Victor

May

Have you ever gotten close to this level of TPE earning before?

1. Listening to music not talking to anyone in my headphones, as usual on long trips. I let everyone else sort out the problems. 2. The above to be honest. Ignoring my teammates is one of my top 1 pastimes. 3. Roger Sterling, he keeps getting emotional about how differently our careers have gone since we were both drafted in S61. He's ruined too many of my t-shirts already. 4. Jet Jaguar, some absolutely wild Ukrainian shit. I don't even know if it's legal in most of Europe but we're in Russia and it tastes nice so fuck it. 5. Probably the captain, Komarov, he's tough as a tree. Pretty sure I saw him maim a bear once. Although maybe that was someone from Seattle. 6. Beau Buefordsson, but he probably thought we had purposefully stopped in the middle of nowhere to kill him in a forest for retiring early.

(S67) D - Vladimir Pavlov Hometown: Moscow, Russia VHL Team: Moscow Menace Height: 6'2" Weight: 220 lbs. Vladimir Pavlov is one of three rookie defencemen on the S67 Moscow Menace roster, joining the franchise in its third season of existence, just as the VHL's first ever Russian team has joined the hunt for the playoffs. On a team performance level, it has been a great success for the local Muscovite, who has been burdened with fans' expectations ever since it was announced that the Menace would be represented by a kid from Moscow. Individually, there is still much room for improvement. Scouted as a center in the mould of his agency's predecessors like the Hall of Famer Alexander Chershenko and the currently active Podrick Cast, Pavlov has had a difficult transition to defence just as he started finding his feet in the VHLM as a forward. By the end of S66, Pavlov was showing hallmarks of some of those highly acclaimed names in the past, with MVP-worthy performances for Team Asia at the World Juniors and the Saskatoon Wild in the playoffs (10 goals and 18 points in 10 games), although both runs ended too short for the young center to be in serious consideration fo individual awards. It hadn't all been smooth sailing to that point, with S65 being effectively a waste of time for Pavlov as his agent chased a maiden Founder's Cup and while that was secured, Pavlov's stat line for the VHLM regular season and post season was identical – 11 games played and 0s across all the other categories as he saw no ice time for the Minnesota Storm. It was after a midseason trade from Minnesota to Saskatoon that Pavlov started to come into his own, but has now had to start from scratch again in a new position and in a league with Moscow. Here's a look at how that adaptatation's gone so far: Strengths Shooting ability – As a natural scorer, Pavlov has transferred his attacking nous to his new position with a shoot-first mentality resulting in a very respectable 6 goals and 28 points through 56 games in S67. Three of those goals have come on the powerplay where Pavlov has been a useful and understated weapon on the Menace's second unit. On-ice awareness – Like many forwards who shift to defence early on, Pavlov sees the game a bit differently to more experienced defencemen, with a clear eye for a good pass. This is definitely a skill which will become most useful in future seasons as the young defenceman really finds his bearings on the ice, and currently most his assists still come from rebounds rather than timely passes, but the potential is clearly there. Versatility – It almost goes without saying, but having already played as a forward and a defenceman in a short period of time, coaches will be able to use Pavlov in any position in the team in the future. Although defence is the position set in stone for Pavlov by Moscow's management, perhaps he will see some time as a forward on the powerplay or when the team is down by a goal late in the game. Weaknesses Defence – This comes as no surprise, but 56 games into life as a defenceman, Pavlov still has the mindset of a forward and will think about scoring before preventing goals. It's a mindset which fits the Menace, high both in the goals for and goals against columns but will need to improve as it's not a sustainable style of play for a serious Continental Cup contender. Taking one for the team – In a similar vein, Pavlov is so far not the most keen to lay his body on the line, with a meagre 40 blocked shots so far this season. This is a combination of both Pavlov's past as an offensive forward but also perhaps an element of prejudice from his status as a local fan favourite in Moscow. He has added a bit more to his physical game with 75 hits so far in S67 already ahead of his S66 full-season total, although that has led to the final main weakness... Discipline – Although an increased willingness to hit the opponent is a welcome change to Pavlov's game and transition to defence, it has come at a cost as on occasion the rookie gets overexuberant and has spent 74 minutes in the box so far this season, far ahead of his VHLM numbers. With experience and continued coaching, this is presumably an issue which will be resolved over time.

