Renomitsu

Review This is a monster of an article. But the effort in producing content, describing your process, and keeping your writing engaging is clearly on display. You've made a generally-subjective process relatively objective, which has its positives and negatives. It's executed well and I don't have many concerns about grammar or usage; however, I would keep your bolded entries consistent between similar passages (e.g. at the start, "The forwards," "The defense," "the Goalie" -> "the goalie") for a slightly cleaner look. When commenting on a team directly as the primary subject, you can use "this" instead of "that" (e.g. in the Davos entry, "In fact, this team should be the home of 9 rookies this season"). I think your rankings are well-reasoned. There are a couple of lines errors in the way some teams are described, but I think that's natural - it's very difficult to know which teams are running different lines than what's written on the player. Plus, you have Warsaw ranked 2nd - what's not to like?

Review I agree with Smarch. Riga was a perennial playoff contender up until a few seasons ago, but I'm confident hedge will right the ship as he has before. First generation players as a whole will generally have a tougher time, but keep at it and you'll see results correspondingly. Young players will always have frustrating production early, but the payoff later in your career is always a great boon. Content-wise, I think this is an important article that gets played out more in team locker rooms than on the forum, and I like the fact that it's a bit more formally presented here. We always want to cheer our teammates on, but it can be frustrating to have a small role on a team that is performing badly - you always want what's best for the team! I think this concern is well-communicated here. A few comments on grammar; keep your tenses consistent when referring to past events ("He brings up that he is has been/was the scapegoat the past 2 seasons..."), and be careful with your punctuation ("Is this just poor defensive play or just a string of bad luck with the backup goalie, Matthew Sovick Jr., in net, Matthew A Sovick Jr.?").

Warsaw, Poland – Aloe Dear’s gradual position change to center has been met with some… interesting results, to say the least. As Warsaw’s 2C, she’s had the ability to lay low a bit while she adjusts to the new role. It’s been a tumultuous switch, with Dear nabbing one of the five worst shot percentages among the top 50 point scorers (5.50%) as she’s let loose with an onslaught of shots with just 6 goals to her name through 15 games. In spite of her lack of efficiency, she finds herself 27th overall in points, as she’s managed to facilitate a marginally effective offense en route to 20 points and a +/- of +2. In terms of center-specific stats, she’s managed a FO% of just over 54%, good for top 15 in the league among centers (min 40 FO taken). “Without a doubt, it’s been a challenging transition,” Dear commented in a recent presser, “I’m pretty far behind some other centers in terms of point production and efficiency in shooting, but I’ve always kind of been a player to let it rip from the winger position.” “I suspect I’ll need some more time to get used to playing center. Nobody becomes a great one overnight, right?”

1. The season has finally begun! What are your predictions for the team this year? Predictions? Strong playoff contender. I don't want to jinx us though! 2. What are your personal statistical goals for yourself this season? Wins. That's all that matters to me. I can have 20 points for the entire season if it means we get a championship. Oh, and also preferably to win more than 40% of my faceoffs, maybe. 3. Out of the bottom feeder teams for the past few seasons (Toronto, New York, LA, Davos, Riga) who do you think is mostly likely to make the playoffs? LA. Their roster is way too talented not to make the playoffs again. I don't know what happened last season, but it sure shouldn't happen in this one. 4. Which team has you most nervous to match up against? Chicago. We've beaten them once this season, but obviously we have cup aspirations and they dashed them last season. 5. New season coming off a cup finals loss, are you changing anything in your routine or keeping it all the same? Lots had to change for me, because my role is so much different! I'm taking way more pointers from Dakota, because playing centerwoman is very, very different from being a winger. I have a lot more possession of the puck and need to be way more responsible on defense. 7. Does your toilet roll pull from the underside or the frontside? Front side. I am not a monster!

Review 10/10 from my perspective, Warsaw is 1st and that's all that matters, boss! Just kidding. This had plenty of research put into it, and I think your predictions for each team are very much reflective of an offseason that upended a few teams and certainly thrust others in the spotlight. Teams like LA and Helsinki take significant steps forward (which is quite the statement for Helsinki, who already made the playoffs last season!) and those like Moscow and Calgary will have to sit in the doldrums after their respective runs. Overall there are a couple of odd phrases, e.g. "but will he score or try to push [the] 400 hits mark?"; however, this shows significant improvement compared even to your last media spot. Lovely work!

