Hoopydog

(Sorry in advance for the shear size of this thing) Introduction Hello everyone, I am Hoopydog (or just Hoopy for short is fine) and I am the user behind the retiring Artair McCloud. This was my first proper go at the VHL universe and since I love a good player review, I thought it would be only fitting to take a look at how my first player got on and find out whether it was a success or not. Early Days When Artair McCloud entered into the league, it was past the trade deadline and therefore he couldn’t be signed to any VHLM team until after the draft. This dealt a blow to his chances of being drafted high up the draft because he had missed out on a few weeks of high TPE earnings but also the chance to join a locker room and get his name known around the league. There were only 2 minor league teams that contacted him before the draft and they were the Miami Marauders and the Las Vegas Aces. It would end up being GM Spartan that got his man with the 43rd pick of the draft. He felt at home in Vegas. It had everyone you could want as a player. A vibrant locker room to keep you engaged, a team with great quality capable of winning things and a management team to help steer you in the right direction. VHLM – Regular Season His VHLM career stats weren’t the best, let’s not beat around the bus they were pretty bad. In his 1st season on the Aces, he put up a measly 11 points in a full 72 game season. It might be worth noting that he played minimal ice time given strength of the team. I knew I’d get my time in the sun but for now my job was to play support and that’s what I was gonna do. In his 2nd season he performed better, not to the standards he had hoped but it was still an improvement. This time he put up 48 points in 72 games scoring 28 goals as well so a decent showing from the young forward. That season again playing a very good team did limit his ice time in some aspects as trades for Dan Dan and Jordan Tate were both made to try and give the team the best chance at playoff glory. Something of note from this season was that he scored 13 Powerplay goals meaning just under half of his goal tally came with a man advantage So overall his VHLM stats were: GP – 144 G – 34 A – 25 P – 59 VHLM – Playoffs It seems that, over the course of his career, McCloud showed himself to be more of a playoff player than a regular season guy despite never winning a VHL or VHLM playoff championship (Spoiler Alert) his numbers and performances just always seemed better. He put up 3 points in 12 playoff games in that 1st season which doesn’t seem like much but it is a big improvement (in terms of points per game) compared to his regular season. The Aces breezed past Mexico City in the first round but were taken and beaten in 7 games by the underdogs in Miami, who went on to win the whole damn thing. Still not over it. In the 2nd season he put in a much better performance in the playoffs. He played the same number of game but this time put up 10 points for the Aces. In that run, they took the Saskatoon Wild to seven games but then fell to Mexico City in the following round meaning that McCloud’s VHLM career ended without a cup win. So overall his VHLM playoff stats were: GP – 24 G – 6 A – 7 P – 13 He definitely wasn’t a stand out in the minor league but he did do enough to attract quite a few teams interested in the taking him in the draft. Taking The Next Step The S75 draft was absolutely stacked and McCloud was on a lot of teams list as a potential steal later on in the draft. No one really knew where he would go in the draft but it was thought he would go as a late 2nd or early 3rd rounder. Out of all the teams that expressed interest in McCloud, it looked like it was going to be either the Vancouver Wolves or the Riga Reign that would be the most likely to pick him up. As the picks entered the twenties, I started to get a bit a nervous as it was nearing closer to my predicted position and when the Vancouver Wolves select Sheldon Juniper with 23rd overall pick, I knew my home was going to be Riga. GM Hedge selected me with the 28th overall pick in the draft along with a few of my Vegas team mates. It was always going to be difficult to find my place and stand on my own on the Riga roster since they had just drafted 9 prospects in the first 2 rounds of that draft which included the likes of Cabe McJake, Adison McLaren, Sirkants Klamasteris, Justin Lose and Linus Zetterstrom. The hype around this team, especially after a couple of seasons and we were all 700 TPE+ was immense and it was frustrating that we just didn’t win anything. Out of the 5 season I played with Riga, we only made to the playoffs twice. I never won a VHL playoff round in my career but that wasn’t for a lack of trying. I ended up going IA for a little while and during that time my contract with Riga expired. I was picked up as a free agent by the D.C. Dragons and it was there that I would have my best season as a player, playing as a defenseman. VHL – Regular Season It took McCloud a few seasons to adapt to the speed of the VHL and to start to produce semi-decent numbers. In his debut season McCloud put up 40 points in 72 games played, scoring 