Quik

#2, but can we please do a theme with #3?

You can call me daddy, son

Part I - Pick em' (Pick the correct winners of all three games for 1 TPE) Game 2 - Helsinki Titans Game 3 - Quebec City Meute Game 4 - Helsinki Titans Part II - Predict the Score (Predict the correct score and winner of this game for 3 TPE) Game 4 - Titans 3-2 Part III - Player Predictions (Predict the correct player for each category, 1 TPE for each correct answer) Series leader in points: John Locke Series leader in goals: Theo Axelsson Series leader in assists: Franchise Cornerstone

Name: Mats Johnsson Position: D | Shoots: L Age: 26 Height: 5'11" | Weight: 195 lbs Birthplace: Gothenburg, Sweden B I R T H This is the story of Mats Johnsson. The slick Swedish defenceman who grew up with hockey in his blood, with his father, Johan, being a professional hockey player in the midst of a career when Mats was born. Johan's wife, Emma, was his childhood sweetheart, the two growing up as next door neighbours in Gothenburg. As adults, the couple married when Emma turned 18 and Johan was playing for his local Frolunda HC Indians. Emma would go on to finish her schooling and become a school teacher in their home town, where the couple would stay for 8 more years. At the age of 25, the couple got pregnant with their first son, Mats. This came as a happy surprise, as they had been told by doctors that pregnancy was not an option due to complications from a previous miscarriage they had gone through 2 years prior. Unfortunately, this bit of news came at an odd timing, as Johan had just signed his first contract in the NHL with the Calgary Flames for the following season, and he would be in the middle of his first season abroad when his first son was due to be born. During the pregnancy, Emma was ordered to remain in Sweden, so as to not risk any unnecessary complications, meaning that she would have to stay behind while Johan began his NHL career. For the most part, the pregnancy went smoothly, until, about a month before the wee baby Mats was due, he decided he was ready for the world! Emma went into labour at 6AM Swedish time on a Tuesday; in Calgary, it was 8PM on Monday, and Johan was in the middle of a game - team doctors were notified by Emmas parents, and Johan was pulled out of the game, hopping on the first flight home to meet his wife in the hospital. Miraculously for Johan, not so much for Emma, Mats Johnsson was born at 9PM that night, meeting both of his parents and weighing 5 pounds, 3 ounces. C H I L D H O O D The younger Johnsson lived the life of a hockey son, rarely seeing his father during the winters as a toddler, as he and his mother, Emma, remained in their home in Sweden, close to family. At the age of 4, Mats and his mother finally moved to Calgary during the hockey season, where Johan had carved out a nice career as a middle-6 forward. Unfortunately, the family's stay in Calgary was short-lived, as Johan was traded at the deadline to a Minnesota team looking to push for a playoff berth. After the trade, Emma returned to Sweden with Mats, while Johan finished his season in Minnesota. The following fall, mother and child returned to North America, as they joined Johan in Minnesota. It was there that a 5-year old Mats played his first season of organized hockey, pushing his parents to let him join the 6-year old league. Playing with kids a year older than him was intimidating at first, but Mats stuck out the season and by the time the year came to an end, he was flying around on the ice, not necessarily doing anything besides actually skating, but having a blast while doing it! The family would spend two years splitting summers in Gothenburg and winters in Minnesota. Despite being small for his own age, Mats continued to play with the kids that were older than him in age, joining the Mite I league that was for 6 and 7 year olds. During his two seasons in the Minnesota Mite league, Johnsson made a bunch of new friends while also learning how to do more than literally skate circles around the other kids. He would become one of the better scorers on his team, a Minneapolis team that ranked #3 in the state. During those two seasons, the team would travel around the US for youth tournaments, usually dominating the other competition; and all the while, Emma would always be at every practice and game to encourage and cheer on her only son. After Johan's second full season in Minnesota and only a single playoff appearance with the Wild, he decided a change would be good for he and his family. He signed with the Tampa Bay Lightning for one season. During that season, Mats played in the Florida youth system for the Tampa Bay Jr. Lightning. During that season, Mats dominated the Florida Squirt league, which was a clear level below that of the Minnesota leagues. In 43 games, Johnsson scored 57 goals and 62 assists, scoring nearly 3 points per game in a league with kids up to 2 years older than him. Halfway through the season, the coaches talked to Mats about a move that would hopefully give him a little more enjoyment, asking if he'd like to switch to defence. As he had grown up hoping to be like his