SlapshotLegion

1. My favourite ice cream flavour would absolutely have to be mint chocolate chip. No question about it. That is the best ice cream flavour ever , do not at me. 2. It would have to be ice skating because I suck at snowboarding the times I've tried it and skiing is something I wanna try out but... can't beat out a good ol skate around a rink. 3. ProAm: Petrenko and Crimson (my two former forwards) fought each other to a draw first day and are doing well (as of 6 GP, Petrenko leads the tourney in points. Tuominen is in ProAm and WC... and is mid in both. I hope Tuominen does better but... he kinda mid rn. 1. If the VHL hosted an outdoor beachside roller hockey Pro Beach Hockey style tournament, would your player participate and if so, how long would they last before the heat gets to them? 2. If your player could purchase any car, which car would they want to purchase the most? 3. On a scale of 1 to 10 how good is your player's parking? 1 being perpendicular to the parking spot and 10 being centered to perfection.

Catia & Raimo too good.

Goncalves - Tuominen - VHLer connection boutta go crazy

WHERE THE PROAM IS - Ryuu Crimson has been spotted on the ice for “The Goats” in order to participate in the VHL ProAm. Seeing that it was open to former players as well, the feisty Riga and Davos winger is returning to the ice and hoping to bring some of that old school style. 20+ seasons removed from his retirement from the VHL, Ryuu is going against fellow retirees and veterans but also some young stars as well as current stars in their prime. That’s right, it’s a VHL who’s who with many players from many seasons coming to keep hockey going in the offseason. “It feels good to be back as a player.” Ryuu Crimson stated before skating off. Another player returning is Sigard Petrenko, maybe not as far removed from his retirement. A smile on his face, he caught up with old foes and even met the new young bucks making their claim in the VHL. “It’s cool that we all get to come together and play hockey. It’ll be neat to face off against the VHL’s new guard as well as getting schooled by the old school players. Not often you get a chance like this. Also, a part of me is just really happy to play semi-competitive hockey against pros. Whether they are former pros or current. Oh, and future ones too!”

Claiming week ending July 28 (2/2)

As long as I'm in Calgary, don't expect me to stop pushing >:)

@hedgehog337was my first VHL gm. Really welcomed me into the league and dealt with the ever-mid Ryuu Crimson after the championship run. That first championship has always stuck with me and I remember Hedge always kept it fun. He's definitely one of those members that kept me in the league in the long run. Thanks for everything, Hedge, and enjoy GM retirement!

1. It's way too late now so I know that Moscow made the final BUT I was rooting for and hoping that Riga would make the final. Just a gut feeling (obv that gut feeling didn't work). 2. I'll be real with you, Cologne won and I thought they would. They were the best team by a pretty wide margin (especially considering it's the VHLE) and even though they may have scared us with game 7, they won and got it. 3. I haven't checked the VHLM finals but I mean cmon, look at my profile pic. Saskatoon Wild all the way. 4. Pro-Am is gonna be a lot of fun and I can't wait to see all the chaos that happens. I mean, if you were part of last season's, you know how wild the scores got. 5. Thoughti t was gonna be Axle Gunner and what do you know, he was. 6. I would have to go with pizzas since there are dessert pizzas, veggie pizzas, many different types. I mean, there are a lot of different types of tacos but pizzas can be a lot more versatile.

Raimo’s Top Three Things to Do Before Retiring. 1. Check out Lake Louise in the winter! He had the chance to check it out in the summer during the offseason but after hearing about the magnificent ice sculptures and the scenic outdoor rinks (with mini nets for good ol’ outdoor rink hockey), he wanted to try playing some outdoor hockey with people. Keep an eye out, you may catch him there this upcoming winter. 2. Win the Continental Cup (duh). This is what every VHLer competes for and what every team dreams of holding. Unless you’re the VHL equivalent of the Calgary Flames in past years where you felt being the mushy middle was okay and your owner only cared about playoff revenue. I don’t know if there’s any VHL team like that. Anyways, winning the Cup is the biggest goal of any VHL player and Raimo wants to bring it home to Calgary. You know, just remind all of us what a cup looks like. 3. Win a second Continental Cup. If this list extended past the top three things to do, the rest of this paper would be to win a umpteenth Continental Cup. Of course, can’t win a second without a first so Raimo is putting his focus into getting a cup. He is confident in the young core that has been built up and is ready to claw his way into the playoffs. He hopes to win with the Wranglers.

Second post for the 5 uncapped

Happy birthday VHL!

