VSN Presents: S92 VHL Preview

[Alex 2,876]

 @Jason kranz

 

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 - Calgary Wranglers

Forward Rank - 5th
Defense Rank - 4th

Goalie Rank - 3rd

Conference Rank - 1st

League Rank - 3rd

 

New GM @leandrofg, came in and made a splash this offseason, bringing in Skor McFleury @Alex and Pope Francis @nurx to revamp the defensive group. While the majority of the roster is still the same, and it is very well rounded, there is one main area for concern, specifically the lack of a pure goalscoring elite forward. This will likely hinder their offensive production this season. With that being said, they could very well cruise to the top of the conference, barring any scoring issues.

 

2 - D.C. Dragons

Forward Rank - 3rd
Defense Rank - 11th

Goalie Rank - 7th

Conference Rank - 2nd

League Rank - 5th

 

The D.C. Dragons were able to finally find a solution in goal with Henry Tucker Jr @NSG, the hope is that this improvement, along with Mark Calaway @Beketov hopefully stepping into the role of a number 1 defensemen. Overall D.C. is a very well rounded team, and if they can add a 4th defensemen, could be favourites to win the North American Conference. As of right now, the fate of D.C. rests with Jason @Jason kranz and The Frenchman @OrbitingDeath as they will both need to have great seasons for D.C. to succeed.

 

3 - Toronto Legion

Forward Rank - 12th
Defense Rank - 10th

Goalie Rank - 6th

Conference Rank - 5th

League Rank - 10th

 

Toronto is in a weird spot right now, while they do have the top end talent in every position, a lack of depth may hurt them as the season starts. However, It’s very difficult to overlook their core, and some players that are still improving on a weekly basis. Toronto is a bit of a question mark this season, but if they stay in contention until the trade deadline and use their cap space effectively, it won’t be a surprise when they repeat.

 

4 - Los Angeles Stars

Forward Rank - 2nd
Defense Rank - 12th

Goalie Rank - 9th

Conference Rank - 3rd

League Rank - 7th

 

If D.C.’s defense was an area of concern, Los Angeles’ is very much in the same boat. While LA still has one of the league’s best and most proven offenses led by Todd Cooke @KRZY and Larry Abass Jr @RileyL, Elias Lampi @Pifferfish will need to duplicate their S91 if Los Angeles is to be competitive. Los Angeles arguably has a uphill battle this season if they hope to avoid the wildcard round. With the steep drop off to the bottom 3 teams in the conference they should safely make the playoffs at least.

 

5 - New York Americans

Forward Rank - 9th
Defense Rank - 6th

Goalie Rank - 11th

Conference Rank - 4th

League Rank - 8th

 

New York? In the playoffs? That’s what we are predicting this season! @STZ hit the ground running, brining in FISTED ANALLY BY A CIRCUS MONKEY Analfist, and Malum Maellard @frescoelmo! In combination with the young rookie talents in Callum Gary Yannic Janser @Daniel Janser, WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW @rory, and Rin Kagamine @Rin. New York’s rookies are developing quickly and should make this a top team in no time. Making the playoffs would be huge for New York and for the first time in a while that is the expectation this season.

 

6 - Chicago Phoenix

Forward Rank - 13th
Defense Rank - 13th

Goalie Rank - 12th

Conference Rank - 6th

League Rank - 14th

 

The departure of Scotty Sundin @fromtheinside hurts, while most of the roster has improved, hoping for another miracle season is a far cry from the truth. While the addition of Yaroslav Trunov @qripll is an interesting move, they are similar in skill to Sundin. It will certainly be a tough season in Chicago. They are fairly well rounded and very young, there is a slight chance that Chicago at least makes the playoff race interesting, but it could be over quickly.

 

7 - Vancouver Wolves

Forward Rank - 16th
Defense Rank - 15th

Goalie Rank - 14th

Conference Rank - 8th

League Rank - 16th

 

Outside of Liv Slater @Subject056, there’s not much going on in Vancouver this season, which is expected given that their team is largely built around the S92 draft. While this season is clearly development focused in Vancouver, they should hit the ground running in S93. Vancouver could very well be in a battle for lottery odds with Seattle.

 

8 - Seattle Bears

Forward Rank - 14th
Defense Rank - 16th

Goalie Rank - 16th

Conference Rank - 7th

League Rank - 15th

 

Seattle is really taking their time with their development, while they do have some solid young players this season with Severus Targaryen @Banackock, Gustav Mathias @Berocka, Toby Kadachi @ROOKIE745, and Simons Worth Nightmare @zepheter, outside of them there isn’t much special this season, we can expect Seattle to likely be in a tank battle with Vancouver for most of this season.

 

European Conference

 

1 - Prague Phantoms

Forward Rank - 4th
Defense Rank - 1st

Goalie Rank - 5th

Conference Rank - 2nd

League Rank - 2nd

 

Prague is back! After a disappointing end to S91 which saw the team just miss the playoffs, while their roster is essentially the same as the lone addition is Spanish Moon Moth @Renomitsu, we can expect a classic revenge season here, and don’t be surprised if Prague takes the league by storm this season. John Jameson @Frank is still a top 5 player in the league, and if Matt Murdock @Acydburn can deliver some solid goaltending, Prague should cruise to a top 3 spot in the conference and maybe a Victory Cup.

