rjfryman

@Rocketman04 @Tagger

Pardon my ignorance, I just want to know how often do ratings get updated in the simfile? Just want to help my player and my team make sure we update ratings before a cutoff time.

Hattrick YES... YES... Overtime Loss...

Not a bad result. thanks for more games @Beketov . I know you don't have to but seeing more gets me pumped for the season.

Thanks, It's something I'm still working on since I feel like so many pictures are not 100% accurate or applicable. Ill try and work on it though.

+10 Julius Freeman pending tpe approval.

I do not hate these results. Not a bad start.

Since Triva is not active this week, could we also use this on doubling our 'reviews' points as well?

Been 12 hours: Edwin Preencarnacion of the Riga Reign Maxim Kovalchuk of the Seattle Bears @Dangles13

Ok, first and foremost I am a sucker for any bio that doesn't start with hockey since it allows for the character of the person to really shine. I enjoyed how he was actually decent at soccer and how you foreshadowed goalie to goalie and his playing style. Being a soccer goalie is all about reflexes and it's rarely pretty which is great that Owen's mentor Hašek so rightly points out. It is refreshing to also see a bio from someone who wasn't the best right away and had to pull themselves up from being backup. A true underdog story that makes me root for Owen and his future success in the VHL.

I really enjoyed reading about Kari's development as a skater and player. You were very vivid about his development and how through each stage of his training how and why he was getting better. If I had one thing I would love to have read more about would be about how his family gives him strength or doesn't for that matter. You have a line in there where 'He was away from home and missed his family'. This is great and with the first paragraph talking about his family it sounds like you could have gone either way in how the responsibility to his gave him the drive to push and be more of a leader in the locker room or that since he often found himself 'forgotten' could have been interesting to make it so that he had a chip on his shoulder to prove to his family that they should have paid more attention to him. Not saying that this is a bad bio simply saying if you are going to talk about his family talk about it more or simply remove it. It almost is like you want to give more info but feels that since its a hockey bio it needs more hockey. All in all a really good read that I enjoyed my time with.

Not going to lie, the first few paragraphs were tough for me to read due to also growing up with a family that was not well off. hand-me-downs and clothes stitched together were life, and even though the memories came it also painted a beautiful picture of what Denver had to grow up with. This was a great way to start a bio and that it painted the rest of the story was just wonderful. Also, the relationship that would flourish with the dad and how that ultimately helped him get scouted was a really nice touch to make the story one that is more than a series of statements but rather makes this player come to life.

I love the fact that John saved up his own money for his skates, it adds a desire that only someone younger than 5 really shows, especially considering money is such a foreign concept. Really enjoy the character building that doesn't solely revolve around hockey. I like the small windows into John's heart and true love for his team/teammates when he was worried about how they would react to his graduation early. John seems like a really well-rounded hockey player/person who I believe would be a great teammate on any team lucky enough to get him.

Lets go Nacho, We will show them what Halifax will do this season.

There was a lot of turmoil in the heart of Julius Freeman when he realized he was too late for the VHLM draft. This cause a fire to be lite in his heart to push himself past all previous thoughts of ability and made him consider his future in the league. He reached out to a number of General Managers and each had pros and cons but one gave him the straight truth and told him it would be a tough road and that nothing would be given. Talking with Anthony Rogers he told me that it would be tough to be a star on the team but if I worked hard and fought with every fiber of my body I could possibly make the second line. So I signed and all through training camp where I meet with every teammate I showed the ferocity of my game but with the kindness toward my fellow teammate. I worked hard but encouraged everyone to push themselves to the limit as well. This continued all through training camp until the final day before we took a break to rest before the season started. The coaching staff said that we were to pick our own captains that no one was a given. I put my vote in the hat like everyone else and was excited to see who would end up being voted as the captains. When Anthony tailed the votes and was ready with the results he gave them to Aran Thranduil the AGM to read off. Assistant Captain: Rhye Tyr. I was so excited since he was a solid defender who has helped me learn the ropes of how to stop opposing offensives in their tracks. Assistant Captain: Julius Freeman. I was shocked and delighted, I would be lying if I wasn't wanting the position but never would have thought that I would get it since I was an undrafted rookie who just joined the team. Captain: Dimitri Volosenkov. My mentor on the ice and now my Captain. Wow, this guy is going places maybe he will go 1st overall next year in the VHL draft. The sky is the limit with this guy. Once everyone congratulated me we were given a few minutes to say a few words. Dimitri said some great words like 'Let’s keep this train rolling all season long and go for a cup. I believe in this squad and I have faith that we can be serious contenders.' Rhye liked to let his on-ice performance do his talking so he was short and sweet and almost said the exact same thing as Dimitri. When it was my turn I didn't know what to say but I tried my best and said: 'I know I'm new here but I am truly grateful for your belief in me. I will do my best to make it so that your faith in me was not put in vain. We are more than the Captains and Assistant Captains. We are a team first and foremost, and together we will push Halifax past the point where past teams have fallen short. We will do this for them, We will do this for Us, We will do this for all future Halifax.'

