SlapshotLegion

The reunion is so sweet!

We are a match made in VHL heaven. The Hextall/Lafontaine rivalry, the Petrenko and Ori connection, and now we get to dance as Kadachi and Tuominen again for the first time since the Bulls days. Excited to win more with you! (Also, I started changing my name to match the team after the "Dragons" became a team LOL but yes, SlapshotDragon is def my fav iteration of the name)

TORONTO - Raimo Tuominen is flying into Toronto after one of the hardest decisions in his life. He made the choice to leave Calgary. After spending all of his career under Wranglers’ colours, he will be donning blue with the Legion. Coming into training camp today, he is excited yet a bit saddened about his departure. “I mean, yeah, I made the choice. I signed the contract. Doesn’t make it any easier saying goodbye to a team I came to love and play for. The city, the fans, management, my teammates, all of them have been such a big part of my success and shaped me into the player and person I am now.” So then why the choice? “In all honesty, I just felt like the writing was on the wall. The Wranglers have young guys coming up and are forming a new core. I could’ve totally been a part of that for my last season but part of me felt like we needed to move on. I can’t speak for the Wranglers organization. Maybe they think differently, maybe I acted too quickly, but I think it’s a far-cry to say that my departure will do any damage to them. They’re building something good over there.” And the choice to go to Toronto? “They reached out as soon as they possibly could. I know there were other GMs who reached out and I am honoured they did but they were quick to lay out that our shared goal is to win a cup. They have a great squad with stars in the making as well. I couldn’t be more excited to play with a team and the Legion had me sold right away. I could’ve sat on and hoped for a couple more offers but there was something about the Legion that made me super excited. I hope to play my part well and be a part of something special.”

Raimo Tuominen - SS

glad to see im top 4 in two metrics but yeah this was a real cool read!

1. Very excited. One thing with my tenure with the Wranglers that I've noticed; I get more and more excited with each season. The additions have been excellent and the young guys are joining us in our quest for the cup. This squad definitely has what it takes to make an impact and I am dreaming big things with this group. 2. It will be Adi Dassler. Coming off a 67 point season and making the adjustment to this team while on the second line, I think that Adi is gonna have a huge breakout season (I say this as if he didn't have a 96 point season lol) and will lead the team offesnively. 3. I mean between Spider Panda (an outstanding rookie goalie who will certainly get a lot of starts) and Phil Sakic (arguably one of the best forward prospects currently) there is certainly a good chance that we will. I think both will be frontrunners and I have confidence that one will win, or at least make it a tough decisino. 4. Just what an honour it is to captain a team. I mean even as a member of the VHL, it's great to get the approval of the guys. Always a bit exciting to know a player of mine is a captain, especially since this is only the second time this has happened. Can't wait for the season to start and I think I speak for the leadership group (Dassler, Sakic, L. Reingaard, myself) when I say that we will do our part to make this team competitive. 5. We're making the playoffs and we will be raising havoc as we do so. 6. Apple pie. Nothing wrong with pecan pie but I just think that apple pie just hits differently.

CALGARY - Raimo Tuominen was surprised when GM Zef Goncalves made the announcement for the leadership group of the season. “Yeah, that was a big surprise for me. We were in the locker and he announced me as captain. I’ve never seen myself wearing the C. But I definitely will not shy away from it. It is a huge honour and I am very thankful for the guys putting their trust in me. I will do the best I can.” Calgary has a system in which the players have a major say in who the captain of the team will be. Raimo Tuominen, Adi Dassler, Leif Reingaard, and rookie Phil Sakic will be in the leadership group this season. Another big change for Raimo will be the absence of winger Catia Goncalves, who will be with the Moscow Menace. Although Raimo thinks the trade was a good one for the Wranglers, he did express that he would miss his longtime linemate. “I mean, Catia was amazing with us and will continue to shine with Moscow. I do look forward to fighting with this group but you can’t deny that a large part of why I am where I am is because of Catia. I mean you have the JST, the WJC, the VHLE, and even the VHL. I will miss her dearly as a teammate and look forward to competing against her with this squad. I am sad that she is no longer a Wrangler. But looking across that locker room and seeing two excellent defensemen joining the fray? Makes me very excited. Benjamin Abenduct and FISTED ANALLY BY A CIRCUS MONKEY Analfist are going to have great seasons and we love having them in the locker room. Catch you later Catia, thank you for everything and here’s to the future.”

Truly a great honour. Looking forward to an excellent season with thie squad!

