“The Lower Bracket”
I think this season there is a clear line between four teams that will be competing essentially for the final play-in spot and four teams that will be competing for the top two seeds to escape both the play-in game and the opportunity for the 1st seed to pick them as an early opponent.
That’s not to say these teams can’t compete, steal games, or even make it past the play-in, but I would consider it exceeding expectations and it would mean one of the top 4 teams really lost control of the wheel over the course of the season.
Admirals
Best Lineup –
Chaotic- (Warbird)
Roy Kent (Weasel)
Kzer-Za (Javelin)
SuperSaiyan (Terrier)
Mobey (G)
Coming off a 5 win season, Admirals will be looking to recharge with the return of Mobey. When Mobey shows, it normally frees up Kzer-Za from playing goalie and allows him to move up to a Javelin or another offensive ship to help connect passes and make the offense flow. Both him and Roy Kent (aka stevewhitmer) is going to have a lot of work to do without him to help keep the game from devolving into mad john the pirat rushes at the net in the spider, which oddly does work sometimes, but is far from a long term effective strategy. Acido didn’t make one of the two games they played in the preseason, but he is I would say underrated as a Terrier player due to playing in the European timeslot and not getting a lot of actual eyes on his games. Chaotic- took over the scoring in the preseason and he has been a reliable warbird option for them for a few seasons now, so hopefully he’ll continue to be active and having that spot filled at all will of course be beneficial to them. Another perhaps underrated player for this kind of roster will be SuperSaiyan, which while he can make mistakes, when given a role can get steals on defense and sometimes make a play from there. While Ra is a lovable soul, when he has to play on the ice at the same time as Something Dutch, who has a self-mandated ‘no crossing center ice’ rule, it forces Ra into a lot of playmaking situations that right now isn’t his strong suit. SuperSaiyan will be able to fill that gap a bit better and with Whitmer shore up the midfield a bit more than they are usually able having to fill players in goalie (despite him choosing to play weasel).
However, even with the European timeslot advantage, it’s going to be difficult for this team to maintain firepower against the Upper Bracket teams and in brawls within the Lower Bracket it’s going to come down to substitutions and how much rotation Admirals ends up doing, which can vary from season to season. If 9 or 10 guys are constantly showing up, Mobey is inconsistently active, and they can’t find someone to take the reigns on offense playmaking wise, it could be a tough run this season. But on the other hand, with an active mobey, the core playing most games, and a little luck with the other team having activity issues on their home turf, a play-in spot is within reach.
True Damage
Best Lineup –
Randle (Warbird)
Zayb (Terrier)
Revolution (Leviathan)
Sid (Javelin)
Alastria (Spider)
OldShiat (G)
This team is somewhat hard to read for me. Overall, I don’t think they are particularly “exceptional” in any given category. Randle is a serviceable WB who is an all-star in the Beer League and while a solid contributor in the RSHL too, a lot of his points tend to come against weaker defensive teams who aren’t able to handle a Warbird rushing the net through the game. While that will be valuable in a handful of games, it’s not enough to get to the playoffs. Zayb is one of the most reliable all-around terriers you can add, he’s really good at keeping plays connected and stopping the momentum of the opponent after a turnover. But he’s not an excellent finisher that’s usually going to be able to step up as a #2 offensive player. His strengths are more in keeping the team cohesion up and helping other players shine. Revolution so far in the pre-season has been playing a lot of Leviathan, we will see if he sticks with it. If you want to take the approach of loading up defensively and counting on Zayb to slow down transition long enough for you to be effective two-way in a Levi, I can see it. But I’m not sure offensively it’s producing the way I think one would want it to on a team like this. OldShiat has been playing better than expected in the preseason though we’ll see how activity keeps up throughout the run. With an experienced defender like Alastria there, one would expect the defense to be one of the selling points of this kind of team. Especially with the smaller roster which should in theory help develop chemistry as people get more opportunity to play together. But in the preseason at least it looks like they’ve had some issues with counterattacks and turnovers which prevents them from keeping control of the games. Whether Zayb locks into the 4 man position and they figure out an offense from there or Zayb moves up to play a 2 man role and they figure out how to support Alastria after that, if they want to make the playoffs then they’ll have to come up with an answer to that problem they are comfortable with. Sid has been doing fairly well so far without a lot of league experience in Javelin, and it will be an advantage to be able to have him as a backup goaltender just in case, but it’s going to be a big ask and a lot of pressure for him to go overnight from getting back in the swing of things in goalie to a #2 RSHL 36 minute forward.
