Ups & Downs in VHLM (SEASON START EDITION)

[osens 297]

The season has started in VHLM and the first 11 games have been played (at the time of writing this article) and it is time to look how teams are playing at this time and to determine are they doing better than we thought or not that great and doing worse than we predicted. The season has just started but everyone can already understand which teams will be the ones to fight for the grandest prize in VHLM - Founders Cup.

1. Miami Marauders - 10/0/1 - 21 points - 5W streak

Miami Marauders has been on a roll at the start of the season. Last season expansion team clinched playoffs last year and lost to VHLM strongest team - Minnesota Storm - in 7 games. Marauders have picked up multiple big stars in the draft. In the 1st round Marauders added Kevin King, Matty Socks, and Victor Grachev. They all are finding their groove and are starting to look really dangerous. Matty Socks has a hard task this season because Marauders lead offensive defenseman Kosmo Kramerev left Miami for VHL and now Matty is trying to step in his shoes. In 5th round Marauders shockingly picked Finnish stud, Patrik Laine. No one wanted to waste a pick on Laine because there were a lot of rumors that he will be going to the main roster, but Marauders management risked and drafted him and he decided to stay down. Now Laine has 20 points and is looking like one of the best players in VHLM. One questionable draft pick was for Marauders in 3rd round when they picked Byrne, who was raw rookie, and not picking Florent Vericel. Vericel was playing really well for Marauders last years and it is still not understandable why they didn't draft him again. Vericel would have helped out Marauders in their chase for the cup and they didn't need another defenseman and if they would have needed it, Byrne wasn't the right choice. Either way, Marauders are a really stacked team and this choice will not come back and bite in their ass. Marauders still have their players from last year - Lamb, Stansson, Sens, Bacon, and LeBastard and they have grown to be even better players. Marauders have started really well with 10-0-1 record and only team to defeat them are Minnesota Storm and even they needed more than 60 minutes to do it. Miami is elite in offense but their defense and Bacon are doing awesome too. The last 2 games Bacon hasn't let in a goal so Marauders will be trying to keep this up in upcoming days.

 

2.Houston Bulls - 10/1/0 - 20 points - 1SOW streak

Last season Houston was laughing stock and if some team lost to Houston it was funny. But now Houston has had a great draft and signed few promising players and now Bulls are looking like a really promising and interesting team. Their team is being led by Riley Knight Gee. He has the most points in VHLM right now, even though he is a defenseman. He has insane 31 points in 11 teams! Knight Gee is the leader in assists and he has one of the most goals in the league. But one player can't carry a team so Houston has built a solid contender around him and will be trying to contend. Houston Bulls drafted with 3rd pick Aloe Dear, who was one of the best wingers in the draft and is more than point-per-game player this season. Bulls made a strong team, by adding 3 more players in 2nd players. These players are Thightrap, Nousiainen, and Minott. All players who I named are making the core of this team, but Houston Bulls management worked really hard this offseason and got one of the most promising centers in the upcoming draft - Mingle and Campbell. Both of them have started this season with a lot of points and are trying to push Bulls in championship direction. Big signing is Stormsson, who is another ''victim'' of Houston Bulls GM hunt for free agents. The general manager has signed all of the good free agents and it will be interesting to see how well they help in the road to Founder's cup. Right now Houston is in 2nd place just under Marauders, but they will have some interesting battles because both of these teams will be favorites for the cup. 

 

5. San Diego Marlins - 8/3/0 - 16 points - 5W

San Diego Marlins had a rocky start to the season, but seeing that big 5W to their streak shows, that they have found the right path and are steamrolling past a lot of teams. San Diego had a great draft but it didn't go without controversy. Marlins drafted two new starting goalies, but fans were confused who will start and we don't really see teams going with 1A/1B goalie situation, but soon after draft Marlins traded away the goalie, that they drafted later and keep Dimmadome. In this year's draft Marlins had 1st overall pick, so they went with most matured defenseman - John Merrick. He is leading the defense for Marlins but even without him, there are some interesting players. Angellini is leading the offensive side of the team. He has the most points in the team and he is helping this streak to continue past 5W. One prospect, that I would love to shoutout is Nathaniel N. He is a player with history but he has come back to his roots and transformed into a defenseman. It will be interesting to see, how his career will go, but I can say one thing - he will be a big asset to this VHLM team. 

  

6. Saskatoon Wild - 7/4/0 - 14 points - L1

This year Saskatoon Wild returned to VHLM in a different nickname - they are the reigning champs of VHLM. So the pressure was on them and fans were waiting on what we can see from Wild, but the start hasn't been the best. We wanted to see Wild be up there with Houston, Miami, and Minnesota, fighting side by side for the championship but right now they have fallen down a little bit and are a little bit further from Miami then Minnesota and Houston is. But the season is long and Wild has got a lot of time to return and show that they are gonna be contending for back to back Founder's cup. Wild added a couple of big names in the draft too. For me, the most known is Florent Vericel. He is a strong sniper who is helping out Wild this season. There are rumors, that Vericel has started training even harder, just to prove Miami Marauders management wrong, that they didn't draft him. He is doing great because he has 4th most points in the Wild team. Cal Conway is a player, that keeps his net in a safe place and it is hard to score against Wild, but there are many more stars in this team. This draft's 1st round pick - Norberg, who is more than a point per game, Dan Baillie Jr. stayed in Wild and is playing even better than last year and Krestanovich stayed, although he is still finding his game after the break. Can't forget about Wyman, he is playing the best hockey of his life and Wild fans are happy to see it. Pieces are there and a lot of them are working great, but they are still not in the first place. But the season is long and this is not a sprint, it is a marathon and we will see which team is better in the long run after few games, but for now Saskatoon Wild is a DOWN.

 

The season has just started and we have just seen the first 10 games, but the leaders have already been marked and we will see which teams will join in the fight for Founder's cup. The favorites are Miami Marauders with their insane off-season and strong prospect growth, but Houston Bulls have claimed ranks with their free-agent signings. Have to look out for Ottawa, Minnesota, and San Diego too, they are all promising teams, that will be looking at trying to show their best play to everyone in the league. Saskatoon Wild is still finding their way of playing and winning, and when they will found it, I think they will be another team to add to the long list of contenders. This year looks really promising and we will have some interesting matchups to look at. Right now there are 6 teams, that could contend for Founder's cup, but while the season goes forward, I believe there will be some teams that will fall off and not gonna be that promising as they look like at the start of the season. In playoffs not always it is about, which team has got the best stars, but a big part of the game is for depth and it will be fun to see which team can utilize their players the best. 

 

/More than 1500 words, so 3 weeks/

 

[frescoelmo 1,282]

Great read

[osens 297]

claiming it for 2/3

[osens 297]

claiming it for 3/3