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Happy New Years @Members! As we move toward another week in the life of the VHL we wanted to announce a bit of a shake up in how moderation has been handed. Obviously there have always been highs and lows with it and this past year was no exception but we saw a bit of drama near the end (as I'm sure many of you are aware) and the @Commissioner team decided to wanted to investigate things a bit and make a few changes to how things are handled. The start of that is that @frescoelmo has been let go from his position as head moderator. He is remaining on the mod team and we have nothing against him, we just feel like his talents have not aligned well with the goals of the moderation team that we are striving for. @samx has accepted the head position in his place. No other staffing changes to the mod team will take place at this time. Outside of staffing though Sam has written up some new policies to hopefully keep everything running smoothly, both for the mods and the members. Her main goals and objectives are as follows: Better documentation: Improved documentation policies so that we can better track on going issues. This will allow us to make better judgement calls when it comes to handing out punishments. Earlier intervention: Implementation of policies that make it so we intervene earlier during ongoing issues. That way we can hopefully help prevent the issue causing a larger, more dramatic scene. "Toe the liners": Implementation of new policy regarding actions of people who "toe the line" of what is allowed in the league and what isn't in order to allow for earlier intervention of these individuals before larger action feels necessary. Communication: Improved policy of how communication should happen between people who report issues, the people reported, and other parties that may be affected by a punishment (such as M commissioners). A common complaint is lack of communication. With new policy we aim to make sure that the people who need to be "in the know" about what is going on with a situation are properly informed. This also includes making sure that people who submit a form as a complaint know that we have seen it and are working on establishing what needs to follow. (If they did not submit anonymously). This also includes better communication between mods. There has been confusion at times between mods as to why certain actions were taken and we end up on different pages. The new policies aim to make sure that mods are all on the same page and have the proper information about why certain actions were taken. Correcting Bad Habits: Making sure we are following old policies correctly. Many policies have not changed however we got away from following policies and taking shortcuts. The aim is to be more on top of making sure we are following these new policies as well as being better about continuing old policies that were already in place. This includes better documentation of former infractions and punishments so people are not labelled as "repeat offenders" (for example) without evidence. The mods all have a more comprehensive version of these goals but those are the main outline. I feel like the last one makes an excellent point that there isn't a lot outwardly changing in the expectations the mods have of the community but more so a focus on making sure old policies are held up and followed, they were implemented for a reason. In general this shouldn't have a huge effect on most members but we wanted to make sure we were clear about what was going on so everyone could be on the same page. I appreciate you reading this far, feel free to take 2 uncapped for your troubles if you managed to read this far but don't mention it anywhere; I want to see if people have actually read everything without just searching for those 3 letters we love so much. @Commissioner @Moderator

Awesome graphic by @ace_five_!! The trade deadline is this Thursday, and it's a great time to take a look around the league and see where everybody's at for this season! Today we're going to take a look at the standings, examine how the teams got to where they are, take a look at their cap picture, go over the rosters to find areas to improve, and see any moves already made this season. We'll go over everything by Conference standings. Contract information for players is based on full season value. Prospects from before S95 were not included in the list. Stats are up to date for Monday, January 20. Here we go! North American Conference Vancouver Wolves 1st Place 34-8-4 72 Points Holders of the best goal differential in the NA Conference at +68 (170 GF, 102 GA), the Wolves have been scorching hot heading into the deadline, winning 8 in a row. Star defender Bollos de Trueno @Thunder and forward Logan Ninefingers @Scurvy have been the statistical standouts thus far for Vancouver. The Wolves have three expiring contracts on their roster in forward Eno Velvson @Nykonax (S90, $2.5m), along with defenders Einar Mathiesen @xsjack (S95, $1.5m) and Scrungle Bungle @Novanod (S91, $1.5m). Comfortably at the top of the Conference, it seems unlikely that Vancouver will be dumping any expiring contracts unless a player goes out the door to upgrade. The Wolves currently have $0.5m in cap space, so any upgrade will have to be on the smaller side on deadline day to maximize the space. It will be a draft pick needed to upgrade as Vancouver does not have any prospects in the pipeline to parlay into a new player. The Wolves hold DC’s 3rd round pick in S98, along with their own 4th. In the S99 Draft, Vancouver has Prague’s 1st round pick and their own 4th. The biggest need on the roster for Vancouver currently would be an upgrade to their depth forwards and defenders as they are very strong at the top of the roster offensively, defensively, and in net. Vancouver has not made a trade in-season in S97 after multiple moves in the off-season. Calgary Wranglers 2nd Place 29-9-8 66 Points The Wranglers currently look like the strongest challenger to Vancouver, sitting 6 points back in second place. Another very strong goal differential at +52 (168 GF, 116 GA), Calgary has fared well on both sides of the puck in the first 2/3 of the season. The strength of the Wranglers this season has definitely been their scoring up front, as they are bordering on six different forwards being at a point per game (currently five, Keegan Gamble @Keegan Gamble is 2 points away from ppg status). Calgary has five roster players with deals that are set to expire after this season: forwards Nikita Yolishev @Joel Main (S94, $1.5m) and Raimo Tuominen @SlapshotWrangler (S90, $5.5m), defenders Carson Tripp @Cartripp14 (S93, $2.5m) and Wladyslaw Mintus @mintusaurus (S93, $1.5m), and goaltender David Slezak @ShawnGlade (S91, $2.0m). Another strong contender, they’re unlikely to move out their expiring deals for anything other than an upgrade to the roster. That upgrade will be difficult to make, as the Wranglers have maxed out their cap space and would need to get creative to add. Calgary does have picks and prospects that could be moved out, holding three picks in the S98 Draft (VAN 3rd, CGY 3rd, CGY 4th) and four picks in the S99 Draft (their own pick in all four rounds). Defensive prospects Carl Erhardt @Elite Steel (S95, 299 TPE) and Jack Jack @Uncommon (S97, 232 TPE), along with forward prospect Joseph Poole @Itz_Viperz (S97, 227 TPE) could be used to facilitate an upgrade as well. The likeliest place that Calgary would look to upgrade would be on the blueline as the group has performed solidly but lacks a true number one. Calgary has not made a trade in-season yet this year. Seattle Bears 3rd Place 30-16-1 61 Points The Seattle Bears find themselves in between the top teams in the Conference and the teams that are battling each other for the wild card spots. A good week or two could push them into the top group in the conference, while a bad week or two could slide them down into the messy middle. The Bears, much like their place in the standings, hold a solid goal differential at +29 (153 GF, 124 GA) that is above mid-pack thanks to a balanced scoring approach from their forwards and defenders. Seattle has two expiring contracts heading into the deadline with forward Eric White Jr. @Mysterious_Fish (S90, $6.0m) and defender Rin Kagamine @Rin (S91, $2.0m). Seattle has some fascinating options with $3.95m in cap space and could afford to move out bodies to shuffle the roster or strictly add to improve before the deadline. They’re shorter on picks with a CHI 3rd in S98 and a DCD 3rd in S99, but do have a few prospects that could net a good return if they look to upgrade. RW CJ Daniels @xNJDevilsFanx (S97, 304 TPE) along with goaltenders Vladimir Trunov @qripll (S96, 459 TPE) and Chad Powers @Big_Dyl (S97, 357 TPE) are solid future pieces that could be counted on to come up soon, whether it’s with Seattle or somewhere else as part of a trade. Seattle’s biggest need heading into the deadline certainly looks to be on the blueline where they are thin behind the top two defenders. Seattle has already made a trade in-season this year, as they traded Marek Nowaczyk @Chillybro to DC, along with Seattle’s S99 1st and Davos’ S99 4th for Theo Allard @InstantRockstar and DC’s S99 3rd. Toronto Legion 4th Place 27-17-2 56 Points Toronto is currently at the front of the middle group in the NA Conference, although that spot in the group seems to be changing hands on a daily basis right now. They have climbed from 6th to 4th in the last few weeks but are far from clear of falling right back out of a playoff spot. A theme with the three teams fighting for two spots, the Legion have a decent goal differential at +16 (143 GF, 127 GA) that is largely driven by their balanced offensive contributions (the only team in the league with a full roster over 20 points each). Toronto does not have any expiring contracts for players heading to free agency this off-season (three forwards retiring), and heads into the deadline with $1.5m in cap space. The Legion are also shorter on picks to deal as they hold their 2nd and 3rd round picks in S99. Toronto also has forward prospects to trade in Inker Belle @WildfireMicro (S95, 422 TPE), Ethan Ashcroft @EthanSea611 (S97, 191 TPE), and ALTO RED @alto_red (S97, 169 TPE) should they choose to use the remaining cap space to upgrade the roster. The biggest need for Toronto to add is more mid-level scoring as the forward group is thinner behind the top two scorers as it currently stands. The Legion have not made a trade in-season this year after the blockbuster deal in the off-season with DC to acquire Konstyantyn Shevchenko @der meister and DB IV @wcats. Chicago Phoenix 5th Place 25-15-5 55 Points Chicago currently holds the final wild card spot in the NA Conference by a point, and are right in the mix to move upwards into a more solid playoff situation. The Phoenix have a decent goal differential as well at +13 (148 GF, 135 GA), which has been built on a foundation of solid goaltending and balanced scoring. Chicago is in a fascinating spot heading into the deadline and they have a whopping ten expiring contracts this off-season with players potentially headed to free agency. Five of the forwards in Ivan Ivanov @KmaddFPS (S91, $2.0m), Joshua Schwarzer @Velevra(S91, $5.5m), Spanish Moon Moth @Renomitsu (S91, $5.0m), Toby Kadachi @ROOKIE745 (S91, $4.5m), and Vanuza Kolesinska @chikn (S93, $2.5m) are expiring, as well as defenders Boris Bone-Breaker @RileyL (S95, $1.5m), Karol Lamb @dlamb (S92, $3.0m), Lionel Collberg @Masu Chan (S91, $3.5m), and YaBoi Oven @Doomsday (S90, $6.0m). The final player with an expiring contract is also likely the most important one, as goaltender Ryan Artyomov @Enorama (S90, $5.0m) is set to expire after this season. Chicago has $2.5m in space at the deadline, which gives them the flexibility to go in multiple directions. The Phoenix haven’t traded out many draft picks, holding their own S98 2nd and 4th round picks, along with all of their picks in S99 and the VAN 3rd in that draft as well. A handful of prospects in their development pipeline could give Chicago additional assets to move if they choose, primarily in net. Forward Avery Acres @Bravebulldogs (S97, 159 TPE) and defender Feka Ohi Kau @Hacob (S96, 320 TPE) compliment a trio of goaltenders: Dr. Victor von Doom @Garsh (S97, 360 TPE), RicerFourteen @Bombshuka (S96, 167 TPE), and Dustin Wolf @ElementStyx9 (S95, 108 TPE). Chicago’s biggest need heading into the deadline is at the top end of the roster, as the forward group lacks the top TPE leader that the other teams in the conference have. The Phoenix have not made an in-season trade yet this season. New York Americans 6th Place 26-17-2 54 Points The Americans are the third of the three teams that are currently fighting for two wild card spots, but are right there and have the benefit of a softer schedule remaining. New York has a decent +16 goal differential (136 GF, 120 GA), relying on the continued solid goaltending from the man of a thousand W’s @rory and good offensive contribution from their top forwards. The Americans have two forwards on expiring contracts that are potentially headed to free agency in Maxim Anisimov @McLovin (S90, $5.0m) and Wayne Gretzky @MubbleFubbles (S92, $5.0m). They hold $0.5m in cap space, enough to move out a body and add a player heading into the stretch run of the season. They also have the draft and prospect capital to do so, and are one of the more interesting teams to see what they do. New York holds their own 1st and 4th round picks in the S98 draft, and all four of their own picks in the S99 draft, plus the S98 CHI 1st to potentially use as trade bait for a bigger upgrade. The prospect pool is heavy on forwards that could move as well, with centres Big Macken Fries @YetiTaz (S97, 158 TPE), Jackson Jeannot @Lucas anton (S96, 284 TPE), and Jay Sikes @JaySmacksss (S96, 210 TPE), along with wingers Alex Versti @VOID Stiles (S97, 174 TPE) and Kirill Tyutyayev @ColeMrtz (S96, 113 TPE). Goaltender Pepe Silvia @STZ (S97, 306) rounds out the group of prospects who could be used as trade bait. New York’s biggest need is likely bringing up the floor for the forward group as they are thinner towards the bottom of the group than other teams. The Americans made a trade with DC over the weekend to acquire defender Joe Block @jblock3, adding a fourth defender to their lineup for the first time this season. D.C. Dragons 7th Place 16-25-6 38 Points 17 points back of a playoff spot in the tough NA Conference, DC is likely the first team in the conference whose focus looks more to the future than the present. With a -37 goal differential (115 GF, 152 GA), DC sits well back of the playoff picture, largely due to the fact that they have been clearing bodies out for future assets between the past off-season and this season itself. With the deals made, the Dragons don’t have any players headed to free agency this off-season, but do have two players who are set to retire. If DC decides to send any more bodies out the door, it will be for more future assets to add to their impressive group of draft picks (three S98 1sts, four S99 1sts) and prospects. They’ve already graduated two players from the S96 draft class in Brandon Petan Jr. @sadie (653 TPE) and You’re Not Fucking Retiring @twists (568 TPE), and will add to that group next season with Albin Aldgard @animal74 (S97, 393 TPE) knocking on the door. DC has sent multiple players around the league this season, with Ben Laas @dustywilson22 going to Riga, Theo Allard going to Seattle, and Joe Block going to New York. Los Angeles Stars 8th Place 8-32-4 20 Points It’s been a rough stretch in Los Angeles, with a large part of the setbacks due to some unexpected retirements and inactive players. The Stars have an un-nice -69 goal (79 GF, 148 GA) differential this season, and have had a tough schedule with the hyper competitive NA Conference. Los Angeles has one expiring contract after this season in Nico Belique @Syzygy (S91, 448 TPE), and could look to move other players for more future assets. Heading into the deadline, the Stars have their own 2nd and 4th round picks in the S98 Draft, as well as their 1st, 2nd, and 4th round picks in S99. The outstanding S97 draft class that Los Angeles had is about to pay off, and they’re set to add multiple players to the lineup next season from that group-- on the blueline, Bubbles LaFleur @AJW (401 TPE) and Mikko Tuomala @flyersfan345 (383 TPE), as well as in net with Ricky LaFleur @DarkSpyro (404 TPE). The Stars haven’t made an in-season trade this year yet. European Conference Malmo Nighthawks 1st Place 36-9-1 73 Points The top of the EU Conference currently belongs to Malmo, and it does so because the Nighthawks have been scorching hot, winning 13 straight games. The win streak has led Malmo to a nice VHL best +69 goal differential (163 GF, 94 GA), boasting the lowest goals against in the league along with the fourth most goals for. The Nighthawks scoring has been very balanced, nearing seven players with 50 or more points (Phillip Rave @tcookie is 1 away). Combining that with the solid goaltending from Lovstrom @Pifferfish has been a recipe for success in Malmo. The Nighthawks approach the deadline with zero players heading to free agency next season (three retiring forwards), and they have only $0.5m in cap space. There is still a bit of cap room for an upgrade should Malmo choose to do so, but it would require trading either of their forward prospects in Ty Duke @TheDuke (S94, 374 TPE) or Xhekajs Middletoe @Xhekajsleftankle (S96, 309 TPE) as they do not currently hold any draft picks. Much like other top contenders, Malmo’s biggest need is more about adding depth at the bottom of the forward or defense units than it is at the top. Malmo has not made an in-season trade this year after a couple of bigger deals in the off-season (including adding GM/Player Lucy Leitner @LucyXpher from Riga). Moscow Menace 2nd Place 33-8-5 71 Points Just two points back of the lead in the conference, Moscow held that lead for a long while to start the season until Malmo’s recent win streak. The Menace will look to re-take that lead as soon as possible, and they do so coming in with a very strong goal differential at +61 (174 GF, 113 GA). With three players in the top five in league scoring, it’s easy to see what the strength of the roster is. Moscow has just one player approaching free agency this upcoming off-season on an expiring deal, and it is forward Tommy Shelby @Will (S94, $2.5m). The Menace hold just $0.3m in cap space with the coming deadline so their wiggle room to make a deal is slim, but not nonexistent. Moscow holds all four of their draft picks in the upcoming S98 draft, along with their own 1st, 2nd, and 4th in the S99 draft. Combining that with a bevy of prospects, comprised of forwards Dart-For-Moderator @fonziGG (S97, 146 TPE), Ozzy Batty @Ozzy Batty (S95, 290 TPE), Seto Kaiba @Arce (S95, 100 TPE), and Spallsy McDavid @Lochlan Chisholm (S97, 224 TPE), along with defenders Cysteine @Bea (S96, 211 TPE), Elisa McMuffin @Ente2997 (S97, 176 TPE), Hank Smith @Jett88 (S97, 162 TPE), and Kazuma Satou @Spartan (S97, 421 TPE). Should Moscow decide to use their remaining cap space to upgrade somewhere, they’ll definitely have the ammunition to do so. Moscow’s biggest need is theoretically in net, where they’re running one of the lowest TPE starters in the league in Deadpanda @Alex. They have proven that to not be an issue for them in recent seasons, and will likely not look to make any changes there this year either. Moscow could then turn to upgrade a depth piece if they choose, but they also feel pretty set. The Menace added Montgomery Burns @LastOneUp on the blueline from Warsaw. HC Davos Dynamo 3rd Place 32-9-6 70 Points The final team in the talented trio at the top of the EU Conference, Davos has quietly (a little too quietly, at least in terms of attention given to it) been on an 11 game win streak allowing them to keep pace with Malmo at the top of the conference. The Dynamo are breathing right down the neck of the teams in front of them, but are a small step behind the top two teams in terms of goal differential at +44 (161 GF, 117 GA). Davos’ high-flying offense is led by the two-headed monster at the top of the roster in Antonia Bucatini @CowboyinAmerica and Grimgor Ironhide @FrostBeard, and is a large reason why they are where they are in the standings. Davos has a trio of players set to enter free agency on expiring contracts in Grimgor Ironhide (S91, $6.0m), Sunset Moth @McWolf (S91, $2.5m), and Mina @Baozi (S91, $5.5m). The Dynamo enter the deadline with $1.0m in cap space and primarily have draft pick assets to improve the roster should they choose to do so. The S98 Draft sees Davos holding their own 1st, 2nd, and 4th round picks, along with the LA 3rd. In the following S99 Draft, Davos has their 1st and 2nd rounders, along with 3rd round picks from Helsinki, Los Angeles, and Seattle (as well as the SEA 4th). In terms of prospects, the Dynamo have forward Cody Cobberson @Hendrix Cobberson (S95, 176 TPE) as well as goaltender Brian S @Bigb33 (S97, 206 TPE). Davos’ biggest need entering the deadline is also depth as they could use the remaining cap space to raise the floor on the roster, especially up front. Davos has not made an in-season trade this year. Riga Reign 4th Place 29-15-3 61 Points The Riga Reign are caught in the middle in the EU Conference. They’ve started to lag behind the top teams thanks to the extended win streaks by two teams ahead of them, but they’re also comfortably ahead of anybody behind them that they could afford to do quite a bit of tinkering with the roster, lines, and strategies heading into the stretch run of this season. With a solid +25 (142 GF, 117 GA) goal differential this season, Riga has easily proven themselves as a capable team in the EU. Their task will be to put together a hot streak similar to the other contenders in the conference and make up ground to get back in the mix. The leader of that push will undoubtedly be perennial MVP candidate Axle Gunner @Steve, who once again leads the Reign in points. Riga sees five players entering free agency this upcoming off-season, made up of forwards Kimi Raikkonen @mattyIceman (S92, $5.5m), Severus Targaryen @Banackock (S90, $5.5m), and Tim Robinson @Tim Robinson (S95, $2.0m), along with defender Ray Stanton @horoscope (S93, $1.5m), and goaltender Red Panda @Lemorse7 (S91, $5.0m). The Reign come into the deadline with $3.025m in cap space and could afford to add a pretty significant piece to the roster if they choose to in an effort to push for the top of the division. Riga only hold their own 3rd round pick in the S98 draft, but they hold their full complement of four picks in S99, plus Davos’ 3rd. They also have prospects Laimdots Sarkanis @Anomalijs (S95, 156 TPE) and Zaps Cat @scudmuffin19 (S95, 309 TPE) that they could move to entice a team to send a player their way. Riga’s biggest focus at the deadline must certainly be improving the forward group, as they have already addressed the blueline with the Ben Laas trade from DC earlier this season. Prague Phantoms 5th Place 15-26-6 36 Points Prague finds themselves heading into the deadline comfortably in the second wild card spot in the EU, twelve points up on the first non-playoff team. Coming into this season, that was likely not part of the plan for the Phantoms, but the strength of their top two defenders has given some them solid play on the blueline and given them a shot at some craziness in the postseason. Prague has a -60 goal differential (99 GF, 159 GA) on the season, which is the best of the rest after the top four teams in the conference. They have two expiring contracts set to become free agents after this season, forward Bruise Banner @ctots (S90, $1.5m), and defender/GM player Erik Thorvaldsson @Tetricide (S94, $4.5m). With $21.5m in cap space heading into the deadline, Prague could be in a position to take on some money if one of the cap strapped teams needs to move a contract out to acquire another player. The Phantoms could also trade for a player with some term that is able to grow for them, given that they have their own 1st, 2nd, and 4th in the upcoming S98 draft, also holding Los Angeles’ 1st in that one. Prague currently has their own 2nd, 3rd, and 4th rounders in S99, plus a Vancouver 2nd. The biggest needs to address for Prague are up front and in net. They have future pillars on the back end already, but could use more forwards and a goalie. The Phantoms have not made a trade in-season this year. London United 6th Place 11-32-2 24 Points London heads into the deadline likely hoping to move out a body or two for more future assets. Having lost six in a row now, their chance of getting the second wild card and hoping for a miracle is pretty slim. The United have a -60 goal differential (101 GF, 161 GA) on the season, and the standouts on the roster have been harder to find. Alexandros Mograine @sliceruser leads the team in goals and points up front, and Alagsantere Groenvold @VattghernCZ looks like a solid future piece on the blueline. London has three upcoming free agents with expiring contracts in Jacob Smith Jr. @jacobaa19 (S91, $2.0m), Steve French @Seabass (S93, $5.5m), and Annie Oaks @Noodle Enjoyer (S93, $2.5m) that they could look to get an asset or two for. London could use more draft picks as well as prospects to add to their pipeline for the future to go along with forwards Cash Carti @v.2 (S97, 427 TPE) and Pelayo Bolivar @SMYLS4 (S97, 390 TPE), goaltender Chazz Michael Michaels @Xflexz (S96, 526 TPE) and the aforementioned Groenvold (S96, 644 TPE). The United have not made a trade in-season yet this year. Helsinki Titans 7th Place 10-34-1 21 Points Helsinki enters the stretch run of the season likely looking to add to their considerable cache of future assets, whether they are draft picks or prospects. The Titans will be firmly in the mix for the first overall pick in this upcoming draft, and could help their chances of winning the lottery by trading away anybody not in their long-term plans to weaken the roster for the stretch run of this season. Helsinki has a -65 goal differential (98 GF, 163 GA) in the top heavy EU Conference and has three forwards with expiring contracts heading to free agency this off-season. Maple Dogwood @dogwoodmaple (S94, $2.5m), Matthew Highmore @NineIQ v2 (S92, $1.5m), and UghSike @UghSike (S93, $2.0m) are all currently UFA’s at the end of the season as Helsinki continues to trend towards their younger players, and any of them could be traded to add a future asset. On the current roster, defender Hugh Neutron @Corco (S97, 494 TPE) has started the run of Titans draft picks making their debuts in the VHL and that will likely continue over the next few seasons. Helsinki hasn’t made an in-season trade yet this year. Warsaw Predators 8th Place 6-36-3 15 Points It’s been a rough season in Warsaw, but also one that has more of an eye on the future than on the present. The Predators have a goal differential of -102 (82 GF, 184 GA) and are now on a 10 game losing streak. Warsaw has already seen one S96 draft pick make their debut this season in defender Slava Kovalenko @OblivionWalker, and will look to see more previously drafted players make the jump as well. The Predators only have one expiring contract after this season in defender Kodie Curran @Battlepopcorn (S90, $2.0m), so they’ll likely have to move a player with term if they want to add any more draft picks to their already impressive haul. Warsaw stands to have four picks in the first round this upcoming draft (WAR, SEA, VAN, CGY), as well as three 2nds to attempt to rapidly add to their prospect group. The Predators have already made two trades this season, sending Baby Moo Moo @Elvis and Rin Kagamine to Seattle, as well as sending Montgomery Burns to Moscow. Thank you for reading my breakdown, enjoy the stretch run of the season! Thanks for the graphic, Ace!

