Bayley

On average, how many times a week do you hurt yourself trying to dance in the shower? When You Dance In the Team shower are you dancing alone? Or is it a team effort? I do hurt myself, but I don't shower. I am dancing alone in the team shower for sure. 
What’s the most money you’ve ever drunkenly spent at McDonald’s? What did you get? I spent 32 dollars. I got 32 dollar cheeseburgers. Not a bad deal, honestly. 
On a scale of 1 to 10, how intolerable do you find players that post their entire lives on their insta ? Probably about 13. 
How many bowls of cereal do you eat every single day and why aren’t you eating more? Zero, cereal is for losers. 
Who on your team would you let punch you directly in the face no questions asked? I would let @Spartan probably because he's a lame-o. 
How many days have you gone without showering? Did people notice? Who showers, what the hell is the shower?

On average, how many times a week do you hurt yourself trying to dance in the shower? When You Dance In the Team shower are you dancing alone? Or is it a team effort? I do hurt myself, but I don't shower. I am dancing alone in the team shower for sure. 
What’s the most money you’ve ever drunkenly spent at McDonald’s? What did you get? I spent 32 dollars. I got 32 dollar cheeseburgers. Not a bad deal, honestly. 
On a scale of 1 to 10, how intolerable do you find players that post their entire lives on their insta ? Probably about 13. 
How many bowls of cereal do you eat every single day and why aren’t you eating more? Zero, cereal is for losers. 
Who on your team would you let punch you directly in the face no questions asked? I would let @Spartan probably because he's a lame-o. 
How many days have you gone without showering? Did people notice? Who showers, what the hell is the shower?

Yes, we need a brand. Can we have a Taylor Swift brand like Haterade?

Fun fact - I saw Taylor Swift sing the national anthem as a kid at a Reading Phillies game.

@Poptart @Viperxhawks19 Should I make a TS logo/branding? ?

yes plz give these teams

I sign 13 times. 22 times more after

As announced in our statement regarding the Black Lives Matter Movement, the Victory Hockey League will be opening up our Christmas Charity Drive up early this year, as a means to help in some small way those affected by racial inequality. We have decided to pledge up to $500 to two charitable organizations TBD (1 American organization supporting BLM, 1 Canadian organization supporting Indigenous Peoples). We will be matching member donations up to this amount, and dividing the total evenly, between the two foundations.
 
All donations made explicitly for this drive will be used 100% to go to these causes. Any donation of $5 or more will allow you to claim 5 Uncapped TPE. Should we reach our goal of $500, all members will be eligible to claim a free doubles week, regardless of if you made a donation or not.
 
A thread has been created in our League Donations section, and can be found HERE. If you would like to donate to the cause, please do so through the league’s paypal, and post your Transaction ID in that thread. As previously mentioned, all donations will be used in full, with none going into the league's account.
 
UPDATE: The league has selected the two organizations that will be receiving the funds raised by our members.
 
The first of which is the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which, if you are unaware, is an organization that was founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person" in America. As one of the leading organizations in defending minorities, as well as a supporter of the Black Lives Matter movement, we feel the ACLU represents exactly what the world needs as they push for change to bring equality to all, in a nation that has been divided for too long.
 
The organization that will be receiving the other half of the funds is Spirit North, a group that works with indigenous youth in Canada "find the courage to take on any challenge, develop leadership skills, improve their health and wellness, discover new talents and unlock their limitless potential." As the indigenous peoples have faced extreme hardships throughout Canadian history, it was important for us, as a league with a primarily Canadian member-base, to look within, and see what change we can help enact at home, as we aim to improve as a community on all levels.
 
Another note is that, as those of you who are in our affiliate league, the EFL, will know, they have also started a donation drive to support the BLM movement. As affiliate leagues who are both working towards the goal of helping minorities and marginalized peoples, we have decided that anyone who donates to the cause in one league, may claim the donation bonus in the other. For example: As someone who donated to the VHL Donation Drive, you would be eligible to claim a free week + 5 uncapped TPE in the EFL, while anyone who donates in the EFL may claim a doubles week in the VHL.
 
With that said, we will be closing the donations on Friday, June 12th @ 5PM ET, and splitting the donations equally between the ACLU and Spirit North. As the league has shown an incredible amount of support, and we close in on nearly $2000 pledged by our members, we have decided that, should we hit the $2000 milestone, all members of the league will be eligible to claim an additional 5 Uncapped TPE. The positivity and support shown to helping the causes stated have been nothing short of incredible, and while this is not the purpose of the drive, we believe that you should all be rewarded for your kindness and generosity.
 
