CoachReilly

I would like to say this is the first time I've been named a captain as a goalie but it's really not haha.

Welcome to the Season 47 Hall of Fame induction! After a couple smaller induction classes recently, we're back with the traditional 2 Players and 1 Builder in this edition, so let's get right into it.
 
 
The 1st player inducted is a recently retired center who at his peak was one of the most prolific pure scoring forwards the VHL has ever seen. Despite a 7-season career, he finished in the top 40 career points list, with only 5 players ever scoring more points in less than 8 seasons. Aksel Thomassen will be remembered for his terrific attacking exploits with the Quebec City Meute, particularly his historically good partnership with last year's Hall of Fame inductee Bruno Wolf. Although Thomassen could not win a Continental Cup in the end, he helped bring both the Meute and later the Reign closer to it than many expected, and retired with a very impressive individual trophy case.
 
C - Aksel Thomassen, S40-S46 
504 GP, 278 G, 447 A, 725 P, +334, 272 PIM, 496 HIT, 175 SB, 49 GW, 62.71 FO%
 
S41 Brett Slobodzian Trophy
S41 Mike Szatkowski Trophy
S41 Alexander Beketov Trophy
S41 Dustin Funk Trophy
S42 Mike Szatkowski Trophy
S42 Alexander Beketov Trophy
S42 Mikka Virkkunen Trophy
 
 
The 2nd player is Thomassen's contemporary and one-time Quebec teammate in Jake Wylde. As has often become the case with the VHL's best defencemen, Wylde was something of a late-bloomer, being steady but unspectacular in his early days with Helsinki before breaking out as unquestionably the league's best with Quebec. Although also without a championship, Wylde ended his career with two Labatte Trophies, a sign of an elite blue-liner. Meanwhile, the combination of his time as a stay-at-home defenceman in Helsinki and almost a 4th forward in Quebec means Wylde's career stats look impressive both from an offensive and a defensive perspective and he fully deserves to be considered one of the best of his generation.
 
D - Jake Wylde, S38-S45 
576 GP, 175 G, 385 A, 560 P, +167, 249 PIM, 2,001 HIT, 915S BSB, 30 GW
 
S43 Alexander Beketov Trophy
S43 Sterling Labatte Trophy
S44 Sterling Labatte Trophy
 
 
BOG voting:
Aksel Thomassen - 10/11
Jake Wylde - 8/11
-------------------------------
Felix Peters - 1/11
 
 
 
Now onto the Builder. It didn't take the BOG particularly long to come to a consensus on this induction for S47, opting for a former BOG member to receive the honour. Although his departure from the BOG a few seasons ago means he is no longer involved in behind the scenes discussions, CoachReilly has remained a vocal presence on the VHL and someone always willing to stand for their opinions, as has been the case since he joined the league in Season 16. In addition to the regular activity, Coach was one of the longest-tenured player updaters in league history, creator of two Hall of Fame players in Cam Fowler and Jarvis Baldwin, and of course the longest-serving VHLM GM ever, managing the Saskatoon Wild from S18 to S29. He did not overstay his welcome in Saskatoon either, also being the most successful VHLM GM and having the league's top GM trophy named after him. In recent time, Coach has recently stepped down as GM of Davos and remains the brain some of the VHL's most prominent players.
 
 
Congratulations @Frank @STZ and @CoachReilly

Guys, where were you all? You miss my opening awards ceremony on PTV (Phil TV). I was in a speedo and skates juggling fire! Streetlight spent a month training me. 
 
We had record low numbers. When the awards show happens tomorrow, hopefully it's a better turn-out for the Brovy concert and stand-up comedian Bardy Junklewirth

Y'all are just trying to make him forget he's mad at you!
 
Lol jk congrats Coach and the other dudes

I still don't understand the logic of "punishing" teams more when they go through rough GM transitions, when the majority of teams get high level TPE players for free. 

Last year I couldn't care less about the awards with my horrible numbers but I have a chance, however small,  at one award this year. 

Where are we at with awards?  It's listed for 2 days,  I'm assuming it's one of the two days but with everything shifting,  where does it fall now? 

Distractions are always welcome, fire away.

