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Happy Birthday VHL!  For any of you who are unaware, today, Thursday July 18th, 2019 marks the 12th anniversary of the VHL opening its doors, all the way back on the original Invisionfree forum that many sim leagues used back in the day. A lot has happened over the years, as nearly 100 of you described last year.  With our birthday comes the annual tradition of gifts for all the league’s members, in exchange for a small amount of work, of course. This year, we are asking all of you to come up with at least three creative player names* to be used in replacing the bots in the sim, including at least two skaters and one goalie. If you'd like, you can specify which league and/or team the name would go on. As a reward, you will receive 12 Uncapped TPE, as well as a Doubles Week to be used with a Point Task submission in the next month**. The ones we like the best will be used to replace the generic "TEAM C1" names currently in the sims.  *Please remember that the league does not condone the use of slurs or foul language in the naming of its players. **Uncapped TPE and Doubles Week must both be claimed by the week ending August 18th 

Throwing my name into the ring, this is my 3rd season GMing and I've had the honour of learning the ropes from 2 VHL GMs. My time in both Vancouver and Calgary line me up to be one of the most prepared GMs to step into a VHL position. I could list my fake accolades and what I have achieved in a short amount of time but honestly my dedication and passion speaks for itself. I run an active LR and continue to promote activity within the forum. There are many people who have applied who have been here for longer or perhaps have more laid back personalities. In the end the VHL is where I want to be, I’ve showed what I can do as an expansion GM and I enjoy a good challenge. If you have any questions, feel free to send me a message. Blade

Alright boys, we're doing it. Some of you might have seen my post from yesterday about Helsinki's uniform announcement. Team branding/identity was honestly the #1 thing I wanted out of the VHL when I first joined nearly a year ago, and I'm sad to say that what we currently have hasn't really impressed me. I want teams to feel like teams, with consistent color schemes, jersey player numbers, anything really that will help our virtual sim teams feel more like a world than it currently does. Thus, I'm beginning my campaign into creating a uniform set for every team in the VHL. Now, what goes into the thought process for a good jersey? Ideally, I would LOVE for people to catch on to the idea and try some jersey swaps of their own. With that in mind, these are the most important things I'm looking for in a consistent uniform design: Ease of access. I don't want to jump through hoops, here- I want everybody to be able to pick up a simple photo editing software and give it a reasonable go. Distinction. If at all possible, I'd like to at least modify ONE color of the jersey, so that it stands out from a basic NHL picture. Special cases. For example, Helsinki winning the cup was a huge motivation to switch to the St. Louis jerseys, because I can find pictures of players lifting the cup to represent our VHL team. So, I'd like to try and give most teams a jersey base that matches a cup winner, or something like that, just so people can stay consistent with it if they'd like. Some color schemes don't fall within reason, though, so I'm not going to try and stretch and warp a jersey idea JUST to meet this demand. That being said, let's get to the topic of today's post: the Malmo Nighthawks. They were the first team that really caught my eye for a project like this, as it's a tempting idea to make something that'll stick with a brand new expansion team. I also really like their color scheme, and have a really good pal on the roster to boot. So we have our subjects in mind, but how do we go about creating a jersey concept? Immediately, my mind jumped to two teams- the Buffalo Sabres and the Winnipeg Jets. Both of these teams use a dark blue as a base, along with a lighter color to highlight. This, in my mind, was the perfect opportunity to fit in the light green without it being too overbearing. Buffalo was chosen in the end to stay in line with our first and most important bullet point: I want these to be easy to recreate. The yellow trim varies quite a bit from the blue base, making it easy to separate and change without impacting other parts of the image. Winnipeg's light blue was too close to the main color, and caused problems when trying to swap it to green. Therefore, in the name of making this accessible to all, I decided to give the nod to Buffalo's jersey style. Now, without further adieu, the home sweaters (PNG renders for all players will be available at the bottom of the post): New captain Jerry Garcia @GustavMattias shows off the new home kits. As you can see, the green and blue give off a Seahawks-ish vibe, which works nicely for the color scheme that was provided within the logo. The emblem fits nicely on the front of the uniforms, and the neon green doesn't strike the eye as too bright or overbearing. You'll also notice that I removed the number from the front of the jersey; while Buffalo uses them for their NHL uniforms, I really don't think they look very good. Thankfully, removing them was simple and helped us fulfill the second bullet point- distinction. While this is a clear swap of the Sabres' home jersey, I believe the lack of a front number, changing of the logo, and changing of the trim allows the kit to stand on its own for use in signatures and graphics across the league. Second, my personal favorite, the away jerseys on a goaltender (yes, I made sure numbers were accurate to what the players wanted. This is by no means required, I just wanted to be hyper-accurate because I'm a roleplaying loser): Malmo netminder Michael Johnson @fonziGG stops the puck during a game on the road. Some color/jersey combinations just look better in white, and I think this team is a prime example of that. The green is allowed to stand as more of its own thing without overshadowing the dark blue. The pads in the base image were also styled just the right way to make this render pop. You'll notice I swapped the number and the helmet design as well- this is NOT something I'd expect out of newer members who want to give jersey swapping a try. A just got way too carried away with things and wanted to make a nice render for Fonzi's player, since I liked their team design so much. An overall view of the uniforms, featuring captain Jerry Garcia @GustavMattias and GM player Lucas Nygren @Advantage So, there we have it. I really like the way these specific swaps turned out, so Gustav and Fonzi might have some signatures to look forward to in the near future. Like I said, the PNG renders of both players are going to be available at the end of the post within a spoiler tag. I honestly had a blast putting this all together, and would love to see more teams in the league adopt something like this as a guideline, but never a requirement, to give newcomers to the league a little something to strive for once they hit the bigs. @Advantage specifically, but the general VHL public as well, let me know what you think of these mockups! If there's interest, I'll continue to flesh out a design for each and every VHL team, and even stream them along the way so people can learn how to make a jersey swap, themselves. Let's give this league a sense of identity, guys. I hope you'll be on board with that idea, at the very least. Player renders, as promised: 1,009 words, good for two weeks if I end up needing it later. I don't plan on claiming this, was just a fun idea I wanted to roll with.

With the playoffs officially done it’s time to unveil something the league has been sitting on for a little while ago. As you know, a few seasons ago we made a monumental error of hiring a designer that had a nice portfolio but ultimately screwed us by making the stinker the a logo currently belonging to the Halifax 21st. This logo can be seen here, depicted in what should be it’s natural state: Obviously that logo was pretty much hated by everyone and for pretty valid reasons, it was awful. However we had paid for it and didn’t want to pay for another one so we lived with it. Cue a few weeks ago when I was chatting with Halifax GM @Thranduil about maybe allowing the team to re-brand. Cue then very generous offers from @jack and @Motzaburger to help the cause and we arrive, after a few weeks of revisions, at this momentous occasion. The Titanic logo (not actually but that’s what everyone took it to be) is officially sinking to the bottom of the Atlantic so that the 21st may be re-born again. I present to you not 1 but 2 new logos for the team! First up is Jack’s design which is the team’s new primary logo: And the 2nd is Motza’s design which the team will use as an alternate logo: It is the league’s hope that these new logos, while keeping the team’s name and identity, will lead a new wave of players into the VHLM and continue the traditions that Halifax has started in the team’s young history.

Off-Season Run-Down II - The Top Five Okay, okay, I confess - my hot take on Veran Dragomir was a little bit of a tease to put in the bottom five article, especially since Toronto falls in the top half. While there seems to be a reasonably clear hierarchy for the bottom teams, however, the top half is very difficult to differentiate - they're a bit more compelling of a story, as they're all genuinely unique. Here's a short list to summarize before we get started, though: 1) Helsinki & Toronto both have incredible top-line strength but limited depth - especially so in Helsinki's case 2) Riga doesn't have offensive star power, but can duel with the best and has an excellent D1/G. 3) Davos has a great F1 and D2 - but their first-line defense and second line of forwards have some soul-searching to do. 4) Calgary is one of the most uniquely deep teams in the league, with 7 players >500 TPE and great second lines. #5 – HC Davos Dynamo GM // @ShawnGlade Stars // RW Jake Davis Risers // S67 RW Bjorn Scoringsonn S67 C Aston Martin S67 D Guy LeGrande S66 D Charlie Paddywagon S65 RW Katie Warren After taking a beating from Riga in the regular season, the Dynamo pulled an upset in the playoffs by making some key lineup changes. Frankly, it’s a bit tough to keep track of all of the transactions Davos made in the offseason, so I’ll summarize the ones that affect this season specifically here: 1) Traded picks for RW Jake Davis 2) Traded away Rylan Peace to Toronto for four S69 picks 3) Traded away both Elias Dahlberg and Pat Svoboda for S67 and S68 picks, including Riga’s first rounders for both. 4) Traded away Codrick Past for veteran Konstantin Mulligan, while swapping picks Where does that leave S67 Davos? Frankly, they’re in a bit of the same position Riga was in last season, with 14 skaters and potentially just too many mouths to feed, but an incredibly promising future nonetheless. Their top line – with shiny new forward Jake Davis @Josh., Crimson, and John Madden – is right up there with Toronto’s top forward line and settles in at third-best in the league by raw TPE, slightly above Calgary and with a comfortable cushion over Riga’s first line. Like Calgary, Davos has defensive depth but not a lot of raw star power – defender Smitty Werbenjagermanjensen @flyersfan1453 has a whopping 640 TPE in just his third season, but is the team’s best defender by nearly 100 TPA. The team actually has 5 defenders – 6 if you project breakout latecomer Guy LeGrande @Steve to hit 350-400 TPE – that can each serve as top 4 defensemen on a given team, making them probably the deepest defensive team in the league. They may suffer a bit against the league’s top-heavy offenses like Toronto, but their second defensive will have the advantage against everyone except Calgary. Offensively, their depth is limited. Poor faceoff skill after John Madden means that one of their rookies – Aston Martin @Sullvino or Dan Gles @No_Dangles may be pushed to the second line on day one. These high-mid round picks will be taken care of nicely, as they’ll line with rising star Katie Warren and promising rookie Bjorn Scoringsonn, but Davos will face growing pains finding a second forward line that can match favorably against other teams’. High Points – Excellent defensive depth. Top-three F1 line. Great draft prepared for Season 69. Concerns – Very young (but promising) F2; D1 isn’t comparable to top European or North American teams. Projected Lines F1 // Ryuu Crimson – John Madden – Jake Davis F2 // Bjorn Scoringsonn – Aston Martin – Katie Warren F3 // [F1 extra minutes] – Dan Gles – Don Draper D1 // Smitty Werbenjagermanjensen – Konstantin Mulligan D2 // Marvin Harding – Charlie Paddywagon D3 // Alvaro Jokinen – Guy LeGrande G // Finn Davison #4 – Toronto Legion GM // @Devise Star Players // LW Veran Dragomir C Rylan Peace Risers // None (all S64 or earlier) Toronto’s one of the most interesting teams in the league. GM Devise makes a point of trading away all of his draft picks, and in return he has a pretty deep team – with seven players over 500 TPE (3-way tie for 3rd in the league). They missed the playoffs by a pretty sizable 8 points last season (73 vs. NYA’s 81), and notably had a -20 goal differential in spite of having a more mature roster than other teams. It’s pretty clear that Devise intends on continuing this trend of an older roster without any draft picks – as he doesn’t have any for the next three seasons at a minimum – and he’s got a very competitive squad to be fair. They have F1 and D1 lines that can compete with the best of them – and their top trio actually outmatches Davos’s, Riga’s, and Calgary’s – including all playoff contenders in the top five other than Helsinki. Top free agent signee Veran Dragomir @Velevra committed to the Legion within the last 48 hours, and is a major part of why the Legion are quite this high – he completes the second-best trio of forwards in the league. While Ryan Sullivan Jr. @Advantage, line partner Tzuyu @tfong, and S65 quadruple award winner Oyorra Arroyo @omgitshim aren’t obvious shoo-ins for First Team All-VHL this season, they each are perennial first-liners, are All Star worthy, and make the Legion’s top lines absolutely terrifying. I don't think Rylan Peace @Peace needs any introduction as he guns for an MVP/MOP this season with some top-drawer linemates. After the first lines, however, the Legion do have some concerns. Their TPE falls off precipitously after their third forward (as is the case with most teams), and their fourth-best defender is a 275 TPE Bolt Vanderhuge, who may pair with journeyman defender and former Reign member Cayden Saint @Symmetrik this season. While their second defensive pairing isn’t ideal, it still outpaces bottom teams’ D2s and generally should not be a large hindrance. They also have a solid starter in the net in JB Rift @Devise, who is about to start his third season in the VHL, but he doesn’t match up to Pepper, Kriketers, etc. yet. High Points – Excellent F1, D1; well-balanced second line. Tied for most players over 500 TPE in the American Conference (w/ Calgary). Re-signing Roctrion King and picking up Dragomir + Saint will give this team most of what they need and frankly could elevate them as high as #2. Concerns – D2 is not high-quality compared to most other contenders. Matthew Kai will have difficulty competing with some teams’ second lines. Limited faceoff ability across team. Average-to-good goalie may prevent Toronto from going deep. Projected Lines F1 // Veran Dragomir – Rylan Peace – Oyorra Arroyo F2 // Roctrion King – Joey Boucher – Matthew Kai F3 // Chace Trepanier – Gucci Garrop – [F1 extra minutes] D1 // Ryan Sullivan – Tzuyu D2 // Cayden Saint – Bolt Vanderhuge G // JB Rift #3 – Calgary Wranglers GM // @Bushito Star Players // LW Leph Twinger RW Diljodh Starload D Maxim Kovalchuk Risers // S65 Brady Stropko Calgary’s a pretty tricky team to assess; after losing to Vancouver in the conference finals last season, they quickly made several moves that made them potential favorites in the North American conference. These included trades for players like LW Leph Twinger @DollarAndADream and re-signing critical players like Starload @DilIsPickle and Brick Wahl @BladeMaiden long-term, while locking up veterans Sebastian Ironside and Maxim Kovalchuk @Banackock until the end of their careers. These five players alone make for a pretty convincing argument for Calgary, but it’s also important to note that they have pretty solid depth through two lines. While not the absolute top line in the VHL, Calgary’s top three forwards can readily keep pace with offensively-oriented teams like Davos, Toronto, and Helsinki. Similarly, their top defensive line isn’t perfect – Maxim Kovalchuk and third-year player Brady Stropko Jr. will have to face off against the league’s best offensive players. However, Calgary’s second line has 4 players that will start the season over 450 TPE – making their second defensive pair the most lethal in the league, as it includes sharpshooting defender Robert Malenko and defensive anchor Elasmobranch Fish @Sharkstrong. While their second forward line doesn’t quite measure up to Vancouver’s (~580 TPE/player vs. ~440 for Calgary), it can compete with every other second line in the league. One big point in Calgary’s favor is their goalie – Brick Wahl will be integral in pushing the Wranglers to a conference title, as only New York has a comparable netminder (with a large difference in skaters). Wahl clearly outclasses Toronto’s JB Rift, and Seattle and Vancouver don’t have high-tier goalies to speak of as of yet. High Points – Excellent defensive depth; D2 should be able to take advantage of most second lines. Best goalie in the North American Conference. Made key re-signings this offseason, including netminder Brick Wahl. Concerns – D2 will carry the second-line load for the Wranglers, perhaps even offensively. May not have the raw star power needed on first lines to outshine the best European teams or Toronto. Projected Lines F1 // Leph Twinger – Oleksiy Revchenko – Diljodh Starload F2 // John Frostbeard – Roll Fizzlebeef – Sebastian Ironside F3 // Cody Smith – Tyler Barabash Jr. – [F1 extra minutes] D1 // Maxim Kovalchuk – Brady Stropko Jr. D2 // Robert Malenko – Elasmobranch Fish G // Brick Wahl #2 – Riga Reign GM // @hedgehog337 Star Players // D Ryan Kastelic D Joseph McWolf Kallis Kriketers Risers // S66 RW Mikko Aaltonen S66 C Hunter Hearst Helmsley S66 RW Arnor Sigurdsson S67 D Lincoln Tate The Reign’s season was unceremoniously cut short by a sweep from Davos, exacerbating their already-horrendous franchise history against the Swiss franchise. Some experts had them on equal footing to the champion Helsinki Titans, but a couple of trades from Davos and smart line building turned the tables on the Latvian franchise in the postseason. Ultimately Riga’s strength is also its weakness: like the Dynamo in Season 65, the Season 66 Reign experienced growing pains after drafting and retaining six rookies on their main roster. 'Tag' on to that several members in the mid-to-late stages of their respective primes – Preencarnacion @Tagger, Podrick Cast @Victor, and Ryan Kastelic @Enorama, and we had a team that was simultaneously deep but talented at the top. And like Davos two seasons prior, that ultimately became their downfall – they simply couldn’t match up in the playoffs to a team with two excellent forward lines, as rookies Apollo Hackett and Aron Nielsen struggled against their competition. A season older and wiser, the Reign are poised to compete for a European title. With four forwards and two defensemen over 600 TPE (including up to three others that could break that mark by the end of the season), Riga is in an excellent spot to at least keep it close in playoff series against Davos or Helsinki. A line composed of Sigurdsson @bluesfan55, Aaltonen @GRZ, and HHH @Beaviss might not have scared too many teams at the start of last season – but that could be a line that hits 2,000 TPE collectively this season, which is terrifying to consider for most teams’ second-to-third lines. HHH himself can already play with the most skilled first liners in spite of being in his sophomore season, and his likely line-mates could outmatch most of their opposition by midseason too. It’s worth noting that Riga only really has two players that can face off – so we may see a switch-up in lines, with HHH taking on a first-line role and Matthews moving up to the second. Defensively, Riga could go as many as three entirely unique lines this season. With Kastelic and McWolf being the two obvious mainstays and likely receiving the most PP/PK time, GM Benjamin Zeptenbergs also has two reasonably experienced sophomore defensemen in Aron Nielsen and Apollo Hackett. Add to that VHLM standout Lincoln @Tate and we’ve got a team that’s genuinely 5 defensemen deep. Some scouts suggest Tate could join Hackett on the second line as early as mid-season. High Points – Talented S66 draft class and competitive F1; best D1 pairing in the league. Kallis Kriketers will make another strong push for best goalie. Improving S66/S67 players will be key to Riga’s success this season. Lincoln Tate has enough raw talent to make D2 this season. Concerns – An aging Preencarnacion, limited ice time, very tight cap space. Specter of Riga’s limited playoff success continues to hang on the franchise. Projected Lines F1 // Elias Dahlberg – Hunter Hearst Helmsley – Pat Svoboda F2 // Edwin Preencarnacion – Anthony Matthews (?) – Mikko Aaltonen/Arnor Sigurdsson F3 // Chico Smeb – [HHH extra minutes] – Mikko Aaltonen/Arnor Sigurdsson D1 // Ryan Kastelic – Joseph McWolf D2 // Apollo Hackett – Aron Nielsen (early)/Lincoln Tate (late) G // Kallis Kriketers #1 – Helsinki Titans GM // @Quik Star Players // LW Julian Borwinn, G Alexander Pepper, LW Matt Thompson, C Kronos Bailey Risers // S67 D Derek England S66 C Jordan Tonn This one was a pretty easy choice. No major free agent losses, four players above 900 TPA, the best Offensive Defenseman in hockey, and basically all of the award-winning forwards from the last season. I’ve done my fair share of fawning over how Quik has put together a great roster, and that’s absolutely the case here. Their top three forwards (@Jubo07, @Quik, @Beketov) come in with a sum of 2,959 TPA – nearly double that of some of the lower-rated teams in the VHL, or an entire roster of VHLMers – which comes in pretty easily as the best possible first line in the league. Defensively they’re not as overwhelming, but the roster still has an excellent projection with first-liners Sidney Crosby (785 TPE) and Jesse Wilson (694), who can go toe-to-toe with nearly any other starting pair in the league. There’s certainly something to be said about their depth – as their second three forwards are 405, 390, and 335 TPE, respectively – but two of them (C Orion Slade @BluObieZand C Jordan Tonn @MexicanCow123) are still quite active – claiming 10-12 capped TPE on top of all of the uncapped points coming out this past week. Sadly, S66 prospects Ludvig Sederstrom and Viktor Kozlov seem to have burned themselves out of the league – but they’ll still have times to relieve second liners of their minutes to limit fatigue. To this point, we haven’t really mentioned Dan Montgomery @BarzalGoat by name – but he’s one of the many award winners this team has to offer. A top-notch scorer, he was helped by Helsinki’s top-two last season and was able to focus his efforts against second liners to incredible effect. I expect him to have a similarly dominant season from his position this time around. High Points – Absurdly, almost unbelievably talented F1 (avg. 986.3 TPE), excellent scoring defenseman in Dan Montgomery, second-best starting pair in hockey. Also has one of S66’s best goalies. Concerns – Second-line depth, 3 of 4 S66 prospects seem to be done. Top line will have to carry most of the load. Bailey, Thompson, Wilson are all in contract years. Projected Lines F1 // Julian Borwinn – Kronos Bailey – Matt Thompson F2 // Bert Meyers – Jordan Tonn – Orion Slade F3 // [F1 extra minutes] – Viktor Kozlov – Ludvig Sederstrom D1 // Sidney Crosby – Jesse Wilson D2 // Dan Montgomery – Derek England G // Alexander Pepper

