Girts

1. What aspect of Hockey (Defense, Stick Handling, etc.) do you think is the most underappreciated? I would say defense, it's equally important as offense but often goes unnoticed by the average fan. 2. The NHL has the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy for the player who exhibited outstanding sportsmanship. What should the name of that trophy be in the VHL? Sportmanship Award or name it after a player who exemplified those qualities during a long career. 3. Who do you think deserves to win the award this year? No idea since I just joined the league, but I'm sure there are some good candidates. 4. Who do you think is your team's MVP this season? I was not on a team this season but if I had been it'd probably be the player who had the most points and if it was close, edge to goals. 5. What is your favorite holiday? Probably Thanksgiving because everyone loves to eat and usually you see a lot of friends and family back in town. 6. If the VHL has an expansion, what city would you like to see get a team? Yellowknife. I think the Yellowknife Yetis would be a great addition to the league.

1. Are you looking forward to the draft? 2. Where do you think you rank among other prospects in your draft class? 3. Is there something that separates you from other draftees? 4. Any other prospects who have caught your eye in this class? 5. What kind of player will fans of your draft team be getting?

Name: Girts Galvins Age: 20 Height: 6'6" Weight: 240 Position: LW Number: 13 Shoots: Left Born: Ventspils, Latvia Girts Galvins is a prospect winger from Latvia who possesses good size and a very strong shot. A relative unknown coming into the league we will learn more about his game in this report, particularly his strengths and weaknesses or pros and cons. Pros: Shot: Galvins has fantastic shot that rates well above average for prospects at this stage of the game. Already rated 70 his shot is his strongest asset early on and he is not afraid to use it. Galvins shoots well from all areas of the ice, outside the circles, the slot and even coming in over the blue line. His slap shot, wrist shot, backhand and one-timer are all exceptional. Hockey IQ: Galvins has a great sense of the game and as a goal scorer he knows where to be on the ice to put himself in a position to not only get a shot but score a goal. He's easy to play with and compliments all other style of players. He's good at both ends of the ice, but his offensive instincts are finely tuned. Skating: Galvins is a good skater, rating at 54 coming into the league. It's an area of strength to his game and also something he plans on focusing on early in his development. He likes to carry the puck and shoot on the rush and his speed also allows him to get into position quickly at both ends of the ice and be in situations to succeed. Cons: Strength: As a young player galvins needs to work on his strength and has much room for improvement. He currently is rated at 40 strength which is the minimum for the league, so he has some work to do there. It's something he will be working on later this season after he rounds out his skating, defense and puck handling. Checking: As of right now Galvins is not a big hitter, but with his size and a little work he should be able to add that element to his game rather quickly. He does plan on working on it later this season but as of now it's a weakness of his game as he's solely focused on putting the puck in the net. Face Offs: Galvins has never played center and has little to no experience taking draws. As a scoring winger this will always be a weakness of his game and he'll probably never put much work into it unless the team really needs him to. He's a pure winger as of now and if takes the occassional draw when the center gets kicked out don't expect him to win it. Scouts Take: Overall I think Galvins has a lot of skill especially as a scorer. He has a great shot, good speed and what was not mentioned above was his defense which currently ranks 50 and is something he has said he plans to work on quickly. He has the size to be a power forward who hard on the puck and gifted around the net if he can add some strength and a physical element to his game. Starting out as a pure speedy scorer he should be an effective offense point producer as he rounds out the other areas of his game. 562 words

1. This upcoming season will be my first. 2. This upcoming season will also be my best. 3. I have not won anything yet but maybe this season. 4. I made a player like 6 years ago but retired before playing. 5. Helsinki Titans have a cool name and logo. 6. Definitely not, going to just stick to a player.

