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The Top Ten Hybrid Era Players (My Opinion + Reasoning Backed Up By Stats)

eagle_3450

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eagle_3450

eagle_3450 278

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TOP TEN VHL PLAYERS OF THE HYBRID ERA

Minimum of 500 Games After The Change

All rankings used are inclusive of the estimated career totals for both Nico Pearce and Daniel Janser if they both played their full careers in the Hybrid Era, and due to the difficulties of comparing goalies to skaters, they have not been included in this Top Ten list.

 

10. Perry Lapierre - Center - S82 - @KaleebtheMighty

| 576 GP | 284 G | 366 A | 650 P | 1669 HITS | 308 SB |

 

Lapierre's Career, while not overly special, was quite good. He flew under the radar, not collecting many awards, in fact his only award was when he won the Continental Cup with Prague in S90. Among players in the Hybrid Era (Using the Estimated totals of Janser and Pearce), Lapierre sits 9th in goals, 15th in assists, 10th in points, 7th in hits, and no where near the top in shot blocks for an obvious reason. This, in my opinion, earns him a rightful spot as the 10th best player since the introduction of the Hybrid Attribute system. Lapierre spent his entire career with Prague, a team that while not being the worst in that span, was generally sitting somewhere in the middle of the table. The decision to stay there undoubtedly had an effect on his career stats, but even still he managed to climb into the top 10 of multiple categories among the best of this era.

 

9. Tomas Sogaard - Left Wing - S83 - @Brandon

| 576 GP | 288 G | 371 A | 659 P | 1579 HITS | 320 SB |

 

Tomas Sogaard is the next player on the list. The Danish winger coming in as the 9th best of the Hybrid Era. He has a very similar stat line to Lapierre, but his slight lead in a few key categories just nudges him ahead of the Prague forward. Sogaard spent the majority of his career with Moscow, before relocating to Toronto for S90 and S91. With Moscow, Sogaard won two Victory Cups, though he never captured a Continental Cup in his career. Sogaard also won two individual awards, taking home both the Dustin Funk Trophy and the Kevin Brooks Trophy in S88. As it stands, Sogaard is currently tied for 7th in points with Leandro Goncalves, though Goncalves has more goals and therefore Sogaard drops to 8th, 8th in goals, 13th in assists, and 11th in hits. His time in Moscow, playing alongside some true superstars definitely helped push him to the level that he achieved, but he still undoubtedly deserves a spot on the list despite how good Moscow was during his career.

 

8. Leandro Goncalves - Center - S83 - @leandrofg

| 576 GP | 314 G | 345 A | 659 P | 1350 HITS | 285 SB |

 

Leandro Goncalves, one of the greatest Portuguese players in VHL history, pops into the top 10 of the Hybrid Era by taking the number 8 slot. His recent 112 point performance in S91 will net him awards for sure, so while he currently only has a Continental Cup and a Victory Cup, both won with Calgary, he'll also be getting the Mike Szatkowski Trophy, as well as the Kevin Brooks Trophy. This performance will also line him up for a chance at both the Brett Slobodzian and Scotty Campbell Trophies, which have yet to be decided. He spent most of his career with Calgary before joining Seattle in S90 and Davos in S91. Currently, Goncalves is tied for 7th in points with Sogaard, but as mentioned above, he takes 7th because of his higher goal total. He is also 6th in goals, keeping in mind that these are including the estimated stats of Pearce and Janser, and is down in 20th for assists. He rounds it out with his spot at 20th in hits, but despite the last two categories, Goncalves is definitely on this list due to his impact on the teams he played for and where he ranks among his peers.