A slightly delayed Happy New Years to all @Members! Thank you all for your generous donations over this holiday season. As a league we've collectively raised $2270 (with ~$800 donated to the league and $1470 coming from external donations to your chosen charities). This means that for the total for the 2024 Holiday Charity drive is $3270! Note: I convert all external donations made it other currencies to CAD to calculate these sums. Some housekeeping math and receipts: You are likely wondering where the uncapped is at so I'll get to that as well, normally I'd tell you to refer to the first post in this thread to get a handle of the prizes for each milestone butttttttt we're making some slight changes this year. We (for some reason) had always decided to include the league match in the milestone calculation over the past however many years and we're going to remove that. Every milestone will be nudged down to make it fair as future drives likely won't have the same match. We also had to come up with additional milestone rewards which have now been added: Unfortunately we didn't make the last stretch goal (rip @samx) but the items we all DO get are: 12 Uncapped TPE PT Doubles Week @Nathan_8's NHL 25 event @Banackock's wholesome holiday movie Jackass (Bana edition) coming Dec 2025 @Beketov likely attempting to mate @Acydburn and I in a Zoo Tycoon 2 Ultimate stream @Josh reading a small selection of his son's favorite bedtime stories on stream Please claim your TPE and Doubles before or on the week ending Jan 19/2025. Things will be scheduled over the coming weeks likely to spread out the joy, we'll try to make sure everything is added to the forum calendar and the Discord events a good amount beforehand so everyone can partake. Awesome job everyone and we should all be proud that as a community we can come together and do our part in helping those in need. From the Blues: we hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and wish you all the best in the new year!

GM @ace_five_ and I are proud to announce the leadership group for the S97 Mississauga Hounds! Captain - Kurt Bachmann @Blutch This is Bachmann's third season with the Hounds. He is known for putting his body on the line through his crushing hits and shot blocking. Bachmann is a formidable presence in the locker room and is always willing to help out the new players. This is a well-deserved promotion from alternate captain. He was a very important part of our Founder's Cup winning season in S96 and we are looking to repeat with Bachmann as the face of the Hounds. Alternate Captain - Hank Smith @Jett88 Another member of the S96 winning Hounds, Smith has earned his way into the leadership group. Drafted 23rd overall, the Hounds knew the type of player Smith was going to be in his rookie season, and he certainly delivered. Smith was a workhorse and never shied away from the tough areas on the ice, much like fellow defenseman Bachmann. We are excited to see what Smith can do in his sophomore year. Alternate Captain - Filip Zinek @FiZi Zinek is an experienced veteran who was instrumental to the success of the Hounds last season. Coming off two seasons in the now defunct VHLE, Zinek integrated into the Hounds seamlessly. His hard work certainly showed when he lead the team in points in our run for the Founder's Cup. His leadership and experience will be leaned on as we enter the season with a full team. P.S. If anyone wondering how I made the graphic, below is a timelapse. https://i.imgur.com/mZPqGlO.mp4

NINE SEASON REFLECTION ON MY GOOD (but mid) CAREER Written by Viktor Jensen As I start my ninth and final season as a member of the Malmo Nighthawks, I wanted a chance to reflect and share my thoughts on my career thus far. It really has been a rollercoaster to say the least, with most of our low’s coming during the playoffs. Always a consistently solid regular season player (85+ points in 5 seasons) but never anything more than that. I have been a part of one playoff series win……out of nine if you include my stint in the VHLM. With all that being said, I wouldn’t change it for the world. I have to start with talking about my team. I bleed Malmo and have really found it to be my forever home. I have played an incredible group of players that have impacted my career, and it’s truly wonderful how many of them have spent the majority, if not all of their career’s in Malmo as well. Jacob Stone was drafted a season prior than I was but has been the measuring stick of elite players as long as I have been in Malmo. He has been the silent but clear killer for us over the majority of the last decade, and that’s why he broke the all-time points record as a defenseman for the Malmo Nighthawks. Savaisk Tzesar and Ronald Johnson MacWallaceIII have been great teammates throughout my entire career. Tzesar goes all the way back to Houston where he was a grinder that didn’t necessarily show much outside of a decently powerful shot and physicality. Now he has developed into one of the league’s most well-rounded physical power forwards and has had a very solid career himself. MacWallaceIII has kinda been underrated in his entire career in my opinion as he has been a career point-per-game player and has hit the 80+ point plateau three times himself. Both are fantastic talents and even better blokes and I will certainly miss them when things are over. Phillip Rave is the younger version of myself but probably a lot better honestly. I think he can do a lot more than what I did and with him leading the team, I think he can maybe help the Nighthawks find a little more success going forward. He’s another excellent teammate as well and while a little quieter, he’s a leader in how he currently leads the team on the ice. Reese McFleury was a teammate of mine for six seasons before he retired. An early mentor of mine coming in and he was a wonderful person to be around the whole way through. Was sad to see him go but cherish the memories with Reese. And finally, Ash Sparks was a long-time member of the team. While definitely one of the guys that had the most energy on the team, he always kept things lively and did so while being consistently excellent tending our net. Goalies are weird and Sparks was no different, but my time in Malmo is nowhere near the same without the impact he has had. Last person I want to mention is Kaleeb who was the best General Manager you could ask for over the course of my eight seasons under his leadership. Always a great communicator and someone that we could rely on. The fact that so many of us stuck it out for so long should tell you everything, especially when we weren’t even necessarily finding playoff success. The culture and atmosphere have been everything in Malmo over the last decade, and I think Lucy will bring that forward into the future, now that she has taken over.This list of players doesn't even include some of the guys who played less seasons but still were awesome teammates like Bobandy and Skor. Going into my last season, I do have a few goals that I would like to achieve. I would be lying if I didn’t admit that reaching the top of goals, assists and points for Malmo’s all-time leaderboard wasn’t on my mind. To me it would be an awesome accomplishment for the team that has had my heart for the entirety of my career. And with so many tremendous players at the top of that list including Stoner and Condor, it would be such an honour. The obvious accomplishment I want to achieve is winning a Continental Cup. I have never had the chance to win any championship over the course of my professional career, and while Victory Cups are nice, that isn’t what we play for. It will be a tough task but I am hopeful that we can put things together over the course of the season and ride a heat wave into the playoffs. Finally, I honestly just want to enjoy it. Nine seasons is a long time and I have truly grown up over the course of my career. I’ve done a lot with a lot of great people and I just want to finish it off playing with the same lads that I've shared a locker room with the whole time. With that being said, I don’t necessarily know if this will actually be the end of my hockey career. I have had some conversations with some lower level European teams because I just don’t know if I can give it up. I can see that I am getting a little slow for the VHL, and while I do think I can still do it at this level, every season gets harder and I feel a little bit more behind at the beginning of each and every season. My passion for this great game still grows though and I do think it would be great to still one day maybe be part of a championship team, if we don’t accomplish it in Malmo this season. Plus, I know some of the other guys will probably do similar so it would be amazing to play against them, or who knows….even with them, after this season ends. If you made it this far, thank you for reading this little column about the definition of Hall of Consistently Good (but not elite). I have loved my time in this league and I hope to truly end it with an impactful bang. So look out come playoff time, cause maybe this is finally our year! @scoop @comrade cat @RJMW @tcookie @Spaz @KaleebtheMighty @DarkSpyro @LucyXpher

Since I won't be writing SuperSailor entries anymore, I needed (wanted) to start another series of VHL.com articles where I could ramble about random VHL stuff and earn a few TPE in the process. Unlike the SuperSailor series, this entries can be much broader in scope-- which is a little freeing to be honest as there's a lot going on around this community and the two leagues that I'd love to say a few words about here and there. S97 just kicked off and the new year is right around the corner, which means I'm coming up on a full year in the VHL community (January 7th). It honestly doesn't feel like it's been a year and I've had alot of fun following sims, meeting new people on the forum and Discord, creating and building my player, managing the Halifax 21st and now the Malmo Nighthawks, and just generally having a fun passtime project to come back to amid the grind of life. I'm really happy to see that Halifax is off to a good start so far this season and I'm impressed with the moves that @rory has made through the draft and in trades to fill out the lineup. The forward group looks amazing and I had been wondering how the defense would come together since there were only a couple returning players at that position. I think San Diego is probably still the favorite to win the VHLM this season, but I really do think Halifax has a chance to make some noise in the regular season and/or playoffs. As much as I would have wanted to win the team's first ever Founder's Cup, I'll be cheering for Halifax this season and every season until it happens-- it's WAY overdue. It's also really gratifying to see how well the individual players on Halifax are doing so far, and how they've improved over the offseason. Pelayo Bolivar @SMYLS4 is currently tied for the league lead in points and has a real chance to potentially get some award nominations this season, and Ty Duke @TheDuke is only one point behind. Both of those players should push to 400 TPE by the end of the season and that will make Halifax very scary offensively with the likes of Inker Belle @WildfireMicro, Xhekajs middletoe @Xhekajsleftankle, Steven Nichols @SlyDigi, and Hater Tottingham @Trunkxolotl all on that team as well. I am also happy that I have some continuity with Xhektoe and Duke as they're both Malmo prospects now (via trade), so I have another reason (excuse) to be invested in Halifax's success this season. In Malmo, we dropped a close opening game against Davos, 2-1, but we did run into some penalty trouble and I'm hoping it's not a trend since the same thing happened against Prague-- a team we should probably beat-- resulting in our second loss. But I'm encouraged by our 3-2 record, +5 goal differential, and the fact that our players have generally been producing well so far. There's definitely a bit more nuance to line combinations in the VHL with TPA differences being so much greater than they are in the M, and I'm hoping we can quickly find some winning combinations since this is definitely an all-in season for us. Jorgen Lovstrom @Pifferfish has also started strong-- aside from his game against Prague-- and we'll really need him to be solid if we're going to take games off of teams like Vancouver, Moscow, and Davos throughout the season. Just on a personal note, I always hate transitioning into new roles, places, or jobs. I like stability and continuity, and it stresses me out having to learn new things because I set a pretty high standard for myself. Taking over Malmo and the job as VSN Head has been a fair bit to work through this offseason-- thankfully it was a long one and I had some time off! Going into the new year, I'm hoping to settle into these roles a bit more as I'm excited and happy to be doing both, I just can't wait to get past the "being new" part. Thankfully, there's a lot of great people around who have been answering questions and making those transitions as stress free as possible! And that's about it for this entry. Again, this isn't meant to be super formal or anything, just a way to express a few VHL related thoughts-- but if anyone wants me to comment on anything or answer random questions, feel free to post below and maybe I'll pick it up next time. . . .

A bit late, but here is a poster for the S96 Continental Cup Champions, The Vancouver Wolves. I'm sorry I couldn't fit everyone.

@LucyXpher Welcome readers, today we forego the planned PiffCast episode due to technical issues (dropped phone, broken mic, very sad), and instead we get a written piece for you all to enjoy. Today we will discuss one of the many sources of uncapped TPE in the VHL, VHFL! I'm going to run through each position group's top players, taking the time to add some analysis to a few players (either over or under performing) and anyone who would be in the perfect lineup (so far). The perfect lineup consists of the top 3 forwards, top 2 defensemen, and the top goalie. **Stats taken immediately after the Jan. 4 sims** - Forwards #1 LW Maverick Goncalves @leandrofg 16 GP | 10 G | 20 A | +16 | 60 H | 12 SB 4.65 Fantasy Points per Game Maverick Goncalves is unsurprisingly doing very well in VHFL this season. He checks all of the boxes I'd look for in a player-- plays on a contender, leads his position group in checking, good scoring/passing gap, and a high DF rating. Moscow has been an offensive power house for many seasons running and his appearance here is nothing shocking. - #2 LW Grimgor Ironhide @FrostBeard 16 GP | 13 G | 8 A | +7 | 86 H | 6 SB 4.20 Fantasy Points per Game Grimgor Ironhide is a player I have long figured due to be among the nominees for the Scott Boulet Trophy come award time, but just hasn't found a rhythm. S97 breaks that trend with a solid all around performance here as he has the second most hits among the top 18 forwards in Fantasy scoring. The plus-minus is a little shocking considering how good I expected Davos to be this season. - #3 LW Toby Kadachi @ROOKIE745 16 GP | 7 G | 9 A | +6 | 116 H | 8 SB 4.16 Fantasy Points per Game Toby Kadachi is the leader among the top 18 forwards in hits but just doesn't have the same point production as his counterparts above him. Chicago is off to a hot start and his two-way game is a major part of that equation. I just wonder if his point per game pace is enough to maintain his top three status through a long VHL season - #4 C Jarmo Ruutu 4.01 Fantasy Points per Game #5 LW Wally Lose 3.73 Fantasy Points per Game #6 C Severus Targaryen 3.73 Fantasy Points per Game #7 C Spanish Moon Moth 3.70 Fantasy Points per Game #8 RW Harry Callahan 3.62 Fantasy Points per Game - #9 C Axle Gunner @Steve 16 GP | 9 G | 12 A | +7 | 54 H | 11 SB 3.61 Fantasy Points per Game Axle Gunner is a player I personally took second overall in my VHFL group and while I'm not mad at the pick, I'm a little shocked by how the race between him and Severus Targaryen is turning out. I mainly expected a pretty sizable advantage in the hit department for Axle that just isn't as prevalent as I would have predicted. Recently he has taken over the lead in the category, so maybe that continues and the lead slowly extends. Otherwise, he continues a strong offensive career and should continue to see success. - #10 RW Riley Martin 3.60 Fantasy Points per Game #11 C Diego Machado 3.57 Fantasy Points per Game #12 C Antonia Bucatini 3.57 Fantasy Points per Game #13 RW Logan Ninefingers 3.47 Fantasy Points per Game #14 C George Richmond 3.43 Fantasy Points per Game #15 LW Forum Content 3.41 Fantasy Points per Game #16 C The Phantom of the VHL 3.35 Fantasy Points per Game #17 C Raimo Tuominen 3.34 Fantasy Points per Game - #18 LW Pombo @samx 16 GP | 14 G | 13 A | +13 | 7 H | 5 SB 3.29 Fantasy Points per Game Pombo is the odd case of a low hit player performing off of pure offensive production. 7 hits is pretty gnarly for the top 18. You can afford to do that, though, if you are nearly working at a 2 point per game clip with a +13 to boot. I mainly wanted to highlight Pombo just to illustrate how important hits are to VHFL forward production. Even with an almost 140 point pace, we are barely scraping into the top 18 here. Still an excellent season for Pombo so far, and I'm sure they'll take the wins of the Menace over the acclaim of being a top pick in VHFL. - #36 LW Jebediah Big Ol Doinks in Amish @hylands 15 GP | 5 G | 8 A | +1 | 24 H | 17 SB 2.53 Fantasy Points per Game Jebediah BODiA is a player I really expected a potentially underrated showing from. He has the checking to be a solid third forward, but I think he may currently be lined up with George Richmond, whomst is getting the majority of physical action in New York. It could also be noted big time hitter, Callum Gary Yannick Janser, soaking up the contact as well, but who knows. New York has also lacked some of the fire power I expected which has lead to some not-so-awesome point production team wide. - #43 LW Savaisk Tzesar @comrade cat 15 GP | 5 G | 5 A | +8 | 45 H | 4 SB 2.27 Fantasy Points per Game Savaisk Tzesar is a S96 Scott Boulet Trophy nominee, known in VHFL for their depth scoring. The hitting this player does has buoyed a couple strong showings in the past few seasons, but right now the point production just isn't there. Malmo in general hasn't done much offensively as their defense and goaltending are carrying the load this season. A lack of time on the power play for the Nighthawks has also hurt their forwards in their quests to impact the score sheet, Tzesar included. - Defensemen #1 D Guntis Gavilrovs @Girts 16 GP | 9 G | 12 A | +7 | 67 H | 22 SB 4.57 Fantasy Points per Game Guntis Gavilrovs is a skater I highly touted heading into last season as a potential award contender for many of the honors given to the league's defenders. This season he seems to finally be taking the leap I had expected in S96 with a very strong showing thus far. 9 goals is good for second among all defensemen which is a huge part of top placement for Gavilrovs. Playing on a strong contender in Vancouver means that plus-minus should continue to rise as they continue winning game after game. - #2 D Lucy Leitner @LucyXpher 15 GP | 6 G | 13 A | +9 | 50 H | 31 SB 4.24 Fantasy Points per Game A recent trade from Riga leaves Lucy Leitner filling in the role of Jacob Stone in S96. One key difference is each of these players' linemates. Stone was played next to a bot D while Leitner is alongside Narnia Shaw @Dabnad . This has not hurt the new Nighthawk in the slightest. I'd say the biggest thing helping Leitner maintain this high ranking is the amount of penalty kill time Malmo has had, as they rank pretty highly in the league for times short-handed. PKs means shots against, and shots against mean shot blocks. It's not a crazy amount of blocks by any means, but in comparison to say, Guntis, it helps give an edge. - #3 D Obuz Schneider Cabet du Bocage 4.11 Fantasy Points per Game #4 D Callum Gary Yannick Janser 4.11 Fantasy Points per Game - #5 D Jillian Woods @jacobcarson877 16 GP | 10 G | 12 A | +5 | 21 H | 33 SB 4.08 Fantasy Points per Game Jillian Woods is the most offensively focused defender in this top 12. On the heels of a Valiq Trophy campaign, Jillian once again is well over a point per game and leads all defenders in goals scored so far. A lack of hits continues to threaten their overall use to those who drafted them. - #6 D Andrew Skilton 3.89 Fantasy Points per Game - #7 D Tommy Sleeves @dasboot 16 GP | 5 G | 9 A | -7 | 82 H | 35 SB 3.89 Fantasy Points per Game Tommy Sleeves is certainly working hard to punish the opposition with the most hits for a defender. Helpful to him is a lack of other threats on offense for his team. Helsinki is quite bad so lots of shots against is expected and, as stated before, shots against mean shot blocks. - #8 D YaBoi Oven 3.87 Fantasy Points per Game #9 D Erik Thorvaldsson 3.75 Fantasy Points per Game #10 D Bollos de Trueno 3.64 Fantasy Points per Game #11 D Lazlo Holmes 3.61 Fantasy Points per Game #12 D Petit Hughie 3.52 Fantasy Points per Game - #28 D Felicia Hardy @JCarson 16 GP | 1 G | 13 A | -4 | 37 H | 23 SB 2.48 Fantasy Points per Game Felicia Hardy is a player I drafted myself with delight as I expected another rather good season. The playmaking style of this defender just hasn't quite translated to high fantasy scoring as goals are way more valuable than assists here, a fact I sadly overlooked in my decision making process. More concerning, however, is the plus-minus. For a team I expected to be contending, having their top defender be a minus player is strange. That is something I knocked Hardy for during their rookie season while discussing their case for ROTY. Also, Felicia lacks the hitting I expected as it seems Grimgor is content to be the main source of punishment for the Dynamo in S97. - #34 D Fradin McGryer @Fradin99 16 GP | 1 G | 7 A | +5 | 52 H | 28 SB 2.41 Fantasy Points per Game Fradin McGryer is another rather sad case, as I saw a path to great production here. McGryer has great checking ability, and finally had the likes of star defenders out of town. He just isn't involved in the offense enough. Despite players like Gunner, Targaryen, and Raikkonen clicking well and putting up numbers, Fradin just can't squeeze in and benefit from it. - Goalies #1 G Jorgen Lovstrom @Pifferfish 13 GP | 8 W | 2 SO | 24 GA | 383 SV 4.02 Fantasy Points per Game *Insert Obama Medal Meme Here* Jorgen Lovstrom is currently leading the VHL in save percentage which is a major help to his fantasy relevance. Sadly, I do think that comes down to earth and some of the goalie from more winning teams slowly creep to the top. - #2 G Pipo Popa @npuBeT 15 GP | 1 W | 1 SO | 55 GA | 780 SV 3.83 Fantasy Points per Game Pipo Popa is incredibly high on this list considering his meager 1 win on the season so far. With a save percentage over .930 and that singular win being a shutout, he manages to creep up to 2nd among goalies due to the ridiculous volume of shots he is facing this season. It will be interesting to see how well he fairs as the season drags on for Warsaw. - #3 G 179 Ws 3.55 Fantasy Points per Game #4 G Dalkr Vidarsson 3.49 Fantasy Points per Game #5 G Ryan Artyomov 3.45 Fantasy Points per Game #6 G Soju 3.36 Fantasy Points per Game - #7 G Deadpanda @Alex 15 GP | 1 W | 1 SO | 55 GA | 780 SV 3.18 Fantasy Points per Game Deadpanda has a pretty strong case to improve in these rankings. Right now he sits below a .900 save percentage but his team has an awesome offense that has led to a solid amount of wins so far. Should he improve on the SV%, I expect him to easily jump into the top 6 of goalies. - #14 G Aleksanteri Kaskiniemi-Kekkonen @Snussu 14 GP | 8 W | 0 SO | 39 GA | 382 SV 2.48 Fantasy Points per Game AKK is the starting goalie for one of the Victory Cup favorite teams in the Davos Dynamo. This hasn't exactly translated to points as the young goalie struggles to find his groove. The lack of shutouts so far compared to his contemporaries is also a major hindrance. I do also fear that he may play less than the 64 games he can as Davos has shown in the past a willingness to play eager backups like The Mighty Ice Wizard @Royski does seem to be. - Mentions: @jRuutu @youloser1337 @Banackock @Renomitsu @dstevensonjr @Smarch @Dadam30 @Scurvy @CowboyinAmerica @badcolethetitan @frescoelmo @Hogan @SlapshotWrangler @Grape @ace_five_ @Daniel Janser @Doomsday @Tetricide @Thunder @Gustav @Sen @rory @KaleebtheMighty @Enorama @Frank

