SlapshotLegion

+4 Ryuu

+4 Ryuu

+4 Ryuu

oh, welp then idk

imo what really slowed it down were the editors. not that they were doing a bad job, but there were too many articles to edit, that it really slowed down the productivity. maybe get more editors or something idk

The Victory Hockey League just announced that they were going to expand their league and welcome two new teams! But they have yet to announce which two lucky cities will be receiving the teams. Instead of guessing which cities will get VHL teams, I'll instead talk about the last two expansion teams. The Moscow Menace who joined in Season 65 and The Malmo Nighthawks who joined in Season 66. Inaugural Seasons: Moscow Menace: The Moscow Menace had a very rocky start in the Victory Hockey League, finishing last in the league with a record of 9-56-7. Only 9 wins. Wow. To make matters worse, they had 155 goals for them, but gave up 332 goals, giving them a goal differential of -177. That is the worst goal differential since S63, which was the farthest back I could check. The second worst goal differential since S63 was -157 by HC Davos Dynamo. To prove even more of a point, in the past two seasons, the last place teams had differentials of -63 and -79. Malmo Nighthawks: The Malmo Nighthawks stormed out the gate in their inaugural season, even being first place for a while. They were doing well until the latter half of the season, where they eventually dropped down to second last place with a record of 28-41-3, only the Seattle Bears having a worse record that second. Though they had a relatively okay goal differential. With 185 goals for and 221 against, they had a goal differential of -36, which is honestly not that bad. The Two Teams Currently: Moscow Menace: Moscow has their best season in their young franchise history, as they are currently tied for second place with the Helsinki Titans with 74 points.They have a record of 35-23-4, which is impressive. They might make the playoffs for the first time in the short three year history of their franchise, assuming they can hang on, which they probably will. They have 176 goals for and 165 goals against, making their goal differential +11. I think it's safe to say that they are having their best season so far. Malmo Nighthawks: The Nighthawks have disappointed in their second season as a franchise, experiencing some Deja Vu as they are currently the second last team in the standings, with only the New York Americans below them. They have a record of 22-34-6, which is again, okay but not good. The Nighthawks have scored 168 goals but have also given up 230 of them, -62 being their goal differential. Still, this is their second season, so don't give up on them yet. After all, the Moscow Menace did horrible in their first 2 seasons, but they're doing great now. Maybe the Nighthawks will do the same. Now, back to the two new expansion teams that are coming up. Based on what Moscow and Malmo have experienced, I think it's safe to say they will have the same pattern in their first few seasons. Maybe for their first two or so seasons they'll have a rough time. Eventually though, they will get adjusted to the VHL and have good seasons in the future. But then again, who knows?

+4 Ryuu

Canada wins Gold. Europe wins Silver. USA wins Bronze. Ambrose Stark is the MVP.

Welcome back! I hope Wang will kick ass just like Mertz did!

Forward - Taro Tsujimoto Jr. - The son of someone who doesn't exist Defensemen - Shen Glad (Chinese bootleg Shawn Glade) Goalie - Gol Tendurr

1. No. No offense but we aren't the best team and we lost most of our core but we do have young talent and are doing okay. 2. Well, they will not be undefeated but we won't be the ones who make it that way. 3. Our defense has been really good. Smitty, Paddy[wagon], and the rest of the defensemen have been great. Al[varo] and Konstantin Mulligan have been good defensive forwards as well.

