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With about 20% of the season left to play in S93, contenders in the VHL's European Conference are in the midst of a potentially unprecedented race for playoff positioning. Just a couple of days ago, teams one-through-five in the EU were *all* tied with 36 wins and separated by just two points in the standings overall. For five teams to be so tightly-packed is incredible, and certainly makes for an exciting ride for the fans! The teams aren't just close in terms of points in the standings either, as they have the second-through-sixth place goal differentials in the VHL as well, with a range of +43 to +60. All five teams seem poised to battle it out for positioning right to the bitter end. Malmo Nighthawks Leading the EU with a 38-15-4 record and 80 points are the Malmo Nighthawks. The Nighthawks have, to an extent, had some issues offensively this season, but they are riding strong team defense and goaltending to a contending spot. Their 190 goals for ranks 8th in the VHL, but their 144 goals against is fewest in the league. Netminder Ash Sparks @DarkSpyro is in the league's top-five in SV% (0.925) and is second among starters in GAA (2.43) and shutouts (4). Viktor Jensen @Advantage is the star of the show offensively, leading the team with 68 points, although Malmo's offense features a pretty balanced attack overall with six players right around or above the PPG mark. All-situations defender Jacob Stone @scoop is having his best year in the VHL, with 67 points, 178 hits, and 138 blocks as the #1 defenseman on the league's best defensive team. London United The London United are actually tied with Malmo at 80 points, but have one more game played and one fewer win (37-15-6). The United boast a formidable roster that's a little differently-constructed than Malmo. They're a lot more top heavy with less depth, but equally effective, with Wann Kerr @VattghernCZ leading the entire VHL with 102 points and linemate Leonard Triller @Triller with a remarkable 85 points in 58 games himself. London has the sixth-best offense but second-best defense in the VHL, with certified superstar Jesse Teno @aimkin between the pipes. Teno is in the final season of an eight-year VHL career spent entirely with London, and he is authoring yet another excellent campaign. Prague Phantoms The Prague Phantoms come next, currently one point back of Malmo/London (37-16-5, 79 points). Prague has a bit of a unique roster construction as they have played most of the season with two fewer players than most VHL contenders. The recent pickup of LeBen Aky now leaves them just one defenseman short of a "full" roster. They have not been punished for this, though, as they've been on a roll all year long. Prague has some true star power in the lineup with John Jameson @Frank, Nikolas Kauppi @Tetricide, and Skor McFleury @Alex, and all three players are living up to the hype. Jameson is second in the VHL with 101 points, Kauppi leads the league with 46 goals (93 points), and McFleury leads the league in assists (62) and defenseman scoring (82) points - while being top-5 in hits (231) and blocked shots (185), too. Moscow Menace The Moscow Menace are fourth in the conference but they, too, are sitting on 37 wins (37-18-3, 77 points) and boast the league's second-best offense with 214 goals for. Moscow are a young team with a roster built similarly to Malmo's in that they're very deep and balanced, and having nine players at the 50-point mark is a testament to that depth. Axle Gunner @Steve has been the team's best player since his rookie season in S91 and continues to improve, having gone from 73 points to 94 to now pacing for 103 this season (83 points in 58 games). On the back end, Leif Reingaard @Zetterberg is having a stellar year with 68 points in 58 games so far. The second-year pro is already one of the league's best offensive blueliners. Warsaw Predators Warsaw (36-20-3) sits in fifth place, with brick wall Lachlan Summers @kirbithan having a massive part to play in that. Summers was brilliant in S90 for Davos and captured some individual hardware then - he seems poised, now, to fill up that trophy case a little further in his first year outside of Davos. Summers has faced a tougher workload than most starters - the only goalies that have faced more shots are Matthew McCagg, Karl Pederson, and Red Panda who all play for rebuilding teams in LA, Davos, and Riga (for perspective - Summers has 32 wins himself; LA, Davos, and Riga combine for 34 wins all together). Despite facing 260 shots more than the nearest goaltender on a playoff team, he's atop the league with a .935 SV% and also has 4 shutouts. Their offense has been keyed by breakout seasons from their entire top line of King Kisslinger @Kisslinger (88 points in 59 games), Thor Reingaard @N0HBDY (86 points in 59 games), and Maxim Anisimov @McLovin(85 points in 59 games). Their biggest weakness is a lack of depth - they have six players over 56 points, but then nobody else with more than 17 - but they did make a recent move to pick up Sunglasses Joyo @JetsGoalie101 to help remedy that. This will mark the 21st season since the league's expansion to 16 teams, and only twice in that time have teams 1-through-5 in either conference been separated by even less than 10 points: S87 when first-place Davos was separated from fifth-place London by 9 points, and S77 when first-place Chicago was 9 points ahead of fifth-place Vancouver, making this season's race potentially historically-close. For the vast majority of S93 so far, these five teams have not been separated by more than 5 points. Remarkably, the first-through-seventh place teams were only separated by 11 points in S87, so there were higher stakes in that case, as two teams didn't even make the playoffs. Still, if the level of play shown by all five of these teams so far continues through the final 13-15 games, we could be witnessing the hardest-fought battle for positioning within a conference in recent VHL history. --- 1032 words, for this week and next

