S71 VHLM Award Tracker

[Patrik Tallinder 1,087]

 

 

VHLM Award Tracker

Preview of the S71 VHLM Award Races

     

Hello everyone, welcome back for another season of VHL/VHLM Award Tracker. With McWolf stepping down from his previous role with VSN, I’ll be the one continuing the series. I hope I do his work justice, and I will say I’m excited to follow the awards for both leagues this season.

 

That being said, if you aren’t familiar with this series, we will be looking at each individual award in either the VHL or VHLM and the favourites to win them when the season is all over. Today’s focus is the VHLM. With eight or nine games in the books for each team so far, the results are far from final, but certain factors will help us in distinguishing a hot streak from a maintainable pace.

 

     

Ethan Osborne Trophy

     

First off, we have the Ethan Osborne Trophy, awarded to the player who finishes with the most points in the VHLM. So far this season, a duo in Ottawa has separated themselves a bit from the rest, being a respective 10 and 6 points ahead of anyone else. This duo consists of the league leader in points, Adam Syreck, with 32 points, as well as the second-place Richard Penisson, with 28. Behind them sits Alex Bridges, who has already maxed out in TPA. He is one of only five to do so this early in the season, and it has led to an impressive start for him, sitting at 22 points. In terms of the new and rapidly improving S72 class, there are a couple of players who are not far behind and will only get better over time. Robin Winter and Andrew Su currently each have 20 points, which leads their draft class by 6 at the moment.

 

     

Alexander Chershenko Trophy

     

Next up is the Alexander Chershenko Trophy, given to the player who finishes with the most goals in that given season. We have yet to see anyone really pull away with the lead, but the previously mentioned Richard Penisson does have a 2 goal lead over anyone else so far. Ike Bennett and Adam Syreck place tied for second to this point, with 12 goals to Penisson’s 14. Both of these players are also bound to have great seasons, so I wouldn’t be surprised if any of the three take it home. I would also like to mention two players who lead the league in scoring, but not statistically. What I mean is that both of these players have a 90 rating in the scoring attribute, which is something no one else in the league tops right now. This makes these players threats in the race for the Chershenko, even if they aren’t atop the league leaders in goals yet. They are Aleelee Kiak, who has 11 goals so far, and SS Hornet, who has 8. All it will take is a bit of a hot streak for either of these two to pull ahead, so keep an eye on them as well.

 

     

Vladimir Boomchenko Trophy

     

The Vladimir Boomchenko Trophy is awarded to the VHLM’s leader in assists. Syreck once again leads in that category, and second place is occupied by a defenseman, Nikita Kulikovich. Syreck leads by 4, with 20 assists in comparison to Kulikovich’s 16. Close behind them are Penisson and Dick Cheezy, who also finished last season with 64 assists. Like all of the awards so far, it will depend heavily on whether Penisson and Syreck can continue on the tear they’ve been on to begin S71.

 

     

Ryan Sullivan Trophy

     

The award for the league’s top defenseman, the Ryan Sullivan Trophy has somewhat of a frontrunner so far. Nikita Kulikovich has a 7 point lead on any other VHLM defenseman, and it has not been with detriment to his defensive game either, which has been among the best. He has 25 hits and 20 shots blocked in 9 games at this point. Bo Burrows has had a great start as well though, especially physically. He leads all defensemen in hits, and places tenth among all players with his 17 shots blocked. Not to discredit his offensive game though, as he’s even top 5 in points by a defenseman. Lastly, there is Zyrok12, who leads all active defensemen in TPE, and is second in points. Defensively, his 23 hits are nice, though his 10 shots blocked should ideally rise in order to be a true contender. This race has many runners, and it will be one of the more interesting ones to watch in my opinion.

 

     

Benoit Devereux Trophy

     

Now, time to show the goalies some love. The Benoit Devereux Trophy is for the VHLM’s top goaltender. The top two contenders for the award this season have to be Joakim Bruden and Isak Sjostrom, who have both maxed out in TPA and are on good teams. Bruden is undoubtedly ahead at the moment, with the league’s only shutout, the lead in wins, and the lead in GAA and Sv% among all goalies with more than 3 games played. Zamboni Driver could have an outside chance if he keeps improving, though it’s likely between the two Swedish goalies.

 

     

Matt Bentz Trophy

     

Awarded to the league’s top two-way forward, the race for the Matt Bentz Trophy is headlined by Alex Bridges and (once again) Richard Penisson. With 22 points and 30 hits, Bridges has the edge in hits among the two. Penisson, who has 27 hits along with his 28 points carries the point lead. A dark horse for the Matt Bentz could be Ray Sheilds, who actually leads the league in hits, but is behind in terms of points, with 13 to his name.

 

     

Mitch Higgins Trophy

 

And finally, we have the VHLM’s most valuable player award, the Mitch Higgins Trophy. I’ll go position by position to try to cover all the bases in terms of potential winners. Working our way from the net out, we begin with the goalies, which I already covered with the Benoit Devereux Trophy section earlier. If a goalie were to take home the MVP, I would have my money on Bruden because of his hot start paired with the fact that he’s already at max TPA. Sjostrom is the other option, and I think a possible contender if everything goes right for him. For defence, the only one to really stick out in the early stages of this season is Nikita Kulikovich, while Zyrok12 and Bo Burrows are also possible candidates. It would require some catching up for either of the latter two defensemen to win it, but as it’s still early, it’s not too much of a stretch to see it happen. The dynamic duo who have been all over this article, Adam Syreck and Richard Penisson, are unsurprisingly each in the mix as forwards, as well as Alex Bridges. With Penisson being in the running for the Matt Bentz Trophy as well, on top of being second in points, I think I’d give him the nod if the season ended today. Obviously that’s not the case though, and plenty of other exciting prospects will be fighting for this trophy for the next 60+ games.

 

 

Good luck to everyone in the M this season, and a big thanks to VSN for bringing me in to continue this series. Excited to see what this season has in store, and who ends up with all the awards when it all comes to a close.

 

Players mentioned: @Spade18 @bluesfan55 @Alex Bridges @Lockdown Defense @Da_Berr @Sonnet @Grant @Caboose30 @McWolf @goldenglutes @Zyrok @Walter Fizz @PadStack@Austin2997 @Tape-to-Tape @Zetterberg

[bluesfan55 103]

big dick dick dicksson better win an award pls

[Oatex 235]

better get an award or else i’m screwed