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Welcome to Gustav's Mock Draft, the first-ever reasonably-long, stupidly-self-explanatory-in-title, first-sentence-and-in-fact-the-entire-thing-containing-way-too-many-hyphens-because-that's-how-I-tend-to-write-sometimes--I'm sorry. It's a media spot, a mock draft at that, and I'll be projecting picks right up until approximately whenever I feel like it. Anyway...I've been thinking about doing this for quite some time now, but since that time is now running out, I now pretty much have to do it in order to not hate myself for not doing it. As a side note, this would not have been possible without @rjfryman and his magnificent draft spreadsheet, which you can find here should you be interested. I also took the liberty of taking the tiny team logos from @Renomitsu's mock draft, though I'm fairly certain I've seen them all over the place (correct me if I'm wrong; I am not worthy). So, without further ado... #1: Riga Reign (From Russia With Love) Hunter Hearst Helmsley |@Beaviss| C | TPE: 431 Yep, right about what we expected. I don't remember a time when HHH wasn't the projected #1 choice. HHH being great was one of the very first things I learned about this league--before I'd fully figured out how to earn TPE, before I even knew who Shane Mars was, and probably even before Julius Freeman existed. The first indication of any doubt at all I saw came this week with an article posted by Victor after Moscow traded down, aptly titled "I was going to draft Shane Mars 1st overall." The reason given here was that, after Helmsley's initial contract was up, it was impossible to say whether he'd end up sticking around with his team--in that case, Moscow, and in this case, Riga. The Reign ABSOLUTELY will take Helmsley here--not only did they do well this year, but they've also managed to set themselves up for success, owning draft picks and owning a lot of them. Convincing a player to stick around is, and always has been, quite a bit easier when you're winning and will be for a while. So, I can see Hedgehog not only taking the risk here, but seeing it pay off as well. #2: Vancouver Wolves (From Davos) Julius Freeman |@rjfryman| LW | TPE: 339 -Spade18 Fire me @Banackock What? Not Mars? You heard that right, the Wolves pick Freeman. And it's not even a tough decision for him--Beaviss trades up to this spot with Freeman in mind. Not only is he high up in the draft class in terms of TPE, and not only has he managed to cap every week (and, might I add, he's guaranteed to cap every week now that he has, like Beaviss and Spade, joined Recruitment Crew), but he entered the league as a free agent. He's had way less time to prepare than most others, and, though I haven't calculated it, I'd be willing to bet he's #1 or #2 in terms of earning rate. He's won quite a few points in the lottery, he's proven himself more than worthy research-wise (see my preliminary statement), AND he just recently started a Conan Exiles server with Beaviss (though I'm not on it, I bet they'd both appreciate some mention for it here as they're looking for new people). So sorry, Shane Mars, but there's a new #2. #3: Seattle Bears (From Calgary) Shane Mars |@Spade18| LW | TPE: 358 Here's our year-long consensus #2, in my #3 spot (again, many apologies). I see Banackock trading up, to this spot specifically, because this draft has a definite "top 3," and this guarantees that one will be around at that point. That's perfect for a team that wants to start and end their rebuild as quickly as possible, and sticking Mars at the center of it makes it that much easier to escape, and come back even more powerful, within a season or two. No matter the placement of the top 3, there's almost no question that they are the top 3, and Seattle proves it here. #4: Riga Reign (From Vancouver through Davos) Mikko Aaltonen |@GRZ| RW | TPE: 315 I'd say that Riga is planning on selling, but they've already managed to gain control of much of the first round, and their star players--Edwin Preencarnacion, Podrick Cast, and Ryan Kastelic--are still there, making this not simply a sellout but a feat of epic proportions by management (let's not forget Kallis Kriketers). This season, however, would definitely be considered the start of a rebuild for the team had they not still managed to keep up their playing ability. Riga currently has a bit of an aging roster, with only three players S63 or newer at or above 400 TPE (and guess what? They're all S63 players, nobody newer). Minus Kriketers and Kastelic, in fact, the team isn't much beyond its core of Preencarnacion and Cast, both of whom proudly represent S61. Their picks in this draft leave them with plenty to work with, and space can, and will, easily be freed up by both retirement and trading for cheap picks. Here, I'm going BPA, simply because Riga has so many options. #5: Moscow Menace (From New York) Shawnomir Jagr |@TheLastOlympian07| RW | TPE: 296 Moscow needs, well, everyone. The Menace could use players at every position there is, and here I can see them moving around the draft board to pick not the best winger available (in Dmitri Volosenkov) but the second-best winger out there, in terms of TPE. Here's why: I can say that I believe Moscow is looking for a winger here--anything else would be a reach, other than Jet Jaguar. However, Moscow actually has a half-decent center in Mark Gebauer, so I can't see them loading up that position when they can spend time building a legitimate top line. Here I put Jagr over Volosenkov simply based on reputation--TheLastOlympian has been around forever, and while Volosenkov is likely just as trustworthy, I see Moscow taking the guarantee here. #6: HC Davos Dynamo (From Riga) Dmitri Volosenkov |@SirRupertBarnes| LW | TPE: 308 A while back, Davos was sure to pick a defenseman, and if that were still the case, I would actually put my own player here, at the risk of being labeled an egomaniac (just to be clear--I think Jerry would be a reach here, as Volosenkov and Jaguar are both very good forwards with higher TPE). The team recently traded for high-TPE defenseman Shawn Glade, however, giving them a nice linemate for Smitty. This trade gives them a bit more to work with, and though I would say that they will end up investing in defense, it's no longer a pressing need. So, here, they're quite happy to find Volosenkov, who they don't necessarily need but gives them much to work with in the trade market, whether they'd like to trade him or any other one of their rising star wingers for future assets, or, perhaps, high-TPE veterans. #7: Malmo Nighthawks Jerry Garcia |@GustavMattias| D | TPE: 286 Yes, this is me. Yes, Jaguar is at 304. No, I don't think I'd be here if this were most other teams. The fact remains, though, that the only position the Nighthawks find themselves in need of filling after the expansion draft is defense, as they only have one defenseman on the roster (Basaraba Moose). At the moment, they've got two forward lines, and a 500-TPE goalie. But the first defensive pair needs filling, and, though it's been a tight race, Garcia is the best available in terms of TPE. #8: Riga Reign (From Seattle) Jet Jaguar |@gorlab| C | TPE: 304 It's about time that Jaguar went off the board, and here we see it happen. Gorlab is an experienced member of the league (since 2014!) and brings a virtual guarantee that he'll be around and active--not that that's much of a worry with this draft class. Riga has two established centers, but they're S61. I can see the team sticking Jaguar in a winger spot, or perhaps making a trade to clear some space, but regardless of what happens, Jaguar figures to find room to play in Riga. Also, remember back at #1 when I said there were potential concerns about Helmsley's chances of staying with his first team? Here's Riga's foolproof plan B if #1 overall doesn't work out. #9: Riga Reign (From Helsinki) Aron Nielsen |@solas| D | TPE: 274 Enough of Riga picking forwards--it's time to move on as by this point they've saturated their scoring lines with new talent. Nielsen comes into the draft as the #2 defenseman TPE-wise, and, though he went through a bit of an inconsistent patch during the regular season, is back at full activity and just as good as ever with solas, a 2-time Hall of Famer, steering the ship. Reputation alone may actually be enough to put him over Garcia in some GMs' rankings, but for now, I'll put him at #9. #10: Moscow Menace (From Toronto) Owen May |@FacebookFighter| G | TPE: 266 May is a bit down in the draft rankings, but he's still got room this week to bring himself up, and I happen to know he's got an update or two on the way. He'll still be ranked below players like Bert Meyers (286 TPE) when the week is over, but the difference won't be as drastic as this article makes it seem. In May, the team gets their goalie--at the moment, they own the rights to inactive Justin Cole and semi-active Chase, but May is the class's first active goaltender, which earns him the last spot of the first round. ROUND 2 #11: Moscow Menace Arnor Sigurdsson |@bluesfan55| RW | TPE: 284 GMs are letting Bert Meyers slip here, but it seems like they all have their reasons. Here, Moscow picks up Sigurdsson--again, the team has Mark Gebauer at center, and, in fact, will welcome Victor's GM player, Vladimir Pavlov, also a center, next season. So, the Menace will opt for another forward, to complete at least one decent-looking line. #12: Calgary Wranglers Chico Smeb |@xDParK| LW | TPE: 272 Won't someone pick Meyers already? Nope! It just so happens that Calgary is lacking in every position but winger. Oddly enough, this would, for sure, be Meyers (and a steal!) if Meyers hadn't converted to center from left wing late last season. Thus, Smeb goes to Calgary, and Meyers stays on the board. #13: HC Davos Dynamo (From Vancouver through Riga) Charlie Paddywagon |@DMaximus| D | TPE: 270 At this point, Meyers not being picked is likely going to make a lot of people think I'm an idiot. In fact, I initially put him down for this pick because I thought we'd gone way too far down the board. But we're talking about Davos, who owns a good top defensive pairing but not a whole ton of depth beyond that--semi-active Cayden Saint is on the team, but Shawn Glade is S62, and who better to serve as an eventual replacement than Paddywagon, whose build (90 defense already, but not a whole lot otherwise) offers a solid foundation and quite a bit of flexibility development-wise? Meyers deserves to be here (and higher!) but Davos won't regret this pick. #14: Vancouver Wolves (From Davos) Bert Meyers |@RunnerBert11| C | TPE: 286 Honestly? Vancouver doesn't need a center either, at least not at this very moment. But at this point, there's a big drop-off in talent, and it's about time Meyers went off the board (he's got the same TPE as Garcia, who I took the liberty of projecting for #7!). The pick does make a bit of sense for Vancouver--star players Beau Louth and Rauno Palo are S61 and S62, respectively, making Gritty the only center who won't be out of the picture in a few seasons. Though Meyers won't be filling any holes immediately, he'll be an important part of the machine in a while, and the Wolves are more than happy to pick up this steal at #14. #15: Helsinki Titans (From New York) Codrick Past |@Kylrad| D | TPE: 258 Helsinki could use a winger here, but there simply aren't any here that wouldn't be a reach. So, they go for a different hole to fill and pick up Codrick Past, a defenseman who will do the job of giving them someone consistently active on defense. Though players like Sidney Crosby and Jesse Wilson are S63 and active within reason, Past gives the team a defender who consistently either caps or almost caps every week, something they don't have at the moment. #16: Riga Reign Apollo Hackett |@Renomitsu| D | TPE: 231 Here, the top players in the draft rankings are centers. And, you know what? A center would be nice given Riga's current roster. But this mock satisfies the need for a center in Riga twice over in Round 1. Aside from me scoring another point in my tagging battle with Renomitsu, this pick allows me to talk about how Riga has far less defensive depth now that they've lost Shawn Glade. For Riga, only Ryan Kastelic is a high-TPE active, and in fact, he's the only Riga defenseman active on the level most GMs would like. To be honest, I'd say defense is Riga's #1 priority in the draft, but their placement in the first round is a bit tricky--if Malmo doesn't draft a defenseman, I can see the team picking up both Garcia and Nielsen. But if Malmo does, Paddywagon is a bit of a reach at #9. It's not an emergency, though--Renomitsu has media spot claims banked through God-knows-when and is a solid pickup as a league veteran. #17: Malmo Nighthawks Rusty Shackleford |@K1NG LINUS| D | TPE: 199 What? Shackleford this high up? He's staying down in the minors another season; don't you know that? Yes, as a matter of fact, I do, and by the way, I also know he's a full 64 TPE behind Maximilian Kirbsson, who hasn't been picked yet. Here's the thing about this pick: Malmo needs defensemen, even after they've drafted Garcia in the first. They'll need at least a third defenseman on their team, and being an expansion team with no new players coming up this season, it's a hole in the depth chart almost more literally than figuratively. So why don't they pick Beau Buefordsson, who's sitting at 208 TPE and represents our last defenseman going up? Well, first, Advantage likely won't be trying to win a cup this season. It simply isn't feasible, so it doesn't really matter that Shackleford is staying down another season. Plus, his TPE earn rate, in the weeks before he was forced to stop to stay down, was a bit higher than Buefordsson's, and for that reason I have him ranked a bit higher for teams that likely aren't playing to win right away. #18: Vancouver Wolves (From Seattle) Hans Gruber |@TheFlash| C | TPE: 225 Here's another pick that isn't entirely necessary at the moment. If Gruber's drafted to Vancouver, he'd have no place to play at center, especially with Bert Meyers being picked farther up. The team could use a few defenders, but again, it's a bit of a reach at this point, even after Malmo has just reached up a bit with their last pick. Instead, I say the team picks up Gruber for some nice forward depth, and either makes a move or two or waits for its aging players to move out of the picture while Gruber develops. #19: HC Davos Dynamo (From Helsinki) Maximilian Kirbsson |@Kirby| C | TPE: 263 This pick is a bit of a development-type pick for Davos--Rylan Peace and John Madden currently hold down Davos' top spots at center, and figure to do so for most of Kirbsson's career. Though Kirbsson has slipped a bit here, as there are more active players out there, he put up some very good scoring numbers for the Houston Bulls this past season (as I should very well know) and is on every week to claim some TPE, whether he's capping or not. It's also true that he was, at the beginning of the season, quite active, so this pick could very well end up being a steal for Davos if Kirbsson returns to form. And if he doesn't, then it's no big deal--he's a solid choice for depth. #20: Seattle Bears (From Toronto) Valeri Morozov |@Dangles13| LW | TPE: 213 Guess what: Seattle only has five players on their roster. Remember what I said earlier about a few teams (Moscow specifically), about how they could use players everywhere? It's even more true for Seattle--they don't have a team full of bad or inactive players, but rather a team with five decent ones and literally nothing else. Here, Seattle will consider Beau Buefordsson, but ultimately go with Morozov--they'll be getting close to filling up two forward lines at this point. ROUND 3 #21: Moscow Menace Ludvig Sederstrom |@aleks| C | TPE: 218 Sederstrom just barely manages to fall into the third round here, and I know I'll be hearing all about it on Discord should he see this. While Gebauer is OK, a GM will want someone a bit more active to play center, and Victor grabs that here with Sederstrom, someone who hasn't claimed this week but has definite first-line potential if he's active enough. While I wouldn't say he's done so much that many GMs would be inclined to reach for him, he has definite potential to be a steal. #22: Helsinki Titans (From Calgary) Beau Buefordsson |@Radcow| D | TPE: 208 Here's where I get to predict the fate of my AGM, and predicted it is--he's going to Helsinki, and this is likely the most sure I feel about any pick at this point in the draft. Number one: though Helsinki picked up Codrick Past in the last round, they would still appreciate bringing in a new era of defensemen rather than simply just one. And number two, Radcow's GM this past season (and mine as well), Sonnet, is now AGM of Helsinki, and he's likely done quite a bit to help out Quik scouting-wise. He's more aware than anyone else that Radcow is deceptively active, despite a bit of an inactive patch halfway through the season. Buefordsson to Helsinki, and I'd be willing to put money on it. #23: New York Americans (From Vancouver) Kyle Sabertooth |@uphillmoss| LW | TPE: 199 At the moment, New York's future needs a few brilliant moves to save. They have a bit of an aging roster, and next to no meaningful picks to speak of in this draft. No one draft choice, especially in the 3rd round, will save the team, and that's why I say that the Americans are here willing to pick a player who's planning on staying down in the VHLM this season, especially since he's also a player who's more active than any still on the board above him. The team can always call him up should they want to, and, if they don't, he's definitely a player who will make an impact for the team next season. #24: Riga Reign (From Davos) Kolur Bjoernsson |@jblock3| G | TPE: 172 Bjoernsson gets the nod here because goaltender is the only position that Riga hasn't gone for yet. Kriketers is S63 and tearing it up, but the team doesn't have a backup and would appreciate it for the games in which they have to use one. In the future, we may see Bjoernsson going somewhere else as valuable trade material for, say, more picks, something that they're obviously not too opposed to in Riga. #25: Moscow Menace (From New York) Edgar Tannahill |@gregreg| LW | TPE: 191 I've got a good feeling about this. In the past, gregreg has been very much in favor of being drafted to Moscow. He's also, in recent memory, outwardly expressed a wish to be called up immediately. I can see Moscow reaching for him here--he's the only active, 190-some TPE VHLMer who isn't trying to stay down, and is only down this far because he created a bit late. I wouldn't be surprised to see him go sometime in the second round, but this pick is one of the first I could really see him being chosen at. #26: Riga Reign Nethila Dissanayake |@nethi99| RW | TPE: 199 Riga doesn't have any pressing needs right now, as they've managed to fill up just about every space they have with new guys. With the incoming depreciation of Edwin Preencarnacion, and the (very) recent trade of Kisshan Shan, Riga will have space for wingers on their roster before long. It's not an immediate need, given that at least one of their many centers will likely be shifted over to wing this season, so I've given them Dissanayake, a player who's staying down in the VHLM and could be waited for if Riga is so inclined. #27: Seattle Bears (From Malmo) Aleksander Rodriguez |@Jtv123| RW | TPE: 199 Here's our other 199-TPE VHLMer. Looking at Seattle's picks (three first-rounders next season), it's fairly evident that, while they're planning on rebuilding fairly quickly, they don't expect to be out of it with this draft class alone. So, they draft Rodriguez, who plans to stay down. At the moment, Seattle doesn't care about this, and it's likely that they like the idea of being able to plan around Rodriguez's arrival next season come draft time. #28: Vancouver Wolves (From Seattle) Rhye Tyr |@Plate| D | TPE: 201 Earlier this season, Tyr was battling it out with Aron Nielsen for the title of "S66's Best Defenseman." After hitting 158 TPE and falling inactive for a bit, though, he's been surpassed by a few, and though he gets on every now and then to claim something or other, he hasn't quite stuck with the strong start he had. Vancouver picks him up here for depth, as they only have two defensemen on the roster at the moment. #29: Helsinki Titans Clayton Park |@leafssteen| G | TPE: 214 Though I'd heard (or at least thought I'd heard) earlier in the season that Park was inactive, upon checking his player page I found quite the opposite. He's a welfare claimer, but takes on various other minor point tasks which distinguish him from other welfare-and-practice-facility-only players. He figures to be a solid backup for Alexander Pepper, one of the league's premier, high-TPE goaltenders. #30: Helsinki Titans (From Toronto) Jordan Tonn |@MexicanCow123| C | TPE: 200 With Tonn, the Titans add a bit of forward depth to their lineup. Right now, the team has five forwards, and while they're all reasonably solid players in terms of activity, they'll need a bit of depth. Tonn, the last non-inactive eligible player who's going up to the VHL, gives them that here, and this may very well end up being a steal, as MexicanCow's appointment to AGM of the San Diego Marlins is indicative of activity. ROUND 4: #31: Moscow Menace Guillaume Fontenette |@okocha5| D | TPE: 156 Anyone who's been paying attention to the VHLM's latest draft class knows that Fontenette, a pickup of the Mexico City Kings in this past week's VHLM Dispersal Draft, has been steadily climbing the rankings, right after I listed him as semi-active on my own draft board and moved on with my life. As a consequence, I'm forced to put him here--I believe he was below 100 just a few weeks ago, and, assuming VHL GMs do their homework on these things, he wouldn't be out of the question for even the mid-3rd round. This is Moscow's first defensive selection, and, while he won't go up to the VHL, figures to be a valuable addition to the Menace next season. #32: Calgary Wranglers John Frostbeard |@FrostBeard| RW | TPE: 184 FrostBeard is very close to Blade. Blade is very close to Bush. Calgary needs a winger, and Frostbeard is available. He'd be a good choice, too, with this pick. Starting off this past season highly active, Frostbeard trailed off a bit midway through, despite maintaining his status as an important member of the community. Recently, too, he was chosen as the new GM of the Houston Bulls (Horns Up!), a bit of a rise in status which may cause him to go off the board a bit earlier than this. If he's available here, though, expect him to be a lock for Calgary. #33: Moscow Menace (From Vancouver) Edward Vigneault |@Patpou22| D | TPE: 182 I'll be the first to say I had doubts about Vigneault's activity heading into the VHLM draft--he hung at 138 for quite some time, then brought that up to 143 and stayed there for a while too. Though largely a consistent welfare claimer, Vigneault has been known to do a media spot or two (including his first-ever media spot, infamously written in French) and has managed to re-legitimize himself with a burst of recent activity. While it's impossible to say whether he'll turn out highly valuable in the future, most teams here, and perhaps a bit earlier, will be willing to take the chance. #34: HC Davos Dynamo Juan Jaundice |@Jus| G | TPE: 166 This pick may come as a surprise to some, but Jaundice recently made a bit of a comeback, claiming a media spot and capping last week. Davos needs goalie depth, and, as by this point they will have picked up quite a few valuable skaters, they can use their fourth-rounder on Jaundice, who may, in a couple seasons' time, depending on which way his activity turns, end up as the starter. #35: Moscow Menace (From New York) Emil Passarelli |@SparrowLTD| RW | TPE: 189 Passerelli is currently in a tie, TPE-wise, with fellow right winger Mat Tocco, but I'm putting him first as Tocco has somehow gotten by without claiming even so much as welfare in the realm of one-time point tasks. Passarelli, however, is a consistent welfare claimer, giving him the edge should both continue to claim as they have been. Plus, again, Moscow will take anyone they can get. #36: Riga Reign Mat Tocco |@Matmenzinger| RW | TPE: 189 Here's that guy I was talking about in the previous pick. Like most at this point, Tocco is staying down in the VHLM, and he's simply the best player available for Riga to pick up. The fact that he is, in fact, staying down gives Riga lots of room to work with, as they have a full season to watch his progress and decide whether he's worth making room for on the roster. #37: Malmo Nighthawks Nacho |@Nacci25| C | TPE: 158 Nacho may actually go higher up the board than this, and by quite a bit, in fact, as he should be on a few "hidden gems" lists should anyone write any sometime soon. Unlike most around him, Nacho, while he doesn't tend to cap every week, is a graphics guy rather than a welfare claimer. This should move him up on many scouts' lists, and Malmo at 37 is, in my opinion, a conservative estimate. Look for him to begin to be considered around #30. #38: Malmo Nighthawks (From Seattle) AJ Axelsen |@littleboi| RW | TPE: 144 Axelsen is another hidden talent that I'd like to throw into the mix as another forward draftee by Malmo. While he does claim welfare, he's a bit like (hypothetically Moscow's) Vigneault in that he claims all his minor point tasks on top of that to make him not half bad at the end of the day. Axelsen could again be drafted higher than #38, but the pick makes sense for Malmo--they've focused on defense so far in this mock, and Axelsen provides a bit of needed forward depth. #39: Helsinki Titans Rhys Chism |@Jables| C | TPE: 156 Helsinki again goes with the forward-depth choice, and picks up a weekly welfare guy in Chism, who's recently been on the site a bit more often since his choice in the VHLM Dispersal Draft by Philadelphia. He's really only been on for welfare and practice facility every week, but he has been on every week, and actually tagged me in Philly's press conference earlier this week. He's in and out of the locker room, and the fact that Sonnet is familiar with him as a player may be convincing enough for Quik to pull the switch and pick him up here. #40: Calgary Wranglers (From Toronto) Dylan Doyle |@zepheter| LW | TPE: 116 This pick may come off as a surprise--we have Blake Laughton, a 151 TPE winger (and former teammate of mine) on the board. Doyle, however, is our first player since Nacho to not do welfare every week. While he did last week, he's written some media spots, showing definite potential to rise above many ranked above him in the future. Even if Calgary drafts Frostbeard, too, they could use some winger depth, and Doyle will give them this in a season. ROUND 5 #41: Moscow Menace Anthony Amberback |@Oost| D | TPE: 164 Amberback at 41 is a steal for the Menace, who pick up a third defenseman in the 5th round. Here, he's easily the best player available, but Moscow is perhaps the first team where this pick makes sense. Amberback claims welfare and practice facility every week, plus extra activities, and goes perhaps much later than he should here. #42: Calgary Wranglers Hunter Wagner |@Inf1d3l| LW | TPE: 169 The Wranglers here pick up Wagner, another practice-facility-and-welfare-plus-some-extra-stuff guy who will figure to form a decent combination with Frostbeard and Doyle next season. One could argue that Calgary would be overcompensating for its lack of wingers at this point, but since most of their choices aren't going up this season, #43: HC Davos Dynamo (From Vancouver) Samuel Sparrow |@Birdman| D | TPE: 154 Sparrow was recently passed by Fontenette in the TPE rankings, which also moves him down a bit in the draft. Here, we see him being picked up by Davos, who we've seen picking up Charlie Paddywagon back in the second. While Sparrow won't be going up this season, he can certainly end up being a steal in the 5th for Davos, who would appreciate a bit of support from an already-developed player once Shawn Glade begins to depreciate. #44: HC Davos Dynamo Blake Laughton |@Grape| LW | TPE: 151 Laughton comes off the board with this pick, and some might say it's about time. He's a welfare claimer, but gets on every week to claim it. Personally, I can also attest to his presence in the locker room, when he has the time for it. Look for him to go up to Davos next season for the sake of depth, and depending on his development, look for Davos to unload a forward or two in a trade. #45: New York Americans Pascal Batz |@efiug| C | TPE: 139 Though New York needs a winger a bit more than they need a center at this point, Batz gives them room to work with as he's not going up right away. He's the best forward available at the moment, and, if the team doesn't make any moves to make room, he can always be moved to wing for more ice time. #46: Riga Reign Cody Smith |@cody73| LW | TPE: 138 I'll never understand how Riga managed to get all these draft picks without giving up most of their own--and without completely selling out, to boot. Smith is a bit of a developmental choice here for Riga--he's a welfare guy, but like the others on my list, is on every week. The team can do whatever they'd like here--keep him, trade him, make room for him on the roster this season--anything. As a side note, Smith will end up being the first player ever drafted from my VHLM team, the Mississauga Hounds, and I'll admit that this mention was half of the reason I didn't stop after the fourth round. #47: Malmo Nighthawks Sunny Burst |@Sunburst| G | TPE: 114 The Nighthawks pick up Burst here, as their current goaltender is a S62 welfare claimer. Burst has been increasingly active lately, putting out what one could call a "burst" of activity prior to the expansion draft that made everyone's choices all the more difficult. Here, I can see Advantage pulling the trigger and going with the goalie, hoping that Burst's TPE will rise to a decent level before Johnny Havenk Carison is out of the league and before an early draft pick or an expensive trade is necessary for the position. #48: Seattle Bears Devin Gabella |@Gabella19| LW | TPE: 132 The Bears are here caught between Gabella and Halifax's Blake Gaudette (at least in terms of TPE level), but choose Gabella because Halifax is a Satanic cult Gaudette spent about a month as an inactive. While Gaudette seems to be back for good, with solid claims in the past couple weeks, this could hurt his draft stock a bit, and Gabella is chosen over him. #49: Helsinki Titans Ben Hafkey |@ItsMcLovin| LW | TPE: 112 So I was careful to drop the phrase "in terms of TPE level" in the last pick, and I'd like to explain exactly why here. The next player off the board is not Gaudette, but Ben Hafkey, a player who, if I remember correctly, had only 71 TPE when I first made my dispersal draft board. His activity has increased quite a bit since then, making him not only a steal for Philadelphia in the dispersal draft but a potential steal in the VHL as well, as Helsinki here digs into the TPE ratings to select him. #50: Toronto Legion Walter Clements |@cpetrella| C | TPE: 134 I actually don't have a tiny little Toronto logo to stick around the name here, as Renomitsu's mock was 4 rounds and we didn't get to this pick yet. Though I'd be very surprised if Devise actually keeps this pick, Clements is a choice that makes sense for Toronto. They need a center, first of all, and Clements is reasonably active--if I could find a more appealing acronym for "Welfare Plus Extra Stuff" than "WPES," I'd have been using it at this point, especially since Clements certainly fits the description. So! That concludes the first-ever "Gustav's Mock Draft" (I'll come up with a better name next season, I promise). Enjoy!

