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  1. Victor

    FREE TPE!!!

    In honour of your overlord's (that's me) birthday, everyone who likes this post gets 1 TPE. #teepz #lovevictator #tpeinflation
    18 points
  2. With the VHLM draft quickly approaching, I spoke with the VHLM GMs and asked them a few questions about their thoughts and goals for the future. 1. What are your goals for the upcoming draft, and the season beyond? Miami’s GM @Ricer13 is looking for long-term success. To do that he is looking to build his asset pool to gain future assets. With nine picks in the draft, four being in the first two rounds, there will be plenty of assets to work with. @Dadam30, GM of the Saskatoon Wild, hopes to put together a contending team this season. They are poised for the future as well, with plenty of draft picks to work with. With 10 picks in the S93 draft, there is plenty of capital for both the present and the future. The San Diego Marlins would love to draft players who are active and willing to learn. GM @Mysterious_Fish is looking for someone who can contribute in the locker room as well as on the ice, with a willingness to develop being a key to their success. The Marlins only have one early round pick and five total, so it seems development for the future is the key goal going forward. @Grape's Ottawa Lynx want to compete now. They have 12 total picks in the upcoming draft and are looking to make some splashes that will help this season and extend beyond S93. The goal for the Lynx is to cultivate a consistent competitive mindset for seasons to come. S93 is GM @JCarson first draft as Mexico City King’s GM. He told me that his goal for the season is to build a balanced team in the draft. He wants to be able to compete early on, but also be developed to be stronger in the playoffs. Mexico City holds a pick in each of the seven rounds of the draft so they can most certainly build a well-balanced team with those options. For GM @LucyXpher and the Halifax 21st the goal is simple, use their early picks (two first rounders and two seconds, nine total) to select players who can play at the top of the lineup now. Halifax is looking for players that are reliable to compete for the full 72-game schedule but is hoping to find some late round talent with potential that can be fostered for seasons to come. They are not only looking for the obvious talent but also the diamonds in the rough who are really pushing to make a name for themselves in their early career. The Mississauga Hounds GM @Nathan_8's goal in the draft is simple: build a good team with the picks available. There is potential to also move down in order to grab more picks. He believes with the draft capital at his disposal he will be able to do just that. After a heartbreaking loss in the finals, @McLovin and the Las Vegas Aces are gearing up for a long and hard rebuild. With more later picks than early ones, the Aces will have to get lucky with a gem in the later rounds to kickstart the rebuild process. Next is last season's Founder's Cup champs, the Philadelphia Reapers. GM @Lemorse7 is planning on making a splash in the draft to keep the Reapers' winning ways going. Although they only have five total picks, they have one in each of the first two rounds and have retained three players from last season so it isn't totally out of the question. Seeing as they need a decent goalie to make sure that happens, I expect a possible focus on doing just that. Last but certainly not least, GM @AJW with the Huston Bulls. He believes the success of a team is built from within. With so much uncertainty throughout the VHLM season, the Bulls look for a winning mentality over pure skill. If the players they draft are active and willing to put the work in, he thinks anyone can come out as a champion. Surprisingly (or maybe not so surprisingly) AJW was quoted saying "Rebuilding/waiting for the future is BORING!!!!", so I think it's safe to say he's planning for the present above all else. 2. Who do you think will be the #1 pick and why? It seems the GMs of the VHLM don’t have a consensus pick for #1 in the draft. Some names were thrown around, but they all seem equally likely to be picked first overall. Of the names mentioned, there were: Felicia Hardy @JCarson - There was a gut feeling behind Hardy being the first pick in the draft. The big defenceman played 20 games with San Diego last season, shelling out 16 hits and blocking 28 shots. Tyler Lawson @Nyx - If he chooses to stay in the VHLM, Lawson is one of, if not the best centre in the draft. He has a big shot and “high offensive upside” as quoted by one GM. A point-per-game player last season with 56 points in 56 games, any team would be ecstatic to have the offensive prowess of Lawson. Jillian Woods @jacobcarson877 - Jillian Woods is one of the only players remaining in the VHLM who has 200 TPA. A two-way defenceman, Woods can be effective at both ends of the ice. 3. What do you look for in a potential draft pick? What are your intangibles? What the GMs are looking for in a potential draft pick is fairly consistent across the board. First and foremost, activity in the forums and on the Discord is completely necessary. They recognize that without this, there is little to no improvement. Staying active will show the GMs that you’re willing to put the work in to earn that precious TPE every week. Most are compassionate, understanding there is a world outside of the VHL that takes priority, but when building a team to win, activity is the highest indicator of an up-and-coming star. The next most important piece of the puzzle seems to be attitude. GMs want to see that a potential draft pick can fit in with their team in the locker room. The goal ultimately is to have fun and create an atmosphere that encourages that. Players that exude that energy are generally gravitated toward because they improve the experience for the others around them as well. While the process to earn the TPE to be a star can be a long one, players who understand that and embrace it will catch the eye of GMs throughout each of the leagues. Lastly, what players do to earn TPE and how they go about it is significant to the GMs that I spoke to. They want to see a variety of point tasks attempted to see that all avenues are being used to improve their players. A player who participates in trivia and press conferences each week is much more valuable to a GM than one who ignores them or completes them sporadically. It is understood that every player doesn’t inherently know how to do everything on arrival in the VHL, but it is recognized when an attempt is being made to take the initiative and learn. This tends to be a good indicator of what they’ll become early on in their career. Overall, this is shaping up to be an exciting draft! I had multiple people tell me how deep it is and how likely it may be to find a diamond in the later rounds. For all the draft hopefuls, whether you’re the first pick or the last, keeping up with your point tasks and staying active will most certainly make a name for yourself quickly in this league. Even if you can’t tell, the GMs are keeping a close eye on everyone and making very informed decisions, so keep up the good work! EDIT: I would like to source that I took some of my research from @Grape's article overviewing each team leading up to the draft so I'd like to give him credit: Good luck to all the players and GMs participating in the S93 VHLM draft! (1345 words) Claimed week of 03/17 Claimed week of 03/24
    18 points
  3. Spartan

    S93 VHLM GM Hirings

    Hello all, Once again, we have come to a situation where we are hiring more GMs than we initially expected. First of all, congrats to @Tetricide who is leaving Miami to lead the Prague Phantoms in the VHL. We are also saying goodbye to @vincentlg2007 who is stepping down from Mississauga due to irl priorities. We appreciate both of them and their work in the role, along with the previously mentioned @hylands and @ShawnGlade. Before we get into hirings, we'd also like to note that @Ricer13 was brought in mid-season in S92 to step in as an interim GM for Saskatoon. He will be remaining with us as a permanent GM for S93, but will be changing teams based on our overall hirings. Without further ado, here are all of our S93 VHLM GM hires and team changes: Congrats to all our new GMs! Looking forward to working with you all to continue to improve the VHLM and the new player experience!
    18 points
  4. Acydburn