I will be doing everything in my power to improve to sure up our second line. I have been practicing and making sure that everything I do pushes us toward the goal of bringing the cup to Halifax I would have to say it would be our Captain Dimitiri Volosenkov. Outside of being a great captain, he is also a great leader when it comes to working out and practicing which is probably why he will be our most valuable player. Since I will be chilling on our second line and hopefully playing against weaker opponents I would like to hit 70 points this season. In the standings, I'm not sure. I'm hoping for first for the home-ice advantage but truthfully I think that our group will go all the way through the playoffs this year. The community. There are a lot of people here who are really passionate about this and it's contagious. I got hooked right away when people were so welcoming and helpful with all my many questions. This is a tough one I really enjoy reading @Victor Top 10 x of all time. It makes me excited to see what I can do in the future, as a player and as a contributor to articles. So far I have not read enough to have a specific article in mind outside of my own but I love reading about the history of the league so If you must make me pick one it would have to be since it gives me a starting point to go and look at what made those players great and look at their stats and progression.

2nd Week

F - Matt Thompson of the Seattle Bears @Dangles13 Your up

Nice job USA keep this up.

Julius Freeman's hockey story began at a similar age as many of all time greats. Julius fell in love with hockey when he was only four years old. It was February and the winter Olympics were on the tv everywhere he looked. His mother was in love with watching figure skating every chance she could. In response, Julius was bored and often upset that he could not change the channel to something he would rather watch. His mother appeased him by assuring him that after figure skating he could choose any tv he wanted to watch and she would not change the channel. Julius who at the time was resentful of his mother chooses to pick something that he thought she would hate to watch. Little did he know that by selecting something out of spite it would create a love for him that he would never give up because of the show that he would pick that he knew his mother did not like was watching ice hockey. What started out as something to make his mother upset because it was so stark in contrast to her favorite Olympic event was just the right combination of athletics, teamwork, and beauty. Julius saw the movement of the players and after watching figure skating for days he saw how difficult it was for the hockey players to do everything they were doing. He saw great teams like Sweeden, Canada, Finland, and of course his national team the USA. That year Sweeden won and he found his favorite player Peter Forsberg. Julius begged his mother to take him ice skating but his disappointment his mother said it would not be possible due to where they lived. See at this moment in time Julius and his family lived in the Pacific ocean on an island where his father was stationed in the military. Surrounded by plenty of water with ice nowhere to be found, Julius was distraught at the fact that his ability to play hockey was thwarted by his family and their location. Julius begged and begged to his mother every day to be able to play hockey and eventually, she realized that this would not subside so she did the only thing she could think of getting him every hockey game she could get her hands on. This, of course, meant special ordering games from the stores to get the hockey games that would satiate his desires. During this time Julius would go and play every sport that he could get his hands on and try to master them to his fullest. This included being his schools' quarterback and being a great guard for his basketball team. Even though his heart yearned for hockey maybe mastering other sports might fill the void that hockey so desperately made. Julius watched his film and corrected his mistakes to the very best of his ability. He grew his skill to the point where as an eighth grader he could play with the varsity high school team. Julius was content with where his life was going until his father received new orders to move again. Julius was heartbroken to be leaving his friends and a team that he thought could eventually make him happy with sports. But upon arriving at his new home one thing that he could never expect changed the course of his life almost immediately. Julius upon moving to his new home was so distraught he didn't even try out for his new schools' football or basketball team. In fact, outside of school Julius simply stayed in his room wallowing in his own self-pity. The only thing that would get him out of his room was when his family hosted board game night with the next door neighbors, and that was only because of the neighbors' daughter Amber. Amber was a quiet but cute girl who loved two things; boardgames and figure skating. Julius was super shy around her and after 4 board game