Beerfridge

First official VHL GFX so be easy

First official VHL GFX so be easy

Flashback to the beginning of the year, and San Diego was a write-off. They had sold their S67 assets to compete in their inaugural season, and while the playoffs last season didn't pan out the way they had hoped, they were competitive. Jump forward to this year, San Diego had no assets going into S67, not a single draft pick had been made, the franchise didn't even show up to draft day, because their plan was simple, build from the ground up, sign some brand new prospects, and make it a journey. Even with prospects joining the Marlins left and right, people still had their doubts. Would the Marlins be the worst expansion franchise this season? Would the Marlins be the worst VHLM franchise this season? At first, it seemed like it. 
 
The Marlins started off piss-poor, their record was junk and the activity was very, very low. But things changed about one month into the games, it was like lightbulbs went off and things finally began to click. San Diego ran two full lines of solid activity, a ton of youth in the system and proud players among the team. Everything seemed to be clicking, and so the team began to go on a roll. Despite the roll, they had their ups and downs, they still couldn't get past the great wall of Philadelphia, and the Lochness Ottawa was still just like the monster... a mystery. Regardless, the Marlins had fun, they stayed the course, they did not want to leave the team for potential "greater" success, the team was happy. And if that isn't the definition of success in the minors, than I don't know what is. 
 
But there still leaves a void, the Marlins have yet in their two-year existence be able to flourish and push past the first round, but that is where the management staff feel optimistic, is that if they can turn a season of nothing into something when all hope had been lost, than what possibilities wait for them in the future? Time will tell, but I can tell you it's been a hell of a ride, and it's all thanks to the team, and everyone who busted their ass for this franchise, you've made me very, very happy
 
@Frozen Block @stevo @Beerfridge @Jaku @Psyduck77 @Fire_In_Babylon @NumberJ5 @Klrpizza @SJT29 @MexicanCow123

@Beerfridge we know each other well from the other league, happy to have you here, you're active, you're growing, I like activity and I reward it. 
 
Welcome to San Diego

In the first installment of VHLM Insight, we will take a look at the top two teams in the league, the team sitting comfortably at the bottom, and give an honorable mention. 
 
We're approaching the 30 games played mark in the VHLM, and the field is starting to take shape. The picture is becoming a bit clearer as teams that are dominating, teams that are in the middle of the pack, and teams who are falling out of playoff contention are settling in on the standings bracket.
 
The teams who make up the Top 5 are Philadelphia, Ottawa, Minnesota, Halifax, and Houston - each having less than 10 loses and coming in well above .500 in terms of wins and loses. Yukon currently sits in the sixth position, and is the only other team outside of the Top 5 to be above .500; the remaining five teams all sit well below. The exception to this is Saskatoon, who is only a few games back from evening out their average, and could potentially get it together to be above .500 at some point in the season.
 
THE TWO TITANS OF THE VHLM
 
Philadelphia currently sits on top of the VHLM with 47 points, and a record of 23-3-1. The Reapers leading scorer is Center Alex Pearson, who has 24 goals and 22 assists for a points total of 46. Pearson also leads the VHLM in goals. Defenseman Brandon LeBlanc leads the team in assists, with 33, but also currently sits 4th on the Reapers for goals with 12. LeBlanc also leads the league in assists, and is also sitting atop the league for Defensemen. Goalie Fang Flashback holds an impressive record of 22-2-0, a 2.16 Goals Against Average, with 5 Shutouts and a Save Percentage of .883. Flashback is number one in the league for wins, and has three assists, the most for any goalie in the league. With the help from their spectacular goalie, and their powerful offensive performance, it is easy to see why the Reapers are sitting atop the standings.
 
Ottawa finds themselves in second place with 43 points, two games behind the Reapers, with a record of 21-5-1. Center Zeno Minti leads the Lynx in both goals and assists, 20 and 29 respectively, for 49 points which is also the best on the team. Left Winger Anthony Hawk holds second place in points for the team at 41, and is probably one of the deadliest on the ice with his impressive 112 hits. Goalie Raymond Bernard has a record of 17-3-0, a Save Percentage of .87, 1 Shutout, and a Goals Against Average of 2.74. With the strong play from Minti and Hawk, look for Ottawa to stay on the heels of the Reapers in the coming week. 
 
STARTING AT THE BOTTOM
 
Sitting in the very last spot for the league is the Mississauga Hounds, who hold a record of 5-21-1 with 11 points. There's not a single player on the Hounds roster who has a positive -/+ rating, with the exception of one player who has only played a total of three games. You could blame the abysmal record on schedule strength, maybe. It's hard to win games when your leading goal scorer has only 7 goals in the 27 games they have played, and the rest of the offense isn't getting enough chances to help produce. Maybe some trades could help correct the ship on this team, time will tell, but
for now they looked to be destined to sit at the bottom of the pack. 
 
