Hoopydog

Introduction
 
So, in this reality Artair McCloud was drafted 28th Overall in the S75 VHL draft by the Riga Reign but what if he wasn’t? In the S75 post draft rankings McCloud currently sits 20th, 8 places higher than he was initially drafted, so what would his career look like if he was picked higher up in the draft?
 
So, let’s go through the teams that he could’ve potentially landed on and see what that could’ve meant for his career…
 
After writing this piece, it seems like a lot of the alternate scenarios involve McCloud most likely ending up on Calgary so I added in the Calgary counter to help keep track of the number of times I could’ve ended up on Calgary.
 
New York Americans
 
First up on the list are the New York Americans who had the 20th and 22nd overall pick in the draft, with which they drafted defenseman Cowboy Prout and Shawn Andrei Zyuzin. Prout was a great pick by Esso to help bolster New York’s defence but Zyuzin was a total bust, currently sitting 66th in the post draft rankings, 44 places below where he was taken. Both players were traded, on separate occasions, to the Calgary Wranglers so we could assume that McCloud could’ve been traded to the Wranglers as well.
 
His rookie year might have looked a bit better on the Americans as well, as he might have received a bit more ice-time playing on a roster that was not as deep although he would not have had his first taste of the playoffs but he would’ve gotten to play in the lottery tournament.
 
As of right now, he would be playing top-line minutes on the Calgary Wranglers (if NY still decided to trade him) being the second best forward on that roster behind Luke Thornton. Calgary seems like it a place that McCloud could find himself enjoying playing for, they are in a rebuilding stage with a new general manager in Ricer (Calgary counter = 1). It is also a place where he could really make a name for himself in the league. It’s also worth noting that New York were the first team to reach out and interview McCloud ahead of the draft.
 
Vancouver Wolves
 
Next up are the Vancouver Wolves who had the had the 23rd overall pick in the draft and with that pick they drafted Sheldon Juniper, a former Vegas teammate of McCloud. Juniper currently sits 26th in the post draft rankings, just 3 places below where he was taken, so I would say this was a solid pick from Vancouver. Juniper was traded to Calgary, so once again, I would be very likely that McCloud would have also ended up on the Wranglers, given the nature of the Wolves roster at that time. They were stacked an going for a cup.
 
He probably would’ve put up similar numbers in his rookie season, as he would’ve received a similar amount of ice time as he did on Riga. If he managed to keep his place on the roster then he would’ve have had a deeper run in the playoffs as Vancouver made it past the D.C. Dragons in the first round of the playoffs but were then swept by eventual Cup Champions Chicago in the next round.
 
Had he not managed to retain his place on the roster he would be on the wranglers as juniper was traded to them (Calgary counter = 2) but we have already covered that scenario in the section above. Although, funnily enough, the 23rd overall pick that Vancouver had, was originally owned by Calgary so, there is another scenario in which McCloud could’ve ended up on the wranglers (Calgary counter = 3).
 
D.C. Dragons
 
The last team that might’ve drafted McCloud would have been the D.C. Dragons. They had the 25th overall pick in the draft and with that pick they drafted Ove Drydahl. In the post draft rankings, Drydahl sits 27th, two places below where he was drafted so a good pick from the dragons and he is still on the team at this point in time.
 
The D.C. roster was going under a retool when Artair was drafted, they had a flashy forward line but some of their 2nd line and depth forward were aging so McCloud would’ve been a good fit for that role. His rookie year, again like the one he had on Riga, due to the state that the forward core of the roster was in. He would have also have has that playoff experience with the dragons but it would have been swift as they were knocked out by the Vancouver Wolves.
 
This season however, his season could’ve been interesting in D.C. Similar to Riga, they are a team who are performing worse than they should be, given the roster they have. With McCloud on their team, D.C. would have 2 solid, complete forward lines and it would certainly increase their chances of making the playoffs. The dragons would’ve been a good fit for him, not only for now but for the future too.
 
Outro
 
So, there is a brief over view of what McClouds career could’ve looked like if he wasn’t drafted by the Riga Reign. Even though I am really happy being apart of the Reign, It is really interesting to have a look at how my career could’ve panned out, even if most of those scenarios would have had me playing on the Calgary Wranglers.
 
There were some teams that had picks above where McCloud was taken, like Chicago who had the 21st overall pick and the Prague Phantoms who has the 24th overall pick, but they never reached out before the draft to interview me so I never considered them possible options, as they never registered any interest in me in the first place. Also the likes of the 27th and 28th overall picks, which Riga owned but were originally owned by the Seattle Bears and the Moscow Menace respectively.
 
Thank you for tuning in to find out where McCloud could’ve ended up had he not got drafted by Riga.
 
1018 words 
Claiming for weeks 12th - 18th & 19th - 25th April

I'm interested and would like to apply for this position

I'm interested, I would like to try

I'm interested and would like to apply for this position

I'm interested and would like to apply for this position

Hello everyone,
 
There is an opening in Houston for the AGM role. 
 
The only things I ask of you is to be active in the discord locker room and be eager and ready to learn. Everything else is based on what you want to take on or if you want to do other things for the team.
 
I like to help people learn and grow so that they can go and become GM's in the future. You will be able to learn based on what I do, you will be able to ask as many questions on why and how I do things and even if you want we can do hypothetical thought exercises so that you can pick my brain as much as you like. 
 
There is no pay for this role. 
 
If you are interested let me know via this thread, discord or personal messages. 
 
have a great day.
 