19 goals in his debut campaign. Due to the nature of the Riga roster, the time was split pretty evenly amongst the prospects but 40 points is ok for a rookie. Not amazing but not terrible either. The 2nd season wasn’t much better, his points tally went up to 48 points and scoring and extra 3 goals. He played similar minutes to the previous season but some of the other players on the roster gained a lot more ice-time, leading to them having larger points totals and I noticed I was again starting to play that support role like I did when I was in Vegas. In his 3rd season with the Reign, Artair had a bit of jump in his production on the team. He put up 30 goals and 66 points in that season, mainly due to the fact that he was playing about an extra 6/7 minutes a night. Some random stats from that season, he took 441 shots, scored 10 times on the powerplay and he also scored a short-handed goal. The following 2 seasons, he had the same sort of level of production, with his eclipsing the 30-goal mark and scoring 70 and 72 points respectively. He played 1 season for the D.C. Dragons in which he hit a career high 92 playing as a defenseman. He was also nominated and won some unofficial VHL awards that season, a somewhat highlight of his playing career I don’t really have much more to say about my last few seasons at Riga nor my season playing for D.C. as this was around the time, I went IA and it doesn’t feel right to comment on them since I don’t really know what happened. I enjoyed my time at Riga and the locker room was amazing to be apart of even though we were one of the most cursed teams in modern VHL times. His VHL regular season stats ended as follows: GP – 432 G – 164 A – 224 P – 388 VHL - Playoffs There isn’t really a whole lot to talk about when it comes to McCloud’s VHL playoffs since he only took part in 2 playoffs series and lost them both #blamesimon. McCloud would continue as being more of a playoff player. In S76, he got his first taste of playoff experience and he would be able to shine as he was joint team top scorer with 3 points despite averaging 12 less minutes a night than the teammates, he shared top spot with. In S79 he claimed the top spot in team point scoring all for himself, putting up 7 points in 5 games. This was unfortunately not enough to help push his team over the line and he lost yet another playoff series. So, after those 2 playoff attempts his stats were: GP – 9 G – 4 A – 6 P – 10 The Last Dance When I came back to the league, I decided that since I only had one more season left that I want to go for a cup. So, when Rome GM Rockstar asked me if I wanted to play for the Gladiators in my final season, I said yes. (Sidenote: This led to possible my most notable moment as a VHL member to date, there was an issue because I had been IA that I was contracted still to D.C. so I was still their player. A big thank you to GM Enorama for letting my play for Rome in my final year). I was gunning for that cup but I also wanted to show everyone what McCloud was capable off, even if it was in the VHLE. He was the top defensemen in the VHLE this season and he finally achieved what he had sought after his entire career, a playoff championship. We had assembled a great team here in Rome with the likes of Pekko Viitanen, Drakon Zabastovka and Boris Tsezar at all ends of the ice.. A big thank you to all my teammates in Rome for helping me go out with a bang… WE DID IT!!!! VHLE – Regular Season McCloud had a stormer of a season playing on Rome. As one of their marquee signings, he had a duty to perform at the highest level for his team and he did just that. He put up a staggering 91 points and claimed his spot as the top defensemen in the VHLE that season. This was a monumental achievement as he now stood alone as the best Dman in the VHLE. That season’s stats were: GP – 72 G – 22 A – 66 P – 91 VHLE – Playoffs This playoffs run was about getting over the line, no matter if he scored 1 point or 20. As long as he got to hoist the cup, that’s what mattered. He scored 10 points in Rome’s playoff run contributing 3 goals to their tally. He also put up a man of the match performance in Game 5 of the finals having a hand in all 3 goals, in a 3-2 win of Cologne to help keep that dream alive. His playoffs stats for the run were: GP – 12 G – 3 A – 7 P – 10 Conclusion Well, that was a very long rabble but it was nice to go through and see just what I was able to achieve with my first player in the VHL. In case you didn’t know, I have re-created and my new player is Fraser Wallace and I’m hoping that I will be able to use all the knowledge I have gained from my first player and take the VHL by storm this time round. P.S. I was really close to hitting the 2000-word mark so I’m just gonna tell some of my other memorable moments from my first player in the VHL. During one of the VHL charity streams, I was last in nearly all of the marble races which is just absurd considering that game is literally all chance. Another being that everyone seemed to like the name of my player, I think in the creation thread someone made a comment about it being one of the best names in the draft. 2030 words