(Graphic Credit: @LucyXpher) VSN Presents: S96 World Juniors Championship Recap Welcome, dear readers, to yet another VSN Edition of (better late than never) the World Juniors recap! The medal round is all said and done and what a historic WJC it was! We had upsets, we had heartbreak, and this was certainly one for the record books! Without further ado, let’s jump straight into the WJC and finally make a VSN post for the first time in like 3 months. Round Robin: Team Asia: Asia had a very misleading round robin showing. Despite only putting up a 3-5 record, we all know what ended up happening down the line, but we won’t spoil it for those who somehow haven’t heard the news! Led by Boris Bone-Breaker @RileyL, the team had very little offensive production in its 8 game showing. Boris was the only player to reach a point-per-game production and the next highest scorer on the team only racked up 4 points. The story of this team, however, has to be it’s incredible goaltending tandem in Draw Mac @okochastar & Vladimir Trunov @qripll. This duo managed to put up a .935 & .920 save percentage, as well as a 2.16 & 2.76 GAA respectively. I’ve always been one of the loudest voices in the VHL that goaltending wins championships, and Asia with this tandem could do anything it wanted (except give a forward more than a 0.5 PPG average). Time would tell if this tandem would be able to hold its own against the juggernaut offensive firepower of the teams yet to be mentioned. Team Canada: In the round robin, Canada went on to show the rest of the tournament just how well-rounded of a team it truly was! Canada’s top four scorers were all defensemen, putting up just under or just over a point per game pace! This is good and bad in multiple ways, but we’ll cover the obvious one first. While you love to see your defensemen getting involved in the play, they shouldn’t be the *only* ones doing so. The first forward on the scoring list to show up only had 6 points and was a -1 through the tournament's round robin. This was actually a problem for the entire team, high scoring D-men included. The highest +/- rating on the entire team was only a +2 and it came from a depth scoring winger. When you struggle 5 on 5 in those regards, you need to get bailed out-- and yet again we have another goalie going above and beyond for their team, this time in the form of Kendra Cavill @Firekiss. While the numbers are fantastic with a .926 save percentage and a 2.2 GAA, there’s a major glaring issue with this. Kendra started all 8 games in the round robin, which means Canada would have to start their cold backup in the medal round games. It’s a serious gamble, and we’ll see later on in this article if it paid off for them! Team Europe: Europe came out of the round robin absolutely guns blazing! Led in points by defenseman Einar Mathiesen @xsjack & left winger Filip Zinek @FiZi, the Europeans had arguably one of the most well-rounded teams going into the medal round. While they didn’t have the absolutely lights-out goaltending of previous teams mentioned, they followed Canada’s trend of starting a single goalie for every game of the round robin, forcing them to play their backup in the medal rounds. While the gamble is exactly that for Canada, a gamble, the Europeans have a much deeper team and had a much better showing in the first 8 games of the tournament. Having 3 players be produce at a point-per-game and all playing at different positions definitely helps, but their 5v5 numbers leave room for improvement, no doubt. We’ll see later down the line how well the Europeans did in their own medal games too, but so far, very, very interesting teams are coming into this tournament. Team USA: Up next on our list we have the first place round robin finisher, Team USA! They put on an absolute clinic this round robin, and the numbers match the standings across the board-- three players at 10 points in three games, five players at nearly a point-per-game or over! This was an offensive team, through and through. Their top EIGHT scorers were all forwards, so let that go to show just which way Team USA went in their team building. Despite the heavy tilt towards one end of the ice for point production, don’t let it elude you just how good the defense was too. Jon Webber III @Webberj started all 8 games for Team USA and was an absolute brick wall in those games. Posting a .929 save percentage and a 2.33 goals against average, Webber made sure to keep the USA in every single game he played, and more than earned his starting spot for the team. As has been the trend so far in this tournament, however, with him starting all 8 games, their backup is going to have to start off the medal round for them (but I’m saving a nice little reveal later in the article as to why that happened ) Team World: Onto the last team of the round robin alphabetically, we have Team World. World certainly struggled with keeping the puck out of their net at five-on-five this tournament, despite really solid numbers from both their goalies in the 5 and 3 games they played respectively. Onyekachukwu Chidieber Oluwaseun @TenIQ went 1-3-1, posting a .916 save percentage and 2.57 goals against average, which is commendable and an incredibly strong showing considering the team he had in front of him. The big surprise, however, came in their backup, Brian S @Bigb33. In only three games-- and despite posting a 1-1-1 record-- Brian posted an outstanding .936 save percentage and a WHOPPING 1.63 goals against average. For this rookie goaltender, having numbers like that and losing more games than you win is just diabolical. Team World struggled immensely with scoring, having only two players at or above a point-per-game average. While leaning on your goalies is a pretty tried and true method to win games, it’s usually on the back of a solid offense, or a strong defense as the stopgap between the goalies being the only show worth watching during the games. With a goaltending battle happening in net, it’s interesting to see which way Team World decided to go once we enterthe medal round in this article, which according to my calculations, is right now! Medal Round: Quarter-Finals: Team Asia vs. Team World : We had an absolute nail biter to get started in the medal round as Team Asia faced off against Team World. It was a far cry from the goaltending battle that we expected and alluded to in the round robin coverage as 7 goals were scored between both teams. Sidney Sheppard @GoodLeftUndone set the pace 19 seconds into the game with a quick wrister from the slot. On the powerplay, two minutes later, Jean-Pierre Devote on a masterclass tic-tac-toe play gets Asia up to 2-0 early. Team World answered back 6 minutes later with an absolute bomb from the right side from Youre Not Fucking Retiring @twists and we end the period at a score of 2-1. Team World must’ve had a very strong speech by the coach or captain in the locker room because they came into the second with fire. Cj Daniels @xNJDevilsFanx and Victory Hockey League @TheHockey_pro put World up 3-2 entering the third, and this game looked like it’d come down to the absolute wire as to who would prevail. As the time started ticking down, with 4:06 left in the game, Narnia Shaw @Dabnad, on the powerplay, ties the game up for Team Asia and we were headed to overtime! Special teams for Asia were pulling through, but it was an even strength blueline cannon of a shot from Armas Jortikka @Kavadar that won the game for Team Asia! With a three point night from Jean-Pierre Devote and a solid showing from their goalie, Asia put the tournament on notice that they don’t go down easy anymore, and we move on to the semi finals! Semi Finals: Team Asia vs. Team USA : The true David vs. Goliath showdown you’ve been waiting for, it’s up-and-coming Team Asia versus the juggernaut, Team USA, and what an absolutely incredible game it was. The score stayed even in the first 20 minutes and it was a game of physicality as both teams were just trying to wear the other down to get an opportunity to present itself-- and opportunity did exactly that. 33 minutes into the game, the first goal was scored by Ocean Codoller @FreshOceanCod and Team USA found itself up 1-0 entering the third. It’d been a game of goaltending so far as well, as Jon Webber III (who was meant to sit out this game, but due to an error beyond the teams control was allowed to play) put on an absolute clinic of a goaltending showing! Here’s where it gets fun though, as we entered the third, Team Asia tied the game 50 seconds in off of an absolute snipe from Jean-Pierre Devote. Keep an eye out for this guy, as he had a knack for showing up right when the team needed him most. The Americans came back 2 minutes later on the powerplay and Ocean Codoller scored his second of the night to put Team USA in the lead once more! Boris Bone-Breaker recorded his second assist of the night on a close up tap-in by Michael Lee Jr @blueredloverto tie the game for Asia once more, and as the time started ticking down, it was anybody's game! Who would step up and be the hero for their team and nation/continent? As it turns out, who else but Boris Bone-Breaker himself off an absolute dot of a pass from Narnia Shaw to put Team Asia up with just over 4 minutes remaining! The time ticks down and Team Asia wins! They’re off to the Gold Medal game! Team Canada vs. Team Europe : With a game like the Team Asia and USA game, it was going to be hard to match the energy, but it was a great game nonetheless! In this one, it was another neck and neck game, defined pretty aptly by special teams, special plays, and special players! The first period got started and we got 4 goals out the gate, including a game tying goal from Ty Duke @TheDuke with only 32 seconds remaining in the first period to make it a 2-2 game at the break. Despite the high scoring first, the second was completely silent, apart from the high sticking minor penalties for both teams! As the third started, it was another showcase of the Canadian powerplay as 3 minutes apart, Canada puts up 2 more power play goals to make it 3 on the night, running up the score to 4-2 with 10 minutes remaining. Despite a last minute rally by Team Europe with a goal from Taavetti Jokinen @Ahma, the Europeans fell to the Canadians and the stage was set for the two medal games! Medal Games: Bronze Medal Game : Team USA vs. Team Europe : In the bronze medal game, we finally got that goaltending battle that we’d been waiting for all tournament. Deadpanda @Alex and the Europeans faced off against Jon Webber III and the Americans to walk away from the tournament with some hardware. After being upset by Team Asia, Team USA came into this game with every intent to ensure that didn’t happen again, but Team Europe had other ideas. 5 minutes into the first, Einar Mathiesen put the Europeans up 1-0. With only a couple of penalties called in the period, it was otherwise quiet. A true goaltending battle had begun. 11 minutes into the second, the only goal scored in the period came from Inker Belle @WildfireMicro to get the game tied up at one apiece. A combined 51 shots on goal from both teams at this point of the game just goes to show how serious both these goalies were about keeping their team in it until the end. With another 13 shots on goal in the third, one squeaked past Webber during a breakdown play with 3:28 remaining in the game, and Deadpanda shut the door to win the game and the Bronze Medal for the Europeans! This was an absolutely amazing game, and when the goalies put up a .962 and a .955 save percentage respectively, it’s no wonder it was such a low scoring game. It could’ve gone either which way, and just goes to show how good these two teams truly were when it comes down to it-- but beware the wrath of juggernaut teams who walk away with nothing because they’re gonna be back with a vengeance, as has been proven time and time again in these WJC tournaments! Gold Medal Game : Team Asia vs. Team Canada : The big one, the one for all the marbles, the final game. Team Asia and Team Canada met each other for all the glory and bragging rights, and I’d argue this game was by far the best of the entire tournament. Without further ado, let’s take a look at how the final game shaped up to be. After the first, it was merely a 1-0 Team Asia game. Vladimir Trunov came to win and he was perfect after 20. 40 minutes go by and it was a 2-1 game. Trunov was still holding strong with 21 saves, but the pressure was starting to mount. Early in the third, Nikita Yolishev @Joel Main potted his second of the night to tie the game, and the goalies held the scored in a deadlock until the end of regulation. This Gold Medal game was going to overtime, one golden goal to win it all. Team Asia had a chance to make history in the WJC, but who would step up for them? Boris Bone-Breaker took the puck into the zone on the powerplay, skating around, but didn't find anything he liked so he whipped a shot on goal to keep up the offensive zone pressure. The puck bounced off Kendra Cavill’s pad and straight onto the stick of Kazuma Satou @Spartan ! Time stopped. The entire history of Team Asia in the WJC had been nothing but heartbreak and blowouts, but this golden opportunity had come, and Satou wasn't going to miss. Kazuma Satou let the shot off towards the open goal--back of the net, buzzer, game! Team Asia won the Gold Medal in overtime for the first time in tournament history! The arena erupted in cheers and the blaring of the goal horn. History was made and Team Asia are your S96 WJC Gold Medal Champions! This was such a fantastic WJC, and I sincerely apologize for the amount of time it took for me to get this article out. Work has been a massive headache, but I decided to sit down over these last couple days and really try to hammer it out while I have some free time. A historic WJC like this deserves the best coverage possible, so I hope I was able to give it the love and care it deserves. Thank you to anybody who read this far, here’s to an incredible WJC and history being made!

Will do the draw HERE Sunday, January 12th @7PM MST/9PM EST (somewhere near this time, hehe).

@LucyXpher Hey everybody! Welcome to the S97 VHL Season Preview. After another offseason, albeit quieter than usual, with only a handful of major trades, the North American Conference is still a bloodbath, while the EU has only 4 competitive teams. North American Conference 1 - Vancouver Wolves Forward Rank - 3rd Defense Rank - 1st Goalie Rank - 5th Conference Rank - 6th League Rank - 1st Coming off a Continental Cup, it would make sense that the Vancouver Wolves are the favourites once again and by a considerable gap to the rest of their conference. The offseason saw some reshuffling due to cap concerns, with King Kisslinger and Erik Thorvaldsson going out, and all of Celise Pereira @asteria, Einar Mathiesen @xsjack, Scrungle Bungle @Novanod, and Eno Velvson @Nykonax joining the team. This accomplished Vancouver’s main goal of keeping their high TPA core intact, though it cost them some depth. Vancouver should cruise to the top of their conference this season, but the question remains if losing their depth will make a impact to their overall success? 2 - Calgary Wranglers Forward Rank - 2nd Defense Rank - 7th Goalie Rank - 9th Conference Rank - 3rd League Rank - 6th The Calgary Wranglers are essentially running it back this season as they made no trades of consequence through the offseason and had one call up with Wladyslaw Mintus @mintusaurus. They will be needing their top-end forwards to live up to their paychecks this season or it could realistically be over before the playoffs. This season, Calgary will have to prove that their regular season success in S96 wasn’t a fluke, and they will be looking to build off of their conference finals appearance last time out. 3 - New York Americans Forward Rank - 4th Defense Rank - 9th Goalie Rank - 2nd Conference Rank - 4th League Rank - 7th The New York Americans could very well be the big surprise of this season, their core is hitting their prime and they have the cap space to add towards the trade deadline. They swung big in the offseason, adding George Richmond @badcolethetitan and a backup goalie in exchange for the 2nd overall pick and Tommy Shelby. The trade does give them a true franchise center that will hopefully work hand in hand with franchise defensemen Callum Gary Yannick Janser @Daniel Janser, who is primed for a massive season. This should be an interesting one in New York as the team will be needing players to perform at high levels for them to have success. 4 - Toronto Legion Forward Rank - 7th Defense Rank - 3rd Goalie Rank - 3rd Conference Rank - 2nd League Rank - 4th The Toronto Legion are an interesting one this season. S96 was an absolute failure by any measure, and with a new GM they swung big, adding Konstyantyn Shevchenko @der meister at the cost of their entire future. With that being said, most teams in the conference improved in the offseason, whereas Toronto really is no better than they were last season, which is the main reason why they are lower down then their rankings would suggest. Toronto really has only one more kick at the can before a massive rebuild process. This season is the definition of a all-or-nothing season for the Legion. 5 - Chicago Phoenix Forward Rank - 10th Defense Rank - 6th Goalie Rank - 7th Conference Rank - 5th League Rank - 8th The Chicago Phoenix had a small retool in the offseason as they had to bring in a couple players to replace retirements. Chicago’s season is fairly dependent on the performance of Ryan Artyomov @Enorama who could be an early favourite for the Shaw. The addition of rookie Boris Bone-Breaker @RileyL could be a huge one for Chicago as they will bring a massive physical presence to their blue-line. On paper, Chicago is fairly average, however, they do have 2.5 million in spare cap space to improve the roster as the season progresses. 6 - Seattle Bears Forward Rank - 9th Defense Rank - 8th Goalie Rank - 1st Conference Rank - 6th League Rank - 9th Once again, the North American Conference has 6 competitive teams, and with only 5 making the playoffs somebody will miss the playoffs. In all likelihood, the team that misses won’t be Seattle since they have been known to outperform expectations for some time. As of right now, however, we do have them on the outside looking in. Seattle’s success will likely come down to the league’s top goalie in Giorgiy Costanzov @Mongoose87. Time will tell if the Bears can outperform expectations again and make the playoffs. 7 - D.C. Dragons Forward Rank - 11th Defense Rank - 11th Goalie Rank - 10th Conference Rank - 7th League Rank - 11th The DC Dragons are without a doubt the best team that is rebuilding and without a doubt would make the playoffs in the European Conference. They have a couple pieces starting to come together with Brandon Petan Jr @sadie and Youre Not Fucking Retiring @twists now on the roster, and Albin Aldgard @animal74 who will be in the VHL next season. The only real area for concern at this point in the rebuild is that they’ll need pieces to round out the roster and should be in the market for a top goaltending prospect that will develop with the team. 8 - Los Angeles Stars Forward Rank - 14th Defense Rank - 16th Goalie Rank - 8th Conference Rank - 8th League Rank - 15th The Los Angeles Stars right now are fairly confusing. They appeared to be on their way out of a rebuild last season, and then at the last moment traded away all the assets that made them competitive and were then left with a handful of first round picks (which they used well), and a couple really bad contracts. This season will be terrible for LA as they find themselves well at the bottom of the conference, and with a confusing direction forward. The only bright spot at the moment will be Roger Eagles @Greg_Di as they’ll have to be absolutely elite for LA to win a few games. European Conference 1 - HC Davos Dynamo Forward Rank - 1st Defense Rank - 2nd Goalie Rank - 11th Conference Rank - 1st League Rank - 2nd Last season’s European Conference champion, Davos finds themselves in a dead heat with Vancouver for the number 1 spot on paper, with a very small margin between them and a considerable gap to everybody else. Davos swung big in the offseason, adding Gianfranco del Rocco @Victor and Sunset Moth @McWolf via trade, THE MIGHTY ICE WIZARD @Royski in free agency, and Taavetti Jokinen @Ahma during the draft. Davos will lean heavily on their offense this season and we can probably expect a huge breakout season from Antonia Bucatini @CowboyinAmerica and Felicia Hardy @JCarson who will be looking to help carry Davos to the next level. The only real question mark is in goal with Aleksanteri Kaskiniemi-Kekkonen @Snussu, who is a step below other top-end starting goalies, but does have the support group in front of them to help them succeed. The sky is the limit this season for Davos, but by no means will it be an easy run. 2 - Moscow Menace Forward Rank - 6th Defense Rank - 4th Goalie Rank - 13th Conference Rank - 3rd League Rank - 5th On paper, the Moscow roster is very similar to Davos’s high end scoring and top defensemen, but lacking a true star goaltender. However, the Moscow roster should continue to improve quickly over the season, which should help propel them ahead of Malmo. The big question for Moscow is if Maverick Goncalves @leandrofg and company can fill the gaping hole left by George Richmond, who was traded to New York for the 2nd overall draft pick. Assuming that they are up to the task, we could be looking at a 3rd straight Victory Cup for the Menace. Also, the addition of a 4th defensemen will help move the needle significantly and should allow for them to contend at the top of the conference yet again. 3 - Malmo Nighthawks Forward Rank - 8th Defense Rank - 5th Goalie Rank - 6th Conference Rank - 2nd League Rank - 3rd The Malmo Nighthawks have probably the highest ceiling and lowest floor in the league. If things go right there’s no reason why they can’t compete for the Victory Cup or even finally win an actual playoff series, something they haven’t done since S87. A large part of Malmo’s success will come down to how well Lucy Leitner @LucyXpher can fill the gap left by Jacob Stone @scoop. With no notable prospects, high-earning young players, or draft picks and with three of their top forwards retiring following this season, it’s cup or bust in Malmo, likely with a massive rebuild right around the corner. 4 - Riga Reign Forward Rank - 5th Defense Rank - 12th Goalie Rank - 4th Conference Rank - 4th League Rank - 10th The Riga Reign had a weird offseason, trading out Lucy Leitner and acquiring Simons Worst Nightmare @zepheter. The main benefit of this is that Riga is now primed to add at the trade deadline, they could use their $6 million in cap space to make massive improvements and will still safely make the playoffs in a relatively uncompetitive European Conference. They should also be able to stay in the race for a top three spot thanks to Red Panda @Lemorse7 and their high-end forwards, specifically Severus Targaryen @Banackock who will be looking to duplicate last season’s successes, and Axle Gunner @Steve. It’s worth remembering that this Riga team is only 2 seasons removed from winning it all and, without a doubt, they know how to do it again 5 - Prague Phantoms Forward Rank - 15th Defense Rank - 10th Goalie Rank - 14th Conference Rank - 5th League Rank - 12th The Prague Phantoms are the first of four European Conference teams that are still in full-rebuild mode, however they are certainly on their way out. The addition of Erik Thorvaldsson @Tetricide makes a big difference this season, but with no notable forwards or top end, the trade does leave some question marks, especially because they do have two high end defensemen in the system already. It will be a long season for Prague, and they’ll likely make the playoffs, which they might not want to do at the cost of a better draft pick. 6 - London United Forward Rank - 13th Defense Rank - 13th Goalie Rank - 15th Conference Rank - 6th League Rank - 13th Similarly to Prague, London is also on their way out, but do have more notable young players already on their roster with Drosmis Sarkanis @Mr Bohannan, Alagsantere Groenvold @VattghernCZ, and Chazz Michael Michaels @Xflexz. Additionally, they did get the top two forward prospects in the last draft to round out their future forward group. London is going in the right direction and will be looking to add another piece in the S98 draft. 7 - Helsinki Titans Forward Rank - 12th Defense Rank - 15th Goalie Rank - 16th Conference Rank - 7th League Rank - 14th Of all the rebuilding teams, Helsinki probably has the longest road, with only one notable prospect in Hugh Neutron @Corco already on the roster and no other truly elite players in the system, they will have to continue to draft and develop players for at least two more seasons. On the positive side of things, they do have a mountain of draft picks to do it, including Malmo’s S99 1st which will likely at least be in the middle of the first round. 8 - Warsaw Predators Forward Rank - 16th Defense Rank - 14th Goalie Rank - 12th Conference Rank - 8th League Rank - 16th Warsaw is already focusing on the S98 draft where they have 4 1st round picks, two of which could be in the lottery. As for this season, it will be a long one as Slava Kovalenko @OblivionWalker is realistically the team’s only bright spot. Thank you for reading this season’s VHL preview and best of luck to everyone! 2017 words - Claiming as a media spot