-rjfryman

I'm interested and would like to apply for this position

Board of Governors Updates - Return of the Transparency
 
Good evening VHL,
 
It has been a few weeks now since I last updated the league on the inner happenings of the Board of Governors, and it is safe to say that a lot had happened since then.  With much of the public eye being centered on transparency about the Board of Governors, I just wanted to share something with you all.
 
I haven't been consistent enough in bringing you Board of Governors updates, and while a lot of it has to do with there not being much to say a lot of the time, I still regret how sparing it has been posted.  So I am committing to bringing you more consistent updates, even if they are shorter due to a lack of topics.  I took this role on because I wanted to be far more transparent with how the Board of Governors operates, and I am still committed to that cause.  Now, without that out of the way, let's get on to the recent conversation.  
 
Our most recent discussion has centered around the previously mentioned controversy regarding transparency and the overall impact the Board of Governors makes, positively and negatively, on the league.  This thread which was an extension of our previous BOG Correspondent discussion that gave me the opportunity to do these articles, and was mainly used recently to discuss our thoughts on what recently took place in Fishy's article on the State of the BOG.  One idea was to create a virtual newsletter that could be PM'd to every member here and there regarding recent discussions going on, and we would make it unsubscribeable for those who would rather not here about all the news.  This would be a creative way to provide our BOG updates and would give people the option to hearing about it, keeping things as inclusive as possible for the league.  Nevertheless, the conclusion was that we needed to continue trying to be more transparent and provide more updates on what's going on in there.  Additionally, we are looking at more ways to bring the Board of Governors into a more inclusive format, while still maintaining a certain level of confidentiality that is required.
 
The next discussion I will bring up is regarding a change in how the vote is conducted for the Dustin Funk ballot.  As some of you may know, there was some controversy this off-season regarding some players being missed on the Funk Trophy ballot.  A committee member brought forth the idea that every VHL GM would nominate one player on their team to be on the Dustin Funk Trophy ballot.  This would make it a more represented ballot with every team being featured based on the nomination from the General Manager.  This idea was welcomed with overwhelming support with only a few not seeing a fault in the current system.  I expect that this idea will be featured on this year's ballot.
 
We also welcomed two new BOG members recently.  bigal and MexicanCow123 have joined the handsome and always well-groomed Board of Governors team.  I can speak for the rest of the BOG and say that we are thrilled to have them in there, and already seeing some great contributions from both members.
 
Finally, I will shed some light on a discussion we have been having for quite some time.  While I can't share everything because of the sensitivity of some of the discussion (drastic league change) I will state that the ideas center around fixing the issue we have with roster room in the Victory Hockey League.  There are members concerned about the amount of actives on each VHL team and trying to find a way to allow everyone to play big roles and get lots of minutes.  Additionally, these changes will provide the league with a ton of jobs and that's exciting for our always growing member base.  While I hope to be able to share some of these details soon, I will say that these discussions are leading to something pretty insane and gamechanging happening in the league.

 

Quality media spot this. It's really nice to get an insight into what goes into VHLM scouting and you give quite a good look into that. The article is laid out quite well so it is quite easy to read. Maybe you could use a couple headings just to break it up that bit more. Overall, very nice job!!
 
9/10

So because I can't milk the ever loving shit of a previous article anymore (at least I think I do), why not make another one? So for this week I wanna dive back into my personal experience and insights on GMing/AGMing by taking a look at how I scout for players. It's no secret that I tend to share what I do in the VHL. Whether if it was when I was an AGM or now, I tend to just provide insights based on mostly my own experience. Why do I do it? I really don't know. I just need TPE lol. If I can think of a reason, I think it's just interesting to see how a GM goes through things. I can guarantee that there's some things behind the scenes that the GMs do. And franky, showing a tiny bit of the behind the scenes stuff is honestly quite interesting to any other member. At least that's how I see it. I also hope that by showing a bit more on what happens every now and then behind the scenes, it'll help inspire(?) some of the newer people to take up GMing one day. Not actually sure if this is what you call the right process of inspiring people to be interested in running a team in the VHL, but hey some information might come in handy the next time you're applying for a job in the VHL. So yeah, let's just get on with it.
 
So unless you're the VSN, which their draft ranking is often suited for the VHL instead of the VHLM, I don't really start scouting until closer to the trade deadline. At latest near the end of the season. Why? Well first, scouting does take a bit of time, and because I have a personal life, I may want to take time in scouting. Secondly, by starting your scouting by the trade deadline, you allow yourself to get familiar with those in the top 3 or so rounds in the draft. As they tend to be much more easier to see if they're going to be good come the draft. Allowing you to spend more time sorting out the inactives and/or hidden gems in the later rounds. In all honesty, you're going to spend the most time scouting the later rounds in the VHLM. As for the actual scouting, I first take a look at the draft board. Sometimes its in the portal, or in a google sheet (when I was an AGM because I'm brain dead on setting up on my own draft board), but what I would do is look up the draft board, and look at where some players are relative to where I think my picks would be. It's a rough way to narrow my search. As it's more likely that inactives will definitely cause the active players you're scouting for to move up in draft rankings. However, narrowing your search does help in either finding someone who you can take, or whether or not you're confident to make a reach of a pick/move up in the draft. Next is actually taking a look at the player's page. Through that page you can get a look at how they've earned TPE over time. I'm pretty sure this is the most obvious part of scouting. Sometimes if you did do your scouting early, you can track their TPE growth over time. I wanna make sure that, especially in the later rounds, you're NOT looking for max earners. As they're likely all in the first round or so. Most people tend to be clickers, or those who just claim practice facility and welfare. And that's okay. Remember that the VHL is a hobby for most, and only those who are truly invested in the league will put in the work.  Those guys are often already in the top rounds anyways. The main priorities are getting someone who will still earn and be a good fit for your team and finding someone who you think will be a good locker room presence. Anyways, regarding people who you think will be a good presence in the locker room, you next check their profile on the forum. See what they've done in the VHL. Most of the time you won't be able to find much if you're looking for gems, but getting a good look at their profile, and taking a better look at when they were last online, you will definitely get a better impression of the player.
 
