 overtime losses already. Their biggest reason for this seems to be attributed to players not finishing as needed. Whether it be a strategy issue, overload on depth, eating up minutes for star players, or any other number of factors, they find themselves barely holding their head above .500%, and will likely fight tooth and nail for each win moving forward until their players improve in their individual skill sets.

 

7th: Ottawa Lynx

5-7-1, 11 Points, 4th in Eastern Conference, 7th in League Standings

 

Up next, we have the Ottawa Lynx. A similar team to Philadelphia, but without the early production to win them games, and lack of elite players, they find themselves struggling to be a top tier competitive team. Dan jr @Danzo, and Lucky Mitts @Gmoneyman52 lead the way offensively, but despite their well over point per game production, the lack of depth proves to be a consistent issues as we move further down the list, and expect to see it be a common theme as to troubles teams will face moving forward in the season.

 

8th: Mexico City Kings

4-7-2, 10 Points, 4th in Western Conference, 8th in League Standings

 

A very surprising team to be found this low in the standings and our rankings is the Mexico City Kings. Despite their strong defensive core, bolstering elite players like Mina @Baozi on the blueline, they find themselves unable to get goal production actively flowing. Interestingly enough, however, is the fact that they have one of the highest goals against in the league despite their defense on paper. Perhaps the lack of forward depth is negatively affecting the defense enough that they can’t stop the high volume of shots and goals against that they’re facing. Whatever it may be, if they can get more forwards to take the pressure off the defense, watch these guys explode in production, and become one of the better defensive teams in the league.

 

9th: Houston Bulls

4-8-1, 9 Points, 5th in Western Conference, 9th in League Standings

 

Another victim of the defense shortage the VHLM is facing, we have the Houston Bulls. Despite having one of the best forwards in the league in Joshua Schwarzer @Velevra absolutely tearing it up for them, once again it’s the lack of defensemen on the team that holds them back, and is giving them a difficult time to find their stride in the standings. If they’re able to get a defenseman or two, however, they definitely have the potential to turn the season around and get wins in the books. As a lot of teams struggle with this problem however, being one of the teams to lock up waiver defensemen is going to be a challenge, and might prove difficult to convince players to join them should they fall further in the standings.

 

10th: Halifax 21st

1-10-2, 4 Points, 5th in Eastern Conference, 10th in League Standings

 

Onto our final team in the power rankings, we have Halifax. Honestly, I have no idea how they are this low in the standings. They bolster elite players, and even though they have a lack of depth to lean on, having 5 forwards and a pretty decent goalie in net to help a bit, it usually isn’t a nail in the coffin death sentence towards a team's performance. They hold the fifth most goals for in the league, but by far hold the worst goals against with 65 in only 13 contests. The lack of defense seems to be the biggest issue, and Obuz Schneider Canet du Bocage @Grape can only do so much to help. Perhaps waivers will be interested in joining up with them for Cinderella, coming from way behind story potential by signing up with them. Otherwise, expect a hard rebuild from Halifax going into the midway portion of the season

 

 

This concludes the VSN Week 2 Power Rankings for the VHLM Regular season. Make sure to catch our next rankings as we expect teams to fluctuate a lot in these rankings, and keep yourself in the loop of all things VHLM! This has been Marcus Svedberg, for VSN, signing off!

Edited September 13, 2023 by McLovin

[AJW 1,749]

 

Houston not last place we still vibin

[Grape 528]

Pretty surprising to see Mexico City doing so poorly this early on. Perhaps a strategy change will jolt them back to where they should be. They are by no means a bottom half team on paper.

[Nykonax 1,550]

2 hours ago, McLovin said:

and with players like Eno Velvson @Nykonax leading the way, the future is promising for Philadelphia

That's awkward...

[JCV 88]

Halifax didn’t have a goalie they had to drop him because he was ia, they got a waiver goalie so they should be doing a little better now.

