VSN Presents: VHLM Week 5 Power Rankings

[fromtheinside 1,290]

 

The VHLM Power Rankings are back just in time for the home stretch of the regular season. This week is a particularly interesting for a couple reasons. First, there has a been an eruption of trade activity in the past seven days as teams begin to make their push for the playoffs. And beside the trades, the sims in the past week were super interesting and in turn has provided some movement in the power rankings. In particular, one team in the top 5 went on a historic winning streak, while the two teams I've considered to be a powerhouse all season have started to sputter and stumble a touch. That's enough preamble, let's dive into it and take a look at what I'm talking about!

 

Last Week: 1  |  This Week: 1  

Nestling in their comfy #1 ranking for the third straight week, Mexico City continues being the toast of the league. That being said, it hasn't been a banner week for the Kings. Mexico City was one of many teams who were shopping this week ahead of the league's trade deadline. While making substantial upgrades, the team still only managed to go 4-5-1. This could be a situation where you just don't mess with a good thing. Team chemistry is important and shaking things up on your roster always carries risk. Despite that, I do think the upgrades the Kings made were logical ones. First earlier on last week the Kings set a S77 1st Round Pick and Kid Frost (a VHLM drafted welfare earner who has multi-VHLM season control) to Houston in exchange for the capped-out fiesty Frenchmen @domg5 Dominic Gobeil. As noted in last weeks Power Rankings, Houston's season was pretty much done for, and Gobeil seemed to be the prime trading candidate there. Mexico gets a physical winger who is a jack-of-all-trades. He sacrifices the body with bone crushing hits and shot-blocking but he also has an undeniable scoring touch. A couple days later the Kings doubled down and decided to address their defensive depth. They decided to get Yukon on the horn and after some intense back and forth negotiations, the Kings landed themselves a top TPE earning defense. For a pair of picks and a lower end defensemen named Roger Jone (but usable for the Rush next season), Mexico acquired @GoliathusTee Pee E II. TPE II was the defensive leader in Yukon all season, but Yukon decided to pull the trigger on him to recoup some assets for future seasons.  These two deals have definitely bolstered Mexico City's roster but so far have not yielded the results they were hoping for. Luckily there is still time for these new players to assimilate themselves with their teammates and get the Kings back on track in time for the playoffs.

 

Last Week: 2  |  This Week: 2  

Coming in at #2 yet again is the Philadelphia Reapers, albeit by the slimmest of margins. It's been a weird past week for Phlly, and it's really hard to make head or tails of any of it. In their last 10 games they've went dead even going 5-5. While they have had impressive wins against legitimate teams like Mexico City and Miami, they also dropped games to Yukon, Halifax and even the lowly Ottawa Lynx. However, the singular thing that keeps Philly nested in the 2 spot for one more week is a little thing I like to call "The Ric Flair rule". TO BE THE MAN, YOU MUST BEAT THE MAN! San Diego was knocking on the door of the 2 spot this week and had their chance to overtake the Reapers, but Philly slammed the door in their face by ending their legendary winning streak (more on that in a moment), Philly management has been smart about the tweaking of their roster going into the deadline. They were the ones who got the ball rolling when they picked up blueliner @McLovin Gustav Hjalmarsson nice and early before any other teams had gotten the ball rolling on their deadline deals. Hjalmarsson has fit in nicely with the Reapers, as I noted in last week's Power Rankings. Though they upgraded their squad, it feels like Philly has lost some of their early season magic. They are still a team with embarrassment of riches at all positions, I think it is just a matter of finding some good mojo with all these talented players. They are simply too good to go quietly in a first round exit come the playoffs. Reapers management will be looking to find that magic chemistry  in the last week of the season before going into the postseason.

