The (Almost) Halfway Analysis; New York Americans Edition

[TheFlash 317]

Well folks, we’re officially at game number 28 for each team, and only a few days from the halfway point of the 71st VHL season. As many predicted, Calgary and Moscow are leading the charge at the top of the standings. Harder to predict is the teams who fight for those middle of the pack spots. One such team that many had penciled in to be one of those teams were the New York Americans. Last season, the Americans had a respectable season, finishing 6th overall with a record of 36-28-8. The team you see this season is largely the same, losing just veteran Joseph McWolf. Obviously that was a big loss, McWolf was the team’s leading scorer with 70 points. But with each player growing and improving, the general consensus around the team was they would compete at or above the level they were at last season.

 

Thus far, to say the season has been a disappointment for the team would be an understatement. The team currently sits second last in the league and seven points behind the 8th place team, a gap that has grown in the past few days. They have the 2nd most goals against, and just the 7th most goals for, a combination that doesn’t usually lend well to victories. The team just hasn’t been able to find a rhythm, only having won more than two games in a row once (and that was just three wins). Their season has really taken a turn for the worse, and looking at their roster that’s a big surprise. This is not a bottom on the barrel team. They have good depth throughout their roster but are playing as if they have a bunch of 300 TPE players. Let’s have a look at their players performances so far this season and try and find out exactly why this team is taking a step back this year. 
 

OFFENSE:

As mentioned earlier in this article, the team lost their top scorer Jospeh McWolf to retirement. Replacing a near point per game player is always a challenge. The team didn’t have any major additions to the offensive attack, using their only draft pick to chose defenceman Hugh Jass (tough in Jass’ Defence, he was a fantastic minor league offensive defencemen and has a ton of potential). One positive that the team does have is Kevin Foreskin. After a 58 point sophomore campaign, Foreskin scored only 26 points in his third year. Though this year, he has taken that next step forward, scoring 25 points in the first 28 games and leading the team. If you look at the team in terms of TPE, their lack of scoring is a surprise. With Boris leading the way with just over 1000 tpe, they have four other forwards between 700-800 tpe. That is very solid depth up front. In terms of offensive defensemen they have recently acquired Michael Gary Scott, a dman who ranks 6th in the league for TPE defensemen. They also have Lance Flowers, a player who is closing in on 900 tpe.

 

DEFENSE:

 

On the backend, this team is also strong. Their top pair is MGS and Flowers, the 6th and 17th ranked defencemen in terms of points earned. MGS was recently acquired from Vancouver. The team gave up another defender in David OQuinn, along with their S72 1st rounder for the top tier defender. It’s a trade that hasn’t really worked out yet for the Americans, as Scott struggles to find his way early on and that 1st round pick looks more like a lottery pick everyday. Fred Elmebeck and rookie Hugh Jass round out the defence. Elmebeck has been having a great season, scoring 19 points and adding some great depth scoring. 
 

GOALTENDING:

 

In net, the team has A Red Guy. Guy has been the backstopper for this team for the past three seasons, his last two being top tier. Unfortunately, he has suffered from the teams poor play. It seems that whenever he plays well, the team in front of him can’t score. It’s hard to pin the struggles on Guy, as he still sports a 92% save percentage. Though the team could need him to step up and play even better, stealing some games down the line for his club.

 

 

 

[ThePerfectNut 563]

Malmo Next

[TheFlash 317]

9 hours ago, Jtv123 said:

Malmo Next

sure I’ll have a look and have one up for next week!