Glaciem

The European Conference has been firmly established as a two team race. After winning the cup last season the Bern Royals are entering a full rebuild. Two of their players they shipped out are Chuck Goody and Giovanni Reuel, both went to the Oslo Storm who now find themselves at the top of the European Conference. There were some early questions surrounding the Storm as their two star forwards are play making two way players and there is a lack of true shooters on the team. We asked Reuel how his team has overcome this perceived design flaw and found success. “I saw the article addressing the lack of finishers on the squad that you are referring too but I was never concerned. Goalies are not developed at this level so you do not need to be a sniper to put the puck in the net. Personally I have been trying to create traffic in front and deflect pucks. We also do not need to put up a lot of goals because we have a great defensive team. We limit their chances and make sure we score on the power play by making smart passes. With this formula we will continue to find success as it is frustrating to play against.” Words: 211

I miss being a part of these!

I do not see how people have time for multiple leagues!

Reuel with the shootout winner!

I see Reuel got a bit un reuely.

You aren't alone

Didn't have much to write about this week. Not a big fan of this one.

Oslo Looking for Chemistry Giovanni Reuel is entering his second year in the VHLM a member of the Oslo Storm, after a championship win with the Bern Royals. Last season Reuel was an afterthought on the Bern roster until the playoffs where he rose to the occasion, playing a crucial role in the win. He will be expected to bring that level of production to the Storm if their quest for the championship is to meet a successful conclusion! This past weekend the team got together for the first time to meet with manager Diamond Ace. After Reuel emerged from the meeting we asked him to explain what role Diamond saw him having on the team. “Coach believes that we should take a line 1a and line 1b approach based around Coutzen and me. The two of us play a very similar game and since we do not have a true thoroughbred shooter for us to play off it makes sense to split us up. I will be suiting up with Lucas Galeano and Wesley Babiy. Galeano I have not got to see play yet but I understand he is a high volume shooter, while Babiy spends a lot of time in the gym. Will be interesting to see how the chemistry develops!” With this information we can discern that star center Le’Sean Coutzen will be playing on a line with the diminutive Evgeny Nezhmetdinov and the much larger Bobby Boucher. Both Coutzen and Nezhmetdinov are both pass first players, while little is known about Boucher. Looking at Oslo’s top six there is a distinct lack of shooting talent. Oddly enough the team may be heavily relying on the proven scoring talent of defenseman Chuck Goody, who dominated the championship finals with Bern last season. Reuel identified what we were thinking and stepped in to address the unasked question surrounding the lack of shooters. “Everyone knows it takes time for goalies to develop. At this level I believe we have enough offensive talent to win games. We will not be a high scoring team, but we have a number of strong two way players including Coutzen and myself. I understand that 2-1 wins are not what most fans want to see but that is how this team is going to beat the other strong teams in the VHLM. There is no doubt in my mind that we will end the season as champions.” There is an obvious aura of confidence surrounding the squad Diamond Ace put together but questions will haunt the team due to their construction. This untraditional offensive focus will be an interesting story line to follow throughout the season. What will make or break this set up will not be the play of Reuel or Coutzen… but the development of the support cast around them, particularly Boucher and Galeano. Reuel at least believes that the team is built to win a championship and as a member of the previous championship squad he does know what a championship team looks like in the VHLM. Words: 504

Giovanni Reuel entered both the VHLM and the VHL drafts this past week. The immediate concern for Reuel was the VHLM draft, which would determine where Reuel would be playing this upcoming season. He knew there would be a change since Bern had no picks in the S44 draft. Reuel ended up falling further than many expected, being available for the Oslo Storm at the 12th pick. Oslo used their first three picks on Le’Sean Coutzen, Sandor Clegane and Thaddeus Humbert. Oslo looks like a top team in the VHLM and it is quite possible Reuel will win back to back championships. Giovanni Reuel was a relative unknown compared to players like Bern teammate Marcel Faux drew plenty of attention from VHL squads. The VHL draft went as most experts predicted with Reuel being picked up by HC Davos with the 6th pick. Davos made it clear that Reuel would be returning to the VHLM to work on his overall game before getting his break in the VHL. Reuel was very pleased with this selection as Davos was a squad he had his eyes on from the moment he joined the VHLM. He will be working extra hard this season to earn a spot with Davos next year. Words: 200

Deflections? Or perhaps the coach told you to pass to the back of the net?

Giovanni Reuel

I figured I'd be going to Davos! Coach was a huge help when I first joined the site, glad to be a part of the organization!

I hope so, would be exciting!

I believe I know where I am going. Will be interesting to find out for sure!

bump

12th by Oslo, looks like a very strong team! Love it.

Any updates?

Is it tonight?

I have no idea where I will end up!

Sadly not actually on Bern anymore! I'm going into the dispersal draft.

Looking forward to finding out the draft dates!

Will be interesting to see how the draft pans out! I hope I land on a competitive squad, winning in Bern leaves me craving for more success.

What is the draft order? Curious and want to speculate where I'll end up.

It will be interesting to see where we all end up! Maybe we can meet in the finals again

Giovanni Reuel is just coming off a championship with the Bern Royals. He was ecstatic and went to the media talking about how he and Bern were going to repeat next season. There was an awkward pause but before anyone could inform Reuel about the VHLM Dispersion Draft he was gone back to the locker room. Reuel quickly called his old general manager Mr. Sachimo, who took over Toronto towards the end of Bern’s season, and thanked him for the opportunity. It is during this conversation that Reuel was informed about the dispersion draft and how he would not being playing for Bern next season. Shocked and disappointed Reuel came to a press conference the next day. “I am still very excited about the championship with Bern. In the moment I forgot about the dispersion draft and want to let VHLM teams know that I would be happy to play for anyone in the league, though I do hope I can stay in Europe. Next week will be interesting as now I’m going to see my named called in two drafts and I look forward to it.” “Any idea where you will be going in the VHL draft?” asked a reporter. “Personally I assume I’ll fall to either Toronto or HC Davos, both quality organizations, but I have heard rumblings Riga might take me fourth.” Words: 225