Who are the best players not in the HOF by generation?

[Victor 11,009]

How good have the Hall of Fame voters (most of the time, the Board of Governors) been over the years? Have we been blinded by shiny new players or spent too much time yearning for great players of the past? Or have we removed all context from the equation and inducted purely based on the best stats, regardless of how easy or not it was to put those up in a specific generation?

I know the answer already because we have pored over the record books for years to be as fair as possible and given second chances to players who retired many seasons ago. However, as part of an exercise to find any still unlucky to miss out, I've gone through generation by generation to identify each era's best player not in the Hall of Fame, and also how well represented the time period is. The results are below.

 

S1-S11 (S1-S4 draftees)

12 Hall of Fame skaters, 3 Hall of Fame goalies

Best non Hall of Famers:

• 7th best forward: Chris Julien (341 goals, 711 points)
• 8th best forward: Aiden Alexander (1.50 points per game)
• 5th best defenceman: Danny Tremblay (587 points, 1,067 blocked shots)
• 4th best goaltender: Jesus Christ (184 wins, .908 save %)

 

10 players hit 700 career points, including one defenceman (Sterling Labatte) and three exceeded 900 points (Scotty Campbell, Mike Szatkowski and Christian Stolzschweiger). 8 players scored 300 or more goals with Campbell, Szatkowski and Stolzschweiger obviously in a league of their own. We've reopened the book on old players in the past but it feels like it's been accepted that all those from the first decade that should be in are in, and those on the outside that look impressive are merely the product of their time.

 

The goaltenders of this generation had very low totals by modern standards, having faced such an offensive barrage, so don't have much of a case for reassessment.

 

S5-S15 (S5-S8 draftees)

8 Hall of Fame skaters, 1 Hall of Fame goalie

Best non Hall of Famers:

• 7th best forward: Zacky Vengeance (253 goals, 1.40 points per game)
• 8th best forward: Jonathan Matthias (603 points + trophies)
• 3rd best defenceman: Cole Hagstrom (536 points, 1,154 blocked shots)
• 2nd best goaltender: Marek Van Urho (264 wins, .918 save %)

 

Significant come down to just three 700+ point players (Kevin Brooks, Josh Vestiquan, Alexander Beketov). A fall in inducted defencemen (with even the 2nd, Blake Beukeboom, not being a shoe-in) but not many who would be worth shouting for. Slightly less cut and dry than the original generation but the combination of passage of time plus missing records from before S18 makes anyone remaining here a tough sell.

The goalies of this generation, before any goalie won MVP, have always felt victims of a lack of recognition, with single-season save % holder Anton Nygard also part of this era.

 

S9-S19 (S8-S13 draftees)

8 Hall of Fame skaters, 1 Hall of Fame goalie

Best non Hall of Famers:

• 6th best forward: Zak Rawlyk (669 points, playoff success)
• 4th best defenceman: Ginzou Fujiwara (343 assists, 1.08 points per game)
• 2nd best goaltender: Steve LaFramboise (236 wins, .921 save %, 2.39 GAA)

 

The first dead puck era hits, affecting all but Grimm Jonsson, Carl Jacobs, and forward-cum-defenceman phenom Matt Bailey. Tomas Jenskovic threatens to run away as the greatest defenceman of all time but early retirement lets others share some of the spoils.

The goalies all were more or less one-season wonders, names like Jonas Markstrom, Tayson Barabash, and Vase Trikamaki, but LaFramboise can feel aggrieved and is often in the Van Urho camp of how did he miss out?

 

S14-S24 (S14-S19 draftees)

12 Hall of Fame skaters, 2 Hall of Fame goalies

Best non Hall of Famers:

• 10th best forward: Max Kroenenburg (321 goals, 717 points)
• 11th best forward: Peyton Nydroj (325 goals, 1.31 points per game)
• 4th best defenceman: Patrick Bergqvist (583 points, single season records)
• 3rd best goaltender: Jakob Kjeldsen (231 wins, .915 save %)

 

The VHL's first renaissance era, fuelled by the might of the S18 draft, and boosted by the high scoring of S20. Nine forwards inducted is a big reason why the line had to be drawn somewhere, even with some notable players beneath it. This is also the well the HOF voters went back to most recently with the surprise and very, very, very late induction of Voittu Jannula. However, any time we do a deep dive, this trio above will be floating around in the picture, but there are some more impressive cases later on down the line.

