Emerging standings in the M

[Gally 61]

                                                                                      Roughly halfway into the VHLM season, after a massive dogfight over the top positions, the standings for this season in the M are starting to emerge. Not to say there are still very important decisions to be made, specifically in the West. But the top two teams and the bottom couple teams are clear by now, with drastic differences in points. I'd say there are two or three tiers.......

 

Tier 1: Mexico City Kings, Philadelphia Reapers-The Champions

These two teams are truly in a league of their own. The closest team is 9 points behind them. Right now, the Kings have a 5 point edge over the Reapers, but I think that won't last long and this will be a battle all season long. Both of these teams have skill bubbling over the rim. 4 of the top 10 leading scorers of the league are from these two teams, and Philly has the 1-2 punch. 

 

We'll take a closer look at the Kings' success first. Last season, they were a playoff bubble team who were bounced in the first round, but they piled up draft picks and built a monster. However, the surprising thing about the Kings is that they don't have a ton of firepower at offense. Yes, Justin Lose @youloser1337 is maxed in the M and RJ Thatcher @jhatty8 is a mere 5 TPE away, but other than that, they have a pedestrian offensive force. Sosa @TMGSosa and Callahan Jr.  @Callahan are very good second line players, but I think acquiring a top scoring guy would really make them a threat. On defense, the amazing VHLM journeyman King Kruul @LefLop is bringing it, Hulk Hogan Jr. @Beaviss was a solid pickup at the draft, and they have a sneaky good waiver signing in the one and only MacGruber @Motzaburger. But again, not a single maxed player, so it's sort of confusing. Between the pipes, maxed Markus Emerson Jr., @Xflexz leads the way. 

 

The Philadelphia Reapers are the best team on paper by far this season. On the contrary to the Kings, the Reapers have loads of firepower up front, with Addison McLaren @tcookie25 and Robert Bouchard @Gaikoku-hito being probably one of the most dangerous duos the VHLM has ever seen, and just tons of quality depth forwards. And it doesn't stop there. Maxed defenceman and 2nd overall VHL pick Jolly Greene Giant @DoktorFunk was a blessing for the Reapers, as he has been maxed from almost the start of the season. Maxed goaltender Jacob Carson @jacobcarson877 is the man in the nets.

 

 

Tier 2: Saskatoon Wild, Las Vegas Aces, San Diego Marlins, Miami Marauders-The Runner-Ups

In tier 2, the runner-ups, we have a slew of teams that could switch positions within games. That's how close it is, especially considering the Wild, the Aces, and the Marlins are all fighting for the 2nd place spot in the West.

 

The Saskatoon Wild are currently leading the runner-ups in points. They have the dynamic duo of Steve Eso @Eso and Florent Vericel @dart who are both in the top ten in scoring, but other than that, just a couple of scoring guys like Vivek Weiner @coochiman, Victor Foles @Suzuki14, and Braxton Hunter @dshervill. On D, @Acydburn 's new player, Battre Sandstrom, leads the way, while Silas LeFriend @yevty and Gabriel Johnson @GeckoeyGecko are good complementary guys. Michael Fletcher @DragonFire420 is their goalie.

 

The Las Vegas Aces were one of the favourites from last season, finishing first in the West but being knocked out by the eventual champions Miami Marauders. Their surprise MVP this season has been Connor Sim @SimmerDown99, with Angel Wachiure @inflastud and maxed Its Gucci @frescoelmo  also leading the team scoring-wise. The Aces have one of the best D-cores in the league, with maxed players Matt thunder @Matt thunder and Linus Zetterstrom @Ledge_and_Dairy as well as nearly maxed Chase Crosby @Wreckening. Their starting goalie is Matthew A Sovick Jr. @matt sovick, but their backup, Aksu Maronen @aksuko, has also been noticeable with his TPE earning.

 

 

The San Diego Marlins were not a good team last season, to say the least. They finished second last, but they got some picks in the dispersal draft in the process, so they have a contending team this year. Nero Endrizzi @Jonessee27 and rookie sensation Red Lite @Tate lead the way offensively, with the dynamic defence duo of Scotty Kaberle @fromtheinside and Cowboy Prout @Prout providing offense from the back end, and a solid netminder in Michael Olson @MSO94, the Marlins are looking to get into the playoffs this year. 

 

The Miami Marauders have the least amount of points in the runner-ups, and yet they are comfortably in 2nd place in the East. Their saviors this year are Cabe McJake @RedSus, who they managed to get back in the dispersal draft, Peter Louis ll @CosmicStorm, and surprising offensive threat Nathan Perry @tinafrombobsburgers. Chicken Wing @chikn, leads the way on defense. It's a miracle that Miami got him back at all. And finally, the man between the posts, Thadius Sales @thadthrasher

 

 

Tier 3: Yukon Rush, Halifax 21st, Houston Bulls-The Hopefuls

This tier is where the Miami Marauders came from last year, the hopefuls. The teams that are likely to either just miss the playoffs or barely get in. The situatons of these teams vary, though.

