jRuutu

Moscow Menace is reportedly "going all in" on upcoming free agents. Moscow finished in 7th place in the European division during the regular season and as a result the Russian team missed the playoffs. A spokesperson for the Moscow Menace fans stated that it is of the utmost importance that the organization, at the very least, tries to make it into the playoffs next year. To make sure the playoffs expectations are reached, it is believed Moscow is seriously considering making an offer for Russian center Yaroslav Bogatyrev, who would be an excellent role model for the younger players, and on top of everything he happens to be Russian as well. Another potentially interesting player is The Frenchman who is also rumored to be testing the free agency this off-season. If and when the rumors about Moscow going after free agents hard this off-season end up being true, one of the players on the losing end is prospect Jarmo Ruutu, who might be forced to retire and that way make it possible for him to stay down in VHLE for one more season. Jarmo Ruutu himself had this to say: "It's not the year 1992 anymore, the rules are meant to be broken. If I need to retire and come back some days later to make it more likely that I have a cup ring on my finger - that is what I will have to do. One more year in the E is not going to hurt anyways, but the off-season is only starting. I don't know what will happen."

Two top-level players have publicly come out and announced their desire to test the free agency waters. The Frenchman of Riga Reign and Yaroslav Bogatyrev Seattle Bears are both heading to free agency - or are they? I have analyzed the statements given by the two in the hopes of finding out whether they are serious or not. Here are my findings. Starting with The Frenchman. "As people have seen from the graphic I posted this week, I probably will hit free agency (unless Riga wins a cup, then I promised to stay). So what am I looking for? I have a couple of wishes. " Right away from the start, we can see that the player is negotiating with the audience by trying to soften the blow of the free agency announcement a little by stating what they are announcing has already been said in graphic form earlier. Using words like "probably" and "wishes" shows that the player is still thinking about free agency, they do not have demands - they have wishes. Looking at the wishes next: "A) I want points. Lots of them. This year I dropped to barely over a point per game on my "capped" build, a build that got me 100 points the season before while working through that end goal. So it should be possibly, but this season was just dissapointing for me. So if you pitch to me, I would like to know what line combinations you expect, and how you think this will help my player. " Wanting points is being mentioned first shows that winning the cup is not as big of a deal breaker as a lack of points will be. Requesting information about future linemates also suggests that winning comes second to points and production. "B) I want to compete, I want to challenge for that cup. Idaho is my first player here without a cup, so lets avoid having Frenchie as my second player in a row that fails. I will still have another player after this as it's part of the charity purchase Lemorse made, but I hope to break me not winning before its becoming a bigger one. " "I want to challenge for that cup" further shows that the player is open to sacrificing the best possible destination for slightly more points and production. Using a word like "challenge" does not create a sense of urgency, instead, you get more of a: "winning would be nice, but I want points foremost" - a type of sensation. Name-dropping Idaho, a well-known player, who played almost their whole career in one team is an interesting twist. Openly stating Idaho failed also leads the reader to believe we might not see The Frenchman waiting in one team as long as Idaho did. C) If I win - I hope to win with a franchise I haven't won yet with. So I still need to win with chi dc la lon pra war one day, so these teams might have a leg up on other ones. So once Riga is out - feel free to pitch your offers, I will not report you for tampering. " Notice the choice of words, "If I win", "I hope", "one day", and "might have", lack of urgency and directness is notable. "So once Riga is out" is also harsh and disrespectful towards the organization, but is it all what it seems? Overall: I believe this is a ruse, too many mixed signals. The Frenchman has played in one team for their whole career, this team is doing exactly what the player is hoping - challenging for the cup, and they have gotten solid production on ice. The choice of words, especially in the last part, leads me to believe this is purely an attempt to get other players around the league to think about their positions, perhaps the goal is to get players to sign for Riga. Despite Idaho and the history being mentioned, I doubt The Frenchman will leave Riga this off-season. Lets move on to Yaroslav Bogatyrev. " MOSCOW, October 6, 2023 (Shaiba.ru) – The Yaroslav Bogatyrev era is almost certainly over in Seattle. According to sources close to the Nizhnii Tagil native, Bogatyrev informed the team on Wednesday that he would not be signing a new contract and would test free agency for the first time