(Game 49) 4 Things - HC Davos Dynamo @ Helsinki Titans A team that basically lost most of it's core against the Continental Cup champions. For even more injury to insult, the Titans were the team that beat the stacked Dynamo roster during last season's playoffs. This could get interesting. -Standings- Helsinki Titans: 5 wins - 3 regulation losses - 1 overtime loss HC Davos Dynamo: 4 wins - 3 regulation losses - 2 overtime losses -Team Scoring Leaders- Helsinki Titans Goals: Julian Borwinn (8 Goals) Points: Julian Borwinn (14 Points) -------------------------------- HC Davos Dynamo Goals: Ryuu Crimson (4 Goals) Points: John Madden (10 Points) Us: The young Davos team might be struggling a bit this season but they have been pretty good. Davos is coming off a well fought 3-2 shootout win against the New York Americans. There were no goals in the first period. Then in the second period, a goal 1:52 minutes into the period by Smitty Werbenjagermanjensen put the Dynamo in the lead. Then, 14:05 minutes into the period, rookie Dan Gles scored his first ever Victory Hockey League goal. All seemed well until the third period, where the Americans scored a goal 8 seconds into the period on a power play. Then, a minute and 2 seconds later, they would tie up the game with Aleksander Rodriguez scoring his first goal in the Victory Hockey League. There would be no action in the third bringing them to overtime but the game wasn't decided in OT either. It would be decided in a shootout. There were two goals for Davos by Ryuu Crimson and Katie Warren. The Americans fell short with only one goal in the shootout, courtesy of Boris the Forest. Them: While they might not be the most dominant team so far (that title would go to the Toronto Legion who have 9 wins and no losses.), they have still been good. They are coming off a 4-2 loss against the Riga Reign. In the first period, the Titans took the lead with a goal 14:27 into the game by Kronos Bailey to put them on top. Then in the second period, Riga dominated, scoring their 4 goals in the frame alone. The first was a goal by Anthony Matthews that was scored 2:13 minutes into the period to tie up the game. Then Elias Dahlberg would put them in the lead with a goal 29 seconds later. 8:23 minutes into the second, Aron Nielsen would score what would eventually be the game winner for Riga. Then late into the period, 17:24 minutes into the period to be exact, Anthony would score his second goal of the game. Then in the third, former NHLer Sidney Crosby would score 33 seconds into the period for Helsinki, though it was all for nothing, the Reign overcoming the beast that is Helsinki. -This, That, & The Other- This: Julian Borwinn currently leads the league in both goals and points with 8 goals and 14 points. That: The Dynamo are currently in a three-way tie for fourth place with them, Riga, and Malmo all having 10 points. The Other: Helsinki eliminated Davos in the playoffs last season en route to a Continental Cup. -Players to Watch- HC Davos Dynamo: John Madden He's their leading point scorer and has really stepped up to the plate as the Dynamo's first line center after the departure of former teammate Rylan Peace. Madden has been impressive this season and you can expect him to be great this season. Helsinki Titans: Julian Borwinn Is it really necessary to explain this one? Julian Borwinn has been an absolute monster this season, leading the league in both goals and points. He scored 2 goals and an assist in the game before the game against Riga. Definitely a no-brainer to pick him.

Ayyyy! We did it!

1. What are your short-term goals? 2. Long-term goals in the VHL? 3. What made you choose the VHL instead of any other league? 4. Who's your favourite VHL player? 5. Favourite NHL player?

8) Obviously Davos We swept Riga. 9) I love Davos and it's a fun city to play in. 10) Well, now in S67, still Helsinki.

Ryuu Crimson is known for quite a lot of things like being a goal scorer, a monster in the playoffs, the first rookie to win a Playoff MVP award in the history of the VHL, his stardom in Saskatoon. This season, however, has given him another title. A fighter. That's right. Ryuu was an absolute monster this season when it came to fights, leading the league in most fights won with an impressive total of 4. He seems to like beat up Riga players as 2 of his wins were from Riga Reign players Hunter Hearst Helmsley and former teammate Randoms. The other two wins were against Jack Lynch and Evgeni Komarov, who are on Malmo and Moscow respectively. The question is, is this sudden aggressiveness against this team bitterness from the trade? Ryuu doesn't say so. "No, I don't really have any bitter feelings against Riga. I had a lot of memories here and our GM was just doing his job. While I admit, going against my old team was a motivator to play more aggressive, I didn't do it out of hatred. I have nothing personal against Randoms or Hunter." Now, this next story isn't much of a Ryuu fighting moment, but it is still an interesting (and controversial) highlight of his season. Some of you know what I'm talking about already. For those don't know, it was a regular season Riga vs. Davos game. Ryuu was ejected 3 minutes into the game but for putting his hands on his hips, not for fighting Randoms. That moment started a bit of controversy, and it also started a very very long rant by Stephen A. (If you want to read about the rant, here's a link: https://vhlforum.com/topic/63696-stephen-a-ryuu-crimsons-ejection-was-an-egregious-move-by-the-vhl/?tab=comments#comment-627428) Stephen, and other people in the hockey community called this an egregious move by the Victory Hockey League. But, back to fighting. Now when you think of enforcers, you think of burly 6+ foot big men, who use their raw strength to beat the shit out of opponents like 6'1" Marty McSorley, 6'7" Derek Boogaard (rest in peace), 6'3" Semenko, 6'3" Georges Laraque. But Ryuu Crimson is a measly 5'8 when it comes to height. Not even taller than 5'9" Johnny Gaudreau! You have to wonder how he does it? Well, we asked him about it and he gave us his answer. "Well, I don't really think about the size difference or strength difference. While most players use their big size to beat other players up, I try using my brain. Brain over brawn, like they say. I try to outsmart the opponent and find openings, as well as using my speed and maneuverability. But I think the fact I'm such a small size throws some guys off. They see little ol' me challenging them and expect the easiest fight of their life and then a few seconds later they're on the ground." Despite how he does it or why he does it, people love it and that's all that matters. This also goes to show you, it's not the size of the dog in the fight... It's the size of the fight in the dog.