At this point, you've narrowed down your search to a few players who you have the most confidence in. This is where you reach out to them, send them a couple of questions and hope for a response. Even with those who you might choose if the others are no longer available, reach out to them. A good chunk of the time, especially if the player created during playoffs/offseason, they just don't know what to do. So reaching out to them is the best way to determine if they're going to be active or not. The VSN doesn't really reach out to a bunch of 50 TPE players, but this form of scouting is more so from a GMing perspective. Once you've reached out to the player, and they've responded. Try and keep the conversation going. This again is more suited for players who created in the postseason, but it does help keep their interest in the league. To remind you, a VHLM GM's job is to retain new players and help them pave the road for a full 8 season career. Creating in the post season is honestly the worst time. Teams can't get you in the lineup, and you have to wait for draft before you have any idea in what you're doing. Because of that, it's key that you reach out to them and keep their interest in the league. Invite them to your LR, give them help in how to earn TPE, anything to keep them interested. One thing for certain that you have to make clear when reaching out for them, is that you cannot guarantee that you're going to draft them. Anything can happen, but it's good to just be there when they need help getting settled. I can say for certain that peeps like @Ledge_and_Dairy, @Crstats23, and @Rhynex Entertainment were all late round picks and are now doing pretty good in the VHL. So putting in the effort of reaching out to players, and giving them the incentive to be active in the league works out.
 
So yeah. That's how I would scout in drafts. I know I went off in a bit of a tangent in terms of "muh GM duties" and stuff, but yeah. I hope this helps for anyone looking for a job in GMing in some way. Maybe it can help you get hired. I also want to clarify that I'm not a perfect GM. If anything, my first few trades during this last draft is a testament to the fact that I still have much to learn. Heck all of my trades is basically a testament to my GM noobness. Anyways, hope you enjoy this long read or so. I'll see y'all the next time I need TPE.
 
(1219 words)

a Quik interview! 

Ok so I know last week i touched on loosing interest and overall have not been motivated to do much or create good articles. 
 
I've had these ideas on the shelf for awhile and thankfully i felt like actually doing one and got a hold of Quik! So let’s begin here! 
 
Firstly i want to just say thank you too Quik as he was more then willing to answer any questions i had and really just made this enjoyable for me! For all Those who may not know Quik he is in fact one of the VHL leagues commissioners and really has been a great person for the community and shows good leadership within helping our members for making all of 
ours experience for enjoyable. so again, Thank you Quik as you were just not more then willing it just was fun for me to do and i appreciate it. 

alright so 

Prout 
 " How did you find the VHL? what season did you join?"
 
Quik
 
 " I was a day one member. The two guys who started the league, Scotty and brooks had both run leagues that ran the typical 3-5 season lifespan of sim leagues at the time, using whatever the latest NHL game would’ve been, and I was in both. After their leagues died, there was a few month period where everyone from those leagues just hopped around until they found STHS and started the VHL. We all had high hopes for it, and 14 years later it’s proven us all right. 

Prout 
 
" What's your favorite player you’ve created? "
 
Quik
 
" That’s a pretty tough question, I’ve had a lot of players lol. I think it’s probably a tie between Branden Snelheid and Matt Bailey. They’re my two most successful players, and were just super fun to watch. Mingle is definitely making a case to join them though, just given the team and the way he’s improved. " 

Prout 
 
" What roles within the league have you had? Do you recommend users willing to learn to start as VHLM AGM’s for a start?
 
Quik 
 
" Oh man, I’ve been a grader back when they were a thing, GM twice, BOG member and commish, obviously. I think I may have also written for the magazine at one point in its original run as well as again when Robbie tried to revive it in the 50s, if I recall correctly. Honestly, I wouldn’t say not to do it, but I also don’t think it’s necessary. There’s so many ways to get involved in the league, and I don’t think you need to have an AGM title to do it. Be around, be a part of the community, and you’ll pick up the important things naturally. " 
 
Prout 
 
"  what season was it when you became the commissioner? Do you have any favorite moments since you’ve gotten this current role?" 
 
Quik 
 
"To be honest, I don’t remember the exact timing. There’s an announcement for it, so it’s not too difficult to dig up and find the date and then what season, but I’m gonna be lazy and say late S62 or some time in S63 when I became commish, off the top of my head. It was definitely after I took over Helsinki, which was in S62 lol. I think the first expansion to Moscow is one of my favorite moments since becoming a commissioner. We had just gone through a super dark time in the league, where we retracted two teams and there were discussions of possibly shutting things down. So to be able to expand, fairly soon afterwards, it was just a great feeling to know that the league was starting to grow again. "
Prout 
 
" why do you hate me so much? (The people have spoken and have been wanting to know this for quite some time!)
 
Quik 
 
"  I don’t hate you lol. We’re not buddy buddy or anything, but I don’t think everyone has to be best friends with everyone. End of the day we’re all spending time here for a reason, and wasting time hating people isn’t worth it. "
 
 
( please note this was too political and we still will need to address this at a different time) 
OK back to the interview! 
 