 

In terms of goaltenders, Jakob Kjeldsen and Joey Clarence, and everyone else really, never managed to make it out of Aidan Shaw and Daisuke Kanou's shadow.

 

S20-S31 (S18-S24 draftees)

9 Hall of Fame skaters, 1 Hall of Fame goalie

Best non Hall of Famers:

• 6th best forward: Lasse Milo (322 goals, 739 points)
• 7th best forward: Evgeni Fyodorov (346 goals, 1.40 points per game)
• 8th best forward: Kevyn Hesje (687 points, 2,209 hits)
• 2nd best goaltender: Andreas Bjorkman (255 wins, .915 save %, 2.38 GAA)

 

With the most defencemen outside of the original era inducted, the focus here is the forwards, where there's actually a gap of four forwards between Felix Peters (a curiously late inductee) and Phil Gerrard (sometimes considered one of the weaker entries in the Hall). Three of those are shown above and have received consideration as potential omissions in the past. If anyone has a resurrection, and Gustav's Hall of Very Good has looked into them in the past, it's Vasteras hero Lasse Milo and the VHLM legend Evgeni Fyodorov.

 

S25-S37 (S24-S30 draftees)

10 Hall of Fame skaters, 2 Hall of Fame goalies

Best non Hall of Famers:

• 8th best forward: Nikolai Lebedev (318 goals, 653 points)
• 4th best defenceman: Nic Riopel (650 points, 1,107 blocked shots)
• A bit of both: Clark Marcellin (650 points, 1.29 points per game)
• 3rd best goaltender: Satan (296 wins, .922 save %, 51 shutouts)

 

A throwback era offensively, with 5 players clearing the 800-point mark and Phil Rafter being the first player after S10 reach 400 goals. Also the generation in which Alexander Valiq scored 300 goals from the blue line which no defenceman has been able to match before or since. As a result, despite strong numbers on paper, it's tough for the players listed here to have a good case for induction when they were good, but not as good as some of their illustrious peers.

 

S31-S43 (S30-S36 draftees)

9 Hall of Fame skaters, 4 Hall of Fame goalies

Best non Hall of Famers:

• 8th best forward: Willem Janssen (302 goals, 645 points)
• 9th best forward: Anatoli Zhumbayev (613 points, 1.22 points per game)
• 5th best goaltender: Skylar Rift (221 wins, .923 save %, 2.12 GAA)

 

A time of possibly the highest level of parity in the “old” VHL, which is reflected in a lot of players hovering around a baseline of 600 points / career point per game pace, without the big numbers of yesteryear. Conner Low and Matt Bentley took 5 and 2 Sterling Labatte Trophies respectively, without any sustained pressure from any other defencemen in this period.

 

It's really a toss-up between the next best goalie between the what-could-have-been story of Skylar Rift and his early retirement, or Lennox Moher, who stuck around a bit longer but had marginally worse stats. With four contemporaries already in the Hall though, it's an uphill battle for both.

 

S37-S49 (S37-S42 draftees)

8 Hall of Fame skaters, 1 Hall of Fame goalie

Best non Hall of Famers:

• 7th best forward: Jody 3 Moons (671 points, 1.33 points per game)
• 8th best forward: Freedom McJustice (313 goals, 669 points)
• 3rd best defenceman: Lloyd Light (535 points, 1.06 points per game)

 

Some outstanding performances, not least from Thomas O'Malley being the fifth ever (and last to date) 900-point player and announcing himself as the real challenger to Scotty Campbell. But little sharing downwards and a strange era for defencemen, with Jake Wylde pioneering the defensive build as a path to the Hall.

 

Slight cheat on goalies here by sticking in S43 draftee Hans Wingate, as otherwise no one here peaked long enough to have a sustained case for a ballot nomination. The next best option is probably one of one-time Seattle netminder Niklaus Mikaelson and future Seattle GM Blake Campbell but neither stuck around long enough or crossed the .920 save % mark.

 

S44-S55 (S44-S48 draftees)

9 Hall of Fame skaters, 2 Hall of Fame goalies

Best non Hall of Famers:

• 7th best forward: Tyson Kohler (368 goals, 751 points)
• 8th best forward: Joel Jarvi (639 points, 1.27 points per game)
• 3rd best goaltender: Jakab Holik (292 wins, .922 save %, 2.00 GAA, 88 shutouts)

 

Forget parity, this was total disparity between the haves and the have nots. Four players with over 800 points, and seven 300+ goal scorers, including Tyson Kohler, a long-time ballot mainstay. Kohler remains the highest scoring eight-season player not in the Hall of Fame (and highest goal scorer, even including 9-season careers) so may be in for a reassessment.

