Toasty

hehe miracle

4

scram

8. I didn't really think about it too much. Advantage just threw it on there I guess. Not a big deal for me. 9. Yes, I love all your prospects, but I only count the ones that played for Halifax first, then were drafted by Riga, then came here. So far, it's me, Glover, and Vanderhuge in that category. 10. Very sad. He was an amazing member. ?

1. I do miss Riga, but I'm happy where I am and I'm happy for Riga being near the top of the league again. 2. He's in a bunch of leagues. I get it. I have a hard time being active myself. No hard feelings. 3. I am just taking the season in stride. Helping the team where I can. 4. I do. Madden and I are besties and we want to play together one day. Probably he will come here, not the other way around. 5. Yes. I hate them with all my heart. 6. Moscow sir.

1. Couldn't be more honoured. I was very surprised to be chosen, and I am keen to impress. 2. Continue to grow as a leader for this team. Being part of the inaugural team is always fun and I can't wait to continue my career in Malmo. 3. I think Moscow is up and coming. They'll be a good natural rival in a few years. Expansion brothers. Russia vs Sweden. It is perfect.

Very good!

1. Well, in grade 8, @Thranduil and I had this grumpy math teacher called Milton Basaraba. We were sitting in the computer lab during media arts, completely procrastinating, when he asked me to join the VHL. Helped me sign up and we brainstormed names. I originally was going to go with another John name, after John Madden, so I went from John Deere to John Moose and we almost went with that, but then he pulled Basaraba out of nowhere, and we both thought it was hilarious so I went with that for the first name and kept the Moose for the last name. shit posted accidentally 2. I am definitely more surprised about the offense. I've always put defense first and it took me 1.5 solid defensive seasons in the VHLM before the offensive numbers really started coming in. I didn't totally expect to carry that into the VHL, but I guess I just play how I did in the 'M and it works for me. 3. I think our defense has been stellar. We are lucky enough to be a team with some defenders that aren't always trying to score, and actually care about their end, and because of that, it is very difficult for the opposition to get sustained opportunities in our zone. 4. Not worth the time, they're either lying to themselves or can't think straight. 5. Not sure, I like to think, another darkhorse, Hockey Club Davos Dynamo, because my friend John Madden plays there. For a possible opponent in the finals, I'd say maybe Calgary, but it's too hard to say at this point. 6. The time I was playing for Halifax in S63. First game of the playoffs. We came back from 7-1 down and won 8-7 in OT. Zajaczkowski, with a natural hat trick and the OT winner, for a total of 4 goals and I had 3 assists.

Damn, I have been away for work! But wow, I did not expect this! Thanks to everyone who voted me as captain! Very exciting stuff. I can't wait to get the Nighthawks going! @Devise, @GustavMattias Congrats on your letters guys! @Matt_O Very exciting to see such a great member of the team get hired on as our AGM! I'm loving everything about this team. It's so social and hip. We got the best future of any other team by far!

On Sunday, Malmo made a trade for sophomore defenseman Bolt Vanderhuge, sending Gucci Garrop and a 3rd to Riga in return for Vanderhuge and Mikka Pajari. Vanderhuge had an average rookie season, only scoring 25 points and leading his team in penalty minutes. It was somewhat of a shock for the giant of a blueliner to see such a sudden decrease in production, following his successful VHLM career. The previous season, Vanderhuge, playing for the Halifax 21st, lit up the VHLM, scoring 102 points, to go with 93 shot blocks, 286 hits, and 168 penalty minutes. He won the Ryan Sullivan Trophy, awarded to the VHLM’s best defenseman. He carried his success into the playoffs, scoring 17 points in 12 games, during Halifax’s run to the VHLM finals. Vanderhuge’s partner on defense for the later half of S64 was Basaraba Moose. Both of these young defensemen were picked up by Riga in the last few picks of the S64 VHL Entry Draft, and they enjoyed a healthy friendship. Vanderhuge taught Moose a lot throughout S64, and in S65, Vanderhuge headed to Riga, while Moose stayed down and evidently having learned from Vanderhuge, put together a very successful season in the ‘M, with 91 points. The two friends had planned to reunite at the beginning of S66, where they would share the second pair in Riga, but suddenly expansion happened and Moose was sent to Malmo. It was slightly disappointing for the young defenseman to say goodbye to his friend, but a few days later, Malmo made another move, bringing Vanderhuge in. The two are now reunited, along with Teagan Glover who also spent two seasons playing with Moose, and one with Vanderhuge, in Halifax, and was drafted by Riga. All of them are in Malmo now and ready to tear up the league together.

