VSN Presents: S91 VHLM Power Rankings: Playoff Edition!

[McLovin 393]

VSN Presents: S91 VHLM Power Rankings: Playoff Edition!

 

Hello, and welcome back to the final edition of this season's Power Rankings! In this edition, we’ll be covering the regular season success and shortcomings of each team, and what it may bring them come the playoffs and into the offseason! I have a flight to catch in a few hours, so let’s just jump right into it before I miss my flight!

 

 1. Saskatoon Wild | 56-11-5, 1st in Western Conference, 1st in League Standings +3

 

Up first on our rankings, we have the Saskatoon Wild! Having gone on a massive winning streak since our last rankings, they took the league by storm and taken first place in the league! Led by Jacob Smith Jr @jacobaa19 putting up a 102 point season, with 41 goals and 61 assists being produced from the second line, he’s the perfect two-way center that will carry Saskatoon to hopefully a deep playoff run! Alexandros Mograine @sliceruseralso had a remarkable season, putting up 98 points, with 38 goals and 60 assists! With center depth like this, it’s no surprise all their wingers on those two lines put up well over a point per game, with 3 of them being in the 80 point range. It’s safe to say Saskatoon bolsters one of the best offenses in the league, and will be a dangerous team to face in your own zone come the playoffs! If Toddly Bobbly @ToddlyBobbly can maintain his strong regular season pace, the Wild appear to be a safe lock for at least a Conference Final appearance, and are easily the favorites to win the Cup at this point in the season! Time will tell if this becomes the case!

 

 2. Houston Bulls | 52-16-4, 2nd in Western Conference, 2nd in League Standings +1

 

Pushing onwards, we have the Houston Bulls! The Bulls are blessed by the best defense in the league, having only let in 106 goals over the course of the 72 game season, and it’s all thanks to Pipo Popa @npuBeT and his 22 shutout performance! Historic numbers like this have not been seen in my tenure as a VSN writer, or likely in league history, and should immediately lock Popa in for goalie of the season without a doubt in my mind. Luna Everdeen @Dee, Vanellope von Schweetz @Arce & Guntis Gavilrovs @Girts all put up strong seasons offensively too, so the Bulls are certainly capable of scoring against you while putting up the best defensive game the league has seen in seasons. A finals between Saskatoon and Houston would be incredible, and certainly one for the history books, but the league works in funny ways, so we’ll see what happens come the Founders Cup Finals! Regardless, expect a deep run by the Bulls in which offenses get absolutely shut down.

 

 3. Ottawa Lynx | 48-18-6, 1st in Eastern Conference, 3rd in League Standings -1

 

Onto the first Eastern Conference team, we have the Ottawa Lynx. While they might’ve had a weaker finish to the season than expected, they’re still a remarkably dangerous team. Having a top 4 offense in the league doesn’t happen by itself, and it’s on the backs of George Richmond @badcolethetitan & Thijs @Thijs putting up 101 & 97 point seasons respectively. Helped by rookie goaltender Olafur Gunnleifsson @JartY, he’s put up strong numbers in the Lynx’s own zone helping them maintain their top 3 defense position in the league standings. Overall, the Lynx have a great two-way team, but the only thing that could hold them back is they don’t greatly excel at either category, which might prove problematic should they face Saskatoon or Houston which dominate in their own respective categories. A strong two-way game might benefit them in those matchups, however, if they can shut down the other team's primary function of winning games, whether it be a completely lethal offense or blanketing defense. Time will certainly tell if the Lynx can do this, but they stand a strong chance in this regard and will hold their own till the very end, which could very well possibly be a Founder’s Cup victory for the second time in 5 seasons.

 

 4. Las Vegas Aces | 48-18-6, 3rd in Western Conference, 4th in League Standings -3

 

At the halfway point of these playoff rankings, we have the Las Vegas Aces! They went on a big losing streak towards the end of the season facing Houston and Mississauga, and showed the team that they still have holes in the team that need work before a definitive dominant season can be achieved. They still bolster a top 3 offense in the league, on the backs of Stinky @taylorherd & Jean-Marc Lemieux @Gorth putting up 90+ point seasons. Piston Maicupp @MandyManiac & Bric Sheithaus @Oldhead91 also put up well over point per game seasons, so having point production from both forwards and defensemen help greatly, but their biggest problem might be their goaltending, and specifically Hugo Boss’s @Dil numbers this season. Despite having 47 wins on the season, Hugo struggled greatly to keep his save percentage above .900, and ended the season with a .896 save percentage. He’s been getting steadily better as the season progressed, however, so we’ll see if enough production and growth from him will propel the Aces to their end season goal of a Founder’s Cup Championship or not. Significant pressure is on him to help the team, and his game will make or break the Aces success in the postseason. 