    Prague's New GM

    Evening! So with myself stepping down, we needed to replace the GM of Prague. With that said, please help me welcome
    18 points
  5. Hello VHL, Not even gonna bother with a members tag on this one since it's pretty minor stuff but for the sake of transparency I'm announcing it anyway; the @BOG is still tackling bigger problems but we do love to discuss random small stuff too. First up, goalies are just too damn good! Okay that's a bit of an exaggeration but because goalies weren't touched when we nerfed the meta and skaters got a bit worse they have been running away with things a bit more than historically. Save percentages have been climbing, Playoff MVP is almost a foregone conclusion, etc. We could change this with huge sweeping changes to goalie stats and adding hybrid attributes and all that, and that's still on the table for testing as a future option, but it's a bit more complicated than what we realistically need right now. From our testing we can bring goalie stats back down to more of historical averages, without making scoring go too insane, by simply adjusting the goals slider inside the sim. This means the amount of shots won't increase (at least not substantially anyway) but the amount of goals will. As always we aren't going to publicly reveal what our slider settings are but we felt like the league should at least know it's getting adjusted so they aren't confused as to why scoring increases. The slider change will impact all 3 levels of the VHL so the VHLE and VHLM will get it as well for consistency. Second, and this one honestly doesn't come up a ton but it's best to get it in writing: We are formalizing that during the week you re-create you are allowed to max earn (that's 12 capped TPE per week) on both your retiring player and your new player. The caveat to this is that you still cannot claim the same task multiple times. So for example if you have job pay and a media spot on your retiring player in a given week and you re-create you cannot claim that same job pay or media spot on the new player. You can write a new media spot, it doesn't need to be a different kind of task, but it needs to be a new task. Does that make sense? We've kinda been doing this for a bit anyway but there was some confusion around it so we figured it was best to clarify. Also, before anyone asks, for multi-week claims you can still use the same task but need to use a new claim week. So for example if you have a 2000 word media spot and you claim week 1 on your retiring player you can claim week 2 during the same week on your new player and then have 2 weeks left. Each claim effectively is just treated as a new task, the same as it is any other time. Like I said, minor stuff but there it is, enjoy. - @Commissioner
    17 points
  6. While the S93 VHL Entry Draft was highly anticipated from the moment high-end prospects Gianfranco Del Rocco @Victor and Antonia Bucatini @CowboyinAmerica declared their eligibility - and Jean-Pierre Devote @eagle_3450 and Forum Content @frescoelmo rounded out the top of the draft class nicely - it was a group that was originally pegged by many VHL scouts as lacking in depth. It’s not so much that those scouts missed the mark, but the VHL made a mid-season play to expand their recruiting efforts and all of a sudden, there was a massive influx in talent in the VHLM and, accordingly, in the S93 draft class as well. Several of the new faces brought in have immediately made names for themselves, and a couple of them even threaten to shake up that top of the draft class - although the top two of Del Rocco / Bucatini in some order is essentially untouchable. As a result, the S93 draft now looks like one of the deepest VHL draft classes in a very long time. Here, we’ll take a look at some of the new faces that have made their impact felt during their brief times in the league, and when some of these fast-rising prospects can look forward to hearing their names called on draft day. Lucy Leitner - D - Houston Bulls @LucyXpher The 5’8, 155 pound US-born defender stormed onto the VHL scene at the start of S93 and signed with Houston, where she would go on to rank 4th in the VHLM in defenseman scoring with 76 points in 72 games. That is surely impressive production for a VHLM rookie but it’s off the ice, with her work ethic, that Leitner has impressed most. She is a brilliant skater who moves the puck well and excels in her own end of the ice, though the offensive toolkit (passing and shooting) will need to develop to see the same production at the next level. Leitner has skyrocketed up draft boards and has massive upside - currently ranked 5th in the draft class, Leitner’s name will be in the minds of every GM who isn’t picking in the top-2, and if I were making the call, she would probably be the #3 pick. Benjamin Abenduct - D - Houston Bulls @Schnee The Bulls really scored themselves a pair of great young defensemen early in the year through the VHLM’s waiver process, with Abenduct close behind Leitner all year and actually outproducing her on the scoresheet. He finished the year with 23 goals, 81 points, 170 hits, and 100 blocks in 68 games. Although the stats don’t necessarily bear it out, Abenduct is a little more defense-minded than Leitner but doesn’t get around the ice as well and has a little bit less refined offensive game. He’s currently ranked 6th in the draft class and has his own case to jump Devote and Content on draft day, probably going right after Leitner especially if a team needs a defender. Annie Oaks - RW - Las Vegas Aces @Noodle Enjoyer Oaks signed with the Saskatoon Wild at the start of the VHLM season before being traded to the more competitive Las Vegas Aces at the deadline. Over the season, Oaks totalled 41 goals and 95 points, showcasing excellent vision and a powerful slapshot. Her shot is actually nearly pro-ready, but she does have a lot of work to do defensively before being able to contribute at the VHL level. Oaks is currently the ninth-ranked player in the draft class, the highest-rated forward coming from the increased recruiting efforts, and is a surefire first-round pick with a good chance to break into the top half of the round. UghSike - LW - Miami Marauders @UghSike UghSike has a lot of similarities to the aforementioned Oaks, having signed with the Wild at the start of the year before being shipped out at the trade deadline. UghSike found himself in Miami after the trade and was not as productive as Oaks during the season - he compiled 28 goals and 60 points. Compared to Oaks, UghSike has a slightly weaker shot (but still very good), is even less refined defensively, but is a better passer and skater. He will likely come off the board shortly after Oaks on draft day, somewhere in the middle of the first round. Trimiskez Artav - RW - Houston Bulls @jake Another member of the Houston Bulls, Artav brought it in a big way this season putting up 43 goals and 88 points in 72 games. He’s talented offensively and a little more well-rounded overall compared to the other forwards we’ve discussed so far. Unfortunately, over the last few weeks, there have been reports that Artav’s development has stalled and he’s been missing practice, which could definitely affect his draft stock. For the time being, Artav is still ranked 12th, but it seems likely he will fall into the second or third round based on these recent developments. Nathan Ecker - RW - Houston Bulls @Nathan_8 As you may have guessed, the Bulls were big beneficiaries of the VHL’s recruitment effort, and this is the fourth player they’ve placed on this list. Ecker is an extremely similar player to UghSike, with glaring defensive deficiencies in his game but excellent offensive talent, hands, and vision. With 25 goals and 48 points in 72 games, Ecker contributed to the Bulls’ offense from day one and has shown a steady commitment to improving. He is ranked 15th in the draft right now and will definitely be in the conversation for those GMs picking late in the first round. Gul Dukat - D - Miami Marauders @MSouthworth Dukat is an old-school defender, a stay-at-home, 6’3 200 pound behemoth with a mean streak and above average mobility, the kind of game that fans, scouts, and coaches all love. Dukat even showed some untapped offensive ability with Miami this season, putting up 18 goals and 65 points, even though that’s not necessarily their strong suit. With 163 hits, 72 PIM, and 123 blocks, it is that defensive element where Dukat truly shines. Ranked 16th in the class to date, Dukat is also the draft’s third-ranked defenseman behind Leitner and Abenduct, which means they should be a lock to be a first rounder. Ondrej Vencko - G - Houston Bulls @Mutti Vencko came to the VHLM as a talented but troubled young netminder, and had some much-publicized concerns about drug usage mar his early days in Houston. We may never find out exactly what went on, but it seems that whatever it was is firmly in the rearview mirror. Vencko quickly claimed the starting role in Houston and improved greatly as the year went on, finishing the season 27-18-3 with an .892 SV% before posting a .917 SV% in 12 playoff games. Vencko has excellent reflexes and rebound control, but struggles with lateral mobility and plays a little small in his net at times. There’s definite upside here though and he is the 3rd-ranked goaltender and 18th-ranked prospect in the draft overall. Vencko should go early in the second round and might sneak into the late-1st if there is a particularly goalie-needy team. Tyler Lawson - C - Houston Bulls @Nyx The Bulls are a veritable factory of brand-new talent! Interestingly, Lawson is the first player on this list that naturally plays centre and is the third-ranked centre in the draft class overall. Lawson has a similar profile to a lot of these players in that he’s got great offensive vision, a good slapshot, and some flaws in other areas of his game, particularly defensively. Joining the Bulls mid-season, Lawson scored at a point-per-game pace in the regular season (56 points in 56 games) but fell off in the playoffs with just 5 points in 12 games. He’s ranked #22 and probably didn’t do enough this season to jump into the first round, but he’s a high upside player who could really reward a team that takes the plunge in the high or mid-2nd. Ray Stanton - D - San Diego Marlins @horoscope Stanton, a 5’10 185 pound defenseman who’s a little more offensively-inclined than most of the others in this draft, really stepped into the league in a big way with the Saskatoon Wild mid-season. He put up 21 points, 61 hits, and 42 blocks in just 18 games before being traded to the San Diego Marlins. Unfortunately, his production tailed off in a more structured system in San Diego leaving some questions as to whether his production was a product of just playing on a bad team or truly being great. Stanton has made some good progression over his short time in the league so far and is projected in the middle of the second round (ranked #25). Cody Toland - D - Houston Bulls @ctoland102 A gritty, 6’4 215 pound offensive defenseman, Toland likes to hit and isn’t afraid to mix it up, giving him a little bit of a different dimension compared to most of the other young defenders in this draft. The two main concerns with Toland at this stage in his career are that he’ll need to develop his defensive game to play a defensive position at the next level and, while his improvement has been consistent over the course of the season, he hasn’t taken the next step in his development like some of the other players in the class have. With 35 points, 213 hits, and 92 blocked shots for Houston this year, Toland definitely has a possible VHL career in his future, and I would expect him to be chosen somewhere in the late-2nd or early-3rd round. Oliver Loo - RW - Miami Marauders @Peiffy Loo is a well-rounded, two-way forward with a little less upside than many of the forwards we’ve covered so far, but has shown steady improvement throughout the year and plays a projectable game without many flaws. Because of his limited offensive upside, at least based on what we’ve seen so far, Loo is more of a project who will likely spend more time at the VHLM and VHLE levels. However, he’s a good skater and responsible defensively, two things that VHL teams love to see. Loo is another player who will probably be selected somewhere around the early-3rd round. Billy Joel - D - San Diego Marlins @The goat of hockey Joel is a similar player to Toland, except even bigger, but less refined defensively. Joel’s brand of defense is simply running guys over and while it’s effective at times and certainly fun to watch, he will need to develop that positioning and poke checking at some point in order to have a VHL career in the future. Joel is a real old school type player, a 6’5, 235 pound physical force who is very willing to drop the gloves. He’s also got a bomb of a shot when he wants to use it. He put up 20 points in 72 games with San Diego but, more importantly, 205 hits and 84 blocks with 106 PIM. The harder he practices, the quicker he will get better but for now it looks like whoever drafts Joel will have a long-term project on their hands, with probably VHL #4 defenseman type upside to him. He’s likely to go off the board in the early-3rd round. Jack Dickins - RW - Houston Bulls @Mystery_boy98 A big, well-rounded winger, Dickins has shown some steady improvement over the season and the consistency to eventually play at the VHL level if he can maintain that for a few seasons, but he’s definitely a couple of seasons away, starting with what will likely be another VHLM season to continue his development. Dickins put up 20 points in 64 games with Houston this year and is in line for a bump up in role with whichever VHLM team drafts him next season. How the next season or so goes for him will be the big determinant in whether or not the VHL is in his future, but he’s surely worth a pick in the 3rd round to figure that out. ~2020 words for the next 4 weeks
    16 points
  7. Welcome to the PRESEASON edition of weekly updated power rankings where I spend the first 50 words explaining how this works for a bit. Firstly, projected rankings are based on rosters as of March 17th. Some players may have been signed, released, or traded since that point in time and those were not considered in the new ranks or scores. Also, my projected lines that I use to find the scores assumes a maximum of two appearances per player. Draft Grades mainly consider how well the draft set the team up for success this season. Future value is considered partially but not heavily. Enjoy the rankings!!! Overall Rank: 10th Overall Score: 8.53 Forwards Rank: 10th Forwards Score: -13.60 Defensemen Rank: 4th Defensemen Score: 46.00 Goalies Rank: 10th Goalies Score: 0.00 Draft Grade: D+ Notes: San Diego is in a clear rebuild for S93. The team's draft was mostly focused on using a limited pool of picks to find developmental projects. It may take until season 94 but some of those picks could be future stars. I'd predict Stanton @horoscope is once again going to be on the move at the TDL with the goal of San Diego recuperating after being fleeced in the Gretzky trade. They are also the only team in the M without a goalie after trading Wazinski @samthemancub. A few are available in open Free Agency but it appears their agents are fiercely negotiating and leaving the Marlins in a tough spot. To spotlight a positive, the most glaring hole for SDM is the forwards which are the most common spot for first gens to settle in so maybe some waivers save the day. Overall Rank: 9th Overall Score: 28.22 Forwards Rank: 7th Forwards Score: 34.53 Defensemen Rank: 10th Defensemen Score: 3.55 Goalies Rank: 6th Goalies Score: 58.60 Draft Grade: C- Notes: The Marauders are the polar opposites of the San Diego. They do have the advantage of a deep center core which leaves some flexibility for trades with a team like Las Vegas who has... calculating... zero Cs. They also do have a backup goalie so maybe the potential for a trade with San Diego for one of those Defensemen they have. Moves will need to be made and @Ricer13 showed his willingness to make trade at the deadline of S92 during his stint as Saskatoon's interim GM. Overall Rank: 8th Overall Score: 29.62 Forwards Rank: 9th Forwards Score: 6.23 Defensemen Rank: 7th Defensemen Score: 45.20 Goalies Rank: 4th Goalies Score: 68.60 Draft Grade: D Notes: The reigning champs once again find themselves low on my rankings and maybe they'll shock me again. This team has good depth on defense but none of those players are coming out the gate as stars. They also boast the second roster so far with less forwards than defenders. One of the key factors in this low score admittedly is Krupis's @hedgehog337 0 applied TPE but they need depth badly. Unlike San Diego this team has a goalie and a damn solid one at that. With the right waiver additions and MUCH MORE EARNING from the Jinns, I expect a similar rise as I predicted for Houston last season. Overall Rank: 7th Overall Score: 38.68 Forwards Rank: 4th Forwards Score: 43.67 Defensemen Rank: 9th Defensemen Score: 21.75 Goalies Rank: 7th Goalies Score: 57.60 Draft Grade: B- Notes: This is the first team that has a great foundation in my opinion to grow a lot. They are going to rely on some waivers and their goalie is in my estimation a weakness, but I like the base. Strong vets on the D-core that will likely be capped by season's end. Two star forwards that could put up numbers like Ivanov and Shotzky last season. In fact, according to my metrics the Hounds have the 1st and 4th best forwards in the VHLM to start the season. Once again, they need some work but the foundation will be enough to keep them hovering .500 until they get some support. Overall Rank: 6th Overall Score: 38.85 Forwards Rank: 5th Forwards Score: 43.23 Defensemen Rank: 7th Defensemen Score: 30.85 Goalies Rank: 10th Goalies Score: 41.70 Draft Grade: D+ Notes: This may sound odd based on their ranking, but last year's title favorites are in a rebuild. The primary reason for their appearance in this position is they have depth. Eight wingers grace their roster with, as stated earlier, no centers. Options exist in the free agent market but a trade between Miami and Las Vegas feels natural. Ricer and @McLovin did manage a trade last season that saw Annie Oaks move. Goaltending is a weakness currently but maybe McLovin's guidance can get Cavill @Firekiss back on track in their development. Overall Rank: 5th Overall Score: 39.07 Forwards Rank: 6th Forwards Score: 40.87 Defensemen Rank: 1st Defensemen Score: 55.90 Goalies Rank: 8th Goalies Score: 55.20 Draft Grade: B Notes: The rookie GM made some solid moves on draft night and made the Piffcast Pick of the Draft, brought to you by Gatorade, with their selection of Anthony Simmons II @Starchychaff at 28th overall. Great locker room presence and a solid build to boot. This team much like last season is built on its defense, but with a potential downgrade in net. Hellebuyck @HockeyFan4Life could develop into the top tier but this season has ton of talent in net and it just feels like he is just a step behind. With a few waiver additions to the forward core, Mexico could be a contender soon. Overall Rank: 4th Overall Score: 40.47 Forwards Rank: 8th Forwards Score: 31.23 Defensemen Rank: 8th Defensemen Score: 25.60 Goalies Rank: 1st Goalies Score: 97.90 Draft Grade: C- Notes: The draft wasn't that great due to last year's deadline moves from @AJW. There is hope in the form of a returning player. This team is eerily similar to the Reapers of last season. They have pretty rough skaters. The forwards are weak but numerous, the defense has stars but no depth. Goaltending could save this team and carry them. We will see if the meta of the VHLM teams becomes "have a great goalie or bust" if they win it all. Overall Rank: 3rd Overall Score: 43.78 Forwards Rank: 3rd Forwards Score: 43.90 Defensemen Rank: 6th Defensemen Score: 36.20 Goalies Rank: 5th Goalies Score: 58.60 Draft Grade: A- Notes: New GM @LucyXpher really showed poise in this draft and I liked the picks. Simard in the 5th was a candidate for pick of the draft. Overall the class followed the foundation that Mississauga was going for but with more selections to have depth. Lucy took some "projects" but overall I see the vision of rebuilding the 21st locker room as a priority over competition. Still a great roster was built. I think if Dylan decides to actually use some TPE then Halifax will be a total threat! Overall Rank: 2nd Overall Score: 53.70 Forwards Rank: 2nd Forwards Score: 45.33 Defensemen Rank: 2nd Defensemen Score: 53.90 Goalies Rank: 2nd Goalies Score: 78.40 Draft Grade: A Notes: Jack of all trades, master of none, but still better than one. This team is not the best at anything but they are great up and down the lineup. They have star power and depth everywhere. Most importantly, they have a star goalie! Something this franchise has desperately been lacking for a long long time was addressed with a trade to the Las Vegas Aces. This is a roster that will change very little from now until the end but will be solid that whole time. I see them cruising to a top finish in the east while other teams find their footing. A lot of pressure will fall on Jillian Woods @jacobcarson877 as they are the top defenseman in the league which means expectations. Overall Rank: 1st Overall Score: 58.22 Forwards Rank: 1st Forwards Score: 56.77 Defensemen Rank: 3rd Defensemen Score: 53.10 Goalies Rank: 3rd Goalies Score: 72.80 Draft Grade: A+ Notes: The new GM did great but I think we have to give a specific shoutout to Ricer for this draft after last season's deadline that saw the Wild perfectly set up for a good class in S93 while still making the playoffs. This team boasts a most impressive top end in Oliver Loo @Misty and the returning Leo Neelson III @silentnyrf31 while the defense also looks poised to shock us with draftees like Lazlo Holmes @Gustav and Carson Tripp @Cartripp14. Also what a nice move in getting Da TypThond @Erik with the last pick. If it wasn't for reports from my sources that he is a non factor in the locker room, this would have been my pick of the draft. Thanks for reading, and have a wonderful S93!
    14 points
  8. Looking back at my first time scrolling the VHL forums, before I created an account, made a player, and learned the ropes, some I have yet to learn. As someone who struggles with Anxiety, pushing myself to say “fuck it” and go for it came with a lot of hesitance, but in the end, it was so worthwhile. The community is so welcoming, the people here are so kind, I have yet to interact with someone who even comes close to rubbing me the wrong way. All and all it’s been a good experience so far. My player, Oliver Loo, a name I just slapped together is a player or rather character that I didn’t think I’d be putting so much effort and creativity into although my writing is not the best, needing to be improved upon and I don’t exactly have the means to make graphics. I originally made him just to test the waters, and see if I like how the VHL works under the surface that is the forums. Within the Discord servers, the people and such. It’s a lot more laid back than what I first thought, it’s enjoyable. I like pretty much ever aspect that I have discovered so far and can see myself sticking around. Hell, I even already have plans for my next player and this one isn’t even close to done yet. 230 words
    13 points
  9. Graphic credit: @Triller On Monday evening, the VHL’s Junior Showcase Tournament wrapped with Game 6 between the Warriors and the Steel. With the Warriors already in control of the series at three games to two, they clinched the Season 92 Junior Showcase Tournament in a 4-3 victory that featured a three point performance by Connor Simard @Alex99 and a stellar night in goal by Aleksanteri Kaskiniemi-Kekkonen @Snussu. While the Steel managed to keep the Warriors’ top line off the scoresheet in game 6, it was the second line players of GM @Nathan_8’s squad that pushed them over the top in this game as Simard, Bruhmaninho @BigBruhman, and Robinson @isaak combined for 3 of the team’s 4 goals. 6:04 into the 3rd period, Simard would bury the game winner on the powerplay from de Trueno @Thunder and Robinson. The Steel would draw back to within 1, but the Warriors would seal the Steel fate with an empty netter by Jillian Woods @jacobcarson877 and that was all she wrote. In the ensuing celebrations, an ecstatic Nathan had only two words for any who may have doubted his managerial pedigree, “I’m him.” It’s hard to argue with the confidence of a manager who clinched World Junior Championship gold with Team World and the Junior Showcase Championship on back-to-back nights. Safe to say, his managerial career is off to a hot start and he’ll be carrying this confidence into his first season as general manager for the Mississauga Hounds in the VHLM. And while the Warriors’ triumph may be the top story of the tournament, it was far from the only one. ════ ⋆★⋆ ════ www.hitsfordays.jst - Okay, here’s a random fun fact for you, would you believe that the top three hitters in the JST were Wladyslaw Mintus @mintusaurus, WWumbo @Fire Tortorella, and Walter Jinn @Adrest245? Welcome to the world of weird and wacky... or maybe that's just my tired brain getting overly excited about the letter W. Did I mention that the Warriors won the JST? Sorry-- on with the article! Fire Brigade At one point in the regular schedule, the Brigade were the class of the field. In my preview article, I had the Brigade ranked 5th in the early roster power rankings and it seems that @samx's squad took that to heart. From days 11-25 of the tournament, the Brigade were unbeaten– 11-0-0 during that stretch, outscoring their opponents 32-15. Unfortunately, the Brigade cooled off immediately following this hot streak and lost their next 6 in a row, finishing the season 3-4-4 in their next 11 games. For the Brigade, it was perhaps a case of peaking at the wrong time. Though they still finished the regular season in 2nd place behind the Warriors, their late struggles seemed to shake their confidence in the playoffs as they fell to the Steel in 6 games in the first round, despite having home ice advantage. Notably, Tyler Lawson @Nyx was the Brigade’s leading scorer throughout the regular season and the playoffs. The 14th overall selection of the Helsinki Titans scored 26 points in the 30 regular season games and followed that up with 9 points in the Brigade’s 6 playoff games. Defender, Lucy Leitner @LucyXpher, and winger, UghSike @UghSike, both led the team and were among the tournament’s top scorers during the Brigade’s 11 game tear, but both cooled off considerably down the stretch, finishing with 22 and 21 points respectively. The team boasted a strong two-way game with players like Goncalves @leandrofg, Reynolds Jr @Crstats23, and Bouchard @Gaikoku-hito leading the way in that respect, but seemed to lack scoring punch at times, conceding points in a tournament high 6 shootout or overtime losses. Though they led the tournament with 212 shots blocked, the Brigade conversion rate of 9.91% on the powerplay was nearly 5% lower than the league average. While goaltending was thought to be a question mark for this team entering the tournament, it proved to be a strength as Da TypThond @Erik and Kendra Cavill @Firekiss both posted solid numbers in the regular season, highlighted by Da TypThond’s .918 SV% and 1.84 GAA. In the playoffs, however, Cavill struggled to a .877 SV% and 4.75 GAA in all 6 starts for the Brigade. Though it would be unfair to pin the Brigade’s playoff disappointment on Cavill who performed well during the regular season, it was certainly a performance to forget. Solid Steel In my preview for the Steel, I suggested that if they chose to play Kolesinska @chikn and Swift @lilchrist on the same line along with Artav @jake, they could boast one of the most complete starting lineups in the tournament. While Swift and Kolesinska didn’t play together all season on the Steel’s top line, they did play together on the team’s tournament best powerplay. Perhaps the team I was most accurate about in that preview, the Steel placed a solid 3rd in the tournament, never losing more than 3 games in a row or winning more than 4 in a row. The Steel were consistently a solid team throughout the tournament with Benjamin Abenduct @Schnee leading the way from the blueline, notching 34 points in 30 games. He was also tied with Trimiskez Artav with 13 goals, which was the second highest goal total in the tournament. Despite the Steel’s consistency, there were some anomalous numbers on their stat page, including Abenduct and Dukat @MSouthworth both being a minus rating throughout the tournament at 5-on-5. For the Steel, the statistical performance of goaltender, Ondrej Vencko @Mutti, was also a bit mystifying. With a .904 SV% and 2.07 GAA in a tournament-high 17 starts, Vencko’s numbers were respectable, though perhaps not as impressive as his closest rivals from this past season in the VHLM. Vencko, however, did claim the distinction of the tournament’s most victorious goalie, claiming 12 wins with only 5 losses on his record. In the playoffs, however, Vencko was arguably outperformed by his backup, Austin Goulet III @Tuchy, who posted a .919% compared with Vencko’s .903%, though both goalies held a record of 3-3. For Steel GM, @dstevensonjr, this tournament has to be considered a success. Entering the playoffs as the 3rd seed and knocking off the Brigade in the first round, the Steel were in the final with a chance to win it all. Despite losing the first two games of the finals on the Warrior’s home ice, the Steel pulled off two wins in their own barn to draw even at two games apiece. Unfortunately, they lost a close game 5 to the Warriors 4-3 which was punctuated by a Jean-Pierre Devote @eagle_3450 hattrick, and then the 4-2 loss in game 6. While they didn’t achieve their desired outcome, the Steel proved to be a formidable opponent throughout the season and measured up competitively against the eventual champions. No Rush If it wasn’t for the performance of Jorgen Lovstrom @Pifferfish, I’m not sure where this team might have finished… Where have I heard this story before? Lovstrom paced the field of netminders with a .931 SV%, a 1.44 GAA and an impressive 4 shutouts in 15 games. Compare those numbers to his counterpart, Connor Hellebuyck @HockeyFan4Life, who is no slouch between the pipes, and you start to see why Lovstrom was so important to his team. For his part, in an equal sample of 15 games, Hellebuyck posted a .902% and 2.51 GAA. While he won the same number of games as Lovstrom, it’s clear which goalie gave his team the best chance to win. In the best of 5 play-in round, Lovstrom still managed a respectable .906, despite a shocking 4.50 GAA which likely reflects more on the team’s performance in front of him as the Rush would fall in 4 games to the Royals, who were the tournament’s weakest team through the regular season. Offensively, the Rush were led by 2nd overall selection in the S93 VHL draft, Gianfranco Del Rocco @Victor, who finished the tournament with 24 points in 30 games, followed closely by Oliver Loo @Misty with 20 in 30. Notably, Loo was a net 2nd in the tournament at +11 in 5-on-5 play and tied for net 3rd in goals, also with 11. In the play-in round, Nathan Ecker @Nathan_8 led the team with 6 points in 4 games, though the team seemed to lack scoring throughout that series against the Royals, managing to score only 2 or fewer goals in three of the four games. The Rush never really seemed to get going in this tournament, losing three consecutive games on four separate occasions, while only managing a three game winning streak at one point during the schedule. Having the second fewest total goals in the tournament with 62, the Rush were asking a lot of their goaltending tandem– and not to put too fine a point on the goaltending disparity in the Rush crease, Lovstrom only allowed 22 of the team’s 66 goals against. With a goal differential of only -4, the Rush were not so far off the mark that they weren’t competitive game to game, but they did seem to lack the offensive spark that would have put them in contention for the JST title. In the end, the overall result was not what the Rush would have hoped for, though the tournament still provided a spotlight for some of the team’s brightest stars. We’ll Never Be Royals… Okay, maybe that subtitle is a little harsh, but I’m trying to keep things light so allow it... please? Finishing last in the regular season with only 9 wins in 30 games, the Royals never really got going in the Junior Showcase Tournament. Going 9 games without a win in the middle of the season certainly doesn’t help the cause either. After their top goal scorer and point getter, Steve French @Seabass, who had 11 goals and 10 assists in 30 games, the next highest goal scorer on the Royals only had 7 goals and 17 points. You might be surprised to learn that this player was selected 1st overall in the recent VHL and VHLE drafts, and also went 1st in the VHLM draft a season ago. While I don’t think for one second that this JST performance is indicative in the slightest of what Antonia Bucatini @CowboyinAmerica is or might become, it is a surprising outcome for a player and a team that I had among the favorites to win the tournament. Revisiting this Royals roster, it’s frankly shocking how poorly this team performed in the tournament, despite featuring the likes of Annie Oaks @Noodle Enjoyer, Forum Content @frescoelmo, The Phantom of the VHL @Hogan, Maple Dogwood @dogwoodmaple, Felicia Hardy @JCarson, Toby Cooke @KRZY, and the aforementioned Bucatini and French. With the tandem of Wazinski @samthemancub and Benson @Benson, two proven goaltenders at the VHLM level, it’s even more puzzling that this team allowed the most goals in the tournament– 77! With a goal differential of -18, they were in a class of their own at the bottom of the table. Look, I don’t want to pile on a team that had a run of bad luck so I’ll reiterate what I said before– I don’t think their record is indicative of the quality of the players on the roster. Chalk it up to bad puck luck, chemistry, low morale, or just speak the unspeakable name. Here’s the thing, whatever the Royals were in the regular season, they were a different team in the playoffs. Take Forum Content, for example, who scored 17 points in the regular season, but 18 points in the playoffs in 20 fewer games! Oaks and Bucatini experienced similar scoring bumps, both recording 15 points in 10 playoff games. The Royals would dispatch the Rush convincingly in the best-of-five play-in round, and matched up quite competitively against the eventual champion Warriors, losing in 6 games. If nothing else, the tale of two teams that was the Royals in this tournament is just another example of how fickle the game can be at times– or perhaps we just give the devil his name… Simon. The Warriors are… them? If their GM, Nathan, is him, then they are them, but let’s not get bogged down in semantics. The bottom line is that the Warriors were the class of the tournament. The only team with more than a +1 goal differential, the Warriors lapped the field with an absurd +20 in 30 games, finishing the tournament with a record of 21-8-1. In the regular season, Yermolai Nabokov @fonziGG led the way with 16 goals and 30 points in 30 games, while Jean-Pierre Devote pitched in 20 assists to go with his 8 goals. Jillian Woods and Ray Stanton @horoscope were standouts on the back end, logging 23 and 21 points respectively, but it was the Warrior’s goalie who may have really stolen the spotlight. Aleksanteri Kaskiniemi-Kekkonen played an unbelievable tournament, recording 11 wins with only 4 losses in his 15 starts, a .924 SV%, and a 1.51 GAA. In the playoffs, AKK continued his strong run of form with 8 wins and only 3 losses, a .920%, and a 2.72 GAA. While Lovstrom may have had slightly better percentages and Vencko, more wins, AKK played the most consistent tournament of those 3 top goalies and deserved every bit of his team’s victory. Throughout the tournament, the Warriors never really struggled and, unlike the Brigade, managed to heat up at just the right time. Down the stretch, the Warriors racked up 11 wins in their last 12 games and went into the playoffs flaming hot. In the playoffs, they would never face elimination and took care of business against the resurgent Royals and the consistent Steel. While the Brigade came the closest in the regular season to reaching the level of the Warriors, they seemed to lack the bona fide starting goaltender that the Warriors had to go along with a strong blueline and a frightening forward corps. This was a well constructed Warriors team that found a way to win most nights and delivered on the lofty promises made by their GM before the tournament started. Fair play and congratulations to the Warriors on a dominant Junior Showcase Tournament! ════ ⋆★⋆ ════ Players of the Tournament: Goalie: Aleksanteri Kaskiniemi-Kekkonen @Snussu Regular Season (11-4-0, .924%, 1.51 GAA, 2 SO) Playoffs (8-3-1, .920%, 2.72 GAA) As I suggested earlier, I think AKK was the most consistent goalie throughout the tournament and played a huge part in his team’s success. While his last season in the VHLM may not have played out the way he hoped, his JST performance reminded us why he’s considered among the best goalies in his draft class and was a highly rated prospect in the recent VHL and VHLE drafts. Congratulations to Aleksanteri Kaskiniemi-Kekkonen on a fantastic tournament. Skater: Benjamin Abenduct @Schnee Regular Season (30GP, 13G, 21A, 34P) Playoffs: (12GP, 9G, 13A, 22P) There’s really not much debate when it comes to the top skater of the tournament and who I would consider the tournament MVP. Abenduct led the tournament in points as a defenseman, scoring the second most goals, and recording the highest assist total. He was also 3rd in shots blocked, 6th in hits, and played the 4th most minutes of any player in the tournament. In the playoffs, he led the tournament in points again, had the 2nd most goals, 3rd most assists, and was 2nd in shots blocked. It was an absolutely dominant performance by Abenduct at this tournament and there’s really no other player who performed at the same level throughout both the regular schedule and the playoffs. Though he came up short in the finals with the Steel, it wasn’t for lack of effort. Congratulations to Benjamin Abenduct for his incredible individual performance and a great run to the final. ════ ⋆★⋆ ════ And that concludes my coverage of the S93 Junior Showcase Tournament! Thank you to all the players and managers for giving us an entertaining showcase, as well as the simmers and commissioners who made it all happen behind the scenes… despite a few hiccups and a false start. I wish the best of luck to all the players continuing their careers-- some returning back to the M, while others are moving up to the E, and even potentially the VHL as early as this season. We’ll see what the future holds for this generation of players, but if this JST was anything to go by, the future is bright! LucyXpher for VSN Claim 03/24/24 - 2676 words Claim 03/31/24