in his career. S90 was a disappointing end to what has been a mixed bag for the second overall pick in the S86 VHL Entry Draft. Bogatyrev joined the team with high expectations having been drafted one place behind The Frenchman. After two disappointing seasons, Bogatyrev’s game grew significantly in S88, and he finished the last season with 45 goals, the second most in the entire VHL. However, Bogatyrev was always left frustrated with not getting his hands on the Continental Cup, particularly in S88 when the Bears were one win away from the VHL crown before losing three straight games to the London United in the finals. It is thought that the Bears failure to rebuild following the departures of key veterans Hulk Hogan 2 and Tavish Degroot, which left the team unable to make it past the Vancouver Wolves in the North American Wild Card, prompted Bogatyrev’s decision to leave the club. Bogatyrev was named the Seattle Bears captain ahead of S90, but the Bears poor performance throughout the season left fans critical of the decision. In fact, Bogatyrev has never really been fully accepted by the Seattle faithful, many of whom were left frustrated with the supposed stars first two seasons in which he only scored 75 points. ." This piece of media is different as, for the most part, it is not Bogatyrev speaking directly to the audience. If you read the whole text, the very first thought that comes to mind is the directness and tone of the text. Words such as: "disappointing", "frustrated", and "poor performance" is enough to make anyone think the player is not pleased at the moment. Past events are commented on directly without sugar-coating anything, and the icing on the cake is the statement at the end where tension inside the organization is mentioned. In the second part, we get to hear directly from the player. " UPDATE (15:50 MSK) Following the publication of our story earlier today, Yaroslav Bogatyrev confirmed on social media that he will be leaving the Seattle Bears this offseason. “I’m writing this with a heavy heart but a clear mind. I will become a free agent upon the conclusion of S90 after failing to reach an agreement with the Seattle Bears on a new contract. I have no complaints to the team’s management, who were cordial throughout the entire process. After five seasons here, one as captain, I feel that I have given my all as a Seattle Bear, but that I know feel that is time for us to go in different directions. I am looking forward to a fresh start, wherever that may be. I want to thank the Seattle fans for their support throughout my entire career to date. It was certainly difficult coming into this league as a rookie, but you showed patience throughout my struggles, and I felt your support when you started to believe in me. Of course, there were difficult times, and I’m sad that I could never repay your trust in me with a Continental Cup, but if there is one thing that the Bears have proven time and again, it’s that you can never count them out. I’m sure they will be competing again soon, and I will look forward to returning to Seattle for games, this time in the away locker room, in the near future,” Bogatyrev wrote on Instagram. " No complaints about team management combined with a comment on a fresh start and thanking the Seattle fans is an interesting mix. It is clear that the player is not too eager to stay in Seattle. Bogataryev continues by praising Seattle as they say Seattle can never be counted out and they are surely going to be competing soon again. That is perhaps the most revealing piece of information in this text, the player is already out of the door, or are they? Overall: I believe this is yet another clever ploy to get players around the league to consider their positions. Bogataryev said all the right things to make the reader think Bogataryev is leaving Seattle, but I am not convinced, everything seemed too on the nose. 650 words without quotes

I am glad Dil was forced to change the name. Not because Dil told me to shut up, but because Dil is claiming welfare.

1. We are officially out of the playoffs. How do you plan on spending your offseason? Getting ready for the training camp by eating Nandos three times a day 2. Is there anyone that you're rooting for in this playoffs now? Any friends that you're supporting in the playoffs? Rooting for the "bottom" teams, hopefully one of the 4th/5th place teams make it far! 3. Moscow is confirmed to have 2 picks in the top 6 of the draft this season. What rituals will you perform so that Moscow moves up in the lottery? I will take all the ice cream out of my freezer and let it melt in the kitchen sink. Any sacrifice is measured in spiritual and emotional scale. 4. Are there any players or positions you hope Moscow drafts this season? Some wingers are needed perhaps and a G 5. Prospects Axle Gunner, Jarmo Ruutu and Obuz Schneider Canet du Bocage are all poised to come up to the VHL this offseason. What expectations do you have for these youth players as they join the pro roster? I expect fair seasons from the younger players, if they get into bigger roles and into the special teams - I see no reasons why Gunner or du Bocage could not win the rookie of the year award. 6. Wrong answers ONLY: How do I cope with the Pittsburgh Steelers being a terrible NFL team? Blame it on the league

