DrHexDex

"Yes, @DaftRaincloud you first." "I was excited, I get to help set the bar for the quality of goalies to come for the future of this team. "Doing what I always do, live in the gym and talk with my trainers. I've already passed 70 TPE in just a week and a half. I'm sure the road ahead will be great." "It's going to be a interesting time, I can't wait to see how they do on the ice." "To be in the top 3 of goalies this season in wins and save %." "The language barrier, but I think the best benefit is it's a new place. It's like a reset button." "Thank you for your time Daft, I'll take the next one please."

I'm in

Card looks crisp! Only thing that could be fixed is the masking of the jersey. Other than that, fantastic work!

That's a smooth looking banner Sid! The shadows are angled with the text correctly and looks professional. Hope to see the team use it!

Love that you used the Canadian flag as a mask for the text as it works well with your background! Love the look of it too Daft. Great work.

The logo and font clash really well together! Maybe one day this will be used. Thank you for sharing it.

Love the snow effect and blur in the background, the name and number is a little hard to read since it's white on white. Other than that good stuff.

These sigs are smooth as ice! The logo placement is really good and that font is sharp. Keep it up Shawn!

Love the look of this sig, font colors look really good on the white boards. Also, thanks for translating it too!

Nice sig! The only complaint with it that I have is that his right arm seems to have fallen off

A very smooth card, love the purple effect around it. Almost makes it seem like it's holographic. Defiantly going in the player card collection.

Chapter 1: Early Life Tyler Smith was born on September 29th, 1996 in Pontiac, Illinois. A very small town out in the middle of nowhere. For as long as he can remember Smith fell in love with the sport of hockey when he watched the Detroit Red Wings win the Stanly Cup back in 1998 and again in 2002. His mother told us that she remember watching him mock play goal tenders on the TV, diving for invisible pucks. From that moment on Smith knew that he wanted to be a goalie, because he viewed it as the last line of defense for a team. He can either save them big time and secure a W, or blow it all and choke. Chapter 2: Frozen Rivers After years of saving up money Smith was finally able to buy his own pair of used pads and hit the ice for the very first time when he was 10 years old. For Smith, it was a very frustrating experience, nothing like what he saw on TV. The flashy saves, the rebound recoveries, or the breakaway stops. It was more of falling over his own skates in the crease and letting easy pucks through his five-hole in. Of course this was played back on frozen rivers since Pontiac at the time lacked any sort of rec center with an ice rink so he didn’t get many chances to improve on his game. Frustrated, Smith thought about hanging up the pads and skates but his mother talked him out of it and he continued to play every winter when he could. Smith slowly went from tumbling on the ice, to being able to make sliding stops and become flexible enough to play butterfly. Chapter 3: Playing With a Small Crowd Smith attended Bloomington High School, in Bloomington, Illinois. This was his first taste of real hockey and what playing on a team really meant. Smith experienced early 4 A.M. morning practices to 12 A.M. late night away games. It was easy for him to adjust to the demanding schedule of the hockey season but at the end of his freshman year he finally adjusted to the harsh schedule and fell into a rhythm. Smith started developing his work out routine in his sophomore year of high school. Along with this he learned the importance of dieting and weight management. His junior year is where he started to shine as he started mastering the Hybrid stance of stand up and butterfly mixed. Finally during his senior year he led his high school to the State Cup, bringing it home to Bloomington for the 4th time in his school’s history. It was around this time that he started receiving offers from colleges to come and play for them but the big question on his and the towns mind was: Who is he going to play for next? Chapter 4: Picking the Right School After winning the State Cup for his high school Smith received countless offers from not only his home state but the country as well. While rumors of him leaving Illinois to go play in Minnesota started popping up during the summer vacation on Twitter, Smith kept very quiet about who he was actually going to play for as to not seem like he playing favorites over social media. We found out through his mother that he would only bring up the teams he thought about playing for at the dinner table with her and the rest of his siblings. After what seemed like the longest 3 months of his life Smith finally made an announcement over twitter that he was going to stay in Illinois and play at Illinois State University. While some were stunned that he didn’t go to Seattle or Minnesota more were pleased that he stayed at home in hopes of bringing more trophies in. Chapter 5: Dorms are overrated; Home is Where the Heart is. Smith played all 4 years of college for the Illinois State University Redbirds. Through his freshman year Smith was seen in and out of the practice ice, most of the time getting there before the trainers even unlocked the doors. He earned the title of ‘Gym Rat’ for his extreme dedication to improve his game for himself and the team. It was also reported during his freshman year Smith got into his very first fight, against a rival, the Illinois University Fighting Illini. Smith was reported to have 2 broken knuckles, which benched him for 2 weeks. While rumors were spread about what instigated the fight from being slashed after the whistle, to just general insults, we talked to his head coach that the fight actually started due to being poked in his facemask multiple times after a whistle. Smith only one national title for Illinois State University through his 4 years there but he and the town seemed satisfied with his results. Smith decided to enter the AHL draft where he was picked up in the 2nd round as an early pick for the Bloomington Blue Jays. Chapter 6: Blue Jays Singing Smith played 3 seasons with the Bloomington Blue Jays, where he only brought home one cup. While most people are unaware of why he left Bloomington we were able to sit down with him and find out why. “Playing in Bloomington was a great experience for me, but I craved something much bigger than the AHL or a small time team. Don’t get me wrong, I love this city, the state and the people but it was time for me to tackle bigger and better things. I never received any call ups to the NHL and I wasn’t about to sit around for another 3 years and wait for it. While it is sad for the town that I left I know that those who truly supported me accepted the fact that I had to leave. The VHL seemed like the right league for me, so that’s why I went.” Chapter 7: The VHL and the Future While Smith was drafted in the VHLM to the Halifax 21st Smith was reported to be happy with the pick and was very excited to play for an expansion team. Will Smith continue a great road ahead? Or burn out like a super nova? Only time will tell for this young Goalie.

