Captain Lou El Bammo, Dick Dafone, and Derby Nerd rank Canada’s top A-level travel teams every two months (or so). Read the the April 2016 Power Rankings here.
| TEAM (League) | CHANGE | NOTES (Rollergirl.ca /WFTDA rank) |
1. New Skids on the Block (Montreal Roller Derby) |
– | Montreal had been on a tear in 2016 winning seven of eight and seemingly on the verge of jumping into a coveted three-seed for the playoffs, but they ran into a roadblock in the form of a determined Philly at ECDX (256-139). Nonetheless, the Skids remain well ahead of the pack north of the border. (1 / 13) |
2. Terminal City All Stars (Terminal City Roller Girls) |
– | Terminal City’s 2-5 record in 2016 is a little misleading as all but one of the team’s losses has come to a Top 10 team (and the other was a narrow loss to 24th-ranked Helsinki). In a small league all of their own with Montreal right now at the top of the Canadian pyramid. (2 / 21) |
3.Calgary All Stars (Calgary Roller Derby Association) |
– | Calgary has had an inconsistent 2016, as evidenced by the team’s 4-5 record. Injuries and a tough travel schedule may have played into it, but a recent 10-spot jump in the rankings has them poised for their WFTDA playoff debut and should make some noise in the D2s. (4 / 52) |
4. Tri-City Thunder (Tri-City Rller Derby) |
+2 | Tri-City has actually handled its 2016 rebuild fairly well. The team’s busy 3-7 record has given this roster a ton of valuable track experience moving forward. Consistency is the key, and hopefully that begins with the roster. A season ending 150-67 loss to rising Ann Arbor may have just (barely) been enough to hold on to a D2 playoff spot.(5 / 58) |
5. Misfit Militia (Orangeville Roller Girls)  |
– | Misfit Militia remains undefeated in 2016, including a 147-144 unsanctioned win against D1’s Queen City. However, a recent closer-than-expected win over Capital City shows that the team still has some work to do to make the top flight. (3 /-) |
6. Rideau Valley Vixens (Rideau Valley Roller Girls) |
–2 | The 2014 Division 2 runners up are 2-6 in sanctioned play (4-6 overall) on the season, and it’s been a strange 2016. Somewhat surprising wins over playoff-bound Calgary and (potentially) Tri-City are balanced by blow-out losses to Montreal and Tampa. The inconsistent results mean that the Vixens will unlikely see the track during this year’s playoffs. (9 / 60) |
7. All Stars (Toronto Roller Derby) |
– | The bright side of Toronto’s tough 2016 is that they have played a lot of games against some quality competition. The resulting 2-7 record is indicative of the tough rebuild the teams is going through. Although there were some bright spots in losses at the recent ECDX tournament, Toronto will be out of the WFTDA playoffs for the first time since 2013 and have a high mountain to climb to get back. (14 / 63) |
8. All Stars (Winnipeg Roller Derby League)  |
+1 | Winnipeg continues its dance with Muddy River and slips up one spot after strong Mayday Mayhem and Beach Brawl appearances see the team’s record sit at 5-4. The two losses at MM were to eventual finalists Oklahoma Victory Dolls and Australia’s Paradise City. (11 / 99) |
9. Lumbersmacks (Muddy River Rollers) |
-1 | Muddy River has had a comparatively quiet 2016, and after a 2-0 start, got roughed up at Beach Brawl where they went 1-3 including a blow-out loss to a rising Paris team. After holding steady for a year, the team has continued its slow slide out of Division 2. (7 / 110) |
10. Dolly Rogers (Capital City Derby Dolls) |
– | Capital City has had a baffling 2016. Solid victories have been followed by surprising losses and their two differing results against the Misfit Militia show that: a 151-point loss in April was significantly bettered in a 55-point loss in May, a result that secured their place in the Power Rankings. (10/ 130) |
The Rankings
After three straight years of steady competitive growth at the WFTDA level, for the first time since 2012, Canada will have less playoff-bound teams than it did the previous year, a result of some of our larger and more competitive leagues facing rebuilds or having plateaued. There hasn’t been much change in the rankings despite a busy late spring and early summer. The top three holds steady and will, not surprisingly, be our top-seeded playoff teams. Montreal missed out on a prime shot at making their playoff lives a little easier falling in surprising fashion to Philly Roller Derby (even if the loss was not surprising, the ease of it was). If healthy, Calgary could be poised to shake things up in the D2 playoffs.
The 4th-6th ranked teams (Thunder, Misfit Militia, Vixens) are virtually in a dead heat right now, with Thunder surprisingly holding steady despite a massive roster overhaul, the Militia still largely unproven and the Vixens seeming to have plateaued after years of steady growth.
The 8th-10th teams are similarly bunched, although of the three Winnipeg seems to be the most stable competitively. Muddy River can’t quite seem to get over the hump that’s been in front of them for two years now and Capital City, after steadily rising, seems to be plateauing similarly to their cross-city counterparts from Rideau Valley.
Toronto’s sheer size and league depth keeps it from slipping past the 7th spot, but it’s going to be a long road out of the depths of WFTDA’s D2 and a dose of roster consistency will help with this. If the All Stars can stay together for another season and remain focused on travel and training, there is much to build off of from 2016.
The Watch List
The Watch List
E-Ville Dead (E-Ville Roller Derby) (6th)
Anarchy Angels (Mainland Misfits Roller Derby) (12th)
No real change to the Watch List, but it is worth noting that E-Ville won its WFTDA sanctioned debut in dominant fashion, crushing its watch-list counterpart the Anarchy Angels 279-89, to leap to 6th overall in the Rollergirl.ca Canadian Roller Derby Ranking.
*These rankings were compiled by the Derby Nerd, Captain Lou El Bammo, Dick Dafone
*These are the first Power Rankings of the year. Read the final April 2016 Power Rankings here.
-Respectful disagreement and debate is encouraged!-
The Derby Nerd 