Peace

Claim 2

Heeeeeeeeere we go! 1. Toronto may not be win a lot of games this season so what would be 'moral victories' for you? 2. How would you rate your own players start to S80? 3. Another big draft approaches for Toronto... what do you think of the S81 class? 4. When do you think Toronto will be competitive? 5. Do you think you'll reach individual career highs this season? 6. Do you anticipate any trades occurring throughout the season? @Gally @73MPL4R @rjfryman @jaredc7 @hockeyis66 @MattyIce @BrutalBoost

Kaberle @Blazzer

TORONTO, ONTARIO -- Matty Fire made a personal decision to play in the VHL after being selected second overall by the Toronto Legion, and it appears the young Canadian made the correct call on where to start his professional hockey career; on one hand you had the inaugural VHLE season caked with opportunities like creating new history and defining records others need to break; yet on the other you had an opportunity to become an icon in Toronto as early as eight VHL games; or, additionally, choice either and struggle anyway. For Fire? That third option was never an option. Matty Fire has slotted seamlessly into the Legions' top line, flanking Toronto's top center Asher Reinhart, while Lemiuex rounds out the teams number one trio. With absolutely zero research the potentially youngest line in the VHL this season has combined for a total of fifteen goals, twenty two assists and thirty seven points in eight games. Fire himself, however, leads the Legion in goals [6], assists [8], points [14] and shots blocked [23]. Could he be on his way to winning the top rookie award this season? I sure hope so.

Justin Lose @DMaximus

I can check when I wake up to see if Blazzer made a later night/early morning pick, but if a pick is made when I'm at work I can't guarantee I'll get back before the 12 hour stretch. Go ahead and skip me, but don't DQ me as I will make a pick after getting home.

Sorry, group. These shifts are killing me. I literally wake up, go to work, come home and sleep; rinse and repeat. I know the rules are x skips and you're gone, but give me some leeway and I'll get it done. Asher Reinhart Matty Fire @Blazzer

Kristof Welch @Blazzer Sorry for the wait guys, just got off a 10 hour shift.

No?

This trade has a condition: If Jaromir Lemiuex ( @hockeyis66 ) doesn't return by the end of the season Toronto retains the S81 MAL 2nd and Moscow receives S81 TOR 3 and S82 TOR 3 in exchange. @Spartan Glad I could help you out a little. Welcome to the Legion, @BrutalBoost!