Welcome to the S66 VHL MOCK Draft, Presented by the Unofficial VHL Scouting Network! Hosted by me (Renomitsu) with plenty of help from rjfryman! Want to make a mock of your own? Click here! This sheet, made by @rjfryman, will be updated shortly after posting to adjust for recent trades. This mock goes to 40 picks (4 rounds), when almost all picking teams are 3+ players deep at 3+ positions. Now with understanding of wing positions! Round 1 1. Riga Reign – C Hunter Hearst Helmsley @Beaviss HHH has the most TPE of any player in the draft and is one of only two players currently above 300 TPE. He'll crowd the Riga depth chart a bit at center, but gives Riga a lot of wiggle room and trade power. This pick gives the Reign a choice between dominating while fielding a very deep team, or building a team of young stars without sacrificing much current power. Another option is taking Shane Mars, and setting themselves up at a wing spot for a long time. Frankly, that may be the better option, provided HHH is Beavis's player and would likely leave for Vancouver after his rookie contract is up. 2. Vancouver Wolves (from Davos) - LW Shane Mars @Spade18 Mars is the perfect player to fill out Vancouver's LW spot; he'll get second-line minutes from the get-go, with a chance to start over Mulligan by the start of S67. He'll have minutes to play with centers Rauno Palo and Beau Loth, which should do wonders for his rookie season. If the Reign opt for Mars, Beaviss gets his dream fulfilled and can take his own player. 3. Seattle Bears (from Calgary) - LW Julius Freeman @rjfryman The Bears need a left wing - not just for depth, but to have one at all - and Freeman is a no-brainer here. He's ridiculously active, just posted a VHLM mock draft of his own yesterday, and as a brand-new part of the Recruitment Crew, is as close to a guaranteed thing in this league as there is among first-gens. He's a slam-dunk pick for Seattle. 4. HC Davos Dynamo (from Vancouver) - RW Mikko Aaltonen @GRZ Davos is a reasonably deep team already - but they'll want to set up for when newly-acquired S60 oldie Veran Dragomir and prime S62 draftee Ryuu Crimson retire. Aaltonen gives them this option, though he may not have minutes for a little while. 5. Moscow Menace (from New York) - C Jet Jaguar @gorlab I doubt Jaguar plans on falling this far (nobody ever does), but he's the best option at this pick by a handfl of TPE, and gives Moscow an immediate second-liner at center. He'll sit behind S64 draftee Mark Gebauer for a little while, but will have a starting job waiting for him. 6. Riga Reign - LW Dimitri Volosenkov @SirRupertBarnes Volosenkov fills a future and current need, as Riga tries to figure out their wings of the future. He'll take the second LW spot immediately, and the Reign probably look for another wing to put over inactive Kisshan Shan - that'll probably be VHLM standout Shawnomir Jagr unless the Nighthawks take him. 7. Malmö Nighthawks - D Jerry Garcia @GustavMattias With this pick, Malmö picks up a first-pair defender for the foreseeable future. There are four left wingers between 200-230 TPE, so I think Advantage sees the value of a pick at another position of need here and takes Garcia. I also fulfill my daily quota of GustavMattias tagging with this post. 8. Riga Reign (from Seattle) - D Aron Nielsen @solas Seeing Garcia picked at 7 will probably spur the Reign into action; seeing as they've got a ton of picks back-to-back-to-back, they elect to take the next best defender in Nielsen to set their second defensive pair for the next couple of seasons. Charlie Paddywagon is also an option here, but there's a 30+ TPE drop-off between Paddywagon/Nielsen and the next best guy. Riga will try to get a second D if they're available in the second round. 9. Riga Reign (from Helsinki) - RW Shawnomir Jagr @TheLastOlympian07 Riga needs to fill out their wingers - at this point, they have two excellent starters in LW Randoms and RW Preencarnacion, but Preencarnacion is getting older and Riga would like to have a pair of active second-line wings waiting in the... well, wings. Preencarnacion has regression staring him in the face, and randoms is two seasons behind - so Jagr and Volosenkov could be playing starting roles on a competitive team in just a few seasons 10. Moscow Menace (from Toronto) - G Owen May @FacebookFighter Moscow need a goalie? They get a goalie. Now they're on to getting active wings and defensemen. Round 2 11. Moscow Menace - RW Arnor Sigurdsson @bluesfan55 The Menace could opt for a defender here just to get another active one on the books, but I think they opt for the highest-TPE pick here and go for Arnor Sigurdsson. He's very close to Shawnomir Jagr, but since there's a slight TPE difference, we'll say Sigurdsson goes here. The Wranglers get a little uneasy, as the last 250+ TPE winger gets taken off the board by a smart Moscow team. 12. Calgary Wranglers - LW Chico Smeb @xDParK The Wranglers get sweaty palms after Arnor Sigurdsson is taken off the table, and opt for the next best wing in Chico Smeb. They're aware Kari Jurri is inactive, and while Valeri Morozov is another close-to-comparable option, it's a little ways down before you can find another good winger after him. Calgary also doesn't get another pick until Round 4, so they're more-or-less obligated ot take him now. 13. Riga Reign (from Vancouver) - D Charlie Paddywagon @DMaximus This seems like a strange set of picks, but take a look at Riga's roster right now: they're going to be incredibly young at all forward positions with at least two solid lines for the foreseeable future and have a goalie coming into his prime. I think they go for one of the deepest defenses in the VHL, and two easy replacements for Bolt Vanderhuge and Cayden Saint in a few seasons. And yes, I love defense. 14. Vancouver Wolves (from Davos) - G Clayton Park @leafssteen The Wolves reach a little and try to find their goalie of the future in Clayton Park, who would start immediately. Other choices include Bert Meyers and Maximilian Kirbsson, but after Vancouver sees May taken off the board they simply have to take Park here. Seattle will be looking for a goalie to replace S60 draftee Tristan Iseult, and if Park & Bjoernsson are taken by other teams there is a lot of uncertainty past those two. 15. Helsinki Titans (from New York) - LW Valeri Morozov @Dangles13 The Titans desperately need wings - they currently only have S63 star Julian Borwinn on the roster, and while that's nice, he can't play two positions at once on the ice as far as I can tell. The Titans score a much needed winger in Morozov, even with as tempting as taking Bert Meyers or Maximilian Kirbsson is at this juncture. 16. Riga Reign - G Kolur Bjoernsson @jblock3 I mean, what does Riga need at this point? They've got 5 wings, 4 of which are S63 or younger, 5 centers including HHH, and 5 defensemen, two of which they got in this draft. I think the Reign start planning long term and reach mightily for Bjoernsson, just to see if he pans out while Kriketers enters his prime. And maybe to cause some havoc - because there are plenty of teams with goalie needs. 17. Malmö Nighthawks - D Codrick Past @Kylrad The Nighthawks needs to fill their defensive need, and has a tough choice between Codrick Past and Apollo Hackett. It's honestly a toss-up at this point. This'll be up strictly to Advantage's personal preference, as Past and Hackett are within 3 TPE of one another. We'll assume he takes the 199 of Past over Hackett's 197. 18. Vancouver Wolves (from Seattle) - C Bert Meyers @RunnerBert11 Meyers has the talent of a first-rounder, but crowding at the C position pushes him down to the mid-second. Vancouver gets an absolute steal, Meyers gets a chip on his shoulder, and things work out perfectly for GM Beaviss. 19. HC Davos Dynamo (from Helsinki) - G Jus Jaundice @Jus This pick probably looks crazy. And maybe it is. But the gap between Jaundice and the next active goalie is nearly 100 TPE - and the Dynamo could use a better backup in a season or two. The Dynamo also have to have been terrified by Riga's selection of Bjoernsson early in the round - exactly as hedgehog planned. Jaundice's activity has just increased this week - so things are looking up. 20. Seattle Bears (from Toronto) - C Maximillian Kirbsson @Kirby The Bears get an absolute steal in Maximillian Kirbsson, and probably opt to swap him to a winger role. There are plenty of good centers in this draft, and just not enogh spots to let them start early. At this point, it's absurd how far he's fallen and the Bears shouldn't be coy about swapping his position. Round 3 21. Moscow Menace - LW Kyle Sabertooth @uphillmoss Sederstrom and Gruber are still options here - but Sabertooth has been incredibly active, and with three centers on the roster including this draft's Jet Jaguar, the Menace fill a more pressing need. They could opt for a defenseman here, but with this pick have their four wing spots filled with active players. 22. Helsinki Titans (from Calgary) - RW Aleksander Rodriguez @Jtv123 A bit of a reach, but Rodriguez gives the Titans what they need most, plus he's been pretty active. They could opt for a defenseman here, but honestly they need any players that can fill their second line's wing spots. They can afford to wait for a defender. 23. New York Americans (from Vancouver) - RW Mat Tocco @Matmenzinger Tocco will play an important part of transitioning on from the inactive Sven Hitz - assuming he's active, that is. 24. Riga Reign (from Davos) - C Ludvig Sederstrom @aleks In every other season, getting a 200+ TPE player at pick 24 is an absolute steal. It's still a steal in this draft, because of positional needs from teams. Riga has more than enough centers, but could use Sederstrom as trade bait, or maybe if Anthony Matthews doesn't pan out to be a center of the future. Sederstrom may fume at this pick - and by most metrics, he deserves to be higher - but there were four centers above him in TPE and the VHL has plenty of center talent already. My guess is Riga asks someone to change positions - but where would Sederstrom switch to? He may become a second option at RW when Reencarnacion retires, or even a starter outright if Jagr or Volosenkov don't pan out. 25. Moscow Menace (from New York) - D Apollo Hackett @Renomitsu It's a little tacky to tag myself, but whatever. Hackett falls way further than expected, and lands with Moscow. He'll have a starting spot sooner rather than later, especially with Fitzgerald and Bronstein inactive, but it remains to be seen if he'll flourish like some of the higher-rated defenders in this draft. 26. Riga Reign - LW Edgar Tannahill (gregreg) Malmö get winger depth, and it's an incredibly-promising player in Tannahill. He has a fiery attitude, isn't afraid to smack-talk or voice his opinion, and will easily help set the tone in the Reign locker room if he would like. He has a chance to be a leader for his team from season one or two if he so chooses - but will this room of old heads and high draft picks let him? 27. Malmö Nighthawks - C Hans Gruber @TheFlash The Nighthawks snag the last mid-to-high quality center in the draft for depth, and even though Sederstrom's picked 24th, this is still a steal. Advantage should be ecstatic if Gruber is still available here, but honestly provided the abundance of active centers in the VHL it's not unbelievable to see him fall this far. It just means he'll have a couple of seasons to shine like crazy later in his career. 28. Vancouver Wolves (from Seattle) - D Rusty Shackleford @K1NG LINUS Vancouver want to find players they can build up behind S61 vets Samuel Gate and Marvin Harding, and they'll get an active member (and a steal) in Rusty Shackleford. 29. Helsinki Titans - RW John Frostbeard @FrostBeard A newer member that recently was appointed to a VHLM GMship, John Frostbeard would seem to have a future of activity underneath his belt. He's a consistent welfare-taker, and will be a solid addition to Helsinki's roster. Not only that, he'll get excellent second-line minutes behind Arnor Sigurdsson. 30. Helsinki Titans (from Toronto) - D Beau Buefordsson @Radcow The Titans currently only have three defenders - they fix that by picking up new-blood Beau Buefordsson. Round 4 31. Moscow Menace - D Edward Vigneault @Patpou22 Moscow need depth at defender, and they get it with Vigneault. Lew Bronstein's TPE isn't going anywhere fast, and Vigneault will most likely be able to be an immediate starter if he chooses to come up; otherwise, the Menace are more than happy to watch him grow in the minors over the next season. He may, in fact, be a better prospect than Amberback - but it's too close to tell. 32. Calgary Wranglers - D Anthony Amberback @Oost Defensive need? Defenseman given. Anthony Amberback rounds out the Calgary defense. I consider Vigneault and Amberback interchangeable at this point. 33. Moscow Menace (from Vancouver) - RW AJ Axelsen @littleboi Moscow find themselves a steal with Axelsen, who's gained 52 TPE in the last three weeks. He's a regular welfare/MS poster and could have a chance at a regular backup or fringe starting spot in the future. Like most picks after round 3, he's a bit of a gamble - but a look at his activity history should be enough to sway the GM. They play with fire, but have the picks to take a gamble. 34. HC Davos Dynamo - RW Emil Passerelli @SparrowLTD Passerelli is a bit of a gamble, since his TPE gaining is a bit limited from week to week. Davos takes Passerelli as insurance in case Svoboda or Warren go inactive - which is unlikely, but possible. 35. Moscow Menace (from New York) - D Samuel Sparrow @Birdman His activity is spotty on occasion, but Samuel Sparrow can be a nice fourth D-man, either as a future first/second liner or as a stopgap player depending on Birdman's activity. Frankly, his potential spans between multiple-season first-liner and two-season fifth D-man. I like this pick better than Parkey, who seems to have gone inactive. He'll be exactly what Moscow wants, and may be able to replace current defenders as soon as mid-late next season due to activity. 36. Riga Reign - C Rhys Chism @Jables Frankly, I'm not sure what Riga go for here. Chism could be good trade bait as Reign continues to collect centers. 37. Malmö Nighthawks - LW Cody Smith @cody73 The Nighthawks will be tempted to take another defenseman to round out both pairs, but with 3 between 85-105, and several more around 70, they elect to take some winger depth and hope for good defensemen next draft. 38. Seattle Bears - D Guillaume Fontenette @okocha5 Fontenette is nabbing around 12 points a week on average. That's excellent, especially for a 4th-round pick. Still, in my opinion, a better pick than Cody Parkey due to activity level in spite of the TPE deficit. His recent activity may end up putting him over Sparrow. 39. Helsinki Titans - LW Devin Gabella @Gabella19 Gabella is another pick at slightly above his projection, but he provides some depth to the Titans' winger spot and has been pretty active the last few weeks. I think the Titans take the dive. 40. Calgary Wranglers (from Toronto) - LW Dylan Doyle @zepheter Doyle is another recently-active pick that fills a depth position for the Wranglers, and he closes out our mock!

