Theme Week – Hey now, your a All-star (RIP Steve Harwell)

[Smarch 3,194]

Theme Week – Hey now, your a All-star (RIP Steve Harwell)

With this year’s theme week finally announced as “All-star”, we wanted to look at who we would think would represent the North American and European Conferences in a VHL all-star game if it was to take place with current VHL players from each VHL Team.

North American Conference:

 

Calgary Wranglers: Randy Bobandy (C) 

Season Eighty-Seven draftee Randy Bobandy is our pick from the Calgary Wranglers. After years in Truro Nova Scotia as the assistant trailer park supervisor, Bobandy helped to the VHL where he drafted Fourth Overall by the Seattle Bears. After four very successful personal seasons with the Bears, Bobandy was traded to the Wrangles ahead of the start of the Season Ninety-One season. After posting his lowest point total in the VHL since his rookie season last season in Calgary, Bobandy is back to being a point per game player this season. With thirteen goals and thirty-one assists in the Wranglers thirty-eight games played this season, Bobandy is leading the way offensively for Calgary who sits only eight points behind Los Angeles for first place in the conference.

 

Chicago Phoenix: Yaroslav Trunov (RW)

Another Season Eighty-Seven draftee Yaroslav Trunov is out pick for the non-existent VHL all-star game for the Chicago Phoenix. Trunov is leading the way by a large margin for the Phoenix, as he currently leads the Phoenix in points with twenty-four goals and twenty-nine assists, with his closest teammate having only thirty points. Trunov is in his first season in Chicago after spending the last five seasons with the Malamo Nighthawks and is currently on pace for his best season offensively. Not only is Trunov leading the way for the Phoenix but Trunov also sits in second place in the entire VHL in points, only five points behind the league leader AK92 With da Hoodie. With such an outstanding season, Trunov being selected a VHL all-star in Season Ninety-Two would be very well deserved.

 

D.C. Dragons: Mark Calaway (D)

Currently in third place in the VHLs North American Conference, the D.C. Dragons had many multiple players step up to the plate on contribute game in and game out. Players like The Frenchman, Vincent Laroche-Gagnier and Jason are currently leading the way offensively, but out pick for the Dragons would come for the defensive side of the team in Mark Calaway. Calaway is currently the best defender on the roster by a long shot, putting up thirteen goals and twenty-five assists in thirty-eight games played this season. Calaway is in his fourth season in the VHL with the Dragons, where he has put up respectful numbers in the previous three seasons, but the towering defenseman in on track to put up career numbers his season and that deserves an all-star nod in our opinion.

 

Los Angeles Stars: Art Vandelay (G)

In his last season in the VHL, Art Vandelay sure isn’t showing signs of aging or in the VHL case, depreciation. Vandelay is currently leading the entire league in wins on the season, winning twenty-nine of his thirty-eight games he started in net this season. Vandelay is also putting up numbers so far this season that bests his career averages, with a .929 save percentage and 2.13 goals against average. The former first overall VHL draft pick from the Season Eighty-Four VHL Entry Draft, Vandelay is hoping his last season in the VHL won’t only end with an “all-star” selection but also some VHL hardware, namely his first Continental Cup.

 

New York Americans: WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW (G)

After two seasons with the Bratislava Watchmen in the VHLE, W36 is showing the wait was worth it for the Americans brass and fans. W36 has played in thirty-eight games for the Americans this season, putting up eighteen wins in those thirty-eight games. While the eighteen wins aren’t eye popping, it’s the fact that W36 has put up a .940 save percentage and 1.93 goals against average that has up picking him for our all-star roster. Those numbers would be league leading if the league had a minimum number of games played to be eligible for the leaderboard in those categories. The play of W36 is one of the biggest reasons that New York currently finds themselves in a playoff spot as the league hits the half-way point, and the Americans hope the Season Ninety goalie can continue his stellar play the remainder of the season to help the club back into the playoffs this season for the first time since Season Ninety-Eight.

Seattle Bears: Severus Targaryen (C)

While it’s been a tough go of it this season in Seattle, Severus Targaryen has been playing his best hockey to date in his second season with the Seattle based VHL club. After putting up fifty-eight points in his rookie season last year with the Bears, Targaryen is on pace to smash that total this year as he has put up forty-five points in just thirty-seven games this season. With Seattle currently sitting at the bottom of the standings in the entire league, the great season by Targaryen is likely to be ignored by many around the league outside of Seattle, but with him being the top scorer with him being the top scorer in Seattle by a large margin we couldn’t ignore it and wanted to give him his due regard and list him as the Bears representative in out faux all-star game roster.

Toronto Legion: Jimi Jaks (C)

For the next selection for our Season Ninety-Two “all-star” roster, we head to the opposite end of the North American conference, with the Toronto Legion. Toronto is currently in the fifth spot in the North American Conference, which is the last playoff spot in the conference, but are just three points head of sixth place Chicago. Toronto is currently in the playoff spot in large part to the point per game place of their American center, Jimi Jaks, which should be no surprise to the Legion faithful. Jaks has been a point per game player the last two seasons, putting up a respectful seventy-nine and eighty-one points those two seasons, numbers which he may pass this season. So far in thirty-eight games Jaks has put up eighteen goals and twenty-two assists, which leads the Legion roster. The Legion are hoping Jaks can bring his play to the next level in the second half of Season Ninety-Two to bring them back to the finals for another shot at the cup.

Vancouver Wolves: Liv Slater (D)

With recent deals that saw Vancouver move out some of their top scoring players, Slater has been leaned upon to pick up the slack from the blue-line, something he has done. Slater currently sits second on the roster in points, with thirty-eight points in thirty-seven games which is just three points behind the team leader in Nick Sansoe. Slater who signed a massive four-year extension with the Wolves this offseason is really showing his worth in Season Ninety-Two, in what is a re-building season for the Wolves, something that should excite the Wolves management as the look to make a splash next season.

