Arayvenn

This rivalry is starting to feel pretty one-sided.

Nikky Flip has hit the big 100.

@Joobles has reached 50 TPE

1) Since it's not been too long since you've joined the league, what are thoughts on the league so far as a whole? I'm continuously impressed by the amount of effort that goes into keeping it running so smoothly. It's a ton of fun and I have a few people's hard work to thank for that. 2) Are there any areas in the league that you would like to see a change/improvement? I think working towards more portal integration is a goal with merit. Otherwise, I think it would be fun to introduce a degree of variability and award bonus TPE for simulating well outside of achievement tracker. 3) The VHLM Newsletter launched earlier this week, did you read it and was it helpful to you? I read anything that comes from Tagger to me, it's almost always useful. I will continue to read. 4) What are your aims this season in the VHLM? To win a championship and score tons of goals. 5) With the teams starting to take shape, who do you consider to be the favourite for the VHLM Founders Cup? Excluding us, I like Ottawa's chances. 6b) What do you think of your current VHLM team? (If you were selected in the VHLM Draft) Big fan of my teammates and management, so I would say I think highly of Halifax and am thrilled to play for them.

I got to this late, so I'm not sure what's still up for grabs, but I'm down to write or edit.

Hey guys, dad had a heart attack, haven't been home for more than a few hours the past couple days. I'll take a look at this tonight.

F - Aksel McKnight @Bushito

Damn it. G - Norris Stopko

Sorry, busy making sales. F - Fook Yu

Dynamo Meute Reign Bears

Dynamo 4 - 2 Wranglers

F - Jasper Canmore @joeyboucher1

I've got Rhett DeGrath after work.

Sign me up

Does Nguyen/Crimson yaoi fanart count for graphic TPE? Please respond

Nikita Flipachyev made time to speak to TSN 1200's, Bobby Margarita today before flying out to join Halifax. Bobby Margarita: Thanks for making the time to chat with us today, Nikita. Nervous for the big move? Nikita Flipachyev: Thanks for having me. Excited is more like it! A little nervous to be leaving the only home I've ever had in Canada, but otherwise feeling good. Bobby Margarita: Was there any hope on your end that you might get to dawn an Ottawa Lynx sweater this season? Nikita Flipachyev: Not having to leave my parents behind is definitely appealing, and to be honest, I did touch base with Ottawa management before the draft, but ultimately they didn't pull the trigger quick enough and I'm playing in the city that wanted me more. Bobby Margarita: Is there any sort of extra motivation stemming from the fact that they passed on you after reaching out? Are any sparks going to fly when Ottawa and Halifax meet for the first time this season? Nikita Flipachyev: I am motivated to make sure every team that passed on me regrets it, not just Ottawa. I'm also motivated to make sure the suits in Halifax look back on selecting me as one of the proudest moments for their franchise. That being said, look for hats to hit the ice the next time I return to Ottawa, and tell Gregor Rasputinov to make sure he's watching me closely. Bobby Margarita: Tell me what it's like to be playing for the VHLM's newest team. What's the locker room like? Nikita Flipachyev: Playing for an expansion team is quite a thrill. Not many players get the opportunity to play for a team in its inaugural season. It's a unique opportunity to grow alongside your franchise. The locker room is buzzing. We believe that the bar is set quite high, especially with the success of the NHL's Las Vegas Golden Knights and we're determined to turn heads this year. Bobby Margarita: Anything in particular you're looking forward to as you begin your pro career? Nikita Flipachyev: I want to win that founder's cup and score tons of goals. Bobby Margarita: Thanks again for sitting down with us today. Best of luck to you this upcoming year. Nikita Flipachyev: My pleasure, big fan of the show.

