Expansion Era (S31-S47) IIHF VHL Rankings: Part 1 [1/2]

[Corco 1,124]

Expansion Era Official IIHF VHL Rankings

All of the countries in the world that had VHL and/or VHLM representation from S31-S47

 

This is a side project of my first IIHF VHL Rankings, found here, in case you haven't seen those. I did the same thing I did for those rankings here, however in these rankings I only included players of the expansion era, excluding players currently playing and players who are retired, but younger than S47. I'll be doing this ranking in three parts though (gotta stretch this media spot out as many weeks as possible), and this is Part 1, which is ranking the countries by the total number of players they produced from S31-S47.

 

 

1st.  Canada  

143 Players (26.1%)

Spoiler

(S31) C - Kameron Taylor, TPE: 1,303 (HOF)
(S31) C - Steven Stamkos, TPE: 358
(S31) D - Lucas Smith, TPE: 172
(S31) D - Malcom Spud, TPE: 704
(S31) G - Jordan Hall, TPE: 0
(S31) G - Skylar Rift, TPE: 830
(S31) LW - Captain Bacon, TPE: 14
(S31) RW - Bossman Johnson, TPE: 0
(S31) RW - Zach Cuff, TPE: 362
(S32) C - Ugot Change, TPE: 0
(S32) D - James Lefevre, TPE: 653
(S32) D - Matt Rielly, TPE: 100
(S32) D - Moe Mills, TPE: 61
(S32) D - Xavier Troup, TPE: 30
(S32) LW - Chico Salmon, TPE: 598
(S32) RW - Jamie Shetler, TPE: 295
(S32) RW - Marcus Figgarowta-Nahimal, TPE: 251
(S32) RW - Scott Riley, TPE; 28
(S33) C - Adam Kylrad, TPE: 339
(S33) C - Justt McCauley, TPE: 0
(S33) C - Wesley Kellinger, TPE: 903
(S33) D - Chad Werek, TPE: 0
(S33) D - Dan Tremblay, TPE: 244
(S33) D - Hashtag Manning Jr., TPE: 0
(S33) D - Willie Weber, TPE: 548
(S33) G - TotallyNotA Bear, TPE: 22
(S33) G - Zach Fucale, TPE: 112
(S33) LW - Dan Jones Jr., TPE: 19
(S33) LW - Shadhu Rathod, TPE: 60
(S34) C - Kevin Despaties, TPE: 13
(S34) D - Doug Clifford, TPE: 551
(S34) D - Nick Becker, TPE: 8
(S34) D - Shane Baker, TPE: 494
(S34) D - Simon Tremblay, TPE: 311
(S34) G - Connor Elliot, TPE: 0
(S34) G - Steven Smyl, TPE: 744
(S34) LW - Boone Cassidy, TPE: 135
(S34) RW - Aelred Leskowsky, TPE: 101
(S34) RW - Jaden Button, TPE: 36
(S35) C - Frédérik Ernst, TPE: 135
(S35) C - Naomi Young, TPE: 1,013
(S35) D - Tyler Owens, TPE: 180
(S35) RW - Carter Deaton, TPE: 66
(S36) C - Damon Tyrael, TPE: 774
(S36) G - Brick Wahl, TPE: 963 (HOF)
(S36) G - Mike Szatkowski Jr, TPE: 875
(S36) LW - Andrew Jackson Jihad, TPE: 0
(S36) LW - Luke Riggs, TPE: 150
(S37) C - Bennett Wahl, TPE: 632
(S37) C - Lars Strummer, TPE: 234
(S37) D - Logan Laich, TPE: 750
(S37) G - Blaine Olynick, TPE: 543
(S37) LW - Dexter Jonty, TPE: 0    
(S37) LW - Maxwell Dorian, TPE: 1
(S37) LW - Mike Lien, TPE: 0
(S37) LW - Rick Ross, TPE: 0
(S38) C - Don Draper, TPE: 1,011
(S38) C - Forrest Josef, TPE: 0
(S38) D - Pierre-Luc Tanguay, TPE: 10
(S38) LW - Cameron Greening, TPE: 11    