Review It's always tough to take a loss in a championship game - be it as a veteran member or a relatively newer one. But take heart - you made it to a championship game as a first generation player, and whether that's for the VHLM, WJC, VHL, or WC, it's all a very positive sign for your career (heck, it's a positive sign you were selected at all!). You have an astute eye in looking at the shots per period, as they're well-correlated with goals and victory (unless there's a large gap in goalie quality), and I love how this media spot captures the frustration associated with seeing that difference. I'm glad you came out of this experience with an overall positive impression, and I suspect you have a bright future ahead of you! I don't have significant concerns re: grammar or usage. Keep up the good work.

Warsaw, Poland - Just as soon as Danish forwards Aloe Dear and Venus Thightrap appeared to be on a crash course to play together in Poland, their chance meeting vanished. A strong move by the Warsaw management traded the hefty price of two future 2nds and 3rds (each) to Vancouver for her FA rights made it seem, at least from the outsider's point of view, inevitable that the two would be playing together for the foreseeable future. Unfortunately for the Polish team, that would not be the case - unconvinced, Venus left in free agency. "It was a bit of a shorter conversation than I thought we'd have, but business is business," Aloe commented shortly after a skate-around with the team, "I still would love to play on her line in the future and harbor no ill will. A single professional decision doesn't change our friendship from my perspective." While their personal relationship seems unaffected, the decision did force the Predators into a scramble for a serviceable forward - leading to a shakeup in Warsaw's lineup. "I'm a little further into my career now, and it was important to me that I fill the needs of the team. Admittedly I haven't played center since... I don't know, maybe peewee or so," Aloe said with a laugh, "that may be the best English equivalent. It will be quite the adjustment I think! But I understand that with each new season calls for new responsibility. I'm not a rookie anymore, and it's important that I step up and become a good role model for our new draftees and younger players alike!"

1. Offseason didn't quite go our way this year, but our roster is complete and kept our main pieces from last year, how do you think we fair this season? I think it'll be tough to tell. We have some key pieces moving around. I haven't played center before, so it'll be a challenge! 2. Who in the league do you think had the best offseason? Chicago, probably. Jungkok was a significant edition and they just about kept everyone else. 3. We added bluesfan and Alex Bridges to our team through the draft, were you able to welcome them to the team? I actually already knew bluesfan (from Riga in a previous life) and Alex from prior teams! So it felt more like a homecoming than meeting a stranger. 4. Personally I've been relaxed with my exercise lately, have you been able to get to the gym much during off-season? I've gotta keep in shape! I did more faceoff exercises this offseason alone than I did in my entire life prior, and being hunched over so much means I need to work on my back and hip muscles. No time to laze around here!! 5. You're hosting movie night for the team tonight, which movie do you put on to make everyone happy? I'm quite fond of The Fifth Element! I think Milla Jovovich is so charming in it. 7. Do you play any instruments? Well, as a child my parents insisted I learn piano, but I've fallen off the train since. (IRL I love playing all strings & piano!)

BELIEVE IN YOSELF F - Aloe Dear

I'm not taking a forward and I'll be gone for the next ~24 hours, so I'm going to go ahead and pick. D - Chicken Wing G - Jean Pierre Camus @leafsman

F - Jim Bob F - Robin Winter @leafsman back atcha'!

