Sullvino 289 Posted July 28, 2019 Share Posted July 28, 2019 (edited) The Rookie Report VSN Network - July 28, 2019 The Season 67 VHL Regular Season has just about reached the midway point and the crop of S67 VHL Rookies are starting to find their groove. Looking at the rookie scoring race, it is flooded with New York Americans and Malmo Nighthawks. It is also striking to see that the majority of the players at the top of the race are Season 66 draft prospects, who took a developmental year in the VHLM last season. Today we'll take a deep dive into the rookie class through the midpoint of the season and check in on who has been the top rookie performers. 1. Blake Gaudette - Left Wing - Malmo Nighthawks @Gaudette 34 Games | 10 Goals | 20 Assists | 30 Points Atop the rookie scoring leaderboard is Blake Gaudette of the Malmo Nighthawks. The S66 VHLM MVP nominee has accumulated 10 goals and 20 assists in his first 34 games played in the VHL. This nearly point-per-game pace puts him fairly comfortably at first in rookie scoring. Gaudette was a Season 66 draft pick, going 34th overall to Malmo, which is proving to be quite the steal at this point in his career. Gaudette has been playing on the teams second line alongside fellow rookies Phil Marleau and Lucas Nygren. The All-Rookie line for Malmo has been an exciting one to watch and has been headlined by the top rookie of the year candidate in Blake Gaudette 2. Nethila Dissanayake - Right Wing - New York Americans @nethi99 34 Games | 11 Goals | 16 Assists | 27 Points Second on the list is another rising Season 66 draft pick, Nethila Dissanayake. Dissanayake has been a polarizing player on the ice in the VHL, standing at 6'8, he uses his big body to create high scoring chances. He played two seasons in the VHLM for the Saskatoon Wild, posting decent stats each season, but seems to have made a bit of a leap in the VHL this season. His 27 points so far this season puts him in the Top-2 on the Americans behind veteran Piotr Jerwa who has 32 points. The Americans have been primarily playing him on the second line with Walter Clements (who we will mention a bit later) and Blake Laughton, making yet another All-Rookie line in the VHL. Look for Nethila to potentially close the gap on Gaudette for rookie scoring in the second half of the season. 3. Walter Clements - Center - New York Americans @cpetrella 34 Games | 11 Goals | 13 Assists | 24 Points Back-to-back New York American rookies reside in the Top-3 of rookie scoring here with Walter Clements coming in at number three. Clements also continues the theme of late-round Season 66 draft picks coming into their own in Season 67 of the VHL. Clements was drafted extremely low at 55th overall in that draft class. Like Dissanayake, Clements is also 6'8 and plays on the Americans second line. Clements was a prospect that the Americans have been patient with as he appears to have a bit of a slower developmental curve than other prospects around the league. Clements played on the champion Philadelphia Reapers last season and excelled in the playoffs to take home the Playoff MVP award. Despite the struggles this season, the Americans may have found a diamond in the rough here with Clement if he continues to develop. 4. Lucas Nygren - Center/Right Wing - Malmo Nighthawks @Advantage 34 Games | 6 Goals | 18 Assists | 24 Points The second Malmo Nighthawk on the list is Lucas Nygren; line mate of the leading rookie scorer Blake Gaudette. The smooth-skating Swede played for the Saskatoon Wild last season (30-36-66) in the VHLM before signing with Malmo as a GM player. Despite being number four on this list, Nygren is the top Season 67 draft prospect in scoring with his 24 points in 34 games. When you look in detail at Nygren's stat line, it is hard to ignore his astonishingly low shooting percentage at just around 4%. This indicates to me that he has quite simply been unlucky this season in terms of scoring goals. When this starts to turn around, expect Nygren to catch fire. 5. Rusty Shackleford - Defense - Malmo Nighthawks @K1NG LINUS 34 Games | 5 Goals | 19 Assists | 24 Points Rounding out our Top-5 is yet another member of the young Malmo Nighthawks in defenseman Rusty Shackleford. Rusty was drafted 17th overall in the Season 66 draft class and is the top rookie scorer amongst defensemen so far this season. He is primarily a new-school defensive defenseman who can skate very well, but this season for Malmo he has found some early success in terms of offensive production. Shackleford is seeing top pair minutes for Malmo during even strength and also has a presence on the teams second powerplay unit. This is a player that has been working hard and developing nicely ever since declaring for the VHL draft; Malmo looks to have a potential franchise defenseman here. Edited July 28, 2019 by Sullvino Renomitsu, Matmenzinger, K1NG LINUS and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nethi99 39 Posted July 28, 2019 Share Posted July 28, 2019 Nice read! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advantage 2,891 Posted July 28, 2019 Share Posted July 28, 2019 Malmo repping!!! @Gaudette @K1NG LINUS K1NG LINUS 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motzaburger 1,590 Posted July 28, 2019 Share Posted July 28, 2019 FISTED ANALLY BY A CIRCUS MONKEY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sullvino 289 Posted July 28, 2019 Author Share Posted July 28, 2019 52 minutes ago, Motzaburger said: FISTED ANALLY BY A CIRCUS MONKEY Not even Top 10 in rookie scoring! btw that Boeser sig is CLEAN af Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motzaburger 1,590 Posted July 28, 2019 Share Posted July 28, 2019 33 minutes ago, Sullvino said: Not even Top 10 in rookie scoring! btw that Boeser sig is CLEAN af Lmfao I know. I am rubbish. And ty! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K1NG LINUS 145 Posted July 28, 2019 Share Posted July 28, 2019 2 hours ago, Advantage said: Malmo repping!!! @Gaudette @K1NG LINUS I can't believe Shackleford is doing so well offensively Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaudette 65 Posted July 29, 2019 Share Posted July 29, 2019 On July 28, 2019 at 4:49 PM, Sullvino said: The Rookie Report VSN Network - July 28, 2019 The Season 67 VHL Regular Season has just about reached the midway point and the crop of S67 VHL Rookies are starting to find their groove. Looking at the rookie scoring race, it is flooded with New York Americans and Malmo Nighthawks. It is also striking to see that the majority of the players at the top of the race are Season 66 draft prospects, who took a developmental year in the VHLM last season. Today we'll take a deep dive into the rookie class through the midpoint of the season and check in on who has been the top rookie performers. 1. Blake Gaudette - Left Wing - Malmo Nighthawks @Gaudette 34 Games | 10 Goals | 20 Assists | 30 Points Atop the rookie scoring leaderboard is Blake Gaudette of the Malmo Nighthawks. The S66 VHLM MVP nominee has accumulated 10 goals and 20 assists in his first 34 games played in the VHL. This nearly point-per-game pace puts him fairly comfortably at first in rookie scoring. Gaudette was a Season 66 draft pick, going 34th overall to Malmo, which is proving to be quite the steal at this point in his career. Gaudette has been playing on the teams second line alongside fellow rookies Phil Marleau and Lucas Nygren. The All-Rookie line for Malmo has been an exciting one to watch and has been headlined by the top rookie of the year candidate in Blake Gaudette 2. Nethila Dissanayake - Right Wing - New York Americans @nethi99 34 Games | 11 Goals | 16 Assists | 27 Points Second on the list is another rising Season 66 draft pick, Nethila Dissanayake. Dissanayake has been a polarizing player on the ice in the VHL, standing at 6'8, he uses his big body to create high scoring chances. He played two seasons in the VHLM for the Saskatoon Wild, posting decent stats each season, but seems to have made a bit of a leap in the VHL this season. His 27 points so far this season puts him in the Top-2 on the Americans behind veteran Piotr Jerwa who has 32 points. The Americans have been primarily playing him on the second line with Walter Clements (who we will mention a bit later) and Blake Laughton, making yet another All-Rookie line in the VHL. Look for Nethila to potentially close the gap on Gaudette for rookie scoring in the second half of the season. 3. Walter Clements - Center - New York Americans @cpetrella 34 Games | 11 Goals | 13 Assists | 24 Points Back-to-back New York American rookies reside in the Top-3 of rookie scoring here with Walter Clements coming in at number three. Clements also continues the theme of late-round Season 66 draft picks coming into their own in Season 67 of the VHL. Clements was drafted extremely low at 55th overall in that draft class. Like Dissanayake, Clements is also 6'8 and plays on the Americans second line. Clements was a prospect that the Americans have been patient with as he appears to have a bit of a slower developmental curve than other prospects around the league. Clements played on the champion Philadelphia Reapers last season and excelled in the playoffs to take home the Playoff MVP award. Despite the struggles this season, the Americans may have found a diamond in the rough here with Clement if he continues to develop. 4. Lucas Nygren - Center/Right Wing - Malmo Nighthawks @Advantage 34 Games | 6 Goals | 18 Assists | 24 Points The second Malmo Nighthawk on the list is Lucas Nygren; line mate of the leading rookie scorer Blake Gaudette. The smooth-skating Swede played for the Saskatoon Wild last season (30-36-66) in the VHLM before signing with Malmo as a GM player. Despite being number four on this list, Nygren is the top Season 67 draft prospect in scoring with his 24 points in 34 games. When you look in detail at Nygren's stat line, it is hard to ignore his astonishingly low shooting percentage at just around 4%. This indicates to me that he has quite simply been unlucky this season in terms of scoring goals. When this starts to turn around, expect Nygren to catch fire. 5. Rusty Shackleford - Defense - Malmo Nighthawks @K1NG LINUS 34 Games | 5 Goals | 19 Assists | 24 Points Rounding out our Top-5 is yet another member of the young Malmo Nighthawks in defenseman Rusty Shackleford. Rusty was drafted 17th overall in the Season 66 draft class and is the top rookie scorer amongst defensemen so far this season. He is primarily a new-school defensive defenseman who can skate very well, but this season for Malmo he has found some early success in terms of offensive production. Shackleford is seeing top pair minutes for Malmo during even strength and also has a presence on the teams second powerplay unit. This is a player that has been working hard and developing nicely ever since declaring for the VHL draft; Malmo looks to have a potential franchise defenseman here. Wow man thanks for ranking me #1, great article. Sullvino 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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