SlapshotWrangler

WHEREVER THE WJC IS TAKING PLACE - Alongside the JST, the World Junior Championship is a chance for young VHLM players and potential VHL prospects to showcase their play. More importantly, however, it is a chance to represent their country or region and win it all for them. Among the VHL hopefuls, Raimo was hoping he would get the call that he would play in the tournament. “I mean, some people might see it as a worthless tournament but I can speak for myself and my countrymen when I say we take every WJC, Hlinka-Gretzky, and other hockey tournament very seriously. To pull on a jersey and represent more than just a franchise is a huge honour. I hope that I will be selected to participate, although I know that is not a guarantee.” Raimo Tuominen was practicing with the Brigade in anticipation for the JST playoffs when he got the call. The GM he was speaking to had congratulated him. However, Raimo was surprised as they continued to converse. “I remember that I had said that I was super excited to join Team Western Europe for the competition. Then our GM corrected me and said I wasn’t playing for Team Western Europe. I then asked, ‘Team Nordic?’ because I remembered them having a team. He told me that we were Team Asia. I was confused but after he explained the rules allowing them to add some of us so that they could field a team, I understood. Regardless, I am nothing less than ecstatic to represent Asia.”

The Rush franchise has seem to have found a new home in the JST; however, I made this as a farewell to the Rush from the VHLE. Will they be in a league again? I do hope so.

WHOOOOOOOO

1. I haven't because I've been out from the house but since this cup is new for me (I took a break a few seasons ago), I do want to see what its about. Plus, Gustav sending the entire STHS file is a beautiful power move. 2. NHL, I'm going for the Vegas Golden Knights as much as I hate to admit it. Still a really solid squad even with acquisitions other teams made. VHL, Seattle Bears. Unless another team drafts me. Then its that team. (I don't necessarily have to be drafted by a top team if you are reading this GMs, I am happy with any team.) 3. I am excited for the JST. I've had the honour of being a part of the Brigade and I'm excited to see how we do. We've got a real good squad. Questions: 1. What is your player's jersey number and the story behind it? Doesn't have to be a long explanation. 2. Which jersey (past or present) do you feel like is very underappreciated? This can be any sports league. 3. If your player were to play another sport professionally, what sport would they most likely play?

WHEREVER THE JST IS HOSTED - The Junior Showcase Tournament is a chance for VHL hopefuls to display what they have to offer to VHL teams. Raimo Tuominen had the honour of being chosen for Team Brigade. He has had slow production, which is a shame considering that he was probably expected to do more in the tournament. However, he is still playing his hardest and making small adjustments to his game as he goes along. “I mean, I want to get better. Yeah, I’m here to showcase what I’ve got, which has proven to be very little so far,” he admitted with a sigh, “but I’m taking this opportunity playing against players my age to find my style. I’ve been trying to experiment with things. Stuff like changing the flex of my stick. I used to use a 75 flex but I feel like that it is getting too whippy for me now. I am trying out between 85 and 90. So far, I’m going towards 90; the stiffness has proven to be super helpful with my defensive play and helps with my puck control.” Raimo Tuominen has also been working on his shot. It was advertised as one of his strong points, however, it seems to have been lacking this season and especially in this tournament. As of writing this, Raimo only has 2 goals in the entire tournament. Considering that before he joined the VHLM, scoring was considered one of his strengths, Raimo wants to return to his scoring ways. “I’m getting shots off. I’m just not potting them. I probably had one of the worst shooting percentages in the VHLM. I need to be accurate with my shot as well as smart with my selection. I can’t get away with outspeeding and just blasting it here. I mean, I couldn’t do that all the time in Finland either but it seems to be even more true here.”

VHLE Finals Game 2 - Cologne Express vs Istanbul Red Wolves After winning the first game, Cologne is looking to extend their series lead while Istanbul is trying to tie up the series. Every win is important in the Finals and both teams were ready to fight for the W. Both goalies did well, though one did have a higher workload. That's becoming a really common phrase for me. Moving on to the game, the puck dropped and both teams were battling hard. The shots on goal were 11-9 for Istanbul with both teams being a bit more defensive than the start of game 1. However, neither team proved to be able to score in the first frame. In the second intermission, both teams regrouped. Cologne came out in the second outshooting Istanbul 14-6 and they were able to get a goal courtesy of Al Land to open the scoring. If you were expecting the floodgates to open after the first goal, that would prove to not be the case as it was also the only goal in the second. Going into the final frame, Cologne had a 1-0 lead. It would be extended 6:41 into the third by Keegan Gamble. However, about 4 minutes later, Legacy Gaming would bring the Red Wolves within one. However, Keegan Gamble would prove to be this game's hero with the game winner and would add an empty net tally to make it 3-1 for the Cologne Express. Going into game 3, they have a 2-0 series lead.

