Corco

Alright, you lucky 19 people who gave me my likes 6,001 through 6,019:
 
@.sniffuM - god we're old farts. Good to see you back to full speed, any lingering doubts I had about you at the draft are firmly removed by now, you're here to stay and we're all better for it.
 
@Beketov - are we ever gonna be rivals again? My GM player means our draft seasons are totally out of whack now. Was good fun, now we can go back to arguing about Holik's HOF credentials.
 
@flyersfan1453 - my #1 ally in the admin forum, what an inspired choice to bring you in there. Please re-sign.
 
@Nykonax - I don't know if I ever said but I actually loved the confidence about Dahlberg, we need more people talking up their players. Shame he was shit though.
 
@Gooningitup - Good to see you back and I'm glad there's no ill will about the unceremonious cap dump of Komarov a couple seasons back. You are welcome back in Moscow any time.
 
@Corco - out of nowhere you've replaced street as my main spreadsheet friend. We'll give you a pretty colour soon enough, I'm just really busy right now.
 
@eaglesfan036 - one of two VHLers I've met in real life (and the two I have on Facebook), what more is there to say. Please re-sign.
 
@GustavMattias - my alt... still dunno why, but humbled. Love your enthusiasm and writing style. Make Davos great again.
 
@gorlab - absolute MVP of Moscow. Had no idea if you were gonna stick around in S66 but you've gone full vintage gorlab, love to see it. If you want a proper siege mentality of a team, this is the man to generate it.
 
@Jayrad28 - I have seen your posts but I can't say I know you. But you were on the right side of history when it came to the trivia debacle, here's to more wins together.
 
@stevo - absolute don, and part of the small but mighty European cartel. Can't believe you're actually making a career VHLMer, it's actually taken 70 seasons for someone to do it successfully.
 
@Spade18 - well thank fuck I traded that 1st overall in S66 cuz that would have been bad. Good to see you back though, I feel like anyone who comes back after a brief hiatus has more freshness and guarantee of longevity.
 
@Enorama - HOF article champion, how many builder articles do I need to write now? Sounds like a job for S71. Kastelic gotta be one of the unluckiest players ever.
 
@Garsh - can't say I know much about you but you're in elite company in this crowd. Sky's the limit my friend.
 
@Rayzor_7 - I love a good first-gen superstar goalie, just something really authentic about it. You're right on the path to the HOF, just a shame at your draft May was still pretending to be active.
 
@DoktorFunk - your username confused me for ages cuz I knew Rayzor was Funk but then you had Funk in the name too. Definitely feel like you're here to stay and some great players are in your future.
 
@Kendrick - oh man a one-liner can't do this justice. We need to do like a podcast or something, lay it all out over a beer or several.
 
@Jubis - professional shit-stirrer and GIF abuser. Love the enthusiasm, less so scrolling through gifs, but you do you son.
 
@Higgins - my blue partner in crime, can't believe they took admin off you. Biggest robbery of 2020.
 
 
Here's to 6,000 more likes.

There’s a terrorist group called the meute? They must be pretty quiet, I’ve never heard about them. Must be a pretty silent cell. 

huh, I didn’t know there was three different ways to spell Vasteras

Firstly, thank you to everyone for your continued love and support to achieve this lofty number. Your continued endorsement of snarky sarcasm is much appreciated. 
 
In celebration of my 6,000th like, everyone who likes this post in the next 7-8 hours will get a personalised shoutout in my celebratory VHL.com article.
 
❤️

God I wish I could’ve gone paintballing with the Yukon Rush

It's so odd to me that this place is still up and running. Years and years ago, when I first joined this site and fell in with a quality group of members and friends we would joke about the site existing as we got older. Would we still be in it? That type of thing. Always imagining logging in to do a point task jokingly while married or with a serious job or over 30. (To those who were already over 30 like @diamond_ace had the edge on us). 
 
I will say this place has come a long way in the 7 or 8 years I've been here, I've lost count. I think I joined in either 2012 or 2013. S24, whenever that was. I'm happy with where it's at, it's just so crazy to me to see that it's alive and well and probably the healthiest it's ever been and it's 2020. The one big thing that I probably should of seen coming is the collective aspect that the internet has brought to everything. So many niche things have just enough support that often the structure of how they are run, or even perceived has changed. Fandoms have gone through this over the last decade, among other things.
 