Hay guise, you done beating the dead horse yet or should I come back later to ask a question about the schedule? 

don't worry coach, I'll always be the angry french man that is revolted about anything. I'll cover you. 

Coca Cola was a brilliant player who had a nice, yet unsuccessful career. Throughout his time in the VHLM he was traded at least five times from both the pros and the minors. Possibly even more, as people started to lose count after a while. But there was one thing he had more than any other player in the history of these leagues: a caffeine addiction.
 
After becoming a promising young recruit in the early stages of his life, Cola never quite reached that level of greatness that he had hoped so much to achieve. Feeling like nobody wanted him, and not even know what team he was playing for at certain times, Cola gives it one last shot in Moscow to reach that glorious honor that is the title of being a championship winning goalie.
 
With the caffeine still pumping through his veins, will this old timer have enough gas in the tank to finish out on top? Probably not, honestly. But pour a nice, delicious beverage out to our unwritten hero, Cola.

Guessing the Season Standings Based on Number of Posts in the Team Forum
 
I have a simple theory that the best teams have the highest number of posts in their team forum -- not the locker room necessarily, but the actual team forum, where rosters and update threads are kept.  This is logically based on two premises -- (1) the more players you have the better your team likely is, and (2) the more update posts you have, the better your team is.  Without further ado, congrats to the New York Americans on back to back championships. The numbers don't lie.
 
New York Americans - NA - 791 Posts
Helsinki Titans - EU - 718 Posts
Stockholm Vikings - EU - 606 Posts
Toronto Legion - NA - 574 Posts
Seattle Bears - NA - 452 Posts
HC Davos Dynamo - EU - 403 Posts
Cologne Express - EU - 294 Posts
Riga Reign - EU - 233 Posts
Quebec City Meute - NA - 132 Posts
Calgary Wranglers - NA - 50 Posts
 
I plan on tracking this all season long and will put the teams' rankings to the right of their cumulative posts.  I will also sometimes post shit about how flawed my logic is.  It actually looks pretty good right now - the top 5 teams are definitely represented well.

I think it's now safe to assume that we all drank a magical potion and aren't getting depreciated this year, so WEEE KEEPING ALL MY BANKED POINTS 4EVA

Hi, my name is Sterling Labatte and I'm gonna ban your ass!
 
With the glorious creation of the sure to be hilarious VHL Fire Red being made courtesy of Jardy Bunclewirth, I got to thinking “what other VHL themed video games could be made?” I mean sure, there is the obvious choice of a hockey game, but the VHL can do so much better than just a standard sport simulation. Here’s a few ideas I had for a VHL related game:


 

Hey, you interested in joining my hockey league? Wait, why are you running away? 
VHL Recruitment Simulator


 
A unique twist on the “Dating Simulation” genre, VHL Recruitment Simulator sees you control a prominent member of the VHL universe in their quest to earn as much of that beautiful uncapped recruitment TPE as they possibly can. Interact with over 30 characters (each with their own unique characteristics), try to win them over by selecting the correct dialogue options and by taking them to their favourite of the 15 unique environments including the theatre, the hockey arena and the bar. Finally, once you feel like you’ve developed a strong enough personal relationship with them, risk all of that for the sake of that delicious TPE by proposing to them to join the VHL. Feel the elation of securing a recruit, experience even more loneliness than usual when they turn you down or recoil in horror when some Tyler Durden shit goes down and you realise the “best friend” that you made was just an alternate personality that YOU created, leading you to frantically deal with the “alternate account” accusations!


 
Edwin Encarnacion’s PIM “Simulator”


 
So back before Encarnacion was set ablaze and became Reencarnacion, I’d come up with the idea of a PIM Simulator game where you took control of a player in a simulated hockey game and basically spent the entire game trying to pick up PIMs while everyone else is trying to play hockey. While that idea could work, I think a much better idea would be to instead make it into a more arcade style local multiplayer game. More in the vein of a game like Super Smash Bros. or Gang Beasts, up to four players compete over two minutes to rack up as many Penalty Minutes as possible, with the help of power-ups such as steroids, illegal equipment (such as flamethrowers and spiked hockey sticks) and stool softeners. Players can get PIM multipliers by chaining PIMs together or by earning PIMs in a creative way, e.g. knock out a spectator and then use their unconscious body to flip off the officials to pick up a double multiplier for unsportsmanlike conduct. At the end of the game, all four players retreat to the penalty box to have their penalty minutes tallied up and whoever has accrued the most penalty minutes wins, while everyone else is carted off to prison because, let’s face it, attacking someone with the blade of your ice skate and then taking a shit on their prone body is not really cool.  

