DaftRaincloud

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“You’re going to Minnesota.” A high pitched ringing filled Gabriel’s ears. He had just walked into the office of the Halifax 21st coach, his coach, and now this is what he was hearing. “Come again?” Gabriel leaned forward, hoping he had misheard what was said. “You and your brother, we got a trade offer and we have accepted. You’re going to Minnesota.” The Coach sat back in his chair and crossed his hands over his belly. Gabriel gave a nod of acknowledgment, stood, and exited the room. He walked down the long hallway from the coaches office to the locker room and began to silently pack his duffel bag. Gabriel was coming off of a season that he and many others considered strong. He put up thirty five goals and thirty eight assists in seventy two games. Halifax made a strong playoff run but ran into a team that simply would not budge and ended up falling short. Now Gabriel was flying out to New York City for the VHL draft to see where he would be spending at least the first few years of his professional hockey career. Going into the draft mock drafts had Gabriel all the way from ten to thirty and going to any number of different teams, so he had no idea what to expect. The plane touched down in New York City. Gabriel and Leon stepped out into a city they’d never been in before. The two brothers made their way down the air stairs, where at the bottom of which a stretch limo was waiting. “Fancy.” Leon said dryly. The two brothers got into the limo and headed off to the draft. After stepping out on the curb to a group of photographers and reporters the brothers made their way through the noise and into the large double doors. The Gutzwilers hurried down the steps and took their seats on the draft floor as the commissioner stepped out to welcome the audience and the draftees to the show, to make a little speech about the future of their careers. Gabriel, still on the board past pick ten, started to get a bit nervous. Just as he preferred in his minor league career he wanted to end up playing hockey next to his brother Leon, and he was seeing now a place that could happen. The New York Americans had picks fourteen and sixteen, Gabriel just needed to drop that far. Three more players off the board and New York was up at fourteen. The commissioner stepped up to the podium. “With the fourteenth pick in the S-Seventy VHL draft, The New York Americans select Gabriel Gutzwiler.” He stood and hugged Leon before walking up to the podium and posing for a photo next to the team GM and the commissioner. He went back to the green room and watched nervously as the 15th pick was on the board, but thankfully Leon was not taken there and fell to New York at sixteen. The two brothers, now united in New York and playing for a season down in Minnesota get ready for their second year in the league. Gabriel put up seventy-three points in his freshman campaign and with this Minnesota team and another year of development under his belt he was looking to do even better in the coming year and for years to come.

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VHL 12 Days of Christmas Prize Winner Free Week - Claiming for week of 1/5 5 Uncapped TPE - Claiming for week of 12/29

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Thanks for the inclusion in the article! Great write-up!

2 TPE, please!

Day 10 in the bag!

Hello I am claiming this

Yes I would like this please

+4, please.

1 TPE, please

2 TPE please

Hello, I am posting in this thread.

4 TPE Welfare

Gabriel Gutzwiler has now played 35 games in the VHLM for the Halifax 21st. Most of his playing time is spent on the second forward line being centered by his brother Leon Gutzwiler. At this point in the season he has recorded 12 goals and 16 assists for a total of 28 points. Gabriel is tied for the second highest plus/minus on Halifax with 30 and is shooting at a scorching 21.43%. The best game of Gabriel's season came against his brother's former team, the Las Vegas Aces. The Aces were up 2-0 within the opening 10 minutes of the first period and Halifax had to come up with a quick answer if they wanted to avoid the blowout. Gabriel raised to the occasion and scored two goals, the first off of a 2 on 1 created by his brother Leon when he intercepted the puck from Mike van Stronk. Leon slid the puck right across the crease and onto Gabriel's stick to cut the Halifax deficit in half. Two and a half minutes later and after a prolonged period in the offensive zone wherein Leon and Gabriel both got shots in on the Las Vegas goalie, Gabriel would retrieve the loose puck from Leon's rebound and slip it in behind Spot Mcgoo to equalize the game. The heroics of the Gutzwilers would spur on the team who scored one more goal before the close of the first period, and a fourth in less than thirty seconds into the second period. Las Vegas would answer with one more goal of their own during the final period of play, but an early power play goal took all of the wind out of Las Vegas' proverbial sails and Halifax secured the win with 19 minutes left to play in the game. For his efforts Gabriel Gutzwiler was awarded the first star of the game, the other two going to Benson Kramer, and Blacker Velvet. As a rookie, Gutzwiler's production is higher than some people were expecting it to be right out of the gate. He is the fourth highest scoring player on the Halifax team. Early scouting of Gabriel slated him as more of a goal scorer than a playmaker, but so far he has been more active with moving the puck than was expected, having more points coming from assists than from goals. In Switzerland his defense was what he hung his hat on, but he has had a hard time adapting to the faster paced game of the VHLM and as a result has had fewer blocked shots and hits than he and most people who follow the sport were expecting. All in all Gabriel has had a strong start to the season. There are definitely areas where he can improve, and he is expecting his goal totals to come up as the season carries on. Gabriel Gutzwiler wants to become a true two hundred foot triple threat, and based on what he has shown us so far and his hard work in team practices and the training facility we can expect him to become exactly that.