VHLE Finals Game 1 - Cologne Express vs Istanbul Red Wolves This was a thriller from beginning to end. An excellent way to start off the Victory Hockey League Europe finals. Both goalies had excellent nights; their save percentage only differed by 0.001. However, one had a considerably higher workload. There was a lot of action as both teams had relatively high shot counts compared to most games. Without a further ado, lets get this recap started. The puck dropped and it would be end to end action as shots on goal would be 19-14 in favour of Cologne. However, there would be no changes in the scoreboard until the second half of the period, when Reginald the Dodo potted their first of the playoffs for Cologne. That would prove to be the only goal of the period. Naturally, going into the second, Istanbul was looking to fight back. That plan was a bit delayed and took a long time as the second period was underway. They would eventually get their goal with 12 seconds left in the period. Tying the game up for the Red Wolves was Ronald Johnson MacWallace III scoring his second of the playoffs. The second intermission started and the teams drew up their plans to fight for the win in the upcoming frame. The action would start quickly as the Express would capitalize on an Istanbul penalty and take the lead; Montgomery Burns scoring 1:22 into the third. However, just before the 9 minute mark, Istanbul would respond courtesy of Nick Sansoe. That kept us tied and the scoreboard did not change for the rest of the period. Overtime. In overtime, Cologne would be relentless, not even letting the Red Wolves get a shot off. Montgomery Burns, who gave them the lead earlier, did so again and gave them the win.

1. I felt that it was a really fun season. The locker room was amazing and we were doing pretty well. Unfortunately, the fickle god known as Simon T did not bless us this playoff campaign. I'm going to continue developing Raimo as a two-way player; I just feel that he was too inconsistent for my liking. 2. I would have guessed around 200 but we surpassed it by quite a bit. Our offense was amazing. I do hope that I get to play alongside some teammates. The VHL is a small world so I'm not too worried. 3. Out of nowhere, Simon T just insisted on hating on us. 4. I think that it should be treated like any other award. Usually, awards are reflective of a person's ability and if the person has a ring, it shows their contribution to the success of their team. However, it should not be something that a player HAS to have. 5. I don't like to pick favourites but definitely Rookie745. This dude has been a great rival and teammate, so either way I know we'll have fun. 6. Thank you for the reunion AJ and thank you for being with us Triller. I think the team you guys built was excellent. It was an honour having such a fun season with you two. I do hope we get to be teammates in the future.

HOUSTON - A very frustrated Raimo Tuominen left the ice after the Bulls were eliminated in the first round. After a very solid regular season for the young winger, he and the rest of the team were hungry for more in the playoffs. Sadly, Ottawa would end up eliminating, which proved to be immensely disappointing for a team that mostly impressed in this campaign. “I could have done way better.” Raimo answered when asked his initial thoughts. “I played my hardest but it wasn’t good enough. A goal and an assist in 5 games is a joke and I wasn’t exactly productive on the physical side of the game. This team was a great team and I wanted to win it with them.” With the Junior Showcase Tournament currently happening and a busy offseason yet to come, Raimo had to recover quickly from the frustration he felt. While he is focusing on making the VHLE next, it is still a painful loss for him. “All I can do now is move on and get ready but man, that was not the way I expected it to go. It’s hockey though, expectations are basically made to be broken in this sport. I’m still going to draw lessons from this though. My first season outside of Europe had some positives and negatives. Now I have to fight hard to return to Europe.”

Wildcard Game 1 - Rome Gladiators vs. Oslo Storm The playoffs have begun. The Gladiators and the Storm face off in game one. They are in a battle to see who can get past the wildcard stage. The game got underway. 5 and a half minutes after puck drop, the Oslo Storm started the action with a goal from Winston Dixon Jr. This gave Oslo a quick one goal lead but soon, Rome would respond. BjorkaBjorn BjornaBjorkson would pot one in to tie the game about a minute later. There would be no action for a while until the Storm took a penalty. On the powerplay, there was some divine power behind Pope Francis' shot, netting a goal for the Gladiators and giving them a two goal lead. To finish of the first, the Gladiaors extended their lead again courtesy of Eldon Escobar. Then the first intermission came. After the most ear-wrenching cover of I WIll Always Love You by a fan, the action started in the second. Or rather, didn't start. There were no goals from either side until the last quarter of the period. At 15:50, there was finally a goal by Justin Williams to extend the Gladiators lead once again. Despite outshooting the Gladiators with 15 SOG to 7 SOG, the Storm only mustered a goal by Braeden Panarella to cut the lead in half. In period three though, things got interesting as Alexander Stroheim scored just past the 10 minute mark for the Storm. It was 4-3 for a good while. There was one more goal scored. It was Justin William's second, no overtime for this game. The Gladiators won 5-3.