When we consider the day-to-day work of a general manager in VHL, VHLM, and VHLE, I think it is safe to say the level of effort and dedication required could be compared to the effort and dedication of a car salesperson. The cars are going to be there even if the salesperson is not right next to the car all the time. If you have a question or if something needs to be done the car salesperson will get back to you in a bit, or they will send the recently hired young car salesperson to do the dirty work. A lot of the actual selling is done by the internet as the cars are advertised on the websites and other forums. People can also research the cars in advance. Sure, the car salesperson can hype up the car and say this and that, but you would be foolish to fall for their sweet words. Similar to VHL, the actual selling is done by the portal as we can see the players, picks the team has, etc to see if we would want to play in the team. When the GM approaches you or starts to sell their team up, you know they are up to no good, you would be foolish to fall for their sweet words. Quite interestingly, the general manager also shares a lot of similarities with a person about to buy a new car. They both point their fingers toward something while saying: " I want that one". General managers, of course, point their fingers towards players. They look at the stats and numbers but ignore them completely as something else captures their attention, similar to a person who is about to buy a yellow car that eats a lot of gas just because they are over 40 and think they deserve nice things. A lot of being a general manager and car salesperson is about showing up. Some days it will rain, and some days the sun will shine, but when you come to the office most of the hard work is already done.

Tommy Shelby Age: 22 Position: C Height: 6' 0" Weight: 190lbs Born in Birmingham, Halifax 21st centreman Tommy Shelby's life did not follow the 'typical' path of a VHLM player. In fact, he only started playing a few short years ago when he was 18. Prior to that, he had a difficult childhood and led a rather tumultuous life that is worthy of a novel or a TV series. With his father passing away at a young age, Shelby's family consisted of his mother, two brothers, and a close aunt. The family was not well off, and although his mother worked various part time jobs, they always seemed to be just scraping by. As the boys got older, the family's plight led them to developing an entrepreneurial mindset and they spent their days trying to make some extra money anyway that they could. In the beginning it was normal kid stuff like selling lemonade on the streets but over time their business practices got a little more sketchy and they began to run various hustles like stealing and reselling goods and loansharking small amounts to other kids. Their drive paid off and in addition to making a name for themselves in the local community, the money they were bringing in was making a big difference in their homelife and had lifted the family out of poverty. On account of this, their mother fully embraced her sons growing business. As these things go, their lines of business continued to expand and the amount of risk they were willing to take on continued to increase. By the time Tommy was 16, the brothers were running gambling rings and engaged in the drug trade. And through a connection with a local liquor store, they were purchasing massive quantities of alcohol an reselling it at massive markups to their underage peers. The trio had long stopped attending school at this point and were generally consumed with conducting their business and bringing in cash. Although they didn't have much time for sport, the boys would, on occasion, pull the net out of the garage and play some street hockey. When they were kids this always their go to sport when the sun was shining and although they played less as they got older, they never completely abandoned it and tended to retreat back to it when they were having a tough time with the business. Unfortunately for the brothers, the success andd profit that they had come to enjoy didn't last very long. The fact is, this isn't 1920 and these types of things don't stay secret for long in the age of cameras everywhere. In the face of insurmountable evidence against them, all 3 brothers reached plea agreements with prosecutors. The agreements called for siezure of all proceeds of their crimes, a short stint in juvenie detention and lengthy community service. In detention, the brothers once again retreated to their old past time and Tommy started a street hockey league in the yard. The league was a huge success and the winning team (which was the Shelby team) even had a match against a team of guards. When Tommy was released, he was just shy of his 18th birthday and he knew that he had a choice to make. He could revert to his old habits, make some good money for awhile but he knew that eventually he would be caught and this time he wouldn't be considered a kid. Or he could find a legal way to have the life he wanted. As part of his community service, Shelby began volunteering at the local rink and it was here that he noticed an advertisement for tryouts for a local U18 team. Despite most of hockey experience being on the street with a ball, Shelby didn't hesitate to sign up and began devoting his time to hockey. He convinced the rink manager to let him use the ice overnight and would spend hours and hours practicing. Tryout day came and, perhaps partly due to his training and partly due to low turnout, he made the team. He was no superstar when he started that season but he continued to work at it relentlessly and he would later credit his coaches and teammates from that obscure team as teaching to him to be the player he is today. By the end of the season, Tommy was the best player on the ice, every game. One of Shelby's coaches was so impressed with his progress that he set up a tryout for Shelby with a professional team the following season. It came as no surprise to the coach when Shelby made it. And it was shortly after this that Shelby's new coach introuced him to a personal friend of his - former VHL player, commissioner, and agent Don Draper. Draper had been retired and this meeting was simply meant to be an opporunity for Shelby to get some career advice. By the end of the meeting, Shelby had convinced Draper to be his agent and get him on the fast track to the VHLM. And now, partway through his first VHLM season, Shelby has his sights set on the VHL Entry Draft.

