VHL Top 25 Players, Part VI: 5-1

[McWolf 3,111]

VHL Top 25 Players

Part VI: 5-1

 

Welcome back, everyone. Here it is. We worked hard to reach this point. We wrote a lot of words. You read a lot of words (unless you only checked the titles to see what our ranking was, I know you did). And now, you're only five tiny descriptions away from finally discovering who the VSN ranks as the best player on the ice and the most valuable to his team.

 

5. Smitty Werbenjagermanjensen

 

Smitty Werbenjagermanjensen enjoyed a nice breakout that put him on the map, last season. After three seasons where he failed to score more than 65 points, the American defenseman exploded, scoring 27 goals and 86 points, good for 1st among blueliners and 9th among all skaters combined, on his for his first Alexander Valiq Trophy win. Smitty also added 168 hits and 118 shots blocked showing he's equally as proficient as an offensive defenseman than as a defensive-minded one. His strong two-way game was rewarded last season as he was also the recipient of the Sterling Labatte Trophy. The former Dynamo defenseman is now entering the second half of his career and will do so wearing a different jersey, as he decided to leave Switzerland instead hanging on during yet another rebuild. Smitty will join the Moscow Menace this season, an up-and-coming Cup Contender. It's hard to guess what new heights he will reach this season given his new surroundings, but he should be given the opportunity to once again fight for the Valiq and Labatte trophies.

McWolf

 

4. Julian Borwinn

 

Julian Borwinn won five awards in S66, including league MVP, with 51 goals and 63 assists. He followed that up with a down year in S67, before bouncing back with a huge year in S68, tallying 46 goals and 50 assists. With the departure of Dan Wilinsky via Free Agency, that opens the door for Kronos Bailey and Julian Borwinn to continue to put up gaudy stats. Borwinn is ranked #4 on our list and for good reason. He has very little reason for concern, unlike Sullivan Jr and Kastelic, the two previous forwards on the list. In fact, we have reason to believe he can step it up even more in S69 and build upon a 96 point campaign. His high hit totals combined with his scoring ability should make him a top-five pick and a clear cut F1.

Matt_O

 

3. Kronos Bailey

 

From there, we go straight to the player with whom Julian Borwinn forms a dynamic duo, Kronos Bailey. The Helsinki Titans top forwards both finished last season less than 5 points away from 100. Bailey is a great playmaker with quick hands and a great vision, a compliment to Borwinn's sniping skills. This season, with Dan Wilinsky out of town, expect then both to exceed the century mark, with Borwinn probably scoring over 50 goals and Bailey lining up to be an early favourite for the Alexander Beketov Trophy, awarded to the league's assists leader. Starting last season, the Titans centre adapted his game to the new reality of the league. In an era where most players get physical and the media really focuses on the number in the hits column, it's rare to see players put their team first and try to play a more disciplined game, though it should arguably be the norm. If penalties were an issue for the Titans, it was an honourable move from him to change his philosophy regarding the physicality of his game. Obviously, his hits totals took a major drop (going from three straight seasons above 200 to only 16 last season), but so did the time he spent in the box, going down from 223 minutes the season prior to 44 last season. It might have cost him Scott Boulet Trophy considerations down the road, but it just proves to me just how much of a team player Kronos Bailey and how valuable he is for the Titans.

McWolf

 

2. Jake Davis

 

Jake Davis, a formidable force for past 7 seasons, now going into his 8th has been a brilliant player for any team he has had a chance playing for. Now on his 5th team, Jake Davis is already planning his retirement and that gives him the chance to go all out on both offensive and defensive end of the ice. With truly elite scoring and skating, plus, a high-end puck handling skills he will always be a key player for any strategy that Malmo pushes for. With 98 points last season, Jake Davis has proved that he can not only be an over 40 goal scorer but also he has the ability to pass the puck without really worrying about turnovers. Role model with plenty of experience but unfortunately no awards attached to his name. He is ranked 2nd on our list because who can really tell how Jake Davis will perform on his new team, will this be his season to take home awards and show everyone why he is the elite of VHL? We sure hope it will as that would be the right ending to a brilliant career by one of our finest.

