Elhandon

@Elhandon

I was about to write a full mock draft, but thanks to a slow ass playoffs and Quebec winning games I'll have to switch a topic.
 
 

 
*this is it - the Skylar Rift a.k.a. VHLM playoff MVP award*
 
Last time when I was making a similar article, I was talking about the Devereux Trophy - the best goalie award. So we figured it out this award is likely going to hands of Pepper. So for now I'm going to talk about another trophy my goalie has a shot at. This trophy is named after Skylar Rift, actually a goalie who won two VHL playoff MVP awards (which is named after another goalie, Kanou. lol). A lot of goalies here. Is this going to be the year of another goalie or there would be even a better candidate who is a player? Let's find out. Here are players who could take this award:
 
 
D - BURNT TOAST @Toast
 
9 GP; 2 G - 8 A - 28 HITS - 34 SB
 
Perhaps you would ask me, why did I include a player from a non finalist team. I'm not sure why, but 34 shot blocks and 28 hits are looking solid. He looks like one of main reasons why Sasky was able to beat Oslo in just 5 games and not being completely blown out by Halifax in all four games. Probably it's just me, but could be named the Sasky MVP at least.
 
D - LANDO BAXTER @Elhandon
 
9 GP; 6 G - 7 A - 13 HIT - 18 SB - 37,5 % Shot Accuracy
 
This is the player that could've been drafted 11 OV by me in last draft, but I chose Glade instead. Seems like Lando didn't like it as he had a really good playoff performance. First of all, first in scoring while being a def is very nice. Also, a whopping 37,5 % accuracy tells us he may become a deadly sniper should Quebec give more chances to him in future. By the way, he's the second defenceman already being mentioned in this article. It's certain they don't like being kinda ssnubbed just because they're not playing forward.
 
G - KALLIS KRIKETERS *there should be the Reign's logo*
 
9 GP; 8 W - 1 L - .923 % - 1.53 GAA - 2 SO
 
Hi, it's me...Kallis didn't have an ideal regular season. Especially in the start of the season when he actually sucked hard. Anyways, being able to optimize the build before the playoffs changed everything. Suddenly he just shut the door for Halifax and Las Vegas. I wish he had a better start in finals' Game 4, but 92.3 % save percentage is good enough. Also, he posted the only 2 SO in entire post-season. Seems like a valid contestant for the Rift Trophy to be honest.
 
 
These are my three picks for this trophy, but obviously this is subjective. I saw majority members are picking either Kallis or Lando as the MVP so I guess Ottawa can already celebrate again. Yet another award could be snatched by their player. @diamond_ace celebrate watch.
 
That's it and I'm out.
 
6 TPE to Kallis.

Count me excited. Understood Quebec didn't have room. 

Welcome to the team boys!
 

 
@alecbama @AndrewWarren13 @Elhandon

@AndrewWarren13
@alecbama 
@Elhandon
 
I'm sorry guys I couldn't keep you in Quebec. Im right up against the cap and couldn't give you all the ice time you deserve. I wish you guys all the best in Calgary and I look forward to playing against you guys in the future. 
 
Good luck in Calgary!

we have Baxter!

Congrats all!  Well done @diamond_ace

ooooohhh yeah!
Thanks @Bushito for your work.

Ottawa Lynx 48-18-5
 
The regular season comes to its conclusion tonight as the Ottawa Lynx travel to Saskatoon to take on the Wild.
 
Its been a thrilling ride so far for the club, they've mostly held steady in third place in the VHLM. Halifax and Las Vegas hold 9 and 4 points leads respectively. They both play Yukon to wrap up their campaigns. GM Diamond_Ace says he's been happy with how the season has progressed and while he had hoped to finish first in the division, he feels confident about the teams chances in the playoffs.
 
The last week has seen some major upheaval in terms of packing order in team scoring. The second highest scoring team in the league is now led by 40 goal man Dan Wilinsky who has had a fire lit under him since being moved to centre on the second line. Roctrion King has provided steady offense all season with 39 goals. Another rookie Chace Trepanier has passed the 30 goal mark with 33. Lando Baxter was far and away the leading point getter on the back end with 21 goals 66 assists and 87 points. He led the way in both assists and points.
 
Two of the top prospects for the upcoming VHL draft Joseph McWolf and Ryan Kastelic provided stellar defense together and look to be solid picks to whoever chooses them.
 
In goal Kallis Kriketers has been resting for the playoffs. He finished the year with 45 wins, an .896 save percentage and a 2.10 goals against average. Rookie Milan Baros has played each of the last four games and is slated as the starter again tonight. He has 3 wins and a shootout loss.
 