Player Information Username: dylanjj37 Player Name: Marlins GM Recruited From: Member (MexicanCow) Age: 47 Position: D Height: 80 in. Weight: 250 lbs. Birthplace: Faroe Islands Player Page @VHLM GM

option 1

Alfred Champagne (Anthique) has announced their retirement.

Player Information Username: Anthique Player Name: Alphonse Desjardins Recruited From: Returning Age: 18 Position: D Height: 76 in. Weight: 215 lbs. Birthplace: France Player Page @VHLM GM

This is the worst thing I have ever had to do.

Spoiler expansion team: Orlando Option 1

Fixed now!

I was mentioning this in my LR yesterday... Hoping there will be some decent separation soon. There aren't many games left... This is Kauppi's final season, and he's finally gonna hit 100+ for points and it's about time. He's got some great support from Jameson and McFleury, so I'm curious to see just how far we go when it comes to playoffs...

1. Phil always has phenomenal players, and Sakic will be no different. 2. I think it's a pretty good trade, there are definitely steals to be found in the fourth round and to move down a few spots to acquire that pick is a good tradeoff. 3. I don't think so, we have a really strong and quickly improving group. 4. I'll say Saskatoon, they'll be a tough out in the playoffs for sure. 5. I jumped a wooden fence when I was a kid, and my shoelace got caught on a loose screw near the top of the fence and it pretty much hung me upside down for a second before I dropped on my head lol 6. I'll say Miami, they've got a pretty nice organization.

1. im feeling very good about my season, doing good but im in the E rn 2. London top 3 overall sounds insane, i feel you are very good 3. i do not, i simply have not been here long enough to know the answers or where to find them and im to lazy to find out 4. until the last 3 games of the season the leafs were doing great and will be making the postseason but rn they kinda worrying me. 5. i think EDM vs TOR would be cool, battle of the current gen ovi/crosby 6. the closest i would put to this is likely gladiator, lotr retrun of the king or monty python quest for the holy grail. i couldnt choose between them

Watch this boy. The Mighty Ice Wizard will answer these questions. 1 - Hey folks I'm the new Assistant to McLovin and it's a pleasure to be here. I'll take some time to get to know you fine people! Has your season gone as you had thought so far? I've exceeded expectations on a personal level greatly. Sixteen consecutive shutouts; setting a new league record (me when I lie) 2 - The playoff race is pretty tight at the minute in our division, do you think we can take on our competition? Yeah. Wait what? Oh you mean in a game? 3 - Do you have more of a sweet tooth or prefer salty snacks? Salty. Like potato chips. Mmm yummy. 4 - We have a lot of home games to play down the stretch. Do you like to spend some time on the strip doing Vegas strip things? I'm way too locked in for that tbh. Catch me reading like a book or something. 5 - When you get to the big leagues, what's the first thing you're splurging on when you get your first paycheck? I don't want to go to the big leagues. Scary. 6 - Are you a fan of line juggling when there's struggling? Or do you prefer to stick to a stable lineup? I'm usually on the bench anyways. I'm basically like an assistant coach at this point.

I never left hahahaha! I just retired my old player after a "long" 9 seasons lol

Looks like a Khan, alright.

Kobe Johnson was drafted 22nd overall by the Toronto Legion in S86 following a successful S85 in Las Vegas with the Aces. Johnson returned to Vegas the following season, and exploded offensively, making the jump from 23 to 94 points as a sophomore in the VHLM, and earning a promotion the following season to the VHLE's Geneva Rush. Johnson maintained steady offensive numbers in Geneva for three seasons from S87-89, posting point totals of 71, 86, and 86. For S90, Johnson was caught in the VHLE's roster shuffling after the contraction of 2 teams. That led to Johnson playing in Vasteras down the lineup, only amassing 16 points in the S90 season. In the following season, the opportunity presented itself to play up the lineup again, and Kobe responded with a 67 point season, coming close to averaging a point per game. The S91 season would prove to be Johnson's last in the VHLE, as he got the call to come up to the VHL's Toronto Legion, where he spent the S92 posting 22 points (9 G, 13 A) in 72 games. That brings us to this season, where Johnson has already set new career highs in multiple statistical categories. In 55 games this season, Kobe has already tied last seasons goal total with 9, and has surpassed last seasons assist and point totals with 16 and 25 respectively. Johnson is also more involved offensively through shooting, having increased his shot total from 96 last season to 127 and counting this season. So far, new career bests have been set in assists, points, plus/minus, shots, and shot blocks. He is a goal away from a career best in the VHL, as well as being 2 game winning goals, 2 powerplay goals, and 8 hits away from besting those categories as well. These last 17 games being productive will go a long way to helping set highs in those categories as well.

Jesse Teno (aimkin) has announced their retirement.

ARE YOU SURE ABOUT THAT?

Soja