FINAL UPDATE: Donations have been submitted to both the ACLU and Spirit North. I want to take this time to once again thank everyone for their generosity, and express how proud we are of the community as a whole.
 
The Community perks (Doubles Week + 5 Uncapped TPE) for hitting our goals of $500 and $2000, respectively, will be claimable until the end of the Season 73 Theme Week.
 
 
Thank you,
 
Victory Hockey League
@Commissioner
@BOG
@Members

Numbers are hard

You had your #1 in the SHL with Haan

Thank you for the kind words, @Advantage. I always wanted to be the #1 pick once, but to go #2 and go with my brother (and uncle) @OrbitingDeath, I would not be sad at all. 

Hey all - geez, this is the craziest hour I've had in the VHL since I joined.
 
I'm going to take this offer to LVA. There are a crazy number of recreates and I know I'm going to be split up from all of my friends when the VHLM draft comes, so I want to take this opportunity to at least play a few days with @Esso2264 and @Poptart, among others. Thanks for the interest - I'm looking forward to hearing from you guys before the draft.

Welcome back to another season of the World Junior Championship; as such, it is time for another Daily Review! These series are about best players, surprises, and let downs from the most recent games. Stick around and follow us, as VSN is here to be the media outlet for you and your entertainment!
     
    Also, don’t forget to check out other cool VSN Content produced weekly for your entertainment.
S72: Early Standouts | Deep Rewind | Ringless: Stockholm Vikings | VHL Weekly | Under 250: VHLM Review  
 
What a wonderful tournament these five amazing teams put on this season. Team Europe have come out on top, earning themselves the Gold Medal as back to back champions. Team USA came up short in the finals after a stellar tournament, and are awarded the Silver Medal. Meanwhile, Team Canada were able to dispatch Team World for the Bronze Medal, and Team Asia ended the tournament in 5th place. This recap will take on a slightly different format as I analyze each game of this incredible medal round.

 
Team Asia (4) vs. Team World (6)
This playoff game decided who would go on to the Semi-Finals to play against the top-seeded Team USA. Team World had managed to scrape home-ice advantage on the last day of the Round Robin despite actually losing to Team Asia on the final day of action. This set us up for an amazing playoff round between two hungry teams that were eager to play for a medal. Unfortunately for Team Asia, Team World was determined to be the ones that advanced by jumping out to an early 3-0 lead just 10 minutes into the game, after goals from Xavier leFlamant, Micah Adrienne, and Aleelee Kiak. Team World actually had a 4-0 lead heading into the 2nd period after a late tally by Gary Neal. Team Asia attempted to rally back behind top scorer Jungkok but Team World cut down any hopes of that by adding another two goals, another one from Adrienne and one from DeFenz Mann. Late in the game, Viktor Mjers cut Team World’s lead back to two goals but that was all Team Asia was able to do. Team World would come out on top, winning 6-4 in regulation and booking themselves a ticket to the Semi-Finals.
 
Team World (0) vs. Team United States of America (6)
Continuing their dominant performance in the tournament, Team USA easily dispatched Team World by a score of 6-0, which also happened to be the first shutout of the tournament as well. Team USA had an incredible 61 shots on goal as they showed no mercy to their opponents. Robin Winter and Jack Feriancek scored in the 1st period, followed by a couple of goals from Mickey Dickson. Things were all but said and done before Vin Calia scored the 6th and final goal in an absolute rout of Team World. 

 
Team Canada (3) vs. Team Europe (5)
In the second Semi-Final game, we had a much tighter contest between two great teams in Team Europe and Team Canada. Both of these teams were pegged to be favourites to play for Gold, but as is often the case with these tournaments, only one of them can make it. Special teams played an important role in this game and it was Team Canada who got off to an early lead through Tyler Walker after capitalizing on an early power play. Not to be discouraged, Team Europe answered with a goal of their own from Richard Penisson and then a late marker by Marshall James Frostbeard allowed them to take a 2-1 lead into the first intermission. Gabriel Gutzwiler added to Team Europe’s lead before Michael Mac showed Team Canada had some grit and got one back right after. Perhaps gaining some confidence from Mac’s goal, SS Hornet scored a late equalizer with 49 seconds to play in the 2nd, tying this game at 3 heading into the 3rd period. Team Canada got into some penalty trouble of their own in the 3rd, and it ultimately spelt their demise, after G. Gutzwiler scored the 2nd goal, and Chris Hylands added some insurance on a late power play. Team Europe was able to see out the game and get a shot at winning back to back Gold Medals.
 