@DougF has been permanently banned for soliciting illegal images from members.

The Official Philadelphia Reapers Team Signature Collection -- Defense -- Boomer Kuwanger @Hybrid1486 Duncan Jeffers @Tophdaddy Brandon LeBlanc @Psanchez55 Kevin Low @Smarch Edward Vigneault @Patpou22 -- Forwards -- Rhys Chism @Jables Walter Clements @cpetrella Dylan Doyle @zepheter John Frostbeard @FrostBeard Devin Gabella @Gabella19 Ben Hafkey @ItsMcLovin Kyle Sabertooth @uphillmoss Bjorn Scoringsonn @11 Eleven -- Goalies -- Kolur Bjoernsonn @jblock3 Sunny Burst @Sunburst - - Management - - GM - Blade @BladeMaiden AGM - Jubo

Potential Sleepers in the S67 Class Today, we’re going to begin a series of draft-related content for the S67 Entry Draft. While I acknowledge we are very early in the process and a lot can happen between now and draft day, it is never too early to take a look at the class in more detail. The theme of this week is going to be an early look into some of the potential sleepers in the class. All players that are ranked below the Top-20 in the S67 Live Rankings as of today were eligible for consideration. Let’s take a look at the Top-5. Lincoln Tate – D – San Diego Marlins @Lincoln Tate The first on the list is a 6’5 defenseman from the San Diego Marlins, Lincoln Tate, who has burst onto the scene since signing his VHLM contract with the Marlins. When scouts describe Tate, they all say the same thing: a smooth, two-way right shot defenseman. Watching Tate play is magic, the way he can skate with the puck and distribute around him is extremely impressive. Tate has played 13 games so far this season and has tallied 4 goals and 18 assists, which puts him at Top-3 in the VHLM for points for defensemen behind only Hulk Hogan and Kevin Low. We have Tate labeled as a sleeper for now, but he is beginning to garner national attention and we would not be surprised if he was a high draft pick when that day comes. Henrik Zoiderberg – LW – Mexico City Kings @HenrikZoiderberg Swedish winger Henrik Zoiderberg has also been beginning to open eyes around the league. Zoiderberg is a playmaking, slick winger for the Mexico City Kings who also provides his team with sound defensive hockey. When paired with a high-scoring linemate, he can really make magic happen. Scouts have been raving about his two-way game and overall leadership in the locker room since he has joined the VHLM. Zoiderberg was not eligible for the VHLM Dispersal Draft, but instead signed a one-year deal with Mexico City. In his 19 games played so far he has put up a 3-6-9 stat line. At it’s face, these stats will not “wow” anyone, but when looking at Zoiderberg you have to consider the complete player and room for growth. Both of which positives for the Swede. Derek England – D – Mexico City Kings @PenKnight The second Mexico City Kings player to make the list is defenseman Derek England. England was drafted 31st overall in this past S66 VHLM Dispersal Draft and ever since then has been very impressive on and off the ice. The Russian-born defenseman checks all the boxes from a mental standpoint. He has a strong team-first mentality and very high hockey IQ. Scouts also have been excited about his offensive potential. Similar to Lincoln Tate, he can move very well with and without the puck. His 2 goals and 12 assists are good for second on his team amongst defenseman, but he is just now hitting his groove in the VHLM. Look for him to continue to skyrocket up draft boards as the season progresses. R.J. Lloris – RW – Las Vegas Aces @RJMW Undrafted free agent R.J. Lloris comes in at number four on this list. The Canadian-born winger possesses natural goal scoring talent, period. He previously played in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League before joining the VHLM and shattered team records in his time there. To compliment his goal scoring touch, he also plays the game like a Tasmanian Devil, which can be a real treat to watch. Lloris was signed by the Las Vegas Aces during the season and despite their recent struggles, Lloris has been able to develop his game in a positive way. While still a very raw prospect, we like his trajectory if he continues to work hard on and off the ice. Berocka Sundqvist – LW – Mississauga Hounds @berocka Rounding out our list is an Australian winger from the Hounds, Berocka Sundqvist. This kid has a very interesting background as he was a youth star in Australian-rules football prior to his hockey career. This background has laid the foundation for the player he is today and hopefully will become in the future. Scouts are intrigued by his skill-mix. He plays a very physical game and at high-pace, but he also has a very good hands as well. The Hounds have been a middle of the pack team to start the season and Sundqvist has found himself playing primarily third line minutes. We think that if he continues to develop and progress, he could start to see some Top-6 and special teams minutes. Berocka could be a mid-round steal.

Right now, the Hounds locker room on the forum contains a build guide that I copied and pasted from Houston's locker room, and which I believe, by some of the wording contained therein, Sonnet may have copied and pasted from somewhere else as well, as it's stated in an introductory statement to be a staple of locker rooms around the league, and Sonnet can write a good deal better than whoever typed that list up can (my apologies if you wrote that and you're reading this). While I will readily admit to having copied quite a bit from the way Houston built their team, I'm at the point now where I have some sort of idea of what I'm doing as GM, and I'd like to personalize it a bit, starting with re-writing said guide. I would post it in my locker room right away, but I figured that a) I'm probably going to be wrong about quite a bit of what I'm about to write, and b) perhaps there's some ancient STHS secret that I've neglected to leave out of here. Feedback is very much appreciated, and indeed begged for, if you're a league vet with valuable input. Besides, I figured that once this list has gotten to the point at which it's better than the old one, it might help out our new guys quite a bit, and can serve as a valuable tool for GMs to give their own players, should they so desire. So, I present to you... GUSTAV'S GUIDE TO BUILDING (Hopefully Better Than That Other One) If you're new, welcome to the VHL! If you're not, I have no idea what you're doing here, but thanks for stopping by and I hope you learn something nonetheless. I've decided to throw together this guide to building as a less confusing alternative to the already existing guide. Whether you use this one, that one, or neither, I hope I can make things a bit less confusing with this post. To start, let's look at the attributes for skaters: Checking: The higher this stat is, the more hits your player will record. High checking will also give you lots of penalty minutes, especially in the VHLM, but if you're building a physical player, there's nothing wrong with upgrading this attribute. Eventually, it's a good idea to combine high checking with a bit of discipline. Fighting: This one is pretty self-explanatory. The more you upgrade fighting, the more fights your player will get into. Not good for the team, but some people like to upgrade fighting nonetheless. Discipline: In theory, this attribute should lower the number of penalties your player takes. In practice, it's proven to do next to nothing unless a good amount of TPE is put into it, making it not the best attribute to upgrade on the VHLM level. Some say that it does help, though, so it's not a bad idea to upgrade if your checking is high. Skating: Upgrades to skating make your player faster and can also help with positioning. In my opinion (and that of most others), skating is an important one to upgrade. Some believe it doesn't do much, but most players that you'll see out there have significant upgrades to skating. Part of decision-making formula*. Strength: Sounds important, really isn't. Strength plays a minor part in two areas of the game: for one, it makes a player harder to knock off the puck (though puck handling will also accomplish this), and for another, it makes a player's checking slightly more effective. It also plays a minor part in face-offs and fighting. Mostly, strength should be reserved for your player's build after you've already put a good amount of points into it, but once this is the case, upgrades to strength aren't a bad idea. Puck Handling: Underrated! Good for just about any build. It is exactly what it sounds like--a player with good puck handling will have a hard time losing possession, and this is more important than most realize in the simulation. Also helps with tipping and stealing the puck. If a player has skating upgraded, puck handling should be upgraded as well. Face-offs: A good face-off rating is essential to any center's build, and good for any forward in general. Being able to get possession right away (especially if your goalie has solid rebound control, which we'll get to later) is imperative, especially in the defensive zone. Passing: Another "exactly what it sounds like" attribute. Very helpful--turnovers are frequent when passing is low, and this isn't something you want for your player. Upgrades to passing, no matter the build, are helpful and should be done. Part of decision-making formula*. Scoring: Yet another "exactly what it sounds like" attribute. The higher this rating is, the better your player will be at, well, scoring. This is helpful in just about any build but defensive defenseman. Part of the decision-making formula as well*. DEFENSE: Defense is, in my opinion, THE MOST IMPORTANT ATTRIBUTE FOR ANY POSITION, BUILD, OR WHATEVER. Every player, regardless of what type of player they are, should, as I see it, upgrade their defense rating to at least 70 in the VHLM. Many all-time great VHL elite scorers have a defense rating of 99, with the trend becoming all the more frequent in recent seasons. Upgrading defense not only makes your player valuable on both ends of the ice, it also makes a player more likely to track down a loose puck, which is also helpful on both ends of the ice. It will also make your player more adept at intercepting passes, which can lead to some great chances, especially if your player is a forward. I HIGHLY recommend that everyone, regardless of position or build, upgrade defense, and do so significantly. Penalty Shot: This attribute makes your player more successful in both penalty shots and the shootout. Not too useful, but almost nobody ever upgrades it. Putting even 5 or 10 TPE into it will give you an edge over most goaltenders, but again, keep in mind that this stat isn't all too important. If your player has needs, address them first. Leadership: Arguably the most worthless one on the board. There are but a few who think leadership does anything at all. Theoretically, it will help your team's morale and make them more consistent, but you'd need everyone strongly upgrading leadership for this to make any sort of difference. It's just not worth it. *Decision Making Formula: Passing, scoring, and skating are all part of the "decision-making formula." Basically, the more you have one of these attributes upgraded, the more likely your player is to choose that course of action when carrying the puck. For example, a player with scoring upgraded more than passing or skating is most likely to shoot the puck, rather than pass to set up a play or attempt to skate to gain better positioning. It's advisable to stagger these stats a bit so your player isn't indecisive--if scoring is more important to you than passing, put scoring about 10 points ahead. If passing is more important than scoring, put passing about 10 points ahead. In my own personal opinion, skating doesn't have to be staggered, and can be upgraded just as much as your top preference--common sense dictates that if you're carrying the puck, you will either have to pass or shoot, so in the end, to me, this doesn't make much difference. If you upgrade skating significantly, however, you'd better also upgrade puck handling to make sure you can pass or shoot in the first place. Now for goalies! Skating: This attribute affects a goaltender's ability to move around, both in the net and out of it, to play pucks, for example. This is an important attribute for goaltenders, though not a top-tier one. Size: Fun fact--although you get to choose your player's height and weight during creation, that information actually has no bearing on your goalie's performance. A goalie can, by official height and weight, be built like Shaq, or like Peter Dinklage, and neither will have any sort of advantage size-wise over the other in the sim. This attribute is actually what makes the difference--the higher a goalie's size rating is, the more area that goalie will cover without even having to move. Agility: Agility will make your player's movements more natural, making this attribute an overall boost to quickness. It's helpful as a supplement to already-upgraded stats, but isn't a substitute for any of them. Rebound Control: It doesn't matter what kind of save a goaltender makes--if the puck goes right back out to an opposing player with a wide open net, the outcome won't be very good. A solid rebound control upgrade gives a goalie the ability to stop the puck and hold onto it, something of higher importance than most realize. Centers be warned, though--to get the puck out of the defensive zone after the goalie hangs onto it, you'll need to win the face-off, so be sure to upgrade your face-off rating! Style Control: This attribute is far more important than it sounds on its surface. Upgrades to style control will allow your goalie to be a good deal more consistent in the course of a game, maintaining the same style of play throughout. If a goalie doesn't do this, the game can fall apart and get blown wide open, so it's best to have this one taken care of. Hand Speed: This attribute will increase your goalie's hand speed (no, really). It's also quite important, as anyone who knows hockey even a little bit knows that the glove is one of the most important pieces of equipment a goalie has, being extremely versatile and mobile. Making sure your goalie can use it well is one of the secrets to success as a player. Reaction Time: While skating and agility help to make sure that your goaltender can move around easily, reaction time is what makes sure your goaltender makes a move in the first place, before the puck goes in the net. While skating and agility are important, reaction time outdoes both. Penalty Shot: This one will improve a goalie's ability in both penalty shot situations and in shootouts, but nothing but. Though not the most useful, putting even a little bit into this stat can give a goalie an advantage, as not many skaters upgrade it either. Leadership: See above under skater attributes. Long story short, don't bother. So, how should you distribute your earnings among your player's attributes? A general comment here: STHS (our resident sim engine) tends to favor a few high-ranking stats over a lot of mid-range or low-ranking ones in a balanced build. That said, don't go too extreme--don't do something like upgrading scoring to 90 while not touching anything else--but to start, consider upgrading your top 4 or 5 to 70, one at a time. Then, either upgrade those further, go for some others, and just be creative--there's no single way to build a player, and there's no single road to success. Look at some high-TPE VHLers, as well as a few VHLMers with experience, for a good model. There's room for creativity, for sure, but there are definitely guidelines to follow. Also, remember up in the skater section, where I said to keep scoring and passing about 10 TPE apart? Yeah, that. Don't make them equal. Now to break down, in general, how to build a few different types of players: Offensive Forward: What to upgrade to 70 first, in order of priority: 1. Scoring or passing, whichever is more important to you 2. Take the other, whether scoring or passing, and upgrade to 60 3. Defense 4. Skating 5. Puck Handling **Somewhere in here, add face-offs if you're a center** Secondary upgrades (not as important): -Strength -Discipline -Face-offs (if you're not a center) Level 3 (below secondary, upgrade if you want): -Checking -Penalty Shot Useless: -Fighting -Leadership What to move past 70 first: -Scoring or passing, whichever you've chosen -Defense Defensive/2-Way Forward: What to upgrade to 70 first, in order of priority: 1. Defense 2. Skating 3. Puck Handling 4. Passing 5. Scoring to 60 **Add face-offs in here if you're a center** Secondary upgrades (not as important): -Face-offs (if you're not a center) -Checking -Strength -Discipline Level 3 (maybe address at some point): -Penalty shot Useless: -Fighting -Leadership What to move past 70 first: -Defense -Skating -Puck Handling Physical Forward: What to upgrade to 70 first, in order of priority: 1. Defense 2. Skating 3. Puck Handling 4. Checking 5. Passing **Add face-offs if you're a center** Secondary: -Scoring to 60 -Face-offs (if you're not a center) -Strength -Discipline -Fighting (maybe) Level 3: -Penalty Shot Useless: -Leadership What to move past 70 first: -Defense -Skating -Puck Handling -Checking Offensive Defenseman: What to upgrade to 70 first, in order of priority: 1. Defense 2. Scoring 3. Passing to 60 4. Skating 5. Puck Handling Secondary: -Checking -Strength -Discipline Useless: -Face-offs -Penalty shot -Leadership What to upgrade past 70 first: -Defense -Scoring -Skating -Continue to upgrade passing evenly with scoring Defensive Defenseman: What to upgrade to 70 first, in order of priority: -Defense -Skating -Puck Handling -Passing Secondary: -Checking (Primary, if you'd like to be physical) -Discipline -Strength -Scoring (if you're going pure defensive, I'd argue that you don't have to upgrade this at all. If going more two-way, keep this at least 10 behind passing) Useless: -Face-offs -Penalty shot -Leadership What to upgrade past 70 first: -Defense (should ALWAYS be highest) -Skating -Puck Handling For Goalies: This one is a bit more complicated. If you're a goalie, there are 4 attributes you want to get up to 70, right away, and keep at the core of your build, no matter what it is. They are: -Rebound Control -Style Control -Hand Speed -Reaction Time After that, you have just a little bit of freedom. Upgrade the following to about 60, then continue upgrading more or less evenly with the primary attributes. -Skating -Size -Agility If going for a butterfly-style goalie, skating and agility are the way to go. If going for more of a stand-up guy, put some emphasis on skating and size. Penalty shot is on the third priority level here, and as always, don't bother with leadership. Hope this helps. Build on and have fun!

