Victor

Week 3 of 4

Some random bits on the playoffs so far Malmo Nighthawks clinch Victory Cup... and get swept in round one, extending the record streak of Victory Cup winners not making it to the finals. Malmo is the 9th straight regular season winner to fail to win their conference, by far the worst streak in VHL history and a pointer to the Victory Cup curse perhaps being very real. Just before this slump, in peak meta era, S79 Malmo and S80-S82 Vancouver all completed the Victory and Continental Cup double. S83 Moscow made the finals but since S84 Moscow failed to match that every regular season champion has been doomed to an early playoff exit. Who will break the curse? Does anyone want to win the Victory Cup anymore? Toronto upset NA top seed Calgary in a first round of shocks, while for the Legion that means they continue to fight back against one of the most lopsided historical playoff match-ups. Since the Wranglers beat the Legion in both S2 and S3 (and S7 and S8), they have retained an advantage over the years, with 11 wins to Toronto's 6. But the Legion have won two of the last three series (S83 and now S92) so may be turning the tide. By contrast this is the first time D.C. and Toronto have met in the playoffs, the second unique match-up this season after London's sweep of Malmo in their first ever meeting. If London or D.C. win their series, whoever they face in the finals will be for the first time, so only a Toronto vs Helsinki repeat would have historical precedent (the Legion won last season and in 3 of the previous 4 encounters – S48, S64, and S65)

Well at least I predicted Helsinki and Moscow would go to Game 7.

Nighthawks clinch Victory Cup

Week 2 of 4

This draft deserves more coverage like this. I demand scouting reports from everyone for the next 2 weeks. I knew it

Sounds like bull

are you saying Al Pacino or AI Pacino because one of those is genius.

Not entirely sure this is true, are you being swayed by the fact someone fucked up and imported the season's stats into the portal twice? Agreed based on the fact that I wrote a 40 in 40 article about him. But disagree because LeBeau had a big cultural impact at the time even without a proper article (HOF article notwithstanding). LeGod was a very real term at the time and when Toronto swept Davos in S37 (and beat a juggernaut NY in S38) his performances were outrageous. Rift shouldn't have retired early is the simple truth of it.

Time to activate the 3-1 curse

Lucky lucky Legion

The crystal Palace of the VHL

Maybe

can someone run this through the AI checker

What have I done

Seeing Prague and London in the wildcard round this season felt like a serious case of deja vu. Aren't Prague and London always in the wildcard round? I decided to see if the numbers back me up. There have been 20 seasons of the current wildcard round in each conference (S73-present) This is the 8th time Prague has contested a wildcard round, the 3rd time against London, who themselves are making their 7th appearance. By comparison Helsinki and Riga have 4 wildcard appearances to their name. Moscow and Warsaw have only contested it twice each. Davos and Malmo ruin the feeling I have with 7 and 6 appearances each, in particular given Davos did 3 straight seasons from S84 to S86. Yet they don't seem like a perennial wildcard team like Prague and London do. Is it just me? Maybe it's because in North America the spread is much more even (Seattle 7, Calgary 6, D.C. 6, Vancouver 5, Los Angeles 5, Chicago 4, Toronto 4, New York 3) that no one stands out – I'm pretty surprised Seattle is that high which might be another factor. The Bears have had lots of success in that time period, finals appearances and championships. London and Prague by contrast took a long time to make their first final – Prague still has only two to their name, London just their one cup in S88 – so not only do they have 15 wildcard appearances between them but it's also most of what we've seen of them in the playoffs over the years. Anyone else feel the same? Or just some unconscious bias on my part? Do London and Prague just need to get a room?

Gianfranco Del Rocco Scouting Report Gianfranco Del Rocco's only full regular season has come to an end and as the playoffs start it is an opportune time to reflect on how things went and what can be improved ahead of the next step into the VHLE. Having hit the threshold for training hours before the regular season started, Del Rocco wasn't able to improve during the season but that means that upon graduation from the VHLM he will have a chance to make some significant progress in the areas of his game in which he is lacking. That is, if the lessons from the S92 VHLM performance are learned... What went well Generally well-rounded game With 31 goals and 33 assists in S92 and 38 goals and 40 assists across his whole 1-and-a-bit season VHLM stint, Del Rocco has delivered on his promise of being a well-rounded game. Decision making has largely been strong, knowing when to shoot and when to pass, which is a good foundation for future success. Taking one for the team Slightly more surprisingly, Del Rocco has also immediately taken to a more physical game in the VHLM, laying down 141 hits in S92 and putting his body on the line with 47 blocked shots. This is a side of his game we didn't see prior to the VHLM but is an encouraging sign in that he is not being complacent and is willing to adapt to the more demanding professional leagues than what he was used to in Italy. Positive locker room presence Based partially on name recognition, Del Rocco was named San Diego captain immediately upon arrival. Whilst not the loudest leader, preferring to let his on-ice contributions do the talking, it has been a pleasant experience without any controversies, a good confidence boost after moving to North America. There was also a healthy relationship with S93 draft rival and teammate Jean-Pierre Devote which bodes well for a sensible mindset throughout Del Rocco's VHL career. What can be improved Consistency Throughout the season, Del Rocco has been incredible streaky, 1-2 good games followed by largely anonymous performances, which averaged out to around a point-per-game pace for the season. A good introspective look should be taken to understand how much of that will be solved by more training and how much is an attitude problem and needs some serious work. Shooting efficiency A 9.7% shooting percentage for the season is not a bad return but as an offensive-minded winger, we expect Del Rocco to deliver more efficiency on that end and convert more chances. This can be improved by prioritising higher quality shots and working on power and accuracy of the shots he does take. 50 goals should be the aim in the VHLE. Bigger role on his team The letter on his jersey added both pressure and credibility but Del Rocco was only sixth in team scoring in San Diego in S92. For a highly-rated prospect like Gianfranco we would expect a bigger role in his team's offense and whilst the Marlins were blessed with lots of quality forwards this season, Del Rocco has to step up going forward to make sure he doesn't just become one of the depth players.

1-1 we will take that, good job I at least showed up for Game 2.

It's time to make beef stew

5 hours to submit?? This is ludicrous

Clarke was the glue

Can you throw vapes in the same place as batteries

in the 3x list. two of them didn't make it