19. (S21) LW (Texas Renegades) - Sterling Knight || +21
Average Grade: 89.40
Past Seasons: S26-82, S27-46, S28-32, S29-55, S30-40

At 19 is Renegades winger Sterling Knight, with a major jump in production leading up to regression. Knight scored 28 goals and 59 points, one of the many players who took the new scoring league by the horns and ran with it. Knight had some hits and also played in a ton of situations, making him once again a major two-way player in the league. Knight is unfortunately retiring after this next season, but he sure has went out with a bang on this list.

18. (S21) G (Calgary Dragons) Hunter Wong || +15
Average Grade: 89.60
Past Seasons: S23-94, S25-82, S26-83, S27-63, S28-46, S29-31, S30-33

Hunter Wong enters the list at number 18, finally getting to the top-20 of the list with some consistent seasons and bringing Calgary a couple of major cup runs along the way. Wong finished with 31 wins and a .915 save percentage, continuing to be a major piece in Calgary's roster despite some counting him out early in his career. Will Wong be able to continue his play past regression? That is the real question going forward.f

17. (S20) C (Calgary Dragons) - Nicholas Pedersen || +7
Average Grade: 89.60
Past Seasons: S23-46, S24-59, S25-16, S26-22, S27-49, S28-27, S29-58, S30-24

At 17 is another Dragon in Nicholas Pedersen, who scored 22 goals and 54 points on one of the dominant lines alongside guys like Anrikkanen. Pedersen has fallen back a bit in the hitting department and isn't quite the physical beast that we have seen in seasons past, but he is right where he was when he was one of the best players in the world in S24 and could be bringing it back despite his increasing age.

16. (S20) D (Edmonton Blizzard) - Barney Stinson || -8
Average Grade: 89.60
Past Seasons: S23-56, S24-34, S25-28, S26-55, S27-90, S28-87, S29-52, S30-8

At 16 is Blizzard defenseman Barney Stinson, not quite living up to the expectations set from last season but having a great season regardless. He scored 7 goals and 46 points in the season, and alongside Alonzo Garbanzo made up one of the best top defensive pairs in the league, as well as being part of by far the best top-4 defensive unit. Stinson is moving to Edmonton in his final year, but is very likely to have another top-10 performance with his abilities.

15. (S20) RW (New England Wolfpack) - Nathan Russell || +12
Average Grade: 89.80
Past Seasons: S24-91, S25-72, S26-12, S27-31, S28-16, S29-22, S30-27

At 15 is Wolfpack winger Nathan Russell, coming off an incredible run to rival even his prime in S25-S27. Russell scored 16 goals and 53 points on the year, was an assist machine, and brought the Wolfpack to the playoffs when the majority of the league counted them out. Russell was dominant in his playoff run as well and is proving that his physical prowess has not slowed him down in the slightest.

14. (S20) G (New England Wolfpack) - Jakob Tanner || -7
Average Grade: 90
Past Seasons: S22-94, S23-61, S24-80, S25-42, S26-68, S27-60, S28-52, S29-38, S30-7

At 14 is another Wolfpack in Jakob Tanner, a new arrival last season when he was surprisingly traded from the team that drafted him and his home for almost 10 seasons. Tanner had a pretty good season with 26 wins and a .910 save percentage, but played incredibly down the stretch willing his team into the playoffs and then being possibly the MVP as the team won a Challenge Cup despite all odds. Tanner has continued to win everywhere he goes and with three Challenge Cups he is one of the greatest goaltenders to ever play.

13. (S21) RW (Edmonton Blizzard) - Theo Kane || -12
Average Grade: 90
Past Seasons: S23-75, S24-77, S25-56, S26-76, S27-57, S28-20, S29-32, S30-1

At 13 is Blizzard winger Theo Kane, falling back and having a considerably worse season than previously with only 16 goals and 40 points for the Blizzard. Kane appears to have slowed down slightly between seasons, whether it is because of wear and tear or the opposition getting used to his play. Either way he remains a very physical specimen and still has a lot to offer the Blizzard other than just point totals.

