VHL Magazine 261
Former Meute Star Thriving in Riga
VHL Magazine Edition 261
ROOKIE O F TH E YE AR RACE WHO IS IN TH E P LAYO FF S ? WHO TO W ATC H I N FRE E AG E NCY & MO R E!
Moment of the Week With only 10 games remaining in the Season 45 regular season, it seems only a surge from Helsinki’s Aleksi Koponen, can prevent Toronto’s Max Molholt from taking home the Stolzschweiger trophy for the VHL’s top rookie. The young winger has 85 points(42G 43A), 3 Hat-tricks, leads the shots blocked category with 165 and has proven to be a force on the rebuilding Legion roster. His rival for the award, Koponen, was the pre-season favorite however Molholt’s outstanding season has him in the box seat for the prestigious honor. It would be well deserved and a fantastic start to what seems a very bright career for both himself and the Toronto franchise.
Lottery
Credits
9-3-4
Advantage
1M - Carried Over
boom
Molholt
7-5-9
brovy
Solas
6 TPE - Carried Over
CowboyinAmerica
9-0-2
Draper
1 TPE - Carried Over
Green
Mike
StevenStamkos91 Toast
VHL Magazine 261
Headlines By Draper
FI NAL STR ETC H OF S 4 5
With 7 games left per team, we are quickly closing in on the end of the VHL’s 45th Regular Season. In just a few days, four teams will be left in the dust, while the top six will move on to postseason. In North America, we already know which teams will be left behind - Seattle and Toronto. In Europe, however, it still isn’t clear cut. Stockholm sits at the bottom of the Conference with 71 points, 8 behind Cologne, who sits in fourth and 11 behind Davos, who sits in third. At this point, playoffs are a long shot for the Vikings, but not impossible. As for Cologne, despite being just 3 points behind Davos for the third seed, getting back into the playoffs will be tough for them. Davos would need to lose, and Cologne would need to pull out some big victories taking into account that COL G will be playing five out of their last seven games, this isn’t likely to happen. MANY G O O D B Y E S
The trade deadline is always a time where many players come and go from the league, and this season was certainly no exception. We said a final farewell to many players these past few weeks, but in turn we welcomed many to the league. The biggest name to hang up their skates was Bruno Wolf, the highly-touted two-way forward from Quebec has expended his 8 seasons in the league and now, in accordance with the league’s retirement standards, must move on.
It was of course no surprise to see Wolf go, as he had no choice in the matter. The most surprising departure was, without a doubt, Devin Sundberg. The Davos centerman decided to call it quits a season early - presumably out of frustration with personal and team performance. This isn’t good news for Davos and will be interesting to see what Jack Reilly has planned to fill the void left by Sundberg. Among the rest of the retirements were Benjamin Dupont of New York, Niklas Karlsson of Cologne, David Blind of Toronto and Danger van der Mewe of Helsinki. S 4 5 T E AM P OI NT TAS K
Unconfirmed reports from multiple sources within the league headquarters have indicated that a Team Point Task may be on the horizon. From what we hear, Commissioner Draper and the Board of Governors have been working tirelessly to come up with a good theme for this season’s event. For those who aren’t aware, the league held a very successful Team Point Task in Season 40 as part of the S40 Celebrations. After the success of that event, it was decided that we would do such point tasks every three seasons - on those seasons where no World Cup or Super Cup is present. Our next one was Season 42 and was also very successful, which brings us here, to Season 45. We hear that the Board of Governors and the Commissioner’s Office have been struggling to come up with a suitable theme for this season so please feel free to post any suggestions or ideas you have in the magazine thread.
By the Numbers By Advantage
“Shout out to Mr. Mikaelson, who now looks like he has the Shaw Trophy locked up.”
13 The Cologne Express have had a good season, but in a conference as tight as the European one, something had to give. The Express currently find themselves four points back of a playoff spot with just five games remaining. While hardly impossible, Cologne fans are quite concerned over the possibility of the team not making the playoffs in Brock Waldron’s final year. Fortunately for the Express, they have two more games against the team that is directly ahead of them (Davos). However, their entire remaining schedule is against New York, Davos, Riga and Helsinki.
