S93 VHLE Start-of-Season Rankings

[CowboyinAmerica 2,711]

 

S93 VHLE Power Rankings

 

It’s going to be a big season for the VHLE. Following a very successful recruitment drive that saw a bunch of new players enter the VHLM at the start of last season, VHLE GMs had to be licking their chops at the upcoming draft and all the players that would be joining their teams. And indeed, those dreams came to fruition - with an 11 round draft that saw 200+ TPE players being selected as late as the sixth round, meaning there’s going to be a whole lot of talent in the league this season. I’d even argue this may be the most talent the VHLE has seen in many seasons, with most teams able to field at least two full lines, and often lines of active players.

 

But for the six-team VHLE where four teams make the playoffs, who’s at the top and who’s fighting to sneak into that final playoff spot? It’s perhaps tougher to determine in the VHLE, where there isn’t as much spread between the TPE levels, and player builds are starting to take shape in a greater way than the VHLM. With so much potential parity this season, it would be a fool’s errand to try and predict what’s going to happen this season.

 

Luckily, I’m just that fool. Here’s one person’s power rankings to start the VHLE season. Right now, I see two real tiers between the bottom two teams and the top four teams, but that’s subject to change with all of these teams so close. In particular, I think there’s going to be a few teams that look really good to start the season, but others will rise as those young S93 draftees continue to train and grow as players throughout the year.

 

As always, assume I know nothing and these won’t be the final standings, unless I’ve chosen your team to win, then I’m an oracle that you can trust with zero hesitation. Everybody likes when you say good things about them after all.

 

(For another view, also see @Noodle Enjoyer's excellent rankings posted yesterday. I wrote most of this on Thursday, my apologies for any duplication.)

 

 6. Bratislava Watchmen

 

The Watchmen were a juggernaut last season, winning eight of their nine playoff games en route to the title. The unfortunate nature of the VHLE, though, is that having a talented team probably means A. a lot of your players are headed to the VHL, and B. you probably mortgaged some of your future to get those talented players. Thus is the case for the Watchmen, who didn’t pick in this year’s VHLE Draft until pick 29 and thus got no players expected to play in the VHLE this season. As a result the roster is a bit bare, with only three forwards, two defensemen and a goalie, all of which being S91 or older. The only capped player in Luke Glendenning is a face-off and defense specialist as well, meaning this team may struggle to score from the jump. Bratislava fans will get to bask in their championship for a while, which is good, because there might not be much to cheer about on the ice this season.

 

 5. Stockholm Vikings

 

The other team that I’d expect to be rebuilding a bit this season, the Vikings have a much fuller roster than the Watchmen do, but perhaps the same level of immediate star talent. The Vikings’ top two picks, defenseman WWumbo and goalie Aleksanteri Kaskiniemi-Kekkonen, are players with a lot of potential, but also likely to be playing in the VHLE for each of the next two seasons. Outside of them, I’m expecting a big jump from potential first liners Dan jr and Nico Belique in their second seasons in Stockholm following last season’s 49 and 40 point affair, respectively. Former first round VHL Draft pick Wayne Shotzky will also probably get some good run in his first VHLE season. But still, the firepower to keep up with the top of the VHLE isn’t quite there yet. Just wait for another season of growth from these players, because this was a team that was constructed with next season rather than this season in mind. They’re absolutely already my pick to be one of, if not the top of, the Season 94 contenders.

 

 4. Rome Gladiators

 

If Bratislava and Stockholm are in their own tier this season, I think there’s a significant step up to the top four. And the only reason that have Rome in the four slot is youth. There’s a lot of talent here from recent draft picks, with Nathan Ecker, Steve French, Tyler Lawson (who’s playing up), Vanuza Kolesinska, and Gul Dukat all showing a ton of potential to be real impact players at some point this season. But that last clause is the rub: Even if I could see all of those players being close to their full VHLE potential by the time the playoffs roll around, they all still have some room to grow during the season to get there. With Miroslav their most seasoned player in terms of practice, will that put Rome too far behind the standings eight ball to keep pace with the top VHLE teams? Perhaps, but even if that’s the case, this one team I would certainly not want to play in the playoffs once all that growth hits. This will be a very different team on Game 72 than it will be on Game 1.

