Victor

well yeah I've only got 82 TPE atm

Who is Gianfranco Del Rocco? A member of a long-standing noble family in Genoa, Italy, Gianfranco (Gianni) is the 3rd son of a man who would have been a powerful duke with lots of land, riches, and servants... if it were still the 1700s. Alas, the Republic of Genoa no longer exists, Italian sea merchants no longer own opulent villas on the Mediterranean coast (or at least the Del Rocco family doesn't), and so the latest descendants of Niccolo Del Rocco (1485-1543) have had to make ends meet in different ways. The 3 sons took different paths in life – a stockbroker in Milan, a hotelier running what remains of the Del Rocco estate in sunny Savona (so don't feel too sorry for the family, they're still doing better than you and me), and in playboy Gianni's case, the exotic pursuit of ice hockey. Hockey isn't particularly huge in Italy, although if it's popular anywhere than it's up north and if it's popular with anyone then it's with the rich kids looking for something to do when they get bored of skiing in the Swiss Alps. Boredom and affluent friends is how Gianni Del Rocco got into hockey, the family mantra of “Finish what you started” is how he's now on the cusp of a real professional career in the VHL. Although not a natural when he started off at the age of 8, Gianni was driven to succeed by the twin forces of his family not accepting failure in any endeavour and through his teenage years by a succession of girlfriends he wanted to impress. Whether the latter was a success is not for us to judge but it certainly has helped Del Rocco become a fearsome goalscorer, at least locally in Milan and Turin. Old Giuseppe Del Rocco's money magically attracting some of central Europe's finest coaches to conveniently appear at Gianni's schools may have also played a role in refining Del Rocco Jr's offensive game. Money also brings us to how Del Rocco was spotted by the Victor Alfredsson agency which has now brought him to the VHL. Although the VHL was always the likelier of the international options given its mix of popularity and also ability to stay closer to home in Europe, it's of immense help to have a recognisable name behind you going through the junior ranks. Alfredsson was last seen in the VHL world clearing out his Moscow office in a hurry to avoid sanctions, having made the Russian capital his base in his most recent stint in the league, founding the Moscow Menace and bringing in two Russian players in Vladimir Pavlov and Rara Rasputin. After a decade-long sabbatical travelling around Europe and making rich (and powerful, but mainly rich) friends like the Del Roccos, Alfredsson has taken a punt on this son of a duke to bring forth a triumphant return to the VHL. So who is Gianfranco Del Rocco then? An industry plant punching above his weight about to be found woefully out of his depth in a real league? Or a return to form for a noble Italian family and a storied VHL agency? The beauty is that there just isn't enough evidence to really know for sure. Del Rocco has put up strong stats in his most recent seasons in the Italian junior leagues and whilst we have to take the level of those leagues with a large grain of salt, there is nothing to suggest that there has been any untoward activity to give him an unfair advantage thanks to his background. As for the agency, some will look at Pavlov and Rasputin as evidence of a clear downward trajectory from the days when an Alfredsson player was a Hall of Fame lock, but of course Del Rocco is a forward, not a defenceman or a goaltender. With a track record there of Lars Berger and particularly the pure scorers Alexander Chershenko and Podrick Cast, young Gianni Del Rocco is following in the footsteps of giants – massive shoes to fill and reputation to uphold, but of course that is nothing new to a born nobleman. It's a changed league since the early 80s with more steps to reach the big leagues. Del Rocco will be in unfamiliar territory for the first time in his life from day one in the VHLM, with a season and a half of the minor league to navigate before the VHLE. Does Gianni have what it takes to not fall apart at these hurdles? We are about to go on a fascinating journey to find out. Son of a fallen lord, ice hockey player by accident, VHL prospect by patronage, Del Rocco both carries centuries-old baggage and yet is a completely clean slate that we really don't know much about. Boom or bust, this should be a fascinating story to follow in the coming years.

Player Information Username: Victor Player Name: Gianfranco Del Rocco Recruited From: Returning Age: 18 Position: LW Height: 74 in. Weight: 220 lbs. Birthplace: Italy Player Page @VHLM GM

lol very unplanned Italian combination

Some bits stand out as particularly true.

this. ghosts only in this thread

so, I have gone on a bit of a journey. The good news is you have inspired to make a single-season tab in this spreadsheet: https://vhlforum.com/topic/52100-repeat-award-winners/ Less good news is you missed off Edwin Reencarnacion and Tomas Jenskovic from the other spreadsheet, and also Grimm Jonsson (the latter I don't blame you for as his awards are randomly split between Grimm Jonsson and Grimm Johnsson...). On the other hand, Patrick Bergqvist did not actually win 5 trophies in S20 - he was mistakenly assigned top goalscorer which as a defenceman would have been quite a feat. There was another player in the portal era before Janser - Brick Wahl in S71. Which overall makes Janser the 13th to do it. There has since been a 14th - Brian Kowalski two seasons ago. Anyway, all for a good cause in that now there is a reliable source of this info! I'll tweak the HOF article on the portal

Excellent. @Spartan pls

Nice, didn't even know this stat, that's a good one.

Also relevant (lol this applies to Spartan's Moscow as well now)

It's funny that New York's history from S1 to today is basically a perfect bell curve. Shit - better - amazing - worse - shit

He had a few more players after Devereux tbf. But think the last one was before S30... Friends with Scotty back in the day if I recall, wonder what they're all up to these days. (I was using the search function to find some obscure players)

new and improved v.3

Cool just Marner (Spartan) and Janser (leandro) to go for now.

@Alex

On a serious note the E was created to avoid VHL expansion (which imagine you came to today and realised you had 4 too many teams in the VHL, so implementing the E remains justified) - if the numbers don't support it then the E can come and go as needed.

yes and yes

Eastern Europe with an interesting flag

Twists finally comes home

Reinhart - @jacobcarson877 Marner - @Spartan S90 induction coming soon....

oops, that's who Jameson was meant to be. Fixed now, presumably won't affect the final result but let me know if you'd like to move your vote @aimkin @JCarson @Alex @leandrofg @MubbleFubbles

Hi all, It's been over 24 hours since a controversial announcement so I am here to fill the gap. The eagle-eyed among you will have spotted the absence of the seasonal Elmebeck Trophy nominations thread this season and certainly will now after I've put up the Slobo vote. There have been rumblings in the BOG for a few seasons now about the small amount of nominations, the fact that it can be difficult to have truly outstanding reasons for nomination every 2 months, and that we got used to a very familiar stream of names - mainly VHLM GMs and BOG members most of whom have already received their due credit either through the Elmebeck Trophy or other means. Rest assured, the award is not being discontinued. We are just hoping to liven it up a bit by making it a bi-seasonal award (i.e. the S91 edition will look at the period covering both S90 and S91) and maybe looking at other factors, like how we can encourage nominations, and/or increasing the threshold for making the final ballot. So we'll get to work on fine tuning those details (with suggestions in the public forum more than welcome!) and come back with a refreshed version of the Elmebeck Trophy in about 2 months. Until then, continue being wonderful.

It's ok I understood but then I didn't read your post

Vote for who you think was individually the most outstanding player in the VHL in S90 @Members

did the VHL contract