nights he finally got up the courage to ask her on a date, since he was still new to the area he suggested that she pick the activity, and what fate would have it she picked ice skating. Please, everyone reading this understand Julius at this point still loves the idea of hockey but is so far removed from actually pursuing this dream that he even forgot that he loved hockey to such a degree where he would get upset if he wasn't allowed to watch the games on tv. What started as a cute date began to blossom into something more. Julius, after being dragged around the ice with Amber helping him as best as she could, wiped out to such a degree where he had to crawl off the ice. However, after being looked over by the arena staff and Amber, Julius had to get back on the ice. He was timider but with Amber's hand in his, he would skate until open skate was over. At which point if you believe in destiny you know what happens next. The local Pro team took to the ice to practice. Julius was so enthralled with the team practicing that it took Amber squeezing his hand for him to realize he was still on the date. That, however, was an interesting moment for the two young kids where Amber saw something that Julius really loved and she let them sit there and watch the team practice and forget their dinner reservation. At dinner, so many things kept coming to Julius mind and he shared as much as he could remember with Amber and she just smiled and listened. After listening for a good hour Amber simply asked one question that would rock Julius to his core. Do you still want to learn to play hockey? Julius did not know how to respond on one hand this was his oldest dream and something he grew up wanting to do. On the other, he knew if he just went back to football or basketball he could probably get a scholarship to any college he wanted to go to. There was a long pause for about 5 minutes until the waiter asked if Julius would like the check. Julius responded emphatically 'Yes I want to learn to play hockey.' completely ignoring the waiters' question and asked Amber what do I need to do to learn. Amber and Julius then made plans to go skating every day that week. After the second session, Amber started to record Julius and give him pointers on what he needed to do to improve. Julius who was used to analyzing his film would quickly modify his skating to improve. Amber was amazed by his growth. After two weeks of skating Julius was good enough to start with a rec league playing hockey. Again Amber would record his games and give him feedback and Julius would quickly grow. The arena staff knew and started to take interest in Julius when after two months of playing rec league became the best player in the entire league. They invited him to play in pickup games where the skill could be anywhere from people who learned a few years ago to former college players to trainers who work for the local Pro team. This is where our story comes to a close since Julius was approached by Anthony Rogers the GM of the Halifax 21st and was given a contract for the year to see if he could cut it at a semi-professional level.

@McWolf Keep it going, man. Be the MVP of the tournament.

Lets go USA hoping you go far

Very good read. I would have loved to have a few more quiet moments with the dad, maybe that due to my own upbringing where my father was overseas due to military service but it seems like Dissanayake's father seems like a really cool dude. I could be projecting but when he says 'you first need to know how to skate': without saying how much it will cost or that it's a weird dream or whatever he just seems like a really awesome father. Also with Mike being Nethila's best friend would have been cool for him to get his own quote when describing Nethila hockey playing ability in the second to last paragraph. All in all, I liked the small character developments and thought it was a good enjoyable experience to read the bio.

It was an enjoyable read. My favorite part would have to be the quote Passerelli makes in the middle of the bio. It gives more character to Passerelli than simply commenting on what he did and that he was at a crossroads. I also enjoyed the inner turmoil he faced when his teams lost but he was having great seasons. Not that I want to encourage cocky players but it would have been interesting from a character arch to see him lean more into that and get it kicked out of him in college after some battle for a position with another equally talented teammate. All in all very good bio.

I enjoyed the game highlights. I know getting guests on the podcast might not be as possible due to scheduling, I'm wondering if with a transcript like this could you ask @Thranduil to record his response in chunks at which point you could ask the question and play his recorded response. Something to think about with youtube live comments ability; you could comment the player's name, or a link to view the player, you are speaking about. It helps due to the nature of podcasts and sometimes mic's cutting out will allow GM's or other studious players to quickly see who you are talking about.