[Reviewed] By the Numbers: VHL Playoff MVP Edition

[Advantage 2,899]

Well since this week’s VHL Magazine is cancelled, and without realizing it I typed up my article, I thought I would share it with the rest of the Victory Hockey League, as it is topical with the VHL Finals underway.  For those that do not know, I run the By The Numbers article in the Magazine, and this week’s edition was to focus on Playoff MVP and who I felt were the main three candidates as of now.  Therefore, here are my top two candidates for each team:

 

26 – How can I not start off with the Playoffs leading goal scorer and point producer, Tom Lincoln?  The veteran forward, who was one of the top scorers in the regular season, has continued to dominate opponents with an impressive eleven goals and twenty-six points in fourteen games.  Additionally, he has recorded three game-winning-goals and has really helped the Americans take advantage of special team’s situations, with eight points and thirteen shots on the powerplay, leading the team in both categories.  If the Americans can knock off Riga in the finals, look for Lincoln to be perhaps the leading candidate with how dominant he has been offensively, especially if he plays a big role in the finals.  Fellow forward, Unassisted, could also compete with Lincoln for the top scorer for New York and he has a physical element to take into consideration, so it may be an interesting debate.

 

21 – Bobby Digital has had a very interesting playoff campaign.  Not only does he lead all defenders with twenty-one points, but he has also recorded thirty-one hits, twenty blocked shots and a rather ridiculous forty-two penalty minutes, none of which were fighting majors.  Digital has really broken out of late and has made himself a candidate with his tremendous play.  I have to say though that I am unsure if he can keep up his production against a tough Riga team given his unmatchable forty percent shooting percentage.  With that being said, if he can maintain a pace within a few points of the top forwards on New York, he could figure into the voting records given his all-around play as a defender.

 

12 – Riga has only played seven games so their top candidates don’t really seem as impressive, but I am a firm believer that the Playoff MVP should come from the winning team in almost every circumstance.  Therefore, Shawn Muller has to be a favourite to be one of Riga’s top candidates.  He currently leads the team with twelve points in seven games and his veteran presence could be very welcoming for a young Riga team.  I expected to include Sandro Clegane on this list, but with how poor his playoff performance has been, it would take one of the best goaltending performances of all-time to bring him back into the conversation.  Something I just don’t see happening against a very offensively gifted New York Americans team.

 

11 – Pietro Maximoff is probably the favourite for Playoff MVP if Riga wins.  While he doesn’t have the hits that Jordan Maverick does, and he isn’t exactly breaking away from the rest of the team in points, we can all agree that he is their most talented player.  Therefore, I think if Riga has any chance of winning, they will need to count on Maximoff to carry them.  He has the most shots on the team by over double of what Muller has (92 shots versus 41 shots) and also has recorded two game-winning-goals.  While Maximoff is a very disciplined player, it does mean that he can stay on the ice more often and could play a huge role if Riga does in fact knock off the Americans in the finals.

Edited January 18, 2017 by Advantage

[evrydayimbyfuglien 600]

Review:

 

Not sure I've ever actually read one of these articles. I may have to go back and read them now. Nice job with this. Should be interesting to see this after the awards are all handed out. I think even if Digital's shooting percentage returns to the mean, he should put up decent points moving forward. 

[TheLastOlympian07 2,388]

we can all agree that he is their most talented player