Arce

1. I am going to have to go with nerds/nerds ropes. 2. I still haven't gotten Pokemon Scarlet/Violet so I am pumped to make that purchase. We are still years away but I am also excited for the Avengers: Secret Wars and Kang Dynasty to hit the screens. 3. NY Strip is my favorite thing to make with a side of cheddar cheese pasta. 1. Is your player performing up to your expectations so far in S86? 2. With the holidays coming up, are you doing anything fun or special this month? 3. What is your favorite tasting drink? (alcoholic or non-alcoholic it doesn't matter!)

My experience as a "first gen" was a bit different than most. I have seen the rise and fall of the empire. I had been gone 10 years, so when I got the e-mail to come back I decided to check out how the old place was doing. Who was still around? To my surprise there was more than a handful of OG/older members still playing a big part of the forum. Including @Beketovwho had taken on the role as Commissioner. Now, this was old news at this point to most, but very new to me. I still recall seeing Bek get banned after I came into the league, but never thought anything of it since I did not know him. I am really glad to see him in this role, having interacted with Bek since my return quite a few times in the Moscow server/ Main. I saw some old friends such as Fresco, v.2, Frank (I drafted his first player!, and some sightings of the site's founder and my former GM Scotty Campbell. Even though I had a Hall of Fame player, I have GMed om the VHL and VHLE, and even Commissioned the VHLM, I still was a first gen since I had not had an active player since defenseman Frans Spelman, who turned out actually pretty good if you look at his stats despite me going IA at the end. First step I knew was of course to create a player. Wait what? There is a freaking portal now? This is really cool. Okay done. It came time to claim my first TPE, where was my player update thread? Wait it's all done on the portal now? This is awesome. I can do the attributes right there too after approval, no manual math needed by me and no manual counting needing to be done by the updater? This is sick. The portal experience was a complete game changer, and definitely puts the modern day VHL over the old ways of which we did things. VHLM: First up was my player of course would have to play in the VHLM. I joined in the off-season with things about to start so I would not be drafted until the following season. Sweet, I get to choose my VHLM team for a full season before being drafted and hopefully moving up. I get offers, I know none of these GM's. It was the typical cringe hashtag posts we were accustom to at the time. I hated using it when I was Houston's GM so I got more personal with my pitches as I went on, and it also seemed to workout better. Anyway, the pitches came in and I had some options. As usual, the already loaded up playoff teams were offering me 3rd line minutes, some 2nd line. I looked over the rosters and decided to improve my draft stock, I would join the Mexico City Kings who offered me first line minutes. We may not be a loaded contender, but I could be the best player on the team and who knows what could happen after a few waiver pick ups. We had a goaltender that I befriended immediately, Boris Tsezar@comrade catand defenseman Dabnad Shaw @Dabnadwhich we all congregated after every sim to discuss. @youloser1337was our GM, and I thought he did a great job. He was very interactive in the locker room and created a good atmosphere for new members along with @Vicewho was the one who sent the pitch for me to join Mexico City. Those guys helped me, Comrade and Dabnad get started and gave us the tools to succeed going forward. My player Ronan Lavelle faired well having 42 goals, 41 assists for 83 points in 72 games played. Mexico City qualified for the playoffs as the last seed. We played a supercharged Ottawa Lynx team and got swept, but we kept almost every game close. Departing from that team was sad because we would all go our separate ways. I was to head to the VHLE, where Boris and Shaw would play one more season down in the M. The trio would have to be separated. The Drafts/VHLE: It was then time for the S82 drafts. I was to be drafted to my VHL team, as well as my VHLE team for the S82 season. As a max earner, I knew I would only be spending one season down there. I fully expected to be taken at the end of the first round/early second round. I was max earning, but I was still new. GM's could consider me a risk considering my history of trying to come back over the years always fell short. @EnoramaGM of the Dragons had already reached out to me if I was interested in playing for DC. I replied of course, I was happy to try to help any of these teams win. DC was one high on my list. I like how Eno ran his team, his more laid back persona and the most appealing part for me is they never won. I wanted to be their featured forward and help them win a Continental Cup. Eno had been the GM there since the franchise entered the league, he was long overdue for a win. I would be drafted 7th overall, so Bubbles Utonium @fishyand I were DC's first round selections. Bubbles