 

And where there is Kohler there is always Jakab Holik, only recently removed after a long stay on the ballot. The big debate about parity and playoff success is not worth rehashing here again which is why there is an argument to leave this era alone for good, both for Holik and for Kohler.

 

S49-S61 (S49-S54 draftees)

8 Hall of Fame skaters, 3 Hall of Fame goalies

Best non Hall of Famers:

• 8th best forward: Essian Ravenwing (234 goals, 685 points)
• 9th best forward: Marc-Alexandre Leblanc (297 goals, 1.24 points per game)
• 4th best goaltender: Astrid Moon (255 wins, 1.88 GAA, 75 shutouts)

 

Ah, the dark ages. A thread-bone thin league with some exceptional performances at the top end (Franchise Cornerstone, Fredinamijs Krigars) but little depth. Most remarkable is that despite Fabio Jokinen being the only inducted defenceman, there is no real other challenger from that position.

As for goalies, there's the extreme case of Holik-ification in Astrid Moon although alternatively Torstein Ironside's .925 save % is what deserves a second look.

 

S55-S67 (S55-S60 draftees)

5 Hall of Fame skaters, 1 Hall of Fame goalie

Best non Hall of Famers:

• 4th best forward: Veran Dragomir (338 goals, 689 points)
• Forward/defenceman: Keaton Louth (661 points)
• 5th best forward: Bo Boeser (619 points, 1.43 points per game)

 

It's always darkest before the dawn or something like that. The only real all-timer from this generation was Gabriel McAllister and the drop off in numbers was significant. That said, I always felt Veran Dragomir was hard done by with nearly identical stats to the inducted Oyorra Arroyo, while Bo Boeser had some shouts at the same time as Mathias Chouinard got his long-delayed induction.

 

Other than Norris Stopko who was inducted there weren't many goaltenders who had much of a case here either, even when including early 60s guys like Roger Sterling and Tristan Iseult.

 

S61-S72 (S61-S65 draftees)

7 Hall of Fame skaters, 1 Hall of Fame goalie

Best non Hall of Famers:

• 5th best forward: Jake Davis (290 goals, 681 points)
• 6th best forward: Edwin Preencarnacion (303 goals, 1.27 points per game)
• 4th best defenceman*: Ryan Kastelic (618 points + TPE record) *moved to forward midway through career
• 2nd best goaltender: Alexander Pepper (302 wins, .917 save %)

 

The Podrick Cast-Matt Thompson rivalry elevated both of their performances and recruitment drives replenished the league, but a decline in scoring affected many of the new players in the VHL.

 

Goaltending was dominated by Kallis Kriketers in the meantime, leaving little opportunity to shine to the likes of Finn Davison, Brick Wahl II, or the aforementioned Alexander Pepper.

 

S66-S77 (S66-S70 draftees)

8 Hall of Fame skaters, 2 Hall of Fame goalies

Best non Hall of Famers:

• 5th best forward: Benny Graves (263 goals, 598 points)
• 6th best forward: Kris Rice (543 points, 1.08 points per game)
• 3rd best goaltender: Greg Eagles II (261 wins, .915 save %)

 

Probably the lowest-scoring era in VHL history, with no one exceeding 300 goals or 650 points. Also the first generation with equal representation of forwards and defencemen in the Hall, meaning we exhausted options on the blue line but don't really have any impressive numbers up front to consider either.

 

Despite that, no goaltender shone in the regular season either, with Rayz Funk and Raymond Bernard getting inducted more on the strength of their playoff performances. The next guys behind them, Greg Eagles and Jacques Lafontaine, among others, didn't have that in their favour.

 

S71-S82 (S71-S75 draftees)

10 Hall of Fame skaters, 1 Hall of Fame goalie

Best non Hall of Famers:

• 7th best forward: Lee Xin (277 goals, 717 points)
• 8th best forward: John Merrick (650 points, 1.29 points per game)
• 2nd best goaltender: Rara Rasputin (273 wins, .916 save %)

 

What an interesting generation. The driver behind the last VHL expansion, most of whom experienced their peak during the meta era, with the 4 inducted defencemen not even being in the top 20 of the generation's top scorers. There are a lot of very similar stat lines in the mix here with only Aloe Dear really separating himself from the pack and it feels like we've picked up a lot of worthy candidates, but Xin and Merrick may warrant a return to the ballot.