    13 points
  10. As our flight touched down in Stockholm, I couldn’t help but be reminded that I was a long way from home. Having spent most of my life and professional career as a writer in Houston, the prospect of crossing the pond and living in a new country for any extended period of time was admittedly quite mystifying. Opportunity calls-- or at least that's what I told myself as I disembarked the aircraft and began making my way through the terminal. After a nearly 12-hour flight, my destination was still an hour's train ride away-- Vasteras, one of northern Europe's oldest cities, approximately 100km west of Stockholm. Stepping outside, I found myself instinctively buttoning up my coat and folding my arms. In contrast to the humid heat of Houston, even in the month of March, the air here in Sweden tasted fresh, brisk even, if not a little chilly. It's a change, no doubt about that, though not an entirely unwelcome one. Last season, writing for VHL.com, I covered the story of the Houston Bulls, chronicling their rise from an early season underdog to a playoff favorite. Having privileged access to the locker room, the players, and staff, I grew quite fond of the team, experiencing the excitement of their first-round playoff victory, as well as the pain of their semi-final defeat. The loss was made to sting all the more as I knew that I would be moving on from coverage of the Bulls at the conclusion of the playoffs, not unlike the players who would be moving on to new teams for S93. Only yesterday, my next assignment was confirmed-- the Vasteras Iron Eagles of the VHLE. I had known I'd likely be heading to Europe to cover the E, but the city I'd be calling home for the duration of this next season remained a mystery until what seemed like the final hour. When I finally got the call on Monday evening, my bags were already half packed and I scrambled to put the rest of my life together in short order—coat, scarves, boots, hat... I don't live in the real world and my life is chaos, though I suppose that's half the fun. And while I could go on about my hectic travel schedule, my lack of sleep, or prepping for a feature interview while on an intercontinental flight, this piece isn't about me so I'll spare you my melodrama. Suffice it to say, the whirlwind that was my weekend surely cannot compare to the experience of recent VHL and VHLE draftee, Lucy Leitner. I had the opportunity to follow Leitner's first professional hockey season in Houston and was impressed with her level of play and commitment to development on and off the ice. She got off to a flying start, quickly dispelling any doubts that her success at the junior level wouldn't translate to the minor pro ranks. Finishing the season with 76 points in 72 games, collecting 60 assists in the process, Leitner impressed scouts enough for Riga to select her 3rd overall in the VHL draft. In the VHLE draft, it was Vasteras that collected the smooth skating defender with the 2nd overall pick. Notably, in both drafts over the weekend, it was Leitner's Houston teammate, Antonia Bucatini @CowboyinAmerica, who was selected 1st overall, completing a trifecta of 1st overall selections in the VHLM, VHLE, and VHL. Vasteras, Sweden I slept through the hour-long train ride from Stockholm to Vasteras and, groggy-eyed, I caught a cab from the train station to the hotel and turned in early (it was only 4pm local time). The next morning, I met Lucy in the hotel lobby at 9:00. She was in a chipper mood, almost glowing as she crossed the lobby and greeted me warmly. She had arrived in Vasteras the same day as I had for a short visit and already had plans to leave in less than 24 hours to fly back to the US—to Salt Lake City, for the World Junior Championships. Today, she had the morning free to explore the city and I was more than happy to tag along. Unlike Houston, Vasteras is a walkable city. In Houston, if you don’t have a vehicle, you’re not going to get far. If you want to get anywhere, you’ll need to put on your game face, grit your teeth, hit the freeway, and hope to hell you don’t encounter the infamous Houston driver. Sure, there are bike paths down by the bayou and the city has got some nice parks, but it’s hot, horrendously humid, and sweatier than hyperhidrosis if it isn’t one of those precious few temperate weeks in the middle of February. Sound like your cup of tea? At least make sure it’s iced and unsweet, you psycho. By contrast, Vasteras has a beautiful historical district called Bondtorget. With quaint and colorful buildings, cobblestone streets, outdoor markets, a picturesque plaza, and bridges that cross the Svartån river, it doesn’t feel like life is coming at you a million miles a minute. In the chaos of the last 48 hours, taking in these relatively quiet streets with Lucy was a breath of fresh air—and I mean that literally. Back in Houston, it’s muggier than a stein of bulldog-branded root beer... Look, I’m tired and I’m trying, do with that odd analogy what you will. Walking through the narrow streets, we stumbled upon a small bridge over the Svartån with hundreds of locks hooked on the railings. I had seen bridges like this before in Europe and in North America, but Lucy seemingly had not. “Why are all these locks here?” she asked, curiously. “They’re called love locks,” I replied, “Look, you can see the initials inscribed on them. Couples leave them as a sign of their unbreakable love.” Leaning in closer to examine the locks, Lucy had an air of fascination about her, like a kid in a candy shop, a youthful curiosity. I had to remind myself, she was still only 18 and this was the furthest she’d ever been outside of the US. For all of her maturity and composure on the ice and in the locker room, this was all still new to her. Europe was a new world. Moving on from the lock encumbered bridge, we continued picking our way through the winding streets and found ourselves a quiet coffee shop where we could sit and chat. And while I fought back yawns and gulped my coffee down, fiending for caffeine, Lucy apparently had all the energy in the world. “Are you sure you only got here yesterday?” I asked, marveling at her excitement. “How are you not exhausted after all you’ve been through this past weekend? I mean, you were just drafted to the VHL and the VHLE, you’ve been playing in the Junior Showcase Tournament, you’ve flown across the Atlantic to a place you’ve never been, and you’re flying back to Salt Lake in less than a day to play against some of the best young players in the world—what's your secret? How are you not crashing?” Lucy laughed, “I don’t know. I guess I never really thought about all that. I’m just taking it all as it comes and it’s all been so much fun!” “Tell me about that experience, though-- the VHL draft was on Saturday and you were selected by Riga. Did you expect to get picked 3rd overall?” “Not at all! If I’m being completely honest, I didn’t even know Riga was in Latvia until after I got off the phone with the GM when I was drafted. I was just like, ‘where on earth is Riga?’ I guess I had it in my head that it was in Switzerland or something.” Amused, I asked, “Did you know Vasteras was in Sweden?” “Yeah, I knew that because I had a couple of former junior teammates who had been here, actually, for a tournament.” “So how do you feel about Riga? Is that where you would have hoped to get drafted?” She shrugged, “Honestly, I didn't really have any expectations, I was just happy to get picked. The organization has been nothing but great to me so far. I mean, I kind of knew they were interested because they interviewed me before the draft, but so did a bunch of other teams so I was totally shocked when I heard my name at 3rd overall with all the other great players that were still on the board. I’m just super honored more than anything else.” “No, that’s so great to hear,” I say, drinking in her luminous demeanor—and another slurp of my coffee, “And so you were picked 2nd overall by Vasteras in the VHLE draft on Monday, tell me about that experience.” “Honestly, I was still on a high from the VHL draft and when they picked me at 2nd, I couldn’t believe it. It was just such a surreal moment realizing that I could kind of see my future, like, where I would be playing next season and for, hopefully, many seasons after that in Riga.” “What does your family think about you moving to Europe? I’m sure there’s a bit of mixed emotion seeing you move so far away to play hockey.” “Yeah, definitely a little bit, like you said, obviously they’re all super supportive, but, you know, obviously, there were some tears when they dropped me off at the airport. I’m sure I’ll be able to see them a fair bit if they travel here for games. They’re already planning on coming to my first game here in Vasteras so we’re all super excited for that.” “What will that mean to you—your first game in the E with your family in attendance? I remember last offseason we spoke about you making the jump up to the M and I think you proved pretty quickly that you belonged in that league. Do you have any nervous energy going into this season?” “It’ll mean the world to me to have my family there. They’ve been with me throughout the whole journey so having them there for the first one will be super special. Like, I guess I’m maybe a little bit nervous, but, like, nothing crazy. I mean, a little bit of nervousness is good, right? Like, it kind of gets you going and I think it really helps me focus. Like, if I’m not nervous, maybe I’m not taking it seriously enough. So, yeah...” “Do you put a lot of pressure on yourself to perform at a high level?” “I guess, yeah, I definitely have high expectations for myself, but I also just love to play, so I obviously want to be at my best and I expect to play well, but if things are kind of off, I guess I don’t beat myself up over it too much. At the end of the day, I’m just so lucky to be playing this game.” “I think that’s a great mentality to have. Just take it as it comes and enjoy every moment.” “Exactly!” Lucy smiled brightly. “I wanted to ask you about your new teammates—particularly, an old teammate who will be playing with you in Vasteras. Ondrej Vencko @Mutti was also selected by the Iron Eagles, as well as a couple of rivals of yours from the Reapers, Jorgen Lovstrom @Pifferfish and Yermolai Nabokov @fonziGG. On top of that, another high VHL draft pick in Gianfranco Del Rocco @Victor was also drafted by Vasteras. What do you think of being teammates with all of them now?” “I can’t even tell you how happy I am, honestly! I’m so glad Ondra is here. He’s just such a funny and amazing personality and an incredible player, and to have Lovstrom too? Like, our goalies have to be the best in the E, right? I also heard that they’re kinda drinking buddies in the offseason when we’re supposed to be in ‘training camp’, so maybe now that we’re all teammates they’ll let me join them! Nabokov, I don’t know too well, but I’ve heard great things about him too, and he was obviously incredible last season so I’m super excited to have him on the team. We were actually both drafted to Riga as well, so I’m sure I’ll get to know him pretty well in future. —And Del Rocco! I was honestly surprised Vasteras didn’t take him at 2nd overall, what a player!” “It must be nice that you’ll have at least one other former Houston Bull on Vasteras with you after so many were picked in these drafts.” “Absolutely! I was honestly hoping that there would be more, but of all the people it could have been, Ondra is the best—no offense to anyone else! I love them all!” “What do you think of the team’s chances to compete for the VHLE championship this year?” “I mean, with all the talent that Z @Zetterberg brought in with the draft, plus the players we already have on the roster, I really like our chances! It’s obviously a long season and a lot can happen, but right now I absolutely believe we have a chance, and talking with some of the others, we’re all really excited to get started!” “Yeah, so with the season starting in less than a week, how are you preparing for the start of the VHLE season? I know you’ll be attending the World Juniors for Team USA, but do you think you’ll be prepared once the regular season starts?” “Definitely, I’ve been training all offseason to get better, really working on my defensive game and trying to play bigger. I’m obviously not the biggest person on the ice, but I know the levels go up in the E, including physicality, so I’m just trying to do everything I can to be ready for that. But I’m feeling really confident that my game is in a much better place now than at the end of the playoffs. I’m just feeling ready.” “And what about the World Juniors, how do you feel about your chances in that tournament? It must be an honor being able to wear your country’s colors, right?” “Yes! Oh, I can’t wait. I’ve wanted to play for the national team my whole life, so this is like a dream for me. It’s gonna be so cool putting on those jerseys and skating out against Canada in game one—like, I just can’t wait. I think we have a good chance in the tournament too, like, we’ve got a solid lineup and it’ll be great to be on the same team as Abenduct again for this tournament. I think he and Gul Dukat are going to be a monster pair if the coach puts them together!” We continued our chat for a while longer. I ordered a second coffee in the meantime, still trying to keep up with Lucy’s energy, though it seemed no amount of magic bean juice was going to get me to that level. Just before we concluded, I asked her, “Now that you’ve finished your first full season of professional hockey, have your goals changed at all? When we spoke in the last offseason, you were focused on helping the Bulls win. I know it was a disappointing end to that run, but do you feel you accomplished what you set out to do? And what is your goal for this season?” Lucy seemed to think for a few moments before answering, “Wow, yeah, I’m definitely still getting over that loss to Philly. It was heartbreaking, honestly. I mean, we didn’t get the Founder’s Cup like we all wanted—like I had hoped, I guess, but I don’t think the season was a failure. Just seeing how far we came is so incredible to look back on and I think it’s really kind of changed my perspective. I still want to win— I want to win this season, of course, but I kinda feel like how we came together as a team was even more important in the end. I’ve never had a season quite like that run with the Bulls and I really hope it’s not the last. It would have been so much sweeter if we had won, and I’m not satisfied with losing, but that’s the game, I guess. So, like, not much changes this season really, but I feel like maybe my first goal is bringing the same team energy that we had in Houston here to Vasteras. I really think if we have the whole team on the same page that way, the sky is the limit to what we can accomplish, and a championship will kind of take care of itself. I don’t know, it’s a good question. “Last one, where do you see yourself in five years?” “That’s easy,” Lucy smiled, “I’m having my day with the Continental Cup in Riga.” Riga, Latvia For a player with only one season of pro experience, her goals are lofty, but her self-expectation is higher. Certainly, the road to a Continental Cup in five years will be a difficult one. Still to play her first game with Vasteras, Leitner has a long road ahead of her just to get to that opening faceoff as she heads back to the US for the World Juniors this week. While she exudes the energy of someone who takes every minute as it comes, allowing the moment to shape her experience, her long-term goal is set in the stars. Whether or not she reaches it remains to be seen. Saying our goodbyes, I caught myself exhaling tiredly. I think Lucy noticed it too as she flashed me a knowing grin, leaving the coffee shop for a waiting cab. Light travels fast. Lauren Lambert for VHL.com 3/14/24 - 2938 words
    13 points
  11. 1 HC Davos Dynamo Antonia Bucatini @CowboyinAmerica C TPE: 394 Season GP G A P (+/-) SHT PIM HITS SB S92 Regular Season 72 38 43 81 -18 374 40 119 55 S92 Playoffs 12 1 7 8 4 23 4 20 2 After finally breaking their longstanding championship drought in Season 89 and just a season after back-to-back Victory Cups in Seasons 90 and 91, the HC Davos Dynamo now find themselves in the midst of a full rebuild after dealing stud goalie Lachlan Summers to Warsaw. Fortunately for them, they won the draft lottery, and cash in with Antonia Bucatini, a center universally regarded as the top prospect in this class. Bucatini comes from an agency renowned for success, and sure enough, has already shown those flashes of greatness in the VHLM. With coolness and poise rarely seen from young players, the gifted center is arguably already a VHL-ready player, but with the state of the Dynamo, there's no real reason to come up in Season 93. Davos gets the perfect start to their rebuild with an elite center in Bucatini that they can build around. 2 Seattle Bears Gianfranco Del Rocco @Victor LW TPE: 367 Season GP G A P (+/-) SHT PIM HITS SB S92 Regular Season 72 31 33 64 9 317 69 141 47 S92 Playoffs 6 5 1 6 0 29 8 9 1 First of all, I need to begin with the fact that I don't believe that Seattle will hold on to this pick. Their prospect pool is utterly barren, especially at defense, and even with a great young goalie in Georgiy Costanzov, the Bears are likely going to struggle again in Season 93. While I don't think Seattle would be terribly upset with an elite prospect like Gianfranco Del Rocco, the clear-cut best prospect in the draft after Bucatini, I do believe they would prefer to move back a little and go for a defenseman instead. However, should they remain here at second overall, Del Rocco has to be the selection. A strong winger built to score goals, this is exactly the caliber of player you want to get with a top pick like this, and would be yet another dangerous young forward for the Bears. Regardless of who owns this pick, I don't see it being used for anyone else. 3 Riga Reign Lucy Leitner @LucyXpher D TPE: 269 Season GP G A P (+/-) SHT PIM HITS SB S92 Regular Season 72 16 60 76 7 199 76 157 94 S92 Playoffs 12 1 9 10 4 32 16 26 22 A first generation blue liner taking the league by storm, Lucy Leitner would be a phenomenal addition to a young Riga team on the verge of becoming a serious contender in the European Conference. Despite her small size, Leitner is a gifted skater capable of moving and protecting the puck and demonstrates a remarkable talent for positioning in both the offensive and defensive zones. All Riga really needs is a fourth defenseman and further development from their young core and they will be ready to be a major player for not just the European Conference title, but the Continental Cup itself. Leitner's rapid development could see her potentially called up to be the fourth defenseman this season, especially if Riga is crunched against the cap, but worst case scenario she will be primed to have a big rookie season in Season 94. This is a no-brainer of a pick here. 4 Vancouver Wolves Annie Oaks @Noodle Enjoyer RW TPE: 260 Season GP G A P (+/-) SHT PIM HITS SB S92 Regular Season 72 41 54 95 2 354 26 124 46 S92 Playoffs 14 5 5 10 -3 76 10 15 1 At fourth overall, we have another first generation play in Annie Oaks going off the board to a Vancouver Wolves team that are reaching the end stages of their rebuild. True to her namesake, Oaks is a sharpshooter, possessing the deadliest shot in the draft class, producing nearly as many goals as the top prospects in the VHLM with far less shot volume. While she isn't as defensively sound as other top prospects, further development in the VHLE will certainly iron that out, along with the amount of penalties for a player with a decidedly non-physical build. Vancouver, however, is an excellent landing spot for Oaks, as she will be afforded the time to develop and then join a talented forwarded core including Left Alone, Logan Ninefingers, Riley Martin, and more. The first-gen sniper stands to be another phenomenal pick for a Vancouver team that has been killing it at the draft lately, and that success continues with Oaks. 5 Chicago Phoenix Forum Content @frescoelmo LW TPE: 261 Season GP G A P (+/-) SHT PIM HITS SB S92 Regular Season 72 41 64 105 11 314 36 130 19 S92 Playoffs 11 3 2 5 3 25 8 12 1 Chicago has a lot of pieces in place already here after a couple of good drafts in seasons past. They are looking here for some top end offensive talent however with their goaltending and defense rather settled. They've had a couple pieces falter in their forward group, and will need someone reliable, with a good history of making strong players, and who isn't afraid to make some exciting forum content. Forum Content fills all the boxes here and Chicago should be thrilled to see a player like this fall into their lap. 6 HC Davos Dynamo UghSike @UghSike LW TPE: 250 Season GP G A P (+/-) SHT PIM HITS SB S92 Regular Season 72 28 32 60 -15 203 18 93 14 S92 Playoffs 11 3 5 8 4 33 14 19 0 Davos gets an early crack at their second pick of the night here and have the option of many great players. They land on UghSike here, an exciting first gen who has really been the epitome of consistency and potential. They lock down what should be a slam dunk Hall of Famer given the user's history with their first pick, and should have the opportunity to secure a dangerous duo for a long time with UghSike at 6. A really strong earning history and a strong build gives UghSike the confidence in such a high pick, and is a well deserved selection. 7 Malmo Nighthawks Jean-Pierre Devote @eagle_3450 LW TPE: 293 Season GP G A P (+/-) SHT PIM HITS SB S92 Regular Season 72 52 54 16 15 361 54 139 58 S92 Playoffs 6 0 2 2 -4 30 4 12 4 After a blistering start, Devote seemed to be the consensus #3 pick of the draft. But it seems as though that early push has done some damage as there have been some concerns at the lack of progression being made in the last few weeks. You really want to see a player making their biggest jump leading into the draft, but at 7, Malmo takes the chance here on a user they're familiar with, and have seen some success with before. They'll have had to have been settled after scouting that development will continue at a top-10 pick rate. This could be a real steal, or a major fumble, but for a team as established as Malmo, you have to think they'd be willing to take that chance on a player who has been so dynamic in recent past. 8 Prague Phantoms Jorgen Lovstrom @Pifferfish G TPE: 241 Season GP W L OTL SV% GAA SO GA SA S92 Regular Season 62 48 8 4 0.918 2.34 3 144 1761 S92 Playoffs 16 12 4 0 0.92 2.13 1 34 427 Jorgen Lovstrom refuses to lose. And for a team that is looking to start fresh under a new management group, that's the sort of mentality they'll look to bring to the next era of Phantoms hockey. Lovstrom stood head and shoulders above the VHLM in the regular season, and looked no different when it mattered in the playoffs. Championship experience, established user with a strong earning history, and a real brain for the optimization of the game. Prague closes up shop and thanks everyone, wishing them all a fine day with this pick, and turn their minds to securing their next position. The VHLE is a tough beast for goaltenders, but if Lovstrom can take their game to that next level, there should be no worries about the VHL and beyond. 9 Moscow Menace Benjamin Abenduct @Schnee D TPE: 252 Season GP G A P (+/-) SHT PIM HITS SB S92 Regular Season 68 23 58 81 13 211 78 170 100 S92 Playoffs 12 2 13 15 2 39 10 19 22 After surprising the league with a stunning run to 3rd place within the EU Conference, Moscow looks ready to begin competiting with their young squad. Finding themselves with both the 9th and 10th overall picks in the first round, Moscow can help solidify their young core with additional pieces. They'll look to select a defenseman to eventually make their way up on the blueline with Leif Reingaard and Obuz Schneider Canet du Bocage. Enter Benjamin Abenduct, who just had an 81 point season in the VHLM with Houston. He already boasts an elite level of point production along with great physical play, registering 170 hits and 100 shots blocked. Given that level of performance, this would be an easy selection for Moscow in the first round. 10 Moscow Menace Nathan Ecker @Nathan_8 RW TPE: 222 Season GP G A P (+/-) SHT PIM HITS SB S92 Regular Season 72 25 23 48 13 217 56 115 9 S92 Playoffs 12 5 3 8 2 42 4 20 1 Moscown continues with another selection immediately following the 9th overall pick. After going with a defenseman just before, they'll look to select a forward with this pick. While their lines are for the most part solidified, there are a few current players who may begin to decline by the time this draft selection is ready to enter the VHL. Taking that into account, Moscow selects Nathan Ecker here. A first generation VHLM player, Ecker played alongside Abenduct in Houston and will have a familiar face to play alongside once he's ready to join Moscow. He's already working hard and making a name for himself, and should benefit from joining an elite organization like Moscow. 11 New York Americans Chris Reynolds Jr @Crstats23 LW TPE: 233 Season GP G A P (+/-) SHT PIM HITS SB S92 Regular Season 72 29 40 69 29 244 26 122 31 S92 Playoffs 12 8 5 13 1 45 10 19 2 The New York Americans select next after trading down with Malmo to acquire Jebediah Big Ol Dinks in Amish, securing a valuable piece on the blue line in this deal. With a strong roster primed to compete, the Americans will select the best prospect they can to add to their prospect pool. It will be an easy choice with Chris Reynolds Jr still on the board. Having played for both Ottawa and Houston in the VHLM, Chris Reynolds Jr is developing at a consistent pace that will make him a valuable piece with supporting the forward group once the current players begin to age. With time, Chris Reynolds Jr will make his name known in New York. 12 HC Davos Dynamo Ondrej Vencko @Mutti G TPE: 215 Season GP W L OTL SV% GAA SO GA SA S92 Regular Season 50 27 18 3 0.892 2.94 1 138 1272 S92 Playoffs 12 6 5 1 0.917 2.52 1 31 374 With the trade that sent Lachlan Summers out of Davos, the rebuild is on! After selecting a generational center, HC Davos will look to replace their star goaltender. While a first generational VHLM player, Ondrej Vencko made his name known especially well in the VHLM playoffs with Houston. There they registered a 0.917 save percentage with a 2.52 goals against average. For a new player, this is the sign of a blossoming career. The future is very bright with Ondrej Vencko and will be even brighter when they are selected by HC Davos. 13 Toronto Legion Gul Dukat @MSouthworth D TPE: 247 Season GP G A P (+/-) SHT PIM HITS SB S92 Regular Season 72 18 47 65 -9 198 72 163 123 S92 Playoffs 11 1 3 4 -4 24 16 40 18 Toronto is in the middle of their competetive window right now, and with only so many seasons left it makes sense that they draft a player that will be in the VHL sooner rather than later. Selecting Dukat gives Toronto exactly what they need as with one more season of development they will be ready to make the jump to the VHL and make an impact. Dukat projects as a top 2 defensemen with a great offensive upside. Coming off a great season in the VHLM where Dukat put up 65 points and almost 20 goals in 72 games played, Dukat is ready for the next level and it will be very exciting to see what this young defensemen brings in the future. 14 Helsinki Titans Miner vHLer @Rhynex Entertainment LW TPE: 236 Season GP G A P (+/-) SHT PIM HITS SB S92 Regular Season 72 5 7 12 1 49 16 49 6 S92 Playoffs 12 0 0 0 -1 3 0 1 0 True leaders are hard to come by, and while Miner vHLer, doesn't have the most conventional build, it may pay off massively. While vHLer, does come with some offensive risk as they only put up 12 points in a total of 84 games this past season, this is the type of gamble that Helsinki could be looking to take. With their current position this pick would make perfect sense, if vHLer os still available at this pick, it could absolutely be the perfect choice for Helsinki. 15 Riga Reign Walter Jinn @Adrest245 C TPE: 168 Season GP G A P (+/-) SHT PIM HITS SB S92 Regular Season 72 34 46 80 32 335 38 133 21 S92 Playoffs 16 10 8 18 6 69 21 33 6 Led off by their 3rd overall pick, there is a new generation of player in Riga, their next two picks will round out their future core for many season to come. Riga really can't go wrong here with drafting Walter Jinn. Jinn has a very high ceiling, and could prove everyone wrong in short order here. They are coming off of a phenominal season in the VHLM, and will be looking to build off of it this coming season in the VHLM before making the leap to the VHLE or VHL. Jinn could very well prove to be a great pick for Riga here, their agency has developed great players for Riga previously, and don't be suprised if it happens again. 16 Riga Reign Vanuza Kolesinska @chikn C TPE: 222 Season GP G A P (+/-) SHT PIM HITS SB S92 Regular Season 72 31 48 79 7 290 50 149 23 S92 Playoffs 11 2 4 6 1 43 12 22 7 Riga is in a great spot with back-to-back picks to end the 1st round, it makes sense for them to take 1 pick safe and draft a player from an agency who has built a reputation of consistency and developing solid forwards who seem to contribute to team success everywhere they go. Kolesinska is coming off of a great season in the VHLM where they had over 30 goals and were 7 points over a point per game. Riga is set to hit this first round completely out of the park. 2ND ROUND 17 Seattle Bears WWumbo @Fire Tortorella D TPE: 207 Season GP G A P (+/-) SHT PIM HITS SB S92 Regular Season 72 14 50 64 -17 139 112 206 144 S92 Playoffs 6 0 3 3 2 8 10 12 11 18 Prague Phantoms Yermolai Nabokov @fonziGG RW TPE: 225 Season GP G A P (+/-) SHT PIM HITS SB S92 Regular Season 72 46 57 103 29 380 49 115 28 S92 Playoffs 16 9 13 22 7 111 24 42 7 19 Moscow Menace Tyler Lawson @Nyx C TPE: 184 Season GP G A P (+/-) SHT PIM HITS SB S92 Regular Season 56 20 36 56 26 139 28 84 8 S92 Playoffs 12 2 3 5 2 26 8 13 0 20 Chicago Phoenix Ray Stanton @horoscope D TPE: 176 Season GP G A P (+/-) SHT PIM HITS SB S92 Regular Season 38 10 22 32 -10 71 50 101 54 S92 Playoffs 6 0 1 1 4 6 8 10 4 21 HC Davos Dynamo Cody Toland @ctoland102 D TPE: 169 Season GP G A P (+/-) SHT PIM HITS SB S92 Regular Season 72 8 27 35 14 91 126 213 92 S92 Playoffs 12 0 1 1 -2 4 20 27 11 22 Los Angeles Stars Oliver Loo @Peiffy RW TPE:166 Season GP G A P (+/-) SHT PIM HITS SB S92 Regular Season 48 6 4 10 -1 42 16 40 5 S92 Playoffs 11 1 2 3 1 18 4 14 3 23 Calgary Wranglers Billy Joel @The goat of hockey D TPE:158 Season GP G A P (+/-) SHT PIM HITS SB S92 Regular Season 72 6 14 20 25 68 106 205 84 S92 Playoffs 6 2 0 2 -3 5 0 13 4 24 Prague Phantoms French Fries @solyom C TPE: 160 Season GP G A P (+/-) SHT PIM HITS SB S92 Regular Season 72 16 35 51 22 146 30 98 11 S92 Playoffs 7 3 1 4 0 12 4 9 1 25 Warsaw Predators Aleksanteri Kaskiniemi-Kekkonen @Snussu G TPE: 221 Season GP W L OTL SV% GAA SO GA SA S92 Regular Season 67 39 24 4 0.905 2.62 1 177 1870 S92 Playoffs 7 3 3 1 0.904 2.69 0 19 197 26 Los Angeles Stars Anthony Simmons II @Starchychaff RW TPE: 138 Season GP G A P (+/-) SHT PIM HITS SB S92 Regular Season 38 18 20 38 1 132 38 54 9 27 Calgary Wranglers Steve French @Seabass RW TPE: 194 Season GP G A P (+/-) SHT PIM HITS SB S92 Regular Season 72 43 46 89 10 338 42 90 40 S92 Playoffs 6 2 1 3 -3 28 4 4 4 28 Prague Phantoms Taylor Swift @lilchrist C TPE: 168 Season GP G A P (+/-) SHT PIM HITS SB S92 Regular Season 70 34 51 85 17 272 49 113 24 S92 Playoffs 16 7 9 16 6 64 21 29 4 29 Seattle Bears Chuck E Cheese @a_Ferk D TPE: 196 Season GP G A P (+/-) SHT PIM HITS SB S92 Regular Season 72 25 45 70 -9 200 78 139 159 S92 Playoffs 7 3 4 7 -4 22 4 11 11 30 Helsinki Titans Filip Zinek @FiZi LW TPE: 149 Season GP G A P (+/-) SHT PIM HITS SB S92 Regular Season 72 21 27 48 4 151 18 112 12 S92 Playoffs 12 2 4 6 4 29 9 14 2 31 HC Davos Dynamo Jack Dickins @Mystery_boy98 RW TPE: 152 Season GP G A P (+/-) SHT PIM HITS SB S92 Regular Season 64 10 10 20 -7 97 28 54 7 S92 Playoffs 12 0 2 2 -5 29 4 5 0 32 Calgary Wranglers Herald Benson @Benson G TPE: 181 Season GP W L OTL SV% GAA SO GA SA S92 Regular Season 29 13 10 1 0.892 3.3 1 84 781
    13 points
  12. I've been wanting this for years. A counter on a players update page on howmuch capped they've done per week (example included). It's easy to count to 12 but it would be helpful for a quick glance to make sure you've hit 12/12 per week, and very helpful for drafting to see howmuch players are earning across a couple week/month scale. shoutout @jacobcarson877
    12 points
  13. Hello everyone, and welcome to ScoutsNet! I have been wondering how to approach a "new and improved" version of my scouting content to bring back to the forums, and this was the best I could come up with. For this season, I will be posting scouting content pretty sparingly, but next season, ScoutsNet will host a new version of my previous series, Tallinder's Draft Profiles. ScoutsNet is a media network aimed at providing scouting content for upcoming VHL draft classes, and it is has three hosts: Patrik Tallinder - S72 Continental Cup Winner & Host of the Draft Profiles series Nils Tallinder - Notorious bust, but makes a killer grilled cheese Lucas Tallinder - Previous owner of RavenSkill Agency/Development Program The three brothers are enjoying retirement in Sacramento, California, but they have felt an itch to be back near the game. ScoutsNet is the product of this, as they each aim to produce meaningful content in a number of ways. Patrik will be in charge of the draft profiles, scouting players and discussing their strengths/weaknesses. Nils will be in charge of the final mock draft upon the end of each season, and Lucas will be creating graphics for some of the top prospects. Now, without further ado, let's get into our very first article, hosted by Reign and Wrangler alumni Patrik Tallinder. AN EARLY LOOK AT THE S94 VHL DRAFT Welcome to ScoutsNet everyone! I'm so pleased to have you all on board for what should be an exciting revival of my draft content from the early S70s. I have already begun digging for research relating to this upcoming draft, and I have a few major points I would like to share with you all. First off, let's get the elephant out of the way; Here are my current top 16 rankings! These rankings are based on all TPE earned up until the week ending March 24, as this week is still ongoing. Remember that these are subject to change, and also far from objective truth, so don't take them too seriously. EARLY THEMES Upon first glance, it appears that this draft class is pretty top-heavy. There are several future superstars in the top ranks of this draft, but the talent does start to wear a bit thin after the first round. With that being said, there are certainly some diamonds to be found in the rough. Another primary theme in this draft is its strength on the blue line; Eight of my top 16 prospects from this draft are defensemen, including my projected first overall pick, Jillian Woods. Woods is a phenomenal prospect, but she will not have an easy claim to the pinnacle of this draft class, as winger Maverick Goncalves is neck and neck with her. Let's take a look at my projected top 2 picks in the S94 VHL Entry Draft. Also, remember that the TPE numbers reflect their amount earned up until the end of last week, not any earned this week. It would be impossible to update my spreadsheet every day, so my weekly updates will have to suffice lol JILLIAN WOODS | D | 244 TPE | @jacobcarson877 | Ranked #1 Overall The draft's top prospect thus far is one that could change the direction of an entire franchise. Woods is an elite two-way defender with an impressive 16 points in 16 games to begin her season in Ottawa. User @jacobcarson877 is an extremely active member and the GM of the VHL's London United, as well as coming off a career where he earned a ridiculous 2174 TPE. Woods looks to be another future superstar, with the build and TPE earning to back it up. Woods has earned an average of 23 TPE per week, including all 84 capped TPE available to her since creation. Expect to hear the name Jillian Woods very early in this upcoming draft, and expect to see her excellent mobility and hockey sense displayed at even the highest levels of play in the future. MAVERICK GONCALVES | LW | 245 TPE | @leandrofg | Ranked # 2 Overall Next, we look at the draft's top ranked forward. Choosing to play in the VHLE this season, Maverick Goncalves has not had it easy. Yet, despite being the youngest player in the league, he has managed to create chances and show flashes of brilliance, with 17 shots and 11 hits in only 14 games with the Cologne Express. The Swiss prospect is somewhat of a Swiss Army knife on the ice, able to play in all situations and pose an immense offensive threat as well. Goncalves' TPE earning has also been incredible, averaging 24 TPE per week and collecting all possible capped TPE. Much like Woods, @leandrofg is a known entity in the community, being the GM of the Calgary Wranglers and coming off a stellar previous career. Look for Goncalves to seriously challenge for the first overall selection this season, and don't be surprised if his name is announced first. A LOOK AT FIRST GENS Ahead of each draft, some of the most interesting storylines to follow are surrounding the draft's first gens. There are always some that go on to have hall of fame careers, and others that fizzle out rather quickly. In this draft, a couple first gens have really caught my attention as extremely promising prospects, but others have already began to blossom in potential as well. As for the two that have made my top 16, here what I can say about them: ANDREW SKILTON | D | 133 TPE | @ace_five_ | Ranked #13 Overall A defender with a tremendous two-way game and great vision, Andrew Skilton is a player that just oozes potential. I have sources inside the Halifax locker room (of which he is captain), and he is someone that just naturally garners the respect of his peers through his relentless work ethic, positive attitude, and his willingness to play the game the right way. It has now been two straight weeks of capping out for Skilton, and he has earned an insane 51 uncapped TPE in his three full weeks thus far. Expect to see this player soar in pre-draft rankings, as he is already doing so in mine. With 38 hits and 18 shots blocked in just 16 games, the Canadian is a nightmare to deal with in the defensive zone for any opposing forwards. Additionally, he has earned himself a very respectable 9 points in those 16 games with the 21st. KEVIN JONATHEN | D | 101 TPE | @meandyoc | Ranked #16 Overall Another first gen to keep an eye out for is Kevin Jonathen. Standing at a colossal 6'6", Jonathen is a bulldozer on defence with skill to match his physicality. So far in 15 games with San Diego, he has put up 40 hits, 37 shots blocked, and 5 points. User @meandyoc has already landed himself an AGM position in the VHLM, and he is a very active member in the community. His TPE earning, especially capped, has been steadily rising as well. He has squeaked into my top 16 this week, but expect him to potentially shoot up the rankings even more before the draft. A FINAL WORD I hope you all enjoyed the first instalment of ScoutsNet! I hope to release an article or two more between now and my final mock draft, and I will have regular articles starting next season. If you were not featured here and would like to be in the future, send me a message! I'm happy to discuss your player in an article in the future.