Hardly a foursome you want to match up with when you need wins. On the other side of things, Davos has a weak spot in their remaining schedule, with one game left against Toronto. With that being an almost assured win, the Express may have to sweep the Dynamo in the remaining two games, to have any shot at the playoffs.
VHL Magazine 261
0.923%
13
It was only a few editions ago that I was knocking Niklaus Mikaelson for his start. He had a .893 save percentage at the time, and while I did say I expected him to improve, I also felt like he had zero chance at a Shaw Trophy. With that being said, shout out to Mr. Mikaelson, who now looks like he has the Shaw Trophy locked up. The veteran goaltender leads the league in wins, goals against average and save percentage. What might be most important is his .923 save percentage, which puts him five points up on anyone else. He has undoubtedly been the major reason New York has climbed to first place in the conference and there has even been some talk of potentially a Campbell Trophy. While that could end up being a stretch, New York is just happy to have the stability between the pipes once again.
The New York Americans and Calgary Wranglers have been battling it out all year for first place in the North American Conference. However, the Wrangler’s recent thirteen game win streak may have just sealed the division for them. The Wranglers rattled this streak off during a time where New York was forced to play their backup and it resulted in them being up three points. However, it is important to note that New York has a game in hand, so if Calgary slips up at all here it may be interesting to see if the Americans take advantage. When discussing his team falling to second, Christopher Miller had this to say: “I don’t think we are very worried. We know that we are better and with the lack of competitiveness in the North American Conference, these two teams will get to face off regardless.” Their GM does make a good point in that, either way, these two teams will very likely play each other to get to the Continental Cup Finals. Ever since trading away Bruno Wolf and Tyson Stokes, the Meute have gone 5-8-3, with only one of those wins being against a playoff team (Davos).
Kesler Unfiltered
By brovy
UP
The rookie race this season sure is a good one. A lot of talk about the S45 draft took place before it happened. Now, almost a season later, it is clear that it was a good one. The huge inf lux of players who made it straight from the VHLM to the VHL from the S45 draft has made this rookie race exciting. Max Molholt, an undrafted winger for the Toronto Legion, is having an amazing rookie campaign. He is leading all rookies in scoring and is sixth in goals in the league, which puts him as a top candidate for the rookie of the year award. Another rookie up front who is having an excellent season is Aleksi Koponen. Koponen, like Molholt, was undrafted and is also having a stellar rookie season. Koponen finds himself six points back of Molholt with seventy-nine. Koponen seems to be quite the setup man, as he is sixth in assists in the league with
fifty eight. These two forwards may be impressing as young talents, but the most impressive is Greg Clegane. Going from a VHLM starter to a VHL elite starter is a very tough job. Greg has handled it very well, his 0.919 save percentage is good enough for second in the league. He is leading the league in goals against average at 2.11. Clegane has a great shot at winning the rookie of the year and also has an excellent shot at winning the Shaw Trophy. DOWN
What is it with teams going up and down this season? The Cologne Express were on the up and up, then were down in the dumps and now they’re doing well again. The Dynamo were down, then up and are now finding themselves in a very bad spot. The Dynamo were on an excellent tear through the VHL just a little while ago. Since then, in
VHL Magazine 261
their last ten games, they have only won two games, with the rest being losses. Before their most recent win, they dropped seven games in a row, which is their worst stretch of games all season long. One positive for the Dynamo is that they have made sure to have played all their backup goalie games by now. The team that they are battling the third place spot for, the Cologne Express, have not played their backup goalie at all this season. As the season is winding down they will need to get their backup goalie some playing time and this may cost the Express their slight lead and playoff spot. UP
The number one and two scorers in the league, Thomas O’Malley and Bismarck Koenig. Both of these guys, since the season has started, have been right around the top of the league
leading scoring race. Something very similar about these players is that last off-season both of them left the team they played S44 on and found new teams for S45. They also just happened to be teammates in S44, on the Cologne Express. They were even line mates for that season. Thomas O’Malley was traded from the team that drafted him, the Cologne Express, to the Titans, which gave the Express a perfect package to rebuild off of. Bismarck Koenig decided to part ways with the Express, leaving via free agency and heading to the team fresh off of a Continental Cup, the Calgary Wranglers. O’Malley is leading the league in points with one hundred and four. He sits in third for assists and fourth for goals. Koenig is sitting at exactly one hundred points, is only one goal behind the league leading fortysix and he sits in seventh for assists.
