S71 VHL Award Tracker: Part 2

[Patrik Tallinder 1,087]

 

VHL Award Tracker

Preview of The S71 Award Races

 

Welcome back to VSN’s Award Tracker! We recently took a look at the VHLM award races now that the season is over. This time around, we will go over the contenders for the VHL awards.
 
Before we begin, here at VSN we have a ton of content that covers both the VHLM and the VHL throughout the entire season, along with articles about the league’s history and future. Here’s our most recent content:
 | VSN Radio | VHL Weekly | VHLM Weekly | Deep Rewind |

 

Mike Szatkowski Trophy

 

Identical to the previous VHLM Award Tracker, some of the VHL’s awards have already been won. The Mike Szatkowski Trophy is awarded to the league’s point leader, and with the regular season in the books, the decision on who wins is already final. This season is very unique, given the fact that this is the first time in 51 seasons that two players tie for the lead in points. Those two would be Hunter Hearst Helmsley and Ambrose Stark, who each had a total of 88 points on the season. Last time we checked in on this award, Hunter Hearst Helmsley had a 3 point gap to make up, with Stark sitting on top. While they both ended up slowing down a bit, the Wolves forward did catch up.

 

 

 

Alexander Beketov Trophy

 

The Alexander Beketov Trophy is awarded to the VHL’s leader in assists, and like the Mike Szatkowski Trophy, its race has ended in a tie. Two defensemen, Erik Summers and Hulk Hogan led the way with 63 assists each. Hogan appeared to be the frontrunner halfway through the season, but Summers turned it up a notch in the second half, ultimately tying it up. 

 

 

 

Kevin Brooks Trophy

 

An award that finally has one true winner, the Kevin Brooks Trophy is awarded to the player with the most goals in that VHL season. While Ambrose Stark was ahead in the last edition of VHL Award Tracker, he lost his spot to S69’s Kevin Brooks winner, Julius Freeman. This will be his second time earning this award, as his 40 goals just barely topped Scott Greene’s 39 with Seattle.
 

 

Alexander Valiq Trophy

 

Our first subjective award, the Alexander Valiq Trophy is handed out to the league’s top offensive defenseman. The leader in points by a defenseman, Erik Summers, is sure to have a great case for the title. He led Helsinki with 73 points, 6 more than the runner up, Erik Draven. Along with his shared Alexander Beketov Trophy, Summers could end up with an award of his own. Earlier on in the season, Hulk Hogan and Cinnamon Block seemed to be the top contenders for the award, and they remain as two significant candidates. Hogan had a fantastic season, finishing second in points by defensemen with 71, though the success of his team may work against him. He is the only name on this list to not lead his respective team in points. Block had a remarkable 15 point lead over the rest of her team, and put up 69 points, only 4 off of Summers’ totals. But arguably the strongest case for this award goes to the Dynamo’s Roque Davis. Davis led all defensemen in goals, with 25 on the season; 5 more than anyone else. He put up 69 points, which was a stunning 20 above the rest of Davos’ players. Not that being a rookie has anything to do with this award, but it does make these feats that much more impressive.

 

 

Jake Wylde Trophy

 

While offensive output is easy to quantify, defensive capabilities are something that is harder to capture in numbers. The Jake Wylde Trophy is awarded to the VHL’s top defensive defenseman and is largely based on shots blocked, hits, and plus-minus. Last season’s Trophy was given to Malmo’s Condor Adrienne, and he is undoubtedly in the race this year as well. His 242 hits place third among all defenders, and his 117 shots blocked are a nice complement to that as well. Over in Riga, Lincoln Tate has put together an incredible season on both ends of the ice, and will surely be a contender here. His 144 shots blocked ties another potential candidate, Boone Jenton, for fourth in the VHL. While Tate and Jenton share their total of shots blocked, Tate’s 191 hits trump Jenton’s total by 9. On the contrary, Jenton’s +12 rating beats Tate’s +5. Erik Summers could also find himself in some talks around this award, due to his second-place league-wide finishes in shots blocked and plus-minus. Despite this, his number of hits is a big detriment to his case, given that his 94 hits are far below the rest here. Rusty Shackleford finds himself in the same boat, dominating in shots blocked and hits, but his -11 rating will be tough to overcome. Overall, I think Tate may just take this one home, although there truly are plenty of valid options.

 

 

Sterling Labatte Trophy

 

We have taken a look at both vital aspects of an elite defenseman’s game: offence and defence. To earn the Sterling Labatte Trophy, a defenseman must exemplify excellence in both of those areas. Erik Summers will likely be a prominent figure in this conversation, given that his points and plus-minus are first among all defenders, and his 150 shots blocked are second. Once again, his hits will be an issue, but Summers is a definite threat to win this regardless. Lincoln Tate is a contender as well, with 67 points, which was 9 more than the closest player on his team. Even though he has fewer points than Summers, Tate’s defensive stats are much more balanced. He put up 144 shots blocked, 191 hits, and a solid +5 rating. New York defenseman Lance Flowers could also be among the candidates, with his 256 hits and 68 points. With an additional 108 shots blocked and a +10 rating, Flowers has truly shown minimal weaknesses. Another option is Cinnamon Block, who put up a very solid 115 shots blocked, 166 hits, and +19 rating with Prague this season. All of these players are very possible winners, and it will be hard to narrow it down to just one.