Hello this is my welfare post.

Let's go Halifax! ?

Halifax 21st Press Conference (November 18-25) Answer six of these for your 2 TPE! 1. How has your first few days in the team been? These first few days have been awesome! The team is very nice in the locker room and they make it very easy to be a member of the Halifax 21st. 2. Thoughts on all the trades the management has made? The trades have brought in Leon Gutzwiler, Boris Boris, and King Kruul. A forward, a defenseman, and a goalie for some picks will help Halifax win this season and I'm all about it. 3. Are there any other sports that you are particularly good at? Did you ever think of trying to go pro in anything else? Growing up in Switzerland soccer was the main sport the other youth were playing. Because of this Gabriel is also a very adept center back. 4. If you are out at the bar with some friends or teammates what is your drink of choice? My drink of choice is always a rum and coke with a slice of lime. It's a cool and refreshing adult beverage that hits the spot just right. 5. What are your expectations for this season? My expectations for this season is for Halifax to compete at the highest level and if not win the cup then give an honest and solid effort towards that goal. With the moves that management has made I can tell that they are dedicated to making that happen. 10. Who has the worst music taste when they get control in the locker room? Leon Gutzwiler brings out the groans when he plugs in the aux cord to his phone. He has a nasty habit of blasting anime soundtracks through the practice facility.

Gabriel and his brother Leon had declared for the draft together, and they had hoped that they would end up on the same team together when they were finally drafted. They feared they would not given their prestige and level of hype surrounding them when they entered the VHLM, but they were hopeful. Unfortunately their worst fears came to light when after Gabriel was drafted to Halifax Leon was then taken by Las Vegas, separating the two brothers for the first time in their hockey careers. Gabriel was more than happy to report to Halifax, of course. He had heard nothing but good things about the organization, however it was weird to take the ice and be on a line with players that were not his brother Leon. He got a few points, some goals, some assists, but he wasn't feeling the joy that he was used to feeling while playing and winning hockey games. One day after a particularly grueling practice Gabriel sat by himself on the team bench, chugging water and breathing heavily from his strenuous workout. His coach skated off the ice and came over to sit next to Gabriel. "What's up, you've been looking down out there." "I just miss Leon is all." Gabriel replied sullenly. "Well, I think I have something that might cheer you up," the coach motioned to the ice. Gabriel looked up and saw his brother Leon skating towards him wearing a Halifax jersey. "No way!" Gabriel skated out and returned to practice alongside his brother. The next day, the brothers would be back on the ice playing together for the same team and playing on the same line. Gabriel would win the puck along the boards. He looked up and noticed Leon streaking down the right side of the ice all alone. Gabriel whipped the puck down right onto his tape. Leon deked past an oncoming defender. One on one with just the keeper to beat who had come to the right side of the pipes with his glove up. Out of his peripheral Leon noticed the blue jersey coming down the left side of the goalie. He slang the pass across the crease right back to Gabriel on the give and go who sent the puck right into the back of the net. The two brothers skated around the back side of the net and embraced in celebration as the goal horn rang out through the arena. Their team mates momentarily joined them in the joyful pile up. Halifax went on to win that game and their next as well. Gabriel and Leon had clearly gotten each other going on the ice and elevated each other's level of play beyond what it had been for them individually before. Halifax had gambled acquiring the two of them and they are hoping that their gamble will eventually pay off with more wins. With the Gutzwilers together the team saw a spike in popularity in Switzerland and jersey sales through the roof in central Europe. They had gotten non-stop calls about coming and doing a Swiss tour in the offseason so the fans could watch the team. Things were looking good for Halifax and for the Gutzwilers.

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@Gwdjohnson