Yor Bjorven Scouting Report

[Rin 187]

In a short string of appearances amidst the dying light of Season 97, the Icelandic Ironman Yor Bjorven made eight total appearances (5 of them being starts) for the last place Mississauga Hounds. Knowing full well what he would be getting himself into, Yor Bjorven ended the campaign with an abysmal stat line-- a record of 0-5-0, a save percentage of only 0.847, and a goals allowed average of 4.42.

 

Of course, the surface level numbers only tell a small fraction of the story for this young goaltender. Playing for a bottom feeder is bound to be hard on the goaltender; when the puck is glued to your end of the ice, it's a harsh reality that you're going to take a lot of shots. Fellow Hounds goalie whiteknight, the second half of the late season tandem, fared hardly any better over a full season sample size-- boasting a 5-35-10 record, a 0.853 save percentage, and a goals allowed average of 3.76. At this point in their careers, Bjorven and whiteknight can be considered goalies of similar caliber, but it's expected that this won't last long. Even with a full season's head start, whiteknight is just barely keeping pace with the Nordic netminder. Were the season to continue any longer, it's assumed that Yor Bjorven would have claimed the starting job through sheer work ethic, alone.

 

Continuing the topic of comparables, Yor Bjorven is contested by only one other player in the upcoming Season 99 draft class- Finnegan Tex Sims of the Miami Marauders. Despite coming into the VHLM with a slight edge on experience, Yor Bjorven's physicals have already surpassed that of his American counterpart. Despite playing for a far superior team, Finnegan sports a stat line that leaves much to be desired with a record of 2-1-0, a save percentage of 0.837, and a goals allowed average of 2.34. Notably, however, the American goaltender has already recorded his first shutout with the league-topping Miami Marauders. With a GAA under three and a shutout to his name, the cause for such a low save percentage is likely more the fault of seeing far fewer shots than the average VHLM goalie. When you're cold and the puck is in the other end, something's bound to go in once you're back in action.

 

Despite posting lesser numbers, Yor Bjorven has already shown signs of hope as a future starting goaltender. In his first ever start for the squad, Yor Bjorven famously stopped 29 of an incoming 31 shots from the potent Miami offense, only barely giving out in the dying moments of the third period to lose the game 2-1. While none of his following games would come close to matching the 0.935 save percentage he posted that day, it certainly turned the heads of both VHL and VHLM scouts to see the young Nordic netminder stand on his head in his first game on North American ice.

 

With only two goalies entering the upcoming VHLM draft (as far as we know), it will be interesting to watch and see which teams spring for which goaltender. How many are comfortable with their current tandem? How many are in desperate need of consistency between the pipes, and which of these two goalies will they prioritize in order to fill that need? We'll find out soon enough as the madness of the VHL offseason kicks off.