VHL By The Numbers

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@STZ will have it tonight after work

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.865 - Astrid Moon is on this for all the wrong reasons.  While it has been beaten to death, he was absolutely abysmal in his first playoff campaign.  While the rookie did what he could, he was pounded to the ground by the European Champions, the Stockholm Vikings.  The Vikings scored 27 goals in 6 games on the Titans and surrendered just fifteen.  Moon finished his playoff run with a 3.97 GAA and .865 SV% which both were the absolute worst in the playoffs.  However, while I am highlighting him for all the wrong reasons, Moon will benefit from this experience and can continue to grow as a player and learn from his rookie campaign.  It was hardly wildly successful but there are some things to build on and he is on a good team going forward.  With all that being said, with a better goalie in the nets, the Titans would have had a much better chance of taking out Stockholm and advancing to the Continental Cup Finals.

 

11 - On the flip side of things, Theo Axelsson did just about everything to give the Titans a chance to advance to the finals.  He currently leads the VHL Playoffs in Goals (11), Points (17) and Hits (73), in thirteen games.  While he has benefitted from playing in multiple series while someone like Tyson Kohler (6 GP, 8 Goals) hasn't, his performance can still not be ignored.  As the Vikings GM I had discussions in the past to acquire Axelsson when he was on the Wranglers, but unfortunately things fell through, and he ended up on the Titans.  I feel he gets pretty overlooked in the league and could find himself in the Hall of Fame at the end of his career.  His production seems in line with a guy like Xin Xie Xiao and if he wins a few cups and has some hardware coming in during his prime years, he could very well find himself inducted as one of the best two-way forwards of his time.

 

.928 - M.T. Power has been..uh..good? Actually, he has been great.  In fact, if not for his surprising tremendous play, the Americans would not be off to the Continental Cup Finals to face the Vikings.  Power may be one of the favourites for the Daisuke Kanou Trophy if the Americans can pull off the title victory in back to back seasons.  While the Americans are very dangerous up front, they only have 27 goals in 12 games which is just over 2 goals per game.  It has been Power, who currently sits with a 8-2-2 record, .928 save percentage and 1.87 GAA that has led the way for the offensive powerhouse.  I do feel the Vikings could get to Power given how well they played him during the regular season, but if he keeps it up, Stockholm could be in hot water.  It's very clear that while Power is not significantly better than Moon, the way he is playing right now could cause some real troubles for the Swedish team looking to capture their first Continental Cup in their history in Stockholm, and the first for the franchise since Season 26.

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@STZ will have er tonight

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This week we will look at the three top candidates for New York after they won their second consecutive cup.  Naturally, there is an obvious choice but I felt the need to look at three different players.

 

.924 - Probably the obvious guy to look at is M.T. Power.  The goalie was widely inconsistent at times but when they needed him the most, he dominated the competition no matter if they were the lower skill teams like Quebec or the higher talented ones like Stockholm and Seattle.  The rookie goaltender finished with a 12-5-2 record, 2.07 GAA and .924 save percentage to go along with 4 shutouts including Game 7 of the Continental Cup Finals.  Power's numbers on the surface may appear just good, but his top record in big games and his teams depth leading to less guys dominating the stat sheets, may lead to Power being the overwhelming winner of the Daisuke Kanou Trophy.  A trophy named after a player who did just what Power did...come up big when needed the most and driving his team to a Continental Cup.

 

24 - Diana Maxwell is the other leading candidate for the New York Americans.  The always improving and now dominant winger recorded 12 goals and 12 assists in 19 playoff games while also recording 66 hits.  Perhaps her greatest claim to the Kanou Trophy is that she was easily far more consistent than Power being both an elite offensive and physical presence for her team.  Maxwell led the playoffs in goals, points and shots while also finishing seventh in assists and third in hits.  It is clear who the offense ran through despite the more developed and experienced Tom Lincoln and Unassisted manning their top line.  The Americans will continue to rely on Maxwell going forward as she continues her tremendous growth into one of the league's elite players entering next year.  As for this award, this is who I see voters generally leaning to given the complete stat line and consistency.

 

16 - Finally, the third candidate we will look at is resident pussy and tremendous playmaker, Essian Ravenwing.  The former Viking recorded 7 goals and 16 assists for 23 points in the 19 playoff games, and did so while playing disciplined non-physical hockey.  Ravenwing finished one assist and one point back of the playoff lead and added just four PIM, allowing him to take full advantage of his opportunities on the ice rather than spending them in the box.  Ravenwing has steadily grown into a strong player alongside Maxwell and this year really took the significant steps to become a disciplined pass-first center.  This playoff campaign was his coming out party as one of the best centers in the league and probably the best second line forward in the entire Victory Hockey League.

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Will try to get this up for tomorrow night after work @STZ

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.966+ - Two goals are off to blistering starts to their seasons this year, and yes they are the two you probably expected.  Jakab Holik and Apollo Skye are the two best goaltenders in the league and they are absolutely playing like it.  Jakab Holik is 8-0-0 this season with a ridiculous 0.49 GAA and .970 SV%.  Holik has already recorded six shutouts and is on pace to potentially destroy every goaltending record in league history.  Not to be outdone though is Apollo Skye, who has a 7-0-1 record with a 0.61 GAA and a .966 SV% to go along with five shutouts himself.  These two have already put a massive gap in the way of every other goaltender in the league and could continue to make it a two horse race for the Aidan Shaw Trophy this year, and possibly the Scotty Campbell Trophy as well.  I doubt either of these goalies even comes close to keeping up their pace, but you can't help but be impressed with how they have performed thus far.