Hometown Heroes By Mike
AKS EL TH O M A SS E N
Aksel Thomassen is a true leader in the VHL, inspiring not only his teammates, but those in their driveways hoping to one day be him. He is the first to arrive in the morning and the last to leave at the end of the night. Not only is he just an all-around good guy, he is also a great hockey player. You can’t just become an Aksel Thomassen, you are either born as one or you aren’t. Born in the depths of Denmark, he summons his Viking heritage to rape and pillage opposing defenses. Not so much with brute physical force,
but with the skill and cunning of Loki the Norse God. From humble beginnings in Copenhagen, his father, Niklas, shaped him into a fine young man. Tragedy struck when his father passed, nearly causing him to abandon the game forever. The love of the sport and the memory of his father as a youth brought him back. The Moscow Red Wolves claimed him off waivers to kick the tires a bit and see what Thomassen had to offer. It didn’t take long for the rust to clear, because in his brief stay with
VHL Magazine 261 Moscow, Aksel recorded 93 points. Of those 93 points, 72 were assists. Aksel was a true playmaker on the rise if there ever was one. The Ottawa Lynx quickly made him the first overall pick in the Season 39 VHLM Draft. He didn’t disappoint, improving on his previous season with 120 points. The sign of a true champion is overcoming adversity and being consistently good over an extended period of time. His past didn’t deter his life, it helped create him into the man he was meant to be. Some regress or fail due to these challenges, but Aksel embraced them. The success didn’t end in the VHLM, because as recently as June 2015, Thomassen was named the third best player in the VHL. It wasn’t even a close third, as he received nearly 60% of the votes. Five percent of the fans and peers saw him as the best player in the league. Now in his 7th season in the VHL, his career is starting to wind down. However, that doesn’t mean he has
turned into an aging veteran that fans just remember fondly. Instead, Aksel is leading the Riga Reign this season with 84 points through 65 games. His playmaking preferred style has transitioned into more of a sniping goal scorer. Half of his points (42) are goals this season, which accounts for more than 20% of all of Riga goals. This is why Aksel Thomassen is this week’s Hometown Hero. An assistant captain for the Riga Reign, Aksel transcends being just a great VHL player. He is a role model others aspire to be and brings good wholesome morals instilled from his youth. He works hard, takes pride in his work and helps those around become not just a better hockey player, but a better person. That is probably why being a playmaker has come natural for him, since he helps the team win without caring for the personal glory. We hate to think that his career might be almost over and we will all miss when he is gone.