    11 points
  14. Man, what am I doing? I remember writing an article a while ago where I went over some rosters and proposed my idea of a realistic trade for every team. I think that was a pretty cool article, but what you don't know is that it took me absolutely FOREVER to finish. From all the background research to having to rewrite my first thousand words to coming up with logical arguments for everyone, it was quite the undertaking. I like to think that I can hit you with some good, high-quality content if I want to, but sometimes that has to mean I know what I'm talking about. Hopefully, that applies in this case here--because for reasons unknown to myself, I'm going to do that again. I have the time, I'm bored, and I'm going to try not to be by banging my head against the VHL wall. So, let's get going on my next piece of juicy VHL content, one that I almost accidentally completely invalidated by forgetting that drafts are a thing and writing this up right before this one. Thankfully, I had dinner plans, which hit just in time for me to not be far into my plans for this thing. I'm going to do my best to make logical arguments for every move here, focusing primarily on the first team but also trying to imagine scenarios where the second team is up for the deal. Let's talk about what every team could go for this season. CALGARY WRANGLERS The Situation: Complete with the derphorse logo as always, Calgary has been a very well-managed team in recent seasons, with a championship in S87 to show for it on the board and a whole lot of respect to show for it off of it. Leading off this draft class with an experienced member selected at the start of the 2nd in @Rhynex Entertainment's Miner vHLer, the Wranglers are very ready to compete with four players above 1000 TPA and some future picks in the bank. There's only one rostered player set to retire after this season, and with a little bit of space left to fill, this team could be ready to go for another serious run. The Trade: CHI receives: S94 CGY 2nd S95 CGY 2nd CGY receives: Legacy Gaming Calgary has $6 million in cap space to work with and eats up $3 million of that here with a deal that buys a solid second-line forward and leaves them with room to spare. They'll still have 5 forwards and 3 defensemen, but could fill one of those spots with another deal or by picking up a lower-level free agent. It would be interesting to see whether Chicago could be talked into this, as they have an ongoing rebuild that could mean Gaming is in a better place elsewhere, but Gaming also has enough time left to see the end of it. CHICAGO PHOENIX The Situation: Chicago has been one of the league's most boom-or-bust teams since its inception in S73, having seen some of the league's most exciting production and also blowing up as hard as anyone else to restructure. Both of those have happened twice in the team's history, and the Phoenix are starting to climb out of the hole of their rebuild yet again, building their way to being a competitive team. That won't happen this season, but the roster is full again and even the short-term future looks bright with the long-term future taking its shape in this draft with the selections of UghSike (@UghSike) at 5th overall and @eagle_3450's Jean-Pierre Devote at 20th. That said, they've got a few players on the roster who are just old enough to consider moving out. The Trade: TOR receives: Reinhard von Kongming S94 CHI 4th CHI receives: S95 TOR 2nd S95 TOR 4th In this case, liquidating von Kongming for S95 picks serves the purpose of giving Chicago room to work with in trade talks next season. They've got the prospect pool to make things work out with development, but there's enough to make things work much sooner than those players will develop if the right buying moves are made next season. As future buyers, Chicago will be able to use these picks to move around in the S94 draft if they wish, or to keep them around as future assets and trade those future assets to get a player of interest. The future isn't super defined here (unless Cole has some massive plan laid out already), but this deal would make whatever plan there is easier to reach. Additionally, it's important to consider that Toronto only has two defensemen on the roster--this deal as is would take them $500k over cap, but with no moves made until some time into the season, it could be done later with some salary retained by the Phoenix. DC DRAGONS The Situation: Second-rounder Herald Benson (@Benson) is an auto-12 from the SBA and could be an incredible answer to the Dragons' most pressing question--their impending loss of Henry Tucker, Jr. to retirement. Between The Frenchman and Mark Calaway, they've got one of the league's most respected scorers and one of its most respected defenders, and there's no reason to think that they won't be able to keep going with the right moves. However, there are more "right moves" to make here than there might be in other places. DC's most glaring issue, apart from in net, is up front, where three of their six forwards are from S86. This is fine for now, but will be an emergency if it's left unchecked next season. The Trade: MAL receives: Vincent Laroche-Gagnier Tom Dufour S95 DCD 2nd S94 DCD 4th DC receives: Ronald Johnson MacWallace III This may be a tough one to swing with VLG's recent inactivity, but DC needs to change their age range up front and can do so by switching out one reasonably competitive player for another. Malmo gets a player who's still pretty solid this season and at the very least usable (and also dump-able) next season, along with a welfare prospect and a 2nd that could be in a pretty solid spot depending on the direction DC intends to take next season. Here, DC would be getting a younger solid earner who would fit in very well with the roster this season and could potentially delay thoughts of an approaching collapse--but Malmo might want bigger pieces than this (as in high picks and more active players) that might make it difficult to pull off. HC DAVOS DYNAMO The Situation: Oh boy, if you thought the Davos roster was gutted in my days as GM, don't open the team's page now. I don't mean to be dramatic--it could be a lot worse--but #1 overall selection (and hopeful future face of the franchise in @CowboyinAmerica) Antonia Bucatini isn't much worse off now than most players on the roster. Davos has taken the first steps to greatness, though, picking up three first-rounders and quite a few other-rounders to go with a good amount of assets held in future seasons. Competition isn't going to happen now, but it's going to hit hard and fast at some point. The Trade: CGY receives: Antonia Bucatini DAV receives: S94 CGY 1st S95 CGY 1st S94 CGY 2nd S94 CGY 3rd S94 CGY 4th No, I'm not serious about this (although it would be a fun article to propose some absolutely insane trades and try to justify them both ways, assuming you don't think I'm doing that already). Let me give you something a bit more boring. CGY receives: Mason Rice DAV receives: S95 CGY 4th This is a less expensive version of the Gaming trade I mentioned above, and it's actually sort of a reverse cap dump. Rice is inactive, but comes in with a little over 500 TPE and could fill roster space to take away bot time on a good team--exactly what Calgary needs and worth a 4th to go out and get. Even if 4ths don't usually lead to much on the GM end, I was always a big fan of asking for an extra 4th in my trade talks because I found that you never know where it can lead you--some people can be buttered up by being offered just that little bit more. This is outright useful for Calgary at the moment for basically no expense, and Alex can poke someone with the pick at some point--or even get a massive steal if he's lucky enough. HELSINKI TITANS The Situation: Realistically, I think Helsinki could buy or sell this season and I wouldn't fault them for it. They've got a legitimate top-end player at every position, and a huge young talent is already on the roster in Adi Dassler. This season's draft featured @Nyx's Tyler Lawson in the first round, a good future fit at center, and a pretty standard set of draft picks in future seasons means the Titans aren't completely screwed out of having assets. That said, two of their top talents are from S86, and we've seen lots of teams already who could benefit from not having to deal with aging issues. Helsinki has the cap space to accommodate any player they want right now, and could make at least two good seasons out of it before having to rebuild. It's all a matter of what's out there. The Trade: LDN receives: S94 HSK 1st S95 HSK 2nd S94 HSK 3rd HSK receives: Leonard Triller Wow, a straight buy of a 1300-TPA player! Like I mentioned earlier, this is a team with over $6 million in cap space just sitting around waiting to be spent. Conveniently, they also have a spot for a forward on the roster. This would be an absolute blockbuster of a deal, but it would rocket this team to status as a prime contender for this season and next. London, as a team in a similar situation, would need to be talked into it--but should they decide to sell, the Titans could be a very willing buyer if they're willing to accept a hard rebuild potentially on the way. LONDON UNITED The Situation: As per my last email, London could buy or sell. I do think the most logical move would be to sell, but I also think that there's a need to properly see off the career of Teno (and a devotion to players in general) that's present and outweighs whatever logic there may be in moving around players like pieces of property. Outside of any sentimental reasons--after all, I'm honestly just AGM of this team in name only--this roster has just enough left in it to squeeze out one more season of competition should that be the wish. The Trade: CGY receives: Jack Jeckler S95 LDN 3rd LDN receives: Phil Strasmore Logically, London can achieve a couple things by pulling this one off. Jeckler can be put on a competitive team that has room for someone on defense (and a need for that beyond this season), and they can upgrade for the time being by adding Strasmore, who will naturally retire after this season anyway (and is cheaper for that reason). I think there's a 99% chance Calgary wouldn't even consider this move, but there does happen to be some logic behind it. They don't have a direct replacement lined up for Strasmore next season, and Jeckler will be around longer. Plus, he's cheaper, and would leave cap room for higher-end forwards to be bought as the Wranglers search for options. LOS ANGELES STARS The Situation: I certainly shouldn't have made a big deal out of the Davos roster being empty, because holy Art Vandelay, Batman. Speaking from personal experience, I can say that the Stars did exactly what I just said I think London may be trying to do--and we're now seeing what happens when one does that. This team is going to be bad for a while, and I'm very grateful that @InstantRockstar gave us the chances he did at that cost. Most notably, LA picked up @Fire Tortorella's WWumbo in the draft, and with really no one to sell and no reason to buy, the rebuild starts now. The Trade: VAN receives: Factor Lee LA receives: Ben Dover McLean Hoover II Nick Sansoe Zyn Westwood Mikko Borisyuk Jens Lekman S94 DCD 3rd No, I'm not kidding. Vancouver has the league's most overcrowded roster, with just enough higher-end players that they shouldn't have the league's most overcrowded roster. LA currently runs a 1-1-1 lineup--that's right, one forward and one defenseman. The Wolves run an 11-5-1. This deal sends an inactive prospect to LA--making the deal done entirely for free--and also for free, brings Vancouver down to the more typical 6-4-1 (also freeing up cap!) and gives the Stars a 6-2-1. Sure, the players are at most welfare earners and some aren't active, but if you were one of the two skaters on the roster, wouldn't you want some linemates? It's a more fair shake in terms of ice time all around, and it's the one deal here that I'd actually advocate for these teams to make on behalf of the players. I've thrown in a 3rd going to LA here out of courtesy, but I've had to give up more myself for similar-scale dumps to happen. MALMO NIGHTHAWKS The Situation: We'll see what happens in Malmo this season. Currently, cap prevents the Nighthawks from signing Henry Eagles for a final season--which is far less from ideal for a team that lacks top-end talent. Don't get me wrong, they've got good players, but other teams simply have superstars who are more so superstars. I've talked about getting some variance in the age distribution among skaters for teams like DC, but there's arguably a necessary variance in the TPE distribution that's needed in Malmo. It will be interesting to see what happens here and whether this team can free up the space to bring back Eagles or to make a purchase in his place. I'm a big fan of moves like drafting @Pifferfish's Jorgen Lovstrom as an eventual replacement for Ash Sparks, but the present may need some work. The Trade: RIG receives: Yaroslav Bogatyrev S94 MAL 3rd MAL receives: Eno Velvson Yes, selling while intending to compete is doable. Bogatyrev, now inactive, formerly was one of the league's best and still stands at over 700 TPE, a fine addition to a team's forward line for this season but likely just a filler later on. In return, Malmo gets a welfare player from an established agency who will be around a good deal longer and could grow into a solid second-liner with practice. There isn't that much incentive for Riga to take this offer, but they should be a little bit more competitive this season with it and have a more disposable asset next season as the roster grows and the need to clean house presents itself. MOSCOW MENACE The Situation: After a rebuild, this team looks like they've done it again. They're built fairly similarly to Malmo in terms of TPE between players, but have over 8 million (!) in cap to play with and a huge amount of picks. There's probably a hill to climb before they're elite again on paper, but the assets to make the right moves are there and there's so much to like overall. I'm strongly considering writing up a deal that swings around those assets and that cap space, but I already suggested that Helsinki buy Triller (picture the same deal here), so I'll write something that makes a bit more sense. The Trade: WAR receives: Celise Pereira S94 MOS 2nd MOS receives: Rex Wolffe Gregor S94 WAR 4th If there's a weak point on the roster, it's that defense isn't as developed. Pereira moving out for Gregor gives Moscow a TPE boost while also making room on the roster in a couple seasons for @Schnee and this draft's first-rounder Benjamin Abenduct. Along with accounting for Gregor aging out on Moscow's end, that concern is removed for Warsaw, who may take a step back in the immediate future but who would also have a player with 3 more seasons of playing left to do than they had previously. NEW YORK AMERICANS The Situation: New York hasn't won a Cup since before I was a VHL member, but they're trying hard to flip that script. With the forward lines anchored by two players above 1100 TPE, and many other parts of the roster catching up quickly, it's going to be really weird, really quickly, when we start seeing this team on top of the standings (unless the curse is real). The biggest need that sticks out to me is a few aging forwards--two S85 and one S86--but I'm a big fan of @Crstats23 and Chris Reynolds Jr as the team's newest addition and a great first step to answering that question. That's not to mention Wayne Gretzky, one of the more intriguing prospects in a while. The Trade: LDN receives: Keon Jeannot S95 NYA 2nd NYA receives: Sjin Sjin is a very interesting case as a player who should continue developing through this season without depreciating, having been a victim of the VHLM eligibility fallout (if you're reading this, I hope you can understand my "sorry not sorry," though your response was fair and I appreciate that). Interestingly, Jeannot is such a case as well, although I can't speak on the circumstances of that one. Should London decide to sell, this is realistic--New York changes nothing about the seasons their forwards are in, but their replacement plan was pretty solid anyway, and they upgrade a little with some limited cap and end up with a player who should be pretty darn good next season. PRAGUE PHANTOMS The Situation: Headlined by goaltending prospect Ondrej Vencko (@Mutti), Prague's S93 draft class is nothing to complain about. They're reasonably well built, but when your top three players are all from S85, there's going to be a step back next season. With everyone in their last season, it's going to be difficult to pull off a trade for any massive returns, so going all in for a shot at the Cup is a very real possibility if GM Tetricide is ready for a very hard road ahead. Still, selling a player or two remains a real possibility. The Trade: MAL receives: S94 PRG 3rd PRG receives: Rights to Henry Eagles Let's say Malmo isn't able to work out a cap-saving deal for Eagles, or that they are but have a different answer in mind. In either of these situations, Eagles goes right to free agency, and the Nighthawks get nothing. Prague is a team with cap space and 5 forwards on the roster, and swinging a rights deal to try to make everyone's last season (including Eagles') a special one could be the answer. If it works, it's also buying a forward without completely tanking future stock--something current rostered players like Spanish Moon Moth would really appreciate as the team will need to remain an appealing place to play when contracts are up. RIGA REIGN The Situation: Known for almost never fully rebuilding, Riga finally threw in the towel and decided to tear down and build up a few seasons ago. It's perhaps been a slower process than some would have expected, and the roster hasn't come into its full form yet. But the Reign aren't dealing with any aging issues, and the 3rd-overall selection of Lucy Leitner (@LucyXpher, one of the more promising first-gens in a while) is a huge addition from the team that once took a chance on first-gen Hall of Fame defenseman Lincoln Tate at 1OA. With another season or two of building, Riga could be in the running for a while. The Trade: CGY receives: Eric White Jr S94 RIG 3rd RIG receives: S95 CGY 1st I think a S94 pick would benefit Calgary more, but with the S94 class absolutely packed on defense, Calgary is probably excited to use its probably-late 1st on a player with higher value to fill one of their positional needs. So, Riga gets a pick that they'll probably try to move around later for a faster rebuild, while White finds a competitive home immediately. It could make sense to keep White as well--he's not old and earns solidly--but three of Riga's forwards are S90, I've already projected a different deal for one of them, and this affords the opportunity for some balance to be found before it becomes an issue. SEATTLE BEARS The Situation: Even if the fallout from last season's backup situation were more severe, Seattle still likely would have won this season's draft. New additions Gianfranco Del Rocco, Nathan Ecker, and Marek Nowaczyk (@Victor, @Nathan_8, and @Chillybro, respectively) are all great to have around and will leave the forward lines with nothing to worry about in good time. For now, it's up to Gustav Mattias and company to give the Bears all the scoring they can, and it will be a minute before this team is ready to compete. The Trade: MAL receives: Sadie St-Louis SEA receives: S95 MAL 2nd S94 MAL 3rd St-Louis is a S86 player who may or may not see an OK Seattle team next season if she's lucky. Some assets may be better off in other places, though, and Seattle picking up a 2nd that they can use or trade is probably more valuable for them (and solves the issue of where to put one other forward for next season when everyone starts coming up). This is a cheap deal for Malmo as well, and one that makes sense if Eagles walks--they have 5 forwards and $3.5 million in cap space left, and St-Louis carries a cap hit of exactly that much. TORONTO LEGION The Situation: Toronto is another example of a team that shows us how much the times they are a-changin', as a team that spent forever in the low-mid ranges of the standings but now poses a serious threat to the rest of the league. With four 1000-plus-TPA players on the roster and cap mostly spent, plans seem very set for this season. They're a bit thin on defense, with only two on the roster, but the selection of @MSouthworth's Gul Dukat this season should help with that in the future. We'll likely see whether two on defense is enough to go all the way this season. The Trade: MOS receives: Jimi Jaks TOR receives: Grimgor Ironhide Nils Andersson I'm not exactly sure where the balance in value lies with this deal, or where picks would need to be spent on either side, but Moscow gets the piece that lets them compete now rather than later. This is workable for the Menace, who can afford to go to 3 defensemen (but also have the resources to spend on a fourth if they want). That said, it's going to hurt to give up Ironhide, a distinguished VHLer with future first-line talent. If Toronto can make this work, it works with cap and I think the ultimate outcome is logical either way. VANCOUVER WOLVES The Situation: We've already seen GM Frank snap this team out of a rebuild much quicker than expected, and it looks like he's going turbo speed again. The current roster is a super confusing mix of high- and low-TPE players that's very much between having been lacking in some respects and ready to break out. 4th overall selection Annie Oaks (@Noodle Enjoyer) makes the future look bright, but there's work to be done to turn the corner. The Trade: WAR receives: Larry Abass Jr VAN receives: S94 NYA 2nd Warsaw has money to spend, and as far as I know, an intent to compete as well. Some steps will need to be taken to get there, and the retiring Abass would be the top forward in Warsaw. I'm not convinced that Vancouver has what it takes to go the distance this season, and the prospect pool is a little bit thin. So, giving up what's likely a later 2nd for one season of a solid player isn't a bad idea for Warsaw--and the Wolves will appreciate another chance to reshuffle the deck. WARSAW PREDATORS The Situation: Warsaw's management has come under fire in recent seasons, but I'm a big fan of their prospect pool, both S93 and earlier alike. There are big names on the roster (including a new face in Lachlan Summers!) and this is a team that can realistically compete if those playing for them believe hard enough. That's not to say there aren't issues--they've very much constrained themselves with some aging players and depleted draft stock--but if the goal is to try, then they can't be faulted. The Trade: HSK receives: S95 WAR 2nd S94 DAV 3rd WAR receives: Tommy Sleeves I'm not sure how much sense this makes for Helsinki--and a lot of it depends on the direction they want to take things--but they can afford to lose someone on defense in the immediate future and these assets can go wherever they'd like to put them. In Sleeves, Warsaw sees the return of the dasboot agency and spends some of their extensive cap room on a desperate positional need. And this certainly is spending draft capital, something they don't necessarily want to do, but resources are a little tight and a move should be made in some direction. Overall, I hope my suggestions make some sense! It's going to be interesting to see which teams move in the directions I think they will, and how the rest of the season works. This isn't one of those seasons when no one has cap space, so it could be exciting--let's keep an eye on trade news. 4,296 words
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  15. Season Ninety-Three Vancouver Wolves After struggling though the last two seasons, the Vancouver Wolves will hopefully be turning the corner in Season Ninety-Three. While seven players from last season are scheduled to return to the club for the upcoming season, the team will also see seven new faces donning the Black and White for Season Ninety-Three. Today we will look at the roster for the upcoming season, a season which General Manager Frank Chadwick and Assistant General Manager Gaikoku-hito hope the team can bounce back and be a VHL playoff team already next season. Forwards: Left Alone (S86-LW): Alone joins the Wolves after a trade that brought him to the club after he finished his fifth season with the Moscow Menace. A veteran presence on a very young Wolves roster, Alone will hopefully continue on his recent offensive tear, which saw him put up ninety-three and ninety-four points the last two seasons in Moscow. Drafted Third Overall in the Season Eighty-Six VHL Entry Draft by the Seattle Bears, Alone was dealt after his rookie season in Seattle to Moscow, where he grew into a point per game player over the last three seasons. The only thing that might hamper Alone this season is the fact he only has 30 TPE banked heading into depreciation, something that might hinder his ability to be a point per game player as he enters his seventh VHL season. Regardless the Wolves fans, management and locker-room is ecstatic at the fact they have an elite forward on the roster as they head into a new season. Logan Ninefingers (S92-RW): Coming off a season that saw Ninefingers get traded, then win the Renaissance Cup with his new VHLE team, Ninefingers is looking to bring his winning ways with him to Vancouver. After being drafted by the Wolves First Overall in the Season Ninety-Two VHL Entry Draft, Ninefingers spent a season honing his craft in the VHLE. After being selected Sixth Overall in the VHLE Entry Draft, by the Oslo storm, the youngster from America was dealt to the Vasteras Iron Eagles, a trade that was quickly vetoed due to a change in management. While Ninefingers was rightfully upset at the vetoed trade, it worked out wonderful in the end for the winger. Later in the season, Ninefingers was traded to the Bratislava Watchmen, who would go onto upset the defending VHLE champion Cologne Express, allowing Ninefingers to get his first taste of a championship in his young VHL career. Now Ninefingers heads to Vancouver as the likely top candidate for the Christian Stolzschweiger trophy as the leagues top rookie. Nick Sansoe (S87-C): Sansoe is the first member of the Wolves roster we will touch upon in his article that is expected to return to the club after toughing it out in Van City last season. Sanose is coming off an amazing season last year with the Wolves, which was only his second season in the VHL after his rookie season with London back in Season Ninety. Sanose was the team leader for Vancouver in assists (56) and points (88), one ahead of powerhouse defenseman Liv Slater. Sansoe signed as a free agent with the Wolves last season after spending Season Ninety-One as a member of the Rome Gladiators in the VHLE. Sanose was drafted by the London United way back in the Season Eighty-Seven VHL Entry draft, but never really panned out for the United as they would have hoped, but after last season with the Wolves the towering 6’8 forward from the United States showed that good things do really come to those who wait. With what should be an improved roster heading up to the Wolves in Season Ninety-Three, one will have to wonder if Sanose will be able to continue his offensive ways in the upcoming season. Ben Dover (S86-RW): Another member of the Wolves roster that is expected to return this season, Ben Dover was another Wolve that saw his point production increase on a relatively bad team last season. Dover had a good rookie season in Season Ninety-One with the Wolves putting up fifty-three points in his seventy-two games played but rose to a point per game player for the franchise in Season Ninety-Two, putting up thirty-six goals and thirty-seven assists, good enough for seventy-three points which was third on the entire team. Now as Dover heads into his third season in the VHL and with the Wolves, after signing a contract extension for Season Ninety-Two Dover will hopefully show the Wolves management team he belongs, or at the very worst showcases his talent for another VHL team if the Wolves decide to go other route at the conclusion of the upcoming season. Mikko Borisyuk (S89-C): Borisyuk is one of the new faces that will be joining the Wolves in the upcoming season, after spending the last three seasons since his draft year with the Bratislava Watchmen. Borisyuk is another member of the Wolves roster that got his first taste of championship hockey, as a part of the Watchmens Renaissance winning team in Season Ninety-two, but now a much harder task is on the horizon for Borisyuk. Borisyuk is currently the second centerman on the Wolves roster, which means there will be a bit more pressure on the youngster, as he’ll likely be playing on the second line behind Sansoe right from the get-go, something that a lot of rookies don’t experience right away. Borisyuk has put up back-to-back thirty goal seasons in the VHLE, something that Borisyuk and the Wolves management will continue when he enters the big league. With a young roster around him, hopefully the first-gen player can come into his own as one of the older rookies on the roster. Carson Walker Jr (S89-RW): Walker Jr enjoyed a very good rookie season with the Wolves in Season Ninety-Two, as he was able to put up thirty-two goals and twenty-nine assists in the Wolves seventy-two games played. The sixty-one points that Walker Jr put up last season put him in third place in the rookie scoring race, behind names with much more fanfare in Grimgor Ironside and Leif Reingaard, which puts Walker Jr in very good company. Prior to putting on the Wolves jersey last season, Walker Jr was another member of the franchise that spent time in the VHLE with Bratislava. In 144 games played in the VHLE with Bratislava, Walker Jr put up fifty-four goals and fifty-six assists, showing he is a balanced forward that can bury the rubber or help set up his teammates. Now entering his fifth of nine eligible seasons in the VHL, Walker Jr will look to make a bigger impact as on of the older forwards on the Wolves roster, this time with hopefully a much better core around him. Only time will tell is Walker Jr can improve on his sixty-one-point rookie season in Season Ninety-Two. Zyn Westwood (S89-RW): Westwood is coming back to the Vancouver Wolves from the New York Americans after being traded a few weeks into Season Ninety-Two. Entering his fifth VHL season, Westwood will be entering his second season with the Wolves after playing the final forty-four games with the Americans last season, a team where he also spent Season Ninety and Ninety-One with. Westwood was selected Fifth Overall back in Season Eighty-Nine by the New York Americans but hasn’t really been able to live up to the normal hype one would expect from a top five pick in the VHL Entry Draft. So far in 217 VHL games played Westwood has put up thirty-five goals and forty-four assists however, Westwood to his credit has played on some of the worst VHL teams in those four VHL seasons, with only the Season Ninety-Two New York team making the playoffs. Hopefully after being left off the only playoff roster, he could have appear on last season with New York will light a fire under the right winger this season for Vancouver. Mclean Hoover II (S87-RW): Hoover II is another member of the Wolves roster that played last season with Vancouver in his rookie season. Hoover II was drafted back in the Season Eighty-Seven VHL Entry Draft, where he went thirty-third overall to the Riga Reign. Hoover never played a game for his draft team, instead Hoover II spent two seasons with the Mississauga Hounds in the VHLM (S87, S88) and three seasons with the Rome Gladiators in the VHLE (S89, S90, S91). When free agency hit for Season Ninety-Two Hoover II was offered a one year $1,500,000 contract with Vancouver, where he impressed the management team enough to be offered the same one-year contract heading into Season Ninety-Two. As he enters his second season in Vancouver and second VHL season, the Wolves hope that Hoover II can improve on his thirty-four-point performance in Season Ninety-Two. Defense: Liv Slater (S88-D): The man, they myth the Wolves legend, Liv Slater put the VHL on notice with her offensive production in Season Ninety-Two. Slater is entering her fifth season in the VHL and fourth on the Wolves roster, after spending her rookie season with the team that drafted her Seventh Overall in Season Nighty-Eight, the Chicago Wolves. Heading into Season Ninety-Two, Slater has 135 points in 216 games, then she exploded off the charts with a eighty-seven point performance last season. Slater put up thirty-six goals and fifty-one assists in seventy-two games which was good enough for third place in the defenseman scoring race behind Mark Calaway and Pierre Emile Bouchard. Slater was the talk of the town in Vancouver last season as her offensive performance seemed to come out of nowhere, including her hybrid record breaking thirty-six goal season which is the best goal output since Season Eighty-three. Now with a much-improved roster around her as we enter Season Ninety-Three, one question on everyone’s mind in Vancouver is, what will she do next? DB IV (S92-D): A member of the three-headed rookie monster on defense that will be joining the Wolves next season, DB IV hopes his losing finals ways is behind him as he leaves the Cologne Express of the VHLE. DB IVs VHL career started on the highest of highs as he was a member of the Season Ninety Founders Cup winning Mississauga Hounds roster, but over the last two years his luck has appeared to run out as a member of the Houston Bulls and Colone Express. Now as DB IV is ready to enter the VHL, he is hoping to go back to those winning ways he experienced in Season Ninety with the Hounds. Last season DB IV helped the Express back to the Renaissance up finals, as he put up a respectable 8 goals and twenty-five assists in seventy-two games played with Cologne. DB IV also appeared in all nine playoff games with the Express, where he was only able to put up one assist in the team’s nine games. DB IV is eligible to return back to the VHLE next season, but it appears the Wolves management have him slotted in as the fourth defenseman on the roster which will hopefully pay off huge for both the Wolves teams and DB IV himself. Guntis Gavilrovs (S92-D): Gavilrovs is another member of the three headed rookie class that will be joining the Wolves on defense this upcoming season. Gavilrovs spent last season with the Stockholm Vikings in the VHLE where he went off offensively, putting up seventeen goals and a league leading sixty-one assists. Gavilrovs was a huge part of the reason that Stockholm was able to hang onto third place in the VHLE standings, however he alone couldn’t lead the Vikings past the eventual Cup winning Watchmen in the first round of the VHLE playoffs. After a very good regular season, Gavilrovs did keep up that offensive pace in the post-season against Bratislava as he put up four assists in the Vikings eventually five game loss of the Watchmen. Now as he enters his rookie VHL season Gavilrovs hopes he can continue putting up a point per game in the VHL. Vlad Von Carstein (S92-D): The last member of the rookie crew that is joining the Wolves on defense this season, Vlad Von Carstein is the last member of the roster to also bringing a winning pedigree to the VHL this season. Carstein saw action in all seventy-two games for the Watchmen last season, putting up fourteen goals and fifty-seven assists, which was just one point under a point per game for the German defender. Carstein upped his game come playoff time for the eventual Renaissance winning Watchmen, where he put up four goals and five assists in the teams nine playoff games. Now Carstein will join the Wolves roster as the number two defenseman on the club and can hopefully keep up the offensive production in Season Ninety-Three and beyond. Goalie: Dalkr Vidarsson (S91-G): The lone goaltender on the Wovles roster, Dalkr Vidarsson is coming off his rookie VHL season that saw him face the second most shots in the entire VHL. Vidarsson saw action in sixty-four games last season for the Wolves and had himself a very good season all things considered. Vidarsson put finished the season with a record of 26-32-6 to go along with a .925 save percentage and 3.09 goals against average. Vidarsson also had five shutouts on the season, which tied him with Fuukka Rask for third place in the entire VH, trailing only Joel Castle and Merome Dilson by one shutout for the league lead. Vidarsson played behind a roster that did not have many quality defenseman besides Slater, so as we head in to Season Ninety-Three Vidarsson must be excited as he’ll see time behind a much improved roster, including a much improved defense. Hopefully this is the season we see Vidarsson on the right side of the wins/loss column. 2,308 words. March 3-9 March 10-16 March 17-23 March 24-30
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  16. S93 HC DAVOS DYNAMO CAPTAINS The rebuild is in full swing this season, leading the way is... Captain - David Jokinen @Ahma! Now in his 7th season with the team, and 6th as captain, Jokinen embodies everything a captain should be and leads by example on and off of the ice! Jokinen will look to lead Davos to another cup in the coming seasons! Jokinen looks to continue their improved play from last season! Alternate Captain - David Jokinen @Ahma! Jokinen has proved to be a positive presence in the Davos locker room, and for that reason has been awarded an 'A' for this season! Alternate Captain - David Jokinen @Ahma! David, the leading scorer on the Dynamo for this season will be looking to continue their play this season and hopefully cross the point per game mark for the first time in their career!
    11 points