Team World (3) vs. Team Canada (4)
What a game this Bronze Medal contest turned out to be. Two teams that really put out their best efforts in an attempt to acquire some hardware. SS Hornet scored a lone goal for Team Canada in the 1st and they took that lead into the 2nd period. SS Hornet added another goal for its team before Aleelee Kiak finally got Team World on the board. However, just 32 seconds after that goal, Team Canada added another one from Joe Exotic which restored their two-goal cushion. Latrell Mitchell then rounded off the scoring of an action-packed 2nd period and had Team World within touching distance heading into the final frame. It wasn’t until 17:16 of the 3rd period before Timothy Brown scored what ended up being the game-winner on the power play for Team Canada. Aleelee Kiak scored a power-play goal of his own to make things interesting in the last couple of minutes but Team Canada was able to hold on for the win and were rewarded with the Bronze Medal.
 
Team Europe (6) vs. Team United States of America (2)
The tournament’s top two teams met in the Gold Medal game of this season’s tournament. It’s not often you get to see the top-seeded teams battling it out to prove who is truly the best. Team USA won both Round Robin games so they had the slight mental edge coming into this game. Having said that, it was Team Europe who started on the front foot through Leon Gutzwiler and Chris Hylands. Trailing 2-0 heading into the 2nd period, Team USA regrouped and cut the deficit to one after a goal from Jeff Blaze. The Gutzwiler twins then linked up for a goal of their own and restored the two-goal lead for Team Europe. The very next shift, however, Lucas Brandt erased that advantage with a beautiful goal only 16 seconds later. Sadly, that was all the scoring that Team USA would be able to find. Team Europe starting goaltender, Zamboni Driver, made 29 saves in the victory, and our hats are off to Team USA goalie, John Poremba, who faced a whopping 63 shots, and made 57 saves! Bob Helminen, Empty, and Richard Penisson scored the rest of the goals for Team Europe who cruised to victory, and back to back Gold Medals.

 
This concludes our coverage of the Season 72 World Junior Championships. Please join us again next season where VSN will be host to all of your WJC action.
 
 

Loooooooooooove the London logo. Congrats all new GMs!

Loooooooooooove the London logo. Congrats all new GMs!

Welcome back to WJC Update for the Season 72 World Juniors Championship. This series is about best players, surprises, and let downs from the most recent games. Stick around and follow us as VSN is here to be the media outlet for you and your entertainment!
 
Also, don’t forget to check out other cool VSN Content produced weekly for your entertainment. 
VHL Weekly | VHLM Weekly | League History | S72 WJC Team Rankings
 

The round-robin is officially over, and our matchups are set for the medal round. All in all the standings are pretty comparable to our second update, only the final pair of teams has swapped spots. Team USA maintains their top spot after a brilliant string of performances. Next is Team Europe who narrowly edges out Team Canada. Finally, Team World has overtaken Team Asia for the fourth position thanks to their tenacity in the final string of matches, despite actually losing to Team Asia in their final game of the round-robin. Let’s dive into the individual team’s performances now. 
 
Team United States of America
 
Coming from their humble starts after the first day of play, the United States has continued its strong run of performances coming out of Day Two. The US started Day Three with a strong win against fellow contenders in Team Europe, outsourcing the Europeans by a score of 6-4. Lucas Brandt played a fantastic game, scoring two goals and assisting once, as the Americans mounted a push late, scoring three goals in the third period. Ending the round-robin on somewhat of a sour note, the Americans lost to Team Canada in an overtime thriller, despite outshooting the Canadians 57-34. They won’t be happy but considering they went through the entire round-robin only losing twice, both in overtime, and I’d say they are sitting pretty for the medal rounds. The Americans are a textbook case of balanced scoring; they have nine players with ten or more points; the next closest is Team Europe with only six. They have the most goals scored with 45 and the highest GD at +11. Jack Feriancek and Mickey Dickson combine to be a lethal front line, each with 15 points, while winger Gino DiGiannantonio has impressed as well, scoring 4 points in their final two matches to sit at third on their scoring charts. Their defence will have to improve, however, and goaltending remains inconsistent. John Poremba’s .886 SV% may not be enough, despite thus far being good for six wins, but at the end of the day, if they keep outsourcing the opponents, it doesn’t matter how many you concede. 
 