Raimo Tuominen - Slap Shot

1. My player is doing alright, glad to see he hit the PPG mark again this season and that the 30+ goals benchmark has been passed. I am hoping that the individual success doesn't come at the cost of team success. 2. Yeah, turns out that Raimo is a big fan of Sherwood gear. He got sponsored by them at the beginning of the season and has been using Sherwood gear ever since. 3. Probably would have to be Johnny B Goode. I wish it was for a happier reason but it's just in the memory of Johnny Hockey. RIP Johnny and Matthew, will always have you two in our heart. 1) If your player had to switch jersey numbers from the one they currently wear, which one would they wear and why? 2) Speaking of jersey numbers, let's say a player is traded to your team. You wear the jersey number that they also wear. How much money will you give up your jersey number for? 3) What is your player's plan after their VHL career? Will they play hockey elsewhere? Pursue another career? I'd love to know.

CALGARY - The Victory Hockey League season continues. While the playoff teams in the European Conference seem to be far from the lower seeded teams in their respective conference, the North American conference continues to be close. In the race for a playoff spot is the Calgary Wranglers; a young scrappy team looking for some playoff action. Raimo Tuominen is one of these players. He may not be the fresh faced young winger turned center that came into the league anymore but he is entering his prime years. Now, his goal is to do what he can to contribute to a Wranglers playoff push. “In my VHL career, I have only been in two playoffs. Both of them were in my first two years, S91 and S92, and both times they ended in a first round exit. I’m hoping that we can make a push to the playoffs and begin to show our winning potential there. It has been a season with ups and downs and with how close the NA conference is proving to be, nothing is promised. That’s fine, nothing should be promised. It should be earned.” Raimo Tuominen said. “I think we can make it to the playoffs. We aren’t the favourites by far but once those playoffs start, being the favourites starts to matter a little less. They still matter but I intend on fighting regardless.”

RIGA, Latvia - As a fresh faced rookie, you look to make a name for yourself in the league.. That was the goal of Reign rookie Ryuu Crimson coming into the 63rd season of the Victory Hockey League. Ryuu Crimson would play six seasons in the league, three with the aforementioned Riga Reign and three more with HC Davos Dynamo. A solid player who could net you a guaranteed 20+ goals, the scrappy winger may not have had much VHL hardware but the one individual award he has is a forgotten but special part of league history. In Season 63, there were a good amount of rookies looking to make a name for themselves. Without a doubt, the best out of all of them was Julian Borwinn. Scoring 42 goals and matching that total for his assists, 84 points was certainly no easy feat for any player, let alone a rookie. Borwinn would prove to be a standout of his time with 705 points in 576 games. He would later win a multitude of awards including the Szatkowski, the Brooks, the Slobodzian, the Funk, the Campbell, the Boulet, and most prominently the Continental Cup. Ryuu Crimson was nowhere near the best rookie and had nowhere near as prolific a career as Julian Borwinn. In the regular season, he tallied a respectable 22 goals and 40 assists on Riga’s second line. This team was a special one; a championship pedigree team looking to finally cash in. Podrick Cast, Leph Twinger, Edwin Preencarnacion, Jack Shephard, Jeff Gow, and Mikka Pajari were the forwards with the first three proving to be one of the most underrated first lines in history. On the back end, Joseph Bassolino led the league in assists (even though he was a defenseman!) and he won the Valiq as the best offensive defenseman. Paired with him was another rookie, Dylan Nguyen, a great young defenseman that Ryuu knew from their VHLM days. Truly an excellent first pairing. The second pairing? A rookie Shawn Glade and a rookie Ryan Kastelic. A second pairing good enough to be a first pairing on other teams. Ryan Kastelic would later become the first player to hit 2000 TPE and would continue to find success even after becoming a forward. Then Kallis Kriketers, who Ryuu maintains was the best goaltender he ever had the privilege of playing with, was in between the pipes and would prove to be an excellent starter for Riga in his rookie season and onwards. Back to Ryuu Crimson, in the midst of all of this excellence was a relatively unproven winger looking to justify being picked 9th overall. After spending one season in the VHLM to develop, Ryuu was slotted with Jack Shephard and Jeff Gow to form a second line that continued to provide depth scoring. This excellent roster from top to bottom brought the Reign franchise to championship glory. Then the VHL awarded the Daisuke Kanou to a rookie Ryuu Crimson, who shared it along with legendary goaltender Norris Stopko. “I’ll be honest, I was extremely surprised to receive the honour and even more surprised to have shared it with such an excellent player.” Ryuu Crimson stated when asked about the award. It definitely wasn’t the flashiest Daisuke Kanou run. With 6 goals and 7 assists in 11 games, Ryuu is still shocked to this day that it was enough. But no matter how shocked or surprised he is, what doesn’t change is the fact it happened. “The best part of that run was that championship winning game 6. We’re on the power play. It goes from Jack to Jeff to me. We go up 4-2. Revchenko would score for the Wranglers to go up 4-3. Kallis plays amazingly in period three and we win it all. To this day, I still am proud of being the game winning goal scorer. But I am even more proud of being a part of that Reign team that made it all the way.”