VHL Magazine 261
Victory Three LAS T C A L L F O R BOARDI N G
With four games remaining the Cologne Express will need a miracle to still make the playoffs. As the fourth seeded team in the European conference, they are seven and eight points behind the second and third team; one more victory for them or one more loss for Cologne and it is all over for the team. The Express showed an aggressive management style this year, trying to make the playoffs when everyone expected them to go a full rebuild route. This made the conference a battlefield throughout the entire season and gave the regular season a much needed spark compared to how fast the North American conference was settled in terms of playoff and non-playoff teams. Cologne made a nice run and tried giving Brock Waldron a proper goodbye from professional hockey, they fought like lions, but it seems the playoff train is leaving without them this season. DON’T PA N IC
For the people that have paid attention, this message will probably be a week late, but the VHL Magazine as you are reading it now has gone through a make-over. STZ has stepped down from publishing and the job is being taken over by Molholt. So, don’t panic, it is still the good old VHL Magazine. Next to a different design (after all, each publisher brings his own style) we also would like to welcome Ahma (who will be writing Rookie Watch) and StevenStamkos91 (who will be writing Insider Trading). Do you also
By Green
want to be part of this magazine? Make sure you head over to the job interview section, as there is still an open position to be filled. S O LONG AND T HANKS F OR AL L T HE F I S H
For the past years I have worked for a company where I had time to enjoy and work on sim leagues during my worktimes. However the pay wasn’t that good and I worked from the other side off the country, away from my co-workers. I basically did what I was paid for (and it wasn’t much). After I got asked to apply at a bigger company I was a bit hesitant as I don’t like change at all, had a stable contract and a family to take care off. I decided to apply anyway and they offered me a job. With it being a bigger company I take their rules more serious than I did with my current one (co-workers are playing games during work as well) and one of the rules is no internet for private usage. Since that would mean I would need to do all my sim stuff from home, I decided to step down from many roles in the leagues I was in. In some leagues I won’t even recreate as it stands now. Due to the change I have decided to step down as magazine writer. I want to thank all of you readers for putting up with my articles, STZ and Molholt for their editing work and continued efforts for the magazine and the writing staff for giving us a reliable magazine to release week after week. This is not a goodbye from the VHL, but merely a new start on a lower activity scale.
Which team will be joining Stockholm on the golf course?
77.8%
22.2%
Cologne
Power Poll There are just a few games left in the regular season for the VHL teams and everything seems just about set for the playoffs. Except for the European conference of course. The European conference has lived up to the hype that was built up in the offseason when everyone saw that each of the five teams would be icing a competitive team that could win just about every game against any other team in the conference.
Davos
By Toast
After many games being played out though, Stockholm decided to get some value for pieces that they had as they were falling behind. This saw them fall to last and now they are officially eliminated from playoff contention. With the Helsinki Titans clinching the division just a few games ago, there is just one last question to go: who is going to miss the playoffs with Stockholm?
VHL Magazine 261
“Cologne. With COL G still needing to play 8 games, I think staying ahead of Davos is a long shot.” - Draper
This seemed like the perfect question for this week’s VHL Magazine Power Poll. The members were asked which team they thought would be joining the Vikings out on the golf course during the offseason, and the results were pretty even. Riga received zero votes, having a decent lead with most of their forced backup games done with already, which leaves us with just two teams left. With just around 20 percent of the vote, three voters cast a vote for Davos being the team that falls out of the playoffs. Davos has been a team that has replicated a roller coaster ride, experiencing all the highs and lows from losing key players in the offseason, harsh losing streaks to a win streak
that will see them surge. They now see themselves in the third place position, and have a chance at even overtaking Riga for the home team advantage for the playoffs. Will Davos be able to hold on going into the last few games? Seven of the voters in this week’s poll seem to believe that will be the case. With just over 80 percent of the vote, many believe that the Express just will not be able to crack into the top 3 again. The team still has to have their eight mandatory back up starts which will possibly cost them a few key wins, and with how Davos has been playing recently it seems that the team will have to have the hockey gods smiling down on them if they even want a shot at making it into the playoffs.