Team Europe
 
The Europeans will be somewhat disappointed with how their final day of round-robin hockey went but certainly ended with a morale booster. Playing three games saw them lose twice, against both the United States and Canada, and then win big against Team Asia. They were simply outgunned against the Americans,  but they let Team Canada slip past them in a disappointing 4-3 loss that saw them outshoot their opponents 48-39. In that game, Richard Penisson did well to score twice, but a lack of discipline saw them concede twice early on in the third period. Really, their biggest error was conceding a total of nine penalties, on which they were punished three times. Their final game, and indeed the final game of the round-robin overall, perhaps felt like a bit of a release. The Europeans took out their anger on poor Team Asia, winning the match 7-3. Gregg Stallion, who is tied with Penisson for most goals on the team with 6, found the back of the net twice. Zyrock12 had a particularly impressive four assists from the blue-line. The Europeans blue line, in general, has been a constant force, with all four of their defencemen scoring nine or more points. They will be a good team to look to coming into the medal round, with a very balanced profile across defence and offence. 
 
Team Canada
 
Barely behind Team Europe in the standings, Team Canada is looking strong going into the medal round. Sitting with a tournament-best 28 goals allowed, the tournament’s best goaltender Jacob Tonn has been on fire. His .924 SV% is the best amongst starters, and he is the only starter to have under a 4.00 GAA, sitting at 3.47. Canada’s issue isn’t scoring either, per se. Their star centre SS Hornet has the second-most points and is tied for the most goals with 8. However, he is the only Canadian in the top ten for points. They just need more from the rest of the team. Day Three started off with an unfortunate loss to Team World. After going down 3-2 in the first period, World always stayed one step ahead, ending the match with a final score of 4-5. However, their next two games proved their efficacy against the big boys this tournament, beating both Team USA and Team Europe, the two teams above them in the standings. Balanced scoring and a goaltender standing on his head saw them win 4-3 against the Europeans. Against the Americans, Tonn played another good game, but it was their power play that deserves the most credit, scoring three of their five goals. Joseph Gainer put away the game just 48 seconds into the overtime period as the Canadians upset their neighbours on the southern border. 
 
Team World
 
The biggest storyline from Day Three has to be Team World’s impressive performances to end the round-robin. Winning two of their three matches, losing only once in overtime, Team World put themselves on the map here. An incredible performance from defenceman DeFenz Mann against Canada saw them win the first one 5-4. Mann had a hat-trick in the first period, and further contributed with the sole assist on fellow blueliner Latrell Mitchell’s game-winning powerplay goal in the third period. Then they played Asia, and well, I’ll let the stats speak for themselves. 7-3 final scoreline, Gary Neal with a hattrick and two assists, Mann with one goal and four assists, Micah Adrienne with three assists. Speaking of Gary Neal, he is looking like a potential early favourite for tournament MVP. Leading the league in goals (tied with 8), assists (11), and points (19), his only knock may be that Team World could struggle to advance in the tournament. If he keeps playing like this though, I’m not sure they will struggle. Nothing is guaranteed, however; just one match later, they lost to Team Asia in a shootout. The first period was incredible, with seven goals scored between the two teams. Aleelee Kiak had a fantastic game, scoring two goals and assisting twice, but it wasn’t enough to seal a win for World. 
 
Team Asia
 
Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Despite ending Day One at the top of the standings, Team Asia now brings up the bottom and faces immediate elimination in the playoff game against Team World. Their Day Three performances left a lot to be desired for the most part, as they lost 7-3 on two separate occasions. Those games have been covered for the most part; the short end of it is Asia did not do too hot. Their game against Team World showed, however, that they aren’t out of the running yet. Jungkok remains their top scorer, with 12 points. His hattrick in that shootout victory against Team World was vital, including a game-tying goal with 4 minutes left to push the game into overtime.  However, with a lack of top talent, Team Asia is going to have to grind out results if they want to progress in this tournament. Bacon has been a consistent performer, with a .914 SV% over five games played, and may prove instrumental moving forward into the medal rounds. 
 
But for now, that will be all from us. Do you agree with our assessment? Tune in next time for your WJC Update, presented by @Hylands33! See you there!
 