  17. Per @JCarson's request during the VHL Draft stream last night, I'm back with another post-draft/offseason recap/grading article! I could only find the S90 article for the last time I did this, so I've missed a few seasons and am due to write another behemoth on the forums #forumcontent. For some context, I used to just grade the first round, but I'm going to grade on a team by team basis this season so that I can look at a team's moves and picks as a whole and shout out more folks who were selected this draft. I will also try and keep it concise with less emphasis on formatting and making it look pretty. Also as a disclaimer, I'm usually pretty pessimistic vs being optimistic. So if you want to feel better about your grades, bump it up a sign I guess. Like B+ to A-, or C- to C. Take it with a grain of salt though I'm just writing some shit for fun. I'm not an expert, clearly. Nothing here is personal. You're all lovely people for the most part and I wish you all the best (unless you play against Moscow). Edit: Turns out that this will just be part 1 of 2, as I don't want to cover both NA and EU in a single sitting. See you later in the week for the EU Conference coverage! North American Conference Calgary Wranglers - @leandrofg Calgary entered this offseason as the only team facing both cap and roster issues, and had to find ways to navigate around this. They began by sending out Sadie St. Louis @sadie to Seattle as a cap dump, then proceeded to also ship out Oreo McFleury @JB123 in another trade to Seattle. Seems like the Seattle - Calgary pipeline will be continuing even without Ricer at the helm of the Wranglers, as CGY made a whopping 3 trades with Seattle in a single offseason (although the third trade was just a pick upgrade/swap). While Calgary is cap compliant now, they roster only 4 forwards and 3 defensemen with just 6.5 million in cap space. It'll be interesting to see how CGY will fill out their roster, or if they'll choose to just retool/rebuild their roster and ship out players to other teams with cap and roster space. In the draft though, CGY brings home a familiar user in @Rhynex Entertainment and Miner Vhler, along with Carson Tripp @Cartripp14, Oliver Loo @Peiffy, Wladyslaw Mintus @mintusaurus and some other folks in the 4th round, including recently MIA user @jake and Trimiskez Artav. Miner Vhler was a player expected to slip in the draft due to a very odd build, while the other prospects will be projects that Calgary will need to significantly invest in to see development. There's certainly potential for steals in Carson Tripp and Wladyslaw Mintus who have been around discord/forum/draft stream, but the earning will need to match the activity to see proper value. Overall, I'm confused about Calgary's direction this offseason - shipping out strong players but going for draft pick quantity over quality, and whether they'll ice a decent enough roster for next season. With just about a week left in the offseason, they will have to be praying for a free agent pickup or for trades to go their way. Grade: C Chicago Phoenix - @badcolethetitan My last article in S90 called Chicago's situation "one of the worst ever involving GM transitions" and that Cole would have his work cut out for him. Chicago has surprised, flashing potential off of the back of Scotty Sundin in S91, but also playing their way out of lottery picks that they desperately needed. Chicago's roster looks better on paper now, but is still very young and needs time to develop. Chicago was quiet this offseason, not making any trades pre-draft despite rumors circling of various offers and discussions in the works. In the draft though, Chicago landed UghSike @UghSike at 5th overall, bringing home a very solid forward prospect who should be VHL ready within a season. With their 2nd round pick, they decided to take a gamble on Jean-Pierre Devote @eagle_3450, a projected top 3 player who had his draft stock tank in the weeks leading up to the draft due to inactivity concerns. It'll be a risk for Chicago, but with UghSike's selection in the first, they decided that the risk might be worth the gamble. Interestingly enough, it seems like their real target all along was Vanuza Kolesinska @chikn, a player and user with close ties to defenseman Karol Lamb @dlamb, as CHI traded two future 2nds to PRG for the player. Also drafting Micah Cederbaum @MicahC and Kevin OConnor @Luke033, Chicago has seemingly replenished their prospect pool - for their forwards at least, which was already their strongest group on paper. With only 3 defensemen contracted for S93 and 5 forwards, Chicago is also in a position where they're lacking a complete roster. Without any trades to fill holes and free agency seemingly not going their way so far, they're left to play the waiting game and see what limited opportunities are left. Grade: B- D.C. Dragons - @FrostBeard A team coming off of a Continental Cup win simply can't be criticized, right? WRONG, according to members of the VHL peanut gallery. GM John FrostBeard invited the wrath of the public when he made a curious draft day trade with Moscow, acquiring 19th overall from Moscow in exchange for their S94 DCD 1st round pick. What was he thinking?? Was there collusion?? Does Euron Leonidas have nude pics of GMs around the league??? Speculation was rampant, but DC quickly put concerns to rest with the selection of goalie Herald Benson @Benson at 19th overall during the draft. D.C. sorely needs a goalie prospect for the future with Henry Tucker @NSG facing retirement, and they entered the draft knowing they couldn't risk missing out in another goalie rich draft. D.C. otherwise is bringing back most, if not all of their cup winning roster, setting the stage for another strong season for the Dragons. With Brash Candicoot @TrinityMonk (name of the draft candidate??) and potential future backup goalie Connor Hellebuyck @HockeyFan4Life joining the organization via the draft as well, the Dragons are comfortable with their prospect pool as they look to expand upon their current success. Grade: A- (gave Moscow another 1st so it drops from an A ) Los Angeles Stars - @InstantRockstar S90: "Simply put, the Stars are stuck in the mud." We can probably keep that leading sentence for LA as they enter an era without any of their top players. LA decided to take the route of Chicago back in the late 70's and attempt to compete all the way through the retirement of their top stars including Art Vandelay @Gustav and Todd Cooke @KRZY. Now they're in a spot with minimal roster players, a shallow prospect pool, but a deceent collection of future draft picks from trading away Eric Queefson @twists, Sunglasses Joyo @JetsGoalie101 and Larry Abass Jr @RileyL. This draft, LA decided to take the best players they could get their hands on at each pick - as their position need was everything. WWumbo @Fire Tortorella, Taylor Swift @lilchrist, Connor Simard @Alex99 and Marc-Andre Fleury @ElementStyx9 won't move the needle for LA anytime soon, but some may turn out to be solid foundation pieces in LA's rags to riches rebuild. LA's biggest worry is meeting minimum roster requirements, which is probably the first time a VHL team has had that issue in recent memory. They've got a long road to success ahead, and this offseason just didn't really move the needle for them. There's still time to get roster compliant, but they sorely need young players to start some path out of the rebuild. Grade: F New York Americans - @STZ Another team with a new GM since my last offseason recap! NYA got an F for their roster management and sketchy draft picks last go around. This season though, NYA made just one trade with Malmo to acquire Jebediah Big Ol Doinks in Amish @hylands while trading down just a few picks in the 1st round of the draft. With their sole S93 selection at 11th overall, New York took Chris Reynolds Jr @Crstats23 who is quickly becoming very well known around the league for churning out extremely solid pension players while remaining very loyal to a franchise. Most of New York's roster stuck around, with Callum Gary Yannick Janser @Daniel Janser signing a long-term extension as well with the American team. Between Jasper Davis @Josh and FISTED ANALLY BY A CIRCUS MONKEY Analfist @STZ leading the forwards, a strong trio of young defensemen and the top rookie goalie from last season @rory, New York will certainly be considered one of the favorites to make a deep playoff run in the NA this season. Grade: A Seattle Bears - @Banackock Might be best to just skip over Seattle, otherwise I risk facing Bana's wrath regardless of what I say. But I'm a sucker for punishment so lets cover em anyways! Seattle entered the offseason with controversy, taking a mild lottery odds punishment from the VHL Commissioner's Office for illegal backup goalie management. That punishment ended up with Seattle losing out on the 1st overall pick to Davos, but instead securing 2nd overall due to lottery rules on dropping spots. Gianfranco Del Rocco @Victor was an easy pick for Seattle who will hope that Victor can go back to his HoF player ways. Seattle was also active in the middle of the 1st round, trading a S94 WAR 1st round pick to Moscow along with pick 31 to Moscow in exchange for 10th overall and 34th overall, where they selected Nathan Ecker @Nathan_8 and Marek Nowaczyk @Chillybro. Add in Cole Stermer @Bazeus, Filip Zinek @FiZi and Enn Jinn @jhatty8, Seattle has added a lot of youth to their once depleted prospect pool. Outside of the draft though, Seattle was very involved in trades with Calgary, acquiring the aforementioned Sadie St. Louis and Oreo McFleury for cheap as they enter retirement. Add in Henry Eagles @Greg_Di who oddly passed over multiple FA offers from presumed cup contenders, and Seattle seems to be attempting a speedrun out of a rebuild. Whether their forward trio acquisitions will be enough to move the needle is yet to be seen, but Seattle still lacks a quality goalie starter and talent on defense. If Seattle crashes and burns this season, they may regret the picks spent to bail Calgary out of cap hell, as they didn't add any strong defense or goalie talent - instead choosing to add Ecker to an already young forward group. I'm mostly curious to see if Bana convinces someone on the roster to position swap to defense. Severyus Targaryen anyone? Grade: B Toronto Legion - @Moon Did Toronto even show up to the offseason? With just 2 picks in the S93 draft and 0 trades made, Toronto seemed to be content to sit tight and bring back their entire roster from last season. Toronto added defensemen Gul Dukat @MSouthworth and Phil Taylor @Legacy in the draft to replenish their very shallow defense room, but they still only have 2 defensemen on the roster right now. Toronto also has just 2.5 million in cap space, so it'll be extremely tough for them to add more than just a single cheap defenseman. Are they really this confident in their forwards and goaltending? And what moves will they make to get a defenseman, as half the league seems to be actively looking for cheap defensemen to fill their roster out with. Toronto will need to wake up and make a move, or risk just gambling away another season of Jimi Jaks @ke1vi and Mac Atlas @v.2 who are still hot commodities around the VHL trade market. Grade: D Vancouver Wolves - @Frank Despite being fairly deep into a rebuild, Vancouver surprisingly had just a single pick in the S93 Draft, and that was to select Annie Oaks @Noodle Enjoyer at 4th overall. Oaks was considered one of the top first gen prospects in the class, considered somewhat interchangeable with UghSike and Nathan Ecker for forwards. The Wolves got to take their pick of the litter and came out with a very strong forward pick to join the team in S94. Vancouver was surprisingly active with trades, moving 19th overall for Left Alone @okochastar from Moscow, and a small package of picks for veterans Sunglasses Joyo and Larry Abass Jr from LA's fire sale. Some might speculate if this is an attempt to have a rebound season and keep Liv Slater @Subject056 happy, as the rest of the roster still does not have a single player over 700 TPE. Could VAN be tanking their chances for a high draft pick next season with these moves? Or is Frank being shrewd and holding onto 3 veteran players who will likely fetch some interest at the deadline? However, I still believe that Slater still being on the roster after Analfist was traded last offseason is a criminal offense, and that Slater has effectively been put in VHL jail. While she had a fantastic individual season in S92, she's not getting any younger - and the trade offers that VAN once would have received for Slater are starting to dry up. Grade: B- See you later in the week for European Conference coverage! (2,237 words)
    11 points
  18. Howdy VHL nation! Welcome to the season 92 World Cup of Hockey tournament! @leandrofg and I are super excited to welcome everyone back to this edition of the tournament. We hope to have rosters selected in the next couple days and sims starting right after that! We're looking forward to seeing the fruits of the six teams hard work come out and play HARD for their respective teams. Will Canada complete the threepeat? Or will a new champion emerge from the flames? CANADA USA WESTERN EUROPE EASTERN EUROPE SCANDINAVIA WORLD Our dear friends in the US of A will be the proud hosts on the S92 edition of the WCoH, with the host city being beautiful Portland, Oregon! Here's our lovely AI generated logo that is an abomination to all of creation! Good luck to all teams and players! Everyone is welcome in the discord server: https://discord.gg/RbvzJW4FzS
    11 points
  19. i really do miss the purple though @kirbithan
    10 points
  20. The loud crack of a hockey stick rang out through the empty arena, echoing off of the walls as the only sound in an otherwise silent stadium. Shortly after that, the sound of skates on ice could be heard as the player skated off the ice and onto the bench. His helmet dropped and rolled around the concrete flooring, the pants of the player loud and frequent. Tyler Lawson threw his head back, wiping sweat from his brow, as he took in his surroundings. Having been cut from the Houston Bulls as he was entering the VLHE Draft, he asked a favor of the staff to let him skate around in Houston for one last time. Lawson had broken his hockey stick out on the rink, taking it as a sign that maybe his time on the ice here was ending. Having spent the better part of a year living here, he felt an odd, almost indescribable feeling creeping up on him knowing that after the draft, he could be playing god knows where. After getting so accustomed to the culture in Houston, he frowned thinking of how it was almost like a reset for him. Not that would be a bad thing necessarily, but he'd enjoyed his time here and the change worried him. He tossed aside his stick, letting it bounce with a clang against the metal bench, before pulling out his phone. He scrolled through a folder in his gallery app, compiled of all the memories he'd made with the team through many various photos and videos. He would take a few more - of the stadium, a selfie on the ice, just taking it all in as he never knew when, or if, he'd be back. He found himself smiling as he scrolled through the media, and looked back on all the team dinners, the pranks played, and the charity events. Enveloped in nostalgia, he had to remind himself to be happy of everything he started here - as his time in Houston was slipping through his fingers, he wanted to end it off on a high note. After all, he would hate to have to look back on his times here and only be able to remember moping around about leaving. His eyes scanned the stands and his mind was filled with the roars of the crowd, the wins and the losses, everything that'd led him to that point. Shaking himself out of it, he let out a small grunt as stood, finding his footing. Letting out a small sigh, Tyler knew he'd overstayed his welcome. He'd scoop up his immediate belongings, before turning to make way for the locker rooms. On the trip over, he made sure to take in the arena he'd grown fond of over the past season. He'd almost felt like he had taken it all for granted - deep down, he knew he was off to bigger and better things, though, that didn't stop the heartache he felt leaving his teammates behind. As he stepped into the locker room, he read the nametags above every locker before making his way over to his. He scooped the rest of his items, placing them in his bag, before shouldering the bag again. As he made his way for the player's exit of the arena, he made sure to thank the staff on the way out for allowing him to check the arena out one last time, as well as for their contributions to the team. Finally exiting the arena, he made his way for a black SUV he'd rented ahead of time that would be taking him to the airport. It only made sense, in his eyes, to watch the draft from home with his family. Lawson wasn't exactly top-pick material, and as such, he decided against attending the draft in person. This way, it allowed for him to spend time with his family without killing his pockets, he thought. He pulled out his phone, checking social media to ease his nerves. Call it conceited, but recently, Tyler had been watching the VHL mock drafts, he was unsurprisingly anxious about the whole ordeal. I mean, whoever drafted him, that very well could be his home until the wheels fell off and he was to retire. He didn't really mind where he was going - well, that was untrue, he'd prefer somewhere a little warmer in climate. At the least during the summer, he thought, as he couldn't think of a ton of places in the world where hockey was played that were quite as hot as anywhere he'd lived before. He'd also secretly hoped to be drafted alongside a few of his teammates - I know, something of a pipe dream. It was highly unlikely, and he didn't honestly expect as much, though it was a fun thought. As the ride went on, Tyler found himself often looking out the window - watching on as they passed his favorite local restaurants, murals across the city, museums, and loads of places he'd spent his free time the last year. He'd loved especially visiting the Rangers during their regular season games, as every time he'd go, they tended to throw him up on the jumbotron, and he'd meet a few players ever once in a while. He did love the attention, honestly, but it was freeing to get out someplace where he wasn't the center of attention. Sure, he'd get asked for some photos every once in a while, or maybe some fan of the team would strike up a conversation, but for the most part - he was left alone, the other bystanders were there to watch the game the same as him. He even visited a few of the World Series games, rooting for the Rangers. If not for the fact he was playing for Houston's hockey team, then because of Arizona being the ones to knock out his favorite team, the Dodgers. As he recovered from his thoughts, he looked down in surprise as the driver thanked him and announced they were at their stop. Lawson shook his head in disbelief before getting his stuff together and exiting the car. He wouldn't dwell on it, but he was confused as he hadn't thought he'd been stuck in thought for quite so long. Entering the airport and making his way through TSA, he found himself waiting for his flight to LAX. He'd taken this same trip not too long ago during the playoffs, and now here he was, heading back home once more and preparing for the draft. He was surprised at how fast things changed - just a year ago, it seemed like his hockey dreams were over - nobody cared about him as a prospect or took him seriously barring his injury at UCLA, and when Houston took a chance on him . . . well, he wouldn't let it go to waste. That much was evident now, but reflecting on the situation, he didn't think he could blame them. He had just taken one of the most serious injuries an athlete can have, and this was coming off of an already shaky injury history back in high school. Now wasn't the time to reflect on that, though, he figured as he stood up to explore the airport. Taking a few photos with fans and grabbing something from the airport for lunch, it wasn't too long before his flight was scheduled for boarding. As he took his suitcase, and his duffle bag slung over his shoulder, he walked down the jet bridge before boarding the plane. He smiled and greeted the attendants before making his way to his seat in first class. He cheaped out on his last flight and had grown to regret it, as a baby crying made it pretty difficult for him to get any rest. As he took his seat, he rummaged through his bag reaching for a pair of noise-cancelling headphones that he'd toss on. Buckling his seatbelt, he'd cross his arms and close his eyes, nodding off not too long after the fact. As he awoke, he groggily rubbed his eyes before checking the flight tracker ahead of him. '30 minutes,' he thought, 'not too bad'. Reaching into his bag once more, he retrieved a book that he'd bought at one of the airport shops back in Houston. He decided that he could get a little bit of reading in before disembarking, and it helped to ease his nerves a bit. Despite things going alright last time, this was only his second ever flight and he was stil . . . somewhat nervous about the thought of the plane going down. The book had managed to be a successful outlet for distracting himself, as before he knew it, he was exiting just as quickly as he'd boarded the flight. Lugging his belongings behind him, he met his parents outside near the front and after helping him with loading his belongings, they'd make the two-hour trip to take him to his childhood home, where he'd set up shop for the next week or two as they awaited the results of the draft to see where he'd be living for the foreseeable future. Much to the dismay of many of his friends ("Dude, you seriously didn't want to attend live?"), on draft day, he opted to watch the whole thing from the comfort of his family home in Poway, California. Surrounded by his loved ones, he took in the atmosphere and cherished the environment as, to be honest, he didn't know when he'd see a lot of these people again. He had childhood friends, cousins, uncles, grandparents - you name it. He found it really heartwarming that so many people cared to make such a big deal of his accomplishments - he didn't think it was all that serious, but he was clearly in the minority. "With the first pick in the VHL Entry Draft, the HC Davos Dynamo select . . . Antonia Bucatini!" The room erupted with claps and cheers - he had been teammates with Antonia, after all. A smile crept on Tyler's face as he celebrated for his teammate. He hadn't spent too much time thinking about it before, he had been too nervous about his own position, but he was going to be interested to see where his teammates would end up. He hadn't known Antonia for all too long as he was sent to Houston nearing the trade deadline, but Tyler had looked up to the guy who'd been essentially the consensus number-one pick this draft. To the surprise of nobody, it wouldn't be too long before another of his former teammates would fly off the boards. "With the third pick in the VHL Entry Draft, the Riga Reign select . . . Lucy Leiter!" Again, the room seemed to fill entirely with celebration. He wasn't all too surprised, honestly, she was a lock for the top three in nearly every analyst's mock draft, and he could see why. Having played alongside her for so long, her impact in the locker room and around the league as a whole didn't go unnoticed. Her drive was really unlike anything he'd seen before. He was really excited for her alongside Antonia, and he looked forward to seeing the two again in the future. He hadn't been expecting a phone call or anything all too soon - he didn't really know where he'd land, but he was guessing somewhere in the second or third round given the deep talent pool. He anxiously began to pace, he knew he'd be left on the board for awhile and the thought made him sick, honestly. The tenth pick just came through and Ecker, another of his teammates, had just been selected. 'Bulls just flying off the boards, huh,' he thought with a small laugh. A few more picks would come in, and he jumped unexpectedly as his phone on the counter began to ring. Everyone in the room turned their heads towards him and the room went dead silent. Tyler scanning the room felt white as a blanket, and walked back over to his phone. He let out a small gulp, "I . . . uhm, I . . . I gotta take this," he just managed to let out before taking his phone and sprinting up to his room upstairs. He recognized the number as one belonging to his agent, who'd break the news for him. "Son, you've just been drafted to the Helinski Titans." * 2,059 words
    10 points
  21. VSN Presents: S93 Weekly Predictions After what seems like an extremely long off season; but one must not forget the importance of the off season as the general managers work to improve the teams or shape the future for the teams moving forward; either through Free agency, draft or trade. The biggest question on the minds of most will be “has our team improved enough to be contenders for the Continental cup at the end of the season. Well, I am not here for that I am here to try to predict the weekly standing and if your team is going to make big early season push or flop out of the gate like a dead fish looking for water. Either way let get into this week’s Predictions: 1. As one of the stronger teams in the conference after a solid off season Jebediah Big Ol Doinks in Amish @hylands via a trade with Malmo Nighthawks only strengthening the chances of taking the top spot in the North American conference this season. New York starts the season as the strong team in the conference with challenges coming from Toronto Legion and defending champions D.C. Dragons. New York plays both those teams twice this week but I feel at this time New York is slightly ahead of D.C. Dragons and I have them actually finish equal with Toronto by the end of the week but gave them the tie break via overall TPE strength. 2. Similar to New York, Toronto Legion will make up what I think should be a two-way race for the top of the conference but it didn`t look that way at points in the off-season until Toronto secured their defensive core by trading for Mason Rice @Sawyer13 from HC Davos Dynamo. While Toronto are one of the best two teams in the conference to start the season, it is unlikely to remain that way as I think other teams are bound to catch them as the season progresses. Add in being right against the salary cap and concerns around the defensive core. Similar schedule as New York means a similar result but the games between Toronto and D.C. will be interesting as I think they could be closer than I am current predicting. 3. Next, we have a group of these teams Calgary Wranglers, D.C. Dragons and the Vancouver Wolves that really should battle most of the season over third place and the wildcard placements. Vancouver lands here at third thanks in part to an busy off-season that sees Vancouver add veteran players Left Alone @okochastar, Sunglasses Joyo @JetsGoalie101, Larry Abass Jr @RileyL and Jens Lekman @Bobcat from Moscow and Los Angeles. Add in the addition of six rookies and Vancouver might really grow up this list this season. Easy start to the season should see Vancouver the top of these three teams at the end of the week and might be closer to Toronto depending on how the two game series between Toronto and D.C. goes. 4. Again, since it is early days, I have the next two teams tied in my predictions so I am giving the tie breaker of defending Champions to the Dragons this week. It would seem on paper a quiet off season but D.C Dragons made a controversial move just before the trade deadline when they flipped a S94 DCD 1st to Moscow for S93 VAN 2nd; having most question the trade. In the end it was a calculated risk reaching into the draft to grab goaltender Herald Benson @Benson and should secure the teams future in net; so doesn`t look as bad as when the trade was first made. D.C while the defending champions have question about the defensive side of the team with an below league average defense and middle of the pack goaltender. The Dragons are still a very good team and should at least stay in playoff conversation. This week the Dragons fall victim of the top two teams with a two game set against Toronto and New York; while I have them also in tough against Vancouver, Calgary and Warsaw. 5. Calgary Wranglers had one of the most interesting and likely stressful off seasons. Calgary started the off season needing to clear salary cap to sign star goaltender Merome Dilson @MexicanCow123to a new contract. Calgary managed to clear the space when they shipped Sadie St-Louis @sadie to Seattle Bears for a few picks but than shocked many by completing other trades shipping out Oreo McFleury @JB123, Skor McFleury @Alex and Rip Wheeler @ScottyP while bring back Moritz Stauffer @GoodLeftUndone and Kyle Toms @Ktoms22 making the team slightly younger but also left the team scrambling to find replacement forwards trading for Adam Rage @MrMom & Thor Odinson @GoalPlays. Without these moves Calgary might have struggled this season but fifth is the best that the Wranglers can salvage this week due to a fairly tough schedule; which should determine the pecking order in the North American Conference play six of the seven team in the conference, add in Moscow and I have them with a rather split record around five hundred. 6. What to say about the Bears? Made moves to improve their roster with additions of Henry Eagles @Greg_Di and Tullemore Dew @Spade18 via free agency and brought in depth scoring option via trade with Calgary in Oreo McFleury @JB123 and Sadie St-Louis @sadie. While I don`t have Seattle as playoff team come season end, I have them like a lurking animal at the edge of the camp fire ready to maul you should you make a mistake as the Bears are close enough to the three teams ahead to be a rather pain in the arse and could just sneak into a wildcard spot. Most likely team that Seattle will be mauling or at least harassing this season will be their pacific coast rivals Vancouver Wolves. The Bears should be just below five hundred this week but that could swing in their favor should the up-end any of the three teams above them in Calgary, Vancouver or D.C. Seattle will also have a good understanding where they stand in the North American conference as they play all team in the conference in the first week. 7. Chicago is a sort of weird team where they are not good enough to really contend for a play-off spot but not really bad enough to be fighting for a top pick either. Rather Chicago feels stuck but have improved by adding Babay Shrimp @Blazzer via UFA and Karol Lamb @dlamb joins the roster for their rookie season. Minor trade seeing Chicago ship out Michael Shotter @TacocaT9 to Helsinki. Chicago gets a bit of break this week as Los Angeles, HC Davos and a huge game against Seattle should seem them maybe climb higher than I am currently projecting them. 8. How the night sky must be a lite with beautiful shooting stars this season as the Stars have fallen!! If I am correct after the first week of last season the Stars hadn`t lost a game but I am predicting a much uglier fate for the team this season as I have them really going winless to start the first ten games of the season but it not about wins this season is it? Made moves in the off season to collect prospect and picks while selling off remaining assets as Eric Queefson @twists, Sunglasses Joyo @JetsGoalie101, Larry Abass Jr @RileyL and Jens Lekman @Bobcat. First season of rebuild always looks worse than it really is. 1. Moscow might not be the best team in the European conference but they should lead the conference after the first week due to a fairly easy schedule with the toughest game coming from London United, which could really go either way. Big series that could put Prague Phantom behind the Eight-ball early in the season with a three-game set and another two against Riga Reign are the most notable games of the week. Moscow surprised a lot of the league completing a trade to bring in last season ROY Grimgor Ironhide @FrostBeard from Helsinki Titans for ROY prospect Adi Dassler @BOOM; which should replace Dog Woodmaple @dogwoodmaple nicely as the forward retired at the end of last season. Moscow also moved on from aging forward Left Alone @okochastarto make room for Grimgor Ironhide @FrostBeard and Rookie George Richmond @badcolethetitan. This team should continue to improve quickly with a young developing roster. 2. London United have a much more difficult schedule with four swing games two against Malmo Nighthawks, a game each against Moscow Menace and Helsinki Titans. Which can either have them placing as high as second at the end of the first week or as low as fourth or fifth. It will be interesting to see how the United handle the early season challenge without Molly the Cat @JCarson; who retired at the end of last season and will look to Sjin @Sjin to try to provide much needed secondary scoring vacated by the Cat. Dustin Funk winning Nick Sansoe @Tipskid97 returned to London via free agency after a return to the VHLE Rome and a season with the Vancouver Wolves but made the interesting choice to move to defense this season. Question surrounding London once again being around the defensive core and if it can hold together like last season. Again London will rely heavily on Jesse Teno @aimkin as they did last season making the Continental Cup finals. 3. While my college has Helsinki Titans as the top team in Europe this season, I don`t share the same view as the loss of Pierre Emile Bouchard @Gaikoku-hito and mentioned trade of Grimgor Ironhide @FrostBeard have clearly set the team back slightly. While Kronchy Kardashian @Garsh and YaBoi Oven @Doomsday should be able to fill the void of Bouchard. I am less confident that Helsinki found the correct answer; if any at forward for replacing Grimgor Ironhide @FrostBeard; Owen Lazaro @traphag will be tasked with this role in supporting Daryl Dixon @Ricer13 but it is a rather large drop off in the depth charts after that; which might leave Helsinki looking for secondary scoring sooner than later. Helsinki will be tested in the first week with a three game set against Malmo Nighthawks and other notable game being against London; otherwise a fairly early schedule that should see them in third by the end of the week or as low as fifth if Helsinki struggles out of the gate. 4. Can you have a statement week in the first week of the season? Well, this is how I see Malmo Nighthawks opening week. Malmo will face Helsinki Titans in a three-game series, London United in two game set and Moscow in a single game that see them play every team in the European conference except Riga Reign. Malmo can very much set the tone of the conference this week if they end up higher in the standing than predicted as I feel that I am doing them injustice by placing them this low as Malmo could easily finish second this week in a tight European Conference but just too many swing games has them placed lower in the standings. Malmo Nighthawks off season included trading away Jebediah Big Ol Doinks in Amish @hylands to New York Americans in a trade that seen them aquire Jorgen Lovstrom @Pifferfish, who Malmo hopes is their goalie of the future. While also losing Henry Eagles @Greg_Di to the Seattle Bears via free agency. Malmo Nighthawks are a very good team but seem to lack any true star power outside Jacob Stone @scoop, the Jake Wylde co-winner. It will be interesting to see if a team can win a Championship without individual star power. 5. Warsaw Predators are in a group of two that should fight for Wildcard spot this season with Prague Phantoms and like the Seattle Bears; I see Warsaw playing the spoiler role. Key addition in Lachlan Summers @kirbithan from HC Davos Dynamo should keep the Predators hunting rather than being the prey most nights. Tough week to start the season but if Warsaw can upset Helsinki, Malmo or Moscow; if not all three than I can see them as high as second by the end of the week and putting the conference that they won`t roll over. Add in a huge two game series against Prague; which will establish how the season for Warsaw might just play out. 6. Similar to Malmo Nighthawks; Prague will face a statement week in the very first week facing every team in the European Conference and a huge three game series against Moscow Menace; not to mention the two game set against Warsaw Predators mentioned above. Prague, I have trying to hang on this week and not falling to far behind the other six teams above them so early into the season. If they fail to keep the standing close I feel that they could be on the outside looking in at the end of the season. A ton of change during the off season see new Manager in @Tetricide take control of the team and he completed a few huge deals bring in Skor McFleury @Alex and Rip Wheeler @ScottyP from Calgary Wranglers while shipping Moritz Stauffer @GoodLeftUndone and Kyle Toms @Ktoms22 the other way. The hope I am assuming is that Skor McFleury @Alex can rediscover his scoring touch from his HC Davos and Malmo days providing a much need set-up man for Nikolas Kauppi @Tetricide and John Jameson @Frank; both set to retire at the end of the season. While Rip Wheeler @ScottyP will try to add secondary depth scoring. Other minor trade sees Pope Francis @nurx arrive from HC Davos. 7. Riga Reign are still a very much young and developing team that needs; maybe, to become more aggressive in rebuilding their team as Riga just seems stuck always waiting for players to develop and has the team stuck at the bottom of the conference. While I don`t have Riga going winless in the first week playing the second worse team in the league, HC Davos Dynamo. To win more than a single game this week Riga will need to play spoiler against Vancouver, Warsaw and Prague but I still have them a clear lock for seventh this week and in the season standings. Only single move of note from Riga trading Gregger McKeggegger @TheNeonShaman for prospect Stefan Nikolaev @Is_thatok and S95 MAL 1st in a move that made a ton of sense for both the player and the team. 8. Another difficult season in Davos as the Dynamo currently waits for prospect to develop as HC Davos selected eleven players this past draft with Antonia Bucatini @CowboyinAmerica, opting to play a full season in the VHLE rather than joining the VHLE equivalent Dyanmo in the VHL. Biggest off season move came when Davos traded Lachlan Summers @kirbithan, while he still held value to Warsaw Predators for S95 WAR 1st and Prospects with Sunset Moth @McWolf being the most notable. Most other deals being what I consider minor deals even though Davos manager @Alex remain busy completing eight other trades on top of the Summers deal. Final Thoughts: Should be a very difficult season to predict as we have six teams in each conference that should be fighting for the playoff this season and while we have a few different groups within each conference every given night most of these teams can beat each other. Great for the league but mendosai for this writer as I try to predict what might happen every week so as always tell me how wrong I am in the comments below; as I am 100% sure you will be right at least this season!!
    10 points
  22. The simming team for S93 is: VHL: @Josh VHLE: @MexicanCow123 VHLM: @N0HBDY Backup: @Beketov @VHL GM @VHLE GM @VHLM GM
    10 points
  23. JCarson

