StamkosFan

Pat Svoboda has had a surprising breakout performance in the playoffs, with 12 points in 9 games, and he spoke to the local media about it after one of the team's practice sessions. "I think Riga was brilliant and we fought bravely in the playoffs. We didn't give up or quit at any point, we dug deep. I tried to do my part, and finally lived up to my pedigree I think. I generated as much offense as I could, doing what I could to throw pucks on net and make some quik tape to tape passes. Hopefully, I can come back and play like that in the regular season next year. It was definitely encouraging to be able to show that I have another level, that I have it in me to play that well. Some of my teammates recognized that I was playing better in the postseason, which added some confidence level for sure. A lot of hockey is in your head, so I guess I just not to stop worrying about my play and do what I do. It was a really eye-opening experience, and I am hoping we can come back even stronger next year and win it all," said Pat Svoboda.

SBA +6

1. Are you worried about struggling to get playing time as a goalie? 2. If you moved to skater, what position would you play and why? 3. What type of NHL/pro goalie would you compare yourself to style-wise, past or present? 4. Do you have any particular VHL teams that you are interested in joining? 5. Who is your favorite teammate? 6. How high do you see yourself getting picked on VHL draft day? 7. What would you say to GMs who might be interested in drafting you? 8. What skills will you be training over the offseason? 9. What's the most important thing for you to be happy on a team? 10. What do you think is the most difficult part of being a goalie?

Pat Svoboda was asked by reporters about the recent announcement of adding two expansion teams, and offered his opinion. "Well, of course, it's going to be even tougher to get into the playoffs with more teams we have to deal with, to fight for signings and prospects. Riga will probably lose some players and that will be tough, I just really hope I'm not the one on the chopping block. I think it will be good in a way though too, because lots of young players weren't getting a lot of ice time and were sort of getting stuck in the bottom six for too long, that makes nobody happy especially once your career is a bit established. It might make us older teams able to breathe a bit more because the cap was getting tight, everyone has to take minimum because there's just not enough money to go around with all the people you have signed. These two teams might not be good at first, but as with all young teams, they eventually develop into star clubs, so we will have to keep an eye out for them and we definitely have to take them seriously. The first rule of any game is to never underestimate your opponents, so we have to be mindful of that," said Pat Svoboda.

https://vhlforum.com/topic/68026-vhl-expansion-a-rundown/ +6 Uncapped https://vhlforum.com/topic/68068-pat-svoboda-on-expansion/ +1 Uncapped +1 Uncapped for doing both CLAIM +8 UNCAPPED TOTAL

The VHL will have a dozen teams after the most recent expansion adds two more teams to the mix. Many qualified candidates were said to have applied, which means that the newest GMs must be the creme of the crop. Enorama is a highly active and engaged member of the VHL who will likely work to get his team into playoff competition as possible, and diamond_ace is someone that I personally played for in my time in the VHL. I know diamond fairly well, and he's been an active sim league member for real life years. He has plenty of STHS experience on his hands from GMing Ottawa in the VHLM, and it wouldn't be surprising at all if he located his new VHL franchise in Ottawa as well out of familiarity. Or perhaps he puts his team in Pittsburgh, as he GMs a team called the Pittsburgh Paladins in another league. Wherever he puts the team, I expect diamond's team to be in North America rather than a European team. If we get a new European team, which I actually don't think we will this time around, it will more than likely be Enorama's team. Expansion rules will have to be decided before the process can move ahead. Players from at least the most recent draft will probably be exempt, but the most difficult decisions will be protecting veterans who can help you win now, or saving prospects to build a powerhouse later down the line. A lot of strategy will be involved with devising protection lists, but at the least, we can expect every team to protect their starting goalie, so that's one spot gone from the start. I would be quite nervous to see if Riga protects me; as a top five pick who is nearing 1000 TPE, I feel like I would be protected, but you never know. Pat Svoboda has not lived up to the expectations recently, so it isn't completely absurd that Riga would cut their losses and pass him off like a hot potato. Riga wouldn't be the hardest hit team of course, teams like the Helsinki Titans would have the toughest decisions since they have so many high TPE players who could be considered "super stars". These expansion teams might be able to compete, as I dare say they will have more pickings to choose from than the expansion franchises of the past. I expect that at least one of them will sneak into the playoffs, not as a top team, but as one of the last clubs to qualify, and will probably be able to make a stand in the first round. It should be good for the league to be able to have more of a fight for the coveted Continental Cup, and these new teams should allow new players to have more opportunities and ice time out of the gate. VHL has often felt like a small community, but it's time to move beyond that and to grow into something more.