A Sit-Down With Aloe Dear - Free Agency & Warsaw's Future “Free agency didn’t go so hot, huh?” “No. Free agency kind of didn’t go at all.” Just a couple of days before the deadline to sign or extend pending free agents, Aloe elected to go against her previously stated career aspirations in favor of loyalty to a team that had gotten her to where she was. Indeed, she’d been very public about testing free agency in the majors even shortly after being drafted to her minor league team, the Houston Bulls. And in spite of an errant announcement suggesting she’d be leaving for free agency at the end of Season 75 – an instance where she still had a year left on her deal – she never even saw a second’s worth of the open market. “It was important to me that Warsaw has a degree of continuity; I had and have full confidence that the management of the Predators will continue to advocate strongly for its players and do what is best for the organization,” she commented at a presser shortly following her re-signing. “The organization has moved heaven and earth to ensure that I will feel comfortable here, and I am happy to say that it has continued to make a positive impression on me.” The organization recently came under fire for its decision to trade assets for the rights to longtime teammate Venus Thightrap, who elected against signing an extension with Warsaw and signed with Helsinki in short order. The cost? Two second round and two third round selections in the upcoming drafts. “I was pretty excited to see Venus in the building,” Dear commented, “but ultimately our career goals differed and she was well within her rights not to sign here. I’m disappointed, of course, but ultimately this is an organization that has done well and retained a great majority of its core players. I'm confident about our future going forward and can rest well knowing that we’ll right the ship; after all, we were part of the championship series only a week or two ago, were we not?” As with any team centered around a couple of specific seasons’ worth of players, Warsaw has leaped headfirst into cap trouble – as signing several players even at their minimum as all of their salaries ascend with TPE eventually comes to a head. But Warsaw now finds themselves without a second-line center after being turned away by a handful of other free agents and the retirement of former second-line center Dagmar Havlova. “It’s a tricky spot we’re in, though I’d hardly say it’s a bad one,” Aloe said, smiling. “It would be a pretty boring league if everyone improved linearly. The main difference? I’m expected to help lead this team rather than just adjusting to league life alone; I plan on helping this team be successful, and that will continue by whatever means I find ‘right’ on the ice.”

Transaction ID: 20561198296171034 Claim Week Ending 3/14/21 $1M Player Store Cash 5 TPE Uncapped Doubles Week (6 TPE uncapped from a PT being done)

D - Latrell Mitchell @leafsman

Pending further details, this thread is locked.

Clean it up here. Tensions are allowed to run high, and you can debate the circumstances of this deal all you want. Personal attacks are uncalled for and will not be tolerated in this thread.

Topic moved to appropriate forum. This may not be claimed for TPE.

Unfortunate. Nothing to do now other than pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and get right back to contention.

hi it me, ready for fantasy

1. As we gear up for the postseason, who do you see as our biggest competition and why? Moscow, of course! I think you could make an argument for Vancouver, too, but we wouldn't see them 'til the championship if we were to make it there. 2. Who is in the playoff race that has surprised you the most this season? Can I answer this question the opposite way? I'm surprised by HC Davos's miserable season, especially provided the quality of their top players (before they all got sold). 3. Who has been the team MVP this season and why? Krishna is the first guy that comes to mind. He's been very consistent (as consistent as you can be in STHS anyways) and at the top of the league. He even had a shutout recently! 4. Which player on Warsaw do you think has improved the most this season? Chris Reynolds is my pick for this one! He's taken a huge leap forward in scoring and has flipped from being a slightly below-average player to a markedly above-average one! 5. Which position group do you feel most confident in on the team as the postseason draws near? This is like asking a parent to pick a favorite child! I do not have a position group I feel 'most confident' in, per se. I like our chances in the post season because of all of them, not in spite of one or two of them. 6. What do you think is the most underrated sport excluding hockey? I think roller derby is very much underrated as a spectator sport AND as a sport to play! There are certainly some very physical players there, and it's pretty high-impact too.

1. There's been some big trades during the season for the first time in forever! Who do you think benefits the most from these trades? I don't know. I was a little concerned that SS Hornet got let go for comparatively little, but I think some of the other trades Davos made were decent. Hard to say til we at least see the respective drafts pan out, but I think Davos (who was involved in most of the trades) came out about the same as they started. 2. We are in a tight race for 1st overall in the conference, do you think we have what it takes to win the games against Moscow and secure that top spot? Of course!! Whether we actually do it is another question, I think, so we'll have to keep fighting like crazy. 3. Do you post on any social media platforms? Not particularly. I only use Facebook for the messenger at times, and have a very private Instagram account that I do not keep particularly active. Does that count? 4. If a young fan asks you for your autograph, are you more than willing to give it? Of course!! It is unusual to have this many female players in the VHL at once, so I suspect players like Lexi and I need to serve as role models for equality and representation in a very physical sport! 5. Valentine's Day is coming up! Do you have a special person in your life? Romantically, no. I do love to spend some time with my best friend Venus though! 6. What is your favourite chocolate? Frellsen Chokolade is my personal favorite. Venus says they're a bit overrated, but I think it's wonderful!! 7. How pumped are you for another chance at the playoffs this season? Pshh, does it even need to be said? My plan is to see Venus in the finals!!

