Hoopydog

The Riga Reign recently decided to go for a total rebuild and invest heavily in S75 Draft picks, knowing that if they could pick well in this draft, they could become a real force in the VHL. Unfortunately, that means, for a couple years, they might be lacking in that superstar quality for them to be that force in the league. It is an exciting time however to be around the club as most of those S75 picks have graduated to the VHL and we can get our first look at the new Riga roster.
 
It was always going to be a tough task for this young squad to perform well in this league, especially when they are playing in the ever so stacked European conference. So far, they haven’t won a game yet but have ran a couple teams close, they only lost by a goal to Moscow and pushed the Helsinki Titans all the way to OT. Despite running a few teams close, they have also suffered a couple heavy losses early on, they lost 8-3 to Davos and also 7-1 to the Seattle Bears. I think these kinds if results will slow down as this core of rookies learn and improve but, of course, that’s gonna take some time.
 
It’s definitely going to be tough year for Riga but if they can stay competitive and cause an upset or two, it could be a fun year all the same.

Review: Love these types of media spots as you can really get to know what a player is all about through them. It's laid out really well, the way it's spaced along with the headings make it an easy read. It always interesting to read about what people do before game time, see if anyone has weird rituals. Overall, great job and I look forward to reading your future stuff. 9/10

My gameday
 
Most of players have som rituals before games. And most of them never tell to you, how it closer looks like. I don´t have any concretely ritual like specific music or something like that, but I have very strictly scheduled game day. If something does not go according plan, it would be see on my play. So this is how it looks like:
 
Morning:
I can not sleep well before match, because every single game is a huge response for me as a goalie who makes a 60, maybe 70 percent of team success. This is why I always get up at 7 AM. At first, I go to the toilet to do morning hygiene. I am there plus/minus 15 minutes. After that follows breakfast time. I choose from one of three meals in my menu.  One and most favorites are scrambled eggs. The second option is porridge with honey and cinnamon. And the third one is yoghurt with honey or jam. When we have morning pre-game meeting I always go there. If not, I spent time on my swimming pool or with video games. Mainly sport games, but some medieval ones I play too.
 
 
Launch Time:
I eat launch at 12:00. I have usually pasta with tomato or cheese sauce. I have not any meat with it. Soup depends on the second course. If I have the pasta with tomato sauce, the soup is from potatoes or from carrot or bothJ. If I have pasta with cheese, then is usually tomato soup.
Afternoon:
After launch, I go to the walk around city. I am outside at least for 30 minutes, but max. for an hour. When I am back at home I read some books till the time when are three hours before match. Here I will stop for a few words, because the games aren’t always at the same time, so sometimes I haven’t time to read and in few cases, there is no time to go to the walk. When is this or similar situation I do this things in the morning. However, go back to the time, when I need to go to the stadium. I prepare myself and go to the locker room. There I check my sticks, jersey and welcome another guys. When all boys are there, we have together time before game.
 
After Game:
When the game ends, next program is according teammates, but if we have not any together activities, I go at home and there I have a warm bath. After it I have a dinner. Now it is something with lots of meat. My favorites are burgers or steaks. After dinner follows bedtime, or if the game was played sooner as usually I watch some movies. I don’t have favorite ones, but I like detective films or good western.
 
So this is my game day summary. Thanks for reading. This has been my very first article, but I think my writing will be better and better with every single text. I hope that this was interesting reading for you. Have a nice day and good luck!
 
 
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Review: This is good piece you've written here mate. It's nice that it's written from the players perspective as it helps everyone get to know what your player is all about. You kept it interesting and they way it's spaced out makes it easy to read and follow along. One thing to add next would maybe be to add some headings to break it up that little bit more but great job. 9/10
 
Also looking forward to playing with you in Riga bud. Hopefully this roster can play at the top of our game and show the league what we are all about

You know how in NHL 21 be a pro mode right before your first game in the NHL there is a cutscene of you taking in the moment? That's basically what happened today with me in the VHL. Props to my teammates for letting me have my moment there. I didn't expect to be here and just taking in the sights and sounds of my first game is unreal. Of course if you fast forward and see that I lost that and the next game... it kind of takes you out of that moment. Let's not get there... yet I guess.
 
When I first got to Riga, it was post bronze medal game in the WJC, which I failed to medal in. I didn't get a chance to really let it sink in where I was needed for training camp the next day. The culture shock I had when I got here was insane too. I still don't know anyone or where anything is. I'm usually a lone wolf and I think it might come back to haunt me in my time in Riga. During the downtime in Mexico City I scouted some apartments in Riga so I don't have to worry about it in the future. I'm so glad I did. Being able to get to my apartment on the first day and just relax was a blessing. For a moment I finally found some zen and put all my failures aside from the past few weeks.
Training camp was a nice change of pace for me. I knew what to expect because Riga invited me to their camp last season to get used to it and get me ready for the upcoming VHLM season. That little boost really gave me confidence and I think it showed in my performance with Mexico City. The coaching staff and teammates were all very welcoming to me. I even got a nice chat with the GM who drafted me. We were both excited that I finally made it to the VHL. It was kind of refreshing to see all the rookies so I wouldn't be the only target for rookie hazing. We had a few scrimmages and I did well. I was excited to see where I was placed in the lineup. I feel like I have a lot to prove.
 
Game day was a roller coaster of emotions for me. At first my parents called and told me they were super excited to watch me play. They said they couldn't get tickets but when Riga faces NY they would be there to watch in person. The bus ride over to the arena was also a big shock for me. The thoughts of under performing rang through my head. I didn't want those demons getting to me so I followed my ritual and put my music on.
I wanted to be the lone wolf again after the game. I knew I let the team and the fans down for not producing in my first game. The demons were back and I needed to escape. Luckily a few of my teammates calmed me down and reminded me once I get one, it gets much easier. That first point and first goal are key milestones that every player has when they make it to the VHL. Usually you want it in the first few games so that the pressure is off of you.
 
That was a quick look of my first few days in Riga. Hopefully in the future I can be a bit more positive and have a few goals and points by then. My main goal is the cup and my side quest is the rookie title. I believe I have the skill to get there. I know we have a great team this year!
 

It was back in S67 when I made the historic decision for myself. For the first time in my GM tenure I appointed an AGM - @Tate. He had a short, but good AGM tenure there before I hired @Nykonax somewhere S69 and S71 (I didn't even put an announcement for that wtf). I'm sure I could've run a team by myself decently, but hiring an AGM really helped our team to elevate even futher. This especially goes to Nykonax who was a big part of our successful playoff streak run and a S72 championship. Not only he was helping me with his players Kyl Oferson and Elias Dahlberg, he also had a big contribution draft and lineups wise. I think his lineup suggestions helped us a lot in that S72 championship run.
 
Anyways, Nyko has decided to step down from AGM'ing and we would like to thank him for all of these years in Riga uniform and helping us with other off the ice stuffs! We wish him good luck with Kyl Oferson.
 
So that means we will have a new AGM in the town! This members was interested in a management position for a moment and even sent his apps to couple of VHLM team GM's, but couldn't get that position. So I've decided to offer Riga AGM position to him. He is interested to do draft scoutings and interviews, which will be helpful for me as I tend to be lazy in that aspect tbh. Also, the LR activity as well. So we all welcome the new AGM in Riga:
 
 
@Ledge_and_Dairy!
 
Congratulations! I hope it will be a productive tenure and we will have a blast on working with each other!

Some of Latvians don't like people with the name that consists of Vlad and Imir. @Matt thunder is sharing this opinion with them.
 
Not the best sim, but we will move on. @Eynhallow with the 4 points and @Hoopydog with 3 points in 2 games, that's a nice start!

So hey! The long awaited follow up to this progress report is finally here!! It took me a while and a lot of procrastination but it's finally here!! A couple of things I wanna say before we get to it, this progress report will include not only regular season stats, but postseason stats as well. Another thing I would like to note is that there are some new additions to this team, and there are also people who have left this team. I won't be covering those who left the team, and for the later additions, I'll cover their overall stats in general instead of covering what they did in LVA. Mostly because I'm lazy. Finally all the (+10)s and all that is basically the amount of TPE earned since the last progress report. And because the later additions were never acquired since that last report, they won't have any of those. Anyways, let's get on with it!!
 
C - Its Gucci, TPE: 352 (+98) @frescoelmo
72GP, 19G, 53A, 72P, +6 
Playoffs: 12GP, 2G, 7A, 9P, -1
 
So to start things off, let us begin with Gucci himself. Gucci has been nothing but consistent in his role as Vegas’s number 1 center ever since the beginning of last season. As the number 1 center, he put up a very respectable 72 points in 72 games with an outstanding 53 assists to his name despite having a scoring build. He’s met every expectation I’ve had and I was never once disappointed with his production. This playmaking style along with 79 hits despite having applied no TPE to checking makes Gucci a formidable rookie moving into the VHL. Sadly, he’s stuck in LA so you already know that things aren’t looking too bright for this star.
 