1. How do you feel about playing for new expansion franchise in year 1? I feel excited. Being able to step into a brand new franchise and have the opportunity to play a major role in building something new is a big motivator for me. 2. What's your long term goal on the VHL forums? To remain an active member for years to come, score tons of goals and have Nikita Flipachyev go down as one of the best wings to lace it up in this league. 3. What kind of player build are you going for? I am here to score goals. I'll be stacking skating, puck handling and scoring. Passing, strength and defense to be focused on as secondaries. 5. Were you happy with where you went in the draft? Very pleased indeed. I didn't think I'd squeak into the top 10. Honored to be selected so early. 6. What in your eyes is the best part about being on an expansion team? I think being part of an expansion team makes it much easier to discover where you land in your team's identity, and to also ingrain that team identity in yourself. This is what has me most excited about joining Halifax. 10. What would you say is your goal this season in the VHLM? To win the founder's cup.

As the start of the VHLM regular season fast approaches, I thought it might be fun to take a look at how everyone drafted and see if there were any clear winners. Saksatoon Wild 1st OA: LW - Ryuu Crimson (175 TPE) 6th OA: G - Lefty (93 TPE) 7th OA: D - Burnt Toast (76 TPE) 13th OA: D - Dylan Nguyen (171 TPE) 19th OA: LW - Athanasios Andrianopoulos (48 TPE) 25th OA: LW - Anderson Lavey (58 TPE) 37th OA: D - Ryan Dodds (30 TPE) 40th OA: LW - Frenchie French (30 TPE) 43rd OA: C - Derrick Lacroix (30 TPE) 49th OA: G - Kyle Desjardins (30 TPE) 55th OA: D - Magnus Backlund (30 TPE) 61st OA: C - Ethan Sawatzky (30 TPE) Verdict The only team in the draft to make a selection in the 11th round, the Wild were determined to find talent, and they certainly did. Selecting the best forward, goalie and a top 3 defenceman in the draft class is a nice kick off to any draft. The main shortcomings of their selections are the lack of quality centres (which this draft was weak on to begin with), and the fact that many of their 30 TPE selections aren't very active on the forum. Overall, the decisions made in the trickier parts of the draft leave some to be desired, but the top end talent they've managed to load their team with will certainly leave the front office excited. Crimson, Lefty, Toast and Nguyen should all be immediate impact players in the M this year. If Lavey and Andrianopoulos stay active, I think this is one of the strongest set of selections in this draft. Unsurprising coming from the team that selected 1st overall. Final Grade: A- Las Vegas Aces 2nd OA: LW - Karl von Moltke (162 TPE) 8th OA: LW - Julian Borwinn (92 TPE) 10th OA: D - Cayden Saint (143 TPE) 20th OA: D - Juri Rykonen (48 TPE) 27th OA: LW - Jose Gonzalez (58 TPE) 34th OA: G - Alex Pepper (59 TPE) 38th OA: RW - Jack Stucky (38 TPE) 44th OA: RW - Ho-Train (30 TPE) 50th OA: RW - Ian Drake (30 TPE) Verdict With only 9 picks up against the Wild's 12, it's impressive that Vegas was able to find similar high end talent and arguably more middle talent. The lack of centre depth in this draft is very evident here as Vegas didn't select a single C. While their two last selections are inactive and unlikely to get much done in the strip, all of their other selections seem to be mostly active on the forum, first gens and vets alike. Big picture, I think Vegas made their most important picks count. Comparing their selections up to 38th with Saskatoon's, we see a talent pool almost as intriguing, if not a little less star studded. I must admit, though, I am not a fan of their early round position spread, somehow coming in less diverse than the Wild's. Still, Moltke, Borwinn, and Saint are high end talent. With consistent activity from Gonzalez, Rykonen, Pepper and the rest of their class, this team could be lethal. Final Grade: B Halifax 21st 3rd OA: D - Tzuyu (168 TPE) 9th OA: RW - Nikita Flipachyev (66 TPE) 12th OA: D - Shawn Glade (159 TPE) 15th OA: D - B.B. Nat (81 TPE) 21st OA: G - Cole Mertz (66 TPE) 23rd OA: C - Mike Lavallee (47 TPE) 32nd OA: LW - Aaron Butcher (30 TPE) 33rd OA: C - Hunter Kidd (38 TPE) 39th OA: C - Nathan MacKinnon (30 TPE) 47th OA: G - Tyler Smith (42 TPE) 51st OA: D - Jeremy Myalls (30 TPE) 57th OA: G - Potato (30 TPE) Verdict There's a lot to like about these selections. So far this is the best positional spread we've seen in the draft, and while there is perhaps less elite talent (which is to be expected as we make our way down the list), almost every player Halifax selected is active on the forum. Finding active players in the 50s is a mark of a successful draft in my books. If Flipachyev, B.B. Nat and Cole Mertz can come into their own, Halifax can turn heads this year. Tzuyu and Shawn Glade are one hell of a D pairing in the M. Final Grade: A Ottawa Lynx 4th OA: G - Kallis Kriketers (135 TPE) 5th OA: D - Lando Baxter (173 TPE) 11th OA: RW - Vaydar Odinsson (64 TPE) 16th OA: D - Joseph McWolf (71 TPE) 17th OA: C - Braylon James (50 TPE) 22nd OA: C - Chance Matthews (64 TPE) 28th OA: D - Gregor Rasputinov (41 TPE) 29th OA: D - Robert Renner (43 TPE) 46th OA: RW - Rzerk (32 TPE) 52nd OA: D - James Lombardi (34 TPE) 58th OA: C - Jerome Mitchell (42 TPE) Verdict Wewlad, that is a lot of selections in the top 30. I only have good things to say about this draft class. Ottawa found viable players in every round. Almost their entire roster is active, they walk out of the draft with one of the best goalies and defenseman available and having not made a single 30 TPE selection. They even found talent at C. If this class stays as active as they have been they may very well become the best set of selections we saw this past Wednesday. Kriketers enters as one of the most exciting goalies in the league, and Baxter enters in contention for best rookie D. All of their middle talent seems to be active and is already accumulating and spending TPE. This team can be very, very good. Final Grade: A+ Yukon Rush 14th OA: D - Ryan Kastelic (84 TPE) 26th OA: C - Theodore Gauthier (61 TPE) 35th OA: G - Victor (30 TPE) 41st OA: D - Jesse Sublime (35 TPE) 45th OA: ?? - Radovan Svejkovsky (30 TPE) 53rd OA: RW - Nick Ward (30 TPE) 59th OA: G - Rhett Stoffiday (30 TPE) Verdict Objectively the weakest draft class thus far, which isn't surprising when you've traded away as many picks as Yukon did, worth a chance to play in the final for the founder's cup, I'd say. I'm not a big fan of these selections. The picks that pan out will pan out well, Yukon has certainly injected some talent into a talented group, but they left talent on the board to make some of their middle and later picks, a few of whom seem to be inactive. This class could turn out better than expected if their last 3 selections turn out to be active, as they haven't been away from the forum for very long at all. Final Grade: C- Oslo Storm 18th OA: D - Paolo Nano (88 TPE) 24th OA: RW - Anssi Koivuhaka (53 TPE) 30th OA: D - Mountain Thunderfist (47 TPE) 36th OA: LW - Bobby Larkin (30 TPE) 42nd OA: D - Finn Schaefer (30 TPE) 48th OA: G - Andreas Bergkvist (30 TPE) 54th OA: ?? - The Great Cox (30 TPE) Verdict The founder's cup winners manage to get a hold of more quality draft picks than the runner up Yukon Rush, but the talent in both draft classes is very similar. Both select a star D with their first picks and land active forwards and middle D to follow up. All of Oslo's selections seem to be active on the forum save for The Great Cox. Overall, not bad for the league champions. Final Grade: C

Hey Gregor, Nik here from Ottawa. 1. Some have compared your playstyle to the Ottawa 67s superstar RW, Nikita Flipachyev. Calling you Flipa-lite. How do you feel about your God emperor and are you honored to receive the comparison? 2. Putting aside the fact that you'd be honored to play in any city, do you have a preference for where you land tonight? Any Johnny T sheets-esque stories? 3. Which NHLer would you be the most excited to truly replicate? 4. What do you like about playing D? 5. Do you think you can be the best Russian OFD of all-time?

