Leaderboard

I know It’s not perfect, but it took a ton of time to make lol

5th Annual Unofficial VHL Regular Season Awards – S70 Another exciting regular season has come to a close. That means we can dole out some regular season awards! Welcome everyone to the 5th Annual Unofficial VHL Regular Season Awards for S70. These awards have been created by me. There is no voting process and they are not officially recognized by the VHL Board of Governors. I wrote descriptions for most of these award names in the original award post. Let’s get things underway! The Pylon Award (worst +/- rating) – Bert Meyers @RunnerBert11 HC Davos players occupied the top, or really bottom, 6 spots in this list. Bert led the way with -45. Previous Pylon Award Winners: S69 - Basaraba Moose (-57) S68 – Sven Hitz (-58) S67 - Piotr Jerwa and Nethila Dissanayake (-34) S66 - Bryce Zhields (-49) The Gandhi Award (least penalty minutes) – Denver Wolfe @InstantRockstar Denver had 2 PIM in his 1,988 minutes played. Previous Gandhi Award Winners: S69 – Hugh Chan (4 PIM, 2050 Minutes Played) S68 – Jack Lynch (0 PIM, 1473 Minutes Played) S67 - Diljodh Starload (0 PIM, 2091 Minutes Played) S66 - Beau Buefordsson (0 PIM, 1939 Minutes Played) The Timex Award (received most hits) – Hunter Hearst Helmsley @Beaviss HHH was hit 282 times, 36 more than the next closest player, Roll Fizzlebeef @TacticalHammer Previous Timex Award Winners: S69 – John Madden (357 hits taken) S68 – Mikko Aaltonen (297 hits taken) S67 – Rauno Palo (302 hits taken) S66 - Beau Louth (300 hits taken) The John Wayne Award (most shots on goal) - Julius Freeman @rjfryman Julius claims the award for the 2nd straight season. He took 453 shots this season, 1 more than his winning total from last season and 29 more than the next closest player, Randoms @hedgehog337. Previous John Wayne Award Winners: S69 – Juilius Freeman (452 shots) S68 – Rylan Peace (466 shots) S67 – Matt Thompson (495 shots) S66 – Shane Mars (533 shots) The “Hit the Broadside of the Barn” Award (most own shots blocked) - Shawnomir Jagr @TheLastOlympian07 Vancouver is really taking home the shot awards. Shawnomir lands this award by having 129 of his shots blocked. Previous HtBotB Award Winners: S69 – Julian Borwinn (136 shots blocked) S68 – Rylan Peace (144 shots blocked) S67 - Beau Louth (153 shots blocked) S66 - Oyorra Arroyo (142 shots blocked) The “Can’t Hit the Broadside of the Barn” Award (most own shots missed) – Julius Freeman @rjfryman Julius completes the Vancouver sweep of the shooting awards by leading the league with 343 shots missed. Previous CHtBotB Award Winners: S69 – Elias Dahlberg (320 shots missed) S68 – Rylan Peace (351 shots missed) S67 - Beau Louth (364 shots missed) S66 – Roctrion King (372 shots missed) The New Shin Pads Award (most blocked shots) – Guillaume Fontenette @okochastar Guillaume wins this award in back-to-back seasons. He topped the league by blocking 145 shots, barely beating Apollo Hackett @Renomitsu and Sydney Crosby @SidTheKid87 who each had 144 blocked shots. Previous New Shin Pads Award Winners: S69 – Guillaume Fontenette (166 shots blocked) S68 – Seabass Perrin (207 shots blocked) S67 - Piotr Jerwa (170 shots blocked) S66 - Lando Baxter (189 shots blocked) The Tired Legs Award (most minutes played) - Julius Freeman @rjfryman Normally we see this award go to a star player on a struggling team. Not this year. Julius was all over the ice, taking and missing shots in his league leading 2,164 minutes played, just over 30 minutes per game. Previous Tired Legs Award Winners: S69 – John Madden (2,259 minutes) S68 – Mikko Aaltonen (2,290 minutes) S67 - Shawn Glade (2,226 minutes) S66 - Robert Malenko (2,324 minutes) The Snap! Award (most power play minutes) - Julius Freeman @rjfryman Freeman is really raking in the awards this season. He led the league with 372 minutes on the power play. That’s 68 minutes more than the next closest players, Cody Smith @cody73 and RJ Jubis @Jubis from Calgary. Previous Snap! Award Winners: S69 – Elias Dahlberg (368 power play minutes) S68 – Joseph McWolf (351 power play minutes) S67 - Beau Louth (437 power play minutes) S66 - Jake Davis (412 power play minutes) The 1 vs. 100 Award (most time on penalty kill) - Jacob Perry @Liberty_Cabbage Prague must have taken a lot of penalties as their players occupied 7 of the top 8 slots for Penalty Kill minutes. Jacob lead the team and the league with 380 minutes spent killing penalties. Previous 1 vs. 100 Award Winners: S69 – Wolf Stansson Jr (328 minutes) S68 – Jack Lynch (353 minutes) S67 - Aron Nielsen (374 minutes) S66 - Lew Bronstein (352 minutes) The Sean Archer Award (highest face-off win %) - Hunter Hearst Helmsley @Beaviss HHH claims this award by winning 60.78% of the 3,001 faceoffs he took. Previous Sean Archer Award Winners: S69 – Rauno Palo (59.45%) S68 – Podrick Cast (62.56%) S67 - Beau Louth (63.09%) S66 – Rauno Palo (63.10%) The Castor Troy Award (lowest face-off win %) - Zeno Miniti @Zeno Zeno claims this award again. To his credit he was much improved from last season, but still had a league worst 42.07% of faceoffs won. Previous Castor Troy Award Winners: S69 – Zeno Miniti (32.27%) S68 – Gritty (36.31%) S67 - Gucci Garrop (35.07%) S66 - Bryce Zhields (30%) The Triple Deke Award (most penalty shot goals) - Owen Nolan @studentized Owen wins this award in consecutive seasons. He once again led the league with 6 penalty shot goals. Milos Slovik @Frank also had 6 PS goals, but Nolan gets the award because he scored his 6 on 10 attempts, one less than Slovik. Previous Triple Deke Award Winners: S69 – Owen Nolan (6 penalty shot goals) S68 – Jorgon Weyed (6 penalty shot goals) S67 - Veran Dragomir (8 penalty shot goals) S66 - Leph Twinger (5 penalty shot goals) The Rocky Award (most fights won) – We have co-winners! RJ Jubis @Jubis and Ambrose Stark @Banackock There were actually 7 players with 2 fights won this season. Jubis (2-0-0) and Stark (2-0-4) share the award because they both did not lose a fight. Previous Rocky Award Winners: S69 – Edward Vigneault (4 fights won) S68 – Tyler Barabash Jr (2 fights won) S67 – ACL TEAR (6 fights won) S66 - Ryuu Crimson (4 fights won) The Glass Joe Award (most fights lost) – Walter Clements @cpetrella Walter went 0-3-3 in his fights which is bad enough to claim this award. Nethila Dissanayake @nethi99 also lost 3 fights, but their record was 2-3-5. Those 2 wins are more than enough to keep Nethila from winning this award. Previous Glass Joe Award Winners: S69 – Rusty Shackleford (5 fights lost) S68 – Podrick Cast and Jordan Tonn (2 fights lost) S67 - Kronos Bailey and Hunter Hearst Helmsley (4 fights lost) S66 - Rauno Palo (3 fights lost) The Stars Award (most stars won) – Randoms @hedgehog337 Randoms won a league leading 25 total stars this season. Honorable mention to last year’s winner Julian Borwinn @Jubo07 who topped the league with 14 1st stars, a fine way to end a career. Previous Stars Award Winners: S69 – Julian Borwinn (27 total stars) S68 – Matt Thompson (32 total stars) S67 - Rauno Palo (25 total stars) S66 - Matt Thompson (28 total stars) The “Always a Bridesmaid” Award (most stars without winning 1st star) – Luciano Valentino @Kekzkrieg Luciano got 6 stars this season, but never received a 1st star. Call out to Hugh Chan @HughJas_who managed to win 5 3rd stars without ever winning a 1st or 2nd star. Previous Bridesmaid Award Winners: S69 – Tzuyu (12 stars) S68 – Zeno Miniti (9 stars) S67 - Dan Baillie (13 stars) S66 - Mikka Pajari (7 stars) The Biggest Backpack Award (player with the largest difference in points from the rest of their team) - Julian Borwinn @Jubo07 Borwinn led the Titans with 95 points. That’s 22 more than the next closest teammate, Ben Hafkey @McLovin Previous Backpack Award Winners: S69 - John Madden (28 points more than teammate) S68 – Mikko Aaltonen (28 points more than teammate) S67 - Podrick Cast (23 points more than teammate) This concludes the unofficial award ceremony… Oh wait, sorry we have a new award making its debut this season! The award is: The Anniversary Award! This award goes to the player whose total points rank matches the season number. This season was season 70. That means this award goes to the player who finished 70th in total points. The winner of this year’s Anniversary Award is… Orion Slade @BluObieZ Orion’s 44 points put him in 70th place overall. That’s all that’s needed to win the Anniversary Award! Ok that’s it now! Thank you to everyone reading. Congratulations and/or condolences to all the winners! Have a good night! 1,469 words. Will claim for 2 weeks.