As is League tradition, every off-season the VHL presents it's Hall of Fame induction. This season, and for at least the next 2 seasons, the Board of Governors has decided that only one Player will be inducted, as opposed to the traditional 2 inductions each season. This season we also welcome another builder into our ranks, one that has been waiting a long time to enter this hall. D - Mats Johnsson, S57, S57-64 @Quik RS: 576GP, 134G, 469A, 603P, +191, 608PIM, 984HIT, 1046SB, 22GW PO: 72GP, 19G, 68A, 87P, +20, 148PIM, 173HIT, 171SB, 4GW S61 Alexander Valiq Trophy (Top Offensive Defenceman) S62 Jake Wylde Trophy (Top Defensive Defenceman) S63 Sterling Labatte Trophy (Top Overall Defenceman) S63 Jake Wylde Trophy (Top Defensive Defenceman) Two Continental Cups (S59, S62) First Team All-VHL (S62, S63)  Second Team All-VHL (S64) Without Norris Stopko's first ballot Hall of Fame last season this likely would have happened sooner, but the BOG was quick to react and make sure that Mats Johnsson wasn't passed up again. His beginnings were humble after being drafted by the soon to be defunct Stockholm Vikings and his first few seasons were nothing spectacular but they did not slow Johnsson down for future success, both in the regular season and in the playoffs; the latter of which he made 6 seasons in a row on route to two continental cups in S59 and S62. Johnsson was always a defence first type of player winning the Wylde trophy twice and nearly eclipsing 1000 hits on his career. As an extra bonus, Johnsson holds the current record for practice hours of any player. After all that effort it's certain that he has earned time to rest and sit alongside the greats that are before him in the VHL Hall of Fame. Vote Mats Johnsson - 7/10 Ay Ay Ron - 3/10 Tyson Kohler - 0/13 Jakab Holik - 0/13 Astrid Moon - 0/13 Keaton Louth - 0/13 @Positivefan036 Many of you likely saw the article eagles wrote a few weeks ago about being inducted into the hall as a builder. Sometimes it just takes a bit of a spark to make people realize that theres been an oversight. Known more commonly by his original name of Eaglesfan, this member contributed greatly to the league since joining over 10 years ago if my memory serves correctly on the date. From being an active grader and BOG participant to one of the longest serving and greatest VHLM Commisioners the league has ever known eagles as served the VHL well. While he has taken a bit of a step back in recent years that does nothing to devalue what he has historically offered to the league. Consider this an oversight corrected as Eaglesfan joins the Hall of Fame as a builder. Congratulations to both on their induction into the Victory Hockey League Hall of Fame!

S66-67 Off-Season Run-Down I - The Bottom Five Compared to Season 66, this off-season has been a whirlwind – just about on schedule, with an expectation for Season 67 proper to start on either Sunday or Monday. After a dominant regular season, the Helsinki Titans and their two skater stars in Julian Borwinn @Jubo07 and S65-66 free agent signing Matt Thompson @Beketov easily cleaned up in the playoffs – and the awards, with nearly a dozen going their way. And that’s not even including their first- and second-team All-VHL selections. In terms of the draft, Season 67’s class was incredibly deep – much like last season, and a very promising sign – which means some teams have been revamped a bit. And while some teams have traded away players, they were generally pretty even exchanges: New York started a fire sale for picks, and Toronto kept on doing its thing just trading away all of its draft picks. Otherwise, a couple of exchanges for picks to offload some salary didn’t seem to make much of a difference. But here’s a hot take: even this season’s biggest free agent signing in Veran Dragomir doesn’t change my favorite for the S67 championship. Heck, it might not even put them in the top two. Read below and in this topic's companion article for more opinions! #10 – Seattle Bears GM // @Banackock Stars // None Risers // S67 LW Acyd Burn S67 D Ambrose Stark S67 D Boone Jenton S67 LW Henrik Zoiderberg S67 D Hulk Hogan S67 C Scott Greene S66 C Thomas Kennedy S66 G Rayz Funk Of all of the teams with a bright future, Seattle has the most potential. Like New York, they have a relatively younger ‘star’ player in center Joel Ylonen @Esso2264 (an S64 prospect) surrounded by players that would most likely qualify for limited second to third line minutes on other teams. But it’s worth noting – if it isn’t already obvious enough from their ‘Risers’ – that Seattle hit with deep S66 picks and have a tremendous number of 250+ TPE S67 selections. The first season or two for the Bears has been and will be rough – there’s little way around that. With the retirement of Defenseman of the Year and assists leader Samuel Gate @street, there are few current redeeming qualities for the bears. But between rookie wingers @Acydburn and @HenrikZoiderberg, rookie center Scott Greene @DoktorFunk and sophomore Thomas Kennedy @Walter Fizz, three rookie defensemen in Hulk Hogan @HulkHogan, Ambrose Stark, and Boone Jenton @FakeJenton, and goalie Rayz Funk @Rayzor_7, the Bears have literally drafted an entire set of first liners for the future. The question is, will they stick around after their rookie contracts? If 5 or more of the 6 re-sign, they’ll be a force to be reckoned with come S70, but hardly anything is ever so certain in the VHL. High Points - First-line center Ylonen; ridiculously good S67 draft class. Hulk Hogan will be a first-line starter right away, and Seattle has possibly the best future defensive trio and goalie in the league. Concerns - Everything from F1-F3 and D1-D2... for this season. Projected Lines F1 // Shane Mars – Joel Ylonen – Acyd Burn F2 // Henrik Zoiderberg – Scott Greene – Thomas Kennedy F3 // Valeri Morozov – (Thomas Kennedy?) – Edgar Tannahill D1 // Lando Baxter – Dallas Jones/Hulk Hogan D2 // Ambrose Stark – Boone Jenton G // Rayz Funk #9 – New York Americans GM // @Esso2264 Stars // RW Dan Wilinsky Risers // S67 ACL TEAR S66 RW Aleksander Rodriguez S66 RW Nethila Dissanayake S67 C Boris the Forest The Americans squeaked into the last playoff spot in Season 66, and promptly started a fire sale in order to take on two excellent S67 prospects in winger ACL Tear @Quik and center Boris the Forest @chillzone. In the process, they rid themselves of first-liners Joel Ylonen, Joseph McWolf, and Leph Twinger and accumulated picks for S67/S68. For now, that leaves them with several promising young prospects and superstar winger Dan Wilinsky @oilmandan, the lone skater above 500 TPA for the Americans. Thankfully he’s still mid-career, having entered via the S63 draft, and that gives him another couple of seasons to see the New York roster grow. For now, he’ll likely line up with center Carles Puigdemont and fellow winger Kisshan Shan, particularly as the team waits for one of wingers Aleksander Rodriguez @Jtv123, Nethila Dissanayake @nethi99, or TEAR to pass one of the two. Until then, this leaves New York’s first two forward lines as a bit underwhelming, and their D1 line woefully so. In fact, it’s unclear as to who, exactly, New York can even play at D2. Piotr Jerwa and Bald Guy will likely man the first line, while Mountain Thunderfist and maybe a call-up or position swapped forward will have to man the second spot in the second defensive line. New York also has one of the larger rosters in the league, sitting on 15 skaters and 3 goalies. While the aging Tristan Iseult isn’t a bad backup for perennial starter Ismond Kingfisher, their dearth in starting-quality skaters forces the Americans down to ninth. High Points – Good, young prospects (S65+) complemented by a single superstar in Wilinsky. Rodriguez, TEAR, Forest, and Dissanayake should be steady earners. Concerns – No other skaters above 500 TPE. Depth is questionable beyond second forward line and a singular defender (Jerwa). Expect the S68 NYA first pick to be either 1 or 2OA. Projected Lines F1 // Kisshan Shan – Carles Puigdemont – Dan Wilinsky F2 // ACL TEAR – Boris the Forest – Nethila Dissanayake F3 // Aleksander Rodriguez – Maximilian Kirbsson – Blake Laughton D1 // Piotr Jerwa – Bald Guy D2 // Mountain Thunderfist – ??? G // Ismond Kingfisher #8 – Malmö Nighthawks GM // @Advantage Stars // None (RW Matthew Materazo future) Risers // S66 D Jerry Garcia, S67 RW Lucas Nygren, S66 D Rusty Shackleford, S67 C Trevor Van Lagen As the new kid on the block, Malmö really has their work cut out for them. After a hot start to last season, they were eliminated from the playoffs with around 10 games left, and part of it had to do with their selected expansion core. The Nighthawks chose high TPE players, many of which unfortunately ended up going inactive. GM Chris Miller did an excellent job drafting generally high-quality players in Season 66. D Jerry Garcia @GustavMattias in particular has shot up the rankings since being revealed as a possible sleeper in the draft and taking on a VHLM GM position. In a similar vein, defenseman Rusty Shackleford @K1NG LINUS was drafted slightly lower but continues to earn TPE like a madman. When it comes to offense, Malmö’s team is predictably young but promising; Materazo has his work cut out for him, as he’ll most likely be working with veteran Mikka Pajari (492 TPE) and RW Jack Lynch (425) against other first lines. Garcia and one of Shackleford/Basaraba Moose will man the first defensive line, but they’ll likely struggle against league-average lines with 250-300 more TPE than either of them. Ultimately, from the top-down, Malmo needs time to develop its prospects. With a handful of pretty reliable users occupying their roster, they’ll need to figure out a way to retain all of their actives come S68 and S69. High Points – Excellent young defenders, reliable earners after F1. Jerry Garcia and Rusty Shackleford have shown promising consistency in point earning from S66’s draft class. S67 prospects will get starting time sooner rather than later. Concerns – Stated above. Malmö’s not going to win playoff games any time soon, if I had my guess. Projected Lines F1 // Jack Lynch – Mikka Pajari – Matthew Materazo F2 // Blake Gaudette – Teagan Glover – Lucas Nygren F3 // Trevor Van Lagen – Phil Marleau – Brian Strong D1 // Jerry Garcia – Rusty Shackleford D2 // Basaraba Moose – MORPHEUS DESTRUCTIOUS G // Michael Johnson #7 – Moscow Menace GM // @Victor Stars // LW Randoms, C Podrick Cast Risers // S66 C Jet Jaguar, S66 G Owen May As one of the two most recent expansion teams, this is about where I’d expect to find Moscow. There are some starter-quality players on the team that can join Randoms and Podrick Cast, namely C Mark Gebauer, RW Jorgon Weyed, and LW Dan Baillie, but none of the Moscow lines blow other teams’ lines out of the water. That’s not to say the Menace’s offseason was uneventful – they offloaded picks to Riga and Vancouver to acquire three best players in Cast, Randoms, and goalie Roger Sterling – but they certainly mortgaged some of their future in the progress. Ultimately, Moscow is still a very young team, and with rising stars like C Jet Jaguar @gorlab and “goalie of the future” Owen May @FacebookFighter, we can likely say that the Russians have some good days ahead. They may want to move some of their veteran players out for some active rookie and sophomore players or some high draft picks, as I don’t see the Menace going terribly far in the playoffs if they make it. Offensively, they’re capable of keeping up; their first line is perhaps only marginally worse than Riga’s, while their F2 is a fair bit better than the league average (but possibly worse than Vancouver’s). Defensively, we have a different story: Moscow’s best defender is 468 TPE Paolo Nano - good for most teams’ second line, but certainly not their first. High Points – Young, developable team with a pair of veteran mentors. Will have good transition from Sterling to May in goal. Very deep at forward, with Pavlov moving up to F3 shortly. Concerns – Defense currently doesn’t measure up to other mid-table teams. First line offense doesn’t have a clear-cut star. Projected Lines F1 // Randoms – Podrick Cast – Jorgon Weyed F2 // Dan Baillie – Mark Gebauer – Jet Jaguar F3 // Dimitri Volosenkov – Connor McDavid/Vladimir Pavlov – Mat Tocco D1 // Paolo Nano – Evgeni Komarov D2 // Mitch Matthews – Edward Vigneault G // Roger Sterling #6 – Vancouver Wolves GM // @Beaviss Stars // C Beau Louth, C Rauno Palo, D Shawn Glade Risers // S66 LW Julius Freeman, S67 G Greg Eagles, S66 C Hans Gruber, S67 C Micheal Gary Scott The Wolves made it to the finals last year – so why are they sixth, and third overall in the North American Conference? They re-signed Gritty @Positivefan036 and Denver Wolfe @InstantRockstar, who will both be important depth pieces, but don’t have any first line quality players beyond the above listed three stars. S66 draftees LW Julius Freeman @rjfryman and RW Shawnomir Jagr @TheLastOlympian07 are pivotal in forming the second lines, and both are likely to break the 600 TPE mark this season. One point of difficulty comes with Vancouver’s depth at one position – center. Both of their stars are there, and many of their depth pieces (e.g. Hans Gruber, Micheal Gary Scott) have lower effective TPA because of points lost to faceoff skills. And unless they plan on putting Louth and Palo on the same line, Vancouver’s stuck with 400-550 TPE players occupying the remainder of their top two forward line spots. This bodes well for their F2 – which would be the best by about 100 TPE per player if Rauno Palo were put there – but the star split makes for a F1 line that pales in comparison to Helsinki’s, Riga’s, Davos’s, Toronto’s, and Calgary’s. Their first defensive pair (Shawn Glade and Jagger @Philliefan) is similar in quality to Calgary’s, putting them at about fourth in the league, while their D2 sits moderately above the league average. However, Vancouver can easily fight fatigue, as they’re likely to have 8+ forwards above 400 TPE this season. The factor that pushes them furthest down the rankings, however, is their goalie. Even if Greg Eagles and Clayton Park are incredibly active this season, they’ll both hit 450 TPE at best – which puts them possibly above Seattle in North America and tied-ish with Malmo in Europe. That’s not a great look for a team that wants to contend. High Points – Excellent Center and overall offensive depth. Good defensive depth. Concerns – Very star-reliant (i.e. Louth and Palo) forward lines. Their goalies are also very raw prospects and may have a tough time because of average defensive depth. Projected Lines F1 // Julius Freeman – Beau Louth – Gritty F2 // Hans Gruber – Rauno Palo – Shawnomir Jagr F3 // [F1 extra minutes] – Micheal Gary Scott – Ben Hafkey D1 // Shawn Glade – Jagger Philliefan D2 // Denver Wolfe – Codrick Past G // Clayton Park (early) / Greg Eagles (mid-late)

