VSN Presents: S91 VHLM Power Rankings: Weeks 1 & 2 Edition

[McLovin 393]

(Graphic credit to @Zetterberg)

VSN Presents: S91 VHLM Power Rankings: Weeks 1 & 2 Edition!

 

Hello, and welcome to this season's iteration of the VSN VHLM Power Rankings for S91! We have a lot to cover, as we are now entering our second week of VHLM games! So without further ado, let’s jump straight into the rankings!

 

 Houston Bulls | 17-2-1, 1st in Western Conference, 1st in League Standings

 

Starting off this season's power rankings, we have the Houston Bulls in the number one spot. The Bulls have been hands down the most dominant team in the M this season by far. Boasting the best defensive team in the league, and constantly being a top 3 team in goal production as well. With dominant seasons being put up by rookie Vanellope von Schweetz @Arce, VHLM sophomore Luna Everdeen @Dee & shutdown goaltending by Pipo Popa @npuBeT, the Bulls are easily the early Cup favorites at this point in the season, and will have high expectations going into the playoffs.

 

 Saskatoon Wild | 15-5-0, 2nd in Western Conference, 2nd in League Standings

 

Moving on, we bring ourselves to the Saskatoon Wild! A very deep and skilled forward core has proven fruitful as they bolster the second best offense in the league, having put up 57 goals on the season already! Alexandros Mograine @sliceruser, Adi Dassler @BOOM & Leo Neelson III @silentnyrf31 are all having phenomenal seasons, and are contributing greatly to Saskatoon's success. Despite the teams lack of defensive depth, the stellar goaltending of Toddly Bobbly @ToddlyBobbly has been simply elite, and has been a major contributor to the team's success this season. Should he maintain form through the halfway point of the season, I see him very easily being a front runner for Goalie of the Year.

 

 Las Vegas Aces | 12-4-4, 3rd in Western Conference, 4th in League Standings

 

Onto our third Western Conference team in a row, we have the Las Vegas Aces! The Aces this season are far more elite offensively than last season, bolstering the best goals for in the league with 59. On the backs of offensive production from Stinky @taylorherd, Jean-Marc Lemieux @Gorth & Piston Maicupp @MandyManiac, they have had no problem putting on high volume of shots and goal production to get them up in the standings. Their achilles heel this season, however, is easily the defense. Already up to 43 goals against on the season, they’ve been struggling in their own zone as much as their opponents have against them, leading to high scoring slugfests regularly. Should Hugo Boss @Dil crank the goaltending numbers up more, the Aces will be a very dangerous team come playoffs.

 

 Ottawa Lynx | 14-4-2, 1st in Eastern Conference, 3rd in League Standings

 

Pushing forward, we have our first Eastern Conference team of our power rankings thus far, the Ottawa Lynx. Having a remarkably strong season in a rather weak conference, the Lynx have been carried by a strong offense similarly to Las Vegas. George Richmond @badcolethetitan & Thijs Mooij @Thijs are both having incredible seasons, and have been major factors to the success the Lynx have enjoyed into this first half of the season. Similarly to the Aces again, they do struggle a bit defensively as they only roster two defenseman at the moment, and their goaltending situation is far from perfect as they have two backup caliber goalies fighting for the starting position. If Andrew Cobberson @BrandyAndy reaches his potential in playing ability, the Lynx will solve a lot of defensive problems and likely shoot up even more in the standings, and in our power rankings!

 

 Mississauga Hounds | 12-7-1, 2nd in Eastern Conference, 5th in League Standings

 

Onto the halfway mark of this iteration of our power rankings, we have the Mississauga Hounds! The Hounds find themselves in a strange position at this point in the season, where they’ve found themselves in a bit of a lucky streak despite specific stats holding them back. They’re not the most offensively remarkable team, as players like Tom Dufour @Cookie, Gremlis Lielais @Anomalijs & Howdy Doody @BigIrish are having just hovering around point per game seasons, which is still impressive but not of league average when looking at other top team scorers. This plus the lack of defensive depth has hurt them a bit in the standings, but the elite play of Pierre-luc Dutil @Pierre-Luc Dutil has helped keep Mississauga in the competition, and may prove to be the piece needed for a deep run into the playoffs.