would play for the Vasteras Iron Eagles for their VHLE season before joining me in S83 for our rookie seasons. Fishy was always known for fun locker room sass, fire playlist themes, and posting delicious morning drinks. I would go on to be selected in the VHLE draft by the Geneva Rush, @UnknownMinionwas clearly in the lab wheeling and dealing trades. I was going there 9th overall where Geneva had already selected goaltender Miervaldis Arpa and defenseman Milan Dvorak. I never played in the VHLE, so this was definitely a new experience for me. I was also re-united with Dabnad Shaw as he was selected by Geneva as well and was to play for them when he made the jump to the E. Despite the locked and loaded roster we had on paper, we somehow missed the playoffs entirely. We had the Board Game Clue on Skates @MubbleFubblesjoin us via trade. We had two of the best forwards in the league in Mubbles and myself and we somehow missed. It was odd to say the least. Lavelle finished with 101 points and 49 goals to win MVP honors. The Board Game Clue on Skates also was a 40+ goal scorer. It was just a very odd turn of events, I think it baffled all of us. But all in all, I did enjoy my first VHLE experience. The VHL We are now at where I currently play, the VHL! All the hard work for this moment. I was getting ready to enter my rookie season in S83. I was on a team for the first time with @JardyB10as his defenseman Poopy Peepants and my old friend @scoopfrom the Davos days' own Taylor Mourning also joined DC. Usually Jardy was on the other side, most notoriously on my biggest defeat as a GM as Jardy's Calgary Wranglers defeated my Madrid Thunder in the Cup finals all those years ago. I never forgot about that, Jardy certainly never let me forget it. But we were allies for a few seasons, and it was a fun few seasons. We also got to have Tui Sova's @v.2 final few seasons as apart of DC. He got off to a slow start, but after that never looked back as he was one of the best offensive defensemen in the whole league at the tail end of his career. We also acquired 3 time cup winner Corey Kitson on the blue line @Nykonax. Not only did we gain Kitson's valuable experience, but Nyko knew what it took to win and was very vocal trying to help in the locker room. One of the best all around additions the team has ever had. The rookie season usually hurts, and I got the typical rookie beating. I finished with just 13 goals and 40 points with my sniper build in S83. However, I would go on to rebound in S84 as we acquired the legendary Duncan Idaho @OrbitingDeath and I had the honors of being is linemate. This would land me with 38 goals and 98 total points. The heartbreaker was we couldn't win Idaho a cup in his final season, despite being the first place team in the North American Conference. Losing that series to Seattle hurt, and the series loss was comparable when I was on Davos and we lost to Riga, a bitter loss to a bitter rival. S85 we would have a different team. Peepants and Mourning went off to free agency in New York, Idaho had to retire. However, we gained Baxter Arcanum @ctotsback to active status, which was huge. Ctots is someone you also love to have in the locker room. His defenseman getting bolstered again was what I believe pushed us over in S85 to go the distance. People underestimate these roles, but they are so critical in a cap tight league. We got Nezuko@Baoziin free agency and that filled a massive void. Now we would have Lavelle and Nezuko as the line 1 and line 2 checking forwards. Lavelle and Nezuko would also be amongst the league leaders in shots on goal, so the offensive void had been filled. Still, DC needed one more piece. Eno went out and got that piece by trading for Darth Kaprizov @Darth Kaprizovto solidify DC's top 6. We also had the honors of having my old VHLE teammate back Milan Dvorak @solasso our defense was set. It was exactly what we needed. Our team went the distance, and I forgot how sweet winning the cup in this league felt. After going down 0-2 to Chicago in the conference finals, we would storm back and win 4 straight to advance to play Moscow for all the marbles. After splitting the first 2 games 1-1. DC would go on to win the next 3 to capture their first hardware in franchise history. I also received the honors for Playoff MVP, so it was just the cherry on top kind of ending. I would say overall my first gen experience has been a lot of fun, and it makes me happy to see my player thriving. I always had faith in my build, it just makes me really happy to see it pay off. What holds next for me and my player? Even I don't know, so we will all find out! This write was a lot of fun. Word Count: 2057 Weeks Ending: 12/11, 12/18, 12/25, 1/1

FUNK

She is the reason Taylor Swift was the #1 played artist on our Spotify.

Better make it $50.

My wife Becca and I will do a podcast buzzed or drunk where I will post a question thread for the members of the community to ask us. You can ask either of us anything as long as it is not inappropriate or disrespectful towards her. Ever wonder how Becca puts up with me? How is she married to a Continental Cup Champion? Here is your chance to find out!