D - Matt Thunder, TPE: 340 (+86) @Matt thunder
72GP, 16G, 51A, 67P, +10 
Playoffs: 12GP, 4G, 7A, 11P, +3
 
Next off is our resident Frenchie in Matt Thunder. Comparing his current stats to last season’s stats, Thunder has improved in almost every single major category. Improvements to goals, assists, points, shots blocked, hits, and the most important stat to have a bigger number on, penalty minutes. He may not have had exceptional over a point per game stats but to me, that’s to be expected. I knew this season Vegas was going to be a more defensively stacked team. Until @Spartan traded picks and players for 200+ TPE forwards. Even then 67 points as a defenseman is still very solid. Thunder’s success has to do with his consistent earning. A max earning clicker, who’s actually written a media spot as of late, has been earning a lot each week and is consistent in maintaining his activity. A great player for Riga if they ever have room.
 
D - Chase Crosby, TPE: 267 (+24) @Wreckening
72GP, 8G, 37A, 45P, -8 
Playoffs: 12GP, 2G, 2A, 4P, -2
 
While others rise and achieve much success, others may not be as fortunate. That’s the case with Chase Crosby. Despite a respectable 45 points in 72 games, and a good 95 shots blocked, Crosby has since fallen silent as he hasn’t updated this whole week as of writing. Crosby has always been consistent as a clicker, simply adding welfare and practice facility each week for a slow, but again consistent earning pace. Plus there is the occasional press conference as well. Hopefully he doesn’t go full inactive and becomes a good player for Riga as he moves onto the VHL.
 
D - Linus Zetterstrom, TPE: 367 (+128) @Ledge_and_Dairy
72GP, 8G, 44A, 52P, -1 
Playoffs: 12GP, 2G, 10A, 12P, +4
 
The Team World gold medalist Linus Zetterstrom has been nothing but exceptional for Vegas.  This promising first-gen has blossomed into one of this league's more respectable members. Well to me at least. 80 hits and 83 shots blocked added along with his 52 points, this pass first defenseman will be an excellent addition to Riga. I have listed playoff stats despite never talking about them until now mostly because I’d rather forget the playoffs. However, Zetterstrom has provided LVA a bright spot in that rather poor postseason as he put up an outstanding 12 points in  12 games along with a +4 rating. I’m honestly gonna miss him in Vegas. He’s already shown great promise in the management scene as well. Pulling off a silver medal in this season’s WJC with Europe as his first stint in the GM/AGM scene. Sadly though I had a prophecy to fulfill so kinda robbed him from gold. Not sorry about that.
 
RW - Artair McCloud, TPE: 351 (+121) @Hoopydog
72GP, 28G, 20A, 48P, -5 
Playoffs: 12GP, 4G, 6A, 10P, -2
 
Despite having smashed previous season records, McCloud has not had the offensive production I expected out of him. Though it isn’t without effort. A whopping 227 shots from McCloud. The reasoning as to why he wasn’t as offensively productive was simply because he ran out of luck. STHS had struck him down for no other reason than Simon’s a bitch. Apart from that, McCloud has maintained his max earning ever since he came into Vegas as a 4th rounder. Now that’s what you call a draft steal. He’s another person who I’ll genuinely miss having in LVA as I still remember scouting him in my first season as an AGM. Wish you the best of luck in the VHL and especially against Moscow as Spartan might be headhunting vegas alum to bully.
 
D - Joakim Lund, TPE: 218 (+12) @Bouncyelf
72GP, 6G, 10A, 16P, 0+/- 
Playoffs: 12GP, 1G, 2A, 3P, -6
 
Joakim Lund is an odd one to me. He has a total of 290 VHLM games played, and yes that’s VHLM not VHL. Heck he’s not even at the VHL cap yet. He’s still going to probably play one season here in Vegas until he finally moves up to the VHL. I guess Prague is really patient with him. I swear he’s broken some kind of franchise record for games played as I’ve never seen any other LVA player who’s stayed here for as long as he has. Anyways, after a week of no updating, he’s since gone back to his clicker ways. The simple easy task of welfare and practice facility. His stats don’t surprise me too much. He has a very defensive minded build and that shows with his 186 hits and 72 shots blocked. So I guess I’ll see you next season then?
 
RW - Kelly Power, TPE: 242 (+38) @Nordin
72GP, 21G, 17A, 38P, +15 
Playoffs: 12GP, 4G, 4A, 8P, -6
 
Although I expected much less offensive production from LVA to start the season with the more stacked defensive core, I was expecting top 6 talent to at least hit 40-50 points. That wasn’t the case for the Irishman. Though when one aspect of his game was struggling, he found another part of his game where he could shine. Power, as his surname suggests, is a dominant physical force. An insane 251 hits this season. Unfortunately though, Power has since gone inactive. Not really because he’s lost interest in the league though. I’ve heard that Power has had some personal life stuff and has since taken a break from both the VHL and EFL. I honestly wish you the best of luck in the future and hope you do return.
 
RW - Connor Sim, TPE: 285 (+93) @SimmerDown99
72GP, 30G, 25A, 55P, -1 
Playoffs: 12GP, 4G, 9A, 13P, +4
 
I’ve mentioned time and time before that Sim is a bonafide draft steal. From being a 100+ TPE forward on the bottom 6 to top line talent. His 93 TPE growth from the last report says a lot about this guy. Consistent high earning and has been nothing but excellent for Vegas. Sure his points in the regular season may not show it, but this guy’s playoff stats is another one of those bright spots from an otherwise poor playoff performance as a team. An outstanding 13 points in 12 playoff games, with 9 assists and a +4 rating. He’ll make a good player in... Riga again. Jesus Christ how many former LVA players does Riga even have?
 
LW - Angel Wachuire, TPE: 206 (+26) @inflastud
72GP, 29P, 33A, 62P, +16 
Playoffs: 12GP, 0G, 4A, 4P, -6
 
Despite being an offensive force during the regular season, Wachuire failed to produce in the playoffs. Only 4 assists in 12 games with a -6 rating. Coupled with highly inconsistent TPE earning, I find Angel Wachuire’s future uncertain. He has a good build, yet he’s going to become inactive if he doesn’t update soon. His last update being week ending Dec 20th. Though if he does update soon, he’ll be once again staying down another season here with Vegas. I tend to forget that he’s heading into his 4th season as an Ace which is damn surprising. Maybe he and Lund can compete for the franchise record for most games played.
 
D - Breeze Ladrian, TPE: 253 (+84) @Kelsier
72GP, 3G, 40A, 43P, +16 
Playoffs: 12GP, 0G, 1A, 1P, -3
 
Breeze Ladrian has quietly earned his way to surpass the VHLM cap of 250 TPE. I honestly thought he was going to stay a bit longer, but nonetheless I’m happy with his growth. A rather solid 43 points and a great +16 rating despite a good chunk of the team being minus players shows a good balance of offense and defense. A pretty good two-way style of play. Though with only 1 assist in the postseason, it’s rather unfortunate that he wasn’t able to translate his offensive stats into the playoffs. Otherwise I really don’t have anything else to say other than I wish you the best of luck in Moscow!
 
G - Thadius Sales, TPE: 385 @thadthrasher
68GP, 38W, 25L, 3OTL, .89SV%, 2.85 GAA
Playoffs: 12GP, 5W, 7L, 0OTL, .853SV%, 3.98GAA
 
The first new player from the last progress report, Thad was acquired in a trade that sent former LVA starter, Matthew A Sovick Jr @matt sovick to Miami. How did Thad do as the new starter? Well it wasn’t much of a change apparently. Comparing the stats Sovick had in LVA to Sales, Thad only has slightly better numbers than Sovick. Postseason performance? Well let's not talk about that. That can go die in a hole. Thad has had amazing growth since coming to the VHL. Becoming San Diego’s new GM in a matter of months. Heck I was in the VHL before Thad was and he’s already a GM. Skipping through the process of having no rights. This just goes to show what kind of a person Thad is. His stint here in Vegas is short, but I’ll miss him.
 
C - Evgeni Shevkov, TPE: 212 (+62) @Syzygy
72GP, 6G, 13A, 19P, +9 
Playoffs: 12GP, 0G, 0A, 0P, -2
 
Another player who’s quietly earned his way to the 200+ TPE mark, Shevkov has broken his point totals from last season yes, but just barely. With more games as well. It’s nothing with his build, but he was playing 4th line minutes by the end of the season as Hex Rose casually overtook his spot in the no. 3 center position with his obscene amount of first-gen enthusiasm. Nevertheless, Shevkov is expected to take over as the new no. 1 center next season, and along with his consistent clicker earning, he is expected to provide much needed offense on what looks like a potential rebuilding season. Keep up the good work!
 
RW - Andy Nexber, TPE: 233 (+95) @Domino Draws
72GP, 15G, 13A, 28P, +11 
Playoffs: 12GP, 1G, 0A, 1P, -2
 
What’s this? A 200+ TPE forward that only has 28 points? What’s up with that? Well uh… Vegas went all in this season by the trade deadline. Acquiring wingers like Sheldon Juniper and Dan Dan. Forcing Andy Nexber to take a little bit of a backseat. His build is pretty good despite having a few TPE placed on rather useless stats like penalty shot, however Nexber is finally going to have the spotlight here in Vegas if he decides to stay. As he’s projected to become the new number 1 winger for this team. Sure it doesn’t look like Vegas might be as competitive as it has been the last few seasons, but hopefully this is where Nexber finally breaks out.
 