CALGARY - One of the new exciting things coming to the city of Calgary is Scotia Place. This will replace the Saddledome (the second oldest NHL building) as the city’s main event center for both sports and entertainment. From concerts to AHL Wranglers, Flames, Roughnecks, and Hitmen games, this will also be the future home of the VHL Wranglers. While there is much love for the old dome and it will sorely be missed, players are excited at what the future has to offer. “I mean, from what is planned it looks like it will be an incredible building to have in our city. It will certainly be a blast seeing what is planned for this new building. We are excited to play in this building and to have the fans in this building with us. Hopefully, we can also begin something grand here in Calgary with our team. Can’t wait to see what happens from here.” said Raimo Tuominen. While Scotia Place is quite a bit later down the line, the Wranglers are looking to prove themselves this season. A huge overhaul was done this season with new personnel and new prospects coming in. The Wranglers have their eyes on this season and many seasons after that.

1. Probably the VHL player because he has been the most consistent and most successful in terms of individual success so far. Plus, VHLE Raimo and VHLM Raimo are long gone and forgotten. Thankfully. 2. Probably a new brand deal for less money because there's usually more freedom and opportunity. Raimo would love to represent an underrated brand. Of course, if Raimo doesn't like the brand's products, he'll drop it anyways. 3. I would watch baseball and whatever other sports were available. Since I also like badminton, I'd do badminton in place of hockey. 1. If you have had more than one player in the VHL, how would you order those players in terms of greatness? If you haven't, do you think this player will be your most successful or will another player take that place. 2. What is your player's go-to play on a breakaway? If you are a goalie, how does your goalie approach breakaways? 3. If you could change your team's team colours (gasp!), which colours would you change it to?

CALGARY - Raimo Tuominen had a nickname that was based on his initials. RT turned into Right Trigger in Finland. While that name is not used in VHL circles, it is surprisingly fitting for his style of play. Raimo is a very shot heavy player. Heck, so is Catia Goncalves, his fellow linemate and partner in crime. Many times in games, the two just have a shootout. There are a good amount of examples of game sheets where a Raimo shot is recorded just to be followed by a Catia shot. And the two wouldn’t have it any other way. “For now, it is working and it is what makes us tick. Catia takes a shot, I hunt for a rebound, I take a shot, Catia fishes for a rebound, repeat and rinse until the goal has been scored. What can I say? It doesn’t always work but it can prove to add some pressure on the opponent’s d-core or even the goalie. I mean, I’m no goalie but if shots are finding their way through to me and it’s happening every 3 seconds, that might get irritating, no?” With 1424 shots and 128 career goals, maybe Raimo isn’t the most accurate shooter. But like a spray and pray player in an FPS game holding down the right trigger, rapid-fire shooting can sometimes result in good stuff.

No Interference Version

1. Not really since I was out vacationing but I did pay attention to the medals for the Philippines. Carlos Yulo had a great showing winning the second and third gold medals in our country's history AND we got two bronze medals for boxing thanks to Aira Villegas and Nesthy Petecio. 2. I want to win multiple championships with a player in the VHL, however, for Raimo, I hope to get him a championship with the Wranglers. I've only ever gotten one championship each for two players and I think it'd be cool to get multiple with one player. 3. Chalkboards. Chalk is pretty cheap and I feel that chalk on a chalkboard is way more visible from a distance than dry-erase markers on a whiteboard. Having smartboards/big monitors to look at in lectures for long periods of time in a windowless room can give me headaches from time to time. 1. If your player were to pick up a summer olympic sport, which sport would they pursue? 2. Who is one athlete from a different sport that your player watches/looks up to/admires? If it's nobody, I'd love to hear why as well! 3. What musical instrument would your player be most likely to play and why?