Bratislava vs Rome Before the game, many expected to see a tight battle, and that is what we saw in the first two periods. Only one goal was scored as Rashford managed to make it 1-0 for Rome on the powerplay. Rome had more shots in the first period, and Bratislava in the second, which shows that both teams had the chance to score, it was a even game. In the third period, things changed. Kisslinger and Glendenning fought early in the third, despite a fairly even fight, the Bratislava players were visibly shaken on the bench, and it showed on the ice. Swinsola scored for Rome a few minutes after the fight. The final nail into the coffin came from Hoover II, 3-0 for Rome when around 10 minutes was played. Bratislava was not able to get any offense going on in the third period, they had only 6 shots. Rome won the game 3-0.

https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/erlantz-jokinen/episodes/For-points--for-practice---short-27-e2a0o6c 7 minutes

As I was reading "Getting Old in the VHL" by Gustav I started to understand Leonardo DiCaprio a little better. Gustav in the article mentions that despite being A LOT older than when he first joined VHL and priorities having changed, Gustav still checks the forum daily and even visits Discord. In the article, Gustav also points out he does not feel the need to contribute like he once did, he also sometimes claims welfare. What I saw and heard while reading is what Leonardo DiCaprio must see and hear when his 23-year-old girlfriend, one day, casually starts to talk about the future: marriage, kids, etc., or when the girlfriend decides to stay home on a Saturday night to eat ice cream. It is only a matter of time before the 25th birthday is coming up, and the casual discussions are now serious, eating too much ice cream has turned the once so delicate and beautiful flower into not so delicate and beautiful flower - it's time to find a new one. Just like Leonardo DiCaprio when he looks at his 23-year-old girlfriend and thinks about the future, I too feel strong sadness when I look at Gustav and think about the future: Gustav will soon start to rely more and more on welfare. The frequent visits to the forum will turn into every other day, then a few times a week, and before we know it Gustav last visited 3 months ago, Discord was deleted a long time ago. That is the life of hot babes in VHL and Hollywood, people grow old and they move on. Meanwhile, VHL and Leonardo DiCaprio continue looking for new hot babes they will enjoy until they, too, move on.

After witnessing the horrors of yet another attack on VHL, bots spammed the forum full of advertisements, I was not able to avoid thinking that the attack was somehow the fault of the welfare users. The users who claim welfare, generally speaking, contribute mainly by showing up a few times a week to click a few buttons. It is telling that a bot did more work in a few hours than a team full of welfare users in the span of one season. During September, VHL has received 115 dollars worth of donations. As I counted the total number of donations in September, I was not able to avoid thinking that the lack of donations was once again somehow the fault of the welfare users. 115 dollars is not a bad total, but when you look at how many users visit the site weekly - the donations total could also be higher. That is when it all clicked: why not make Welfare something the users need to pay for!? If you make one week's welfare claim to be worth one dollar, VHL is going to rake in a lot more money each week. That money can then be spent on fighting against the bots in various ways. I think VHL could also introduce a "Season Pass", which will be worth 15 dollars. With the season pass, any user can double the value they will get from their normal donations, for example with the season pass a user will get 10 uncapped TPE, or 2M for the player store instead of just 5 uncapped TPE or 1M for the player store. The icing on the cake is the access to Mod, Commissioner, and BOG discussion rooms and meetings. If you purchase a "Season Pass XL" for 30 dollars, you will also get to speak in the meetings. Despite welfare users, without a doubt, playing a significant role in many of the troubles VHL faces nowadays, we can not forget the responsibility of the normal users in VHL. These users need to donate as well to ensure that VHL is running smoothly. Adding something like a season pass will make donating more attractive as every dollar is more valuable. The hard workers in VHL deserve to be treated better than they are now. Simply having the option to purchase "welfare" once a season on top of everything is not good enough, as the donation totals show. I believe we should all contribute more by giving money to VHL to ensure that the bots will not find a way to get into the league. If someone is able to teach the bots how to claim welfare - how do we know who is a real person and who is a bot? Do we need to start asking for IDs and video applications to be part of the create-a-player process? If yes, how are we going to ensure that the system is fair as not everybody has access to a camera or what if they are not willing to share their ID with the world like that? It is best for everybody if welfare users just start to pay for each welfare claim, more normal users donate, and we together fight against the bots.