    1 week, a lot of changes

    1-week changes everything One week ago, I was contemplating how my next season would look given I had just retired Molly the Cat and had created Felicia Hardy. I was looking at how I would want to build a defensive specialist defender who was tough on the competition. I was looking forward to being drafted, to joining a VHLM team and potentially meeting some new people. I was looking forward to earning and applying TPE and seeing immediate growth. It was a chance to go back to the VHLM and do things differently, this time with a little knowledge. I could repeat successes and avoid mistakes. I felt relaxed as I waited for the offseason to finish and Season 93 to start. Oh, how things change in a week. A week of change in the league and change personally. In the last week 5 individuals were named to the position of GM in the VHLM. Among those 5 was the naming of yours truly to the position of GM of the Mexico City Kings. I still don’t really know why I applied. Maybe I thought I had been around long enough that it was a natural next step. Maybe I was just testing the league to see if they would name a complete newbie to a job. Whatever it was I am now stuck with the outcome. As I said in my article last week, if I am going to do something I am going to do it all in. So much has changed in the week, now having been named the GM of the VHLM Mexico City Kings I am also looking at how I go about building a competitive VHLM team. I must learn a new series of systems, gain a better understanding of the SIM engine and how minor changes impact the outcomes. I need to engage and mentor several inexperienced players to potential greatness. Start a process of evaluating each potential draft prospect, determine which ones I will scout and create a draft list. I now must focus less on my player and turn my attention to everyone else. The good news is that I think I have a basic understanding of things now. I had the opportunity to sit with a VHL GM and review the systems that allow for drafting, trades, line submission, and I think I have a handle on them. We will see when I finally need to use them. I feel like I have integrated into the VHLM GM discord, although I am still trying to figure out which GM has what team. I have also started my process of draft scouting. Wow is that not an easy process. I think at this point I only have several questions and very few answers, maybe that doesn’t matter, maybe it does. Who knows? So, the questions I have right now: Who is going to be picked before my turn? Who is going to stay around for the season? What positions do I need/want? What positions are the most important? Does player build matter? Time will tell, but this is definitely a different week than last.
    10 points
  24. Snussu

    VHL Scrabble

    Hello VHL! I'm going to be doing something I couldent find anyone else has done yet in VHL, but I have done myself in PBE and SHL. And as you have read the title already you know how this goes. VHL Scrabble! So I will be taking every teams players one by one to a scrabble score calculator and then after I'm done with the team I will calculate the total points, the average etc. So with out a further a do here we go! Calgary Wrangles Jonny Elgar: 21 Merome Dilson: 17 Joe Block: 23 Moritz Stauffer: 31 Phil Strasmore: 20 Thor Odinson: 15 Raimo Tuominen: 17 Catia Goncalves: 22 Adam Rage: 12 Kyle Toms: 17 Randy Bobandy: 24 The Total: 219 The Average: 19.909... The Highest points: Moritz Stauffer The Lowest points: Adam Rage Chicago Phoenix Amir Redzic: 24 Ryan Artyomov: 23 Reinhard von Kongming: 34 Karol Lamb: 17 Darko Alexander Malkovich: 50 Lionel Collberg: 19 Yaroslav Trunov: 23 Joshua Schwarzer: 42 Bryce Woodworth: 31 Dank Turtle: 15 Legacy Gaming: 22 Babay Shrimp: 25 The Total: 325 The Average: 27.83.. The Highest points: Darko Alexander Malkovich The Lowest points: Dank Turtle D.C Dragons Henry Tucker Jr: 32 Mark Calaway: 25 Eurydyka Sklodowska Dudzinska: 65 Ben Laas: 9 Theo Allard: 14 Lucas Grey: 15 Keita Kourou: 19 Keegan Gamble: 22 Vincent Laroche-Gagnier: 33 The Frenchman: 25 The Total: 259 The Average: 25.9 The Highest points: Eurydyka Sklodowska Dudzinska The Lowest points: Ben Laas HC Davos Dynamo Karl Pedersen: 19 Womp Womp Womp Womp Womp Jr: 64 David Jokinen: 28 LeBen Aky: 17 James MacAvoy: 31 Carson Walker Jr: 30 The Total: 189 The Average: 31.5 The Highest points: Womp Womp Womp Womp Womp Jr The Lowest points: LeBen Aky Helsinki Titans Fuukka Rask: 25 YaBoi Oven: 17 Tommy Sleeves: 22 Kronchy Kardashian: 37 Michael Shotter: 24 Owen Lazaro: 22 Daryl Dixon: 22 Adi Dassler: 12 Jarkko Laakkonen: 38 Ellis Woolfenden: 22 Isaac mclflopper: 28 The Total: 247 The Average: 22.454... The Highest points: Jarkko Laakkonen The Lowest points: Adi Dassler London United Geoff Bezos: 28 Jesse Teno: 16 Nick Sansoe: 16 Jack Jeckler: 37 Lloyd Braun: 16 Isamu Knievel: 21 Wann Kerr: 15 Sjin: 11 Halvar Torbjorn: 29 Brad Marchand: 23 Ben Dover: 14 John Richards: 28 Leonard Triller: 15 The Total: 269 The Average: 20.69... The Highest points: Jack Jeckler The Lowest points: Sjin Los Angeles Stars Matthew McCagg: 29 The Mediocre One: 22 Astro Singh: 14 Mclean Hoover II: 24 Alexander Stroheim: 30 Jim Benning Jr: 31 Timothy Swearingen: 29 The Total: 179 The Average: 25.57... The Highest points: Jim Benning Jr The Lowest points: Astro Singh Malmo Nighthawks Karl Herzlich: 33 Ash Sparks: 18 Jacob Stone: 21 Eric Queefson: 26 Reese McFleury: 23 Conference Prince-de-Galles: 37 Yaroslav Bogatyrev: 32 Savaisk Tzesar: 29 Ronald Johnson MacWallace III: 46 Phillip Rave: 21 Gregger McKeggegger: 33 Viktor Jensen: 26 The Total: 345 The Average: 28.75 The Highest points: Ronald Johnson MacWallace III The Lowest points: Ash Sparks Moscow Menace Olober Syko: 19 Joseph Reed: 23 Obuz Schneider Canet du Bocage: 51 Nils Andersson: 14 Leif Reingaard: 18 Celise Pereira: 17 Jeff Lewis: 25 Grimgor Ironhide: 23 George Richmond: 24 David Rashford: 25 Axle Gunner: 18 Jarmo Ruutu: 19 The Total: 276 The Average: 23 The Highest points: Obuz Schneider Canet du Bocage The Lowest points: Nils Andersson New York Americans WWWWWWWWWWWW WWWWWWWWWWWW: 96 Rin Kagamine: 18 Jebediah Big Ol Doinks in Amish: 52 Callum Gary Yannick Janser: 47 Tord Yvel: 15 FISTED ANALLY BY A CIRCUS MONKEY Analfist: 23 Jasper Davis: 24 Alfred Champagne: 29 Keon Jeannot: 22 Vinny Lecavalier: 26 Francesco Mancini: 27 The Total: 379 The Average: 34.45... The Highest points: WWWWWWWWWWWW WWWWWWWWWWWW The Lowest points: Tord Yvel Prague Phantoms Matt Murdock: 22 Skor McFleury: 26 Pope Francis: 20 Admir Bala: 14 Spanish Moon Moth: 27 Rip Wheeler: 18 John Jameson: 30 Nikolas Kauppi: 25 Chris Sanzone: 26 The Total: 208 The Average: 23.11... The Highest points: John Jameson The Lowest points: Admir Bala Riga Reign Red Panda: 12 Reginald the Dodo: 22 Mina: 6 Braeden Panarella: 21 Fradin McGryer: 25 Martin Kemp: 20 Kimi Raikkonen: 27 Eno Velvson: 16 Otis Boudreaux Jr: 32 Eric White Jr: 26 Shubham Anand: 23 The Total: 230 The Average: 20.90... The Highest Points: Otis Boudreaux Jr The Lowest Points: Mina Seattle Bears Justin Lion: 17 Giorgiy Costanzov: 35 Simons Worst Nightmare: 31 Sigma Freud: 17 Justin Williams: 26 Big B: 9 Toby Kadachi: 26 Sadie St-Louis: 13 Oreo McFleury: 22 Gustav Mattias: 19 Henry Eagles: 18 Severus Targaryen: 23 Tullemore Dew: 18 The Total: 274 The Average: 21.07... The Highest points: Giorgiy Costanzov The Lowest points: Big B Toronto Legion Toddly Bobbly: 26 Joel Castle: 19 Walter Fitzroy Jr: 40 Mason Rice: 13 Bobby Bob: 21 Steve Lattimer: 18 Mac Atlas: 12 Jimi Jaks: 28 Harry Callahan: 24 Diego Machado: 22 Kobe Johnson: 27 The Total: 250 The Average: 22.72.. The Highest points: Walter Fitzroy Jr The Lowest points: Mac Atlas Vancouver Wolves Dalkr Vidarsson: 23 Vlad Von Carstein: 24 Guntis Gavilrovs: 23 DB IV: 10 Liv Slater: 12 Jens Lekman: 23 Riley Martin: 16 Mikko Borisyuk: 32 Logan Ninefingers: 21 Larry Abass Jr. 24 Left Alone: 12 Sunglasses Joyo: 25 The Total: 245 The Average: 20.41... The Highest points: Mikko Borisyuk The Lowest points: DB IV Warsaw Predators Pipo Popa: 16 Lachlan Summers: 23 Hannibal Barca: 22 Rex Wolffe Gregor: 33 Tim Riggins: 14 Tater Tottingham: 21 Zyn Westwood: 30 Behrens Minion: 20 Montgomery Burns: 25 King Kisslinger: 24 Thor Reingaard: 18 Maxim Anisimov: 29 The Total: 275 The Average: 22.91... The Highest points: Rex Wolffe Gregor The Lowest points: Tim Riggins That concludes the calculating! Now we can get on with the speculation and talking about the stats! So to recap The Highest total points goes to New York Americans with 379, The Single highest point goes to WWWWWWWWWWWW WWWWWWWWWWWW with 96! (Absurd), and the least points goes to Mina with 6! The highest average also goes to New York unsurprisingly! Now if we look at some other teams with high averages we can see that Davos with 31.5 is up there in second place! Although they only have 189 total points (the second least) their roster size makes up for that puts them firmly in 2nd place with average. So what does this all mean, I can hear you ask. Well nothing to be honest, this is just something I thought would be funny to do and did it. I will be doing one for E and M combined later since this is already 1000 words long! See you then! Total word count 1084 Claiming for week ending 24/3 and 31/3
    9 points
  25. courtesy of the ever incredible @Triller As the second last franchise to win their first Continental Cup (soon Stars, soon), one can imagine that it has been a tough going for game-breaking talent, and proven winners in this franchise. The team was blessed in the mid-70s with some really great characters, people that really established the culture that would blossom into what the London United stands by today, but it wasn’t until the mid 80s that the club really saw a transition towards continued and recognized competitiveness. Molly the Cat was drafted 12th overall, quite early for a first-generation player in a stacked recreate class. In the midst of a transition from the first GM in United history to its second, Molly the Cat quickly established themselves as the front-most contender for what the United would look like for the next era. Being named captain of the squad in their rookie season, and carrying that title until they retired, and being the league’s Top Rookie, things looked to be on the up for the United. As the team began to establish its core identity, picking up some other long-standing prospects through the draft, it came time for someone new to take the reins of the team, in an attempt to get them over the final hump. In S88, I took over the team, at the request of the previous GM and a committee of the top players on the team. I was happy to take the position, knowing what a great group of people I would be hanging out with in my day-to-day. Tough moves had to be made, intense negotiations handled, but when it came down to it, Molly the Cat was ready to lead a rag-tag group to success, like they were every season. Through the ups and the downs, Molly the Cat was there to encourage us, lead us by example, and promote the values that we United hold so dear. A model forum member, an impressive player, and a deserving leader, from the first game to the last. Although Molly’s career ultimately ended in heartbreak, one goal away from a second championship, the first championship would not have been even dreamed of without the support of the team’s favorite kitty cat. I’m not sure if anyone has gotten to retire their father’s number before, nor do I think there will be a father so deserving of a retirement from their kid. While I may have gotten to take on the mentor role for this venture, it couldn’t have been done without your relentless persistence, your somewhat approachable demeanor, and some good old fashioned nepotism. To be fair I only re-signed you, so maybe it doesn’t count. Anyways, what better way to cap off an incredible career than with your number hanging (metaphorically) above us always. That Dude already claimed your long-time number 69 (nice), but I hope you can feel almost as honored pretending you wore number 96 instead. We shall miss your press conferences and your scoring touch, but we wish you nothing but the best as you guide the next generation of kittens to their own first-generation (and recreate, I suppose) success! @JCarson
    9 points
  26. Player Information Username: Tetricide Player Name: Erik Thorvaldsson Recruited From: Returning Age: 27 Position: D Height: 77 in. Weight: 250 lbs. Birthplace: Greenland Player Page @VHLM GM
    9 points
  27. Today, I received the incredible news that I would be the next GM of the Halifax 21st and one of my first reactions was, "Amazing, I can't wait! . . . What is 21st?" Well, today I learned that the moniker '21st' refers to Pier 21 in the Halifax Harbour which was a terminal for ocean liners and was the point of entry to Canada for many new immigrants-- nearly 1 million new immigrants-- between 1928 and 1971. Thank you to @samx and @Beketov for pointing me in the right direction, else I might still be lost at sea trying to figure out why the 21st have a boat on their logo. Something Bek said in our brief exchange really stood out to me, "I’ve always viewed it as the perfect name for a VHLM team given that the M is the first point of contact for the VHL". And it's true, like Pier 21 in the Halifax Harbour was the point of entry for many new immigrants who landed in Canada after a long voyage across the Atlantic, the VHLM is the league of entry to the VHL that welcomes new players into the community from all over the world. Being the point of entry is well and good, but without a welcoming committee, it's easy to get lost-- Canada is huge country, after all, and the VHL forums can absolutely be intimidating for new members left to fend for themselves. Recently being new to VHL myself, I had a fantastic experience with the Houston Bulls in the VHLM which has shaped my outlook on, and appreciation for, the VHLM-- but especially for GMs who really embrace their role to welcome and prepare players for the VHLE and the VHL. My GM last season, @AJW, was incredibly helpful and always seemed to have the time for us as players, whether it was answering repetitive questions about TPE and trivia answers, or just chatting and enjoying the company of the locker room. Look, I've been banging this drum all season, but I'll hit it one more time-- it's great to add more players to the league, but without incredible GMs like AJ who really understand their role and what it means to players entering the VHL, I don't know where the league would be. Just the simple things like being available to chat or answer a question goes a long way for new players who are enticed by the idea of joining a league where they can build a player, sign a contract, join a team, and work their way up to the big leagues. I think what many new players-- and even some veteran players-- don't realize is that you join for the opportunity to create something for yourself, but it's often the community of the league that really keeps people around, continuing to earn TPE and building their player. I know I've only been here a relatively short time compared to some, but the experience of being new is still fresh. Like Pier 21 for many immigrants to Canada, the VHLM needs great GMs who can welcome new players to the community and give them a reason to stay. Each player will have different motivations for joining and what appeals to some won't appeal to all, but that's also the beauty of a community-- like Canada-- like the VHL. All good people should be welcome and made to feel like they have a place here. Sure, this may come off as overly sentimental as, at the end of the day, it is a sim league with fake teams, fake leagues, and an evil overlord called Simon who holds the hopes and dreams of every fake player in the palm of his hand. What isn't fake or made-up, however, is the people. If we wanted to play sim hockey against AI, there are manager sims for that and NHL24 is a thing. We're here, presumably, because there's something different-- dare I say-- better about doing the sim hockey with humans. And unlike AI, humans are complex, creative, compassionate, and at times unpredictable. It's what really makes it all worthwhile, despite the fact that working with humans is far more challenging than manipulating an AI. I myself am American-- from Houston-- but I did live in Calgary, Alberta for about a year and a half. While I was in Canada, I had the chance to make it out east and see the city of Halifax as we traveled around the maritime provinces, and I really enjoyed seeing that part of Canada, the natural beauty, and the distinct maritime culture. And though I knew that the east coast was the point of entry for many European immigrants across the Atlantic, I guess I never realized how many actually came through Halifax. By last census, Halifax has a population of 431, 479, which is still a far cry from the million that would have entered via Pier 21. Many of those immigrants would have made their way inland, some even crossing the country over time and settling out west. Every player wants to make it to the VHL (unless you're doing some funky experiment) and the only way to get there is through the M. I'm honored to be selected as the next GM of the Halifax 21st and I'm thrilled to be in a position to welcome new players to the VHL. In my one season of experience, it has been a fantastic community and a fun pastime, and I'm excited to share that enjoyment with those that are next to land on the 21st. GM Lexie Leitner - Halifax 21st Claimed 03/10/24
    9 points
  28. The VHL Draft has come and gone Many young hockey players have found out where their future home in the VHL will be and now can see what their future may hold. But these players still don't know where they'll be in the present, the VHLE draft takes place tomorrow and we wonder just how much will it's draft order look like the VHL draft. We were able to catch up to Annie Oaks who was selected 4th overall at the VHL draft by Vancouver and we were able to ask a few questions. 1. You were selected 4th overall by the Wolves how do you feel about this, and were you expecting it? "I'm elated to be going to Vancouver, I played there in my youth and know how great of a city it is to play hockey in. I had a great interview with GM Frank @Frankand AGM Gaikokuhito @Gaikoku-hitoso was kind of expecting the call at 4th." 2. So you had an idea you would be going to Vancouver, do you have any idea where you'll wind up in the VHLE? "Honestly I have no idea where I'll be playing this season, I've only had a pair of interviews with VHLE GMs and I don't even know the draft order to be honest. But where ever I land in Europe I'll do my best to bring success there while honing my game to prepare for the VHL." 3. Do you have any goals for the upcoming season if so what are they? "My primary goal will be to win a cup where ever I end up playing, I want to score at least 30 goals with at least 80 points. I also want to be top 5 in rookie scoring, I'll do my best to achieve these goals before moving on to Vancouver. 4. Is there anything you're looking for in a European destination, what kind of team would you most like to play for? "I'm not too picky I'll just be happy to play for the team that picks me, but to give a real answer I'd prefer to play for a team that is offensive minded. I love to score goals and am hoping to pile them up this year before going to Vancouver." 5. Lastly we'd like to talk about Vancouvers current roster and what about it you're most excited for? "There's a lot to be excited for there, I'm super excited to see what the rookies can do there this year I can't wait to see how all the young talent performs. Also I love that the GM went out and acquired some veterans to surround them with to make their seasons as good as possible. I can't wait to get there and play with the likes of Logan Ninefingers @Scurvy, Riley Martin @Smarch, Vlad Von Carstein @Dom, and of course Guntis Gavilrovs @Girts." The future of Vancouver does look bright, and so does Annies' as she looks to pack her bags and ship out for Europe with the hopes of winning a cup along with other accolades. We will have our answers as to where Annie and all the other young players will be playing once the VHLE draft concludes tomorrow. Jim Hotdog for VHL.com
    9 points
  29. STZ

    Great One

    @MubbleFubbles
    9 points
  30. ace_five_

    My First Week With VHL

    I wanted to come on here and talk about my experience in my first week with the VHL and joining in the off-season. First of all, there's a lot of stuff going on at this time that I don't understand regarding drafts, signings, and trades. Really, I don't need to understand them, but with the GMs preoccupied with that, I was more or less left to navigate the forums and portal alone (a pretty daunting task). While I did join the Discord eventually and was met with a warm reception and offers to answer questions I might have, I decided I was already in it and fully immersed myself in figuring this thing out. I'm happy to say that after a week, it really is pretty organized and if you read a couple of guides, also easy to navigate. Following a guide by @Hogan I was able to really sink my teeth into how to earn TPE and am proud to say that, with this article, I should be at 19 TPE this week (both capped and uncapped, I learned that too). As the weeks go by that should become even easier to navigate and hopefully be a piece of cake. As for the members of the VHL, everyone that I've talked to so far has been wonderful. They have been happy to answer any questions that I've had and guide me to make sure I'm as successful as I want to be. Overall, this place is great! The whole thing has been a brand-new experience for me and I'm looking to keep it going. Thank you everyone for the warm reception. Now let's bring on season 93!
    9 points
  31. LucyXpher

    S93 VHLM GM Hirings

    Wow, that's awesome! I'm super excited for this opportunity and to be able to contribute to the league this way! I can't wait to get started in Halifax and congrats to the others who were hired as well, all super deserving from what I've seen!
    9 points
  32. On the first day of the off-season Vancouver signed their goaltender of the future Dalkr Vidarsson @KaleebtheMighty to a long term contract. Some Wolves players namely Riley Martin @Smarch thought that Vidarsson gave in too easily during negotiations and left significant money on the table. A fact that the VHLPA is sure to investigate. The second move of the day came in acquiring star forward Left Alone @okochastar from the Moscow Menace. Alone has spent 5 of his 6 seasons with the Menace and now will spend the final two of his career in Vancouver where he will look to lead a young Wolves squad make the leap into contention. After putting up back to back 90 point seasons, Vancouver is banking on a strong finish to Left Alone's career, hoping for team and individual success in their final two seasons. Also worth noting Vancouver will be icing 6 rookies this season as all of Logan Ninefingers @Scurvy, Riley Martin @Smarch, Guntis Gavilrovs @Girts, Vlad Von Carstein @Dom, Mikko Borisyuk @Minebro and DB IV @wcats will battle it out cage match style for the Stolzy (rookie of the season). Ninefingers, Carstein and Borisyuk are all coming off a Renaissance Cup win with Bratislava this season and they'll have a ton of swagger at training camp. As GM of this team I'm very excited for what this upcoming season holds as well as the future of the team. More moves to come?
    9 points
  33. Scurvy

    Around the League

    It’s officially the off-season. A time when all of us without league responsibilities dread but a time that management savors to get a much-needed break to gear up for another season. We do have the Junior showcase I believe and the Pro-AM is starting up which is fun time consumer until we start another season. It does get harder to write some stuff as the off-season drags but for today I wanna chat about the Continental Cup Finals, an idea for debate, and the promotion of a great GM. DC WINS IN GAME 7 I have to say this was an exciting series to see unfold. 7 games that boasted 3 shutouts and a game 7 that went into overtime. You can’t ask for a better cup final and it's tough that one of these two great clubs had to lose. DC went on to win with their standout forward, The Frenchman @OrbitingDeath sniped a shot past Jesse Teno at 10:01 in OT. The real heroes of this series were the goalies. In game 7 Jesse Teno @aimkin stopped 44 of 47 shots and DCD’s Henry Tucker @NSG stopped 51 of 53 shots. The game even had a spirited center ice fight featuring DC’s Jason @Jason kranz and London center, Sjin @Sjin showing both clubs were holding nothing back to win. A huge shoutout to London’s offensive machines in Leonard Triller @Triller, Molly the Cat @JCarson, and Wann Kerr @VattghernCZ who were all in the top four for playoff scoring. They left it all on the ice and can hang their heads high after a tough loss. Anyway, Congrats to both clubs for making it fun and special congrats to DC and GM @FrostBeard and LDN GM @jacobcarson877 for an exciting Continental Cup! FREE OFF SEASON TPE? I know I can speak for a lot of people who try to max out TPE every week. Whether you do graphics, podcasts, or media spots it can be a grind some weeks. Now, I should preface this with the fact I have NO graphic skills whatsoever. I have tried on some free apps like Pixlr and I am LOST! Everything I have tried looks like shit. So? Like I said above the offseason is a great break for management. They do a lot of stuff behind the scenes and its nice for them to re-charge the batteries a bit. That being said should players get a little break from the 6 TPE media spot, graphic, or podcast in the off-season? Should there be a 5 TPE welfare button just for that time to give a rest from the long TPE boost? I still think press conference, VHL article, and trivia should still be earned but should we get a breather and some nice off season TPE for the long one? Thoughts? Could it help with retention? Help teams with players missing playoffs remain interested? Anyway, don’t really care that much curious. TET JOINS PRAGUE I wanted to give a shoutout and congrats to @Tetricide for his promotion as new GM in Prague. I had the good fortune to join the Miami Marauders on my re-create season. Although it was a short season I ended up in the Founders Cup final with a very fun Miami club. While this was my second time through the VHLM I was impressed with Tet’s commitment to the newer players, his willingness to teach them the nuances of the VHL, forum, and TPE earning, and his availability to his players. Tet obviously has a commitment to the VHL and is a great ambassador of the league. Prague is lucky to have you and I wish you success. 611
    9 points
  34. Victor

    FREE TPE!