father, Mats was hesitant about the move at first, but encouragement from Johan that it could be a great move was all that he needed to make the decision to make the switch. It turned out to be a great decision, as the added challenge of playing defence made the game more enjoyable for Mats, and he loved his new position. Still once the season was finished, Mats was happy to hear that his father was leaving Tampa. The Johnssons were moving to California, where Johan had signed a 4 year contract with the Anaheim Ducks. More big news with the signing, Johan and Emma decided that, along with winters, they would spend their summers in California as well, making the move full-time to the Orange County. The full-time move meant that, in addition to playing his Squirt and PeeWee years in the stronger-than-Florida California leagues, Mats would spend his summers playing in-line hockey as well - with the added bonus that his father could actually attend his in-line hockey games! For the next 4 years, from the ages of 9-12, Mats absolutely loved his time in California. He quickly joined the top travel team in the state, which traveled not only the entirety of the US, but also went on international tournaments in Canada and into Europe, including a trip that allowed his grandparents to watch him in the family's hometown of Gothenburg! During his time in California, Mats was named Captain of his team. In his final season there, the team was one of the top ranked PeeWee teams in the world, finishing 2nd in the famed Quebec International PeeWee tournament, losing in double overtime to a team from Brampton, Ontario, Canada in the finals. After the season was finished, Mats learned for certain something that his father had been quietly talking to his mother about all year, the Johnsson family would be returning to Sweden, where Johan, then 37, would finish his playing career with his hometown Frolunda Indians. T E E N A G E | Y E A R S The move, for Mats, was bittersweet. On the one hand, he would have to leave the team, and teammates, he had grown to love. He'd also have to leave the beautiful sunshine and beaches of California. On the other side, he would once again be close to the rest of his family, and would finally have a chance to play with his cousins, who were twins playing in the Swedish youth leagues. Moving back to Gothenburg, Mats joined the same team as his cousins, playing in the top youth league for their age group, on a team that finished 4th in their previous season. As the teams newest player, Mats was instantly their best defenceman, and helped the team improve to a 2nd place finish in his first season. He would go on to play 2.5 seasons on that team with his cousins, before joining the Frolunda HC U-16 program mid-way through his age-15 season. From there, Mats would spend 2.5 years in the Frolunda Junior program, making stops with the U18 and U20 teams. Off the ice, Mats proved to be an excellent study, maintaining an 86% average throughout his high-school career. It was in high-school that Mats would meet his future wife, Olivia, who was also an excellent student, maintaining a 93% and a future in law. Both Mats and Olivia managed to graduate a semester early, which was no easy feat given Mats hockey schedule and their ability to maintain their relationship! P R O | C A R E E R After his age-17 season, which he played on the U20 Indians team, Mats was selected to join the program's Pro-Team in the SHL! Johnsson spent 8 seasons in the SHL, becoming one of the league's top offensive defencemen. On the ice, his career was largely a success. Though never considered a defensive stalwart, Mats was his team's transition game, and racked up points from the back end, leading his team to a pair of SHL Championships, as well as one more finals appearance wherein the team failed to convert on an opportunity to repeat as Champions in his final season with the club. You can read more about Mats' time in the Frolunda system (both Junior and Pro) here, in his Rookie Profile. Off the ice, Mats managed to maintain his relationship with Olivia, even through his demanding pro schedule and her equally full college schedule. The two married after her graduation, when they were 22 years old, and just had their first baby, a boy they named Pierre, after Mats' grandfather. While the couple has just had Pierre, they have made a decision similar to Johan and Emma that, even with a young family, now is the time to move on from the SHL. With his SHL season over, Mats has registered to join the VHL through their S57 Entry Draft. Currently, Mats is in Oslo, playing the role of Black Ace (coincidentally, the team is facing off against the Las Vegas Aces). From there, the plan is for him to join Team Europe in the upcoming World "Junior" Championships, a tournament run by the VHL for its less experienced (in their league) players. After that, Mats will join a team in the VHLM for one season before, hopefully, making the jump to the VHL. The couple is anxiously waiting to find out where, exactly, the next chapter of their life will take them, but are very happy with their decision, and excited for their future!