@Joobles - 1 TPE for creation, 1 TPE for earning 50 TPE.

RW - Nikita Flipachyev - Scoring Winger Name: Nikita Flipachyev DOB: January 1, 2000 Birthplace: Moscow, Russia Height: 71in (6ft1) Weight: 199lbs Position: Right Wing Handedness: Left Shot Preference: Wrist/Snap Scouting Report Nikita is a big bodied scoring winger. The offensive dynamo carries the puck well and skates well. With an explosive first step, Flipachyev is always able to make room for himself on the ice with ease, making him a prime candidate to lead any team's offensive breakout. Nikita has played with confidence for the OHL's 67s playing on the team's top line since his rookie season and running the team's top powerplay unit. During his time in Ottawa he has racked up a plethora of points and asserted himself as one of the league's elite goal scorers. Flipachyev is a big bodied winger who would benefit greatly from playing the body more and injecting some grit into his play along the boards, but as it stands, the winger has shown some mindfulness with his defensive play and attempts to make the smart play in his own end, improving each year. Still, his two-way game leaves some to be desired. Strengths Flipachyev's powerful and effortless skating ability coupled with his keen goal scoring instincts are what make the winger a coveted prospect in the S63 VHLM draft. His ability to pick the puck off your stick and blow past your entire team into the offensive zone in what feels like an instant has had OHL defensemen keeping an eye on the scoring threat at all times. Against his peers it seems as though he's always a step ahead and should you catch yourself in a foot race with him, you're in trouble. Paired with a blistering, lethal snapshot, Nikita has proven himself to be one of the OHL's premiere goalscoring threats, capable of scoring goals from everywhere in the offensive zone. Emulating his play after his childhood hero, Pavel Bure and drawing comparison's to Winnipeg's Patrik Laine, the 18 year old winger is a true bluechip goal scoring prospect. Weaknesses The gaps in Flipachyev's game come from his play along the board. His hesitation to get into those hard to play areas can cost his team prime goalscoring opportunities, a shortcoming he is aware of and working on. Despite a large frame for junior, Nikita also doesn't often play the body. Capable of laying devastating hits on his opponents, fans rarely see this side of the European's game. Despite strong stick play, Flipachyev's tendency to not play the body has cost the 67s defensively many times throughout his tenure and has left many scouts wondering if the winger is nothing more than a powerplay special. Skepticism the young winger is eager to try and dispell. The fiery Russian is also quick to become emotional. With a burning urge to win, frustrations mount easily when success does not come his way. Notorious for late game lazy penalties when snake-bitten or down a couple bad goals, his lack of discipline has cost the 67s in key moments, though this has been less true in his most recent seasons.

First and foremost, thanks for the questions. 1. What are your thoughts on the league so far? I'm really impressed with the amount of effort that goes into running it. You guys are a decently organized bunch and the game has significantly more depth than I expected. Really excited to participate. 2. How did you come up with your name? I've always liked the name Nikita. My last name is a sort of mishmash of Filatov and Shipachyov. I thought it looked hilariously unrealistic and had some flare. 3. Any teams you'd like to play for in the VHLM or VHL? I'd be happy to play for anyone, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't pulling to spend some of my career in Ottawa and Davos. It fits well with my player. 4. What are your goals as a player? To win a championship and score tons of goals. 5. Any suggestions as a new member to improve the site, make things easier, or better accommodate you? Not really. The community resources are quite good and easy to find. Any questions I still have I will take to Discord tonight or tomorrow. Thanks for being so accommodating, though.