Oh sweet Mary Ann Joseph, it's finally over, the draft is finally over! All I could think about for the last week -- or at the very least since the lottery was conducted -- was how to make everything work, how to make a vision a reality, from a figment of my imagination to the future of the Toronto Legion. Oh how much time I wasted letting things live rent-free inside my head for way too long, far longer than anything really should. This article is a GM's perspective into a draft wherein a team has two lottery picks initially, and in a way the lottery results did softly fuck over the Toronto Legion team I love so dearly. I came into this draft with three goals; 1) secure a franchise goaltender or a franchise skater; 2) secure myself [after I acquired fifth overall from London]; and 3) draft individuals who I thought would bring a new era of locker room engagement. I'd like to believe I've accomplished all three, however I know the work has only just begun and I need to understand control is out of my hands from this point on. The hard work is up to the prospects drafted to develop into VHL players, the control lies there within themselves to earn a spot on a VHL roster. Before we start I want to rewind the clock a little... so imagine that nostalgic VCR noise as you're five minutes from missing your BlockBuster rental return date. Wait, you don't know what BlockBuster is? Oh forget it. Loosing the lottery sucked, I fully admit that and I'm still kind of salty about this run of bad luck Toronto is having. I'm thinking maybe I should have shared that Facebook picture cursing me with bad luck if I didn't, or forward that email claiming I needed to or ten years of cosmic bad karma will befall upon me. We owned the native #1 and #3 picks and got rolled back one, I'm starting to think at this point anything Toronto is just cursed. Beketov jokes that Devise curses the teams he leaves, perhaps there is some cold blooded truth to the claims. Talks with London went great, after some digging and natural evolution of certain conversations I was able to acquire fifth overall from McWolf in exchange for 11th and a couple of second round selections. Despite stepping down from 5th to 11th, I'm positive McWolf doesn't see Moon_50's player as a risk. I was hoping Moon would drop down into the second round, but my boy McWolf had done his scouting. After acquiring fifth overall I wasted way too much time trying to gain control of third overall. My original plan was to pick Fire [MattyIce], Kotkakoivu [DollarandaDream] and Peace [myself]. I tried very hard to make this 'dream come true' happen, I spent a lot of time and had to be more demanding than I'd ever like to be in order to keep the pressure up, ultimately, however, I truly feel like I wasted half a weeks worth of my effort and dedication to the task. Ricer made a decision he had to make, I respect and understand that, but good lord I wish there were moments where people would simply state 'I am keeping the pick' instead of humming and hawing at the idea of trading it; thank you, Rayzor, for stating that you'll be keeping the pick hours before the draft. Telling me 'it depends on what happens' is just a statement to bid your time. Now I know I do this as well, we all get caught up as soon as the draft begins and our team is on the clock but I try my best to let people know I'll be keeping the pick. I wasn't blindsided by Calgary's pick, yet I was blindsided by Calgary's pick. I think that's an accurate statement to how the top six boiled down, I felt kind of betrayed a little as well but I know that's my own negativity I need to purge yesterday, I need to 'get over it' as some would say and none of this is Ricer's fault whatsoever. That's the inner child of myself trying to pop through and pout about something so minor, so swallow a chill pill Peace and move on. You don't realize what you have yet, you damned moron! The kicker is the offer I had for three, which I'll remind you was absolutely going to be Kotkakoivu. I was willing to pay 5th overall, 19th overall and a S81 pick of their choice for 'Kotka'. If you read this, Dollar, know that your GM really values your presence to Calgary! Now I may not go cry in a corner, but I'm certainly wiping away tears at a dream I couldn't bring to fruition. I'll imagine what a Peace-Kotka-Fire line would have been in S82, S83 and well into their golden years. Both Fire and Kotka were willing to play all eight in Toronto, nine in the case of Mr. Fire. They may have sim'd great in STHS, or they may have stumbled and fell across the finish line. I'll never really know if I got robbed of a golden apple, or avoided a Devise curse rotten apple. Now I realize I got Doomsday and suddenly 'I'm over it', I absolutely cherish Doomsday and the work he puts into our community. I'm absolutely thrilled to have him on the team, so I hope I'm not offending him at all when I recap my thoughts about yesterdays evening draft. Anyway I want to break down the Toronto Legions' S80 VHL Entry Draft: With the second overall selection in the S80 VHL Entry Draft the Toronto Legion select... 2nd OVERALL [C] MATTY FIRE Potential: Franchise Player First VHL Season? S80. The tough decision between Matty or DaaD was in every sense 'tough', albeit Matty completed his draft interview faster than Dollar did. Now that didn't play into the decision whatsoever, but I will admit something about Matty tugged at my thoughts for a while. I knew Matty from my London days, I knew we got along very well and I knew he was excited to help Toronto climb back into relevancy [or at least my second attempt at making Toronto relevant, and by my definition of 'relevant' I mean champions at least once]. I drafted Matty over DaaD in every mock draft I could create in my head, I knew Matty was coming to Toronto at second overall and I was quite excited. In fact I was scared enough to try to acquire first overall to ensure Rayzor wouldn't select Matty from Toronto, so I quietly held my breath when Rayzor announced he'd be keeping the pick roughly two hours before the draft began. Matty brings a willing franchise skater to Toronto, will join the VHL immediately and could even become Toronto's top skater should RJ choose to leave the team at the end of the upcoming season. 4th OVERALL [G] OSKAR LINDBERGH Potential: Starting Goaltender First VHL Season? S81/S82. I'll admit Doomsday's fall from grace lately was, or more accurately put is... still worrisome. Doomsday and I have a long history, although we've never really talked much besides our common interests. We've shot the shit, sure, and while it's been mostly VHL related I understand that's okay. We get along well, he was my VHLM GM in Saskatoon and that's a legacy we connect with. From Saskatoon's honorable history to his latest attempt to bring the cup back home we've grown around that, and I fully admit I should have been more active in the Wilds' Discord server... it's a strange place for me now, that's on me, I still haven't gotten over something I should be able to move on from. In terms of goaltending, I never thought I'd be making this pick, I spoke with D_A about Calgary likely choosing Doomsday and that Prague would still have a goaltender available when they made a selection. When Calgary decided to make the pick they did, I never had time to apologize to Diamond_Ace for taking one of the goaltenders he wanted. I felt forced into this pick because Toronto really did need a starting goaltender, but the reality hit me like a freight train today. Doomsday joining Toronto was always on the table and I should never have felt like it was forced upon me in the first place, I got my head so wrapped up in the idea above I never paused to really think I was adding a great member in Doom and now he's here and I couldn't be happier. 