12. (S24) LW (New England Wolfpack) - Patrikov Bure || New Entry
Average Grade: 90.40
Past Seasons: None

At 24 is Wolfpack Patrikov Bure, who for some reason has not been part of this list until this season. Bure has entered the list in a big way, though, with a 26 goal, 61 point season, the main contributor behind the Wolfpack making it into the playoffs despite what some would call a weak roster. Bure even last year was a major contributor, and is proving his worth as a winner with his excellent playoff run as well. Bure is young and has a few more years before regression, so he is a threat to be a top-10 player very soon.

11. (S25) RW (Minnesota Chiefs) - Lord Pretty Flacko || +59
Average Grade: 90.40
Past Seasons: S30-70

At 11 is Chiefs winger Lord Pretty Flacko who made the second biggest jump this season and just missed the top-10 with his performance. Pretty Flacko scored 27 goals and 62 points, third in the league in scoring and second behind dominant offensive powerhouse Chernika Banananov. Flacko was also quite formidable in two way play with PK time and a decent physical game to top it off. Flacko has joined Banananov as a couple of the team's two young guns along with Kian Hamilton who have made the team's offensive unit one to be feared.

10. (S18) D (Manhattan Rage) - Roy Razin || +40
Average Grade: 90.60
Past Seasons: S20-82, S21-62, S22-46, S23-4, S24-17, S25-24, S26-73, S27-50, S28-74, S29-18, S30-50
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Starting out the top-10 is Roy Razin, who comes back to our list after a bit of a hiatus, falling all the way down to 74 before moving back on up. Razin has had a pretty damn successful career all things considered, and despite his fall-off has proven his mettle as a future hall of famer in these last couple of seasons. Razin scored 12 goals and 57 points, finishing second among defensemen in points on the season. Not quite enough for the Stevens, but a great year on a team that everyone counted out, nonetheless.

9. (S23) D (Texas Renegades) Vladimir Lidstrom || +1
Average Grade: 90.80
Past Seasons: S27-94, S28-82, S29-62, S30-59
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At number 9 is another defenseman, this time a youngster who has come out with a major season for the Texas Renegades. One of the most hyped-up prospects in the S23 draft, Vladimir Lidstrom has been a major contributor on every team he has played for. This season had him score 11 goals and 56 points, third among defensemen in scoring with a ton of minutes on the PK compated to his opponents. Lidstrom continues to improve, and we expect him to be a Stevens contender for the next few years at least.

8. (S20) D (Buffalo Stampede) Fredirich Muller || +12
Average Grade: 91.20
Past Seasons: S21-102, S22-47, S23-38, S24-66, S25-54, S26-75, S27-66, S28-75, S29-41, S30-20
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At number 8 is Stampede defenseman Friederich Muller, who makes it to the top-10 for the first time ever after 10 seasons. Muller had a very solid season with Edmonton in S30 with 10 goals and 42 points, 72 blocked shots, and one of the best defensive games among his fellow defensemen. Muller has moved on to another program in the Stampede where he is hoping to provide his veteran leadership to a team that is back on the drawing board with a new batch of prospects. Some may consider his place on the ranking surprising, but its all about the intangibles sometimes.

7. (S20) LW (Edmonton Blizzard) - Pedro Sarantez || +8
Average Grade: 92.80
Past Seasons: S22-75, S23-54, S24-30, S25-33, S26-39, S27-6, S28-65, S29-50, S30-15
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Pedro Sarantez comes into this list at number 7, back in the top-10 after a brief hiatus where he had a couple of down seasons. However, Sarantez has found his game once again, and Edmonton has brought it out just in time for him to combat regression. Sarantez over the last two years has 112 points and 56 goals, a major contribution all things considered. Sarantez also has 180 hits in those two years, proving that he still has a bit of bite to his game. While he is getting older, he is remaining a top-tier talent in the SHL right now.

6. (S20) D (Edmonton Blizzard) Jackson Rogers-Tanaka || +13
Average Grade: 92.60
Past Seasons: S23-81, S24-83, S25-74, S26-61, S27-73, S28-54, S29-9, S30-19
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Yet another Blizzard player makes it to the top-10 with Jackson Rogers-Tanaka coming up huge in a big way during his S30 campaign. Tanaka enters the list for his second time in three seasons, and in S30 he made sure to get right back into it with a 15 goal and 51 point season, standing out above a lot of very talented players which have been mentioned previously. He wasn't quite as defensively responsible as teammate Muller, but was still a great two-way threat.

