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The VHL All-World Cup Team


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The VHL All-World Cup Team


Since the inception of the VHL, the World Cup has been a place where the best players in the world compete on an international stage. While the format of the event has changed over time, the World Cup is now a place where the VHL's finest face-off every second season for some extra glory, a chance for many of them to play alongside some other greats that they haven't gotten the chance to share the ice with. Sometimes, a player makes even more a name for himself with sustained international success. Today, we take a look at the greatest players in the history of the World Cup, in the tournament's current 9F - 4D - 2G roster format.


** - It's entirely possible, probably even likely, that incomplete stats may have been used here, as some World Cup info, primarily from the early years is tough to find. Apologies for any omissions that may have resulted from that, and it is also likely why there is an S60-ish-onwards slant to the team I think


FORWARDS


Scotty Campbell - Switzerland
S2, S4, S6 -- 18 GP, 21 G, 36 A, 57 P
Scotty Campbell was an original VHL star, a player that people still talk about today 74 seasons into the history of the VHL. He represented Switzerland three times in VHL World Cups, and put up totals so staggering that his 13 points in 6 games in S6 looks like a disappointment, averaging 3 points per game overall. Only a handful of players have ever matched the 25 points Campbell scored in the first VHL World Cup in S2, and all of them had at least 10 games to Campbell's 6. It may have been a different time with less competition, but the raw numbers Campbell scored are so staggering you'd be insane to leave him off the team.


Lars Berger - Scandinavia
S18, S20, S22, S24 -- 48 GP, 45 G, 39 A, 83 P
Berger is the all-time leader in World Cup goals and points. His best tournament was in S20 where he had 14 goals and 25 points in 12 games, but he was dominant in all four appearances, ending up very close to a goal-per-game average as an offensive force for Sweden and Team Scandinavia.

 

Julian Borwinn - Canada
S62, S64, S66, S68, S70 -- 58 GP, 27 G, 33 A, 60 P -- 327 S, 142 HIT, 48 PIM, 27 SB
It's an incredibly rare feat to suit up in the World Cup five times over a VHL career - Borwinn is one of what we believe to be just five players to do so, and four of them will feature on this team. A youngster in S62, Borwinn suited up for the Mercenaries for his first appearance, then qualified for Team Canada the next four times out. He actually had his best tournament, points-wise, in his S62 debut where he picked up 19 points in 12 games, but was also a key contributor when Canada won the S66 gold medal. Borwinn's 60 career World Cup points leads all players post-S34.


Jasper Canmore - Canada
S60, S62, S64 -- 34 GP, 15 G, 34 A, 49 P -- 168 S, 44 HIT, 22 PIM, 13 SB
Canmore suited up for three World Cups, all for Team Canada, and he was an impact player in all of them. S62 in particular was the pièce de resistance of Canmore's international career - in that tournament, he had 4 goals and 21 assists for 25 points in 12 games, one of the highest scoring single-tournament totals in recent memory, while Canada captured gold. Canmore was also a PPG-or-better player in his other two appearances.


Matt Bailey - Switzerland
S12, S14, S16, S18 -- 48 GP, 28 G, 51 A, 79 P
Bailey is the World Cup's second-leading scorer of all-time, and its all-time leader in assists. Another International star produced by Switzerland, he also finished at a PPG-or-better rate every time he pulled on his country's uniform, with his best event coming when he put up 26 points in S14.


Podrick Cast - Western Europe
S60, S62, S64, S66, S68 -- 56 GP, 28 G, 25 A, 53 P -- 272 S, 50 HIT, 34 PIM, 25 SB
Cast is another one of the impressive group that managed to suit up for five World Cups. Though his first trip to the tournament only yielded 2 goals in 12 games, Cast stepped it up in a big way every time he was called upon after that, scoring at least 6 goals in every tournament and producing 51 points in 44 games. He's second post-S40 in World Cup goals. Unfortunately for him, Cast never got to play in a gold medal game, with his best result coming when Western Europe captured Bronze with a 3-1 win over Canada in his final appearance - a game in which Cast scored the game-winning-goal.


Beau Louth - Canada
S62, S64, S66 -- 36 GP, 26 G, 20 A, 46 P -- 186 S, 45 HIT, 40 PIM, 11 SB
Louth arrived on the world stage with a bang, scoring 13 goals and 22 points in the S62 World Cup and helping win a gold medal for Canada, who he then represented twice more during his international career. Louth had 15 points in the S64 World Cup and though he was nearing the end of his career in S66, stepped his game up in the medal round with 4 points in the last 3 games of the tournament in Canada's gold-medal win. Louth's 26 goals put him third among players who played in post-S40 World Cups, but the two ahead of him both played in five tournaments to Louth's three.


Anatoli Zhumbayev - World
S32, S34, S37 -- 24 GP, 26 G, 20 A, 46 PTS -- 166 S, 25 HIT, 33 PIM, 10 SB
Zhumbayev had a somewhat quiet debut on the world stage when he had 5 goals and 10 points for Russia in S32, but he became downright feared by opponents when he returned in S34. There, he tallied 18 goals and 24 points in 12 games, an absurd scoring total that nobody has ever come close to (Berger, with 14 in S20, was the closest). In his third and final WC appearance in S37, Zhumbayev was again an offensive powerhouse, finishing with 22 points in 12 games. He is one of just three players to boast multiple 20-point World Cup tournaments.