(S38) LW - Joseph Baker, TPE: 8
(S38) LW - Josh Bennett, TPE: 11
(S38) LW - Steve Tremblay, TPE: 259
(S38) LW - Walt Pringle, TPE: 46
(S38) RW - Aaron Hartley, TPE: 34
(S38) RW - Noah Jackson, TPE: 0
(S39) C - John Heffley, TPE: 0    
(S39) C - Kayl Kuzie, TPE: 78
(S39) C - Leo Dalton, TPE: 21
(S39) D - Jordan Cousins, TPE: 15
(S39) D - Lights Bokan, TPE: 69
(S39) G - Mark Sanders, TPE: 0
(S39) LW - Braxton Hunter, TPE: 27
(S39) LW - Dylan Raseri, TPE: 19
(S39) RW - Daniel Acker, TPE: 0
(S39) RW - Jackson Miller, TPE: 825
(S39) RW - Jarome Iginla, TPE: 264
(S39) RW - Matt Gilbert, TPE: 0
(S40) C - Alecs van der Merder, TPE: 79
(S40) C - Griffin Simons, TPE: 307
(S40) C - Tanner Tavares, TPE: 0
(S40) C - Tyler Cote, TPE: 768
(S40) D - Jaime Hill, TPE: 503
(S40) D - Joshua Rubin, TPE: 400
(S40) LW - Bo Reinhart, TPE: 0
(S40) LW - Da'Brickashaw O'Neal Jr., TPE: 29
(S40) LW - Jacques Grande, TPE: 59
(S40) LW - Marcus Hurley, TPE: 547
(S40) LW - Matt Giacomello, TPE: 0
(S40) LW - Tie Probert, TPE: 0
(S40) RW - Alexander Adams, TPE: 12
(S40) RW - Cody Nichushkin, TPE: 0
(S40) RW - Eti Yoman, TPE: 0
(S40) RW - Lloyd Light, TPE: 981
(S40) RW - Ryan Cattrall, TPE: 346
(S40) RW - Sachimo Zoidberg, TPE: 745
(S40) RW - Shadhu Rathod Jr., TPE: 679
(S41) C - Blake Benson, TPE: 0
(S41) C - Gifford Shock, TPE: 477
(S41) C - Nicolas Caprivi, TPE: 659
(S41) D - P.K. Subban, TPE: 0
(S41) RW - Brady Stropko, TPE: 657
(S41) RW - Gilbert Allaire, TPE: 0
(S42) C - Sam Teibert, TPE: 159
(S42) D - Joseph Roy III, TPE: 333
(S42) D - Ken Anderson, TPE: 91
(S42) G - Jax Barnstormer, TPE: 307
(S42) RW - Vogon Jeltz, TPE: 318
(S43) C - Bronson Faux, TPE: 761
(S43) C - Grady Simons, TPE: 19
(S43) D - Francis York Morgan, TPE: 623
(S43) D - Pablo Escabar, TPE: 430
(S43) LW - Dan Humphrey, TPE: 11
(S43) RW - Doug Glatt, TPE: 12
(S44) C - Alexander Davidson, TPE: 147
(S44) C - Oliver Cleary, TPE: 13
(S44) LW - Marcel Faux, TPE: 716
(S44) RW - Ash Stevens, TPE: 6
(S44) RW - R Truth, TPE: 105
(S45) C - Bobby Boucher, TPE: 85
(S45) D - Bubba Nuck, TPE: 377
(S45) D - Maxime Wright, TPE: 67
(S45) LW - Matt Johnson, TPE: 41
(S45) RW - Ethan Henderson, TPE: 63
(S45) RW - Matty Gatsby, TPE: 12    
(S46) C - Aidan Rozel, TPE: 0
(S46) C - Jonathan Killeen, TPE: 97
(S46) C - Kol Mikaelson, TPE: 82
(S46) C - Mathieu Baptiste, TPE: 101
(S46) D - Benjamin Tumack, TPE: 126
(S46) D - Jon Panik, TPE: 144
(S46) D - Pierre-Luc Lefrançois, TPE: 0
(S46) G - Chris Fekete, TPE: 22
(S46) LW - Zach Parechkin, TPE: 1,083
(S46) RW - Freddy Schultz, TPE: 0
(S46) RW - Saul Hackett, TPE: 174
(S47) D - Sam Weaver, TPE: 54
(S47) G - Atticus Von Braxton IV, TPE: 516
(S47) G - Joseph Peltier, TPE: 0
(S47) LW - Tom Lincoln, TPE: 1,004
(S47) LW - Vincent Virtanen, TPE: 515
(S47) RW - John Sleeman, TPE: 647
(S47) RW - Surly McGrath, TPE: 30