VHL browsing is not interrupted in any way

Somehow I still feel that the original name spoke to me more, for that reason, I am not a fan of this new one.

1. Well, we traded away Hammar Voss to Helsinki. Any last words you'd like to say to as he faces retirement? The difference between normal beaches and nudist beaches is usually just the time of the day you happen to visit one. 2. We are officially on the tank train, having sunk down to 2nd worst in the EU. How're you feeling? Are you already looking forward to next season? I was hoping I would get to participate in the cup parade without things being weird, but now that Moscow is not likely to win - I will look silly in my Moscow jersey when I go there. 3. How would you evaluate your season so far? What grade would you give yourself, and why? C+, I have been able to improve as a player, I have played decently in the defensive end, but offensive side is lacking. 4. There's a thrilling race for the two wildcard spots in the EU between London, Malmo and Helsinki. London has run off a bit this week, but which 2 do you think make it of those 2? I say London and Helsinki, because they appear to have hotter offense, that might be all it takes to get the necessary wins. 5. Have you been watching the NFL at all? If yes, how's your team doing? If not, WHY NOT??? I have not, I have never really been a fan of NFL or the sport. Tough to even see games in Finland, gotta rely on the illegal streams. 6. Wrong answers only: if I was in a band, what would my band's name be? The Bare Spartans

I try to avoid using labels like "colours"

Not much is known about the origins of Sir Dilliam "Dil" McGregory, but anyone who has heard the stories coming from the kingdom of VHLlately is surely familiar with the work done by Sir Dilliam McGregory. With his innovative ideas and hard work, Sir Dilliam McGregory has helped VHL to become a booming kingdom. For that reason, it is a total mystery what has happened to Sir Dilliam McGregory himself. He has seemingly fallen off the inner circles of VHL and become the town drunk. Nowadays, Sir Dilliam McGregory is a familiar sight in the VHL town square, where he is performing various tricks and jokes in the hopes of gaining the attention of the more prestigious residents of VHL. Just yesterday Sir Dilliam McGregory was seen hurling piles of dung in the air as he tried to mimick the court jester, but those watching were largely unimpressed by the performance. Sir Dilliam McGregory is also known for his sassy tongue that he likes to use to roast anyone who happens to walk by. It is believed that Sir Dilliam McGregory is allowed to perform his outlandish shows because the white knights of VHL owe Sir Dilliam McGregory favors from the time Sir Dilliam McGregory was working for VHL. Sir Dilliam McGregorys fall has been a total mystery, from the inner circles of VHL to hurling dung in the VHL town square.