HONORABLE MENTION
 
It's worth noting the play from the Minnesota Storm, who currently hold the third place spot in the standings at a record of 20-6-1, sitting one game behind Ottawa with 41 points. Defenseman Kefka Palazzo leads the team with 44 points, and also leads in assists with 30. Left Winger Berocka Sundqvist leading the team in goals with 20. Goalie Justin Cole has a 20-6-1 record, an impressive 7 Shutouts, and an equally impressive .899 Save Percentage. Cole leads the league for goalies in Goals Against Average (1.91), Shutouts (7), and comes in second for Goals Against Average (0.899). Sitting one game back from Ottawa, look for the landscape to change when it comes to the Top Three Teams in the VHLM.
 
@diamond_ace @berocka @Jayrad28 @Psanchez55 @Zeno @ahawk2191 @WhiteMocha @uphillmoss @Mr_Hatter

3 years 3 championships

3 years 3 championships

3 years 3 championships

NHL was better when the Leafs were a dumpster team.

Honestly what happened to me

*kinda perfect picture*
 
I was celebrating a name-day today. Congratulations to me! I'm also not in the best shape and the Riga LR already knows why. So this article won't be a something special, I was doing this before. There goes the future predictions for all 8 teams. 5 of them will get a more detalized guess.
 
 

 
GM: @Bushito
 
This team had problems with cap, but couple of minor trades solved all their troubles. Also, they once again are running with 5F 4D setup. Last time, it wasn't enough to make maximum noise, this time they are contending for the cup. But I think the 5/4 setup isn't going to do wonders, especially when the team has only one forward superstar in Canmore. Now let's talk about their future. I'd say they are having a bright future. They're having some old players like Bogdanovic and Kinkaid (who's retiring after this season), but other players are either on prime or still rookies. Also, majority of them are active (besides Corco). Bushito wasn't lying when he said that Calgary is here for a long time.
 
FUTURE: GOOD. Other team have their problems so Calgary is in a good shape. The mix of veterans and younger players is definitely helping this team. Also, there is Jordan Tonn who could jump to this team at some point.
 

 
GM: @Tyler
 
Finally we'll see Davos in action after four seasons of rebuilding. McAllister is going to have another MVP season IMO so that should give the Dynamo a boost. However, I'm not that sure about their future. Let's start with the fact this team's average age is already older than Calgary, that's not wassup. And they have more semi-actives too. Brodeur, Warlock, Axelsson and Gow (sort of). Three players will face the regression already next season, including a goalie Brodeur and the best D in Kane. We can argue that they have a young gun in Jokinen, but that may not be enough. I think Tyler will have to make a bold move soon, or this team could be done in like 2-3 seasons.
 
FUTURE: 60/40, There is a team that may sell soon so Davos could have a chance to prolong their contention window.
 
 

 
GM: @Higgins
 
Dis Higgins. He was ready to step down, but then decided to have some fun and traded ONE first for FIVE good/star players. Helsinki is going for yet another back to back and they have a good chance on doing that - the roster is looking very good. I don't know what he's thinking about the future of this team (I guess he isn't thiking at all), but his words about finishing the next rebuild in 2020 may be a correct prediction in this one.
 
FUTURE: SELL AND REBUILD. We know that Higgins can find a chance out of nowhere, but he won't have an important piece for another miracle run - a goalie. King is retiring following this season and no other goalie would be available in the near future.
 
 

 
GM: @Spade18
 
Spade is the new NYA GM after STZ has decided to step down due to personal things. Looking at their roster, we can see a bunch of S57 guys. And the Kiaskov trade was the right thing to do since he's a also a S57 guy. So we could see that this team can contend for two more seasons at least and maybe they could do even further if the GM will be lucky with trades. I guess this team has no troubles in the near future...
 
FUTURE: VAGUE. And then here comes the a painful blow: Ike Arkander must retire following this season since he's not a GM player anymore. This is really a shitty situation for this team - as I already said earlier there are no goalies available in the near future. Spade is trying to save this team with changing Kingfisher's position to a goalie, but I think this won't help NY. I just don't see a team with 200 TPE goalie winning the championship so perhaps it's easier to sell the team after this season. 
 
 

 
GM: @Beaviss
 
Quebec is a #5 team, but I can't say they are competing now. More like waiting for a team that would sell...maybe like NY. So let's just look at players. There are some questionable assets, like Sobeck (inactive) or Ball (very semi-active). Also, I'm not really sure about Zhields as Steezy took a break from VHL. In overall, this team still has a good potential, but Beaviss will have to decide the fate of some inactives or semi-actives in order to have a perfect future for his team.
 
FUTURE: NICE. I already said it all in previous four sentences.
 
 

 
GM: currently drunk
 

 
GM: @Banackock
 

 
GM: @DollarAndADream
 
 
FUTURE: STILL REBUILDING. I don't know what else I can say about these three teams. They only started the rebuilding process so it may take a while before these teams will jump into the fight for the cup. However, one of them could capitilaze on potential problems from Helsinki or NY and make an early push for a cheap price. I also need to mention that we may see the reincarnation of the S58 three-way rivalry between these three teams if they will be ready at the same time. Could be interesting to see this again, especially for Dollar who never won in a S58-59 period.
 
