Peace

It feels weird not to be the one to make these announcements still. Congrats to the captains and AGM!

Greg Eagles @Cornholio

Mhmm. Alright, I'll give it a shot. I was on the first iteration of VSN under Blademadien. I like writing, would be nice to do it under a more organized setting.

New PC for a new week... beginning of the S71 chapter. 1. Who do you think will lead the team in points this season? 2. How many wins -- precisely -- do you think Toronto will get? 3. What position in the standings do you think Toronto will finish? 4. What team from the NA Conference do you think Toronto will 'have their number'? Think Seattle from last season, we were 4-2-2 against them. 5. What team from the EU Conference do you think Toronto will 'have their number'? Think Prague from last season, we were 3-1-2 against them. 6. What are your individual expectations for yourself this season?

Toronto has three rookies on their roster, and since I just wrote about Toronto's statistical prediction in another thread, it's time to keep my promise and predict the stat lines for all three of the Legions' newest faces: Jaxx Hextall, Kris McDagg and Erik Killinger. All three of them have already been welcomed by the GM, as they've received maximum contract bonuses for just donning a Toronto jersey, and fans have already purchased the limited edition run of Killinger and Hextall jerseys. There is certainly excitement in the air, and we can feel the electricity, but now it's time to predict how each of these prospects will fare in their rookie seasons. Jaxx Hextall Last VHLM Season: 61 W - 8 L - 3 OTL | 0.899 SV - 2.09 GAA Rookie VHL Season: 25 W - 30 L - 9 OTL | 0.911 SV - 2.75 GAA Jaxx Hextall comes to Toronto with a championship, a top goaltender award, and sky high confidence in his abilities. Not only that, but the rookie has shown tremendous improvement since the VHLM season has ended. It might be attributed to VHL teams refining his skills, or the sheer dedication from the Legion starter. If there ever were a definition of 'franchise goaltender', Hextall's name would be proudly displayed as an example. But the reality of Toronto's situation is unfortunate, and so too will Hextall's rookie season. The rebuild has been extended, but these things happen; two prospects failed to develop to expectations, both of them also failed to report to Toronto's staff some time after the draft, although one has been seen training periodically; a core piece of the roster stopped caring about his development as a player; and one of their fringe prospects retired before making the climb to the VHL. However the S71 Toronto Legion are better than the S70 Toronto Legion, and we are expecting their record to be better as well. Given that Hextall is similar -- or will be similar to May at the start of the season if development continues as planned -- it's reasonable to assume that he'll have a comparatively better record. We're predicting Hextall's save percentage slides a bit from May's .914, and that's only because the Legion defense has gotten slightly worse by Puigdemont's regression, but he should be able to steal a few more victories as he improves during the regular season alongside the majority of his teammates. Kristopher McDagg Last VHLM Season: 45 G - 56 A - 101 P Rookie VHL Season: 19 G - 22 A - 41 P McDagg's journey to the VHL has taken a while, three seasons in fact, which means the beginning of S71 is his third year of eligibility in the Victory Hockey League. A player only has a maximum of eight seasons, so McDagg's 'career clock' has already begun. There is an advantage though, McDagg has had the opportunity to build himself up in the VHLM longer than most prospects get. He will begin his rookie season with a scout rating of around 350, while most non-franchise prospects are generally below that mark. Thankfully McDagg's development is back on track, and the prospect is poised to become a key piece in Toronto for a long time... oh yeah, did we mention he signed for the majority of his career as well? McDagg will be slotted on the second offensive line alongside Miniti and Dissanayake, and it's expected there will be some chemistry between the three forwards. 41 points might now sound impressive, but for a rookie season... it's not bad! Erik Killinger Last VHLM Season: 62 G - 62 A - 124 P Rookie VHL Season: 32 G - 30 A - 62 P Predicting Erik Killinger to register over sixty points is almost asinine, but hear me out -- alright? Erik Killinger is taking over Nethila Dissanayake's position as the 1LW, and Diss' managed to register 58 points on a weaker top unit while serving at that spot. Chad Magnum has developed quickly during the off season, and Scoringsonn returns as the top RW on the team -- maybe even Dissanayake himself if Toronto decides to use him as the 1RW -- so it's not much of a reach at all for this prediction to hold some value. Some would say that Davos' Davis is in the best position to win top rookie, but I strongly believe people are seriously underestimating Killinger and his chances of winning the top rookie award. As we've predicted -- comparing Dissanayake's previous season to Killinger, his abilities and continued growth -- it is entirely plausible he could be the best rookie in this draft class. Obviously he'll be featured on the top line, so he'll have thirty or so minutes a night to prove it. ONWARDS TO WEDNESDAY!

