Every Nation's Greatest VHL Player: A to C

[Victor 10,534]

Disclaimer: I actually had this mapped out before @Corco's miraculous return although when performing my search, his IIHF rankings of circa S55 were helpful to fill in some gaps. Also god knows how long this will take given 2,400 words only took me to the end of C. Anyway, enjoy.

 

Albania – Lek Bislimi

The English alphabet takes us to a pretty remote hockey location first, the Balkan nation of Albania. Not known for any hockey players outside the VHL, it also continues to not be known for hockey within the VHL, although we did see the first Albanian player declare for the draft in S69. Unfortunately, the fallout from the VHL-SBA affiliation dispute put paid to the career of Lek Bislimi, who retired before he could be drafted into the VHL. Bislimi leaves the Albanian legacy at a 19-point season in the VHLM and a playoff run each with Halifax (S67) and Las Vegas (S68).

 

Argentina – Ciro Pertuzzi

They don't hold a candle to Albania in TPE, but Argentinians have spent more seasons existing, if not playing, in the VHLM, with Ciro Pertuzzi even managing to impress enough to be drafted 26^th overall by Helsinki in S52. He was also drafted by Bern in the VHLM but never seemed to get on the ice for any team. It's not much representation for Argentina, but it's better than half the world has managed.

 

Armenia – Raphael Nazarians

Carrying on the streak of non-hockey nations, Armenia is another recent entry, represented by Raphael Nazarians, drafted 40^th overall by Calgary in S66. He is currently a free agent, having spent his entry-level contract bouncing around the VHLM, between Saskatoon, Minnesota, and Las Vegas, with a career-high 65 points in S65. There were steals later on in the S66 draft, as far down as the sixth round, but none which obviously make Nazarians a bad pick at the end of the fourth, just one that didn't work out.

 

Australia – Alexander Thrower

Finally, onto some genuine VHL talent. Australia is still not a hotbed for hockey players, but has provided a few decent players over the year. The pick of the crop at the moment is Alexander Thrower, a man who consistently outperformed his meagre talent. Drafted ninth overall by Cologne in S52, Thrower was the sixth straight center brought to the VHL by Cologne GM Greg Harbinson @gregreg, a line which included Hall of Famers Markus Strauss and Felix Peters. Thrower made his debut in S53, riding the coattails of Joel Jarvi's strong form to notch 120 points and claim the Christian Stolzschweiger Trophy. A move to Stockholm and to defence followed, before a late career renaissance in Riga, where Thrower benefited from the second line Krigars-Locke combination to put up a league-leading 95 assists in S57, before another 20 in the playoffs secured the Continental Cup.

 

Two current sophomores in the VHL, New York's A Red Guy @.sniffuM and Berocka Sundqvist @Berocka, a defending champion with Seattle, certainly have the ability to displace Thrower from the pole Australian position, but whether they are successful remains to be seen.

 

Austria – Max Kroenenburg

A more traditional hockey country that has not proven any more popular among VHL members than Australia. Currently, career backup Clayton Park is holding down the fort for Austria, while going back a bit further we find Thomas Duddy (captain of the S45 cup-winning Helsinki Titans, and champion again with New York in S47) and Eggly Bagelface (@Corco himself!), the last Vasteras GM player and an Aidan Shaw Trophy winner in S39. With 219 career wins (36^th all time), Bagelface's place as the second-best Austrian ever is relatively secure.

 

However, he misses out on the top place to long-time Hall of Fame ballot member Max Kroenenburg. A first overall pick back in S15, Kroenenburg won three Continental Cups with Riga, Toronto, and Helsinki and put up a very impressive 717 points in 8 seasons. Unfortunately, a 157-point season in S20 gave him the perception of a one-season wonder and he never got the call to the Hall but remains Austria's greatest.

 

Bangladesh – Jesus Christ (S69)

There have been a number of Jesus Christs in the history of the VHL, including a fairly successful goaltender in the league's early years. Most recently though, Jesus was controversially left undrafted the S69 entry draft, denying Bangladesh its first ever VHL draftee. Instead, having been drafted a distant 93^rd overall into the VHLM, Christ continues grafting away with the Mexico City Kings until they dispose of him.

 

Belarus – Slava Aleksei

The first noted controversy of the migration from forum-based player pages to the portal: The portal actually lists Slava Aleksei as Belgian which is a clear lie and the result of Belarus and Belgium being next to each other in the alphabet. This doesn't stop Aleksei from being the finest Belarus export to play in the VHL, beating out very limited competition in Pavel Varushkin, a 14^th overall pick in S48 who broke into the VHL from S52 to S54, putting up 51 career points, and Matvei Albertenko, undrafted in S67 and currently in his third season with the Yukon Rush.

 

Aleksei, on the other hand, had a very respectable career, rising up from 15^th overall in the S54 draft to win back-to-back Continental Cups with Riga in S57 and S58. He then ended his career with Davos in S61, helping the franchise end one of the VHL's longest ever cup droughts under the stewardship of his player agent, GM Tyler Owens @Tyler.