 

 3. Cologne Express

 

There’s a lot to like about the Cologne team. Returning goalie Clark and incoming forward BjorkaBjorn BjornaBjorkson bring a VHLE pedigree of success that is rather rare at this level. Newcomers like Annie Oaks, Forum Content and the playing up Maverick Goncalves bring a lot of offensive firepower. And, of course, a team that made the finals last season and had won three straight titles before that knows how to have playoff success. But if I’m picking nits near the top end of the VHLE, do they have top-end talent to be able to compete early and often? Similar to my argument for Rome, Oaks, Content and Goncalves will be great, but also it’ll take a bit of time to get to the top levels of VHLE talent. I’m a bit worried about a defensive corps with a VHLM-level second line. And though Clark is the most talented goalie in the VHLE right now, I think others will catch him by the time we get into the season. It’s never smart to bet against the Express, as VHL Fantasy Zone players have learned in recent seasons, but for now I have them with a bit of room left to grow.

 

 2. Oslo Storm

 

Following last season’s last place finish, the cupboard was pretty bare for Oslo in terms of VHLE-ready talent. But a lot can change over the course of an offseason. In come a whole hoard of players from the VHLM, including first overall pick Antonia Bucatini, fellow wingers UghSike, Chris Reynolds Jr and Miner VHLer, and defenseman Benjamin Abeduct. Talented forwards in Jussi Jokinenegg (57 points last season), Olumide Anderson (30 points last season), and liam oinas (56 points last season) are hoping to take another step forward, especially as Jokinenegg and Anderson are likely to graduate to the VHL next season. And David Slezak, entering his third season in Oslo, is set to get a full season with a talented roster for the first time. Plus, there’s the Great One Wayne Gretzky lurking as an X-Factor to any team. It’s a whole lot of disparate pieces, and the pressure is on Oslo to win this season. But with some specialist players (VHLer’s Leadership focus, Abenduct’s pure defense) will the lines be able to gel? That’s a puzzle that the coaching staff will be trying to put together from day one.

 

1. Vasteras Iron Eagles

 

The Iron Eagles have not won a Renaissance Cup since the very first VHLE season, where a goalie with a particularly handsome agency (Doomsday, ofc) helped lead the team to victory. But now may be the time for a second. With two of the first four picks in the draft, the Iron Eagles were able to bolster their offense with Gianfranco Del Rocco and Lucy Leitner. Two rounds later, they added Yermolai Nabokov, then followed that up with the first two goalies taken in this year’s VHL Draft: Jorgen Lovstrom and Ondrej Vencko. They join a roster that is absolutely loaded - seriously, just look at the number of bodies, with 10 forwards alone. That’s a lot for management to juggle, but it’s a wealth of riches mostly, with forwards like Crosby, Dufour, Smith Jr and Bell all in the upper half of VHLE talent level. Acquiring defenseman Sunset Moth was also a very shrewd move, especially as he’s returned to practice. The main question: Can the two-headed monster of Lovstrom and Vencko get up to speed quickly enough in stopping the top-end VHLE talent? Both acquitted themselves well in the VHLM, but the VHLE is a different beast. If so though, the Iron Eagles certainly have the talent all over the roster to make a run at the King’s Cup, then the Renaissance Cup after that.

 

[CowboyinAmerica 2,711]

1500+ words, claiming for the weeks ending:

 

3/24

3/31

4/7

[Victor 10,550]

Everyone trying to hype us up smh

[CowboyinAmerica 2,711]

On 3/18/2024 at 10:11 AM, CowboyinAmerica said:

1500+ words, claiming for the weeks ending:

 

3/24

3/31

4/7

 

Claim 3

[UghSike 211]

Awesome work! Clearly well thought out and compiled nicely with a lot of depth and substance. I always envy those with the patience to do articles like these. It's apparent that you did quite a bit of research going into this and it's not something that's just half-assed for a quick claim. I mean, it's 3 weeks worth! This is a media spot that can be used as an example of diligent work ethic and something you should be proud of. 

*Composition 10/10

*Engaging Writing 10/10

*Grammar and spelling 10/10

 

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