Yes... I am absolutely stealing this idea from @Jubis. It reminds me of the time I used to buy hockey magazines, I wanted to see what the writers thought about the teams I enjoyed watching, but over time I found they became more and more similar and it became a 'new shit, different pile'. One of the things I always looked at -- if they were in the magazine -- was stat and team predictions. Every writer seemed to have their own opinions, and it really became the only differences I perceived. So I thought I'd do one for Toronto. Bjorn Scoringsonn Last Season: 18 G - 20 A - 38 P This Season: 15 G - 38 A - 53 P For the majority of last season Scoringsonn was partnered with Chad Magnum and Nethila Dissanayake, and while Dissanayake produced reasonably well, Scoringsonn was never able to elevate his play to a similar level while on the first line and finished the season nearly tying his career high in points. Scoringsonn will once again be featured on the Legions' top offensive line, however he has two entirely different teammates. Okay, sure, Chad Magnum is still the teams top center but things have changed. Rookie Magnum was mostly a checking forward, focusing on a lot of hits with a bruising style of play. Sophomore Magnum worked through the off season developing the offensive side of his game, and will contribute on the score sheet far more than his rookie season. Then you have Erik Killinger taking Dissanayake's spot, and with that brings a more defensively responsible but offensive game. With Magnum's development, the introduction of Killinger and his own talents I suspect Scoringsonn to play a key role in Toronto's production. Chad Magnum Last Season: 7 G - 17 A - 24 P This Season: 20 G - 31 A - 51 P Chad Magnum -- as we mentioned above -- was a role player, a checking forward if you will, but for the entirety of his rookie season while playing nearly thirty minutes a game. During the off season, however, Magnum focused on his skating, puck handling and offensive abilities like his shot and positioning. It's an easy assumption that Magnum will have a far better season statistically on a line with Killinger and Scoringsonn. If we use Dissanayake's 50+ points on the left side of Magnum and Scoringsonn last season, we can safely assume that Chad Magnum's sophomore season in the VHL will be a significant improvement from the 24 points he had prior. In fact, I'd put him in the conversation to win most improved, especially if the line gels right from the start. Chemistry wise it should be all set, and it kinda makes sense actually. Killinger is a two-way forward with strengths at both end of the ice, while Magnum is a physical forward with a developing shot and they're both coupled with Scoringsonn's comparatively better passing. If anything, you can predict how this line will function. Nethila Dissanayake Last Season: 30 G - 28 A - 58 P This Season: 22 G - 20 A - 42 P Dissanayake's team leading 58 points was -- in all honestly -- a pretty remarkable feat considering the roster Toronto had in S70. The team used a '6F-4D-1G' setup, and Dissanayake was at the helm of it all. His thirty goals is a reach for some Legion players, while others a future achievement. As we've mentioned above, Dissanayake's line mates last season were Chad Magnum and Bjorn Scoringsonn, but this season he's being shuffled to the second line with McDagg and Miniti. Despite being shuffled down the lineup, it could be argued that the line he shares with McDagg and Miniti is more balanced than the one he had with Magnum and Scoringsonn previously. Although it's reasonable to assume his production will drop, he'll still be relied upon to score goals for the Toronto Legion with his reduced but still heavy ice time. Dissanayake will return to his more physical roots, sharing a similar story with McDagg, and might just be a troublesome lineup for some teams to manage. I suppose we'll see, right? Zeno Miniti Last Season: 6 G - 16 A - 22 P This Season: 14 G - 20 A - 34 P Miniti was quite clearly nothing more than a depth player for the Legion in S70. He had just over 11 and a half minutes per game, yet he still managed to register 22 points for an impressive (considering his role) 0.53 points per twenty minutes -- which was, in fact, forth best on the Legion roster. Perhaps he was under utilized during his past season, but there are no complaints coming from his player agency so they must have been alright with it. Miniti will be stepping up into a greater role with the team, and he's got the talent to do so. In previous