Reminiscent of his youth, Lincoln Tate, stood patiently outside the large wooden door that led to one his parent’s many different bedrooms that scattered across the globe. Lincoln’s Mother had flown in to attend the draft with him, and only after he had requested through correspondence that at least one family member be there with him. Lincoln was surprised to learn that his Mother was willing to come as she hadn’t attended a single VHLM game this past season, and he was certain that she didn’t even know what the VHLM or the VHL was. But nonetheless, Lincoln was happy to have company. Lincoln had never spent much time with his Mother, he was raised mostly by the hired staff and only saw his Mother on average four times a year. Winnie Tate wasn’t the worst parent, she cared for her son in many ways and had done her best to provide him with the best education money could buy. Out of both of his parents, Winnie had shown Lincoln the most love, and the when it came to the time they spent together during those odd occasions each year, they were pleasant enough and that was all Lincoln could ask for. He wasn’t one to complain. Lincoln and his Mother had traveled together via the Tate private plan and landed quietly on the night before the draft, travelling by car to their local property and blowing the dust off the doors as they passed through them. The Tate’s were known to have properties all over the world, just for this very occasion. It wasn’t that hotels weren’t good enough, it’s just that the Tate’s preferred to own the hotels they slept in. Lincoln had woken early on the day of his draft, and even though he had hardly slept through the night he was filled with energy. He felt strangely refreshed and nervous at the same time, and the anticipation that had been building inside of him since he opened his eyes was causing him to sweat too much. Part of the problem that was causing Lincoln to overheat was that he had been dressed in his suit for almost two hours now- unable to quell the excitement pounding in his chest. What would happen tonight? When would he be selected? Where would he be going? These sorts of questions littered his mind, overwhelming him at times and forcing him to focus on his breathing. He had learned different breathing exercises to help him calm himself down in times of stress and breathing in slowly through his nose and out of his mouth was one of the methods that helped to relax him the most. Lincoln exercised this very breathing tactic as he waited calmly for his Mother, he wasn’t going to rush her, even though he knew very well that if he didn’t do just- that they might miss the draft altogether. The only thing that assured Lincoln was the fact that he was forecasted to be picked in the second round, possibly the first, so even if he and his Mother were late to the draft- He wouldn’t have to be worried about being selected by that point, and everything would still be just fine. However, Lincoln didn’t want to be late at all. He knew that he had to find a way to convince his Mother that they had to leave a bit early, and the only way he was going to be able to do that was to talk to her- and that wasn’t something he was used to doing. Lincoln leaned into the large wooden door causing the door to slowly creek open and reveal his stick skinny, filthy rich, Mother sitting far across the room on a single chair, admiring herself in a mirror that nearly matched the height and width of the door that Lincoln had just opened. Winnie Tate immediately noticed her youngest son in the doorway and while her eyes only lingered on him for a moment, she knew what it was that he wanted, she could read Lincoln like a book, “Yes?” She asked him, giving him the chance to ask the question that she already knew was going to come out of his mouth. “I was wondering when we might leave?” Lincoln asked softly, doing his best not to add any inflection in his voice, if he was to have any success with his Mother he would need to tread carefully. “Soon,” she told him the same answer she had given him earlier that day. They would leave when she felt good and ready to do so. She was aware of how important this event was for her son, she could see it in his eyes alone. But a Tate rushed for no one, and events only really started when a Tate wanted them to. This draft or whatever it was that Lincoln was so eager to get to, could wait. “Okay,” Lincoln responded just as softly as he had spoken a moment before and he understood then that his attempt had not been successful. He switched tactics and entered the large room with vaulted ceilings and furnishings that had been carved from two-hundred-year-old cedar. Lincoln was calm and fluid in his movements as he edged closer to his Mother, finally reaching her side and smiling back at her through the mirror. “Did you want some company?” Lincoln asked, figuring this strategy might move things along faster, “Would it be okay if I waited with you?’ Winnie was not quik to say yes, and she debated in her mind whether she should ask Lincoln to continue waiting outside the room, as she had done before. She knew that their assistant Ramone was waiting outside, ready and willing to drive them to Lincoln’s event, and she knew that it had been at least an hour or more since Lincoln had last asked to leave. “No that’s all right,” she said to Lincoln as she forced a smile, she wanted to be kind to her boy, even though she had expected more kindness to be shown to her, “We can leave.” Hearing her response Lincoln’s face lit up a smile, his tactic had worked, and it meant that they would be on their way, he would arrive on time for the draft after all. “Thank you,” he told his Mother sincerely, “Thank you so much.” *** “How long will this take?” It was a simple question from his Mother and one that Lincoln knew not to take the wrong way. “I’m not sure,” he said honestly, “It might be a couple of hours.” “A couple of hours!?” She was astonished, “For a Tate? That’s outrageous, surely you’re not wasting your time with this, ‘hockey,’ Lincoln?” He shook his head and remained stoic, “No,” he said without any trace of agitation, “My hope is that the wait won’t be long, I just don’t know what’s going to happen. No one can know that.” “Well,” she said to herself as she turned away to look through the limousine window, and Lincoln watched as his Mother stared at the passing city. He could tell that she was debating in her mind, trying to figure out what was reasonable, “One hour,” she said aloud before she looked back at him, “One-hour Lincoln, and if you’re not drafted by then- then it’s not worth staying. What league doesn’t value a Tate?” It was now Lincoln’s turn to debate what his next move should be as the very thought of only staying at the draft for an hour was mortifying. How could she make such a demand of him? She had elected to come to the draft when asked, and now she was stating when they had to leave? It was so typical of her to do this to him last minute and try to force him to deviate from his plans. He wondered what her true motive was, at least if it was his Father he would have been more forthcoming. His father was never afraid to admit that he’d rather be doing something else than spending time with his son. But why even listen? Lincoln was almost of age and an adult in terms of the law. She would only be considered his legal guardian for two more months. Besides, if she wanted to leave the draft then she could, and Lincoln would stay. They weren’t set to leave the city until tomorrow and depending on who Lincoln was drafted by, he might be getting on a different plane than the one that brought him here. But what Lincoln didn’t understand was that he had already spent his last night living in the same home as parents, and that everything was about change- forever. “If it takes longer than an hour, I’m going to stay,” Lincoln was satisfied with how the sentence had flowed out of his mouth. He had spoken with confidence, and when he looked his Mother in the eye, he held strong. “You will not,” she was insulted by his suggestion, “A Tate will not be embarrassed, and that’s what you are Lincoln. If the hour has passed and they-“ He cut her off, “I’ll come right back after I get drafted, you can go back home and do whatever you want. I’ll get a ride back. I don’t need Ramone to stay,” Lincoln was trying to be reasonable, he didn’t want to make this any worse than it already was. “It’s not about me WANTING to leave,” she tried to reassure him, “I just- Lincoln, our name is important. We’re a brand.” “I want to stay there, please,” Lincoln still wasn’t ready to defy her. Not yet. “Just stay the hour with me and if I don’t get drafted by then, you can leave. I’ll be home soon after, the draft won’t take longer than three hours, maybe less.” “Three hours!?” She exclaimed, focusing on the word three, “How many people are in this thing Lincoln?” “It’s a professional league Mom,” Lincoln told her, “Once I’m drafted I can sign. I made over a mill-“ “You don’t need to work for money Lincoln,” she was swift in her reaction, “If you want to make real money you should be working for your Father. I’m certain he thought you’d be working for him by now, and you were always so good with numbers.” “I’m good at this,” Lincoln could no longer resist, “And had you shown up once last season you would have seen that.” “Is this how you talk to your mother now?” She asked as the limousine pulled to a stop. Ramone opened the door for them, revealing the venue of the VHL draft and a large crowd scattered outside of the front entrance. Lincoln looked outside and then back at his Mother, “Are you coming?” “I’ll meet you inside,” she said coldly as she looked down and away from him, reminding him of his younger sister and how she reacts when she doesn’t get what she wants. “Okay, see you in there,” Lincoln went to step out of the limo and then stopped, he looked back at her, “Sorry about what I said.” She didn’t respond. Lincoln left the limousine and walked inside alone. *** When Ramone arrived, and his Mother did not, Lincoln was not surprised. He wasn’t angry either, just disappointed and unsure as to why he extended her an invitation. Lincoln had been alone for most of the season, staying in empty homes or hotels, sometimes at the team’s expense but mostly at his parents. They expected a Tate to live by a certain standard and it was a high one and far too pricey for a VHLM team to afford. Still, Lincoln had found time to make friends and win himself over with the group and if there was a highlight so far to the draft it was getting to talk with his soon to be ex teammates Phil Marleau and Greg Eagles beforehand. The small talk was fun and upbeat and they all wondered collectively what would happen, and as Lincoln wished them well he watched them with envy as they headed back toward their family- the people who waited for them with open arms. When the draft started Lincoln missed most of the beginning speech, he was too focused on the door to the arena floor and anxious to see if his Mother would come. “I took her back to the estate, she’s not here,” Ramone finally said to him, not wanting Lincoln to continue to hope for her presence. “I’m sorry Lincoln,” Ramone spoke with sincerity and compassion, he rarely showed emotion but even he was astounded at the fact that Lincoln’s Mother had decided to leave. “It’s okay, I’m not upset,” Lincoln’s response wasn’t truthful and Ramone knew it, but he needn’t comment any further, there was nothing left to be said about it. Ramone could sense that there was some confusion on the draft floor and he leaned into Lincoln, lowering his voice as he asked, “What’s happening?” “Something’s going on,” Lincoln told Ramone as he watched the crowd move about, Executives on the floor appeared upset, “There’s technical difficulty I think.” “Will they shut it down?” Ramone asked naively. “I don’t think so,” Lincoln shook his head, “I doubt it.” “You want some French fries or anything?” Ramone asked, feeling a sting of hunger hit his belly. “No,” Lincoln said, “You go ahead,” and before Lincoln could finish his sentence Ramone was up on his feet and headed toward the concession. Lincoln sat alone as he waited for the draft to start, and he looked around for Ramone the moment the announcement was made. Ramone had not yet made it back from the concession as members of the Riga Reign worked their way to the main stage. “With the first pick of the VHL Entry Draft the Riga Reign are proud to select, Lincoln Tate.” The crowd surrounding Lincoln seemed to find him immediately with hands reaching out to touch him as Lincoln was lifted from his seat and embraced by strangers. Lincoln smiled as he shook hand after hand and said thank you to people he had never met before, looking around one last time for Ramone but still not seeing him. Lincoln was thrust forward in disbelief as he seemingly floated to the arena floor and found himself on stage with a Riga Reign jersey being pulled over his shoulders and a Riga hat being placed on his head. “Welcome to the VHL,” a voice said to him. “Welcome to Riga,” another told him. “Thank you,” Lincoln said as his eyes bounced from one man to another, “Thank you,” he continued to repeat. FLASH! Cameras went off in front of him as he took photos with the team and for the first time in his life Lincoln was the center of attention. He wasn’t sure how to react or what to do and instead allowed the group to guide him. “How does it feel to go first overall to Riga?” Lincoln was seated in a chair next to his new General Manager, Benjamin Zeptenbergs and looking across at him was an attractive television host expecting an answer. Lincoln was at a loss for words and stuttered as he started to speak, “It-it’s beyond words, I’m honored.” “You were expected to go a few picks later than first, were you surprised?” “Very,” Lincoln was forthcoming, “But thrilled that it happened.” “Are you excited to play next year in Latvia?” “Can’t wait.” “What do you hope to bring to the team?” “Offense,” Lincoln was quik to say, “I want to be a weapon out there, shoot to kill.” “Do you have anything you want to say to the fans of Riga?” Lincoln smiled, “Let the Reign begin,” he said with an excited laugh- he still couldn’t believe this was all happening to him, and just as quik as it all came, it was over. The attention moved now from Lincoln to the next in line, and as Seattle called out Funk’s name the camera’s seemed to shift in unison away from Lincoln and the noise around him softened. “Where you off to?” The question came from behind Lincoln and as he turned around, he saw his new General Manager, Zeptenbergs, looking back at him with a curious expression. Lincoln grinned sheepishly, “I was going to try and find my ride home.” Zeptenbergs laughed at the remark, “We’re your ride home now, don’t you want to come with us?” Lincoln looked over Hedge’s shoulder at the floor of the draft, watching as the people continued to hustle back and forth and cheer the names that were being called over the speakers. “Yes,” Lincoln said to Zeptenbergs, “Lead the way,” and he followed Zeptenbergs back onto the arena and over to the Riga Reign table, to where he belonged. 2814 words

Am I the only one to hard disagree here? The hard earning of TPE whores allows them to handle steep depreciation. But did you see how hard depreciation with our update scale hits across the board? Especially in the final seasons. I actually think we are in a good spot. The heavy earners will have the excess to handle the steep falls in 7th/8th season while everyone else settles with the hard decisions of prioritizing attributes.

S66 OFF-SEASON SCHEDULE Dates Subject to Change  Sunday, June 30th Depreciation S67 Finance TPE Cut-Off (all TPE earned, up to, and including, this date will affect salary brackets for S67)  Experience Points Allocated    Monday, July 1st Canada Day S66 VHLM Achievement Tracker TPE Awarded S66 VHLM Awards Ceremony  Tuesday, July 2nd S66 ALL-VHLM TEAMS S67 VHLM Entry Draft @ 830PM EST Wednesday, July 3rd S67 VHL Entry Draft @ 8PM EST Free Agent Discussions Open @ 11PM EST  Thursday, July 4th Free Agency Opens @ Noon EST S66 VHL Awards Ceremony Training Camps Open World Cup Day 1 World Cup Day 2 Friday, July 5th S66 Hall of Fame Induction World Cup Day 3 World Cup Day 4 Saturday, July 6th World Cup Day 5 World Cup Quarter Finals Sunday, July 7th 67 VHLM TPE Cut-Off (Any players who have earned 201 TPE or more, up to and including this date, will no longer be eligible to play in the VHLM for S67 - Training Camp may not be claimed after this date if you are at the Cap; if you are within 10, you may claim up to the cap, i.e. If you are at 194, you may claim 6 TPE from Training Camp)   World Cup Semi-Finals Monday, July 8th S67 VHL Pre-Season Starts  Pre-Season Retirement (Players can re-create for S68 and still play S67) World Cup Bronze & Gold Medal Games Tuesday, July 9th S67 VHL/VHLM Indexes Posted  Wednesday, July 10th S67 VHL/VHLM Regular Season Begins  Training Camps Close 

You asked, I figured it's a pretty easy topic to get my TPE for 2-3 weeks, so here's the third and final instalment of people still around from cup-winning seasons. Let's take a slightly shorter trip down memory lane from S41 to S60 and I won't go any further than that as I think we've retained the vast majority of more recent cup winners. And in case you missed them, parts 1 and 2, which now may need to be updated for the likes of @animal74, @Sebster03, and whoever else has come back in the past few weeks, can be found below: https://vhlforum.com/topic/63670-whos-still-around-from-old-cup-winning-teams/ https://vhlforum.com/topic/63686-whos-still-around-from-old-cup-winning-teams-part-2/ Season 41 New York Americans @sterling @Smarch @Tyler @Advantage @Victor @gorlab @der meister @TheLastOlympian07 We start off with a team pretty similar to the S39 New York squad, still stacked with some of the biggest names of the time, both player- and member-wise like Tom Slaughter, Conner Low, Milos Denis and Brick Wahl. There were some changes though, like me joining the team as Matt Bentley, as well as two fresh faced S40 draftees – gorlab on his first player Jody 3 Moons, and der meister on his second player Christoph Klose. There's also I believe just the second cup for the typically inactive TheLastOlympian who featured as Dimothenis Vlasis. In fact, I believe the only member of this team no longer with us is Boragina's second and last player Mikkel Boomgaarden, a depth defenceman. Season 42 Cologne Express @Green @diamond_ace @Devise @flyersfan1453 @stevo The tenth franchise to win the cup, this would be Cologne's only triumph thanks in large part to securing the top two picks in the much hyped S40 draft – Thomas O'Malley and Mason Richardson. O'Malley is still around following Green's recreation, and will feature heavily in this decade, although he wasn't quite the star of the show yet – that honour goes to diamond_ace's slightly unlucky goalie Martin Brookside, who did come through in the end as Cologne's MVP. Robin Gow was a trade deadline acquisition who made a difference, while Devise was busy trading away picks to get the cup and appeared on the team as Logan Laich. Last but not least, stevo, the Cologne loyalist, got his reward with a cup for Ron World Peace and recently came back under his actual username. Season 43 Seattle Bears @Trifecta @Bushito @Higgins @Molholt @Phil This. Fucking. Team. Somehow stopping Cologne from repeating despite no future Hall of Famers or an active GM for most of S43, this was the Cinderella story to end all Cinderella stories from Seattle. The star was probably Niklaus Mikaelson, one of Trifecta's finest creations, and if not him then one of that season's two GMs – Bushito (Brady Stropko) or Higgins (James Faraday). Molholt made an appearance as AC Savage, not one of his finest creations, and the captain was one Phil Villeneuve – both the latter two have only recently made triumphant returns. Apologies if any of Karlsson, Escabar, or Samuelsson are currently under a different username as I seem to recall one of them was. Season 44 Calgary Wranglers @Positivefan036 @CowboyinAmerica @Beketov @InstantRockstar This would have been the underdog story of its generation if it wasn't for the team immediately before it, but Calgary also played its part in stopping Cologne from winning a second championship. This was eaglesfan's finest moment as GM, with his player at the time being Tim TebowGow. The star of the team was a young Hans Wingate though, as CowboyinAmerica got his first of many cup rings, but quite a few of the other members, despite being quite prolific at the time, are no longer with us. However, there is a bit more active alumni in Jackson Miller (Beketov) and Teuvo Ruutu (instantrockstar). Season 45 Helsinki Titans @Will @Phil @Victor @Green @der meister @Bushito @Kylrad Pretty much textbook VHL GMing in the 2-line era. Draper aka Will added three TPE whoring rookies in himself (Aleksi Koponen), myself (Greg Clegane), and Phil (Phil Hamilton) and pulled off a trade for two big stars of the time in O'Malley and Klose, already cup winners in their entry-level years. There was also an inactive appearance for Stropko and the first of many cups for Marcel Faux – just a shout-out here for Tylar, now inactive but a big Helsinki loyalist both here with this and other players. Finally Souryuu Kaminogi was an underrated defenceman maintained by Kylrad, now another underrated defenceman in Davos. Season 46 Helsinki Titans - same as above less Bushito add @Beketov Not much changed here from S45 other than Stropko out and Jackson Miller in – this would be Beketov's last cup until he returned to Helsinki in S66, maybe that was the problem all along? Season 47 New York Americans @Green @Tagger @tfong @street @jRuutu @Banackock @.sniffuM Helsinki probably should have given the threepeat a better shot here, but the cup went where O'Malley went in this era and that was to New York for his final season. Before O'Malley joined this was already a strong team, with Tagger on his finest player in Edwin Reencarnacion, while tfong and streetlight featured as Biggu Kyanon and Lloyd Light. Devise was around with another squad player in Thaddeus Humbert, while we also had two first championships – captain Jorma Ruutu and goalie Blake Campbell were jRuutu's and Banackock's first players respectively. Finally, giving this some old school New York vibes was Damien with E'Twaun Delicious. Season 48 Toronto Legion @CowboyinAmerica @Molholt @DollarAndADream @stevo @Higgins @hedgehog337 @Positivefan036 Right, here we go. It didn't feel like it would be a threepeat at the time was the core was in place once Hans Wingate joined in free agency. He joined forwards Max Molholt and Zach Parechkin (DollarAndADream seeking his first ever cup), LeAndre St. Pierre, World B. Free (stevo), and first overall pick Black Velvet (Higgins). TebowGow from earlier was providing some veteran blood, as was Benjamin Zeptenbergs, although this was the future eternal Riga GM's first ever championship. Season 49 Toronto Legion - same as above except Positivefan A few minor tweaks here as TebowGow retired and was replaced by Marcel Faux. The core and Zeptenbergs remained however. Season 50 Toronto Legion - same as above except hedgehog replaced by @Tagger and @diamond_ace The salary cap continued to decrease the roster size and Zeptenbergs retired, but Molholt went for quality over quantity and added Reencarnacion and Hyvarinen on their final season seeking their second championship each. That was enough for possibly the most impressive of the three cup victories, even if it did go to seven games in the final. Season 51 Riga Reign @JardyB10 @sterling @TheLastOlympian07 @BluObieZ @Green @Trifecta Toronto was a goal away from pulling off a fourpeat, but were denied by Riga in Game 7 of Cleganebowl, with Sandro (Jardy) defeating Greg (me) after Toronto lost Wingate to retirement and Velvet to free agency. Riga on the other hand profited quite a bit from free agency, signing Jeff Hamilton (sterling), Shawn Muller (TLO), and Sir William Covington III (Robbie). That was quite for them as their core before that featured not much more than a young Pietro Maximoff (Green), while their acquired Kai Roberts (Trifecta) alongside the younger Clegane in the off-season. Pretty good result for a hastily built team. Season 52 and 53 New York Americans @Devise @street @gorlab @Phil @BluObieZ @gregreg We're hitting the peak back-to-back territory of the 50s and while I split out Helsinki and Toronto, let's save space and time here. Devise managed to get three top forwards together in Diana Maxwell, Tom Lincoln, and Unassisted, although only one of them, streetlight, is still with us. The key players elsewhere were Bobby Digital, gorlab's second player, and Phil Shankly, Phil's umpteenth player, while M.T. Power did in S53 what J.B. Rift couldn't in S66, and that's defend the crown as a rookie goalie. The guest visiting star was Covington in S52 and then Joel Jarvi (Greg) in S53, who swapped record-chasing with Cologne for a cup in New York. Season 54 and 55 Helsinki Titans @BluObieZ @Higgins @solas @flyersfan1453 @Bushito @Trifecta Covington was controversially traded from New York to Helsinki via Cologne (for some reason I was dragged back from inactivity to make a ruling on that trade deadline debacle) and got his third cup anyway in S54 before retiring. Apart from him and Higgins' Black Velvet, of threepeat fame, this was pretty much a homegrown team, featuring Theo Axelsson (solas), Shayne Gow (flyersfan), Hudson Abbott (Bushito), and Astrid Moon (Trifecta). The two key members who would actually stick around until the S60 cup wouldn't stick around in the league until today though, for very different reasons, being Franchise Cornerstone (boubabi) and Rudoplh Schmeckeldorf (Corco). Season 56 Quebec City Meute @Will @solas @Green @jRuutu @Velevra @tfong @Bushito Eight players but what an eight players. Other than the GM, Frank, whose player was Pierre Gaudette, every member of this Quebec team is still around, with 5 Hall of Famers – John Locke (Will), Lukas Muller (solas), Pietro Maximoff (Green), Fabio Jokinen (jRuutu), and Apollo Skye (Velevra), as well as Fook Yu (tfong), and Hudson Abbott (Bushito), who promptly retired with three cups in three seasons. Season 57 and 58 Riga Reign @hedgehog337 @Will @solas @der meister @Phil @Smarch @Tyler @Jonessee27 @Positivefan036 Locke would then move to Riga to form a legendary duo with Fredinamijs Krigars (hedgehog), with Muller joining them in S58 after the role of veteran center was played by Essian Ravenwing (der meister) in S57. Those were the star players but the other team roles were also filled out by big names like Phil Shankly, Rusty Trombone (Smarch), Niko Bogdanovic (Jonessee), and Slava Aleksei (Tyler). There was also a cameo appearance from eaglesfan when The Process moved to Riga for S58. Season 59 Seattle Bears @Banackock @CowboyinAmerica @BluObieZ @TheLastOlympian07 @Quik @Advantage As we neared the end of the dark days of project player two and having recently contracted, Bana also brought Seattle out of the darkness with two of his players on the team. The co-playoff MVPs were Gabriel McAllister (CowboyinAmerica) and Vernon von Axelberry (Robbie), but most of the team is in fact still around, including Shawn Gretzky (TLO), Mats Johnsson (Quik), Peter Quill (Green), and Dexter Lane (Advantage). Season 60 Helsinki Titans @Higgins @Will @solas @Pandar And finally, peak Project Player Two – two final players for Higgins, two players from his newly banned assistant GM boubabi, and two players picked up from previously successful Riga and Quebec teams in Locke and Muller. The only new username here was Pandar, getting a late but deserved cup with Marc-Alexandre Leblanc, as the shitshow which was the VHL's sixth decade came to an end. 1,668 words so 3 weeks for Pavlov.