 

2 - Helsinki Titans

Forward Rank - 6th
Defense Rank - 2nd

Goalie Rank - 4th

Conference Rank - 3rd

League Rank - 4th

 

Helsinki was essentially able to run it back with their S91 roster which made it to the finals, with the lone change being as a result of the Landon Wolanin @jacobcarson877 retirement, as Grimgor Ironside @FrostBeard made the jump to the VHL. With that being said, Helsinki is right behind London with their window quickly coming to a close as Pierre Emile Bouchard @Gaikoku-hito has only 1 season left, and their core is primarily S86 players with Daryl Dixon @Ricer13, Rick Grimes @tinafrombobsburgers, and Fuukka Rask @Jubis. Expect to see Helsinki be a bit more aggressive down the road. With that being said they are definitely in the top tier of teams in the league and should challenge for a cup again.

 

3 - London United

Forward Rank - 1st
Defense Rank - 5th

Goalie Rank - 1st

Conference Rank - 1st

League Rank - 1st

 

Now London is in their twilight of their window, with Molly The Cat @JCarson retiring at the end of this season, and Jesse Teno @aimkin the following season. London may only have one or two more seasons left to compete. While the roster is very complete, they do lack a true number one defensemen. However, with the league’s top offense and goaltending, that’s honestly not much of a concern. If Teno can duplicate their S91, don’t be surprised if London pushes for the top of the conference.

 

4 - Malmo Nighthawks

Forward Rank - 7th
Defense Rank - 3rd

Goalie Rank - 10th

Conference Rank - 4th

League Rank - 6th

 

Malmo is coming off of an interesting offseason, with the salary cap costing them to have to trade away one of their better forwards and also losing one of the league top defensemen. The good news is, Jacob Stone @scoop is ready to step into that number 1 role, and their forward core is still very solid. Ironically, the only question with their roster is the same as last season, Ash Sparks @DarkSpyro has now solidified themselves into the second tier of goaltenders in the league, and while functional, the need for an elite goaltender still exists. The gap from 4th to 7th is very small, and for that reason it was difficult to come to conclusions on our predictions. We have Malmo towards the front of this group, but it’s anyone’s game.

 

5 - Moscow Menace

Forward Rank - 11th
Defense Rank - 9th

Goalie Rank - 13th

Conference Rank - 7th

League Rank - 12th

 

Moscow is probably the league’s biggest question mark heading into this season. While on paper right now the team is 7th in the EU, the roster is very well balanced, and the majority of the players are very high earning meaning that the gap will close and in a hurry. A fast start to the season could be all Moscow needs to make a playoff push down the road. The roster is relatively complete, and time may just be the only thing holding Moscow back this season.

 

6 - Riga Reign

Forward Rank - 8th
Defense Rank - 14th

Goalie Rank - 15th

Conference Rank - 6th

League Rank - 11th

 

Riga turned heads last season, and that made them difficult to place this time around. While they do have offensive talent to make the playoffs again, their defense and goaltending leave something to desire. AK92 Wit da Hoodie @hedgehog337 is coming off of a career season, and could very well be the “Scotty Sundin” of this season and pull Riga to the playoffs. Additionally, while their defense and goaltending is at the lower end of the league right now, they do have plenty of potential to improve and quickly. We have Riga somewhere in the middle of that 4th to 7th area.

 

7 - Warsaw Predators

Forward Rank - 10th
Defense Rank - 7th

Goalie Rank - 8th

Conference Rank - 5th

League Rank - 9th

 

Warsaw had a very busy offseason, bringing in a lot of players to strengthen their existing core. With that being said their recently acquired goaltender only has 1 season left in their career, and with no top goalie in the system, Warsaw is in do or die mode, as with no solution their window is this season. While there could be more long term solutions available next offseason, don’t be surprised if Warsaw moves a lot to push for the cup right now. With that being said they do have a bit of an uphill battle this season as they are lacking a true number one forward and defensemen. While they could finish anywhere between 4th and 7th, it will be close.

 

8 - HC Davos Dynamo

Forward Rank - 15th
Defense Rank - 8th

Goalie Rank - 2nd

Conference Rank - 8th

League Rank - 13th

 

Davos made the move into a much needed rebuild this season, but held onto David Jokinen @Ahma, a number 1 defensemen in the current landscape, and Lachlan Summers @kirbithan, now a franchise icon, potential future Hall of Famer, and the 2nd best goalie in the league. With this Davos does have a very interesting outlook this season, as while their offense won’t be setting the world on fire, they are very solid defensively and could potentially hold out to win a few low scoring games against just about any team. With that being said, those could be few and far between.

 

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

[dlamb 1,299]

smoking that warsaw pack 

 

[Lemorse7 899]

I have the motivation to max earn now maybe Amen  

[rory 1,759]

Thank you for recognizing me as superior to Eno 

[STZ 5,286]

NYA the biggest bunch of cursed names out there. Made that paragraph beautiful imho.