Battle for the European Conference

[solas 1,951]

New York and Stockholm’s switches in general managers this season have sent shockwaves across the VHL.  With both front offices making the choice to sell off their assets and rebuild, the playoff picture has changed significantly as many of the league’s top players move to the European Conference, causing much more of a competition for that top spot in the conference.  

 

The defending champions are the Helsinki Titans, who are coming off of back-to-back Continental Cup victories as well as a Victory Cup last season.  It seems as if they’ll remain the team to beat in both the regular season and playoffs as they retain Franchise Cornerstone, Theo Axelsson, and Astrid Moon while adding Tobias Klingberg and Ay Ay Ron.  They may, however, be harmed by the loss of Black Velvet to retirement.  Meanwhile, Davos has strengthened by adding a whole host of star players.  Season 55 MVP Rhett DeGrath and assists leader Lee King Snatch both joined from Stockholm, while back-to-back scoring leader Diana Maxwell joins from New York, hoping to retain her title alongside in the purple and black of the Dynamo.  Finally, Riga established themselves as the third playoff contender in Europe by adding a quartet of former Americans - physical winger Phil Shankly, star center Essian Ravenwing, pass-first defenseman Bobby Digital, and goaltender MT Power.  

 

With three possible cup contenders within the conference, things seem much less straightforward than they did last season as the race for the conference championship will surely be tight this year.
 

[Gudnason 607]

Yeah this Rudi Ying guy they brought in to replace SWC3/Velvet has been pretty shit so far.