Ronan Lavelle was born in Dublin, Ireland. He was the son of Patrick and Bridget Lavelle. He grew up in a city where like just about everywhere in Europe, soccer was the big deal. Ronan was enrolled, and played soccer for the first 5 years of his life. His father, Patrick Lavelle, played professional soccer for the Shamrock Rovers. Patrick Lavelle had Ronan, and his brother Conor Lavelle heavily involved in soccer, as he was himself. Lavelle's dad at the time owned a pub in the city, so Ronan was working in the pub for some side cash and to help the family business. Growing up running around the Lavelle Pub, all of the usual customer's kids naturally grew close with Lavelle. The dad's would come in for a few pints, and let the kids run around. During the soccer offseason, Lavelle was playing what he loved and that was hockey. He got all of his friends to play some pond hockey after making a custom rink in his backyard. Lavelle made his own rink in his backyard with some wood his father had behind their barn and made his own ice. Granted, the ice wasn't in the best shape but for a teenager making an outdoor rink, it did the trick for Lavelle to practice day in and day out. It was clear Lavelle was much better than his friends, as he would skate circles around them. After his father saw his passion for the game, he decided to let Ronan quit soccer and focus his full attention on his hockey ambitions. Lavelle found himself in the Irish Ice Hockey Association, and he quickly grew beyond it. Lavelle became the all time leading goal scorer in the IIHA with his lethal wrist shot. It was Ronan's dad's dream to have one of his son's follow his footsteps in the professional soccer limelight, or at the least one of them to take over his pub when the time came. Once Patrick saw that was not a possibility with Ronan, he knew he needed to get him in a league that was more competitive, and one that would get his son noticed. This led Patrick and Bridget to looking into leagues all over Europe and North America to see what made the most sense for Ronan, and their family. Patrick also saw this as a chance for a new business opportunity. One of the European league's made the most sense, since Lavelle's name was known for his soccer career. You can imagine the family's surprise when the family chose to go overseas to Canada! The family moved to Ontario, Canada where Lavelle would join the OHL (Ontario Hockey League). Ronan was drafted by the Winsor Spitfires, so Windsor is where the Lavelle family ended up buying their house in Ontario after a brief renting stent in Toronto. Lavelle's dad opened up an Irish Sports Pub in Winsor, which ended up being decked out in Spitfire, and Maple Leaf gear to bring in the local crowd. There was even some Detroit merchandise as the city was over the bridge, which turned out to be a big hit. Lavelle would still help out his family with the new pub after school and hockey. The Lavelles were thriving in Canada, and the anxiety seemed to ease. However, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, their fortune almost turned into disaster. It was Lavelle's final season with Windsor as he was already getting scouted by other leagues including the VHL. Ronan's dad almost lost the pub due to the lockdowns, and dining limitations. Fortunately, due to their saving the pub was able to pull through just enough. Lavelle would go on to lead the OHL in goals in his final season, and lead the Spitfires to the Memorial Cup finals where they lost in heartbreaking fashion in overtime 5-4. Lavelle had 2 goals and 2 assists in the game, producing a point on each of Windsor's goals. So what would happen next? Ronan had committed to the VHL, and his next journey was set to commence. Where Ronan decided to sign shocked everyone. He was going two countries down, to the south side of North America. Ronan had agreed to sign with the Mexico City Kings. They offered him first line minutes, it was Lavelle's real chance to show the VHL scouts what he's got. This again would cause some re-location for at least half of the Lavelle family. Ronan's dad had the pub in Windsor, certainly he couldn't just pack it up and try to open shop in Mexico City, especially with this being a one season deal, right? Patrick and Ronan's brother, Conor stayed in Windsor while Ronan and his mother Bridget went to Mexico City. It was quite the culture shock to the Lavelles. All of Mexico City's traditions, and day to day was so different from what they were used to. But the goal always remained the same. Ronan made great friends with goaltender Boris Tsezar and defenseman Dabnad Shaw. Their locker room chemistry made them truly believe they could be an underdog in the S81 playoffs. Aside from almost getting busted by the Mexico City PD for going out and causing some trouble, the 3 usually were pretty tame outside the ice. Especially after having a stern talking to by GM Justin Lose. Ronan would go on to lead the team in goals with 42 and points with 83. Ronan's dad, and brother flew in to see Ronan play in the playoffs. They knew their chances of winning were low, but who could deny a locker room that genuinely believed in another? The Kings unfortunately would not make it by powerhouse Ottawa and got swept out in the first round. It would end Ronan's experience in Mexico City. Ronan's next destination was in the United States capital! Ronan Lavelle was drafted 7th overall in the S82 VHL draft by the DC Dragons. He was also selected by the Geneva Rush in the VHLE, where Ronan would spend his S82 season. So Ronan would be venturing back to Europe to play before re-joining his family in North America. Geneva's short history had been unsuccessful but Lavelle was determiend to change that. He led the VHLE in goals with 49, and points with 101. This earned Lavelle MVP honors. With Ronan coming back to the United States, his dad had since closed his pub in Windsor, and was heading for retirement. Would Patrick open up a new pub in DC? It had been discussed by being able to relax and enjoy family sounded too good to pass up. Lavelle bought a house right outside of the city, close to his family. After a tough 40 point rookie season, Lavelle would bounce back with two consecutive 98 point seasons. In S85 it finally happened, Lavelle's ultimate VHL goal, he won a cup with the DC Dragons; their first. He also won playoff MVP honors, as he had 26 points during the big show. What is next for the young, and already successful Irish Sniper?

