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Reviewing the VHLM's Franchise Scoring Leaders in the Portal Era

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diacope 2

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Being a franchise points leader for a VHL team is a big honor, and is more often than not highly improbable to achieve in the low-scoring modern VHL. This is almost always a player that is in the Hall of Fame and dominated throughout their career. 

 

However, for the majority of the VHLM teams in the league this is not the case. In fact, if you were to design an experiment to become the points leader for a team, it would not only be possible, it would be fairly easy depending on the team. The method for achieving this is simple: stay bad enough to stay out of the pros, but keep your player good enough to dominate the VHLM. 

 

Here is a short summary of each player’s path in the VHLM, and where they ended up after the fact, if they went anywhere at all. I’ll start with the teams that are currently highest in the standings, and work my way down from there.

 

 

Mexico City Kings 

 

Franchise Leader: LW | Shush Nyko (S69)

 

Player GP G A P +/- PIM HIT SHT SB GWG
Shush Nyko 216 126 134 260 87 86 229 907 120 14

 

VHLM Career:

Shush Nyko’s member is named SDCore, and he played a total of three seasons with the Kings, from S68-S70. This is a lot for a VHLM player, as it is typical for someone to play a maximum of two. Despite the long time spent in the M, Nyko was not actually inactive during his time with Mexico (though he did eventually go inactive, in May of 2020), and he did go on to play in the VHL.

 

VHL Career:

During his stint in Mexico, Shush Nyko was drafted to the Riga Reign in the S69 VHL draft where he went on to play after his VHLM career ended. His stint in the VHL hasn’t seen a ton of individual production. He has cracked 40 points only a single time in his career, and managed a career high of 51 points which he achieved in S73. Nyko is still playing in Riga today, and he won the cup with them back in S72. Not too bad for someone who spent 3 seasons in the minors.

 

 

Philadelphia Reapers

 

Franchise Leader: RW | Bud Knight (S68)

 

Player GP G A P +/- PIM HIT SHT SB GWG
Bud Knight 430 217 347 564 231 241 656 1544 100 29

 

VHLM Career:

Bud Knight was a career VHLM player, and his username was Dilly Dilly. Makes me wonder if he was friends with Dil. Anyways, Bud Knight was extremely dominant in his time in the league. Playing during an era where high TPA inactives reigned supreme, Knight had a total of three 100 point seasons, and scored 40 goals a total of four times in a season. Bud Knight played six seasons with the Reapers, from S67-S72, which is insane for a VHLM player. At a glance, it appears that he didn’t even intend to become a career M player, he just went inactive at precisely the right time for Philly to utilize his player for so long. Despite his lengthy tenure in Philly, Bud Knight never won a Founder’s Cup, or an individual award of any kind. His career fizzled out when depreciation began to hit, but it would have regardless with the new rules regarding inactives.

 

VHL Career:

Bud Knight was drafted 53rd overall in the S68 VHL draft to the New York Americans, but he didn’t step foot on a VHL ice surface. 


 

Saskatoon Wild

 

Franchise Leader: C | Josh Stronk (S57)

 

Player GP G A P +/- PIM HIT SHT SB GWG
Josh Stronk 242 116 190 306 54 117 306 793 150 9

 

VHLM Career:

Josh Stronk, also known as the user BeerFridge, is currently the Saskatoon Wild’s all-time leader in points, (though not for very long, shoutout to Florent Vericel). Josh followed a strange career path in the M, playing for 3 different clubs, and winning a Founder’s Cup with each of them in back to back to back seasons. He played his first three seasons, S56-S58 in Saskatoon. I’m not sure what the story was, but he was presumably cut from the team, as he didn’t play a full season in S59. I’m guessing he was signed by Yukon in free agency, played 48 games and won the Founder’s Cup with them. The following season Stronk went back to Saskatoon, where he won the cup with them. To close out his VHLM career he signed with Oslo in S61, and won the Founder’s Cup for the third straight season. Stronk had a total of two 100 point seasons with the Wild, and three of 70 or more.

 

VHL Career:

I’m not sure what team Josh Stronk was drafted to, but his 3 year entry level contract would’ve been up by the time he entered the VHL, assuming they had those back then. He joined New York in his first season, who I’m guessing he signed with in free agency. Stronk played a full season with New York, and then a full season with Helsinki, scoring 33 and 38 points, respectively. After the year with Helsinki, he did not resign and that was the end of his hockey career.