 

7. Scotty Sundin - Center - S83 - @fromtheinside

| 648 GP | 334 G | 410 A | 744 P | 814 H | 322 SB |

 

Some people may wonder why Sundin is so low, considering he is both 2nd in Hybrid Era goals and Hybrid Era points, but the answer to that, is his games played. While yes he is 2nd in both of those categories, he also played 648 games, compared to everyone else on the list's 576. His hit total is another reason why he is down so low, since he is one of two players on this list with less than 1000 hits in their career, and is so far down the list that it would take too long for me to search for where he ranks. He does rank 8th in assists as well, but once again, his higher games played was a heavy contributor to his totals. He also won no awards in his career, though due to his 112 points this season that may be subject to change once the Brett Slobodzian Trophy and Scotty Campbell Trophy winners are announced. He was also on Chicago for his entire career, a team that rarely did much, and never made it that far in the playoffs. He didn't have much help up front, and really the only other player to do well in this era on Chicago was Bo Johansson, though the brief stay of Ivan Retoslav did help increase his total in S90 since Sundin finally had a decently high level player with him. Despite the extra season undoubtedly padding his stats, Sundin's career is definitely deserving of a spot on this list, but not at the top for that exact reason.

 

6. Jake Thunder - Defense - S83 - @Thunder

| 576 GP | 121 G | 531 A | 652 P | 1696 HITS | 1276 SB |

 

Jake Thunder is not only one of the best Defensemen of his era, he is one of the best defensemen of all time, and is even 10th on the all time assists list, despite playing during an era where scoring experienced a heavy drop off and goalies began to dominate games once again. Thunder spent his entire career with Davos, and is one of the best players to ever put on a Davos jersey, being 4th on their all time points list, 1st on their all time assists list, and 3rd on their all time hits list. Throughout his career, Thunder won multiple awards including one Continental Cup, and one Victory Cup. His individual trophy cabinet is the largest on the list at this point by far, with a very impressive collection of awards. To start, thunder won the Dustin Funk Trophy in S85, followed by him winning the Alexander Beketov Trophy in S88. He followed that up by winning the Daisuke Kanou Trophy in S89 due to his contribution to Davos' Continental Cup win during that same season. Then, in S90, he won the Jake Wylde Trophy, and the Sterling Labatte Trophy. Among his fellow Hybrid Era players, Thunder ranks 9th in points, 2nd in assists, and 6th in hits. His goal total is too low for me to figure out where he ranks due to the sheer amount of VHL players of this era that have a similar goal total to his. Thunder is without a doubt the 2nd greatest defenseman of the Hybrid Era, falling behind Bo Johansson for the title of greatest of the era, though some would believe that the rankings of Johansson and Thunder should be reversed, the margin is so close that it really could go either way. The only reason Thunder has been put lower than Johansson is due to the team he was on, Davos was a much better team than Chicago throughout both of their careers, and since Thunder had more help, he's ranked slightly lower than Johansson. Both are definitely superstar defenders and deserve their spots on this list.

 

5. Landon Wolanin - Left Wing - S83 - @jacobcarson877

| 576 GP | 331 G | 350 A | 681 P | 1003 HITS | 285 SB |

 

Landon Wolanin is one of the most proficient scorers of the Hybrid Era, and also is one of the highest earning players in league history at well over 2000 TPE in total. Wolanin spent majority of his career in Calgary, before playing his final two seasons with Helsinki, where he finally eclipsed the 50 goal margin in S91 with his 53 goal, 101 point showing. While Wolanin never won an individual award, he did win both the Victory Cup and Continental Cup with Calgary. Currently, Wolanin sits at 4th in Hybrid Era goals, 18th in assists, 5th in points, and though he did clear 1000 hits, the total is still too low to easily find where he ranks among Hybrid Era players. While not having as much of an impressive trophy cabinet as Thunder, Wolanin's stats speak for themselves, and he is undoubtedly one of the greatest players of his generation.

 

4. Bo Johansson - Defense - S82 - @Shindigs

| 576 GP | 111 G | 551 A | 662 P | 931 HITS | 1230 SB |

 

Bo Johansson is one of the best offensive defensemen in VHL history, and is pretty much neck and neck with Jake Thunder as to which is better. Thunder has more hits and shot blocks, but Johansson was on a significantly weaker team for the majority of his career than Thunder, that team being Chicago, and is 1st in assists in the Hybrid Era, while also being 8th in assists on the all time leaderboard. His goal total, like Thunder's, is too low for me to figure out where he ranks, but he does sit 6th in Hybrid Era points and like Wolanin, has a hit total too low for me to check his ranking. Surprisingly, he is the other player with less than 1000 hits on this list, which is why Thunder and him are so close together in the best defenseman of the era debate. Even with that in mind, he is still slightly above Thunder for the reasons mentioned in the other defenseman's section and definitely deserves the recognition he's gotten by going on this list. He also has a few individual awards, as he won the Christian Stolzschweiger Trophy in S83, and the Sterling Labatte, Alexander Valiq, and Alexander Beketov trophies in S86.

