Around the VHL: December 23rd, 2020

[tcookie 927]

Welcome to Around the VHL - S75 Episode 3 - December 23rd, 2020

 

 

It’s been another exciting VHL season and now, at last, we turn our attention to the playoffs and the storylines that come with everyone’s favourite time of the season.

 

Will the Vancouver Wolves be able to repeat? They’re certainly looking strong, finishing with the third-best record in the league (46-22-4, 96 points) but more importantly, the most wins and the highest goal differential (+62). With Andrew Su setting a new career high with 106 points (his second-straight over the 100-point mark in just his fourth year in the league) and four other forwards - Kevin King, Jesper Norberg, Gregg Stallion, and Onde Sandstrom - over the PPG mark, the Wolves possess a ton of offensive talent and will hope to be able to overwhelm teams with their firepower en route to defending their crown.

 

Finishing with the best record in the league, the Calgary Wranglers are the opposite to Vancouver. Their offense wasn’t quite as potent as they’d hoped this year - Patrik Tallinder finished with just 79 points (a fine year, but a drop-off from his production in Riga), and converted defenseman Edwin The Encarnacion led the team with 80. We’ll see if secondary scoring becomes an issue for this team - they had four 30-goal scorers but their next highest was 15. But the defense core of Kosmo Kramarev, General Zod, Alex Bridges, and DeFenz Mann was excellent all year and they’ve got 2-time Clegane winner Jacques Lafontaine between the pipes, so they won’t be easy to fill the net against.

 

The hottest team in the league as we head to the playoffs is, surprisingly enough, the DC Dragons who were fighting for their playoff lives for a while before catching fire down the stretch, putting up a ridiculous 16-1-3 record over their final 20 games. While Groovy Dood and Xavier leFlamant were among the league leaders all season, they finally got some help, especially as Benny Graves elevated his game to the level expected of him to finish with a 34 goal, 75 point season after a slow start. Meanwhile, netminder Stone Wolski launched himself into the Clegane Trophy discussion over the course of his team’s phenomenal finish, and ended up leading the league with a SV% of 0.930.

 

The tightly-contested EU saw both Davos and Prague disappointingly fall back in the second half of the season, but there were still just 5 points separating 2nd from 5th when the season ended. The London United are limping into the playoffs, just 3-6-1 in their last 10 games, but they’ll take it as they’ll finally get a taste of the post-season. Defenseman Erik Killinger led the way with 77 points, 229 hits, and 133 SB; he was the team’s best player this season after coming over in a trade. Killinger was London’s only player to surpass the PPG mark and rookie netminder Kevin Malone finished the year with a SV% of 0.912 - that’s 13th among the league’s 16 starters - but the United do play strong team defense and have all of Killinger, Hugh Jass, James Rose, and Kasper Kankkunen to anchor a deep defense core. They will hope to keep games low scoring and score some playoff upsets.

 

The Malmo Nighthawks and Moscow Menace may both feel like they underachieved this year, but I wouldn’t want to play either of them now that they’ve made it to the show, especially given their respective 8-2-0 and 7-1-2 finishes to the season. It’s the combination of talent, experience, and slightly disappointing regular seasons that make them dangerous as we shift to the games that matter most. For Malmo, Chris Hylands’ first career 100-point campaign was huge (he also finished third in the league with 44 goals) and they also got 90-point campaigns from Ray Sheilds and Condor Adrienne. Meanwhile, they’ve got scoring depth on their second line, too, in the form of Arthur Dayne (28 goals, 78 points) and Jungkok (37 goals, 74 points). Moscow’s got the star power in Mikko Lahtinen and Roque Davis, but it might be time for some of the talented S72 class - Alex Letang, Pietro Angellini, Lucas Brandt, and Cole Newhook to step up for the Menace. They all flashed this season, but were ultimately a little inconsistent. In net, the Menace have Raymond Bernard - looking for what might be a final piece to add to the resume of a Hall-of-Fame hopeful.

