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Which VHLM teams have produced the most VHL GMs?

Victor

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Victor

Victor 10,911

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Have you ever asked yourself which VHLM franchise provides the best pathway to becoming a VHL GM? No? Well I did, a while ago in fact, but let the potential article idea sit there through Rara Rasputin's career and my recent second semi-hiatus. Now it is time to answer the eternal question however.

 

How does one quantify such a broad subject? A successful VHLM GM is not necessarily one who spends a season with their team and uses it as a springboard to a VHL career. Getting appointed in charge of a VHL team does not necessarily reflect VHLM GM success either. Furthermore, not every VHL GM tenure lasts long and/or goes well so are those GMs really a good reflection on their VHLM franchise? Finally, given our long and storied history, there are more than a handful of GMs who have managed in the VHLM on multiple occasions, often both before and after their (frequently multiple) VHL stints. How do we handle those? And these days, how do we handle time spent in the VHLE as well?
 

You'll be pleased to learn that I didn't bother tackling most of these quite complex questions. What I have produced instead is effectively a statistical analysis and ranking of VHLM franchises through the years based on the future employments of their GMs. I don't think it is necessarily a best-to-worst VHLM team list or even a best-to-worst GM list, but rather a fun way to look at the long and disorganised history of the M. Whilst this introduction has made it all look quite chaotic, there have been a few basic principles I followed in putting the ranking together:


 

  • All VHLM franchises ever to exist have been included, meaning 17 teams in total, including those which haven't been around for nearly 50 seasons

  • If a team has had the same GM multiple times, they are counted as 1 GM, with an exception or two which is explained separately

  • For the five franchises which existed both before and after the start of the “modern” VHL (I used as a cut-off the expansion to Halifax in S62 as most of the other expansion teams followed shortly after), some consideration has been given both to their performance before and after that date

  • This is mostly about VHLM GMs who subsequently worked their way up to the VHL but some teams have had good representation from experienced heads who did their stints in the big leagues and then came (back) down later on so that's been incorporated as well

  • The VHLE has been ignored entirely in keeping with public opinion


 

Without further ado then, let's count down the best franchises for an aspiring VHL GM, probably.


 

17. Vasteras IK J20 / Moscow Red Wolves (defunct S51) :oldvas:

Total GMs: 17

Future VHL GMs: 2 (Jochen Walser, Tyler Edgar)

Former VHL GMs: 2 (Frank Chadwick, Sterling Labatte)


At the bottom of the list is a franchise that always seems to be at the bottom of VHL lists. There is not much left to be said about Vasteras that hasn't been said before, other than that by association it seems to have cursed both Moscow and the Red Wolves (the former having won 1 of 6 Continental Cup finals as the Menace, the latter being contracted in the VHLE in its Istanbul incarnation). As for the purposes of this article, the most relevant piece is Tyler Edgar being the J20's longest-serving GM, finally getting his cup in S27, and then having a successful spell in Toronto in the 30s – but the franchise has not much of a lasting legacy otherwise.


 

16. Miami Marauders :mia:

Total GMs: 6

Future VHL GMs: 1 (Kris Rice)

Former VHL GMs: 1 (Zack Gagnon)


The VHLM's youngest franchise is next on the list which surprised me slightly, given its early success. But most of that came under the two names above, with Rice then going onto a very successful time as Calgary GM. As for Gagnon, Miami was his last gig before getting the Los Angeles job, but that was neither his first VHL role nor his last appearance in this article.


 

15. Las Vegas Aces (formerly Toledo Scorpions and Bern Royals) 

Total GMs: 34

Future VHL GMs: 8 (Matt Defosse, Zach Arce, Sam Helberg, Chad Murphy, Conner Low, Sachimo Zoidberg, Julian Borwinn, Euron Leonidas)

Former VHL GMs: 6 (Zack Gagnon, Tyler Barabash, Vince Wong, Sterling Labatte, Robbie Zimmers, Ron Dayne III)

Since S62, 11 GMs of whom 2 were future VHL GMs (Borwinn and Leonidas)


As you'd expect for a team that's been in the VHLM since the start (although in a wide range of locations), it's been a turbulent history for the Aces. There will be those that have fond memories of the franchise and those that think it's a forgettable one. In truth, recent history punishes Vegas a bit – unfortunate that its most successful modern era GM (Anthony Pratt) disappeared before getting a VHL job most expected him to get. Other than Borwinn and Leonidas who went onto long-term careers with Helsinki and Moscow, there's a lot of recent names which fizzled out way too quickly.


 

14. Mississauga Hounds :mis:

Total GMs: 9

Future VHL GMs: 2 (Jerry Garcia, Cole Pearce)

Former VHL GMs: 1 (Dominic Gobeil)


The team founded by the Gus/Berocka tandem has seemed to attract GMs who are happy staying at the VHLM level – lots of current actives but other than Garcia's stint in Davos, only Warsaw's Cole Pearce represents the Hounds in the VHL. However, after finally breaking the Founder's Cup duck in S90, maybe fortunes will be changing for Mississauga going forward.