G - Aksu Maronen, TPE: 212 (+89) @aksuko
14GP, 5W, 1L, 0OTL, .871SV%, 2.82GAA
Playoffs: 4GP, 0W, 0L, 0OTL, .929SV%, 3.04GAA
 
Okay I think I might’ve lost track on my own team’s earning with my busy ass life, but Maronen is ANOTHER one of those players who quietly earned his way to the 200+ TPE range. And as a backup as well. His most notable performance this season has been in the playoffs as he’s come in relief of Thadius Sales in 4 playoff games. Putting up an impressive .929SV%. However he also had a 3.04GAA during those games as well. Nevertheless, Maronen is expected to become next season’s starting goalie for Vegas as he is out to prove the teams that missed him out in the VHL draft wrong. Keep up the good work!
 
D - Vincent Correll, TPE: 125 (+23) @correllvincent
72GP, 0G, 15A, 15P, +10 
Playoffs: 12GP, 0G, 1A, 1P, -6
 
The thing about us humans is that we make mistakes. We often find ourselves making a few wrong choices every now and then. It appears like I may have made a mistake here with Correll. When I was scouting him, I liked his response and I had a genuine feeling that he may be the next Linus Zetterstrom in a way. Come the first progress report in which this is a followup to, I had doubts about his activity. Now he’s nearly considered inactive. He really should’ve been closer to the 180 TPE mark this season, however with a growth of 23 TPE since the last report, it seems he may not find himself in a team soon if he doesn’t update. He can still prove me wrong though. Actually, it’d be better if he did prove me wrong. Hopefully that can be the case.
 
C - Hex Rose, TPE: 257 (+137) @Hex Universe
72GP, 15G, 24A, 39P, +15 
Playoffs: 12GP, 2G, 3A, 5P, -7
 
I honestly wonder if Hex has a twitch channel. Because he’s damn good at speedrunning through the VHLM as a first-gen. He’s had the biggest amount of TPE growth out of the ENTIRE fucking team as a first-gen who just joined in November. I’m honestly impressed. The man’s had a great amount of enthusiasm to max earn since the very start. And now he’s a member of the death trap known as the VSN and is now on his way to become a force to be reckoned with in Seattle. His stint was also short in Vegas, but I’ll always enjoy your enthusiasm for the VHL. Now just don’t take my job pls.
 
RW - Dan Dan, TPE: 368 @MMFLEX
73GP, 40G, 43A, 83P, +5 
Playoffs: 12GP, 3G, 5A, 8P, -2
 
Now to finish off the progress report, we’ve got our new additions to the team that were added sometime after the initial progress report. We’ve already covered Thadius Sales so let’s move onto Dan Dan. He, along with Jordan Tate, was acquired in a blockbuster deal with Mississauga. Which ended up having him play 73 regular season games apparently. Dan Dan is an offensive powerhouse. Greatly helping Vegas during the rest of the regular season. An exceptional 83 points in 73 games, with 40 goals to boast. Playoffs wise he did really well with 8 points. The -2 is a bit of a concern though. His stint in Vegas was short, but he sure as hell made an impact
 
C - Jordan Tate, TPE: 278 @Aye my name jeff
73GP, 28G, 45A, 73P, -5 
Playoffs: 12GP, 6G, 8A, 14P, +4
 
Dan Dan’s teammate from Mississauga, Tate is another offensive powerhouse that came into Vegas and provided much needed offense to the team. With 73 points, 45 assists in 73 games, Tate can score. Though what made him truly shine as an Ace is during the postseason. Putting up an amazing 14 points in 12 games. Heck he led the Aces in playoff points. A prospect of Chicago, his earning hasn’t been as consistent as it was previously, though I still expect him to become a solid addition to Chicago in the future.
 
LW - Sheldon Juniper, TPE: 346 @fyrefly
72GP, 33G, 34A, 67P -1 
Playoffs: 12GP, 5G, 5A, 10P, +4
 
The last player to be acquired via trade, Sheldon Juniper is an acquisition that honestly might get glossed over simply because of Dan Dan and Jordan Tate. His 33 goals, 34 assists in 72 games is still very solid numbers. He’s another one of those players who was a key contributor in the postseason. Amassing 10 points in 12 games along with a +4 rating. I know we haven’t talked much mostly because you don’t have discord, or at least I don’t think you do, but I wish you the best of luck in the VHL!
 
LW - Shaggy Tipton, TPE: 125 @Jakefufu
37GP, 1G, 1A, 2P, 0+/- 
Playoffs, 12GP, 0G, 0A, 0P, -2
 
And last but not least, we got our other waiver acquisition in Shaggy Tipton. Having only played 37 games and put up 2 points, Tipton joined late this season, though with his solid consistent earning (despite missing a week), he should still be a good acquisition to any team that drafts him in both the VHL and VHLM. I expect him to properly break out next season. So keep up the good work and hopefully we can draft you back this upcoming draft!
 
Well that's that. I'm sorry this took so long, my life has been busy as of late, but hey I still got the report in the end so it's all good right? I'm probably going to have to make a new one in a couple of weeks so I'm probably fucked. Nevertheless I hope you guys do enjoy the article and hopefully I didn't miss anyone/anything out.
 
(3035 words... Welp I'm fucked)

Review: Well done in taking on such a huge task in producing this media spot. Having the graphs in there to show the reader how the different stats changed over the years made it easier to understand the point you were trying to make. You made some good points, especially about how the VHL has a lot more top quality players now compared to when it first started. This piece was split up well and it was clear that you put a lot of effort into writing it. Top job. 10/10

Scotty Campbell, very clearly, is the VHL’s greatest player of all time. No one even comes close. He is the only player to have a point total in the quadruple digits, as well as the only player to average over one goal per game through their entire career. He is the undisputed GOAT of the VHL. However, it’s impossible to deny he had some help. I have been tirelessly trying to find ways I can to prove that Campbell isn’t perhaps as great as everything thinks. I had a media spot a couple weeks ago accusing Campbell of being a playoff choker; this held true until I realized that his playoff career totals in his hall of fame article were completely incorrect. So, I naturally had to take things one step further.
 
We all know that the league has the most activity right now than ever before. There are more players in the league, double the amount of teams we once had, and we are not even ten seasons removed from the two largest draft classes in league history (S66+S67). In the modern VHL, there are more good players, less minutes to be played, and less opportunities to score, problems that Campbell did not ever have to face. The biggest difficulty that players face now is that when they enter the league, most players have more TPE than them at the start. Since Campbell started in S1, he didn’t have this problem. He was always the best player, throughout his whole career. It’s clearly harder as a player to produce points in the modern VHL than it was in the beginning, but how can we prove this? Unfortunately, the only true way to find out how scoring has changed throughout VHL history is to collect every single player's all time stats, and sort them accordingly. This is going to be fun, right?
 
I split up VHL history into nine generations. Each generation was 8 seasons, the maximum length of a player's career. Every player with 200+ games played is a part of this data. I collected the points, goals, assists, points per game, and games played for forwards and defense, as well as save percentage and goals against average for goaltenders.
 
Data
 
Firstly, we are going to look at forward stat changes throughout the years. In order to find this, I took the average games played, goals, assists, points, and points per game and put them on a graph over time, to show how scoring has increased or decreased throughout VHL history. Here is the graph:

Blue: Games played \ Yellow: Points \ Red: Assists \ Orange: Goals \ Green: PPG (multiplied by 100, so it would show up on the graph)
 
Just from a first look at this graph, we can tell that everything decreases over time. The only thing that doesn’t noticeably decrease is games played, which was actually steadily increasing until it hit a low in the ninth generation. It’s very clear to see the trend; as more time went on, scoring became less common. We see this especially towards the end of the graph, which is where the ninth and final generation take over. Goals, assists, points per game, and especially points all clearly decrease, especially points. It takes a nosedive. This is the trend that I was hoping to find. Despite the total number of games played staying pretty steady throughout all of VHL history, the point totals have all taken a very noticeable dip, in two distinct four season groups.
 
The first four generations all saw average point totals over the point per game mark, a testament to how offenses would dominate in the early years. However, that then dropped to around 0.92 points per game for four seasons, and would hover around that mark until the final generation where it dropped all the way to 0.7.
 
Despite games played staying pretty consistent throughout each generation, scoring takes a very noticeable decline. Let's look at stat changes for defensemen.

Blue: Games played \ Yellow: Points \ Red: Assists \ Orange: Goals \ Green: PPG (multiplied by 100, so it would show up on the graph)
 
For defensemen, the trends are a little different, but still tell the same story. Defensemen’s careers actually got longer as time went on, yet all their other stats continued to decrease. If you look at the start and end points of the graph, it looks pretty even. However, that doesn’t tell the full story. Point totals peaked at around the fourth generation, and then continued to decline even though games played continued to increase. In the ninth generation, games played increased by one of the most noticeable margins, yet all offensive stats went down at the same time.
 
The two distinct four generation groups strike again, similar to how it worked for the forwards. The first four generations saw point per game totals around .85, peaking at .91 in the third generation (S16-S23). From the fifth to the eight generation, points per game all hovered around 0.75, and then in the final generation it hit its lowest point, at 0.68 points per game.
 
The biggest difficulty with defenseman was sorting out which defenseman were forwards for a portion of their career. All of the point totals would go up artificially, so I had to fix some things. If a player played half his career as a forward and then the other half as a defenseman, I collected their season by season stats and put their offense stats with forwards and defense stats with the defenseman. The only players this affected was Matt Bailey and Keaton Louth, who both played exactly half of their careers as a forward and the other half as a defenseman.
 