 

Finishing the season with 107 points, a beautiful follow-up to an 84-point rookie campaign, John Merrick’s league-leading season deserves to be called out here despite Toronto missing the playoffs. Though he’s probably not the guy a lot of people would’ve picked to take home the scoring crown, at least not this early in his career, he has become a franchise player for the Legion with more than half of his career still ahead of him. There were some other impressive performances in Toronto - including a surprise 81-point season (#3 among defensemen) from Ziarie Anigbogu and a PPG (74 in 72) season from rookie Nicholas Sunderbruch. The Legion are still rebuilding, but the pieces might be in place to turn the ship around sooner rather than later. 

 

Among other highlights from the group of teams heading up the lottery tournament this year: New York rookies Rhynex Entertainment and Gary Rush both threatened the 90-point mark of last year’s Rookie of the Year, Dakota Lamb, ultimately finishing with 89 and 85 points respectively. LA’s Jeffrey Pines took a step forward with 41 goals and 83 points in his third year in the league. SS Hornet and Tyler Walker played better in the second half of the season for Davos, and both still being young, Davos has hope that they will form the foundation of a more successful squad next year. And Riga somehow won 29 games - owing a big thank you to early-season acquisition Calvin Harvey, who went 28-33-4 with an 0.920 SV% despite facing a heavy workload of 38.6 shots per game.

 

It’s playoff time, which means it’s almost time to say goodbye to VHL hockey for the off-season. This post-season will be the end of the line for the S68 draft class, and most notably, we will see our last of Raymond Bernard and Condor Adrienne. Speaking of which - Adrienne is the subject of this week’s feature story.

 

 

You aren’t supposed to be 6-foot-8, 250 pounds, and able to move like Condor Adrienne does on skates. It’s a freakish collection of talent, combined with intelligence and a deadly accurate shot, that has Adrienne’s spot reserved in the Hall of Fame when his VHL career is over after the season.

 

One might even say Adrienne’s skillset is, umm, “other-worldly”?

 

That term might be a more apt description of VHL legend Condor Adrienne’s world than you realize. You see, Adrienne is a two-sport athlete - and not in the way that you might think of when you think of Bo Jackson or Deion Sanders. No, his story is bigger.

 

Adrienne came to sports prominence as the star quarterback for the Whitok Pioneers, a Tier 2 team in the Galactic Football League, then surprisingly left the Pioneers to sign with the Orbiting Death before eventually deciding to give hockey a try - and so here we are: ten seasons since Adrienne’s first VHLM game, and unquestionably lucky to have witnessed the career of such a unique, incredibly talented player.

 

And though we all knew this was going to be his final season, he will still be missed - especially by the Malmo Nighthawks franchise, for whom Adrienne spent his entire VHL career. “For us in Malmo, Condor Adrienne has meant a lot,” says GM FrostBeard. “His competitive nature and ability to lead games and the team on the ice, no matter what are the odds, makes him a superstar. His role on the team as our captain has been remarkable and his amazing seasons filled with awards just showed that Malmo was the right place for him. I am blessed to have had a chance to be his manager for most of his career.”

 

It didn’t all come easy right away for Adrienne. Some attributes - his athleticism, intelligence, and intensity - transferred over fine. Others did not, and Adrienne had to learn the intricacies of playing hockey on the fly. It was clearly apparent from the get-go that Adrienne was incredibly talented, yet also clearly apparent that he was very raw as a hockey player. He picked up just 4 assists in 27 games in S66, then 67 points in 72 games in S67 - more respectable totals, but still a bit low for such a highly touted prospect.

 

Still, he was viewed as the consensus top prospect for the S68 draft. Adrienne wanted to spend his entire career in the same place, and Malmo - which held the top pick - saw the opportunity to work with him to unlock his enormous potential. “My owner wanted to give me a chance to play a full career at a single team so I wouldn’t have to be distracted with stuff like living elsewhere - this was made clear before the draft,” recalls Adrienne. “It’s part of the reason they refused to trade the 1st overall pick when offered 3 different first rounders for it. So that loyalty was something I wanted to give back to the franchise. I love Malmo for it and am glad for the opportunity they gave me.”

 

Adrienne made some noise in his debut season, with 56 points and 228 hits, but he regressed in S69 (40 points, 117 hits) and then settled into a role as a very good, but not elite, defenseman in the next couple of seasons. With the first half of his VHL career behind him, Adrienne was not living up to his lofty draft status - and then everything changed.

