Devise 4,475 Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 (edited) S36 is about to start and marks a very interesting time in the VHL. While it has been discussed before the simple fact that we are now in the post S30 era of the VHL completely puts a lot of burden on the younger stars of this league. No longer can teams rely on the legit super stars who entered the league before S30, players such as Chershenko, Reikkinen, Labatte, Sullivan, Marcellin, Ryback, Wozniak, Braxton, Glover, Smalling, Rafter, Larsson. Just to name some of them. These are the names that defined award lists for the last several seasons in the VHL. They are the names who dominated the league, they were the faces of the league, they were the real super stars of this league. They are now all gone. Obvious players to automatically rise to fame are players who have either been on the cusp or basically second tier superstars under the above names. Players like Osbourne, Remy LeBeau, Tumoas Tukio, Kameron Taylor, Skylar Rift, Yuri Grigorenko. But now that era has finally switched, new players will need to rise to stardom for their teams. We are going to take a look at the six competing playoff teams and list a player that I think is most likely to rise to stardom in S36 and beyond. Quebec City Meute Wesley Kellinger - Kellinger is the obvious choice here. While the two defensive Valiq brothers are likely to also have solid seasons Kellinger is going to be required to be a gigantic star for the Muete to continue to have success. Kellinger had a great start to a budding career last season piling up the points alongside Larsson and Grigorenko. But now that Larsson is gone and Quebec has replaced him with younger depth in Zamora, Kellinger is going to be required to carry more of the load. How he performs will greatly impact how well Yuri Grigorenko performs and how well the top line of the Muete can be in regards to star power scoring. Look for Kellinger to be top five in scoring and top 3 in overall assists this season! Seattle Bears Karsten Olsen - Olsen represents the unlikely choice on team filled with the young budding superstars of tomorrow in Seattle. But while fellow teammate James Lefevre boasts a bit more recognition, Olsen brings the complete two way game to his team. I honestly feel by seasons end Olsen will be the leading point scorer on his team. He may not lead in either assists or goals, but he will be the most effective player for his team all over the ice and be a candidate for the Sterling Labatte trophy in Season 36. The Bears will excel as Olsen excels, and he could also be a MVP candidate for the team by seasons end. Toronto Legion Nicklas Lindberg - While Salmon may get most of the attention as the big free agent coming in, Lindberg is the best forward on the entire Legion team in terms of overall compete level compared with age. Part of the younger core of Toronto, Lindberg will surely pass all teammates other than Remy LeBeau in practice hours by the time the playoffs begin despite being a season or two seasons younger than several of his teammates. It isn't just his compete level that Toronto will win on, it's his consistency. While Remy will most likely get the MVP considerations and carry the boat for this team Lindberg will be the offensive stalwart who shows up on a nightly basis and doing so makes his entire team better. On nights where Lindberg doesn't show up the Toronto offense will struggle as he will be the main catalyst for that teams scoring punch. Lindbergs claim to stardom begins in S36 and as we move forward you'll be seeing his name on award ballots sooner than you might expect. Cologne Express Evgeni Chekhov - While his GM efforts contemplate rebuild and will be looking for solid trades throughout the season, look for Cologne to make the playoffs over Vasteras despite that this season. Chekhov is going to be the reason for that. While it would be tough to argue that Chekhov is going to perform better than the three already star goalies on Helsinki, Quebec, and Toronto Chekhov is going to be perfectly happy sitting fourth best. His performance in S36 is going to be huge for his team, it's going to make everyone in the league realizes that he is the real deal and that come playoff time he will be capable of going up against any goalie in the entire VHL and winning. In S36 Chekhov will cement his legacy as legitimate VHL starting goalie for any roster for seasons to come. Davos Dynamo Sergei Brovalenko - Odin Tordahl may be the big free agency signing for this team, but no player NEEDS to perform better than Brovalenko. With his career slowly but surely dwindling down Brovalenko has enjoyed limited personal success and almost no team success in this league. But now a staple of the up and coming Davos team it is make or break time for the teams top center. He will make, and finish of his career as a high note combing with Tordahl to make one of the leagues most effective one two punches. While he is unlikely to lead many offensive categories with players like Taylor and Osbourne threatening, his name will up there close among them after a stand out performance in S36 that cements him as a top center in the VHL until he is forced to retire. Helsinki Titans Anatoli Zhumbayev - Zhumbayev is poised to have an amazing season, a season which will likely see him tops or close to tops in several categories, most notably goal scoring. This sniper becomes the benefit of a team depleted of depth but finds himself paired with one of the leagues top players in Ethan Osbourne. He will benefit greatly. Teams with limited depth and few star power players have been known to turn in near record breaking performances in the VHL. Ryback and Chershenko, Wozniak and Ryback, Reikkinen and Chershenko, Reikkinen and Milo. Majority of those examples are on playoff teams and in a lot of cases they either continued the trend of the players being superstars or in the case of Reikkinen in S27 helped make them superstars. Zhumbayev has been a strong performer in the VHL up until now but as Helsinki needs the big stand out performance, he will combine with Osbourne to give it to them. While the goaltending in the VHL will likely be too strong to see any real record shattering statistics, look for Osbourne and Zhumbayev to be the most effective scoring combination in the VHL in S36! Edited January 3, 2014 by Devise22 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotAVHLM-GM 1,858 Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 Great read, go Lindberg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RomanesEuntDomus 442 Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 Nice one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOOM 8,467 Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 Nice job Devise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kesler 1,514 Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 I came in here expecting to read about Boom tbh, I was shocked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toast 887 Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 Woo! Go Olsen! Nice read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Higgins 3,618 Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 AZ bout to go off the chain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STZ 5,311 Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 I came in here expecting to read about AZ tbh, I was delighted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CowboyinAmerica 2,741 Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 The Bears will excel as Olsen excels, and he could also be a MVP candidate for the team by seasons end. If I can be an MVP candidate after never making even an All-Star Game, I will be pleasantly surprised. Thanks for the props! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissioner Beketov 8,724 Posted January 3, 2014 Commissioner Share Posted January 3, 2014 Thanks for the mention man, I wasn't really expecting it. Nice to see that my work isn't going unnoticed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iRockstar 307 Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 Personally I see D.Jones > Brovelenko on Davos and Sound > Olsen on Seattle just simply because of the builds they both have. I'm pretty sure Kesler has a hell of a lot more TPE than Trifecta and CIA the same over Greg but I just have a high consideration that after Jones rookie season and Sound moving to offense, things will change drastically. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scoop 3,276 Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 I must already be considered a star, huh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boubabi 4,725 Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 Thats a great list. Go Legion! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOOM 8,467 Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 I came in here expecting to read about Boom tbh, I was shocked. Not sure why really...your player is much better/more important for S36. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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