Graphic courtesy of the most amazing @Ricer13, the greatest part-time VSN contributor of all-time. Welcome readers!! Happy New Year, hopefully all is well so far at the start of this next trip around the sun. Today we will be talking about some of the biggest shocks in the VHL through 22 games (I only had a couple more since this intro was written :/). Every season sees its share of jaw-dropping twists and turns and S97 is no different. Without further ado, let’s rank the top 10 shockers of the season thus far. Disclaimer: This article was written over the course of a week and not in any particular order. I wish I could say all of the data I am using is from a particular point in time to increase the integrity of this piece but sadly it's not in the cards. The list was compiled on January 8th, so anything that has become totally untrue since then is a sad casualty to the demon we all know as Father Time. The list is ordered by how shocking these outcomes are with 10 being the least shocking and 1 the most. #10: Tanks to the left of me, Champ faves to the right, Here I am stuck in the middle with New… (York Americans). It’s a great song I just parodied, but the Americans are as mid as it gets. It's tough to say why though. They have a top tier goalie in 192Ws @rory, a star defender in CGY Janser @Daniel Janser, and four very good forwards in Gretzky @MubbleFubbles, Anisimov @McLovin, Richmond @badcolethetitan, and Jeb @hylands . The only issue I can detect is the lack of a fourth defenseman, but Moscow is making that work and Riga wasn’t terrible when they had only three before the Laas @dustywilson22 trade. Let's dive into the numbers and see where New York ranks in a couple categories. Goals For - 67 | 10th Goals Against - 63 | 6th Shots For - 863 | 10th Shots Against - 849 | 11th Shots Blocked - 274 | 4th Powerplay Attempts - 92 | 13th Times Shorthanded - 116 | 14th Powerplay % - 19.57% | 6th Penalty Kill % - 82.76% | 9th After trading for George Richmond, I somewhat expected improvement for this team, or at least for them to continue the strong performance from S96. Kadachi @ROOKIE745 left New York in what appears to be a slam dunk trade for Chicago at this point. In theory, though, Richmond should be a better piece. Also, in trading the power forward, one would expect this team to not be on the penalty kill so much by subtracting some of their physical presence from the forward core. Instead, they sit with the 3rd most penalty kills in the VHL. Moving on from the 2nd overall pick is looking like one of the worst trades of recent seasons. New York could have acquired an A+ prospect, but instead they opted for an ill-fated retool and look to be in the lottery at this juncture. #9: Seattle Bears goaltending struggles despite public perception. The Bears have been playing Giorgiy Costanzov @Mongoose87 in net as their consistent starter since S95, but he has been playing a pretty large portion of games since his 44-game rookie campaign in S93. This player is by no means new to the VHL. After his first two mediocre seasons, in S95 and S96 Costanzov produced a .920+ SV% and 38 wins in the next two. This season, he hasn't found a rhythm. He is on pace for more than the 38 wins he had the last two seasons, but a mere .908 SV%*** is just not good enough for someone who was considered a Shaw favorite among bettors. Only two goalies received more support in the predictions, Ryan Artyomov @Enorama (mostly after he came out very hot to start the season) and Soju @Frank (who dominated the preseason predictions). Costanzov received 9 Shaw predictions total compared to the 15 and 11 for the respective players I just mentioned. He will need to pick up his game if he wants to get back in the Shaw race and help a skater core that has carried a solid Bears team so far. ***Since writing this section, Costanzov has had quite a few good performances, bumping his current SV% to .919-- still only good enough for 9th best in the VHL among starters, but much better than the listed total in the analysis. #8: Moscow Menace 3rd straight scoring title imminent. The Menace are on pace to lead the league in goals scored for a 3rd consecutive season with a projected total of 283. @Spartan 's dark magic, or maybe just an elite understanding of where goals come from, is most likely to blame as he is consistently reworking the roster year to year. The only constant is that the Menace score a ton. The last time the Menace had a goal total in the bottom half of the VHL was S91! Jarmo Ruutu @jRuutu, Axle Gunner @Steve, David Rashford @Knight, Obuz Schneider Canet du Bocage @Grape, and Jeff Lewis @nerji were all VHL rookies that season, just finding their legs. Three of those then rookies are now in their 7th seasons as members of the Menace. Jeff Lewis also spent his career in Moscow, sadly retiring early after the S94 Continental Cup win. The old guard of this electric offense ruling over the league's goaltenders with an iron fist has reinforcements from the S94 class in Maverick Goncalves @leandrofg, Pombo @samx, and Jillian Woods @jacobcarson877. Does this group of 2 forwards and a Dman remind you of anything we have seen before? The formula for the Menace to continue to remain dominant offensively is in place. The only issue for this Moscow team is seemingly in the net, but recent results point to that trending in the right direction. Just to go over some numbers, the Moscow Menace lead the VHL in shots for per game, goals for per game, offensive zone puck possession time per game, and are 3rd in power play percentage. Only four (out of 10) members of the Menace are below a point per game at the moment. The future remains bright for Russia's favorite hockey franchise. #7: Calgary Wranglers' defenders lack offensive production. As it currently sits, the top six point leaders for the Wranglers are as follows: Raimo Tuominen @SlapshotWrangler, Phil Sakic @Phil, Adi Dassler @BOOM, Thor Reingaard @N0HBDY, Miner vHLer @Rhynex Entertainment, and Keegan Gamble @Keegan Gamble. The observant among you may have noticed that all of those names are forwards. In fact, at the time of writing at least, Calgary is the only team in a playoff position without a point per game defenseman. You may think this is just a less offensive team in general, but the Wranglers are 4th among all teams in for goals for. Many fans expected Leif Reingaard @Zetterberg to build on a 91-point season in S96. While he does lead this team’s defenders in points, he sits at only 17 points in 21 games played. The last and only time Leif personally finished below a point per game was during his 62-point rookie campaign for Moscow in S92. Overall, Calgary probably doesn’t care where the points are coming from, so long as the goals keep coming. To the credit of their defensive unit, they do sit at 3rd in goals against so maybe having the defensemen focus on defense proves to be a wise decision for this coaching staff. #6: Vancouver Wolves' defensemen form a ferocious pack. There have been plenty of examples of 2 defenders on the same team both performing well. In S93, Prague had Skor McFleury @Alex #2 and Rip Wheeler @ScottyP #10. S94 saw FISTED ANALLY BY A CIRCUS MONKEY Analfist @STZ and Callum Gary Yannick Janser @Daniel Janser at #2 and #4 for the Americans. Riga's Leitner @LucyXpher and McFleury combo were #4 and #5 in S95. In S96 we saw 3 teams have multiple top 10 defensemen in point production. Now in S97, Vancouver has the #1 and #2 point getters from the D position in Bollos de Trueno @Thunder and Guntis Gavilrovs @Girts. Obviously, this may not last as players like Leitner and Bocage @Grape are close behind them**, but it's impressive, nonetheless. We all knew that the Wolves would be a good team heading into S97 but some of their players had question marks. Guntis regressed from his totals in S95 after a nearly point per game breakout, only totaling 53 points for the whole of S96. Bollos is also already approaching his S96 point total as he continues his ascent to the top of the VHL, but him reaching the point per game level was not a certainty. Part of the shock for me is the fact that I was on the lookout for a Woods/Bocage combo at the top. Both of them are doing quite well in their own rights but just not proving to be as thunderous of a duo as the Wolf Pack here. **As of release, Bocage has passed both Guntis and Bollos in the points race for defenders. #5: Malmo Nighthawks defense proves nearly unbreakable. Malmo has been a very defensive team for many seasons as that's been a trademark of their team identity, even going back to the days of Ash Sparks @DarkSpyro in net. Now they have 1 time Greg Clegane Trophy winner Jørgen Løvstrøm @Pifferfish in net, who is once again at the top of the VHL in GAA (a stat I've long said is a team stat more than a goalie one) and save percentage. Defensively, this team lost potential Hall of Famer Jacob Stone @scoop but immediately replaced him with the long-overshadowed Lucy Leitner @LucyXpher. Leitner came over via trade from a Riga team that made a habit of acquiring veterans like Skor McFleury @Alex and Mark Callaway @Beketov, taking opportunities from the young defender. Now Leitner is thriving as the #1 player on her new team. Another defensive cornerstone of the Nighthawks is S96 Scott Boulet Trophy nominee Savaisk Tzesar @comrade cat. Currently sitting at #10 in total hits, he would get five big booms from the Costco Guys. Looking at plus/minus, five Nighthawks currently sit in the top 10 of the league wide rankings, including rookie Narnia Shaw @Dabnad. The team boasts the least goals against, the 5th least shots against, the 2nd best penalty kill percentage, and the VHL's best faceoff percentage. The strategy in Malmo has been clear since the early games of the season: keep the biscuit out of the net by any means necessary! #4: DC Dragons embrace AI in net. “The robots are running the Navy!” Now, @qripll is a rookie GM in the VHL, which is the only reason this isn’t higher on the list. In the VHL, starting your backup goalie is required for 8 games in the season. However, the Dragons allowed their bot backup to start their first 11 contests of S97. The result of this mismanagement could be a punishment from the commissioners as DC is likely to lose some lottery odds at the end of the season. This result could be a big wrench in a long rebuild that delays it even further. Funny enough, the Dragons record was better with Cortana in net instead of Benson. With a 5-5-1 record and a .914 SV%, Jarvis outperformed their human counterpart who is only 3-11-0 with a .910 SV%. Despite the actual results of the games, I suspect some type of retribution from the VHL. #3: Chicago Phoenix turn the flames on with a red-hot start. Chicago, despite their recent drop in the standings, did come out swinging to the surprise of many. In their first 15 contests, they had a league best 11-2-2 record. Ryan Artyomov @Enorama looked like a lock to end the year in contention for the Shaw. Crazy enough, the first 4 losses for the Phoenix came at the hands of just two teams, the rebuilding DC Dragons, and the Mid York Americans we previously discussed. In that early run, Chicago did match up with some relatively weak competition in a lot of those games, but they also beat some certifiably strong teams. They took their games over the Wolves, Bears, and Wranglers (oh my!), while also taking care of business against some weaker teams in the Legion (twice) and the Reign. Their margin of victory in the wins against the other top NA teams was only 3--all one goal wins! Great teams find ways to win the close ones, and even if they end up lower in the seeding, Chicago is a serious dark horse if they can keep up their ability to close out close games. Talking about the key contributors, Spanish Moon Moth @Renomitsu, Joshua Schwarzer @Velevra, and YaBoi Oven @Doomsday continue to be a solid core for Chicago. @badcolethetitan preaches loyalty and all three of these players' have been staples for the Phoenix for at least the last four seasons. Let's also shout out the addition of Kadachi @ROOKIE745 for just a 3rd, making this version of the Phoenix maybe more physical than previous seasons. Overall-- great team, great start, let's hope for a great finish when all is said and done. #2: HC Davos unable to find footing atop the mountain. The Davos Dynamo just took a trip to the cup finals where they lost to a still strong Vancouver Wolves team. Expectations were high for both teams as they managed to keep pretty much the same skater groups they had last season, but both lost their retiring goalies. Thus far, the Wolves have been pretty dominant in their North American Conference that has been considered the deeper conference for quite some time. Davos, on the other hand, recently found themselves behind the Riga Reign in the European Conference standings and continue to battle them for control of 3rd place. Maybe the solution to the Dyanmo's issues lies firmly planted on the bench with THE MIGHTY ICE WIZARD @Royski, returning from his icy slumber to start off his S97 campaign 7-0-0 with a .929 SV%. AKK @Snussu has struggled with only a 12-9-4 record and a .913 SV%. Maybe @Alex pulls the trigger on the swap in net or he moves to a more 50/50 model. The only thing I'm certain of is Davos needs to get dynamic and adjust something to retake control of this season. #1: Warsaw Predators' Pipo Popa poopoos on the VHL. Last season we saw pending semi-professional golfer Olober Syko @Spartan put up staggeringly good numbers for Warsaw. He was already considered a great goalie and had already been a proven netminder before his Predators season. While his performance was unexpected, it didn't reach the shock factor of fans across the world the way Pipo Popa @npuBeT is impressing us now. The S91 draftee hasn't surpassed a .920 SV% since his stints in the VHLM and VHLE and yet leads the VHL in the category (as of writing).* While he is by no means a lock to keep the lead with players like Artyomov @Enorama, Løvstrøm @Pifferfish, and Red Panda @Lemorse7 on his heels, he is the only one doing it with actual plumbers for teammates. The beer league roster of the Preds (plus Slava Kovalenko @OblivionWalker) is getting torched time and time again, but Pipo stands tall and awaits the next inevitable shot, steadfast in his efforts. He is the best thing to happen to Warsaw since 1989 (according to google, don't @ me y'all). The city and fanbase has hope. If this one man can do so much, why couldn't a team assemble at some point soon and do it together? *Jørgen Løvstrøm has since supplanted Popa for that top spot, but Popa still has an over .930 SV%, good for the second place.

January 8, 2025 - Malmo, Sweden It's a brisk January evening, about 7:30 pm, as I clomp up the steps of the Malmo Arena. Tonight, the Nighthawks' 11 game win streak will take on the Calgary Wranglers and their 9 game run. It's must see hockey and I couldn't possibly miss it-- not that that was ever really a possibility as I was here first on assignment to follow up with Lucy Leitner. Now in her fourth VHL season, the smooth-skating blueliner from Houston, by way of Calgary, found herself on the move this past offseason. After a strong start to her career with the Reign in Riga, which included a Continental Cup victory in S95, Leitner was shipped out to Malmo in exchange for two first round picks. With the retirement of franchise defenseman, Jacob Stone @scoop, the Nighthawks were in need of a puck-mover on the back end who could at least attempt to fill those very large shoes. Indeed, it was an offseason of change for the Nighthawks as their longtime GM, @KaleebtheMighty, also stepped down, making way for Lexie Leitner to earn the promotion from Halifax in the VHLM. So, as fate would have it, a Leitner traded for a Leitner and, so far, the shoe seems to fit. After one season in Houston with the Bulls and another season in Vasteras with the Iron Eagles, Lucy Leitner made her VHL debut in S94. In that first season, although she never did come close to a top rookie nomination, she managed a respectable 53 point season with 10 goals and 43 assists and a +17 rating. Of course, this was only the beginning for Leitner and she would go on to have a standout sophomore season with 18 goals and 68 assists for 86 points. In the playoffs, Leitner continued her impressive play and helped the Reign clinch the Continental Cup with 20 points in 17 games and a +10 rating. Following this early career Cup victory, there was some hope that Leitner might take another step and improve on her 86 point campaign, but in S96 it was not meant to be. Sharing time and opportunity with retiring veteran defenseman, Mark Calaway @Beketov, Leitner's point production took a slight step back in S96 as she managed 79 in total. Her 21 goals that season, however, were a new career high, as was her +34 rating and 286 shots. With 6 game winning goals that season, Lucy also showed a clutch factor that had not appeared in her game to this point. In the playoffs, though the Reign were eliminated in their first round series, Leitner managed 6 points and another 2 game winning goals in those 7 games. With the Reign looking to shuffle the deck for S97, Lucy Leitner found herself available for trade, and it was her evil twin sister (or is it cousin?) who came calling on behalf of the Malmo Nighthawks. Look, the familial relationship between Lucy and Lexie is foggy at best. Are they even related? I'm really not sure, but that's a topic for another time. With Malmo looking to bolster their lineup for one last real kick at the proverbial can, the addition of Lucy on the blueline really helped solidify the team as a true contender. And who knows, maybe this is the year they actually win a playoff series... At the time of writing, Malmo is currently first in the VHL with 33 points in 21 games and holds a game in hand on their closest competitors. The team's +31 rating also represents the highest mark in the league and the team's 42 goals against is the lowest by 9! So far, the Malmo defense and goaltending has really been coming through and the forward lines have been showing more life as of late. I find my seat amid the sea of green and the Malmo faithful. Chanted songs are already beginning to echo throughout the arena, even with 15 minutes until puck drop. There's truly something different and special about European hockey fans. As the clock ticks down and approaches zero, the Nighthawks are welcomed onto the ice by a raucous crowd and a boisterous arena announcement. A lime green spotlight pans across the players as the names of the starting lineup are called aloud. Hearing her name, Lucy skates a tight circle and offers a polite wave to the crowd. The arena rumbles with the stomping of feet, cheers, chants, and applause. "There are certain shades of limelight that can wreck a girl's complexion." - Audrey Hepburn Prior to the game, I had a chance to catch up with Lucy yet again. Of course the trade and move to Malmo was something that had me curious, but entering into the prime of her career, I had questions about the expectations she sets for herself, what she hopes to accomplish over the coming seasons, and perhaps even some reflection on the path she took to reach this point. It was late morning as I exited the cab and made my way to the entrance of an upscale apartment complex. Finding the keypad near the entrance, I buzzed up to Lucy's suite and she gave me entrance to the building. When I reached her door, I knocked softly and was greeted warmly a moment later. As I entered her place, I was struck immediately by the exuberant brightness. Large windows on the outward facing wall flooded the loft apartment with natural light. It was beautiful-- and I said so! Making our way into the living room area, Lucy offered me a seat and a beverage, hot or cold. I opted for a warm tea to offset the January chill and reclined on a sofa near the fireplace. Lucy joined me a few moments later and we soon began our chat. What stood out to me, perhaps more than anything, was how Lucy had grown up over the past four seasons. Thinking back to my first interview with her, fresh out of the Alberta cold, this version of Lucy carried herself with much more poise and confidence. No longer was she an unproven rookie in the VHL, but a known quantity, a player with expectations thrust upon her and a standard to match or exceed. Perhaps when a person feels the weight of such expectations on their shoulders, they carry themselves in a manner that reflects this invisible burden. "Lucy, I appreciate you having me here and taking the time to chat again. It's been a while, but I always look forward to our talks!" "Of course! I've always got time for you." "So, I wanted to ask you about the trade to Malmo, but before we get there, maybe you could just tell me in your own words how you felt your time in Riga went. Did you meet your own expectations? And if you could change anything about those first three seasons, what would it be?" "Okay, well, let me start with what I would change-- absolutely nothing! I enjoyed every minute of my time in Riga and I really wanted to play there for my whole career, truly. Everyone there, from management to my teammates, really made me feel welcome and I couldn't have asked for a better place to begin my career. I think I've always set a pretty high bar for myself in terms of practice and performance, so of course there are things that, looking back, I feel I could have done better. But, I mean, we won a Cup in my second season-- which is basically the ultimate goal I have for myself and my team every season-- so I really can't complain about what we achieved as a team, or even about what I achieved personally." "What specifically do you wish you might have done better? Do you have anything in mind?" "I can't lie, I do wish I had performed a little better in my rookie season. Obviously, the VHL is the best league and it's not easy to come in and play at a high level, but I don't like to settle for good enough and maybe there was more I could have done individually to help our team that season. Also, last season was fine, but realistically I feel like I didn't quite meet my personal goals. So that's something I'm really pushing to improve on this season." "Did you ever feel any outside pressure, especially early on, to achieve a certain level of play?" "Well, I guess there's a certain level of pressure that comes with being a top three pick in a draft, though it's not really said out loud by anyone. But I personally felt that it was important to try and live up to that, you know? Like, I guess I had something to prove. I felt like I had to keep pace with Antonia and Gianfranco who were both drafted ahead of me and I didn't want there to be any questions about my draft position-- not that it's the be-all-end-all or anything. As far as teammates and management, I mean, like I said, everyone was always supportive and there was never any more pressure than I could handle at the time, I feel." "And so, what would you say to other young players breaking into the league about how to manage those pressures?" "Well, I guess I'd say the motivation needs to come from within first and foremost. I think it's easy to drown in pressure if you feel it comes more from the outside than from the inside. Life is just like that, you know, there's always going to be people holding you to a standard or pressuring you to do better in some way. It's probably not always fair, but I just think if you set a higher standard for yourself first and foremost, anybody else's expectations are really kind of insignificant. At the end of the day, the only person who needs to be truly satisfied with you is you." "What was the most difficult part of your first season in the VHL?" "Oh, definitely the physicality! Players are bigger, faster, stronger, and just play a much more physically demanding game. I don't think I really expected that or was prepared enough for that, looking back, so that was definitely something I needed to get used to quickly." "That's fair. I was looking at your stats and I think you only had like 19 hits or something that season." "Haha, yep, that sounds right! I definitely got pushed around a bit at first." "So your second season was, probably, your best season to date in terms of personal and team performance. I know we talked a bit about it before, but maybe just take me through your thoughts on that season and the Cup win again." "Well, personally, I was glad to take a big step forward in S95. After my rookie season which was kinda challenging, I really wanted to prove that I belonged in this league and to push for more team success. Management did an incredible job of putting together a competitive team that season, so it was really easy to settle in and play at a high level with such amazing teammates. And, like I said, winning the Cup was the ultimate goal, so I couldn't be more happy with that!" "You had a fantastic run in the playoffs that season with 20 points in 17 games. Is that something you value highly-- the playoff production when it matters most?" "Absolutely! It's great to have a solid regular season, but if you can't get up for playoff games, then it really doesn't matter much in the end. I hope that's something I can be counted on for in the future and it's something I put a lot of value in!" "So speaking of playoffs, you're now a member of the Malmo Nighthawks, a team that has struggled to win a first round matchup for a while now. Firstly, how did you feel about the trade, and what are your expectations for this season with your new team?" "I couldn't be more happy with the landing spot, honestly. Obviously, it's a little bittersweet since I loved Riga and I had no intention of leaving, but when I got the call from Lexie letting me know that Malmo had just acquired me, my reaction was excitement more than anything. Malmo has had an amazing team for a long time and I couldn't be more thrilled to play with the players we have here now. As for expectations, I mean, you know me, it's Cup or bust! But actually, as long as I'm playing, that's the ultimate goal every season and I'm really excited that we have a competitive team right now that could really challenge for it in the playoffs." "Have you thought about how you might help the team overcome the 'first round curse'?" "Honestly, I don't believe in curses. It's all just coincidence, bad luck, or whatever. I think our team is great and there's no reason we can't win a round and go furth this time. Plus, we have a lot of veteran leadership on this team so I think that will really be an advantage for us in the postseason. Like, Jensen @Advantage is a Malmo legend, and RJ @RJMW, and Tzesar @comrade cat, and Rave @tcookie-- and I think we have the best goalie in the league @Pifferfish, so yeah, I like our chances alot." "Well, I hope you do find a way to break the 'curse'. It's probably due for this team. Do you put any stock in the idea of being in your 'prime seasons' now? And do you feel any extra pressure, either internally or externally to step into the limelight and find another level?" "I don't know about the idea of prime seasons, but I do expect to be better this season. I mean, every season is a new opportunity to improve so it's not really any different for me that way. But sure, like naturally these should probably be some of my best seasons so I definitely put pressure on myself to live up to that." "How do you find that next level? And how to you remain consistent at such a high level?" "I think it's all down to personal motivation like I was talking about before. If you have it, it's not hard to get up for games or practices. But it kinda has to be an every day thing, you know, and just not settling for good enough-- which is a real temptation by the way! Like, it's easy to say I've kinda made it so I can just chill now, but I've still got so much that I want to achieve so there's still plenty of work to do!" "Do you have any desire to win any individual accolades like trophies or potentially an induction into the Hall of Fame?" "I really try not to think about those things, really. It just can't be the goal for me. Like, if I win some trophies personally, that would be a great honor, but my main objective is playing to win as a team. I'd much rather win another Cup than win all the personal trophies. As for Hall of Fame, it's way too early to even think about that haha. That's for whoever decides that to decide down the road, and honestly, there's a lot of great players who are already in, who are eligible, and who will be eligible, so it's not really something I concern myself with. It would be an amazing honor, but yeah, maybe I'll think about that more when I retire someday." "That's a pretty grounded response, but have you ever felt the limelight might get to your head? Is there a danger of that for you?" "I think it's a danger for everyone, I mean we all have a limited amount of time to prove ourselves and we want to make the most of it. But I guess the way I handle it is just staying grounded in the day-to-day. I can change things here and now, besides that, everything else is just noise. So yeah, I set goals for myself-- sometimes really high goals-- but it's the everyday work that gets you there, I guess." "No, that seems really sensible! Well, let me just say, I'm ecstatic to see how you fair with your new team. I think you look great in lime green by the way!" "Haha, thanks! I think so too!" "Thanks for taking the time to do this interview and all the best with this season. Hopefully we can chat again soon." "Definitely, thank you!" ༺ . . . ༻ "All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances..." - Shakespeare (As You Like It) With the players introduced, the white arena lights flare up, burning away the shadows, setting the stage for the evening's game. Amid the magnificent sea of green and the chants reverberating through the arena, Lucy takes her place at the edge of the center ice circle. Before her, the ice within the circle is tinged with the green glow of a spotlight, only a step away... ༺ 𖤍 ༻ LucyXpher - 2800+ words

Big logo bc: No change in captains! We stick with: C - David Rashford A - Obuz Schneider Canet du Bocage A - Jarmo Ruutu However, I would like to announce that we have hired an AGM in @flyersfan345! Very excited to have brought on a budding first-gen into GM'ing and I hope to teach Flyers how to scam the rest of the league. Welcome to the team bud!