Yep, it's definitely something that will be needed to keep some of the new members active. Especially since the big recruitment drive came up with none of the new players getting a chance to join teams. So this tournament really can't start soon enough.

Bet you came in here expecting it to be the S55 Finals, huh?

Don't even want to google that...

Kendrick bae

So, basically we choose one of the 3 possible rewards (Doubles/5TPE/free week), correct? Will this be a bonus over whatever people receive from donation? I.E. Birthday Wish = Doubles Week. If I donate $20 next season, do I still get 4 perks out of it? Or would I be limited to 3 perks from donation? I feel like it should be a bonus perk, but clarification doesn't hurt lol @Smarch

LOL I never got LR privileges so I wouldn't know if that's true, but it seems like you really hate the team you were on in the minors...

And the Cinderella run end well before midnight

I mean, if I was added to the sim at the same time as Szat, maybe things go a little different?

Meh, not that much. I'll be able to buy it after my first contract...

So yeah, with Johnsson signing and then not getting created in time to get in the sim, there hasn't been much to do player wise for me since I created. Thank god there's been the anniversary stuff, because I don't think I'd have had too much fun waiting around doing nothing lol. I feel bad for the newcomers that couldn't get placed on teams, because they don't really have the nostalgia, and it's probably hard to get involved when we're all going over past memories, especially when it's already hard enough to get involved in a new community and learn the boards - hell, it was hard for me the first few days getting re-integrated with everything, and there's still stuff I'm unsure of.

Being a part of the start of this league! Back before the VHL started, everyone had their own leagues run on whichever NHL game was out at the time. Most of them, you'd join, create your player, and that would pretty much be the end of it. I forget exactly how I got involved in my first leagues, but they were a gong show, most fizzling out within a couple seasons, mostly because simming the games was a nightmare between creating all the necessary players manually, then actually simming the games and doing PBP... Then I joined the SHL, which was Scotty's league, and created a player named Matthew Phaneuf (back when Dion was a young superstar lol), and that was the first league I found that had point tasks. It was cool, and I mostly stuck to Media Spots because all I had was MS paint, and that shit was god awful lol. There was also a @PensFan101league, which I believe was called the DHL, because he loves delivery services or something (I think it was actually the Dynasty Hockey League - just an unfortunate abbreviation lol). Then the SHL folded after 4 or 5 seasons (I can't remember which, but I think I joined around S3), and everyone was left looking for somewhere else to go. I even tried my hand at starting a league, with the NGSHL, which was fun, but I don't think I even made it through the first season before shutting her down. After that, I kinda stopped with the sim leagues for a bit, but still talked to @brooks. on a regular basis on MSN, and he told me about the league and how simming wouldn't be an issue. From there, it seemed like everyone from all leagues converged on the VHL, and it was amazing how many people came over to the new league. It was almost like the first day at school, where you're excited to see all your friends again, but without the dread of having to go to class . Hell, we had enough for essentially 10 rounds of drafting with an 8 team league! From Day one until I retired Bailey all the way in S19, this league provided some amazing memories during my high-school and early university days! Since Bailey, I've been in and out with activity, and honestly wasn't even planning on creating this time around, but this place has been a big part of my life and I'm happy I came back in time for the 10th anniversary!

