VSN Presents: S91 VHL Season Preview

[Alex 2,876]

@leandrofg

 

Hey everybody! Welcome to this season’s VHL Season preview, after a busy offseason, full of roster changes there’s been a considerable shift in team’s outlooks this season with a major shift towards the European Conference. So, without further to do, let’s jump right into it!

 

North American Conference

 

1 - Toronto Legion 

Forward Rank - 4th
Defense Rank - 6th

Goalie Rank - 2nd

Conference Rank - 1st

League Rank - 5th

 

The Toronto Legion are back this season with almost the same roster as last season with the only changes being due to the retirement of Siyan Yasilievich @badcolethetitan, and Ronan Lavelle @Arce, with this they called up Diego Machado @Dadam30, and Walter Fitzroy Jr @Moon while this is a pretty clear step down it does open the door for Mac Atlas @v.2 to have a career season as they will need to be incredible for Toronto to succeed. While they do now lack a true number one defensemen to start the season, Bobby Bob @Baby Boomer should continue to improve and will likely fill that gap by the trade deadline and with Joel Castle @animal74 in goal they should be alright defensively. Overall, Toronto is still very early in their competitive window this season could very well be their best chance with a relatively weak conference and before the cap crunch that will hit them like a bus in a season or two as their players continue to come off their ELCs.

 

2 - Calgary Wranglers 

Forward Rank - 9th
Defense Rank - 2nd

Goalie Rank - 9th

Conference Rank - 2nd

League Rank - 7th

 

Last offseason it looked as though the Calgary Wranglers were going into an extended rebuild as they shipped out all their stars with the retirement of Daniel Janser @Daniel Janser. But, with some excellent work by GM @Ricer13, they should be in the playoffs this season and could maybe challenge Toronto for the top spot as they do have much better depth. In the offseason they added Sadie St. Louis @sadie, Catia Goncalves @cLoWn, Oreo McFleury @JB123, and Randy Bobandy @AJW up front, and also brought back AirRig GoodBrandSun @Rhynex Entertainment and also acquired Malum Maellard @frescoelmo to help on the blue line. The only real question mark for Calgary this season comes in goal with Merome Dilson @MexicanCow123 as they will be tasked with taking their game to a new level as the team looks to contend.

 

3 - Los Angeles Stars 

Forward Rank - 8th
Defense Rank - 13th

Goalie Rank - 8th

Conference Rank - 4th

League Rank - 9th

 

The Los Angeles Stars surprised a lot of people last season and did their best this offseason to keep the group together and take another step forward. LA brought in both Larry Abass Jr @RileyL and Jon Webber Jr @Webberj in two trades to support their forward core. Although what that did do is left the D-core a little flat as Elias Lampi @Pifferfish will need to step up and fill a massive void this season. LA does still have Art Vandelay @Gustav who will need to be spectacular this season for LA to compete, they should comfortably make the playoffs, but the matter of where depends on Vandelay.

 

4 - D.C. Dragons 

Forward Rank - 6th
Defense Rank - 8th

Goalie Rank - 11th

Conference Rank - 3rd

League Rank - 8th

 

The D.C. Dragons come into this season with a shiny new player in The Frenchman @OrbitingDeath ! This should build upon their existing core, of Vincent Laroche-Gagnier @vincentlg2007, Jason @Jason kranz, and Ryuji Sakamoto @der meister and turn D.C. into a potential juggernaut. However, with this they do have a bit less depth than last season but should be fine with the much improved top-end. The only area where the roster really took a hit was in goal with the departure of Bubbles Utonium @fishy and the signing of Geoff Bezos @Quik, who will enter their first season as a starting goalie. For D.C. there is one blaring question; can the players who broke out last season do it again?

 

5 - Seattle Bears 

Forward Rank - 12th
Defense Rank - 14th

Goalie Rank - 6th

Conference Rank - 5th

League Rank - 11th

 

Seattle committed to the rebuild this offseason and may very well stumble into the playoffs due to them still having some top caliber talent in goal with Clueless Wallob @DMaximus who could very well carry this team there and enters the season a MVP front-runner for that reason. Apart from in goal the roster is primarily 2nd-line/pair players and a mix of rookies and veterans which could maybe just maybe make some noise this season.