Raimo Tuominen has just come off an amazing season in the VHL. In my opinion, it has been the best regular season any of my players has had and has highlighted his career so far. It probably isn’t a surprise that despite the fact it didn’t end the way we wanted it to end, the 50 goal and 100 point markers (heck, add the 110 and 120 point markers) have been the highlight of his career. I have never hit either 50 goals or 100 points in a single season ever with any of my previous players. (Yes, much to my surprise, Jacques Lafontaine has never hit those marks in a single season.) That got me thinking. What do I believe were the biggest highlights of my player’s careers? It was fun to revisit and relive these moments through the careers of Petrenko, Crimson, and Lafontaine. I have really enjoyed my tenure here in the VHL and hope to make many more memories and moments. Here are what I believe are the best of the best. Raimo Tuominen - 50 Goals and 100 Points Yeah, I’ve already covered this. Excellent season, great teammates, and a promising future. I won’t cover any more. I don’t intend on letting this remain the greatest highlight of Raimo’s career. Ryuu Crimson - The Cup (and the Kanou) Okay, this one is probably really obvious but winning the Continental Cup is always a highlight for me. Spoiler alert, Sigard Petrenko’s highlight is also winning the cup. This was a really special one though. Coming into the league with my first ever player, I was curious to see how this would shake out. I decided to play it safe with a winger and wanted to develop a deadly goal scorer. While he certainly was no slouch, he wasn’t deadly. He has been sent to the All-Star game before but he really was just a player who at best was a GOOD option for a first line winger. If anything, he was an overachieving second liner. Winning the cup in my rookie season (and with my first ever player) didn’t really hit me then but it does now that I’ve had a few tries with other players. I mean, the S63 Reign team was STACKED. I still remember a good handful of their names. Ryan Kastelic (iirc, first to hit the 2000 TPE threshold), Shawn Glade, Podrick Cast, Leph Twinger, Edwin Preencarnacion, Kallis Kriketers… it was a hell of a run. And not only that but my player became the first to be awarded Daisuke Kanou as a rookie. Sigard Petrenko - (Obviously) The Cup Again I mean, I already said it in the previous section so I might as well do it now. Hands down winning the Continental Cup with the Seattle Bears. Vinny Detroit, Hulk Hogan 2, MDM, Em Em Flex, my boy AJ Williams (still miss Randy), Sirdsvaldis Miglaskems, Zeedayno Chara, Mikhail Kovalchuk, Sven Eightnine, Max Torq, so many great players that came together to win it. A fun group of guys and a great team season. Of course, now being a Wrangler (the best NA Conference team) I must say that I heavily detest all forms of Bear imagery… but a part of me will always be a part of this team. Sigard Petrenko had a solid season (interestingly enough, his BEST season as an individual was the season before) but the playoffs were where he was really able to shine. 23 points in 18 games (only to outdo himself a season later with 24 in 18… just with a less happy ending) on route to the cup. Not bad. Also just noticed that both cup wins I’ve been a part of end in 3. Food for thought. Though, I hope to break that pattern with Raimo Tuominen. I have some unfinished business as a Calgary Wrangler. Speaking of which, let’s talk about… Jacques Lafontaine - The Rivalry I am not talking about the Wranglers/Bears rivalry in the playoffs (as awesome as those series were in terms of pure fun) because we unfortunately usually got edged out. I mean, Rayz Funk really stole the spotlight as THE goalie and the Bears stole the spotlight as THE team. As awesome as those moments were, I’m going with the rivalry with ROOKIE745’s Jaxx Hextall AND DarkSpyro’s Jimmy Spyro. Spyro, Lafontaine, Hextall, all spent their careers with a Canadian team. It was always fun chiding each other or even just talking about each other’s players. If you were to ask me how I’d rank the three, it’d be Hextall, Spyro, and then myself. I mean from the beginning Hextall was a stunner, shocking myself and everyone else. Jimmy was a late bloomer (especially having to spend two seasons as a backup before breaking out) but was still really solid in those seasons and blossomed into a bonafide starter. He’s also the only one with a Continental Cup but shhh we don’t need to talk about that. Love those two forever and always. (Also, quick shoutout to Sigard Gunnar… the reason why Petrenko’s first name was also Sigard.) In Conclusion Of course, I treasure my time with all three of these players dearly. And all three had different kinds of success. Ryuu Crimson found success early as a playoff MVP in his rookie season and then tapered off as the season went by to become a solid 2LW. Jacques Lafontaine was certainly the most consistent, being a great starter behind a consistently great Wranglers team, however, was heavily overshadowed by never getting a cup and not ever being THE goalie of the league. Sigard Petrenko was certainly the most stable and well-rounded of the bunch, showing winning prowess with the S83 Bears team, as well as being a very good player in general. I am hoping that Raimo Tuominen can be as explosive and dynamic throughout his career as he was in the past season. I am hoping for an even better moment to celebrate. (And I’m thinking of Raimo with two hands on the Continental Cup, lifting it up for all of Calgary to see.)