1. I think it's going better than I though it would. We are putting up a good fight and we have done a great job to get them to game 7. Now it's just a 1 off game. 2. I'd go with Landon Wolanin like averaging 2 points a game is nuts 3. I want to be one of the best players in the VHLM and make sure everyone knows who I am 4. Maybe some example build advice could be pretty sweet but I think the league does a good job as is to help new players 5. More with facial hair definitely 6. I got a B in English after I was predicted to fail it, probably my most proud achievement to date

1. I'm excited for the playoffs challenge. I think we could surprise some people with our performance and we cant why we cant make it to the next round. 2. I'd have to give it to Pete Mitchell. He leads the team in points but he's also got a whopping 8 game winning goals. That is some proper clutch player stuff right there. 3. I'm a bit biased in this obviously but I think we can add a bit more depth to the lineup and also bring a bit of locker room spirit. 4. I'm not a fan of Fraser Power or Artair Power. Doesn't flow of the tongue very easily. 5. I don't do a whole lot of crazy stuff but I am known for my crazy sandwich and wrap fillings 6. I'm not sure about the new attributes if I'm honest. I'm not sure that they will fix the meta builds. My old player in the VHLE is a D man and is 6th in scoring with 60 passing but I guess we'll have to wait an see.

Ice Hockey in Scotland is a niche watched by few and played by even fewer but that none if that affected Fraser Wallace’s love for the game and his desire to be the very best. There aren’t very many junior hockey teams in Scotland so he started off his career playing for the Kilmarnock Thunder junior teams (u12 all the way to u19) where he was a major success posting multiple 2+ points per game seasons. This caught the eye of local SNL team the Paisley Pirates who wanted to have Wallace join them in their push for the SNL title. In his first and only season for the pirates, Wallace went a point per game, a big reduction from the highs of his junior career but this time he was playing against adults and that lack of game experience limited his abilities but the signs were very promising. His performance in the SNL was noticed by team all over the UK in the EIHL (the UK’s top flight) and it was clear that someone was going to snap him up but the question was who did Wallace want to sign with. It came down to 2 teams, the Cardiff Devils and the Glasgow Clan. Despite the allure of the Champions hockey league that he would get with Cardiff, he chose to remain in Scotland and play with his favourite team, the Glasgow Clan. He played 2 seasons with the Clan. In his first season, he played 52 games putting up 7 goals and 13 assists for 20 points. It was clear that he had a hard time adjusting to the quality of the league and he was now playing against professional player, some who have had great careers and played in top leagues all over Europe and even the NHL but again you could see the promise was there with Wallace. With rumours of him heading over to the VHLM, there was one goal before he left… the playoff championship. In that second season, Wallace went a point per game to help take the Clan to #1 n the standings and secure them a favourable match up in the quarter finals. The Glasgow side battled their way to the final, defeating rivals the Fife Flyers in the quarter final 8-3 (over two legs) and the Belfast giants in a hard fought 5-4 overtime win with Wallace getting the game winning goal. In the final they face the Cardiff Devils and it was time for Wallace to give the Glasgow faithful his farewell. Wallace bagged all 3 goals in a 3-2 win to seal the clubs first playoff title. He is currently playing with the Las Vegas Aces in the VHLM where he is looking to win another championship and he is looking to show off his skills for the upcoming VHLM draft

This is a great read! Pieces like this really help bring your player to life and give them some personality and you do a really good job of that. You space out and break it up really well which helps it flow nicely. My favourite part of this is the way you express the emotions, it brings the piece to life. Cracking job 9/10

Nice job on this piece! You do a good job at giving an insight into those top VHLE teams, each description is short and concise which makes it easy to read and you do a good job of highlighting the key feature of the teams. Next time, you could maybe add some headings for the teams and colour them in the teams main colour, just to help layout it out a bit neater. All in all, well done! 9/10

Cheerleading and bench-door-opening are some of the most important jobs in hockey lmao