Town of Salem is a game that is played through the forum, you can find Town of Salem from the "Spam and games" - section of VHL if you are curious. What I am going to talk about this next is not the game itself, but those who participate in the game. I spent who knows how long analyzing the user profiles of those who have signed up for the "ToS2: The Very First" - edition. In total 15 users signed up. Of those 15 users: 20% of users are welfare users, 20% of the users claim affiliate point tasks, and icing on the cake: 13,33% of the users do not have a player in VHL. The rest have jobs and do point tasks in VHL. The very first thought that came into my mind when I analyzed the data was: should welfare users be allowed to post in the forums? I am not talking about the "point task" sections, but everywhere else. I think welfare users should have to earn the privilege to post by doing at least one week of point tasks. Then when next week comes by they can post as much as they want to other sections. When they stop doing the point tasks the full posting rights are taken away. The benefit of a system like that is the welfare users get to feel a sense of accomplishment, similar to logging in and pushing a few buttons now, but on another level. The second thought that came to mind was: over 50% of the users who play the game have time to play the game, but they don't have the time to do points tasks in VHL. I started to wonder is it because the product that is VHL is not as exciting as the Town of Salem? In the game you get to interact with other users, which is something you are not able to do - on the same level, in the current state of VHL with Discord General chat being more heavily policed than a beach that is sometimes visited by sharks, the mere sight of a fin is enough to halt all activities for days. Even if there is no shark in the water for sure, the very second you see the army of moderators - do you want to try your luck? Do you want to jump into the water? In the end, the moderators are the real sharks. When 13% of the users somehow managed to find the game even without having a player in VHL - that speaks volumes about the pull power of the Town of Salem. The third thought that came to mind was: should the Town of Salem be banned? It is one thing to get together with friends online and have fun, but do you have to do that in VHL? Some of us are trying to do point tasks over here, it's really hard as is without having to watch and listen to semi-actives frolic around like VHL is someplace where you can just come to hang out to play games. VHL is a serious organization and league with serious policies in place that ensure everybody can get an equal amount of enjoyment out of their VHL experience. Activities that promote the maximum amount of fun, such as the Town of Salem, are leading people astray as the authentic VHL experience is all about hard work, dedication, and patience. When users participate in games like Town of Salem, they start to associate VHL with fun times with friends, which is not what VHL is all about. For that reason, in my opinion, the Town of Salem should be a game for those who do point tasks in VHL.

Bratislava vs Oslo Bratislava came into the game hard, Glendending made it 1-0 before even one minute was played. Oslo was not able to match the intensity of Bratislava, Borisyuk made it 2-0 at the end of the first, which were also the numbers when the period ended. Oslo was heavily outshot in the first: 23 for Bratislava to 12 for Oslo. The second period was much closer, neither team managed to score any goals, shots were fairly close, and no penalties either. It was clear Oslo had to do something in the third, but they did not manage to get much offense going, 4 minutes before the end of the third Roux Jr. scored 2-1, but that was the closest Oslo got, Glendenning scored 3-1 into the empty net. Bratislava was the deserved winner, with 49 shots and 3 goals, to 28 shots and 1 goal for Oslo. In the third period, Oslo had only 5 shots, so despite scoring one goal in the third, the comeback efforts were rather light.

1. Our friendly rival Stockholm is currently 22 points behind Vasteras in the standings, how does that make you feel? 2. There have not been any trades around VHLE, and the trade deadline is closing in, is the lack of trades and moves a surprise? 3. Is the lack of organized press conferences in Vasteras, as of late, a sign of overconfidence or arrogance? 4. In general, how important it is that Vasteras and VHLE are spoken about by the media? 5. The arena in Vasteras currently holds space for 18,000 spectators, but only 7200 season tickets have been sold, what kind of promotional efforts would you use to get the arena full every game? 6. When looking at the standings right now, are there any surprises?

In recent days a story has been circling around the internet, suggesting that the Moscow GM, Euron Leonidas, wanted to take a look at Jarmo Ruutu's phone to see what he would find in there. Jarmo Ruutu was drafted 8th overall in the S90 VHL draft by Moscow Menace. It is not 100% clear whether the event took place before or after the draft. It is not unusual for the teams to test the draftees with odd questions and statements to see how the draftees will react, so in that sense asking to see your phone fits right into that category. But then again asking to see the phone after the draft is something that you might expect when deciding whether the player should be given a shot at the training camp or should they be sent straight back to VHLM or to VHLE. Jarmo Ruutu did not participate in the Moscow VHL training camp after the draft. Ruutu spent the off-season in Vasteras instead. Ruutu himself had this to say: "If I clearly say don't go looking in there and you go looking in there, is it my fault if you find something that will upset you? That is all I have to say about the matter. GM Leonidas is free to check my phone whenever he wants, but I am not going to stop being an artist."