Have you ever done anything in life, anything where you considered yourself pretty good at it? Like to the point where you start feeling real confident about your abilities? No? Okay, just pretend you have. Pretend that you are a gazelle. Your the best damn gazelle around, you outrun the slowest gazelle every day and never get caught by the predator! In fact, you outrun not just the slowest gazelle, but all of them. They consider you the Usain Bolt of gazelles, and you use your intelligence and maneuverability to buy yourself another day on the planet. The predator of the gazelle--the lion usually aims to catch the slowest gazelle in order to find it's meal. Now imagine the lion stalks around per usual, and the chase begins--but this time, that motherfucker is fast. This lion might as well have augmented limbs because he is so goddamn fast that he only wants the fastest gazelle to satisfy is undying hunger. He catches the fastest gazelle with no stress and peaces out to dine on his meal leaving all the gazelles to wonder what the hell just happened to their Usain Bolt. As you, the fastest gazelle, are being feasted on alive by the family of the lion you think to yourself; This motherfucker is O.P. That Lion is the Moscow Menace. Yeah, thats right. Moscow Menace isn't even a gazelle, they are the fucking lion. They are laughing in their dressing room as they rip to shreds the competition like a simple VHL gazelle. Forget beating the rest of the gazelles to live another day-- How in the hell do we stop this monstrosity that the VHL has created? SUPER IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS OF OVERPOWEREDNESS As a hockey fan and a VHL newbie, I am very sad to bring you the top 50 players in order of points minus every player from a team other than Moscow. Hint: The list is not as short as you may think. Jet Jaguar @gorlab 97 points in 72 games you say? You must be referencing a demigod by the name of Connor McDavid or Leon Draisaitl from an ancient time where hockey players actually played the game on ice with sticks and skates! Nope, were really talking about Jet Jaguar and the absolute beast of a player he is. Conclusion: OP Randoms @hedgehog337 Ok, obviously there will be a player well beyond the point-per-game stat line, but probably no more right? Wrong. Randoms is just a random dude that GM @Victor found on the streets of Russia sipping vodka out of a damp sock, but turned out to be the best damn goalscorer since...since himself. There is nobody quite like dampen sock sipping Randoms. Conclusion: Drunk and OP Smitty Werbenjagermanjensen @flyersfan1453 You already probably know that this man racks up points, not only in the VHL but in Jager credits. "What are Jager credits?" you may ask-- Jager credits are a made up currency that Smitty takes for his endorsement deals with Jagermeister, the alcoholic beverage. He believes that these will purchase him beverages from the company but he couldn't be more wrong. Good move, Jagermeister. Conclusion: Not Drunk but OP Mat Tocco @Matmenzinger What is there to know about this little guy? Other than him being a scoring machine, he also starred in the movie Indiana Jones. He played the character, "short round" as he was the only person available that was short enough to play the role. Rocking a 5'9" 170 pound frame, good luck hitting this guy as he slips through between your legs and scores top shelf while screaming "MISTAH JONES MISTAH JONES!" Conclusion: Short but OP Dan Baillie @wcats We are seeing a recurring theme here--No, not that I'm a biased and sore loser roasting the team that beat me in the playoffs, that Moscow is full of players that can score points like crazy. Dan Baillie is 9th on the list of 50 players, and we are already at 5 Menace players being mentioned. The winger scored 77 points and put up a 32 goal season, which is never to be taken lightly. Conclusion: OP Gritty @eaglesfan036 Hey- who are you and how did you get in her-- Hi guys this is the same guy that wrote all the rest of this stuff, and I'm here to say that Gritty is the best player in the entire league, he is underrated, he is handsome, and he doesn't take yes for an answer! Gritty ain't afraid to get down and dirty when it comes to scoring goals and dishing out apples, but when it comes to the Moscow Menace, I'm- I mean He, is the most complete player! Conclusion: Gritty Vladimir Pavlov @Victor Another Russian in his home country, what else could go right for the Menace? Seriously, the VHL need to put limits on how many Russians are allowed to abuse vodka during games. Moscow's bench looks like the curb outside of the bar full of drunks chatting it up about nothing altogether, but at the same time they get on the ice and turn into straight savages searching for the last bottle of vodka left on post-apocalyptic earth. Besides that, Pavlov is a great defenseman that deserves the recognition that he has gotten, though he forgets everything the next day so whats the point. Conclusion: Drunk and OP Dean Clarke @Kyle You thought we were done? You can't forget the Dean. The Dean is the most normal resembling figure on the Moscow team. Although he is in the top 50 players in points, He reminds me that you don't have to be in a vodka-fueled rage coma to do well in the VHL. Putting up good numbers for a well rounded defenseman, He is showing promise for an even brighter future in Moscow, if that is even possible with all the drunk Russians raging across the league. Anyway, thank you Dean Clarke for keeping away from the vodka and helping build a better and safer VHL. Conclusion: All Natural Raymond Bernard @Mr_Hatter You are joking right? They also have a goalie that can put up 45 wins in a season with a 2.51 GAA? Is he on the drink too? No, he's not. Well maybe, theres no way to be sure, but no matter that, he's a goalie that can steal games on any day. Signed to be with Moscow for another 3 seasons and looking good at that. All we can do is pray that this man doesn't find where Randoms keeps his dampen socks. Conclusion: OP Now I ask all of you, please consider signing my petition to remove the abuse of vodka in the EU conference, obviously were staring right at you Moscow. This team is not only good, but tolerant. They will feast on the substance until their insatiable hunger for vodka can no longer be met, then they move on to something else-- something worse, US. If they aren't already feasting on us, they will be soon when they run out of vodka. We can only hope that people like Dean Clarke will see the condition of his teammates before they turn into VHL player eating zombies that play great hockey. FINAL CONCLUSION: MOSCOW IS OP!!! I have implemented a security device that will force these players to leave you alone for a short while. Please use the following image to create a distraction if you are to run into one of the previously listed players. Instructions: Use with caution. Pull photo up on phone and show to raging drunk. Proceed to throw phone as far as you can once individual makes a loud screeching noise. DO NOT CONSUME BECAUSE THIS IS A PHOTO! Disclaimer: This is meant to be funny, and was not meant to hurt the feelings of others. If you have been found with injured feelings, please contact @Beketov. 1,310 words for PT weeks March 8 and March 15

Playoff Previews: Semi-Finals Moscow Menace vs. Riga Reign Welcome, one and all, to the European Conference Finals, where a trip to the Continental Cup Finals is on the line. For the Moscow Menace, their regular-season dominance carried over just as well as General Manager Victor Alfredsson could have hoped. For as valiantly as the Prague Phantoms put up a fight, they were no match for the Menace, who swept them aside after four games. Benjamin Zeptembergs' Riga Reign, however, had no such luxury, taking all they could handle from the Helsinki Titans before a decisive Game Seven victory matched them up with the buzzsaw known as Moscow. Road To the Semi-Finals Moscow's dominance made them an easy favourite over a Prague team that clawed their way into the playoffs, and they did not disappoint. Randoms continued his memorable farewell tour with a team-leading eight points, including the series-clinching goal in Game Four. Jet Jaguar added on to his phenomenal regular season with another seven points, while Smitty Werbenjagermanjensen and Dean Clarke both added six points each. Goalie Raymond Bernard had a fantastic series, boasting a .929 save percentage and a 2.50 goals allowed average. The Menace has been red-hot all season, and they continue to roll along. After cruising through the regular season, the Riga Reign faced off against their old rivals, the Helsinki Titans in the first round. In old-school VHL tradition, they took this series to seven games, with Riga breaking through Alexander Pepper's valiant stand with a 5-2 victory. Ryan Kastelic's six points and 27 hits led the Reign, as he hopes to end his career the way it began: a Cup win with the Reign. Codrick Past, Lincoln Tate and Guy Saskamoose each had five points as well in the series, which was cemented by promising rookie Ryan Tallinder's goal in the second period. Riga certainly has the heart of a champion in surviving against their rivals, but do they have the strength to topple Moscow? Why Moscow Should Win Moscow's complete and utter domination is easy to explain: this is a deep roster, loaded with all the tools required to lift a Continental Cup. A dangerous first line featuring two sure-fire award winners in Jet Jaguar and Randoms will strike fear into any defensive pairing. Speaking of defensive pairings, the Menace will have either Smitty Werbenjagermanjensen or Vladimir Pavlov on the ice at all times, which will do plenty to slow down Riga's offence and keep Raymond Bernard comfortable. The Reign do not boast much depth at forward, which should make slowing Ryan Kastelic down much easier than it should be. The Menace, on the other hand, has the depth at forward to constantly remain a threat to score. Additionally, Kastelic's line was -4 (Ryan Busser was -3) during the Helsinki series. With their top scorer's line defensively vulnerable, this could be another quick series for Moscow. Why Riga Should Win Ryan Kastelic's farewell tour won't go quietly into the night, although it very well might without some rethinking. His -4 despite leading the team in points is worrisome, and despite his talent, Kastelic cannot beat Moscow alone. Patrick Tallinder's series-clinching goal could have his confidence at an all-time high, and along with his responsible defensive play, he could be the key to stabilizing Kastelic's line. Finn Davison will need to be nothing short of a god in net for Riga to survive the Menace's dangerous forwards, which means Jagger Phillyfan and Apollo Hackett's defensive play must improve tremendously in this series. -5 and -3, respectively, will not cut it against a Moscow team that is eviscerating all of their opponents. Davison will need to channel his inner-Rayz Funk for Riga to pull this one out. VSN's Pick Riga has had themselves a quality season, but their lack of scoring options not named Ryan Kastelic will prove to be their downfall. Between Jet Jaguar, Randoms, Smitty Werbenjagermanjensen, Gritty and Dan Baillie, there are just too many scoring threats for Apollo Hackett and Lincoln Tate to slow down. While I believe that Finn Davison, Hackett and Tate will mount a valiant defence, Moscow simply has too much going on to be stopped. Not here, not now. Riga will be able to prevent a sweep, but not much else. The Moscow Menace will advance to the Continental Cup Finals with a victory in Game Five on home ice in front of their raucous fan base, overjoyed that their beloved team is finally playing for all the marbles. Players Mentioned: @Victor, @hedgehog337, @gorlab, @flyersfan1453, @Kyle, @Mr_Hatter, @Sonnet, @Enorama, @Kylrad, @Tate, @Cxsquared, @Patrik Tallinder, @diacope, @Poptart, @Philliefan, @Renomitsu, @Rayzor_7, @eaglesfan036, @wcats