Just like in the last/current rankings, this is no surprise. Canada is synonymous with hockey and has historically been the largest producer of hockey talent. Canada has produced so many VHLers from S31-S47 that of all the players who played in that time, 1 in 4 was from Canada. The country produced various Hall of Famers in this time, such as Brick Wahl, Kameron Taylor, and Zach Parechkin.

 

2nd.  USA 

130 Players (23.8%)

Spoiler

(S31) C - Rehn Miller, TPE: 52
(S31) D - Chris Serpe, TPE: 0
(S31) D - Dale Kent, TPE: 53
(S31) D - Oliver Closoff, TPE: 1
(S31) G - David Poulin, TPE: 222
(S31) LW - Reggie Dunlop, TPE: 537
(S32) C - Dwayne Chocolate, TPE: 36
(S32) C - Tobias Funke, TPE: 49
(S32) C - Zack Sound, TPE: 604
(S32) D - Bodie Broadus, TPE: 80
(S32) D - Damien Sandow, TPE: 276
(S32) D - Jack Sound, TPE: 635
(S32) D - Jacob Peterson, TPE: 22
(S32) D - Jason Waterfalls, TPE: 0
(S32) D - John Langabeer, TPE: 18
(S32) D - Roland Brice, TPE: 24
(S32) LW - Cassius Dooley, TPE: 36
(S32) RW - Cody Inko, TPE: 428
(S33) D - Cap Walters, TPE: 0
(S33) LW - Rick Roll, TPE: 45
(S33) LW - Riley Stevens, TPE: 201
(S33) RW - Sebastian Ball Jr., TPE: 779
(S33) RW - Thomas Landry, TPE: 794
(S34) C - Davey Jones, TPE: 684
(S34) D - Gabrial Johnson, TPE: 129
(S34) G - Atticus Von Braxton, TPE: 0
(S34) LW - James Ryan, TPE: 28
(S34) LW - Mikey Blade, TPE: 692
(S34) RW - Anderson Pooper, TPE: 0
(S35) C - Cam Rivers, TPE: 10
(S35) D - Nas Price, TPE: 52
(S35) G - Lennox Moher, TPE: 812
(S35) LW - Conner Low, TPE: 1,166 (HOF)
(S35) LW - Earl Parker, TPE: 112
(S36) C - Robin Gow, TPE: 924
(S36) D - Herman Mudgett, TPE: 34
(S36) D - Kyrie Knight, TPE: 86
(S36) D - Triton Jackson, TPE: 144
(S36) LW - Gordon Bombay, TPE: 47
(S36) RW - Robert Gow III, TPE: 802
(S37) C - John Otter, TPE: 0
(S37) C - Tom Slaughter, TPE: 1,326 (HOF)
(S37) D - David Hall, TPE: 0
(S37) D - Jack Ryan, TPE: 135    
(S37) D - Penis Anthony Hudson, TPE: 156
(S37) G - LeBron King Gonzalez, TPE: 0
(S37) LW - Dexter Morgan, TPE: 230
(S37) LW - Matthew Jay Banks, TPE: 0
(S37) RW - Azmet Ali, TPE: 383
(S37) RW - Jack Griffith, TPE: 0
(S38) C - Seth Rollins, TPE: 50
(S38) D - Chris Raymond, TPE: 403
(S38) D - Jake Wylde, TPE: 1,116 (HOF)
(S38) G - Brock Waldron, TPE: 762
(S38) LW - Alex Vaklav, TPE: 0
(S38) LW - Rocky West, TPE: 0
(S38) RW - Andrew Sorensen, TPE: 0
(S38) RW - Ashton Galbraith, TPE: 122
(S38) RW - Bruno Wolf, TPE: 1,165 (HOF)
(S38) RW - David Sharp, TPE: 0
(S39) C - Tyson Stokes, TPE: 630
(S39) D - Mikkel Boomgaarden, TPE: 180
(S39) G - Jose Canseco, TPE: 78
(S39) LW - James Faraday, TPE: 1,020
(S39) LW - Tyrone Williams, TPE: 411
(S39) RW - Dan Cooper, TPE: 9
(S39) RW - Sam Keeler, TPE: 215
(S40) C - Thomas O'Malley, TPE: 1,287
(S40) D - Brock Weathers, TPE: 14
(S40) D - Danny Schneider, TPE: 154
(S40) D - Mason Richardson, TPE: 1,307
(S40) D - Mike Jones, TPE: 0
(S40) D - Wesley Matthews, TPE: 377
(S40) LW - Chase White, TPE: 0    
(S40) LW - Emidas Blair, TPE: 49
(S40) LW - Jerrick Poole, TPE: 801
(S40) RW - Bobby Ricky, TPE: 111
(S40) RW - Edgar Balthazar, TPE: 40
(S40) RW - Joey Saffron, TPE: 0
(S41) D - Brandon Holmes, TPE: 268
(S41) D - Jack Harkness, TPE: 51
(S41) D - Jakob Ackerman, TPE: 438
(S41) D - Zach Voss, TPE: 0
(S41) G - Coca Cola, TPE: 172
(S41) G - Niklaus Mikaelson, TPE: 799
(S41) LW - Antoine McColister, TPE: 7
(S41) LW - Jesus Christ, TPE: 0
(S41) RW - Jack Kowalski, TPE: 572    
(S41) RW - Kyle Kingma, TPE: 185
(S42) C - A.C. Savage, TPE: 385
(S42) C - Jacob Winters, TPE: 0
(S42) C - Joe Moore, TPE: 0
(S42) D - Patrick Demko, TPE: 300
(S42) G - Blake Campbell, TPE: 595
(S42) G - Callum Sinclair, TPE: 744
(S42) LW - Freedom McJustice, TPE: 947
(S42) LW - Hashtag Jeffership, TPE: 8
(S42) RW - Alex DeLarge, TPE: 12
(S42) RW - Mac MacInnis, TPE: 74
(S42) RW - Scott Kibbie, TPE: 0
(S43) C - John Moretta, TPE: 0
(S43) C - Screw Mark, TPE: 0
(S43) D - Chuck Goody, TPE: 253
(S43) D - Franklin Romanowski, TPE: 66
(S43) D - Jed Mosley, TPE: 23
(S43) D - Marlon Duke, TPE: 0
(S43) D - Michael Clardy, TPE: 292
(S43) LW - Josh Merica, TPE: 107
(S43) LW - Josiah Parks, TPE: 13
(S43) RW - Larry Esposito, TPE: 0
(S43) RW - Ryan Carlson, TPE: 15
(S44) C - Jefferson Jackson, TPE: 67
(S44) D - Archie Wagner, TPE: 69
(S44) D - Supa Hot Fire, TPE: 61
(S44) D - Xavier Kirkland, TPE: 8
(S44) G - Lenny Face, TPE: 65
(S44) LW - Kyle Keenan, TPE: 0
(S45) D - Benjamin Bellamont, TPE: 0
(S45) D - Tanner Hynes, TPE: 66
(S45) G - Ryan Price, TPE: 156
(S45) RW - Jace Hines, TPE: 274    
(S45) RW - Lucas Galeano, TPE: 51
(S46) D - Zach Voss, TPE: 66
(S46) G - Cooper Supernaw, TPE: 59
(S46) LW - Jordan Maverick, TPE: 377
(S46) RW - Brandon Lapham Jr., TPE: 0    
(S46) RW - Pete Stockton, TPE: 272
(S47) C - Sir William Covington III, TPE: 769
(S47) C - Vincent Adultman, TPE: 253
(S47) RW - Kasey Morgan, TPE: 34

Another not so big surprise here, as the United States appears to be the little brother to Canada's hockey monopoly, always trying to claw and reach for that #1 spot, but not being able to reach it. The U.S. had only 13 less players than Canada during this era, although Canada arguably had a larger number of quality players; the U.S. has nothing to complain about though, given that they have been graced by players such as Conner Low, Tom Slaughter, and Jake Wylde.