A lot of good things have been happening to the Nighthawks recently. First, we saw a freshly extended Johnny Havenk Carison be exposed in the expansion draft. We also saw Jack Lynch, Matthew Materazo and Teagan Glover be exposed, 3 players I am huge fans of. Malmo then made a series of great trades, ending with the trade for Mikka Pajari. Pajari is a very good player, who has unfortunately been stuck on the second line in Riga, behind many of the league's top players. He had trouble finding sucess early on in his career, and for 3 straight seasons, scored no higher than 45 points, until suddenly Pajari had a breakthrough season and scored 77 points, double what he got the season before. He was considered for the most improved player award and planned to play a bigger role with Riga in the future, when suddenly he was dished to Malmo. Now on the older half of the VHL spectrum, being an S61 draftee, he will provide a good veteran presence for Malmo this season and is likely to be on the first line. On the other hand, we have a very different player joining the team in very different circumstances. Vaydar Odinsson joined as a free agent, and unlike Pajari, enjoyed a healthier career earlier on, from the day he set foot in the league, but has slowed down a noticeable amount since. Although he has not yet matched his rookie totals from 3 seasons ago when he scored 82 points in 72 games, Odinsson has still been a solid producer for both the Helsinki Titans and New York Americans for 2 seasons straight, putting up 40 and 62 points respectively. He joins the Nighthawks as their star player in the team's inaugural season, and along with Pajari, could create one of the most deadly veteran duos in the league next season. Pajari comes in having struggled to find the spotlight in his career until recently, while Odinsson had more success early and faltered a bit in his 2nd and 3rd seasons. It will be interesting to see how these two great players come together to form the first line for Malmo this season.

Ya Moose got sent to grab Whoppers for the boys that day. Not sure why he decided to wear full equipment though. He isn't the brightest.

The Malmo Nighthawks have been very active in the trade market this season, already having made 3 trades in the off-season alone. After all of the wheeling and dealing, the Nighthawks seem to have come out on top. Today, I'll be reviewing these three trades and rating them on a scale from 1-10, with 5 meaning the teams broke even and 10 meaning Malmo got a complete steal. TRADE #1: Apr. 26, 2019 - MAL Acquires: Basaraba Moose - RIG Acquires: S67 MAL 3rd, S68 MAL 2nd, S68 MAL 4th Advantage started off ambitious with his first as GM of the Nighthawks, immediately trading 3 of his picks just after the expansion draft, for proven defensive prospect Basaraba Moose. Moose had over 30 goals and 90 points last season with the Halifax 21st of the VHLM. He came onto the scene midway through S63. He was selected by the Riga Reign with one of the last picks of the S64 VHL Entry Draft, going 28th overall. Following the draft, Moose spent two more seasons in the VHLM, the first of which, he showed little improvement and was sent down for a third season, in which he found his game and helped the 21st to their second straight Founder's Cup finals. Moose went from a D-level prospect with little promise, to a solid blue chipper asset, who showed he was ready for the VHL last season. Riga was most likely going to call him up and start him on the second pair this season, but with the trade to Malmo, he could see a bigger role and increased development. If this is the case, and Moose does develop faster in Malmo, I believe that the Nighthawks won the trade, however, if last season was just a flash in the pan for Moose, Riga most likely got the better of this deal. For now, I would say it is a risk for both teams, but the potential reward is higher for Malmo, so I believe they won this trade by a narrow margin. TRADE RATING: 6/10 TRADE #2: Apr. 30, 2019 - MAL Acquires: Gucci Garrop, S66 SEA 4th - SEA Acquires: S66 MAL 3rd Only 3 days after making his first trade, Advantage strikes again, this time blowing the opposing GM out of the water, and picking up Gucci Garrop, while only dropping a few spots in the draft in return. Garrop is a young forward, coming off his first full VHL season. He produced at almost a point per game last season and has tremendous potential. Value wise, this trade isn't even close, however Malmo wasn't really addressing their needs (defense) when they picked up Garrop and it didn't make a lot of sense for them to give up more picks which could be used to pick defense, for more forwards, which they don't need. However, it was somewhat understandable since the value was so one-sided. For what Seattle got compared to what they could have gotten elsewhere, they lost this trade by a huge amount. TRADE RATING: 8/10 TRADE #3: May 5, 2019 - MAL Acquires: Bolt Vanderhuge, Mikka Pajari - RIG Acquires: Gucci Garrop, S68 MAL 3rd This trade really cemented to the players of Malmo that Advantage as a GM knew what he was doing. He traded a guy he got for almost nothing, in return for a decent defenseman, which the team needed, and a quality veteran centerman. Although the value in this particular trade was pretty even, the value looks amazing in Malmo's favour when looking at the big picture. The GM was able to turn the extra value from a player he didn't really need, into something he did, and personally I think this is a strategy that not enough GMs use. In my opinion, if you get a trade offer that you know you would be winning based on trade value, accept it, even if it doesn't address your needs, because you can always trade the new assets for things you do need and get a way better return than you would've for the pieces you gave up. These couple trades by Advantage are a perfect example of this. He was clearly going to win the Seattle trade, even if Garrop was not a player he needed, but he knew that he could always turn Garrop into defense of equal value if he needed. So in my opinion, these two trades by Advantage were genius. In the long run he traded a 3rd for a 4th, which is almost equivalent to giving away your 6th. So we'll say he traded a 6th to get Garrop. He then traded a 3rd and Garrop to get Vanderhuge and Pajari. In the long run it ends up being a 6th and a 3rd for Vanderhuge and Pajari, and if you ask me, that is one sweet deal! TRADE RATING: 7/10 TOTAL TRADE POINTS: 21/30