Renomitsu

i was gonna say that we're at the top together with a heart emoji but okay ;-;

Review Most people enjoy a redemption arc, and I'm certainly among them. This is written well, offers sincere appreciation for members that do hard work, and more importantly offers constructive criticism both for the site/community and self-reflection presented in a manner that flows logically from paragraph to paragraph. I think it's incredibly important to examine your past actions whether you're well-respected or even beloved in the VHL -- or, as you've ostensibly personally experienced, feeling looked down upon or even turned away at your low points. Both the VHL as a whole and you seem to have grown in the last year or so and I'm looking forward to whatever future impact you have on the site. =]

Review Well, I think we know how this one is going to go. 0/10, does not agree with my list, do not claim for TPE, do not pass go, do not collect 200 VHLBucks. All joking aside, it takes some guts to release a list like this whether it's in order or not. There are a lot of sad emojis that can be added to this post, be it in jest or semi-seriousness, if anyone takes a look at it without being tagged here. I definitely appreciate your bravery. I like the subtle digs (sorry Gus, Davos is still a meme), it's clearly and directly league relevant, and I don't have a ton of grammar or spelling comments to make for this media spot. Plus, it has my former boss over in Riga on the list. What's not to like?

This is what I like to read! I can't say much about the graphics, as I think the best I ever did was try a couple in Paint or GIMP my first time around with the league (and they were bad), but I'm glad the sense of community and being able to nerd out about stats was valuable to you. I still definitely don't understand any advanced hockey stats particularly well, but I think it's very telling of the community that someone who 1) nerds out about hockey stats and 2) someone who doesn't even follow hockey both choose to stick around. Not gonna lie I still lose track of the days and weeks from time to time

Hi all! I figured I'd do an out-of-league oriented vhl.com article, since all of my other four or five this season so far have been essentially 'in character.' I want you to think about when you first joined this site -- or your first sim league in general, if you'd found one very similar to VHL before coming here. If I were to try and describe sim leagues to a friend without any preparation, well, it'd be tough. There are some aspects to sim leagues - like TPE, updating, and salary minimums - that might not be difficult to explain in concept, but how would you explain feeling 'success' in sim leagues? That is, what's your motivation for staying here, whether you've been here for 0.5 seasons or 50? When you first joined from another sim league or social media (Reddit, YouTube, maybe a friend's Facebook message, who knows), you may have had your first sim league described in a specific way. Does it measure up to what you thought it'd be? Did you think there would be quite this many people invested in the league, or did you expect there to be thousands upon thousands of users crammed into a singular league? Had you tried other types of online sports leagues before (e.g. GM leagues, owner leagues, or player leagues that were kind of like multi-page 'browser,' non-forum based games), or was this your first step into online non-real-life sports? I know there are a fair number of members who don't give leagues like the VHL, SBA, EFL, or the parallel money-based leagues like PBE or ISFL a fair shake once they realize they won't be playing as their player in real time (e.g. MyCareer or whatever in video games). What kept you in the sim league, and has the concept exceeded or failed to meet your expectations? How so? [This VHL.com article is also being claimed for the uncapped TPE package, #5 of 5.]

2. Which EU team do you feel stands as our biggest threat in the postseason? London. McWolf is a cunning GM and is constantly changing things up to make his team better, be it through transactions or changes in strategy. 3. What were your thoughts on the flurry of trade deadline activity? It's nice. I'm glad we didn't flip the team upside down, because we've been consistently good the last two seasons and have continued to do so despite our earlier-than-anticipated playoff exist last season. 5. Youtube or Twitch? For now? Youtube, mostly because you can install an adblocker with ease and get past their ads. Twitch ads are like... baked into the platform and you need to do a lot more legwork to keep up with them. 6. Which of the 10 teams currently in playoff positions do you think is most likely to miss the playoffs and why? D.C. is the closest to missing the playoffs, both in terms of points and the competitiveness of the team underneath them. Jeffrey Pines and L.A. are utterly relentless, and I wouldn't be surprised if they made a big push to take over the Dragons' spot. 7. How would you grade your player's performance this season on a scale of 1 to 10? 6.5 out of 10. There is still room for me to utilize my teammates better, and I want our team to continue climbing up in the rankings. There are still plenty of adjustments for me personally to make before the end of the season. 8. How would you grade the team's performance this season on a scale of 1 to 10? 8 out of 10 is what I'd give us. We've played well enough to clearly float to the top of the European Conference, but there's still plenty of growth left for us this season; we've lost some games we definitely shouldn't have, and there are some 50/50s we could have turned into wins I think.