 

3rd.  Germany 

30 Players (5.5%)

Spoiler

(S31) D - Till Lindemann, TPE: 443
(S32) D - Mattis Trumbauer, TPE: 361
(S32) G - Dizzy Dean, TPE: 18
(S33) C - Chris McZehrl, TPE: 91
(S33) LW - Darius Fisher, TPE: 32
(S33) RW - David Collier, TPE: 684
(S34) C - Daniel Kreutzer, TPE: 25
(S35) D - Tony Stark, TPE: 400
(S36) LW - Molson Keith, TPE: 0
(S37) D - Ron World Peace, TPE: 587
(S38) C - Peter Keller, TPE: 0
(S38) RW - MF Percy Miller, TPE: 206
(S38) RW - Mirko Draisatl, TPE: 8
(S39) RW - Mike McGrattan, TPE: 72
(S40) C - Marcus Eisenhower, TPE: 31
(S40) LW - Christoph Klose, TPE: 840
(S40) RW - Alistar Graves, TPE: 210
(S41) C - Til Baumann, TPE: 77
(S41) RW - Dirk Firkley, TPE: 202
(S41) RW - Jakub Rhinehart, TPE: 392
(S41) RW - Markus Muller, TPE: 84
(S42) C - George Patton, TPE: 224    
(S42) C - Severin von Karma, TPE: 869
(S42) LW - Marcio Greusinho, TPE: 41
(S42) LW - Wolfgang Strauss, TPE: 595
(S45) D - Geoff Reid, TPE: 27
(S46) D - Daryn Petersenn, TPE: 0
(S46) D - World B. Free, TPE: 626
(S46) G - Carson Shmyr, TPE: 0
(S46) RW - Shawn Muller, TPE: 893

Germany comes in third, but this is the beginning of a huge drop-off in enrollment. The Germans are a whole hundred players behind the 2nd place United States. Germany saw a burst of enrollment with the expansion Cologne Express joining the VHL, which played a factor in the careers of German VHL stars such as David Collier, Ron World Peace, and Christoph Klose.

 

4th.  Sweden 

29 Players (5.3%)

Spoiler

(S32) C - Christian Thorstrom, TPE: 44
(S32) D - Jesper Hellqvist, TPE: 222
(S32) D - Niklas Valiq, TPE: 831
(S33) C - Niklas Lindberg, TPE: 1,125 (HOF)
(S33) C - Tomas Valiq, TPE: 525
(S33) D - Razzle Dazzle, TPE: 71
(S33) LW - Alexander-Sven Lakatos, TPE: 30
(S33) LW - Mikael Eriksson, TPE: 25    
(S33) LW - Mikael Lindberg, TPE: 0
(S36) LW - Henrik Hedman, TPE: 13
(S36) LW - Johan Hallstrom, TPE: 387
(S37) C - Mikael Svensson, TPE: 72
(S37) D - Jakob Linholm, TPE: 252
(S37) LW - Fredrik Andersson, TPE: 0
(S38) RW - Kristoffer Ruud, TPE: 30    
(S39) C - Devin Sundberg, TPE: 750
(S39) D - Lukas Nykvist, TPE: 273
(S40) LW - Rami Jakobssen, TPE: 559
(S41) D - Borje Samuelsson, TPE: 231
(S41) D - Nicklas Karlsson, TPE: 454
(S42) LW - Joakim Videl, TPE: 30
(S43) D - Erik Hedman, TPE: 122
(S43) D - Golden Jedtsson, TPE: 404
(S45) D - Mikael Lagerkvist, TPE: 0
(S45) G - Filip Lundqvist, TPE: 19
(S46) C - Manhole Siegfried, TPE: 0
(S46) D - Alessandro Hedfors, TPE: 13
(S46) LW - Thomas Andersson, TPE: 24
(S46) RW - Jayden Fasth, TPE: 25

Throughout this era, Sweden has always had a VHL team, whether it be the Vasteras Iron Eagles or their relocated name, the Stockholm Vikings. For Team Sweden, this was a notable era, thanks to the Valiq trio (Niklas, Alexander, and Tomas) who were the best players for the country at the time.

 

5th.  United Kingdom 

28 Players (5.1%)

Spoiler

(S31) C - Mathieu Perrault, TPE: 0
(S31) RW - Haggard Slobban, TPE: 46
(S33) D - Edward Eldred, TPE: 170
(S34) G - Que Cumberbatch, TPE: 117
(S35) D - Matt Bentley, TPE: 1,221 (HOF)
(S35) LW - Brennan McQueen, TPE: 1,051 (HOF)
(S36) D - David Januzaj, TPE: 172
(S36) D - Phil Villeneuve, TPE: 801
(S36) G - Martin Brookside, TPE: 908
(S38) D - Ryan Barrett, TPE: 16
(S40) D - Ed Grr, TPE: 239
(S40) D - Kurtis Hunter, TPE: 791
(S40) LW - Superbman, TPE: 79
(S40) RW - Jarome Ritchie, TPE: 3
(S41) C - Charlie Conway, TPE: 0
(S41) D - Dyemond Fondalear, TPE: 0
(S42) D - Atticus Finch, TPE: 44
(S42) RW - Travis Willcox, TPE: 114
(S43) D - MC Hammer, TPE: 197
(S43) LW - Kewl Runnins, TPE: 22
(S43) G - Hans Wingate, TPE: 1,301
(S45) D - Michael Burch, TPE: 51
(S45) D - Phil Hamilton, TPE: 1,459
(S45) LW - Kane Hamilton, TPE: 14
(S46) C - Sean Blacker, TPE: 277
(S46) D - Jeff Hamilton, TPE: 1,037    
(S46) G - Craig Fernzy, TPE: 13
(S47) D - David Hamilton, TPE: 324

Team UK certainly had some big stars during this era, such as the two Hall-of-Famers Brennan McQueen and Matt Bentley. Following in their footsteps were other greats, such as Phil Hamilton, Martin Brookside, and Phil Villeneuve.