Matt Thompson - Canada
S60, S62, S64, S66, S68 -- 58 GP, 30 G, 21 A, 51 P -- 314 S, 99 HIT, 84 PIM, 12 SB
Thompson brought a different dimension than most of the forwards on this team, a good goal scorer who also brought some snarl, with 99 hits and 84 PIM in his WC career. Thompson is also the only player post-S40 to tally 30 goals in World Cup play. After playing for the Mercenaries and not making much of an impression in S60, he became a valued member of the next four Team Canada entries, and is one of several members of Canada's S62 and S66 gold-medal winners to be featured here.


Just missed the cut: Edwin Preencarnacion - World, Grimm Jonsson - Sweden, David Smalling - United Kingdom

 


DEFENSEMEN


Ryan Kastelic - World
S62, S64, S66, S68, S70 -- 62 GP, 13 G, 45 A, 58 P -- 164 S, 135 HIT, 78 PIM, 81 SB
Kastelic appeared for Team World in five straight World Cups, and an argument could be made for him as the greatest International player of all-time. Kastelic debuted in S62 with a 6-point showing before establishing himself as a premier player in S64 with 11 points. He was flat-out dominant in S66 - 20 points in 12 games while playing more than 31 minutes per game - but the World team fell short in the S66 final and took silver. Kastelic moved up front in S68 and represented Team World as a forward in his last two appearances. Also capturing silver medals in S62 and S68, Team World finally broke through in S70 and Kastelic won a much-deserved gold medal. He is also second all-time in World Cup assists.

 

Joseph McWolf - Western Europe
S62, S64, S66, S68, S70 -- 56 GP, 10 G, 33 A, 43 P -- 122 S, 166 HIT, 110 PIM, 96 SB
Playing five years for Western Europe, McWolf's was a two-way presence on the back end, solid offensively but also physical and willing to sacrifice his body, and hard to find room to get around on the ice defensively. He suffered from the same fate as Podrick Cast, a teammate on the S62-S68 teams, never playing on a team quite strong enough to make it to a gold medal game, but it wasn't for a lack of trying. His best single tournament was when he had 13 points and 33 hits in 11 games in S68.


Colton Rayne - USA
S60, S62, S64 -- 37 GP, 6 G, 35 A, 41 P -- 82 S, 91 HIT, 56 PIM, 77 SB
Rayne's numbers are staggering for a defenseman who only played in three tournaments, second only to McWolf in scoring among players who only played as defensemen - 2 points behind with 19 fewer games played. A remarkably consistent contributor, Rayne had tournaments of 14, 14, and 13 points. In all three of his tournaments, he played in gold medal games, winning in S60 but losing to Canada in S62 and World in S64.


Smitty Werbenjagermanjensen - USA
S66, S68, S70, S72 -- 46 GP, 9 G, 30 A, 39 P -- 111 S, 125 HIT, 70 PIM, 78 SB
Rayne's international career ended in S64 and Werbenjagermanjensen stepped right in as the #1 defenseman on the national team, with a 4-goal 9-point performance in his first WC appearance. He remained an effective player throughout his VHL and international career, with tournaments of 11, 9, and 10 points. Compared to Rayne, he didn't have quite the international offensive production, but he was a true shut-down player and big part of the USA's continued success internationally, including a return to the top when they captured the S68 gold medal.


Just missed the cut: Alexander Valiq - Scandinavia, Tzuyu - World

 


GOALIES


Norris Stopko - Canada
S60, S62, S64 -- 34 GP, 25-6-3 record, 2.30 GAA, 0.922 SV%, 2 SO
Stopko is probably best-known internationally for his performance in the S62 World Cup gold medal game, helping Canada capture a gold medal as the cap to an absolutely brilliant tournament as a whole (he went 10-1-1 with a .933 save percentage). Stopko finished his international career with a sparkling 23-4-3 record in round robin play, but he did suffer losses, albeit not usually due to his own play, early in the medal rounds in S60 and S64.


Kallis Kriketers - World
S62, S64, S66, S68, S70 -- 55 GP, 31-21-3 record, 2.61 GAA, 0.918 SV%, 5 SO
Kriketers was one of the best goalies in the VHL during his prime, and he did his best to make Team World a player on the international stage. Kriketers may not have quite been ready for the spotlight as part of a tandem in S62, but after proving to be World's best option in net in S64, they knocked off the USA to capture the S64 gold medal. In S68, Kriketers posted a .925 save percentage for World but a 3-4-1 record, before rebounding to carry the team into the gold medal game against USA; however, the Americans were too much this time around. Then, after not making team World in S70, Kriketers took the Mercenaries to the bronze medal game, but lost despite posting a .971 save percentage in the medal round.


Just missed the cut: Tuomas Tukio - Scandinavia


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1900 words or so (it was 1896, but I changed a few sentences around before posting it)... will claim it for 3 weeks + for theme week this week

Edited by tcookie25
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