Coming back and seeing everyone that is still here. Lots of the old guard is gone, but seeing the guys that are still here from when I was last active is really cool, especially seeing old farts like @Kendrick @Beketov @tfongand @sterling kicking around, other guys who I became good friends with in @Phil @Victorand @JardyB10, and even seeing @Knight make an appearance this week was awesome! There's so many more I haven't mentioned, but yeah, seeing everyone who's still here was awesome and pretty much the reason I created again!

The first 2 seasons in Helsinki with Snelheid were amazing. We were a beast offensively with Radmonovic (falco), Alexander, Defosse and we traded for Scotty in S6 ( I feel like @Mike Szatowski was a part of the S5 tem and traded to Seattle for Scotty). That was a great locker room and winning the Cup with that group was one of the most fun times I had in the league.

Damn Davos! Looks like I'm going for the Dynamo since I have no horse in any race anymore lol

Stupid click bait

Yeah, it wouldn't make sense to sign a player if they're not going to be allowed to play, especially when the break was to allow the players to be assigned to teams. I've been on Oslo since the weekend though, so I don't know what happened? edit: just saw @Higgins status update. Guess late creates won't get into the playoffs. Meh, free contract I guess

Wait...why wasn't I on the roster for this game? @Bushitroll?

Name: Mats Johnsson Position: D Shoots: L Age: 26 Height: 5'11" Weight: 195 lbs Birthplace: Gothenburg, Sweden Mats Johnsson is a defenceman declaring for the S57 VHL Entry Draft. He has spent his entire junior and pro career in the Frolunda HC system, starting out with their Under-16 program, before making stops with their U-18, and U-20 teams and eventually making his pro debut at the age of 18. The smooth skating defenceman has lead the Indians' attack from the back end for years, and is planning to showcase his talents in one of the top two professional hockey leagues in the world, the Victory Hockey League! Junior Career At the age of 15, Johnsson joined the Frolunda HC system through their Under-16 team, half way through the season. During the half season he played with the U16 Indians, he played 24 games and fit right in, scoring at nearly a point-per-game pace with 4 goals and 18 assists. The team made it to the second round of the playoffs that year, losing to the Leksands IF U16 in game 4 of a best of 5 series. Mats put scored a goal and added 4 helpers through his first 6 playoff games in the Frolunda system. At 16, the Swedish defender was moved up to the U18 team, but once again, he only played half a season with the team. Posting well over a point-per-game (9-17-26 in 19 games) in the 2nd division U18 league, the U20 team suffered injuries to 3 of its top 4 defencemen and called upon Johnsson to fill in on the back end. He impressed enough in the 12 games before the team was healed up that, even with a filling roster, the coaching staff decided to keep him on the team. He'd go on to play 27 games with the U20s, netting 2 goals and 13 assists for a respectable 15 points playing against kids up to 3 years his senior. During his 17 year old season, Mats suffered a concussion that wiped out half his season, getting back into the U20 line-up just in time for playoffs. That year's U20 Frolunda team was a strong one, and they were able to knock off the defending champs, Malmo, in an easy sweep. In 11 games that playoff, Johnsson lead the team in scoring, with 4 goals and 9 assists. Professional Career After his strong performance in the U20 playoffs, Indians' management decided that Johnsson was finished with junior, and ready to help their professional team. Penciled in to play sheltered minutes, the Indians deployed Johnsson in a strictly offensive role, sticking to offensive zone starts and secondary power-play time. This mitigated one of his biggest strengths, his skating, and Johnsson's play suffered because of it. The defender managed only a single goal, as well as 3 assists in 32 games before the team relegated him to press box duty for the remainder of the season. He didn't play a single playoff game that year, but used the benching as motivation to come back better the following season. In his second season with the Frolunda Indians, Johnsson came back more dedicated to his game. After working with the coach in the off-season, he was given a slightly bigger role, allowed to make some more defensive zone starts. Mats rewarded his coach's faith by showing that he could be a strong puck-mover and carrier, conducting breakouts more regularly. The confidence showed in his stats, as he managed