ColeMrtz

+10 Cole Mertz

Hometown Cole Mertz was born on February 1st, 2000 in Detroit, Michigan, the home of Michigan hockey. He grew up skating, almost since he could walk. His love for the game deepened as he grew up watching the Red Wings playoff streak expand into the 20’s. It was hard not to love the guys on that team, Pavel and Kronwall and the whole lot, but he was always fascinated by one player in particular. Chris Osgood. Arguably the best Wings goalie of the modern era Osgood inspired many young goalies to take up the position, and Mertz was one of them. Mertz started out playing house out of DSC, not because it was the best program for him to play on, but because it was one of the cheapest. His early career was less than spectacular, but it didn’t deter him. He started doing training over the summer, with camps around the Metro Detroit area. He did goaltending camps in Troy, camps in Fraiser, camps wherever someone had ice. He played drop-in whenever he could, and ultimately he ended up going from being hardly able to stop a puck to one of the best goalies in the state. It was in High School that Mertz’s family moved out of the inner-city and into Troy, where the schools Hockey program was one of the best around. He played as the starting goaltender his freshman year, but wouldn’t play there any longer, as after posting a record season he was approached by Team USA U17 Developmental to come play with them. This is what ultimately set Mertz’s career towards going pro. Team USA Mertz considered himself somewhat of a patriot, so playing for his country was kind of a dream come true. He wished he could’ve played for the team until being drafted into the pros but he knew his best bet was to play in a more heavily scouted league. However the time he spent there was not in vain. Team USA was his first exposure to goalie coaches outside of the camps he did as a kid. It really helped develop him more than the typical house style of train the defense and offense and let the goalies figure it out. He learned about what his stance should be, how to better position himself to the shooter, when he should and shouldn’t play the puck. By the end of his season with the developmental program Mertz was the same goalie with the addition of hockey sense and overall better core abilities. They couldn’t quite get him to shake his flashy style of play though. QMJHL The QMJHL is really where Mertz established himself a potential pro goaltender. He was in a class of his own, putting up strong numbers while staying within his own playstyle. His quick, reaction based style of play led to many a highlight reel night for the teenage goaltender. It was good that he had those nights, because eyes were on him from around the various pro leagues. There wasn’t a scout that didn’t have something good to tell their franchise, a resounding “watch this kid” went around the VHLM the fastest. However, with the excitement there was also a substantial downside. Mertz lacked consistency. Yeah he played exceptionally when he was on his game, but a reactionary playstyle requires focus, and Mertz was one to be rattled. As a goaltender his rookie season in the QMJHL he led the league in fights. A common mark of someone in Mertz’s crease was bruises up and down their legs from the constant hacking and slashing. Nobody got to sit in his crease without being punished for it. It was hard for Mertz to leave St. John, it was there that he truly developed into the caliber goaltender he wanted to be. He had built strong bonds with that team, and the city would always hold a place in his heart, but Mertz wanted more than the QMJHL. He wanted to be a part of professional hockey, to show the world what he could do. He was ready to move on, and after many tearful goodbyes, he packed up his stuff to drive to Halifax and see just what team he would end up on. Draft Day After two successful seasons in the QMJHL, Mertz moved on to the VHLM draft. This was a unique experience for the rookie as he didn’t really know what to expect. His knowledge of drafts was goalies went late and inexperienced rookie goalies went really late, if at all. So it was a bit of a shock when two of the six first round picks were goaltenders. It was more of a shock when 15 picks later in the fourth round he was drafted to the Halifax 21st, only the 3rd goalie taken in the draft, 21st overall. The next few days went by in a blur, between press conferences and training and even just talking with teammates, everything felt so surreal. Having a dream realized was just so much to comprehend. It took some adjusting but soon enough everything fell into place. His netminder partner Tyler Smith became his training partner and the two developed some friendly competition, pushing each other to be better than the other to see who would open the season. He developed a good relationship with his GM and tried to help him out when he could. It felt like he had found a home with the 21st. VHLM Start Mertz has had an exciting start to his VHLM career, going 5-1 in his first six games and leading the league in save percentage. He is part of a rotating pair with Smith for starters and both goalie have proven themselves to be some of the best in the league, with Smith opening his own career going 2-0. The future could prove to take Mertz off pace to be great, or it could see him shine even more, but for now he’s content showing the VHLM that Halifax is here to play. 1005 words

Leph Twinger @Pandar

David Kiaskov @DaftRaincloud

Nationalities, gotta see how those world juniors teams are shaping up

Hm, what do goalie stats do? Better chance to stop a shot Better chance to stop a shot Better chance to stop a shot BETTER CHANCE TO STOP A SHOT

I just want to play, we could lose both games but the anticipation is killing me. PUT ME IN COACH! Halifax made it fun, we have two active starters so we both start, we switch out every couple of games. Aim for cap every week. It's not hard to do and it can be really enjoyable as well. My first "real" week I capped on Monday. I pass on reviews because I'm lazy though.