(Please note: I am going to post this as two articles as this is about 1,300 words, but wanted everyone to read as a whole piece so we got the full picture of this for discussion purposes).  You only have to grade up to 'Part Two - GM Succession')
 
GM Succession
One of the VHL's Greatest Mysteries
 


TORONTO, ON, CANADA -- At the VHL's headquarters, there seems to be a constantly changing methodology on how succession plans are made and enforced.  We decided to do an investigation on how warped the system is in an effort to highlight the issue in a cohesive manner.  Below, we review the factors and outputs of the last 6 changes in leadership in the Victory Hockey League.  Frankly, I think if you do not agree with me after reading this than you are either being stubborn or have the reading comprehension level of a toddler.  
 
For many of the successions, you can click the header link (all underlined) in order to read more about the front office shake ups. Each shake up will have the respective timing (it is listed in chronological order), the exchange of players, picks, etc., commentary, as well as a rating of how much the succession benefited the respective team (1st - best, 6th - worst).  This will be a two-part article with the three most recent changes being preview in this week's version, with the remaining three next week.
 
Davos: Simon Valmount >> Pavel Komarov
Timing: S47 Off-Season
Exchange: Davos received Pavel Komarov in exchange for the 7th overall pick.
Comments: First, let me state that this is not a disaster for HC Davos. Komarov is a passionate leader, but when you put it under the lens with other GM transitions, you can see that the Dynamo were not treated fairly in any respect.  Komarov was probably rated as the 8th-10th best prospect in the league.  There was a huge drop off from Komarov to Kendrick Cole.   Komarov was in fact closer to the 13th best player in terms of TPE.  Although all of this (and more) was laid out in front of the BOG, they apparently decided to drastically change the decision-making process for GM succession.  In terms of precedent, this is by far the least beneficial to the respective team.  With the somewhat barren situation HC Davos is in, they could have stood to not be the poster child for GM reform.  Also, unlike other GM transitions, they won't be able to trade Valmount for anything worthwhile as he has gone completely inactive and his player will not improve moving forward.
Rating: 6th
 
Davos: Freedom McJustice >> Simon Valmount
Timing: S46 Off-Season
Exchange: None - player already played for HC Davos
Comments: Not going to go into this one too much because there was no exchange of player rights in bringing the new GM in.  I will provide an explanation, however, on McJustice's apparent disappearance from the league.  Around the end of S45, HC Davos was eliminated right around the Christmas holiday.  The day after Christmas, I had to leave the country to attend my best friend's wedding in Bolivia -- had to give a speech at the wedding, the whole nine yards.  I had mentioned this to Draper via personal message, and I had thought I had also told Mason Richardson and Bismarck Koenig (our two pending FA's) as well.  Unfortunately, I did not make it back to the country until the draft, free agency, etc. had begun.  I had asked Draper if they could stomach pushing everything pack a few days (due to holidays of Christmas/New Year's).  He did not acquiesce to my request.  Also, the VHL finals moved through in a quick four- or five-game series, and the perfect storm materialized for me.  Embarrassed and upset by a lack of flexibility, I told Draper I wanted to resign.  I know I should have had a better plan, but I feel like giving some breathing room around the holidays might be a decent idea. 
Rating: 5th
 