Hello, and welcome back to Under 250: The VHLM Report. In these series, we will be taking a look at the trends and topics from the past week in the VHLM. What twists and turns will our minor league hold? Stay tuned to find out! The Review: Welcome back to the VHLM Review! The first round of playoffs has been played, and it was a demonstration in dominance. All four series were decided in just four games. We did predict some strong performances from the top teams, but this was something else entirely. Let’s take a look at how the series went down. Minnesota Storm (1) vs. Las Vegas Aces (8) All is said and done between the first seed and eight seed, and the series went about as well for the eight seed as we expected. The Aces were outscored by a score of 25 to 3 across the four games played. Minnesota set the pace early, with two back-to-back 7-0 wins. Jaxx Hextall kept both shutouts, although he was only called into action on 28 occasions across both games. In contrast, the Aces faced a total of 118 shots in the first two games. You could really have your pick of which Minnesota offensive players stood out. In the first game, Alex Armstrong completed the hattrick, while Gary Tarantino ran Game Two, ending the night with three goals and an assist to his name. The next two games were somewhat more entertaining for your Las Vegas fans, though in reality no less lopsided. Mike van Stronk opened up the scoring for the Aces in Game Three, but it was only to be a consolation goal, as the Storm were up 4-0 by the time he found the back of the net. The final game of the series was another display of offensive prowess from the Storm. Another hattrick, this time from Leon Gutzweiler, and a four-assist game from current team points leader Ben Storm helped the Storm close out the series. Justin Graves and Logan LeBlanc were able to get on the scoresheet for Las Vegas, so they would not go shutout a third time in four games, but it was not enough to match Minnesota’s firepower. San Diego Marlins (2) vs. Yukon Rush (7) Another series, another sweep, and another dominant offensive display from the higher seed; and it’s no surprise, coming from the number one offensive team from the regular season. The San Diego Marlins led the Yukon Rush by 30 goals to 7 across their four games. The Marlins kicked it off with a 7-2 victory against the Rush in Game One, enjoying a three-goal, one assist performance from Kyl Oferson. Game Two was the largest margin of victory throughout the whole first round of playoffs. The Rush scored three times in each of the three periods, all while holding the Rush to zero goals on 21 shots, a nice feather in the cap for Marlin goaltender Bruce Grimaldi. Perhaps surprisingly, the no player scored more than two goals in this balanced display, suggesting that the Marlins are much, much more than just a pretty top line. JaredN, in particular, stood out, with a fantastic two-goal, two-assist performance. Game Three showed some promise in the first period to stay close, with the Rush’s Nicolas Konig keeping them in the game with two first period goals. Despite bringing it to within one, the Marlins pulled away, widening the gap to three goals, before ending the game with the final tally of 8-3. Uhtred’s five points with two goals marked his team’s highest single-game point total of the first round. The final match was another dominant performance from the Marlins, with balanced scoring across the board, as they closed out the series win with a final score of 6-2. Ottawa Lynx (3) vs. Mexico City Kings (6) It feels strange saying a sweep was the closest series of the first round, but the matchup between 3rd seed Ottawa and 6th seed Mexico City was just that. Two games were decided by just a single goal, with Ottawa coming out on top both times, for a final series total of 18-8 for the Lynx. Game One was a close affair. The teams were evenly matched, with Mexico even taking the first goal from Robin Winter a minute into the first period. By the end of first, the teams were tied 2-2. The Lynx would eventually take the game with the winner coming from Jim Bob on the power play late in the second period. Game Two was somewhat more one-sided, with a final score of 5-2 in favour of the Lynx. Daldo in particular impressed, finding the back of the net three times as well as assisting once. Game Three was almost the turning point for the Kings, but they were unable to convert, and it may have ended up being the straw that broke the camel’s back. Evenly matched at one goal apiece at the end of the first, it was clear that this game had all the makings of a classic. When the Kings took the lead early on in the third, it appeared they might even be able to steal the game, but Ottawa had other plans. Veteran defenseman Finnigan MacBurn was able to snipe out a tying goal while on the powerplay, forcing the game to overtime. Ottawa dominated overtime, outshooting the Kings ten shots to four, and eventually won the game halfway through the overtime period, with Rich Dickbutt McFudderdudder taking the game-winning goal. Heartbreaking for the Kings, especially for goalie Nicolas Fomba, who had a fantastic 36 save performance for a final SV% of .923. The final game of the series was not nearly as close. Ottawa scored five in the first period, effectively putting all hope of a reverse sweep out of Mexico’s mind, and sealing the deal for the Lynx. Blacker Velvet had a great game to close out the series, scoring twice and assisting once to earn the first star for the Lynx. Houston Bulls (4) vs. Philadelphia Reapers (5) The Houston Bulls good form continued into the postseason, and their defensive chokehold held out strong against the Reapers in what is perhaps the most impressive series victory of the first round. Despite scoring the fewest goals of the winning teams in the first round with fifteen, the Bulls held the Reapers to only three goals in four games, the same as the Storm, but against the much stronger competition (no offence Las Vegas fans). Stone Wolski showed why he might be the number one goalie in the VHLM this season, as he shut the Reapers out twice, ending the series with a fantastic .967 SV% across all four games. Balanced scoring from the Bulls took the first game 4-0, with two goals coming from winger Valtteri Vaakanainen. Game Two was more impressive, as the Bulls one 5-0. Jimothy Frost stood out with his two goals of the night. Game Three was another story, however. Similar to Game Three in the Ottawa/Mexico series, we found ourselves tied up after regulation, with Reaper Bud Knight taking the goal to tie it up two minutes into the third period. It was a nervy finish for the Bulls. After suffering a minor penalty for hooking 13 minutes into the overtime period, they had to weather the storm, before SS Hornet was eventually able to put the game to bed only a few minutes until the end of the first overtime period. The final game of the series was a close one, but one which the Bulls eventually were able to take. They came out strong, scoring two goals in the first period. For a while in the second, it appeared the Reapers might be able to make a comeback, with a goal from Damien Wolfe halfway through the period, but they were unable to maintain momentum, and the game was effectively ended when Gary Neal found the back of the net with five minutes left in the third, taking the game out of the Reapers’ reach. Second Round Preview Minnesota Storm (1) vs. Houston Bulls (4) Get prepared for a great playoff battle between two strong teams. The Storm and Bulls are the leagues two strongest defences, with goaltenders Jaxx Hextall and Stone Wolski in fantastic form. The question is, will the Bulls be able to keep up with the Storm’s offence? They have a proven track record of depth scoring, while the Bulls have a host of relatively untested depth players on recent waiver pickups. With that being said, the first round proved that when it mattered most the Bulls could show up, take SS Hornet’s Game Three winning goal for example. This second round battle will likely be played on the special teams. Getting behind on the penalty kill could be the kiss of death for two teams that are otherwise so solid. Odds are this will be an entertaining series! Expect the Storm to take it, but if any team could make a dark-horse run to the cup, it is this fantastic Bulls group, especially riding the hot hand of Stone Wolski. San Diego Marlins (2) vs. Ottawa Lynx (3) The Lynx will have their work cut out for them this series. The San Diego Marlins are proving a well-oiled machine that takes no prisoners, and have passed all tests asked of them this season. If Ottawa is going to take this series, they are going to have to clean up their defence. Out of all winning teams in the first round, Ottawa’s Joakim Bruden had the lowest SV% of .892. Without a doubt respectable, but against this San Diego offence that holds six of the top eight slots for points so far this postseason, it will need to be better if they want to move on. Either that or their offence will have to kick it into gear. They weren’t playing at their regular season levels of production in their first series, at least not consistently. That being said, there is a good reason this squad was the best team in the league for a good part of the beginning half of the season, and it would be foolish to expect them to continue to underperform. For San Diego, they just need to keep doing what they are doing. I predict the Marlins to take this series, but it should be an entertaining one as the league’s number one and two offences duke it out for a trip to the cup. That’s all for this edition of Under 250: The VHLM Review. Thank you all for reading, and stay tuned next week for the inside scoop on all that’s going on in the league. Until next time! VSN Writer Mr_Hatter