 

6th.  Finland 

26 Players (4.7%)

Spoiler

(S31) G - Tuomas Tukio, TPE: 1,400 (HOF)
(S31) RW - Teemu Lehtinen, TPE: 534
(S33) RW - Jarkko Olsen, TPE: 762
(S33) RW - Karsten Olsen, TPE: 843
(S34) D - Ville Sixten, TPE: 603
(S36) C - DuJuan Cook, TPE: 62
(S36) D - Sami Kravinen, TPE: 353
(S36) RW - Markku Mikkola, TPE: 16
(S37) G - Kimmo Salo, TPE: 407
(S37) G - Santeri Heikelä, TPE: 10
(S38) G - Matti Auvinen, TPE: 0
(S38) LW - Leo Tesla, TPE: 327
(S39) C - Hunter Backenbauer, TPE: 106
(S39) LW - Hudson Backenbauer, TPE: 99
(S39) RW - Heinrich Backenbauer, TPE: 0
(S40) C - Niklas Kurri, TPE: 465
(S40) RW - Mikko Koskinen, TPE: 70    
(S41) RW - Teuvo Ruutu, TPE: 417
(S43) LW - Jorma Ruutu, TPE: 876
(S44) D - Kerkko Hyvärinen, TPE: 422
(S44) RW - Simon Valmount, TPE: 612
(S45) C - Aleksi Koponen, TPE: 1,190
(S45) D - Marquis Hyvarinen, TPE: 373
(S45) G - Teuvo Rinne, TPE: 69
(S46) RW - Stumppell Aurinkoinen Jr., TPE: 0
(S47) C - Joel Järvi, TPE: 640

The Finns were grace with the presence of many stars during this era; the country seemed like a consistent elite VHL talent factory, pumping out players like Tuomas Tukio and Joel Jarvi at an absurd rate. Behind these superstars were steady and reliable role players, such as Karsten Olsen and Ville Sixten.

 

7th.  Russia 

18 Players (3.3%)

Spoiler

(S31) C - Sergey Brovalenko, TPE: 803
(S31) D - Nikita Lebedev, TPE: 596
(S32) G - Evgeni Chekhov, TPE: 675
(S32) LW - Aleksander Stepanov, TPE: 82
(S33) LW - Evgeny Namestnikov, TPE: 516
(S33) LW - Mikhail Mikhailovich, TPE: 200
(S34) D - Willie Kutyanutzov, TPE: 3
(S36) D - Andrey Zadorov, TPE: 646
(S36) RW - Tihon Kalstad, TPE: 0
(S37) C - Konstantin Azhishchenkov, TPE: 396
(S38) D - Krill Lokomotiv, TPE: 1
(S40) D - King Czar III, TPE: 332
(S40) D - Vladamir Komarov, TPE: 503
(S40) RW - Boris Belov, TPE: 35
(S41) LW - Valentin Taneyev, TPE: 166
(S43) C - Santi Piñeiro, TPE: 0
(S45) LW - Lucas Zhukenov, TPE: 245
(S47) RW - Mikhail Gribov, TPE: 60

While the Russians may not have had contributed any generational talents to the VHL in this time, they still had decent enrollment for a non USA/CAN team; their most notable players were Sergey Brovalenko and Evgeni Chekhov.

 

8th.  Latvia 

14 Players (2.6%)

Spoiler

(S34) D - Lauris Prikulis, TPE: 273
(S36) D - Kaspars Tsizling, TPE: 25
(S41) C - Girts Valdmanis, TPE: 0    
(S41) C - Raphael Pettyfer, TPE: 553
(S41) G - Kristers Daugavins, TPE: 32
(S41) G - Valts Pumpurs, TPE: 0
(S41) LW - Carl Sledgehammer, TPE: 21
(S41) LW - Maris Ziedins, TPE: 120
(S41) RW - Arthur Grosberg, TPE: 50
(S42) D - Artemis Fowll, TPE: 36
(S42) D - Cap'n Crunch, TPE: 51
(S42) G - Ivars Klajums, TPE: 96
(S42) LW - Benjamin Zeptenbergs, TPE: 526
(S42) RW - Barney Tuzis, TPE: 11

The Latvians may have had a lot of players during this time, but quantity doesn't always equal quantity, and it certainly doesn't in this case. Latvia really only had two significant players during this time, Raphael Pettyfer and Benjamin Zeptenbergs, the latter being a part of the Toronto Legion's historic 3-peat.