1) Absolutely. We're in a tough spot right now but I do believe that with some adjustments, we can definitely make it back on track. 2) My 18th birthday! It was actually today. As of now, I am an adult. That's kind of cool. We also took a trip to New York and Montreal. 3) I'm going with my boy Xiver Zilla. Dude is an offensive beast for us right now ---- 1. Who is your favourite VHL player of all time? (Can be past or present) 2. If you had to compare your VHL player to an NHL player, who would you compare your player to? 3. How big of a goal difference does there have to be before you call a hockey game a blowout?

HOUSTON - Raimo Tuominen has just completed his first regular season in the VHL system. He had solid offensive production (no doubt helped by the offensive powerhouses on the Houston Bulls roster) with 27 goals, 33 assists, to make 60 points. His 24 plus/minus is a testament to the complete game the Bulls played during the regular season. Now that the regular season has ended, the Houston Bulls are looking forward to the playoffs and preparing for it. “I’d say the first season in the VHL system went well for me. I had some struggles but I developed into a better player. However, no matter how good we felt in the regular season, everyone in the locker room realizes that the playoffs will be a different beast. We want to make sure that we can keep up with the increased pace and higher intensity. It’s the playoffs; anything can happen. We need to make sure we are ready for anything.” The VHLM playoffs are soon to start and every team involved is planning on going for broke. Realizing this, players will have to start playing harder than they have before. “We can’t afford to rest on our laurels here. And I know none of us intend on doing that. We have to take it one game at a time.”

Wow, this league is only two years younger than I am. Happy birthday VHL!

1) I would say I'm a cat person. Dogs are great and all but I'm a bit more down to be chill with a cat. Plus when they finally warm up to you, they're super cute. 2) I would rather be only able to talk to people on a T.V. Better sound quality and also I have an excuse to be lazy and stay in one place. 3) The craziest thing actually happened a while ago. I was on the TopView Tour Bus that T-boned the MTA bus in New York City. 1) What kind of VHL merchandise would you be interested in buying? 2) You score in overtime! How would your player most likely have scored the goal? (E.g. a booming slapshot, a slick redirection/mid-air tip-in, a well placed snipe over the goalie's shoulder) 3) Building on the idea of the Theme Week this season, if you had to change the name of the VHL what would you change it to?

HOUSTON - The Victory Hockey League Minors is nearing to a close. The best hockey of the season is yet to come and teams are scrambling to finish the season strong. Raimo Tuominen is taking in his first season in the VHL system and is adjusting to the pace here. Ever since getting drafted by the Houston Bulls, Raimo is always adding new things to his game. “At first I was really struggling offensively. I couldn’t get quality shots off, my passes were shaky, and I was just overall being swarmed by the pace. I will admit, I had a really rough start to the season. I had a sit down with the coaches and realized I could not continue playing the same style of hockey as I did back in Finland. The first step for me was definitely getting more physical.” Raimo was good at taking hits but he did not exactly dish them out. This was pointed out and it was the first thing he aimed on getting better at. After being offensively minded in SM-liiga, Raimo learned that he could not focus on one side of the game. He had to work toward being a 200-foot player. “I may not be exactly like Grunkle who basically smothers every single player on the opposing team with hits but I did need to become more active physically in order to contribute when I don’t have the puck. It turned out that getting more physical actually helped me get more chances. My shot has changed too. I used to rely on having a strong shot. I still have it and utilize it but now I’ve learned to be more deceptive and to really be selective with my shots instead of firing over and over like a machine gun.”

https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img923/4659/PZMfHu.png https://imgur.com/jhuu0sM included both in case imgur doesnt work