CALGARY - If you were to tell 18 year old Raimo Tuominen that he would be competing in the world’s best hockey league, he would say… “I know that. I bet on myself for a reason.” Raimo answered with a chuckle. “But I bet he wouldn’t be able to point out Calgary on a map. Now? I can’t imagine being anywhere else.” Approaching his fifth season, the Liiga winger turned VHL pro has experienced quite a bit of what the Victory Hockey League world has to offer. And he is looking to experience more. But before Raimo Tuominen, a Calgary Wrangler, came to be, he was a young man from Finland’s Liiga looking to make a jump to the VHLM. “I remember being so confident going in. I thought it would be similar to playing in the Liiga. Wasn’t even close. It was a wake-up call. I was saying in my head I would score 40. Then I got to the point where I wondered if I would even score 20.” Raimo smiled. “Regardless, I will always be thankful for my time in Houston. I learned about North American hockey there. I made good friends there. It was my first NA home. Then I ended up going back to Europe anyway.” It was there in Oslo he would meet a linemate that would end up being his biggest booster in the VHL. Catia Goncalves was drafted right after Raimo Tuominen but they met as Oslo teammates. “Oslo, to be very frank, was struggling a lot. However, Catia was the winger I wanted to be and much more. She was severely underrated in the VHLE and is underrated now. I mean, when Rome came to trade with Oslo, they traded for me and not her! Yet she was the one boosting my stats. She made the transition to the center so much easier for me. Look at my stats in Rome, I was horrible without her! Then we meet again in the JST and it’s just like old times.” Raimo Tuominen, Center for the Calgary Wranglers Raimo saw Catia go to the Reign right after he became a Wrangler. “I remember thinking throughout the entirety of the VHLE season that it was such a shame we weren’t going to be teammates in the VHL. I even found myself hoping she would get traded to the Wranglers in the future. I only had to wait one season. Nobody had ever known that I wanted that and yet somehow, Catia got traded to Calgary. Imagine that! I was wishing that she would be a linemate of mine when I was in the twilight of my career just for fun. Now we have been competing together for our 4 seasons in the VHL.” Calgary selected Raimo as he was willing to become a center for the team. It was an adjustment, going from winger to center, but Raimo believes it was the right one. “Center opened up a lot of possibilities for me. Being a world class winger is excellent. But… center just felt a lot more right. I never played it before. But Randy Bobandy did an excellent job of teaching me how to play center.” Elaborating on Randy’s mentorship, “This guy is a legend. Taught me how to play hockey as a center. Taught me how to get around here in North America. Gave me a place to stay when I was a rookie and taught me about life. I couldn’t have made it this far without him and I look forward to our matches every single time they happen.” Now looking to start his fifth season, Raimo credits all these things to where he is now. “Everything that happened in my career has gotten me to this point. Now what I want to do is to win as a Wrangler. I want to bring a cup to the city that has given me so much.”

CALGARY - If there is one word to describe Raimo Tuominen the night before the season, it is excited. He is extremely excited. There is nothing more uncertain yet so thrilling than the start of a new season. Well, second only to the start of the playoffs, maybe. But with Wranglers’ GM Zef Goncalves making some excellent moves and the Wranglers sporting a new look roster-wise, it’s not shocking that Raimo finds this start to the season even more thrilling than usual. “Of course, we haven’t even begun. But I’m stoked to play along this squad and compete with them. We’re a young and scrappy team looking to prove ourselves in this league. I mean, look up and down our lineup. Everybody wants to compete hard. Let’s start from the returning cast. I mean, I’m here and hoping to contribute what I can to this team. Catia Goncalves, [Joe] Block, Big Save Dave [David Slezak], and Miner [VHLer]; we’re all looking to build upon what we got started last season. Then you have the goal-scoring Adi Dassler, playmaking Keegan Gamble, and quick-skating Keita Kourou coming up in front. All of them had great seasons and I’ve got a lot to learn from them. Add the young rookie Carson Tripp, the young-at-heart veteran Jack Jeckler, and the explosive Leif Reingaard… we’re a young squad with a lot of heart.”