The Lynx seem ready to rumble in the league playoffs, they are healthy, motivated and look confident in their group. They'll start off on the road but they've managed to assemble a 21-11-3 record away from home. They will be ready to go in any way. Go Lynx.

With the 61st VHLM season pretty much in the books, Joseph McWolf takes some time to look back and reflect on what he accomplished in this past season. He knows this next game might be his last regular season game as a Lynx and he's feeling kind of nostalgic about it, already. The team that drafted him and gave him his first shot at playing professional hockey. He almost wishes he could stay with them one more season and help them be a competitive team again next season as well, but so is the life of a prospect. You got to be thankful for that chance they gave you, but then you got to move on and work on what's next; the VHL. McWolf doesn't know yet the colours he's going to wear next season, but he did spoke with a couple of general managers that showed some interest for him. Some of them talked about the impact he could have in the upcoming season, but they all seemed impressed mostly by the type of player he could potentially become down the road.
 
The English defenseman is en route to finish 2nd in the VHLM in hits, as he delivered 234 in 71 games. He also currently sits on the 16th place in the blocked shots leaderboards with 74, effectively showing that he is a soul-crushing shutdown force to be recognized in the minor league. He is hopeful that this high-level of defensive abilities he's been showing all season long will translate well in the big leagues. He doesn't expect to finish his rookie season anywhere near the top 10 in either hits or blocked shots, but he might get up there at one point in his career. As for the offensive side of his game, there sadly isn't much to talk about. His 34 points ranked him 44th in the whole league, 21st among defensemen. McWolf lacked the powerplay time that his competitors had, only racking 4 points with the man advantage, while some others had upwards of 20 powerplay points. But, even with more powerplay time, he would never have caught up with top scoring defensemen like Shawn Glade or Lando Baxter.
 
He's conscious that, at some point in his career, he's going to have to put some work on his finishing touch. Blocking shots and checking opponents only gets you so far if you can't score when given the opportunity. He wants to do what's best for his future team and he knows that might be to try and become more a two-way defenseman than a undimensional shutdown guy. That is hopefully something he'll get to discuss with his coach in the coming weeks. For now, though, Joseph has to focus. He gotta think about his short-term future. He gotta wear that Ottawa Lynx jersey one last time in the regular season and get his mind set on the upcoming playoffs.

Ottawa Lynx 31-13-2
 
The Ottawa Lynx have now passed the halfway mark of their schedule and are approaching not only the trade deadline but also the stretch drive of the VHLM season.
 
The past week was good for the Lynx as they compiled 7-3-0 record. While the past week has seen them edge 2 points ahead of the Las Vegas Aces, a ongoing 7 game winning streak has helped the Halifax 21st pull 7 points ahead second place Lynx.
 
Newly acquired Ryan Kastelic has helped stabilize the back end and provided some extra offensive punch as the Lynx now rank a close second in goals both for and against.
Roctrion King continues to lead the way offensively with 31 goals and 59 points. Lando Baxter has been rock solid on defence as well putting up 15 goals and 41 assists.
 
In goal Kallis Kriketers has played every minute for the Lynx and continues to shine. His .892 save percentage and 2.14 goals against average both rank 2nd in the league. He also leads the VHLM with 5 shutouts.
 
The Lynx look set to put the Aces in the rear view mirror and try to catch Halifax. They'll need all hands on deck to make up that difference in the final 26 games

 

So as many of you know, I tend to keep my GMing as a one man job. Most of the others seem to have two guys in the staff in some capacity, and I've tended not to do that. However, in the interest of teaching a promising new guy how it's done so the M can carry on successfully, I gladly take on @McWolf as the AGM of Ottawa, with a view toward a main role somewhere in the future. 

Thanks a lot for the opportunity @diamond_ace ! I'm excited to get to learn how the job is done from a veteran VHLM GM like you

Respect, man.  @Enorama
I'm sure you took on this team assuming Kastelic would make it. 
That being said, Baxter's honoured to make the cut!
 
Thanks!

I think we should have teams in non NHL markets. I'd honestly move Calgary, Toronto and New York if it were fully up to me.

Review
Nice interview once again. Baxter sure seems like he is nice and well rounded. I will have to look up where you ended up. Keep up the good work buddy.

Ottawa Lynx 4-3-0
 

The Ottawa Lynx started the 62nd season in the VHLM this past weekend and hit the 1/10 mark of the season yesterday.  Right now they sit in a tie for 2nd place with the Las Vegas Aces with 8 points apiece  The Lynx have compiled a 4-3-0 record, scoring 28 goals and allowing 23. 

