Bonzaijoe

I am, actually! Just finishing up school tomorrow and can finally devote more time! I'd love to be able to take a shot at the job!

Press Conference time! 1. With the VHL draft coming up very soon, what do you have to say to VHL scouts looking at your game? 2. Were you surprised with the results of the finals for the VHL or VHLM? 3. Who surprised you the most in the playoffs? (Player or team) 4. What VHL team is your favorite? Who are you hoping to get drafted by? 5. Did you pay attention to the all-star game? What was your favorite part about it? 6. Do you wish there was a VHLM all-star game? If it happens in the future, what fun events would you add to it?

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Here's some questions for the week! 1. Aces took 2nd in the draft lottery! This spells good for the future, but what do you think about some young talent joining the team? 2. With Jubo leaving the front office, what are some parting words you'd like to say to him? 3. Welcome OilManDan back to the team as the new GM! What do you think he'll do to better the team in the future? 4. Of all the new expansion teams, which is your favorite? 5. Who are you rooting for in the VHL and VHLM playoffs? 6. As we enter the offseason, how are you keeping yourself in VHL shape? @Lightningyamasha @MexicanCow @mxld17 @Ty343 @GRZ @uphillmoss @jacobaa19 @SwagSloth @Bushito @speck1447 @Thomas Vancheck @Connor mcdavid @Antone10 @DMaximus @Benson @Tophdaddy @Puffalump @MattyG @Barracuda @Sunburst @Bandit @Dingle

If like to add my name to the mix! I’ve GM’ed for Team USA in the WJC before and I’m currently the AGM of the Las Vegas Aces. I know I haven’t been as active recently but that’s due to School winding down and finals starting. I’d like to try my hand at trying a GM position and I’d be able to give a lot of time toward it this summer!

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Here's your press conference questions for this week! 1. Do you feel like other teams play you extra tough because the Aces are defending champions? 2. Who do you feel most comfortable playing against on the ice?? 3. What city is your favorite to play an away game at? 4. Who, other than the Aces of course, has the best fans in the VHL or VHLM? 5. While sitting relatively in the middle of the standings, are you comfortable with how the team is playing or are you concerned about possibly missing playoffs? 6. Do you think you're playing better than you were earlier this season? If not, how to you get yourself back to your early season form? If yes, how are you continuing to better yourself? @Lightningyamasha @MexicanCow @mxld17 @Ty343 @GRZ @uphillmoss @jacobaa19 @SwagSloth @Bushito @speck1447 @Thomas Vancheck @Connor mcdavid @Antone10 @DMaximus @Benson @Tophdaddy @Puffalump @MattyG @Barracuda @Sunburst @Bandit @Dingle

With the WJC ready to begin, Team USA looks forward to come back after a tough loss in the Bronze medal game in Season 64. Former US GM Bonzaijoe stated in an interview today, "I worked hard with that team and I had a great group of guys who really put some magic together. I have a lot of love for them and I'm glad I got to play with them. I wish them luck going forward, and this season the new US GM has put together what looks like another really solid squad. GMing for the US is a great privilege and I hope that this team has success going forward. Playing hockey for this country and representing them was a ton of fun and I hope, going forward, they play well. Seriously, this squad looks tough as nails and I will be rooting for them. These guys look like a serious team and they're gonna compete very hard this season." WJC Indexes have been posted and the Round Robin will begin soon. Make sure not to miss when the best of the youngsters face off starting this week!