seasons with Prague, Miniti was a 67 and 44 point scorer for the expansion team, and Toronto will be hoping to unlock that potential once again. Miniti is a non-physical but offensively oriented player, so it can be assumed that he'll be the offensive catalyst for the second unit. They get him the puck, create some space, and he'll find room to shoot. The second line will be an energy line, there is no doubt about that, but they've got some quality scorers too. Aron Nielsen Last Season: 10 G - 28 A - 38 P This Season: 14 G - 41 A - 55 P We're predicting an impressive point increase on Nielsen's offensive numbers simply because the Toronto Legion have become more dangerous offensively compared to the Legions' S70 roster, along with other factors we've mentioned below. He is the power play quarterback and top defender on the team, so he will -- much like last season -- be on the ice quite a bit during scoring chances and the likelihood of him contributing to a successful opportunity are higher than ever now. Nielsen is coming off a career season with Toronto, and there is no signs of him slowing down, but he has announced this will be his final season in the Victory Hockey League. Surprisingly enough -- despite facing natural regression -- he has reported to the team in better shape than he was last season, so retirement comes as a surprise. One last hurrah for Nielsen would be nice, and perhaps a chance to win the top team trophy (pending a trade to a proper contender, of course.)? Rusty Shackleford Last Season: 7 G - 37 A - 44 P This Season: 10 G - 31 A - 41 P It doesn't make any sense, right? What exactly is the reason Nielsen is projected to have a far better season with a better team, but Shackleford -- nearly coming off a career season with Toronto - is expected to take a slight dive in his own production? The answer is quite simple, actually, and that was somewhat covered above in Nielsen's segment. Nielsen has reported to Toronto in the best shape of his life, while Shackleford reported to Toronto having aged slightly. Obviously it's possible Shackleford continues his offence from the blue line, but with what is being reported from Toronto's training camp, it's not unreasonable to assume it won't be as impressive. The only reason he maintains 40+ points is because Toronto has a new identity up front, and Shackleford will likely see more ice time this season than he did in S70. Boone Jenton Last Season: 11 G - 23 A - 34 P This Season: 13 G - 26 A - 39 P Jenton is the second defensive pairings offensive catalyst... wait, what? No, Puigdemont scored fifty three points last season. What are you talking about? Well... yes. With reports coming out of the Legions' training camp indicating Puigdemont is forth on the depth chart for all Legion defenders, it's pretty clear that he's lost a step or two in his abilities, so to have Jenton the go-to #3 defender in point production makes sense. Jenton's point totals will be inflated slightly as the team around him gets better, but it's more or less his average. Carles Puigdemont Last Season: 12 G - 41 A - 53 P This Season: 9 G - 30 A - 39 P Puigdemont is still a servi- well, no, actually he isn't. Any other team and he'd be less than depth -- he'd be bought out, as would Jenton, but on Toronto he has an opportunity to to simply play the game of hockey... and quite a bit of it, actually. His stats by sheer involvement alone have been impressive, 38 and 53 respectively in his two seasons with Toronto, but both of those seasons he was actually a serviceable defender. After reporting back to the Toronto Legion in almost unfit shape, a steep decline in production is a reasonable prediction to make, although we have him and Jenton coming in at 39 points each due to the higher offensive abilities of the Legions' S71 roster. A lot of Legion players from last season aren't returning, but have been promptly replaced by developing prospects from the VHLM, so our predictions were made after comparing the rosters of S71 TOR to S70 TOR. Teemu Lehtinen Jr won't be returning, but is replaced by a stronger player in Erik Killinger; Matthew Kai leaves the team, but Kristopher McDagg climbs up from the VHLM to take his place; Owen May was traded, but rookie starter Jaxx Hextall is already a better goaltender; and finally Edu Stava's departure allows Miniti to move up the depth chart. It'll be an interesting season for Toronto, and I'm excited to see how close my predictions are. Now we'll cover the rookies... in a VHL.com article (sike!). 1500+ words.

