Victor

It's almost certainly not the first time sliders have been changed in the sim.

We all dwindle away, the sands of time whittling away like tears in the rain or something

The answer is yes

Week 3 of 4

Cologne? More like eau de toilette

Vasteras - the Blessing and the Curse Some cities are steeped in history and you can feel it in the ancient buildings, the cobbled streets, and evidence of lives enjoyed and endured centuries ago. Sometimes trying to make your own history can be daunting in a place whose past is so much larger than you. However, it's those who look to seize such an opportunity are the ones that tend to thrive. Vasteras is a city which has that level of history in a purely Swedish context – one of the country's oldest inhabited places. But its place in VHL lore is arguably even more mythical. Founded by Lucas Tannahill in S1, the Vasteras IK were one of the oddest locations for one of the four European franchises and this only became more pronounced as other teams moved to more recognisable cities. Combined with the unoriginal logo, an identical VHLM team (Vasteras IK J20) which meant this city of some 120,000 took up 12.5% of the two leagues' locations, and a genuine and deeply-rooted hatred for the franchise started to become part of the VHL's fabric. It didn't help that Vasteras' S1 underdog Continental Cup win remained the franchise's only and despite best intentions seemed genuinely cursed, particularly after choosing to trade away Scotty Campbell in S4. Cue the ill-judged move to Madrid, the move back, the curse-breaking second championships for both the Iron Eagles and J20 in S26 and S27, and then even longer cup droughts and moves to Moscow (in the VHLM) and Stockholm (in the VHL). You've probably heard at least some of the stories. By the Vikings' contraction in S57 all Vasteras-based franchises and their successors were removed, permanently it seemed. Enter the VHLE. And of course, a good storyline always finds a way. Naturally, Vasteras won the inaugural Renaissance Cup, it wouldn't have made sense for anyone else too. Of course they weren't favourites for it. Obviously they've not won another championship since despite being overwhelming favourites at least once and being the best regular season on three separate occasions. You couldn't a Vasteras rebirth that is more Vasteras than what they've actually done. It's part of the magic that meant the franchise always had some support to not be killed and then to be brought back. That is the historic franchise that Gianfranco Del Rocco has joined in S93. Losing in Vasteras isn't uncommon but isn't permanent, but valiantly snatching defeat from the jaws of victory certainly seems to be. The Iron Eagles are considered favourites by some to end their 12-season cup drought in S93 (in truth, barely even a cup drought by Vasteras' standards) and certainly have the players for it. Del Rocco has yet to win much with two first-round exits in both Miami and San Diego and to be honest a lacklustre time in the VHLM in general, not even hitting the point-per-game mark and being overshadowed by multiple teammates. Based on the potential, the skillset, and the alleged pedigree, he still went early in both the VHL and VHLE drafts but there is something to prove. So far, Del Rocco leads Vasteras in scoring and seems to be settling in but the city is quite welcoming at first, when expectations are low. The real challenge comes when the pressure rises, when it feels like this might be the season. The problem is Vasteras has broken the curse just enough times to keep the belief alive, but rarely enough that the sense of dread creeps in before you've even lost the game. Is Del Rocco made of the sterner stuff that can survive that pressure cooker, especially come playoff time? He has a lot to prove to his doubters and equally an enormous weight of history and potentially career-making legacy to contend with. Hello Europe indeed... try to make it out alive Gianfranco.

As the rumours about their off-ice affairs persisted, Italian prospects Antonia Bucatini and Gianfranco Del Rocco went first and second overall, as expected, in the VHL draft. With Bucatini staying close to home in Davos but Del Rocco nine timezones away in Seattle, surely that was the end of that off-season fling? Well, maybe, if it existed in the first place. But with both players choosing to spend an extra season in Europe to hone their skills in the VHLE, the rumour mill has ended up churning. Bucatini is spending her VHLE year in Oslo with Del Rocco across the border in Vasteras. A five-hour drive separates the two (or a six-hour train with a change at Hallsberg), not in itself surprising given half of the VHLE's teams are in either Norway or Sweden. What has been surprising and slightly disappointing for the paparazzi is that both young players have seemingly chosen to focus on their hockey, not leaving their team bubbles even when travelling away to other VHLE locations. The step up to the VHLE hasn't hindered either Italian with Del Rocco leading Vasteras with 9 points and Bucatini's 4 goals joint most on Oslo. But have the harsher northern conditions cooled passions? Or is it that two points separate the Iron Eagles and Storm and it will likely remain a close-run race all season? Or was there nothing there to begin with? The speculation certainly won't be quelled so easily.