[Grape 528]

On 8/29/2023 at 11:58 AM, Nykonax said:

Well at least the future is even more promising now

[McLovin 393]

Claiming week 2/2

[Mysterious_Fish 268]

On 8/29/2023 at 9:17 AM, McLovin said:

(graphic pending )

 

Hello, and welcome to this VSN Presentation of the VHLM’s Power Rankings for Weeks 1 & 2 of the S90 Regular Season! We’ve got a lot to cover in these, as we’ll be going over projections into the future, current projection and a lot more. That being said, without further ado, let’s get into the rankings!

 

 

1st. Mississauga Hounds

12-1-0, 24 Points, 1st in Eastern Conference, 1st in League Standings

 

Staring off our power rankings, we have the Mississauga Hounds! It’s very easy to understand why they're in first place as well when you look at what they’ve already accomplished. Five of their players are near the TPE ceiling for the VHLM, so having all-stars on almost every line certainly helps, and with the seasons that some of them are having, primarily Grimgor Ironhide @FrostBeard, Gremlis Lielais @Anomalijs, and Howdy Doody @BigIrish. It’s safe to say that unless something drastically changes for the Hounds, expect to see them up here in this place quite a bit.

 

2nd: San Diego Marlins

9-2-1, 19 Points, 2nd in Western Conference, 3rd in League Standings

 

Next on our list, we have the Marlins. The reason we’re not ranking based off standings solely is because there are deeper factors to consider besides standings placement, as they don’t tell a whole story, or where a team deserves to be over where they are in the standings. 5 players at a PPG pace thus far, elite goaltending, and the second highest GDiff in the league has them placed second on our standings. An overall very well rounded team that has potential to compete with Mississauga for first place in the league should the elite players of San Diego step up even more and take off in production.

 

3rd: Las Vegas Aces

9-2-2, 20 Points, 1st in Western Conference, 2nd in League Standings

 

After a few seasons of inconsistent performance, the Aces seems to have found their stride in waivers signed by GM McLovin in the offseason. Bric Sheithaus @Oldhead91and Stinky @taylorherd lead the way in point totals, and a majority of the team is actually nearly at or above point per game production. The only reason they’re not second in the rankings however is because of their defensive game. Of the top 6 teams in the standings, Las Vegas has by far the biggest goals against total among them. If they’re able to round up their defensive game a bit and keep pucks in the opponents net instead of their own, I see them shooting up to second very easily.

 

4th: Miami Marauders

8-4-1, 17 Points, 2nd in Eastern Conference, 4th in League Standings

 

Moving on, we’ve got Miami. A surprising addition to this list, as they aren’t one of the teams you’d expect to see this high in the rankings. Led by Joakim Norden @Kaldolmar in the scoresheet, they boast a surprising lethal offense that’s certainly been helping them win key games to be up at this point. The only weakness is their lack of defensive depth on the blueline. Only having two defensemen is never a perfect strategy, and they’ve been partially burned for it, but despite this they’ve managed to rank 4th in the standings, as well as here in our VSN Power Rankings. 

5th: Philadelphia Reapers

7-6-0, 14 Points, 3rd in Eastern Conference, 6th in League Standings

 

Entering the halfway mark of the rankings, we have the Reapers. After their remarkable season in S89, they’ve slowed down and are looking to be either leaning on waivers to join up midway through the season, or dedicating to the rebuild. They hold a solid record at 7-6-0, only a goal differential of +1, and seem to be a very steady middle ground team that can go one way or another seemingly as they choose. Having won their last two games, and with players like Eno Velvson @Nykonax leading the way, the future is promising for Philadelphia. If they manage to acquire more depth to fill the holes in the lineup, expect to see them shoot up in the rankings very quickly. Time will tell, however.

