Finals Review

[Da_Berr 219]

OOO baby, it is time for the final showdown. That can only mean one thing it's time for the VHL finals! This year we see two familiar faces in the finals. On one side, we have the Helsinki Titans, who we saw last season in the finals facing off against a dominant Seattle Bears. They lost that series 4-2 but it seems like their experience from last season has helped them come in this season's playoffs on fire. Going 11-1 this playoff run, with their only loss coming from Moscow, who was by far the best team in the regular season. With how dominant they've been it's hard to imagine how they even ended up in the wild card spot. Their matchups have all been tough, going up against Moscow and Malmo, the two leaders in the EU division and 1st and 3rd in the league respectively. Their opponent this time in the finals is the Vancouver Wolves. We saw Vancouver last year in the playoffs as well. They were in a wildcard spot but was unable to do a run such as Helsinki, losing 3-2 to the D.C Dragons. This year after the development of a few young prospects, and the filling of the holes left by the leaving of HHH and Freeman, they have turned their team completely around. This season they were able to breeze through the regular season being the number 1 seed in NA and 2nd overall in the entire league. Their playoff run so far has been a bit shakey with an 8-5 record, but they've managed to pull through and show their tenacity. With close calls in a 4-2 series win over D.C and an even closer shave with a 4-3 series with Toronto, Vancouver has shown their ability again and again. 

 

Now that the two team's introductions are out of the way it's time for some predictions. I'm going to be basing my prediction on 2 things, talent and performance. I'll also be doing position matchups for each of the two teams. 

 

In terms of forwards talent-wise, Helsinki is better by a wide margin. Of course, VAN has the best forward in terms of talent in Louth, but the difference in depth is too much. When you compare the #2 and #3 guys on VAN to HSK it's insane how much of a difference there is. Su and Stallion are by no means bad players, but compared to Vaakanainen and Vikingstad, they pale in comparison. The rest of the forwards share the same story, by no means bad, but worse than HSK's. Defence shares the same story. The top guys on each team Summers and Downey are comparable to one another, but past that HSK has more talent. Finally, in terms of goaltending, this is where VAN makes up the difference, Spyro is a truly elite goalie who has had one of his best years this season. And although HSK's goalies are still good, they aren't close to Spyro.

 

Now in terms of performance, I'd say the two teams are almost equal. Both sides have 3 of their top scorers over 15 points. The rest of the players are not far behind with 5 players on VAN with 10-15 points and 6 on HSK. Overall VAN looks like the grittier team, playing more physical, which can be a huge aid to them but can also lead to more PIM, as seen before.

 

In the end, as much as I hate to say it I think HSK is going to win. They just have VAN beat in most categories and I think the series will be 4-2 for HSK. VAN has a chance if they're able to keep their PIM down and if Spyro becomes a brick wall.

Edited November 2, 2020 by Da_Berr