This one was inspired by idle curiosity. A few people had mentioned in the last few weeks that the Victory Cup (or maybe the #1 seed in general) is cursed, i.e. those that win it generally can't win the title. And looking at the last few seasons' worth of Victory Cup winners (Moscow, Calgary, Moscow, Warsaw from S74-77), you might think that's true, provided literally none of them ended up taking home the title. But in going through a bit of history, I'd found that 33 of the 77 seasons' Victory Cup winners actually won the Continental Cup. And that's pretty surprising, provided that (especially in recent history) we've had so few cases. But the quantity of teams and users in the VHL have fluctuated significantly over the last, let's say, thirty seasons - with the low point happening in the S50s and clearer highs in the mid-late 60s and early 70s. The first true expansion (not a renaming of Vasteras/Madrid/Stockholm) occurred in Season 31 with the Quebec City Meute (now the Vancouver Wolves) and Cologne Express as the league went from 8 to 10 teams. But after considerable loss of its user base through the 50s, the VHL contracted both Vasteras (now Stockholm) and Cologne to drop to its original 8 (albeit with slightly different composition). Moscow entered the league as the ninth and Malmo as the tenth in the mid-60s, yet another expansion happened in S68 with DC and Prague, and the league capitulated to massive growth one last time in Season 73 with four teams (Warsaw, Los Angeles, London, and Phoenix Chicago). And with the league quite literally doubling in size over the course of a dozen seasons but still not able to keep up with its growth, the VHLE was announced just this past season. So maybe it shouldn't be surprising that, especially with the expansion of the playoffs from 4 to 5 teams per conference in S73. After all, the playoffs were composed of just 5 teams until Malmo was added to the league in Season 66. It went from 6 to 8 teams with the addition of Prague and DC, and then to 10 with the addition of the four S73 teams. So I looked at the percentages for each "era" - though admittedly S65-68's turnaround was incredibly short for what amounted to three expansions. S1-30 (8 teams, 4 playoff) - 16/30 (53.3%) S31-57 (10 teams, 6 playoff) - 11/27 (40.7%) S58-65 (8 teams, 5 playoff) - 3/8 (37.5%) S66-68 (9-10 teams, 6-8 playoff) - 1/3 (33.0%) S69 (nice)-S72 (12 teams) - 1/4 (25.0%) S73-present (16 teams, 10 playoff) - 1/5 (20.0%) Ultimately, the more recent seasons do seem to suffer from a small sample size, as some don't even get a full 5 seasons to pan out. Regardless, the league has seen a gradual trend downwards in its Victory/Continental Cup concurrence. There is a bit of a curious drop in S58-65, where there's a contraction of the playoffs from 6 to 5, but note here that the league also contracted by two teams and talent may have been unevenly distributed favoring top teams (i.e. the Victory Cup winner's greatest competition) because of the era. Teams have also gradually gotten more chances to be weeded out, particularly with the shift to 8 team playoffs, where the Victory Cup winner needs to play three opponents instead of 2. It's very well-demonstrated with the expansions to an 8 team playoff in the late 60s (we're 3/12 or 25.0% since). [This VHL.com article is also being claimed for the uncapped TPE package, #4 of 5.]

1. Coming off our roughest sim of the season, what can we do to get back on course? Get our offensive rhythm back on the second line. It's been our trump card for the last few dozen games and we need to right the ship. 5. Aloe Dear has established herself as the league's points and assists leader for some time now. Is there perhaps a Campbell or Slobodzian trophy coming to a Warsaw player this season? I was in the lead for a good portion of last season, and that kind of fell apart after the trade deadline. So I'm not going to jinx myself by saying one way or the other; I just hope it happens. 6. Chris Reynolds is one goal off the VHL lead, pushing to be the first Warsaw player to lead the VHL in the goalscoring category. What can we do to get him there? Oh, I'll get Reynolds to top goalscorer with all of my power. He deserves it after being so patient with this team the last few seasons. 7. We're on pace to top our franchise record of 291 goals from last season, being the first VHL team in nearly 20 seasons to score 300 goals if we maintain pace. Do you believe we'll get there? I hope we do, but I don't think assuming or believing will get us there. We've got to prove it on the ice. 8. How high can you jump? I can touch the rim of a basketball hoop with some effort! But I'm not sure how high that means I can jump (I'm pretty short). 9. Aloe Dear finished last season 1 point shy of tying Hunter Heart Helmsley's franchise record of 113 points in a season, but is on pace to shatter it this year with 130. How confident are you that Dear will pass up HHH's season franchise record? Oof, well our last 6 games or so have been pretty dreadful for me so far. I want to succeed, of course, but not at the cost of the team's success.

