Nick's Pick #8 Who should win MVP?

[NickSunderbruch 358]

     So the question posed is, "Who should win league MVP?" and to answer that we're going to have to look at many different things. And I want to clarify before I start this article, that this is merely speculation, and is in no way going to be exactly how the winner is going to be picked. It's merely my own opinion of who should be league MVP. Okay, now that we got that disclaimer out of the way, lets start by outlining what I think are the requirements to win. First we'll have to look at a players point total, and then we'll have to look at other stats like +/- and penalty minutes. We should also take a look at how valuable that individual was to their team, and in a separate category we'll see how valuable they've been to the league and community as a whole. And while many people fit these criteria, we do have some front runners to look at, and we'll look at who I think are most likely to win. 

 

     Stats wise we have a few people we should look at, remember stats aren't objective, they only reflect numbers, not the reason for those numbers. First I want to start off with out front runner, John Merrick @Steve. Drafted 5th overall in season 73, John is only in his 2nd season and has put up 107 points this season, 19 points more than last season, and only one point more than second place in points. He put up 45 goals and 62 assists this season with a +/- of +10, 17 less than his rookie season, however his +/- is reflective of his team being in a rebuilding stage. Second place in my opinion isn't a league point leader, unless you count the rookie point leaders. @Rhynex Entertainmentput up 89 points this season with the New York Americans, with 35 goals and 54 assists. Rhynex has put up a +/- of -13, which again is not reflective of his play, but of his team being a rebuilding team as well. I include Rhynex in this MVP discussion because he was not only nearly a 90 point scorer this season, he was also the point leader on his team as a rookie, meaning he was invaluable to his team this season as a rookie. Rhynex deserves a mention at the very least. 

 

     I'm going to look at players who I have judged to be valuable to the league/community as a whole now, and we have another familiar face, Rhynex Entertainment. A solid 13 TPE earner a week, who's contributed multiple articles and reviews, and contributed much happiness to the community as a whole. I think Rhynex is a solid pick as a potential MVP winner. However other players deserve credit here as well, to go over a few; Gary Rush @G_Rush, Jimmy Spyro @DarkSpyro, Jacques Lafontaine @SlapshotDragon, Leo Strauss @gregreg, Andrew Su @Da_Berr and many more. I couldn't mention everybody here because there's just so many players who deserve recognition for what they potentially mean to their team. 

 

     So what's my verdict? Who do I think should win MVP? Ultimately I think it's between John Merrick, and Rhynex Entertainment. That's why I took so much time speaking about them and their individual stats. Do I think that Rhynex is going to win it? No I don't think he will since he's not the league point winner, and he's not a superstar yet outside of New York and Las Vegas. However he's ultimately who I would choose if I was in charge of this. But since I'm NOT in charge of picking the winner, I'll tell you who I think will win. So who is that? geez I gave two options and expended one of them. The obvious choice for league MVP, is John Merrick. He pulled ahead as point leader in the regular season, and he pulled ahead as a leader in the Legion locker room.

 

     So who do you all think is going to win? Tell me in the comments, I'll be more than happy to discuss it with you all. I'd also like to take a minute to thank the entire Toronto Legion team and staff. You all have been amazing this season, and I'm glad to say that I play in this fine city of Toronto. And I hope to be a superstar not only on the ice, but also in the locker room. @Peacethank you for coaching this amazing team this year, and even though we didn't make the wildcard spot we'll be back next season to win the cup, we have some good young players coming in to make this already amazing team even better this season. I'd also like to thank all my friends in the league for encouraging me this season, and reminding me why I play in this league. Thank you all for reading my annoying articles and media spots. Anyways I'm gonna start drafting some paperwork for my next VHL.com article coming later today. So you all stay warm, but also stay Icey. Seacrest out.

[Eynhallow 412]

So much emphasis is placed on point totals (excluding goalies).  Perhaps a look at the best +/- might be in the cards or blocked shots.  A lot of the time, it seems, that your defensive specialists are overlooked because there is no real easy way to judge them.  I mean goals/assists, easy, right.  What about the player that has played big PK minutes and has a really low +/-  ??  Just my 2 cents or less...............

 

And what about goalies?  Best GAA or number of wins is easy, but does that really tell the tale.  There are goalies that are spectacular who are playing on underperforming teams.  How can we look at those players and include them in the conversation ?

Edited December 23, 2020 by Eynhallow

[Beketov 8,642]

Merrick definitely had a great season but tbh he has the same issue @OrbitingDeath  did a few seasons ago. Not making the playoffs IMO disqualifies people from winning the Campbell. You can be important to your team but if that team doesn’t make the playoffs how much of a difference did you realistically make? He’ll be on the ballot for sure but it’s a tough sell.

 

Mind you I also don’t vote.

[Crstats23 328]

In my opinion I see the race mainly  between Merrick and Su and just between those two I personally would pick Su, but it will definitely be an interesting decision that I’m glad I don’t need to make 

[Da_Berr 219]

I'd pick Mikko Lahtinen, or one of the goalies that killed it this year. Mikko Lahtinen since he was 4th in points, had over 350 hits on a team that made poffs (wildcard spot tho) and kinda carried his team to their 4th place finish in the EU (21 points ahead of second best player on his team).

 

As for goalies, so many of them performed super well this year, and I think the skaters group isn't too outstanding, so one of them will probably win.

[hylands 838]

HYLANDS FOR MVP

[bigAL 2,176]

Snoooooobbed

[IHateBobNutting 96]

While Stats don't account for the players around them, I think that they are the most objective way of judging people we have. That being said I agree that it can't be the only thing used. I agree that the points leader is likely to win but team success should also be looked at as MVP does stand for Most Valuable Player meaning the player was the most valuable to their team despite people forgetting that. I appreciate your mention of players who have had more of an effect off the ice than on the ice because they're also important parts of successful teams. Overall, a really good article. More details about more players would've been nice but that's the only complaint I can think of. 9/10