Players Mentioned:  @twists, @Jackie4967, @Brewins15, @pennypenny, @CrlineDijohn14, @bluesfan55, @SweatyBeaver, @Zyrok, @MexicanCow123, @McWolf, @joeg, @Mike, @dasboot, @Poptart, @LittleRiDog, @Grant, @tfong, @Bacon

VSN Writer Mr_Hatter
 

@Poptart

OVERVIEW


 
            It’s been over 24-hours since I joined the Victor Hockey League (VHL) and I’ve since seen my player sign into the VHLM (minors). Today I wanted to peal back the curtain and talk more about the experience as a new player and the community at large for what has been a wonderful start to play in this league.


 

 
JOINING THE LEAGUE

           

            I first stumbled on VHL through Reddit, and specifically the r/EANHLfranchise subreddit where the recruitment was posted. I was hesitant, never having played a hockey simulation league before but figured I’d give it a shot. From there I got my email verification and began sifting through the mountain of information that comes with joining the league (a task I’m still going through as this is being written). From there I created my player, Kevin King, a Center from Detroit, MI, United States and began working on the TPE for said player. I did all this pretty solo, not sure how quickly to get integrated into the community on here. What if I didn’t care for this? What if I wasn’t any good at it? Finally though, I read through the signings and other guidelines and reluctantly joined the Discord. This was the best move I could’ve made. If I had any advise for commissioners on things to tell new players, it’s joining Discord and interacting with the very helpful community.


 

 
OFFERS AND THE FRIENDLY GM CORE


 
            I first received an offer from @DMaximus of the Philadelphia Reapers. Then offers from Las Vegas and San Diego respectively, along with some well wishes from @Banackock & @Rayzor_7 who just came to welcome a new player. And that was the sense I got from this league as a whole. Over the next 12-hours I spoke with each GM who offered me a deal and was taken back by the help and sincerity of everyone I spoke to. @Viperxhawks19 was amazing in his responsiveness and willingness to continue to help me ease into the league, even after my decision to sign with the Las Vegas Aces, joining @Spartan who spent an hour my first night helping me navigate everything before I had even signed with the team.
 
 
COMMUNITY


 
          After signing with Las Vegas, I was then ushered to the Lockeroom where I got to meet more teammates and my education on how to do things in the VHL continued. I’ve learned and been walked through so many things in such a short time but have never felt out of place among the community. I wanted to take this time to do write this, not just to fulfill an article, media spot, theme week, or whatever, but to really give thanks to some amazing people who helped make this first step much easier than it would’ve originally been. Since my signing I’ve had the chance to be apart of some constructive VHL related conversations and some downright odd chats. For my one and likely only fluff piece, thank you DMaximus, Banackock, Rayzor, Spartan, Viper, @Poptart, and anyone I may have missed for being apart of my first 24-hour journey through the VHL/VHLM.


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Claiming for Theme Week

In this article, I decided to do a player spotlight of a couple people in the Season 73 VHL Entry Draft that I do not know a ton about. They both have had a huge impact on their minors franchises, so I think it is important to highlight a little more about them. Without further waiting, here is the highlights!
 
LW Jeffrey Pines @rory
Team: Mexico City Kings
Nationality: Canadian
 
The first player that I will look at is from username rory who I have not really interacted with much, so I think he's going to be a huge steal. He was drafted 14th overall in the Season 72 VHLM Entry Draft to the Kings. He also played the Season 71 season with Mexico as a waiver signing. The guy is over 200 TPE including getting 42 TPE in the last two weeks. That is really great as this guy has been a solid earner throughout his time. What can you expect from Pines? He is a pass first player that actually can play a lot of defense which is an important attribute. His build is actually really nice as he has focused on passing, defense, skating, and then has scoring just behind passing with enough buffer to be successful. This season has gone splendid as well for Pines. He has 58 points in his 42 games including 25 goals and 33 assists. Now, it is the +/- that really impresses me as he has a +34 with 59 hits, 10 shots blocked, 2 game winning goals, and also plays on special teams as he has 4 power play goals and 1 short handed goal. He is also 3rd on the leaderboard in hat tricks with 2. Right now, he sits 5th in TPE at 204 TPE, 25 behind what people consider to be the consensus top 4. I see this guy being a huge benefit to the VHL team that drafts him. 
 
