I Can't Count How Many Thoughts, with Der Meister

[der meister 3,368]

This has been a really tough year, friends. Most recently, I got hit with something, possibly the flu, that knocked my ass out since Wednesday night. I'm feeling slightly better today, but still having a hard time breathing and I'm super low energy. But I'll give this article a go, even though my eyes are already burning and it's only 11 in the morning. Apologies if this is boring and/or unhinged.

 

- Toronto is off to a hot start, and the play of defenseman Andrew Skilton cannot be understated. He leads all defensemen in scoring with 20 points in 10 games, which also makes him second in the league, just a single point behind Seattle Bears' forward Forum Content.

 

- Speaking of Toronto, the Legion and HC Davos Dynamo are the only teams left in the VHL who have not suffered a regulation loss. Through 10 games, both teams are 9-0-1. Toronto has outscored Davos 44 to 41, and holds the edge in goals allowed, 20 to 24. Toronto's loss came in overtime to the lowly D.C. Dragons, who sport a 3-6-0 record, while Davos lost the first game of the season in a shootout to the Helsinki Titans.

 

-  I find it interesting that, as of the time of this article, only one team, the London United, have played 12 games, which is the most in the league. Similarly, the aforementioned Dragons have played the fewest number of games, with 9. Quirk of the schedule and not a big deal, but interesting that one team could have played literally a quarter more games.

 

- After three highly successful seasons with the Malmo Nighthawks, goaltender Jorgen Lovstrom is off to a tremendous start with the Helsinki Titans. Sporting a 6-0 record, Lovstrom leads all netminders in save percentage with a 0.946 marker, and goals against with a 1.48. Worth noting, Lovstrom also only has 1 shutout. Deadpanda of the Moscow Menace leads the league in that category with 3 in 11 games.

 

Lovstrom has been excellent for the Titans

 

-  I'm so goddamn tired.

 

- While it's obviously premature because of how early in the season it is, the VHL's worst team looks like it will come down to the Chicago Phoenix, who have 2 points in 10 games, or the Warsaw Predators, who have 4 points in 10 games. Despite having fewer points, Chicago is outscoring Warsaw by +9, 25 to 16, and allowing fewer goals against by the same margin, 37 to 46. That equates to Warsaw having the least effective offense and the most porous defense, so my money is on the Predators having the highest odds to pick 1st overall.

 

- I gotta talk about my own player here a bit. Konstyantyn Shevchenko is currently second on the Legion in scoring, behind Skilton, with 17 points in 10 games. He only has 5 goals, however, and his shooting percentage is an even 10%. I would like to see more physicality out of him, as he only has 16 hits in 10 games, which is 1.6 hits per game versus last season's 1.18. Still a far cry from his final season in D.C., where he averaged 3.26 hits per game. But at least he's on a 122 point pace, which would obliterate his current career high of 74 points and nearly double last season's total of 65.

 

- I mentioned Forum Content earlier, but I would be remiss to not mention the absolutely torrid goal scoring pace he's on. Last season, Content set a personal best with a 43 goal campaign, and right now he's scored 12 goals in 10 games. That's good for an 86 goal pace, which I predict will absolutely not happen. The record for goals in a season in any era is 89, from the legendary Scotty Campbell, way back in Season 5. The most recent figure on the leaderboard is Justin Lose, who scored 72 in Season 81.

 

 

It was 8 thoughts. You're welcome. Fin.