 

San Diego Marlins

 

Franchise Leader: RW | Roadkill Steve (S68)

 

Player GP G A P +/- PIM HIT SHT SB GWG
Roadkill Steve 413 269 259 528 51 143 410 1908 172 24

 

VHLM Career: 

Roadkill Steve was the player of stevo, and the first on this list who was intentionally made into a VHLM star. Steve played a total of 7 seasons in the VHLM from S67-S73, and six of them were with San Diego, with the one outlier being a season with the Houston Bulls in S71. He had an impressive stretch from S68-S71, getting 100+ in all four seasons, but then depreciation hit in his final two seasons and he regressed pretty heavily. In Roadkill Steve’s best season in the VHLM, he managed 151 points. Much like Bud Knight, Steve never managed to win a cup or get individual awards of any kind. Maybe this shows that being a career VHLMer doesn’t pay off in the end.

 

VHL Career:

Drafted 42nd overall to Calgary in the S68 VHL draft, did not play. S68 and producing career VHLM players, name a better duo.


 

Miami Marauders

 

Franchise Leader: C | Dakota Lamb (S73)

 

Player GP G A P +/- PIM HIT SHT SB GWG
Dakota Lamb 144 81 104 185 40 74 280 684 43 14

 

VHLM Career:

Unlike anyone else on this list, Dakota Lamb is a max earner and an active member of the site, dlamb. Lamb had two strong seasons in his stint with Miami, scoring more points in his rookie season than his sophomore season, with 93 and 92. Despite having a strong team in S73, Dakota Lamb and the Miami Marauders failed to claim the Founder’s Cup that season. Lamb finished his VHLM career with no founder’s Cup, and no awards. Miami hasn’t had a career VHLMer in their short time in the league yet, and likely never will due to the new rules regarding inactives.

 

VHL Career:

Dakota Lamb was drafted to the new expansion Warsaw Predators while he was still playing in Miami, 10th overall in S73. Despite losing a year of eligibility, he made up for it in a big way in his rookie season, winning the Christian Stolzschweiger Trophy for top rookie in the VHL. Lamb scored 90 points that season, which as far as I know is a record for points in a season by a rookie. He’s currently on pace for another strong season in S75, with 40 points in 45 games.


 

Las Vegas Aces

 

Franchise Leader: C | Mike Szatkowski III (S57?)

 

Player GP G A P +/- PIM HIT SHT SB GWG
Mike Szatkowski III 219 122 140 262 62 107 261 950 73 17

 

VHLM Career:

Mike Szatkowski III is a player that the portal doesn’t tell you a whole lot about. It doesn’t say his username, what his TPE was, where he was drafted, or what season his player was (though I’m pretty sure it is S57, based on the fact he played only 3 games in S55). It feels kind of strange to me that a franchise as old as Las Vegas has a scoring leader with so few points. Anyways, Szatkowski III managed to get a few seasons with 100+ points and had a season where he managed to get 68 goals and 69 assists due to the high scoring ways of the S50s. He won a cup with the Aces in S56, though I don’t think he contributed a whole lot as he only had 20 points that season. That’s really all there is to say about him.

 

VHL Career:

After S58 there is no data for stats on his player page so I assume that’s when his career ended, either through retirement or other means. I have no idea if he was drafted or not.


 

Halifax 21st

 

Franchise Leader: RW | Anton Edvin (S64)

 

Player GP G A P +/- PIM HIT SHT SB GWG
Anton Edvin 426 184 186 370 74 146 437 1567 163 31

 

VHLM Career:

Anton Edvin was a player that unlike most franchise leaders, didn’t have a ton of TPE for the minors. He was just consistent, and played for a very long time. Edvin was created by a user called caltroit_red_flames, who just recently re-created, coincidentally. His first season in the VHLM was with Saskatoon in S63, and he won a Founder’s Cup with them that season. He didn’t accomplish anything else that was meaningful, capping at 81 points in his VHLM career. His final season was S69 with Halifax, meaning he left the league as he entered it, watching Saskatoon win a Founder’s Cup.

 

VHL Career: 

Edvin was drafted 26th overall in the S64 draft to the New York Americans. He went inactive, so he didn’t even come close to going to the VHL. 


 

Yukon Rush

 

Franchise Leader: LW | Apollo Aho (S54?)

 

Player GP G A P +/- PIM HIT SHT SB GWG
Apollo Aho 216 142 157 299 79 140 438 1087 55 22

 

VHLM Career:

Apollo Aho is another one of those players that are so old that the portal gives very little information about them. Aho played for the Rush for three Seasons from S53-S55, recording 100+ points twice, and one season with 69 points (nice). He did not win any Founder’s Cups, and he didn’t win any awards.

 

VHL Career: 

To give you an indicator of just how old this player is, his one and only season in the VHL was with the Cologne Express in S57. Not sure what he was doing in S56, maybe he took the year off. He recorded 51 points in 72 games. Following S57, Cologne folded and both the team and the player disappeared from the league.


