VHL S71 Top 25 Players, Part 3: 15-11

[Doomsday 4,143]

 

VHL Top 25 Players

 

Part 3: 15-11

 

While the first week of the new VHL season has begun, with games set to begin in just two days, the VHL Top 25 Players list is already in full swing. We covered some stellar forwards yesterday, but our group today features some of the VHL's stellar blueliners, along with a forward the VSN feels is primed for a big year this season. @FrostBeard, @Doomsday, @Erik Summers, @McWolf and @Mr_Hatter return for the third installment of the VHL Top 25 Players, starting with #15 below!

 

15. Vladimir Pavlov, D

One of the best players to come out of the S67 Prospect class. Clearly an offensive beast with a tremendous ability to hold his own on the defensive end too. Pavlov had a rough going at the start of his career as his first 3 seasons in VHL showed great promise but nothing that would elevate him to be considered one of the best players in the league. S70 made a change in that narrative as he clearly showed he is one of the better players to play on VHL ice. His 74 points for a defenceman made him crack Top 15 league scoring list and also made him the 2nd most productive defenceman in the league last season, just behind his teammate Smitty Werbenjagermanjensen. The first season being a point-per-game might be a great motivator to increase skills even more. There are few questions left that we don’t have an answer yet - will Pavlov be able to keep his game up on the same level, is this his ceiling or is this just a small part of what he is able to do on the ice? I do believe Mr Pavlov has all the skills and talent needed to be the best defenceman in VHL, whether or not he will manage to do that is up to him.
- Frostbeard

 

14. Mikko Aaltonen, RW

 

Although he was selected by the Riga Reign with the fourth overall pick of the Season 66 VHL Entry Draft, Mikko Aaltonen instead is known for his time with the D.C. Dragons. A deadly sniper at RW, in his time with the Dragons Aaltonen has never scored less than 35 goals, peaking with 40 in his first season with D.C. in Season 68. Despite his excellent game awareness and positioning, Aaltonen is oddly a career minus player, including the VHLM as well. Even though I highly doubt it's of his own doing, it's clearly something the VSN pollsters noticed. After a promising start to his career in Riga where he tallied 54 points in his sophomore year, Aaltonen's career was turned upside down when he was selected with the fourth pick of the Season 68 Expansion Draft by the newly-formed D.C. Dragons. All he's done since then is become one of the league's best scoring threats, scoring 110 goals in three seasons with the Dragons. However, he now faces the dreaded depreciation for the first time this season. Can Aaltonen keep up his lethal efficiency and climb up the ranks next season? 

- Doomsday

 

13. Guillaume Fontenette, D

 

Picked up late in the second round, with the 16th overall pick, Guillaume Fontenette has spent his entire career to this point with the Helsinki Titans. It makes sense that he was a late pick, with his first half-season in Ottawa leaving a lot of questions about his potential unanswered. However, in his second VHLM season, playing for the Mexico City Kings, Fontenette really showed his potential as a stay-at-home defenseman. In that season, he racked up 109 shots blocked and 57 assists. As is expected, his offensive production dropped off as he made the jump to the VHL, but his defensive prowess continued to shine, continuing to block over 100 shots per season. Then, in S69, Guillaume’s game transformed. He jumped from a 25 point season to a 66 point season while still blocking 166 shots. This proved to be more than a fluke in S70 as he topped his personal best again with 69 points (nice). The Titans have a chance to prove themselves this season after losing several veterans to retirement. Fontenette is poised to lead a new, younger generation to victory in Helsinki.

- Erik Summers

 

12. Condor Adrienne, D

 

The defending Jake Wylde Trophy winner, Condor Adrienne is fresh off a career year where he set personal best in most statistical columns. His 17 goals, 57 points, 149 shots, 289 hits and 126 shots blocked all represent new career highs for the Vatican City-born defenseman - except for shots blocked, for which he just tied his previous best, set a season prior. It seemed like it would be hard for Adrienne to pass Jerry Garcia, his stand-at-home blueliner teammate, on the Malmo Nighthawks depth chart, but Garcia’s offensive woes might have forced the team’s coach hand to push Adrienne up the ladder, and it showed in its statline. The story now seems like it could repeat itself for the former 1st overall draft pick, as he appears to be among a tight group of favourites to capture the Jake Wylde Trophy in Season 71 as well. He will, however, need to keep up his fantastical defensive performances for it to happen and, as Malmo’s management team changed during the offseason, so could the team’s direction. Maybe next season, Adrienne could be lifting a different Trophy at the VHL Awards Show, like the Alexander Valiq or - dare I say - the Sterling Labatte. Who knows? Sky's the limit for the multi-talent blueliner.

- McWolf

 

11. Scott Greene, C

 

Just shy of the top 10 we have the Seattle Bears’ number one centre Scott Greene. Fourth on the TPA lists, Greene has been an integral part of the Bears roster since being drafted 13th overall in the Season 67 draft as a part of the infamous Bears class of 67. Greene is a consistent scorer, having scored over 20 goals in each of his four seasons, failing to reach the 50 point mark just once in his sophomore season. His performance in S70 left him with a career-high in points of 64. Greene is a key man for the Bears on the faceoff, having won 57.51% of his 2909 faceoffs taken. Additionally, it appears the centre has hit the weight room, as his hits total from S69 to S70 increased from 43 to a whopping 245. We at VSN expect this to be the season that Greene catapults to the top of the leaderboards. He is an incredible talent but will need to be on his A-game if the Bears want to challenge again for the Continental Cup. With Acyd Burn and Orion Slade having departed in the offseason, his wingers will be shaken up, and there is only so much time to adapt to mostly a brand new line. If he hits the ground running, he can help carry this still-young Bears squad to another deep playoff run. 

- Mr_Hatter

 

#25 to #11 have now been revealed, so be sure to not miss tomorrow's segment, where we delve into the Top Ten players in the VHL, where there's sure to be a lot of goalie love. Is Victor pleased with where Vladimir Pavlov placed? Is there a player in the complete wrong spot? Not here at all? Stay tuned in the comments.

 

Players Mentioned: @Victor, @flyersfan1453, @GRZ, @okochastar, @OrbitingDeath, @GustavMattias, @DoktorFunk, @Acydburn, @BluObieZ

[Victor 11,021]

I see non all-VHL first teamers above me, tsk tsk.

[McWolf 3,116]

52 minutes ago, Victor said:

I see non all-VHL first teamers above me, tsk tsk.

Hot take: I should have been on the first team instead of Pavlov.

[Victor 11,021]

8 minutes ago, McWolf said:

Hot take: I should have been on the first team instead of Pavlov.

You want to end up on the Hall of Fame ballot right?

[okochastar 97]

(nice)