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S48 Pre-Tournament Power Rankings

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Pre-Tournament Power Rankings

I think the biggest thing worth noting about the World Cup rosters this season is that the backup goalie for Team Mercenaries is better than the starter for two team in the tournament. Seven of the top eight goalies come from the roster pools of Europe and World, leaving Scandinavia and USA with much to desire in net. But all hope is not necessarily lost, as most teams do have some form of weakness, but some are just frankly much better than others. Here's a look at my ranking of the teams prior to the tournament, with Phil's thoughts added (in italics).

 

1. Europe

It doesn't get any better than Hans Wingate in net, and he has two of the best defensemen in the league (Phil and Jeff Hamilton) to make things easy. The biggest question for this team is whether or not Severin von Karma can be the offensive leader he has never had to be throughout his career.

 

Can they perform the tri-peat? It's a legitimate question given that they have the best goalie in the league between the pipes, and as a fail safe, another top three goalie in G. Clegane. The experience of the two Hamilton brothers will come in use to facilitate the offense, led by veterans Strauss and von Karma. Will the young talent of Kohler, Muller and St. Pierre be put on display and help Europe get the offense needed though, that is the question.

 

2. World
Lord Karnage is the best player in the VHL at the moment, and Edwin Reencarnacion is not too far behind him. They have a solid defense led by Biggu Kyanon and Arcturus Mengsk, and Ariel Weinstein should be one of the top netminders during the tournament. Teams will look to exploit the inexperience of Pietro Maximoff and Pavel Komarov.

 

If there's one team that will make defenders need to change their pants, it's Team World. Karnage and Reencarnation will easily be the most dangerous tandem in the World Cup, but can Kyanon and Mengsk match up to the strong defense put out by Europe? 

 

3. Scandinavia
If this team had a better goalie, they would be closer to the number one spot, but with Sven Wolf as their best option I can't justify putting them any higher. They boast an incredible group of forwards and serviceable defensemen. This team looks destined for some high-scoring games.

 

This team will be scary-good in the next World Cup. Their forward line of Koponen, Ruutu and Molholt is a force to be reckoned with, but their young defense and even younger goalie will most likely be their demise this year. But who knows, as we can recall, Sandro Clegane was last tournament's breakout star and he was a rookie; if Wolf manages a performance like that, the two teams ahead of them in this ranking may be in for a surprise.

 

4. Canada
Zach Parechkin is one of the league's rising stars, and I expect a huge tournament from him. Atticus von Braxton is coming off a horrid playoff performance; he will need to improve if this team is going to win a medal. Francis York Morgan will provide good defensive support.

 

It looks as if Canada will not be guaranteed a medal in yet another tournament. However, the future is bright for Team Canada. The forward of this team's tournament to watch will be Marcel Faux, after a +50 goal campaign, shattering his previous career highs all across the statlines. The young second line of Parechkin, Lincoln and Unassisted will terrorize next World Cup, however their inexperience will be showing during the tournament this year. 

 

5. Mercenaries
The strength of the goalies that fall under Europe's domain has allowed the Mercenaries to get Sandro Clegane, who proved capable of winning games on his own in the playoffs. They actually managed to put together a respectable defense, but the burden of offense lies solely on the aged E'Twaun Delicious and Gifford Shock.

 

With Europe being stacked for goalies, Sandro Clegane, a front-runner for the Shaw Trophy this season, has found his way onto the Mercs and this is a great backbone for ADwyer to build his team. He's got a good mix of veteran and young players to work with and combos like Roberts and Delicious, or linemates on Helsinki Matsikas and Kaminogi will really benefit the team this tournament

 

6. USA
With AK47, USA is one of two teams with a VHLM goalie. Unfortunately for them, they don't make up for this weakness in other areas. Freedom McJustice is good, but not good enough to carry this roster. I have a hard time thinking this team can win more than two games, and a winless tournament is not out of the picture.

 

I don't ever remember a weaker US team than this season. Probably the biggest concern for the team is the lack of young players. Only Covington, Adultman, AK47, and Kronos really stand out as bright young talent, while most of the rest are laboured and severely inactive and depreciated wash-ups.  

Edited by Streetlight
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