@Frank

@LucyXpher Welcome everyone, I know that the season is already underway, and I can already feel that this is going to be a really exciting season. Indeed, doing the prediction of the rankings was pretty hard because a lot of teams are pretty similar overall. I am really excited for this season, but before we can really start, here is the S97 VHLM Season Preview. #1 San Diego Marlins Offense rank: 2nd Defense rank: T-1st Goalie rank: 5th The San Diego Marlins are the perfect example of a mix between great veterans, such as Jean-Pierre Devote @eagle_3450 and Blaze Thunderstrike @eaglesfan036, and promising rookies such as Zak Tropper @Peace and Cardinal Copia @Beketov, that will eventually become stars on the team. The Marlins can also count on Ricky LaFleur @DarkSpyro in the net to keep them in the game each night. The San Diego Marlins finished seventh in the league last season, but this season I really don't see them finishing outside the top 3. #2 Miami Marauders Offense rank: 3rd Defense rank: 5th Goalie rank: 2nd On paper, the Miami Marauders are currently one of the best teams in the league and are looking pretty scary. Indeed, the Marauders have one of the best goalies in the league in Draw Mac @okochastar, who will start his 3rd and final season with the team before jumping to the VHL. On offense, Elf shoes @ELF_SH0ES, Luc Moreau @minman, and Jacob Longstreet @Dynamicmlb_42 are going to be the leaders of this team, and on defense, Dog Jagr @koty_kand Armas Jortikka @Kavadar will be the two generals. After finishing fourth last season, the Miami Marauders will probably look to improve their record a little bit and finish in the top 3. #3 Houston Bulls Offense rank: 4th Defense rank: 3rd Goalie rank: 3rd After finishing eighth in the standings last season, the Houston Bulls will also try to finish in the top 3 this season and make a push in the playoffs. Led by Bartholomew Lorequavius @jaypc8237 in the net, and Alex LeBlanc @Psanchez55 and Feka Ohi Kau @Hacob on defense, the Bulls are going to be really good in their own zone. The only little thing we can find that could hurt Houston is the lack of first line forwards. Indeed, except Cash Carti @v.2 , the American team will maybe find it difficult to score goals against teams with good defense or good goaltending. #4 Las Vegas Aces Offense rank: 7th Defense rank: T-1st Goalie rank: 4th With the best defense in the league, composed of Kazuma Satou @Spartan , Albin Aldgard @animal74, Mathias Gunnarsson @ThatCanadian, and Manuel Ceson @dylanjj37, and one of the best goalies in the league in Onyekachukwu Chidieber Oluwaseun @TenIQ, it will be really difficult to score against the Las Vegas Aces. The only reason I don't think they will finish in the top 3 this season is because of their offense. When you look at their roster, you don't really see any super stars that can carry a team offensively on their shoulders. However, there are still players like Danny Ross @Spartakiller2 and Raoul Cyr @Tyler that can help the team offensively. #5 Halifax 21st Offense rank: 1st Defense rank: 7th Goalie rank: 6th After an unexpected good season in S96, the Halifax 21st will probably look to be competitive again this season as they currently have the best offense in the league. The forwards are led by Inker Belle @WildfireMicro, Ty Duke @TheDuke, and Pelayo Bolivar @SMYLS4 who will have the task to carry their team this season. I don't see the 21st finishing much higher than this because of their defense and goalie. Indeed, they have a pretty young defense and I think it will hurt them a little bit this season, so if they can add some experience on the blue line, the team will start to look really scary. #6 Ottawa Lynx Offense rank: 6th Defense rank: 10th Goalie rank: 1st After losing in the final of the Founder's Cup, the Ottawa Lynx lost a couple of key players and are going to enter a rebuilding phase this season. Even though the Lynx can count on the best goalie of the league in Vladimir Trunov @qripll, Ottawa's defense is really weak and inexperimented. They will have to rely on Joel Jakobs @Plate, Kyle Evans @Kyle Evans and Gingy @MexicanCow123 on offense to score goals and keep the team in the game. #7 Mississauga Hounds Offense rank: 5th Defense rank: 6th Goalie rank: 10th The Mississauga Hounds are a pretty enigmatic team as they have good forwards and solid defensemen, but a really young goalie that is still in development. Offensively, Filip Zinek @FiZi and Jay Sikes @JaySmacksss are the two forwards that can bring something to the table pretty much every game, and defensively, Kurt Bachmann @Blutch and Peter Venkman @Josh are going to be the two quarterbacks of the team. However, because of their really young goalie, I don't really see the Hounds finishing the season in the top 5 of the league. #8 Saskatoon Wild Offense rank: 9th Defense rank: 4th Goalie rank: 8th After a really difficult season in S96, the Saskatoon Wild will try to improve their record a little bit in S97, but I still don't see the team being really competitive this time around. Their goalie is still learning and is not ready to be a top goalie in the VHLM, and their forward core lacks a couple of players to be really dangerous. On the other hand, Saskatoon has one of the best defensive lineups in the league, led by Brigitta Sandstorm @Acydburn and Mikko Tuomala @flyersfan345 and it could win them some games this season. #9 Mexico City Kings Offense rank: 8th Defense rank: 8th Goalie rank: 7th After finishing first of their conference, the Mexico City Kings lost in the first round of the S96 playoffs and also lost a couple of star players to the VHL in the off-season. This means that we are probaby going to see a rebuilding team in Mexico City in S97. With a really young forward core and a young and promising goalie in Pepe Silvia @STZ, the Mexico City Kings could be really dangerous next season if they continue to improve. #10 Philadelphia Reapers Offense rank: 10th Defense rank: 9th Goalie rank: 9th After winning the Prime Minister's Cup and losing to the VHLM playoff champions in the semi-final of S96, the Philadelphia Reapers lost a lot of key players in the off-season and will, without a doubt, be looking to rebuild. The team can still count on some pretty good young players in Jacob Seed @oilmandan and Bazooka Joe @ScottyP to perform well and maybe help the team be competitive next season. That’s all for me, thanks everyone for reading. I wish you all a good season and I'll see you in another VSN article soon!

Blood Bath Rivalry? Day Jan 14th, 2025 seemed like a typical day in the VHL with teams getting set to face off against each other like they do every single day for about 6 weeks in season with 72 games to prove who is the best regular season team and trying to win the Victory Cup; but this day would see a blood bath between Calgary Wranglers and the Vancouver Wolves. So, I decided to see what really happened on this date and determine if this is going to continue for the rest of the season. Combatives: Vancouver Wolves Average height: 6ft 3 Weight: 211Lbs Fight Record: 1-0-2 Calgary Wranglers Average height: 6ft Weight: 193Lbs Fight Record: 2-2-2 Previous games and outcomes: Vancouver 5-2 20 total PIM 0 fights Calgary 4-1 6 total PIM 0 fights Vancouver 4-0 12 total PIM 0 fights Game recap of events: Vancouver Wolves started the game off strongly in aggression aspect when Guntis Gavilrovs @Girts blasted a Calgary Wrangler into the boards for the first PIM of the game being called for Board. Not sure who was on the receiving end of the thunderous hit but clearly Calgary didn`t like the hit. Adding salt to wound Guntis Gavilrovs @Girts would open the scoring at 8:26 of the first period on the Power-play. At 8:35 of the first period Logan Ninefingers @Scurvy would trip Adi Dassler @BOOM off the face-off and head to the box. Clearly Adi Dassler @BOOM didn`t like the treatment his team was receiving since he would punch Pierre Marc Bouchard @Gaikoku-hito in the face on the very next face-off being called for roughing right after the Vancouver Wolve was tangled up with Keegan Gamble @Keegan Gamble. 15 seconds later the first of two general fights would take place after Carson Tripp @Cartripp14 would take a run at Guntis Gavilrovs @Girts leading to Guntis Gavilrovs @Girts grabbing Leif Reingaard @Zetterberg; who must have been yapping at the big Vancouver Wolves defender. General Fight One: Guntis Gavilrovs @Girts(6ft 8; 250lbs) with a record of 0-0-1 verus Leif Reingaard @Zetterberg(5ft 9; 165lbs) with a record of 0-0-0: Clear advantage for Gavilrovs with the weight and reach advatage lead to a quick punch down with Reingaard picking himself up of the ice wondering what happened. Pierre Marc Bouchard @Gaikoku-hito(6ft, 187lbs) with a record of 0-0-0 versus Phil Sakic @Phil(5ft 11; 195lbs) with a record of 1-0-0 Slight reach advantage for Bouchard but the weight when to Sakic as the two went toe to toe in what would have been a very equal fight with no decision being given. Riley Martin @Smarch(6ft 2; 210lbs) with a record of 0-0-0 versus Raimo Tuominen @SlapshotWrangler(6ft 1; 188lbs) with a record of 0-1-1 Weight and height in favor of Martin but considering one of these players drops the gloves on a more regulary means that Martin did well in some regards to hold his ground; with again a no decision being given. Other PIM on the play: Einar Mathiesen @xsjack for High Sticking Carson Tripp @Cartripp14 for Slashing. Winner: Calgary due to the fact that they took the three of the best players from Vancouver off the ice for 5 minutes compared to losing two really good players, at first I consider a draw but that simply wasn’t the case. The game would calm down a bit other than Wladyslaw Mintus @mintusaurus still being a minus when he would high stick Logan Ninefingers @Scurvy in the face at 11:27 of the first but no real reaction for the Vancouver due to have half the team in the box. Second Period: Calgary would score what would be the winning goal just 48 seconds into the second period when Wladyslaw Mintus @mintusaurus would score clearly being a torn in the side of Vancouver Wolves. Wladyslaw Mintus @mintusaurus would follow this up at 10:51 of the second when he would once again go after Logan Ninefingers @Scurvy tripping him at the side of the net. At 17:46 of the second period the second general fight would take place as Miner vHLer @Rhynex Entertainment seemed to go after Guntis Gavilrovs @Girts for his earlier hit and fight in the game. Second General Fight: Guntis Gavilrovs @Girts(6ft 8; 250lbs) with a record of 1-0-1 verus Miner vHLer @Rhynex Entertainment(6ft 1, 186lbs) with a record of 1-1-1: Much tougher fight for Guntis Gavilrovs due to the might pup of Miner vHLer being a regular chucker of hands but Miner vHLer clearly over estimated himself when he was quickly despatched by the much bigger Guntis Gavilrovs. It almost like Calgary thought due to lack of fights this season that Guntis Gavilrovs didn`t know how to chuck them him his self!! Well, they learned a lesson; I think!! As Guntis Gavilrovs was 2-0-0 on the day now. Pierre Marc Bouchard @Gaikoku-hito(6ft, 187lbs) with a record of 0-0-1 verus Leif Reingaard @Zetterberg(5ft 9; 165lbs) with a record of 0-1-0: Clearly mighty mouse Leif Reingaard didn`t learn for yapping at Guntis Gavilrovs during the first general in the first period as he clearly when after Bouchard and clearly once again at disadvantage. According to Bouchard portal page this fight end up as draw but on Leif Reingaard page it shows as clear lose so It feels like someone just doesn`t want to give a clear win to Bouchard for a fight he was expected to win and most likely actually did win. So a bit sad to see a draw on his fight card when the other fight takes the loss!! Eno Velvson @Nykonax(6ft 3, 250lbs) with a record of 0-0-0 versus Adi Dassler @BOOM(6ft 2; 205lbs) with a 0-0-0 record: Based on weight and height this should have been a good fight until you understand the age difference with a 50 yr old man fighting 21 yr old kid. I don`t know too many old men that can hold their own against a younger man so clearly this was a mismatch with Dassler prancing around claiming the victory like a young prat outside of a bar in Alberta. Other PIM on the play: Matteo Stefano @mmrs617 for High sticking Carson Tripp @Cartripp14 for Roughing Einar Mathiesen @xsjack for Tripping Winner: Calgary; When a team somehow comes out of General fight with Power-play and the only player not to get a penalty in Keegan Gamble @Keegan Gamble makes one wonder about the fairness of the refereeing and how much was paid to the referees before the game. Since the game was played in Vancouver so it wasn`t a homer situation. May I also add disappointed that the tenders did dance at center ice since this would have capped a very entertaining and physical game; had Soju @Frank & Spider Panda @Ricer13 dropped them. Calgary would then put the game to bed about a minute later when Phil Sakic @Phil scored on that power-play gained during the General fight to claim a 3-1 lead at 18:44 of the second period. Third Period: Calgary put the final nail in the game at 3:34 of the third when Leif Reingaard @Zetterberg scored. The game calmed down at this point with only three more minors being called the rest of the way as Calgary now decide to turn the other cheek as Logan Ninefingers @Scurvy slashed Raimo Tuominen @SlapshotWrangler with no reaction at 15:11 and Eno Velvson @Nykonax tried causing some trouble in the finals seconds of the game being called for roughing at 19:46. Final: Calgary 4-1 88 total PIM 6 fights So what happened: Calgary clearly came into the game as the aggressors have fought six times (2-2-2 record) compared to Vancouver's` 3 times (0-0-3 record) so clearly thought that they could push Vancouver around physically. Well, that wasn`t really the case as Vancouver came out with a 2-1-3 record during the general fights but what worked in Calgary favor was the fact that they took some of the better players of Vancouver off the ice for long period of time. With Guntis Gavilrovs @Girts off the ice for 12 minutes and Pierre Marc Bouchard @Gaikoku-hito for 10 minutes. While the trade off was Leif Reingaard @Zetterberg for 10 minutes and Miner vHLer @Rhynex Entertainment for 9 minutes. Also somehow coming out with a PP after second general in which they scored the third goal of the game and really put the game out of reach. Will the bad blood carry over? With two games left in the series; if I am correct; and the current series tied 2-2 after the first four games leads me to believe that this was likley a one off game but clearly these two teams have figured out that at the current moment the North American Conference will go through these two teams. One has to remember that Vancouver and Calgary had a combined 38PIM coming into this game with the previous high of 14PIM belong to Calgary. So this was a bit of an unexpected event with both teams coming away with 44PIM with two general fights including six total fights. Expect close tough games between these two teams for the remainder of the regular season and possibility of a few more hands being chucked before the end of the sesaon but I expect that both team; which are more offensive focused will not have another blood bath; but who expected this one in the first place? I know I sure didn`t!! It will be interesting to see if this is a Reborn Rivalry Only if Soju & Spider Panda had dropped them!! 1500+ words Jan 19th, Jan 26th & Feb 2nd Claims

@Girts

Well well well, we are so back. The season is S96, and we can’t believe what we’ve seen. Team Asia has won its first ever gold medal in the World Junior Championship History! What an adventure it has been! I’m honestly still in a bit of shock for what’s happened! For today’s article, we’ll look at some history for Asia, and the current Asian WJC roster, and their journey to this historic landmark! History Let’s look at a bit of Asian WJC history today to start off! We start off in season S62, the year which the WJC made its debut! Rather, let’s look at the first two seasons. In these seasons, Asia made incredibly strong showings, losing in the finals against Canada both seasons, barely missing out for the gold both years. This leds us to a poor two seasons for Asia, where they held down the last position during S64 and S65. As Asia lobes to do things in multiples, Asia once again came back strong, winning three bronze medals in a row! This seems like a semi-golden age for the Asian team as we’ll see soon, as they once again won silver in S69. S70 was poor once again, finishing last, however, a S71 comeback brings Asia’s last finals appearance for over 10 seasons! Over the span of S62-S71, Asia won 4 silvers, and 3 bronze medals. Looking back, it’s absurd how Asia never won the gold medal in this stretch. Now, comes the first dark age for Asian hockey. From S72 all the way till S75, Asia were unable to make it out of the basement, being stuck in fifth place the whole time! S76 saw a bronze medal loss, putting them fourth for the first time. The next two years saw more bronze medals for the team, before S79 put them back in the basement. S80 saw another bronze, and then they went back in the basement (they tend to do well in the bronze medal games, but terrible in the gold medal games). So now we reach S82 and S83, where the Asians win their final silver medals (accurate till Jan 5th 2025). Now comes what I like to call the second dark age of this team. For 6 consecutive seasons, we see Asia not come outside the basement, as in consecutive seasons from S84-S88, Asia finishes last in the group stages, not even making it to the bronze medal games. S89, S90, and S91 brings upon a stretch of bronze medal games, winning one in S90. After this, Asia fails to win another medal until S94 where we see the bronze medal tally go up once again. Bringing us back to the present day, S96. While that is a lot of words, let’s do a brief summary of the not so outstanding results of Asia. Silver - S62, S63, S69, S71, S82, S83 (6 medals) Bronze - S66, S67, S68, S77, S78, S80, S90, S94 (8 medals) While we don’t have the best history, this can let us see how terrible Asia is in gold medal games (losing to Canada 3 times, and losing to Europe 3 times), however, still pretty good at just getting that medal, finishing 4th only 5 times! Current Roster Well, the season is now 96, so let’s take a look at the current roster which brought us to the taste of gold! We must start off by mentioning our amazing GM @Oatex! He really put this team together in an amazing way, allowing us to fulfil our work to the best ability! He really worked us the best way we can! So let’s look at the lines and each player who made this possible! (Stolen from Alex’s discord lines) (LW - C - RW) Line 1: Devote - Sheppard - Hudson Line 2: Nichols - Sikes - Jortikka Line 3: Moderator - Lee Jr - Martinez Line 4: Devote - Sikes - Jortikka Defense (LD - RD) Pair 1: Bone-Breaker - Shaw Pair 2: Cysteine - Satou Pair 3: Bone-Breaker - Satou Pair 4: Cysteine - Shaw Goalies Starter: Vladmir Trunov (Games 2, 5, 12, 15) Backup: Draw Mac (Games 3, 9, 13, 20) Let’s look at each individual player, and look at all their amazing contributions, along with the country they represent and how they’re doing in the league right now. Forwards Devote - @eagle_3450 Devote is a left winger, born in Indonesia, and the first and fourth line left winger! He was drafted 20th overall in the VHL draft! He tends to hover over the PPG mark in the VHLE and VHLM, hitting 71 in 72 in S96 (In the VHLM), and 73 in 72 in S95 (In the VHLE). He was a key member of the team Asian team, scoring 4 points in the regular season (8 games), and 4 points in the playoffs (in 3 games). Sheppard - @GoodLeftUndone Sheppard is a center, and one of the few Canadians on this team, chosen due to the lack of Asians in the league. He played as our first line center, and so far in S97, he has 10 points in 16 games, playing for MIA, being picked 12th overall in the VHLM draft. His campaign with team Asia consists of 4 in 8 during the regular season, along with a goal during the playoffs! Hudson - @ThunderCloud Hudson is a right winger, playing for his home country of North Korea! He was another man taking charge of the first line, playing as our first line right winger. Unfortunately, he has not been picked up for S97, however, in S96 he rocked 28 points in 72 games for MEX. He was drafted 17th in the VHL. His contributions to Asia were invaluable, with 3 points in the regular season, and a stellar shutdown performance during the playoffs! Nichols - @SlyDigi Nichols played on the Left wing for the Asia team, playing representing the Philippines! They were an incredibly important piece of this team, working a grit and grind role on the second line! So far this season, they’ve been going at 8 points in 16 games for HFX, playing an important role on the team! They were drafted 32nd in the VHL as well! Regarding Asia’s run, they had 2 points in 8 games during the regular season, and 1 point in 3 during the playoffs! Sikes - @JaySmacksss Sikes rocked as the middle man, playing center. They were another Canadian playing for Asia! Sikes played a crucial job, playing both on the second line, while also playing on the fourth line as a shutdown role! So far in this season, Sikes has 9 points in 16 games for MIS, and was drafted 25th during the VHL draft! During the WJC run for Asia, Sikes played a great defensive role, while also scoring 2 in 8 during the regular season, and having 4 hits during the playoffs! Jortikka - @Kavadar Jortikka is a right winger for this team, who recently changed their role to defence, and the Fin absolutely played their role to absolute perfection. Jortikka played on the right wing on the second and fourth line, playing with a purpose, and playing with high intensity. In the VHLM, Jortikka is playing their new defensive role extremely well, playing at over a point a game through the first 16 games for MIA! Jortikka has been drafted 50th in the VHL. For Asia, the Fin was crucial to the team, scoring 2 points in the regular season, however, during the playoffs, they netted 3 points in 3 games! Moderator - @fonziGG Moderator played as a left winger on the third line for the team. Representing Afghanistan, Moderator was another key member of the team, ensuring a shutdown role on the team! While Moderator hasn’t been able to do much in the VHLM, simply putting up 2 points for HOU this season, however, their contributions to the Asian team were important! During the regular season, Moderator had 10 hits in 8 games, ensuring to be a physical presence at all times! They also put down a point during the playoffs! Moderator was drafted 44th in the VHL! Lee Jr - @blueredlover Lee Jr, and American, and another center piece, and center man. Playing on the third line, Lee’s job during this competition was simply to shut down the other team, and be able to get the puck back up ice for the next transition plays, and he played that role amazingly! Lee Jr didn’t have an amazing regular season, however, during the playoffs, Lee Jr was a +1 with a goal! He was drafted 21st in the VHL, and put up 11 points in just 16 games this season in the VHLM! Martinez - @SleepyPlayz Last but not least, our final forward yet again come from the Philippines, playing on the third line for this grit and grindy team! Despite going point less in the competitions, we can see his impact in the playoffs through his plus minus being a positive 1! He is yet to be drafted to the VHL, however, in the VHLM, he was drafted 15, and currently plays for MEX, having 11 points in 16 games. Defence Bone-Breaker - @RileyL You really cannot talk about this team without talking about their amazing defence and goaltending. Bone-Breaker is a Russian, playing on the first and third pairings, Bone-Breaker was drafted 10th overall in the VHL draft, where they currently play right now for CHI. They have 4 points in 16 games, and is going well for them at the moment! In the WJC, Bone-Breaker was the leading scorer for the team during the regular season, going an outstanding point per game during the regular season. They only sped up during the playoffs, hitting 4 points in 3 games, being an incredibly vital part to the whole game and strategy for the Asian team! His hits and shot blocks were also incredibly important contributions to the team, helping them win the gold medal. Shaw - @Dabnad Well it’s me! Shaw was another key part of this championship run by team Asia. Shaw, representing India. Shaw had an incredibly poor start to the tournament, being a -6 in the round robins due to his incredibly poor defence. He also only put out 2 points, making it look like he was a failure on the team. Then Shaw remembered how to play hockey during the playoffs, and so he did. During the post season, Shaw put up 5 points, helping team Asia get all the way to win the gold medal! Shaw was drafted 8th in the VHL, and is currently with MAL, with 9 points in 15 games, tied for 10th with all rookies! Shaw played on the first and fourth pairing during this tournament. Cysteine - @Bea Hello from Vietnam everyone! Cystine was a critical part of this defence as well. Cysteine ensured they were playing shutdown defence during the playoffs, putting up 3 points along the way. Not only were they a 0 during the playoffs, however, they also were a critical part in ensuring that the team was able to work into the finals, and win that finals match! Bea was drafted 24th overall in the VHL, and put up 6 points in the currently season, and is looking like a key player on HFX once again! Cysteine played on the second and fourth paring, working incredibly hard as well! Satou - @Spartan Last but certainly not least we have Satou. Satou will be representing yet another unique country in Japan! While Satou started off a bit slow in the competition, hitting just 3 points in 8 games during the regular season. As the season went on, and the playoffs started, we saw Satou’s ability, as they get 3 points in 3 games, also scoring the gold medal game winner (ironically against the team they were gming). Sagou played on the second and third pairings. Satou was drafted 2nd overall in the draft, and currently has 10 points in 16 games with LVA! Goaltending Vladimir Trunov - @qripll You really can’t talk about this team without its excellent goaltending! Vladimir was absolutely brilliant in the playoffs, with a 932 save percentage, and 2.38 GAA. His performance in the VHLM has been as good as his performance in the WJCs, posting a 924 with 8 wins, 2.0 GAA, and 2 shutouts for OTT. Absolutely brilliant performance by him. Drafted 10th overall to the VHL, he’s going to be a special player, there is not doubt in anyone’s mind about that! Draw Mac - @okochastar Last but not least, we end this list off with another Canadian! Draw has been excellent like always. In his one playoff game, he missed an immaculate 941 save percentage, simply letting in 2 goals despite the incredible shots he faced. Draw was amazing, and enabled team Asia to play to their fullest potential. He was drafted 11th to the VHL, and is currently in the VHLM playing for MIA, with a 910, 1.92 GAA, and 3 shutouts in just 16 games! This team was simply incredible! I may add a follow up in the future of how the team worked hard, and battled for their first ever gold medal! You had amazing defence, even better goal tending, and a dream, that these players had to get the first ever gold for Asia, and they did just that. Thank you for reading the article, this is Narnia Shaw, signing off, until next time. 2252 words Week ending Jan 5th 2025 - Jan 26th, 2025