If I had to guess, I think this team is the most ‘ripe’ for a midseason walk on that changes the course of the season. Not that they can’t be successful with the core they have, but throwing random names out there, someone like NCVinyl or Kor would make a big difference on this team and might be enough to push them over the top if they can’t find enough answers by the halfway mark.
Bad News Bears
Best Lineup –
Bogey (Javelin)
Rubber-Glue (Warbird)
Nameless King (Leviathan)
Judge69 (Terrier)
Kelly Leak (Spider)
Verez (G)
I think to identify the elephant in the room, the two biggest issues with this team are going to be the Warbird position and Verez‘s internet connection. Verez has only been getting better as he continues to play, he’s pretty active, and he’s encouraged to keep goaltending. However, out of the past three seasons, two of them he’s had multiple issues that have kept him out a significant amount of games. Last season he was able to go the full way so hopefully that’s behind him, and if that is the case then Kelly Leak (aka Big Eater) will have a much easier job defensively looking after him. However, Big E tends to play HZ sometimes after a long day and/or while tired, which can have a disastrous effect on his play randomly. On a small roster like this, they might be counting on him every game, which is going to be a change from most of the teams he is on where he only needs to help out when needed.
In terms of Warbird, offensively Rubber-Glue would be the best option on the team. However, this is another team that is going to be vulnerable to turnovers and people attacking back the other way with numbers, and ideally you’d want RG in a Terrier or even a Spider to help counteract that. Bogey can play Warbird and maybe he is intending to most games this season, but it’s a tough position to play in RSHL where you are on a team where the Warbird won’t have the luxury of playing so much off-ball and will need to dictate play more and help their teammates get opportunities. It will be a learning curve for him to not just resort to looking for breakaway opportunities and learn to break down a defense in controlled space. Of course, this will be the first season Nameless King will play without his beloved rapid fire Leviathan, and that of course will be an adjustment for him. However, it’s still incredibly tanky, and in these “One Ship Per Team” conditions there will be more double level 1 lineups fielded which will give Leviathan more opportunities to flex its power muscle downfield (I also think this is along the lines of Revolution’s strategy). On this team he will (and so far he has) be expected to contribute more offensively and be more of a main player than the sometimes frantic midfield role he occupied occasionally for Juul. Combined with Judge69 who is going to have to be the old veteran in the locker room and the lineup, the two of them will have a lot of heavy lifting to do in the points column for BNB to see the kind of success they’d like and earn a playoff berth. Creature is another wildcard on this lineup, I expect him to be a contributor and part of the rotation but it’s unclear if he is just filling time in Warbird due to personnel being out or if he is auditioning for the main Warbird role now that the season has started. A lot of the same concerns with Bogey will apply to Creature equally, although he’s done a fairly good job handling the puck so far in the time he’s been given. It will be interesting to see if he breaks the starting lineup and if so, who is taking on the 6th man role instead and what does that mean for the look they will throw out in the substitution period.
The P1ssm1n
Best Lineup –
Violence (Warbird)
Brunson (Weasel)
Sydor (Terrier)
David Seaman #1 (Spider)
Gato (Leviathan)
Hot Rodster (G)
Of the teams in the so called “Lower Bracket”, the P1ssm1n unironically have the most experience behind them and the most likely of the four in my mind to have the potential to make a run and dethrone one of the “Upper Bracket”. Violence is making a historic move this season leaving Creasers to make a competing team and try his luck as the focal point of a new group of skaters. David Seaman #1 after the dissolution of The Four Horseman joins onboard as seemingly one of the rare teams this season that will commit to putting their spider upfield instead of strictly as a 5 man role. It will be very interesting to see what kind of impact Dave can have playing in this type of role where he will find most games in the midfield or offensive area he is the ship with the most range and killing potential. Brunson (aka Mean Gene) when not being aggressively distracted by loved ones can make a heroic shot now and then, but tends to take his chances often and needs a good setup man to really thrive. Sydor is going to have a great opportunity on this team with players around him that are a little more skilled in passing than what he regularly gets in Beer League or even last season, so this should help him settle into the flow of the game easier. He should be a pretty solid contributor in this type of role. If there are any question marks, I think Hot Rodster is going to have his work cut out for him to keep up with Violence and Dave’s expectations if the team happens to do well early and start racking up a few victories. I’m not sure how committed he is to playing the pipes full time, and he’ll need to be about 81-82% or better if they really want to clear playoffs – and that’s not going to be easy even with Gato playing. Given he is likely going to give up his spider so Dave can have free reign, there will definitely be a defensive adjustment for him and I’m not sure Dave and Sydor will be able to balance a double mid system nor do I think one of them will back off and play the defensive 4 man consistently to allow the other to focus on offense. All this combined may lead to high scoring games where sometimes they are able to keep up, but many times they won’t be able to.