Looking forward, can the VHL still exist in 2030? Man the nihilist in me isn't optimistic enough to think society the way we know it lasts till then, but if it does....I imagine kicking around on some corner of the internet, the dark net or whatever net STHS is still allowed on, we'll be there. Players will be complaining about depreciation, some GM will make a bad trade and everyone will react. Although for real, let's hope we have something better than STHS by 2030 eh?  

@.sniffuM

It’s more so that it’s too good of a thing. With our current meta of 99’s (aka without needing huge update scale changes) we see players getting 400+ points per season.

I definitely see where you’re coming from, and I agree that we should be doing more testing with the newer STHS engines; I’ve asked tfong about their reported testing 1.5 awhile ago, but he never got back to me.

FWIW we are constantly testing but a few things with the newer engines are apparent:
 
1. Nothing is less random, even people on the STHS forums have said the results in 2+ are less realistic.
 
2. Going to 1.5 may be possible but 2+ would need huge restructuring of either our starting TPE or update scale or both.

It certainly has flaws. Unfortunately, they are bad flaws that leave a player wondering what the fuck to do with his build. The RNG is incredibly broken and I think if it could be corrected to have some form of accuracy, it would be fine. When things like line strats and line usage isn't even in this version is just an indicator that it is time to upgrade. At least to the newer decade old version. I see your point though and hope you understand what I am seeing in these sims are far from good. If that is the way the league wants it then it is what it is. I am more for a work/reward system with RNG thrown in as it should be. Not the other way around. 

It’s just a matter of opinion really; I don’t think the league should switch over, and if anything, a separate league would be a better idea. I just don’t see why we would need to switch over when the league has been successful on STHS for 10+ years. STHS has its flaws, but it’s decent enough for our use; you also have to remember, nobody makes a sim engine with the intent of it being used for a player-sim. We made do with what we have.

Hello, VHL! In this new bi-weekly series, we'll be delving deep into the storied history of our league as we learn about the awards strived for every season by the VHL's top players, along with learning about the players whose names grace these awards. Both VHL and VHLM awards will be covered in this series and between entries, I'm pleased to announce that I will be continuing Matt_O's "Deep Rewind" series, which will be tied to the players covered by the series or recent VHL/VHLM events. 
 
Let's get started, shall we?


 
The Scott Boulet Trophy. Awarded annually to the top two-way forward in the VHL, this award goes to players who play a full 200-foot game, contributing as much defensively as they do offensively. Originally called the Delvecchio Trophy, it was renamed the Scott Boulet Trophy after the dominant Calgary Wranglers forward in Season 11 to honour the four-time winner of the award. Just as Boulet himself did, there are many players who have won the award multiple times. Although Boulet himself was the first to win it four times, several others have joined him, notably Stockholm Vikings forward Lord Karnage, who won the trophy a staggering four years in a row from Season 44 to 47. One player, Davos HC Dynamo/New York Americans legend David Smalling, surpassed them all by winning the Scott Boulet Trophy an unprecedented five times. Along with winning it for the first time in Season 28, Smalling was the first player to win the award four seasons in a row, from Season 31 to 34. But let's not forget the player we're here to learn more about: Scott Boulet himself. 
 
To tell the story of Scott Boulet, we need to go all the way back to the beginning: Season One, the beginning of the VHL itself. During the massive dispersal draft that created the league's first teams, Boulet went in the first round, sixth overall to the Calgary Wranglers. Although we have generations of hindsight and it seems silly in retrospect, many people at the time questioned this pick. Believing Boulet to be more of a role player, his selection in the first round was highly scrutinized. However, he was determined to prove how valuable a two-way forward could be to the VHL. 
 

Scott Boulet, the VHL's original standard for two-way forwards.
 
As part of the Deep Rewind-worthy Season One Calgary Wranglers with Brett Slobodzian, Boulet's doubters were quickly silenced as he notched 53 goals, 79 assists, a +107 rating, 132 hits and 184 penalty minutes as Calgary cruised to the Victory Cup. The All-Star selection also won his first Delvecchio Trophy, but his first ring would have to wait, as the Wranglers' magical season ended in defeat to the Vasteras IK Iron Eagles in six games in the Continental Cup Finals. 
 
One thing that must be noted here: his offensive numbers are certainly impressive, making it look like those numbers are why he won the award. However, in Season One, 132 hits led the league. His 184 penalty minutes were another league-high. It was a different era for the VHL, one in which not all of today's numbers translate. Boulet finished third in league scoring with 132 points, behind only Scotty Campbell and Brett Slobodzian, and led the league in defensive categories as a forward. 
 