 

Goaltenders were absolutely blasted by meta, putting up numbers reminiscent of the very first generation, with nearly everyone just below the .920 save % mark and hovering around 3.00 GAA. Rara Rasputin had the playoff wins to his name, while Thadius Sales had two better regular season after joining Vancouver, but neither did enough.

 

S77-S89 (S77-S81 draftees)

4 Hall of Fame skaters, 1 Hall of Fame goalie

Best non Hall of Famers:

• 3rd best forward: Nico Pearce (362 goals, 774 points) – currently on ballot
• 3rd best defenceman: Kristof Welch (656 points) – currently on ballot
• 2nd best goaltender: Papa Emeritus (262 wins, .924 save %) - currently on ballot

 

Has there been any generation with more players come onto the ballot but not been able to stick around? Zach Kisslinger II, Paul Atreides, Brendan Telker, Reylynn Reinhart, Robin Galante Nilsson, Hari Singh Nalwa, and Oskar Lindbergh have all spent time in Hall of Fame discussions but couldn't make the cut – for now anyway. Pearce and Welch are also not necessarily safe from future cullings. Yet that would also make it the least represented generation which doesn't seem appropriate. Is this strange meta-turning-into-nine-season-careers dynamic, and the difficulty to compare it to past performances, affecting the Hall of Fame ballot today?

 

Meanwhile, Papa Emeritus perseveres on the ballot as the debate rages on whether one great season is enough and whether this generation of goalies benefited from the post-meta realignment.

 

S82-S95 (S82-S87 draftees)

 

There's already 5 skaters inducted into the Hall of Famer from this group, more than the previous generation, with Skor McFleury sure to make it six. The Frenchman, Bo Johansson, and Hammar Voss are also all on the ballot. Nine-season careers now make it difficult to assess whether Scotty Sundin or Mac Atlas for example are unfortunate omissions or rightfully in the category just below the Hall of Fame. Certainly it feels like this and the next generation will take time to properly settle but it is worth considering whether as voters we have been fair when considering the most recent cohorts. I think on balance yes, even the S77-S89 group above, but it's certainly worthwhile seeing it laid out like this.

 

The two most recent goalies inducted are Lachlan Summers and Jesse Teno, pulling away from nine-season veterans Art Vandelay and Brandt Fuhr who never made the ballot.

 

---

 

If we are to revisit any older names a la Chouinard or Jannula, then most of them have been rehashed time and time again – they will certainly be no surprise to @Gustav  from his Hall of Very Good articles. Lasse Milo, Evgeni Fyodorov, and Tyson Kohler are those that spring out the most from the lists above, with perhaps Veran Dragomir and Peyton Nydroj (and Ryan Kastelic??) worthy of another look. Other opinions may well vary. Have I proven anything by doing this? Not much other than that there are no obvious omissions, but it's still useful to have things laid out in full every now and then as a refresher.

[Victor 11,009]

Week 2 of 4

[JCarson 744]

I like this article from purely a historical overview.  Having only been in the league since season 83 I don't know a lot about the older players and the history of the Hall of Fame.  To be able to review this article and even from a top level perspective to get an understanding on the number of players and goalies that made it from every group into the HOF provides a better context.  It will be interesting to see how this plays out over the next few seasons as we get to season 100.  Unfortunately I think the a few great players have overshadowed some extremely good players and that those players will get excluded from the HOF for no other reason than a great player came along.

 

Great article, well written, and unique.  I give it a 9 out of 10.

[Victor 11,009]

Week 3 of 4

[der meister 3,238]

Klose snub is real

[Victor 11,009]

29 minutes ago, der meister said:

Klose snub is real

Sir, Ravenwing is right there 

[der meister 3,238]

6 minutes ago, Victor said:

Sir, Ravenwing is right there 

 

Klose was better imo

[Victor 11,009]

1 minute ago, der meister said:

 

Klose was better imo

In our hearts without a doubt

[Victor 11,009]

Week 4 of 4

[rory 1,943]

Jeffrey pines