A look at the current top 4 teams

[Telkster 550]

1st. Calgary Wranglers

        Calgary currently sits first in the VHL after 26 games with a record of 18-8-0. The team has seem to taken yet another step up. With an very young team already showing they are more then capable to at least challenge for the cup, this team screams "dynasty". Scoring has been lead by center Tyler Barabash Jr with 29 points on the season. Young starting goaler Jacques Lafontaine has has a great start to the season with a .922sv% and a 2.34 GAA. This is also Lafontaine's first time being a starter in the VHL, and with no VHL playoff game experience. Can he handle the pressure of the post season with the big stick? Time will tell. Wrangler veteran Brady Stropko Jr leads the D line in points with 22, as well as 43 shots blocked, both stats are on pace to beat his personal bests. 

2nd. Prague Phantoms

        Two words to start, Brick Wahl. And that's exactly what he's been for Prague so far this season. With a 9.27sv% and a 1.93GAA, Brick Wahl has completely shut the door, and not just because of Coronavirus. Cinnamon Block leads the team in points as a D man with 3 goals and 27 helpers. Question marks could be raised for the slight lack of production from the forward group, but the strong D core and Brick Wahl are proving to be the deciding factor in games. It is also no shock that Prague have the best GA record in the league with just 53 finding the net to start. I might've laughed if you told me Prague would have a 16-8-2 record at the start of the season, with no real star power around the team besides Wahl, but it seems like they have found a steady balance that they hope they can hang onto.  

3rd. Moscow Menace

       A small series of bumps on the road have lead Moscow into 3rd place. with a 15-9-2 record to start, it is an unsatisfying feeling for me personally, but its still not a bad start. Prague got the best of Moscow earlier today with back to back wins against the Menace. It seems like their usual tradition of 'score lots and hope we don't get scored on' is somewhat working out, but small vulnerabilities have been found. Henrik Zoiderberg has nestled right into the high octane offense of Moscow. He leads the team in scoring with 29 points in 26 games. Goaler Raymond Bernard has had a good start to the season, with a 9.22sv% and a 2.43 GAA. Moscow are still right up there in the conversation for the cup, but it looks like they have a couple of things to sort out before the post season. 

4th. Riga Reign 

       Riga are also right up there in terms of cup contention. They have a 14-9-3 record to start. Another team with a powerful blue line, possibly the best D core in the league. Lincoln Tate leads the team in scoring from the blue line with 28 points so far. Greg Eagles has been a steadily improving goaler for Riga, and is on pace to beat his previous sv% best with a .927sv% to start out the season. Riga are similarly built with stronger D cores and a weaker offense. Riga's forwards have been lacking in production as well, but the defense help out hugely for Riga, with 3 out of the top 4 point leaders being D man. Riga will want to improve this current win pace to possibly leapfrog the other 3 teams,  in what is a very tight playoff race to start the year.

Edited April 6, 2020 by Telkster

[Victor 11,043]

Euro conference best conference

[VinCal 112]

Interesting Article. Broke down each team and why they've been successful this season. Included top players and their statistics to date. Even left input for what some teams wood need to do to continue their success. Loved It.

   9/10