@NyQuil picks twice.

No need to be sorry, it’s the reality of the league. I had hoped that we could squeeze into the playoffs this season but we had a few of our prospects either leave or slow down. One of our core pieces went MIA too, so it’s hard to become competitive when three of your assets go missing when you were counting on them to keep building.

Condor Adrienne @Philliefan

I mean if you get to it before I do, I got no problems with that. I'm a lazy fuck.

Wow @McWolf -- got this updated before I could even send you a finished round one this morning!

Jet Jaguar @Cornholio

Scuttled before it even begins. (And some other USS Hornet puns)

Just torpedoed the entire season.

You're talking about yourself here. This is a real sinking ship situation we got.

You’ll be fantastic!

Next up: 10 VHL players or staff per 100 dead, VHL closes indefinitely and admits to lawsuits from families.

Transaction ID:3360-1746-7634-2620 $10 Doubles Week 5 Uncapped

As a prefix I’m totally okay getting rid of the ASG TPE, lottery, and whatever else but I really don’t see the point in lowering grad bonus, reducing donations, etc. Combating “TPE Inflation” is near useless now with the “parity” and size of the league, nothing is going to change if the player builds remain the same. You guys seriously think 100-150 less TPE per player by S80 maybe will be any different if the league stays the same size or grows? No. You’ll have 100-150 less TPA per player but the end result is the same. If you want TPE to really matter, it’s time for a new sim engine with far more attributes to put points into. Look into getting FHM6/7, contact the developers and use some of the bank VHL has to implement some innovation in an otherwise stagnant sim engine.

I fail to see why the VHLM graduation bonus needed to be nerfed.

Erik Killinger LW | 6'5 | 220 LBs 27 Years Old Drafted #11 OVR by TORONTO LEGION EXPECTATIONS I've put a nearly insurmountable expectation on my rookie season -- at least sixty points -- which is a pretty high standard to give myself, and one that I'm fairly confident I won't be achieving, but would obviously like to reach. If we compare my GM's (Rylan Peace) rookie season of forty six points while he was on and off Riga's top line with a league wide iconic duo, it'll be pretty difficult for me to acquire even forty with a weaker Toronto club. That being said I know what good chemistry does, I've studied his one hundred point season alongside Svoboda and Dahlberg in his second season, so it's not outside the realm of "reasonable" that I can at least attempt to win the top rookie award. For now though my expectations are a sixty point season at the core, and my secondary objective in S71 would be bringing the Peace Player Agency their first individual award. I think that would really make my rookie season special, and it's quite possible I can achieve that. Additionally another expectation I've placed on myself is to grow more than is possible through just practicing on the ice. I want to develop into a superstar player throughout the season and really start to show Legion fans exactly what kind of player they've gotten at eleventh overall. Eventually, I want to be the best, so I can help everyone else achieve their best too. I'm super excited to get the season underway, and I'm satisfied with the expectations I've placed on myself. RESERVATIONS Some of the reservations I have are pretty obvious from above -- I doubt myself and the era we are in. The league is deeper now, rookie numbers have been dropping from the once incredible single season performances, and the parity within each team makes the rock - paper - scissors game more complex. Can I actually reach sixty points in my rookie campaign? Doubt it. It's not that I don't think I can get sixty points, but I think the league has grown far too much for any rookie to get more than forty in a season regardless of their talent. The seasons in the leagues history where rookies scored ninety points are long gone, the league is too large for those kind of rookie performances now, so I might have to settle on the average thirty points in seems. In my mind I know that'll likely be where I land too, and with my main competition in Davis likely contributing to nearly every Davos goal in S71, I can honestly see him winning the top rookie award over me. That knocks away my desire to win an individual award, but obviously I'm going to try my hardest to earn it. A great comparison to what I think is going to happen is Nathila Dissanayake, he lead Toronto in points last season and still failed to reach sixty points, so I think I'll fall somewhere in the forty mark just like my GM before me.