 

Belgium – Kasey Braun

Belgium has not produced much VHL talent over the years, but their best ever player is better than most countries'. Kasey Braun was one in a long line of defencemen brought to the league by HOF Builder Joey Kendrick, and although far from its most well-known, his 488 points in 432 games were a Hall of Fame pace if he stuck around a bit longer. Instead, Braun is probably best known for just missing out on cups, playing in an era dominated by Daniel Braxton, and the infamous “Kasey Braun trade”, where Seattle captain Braun was traded without warning to Riga and promptly abandoned his new team a season later.

 

Since Braun's retirement in S30, Belgium has produced one other notable talent: Boner (@Corco again!). Less talented than Braun, he was also involved in some controversy when he was not included on Calgary's playoff roster in S61 and was arguably the difference in a close-fought 7-game series with Davos. Calgary would get their championship the following season, while Boner was part of the surprise Toronto win in S64 before retiring.

 

Benin – Zachary Young Jr.

Back to locations and players about whom there is nothing to say: Zachary Young Jr of Benin. A S69 draftee who has yet to join a team in the VHL or VHLM, the younger Young is not giving Benin much to celebrate. Even his father, Canadian center Zachary Young, made more of an impression after being drafted by Toronto in S43.

 

Bolivia – Boheem Bismarck

A slight improvement on Benin's entry, but only slight. Bolivia's Boheem Bismarck has been a mainstay on the Halifax 21^st back line for four seasons now, coming off back-to-back 50+ point seasons, but is unlikely to ever break into the VHL. He was drafted by Davos in the late fourth round in S67, by which point the draft's talent had finally dried up.

 

Bosnia and Herzegovina – Rift Pajodcast - @Corco's 4th mention and he's finally top!

One of the most bizarre players in VHL history and a member of one of the strangest cup-winning teams we have ever seen. Named after the famous VHL podcast featuring @Devise, @Advantage, and @Jericho, the Bosnian Pajodcast refused to upgrade his scoring and passing and refused to play for the newly-formed Stockholm Vikings, due to his agent's long history with Vasteras. This didn't stop the Vikings from drafting him in S41 nonetheless, but Pajodcast was quickly shipped off to Seattle, where he would center the second line of the ultimate underdog victory in S43. Pajodcast almost managed to repeat as champion with Cologne in S44 and overall had more success than his build would suggest, putting up 358 points across 8 VHL seasons.

 

More recently the Hawley brothers, Emir and Xander, joined the S67 draft from Bosnia, although neither was drafted – Xander is now retired while Emir is a free agent.

 

Brazil – Daring Do

Brazil is another South American country not known for its hockey prowess, but it has made a bit more of a mark on the VHL than eternal rival Argentina. Dan Jones was the original Brazilian in the league, drafted in the second round in S22 and spending a career on mid-tier teams, putting up 349 points in 431 games. That's actually a better return than Daring Do, Toronto's 11^th overall pick in S55, who also played an extra season, but Do was part of a better team in Toronto and made more appearances in the playoffs. The late 50s Legion never got to the finals but were a strong team and being a regular shows Do had some talent, as well as a more well-rounded game with 1,802 career hits.

 

Brunei – Keven Foreskin

We are currently witnessing a golden age for Brunei in the VHL, with New York's Keven Foreskin the first ever player to emerge from the tiny state in south-east Asia. Whatever Foreskin does will be what Brunei achieves and it could be a good run, given he is backed by New York's GM Joel Ylonen @Esso2264. At the moment though it's a bit too early to judge how things will go for this nation.

 

Bulgaria – Emil Martinov

Nothing to write home about for Bulgaria, with Emil Martinov drafted in S56 and then breaking into the VHL with Riga and Seattle in the early 60s, when both teams were in the midst of rebuilds. A career high of 39 points and 252 blocked shots followed in S61, which is better than the two other Bulgarians, neither of whom made it to the VHL.

 

Burkina Faso – Thomas Sankara

Not much to write about here either, other than that this was a player brought in by @Tyler for the S57 draft but he retired during his only VHLM season to make way for Davos' GM player The Charm. 85 points in the regular season and then 11 in the playoffs for the Las Vegas Aces defenceman mean Burkina Faso might have had something special in the VHL, but it wasn't to be.

 

Cambodia – Londortharl

Another nation with no VHL representation, but 3 seasons in the VHLM for Cambodian defenceman Londortharl, although the most remarkable contribution from the defenceman was a diabolical -106 rating for Houston in S66. This was following a very distant 83^rd overall selection in the VHLM draft – Cambodia is yet to have one of its own have their name called at the VHL draft.

