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Victor

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Everything posted by Victor

  1. Based on the GM stuff I'm working on, I can see especially how it would have been a tough sell to contract Quebec over Cologne, particularly at that moment with Quebec in the midst of 4 finals in a row and Cologne run into the ground by Scott fucking Anderson (who let that happen I'll hunt you down I swear). But yeah, I am aesthetically disappointed - both for the EU/NA split and removing a green team. Problem is, even if we were ever to expand again, I mean I would push for 2 European teams, but then we'd have 2 expansion teams in the same conference? So I guess conferences won't be coming back. Therefore, it's time to start working public opinion in favour of a NA relocation to the EU. I'm looking at you Quebec/Seattle.
  2. Yes
  3. I read Season 150 and fully accepted that is a thing that will happen. We're almost halfway there.
  4. I spoke about the spreadsheet I'm making for a bit. Spreadsheet Podcast
  5. Outscore the opposition is a great plan if you ask me.
  6. Think it's not quite going to be ballot Reckon you need 700 points + some awards to be in the conversation as an 8-season forward. Even then, Kroenenburg never made it, Milo never made it, Kellinger will probably never make it, Kohler a longshot too.
  7. You know Davos is back when Davos starts winning a season before everyone expects Davos to win.
  8. dis gun b gud
  9. Also @Will any idea why only half of Markus King's career seems to be showing up on the portal? Reckon he'll have had good stats.
  10. yup I decided the manual nature of this update didn't make sense to do for active players. McAllister and Stopko currently the likeliest to feature near the top I think. Forsberg and Arkander would have been two others I think but it wasn't meant to be.
  11. Dunno why but you're featured into this @eaglesfan036 Loosely based on real events I guess?
  12. The Biography of Podrick Cast Arthur William Cast was a well-known radio commentator in the UK prior to retiring as a result of a chest infection. Popular in particular for his cricket commentary, Cast was something of a celebrity in south-east England, allowing him to settle down in opulent Berkshire, not far from Reading. Such was his fascination with everything to do with radios that he named his first-born and only child Podrick, allowing the shortened version of his name to be pronounced Pod Cast. Ridiculous names given by parents with bigger dreams have a tendency to backfire terribly, but fortunately for Arthur his son appeared willing to follow the path set out by his father. Although he preferred to be called by his full name, Podrick did develop a fondness for radio broadcasts, earning an unofficial role on his school radio by the age of 11. Unlike his father, Podrick preferred winter sports, something of a more niche interest in England, mainly driven by annual family holidays to ski resorts on the Alps. It was on one of these that the Casts met a junior hockey team from Nottingham with Podrick making a few friends among them. Fast forward 6 years and Podrick was at Nottingham University, working as commentator on the university's hockey matches. Nottingham University Despite the loose interest in watching hockey, the teenage Cast had little inclination to actually play the game and nothing indicated that he ever would. He occasionally participated in practice sessions and impressed his friends with his speed and above-average shooting ability, but personally found the sport too physically demanding to pursue further. Instead, Cast focused on a budding media career along with his degree. It was at one of these practice sessions that Podrick was spotted by former VHL player agent Victor Alfredsson. Alfredsson was a well-known name in the hockey world, holding roles as diverse as VHL commissioner and HC Davos Dynamo GM at various points in time, but had recently retired from the business, taking a sabbatical to travel around Europe and watch hockey for leisure rather than work. Having married and settled down in Reading, Nottingham was a fairly local club for Alfredsson and he agreed to help fellow former VHL agent Austin Gow scout out potential VHL-level talent in the UK. None of the actual players caught his eye, but Alfredsson recommended Gow find out if Cast could be persuaded to take up hockey professionally. Gow however balked at Podrick's lean build and lack of any real experience at the age of 19 and left the country without signing a client. Alfredsson proceeded to attend a few more practice sessions in Nottingham on his own, before deciding that Cast was someone worthy returning to the VHL with. He approached Podrick and after a bit of convincing had sold young Cast the idea that the VHL offered more guarantees than the media. Unfortunately for the veteran player agent, Cast