5th OVERALL [LW] KYLE PEACE Potential: Franchise Player First VHL Season? S81. Now here's the surprise twist... oh wait it isn't, Peace coming to Toronto was probably predicted by nearly half [or the entire] league by the time I added fifth overall to the mix of picks Toronto had. The reality is I was so close to stepping down earlier in S79 for numerous reasons I may not have been Toronto's GM at this point. Similarly to Gustav, I had my resignation typed out on a Google Word document and was ready to hand in that letter, in fact I stepped away from a potential job as co-VHLM Commissioner because I thought I wouldn't be here much longer. I had a lot going on in my personal life, I was getting evicted and my power, utilities and cellphone were all disconnected at one point. I was slated to start my courses to become an EMR in September and I was ready to move on from the VHL, but I never recovered to the point where I felt taking those courses were viable and instead found work to stabilize my situation. Instead of a September start, it turned into a December start, and then a 'maybe next year' start but that's okay. With a more stable life and free time I thought I wouldn't have, I decided to stick around a forum that made me -- on occasion -- happier than most of my recreational activities do. Now it is my own personal goal to get my first VHL championship with Peace. Awards can suck it, I just want to achieve the big picture this time around. S17th OVERALL [C] ARMANI CALAMARI Potential: Top Six Forward First VHL Season? S82/S83 How could I not draft a kid who grew up from Toronto? I had been reading and watching WildfireMicro develop in this league and knew I had to take him here, I didn't want to risk letting him slide to 19th overall despite the small chance he may have been there then anyway. Mr. Micro has written a few articles about his thoughts about joining the Legion, so I made it a reality when he was still available with the first pick of the second round. I was thinking perhaps Micro would go 16th after a long delay from Vancouver's end during the live draft, but thankfully I got him here. Calamari might spend a few seasons in the VHLE before he's ready to participate in the VHL, but thankfully that also means he'll face less depreciation once he reaches the big league and could be an impact player when he reaches the attribute levels required for VHL competition. Mr. Micro has been a fantastic addition to the locker room thus far, and I'll completely reveal I never had the time to really scout the second round. Well actually I did, but I was so consumed in other tasks I simply never got around to it. 19th OVERALL [D] TONY ADAMS Potential: Top Four Defender First VHL Season? S83/S84. This was a 'red flag' pick according to some of my fellow GMs, but I understood what I was getting here and I knew some of the reasons FonziGG slid out of the first round. After making the pick I was able to get ahold of this wonderful person and confirmed that they'll be around in a lesser capacity. Life gets busy, I absolutely understand that the VHL is second fiddle [or should be] over real life, and I fully support Fonzi in whatever decisions he will make in the present and the future. I won't reveal what he's been going through, that's not really my place to say, but I have given him my thoughts about his situation. Over time Adams will join the Legions' defensive unit, and while it may take awhile to get there it's certainly on the horizon. Again one of the great things about the VHLE is it delays the late career deprecation normal VHL-bound skaters will experience, so if Fonzi makes the VHL by S84 he'll never experience that depreciation and have four solid seasons in the big leagues. 23rd OVERALL [C] STING CHAMELEON Potential: Top Four Defender First VHL Season? S84/S85. I don't know much about Hybrid1486, but I do know they're a returning veteran member that generated excitement among VHLM GMs and older members of our league. I'm also aware this user isn't a fan of Discord, which is entirely alright with me. I read a media spot about why they weren't on the VHL Discord just to realize a few of the points struck home for me, and in some way indirectly relates to why I avoid the official VHL discord server 95% of the time I'm tagged or mentioned. Only reason I visit there is to game with Fong from time to time, and of course read the hidden VHL GM Chat in order to stay up to date and connected with my colleagues. Lately Hybrid has taken a step back from the league again, so I don't want to apply too much pressure and will simply support whatever development path chosen. Chameleon also represents a positional need the Legion currently have, we need defensive prospects that'll make the VHL eventually. Even though Hybrid is only earning five capped TPE each week, Sting will eventually see VHL ice without facing depreciation well into his career clock and I'm alright with waiting for that to develop. If that's where Hybrid is comfortable, that's where I'll be comfortable too. 24th OVERALL [RW] ARTHUR KIMURA Potential: Top Six Forward First VHL Season? S81/S82. Unlike Hybrid, I do know something about FBR, although that is mostly related to my first player [Rylan Peace] and our joint history with Toronto. As far as I can tell, FBR's first player was Matthew Kai, a promising prospect for the Toronto Legion drafted in the first round back in S65 by the Vancouver Wolves [previously Quebec City]. FBR eventually went inactive with Kai, but Matthew had a decent career with Toronto after what I recall was the SBA/VHL drama causing a rift between the two leagues back then. FBR is back now, and I'm beyond excited to see what they're capable of with Arthur Kimura. I don't comment on many threads on the forum, but I will say the art work has been awesome to see, and I can't wait for Kimura to inevitably join the Toronto Legion. Is Kimura destined to join Fire and Peace on the first line? He's a right wing, not too far behind in TPE and could naturally slot in with what I hope could become a 'dynamic trio'. We shall see! 30th OVERALL [D] LINK ZHANG Potential: Top Four Defender First VHL Season? S83/S84. This is the first user I know absolutely nothing about. Bolts joined back in June, played for the Yukon Rush, has been fairly active in media spots and seems like a genuinely nice individual. I've noticed the strong, kind compliments they've been leaving in reviews, joking presence within press conference answers and a positive attitude. My goal is to get to know this individual a little more once the plate has cleared a bit, so I'm excited to see where this goes and what it develops into. Assuming Zhang joins the VHL at 400 TPA, I can honestly see an effective two-way defender based on his build. With just a tad bit more effort, such as a media spot and a VHL.com article, Zhang could easily become the steal of the S80 draft and turn into a dominating VHL defender and a pillar the Legion rely on in a short manner of time. Well that's it!