Cry me a river. I had 80 points last season for no reason at all. Your "terrible" season would be a career year for Leph Twinger (S62 notwithstanding) despite having pretty much identical builds. You're gonna make the HOF unlike the 3 other forwards who just retired this week, despite similar TPE levels.

Poor Twinger ?

Thank fuck, needed that

Fucking fuck it’s all going to shit.

Kastelic really wasted away more than half of his career on defence.

@Victor in case you want to use those admin powers (you don't)

Well that was a fucking dreadful sim.

No, I didn't really go into much depth here as just a 590. Dragomir and Arroyo have fewer career points than Cast and Thompson despite a season in hand, that will ultimately hold them back.

someone noticed

Trade deadline hit the VHL this week and with trade deadline week came multiple retirements as the first draftees entered the S69 draft class. Here's some thoughts on the recent retirees: Veran Dragomir The S60 1st overall pick retires with 1,389 TPE - the ninth most in VHL history (or tenth, maybe) - but might not even make the Hall of Fame ballot. As it stands, Dragomir is still waiting for another award, individual or Continental Cup, to add to his Stolzschweiger Trophy eight seasons ago, making him perhaps the unluckiest player of all time. Beau Louth Or maybe that's Beau Louth, Dragomir's erstwhile teammate in Quebec who retires with even more TPE (1,412) and just as few awards. Unlike Dragomir, Louth has been to two finals, but has lost both so kind of a disappointment too. Oyorra Arroyo Narrowly edging out Dragomir in career points (currently 672 in 555 games) despite less TPE, as well as boasting 3 cup rings and 2 seasons of maybe being the best player in the league (S64-S65). Still probably not enough to make the HOF but a good run for a first-gen. Oleksiy Revchenko An unheralded depth player. Was good for good teams. Stanley Sawchuk RIP Molholt? Thomas Kennedy I'm still coming terms with a player drafted 78th overall making it to the VHL.