The Lynx had a tough start to the season dropping the first two games to the Halifax 21st . They quickly rebounded winning both games against the Saskatoon Wild, before finishing the week with a pair of wins against  the Oslo Storm and a loss against Las Vegas.
Some of the bright spots so far have been defenceman Lando Baxter leading way with 5 goals and 13 points, centre Chance Matthews with 10 helpers amd 12 points and rookie centre Chace Trepanier with 5 goals. 

In goal Kallis Kriketers had a rough start to the season, before getting on his game with a shutout against Oslo. Team defence and discipline have been a sore spot so far with a struggling Penalty kill and 23 goals allowed. The most recent game against the Las Vegas Aces, finished 2-1 with a much better showing in the defensive zone. GM Diamond_Ace expects this to be more or the norm for the year as he promised big things to the Lynx faithful. Almost going as far as to guarantee a berth in the Founders cup.

With a strong draft and a few free agents that fell into the teams lap, on paper it does look like a team to be reckoned with. As such there are high expectations all around and team ownership wont take a poor season lightly. 

The team hopes some early seasom struggles from players like Vaydar Odinsson, Jerome Mitchell, Robert Renner and Dan Wilinsky, can be turned around quickly as they’ll need everyone pulling together to have a successful season. 

After the first set of games, the coach preached better discipline and composure, as the Lynx have fallen behind in the first period in 5 games so far.

It is a long season and weve only just begun, but so far other than Halifax sprinting out to an early 5-1 record, and the Yukon Rush stumbling out of the gate at 1-5, everyone is bunched together. With a busy and tough schedule in the next week, the Lynx hope to keep hanging around the top two until they are able to shake out the early cobwebs. Diamond_Ace attrubuted the slow start to the one game preseason having issues getting his full lineup together. But he thinks that after the first two contests, the team has shown a better effort and and it should only get better. 

The team will have to rely on…. To carry them much of the way as defence wins championships in this league. Either way it will be another exciting year in the vhlm and well bring you exclusive coverage every step of the way. Till next week, so long. 
 
502 words 

Elhandon takes The Charm
 
I take Evan R. Lawson
 
@Enorama

D Ko Kane for me.
 
F Veran Dragomir for Elhandon (just a note to him, for when he comes back: yes you had Federov higher but he's also retired)
 
 
@Laflamme
 

Hey guys, I'm heading out camping early tomorrow so I'll need someone to make the rest of my picks for me. 
I've asked my VHLM GM @diamond_aceto step in for me. He says yes, so I gave him a list to pick my last 2 forwards with.
Just wanted to let everyone know! 
I trust @Bushito is okay with it too... 
Thanks. 

Hey guys, I'm heading out camping early tomorrow so I'll need someone to make the rest of my picks for me. 
I've asked my VHLM GM @diamond_aceto step in for me. He says yes, so I gave him a list to pick my last 2 forwards with.
Just wanted to let everyone know! 
I trust @Bushito is okay with it too... 
Thanks. 

So, I've been well aware that the VHLM page of the Portal has needed a re-vamp for some time. It doesn't look good and its not very functional.
 
I've had a few ideas for it, but I haven't been able to decide which way to go so I've been putting it off. My sort of going plan was actually incorporate all the main stat pages like indiviudal leaders, overall league leader, standings, schedule ect into one tabbed VHLM page (rather than the ugly links to VHLM-versions of the VHL stat pages). 
 
But I think I might have come up with a better solution: why have a dedicated VHLM page at all?
 
Instead, we could have a 'switch' that would always be visible somewhere in the header, and it would look something like this:
 

 
And when you click one league, we could have everything that comes from STHS switch to VHL or VHLM. So there would be no need for a separate VHLM 'page', you'd just click the button to change to VHLM-view and all the standard stat pages would be showing VHLM instead. On the homepage, VHLM Recent Games would be shown instead of VHL. This wouldn't have any effect on the other pages like player list, ect obviously - just the stat ones. It would also be stored as a 'user setting' type thing, so it would remember your chosen view each time you visit the site.
 
But I'm thinking that's probably the most functional solution?

His user was Boubabi, who was banned. I assume he's playing out the career.

This was a great write-up @diamond_ace
Nice to see the rational behind the moves (that I honestly didn't know about).  
Looking forward to see if Roctrion and Lando can create some magic this season!

@Laflamme
You get to pick again.  It's a snake draft so after we go down the order, we start back up from the bottom.
I'm waiting for ya, because it's my pick next!