After sixteen STHS days, sixty-seven games have been played by the eleven teams. Themes are starting to develop, and the teams are starting to show their abilities. The league has been showing some interesting things in the standings with the three expansion teams making some waves. These rankings are all in my opinion and are as unbiased as I can be. 1. Philadelphia Reapers No real surprise here. Philadelphia sits top of the standings despite a couple recent upsets by San Diego and Yukon. They had to strong wins recently beating the 2ndplace Ottawa 5-3 and the streaking Mississauga team 6-3. Due to their depth they lack a star, but they have two players tied for 7th in points. Their goalie, Kolur Bjoernsson, has been pretty strong and is 3rd in both SV% and GAA. 2. Ottawa Lynx Ottawa had a nine-game win streak going before it got popped by Philadelphia. That being said, they only played a top five team twice. Beating Halifax 7-2 and Minnesota 4-0. They lack a star player as their top goal scorer sits tied for 13th and tied for 15th in points. Their key to success is their goalie, Pekka Pouta. He has the 2nd best SV% and 1st in GAA. It’ll be up to him to keep them winning. 3. Saskatoon Wild Saskatoon has had a weak showing recently going 3-3 in their last 6 games. Losing to San Diego, Halifax and Philadelphia. Rocky LaGarza is a star player for them and sits 1st in points with 24 and 1st in goals with 11. They’ll be looking for better performances out of their goalie Jaun Jaundice who sits 7th in SV%. They’ve picked up Kefka Palazzo, Fylo Gibbles and Milan Griffin this week so we will have to see what impact they have. 4. Mississauga Hounds Mississauga went streaking winning five straight before dropping a game to Philadelphia. They beat the likes of Minnesota and Halifax in close games while dispatching Las Vegas and San Diego easily. They have two top 5 players in points, as well as Hulk Hogan the league leading defenceman in points. They picked up two defensemen, Noah Hanley and Daman Veyalon, which should help their push as they’ve only played the last two games. 5. San Diego Marlins San Diego has been doing well lately, coming close against Saskatoon and back to back wins against Philadelphia and Saskatoon. San Diego has been playing a very offence orientated style of game but only have one player in the top ten for points. Their goalie Greg Eagles hasn’t been helping much either with the 3rd worst SV% and GAA. I don’t know if this hot stint will hold long. 6. Minnesota Storm Minnesota has been falling in recent times. Losing to Mississauga, Halifax and Ottawa while barely managing victories over weaker teams like Las Vegas and Mexico. They are relying on their goalie Wendy Kandee Cain to hold them in games, which can only last so long. I see Minnesota falling in the future. 7. Halifax 21st Halifax has been underperforming and hasn’t been able to keep a hot streak long. With recent losses to Mexico, Saskatoon and Mississauga and a blow out loss to Phillidelphia, I expect them to drop in the standings. Despite this, they have four players in the top 15 for points. Their goaltending seems to be the issues as Thorvald Gunnarsson has the 2nd worst SV%. 8. Mexico City Kings Mexico is in an interesting situation, they are 2-2 against top 3 teams but are also 2-2 against bottom 3 teams. They are playing a very defensive style of game and it shows when they are averaging just 16 shots per game. However, it is working somewhat as their goalie Wrike Chyrnoble is 1st in SV% and 2nd in GAA. Look for this to change as teams see Chyrnoble more and get used to his style. 9. Yukon Rush Yukon has done the unthinkable recently and beat Philadelphia 2-0 and Mexico 2-1. But otherwise they have lost every game by about a two-goal margin. While not the worst team in the league, I don’t expect them to get good any time soon. Even with their strong goalie Justin Cole holding them together. 10. Las Vegas Aces Las Vegas has had a little luck recently, upsetting Mexico 4-3. They have the 2nd place point scorer in Emil Passerelli but this is likely due to him being the only one who can do anything. Their goalie is a soft spot as Virgil Ligriv holds the worst SV% and GAA by a solid margin. Their backup goalie Luke Derion would hold second worst in both categories as well if he was eligible. They’ve already started selling. 11. Houston Bulls Zero wins, three points. Two players in the top 50 for points, traded both of them away. Arguably the worst goalie in the league. This team is like their logo; on fire and burning away. Look for a Moscow Menace-esque season from them.

Time to finally go off about something that's been on my mind for a good while, though I've never decided to actually talk about it here. I'd say most with any reasonable amount of experience know exactly what I'm talking about, but for those who don't, let me explain. Currently, the VHL (and VHLM) uses a system called the "lottery" to encourage discussion on its game threads. Every week (for some small reward, and every month for some bigger ones), a random game is selected, and from that game, a random comment in that game's thread is randomly selected as well. Whoever made that comment is eligible for 3 TPE, if chosen in the weekly lottery, and if chosen in the monthly lottery, can end up winning a doubles week and 16 uncapped TPE if they win all three drawings. Great, right? Sure! It certainly made me want to make a few comments, especially last season, when I commented on most of Houston's game threads, and this season, when I plan to comment on all of Malmo's, for no reason other than that the lottery exists. I even won a doubles week last season from doing this. And, let me tell you, I hate the fact that the system works this way. The tipping point, for me, was when a few people began to comment on every thread for the lottery. I mean Every. Single. One. This type of thing isn't the "discussion" that the league wants to see--it's spam, and it's being rewarded. Allow me to preface the rest of this article by saying that, to the few people who have figured out how to play the system this way (you know who you are), I have absolutely NOTHING against you in particular. Hey, I'm even somewhat guilty of it myself, though I'm too lazy to take it beyond my own team's games in most cases. You've figured out how the system works, you've figured out how to play it, and you play it because it works. There's nothing wrong with that--to be honest it's damn smart. This is about a broken system, one which has potential but works in the wrong way entirely. I've gotten to know the few people who are guilty of this in my time in the league, and I'll say that they're some of the nicest people I've met on this site--I'd never write an article to complain about them. The lottery itself is what sucks. Now, how can we fix it? The tricky part here is to encourage discussion without encouraging spam. If discussion in game threads is something that's actually very important to the league, then there should be some sort of reward for doing so--our Thunderdome is just about dead, because there's no real incentive to post there (and no, I'm not suggesting that there should be, though I'd like to see that be a bit more active as well). One possible solution is to have a sort of reviewing-like system, making constructive comments on game threads an activity that can be completed for capped (or, if you really want to see some threads blow up, uncapped) TPE. But this won't work, in my personal opinion--we'd just end up with every game thread having 10 general statements about the result. This would also be hell for whatever updaters take the time to read reviews first--they'd effectively have a lot more reviews to read. Another, perhaps a more promising one, keeps the lottery, but moves it elsewhere--similar to the VHLM Fantasy Zone, a separate thread can be created, or perhaps an entry on Google Forms, which allows everyone who enters the lottery to enter exactly once. No spam, but it does reward activity in that those who are active enough to notice and post in the thread are those who are in general active in the first place. This eliminates the whole "league discussion" part of it, but again, there isn't really much league discussion going on in the game threads that isn't purely lottery-motivated. I'd also like to point out that it is my opinion that comments here and there, and really on a regular basis, will not die if the lottery is moved elsewhere or discontinued altogether. I made comments in some (though not all) of Houston's game threads last season, before I knew the lottery existed. And when I did find out about the lottery's existence, about halfway through the season, that was still before most of my teammates, many of whom dropped by threads here and there beforehand to make comments and were actually interested in talking about the games, TPE be damned. In fact, I'd argue that game threads will be a good deal more supportive of conversation without the lottery in place, because someone posting there would feel quite a bit more free to respond to a comment, without wondering if that comment was put there by someone who actually cares about what happened. The broken lottery system is what we have right now, and, though I enjoyed my doubles week last season, please, let's change things.

Saturday evening presented the league with its 66th VHL entry draft. The VHL has been spoiled beyond imagination following the increased drive and interest over the last few seasons. The VHLM's top rated team heading into season 66; The Philly Reapers, were beyond excited to see their future alumni drafted to their professional clubs. The Helsinki Titans lead the way in interest drafting three Reapers set to join their club in season 67. The draft ran through into the night and when it was all said and done contract offers and training camp invites were sent out like clockwork. The level of excitement from within the Philadelphia franchise resembled that of a New Years party. Each and every member of the organization excited for themselves and their teammates as their hockey dreams inch closer to reality. Philly management was beyond ecstatic to see all of their eligible roster players find a draft destination. The following is a breakdown of the drafted players and their respected VHL franchise; @Jables @cpetrella @uphillmoss @FrostBeard @Gabella19 @Mclovin @zepheter @Patpou22 @Tophdaddy @jblock3 @Sunburst

First ever HOF

The Nighthawk Chronicles: The Birth of a Franchise By Christopher Miller Located at the very Southern point of Sweden, Malmo is a well-populated city that has been searching for someone to believe in. The Redhawks of the SHL have simply been a middling team that has frustrated local population and given the smaller scale of the Swedish Hockey League, fans had lost their passion and started to not populate their arena. Enter the Malmo Nighthawks, the Victory Hockey League’s newest team and one that has been making a lot of waves already. Born with an experienced General Manager that has managed the New York Americans for fourteen seasons, the Stockholm Vikings for seven seasons and the Cologne Express for one season, the Nighthawks have taken the build of their team very seriously. Miller had this to say about the choice to own the team and also manage it: “I have always had an interest in owning a VHL franchise and to help develop a brand-new team in our great league. I have had the opportunity to manage quite a few times to quite a bit of success and I definitely intend on using that experience to make Malmo a competitive threat.” The locals in Malmo have shown quite a bit of excitement since the news broke with quite a few reactions hitting social media. One local said, “This is the push that this city needed as we hope to finally see a successful team grace us. I want to be able to cheer for a championship team and I feel Miller could bring that attitude to this team, given his experience.” Others have shown interest by buying season tickets early, with Malmo easily reaching their ten-thousand season ticket goal that they set prior to the announcement being made. There are many though that are concerned that the Swedish curse will continue and that the lack of success that Vasteras and Stockholm had, will continue on to Malmo. Of course, this is despite both the Iron Eagles and Vikings being a part of a different franchise. The Iron Eagles won just two Continental Cups over their team’s history, with one of them coming in the Inaugural campaign of the league. The Vikings were successful in being a competitive playoff team that could win quite a few games but were unfortunately unable to ever capture a Continental Cup during their team’s history. “I am aware of that concern by some of our locals and I’ve heard it brought up in the media as well. With that being said though, I don’t really understand why some get worried about it. We are a different franchise with no association to them and we are going to have a very young and exciting team that will be able to compete with everyone else in the Victory Hockey League. With that recipe for success I have the utmost confidence that we will be a definitive threat to the rest of the teams in our league.” And what does Miller have to say to those concerned about his team’s future success? “Just sit back, support the team and watch us do our thing. It may not be immediately, but we will be an absolute juggernaut in our league if I have anything to say about it.”

I'd trade 2-3 important characters to get my boy back

Houston Bulls GM: YOURE HIRED! With the draft only a few short days away, we want to give Houston's new GM as much time as possible to settle into the new role and prepare. We had an incredible amount of quality members apply for the position - making it very difficult to decide on one single name. Unfortunately, we must and not everyone can be hired. With that being said, the newest GM in Houston Bull's history - a seemingly great up and coming member who I've watched grow into a strong contributor amongst the boards and discord LR's... @FrostBeard Small Announcement: Halifax 21st GM Position As most know by now, @McWolf has stepped away from the world of sim leagues for at least right now. He was an amazing member who contributed in so many ways for the VHLM and VHL. He'll absolutely be missed and I hope to see him pop in one of these days. Now a replacement must be named (and already essentially was by Mcwolf during the season - we just need to make it official)... @Thranduil Best of luck to both new managers in their position. @VHLM Commissioner @VHLM GM @Commissioner

Kinda comes out of nowhere, but as a lot of people will know, my schedule is filling up way too much s of late. Had to take a lot of personal time to buckle down on schoolwork (which ended up being a massive success, thankfully), and now I'll be taking up an internship over the summer while focusing more than ever on school and my career. I could probably still GM with the free time I'll have, but I know I'm going to be kinda burned out and I won't be able to put as much time into the team as I originally wanted, or as much as a more active user might be able to. As such, I figured it would be best to step down and let a more enthusiastic person take up the role. I'll be available to whoever takes up Houston for advice/guidance, and I'll also continue to update the all-time lists on the forum to preserve the legacy of the team, since that doesn't take too much time to maintain. I had a blast getting this team off the ground, but with the amount of stuff I'm going to be involved in elsewhere, I have to walk away and make sure my focus is in the right place. Maybe some time down the line my schedule will open back up to let me give this another go. Good luck to whoever takes the job next, and thanks to everyone who made the inaugural season such a special one!

INDEX @VHLM GM Alright feel free to get lines in GM's. We are a day behind schedule but if I don't wind up simming until tomorrow due to waiting on lines it's fine, I'll just do a double sim. As a reminder to the GM's you'll be sending lines (the .shl file with your team name) to both my email rpower22@gmail.com and vhlsim@outlook.com. It's important to send them to both just incase someone fills in so we can always have your up to date lines in. Also as a note, remember you can set lines for up to 10 games in advance, so if you aren't making changes for a stretch you don't need to y'know send lines in every day. Let me know if rosters are good or there are any other issues. Thanks. Let's have a good Season 66 everyone!

So The Reapers Stole and killed Your Mascot? Sorry, We're Not Sorry! In case you were living under a rock, you may want to know The Philadelphia Reapers have been making a lot of moves on and off the ice. The Organization has been building upon last season to create a fun and interactive fan experience. This season it seems the Reapers are determined to live up to their reputation as official villain team of the VHLM. The Reapers have announced their new mascot Steve, the Pirate Reaper. Steve the pirate use to be a mascot for the San Diego Marlins. Rumor is the Reapers killed then resurrected Steve than made him their own right after he was introduced to the San Diego Fans. Needless to say that the Marlins are did not react well to the decimation of their previous mascot! We talked to the Reapers Gm BladeMaiden and this is what she had to say on the matter. “Steve has come to represent why you don’t mess with the Reapers! We are really embracing our dark team persona and we are not about to apologize for it. In the end Steve was destined to be a reaper and is now a part of our Brand. This can serve as a reminder to the rest of the VHLM that the Reapers are not afraid to play dirty, you may beat us one game, but we will always go the extra mile to get what we want.” Blades unapologetic attitude about the incident seems to have rubbed VHLM fans the wrong way but this fiery GM has replied in the spirit of her brand and said “Love it or hate it Philly’s mascot is Steve The Pirate Reaper, and we are reveling in the fact that we caused a little controversy with something as simple as obtaining a mascot. Sorry, but we're not sorry!”