New York: Chris Miller >> Edwin Reencarnacion
Timing: S46 Off-Season
Exchange: NY received rights to Atticus Von Braxton (S47 - G), a top three prospect as part of the GM recreate rule. 
Comments: This was a well-planned transition by Chris Miller, one of the all-time greatest general managers in the VHL.  As he retired a young, budding star in Benjamin Dupont, he was able to create a new player shortly before handing the reigns over to Reencarnacion, who was acquired with the first overall selection in his draft.  In my mind, this still positively benefits New York in a somewhat unbalanced manner, as New York was able to hold onto Miller's new goalie, while giving the reigns to someone new within the span of one or two seasons. Still, it's tough to find anything seriously unbalanced here as Dupont was also a young player prior to retiring.
Rating: 4th
 
Part Two -- GM Succession
As we continue to look at GM succession, we see a number of changes from the S46 and S45 off-seasons, and this is where you really begin to see how vastly the methodology can range.  These next three successions were unquestionably beneficial to the respective organizations and make the recent Davos change look incredibly unfair.  Please feel free to leave your thoughts below in the comments section, and feel free to tag @CoachReilly.  
 
Cologne: Thaddeus Humbert >> Joel Jarvi
Timing: S46 Off-Season
Exchange: COL received rights to Joel Jarvi (S47 - D), a top three prospect in his respective class for no particular reason. Cologne was also able to trade Humbert and one other player to New York for a S48 NYA 1st, S48 NYA 2nd, and Tyson Stokes. 
Comments: Although this only happened exactly one season ago, you can see how ridiculously outlandish the return for Cologne became.  Besides receiving a free prospect, they were able to also get a solid return for their former GM.  Cologne didn't even have to exchange a second round pick for him in a historically weak draft class.  If we were looking at prospect rankings, Jarvi probably would have been the first or second best prospect from this class.  There were no two sides to this transition - just a blatant miss by the board of governors with no offsetting detraction from the Express.
Rating: 1st
 

MENGSK SPEAKS TO THE MEDIA, SHORTLY AFTER BEING NAMED GM OF SEATTLE
 
Toronto: Sachimo Zoidberg >> Max Molholt and Seattle: Brady Stropko/James Faraday >> Arcturus Mengsk
Timing: S45 Off-Season
TOR Exchange: Top S45 player Max Molholt was acquired in exchange for voiding Toronto's S46 2nd round pick 
SEA Exchange: Top S45 player Arcturus Mengsk was acquired in exchange for voiding Toronto's S46 2nd round pick 
Comments: The Toronto/Seattle transitions were both incredibly one-sided.  Although the S45 draft was strong, neither team had to give up a pick in that draft.  Instead, they were able to defer their voided draft choice to S46's second round.  Both players are undoubted, first round talents. Additionally, the two teams were able to respectively leverage Zoidberg as well as Faraday for some great draft choices.  Again, the two teams vastly underpaid for their original acquisition of their new general managers' players, while also getting a direct bonus from trading their former GMs.  This one is again, very, very favorable to the respective franchises.
Rating: T-2nd
 
As we reach our conclusion, it's clear to see that the patterns of GM succession are all over the map.  The VHL's Board of Governors needs to take a serious look in the mirror and decide to employ some sort of consistent methodology moving forward, taking a range of factors into consideration, including but not limited to:
 
(1) worth of exchange -- does this greatly hurt a team or does this greatly help a team? Are we really giving the VHL overall a fair shake? Does the future value of the player match what we're exchanging? Are we exchanging anything at all?
(2) current team situation -- how much help does this team currently need?
(3) precedent -- how does this compare to prior GM changes? 
 
In the long run, I'm hoping we can trust the BOG to take these matters more seriously than they have in the past.  If there's major disagreement when a decision is announced, you can reconsider.  Be flexible.  There's no shame in reversing an unfair decision.

(Please note: I am going to post this as two articles as this is about 1,300 words, but wanted everyone to read as a whole piece so we got the full picture of this for discussion purposes).  You only have to grade up to 'Part Two - GM Succession')
 
GM Succession
One of the VHL's Greatest Mysteries
 


TORONTO, ON, CANADA -- At the VHL's headquarters, there seems to be a constantly changing methodology on how succession plans are made and enforced.  We decided to do an investigation on how warped the system is in an effort to highlight the issue in a cohesive manner.  Below, we review the factors and outputs of the last 6 changes in leadership in the Victory Hockey League.  Frankly, I think if you do not agree with me after reading this than you are either being stubborn or have the reading comprehension level of a toddler.  
 