FrostBeard

 

1. Rauno Palo

 

Just one year removed from sweeping through the S67 VHL Awards bringing home four individual trophies, Palo remains in the upper echelon of VHL players. He’s consistent, he’s dynamic, he scores goals, he’s improved every single season in his career. Yes, Rauno Palo is the best player in the VHL today. Entering his eighth season in his career, Palo is a lock among the league's leaderboards and will be again this season. While he won all the awards in S67, his S68 campaign was arguably an improvement as he reached the 50 goal plateau for the first time in his career.  Unfortunately due to a slow start to his career, Palo sits just under a career point per game pace. We fully expect him to go out in style, eclipsing that mark by the end of the season. Fifty goals may be a steep one to get but expect him to comfortably surpass the 40 goal mark again finishing with well over 80 points. Along the way, it will be interesting to see how many milestones Palo can hit as he sits just 47 goals from 250, 8 assists from 300, 105 points from 600, and 8 power-play goals from 50 in his career. One last time perched at the top of the league, let’s enjoy this generational talent while he’s still around.

VanCanWin

 

Well, that was the last part of our Top 25 Players project. Thanks for reading and joining us in the discussions, arguing that we ordered the players wrong and all. There has been some talk about making this a yearly thing, so give it all you got in Season 69 and tune back in during next offseason to see where your most recent achievements rank you.

 

Players mentioned: @flyersfan1453, @Jubo07, @oilmandan, @Quik, @Advantage, @Enorama, @Josh, @jRuutu

 

VSN Writer McWolf

[McWolf 3,111]

thanks to our writing team @VanCanWin (good article idea!), @Matt_O, @FrostBeard (thanks for thr edits too)

thanks for the logo @Motzaburger

glory to VSN iteration 3.0

[oilmandan 686]

@McWolf Wilinsky a certified boat anchor

[McWolf 3,111]

12 minutes ago, oilmandan said:

@McWolf Wilinsky a certified boat anchor

stop stealing JuBo's thunder

[oilmandan 686]

29 minutes ago, McWolf said:

stop stealing JuBo's thunder

 

1 hour ago, McWolf said:

With the departure of Dan Wilinsky via Free Agency, that opens the door for Kronos Bailey and Julian Borwinn to continue to put up gaudy stats.

 

1 hour ago, McWolf said:

This season, with Dan Wilinsky out of town, expect then both to exceed the century mark

Most hated man alive 

[Banackock 7,633]

Good stuff  

[McWolf 3,111]

14 minutes ago, oilmandan said:

 

 

Most hated man alive 

ikr, we didn't even tell each other but i laughed out loud when i saw his part

[ShawnGlade 1,002]

im gonna start crying

[jRuutu 2,296]

Honored to be the number one Thanks!

[Victor 10,527]

Palo definitely going to be an interesting one to assess for the Hall of Fame, especially if he drops a third straight strong season. Such a contrast to the first half if his career.

 

Davis too actually- probably the most consistent player of anyone younger than S61 but not a single award so far.

[FrostBeard 1,974]

3 hours ago, Victor said:

Palo definitely going to be an interesting one to assess for the Hall of Fame, especially if he drops a third straight strong season. Such a contrast to the first half if his career.

 

Davis too actually- probably the most consistent player of anyone younger than S61 but not a single award so far.

Pavlov will never achieve their greatness, just because he didn't get that WC experience.. 

[Victor 10,527]

1 hour ago, FrostBeard said:

Pavlov will never achieve their greatness, just because he didn't get that WC experience.. 

It's true.

 

But equally a shame Frostbeard will miss out due to not having that gold medal he would have won if Pavlov was on the team.