On Monday I forgot On Tuesday I forgot On Wednesday I was ready to quit but decided to finally open up trivia before the day was up. Up to 2 capped TPE by answering the questions below: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc8zq5eG3RxgNHypLdSRxUbswQZXQ6xSIYjX9plWyeY9h9E9g/viewform?usp=sf_link And of course you'll earn points on that wonderful end of season uncapped TPE leaderboard. Oh and since it's start of the season.... @Members tag

As is League tradition, every off-season the VHL presents it's Hall of Fame induction. This season, and for at least the next 3 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, the league's player induction gets in as a first ballot Hall of Famer after ending their career with a cup! G - Norris Stopko, S57, S57-64 @Bushito RS: 512GP, 269W, 207L, 32OTL, 0.922SV%, 2.41GAA, 49SO PO: 60GP, 35W, 20L, 5OTL, 0.932SV%, 2.48GAA, 4SO S61 Brett Slobodzian Trophy (Most Outstanding Player) S61 Aiden Shaw Trophy (Top Goalie) S61 Greg Clegane Trophy (Lowest GAA) S61 Dustin Funk Trophy (Most Improved Player) S62 Aiden Shaw Trophy (Top Goalie) S62 Greg Clegane Trophy (Lowest GAA) S63 Daisuke Kanou Trophy (Playoff MVP) S64 Daisuke Kanou Trophy (Playoff MVP) S64 Aiden Shaw Trophy (Top Goalie) First Team All-VHL (S62, S64) Two Continental Cups (S62, S64) The Hall of Fame Discussion this season was slightly split between a few players but ultimately Stopko's dominance at the goalie position over the course of his career was enough to land him in the Hall of Fame. A quick glance over his award cabinet shows exactly why with 3 Shaw trophies on top of 2 Kanou's, 2 Clegane's, and a Slobodzian with two continental cups rounding everything off. After the league's strong goaltenders in the 50's it seemed as if there was going to be a lull in top-end goaltending talent but Stopko quickly put that notion to rest and will now reside in the VHL Hall of Fame. Vote Norris Stopko - 7/13 Mats Johnsson - 4/13 Ay Ay Ron - 2/13 Tyson Kohler - 0/13 Jakab Holik - 0/13 Astrid Moon - 0/13 Keaton Louth - 0/13

MISSISSAUGA HOUNDS General Manager: GustavMattias Assistant General Manager: Radcow Home City: Mississauga, Ontario, Canada (Population: 828,854) Arena: Paramount Fine Foods Centre (Capacity: 5,612) JERSEY DESIGN:

Hi there and welcome to another edition of the VHLM Newsletter! If you aren't already aware, the Newsletter is a great resource for members both new and old to keep in touch with the league and stay up to date with all things VHLM. Before we kick things off, here is a quik preview on what the Newsletter strives to cover in each edition: 1) Uncapped TPE Opportunities: Any time there's a one-off or once-a-season point task available to enter, you'll find out about it in the early headlines of the article. 2) League Recap: The middle of the Newsletter is generally based around keeping you up to speed with what's going on around the league, be that changes to how the league works, new features or how the current VHLM season is progressing. 3) TPE Earning Guide: The bottom section of the Newsletter follows the same format each week. There, you will be provided with the links you need to get to the regular TPE earning activities. I'd like to start off the Newsletter by saying goodbye (for now) to a great member of the VHL community, @McWolf. McWolf has recently stepped down from his position in the recruitment team due to time constraints and personal stuff and I would like to wish him the best of luck moving forward. McWolf is a very helpful, kind, and overly french person who personally, has made my experience in the VHL much better. McWolf was always willing to help people and give them advice, which is one of the many reasons he made such a great recruitment team member, and friend. I hope McWolf returns to the league in the future and brings his sweet accent back with him. Anyways, I will mostly be taking care of the VHLM Newsletter from now on and will hopefully be able to provide the experience that McFox was in his reign as the Newsletter Overlord. Now before we start off, I'd like to tell you about the Official VHL Discord Server. The discord is a great place for you to connect with other members of the site and get help with anything you need! I would highly recommend joining and being apart of the community on there. Like the last VHLM Newsletter, some of this newsletter will re-tread on the old ground as, with this being a VHLM newsletter, there will inevitably be new members reading this for the first time that won’t be aware of what was in previous newsletters. So what I’ll do is put a bold *NEW* next to any information specifically made for this newsletter so players who have read these before knowing where to go to find the new info! 1) Uncapped TPE Opportunities Weekly Reddit Threads *NEW* Although this week's Reddit recruitment thread isn't up at the moment, I would suggest keeping an eye out for the post this week since it's a great way to earn 1 uncapped TPE and help the league grow. Check out the thread here. Practice Facility Every week, players in the VHLM are granted 2 free TPE every week for simply posting in the practice facility thread. If you haven't already, go post your player name and "+2" here. Career PT - Player Biography Once per career, you can write a biography about your player for a whopping TEN uncapped TPE! The biography must be at least 1000 words in length while detailing the history of your player's life, starting off the ice and eventually working up toward it. A more specific rubric can be found on the page here. When claiming the TPE for this task, make sure you submit it under via portal as "Other" --> "Biography" Career PT - Rookie Profile Once per career, you can write a rookie profile that specifically details your player's strengths and weaknesses on the ice. Think of this like a scouting report, where you're telling GMs what to expect out of your player. A more detailed rubric for the rookie profile can be found on this page. This report must be at least 500 words in length, and focus only on your player's on-ice attributes. When turning this task in, be sure to submit it under "Other" --> "Rookie Profile" Practice Facility Every week, players in the VHLM are granted 2 free TPE every week for simply posting in the practice facility thread. If you haven't already, go post your player name and "+2" here. The VHL Fantasy Zone Every week, players are given the chance to guess the results of upcoming VHL games. This comes in two different forms- the weekly Pick 'Em's (which are worth 2 uncapped TPE for getting all of them correct), and the weekly Score Prediction (which is worth 3 uncapped TPE for getting correct). Even if you don't get it right, it's worth a shot to take a look at the games and give it your best guess! If you want, you can even cheat and copy the guesses of a member that's already posted. These will be posted in this subforum every week. Player Store- First Generation Doubles Week If you've got the money (1.5m in player store cash, the amount of every VHLM contract) you can purchase a doubles week if you're on your first player. For those who haven't had one before, a doubles week allows you to claim an extra 6 uncapped TPE if you submit a media spot, graphic, or podcast! Visit the shop and spreadsheet in this thread for details on how to purchase it. The VHLM Fantasy Zone The VHL Fantasy Zone's younger brother allows you to earn even more uncapped TPE for guessing the correct winners and scores. However, these predictions are only available to players within the VHLM, so make use of them while you can! The VHLM Fantasy Zone differs in its TPE rewards, in that the weekly Pick 'Em's are only worth 2 uncapped TPE, but guessing the correct score is worth 4! These will be posted in this subforum every week. The First Generation Bonus As a thank you to the newer members for sticking around and participating in the league, we're offering 10 free uncapped TPE for your first player, once they cross the 100 TPE milestone! If you've passed that mark, or are about to pass that mark, make a post in this thread and use it to submit an update. To make the job of the updaters easier, please select "Other" when applying the update and fill out the box as seen below: 2) League Recap Before we kick things off, congratulations to both the Toronto Legion (@Devise) & the Minnesota Storm (@Eudaldkp) or winning their respective leagues! A hard-fought battle by both teams all season has rewarded them with a cup. Wish them good luck in the seasons to come and hope they can continue to find success with their teams. VHLM Draft *NEW* Last night we witnessed the S66 VHLM Dispersal Draft. Here is a quik recap of the top 5 picks in the draft. 1. PHILADELPHIA REAPERS : RW - John Frostbeard 2. MEXICO CITY KINGS (from Las Vegas Aces): RW - Aleksander Rodriguez 3. MISSISSAUGA HOUNDS (from Ottawa Lynx): G - Rayz Funk 4. SASKATOON WILD : D - Rusty Shackleford 5. SAN DIEGO MARLINS (from Yukon Rush): C - Phil Marleau With the first overall selection in the draft, we see John Frostbeard go back to the team he started with, the Philadelphia Reapers. Frostbeard is at 178 TPE at the time of the draft and looks to be the star of a strong Philadelphia team. Next up we get Aleksander Rodriguez coming in at #2. Mexico City takes the 193 TPE right winger who looks to lead the teams offensive efforts in the upcoming season. Coming in right behind him at the number 3 position we have Rayz Funk who is the first of 3 goaltenders taken in the first round, and of 8 total tendies taken in the draft. The 157 TPE netminder will be one of the best net-front presences in the league in the upcoming season and hopes to help Mississauga provide a great inaugural season performance. At #4, Saskatoon take defenceman Rusty Shackleford. Rusty was one of Saskatoon's best player's last season, and they expect great things from him being at 200 TPE to start the season. An with the fifth overall selection, the San Diego Marlins select centreman Phil Marleau. Phil has been earning TPE at an alarming rate and I expect him to make a big splash in the VHL. Although before he can do that, he will have to show the impact he can have in the minors with San Diego in their inaugural season. Sponsors Shield *NEW* The S65 Sponsors Shield Tournament has begun. 23 games into the tournament, let's have a quik look at the standings: By the looks of it, Ferda Apparel has taken a flying start and sits on top of the standings with 11 points. The next 4 teams are quite close to each other and hope to secure their spot in the next round. On the complete opposite side of the leaderboard, Haterade seems to have no clue as to what they are doing. Playing without a proper goaltender or any depth at all, I pray for the sanity of their players. Other than that shipwreck, the tournament seems to be quite interesting and we will have to keep an eye out for who manages to pull ahead and take home the Sponsors Shield. S65 Off-Season *NEW* With the off-season underway, I invite you to check out the Off-Season Schedule to check out important dates in the days leading up till the next season. Some of these days include the VHL award show, the VHL Entry Draft, and VHLM TPE Cut-Off date. Dates on there are subject to change, so I recommend taking a couple looks at that page throughout the upcoming days to keep up to date with the events. 3) TPE Earning Guide First Generation Bonus - Some of you will soon be reaching the point where you will surpass 100 TPE and to offer some thanks for sticking around with us for that long, we give you guys 10 Free TPE! If you are over 100 TPE or have an update that will take you over 100 TPE, you can claim your 10 Free TPE by going to the Player Management screen, going to Claim Other TPE and filling in the box that pops up as displayed in the image below using this link (https://vhlforum.com/topic/49868-first-generation-bonus/) in the link box.  Recruitment Recruiting new members to the league not only helps the league by filling out team’s rosters, but it also sets you up to earn some lucrative TPE! To find out more about the rewards for recruiting members, go HERE. On top of that, there is a 1 uncapped TPE reward for upvoting the weekly Reddit post (It has not yet been released for this week, but I recommend keeping an eye out for it). Weekly Capped Point Task Opportunities (You Can Earn Up To 12 TPE From The Following) - You can submit either a Media article of 500 words, a Graphic or a ten minute Podcast for 6 TPE. If you don’t have time to submit for any of these this week though, there is Welfare available to claim for at least 4 TPE. - You can submit a 150 word article and a Player Card for 2 TPE each. You can also submit a five minute Podcast for 3 TPE. - You can get a maximum of 2 TPE by answering and asking questions in the Press Conferences. If you are short of answers, you can answer questions in the VHLM Press Conference for 2 TPE. - You can receive a maximum of 2 TPE by reviewing other people’s Media/Graphics/Podcasts. Check out the guide to reviewing HERE. - There is weekly VHL Trivia where you are asked two VHL-related questions, answer both correctly and you will earn 2 TPE for the week. In addition, players will be able to earn up to 6 uncapped TPE at the end of the season, 1 TPE for every week they submitted for trivia. Uncapped Point Task Opportunities - There is 2 TPE to be earned from posting in this week’s Practice Facility - There is the VHLM Pickem and Predict the Score (in the VHLM Fantasy Zone). If you correctly guess the results, you will earn uncapped TPE for your player! You'll be able to participate in the VHL Fantasy Zone as well. - You can submit a 500-word Rookie Profile for 8 TPE and a 1000 word Biography for 10 TPE. These two are one time only point tasks. - If you haven't already, make sure to spend some of your contract/sponsorship money on the First Generation Package in the Player Store. It's an exceptionally cheap purchase that gives you five uncapped TPE. Trivia Assistance No trivia this week, but I recommend looking at this section on the next Newsletter to help you earn some easy capped TPE and add to an uncapped TPE bonus at the end of the season! Video Tutorial This is a video tutorial of how to improve your player through point tasks that I made about two months ago. The idea was that we were going to have this edited to a better standard before the Season 64 Draft, but that hasn't come to pass yet, so I'll just release the raw footage for now. If you need timestamps for something in particular, here they are: Capped TPE 0:27 - Overview of Capped TPE 1:38 - Media Spots 2:39 - Graphics 4:16 - Podcast 5:09 - VHL.com/Player Cards/VHL Radio 7:06 - Press Conferences 9:00 - Trivia 11:59 - Reviewing 13:22 - Jobs 14:13 - Welfare Uncapped TPE 16:14 - VHL/VHLM Fantasy Zone 17:08 - Practice Facility 17:44 - Yearly Award Predictions 18:35 - VHFL 19:33 - VHL Lottery (out of date) 20:35 - Rookie Profile 21:21 - Biography 22:30 - Donations (out of date) Adding TPE to your Player 24:00 - Updating And that concludes the 28th edition of the VHLM Newsletter. Please let me know what I can improve for next time so I can provide a better experience. Until next week, goodbye friends. Weren't pinged but think you should have? Let me know you will be added for next time!

Holy shit! I appreciate the nod, It's kind of sad that I can't follow this up, now Maybe in the future some time...we'll see how things go! For now, I can forever say that I went 1 for 1 😉 Seriously though guys, I appreciate it! ❤️

As someone who's been here for a day or so, I am probably the best and perhaps the most qualified to look at a list of names for the upcoming VHL Entry Draft and pick the best ones. So here are the Top 10 names: 10. Jerry Garcia This name is only on the list because it reminds me of the famous ice cream, Cherry Garcia, by Ben and Jerry's. When eating the ice cream, it makes me feel good about my self in ways that I did not think possible, so nothing but positive vibes here. 9. Kari Jurri This is not the first time, nor will it be the last time, that hockeyis66 will use a Finnish legend as his player's name, with the subtle change of the first letters, but he does it so seamlessly here because Kari is an actual name. It rolls off the tongue and he should be a first round pick just because of that. 8. Hans Gruber This is an interesting choice of name, because Hans Gruber may be the greatest villain in movie history. If you don't know, Hans Gruber (played by Professor Snape) fought Rachel's boyfriend Paul (from Friends) and ended up losing. Gruber looks good on the back of a jersey though. 7. Tim W Honestly, this name could have been first. Tim W is soft, sophisticated and gentle. Could have Cher or Oprah simplicity power. Strong move here. 6. Fudge Popsicle Some of the best names come from the thing that is in your hand. I have a feeling this is exactly what happened. It is tough to come up with a solid name, and as we get closer to the summer season, look for more cold foods to become player names. 5. Rusty Shackleford Another name that rolls off the tongue. I can already hear the crowd chanting his name. RUS-TY SHACK-EL-FORD. He's likely an old-timey boat captain, or perhaps he owns a saloon. 4. Shawnomir Jagr Without knowing anything about the user, it is safe to think that his real life name is Shawn? Or perhaps he knows a Shawn, a very important person in his life. Or perhaps he went to school with a guy named Shawn who had a mullet and made the obvious connection. 3. Charlie Paddywagon Paddywagon is a name for a police car in England, if I am not mistaken? Having a car as a hockey player would be interesting. Would have been higher on the list if his name was Mike Mazzerati or Luigi Lamborghini, which gives me a great idea for another name. It's a shame all the good names are coming to me after I've already created. 2. Hunter Hearst Helmsley It's time to play the game, and that game is Paul Levesque. Honestly, the old school wrestling fan in me should have made this name number one on my list, and if I would have known this name existed, perhaps I would have used the Paul Levesque moniker. Or Stone Cold Steve Austin, or another big name from the good old days. Solid name with an obvious nickname attached. 1. Jet Jaguar If you hadn't noticed already, I'm a sucker for alliteration. Jet Jaguar. It reminds me of that Family Channel series "Famous Jett Jackson", which was amazing, however pretty sure the main character eventually killed himself, so now I'm starting to have second thoughts about this name as my number one choice. The fact that this name comes from gorlab, who is a bit of a legend, makes it even better. Nope, now I'm liking this pick again, and it actually goes very well with the number 3 entry. Honourable Mentions: None, these are the only good names.

WATCH THE FK OUT CAUSE THE CARTEL COMING FOR YOU VHLM #MEX @Nykonax @Jtv123 @chillzone @okocha5 @PenKnight @O4L @HenrikZoiderberg @KitRas @princetonsnomad @nukfan94 @FusRoDah @Savoire Faire