For defensemen, you can look at this graph in two different ways. If you take the graph as a whole, you can clearly see that games played continue to increase, while the rest of the stats stay the same or slightly decrease. You also could look at the graph’s from the peak in points. The point totals go way down after the peak, even though games played increase. Now it’s time for goalies.


 
I decided to add trend lines for the goalie graphs, to make it slightly easier to look at. The data is a little choppy, going up and down, so the trendline helps make it easier to see how the stats change over time. Goals against averages decreased over time, while save percentage increased over time. GAA was at 3.11 in the beginning of the VHL, which reached a low of 2.03 in the seventh generation (S49-S56). It has gone up since then, but the average is still very clearly decreasing.
 
The graphs show that the GAA for goalies have decreased over time, but we can really put these numbers into context. Throughout VHL history, 104 goalies have played 150+ games, the minimum number of games to qualify for this list. When you rank them in terms of GAA, the best first generation (S1-S8) goaltender to appear on the list is Matt Pogge. He ranks 37th, with a GAA of 2.48. He is the only first generation goalie in the top half of the list. Perhaps even more amazingly, Pogge (hall of famer) and Adrian McCreath (hall of famer) are the only goaltenders from the first generation that aren’t in the bottom 25. Out of 14 first generation goaltenders, 12 of them are in the bottom 25. Compare this to the most recent generation (S65-S75), where only one goalie is ranked in the bottom 25.  That goalie is Owen May, and it's almost not even fair to have him ranked in the bottom 25. In his five seasons as a starter, he spent four of them on expansion teams (Moscow and Prague), and then another season with the rebuilding Toronto Legion. Meanwhile, we have hall of fame goaltenders from the first generation ranked below May.
 
Save percentage is another trend that is clearly on the rise. In the first generation, the average save percentage wasn’t even above 0.91. Despite the decline in recent years, it still is clearly increasing, as shown by the trendline. When you rank all 104 goaltenders by save percentage, eight first generation goalies are in the bottom 25. However, we also see three goalies in the top 20. What does this mean? Does it mean that goalies in the first generation weren’t as bad as we think? Not necessarily.
 
The way I interpret it is that there were way more shots on net in the early days of the VHL. If the save percentages of the top goalies are holding up 75 seasons later, but their GAA’s are in the tank, it must mean that goalies were facing tons of shots per game. When we look through the all time stats, my claim holds up. Three first generation goaltenders appear in the top 10 for shots against. Dominick Stryker, Greg Goldberg and Anton Nygard are the three, and Nygard and Stryker are the two highest ranked first gen goalies by save percentage. Stryker is first in shots against, Nygard is sixth, and Goldberg is eighth. In fact, Stryker is over 2,000 shots ahead of second place despite playing 60 less games. Despite being ranked in the top 10 for shots against, Goldberg, Stryker, and Nygard own three of the four fewest games played totals in the entire top 25. Nygard only played 377 games and still sits 70 shots ahead of Norris Stopko, who played over 150 extra games than Nygard. Who is the goalie that also has one of the four fewest games played totals? Jonas Markstrom, a second generation goaltender. In the early days of the VHL, shooting was much higher than it is now, and that is reflected through goaltending stats.
 
Final analysis
 
So, what does all of this mean? Did I just spend hours combing through the all time VHL played and goaltending stats for nothing? That was a fear I had before I took on this project. What if I spent all this time researching, only to find that there is no trend at all? What if I found the opposite; that scoring is actually more common now? After a few hours worth of research, I luckily discovered that was not the case. Scoring has clearly gone down since the early VHL days, and it’s by a good margin. In the first four generations of VHL history (S1-S32), the average player scored at a rate above a point per game. Now, the average player doesn’t even score at a rate of 0.7 points per game. Shooting numbers have gone way down, while GAA’s have gone down and save percentage has gone up. But if you recall, the reason for doing this wasn’t to look at scoring trends throughout history. It all was about watering down Scotty Campbell’s success. How did he do it? He was so good, he was impossibly good. He played in the era with plumbers, players today are much stronger. It’s impossible to tell how a player from a different era would do in the modern game. This is true in real life sports, with real life players. It’s even more impossible to determine how older players would do in the modern era when they don’t even actually exist. However, I tried my best to do just that.
 
Julian Borwinn, the highest scoring player of the ninth generation. In 576 games, he had 325 goals, 380 assists, and 705 points. How can we compare him to Scotty Campbell? What I did might not be the best, most scientific way to go about things. In fact, it probably isn’t. But at the end of the day, I thought it was acceptable, so I went through with it. 
 
I compared Scotty Campbell’s stats to that of an average first generation player, and then compared Borwinn’s numbers to the average ninth generation player. Campbell scored goals 3.2 times as often as the average player, and also dished out 2.5 times as many apples. Borwinn, on the other hand, scored 2.8 times as often as a ninth generation player, and had 2.3 times as many assists. I took those numbers, where we compared Borwinn and Campbell to average players from their eras, and then flipped it all around. I took Borwinns rates of scoring, 2.8 and 2.3, and applied it to the average first generation player, and then I took Campbells rates, 3.2 and 2.5, and applied it to the average ninth generation player. What are Campbell and Borwinn’s new stat lines? Is Campbell still the VHL goat? 
 
Campbell, when adjusted for ninth generation scoring rates, had a career where he scored 372 goals, had 410 assists, and 782 points. Hall of fame worthy career? Absolutely. Greatest of all time? No way. But what about Borwinn? The reason Campbell is the GOAT is because of his sheer dominance, and if Borwinn can’t put up seriously elite numbers, it will simply prove Campbell is worthy of his GOAT status. So, what did Borwinn do? When compared to first generation scoring rates, Borwinn put up 524 goals, 593 assists, for a whopping 1117 points. It isn’t the same as what Campbell put up, but it still is an incredible total and would make Borwinn only the second player to ever reach 1000 points. This study doesn’t even take into account the change in shooting numbers. Campbell took over 1500 more shots than Borwinn in the same amount of games. If Borwinn shot the puck as much as Campbell, perhaps his adjusted numbers would be even better than Campbells. 
 
So, after a ton of research and lots of writing, what conclusions can we draw from this? Firstly, Campbell is still the GOAT. Even though he played in an era where it was much easier to score, he still dominated at an unprecedented level. However, it also shows us why many of his records are considered unbreakable. No one will ever reach his point total, or even come close, just because it’s much harder to score in the modern VHL. Scotty Campbell will always be the GOAT of the VHL, but it’s impossible to deny he had a much easier time scoring than any current players would.
 
2378 words

1. I think they definitely deserve it. They had a strong team wit some top quality players and they showed just how good they are during the regular and post season. Well deserved cup win.
2. He'll make a great GM and I'm happy that he was chosen for the job.
3. I think you should maybe trade the pick and try get some more prospects who will be around in the VHLM for a couple seasons.
4. I made team Europe this year so team Europe for the win.
5. Yeah I'm definitely looking forward to playing in the VHL. Not sure what my ice time is gonna look like but the Riga roster is an exciting one to be on.
6. Yeah I'm good mate, just about to start back University next week so just getting myself prepped for that. 

It's that time again, people of the VHL, the World Junior Championship is here again! The top, young players of the VHL are gathered once again to represent their nations on the ice and battle for the gold! Last season, Team Europe captured gold against the underdog in Team World. Teams like Asia and Canada will be looking to return to medals, while USA and World will be trying to upgrade their medals and take Europe's crown as the champions. With the tournament beginning on Monday, let's take a look at each team and their players and see what they have to offer.


TEAM ASIA
Manager: @Blazzer
Average TPE: 269
Highest TPE Player: Taro Tsujimoto, 489
Odds: 1-16

Blazzers' Team Asia will be looking to bounce back after a 5th place finish in the S74 World Juniors. Leading the players on the ice will be HC Davos Dynamo rookie and returning Team Asia player Taro Tsujimoto. The Japanese young gun is hoping to get to the medal games in his second go-around against the rest of the world as one of the top players in the tournament. A player to keep an eye out on defense for Asia is Matt Thunder, the Riga Reign prospect will be the centerpiece of the Asian defense core. However, the most formidable part of Team Asia is going to be their goaltending. Both Rara Rasputin and Artem Tretiak are at the 350 TPE cap for the WJC, making the Asian goaltending core one of the strongest in the tournament. Will be very curious if they can backstop Team Asia to their first medal since earning silver in S71. Although they will have some seriously stiff competition from the other teams...

TEAM CANADA
Manager: @fromtheinside
Average TPE: 314
Highest TPE Player: Scotty Kaberle, 372
Odds:1-4

Another team looking to rebound after a rough couple of seasons, Team Canada this season will be led be FTI, and he has assembled the best from the frozen north to try to capture their first medal since claiming bronze in S72. Canada has an amazing squad built this season, with 11 of the 15 players having 300 TPE or more. The top player is defenseman and Toronto Legion prospect Scotty Kaberle, who is actually the only player on Team Canada to hit the 350 cap or higher. Canada's strength will be an iron wall, as each member of their defense and both goaltenders are at 300+ TPE. Don't underestimate their forward core though, as players like Robert Bouchard and Sheldon Juniper make the Canadian offense intimidating for any back-end to go up against. I'd say this is the best Canadian team we have seen in quite some time, whether that will lead to a medal though will be very fun to watch.