5. (S18) LW (Calgary Dragons) - Esa Anrikkanen || +6
Average Grade: 93
Past Seasons: S20-45, S21-48, S22-35, S23-6, S24-7, S25-34, S26-14, S27-27, S28-29, S29-12, S30-11
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At 5 is the chicken parm king Esa Anrikkanen, coming in at his highest ranking ever at 11. Anrikkanen had some time in the limelight back in S23 and S24 when he was a top-10 player for two straight seasons. However he fell back a bit and has only just now gotten back to to his top-10 ways, though for the last three seasons he has been one of the top talents in the league. Anrikkanen in S30 and S31 has scored 43 goals and 108 points, over 200 hits just like Sarantez, and a ton of work on the powerplay and PK. Anrikkanen has been a major reason why the Dragons have gotten back into relevance the last few seasons, which is a sight to see considering that Anrikkanen is now considered to be an old-timer compared to the rest of the big stars.

4. (S21) D (Minnesota Chiefs) - Alonzo Garbanzo || +2
Average Grade: 94.40
Past Seasons: S23-59, S24-76, S25-18, S26-30, S27-13, S28-3, S29-15, S30-6
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Alonzo Garbanzo is back in the top-10 with a 4 ranking on this list. Garbanzo has been one of the most consistent defensemen in the last 5 seasons, with his lowest ranking in those years at 15 where he scored only 34 points on the season. S30 was a career year for the veteran defenseman, as Garbanzo scored 12 goals and 55 points, earned 172 hits, blocked a career high 104 shots, and was a premier contributor on the power play. Garbanzo was not quite good enough to earn his second career Stevens, but there is no reason to expect him to give up on another one with the way he has been playing.

3. (S22) D (Calgary Dragons) - Bubba Nuck || +60
Average Grade: 96.20
Past Seasons: S24-98, S26-59, S28-51, S29-74, S30-63
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At 3 is the top defenseman on this list, Bubba Nuck. Nuck has come out of nowhere on this list with one of the best individual performances by a defenseman in recent memory. 14 goals, 47 assists, and 61 points on the season. Not to mention 216 hits as one of the biggest bruisers in the league and of course the fact he led the team in scoring which is something we rarely see from a defenseman. Nuck may not have the same kind of performance next year (big performance to follow), but he has made a name for himself not only in the SHL today, but the history books as well.

2. (S24) RW (Manhattan Rage) - Vincent-Leon-Anze Draisaitl-McZehrl || +7
Average Grade: 96.40
Past Seasons: S29-21, S30-9
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Second on this list is one of the future dominant players of our time, Vincent-Leon-Anze Draisaitl-McZehrl. VLAD had his third 50+ point season in a row, scoring 34 goals and 69 points, breaking records in both categories for the current era. Not to mention 181 hits to top it all off and carrying his team to the playoffs and VLAD McZehrl is someone you would consider as the league MVP for both the Khan and the Mexico. If not for the competition this year he would be a major favorite to win both. McZehrl has some personality issues, but with this kind of elite consistency will he be the top player of this generation?

1. (S22) RW (Minnesota Chiefs) - Chernika Banananov || +2
Average Grade: 97.60
Past Seasons: S25-96, S26-90, S27-19, S28-48, S29-1, S30-3
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Coming in as the top dog of this list is Chernika Banananov, coming in at number 1 for the second season of his career. Like McZehrl, Banananov has had some major elite consistency the last few seasons, with a noted down season in S27 where he only scored 38 points. The previous few seasons had him score 58 points, 58 points, 52 points, and 67 points in that order. Banananov even tied VLAD McZehrl for the goal scoring title and this regular consistency is what puts Banananov ahead of all comers. Banananov is close to regression which means the McZ Banananov rivalry may not last much longer, but the battle between these two with Banananov taking the title was a sight to see.