I spoke before I checked lol, don't worry, you're just keeping it warm for me until I start again

VHLM Weekly Article by: Riley Johnston After the first few VHLM games have passed, we take a look into which players have started off hot and where the best in the league are playing. The teams are then ranked based on the talent they have and Cup potential. 1. Las Vegas Aces LVA has a standout team, one of the deepest rosters in the league, and an All-Star goaltender in Alexander Pepper. Currently in second place, Vegas boasts an impressive 9 GA, the lowest in the league with the only contending team being the Halifax 21st. Vegas also has 10 players (including Pepper) over 50 Overall on their roster, and three players with 70+ Defense. They might not score a whole lot, but they have the prospects to do so and you sure as hell won't score on them. 2. Halifax 21st It was a tough choice between HFX and LVA, but at the end of the day I wouldn't be surprised for the finals to be between them. Halifax has one of the most active rosters in the league, and it shows. Nine players over 50 Overall, 2 active goaltenders, 2 of the leagues top 4 goalscorers, Karl von Moltke being second in the league in assists, and did I mention 4 of the top 5 rookies? The list goes on. Halifax currently holds the first place position in the league, and they can only go up from here. Vegas only just edged them out of the top ranked team as they are the deeper roster right now. 3. Saskatoon Wild Hear me out on this one. SSK is currently second to last in the standings, which doesn't look promising for the 3rd ranked team, but I have my reasoning. For starters, Saskatoon is only to Ottawa in goals for, and it's not a close race with any other team, with Halifax being 5 goals back. The Wild have one of the most potent player combos in the league with Ryuu Crimson and Dylan Nguyen, who by the way are both firmly planted in the top 10 points leaders. Crimson is second in the league for goals with 6 and Nguyen is third for assists with 8. This roster also boast Anderson LaVey and Burnt Toast, also in the top 10 for points. If SSK can come together defensively they will become one of the top teams in the league, no question. 4. Ottawa Lynx 10 players over 50 Overall, the top 2 players in the league for points, the league leader in goals. Ottawa seems like they should be higher, but they won't be. Ottawa is alarmingly mediocre, they have 2 standout players and a lot of generally good guys. There's no real holes but there's not a whole lot to be excited about. Chance Matthews is a phenom, Baxter can do it all, but everyone else falls kind of flat. Not to mention Kritikers, who should be one of the best in the league, is currently sitting in fourth out of the leagues tenders. That's bottom 50% for a goalie who's rated highest in the league. Ottawa will be good, no question, but they won't be anything to watch. 5. Yukon Rush Whoa. What? Yukon ISN'T the 6th ranked team? With the shallowest roster and Rhett Stoffiday/Victor in net, it is a bit of a shock, but Yukon has two prospects that make me excited and scared. Let's talk about Sidney Crosby and Ryan Kastelic. Crosby is a monster, and absolute machine. If you watched the first few games Crosby dominated every leaderboard he could slap his name on. Should he keep it up he'll be one of the best players in the league. Kastelic is a whole different beast. He's quietly maintained where Crosby faltered, staying on the leaderboards. Out of everything Kastelic is eligible for, he appears on 4/7 leaderboards. Kastelic and Crosby could be an elite defensive pairing, but they don't have a team to back them up. Time will tell just how good they turn out to be. 6. Oslo Storm Nothing to see in Oslo. 5 guys with 50+ Overall, their points leader is some 38 TPA player who's playing beyond capacity, the team just isn't any good. I'm sorry Oslo but draft picks will be your best players. The only thing you really have to look forward to this season is the end of it.

I’ll be taking that spot back now @Sonnet

Depends on what being editor entails, I’m open to the positions but I may not be able to fulfill some of the roles software wise

After talking with @Victor and @McWolf, talks have emerged for a VHL Mag style project coming out for the VHLM. However, it's contingent on having enough staff as well as approval by someone with power in the forums moderation staff. Just to see if we could pull together enough people, anyone interested feel free to respond to this post stating what position you'd be interested in. There would be a Graphics team, a Writing team, and a few editors.

Will do

Well this put a damper on coming out with the best % in the league

If you gave job pay for this I would spend probably too much time writing articles for it @Victor since he asked for interested people

Roger Sterling @Pandar

@DaftRaincloud you get two picks because you missed your first one

@DaftRaincloud @oilmandan

12 hours have passed Casey Jones @DaftRaincloud

@jacobaa19 try again, Stopko went already

Yeah yeah, just poking fun at ya for last time

This is the fun part where pandar waits until the last minute to make his pick

Robert Malenko @Pandar

Ah, okay. Thank you!

Excuse me while I try to figure out what code imgur uses