 

9th.  Ireland 

10 Players (1.8%)

Spoiler

(S36) C - Prizza Dringus, TPE: 33
(S36) G - Jimmity Kricket, TPE: 54
(S37) C - Kez Kincaid, TPE: 276
(S38) D - Spud Murphy, TPE: 26
(S40) LW - Chris MacAuley, TPE: 0
(S40) LW - Phillip McCracken, TPE: 0
(S42) G - Jim Moriarty, TPE: 10
(S45) G - Greg Clegane, TPE: 908
(S45) LW - Azor Ahai, TPE: 12
(S46) LW - Patrick Brumm, TPE: 11

Although their current influence on the VHL is nearly nonexistent (no players born in Ireland are currently in either the VHL or VHLM), the Irish certainly left their mark on this era, the most notable player being goaltender Greg Clegane, who was one of the better netminders of his era.

 

t-10th.  Denmark 

9 Players (1.6%)

Spoiler

(S37) LW - Marcus Bjorkstrand, TPE: 44    
(S39) C - Aksel Thomassen, TPE: 1,078 (HOF)
(S39) LW - Andrew Erikson, TPE: 313
(S40) C - Oskars Harumpf, TPE: 725
(S40) G - Gunnar Skovsgard, TPE: 168
(S44) LW - Jensen Svendsen, TPE: 0
(S45) RW - Max Mølholt, TPE: 1,042
(S46) C - Jory Rose, TPE: 260
(S46) RW - Niels Skovgaard, TPE: 629

Despite only having 9 players in the VHL for the post-expansion era, the Danes produced some high-quality players. Aksel Thomassen is the only one in the HOF from this era, but Max Mølholt and Oskars Harumpf weren't anything to scoff at either.

 

t-10th.  Italy 

9 Players (1.6%)

Spoiler

(S33) LW - Mario Corvia, TPE: 112
(S33) LW - Milan El Shaarawy, TPE: 1
(S34) RW - Matteo Gallo, TPE: 325
(S35) LW - Vincenzo Valentini, TPE: 107
(S40) G - Ikier Manushez, TPE: 63
(S41) RW - Mario De Rossi, TPE: 319
(S43) D - Dennis Saad, TPE: 0
(S44) G - Corey Marino, TPE: 0
(S44) RW - Giovanni Reuel, TPE: 236

Italy's biggest contribution to the VHL in those 16 seasons was Right-Winger Mario De Rossi's 6-goal game, aside from that there isn't much else. Matteo Gallo and Giovanni Reuel bounced around VHL teams as bottom-six wingers but that's about it.

 

t-11th.  France 

8 Players (1.5%)

Spoiler

(S31) G - Remy LeBeau, TPE: 1,301 (HOF)
(S34) C - Emma Watson, TPE: 0
(S41) LW - Saoul Commeunebotte, TPE: 1
(S43) RW - E'Twaun Delicious, TPE: 578
(S44) C - Maxime Perron, TPE: 245
(S44) D - Benjamin Dupont, TPE: 256
(S45) C - Maxime Deschamps, TPE: 201
(S46) D - LeAndre St. Pierre, TPE: 489

Like Ireland, France has seen it's VHL presence wane in the current seasons (no French-born VHL players are currently playing), but post-expansion, most of the players they produced ended up being moderately skilled at the very least. Their big one was HOFer Remy LeBeau, who brought back home a large amount of hardware.

 

t-11th.  The Netherlands 

8 Players (1.5%)

Spoiler

(S34) LW - Willem Janssen, TPE: 968
(S36) RW - Franz Monster, TPE: 44    
(S39) RW - Splorg Hansburgersteinewalden, TPE: 39
(S41) G - David Blind, TPE: 120
(S42) D - Martin Van Nostrand, TPE: 0
(S43) RW - Casper Solomon, TPE: 72
(S44) C - Thaddeus Humbert, TPE: 634    
(S45) LW - Danger Van der Merwe, TPE: 0

Once again, like their southern French-speaking neighbors, the Dutch have no current representation in the VHL. They really only produced two players of note, Willem Janssen and Thaddeus Humbert. 

 

t-11th.  Norway 

8 Players (1.5%)

Spoiler

(S32) C - Jakub Kjellberg, TPE: 770
(S32) G - Fernando Pergher, TPE: 31
(S33) RW - Odin Tordahl, TPE: 1,311 (HOF)
(S37) D - Slaeter Fjorsstrom, TPE: 647
(S37) LW - Kristian Stormborn, TPE: 64
(S44) C - Tim TebowGow, TPE: 683
(S44) G - Bernie Gow, TPE: 508
(S47) LW - Bjorn Kobayashi, TPE: 41

What is it about countries that had 8 players in the expansion era not having any players in the VHL currently? Norway continues this trend, although they did contribute big-name players Odin Tordahl (HOF), Jakub Kjellberg, and Slaeter Fjorsstrom before fading away into their current obscurity.

 

t-12th.  Czech Republic 

7 Players (1.3%)

Spoiler

(S32) G - Ondrej Cajanek, TPE: 13
(S33) LW - Petr Janus, TPE: 21
(S38) D - Vojczek Svoboda, TPE: 470
(S39) G - Andrej Hasek, TPE: 0
(S41) G - Jakub Kubicky, TPE: 0
(S44) LW - Matej Kriz, TPE: 30
(S46) LW - Lars Siktanc, TPE: 38

The Czechs may or may not be embarrassed by the talent they put into the VHL at the time; Vojczek Svoboda was the only VHL-worthy player to make it out of the minors, and even then he was arguably one of the biggest busts of all-time, as he retired extremely early in his promising career.