Season 67 Mock Draft Series | 2nd Round Part 3 @VSN In case you missed it here is the complete first round mock draft published last week on VSN: 1.01 - Phil Marleau - C 1.02 - Bjorn Scoringsson - W 1.03 - Hulk Hogan- D 1.04 - Aston Martin - C 1.05 - Rayz Funk - G 1.06 - ACL TEAR - W 1.07 - Lincoln Tate - D 1.08 - Boone Jenton - D 1.09 - Michael Gary Scott - C 1.10 - Acyd Burn - W 2.01 – Seattle Bears - W|23 – L|40 – OTL|9 Previous Picks: Marleau (1), Funk (5), Jenton (8) The Pick: Boris the Forest - Center - Mexico City Kings @chillzone Analysis: As I highlighted in my first round mock draft, the Seattle Bears own this draft after shedding off veteran talents to stock up on draft picks in their rebuild. This is a pivotal draft for the future of the Bears. In the first round mock, they addressed all three positions with Marleau, Funk and Jenton. With the first pick in the second round, they add a very talented center in Boris the Forest. Boris is easily a first round talent, but he slightly slips into the early second round here. In the regular season for Mexico he put up an impressive 33 goals and 33 assists, fourth best in points on the team. Seattle walks away from this draft with two premier centers; a rugged two-way leader in Marleau and a dynamic offensive scorer in Boris the Forest. A huge haul for Seattle. 2.02 – Malmo Nighthawks - W|28 – L|41 – OTL|3 Previous Picks: Scoringsson (2) The Pick: Wrike Chyrnoble - Goalie - Mexico City Kings @Savoire Faire Analysis : Back-to-back Kings get selected here as goaltender Wrike Chyrnoble comes off the board. Chrynoble was a rock for the Kings in the regular season finishing with a 41-25 record and a 2.24 GAA. Malmo here is in a position where they have a starting goaltender in Johnny Carison, but he may have reached his ceiling in the VHL and is beginning to get up there in age. This is an opportunity for Malmo to grab the number two goalie available in this draft behind Funk, give him a year or two to develop and have a young franchise goaltender. Wrike has a solid frame at 6'4 and 220 pounds and is widely regarded as a very athletic goalkeeper. The former 9th overall pick in the VHLM finds himself a home in Malmo. 2.03 – Moscow Menace - W|26 – L|38 – OTL|8 Previous Picks: Hogan (3) The Pick: Derek England - Defense - Mexico City Kings @PenKnight Analysis: Make that three straight Kings draft picks here at the top of the second round as Derek England hears his name called by Moscow. England has been one of the more under the radar prospects in this draft class and is at the top of the second tier of defenseman behind Hogan, Tate and Jenton. Statistically, England had a very solid year with 59 points in 72 games for the Kings, which was also Top-10 amongst all VHLM defenseman. Moscow has a handful of promising young stars on offense with the likes of Jaguar and Volshenko and they add to pillars on the back end here with Hogan in the first and England in the second. England is described as a solid two-way defenseman who can move the puck very well, but also is very responsible defensively. The defense is set for the future in Moscow. 2.04 – Riga Reign (via TOR) - W|42 – L|23 – OTL|7 Previous Picks: Scott (9) The Pick: Dan Gles - Center - Mississauga Hounds @No_Dangles Analysis: Riga has one of the most talented rosters in the VHL headlined by Podrick Cast, Edwin Preencarnacion, Ryan Kastelic and Kallis Kirketers in net. At this point in the draft, Riga will look to take the best player available and that is Dan Gles of the Hounds. Gles has been rising up draft boards over the past week, according to VHL scouts and also put together a very impressive season for the Hounds. His 96 points were good for Top-6 in the VHLM and was second in scoring on his team behind only Callum MacElroy. He plays all areas of the ice well and was never really known for his goal scoring until he came to the VHLM. Despite adding Michael Gary Scott, who projects now as a center in the VHL, Riga is happy to select Gles to develop a young core down the middle. 2.05 – Riga Reign (via NY) - W|42 – L|23 – OTL|7 Previous Picks: Scott (9), Gles (14) The Pick: Greg Eagles - Goalie - San Diego Marlins @Greg_Di Analysis: This is a tough pick for Riga on the projeced back-to-back here in the second round. It goes without saying that they have an elite goaltender in Kallis Kirketers who is a life blood of their backend. However, drafts are about building out that prospect pool for the future and not always necessarily focusing on immediate needs. Riga looks at their draft board here and sees a young promising goalie in Greg Eagles and cannot pass up the opportunity. Eagles is right there with Chyrnoble as the second best goalie in this draft and I would not be surpised to see him go before him. Eagles had 39 wins and a 2.61 GAA for a good Marlins team in S66. While he lacks the size that Chyrnoble has (6'1 180lbs), he makes up for it with his positioning. He always manages to find himself in the shooting lanes and square to the puck. Riga brings in a potential star goalie of the future here with the 15th overall pick. 2.06 – Vancouver Wolves – W|39 – L|29 – OTL|4  Previous Picks: TEAR (6) The Pick: Michael Johnson - Goalie - Halifax 21st @fonziGG Analysis: The run on goalies continues here in the second with the third goalie being selected in the first six picks of the round. Vancouver takes a long, hard look at a few other players here, but with Funk, Chyrnoble and Eagles off the board they take Johnson from Halifax. The Wolves roster three goalies including the talented veteran in Roger Sterling. They also used the 14th overall selection in S65 goaltender Joe Nixon, who hasn't fully developed as they initially hoped for. With Sterling having a couple seasons left before retirement, the Wolves snag Johnson and hope he can be the guy that Nixon was supposed to be. Johnson stands at 6'3 and 210 pounds and split time in the cage with fellow S67 draft prospect Thorvald Gunnarsson. Gunnarsson statistically edged out Johnson in terms of save percentage and GAA, but Johnson had three shutouts to Gunnarsson's zero. Scouts seemingly are pretty high on both prospects, but give the edge to Johnson as they see him with slightly higher upside at this point. 2.07 – Seattle Bears (via DAV) - W|23 – L|40 – OTL|9 Previous Picks: Marleau (1), Funk (5), Jenton (8), Forest (11) The Pick: Henrik Zoiderberg - Left Wing - Mexico City Kings @HenrikZoiderberg Analysis: Seattle continues plucking talent in this draft class, this time with one of my favorite prospects in Henrik Zoiderberg. The Swedish winger burst onto the scene early in the season and ultimately put up a respectable 27-28-55 stat line for the talented Kings. In my May 20th article, I highlighted Zoiderberg as a potential sleeper in this draft class. Zoiderberg is a very smooth, playmaking winger who can also be relied on defensively. He has really been developing his goal scoring ability as the season went on and his 27 goals reflects that work. When I reached out to a few VHL scouts, they raved about him as a player and person off the ice. He is seemingly loved in the Kings locker room. Sticking Zoiderberg on a line in Seattle with former teammate Boris the Forest can be something special to watch in Seattle. 2.08 – Seattle Bears (via CAL) - W|23 – L|40 – OTL|9 Previous Picks: Marleau (1), Funk (5), Jenton (8), Forest (11), Zoiderberg (17) The Pick: Guy LeGrande - Defense - Halifax 21st @Steve Analysis: Shockingly, Seattle is back on the clock here with the eighth pick in round two. To summarize the draft so far for Seattle, they have picked two centers, one goalie, one defenseman and one winger; addressing needs all over the ice. With this pick, they go back to the back end and pick up Guy LeGrande from Halifax. LeGrande was a mid-season pickup for Halifax, playing in only 49 games, but had an immediate impact. He produced 7 goals and 35 assists which is just off a point per game pace. LeGrande is an offensive-minded forward with great puck skills and a rocket of a shot from the blue line. When I sat down with the 21st head coach, he could not stop talking about the work ethic and character of this kid. Definitely a prospect to keep an eye on in this draft. 2.09 – HC Davos (via RIG) - W|37 – L|27 – OTL|8 Previous Picks: Martin (4), Tate (7) The Pick: Trevor Van Lagen - Center - Halifax 21st @VanCanWin Analysis: With their third pick of this draft, Davos selects another riser in Trevor Van Lagen. The former 84th overall pick of the Season 66 VHLM Dispersal Draft proved to be an incredible steal for Halifax at that slot as he eclipsed a point per game pace in his first VHLM season (28-46-74). Van Lagen is a big, strong offensive-minded center standing at an impressive 6'5 and 215 pounds. He possesses some of the best natural goal scoring abilities in this draft class amongst centers and once he tightens up his skating, he could be an absolute force in the VHL. Davos here cleans up with two potential elite centers in Aston Martin and Trevor Van Lagen. 2.10 – Seattle Bears (via HEL) - W|23 – L|40 – OTL|9 Previous Picks: Marleau (1), Funk (5), Jenton (8), Forest (11), Zoiderberg (17), LeGrande (18) The Pick: Scott Greene - Center - Mississauga Hounds @DoktorFunk Analysis: It's only fitting that we round out this second round mock draft with the Seattle Bears who will have selected seven players in the first two rounds after this pick. Seattle looks at their board and goes with the best available player here in Scott Greene of the Hounds; their third true center selected in this draft. Like Van Lagen, Greene proved to be a very good steal for the Hounds as he was selected 66th overall in the VHLM Dispersal Draft. In the regular season, he produced 27 goals and 20 assists in his 72 games played. He also added two points in the Hounds 5 playoff games. The slightly undersized centerman possesses great scoring and skating abilities that will translate to the VHL very well. He also prides himself on his faceoff ability, which is likely at the top of this class. Overall, Greene is a rock solid prospect and has been consistently developing throughout the season. He joins the immense Seattle Bears draft class at the end of the second.

An invitation for the White House While the Fake News Media had not picked up this story yet for national coverage, we have insider information that the following events actually happened. The Philadelphia Reapers, who had won the Season 66 Founder’s Cup, were invited to the White House by the president of the united states of america, to celebrate their victory. They were also joined by the next generation of Reapers, as the team is an actual family for eachother, no one is left out. The day started with the president, he who shall not be named, who started of with a speech were he congratulated everyone on their fine achievement in keeping this cup away from Canada. Edward Vigneault was triggered by this remark, saying Canada contributed as much to the victory as the Americans and threw a poutine in his face. No one even knew why he was carrying that, but that was only the start of the visit. After the speech was done the Reapers were invited to a ‘home cooked’ meal by the in house chefs of he who shall not be named: McDonald’s , Kentucky Fried Chicken and New York Pizza. When the personal of the trainers Kyle Sabertooth saw this he immediatly forwarded to the table and yes, you guessed right: Step 1: ┬─┬ノ( º _ ºノ) Step 2: ┻━┻︵ \(°□°)/ ︵ ┻━┻ Indeed, all the tables had to be flipped with all the 'food' (as much as you can call it food in Sabertooths eyes) was thrown away all over the ground. "You are not feeding my athletes this kind of crap you monster" he shouted. Yes, quite the start of the evening... Hiding in a corner while this all happened was Mrs Maiden, the Philadelphia General Manager, who only just now realised that she brought even more insane people to the White House (next to those already living there) and this could only end badly. To get everyone away from the mess 'he who shall not be named' asked everyone to calm down. There was a party in the main hall with his personal playlist. There would also be drinks and snacks (nothing healthy, but Sabertooth was already removed from the party to be locked up in the local police station) so everyone could have a great time, the best time in the world, a great time like no one else had before. The first song started playing and Zappa was sounding over the speakers. Well this shouldn't be too bad everyone thought, I really expected worse from him. Shamefully not everyone agreed. Icelandic player Sigard Gunnar started to make a fit about this and in a horrible icelandic accent he started screaming that we are not ballgame players, but that we play with pucks and sticks, almost tossing over the music installation, while security had to hold him back, he lifted his finger far enough to hit the next button, which soon enough he would regret, when a song of a young czech kid singing about Pokemon Go started. You saw the blood of Gunnar boiling up, it wouldn't take much or he would explode. Luckily the song didn't last long, but just as he started to calm down he heard the following lyrics sang over the speakers: No, noo, nooo, nooooooooooooo!!!!!! NOT FRIDAY, NOT FRIDAY!!!!!! Sigard shouted. I CANT TAKE THIS ANYMORE. Sigard ran straight to the glass door escaping the party who so far played only played songs he really disliked. With the glass shattering, the music also stopped playing. He who shall not be named started to shout 'who put this on my playlist? I only had great songs on it, the best songs in the world!' People were looking at him like he was crazy. Vigneault shouted to him in his frenglish accent YOU ADDED IT, IT HAS YOUR NAME ON THE SPOTIFY LIST. And then it happened, a 15-second intro started followed by a bass drop,15 seconds with the bass and a lion roar at the end of the first 30 seconds. Yes.... it was the Harlem Shake. Vigneault also started to get angrier and angrier. WE WERE PROMISED GOOD MUSIC! 'Ok ok' he who shall not be named said, lets try this then. This is really one of my favourites. And while he said it, we were hearing 'a little bit of monica in my life, a little bit of erica by my side...' now Condor Adrienne also started to look angry... 'God I hate this song' he whisper in Vigneaults ear. We need to get find a way to end this night, or we will be scarred for life by this. When the next song started to play 'DES-PA-CITO" Vigneault couldnt do anything but agree to Adrienne. Okay, you have a plan for this? Because I cant take this much longer. Wait guys wait.... If you dont like this one, maybe you will enjoy this artist I brought in for you, it is the best artist in the world, he is so good, you have not seen such a good artist in your life! Suddenly the spotlights went to the eastern side of the room where a small podium was build. A ukulele started to play a few chords. Vigneault heard the first tones and was like 'oh fuck'. It was indeed Livin'in the sunlight, lovin' in the moonlight, another song he hates with passion. He stormed forward, grabbed the ukulele off the cover artist (because let's be honest, he who shall not be named would not hire an a-artist for this) and started smashing his face in. It partly worked as the song did stop as the artist, but the side effects of broken bones and bleeding teeth, was not something the security liked to see as they grabbed Vigneault with four off them and put him back on the first plane to Moscow. So before Adrienne and Vigneault even made any plans, Vigneault was gone and the party continued. Tu du du du du - tu du du du du du, he who shall not be named had started his spotify list again. Man, this song even was known in our part of the galaxy Adrienne mumbled, one time tu du du du du, two times tu du du du , and i fucking hate this. With that french canadian bastard gone I need to find more help, there must be someone able to end this party once and for all. He looked to his right side and he saw Kevin Low nodding, he knew exactly what Adrienne was thinking. The two of them ran suddenly towards their assistant general manager Julian Borwinn, Adrienne grabbed his legs, Low grabbed his arms and they started swinging. One.... two.... three.... and Adrienne already let go of his legs as they hit the ground on which Kevin goes four... five..... Adrienne shaken his head in disbelief, we always let go at three. Luckily Borwinn didnt land on his head before it would have been the end of a career, but their plan to toss the assistent gm towards the music system horribly failed with result that the next song started playing 'I'm blue da ba dee da ba daa' and just as we seen before with Gunnar and Vigneault, something just snapped with Adrienne. His 6'8 frame and 240 lbs stormed himself towards the sound system to make sure this was the day the music died. The music indeed stopped as the sound installation fell into pieces, his teammates were cheering as the party finally would be coming to an end, no more horrible music, no horrible food and finally rid of he who shall not be named. Let's all go home guys Brandon Leblanc said, I've had enough of this shit, let's get back to training for the next season. The team all left and took the plane back home and continue their workouts. On the plane Dylan Doyle had a surprise for the team, as he was the only one who stayed behind in the dining hall, he had gathered up all the Big Mac's he could find and started to passing them along, they might be cold, but food like this never loses its taste, it's almost like it's chemical! With Sabertooth still in prison, the team finally could enjoy their meal. The next day after the Reapers had a practice session, Fox News was playing on the background and 'he who shall not be named' was discussing another of his worthless plans. "Thanks for coming out everyone, this will be a great speech, this will be the best speech ever" he said. After recent events I have decided that Mexico is no longer a threat, we will not build a wall at the border, they wouldn't pay for it anyway. We now have decided we will build a wall around Philadelphia. You noticed the crowd being confused, they really wondered what he smoked this time as it didn't make sense. Philadelphia is a threat to the nation, Philadelphia attacked the White House yesterday. One by one you saw the crowd moving away and you could hear them whispering. This time he has really lost it.... Words: 1564 - For three future media spot claims

I've had an itch to do some writing lately and what better to talk about than the VHL Portal. I'll be doing these sporadically to get feedback/suggestions, tease new features, and rant about my struggles. For the past while my focus has been revisiting older areas to clean up the code base, of course making small improvements along the way (for example, the various statistic pages that I upgraded in the last release were, in fact, the very first pages that existed on the Portal). While this isn't the most exciting work, it is ultimately necessary as, over time, the code base has grown large and some areas are/were quite unruly to work with. I now find myself in the depths of the whole Team Management system, by far the largest (and messiest) 'area' of the Portal. It has gotten so large and disjointed that it was challenging to make basic improvements and extremely daunting to even consider adding all-new features. This was of course untenable as Team Management needs many improvements. And so I am now at work on the only logical solution, re-writing every page and function. Quite a painful process indeed but one that will make it much easier to build on later, plus its a good chance to incorporate some of the improvements and features people have been asking for. A few of the more public improvements/features I'm hoping to have at the end of this process: Improvements to the automated forum posts/notifications related to transactions A VHL/VHLM transaction tracker that'll allow people to keep track of everything from signings to trades to retirements in one place All new Trade interface, potentially supporting 3 way trades Improvements to the Drafting interface, plus support for passing on picks Improvements to Free Agency/Waivers interface, including a listing of FA signings so far that season Allowing GM's to set Assistant GM's, giving them to access the Team Management area(s)

Stars in the Making | A Look at VHLM’s Fresh Faces In recent days and weeks, we have seen some new faces join the VHLM. Some through the S67 VHLM Dispersal Draft and some through VHLM free agency, as they entered the league after the draft. The Season 68 Draft crop seems to be a very strong one headlined by defensemen Connor Adrienne, Lance Flowers and Wolf Stansson Jr. We’ll be covering the class, the VHLM and the top prospects throughout the season on VSN, but today we shift our focus to some of the fresh faces of the VHLM. After rigorously scouring the S68 class, I have identified a handful of new players that have caught my eye early on. These players all declared for the draft just days before it took place or signed with the VHLM after; these could be stars in the making. Luciano Valentino – D – Halifax 21st @Kekzkrieg VHLM Drafted: 53rd Overall Joined: 7/2/19 TPE: 128 The first player on my list is a defenseman drafted by Halifax in the late rounds, Luciano Valentino. The Italian-born defenseman has really burst on to the scene in his first week in the VHLM. The 6’3 defenseman is primarily a defensive-minded defenseman. In his Italian junior hockey league, he was seen as one of the more sound defensive defenseman in the league. He uses his big body to be a presence in the defensive zone, including blocking shots. Valentino is also a very good skater and passer; he is built for the VHLM game. He’ll likely see second-pairing minutes to start the season for Halifax, but this is a player to keep tabs on as the season progresses. This is my Lincoln Tate-esque riser to keep an eye on. Raymond Bernard – G – Ottawa Lynx @Mr_Hatter VHLM Drafted: 40th Overall Joined: 7/2/19 TPE: 76 The only goalie that made this initial list was Ottawa Lynx draft pick, Raymond Bernard. Ottawa picked Bernard with the 40th overall pick and I expect this to look like a value pick when we reflect back on this draft. In the pre-draft interview process, Bernard reportedly performed very well and was spoke highly of by VHLM executives. His biggest asset, which really sticks out when you watch him, is his reaction time. It’s likely due to his great athletic ability, but he can react to a quik deflection in the slot with ease. He makes it look easy. There’s a good chance we see Bernard as the day one starter for Ottawa. Willie Dredge – RW – Yukon Rush @sjs88speed Signed with Yukon Joined: 7/8/19 TPE: 50 The player that has the freshest face on this list is Willie Dredge, a winger who signed with Yukon just a couple days ago. There are three main things Dredge brings to the table: speed, speed and speed. He possesses tremendous footspeed, acceleration and edgework. The question for Dredge moving forward is, can the mitts match the feet? His pick skills and scoring ability, at this point in his career, are slightly lacking behind his skating ability. I do believe like he will continue to work on those aspects of his game and develop them. The former Massachusetts high school hockey standout, will have to adjust to the VHLM game, but he has all the tools to be an impact player in this league. I see Dredge stepping into a Top-6 role for Yukon at the back half of the season. Owen Nolan – RW – Halifax 21st @studentized VHLM Drafted: 64th Overall Joined: 7/2/19 TPE: 67 Another Halifax late round draft pick enters the fold as an under the radar player to watch. Nolan is a relatively raw player out of Belfast, Ireland. He played junior hockey there until the age of 15, quickly rising above his peers to become one of the top prospects of the nation. He provides a mix of natural goal scoring talent and a big-bodied power forward. I think he will develop one of the more lethal shots in this draft class and maybe in the entire VHLM this season. He’ll be a presence in front of the net as well. I’m not sure Nolan has the high, high upside of some of the other players on this list, but given where he was drafted in the VHLM Draft I think he could be a steal. Micha Sage – LW – Ottawa Lynx @AcousticKazoo VHLM Drafted: 32nd Overall Joined: 6/27/19 TPE: 99 TPE The highest 67 draft pick in this article is Micha Sage, a winger drafted to the Ottawa Lynx by first-year GM Acyd Burn. Sage hails from Ontario and is described by scouts as a power-forward that has an innate ability to put the puck in the net. He plays a smart game, knows how to find the soft spots in the defense and possesses a pretty deadly shot. He will need to bulk up a little bit to be a power forward force in the VHLM, but that is something the Ottawa trainers will focus on early on. The Lynx do have some veteran wingers on the roster right now with Hunter Wagner and Michael Rasmussen, but Sage is impressive and can make a pretty immediate impact.

@Rayzor_7 Made VHLM HISTORY as a new GM...

Jubo throwing his name in the ring; Joined as a player in S62 5 gold medals as GM at the international level (2xWC + 1 bronze / 3xWJC) 2 Founders Cups (1 as GM with Vegas S64 &1 as AGM with Philly S66) S64 VHLM GM of the Year Obviously activity/availability is not an issue (Julian Borwinn at 1161 TPE and counting) My 1 year VHLForum anniversary is August 4th Full list of accolades can be seen in my forum signature Thanks for your consideration.