 

Mississauga Hounds

 

Franchise Leader: RW | Michael Mac (S72)

 

Player GP G A P +/- PIM HIT SHT SB GWG
Michael Mac 142 71 121 192 -11 64 182 706 81 8

 

VHLM Career:

Micheal Mac’s career is not particularly impressive, and he only narrowly beat out second place, Patrik Tallinder, by a single point. Mac’s user was LastOneUp, and he showed great promise before completely disappearing from the site and going inactive. His leaving was a heavy blow for both Mississauga and the league. Mac had a season with over 100 points with the Hounds in S72, and then played for one season in Yukon. He is now an inactive free agent. Like many before him on this list, he won no cups, and received no awards.

 

VHL Career:

He was drafted to the Toronto Legion 21st overall in S72, but disappeared shortly after the draft and went inactive.


 

Houston Bulls

 

Franchise Leader: D | Riley Knight Gee (S72)

 

Player GP G A P +/- PIM HIT SHT SB GWG
Riley Knight Gee 212 75 209 284 -47 206 421 621 441 8

 

VHLM Career:

Very few franchise leaders have actually seen any kind of individual success in the M, and none so far have been defensemen. With KnightRiley’s player, Riley Knight Gee, this was not the case. Gee was part of the S72 and S73 Houston Bulls squads, and neither were that special. He scored 184 points in those two seasons and Houston was not very good. In S73, his third season in the VHLM, his point production exploded and he recorded 104 assists and 140 points. This effectively doubled his career point total and he took home four individual VHLM awards. The first was the Mitch Higgins trophy, the VHLM’s Most Valuable Player. He also took home the Ethan Osborne and Vladimir Boomchenko trophies, for most points and most assists, respectively. The final award he received was the Ryan Sullivan trophy for top defenseman. S73 would end up being Gee’s last season in the M.

 

VHL Career:

Riley Knight Gee was drafted 32nd overall in S72, to the Prague Phantoms, where he is currently still playing today. His first season in the VHL was pretty average and he put up 38 points on a Prague team that just narrowly missed playoffs after being swept by Helsinki in the play-in round. Gee is currently on pace to score even less this season due to playing on Prague’s second defense pairing. He has 18 points in 44 games as of today.


 

Minnesota Storm

 

Franchise Leader: D | Danny DeYeeto (S67)

 

Player GP G A P +/- PIM HIT SHT SB GWG
Danny DeYeeto 360 117 317 434 275 601 1112 917 460 17

 

VHLM Career:

When someone thinks of a career VHLMer one of the most notorious is likely Cran’s player, Danny DeYeeto. He played a total of seven seasons in the VHLM, his first in Mississauga, then a two year stint in Minnesota. He signed with Saskatoon and won a Founder’s Cup with them in S69, and that Saskatoon team was one of the most dominant in league history. He also won the Mitch Higgins, the VHLM’s MVP, Ethan Osborne for most points, and Ryan Sullivan for top defenseman in S69. He came back to Minnesota and won another Founder’s Cup in S70, and played the rest of his VHLM career there, leaving in S72. DeYeeto was able to put up three 100+ point seasons.

 

VHL Career:

Danny DeYeeto was drafted 39th overall in S67 by the New York Americans, though he would never play a game with them. Although he has a rep for being a career VHLM player, he actually did play a season in the VHL. In S73, he signed with the new expansion Warsaw Predators, and had a campaign where he scored 38 points in 72 games. He did not play the following season, and retired soon after.


 

Ottawa Lynx

 

Franchise Leader: LW | Iangenere Risteneen (S70)

 

Player GP G A P +/- PIM HIT SHT SB GWG
Iangenere Risteneen 216 166 186 352 156 110 345 1170 93 23

 

VHLM career:

Iangenere Risteneen was a player created by a user named Maasa, and he was not a career player, he just happened to go inactive and get cut from the team. Risteneen played a total of three full seasons with Ottawa, and he was well over a point per game in each, scoring over 100 points twice. He was a big part of Ottawa’s Founder’s Cup win in S71, scoring 20 points in 14 games in the playoffs that year. S71 would be his last season with Ottawa. After a 2 season hiatus, he came back to the VHLM and played a single season with Halifax in S74, scoring 67 points in 72 games.

 

VHL Career:

Iangenere Risteneen was drafted 6th overall to the New York Americans in S70, (I’m starting to notice a pattern here), and hasn’t played with New York, or anyone else in the VHL.

 

 

 

 

Edited by a_Ferk
fixed a few spelling/grammatical errors
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Great Idea for an article. Think you might be on to New Yorks drafting strategy lol. I like how you gave an insight to both the players VHL and VHLM careers instead of just doing the VHLM. The way you organized the article is pretty clean and the graphics you used to display the players statistics was well put in. 10/10

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