1. Did you follow the VHL draft at all? 2. What do you think about our first round and the selections we made? 3. What do you think about our second round and the selections we made? 4. Who do you think will be the steal of the draft? 5. If you're eligible for the VHLE do you go and play a season or two? 6. Are you excited about the Legions' future? @rjfryman @jaredc7 @73MPL4R @WildfireMicro @FBR @Viper @WHY_Bolts @MattyIce @Doomsday @Hybrid1486 @fonziGG

Bye

I'm going to show you wrong and get 9th in the NA Conference! Yeah, take that!

I suck at these and I'm willing to prove it.

Who's in this draft class?

I appreciate the breakdown but you're including other uncapped opportunities like predictions and VHFL that can yield just a single uncapped point, I know since I experienced it with Kyle Peace already... obviously that's on me for poor predictions and bad VHFL teams, but I'd classify those two as volatile ways to earn attribute points and certainly fall outside 'regular capped tasking' I was referencing too. Doubles weeks, donation fives, and the standard twelve capped weekly alongside career tasks is what I was aiming for because they represent reliable ways to earn a set amount of TPE. Even then at 346 you still fall short of the 350 you are required to have by the time you're drafted to a VHL team. As the rules are written you have to be above 350 by your VHL Draft, but that could just be me interpreting it incorrectly, so there's certainly room for some improvement there. "If you are above 350 TPE by your VHL draft and want to skip the VHLE completely you may do so." It doesn't appear any mention of the VHLE has been included in the VHL Rules topic, but it implies if you're under by your VHL draft you can't skip the VHLE at all. I stand by it being -- at the very least anyway -- practically possible without donating anything to the website. I never said it was pay to win, but I did say I felt like I was being forced through an artificial pipeline.