Brett Slobodzian, a dangerous scoring threat whose name is still revered.
 
Season Two brought more of the same for Scott Boulet, scoring 60 goals and adding 59 assists for 119 points. He again led the VHL in hits and penalty minutes, with 133 and 199, respectively, adding a +63 rating. Winning his second consecutive Delvecchio Trophy and All-Star nomination, Boulet also added his first Continental Cup title as the Wranglers got their revenge by beating Vasteras to avenge their loss the previous season. Calgary continued their roll in Season 3, capturing another Victory Cup and repeating as Continental Cup champions in yet another finals rematch against Vasteras. Although Boulet did not earn any individual accolades, he was still a valuable contributor to the Wranglers, scoring 56 goals, recording 53 assists and continuing his strong defensive play, with a +77, 113 hits, 21 blocked shots and 191 penalty minutes. 
 
After a disastrous off-season for Calgary in which Brett Slobodzian injured and underwent surgery for a major knee injury, the two-time defending champions went into Season Four looking towards Scott Boulet to lead the way. Although Slobodzian amazingly never missed a game, the Wranglers were not the same this season. While Boulet again topped 100 points and nearly scored 60 goals, it would not be enough for the Wranglers to reach the playoffs, the only time in Boulet's career that this would happen. Season Five, however, saw Boulet truly establish himself as the new face of the Calgary Wranglers. On the heels of a dominant 130 point season in which he recorded a staggering 73 assists, 57 goals, a +64 rating and 134 hits, Boulet was awarded his third Delvecchio Trophy. More importantly, however, the Wranglers returned to the playoffs. Despite Boulet's nine points in six games, the Seattle Bears proved to be too much, going on to win the Continental Cup. 
 

Scotty Campbell, widely considered the best VHL player ever. 
 
Just prior to Season Six, Scott Boulet stunned the VHL by announcing that he would be retiring following the upcoming season. Little did they know, however, that he had saved his very best for last. Scoring 65 goals and recording 74 assists, his 139 points were his career-high in a season. Recording 134 hits, blocking an absurd 50 shots and comprising a +65 rating, Boulet won his fourth Delvecchio Trophy. On top of being selected to another All-Star Game, Boulet also was awarded the VHL's highest individual honour: the Gretzky Trophy, as the league's most valuable player. While the Calgary Wranglers returned to the Continental Cup Finals, Boulet's storybook ending was denied by the Helsinki Titans in five games. The next season, Scott Boulet was inducted into the VHL Hall of Fame's Class of Season Seven along with centre Alex McNeil.
 
Scott Boulet was the early standard of the two-way forward for the VHL, making him the perfect choice for the award given to the league's best two-way forward to be named after him. While many have come close to, tying or, in David Smalling's case, exceeding the amount of Delvecchio/Boulet Trophies than Boulet himself, it remains fair to say that the name will not change anytime soon, if ever. But while Boulet's last VHL game was played more than ten calendar years ago, the excellence that was his career will continue to live on not only through the Scott Boulet Trophy, but through you, the reader, as now his story has been passed to you. 
 
Player Mentions: @Matt_O, djscooter, @boubabi, @Knight, Rybak_49, @scotty, @McNeil

In my opinion, one of the greatest traditions of the NHL is that every single member of the Stanley Cup winning team has their name etched onto the Cup. Not just the star players, captains... everyone. Every single player, coach, executive... they are all immortalized on the greatest trophy in sports. 
 
While doing research for recent projects, I made the unfortunate (although known before the others who are not me) discovery that our indexes prior to Season 20 are lost. That means that if I wish to write about any team prior to that, I may have difficulties writing about every single member of those teams... which means the names of some players who have lifted the Continental Cup could be forgotten. In my opinion, that is not ok. 
 
As it stands now, our Hall of Fame does a tremendous job commemorating the great players of the VHL. Obviously, not every member and player gets to be a Hall of Famer. That's part of what makes being inducted there such an honorable and prestigious achievement. But for those members who maybe won't be Hall of Famers, I think it would be special for them to be able to visit the Hall of Fame and see their names listed with the Continental Cup. On top of preserving every member and player's place in VHL history, it also makes the Hall of Fame a little more accessible to the league membership, in my opinion. 
 
I am not entirely sure how we could incorporate this on the league portal, but I know we've got some bright minds in this league. Is this something feasible or worth doing?