Live S67 Draft Class Rankings Rank Change Player Name Position TPE Team Nat. Member 1 Rayz Funk G 218 MIS CA Rayzor_7 2 Bjorn Scoringsonn RW 214 PHI IS 11 Eleven 3 ACL TEAR RW 210 OTT MC Quik 4 Kevin Low D 188 PHI US Smarch 5 Wrike Chyrnoble G 184 MEX SI Savoire Faire 6 Phil Marleau C 175 SDM VG Phil 7 ↑ 1 Boone Jenton D 167 MIN US FakeJenton 8 ↓ 1 Hulk Hogan D 166 MIS CA HulkHogan 9 ↑ 4 Vladimir Pavlov(GM Player) C 160 MIN RU Victor 10 ↓ 1 Aston Martin C 156 OTT GB Sullvino 11 ↓ 1 Boris the Forest C 155 MEX US chillzone 12 ↓ 1 Ambrose Stark(GM Player) D 154 OTT CA Banackock 13 ↑ 1 Micheal Gary Scott RW 148 MEX US Motzaburger 14 ↓ 2 Greg Eagles G 147 SDM PL Greg_Di 15 ↑ 4 Andrei Mikhailov RW 147 SDM RU Big Mac 16 ↓ 1 Acyd Burn LW 146 HFX KP Acydburn 17 ↓ 1 Michael Johnson G 141 HFX IN fonziGG 18 Dan Gles C 137 MIS US No_Dangles 19 ↓ 2 Scott Greene C 136 MIS US DoktorFunk 20 ↑ 1 Lincoln Tate D 135 SDM CA Tate 21 ↓ 1 Brendan James Lawn D 134 OTT US Blawn 22 Brandon LeBlanc D 134 PHI US Psanchez55 23 Lucas Nygren(GM Player) C 130 SSK SE Advantage 24 Derek England D 127 MEX RU PenKnight 25 Henrik Zoiderberg LW 123 MEX SE HenrikZoiderberg 26 Trevor Van Lagen C 122 HFX CA VanCanWin 27 Tormund Giantsbane LW 118 SSK FI Jonessee27 28 ↑ 2 Thorvald Gunnarsson G 111 HFX FI Saelven88 29 ↓ 1 Boomer Kuwanger D 105 PHI AU Hybrid1486 30 ↓ 1 Scotty BigShotty C 99 SDM CA FerdaJets 31 RJ Lloris RW 96 LVA CA RJMW 32 Koda Adok LW 94 HOU US trevmi 33 ↑ 2 Chett Bandy LW 93 MIS US mmarcoux98 34 ↓ 1 David Lindberg D 92 OTT SE Jayhawk 35 ↓ 1 Xander Hawley C 87 LVA BA MrSharkFIN 36 Doug Forsyth RW 86 FA CA DougF 37 Alex Pearson C 84 SDM CA Jayrad28 38 Berocka Sundqvist LW 81 MIS AU berocka 39 ↑ 3 Pierre Persson D 79 SDM SE Dominus89 40 ↓ 1 Jacob Rogers RW 78 MIS US raghas 41 ↓ 1 Flash Lightning RW 78 MIN US harvey 42 ↑ 3 Anthony Hawk LW 77 MIN IT ahawk2191 43 ↓ 2 Ryszard Franciszek D 75 SDM RU ItssYoBoiDaLegend 44 ↓ 1 Titus LaClass D 73 SSK FR Termancy 45 ↓ 1 Kefka Palazzo D 72 SSK JP diamond_ace 46 ↑ 6 Boheem Bismarck D 72 HFX BO Boheem 47 ↑ 4 Danny DeYeeto D 69 MIS NE Cran 48 ↓ 2 Kenji Hachimura RW 67 HFX JP Dtayl 49 Dalton Wilcox RW 67 SDM HK bcheng 50 ↓ 3 Hugh Chan D 66 HFX HK HughJas_ 51 ↓ 3 Virgil Ligriv G 65 LVA US MMFLEX 52 ↑ 4 Guy LeGrande D 62 HFX CA Steve 53 ↑ 1 Brendan Plunkett LW 60 SSK CA MetalToday 54 ↓ 4 Alexander Shaw C 59 MIS CA NavyCanuck 55 ↓ 2 Zeno Miniti C 57 HOU US Zeno 56 ↓ 1 Brooks Polak D 56 HFX DE Carl Swaglin 57 Vilnis Balcers D 54 OTT LV bukss_a 58 Lexington Lewis LW 54 SDM US Lexlooter 59 Emir Hawley RW 54 LVA BA SomerndmDude 60 Hayden Clarkson LW 53 SSK US Kootscoot 61 Steven McBuckets C 51 LVA US Stamkosfan69 62 Daman Veyalon D 51 MIS CA Viknegar 63 Ria Lockhart C 48 HFX US hockeynerd67 64 ↑ 1 Hunter Edwards C 46 MEX CA nukfan94 65 ↑ 7 Sean McGee G 44 SDM US Strooper99 66 ↓ 2 Noah Hanley D 42 MIS CA HanManHimself 67 New Banko Mulleto D 42 HOU SE banko 68 ↓ 2 Antonio Gonzalez LW 40 LVA MX Jose Gonzalez 69 ↓ 2 Jesse Nyman LW 39 HOU FI Jesse Nyman 70 ↓ 2 Nicklaus Becker G 38 HOU DE Gifford 71 ↓ 2 Nick Kirkpatrick LW 38 SDM CA Nick Kirkpatrick 72 ↓ 2 Colin Conklin G 37 HOU IO Bobby Bummhole 73 ↓ 2 Walt Sanguinetti D 36 MEX US FusRoDah 74 ↓ 1 Jamie Taylor RW 36 LVA US Dinobro 75 ↓ 1 Peter Schilling LW 34 PHI DE SpacemanSpiff 76 ↓ 1 Leomaed Koziel RW 34 HOU US LeoKoz3 77 ↓ 1 Vladimir Vaughn D 32 FA US vaughn7cav 78 ↓ 1 Tony Mac LW 32 PHI CA Sorry 79 ↓ 1 Mark Striker D 32 FA CA Mark Striker 80 ↓ 1 Luke Smartnick G 32 FA US Luke Smartnick 81 ↓ 1 Khalabib Stiopic D 32 MIS CC SweetMike666 82 ↓ 1 Jacob Girouard C 32 FA CA Jacob Girouard 83 ↓ 1 Daniel Spenslov D 32 LVA RU deadshot 84 New Charles Drumm D 32 SDM AU frescoelmo 85 ↓ 2 Sven Erik Edgren LW 31 FA SE Erik Daniels 86 ↓ 2 Everlasting Hope C 31 FA US Everlast73 87 ↓ 2 Daniel Phantom LW 31 OTT FI ItsFinnishDaniel Last updated: May 24 9:00 CST Includes all players entering the S67 VHL Draft who have added TPE to their player. Once your player has had an update approved by updaters that puts you over 30 TPE, you'll be added to the rankings. GM Players will go to the team that their user GM's. They will not be drafted but they will be a good goal post to see how you are doing. @Quik @Smarch @11 Eleven @Rayzor_7 @Savoire Faire @Phil @HulkHogan @Blawn @Advantage @Sullvino @Banackock @Victor @Greg_Di @Big Mac @chillzone @No_Dangles @Psanchez55 @FakeJenton @Hybrid1486 @Jonessee27 @Motzaburger @fonziGG @Acydburn @Knox Booth @HenrikZoiderberg @DoktorFunk @VanCanWin @Saelven88 @DougF @PenKnight @Jayhawk @trevmi @mmarcoux98 @Termancy @harvey @FerdaJets @raghas @diamond_ace @NavyCanuck @Dtayl @MMFLEX @Jayrad28 @Kootscoot @RJMW @Lexlooter @Zeno @Dalton Wilcox @Stamkosfan69 @bukss_a @HughJas_ @MetalToday @Jose Gonzalez @Dominus89 @Gifford @Dinobro @MrSharkFIN @SpacemanSpiff @Sorry @Mark Striker @Luke Smartnick @SweetMike666 @nukfan94 @deadshot @Viknegar @berocka @Erik Daniels @Everlast73 @ItsFinnishDaniel @Jesse Nyman @FusRoDah @Bobby Bummhole @Jacob Girouard @Nick Kirkpatrick @Steve @HanManHimself @SomerndmDude @Ria @Carl Swaglin @Cran @Boheem @ItssYoBoiDaLegend @ahawk2191 @Lincoln Tate @banko @frescoelmo @Strooper99 @LeoKoz3 @vaughn7cav

Imagine the excitement and pure joy of being selected to represent your country on the greatest stage of your sport. Imagine the heartbreak when your country stabs you in the back by reneging on their commitment to you just because some other jokes decided they were from a different country after all... as if their parents had screwed up their birth certificates or something. That’s where Trevor Van Lagen stands after being one of two cuts to the team Canada roster after the team had made its selection. Blame the GM? No. Blame the game? Yeah. Not only was it allowed for everyone to switch their country but it was encouraged and promoted. Do we want all equal teams or do we want to simulate a real world hockey tournament? What would I have done if I was GM of a country and others were trying to get in to steal roster spots from my fellow countrymen? “I would build a wall—and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me—and I build them very inexpensively. I would build a great, great wall on all our borders and I would make all the other wanna be hockey countries pay for that wall. Mark my words.” End rant.

A couple of Moscow announcements deep into S66. Firstly, our captains for this season: C - Mark Gebauer @Sova A - Evgeni Komarov @Gooningitup A - Dan Baillie @wcats Our original players form the core of our leadership team for the second season running, 3 players who bleed black and gold. The only change is Baillie officially getting a letter after Nano's brief stint abroad (but god does @leafsman love it here). Secondly, I have an assistant GM to announce! The man who set up our Discord, our press conference and is an important mouthpiece of the young franchise around the VHL (oh and our franchise goaltender), @FacebookFighter has earned the opportunity to be Moscow AGM. Although I don't know what his duties exactly will be yet, I look forward to working with Owen May in an official capacity.

Although it is quite early in the season, and teams have only played 6 or 7 games, I think there is enough information to do a start of the season power ranking. Some teams have more information than others, as there is just more to talk about with some, I tried my best to give at least three sentences for each team. Of course with all rankings it is that one person’s own opinion, but I feel I have used the information currently available to give a fairly unbiased power ranking of the teams. Let’s give it a shot, starting with number one; 1. Ottawa Lynx (third in VHLM) The thing that puts Ottawa above the rest of the teams in this ranking is their defense. After 7 games they are the only team to sit under double digit goals against and they have the highest goal differential. They had a slow start to the season with 1 point in their first 2 games, but now they are primed and ready to take the top spot in the league. Especially with the addition of Ambrose Stark, it only seems like a matter of time. 2. Saskatoon Wild (second in VHLM) Saskatoon could easily have been number one on this list, but, their most recent game against Halifax, in which they got beat 5-2, shows that they need to improve their defense. They have the most goals for of any team with 32 thanks to forwards like Rocky LaGarza and Raphael Nazarians, but they also have the most goals against of the top three teams. Of course their defense is still one of the top in the league, but if they want to secure that number one spot they need their defense and goaltending to be as consistent as possible. 3. Philadelphia Reapers (first in VHLM) Although Philadelphia is the number one team in the VHLM they have shown they can be defeated. Of course there’s an argument to be made to have them at the top of this list, it’s truly a toss up between the top three for who deserves number one. What puts Philly in third for me is who’ve they gone up against so far. As of right now it seems like their only challenge has been Mexico. We’ll see if they can show they can take on a team like Ottawa or Saskatoon soon, once the top three have played more games against each other, there may be some shifts in the rankings. 4. Halifax 21st (fourth in VHLM) Fresh off a big win against Saskatoon, ending Saskatoon’s win streak, Halifax is looking good. AJ Axelsen has been looking great for them, sitting at 2 points per game right now, other players putting up the numbers for Halifax are Blake Gaudette and Nacho. One thing to note about them is the fact that they’ve played one less game than the teams above, tides could turn depending on the result from their next game. 5. Mexico City Kings (sixth in VHLM) The thing that puts Mexico above Minnesota is Mexico’s opponents. The Kings showed up in the shootout against Philadelphia and they beat out Ottawa in 1 of the 2 games against them. Pretty much the only thing, or should I say person, that is keeping Mexico afloat is their goalie, Wrike Chyrnoble. With a .941 SV% and 1.81 GAA, Chyrnoble has been looking great so far. If he can continue to perform, Mexico can continue to win. 6. Minnesota Storm (fifth in VHLM) Minnesota has been all around average so far, they have only been able to pull wins against teams below them and some of those wins haven’t been by much. Of course they, like the two teams above them on this list, have yet to play a seventh game. Their next game is against Ottawa, and if they want to prove they can compete with the big boys they need to take home a win. 7. San Diego Marlins (seventh in VHLM) What can you say about San Diego? They, much like Minnesota, have been floating around in the land of the average. One bright spot was their win against Mexico, so they have been able to beat a team currently above them, but their defense is lacking. Another thing is that they have played one more game than the teams about them. 8. Mississauga Hounds (eight in VHLM) Mississauga is the start of where the points have somewhat fallen off. They have 3 less than San Diego and only 2 more than the teams below them, two of those teams have a game in hand on the Hounds. There isn’t much to say about Mississauga, yes they haven’t been winning games, but on the other side they have a team with a bright future. 9. Yukon Rush (ninth in VHLM) Yukon, it looks like they’re one of the three teams that could be in a fight for last place. They had a strong start to the season with a shootout win against Ottawa, but it has been downhill from there. Their lost to Las Vegas is the most recent in their 5 game losing streak. What keeps them above the Bulls and Aces is their defense. 10. Houston Bulls (tenth in VHLM) Las Vegas and Houston are currently a toss up for last. I have Houston above Vegas because of the 1 game difference and the goal differential. Houston just hasn’t been able to pull a win in overtime, and that’s mostly due to their defense. They don’t even have enough defenders on their roster for a top 4, that’s scary. One the other side, their top center, Boris the Forest, has been doing great with 9 points in 6 games. 11. Las Vegas Aces (eleventh in VHLM) It just hasn’t been great for Vegas thus far. Although they got their first win in their most recent game, every other game has pretty much been a slaughter. In some of the games they have been able to compete, but in others they have barely been able to get 1 goal. The obvious shining star of this team is Emil Passerelli, who has been able to get 12 points in 7 games with the team in dead last. word count 1045, using to claim for 5/19 and 5/26 This is my first media spot, it's a little rushed since I don't have much time with school and a job, but I tried. Criticism is very much welcome.

Top 25 Wingers Drafted With the VHL draft just happening we will take a look at the 25 best wingers that were selected. Please note that these rankings are in the current TPE that all of these player are at, anything could change in just a week or even a day. 25. 122 TPE LW Ben Hafkey, Vancouver Wolves, 53rd overall @ItsMcLovin Ben Hafkey is a great scoring option for the Reapers and he might end up being a scoring threat for them this upcoming season. Hafkey has shown some flashes of brilliance in S65 scoring 6 goals and adding 5 assists in 22 games. Expect him to score plenty for them this next season. Hafkey might be a good depth player after playing a year with the Reapers. 24. 126 TPE LW Dylan Doyle, Calgary Wranglers, 52nd overall @zepheter Dylan Doyle may have struggled to score in his first year with him only scoring 2 goals and 3 points in 22 S65 games. Doyle, just like Hafkey is another dangerous scoring option for Philadelphia. In the upcoming season he may even play more than Hafkey so he may be their top line left winger. He however has some weak points in his game as he isn’t that great defensively and has low discipline. 23. 135 TPE LW John Perdue, Seattle Bears, 58th overall @johnnyhockey42 Perdue is another player who played a full season but in season 65 he was a great second-line scoring option for his team as he scored 22 times and also had 29 assists for a 51 point season. Perdue is a player who has honed his scoring abilities and puck handling abilities so much that he was able to put up 50 points in his first season. Even though he isn’t as quik as some other players he also has a fairly good defensive game. If Perdue returns to being active he might be a late round steal because he has a bit of an advantage. 22. 139 TPE LW Blake Gaudette, Davos Dynamo, 34th overall @Gaudette Gaudette is another winger in this draft who has got a lot of scoring skill but unlike a lot of players, he played a full season where he recorded 11 goals and 20 assists through 72 games. Even though Gaudette is a proven scorer in the league he also has a lot of defensive skill, something which a lot of young players lack. Gaudette may just end up being a huge boost to the Dynamo offence after another year and he may become even better than he is now. 21. 142 TPE LW Devin Gabella, Moscow Menace, 50th overall @Gabella19 Devin Gabella is another player who did not play a full season but he still scored 4 goals and 3 assists through 24 games in S65. Gabella is a player who has a ton of raw scoring talent but is also extremely good in his own zone. Gabella has an extremely good defensive stat but his speed is also great. After a year of developing his skills he could be a genuine threat on both ends of the ice. 20. 151 TPE LW Blake Laughton, Malmo Nighthawks, 47th overall @Grape Yet another player who loves to score shows up on our rankings with Blake Laughton. In S65 he only scored 7 goals with 6 assists throughout one whole season. Laughton however will have increased scoring chances next year playing a top six role. Laughton’s scoring prowess is there and he still needs a bit of work on his strength, but other than that he should end up as a solid pick-up after a season. 19. 153 TPE LW Cody Smith, Calgary Wranglers, 42nd overall @cody73 Cody Smith is a player who went all-in at the end of last season to benefit his team, Halifax in the playoffs. With him only scoring 3 goals and only 10 assists we were concerned about his production numbers, but with the amount of depth that Halifax had last season he was limited to only a third line role. He is one of the more well-rounded players but he still has the potential to score 30 or so goals this season with his scoring abilities. Smith may end up as an all-round threat for Calgary after a season of development. 18. 164 TPE RW AJ Axelsen, Moscow Menace, 41st overall @littleboi AJ Axelsen, the first RW on the list, he is one of the few players who has invested in his passing abilities and this may end up helping his team as they will have a solid playmaker on their first line rather than just three pure goal-scorers. Axelsen is also a player with exceptional speed on the ice and stellar puck handling skills. His defensive game is not too shabby either with him recording 24 hits in 38 games last season. Even though his scoring was a little bit bad last season, with him only getting 3 goals and 2 assists, we have confidence in his ability to break out this year. 17. 169 TPE LW Hunter Wagner, New York Americans, 45th overall @Inf1d3l Hunter Wagner might be one of the better all-round players drafted, with both a strong scoring record and a solid defensive game. Last season Wagner definitely went off, scoring 39 times and adding 36 assists. Wagner should be a great depth pick for most teams, after a year of developing he be very VHL ready. 16. 189 TPE RW Emil Passerelli, Moscow Menace, 35th overall @SparrowLTD Emil Passerelli is a player who always passes first as demonstrated through his first season in the VHLM where he recorded only 26 goals but had 40 assists. While it is doubtful whether he will stay in the VHLM or try his luck in the big leagues he may have a huge impact as a bottom six playmaker and as secondary scoring. 15. 191 TPE LW Edgar Tannahill, Moscow Menace, 25th overall @gregreg Tannahill is most probably headed to the majors where he may have an instant impact as depth scoring for whatever team picks him up. He may end up being a solid player in the VHL if he continues to grow throughout the next season and could be a solid pickup. Tannahill will definitely be a great player for the Menace and will likely be a big part of their rebuild. 14. 194 TPE RW John Frostbeard, Calgary Wranglers, 12th overall @FrostBeard John Frostbeard was drafted first overall by the Reapers in the dispersal draft, but he may not even end up playing in it next year as he is only 16 TPE off of the cutoff for the VHLM. it will be interesting to see what type of an impact this speedy winger will have next year in either the VHLM or VHL. Last season he demonstrated his scoring ability by scoring 21 goals and 48 assists for a 69 point year. If he decides to stay in the minors he may have a chance at being the league’s highest scorer. 13. 199 TPE RW Matt Tocco, Moscow Menace, 31st overall @Matmenzinger Matt Tocco is likely rumoured to be heading to the big leagues after only one slow season in the minors where he recorded 9 goals and 9 assists playing as a depth player on his VHLM team. Tocco might become a solid threat after one season as he demonstrated in S65, starting off in the middle of the season and ending it with close to 160 TPE. He may end up playing a depth role in the VHL. He is an extremely speedy winger who is also able to score some goals for his team, and his defensive game is not bad either. 12. 199 TPE RW Nethila Dissanayake, Calgary Wranglers, 26th overall @nethi99 Dissanayake is a player who may stay in the VHLM for his team but it is likely that he’ll decide to play in the big league. Earlier last year he made history by being the first ever player to be born in Sri Lanka. The big Sri Lankan did not take long to be a huge impact player for his team last season, scoring 29 goals with 45 assists for a wild 74 point season. No doubt that he will bring a lot to whatever team he goes to with his slick skating and solid scoring. Something that he lacks is a good defensive game. 11. 199 TPE RW Aleksander Rodriguez, Riga Reign, 24th overall @Jtv123 Rodriguez is almost guaranteed to go up to the big league, unless he commits to a VHLM team early on, which might be the case. If he decides to stay down another year he will be a force in the VHLM and will be unstoppable. He may have disappointed a little bit in his first year by scoring only 24 goals and 35 assists but after becoming a lot better at the start of the season he will be far better next year. 10. 199 TPE LW Kyle Sabertooth, Vancouver Wolves, 18th overall @uphillmoss Tiebreaker was points in S65 Sabertooth was a great player in the VHLM in S65 and he may have a big impact in the VHL next year, if he keeps upgrading and getting better. He will definitely be a great selection for the Wolves. Sabertooth put up 32 goals and 44 assists last season and he is a great allround player who can play well defensively and is a very speedy goalscorer. 9. 209 TPE LW Karri Jurri, Moscow Menace, 48th overall @hockeyis66 Jurri is a very skilled player who can score a lot and will definitely be a threat if he returns to activity. He is a very great scorer and can provide secondary scoring for Moscow and he also is not bad playing defensively. The only bad thing is that he has been inactive for almost two months now and might not return for Moscow. 8. 233 TPE LW Valeri Morozov, Seattle Bears, 20th overall @Dangles13 Morozov is another player who has a little bit of concern on activity, with him not updating even once in the past week or so. Morozov may be a speedy scorer but his passing is quite concerning as is his strength. If he decides not to work on these attributes it could be troublesome for him in the majors. 7. 282 TPE LW Chico Smeb, Davos Dynamo, 19th overall @xDParK Smeb is another player who has invested a lot in his scoring but this has left some empty space with his strength and his defense is also weaker than the average player. Although these stats are a bit weak he still will have the opportunity to strengthen them as he has not yet applied the 72 TPE. Smeb will definitely be a great secondary scorer for Davos and after a year he may end up with a larger role. 6. 294 TPE RW Arnor Sigurdsson, Riga Reign, 9th overall @bluesfan55 Sigurdsson is a player who has a great offensive game but he has some struggles on the defensive end and also he is not the best of passers. However, he still can apply the 84 banked TPE. Arnor will most certainly be a depth role at Riga with both Aaltonen and Preencarnacion as better right wingers than him. In the future however, the Reign will have a solid one-two punch at the right wing position. 5. 298 TPE RW Shawnomir Jagr, Vancouver Wolves, 14th overall @TheLastOlympian07 Into the top five now, and Shawnomir Jagr will be starting us off. Jagr is a player who has very great scoring skills and also has an extremely good defensive game. He will start to become relevant for the Wolves almost immediately and may end up as a solid VHL scorer after a couple of seasons. On the flip side, Jagr’s passing is extremely weak and he is also extremely undisciplined. 4. 326 TPE LW Dimitri Volosenkov, Moscow Menace, 17th overall @SirRupertBarnes Dimitri Volosenkov was drafted quite low despite having such a high TPE. Volosenkov has an extremely complete game and will develop into one of Moscow’s gems if he continues to get better. Volosenkov may have a lot of great stats but he needs to work on his passing and his strength. 3. 337 TPE RW Mikko Aaltonen, Riga Reign, 4th overall @GRZ Aaltonen was the highest drafted right winger in the draft and he will continue his dominance in the VHL. Aaltonen will bolster the Riga roster and will take the Latvian squad very far next year if he continues to grow. He is a very skilled puck handler and can skate very well, but some low points of his game are his checking and his strength. Alongside the aforementioned Arnor Sigurdsson, Riga will be able to roll out three strong right wingers. 2. 349 TPE LW Julius Freeman, Vancouver Wolves, 2nd overall @rjfryman After being taken surprisingly early in the draft at second overall, Freeman will have to work extremely hard to take over the top LW spot from Shane Mars. Freeman is a player who is an extremely talented scorer as well as a speedy scorer with great puck handling and passing skills. Freeman is a player who is almost perfectly ready for the VHL except for the fact that his strength is not as good as some of his other stats and he is also not the best checker. 1. 358 TPE LW Shane Mars, Seattle Bears, 3rd overall @Spade18 Mars is a player who has dominated the S66 draft class for so long but was still drafted at third. Mars is very worrying because he still has not applied the 159 extra TPE yet and he may be passed by others if he doesn’t apply it quickly. If he does apply it, and continues to develop and grow he will be a sure steal for the Bears at third. 2291 words claiming for 5/5, 5/12, 5/19, 5/26