We sat down with our good ol' friend Joe Nixon amidst a long string of downward play in this VHL season. "It's tough, you know. I'm sure everyone's aware but not being able to go get the wins hurts. We've been playing solid it just hasn't been enough. Our team is working our hardest to go out there and put a good product on the ice," Nixon said this evening. "The crowds have been great and the city has supported us well, I want to let them know that we will get back in the groove and figure out the reasoning behind this slump. This won't last forever, and I promise you that." The Wolves have not been playing well after coming off an electric start early in the season. Nixon saw more starting time throughout, but is backing up Iseult on the bench more recently. Nixon said, "It's tough to know that we're in the slump. This isn't all fun for us and we're continuing to improve ourselves as players when we face this kind of adversity. Losing is hard, and our mentality behind the game is tough, but we're doing well to keep up our morale as we are trying to get back in the swing of things." Nixon said, on how he practices, "hard. It's rigorous. We want to go out and win and we have to practice as hard as possible to keep up with the best teams in this league. It means a lot to have these fans behind us and as a team, we have to help each other out just as much. It's tough to go out there and play hard and not be able to get the wins so we're working and working to make sure we escape from this." On how much time he expects in the future, Nixon said, "I'm not sure. Iseult is playing solid and I'm definitely not better. My stats were kind of inflated by some lucky early success and Tristan is 100% the person to go with going forward. My time will come, and I'll deserve more starts eventually. Right now I'm still young and I'm still working on the future to be able to play at my best. I'm continuing to work with the trainers, coaches, and the team at all times to better myself and put myself in a place I know is good for me for the future." On the future, and the new VHL expansion, Nixon answered, "I'm not really sure how it's gonna go or who's gonna be up for that," Joe laughed slightly, "I've been told that I'm a big part of the Wolves' future going forward but at the same time, if the expansion rules don't allow me to star, I'm not sure how it'll go! I'm sure the Vancouver front office knows what they're gonna do, though. They know what they want moving forward and I have full confidence in them to make the correct decisions to make the team better. Thanks to Nixon for sitting down with us yet again! Good luck to him and the wolves going forward.

1.Are you excited for the WJC? Absolutely! It's gonna be a great time and I'm unbelievably excited to represent the US of A on the ice! 2. Who are you rooting for and why? USA! USA! USA! (No bias though) 6. Do you sing your country's national anthem or just mouth the words? You don't wanna hear my singing, it's horrendous. I bow my head and focus while I mouth the words and get myself ready. I love hearing it though, every time. 9. Would you ever burn a flag if you knew you wouldn't get caught? Absolutely not, honestly. It's disrespectful to the country and I would never want anyone to burn the US flag, so I'll keep my flames away from other flags. 10. You just got a penalty for unsportman like conduct, what did you do? Sometimes I like to play around a little too much with the attackers that like to sit in my crease. My unsportsmanlike probably will come from a fight if they start to be an asshole to me. I'm sure I'll get one soon enough though haha 12. What is your fav task to gain tpe and why? Press conferences are great! The questions are fun, the answers are easy, and you don't have to come up with a topic like you do with media spots and VHL.com articles!

@BladeMaiden was kind enough to supply some questions this week about the WJC! Answer 6 of the 12 for your 2 TPE for the week! @Lightningyamasha @MexicanCow @mxld17 @Ty343 @GRZ @uphillmoss @jacobaa19 @SwagSloth @Bushito @speck1447 @Thomas Vancheck @Connor mcdavid @Antone10 @DMaximus @Benson @Tophdaddy @Puffalump @MattyG @Barracuda @Sunburst @Bandit @Dingle

USA!

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Tonight, as we usually do, we sat it again with our buddy Joe Nixon ahead of this season's World Junior Championship. Nixon, who stole a bronze medal away from the USA squad for his World team in a great performance in the playoffs, is excited to be joining the USA squad this season. "I wasn't upset last season, Mertz and Stoffiday were really really solid choices for the US GM last year and I took it to them in the competition to show them what they missed out on," Nixon said in an interview today, "No hard feelings. I love being able to represent my country this season, and Team World did great things for me last year. I'm ready to get out and put in some work to bring a medal to the US! I'm here to help stop the drought!" When asked about the team in front of him, Nixon responded, "These guys are great! They're great players and we're the best the states have to offer. I'm very excited to be playing with them and I have a ton of confidence in their abilities. This is a good team poised for a solid run this year. I believe that for real!"

Question Time! Answer all 6 for 2 TPE! 1. After a week of some more tough losses mixed in with some wins, how do you try to turn it into a positive and try to bust through to win those close games? 2. How do you think your on-ice performance has been? How do you plan to better yourself as a player? 3. Are you excited for the World Juniors? Do you think you'll make your country's roster? 4. Other than your own team in the WJC, who do you like to root for to do well? 5. Spill some tea! What team, VHL, VHLM, or World Championships do you not like the most? It can be a rival or anyone, who do you have that irrational hate for? 6. Finally, what are some of your favorite game-day routines and rituals that you have fun with? @Lightningyamasha @Brolaski @mxld17 @Adama Traore @Ty343 @SwagSloth @uphillmoss @jacobaa19 @speck1447 @MexicanCow @Thomas Vancheck @Connor mcdavid @Antone10 @Benson @MattyG @OneBuffalo1230 @Puffalump @Rykonen @Barracuda @Sunburst @Tophdaddy @Bandit @Dingle @Jubo07