One game only?? I am deprived

At this point is it a number or just a screech?

was he well known for blocking shots lol? @Beketov

1th* Rude, we don't want them

Two good battles with Rome there.

The man only needs one name

Da bears

Statement first sim for Vasteras. 2 down, 70 to go.

Week 2 of 4

Everyone trying to hype us up smh

it is the history of the vasteras

If Cologne doesn't make the finals we know you are the curse. Speaking of curses, I'm afraid you are not allowed success this season as its time to make Vasteras great again.

It's Vasterasin' Time

da bears

But this thread just got posted??

forum content

Best VHLE Players of All Time I am about to embark on my first ever season VHLE, ironic as that is given I was one of the two founding commissioners 13 seasons ago. As such, whilst it is no notable anniversary or milestone for the league itself, I thought it was an opportune moment to look at the VHLE's past, specifically the best players to grace the league so far. We're not counting one-season stars on their way up to the VHL, such as Omi Aberg and Kyosti Karjalainen in the VHLE's early days, future Hall of Famer and MVP trophy namesake Ronan Lavelle, or John Jameson and Jasper Davis more recently. These players wrote their name into the VHLE history books but haven't truly become part of its fabric; for them the league was more of a necessary pitstop. Instead, this is a ranking of an arbitrarily selected 21 players who are best known for their VHLE exploits. Let's begin the countdown. 21. Al Land (S85-S91) – 379 points in 432 games – S89, S90, and S91 Renaissance Cup @Big Dee Populating several slots towards the bottom of the ranking are the “lifers”, in particular those who managed to land on some of the dynasties that have come about in the second half of the VHLE's life so far. Al Land fits that bill perfectly, spending six seasons in the E, five of them on the Cologne juggernaut which swept all before them en route to a threepeat to end Land's career. Land never matched this 123-point season in the VHLM which earned him three individual awards in S84 but was a familiar face to VHLE fans and clearly a born winner, retiring with two Founder's Cups and three Renaissance Cups from nine seasons overall. 20. Adeline Delle Donne (S82-S89) – 490 points in 572 games – S87 Top Two-Way Forward, S83 and S88 Renaissance Cup @Dtayl One of the all-time top scorers of the VHLE comes in at number 20 on this list having nearly cracked the 500-point mark largely thanks to longevity rather than being an individual standout. There was certainly a peak in S87 with 107 points and her only individual award but consistency was the name of the game for the most part. Delle Donne played for four of the current six VHLE franchises over her eight-season career, making the playoffs with each one and helping both Bratislava and Oslo to championships. Certainly a VHLE cult hero. 19. Arthur Kimura (S80-S88) – 477 points in 640 games – S80, S82, and S85 Renaissance Cup @FBR Sneaking in ahead of Delle Donne in the longevity rankings, Arthur Kimura still stands as one of just three players with three or more Renaissance Cups, despite retiring pre-Cologne threepeat and more impressively doing it with three different franchises (Vasteras, Rome, and Oslo). In all, Kimura suited up for six VHLE teams, a genuine nomad who encapsulates the VHLE model – someone who would have been considered a burden on the depth chart of VHL teams pre-VHLE but managed to have a reasonably successful career at a lower level. 18. Rhys Trenton (S80-S81, S85-S86) – 277 points in 288 games – S85 Top Defenceman, S86 Renaissance Cup @DeeGoat On the subject of archetypal VHLE players, here is an interesting case study of someone who started in the E, impressed enough to make the jump to the VHL (after a 99-point season as a defenceman in S81), held his own in the big leagues for a little while, but ultimately went back to the comfort zone for his best VHLE seasons. Fittingly, Rhys Trenton's three VHL seasons were all with European teams (London, Malmo, and Prague) and he was named the VHLE's best defenceman when moving to Rome in S85 before bowing out with a cup in S86. 17. Travis Clark (S84-S90) – 180-108-27 .929 sv% 2.53 GAA – S90 Top Goaltender @ClarkClanT The first goalie and first Clark on our list, here is another player who had a VHL stint, albeit just one backup season with Davos back in S85. After another backup season in the VHLE with Oslo, an impressive 100% record convinced GMs that Clark was starter quality and he remained among the league's best for the remaining four seasons of his career. Individual glory came in his final season, which was also the closest Travis Clark came to the Renaissance Cup (losing to the other Clark in the final), but arguably S87 was his best regular season. A couple near misses push this Clark down the list however. 