Deja Vu

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You know that feeling you get when it seems like the past is repeating itself?

 

I wrote one of these little ditties last season when Vesto Slipher was among the VHLM leaders in points per 20 minutes despite playing fewer than 20 minutes a game. While it's kind of like a "chicken or the egg" situation (did he have high PP/20 because he wasn't playing much, or in spite of it?), eventually the situation worked itself out.

 

I didn't expect the same situation to unfold in the VHL this season. Either Slipher was going to be a bottom-of-the-barrel player on a competitive Quebec squad, or he was going to be busting top-line minutes. That said, there's a reason I'm writing this piece right now.

 

After 18 games, Slipher sits at sixth in the VHL in PP/20 with 1.14 (not including filler players). However, while everyone else in the top eight has at least 30 points, Slipher is at 8-8-16. That's because he's currently second to last in the league in minutes per game, ahead of only inactive teammate Bryce Zhields. While fellow Meute rookie Marvin Harding is third-last in MPG, he's still about four minutes ahead of Slipher on the season.

 

To that end, there's another interesting point. It's not necessarily singling out Slipher, or Harding, or anybody in the case of the Meute. There are five players averaging under 24 minutes a game, and all 5 play for Quebec. Quebec coaching is making a move to keep things democratic, and that leads to the other similarity between this season and last for Slipher: it's working. Quebec is currently second in the VHL with 36 points and 13 wins. It's hard to be terribly upset when the results speak for themselves.