 

 

European Conference:

 

HC Davos Dynamo: David Jokinen (D)

Our first selection for the European Conference “all-stars” is long-time Davos Dynamo member David Jokinen. Drafted Tenth Overall back in the Season Eighty-Seven VHL Entry Draft, Jokinen is in his sixth season in Davos, and is likely on his way to a career year offensively with the club. Currently in the thirty-eight games played this season, Jokinen has put up a career-high fourteen goals to go along with twenty-three assists, which is good enough to currently lead the entire Dynamo roster in points. While Jokinen has been a stud offensively for the Dynamo, he also currently sits second in the league in shots blocked with 112 on the season. Currently a top ten offensive defenseman and top two defensive defenseman in the league, we could hardly pass Jokinen up while assembling out “all-star” roster.

 

Helsinki Titans: Kronchy Kardashian (D)

Right after selecting Jokinen, we head back to the blue-line to pick our next “all-star”, this time Helsinki’s Kronchy Kardashian. This selection was a bit harder than the rest considering either party on the Titans top defensive paring could have been selected, we selected Kardashian as he was above PEB on the team scoring list, we assume due to alphabetical order. None the less, Kardashian is just as deserving of the selection regardless of why we selected him. Kardashian has put up eight goals and thirty-three assists in Helsinkis’ thirty-eight games played, which puts him one behind the league leader in the VHL in defenseman points. After putting up career highs in all offensive categories last season, Kardashian might be on his way to match his career high in points (76) this season, as he looks to help the Titans back to the Cup finals for a second straight season.

 

London United: Leonard Triller (RW)

Season Eighty-Six draftee Leonard Triller would be out selection for the “all-star” game from the London United. Triller is in his fifth season with the London based VHL team, and it is coming off a stellar season last year, where he put up seventy-nine assists and 103 points overall. After 100-point season, there is often a drop off the following year, especially in the sporadic VHL, but Triller is on pace to again break the 100-point plateau. Triller has twenty-two goals and thirty assists in the United first thirty-seven games on the season, which will set him up nicely for the second half of the season. With the United currently in third place in the European Conference, London hopes Triller can keep the offensive production up and help the club advance further into the playoffs after last years early exit.

 

Malmo Nighthawks: Ash Sparks (G)

The first netminder on our list for the European Conference, Ash Sparks has been having an outstanding season for Malmo. Sparks has appeared in all thirty-four out of the thirty-eight games the Nighthawks have played in so far, putting up a 23-8-3 record. Along with the second most wins amongst all VHL goaltenders, Sparks has also put up a respectable .928 save percentage and 2.27 goals against average, which are both top ten numbers in the VHL. With Malmo currently in first place in the European Conference, Sparks has been a big part of the outstanding season they are currently experiencing in Malmo, a season that the Nighthawk management hope continues through the second half of the season.

Moscow Menace: Olober Syko (G)

The second-best team in the European Conference, the Moscow Menace are another team that find themselves in the position they are in in large part to the stellar play of their rookie netminder Olober Syko. While the Menace currently have three players with over a point per game, Syko has been lights out most nights he has started in net, especially for a first-year goalie. First year goalies often have a tough go of it in the VHL, but Syko has been impressive with twenty wins already this year. Along with his twenty wins, Syko has also put up a .921 save percentage and 2.75 goals against average. If the Menace hope to stay a top of the standings in Season Ninety-Two, Syko will need to keep up his play to make sure that happens.

Prague Phantoms: John Jameson (C) 

Next Up on our list is the Prague Phantoms. From the Phantom we would gladly pick John Jameson who is currently the team leader in points. Selected second overall in the Season Eighty-Five VHL Entry Draft, Jameson has been a mainstay on the Phantoms roster since his rookie season in Season Eighty-Six. Jameson has had a good run of late with 114, 101 and ninety-one points in the last three seasons, and looks poised to break the 100 point plateau again in his seventh season in the VHL. So far in thirty-eight games this season Jameson has nineteen goals and thirty-one assists, numbers which put him in sixth place in the overall point race in the league. Prague will need Jameson to continue his scoring ways to ensure they head back to the playoffs after last seasons playoff hiatus.

 

Riga Reign: AK92 Wit da Hoodie (LW)

The league leader in points, AK92 is having another stellar year with the Reign. After a career season with the Reign in Season Ninety-One, which saw AK92 put up ninety-seven points, AK92 is looking to break the 100-point mark for the first time in his VHL career. AK currently has put up twenty-eight goals and thirty assists in the Reigns’ thirty-six games played this season, which puts him well above the pace to hit the 100-point mark this season. The Reign are currently on the outside looking in on the playoffs and will need AK92 and the rest of the team to turn it up a notch if they wish to overtake the teams in front of them in the European Conference.

 

Warsaw Predators: Dogwood Maple (C)

The final selection for our “all-star” game roster of current VHL players is Warsaw Predators first-year player Dogwood Maple. After being traded to the Predators prior to the season, Dogwood put his best foot forward in his first thirty-seven games with the franchise. So far in season thirty-seven Dogwood has put up sixteen goals and twenty-six assists, which leads the team by ten points. With Warsaw not currently having the season they hoped for at this point in the season, we wanted to give Dogwood the recognition that he deserves with the great season he is currently experiencing.

 

2,265 words. 

Weeks including: 

Jan 28-Feb 3

Feb 4- Feb10

Feb 11 - Feb 17

Feb 18 - Feb 21

[BOOM 8,818]

Nice one Smarchy.

[Smarch 3,194]

3 hours ago, BOOM said:

Nice one Smarchy.

Happy belated birthday to you as well 

[BOOM 8,818]

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