Even though I was drafted in S62, I started playing in the VHL in S63. This is my 4th last season. I still got depreciated. Is that supposed to happen?

5. It's pretty nice. We can be serious when we need to be but also fun at times. 6. Take shots. Just keep shooting. And practice your aim as much as you can. 7. Maybe moving with the puck. Skating and stickhandling up the ice and stuff.

Only 4? Damn, I need to step up my fighting game.

Who?

E: N/A Surprisingly, no player this season in the VHL has a last name that starts with the letter E. F: Julius Freeman I only found 2 people in the VHL whose last names end with an F. Julius Freeman and Roll Fizzlebeef. Whilst Fizzlebeef wins in the better name category, Freeman is the one I’m choosing. Both Freeman, who is a left winger, and Fizzlebeef, who is a center, are decent forwards, but Freeman has the slightly better stats with 12 goals and 27 assists, making an okay total of 39 points. While Freeman might have low stats this season, he is a young player and I am excited to see how the second overall pick’s future will go. G: Samuel Gate It seems like players with last names starting with the letter G are always stars. In the NHL, you have players like Gaudreau, Gaborik, Giordano, Gallagher, as well as past greats like Gretzky, Gilmour, Geoffrion, and Gainey. And in the VHL, you have Gate, Glade, and maybe even rookie Glover. But the one who stands out in the VHL the most is defenseman Samuel Gate. Samuel has the most points out of all of the G-named players despite being a defenseman, even breaking the 90 point plateau with 93 points. Those points consist of 17 goals and 76 assists. Glade is a close second, also being a defenseman, but not having as much points as Gate. H: Marvin Harding Speaking of defenseman, the “H player” of this list is Marvin Harding. A great offensive defenseman, he leads all “H players” in points, with 71 points which consist of 14 goals and 57 assists. He is also among the Top 10 defenseman when it comes to points, proving his offensive prowess. His offensive prowess may come from his previous stint as a forward, but whether that is the reason behind his success or not, it's safe to say that the Dynamo are happy to have him on their team.

One of the most interesting stories of the season is Seattle. Well, by season, I mean the last two seasons. Last season, Seattle was first place in the regular season with a record of 52-14-6 but this year they were last with a regular season record of 23-40-9. Which begs the question, what the fuck happened? Maybe you can find the answer in their trades? They lost a superstar in Vyacheslav Smirnov when they traded him away for a 2nd round pick and a 4th round pick (both for the S67 draft). Smirnov had scored 106 points with the Bears before he was traded to Calgary. They also traded away Veran Dragomir to Davos for a S67 1st round pick and a S68 2nd round pick. Dragomir scored 120 points with Seattle before going to Davos. They also lost a good offensive defenseman in Piotr Jerwa, trading him to New York for a first round draft pick in S67. Despite the fact they gained a star player in Scott Shawinganen (who has 92 points this season), it doesn't change the fact that they lost some key players to their success last year. Regardless, I am not criticizing the trades as they were obviously done to prepare for the future, just stating why these trades could've impacted their results this season. Plus, they also lost Matt Thompson to free agency. He signed with Helsinki. Last season, with Seattle, he got 101 points. That's gotta hurt considering his offensive prowess. Also, it was free agency, so they didn't gain anything. You could also blame offensive depth. On Seattle, only 4 players have broken the 50 point mark, those players being Shane Mars, Samuel Gate, and the aforementioned Scott Shawinganen. The closest out of the rest of the players only had 36 points. Or maybe it was the defense? After all, nobody except Jakub Vilhjalmsson had a positive plus-minus rating but then again he was a rookie who only played 55 games. Goaltending? While both backstoppers for the Bears both had GAAs over 3, it wasn't all their fault. Plus, Clayton Park is a rookie goaltender finding his path in the Victory Hockey League, so he might yet have success. Most rookie seasons are like this and him being the starter might have put a lot of pressure on him. While the Seattle Bears might have had a bad season, it's not all bad. As mentioned before, their goaltender Clayton Park is a rookie and hasn't done half bad, despite the standings. He has time to grow as a player and potentially be great. The Bears have also acquired a lot of good picks from trades this season so you can only expect them to find a gem, or multiple in this years draft. Still, I will never forget the time the best team in the league was brought to its knees.

Miss me yet, Riga?

This is beautiful! Thank you for making this!

@Velevra thoughts?