Werbenjagermanjensen, the Hall of Fame, And What It Would Mean To Me These past two weeks, I've been pretty busy with work and wedding venue visiting/planning, so I wasn't on VHL a ton besides checking the individual games for Moscow and some of the Board of Governor threads. All of a sudden, I started getting tons and tons of notifications that I was tagged in media spots, graphics, and fan590s. Low and behold, the theme week this season is "potential hall of famers." Naturally I guess, Smitty Werbenjagermanjensen has been mentioned in a lot of these. I'm going to take a slightly different spin to this since Smitty has already had his stats explained multiple times this week - after going through his current accolades, I'm going to talk about how I personally got to this activity level with Smitty and how my prior players affected Smitty's career. Werbenjagermanjensen only played for the Ottawa Lynx in the VHLM. After being picked up on waivers during S63, he was drafted by the Lynx in S64. Smitty didn't really put up any insane numbers. During the regular season, he put up 3 points in 13 games during S63, and 68 in 72 games in S64...which I guess is actually pretty good by today's standards. As a result of his hard work off the ice and production on the ice, HC Davos Dynamo selected the young defenseman with the second overall pick in the S65 VHL Entry Draft. A lot has already been said about the Dynamo during the time Smitty was a member of the team, but I'm just gonna summarize it with I enjoyed playing with @ShawnGlade and thought we got the short end of the stick a couple of times sim wise, but at the end of the day, we weren't good enough to get it done. At the very least, the Dynamo put Smitty in a position to be successful. From the start, I believe Werbenjagermanjensen was the number one defenseman on the team, or at least was by the end of his rookie season. Also, during his four seasons in Davos, the team made the playoffs twice and was only truly bad during his first season. This allowed Smitty to not only earn a large number of points at the beginning of his career, but also accumulate a large number of hits and blocked shots. He also only had one "minus" season on the team, going -1 during his rookie season. The points slowly increased from 47, to 48, to 63, and then to 86 in Season 68, which helped propel him to the Labatte and Valiq trophies. During the off-season, there was an amicable split between Werbenjagermanjensen and Davos, at which point the defenseman went to free agency and signed with the Moscow Menace. Things only continued to improve as a member of the Menace. During S69, Smitty put up another 83 points season and 264 hits, earning the Labatte and Wylde trophies, and also narrowly came in second in the Valiq voting. Although the playoffs of S70 are still on going, Werbenjagermanjensen put up another 86 point season, and is the presumptive winner of the Labatte, Valiq, and Beketov trophies. Even without a Continental Cup currently to his name, it's very likely that Werbenjagermanjensen will be joining the ranks of the Hall of Fame, perhaps even as a first ballot member. For a large portion of the league, Smitty Werbenjagermanjensen is the only player associated with myself. Those who don't know my player history may be surprised to know that even though I am already a member of the Hall of Fame as a builder, I haven't had a player really come that close to the Hall of Fame. However, there are three of my past players in particular that I want to discuss - Robin Gow, Jeff Gow, and Shayne Gow - and how that affected my career with Smitty. Robin Gow - Robin Gow was my second player and really when I became "noticed" in the VHL. During my first player, I was inactive for about a season and a half, and he was only an "OK" defensive defenseman. I knew that when I created Robin, I wanted to make an actually great player. Robin was either first or second by TPE in his draft class come draft time (I believe it was second, but there's a slight chance I was first) and was selected 2nd overall by the Riga Reign. Robin would play with the Reign for the entirety of his career except for the last half season of his 7th and final season. During Robin's career, I became GM of the Reign, and was tied to the team due to the "GM Player" rule at the time, although it's very unlikely I would have left anyway. Robin always put up good/great numbers, but I don't think he ever won an individual award in the VHL. Robin only had a season or two where he was the number one center on the team. For most of his prime, he was behind a more advanced player (most notably is probably Kameron Taylor) or a trade deadline acquisition (most notably @boubabi's player who is escaping my name right now...Niklas Lindberg?), and then played behind someone else when he moved to Cologne. What Robin's career taught me was that not only do you have to be a top TPE earner to join the hall of fame, but you also need the right circumstances around your team's roster. Jeff Gow - Jeff Gow was supposed to be the hall of famer. Coming off of my third player - Bernie Gow, who was a no good, completely average goalie who will most likely scar me from ever making a goalie again in this league - I wanted to create the best goal scorer in the league. Jeff was going to be a winger who did nothing but put the puck in the net, and I wasn't going to put a point in faceoffs or checking in order to maximize my offensive counting stats as efficiently as possible. The actual specifics of the story don't matter here, but at the end of the day, I didn't find the individual success I thought I should have had early on in my career. Between failing to meet my own lofty individual expectations and starting a new position at work, I found myself burnt out of the VHL. I was semi-active for maybe 1.5 seasons and completely inactive for close to 1 season. What Jeff's career taught me is to manage my expectations of what I want to get out of the VHL and to make sure to take a break when I feel like I need it. Coincidentally, I'm somewhat doing that with Smitty this season. After doing a media spot almost every single week of his career up to this season, I've done welfare primarily all of this season as a way to step back and take some time from the league while still maintaining a presence in other aspects of the site, primarily the Board of Governors. Shayne Gow - Shayne was my player right after Jeff. I sort of wrote about how he was going to be a hall of famer, but deep down, I knew that probably wasn't going to be true. He was going to be a good offensive defenseman, but I don't know how much he even played on the top pairing of competitive teams. The main thing I learned about Shayne is to be comfortable jumping teams. Up until this player, I had never gone to free agency as an active player (I don't count doing so with Bernie, since being a goaltender is a different story), and the only way I moved between teams was trades towards the end of my career. With Shayne, I was drafted by Helsinki, played there for a couple of seasons, then I was traded to Seattle, didn't re-sign after my ELC expired, and signed with Calgary for one season. As a free agent again, I signed with Helsinki, and finished my last three seasons there, but I'm pretty sure they were all one year deals. What I learned with Shayne is that it's OK to leave a team in free agency as long as you're upfront with the GM. When everyone's on the same page, it might lead to some disappointment or disagreement, but it's much different that doing it as a surprise at the end of the season. Being comfortable doing this with Shayne was a big reason why I was comfortable leaving Davos and becoming a free agent. So all of a sudden, this has become a media spot that is almost 1,500 words. Personally, I will be very proud if Smitty makes the Hall of Fame, since I doubt my next players will have the same level of activity that Smitty did at the beginning of his career. Not to say that my next players won't be very good, but I don't know if they'll be "Hall of Fame good" unless I get lucky. At the end of Smitty's career, I'll go into more detail about the who helped me and the thank you's and all that, but that's a story for another day. At this time, I'm just hoping that Moscow can win the Continental Cup this year, do it again next year, and then we'll see where my eighth and final team will take me.