Hello and welcome ladies and gentlemen to the first Players Awards Night for the Mississauga Hounds. These are the awards to the players voted by the players, I will be your host Peter Wilkinson, now without further delay lets get down to business. Our first award is the Dream Line award here we will pick the top player of each position to make the best line on the ice. This is if everyone started at the same skill level and does not take current skill into consideration. Firstly the Goalie of the Year is...... @Rayzor_7 RAYZ FUNK! Rayz started all 77 games the Hounds played this year and was a key part to the teams success, he was only pulled from the ice once and his replacement The Hound never saw a single start. This award was one of the easiest to give out but it doesn't make him any less deserving. Please everyone give it up for your Goalie FUNK! Next we will look at the Defenceman of the Year Our first winner was voted by all his teammates as one of the best defencemen and who could blame them. You all know him its.... @HulkHogan HULK HOGAN! As our highest scoring defenceman and most assists on the team it is of no surprise that Hulk has earned his spot up here tonight. He was not only great in the offensive zone but a staple in the defensive zone also with GM Jerry Garcia keeping him out on the ice as long as he could every shift. The Hounds worked Hulk Hogan as much as they could and he never faltered. Please give it up for HULK HOGAN! our defender joining Hogan was a late addition to the team but that didn't stop him achieving great things on the ice. Your second defencemen of the year is... @Cran DANNY DEYEETO! Do not let his small stature or his age fool you. DeYeeto is an absolute devil on the ice, if you have the puck near him watch out because you are going to get hit and stay hit. His presence really lifted the Hounds after being signed as a free agent mid way through the year. The only people he let down were the opposition and that was certainly not gently. Please every a round of applause for your second D-Man DANNY DEYEETO!!! Now we can get onto the interesting people of the team the forwards first we will have a look at the Centre of the Year. This was a close decision between two amazing centres that GM Garcia struggled to pick on who should be the top line centre. But your winner for this year is... @No_Dangles DAN GLES! Dan Gles was on the infamous 2nd line for the Hounds this year which was one of if not the strongest second line in the whole of the VHLM. He produced fantastic numbers with 96 points in the regular season and with 5 points in the post season, including a short handed goal. This man might seem quiet put he lets the scoreboard do the talking for him. Give it up for your centre of the year DAN GLES! For the Right Winger of the year I am sure that this man needs no introduction you all love him it's... @GlowyGoat CALLUM MACELROY!!! Topping the points table for the whole year in the VHLM with 107 points in the regular season MacElroy had an absolute blinder of a season. He was also apart of the infamous second line for the Hounds and he was the main man out there. Wait a minute where is MacElroy has anyone seen him he hasn't come up to collect his award. Please can someone go find him. Sorry about that where was I.. oh right. The lead goal scorer in the whole of the VHLM no wonder why he is the Right Winger of the year for the Mississauga Hounds. Please everyone give it up for CALLUM MACELROY! Last but certainly not least we have the Left Winger of the Year. This man is famous all through Mississauga for his great play on the ice, he is no other than... @cody73 CODY SMITH! This amazing skater was leading the goal scoring in the whole league for the first part of the season and put up heaps of big games. Including a hat-trick in game five of the quarter finals in the playoffs. This man lead from the front wearing the C on his jersey, being an incredible face for the franchise. It is no wonder that he was the players choice of best left winger in the Hounds. Rumours have it that he might become a Defenceman in the future so this could have been his final season up front. He definitely made it one he will never forget. Everyone lets hear it for Cody Smith! So here we have our line of the year can we give it up one last time for these incredible players! Now we move on to our individual awards The first award is our Players Player this is the MVP as voted by the players, the one they want on the ice with them but is also a great team mate. The winner for this award is... @cody73 CODY SMITH! The captain of the team showed his leadership on and off the ice. Leading the team in scoring at the beginning of the season and leading the team in advice and assistance throughout the whole season. He is a player that you would want in any locker room and you can see him going far with his career. Best of Luck in the future Cody it was a pleasure to have you on the Hounds and leading from the front. Let me hear you scream for your captain Cody Smith! Our next award is the player most likely to end up in the Hall of Fame and to no ones surprise the winner is... @HulkHogan HULK HOGAN! This man is bigger than life and everyone knows him, it is no wonder that he was voted most likely to get up into the Hall of Fame. It's not just his skill on the ice but his huge personality. Plus have you seen the size of him I would hate to be the one that tells him that he isn't going in the Hall of Fame. So whether it is by skill, personality or intimidation Hulk Hogan will end up in the Hall of Fame, congratulations BROTHER! Give it up again for Hulk Hogan! Up next we have the award for best leadership, this is the player who you could imagine becoming a great GM in the future. The winner is... our first choice for captain @Rayzor_7 RAYZ FUNK! Rayz Funk was elected captain by the Hounds at the beginning of the season but due to the rules was not allowed to wear the C on his jersey. To combat that Funk had a C painted on to his mask as he new who the real captain was. Funk is an absolute great leader and this can be confirmed as he was chosen to be the GM of the Minnesota Storm. We all wish him the best of luck in his future endeavours. Give it up for your goalie Rayz Funk. Now that brings an end to today's ceremony of players awards, but wait we do have 3 special awards picked by a person who didn't watch a single Hounds game and knows nothing about any of the players. For some reason the management thought that these awards should be accepted also, so lets continue with this party. First up we have an award for... Best fashion sense. This award goes to... @VisualDarkness ANDREAS SUNDELL! Well I don't really have much information for these awards so come on out Sundell and collect your award. Wow he is wearing a pink and yellow striped suit that is... well that is out there. I guess he deserves this award. The next award is for... Most clumsy player This award goes to... @DoktorFunk SCOTT GREENE! Congratulations Greene, I don't know why you have been selected for this award but come up and collect it... just be careful on the stairs. Look everyone he made it all the way up without tripping, I don't know why this was given to you. Everyone give it up for Scott.... oh no he fell down the stairs, do we have any real Doctors in the building? Anyway lets just move right along to our final award for the night. The teams biggest sook, this is the player that whines about any injury they receive and complain to the refs the most and the winner is... ....WHAT REALLY??? The award went to @HulkHogan HULK HOGAN??? Well, I think that about wraps it up for tonight I am scared of what Hogan will do to me so good night all and see you next year. Please Hulk no, I didn't have anything to do with the award I just hand them out... Oh No!!! [1517 Words] Will claim for this week and the following two

#6 = 1223 TPE Top Players RW Dalton Wilcox - RW Koda Adok - LW Teemu Lehtinen Jr. - D Khalabib Stiopic - D Banko Mulleto Like most teams on our list Houston is offense first and probably the most offensive oriented team but they do have defense to back it up. What they need to improve on would be getting strong players to defend their scorers and somebody that can man the middle on the top line. The Bulls have an interesting roster and one you could gamble on, they are well ready to be a top team right now and with a few minor adjustments they could see themselves at the top of the standings, specially if their already talented player can get a little bit more TPE. Finally, expect to see some sweet plays and good chemistry from their top line, they have 220 scoring between the three of them. #5 = 1419 TPE Top Players RW Erik Draven - C Frans Eller - LW Brendan Plunkett - D Lance Flowers - D Wolf Stansson Jr. Yukon has a lot of talented players to fill the whole roster but are lacking a goaltender. If you look closer at the players you'll see very good scoring and defense with outstanding skating which are three vital skills you need. They have very low discipline and I can see that being a problem during the season. At the end of the day I'm sure we will see plenty of competitive games out of this roster.. if they can find a competitive goaltender to match because defender Flowers is going to be blocking a lot of pucks if they don't. #4 = 1548 TPE Top Players RW Anton Edvin - RW Emil Passerelli - RW Kenji Hachimura - D Pierre Persson - G Thorvald Gunnarsson The 21st have a very strong offensive starting line up, the forwards have a pair of scary scorers in Edvin and Passerelli and Hachimura threads the needle. Their defense is offensive as well and Persson takes the shot most nights while two-way defender Gage works his tail off. Goal-tending isn't an issue for Halifax, Gunnarsson ranks 3rd among TPE earners on the team and will be the right man to hold the fort for them this season. If the team can acquire some shut down defensive players and possibly a center they can make a legitimate run at the cup. #3 = 1553 Top Players C - Zeno Miniti - LW Hunter Wagner - LW Anthony Hawk - C Thorny Underyew - D Cody Parkey Right off the bat I notice the team has only a few lines of talent but can put the puck in the back of the net, the team is lacking defenders and defensive forwards which has been a trend so far but if they could get somebody to fill that gap the Lynx could be in the finals. Anthony Hawk is going to be a problem and his shot is scary, they have a little bit of everything they need in skill for offense and don't need to improve on that at all. The only area I see that needs an improvement is depth defenders and forwards that can grind it out, if they can find a few or train a prospect to develop a different skill set this roster could be very dangerous and nightmare shift after shift #2 = 2064 Top Players LW Berocka Sundqvist - D Andreas Sundell - D Hugh Chan - D Danny DeYeeto - G Justin Cole The Storm have the best defense in the league and just enough offense to go along with it, making them a huge threat and the bottom teams should prepare themselves. They will hit and skate past you and goaltender Cole will most likely be making the VHLM highlights. The only thing Minnesota is lacking would be a top center and are going to need one if they want to get chances to capitalize on, they are far ahead of other teams and are going to have a great year. #1 = 2493 Top Players C Alex Pearson - LW Dylan Doyle - C Scotty BigShotty - D Brandon LeBlanc - D Conor Adrienne The Reapers have by far the most players and best talent and has enough TPE to split the team in two, definite cup contenders and award winners all over their roster. If the team could acquire any type of player it would be somebody to fill their already great depth but other than that expect to see them dominate next season because their top line all has 1,275 TPE between them and they have depth players bottom teams would dream to have along with a back up goaltender. Is there anything this team cant do? Seriously.. They deserve to be in a different league!

Things weren't always like this. The drafts weren't always this deep or rewarding. They didn't go anywhere near this many rounds (and surely not as many "active" rounds) and they didn't have quite the lists of talent that they do today. I mean, maybe once upon a time, but all I know is that it's been a very long time. I don't think, during my 18 seasons straight of being the Seattle Bears GM, that drafts have ever been this good. It's an exciting time to be a player, a manager or a member of this league. It's very exciting when you're a manager though. So much talent, so many possibilities and a lot of options that you're able to go. This draft people were dubbing as not as deep but if you take a look at the draft list and see what's going on, you'd realize that saying that isn't the best or right answer. The draft is actually pretty solid, with a lot of players making up the first round and numerous 2nd and even 3rd round projected players that could have healthy careers in the Victory Hockey League if they really, really wanted it. It takes effort, it takes skill and yes, it does take time. It is rewarding if you manage to find the time and grow as a player though. So, let's take a look at some of these players and see what they're really all about. (S67) Bjorn Scorinxgsonn @11 Eleven Position: RW Height: 6'1" Weight: 190 Player Rating: 9.0C NHL Comparison: William Karlsson TPE: 279 While it's isn't completely unheard of in the Victory Hockey League, but Icelandic players can be hard to come by and even if we do happen to get some of these guys into the league, it's even harder to keep them. The name literally has "Ice" in it - so you'd expect them to be amazing at hockey but most aren't. I feel as though that's completely false when we take a first look at Bjorn Scorinsonn. He's currently rolling along the season with some solid updating/training, some nice consistency in his player build and updates and is making large waves this season with Philadelphia. Listen to this, mates. He had 66 points in 72 games this regular season and already has 8 in 6 games these VHLM playoffs. He's continuously getting better in all areas of the game - production and skill levels, and is making quite a name for himself. As we mentioned, he's newer to the league and Icelandic players are prone to bouncing and busting and never becoming much of something. Bjorn is an interesting pick and we feel as though the gamble would 100% be worth the risk. We like him a lot as a pick and wouldn't be surprised when we hear his name called within the Top 3 picks, maybe even first overall. (S67) Phil Marleau @Phil Position: C Height: 6'5" Weight: 240 Player Rating: 9.0B NHL Comparison: Ryan Getzlaf TPE: 248 Alright, let's get the elephant out of the room and by elephant we mean Marleau because damn he's a big boy. He comes in standing 6'5" and weighing 240 pounds. He's literally skating around out there as a tank on skates and is looking for any reason to punish the opposition. The great thing about it? He's one of the top guys for hitting season after season and just finished his VHLM campaign with 304 hits in 72 games. What makes the cake a whole lot better is that he can put up points, score goals and do just about anything that you'd ask for in a player. With his frame, fuck, even ask if the guy will play net if your two main goalies need a break. I'm sure with how he stretches out, he'd be stopping a good chunk of the rubber coming his way. The minor concern would not be that he's an extremely liked, well respected member - oh, no... but could be the fact that the last time he had an amazing player which was very similar in skill level so quickly, he went missing and was never really found again. Rumour has it, he left to some far away island to live out his days with Elvis and Tupac. HOWEVER, we would say it's worth the risk. Phil is great anywhere he goes and makes huge impacts in the LR, around the league and on the stats sheet for you and your team. (S67) Hugh Chan @HughJas_ Position: D Height: 6'1" Weight: 190 Player Rating: 8.0C NHL Comparison: Mattias Ekholm TPE: 156 Here we find a player who has the potential to be a strong player every single season and really make a good impact for whatever team he plays for. He may not jump off the page at you like some of the other prospects higher than him would, but he isn't a bad pick to make and teams should seriously be looking at this guy. Also, his username is pretty solid - so maybe Nyko will give him some claps or something. For Hugh Chan, what people are going to be watching for is the consistency in training and making himself a better player. From now until the draft, lots of GM's are going to head on overt and talk to him and all eyes are going to be on him to see if he can keep it up. He managed to get 40 points through the 72 this season and had 8 assists through 6 playoffs games. Predicting the future, I expect him to be anywhere from a 55-80 points defender in the Victory Hockey League and a really good pick if things go the teams and players way. Of course, there's always the gamble and gambling you would be - but how much? The boom and bust is good with this one but likely a solid pick. Good luck! (S67) Michael Johnson @fonziGG Position: G Height: 6'3" Weight: 210 Player Rating: 8.0B NHL Comparison: Robin Lehner TPE: 218 Michael Johnson was pretty fortunate to be on a fairly strong Halifax 21st team this year, though, it could be said that he was a big portion of the reasons why the team did so well. His record was 25-9-1, his save percentage coming in at .874 and his GAA of 3.02. So okay, it wasn't anything super special or amazing but something we see here is potential and room to grow - and there may be a lot more room than some people realize. After a few interactions with the prospect and watching him in game, you come to learn that it's a diamond in the rough. It's a weak ceiling to in most scouting reports and what that means is that scouts things he may end up somewhere around X, but very well could push through that ceiling, create a new one and be Y. It's going to be really exciting to see where he lands, which organization doesn't to pick him and what he turns into over the course of his career. I wouldn't expect a bunch of greatness right away - I think this pick may be a little bit more of a late bloomer who has great success throughout his career, but it may take some time and proper training in order to achieve this. Either way, excited to see what happens! Good luck! (S67) Doug Forsyth @DougF Position: RW Height: 5'7" Weight: 200 Player Rating: 1.0F NHL Comparison: Andre Deveaux TPE: Banned for preying on youth When you see the name Doug, what do you think of? Do you think of a youthful player who had promise only to throw it away for dick pics? Do you think of one of the lowest scoring players to ever be scouted by me? Do you think of the women's football league when you see his height of 5'7" and poundage of 200. He's little and thick, like a tree stump. OR, do you think of checking behind you when walking down a dark alley at night making sure no predator if following you home? All these and more are likely acceptable to think. I don't even know if he was super promising or seemed good or anything. REALLY, the first time I heard about him was when he was begging for penis pictures. I mean, do what you want and I won't be judge, but what the fuck and yuck. I've never encountered that shit in all my VHL or SHL days and am surely going to be walking down these alleys with my iPhone flashlight on from now on... think about it... Your name is @Beaviss and you just finished a rowdy fucking bender involved with sloots, blow and booze. You're walking down a back alley, trying to light a smoke and in the far distance you hear the howling of a female cat in heat. You quickly up the pace and as you walk by a set of garbage cans you feel something squeeze your left ass cheek.. At this moment, you know you're fucked. It's the return of DOUG.

Congrats to the following: CAPTAIN - JERRY GARCIA @GustavMattias ALTERNATE - MATTHEW MATERAZO @Matt_O ALTERNATE - JACK LYNCH @xsjack These three will be representing Malmo this year along with the rest of our squad.

Thank you for adding me, feels good One quik note, I believe I've been on the league for 8 years, not 10 as I joined when I was 14 in my freshmen year of high school. I'm now a college graduate so I've kind of grown with this league. Also, congrats quik!

Earlier today, Nighthawks Defenceman Rusty Shackleford is reported to have purchased a 15 bedroom house in the city of Malmö. Shackleford blew through almost his entire bonus to do this, and immediately set about nailing 2x4 planks of lumber over the front door to spell out "Hawk House," though several pieces have already fallen off. Shackleford was originally quoted as saying "I couldn't decide who I wanted as a roommate, so I decided to just be roommates with the whole team!" Multiple members of the Nighthawks have been sighted entering the home, leading some to believe that the entire Nighthawks roster is living under one roof. Pictured above: Shackleford, Garcia, and Materazo playing the signature Malmö drinking game: "Drink the Beer," in which the only rule is to drink as much beer as possible. Every hour on the hour semi trucks have been arriving and unloading kegs and commerical pallets of various types of liquor. Since the festivities began, sounds of raucous chanting and yelling mixed with Russian Hard Bass have filled the surrounding neighborhood, and the smell of cheap lager now permeates from the building. The empty kegs and commercial sized pallets of hard liquor have already begun filling the Hawk House's driveway, causing their neighbors to become concerned by what is surely enough alcohol to kill a herd of elephants being consumed nearby. Shackleford has explained that the Hawk House plans on hiring VHLMers to clean up the party debris, but that they would only be paid in beer. @xsjack @Devise @Matt_O @Gaudette @Phil @Wheaties @Bucky___lastard @VanCanWin @GustavMattias @K1NG LINUS @Toasty @Abaddon @fonziGG @Jus @HughJas_ @MetalToday @trevmi @Dalton Wilcox @Jayhawk @mmarcoux98 @HanManHimself @Advantage

As we're already one game into the final series of the VHLM playoffs, there is a very tight running for the Skylar Rift Trophy. As I don't want to stretch this out, I'll get right into the statistics and state why each player might deserve the honor. Philadelphia Reapers Walter Clements C | 6'8" | 250 lbs. 6G | 11A | 17P | +10 Clements currently leads all remaining players in point production this postseason. He is one of the most versatile players in the league. It shows up on both the stat sheet and might be the primary reason why Philly has had such an easy path to the finals. He's a clutch player that makes big time plays in the biggest moments, and he has proven that by contributing to nearly 14% of the Reapers' total points on his own. Bjorn Scoringsonn RW | 6'1" | 190 lbs. 5G | 10A | 15P | +4 Scoringsonn was a very respectable top six player this regular season, but has found a match made in heaven with left winger, turned center, Dylan Doyle. He has shown he can play with and against the best players in the league at a high level. Despite having an assist-heavy postseason, he can put the puck in the net just as well. Scoringsonn joins Doyle and Tocco on the highest scoring line in Philadelphia, where they own just over 30% of the offensive contribution on the team. Dylan Doyle LW/C | 6'1" | 175 lbs. 7G | 5A | 12P | +5 Doyle has had a tremendous breakout this postseason. He went from averaging 0.26 G/GP to 0.70 so far this playoffs. He's also increased his point per game percentage by a titanic 66%, for 1.2 P/GP during the postseason versus a measly 0.54. Doyle currently leads all remaining players in goals this postseason. Honorable Mentions Boone Jenton(D) - 3G | 9A | 12A | +4 Kolur Bjoernsonn(G) - 9-1-0 | 0.904 SV% | 2.22 GAA Ottawa Lynx Blake Laughton LW | 6'3" | 229 lbs. 6G | 10A | 16P | +10 Laughton has remained a consistent two way player throughout this postseason. Leading Ottawa in assists, points, and hits. Laughton and fellow star line mate, Martin, have a combined 31 points this post season, which is nearly 30% of the total scoring for the Lynx. Aston Martin C | 6'0" | 175 lbs. 6G | 9A | 15P | +8 Martin is tied for the team lead in goals with Laughton. He has also played a significant role in Ottawa's puck possession, as he's responsible for winning around 55% of the faceoffs he has taken this postseason. He's not the largest guy on the ice by any means, so he tends to stay away from the gritty areas, but he is elusive and is a valuable playmaker for his team. Ambrose Stark D | 6'3" | 201 lbs. 5G | 8A | 13P | +11 Stark has been by far the most versatile defenseman throughout this postseason. As a defenseman, he ranks in the top 10 in goals and assists, 8th in points, 1st in points by a defenseman, 1st in +/-, 2nd in shots blocks, and 5th in hits. There's no question he will be a deciding factor in every game he plays as the finals conclude within the next week. Honorable Mentions Pekka Pouta(G) - 8-1-1 | 0.907 SV% | 2.50 GAA Thomas Kennedy(C) - 5G | 7A | 12P | +3 There are clearly many bright spots on both of these teams, but I personally think it's Clements vs. Stark. Clements is almost guaranteed to get a point every game, and perhaps even more. Stark and Ottawa will have to shutdown not only Clements, but also the Reapers' second line which has been on fire all postseason.