 

“I learned how to skate,” Adrienne says. “I am a pro sportsman and already had excelled in the Galactic Football League as a quarterback. I wanted to play hockey to develop my skills more. It’s only natural that when I got used to the game, I would rack in a few awards.”

Adrienne was a completely different player from S72 - S75. He finished his career with straight seasons of 90+ points, including two seasons of 100+ points. He took home two Valiq Trophies (best offensive defenseman), two Wylde Trophies (best defensive defenseman), and two Labatte Trophies (best overall defenseman) - plus a Slobodzian trophy as Most Outstanding Player after leading the league as its’ only 100-point scorer in S72 - during that time frame, and he may have more hardware on the way yet.

 

With some patience, Adrienne did unlock that limitless potential, and he evolved into the consensus best defensemen in the league, one of its’ best players, and his legacy transformed from a draft-day disappointment to a sure-fire Hall of Famer. “Seeing hockey was just a side gig for me, I am certainly satisfied about how my career went. It took a couple of years adjusting to playing with skates on, but I think in the end it was worth it. It’s not that often you see a quarterback racking in hockey awards, right? So I can’t really complain. Once my time is up with the team, I will be returning to Orbital Station 1 to help the Orbiting Death prepare for next season’s Galaxy Bowl. That remains the main goal in my career.”

 

But Adrienne’s hockey resume is still missing one thing, and the upcoming S75 post-season will be his last chance to check that box off. And despite his GFL aspirations, Adrienne would love to see Malmo hoist the Champions Cup before he leaves. “I would like to leave Malmo with a Cup, it’s the only thing that matters at the moment.”

Welcome back to Fantasy Corner! The S75 regular season has come and gone, and so it’s time to crown some champions! Our regular season champion is hedgehog337, who put together a very impressive 1399.38 point team. Special shout out to other top-ranking users TheFlash, Tape-to-Tape, and Beketov! In today’s Fantasy Corner, we’ll examine which little-drafted players stepped up big for the teams that picked them, and which frequently-drafted players fell a little short.

 

 

 

Fantasy Steals of the Year
Players drafted in less than 30% of VHFL groups who exceeded expectations this season.

 

Forward: John Merrick, Toronto Legion
It was a somewhat unexpected, but brilliant season from John Merrick this year, as he led the league in scoring, and that excellence translated over to fantasy. Big offensive numbers are typically required from forwards who don’t hit a lot to put up good fantasy seasons, and Merrick’s 107 points qualifies. He finished up as F #6 on the season with 207.40 points (2.88 per game) despite only being 9.5% owned.

 

Defenseman: Jacob Perry, Riga Reign
Riga was a good source of fantasy steals this year (see also: Zyrok12, Calvin Harvey), and it makes some sense to find a rebuilding team in that position due to the points allocated to blocked shots and saves. Perry was among the league leaders with 177 blocked shots while adding 59 points and 256 hits, ending the year as D #3 in fantasy with 271.80 points (3.78 per game) while being only 14.3% owned.

 

Goaltender: Jaxx Hextall, Toronto Legion
Hextall’s heavy workload as the Legion backstop contributed to a lot of points, as he finished the year with 216.18 fantasy points (3.33 per game) largely on the back of a staggering 2374 saves. Hextall was only drafted in 28.6% of leagues (most other top goalies were actually quite highly owned), but he ended up ranked G #1, making him a shrewd pick for anyone who did take him.

 

Fantasy Busts of the Year
Players drafted in more than 60% of VHFL groups who didn’t live up to expectations this season.

 

Forward: Patrik Tallinder, Calgary Wranglers
It’s somewhat of a surprise to find Tallinder here, but the problem with fantasy owners drafting Tallinder this year was how highly he was drafted based on his unbelievable S74 campaign. It’s an illustration of the dangers of drafting a less physical forward high in fantasy (only 3 of the top-20 forwards in fantasy had less than 100 hits; only 2 of the top-10 had less than 249 hits) as when Tallinder’s scoring numbers from last season proved unsustainable and came down, his fantasy production followed, even though he still finished above a PPG with 79 points in 72 games. Drafted as F #6, Tallinder (90.5% owned) finished as F #29 with 149.40 points (2.08 per game).