@Peace

One Final Shot: S64's Best First Gens (Part I of II) A theme week involving the Hall of Fame doesn't exclude first generation players from its scope. In fact, as I covered in the first article of this series, brand new blood often includes some of the most productive and memorable members of this community, bringing a fresh perspective to how the league is run - in fact, this mish-mash of new and old is necessary to keep the site running. While we could wax poetic about the potential builders emerging from those who have been in the league for scarcely a year and a half, my focus in this article will be players that have had a substantial impact on the league. I won't be discussing their members' community contributions, though it's often mirrored by their level of activity. On to more Season 64 specific material - shall we? This is the second in a series of articles that will detail the best first generation players of their respective classes - excluding those that have retired before their seventh season. Unlike those in my previous article, the players detailed here have the Season 70 Playoffs, as well as all of Season 71 to set their legacy in stone. They've faced most of what regression has to offer, with the worst yet to come - and yet, they've gotten this far without most of the ill effects. This time around, I'll kick off Season 64 with the two goalies that define it: Brick Wahl and Finn Davison. Image credit to @Jubo07 G Brick Wahl @BladeMaiden, Prague Phantoms (1341 TPE) A veritable giant at 6’7” and 247 lbs, Brick Wahl’s name befits his physical stature and has an effectively prescient origin story. Born following a local avalanche, Wahl was born amongst the rocks and spent his early life in his father’s construction sites with brick-laying duties, co-opting a similar stone-faced expression while reading through his textbooks and excelling in academics – particularly math involving quadratic equations or rectangular prisms (that last bit might be a little bit of projection). Rigid and clumsy on skates, he was forced to switch from defenseman to goalie, and enrolled in ballet and power skating classes but never showed truly graceful skating. Early on in his career, he was scouted and made the Moose Jaw Bucks, a AAA minor league team for which he earned 8 wins in 11 games and rapidly promoted to the NWHL. However, he acquired several penalty minutes from the net and was seen by several psychologists at the University of Saskatchewan, all-too-fittingly becoming a Husky. Almost too on-the-nose, Brick studied geology with intents of becoming a geoscientist as a second option. After three seasons, a tryst with 5’2” Caylin Aqua, and helping build a local animal shelter, he made his way to the VHLM. Wahl didn’t have to move far for his stint with the VHLM. He started every game with the Saskatoon Wild, compiling a 46-win record on an 89% save rate and the second spot in the standings. He competed with future notables such as Rylan Peace, Matthew Materazo, and Carles Puigdemont. Indeed, in spite of competing with a Yukon Rush squad with the likes of Kronos Bailey, Ryan Sullivan Jr, and Jagger Philliefan, Wahl managed to lead the Wild to a league second-best in goals allowed. Perhaps more impressively, the Wild pulled a 1-3 series reversal on the 21st in the first round, and eventually toppled the Lynx in an impressive four-game sweep in the finals. So oppressive was Wahl’s goaltending and defense that the Lynx scored just one goal per game – including a Game 2 shutout. One criticism – or at least spotlight – that Wahl has had throughout his career is his storied love life. Though previously with Caylin Aqua in his pre-VHLM days, Wahl was rumored to be dating former VHLM Finals opponent Carles Puigdemont (@Eudaldkp), a finding eventually corroborated by Wahl’s own press release. Just a season or two later, he swept long-time Toronto defender Tzuyu off of her feet following an All-Star Game right around Valentine’s Day. Unsurprisingly, Wahl was met with criticism, suggesting that focusing on his duties as a goaltender might lead to better results for a struggling Calgary team. Image credit to @Jubo07 However, Wahl’s lifetime statistics speak more to regular, intensive effort to improve. In six seasons with Calgary, the Canadian netminder’s wins may not have materialized at a desirable pace, but he’s been a… well, a brick wall for shots both flashy and subtle. His save percentage has never dipped below 91.4% and has peaked as high as 92.4% in Season 66 – a metric impressive enough to afford the goalie a tie for first in the league. Unfortunately, efficiency can only get you so far: Calgary’s defense up until last season or so didn’t quite match Wahl’s impressive feats in the net; in that very same season, he faced 2,112 shots. For reference, that’s over 250+ shots more than S66 Shaw and Clegane Trophy winner Kallis Kriketers faced. Team contribution aside, Wahl unfortunately falls in the realm of “very good” rather than all-time great. As his agent herself has suggested, Wahl has fallen short in the playoffs; he’s never made it out of the North American Conference Finals. Though he’s posted a lifetime save percentage of 92.1% in the playoffs – an excellent metric for a goalie – facing ~36 shots per game on average isn’t a recipe for success for any goalie, and neither is 3.26 (Season 66) or 2.99 (Season 68) goals allowed per game. Several seasons of “very good, but limited supporting cast,” a lack of playoff success, and a sparse awards cabinet unfortunately means Wahl’s impressive feats will go underappreciated in the annals of time. Image credit to @enigmatic G Finn Davison @Poptart, Riga Reign (1250 TPE) Coming off a reasonably successful Season 69 in which he faced a tremendous number of shots (2,395) on a fast-paced Moscow team, Finn Davison has faced the majority of regression without much fall-off in performance. A London native, Davison entered the VHLM at 18 – but he faced a difficult childhood before making his debut. One of three children, Finn was born to an automotive engineer father; his mother was a spender, to put it lightly – thus forcing the Davison family to move frequently between apartments. His friend groups constantly shifted, and as a result he found himself constantly isolated in a world of strangers and barely-acquaintances. The one place Davison could escape – where he wouldn’t feel lonely or superfluous – was the rink. As soon as he put on the pads, helmet, skates, and stick, he was home. Despite new surroundings every several months, he was a goalie through high school and started consistently wherever he went. Most impressively, he found himself able to compartmentalize bad saves and learning opportunities away from his performance in game and became something of a rock for younger players. He was kept honest by his girlfriend April, who supported him even in the earliest stages of his professional hockey dreams – including moving with him across the pond to Ottawa. On receiving the $1.5M contract, he started the back 34 games for the Lynx. Like virtually every goalie in the VHLM, he struggled to an extent – in fact starting shortly after being approved for his flat in Canada, just a few days after arriving in Ottawa International Airport. He played with classmates Elias Dahlberg, Pat Svoboda, Gritty, and Smitty Werbenjagermanjensen, and in fact seized the starting job from eventual Toronto goalie JB Rift. Those of you paying attention may have noted in Brick Wahl’s article that these two future VHL standouts played against one another in the S63 playoff. After disposing of the Las Vegas Aces 3-2 and 4-2 in the first round, the Lynx were nearly eliminated by the Rush in the semifinals, getting blanked in three of their seven games. But the Lynx tightened up after starting the series 0-2, eventually finishing the series with a Davison performance that included a 95.5% save rate. Their Founders Cup dreams were not meant to be, however, as the Lynx scored just 4 goals in as many games in the finals while being swept by Saskatoon. Image credit to @BladeMaiden Davison was understandably a high-value commodity coming off of his minor league season – drawing an endorsement from Haterade and being named to the World Juniors’ Team Europe (a sign of things to come). When the Season 64 Entry Draft rolled around, Davison’s draft position was largely unknown aside from being the second goalie off the board. In a draft otherwise reasonably deep with skaters, Davison fell all the way to the first selection of the third round to a struggling Davos team. Indeed, the Dynamo had compiled a 15-53-4 (34 point) record the season prior, and a nasty -157 goal differential. Davison had his work cut out for him. The young Englishman was thrown into the fire from the first day of practice and played in 34 of the team’s games with a 6-21-5 record. But just like his classmate, Davison put up impressive efficiency numbers including a 91.8% save rate. Scale Finn’s 1,322 shots to a typical number of starts, and he would have faced nearly 2,500 shots on goal (over his career record 2,395, which is similarly impressive). He’d need improvement in the incredibly young talent around him in order to make an impact – and with former Lynx teammates Elias Dahlberg and Pat Svoboda, as well as a spritely young Randoms on offense, he’d get exactly that. Regardless, Davos’s roster was constantly in flux; over the next few seasons, Davison faced a sophomore slump in Season 65 (90.9% SV) but a comparatively excellent record (31-29-5), followed by a surge in performance in Seasons 66 and 67. The team was formidable, having obtained GM player Katie Warren, a promising young core in Bjorn Scoringsonn, Aston Martin, and Don Draper, and having long-time stars Jake Davis, Ryuu Crimson, and Smitty Werbenjagermanjensen in the process. Tragically, the team underperformed on the season, finishing with a 30-31-11 record in spite of Davison’s most efficient year-to-date. Image credit to... uh, Poptart's sig? Davos scraped its way into the playoffs in Season 68 with a rock-solid core – and Davison saved an incredibly 92.7% of shots while compiling a 37-20-7 record. Ostensibly on the upswing, Davison would go on to win both the Aidan Shaw and Greg Clegane Trophies, only to lose to the eventual European Finals representatives in a 3-4 series loss to Malmo. This took the wheels off of the Davos train, derailing the team as various players jumped ship in the off-season. And once a player or two found their way off of the team, so did most everyone else. That included Davison, who was eventually shipped off to Moscow mid-season. His stats suffered for the first half of the year, returning to his career average 91.9% save rate before finishing with a total 26-37-9 record. Though he up-trended in the second half of the season, some had concerns about whether Davison would be able to perform at a high level after being peppered with shots all season. Then came a trade to Riga, who are in the midst of a rebuild but managed to compile a fantastic 36-23-7 record with Davison on board; though the results of the playoffs and award voting are yet to be determined, Davison has a compelling argument for some regular season hardware this time around. Though he faces the worst of regression this off-season, he still has a season and some change to make his argument for the Hall of Fame. -------------- That concludes this week's coverage of Season 64's best first generation players, with three skaters to be explored next week. What do you think of this week's two selections -- do either have a realistic shot at the Hall of Fame, or are they to be relegated to the doldrums of "Very Good"? Is a Continental Cup a requirement for the Hall, or are regular season accomplishments and conference finals sufficient? As these players progress into their final season, they'll need to answer these questions. [2,022 words. First claim, Theme Week 03/01/20]

@HulkHogan @Acydburn @Banackock @DoktorFunk @zepheter @HenrikZoiderberg @BluObieZ @Berocka @Rayzor_7 No way we lose to these misfits. Here's to a good series. Goodluck , have fun but Calgary will be victorious!!!!!

go fuck yourself

In a surprise announcement today, the 90+-year-old VHL Hall-of-Famer Mike Szatkowski has resurfaced in the league. Not for some charity event, to manage some team, or to get back onto the ice. It has been to announce a new draftee DeFenz Mann. A 19-year-old defender from France hoping to one day play in the VHL. Szatkowski has gone into coaching youth skaters, hoping to enter the VHL. Using his vast array of hockey knowledge, connections around the league, and a desktop PC to create a new hockey school. With the rising cost of tuition in traditional colleges across the world, Szatkowski has gone online. In the first school of its kind: "The Mike Szatkowski Center for Kids Who Can't Play Hockey Good and Who Wanna Learn to Do Other Stuff Good Too." As more and more youths around this world are getting their degrees online, it is only a matter of time. Soon all professional sports leagues will be pulling talent from online schools such as Phoenix University online. Szatkowski is hoping to prove this business model with his first and only student Mann. More to come on how this even works. An online school where Szatkowski and Mann had never yet met face to face.

Rumors are swirling about that Orion Slade is planning on picking up his player option for next season. Which is his right since it's an actual clause in his contract. One that the GM of Seattle gave him. But reports are that Seattle is planning to buyout Slade if he does pick up his option. Sounds messy right? If Orion picks up his option it will cost the team 4mill against the cap. But if they buy him out, he will only cost them 2. Either way it will hurt the teams cap situation. Mostly because with Orion's cap hit they will have to trade someone to keep certain players around. Orion is basically forcing the hand of Seattle and holding them at gun point. Seattle is trying their hardest to make the situation sound like that they have it under control and believe that Orion will do the right thing. But will he? If you go off his track record and his agents track record, Seattle is about to enter what is called Cap hell. Sure they will buy him out but its still 2 mill that they can use on someone else. All signs point to Orion picking up that option or at least making them wait till the last possible second to tell them he won't pick it up. Seattle cannot even trade his rights because he has a NTC in his contract. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

If all else fails, at least we don't have to live in Moscow.

does a day go by without you poopin in the sky birdboy? fucking stupid question

Playoff Previews First Round: Moscow Menace vs Prague Phantoms Season 70 playoffs haven’t even started yet, but there are already some storylines that make it one of the most interesting seasons in recent memory, one of which being that this the first time that both the D.C. Dragons and Prague Phantoms reach the playoffs after they joined the VHL in Season 68. However, it would be surprising to see the Phantoms come on top in their first-ever series, as they are facing the Victory Cup-winning Moscow Menace, arguably the favourite team to capture the Continental Cup, which would incidentally make it the first time they make the Continental Cup Finals. Road to the playoffs The Moscow Menace has just won the first Victory Cup - handed to the team with the best regular-season record - in franchise history and are not looking they are stopping their dominance anytime soon. They finished 1st in the whole league and earned home-ice advantage for the whole duration of the playoffs thanks to an impressive haul of 250 goals, giving them an average barely lower than 3.5 goals per game played, almost a full goal over the league average of 2.6. They have also been strong defensively, which allows them to hold a league-high 68-goal differential. On the other side of the playoffs spectrum, we have the Menace's opponents: the Prague Phantoms. They are the 8th team in - and actually finished behind the 5th-ranked North American Conference team - meaning that they hold the worst record among the 8 teams competing for the Season 70 Continental Cup. They are also the only team still playing with a negative goal differential, as they have allowed 24 more goals than they have scored. Why the Moscow Menace should win The Menace will win this best-of-7 series because simply put, their offence is firing on all cylinders. Their roster bears 4 of the league's 5 best scorers and a whopping 7 players over the point-per-game mark, including two-time Sterling Labatte Trophy winner - and this season's favourite to win it again - Smitty Werbenjagermanjensen. Jet Jaguar paced all skaters with 97 points, while Randoms' 44 goals outscored every other VHL players. Forwards Mat Tocco, Dan Baillie and Gritty, and defenseman Vladimir Pavlov round out the team's high octane core. In net, Raymond Bernard has been great for them too, holding a fine save percentage of .915% while notching a league-high 45 wins. It looks like there's nothing to stop this well-oiled machine, as they look forward to reaching their first-ever Continental Cup Finals and maybe be the first of the four 60's expansion teams to be crowned as VHL Champions. Why the Prague Phantoms should win The most encouraging fact for the Phantoms coming into this series against the Russian juggernaut is the fact that they were able to win both games played in Moscow during the regular season. They did lose their three games presented in Czechia, but it still shows that they can compete with them. The real question, however, is 'can they compete with them over a 7-game series'? Looking at both team's rosters on paper, the answer seems towards 'no'. Veteran Roll Fizzlebeef and youngsters Willie Dredge and Alex Pearson will need to catch fire and convert all their scoring opportunities if they want Prague to stand a chance. Their inexperienced defensive core of Cinnamon Block, Wolf Stansson Jr and Seabass Perrin will also need to step their game up to a whole other level to give a chance to recent free agent signing Brick Wahl to stop Jaguar and co. This series is as one-sided as it gets. Moscow are the favourites to win it all and, well, Prague would basically need some voodoo magic to incapacitate their opponents if they want to make it through to the second round. This is only a transition for the more recent expansion team though, as this is surely a first of many playoff appearances and they should enter the next couple of post-seasons with better odds of coming out with a Continental Cup. It should be a fun experience for their young core, though. Enjoy it! Players mentioned: @flyersfan1453 @gorlab @hedgehog337 @Matmenzinger @wcats @eaglesfan036 @Victor @Mr_Hatter @TacticalHammer @sjs88speed @Jayrad28 @omgitshim @Cornholio @Sebster03 @BladeMaiden VSN Writer McWolf