1. I think eagle is a great hire and I'm happy to have as part of the management 2. I think Philly will end up finishing 1st overall, they are team that's red hot and I think that form will carry them to the top of the table 3. Well I've only just signed here and haven't played in a game yet but I'm more than happy to play a supporting role for the team and the guys who have been here longer than me 4. That motivate me to be honest, they are obviously a good side and I think we should be trying to raise our game to that level. 5. I don't see anyone being able to beat McDavid over the course of the season but I hope someone else wins it 6. I think anywhere between like 3-6 crowbars gives you enough plausible deniability to convince the police that your not up to something

Inspired by Artair McCloud’s venture into the VHL, a new Scotsman has revealed himself as he looks to surpass his predecessors and become a shinning star… and his name is Fraser Wallace. Fraser Wallace grew up where is clan ancestors lived, a region of the Scottish Lowlands called Renfrewshire. There is a rich hockey culture in Renfrew and the surroundings areas which teams such as the Paisley Pirates, who play in the SNL (Scottish National League) and the Glasgow Clan who play in the EIHL (Elite Ice Hockey League) which is the top level of British Ice Hockey. Along with this hockey culture, there has been a rise in popularity of Ice Hockey in the UK after the perform of the GB national side on the international stage, which saw them get promoted to the top level where they play such sides as Canada, USA and Sweden. There has been some talent brewing in UK and some of which has already made it to the North American scene with Liam Kirk being a good prospect for the Arizona Coyotes and Artair McCloud having a good career in the VHL and playing out his final season with Rome Gladiators in the VHLE. Now emerging onto the scene is a player with the potential to surpass those who came before him… Fraser Wallace. Wallace is a 6ft 1, 220-pound centremen who can play at both ends of the ice. He’s tenacious in his play, never allowing his opponents to rest making him a valuable asset to his team. His biggest strength is his shooting ability as he is able to convert from all areas of the offensive zone giving him the unpredictable factor and making him a nightmare to defend. For being a young player, he shows a great maturity and composure which is highlighted in his defensive zone play. He’s not afraid to put his body on the line nor is does he fear marshalling his teammates into position on the ice. Wallace played for various junior teams during his younger years but his skillset showed that he was able to play at a higher level and when the paisley pirates came calling it was a no brainer. His adjustment to the adult game was quick and he soon became a key player on the pirate’s roster. His fine form earned him a call up to the GB development team where he would be able to showcase his talent on the international stage. Being a GB born player and a good one at that, the Glasgow Clan realised that Wallace could be a team changing pickup and they soon jumped at the chance to sign him up as not only would he help with their home player quota, good GB talents are few and far between and having some on your team can make a huge difference. He has now made the jump to the main stage as he just signed a contract with the Las Vegas Aces in the VHLM giving him a chance to show the scouts around the league why they should spend a pick on him in the upcoming VHLM draft. In a recent interview when asked the question “Why did you choose to sign with the Aces” he responded: “For me it was a no-brainer to sign in Vegas. I spoke to Artair McCloud when the Aces offer came through and he said that I should take 100%. I already know some of the guys on the team and I feel like I can make difference here”. We can’t wait to see how the career of Fraser Wallace will pan out and watch him take the league by storm

Let's do it! Wallace Is All In

Happy to be back!

Player Information Username: Hoopydog Player Name: Fraser Wallace Recruited From: Returning Age: 20 Position: C Height: 73 in. Weight: 220 lbs. Birthplace: United Kingdom Player Page @VHLM GM