It has been twelve years since the VHL opened its doors to the public. There have been so many important moments throughout VHL history that have shaped the league, it is hard to keep track. That is exactly what I'm going to be doing today. Take a seat and get ready for a trip down memory lane, as we go through the most important moments in the history of the VHL. Robert Sharpe being taken first overall Of course, how could we not add the first ever draft to the list? Who would have guessed that the league would have gone for 12 years and counting. What this draft is most famous for is the selection of goalie Robert Sharpe being taken first overall. He was believed to go in the second round, and the selection of Sharpe over Scotty Campbell was one of the biggest surprise selections in VHL history. Future hall of fame goaltenders Maxim Desny and Matt Pogge were also passed on in favor of Sharpe. Sharpe would (unfairly) be known as one of the biggest busts in VHL history, while Scotty Campbell would go onto become the greatest player ever. Honorable mention to Jeff Downey for being a huge bust as well. Suspension of Robert Sharpe The suspension of Robert Sharpe is one of the most controversial decisions in VHL history. Sharpe was found to be re-using graphics from other leagues, and he was given a one season ban from earning TPE. This is why he is known as one of the biggest busts in history. We will never know how Sharpe would have fared had he never been suspended. We almost lost Beketov for good after this, but Scotty, the acting commissioner, convinced him to stay. Vasteras winning the championship Heading into the playoffs, the Calgary Wranglers were the odds on favorite, having a 69-3 record during the season. While Vasteras certainly was not a bad team, they were not nearly as good as Calgary, similar to the Tampa/Columbus series, where Columbus was good but Tampa was just too good. Who could have guessed that Vasteras would take out the Wranglers in six games? This was absolute insanity, and remains one of the best upsets in the history of the VHL. Scotty Campbell Trade The biggest trade ever saw the "great one" Scotty Campbell force his way out of Vasteras, and brought future hall of famer Matt Defosse with him. Vasteras received Mike Szatkowski and Brannan Anthony, also future hall of famers. Seattle would go on to win back to back championships with Campbell at the helm, while Vasteras would enter a long drought of failure. Scotty Campbell scores 190 points Campbell is the greatest to ever play in the VHL, and it is very apparent when you go back and look at the stats. He had 190 points in S5, the most in a single season ever. He had 101 assists and 89 goals in the most dominant year the league has ever seen. He and the Bears would go on to win the Continental Cup that season. Riga vs Davos Semi Finals, S11 In one of the most bitter rivalries the league has seen, the Dynamo and Reign faced off in an epic series that would go all the way to seven games. Davos traded for superstar Jonathan Mattias during the offseason, which brought Davos up to Riga's level. Game seven is where the madness happened. Down 4-1 in the third period, Davos scored three goals in fourteen seconds to tie the game. They ended up winning the game in overtime, 5-4, in one of the greatest games ever. Lars Berger Cup Winning Goal Game five of the cup final between Toronto and Davos was one for the ages. It went to a third overtime, with 128 total shots on goal. It was tied at three, and many of the top players had been ejected earlier in the game. With the Legion up 3-1 in the series, Lars Berger scored to end the game and the series, and the Legion won the cup. It is one of the craziest games ever, and maybe the craziest game ever. Vasteras breaking the curse This might be the greatest moment ever. Vasteras, a cursed franchise, had no success in the past twenty seasons, failing to to make it to the finals in over twenty seasons. They finally had built a contending team centered around Phil Gerrard. They defeated the Americans in five games, and won their second cup in franchise history, and first in 25 seasons. Vasteras gets bullied out of existence People hated this team for some reason. New players would refuse to play for Vasteras since all the other members hated them. They also were just a random city in Sweden that their inaugural GM picked. While many people still want Vasteras to return, everyone hated Vasteras so much they were removed from the league. Seattle Bears win the cup in S43 This was one of the most unexpected runs ever. They had an inactive GM, but he got to keep his job when he returned and the team forced the commissioners to keep him around. Seattle was the third seed in the North American Conference, and proceeded to win it all in one of the most epic upset wins ever. It was magical, to say the least. Calgary vs Quebec, S44 This was an incredibly heated rivalry. These two teams really disliked each other, and they faced off against each other in the S44 playoffs. Of course, when Calgary won in a decisive five games, there was an absolute meltdown from Quebec. See for yourself here. Oregon Trail This was the game of the VHL. Five people would get to play, and they would try to see if anyone can survive. This was largely done on the old forums, and them most legendary moment through all this is known as #jeffership. I looked around the current forums, and the only thing I could find was someone posting #jeffership with absolutely no context, so I'm not what exactly with this. What I do know is that people killed and ate @James. Cleganebowl Sandro and Greg Clegane faced off against each other in the S51 finals. It was pretty epic, and both goalies played very well throughout the series. While Sandro picked up the series win, both goalies played incredible. This was one of the most memorable moments in league history. Boubabi I'm sure everyone knows what happened with Boubabi. This is still a very important moment, despite how a lot of people say that he should be freed. After he went off on anyone who voted against him in the Brett Slobodzion trophy, he was banned for a day, and then banned permanently. It doesn't look like the ban will ever be lifted. Scotty Anderson After making a player in S3, Anderson decided to make another account for some unknown reason. It is unknown how anyone ever found out about this. People didn't like Anderson before this because they say he was "annoying", but after this he was hated. Any new player would be immediately interrogated to see if they were Anderson. He has been caught with new players every once in a while and they have been banned. Doug How could this not be on the list? It truly is very influential to the modern day VHL. I have had many conversations with people on discord for long periods of time only talking about Doug. He truly is a legend, and he will never be forgotten as long as I am in this league. I was part of his claim to fame; he was the commissioner of an NHL 19 sim league. I picked Hischier up in the fourth round and jokingly said I would "bust a nut". Apparently he took it seriously and asked me if he could watch. I thought he was joking at first, but I guess not. Other legendary moments that I don't have info on: Red 5 standing by Jardy vs Llama Phil getting banned Jericho hacking Kesler Feel free to add in any other moments that have been left off the list, as I am sure I left off some things that are very obvious. Let the memories flow through you, and every day I wish I could go and look at the old forums to see how life was like in the beginning of the VHL.

VHLM Weekly Recap: Ottawa Lynx (July 12 - July 19) After the first ten games, there’s a little bit of a surprise at the top of the VHLM standings. You could argue that Minnesota’s 11 goals in 15 games is a surprise. While impressive, that’s not quite it. Philadelphia being 2nd? Nope. The reigning champs are having a good run so far, though. How about a team that has beaten Philly. The Ottawa Lynx. The Lynx are 8-2 so far on the year. That is good enough for third place and only one point behind 2nd place Philadelphia. The Lynx early season success may come as a shock to some, who thought the former runners up would struggle. However, new GM Acydburn has assembled a team he believes in. Acyd knew the team would be competitive despite replacing some key pieces from last season. “We were built to be competitive.” The general manager stated. As far as statistical leaders, Ottawa’s Zeno Miniti leads the league in goals and points. The 2nd year forward has 10 goals and 11 assists so far. Last year with Houston, he had 41 points in 72 games. It’s safe to say he is looking to surpass that this year. Anthony Hawk is 5th in the league in assists with 11. This season he has 18 points already passing his point total last year with Philadelphia. Defenseman Aamon Grim is shutting down the opposition, leading the league with a +13. For his career he is +27 showing why he was drafted 30th overall. Rookie Finnegan McBurn has chipped in offensively since being brought in from Las Vegas. On the goaltending side, the results depends on who you talk to. Rookie Raymond Bernard, who was drafted 40th overall despite a lot of scouts not seeing him, is 8-1 on the year. His GAA and save percentage are 3.06 and .873% respectively. Bernard has expressed some displeasure with those numbers, but Acyd has reminded him it’s a team game. You can’t argue with the win loss record, either. Backup Samuel Ross has seen 1 game, a 5-3 loss to Saskatchewan. He is rather active in the locker room, though. Upcoming for the Lynx is the much anticipated matchup with the number one Minnesota Storm. The big question is can the offense of the Lynx figure out Storm goalie Justin Cole? Cole is off to an amazing start. He’s 11-0 with 5 shutouts, a GAA of 1.34 and a save percentage of .921. The defensive corps of Ottawa will have to deal with big bodied forward Berocka Sundqvist. He’s off to a 22 point start to the year, making him one of the VHL’s best. Another problem that is rearing it’s head this young season is the amount of penalties Ottawa is taking. The Lynx are led in that category by Anthony Hawk who has 24. He does, however, league the VHLM in hits with 61. Hopefully he can keep the physical play up and the penalties down and lead Ottawa to a huge upset. That’s all for this week’s edition of the Ottaw Lynx weekly recap. Check back in Next week, where we are hoping to get an interview with some Lynx players and GM AcydBurn.

In the spirit of superstition, the Helsinki Titans have officially announced a change to their current uniforms. After sporting a Flyers-based design for a few seasons, the Helsinki Titans will be moving forward with a jersey design more akin to the St. Louis Blues. The sweaters will more prominently feature a royal blue color, with trim consisting of white and teal. The classic Helsinki Titan will brand the front of the uniform and complete the look. The decision to switch to the new uniforms was made during the s66 Continental Cup Playoffs. Originally, the jerseys were intended to be a bit of a superstitious push for the team; a new, cleaner look was brought in and used to mirror the performance on the ice. After winning 8 of their 9 games in the playoffs to win the Continental Cup, Helsinki management decided to roll with the change and make these jerseys a mainstay in the organization, going forward. Julian Borwinn @Jubo07 and Kronos Bailey @Quik show off the new designs in an official press release. In addition to the new home and away uniforms, the Titans are also announcing a retro-styled alternate jersey to be used in featured home games against other original VHL teams. These jerseys favor a lighter blue as a base, backed up by a silver and white trim to mimick the helmet of the long-time Fiinnish mascot. The more modern Titan has been swapped out for an older version of the logo on this jersey, paying homage to the early days of the historic organization. Russian forward Viktor Kozlov @Kuch9 shows off the design of the new alternate uniforms. The changes will also appear in the usual team banners that hang throughout the stadium, as well as the promotional/marketing material that surrounds the Titans. Keep an eye out for signs of the changes in later releases, as the players get more time to practice and play in their brand new kits. A full mock-up of the s67 uniforms can be seen below, followed by a series of promotional graphics that have already been released.

Hi, fellow VHLers. It's been a long time. Well, it feels like a long time but, looking back, I've only been missing for a season and a half. Fresh off a controversial Sterling Labatte Trophy-winning sophomore season, Joseph McWolf was having another solid season and it just stopped. Why? Easy, I burnt out. People told me to look out for it. I didn't and it happened anyway. I went from 1 league to 4 in a couple of months, GMing in 2, and maintaining a high activity level in all of them. So much that it all started to feel like a chore or a homework, it wasn't fun anymore. And it's supposed to be fun. I loved the league so much and wanted it (and myself, as a part of it) to succeed so much that I'd just take on any role I'd be offered without really thinking about the time investments that came with it. So, I'm using this article here as my way to apologize to everyone for leaving so promptly. The Americans that drafted me and saw me as their franchise dman. The 21st I was GMing, I really hope you're doing well under Thranduil (if it's still you running them). And the admins. Sorry I let you guys down by running away like that. With that out of the way, I'm glad to be back aboard. I definitely won't be as active now as before I left. I'll take it one step at a time, starting as a casual player. I'm not excluding a return to a job at some point, but not now. See you guys around here or on Discord. I missed you, VHL.

The VHL Award Ceremony Presented by Victory Sports News Credit to @Motzaburger and @ShawnGlade for all the graphics for the show Remember, if you won an award (individual) in either the VHL or VHLM, you are entitled to add 2 Uncapped TPE for each award won. If you are a co-winner, add 1 Uncapped TPE for that award. To claim, just link this page to your updates. Championship - Continental Cup: Helsinki Titans  Best Regular Season Record - Victory Cup: Helsinki Titans Continental Cup Finalists: Vancouver Wolves vs. Helsinki Titans  MVP - Scotty Campbell Trophy: Julian Borwinn Most Outstanding Player (player vote) - Brett Slobodzian Trophy: Julian Borwinn  Playoff MVP - Daisuke Kanou Trophy: Alexander Pepper Leading Points - Mike Szatkowski Trophy: Julian Borwinn (114) Leading Goals - Kevin Brooks Trophy: Julian Borwinn & Matt Thompson (51)  Leading Assists - Alexander Beketov Trophy: Samuel Gate (76)  Lowest GAA - Greg Clegane Trophy: Kallis Kriketers (2.31) Top Defenseman - Sterling Labatte Trophy: Samuel Gate Top Offensive Defenseman - Alexander Valiq Trophy: Dan Montgomery Top Defensive Defenseman - Jake Wylde Trophy: Samuel Gate & Basaraba Moose  Top Goalie - Aidan Shaw Trophy: Alexander Pepper & Kallis Kriketers Top Two-Way Forward - Scott Boulet Trophy: Matt Thompson Top Rookie - Christian Stolzschweiger Trophy: Shane Mars Executive of the Year - David Knight Trophy: Matt Bailey Most Improved - Dustin Funk Trophy: Julian Borwinn ALL VHL TEAMS FIRST VHL TEAM - May Claim 2 TPE F - Julian Borwinn F - Jake Davis F - Matt Thompson D - Dan Montgomery D - Samuel Gate G - Kallis Kriketers SECOND VHL TEAM - May Claim 1 TPE F - Sebastian Ironside F - Edwin Preencarnacion F - Beau Louth D - Maxim Kovalchuk D - Ryan Kastelic G - Alexander Pepper ROOKIE TEAM - May Claim 1 TPE F - Shane Mars F - Jet Jaguar F - Dmitri Volosenkov D - Basaraba Moose D - Beau Buefordsson G - Clayton Park

Another exciting & rewarding season is behind us and we congratulate all teams , but especially the Philadelphia Reapers, on an amazing season. Getting that Founders Cup so quickly out of the gate is quite an accomplishment and something that @BladeMaiden and her group of players should be proud about. They've earned it! We witnessed a few expansion teams run out of the gate and to be honest, a lot surprised us and did extremely well for what the circumstances were. Right now, we have an amazing group of players, managers and whatever else in the VHLM making sure every day the league gets better and better. So despite you maybe not winning an award today, know that we appreciate you and the time you spend on this site. During my tenure with the VHLM, the league feels a lot more fun and surely a lot more alive. Thank you VHLM and those involved. Now, for your S66 VHLM Awards.. If you won an award you can claim 2 TPE. All co-winners can claim 1 TPE. Team awards do not count as TPE. S66 VHLM Awards Championship - Founder's Cup: Philadelphia Reapers Best Regular Season Record - Prime Minister's Cup: Philadelphia Reapers Leading Points - Ethan Osborne Trophy: Callum MacElroy @GlowyGoat Leading Goals - Alexander Chershenko Trophy: Callum MacElroy @GlowyGoat Leading Assists - Vladimir Boomchenko Trophy: Hulk Hogan (D) @HulkHogan Regular Season MVP - Mitch Higgins Trophy: Winner: Callum MacElroy (RW) @GlowyGoat Other nominees: Blake Gaudette (LW), AJ Axelsen (RW), Hulk Hogan (D), Kolur Bjoernsson (G) Playoff MVP - Skylar Rift Trophy: Winner: Walter Clements (C) @cpetrella Other Nominees: Bjorn Scoringsonn (RW), Ambrose Stark (D), Kolur Bjoernsson (G) Top Defenseman - Ryan Sullivan Trophy: Winner: Hulk Hogan @HulkHogan Other Nominees: Lincoln Tate, Boone Jenton Top Goaltender - Benoit Devereux Trophy: Winner: Kolur Bjoernsson @jblock3 Other Nominees: Juan Jaundice, Pekka Pouta Top Two-Way Forward- Matt Bentz Trophy: Winners: Blake Laughton & Milan Griffin @Grape @Sogarn Other Nominees: Cody Smith Top Executive - Jack Reilly Trophy: Winner: Philadelphia @BladeMaiden Other Nominees: Ottawa & Halifax Congrats to all those who have collected some hardware this season, good luck to those being drafted and build some hype... because the VHLM Dispersal Draft is TOMORROW AT 830PM EST. @VHLM Commissioner

And that is what we call a mercy killing boys and girls. Really is a shame to be honest, I was enjoying how hype these finals were but sadly Vancouver just couldn’t put up enough of a fight. Not too sad mind you because I FINALLY have the cup again. God damn, I think @tfong won 5 while I was waiting. It’s been a damn long run. Absolutely amazing season from everyone in Helsinki, career years for most. @Quik put together an amazing team and then sacrificed most of his own stats to make it work, @Jubo07 was the best linemate I could have asked for, @BarzalGoat had an amazing year on the blue line, same with @SidTheKid87 and @monkeywrench15. Meanwhile @Sonnet was an absolute rock on the back end. I’m sure I’m missing people and I’m sorry but I’m excited. So glad to have been apart of this great team and amazing run and even more glad that Simon didn’t decide to screw us!

Decided to pick my names in fitting fashion to the anniversary by basing them off former HoFers of the league who decided to take too much advertising money. Therefore I present to you: Skaters: Sterling Coors Matt Bentley Goalie: Maxim Disney Also while not required I’d like to give my yearly obligatory speech. The VHL has grown a lot since I joined exactly 12 years ago. There have been many times over the years when I expected it would close its doors; both times the forum had to be moved and prior to this huge boom in members being the most prominent ones. Every year that passes I’m more and more amazed by the ability of our members to make the league thrive, both in enjoyment and in sheer volume. This league has always been about the community for me and I’m thankful to see the community thriving once again. Here’s to one of our best years ever and I look forward to many more to come. Now enjoy your free gifts in exchange for a tiny amount of posting you greedy vultures P. S my usual addition as well, those who’s pay covers a PT can claim the doubles week as part of their regular pay, just add 6 TPE via other.

This week the VHL celebrates its 12th birthday, making it probably older than some of its members. I was bloody 16 when this shit started, god damn.