For many of the successions, you can click the header link (all underlined) in order to read more about the front office shake ups. Each shake up will have the respective timing (it is listed in chronological order), the exchange of players, picks, etc., commentary, as well as a rating of how much the succession benefited the respective team (1st - best, 6th - worst).  This will be a two-part article with the three most recent changes being preview in this week's version, with the remaining three next week.
 
Davos: Simon Valmount >> Pavel Komarov
Timing: S47 Off-Season
Exchange: Davos received Pavel Komarov in exchange for the 7th overall pick.
Comments: First, let me state that this is not a disaster for HC Davos. Komarov is a passionate leader, but when you put it under the lens with other GM transitions, you can see that the Dynamo were not treated fairly in any respect.  Komarov was probably rated as the 8th-10th best prospect in the league.  There was a huge drop off from Komarov to Kendrick Cole.   Komarov was in fact closer to the 13th best player in terms of TPE.  Although all of this (and more) was laid out in front of the BOG, they apparently decided to drastically change the decision-making process for GM succession.  In terms of precedent, this is by far the least beneficial to the respective team.  With the somewhat barren situation HC Davos is in, they could have stood to not be the poster child for GM reform.  Also, unlike other GM transitions, they won't be able to trade Valmount for anything worthwhile as he has gone completely inactive and his player will not improve moving forward.
Rating: 6th
 
Davos: Freedom McJustice >> Simon Valmount
Timing: S46 Off-Season
Exchange: None - player already played for HC Davos
Comments: Not going to go into this one too much because there was no exchange of player rights in bringing the new GM in.  I will provide an explanation, however, on McJustice's apparent disappearance from the league.  Around the end of S45, HC Davos was eliminated right around the Christmas holiday.  The day after Christmas, I had to leave the country to attend my best friend's wedding in Bolivia -- had to give a speech at the wedding, the whole nine yards.  I had mentioned this to Draper via personal message, and I had thought I had also told Mason Richardson and Bismarck Koenig (our two pending FA's) as well.  Unfortunately, I did not make it back to the country until the draft, free agency, etc. had begun.  I had asked Draper if they could stomach pushing everything pack a few days (due to holidays of Christmas/New Year's).  He did not acquiesce to my request.  Also, the VHL finals moved through in a quick four- or five-game series, and the perfect storm materialized for me.  Embarrassed and upset by a lack of flexibility, I told Draper I wanted to resign.  I know I should have had a better plan, but I feel like giving some breathing room around the holidays might be a decent idea. 
Rating: 5th
 
New York: Chris Miller >> Edwin Reencarnacion
Timing: S46 Off-Season
Exchange: NY received rights to Atticus Von Braxton (S47 - G), a top three prospect as part of the GM recreate rule. 
Comments: This was a well-planned transition by Chris Miller, one of the all-time greatest general managers in the VHL.  As he retired a young, budding star in Benjamin Dupont, he was able to create a new player shortly before handing the reigns over to Reencarnacion, who was acquired with the first overall selection in his draft.  In my mind, this still positively benefits New York in a somewhat unbalanced manner, as New York was able to hold onto Miller's new goalie, while giving the reigns to someone new within the span of one or two seasons. Still, it's tough to find anything seriously unbalanced here as Dupont was also a young player prior to retiring.
Rating: 4th
 
Part Two -- GM Succession
As we continue to look at GM succession, we see a number of changes from the S46 and S45 off-seasons, and this is where you really begin to see how vastly the methodology can range.  These next three successions were unquestionably beneficial to the respective organizations and make the recent Davos change look incredibly unfair.  Please feel free to leave your thoughts below in the comments section, and feel free to tag @CoachReilly.  
 