 

3. Nico Pearce - Left Wing - S81 - @Spartan

| 506 GP | 298 G | 348 A | 646 P | 1623 HITS | 256 SB |

ESTIMATED FULL CAREER STATS: | 576 GP | 339 G | 396 A | 735 P | 1848 HITS | 291 SB|

 

Nico Pearce is the first player on this list to not have played his full career in the Hybrid Era, so we will therefore be using the estimated career totals which I got from looking at how the rest of his career in this era played out and running the numbers. Using these estimated numbers, we see that Pearce manages to grab hold of 4th in Hybrid Era points, 1st in Hybrid Era goals, 10th in Hybrid Era assists, and astonishingly, 4th in Hybrid Era hits. These numbers are impressive, and Pearce also has a few awards, though not as many as would be expected for a player of his caliber. In S84 he won the Kevin Brooks and Scotty Campbell Trophies, and won the Victory Cup with Prague in S88. Pearce spent his career floating around the league, with his longest stint at a team coming with Helsinki, where he played for 3 seasons. Though 1 of the seasons with them was with pre-hybrid attributes and not counted in his career stats. Pearce, at the time of writing this, is not yet in the Hall of Fame, though many believe he will be given the honour soon enough, and with his actual career point total being even higher than the one outlined in his Hybrid Era estimated totals, that honour may come sooner rather than later.

 

2. Ronan Lavelle - Left Wing - S82 - @Arce

| 576 GP | 322 G | 417 A | 739 P | 1473 HITS | 303 SB |

 

Ronan Lavelle spent most of his career with Moscow and DC, before jumping over to Toronto in S90. During his tenure with DC, Lavelle ended up winning the Continental Cup in S85, and also won the Victory Cup with Moscow in S89. Where his greatness really begins to shine however, is in his individual awards. Lavelle won two Mike Szatkowski Trophies back to back in S88 and S89, as well as the Brett Slobodzian Trophy in S88, the Dustin Funk Trophy in S84, the Daisuke Kanou Trophy in S85, and the Kevin Brooks Trophy in S89. Lavelle is without a doubt one of the greatest players of his generation, and 100% deserves the number 2 spot on this list without question. His totals place him 3rd in Hybrid Era points, 5th in Hybrid Era goals, 7th in Hybrid Era assists, and 15th in Hybrid Era hits. While his totals may not be that impressive, his points per game is 2nd to only Janser on this list, and he definitely will become a Hall of Famer in the near future due to his consistent superstar performances.

 

1. Daniel Janser - Center - S81 - S90 Hall of Fame Inductee - @Daniel Janser

| 504 GP | 291 G | 372 A | 663 P | 1392 HITS | 363 SB |

ESTIMATED FULL CAREER STATS: | 576 GP | 333G | 425 A | 758 P | 1591 HITS | 415 SB |

 

Daniel Janser is the undisputed GOAT of the Hybrid Era, his point per game average was on a level unseen by any other player. His estimated career stats for the Hybrid Era place him 1st in points, 3rd in goals, 6th in assists, and 10th in hits. Janser also leads all Hybrid Era forwards in shots blocked, being one of the only ones to surpass 400 shots blocked in this era. He spent his entire career with Calgary, and led them to a Victory Cup in S86, which he then followed up by leading them to a Continental Cup the season after, in S87. His individual awards are a sight to behold though, in S86 alone, Janser won 5 individual awards, a feat that hasn't been replicated in the Hybrid Era by anyone else. Throughout his career, Janser won two Mike Szatkowski Trophies back to back in S85 and S86, similarly to Lavelle. Janser also won two Brett Slobodzian Trophies back to back in the same two seasons, 2 Kevin Brooks Trophies, back to back in those same seasons once again. He also brought home both the Scott Boulet Trophy and Scotty Campbell Trophy in S86. Janser's sheer dominance, and the fact that he is the only one on this list to be inducted into the Hall of Fame as of now, combined with his near sweep of the individual awards in S86, earns him the right to be called the GOAT of the Hybrid Era, and he sits atop this list as the ultimate Hybrid Era player.