Prout
 
" do you have any regrets as a commissioner on any past decisions you’ve made or have voted upon? "
 
Quik
 
" I’m sure if I could go back there would be some things I might do differently, but I don’t think there’s really anything that I regret. Things might happen, you learn and move on, there’s no good in dwelling on the past in that sense. " 

Prout 
 
" Does Bek rig the sims? We need answers ! " 
(this was intended to just be funny, and i certainly was not taking a shot/ dig here. my intention was to attempt to being funny.... it did not work as seen.) 
 
Quik 
 
" No."
 
Prout
 
"  will there be a replacement as for Beaviss departure? Or will it just be a two commissioner team for now? " 
 
Quik 
 
"  For now it’ll be Bek and me. We’re in constant communication, and if we feel that things start to get too much for the two of us, then we’ll look at the possibility of adding someone else." 
 
Prout 
 
"  what was your opinion on the live sims talk? We’re you upset at how members brought it up? Was this in talks before brought to the discussion thread? " 
 
Quik 
 
" I definitely didn’t love that it came up as an accusation towards Bek. The guy gives a ton of time to the league, and has done so for 14 years, one of the very few who’ve been here for all 77 seasons (he might actually be the only one). In terms of the actual discussion, once it became more about the sims and less about Bek, I was fine with it. We have talked about it before, but we’d always felt that it was a big ask of simmers, especially before a lot of the automation that came with the portal, so it never really got any traction. The league is meant to be a hobby, not anyone’s number one priority in life, and anyone who has a job is a volunteer giving their own free time to the league to make it work and be fun for all its members. " 
 
Prout 
 
"  what’s your take on the leagues change in GM’s lately? Seeing members like Victor, Jubis , etc stepping down is this a “new era” for VHL? " 
 
Quik 
 
"  I think it’s great. I believe we’re in double digits for GMs who joined after S60. We’ve been blessed with some fantastic GMs in this league as it’s grown, in terms of the people, their abilities to build teams, and their dedication to their teams and the league, so jobs have been difficult to come by. But to have so many newer faces starting to take more prominent roles shows that its future is in good hands." 
 
Prout 
 
" how happy are you with seeing the growth in recent seasons of VHL and activity we’ve seen on forums/ discord?" 
 
Quik 
 
"  I mean, it’s hard not to be happy with a growing league. It’s been here for a long time and given several generations of members an abundance of great memories, so to see it not only continue that, but to reach even more is just fantastic to see." 
 
Prout 
 
" Do you ever get tired of being a commissioner? Have you felt burnt out or do you still strive to find motivation to grow and keep the VHL strong?" 
 
Quik 
 
"  think it'd be disingenuous to say that there aren't days that are more stressful than others, but that kind of comes with the territory, and if I ever truly felt burnt out, I think that'd be the time to step back and step down." 
 
 
Prout 
 
" Can we relocate Davos? And have a anti Gustav party? (I seen today in discord your anti Gustav @GustavMattias) do you think ever about bring back old teams instead of creating new ones in expansions from the past or do you feel the new team new look is something that befits that specific team and outlook?" 
 
Quik 
 
" Didn't you see the post last week? They're now the David Dynamo :kekw:. In terms of expansions, there's a few reasons we prefer to go with the new franchise route vs. reviving previous teams.  it's always fun for the GMs to be able to pick their own team's identity and build on that. there's usually a reason why a team was taken out of rotation, and rather than carry on a legacy that includes the bit of dark past of being relocated or removed, it's nice to start fresh with a franchise that doesn't have any skeletons in the closet." 
 
 
And that is a wrap! 
 
Thank you again to Quik for this and taking the time out of his day for doing this and being good about it. I enjoyed this myself and will hope to do other members and get better at asking questions as I felt I didn't do exactly what I wanted here. I also just wanted to start working on something new again so hopefully by next time ill be much better at doing this.
 thanks for reading and again thanks Quik!
 
 
As for these interview(s) I’ll try to get some more of the older members in them/ roled ones. I think it’s important to remember the VHL’s history and events that led us here today. I want to say thank you to Quik again as I sent him a random late night discord message and he was more then willing to help out and answer and was even nice enough to do the order I asked and helped number them for me. Good stand up guy as always and will be looking for more of these in the future and possibly get back into the podcast world. But thanks for reading ! 
 
This was just something quick (ha ha I know funny pun) but I know that my next ones will be better and structured better then this. If I decide to do this/ make a series that’ll be the case but we shall see. Cow if you see this update this and let me interview you maybe. I’m a man of my word and a man so take that.

 
side note this was actually fun to make so I’ll look into a new header to use for future to make it fun/ stand out and all that jazz. 
 
people mentioned 
@Quik  (obviously) 
@GustavMattias
 
Done. 

1. HELL YEAH WE CAN!!!
2.  I think it's gonna be either Warsaw or Chicago the wins the cup. They look like the 2 run away teams and I'm not sure if anyone is gonna be able to stop them.
3. I think he might. He is just absorbing TPE and he is definitely gonna be close.
4. I think you would probably just disappear but if you somehow became twice as huge, that could be a meta strat for building height.
5. I don't think they like poop poo but they do poop some kinda waste.
6. A cat the size of a mouse because that would be both adorable and hilarious.

Great job on this! The interview part was definitely a great piece to add in. Hope you do this again next season 10/10

Love the interview formatting and how it was implemented here. Great job. I liked how you bolded things and spaced it. Overall a good read and some solid writing skills I must say.  I actually really enjoyed this and looking forward to more work from you!
 