Playoff Previews: Semi-Finals Calgary Wranglers v. Seattle Bears In a turn of events that, at this point, is no longer shocking, the Seattle Bears look to be headed to the finals again. In their way stand the Calgary Wranglers looking to deny them their third straight North American Conference title. First Round Results Calgary probably struggled more in the first round than they rightfully should have. Or, I should say, the series looked closer than I feel it actually was. Aside from one awful game, the Wranglers were in the driver’s seat the whole way. Game five could have easily gone their way, but some bad puck-luck and the craziness of overtime hockey in the playoffs sent the series to six games. That being said, I think we did see a glimpse of Calgary’s biggest weakness, their extreme variance. Throughout the season, it was really hard to predict which Calgary team would show up each game. One Wrangler’s roster was among the most smothering in the league and truly looked like this could be their year. The unfortunate dark side, however, showed up seemingly at random and when it did, it was always ugly. On the other side, Seattle seems to be returning to form as they return to where they seem most comfortable, the postseason. Many people joked about it, some even thought that the Bears had a good shot, but I don’t think anyone predicted they would dominate the Wolves so completely. Despite facing nearly two hundred shots, Rayz Funk showed up in a major way to keep them in every game. The downside for Seattle is this, they are hot right now, and if that heat runs out before the series is over, they are going to be in for a bad time. However, given the recent history, I think it would be hard not to call the Bears the favourite to take this series. Why Calgary will win Factor number one for Calgary is their depth. You have to get seventeen players deep in the list of first-round players by points per sixty minutes to find a Wrangler. However, as a team, their offence showed up in the first round to complement their always stellar defensive play. There is a reasonable chance that this will turn into a battle of the goaltenders and if it does I have to give the advantage to Calgary. JB Rift has been amazing all year and is undoubtedly hungry for more playoff success than he has seen in the past. The question mark that will really swing things for or against the Wranglers is going to be their top line. In big games or big series like these, you have to have your top guys show up. If Tyler Barabash Jr. isn’t a difference-maker they are going to struggle to keep up with how explosive Seattle has been so far. Why Seattle will win It is hard to bet against the reigning champs right now. After such a big upset in the first round, they have officially removed any underdog status from themselves. But maybe being doubted was doing something positive for this team psychologically. Let’s see if they can continue to perform when everyone is expecting them to succeed. The key to victory for the Bears is going to be straightening out their defence. Rayz Funk is a top tier goalie, but you can’t continue to allow him to face forty or more shots a game and expect him to hold the game together for your team. If this series becomes a shootout it will be too unpredictable to have a clear favourite. I believe Seattle can maintain their advantage by slowing the pace of play and dominating possession the way they do so well. For the Bears, the biggest hurdle is going to be overcoming a lack of depth. Their stars perform magnificently in the first round, but it is going to take a whole team effort to win the cup. Can some of the younger talent on the team rise to the occasion? That may very well be the deciding factor of this series.

I made a post there - might as well make one here to return the favour. TIT FOR TAT. https://simulationhockey.com/showthread.php?tid=2457&pid=2785252#pid2785252

Player Information Username: Mike Player Name: DeFenz Mann Recruited From: Other (Self) Age: 19 Position: D Height: 75 in. Weight: 220 lbs. Birthplace: France Player Page @VHLM GM

Does this hurt Vancouver's chances at a title?

S68 – A Class of Potential Hall of Fame Defenders The season 68 VHL entry draft is chock-full of high end defensive talent that is finally coming into its prime and having a real impact on the league. Players like Condor Adrienne, Lance Flowers and Luciano Valentino & Jeff Downey head up a very strong class of defenders that not only hope to help their teams raise the Continental Cup in the future but also hope to get elected to the prestigious VHL Hall of Fame once their careers are over. Let us take a look at this strong crop of defenders to see where they stack up against each other thus far in their careers and find out if any of these guys stand a chance at cracking the Hall. Name: Condor Adrienne @OrbitingDeath Team: Malmo Nighthawks Goals: 38 (1st) Assists: 115 (2nd) Points: 153 (1st) Plus/Minus: +39 (1st) Hits: 634 (2nd) Shots Blocked: 350 (3rd) Condor Adrienne was the first player drafted in this class and is also aptly the first player on our list. Adrienne was brought in to be the future franchise defenseman of the Malmo Nighthawks when he was chosen, and while he hasn’t taken over that number one defenseman spot as of yet, it shouldn’t be much longer before he does. Adrienne has put up some great numbers already in his career, and has been trusted with a lot of minutes in Malmo right from the start. After a down sophomore season with forty points, Green set a new career mark this season with 57 points and an impressive 17 goals. Adrienne will more than likely finally get his shot at being the true number one defender with Malmo next season as Jerry Garcia continues to get older and that extra ice-time could really help Green catapult himself to another level. As long as Green can continue to build upon his strong third season and improve his offensive number there is a good argument that can be made that would see Green entering the Hall of Fame. Name: Luciano Valentino @Kekzkrieg Team: D.C. Dragons Goals: 33 (2nd) Assists: 114 (3rd) Points: 147 (2nd) Plus/Minus: -84 (4th) Hits: 248 (3rd) Shots Blocked: 410 (1st) Luciano Valentino was the first draft pick in D.C. Dragons history and was brought in to be their franchise defenseman right from the start of the team. A quiet player off of the ice, Valentino allows his play on the ice to do all of the talking for him. Valentino had a very strong rookie season in the first year of the Dragons where he managed to put up a very impressive 48 points and some spectacular defensive statistics that had him near the top of league leaderboards in multiple categories. Since that rookie year he has kept consistent with his offensive output, putting up 46 points in his second season and 53 in his third year. While his defensive stats have taken a bit of a drop off since that first season that can mostly be attributed to the increasing talent level in D.C. and less of a need for him to be putting his body on the line as much as he had to at the start. Valentino has had a very strong three seasons to start this career and should be given all of the opportunity going forward to continue to try for a Hall of Fame career. Name: Lance Flowers @CowboyinAmerica Team: New York Americans Goals: 21 (4th) Assists: 118 (1st) Points: 139 (3rd) Plus/Minus: -10 (3rd) Hits: 806 (1st) Shots Blocked: 365 (2nd) Lance Flowers has had an interesting career thus far in the Victory Hockey League. While his offensive numbers, cumulatively, stack up with the other defenders on this list, he has had his struggles after a very impressive 59 point rookie season. After putting up 59 points in his rookie season, as well as amazing defensive numbers, he grabbed the Christian Stolzschweiger as well as the Jake Wylde trophies for top defensive defenseman and top rookie. His sophomore season saw his offensive numbers drop almost in half, to 34 points, and his defensive stats take a hit as well. Flowers looks to be back on track after his third season and has continued to put up enormous hit numbers as well as a good number of shot blocks. If Flowers can managed to return to his rookie season form he could easily catapult himself into the Hall of Fame conversation. If he can have a resurgence from his fourth season onward he could erase that tough second season fairly easily and see his name raised to the rafters. Name: Jeff Downey Team: Vancouver Wolves Goals: 26 (3rd) Assists: 104 (4th) Points: 130 (4th) Plus/Minus: +33 (2nd) Hits: 334 (3rd) Shots Blocked: 282 (4th) While Jeff Downey has not accumulated the counting stats of some of the other players the one thing he has going for him is the continued upward trajectory of his career. Coming into the league Downey had limited ice time on the defending champion Vancouver Wolves which led to him only accumulating 24 points in his rookie season. As he has had his role continue to increase over the years his production, at least offensively, has improved dramatically each season he has been in the league. Over his three seasons his point totals have gone from 24 in his rookie season, to 41 his second year and all the way to 65 in his third season. His numbers currently don’t look like he will be on a Hall of Fame pace, however if he can somehow continue his huge growth from one season to the next you could see the stats begin to add up over time. However that could all change, as could any of these players’ outlooks, as their teams continue to adjust and evolve over the seasons. As can be seen from this article there can be a good argument made for any of these top four defenders to make the Hall of Fame when their careers end. It is hard to compare these guys with their predecessors as offensive numbers across the league have taken a fall in recent years so they will need to be compared to other players in the current era rather than in the past to see how they really stack up. - 1055 Words - Claiming Weeks of 3/1 & 3/8 -

@McWolf

Good evening everyone I am still sick and dying full disclosure. I want to talk to you about Triple H this is a man who cannot stop at anything the only thing he can stop at the Dunkin’ Donuts to get a Dunka Roo’s before his big heavyweight title match. As far as him in the VA child goes though I will tell you all he is an absolute trash bag. It doesn’t matter that he is a precision and beauty of a score, no sir no sir. What matters is his physique is integrity is power underneath all of that equipment. Triple H has one over 15 titles in his life. You might be asking what titles they are my answer that is go fuck yourself. What matters about triple H is that he is the most beautiful sexy most intelligent man that there is in the VA A.CHAL. What matters is his physique is integrity is power underneath all of that equipment. Triple H has won over 15 titles in his life. You might be asking what titles they are my answer that is go fuck yourself. What matters about Triple H is that he is the most beautiful sexy most intelligent man there is in the VA A.CHAL. His agents Beavis is probably the sexiest agent in the VHS as well. And I know what you’re thinking how is this all related to being in the Hall of Fame. The fact of the matter is there is no ugly people in the Hall of Fame of the VHL. Even the ones who rode in on their mommies saddle and suck the juices right out of a cows tit, They are all still beautiful people! I have to be on there but that is another story. Triple H back in 2003 was an absolute monster of a man. He would bury anyone who opposed him. Even men like Bill Goldberg Stood no chance against a man like Hunter Hearst Helmsley.That alone right there even if that was the WWE is proof enough that this man deserves all the same respect as any Hall of Famer. Beavis already is in the Hall of Fame as a builder, and that right there is proof enough Triple H Mr. Hunter Hearst Helmsley will be making it to. I don’t care what any of you guys say even if he scored and if he never scored another goal in the DHL he would still make it because this man is the greatest wrestler the greatest hockey player the greatest man to live on this earth and that’s a matter of fact because Stone cold said so.