 

Last Week: 4  |  This Week: 3 

Retaking the #3 spot on our list is none other than the hottest team in the league over the past week, the San Diego Marlins. As I previously mentioned, the Marlins almost took over Philly's 2nd place spot, but came up just a hair short. Nonetheless, there is nothing but good vibes happening in San Diego right now. Highlighted by franchise best 14-game winning streak, the Marlins have won 16 of their last 17 contests are nipping on the heels at the top teams in the league. Sadly it was none other than the Reapers who ended San Diego's incredible stretch. When you dive into this win streak, you will see it's been the same formula that San Diego has used all season.  The dynamic duo of Nero Endrizzi and @Tate Red Lite continue to reign terror over their opponents, both having now eclipsed the 80 point plateau for the season, which is good for 4th and 5th in league scoring.  Not far behind them is defensemen @fromtheinside Scotty Kaberle who now sits 6th in league scoring with 81 points, leapfrogging teammate Cowboy Prout who has been dominant in his own right. On top of all this the Marlins have continued to get fantastic production from various sources as @BOOM™ Gunnar Odinsson and @Nikdandrea34 Nikolas D'Andrea continue to shine for the club. Still looking to improve, the Marlins just last night went out and solidified their defensive core even further by acquiring max-capped @OscarTheSwagDude Kate Upton.  Marlins management will be hoping for Upton to memorize opponents and be the piece that puts them over the top. But as we have seem with the other top teams, sometimes adding a new player into the fray can have converse effects to what you may be hoping for. It should be interesting to see how Upton factors into the Marlins heading into the last stretch of games in the regular season.

 

 Last Week: 3  |  This Week: 4 

Falling one spot this week, the Saskatoon Wild come in at number 4 this week despite another great week of sims. Going 7-3 in their past 10, the Wild have continued to show they are going to be a team to be feared going into the postseason. It's really a testament to how well they've been playing when take a glimpse at the standings. They are only 2 points back of the San Diego even after that team had a record setting win streak. Saskatoon just keeps chugging along at very impressive pace. They continue to mix a nice variety of offensive ability and physicality and are proving to be a handful for even the best teams in the league. Offensively @dartFlorent Vericel continues his record smashing pace as he is in sole position of first in league scoring with 98 points, just two shy of the century mark. When it comes to laying the body, @dshervill winger Braxton Hunter and d-man@drewowo Logan Moore are ranked 1-2 in the entire league for hits with 246 and 228 respectively. The Wild also decided to round out there D-core by adding a high end TPE defenseman. For a S76 2nd and a S77 3rd, the Wild acquired puck-moving defensemen Rick Osman. With this move, Sasky management has really confirmed they are all in on this year. They have a legitimate chance to compete for the Founder's Cup so it will be interesting to see if mortgaging their immediate future will pay dividends. 

 

Last Week: 5  |  This Week: 5  

Back for another week at #5 is the Las Vegas Aces. The Aces to me are by far one of most curious teams in the league right now. They have been amongst the busiest teams in the league over the past little while. They've wheeled and dealed and despite looking like a vastly improved team on paper, Vegas has only managed to go 5-5 over their last 10 games. While splitting their last 10 may not seem so bad at first glance, if you look a bit closer they played a ton of easy teams and didn't really beat anyone of consequence. They even dropped games to Houston and Minnesota - two teams who have are clearly focused on their future seasons. Though this sounds very doom and gloom, I do like the moves Vegas management made. With their defense already among the best in the league, it was clear they needed offense and perhaps goaltending. They started by picking up sophomore winger @fyrefly Sheldon Juniper who is an elite, clutch scorer and a proven winner, having won a cup last year with Miami.  But they weren't done there. They then proceeded to hit up Mississauga and take winger @MMFLEX  Dan Dan and center @Aye my name jeff Jordan Tate. Though these two trades costed them a decent amount of draft stock, they have come away with a full line's worth of capped forwards. The Aces seriously lacked scoring punch and with these three all coming in before the deadline, Vegas absolutely addressed their biggest weakness. I think it is just a matter of figuring out which players mesh well together. If Vegas can figure that out before the playoffs start, watch out. Oh and if this didn't impress you, they decided to go out and get a capped goalie by trading Matt Sovick Jr to Miami for the one and only @thadthrasherThadius Sales. Having two goalies with multi-season control allowed Vegas to do this without giving up an arm and a leg in draft picks so this was huge for them.