 
I can be proud of myself, I somehow managed to drag this thing to amost 1000 words. Imagine if I wasn't in that shape as I'm being right now. I want to wish a good luck to every VHL team in this season and let your plans be a successful ones. Well, except for Seattle, they can hold on with another three-four year rebuilding plan hehe.
 
I'm also not sure if I'm even drunk at this point, I wrote this article in one hour. That's not the worst result I've ever had. Yay my brains. But I guess the idea of this article was too easy to not doing it fast.
 
 
That's it and I'm out.
 
6x2=12 TPE goes to Kurtutecis
 
11.06 - 17.06
18.06 - 24.06

As soon as these lines get update I am going to feast, 2 hattys in 3 games

As soon as these lines get update I am going to feast, 2 hattys in 3 games

As soon as these lines get update I am going to feast, 2 hattys in 3 games

As soon as these lines get update I am going to feast, 2 hattys in 3 games

Nice

Unnice

He's a crazy Russian, and when we say crazy, we mean at hockey. Vyacheslav Smirnov officially announced his eligibility only 24-ish hours ago and is already off to a racing start. Quickly earning 70 TPE (30 start, 40 carryover), and then racing to another 33 VIA shit around the league, he's poised at getting in the VHLM, dominating and making his way to his new teammates in Seattle. Following being named to the leagues waiver lists, we seen him and Kovalchuk sign with the Oslo Storm, who of course, they both have ties with VIA their agent and both Oslo Storm managers. This is a big move for the organization considering they also managed to get the amazing, beautiful @Beerfridge who could lead the league in points this season. But, for Smirnov, what's his goals?
 
"Well, this task here gets me the weekly 12. I want to be a dynamic force in the offensive zone, while also maintaining the ability to win draws. Though, currently for Oslo, it sounds like I'm going to be playing the wing - which is fine, so other areas rights now are my motive. This season, I'm looking for big things to happen and GM Campbell and @Laflamme I'm sure will treat me good and have me playing some decent, productive minutes. I think I've earned that, despite being in the league only a short while. I'm here to play big, play quick and develop into a strong player for both Seattle and Oslo". 
 
+2 Smirnov

Unnice

I just need to get rid of beerftidge to get under

I wont make an offer im looking to only bring in fresh blood and Stronk wants to compete we will not however he is once again a FA.
@Beerfridge
 
@Smarch @Laflamme @diamond_ace @iRockstar

The Stronk Show Ep.8   Hey guys and welcome back to the Stronk Show, I have been busy this year, I have the second most points in the VHLM behind my linemate Bryce Zhields. The Saskatoon Wild are by far the best team in the VHLM. 56-13 and a 106 goal differential. All this has really taken up my season. I needed to keep training to keep my level of play, the training has come with side effects though. I am no longer as aggressive off the rink as I once was, the old Stronkowski only comes out in the ice. You can see that when I beat the shit out of that one kid. It is a contract year for me, I need to play at the highest level. It might even be my last year in the VHLM so I need to get ready to play for the big cats.    I'm not sure about how tougher the VHL is but I'm sure it will be another dragon. I will be going to Calgary to play for the Wranglers. They seem to be doing well and it isn't that far away from Saskatoon. I've talked with the GM and we've had a good conversation. He drafted me and still believes in me, and I thank him for that. The season isn't over yet though, I still have playoffs and there is nothing more than I want than going back to back. First with the Yukon Rush and now with Sasky. Yukon is already out of the playoffs so I'm gonna be one of the few players who has a chance to go back to back.    I took less money to play for Saskatoon, I was offered max contracts elsewhere but I took less to come back to where I was drafted “the hometown discount” as they say. I would do it ten times over, I'm not sure if I am having so much success is because of me or the team but I love it, I’d never have thought that I would be 2nd in points, assists and goals only behind my LW. I can guarantee that I am the best at faceoffs in the league and am the best captain in the game.   Now my future is to be determined but right now I only have one goal in mind, and that is to win the VHLM cup, I've recently taken a break from working out since we have a bye week but I am ready to put it all on the line for my team. Our depth is phenomenal so I won't be needed that much but I am ready to perform if needed. We have by far the best goalie, defense and forwards in the league and the cup should be ours to lose, I have been on the best VHLM team for two years in a row and I can't wait to see what the postseason has in store for me.    Well, that's it for this episode of the Stronk Show. I can't wait to see what happens next, thanks for watching/listening/reading!  

The one thing I love in life is being the only one to have invested in SO and still being ass at it

You
 
/s
 
In my opinion it is the constant "trading  the farm" ie one team giving up their best players for another teams best picks for a couple years. The team that gets the players usually wins the championship. Then the team that has sustainable successes never wins anything.