16. Nagy AL (S82-S90) – 560 points in 648 games – S84 and S88 Renaissance Cup @bigAL Although VHLE career statistics are not tracked anywhere, Nagy AL is probably the all-time leader in points and games played. Possibly blocked shots as well. He never quite dominated the league but with 60-80 point seasons generally as a defenceman and two cups, he was ever-present for nine seasons of the league's existence. AL spent most of his time in Istanbul, winning that franchise's only Renaissance Cup before bouncing around the league, adding a championship with Oslo in S88 and having his individual best season in S89. 15. Jordan Bennett (S84-S85, S87-S92) – 463 points in 576 games – S87, S88, S90, and S91 Renaissance Cup @Plate A perfect example of a late-bloomer and the impact of a position change. After two unimpressive seasons as a forward and even more so when playing that position for one season in Moscow in the VHL, Cologne's management moved Bennett to defence and reaped the benefits as he won three cups in four finals during his four-season stay in Germany. In between, Bennett snuck in another championship with Oslo in S88, making him the all-time leader in Renaissance Cups. Although his VHLE seasons were more solid than spectacular, that winning run more than earns a place on this list. 14. The Loch Ness Monster (S80-S84) – 363 points in 360 games – S81 Renaissance Cup @LuluSalesAway Carrying on the streak of defencemen is the mythical Loch Ness Monster. He/she/they were actually in the VHL before the VHLE's formation, but fit in well into a five-season stint with Stockholm upon the league's creation. S81 was the highlight with 94 points in the regular season, and a tremendous return of 17 points from just 9 games in the playoffs en route to the Vikings' Renaissance Cup victory. The Monster remained a mainstay in Stockholm through to its retirement. 13. Florida Man (S80-S81) – 140 points in 144 games – S81 Renaissance Cup and Playoff MVP @zepheter First trophy namesake on the list, Florida Man just about makes the cut despite only two seasons in the VHLE. As they were the first two seasons of the league, and Man's 20-point playoff performance in S81 was good enough to be more impressive than Loch Ness Monster's above, we have to afford bonus points here for being a formative part of the VHLE. Apart from the S81 playoffs, Florida Man didn't massively stand out in his two seasons in Stockholm, but with his VHL career being equally consistent without a massive breakthrough, this is not a case of someone using the league a stepping stone but instead becoming part of its fabric. 12. Sigma Freud (S87-S89) – 177 points in 216 games – S89 Top Defenceman, S89 Playoff MVP, S87 and S89 Renaissance Cup @CODENAMEJIMMY Up next is in effect Florida Man a decade later, a short but memorable stint with a successful franchise. Sigma Freud joined the Cologne Express as they began to assert dominance on the VHLE, being a cog in the wheel for his first championship in S87. By his final VHLE season, in S89, Freud was now one of the leaders of the team, considered the league's best defenceman after a 94-point seasons and playoff MVP en route to another cup. 11. Ryan Li (S80-S81) – 191 points, 601 hits in 144 games – S80 and S81 Top Two-Way Forward @Ryan Li A mix of several worlds – Ryan Li was someone who bounced between the VHL and VHLE and also did a lot in a short period of time in Europe. Li's career predated the league, as he spent a few seasons in a rebuilding Vancouver. Moving to the VHLE just as the Wolves embarked on their threepeat clearly inspired him as he had two of the best two-way forward seasons the league has seen, setting the bar for all those to come after him. Li then made his way back to Vancouver in time for their third cup, making his time in the E worth it. 10. Pope Francis (S89-S90) – 168 points in 144 games – S89 and S90 Top Defenceman @nurx Another of the midtable pack of short but prolific stints, Pope Francis spent two seasons in Rome, fittingly, and was unmatched as the VHLE's finest defenceman in that time. The Gladiators fell short in the playoffs despite two strong runs, but no blame could fall on the Pope who delivered strong performances and made the most of his time in the E. 9. Aldwin Craig (S80-S84) – 320 points, 1,521 hits in 360 games – S82 Top Two-Way Forward, S81 Renaissance Cup @Eldredman Ryan Li set the bar, but ultimately the man after whom the two-way forward trophy named is Aldwin Craig. After one unspectacular season in New York in S79, Craig joined the successful Vikings team of the early VHLE and was a formidable physical presence throughout his five seasons in Stockholm. The pinnacle came in season three with a scarcely believable 450 hits in 72 games – a marker was set and Craig's name immortalised. 