Sr. heard about the offer and being the overprotective father he is, swooped in to keep the money in the family. With Arthur undertaking substantial research into the sport he was not hugely familiar with, he also came to the conclusion that the real money was in an NHL career and got Podrick fast-tracked to the OHL. After 2 years of trying to reach NHL draft eligibility, Cast returned to Reading with the move an unmitigated disaster – Arthur Cast didn't have the experience to get Podrick up to the necessary level, while Podrick himself couldn't settle in Ontario. It looked like a promising hockey career had come to a premature end. It would be another 2 years back at university until another chance encounter led Cast back to the VHL's doors. Travelling through Heathrow airport in London, Podrick ran into a group of Seattle Bears fans coming back from a Continental Cup finals game in Riga. Needing an interesting topic for the newspaper that Cast was now working for, he decided to interview these fans about their thoughts on an inter-continental hockey league and what it means in terms of travel. In the process, Podrick caught himself thinking that this wouldn't be something he would mind doing as a player, so long as he could remain based in Europe. He was quickly on the phone to Alfredsson in the hope that the 4-year-old offer was still on the table. Fortunately, it still was, as Alfredsson's interest in returning to the VHL had once again subsided after the near-miss on signing Cast. It was now Cast's turn to do the persuading, but, after agreeing on a few conditions giving Alfredsson a lot more control over Cast's career, hockey training resumed, with Podrick hopeful of still making the VHL at the age of 25. Alexander Chershenko in action during the S34 playoffs “Podrick is a strange one for me – I don't know why but something in him drew me back to the VHL. It would have had to take something special for me to make a return, but turns out having a serious hockey talent on my doorstep was it. The craziest thing is he didn't even know he had what it took to make it. It took a bit of work, but I think we've got a solid VHL forward on our hands now. He's no [Lars] Berger that's for sure, he doesn't really throw his body around anywhere near as much. He's not really [Alexander] Chershenko either, maybe in being a goal-scorer above everything else, but it's a completely different style of play and most importantly Chershenko was a real leader, and was driven to be the best ever. I don't see that in Podrick, but maybe that's what attracted me to this project – the challenge involved. This is not a ready-made player, this is someone who should be in the prime of his career but didn't start taking it seriously until two years ago. I've got a pretty big reputation on the line but I'm ready to ride it out. We'll see what happens over the next seven years.” - Victor Alfredsson, Podrick Cast's player agent Everything has gone to plan so far for Podrick – a league-leading rookie season and most importantly, still in Europe, having played for Oslo in the VHLM and now Riga in the VHL. Now that he has got comfortable, will he push on and unleash his full potential or will his career plateau? Only time will tell.
  13. Interesting, very interesting. Gow cup-winner against Davos?
  14. Your people never met my people.
  15. Shame you're on Seattle now. I think that's probably accurate. You can have it.
  16. By this point I think it's just the curse of you and goalies.
  17. We weren't fucking around. RIP @JardyB10
  18. God how many forwards do you want @Beaviss
  19. Yeah, wow you had a rough one. I had 8 shutouts in my rookie season (and a cup).
  20. Sadly our stats guru @street hasn't updated the linked spreadsheet for a while: That's not the end of the world because we now have the portal, but makes comparison between the bestest players ever a bit trickier. So I've gone and thrown in the stats of some of the best modern players in the below: Skaters Stats - reg. season Skaters stats - plfs Goalies stats - reg. season Goalies stats - plfs The players I've updated are highlighted in blue. I've gone for HOF inductees and award winners, but let me know if there's any players with good stats I've missed off. A few points of interest on this though: John Locke - now the all-time playoff goals leader. That's quite a feat, in around the same amount of games as Scotty Campbell too. Playoff legend this man. Phil Shankly - became the all-time playoff hits leader. Probably. A few goalies tried to come for my all-time shutouts record. They failed, just, but split the Cleganes forever Astrid Moon should not have retired early though. Unassisted and Franchise Cornerstone (especially Unassisted) landed well in goals and points as I think was well known. Lots of movement in GWGs though Campbell remains untouchable. Shankly, Fook Yu, Theo Axelsson up there in all-time hits.