    On this day 10 years ago I was VHL Commissioner and chose my birthday to be a time of benevolence, handing out TPE to all those who liked my announcement on the day. The post has 114 likes, I don't think all of them are from back then as more filtered in over the years. Alas I no longer have the power to hand out TPE on the day of my birth but is it too much to ask for some well wishes? Thanks, love you all. Ten years is wild of course – that was my last year in school. The next year was my only birthday I actually came into the office for, until today, with weekends, COVID, and vacations helping me avoid that from 2016 to 2023. It's a pretty uneventful day today but with a long Easter weekend coming up I am claiming that for my birthday instead and it should be a fine time filled with drinks and debauchery. Anyway, what are you up to today? What were you up to 10 years ago? Do you think we should be given free TPE given it's the 10-year anniversary of free TPE? What's the best birthday present I could get from the VHL?
    8 points
  35. S93 Halifax 21st Official Roster LW - Connor Simard @Alex99 LW - Dorji Khan @Oddpurplefly C - Pierre Marc Bouchard @Gaikoku-hito C - Robin Sierra @ethanjaeda C - Ty Duke @TheDuke C - Tommy Shelby @Will RW - Captain Nugget Jr @Captain nugget RW - Maple Dogwood @dogwoodmaple RW - Robert Tango @trains D - Andrew Skilton @ace_five_ D - Alexandr Novotny @Patrik Tallinder D - John Season @dylanjj37 G - Jon Webber III @Webberj G - Samuel Wazinski @samthemancub
    8 points
  36. Victor

    FREE TPE!!!

    It's time.
    8 points
  37. With the draft coming in this Saturday, many teams in the VHLM are sitting in different positions. While some appear to be primed for a competitive season, and have made moves in order to all but guarantee that, while other teams are looking at next season with weary eyes, knowing that it’s going to be a long one. If there was any season to have draft picks, it’s this one. With the massive recruitment drive and a ton of retention, we’ll be looking at active players going all the way till the end of the draft. Suffice to say, this may be one of the best drafts the VHLM has had in a long time. At least this season, gone are the completely barren rosters with like two guys sitting around twiddling their thumbs in the locker room. Every team should be able to put together at least the bones of a roster. With that being said, let’s take a look at how each team looks going into this draft. (every roster was adjusted based on IAs on the roster as of 3/11/24) Philadelphia Reapers Roster: 1 Forward, 2 Defensemen Draft Picks: 1 First, 1 Second, 1 Fourth, 1 Sixth, 1 Seventh The reigning Founders Cup champions are in a relatively comfortable position coming into the draft. The Jinn draft strategy last draft has appeared to pay off, as they are retaining three for this upcoming season, with two being defensemen. With a D-pair locked down, they can take advantage of the usual deep forward class and bolster an offense. There are also a large number of serviceable goaltenders in this draft, so they can fill that hole relatively easily. With the draft class being as deep as it is, they should be able to get an active player all the way to their seventh. Having spent little draft picks for their cup run, they are in a great position to attempt the repeat, and should be able to cobble together, at the very least, a winning season. Las Vegas Aces Roster: 1 Forward Draft Picks: 1 First, 1 Third, 1 Fourth, 1 Fifth, 3 Sixths, 1 Seventh Coming up short is never fun, especially when the window closes immediately after. Las Vegas seems to be primed to go into a hard rebuild, signaled with the trading of their starting goaltender and some depth picks for futures in Season 94. While they do have a handful of picks in this draft, it appears that they’ll do their damage with later round players at lower TPA levels, and hopefully retain them for the push next season, with higher TPA players likely being moved at the deadline this season. While it won’t be a long rebuild by any stretch, it’ll be a painful one going into this season. Houston Bulls Roster: 2 Forwards, 1 Goaltender Draft Picks: 1 Second, 2 Fourths, 1 Sixth, 1 Seventh The Bulls are in somewhat the same position as Las Vegas, with it not necessarily looking to be a winning season next season, having basically gone all in and coming up with nothing. They are definitely in a worse spot pickwise and will likely struggle to put together a competitive roster, coupled with the fact that their goalie could very well go up to the VHLE if they so desired. The pieces they are able to acquire will likely all carry over into the next, with the exception of the second, so while this is going to be a struggling season, season 94 will see a return to the dominant Houston Bulls team. Miami Marauders Roster: Absolutely nothing Draft Picks: 2 Firsts, 2 Seconds, 1 Third, 2 Fifths, 1 Sixth, 1 Seventh Miami is the first team with absolutely no players on their roster, which serves as a monumental task in terms of putting together a competitive team, as not everybody can be the worst. They do have the maximum amount of early round picks, with two picks in both the first and second round, and should be able to gather some top-flight talent. The big determining factor going into this season is the depth picks. If they can hit on their later round selections, they will at least have a competitive squad going into this season. If they miss, they may have to rely on a select few players on a very bare roster, which has been successful, but not necessarily ideal. Mexico City Kings Roster: 1 Forward, 1 Defenseman Draft Picks: 1 First, 1 Second, 1 Third, 1 Fourth, 1 Fifth, 1 Sixth, 1 Seventh Mexico City is kind of a funny team. I believe they are the only team to hold a pick in every round and those only being their original picks. They also will need to use all those picks in order to put together a roster worth competing with. A rather bare roster as of now, with the threat of their defenseman moving up to the VHLE, they’re likely to come out of the draft with the skeleton of a team, but no real meat to give it an extra punch. Whoever they select will be their ride or die, with no room for adjustment. That also puts pressure on the GM to hit on each pick, as one misstep and they’ll be forced to slot a bot into the lineup. San Diego Marlins Roster: 1 Goaltender Draft Picks: 1 Second, 2 Fourths, 2 Sevenths The Marlins are cooked. Very bare on the draft picks, and only one player on the roster, this may be the worst team in the league coming into this season. It would take a monumental reach for this team to be competitive, and would likely get bounced in a sweep if they somehow sniff the playoffs. Much like Mexico City, every pick needs to be a hit, which becomes very difficult when you’re grabbing your first line forward or top pairing defenseman in the last round of the draft. The only thing they can look forward to is hopefully retaining those they do draft and build upon the foundation they set to possibly compete in Season 94. Saskatoon Wild Roster: 2 Forwards, 1 Goaltender Draft Picks: 2 Firsts, 2 Seconds, 2 Thirds, 1 Fourth, 1 Fifth, 1 Sixth, 1 Seventh The Wild are in arguably the best position going into this draft. Six picks in the first three rounds puts them in a position to get a plethora of top players in this draft class and put together the best roster right out of the gate. The team is relatively bare in the later rounds, which could prove to be a disservice if any of the top picks end up drifting away, as well as put into question the competitiveness of next season, but this is the VHLM, the next season is always a question mark. There is a slight concern that one of their forwards moves onto the VHLE, but they do have the high end picks to supplement that loss if it does occur. Ottawa Lynx Roster: 1 Goaltender Draft Picks: 2 Firsts, 3 Thirds, 1 Fourth, 4 Fifths, 1 Sixth, 1 Seventh Ottawa made a decent splash before the draft, acquiring a starting goaltender in exchange for two picks in the S94 draft. Goaltending has been their achilles heel for the past few seasons, being the biggest weakness on some otherwise strong rosters. They have a good mix of early and late picks, which should provide a balance of high end talent and young, growing depth, which would allow multiple seasons of competitiveness. The main concern is constructing a full roster, as they are starting with a relatively clean slate and can’t necessarily afford to miss on their picks, as this appears to be the season in which they want to compete. Halifax 21st Roster: 1 Defenseman, 1 Goaltender Draft Picks: 2 Firsts, 2 Seconds, 1 Third, 2 Fifths, 1 Sixth, 1 Seventh Halifax seems to be preparing to compete this season, as they’ve built up a decent amount of early round picks and a couple in the later rounds, attempting to strike a balanced roster of capped and growing for multiple competing seasons. This would be a nice change of pace, as it feels that Halifax has been stuck in the basement of the VHLM for quite some time. Having a good goaltender and a mediocre defenseman definitely helps, and they should at the very least be able to cobble together a good squad that likely finishes in the top half of the league. Mississauga Hounds Roster: 1 Goaltender Draft Picks: 1 First, 2 Seconds, 1 Third, 1 Sixth The lowly Hounds are in probably the worst position compared to every other team in the league. After an abysmal season, one would hope the next one would yield a more competitive result, but that does not seem to be the case for Mississauga. With a small pool of picks and only a single player on their roster, it appears that the Hounds will have another down season. The best they can hope for is to sell high on their capped assets this season and build for the future. (1528 words. Three weeks of claiming)
    8 points
  38. @Frank Hey everybody! Welcome to this season’s VHL Season preview, after a busy offseason, full of roster changes there’s been a considerable shift in team’s outlooks this season with a major shift towards the European Conference. So, without further to do, let’s jump right into it! North American Conference 1 - Toronto Legion Forward Rank - 1st Defense Rank - 8th Goalie Rank - 3rd Conference Rank - 2nd League Rank - 2nd Toronto is in a very unique spot right now, their top forwards all have 3 seasons left, along with Bobby Bob @Baby Boomer currently being the leagues top defensemen in terms of TPA. While their core is strong there is one player that really puts an end date on their window, as Joel Castle @animal74 is set to retire in 2 seasons. With that being said they are still a top goalie in the league, and we can expect Toronto to be a bit more aggressive in the trade market to try and win another cup with their aging core. Toronto should come out of the gate quickly this season and if they can pick up a true number 2 defensemen, they could very well be favourites to win it all. 2 - New York Americans Forward Rank - 2nd Defense Rank - 3rd Goalie Rank - 9th Conference Rank - 1st League Rank - 1st New York is Toronto’s only real threat at this point in time and it was essentially a coin flip on who to put ahead of the other, ultimately it came down to goaltending as the new sliders leave a lot unknown on the goaltending side of things. While we do have New York just behind Toronto to start the season they have the deepest roster in the league and some fast improving young players that will close the gap to the top players in the league. As of right now New York is the favourite team to win the Continental Cup at the end of the season assuming their players continue to improve at an elite pace. 3 - D.C. Dragons Forward Rank - 4th Defense Rank - 10th Goalie Rank - 7th Conference Rank - 4th League Rank - 8th The D.C. dragons are in a similar position to Toronto in the sense of having an aging roster that has a window directly related to their goaltenders' imminent retirement. As of right now this season is D.C.’s last chance to build off of last season's championship. With most of last season’s roster back there’s no reason they can’t win it all again. We can also expect D.C. to be in the market for a number 2 or 3 defensemen. As of right now D.C. is the final North American team that is a lock for the playoffs and should be set for another solid season. 4 - Calgary Wranglers Forward Rank - 14th Defense Rank - 7th Goalie Rank - 1st Conference Rank - 5th League Rank - 10th The Calgary Wranglers are in a very unique spot, they have top players in nearly every position including the league best goalie and reigning MVP in Merome Dilson @MexicanCow123. However, Calgary has a bit of a drop off with their depth players. Brining in 2 depth forwards right before the season really helps, but we can look for Calgary to continue looking for another upgrade. Calgary should make the playoffs by all means, but do have some serious questions offensively. 5 - Vancouver Wolves Forward Rank - 7th Defense Rank - 4th Goalie Rank - 12th Conference Rank - 3rd League Rank - 7th Vancouver probably makes the playoffs this season, which is a huge step forward from season 92. Liv Slater @Subject056 has really come into their own, and aggressive trades in the offseason look like they will pay off. The main question mark with their roster comes with their goaltending as Dalkr Vidarsson @KaleebtheMighty is the lowest TPA off all the starting goalies on competing teams, they should improve quickly though in a season where the impact of goaltending is uncertain itself. 6 - Chicago Phoenix Forward Rank - 12th Defense Rank - 12th Goalie Rank - 11th Conference Rank - 6th League Rank - 12th Chicago is very much in the middle, not quite good enough to truly compete, but not bad enough to get a top pick (without lotto luck). Their saving grace this season could very well be their offensive depth, while they lack a top forward in the league, Yaroslav Trunov @qripll is coming off of a great season and will be looking to replicate what Scotty Sundin @fromtheinside did for Chicago only a few seasons ago. We can expect Chicago to be right around the playoff bubble all season and maybe even push one of the top teams out. 7 - Seattle Bears Forward Rank - 8th Defense Rank - 14th Goalie Rank - 15th Conference Rank - 7th League Rank - 13th This offseason left one question in everyone’s mind, why on earth did Henry Eagles @Greg_Di go to Seattle? While they do drastically impact their offensive outlook, the roster is far from ready to contend. The main issue for Seattle this season will more than likely be goaltending as while Giorgiy Costanzov @Mongoose87 does have a lot of potential they just aren’t quite there yet and don’t have the blue line in front of them to limit chances. Seattle will likely prove to be a trade partner for many of the teams looking to add a player or two, but they aren’t ready to compete for a playoff spot just yet, unless their offense and Eagles put the team on their back. 8 - Los Angeles Stars Forward Rank - 16th Defense Rank - 16th Goalie Rank - 14th Conference Rank - 8th League Rank - 16th After seasons of competing near the top of the league, a new era has begun in Los Angeles. All the players remaining from their previous core have been shipped off for futures. Matthew McCagg @Jack kidd may just play spoiler at some points this season, but Los Angeles is a lock for the bottom of their conference. European Conference 1- Helsinki Titans Forward Rank - 9th Defense Rank - 2nd Goalie Rank - 5th Conference Rank - 3rd League Rank - 5th Helsinki is back again this season, despite some losses due to retirements, Helsinki is still a formidable team and could very well turn some heads this season. Despite a bit of a drop off from their top two forwards to everyone else, Helsinki should be fine though with potential MVP Daryl Dixon, and Adi Dassler who should develop quickly throughout the season. Overall, Helsinki is in a very good position, but with their window starting to close the clock is ticking in Helsinki. 2 - London United Forward Rank - 3rd Defense Rank - 6th Goalie Rank - 2nd Conference Rank - 1st League Rank - 3rd London is back and with one big question this season; can Wann Kerr @VattghernCZ step up and replace Molly The Cat @JCarson? The answer to this is probably yes, however it is a tough loss for the United. Safe to say this season is London’s last kick at the can before a prolonged rebuild as Jesse Teno @aimkin will be retiring following this season. There is a silver lining there though as the franchises’ top goalie ever will continue to improve this season in what is their final push. 3 - Malmo Nighthawks Forward Rank - 5th Defense Rank - 1st Goalie Rank - 8th Conference Rank - 2nd League Rank - 4th Malmo comes into this season as probably the most well-rounded roster, almost every player would be a top 3 forward or top 2 D on most teams. With that being said the onus will be on Jacob Stone @scoop to carry this roster as the only elite player. In previous seasons goaltending has been a bit of a question mark, and the same thing could be an issue this time around, while Ash Sparks @DarkSpyro is coming off of a great S92, there is just a hint of uncertainty around goaltending at this moment. In all honesty any of these top 3 teams could finish first in the EU, and there is a fairly considerable gap down to 4th. 4 - Moscow Menace Forward Rank - 6th Defense Rank - 5th Goalie Rank - 10th Conference Rank - 4th League Rank - 6th Moscow is back again this season and is only better than they were last season where they finished 3rd in the conference. There is a good chance that given their rapid improvement that they could challenge one of the top three teams and maybe even top the conference by the end of the season. As of right now there is a considerable gap, but there’s no reason why Moscow can’t close it. As of right now Moscow is the 4th best team in the EU and the gap back to 5th is honestly massive. Moscow should comfortably make the playoffs. The future is really bright in Moscow, and with the rest of the conference nearing a rebuild, or currently in one, Moscow should run the EU for a good amount of time in the near future. 5 - Prague Phantoms Forward Rank - 10th Defense Rank - 11th Goalie Rank - 6th Conference Rank - 5th League Rank - 9th Prague is in a very interesting situation right now, their top 4 players are either retiring or a pending UFA, so similarly to London this season is cup or bust given the pending rebuild. Realistically Prague does have a good chance to do well this season, but they will need some aggressive roster moves to round out their roster with the best players available. Time will tell what happens in Prague, while their chances to make the playoffs are good, some trades will be needed before calling them a contender. 6 - Warsaw Predators Forward Rank - 11th Defense Rank - 13th Goalie Rank - 4th Conference Rank - 6th League Rank - 11th Warsaw could very well be the team to watch this season, they finally have the goaltending that they’ve needed for some time with Lachlan Summers @kirbithan, and their forwards are just hitting their prime. While their defense is still a little lackluster, Summers more than makes up for it. Similarly to Prague we can expect Warsaw to be a bit aggressive in the trade market as the two teams will likely compete for the final playoff spot. We have Warsaw behind Prague right now just due to the difference in top end talent, however, Prague’s lack of depth could end up being Warsaw’s gain. 7 - Riga Reign Forward Rank - 13th Defense Rank - 9th Goalie Rank - 13th Conference Rank - 7th League Rank - 14th Riga is comfortably the 7th best team in the European conference right now, with that being said don’t be surprised if they challenge for a playoff spot as all in all their roster is very solid and should improve fairly quickly over the course of the season. Riga’s bright spot right now is their defense, as they do have a very solid group led by Fradin McGryer @Fradin99 and Mina @Baozi. Red Panda @Lemorse7 will also be looking to improve this season and just maybe push Riga towards a playoff spot. 8 - HC Davos Dynamo Forward Rank - 15th Defense Rank - 15th Goalie Rank - 16th Conference Rank - 8th League Rank - 15th Similarly to Los Angeles, Davos is comfortably the worst team in the European Conference. David Jokinen and a forward group composed of rookie and sophomore players should lead to an interesting season, but this team will more than likely be in a close battle with LA for last.
    8 points
  39. LucyXpher

    Pier 21: Landfall

    Halifax, Nova Scotia - Canada With the VHLM draft taking place this past Saturday and free agency opening immediately afterward, rosters in the M began to take shape. For Lexie Leitner, a first time general manager who was recently named to the Halifax 21st front office, it was a busy but exciting weekend. Halifax added 10 new players with their draft selections, 1 new goalie by trade, and 2 new players so far through free agency. Following the weekend frenzy, I had the opportunity to chat with Leitner about the weekend and the state of the team going into Season 93. ༻❁༺ "Lexie, thank you for taking the time with us today and congratulations on the new job." "Thank you, Lauren, and it's my pleasure!" "So let's get right into it, you were named as the next GM of the Halifax 21st just over a week ago, how are you finding the new role? And maybe you could just talk me through your experience joining the team." "Sure, yeah, so far it's been a challenging but exciting job. With very little time between being named to the team and the VHLM draft, it was a bit of a chaotic week reaching out to draft eligibles, doing scouting reports, and getting prepared for our picks. Thankfully, I was lucky to have Will @Will3, our AGM, who has been a tremendous help in the scouting process and keeping up with the day-to-day management of the team. To be honest, I wasn't certain that I'd get this job-- being a little lighter on experience than some candidates-- and there was a chance I might have ended up in Mexico City since they were also looking for a GM, but when it was announced that I was named to Halifax, I was super excited for this opportunity and I really hope I can live up to expectations and bring success to the city and the organization." "It sounds like a lot of your focus so far has been on the draft and adding new players to your roster. What was your strategy going into the draft?" "Well, when I joined here, we already had a couple of 1st round picks and we were able to acquire a 2nd, 3rd, 5th, and 7th by trade. My goal was simply to add good players and quality people to our roster right away to give us the best chance to compete this season. In our draft scouting, Will and I had identified a list of players who we really liked because of their on-ice skills and their draft interviews. Ideally, they checked both of those boxes for us. We're very happy with the players we were able to select and I think our roster is in a great place for the beginning of the season. Obviously, things will likely change in the coming days and weeks with more free agent signings and development, but I'm confident that our core is strong and we've got some great young prospects as well who are already making a name for themselves." "So you picked 2nd overall in this draft and it seemed like you were very quick to select Pierre Marc Bouchard @Gaikoku-hito. With your 6th overall pick, you surprised some people by selecting Andrew Skilton @ace_five_. Talk me through those two picks and how you came to decide on those two players with your important 1st round picks." “Both of these players interviewed very well and really exemplified the qualities we were looking for, you know, strong character, hard working, involved in the locker room, and competitive on the ice. With Bouchard, we really wanted to make sure we had a great number one center who could really stabilize our top line. He’s got great defensive sensibilities too so we know he can be relied on in all situations. And as for Skilton, we were just really impressed with his development leading up to the draft and I know he was on the radar of a few other teams. Sure, there’s an argument that he might have been available in the 2nd round, but we just didn’t want to risk missing out on a player who we are confident is going to be a strong player and leader for us this season.” “Your next two picks were at 12th and 13th overall, talk me through those selections.” “Yeah, we had a number of players on our list that were still available who we liked, but Novotny @Patrik Tallinder and Dogwood @dogwoodmaple were always the next two that we wanted. Novotny-- a little bit like Skilton-- had been really rising fast on draft boards and we were really impressed with his training during the offseason. His agent, is a known quantity around the VHL as well so we’re pretty confident what we’re getting with him. And Dogwood, similarly, really gave us a lot in his draft interview and was developing well during the offseason. In our scouting, we also found out that he’d played with Bouchard before so the thought was that reuniting them could spark some instant chemistry.” “So you then picked Tommy Shelby @Will at 22nd overall and had a long break before 43rd where you picked Connor Simard @Alex99. Were you also targeting those players? And were there any players in those early rounds that got away from you?” “Yeah, so it’s funny you should ask, actually, with both of those we had a player in mind that we really wanted to pick that was taken just before our selection, so we had to pivot our strategy a little bit here and even explored some possibilities to trade into the 4th round. Obviously, that didn’t happen. With Shelby at 22nd, he was a player we’d been targeting, but didn’t necessarily expect to be able to pick because of where our picks landed. With Shelby, we’re very confident in our center ice position now and that was certainly a priority for us because there were always likely to be more wingers available later on. And then with Simard, I was honestly shocked to see that he was still available at 43 so it was kind of a no-brainer for us because we needed a left winger and he’ll fit in perfectly with Bouchard and Dogwood on our top line.” “You didn’t make a trade into the 4th round, but you did trade away a goalie after selecting another one in the draft. What was the thinking around the pick and the trade?” “We viewed goaltending as a priority position for us this season so that’s why we traded for Wazinski @samthemancub before the draft. Going into the draft with two goalies, we always felt confident that we would never have to reach for one. At 46, we had the opportunity to take Jon Webber III @Webberj, who we were really high on from our draft interviews and scouting reports. So even though we already had two goalies that we liked, we saw it as an opportunity to add some value in the crease and made the pick. After that, it was really about just becoming compliant with the VHLM roster rules allowing only 2 goalies. On a personal level, it is difficult to trade away a good player and we wish Cavill @Firekiss all the best in Vegas.” “And so your last three picks in the draft were Dorji Khan @Oddpurplefly, Ty Duke @TheDuke, and Robert Tango @trains. What can you tell us about those selections?” “With this draft, we knew that there would be hidden talent to be had all the way into the 7th round so it really kind of became a matter of selecting players who we see as being capable of developing over the course of the season. Khan, in particular, we had done some scouting on and liked the potential we saw there. With Duke and Tango, we add another player at the center position who has plenty of room to grow and a right winger with some versatility that may help us on special teams.” “When the draft ended, free agency opened up and Halifax managed to sign a couple of players. What were you looking for with those signings and how are those players doing so far?” “Yeah, we were absolutely thrilled to sign Robin Sierra @ethanjaeda who has been putting in some great work off the ice to get his game to another level. He’s also been awesome in the locker room as well so we’re really happy with the early returns on him. And Captain Nugget Jr. @Captain nugget comes into the lineup with some real skill and finishing ability on the right side and really has the potential to be an impact player in our lineup this season.” “Right now, it seems that there is one hole on the roster as it’s currently constructed, and that is at defense on the second pairing. What are your plans to address this need?” “Ideally, we would be able to find someone in free agency or on waivers that we could bring in right away, but at the moment it’s just not looking like that player is out there. We’re also exploring some potential trade targets and if the right deal presents itself, we’re definitely open to making a move. It’s a balance between wanting to give ourselves the best chance to win this year, but also not leaving ourselves too depleted for the future, so the deal would have to make sense. I guess we’ll see what happens in time, though I’m confident that the players we have are capable of compensating for that with extra minutes right now.” “Finally, looking around the league, which teams do you think will be the biggest challenge to compete with on the ice?” “Well, I think Ottawa had a great draft. I know they managed to grab a few players that we liked so I think our scouting probably revealed some similar things. They’ve also got a pretty complete roster as well, so they’ll have the depth to get out to a good start early on. Saskatoon and Houston, I think, will also be good this season. Saskatoon just had a ton of picks and I think they got some great talent on that roster as well, and Houston– I mean, I just can’t count out @AJW as he’s got a knack for finding great players on waivers and in free agency so we’ll see what he can cook up this season.” “Okay, one more quick question before I let you go because you mentioned AJW and waiver signings. Last season, Lucy Leitner was a waiver signing for the Houston Bulls and was selected 3rd overall in the VHL draft by Riga, and 2nd overall by Vasteras in the VHLE. For those who may not know, what’s your relation to Lucy?” “Yeah! So Lucy is my cousin. It was really cool seeing her get drafted so high and it’ll be fun to see how she does in Vasteras this season. It would have been kind of cool to be a VHLM GM while she was still playing in this league, but who knows, maybe there will be an opportunity down the road to compete against one another. Anyway, I’m really happy for her.” “Great! Well, thank you for your time and best of luck to you and the 21st this season.” “Thanks, Lauren.” ༻❁༺ With the first games of Season 93 in the VHLM happening today, Halifax will take on the Ottawa Lynx in back-to-back games. In what may become a real rivalry in the Eastern Conference this season, Halifax and Ottawa will both want to claim victory first and start their seasons off on the right foot. It’s a great opportunity for both teams to see how they measure up against one another and it’s sure to be an exciting night of action. Notes: I’ll be writing a bi-weekly column on the Halifax 21st this season called Pier 21 so keep an eye out for those if you’re interested in following the story of the 21st this season. Game updates: Halifax took game 1 of the season against Ottawa by a score of 2-1 in a shootout, but fell in the second game of the back-to-back, 6-2. Lauren Lambert for VHL.com 11/24/24 - 2044 words
    8 points
  40. Flying over the Atlantic to start my career in the VHL Europe league I was very nervous. When I got to Oslo, Norway and my lodging for my Europe career it finally set in that I made it up a level in the journey to the VHL. Once I arrived, the staff for the Storm helped get me situated as well as showed me the facilities as well as places of interest around the area. I had made sure to come early so I could explore Oslo more to get a lay of the area and just enjoy. Going into the offseason from VHL Minors, I worked on shoring up my defensive skills as well as puck handling. I did a lot of skating around the rink trying to get better at my motions so I can adjust on the fly better during a game. I also did some strength training to help take hits and keep the puck in my possession so I can keep the play going for the team. I have no expectations for this season, my goal is to learn as much as possible from my teammates and other players in the league. I had a good season in VHL Minors, and I do want to continue it but I understand that this isn’t the minors anymore and the talent level is even better. I would like to average at least half a point a game this season, maybe even get enough to finish top 5 in points for all defensemen. Even if I don’t achieve those as long as I learn and keep improving my game and myself the season will be a success in my book. For the team, we have a talented group of players anchored by the #1 pick of the VHL draft Antonia Bucatini. Antonia Bucatini as well as Chris Reynolds Jr and Miner vHLer, a great leader in the locker room, join me from the VHL Minors from the team I was on, Houston Bulls. I believe the talented group of players the Storm has assembled will work well together and we can get the Storm back to the VHL Europe playoffs and hopefully a chance for the championship. In my mind if we give it our all then we can’t be ashamed of however the season goes. I am excited to play against my fellow teammates in VHL Minors as well. On top of that I and two other defensemen have entered a little rivalry on who will score the most points this season between the three of us. Lucy Leitner (@LucyXpher), Gul Dukat (@MSouthworth), and I decided that we will rank each other in Hits, Shots Blocked, and Points. Whoever has the best average ranking will be declared the Top Amigo of the Trio. It is almost time to get ready and have some fun. Going to be a great season.
    8 points
  41. this was the most difficult decision in our GM careers for both myself and alex, but our captain this season is. . . @Ahma david jokinen! our first alternate is. . . david jokinen! and our second alternate is. . . david jokinen! it took lots of thinking and discussion to come to a consensus, but davos is extremely pleased with our captaincy core this season. GO DAVID!
    8 points
  42. Scurvy