 

Defenseman: Cinnamon Block, Prague Phantoms
Prague had higher expectations this season than their 13th-place finish would indicate, and unfortunately for Cinnamon Block fantasy owners, their struggles were felt here. With an offense that didn’t put up expected numbers, Block only managed 57 points (and only 9 goals), 119 shots, and wasn’t as physical as some of the higher scoring defensemen either. Drafted as D #8 and in 61.9% of groups, Block ended up as D #29 with 195.40 fantasy points (2.71 per game)

 

Goalie: Jacob Tonn, Seattle Bears
It’s not like Tonn had a bad season, necessarily, but he was heavily drafted (90.5% owned), and didn’t win enough games playing on a good team to put the numbers up we’d have expected from the guy drafted as fantasy’s #2 goalie, and it didn’t help that he only recorded 2 shutouts. He finished off with 188.83 points (2.86 per game) and as G #9 overall.

 

Congrats to all group winners, and we wish all of you the best in S76 VHFL competition. Stay tuned throughout the off-season for more fantasy coverage so you’re prepared for your S76 drafts!

 

Note: while I think everything presented in Fantasy Corner is accurate, this is not to be considered official in the event of any discrepancy between my work and results/updates posted by anyone in charge of the VHFL.

 

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Players Mentioned: @Da_Berr @IamMOOSE @jpsd @fonziGG @SweatyBeaver @Patrik Tallinder @Tagger @Alex Bridges @Mike @Matt_O @Mongoose87 @SlapshotDragon @bigAL @BarzalGoat @DollarAndADream  @STZ @Peace @TheFlash @MattyIce @WentzKneeFan036 @16z @Hylands @OrbitingDeath  @Zetterberg @tfong  @Infernal @FrostBeard @Beketov @Josh @Mr_Hatter @GrittyIsGroovy09 @okifenoki @Spartan @twists @NickSunderbruch @Steve @ngine4 @ROOKIE745 @rory  @G_Rush @Rhynex Entertainment @dlamb @McWolf @Advantage @Mrpenguin30 @Liberty_Cabbage @omgitshim @MexicanCow123 @hedgehog337 @Tape-to-Tape

[Peace 1,562]

3 minutes ago, tcookie said:

Ziarie Anigbogu

If Ziarie doesn't win most improved... (he had 11 points last season). 

[Matt thunder 444]

wow, mate you really passed a lot of time on this article i think and in the end it payed off preatty well, you did an exelent job, congrats.

for this reason your fantastic post gets a solid 10 out of a 10, congrats (again) and keep it up mate.

[rory 1,943]

wow jeffrey pines gets his first ever VSN mention and it's not even a full paragraph about what an absolute stallion he is. smh

[fishy 1,757]

Man, I seiously appreciate the obvious amount of time you put into these. You've got like 2 or 3 media spots in one post - it's honestly a great look for VSN. Hatter ought to be proud.

 

I'm not 100% sure on how VSN works, but I hope that you get to keep writing these for as long as they're working for you!! Thanks tcookie!

[BOOM 8,817]

Great work.

[bigAL 2,176]

Holy hell tcookie, that's amazing. Great work! I love it all, the different segments really make this a fun read and a fantastic way to keep on top of all the current events. VSN is killing it this season!

[solas 1,952]

Finally Hextall pays off for me after picking him for like three seasons in a row lol

[omgitshim 903]

Labeled as a fantasy bust (which is accurate) and not listed as my group's winner (group 21).

 

Great article though!

[tcookie 927]

1 minute ago, omgitshim said:

Labeled as a fantasy bust (which is accurate) and not listed as my group's winner (group 21).

 

Great article though!

 

oh no hahaha you got ripped off sorry, I hadn't noticed the sorting being out of whack on group 21 at first!

[ROOKIE745 607]

1 hour ago, solas said:

Finally Hextall pays off for me after picking him for like three seasons in a row lol

Thank you for never loosing faith in me DX

[ROOKIE745 607]

Thank you to those of you who drafted me..... it's nice some people believe in me ^^''

 

And Tcookie fantastic work on this, you deserve all the praise your getting ^^

[fromtheinside 1,290]

nice to see tcookie getting the love he deserves, guys been straight fire since October. Great work as always my friend!