 

13. Houston Bulls :hou:

Total GMs: 8

Future VHL GMs: 2 (John Frostbeard, Nils Godlander)

Former VHL GMs: 2 (Zach Arce, Vince Wong)

 

Similar proportion of VHL GMs to the Hounds with one difference – Houston's alumni have both won championships with Frostbeard's Malmo in S75 and Godlander's Toronto most recently in S91. Four different GMs have won the VHLM Top GM trophy while at Houston, so the Bulls are clearly doing things right at the minors level anyway.


 

12. Philadelphia Reapers :phi:

Total GMs: 7

Future VHL GMs: 2 (Victor Grachev, Alex Johnston)

Former VHL GMs: 0


Ranking higher than its fellow expansion franchises purely based on percentages, Philadelphia has had lots of VHLM success and provided the current Davos and Malmo GMs, with Alex in particular finally turning around the Dynamo's years of despair. A theme in this article now will be that I have increasingly little new insightful information to say about each franchise beyond the information already provided at the top.


 

11. Minnesota Storm (formerly Gothenburg Eagles, Oslo Screaming Seamen, and Oslo Storm) :osl:

Total GMs: 33

Future VHL GMs: 8 (Vladimir Kliment, Damien Walec, Zack Gagnon, Mitch Higgins, Thomas Corcoran, Thomas Landry, William Shaw)

Former VHL GMs: 7 (Brett Slobodzian, Joey Kendrick, Greg Harbinson, Jason Glasser, Tyler Barabash, Jim Gow, Matthew Boragina)

Since S62, 4 GMs of whom 1 was a future VHL GM (Funk), before moving to the VHLE and back to Oslo in S81


If you thought Las Vegas' history was tumultuous, spare a thought for the fans of the Storm. Three cities, two leagues, and screaming seamen, but also an impressive list of former GMs. Oslo peaked probably from S24 to S30 during the streak of Gagnon, Higgins, and Corcoran managing the team immediately before taking over Riga, Helsinki, and Vasteras respectively, although Higgins had by far the most success. There's been some dry spells followed by the Oslo reincarnation doing very well in the E, and overall the team's done good enough for midtable.


 

10. Minot Gladiators (briefly Syracuse Wolfpack) (defunct S42)

Total GMs: 15

Future VHL GMs: 4 (Matt Bentz, Chad Murphy, Jardy Bunclewirth, Tyler Edgar)

Former VHL GMs: 2 (Greg Harbinson, Zack Gagnon)


A blast from the past franchise brings a blast from the past in terms of VHL GMs too. Other than the ever-present Gagnon, none of the men listed has managed a VHL team since the 50s at the latest but several will be recognisable to the average reader. Minot did well when it was affiliated with Calgary, including producing two future Wranglers GMs and in the eyes of many did not deserve its contraction, although its name lives on in Rome today.


 

9. Saskatoon Wild (formerly Fresno Bulls and Buffalo Jr Bears) :ssk:

Total GMs: 33

Future VHL GMs: 7 (Greg Harbinson, Jack Reilly, Jack Sixten, Spencer Flammer, Rylan Peace, Roger McWolf III, Thomas Landry)

Former VHL GMs: 5 (Brett Noiles, James Assayag, Brett Slobodzian, Thomas Corcoran, Vladamir Komarov)

Since S62, 10 GMs of whom 3 were future VHL GMs (Peace, McWolf, Landry)


A storied franchise, still adding to its impressive list of championships to this day, has also predictably churned through a fair few GMs, most famously the namesake of the VHLM's Top GM trophy, Jack Reilly. The Wild fall surprisingly low on the list, in part due to the lack of huge success either side of Reilly, but also few GMs making the leap in the modern, post-S62 era.


 

I sadly have nothing insightful to say about San Diego, Turku, and Brampton so am skipping my commentary straight to the top 5.

 

8. San Diego Marlins :sdm:

Total GMs: 7

Future VHL GMs: 2 (Thadius Sales, Jacob Carson)

Former VHL GMs: 3 (Zack Gagnon, Frank Chadwick, Zach Arce)
 

7. Turku Outlaws (formerly Jonkoping Warriors, Kolari Wolves and Kolari Panthers) (defunct S42)

Total GMs: 18

Future VHL GMs: 6 (Matt Bailey, Tyler Edgar, Chris Miller, Pavel Koradek, Zack Gagnon, Clinton Chevy)

Former VHL GMs: 0
 

6. Brampton Battalion / Blades (defunct S53)

Total GMs: 22

Future VHL GMs: 7 (Scotty Campbell, Tyler Owens, Tyler Barabash, Bryan Svec, Ryan Power, Steve Smeall, Conner Low)

Former VHL GMs: 3 (Jochen Walser, Joey Kendrick, Matthew Boragina)


 

5. Yukon Rush :yuk:

Total GMs: 22

Future VHL GMs: 5 (Austin Gow, Daniel Anderson, Josh Da Silva, Jordan Tonn, Dominic Gobeil)

Former VHL GMs: 3 (Sam Helberg, Victor Alfredsson, Conner Low)

Since S62, 5 GMs of whom 3 were future VHL GMs (Da Silva, Tonn, Gobeil), before moving to the VHLE and Geneva in S81

 

It's no surprise there was uproar when Yukon was the franchise stolen by the VHLE (Minnesota was less of an issue given Oslo was its home before) and moved to Geneva where it had a short and unsuccessful life. Up to that point, Yukon was a hugely successful and popular franchise, producing multiple future VHL GMs from the 40s through to the 80s at an impressive rate given the Rush were only founded in S31. Alas, they are no more, just like their fellow S31 expansion brothers below.