TEAM EUROPE
Manager: @Ledge_and_Dairy
Average TPE: 316
Highest TPE Player: L, 452
Odds: 1-3

Now, lets take a look at the defending World Junior Champions, who this season are led by Ledge and Dairy. Europe is looking to be just as formidable as ever, with the highest average TPE total of all teams in the tournament. Leading the way for the Euro forwards is the VHLM leading goalscorer Dolant Fertitta, along with other Top 10 scorers in Cabe McJake and Nero Endrizzi. On defense, all four players are at 300+ and two of them at the cap, including the highest TPE player on Europe L. In net, you then have Sirkants Klamasteris of the Riga Reign back again after winning gold with Europe last season. With 12 of their 15 players at 300+ TPE and a third of the team having hit the 350 TPE cap, Team Europe is looking to be likely favorites in repeating as gold medalists this season.

TEAM USA
Manager: @thadthrasher
Average TPE: 310
Highest TPE Player: Muffbeav, 415
Odds: 1-8

Good ol' Team USA returns after claiming the bronze medal last season over rival nation Canada. Being led by Thad, the red,white, and blue brigade will be looking to win the gold with a solid group of some of the best young players the land of freedom can provide. With a forward group led by Riga Reign prospect Addison McLaren and top VHL prospect Red Lite, the top 6 of the US is absolutely stacked. On defense, their iron core is led by Warsaw Predator rookie and the meme himself Muffbeav and Toronto Legion prospect Jolly Greene Giant, making this core one of the best. For goaltending, the team boasts Markus Emerson Jr. and Thadius Sales, giving them one of the better goaltending tandems as well. Although USA is a strong group, the road ahead of them will be tough, but they could pull off an upset like the IRL Team USA.

TEAM WORLD
Manager: @JigglyGumballs
Average TPE: 267
Highest TPE Player: Pistil Stamen, 445
Odds: 1-10

Last, but most certainly not least, we have Team World with returning Manger JigglyGumballs. As the reigning silver medalists, World will be looking to upgrade from silver to gold. Let's take a look at who they were able to pick up this season.  Their forward core starts off with the most recent #1 VHL Draft pick, Pistil Stamen of Brazil, who returns to try to take gold after falling just short last season. On defense they are sporting Linus Zetterstrom and Chicken Wing, giving them a solid top pair. For goaltenders, they have Kunibuni UnGuri as their starter this season and have Trent Gibson backing him up. While I do not know if this World team can repeat the same magic of last season, I don't think that will stop them from trying to surprise everyone anyways.

This seasons World Junior Championship is shaping up to be a real exciting tournament, and I hope you are all ready for the exciting action of the best young talent in the league. To all teams and players: Good Luck and Have Fun! Keep an eye out for more amazing World Junior Championship and more offseason coverage from VSN very soon!

The AGM position in San Diego is open for applications! 

I'm looking for someone who is active both on forum and discord, is willing to do weekly press conferences, and will encourage new people and help them learn about the league.

Send me a message on here or in discord (xTHADTHRASHERx#6217) that explains why you'd be a good AGM and I'll respond with some questions.

I'll try to make a decision on or around Monday, but since I'm taking an intensive class and learning Hebrew I may be a little slower lol!
 

As the buzzer at the end of game 5 between the Mexico City Kings and the Las Vegas Aces, it signalled the end of Artair McCloud season and the end of junior career. The Scotsman is part of a large number of Vegas Prospects moving on to the VHL to join pro team, the Riga Reign. So, we will do what we done last season and take a look at how McCloud got on this season. Did he improve on his poor performance last season or did he start to show his true potential?
 
McCloud definitely showed a lot of improvement during S75. He put up 28G and 20A for a total of 48P in 72GP, which is a big improvement on his performance last season. He did receive a big increase in ice-time this season as for a large part of the season, he was on the 1st line alongside teammate Its Gucci. However, GM Spartan was tweaking his lines all season which saw McCloud spend a good chunk of time on the 2nd line. His 5 v 5 time was not helped by the big acquisitions made by the GM which saw the likes of Sheldon Juniper, Dan Dan and Jordan Tate join the Aces towards the end of the season (Although with Tate being a center, he didn’t impact his ice time at all). Never the less, He was a staple on the Vegas powerplay all season long, contributing 13G and 12A for a total of 25P on the powerplay. Now you look at those stats at face value and McCloud looks kinda like a bust but, up until the trades to acquire the players mentioned above, McCloud stats were 1st line worthy. His points per game was up at 0.8 and continuing to rise after being promoted back to the first line. However, after the trade McCloud would not return to the first line and he would not be able to re-create the synergy he had with his new line mates, as he struggled to put points on the board towards the back end of the season.
 
Despite McCloud stumble in production, the Aces banded together and secured a spot in this season playoffs which started with the Saskatoon wild. The Aces got off to a hot start and raced to a 3-1 series lead and were poised to blow the Wild away in game 5 but the Wild battled back to take games 5 and 6 to force a tie deciding game 7. The game was tightly fought and it took overtime to be decided but it would be the Aces who would prevail and they would advance to the 2nd round to face the Mexico City Kings. However, they would not fare so well against Mexico as the kings stormed past the Aces without much resistance (with the exception of game 3, in which McCloud himself had a great game). There is no shame in the Aces losing to the Kings as they are a red-hot team and the 1st seeds and favourites to lift the founder’s cup. So that’s the brief summation of the Aces S75 playoff run, so how did Artair McCloud himself get on? He put up a respectable 4G and 6A for a total of 10P in 12GP during this playoff run. Once again, he was a staple on the powerplay as he put up more points than anyone else on the Vegas roster with 7PPP. McCloud was playing on reduced playing time for the duration of the playoffs, logging just under 15 minutes which only makes his production more impressive.
 
So that concludes our round of Artair McCloud season, before we hear from him, since McCloud will be moving onto the VHL next season, let’s take a look at what his team and ice time situations could look like next season as he joins the Riga Reign. Artair will be joining a very prospect heaving Riga roster next season. The Reign had a lot picks during the S75 VHL draft, in which they pick McCloud as well as a lot of other wingers from that draft class. Since most of these prospects will be graduating to the VHL at the same time it is going to be a real battle for roster spots especially for McCloud as he ranks 8th for most TPE on the Riga roster and with some more established players on the team, some with less TPE than McCloud, it could be an interesting and eventful off season for the Scotsman.
 
So that about does it for the recap of McClouds season and future, now its time to hear from the man himself:
 
Reporter – “Artair thank you for taking the time out to chat with us, it’s great to hear from you again. It’s been a few days since your season ended. How are you doing?”
 
McCloud – “Yeah it’s great to chat to you as well. I’ve been alright, just starting to plan out my off-season training and also trying to enjoy the time off before the start of the new season.”
 
Reporter – “Unfortunately the Aces were eliminated from the playoffs, in the second round, by the Mexico City Kings. How are you feeling about being out of the playoffs, considering you made the finals last year, and your performance in that series against the kings?”
 
McCloud – “It’s obviously not a great feeling to be eliminated from the playoffs, especially when we, the team, have high standards in how we should be playing. We were up against an amazing team in the Kings and we knew from the start that it would be a real challenge to beat them. We struggled to really get going in the series and unfortunately, we were beaten by the better team. I didn’t feel like I had a great series myself, I struggled to get going. I had one game, think it was game 3 where I played to the level, I want to be playing at but for the majority of the series Mexico did a good job shutting me down.”
 
Reporter – “You are heading up to the VHL next season to join the Riga Reign, how are you feeling about playing for Riga in the VHL next season?”
 
McCloud – “I’m really excited to head up to the VHL next season. This Riga team is a roster that could go on to be a real force in the VHL and it’s something I definitely want to be a part of. There are also a lot of the Vegas guys joining the team next season as well so that always a plus, when you’ve got people that you know and have good chemistry with on the team with you.”
 
Reporter – “Just one last question for you Artair, I know you’re a busy guy, what parts of your game are you looking to improve on during the off season?”
 
McCloud – “I’m planning on just improving the basic aspects of my game. The likes of my skating, puck handling, shooting and defence. I feel like if I can make these improvements to my game then I should be able to make a real impact in the VHL next season”
 
Reporter – “That’s the end of our interview, thank you for talking to us and I wish you all the best during for next season”
 
McCloud – “Thanks guys, happy to talk anytime”
 
That concludes our season review for Artair McCloud. It’ll be interesting to see how McCloud will perform in the VHL and how he will fit in the Riga roster. Thanks for tuning in and we’ll see you next time.
 
1267 words, Claiming for weeks 4th- 10th Jan and 11th – 17th Jan

Great media spot. I can never read through a whole mock draft so the fact that you've picked out some players that shouldn't be slept on. You added the stats for the players and a little description about their play style as well as the star rating which acts as prospect quality rating is nice as well. I would add maybe some colour or bolden the player name and stats just to break up the text and make it easier to read. Overall, great job.
 
8/10

As the buzzer at the end of game 5 between the Mexico City Kings and the Las Vegas Aces, it signalled the end of Artair McCloud season and the end of junior career. The Scotsman is part of a large number of Vegas Prospects moving on to the VHL to join pro team, the Riga Reign. So, we will do what we done last season and take a look at how McCloud got on this season. Did he improve on his poor performance last season or did he start to show his true potential?
 