I’m not a liberal. I’m not a conservative. I’m none of those labels. I vote for what represents me, my family, the world I wish to see it become.. sometimes it’s NDP. Sometimes it’s been conservative. I swear I tossed in a vote during the pandemic for JT too just to spite the far right when they were doing blockades and using all their intelligence to shut down highways and spread conspiracies.. All the examples I can think of but the most recent is when Trudeau was in BC and a woman approached him. He responded appropriately, and she told him to get the fuck out of “her” province and acted so embarrassingly towards him.. Is this what we’ve become as humans? To walk up to people and tell them to get the fuck out and bring such hatred and depression to other human beings.. such ugliness will n this world we have, hey? We attack governments because we disagree and overthrow shit etc. We’re so oblivious to ourselves.. we judge other cultures for being bad.. and everything we say others do wrong, if you really look, WE DO IT TOO! I do think this is a good move. If not a good move, inevitable. He was losing the next election. Just remember in 7 years when stuff is still the same, government is government. It’s all the same bull shit

@OblivionWalker

S97 Vancouver Wolves Captains Last season was one to remember as the leadership of Vancouver withstood all challenges including the Gunslinger as Vancouver Wolves were led to the Continental Cup Championship and didn`t face any further casualties as far as anyone is aware. On the drawn of a new season all eyes once again shift to the horizon waiting for the inevitable return of the Gunslinger and the chaos that is expected to ring through the town…. As the sunset on the horizon the town folk held their breath but as the sky darkened and the sun went out of sight the gunslinger and his sidekick where nowhere in sight. You could hear the collective sigh from the town folk as they assumed the danger had been averted… All the townsfolk looked at each other with a nervous laugh and entered the saloon to share in the festive mood of avoiding the Gunslinger. Drinking, singing, laughing and being Merry the town folk partied the early cold Decembers days …. Thump; Thump came something from the rooftop causing all the town folk to pause, Out jumps good old Saint Nick, down thru the chimney with guns in hand, all for the little ones Christmas joys. Ho, ho, ho!! Who wouldn`t go? Ho, ho, ho!! Who will not go? Up on the roof top, Click, click, click, down thru the chimney with good Saint Nick? First fell Kisslinger @Kisslinger, oh well, Oh, dear Santa, he fell well, poor old Dolly, she laughed and cried; couldn`t open or shut her eyes. Ho, ho, ho!! Who wouldn`t go? Ho, ho, ho!! Who won`t go? Up on the rooftop. Click, click, click. Down thru the chimney with good Saint Nick? Next comes the shock, of little Erik @Tetricide, oh, just see what, a glorious shot, with a whistle he was hammered, as the gun rang out like a ball and a whip that cracks. Ho, Ho, Ho!! Who wouldn`t go? Ho, Ho, Ho!! Who wouldn`t go? Up on the rooftop. Click, click, click. Down thru the Chimney with good Saint Nick!! A wink of his eye and a twist of his head, Soon gave me nothing but dread, He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work, then turned with a jerk and giving a nod, He sprang to his horse and to his team gave a whistle. And away they all rode like night of thunder. I heard him exclaim as he rode out of sight; Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night! Vancouver Wolves Captains: Lets see who can withstand the Santa-slinger next off season!! @ethan tustain@xsjack@Novanod@Thunder@Girts@asteria@Nykonax@mmrs617@Gaikoku-hito@Smarch@Scurvy@Frank

Okay, before anyone gets the wrong idea about me being flippant about draft picks-- drafting has been one of the most fun parts of GMing for me. It pains me not to have had any picks for Malmo in the S97 draft, especially with a class that I was very familiar with after scouting every player before the S96 VHLM draft. I very much want draft picks and love the scouting process. When we made that trade with Helsinki a couple weeks ago, there was a good bit of chatter around the forum and discord. Some thought the deal was bad for Malmo, others thought it was fine and good, and others still thought it was somehow bad for both teams. Here's the trade if you need a refresher. Helsinki receives: S97 MAL 3rd S97 MAL 4th S98 RIG 2nd S98 MAL 3rd S98 MAL 4th S99 MAL 1st S99 MAL 2nd S99 MAL 3rd S99 MAL 4th Malmo receives: Bret Weier @Quanack Narnia Shaw @Dabnad Ty Duke @TheDuke Xhekajs middletoe @Xhekajsleftankle I'm not going to talk about the Helsinki side as they have their own plans and objectives. From the Malmo side, the focus was much more on the players we got in return than on the future picks we gave up. Sure, we could have done something with the 1st and 2nds especially, but the 1st was two seasons out and we have 3 players retiring after this season. That would effectively mean full tanking next season with no S98 1st, which was also traded away this offseason with the S97 1st to bring in an immediate replacement for the retired Jacob Stone @scoop. Riga receives: S97 MAL 1st S98 MAL 1st Malmo receives: Lucy Leitner @LucyXpher S98 RIG 2nd I can understand the thought process that some had of going the opposite direction and blowing up the team before making these trades and beginning the Malmo rebuild immediately. We chose not to go that route for multiple reasons, but the biggest of those reasons is the fact that our players wanted to stay in Malmo-- especially those retiring players who wanted one last chance to win. If I was playing sim hockey without real people, I'd probably go the scorched earth route, but that's not what this is. Some have said that to be successful in the VHL you need to be willing to make those tough decisions and trade the players you like at the right time, even if they want to stay. Tempting as it was, that hasn't been my style. No, I haven't had success in the VHL yet as a GM, and the VHLM is certainly different, so what do I know? Well, I do know the players we received in both trades pretty well and I'm confident in their continued development and ability to fill key roles when we lose players to retirement. I'm not here to justify the trade to anyone, but I don't have any regrets about it and I'm hopeful that we can look back on it in a few seasons as a win. Lastly, one thing I've noticed as an M GM and so far in the VHL is that there's an alarming number of players that seem to fall off after graduating from the M-- previously to the E, but now to the VHL. I'm hoping that one less step between the M and VHL will help alleviate this, but I suspect it sometimes has to do with a lack of continuity and familiarity-- especially for first gen players. Not everyone is going to be a max earner, but a player earning welfare, practice, trivia, and press conferences consistently throughout an entire career can be successful in the VHL and an important part of a team. I think we lose players with this potential to inactivity too often, and we're okay with it because the VHL allows IA players to be contracted, so there's less incentive for VHL GMs to continue the work of M GMs in player development. Thinking back, there were some excellent earners in my S93 draft class that have dropped off, and some have even gone inactive. Sure, that's going to happen sometimes, but I really don't see it as a foregone conclusion. Anyone can be retained if they have a reason to stay, and alot of that has to do with team environment, relationships, and player success. While VHLM GMs are the first to work with new players, I think there is an equal onus on VHL GMs to continue player development and retention, especially as it gets more challenging for first gen dreamers to achieve their sim hockey goals. One of my goals with this trade is to continue to work with the players I know, who are not necessarily max earners, and help them reach their VHL potential and have successful careers! Having interacted with them before, the idea is that we can pick up where we left off and make that transition to the VHL easier and hopefully more exciting. Also, I was busy on draft night with a Christmas party, so there's that... ༺⛧𖤍⛧༻ LucyXpher 12/26/2024 - 800+ words

Players with Almost 8 Seasons with One Team I’ve done a lot of things over my VHL career, but there is one distinct but surprising hole: I’ve never spent my entire career with one team. Both goalies Xavier Booberry and Hans Wingate hopped around to three different teams, forward Gabriel McAllister went Seattle-Davos-Seattle, and defenseman Lance Flowers left New York in free agency when the team decided to rebuild in favor of greener D.C. pastures. But there was one time I got close, and it was with my first player. Karsten Olsen was the second pick of the S33 Draft to the Seattle Bears, and for a long time, it seemed like he would be a Bears lifer. Especially after switching from defenseman to forward before S37, Olsen was a key member of a team that would repeatedly get very close to the summit, only to have a Toronto or New York or Quebec City standing in their way in the North American conference. Olsen did think he was going to end his career in Seattle. But between a mini inactive spell due to real life issues and Seattle beginning to retool for a rebuild, the Bears decided to deal Olsen to the Cologne Express at the S40 trade deadline - 17 games short of a full VHL career with one team. So the theme Trade Deadline in mind, that got me thinking: Am I the only person that’s happened to? How many players have gotten so close to finishing their eight (or nine) career with one team, only to be dealt in their final season? I decided to do a quick, non-exhaustive investigation that means looking at each current VHL team in the portal, going to games played in the player stats, and seeing which ones are somewhere between roughly 530 and 560 games - just short of the 576 that would indicate eight seasons with one team. I wasn’t particularly surprised that it hasn’t happened too often, but enough that I’m not alone in the almost-eight-seasons club. But a few of the names on the list were particularly surprising to me. S24 C Felix Peters - Seattle Bears, traded to HC Davos Dynamo But I wasn’t the first player to be on the Seattle Bears for most of my career, only to be traded at the end. Hall of Famer Felix Peters was the player from Bears GM gregreg, and true to form, he made an instant impact on the Bears. In each of his third through fifth seasons Peters topped 100 points for the Bears, and in S28, Peters would win the Kanou en route to his only Seattle title. But before Peters’ final season, a new GM in Noah would take over the team. Wanting to restock the cupboard, Peters was shipped to Davos at the trade deadline for two youngsters and two late draft picks. This would work out well for Peters, however, who fit seamlessly into the Dynamo roster. His 120 points in his final season would be a career high, and Peters would win his second title with the S31 Davos team. S32 C Jakub Kjellburg - Toronto Legion, traded to Riga Reign There’s a trend that’s starting to emerge for these players that didn’t quite make it eight seasons: former GM players that get shipped off by new leadership. In this case, Kjellburg was the GM player for Toronto GM Sandro, and while he wasn’t a player on Peters’ level, he did solid enough to the tune of three 80+ point seasons and a Virkkunen Trophy for sportsmanship in S35. But Sandro would leave GMing after S36, and following the retirement of longtime Hall of Fame goalie Remy Lebeau at the end of S38, the Legion decided to retool at the S39 deadline. Kjellberg and a 2nd would go to Riga for a S41 1st and a 2nd. Riga would win the S40 title, however, leaving that pick moot. S32 D Jack Sound - Toronto Legion, traded to Vasteras Iron Eagles What about the same rebuild, but the reverse of the GM trade? In this one, it’s Toronto’s new GM that traded his player, as Edgar shipped his own Jack Sound to Vasteras following a solid, but unspectacular career fronting Lebeau in goal. Vasteras would lose in the European conference finals to Davos, but what’s interesting to me is the difference in compensation Toronto would get back - Sound and forward Chico Salmon combined were only worth a second in return to Toronto. This would prompt Victor to write in the trade thread: “You know you fucked up when Vasteras' trades are sane in comparison ("cough"Riga"cough").” S33 RW Karsten Olsen - Seattle Bears, traded to Cologne Express I covered myself earlier, but there are two points I didn’t remember that I find very interesting. The first is the low price - my aging corpse was traded for just a future third, ouch. The second, though, is how well that turned out for Cologne, since Olsen had an incredible 39 points in 21 games, despite having just 39 points in the 51 games before that with Seattle. Olsen meshed well with then-rookie and future Hall of Famer Thomas O’Malley, but that connection wouldn’t extend to the playoffs where Cologne got swept. S65 D Brady Stropko Jr. - Calgary Wranglers, traded to Vancouver Wolves The final player from long-standing Calgary GM Bushito, Stropko Jr. was a fixture on the blue line for almost seven seasons. Although he didn’t win any awards, Stropko put up a fairly consistent 50-65 points over the prime of his career, en route to 1300+ TPE. However, S72 would Stropko Jr.’s last season in the league and the one where Bushito himself would go inactive - an inactivity that continues to this day. Wanting to recoup some value, new GM Jubis made a play to ship off the soon-to-be-retiring Stropko Jr. And in his place, the Wranglers picked up Hall of Famer Smitty Werbenjagermanjensen, also in his final season, for the stretch run. S69 RW Guy Lesieur - D.C. Dragons, signed with London but traded back to D.C. So I’m not sure this one particularly counts, but I’m including it because it’s an interesting story. Lesieur started off on a nascent D.C. team, helping grow them as one of the team’s first cornerstone players. But when the London United entered the league in S73, they selected Lesieur with the ninth pick of the expansion draft. That stint lasted for 32 games, but then the United traded him right back to D.C. for the Dragons’ S74 first, where Lesieur would play the rest of his career. So, Lesieur would be the odd player who would play almost a whole career with one team, but with a small stop in the middle. S73 D Jeffrey Pines - Los Angeles Stars, traded to Vancouver Wolves The Stars entered the VHL in Season 73, and often, expansion teams don’t find their footing with their roster for multiple seasons. But one player from that inaugural team lasted almost all eight seasons with the franchise: Rory’s Jeffrey Pines. Pines would be a mainstay on the rising team, finishing with three seasons of 80+ points and eventually becoming the first retired number in team history. But with Los Angeles getting off to a slow start and the team needing some draft picks, Pines was shipped off to the Vancouver juggernaut in exchange for a second round pick. It’d work out well for Pines, capturing a Continental Cup in his final season while on the Wolves. S80 LW Kyle Peace - Toronto Legion, traded to Vancouver Wolves Not quite a trade deadline deal, but close enough to where I’m counting it. Peace was expected to be centerpiece of a new Legion team following the stacked S80 Draft, and for a while he was, going from 74 to 89 to 103 points in his first three seasons. But an unfortunate suspension would stall his upward traction, and he’d never top 64 points for the rest of his career. With Toronto looking to reload a little before halfway of the S88 season, Peace would be shipped to Vancouver in exchange for a second round pick. Peace would help Vancouver go on a playoff run, scoring 7 points in 11 games, but the team would fall short and Peace would end his VHL career without a title. S88 D Bobby Bob - Toronto Legion, traded to Calgary Wranglers The newest member of the club actually happened just last season. Bobby Bob was a centerpiece of the Toronto resurgence, which yielded both team honors (a Continental Cup in S91) and personal honors (a Beketov Trophy for most assists in S94). But with the Legion looking for traction in a tough North American conference last season, it was time for the team to shift its focus. In a rare almost one-for-one intra-conference trade, Bob was shipped to Calgary for forward and fellow final year player Snu*bed Analfist. Both players had hopes of being able to capture a title with their new team in their final season, but it wasn’t meant to be as Vancouver came out of the North American Conference to win the title. Final Thoughts In a way, these teams are a bit saddening. You could read this as players with so much investment in one franchise, cast aside right at the end of their careers for a draft pick or two. But on the other hand, you could also read these deals as one last chance at glory for aging players - and indeed, both Peters and Pines would win titles with their new franchises in their final season. I expect these kinds of trades to continue as long as the VHL stays as competitive as it is. But especially with so much player movement and so many teams as options compared to older days, even getting to an eighth season with one franchise can be rare. So here’s a glass raised to the long-timers - even if the trade deadline looms as one last chance for them to leave the team.