New Goalie After finishing 9th place last season Yukon made some big changes in the offseason. Goalie Justin Cole departed and "A Red Guy" has replaced him in a great way! The new goalie is having a great start of season 67. His record is 5-1 with a .878 save percentage and a 2.31 GAA. On the other side, Justin Cole is having a phenomenal start also. He is 7-0 with .941 save percentage and a 0.99 GAA, and he is leading the league in all three. New Forwards (LW) Brendan Plunkett: is leading the team in goals with 6 Gino's and also leads the team with 12 points. (C) Frans Eller: is finding great chemistry with Plunkett and (RW)Draven. Eller has 8 points with a + 7 and 11 hits. Frans and Eller have been feeding off each other tremendously with their slick skillful puck play. Neither is wasting any chances to score. (RW)Erik Draven: has found a way to clear a path for his linemates with his physical play and strong forecheck. He leads the team with 16 hits and also leads the team with a plus/minus rating of +9 which is tied for 1st in the league. (next article I will highlight 3 more new forwards) New Defense Wolf Stansson Jr: has been leading the way on defense. He has provided not only solid defense but has been surprisingly offensive to start his first full year. He has 11 points(3g 8 a) and leads the team in assists. Wolf also has 2 Powerplay goals and 1 Game winner. Yukon has actually struggled on the PP going only 8 for 35 in 6 games. But their Penalty Kill has been superb by killing 8 out of 10 of their opponent's Powerplays. Lance Flowers: is showing his size out there 6 ft 7" 244 lbs! Currently, he is 2nd on the team in hits with 15 Kronwall's. You will also notice his courage when blocking shots, he has 5 blocked shots which is 2nd best on the team behind (D) Andrej Petrovic who has 6. Lance has 6 points (6A) his six big helpers. Flowers only drawback has been his ability to land himself in the penalty box as he leads the team with PIM's. But he makes up for it with his great penalty killing and special teams when out on the ice. Andrej Petrovic: at 18 yrs of age Andrej has never looked so calm and collective out there. Showing a focus and determination that is usually only seen by players that we consider "seasoned veterans."He has been contributing by using his strength and still making important passes that lead to big goals. Petrovic has 10 hits and 6 blocked shots. He has progressed a considerable amount just in this six-game span.No telling what we will see from him in the future. The future is bright and he has a great chance to keep steady minutes if he keeps up the hard work and maintains his physical presence for the entire season. Another plus he has on his side is he has yet to be penalized. Odds to win Given their early success, Yukon has a strong shot at winning the division if they can get past their old goalie? Season 67 VHLM Regular Season Team GP W L OTL P GF GA Diff Streak Minnesota Storm 7 7 0 0 14 26 7 19 W2 Philadelphia Reapers 7 5 1 1 11 28 17 11 L1 Ottawa Lynx 6 5 1 0 10 28 18 10 W1 Yukon Rush 6 5 1 0 10 23 14 9 W4 Halifax 21st 6 3 3 0 6 20 16 4 W2 Houston Bulls 7 2 3 2 6 19 23 -4 W1 Saskatoon Wild 6 3 3 0 6 21 21 0 L1 Las Vegas Aces 6 2 4 0 4 17 21 -4 L2 Mississauga Hounds 6 2 4 0 4 10 23 -13 W1 San Diego Marlins 7 1 6 0 2 14 27 -13 L3 Mexico City Kings @Beaviss @Ace @sjs88speed @Cornholio @MetalToday @CowboyinAmerica @Tyler

To most people, a name like Kaspars Claude or Bruins10 does not mean much. To other people, its a defenseman in the SHL and hes trying to make another player in the VHL. But on this side of the screen, Bruins10 can be linked to an old user named Claudio. A user who had a player named Claudio Martucci and Mario Corvia on this site. A user who was once GM of the Helsinki Titans in Season 28 (I hope I remembered that correctly) and who was also a Grader for a while, a Newsletter organizer or whatever it is called and also the Minors COmmish into this site. I am not trying to write about myself as if I am such sort of God that is returning, it is just to let the people who do not know that I have decided to return to the VHL. You might remember me, you might not know who I am. But I had some great times in this league and I hope that I left some sort of good impact on the league when I was around 5 years ago. I do notice some faces from all the way back then and noticed that some people have also disappeared. I am onto my new chapter, I have gotten older and matured and hope to be as involved into this league like I was back in the day. Kaspars Claude decided to take on a tough job joining an expansion team but I can not wait to bring back old memories like in the past. Getting drafted again and seeing my player develop, making signatures for people around here and most importantly making some new connections on this site. Never know what meeting someone on a fictitious hockey site can lead you in the real world. All in all, I just want to say hello to the people who I havent spoken to in a couple years and also hello to the new people in the league. This is a great community to be apart of. Stick around for a bit, tough out the early stages of your player and get used to the site. Youll realize that there is a lot of fun you could have here. That is why even after 4 to 5ish years, I decided to remake a player and spend some time on here. Cheers, Bruins10/Claudio

Battle Of the Brands! What did Brands do for the league? · Added more to the individual identity of our league · Gave much needed contact money to rookies · Subsidized players who wanted to take low contracts for their GMs What was lacking about brands? · A format that made site members buy into the concept The Goal of My Idea: To revamp the brand format and bring back the much-needed contrgact boosts in a way that promotes site activity and allows both member and the new brand directors to have fun. Lets get into the competitive spirit and earn some cash ! The Math: 15 paid contracts x 8 teams = 120 cash contacts ranging from $2,000,000 to $500,000 With each team having $2,000,000 (x2), $1,500,000 (x1), $1,250,000 (x2), $1,000,000 (x2), $750,000 (x3) & $500,000 (x5) (That is not including the tops ups that were given to the 4 unpaid roster slots on each team that were also $500,000) The Proposal: To make this feel more like real sports I am suggesting that brand directors would hire players that they feel would best represent their brand. Players would sign on for a ranked spot in the roster (Higher ranked slots get paid out more money at the end of the season) It is both the players and the brand director's job to add to the brand thread. At the end of the season the most popular brand aka the brands with the most likes, comments and hopefully the best media presence would get ranked higher, becoming top tier bands that can pay more money to it's players. There would still be a mandatory number of VHL and VHLM players allowed on each brand payroll and all media created for the brand would have to be original. I feel with the number of active and creative people we have in VHL this might be a good way to make brands an active useful part of our site again. Tier 1 Tier 2 Tier 3 Tier 4 1st Place Brand 2nd Place Brand 3rd Place Brand 4th Place Brand 5th Place Brand 6th Place Brand 7th Place Brand 8th Place Brand $2,000,000 $2,000,000 $2,000,000 $2,000,000 $2,000,000 $1,500,000 $1,250,000 $1,000,000 $2,000,000 $2,000,000 $2,000,000 $2,000,000 $2,000,000 $1,250,000 $1,000,000 $1,000,000 $2,000,000 $2,000,000 $2,000,000 $2,000,000 $1,500,000 $1,250,000 $1,000,000 $750,000 $2,000,000 $2,000,000 $1,500,000 $1,500,000 $1,250,000 $1,000,000 $750,000 $750,000 $1,500,000 $1,500,000 $1,250,000 $1,250,000 $1,250,000 $1,000,000 $750,000 $750,000 $1,500,000 $1,250,000 $1,250,000 $1,250,000 $1,000,000 $750,000 $750,000 $500,000 $1,500,000 $1,250,000 $1,250,000 $1,000,000 $1,000,000 $750,000 $500,000 $500,000 $1,250,000 $1,250,000 $1,000,000 $1,000,000 $750,000 $750,000 $500,000 $500,000 $1,250,000 $1,000,000 $1,000,000 $750,000 $750,000 $500,000 $500,000 $500,000 $1,250,000 $1,000,000 $750,000 $750,000 $750,000 $500,000 $500,000 $500,000 $1,000,000 $750,000 $750,000 $750,000 $500,000 $500,000 $500,000 $500,000 $1,000,000 $750,000 $750,000 $500,000 $500,000 $500,000 $500,000 $500,000 $750,000 $750,000 $500,000 $500,000 $500,000 $500,000 $500,000 $500,000 $750,000 $500,000 $500,000 $500,000 $500,000 $500,000 $500,000 $500,000 $750,000 $500,000 $500,000 $500,000 $500,000 $500,000 $500,000 $500,000 (Note: This chart has the same amount of cash being given out as brands did, and this could be easily altered to fit the sites needs, I just thought it would be good to keep the value the same for the sake of this suggestion) I was also thinking the would be fun to name the brand tiers and give them some fun classifications. For example, the bottom tier could be “claiming bankruptcy” or “No Name Brands” while the top tiers could be “Owns the Market” or “Gold Standard Brands”. Like I was stating I really think the site could have a lot of fun with this idea and it would bring back some jobs. As a note for the job aspect of this Brand directors would be responsible for content being added to their brand every week and keeping the brand pages active, as well as declaring their roster of contributors and making sure they fit the brand (Nicest guy on the site should not be on Haterade…lol)

When you see something I've written center-aligned, you know we might be here a while. So, TL;DR: simply being on my team will get you hired into a management role if you want one. Let me explain. The S65 Houston crew was (and is) noted for producing an inordinate number of management (GM and AGM) hires in just one season. You could say this was a fluke. Indeed you could. But what if I told you that the exact same thing proceeded to happen again this season in Mississauga? Though I am not, repeat, not, taking credit for anyone's hire, I'm simply suggesting that statistical significance may be drawn from the data below, and that leaves me no alternative other than to claim that we're seeing an example of the GUSTAV EFFECT. Oh, and one more thing: I have no idea at this point whether or not we have ourselves some good significant data. I'm just writing the article. If it's not significant at all, at least it will be amusing to watch my ego plummet to dry earth. If it is, though, I get to claim I have ultimate development superpowers and forcibly take control of the league. To start, let's take a look at every hire I can remember within the past two seasons, in all my time in the league, in no particular order... VHL GMs: @Esso2264 (NYA) *@Advantage (MAL) VHL Assistant GMs: @Matt_O (MAL, beginning of S66, stepped down after being hired in Vegas, so don't you worry) @Sonnet (HSK) @Tate (RIG) @FacebookFighter (MOS) @DilIsPickle (NYA) VHLM GMs: *GUSTAV HIMSELF (MIS, and no I'm not using MSH) *@Thranduil (HFX) *@InstantRockstar (SDM) *@Nykonax (MEX) @Matt_O (LVA) @Acydburn (OTT) @Rayzor_7 (MIN) VHLM AGMs: *@Radcow (MIS) @berocka (MIS) *@uphillmoss (OTT) @HulkHogan (OTT) @fonziGG (HFX) @Acydburn (HFX) @DMaximus (MIN) *@MexicanCow123 (SDM) *@Snussu (MEX) *@StamkosFan (MEX, albeit for a few minutes only) @cody73 (YUK) *@Jubo07 (PHI) @Jables (HOU) @FakeJenton (LVA) *@GlowyGoat (HOU) *S65 hires, per my definition being those hires made before Hounds players, and therefore my S66 sample pool, existed. I'm sure I'm leaving a few off the list, but I stared at every team and tried to remember their hires to the best of my ability. Now, anyway, who here has played with me or for me, at some point along the line? I can say with definite authority that I have direct ties to the following individuals mentioned above, in an undisputed manner... HOUSTON TEAMMATES: @GlowyGoat @Jables @FacebookFighter MISSISSAUGA PLAYER-SLAVES: @Rayzor_7 @HulkHogan @cody73 MALMO TEAMMATES: @Matt_O These are, strictly, the names that nobody can dispute. If you want to put these up for debate, here are some more, with reasons why they're somewhat questionable... @Sonnet (was "on my team" in Houston, but was my GM at the time. Originally I called this the Sonnet Effect before all the Hounds hires started popping up). @GustavMattias (yep, that's me. Can I count myself? Debatable). @Radcow or @berocka (I hired these guys myself, which is a minus, but they were also actively applying for AGM jobs around the league, which is a plus). @Matt_O (his hire in Vegas counts, but does his hire as Malmo AGM count? I'm not 100% sure). @DMaximus (I never played with him outside of Team USA in WJC, but I did recommend him to Ray). And, if you really, really, wanted to stretch it... @uphillmoss (was GM of Team USA in WJC, a team I played on). @fonziGG and @Acydburn (my teammates in the SBA, where I'm a very quiet welfare claimer). So, what does this all mean, and am I in fact (mathematically) responsible? Let's take a look... Determining statistical significance, for nerds, is the method of, simply put, comparing a set of observed data with a set of expected data (i.e. what should be expected to be observed), and then from there figuring out the probability that the set of observed data was collected by pure chance. Basically, we're going to find out how likely it is that the Gustav Effect is a thing. First off, let's take our best-case scenario. We'll assume that: -Every single name above, even the huge mental-gymnastics-type of people like Uphill, Fonzi, or Acyd, is a hypothetical benefactor of the Gustav Effect. -Also, our sample size is 17 teams for those hires made in S65 and 21 teams for those made in S66 (to include VHL teams as well as VHLM), with each team having an equal number of active players. This represents the highest sample size possible, and therefore the lowest expected probability that any given hire was made off of my team. For example, a hire made in S65 is counted as one hire out of 17 possible hires, and one made in S66 is counted as one hire out of 21. For all calculations we do here, we'll be using a chi-squared test (which can be seen in the link above, but in case you missed it and really like reading up about math, here's the link again). I'm counting twenty-nine hires above, with 15 in this best-case scenario being mine. So, what do we have here? Our expected results are these: -In S65, 11 hires were made. 0.647 of these can be expected to be from teams of which I was a part. In reality, three were made--GlowyGoat, myself, and Radcow. -In S66, we saw 17 hires. Per the best-case model, we can see that approximately 2.42 of these hires could be expected to be from my teams (if we count Malmo, Mississauga, and Houston. This number would be lower if we counted Malmo and Mississauga, but the best-case scenario is meant to be unrealistic, not downright blasphemous). THIRTEEN of these hires, by the best-case model, can be claimed as my own. So, our expected numbers are, with apologies for my inability to figure out the formatting: S65 S66 Hired 0.647 2.42 Not Hired 9.625 14.58 Chi-squared values are calculated by finding the difference between the observed value and the expected, squaring it, and then dividing that value by the expected. They also add up--for example, if I were to calculate a chi-squared value of 5 in every one of the four boxes we have here, our final value will be 20. But, skipping all the complicated math to spare all of you the pain and suffering of reliving your high school math classes, here we go with the chi-squared values. S65 S66 Hired 8.56 46.25 Not Hired 0.54 5.05 Final chi-squared value: 60.4 For anyone who doesn't understand yet, here, have a table: The r-value in this table, which we can see on the left, is the number of "degrees of freedom" in the test. It can be calculated by subtracting one from the number of rows, as well as subtracting one from the number of columns, in the above table, and multiplying those numbers. Here, r is 1 (for those thinking r = 4, one row and one column are made up of labels only, not actual data. So, we have a 2x2 grid, and therefore r = 1 since 1x1 = 1). For the obtained chi-square value to be considered "significant" at a certain point in probability, the value must be at or above the value listed in this table, in the row where r = 1. Now, as to what "significant" means here, here's what I'm saying: If the chi-square value is, for example, 4, this falls in between chi-square for 0.05 and chi-square for 0.025 in the above table. So, there is between a 5% chance and a 2.5% chance that the values obtained were obtained purely by chance alone, with no outside factors (or Gustav Effects) having any effect on the results. Our value here? 53.494, far, far, above the required chi-square value for 0.01. So, by the best-case model, there is about a 99.9[insert a bunch more 9s here]% chance that the Gustav Effect is legitimate. But what if we change the criteria, and stack the conditions against the Gustav Effect? Here are the changes that we'll make: -We will only include the undisputed hypothetical benefactors (my Houston teammates, Malmo teammates, and Mississauga players) -Nobody I have hired is eligible -To account (and possibly overcompensate) for the presence of inactives, the sample size will be reduced drastically, to 7 VHL teams, 5 VHLM teams in S65, and 7 VHLM teams in S66. This gives a grand total of a sample size of 12 in S65 and 14 in S66, which we'll take down even further to 10 in S65 and 12 in S66 to account for the fact that some of us are already in management to begin with. So, what do we get? -One hire was made in S65. Out of the 11 hires in S65, one was from Houston. We can expect about .92 "Gustav hires" in this case, making this not out of the question. -Six hires were made in S66. Here, we can expect about 3.64 hires from my teams. Behold, our expected values... S65 S66 Hired 0.92 3.64 Not Hired 11.08 13.36 ...and behold, the resultant chi-square values... S65 S66 Hired 0.01 1.53 Not Hired 0.01 0.42 ...which gives us a total value of 1.97. According to the table, if we stack everything against the Gustav Effect, we still see results that show that there's over an 80% chance, at worst, that it's legitimate (you can't see that in the table above, but here is a full table that puts the value for 80% at around 1.6). So, am I the fountain of youth? You bet. Possibly maybe. Word count: 1595 words, will claim for the next three weeks as I'm on vacation in two. Also tagging @Renomitsu to fulfill my quota.

Two tough games, two tough losses. With a team-worst -3 to start off the season, @HenrikZoiderberg assembled his other teammates who had posted negatives and organized an "optional" bag skate at 5 AM today. Among the attendees were Bears veteran Joel Ylonen @Esso2264 and fellow rookie Scott Greene @DoktorFunk. Drills ran for roughly two hours, with equally exhausted coaching staff running line drills, suicide sprints, hard stops, point turns, and skate until you puke exercises. If the skill ceiling hadn't been developed, the least the team could do would to have the league's best conditioning. A surprising attendee was the player some have considered a washout due to attitude reasons, Thomas Kennedy @Walter Fizz. Perhaps this reformation project is finally beginning to show signs of the potential Bana has seen in him since he was drafted in S66: A surprised janitor arrived at 7 AM to the lights on, and several young players laid out on the ice, panting heavily. Many were rolling on their sides, clutching their legs in agony, trying to avoid piles of last night's supper puddled across the ice. Ylonen: Zoiderberg lead the vomit cleanup and ice maintenance duties following the skate before gingerly returning the rink keys to GM @Banackock, then returned to the locker room to continue his studies on the finer points of servant leadership. It was going to take a long time for this team to break through, but the potential for a cup win was there. He could taste it.

The Helsinki Titans are proud to raise their 11th Continental Cup Championship banner to the rafters, most in the VHL. After an incredible S66 season, this banner represents the hard work put in by those who were a part of the amazing run we had last season, as well as a glimpse into what this team is capable of doing, once again, for the new additions joining the team this season. Last season was great...now let's go out and defend our title!   @BarzalGoat @Quik @Jubo07 @SidTheKid87 @monkeywrench15 @Sonnet @Kuch9 @BluObieZ @RunnerBert11 @aleks @MexicanCow123 @okocha5 @Jables @jblock3 @Tophdaddy @TsarPeter @Beketov @PenKnight @Jayrad28 @Zeno @Jesse Nyman @NavyCanuck   @Galdoblame you get a tag too, you beautiful bald guy. BG may be gone, but he will not be forgotten!

Finnish side look to remain atop VHL Helsinki, FINLAND - Heading into last season, only 29 of 117 submitted VHL Predictions selected the Helsinki Titans to win the Continental Cup. Compare that to this season, where, as of this moment, they are the overwhelming favourites with 48/83 selections, it is clear that league perception of the team has changed. After winning their first Continental Cup in three straight tries, the Titans feel they are finally getting the respect they deserve. On paper, the team has done nothing to lose the trust of its fanbase, or VHL fans in general, as they are returning nearly their entire roster that ran through the league last season, with only 4th defenceman Bald Guy leaving the team, through trade. In his place will be inspiring rookie defenders Guillaume Fontenette (@okocha5), drafted 30th overall in the S66 Draft, and Derek England (@PenKnight), drafted 16th Overall in the more recent S67 Draft. Also joining the fray for Helsinki will be rookie Center Jordan Tonn (@MexicanCow123), taken one spot ahead of Fontenette in the '66 draft, as well as goaltender Kolur Bjoernsson (@jblock3), who will look to spell incumbent starter Alexander Pepper (@Sonnet) during a long season. Among Titans returnees, Pepper, Julian Borwinn (@Jubo07), Matt Thompson (@Beketov), and Dan Montgomery (@BarzalGoat) will look not only to defend the team's Continental Cup title, but the 10 individual awards that were won, among them, in S66. Sidney Crosby (@SidTheKid87) and Jesse Wilson (@monkeywrench15) also look to continue their progression, after being arguably the league's best defensive pair last season, putting up a combined 151 points, 280 hits and 253 shot blocks. With the team doing naught but improving, they head into the season looking to make good on their status as Continental Cup favourites, with sights set on a 4th straight Finals appearance!