 

FOLLOW UP

Keep in mind that all rankings are my opinion, and to keep from the rankings being too inaccurate, I put the 500 game restriction in so that Brendan Marner would not get in with over 140 games left out of his career. I hope you all enjoyed this article and if you have any feedback feel free to comment below, this is the longest thing I've ever written for the VHL, and I'd love to hear what everyone thinks.

 

 

(2539 Words)

Claiming for weeks ending:

12/31

1/7

1/14

1/21

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Scurvy

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Great read....Agree with all but Thunder..  He should be kicked out of top 10 and replaced by Payne !!!!!    

 

Kidding...I would have Thunder a bit higher simply because he put such great numbers up as a Dman and was equally great at defending as scoring. 

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Alex

Alex 2,959

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With thunder’s career now over, I think that that are very solidly 2nd on this list. While they aren’t in the HOF yet, it isn’t even a question. Additionally, they do have more awards than any defensemen in the hybrid era, and more All-VHL team appointments than any player. Top 4 is likely Janser, Thunder, Lavelle, Payne

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eagle_3450

eagle_3450 278

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On 1/5/2024 at 9:40 AM, Alex said:

With thunder’s career now over, I think that that are very solidly 2nd on this list. While they aren’t in the HOF yet, it isn’t even a question. Additionally, they do have more awards than any defensemen in the hybrid era, and more All-VHL team appointments than any player. Top 4 is likely Janser, Thunder, Lavelle, Payne

I'll agree that Thunder should be higher on the list than I put him at this point, also claim for this week

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eagle_3450

eagle_3450 278

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17 hours ago, UghSike said:

I enjoyed this coupled with the links to the actual player profiles. 

Glad you liked it! definitely the most effort I've ever put into an article for the league

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eagle_3450

eagle_3450 278

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I feel I should say this:
 

10. Perry Lapierre

9. Tomas Sogaard

8. Leandro Goncalves

7. Scotty Sundin

6. Landon Wolanin

5. Bo Johansson

4. Jake Thunder

3. Nico Pearce

2. Ronan Lavelle

1. Daniel Janser

 

Updated list with where I feel the rankings should actually be, based on feedback and new info from S91.

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Pifferfish

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2 hours ago, eagle_3450 said:

I feel I should say this:
 

10. Perry Lapierre

9. Tomas Sogaard

8. Leandro Goncalves

7. Scotty Sundin

6. Landon Wolanin

5. Bo Johansson

4. Jake Thunder

3. Nico Pearce

2. Ronan Lavelle

1. Daniel Janser

 

Updated list with where I feel the rankings should actually be, based on feedback and new info from S91.

Elias Lampi is elite. For sure #11

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Alex

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3 hours ago, eagle_3450 said:

I feel I should say this:
 

10. Perry Lapierre

9. Tomas Sogaard

8. Leandro Goncalves

7. Scotty Sundin

6. Landon Wolanin

5. Bo Johansson

4. Jake Thunder

3. Nico Pearce

2. Ronan Lavelle

1. Daniel Janser

 

Updated list with where I feel the rankings should actually be, based on feedback and new info from S91.

While I do think that you have the top ten players correct, I would probably have Thunder 2nd, as there is a slight argument for them to be ahead of Janser, as they were more consistent over their career and made more All-VHL teams than any other player. Additionally, would probably have Sundin 6th and Goncalves 6th, rest of the order stays the same.

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eagle_3450

eagle_3450 278

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On 1/18/2024 at 12:16 PM, jacobcarson877 said:

Proud to be listed above actual Hall of Famer Brian Payne

Just went through a bunch of my old articles and I'm still standing by the fact that you deserve that spot lol

Edited by eagle_3450
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