1. I'd say probably within the next 5 years, I believe that Canadian teams in general are slowly getting farther and farther into the playoffs more consistently (mainly Edmonton and Vancouver nowadays) so it's a matter of time before the curse is broken. 2. Definitely ROOKIE745, consistently earns TPE and makes really good players, and is also just such a positive teammate and friend to have within the VHL. Even on when we are on opposing teams, ROOKIE is a pleasure to be friends with. And heck, while I'm mentioning former rivals, let's throw in DarkSpyro. Spyro has a great energy about him and also makes excellent players. Both of them are a big reason Lafontaine was such a fun player for me. 3. I would have to say going to the basement or a really effective AC. Give me a Drumstick and I am living life at my best. Nothing beats coming inside after a hot day and just cooling down as soon as you walk in the door. Or at the very least, after running down to the basement. 1. What monument, building, or event does your player enjoy the most in their team's city? 2. What benchmarks are you hoping your player hits next season? 3. What is your favourite kind of weather and why?

CALGARY - Raimo sat down at a table with a few Calgary Wrangler hockey fans and enjoyed some sausages, pancakes, hash browns, and some scrambled eggs. While stampede season may be ending (and the VHL season as well), Raimo has kept himself busy by meticulously planning out a route to attend a breakfast per day. In his opinion, breakfast is easily his favourite part of the stampede. “Trust me, I love everything about the stampede as well. The energy, the excitement in the air, the rodeo, the music, it’s all great. But man, nothing beats some good food. Better yet, most of the time, these breakfasts are free!” Funnily enough, even though he enjoys the food that comes along with stampede season, he sparingly gets anything from the food trucks or various other food kiosks in the actual Stampede Park. “Too expensive to justify getting some of them. I mean, my favourite thing was them really long fries, and even those were kinda pricey.” Although it was very hot outside, Raimo did end up going stampeding at Stampede Park and eventually left at midnight but not without three bags of cotton candy, a spinning mop he got from the BMO center.

1. Lots of great things happened this season. This young core has really proved itself to have great potential heading into the future. Everyone has now had a taste of the VHL and everyone on the roster has taken a huge step up, especially with the departures we had. Now we just need to keep growing at this pace. 2. More than pleased. Smashed my goals of 20 goals in a season and was able to get more than 1 PPG for the first time in Raimo's career. Even hit some milestones in this one season that I haven't been able to hit with a player before. Really cool. 3. Gonna go with David Slezak here. Especially early in the season when we had that crazy unbeaten streak, Slezak stepped up huge and proved game after game to be a key part of this team. Routinely showed up even when the opponent was showering us with shots and kept games close a lot of the time. Definitely snuck us a few wins this season as well. 4. Maintain what I have so far and continue to build up TPE in anticipation of deprecation. I am happy with my build so now it is time to save up. 5. As much as I hate to say it, probably the Seattle Bears. They definitely are more than capable of finishing the job again. 6. Definitely two promising young players that either next season or the season after can bring some spark to this team. I would guess one of them would be a high-impact defenseman considering that our blueline personnel consists of 3 players.

Claiming week ending July 7th (last claim!)

CALGARY - Raimo Tuominen had a great season in terms of individual stats. And as much as the Wranglers may have wanted more to come out of their season, they proved that this young core had potential. The emergence of rookie goaltender David Slezak, three defensemen with 60+ points, two 50+ goal scorers, two 20+ goal scorers, and two promising wingers proving their worth has instilled confidence in the city that the Wranglers will continue to build on what has started this season. “Obviously team success matters over player success anytime. I’m glad that I was able to prove myself as a legitimate 1C and I hope to continue to prove my worth in that position in the future. We were all uncertain about how this season would go and it had its serious ups and serious downs… but we were expecting that and have learned from it. I mean that crazy win streak to start the season might have heightened expectations but I still view this season as a great place to build off on.” Raimo and Catia may have been the flashiest players, each scoring 50+ goals and 100+ points, but Raimo points to Catia as the reason he was able to step up to the new 1st liner role. “Catia is an incredible player. I seriously doubt my statsheet would be nearly as impressive without her. This whole team comes together so beautifully and we’re all young, we all have potential, and at our best I believe we can stir up the league.”