Gold: Europe Silver: USA Bronze: World MVP: Lucas Nygren

Cast your mind back to S30, if you can, some point in early 2013. Or if you can't, just imagine the hype of the first ever VHL expansion as the league grew from eight teams to ten for the first time in 5 years and 30 seasons. It is still debatable whether the VHL was ready for that expansion, but what's certain is the VHLM did not, however it was still another five seasons or so before some genius commissioner () forced the two leagues to run separate sims. Until then, any changes that happened in the VHL had to be replicated in the minor league. The VHL has gone through much upheaval since then – contraction, reexpansion, and everything in between. However, that's nothing compared to what's happened in the VHLM. Now entirely contained within North America and with the most teams it's ever had (eleven), the often neglected minor league is nothing like what it was on the first sim of S31, as I found out while trying to piece together a few bits of VHLM history the past week. So I thought I'd have a look at the fate of those 10 “original” post-expansion VHLM franchises and see where they are now, countless relocations, contractions, and expansions later. Minot Gladiators Who? Well, yes, this North Dakota city of 47,000 including its perhaps most passionate supporter (@701, wherever he may be now) was once a VHLM franchise, and in fact a staple of the VHLM for many veterans of the league. Almost a staple, that is, given the Gladiators had just been taken on a brief foray to Syracuse in a highly controversial move in S26 – S31 was in fact the team's first season back in Minot. There was a bit of a romantic connection with the Gladiators for many members as they used to be quite successful and were affiliated with the Calgary Wranglers – in many ways the model franchise of early days VHL. However, Minot's third and final Founder's Cup was won in S19, before the VHL-VHLM affiliation model was abolished. Their last finals appearance came just before they came back to Minot, in S30. In truth, once the first wave of contraction hit in S42, as everyone realised the VHLM didn't need 10 teams, the Gladiators were the easy option to cull. Ottawa Ice Dogs Behold, the only franchise to have stayed in the VHLM for its entire 66-season-and-counting history. The Ice Dogs were not immune to to one name change which occurred not long after our Year Zero, in S33, as the VHLM's teams went through a significant rebrand and the one logo left lying around was of a cat, therefore the Ice Dogs had to become the Lynx. Apart from that though, this is about as stable as you can get in the VHLM. Ottawa has been a mainstay in the league and has been rewarded with a league-leading 12 Founder's Cups – four ahead of its nearest challengers. It's generally a franchise known for smart and consistent management, the team of current VHLM commissioner Jason Glasser on two occasions, and former commissioners Jim Gow (for most of the 30s) and Jardy Bunclewirth (S46 to S54) on others. The Ice Dogs/Lynx have been to 20 finals (again, the most in the VHLM), 13 of those since becoming the Lynx and 7 of the last 11. A model franchise in every aspect, it's a far cry from some of the other entries here. Saskatoon Wild For most of their history as Seattle's affiliate, the Wild (aka the Fresno Bulls aka the Buffalo Jr. Bears) were a bit of a shambles but then in S16 they moved to Saskatoon and in S17 obtained the godsend that is Jack Reilly as GM. His name now adorns the league's top executive trophy, but he actually stepped down two seasons before expansion. However, the reputation built up by the Wild up to that point seemed to carry them through to continued existence until today. In fact, that's nothing especially noteworthy about Saskatoon since S31 – not as a city or as a VHLM franchise. The Wild have won 5 of their 8 championships since then, have generally seen stable management (having to introduce an interim GM during their most recent cup in S63 notwithstanding), and just have never been bad enough to contract or unpopular enough to relocate. Saskatoon simply exists now as a link to the past, and although its history is a bit less rich than Ottawa's, it is now the second-longest lasting location in the VHLM (and longest without a name change). Brampton Blades Somewhat disappointingly, I have no idea when the Brampton Battalion became the Blades and there is almost certainly no way of finding out now. They were certainly the Blades by the time expansion rolled around and would have been fairly confident of surviving to the present day, but as more and more franchises bit the dust, it looks like Brampton was one of difficult decisions which needed to be killed off in the last wave of contraction (S53). It's a bit of a shame, as although Brampton's best days came before S31, it was still a staple of the league much like Ottawa. Even late on in the franchise's life, the Blades went on a run of 13 playoff appearances in 14 seasons, started by one GM Terence Fong back in S38. This streak ended just before Brampton was wiped off the face of the VHLM but also before the playoffs become all inclusive, so a fine achievement nonetheless. Yukon Rush Yukon 2 gud was the battle cry of the Rush as they entered the league in S31 as the expansion team to match Quebec in the VHLM, and boy did they rush into the league. Yukon won a Founder's Cup in their very first season of existence and made four more finals (winning three) by S38. It was a blistering pace and one they couldn't maintain, although winning just one championship since then (in S59) does make me question how the