DollarAndADream 3,356 Posted February 28, 2015 Share Posted February 28, 2015 What may come as a surprise, the beginning of this 42nd season has no real legit number one team. Despite being only 17 games into the season, I will take a look at the rankings. Currently the Quebec City Meute are tied with the Seattle Bears for top spot in the league, both at 12-5-0. The Helsinki Titans are not too far behind though, with them sitting at 10-5-1 having one less game played. The biggest surprise so far are the struggles of the New York Americans, currently 3rd in their conference and 5th in the VHL. While only being less than 20 games into the season, the odds of these rankings changing are very high. It would not be a bad guess to think that the Americans will start playing with some more consistency. For what it appears to be so far, Seattle, Quebec City, Helsinki and New York will fight to be the top teams this season. Diving into the numbers of the Meute, they are easily the most offensive team so far with a huge goal differential of +30. One can state simply that, since Quebec have played their back-up a few times already, that they would be even better if they rode Brock Waldron. The key to their season will rely on the consistency of Waldron and their top three players' ability to keep scoring goals. You don't have to be a genius to know that the bulk of their wins have came from the play of Aksel Thomassen, Bruno Wolf and Travis Boychuk. The Meute currently have 71 goals for, which is 18 goals better than Seattle who is 2nd in that same category. Having 71 goals in just 17 games is something to be proud of, and if they can continue success in this area they will definitely be the number one contender. --------------------- --------------------- Two of the VHL's top five centermen play for Quebec City, with Thomassen at #1 and Boychuk at #4, points-wise. Although, this far into the season it's difficult to say it will stay that way. Some of the league's wider known centermen haven't been playing to their own standards, especially when looking at New York's Tom Slaughter and Jody 3 Moons. Boychuk currently has the most goals of any center in the VHL, with 13 so far. Almost half of that came just recently against Stockholm, where he had a 5 goal effort. If the leadership of the Meute can continue on the path they have currently headed on, one would have to wonder who can stop them. This far into my article, I cannot forget to mention of the big free agent acquisitions that the Meute made. Right winger Milos Denis signed to the team and has been playing fantastic ever since. 17 games in, he has 25 points with 17 of those being assists. At the moment he sits 2nd points-wise of any right wing in the VHL, only behind his teammate Bruno Wolf. Milos coming to Quebec looks to be one of the smarter moves from the off-season, as he has proven that he can come in and produce with a new squad. The chemistry that Denis has with his new team and line mates has been firing on all cylinders. Milos Denis has been one of the more dependable right wingers in the league, and does not look to be slowing down. ------------------ ------------------ So far, Quebec City appears to have it all. Even two of their rookies have stepped up from the minors and have been producing regularly. Ryan Cattrall has fit in quite nicely with 16 points in 17 games, just about a point-per-game pace as a rookie and one of the early favourites for the Christian Stolzschweiger trophy. Defenseman Brandon Holmes has also made a mark for himself on the team, with 10 points, including one goal. Holmes has definitely benefited from the offense on his team, but early in his career he is looking like a stud. With young assets such as Cattrall and Holmes continuing to grow, things are looking just fine for the Meute's future. Kesler 1 Link to comment https://vhlforum.com/topic/17815-claimedqc-meute-an-update-final-66/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laflamme 376 Posted February 28, 2015 Share Posted February 28, 2015 Content: 2/2 - awesome read. Kept me entertained the whole way through!!Grammar: 2/2- very good work. Couldn't see anything.Appearance: 1/1- lots of pictures ( second one doesn't show, but I clicked on the link ), centered, and a title.Final: 6/6 DollarAndADream 1 Link to comment https://vhlforum.com/topic/17815-claimedqc-meute-an-update-final-66/#findComment-189579 Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoachReilly 688 Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 Claimed Link to comment https://vhlforum.com/topic/17815-claimedqc-meute-an-update-final-66/#findComment-190679 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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