 

Canada – Aidan Shaw

Brett Slobodzian? Aidan Shaw? Sterling Labatte? Unassisted? You could probably get a 2,000 word Media Spot out just by typing out the names of every single Canadian player in VHL history, but picking the best of them is actually harder than it looks. Remarkably, despite producing the most Hall of Famers of every nation, Canada has not produced any player who was clearly the best at any role or position, and actually features quite little on any of the top 10 all-time lists. By virtue of being the third-best goaltender ever, Aidan Shaw gets the nod here but it's a peculiar fact possibly worth exploring in an article of its own.

 

Chile – David Vidal

A classic depth player on a great team. David Vidal had a similar career to his predecessor Pekka Hart, the only two players of note from the user Undefeated, with two key differences: Hart never won a cup and as a Finn had no chance of being his country's finest player. Vidal's only competition among Chileans comes from unremarkable goalie Ignacio Marino, who had 47 VHL games under his belt. Vidal had a very respectable career with 552 points in 574 games, but is most memorable for his involvement in 3 key moments that defined that era. First, the Toronto/Davos trade before the S18 draft which in theory should have derailed the Davos rebuild for good but in Vidal, they got one pick back that would make a difference. Second, Vidal's move from defence up front midway through S20 when Davos made defensive reinforcements – the Dynamo went on to win the cup. Then finally, like Hart was traded for Hall of Famer Leander Kaelin as Davos chased the cup in S23, so Vidal was moved out during S24 for eventual top scorer and Hall of Famer Mathias Chouinard.

 

China – Xin Xie Xiao

China technically but not really: Hong Kong – Fook Yu

Terence Fong @tfong has contributed a lot to the VHL but perhaps his defining feature is representing Asia in the league. Unsurprisingly, he has provided both China and Hong Kong's finest players to date. From China, it's Xin Xie Xiao, a Hall of Famer who was a constant Scott Boulet Trophy contender playing for the great New York team of the late 30s and Cologne of the early 40s. From Hong Kong, Fook Yu, a less prolific version of XXX but still a very good forward who won the cup in S56 and continued to play for cup contenders throughout his career.

 

That's not to say it's all Fong though. China has also produced Astrid Moon, one of the finest goaltenders of the 50s and playoff MVP for Helsinki's back-to-back champions. Hong Kong meanwhile are well represented currently by former Malmo draftees Dalton Wilcox @Dalton Wilcox and Hugh Chan @HughJas_, still young and full of potential.

 

Cocos (Keeling) Islands – Khalabib Stiopic

When you have to Google where a player is from, chances are they're a trailblazer. Technically part of Australia, the Cocos Islands are currently represented by Riga's rookie defenceman Khalabib Stiopic @SweetMike666, clearly the most talented hockey player out of the nation's population of 596. Greatness is guaranteed for Stiopic regardless of what happens next.

 

Czechia – Jakab Holik

As often mentioned before Prague got a VHL franchise, the Czech Republic was possibly the worst represented of hockey's great nations. There were sprinklings of good players throughout VHL history, such as S17 Scott Boulet Trophy winner and cup winner Keyvan Kljk or S38 first overall pick Vojczek Svoboda, who retired much too early. The pick of the crop is goaltender Jakab Holik @Beketov though, second in all-time career shutouts but his playoff record keeping him out of the Hall of Fame to date as he has sat on the ballot for over 10 seasons. With the Phantoms franchise and the likes of Shawnomir Jagr @TheLastOlympian07, Mat Tocco @Matmenzinger, and Dagmar Havlova @diamond_ace in the league, the future might be even brighter though.

 

[Victor 10,534]

Just now, Victor said:

Lmao Hong Kong wasn't the right size but I just couldn't get rid of it.

[Corco 1,124]

This is the shit I like. Also can't believe that Hall of Fame CPU player Alex Rawnsley was FISTED ANALLY BY A CIRCUS MONKEY from Austria.

Edited December 3, 2019 by Corco

[Victor 10,534]

46 minutes ago, Corco said:

This is the shit I like. Also can't believe that Hall of Fame CPU player Alex Rawnsley was FISTED ANALLY BY A CIRCUS MONKEY from Austria.

Is there concrete evidence he was Austrian? Cuz he can definitely give that fraud Kroenenburg a run for his money.

[Corco 1,124]

19 minutes ago, Victor said:

Is there concrete evidence he was Austrian? Cuz he can definitely give that fraud Kroenenburg a run for his money.

I've been looking at old indexes today, and it looks like Jardy put his nationality as Austrian in the sim.

[Baozi 1,635]

Sweeet I made the cut off. Next up....japan!

[diamond_ace 3,106]

So you're telling me I need to create an Andorran.

 

EDIT: although I'm inclined to wait for the next list to see if Eritrea has any, "American" Olympic marathon legend Meb Keflezighi is from Eritrea and I could see myself bringing his cousin or something into hockey

Edited December 4, 2019 by diamond_ace

[TheLastOlympian07 2,388]

ma i finally made it in a @Victor article 

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