75

[animal74 1,605]

         

75

75.

 

For some, that’s a large number. And yet, in some ways, it’s not.

 

75 seasons, to be sure, is a long time for a league to run. And to run with the excellence, consistency, and a keen eye toward the future as the VHL has for so many years is a testament to the fine men and women who have worked tirelessly to bring a global on-ice product like no other. But it is the on-ice product that we wish to highlight.

 

75 points in a season in the VHL is over a point-per-game which is pretty good. 75 points in a career not so much. Ditto for goals. 75 goals for a career is disappointing unless, perhaps, you are a defenseman. There have been only eight 75-goal seasons in VHL history by five players – a rare accomplishment indeed. Also, only five goalies amassed 75 or more shutouts over their career. But a career with only 75 wins might point to a netminder regulated to backup duty or just one unlucky enough to spend most of their career on a poor team.  

 

With over a thousand players having skated for VHL franchises over the last 75 seasons, 75 is a small number. Not insignificant, just small.

 

And so to celebrate the VHL’s 75th season, VSN announces a special mini-series they will be bringing you in the coming weeks: The VHL’s Top 75 Players - a list of the finest players to don blades and pads that have provided thrills and chills to generations of hockey fans worldwide.

 

The panel of VSN writers and special guests will rank their Top 75 players of all-time and then an aggregate ranking will be devised and you, the VHL faithful, will be presented with a definitive and descriptive list of the crème de le crème of the forwards, defensemen, and goalies who’s careers have stood the test of time and remain the best of the VHL’s fabled history.

 

What makes a player among the top 75 in history? Is it regular season brilliance? Playoff heroics? Goals, assists, and hits? Hardware and Hall of Fame inductions?

 

We will take all laurels into consideration with the one caveat: that the player must have retired before S75 so that we can compare whole careers and not partials. The discussion of how Raymond Bernard stacks up against Hans Wingate or how Condor Adrienne compares to Sterling Labatte is a discussion for a later time. We will be looking throughout the various eras of the VHL’s vast archives to determine where ancient alumni such as Kevin Brooks, Jochen Walser, and Alex Gegeny slot in against more recent superstars like Franchise Cornerstone, Mats Johnsson, and Kallis Kriketers.

 

 

 

Huge kudos go out to @Victor, the VHL’s resident historian and the sultan of statistical spreadsheets. Back in S64 he did a series of the 10-15 best forwards, defensemen, goalies, two-way forwards, and playoff performers from which we have gleaned a great deal of insight into the players of the past. Also, his excellence with Excel made compiling the initial lists from which we have drawn our Top 75 players a much more fruitful and efficient task.

 

A lot of work goes into making such a compilation and we at VSN are taking great pride especially in this project and while we hope the finished product will provide more agreement then agitation, we really just wish this will shed some light on the VHL’s glorious past and that all who read it will come to have a new appreciation for the players that came before.

While 75 can be considered a small number, ranking the top 75 players from the plethora of point-getters and glutton of goalies who have graced the VHL can seem like a monumental task.

 

And so, I hope you will keep your eyes peeled for the coming announcements of what might become one of the most important ledgers of VHL lore. We will release the rankings in three parts starting with the bottom 25, then 26-50, and finally the Top 25. We hope you’ll join us in celebrating the VHL 75^th season by checking out this special VSN presentation.

 

Mentions:

@Mr_Hatter @Quik @OrbitingDeath  @brooks. @boubabi @marshall_222 @CowboyinAmerica @hedgehog337 @sterling @Pominville29

Edited December 7, 2020 by animal74

[Gustav 6,085]

Oh hey this is great! I've had a "best player from every draft class" article half-done for like a year now, so please don't think I'm stealing your ideas when (if) I ever get around to finishing it.

 

Looking forward to reading this one.

[solas 1,946]

Really looking forward to this series.  This is a great idea.

[BOOM 8,401]

Sounds great.