Off the bench, there are some interesting options. yEH when available is a total wildcard who’s skill might be a bit below average but he has the natural talent to telepathically shoot his puck 5 feet in front of his ship on a regular basis. If you are a goalie and not familiar with his secret technique (shared by WW but not this dramatic) it’s easy for him to catch you off guard and whip one in at any time. k-rent I believe is having some computer issues with hockey zone and unable to currently connect, but given he fixes that at some point he could also compete potentially for a starting role and flex some muscle in something like a Javelin. So far he has been rather eager to keep learning and try new positions so I hope he figures out his issues and is able to come back and play.
“The Upper Bracket”
On the other side of the coin, I think these teams are rather evenly matched and it’s going to come down to how seriously the teams take the early matches and how consistent they are at not letting off the gas when playing the other half of the table and allowing any winnable games to slip. All of these teams have their strengths and weaknesses and unlike most seasons I don’t think there is an exact “clear favorite” to take the high seed. That being said, it’s unlikely to be a four team race for the top by the end of the season and I think ultimately someone is going to prove themselves ahead of the pack and the rest of the teams are going to want to avoid them if they aren’t in form at the end of the season.
Blades
Best Lineup –
ailem (Warbird)
Navee (Terrier)
A_Pac (Weasel)
bick (Jav)
Singer (Spider)
Weeze (G)
Blades currently have the right combination of an offense that can hang with the top half of the league and a defense covered by a top 3-4 (top 2 or best in the right season) goalie in Weeze and seemingly a gameplan with a focus on teamwork going into the season. Ailem has a lot of experience being the lead Warbird and will be too much for weaker defenses to handle while Navee is coming off a Creasers season as one of the top producers slotting comfortably into a #2 role where he should be able to shine and find plenty of opportunities to hit the net. As a third guy, A_Pac is probably overqualified and with the buffs to the weasel a lot of goalies will be unprepared with the speed a random slap from a cut can generate if the defense isn’t prepared to be in the lane. There is a good chance teams that use the weasel like this, which Blades are likely to with their team play, will see a lot of value.
Singer will contribute offensively and I think Navee is smart enough to cover for him which will give them a bit more opportunities to punish teams that give the puck away easily.
One question for this team in the long term is whether UKillMe will remain on the bench in a strictly coaching role or suit up in Weasel or Javelin when the need arises. Bick is and up and down player who has been given a lot of opportunities thus far due to his networking to play what I would say is a bit above his level and he’s generally done alright, even better than expected, with the time he’s given. But if you want to play for a championship then he’s going to have to be solid with the ball, especially in this one ship per team environment where he won’t have the luxury of being terrier alongside another terrier and will have to play positionally in a slower ship (or be very effective offensively) to thrive. RED30 has been getting a fair amount of minutes in the preseason, and its unclear how much of that will continue in the season, but if he plays he is nearly guaranteed to pick up multiple spawnkill penalties that could result in disaster (or a hilarious morale building victory). Time will tell. This team has all the tools to be successful, and should be able to make playoffs, but whether they can escape the play-in will be up to how consistent they are at the two key points for these sets of teams. The desire to overplay the bench sometimes may be strong for Weeze.