 

t-12th.  Ukraine

7 Players (1.3%)

Spoiler

(S33) G - Vladimir Bodnar, TPE: 80
(S37) C - Travis Boychuk, TPE: 926
(S37) D - Vasily Miroshnychenko, TPE: 0
(S40) C - Jody 3 Moons, TPE: 931
(S41) G - Fedir Okranitz, TPE: 281
(S45) C - Wesley Babiy, TPE: 264
(S45) LW - Arcturus Mengsk, TPE: 479

Ukraine only has two players to currently represent them in the VHL (Bobby Digital and Aackckyz Ky), but they fabricated a decent amount during expansion. Travis Boychuk and Jody 3 Moons were big stars in their day, and guys like Arcturus Mengsk and Wesley Babiy were no pushovers either.

 

t-12.  Switzerland 

7 Players (1.3%)

Spoiler

(S37) D - Remy Devereux, TPE: 0    
(S38) RW - Antoine Sauvé, TPE: 24
(S41) RW - Yannik Zug, TPE: 74
(S42) D - Merlin Malinowski, TPE: 0
(S42) RW - Paul Ready, TPE: 64
(S43) G - Roland Rengel, TPE: 40
(S45) G - Sandro Clegane, TPE: 901

The Swiss put out decent enrollment, but their quality was that of a piece of Swiss cheese. Sandro Clegane was the big ticket item, but even with his influence, no other Swiss made it to the VHL during this time.

 

13th.  Japan 

6 Players (1.1%) 

Spoiler

(S33) C - Keiji Toriyama, TPE: 658
(S37) LW - Kai Randal, TPE: 138
(S38) C - Kitsune Yamasaki, TPE: 0
(S39) D - Koji Yamazaki, TPE: 403
(S43) D - Souryuu Kaminogi, TPE: 462
(S45) D - Biggu Kyanon, TPE: 853

Biggu [Kyanon], Keiji [Toriyama], and Souryuu [Kaminogi] were all pretty popular baby names in Japan from S31-S47; those players helped put Japan on the map in terms of VHL representation. Japan may have fallen off a bit in recent times, but the Japanese fondly remember this as their golden age of sim-league hockey.

 

t-14th.  Mexico 

4 Players (0.7%)

Spoiler

(S33) RW - Akila Beast, TPE: 43
(S40) D - Gunzerker Salvador, TPE: 120
(S47) C - Felipe Rodriguez, TPE: 623
(S47) LW - Maximum Lock, TPE: 30

Felipe Rodriguez recently finished a pretty decent VHL career, but he was the only Mexican to do so; Maximum Lock and Akila Beast were never even good in the VHLM, and Gunzerker Salvador was a promising prospect who fizzled out fast.

 

t-14th.  Austria 

4 Players (0.7%)

Spoiler

(S34) G - Eggly Bagelface, TPE: 818
(S40) RW - Sepp Reiter, TPE: 0
(S43) D - Thomas Duddy, TPE: 297
(S43) G - Not Active, TPE: 14

Austria is the least impressive of the German-speaking countries for producing VHL talent, as only twice have they seen their countrymen make the VHL; this representation coming in the form of defender Thomas Duddy and then-Vasteras Iron Eagles franchise netminder Eggly Bagelface.

 

t-15th.  South Korea 

3 Players (0.5%)

Spoiler

(S37) RW - Jihoon Park, TPE: 0
(S45) D - M. Nocturne Shamalamalamalon, TPE: 0
(S45) LW - Lee Sang-Hyeok, TPE: 46

Lee Sang-Hyeok was the only South Korean to even attempt to show up for VHLM practice, his fellow South Koreans choosing instead to spend their time religiously playing StarCraft.

 

t-15th.  Kazakhstan 

3 Players (0.5%)

Spoiler

(S32) RW - Anatoli Zhumbayev, TPE: 935
(S45) RW - Evgeny Nezhmetdinov, TPE: 175
(S47) G - Artom Zhumbayev, TPE: 400

All three Kazakh players were VHL-quality material. Winger Anatoli put the country on the map as a youngster by scoring the cup winning goal in an overtime game seven thriller for the Helsinki Titans

 

t-15th.  Spain 

3 Players (0.5%)

Spoiler

(S33) C - Felix Zamora, TPE: 612    
(S33) C - GIYGAS, TPE: 547
(S46) LW - Lucas Villa, TPE: 36

The Spaniards scored 66% on their VHL representation test, sending GIYGAS and Felix Zamora to the big leagues for success, while Lucas Villa was the runt of the litter, never making it out of the VHLM.

 

t-15th.  Slovakia 

3 Players (0.5%)

Spoiler

(S33) C - Pavol Ottosson, TPE: 0
(S39) RW - Milos Denis, TPE: 594
(S41) LW - Matej Nemecek, TPE: 66

I do think it its a little surprising that Slovakia only manufactured three players during this timeframe; regardless, Milos Denis was able to find success in his career mainly as a member of the Quebec City Meute. Pavol Ottoson and Matej Nemecek were not so lucky.

 

t-15th.  Israel 

3 Players (0.5%)

Spoiler

(S43) D - Thor Weinstein, TPE: 0
(S44) C - Le'Sean Coutzen, TPE: 248
(S45) G - Ariel Weinstein, TPE: 1,039

Two Weinsteins, but only one of them was any good. Ariel Weinstein is a legend back home in Israel for his VHL career, but this has not inspired any youth in his country to try and replicate this success.