Vancouver Riga Moscow Helsinki

Moscow 5-2

Pat Svoboda flashed a rare smile in talks with reporters after a practice session, and quickly provided the reason why. "We're climbing the standings, which has made me really happy! We were battling for a playoff spot, I suppose we still are, there's still some teams in the mix there, but we hit 70 points and we're hanging on to fourth place. We've worked so hard on the ice to come back and try to get into the postseason, and I'm looking forward to giving it another go. I want to hoist a Continental Cup over my head one day, so why not now? I'm feeling good about how we've been playing in this last, most recent set of games, we can take on anyone any time playing like that. And of course, I'm back in the 20 goal territory, in fact I passed it a little bit ago. I got 21 goals now and that makes me so pumped; I was not happy with my performance last year, so doing better than that obviously was the prime directive. Who knows, it's within reach to hit 25 and maybe even go for 30. Hat tricks can happen; I haven't had one in awhile so I think I'm due," said Pat Svoboda.

1. What do you think you can do to stand out in your draft class? 2. Who do you see as your NHL comparable? 3. Do you see yourself having a long career? 4. What are your hopes for next season? 5. How have you been getting along with your teammates? 6. How has your overall experience with the Hounds been? 7. What are you looking forward to most about playing in the VHL one day? 8. Do you want to play international hockey one day? 9. What do you see as your biggest strength as a player? 10. What do you see as your biggest weakness as a player?

SBA +6

291 Calgary Wranglers 292 Toronto Legion 293 Malmo Nighthawks 294 Helsinki Titans

Vancouver 3-2

1. Any VHL teams you would want to steer clear of? 2. What NHL player would you compare yourself to? 3. Who is your favorite teammate? 4. How do you get along with your VHLM GM? 5. How do you feel about your VHLM season so far? 6. What skills do you think you'll have to work on before turning pro? 7. Who do you see as your team's biggest VHLM rival? 8. What are some long-term goals you have for your career? 9. How important is winning for you when picking what team you want to go to? 10. What do you think is your player's biggest strength right now?

Pat Svoboda is only two goals away from hitting 20 goals on the season and seemed very pleased when a reporter brought up that fact. "I really hope to hit 20 goals before the 50 game mark, honestly I'm eyeing down 30 now, it would be so great for me and my state of mind to get back into the 30 goals range. People took me seriously the year I got 34 goals so doing that again is what I needed. Riga has given me more opportunity so I'd say it's been a good situation for me to rise to the fullest of my potential. Also, I was just snake-bitten last year with such a low shooting percentage but now it's normalized; I'm a volume shooter of course but my accuracy isn't that bad. I worked on my strength and maybe that factored into things like shot power, who knows. Either way, it's been an all around better year and I can get back to improving, maybe be a 40 goal scorer before I have to retire. I'd be in very elite company there and maybe even get an All Star nomination, that would be something I would want to achieve in my career," said Pat Svoboda.

SBA +6

Toronto 4-2

231 Seattle 232 Riga 233 Calgary 234 Toronto

No one has bumped this in 6 months? Well draft is this week just throwing that out there

1. If you could change one thing about your career what would it be? 2. Do you feel sad about retiring? 3. What do you think your player’s legacy will be? 4. What will your character do after hockey? 5. Why do you say that your career was disappointing? 6. What do you see the future of the VHL being? 7. What do you think about the league changes since you first started your career? 8. Do you think that goalie is the toughest position in the VHL? 9. What advice would you give to new players coming into the league? 10. Who do you think is the best goalie in the VHL today?

Pat Svoboda engaged in further comments about the current season to the local media. “I think I really like being part of Riga. I like the players, the management, the atmosphere. What’s important is being on a team where you fit in and can be happy, so it’s really a good direction and path for the last bit of my career before regression. Things are going well, I can easily hit 20 goals this year which I didn’t quite do last year. Last year I had 15 goals and now I have 14 so I’ve almost passed that. It is very good to be moving past that embarrassing stuff last season, I believe I’m a much better player than that so it’s good to be posting better numbers. It’s just been a year that has been going a lot better and has had a much different feel to it. I’m very happy that I ended up here in Riga and I’m hopeful the second half of the season can be even better. Anything can happen in hockey so we just need to work hard on and off the ice. Perseverance pays off, you have to believe that or none of it is worth it. The Reign have what it takes to win, we just have to bring it to fruition,” said Pat Svoboda.

SBA +6

Calgary 3-2

Moscow Toronto Calgary Helsinki

1. How are you getting along with your new teammates? 2. What is the Mexico City management like? 3. Are you looking forward to the VHL draft? 4. If you could put a VHL team in any city in the world, where would it be? 5. What would you say is your biggest strength as a player? 6. If you had to pick your second choice VHLM team other than the Kings, who would you have picked? 7. What are some of your goals for your career? 8. What attributes will you be looking to improve early on? 9. Who would you say is your NHL comparable? 10. What do you think it would take to win a VHLM championship?