McCloud definitely showed a lot of improvement during S75. He put up 28G and 20A for a total of 48P in 72GP, which is a big improvement on his performance last season. He did receive a big increase in ice-time this season as for a large part of the season, he was on the 1st line alongside teammate Its Gucci. However, GM Spartan was tweaking his lines all season which saw McCloud spend a good chunk of time on the 2nd line. His 5 v 5 time was not helped by the big acquisitions made by the GM which saw the likes of Sheldon Juniper, Dan Dan and Jordan Tate join the Aces towards the end of the season (Although with Tate being a center, he didn’t impact his ice time at all). Never the less, He was a staple on the Vegas powerplay all season long, contributing 13G and 12A for a total of 25P on the powerplay. Now you look at those stats at face value and McCloud looks kinda like a bust but, up until the trades to acquire the players mentioned above, McCloud stats were 1st line worthy. His points per game was up at 0.8 and continuing to rise after being promoted back to the first line. However, after the trade McCloud would not return to the first line and he would not be able to re-create the synergy he had with his new line mates, as he struggled to put points on the board towards the back end of the season.
 
Despite McCloud stumble in production, the Aces banded together and secured a spot in this season playoffs which started with the Saskatoon wild. The Aces got off to a hot start and raced to a 3-1 series lead and were poised to blow the Wild away in game 5 but the Wild battled back to take games 5 and 6 to force a tie deciding game 7. The game was tightly fought and it took overtime to be decided but it would be the Aces who would prevail and they would advance to the 2nd round to face the Mexico City Kings. However, they would not fare so well against Mexico as the kings stormed past the Aces without much resistance (with the exception of game 3, in which McCloud himself had a great game). There is no shame in the Aces losing to the Kings as they are a red-hot team and the 1st seeds and favourites to lift the founder’s cup. So that’s the brief summation of the Aces S75 playoff run, so how did Artair McCloud himself get on? He put up a respectable 4G and 6A for a total of 10P in 12GP during this playoff run. Once again, he was a staple on the powerplay as he put up more points than anyone else on the Vegas roster with 7PPP. McCloud was playing on reduced playing time for the duration of the playoffs, logging just under 15 minutes which only makes his production more impressive.
 
So that concludes our round of Artair McCloud season, before we hear from him, since McCloud will be moving onto the VHL next season, let’s take a look at what his team and ice time situations could look like next season as he joins the Riga Reign. Artair will be joining a very prospect heaving Riga roster next season. The Reign had a lot picks during the S75 VHL draft, in which they pick McCloud as well as a lot of other wingers from that draft class. Since most of these prospects will be graduating to the VHL at the same time it is going to be a real battle for roster spots especially for McCloud as he ranks 8th for most TPE on the Riga roster and with some more established players on the team, some with less TPE than McCloud, it could be an interesting and eventful off season for the Scotsman.
 
So that about does it for the recap of McClouds season and future, now its time to hear from the man himself:
 
Reporter – “Artair thank you for taking the time out to chat with us, it’s great to hear from you again. It’s been a few days since your season ended. How are you doing?”
 
McCloud – “Yeah it’s great to chat to you as well. I’ve been alright, just starting to plan out my off-season training and also trying to enjoy the time off before the start of the new season.”
 
Reporter – “Unfortunately the Aces were eliminated from the playoffs, in the second round, by the Mexico City Kings. How are you feeling about being out of the playoffs, considering you made the finals last year, and your performance in that series against the kings?”
 
McCloud – “It’s obviously not a great feeling to be eliminated from the playoffs, especially when we, the team, have high standards in how we should be playing. We were up against an amazing team in the Kings and we knew from the start that it would be a real challenge to beat them. We struggled to really get going in the series and unfortunately, we were beaten by the better team. I didn’t feel like I had a great series myself, I struggled to get going. I had one game, think it was game 3 where I played to the level, I want to be playing at but for the majority of the series Mexico did a good job shutting me down.”
 
Reporter – “You are heading up to the VHL next season to join the Riga Reign, how are you feeling about playing for Riga in the VHL next season?”
 
McCloud – “I’m really excited to head up to the VHL next season. This Riga team is a roster that could go on to be a real force in the VHL and it’s something I definitely want to be a part of. There are also a lot of the Vegas guys joining the team next season as well so that always a plus, when you’ve got people that you know and have good chemistry with on the team with you.”
 
Reporter – “Just one last question for you Artair, I know you’re a busy guy, what parts of your game are you looking to improve on during the off season?”
 
McCloud – “I’m planning on just improving the basic aspects of my game. The likes of my skating, puck handling, shooting and defence. I feel like if I can make these improvements to my game then I should be able to make a real impact in the VHL next season”
 
Reporter – “That’s the end of our interview, thank you for talking to us and I wish you all the best during for next season”
 
McCloud – “Thanks guys, happy to talk anytime”
 
That concludes our season review for Artair McCloud. It’ll be interesting to see how McCloud will perform in the VHL and how he will fit in the Riga roster. Thanks for tuning in and we’ll see you next time.
 
1267 words, Claiming for weeks 4th- 10th Jan and 11th – 17th Jan

It's that time again! Time for another mock draft. This one not quite so early, so I expect all my predictions to be spot on. I get to match players with teams this time too, as the draft lottery went down yesterday(RIP LA). It appears the first five or so picks should be a shoo in, although after that it is a dogfight. I know my predictions are going to turn out wrong because there are so many capable players that are available. I also get to compare this mock draft to the 'wayyy to early' one I did a couple weeks ago. Now, without further ado, into the mock draft!
 
 
With the 1st overall pick, the New York Americans select: Red Lite @Tate Last mock: 1st overall       ↔️ No change
Face it, we all knew this was coming. Red Lite is the cream of the crop for this draft. He is now sitting at 327 TPE, which means he could step into the VHL right now and be an impact player. He scored 48 goals and 97 points with the San Diego Marlins this season, and although the Marlins were recently knocked out of the playoffs, Lite was extraordinary in all the series and made a difference on the scoreboard. His status as 1st overall is non debatable, and he will hopefully help boost the young Americans into a S76 playoff spot.
 
With the 2nd overall pick, the Prague Phantoms select: Battre Sandstrom @Acydburn   Last mock: 2nd overall       ↔️ No change
This one isn't such a given, but there's a fair chance Prague goes with Sandstrom at 2. After all, @diamond_ace , Prague GM, has been seen saying that Hogan Jr. will go third, implying that he will take the Swede. In fact, he said this, quote on quote: "There are 2 types of drafts: ones that have acyd in them, and ones I have to make actual decisions". So this basically says that unless the Americans go off the board and take him, Battre Sandstrom will join the Prague Phantoms at the draft. Sandstrom is also a monster offensively, recording 75 points in 72 games with the Saskatoon Wild.
 
With the 3rd overall pick, the Los Angeles Stars select: Hulk Hogan Jr. @Beaviss  Last mock: 3rd overall        ↔️ No change
You can't help laughing at this one. The Stars were terrible this season, having a record that was worse than only New York themselves. Alas, the lottery didn't favour them. Luckily, they get a fantastic consolation prize in Hogan Jr., the defenceman for the cup-hunting Mexico City Kings. As long as Prague takes Sandstrom, this pick is definitely a given, especially since the next ranked player is also a defenceman. Hogan Jr. is more defense oriented than Sandstrom, and gets slightly less points(49 this year), but still gets a guaranteed 12 TPE per week. 
 
With the 4th overall pick, the Calgary Wranglers select: Tom Eagles @Greg_Di  Last mock: 5th overall        ⬆️ +1
With a massive gain in TPE, Tom Eagles overtook Frank Funk Jr. in TPE by a truckload, increasing the gap between him and the next ranked player in TPE. Eagles is actually battling Hogan Jr for the VHLM title, as Eagles is a top defender from the Philadelphia Reapers, who have destroyed their competition in the playoffs so far. Eagles is an offensive defenceman, scoring 64 points over 72 games and scoring 10 in 9 games in the playoffs. He will join a strong Wranglers team that was upset this year early in the postseason, and has a thin prospect pool.
 
With the 5th overall pick, the Toronto Legion select: Gunnar Odinsson****  @BOOM  Last mock: 6th overall        ⬆️ +1
Odinsson has been raking in the TPE since the last mock, too. The defenceman who scored twenty goals this season for the San Diego Marlins was knocked out last round by Eagles and the Reapers, a playoff where Odinsson 11 points in 9 games. Odinsson joins a young Legion team looking for more young talent through the draft. Funnily enough, their only picks this draft are two first rounders. They are also thin on D, so Odinsson should get decent ice time in his rookie season.
 
With the 6th overall pick, the D.C. Dragons select: Frank Funk Jr. @Rayzor_7  Last mock: 4th overall        ⬇️ -2
Even though he has been earning like crazy, Funk Jr. has been falling behind his counterparts in terms of TPE, which goes to show the dedication of this draft class. Funk is only our second forward in the mock so far, representing his position in a defenseman-dominated draft. While Funk doesn't have points as good as some of his fellow draftees(44 points), he was buried under all the firepower on the Marlins for most of the season. He broke out in the playoffs, however, scoring 9 points in 9 games.
 