Dil Is the Best (Maybe Not but still a productive member of society) When you think about a HoF builder, almost all of them have a time period where they were extremely active and well known by the VHL population. Say what you want about Dil, but everyone knows who he is and has an opinion on him, good or bad. Frequently found trolling in discord, he is a major activity driver, as everyone loves to rag on him. The thing I respect about Dil is that he like many other people likes to dish it out, but he can take the hits as well if you dish it back at him. Outside of the fact that Dil is an extremely active member, he is a big picture idea person who actually could make some innovative changes to really help the VHL. Take the portal @Will created for example. Me being a boomer who knows nothing about that stuff thought anything on the portal was a giant waste of time, which is understandable if you ever saw our old portal from like S40. It was just like a broken link that no one ever used with old and outdated stats and just a stupider way to look at what was in the index. Now I would argue the new portal is the number one greatest improvement ever seen in the VHL, as updating is automated and much cleaner, and for stat research purposes it is so much easier to find stuff. I don't know this for sure, but I believe that Dil is one of our fine members who is helping William on the portal, someone please confirm? On the topic of big picture ideas, Dil has created a VHL app for android, and I believe he is working on one for the Apple Iphones or watches or whatever the kids use these days. This is another example of boomers and the portal. For me personally, I hate needing to use an app for anything and would rather just use my laptop or google chrome on my phone. Even when I am on VHL, it usually is on my laptop on a browser. But I am not the norm for these zoomers and 18 and under crowd who do everything on their phone apps. And perhaps these apps in time will be way better and more efficient than the browser in ways I don't even understand, just like the portal. In conclusion, Dil should make the Hall of Fame as a Builder based on his extreme activity generation just from being his typical self, in addition to his great help to the league in creating the app and working on the portal. This big picture stuff should not be taken for granted, as it is how the VHL can be improved exponentially. Lastly, some other random things DIl has worked on for the VHL is his robot on discord (which is his baby), and also the VHLPA. Even though the VHLPA ultimately failed, we can all appreciate his big picture ideas. Also @tfong I swear I didn't copy you I had this idea in mind for my last minute article to earn double tpe. @Dil ily

As it stands right now, New York looks like it will be able to keep their S67/S68 core together for a few more seasons. Whether or not anyone from this group makes it to the hall of fame will depend on how the group performs together. Naturally, the biggest roadblock for any of these players will be if they retire without a cup and given that the group has committed to each other for the next few seasons, each player’s best chance at a cup probably lies in New York. So let’s assume a cup happens. Who has the best chances to get HOF status (based on results thus far into their career)? The answer is pretty obvious if you know a bit about the team. You’ve got the career long captain and leader Boris the Forest @chillzone, the hard-nosed and well respected former ROTY in Lance Flowers @CowboyinAmerica, and the rock that holds everything together, A Red Guy @.sniffuM. The combination of all three of these guys together is the best reason to think NY can bring home a cup soon and so probably stand the best chance that any one of them make it into the hall. Now for some personal predictions. I really think there is a chance Boris walks away with one of the most underrated careers in recent history. He rarely places in the highly visible top 10 leaderboards for a lot of stats, but if you ever look a bit further, he usually sits just outside. Combine that with his loyalty, leadership and highly consistent play (pretty much the only New York American’s player who's never had a down year) and it makes him the player I root for the most to get in. That being said, just with how competitive it is to get in, it will probably take not only a cup or two as captain, but a couple of seasons in that top 10 in points, goals, or assists to get him some of “fame” he needs. Even if he never gets to be inducted into the VHL HOF, he will almost certainly retire as an all-time New York Americans great. The player I’d place with the best odds amongst the team is A Red Guy. He’s another guy who so far has been just so consistently good, even if not taking home the best goalie award thus far. Why it matters more, is that consistently good as a goalie provides your team a chance to win every year. New York just finished a disappointing S70 season, missing the playoffs by 1 point after a bit of a slide towards the end of the year. I expect that is as wide a margin they will miss by ever again as long as A Red Guy stands in net. I fully believe they will be a playoff team going forward, and it just takes one of them to have ARG guide them to the cup. Goalies are probably the most competitive position to get in and at this point it means you need to have team success and individual success to get in. Hoping ARG gets a lot more of both in the next few years. Finally, defencemen Lance Flowers probably shows the best potential of anyone to elevate his game to heights we’ve not yet seen. Starting his career off hot before cooling down in his sophomore year, this past season showed a glimpse of what Flowers once showed he’s capable of; top end physical and defensive play that helps his team out offensively. In every year he’s played on New York, he’s always been the #2 guy shadowed by LeGrande in S68, Elmebeck in S69 and McWolf in S70, Flowers should be the unquestionable #1 for the remainder of his time in New York. I’ve been a big fan of his play even during his down years, so it’s exciting to think what he’ll bring to the team as the bonafide #1. Hopefully a cup. Claiming for theme week.

You could feel it in the air, couldn't you? You knew this exact moment was coming. I know you. You were sitting at your computer screen thinking this is going to become something one day. This innocent photo of McWolf as a kid would soon turn into something else. Something much more haunting. Something myself and @Motzaburger stumbled upon accidentally one late, stormy, VHL night. A VHL secret that never should of been found, but here we are.. We find ourselves in making our way to the end of theme week and have seen so many great articles and graphics depicting some of the leagues best players and members. But why have we overlooked the bad boys of the leagues? We got biker gangs, don't we? We have our loonies, if you will, when it comes to the one and only, the dashing, Robert. You know who you are. Then we got the little criminals like Dil and the hogster, who wreak havoc on the discord channels and leave you feeling violated, abused and mentally sour. But what about the baddest of them all? You know who I am talking about... What about... @McWolf? On that night, Motza and I did science stuff and we have made a discovery. It makes sense that satan is ginger. Then we remembered McWolf. We started putting clues together and even did an extensive search on ancestry.com to see where his backgrounds would take us. His mother was from Ireland.. and his father.. was the father of Satan... AKA.. The Satanic Ginger Wolf. Mostly because of this discovery, we feel like he should forever be enshrined in the VHL Hall of Fame. How can one this bad not be remembered? (2 TPE theme week, ok?)

@Esso2264

Pay back is pay back. We expected a good series. Not surprising Calgary is better than Vancouver!

Says the guy that lost in the first round and had to change positions because he sucks.

Las Vegas has been a home to me this year. Ever since Poptart has hired me back in February, I have grown to love this team. Here are my thoughts on the team and players. Poptart. Poptart has been an amazing GM this year. He did nothing but help me get settled in, and he is such a great person. He helps a bunch of new players get settled in, and he is very interactive in the locker room. Poptart is an amazing person all around. Poptart, you truly are an amazing character. This is the exact GM I have been looking for. I had been on my fourth AGM application, and you gave me an opportunity. I would just like to give you a thanks, sir. Domkey Domkey is a great guy. He is a good guy in the locker room, and he is a funny guy, too. Poor guy didn't even realize the season started at like game 40. Bud, if you see this, you are amazing. Gonna be fun next season. Domkey, you are a great man. You will help us in the future, and help your future VHL team. Good luck in the draft, buddy. Zzzzeeeeekkkkkeeeee. Well, Zeke, there isn't much to say. You are hilarious and very inappropriate, my friend. I wouldn't kick you from the locker room if I was given a million dollars. I love this man, he is amazing in so many ways. Zeke, what more can I say? You are Zeke. You are Zeke, and will always be Zeke. Zeke is love. Zeke is life. Zeke. Ngine4. Well, my SBA coach, you were cool to have this year. In SBA, you're pretty fun and helpful. But we're in the VHL, so let's talk. You are pretty good, and you hopefully will keep active and become a key factor for your next VHLM team. Chip chiperson. One day, you will capitalize your last name, my friend. You made a great first impression fighting gorlab. You made everyone A. confused. B. laugh. C. try to fight you at the MSG. You are a truly special character, my friend. FrostBeard. Frost, my GM, you are a great GM in Houston. You have helped me become what I am. You pushed me to this point and I would just like to give you my thanks. You are amazing and are leading us into a deep playoff run. Thanks, sir, you are a great person. Fredrik Elmebeck Elmebeck. I am at a loss of words for you. You have been a great support for my career. You have always pushed me and helped me become who I am today. You are the only reason as to why I stayed in the VHL and kept McDagg alive. Thanks, friend. You will never be forgotten in the eyes of the VHL, or anyone at all. R.I.P. Well, everyone, I'd like to thank all of you for bringing me to this point. This is the definition of a great career in my book. Completed a season as an AGM. So everyone, please, remember this: #agmshavenorights. People mentioned: @Poptart @Aye my name jeff @Domkey @Elmebeck @Chip chiperson @FrostBeard @ngine4

Great work Hats, thanks for the update!