1. It was very surprising and very promising. I mean, starting off with that crazy win streak definitely boosted my ego but I was surprised that we stayed in the playoff hunt for as long as we did. Eventually, we came back to earth but this surprise was certainly a welcome one. 2. Excellent. Bringing in quality young players and some great signings to help create the Wranglers into the strong team we are meant to be. Love what has been done and looking forward to conquering the season with everyone! 3. Raimo likes to participate in as many games and scrimmages as possible. He participated in the World Cup of Hockey and the ProAm. If neither one of those are going on during the day, then he goes swimming. Of course, at the end of the day, he closes with a sauna. 4. I hope that we can win more and establish ourselves as a threat. The team is still young so whatever happens will happen but I believe this team can make a push. We can be a dark horse in the playoff race. 5. Definitely would have to be 100m. So cool watching the athletes go so fast. 6. Well, it's America and I think it's safe to say it will continue to be America. Lots of great athletes. Let's go with 40 gold medals for them.

WHERE THE PRO-AM IS - After a very eventful and fun ProAm, the Riskies ended up being on top winning against the Goats. The Goats had a well-fought run and even ended up reverse sweeping the Foxes; the latter placing first in the round robin. Sigard Petrenko was part of the winning Riskies team that took home first place in the ProAm. Ryuu Crimson was part of the second place Goats team. Both had a fun time returning to the ice after retiring from the VHL. Sigard Petrenko had a huge smile on his face. “It was cool meeting up with other former players and showing the young ones that we still had it. Glad that I could celebrate being first place once more, even if it isn’t with the Continental Cup in my hands. Can’t wait to see how the season goes because… wow, this generation has a lot of great hockey in the league.” Ryuu Crimson also had a faint grin. “Very impressive. The present of the VHL is very much alive and the future will be great as well. It was fun to put on the skates again and even get into it with some players. My only regret is not completely bashing Sigard’s face in. Really cool to get silver and even cooler witnessing VHL alum, VHL players, and VHL prospects come together.” Raimo Tuominen also had a fun time meeting all sorts of players. "It was cool seeing former teammates, current teammates, and maybe even some future teammates in the ProAm. Getting to play with the players of VHL past is such a cool thing and definitely was an experience I will carry into the oncoming season. I learned a lot from them and I learned a lot from competing against everybody this ProAm. I am looking forward to the start of the VHL seaon."

WHERE THE PRO AM IS - Sigard Petrenko has been thriving on a stacked Riskies team, leading the ProAm in points. Along with fellow Riskies Pete Mitchell and Spanish Moon Moth, the three of them make up the top three scorers in the ProAm season. It’s funny to see that even though Sigard hasn’t played professionally in quite a few seasons, he is able to bring a scoring touch. One that he jokes he never had in the VHL. “Of course I show up for the ProAm while having a mid career in the VHL.” He remarked with a laugh. “It’s been a lot of fun meeting the young guys and VHL legends. The Riskies are a great team and just a real fun group of players so I’ve been enjoying my time here.” — WHERE THE VHL AWARDS WERE - Also participating in the ProAm, albeit with a lot less success and scoring, is Raimo Tuominen. This season was a big step up for the young centreman, who wanted to prove he was more than just a second line center that could provide depth scoring. While this season was a bridge season, the young group of the Wranglers definitely turned some heads and the emergence of a Catia Goncalves and Raimo Tuominen duo emerged. “Well, Catia definitely deserves so much credit for helping me find some sort of consistency. Very underrated playmaker and even more underrated when it comes to goal scoring. I know this comparison hurts fellow Calgarians but it’s like playing with a prime Johnny Gaudreau.” Winning the Dustin Funk Trophy for his first ever award in the VHL system, he is looking to focus on team success. “I’m really excited to see this team moving forward. The group we had last season proved that it loved to compete and now with some new faces, we’ll continue to compete and turn some heads.” Also added to his trophy case was a Bronze Medal won alongside Team Nordic. “To be honest, I had a bit of a disappointing tournament in terms of my individual play. I have a lot to learn from Ruutu and I can’t wait to represent this team again soon.” — WHERE THE PRO AM IS - Ryuu Crimson did not mince any words when asked why he fought Sigard Petrenko on the first day of the ProAm. “I hate his guts. We’re good friends but I can’t stand him.” After reports of the confrontation that happened at a Portland Winterhawks game between the two, as well as the formal apologies, it was safe to say that they still wanted to settle it. “I had my eyes on a player and was scouting him. I made the mistake of telling Sigard and he wanted to snatch him from me. Thankfully, I had my way and I will be coaching him this upcoming season.” Ryuu and Sigard ended up fighting to a draw and shared a handshake after the game. “I’m still gonna get him back for putting a cow in my hotel room.” ( Interested in the full story? Read more at https://vhlforum.com/topic/148729-a-collection-of-short-stories-2000-words/#comment-1028304 )