8.5/ 10 

VHL S77 Week 2 Featured Game New York Americans @ Riga Reign
 
Happy Easter everyone! We have our featured game of the week in Game 231 of the VHL S77. Game 231 shows an extended match between 11 - 15 - 2 Riga Reign and the 12 - 13 - 4 visiting New York Americans. This was a match that Riga wanted to win tremendously! We saw Riga shower New York with what seems like a gazillion shots, from every possible angles, only to hit what could only be said as a super human, Thadius Sales @thadthrasher. Both teams' goaltenders had remarkable games, it was definitely a battle of the tenders tonight as we saw not only Overtime, but also Shootout as well in order to find a winner! It was a game with plenty of back and forth action, short lived leads, little catch ups, and extended periods of nail biting pressure and tied game play.
 
We began the game with instant intense pressure by Riga Reign against New York Americans. It only took half a minute for the young Americans to be caught for their lack of discipline. Lead New York Defence Chicken Wing @chikn gets called for Tripping at 0:30 into the game, and Riga ends up with 4 minutes of early power play time when New York's Captain Red Lite @Tate swings his stick wildly just as Chicken Wing steps back onto the ice. Red Lite goes off for High Sticking at 2:32 into the first period. Red Lite must had a good time reflecting in the penalty box, as he watches a wonderful display of defence and saves by the Americans and then later assisting in on the first goal of the game, a tad over 2 minutes after leaving the penalty box at 6:38 of the first period. In fact, the first trouble maker also assisted on the goal by Gary Rush @G_Rush! Isau DaMoose @Eynhallow of the Riga Reign quickly tied the game less than a minute half later at 8:01. We don't see another goal until late in the first period as New York's Gabriel Johnson @GeckoeyGecko scores at 16:17, a lead that lasts for less than half a minute. Artair McCloud @Hoopydog ties it for Riga at 16:46, and we go into the first intermission with a 2 - 2 tie, with Riga out shooting New York 25 to 15, a heavy shooting first period.
 
1st period
1. New York Americans , Gary Rush 12 (Red Lite 19, Chicken Wing 12) at 6:38
2. Riga Reign , Isau DaMoose 13 (Addison McLaren 9, Cabe McJake 14) at 8:01
3. New York Americans , Gabriel Johnson 4 (Adam Syreck 22, RJ Thatcher 16) at 16:17
4. Riga Reign , Artair McCloud 7 (James Rose 19, Ray Sheilds 15) at 16:46
Penalties :
Chicken Wing (NYA) for Tripping (Minor) at 0:30, Red Lite (NYA) for High sticking (Minor) at 2:32, Brussels Sprout (NYA) for Roughing (Minor) at 11:16, Ray Sheilds (RIG) for Hooking (Minor) at 13:51, Rhynex Entertainment (NYA) for High sticking (Minor) at 17:00    
The Second Period was another high shooting affair for both teams, as both goaltenders showed incredible poise, making saves after saves. New York's Chicken Wing scores her team leading 17th goal of the season 4 minutes into the period on the power play, a league leading 9th power play goal of the season! Cabe McJake @RedSus ties it up for Riga shortly after at 6:21 into the Second. And this actually end up being the final goal scored in the game until the shootout, 40 minutes gameplay later. The Second Period ended with a 3 - 3 tie with Riga outshooting New York 42 to 34 after 40 (minutes).
 
2nd period
5. New York Americans , Chicken Wing 17 (Adam Syreck 23) at 4:00 (PP)
6. Riga Reign , Cabe McJake 8 (General Zod 29, Linus Zetterstrom 19) at 6:21
Penalties :
Isau DaMoose (RIG) for Tripping (Minor) at 2:14, James Rose (RIG) for Hooking (Minor) at 9:55, Isau DaMoose (RIG) for Roughing (Minor) at 14:07, Chicken Wing (NYA) for High sticking (Minor) at 19:35  
 
The rest of regulations and later Overtime were quite uneventful on the score sheet. Not to say we did not get to see a lot of action in play. Plenty of penalties, including a marvellous fight between New York's (Nathan) Steele @73MPL4R and Riga's (Matt) thunder @Matt thunder, and lots and lots of intense pressure and shots by Riga on netminder (Thadius) Sales. Riga outshoots New York 22 to 7 in the Third and then 8 to 2 in sudden death, but was foiled by (Thadius) Sales who was brilliant and in the zone.
 
3rd period
No Goal
Penalties :
Addison McLaren (RIG) for Hooking (Minor) at 1:57, Matt thunder (RIG) for Fighting (Major) at 10:21, Nathan Steele (NYA) for Fighting (Major) at 10:21, Clinton Giftopoulos (NYA) for Interference (Minor) at 13:23, Shawn Andrei Zyuzin (NYA) for Interference (Minor) at 18:34, Chicken Wing (NYA) for Holding (Minor) at 19:14 Overtime #1
No Goal
Penalties :
No Penalty  
Since Overtime solved nothing, the two teams faced off against each other in the shootout, where New York solves Riga's Calvin Harvey @Mrpenguin30 twice. Kaladin Kvothe @DangerGolding scored as the first shooter and (Chicken) Wing ends it with the game winner as the third shooter for New York. Only Justin Lose @youloser1337 managed to solve (Thadius) Sales for Riga as Riga ultimately falls short to New York 3 - 4 at home.
 
Shootout
New York Americans, Kaladin Kvothe - Goal!
Riga Reign, Rocket - Shot Misses the Net
New York Americans, Gary Rush - Stopped by Calvin Harvey
Riga Reign, Justin Lose - Goal!
New York Americans, Chicken Wing - Goal!
Riga Reign, Isau DaMoose - Stopped by Thadius Sales  
Thadius Sales earns First Star of the Game with an amazing (and ironically maybe comical?) 69 saves on 72 shots. Calvin Harvey made 40 saves on 43 shots for Riga. Cabe McJake gets Second Star of the Game with a goal,  an assist, and a tremendous 14 shots! Artair McCloud claims Third Star of the Game with a goal and 6 shots. An honourable mention goes to Chicken Wing who had a goal and assist for New York, along with the eventual shootout winner.
 