D Mikeal Keef @RStar
Team: Minnesota Storm
Nationality: Canadian
 
The second player that I have decided to outline is going to be another one I have not really interacted much with either in RStar. He plays for the Minnesota Storm after being picked up by Saskatoon on waivers last season. For Saskatoon, he did have 19 points in 20 games which is really great for a waiver create. This season, he does have 32 points including a fantastic 30 assists while being +22 and having 79 hits and an incredible 42 shots blocked. I really love what this guy can do. When you look at the build of the player, he has gone all defensive with 78 rating in defense as well as 70 in passing as he has shown that is the type of defenseman he will be. I would love to see some strength and checking, but he is going to be a solid asset for any team. Right now, he is positioned in the 15th spot on the TPE leaderboard, but that really does not matter. This is another guy that has had 34 TPE over the last two weeks, so he is going to be an asset. You can put him on the defensive pairing to shut down the opposing team. Don't overlook these guys!
 
-------------------------
Claiming for Theme Week

In this article, I decided to do a player spotlight of a couple people in the Season 73 VHL Entry Draft that I do not know a ton about. They both have had a huge impact on their minors franchises, so I think it is important to highlight a little more about them. Without further waiting, here is the highlights!
 
LW Jeffrey Pines @rory
Team: Mexico City Kings
Nationality: Canadian
 
The first player that I will look at is from username rory who I have not really interacted with much, so I think he's going to be a huge steal. He was drafted 14th overall in the Season 72 VHLM Entry Draft to the Kings. He also played the Season 71 season with Mexico as a waiver signing. The guy is over 200 TPE including getting 42 TPE in the last two weeks. That is really great as this guy has been a solid earner throughout his time. What can you expect from Pines? He is a pass first player that actually can play a lot of defense which is an important attribute. His build is actually really nice as he has focused on passing, defense, skating, and then has scoring just behind passing with enough buffer to be successful. This season has gone splendid as well for Pines. He has 58 points in his 42 games including 25 goals and 33 assists. Now, it is the +/- that really impresses me as he has a +34 with 59 hits, 10 shots blocked, 2 game winning goals, and also plays on special teams as he has 4 power play goals and 1 short handed goal. He is also 3rd on the leaderboard in hat tricks with 2. Right now, he sits 5th in TPE at 204 TPE, 25 behind what people consider to be the consensus top 4. I see this guy being a huge benefit to the VHL team that drafts him. 
 
D Mikeal Keef @RStar
Team: Minnesota Storm
Nationality: Canadian
 
The second player that I have decided to outline is going to be another one I have not really interacted much with either in RStar. He plays for the Minnesota Storm after being picked up by Saskatoon on waivers last season. For Saskatoon, he did have 19 points in 20 games which is really great for a waiver create. This season, he does have 32 points including a fantastic 30 assists while being +22 and having 79 hits and an incredible 42 shots blocked. I really love what this guy can do. When you look at the build of the player, he has gone all defensive with 78 rating in defense as well as 70 in passing as he has shown that is the type of defenseman he will be. I would love to see some strength and checking, but he is going to be a solid asset for any team. Right now, he is positioned in the 15th spot on the TPE leaderboard, but that really does not matter. This is another guy that has had 34 TPE over the last two weeks, so he is going to be an asset. You can put him on the defensive pairing to shut down the opposing team. Don't overlook these guys!
 
-------------------------
Claiming for Theme Week

In this article, I decided to do a player spotlight of a couple people in the Season 73 VHL Entry Draft that I do not know a ton about. They both have had a huge impact on their minors franchises, so I think it is important to highlight a little more about them. Without further waiting, here is the highlights!
 
LW Jeffrey Pines @rory
Team: Mexico City Kings
Nationality: Canadian
 
The first player that I will look at is from username rory who I have not really interacted with much, so I think he's going to be a huge steal. He was drafted 14th overall in the Season 72 VHLM Entry Draft to the Kings. He also played the Season 71 season with Mexico as a waiver signing. The guy is over 200 TPE including getting 42 TPE in the last two weeks. That is really great as this guy has been a solid earner throughout his time. What can you expect from Pines? He is a pass first player that actually can play a lot of defense which is an important attribute. His build is actually really nice as he has focused on passing, defense, skating, and then has scoring just behind passing with enough buffer to be successful. This season has gone splendid as well for Pines. He has 58 points in his 42 games including 25 goals and 33 assists. Now, it is the +/- that really impresses me as he has a +34 with 59 hits, 10 shots blocked, 2 game winning goals, and also plays on special teams as he has 4 power play goals and 1 short handed goal. He is also 3rd on the leaderboard in hat tricks with 2. Right now, he sits 5th in TPE at 204 TPE, 25 behind what people consider to be the consensus top 4. I see this guy being a huge benefit to the VHL team that drafts him. 
 