Game 438 - Vancouver Wolves vs. Los Angeles Stars Welcome to the battle of the monochromes! This NA conference battle has the winning Wolves and the struggling Stars face each other. While the uniforms on the ice were colourless, the game definitely wasn't. Whatever that means. Longtime Wolves goalie B-VAN G1 and longtime Stars goalie Art Vandelay were in between the pipes for each of their teams. To get the action started, Sirdsvaldis Miglaskems scored just past the 4 minute and a half mark on the powerplay to give the Stars an early lead. However, less than two minutes later, the Wolves responded with a goal from Oreo McFleury. These were the only goals in the first period, meaning we were heading into the second tied. During the first intermission, the Stars mascot played with local business mascots in a mascot hockey game against a local U8 hockey team. The mascots were dominant in a 24-0 score effort with the Stars mascot having 6 goals, 5 assists, 5 PIM, and 10 hits. The second period was very quiet with Pearce scoring to break the tie. Now you might be wondering why I am only saying the last name. That's because I want you to guess whether it's Calix or Nico. Well, you're probably just gonna skip doing that so I'll tell you; it was Nico at the 10:42 mark giving the Wolves a 2-1 lead. The second intermission featured a Zamboni race. I still have no idea how three zambonis were able to race across the ice without any issues. I also have no idea why the Stars have three zambonis available. The last period was also very quiet except for one goal by Dogwood Maple. This gave the Wolves a 3-1 lead. Both goalies would perform very well but B-VAN G1 was the standout allowing only 1 goal out of 36 shots. However, Art Vandelay also had a good showing with 33 out of 36 shots saved.

1. Glad to have Moon on our side and it's always a W to build upon our defense. This team is shaping up to be real good! 2. I think our roster is damn great and it's just a matter of seeing how the rest of the season goes. This is a good group of guys and I'm excited to finish strong. 3. It was a really fun one to do. Of course, I don't think any of my Unhinged Hockey League ideas will be applied unfortunately, which is a real shame. 4. Raimo Tuominen would probably warn Walter about stuff that doesn't even happen. Just to see what happens. 5. Relaxed coach. Probably one like Erkka Westerlund that is player focused and uses the input from players to help build around his own ideas. 6. Organization. My goodness, I have terrible organization skills. My backpacks are all a clusterfunk of a bunch of random things and my desk drawer isn't much better.

TAMPERE - Sigard Petrenko has been playing with Tappara in the SM-Liiga after his time in the Victory Hockey League. Recently, one of his old teammates has joined the VHLM’s Houston Bulls. It was actually Sigard Petrenko who suggested to Houston right winger Raimo Tuominen to join the VHL system. “I told him that he’d love it and that it would be a great opportunity for him. I was ecstatic when I heard that he was draft eligible. It was cool to see him take my advice. Raimo’s a real young fast guy; just lacks experience and needs to face the physicality of the highest level of hockey. It’s great to see that he’s in the VHLM now.” Petrenko and Tuominen shared the ice together in Tampere; the former acting as a mentor to the latter. After sharing the ice in Finland, Raimo Tuominen gets to skate on the same home ice as Sigard Petrenko. It may be hard to remember since it was less than half a season but Sigard Petrenko’s very first VHLM team was the Houston Bulls. “Yeah, I started off my VHL career as a Bull too. It’s a great place to play and the fans are awesome. Great organization and I’m sure they will help Raimo find the next level he needs for the VHL.”

https://imgur.com/a/i9eqMCs (imgur seems to be giving me problems so here's imageshack as well) https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img922/1482/Ld9ubj.png Houston's very own!

1. Goodbye Arby's. I wish I could say I had fond memories of you but I do not. I will always have a disdain for you. It is time for you to finally meet the end that you deserve. There are no words that describe how much hatred I have buried deep within me. It is like eating shame. The way shame feels is how your food tastes. Now, I finally get to exact revenge on behalf of every human being that has tasted the shameful food. Good riddance, you disgusting, loathsome restaurant. 2. I'm not taking that shot. What's the point of trying to save people if we're going to kill people we are trying to save? 3. Easily winning the Championship with my player Petrenko and with the SEATTLE BEARS! - 1) What is an underrated colour scheme you think would look great/should be used more on hockey jerseys? 2) If your player was not a hockey player, what occupation would they have? 3) Name an NHL or VHL unsung hero; a player you believe is underrated in the league. Will claim on week ending July 15th

I remember there was some sort of issue with the name Meute but damn, I don't think there was a reason to move from Quebec City to Vancouver. I agree, let's give Quebec City the pro team they deserve even if it isn't under the Meute name! Also a hockey team in Seoul (and in Asia in general) would be so fun.