MALMO--It seemed like all 300,000-plus people in Sweden's third-largest city had joined in the celebration Thursday night, though the rest of the league was left dissatisfied. Within hours of a press release from league headquarters, bars were flooded, the city had lit up in green, and a parade was going over the Oresund Bridge. Why? The Nighthawks had just been awarded the Continental Cup. "Upon recent deliberation, the league has drawn the conclusion that, due to recent circumstances, the superior VHL team can no longer be best measured by their results in the regular season, their survivorship in the playoffs, or a win of a so-called 'championship round'," said the league's latest press release. "The VHL has drawn a unanimous consensus that the Malmo Nighthawks, by virtue of their sick logo, shall hereby be recognized as league champions this season. All further games shall be declared 'unofficial,' as shall the playoffs and finals." The league's unprecedented, unexpected declaration drew criticism from most non-Malmo parts of the league, including multiple players going on the record to once again demand the cup for themselves, and Vancouver GM Keaton Louth tweeting "Oh no not this again" as riots erupted in the city. League officials declined to comment upon request for further information.

Ladies and gentlemen! Houston Bulls are proud to announce that our management group has been extended and we have signed an AGM! This person has been active and involved with Houston Bulls prior to this season and currently has shown interest in being a GM in WJC. A trustworthy and truly amazing person, a great community member and great friend for many of us! Welcome @Jables to Houston Bulls Management!

They must have had different guys manning the scorpions this week....

Rank Change Player Name Position TPE Team Nat. Member 1 ACL TEAR RW 198 OTT MC Quik 2 Kevin Low D 188 PHI US Smarch 3 Bjorn Scoringsonn RW 182 PHI IS 11 Eleven 4 Rayz Funk G 181 MIS CA Rayzor_7 5 Wrike Chyrnoble G 150 MEX SI Savoire Faire 6 Phil Marleau C 142 SDM VG Phil 7 Hulk Hogan D 138 MIS CA HulkHogan 8 Brendan James Lawn D 132 OTT US Blawn 9 Lucas Nygren (GM Player) C 130 SSK SE Advantage 10 Aston Martin C 125 OTT GB Sullvino 11 Ambrose Stark D 124 OTT CA Banackock 12 Vladimir Pavlov (GM Player) C 120 MIN RU Victor 13 Greg Eagles G 119 SDM PL Greg_Di 14 Andrei Mikhailov RW 119 SDM RU Big Mac 15 Boris the Forest C 116 HOU US chillzone 16 Dan Gles C 113 MIS US No_Dangles 17 Brandon LeBlanc D 112 PHI US Psanchez55 18 Boone Jenton D 112 MIN US FakeJenton 19 Boomer Kuwanger D 105 PHI AU Hybrid1486 20 Tormund Giantsbane LW 102 SSK FI Jonessee27 21 Micheal Gary Scott RW 96 MEX US Motzaburger 22 Michael Johnson G 95 HFX CA fonziGG 23 Acyd Burn LW 94 HFX US Acydburn 24 Knox Booth G 88 SDM CA Tate 25 Henrik Zoiderberg LW 85 MEX SE HenrikZoiderberg 26 Scott Greene C 82 MIS US DoktorFunk 27 Trevor Van Lagen C 81 HFX CA VanCanWin 28 Thorvald Gunnarsson G 77 HFX FI Saelven88 29 Doug Forsyth RW 76 OTT CA DougF 30 Derek England D 73 MEX RU PenKnight 31 David Lindberg D 70 OTT SE Jayhawk 32 Koda Adok LW 68 HOU US trevmi 33 Chett Bandy LW 67 MIS US mmarcoux98 34 Titus LaClass D 65 SSK FR Termancy 35 Flash Lightning RW 64 MIN US harvey 36 Scotty BigShotty C 63 SDM CA FerdaJets 37 Jacob Rogers RW 62 MIS US raghas 38 Kefka Palazzo D 60 LVA JP diamond_ace 39 Alexander Shaw C 59 MIS CA NavyCanuck 40 Kenji Hachimura RW 57 HFX JP Dtayl 41 Virgil Ligriv G 55 LVA US MMFLEX 42 Alex Pearson C 54 SDM CA Jayrad28 43 Hayden Clarkson LW 53 SSK US Kootscoot 44 RJ Lloris RW 50 LVA CA RJMW 45 Lexington Lewis LW 50 SDM US Lexlooter 46 Zeno Miniti C 47 HOU US Zeno 47 Dalton Wilcox RW 45 SDM HK bcheng 48 Steven McBuckets C 43 LVA US Stamkosfan69 49 Vilnis Balcers D 42 OTT LV bukss_a 50 Hugh Chan D 42 HFX HK HughJas_ 51 Brendan Plunkett LW 40 SSK CA MetalToday 52 Antonio Gonzalez LW 40 LVA MX Jose Gonzalez 53 Pierre Persson D 38 SDM SE Dominus89 54 Nicklaus Becker G 38 HOU DE Gifford 55 Jamie Taylor RW 36 LVA US Dinobro 56 Xander Hawley C 34 LVA BA MrSharkFIN 57 Peter Schilling LW 34 PHI DE SpacemanSpiff 58 Tony Mac LW 32 PHI CA Sorry 59 Mark Striker D 32 FA CA Mark Striker 60 Luke Smartnick G 32 FA US Luke Smartnick 61 Khalabib Stiopic D 32 MIS CC SweetMike666 62 Hunter Edwards C 32 MEX CA nukfan94 63 Daniel Spenslov D 32 SSK RU deadshot 64 Daman Veyalon D 32 MIS CA Viknegar 65 Berocka Sundqvist LW 32 MIS AU berocka 66 Sven Erik Edgren LW 31 FA SE Erik Daniels 67 Everlasting Hope C 31 FA US Everlast73 68 Daniel Phantom LW 31 OTT FI ItsFinnishDaniel Note: For future weekly editions, up/downs will reflect gains/drops from over the entire week. So for the first set of weekly rankings for the Season 67 Draft, I'm going to focus on the top 10 first generation players (members who are on their first VHL player) of this Draft Class in TPE, looking at how well they've been doing and what else they can potentially be doing to move up even further in the rankings. #1 Bjorn Scoringsonn - @11 Eleven The top 1st gen in the draft. One of top 2 Wingers in this upcoming draft. Bjorn seems to be going for a mostly offensive build with Scoring, Defense, Passing, Puck Handling, and Skating. This will help him with his time in the VHL to get noticed by some of the teams who will have high picks. Bjorn comes from the SBA and looked like he is acclimating well to the ice. #2 Rayz Funk @Rayzor_7 Rayz is one of many goalies in this draft. One of many goalies in the top 15 overall and one of many goalies in the top first gen. What makes Rayz such a good player is that he is basically a shoo-in for maxing every week since he joined the VSN. It will be interesting where once the draft comes around due to the pile up that the number of goalies entering the draft will do to the VHL. #3 Wrike Chyrnoble @Savoire Faire Wrike is the second Goalie on the board Wrike is playing for the Mexico City Kings and they have full faith in him. Playing him as their starting goalie. He has been playing well with Mexico keeping them in most games. Wrike is another SBA player coming over to see if he can skate with the rest of us. #4 Hulk Hogan @HulkHogan First Defensive First Gen. Not sure if he was a response to HHH or not but either way he is very active in the game threads which is a good thing for a first gen. You may not be aware yet but if you comment on game threads you are able to win a lottery which could give you TPE or other great prizes #5 Brendan James Lawn @Blawn 2nd Defensive player on this list. If last year was the year of the wingers this year might be the year of goalies and defense. Good defense is hard to find but in this draft, we may be seeing an uptick in that department. #6 Greg Eagles @Greg_Di 6th best 1st gen. 3rd goalie on this list. Normally Goalies struggle to find their footing but you come out of the gate as well as Greg did you are able to find a good team and get excited enough to carry on throughout the season. There is no telling where these goalies or greg will end up by the end of this season but if they keep at it there will be a place for them in the VHL in some capacity. #7 Andrei Mikhailov @Big Mac Only the second winger on this list. Which is something I never would have thought based on last years draft class. It may lead to Andrei being picked higher that some of the other players on this list since good wingers are always the sexy pick early on. He might be slowing down since he is not maxing every week which might allow some other 1st gen or returning player to jump ahead of him. Welfare is great but if you want to stay atop a list like this you gotta squeeze every tpe out of whatever you can. #8 Boris the Forest @chillzone 1st Center of the first gens. Not necessarily the first center in the whole class but not a bad place to be at this point in the season. Looks like another SBA member which can be a great thing due to the affiliate tpe you can get through welfare, just make sure you do a media task for either one before its too late. #9 Dan Gles @No_Dangles 2nd Center on this list, Started off claiming welfare but recently has been working on Graphics. Could be a good source of TPE for the future. If you become good people might seek you out and its super easy to make other peoples stuff since they will give you direction. #10 Brandon LeBlanc @Psanchez55 3rd Defensive player. Out of 10 1st gens we are sitting at 3 defense and lucky for Brandon he is working with a great team in Philadelphia who is great at getting people engaged in the team and the league. Hopefully BladeMaiden is doing what she does best in helping new people grow to love the league, and want to be a great player. Keep at this pace and VHL teams will love an active defense like yourself.

@RunnerBert11

i feel we should just be able to comment on our own team game threads rather than everyone commenting on every single thread. when i click view new content. its rather annoying to see one person take up the whole thing with 100 comments

@Motzaburger

Earlier this month, the Nevada Gaming Commission (NGC) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) launched an investigation into unethical practices of the VHL due to the league allowing its players to bet on the outcome of games they participate in. Earlier today in a surprise press conference, VHL spokesperson Dani Greene made an in-depth public presentation laying out the VHL’s case against those accusations. Their defense was based entirely around the fact the VHL and VHLM games are a simulation where the players themselves have no agency in changing the outcome. Meaning that players can not “throw” a game to win a bet. Mx. Greene’s presentation lasted nearly one and a half hours, where they laid out many details about how the simulation works, what the fans are actually watching, and why this is the future of all sports. Mx. Greene began the press conference by explaining why they decided to make all this information public. “First off, we didn’t feel like we could trust the investigating bodies to not selectively leak information from the documents we provided them last week. We were concerned leaked information could paint our organization in a bad light. Additionally, us at the VHL wanted to make our case to the public. We are extremely proud of our league and what we’ve been able to accomplish here and our fans deserve to know exactly what’s going on.” The presentation started with Mx. Greene explaining the process the league goes through to run the simulation of the games. Prior to the start of the game, the players get hooked up to a special machine called the Input Information Incubator (III). “The Triple I precisely measures every part of a player’s physique and mental aptitude. We’re measuring muscle mass, bone density, tendon strength, reflex, reaction time, everything.” Dani explained. Those measurements are then converted into a specialized format that is then passed on to a supercomputer called the Simulation Engine. The Simulation Engine takes all the input from all the players and plays out an actual hockey game in real time. “The outputted game is a fully accurate representation of what would have happened if the players actually played on the ice. It is 100% perfect in how it operates. The sim has never failed in providing an accurate simulation. It is amazing.” Dani gushed. Almost as impressive as being able to accurately play out a hockey game without the players even playing is the next step the VHL takes. The real time hockey game that the Simulation Engine creates is holographically played out in front of the fans on the ice like it is actually happening. The most amazing part is how life like the VHL has gotten the holographic video to appear. Up to this point every fan in attendance has thought they were watching real people play hockey in front of them. Mx. Greene gave some insight into the sophisticated system used for projecting the holograms, “Our ice isn’t really ice. It’s tiny projectors that can create extremely lifelike images. Part of the Triple I is to create extremely detailed player models which really help the holograms come to life. In addition to that we have some incredible graphic designers at the VHL. Their work is phenomenal and integral to the success of the VHL” The next part of the presentation had Mx. Greene laying out the reasons why the integrity of the game can not be affected by individual players. “While the players’ physical and mental attributes matter significantly for the outcome of the simulation, their personal thoughts have no impact whatsoever. A player could be thinking ‘I want to lose this game.’ over and over and not impact the Simulation Engine one bit. The Simulation Engine on is based on attributes we declare, not personal thoughts.” Mx. Greene continued “Even if a player wanted to throw a single game for their own gain, they would not be able to change the outcome of that single game. The player’s influence over the outcome of the game ends the moment they get connected to the Simulation Engine.” Dani emphatically added, “Now let me be extremely clear, our athletes are the most important thing to the entire VHL. Their dedication to working on their body and mind to increase their physical fitness and mental aptitude is the entire reason our games are so exciting and captivate fans all around the world. If our athletes were of a lower class, the end product of our games would suffer greatly. It is extremely important to the VHL that we have the best, most athletic hockey players in the world.” The presentation concluded with Mx. Greene laying out the reasons why the VHL feel like they are revolutionizing sports. “One of the most amazing benefits of using the Simulation Engine is that our athletes no longer suffer injuries. This allows us to play more games in a shorter time period than any other league. It also allows us to run great tournaments like the Sponsor Shield Tournament, World Cups, and All-Star games. Because we can adapt the Simulation Engine to our needs, we can control things like how much energy is used by a player. Endurance is a physical trait that we chose to lower the effect of. This allows our star players to spend more time on the ice, fans love that.” Another benefit is the Simulation Engine allows all genders to participate on equal footing. It’s possible for that to be expanded to have all species play on a level playing field. The presentation ended with Mx. Greene leaving the podium without taking any questions. Needless to say, the entire world is stunned by the details provided by the VHL. The advancement in technology to make all of this feasible is shocking. What’s more shocking is that it appears the VHL has been operating this way for a long time. Possibly for all of its existence? How have they kept all of this a secret for this long? What companies have helped build this technology and is it being used elsewhere? The other issue is, what effect will this have on the ongoing investigation? Will this be enough to clear both the VHL and Charlie Paddywagon of any wrongdoing? All of these questions and more will have to be answered in due time. 1058 words, TPE for 5/5 and 5/12

A lot of good things have been happening to the Nighthawks recently. First, we saw a freshly extended Johnny Havenk Carison be exposed in the expansion draft. We also saw Jack Lynch, Matthew Materazo and Teagan Glover be exposed, 3 players I am huge fans of. Malmo then made a series of great trades, ending with the trade for Mikka Pajari. Pajari is a very good player, who has unfortunately been stuck on the second line in Riga, behind many of the league's top players. He had trouble finding sucess early on in his career, and for 3 straight seasons, scored no higher than 45 points, until suddenly Pajari had a breakthrough season and scored 77 points, double what he got the season before. He was considered for the most improved player award and planned to play a bigger role with Riga in the future, when suddenly he was dished to Malmo. Now on the older half of the VHL spectrum, being an S61 draftee, he will provide a good veteran presence for Malmo this season and is likely to be on the first line. On the other hand, we have a very different player joining the team in very different circumstances. Vaydar Odinsson joined as a free agent, and unlike Pajari, enjoyed a healthier career earlier on, from the day he set foot in the league, but has slowed down a noticeable amount since. Although he has not yet matched his rookie totals from 3 seasons ago when he scored 82 points in 72 games, Odinsson has still been a solid producer for both the Helsinki Titans and New York Americans for 2 seasons straight, putting up 40 and 62 points respectively. He joins the Nighthawks as their star player in the team's inaugural season, and along with Pajari, could create one of the most deadly veteran duos in the league next season. Pajari comes in having struggled to find the spotlight in his career until recently, while Odinsson had more success early and faltered a bit in his 2nd and 3rd seasons. It will be interesting to see how these two great players come together to form the first line for Malmo this season.