“Davos, because Ahma will be sad.” - eaglesfan036
Transaction Central By StevenStamkos91
POS SIB L E NA F R E E AGE N T S
Calgary Wranglers: 2 The Wranglers boast a pretty solid roster heading into the playoffs, which is tops in the North American Conference. As of today, there are 2 players who are without contracts heading into the offseason. Those players are Hudson Backenbauer and Bismarck Koenig. However, Koenig has been offered a contract extension, which we can assume he will accept. That leaves them with only Backenbauer leaving in the offseason. Hudson was acquired from the Toronto Legion for
a S47 Calgary 3rd Round draft pick. So far this season, Hudson has 10 goals and has assisted on 14 others for 24 points, but is pointless in 12 games with Calgary. It is almost safe to say Calgary will let him walk. The team is also losing Jake Wylde to forced retirement, as he is in his 8th season, so they will need a defenseman to replace him. Total Contracts S45: $31,875,000 Total Projected Contracts S46: $24,000,000 ($8 million cap space)
VHL Magazine 261
New York Americans: 4 New York is going into the offseason with 4 possible free agents. Three of them are coming off of entry level contracts and all 4 players have not been offered contracts. The biggest name is Tyson Stokes, who came along with Bruno Wolf from Quebec. Stokes, so far, has scored 23 goals and assisted on 40 for 53 points, 44 of which came while being on the Quebec City team. The Americans seem to be headed toward a major rebuild, as they also have 3 players retiring, including start goalie Niklaus Mikaelson and star forward Bruno Wolf, who will be forced to retire after 8 seasons. Benjamin Dupont has called it quits, effective after this season to focus on his personal life. His former player agent has brought in a goalie, Atticus von Braxton IV, to replace Mikaelson. The 4 players coming off of entry level deals are E’Twaun Delicious, Jorma Ruutu, Golden Jedtsson and Chuck Goody. Ruutu is leading this foursome in points with 71 in 62 games, followed by Delicious with 68, defenseman Jedtsson with 55 and finally Goody, bringing up the rear with 21 points. Total Contacts S45: $29,850,000 Total Projected Contracts S46: $9,750,000 ($22.25 million cap space)
Quebec City Meute: 6 Quebec is in the same boat as the Americans with 6 possible free agents. However, unlike the Americans, they are in full rebuild mode. Most of these players are just warm bodies to fill the roster and get to the cap f loor. These players are doing pretty good though and are making a case to be re-signed in the offseason. Mario De Rossi, Andrew Erikson, Lucas Nykvist, King Czar III, Danny Schneider and Jed Mosley will be leaving. De Rossi is leading the free agent bunch with 58 points in 62 games, including a team high 31 goals. Erikson has scored 21 goals and assisted on 35 for 56 points. Nykvist was signed late and is at 32 points in 45 games, while Schneider has only 10 points in 45. De Rossi, Erikson and Nykvist should be reconsidered for contracts next year, as they are making the best out of a bad situation. Jed Mosley doesn’t have his 500K salary count against the bunch, but should be on his way out none the less. Total Contracts S45: $25,125,000 Total Projected Contracts S46: $6,500,000 ($25.5 million cap space)
Seattle Bears: 5 Seattle has about 5 free agents, but 1 will be forced to retire, as this is his 8th season in the VHL. The biggest free agent is Jakub Rhinehart. He has 44 goals and 39 assists for 83 points in 64 games. He currently has a notrade clause to go with a cap hit of 2.5 million. The other players who are set to become free agents are just roster fillers who are here because Seattle is in a rebuild. Dirk Firkley, Larry Esposito and Steve Tremblay all carry cap hits of 7 million, while AIM11 comes in at 2.5 million. AIM-11 is the only one worth a mention, as he has 22 goals and 54 assists for 76 points. The other 3 have combined for 73 points. Total Contracts S45: $26,000,000 Total Projected Contracts S46: $9,000,000 ($23 million cap space)
Toronto Legion: 5 Much like the rest of the North American Conference, Toronto is in a rebuild and has 5 free agents going into the offseason. Most notably, Max Molholt, who is making 4 million this year. He has scored 44 goals and assisted on 45 others for 89 points in just 64 games. Alistar Graves, Joseph Roy III, Zachary Young and David Blind are the other free agents. Blind, however, will retire at seasons end. Roy III has 27 goals and 44 assists for 71 points. He may warrant a new contract as he has great chemistry with Molholt. Total Contracts S45: $24,700,000 Total Projected Contracts S46: $2,000,000 ($30 million cap space)