Cologne: Thaddeus Humbert >> Joel Jarvi
Timing: S46 Off-Season
Exchange: COL received rights to Joel Jarvi (S47 - D), a top three prospect in his respective class for no particular reason. Cologne was also able to trade Humbert and one other player to New York for a S48 NYA 1st, S48 NYA 2nd, and Tyson Stokes. 
Comments: Although this only happened exactly one season ago, you can see how ridiculously outlandish the return for Cologne became.  Besides receiving a free prospect, they were able to also get a solid return for their former GM.  Cologne didn't even have to exchange a second round pick for him in a historically weak draft class.  If we were looking at prospect rankings, Jarvi probably would have been the first or second best prospect from this class.  There were no two sides to this transition - just a blatant miss by the board of governors with no offsetting detraction from the Express.
Rating: 1st
 

MENGSK SPEAKS TO THE MEDIA, SHORTLY AFTER BEING NAMED GM OF SEATTLE
 
Toronto: Sachimo Zoidberg >> Max Molholt and Seattle: Brady Stropko/James Faraday >> Arcturus Mengsk
Timing: S45 Off-Season
TOR Exchange: Top S45 player Max Molholt was acquired in exchange for voiding Toronto's S46 2nd round pick 
SEA Exchange: Top S45 player Arcturus Mengsk was acquired in exchange for voiding Toronto's S46 2nd round pick 
Comments: The Toronto/Seattle transitions were both incredibly one-sided.  Although the S45 draft was strong, neither team had to give up a pick in that draft.  Instead, they were able to defer their voided draft choice to S46's second round.  Both players are undoubted, first round talents. Additionally, the two teams were able to respectively leverage Zoidberg as well as Faraday for some great draft choices.  Again, the two teams vastly underpaid for their original acquisition of their new general managers' players, while also getting a direct bonus from trading their former GMs.  This one is again, very, very favorable to the respective franchises.
Rating: T-2nd
 
As we reach our conclusion, it's clear to see that the patterns of GM succession are all over the map.  The VHL's Board of Governors needs to take a serious look in the mirror and decide to employ some sort of consistent methodology moving forward, taking a range of factors into consideration, including but not limited to:
 
(1) worth of exchange -- does this greatly hurt a team or does this greatly help a team? Are we really giving the VHL overall a fair shake? Does the future value of the player match what we're exchanging? Are we exchanging anything at all?
(2) current team situation -- how much help does this team currently need?
(3) precedent -- how does this compare to prior GM changes? 
 
In the long run, I'm hoping we can trust the BOG to take these matters more seriously than they have in the past.  If there's major disagreement when a decision is announced, you can reconsider.  Be flexible.  There's no shame in reversing an unfair decision.

Was expecting more treams to offer something. 
 
Staying home tbh New York for the rest of my career it is.
 
Repeat time

Back for 3 more years. Yay

Don't get Te'oed bro

FREEDOM COMES HOME
 
New York, NY - As expected, Calgary shipped over Freedom McJustice to the New York Americans as part of the Wrangler rebuild.  It was a short stay in Calgary for McJustice, but he says he's happy to be back in the United States.  
 
In his press conference shortly after the trade, McJustice said, "I'm happy to potentially be a leader on this team and will look to occupy a positive role in the locker room.  I've always admired the guys like Ruutu, Reencarnacion, and the rest of the guys here. Of course, the goal will be to win another championship for New York and finish out my career in New York on a positive note, and I think we've got a great core to do just that. "
 
When asked what the trade meant to him, Freedom responded, "It means a lot. Great to be in New York City.  This is where freedom was born.  Freedom with a lower case F.  I was born in the Midwest.  I'm feeling slightly less good about this at this point, because I just realized the multitude of puns which will, of course, be made."
 
Let Freedom (win a) ring, Americans.

Kerkko for cup winning goal (or more realistically, cup saving shot block that gets picked up by someone more offensive - otherwise known as any player at all - who takes it down ice for the win)

Heres how i look at it, i dont know much of the past ruling on this, or the teams situations in comparison to mine. However the way i see it, well it sucks im the first step in fixing what appears to have been a broken system. Only way to fix it is to start it, someones going to get screwed over regardless.
 
Now, if i see a future case like mine where a GM gets to use their second rounder ill be mad, but if this ends up correcting it like it should then im fine with it. Does it suck yes, id love to have added 3 good prospects to what is a very barren team. But im not going to whine about it, im going to put on my big boy pants and try to build this team into a contender no ifs and or buts