 

The Yukon Rush are in a bit of a dilemma. They are a good team, a contending team, no doubt. But they are shoved behind all the other good teams in the West, so they'll have to really fight for a spot or they can sell their assets and make a run next year. This team is led offensively by Vick Fairchild @GreenGato, offseason acquisition The great @Jake Sumner, and recent trade acquisition Kevin Sterk @TenZi. On the back end, Tee Pee E ll @Goliathus is at point per game. Kloxified @Kloxified is their goalie, who is maxed. 

 

The Halifax 21st are also not a bad team. Not at all. They just lack the depth at forward that the best teams have. They are led by the dominant Dolant Fertitta @Dolant and the breakout star Theodore James St Louis @Nick Kirkpatrick. On D, they have Clinton Giftopoulos @Thranduil, who is their top D at a point per game pace. Mike Sterling @SilverMike, their tendy, has been solid throughout the season so far.

 

The Houston Bulls may not belong in this group, but they certainly didn't belong in the next group, so here they are. Their one point per game man is Dominic Gobeil @domg5, who has driven their offense. He is joined by Jon Webber @Webberj and Luukas Lilja @Retuperkele, who looks to have retired even though he is in his second season. ON D, Not A Player @Nope488 leads the way. Trent Gibson @Caboose30 is the starter in the crease.

 

 

Tier 4: Minnesota Storm, Ottawa Lynx: The Basement Dwellers

Both of the basement dweller teams are in the East, so that will make for some easy competition in the early rounds of the playoffs for the other Eastern teams.

 

The Minnesota Storm are quite a bit better than the Lynx, but they are still miles behind even the Bulls. They were hit hard after they won the Founder's Cup two years ago, and they've struggled to gain assets in the draft. They have some crazy saviors this season, though. Joseph Sharkton @TheOGShark must have the perfect build, because he is one of the league leaders in scoring at just 84 TPE. Another surprise all-star is Ron World Peace lll @stevo, who is also on the leaderboards but for defencemen. Peace also appears to have a perfect build for the M. Hi Hello @Hello, their goalie, has been peppered with shots so hasn't had great stats.

 

The Ottawa Lynx are the worst team this year. This is said without question. They had to forfeit some of their draft picks last dispersal draft, so they have been starved of assets, and they are built from mostly recent waiver pickups. Aivars Kiris @Aivarszz has been their best offensive force at 22 points, while other than that, Philip Stein @IHateBobNutting holds some promise. But expect Ottawa to be a lottery pick team this year for sure.

 

 

 

   So I can claim this for three weeks, I have to add another three hundred words or so, so here are my predictions for this year:

 

I think the Founder's Cup will go to the Philadelphia Reapers because of their amazing depth and firepower

 

I think the Yukon Rush will make the most improvement throughout the rest of the season

 

I think the Houston Bulls will drop in the standings throughout the rest of the season

 

I think Addison McLaren will get the most points and the most goals

 

I think Markus Emerson Jr. will win best goalie

 

I think Cowboy Prout will win best defenceman

 

I think @DMaximus will win best GM

 

 

Those are my predictions, and this is the end of my article. I hope you enjoyed, and we'll see you next time(which won't happen for a while because I'm claiming this for so long)

 

 

1,510 words

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Gally 61]

Claiming week 1/3

[thadthrasher 1,692]

Great. But, I think you missed something pretty important...

Miami's taking the cup home again.

[Dom 1,445]

16 minutes ago, Gally said:

 

I think the Houston Bulls will drop in the standings throughout the rest of the season

Not with Nappleon, Alexander the great, Ganghis Kahn and Joan of Arc. We are going to war

[fromtheinside 1,290]

Great writeup man, I really liked the breakdown into tiers. Well done!

[Gally 61]

6 hours ago, fromtheinside said:

Great writeup man, I really liked the breakdown into tiers. Well done!

I get my inspiration from your weekly updates btw

[fromtheinside 1,290]

shit thanks man thats so amazing to hear!! You should keep doing these for sure, this is great content!

[Gally 61]

Claiming 2/3

[RomanesEuntDomus 442]

Review

 

Nice write-up, good to see you mention and tag so many people while providing some in-depth analysis and looking at the league as a whole instead of just your own team. Also really liked the predictions part of this. Layout was pretty simple but worked well, but with some small hiccups in the last section.

 

Rating 8.5/10

[Gally 61]

Claiming 3/3

[Sljppers 23]

You could have padded out those 100 or so words by including the Mississauga Hounds. 

[Jolline 13]

Missed opportunity to include us, the Hounds as base dwellers (true btw) bur anyway this is gold ans I love everything about it

We will see how your predictions will go ahead into the postseason

 

10/10

[Gally 61]

On 12/15/2020 at 7:19 PM, Sljppers said:

You could have padded out those 100 or so words by including the Mississauga Hounds. 

Did I actually miss it? Woops lol

[Suzuki14 24]

Review:

I like how you made multiples tiers and you’re descriptions for what kind of team makes the tier. I think that you could do better in putting more detail in the team descriptions. That’s along with the hounds thing I rate it a 8/10. Nice job.