  21. Boner to lead a playoff series against Calgary in ice time, you heard it here first.
  22. C – Podrick Cast Age: 25 Place of birth: Reading, England, UK Height: 6'3” Weight: 186 lbs. Current team: Riga Reign As we prepare to enter Season 62, it seems a good time to look back at the rookie season of the reigning Christian Stolzschweiger Trophy winner Podrick Cast. With nearly 100 points in his first VHL season, Cast took the league by storm from the outset, forming a devastating partnership with fellow S61 draftee Edwin Preencarnacion and guiding a limited Reign roster to a respectable 6th place finish in the league. The two took all the votes for the Stolzschweiger Trophy, with Cast winning a 5-3 decision, but was it a blip or is there more to come for the British center and his young Riga team? We have analysed Cast's style of play during S61 and considered some external factors below. Why it's the start of something great: An eye for the net 49 goals for a rookie is a remarkable amount – not quite record-setting of course, but in the top bracket of all-time rookie forwards, and in the context of today's VHL, Cast came mighty close to taking the Kevin Brooks Trophy as the entire league's top goal-scorer too. Cast is a late-bloomer in the hockey world, not even picking up a stick until his late teens, but was unearthed as a natural talent and has a great variety to the style and power of his shots. A pass to Cast near the net spells trouble for the goalie, and that is not something that he will lose over time. Why it's just a blip: A selfish style of play It seems odd to criticise the very element of Cast's play that made him an instant success in his rookie season, but Cast is a sniper much more than a playmaker. Do not be seduced by his very pretty 49:48 goal:assist ratio in Season 61 – the assists number was more the product of necessity rather than design. Furthermore, Cast is more likely to get an assist off a rebound rather than a well-timed pass – this selfishness may come to hurt him and Riga as the team starts to fill out with other talented forwards, such as the rapidly improving Preencarnacion and S62 first overall pick Leph Twinger. Why it's the start of something great: Unlikely to rock the boat Throughout his life and budding hockey career, Cast has not been known to stir the proverbial pot when it comes to friends or foes. Having surrounded himself by a team of professionals with the best intentions (more on that in a moment), Cast is unlikely to throw tantrums or become a nuisance with Riga. An instant leadership role with the Reign in S61 (Cast was named the team's captain as a rookie) further supports this. Keeping a calm head and not losing his cool should help Cast maintain his hot start to life in the VHL and help guide a young Riga team to tangible success – this attribute can not be underestimated. Why it's just a blip: Lack of a winning mentality Most of sport's greatest athletes, hockey being no exception, are driven to the top of their game by an endless thirst for more – more goals, more wins, more trophies. Cast was never planning to be an athlete and in most of his endeavours does not show that same type of hunger that separates the greats from the nearly's. Coasting on raw talent alone has served Cast surprisingly well so far, but as his opponents get used to him, it might become difficult to maintain this pace over 8 seasons, on indeed even 2. As a specific example, Cast is not one to use strength to his advantage and prefers to evade physical contact rather than engage in it. This is an area which can be easily improved upon but no indication so far has been made that he ever intends to to so. Why it's the start of something great: Backed by one of the best in the business Well-known player agent Victor Alfredsson's return to the VHL after a near 10-season hiatus raised a few eyebrows and instantly elevated Cast's status in the S61 draft like nothing else possibly could. With a streak of 4 straight Hall of Fame players having come through Victor's agency, including 2 fellow centers in Lars Berger and Alexander Chershenko, it's a name which almost comes with its own stamp of guarantee. Judging on the rookie season, Alfredsson's eye for talent remains as sharp as ever. His contacts in the league, in training, and in lifestyle should ensure Cast stays on the well-trodden path to success. Why it's just a blip: Big fish – little pond Podrick Cast's career to date is about being the best without having to rise to the challenge of someone better. In the UK and now in S61 Riga, Cast has been the star player and has revelled in this role, but can he carry on when surrounded by other, potentially even more talented players? Time will tell, but coupled with maybe not the best mentality as mentioned above, perhaps Season 61 was the best we'll see from the British center. There's lots of time left to go and many variables to overcome – after a blistering start we can be sure of one thing – whatever happens in Cast's career going forward, it should be entertaining to watch.
  23. About half done - now all GMs' playoff histories are in. I think Higgins is running away with this.
  24. Toronto's ready to shock us all.
  25. See if we can just leave the lines pointing on the map, but point to the logos already on the site?
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