Ok I’m bored when’s this VHLM draft?

Because like always this website doesn't like my imgur links but no one else... please click on it to actually see it. I don't know anyone else more over the top and busy than @HulkHogan so here it is

SUMMARY

What a tense time last night in Calgary as the Wranglers tried to notch their fourth win in their series with the D.C. Dragons, take the best of seven series at home in front of their fans and advance to the second round of the VHL playoffs. In each of the first two periods neither team could find the back of the net and they entered the final period of play all knotted up at 0-0. It was certainly a grim moment for the D.C. faithful when the Wranglers RJ Jubis buried the puck at only 1:22 in the third. But who should come up big for the Dragons with a little less than half of the third to play, but the captain and two other clutch players from the regular season. It was George Washington with the goal assisted by the talented Elasmobranch Fish and the captain Mikko Aaltonen. Washington was a DC draftee just two years ago while Elasmobranch came to the nation’s capitol in free agency. Washington’s clutch goal was all the scoring there would be through the end of the third period sending the two teams into overtime. It was beginning to look like the teams’ snipers would go silent again when the crowd in Calgary was stunned by Aaltonen’s 2nd goal of the playoffs at 13:58. The Wranglers came in thinking the series was wrapped up and left with their heads hung low. Meanwhile, the Dragons’ players skated off the ice with a little extra zip in spite of the additional overtime play. 3-2 and the series goes back to the District. Go Dragons!

Did you try making HHH good?

That'll have to be a hard no from me hopefully

Dan Baillie into the highly prestigious Moscow Hall of Fame @wcats

Moscow, Russia - At this point, there are few in the impressive Season 66 draft class putting on more of a show than Jet Jaguar @gorlab. Drafted 10th overall, Jaguar was at the mercy of a league filled with star centers that forced him to the very bottom of the first round; as a result, the Moscow Menace earned themselves their first franchise star. Just five seasons in, he's earned over 400 points in 360 games, including an impressive 90 point rookie campaign and a league-leading 97 points this season. What makes this even more notable is the shift towards league parity and overall deeper teams, including a Season 69 (nice) without a single 100 point scorer, the first since at least S59 (I mean, Podrick Cast had a 174 point season in S61 for goodness' sake). Perceptions of scoring - especially for this generation of players - will need to be rescaled, with Jaguar likely setting the standard for great scorers of the post-S65 era. The Ukrainian center has had his best season to-date and shows no sign of slowing down, especially as part of a ridiculous 250-goal Moscow team. Adding a bit of hardware to his trophy case will need to be the next step on his path, but thus far he's been as impressive statistically as any in spite of being in the same class as Vancouver standouts Hunter Hearst Helmsley and Julius Freeman.

I am obligated to talk about something HoF related to get extra TPE. Therefore, I will be talking about potential builders from first-gen/early members. I think @Josh is approaching this territory given his work with the portal, simming, and BOG. @tfong brought up @Dil and I think that's an interesting choice, but a possibility. @Sonnet and @Renomitsu may down the line too. I don't think it's a coincidence that most of those I mentioned are in the BoG in some capacity, since that seems to be a good precursor to who may get in as a builder down the line Moscow took care of Prague in four games, as everyone expected. Only 8 more wins to the cup! A continental cup would help Smitty's first ballot hall of fame chances Moscow will take on either Riga or Helsinki - doesn't matter, because either will get 4-1'd. I feel like this is 150 words, but just in case it isn't, I'll most likely be pulling in 3 awards for me this season, with a possibility for a fourth. Pretty cool consider I won either 1 or 0 total individual awards before this player.

When I think of the words “Future great” or “Hall of famer” there’s no other person that comes to my mind than my VHLM teammate and long time friend Derek Eriksson. The man always had a gift when it came to hockey. From the time we were kids up until now, he always had presence on the ice. His background: As some of you may know already, Derek also comes from a background riddled with tragedy. Losing his parents at a young age, it thrust him into a depression that almost stopped him from playing hockey permanently. Luckily for both the Reapers and I, this period of depression wouldn’t be permanent. He decided to give hockey one last shot and in doing so, found a spark when playing that he never experienced before. I firmly believe this passion, intensity and grit that he plays the game with is the reason why he will eventually make it into the VHL hall of fame. His Reapers Debut In our first season playing together on the Reapers, he ended up signing 10 games into the season. It didn’t matter though, because even with the missed playing time, he still made a very strong impression and caught the eyes of several VHL teams. He went on to finish his rookie season with a solid 19 goals, 36 assists for a total of 55 points and a +/- of +18. What I don’t think anyone could have predicted is how strong of a precedent this would be for his performance the next season, as well as how much he would end up improving during the off season. From Draft Prospect to Draft Steal? Even with a performance like that, it’s no surprise he would go early into the VHL draft, getting drafted by the D.C. Dragons under the management of GM Enorama, and possibly making himself a candidate for steal of the draft. I’m sure all the other teams that opted to pass on him are going to realize their mistake once Derek starts adapting to the level of play in the VHL. Either way, the Dragons have scored themselves an insanely talented prospect. Making his Mark This new found success wouldn’t stop Derek from keeping his eyes on the prize though, as he would improve by leaps and bounds going into S70 in the VHLM. He would go on to finish with some pretty mind boggling stats including 48 goals, 50 assists for a total of 98 points, and a +/- of +68. I don’t think any of us could have predicted how fast Derek would improve, and how much of a mark he would leave on both the VHLM and on the Reapers organization. An Uncertain Future I’ve heard rumours that he may be looking to stay down in the VHLM for another season, but I think he’d only doing himself a disservice by doing this. Derek has the work ethic every GM wants, and the raw talent every player dreams of. The combination of these two qualities as well as his performance in the VHLM could help him go far, so far that I think he’ll be a hall of famer. If Derek can stay focused and perform in the VHL, then I think he’ll be a shoe-in to be inducted on his first ballot. @DirtyDerek @Enorama

So I was originally gonna write this nice, big media spot about how Beaviss should be inducted as a builder to the Hall of Fame. Then 10 PM struck and I still had nothing, so I pivoted to making a graphic and writing this as a fan590 instead. But ya, I think Beaviss is at the point where he should be inducted as a builder. He has been on a steady climb, from taking over like Oslo or some shit, to taking over Quebec/Vancouver, to becoming VHLM commish, to heading up the recruiting team and playing the biggest part in a massive wave of recruiting that has the league as overflowing with members as ever, to becoming a god damn blue. I know I probably wouldn’t have stuck around in the capacity that I did with Harding, and in turn probably wouldn’t be the fucking beaut that I am with A Red Guy, if it wasn’t for Beaviss drafting me and helping cultivate my interest returning to the VHL. He’s a good guy, make him a builder already.

"Coming into the playoffs I didn't expect any playing time at all, it was clutch time and I was just a rookie. However, I'm guessing based off my past playoff experience in the VHLM thanks to @Peace and @Rayzor_7 @Victor thought I was ready. I knew that this was my time to shine, in the playoffs? It was big stage for me, a huge step from Rookie, to a potential cornerstone of Moscow. The motivation to get better and prove myself in the regular season was finally ready to come out, and boy did I make them proud. I shined in round 1 against any easy Prague team, as we moved on to the next round. It seems we are on our way to a championship, the 2nd one in my career, hopefully we are up to task, see you next week."

Raymond "the iron curtain" Bernard

Theme week player card

Joseph McWolf. One of the nicer users on the site, his first player has gotta be a legit threat for the Hall of Fame. Originally drafted out of Founders Cup champion Ottawa as the face of the New York Americans rebuild, McWolf was as steady as it gets on the back end. He won his first of two Sterling Labatte trophies in just his second year in the league. After spending his first 4 years in New York, he was shipped off to Riga, where he would continue to be one of the elite defenders of his generation. Eventually he’d play 2 years in Riga, then a year in Malmo before returning to New York to finish his career. McWolf retired 11th in all time tpe with 1434. A constant lock for 60 points, 200 hits and 100 blocked shots, McWolf was the model for elite consistency throughout his entire career. And while he never won a Continental Cup, he won many fans in players across the VHL. McWolf for HOF Kallis Kriketers. By far my favourite goalie since I’ve been in the VHL. If this guy doesn’t get in then there is definitely something very wrong with the voting committee. Winner of a Founders Cup and a Skylar Rift Trophy is his lone VHLM season, Kallis would follow that up with a Continental Cup in his rookie VHL year. After that all he did was win 4 Greg Cleganes, 3 Aiden Shaws and one each of the Scotty Campbell and Brett Slobodzian. In a ridiculously good S69 he even won one of each. In 7 seasons in Riga, Kriketers won 299 of 463 games. Players loved playing in front of him as they always knew they had a chance to win every game. Heading to DC for his final campaign, Kriketers helped take the Dragons to its first postseason appearance and continued his rock solid play between the pipes. Kallis sits 7th in total tpe with 1591. Kallis for HOF. For my 3rd entry, this one falls under the Cam Neely category, but I’d say Elias Dahlberg deserves at least a look at immortality. Dahlberg is the poster boy for living fast and dying young, he burst onto the VHLM and VHL scene fast and retired at his peak. In S63 he dominated the VHLM with a whopping 118 points in Ottawa. He collected a Higgins, Osborne and Chershenko in his only year before getting drafted to Davos. He quietly had 23 goals and 36 points in his rookie season. And after that he exploded for a career high 45 goals and 105 points. The effort got him his only individual award, the Dustin Funk. Although he’d never break 80 points again, he was a solid bet for 30 goals 70 points and 200 hits a year. He would also be a better salesman for himself than anyone else could be, but for a first gen and for as short as his career was, it’s definitely a nice achievement. Dahlberg for a special wing of HOF @McWolf @hedgehog337 @Nykonax