The announcement last night (or this morning for me) about outlawing trivia answer sharing has caught me off guard. When I first read it I assumed that I had somehow slept through February and March and it was now April Fools Day but reading further I realised it was not a joke. The decision seems to have been taken as a snap decision within about an hour last night on Discord. I did not go onto Discord last night so was completely blindsided by it, but although a word of warning would have been nice given I created and run the thing, that lack of consultation is not why I am stepping down.
 
No, I am stepping down because I do not want to be associated with such a draconian measure. I have never outlawed anything other than people literally replying to the thread with the answers because that completely defeats the point. If people want to rely on their teammates or friends, it never bothered me.
 
The spirit of trivia for me is effectively twofold. You have a group of people who genuinely enjoy finding the answers and will do so regardless of how easy it is to get them anyway. That's the real target audience. But then you have most of the league who don't necessarily know or care about finding the answers and just want the TPE. And there is nothing wrong with that. I am a firm believer that even by blindly filling out the form every week without doing the research, a member who does that for many weeks and seasons will pick up some VHL history they wouldn't otherwise know. And that to me is still a win and helps carry the league's legacy as the longest lasting sim league because we still have an appreciation for long-gone players and seasons.
 
So with that in mind, effective tomorrow I will be stepping down as head of trivia after paying out the week 2 answers for S70. If the league's stance changes I will be happy to resume the role, but if not it's been a good ride but you've made a mistake.

Hello, and welcome to the first edition of Under 250: The VHLM Report. In these series, we will be taking a look at the trends and topics from the past week in the VHLM. What twists and turns will our minor league hold? Stay tuned to find out!
 
 
The Review:
 
And so it begins! Last week saw the S70 VHL and VHLM seasons kick off with a bang. Although it is certainly too early to tell, a few teams have quickly jumped to the top of the pack, as the Ottawa Lynx and Minnesota Storm have pulled away from the rest of the pack at 30 and 28 points respectively after 16 games played. Time will tell if these two teams will keep their position in the standings, come the postseason, but for now, one thing is certain: they have been dominant thus far. Ottawa’s only loss thus far has been to the Storm, while Minnesota has lost just twice, to the Philadelphia Reapers and the Houston Bulls, the 3rd and 4th place teams.
 
Speaking of the mid-table teams, the Reapers and Bulls, along with the San Diego Marlins, have all started strong as well. Despite not quite reaching the same level of Ottawa and Minnesota, they are all tied with a respectable 20 points each after 15 games played. Further down the standings, we have the Mexico City Kings with 16 points, the Las Vegas Aces with 14 points, and finally, rounding out the playoff positions we have the Halifax 21st, with 10 points. 
 
Looking to catch up and regain playoff position we have the Mississauga Hounds with 7 points, the Saskatoon Wild coming off their Founder’s Cup hangover with 6 points, and finally, the Yukon Rush, who round out the standings with only 5 points. This leads us to our current standings as of Game 84:
 


 
 
The Highlights
 
Certainly, the highlight of the initial week of games is the emergence of the two leading teams at the top of the pack, Ottawa and Minnesota. Ottawa has been a terror offensively, with 92 goals for, leading the league by a significant margin. Led by a forward core that includes three of the top five points leaders, including their top two centres, Lewis Dawson and Ola Vikingstad, Ottawa has been putting teams through the paces. They have scored eight or more goals on five separate occasions out of 16 total games, including a 10-3 thrashing of the Yukon Rush in game 31, featuring a six-point, two-goal game from the aforementioned Vikingstad. Their defence, while not outstanding, has been consistently solid, and have allowed a total of 45 goals against for an average of 2.815 per game. When you consider they have scored an average of 5.75 goals per game, however, their defence appears less of a problem and is regardless good enough for fourth in the league. 
 
The Storm, while still potent offensively, have concentrated their efforts on the defensive end of the rink. Led by last year’s regular-season MVP Danny DeYeeto and sophomore goaltender Jaxx Hextall, the Storm has allowed just 2.25 goals against per game on average, good for best in the league. On the offensive end, despite having scored the third-most goals in the league (more on that later), only left-winger Gabriel Gutzwiler cracks the top ten in points. The Storm rely on a host of depth scoring, with the most point-per-game players on their team in the league at eight total reaching the mark, and with all eight having 20 or more points through 16 games played. 
 