 

 

Christian Stolzschweiger Trophy

 

Now, for the VHL’s top rookie of S71. With an unbelievable 69 points as a rookie defenseman, Roque Davis has to be the frontrunner for the Christian Stolzschweiger Trophy. That places him at 16 points above any other rookie, and as previously mentioned, 20 above anyone else on Davos. Calgary’s goalie Jacques Lafontaine also had a great rookie season, tying for the league’s leader in wins, though I think this award is Davis’ at this point.
 

 

Dustin Funk Trophy

 

Given to the most improved player in the VHL, the Dustin Funk Trophy has a few candidates of different backgrounds. First off, we have Edwin THE Encarnacion, who had a phenomenal sophomore season, going from 17 points in S70, to 57 this season. His 40 point increase leads the entire league in that regard, and all of his defensive numbers more than doubled. One more sophomore took leaps ahead in his development this season, being Erik Summers. Summers had an impressive rookie campaign, winning the Christian Stolzschweiger Trophy last season. Yet, he has somehow found another gear, scoring 34 more points and seeing his shot-blocking numbers go way up. Next up is Keven Foreskin, who had a terrific bounceback season. Going from 26 to 65 points, Foreskin has proved that last season’s low totals were a fluke. On top of this, his goal total more than tripled, going from 10 to 31, which placed him at fifteenth in the league. Lastly, we have Zeno Miniti, who went from 22 points last season, to lead the Legion with 58 points in S71. His 28 goals more than quadruples his total of 6 from the season prior. With all being considered, I think Encarnacion is the right choice here, given the defensive and offensive improvements he showed. That’s not to say the others don’t deserve it, as they have compelling cases too.

 

 

Scott Boulet Trophy

 

The league’s award to celebrate its top two-way forward, the Scott Boulet Trophy, is mainly based around hits and points. The player who has best demonstrated their dominance in both of these categories so far has been Hunter Hearst Helmsley. Not only is he tied for first in points, but his 289 hits also put him in fourth in the league as well. While three others may have the edge in hits, the closest to him in points among the three is Boris the Forest, with 22 fewer points. That said, Boris did have a fantastic season, with 66 points and 295 hits. I do think Hunter Hearst Helmsley takes this one though.

 

 

Greg Clegane Trophy

 

Back to the statistical awards, we go, but this time we take a look at some goalies. The Greg Clegane Trophy goes to the goalie with the lowest goals-against average. Now, two goalies finished a respective first and second place in GAA this season, but won’t receive this award, because they do not meet the requirement of 20 games played. Those two would be Owen May and Jimmy Spyro. The winner of this award is Prague’s Brick Wahl, who put up a stellar 1.97 GAA in S71.

 

 

Aidan Shaw Trophy

 

The Aidan Shaw Trophy goes to the VHL’s top goalie, and there is a trio of contenders at play here. First off, we have Malmo’s Michael Johnson, who had the most shutouts in the league, even hitting double digits. With the Nighthawks occupying the European Conference’s last playoff spot, it begs this question: Do they make the postseason without Johnson? His save percentage is also second among all starters, and his GAA is third. Playing on a weaker team than both of the other goalies here, those stats appear all the more impressive. In his last season, Brick Wahl made it known that he was going out with style. He finished first among all starters in both save percentage and GAA, which makes him an extremely enticing option for voters. Lastly, we have Finn Davison, who changed teams from Riga to Vancouver in his last season. After the trade to the Wolves, Davison’s game went to another level. His .917 turned into .926 by the end of the season, and his 2.21 GAA became 2 on the dot. These goalies were all incredible this season, and all deserve to have their name in this conversation.

 

 

Scotty Campbell and Brett Slobodzian Trophies

 

Grouped together because of their consistently similar candidates, the Scotty Campbell and Brett Slobodzian Trophies are given to the most valuable, and most outstanding players respectively. If any forward were to take home either of these, I would have to assume it would be Hunter Hearst Helmsley, because of his shared victory of the Mike Szatkowski Trophy, and the fact that he’s likely the favourite for the Scott Boulet Trophy. Erik Summers or Lincoln Tate could be defensemen who pose a threat in this race, with their fantastic offensive and defensive numbers. I could see any of the three Aidan Shaw Trophy contenders being in the running for these, but especially Michael Johnson in the case of the Scotty Campbell Trophy. This is because of his tremendous impact on Malmo making the playoffs. In their final seasons, Brick Wahl and Finn Davison also had amazing performances, and could very well see their names on either of these trophies.
 

 

Thank you all for tuning into this season’s Award Tracker! Be sure to keep an eye out for the award show this offseason, and good luck to those in the running.
 

Players mentioned: @Beaviss @Banackock @Erik Summers @Hulk Hogan @rjfryman @DoktorFunk @omgitshim @Josh @OrbitingDeath @Tate @FakeJenton @K1NG LINUS @CowboyinAmerica @SlapshotDragon @Tagger @Esso2264 @Zeno @chillzone @FacebookFighter @DarkSpyro @BladeMaiden @fonziGG @Poptart

[Hogan 1,425]

I was actually expecting to be 4-5th in assists before the last sim where I managed to put up 5