Vaydar Odinsson has signed a 2 year contract with Malmo

1. I won't be disappointed. If I drop lower that just means there is a chance I get on a team that is only missing a piece or two. It will take some time getting used to the idea but I will just be excited to play and get used to the ice in the VHL. Everyone is seems bigger so I need to get used to that. 2. I am glad that people are seeing my skill, and determination. I would be lying if it weren't pressure as well, since I have been thinking about the players above me since I joined, and to have more people see what I am capable of is always a good thing. 3. There are a few teams that I would rather play with but that has more to do with preference than anything else. There are only a few teams that I actually won't rather not play for and those are the teams where they already have their clear #1-#2 set for the next few years. I don't want to spent my career as a #3. I want to join either as the 1st or 2nd option at LW and prove through what ever metric we have that I'm the clear cut choice going into the future. 4. Well I don't know who my favorite is yet. I think I'm still new but here is my top ten in no order. @Sharkstrong, @SirRupertBarnes, @Banackock, @Thranduil, @Bucky___lastard, @Spade18, @FrostBeard, @Beaviss, @Renomitsu, and @gorlab I either like talking with, reading what they have, appreciate their work, or have spent enough time around them to be like they are really cool people and I either want to be better friends or something nerdy like that. Also I just used Random.org to randomize the list. 5. I love the immediate feeling of discord but I dislike waking up and having to scroll up to see what I missed. I love feeling on not missing anything in the forum since there is a clear read or not on each piece of work. So it always feels good clearing that out and trying my best to see what is going on. That being said I could see why some people got annoyed with my talking in every vhlm game, but I'm still trying to figure out a balance. 6. I think I want to learn under some smart people first, I am currently the agm of the Halifax 21st that is a nice thing, but I don't know if there are rules against also being agm of VHL team. That could also be interesting learning from some of the great VHL GM's we have. I would be interested in the future but right now I am more interested in making tools to make VHL and VHLM GM's job easier when it comes to the draft. As well as making a cool mock draft generator for next offseason. 7. That is something time will have to tell. Yes the top three are all USA but will they be for their whole career? I know I will do my best to make it so that Julius is seen as an all time great hopefully in the hall sometime but who knows. Also who knows what S67 will look like at their draft. I also don't know enough about past seasons yet to see where the countries fall. Hopefully by the picking of World Cup I can have something built for those GM's to help them pick great rosters. 8. I think with all things when you look at an individual level you will see cases of people rising to where ever the challenge is. Right now in S66 I think that is HHH, He is the bar that we must all judge against. Will I be able to match it, IDK? That does not mean I will not do everything in my power to do my best though. As far as an Scandinavian player I have no doubt that any player can do great things. 9. No because I voted in them. I still don't know the GM's well enough to know what they like/dislike. What they prefer in a skater or not. I have seen so many mock drafts or people opinions and the only constant I have seen is HHH goes 1st overall. I think the community got that right but after that it is hard. This is apparently one of the deepest drafts we have ever had, with a lot of returning players, lot of first gens, and a lot of players who are able to play right away. As well as a number of really good s65 players who stayed down in the vhlm last season. Honestly there will be a lot of really good rookies next year making the rookie of the year race really hard. 10. If its a team that treats me right and respects me. Most likely yes. Also if I am in a leader position Ill probably do something stupid like take a hair cut. Thank you so much for the questions @hedgehog337

1. I'm over the moon to be here. Think I've made it pretty clear that I am very excited for this opportunity and I think we have some really valuable pieces in Materazo, Lynch, Garrop, Kai and Glover. 2. I think I just want to establish myself as a force in the league, whether it be by scoring lots of points, or just by getting physical and playing hard defense. 3. Definitely always have and always will be a LR guy. It is more at my pace to keep up with. I have a hard time with Discord, because too much is going on. 4. The Malmo Nighthawks, boys! 5. More opportunities for young players to play major roles. Loving the fact that we're a young team with a bunch of major roles. 6. A generally defensive-minded, hard-hitting defenseman who can stick up for his team. He's capable of scoring lots of points, as you can see from last season, but always takes care of his own end first. Anyway I'm super pumped for this, and I'm loving my new teammates already, so I just gotta ask you boys. @JG10, @FBR, @Donno100, @Bucky___lastard, @Matt_O, @xsjack, are you in? Because I sure as hell am!

Season 66 MOCK VHLM Dispersal Draft Written By: rjfryman Nashville, TN Real draft will be April 28th, 2019 Round 1: 1st: Philadelphia Reapers Rusty Shackleford Rusty is a stud of a Defenseman who has written an Article about staying in the VHLM for one more season. He may move up but if he talked with Philly and ensures that he will stay down he could easily be the 1st overall in this VHLM Draft 2nd: Mexico City Kings (From Las Vegas Aces) Aleksander Rodriguez Along with Rusty Aleksander wrote an article as well. Aleksander is a well rounded checking forward that can lead a team with that tough physical presence that is often needed in the post season. 3rd: Ottawa Lynx Rhys Chism Rhys is a scoring center that Ottawa can use since they lost every Center to the VHL. 4th: Saskatoon Wild Rayz Funk A Goalie who is going to be drafted in the VHL in season 67. He is the second top goalie prospect in this draft but He most likely will eclipse the other Goalie rather quickly. 5th: Yukon Rush Aston Martin Another S67 prospect. Aston is a Center prospect that will help lead Yukon to hopefully a great season. 6th: Saskatoon Wild (From Houston Bulls) Beau Buefordsson Saskatoon is in need of Defense and Beau is the second best D in this draft behind Rusty. Beau should be hitting the 200 mark shortly after the season starts which is why he will be picked up early. 7th: Philadelphia Reapers (From Halifax 21st) Bjorn Scoringsonn Another S67 Prospect who is tearing up the prospect pool in this VHLM. Bjorn is tearing up at training camp and is tied with Rayz with overall skill from S67. 8th: Saskatoon Wild (From Minnesota Storm) Kevin Low Saskatoon needs all the defense they can get and Kevin Low will be a rock on the blue line. 9th: Mexico City Kings Wrike Chyrnoble All of the Expansion Teams need goalies and at this point Wrike is probably a great bet with him 116 TPE with a season 67 draft day. 10th: San Diego Marlins Kolur Bjoernsson San Diego doesn't have the luxury of getting a hot S67 goalie prospect but they will totally be ok with getting Kolur since he is 40 TPE from maxing. He should hit that early in the season leaving San Diego with plenty of time with a great backstop. 11th: Mississauga Hounds Juan Jaundice The 4th Goalie picked in this draft and that is due to the fact that many teams need a solid goalie right now in this draft. Teams will either go and trade for one or draft one early. 12th: Philadelphia Reapers Phil Marleau Philly has many picks in this draft and with that luxury They are going to go for the top Center in S67 Round 2: 13th: Philadelphia Reapers Edgar Tannahill Edgar is the top LW in this draft and Philly with Edgar still on the board it is an easy choice to sure up their LW position 14th: Mississauga Hounds (From Ottawa Lynx) Kevin Low Mississauga needs everything and Kevin Low is a great Defensive prospect that will make sure they don't crash and burn this starting season 15th: Saskatoon Wild Boomer Kuwanger Another S67 D who will be a great piece for any team but Saskatoon will be lucky to get him if he is still on the board. 16th: San Diego Marlins (From Las Vegas Aces) ACL TEAR quik creating a RW is just what San Diego and this draft needs. There are actually a small number of great RW's in this draft 17th: Mexico City Kings (From Yukon Rush) Brendan James Lawn Mexico seeking Defense will be glad to get Brendan to help lead this defense to be good from the start. 18th: Minnesota Storm (From Houston Bulls) Anthony Amberback Might not be a S67 Defense but Anthony should sure up Minnesota's blue line and max out well before the playoffs. We might be seeing Minnesota Again but From where Im looking it will be a much tougher road this season. 19th: Philadelphia Reapers (From Halifax 21st) Edward Vigneault Philly should really do well this season, they have many draft picks and with Edward on the blue line Philly should have a rock solid team this season. 20th: Yukon Rush (From Minnesota Storm) Mat Tocco Yukon needs winger and Mat is the second best RW in this draft. I would be shocked if he made it this far but when I was trying to get team needs Mat feel a lot more than he should. He is a week maybe less from maxing and will have a killer season in the VHLM. 21st: Minnesota Storm (From Mexico City Kings) Lucas Nygren Minnesota will be getting a steal with Lucas since they need a center and Advantage will be tearing it up and quickly jumping up with the TPE this season 22nd: San Diego Marlins Boris the Forest San Diego still has almost an open depth chart and one of the best positions to get since its harder to get good ones is center and Boris being a S67 hopefully will continue to grow and quickly surpass some of the centers still on the board. 23rd: Mississauga Hounds Vladimir Pavlov Mississauga might not get Vladimir at this point in the draft but if they do they will be rather lucky 24th: Ottawa Lynx (From VHL) Emil Passerelli Ottawa traded down but in this draft it does not look like it will hurt them with a player like Emil still on the board and will not be upset dropping a few positions and still snagging a player like Emil. Round 3: 25th: Halifax 21st (From Philadelphia Reapers) Greg Eagles 26th: Las Vegas Aces (From Ottawa Lynx) Samuel Sparrow 27th: Saskatoon Wild Tormund Giantsbane 28th: Philadelphia Reapers (From Las Vegas Aces) Pascal Batz 29th: San Diego Marlins (From Yukon Rush) Hulk Hogan 30th: Houston Bulls John Frostbeard 31st: Yukon Rush (From Halifax 21st) Cody Smith 32nd: Minnesota Storm Devin Gabella 33rd: Mexico City Kings Cody Parkey 34th: San Diego Marlins Guillaume Fontenette 35th: Mississauga Hounds Andrei Mikhailov Round 4: 36th: Philadelphia Reapers Duncan Jeffers 37th: Philadelphia Reapers (From Ottawa Lynx) Brandon LeBlanc 38th: Mississauga Hounds (From Saskatoon Wild) Dean Clarke 39th: Philadelphia Reapers (From Las Vegas Aces) BALLS McZehrl 40th: Yukon Rush Dan Gles 41st: Ottawa Lynx (From Houston Bulls) Eeli Harju 42nd: Philadelphia Reapers (From Halifax 21st) Sami Van Den Dreissche 43rd: Ottawa Lynx (From Minnesota Storm) Srraxxarrakex II 44th: Minnesota Storm (From Mexico City Kings) David Lindberg 45th: San Diego Marlins Boone Jenton 46th: Mississauga Hounds Papa Gage

Here's something I always thought should be the case, but I never decided to officially propose it until tonight, when @RunnerBert11 asked me what TPE there is to be earned from asking press conference questions. As most experienced members who have done a presser or two know, asking 5 questions will earn you 1 TPE, while answering 6 questions will earn you 2. WHY IS THIS THE CASE? Nobody wants to answer 5 (or 10) questions--5 won't get you 2 TPE and 10 gives you an extra 4 questions you don't know what to do with. So! Here's my proposal to fix the system, a thought that many have definitely had (and that someone's probably brought up here, though I'm too lazy to find out). What I'm saying is that we have two options... 1. Change the pay to 1 TPE for asking 6 questions and 2 TPE for asking 12. This is likely the less disruptive to the system out of both of these choices, though I must say that we do have something to consider here. Pros: This changes the system the least. Those who are already happy with asking 10 questions a week will likely be just fine with asking 12 (although I cannot claim to speak for anyone). Also, this brings about a HUGE improvement on the part of someone answering the questions. Under this system, anyone being asked anything at all will have at least 6 questions (to completely cover one week) and may end up with 12 (to completely cover 2 weeks!). No doubt about it, this is a great development for the answerer. Cons: Remember when I said we have to consider something here? Here's where I bring that up. The press conference tab is filled with people answering, and there just aren't that many asking. Individual press conference threads die within a week or two, unless you're pretty well-known around the league--I'd say I'm reasonably well-known, and even my first press conference thread died until Bert gave me some questions today (thank you Bert). In fact, the asker-answerer ratio is so unbalanced that two people came into my thread to answer my questions. The con here is not that this will make things any worse--which I don't think it will--but that it leaves another existing problem untouched. 2. Change the pay to 1 TPE for asking 3 questions and 2 TPE for asking 6. Originally, I thought this was a bad idea, but the more I think about it, the better it sounds. Pros: Remember that asker-answerer ratio? This fixes the problem. I'd say that what's keeping people away from asking questions is the fact that they have to come up with 10 new ideas for 2 little TPE. I've tried asking questions in pressers before, and having the mental capacity of a glazed donut, I'm next to incapable of doing so. Usually, I end up asking 6 questions, because a) that's all I can come up with, and b) that's what the answerer actually wants. By making the number of tasks required to earn TPE the same, more members will be active in terms of asking. Individual pressers will become largely a success (especially for newer members who currently create them and are then either ignored or given one or two sets of questions). This also helps out GMs in team press conferences--asking your team 6 questions, so they'll earn 2 TPE, will only get you 1 TPE, and asking them 10 or 12 for the extra points is pointless. Cons: The one possible negative aspect of this is that individual pressers may just become too competitive with the team ones, which are still, for the most part, the most important. However, I really don't see this happening. Human nature (at least for anyone who is, like me, fairly lazy) dictates that we'd rather have things handed to us rather than working for those same things (read: TPE). Answers aren't entirely original thoughts, though questions must be. I can still see the majority of the league being on the answering side of things, but I do believe that this system would help to balance things out. If you're reading this and you have any input on the matter, please feel free to add to it. Let's make the VHL a better place.

Malmo Nighthawks (@Advantage) Select the following Players: Calgary Wranglers : Brian Strong @Wheaties HC Davos Dynamo : Jack Lynch @xsjack Helsinki Titans : David Harrison @Lightningyamasha New York Americans : Matthew Materazo @Matt_O Riga Reign : Teagan Glover @Bucky___lastard Seattle Bears : Sergei Kovalev @Laflamme Toronto Legion : Johnny Havenk Carlson @Donno100 Vancouver Wolves : Matthew Kai @FBR As a note, the Moscow menace were excluded from the Expansion draft.

I love this super sleuthing, well played. If this post gets 5 likes, I'll reveal why my tag is "Dead Influencer," in actuality.

Also, where is the @Members tag? People gotta know how the off-season is laid out...

Well then, I believe I have waited long enough to apply to any this type of position so here we go: I believe that my abilities can help Houston Bulls grow and become a great VHLM Franchise. My credentials are not anything much to write about, I was Co-commissioning WJC and have had a good experience by doing my own ECN Articles. My dedication to this league (as this is my first and only sim-league) is undeniable and I think that I can put my knowledge to the test. I hope that you will look at me as a person of value when it comes to hiring a person for this job! FrostBeard

I see why you need a new editor. Anyways VSN is a great place to work, and pay is nice. It's a good entry position if you're looking for future jobs

In honor of the finale of game of thrones, I'll compare VHL members to GoT characters: Hot Pie - @DilIsPickle - Hot Pie is just a talkative lovable dude who throws outrageous statements out there like because you wear armor you are automatically a knight. Any of the Iron Born - Robbie Zimmers because he is always trying to start shit but it never really turns into anything and he is easily conquered (I forget who he is someone please tag) Gendry - @Will because he is kind of important to the grand scheme of things but disappears rowing his boat for 3 seasons Tywin Lannister - @boubabi - Replace Franchise Cornerstone with the Lannister legacy and they fight just as hard for the same thing (though Tywin is smarter) Ser Davos - @tfong tries really hard to be the adult in the room in general chat Melisandre - @Beketov because he has been with the league since S1 and is 1,000 years old just like her

Incase your living under a rock, the last few seasons have seen the VHL add two new teams. Moscow joined last year and appears to be playing the long game. Malmo a city is Sweden in case you have no idea where the **** it is because most would never pick for a Swedish team Malmo. First mistake of the new GM, second appears to be going all in first season? He went hard after free agents and is now trading picks to add veteran talent. They will maybe make the playoffs, but honestly what is the point? I think its the GMs ego, he is a well respected talented GM but seems odd for such a veteran to make such a big splash. Especially on an upstart franchise that will be in year one. Maybe Pajari who is barely a 2nd line center now, and Odinsson who is a solid but unspectacular member will be the boost the team needs. They added some very solid guys in expansion, and good prospects in a deep draft. However, its left people questioning has advantage gone mad? Will his crazy plan pay off or just be a waste of time for a franchise that should be focused on stockpiling young talent. I think he took a playbook from the NHL, but these leagues they are not the same. We are forced to retire early, players can really bust like Nail Yakupov bad. This is not the Golden Knights and i think most of us will laugh when they miss the playoffs this season. I think it is a crazy bone headed move to be quite honest, and i made a few of those in my first tenure as a general manager. Meanwhile Moscow will take the slow build approach around Grubauer, Jaguar, Komarov, and many others. Time will tell whose approach will end in the the franchises winning their first cup. It will be a rivalry mainly because they are the two newest franchises and they race to win a cup first. Both a veteran GMs, both have won cups, both are long serving loved members. They respect each other but do not be shocked to see a few shots fired between them till they win the cup. Which general manager would you rather have in your corner? Track record suggests they both are capable, but they have a big challenge ahead lets see who wins. Time to focus on Moscow abit, the roster is set Gruebaur, Jaguar will man the top 2 lines as the centers. Ballie, Matteo, Volosenkov on the wings, with an unknown 4th at this point in time. On defense Komarov will lead the way once again. Proud as always to play for his home countries team on the back end, Matthews his partner, Brostein, and Bradfusson will back them up on the second pairing. Starting in net will be newcomer May, backing him up is Chase who has been past in the depth chart after a promising start to his career. (Full disclosure this is for fun i respect Advantage, just creating a fun rivarly)