 

21 - It seems like Unassisted has gone a bit under the radar with the performances of Tom Lincoln, Joel Jarvi and Diana Maxwell of late, but he is sure showing off his talents thus far.  He has a league leading 11 goals and 10 assists as well, for 21 points in 8 games.  His current pace puts him near the 190 point mark and while that seems unrealistic to sustain, his start is giving him a real strong start on his campaign to lead to league in scoring.  Essian Ravenwing currently leads the league in assists with 16, but Unassisted has kept himself in range and could make a fun at that category, to go along with goals and points. Additionally, Unassisted has also been quite physical as well with eighteen hits in 8 games, which could put him pretty tight to 200 hits, and he has a faceoff percentage just under seventy percent.  If Unassisted can even hit the 120-130 point mark, you have to think that he will have made a pretty good case himself for some VHL hardware this season.

 

12 - John Locke seemed to be the league's most chosen winner for the Christian Stolzschweiger Trophy, and he is sure giving those people something to smile about.  The rookie forward has recorded 6 goals and 6 assists in 8 games and has done so while playing tremendous defensive hockey, with no penalty minutes so far this season.  Locke, who is considered an offensive focused forward, has still been solid defensively with his stick checking and discipline doing quite a lot for him in his own end and even offensively.  Locke has been a monster for the Meute and currently leads them in scoring in a year where they need a leader up front.  While they remain young, it will be interesting to see if Locke can breakout and have the kind of year that Alexander Thrower had last year for the Express.  One thing is for sure, the target is on the back of John Locke, and it will be quite a battle to see if someone can top him.

 

 

 

 

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@STZ will have tomorrow night after work

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This week's edition will show three players that are really disappointing thus far into the season.  Normally I would feature teams as well, but the season has generally gone as expected thus far team wise.

 

19 - This is the combined total of Vikings forwards, Xander Finn and Brock Dragonslayer.  Both of these players were expected to continue their growth this season and be leaders on the European Conference Champions' second line.  However, instead they have been the two least productive forwards on the team and in general, two of the worst on the team at any position.  Both have tremendous potential and surely their best days are ahead of them, but the two still were expected to contribute greatly to the Vikings offense.  Perhaps a line switch is in the cards going forward, but as of now nothing has changed, and while Dragonslayer had a solid start to the year, he has come to a screeching halt alongside Finn.  I fully expect these two to start producing at a better rate, but as of now they are certainly two of the most disappointing players in the VHL.

 

4 - How can I not include this rookie in this list.  The Titans' Rudolph Schmeckeldorf has recorded just one goal and three assists in twenty games this season.  The rookie forward was expected to be one of the better rookie talents this year, given his draft position, but has struggled to produce anything at all with just one hit and nine shots on goal.  While certainly we cannot expect as much from rookies, there still is an expectation that a player who has promise and potential, like Rudolph, would produce a little more even in just shots and chances as a whole.  Like the two listed above, the best is ahead of him and I do think as the season progresses, he will adapt and become more comfortable in the VHL.

 

.904 - While no one really had pegged Davos to do too much this season, I expected a lot more of their goaltender Mist4ke who currently sits with a .904 Save Percentage and 3.73 GAA which puts him as the worst created goaltender in save percentage this season (that has played at least ten games).  Davos is full of young talents, but I had a level of expectation for Mist4ke who sits around 350 practice hours as a Season 53 Player.  This is a respectable amount and more than multiple goaltenders who are ahead of him statistically.  I also expected that since he will face a lot of shots, his save percentage would be inflated but even still it is mightily low and doesn't seem to be getting better any time soon.  This wouldn't be the first time I've been surprised by a struggling start to the season for a goaltender, and I expect Mist4ke could end up around the .910 mark by season's end, which would be more respectable.

 

 

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Plan is to have it up tomorrow

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This week's edition will look at team statistics and some of the main ones that stick out to me.

 

50 - Who would think the New York Americans would be the team who has surrendered the least amount of goals this season? Most of us wouldn't necessarily be surprised by this, except for the fact that the Americans are the fourth best team in the league this season, behind the Vikings, Titans and Meute.  It is a weird dynamic as the New York Americans have scored the most goals, allowed the least and still have lost eight games in regulation this season.  The Americans have supported the best Penalty Kill in the league in this season, and while their Powerplay is mediocre, it is quite surprising to see their struggles at times this season.  The Americans, who boast Jakab Holik and M.T. Power, certainly have a tremendous pair of netminders so it isn't overly surprising to see the Americans as the best defensive team in the league.  With that being said, we will have to see if they can get a bit more luck in recording victories as their current record is a bit concerning.

 

25.66% - The Stockholm Vikings have been the league's best team this season with an incredible 32-2-2 record and a league best 66 points.  Their powerplay has been a tremendous 25.66% and are one of two teams above twenty in the Victory Hockey League.  Leading the way offensively with the man advantage is Pietro Maximoff, Tyson Kohler and Lee King Snatch who have a combined thirty-four points on the PP.  All in all though, the Vikings have had a well-rounded offensive with the man advantage, as they currently sit with six players with at least eight points with the man advantage.  The Vikings will need to keep up this strong offensive showing to keep their tight lead on the Victory Cup race, and I do think they could do it.  Either way, their play with the man advantage has been greatly impressive this season.

 

50+% - It should be no surprise that the five teams who are above 50% in faceoff percentage are the five best teams in the entire league.  The New York Americans (62.66%), Stockholm Vikings (59.25%), Quebec City Meute (57.47%), Helsinki Titans (54.83%) and the Riga Reign (50.66%) are the only teams with a winning faceoff percentage and are of course the five teams with winning records this season.  This is a clear example of why aspiring competitive teams need to obtain strong faceoff centers because there is simply too much of a need to consistently be winning draws in order to maintain puck possession and pepper the net.  Going forward, we will see if this trend continues, but this writer expects it will.