S91 VHLM Team Rankings

[Grape 547]

10. Halifax 21st

FD Ranking: 10th (0.131)

Goaltender Ranking: 4th (168 TPA)

 

Halifax comes into the season with the weakest roster in the league. As of last check, they have one forward, no defensemen, and one goalie. Granted, the two players on their roster are relatively high in TPA, they likely will not be able to carry Halifax to relevance. This is also a team that has had some bad luck with waiver players in the past, so it is unlikely that they will get much more support this season. Expect this team to go the Season 85 Mississauga method and get rid of their entire team to lose out and secure some high draft picks. 

 

9. San Diego Marlins

FD Ranking: 9th (0.200)

Goaltender Ranking: T-9th (No goalie)

 

San Diego did a decent job filling out their roster, having the minimum forwards and defensemen to keep the bots out of the main roster, but they lack a real goaltender. We have all seen how much even having a goalie impacts a team. Sure, their defensemen are good and sure, their forwards will get better, but this team simply cannot compete without someone between the pipes, no matter their TPA. Unless they shore up that weakness, expect this team to be a seller.

 

8. Mexico City Kings

FD Ranking: 4th (0.636)

Goaltender Ranking: T-9th (No goalie)

 

This team is pretty similar to San Diego structure-wise, minus one forward. Their skaters are all relatively high TPE for the start of a season, but they are in the same boat as San Diego in terms of the goaltender department. They simply will be unable to compete without a goalie. Based on their roster, this is a team that would likely buy instead of sell. I can foresee that if they are unable to get a goaltender through waivers, that they would look to make a trade to acquire one (cough cough Halifax). If they decide to stand pat, however, they are going to stay near the bottom of the standings and, if they make the playoffs, be bounced pretty much immediately.

 

7. Las Vegas Aces

FD Ranking: 5th (0.430)

Goaltender Ranking: 8th (61 TPA)

 

The Las Vegas Aces have built up a solid roster, with all their needs filled out. While goaltending and forward is a bit of a question mark, that should be easily enough resolved with time. So long as they can keep their players active, they should be competitive enough. A weakness of this team is that they have what I call the “dylan” curse, in which you bring dylan on your roster and they simply just do not claim really any TPE whatsoever and take up a roster spot, making your team worse, but who knows, maybe he will actually follow through with this player.

 

6. Mississauga Hounds

FD Ranking: 8th (0.208)

Goaltender Ranking: 3rd (180 TPA)

 

Mississauga is not primed for a comeback, sorry to say. Sure, they have some decent forwards. Sure, they got Dutil to come back, giving them a legit starting goaltender. However, they have no defensemen. We have seen a one defenseman system work somewhat before, but a zero defenseman system is just asking for failure. They could likely stay afloat until the recreates come in and shore up that weakness, but they likely would want to fix that issue sooner or later. If they do not, then plan for a short title defense.

 

5. Miami Marauders

FD Ranking: 7th (0.241)

Goaltender Ranking: 6th (110 TPA)

 

While relatively weak TPE wise in each category, they do fulfill all their needs (as of now). A pretty average team, all things considered. Does not wow me in any aspects, and likely will not impress many. They should sit near the middle of the league and likely will not do much damage come playoff time. 

 

4. Saskatoon Wild

FD Ranking: 6th (0.395)

Goaltender Ranking: 5th (130 TPA)

 

Saskatoon has continued to do the slow burn, building off draft after draft and consistently having the largest roster in the league. Whilst they do have the deepest forward core and a good goaltender, they lack really any support on the blue line, with only one defenseman on the roster and they have yet to apply any of their TPE. This team does have the resources to make a move to size up their defensemen, if they do not wish to wait for recreates or waivers. Expect this team to be in the conversation for contention, as they have been in the past few seasons.

 

3. Ottawa Lynx

FD Ranking: 1st (0.929)

Goaltender Ranking: 7th (81 TPA)

 

Ottawa is poised to make a strong push this season, sporting a roster of high TPA skaters right out of the draft, having the best overall skaters. Their achilles heel, so to speak, is goaltending. While it should be suitable for the start of the season, they will need their tender to apply their banked TPE to really help push them over the age. On paper, that is the only thing holding them back from being at the top of the league, as well as some additional depth to flesh out the roster.

 

2. Philadelphia Reapers

FD Ranking: 3rd (0.796)

Goaltender Ranking: 2nd (197 TPA)

 

Philadelphia showcases a strong, albeit thin, roster and a top goaltender, which should keep them near the top of the league. By the end of the season, expect all but one of their players to be completely capped and ready to do some damage in the postseason. The biggest concern would obviously be depth, as we have seen the lack of that hurt teams before. 

 

1. Houston Bulls

FD Ranking: 2nd (0.887)

Goaltender Ranking: 1st (200 TPA)

 

Houston bolsters a strong roster, with pretty much all their players estimated to cap out by the end of the season, as well as an already capped goaltender. An interesting note is that they have three defensemen on the roster, which has had some limited success in the past. It could be possible that they look to move one of these to increase their forward core and strengthen their roster, but as of now, they will likely just let it ride. After all, why not? They should be the best team in the league and would not make much sense to alter that for now.

Rosters were last updated Monday, October 30th, so there are likely some minor changes that have occurred
(1082 words)

Edited November 1, 2023 by Grape

[JCarson 610]

For some reason I always find VHLM ranking, whether it be regular season of playoff to be a fun thing to review.  Maybe it is the fact that I have no way personally to make these types of analysis as it really comes down to which players consistently grow and how they build their player.  That said I have to give props to those who face the challenge and put something out knowing that they may be completely wrong and get ridiculed for it.  (wait nobody would be ridiculed on the VHL forum for making a prediction that doesn't come true).  No matter what this article was well put together, had proper use of graphics and accomplished it's goal of providing analytical insight into the VHLM.  I give this article a 10/10.   Would love to see a mid year review and an explanations for any changes in ranking you make.

[Grape 547]

Claiming for week 2