1. If we make it, I'm gonna go with the Calgary Wranglers out of sheer belief in our squad. Wranglers all the way! Outside of that, I hate to admit it but the Bears are in great position to win it all. No reason they wouldn't be able to repeat. 2. For the NHL? Probably would have to be July 1st. Free agent frenzy, especially when there are truly big names on the market... and especially when my team is involved. Except, as a Flames fan, there is one July 1st in recent years I'd like to have never happen. 3. Oh bring back the Red Mile for sure, go Wranglers! We haven't had a reason to parade for our hockey teams in years. 1. If you were to create a new award for the VHL, serious or fun, what would it be and who would you award it to? 2. Which would you rather see in the VHL, the lowest-seeded VHLE team vs the VHLM champs, OR the lowest-seeded VHL team vs the VHLE champs? 3. What makes the VHL unique in your opinion?

This season has been nothing short of remarkable for Raimo the player. In terms of stats, arguably the most successful single season any of my players have had. If we exclude Jacques Lafontaine, then it is by far the standalone best season out of any skater that I’ve created. Obviously the season isn’t over. The individual benchmarks are great but the focus is to fight and see if the Calgary Wranglers can squeak their way into the playoffs. I mean, the streak to start off the season was nothing short of magical and amazing. The magic has worn off and we have dropped significantly but the young core group shows great potential for this season and the future. I mean, we have a great young Slezak in between the pipes, and the group as a whole is improving at a rapid pace. It’s weird to think that neither Sigard Petrenko or Ryuu Crimson could break the 50 goal and 100 point mark. It’s even weirder that Raimo was the one to do it. Raimo was sort of an interesting case where I didn’t know what he’d become. In both the VHLM and VHLE, he was inconsistent and I thought he would be a second/third liner at best. It’s weird seeing that the 50 goal and 100 point mark were broken just like that. Honestly, I was unsure what to do with Raimo when he was a winger because I was trying to break the cycle of the typical Slapshot forward. Two-way winger with lots of physicality and depth scoring potential. Raimo benefits from being a part of a well thought out and put together roster/core group that is all slowly growing. I mean, a big reason for the season he is having is Catia Goncalves. Seriously. I noticed how in the VHLE she really boosted Raimo and it’s happening in the VHL. These are just some ramblings so I can get my customary 2 TPE. But it’s cool that a player I created finally hit those two benchmarks.

Claiming week ending June 30

1. I thought this theme week was a fun one. It's always fun to look at the VHLM. No hate on the VHLE at all but the spotlight has definitely been taken off the M. Always good to talk about everybody's favourite junior league. 2. Oh, this one is easy. Being a part of the historic S69 team with Jacques Lafontaine. I'll be honest, Lafontaine was absolute garbage in the VHLM but was carried by an elite VHLM team. Danny DeYeeto, Edwin THE Encarnacion, and a lot more. 3. Earth for sure. It's everywhere and just the many different things you can do with it is cool. I mean, that can apply to air as well but earth has the advantage as it is a solid. 1. Who do you think is the most underrated player in either the VHL/VHLE/VHLM right now? Or you can also just name the most underrated on your team in your opinion. 2. What is your player's favourite pre-game meal or snack? 3. What pieces do you believe a VHL team needs to have in order to be successful?

Raimo Tuominen has really proven himself to have the best single season performance out of any of my players. It’s only just past the halfway mark in the season and he already holds the single season stats records for goals and points for any of my players. Raimo currently has 42 goals. The closest any of my players has been was Ryuu Crimson all the way back in season 65(!!!) during his last year with the Reign when he potted 41 goals. The most Petrenko got was 35 in a season. In terms of points, Raimo has 91 points. None of my players have ever hit the 90 point mark. The closest was Ryuu Crimson who was one away with 89. Sigard also got close with 87. For what it’s worth, Jacques Lafontaine is last in both categories. What’s wild to me is that the season is not over. Now, knowing Raimo, I am not going to be counting my chickens early. He is very volatile in terms of offensive production and to be honest, one of the biggest reasons, if not the main reason, is because of Catia Goncalves. Regardless, I am already very happy to see that Raimo has shown signs of improving this season and hope that it can carry on in future seasons as this Wranglers core continues to grow. Both of my previous forwards were depth wingers that won championships as second liners. But with Raimo, this is the first time where I’ve had the responsibility to build up a true main piece. I hope I can continue doing well. The Wranglers are building up an excellent core and I hope to play my part as well as possible.