D Mikeal Keef @RStar
Team: Minnesota Storm
Nationality: Canadian
 
The second player that I have decided to outline is going to be another one I have not really interacted much with either in RStar. He plays for the Minnesota Storm after being picked up by Saskatoon on waivers last season. For Saskatoon, he did have 19 points in 20 games which is really great for a waiver create. This season, he does have 32 points including a fantastic 30 assists while being +22 and having 79 hits and an incredible 42 shots blocked. I really love what this guy can do. When you look at the build of the player, he has gone all defensive with 78 rating in defense as well as 70 in passing as he has shown that is the type of defenseman he will be. I would love to see some strength and checking, but he is going to be a solid asset for any team. Right now, he is positioned in the 15th spot on the TPE leaderboard, but that really does not matter. This is another guy that has had 34 TPE over the last two weeks, so he is going to be an asset. You can put him on the defensive pairing to shut down the opposing team. Don't overlook these guys!
 
-------------------------
Claiming for Theme Week

In this article, I decided to do a player spotlight of a couple people in the Season 73 VHL Entry Draft that I do not know a ton about. They both have had a huge impact on their minors franchises, so I think it is important to highlight a little more about them. Without further waiting, here is the highlights!
 
LW Jeffrey Pines @rory
Team: Mexico City Kings
Nationality: Canadian
 
The first player that I will look at is from username rory who I have not really interacted with much, so I think he's going to be a huge steal. He was drafted 14th overall in the Season 72 VHLM Entry Draft to the Kings. He also played the Season 71 season with Mexico as a waiver signing. The guy is over 200 TPE including getting 42 TPE in the last two weeks. That is really great as this guy has been a solid earner throughout his time. What can you expect from Pines? He is a pass first player that actually can play a lot of defense which is an important attribute. His build is actually really nice as he has focused on passing, defense, skating, and then has scoring just behind passing with enough buffer to be successful. This season has gone splendid as well for Pines. He has 58 points in his 42 games including 25 goals and 33 assists. Now, it is the +/- that really impresses me as he has a +34 with 59 hits, 10 shots blocked, 2 game winning goals, and also plays on special teams as he has 4 power play goals and 1 short handed goal. He is also 3rd on the leaderboard in hat tricks with 2. Right now, he sits 5th in TPE at 204 TPE, 25 behind what people consider to be the consensus top 4. I see this guy being a huge benefit to the VHL team that drafts him. 
 
D Mikeal Keef @RStar
Team: Minnesota Storm
Nationality: Canadian
 
The second player that I have decided to outline is going to be another one I have not really interacted much with either in RStar. He plays for the Minnesota Storm after being picked up by Saskatoon on waivers last season. For Saskatoon, he did have 19 points in 20 games which is really great for a waiver create. This season, he does have 32 points including a fantastic 30 assists while being +22 and having 79 hits and an incredible 42 shots blocked. I really love what this guy can do. When you look at the build of the player, he has gone all defensive with 78 rating in defense as well as 70 in passing as he has shown that is the type of defenseman he will be. I would love to see some strength and checking, but he is going to be a solid asset for any team. Right now, he is positioned in the 15th spot on the TPE leaderboard, but that really does not matter. This is another guy that has had 34 TPE over the last two weeks, so he is going to be an asset. You can put him on the defensive pairing to shut down the opposing team. Don't overlook these guys!
 
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Claiming for Theme Week

VSN is back here again with our Team Rankings for S72 WJC! Competition to be the team will be tough and we are here to give our opinion on who is going to be crowned the best! As always - share your opinion and tell us what do you think and who in your mind is going to win it all!

Don’t forget to check out other amazing content we are creating here for you to enjoy - from our weekly reviews of VHL and VHLM to articles about league history and newest in the scouting department!
VHL Weekly | VHLM Weekly | Ringless | Future Watch

When talking about these teams we are looking at somewhat of an interesting situation where three teams have very strong rosters compared to the other two teams. That said, we have seen plenty of surprises in these sort of tournaments so we should not turn a blind eye of them. That said, here is our ranking of teams competing in S72 WJC!
 