 

t-16th.  Bosnia and Herzegovina 

2 Players (0.3%)

Spoiler

(S40) C - Shawndre Bovic, TPE: 27
(S41) C - Rift Pajodcast, TPE: 451

Oh Rift Pajodcast, my 3-headed darling, how I miss you so. You were the best thing to ever come out of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

 

t-16th.  Belgium 

2 Players (0.3%)

Spoiler

(S40) G - Soren Douffet, TPE: 92
(S46) C - Gregory Fallum, TPE: 28

Stick to making those waffles Belgium, Soren Douffet and Gregory Fallum weren't anything special.

 

t-16th.  Bulgaria 

2 Players (0.3%)

Spoiler

(S40) RW - Aleksander Petrov, TPE: 38
(S46) LW - Kenny Keeley, TPE: 0

If only Bulgarian bonbon Viktor Krum could stickhandle as well as he caught the Snitch. 

 

t-16th.  Dominican Republic 

2 Players (0.3%)

Spoiler

(S35) D - Edwin Encarnacion, TPE: 710
(S44) C - Edwin Reencarnacion, TPE: 1,079

@YEAH!stlemania needs to change it up a bit, the Encarnacion family (they could be clones actually) have a monopoly on the countries imports to the VHL.

 

t-16th.  Somalia 

2 Players (0.3%)

Spoiler

(S42) D - Prince Gigga-Bijou, TPE: 511
(S42) LW - Lord Karnage, TPE: 1,561

A country more known for their pirates than hockey, the Somalians have managed to produce two decent VHL players, Prince Gigga-Bijou and Lord Karnage, the latter being a cornerstone piece for the Stockholm Vikings and a Hall-of-Famer.

 

t-16th.  Jamaica 

2 Players (0.3%)

Spoiler

(S43) C - Kawkh Blawka, TPE: 0
(S45) LW - Super Cock, TPE: 53

It upsets me greatly that Super Cock wasn't a bigger deal than he was. 

 

t-16th.  Liechtenstein 

2 Players (0.3%)

Spoiler

(S36) D - Franz Backenbauer, TPE: 0
(S36) D - Hanz Backenbauer, TPE: 62

Tiny country, tiny VHL influence. The Backenbauer twins flubbed it in the VHL.

 

t-16th.  China 

2 Players (0.3%)

Spoiler

(S36) RW - Xin Xie Xiao, TPE: 1,019 (HOF)
(S41) C - AIM-11, TPE: 308

The Chinese have enjoyed a resurgence in the VHL over recent years, but it wasn't always that way. They're very low in these rankings, their only two players being HOFer Xin Xie Xiao and hockey robot AIM-11.

 

t-16th.  Vatican City 

2 Players (0.3%)

Spoiler

(S43) D - Stabby McFullO'Schmidt, TPE: 102
(S43) G - Holy the Goalie, TPE: 10

Is...this even possible? Stabby McFullO'Schmidt is arguably one of the least pious VHL players ever, and he was from HERE?

 

t-16th.  Greece 

2 Players (0.3%)

Spoiler

(S36) D - Stelio Kontos, TPE: 46
(S38) D - Dimothenis Vlasis, TPE: 327

Vlasis was eh, Kontos was a bust. Both had pretty cool names though if I'm being honest.

 

t-17th.  India 

1 Player (0.2%)

Spoiler

(S36) RW - Godavari Yumalatopinto, TPE: 648

Godavari Yumalatopinto was a very good player with a very good name. The pride of India.

 

t-17th.  New Zealand 

1 Player (0.2%)

Spoiler

(S46) LW - Olivia Diamond, TPE: 252

One of Da Trifecta's early retirement players. Meh

 

t-17th.  Estonia 

1 Player (0.2%)

Spoiler

(S36) D - LaMichael Charmander, TPE: 0

LaMichael Charmander. 0 TPE. LIT.

 

t-17th.  Republic of Congo 

1 Player (0.2%)

Spoiler

(S33) D - Ludovic Kabambi, TPE: 26

If you're going to make a low TPE player like Ludovic Kabambi, at least make them from an interesting country like the Congo so I get to write about it in these media spots.

 

t-17th.  Australia 

1 Player (0.2%)

Spoiler

(S42) LW - Steven Bradbury, TPE: 0

See: Lamichael Charmander

 

t-17th.  Iceland 

1 Player (0.2%)

Spoiler

(S47) RW - Jonathan Stark, TPE: 30

Grimm Jonsson is rolling around in his grave somewhere in Iceland, as no notable players have come from his land after him. 

 

t-17th.  South Africa 

1 Player (0.2%)

Spoiler

(S42) C - Bismarck Koenig, TPE: 971

Finally, a one person country where the person is good. Koenig was a very serviceable VHLer in his time, but the South Africans have yet to find another for him to pass the torch to.

Edited June 29, 2017 by Corco

[Gudnason 607]

Love the tidbit on Koreans and StarCraft. Maybe my next player should be Korean...

[Da Trifecta 1,896]

#GETWRETCHED

[Kendrick 4,714]

Lamichael Charmander is a HOFer!

[BOOM 8,401]

"Serviceable"....I'll take it.

[TheLastOlympian07 2,388]

needs more talk about Shawn Muller and Dimothenis Vlasis

[Kyle 667]

Snijider retired in Season 32 and was Dutch. Unless it's players created S31 and after.

[Corco 1,124]

11 hours ago, Kyle said:

Snijider retired in Season 32 and was Dutch. Unless it's players created S31 and after.

It is players created S31-S47

[DollarAndADream 3,356]

Review:

" Travis Boychuk and Jody 3 Moons were big stars in their day, " - YEAAAHHHH

Also never thought to ever create a player like Parechkin, already getting mentioned in articles like this as a HoFer. Damn, son.

Good article.