ECN's VHLM GM Rankings Pre-S67 ECN is launching a news series that will come out before the season to talk about Top General Managers in VHLM. This time we will talk about Top 5 GM's in VHLM. Because ECN is strongly influenced by our chief editor John Frostbeard and his ties with Houston Bulls, we will not include him in our rankings. So let's begin! 5th GM GustavMattias of Mississauga Hounds This might seem like a weird pick but here at ECN we strongly believe that a rebuild can work and not only be a great place for talent to grow but give the team the necessary time to build up players and acquire more in the draft. This is exactly what GM Gustav has done - he has effectively combined a competitive last season with building grounds for the next few seasons. This not only gives waiver pickups a chance to play top minutes and show what they can do, but it helps to reacquire those waiver pickups next season and give them a chance to compete in playoffs with gained picks from selling of the active players. 4th GM Acydburn of Ottawa Lynx GM that has been in his place for a very short time, but has proven to be the mastermind of the draft as he was able to steal 2 top-rated Centerman in the draft from all the other teams. We at ECN believe that his acquisitions will prove to pose a threat to many of the top tier teams in VHLM. Added to that, his mentality as to how the team should be run is superb and he seems to show the quality of patience and poise in his dealings with other GM's and people around VHLM. 3rd GM Josh of Yukon Rush Making a bottomfeeder team into a championship calibre team in just one season while gaining two Goalie prospects is a remarkable achievement! GM Josh is proving that sometimes a focused future plan for the development of the team is the key to success! The team that clearly was not considered a powerhouse last season will be in Top 5 easily when it comes to standings, there is a fairly high chance that Yukon could rush into Top 3 in VHLM this season, but for that, we have to wait and see how GM Josh will improve their roster. 2nd GM BladeMaiden of Philadelphia Reapers On our list Executive of the year will be placed in 2nd place just because assets that helped Reapers be a top team in VHLM for the 2nd season in a row were mainly acquired before last season. It doesn't, however, take away anything from the fact that Philadelphia seems to be a frontrunner with a headstart for another Founder's Cup victory. We at ECN are interested in the question - will GM Blade try to improve their already stacked roster while the season will be going full swing or will Reapers trust their players to take them again to the Playoff Finals and another Founder's Cup? 1st GM Rayzor of Minnesota Storm A clear winner this season for us at ECN. Amazing trades, strong draft and a roster to be feared by all teams no matter how strong they themselves are. Rayzor has done everything he can to make Minnesota Storm a destination that many desire. Clearly S68 draft will be rough for Minnesota but considering that with smart moves and future plan in mind GM Rayzor was able to acquire 15 draft picks for S69 we believe that Rayzor will show why only a few weeks are needed in GM's spot to prove to everyone that his team is ready to compete right here and right now! Surely, there might be other GM's worthy to mention but for us, at ECN these are the GM's who hold our respect and make VHLM a better place for players and people involved! See you right before S68 for the next Top 5 GM's of VHLM! Brought to you by Frostbeard Entertainment People mentioned: @GustavMattias, @Acydburn, @Josh., @BladeMaiden and @Rayzor_7

First of all, I'm not the last team that is posting captains. That's a progress. Second of all, this is the first time since S58 when I posted captains. This is even a bigger progress. Without further ado, here are the Season 67 Riga Reign Captains: C - Ryan Kastelic @Enorama A - Elias Dahlberg @Nykonax A - Pat Svoboda @StamkosFan It makes all the sense to name Kastelic the captain. Until now, he was constantly sitting behind Edwin and Cast and now it's his time to be the leader of our team. Also, he is one of the oldest players alongside with Edwin, McWolf and Kallis. As about assistants: Nyko himself was helping me with scouting thing and saved my sleepy ass at the draft day. And he's active in the LR. No-brainer here. Svoboda is a bit less active, but is about to become one of our team stars so there's that. I was mentioning about scouting and things. I believe a couple of other teams already have them, but never announced in the forum. So perhaps I'm the first guy who is going to do that because I'm going all-in in this thread. So, your Season 67 Riga Reign scouts are: @Renomitsu & @Nykonax Oh, and one more thing. This is the most important announcement of them all! It's been more than two years since I became Riga GM. And for all of this time I was trying to do things by myself. Drafts, trades and other things. Obviously, I had a valuable help from various members throughout these years (especially with trades and FA) which helped us get three championships under my tenure so far. However, the last draft showed me that sometimes I tend to slip [sleep] and cause a chaos too. So for the first time since I was named the Riga Reign GM we will have an AGM! The first ever my AGM will be the member who was expressing a high interest to join our team. Also he was very interested to be the AGM sooner than later. And I do hope we could be his trampoline to a GM spot someday. For now, let's give it up for the Assistant GM of the Riga Reign team: @Tate! I guess that's it for today. Congratz to all named members here and let's just start a season.

Welcome to the official team award show for the Mississauga Hounds of S66! Let us begin... Goals Leader--Callum MacElroy (53) Assists Leader--Hulk Hogan (77) Points Leader--Callum MacElroy (107) Best Locker Room Presence: Nominees: Rayz Funk (2 votes) Hulk Hogan (2 votes) Callum MacElroy (2 votes) Cody Smith (1 vote) Scott Greene (0 votes) Berocka Sundqvist (2 votes) Normally, I'd break a tie by simply declaring a winner, but here I felt it was wrong to do anything but turn to the old random number generator... This makes Hulk Hogan the winner of the Best Locker Room Presence award! Most Underrated Player: Nominees: Dan Gles (4 votes) Scott Greene (0 votes) Berocka Sundqvist (5 votes) Best Two-Way Forward* I am awarding this to Cody Smith outright because originally I'd put this up to a vote and included Hulk Hogan, who, understandably, picked up the most votes. That being said, "best two-way" usually only extends to forwards, so I've decided to make that the case. Which brings us to... Best Defenseman: Awarded to Hulk Hogan outright because there is no contest here. TEAM MVP: Nominees: Best Australian: Berocka Sundqvist (6 votes) Cody Smith (1 vote) Callum MacElroy (1 vote) No votes for other players were recorded. @Rayzor_7 @HulkHogan @GlowyGoat @berocka @cody73 @No_Dangles @DoktorFunk @mmarcoux98 @VisualDarkness @raghas @aCrypticPancake @HanManHimself @Cran @Viknegar @NavyCanuck @Radcow

MALMO--The Nighthawks' experience this past season was disappointing to say the least, but that didn't stop the team, and their new class of players, from having a good time Wednesday night, as several of the team's players were spotted at a local bar. Good times were had by all, until defenseman Rusty Shackleford was breathed upon by new callup MORPHEUS DESTRUCTIOUS. "I don't know, I guess I just got a bit too close to him," said Shackleford from a hospital bed Thursday night. "He kinda leaned over and breathed fire all over me, and now here I am." "We were all having fun playing 'Drink the Beer,' our favorite party game," said forward Matthew Materazo, "but then Shack caught on fire and we had to tranquilize MORPHEUS and that was that for the night." Meanwhile, DESTRUCTIOUS declined to offer an apology for his actions, although he did acknowledge that he was told not to "DEVOUR SOUL OF LITTLE MAN IN SAME COLORED SHIRT" by team management after the incident. Shackleford is in stable condition and is expected to make a full recovery by the start of the season. Mentioned: @K1NG LINUS @Matt_O @Abaddon

Ottawa Lynx Draft S67 I need to do a media spot this week, (my first media spot actually) so I'll go over what led to me to drafting the specific players that are on the Lynx roster and if there’s time why I traded the way that I did. 1st round: I traded the 1st overall pick for the 4th overall, a 6th round pick and an 8th round (trash, thought the draft was deeper), mostly because someone came to me with an issue and wanted to help them out because I'm a sucker for sob stories. I figured the 6th rounder would be useful the 8th rounder was a 30 TPE guy who could possibly turn into something and would help someone out. Well I overestimated how large the draft was and it became useless (i’m a sucker). With the 4th overall pick I decided to go with a player who has had a history in the VHL, he also happened to create a player in a position that I needed to fill. There weren’t a lot of centers in this draft so I went with Thorny Underyew @jack. He’s a sniping centerman who can move the puck well. I ended up trading for the 6th overall due to a conversation with another GM about drafting players. I wanted a particular player but he the pick before I traded. It was the 6th OA for Ottawa’s 2nd and Minesotas 4th and Ottawas 5th in S69. The 5th is the only thing I regret about this trade and did it in the moment. I figured I could trade some assets to get the 5th back if I need it two season down the line. Was it the best no, was it the worst ehh jury's out. I ended up getting a great player in Zeno Miniti @Zeno. One again the draft was light on centers so I went with a defensively responsive center who is pretty balanced but focuses on putting the put in the net. Thankfully the 10th overall pick was Ottawas to begin with so I didn’t have to trade all over to get it. I needed a winger and Anthony Hawk @ahawk2191 fit the bill perfectly. I got a steal with Anthony, coming from Philadelphia where he played a big part in their championship run. He’s a scoring winger who can dangle the puck while quickly passing defenders. I’m a big fan of the defensive side of his game. I traded away the 2nd round pick for the 6th overall: I ended up with 2 third round picks, I ended up trading David Lindberg for a third and i’m glad I did. It cleared up space for Aamon Grim @aCrypticPancake. He caught my eye with how much he’s claiming TPE. Aamon is an offensive defenseman who has great hands and great defensive ability. I can’t wait to see him take off this season. With Ottawa’s 3rd round pick I went with the lesser known winger Micha Sage @AcousticKazoo. Micha impressed me with his play on the ice and attitude. Micha Sage is a scoring forward who also has the ability to play in his own end and put the puck in the net.He is going to be a great asset going forward in Ottawa, and everyone should watch out. In the 4th round Ottawa had the first pick from the Bulls which was in Ottawa when I took over the team. I was happy to select Taruas Karazija @ontanis. Tauras is a defensive defenseman who has excelled at playing in his own end. He is extremely personable when talking to the media and is going to be a big part of this team going forward. I was suprised he fell to the 4th round but was happy with select him 34th overall. Next up was the 38th pick that I received in a trade for Bendan James Lawn, was the player for 2 4th round picks. Both of these picks turned out to be great and I don’t regret the deal. It gave me room for all of the upcoming defenseman that we’re draft. With the 38 pick I selected Jacob Scott @jscott. He is a two way defenseman that can set up his teammates as well as take the body and play defensively. He stood out as an active player and I wanted him on my roster. My 40th pick, also received in the Lawn deal was for future super star Raymond Bernard @Mr_Hatter. This pick was a bit of a grab but considering I didn’t have any in the 5th it was worth it, especially since after I drafted him a couple of other GM’s wanted him. We’ve just begun working with Bernard in the practice facility but he’s going to be a hell of a goalie. 5th Round Ottawa did not have any picks In the 6th round Ottawa had the pick from the Minnesota Storm. I selected Wonona Levantoes @oramuda. A new player to the VHLM but impressed the scouts with their ability to put the puck in the net.Much like Bernard we’ve just begun working with them in the practice facility. Expect great things going forward! With Ottawas last pick in the 6th round, we selected Journeyman Titus LaClass @Termancy. LaClass spent 72 games in the VHLM last year and was without a team. Having played for SSK he was work taking a shot at on the roster. He is a pass first forward who is responsible. He’s a great addition to the locker room. In the 7th round and the second to last pick in the draft 76th overall the Ottawa Lynx selected Davoid Souter @boomshocks. Raw but with massive amounts of potential and an absolutely steal in the draft. He is a pass first defenseman who can take the body to make a play and keep on ticking. Expect great things from this man! Considering this was my first draft as general manager and haven’t been around for another one. Also not knowing what to expect going forward, over valuing picks/undervaluing picks, just becoming a huge mess, I think I did okay. I achieved my goal of stocking the locker room with some grade A talent, have some great guys on the team who are all more than willing to help each other. Those picks, while not the best on paper led me to specific players and for that I can’t regret those decisions. I’m looking forward to the season and what these guys are going to bring to the VHLM and the VHL going forward. Personally this has been a learning experience and now that I have a season of drafting under my belt, can’t wait for the next. word count 1118 claiming for week 7/7 and 7/14

Review: Just joined the league a week ago, so still wrapping my head around the VHLM, let alone the VHL. These posts are awesome. Really helpful in getting me a little more familiar with the league and how much things change year to year. Already rooting for Seattle and Moscow. Thanks for your writeup!

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Player Information Username: GlowyGoat Player Name: Lukas Schweitzer Recruited From: Other (recreate) Age: 18 Position: G Height: 75 in. Weight: 235 lbs. Birthplace: Germany Player Page @VHLM GM

An investigation that began over three months ago during S65 of the VHL has drawn to a conclusion with the release of the completed report by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The lengthy, in-depth report concludes that the VHL and all subsidiaries including the VHLM, the VHL and VHLM Fantasy Zones, and the VHL’s TPE program do not violate any laws and can continue to run unrestricted. The FBI’s findings are a complete exoneration for the VHL organization, leaving fans, players, and executives jumping for joy. The investigation was started by the Nevada Gaming Commission when then VHLM player Charlie Paddywagon made a bet in the VHLM Fantasy Zone. The NGC was alerted by an anonymous source that Paddywagon placed a bet against his own team. The NGC immediately publicly announced the opening of their investigation into Paddywagon’s actions and quickly uncovered details around the functioning of the VHL organization that alarmed them enough to reach out to the FBI. According to the NGC, the VHL has no system in place to prevent match fixing and it actually seemed like the VHL was encouraging players to bet on games. The FBI took over as the lead investigators, requesting more than 2.5 million documents from the VHL. The VHL provided the requested documents but then took the defense of their league to the public by hosting a public presentation where they provided in-depth details about how the VHL is a simulation. They explained that the players aren’t actively playing the game, they are hooked up to a machine that interprets their hockey ability which enters that data into a computer that plays the entire game for the players. What fans in person and on TV see is a holographic projection of the simulation, they explained. Their defense was essentially that the players themselves could not throw a game they bet on because they don’t have the ability to affect the simulation while it is running. This bombshell of information set off a worldwide frenzy. People were shocked to learn this technology existed and was so convincing. That increased focus on the VHL led to the discovery of another shocking component of the VHL, the drug TPE. Disgruntled former VHL employee, Dr. Jakub Satan came forward describing the VHL’s TPE program. He called TPE a performance enhancing drug that was given to players by the VHL. The FBI engaged the Food & Drug Administration to investigate this unknown substance, TPE while the FBI continued its investigation into the entire VHL organization. After some leaked details about the discovery of a secret TPE factory, the FBI placed a gag order on all investigators until the investigation was complete. That was almost 2 months ago. The silence was broken by the FBI’s announcement of the completion of the investigation a couple of days ago. For more in-depth details of the story, please check out our previous articles found here, in chronological order: Charlie Paddywagon Investigated Investigation Expands FBI Involved VHL Corporation Replies to FBI Inquiries VHL is a Simulation Paddywagon Temporarily Cleared to Play Is TPE a performance enhancing drug? FDA to investigate TPE FBI raids VHL offices TPE made in Albuquerque FBI Completes investigation The report breaks up the investigation into two separate parts. The first examines the question “Can a VHL/M player fix a match they are participating in?” Since the VHL allows its players to bet on pre-selected games with no restrictions this introduces the situation that caused this entire investigation to begin. That being a player can bet against their own team. In all other leagues, this action is prohibited because if it were allowed, the integrity of the game would come into question. The league would be allowing an opportunity for fraud to occur. If the league allowed the fraudulent activity of a player purposely losing a game that league would then be an active participant in fraud against other bettors and fans who purchased a ticket expecting to see a fair match. Without directly saying so, the FBI insinuated that if a league allowed this fraud to occur, the FBI would have the ability to immediately force the shut down of the league. During the investigation, the VHL provided many documents and made a public argument that players of the VHL could not fix a match because they do not have that level of agency in the simulation that plays and then broadcasts the games. The FBI provides comprehensive details on its verification method of they VHL’s claim. Part of their verification required an in-depth review of the coding of the simulation program. The FBI says they hired over 1,000 simulation software experts who spent more than 100,000 man hours reviewing the simulation code. Another part required the FBI to run millions of simulation tests. They created scenarios, instructed human participants for how to act during the simulation, and analyzed the results from those repeated tests. Because of the speed of the simulation, they were able to run more than 100,000 simulations a day. All of that exhaustive work led to the FBI’s confident conclusion that “the VHL’s simulation is 100% tamper proof from the standpoint of the individual participants (players) in the simulation.” The FBI did note that the person who runs the simulation does have the ability to tamper with the configuration and could influence the results. They reviewed the VHL’s internal policies for how the current “simmers” operate in the VHL and gave their approval, with one small recommendation that periodic internal audits occur to confirm the “simmers” are not modifying the simulation prior to executing the simulation. The second part of the report examines the VHL’s TPE program. The public details on this program have been sparse, aside from the claims made by former employee, Dr. Satan. Dr. Satan alleged the VHL was forcing a performance enhancing drug known as TPE on its players. If these allegations were true, the FBI would have immediately shut down the TPE program, the VHL itself, and probably jailed anyone involved in the TPE program. The report includes a detailed analysis performed by the FDA looking into the content of TPE. The FDA analyzed the chemical content, the functioning of the drug once applied, and the post application affect on the individual. Based on that analysis the FDA concluded “while TPE does increase specific attributes which lead to an increased performance of the individual, TPE does not contain any substance that is classified as an illegal narcotic. Therefore TPE is not classified as a drug and legal for distribution and consumption.” The report found that the VHL created separate pills to target specific hockey-related attributes. For example, there is a pill to increase a player’s skating ability, or passing ability, or face-off ability. The player consumes the pill and the next time they are hooked up to the simulation machine, it interprets them as being better at whatever attribute they consumed the pill for. Due to the fact that much of the information is proprietary, the report did not include too many details on how TPE accomplished this amazing feat. The FBI’s review of the TPE program also addressed the allegation of the VHL forcing players to consume TPE. Any forced consumption of a substance as a prerequisite for playing in the league could be viewed as an improper business practice. The FBI determined that the TPE program was completely voluntary. Players could decide if they wanted to participate in any of the league related task that the league ran. Written in the report is this conclusion, “While the VHL heavily promotes TPE earning for all its players, it is not a requirement for entrance into the VHL. Players are able to decide if they want to participate and consume TPE or not.” Their conclusion continues and ends classifying the TPE program as voluntary. “Since the TPE program is voluntary, it is allowed to run as it currently exists.” Ramifications of the report are wide ranging. For the league itself, the VHL board of governors and employees can breathe a sigh of relief not only because of the ideal outcome of the investigation but also because all of the spotlight on the VHL has increased its popularity. The release of this report also lifts a black cloud over the future of the VHL. The league can now run unhindered into the future, which has to help cement plans for future expansion. In addition to that, the VHL may have found a new revenue source from selling or licensing their simulation and holographic display technology. In fact, the report stated there are already other simulation leagues running in other sports, namely the SBA and the EFL. It’s most likely the VHL has aided those leagues with their technological efforts. “I’m sure that the simulation and convincing holographic projection technology displayed by the VHL could be used across all industries.” said technology expert Celise Aiken. All of that may be small potatoes in comparison to the windfall that could come from selling TPE technology. Miss Young continued, “They have a pill that can make someone faster, stronger, smarter, who knows the limitations. That is the ultimate golden goose. They might as well start printing money.” The FBI’s report did not find that the VHL has sold their TPE technology to other companies, but now that they have received clearance from the FDA that TPE is not a drug, they can probably sell TPE technology to anyone they want. It will be interesting to see how the VHL handles all of this new interest and potential big money deals. All VHL fans, diehards and newcomers alike, have been thrilled by the news from the report. Superfan @VHL4Life tweeted: “I knew VHL is the best! This report proves it! Let’s focus on S67!” Many new fans have been drawn to the VHL to marvel at the technology. While attending a recent preseason VHLM game in Minnesota 13 year-old Drew Masters said “I just think it’s so cool that this is computers and holograms. It’s like a live video game in person! I hope I can buy it and play it myself someday!” Some detractors have voiced their disapproval at the report. George Bauer was dismayed “I don’t know how any of this is legal. They’re feeding them drugs and hooking them up to machines. Back in my day people actually put on skates and played like men. I like my sports like I like my coffee, real.” However, the detractors appear to be in the minority, a recent social media poll found that 82% of respondents approve of the VHL’s technological approach to sports. Sports analyst Keith Brunswick noted “People really like feeling like they’re taking part in the future. The VHL has become the world’s greatest showcase of future technology and fans are loving it.” One of the brightest spots for the VHL is the increase in viewership from the younger demographic. This is a notoriously difficult demographic to reach, but the VHL saw a large increase during the previous season and projections for the coming season indicate the increase of viewers ages 12 -18 will continue at the same pace as last season if not accelerate. Brunkswick continued “What the VHL has going on right now is a marketer’s dream. The drama from the investigation, an exciting product, scintillating new technology. There’s a lot of selling points and a lot of interested people to market to. And not just fans, but sponsors as well.” The astonishing display of technology and excitement generated by the VHL has piqued the interest of a worldwide audience of not only fans but corporations and nation-states. Time will tell how the VHL handles all this newfound notoriety. Will the league continue to produce an exciting brand of hockey or will their focus shift to selling and licensing technology? Will fans remain after the novelty of the new technological discovery wears off? What other impact will this technology have on the rest of sports or the world in general? All of those questions will be answered by the passage of time. Suffice it to say that for now, hockey fans are happy with the outcome of this report and this clears the way for a very exciting season of hockey. Fans hope that excitement will continue for many seasons to come. 2,000+ words Will claim for 4 weeks, starting with week ending 7/14.

SSN FUTURES - Amateur Press Conference Hello Draftees, As part of SSN FUTURES coverage of your S67 VHL Draft, I'd like highlight all of you and get some general information about your VHLM season, your excitement heading into the draft and your thoughts on becoming a professional. This is completely voluntary, just a way to give you guys some much-deserved attention to kick off the off-season. With no further ado, here are my questions. How would you describe your VHLM experience? How would you describe your play this season? How would you describe your excitement leading up to the VHL Draft? Around what pick range do you expect to go and why? If you wanted General Managers to know one thing about you, what would it be? I appreciate the time and effort anyone puts into answering these pressers. Thank you in advance and good luck to all of our draftees! Thank you, Shaka Tagging the top 20 Earners: @Phil @Rayzor_7 @Quik @11 Eleven @HulkHogan @Sullvino @FakeJenton @Victor @Acydburn @chillzone @Banackock @Tate @Motzaburger @Greg_Di @Savoire Faire @PenKnight @No_Dangles @fonziGG @Advantage @DoktorFunk