Minnesota Storm is third in the league for goals scored, however, who is second? The San Diego Marlins, despite sitting in 5th position, have scored a huge 81 goals throughout 15 games played, leaving them with a goal differential of  +35. Showcasing their offensive talent, look to Game 50 in which the Marlins put 12 past the Mississauga Hounds in a 12-3 blowout. 
 
Recently acquired via trade from Las Vegas, Marlin’s starting goaltender Bruce Grimaldi has been thus far a powerhouse in the VHLM, and has all eyes on him for early predictions of the end of the year awards. He has passed not only the .900 SV% mark, usually considered good for a VHLM goaltender, but also the .910, with a fantastic .915 SV% on 468 shots against. Combine that with the fantastic scoring ability of the Marlins from the likes of Roque Davis and Kyl Oferson (each in the top five points leaders), and you have yourselves a real threat. Although the Marlins are currently 5th (on tiebreakers, on points they are tied for third), with the talent they have, expect to see them rise soon. 
 
Trades
 
Outside of the ice, there has been relatively little movement. Mexico City lost a few players early on in the season to their VHL teams on call-ups in the way of Alyksander Hunter and Milos Slavik, though they traded for defenseman Dylan Carpenter to bolster their defensive pairs somewhat. The biggest trades thus far this season go to San Diego, with the aforementioned trade for top goaltender Grimaldi from Las Vegas, which at the price of an S72 2nd round pick is a tidy investment to help them make a run at the cup and Minnesota. The Storm offloaded a pool of picks and prospects to Halifax in exchange for veterans Ben Storm and Liam Rooney. The duo has had an immediate impact, having scored a combined four points in their first two games. 
 
 
That’s all for this edition of Under 250: The VHLM Review. Thank you all for reading, and stay tuned next week for the inside scoop on all the going on in the league. Until next time!
 
Players Mentioned:  @Kendrick, @Dil, @Cran, @ROOKIE745,
@DaftRaincloud, @Psyduck77, @Josh, @Nykonax, @Jaku,
@Frank, @Carpenter74, @BigBallerFromDownUnder, @elrune1988
 
 
VSN Writer Mr_Hatter
 
 

Summers' Award to Lose?

Erik Summers has been a key addition to Helsinki's offense
 
HELSINKI, Finland - We are are nearly a quarter of the way through the S70 campaign, and there already appears to be a clear frontrunner for the Rookie of the Year Award: Helsinki defenseman Erik Summers. Summers, a S69 draftee, spent S69 playing for the VHLM's Mexico City Kings in an overage season, and boy did it do wonders for him. He didn't exactly light the world on fire with his S69 performance, but he has continued his steady play on the blueline into the S70 VHL season, and he currently leads all rookies with 11 points in 15 games. Helsinki currently is just barely outside of a playoff spot, and if they want to get into the postseason this year they'll need Summers to keep up his stellar play. He has a 4-point lead over the next highest scoring rookie, Chad Magnum, so at this point it appears that RoTY is Summers' to lose. Barring any other rookies going on a tear at some point during the season, there really only appears to be four other candidates at the moment who could possibly unseat the German-born defender; Toronto's Chad Magnum (2-5-7), Davos' Milos Slavik (1-5-6), and Calgary's Ondrej Ohradka (2-4-6) & Kris Rice (3-3-6).

Summers' Award to Lose?

Erik Summers has been a key addition to Helsinki's offense
 
HELSINKI, Finland - We are are nearly a quarter of the way through the S70 campaign, and there already appears to be a clear frontrunner for the Rookie of the Year Award: Helsinki defenseman Erik Summers. Summers, a S69 draftee, spent S69 playing for the VHLM's Mexico City Kings in an overage season, and boy did it do wonders for him. He didn't exactly light the world on fire with his S69 performance, but he has continued his steady play on the blueline into the S70 VHL season, and he currently leads all rookies with 11 points in 15 games. Helsinki currently is just barely outside of a playoff spot, and if they want to get into the postseason this year they'll need Summers to keep up his stellar play. He has a 4-point lead over the next highest scoring rookie, Chad Magnum, so at this point it appears that RoTY is Summers' to lose. Barring any other rookies going on a tear at some point during the season, there really only appears to be four other candidates at the moment who could possibly unseat the German-born defender; Toronto's Chad Magnum (2-5-7), Davos' Milos Slavik (1-5-6), and Calgary's Ondrej Ohradka (2-4-6) & Kris Rice (3-3-6).