 

6 - Vancouver Wolves 

Forward Rank - 14th
Defense Rank - 16th

Goalie Rank - 12th

Conference Rank - 7th

League Rank - 15th

 

The Vancouver Wolves had a offseason to remember that will lead them back to success in the near future. The current team is built around two S88 players in FISTED ANALLY BY A CIRCUS MONKEY Analfist @STZ and Liv Slater @Subject056 and they already have their future starting goalie in Dalkr Vidarsson @KaleebtheMighty. We can look for Vancouver to build around this group with their FIVE 1sts in the next draft. While Vancouver will have an uphill battle if they hope to make the playoffs this season, they could push for the 2nd wildcard spot if a few things go their way.

 

7 - Chicago Phoenix 

Forward Rank - 15th
Defense Rank - 12th

Goalie Rank - 15th

Conference Rank - 6th

League Rank - 14th

 

While the Chicago roster is still not anything special, they do have their goalie of the future up this season in Ryan Artyomov who will be a bright spot for the team this season. For Chicago the future is not now, but they have built a good future core by drafting both Joshua Schwarzer and Lionel Colberg last draft. Chicago is still about 2 seasons away from competing, but when they do, watch out!

 

8 - New York Americans 

Forward Rank - 13th
Defense Rank - 15th

Goalie Rank - 16th

Conference Rank - 8th

League Rank - 16th

 

New York had an interesting offseason; they got the one thing they have needed for 15 seasons with a true number one defensemen in CGY Janser @Daniel Janser and they have kept their young group together despite zero hope of being competitive for at least 2 more seasons. While New York does have some good pieces with Jesper Davis @Josh, Tord Yvel @Trazan, and Francesco Mancini @GioSivo, their goalie is by far the worst in the VHL and is NOT even VHL eligible... It's also important to note that they'll only be able to start them for 8 games as per the spirit of competition rules state "CPU Goaltenders - Teams may not start a CPU Goaltender for more than 8 games in a season, when a human created goaltender above 250 TPA is available. If the team does not have a human created goaltender on their roster, they must make a reasonable attempt to acquire one, whether that is through trade, free agency, or the VHL Entry Draft." as a result NYA is in a very difficult position and will likely have to trade for a teams backup goalie soon.

 

European Conference

 

1 - London United 

Forward Rank - 1st
Defense Rank - 5th

Goalie Rank - 1st

Conference Rank - 1st

League Rank - 1st

 

London took a huge step forward in the offseason, where some people would not have been surprised if they re-tooled slightly. Bringing in Lloyd Braun @Toast and Wann Kerr @VattghernCZ for 2 1sts and signing Ivan Retoslav @eagle_3450 to fill a 2C spot the roster is looking pretty good and could have London’s best regular season ever. With that being said they will be needing their blueline to step up in a big way to minimize scoring chances as that does appear to be the one gap in their roster. As always Jesse Teno @aimkin is the heart and soul of this team, and they will live or die based primarily on Teno. While London does have an incredibly high ceiling, they could also end up somewhere around 3rd or 4th if they can struggle to score again this season.

 

2 - HC Davos Dynamo 

Forward Rank - 5th
Defense Rank - 3rd

Goalie Rank - 4th

Conference Rank - 2nd

League Rank - 2nd

 

Davos has been one of the top teams in the VHL for about 6 seasons now winning a Continental and Victory Cup in that stretch. Last offseason the team decided to go for it one last time as they brought in all of Isamu Knievel @jakkysosa, Big B @Bigb33, Dogwood Maple @dogwoodmaple, and Leandro Goncalves @leandrofg to build upon one of the top roosters in the league. Similarly, to London, Davos is also dependent on their starting goalie in Lachlan Summers @kirbithan, who is coming off of one of the best goaltending seasons in recent history.  We could be in for an interesting battle at the top of the EU this season and Davos should be at the center of it.

 

3 - Prague Phantoms 

Forward Rank - 2nd
Defense Rank - 4th

Goalie Rank - 5th

Conference Rank - 3rd

League Rank - 3rd

 

Last season’s Continental Cup Champion is essentially running it back this season with the only roster change being due to Perry Laperriere @KaleebtheMighty and Jason Argos @Insypher retiring and Prague bringing in Steve Lattimer @pugsood and Zack Martinez @Sam_19 to replace them. While Prague is still one of the top rosters in the league, led by John Jameson @Frank and Nikolas Kauppi @Tetricide, they are quickly getting up there in age and we could maybe see some big trades as they push for another cup. Overall, Prague’s roster is extremely well rounded, and there really isn’t a gap at all, the only question is will the loss of Perry Laperriere be too much for Prague?