Well, another week has passed, and the league is buzzing with activity. We’re approaching the half-way point to the season and as always, it’s time for a tough guy tribute to celebrate those in the league that hit, fight, and grind for their teams. Let’s look at some of these animals that play hockey with a big bag of knuckles. Now, obliviously I can’t cover all the toughs in the league in this article so if your left out its nothing other than I have reached my word count. Savaisk Tzesar (MAL)- @comrade cat. (9 fights) A career Nighthawk who averages almost a point per game is 4th all-time in PIMS for Malmo just behind retired fellow tough guy Druss Deathwalker. Tzesar leads the league in fights with 9 (2 wins) which is a crazy high number at the 32 game mark. He’s currently 6th in PIMS with 99 and 10th in hits with 111. A true tough guy that terrorized the EU. Callum Gary Yannick Janser (NY)- @Daniel Janser (6 fights) There is no doubt that Janser creates players that strike fear into opponents in some way or another. His former build struck fear in defenders and goalies alike by sniping goals on his way to the hall of fame. So it makes sense that this build strikes fear in opposing forwards. A bone-crushing defenseman who leads the league in PIMs with 140 and is 3rd overall in hits with 157. Toby Kadachi (CHI)- @ROOKIE745 (5 fights) An absolute menace on the ice and current leader in hits (191). 3 straight years of with over 300 hits and on pace to easily hit that again. He is 3rd in PIMS with 111. A point per game player as well he is a true fan favorite in Chicago, a city that loves their tough guys. Guntis Gavilrovs (VAN)- @Girts (4 fights) The all-time leader in penalty minutes for Vancouver (in just 5 seasons). This animal is a fan favorite and total beast on the ice in all facets. Guntis can score, pass, and smash his way on his quest to another Cup. 131 hits and 71 PIMS this season Guntis has tried to temper his knack for retaliatory minors since he is so valuable on the ice but that doesn’t mean he has forgotten why @Frank drafted him so high in S92. Tommy Sleeves (HSK)- @dasboot (7 fights) In everything there must be someone considered the Champ, or best there is. Those words must describe our next enforcer. Tommy Sleeves. A killer every way possible this defender plays the game like a throwback from the 1980’s. A true enforcer eclipsed 411 hits last season and 336 PIMS. Already over 2000 hits in his career he is the all-time leader in PIMS and hits for Helsinki. He has 123 PIMS already this season and 176 hits shows that Sleeves is not slowing down. Honorable mentions: Grimgor Ironhide @FrostBeard Antonia Bucatini @CowboyinAmerica (Tough Girl Tribute) Fradin McGryer @Fradin99 Jussi Jokinenegg @HearnNation67 (6 fights) Boris Bone Breaker @RileyL (rookie- 86 PIM 89 hits)

CREDIT: Shoutout to @InstantRockstar for making this. Thank you always for all you do. League Announcements and Links S97 VHL index S97 VHLM index VHL Hall of Fame Link VHL Discord - Join the fun! VHL The North American race has started almost how I thought it was going to. I figured Seattle would be somewhere top-middle and that the teams currently in playoff positions would be. I think the one exception would be the Toronto/New York/Chicago placement. Now that I've given it thought, maybe Toronto and New York should be in the playoffs. If I picked between the two, I think I would take New York over Toronto, but between the three teams, I'd have to give Chicago the short end of the stick. Right now, New York is 5 points behind Chicago for that final spot, but I could see New York making things quite tight and difficult for all three teams heading into the Trade Deadline. DC and LAS are bad. The European race is quite competitive if you close your eyes in the wildcard round. If you want an exciting watch, both conferences are for you, but there's certainly way more action and fire right now in the NA. Europe is a 4 team conference, with Moscow, Malmo, Riga and HC in the top 4 with solid rosters. Rounding out the top 5 and finalizing the wildcard round is London, and they're a burning tire fire right now. I think this tire could burn bright for some time without luck or intervention. Moscow players reign supreme, with Ruutu @jRuutu and Goncalves currently leading the league for points with 47 and 51 through 29 games. King Kisslinger @Kisslinger and Antonia Bucatini @CowboyinAmerica lead the league with 21 goals and OSCdB @Grape is the apple king with 34. Seattle took a sizeable gamble when moving @Victor but decided to make the move as they were nervous Del Rocco would want to jump ship due to mediocrity on numerous levels. At least for the time being, it seems the move worked as Del Rocco has 10-22-32 in 28 games and who the Bears traded for, Forum Content @frescoelmo, is 20-21-41 in 29 games. VHLM Western Conference action is always good, right? Things are certainly a little tighter here than over in the East. Houston is at the top, with San Diego right on their heels. Mexico City and Las Vegas are tied with 30 points, and last place Saskatoon is still making things somewhat fun with 24. This isn't bad and is a lot better than seeing teams with this amount of games played sitting with records of 2-25-1. I think this will be a positive for the league, and we're working in the right direction for some things. Over in the East, things drop quicker in terms of competitiveness but we're still in a healthy range here. Miami is topping the charts both in the East and VHLM. They're an awesome team that I've always loved and it was thrilling to be part of the commissioning team when we expanded to Miami. Halifax and Ottawa, impressively, follow 2nd and 3rd in the East and VHLM, 2 points behind Miami with 39 each. Mississauga and Philadelphia are both bottom of the East and VHLM, but they're still putting in solid efforts. This one is easy to do. Pelayo Bolivar @SMYLS4 is league MVP right now without looking at D and G. They're topping charts for goals, assists, points and shots right now. Danny Ross @Spartakiller2 is throwing their weight around as they lead 2nd place for hits by a massive 12 with 105 on the season so far. Jortikka @Kavadar has been a career VHLM guy, putting up great numbers each season. They lead all D-men right now for points with 32. Zaps Cat @scudmuffin19 is Goalie MVP right now. Impressive numbers all around. 11-2-2 -- .926 - 1.47GAA - 3SO. What an incredible start to their career. Houston has some amazing pieces like Cash Carti @v.2 helping push things forward, but the play of Cat is just too hard not to single down to. Doubles Week - Donations Need to start using these up... I still have the Xmas one as well...

We've seen all sorts of names, characters, and nationalities go through the VHL over the years, some significantly more outlandish than others. However, I quite enjoy it when things stay grounded and just a completely normal player becomes great. An underrated quality I think is when a player achieves the highest honours while playing for their hometown club. Although we've seen a few people try to keep things local, especially back in the GM player days, and Ahma (not quite a GM player but same effect) once brought a Swiss defenceman to Davos in David Tavau, we'll focus here on the true crème de la crème – homegrown Hall of Famers. So we won't talk about Vladimir Pavlov, Lucas Nygren, Dagmar Havlova, and George Washington (yes the founding Moscow, Malmo, Prague, and D.C. GMs were exceptionally creative) or other such examples like Valtteri Vaakanainen or the numerous Louths. No, this about the best of them. Behold a (probably) complete list of Hall of Famers who made their name playing in the city they were born. Helsinki Titans Tuomas Tukio @Higgins and Aleksi Koponen @Will The Finnish capital was the city that first came to mind when coming up with this article and Tukio in particular was the first name on the list. This was homegrown greatness by design. Mitch Higgins took over a struggling Helsinki team ahead of S30 and immediately set out putting together a new spine for the franchise - 1st overall first-gen pick Ethan Osborne secured things up front but Higgins took matters into his own hands in goal with local lad Tuomas Tukio. The Titans were reborn on and off the ice, peaking in the S33 regular season before finally getting the ultimate prize in a gruelling 7-game series in S34. Tukio wasn't quite the superstar of the team yet, but was a reliable shot-stopper and his final two seasons in Quebec and New York saw him become a two-time MVP and secured his place in the Hall. It'll always be Helsinki the great netminder will be associated with however. Less than 10 seasons later, Higgins' own protege William Shaw again needed to steady the drifting Titans and went big on the S45 draft. Shaw chose to draft his defence with Phil Hamilton at the back and Greg Clegane in net, instead bringing in a center as his GM player – like Tukio, a Helsinki-born player in Aleksi Koponen. In their rookie and sophomore seasons, Koponen, Hamilton, and Clegane won back-to-back Continental Cups (with some veteran help of course, not least from one Thomas O'Malley) ensuring legendary status for Koponen immediately. Like Tukio, his best statistical seasons actually came after he left Helsinki after four seasons, but the Titans are still the team with which he spent most of his time. Calgary Wranglers Devon Marlow-Marta, Norris Stopko, Jasper Canmore @Bushito I actually expected to see a lot more from Calgary here because they have been associated with lots of Canadian superstars over the years. A lot of them were actually from a different province with two of the founding fathers of not just the Wranglers, but the whole VHL – Brett Slobodzian and Sterling Labatte – being from Saskatoon. Same for Jardy Bunclewirth, an ex-player and ex-GM who is also now long part of Calgary lore. But we do get some other bits of quality from Calgary itself. That's where Devon Marlow-Marta is from, a consistent scorer who spent his whole career with the Wranglers, being a key member of their S8 championship. Do you know why Marlow-Marta has the North American championship trophy to his name? Because the member behind him, Devon, didn't leave the conference until deep into his third player. Marlow-Marta played in Calgary, then Devon De La Soul split his career across New York and Seattle, before Biggie Shakur started off in Toronto before making his way back to Calgary. Those were all the NA teams you had to choose from back then and Devon left not long after, never breaking the connection. It was more or less the same for Terence Fong and his next few players (he got through Avangard, Riga, Vasteras, and Helsinki before Daisuke Kanou's big career in Davos), although Fong has now been here so long he's long lost the European conference link. Finally, it's GM Tyler Barabash's duo of Norris Stopko and Jasper Canmore, key members of the S61-S63 finals run including the dominant S62 Continental Cup victory. They could have easily been Stockholm Vikings legends instead if the league chose to keep the Vikings and not give their assets to Calgary. Instead, the Wranglers won by being the popular kids and the rest is history. Toronto Legion Black Velvet @Higgins Toronto has done a good job of emulating real life Toronto and being a destination for superstars but not necessarily the place they are made. Enter Black Velvet, inspired by Canada's largest city's arguably most famous face Drake, and remarkably another entry for one Mr Higgins, 10 years after Tukio's retirement. Velvet was in his first three seasons when the Legion won the league's first ever threepeat and so despite being a much-hyped first overall pick local talent, Velvet wasn't quite in his prime when Max Molholt, Zach Parechkin, Hans Wingate, and company led Toronto to unprecedented success. He was already massively influential in defence however and would have a Hall of Fame career after leaving Toronto, eventually adding two more championships for a record-tying five. Initially, his free agency move to Calgary was massively controversial and that might have impacted his “homegrown star” status, but as the dust has long settled, the original excitement and impact is what is remembered. Riga Reign Fredinamijs Krigars, Kallis Kriketers @hedgehog337 It's back to GM players and more recent ones here – and all from one man. Long-time Riga GM Benjamin Zeptenbergs was of course from Latvia himself, ticking a bonus box, and consistently brought Latvian players into the VHL. Two of them were some of the best of all time. Fredinamijs Krigars came first, his partnership with John Locke propelling the Reign to back-to-back Continental Cups in S57 and S58, and he remained one of the highest scoring forwards in the league throughout his career. The next big name was Kallis Kriketers, brought in due to a high-scoring team (see Podrick Cast, S62) not having any defence or goaltending to speak of. Kriketers wasn't some stopgap though and while he wasn't the hero of the S63 championship where he was just a rookie, he would go on to become one of the best goalies of all time, perhaps the best of the ongoing “modern” era. By Kriketers' retirement, he had dominated the field, spent his whole career in his hometown of Riga, and set the Reign well on their way to a record 13-season playoff streak. HC Davos Dynamo Tomas Jenskovic @scotty This is quite a unique case – the team moved to the hometown of their star player. Tomas Jenskovic was drafted first overall by the then Avangard Havoc in S10 and within a season Scotty Campbell became their GM and moved them to Davos, kickstarting an unparalleled run of trophies and success for decades to come. The first two Continental Cups arrived immediately, in S11 and S13, with Jenskovic front and centre of them. As soon as he picked up the mantle from another legendary defenceman, Jochen Walser (who naturally, was also part of Davos' first season), Jenskovic became the undisputed best in the position, culminating in S14 when he became the first and only ever defenceman to lead the league in scoring. Campbell stepping down from all his roles shortly after that curtailed Jenskovic's career earlier than planned and nearly derailed the Dynamo. They recovered but have often been the best representation of Swiss hockey in the VHL, as the golden age of Swiss superstars died roughly around the same time as Jenskovic's career. Davos awaits its next great local hero patiently. ---- And that does it. Unfortunately, specific city locations are not part of players' birthplaces since the move to the portal so we can only guess at specific hometowns since then. Andrew Su for example was a Canadian Hall of Famer who excelled for Vancouver (in fact he never ventured far from there with brief stops in Calgary and Seattle) – but was a he a local? We may never know. Of the long-serving franchises there's the perhaps surprising omission of New York and while Conner Low may have been applicable option, we don't actually know where in the USA he was from. To be fair, I had already done a surprising amount of defending of Conner Low in the recent “best defenceman of all time” debate so do not feel that he has been terribly hard done by me here. Anyway, that's more of less everything I had to say on the subject. A fun little piece even if I didn't say much new, maybe there was a little tidbit here or there that is new to whoever is reading this. Given the time and day that I am writing this I would be remiss not to wish everyone a merry Christmas and a lovely holiday time of the year. Hope you all have a good time to end the year.

I had a most unpleasant week as I spent the majority of it in bed with some variant of the flu. From fever to fatigue, my motivation to life was pretty much non-existent for a few days-- not exactly how I had hoped to begin the Year of Our Lord 2025. Thankfully, it's been over 24 hours since I had a fever last-- which is usually the part of being sick that kills me most-- so I think the worst has passed and I'm ready to attempt to rejoin the living. I will say, however, that I was pleased to see some decent results with Malmo this week. We've now won 7 games in a row with an important and challenging matchup tonight against Vancouver, so hopefully we can keep that run going! Looking at the recent performance of Malmo, there are a few things that stand out to me as surprising and will perhaps be something to consider for future lines-- then again, the current setup seems to be winning us games... I'm pleased to see my player, Lucy Leitner, is having a strong season so far, and I can't say it's totally unexpected as these should be her prime seasons and filling Jacob Stone's @scoop role from S96 certainly has it's benefits-- if not expectations and shoes to fill. I will say, however, that it's surprising to me how well Victor Jensen @Advantage has performed so far this season. Currently with 20 points in 17 games, he's 2nd on Malmo in scoring behind Leitner (22), and ahead of the likes of Tzesar (14) @comrade cat and Rave (14) @tcookie. In his 9th season, Jensen has continued to be a very valuable player for Malmo, even with the 6th most TPA on the team at the moment. Maybe I shouldn't be surprised with Jensen's output since he officially eclipsed Stone's mark of 648 points for the all-time franchise lead in points with 655 and counting. With another 22 goals and 42 assists, Jensen could also lead the franchise in those categories as well. Congratulations are in order, of course! I would like to see more from Tzesar and Rave, and to be clear, I don't put their lack of output on them per se. Perhaps it's the lines we have right now that just aren't cutting it, potentially causing them to share points with their linemates, thus reducing their totals? Or maybe, in Tzesar's case, it's some bad luck in the penalty department so far that has robbed him of opportunities to score. Whatever the case may be, we will need to find a way to get these players to factor into our offense a bit more. I've already tried a few line combinations and none have seemed to spark them yet, so maybe it's just bad luck, or worse, Simon being Simon. On the positive side, I'm very pleased to see how well our VHL rookies are doing! Narnia Shaw @Dabnad and Bret Weier @Quanack are up to 11 and 6 points respectively, with Weier scoring his first ever VHL goal just last night. Once again, congratulations are in order! It's definitely a bright spot to see these players meshing well with the team in the LR and producing in the sims so far. Jorgen Lovstrom @Pifferfish, our lovely but demanding goaltender, continues to be a huge part of our success as well with a .941 SV%, 1.79 GAA, and 2 shutouts, leading all goaltenders in all three of those categories. It's certainly promising to see that we have possibly the best goaltender in the league and a defense that seems to help him out a fair bit. Also, selfishly, I'm especially happy with his play so far since I picked him for my VHFL team. Speaking of selfishly being happy, let me just say how nice it is to have my own player on the team I'm GMing. In the past few seasons, I've always felt a bit divided between wanting to be active for my player on Riga while also GMing another team. Being able to consolidate my activity to one Discord server and follow one team is soooo nice. We'll see how long it lasts, but for now, I really appreciate not having my attention divided so I can focus in primarily on Malmo. Anyway, those are a few thoughts for this week! Hopefully we get that win over Vancouver and can keep that streak going. Oh, and the Sharks are undefeated in 2025, Macklin Celebrini is so much fun to watch, and Yaroslav Askarov may just be my new favorite player. Askarov interviews make me smile almost as much as his play lately. P.S. Congratulations also to @samx on becoming the new head mod! Sam is one of the best people around and I'm sure she'll excel in this role as she does with most everything. . . .

So normally about this time of season I do an article or media spot discussing what type of series I am going to do my writing for the season about. This season I decided to get ahead of that and introduce my fictitious character, the mysterious Private investigator, Peter Elliott Nes. The plan is to build a storyline throughout the season of Mr. P.E. Nes Private Dick, investigating various individuals, teams or situations throughout the league to determine if there is or was foul play involved. It is not meant to be serious so please if you get named or even accused of something please take it lighthearted. Hopefully you will find in the writing that the situations and accusations are more comical and whimsical in nature than being serious or accusatory. This is meant to be a silly experiment in storytelling for everyone to enjoy with a twist of sarcasm and absurdity. I hope you enjoy the second installment; I am yet to write it and as such have not fully decided where I want to start. I expect it will start close to home with a look at Davos but I have a few other options as well. Hope everyone enjoys.

@leandrofg

@mmrs617

"...the most wins out of any goalie not in the Hall of Fame and the only player (so far) to ever break 300 wins and not get in." -Me referring to Alexander Pepper in HoNB #1 "Vandelay was the face of the franchise for most of his career, and similarly to Cooke, spent it all with Los Angeles. In S90, they managed to set their career high in wins with 45 and were it not for surefire Hall of Famer Lachlan Summers, they would likely have had a shot at earning themselves some individual hardware." -@sadie, VSN Presents: The Longest Cup Droughts and When They Started "Art Vandelay" -everyone Imagine, if you will, a world where your team's goaltender records eight seasons above a .920 SV%. Imagine a little bit harder that the same player breaks the VHL's holy 300-win mark while leading your team out of a rebuild and into six consecutive playoff appearances. Also imagine that he shatters virtually all of your franchise records at his position, has his number retired, is in the conversation for league MVP twice, and is instantly known by name around the league. If you were a GM in need of lots of future star power, that seems like a very good place to start as you attempt to build your team all the way from the ground up. It is not enough for the Board of Gustav to even consider you for induction into the Hall of Fame. I knew that my player, Art Vandelay, was never on the ballot, but I found it interesting that there wasn't even a single search result for his name in the voting section of the forum. I'm going to deviate a little from my usual HoNB format and say right up top that I don't dispute this point--Art Vandelay is not a Hall of Famer. But we're still talking about someone who recorded the 10th-most wins of all time, more than any other player created in my entire time in the VHL. We also have all that face of the franchise stuff I just mentioned. Plus, it's my own player and I get to write about him, so that's what I'm going to do. In my opinion, again, Vandelay is not a Hall of Famer. That said, I think it's worthwhile to put him into the HoNB anyway. We're going to ask not "is Vandelay a Hall of Fame player," but "why is Vandelay not a Hall of Fame player," because the answer to that question is a massively interesting documentation of a fascinating part of VHL history. There are surprisingly way more players than this that would be possible uses for this article, but I think the most fair list would be: Jesse Teno: a Hall of Fame player. Teno was a first-gen from S85 who spent an entire career with London. First-gen picks are always risky, but it's very safe to say that this one paid off--winning the Shaw in S91 and the Cup in S88, Teno made manager @Aimee proud in showing off both regular- and post-season success. Clueless Wallob: NOT a Hall of Fame player. The last player created by @DMaximus, Wallob was a promising vet who lived up to his earning potential, breaking 1500 TPE and earning a Shaw of his own in S89 after a move from Prague to Moscow. After that, he would play for three more teams, not necessarily making it into the conversation of the league's top goaltenders but providing a reliable starting piece across the league. Brandt Fuhr: NOT a Hall of Fame player. Fuhr is arguably the closest comparison to Vandelay, being the only other goaltender in league history to play nine seasons. In fact, that's the reason why I've put him in the title as well. The label that's attached to both of these players can't be attached to any other player, ever, and there's something in that. Fuhr was picked 2nd overall by Vancouver and spent eight of those nine seasons there, moving to New York for a relatively unseen final campaign. Interestingly, the general consensus around the league was that he was on a HoF trajectory early on in his career, with a Cup and a Kanou four seasons in and a Shaw campaign the season after that where he won 44 games with a .931 SV%. Activity and performance declined later on in his career, though, and @Tate and Fuhr crept across the finish line with less than 700 TPE and questions of what could have been. Cole Pearce: NOT a Hall of Fame player. Pearce was one of the first goaltenders of the E era to go straight to the VHL, being drafted by London in a bizarre S82 where he would record 40 wins despite a GAA of 3.61. By S86, he'd put up the league's lowest GAA with Chicago, and there would be a handful of very solid performances with various teams otherwise. @N0HBDY retired Pearce before his ninth season hit, keeping the number of players who have made a truly full career in net limited. Let's get into some of the numbers, and it will start to become clear where the differences lie between our players. You've heard me talk a lot about wins, and everything about Vandelay's career total as compared to other non-HoFers is objectively true. That becomes deceptive to some extent when we consider that the S80s were the first time that 9-season careers were possible. Vandelay with just his first 8 seasons has 264 wins--below Pearce's 8-season total and very comparable to the rest of the list. I think it's absolutely worth noting that Vandelay deserves credit for putting up his career total. After all, it is more wins than most others have ever put up. It also beats Fuhr--only two players have ever gone nine full seasons in net, and Vandelay came away with more wins. But it becomes clear that the high total is purely reflective of a high total. It doesn't erase the meaning that Vandelay put up numbers and gave his team a chance for a longer time, but it does mean that it doesn't necessarily mean that he played more dominantly. For those of you who don't know what normalizing is, I've explained it in my other articles. But since it's been 11 months since the last HoNB, I'll do it again--0.00 represents Vandelay's career total, and everything else is relative to that. For example, a -0.01 means that someone was .01 below Vandelay's total (i.e., recorded a .915). Vandelay is 20th overall in career SV%, and he moves up to 16th all-time when we leave out four players with considerably lower games played. Those also seem like HoF numbers--after all, it's not all the time we see those numbers. Unless, of course, it's the S80s. Vandelay again finishes just a little bit above Fuhr, which is great, but he's below Wallob, who suffered the single worst season of the whole group, and barely overlaps with Teno before either of those players hit their prime. I include the individual seasons here as well so we can break it down better--HoNB #3 makes a case for Jakab Holik on the basis that an awful rookie season negatively influenced all of his career totals--but we can't do that with Vandelay here, who's actually remarkably consistent across the board. This extends beyond just our list. Google Sheets is stupid and doesn't let me put a legend directly on this graph (that I know of), but I'll explain: Hall of Fame players and Vandelay are labeled pretty clearly. The others in a lighter red are non-HoF players who played in other, similarly weird eras--one player from S3 and one from S49, times when numbers all over the league were crazy in general. The players in blue? All of them are S80s goaltenders. They might be recognizable to you, too--Augustus Kennedy, Matt Murdock, Boris Tsezar, Ash Sparks, Bubbles Utonium, Dusty Wilson, and Henry Tucker Jr are all on this chart, and in terms of career averages, Vandelay is just one of them. Of course, there were others in the S80s who don't make the list. Vandelay was by no means a bad player, it's just that he wasn't alone. And the S80s were evil. GAA is Vandelay's stronger career-average stat. Look up on the top and you see that he's second-lowest (although with a clear gap between his line and Teno's). Look at the individual graph and you'll see a cool feature of these individual graphs--more bars are above average than below average. So, the average season from someone on our list had a higher GAA than Vandelay's average. We see a few other things worth looking at--based on this stat, we can probably justify making Vandelay our primary subject over Fuhr. Vandelay is also remarkably consistent in this matter--three of our four comparisons have both a better best season and a worse worst season, despite Vandelay playing for both notably good and bad teams. This stat isn't horribly warped by the S80s, thankfully, so it's nice that I get to say that he beat a lot of other players in ways that we can't just attribute to the era. We can skip the discussion about playoffs, I think, because Vandelay was always mediocre in the playoffs. My players like to do great in the playoffs, but for some reason he just didn't show up. Art Vandelay is not a Hall of Fame player. I had always intended to write a HoNB article for Vandelay, just because he was my own player. I had always known that he was the winningest player outside the Hall of Fame, that this was strongly influenced by the S80s being what they were, and that he had interesting numbers that weren't fit for induction for era-related reasons. I did not know that I only had Fuhr to compare him to if I wanted 9-season careers, and I also didn't know just how swamped I was in the all-time list in some categories. Vandelay does deserve recognition for his career, and he did quite a bit that we can't claim to be exactly replicated until someone else comes around and decides to give 9 seasons a go. It's just also fair that the Hall of Fame might not be the best place to do it. The S80s were one of the most unique statistical nightmares that we've ever seen in the VHL, and I hope we don't end up with anything similar to it in the future. I played as a goaltender for as long as I possibly could have, and over that time I watched my player put up real, legitimate Hall of Fame numbers. The problem? So did everyone else. Art Vandelay has never made a Hall of Fame ballot and never will. It's likely that he's the answer to a few good trivia questions, and was unquestionably a player that could cause trouble for other teams. Not bad, perhaps. Previous HoNB articles: Volume 1: Alexander Pepper Volume 2: Shawn Glade Volume 3: Jakab Holik Volume 4: Bo Boeser Volume 5: Tyson Kohler Volume 6: Lasse Milo Volume 7: Voittu Jannula Volume 8: Brendan Telker Volume 9: Skylar Rift

Time Stamps: 0:00 Intro 1:05 Riga acquires D Ben Laas from DC. @Lemorse7 @dustywilson22 @qripll 4:00 Seattle acquires F Theo Allard from DC for F Marek Nowaczyk. @Banackock @InstantRockstar @qripll @Chillybro 9:30 Moscow acquires D Montgomery Burns from Warsaw. @Spartan @LastOneUp @N0HBDY 10:45 LA moves on from Gustav Mattias? @InstantRockstar @Berocka @Lemorse7 @Will3 14:45 Riga Reigns, Legion kneels. @Baby Boomer @Lemorse7 @dstevensonjr @Dadam30 @mattyIceman @MSouthworth @sliceruser @horoscope @MSouthworth @wcats @Tim Robinson @Danzo @Moon 19:45 Davos reclaiming their destiny. @Alex @Anthique @dstevensonjr @Moon @wcats @Jubis @SirRupertBarnes @McLovin @McWolf 23:45 Mid York Americans BUY BUY BUY! @STZ @Esso2264 @dstevensonjr 26:45 Vancouver goes for the repeat! @Frank @Nykonax @dstevensonjr @PacifistKit17 27:45 Chicago reignites the fire! @badcolethetitan @Baby Boomer @Renomitsu @chikn@KmaddFPS @sliceruser @Dadam30 @PacifistKit17 @dstevensonjr 33:00 Weird ADHD Ass Outro, what am I on about? 35:00 Shout-out to my #1 fan! @Mysterious_Fish

It's been super fun seeing my player grow this past year-- exactly one year today! I'm excited for another year and to see what my player can accomplish next! ༺⛧𖤍⛧༻

Hello, I need TPES so here I am writing again. For some reason, Pombo is doing oddly well this season. In 26 games played, he has 18 goals and 24 assists for 42 points. I am pleasantly surprised by his performance. Moscow is doing really well this season overall. We are currently 19-3-4. We have had a pretty easy start to the season so this record may be a little inflated but I am very excited to see what happens with the rest of the season. I am also the head mod now, so that is cool. I am excited to implement these policies and hopefully make the league a better place for all involved. I am glad Bek gave you all tpe with that announcement so that when I inevitably mess something up I can remind you that in theory, I am the reason you got 2 uncapped tpe. Anyway, that is all from me. I hope you enjoyed.