With a name like Girts Galvins you know you have a star in the making. What a great hockey name! The young Latvian winger is a prospect for the upcoming draft, in whatever league he's eligible for, I believe it's the VHLM. Standing 6'6" and weighing in at 240 pounds he has a great shot, good speed and he's working on his defensive game. Scouts expect Girts Galvins to be an impact player wherever he ends up. He's been training hard in the off-season and looking to come into the season with as much TPE as possible. Hailing from the hockey hotbed of Ventspils Latvia he has the potential to become the next great Latvian VHL'er. We're not 100% sure if there's been others but we assume there has. Anyway, Galvins is off to a good start and should help whatever team he ends up on. He's never going to be a big passer, he's definitely a sniper and will continue to work on defense, skating, puck handling and eventually add some strength and checking to his game. 178 words

Player Information Username: Girts Player Name: Girts Galvins Recruited From: Returning Age: 20 Position: LW Height: 78 in. Weight: 240 lbs. Birthplace: Latvia Player Page @VHLM GM

Well turns out I won't have as much time to put into this as I thought. So I think it's best to retire now instead of getting drafted and not being an active member/player. My apologies. Everyone was very helpful over the last few days and you have a good community here. Thanks and best of luck to everyone. D- Krill Lokomotiv (retired before ever playing a game)

People have said at 6'8 and 250 pounds I'm kind of a Train on the ice. Well being that my last name is Lokomotiv I guess that makes sense. Now for a little about myself... I grew up in Uelen, Russia which is a tiny little town on the top of the Kamchatka Peninsula. There wasn't much to do for about 9 months of the year because of all the snow, so pretty much all I did was play hockey. All hockey all day for 9 months out of the year, you could say in some ways I was born from hockey. I first skated at 2yrs old as soon as I was strong enough to stand on my skates and I've haven't stopped skating since. I think skating is one of the strongest parts of my game, that and my size and offensive instincts. I have a very heavy shot and like to use my one timer from the point. I also love setting up plays though and enjoy getting an assist as much as a goal. Also being that I grew up in Kamchatka I used to wrestle bears as a young man and it made me very tough. Kamchatka is known for it's bears so we really had no choice but to hone our skills tangling with grizzlies. It's definitely made me a stronger hockey player as knobody can knock me off the puck. After you've beat up a grizzly bear, a forechecker looks like a little butterfly coming at you. So I doubt I'll have a problem adapting to the physical nature of a pro game. So where do I hope to be drafted? Honestly I just want to be drafted and would be happy to play anywhere. I realize coming from a tiny town in the middle of nowhere that people have never heard of me and will be somewhat hesitant to draft me, but I definitely came to play and want to make and impact in this league. I feel I have the tools to be a good offensive defenseman and play a lot of minutes. While I plan to build my offensive game, I also realize I'm a defenseman so I will need to have solid D otherwise what's the point right? Well I'm comittied to be being strong in both areas. What is the strongest part of my game? I'd say it'd have to be my skating and my on ice vision, I am very quick and like to carry the puck but I also read the play extremely well and usually make the right decision. If I see an opportunity to feed a breaking forward I'll put it right on the tape, but if nothing is open I'll use my size and skating to enter the zone and either shoot or create a play. I mean they call me "the train" so I have to back that up once in a while by carrying the puck. I'm also actually really good on the point on the powerplay and I think that's another strength of my game. Oh and Strength obviously is a strength, I mean I use to wrestle bears for christ sake! (500+)

Hi, I'm Krill Lokomotiv. I'm a big 6'8 250 pound Offensive Defenseman from Uelen, Russia all the way out on the tip of the Kamchatka Peninsula. I've come over to the VHL to play professional hockey. It's quite a change coming from a town of 200 people but I think I can get use to it and perhaps even thrive here in the right situation. A little about my game of hockey, I like to get involved in the offense with crisp passes out of the defensive zone and also like to join the rush. I enjoy using my slap shot on the powerplay and quarterbacking from the point. I'm not just an offensive player though, I'm sound in my own zone and even throw the body a little bit. If given the opportunity I would love to help a team win and contribute on offense whenever possible. I think I have the skills to be the next great VHL defenseman.

Hi, just created my first player. Excited to be here, looks like fun. I plan on being active. Thanks:)