to put up a much more respectable line of 4 goals and 16 assists in 49 games played that year. Unfortunately, the Indians missed the playoffs, so there was no chance to showcase his ability to step up when it matters most. Johnsson went on to spend six more years with the Indians, before joining the VHLM's Oslo Storm for their current playoff run. Over that time, he moved up to become the team's top defenseman, logging the most minutes of any player over that time. During the 6 seasons, Johnsson would miss only 8 games, playing a total of 304 games, logging 57 goals and 151 assists for 208 points during that time. The Indians won a pair of league championships during that time, the most recent coming two seasons ago, where they beat Linkopings HC in 6 games to claim the SHL Championship! This past season, they lost in the finals to that same Linkopings team before Johnsson decided to make the jump to the VHL. S T R E N G T H S Skating: A smaller defenceman, Johnsson relies on his wheels to keep him out of danger. Whether it is picking up the puck in his own zone and skating the puck out himself, cutting through the neutral zone and making smooth zone entries, or whirling around the offensive zone while looking to find the best option, Johnsson uses his skating to get the most out of his game. On the large ice, his speed and edge work made easy work of opponents; on the smaller ice used in the VHL, he will need to use his skating to keep him out of dangerous situations. Puck Moving: One of the top offensive defencemen in the SHL, it is only natural that Johnsson would have high-end puck moving skills. As mentioned earlier, he can use his feet to get the puck any place on the ice, but he also has elite puck skills to go with it. Whether it's sending a long breakout pass to a streaking teammate, threading the needle to set up a scoring chance, or anything in between, you can bet that if the puck is on his stick, Johnsson won't lose possession of it. Shot: Another weapon in the arsenal of any offensive defenceman worth his weight in salt, Johnsson has a surprisingly heavy shot that he can get off quickly and through traffic. He uses this shot to generate scoring chances, mostly keeping his shots low and at the goalie's pads to generate tips and rebounds. Whether he's setting up teammates, or just scoring goals, his shot is an asset that will come in extremely handy in the VHL. W E A K N E S S E S Defence: As odd as it is to say, the Swedish "defenceman" still struggles at times with his defensive game. He will never be confused for a defensive defender, but it goes further than that. Johnsson struggles with his footwork, and will at times lose his mark in the defensive zone. This is mitigated by his ability to outskate opponents, but when the opponents have pressure in Johnsson's defensive zone, he is too often caught out of position and scrambling to regain the puck. Strength: As a defenceman on the smaller side, a natural weakness will be the player's physical strength. Johnsson has a difficult time in puck battles, often getting out-muscled in the corners and in front of the net. Frolunda mitigated his weakness by often times pairing him with a bigger, stronger D-partner who could clear the net-front in the defensive zone. Johnsson will definitely need to hit the weight room if he plans to have the same success as he had in the SHL, in the VHL! Discipline: There is no doubt about it, Johnsson always has offence on the mind! This is great when his team has control of the puck, as he is a high-end offensive talent. However, he does have a penchant to make ill-timed pinches, and will sometimes be too aggressive with the puck, skating behind the other team's net; unless this results in a goal, Johnsson's aggresiveness too-often leads to odd-man rushes for the opponents. He will need a steady partner on the back-end who can cover for these mistakes, otherwise it could leave their goalie out to dry too often. N H L C O M P A R A B L E : Jake Gardiner

I remember doing GFX. I started out with GIMP, then eventually got PS. There was nights where I'd stay up until 4AM just working on sigs and wallpapers and such. I went from such a scrub making almost Paint-like sigs to being pretty good, IMO anyways. @brooks. was a big part of that, as he was one of my closer sim-friends, and he'd always offer help in how to make my work better. Was actually surprised when I came back and @JardyB10 was using an avatar I made him back in like S19 (come to think about it, I'm surprised it's still being hosted haha).

hahah, yeah, I don't know why I went with Dutch tbh. I think I was looking up German first, but that shit was way too nope lol.