Creasers
Best Lineup –
Jalrix (Warbird)
Puker (Weasel)
Zanaz (Leviathan)
Kozzy (Terrier)
Lemonaire (Spider)
Batman2 (G)
The best team ever, the greatest team ever assembled in the history of the game, the almighty franchise that can never lose and has no equal. On a serious note, the core creasers lineup has some of the highest chemistry out of any team having played together for so long and new additions Kozzy back to a familiar Terrier and Lemonaire returning to the franchise to play defense should just bolster what they’ve lost from Violence taking a season off. Jalrix had a 60 point banger last season and will be looking to keep that going this time around. Zanaz is the ever consistent big man and probably universally considered the best offensive heavy ship player skating, so the two of them create a formidable one-two punch. Puker‘s weasel contributes a significant amount of assists every season and scores a handful of goals from cheeky slapshots anywhere on the ice, and is definitely above-average for a third option guy. Finally, Batman2 is a top goaltender in the league and consistently bringing the team to the playoffs when they have the appropriate personnel. The Boogieman being off the bench as a backup goaltender or backup skater just helps fills any holes the lineup may run into with activity.
Offense will not be a problem, but this team has a large roster and usually finds 200 minutes or more for subs throughout the season even in high win totals. Depending on who the subs are this season such as Cyclone, this could have varying results with his ‘crease turret’ style of play.
I think Creasers will be tough to beat any given night and have a fair amount of flexibility with one or two players missing which is the key to a high seed in a long season if you don’t plan on negotiating a reschedule every two weeks.
The High Road
Best Lineup –
vigilanty (Warbird)
BG (Javelin)
Lawn Dwarf (Weasel)
Doobie (Terrier)
Dege (Spider)
Morgan (G)
A star studded offensive cast in a season with Weasel buffs, what more could Lawn Dwarf ask for (other than CnM activity)? Vigilanty attendance can sometimes be spotty but he is an impact player when he’s available and so far he’s been completely active for them in the preseason. BG in Javelin is a natural move in the one-ship format and he’ll be able to take advantage of the two level 1 lineups that some people choose. Lawn Dwarf had 60 points last season and the Weasel is more versatile now, so we’ll see how that goes. Dege is overqualified to play the 5 and Doobie is overqualified to play the 4 in Terrier. The only question mark on this team is Morgan but from what I’ve experienced he’s been eager to learn, asks the right questions, open to trying new things, etc. I think with all this experience around him it’ll be hard for him not to get better quickly. The question will just come in the pressure games and how he handles those moments.
It will be interesting to see how Harder performs in what moments they choose to give him when they are up. I hope he has a great time and has at least one big moment in the season. Zeppelin- surprisingly made a game and if he ever decided to get active again would be an interesting Javelin option to slide in allowing BG to move to Warbird should Vigi for example be missing.
This team is loaded with talent and shouldn’t have an issue making the playoffs, the only thing that generally holds back these teams is the front 4 getting too aggressive and overplaying their hand, giving up an early goal that allows a team to turtle up and defend against their possession offense that wants to bait defenders out of position. As long as they can contain that, with the top 6 or 7 they will be one of the hardest teams to take a victory from in the league.
Schedule Fukkers
Best Lineup –
Kara Thrace (Warbird)
Bacon (Weasel)
CMdros (Terrier)
Azuline (Javelin)
Jack (Spider)
Linix (G)
A lot of people question how good this team can be, but I think it’s hard to argue with the core of what they have put together. Linix is the best goalie of all time and still playing at a high level, reliable to make almost every game. Him and Jack have been developing chemistry for a few seasons now and that’s only going to improve with another full season of games together. Bacon has proved himself to be a top offensive player in the zone at this point and is rightfully continuing to play a lead role this time alongside Kara Thrace who hasn’t been seen in the RSHL very often but is one of the most active players generally.
Azuline has been improving every season and this One Ship environment should benefit his Javelin, like I’ve mentioned for some other players prior. CMdros hasn’t made every game for them in the preseason but I assume he will be a core part of the team and is really overqualified and tricky to handle as a third forward. The last time he was in a role like that with great players outside of Misfits was Execution in a winning season. I think this team’s preseason results are kind of warped by having to play Boogieman NTS x2 and High Road as three out of their four games. I think for where we are in the season their offense is really humming and its going to pose a lot of problems for teams in the early games who don’t have the same level of preparedness. This is another team that’s going to make virtually every game tough on the opponent which is basically what you need to make playoffs.
One question that may be posed is whether you might see Bacon switch back to Warbird if they have difficulties in tough games and move Kara Thrace to a Terrier (or even a Leviathan) to let Bacon do even more with the ball. But I think they will be successful in the first half of the season for that not to be a factor.