Warsaw, Poland - When asked who she least liked playing against, Warsaw forward Aloe Dear was quick and vocal with her answer. "Malmo has had our number! We have not even come close to defeating those green guys this season," she commented at a presser following an overtime loss to Vancouver, "and it is frustrating, to say the least. And it was a... surprising way to open the season." Dear makes reference to a 2-5 blowout loss against the Nighthawks, a match where she could not make anything happen on four separate power play attempts and allowed a couple of goals while on the penalty kill. Warsaw is well-known for its high scoring games (on both ends of the ice), but the team managed to score 6 goals across two games. That wouldn't be anything unusual for most teams in the VHL -- but because Malmo scored 13 goals in those same two games, it's become a cause for concern. "We face them a few more times this season, and you can bet I will hop on the ice with a chip on my shoulder," she commented with a smile, "they deserve better than fifth in the European Conference and I suspect cross-conference play will begin to reveal that. But against us? We are going to leave everything on the ice. Be ready." [This VHL.com article is also being claimed for the uncapped TPE package, #3 of 5.]

1. Which team have you most enjoyed facing so far this season? It's tempting to say Toronto since we've done rather well against them, but I think it's London. They have done increasingly well over the last few seasons and I appreciate the challenge. 2. What has been more surprising to you: Toronto's recent collapse or Moscow's recent surge? Toronto's collapse. There's no good reason they should be doing this poorly unless they're playing their backup every game; they may not have any truly elite forwards outside of Hornet, but the remainder of their forwards are solid and their defense should be excellent. 3. Who is the leading candidate to get Warsaw's nomination for Most Improved Player in this early stretch of the season? Uh, Chris. C'mon now, he's the league leader in goals and is now top-ten there, too! 4. Got any words of advice for WAR-G so he stops being such a scrub and holding us back when we have to play him? We love you, WAR-G, and just want to see you succeed. I know you can't control your bad attributes, so... do what you can. 6. Despite being by far the worst team in the standings, Vancouver has given us a run for our money every time we've played them. What can we do to avoid playing down to our competition in those games? Shut down Sandstrom. He's been one of the three stars in every game we've played against Chicago I think, so we need a more targeted defensive strategy vs. him. 7. Which non-Warsaw player do you think has been the most impressive so far this season and why? Lee Xin, of course! They have a ton of points and is one of the primary reasons Chicago is doing so well. 8. Why is Aloe Dear getting hit so much more than every other player in the league? I don't know. Why they hate me?

Warsaw, Poland – The VHL Europe was announced earlier this week to much applause from players and managers across the intercontinental league. "I see it as a significant victory for all of hockey," said Dear, who is currently in her fifth season as a pro. "Some are concerned about splitting the player base between leagues, how will they be financially supported, and so on and so forth – that does not make a big difference to me." "I think players should have some time to develop and have an additional place to stay while they get their skates under them," she continued, "and while the VHLM does that for some time, there are, I think, some players that come into the league a bit underprepared and stay that way for a few seasons. The VHLE ensures that players can be competitive at their own pace before moving on to intercontinental play." "There are so many talented hockey players in the league nowadays that rosters honestly feel filled to the brim, and it is eating away at some others' opportunities to make a name for themselves, too. I would expect the guys and gals in the pros to be eager to have some of these rosters thin out. I just hope it means we don't have to change up much for Warsaw, personally." [This VHL.com article is also being claimed for the uncapped TPE package, #2 of 5.]

F - Luke Thornton @Domg5 we're done!

G - Doug Dimmadome @JigglyGumballs

Warsaw, Poland - Asked in a recent presser if it felt odd to be outside of the top ten -- actually the top forty -- point scorers to start the season, Aloe quickly responded. "Not at all," the young Danish forward said with a smile and a laugh, "I've been there in my first couple of seasons and I'll be there to start this season. It is nigh impossible to judge who will be good or bad in a season even off of the first ten or fifteen games; I remember overreacting to Malmo's hot start ten games in two or three seasons after they became a team. We still have sixty-seven or sixty-eight games left to go." The Predators suffered a couple of early losses unexpectedly this season, leaving them in the middle of the pack in the European Conference with a game in hand very early on. Early schedules can be deceiving, however, and the will of STHS is ultimately unknown to us all. So don't freak out if your team is doing poorly and you expected to do well. You've got 90+% of the season left and haven't played half of the teams; nearly every team has some line chemistry to work out. [This vhl.com is being used for the 4 TPE x5 weekly package, #1 of 5]

D - Cowboy Prout @McWolf

FYI @solas, McWolf has already selected Christian Mingle. You can have another couple of hours to find your second pick, at which point we'll move on to Blade.

F - Taro Tsujimoto @JigglyGumballs

D - Spencer Elsby @McWolf x2!

@RomanesEuntDomus has now been skipped twice and is disqualified. @Domg5 @Otto Numminen, it's your pick!