 

Last Week: 6   |  This Week: 6 

Another week, another sixth place spot for Miami. The Marauders managed to go 6-4 over the last 10 games but half of these games were against either Ottawa or Minnesota, so that could be a tad bit misleading. While Miami has definitely made some nice additions to their roster, their latest trade was a real head-scratcher to me. As I just mentioned in the Aces recap, Miami shipped off their goalie Thad Sales for Matt Sovick Jr. While Sovick Jr is certainly a serviceable goalie and it is certainly appealing that you will be able to retain him for next season, I hate this deal for Miami. Last week on the VHL Roundtable Podcast I asked both @Ricer13 GM Kris Rice and @Zetterberg AGM Zetterberg what their plan was going into the trade deadline. They both seemed to indicate they liked their team and wanted to compete this season, and I agreed with that assessment. Earlier in the week they went out and acquired capped out center @TenZi Kevin Sterk from Yukon. Shortly thereafter, they struck a deal with Mississauga by acquiring rock solid blueliner @JorgTheGoat03 The Blob. Those two trades in my mind were just what Miami needed. They went out and spent some assets in order to improve their center and defensive depth. So with that being said, why would then turn around and ship out one of the best goalies in the league?  I the Miami brass wants Miami to be competitive year in and year out, but with essentially no picks to speak of in the S76 draft, I don't understand the thought process behind that deal. Trade analysis aside, Miami is still a very dangerous team and will definitely still be a tough matchup for anyone who runs into them come playoff time. 

 

Last Week: 8   |  This Week: 7  

Despite their best attempts at selling, Yukon finds themselves edging out Halifax for the 7th spot in the Power Rankings. With their eyes on the future, the Rush decided to start selling off some assets to reload for future seasons. While they managed to deal off some players, the market was pretty limited in some ways and as a result Yukon still has some top end talent. After bidding adieu to Juinper, Tee Pee E and Sterk, Yukon still managed a 5-4-1 record including 2 wins over conference leading Mexico City. The Rush still boast some formidable scoring power with the likes of @DirtyDerek Daddy Derek and team captain @GreenGato Vick Fairchild leading the way. On defense @Juice Kristof Welch continues to impress scouts with his development and is now scoring at a more consistent pace as well.  Team favourite and rock solid netminder @Kloxified Kloxified also avoided swapping teams at the deadline, so all things considered the Rush still ice a pretty solid team and will give teams a good fight night in and night out. 

 

Last Week: 7  |  This Week: 8 

Swapping spots with Yukon and dropping one spot this week was the Halifax 21st. This club is very similar to Yukon in a couple of ways. They were a decent team all season with some holes in their roster and just as the Rush have done recently, they've made a couple traded to focus towards their future. And also like Yukon, they are left with some high end talent on their team post trade deadline, probably because of the scarce market for high end players. Thanks to the mega draft class of S75. many rosters are already filled to the brim and aren't in need of adding anyone. As mentioned earlier throughout the article, Halifax shipped off a pair of elite defensemen for draft picks. However, when the dust settled they still have a few big time players on their roster that still keeps them dangerous. @Dolant Dolant Fertitta remains on the roster and he is going to continue on his tear through the M. Linemate @Nick Kirkpatrick Theodore James St. Louis also stayed put and he is no joke either, having just eclipsed the 80 point plateau this past week. And while their top 2 defenders were shipped out, promising defensive prospect @Parriyah9374 Javad Kamkar will get an excellent opportunity to showcase himself on the top D pair with Clinton Giftopoulos.

