enigmatic

1) The Reapers made the playoffs and then lost in the first round. What are your thoughts on the season? I was there only for the end but it was still a good enough season for the Reapers. It's never easy to follow up on a championship winning season. 2) Evaluate your personal performance this season. I started off great then got demolished a couple of games. The playoffs were, how to say it? brutal. 3) Mexico City beat Houston in 7 games in the finals. Thoughts? If only they had let Trump build that wall. Those Mexicans even stole the cup. 4) The draft is coming up very soon. Are you excited? I was hoping more teams would contact me but all in all, I do am excited. 5) The off-season gives everyone much needed time off. What is a day of relaxation like for you? Sleep all day, party never. Getting up at like 2pm and watch a good show or movie then go back to bed in the early morning. 6) The VHL is looking into creating a 3-point shot/goal. What should it take to get a 3-point goal? They could give the teams a taste of their own medicine and go with those bullshit shots they get fans to do from the red line in a tiny hole in the net.

now I know where the dab is from

@Frankthanks again for the sig

1: WITH THE START OF THE VHLM PLAYOFFS, HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT OUR TEAM'S SUCCESS? I was sleeping through this press conference so our playoff hopes are dead already. We were already the underdogs but it was painful to get destroyed like we did. 2: WE PLAY A TOUGH COOKIE IN HOUSTON. ARE YOU CHANGING ANYTHING IN YOUR PRE-GAME ROUTINE BEFORE WE PLAY? No but seeing how badly we lost maybe I should have. 3: HOW HAS WINTER BEEN FOR YOU? HAS THERE BEEN ANY SNOW? I'M CURIOUS. It's pretty mild so far. There is a good amount of snow but it hasn't made things difficult. 4: WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE MUSIC ARTIST AND WHY? IF YOU DON'T HAVE ONE, THEN WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MOVIE AND WHY? God Is An Astronaut is my favourite band. They're an instrumental band and I like being able to understand the songs in my own way. 5: WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE VIDEO GAME/BOOK AND WHY? Classic answer is Mass Effect 2. I love me some scifi. It doesn't have the best gameplay but the story is awesome and it has the most companions in the franchise, which is what makes it the best. I have replayed it an embarrassing amount of times. 6: FINALLY, TO END OUR PRESS CONFERENCE THIS WEEK, HOW HAS YOUR DAY BEEN? I HOPE IT'S BEEN GREAT! It was average. We have a big project at work and I do not feel included so it's shitty. But things could always be worst so it wasn't that bad all things considered I guess.

@Berocka

This is very nice thank you!

THE LEGEND COMES TO LIFE (I was paid to write this title) Aike van Giersbergen hails from the town of Tytsjerksteradiel in the Netherlands. While he spent his childhood in Friesland, he moved with his family to Germany when his dad got a promotion with some fake simulation hockey PT story company. Back home, he was always the best at hockey because like 3 other people played it, but practicing the sport in his new home in Bremen proved to be much more challenging. He wore the Weserstars colours with pride and was astonished to see that hockey was actually played by more than 4 people at the same time. Losing all his friends due to the move was a great motivator for young Aike who spent all his free time at the arena. The promise he showed back home was surprisingly not a flop and he adjusted well to his new reality. During his first season with the Weserstars, he joined about halfway through the year and his team was already pretty far down the toilet. It was a time of a lot of learning and a lot of shots. A discouraged team of pre-teens isn't known to put up a great effort. So Aike saw a lot of action in front of the net every game. While it was difficult at first, with each game, he gained more confidence and his stance and movements became more natural. The following season, a lot of his teammates had quit because of the mediocre year they had. That meant having to cover for other noobies and getting shot on a lot every game. Aike didn't care. He liked the challenge. As the season went on though, it became clearer after every loss that they still wouldn't make it to the playoffs. Still, the team was getting better and the next season, people didn't quit. They finally had a chance. I'd like to tell you that this story has a happy ending but it does not. The Weserstars never won anything. They did make the playoffs most seasons but always lost in a "heartbreaking" way. Tired of playing with losers, Aike van Giersbergen set his sights on America, where the VHML turned mediocre hockey players into slightly less mediocre hockey players. Just a few hours after declaring his intentions to become the okayest goaltender this league had ever seen, a desperate Philadelphia Reapers GM contacted him and offered him more money than he had ever seen. It would be in Philadelphia that Aike would write the next chapter of his legend. Because not winning anything in a junior german league is pretty legendary.