3 Stars
1 - Thadius Sales (NYA)
2 - Cabe McJake (RIG)
3 - Artair McCloud (RIG)  
 
[Word Count 763]
 
Goalie Stats
Thadius Sales (NYA), 69 saves from 72 shots - (0.958), W, 10-10-4, 65:00 minutes Calvin Harvey (RIG), 40 saves from 43 shots - (0.930), OTL, 9-10-2, 65:00 minutes Players Stats for New York Americans
Player Name G A P +/- PIM S H SB GA TA FO MP PP MP PK MP ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Adam Syreck 0 2 2 0 0 6 1 0 0 0 2/6 23:00 4:52 4:06 Brussels Sprout 0 0 0 -1 2 1 0 0 0 0 3/14 17:17 0:00 5:22 Chicken Wing 1 1 2 -1 6 3 2 5 0 0 0/0 30:20 4:52 3:53 Clinton Giftopoulos 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 5 0 0 0/0 29:49 4:50 6:21 Gabriel Johnson 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0/0 21:28 0:00 5:22 Gary Rush 1 0 1 0 0 6 1 1 0 0 1/3 17:57 4:52 0:00 Kaladin Kvothe 0 0 0 -1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0/2 16:46 4:50 0:00 Michael Hall 0 0 0 -1 0 1 1 0 0 0 2/3 11:56 0:00 0:00 Nathan Steele 0 0 0 0 5 1 0 1 0 0 15/34 25:47 4:50 6:21 Red Lite 0 1 1 0 2 4 3 2 0 0 0/2 22:32 4:52 4:58 Rhynex Entertainment 0 0 0 0 2 7 4 2 0 0 23/50 24:43 4:52 6:17 RJ Thatcher 0 1 1 0 0 6 4 0 0 0 4/4 18:52 4:50 0:00 Shawn Andrei Zyuzin 0 0 0 -1 2 1 7 1 0 0 0/0 18:17 0:00 6:22 Zeedayno Chara 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 1 0 0 0/0 24:50 4:50 6:48  
Players Stats for Riga Reign
Player Name G A P +/- PIM S H SB GA TA FO MP PP MP PK MP ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Addison McLaren 0 1 1 0 2 7 5 0 0 0 0/2 18:49 6:15 3:12 Andy Nexber 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0/1 9:01 0:00 0:25 Artair McCloud 1 0 1 1 0 6 0 0 0 0 1/4 20:09 7:38 0:00 Cabe McJake 1 1 2 0 0 14 0 1 0 0 39/56 31:20 6:32 5:08 General Zod 0 1 1 0 0 5 4 4 0 0 0/0 31:53 6:15 6:16 Isau DaMoose 1 0 1 0 4 4 0 1 0 0 9/18 24:19 6:15 0:00 James Rose 0 1 1 1 2 5 2 1 0 0 0/0 33:21 7:38 5:11 Jared Carter 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 0 0 0/0 10:26 1:06 2:37 Joseph Sharkton 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1/1 8:36 0:00 0:00 Justin Lose 0 0 0 1 0 8 1 1 0 0 1/1 26:08 6:15 5:08 Linus Zetterstrom 0 1 1 0 0 5 0 3 0 0 0/0 32:17 6:15 5:08 Matt thunder 0 0 0 1 5 4 1 1 0 0 0/0 21:39 6:10 0:12 Ray Sheilds 0 1 1 1 2 11 1 1 0 0 15/33 32:24 7:38 3:35 Rocket 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 2/2 10:02 1:06 1:56  
 

The Riga Reign are starting to find that form that the lacked at the start of the season. In their last 10 games, they are 7-3-0 which is a major improvement compared to 2-7-1 in their first 10. This run of from currently sits them 2nd bottom of the European conference but they are only 3 points behind Davos who sit in 2nd of the wildcard spots, with a game in hand as well.
 
The Reign had problems at both ends of the ice at the start of the season but that have manged to tighten up their defensive game, although they still struggle from time to time. The biggest improvement has come in their offensive game as they have become more of a consistent offensive unit. In those 10 games, the Reign have scored at least 3 goals per game with them scoring as man as 7 in a game against D.C. This has also seen 10 of their players hit double digit point totals with summer acquisition General Zod leading the team in scoring with 26 points closely followed by VHL veteran Ray Sheilds who has 23 points.

The Riga Reign are starting to find that form that the lacked at the start of the season. In their last 10 games, they are 7-3-0 which is a major improvement compared to 2-7-1 in their first 10. This run of from currently sits them 2nd bottom of the European conference but they are only 3 points behind Davos who sit in 2nd of the wildcard spots, with a game in hand as well.
 
The Reign had problems at both ends of the ice at the start of the season but that have manged to tighten up their defensive game, although they still struggle from time to time. The biggest improvement has come in their offensive game as they have become more of a consistent offensive unit. In those 10 games, the Reign have scored at least 3 goals per game with them scoring as man as 7 in a game against D.C. This has also seen 10 of their players hit double digit point totals with summer acquisition General Zod leading the team in scoring with 26 points closely followed by VHL veteran Ray Sheilds who has 23 points.