Rush survived the multiple contractions which have taken place in that time. Yukon is actually the only VHLM team I've managed (in S49 and S50), when I made it my goal to employ solely first-gen players, something that was much harder to do in those dark times for the league than it is today. Looking at the list of the franchise's GMs, it seems that the Rush have generally been in safe hands which perhaps has been their saving grace – a stable, reliable franchise which does its job of promoting prospects into the VHL. Bern Royals Ah Bern. Once Davos' affiliate, perfectly matched to be both in Switzerland and with a purple logo, who could have predicted they'd end up in Las Vegas? That's what happened though, as Robbie Zimmers was let in for just two seasons and that's all it took to push through a relocation in S54 (and also, to be fair, a Founder's Cup in the very first season in Nevada). No one really cared much for the Royals and they have been more successful as the Aces and won more frequently back in their days in Spain as the Toledo Scorpions. However, the move from Europe to North America was probably the final nail in the intercontinental VHLM after 52 seasons (ignoring the 10 further seasons in Oslo), which is a shame. As a final tidbit on the franchise, the Royals/Aces went on a 21-season playoff streak thanks to every VHLM team qualifying for the playoffs from S53 to S61, which only ended last season. Kolari Panthers As great as the concept of a EU/NA VHLM is, teams like the Panthers did little to keep that idea alive. Starting off as Helsinki's affiliate in tiny Jonkoping, Sweden, in S11 the team moved across the border to Finland, in an even smaller location – Kolari, 3,819 people at the start of 2019. Originally, the Kolari franchise was known as the Wolves, before becoming the Panthers in S17 for reasons unknown. That was the situation going into S31, which the Panthers actually entered as defending champions, having won their second cup in their ninth final (actually the second highest amount at the time). It all quickly went downhill from there. Kolari did relocate to a more recognisable location in Turku (Finland's third largest city) in S34, but the Outlaws made just one finals appearance before being a reasonably easy team to contract alongside Minot in S42. Oslo Storm The last bastion of European hockey in the VHLM was one of the least expected, certainly when you consider that not too long before expansion, the Oslo-based team was legitimately called the Screaming Seamen. It was certainly a slap to the face of the highly successful Gothenburg Eagles, who went on a then unheard of eight-season playoff streak and still were relocated to Oslo anyway. By S31, things had cooled down and the Storm were a reasonably average member of the VHLM. Despite a quick start in post-expansion VHLM with a Founder's Cup in S32, Oslo didn't actually win another until S57 and while that is not the be-all-end-all in the minors, it's still quite peculiar that the Storm were the last European franchise standing in the league. Of course, that also didn't last as with the first of the recent rounds of expansion in S65, Oslo saw its team move to Minnesota, leaving Ottawa and Saskatoon as the runaway leaders in terms of longevity. Vasteras IK J20 Lost in the the years of “Fuck Vasteras” campaigning is the fact that Vasteras' original VHL GM Lucas Tannahill also put his VHLM affiliate in the same city. The VHLM Vasteras didn't find much more success than the VHL version, winning its first championship in S11, then having the first 16 draft picks in the S26 Dispersal Draft (no, really) and still managing to choke away a Founder's Cup. The J20 did manage to win their second cup the following year in S27. Other than splitting up the VHL and VHLM sims, one of my main targets as commissioner in the 30s was to destroy Vasteras once and for all. It took until S41 to move the Iron Eagles to Stockholm, but the VHLM team was relocated in S36, becoming the Moscow Red Wolves. It was an odd name with a logo that looked more like a friendly dog, but the team did win a cup in S45. However, when the VHLM went down from 8 teams to 7 in S52, Moscow was another fairly easy choice to cull. At VHL level, we now have both a Moscow team and a Wolves team in Vancouver as of S65 – if they turn out better than the post-Vasteras Moscow remains to be seen. Vasteras, however, is almost certainly gone for good. Bratislava Watchmen Finally, the other expansion team alongside Yukon. Alongside Brampton, this was the last VHLM franchise to fall (other than Oslo's relocation) and to me the most heartbreaking. In just 23 seasons, the Bratislava Watchmen made 7 finals appearances and won all of them, a superb record for an expansion team. What's more, they had some of the most stable management the VHLM has seen, including 3 long-term GMs who immediately graduated to the VHL after their time in Bratislava – Vince Wong to Helsinki, Blake Campbell to Seattle, and Benjamin Zeptenbergs to Riga. The latter two of course are still managing their respective VHL teams. The Watchmen always felt like one of the success stories of the VHLM, a model franchise like Ottawa and not the trainwreck which was quite a lot of the other teams. Although there was a clear move away from Europe just before Bratislava was contracted in S54, with Moscow going just a few seasons earlier and Bern moving to Vegas, choosing to keep the Storm over the Watchmen was, for me, a questionable move. But what's done is done and now there are five fresh VHLM franchises (and Halifax) which might hope to follow Bratislava's trajectory (prior to contraction).