 

 5. Philadelphia Reapers | 47-18-6, 2nd in Eastern Conference, 5th in League Standings =

 

Onto the latter half of the rankings, we have the Philadelphia Reapers! What is there to say about this team that hasn’t already been said? Bolster by far the best offense in the league, they will lean heavily upon it in the playoffs. Absolutely historic seasons by their two top forwards. Caring Bear @thecaringbear put up 166 points, with 69 goals and 97 assists just for the fun of it, and if that wasn’t enough, Logan Ninefingers @Scurvy put up 64 goals and 88 assists for a total of 152 points to end the season. When your top two forwards put up over 300 points combined in the regular season, you have a seriously deadly combo that should provide you with near nonstop goalscoring in any game they play, and they proved they’re very capable of that against much better teams in terms of depth or defense. kodie Curran @Battlepopcorn also put up nearly 100 points as a defenseman, with 75 assists and a plus/minus rating of 82! This team has got it all, and is easily the dark horse candidate favorite of VSN to win the Cup on the backs of the best individual numbers we’ve seen in recent history. Should strong defensive teams like Houston find a way to shut down their offense, they may be in trouble, but a series between the two teams would be incredible to watch.

 

 6. Mississauga Hounds | 35-30-7, 3rd in Eastern Conference, 6th in League Standings =

 

Up next on our list, we have the Mississauga Hounds! Again, not much has changed for the Hounds, and in this ever evolving league, that can prove to be a death sentence in the playoffs. While they have a good shot with the likes of Tom Dufour @Cookie and Pierre-luc Dutil @Pierre-Luc Dutil, the lack of depth has certainly stung Mississauga in a bad way, and made them suffer for it in the regular season standings. They have a relatively strong two-way game setup for them, but it will take an incredible goaltending performance or an all-star point production against some of the top teams in the playoffs to go far. They will still put up a good fight, and won’t go down without giving it their best shot.

 

 7. Miami Marauders | 32-35-5, 4th in Eastern Conference, 7th in League Standings =

 

Nearing the end of our rankings, we have the Miami Marauders. Another similar case to Mississauga, Miami bolsters a strong two-way team with decent depth. It’s just the lack of all-star talent on the roster taking games over that proved to be problematic for Miami in the regular season, and they suffered for it in a big way. Strong regular seasons from Matthew Highmore @NineIQ v2 & Petit Hughie @Sen have helped keep the Marauders heads above water, but they can only do so much when the defense and goaltending lets up as much as they do. Goaltending especially is going to hurt Miami in the postseason, as Shaunca @shaun1979 has struggled to keep his numbers in range of a contenders, and being outclassed by goalies with lower skill sets is definitely something Miami is going to have to look at long term and determine if it’s something worth banking on going into next season.

 

8. San Diego Marlins | 23-48-1, 4th in Western Conference, 8th in League Standings =

 

Onto our final team of these rankings, we have the San Diego Marlins! The fact that they are this low in the standings and getting a top 3 pick in the draft as well as a postseason appearance gives the Marlins a unique opportunity. While not very much is expected of San Diego going up against juggernaut teams, they have the chance to experiment with players they may want to retain long term, either through the draft or in their own system. Factor Lee @Hockeywizard676 put up a strong season as a defenseman, and should definitely put on a good show in likely his last season in the VHLM. The Marlins also have a rookie goaltender in Jake Dunzapp @Dunzapp, who they’re likely going to try and pick up in the upcoming draft should he continue to put up halfway decent numbers with the team fielded ahead of him into the playoffs. Overall, San Diego is in a unique spot and should benefit greatly from the experience gained from this postseason, and who knows? Maybe they’ll win a series or two as well! They definitely have it in them to pull it off!

 

With all said and done, that concludes this season's edition of VSN’s coverage of the S91 Regular Season! Thank you for reading these editions of VSN, and we’ll see you next season for more regular season Power Rankings! This has been Marcus Svedberg of VSN, signing off! Happy playoffs everybody!

[Lemorse7 900]

The curse nooo

[sliceruser 27]

viva la wild

[Cookie 36]

Woo!

 

I am a good shot!

 

Thank you for these kind words, @McLovin I really appreciate it, who knows?  Perhaps I shall become better, either in play-off or in VHLE?   I hope so.

[McLovin 393]

Claiming 2/2