 

6th: Saskatoon Wild

6-5-3, 15 Points, 3rd in Western Conference, 5th in League Standings

 

At the second half mark of the rankings, we got Saskatoon. The deepest team of any other in the VHLM finds themselves in the bottom half of the rankings. Despite the depth and large number of elite players on the roster, they seem to struggle finishing games as of late with 3 overtime losses already. Their biggest reason for this seems to be attributed to players not finishing as needed. Whether it be a strategy issue, overload on depth, eating up minutes for star players, or any other number of factors, they find themselves barely holding their head above .500%, and will likely fight tooth and nail for each win moving forward until their players improve in their individual skill sets.

 

7th: Ottawa Lynx

5-7-1, 11 Points, 4th in Eastern Conference, 7th in League Standings

 

Up next, we have the Ottawa Lynx. A similar team to Philadelphia, but without the early production to win them games, and lack of elite players, they find themselves struggling to be a top tier competitive team. Dan jr @Danzo, and Lucky Mitts @Gmoneyman52 lead the way offensively, but despite their well over point per game production, the lack of depth proves to be a consistent issues as we move further down the list, and expect to see it be a common theme as to troubles teams will face moving forward in the season.

 

8th: Mexico City Kings

4-7-2, 10 Points, 4th in Western Conference, 8th in League Standings

 

A very surprising team to be found this low in the standings and our rankings is the Mexico City Kings. Despite their strong defensive core, bolstering elite players like Mina @Baozi on the blueline, they find themselves unable to get goal production actively flowing. Interestingly enough, however, is the fact that they have one of the highest goals against in the league despite their defense on paper. Perhaps the lack of forward depth is negatively affecting the defense enough that they can’t stop the high volume of shots and goals against that they’re facing. Whatever it may be, if they can get more forwards to take the pressure off the defense, watch these guys explode in production, and become one of the better defensive teams in the league.

 

9th: Houston Bulls

4-8-1, 9 Points, 5th in Western Conference, 9th in League Standings

 

Another victim of the defense shortage the VHLM is facing, we have the Houston Bulls. Despite having one of the best forwards in the league in Joshua Schwarzer @Velevra absolutely tearing it up for them, once again it’s the lack of defensemen on the team that holds them back, and is giving them a difficult time to find their stride in the standings. If they’re able to get a defenseman or two, however, they definitely have the potential to turn the season around and get wins in the books. As a lot of teams struggle with this problem however, being one of the teams to lock up waiver defensemen is going to be a challenge, and might prove difficult to convince players to join them should they fall further in the standings.

 

10th: Halifax 21st

1-10-2, 4 Points, 5th in Eastern Conference, 10th in League Standings

 

Onto our final team in the power rankings, we have Halifax. Honestly, I have no idea how they are this low in the standings. They bolster elite players, and even though they have a lack of depth to lean on, having 5 forwards and a pretty decent goalie in net to help a bit, it usually isn’t a nail in the coffin death sentence towards a team's performance. They hold the fifth most goals for in the league, but by far hold the worst goals against with 65 in only 13 contests. The lack of defense seems to be the biggest issue, and Obuz Schneider Canet du Bocage @Grape can only do so much to help. Perhaps waivers will be interested in joining up with them for Cinderella, coming from way behind story potential by signing up with them. Otherwise, expect a hard rebuild from Halifax going into the midway portion of the season

 

 

This concludes the VSN Week 2 Power Rankings for the VHLM Regular season. Make sure to catch our next rankings as we expect teams to fluctuate a lot in these rankings, and keep yourself in the loop of all things VHLM! This has been Marcus Svedberg, for VSN, signing off!

When is the next VHLM Power Rankings

[McLovin 393]

Just now, Mysterious_Fish said:

When is the next VHLM Power Rankings

Hopefully later tonight/tomorrow morning!

[Mysterious_Fish 268]

Just now, McLovin said:

Hopefully later tonight/tomorrow morning!

woooo cant wait!

[Daniel Janser 1,983]

10 hours ago, McLovin said:

Hopefully later tonight/tomorrow morning!

[McLovin 393]

14 hours ago, Daniel Janser said:

ye apologies for the delay, still waiting on a graphic from zetterberg. if he doesn't send one soon i'll post the next one without it too