Hush I'm on the upside down side of the world.

2 correct answers = 2 capped TPE 1 correct answer = 1 capped TPE Uncapped TPE based on season leaderboard handed out at end of season. Link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScesp2i4Teu387S4oewyXJx2b113efbkGvAtSIjx_eAOw_B5g/viewform?usp=sf_link

1. Which Season 23 Entry Draftee won the most Continental Cups? (Credit to @Renomitsu - 1 uncapped TPE!) The man who has also won the most Continental Cups, S23 1st overall pick Leeeeeeeeeeeeroooooooooy Jenkiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiins. (also Black Velvet won 5 cups but was drafted much later in S48) The other two options were also S23 draftees but won much fewer countries. All this info could have been found here: https://vhlforum.com/topic/192-s23-vhl-entry-draft/ 2. For how many consecutive seasons was Remy LeBeau Toronto captain? (Credit to @Green - 1 uncapped TPE!) A slight trick question by the man himself, although LeBeau was captain for 5 seasons in total, there was a gap caused by Jack Sound between his first season (S32) and his 4 consecutive from S34 to S37, culminating in a playoff MVP and a finals sweep for the Legion. 2 capped TPE goes to: FrostBeard @FrostBeard Sharkstrong @Sharkstrong Beketov @Beketov Berocka @berocka Banana2311 @Banana2311 Tuktukthegreat @TukTukTheGreat Edustava @Edustava Omgitshim @omgitshim Green @Green Snussi @Snussu .sniffuM @.sniffuM Poptart @Poptart Esso2264 @Esso2264 hewasajazzman @hewasajazzman Saelven88 @Saelven88 Jtv123 @Jtv123 chillzone @chillzone nethi99 @nethi99 HenrikZoiderberg @HenrikZoiderberg Oilmandan @oilmandan Enorama @Enorama HulkHogan @HulkHogan Brrbisbrr @Brrbisbrr Bushito @Bushito Matmenzinger @Matmenzinger ahawk2191 @ahawk2191 cody73 @cody73 Acydburn @Acydburn GustavMattias @GustavMattias aCrypticPancake @aCrypticPancake Datools @Datools Walter Fizz @Walter Fizz Zeno @Zeno Mr_Hatter @Mr_Hatter DilIsPickle @DilIsPickle Matt_O @Matt_O Sonnet @Sonnet frescoelmo @frescoelmo Patpou22 @Patpou22 Juddy @Juddy SidTheKid87 @SidTheKid87 DizzyWithLogic @DizzyWithLogic mmarcoux98 @mmarcoux98 GRZ @GRZ Bruins10 @Bruins10 73MPL4R @73MPL4R Jaku @Jaku Nykonax @Nykonax Dalton Wilcox @Dalton Wilcox Motzaburger @Motzaburger philliefan @Philliefan JBeezy76 @Jbeezy76 Psyduck77 @Psyduck77 Theflash @TheFlash McWolf @McWolf Beaviss @Beaviss Jubo07 @Jubo07 sjs88speed @sjs88speed Frozen Block @Frozen Block okocha5 @okocha5 Donno100 @Donno100 barzalgoat @BarzalGoat rjfryman @rjfryman TheLastOlympian07 @TheLastOlympian07 jRuutu @jRuutu Smarch @Smarch Hughjas_ @HughJas_ Cornholio @Cornholio metaltoday @MetalToday CowboyinAmerica @CowboyinAmerica Fire_In_Babylon @Fire_In_Babylon BladeMaiden @BladeMaiden Mini Muu @Mini Muu Thranduil @Thranduil Liberty_Cabbage @Liberty_Cabbage SlapshotDragon @SlapshotDragon 11 Eleven @11 Eleven Velevra @Velevra VanCanWin @VanCanWin fonziGG @fonziGG gorlab @gorlab Psanchez55 @Psanchez55 Kekzkrieg @Kekzkrieg Quik @Quik Rayzor_7 @Rayzor_7 jack @jack DMaximus @DMaximus NumberJ5 @NumberJ5 Renomitsu @Renomitsu Joubo @Joubo elrune1988 @elrune1988 studentized @studentized Josh @Josh Big Mac @Big Mac DollarAndADream @DollarAndADream hedgehog337 @hedgehog337 Rebacco @Rebacco AcousticKazoo @AcousticKazoo wcats @wcats Grape @Grape TacticalHammer @TacticalHammer Uphillmoss @uphillmoss Dominus89 @Dominus89 Kyle @Kyle flyersfan1453 @flyersfan1453 Telkster @Telkster JeffD @JeffD sebster03 @Sebster03 eaglesfan036 @eaglesfan036 Leafsman @leafsman Elmebeck @Elmebeck STZ @STZ 1 capped TPE goes to: FBR @FBR Tate @Tate PotatoKing @PotatoKing MacH @MacH Phil @Phil K1NG LINUS @K1NG LINUS xsjack @xsjack bluesfan55 @bluesfan55 street @street NucksGamer1 @NucksGamer1 Javier Ricardo @Javier Ricardo

Dropped a five point game on retirement announcement day, legend.

Close goalie battle, Riga has really stepped up with the position changes.

Never a good sign when Pavlov is first star.

Could have been the greatest steal of all time.

Player with most TPE not in the HOF?

That man was a true American patriot. Freedom McJustice deserves better.