The Riga Reign are starting to find that form that the lacked at the start of the season. In their last 10 games, they are 7-3-0 which is a major improvement compared to 2-7-1 in their first 10. This run of from currently sits them 2nd bottom of the European conference but they are only 3 points behind Davos who sit in 2nd of the wildcard spots, with a game in hand as well.
 
The Reign had problems at both ends of the ice at the start of the season but that have manged to tighten up their defensive game, although they still struggle from time to time. The biggest improvement has come in their offensive game as they have become more of a consistent offensive unit. In those 10 games, the Reign have scored at least 3 goals per game with them scoring as man as 7 in a game against D.C. This has also seen 10 of their players hit double digit point totals with summer acquisition General Zod leading the team in scoring with 26 points closely followed by VHL veteran Ray Sheilds who has 23 points.

Unfortunately I can relate

1. Yeah it is time. We had a rough start but now we are playing better and getting those wins. Time to push on and get ourselves in a playoffs spot.
2. I'm not sure, they have been awful for a while but if you look at their roster they have some quality players like Davis, Pines, Merrick and Jiggs so I'm also not surprised.
3. I would like to say myself but I'll probably be keeping up my 1 point per sim average, I could see McLaren really hitting form, he's been playing really well but I think he'll reach new heights towards the backend of the season.
4. Tiktok. I love watching stuff on their but I annoys me how much I love watching stuff on tiktok.
5. Billy McNeil (Captain of the Lisbon lions), Steven Stamkos and Barack Obama.
6. Camembert cheese, I smelt awful but also the smell kinda made me want to try it.

Relegate The Reign
 
For those of you that know me, you will have noticed that I don’t, as a rule rant.  BUT after the incredibly poor start the Reign has had, I can not fully express my outrage.  I could easily fill up the word requirement for this article by repeating “WTF !!!” some 175 times and that still would not ease my frustration.  This sentiment is not mine alone, but has been expressed by a number of Isau’s team mates on Discord.  There is no way that a team that has the talent as does Riga should be languishing at a paltry 2 - 10 - 1 record.  A total of 5 points and 6 points behind the next to last team.  We have only scored 26 goals and have a Goal Differential of -25.  How can it be that Ray Shields @Zetterberg, a legendary 824 TPE guy, has scored only 3 goals.  
 
Ya, I know that there is no accounting for the foibles of the STHS sim engine, but day after day…...C’mon Man !!!
 

 

 
Thanks for reading my wee semi-rant.  If this persists, I fear Riga would be relegated, if there were a league to which to be relegated. 

Introduction
 
It’s kinda weird being considered a veteran in the league when I’m still on my rookie deal with Riga, albeit I’m on the last year of said deal but I feel like I carry myself in the manor in which a vet should. I try to pick my teammates up when they are having a tough time and always keep a cool head. A lesson I learned quickly after I got chucked out a game in my last season playing for Vegas for “abusing an official”, I don’t know what those refs were on about to be honest.
 
Expectation
 
Becoming a veteran however, comes with a different set of expectations in terms of on ice performance. See, in your rookie season no matter how much hype or the expectation for how well you do, there isn’t any real pressure to perform and succeed because there is nothing to compare you to, no past season stats just a sheer prediction which doesn’t mean much. Take me for example, I came onto a rookie heavy Riga team and was probably the one with the least amount of hype or expectation on that team. I still don’t have a lot of hype around me right enough but I kept my head down and performed better than most people expected me to.
 
This season is a different story, people have seen what I can do and I have to meet those standards that I set for myself. All that hard work I put in last season, the off season and this season has paid off and I got rewarded with a place on the 1st line and it’s not my job to deliver and repay the faith that has been bestowed upon me. I’m no longer a rookie and it’s like:
 
“Give the rookie some extra time and let’s see what he can do. If it doesn’t work out then it doesn’t matter”
 
The pressure and expectation are more like:
 
“We know what you can do and you have to do that because the team need you to perform”
But I do think that the extra pressure you can help you thrive. After your rookie season, you develop a set of skills which help you deal with the pressure. You have the experience of playing in the big leagues and playing in those high-pressure clutch moments.
 
Advice
 
Some bits of advice I would give to the rookies coming into this league are:
1.      Try to have fun or as much fun as you can. Your rookie year is so exciting and it’s a totally different experience to playing in the minors.
2.      Don’t get to down if your points total and stats aren’t what you hoped. Like I said, the experience of playing in the VHL is totally different in the M and the skill gap between the players is huge.
3.      Try to bond with your teammates as much as you can. Unlike the M, where you are there for anywhere from 1-3 season, you could be playing with the same guys for a while so getting to know your teammates could be helpful if you’re going to be playing with each other for a while  
 
534 Words

Introduction
 
It’s kinda weird being considered a veteran in the league when I’m still on my rookie deal with Riga, albeit I’m on the last year of said deal but I feel like I carry myself in the manor in which a vet should. I try to pick my teammates up when they are having a tough time and always keep a cool head. A lesson I learned quickly after I got chucked out a game in my last season playing for Vegas for “abusing an official”, I don’t know what those refs were on about to be honest.
 
Expectation
 
Becoming a veteran however, comes with a different set of expectations in terms of on ice performance. See, in your rookie season no matter how much hype or the expectation for how well you do, there isn’t any real pressure to perform and succeed because there is nothing to compare you to, no past season stats just a sheer prediction which doesn’t mean much. Take me for example, I came onto a rookie heavy Riga team and was probably the one with the least amount of hype or expectation on that team. I still don’t have a lot of hype around me right enough but I kept my head down and performed better than most people expected me to.
 