    Around the League

    While this off-season seems incredibly long there has been some things going on to keep me interested. Although, at least in the Vancouver locker room the team is hungry for the start of the upcoming season. We’ve had the WJC, Pro-Am, and drafts lately which have been fun but still it sometimes is hard to write media spots during off-season but I will do my best. VHLM Draft The VHLM draft started, and the Mississauga Hounds went with towering defenseman, Erik Thorvaldsson @Tetricide. Erik is big, nasty, and has skills so it should be fun to see what he can do on a re-tooling Hounds team. Other draft notables: #2- Pierre Marc Bouchard @Gaikoku-hito– Halifax- a solid and speedy center who in his quick time in Saskatoon showed he could score against VHLM talent and shoots the puck early and often. Solid pickup for the 21s. #3- Lazlo Holmes @Gustav - Saskatoon- A defenseman who can dangle and score he averaged over a point per game with Halifax in his quick stint there. Joins a powerful rookie defensive core in SSK that looks to shut down the league. #4-Jillian Woods @jacobcarson877-Ottawa- small and quick, this is well rounded defensive player that can do it all. Joins a talented Ottawa club that looks ready to challenge for a cup. #5-Oliver Loo @Misty- a first gen forward and Calgary prospect looking to make a mark in Saskatoon. A capped TPE member that should start the season hot. RIP WHEELER TRADED! Now for several seasons I have begged Calgary to trade my buddy and nemesis, Rip Wheeler @ScottyP for a used puck bag, a bus pass, or toilet paper. Something commensurate with his skill level. Now, my player finally made to the VHL and I was poised to be in the same division and heated rivalry with Calgary when he told me he was being traded. Part of me thinks he wanted to be traded to avoid Ninefingers but I know that isn’t true. Rip Wheeler and all-star defenseman Skor McFleury @AlexAlex were shipped to Prague where they join some really good players in John Jameson @Frank, Nikolas Kauppi @Tetricide, and goalie Matt Murdock @Acydburn. Overall, I think it was good for Rip. He was a very loyal teammate in Calgary and loved his time there but hopefully the new scenery in Europe will light a fire under him. Best of luck Rip S94 Draft Just looking at the pool of prospects in the VHLM I noticed that the S94 draft is very balanced and full of huge earners. I was surprised that in the top 20 of TPE currently there is only one goalie, Soju @Frank. There are some really talented defensive players in the top 10 as well like Jillian Woods @jacobcarson877, Felicia Hardy @JCarson, Lazlo Homes @Gustav , and Bollos de Trueno @Thunder so curious if the first overall pick will be a defensive player next year. Defensive players Yaboi Oven @Doomsday was #1 in S90 draft, Callum Gary Yannick Janser @Daniel Janser was #1 in S91, and Mark Calaway @Beketov was #1 in S88 showing its pretty wise to take a high earning defensive player first. At forward we have Maverick Goncalves @leandrofg who definitely knows how to make a player that scores, The Phantom of the VHL @Hogan, Pombo @samx, Maple Dogwood @dogwoodmaple, and Wally Lose @youloser1337. All could be a force at the first overall pick but only time will tell.
    8 points
  43. Part 1 - HERE I already did the spiel about how this works in part one for the NA conference above. Check that out for any background details you might need. European Conference HC Davos Dynamo - @Alex Hey, look at that. Davos finally traded Lachlan Summers @kirbithan away! Oh wait, it was to WAR. Rip HOF chances. Davos is done with the contending phase and have now entered a full rebuild with fringe VHL players and David Jokinen @Ahma making up their roster. Due to a combination of Seattle rulebreaking and a little bit of fortune, Davos received the 1st overall selection in the S93 Draft where they selected Antonia Bucatini @CowboyinAmerica to become their new franchise cornerstone. Davos ended up with a total of 11 draft picks, with Forum Content @frescoelmo, Aleksanteri Kaskiniemi-Kekkonen @Snussu, Steve French @Seabass and Billy Joel @The goat of hockey as some of their most notable selections behind Bucatini. Another underrated move might be the inclusion of Sunset Moth @McWolf from Warsaw in the Summers trade, where Davos will hope to get the once highly touted defenseman back on track. Davos had some quality picks along with a lot of developmental prospect selections, so their future success will lie considerably in their ability to develop prospects. Grade: A- Helsinki Titans - @samx Helsinki's biggest concern entering the offseason was the status of rumored disgruntled young star, Grimgor Ironhide @FrostBeard. News broke midway through S92 that Ironhide had already expressed displeasure with the organization in his VHL rookie season, second season on his ELC, and had notified management that he would not re-sign with the organization. This prompted GM Mickey Dickson to explore the trade market around the S92 TDL, but a deal never got finalized as HSK pushed for the playoffs with their strong core. Finally on the first day of the new season, Ironhide was traded to Moscow in exchange for winger prospect Adi Dassler @BOOM, a prospect drafted one season after Ironhide and at the same position, with a pick swap as well. In the draft, HSK selected Tyler Lawson @Nyx, a prospect who slipped down draft boards due to inactivity fears close to the draft, but had been responsive during the scouting process to some GMs. Samuel Wazinski @samthemancubwas also selected in the 2nd round, as a potential future backup to superstar Fuukka Rask @Jubis or even potential future starter once Rask retires. While having a top young player ask out of the organization is a noted concern, a return of Dassler makes up for it a bit. Grade: C+ London United - @jacobcarson877 I'm not sure if it was by design, but London was content to simply take a nap through the offseason. Their most significant moves may have been to just re-sign Sjin @Sjin before he hit FA, and to pick up a mutual option on Leonard Triller @Triller. Beyond that, London made no trades and only had 2 draft picks this draft, both of which were in the 4th round. With those picks, London selected Jacob Longstreet @Dynamicmlb_42 and Owen two @do3bo1 to flesh out their fairly shallow prospect pool. After a narrow game 7 loss to miss out on the Continental Cup, London seems confident in their existing roster to run it back for another season. While it could pan out well for them, it's certainly interesting to see the team get older by another season and not attempt to replenish their roster in a deeper draft than usual. There's not much to say about a quiet offseason, but that'd be the one mild criticism as London will see 4 players retire this season, and another 2 next season including superstar goalie Jesse Teno @aimkin. London also still has $5 million in cap space to play around with, and I'd assume they look to add a 4th defenseman to the roster. Whether they'll be able to do that and add a quality defenseman might shape their offseason. Grade: B- Malmo Nighthawks - @KaleebtheMighty Malmo has been the team gatekeeping the EU for a few seasons now, but has never quite gotten over the hump and into the finals. They're facing some cap issues, running just 5 forwards so far as of the time of writing this with $3.5 million in cap space. Only one of their players, Philip Rave @tcookie, is still on their rookie contract, while the rest of their roster are on prime deals. Jacob Stone @scoop is in his literal prime, rising to fill the role of one of the top defensemen in the league, and the team has Ash Sparks facing retirement after S94. Interestingly enough, rising star defenseman Jebediah Big Ol Doinks in Amish @hylands seemed to not want to stick around in Malmo, so a subpar trade was made for the pending UFA - with Malmo trading up just 4 picks in the draft from 11oa to 7oa while losing the defenseman. With 7oa, Malmo takes Jorgen Lovstrom @Pifferfish, who they hope will step in to be the starter of the future. Personally, I had a different goalie rated as the first one to go off the board, and I believe that there were concerns whether Lovstrom will be able to maintain his development arc over the course of a full career. Another draft/offseason recap, another question about a Malmo draft pick's activity . I'm sure the Malmo crowd will be thrilled. Hopefully Lovstrom will be the goalie that makes it out of the Malmo prospect pool. I will say though, adding Eric Queefson @twists to replace Amish was a strong add, bringing in a fairly young defenseman for a well valued pick. And I really like the selection of Ocean Codoller @FreshOceanCod as well who flashes a lot of potential as a sleeper pick. It's a mixed bag here, having a player leave at the end of their ELC along with a sketchy top draft pick - but the team did bring in a replacement and still has a strong roster pending FA/trade for a final forward. Grade: B Moscow Menace - @Spartan Moscow had a couple of question marks heading into this offseason. First, how would they manage 7 VHL-eligible forwards with both George Richmond @badcolethetitan and Adi Dassler @BOOM ready to make the jump to the VHL, and how would they remain competitive after the retirement of their rental piece, Dogwood Maple @dogwoodmaple? The trades seemed to happen quickly at the start of the offseason - veteran winger Left Alone @okochastar was moved to Vancouver in exchange for 19th overall. Dassler was also flipped for Grimgor Ironhide @FrostBeard with Moscow upgrading a 3rd to a 2nd in S94, with the potential for both picks to jump up by a round pending Ironhide's contract status. Between Richmond and Ironhide, with both being over 600 TPA to start the season, the hope is that Moscow won't take a significant step backwards from their playoff appearance in S92. In the draft, Moscow was fairly happy to trade out of the draft entirely, with little glaring needs on their current roster outside of depth defense. With 9th overall, Moscow selected Benjamin Abenduct @Schnee, a very active and engaged first gen defenseman. 10th overall was promptly flipped over to Seattle for an S94 WAR 1 and a later 2nd in S93, and 19th overall was sent to D.C. earlier in the day for their S94 1st as well, increasing the Moscow future asset pool. Moscow's big question will be if they can keep taking steps towards remaining competitive and making playoff runs before their entire young core are off of their ELCs. Grade: A- Prague Phantoms - @Tetricide Hey look! A brand new GM! Tetricide was hired to lead Prague just a week or so before the S93 Draft, and he had to move quickly to get up to speed with scouting and the state of the team. Prague is in a fairly uncomfortable spot, with stars Matt Murdock @Acydburn, Nikolas Kauppi @Tetricide and John Jameson @Frank all facing retirement after S93. It seems like Prague will be yet another team comfortable to let their aging stars retire in Prague without receiving any assets for them. As of the time of writing this, Prague also has an incomplete roster, sporting just 5 forwards and 3 defensemen with $12 million in cap space. Prague only acquired Pope Francis @nurx via trade with LA during their fire sale, and haven't had much success in FA so far. In the draft, Prague selected Ondrej Vencko @Mutti, potentially the highest ceiling goalie in the draft class. Prague made a couple of safe picks with Vanuza Kolesinska @chikn (who was promptly traded away) and Chuck E Cheese @a_Ferk, who should provide cheap depth for the future. However, Prague will definitely face tough times when their superstar trio retires with little other young talent on the roster outside of Spanish Moon Moth @Renomitsu. Dark days seem to lie ahead for Prague, but kudos to a new GM for respecting players' wishes to retire with their lifelong organization. Grade: D Riga Reign - @hedgehog337 Riga also had a fairly quiet offseason when it comes to trades, choosing to continue letting their fairly young team continue to develop after their sales in prior seasons. Those moves left them with a fair amount of picks in the S93 Draft, including three first round picks. With 3oa, they went with Lucy Leitner @LucyXpher, the highest ranked first gen in the class who should look to lead their defense for seasons to come. With picks 15 and 16, Riga took a gamble on Yermolai Nabokov @fonziGG and Ray Stanton @horoscope, two players who have a lot of potential but may need a bit of help and motivation to reach that potential. Fonzi has had a shaky history with getting his players through a full career, and Stanton has had mixed developmental weeks with some concern of a recent slowdown. Their other selections in Elf Shoes @ELF_SH0ES, Isaak Robinson @isaak and French Fries @solyom will be much more developmental prospects, who will need a lot of time to make the VHL roster. Overall, Riga seemed content to let their developmental process continue, but luck was not on their side with 2 of their 3 1sts landing at the end of the first round, where talent was starting to fall off from the max earners or pension earners at prior selections. Riga will need to be hands on with development to make this offseason a true value add beyond just Leitner. Grade: B Warsaw Predators - @N0HBDY Ah, the final team to cover, with Cody Toland @ctoland102 as their sole pick in the top two rounds of the S93 Draft. Warsaw has made some interesting moves over the past couple seasons - they've gone in multiple times to build a competitive team around young talent Maxim Anisimov @McLovin and King Kisslinger @Kisslinger, while also adding an S91 top draft pick in Thor Reingaard @N0HBDY. But they struggled miserably in S92 and decided to try it again in S93, trading yet another 1st round pick away in exchange for Lachlan Summers @kirbithan. For some reason, by trading away Sunset Moth, they're now at only 3 defensemen. And there was no cap issue there, the Predators have a whopping 14.5 million in cap space right now, but no FA adds or trades made as of the time of writing this. They also only have 5 forwards on the VHL roster. Joseph Dubois @Dubois is ready for the VHL call up on defense, but the defense group looks extremely poor for a competitive team. Jacob Smith Jr @jacobaa19 could also complete their forward group, but they'd be leaving so much cap space on the table. If they don't end up making mid-season or late offseason trades, Warsaw would likely have just been better off to sell the young talent they have. So many teams we've covered today and yesterday in the NA conference have incomplete rosters and the cap space for solid players. It would have been a fantastic time for WAR to work the phones and get a very nice haul to replenish their subpar future asset pool and give their young talent in their large but low quality prospect pool some playing time and motivation. Warsaw is definitely not in as bad a situation as they were last season, but if there's no results to show for the aggressive spending, Warsaw will keep taking the heat. Grade: C-
    8 points
  44. For the second time in 2 seasosns we saw a rookie forward score over a point per game, they were Grimgor Ironside @FrostBeard (37 G, 45 A, 82P), they were followed by defensemen Leif Reingaard @Zetterberg (13 G, 49 A, 62 P). Lastly, in goal WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW @rory had a great season for New York, finishing with a 0.932 SV%.
    8 points
  45. Player Information Username: Frank Player Name: Soju Recruited From: Returning Age: 18 Position: G Height: 78 in. Weight: 230 lbs. Birthplace: South Korea Player Page @VHLM GM
    8 points
  46. Frank

    Shadow Woman

    @jacobcarson877
    8 points
  47. It's a seasonal occurrence that @Spartan and I have to hire someone new. As much as as we love our new GMs, the job is demanding, activity naturally shifts over time over circumstances that often aren't foreseen, and the VHLM is always hurt by the perception that VHL jobs are "better" or more desirable. That almost forces us to love our new GMs, because watching some of our best leave us every couple months leaves us with the need to go out and get some more of the best. One might think that, because that sweet VHL job is more desirable, there's more to take care of. That's not the case at all. Of course, there are things that mean that a VHL GM needs to have been around the league for long enough to understand very well how it works. Trade talks are more involved, long-term strategy is actually a thing, and there is a bit of an unfortunate perceived need to be among the league's elite that can sway players to want to play for one GM or another. But VHLM GMing carries challenges of its own. There's a need to be online a lot to keep up with new players, the same questions need to be answered over and over, it's a lot more risky in that some new people aren't mature enough to stick around without blowing up or are just here to spam your server, and it's very frustrating for a GM that's invested in their players' success when someone new and promising decides they'd rather not be the latter. It might even take different sorts of people to do well in different places. I'm much more "interpersonal and caring" than I am "logical and calculated", and let's just say I was a very good VHLM GM and leave it at that. Since there's a lot of work, but not in the most obvious ways, there are lots of things I would say to someone GMing for the first time, and there are also lots of things I would say to someone who hasn't yet gotten the chance. Let's talk about both. If you're new to GMing (hi @JCarson, @Dadam30, @LucyXpher, and @Nathan_8! I can't believe it's the first time for all of you): SCOUT THE INCOMING DRAFT CLASSES. People today like to complain about not feeling properly valued if they're not scouted. Respectfully, they can pound sand as far as most of this point goes. You should scout recreates as well, for sure, but scouting first-gens is great for getting them involved and it can also tell you so much about the type of player you're getting and whose company you'll get to enjoy (rather than "have to tolerate") while they play for you. You should ask just a few questions that are relevant to the player experience (I'm still not over getting a 3-page Google Form when I was in the PBE with questions including, and I quote, "Favorite Cheez-It?"). Question lists are acceptable when sent to first-timers, but outright disrespectful to some experienced members who you should know already--go ahead and write up a list for someone who's never been here, but I think it's better in either case to just reach out and try to have a conversation. Nice answers that require thought and are written in complete sentences are a HUGE green flag and can get you massive steals if others haven't put in the same work. Make friends with other GMs. VHLM GM chat can be a very cool place and you want to be right at the front of someone's mind if they're searching for a solid trade partner. They'll also want you to like them for those same reasons and will act accordingly. You will meet people you don't like. You may not get along with every GM, and you certainly won't love every single player that comes into your server. Treat those who aren't outright problems with respect, and feel free to speak up to us if you've got any that are. Every season will feel the same and that's OK. Something I wasn't expecting, and something I started to be dissatisfied with by the time my fourth season rolled around, was that the same exact things always had to be explained to people and the roster mostly reset from one season to another. It might not feel like you're getting anywhere after a while, and this might suck a little bit. But every time you answer one of those same questions for someone, you're helping one more person get where they need to be. Don't lose sight of how special some of your interactions in this first season will be, and realize that you get to do exactly that every time. Your players are going to think you're really cool. VHLM GMs are rewarded like no other role in terms of how they're viewed by new members. Your players will worship the ground you walk on, sometimes even after you move up. This is normal, you should take it as a compliment, and you should live up to that image with every chance you get. And if you're trying to get in? Show us that you're active enough by being active enough. We often have candidates who just simply haven't done enough to convince us that they're capable. I don't doubt that we've had candidates who would have made good GMs had we noticed. Getting active and staying there for at least a season is certainly a good way to notice, and you should be doing more than just earning. Post interesting stuff on the forums and be on Discord enough that it's reasonably possible that I'll run into you at some point. Also, just be a nice person. We aren't in the business of hiring people that could cause issues. Keep trying. I know it's discouraging to put your name in for something and watch others get hired. Lots of the time, we'll hire something like 2 people when we have 3 or 4 that we think are good enough. That's wonderful and gives us names to keep in mind for next time if you keep trying. Having these first two points in mind will absolutely get you a job if you keep at it long enough. Be a GM for other league tournaments. Running a team for World Juniors or World Cup or even one of the others that isn't officially run by the league is a great way to teach yourself how STHS works, run your own locker room, and have something to mention in your GM applications. It's a great test of whether you'll end up liking the real thing and it might be something we notice you being involved with. Be an AGM. This one is fairly self-explanatory. I don't personally care about anything you do as an AGM, but presumably you'll learn things from your GM that will be transferable skills to a GM job of your own. It also just shows that same willingness to get involved that's present in the last point. Ask questions. My inbox is open, for one. I'm sure I'm not alone in saying that. But aside from anything I may or may not have to offer, try learning from those who are already in the positions you want. A lot of that comes with things like being an AGM, but it can also just come from staying connected to GMs by being part of the league. Which mostly just relates to the first point again. Be active and be cool. The VHLM is an incredible place and I hope all of you have had positive experiences being a part of it. It's with that in mind that I hope you want to have more of that while also creating it for others--and as someone who runs it, let's work together to make it even better.
    8 points
  48. With Season 92 in the books, trophies awarded, and playoffs complete, the focus of VHL and VHLE general managers shifts to the upcoming S93 Draft which, while not a top-heavy draft in terms of players who are VHL-ready, will feature one of the deeper draft classes in recent memory with gems to be found across the draft board. At the beginning of S92, I highlighted Lucy Leitner as a player to watch in her first VHLM season. An undrafted player in the VHLM, Leitner signed a contract with the Houston Bulls as a free agent less than a week before the start of the campaign. With the benefit of hindsight, we can now revisit our scouting report and look at how Leitner faired in her first VHLM season. When I first scouted Leitner, her standout attribute was her skating ability and it comes as little surprise that her skating proved to be elite relative to her VHLM peers. At the conclusion of S92, Leitner ranks among the league's best skaters and has proved that her speed and edgework are top tier. Leitner only seemed to improve as the season went on, getting faster and more agile, while also working with coaches to improve her strength and control while handling the puck. With a smaller build at 5'8" and 155 pounds, it was thought that her size might be an issue as the level of competition increased from juniors, however her skating and improved strength seem to have mitigated this concern. It was rare that Leitner would be caught flat-footed and her agility proved to be a challenge for opponents attempting to land a hit. The combination of her skating and puck handling will certainly continue to work in her favor as she progresses into the VHLE and the VHL if she continues to refine her stride and stickwork. In terms of offensive production, Leitner had a solid year on an ever improving Bulls roster. Starting the year as the Bulls top defender, she got off to a flying start. As the season progressed and the Bulls continued adding to their roster, she saw a natural reduction in ice time and puck touches, though remained productive and continued to make the most of her opportunities. She was particularly effective on the powerplay, notching 12 powerplay goals-- tied for second in the league among defenders. Leitner also finished the season with 60 assists in 72 games, which was the 5th highest total league-wide. Perhaps where Leitner showed the most promise was in her off-ice training as she continued to make gains every week, growing almost daily into a better player and teammate. When asked about her motivation as a player, Leitner had this to say: "I want to be the best I can be so that I can help my team win. It's funny, I've been interviewed by a few teams for this upcoming draft and this is always something they seem to ask, like, I'm not aiming to have the most points or the most individual accolades, I want to help my team win, whatever team that ends up being. If the points and recognition come, great, but I love being part of a team and the community around the team. It's a fun environment and it's what truly makes sport amazing. Individual achievements can be impressive and deserve recognition, but nothing beats being part of a winning culture with teammates who build each other up and can celebrate a victory together, so ultimately, that's what I want." Leitner, like many other draft hopefuls, will be tuning in on Saturday March 9th to find out which team calls her name. It is sure to be a special and exciting moment in these players' careers as they find out where their next home will be. Lauren Lambert for VHL.com Claimed 03/10/24
    8 points
  49. Scurvy

    THUNDER IS BACK!

    Last week started like many others for me. Wake up, check VHL forum for that red notification in the top right, catch up on discord for VHL chats and the begin my day of feeding dogs, getting daughter off to school, and going to work. However, last week I was blessed (and cursed) with a red notification ping for an article writing by real life friend and VHL rival @Thunder. For those that don’t know Thunder had a hall of fame career with defenseman, Jake Thunder. But during his final season he stepped away (like a bitch) and was constantly bombarded with texts from me about when he would return. I had almost given up hope when I read his poorly crafted article comparing my current player, Logan Ninefingers, to his favorite player (and my most hated) Brad Marchand. Despite being the brunt the article I was excited that Thunder is back in the league with another defender. He is a huge asset to any team he is on and great for the league as whole. Plus, we can both agree it gives us something to write about each week for TPE. Anyway, WELCOME BACK THUNDER, I look forward to facing off against you in the show and/or playing on the same club someday.
    8 points
  50. AJW

    Can we do more?

    As the VHL draft is slowly but surely approaching I have been watching my Houston Bulls player's TPE levels to predict where they get drafted this season. I'm really proud of this group and special shout outs to @LucyXpher @Schnee @Rhynex Entertainment @Crstats23 @jake (hope you're doing well buddy!) @Nathan_8 and @Mutti who have all passed the 200 TPE mark already! This means next season they will play in the VHLE and be on their next step to VHL glory! 2 of these members are recreates, and 5 of these members are first gens! @CowboyinAmerica You're also a stud by the way, thanks for hanging with us this playoff run and I'm cheering for you to go to Davos 1oa. This is all exciting but also it made me question something: Can we do more ads? With the last ad drop hitting YouTube we brought in a LARGE crowd of active members. This draft class is example as you could argue that we have a good two rounds of active VHL prospects. Argue that if you want, or don't, but this class is deep and it makes me really excited. If dropping that YouTube ad did so well then why isn't this a reoccurring event? Doing it every 2-3 seasons seems the most logical as doing it every season could get too much, too quickly. I don't know what the VHL budget is and that is something that higher ups would have to deal with, but if we can afford it with all our seasonal donations, why aren't we doing it? We have been searching for more life and more talented members to help grow our forum. We have been looking for portal devs for example, one is sure to walk in, right? The 5 first generation members I mentioned above are killing it in their first season already and have so much more potential to come. Lucy is a wizard with a type writer and she reminds me of @Shindigs in the way that she already shines bright throughout our community in her short time being here, Nathan is one of the biggest reasons our locker room stays active daily and he is so easy to work with as my AGM in Houston, Schnee is becoming a really good friend of mine we talk daily and he's working on improving his graphics talents weekly, and Mutti is the best European bastard you could have... the guy makes podcasts fun to listen to and he can play along with any fun lore we create. Jake unfortunately went inactive but he was so much fun as our captain during his run, really hope he is doing alright and can pop in again soon. These members have all been a treat and I'm greedy, I want more!! What do we think? Are more ads a possibility? Personally this was my favourite season GMing in the VHLM because of all the new faces who joined in. I feel like I can speak on behalf of the entire VHLM GM staff and say that we are always ready for new members to come in, we want them!
    8 points
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