With the 7th overall pick, the Toronto Legion select: Hex Rose @Hex Universe Last mock: 12th overall        ⬆️ +5
This is not a reach. I repeat: this is not a reach. He may not have the best TPE available, but the Legion have two picks this draft and can afford to go a little deeper into the talent pool. While Rose may not have the superior points, we must take into account that he is buried on Vegas's third line, therefore not getting desirable ice time. Nevertheless, the man puts up 39 points in the regular season and 5 in the playoffs before the Aces got knocked out by the Kings. He's also a TPE machine, having already become a VSN writer and is one of the most active users in the Aces LR.
 
With the 8th overall pick, the Calgary Wranglers select: Jivere Zolnek @Sixersfan549 Last mock: N/A         ⬆️ +8
Zolnek has probably raised his draft stock the most since the last mock I did. In fact, he wasn't even in the top 16! But I think that this jump isn't without merit. While Zolnek put up less than average numbers in the regular season, toiling behind the rest of the Reapers' top guns, he came alive in the playoffs with 4 goals and 8 points in 9 games. For this, and his noticeable rise in TPE gains, I think Zolnek deserves a spot this high on the draft rankings. 
 
With the 9th overall pick, the Malmo Nighthawks select: Kristof Welch @Juice  Last mock: 8th overall       ⬇️ -1
It somehow doesn't seem right that Welch should move down a spot, because he has kept on grinding with TPE and performance. But Zolnek needed a place, so Welch finds himself on the prospect-ridden Nighthawks. With the retirement of VHL legend Condor Adrienne, a D spot opens up if Welch and the Nighthawks decide to bring him up. Welch should be ready, with 53 points in only 63 games in the regular season, but in a playoff series where the Reapers trounced Welch's Yukon Rush, he recorded no points. Still, Welch would fit well into any team's prospect pool.
 
With the 10th overall pick, the Seattle Bears select: Phil The Rock Johnson @Phil  Last mock: 16th overall        ⬆️ +6
Johnson is yet another draftee who could hop right up to the VHL next season, as he is currently as 246 TPE. But TPE has definitely been his strong suit lately. While earning at least the capped 12, he is still struggling in the point column. This can be diagnosed down to the fact that his scoring and passing are both at 70 TPE, and one just needs to take priority for the points to come. Nevertheless, The Rock presents an enticing case for GMs. With the Bears, Johnson joins an organization with bare cupboards in terms of prospects. He should be able to develop under the stars of the Bears.
 
With the 11th overall pick, the Calgary Wranglers select: Robin Galante Nilsson @RomanesEuntDomus  Last mock: 11th overall        ↔️ No change
While Nilsson is not quite as adept at earning as some of his fellow draftees, he still manages more than the average user and puts it to good use. He has a solid 44 points in 72 games, earning the title of two way defender. He really picked it up in the playoffs though with the high-scoring Philly Reapers, managing 7 assists and 8 points in 11 games so far. He joins a promising glut of talent with Eagles and Zolnek, and these three will have time to develop under Calgary's current stars.
 
With the 12th overall pick, the Warsaw Predators select: Phoenix Dawson @Toast  Last mock: 10th overall         ⬇️ -2
This is another example of a pick that went down where I think, why is this dude going down? He has done nothing to lower his stock at all, but I guess some other guys like Johnson and Zolnek have really raised theirs, so someone has to go down. Dawson has been decent this season, recording 46 points in 72 regular season games, then 2 goals in 4 games in the playoffs where his Marauders were swept by the Marlins. Dawson is also known for his well above average earning.
 
With the 13th overall pick, the D.C. Dragons select: Caitlyn Catowize @CrazyCaityCat  Last mock: 13th overall        ↔️ No change
Catowize kept her previous position at 13th overall to get drafted to the Dragons, who, despite their two picks in the first round, advanced to the Continental Cup finals and are currently beating the Nighthawks. In this pick, the Dragons get Catowize, who just won the Founder's Cup with the Reapers. After getting 20 points in the regular season, Catowize buckled down in the playoffs, recording 7 points in 12 games while the Reapers steamrolled their opponents in games. She also frequently writes media spot, a boon to her TPE levels.
 
With the 14th overall pick, the Vancouver Wolves select: Lenny Sanderson @Gally  Last mock: N/A          ⬆️ +2
I know this might seem like a tiny bit of a stretch, but I know from last year(Juniper, Sosa, Louchard) that Beav is willing to take chances with his draft picks. And for this one, I think it's a chance worth taking. Sanderson is usually a capped earner, getting at least 14 per week almost every week. And while his regular season points of 19 points in 52 games isn't eye popping, he really took matters into his own hands in the playoffs for Sasky, getting 5 goals and 10 points in only seven games. 
 
With the 15th overall pick, the Helsinki Titans select: Magnus Verlander @Jbeezy76  Last mock: 9th overall          ⬇️ -6
It was meant to be. The longtime Titan with his previous player, Erik Draven, gets to rejoin Helsinki with Verlander, who is a player with a great build and therefore great points so far in the VHLM. While not a top earner, Verlander has been getting point per game in both the regular season and the playoffs this season, helping Mexico to a second place finish. In the Titans, Verlander joins a team that's transitioning from one generation to another, as various prospects are moving up for next season(and then there's Riga).
 
With the 16th overall pick, the Vancouver Wolves select: Kaladin Kvothe @DangerGolding Last mock: 7th overall         ⬇️ -9
While some rise, some fall. In this case, the falling of Kaladin Kvothe greatly benefits the Vancouver Wolves, who pick up the sniper with the last pick of the first round. Kvothe's build is interesting, as he has 90 scoring, 80 defense, 77 puck handling, and then nothing in everything else. It is probably because of this that his scoring has suffered through the season, with 29 points in all 72 games and then 4 points in 9 games with the Marlins in the VHLM playoffs. Anyhow, the Wolves pick up a guy they know will keep on earning, and will be an impact player in S77.
 
 
***** Due to the fact that BOOM is taking a leave of absence from the league for a while, Odinsson may not be drafted this high. I think I speak on behalf of the entire VHL when I say I respect your decision and hope that you sort everything out. You are a respected member of this community and we will miss you. 
 
 
 
Honorable Mentions:
Eeli Rantanen @Jolline
Philip Stein @IHateBobNutting
Willy Myers @Willy Myers
Abe Roque @Abe Roque
Javad Kamkar @Parriyah9374
Napoleon Bonaparte @CptSquall
Evgeny Bernov @Viperxhawks19
 
 
 
 
Sneak Peek: Projected VHLM Top Twelve
1. Kristof Welch*
2. Hex Rose*
3. Asher Reinhart @rjfryman
4. Duncan Idaho @OrbitingDeath
5. Paul Atreides @Mr_Hatter
6.  Brendan Telker @Telkster
7. Lenny Sanderson
8. Philip Stein
9. Eeli Rantanen
10. Willy Myers
11. Abe Roque
12. That Dude @Cornholio
 
*If they decide to stay in the VHLM. If not, they will obviously fall in the draft quite a bit.
 
 
 
2,052 words(new record!!). Claiming for weeks 1/10, 1/17, 1/24, 1/31
 
I don't have to write another media spot until February 😄
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

NOT TO FEAR! THE DEFENDING CHAMPIONS ARE HERE!
 
What's that sound? The one that dominates the minds of all of us in the VHL? It's the sound of anticipation for the roster of TEAM EUROPE! But I won't keep you waiting any longer folks. Here is your season 75 TEAM EUROPE:
 
 
 
 
 
🇪🇺S75 Team Europe Roster🇪🇺
 
I just was to let y'all know, it was really hard making this roster. There are so many good players, and if you didn't make the cut, no hard feelings. And I'd like to thank my AGM @Domino Draws for helping me build this roster. 
Without further ado, I present to you: your S75 Team Europe!
 
 
Forwards:
 
DOLANT FERTITTA @Dolant
 
VLAD IMIR @Big Dee
 
LIAM FISCHL @linsangeles
 
CABE MCJAKE @RedSus
 
NERO ENDRIZZI @TurnDaddy
 
PEKKO VIITANEN @Xdjk93
 
DAN DAN @MMFLEX
 
JEFF ODINSON @GoldGear88
 
ARTAIR MCCLOUD @Hoopydog
 
Our forward group this year looks pretty darn good. Starting with Dolant Fertitta, the VHLM leading scorer, and carrying on with two full time VHLers, Jeff Odinson and Vlad Imir, S75 Team Europe's offense looks scary. Cabe McJake of the Miami Marauders and Nero Endrizzi of the San Diego Marlins were both in the top ten in VHL goals, while Pekko Viitanen and Liam Fischl are battling it out in the VHL finals with Philly and Mexico respectively. Dan Dan and Artair McCloud were both members of the Las Vegas Aces team that was recently knocked out by Fischl and the Kings. But I have no doubt these guys are willing to put their playoff series behind and focus on getting Team Europe that gold!
 
 
Defensemen:
 
L @gorlab
 
R @Kylrad
 
BATTRE SANDSTROM @Acydburn
 
OVE DYRDAHL @GRZ
 
Team Europe's defense core also looks to be an area of strength. Starting off with L and R, the hotshot rookie defensemen for the Chicago Phoenix, who are the underdogs of the year in the VHL playoffs. L has 60 points in all 72 games, and R has 29 in 71. Our other two D are Ove Dyrdahl of the D.C. Dragons, the other crazy underdog team in the North American semis, and Battre Sandstrom, the stud defender for the Saskatoon Wild who got 75 points in 72 games and is projected to go 2nd overall in the upcoming VHL draft.
 