F - Onde Sandstrom @JigglyGumballs

Review Nice work! This is overall well-written and you seem to have a reasonable grasp on the language. The content of the article is interesting and reminds me of a press conference/interview. I think there are some areas for improvement, namely punctuation that will help you separate out your phrases. For example, in your second paragraph: "I always told the management that at minimum I will give Calgary 5 years and this extension signifies that," Ssaid Tom, " I am happy to be here in Calgary as I think the team is making some great progress in turning into a contender. It's great to see that the team wants me here as well and I look forward to the next 3 seasons." If you have a quote separated out into a single sentence, don't forget to include a comma at the end of the first part of the quote as I've done above. The same applies to when you're continuing the second part of the quote, also indicated above in red (said Tom,). This will improve with some practice; you've clearly gotten better over time and would expect that to continue.

SUUUUUUU Review Lovely work. This is a good summary of the sequence of events surrounding Su's draft, the efflux of talent from Vancouver due to extenuating circumstances (i.e. the cap), as well as his exceptional adventure in Vancouver. There are a couple of unnecessary commas and a spelling error here or there, e.g. "Durning an atrocious rookie season where scoring was down, and Su should've most likely stayed in the minors." But this is otherwise well-written and packs a good amount of information in an organized fashion. Also, gotta be honest - I thought you'd misspelled DiGiannantonio's name incorrectly, but I was the incorrect one all along!

Warsaw, Poland – It's no secret that Dakota Lamb and Aloe Dear were one of the best center duos in the league last season. The two broke out last season, each scoring over 100 points and 150+ hits while placing top 4 in points; Lamb tied for top 3 in goals, while Dear tied for top 3 in assists, and both had excellent plus-minuses of over +20. "Dakota @dlamb has been an incredible mentor," Aloe commented after an off-season workout, "it's clear he truly cares about the game, and his teaching skills are second to none. I hadn't played at center in nearly a decade – since I was a kid – and a single off-season of him teaching got me first team All-VHL. That's craziness. I don't think anyone else could facilitate a forward position switch like that." Indeed, Lamb has had plenty of highs with a Warsaw team that's still extremely competitive; he's seen the franchise's worst days shortly after expansion (where they placed just two points out of the leagues worst spot in Season 74) while facing the league's toughest competition throughout. With Lamb two seasons into regression, Aloe will be expected to shoulder a role very similar to her long-time captain's. What can the Warsaw offense accomplish with a full season at center now under Dear's belt?

1. We missed out on the finals. What can we do to make sure we can avoid this disappointment next season? Is there anything such as certainty in the VHL? I don't think there is anything specific we can do to guarantee avoiding elimination at any point in the playoffs. All we can do is play ourselves into the best position possible, which is exactly what we did last regular season. 2. What would you say is the most defining trait of our team this past season? Resilience. After losing Venus Flytrap in free agency I think morale was a bit down - which is understandable, as she is an excellent player! But ultimately we came back from it and a difficult adjustment period after trading for Chris Hylands, allowing us the top seed in the conference. 3. As the salary cap gets more and more difficult to navigate for us as a steady contender, how much longer is our window in your opinion? Most likely two seasons or so. After our long-time captain Dakota Lamb retires, it would be time for a new era in Warsaw. 4. What is the most useless organ in your body? I'm not sure there is a 'useless' one. The appendix contains a number of helpful bacteria and the spleen acts as an immune system reservoir while clearing your body of old/mutated red blood cells. But if I had to lose one, it might be the gallbladder? 5. Across the entire VHL, which player most surprised you with their performance in S77? Andrew Su. He was great a season ago, and replicated a top-of-the-line performance yet again this season despite having a change in management and several roster changes. 6. In the same vein, which team surprised you the most in S77, whether for overperforming or underperforming in this past season? Chicago still did relatively well in the regular season, but I was surprised by how poorly they did in the playoffs - they were swept in their first series after 1) winning the championship last season and 2) ostensibly having an even better roster this season. But that's just the way STHS goes sometimes. 7. With a lot of the attention turned towards Thursday's draft, which team do you think will have the most impactful draft in the league? I would think Moscow or Calgary would have excellent drafts provided their quantity of top picks. That shouldn't be surprising provided the circumstances. 8. Who do you believe is the best graphics maker in the VHL? Well, I think @gorlab has a very long history of being at or near the top. That continues to be true today, even if there are some excellent graphics creators that have popped up over the last few dozen seasons.

Transaction ID: 20630281650540994 Redeemed Now (Week Ending 5/16/21) $1M Player Store Cash 5 TPE Uncapped Redeemed Later (Week Ending 5/30/21) Doubles Week