 

Last Week: 9  |  This Week: 9 

Back in their familiar spot again this week are the Houston Bulls at #9. I was VERY tempted to move them up higher after they sneakily enjoyed themselves an 8-1-1 record over their last 10.  And while a handful of these were against the bottom tier teams, they did real off wins against Saskatoon, Vegas and even Mexico! What's even more preposterous is that this win streak is coming off the heals of trading top earning forward Dominic Gobeil. The Webber brothers ( @Webberj Jon and @WebberP Paul) have become the team leaders, with Jon leading the team with 37 goals! Defensively @Nope488 Not A. Player leads all defensemen in points with 43, not to mention he has blocked a whopping 123 shots this year. Somebody get that guy an ice pack! Meanwhile in the crease @Caboose30 Trent Gibson continues to hold down the fort. Though they are lacking in some areas, I wouldn't rule out Houston sneaking up on one of either Yukon or Halifax and potentially claiming the 8 seed before the end of the season. It would be incredible to see, I am routing for them!

 

Last Week: 10  |  This Week: 10 

Now we move into the bottom tier of the league. I will definitely give Mississauga some credit though. They were the most successful team in selling off all their high-end assets at the deadline.  They made 4 trades in the past two weeks which netted them 6 future picks in drafts and 4 players. Rookie winger @Sljppers continues to put on a show in the 905 as she now is the active leader in scoring for the Hounds with 64 points in 58 games. When you see a rookie who is producing at over a point per game that is reason enough to get hyped. They Hounds are undoubtedly going to be a force to reckoned with some S76 but for now they are amongst the leagues bottom-feeders. They hold onto the 10 spot this week, but just barely!

 

Last Week: 11  |  This Week: 11 

Coming in yet again at 11, the Minnesota Storm have at least started to see a little bit of stability.  While still only have a record of 3-6-1 in their past 10, they still aren't exactly world beaters, but they are at least competitive in most games now, even taking wins this past week off Las Vegas and Miami! It should be noted that the Storm sent their top tender @Hello  Hi Hello to their fellow cellar dweller buddies the Lynx in exchange for picks. Speaking of picks, the Storm have a ton of them going into the draft. It will be interesting to see how Storm management deals with asset management come draft time. 

 

Last Week: 12  |  This Week: 12  

Rounding out the Power Rankings we have the familiar face of the Ottawa Lynx. It was a week to remember for the Lynx as they managed FOUR wins this week, one of which was against none other than the Eastern Conference leaders, the Philadelphia Reapers! With those four wins they doubled their win total of their entire season! Congrats to them on a few huge wins. This will definitely help morale in the Ottawa LR. The only other thing to note is the aforementioned trade with Minnesota. On one hand I don't know if spending draft picks in a year you are historically bad is a good idea, but on the other hand Hi Hello will be back for next season, so that checks off a major need that they will no longer have to worry about come draft time. 

 

 

That wraps up another weekly Power Rankings. We are winding down the season with roughly 10-12 games left for each team. There is still lots of things to be decided as we head into the VHLM playoffs. Will Houston sneak in? Could San Diego stay hot and overthrow the Kings in the West?  This time next week we will have the answers so be sure to keep your eyes peels for the final installment of the Power Rankings next week! Until then thanks for reading and take care!

 

 

[thadthrasher 1,692]

4 minutes ago, fromtheinside said:

the one and only @thadthrasherThadius Sales.

[Dom 1,445]

24 minutes ago, fromtheinside said:

While making substantial upgrades, the team still only managed to go 4-5-1. This could be a situation where you just don't mess with a good thing. Team chemistry is important and shaking things up on your roster always carries risk.

Our playoff spot is clinched, we are just relaxing to be in shape for the playoffs

[Rayzor_7 741]

No respect on our name 

[BOOM 8,809]

Marlins baby. 

[Juice 641]

I dunno how we are doing it, but I'm liking how the Rush is doing thank you as always Scotty! Loving these power rankings