 
Goalies:
 
SIRKANTS KLAMASTERIS @hedgehog337
 
AKSU MARONEN @aksuko
 
Finally, we have our trusty goaltenders. We were lucky to get Sirkants Klamasteris of the Riga Reign back from last year's gold medal winning team, and we have Las Vegas Aces rookie Aksu Maronen as our backup. Both look to be strong between the pipes for Team Europe.
 
Team Discord: https://discord.gg/j7abUGWZ
 
 
Let's get that gold!!
 

1. Obviously it doesn't feel great to get beat but I'm not disheartened by our performance in the playoffs. We played 2 very good teams in Saksy and Mexico and we gave it our all.
2. My Vegas experience was amazing, sadly it is my last season with the team. You and Spartan did a good job of helping us and building a good team, just a shame we couldn't come away with a cup.
3. I think you guys will do alright in the draft, you know how to get the most out of your picks so I think you'll be fine.
4. I'm happy that a lot of us are going to Riga, means I've got some friends when I go up to the VHL
5. I hope so, to be honest 2020 was so bad that as long as the world doesn't end, it'll be a decent year.
6. I don't really know a whole lot out SDM but this season they were a good team that always gave us problems, best of luck to rockstar.

If anything, we teach folks in LVA to farm reacts very well.

This is Linus Zetterstrom's final year as a member of the Las Vegas Aces. Next season, I will head up to the Riga Reign of the VHL. And while I know RIga is a great place, I will dearly miss that Vegas LR. @Spartan and @JigglyGumballs, I don't know how I would have gotten to where I am today without you guys. You showed me the way, you taught me shit, you pushed me. There's no way Zetterstrom would be on his way to the big leagues without you guys. Have fun doing the same to the next generation of Aces.
 
                   Per every end of season so far, I give shout outs to teammates and just friends. This season, I have quite a few. First of all, my current(or this season) Aces teammates: @Domino Draws, @Hex Universe, @Hoopydog, @fyrefly, @Nordin, @MMFLEX, @frescoelmo , @Syzygy, @inflastud, @Jakefufu, @Aye my name jeff, @correllvincent, @Kelsier, @Wreckening, @Bouncyelf, @Krazko, @Matt thunder, @thadthrasher, and @aksuko. This season was really fun, and although it was ended abruptly, we had a successful little run. Good luck to all of you guys next season, wherever you may be playing.
 
         Finally, a shout out to some of the cool people I've met: @RedSus, @fishy, @bigAL, @fromtheinside, @Blazzer , @GustavMattias, @hedgehog337, @Juice, @Ricer13, @a_Ferk. Talking will all of y'all on discord has been fun.
 
     That brings us to the end of my sappy article. Holy crap, I pinged a lot of people. Sorry in advance. But thank you all. This was a great season. 

Let's take the league by storm next season

Let's take the league by storm next season

You might be wondering as to why this article is called "Treachery". What the fuck did Jiggs do this time? Does @Spartan need to fire him? Well the short answer is probably but it's not because of this article. This is a WJC based article after all. And it's something I wanted to write about since last season. As you may or may not have known depending or not if you give a shit about the WJC (you should totally give a shit about the WJC btw, might end up in a roster one day), I have been selected as the GM of Team World for the 2nd season in a row. And what's relevant about that? Well my current and only player as a member of the VHL is Canadian, and this article is all about why in terms of tournaments like the WJC, I've gone ahead and denounced my player's and my own Canadian-ness of sorts in favour of going full Mr. Worldwide.
 
So to start us off, let's take a short blast to the past to the season of 73. Back then I was max earning my way to the 250 TPE cap as a member of the Ottawa Lynx, the WJC was something I've barely heard of. I don't remember if it was because someone offhandedly remarked about it in a LR or it was the GM openings or something, but the WJC came into my radar and I realized that there was a chance I might sneak into a roster. I'm pretty sure I was around 200 TPE or so at the time, maybe less or more, but there was a good chance of me actually making a roster. With my player being Canadian, I automatically hoped that I'll make that roster. Long story short, I didn't. Instead I made the roster of Team World. The ragtag bunch of leftovers and others. We ended up winning bronze that season, and ironically beating Canada for that bronze medal game. It was at this time where I got hooked into Team World. The idea of missing out on your country's team and having a second chance at another was something I really liked. And I took the win against Canada for bronze as my player saying fuck you to the team that didn't select him. And so that's how the treachery began.
 
Come next season and my goal for next WJC was simple, become the GM of World and continue my path of being a traitor to my country. I ended up getting the job, and to my surprise, World started off 6-0. Eventually the team would make it all the way to the gold medal game which ultimately lead in us losing and getting silver. Still better than Canada since they got robbed of bronze by the US who World defeated. I achieved my goal of building off World's "success" from last season and getting a better standing while again saying fuck you to Canada for no reason other than that I find the narrative of Team World fun. The idea of missing out on your country's roster and getting a second chance with World makes things from a narrative perspective fun as you get a chance to say fuck you to your Country/Continent if World does well.
 
And now we have this season, rosters are being filled out, and I can guarantee that World will have players who have missed out from their countries. The same narrative will play out again and hopefully, this time, we can win gold. A collective fuck you to everyone else. So uh... to the other WJC GMs out there, I'm coming for your leftovers.
 
(616 word .com article. Yay...)

Some members are writing about their 2020 here, but I won't do that. Mainly because there was nothing out of ordinary things that happened with me last year. Even with C-19 thing. I still have a job, place to live and I had a fun summer. So instead of that I'm just gonna do more boring stuff and type something about Riga Reign's S75 because this was an interesting one. I'll name stuff that I liked in this season and what not really.
 
- 29 wins. A pleasant surprise. We didn't have a hell of a roster and most likely we were expected to score less wins. But our players did everything to not make us the pushovers. We managed to perhaps being the most annoying team for most of contenders. Especially to Prague, Davos and Warsaw. And I believe we won Chicago more than once and yet they are three wins away from the finals. Big lmao at STHS.
 
- Trade for Calvin Harvey. One of main reasons why we did decently this season was the player who wasn't getting a lot of chances in his previous team, Helsinki Titans. Nobody else wanted him so I managed to get him for a cheap price which was certainly a win for me. I mean, Klamasteris is two seasons younger and I'm also capping at 12 TPE, but Harvey gives us way more chances to get out of the rebuild phase ASAP. And also he had some neat games this season, including a 70 save game in a win against Warsaw. 100% positive moment for our team.
 
- Extending Harvey and Rocket. Another positive news came during the playoffs. Calvin Harvey made our life more exciting so I was very interested to keep him in Riga. The same level of excitement came from him in our extension talks and as the result he signed with us for 5 more seasons! Our goaltending is now locked for the long time. As for Rocket, things were more difficult out there. And not because of player himself - we were about to welcome six wingers from minors next season which made things a bit tense for me. However, Cabe McJake decided to switch to a center so it opened a spot for another one and I reached up to Rocket with the extension offer. He was cool with it so here we go, two more seasons of Rocket in Riga! I do plan to make at least one extension later in the offseason by the way.
 
- The reborn of forum locker room. I don't know how long this will last, but this season was a total success. We managed to reach 17 pages as of this moment and while this may be far from the best results VHL[M] forum lockers were producing back in the day; I'd say I was pleased with the activity in Riga LR. Big credit goes to @Eynhallow for making this happen.
 
- The overall excitement about our future. I had to give back some S76 picks for making this happen, but I'm happy with the result. Nearly everyone is active an earning from 6 to 13 TPE weekly (plus some uncapped opportunities) and even one of rare inactives Hi Hello appeared to be a multi. We are about to have a nice deep roster with three full lines consisting of 320-450 TPE guys even before the season starts. Also, Zetterstrom and Thunder at D with Carter and McBighit coming up later. *Excited hedgehog noises*
 
 
- Not making the playoffs. Literally the only negative from this season. Our playoff appearances record was officially over this season and it's kinda boring to not play in the post season. But hey, sacrifises need to be made for the bright future rather than dragging our contention window with the previous players just to perhaps becoming a mediocrity.
 
 
As you can see, despite being a rebuilding team I'm finding this season having way more positives than negatives. Contending season after season is cool obviously, but sometimes I need a change of scenery and prove that I actually can make a nice rebuild as well. Makes my GM job more fun to be honest.
 
At the end of this article I'd like to say thanks to every single Riga player and prospect for willing to grind for TPE week after week, even in holiday season. I believe we will have a very bright future and longterm contention window and you will be the reason why this is going to be possible! See you in S76/77.
 
There goes all of them shoutouts:
 
Our prospects: @RedSus @Eynhallow @tcookie @Dolant @youloser1337@Hoopydog @Matt thunder @SimmerDown99 @jaredc7 @Eddie Dams @linsangeles @Ledge_and_Dairy @Nikdandrea34 @coochiman @monttu @matt sovick @emidas
 
Our retiring players: @Tyler @Liberty_Cabbage @cartoes
 
Our current players: @Mrpenguin30 @turkey2349 @Rocket @GoldGear88 @Hops @Zyrok @PuckPushers
 
Even our inactives: @pennypenny @SDCore
 
 
That's it and I'm out.