Gonna need to update this list soon @Tagger someone's about to bank big on their TPE

Tyler Smith has finally settled into the VHLM after being with his team, Halifax 21st as he just received his new team colored pads and helmet in the mail. This is Smith’s first time being in Halifax not as a player but as a civilian too. It’s a huge shift from a small college town in the middle of Illinois for him but so far he loves it. He was able to hit the new practice ice shortly after moving into his new small house, that the team provided. It’s rumored that Smith plans on hitting 70 TPE before the end of the second week but only time will tell for him. While we were able to catch small glimpses of his practice routine on the ice we noticed he’s been working on Style control, Rebounding, and Hand Speed the most. That’s all for now, thank you for tuning in!

[1] Is this your very first league? [2] Were there any other Russian players you looked up to while you were working on your own game? [3] How active do you plan to be for your team and yourself? [4] What is the skill you think you need to work on the most? [5] When was your first on ice fist fight?

Tyler walked up to the row of microphones and sat down, looking around the room. "Hey guys, thanks for having me again." He said with a smile. "I'm ready to take your questions, feel free to ask what ever you please." He said leaning back. "But for those of you who don't know, I hope some of you read my rookie profile that the VHLM did for me." He said holding up the article

Thanks Daft!

So while we wait for our real logos to be revealed I decided to make some mock ups of my own. @ShawnGlade