 

4. Bratislava Watchmen (defunct S53) :brt:

Total GMs: 8

Future VHL GMs: 3 (Vince Wong, Blake Campbell, Benjamin Zeptenbergs)

Former VHL GMs: 1 (Sachimo Zoidberg)


Ah Bratislava, back now in the VHLE, but never likely to reach the heights it climbed in its short 23-season spell in the VHLM. 7 cups, 8 GMs, of whom 3 are managing in the VHL today – Vince Wong in his third stint, Campbell and Zeptenbergs meanwhile in their roles pretty much since the Watchmen went extinct the first time, the longest VHL tenures ever, by a distance. A model VHLM franchise so no surprise to see it high on the list.


 

3. Mexico City Kings :mex:

Total GMs: 9

Future VHL GMs: 4 (Nyko Nax, Christopher James, Cole H, Mickey Dickson)

Former VHL GMs: 2 (Chris Miller, Christopher James)

 

A modern day Bratislava? The Kings are the first of the three teams rounding out this list which have one thing in common – a GM who did the VHLM stint, went to the VHL, and came back to the same minor-league franchise. In Mexico City's case that is Christopher James, who led Malmo to the Continental Cup and is now back with the Kings. With a threepeat winner in Nyko Nax and the current GMs of Chicago and Helsinki, it's a good return on investment so far.


 

2. Halifax 21st :hfx:

Total GMs: 9

Future VHL GMs: 6 (Shawn Glade, Roger McWolf III, Ted Mosby, Dylan Wallace, Jeffrey Pines, Mickey Dickson)

Former VHL GMs: 1 (Shawn Glade)

 

Shawn Glade is Halifax's returning GM, with bonus points for being the first GM of the franchise as well, although his VHL stint was not quite as successful. Glade did open the door to a host of VHL GM hopefuls and whilst the 21st hasn't won a championship of their own, 66% of this GMs have graduated to the big leagues – maybe more than a coincidence?


 

1. Ottawa Ice Dogs / Ottawa Lynx :ott:

Total GMs: 33

Future VHL GMs: 12 (Tyler Owens, Brandon Best, Sandro Desaulniers, Victor Alfredsson, James Assayag, Jason Glasser, Jim Gow, Keaton Louth, Esso Drunkmann, Acyd Burn, Dakota Lamb, Nils Godlander)

Former VHL GMs: 6 (Sam Helberg, Frank Chadwick, Zack Gagnon, Jardy Bunclewirth, Joey Kendrick, Jason Glasser)

Since S62, 7 GMs of whom 4 were future VHL GMs (Burn, Lamb, Godlander)


And finally, to the surprise of no one probably, the VHLM's most successful franchise, and the only to be in the same city since S2, is top of the list. Percentage-wise, Ottawa is not actually ahead of Bratislava, Mexico City, and Halifax, but that gets overlooked as a lot of the early numbers are noise from the VHLM's affiliate era. Since Jason Glasser took over and gave the team its own identity, it's been a a very steady run of success both for the franchise and its GMs – 10 of the 12 future GMs listed above have won at least one Continental Cup. Glasser of course came back for a second stint, completing the cycle and keeping Ottawa as a model team into the modern era and very much the type of team I had in mind when coming up with this article.

 

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Victor

Victor 10,911

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On 1/11/2024 at 1:20 AM, Enorama said:

The real measure is which teams produced the most first gens selected in the first round / first gens that made the VHL at all.

It is probably a real measure of something but not the answer to the question this MS poses :P

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Enorama

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39 minutes ago, Victor said:

It is probably a real measure of something but not the answer to the question this MS poses :P

 

So if I write a media spot that's just "I would love to see a measure of how many first gen VHL players each VHLM franchise has produced" 26.3 times you'll pull the data for me?

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Victor

Victor 10,911

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7 hours ago, Enorama said:

 

So if I write a media spot that's just "I would love to see a measure of how many first gen VHL players each VHLM franchise has produced" 26.3 times you'll pull the data for me?

Well no cause that's the job of the writer.

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frescoelmo

frescoelmo 1,275

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On 1/12/2024 at 10:31 PM, Acydburn said:

Figment of your imagination

 

OR New York GM between S84-86 when I took over for Cow before Thad replaced me

 

I guess that would be... San Diego?

 

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