So I still need to do a few capped tasks, but I'll be honest... I felt deflated when I realized Peace simply wouldn't have enough attribute points to skip the VHLE. At first I was excited at the thought of joining the VHLE, it was a new league with no history but as time went on the idea started to 'grind my gears' in a manner of speaking. I stopped being excited, I stopped looking forward to this new league, and I can't pinpoint why the excitement evaporated as quickly as it did. Could it be Toronto sits in a good position to draft my own player? Maybe, but until the lottery completed I didn't think I was getting my character anyway so I don't think that's it. I think part of my issue was coming to a disappointing conclusion there's only one viable way to skip the VHLE completely: Donations! I'm missing a total of five capped TPE with Kyle Peace... so I know that doesn't help; I claimed welfare twice, got 1/2 on a trivia question, and forgot to put up a VHL press conference one week. Through just regular capped tasking it is genuinely impossible for someone to skip the VHLE even with max recreate TPE. I'm not joking... it is literally impossible without numerous donations to the league, and I've donated once while using contract money for two additional double weeks. If I recall correctly the rules state a player cannot play in the VHL until they've met a minimum requirement to join the league unless they're a S79 or older player already on a VHL roster, while also declaring that the determining factor for S80 prospects is their TPE when drafted, so in essence a VHL team can only play a S80 prospect if they're above the current floor of 350 TPE and have no control over where any S79 or older players play assuming they're under the VHLE's hard cap of 400 TPE. My new player Kyle Peace will be forced into the VHLE by what I can only assume was a hard floor by design. As I stated above I've soured to the thought of being linearly pushed through an artificial pipeline created to reduce stress on VHL rosters that were experiencing overcrowding issues, but I acknowledge that's my perspective as a VHL GM and not a member of any leadership group here on the website. Maybe I should look at this in a different light... when Peace does get to the VHL, he'll be more competitive I suppose! Now onto the draft itself. Pre-lottery results I wasn't sure where I was going, I hadn't been interviewed by any team so I starting thinking other GMs within that range just assumed I was going to select myself. It was only after the lottery results -- wherein Toronto moved down one spot twice -- did I realize choosing myself was becoming a viable option. Earlier in the season I acquired Moscow's pick with the intent on selecting Peace but I was confident then I'd be unavailable as I was assuming Moscow would be sixth overall rather than fourth overall (originally third). I admit the issue with having first and third overall pre-lottery was, at best, nothing more than a minor inconvenience. I was going to get two solid prospects regardless and I still will be with second and fourth overall I received after McWolf ran the VHL lottery for us. When my picks were 1 and 3, I knew selecting Peace wasn't going to happen, but my hope is growing now that I own half of the first six selections in the upcoming VHL Entry Draft [2, 4 and 5th overall belong to the Legion]. Where Peace goes I'm uncertain, but to GMs out there: I only have two teams I don't want to play for. I guess that's my blurb for six.

I fell asleep listening to Frostbeards' velvety voice.

Quick blurb for two TPE. Yesterday I made a trade with London that added a third lottery pick to Toronto's draft stock in exchange for 11th, 20th and 25th overall in the upcoming VHL Entry Draft. I spent the entirety of the afternoon and a large chunk of the evening negotiating with GMs yesterday for numerous picks as my plans both brilliantly exploded in my face, but also quietly formed together into something far more concrete than I realistically hoped for. I'm simply overjoyed at the thought Toronto has the 2nd, 4th and 5th overall selections and I honestly can't wait for the draft to begin. I could use more mock drafts though... Yeah. More mock drafts!

We don't need the cap space for quite some time, me thinks. haha

Congrats Malmo!

Thanks BOOM! Happy to see Odinsson dominate the league, honestly.