Warsaw, Poland - Though many travel to places with semi-tropical temperatures and plenty of beaches, Warsaw Predators forward Aloe Dear has different priorities – namely spending time with her wonderful friend and former VHLM teammate Venus Thightrap. Thankfully, the young Danish player, in the midst of just her third season, hasn’t really needed to travel far to get home. After all, Denmark has just a tiny fraction of the Baltic Sea between it and Poland – or she can travel up through Germany back home. The journey is a bit tougher for Thightrap, who plays for the Vancouver Wolves way over in west Canada. It’s not particularly practical to travel back and forth between Europe and Canada on a weekly basis – though somehow the VHL does it every week for inter-conference games – and so a portion of Aloe’s vacation is spent with some friends on the team like Lexi Glass. From sipping wine in France to taking a siesta in Spain, everything seems to be sunbathing weather in comparison to Denmark in central and southern Europe. On a week out with the girls, Thightrap, Glass, and Dear sought out landmarks in England (while trying to avoid the traffic in London!), driving cars at abnormally fast speeds in Germany, and taking riding lessons at the Spanish Riding School in Vienna. Thankfully, as they’re both relatively early in their careers, Thightrap and Dear aren’t particularly well-recognized outside of Denmark and their respective teams’ countries – though as a world champion last season, Venus will occasionally get recognized on the street. On the American side of things, the duo spends much of their time exploring the States and their oddly warm temperatures – though admittedly most of their time is spent in the likes of California, New York, and Florida (mostly for Disney World, let’s be honest). Were there some kind of global pandemic on, Florida would probably be a pretty scary place to be – but with a new Star Wars park and plenty of old classic characters to see, it’s not surprising that Aloe would try and drag Venus here for a handful of days. Their most highly anticipated activity, of course, was going to EPCOT and assessing the accuracy of their Denmark mini-town and hopping into the igloo (that’s still totally there) to test world sodas. Ultimately, Aloe wants to spend some time at home in Denmark this off-season; after spending the last couple of seasons on the grind, including most days in Warsaw or in other teams’ practice facilities for planned camps, even being just a country or two from home is enough to make one homesick. With free agency on the horizon, Aloe will almost certainly want some time to herself and her family to help her make an important career decision. Since Poland is so close to home already, it’s clear that the Predators will be an extremely high spot on her list of priorities – but a little input from her family will obviously hold significant sway even beyond that. Long story short? Plenty of quality time with valued friends like Lexi and Venus, plus some family time during the critical free agency period.

S76 - Transaction ID 6XB66134SK536940N $15 donation Free Week (redeemed for Week Ending 2/7/21) 5 Uncapped (redeemed for Week Ending 2/7/21) Doubles Week

1. We started 8-0 but came back down to earth with a couple losses. What do we need to do to keep winning? Keep working on earning that TPE! We can rely on Ajay to carry for us a lot so far, but what will give us the most leeway in the future is everyone from line 1 to 3 doing everything they can to improve. 2. Are there any standouts across the league this season for you so far? Ola Vikingstad has had a fantastic season so far. He's top-two in goals scored, but is still on the top ten list across the league for assists scored, too! 3. Predict who you think will finish atop the EU and the NA divisions? Moscow and Warsaw have equal chances to finish at the top of the EU. Vancouver has a great lead right now over Chicago and D.C., but I'm pulling for Chicago to finish on top in that division. 4. Did you play fantasy this year? If so are you happy with your team? Yes and... kind of? I don't know. I have a lot of blues in my fantasy league and unfortunately they're all doing well 5. If you have a great game, what do you treat yourself too afterwards? Nothing! Consistency is key. I will go hang out with teammates if there's a post game celebration, but I need to be in similar shape for the next game if we won! 6. Are you a coffee or tea kind of person? Tea, certainly. There is a wonderful tea brand that produces vanilla chai that I am very fond of.