I don't like it, or find it humorous

Let's face it, VHL is unreadable at the moment. Every other post/article has a mention of a circus monkey performing an act that has no place in the VHL of today. If you read the official code of conduct, you can find the following part: "Sexual content, including explicit or suggestive references to genitalia and sexual acts, should not be shared or directed toward another user". It is my understanding that the mention of a circus monkey performing a certain act is automatically swapped in when you use a certain s-word, so whoever happens to write the s-word is automatically going to get verbally, mentally, and spiritually assaulted when the league automatically forces you to read the statement about circus monkey doing something so vile. If you still happen to have the code of conduct open, I encourage you to find the following part: "Additionally, we aim to create an environment that welcomes minors and members who browse the forums or discord during work/school. " If you now go browse the Media Spot section, you will quickly notice at least five topics with a title that leaves very little to the imagination. What kind of impact does reading such titles have on the random reader? I can only speak for myself here, but I sometimes browse VHL with my phone when I am in public places. I have to now think twice if I want to do that. It is fair to say not all the users who created the topics knew that using the s-word could lead to the word being swapped with a disgusting line. However, it is also fair to assume that at least some of the users knew this would happen and they used the word anyway. The question in my mind right now is: Why is something like this allowed to happen? What happened to the code of conduct? Why is VHL as a league grooming their users into thinking something like this is decent behavior? Fisting can cause serious injuries, and the negative impact mentioned statements have on the reputation of circus monkeys can not be underestimated. Fisting belongs to marriage. Monkeys belong to the wild. It is not a surprise that the hiring thread for moderators was bumped a moment ago. The sheer number of traffic in Discord and in the forum lately has forced many of the moderators to really stop and think: "Is it worth it to push myself to the limit?" As we now see with the state of the forum, when the moderation team is burned out - the consequences can be significant. Code of Conduct used to be the crown jewel of VHL, everybody in the league, in their own ways, participated in creating the rules and guidelines that we should all follow to make VHL a nice place to be in. It seems those efforts are now forgotten. VHL of today is a circus with out-of-control monkeys performing foul acts. In solidarity with those who will be fisted in the future after having the misfortune of crossing paths with people who browse VHL - I have written this post while standing up.

Rome vs Stockholm The first period of the game was anything but even. The Gladiators outshot Stockholm 24-6 in the first period, but the score was 0-0 after the first. In the second period, Stockholm scored two goals as Machado and Crosby found the back of the net. Rome once again with more shots in the period as they shot 10 times to Stockholms 7. Stockholm scored another two goals in the third period as Pereira and MacWallace III scored for The Vikings. The game ended 4-0 for Stockholm. Rome has to be wondering how on earth they lost the game, 45 shots and 0 goals.

We have all been there: you realize that the next hour or so is free, so you log in to VHL in the hopes of doing a few point tasks. But when you get the WordPad open the empty page hits you - what are you going to write about? Those who are skilled with Graphics have a lot easier time, they can more or less do the same type of work week after week, they do an "artwork" of some kind with a name and a hockey player on it. The biggest questions in the minds of the Graphic point taskers are: "Am I going to use a picture of a defender or a winger this week?", and: "Should I use light colors, maybe green, but then again I used green also last week, maybe I use blue mostly this week?" For those who do the point tasks by writing have to create unique content week after week as the regular readers in VHL expect original content that also makes them feel one way or another. An article without an interesting or fun idea is all it takes for the whole article to be judged negatively, the different rhetorical devices used or the flow of the text mean very little as the whole package is judged. With Graphics the subtle nuances, such as using a different color or a different player are seen as enough to make the artwork unique and interesting. The VHL Graphic enjoyer sees a Graphic and thinks: "It's shiny and it has a hockey player standing up, and there is a name, exactly like last week, but it is also a picture with a different player and name, so I like this". The VHL Media spot enjoyer reads a Media spot and thinks: "I have heard this idea before, I don't like this". Graphics are like TikTok videos - best consumed in 7 seconds. Media spots are like books - everything needs to be just right or only a few are going to read it.

Son, less TikTok and more reading. You will quickly realize that 500 words is not a lot.

If you see two grocery stores, more or less the same items with more or less the same prices. They are located within walking distance from each other. One is just a regular store, anyone can walk in. The second is just a regular store, anyone can walk in, but this store has a big Pride flag in front of it. In your mind you think: "These are good people", because they have the Pride flag in front of the store? You have not heard a spokeperson of the store giving a speech, no charitable events or actions, no donations to organizations: all you see is the Pride flag. When you see the Pride flag, you think: "This is enough. They must care, they have the flag up" ? (VHL absolutely has a profit motive, the league wants donations and new users into the league. )