The North American playoff picture is starting to clear up. The Calgary Wranglers currently sit ahead comfortably with 44 points and are starting to create some separation between themselves and their competition. The Chicago Phoenix however are just 5 points back with a game in hand with 39 points. Chicago can be within range if they make the most of their game in hand. Otherwise the Wranglers will run away with their second consecutive division title. The defending champion DC Dragons find themselves in third place with 32 points. A hole in the Dragons defense has left them more vulnerable but still very much in the mix. The Vancouver Wolves are right behind DC with 31 points. Seattle finds themselves in 5th with 28 points and a .500 record. LA, New York and Toronto are not quite out of the picture but it’ll take some effort to get back in the mix. Can Calgary repeat history? Can Chicago sustain this with a forward and defenseman down? Can Vancouver perform up to par? We will see how this one ends!

Claim for week ending in 12/4.

Appreciate the trade talks as always @JB123the conversation is always productive! Happy to add in draft assets for the rebuild and set Vasteras up for future success. Wishing you and Oslo nothing but the best! Trenton will certainly bolster that defense. @Spartakiller2 I know your tenure with us was very short but with Vasteras going into a full rebuild, I wanted your player to be able to have the chance to compete and have a role for the cup. Also have a very bright future there!

Hey, we had fun!

@BarzalGoatGroup 5 is complete.

