VSN Presents: VHL Power Rankings - Week 2

[Alex 3,137]

@Ricer13

 

Hi everyone! Welcome to week 2 of this season's VHL Power rankings! We've had some big moves since the last edition so let's jump right in!

 

North American Conference

 

1 - Seattle Bears (+3)

Record – 24-9-3

Current place in Standings – 1st 

Standout Player – Eric White Jr @Mysterious_Fish

 

Seattle has been great so far this season and look to be the favourites to finish at the top of the North American Conference. There really isn’t any cause for concern in Seattle, we can expect them to be in the market for a defensemen in the coming days, keep an eye out for a potential trade between them and Prague.

 

2 - Vancouver Wolves (+4)

Record – 21-14-1

Current place in Standings – 4th

Standout Player – Logan Ninefingers @Scurvy

 

Following their usual slow start to the season, Vancouver has been red hot and quickly climbing the standings recently. In large part due to their entire roster just firing on all cylinders, much like Seattle they are only running 3 defensemen right now, so they will certainly be looking for a fourth moving forwards.

 

3 - Toronto Legion (-1)

Record – 22-11-3

Current place in Standings – 3rd

Standout Player – Harry Callahan @dstevensonjr

 

It’s Toronto’s final season of their competitive window, and with the only concern for them being goaltending at this moment we can expect them to be trying to trade for any improvement in goal as they are currently running a bottom 3 starting goalie in the league.

 

4 - Chicago Phoenix (-1)

Record – 24-10-2

Current place in Standings – 2nd

Standout Player – Ryan Artyomov @Enorama

 

Chicago has been exceeding expectations so far this season, in part due to potential league MVP Ryan Artyomov who has been spectacular so far, having gone 7-3-0 in their last 10, Chicago seems to still be trending in the right direction.

 

5 - New York Americans (-4)

Record – 19-16-2

Current place in Standings – 6th

Standout Player – W. WWWWWWWWWWWW @rory

 

New York’s season has been lack-luster at best. TPE wise they are the top team in the league, so currently being 6^th in the conference isn’t good news for a team that should be in the middle of their window. With that being said they have had a tougher schedule to start the season, and their 2^nd half should bring better results that should help them creep into the playoffs where anything can happen

 

6 - Calgary Wranglers (-1)

Record – 18-13-6

Current place in Standings – 5th

Standout Player – Catia Goncalves @cLoWn

 

Calgary is a team where it’s difficult to place in the conference. On paper their roster is well off the contending teams in the conference, but they have been performing well. The main issue is that they have the lowest TPE goalie in the league by a considerable margin and their SV% has been reflecting that. Going forward we can likely expect Calgary to start selling players to capitalize on the current market.

 

7 - Los Angeles Stars (=)

Record – 12-20-4

Current place in Standings – 7th

Standout Player – Wally Lose @youloser1337

 

Los Angeles is moving in the right direction, they have all the necessary pieces in place, it’s just a matter of waiting now. Not really much to add, we could see some veteran players moved out for picks.

 

8 - D.C. Dragons (=)

Record – 6-27-3

Current place in Standings – 8th

Standout Player – Herald Benson @Benson

 

The battle for 1^st overall has been interesting, with D.C. and Prague currently tied at the bottom of the standings. Herald Benson has been the sole bright spot this season for D.C. in what has been and will continue to be an extremely long season.

 

European Conference

 

1 - Moscow Menace (=)

Record – 26-9-2

Current place in Standings – 2nd

Standout Player – David Rashford @Knight

 

Despite retooling during the offseason, Moscow is currently set to win this season’s Victory cup should things continue the way that they are trending! Going forward we can expect Moscow not to really do much roster wise, while they do have 1 million dollars in cap space, things seem to be going well, and there really isn’t a reason to do anything. What we can expect from Moscow is for them to pull away from the European Conference.

 

2 - Malmo Nighthawks (+3)

Record – 25-8-4

Current place in Standings – 3rd

Standout Player – Karl Herzlich @LastGoon007

 

It’s safe to say that Malmo’s goaltending question marks have been answered as Karl Herzlich has been given the opportunity and completely ran away with the starters job over the rookie backup. Malmo is comfortably in that 2^nd/3^rd spot in the conference, but a recent statement 8-1 win over Riga made it clear that they are the 2^nd best team in the conference.

 

3 - Riga Reign (-1)

Record – 27-8-1

Current place in Standings – 1st

Standout Player – Shubham Anand @Will3

 

Riga has had a strong season so far, but with their star players underperforming there is room for improvement. Currently Riga can look ahead to a eventual playoff matchup with Malmo in the first round. There is some cap space available for any improvements to the roster which could be needed for them to challenge Moscow.

 

4 - HC Davos Dynamo (-1)

Record – 20-12-5

Current place in Standings – 4th

Standout Player – Grimgor Ironhide @FrostBeard

 

Davos has taken a step forward this season and found themselves comfortably 4^th in the conference in part due to the recent increase in offensive production and some great goaltending. Davos will likely continue to improve as the season progresses and seem to be progressing well in their first season in contention for the playoffs in some time.

 

5 - Warsaw Predators (=)

Record – 20-14-1

Current place in Standings – 5th

Standout Player – King Kisslinger @Kisslinger

 

Warsaw’s season has been interesting to say the least. While they do have top end talent in goal and up front, the lack of depth and no top end defensemen seem to be really hurting their chances. With this potentially being it for Warsaw, we can maybe expect some aggressive moves as the trade deadline approaches.

 

6 - Helsinki Titans (=)

Record – 9-21-6

Current place in Standings – 7th

Standout Player – Isaac Mcflopper @sportexperts show

 

With the European Conference playoff teams essentially already decided, Helsinki finds themselves on the outside looking in. With that being said they do have a young core that is improving well, and they could just be looking to play spoiler down the stretch.

 

7 - London United (=)

Record – 12-22-3

Current place in Standings – 6th

Standout Player – Moritz Stauffer @GoodLeftUndone

 

London’s rebuild is in full swing, London could be looking to trade away some veteran players down the stretch to make space for their early draft picks in the coming seasons.

 

8 - Prague Phantoms (=)

Record – 6-27-3

Current place in Standings – 8th

Standout Player – Lazlo Holmes @Gustav

 

Prague’s season has been a long one. The only real bright spot has been Lazlo Holmes who just may be leading the ROTY race at this point in time. Prague will likely be moving a few players towards the deadline as they are in full-rebuild mode.

[Banackock 7,978]

Chicago always exceeding expectations