This season is a different story, people have seen what I can do and I have to meet those standards that I set for myself. All that hard work I put in last season, the off season and this season has paid off and I got rewarded with a place on the 1st line and it’s not my job to deliver and repay the faith that has been bestowed upon me. I’m no longer a rookie and it’s like:
 
“Give the rookie some extra time and let’s see what he can do. If it doesn’t work out then it doesn’t matter”
 
The pressure and expectation are more like:
 
“We know what you can do and you have to do that because the team need you to perform”
But I do think that the extra pressure you can help you thrive. After your rookie season, you develop a set of skills which help you deal with the pressure. You have the experience of playing in the big leagues and playing in those high-pressure clutch moments.
 
Advice
 
Some bits of advice I would give to the rookies coming into this league are:
1.      Try to have fun or as much fun as you can. Your rookie year is so exciting and it’s a totally different experience to playing in the minors.
2.      Don’t get to down if your points total and stats aren’t what you hoped. Like I said, the experience of playing in the VHL is totally different in the M and the skill gap between the players is huge.
3.      Try to bond with your teammates as much as you can. Unlike the M, where you are there for anywhere from 1-3 season, you could be playing with the same guys for a while so getting to know your teammates could be helpful if you’re going to be playing with each other for a while  
 
534 Words

Introduction
 
It’s kinda weird being considered a veteran in the league when I’m still on my rookie deal with Riga, albeit I’m on the last year of said deal but I feel like I carry myself in the manor in which a vet should. I try to pick my teammates up when they are having a tough time and always keep a cool head. A lesson I learned quickly after I got chucked out a game in my last season playing for Vegas for “abusing an official”, I don’t know what those refs were on about to be honest.
 
Expectation
 
Becoming a veteran however, comes with a different set of expectations in terms of on ice performance. See, in your rookie season no matter how much hype or the expectation for how well you do, there isn’t any real pressure to perform and succeed because there is nothing to compare you to, no past season stats just a sheer prediction which doesn’t mean much. Take me for example, I came onto a rookie heavy Riga team and was probably the one with the least amount of hype or expectation on that team. I still don’t have a lot of hype around me right enough but I kept my head down and performed better than most people expected me to.
 
This season is a different story, people have seen what I can do and I have to meet those standards that I set for myself. All that hard work I put in last season, the off season and this season has paid off and I got rewarded with a place on the 1st line and it’s not my job to deliver and repay the faith that has been bestowed upon me. I’m no longer a rookie and it’s like:
 
“Give the rookie some extra time and let’s see what he can do. If it doesn’t work out then it doesn’t matter”
 
The pressure and expectation are more like:
 
“We know what you can do and you have to do that because the team need you to perform”
But I do think that the extra pressure you can help you thrive. After your rookie season, you develop a set of skills which help you deal with the pressure. You have the experience of playing in the big leagues and playing in those high-pressure clutch moments.
 
Advice
 
Some bits of advice I would give to the rookies coming into this league are:
1.      Try to have fun or as much fun as you can. Your rookie year is so exciting and it’s a totally different experience to playing in the minors.
2.      Don’t get to down if your points total and stats aren’t what you hoped. Like I said, the experience of playing in the VHL is totally different in the M and the skill gap between the players is huge.
3.      Try to bond with your teammates as much as you can. Unlike the M, where you are there for anywhere from 1-3 season, you could be playing with the same guys for a while so getting to know your teammates could be helpful if you’re going to be playing with each other for a while  
 
534 Words

Introduction
 
It’s kinda weird being considered a veteran in the league when I’m still on my rookie deal with Riga, albeit I’m on the last year of said deal but I feel like I carry myself in the manor in which a vet should. I try to pick my teammates up when they are having a tough time and always keep a cool head. A lesson I learned quickly after I got chucked out a game in my last season playing for Vegas for “abusing an official”, I don’t know what those refs were on about to be honest.
 
Expectation
 
Becoming a veteran however, comes with a different set of expectations in terms of on ice performance. See, in your rookie season no matter how much hype or the expectation for how well you do, there isn’t any real pressure to perform and succeed because there is nothing to compare you to, no past season stats just a sheer prediction which doesn’t mean much. Take me for example, I came onto a rookie heavy Riga team and was probably the one with the least amount of hype or expectation on that team. I still don’t have a lot of hype around me right enough but I kept my head down and performed better than most people expected me to.
 
This season is a different story, people have seen what I can do and I have to meet those standards that I set for myself. All that hard work I put in last season, the off season and this season has paid off and I got rewarded with a place on the 1st line and it’s not my job to deliver and repay the faith that has been bestowed upon me. I’m no longer a rookie and it’s like:
 
“Give the rookie some extra time and let’s see what he can do. If it doesn’t work out then it doesn’t matter”
 
The pressure and expectation are more like:
 
“We know what you can do and you have to do that because the team need you to perform”
But I do think that the extra pressure you can help you thrive. After your rookie season, you develop a set of skills which help you deal with the pressure. You have the experience of playing in the big leagues and playing in those high-pressure clutch moments.
 
Advice
 
Some bits of advice I would give to the rookies coming into this league are:
1.      Try to have fun or as much fun as you can. Your rookie year is so exciting and it’s a totally different experience to playing in the minors.
2.      Don’t get to down if your points total and stats aren’t what you hoped. Like I said, the experience of playing in the VHL is totally different in the M and the skill gap between the players is huge.
3.      Try to bond with your teammates as much as you can. Unlike the M, where you are there for anywhere from 1-3 season, you could be playing with the same guys for a while so getting to know your teammates could be helpful if you’re going to be playing with each other for a while  
 
534 Words