GMs should post their trades on forum before accepting to see how popular opinion reacts.

I believe going forward the HOF committee should look at at players % if goals scored during their era as opposed to their end-game totals.

@eaglesfan036 you’re welcome
 
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1v1m-Okrdf99pOASXM7RiD-1p66DuEXgzcTxRuoUgQgw

Well, at least you got one thing right.

The VHL's seventh decade saw much positive change from the top down – starting from the remnants of Project Player Two and the original S31 expansion to abolishing second (and GM) players entirely and ending with 12 teams, more than ever before. There's a separate article which could be written just on the upswing in the league's fortunes on its own but how were the 60s on a team-by-team basis? Ignoring the new expansion franchises (so a third of the league), I've delved into all eight “original” franchises and tried to put this decade in the context of where they were at the start of it. Overall, most teams had some highlights with a fairly even spread of Continental Cups throughout the league. However, because no one had a terrible time, everyone has a few regrets.
 
---
 
Calgary

The Wranglers had reached an all-time low point in the 50s. They had already made a bit of a living off past glories, trumpeting left, right, and centre about their proud lineage dating back to that 69-3 season in S1, but then it was all cut away in contraction in S57. That place in VHL history ultimately saved Calgary, hence they picked up the assets and GM of the cursed Stockholm Vikings instead, but it was still a humbling moment. With just one championship since S30, would the Wranglers ever reach their former heights again?
 
That GM, Tyler Barabash, is an interesting case study on his own. Like Calgary, he had something to prove, with inactivity tarnishing his legacy in his previous two GM jobs, even as his teams won the cup right after he was replaced. You could see an improvement – the S31 Davos squad was almost handed to him but S43 Seattle was Barabash's own creation – and it went up a further notch with early 60s Calgary, arguably the most star-studded roster of the decade. With two Hall of Famers and playoff greats in Mats Johnsson and Norris Stopko, as well as three current ballot members in Jasper Canmore, Keaton Louth, and Oyorra Arroyo, three straight finals in S61-S63 was almost a foregone conclusion and the only regret is that this team won just one Continental Cup.
 
Things have soured a bit as the decade has gone on, however. Where Stopko and co's Calgary was the biggest fish in a pretty small pond, the rushed mid-60s rebuild meant the Wranglers had to contend in an increasingly competitive top end of the VHL. The result: just one playoff series won by the new generation, a reset of the rebuild, and some assistant GM and retirement/unretirement controversy. The back-to-back-to-back Game 7s against Vancouver will live long in the memory, and Brick Wahl will go down as a Calgary legend, but it has been far from smooth sailing for the historic franchise.
 
---
 
New York

If you had to rank the eight franchises profiled in this series by their success this decade, it would be hard to argue against the Americans coming rock bottom. This is not just a boring look down the cup winners list and seeing everyone but New York got one in the 60s. It's a reflection of the fact that their last finals appearance was in S60, meaning New York is now on one of the all-time long finals droughts, and they've not really come close in the years since.
 
That S60 team had potential, was unlucky to lose that season, but was torn apart shortly after for reasons out of their control. GM Vince Wong resigned abruptly, taking franchise goaltender Ike Arkander with him, while star forward Chase Keller also retired young. The talent that remained, led by defencemen Casey Jones and Colton Rayne, was traded off to kickstart the rebuild. The odd thing, however, is that the rebuild went pretty much the same way – GM Colton Rayne went inactive, with a knock-on effect on franchise goaltender Ismond Kingfisher, and a few key pieces also didn't reach their full potential. Those that did, like Joseph McWolf and Dan Wilinsky, were sold off by the team's third GM of the 60s, Joel Ylonen.
 
It's a bit early to assess the latest rebuild as it was built primarily around the S67 and S68 drafts, but the signs are again hopeful. If the VHL went defunct today though, the Americans would have an interesting arc though, from the late maiden cup in S14, through the four straight lost finals until the floodgates opened in S32, before accumulating more dynasties than most in the ensuing years and yet somehow ending up where they started. New York will be hoping the trend turns around going forward.
 
---
 
Seattle

By this point, we can safely say GM Blake Campbell knows how to navigate his way around a rebuild. You would certainly hope so after 20 seasons on the job, but it's certainly reassuring that they have also gotten better over time. Campbell came into the decade on the back of his first Continental Cup as GM, and Seattle's first since S43. The feeling though was that the Bears couldn't sustain prolonged success, certainly not like in their glory days of yore. In that sense, they're still not quite at “dynasty” level, but fitting two separate genuine contenders in the space of 10 seasons is an impressive feat and Campbell can rightfully claim the Bears team that ends the decade is the best he's built.
 