1.Team USA
 
When it comes to Team USA, it should be clear that right now they don’t have a true star goaltender to lead them on to the ice. John Poremba is a quality goaltender and can hold his own but in a competition of this scale, it just is not going to be enough. What really makes Team USA a true power is their skater depth. With players like General Zod, Robin Winter, Randy Marsh, Vin Calia and Jeff Blaze on their first line and Gino DiGiannantonio with Shawn Glade III being at the bottom of the lineup, I see no reason to doubt their abilities to score. Their ability to create offence will be recognised and I see no reason to doubt that Team USA will be the team with most goals scored in Round Robin. Will their goaltending be enough, hard to say, but I am sure they will compensate that with the best possible offensive game we have seen.

Strengths - Skater depth, high scoring ability across their lineup
Weaknesses - Goaltending

2. Team Europe
 
Team Europe has been very consistently one of the top teams for quite some time now and I see no reason to doubt that in the slightest. As I look through the roster, we see a very well rounded group of players who would fit on any team and could play any role given to them. Probably the most dominating part of their roster is their incredible goaltender Zamboni Driver who talent-wise is miles ahead of anyone even remotely challenging his position. His play is well recognised and if he will be able to show his best, there won’t be much discussion who is going to be tournament MVP.  That said Team Europe will rely heavily on their ability to have a strong defensive game throughout this tournament. For this team, using their true star player in Valterri Vaakanainen is crucial for gaining an upper hand against teams of equal strength and talent.

Strengths - Depth and goaltending
Weaknesses - Weak skating ability

3. Team Canada
 
Team Canada, very similar to what we saw in Team Europe, great balance in every position, strong forward and defencemen group with highly talented goaltender pair. Talking about their goaltenders, both Woody McPine and Jacob Tonn are extremely good players and have the ability to take over games if any other part of their team is struggling. Their forward core with Andrew Su and SS Hornet will be their driving force. Not really sure how Team Canada will set up lines but it is clear that with JaredN also on the team, possibilities for line combinations are too many to count. Their most problematic part of their roster is going to be defence and not because their don’t have the ability to be stars, on the contrary, they are well balanced two-way defenders, every single one of them. So the question I ask is - if necessary, who will be their Number 1 defensive defenceman to hold the line in clutch situations?

Strengths - Depth all across their lineup
Weaknesses - Lack of true defensive presence 
4. Team World
 
Team World was ranked 5th last season and we are not too far from there this season. Team World has a roster that they can depend on but it is very average. From their goaltending being on a similar level as Team USA, you could say that I am underrating this team but the problem is is that Team USA have the offensive and defensive game to support lack of star goaltender. This tournament, Team World have to be absolutely perfect on offence to even get a chance at winning games against any of the top teams. They have few truly amazing players like Aleelee Kiak and Micah Adrienne who can be juggernauts for their team but I don’t think their bottom lines will be able to sustain being pounded away by their opposition.

Strengths - Star players,
Weaknesses - Average goaltending and weak Centre players

5. Team Asia
 
We have been worn about Team Asia so many times that I am quite scared to rank them this low. With fairly weak goaltending and lack-lustre defensive core, there is very little they will be able to do against any of the above-listed teams. Their saving grace might be Vladimir Shaposhnikov and Jungkok and their wickedly amazing scoring ability but even that might not be enough. With few upcoming stars and players like Dan Baillie Jr, Kazimir Komarov and Viktor Alexei Kamenov they are here to compete and who knows, maybe we are looking at another strong tournament for a team that has been put down by VSN for some time.  

Strengths - First-line forward goalscoring ability
Weaknesses - Goaltending, depth and defensive game
 
With the most talented young players in this tournament, it could go any direction, from Team USA losing every game to Team Europe having worst goaltending in Round Robin. Good luck in the tournament everyone, let the best team win!

Players mentioned : @ng1291, @tfong @wcats @Gooningitup @BigTittySmitty @Grant @Poptart @jared @McWolf @Da_Berr @Jubo07 @Tape-to-Tape @ShawnGlade @pennypenny @NyQuil @Sonnet @Matt_O @oilmandan @CrlineDijohn14 @MexicanCow123 and @HearnNation67

Hey, so I put some gradients over some VHL/M to make some pride month logos for a few teams to display on discord. With everything going on, it's easy to forget about the important things.
 
 
If any team would like one, feel free to tag me
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