Tyler Smith | Bloomington, IL 6'1" | 183 LBS Right Handed | Hybrid Stance SCOUTING REPORT Tyler Smith, born on September 29th, 1996 played goalie ever since he could skate. Before entering the VHLM draft Smith played in a very small league in his hometown of Bloomington, IL. He played the net for the Bloomington Blue Jays for 3 seasons before taking up the draft. Smith plays a very aggressive hybrid stance of Stand Up and Butterfly. You won't ever see him leave his crease on most nights as he tends to stay in net on puck plays. Smith was unknown coming into the VHLM but he doesn't have plans on making it stay that way. Smith has been quoted saying: "I want to be the number one goalie. I know where I come from, where I've been and where I want to go. I didn't come to VHLM to let all this passion go to waste. I'm here to play hard for any team I end up on, and play until my bones give out." -Tyler Smith Smith was known to be a gym rat back in Bloomington, working everyday that he could. His leadership skills have much to be desired but who really wants a goalie to lead their team anyways? Smith was drafted to the Halifax 21st as a late round pick and met his teammate Cole Mertz shortly after. When asked about how he feels that there is solid competition for the number one spot he had this to say: "Mertz is a guy with experience, he's someone you can look up to in the locker room when you try to improve yourself as a goalie and a teammate. I hope he doesn't see me as a threat for a spot, I really just want to work out with him and take his knowledge about goal tending and apply it to myself to better myself. He's going to be great on and off the ice, and I hope with his skills, knowledge and leadership I can be just as good if not better than him." -Tyler Smith PROS + Aggressiveness Smith playing a Hybrid stance allows him to be more aggressive than most goalies in the league. Allowing him to apply high pressure during breakaways and penalty kills. +Stay in the Crease! Smith watched countless hours of footage of goalies with his time in Bloomington, and what he noticed most is that leaving the crease leads to chances of empty net goals. Pucks bounce in weird ways and the goalie stick is meant to stop the puck not play it. This allows him to keep the puck covered most nights and not make stupid or wild passes. +Gym Rat Smith has set the bar very high for himself. You can find him most nights in the Practice facility working on his skills to improve himself. This allows him to become better faster. CONS -It's all in your head Smith has been known to have a bit of a temper when things don't go his way on the ice. From pucks that bounce off his mask and go up and in, or getting interfered and the goal counting, it can get to him and allow him to play too aggressive at times. This has lead to many broken sticks and time in the box. -It's all your fault Weather it's a 3 on 1 break away or a puck that rolls in Smith tends to blame himself more than his teammates when bad plays happen. While this does keep team moral high it can effect how he plays. -Bloody fists and broken knuckles Smith has been known to get into fights with other skaters. He will not be pushed around, slashed, or bumped into without consequence. While a fight win can boost team energy it also means 5 in the box and a goalie change. SUMMARY While this is Smith's very first season we expect to see a lot from him, and where he goes. Will he burn out in the first season or become the super nova star he wants to be? Time will only tell where his future lies.

Tyler walked into the press conference room and sat down in front of the mic [1]"To answer your first question I think playing in a new expansion is not only going to be challenging but I think it'll be fun as well. Lots of questions will be raised about how good we are as a team. But I know we'll play hard, get the wins we earn and show that we're not just a one and done team." "Next question please." [2]"My long term goal here in the VHL? Well I want to be the number 1 goalie. I want to be up there, letting a team know I have it's back no matter what the situation is." "Next one please." [3]"The goalie style I'll be playing will most likely be a mixed stance. You won't see me travel too far out of my net, as I plan to stay in it and stop the puck." "Uhh, yes you in the back." [4]"Can't really say, this is my first season so I'm excited to see what the VHLM has to offer." "Yes, you." [5]"I was happy just to be drafted." "You, with your hand up." [6]"To pave the way for other players on the team in terms of history. You have the chance to set the bar really high, and hope it either stays there or someone raises it even higher." "You, in the blue shirt." [7]"Of course there is, but that'll just means the more eyes are on us the more we get to show off great teamplay, amazing coaching and maybe a flashy move here or there." "Hmm, you in the all black." [8]"Don't want to call it early, otherwise you jinx every game you play against them." "You in the back left." [9]"The name '21st' sounds like a name with history behind it, so it's our job to set that history for better or worse." "Last one, you in the back right." [10]"To perform to my very best, and see where I need to improve." "Well guys that's all the time I have thank you." Tyler gets up and leaves the conference.

Player Information Username: DrHexDex Player Name: Tyler Smith Recruited By: Age: 21 Position: G Height: 74 in. Weight: 190 lbs. Birthplace: Pontiac, IL Player Page