Up until the cup in S68, it felt like the 60s were going to be another “what if” in recent Seattle history. With some of the best attacking talent of the decade, led by Matt Thompson and Vyacheslav Smirnov, but also guest appearances from Gabriel McAllister, Veran Dragomir, and Sebastian Ironside, the Bears were a fun watch and deserved better than three first-round exits in a period they were a top two team in the league (S63 to S65). Ultimately, they were let down by a defence more focused on scoring than preventing goals and a goalie in Roger Sterling who never became consistent enough.
 
To Seattle's credit, the plug was pulled at the right time to initiate another quick rebuild. With enough pieces to sell in a seller's market, Campbell stocked up on S67 draft picks, which turned out to be the best draft to stock up on all decade, resulting in a young team which developed quicker than anticipated and won it all with only a couple veteran pieces. Even after back-to-back cups, it's too early to properly assess this young Bears team and what they might achieve but it's certainly an optimistic outlook and in the most simplified view it's quite amazing what an impact the franchise goalie has on a team, as seen here in the contrast between Sterling and Rayz Funk.
 
---
 
Toronto

The Legion came into the 60s fearing the worst. An ambitious move which sent a future first overall pick (Matt Thompson) to bitter rivals Seattle secured a place as the on-paper favourites going into S59, but Toronto would be shocked by the Bears in the first round and could only watch as they secured the Continental Cup instead. Cue a firesale and a rebuild slow out of the blocks due in part to that lack of the first overall pick and then trading another future first overall (Ryan Sullivan Jr.) even more inexplicably for the inactive Aksel McKnight. The halcyon days of the threepeat seemed much longer than 10 seasons ago.
 
Toronto responded by hiring the VHL's ultimate short-term fixer: Ryan Power. Power's aversion to drafting and reputation as wheeler-and-dealer preceded him, but even by his standards this Legion tenure has gone above and beyond anything seen before in terms of laughing in the face of VHL team-building convention. Yet it's worked and the Legion end the decade with the joint-most championships. It took an odd combination of some genuine stars (Norris Stopko, Sebastian Ironside, Oyorra Arroyo) and some players playing out of their skin (think not just the heroics of playoff MVP Johnny Havenk Carison but also timely goals from Evan R. Lawson or defensive sacrifices of Lespineau-Lebrunette), but Toronto secured back-to-back cups in S64 and S65 in the most unexpected fashion.
 
It wasn't vintage Toronto by any means and no one will put that team on the same pedestal as the threepeat or even the class of S9 or S21. However, the Legion won't care. They remained competitive for most of the decade (a Victory Cup followed after more free agency coups in S67), put behind the demons of the late 50s, and only need to worry about how this high-risk strategy affects them for the next decade.
 
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That's all for now, Vancouver, Helsinki, Davos, and Riga to follow in a couple weeks' time. Have I forgotten about my alphabetical list of every nation's greatest ever VHL player? God no, the timing for this is just perfect as we are literally at the end of the 60s (and yes, decades run from 60 to 69 or 2010 to 2019, unlike centuries, because decades are named after the years while centuries are just a number. Fight me on this).

Time for the first update of S70 here folks. I'm bringing back the margin of victory consideration (even though it totally cucks me this time around) and my graphs are as pretty (and definitely not busy) as ever. Let's get this ball rolling.
 

 
1. Wow, Riga sucks.
2. Wow, Seattle doesn't suck as much as they appear to from the standings, their line is actually almost invisible behind New York's so far, meaning that although they've been losing plenty, it's been mostly by 1 or 2 goals. see the red there? That's the Bears.
3. D.C. got absolutely shattered by that opening 7-1 loss vs. Vancouver, and have been slow to recover. This is what I meant by getting cucked.
4. Conversely, Vancouver started off wildly with that 7-1 win, and they have hardly slown down since. They look easily like the team to beat so far this season (to the surprise of nobody).
5. Helsinki with their retiring duo of Pepper and Borwinn are staying within spitting distance of the Wolves, and the balanced Menace aren't too far behind them.
 
181 words. Maybe I do more of these this season, maybe I don't. Spay and neuter your pets, folks.

gor looking for any excuse to make a basketball sig again since being banned from the SBA