It has been relatively quiet on the VHL front, as I outlined very briefly in my Fan590 or VHL.com for you VHL whipper snappers. For those who do not know, I have officially put in my notice to the VHLE Commissioners that this will be my last season in the VHLE as a GM for now. Just for the simple fact I need a break, and just would like to focus on my player. I will get more into that in the VHLE/GM section of this article. I am very happy with where Ronan Lavelle is in terms of point and goal leaders right now. It seems my build is working, and having a guy like Ryan Vidot as a linemate has only helped that. I have my hands in the VHL, and VHLE so where do my teams currently stand? VHL Ronan Lavelle is off to a strong start to the season for the DC Dragons. Lavelle is currently second in the league in points with 25, and first in the league in goals with 13. It should come to no one's surprise that linemate Ryan Vidot is amongst the league leaders in assists, 3rd with 15. He also has 22 points, which puts him on the leaderboard overall. Many questions surrounded the Dragons, would they be able to sustain a productive offensive system without Tui Sova who is now retired? Corey Kitson is trying to answer that bell with 12 points in 13 games and Baxter Arcanum has also posted up 10 points. A strong start for Baxter offensively, who is looking to set career highs all over the board. Nezuko has been a very balanced 8 goals, 8 assists for 16 points in 13 games. Historically, Nezuko gets off to a strong start by being the league leader in points, and slowly falls down the board as the season progresses. This time, Nezuko has gotten off to a strong start, but it doesn't look like he may be saving production for the later half of the season hopefully. Newly acquired Jonathan Ori is hoping to end his career with a championship by joining the defending Continental Cup Champions. Ori has been a PPG player with 13, 9 of which being assists. Bubbles Utonium is not playing their best hockey, but this is not unusual for Utonium. Usually as the season progresses, Utonium's play elevates. Despite a .912 save percentage and 3.12 GAA, Utonium still spots a 5-3-1 record. So if you are still winning while not playing your best, that is a winning scenario. DC will flourish when Utonium hits mid-season form. Even so, the DC Dragons still find themselves with a 7-5-1 record with 15 points. They have a game in hand and are currently only 4 points behind the NA Conference leading Calgary Wranglers. Can DC make up the ground? There has been a lot of speculation about them only having 3 defenseman, and running a full offensive assault. It may have worked for Warsaw, but can DC's 3 defensemen step up to make it work? Always got to have faith. VHLE Entering my 3rd season as the Vasteras Iron Eagles GM, I decided to call it. We had a championship appearance my first season which we lost in heartbreaking fashion in 6. Then we made it to the semi-finals last season to which our comeback effort was also halted in 6 games. The roster we had in S84 was a lot of fun. I had 3 first round picks, so I was able to lock in some active players. The locker room was fun, very lively after the sims. It was a great group of guys and I felt bad I couldn't pull in enough to get the chip for them. S85 we were still very competitive riding goaltender Matt Murdock, but the activity level took a big dip. There was no active Discord members, so activity has been non-existent. I had to fill in roster voids with inactive players. This is a very bittersweet thing for me. In my opinion, IA fillers are good so even rebuilding teams don't completely tank, and make games competitive, but it becomes a problem if teams have a majority IA players. Which during a rebuild, honestly is better than a bunch of bots getting railed every game. I will still NEVER give IAs more playing time than active members, no matter what league I GM. I made the announcement that I would be rebuilding in S86, and it would also be my final season. I enjoyed my time GMing the E, especially my first. It has been fun, and I see the necessity for it. It was great having Acyd as a Commissioner, he did a really great job. I didn't get to work with Thad and Eno very long, but they are obviously great replacements, and are very hands on which I like a lot. Even with selling, Vasteras has been competitive. We are spotting a 5-6-3 record and are in the last wildcard spot currently. IA wonder Adeline Delle Donne is leading the way with 18 points in 14 games played. VHLE legend Rhys Trenton has posted up 16 points in 12 games with Vasteras as well. Vinny Lecavlier who I want to see thrive has 10 points in 12 games as well. The team will live or die by Ilya Bryzgalov in between the pipes. Bryz has started every game so far, and has a .918 save percentage, and a 3.01 GAA. I wanted to set up the next GM for success so I went out and got an extra S87 2nd, S87 3rd, and S87 5th. So whoever ends up taking my spot, will be setup with some draft capital. I am really glad I got to be apart of the VHLE experience, and I do hope one day to return to GMing. I believe when I do, I will be interested in returning to GMing the VHLM. It is a lot of work, but I enjoy working with new members and trying to set them up for success. Words: 1,017 Claim for Week Ending: 11/27, 12/4

It is crazy to think we are already creeping up on completing the first 1/3 of the season. It has been a strange vibe to start this season I must say. I am not sure if it is because of the holidays around the corner, or what is in the water. Many people seem like they are lacking motivation, the passion usually seen for the games isn't where it usually is 14 games in. I actually joined around this time last year and it was very lively, and drew me in. The league has always gone through cycles of it being loud, to almost dead silent and has always picked back up again. So there is no need for concern right now. I have still been max earning myself, but it has been hard to ignore the overall vibe/quietness of the league at the moment. I am still excited as Lavelle currently sits 2nd in points with 25 and first in goals with 13. DC is in the thick of what is looking like another competitive North American Conference title battle. The hope is it picks up again as the fun holiday auctions start running, and people who celebrate the holidays get into the spirit that energy will go around the Discord/Forum. I certainly will still be looking to join the fun in the auctions. This could be just completely me feeling this way however. Regardless, I know it will pass.

Just do what I did, a 10 year break did wonders for my re-found motivation for the league!

@Bobcatno big deal at all! @UnknownMinion pick your final defenseman when you can. The final forward selection in the draft shall be: F - Brendan Marner

That works for me! @Tatepick your final forward @UnknownMinionpick your final defenseman! I’ll select my final forward after Tate.

@Tateyou were never pinged, you’re on the clock now!

Unfortunately it has been over 12 hours,@UnknownMinionYou have been skipped. Please pick when you can! D - AirRig GoodBrandSun G - Papa Emeritus @UnknownMinionUp again, make your selection and your missed one as well!

Fuck it, Vasteras throws in an offer for IA Boston.

It’s unfortunately been over 12 hours, @rory this is your first skip. But you’re on the clock again, so make your two selections whenever you can!