With the trade deadline fast approaching, it is once again theme week and for theme week, we will be discussing VHLE, the impact it will have and lastly, why Glasgow should have a VHLE team at some point in the future. The VHL had been experiencing a mass influx of new members and players joining the league and some issues were being seen around the league with lower TPE players getting next to no ice time as they weren’t quite good enough to play at a VHL level. So, the solution that the league came to was the VHLE, an intermediate set between the VHLM and the VHL. Kinda like the relationship between the AHL and the NHL. I think that the VHLE will be a great addition to the league system, not only will it provide players with a chance to get more ice time, put up more points and give players more exposure than they would have gotten if they were playing fourth line minutes in the VHL, but it has also opened up a plethora of new job opportunities for new and experienced members to take a more active role in the community. It has been announced that there will be 6 teams to kick off the first VHLE season. Here’s what I think the first 6 teams should be. First, I would like to see a team in Germany, playing out of either Berlin or Munich, currently to big hockey cities in Germany with 2 teams playing in the DEL (The German top flight). Next, I would like to see both Norway and Denmark receive teams, since their neighbours Sweden and Finland both have teams. From these 2 countries, I would select Oslo and Copenhagen, they are both the capital city of their respective nations and in turn both countries have a good ice hockey culture. I would then look to Zurich in Switzerland to be my 4th team and Either Paris or Rome to be my 5th team. Zurich is a major city in Switzerland and resides in a country with a rich hockey history and both Paris and Rome are amongst some of the most historic and most important cities in the world. And finally for my last team selection, queue the biased nature of my choice… it’s Glasgow. Why Glasgow should have a VHLE franchise. With the rise of British ice hockey, and their gutsy performance at the latest IIHF World Championship, Glasgow is a great fit to be a new VHLE team. Glasgow saw a brief stint as a team, as the Glasgow Guardians were formed to compete in the VHL off-season Pro-Am tournament. We the potential team names were put on a straw-poll for the participating member to vote on, Glasgow was the most voted for team which shows that the members were all for it. Glasgow is a city which welcomes tourists and has a rich sporting culture and a VHLE team would be a great addition in my opinion. So now we have our places, now we need the team names here is what I would go with: the Berlin Bratwursts or the Munich Monarchs, the Oslo Vikings, HC Copenhagen (Couldn’t think of a good name), the Zurich Lions, either the Paris Renegades or the Rome Spartans and lastly the Glasgow Stags. That’s my take on the VHLE and I do hope that one day Glasgow will have a team and some step of the VHL ladder. 578 words

1. It's sad to see McLaren go, he was a good guy to have around the locker room but we are in a bit of a tough spot right now and if we are gonna get ourselves out of it we have to take some risks. We got a good return and I'm excited to see how the new guys improve the team. 2. Maybe Warsaw, they have been so good for so long and it's always a hard game to win. 3. I think we should try and draft Emeritus, he would might not be able to be a starter straight away but he would solve our goalie problem for a while in the future. 4. I love krave, it's great both with milk or dry. 5. I got a small wooden gun that shot elastic bands and it was super fun to play with as a kid. 6. Either Tom Wilson or Ryan Reeves. Two guys that consistently make dirty plays.

1. I think it's pretty cool to be honest 2. My favourite is the Stockholm Vikings, a fitting name and a very nice logo 3. I pretty optimistic. Once we find our rhythm we'll be fine and we just have to play hard every night until we do. 4. I quite like a steak and cheese sandwich, no veggies of course because that would just ruin it. 5. I would go with Ovi's goal scoring ability with McDavid's hands and speed. 6. I think the Lighting are gonna win it and go back-to-back.

Review: Nice job on this media spot bud. It's laid out really well so it's super easy to read. You also get a really good sense of what Lose is like which is really good. Maybe next time, you could put your players quotes in bold or italics just to make that bit easier to read. Overall, good job! 9/10

Review: Nice job on this media spot mate, you really get a good sense of what your player is like when reading this interview which is nice. It's laid out really well and making use of the bold to make it clear what's interviewer and player is a nice touch. Overall, solid job 9/10

G - Stone Walski @diamond_ace

F - Valterri Vaakanainen @Shane Laz

D - Roque Davis @diamond_ace

D - Latrell Mitchell @Shane Laz

1. I mean we are gonna win the cup obviously... right simon?!?!? Apart from us I'd go with Seattle for the back to back, they have a pretty good team and I think they can go all the way just like us. 2. Probably Spartan, he showed me the ropes for a lot of things here like building my player, claiming PTs and even picking players for VHFL. 3. Maybe New York, they always seem to be in and around the bottom but they have a good team this year so maybe that will change. 4. Maybe because we don't have a coat of fur covering our face or maybe other animals don't have an emotional range as advanced as us? idk. 5. I'm gonna say mustard because I feel like it would destroyed my insides less than a bucket of burger grease. 6. Big man Matt Thunder would be my choice, with Zetterstrom and Lose as alternates.

F - SS Hornet @diamond_ace

F - Taro Tsujimoto @Shane Laz

Review: Nice job on this media spot mate. I like that you gave a little bit of a summary on the state of the team before going onto talk about your player, it helps the reader better understand the position your player is in. You also capture your players mindset very well and explain that various challenges they face next season. Maybe next time, you could put the quotes in bold just to make them stand out a bit better. Overall, solid job! 8/5/10