So, I did a thing. Recently I've been playing around with my TPE allocation. Constantly changing values in an Excel file until I get a spread of stats that I am happy with. Every time I get to a group of stats that look good I wonder if I spent the TPE efficiently, or was there a better way? Enter, the TPE Optimizer. A program that takes your current (or goal) TPE and the group of stats you set as a priority, and allocates the TPE for you. With each minor change to the priority sliders comes changes to the allocation. Does it spend TPE in the most efficient way? It's close, but not yet. You see, I don't know anything about coding. I asked AI to make the basic program, then asked it to edit the code until I got something that worked like I pictured in my head. If you are someone who knows what you are doing, I would be happy to share the code with you. There are things I want it to do still that I am having trouble with implementing, so I'd love some help. At this point, I'm not even sure how I would share it if people wanted to try it out. Maybe someone could help me with that too. In the meantime, it is a nice little tool to see how you could generally spend TPE and it was a nice project to attempt.

The season has begun and It feels good to look at some box scores and hopefully watch the Vancouver Wolves march toward another Continental Cup. Around the league we have a lot of powerful clubs in Moscow, Davos, Calgary, NY, and Chicago so I am sure it will be an exciting season full of ups and downs. Not sure where I am going with this week “around the league,” but I’ll do my best. Vancouver had an incredible playoff run last season led by power forward, Riley Martin @Smarch and goalie Olober Syko @Spartan . To repeat it difficult to be sure but GM @Frank has made some bold moves to maintain salary compliance and brought in some great talent to help get Vancouver back to the promised land and avoid any unnecessary rioting in Vancouver. FORWARDS: The Wolves have a solid core on offense that has a good balance of defense and offensive prowess. Let’s look at the lineup: Riley Martin @Smarch- The road to becoming the elite go-to scorer in Vancouver was bumpy for the all-star. A sluggish start in his career despite earning hard each week and the giant 30-point turnaround from S95 to S96 gave Vancouver what it needed to win it all. One word describes Martin and that is GRIT. He grinded every week, never complained, and always has a team first attitude. True heart and soul of the club we look to him to lead the Wolves back to hoisting a second Cup. Pierre Marc Bouchard @Gaikoku-hito- What’s so great about the Wolves is I can say the exact same thing about all of them and PMB is no different. He only thinks of the team and cares little about personal stats. However, 81 points in his sophomore season is helpful. This season should be his breakout season and after 2 games he already has 5 points. Increased power play time on the top line with Riley should help get him in a groove and keep them PP points coming. Look for PMB to have a massive year! Matteo Stefano @mmrs617- Matteo came to Vancouver last season from Davos and eventually had to play his former teammates in the Continental Cup. Matteo has tremendous upside for the Wolves and plays hard every night. A pure two-way player that chipped in 25 goals last year and is a solid defensive forward. Matteo has started off hot already with 2 goals in 2 games. He has found good chemistry with PMB so hoping for a big season for MS. Celise Pereira @asteria- an off-season addition from Chicago Pereira brings a huge body at 607 and some much-needed depth. A defender turned forward Pereira helps with a solid defensive game and can score some goals as well. 1 goal and 1 assist in 2 games this season Pereira scored isn’t afraid to shoot. Eno Velvson @Nykonax- Another off-season addition that adds some excellent defensive depth which is needed for any club who wants to compete. The Wolves are looking for Eno to get his scoring touch back as he once had 30 goals in the M, 33 and 31 goals in the now defunct VHLE, and 27 goals in a rookie season in Riga. I think Eno has that skill level and being paired up with snipers like Riley Martin and PMB will help greatly. Logan Ninefingers- old bloody #9 is still looking for a finger. And another Cup. DEFENSE: On defense the wolves have an abundance of goonery with the current squad that sends fear into opponents and sometimes teammates. A few off-season additions look to help out the core of Trueno and Gavilrovs. Let’s take a look: Bollos de Trueno @Thunder- About to hit 1000 TPE in just his 3rd VHL season Bollos is a workhorse earner. 64 points last season Bollos is looking for his breakout season. A pass first dman with some grit he likes to block shots, make quick passes out of our zone, and throws his considerable weight around. A true power play quarterback and solid locker room presence who often makes sure to wish PMB a good night sleep. Guntis Gavilrovs @Girts- What is there to say about this animal. He’s massive, mean, and seems to hoard all the beautiful women to himself despite promising to share with his fellow teammates. Guntis has a name only his mother and the fans in Vancouver love. This dude fights often, hits everything, and still produces offensively. In the last two season Guntis has 36 goals (19 on the power play). Also, in just 4 seasons in Vancouver he is now the all-time leader in penalty minutes for the club with 869. He was a huge asset in the playoffs and a truly great teammate. @Girts and I have now won two cups together (1 in Warsaw-1 in Vancouver) and we look to keep adding to the trophy case. Einer Mathiesen @xsjack- Added this off-season the S95 #9th overall pick is having his debut season in the VHL. Winner of the VHLM Vladimir Boomchenko Trophy in S96 he tore the league up in Philly with 27 goals and 60 assist – 87 points. Over a point per game as a defender in two seasons in the VHLM while cracking 250 hits. The Wolves are looking for Einar to find that scoring touch in Vancouver and are excited to see what he can do. Scrungle Bungle @Novanod- SB has one of the better VHL names and adds some good depth to the defense in Vancouver. A journeyman in the VHLM and VHLE Bungle is no stranger to winning. SB hoisted two cups (back to back) in Cologne and the Wolves are hoping he brings some of that Cup luck to Vancouver so we can know what it feels like to hoist two in a row too. GOALIE: In net, Soju @Frank looks for his breakout season. 33-13 last season before taking a backup role at the trade deadline when Olober Syko @Spartan joined the club. It takes true leadership and a team first attitude for a goalie of his caliber to do something like that. The team in front of him is willing to block any shot for a goalie so willing to forego his own personal stats for winning. Soju also discovered last season that Soju beer tastes best when drank out of the Continental Cup so he is using that as motivation to earn another. Well, there you have it. The S97 Vancouver Wolves. Best of luck y’all. 1085 words Will claim Jan 5 and Jan 12

Link to Data Spreadsheet The chart above shows the amount of VHL General Managers per season that have since been inducted into the VHL Builder Hall of Fame; for the purposes of this VHL.com article, that is how I'll define the "Golden Era" of GMing (although I know this is not a perfect method of deducing that). I chose to represent the amount as a percentage of the total amount of GMs to better reflect the changing ever-changing amount of teams in the VHL at any given season during its history. Only for one season in VHL history has ever single GM been a HoF Builder (S54), with Austin Gow, Benjamin Zeptenbergs, Blake Campbell, Chris Miller, Conner Low, Frank Chadwick, Greg Harbinson, Mitch Higgins, Ryan Power, and Travis Boychuk representing the unique group. Given the league now has more teams than ever in its history, we will likely never see this feat occur ever again. Although to be fair to the current crop of GMs, most of the aforementioned managers were not in the HoF yet as of that season, only Miller, Higgins and Harbinson were. Just glancing at the chart, we can see a clear peak in the ten seasons between S53 and S64, as well as a smaller peak from S32 to S36.

I think it's time to talk about Tommy Sleeves. A rookie during Helsinki's last run to the finals in S91, he has gone through his prime as the Titans have gone through a long and painful rebuild. Sleeves' loyalty has been rewarded in the history books though as his physical, defensive style has benefited from playing on one of the league's worst teams. A rough-playing defenceman, Sleeves has racked up the PIM in the last 3 seasons with the tallies of 290, 294, and 336 respectively all in the top 14 highest PIM totals in a single season. That latest mark of 336 is particularly notable as it allowed Sleeves to break the stranglehold that Da'Brickashaw O'Neal has held on the record for over 80 seasons. Sleeves now has the second highest total of all time and finished just 20 PIM off O'Neal's record in S96. With 1,540 PIM in his career, Sleeves is currently in 9th place on the all-time leaderboard and only 318 away from Peter Payne's long-standing record set when he retired in S15. With two seasons to play, it seems inevitable that record will fall unless referees stop penalising Sleeves completely. Sleeves has also been racking up the hits with two 400+ hit seasons landing him in the top 25 of single season records. His latest entry of 411 in S96 was 50 away from Gabriel McAllister's record although it will take a monumental effort to improve on that mark. On the career rankings, hits is probably out of reach but he could feasibly land in the top 15. In any case, that's a record already held by @dasboot's previous player, Vinny Detroit. Finally, Sleeves got first entry on the top 25 most shots blocked in a season, with 272 in S96 placing him 13th of all time. He's 443 SBs away from David Jokinen's record of 1,513, which is doable if he keeps up his S95-S96 pace and is arguably more impressive as he'll have beaten it in an 8-season career rather than 9.

...that I probably won't be using for much longer lol

Bana Blabs Christmas, Reddit and Da Bearz Hey everyone! Hope you're doing well. I'm trying to get back into the swing of things or at the very least desperately need to use up the doubles weeks I have stacking up from previous and current seasons donations. The week of Christmas is finally upon us and before you can even say "santa was here", it'll be over and we'll be astonished with how 2024 flew by like a SpaceX rocket and it's now 2025. It's really crazy to think, right?! Life is busy, life is stressful and yet there's things that are good if I look. Trying my best and hoping that as we enter 2025, things can continue to be managed and the progress continues to move forward. I think the next month or so has a lot of potential for me. As for the VHL side of things, lots going on. The off-season is here and GM's and staff are busy at work getting everything done. Drafts and award shows have passed. The World Cup has played itself out. Free agency was a dud. The off-season went strong and as expected as a GM. The off-season went chaotic and not as planned as a GM. It' was everywhere and this is often the norm these days. I stepped away and then up again for Recruitment. No post. No nothing and there can't be nothing. We're doing good and @Moon has helped breathe more life into things. Quick burb ( @Esso2264 bird?!), not onto getting the blab done and my first media spot in a long time. CHRISTMAS - The auction could of been better and we've seen things be better. It's okay. It's in the name of good. People are busy and things are tight in a lot of homes. I think next season we just need to think outside the box too for some creative auction items. In saying this though, the total doesn't matter. It's the overall picture. Look what we're doing together. This place is awesome when you think about it! Day 10 of 12 for Christmas is currently happening. Don't miss out on posting in each thread DAILY to a chance to earn some wicked prizes this holiday season! REDDIT - We're on Reddit. https://www.reddit.com/r/VictoryHockeyLeague/ With current league financing planning and the holiday season being here, we have no budget for executing paid advertisements. This has given us the challenge with having to think outside the box as well. We've gotten a little more active posting on all our socials lately and have started to make our presence bigger on Reddit. 27 people have joined and we're hoping that number continues to grow. The more opportunity and potential for exposure, the better chances we have at coming across the right eyes who would enjoy our community and help us grow. DA BEARZ - Interesting off-season. Things started off hot per usual. We don't fuck around like some types of GM's who love to "wait to see cap", "want to see how free agency goes" or "wants to wait until after the draft". It's just not the best way to be successful. You don't want to shoot the first animal you see, but you also don't want to wait until the last day of hunting either and have to end up settling for the first thing you see that day. The early bird does in fact get to choose whatever the hell he wants to do before the other birds wake in the morning. We started off making huge moves. Some were unexpected and took their own route. We ended up moving @Victor which was super surprising but just had to find a way for it to make sense for our plans. They just didn't find the individual success here. It's a family but it's also a family runned business. It's not just me. It's not just you. It's DA BEARZ. All of us. So, I thought they'd likely hit the market through FA or trade down the road. Better to deal with it sooner than later. Veto trade. Yeah. The one between Seattle and Riga. We were getting Targaryen back and the swap was a fast deal agreed to between myself and @Lemorse7. Long story short, deal was reversed because of league rules stating you can't trade players back and forth as recent as it was (Targaryen was traded from SEA to RIG the season before). Once we got news it was a veto, we made another deal involving a player who requested a trade from Riga. Story shortened and sweetened, they changed their mind shortly after Riga and Seattle agreed verbally. This is where we got fucked. Everything was going good. Had this trade went through, thing would have worked a bit better. Either of these trades. But after this, the markets dried up and some prices for depth (i'm talking 400-500 inactives) shot up it felt lol.. Found our D-men finally. Had to get very creative to not end up paying an arm and leg. Did an inactive player swap from F->D for one. Agaiun, creative and outside the box. GMOTY nominee again, baby! It's good to be bad and bad good to be good. Got draft collateral earlier before this trade that I was hoping to unload for upgrades to our championship calibre team However, ended up drafting @xNJDevilsFanx and @Big_Dyl. Not expected but they've been 10/10 so far on the team. Excellent around the forums and in the locker room. They put us in an interesting position for the future and add a lot of strength to it. I hope they have a lot of fun on the team. Let's earn some TPE. Let's kick some ass. Seattle's been one of the best teams now for 30 seasons. Let's have a good time making sure that doesn't change. I'm really hoping this was enough to get me to two weeks of claiming so I can enjoy some time for Christmas and New Years to enjoy and relax. I'm looking forward to good food and relaxation during these times away from work and during this amazing Christmas season. I'd also like a little more time to focus on recruitment and managing the Seattle Bears! I hope everyone has a MERRY, HEALTHY AND POSITIVE CHRISTMAS! There's things that are happening in the world right now that could paint a worse picture but similar to the theory of "100 good versus 1 bad but focusing on the bad", there's a lot of good happening in the world too. It's important to be aware of but not solely focus on the negative that can sometimes consume us as a society and individual. Dec 23 - 29 -> S96 DOUBLES DONATION (lol, I know..) Dec 30 - Jan 5

As someone who hates clowns(with a passion) and would happily swerve the truck to hit one, this is going to give me nightmares. For my Dillos GM @YetiTaz

Nothing But Hits Up His Sleeves Tommy Sleeves: The VHL’s Next Great Pugilist When Tommy Sleeves @dasboot was picked by Helsinki 23rd overall in the S90 Draft, the Titans’ fourth of six players selected in that draft including 1st overall defenseman YaBoi Oven @Doomsday, few would have guessed that seven seasons later, Sleeves would be the only player left from that draft still on the Titans’ roster. Now, partially through S97, Sleeves has cemented himself as one of the toughest and most physical players ever to touch blades on VHL ice. He is already a record-holder and by the end, he may become the greatest pugilist ever. Since starting his career in S91, no one has garnered more penalty minutes (1656 - through 30 games this season) or hits (2052) and he’s led the VHL in PIM the last three seasons. Last season, Sleeves set the record for penalty minutes in a season by a defenseman with 336, the second-highest single-season total ever, smashing Noah Lefevre’s mark of 313 set in S11. He’s also the only player to reach 288 penalty minutes or more (a 4 PIM per game average) three times in a career. After finishing S96 in 10th all-time in career PIM, he’s accumulated 116 in 30 games in S97 putting him in 7th (passing Ove Dyrdahl) and is on pace to break Peter Payne’s 82-season-old all-time record of 1858 by season’s end! He also doles out the hits more than almost any defenseman in VHL history. As mentioned above, no player, let alone defenseman, has posted more hits since the start of his career. He currently sits 41st all-time and at his current rate, he could reach the Top-20 by the end of the season. Last season, he led all players with 411 hits, which was the third-highest total ever by a blueliner (just behind Edwin Encarnacion’s 414 and Nick Fisher’s 413) and the highest total since Druss Deathwalker had 413 in S82. He is the fifth player in VHL history to record two seasons over 400 or more hits and the only defenseman to do it. But he’s not just a thug on the ice – he can also play his position. He led the VHL in blocked shots last season with 272, the second-highest total in a decade and was nominated for the Jake Wylde Trophy as the league’s best defensive defenseman. In fact, he’s the 28th player in VHL history to reach 1000 hits, 1000 PIM, and 1000 blocked shots and he was the quickest to do it (only six seasons). With one more year left to play after this, what else could Tommy Sleeves accomplish? All-time defenseman hits leader? Top-10 in hits all-time? Top-10 in blocked shots? Top-5? Helsinki’s all-time leader in games played? Or maybe top of the list is to help the Titans get to the playoffs one more time in his career? Only he knows, but the possibilities are vast. One thing is for certain: Tommy Sleeves is one of the greatest tough guys in the history of the VHL. He is also a beloved Helsinki legend. However the rest of his hockey career plays out, fans will remember Tommy Sleeves. And the skaters he crunched will probably remember him longer.

This week’s Miami Marauder Player spotlight is defender, Tina Hughes @tinafrombobsburgers. Hughes a late acquisition coming at time when Miami desperately needed to fill a role on defense, as they only had two after losing one to inactivity. And what a gift Hughes turned out to be. Hughes plays a rugged style of defense and pairs well with either Dog Jagr or Miami’s other defender, Armas Jortikka. So far at 14 games in Hughes has 8 assist (including a 3 assist game) , 22 PIMs, and 31 hits, which leads the team. Even better is Hughes is earning at an incredible rate which means a huge leap for Miami in defensive play as they battle Ottawa and Halifax for the top spot in the Eastern conference. A great locker room presence and all-around complete defender the Marauders are going to be a complete team by playoffs. Miami has won four of its last five games with two games today against rival Mississauga and Philly. Best of luck Marauders!

Season 97 could be a interesting one, for both Davos and my player. I decided to take some time to gather my thoughts before the season, and heck I’ll toss the Davos captaincy announcement in here too, because I can! Deadpanda: It’s weird going into a season as the starting goalie for a team that is the direct challenger to the team you GM, this is essentially the reason why I would prefer to play in the NA but will stick it out with Moscow long-term if there’s no trade. I have also been told that there were some talks around my player, with them heading to a rebuilding NA team, one where I would be open to a long-term contract, so long as they are going in a good direction (by the looks of things they are). So, whether or not I’ll actually be playing for Moscow is still a little unknown. As for my goals, anything short of the All-VHL Rookie Team will be disappointing, there’s only 2 other notable rookie goalies though, so it could be a fun race. Would be really nice to win ROTY, but I guess time will tell what happens here. HC Davos Dynamo: We had a fairly busy offseason with needing to trade up to 9th in the draft to take Tavetti Jokinen, trading out Ben Lass, brining Sunset Moth back to the team, and lastly we made what could have been the biggest trade of the offseason when we acquired Gianfranco del Rocco for Forum Content and a couple picks. It was a very successful offseason in my opinion as we improved our offense and got younger overall. It was really nice to finally get a del Rocco trade done as it’s something we had been trying to do since the S93 draft. The main goal for this season in Davos is simple, win the cup. S97 Davos Captaincy Announcement: With expectations being higher than recent seasons, we are very happy that we have a good mix of veterans and “rookie” to lead us this season, you S97 Davos Captains are: Captain: Tavetti Jokinen Drafted with the 9th overall pick in the S97 draft, Jokinen embodies everything Davos. Currently Jokinen is a very solid defensive defensemen, which should work perfectly and complement their partner well. In the locker room, Jokinen is probably the most vocal player and is without a doubt Davos’s biggest fan. Alternate Captain: Antonia Bucatini After being drafted 1st overall in the S93 draft, Bucatini has been an integral part of Davos since. Currently Bucatini has 101 goals and 158 assists for a total of 259 points through 216 VHL games along with winning top rookie honours in S94. Alternate Captain: Grimgor Ironhide Since joining Davos in S94, Ironhide has been the team’s top offensive contributor never having less than 85 points and 40 goals! Ironhide has been an alternate captain for the majority of their time in Davos and that run continues this season. Anyways, that just about does it good luck this season to everyone, except Spartan. Mentions: 511 words

Player Information Username: Gordie Howl Player Name: Gordie Howl Recruited From: YouTube Age: 18 Position: C Height: 75 in. Weight: 190 lbs. Birthplace: Iceland Player Page @VHLM GM