Looking at the Future of the League's Worst

[der meister 3,117]

A mere six points separate the D.C. Dragons from the bottom of the league table, currently occupied by the Prague Phantoms. Although the Dragons have played one more game than Prague at the time of This Article, Prague has given up a league-worst 240 goals, good for 4.14 goals against per game. D.C., for comparison, sits at 3.8 goals against per game, far from a stellar mark but the gap is statistically-significant. Offensively, the gap is closer, with Prague's league-worst 1.87 goals scored per game barely behind the Dragons' 2 goals per game.

 

To make matters worse, neither team has a particularly impressive prospect pool. For both teams, their star prospect is already in the VHL lineup, with Prague sporting S94 draftee Lazlo Holmes, an impressive two-way defenseman from the United States, while the Dragons have S95 draftee Konstyantyn Shevchenko out of Ukraine. Holmes' 45 points in 58 games is actually quite extraordinary, slotting him 9th in rookie scoring, and he leads the league in blocked shots with 209. Holmes has been remarkably consistent so far in his young career, scoring 59 points with the Saskatoon Wild of the VHLM, then 59 points with the Stockholm Vikings in the VHLE, both of which were good for 0.82 points per game. The transition to the VHL has seen that number slip slightly to 0.78 points per game, but as he continues to grow, it's not that much of a stretch to imagine him finishing at 59 once again.

 

For Shevchenko, the numbers are a little more dire. Largely stapled to the second line for the Dragons, he's been able to put up 30 points in 59 games, on the strength of 17 goals. This translates to 0.51 points per game, a far cry from the 1.49 points per game he registered last season with the Mississauga Hounds of the VHLM. It's worth examining one additional attribute when it comes to evaluating Shevchenko's development, however, and that's his defensive game. In 13 fewer games against much stiffer competition at the VHL level, Shevchenko has already surpassed his hits (146 versus 140) and shot blocks (98 versus 40). Obviously some of that must be attributed to the fact that the Dragons do not have possession of the puck as frequently as the Hounds did last season, but for the 6'7" winger, those numbers show a commitment to winning, and a willingness to sacrifice for the good of the team. 

 

For two struggling franchises, it's only natural to look toward the VHL Entry Draft to generate hope for the future. At the head of the S96 Draft class is a shocker - 50 year old Pan Daffleck. Pan would undoubtedly step onto the Dragons' roster as their number one defenseman, and his enormous 6'8", 250 pound frame could make him and Shevchenko the Twin Towers of D.C. For the Phantoms, the opportunity to pair Daffleck with Lazlo Holmes is likely a proposition sweet enough to make them salivate, and Daffleck's size could help the comparatively diminutive Holmes, who stands at 5'10" tall, utilize his speed and offensive smarts to jump up in a play with confidence that his defensive partner has it covered.

 

The VHL Entry draft, where the worst teams dare to dream

 

 

@Gustav  @OrbitingDeath