 

 Philadelphia Reapers 11-9-0 | 3rd in Eastern Conference, 6th in League Standings

 

In the latter half of our rankings, we have the Philadelphia Reapers! A very peculiar team indeed, they bolster the number one and number two scorers in the entire league by FAR in Caring Bear @thecaringbear & Logan Ninefingers @Scurvy, who both have 47 points in just 20 games played! With offensive production like that, surely you’d expect the Reapers to be a much better team than one at an 11-9-0 record. That isn’t the case however, as their lack of roster depth has forced Bear and Ninefingers to essentially put the entire team on their backs to keep the Reapers competitive. Whether this is a winning formula or not is yet to be seen as it’s still too early to say, but the Reapers have two assets here that they either can compete and build around now, or trade at the TDL or sooner for capital on their rebuild. As it stands right now however, I only see the Reapers maintaining this pace unless something drastically changes.

 

 Miami Marauders | 8-10-2, 4th in Eastern Conference, 7th in League Standings

 

Moving right along, we have the Miami Marauders. The defenseman shortage in the M right now has definitely stung Miami, as they find themselves in the worst half of the goals against statistic right now, with their goal differential being at the time of writing this a -10. Players like Demko @Demko & Jeffrey Howard Dewberry Kalin @Motzaburger having strong PPG seasons, they can only do so much as they lead the way offensively. Petit Hughie @Sen is the only rostered defenseman on the team, and the immense responsibility put on the rookie's shoulders has forced him to be a rather good offensive player, but receiving very little help in the way of defense. Perhaps a trade for a defenseman from a team with strong depth in that category (Las Vegas comes to mind with their five rostered dmen) would bear some fruit, and propel the Marauders up in the standings more. Until then, however, I fear the playoffs will be a quick one and done series for Miami unless something changes.

 

 San Diego Marlins | 7-12-1, 4th in Western Conference, 8th in League Standings

 

On the final stretch of our rankings, we move onto the San Diego Marlins! Another victim of the lack of depth plague that’s consumed teams in the M for the last few seasons, San Diego has struggled to keep their heads above water. Forward production has not been at the place it needs to be to help the team, as the two leading scorers by far are defensemen in Factor Lee @Hockeywizard676 & Vladimir Kozlov @vladbatton. They were forced to release a goaltender in Vincenzo Pagano @Oatex who was putting up great numbers, and replaced him with Jake Dunzapp @Dunzapp, who early in the season has struggled a bit with the team rostered in front of him. Should they be able to go out and acquire a star forward to help with offensive production (Maybe one of the two stars from Philly?), it would tremendously improve the team, and shoot them up the standings, and our own VSN power rankings as well.

 

 9. Halifax 21st | 2-18-0, 5th in Eastern Conference, 10th in League Standings

 

Nearing the end of our rankings, we move onto the Halfiax 21st. It’s no surprise to see Halfiax here, as they have only 3 forwards rostered, with no defense and a rather good goaltender in the crease. The rebuild is truly on as Halifax looks to build the future with Bubba Tree @Bubba & Josh Caz @Caz96 at the helm. When you only have two wins in your first twenty games, it’s hard to have much hope at saving the season. Fully dedicating to the rebuild and doing everything they can to maintain their last place position should be a priority, but given the quality of the S92 VHLM Draft so far, it might be difficult to jumpstart a contender after this season unless some moves are made. It’s certainly safe to say that GM @ShawnGlade has his work cut out for him.

 

 10. Mexico City Kings | 2-15-3, 5th in Western Conference, 9th in League Standings

 

Onto the final team in our rankings, we have the Mexico City Kings. Another similar situation to Halifax, the rebuild has truly begun in Mexico City. The strangest thing about this team, however, is that I just find it incredibly difficult to believe they are THIS bad this season. They bolster great star power, with Arne Holmquist @axtron & Hezeus Ohmontegue-Steinhardt X @Sisyphus leading the way offensively, both as defensemen. At this point in the season, it’s an extremely tough call as to what to do. They’re VERY far down the standings, so it may be worth it to dedicate to the rebuild and liquidate their assets before many of them move onto the VHLE. At the same time, they are only 8 points behind San Diego for the last spot in the playoffs, and should they be able to figure out good line combinations and strategies to get out of this massive rut they find themselves in, they have a slim chance to make the playoffs, but a chance nonetheless. Time will tell what happens in this regard.

 

This concludes this Week 1 & 2 Edition of the VSN’s Power Rankings coverage of the S91 VHLM Regular Season! A lot of interesting stories are being made, and a lot to unpack from these first 20 games. This is going to be a very exciting season for the VHLM, so tune in next time for VSN’s coverage of the midway point of the season! Thank you for reading, this has been Marcus Svedberg, signing off!

[BOOM 8,426]

Wooooo, SSK! 

[sliceruser 27]

wow detailed little article, very nice

[Cookie 36]

Sad Cookie noises. 

 

I need to get better..

[Thijs 4]

let's go lynx!  feels good playing well since im actualy a sens fan in real life

[McLovin 393]

Claiming 2/2