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Top North American Free Agents: CE N T E R BI S M ARK KOE NI G CE NT E R T YS ON S TOKE S RI GHT W I NG E ’T WAUN DE L I CI OUS L E F T W I N G JORM A RUUT U DE FE N S E MAN GOL DE N J E DT S S ON RI G H T W I N G JAK UB RHI NE HART RI G H T W I N G MAX M OL HOLT
The Beat By CowboyinAmerica
PERF EC TIN G A N E W P L AN
HC Davos Dynamo is a team of dichotomies. The team was expected to be fighting for a championship, but it might not even make the playoffs. The Dynamo have been knocked out in the first round each of the past two years, but with the team’s combination of depth and experience, it might even be a favorite should it make the playoffs. Faraday and Richardson outpace everyone else in TPE; Sundberg and McJustice are the team’s leading scorers. And then there’s this – starting on Day 101 with a 4-0 loss to the Riga Reign, the Dynamo lost seven straight games
against five different teams (including Quebec City). At the time of the final loss, Davos was out of the playoffs, having been passed by Cologne. Since that time, though, we’ve seen a new team, as the Dynamo have won six straight as of this writing, and have the chance to take more with games against the Express and Legion upcoming. Which Davos is the real Davos, and what do the recent streaks say about the Dynamo’s playoff chances? We decided to take a close look at three games that may be indicative of the team’s chances come playoff time.
VHL Magazine 261 DAY 10 9 – H EL SI N K I 4, DAVO S 0
DAY 1 1 4 – DAVOS 2 , RI GA 0
During the losing streak, the Titans destroyed the Dynamo 8-2. Of course, that game was a major setback, but those types of blowouts will happen every once in a while. For me, however, the game that would worry me more as a Dynamo fan is the 4-0 loss that happened at the very end of the losing streak. One of the major issues for the Dynamo so far this season has been first line scoring; having Faraday and Harumpf – two-thirds of the team’s top line, mind you – with 47 goals combined is not a good look, regardless of what McJustice does. If McJustice and/or Sundberg don’t go off in a game, there might not necessarily be enough scoring to back them up. That’s precisely what happened in this game: Sundberg got just one shot against the tough Titans defense, McJustice got two, and the rest of the team couldn’t find a way to back them up. If the Dynamo are to take down the Titans in a hypothetical European Conference finals, those ancillary players will need to step up their game.
On the f lip side of that coin, though, is the way I think the Dynamo could win it all: surprisingly strong goaltending. Given his TPE, I’m still of the opinion that Callum Sinclair is a breakout star waiting to happen; his current .909 save percentage doesn’t do him justice. These are the types of games that give me that hope. With the tough Dynamo defense holding the Reign to just 24 shots, the offense was able to do just enough to eke out a two goal victory. The goals all came from the second line, which is not particularly a surprise so far this season. However, the fact that one of the goals came from the power play does intrigue me. At just 596 penalty minutes on the season, the Dynamo have fewer total penalty minutes allowed than either Riga (686) or Helsinki (697). That’s great if Davos can score as they did here; it’s not if the team maintains its thirdworst 13% PP rate into the playoffs.
DAY 10 5 – C A LG ARY 3, DAVO S 2
Strangely enough though, I think the game that points most towards the Dynamo’s projected gameplan in the playoffs may be a game that they lost. The Dynamo don’t really have the firepower to keep up with the highf lying Titans or the slightly-lower-f lying Reign (assuming those are the other two playoff teams). Instead, the Dynamo will be looking to keep the game close, keep penalty minutes and easy opposing scoring opportunities low, and eke out some goals from the top scorers.
That’s exactly what Davos did here – the Dynamo were down just one goal and had a shot advantage entering the third period, only had six penalty minutes and yielded no power play goals, and Sundberg and McJustice had one goal a piece. Ultimately, the Dynamo couldn’t pull it off – an 11 to 5 shot differential in the third period will do that – but I think the Dynamo will win more of these types of games than they lose. All they have to do now is actually get to the playoffs to apply the strategy.