 

4 - Helsinki Titans 

Forward Rank - 3rd
Defense Rank - 7th

Goalie Rank - 3rd

Conference Rank - 5th

League Rank - 6th

 

After squeaking into the playoffs last season, Helsinki only improved this offseason by bringing in Pierre-Emile Bouchard @Gaikoku-hito to act as their number 1 defensemen. With possibly the best top line in the league with Daryl Dixon @Ricer13 and Landon Wolanin @jacobcarson877, Helsinki's offense looks solid and could very well take the league by storm. With that being said they will need Fuuka Rask @Jubis to take a step forward this season as Helsinki finally moves into their truly competitive window. The main issue for Helsinki this season is their lack of depth in both their forward and defensive lines. Helsinki should make the playoffs, but will need some luck to compete at the top of the conference.

 

5 - Malmo Nighthawks 

Forward Rank - 7th
Defense Rank - 1st

Goalie Rank - 10th

Conference Rank - 4th

League Rank - 4th

 

After missing the playoffs last season despite being one of the top teams in the league, Malmo made some moves in the offseason bringing in Skor McFleury @Alex and Yaroslav Bogatyrev @Bojovnik, both of whom should make an impact this season. With Malmo their younger players are finally developing into stars with Jacob Stone @scoop and Yaroslav Trunov @qripll set to make an impact this season. The main issue for Malmo comes in goal with Ash Sparks @DarkSpyro who is well below the standard of other starting goalies and Malmo will likely only go as far as he will carry them, unless their offense absolutely goes off. The top of the EU is really up for grabs for any of the teams mentioned already, primarily due to 5 of the league’s top 6 teams being in the conference, this should be an interesting season.

 

6 - Riga Reign 

Forward Rank - 10th
Defense Rank - 10th

Goalie Rank - 7th

Conference Rank - 6th

League Rank - 10th

 

Honestly, if any team is to push one of the top 5 out of the playoffs it’s Riga. While they do lack some top end talent with AK92 Wit da Hoodie @hedgehog337 and Henry Tucker Jr @NSG being the only players over 1000 TPA, their depth is very solid and I actually like them to squeak into the playoffs, it’s just a question of which top team will falter. Defensively Brian Kowalski @Wheaties is not that far removed from a career season they could easily reach that level again. Riga, while lower ranked than the other competitive teams, could easily make things very interesting this season.

 

7 - Moscow Menace 

Forward Rank - 11th
Defense Rank - 11th

Goalie Rank - 14th

Conference Rank - 7th

League Rank - 12th

 

The future in Moscow is very bright, they should be back to being a top team in 2 to 3 seasons depending on when @Spartan pulls the trigger. Moscow does have some of the best young players in the league with Axle Gunner @Steve, Jeff Lewis @nerji, and Nils Andersson @Viper. With several more prospects in the VHLE, Moscow is looking ridiculous in the future. This should be a great team very soon.

 

8 - Warsaw Predators 

Forward Rank - 16th
Defense Rank - 9th

Goalie Rank - 13th

Conference Rank - 8th

League Rank - 13th

 

The rebuild is still in full swing in Warsaw with the team making a questionable trade in the offseason and just really lacks any top end talent or prospects outside of Maxim Anisimov @McLovin and King Kisslinger @Kisslinger. Warsaw still has a way to go and patience will be needed to get the team back to a spot where they can consistently win games.

 

Thank you for reading this season’s VHL preview! Best of luck to everyone this season!

 

Edited November 4, 2023 by Alex

[Daniel Janser 1,983]

9 minutes ago, Alex said:

forward

But CGY plays defence...

and Jacob may not be happy about your choice of badge for the Unitied tbh... I mean it happened in 1776 but it still smarts...

 

Good write up regardless, keep it up

Edited November 4, 2023 by Daniel Janser

[jacobcarson877 2,076]

6 minutes ago, Daniel Janser said:

Jacob may not be happy about your choice of badge for the Unitied tbh... I mean it happened in 1776 but it still smarts...

What’s funny is I didn’t even notice until now. Another win for the rebrand!

[VattghernCZ 670]

Vancouver and Seattle going into the rebuild at the same time...can't wait to watch the next wave of rivalry, should be great! 

[der meister 2,925]

Defense rank 14? We'll finish top 5 for sure.

[twists 276]

This mf didn't even mention me smh