8. Evan Bihler (S87-S89) – 98-76-11 .930 sv% 2.72 GAA – S89 MVP and Top Goaltender @Eb14 More recently known as Toronto's extremely dependable backup, Evan Bihler's time as starter in the VHLE was an indication of his underlying talent. Consistently putting up strong performances despite not being on the cup favourites, Bihler's crowning glory was S89, perhaps the VHLE's best goaltending season up to then which saw him crowned as MVP and left him well prepared for stepping in when needed for the Legion. 7. BjorkaBjorn BjornaBjorkson (S87-present) – 433 points in 432 games – S88 Playoff MVP, S87 Renaissance Cup @JardyB10 The first player to specifically target a career in the VHLE, BjornaBjorkson may be disappointed not to be at the top of this list yet, but still has time to add more crowning achievements and chase down Nagy AL's records. The accomplishments so far are impressive enough, with two 97-point seasons and a rare playoff MVP as a member of the losing finalist. His loyalty to Rome means he hasn't yet been the face of the best team in the league, but coming off his joint-best seasons yet in S92, there may well be more to come from the VHLE lifer. 6. Clark (S90-present) – 113-58-11 .928 sv% 2.32 GAA – S90 and S91 Renaissance Cup and Playoff MVP, S92 Top Goaltender and MVP @cl4rk The Clark that was promised. From S89 (down in the VHLM with Las Vegas) through S91, Clark was playoff MVP and champion for three straight seasons, and the spell was only just broken in S92, albeit after a regular season .940 save percentage which was certainly the best goalie season we've seen yet. It will be interesting to see how Clark adapts to the new scoring-focused rules in the league but Cologne remains a formidable force while he is around so a place in top five is still on the cards. 5. Justin Lion (S87-S89) – 127-45-20 .930 sv% 2.10 GAA – S88 Top Goaltender, S87 and S89 Renaissance Cup @Emperor_Fun A big part of the Express dynasty was the seamless transition to Clark from Justin Lion who came beforehand. Lion was an even more dominant force in the regular season, with three straight 40-win and .929 save percentage seasons, with Cologne riding that wave to two championships in that time. Lion has moved on to a starting role in the VHL but certainly the highlight to date is his VHLE achievements placing him as the league's second best goaltender ever. 4. Zeljko Ranogajec (S80-S83) – 326 points in 288 games – S81 Top Defenceman @ColeMrtz Before Cologne had playoff success, they had Ranogajec, the best defenceman the VHLE has seen. In his sole VHL season before the VHLE opened its doors, Ranogajec won the Continental Cup with Malmo, and brought an edge to the E which was almost unmatched over his four seasons in the league. The highlight is definitely 103 assists in S81 and whilst a championship eluded the Express, Ranogajec's 11 assists brought them close in S82. 3. Orion D H Chiester IX (S80-S86) – 210-116-46 .923 sv% 2.63 GAA – S83, S84, and S85 Top Goaltender, S83 Renaissance Cup @Donno100 Barring continued success from Clark, Chiester's goaltending throne remains secure. Unlike other award names where some debate could be had, after being the league's best goalie for three seasons running, it was hard to argue against Chiester being the name for future netminders to look up to. After a slow start to life in Bratislava, that winning period was clearly his peak, but he also has strong career numbers having spent seven full seasons as the Watchmen's undisputed starter. 2. Fred Hampton (S85-S87) – 235 points in 216 games – S86 MVP, S87 Renaissance Cup and Playoff MVP @TownBizness The man who kickstarted the Cologne dynasty? Perhaps. After a forgettable season in Geneva, Fred Hampton put up 200 points in just two seasons with the Express, being voted MVP both in the regular season and playoffs. Unusually for a player who spent that long in the VHLE, Hampton still went on to make a significant impact in the VHL, winning a championship with Prague and putting up a 98-point season in S90, but it all started with the formative years in Germany. 1. Sebastien Dokis (S83-S88) – 430 points in 418 games – S87 MVP, S86 Renaissance Cup @Sebastien Eventually famous for being the oldest rookie to win the Continental Cup in S89, it was part of a long but ultimately successful path for Dokis through the VHLE. Whilst some of the players already ranked had higher peaks and some have higher career totals, Dokis has the best of both worlds – four seasons of being a solid performer before a big breakthrough with 115 points in S87. More importantly, the late graduation to the VHL and finding more success there is a perfect story of how different VHLE journeys can be enjoyable which feels like a worthy story for top spot.