1) The long season is coming to an end soon. How do you maintain your level of focus throughout the entire season? Considering I just joined, I still have all the focus. All of it. 2) With 10 games left in the season, the Reapers are currently in 7th place. What will it take for the team to hold on to their position and make the playoffs? We are in this position because Halifax has been doing horribly lately. We have to do better than those 1 win/1 loss performances we've been putting out or they and Mississauga will catch up to us. 3) Lots of things outside the hockey rink can affect on ice performance. Do you have anything happening outside hockey that might affect your play, good or bad? My mom not being allowed to visit to cook me good meals surely doesn't help my performance. 4) With COVID restrictions easing, fans are starting to be allowed into the arenas. What do you like most about having fans back at the games? It's cliché, but fans are like an additional player. Having them cheer for you makes a big difference and puts the advantage back into playing home games. 5) In a homage to Cricket, the VHL plans to introduce tea breaks into VHLM games. The home team gets to choose what tea to serve. What tea would you pick to serve to our opponents? It can be anything liquid. I'd probably just pick up random leaves outside and make tea with that. 6) The Reapers are looking into enhancing our players with cyborg parts. To become a better hockey player, what part of your body would you ask to be upgraded? Why? I feel for a goalie having cybernetic eyes would be super useful. You can catch all the shots because you see everything and know where the puck is all the time.

Definitely hard to beat! I will gladly be a Reaper again Thank you all for the offers.

Player Information Username: enigmatic Player Name: Aike van Giersbergen Recruited From: Returning Age: 20 Position: G Height: 80 in. Weight: 220 lbs. Birthplace: Netherlands Player Page @VHLM GM

1) After week one we are 7-5-0, what are you most happy with thus far? Contribution is pretty spread out. Everyone wants to be their team's superstar but seeing everyone patricipate to the scoring sheet is encouraging. 2) What do you want to improve on in the short-term? I would like to score more. I'm tired of losing games by 1 point. 3) Who has been our biggest rival so far? Riga probably. The games are split so far and we've seen fighting in both games. 4) Our special teams numbers have been poor, is it just bad luck or should we tweak the lines? STHS sucks but usually you can find a combo that will work out well. Sometimes it's just one player you didn't expect who can make the difference. 5) NHL play-in round is coming up this week, will you be watching? I don't have cable but I will certainly try to watch. 6) Recommend a Netflix series or movie you have enjoyed. Gonna go with Altered Carbon.

quick lick tier is acceptable. Thank you.

1) S73 season starts on Tuesday, what is a personal goal for you this season? Point per game would be my goal for this season. 2) Training camp is open, what is an area of your game you are hoping to improve? I will be working on physical attributes, like strength and I'm close to maxing skating. 3) Do you enjoy the trades/free agency/drafts or do you just count down the days to get back into action? It's fun to welcome new teammates to our team but I'm more than ready to play again. 4) 16 teams now in the VHL, are you looking forward to traveling to the four new cities? Some of them are questionable hockey markets but they're all interesting cities at least. I'm most looking forward to discovering Warsaw. 5) Who is your favorite non-hockey athlete? I love Kim Clijsters. 6) Name a video game you remember from your childhood My (much older) cousins gave us their NES when we were little. My sister played Bubble Bobble a bunch so it stuck with me.

I think it was the year where I went to Ontario for the first time. We went to Toronto and to Medieval Times. It was lit. I still have my crown. Oh we also went to a Jays game. Wasn't as lit but still cool.

I'm in

@MattyIce

1) It's that exciting time of the off-season; Drafts! What are you most looking forward to (VHL expansion draft, VHL draft or VHLM draft) Always fun to get new teammates so I'm looking forward to the VHL draft the most. 2) Free agency opens Thursday this week, do you see Helsinki signing anyone? I think we showed that we can compete and we can be an attractive destination for free agents that want to win. I hope we get a couple of them to sign with us. 3) The Titans acquired goalie Samuel Ross on the weekend. How did you welcome him to the city? We went to the sauna, of course. 4) Take a wild guess, which expansion team will have the best record this coming season? (Chicago, London, LA, Warsaw) I would go with London. 5) Who comes back from the off-season to training camp with the best tan? I'm a fan of Jared Spaz's farmers tan. Nothing more honest than that in the world. 6) You're challenged to a table top game on the flight to the next away game; which do you choose? Ticket to ride. Choo choo.

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