Bonzaijoe

Here's more questions! Make sure to answer all 6 to get your 2 TPE! 1. 6-1-0 Record so far this season! What's your early thoughts on how these first 7 games have played out for you? 2. As of now, who's the MVP on the team? If there's no clear cut MVP to you, talk about the balance of the team! 3. How do you bounce back mentally from a tough close loss like your recent one to Minnesota? 4. Recently, VSN Now made a comment saying the Aces were "not top heavy but balanced and play well, although the defense is lacking". How do you respond to this? 5. Many power rankings hold the Aces as the top spot in the VHLM, how do you handle the pressure that comes from being a top-ranked team? 6. Do you feel like there has been a similar rivalry with the Ottawa Lynx like last season? If not, who do you believe is the Aces new rival this year? @Bandit @Lightningyamasha @mxld17 @Koen Senft @MexicanCow123 @Dingle @Connor mcdavid @Benson @JohnOQuinn @OneBuffalo1230 @Barracuda @Sunburst @jacobaa19 @Jubo07 @Ty343 @Antone10 @SwagSloth @Brolaski @speck1447 @Rykonen @uphillmoss

66 HC Davos Dynamo 67 Vancouver Wolves 68 New York Americans 69 Moscow Menace (Upset city let's go)

3-1 Wolves

Today we sat down with Vegas AGM Bonzaijoe to ask him for his thoughts after Vegas has now completed their first 5 games of the season. "It's been great! The boys are clicking and playing well, and they're all getting along. It's what you like to see in a young core like these guys." Joe said in our interview today. I asked what he thought some of the teams' strengths were, and he responded, "We have a really balanced lineup who all work hard. We don't have too many guys that are seriously playing way insanely better than anyone else. Our lines are balanced, and our play against teams that are a little too top heavy has been great because of that reason exactly!" Recently, the guys at VSN now called Vegas' defense "Lacking" in their skills. I brought these comments up with Joe, and he said, "I don't buy into that. Each of them have a really solid defensive skill, and maybe their overall skill might be the best in the league, maybe they don't score as many goals as those other guys. Our guys though? They play shutdown defense. These guys are amazing and you'll see that time and time again." Looking forward to the rest of the season, Joe noted that they hope they can keep up with the same high level of play. Huge thanks to AGM Bonzaijoe for hanging out with us again! We'll check in with him hopefully soon!

It's a kid's dream, to be able to come up and be good enough to play in the big leagues. For Nixon, he was the exact same way. Ever since he was a kid, Joe Nixon of the Vancouver Wolves wanted to be just where he is now. "I've put in a lot of hard work to be here and it's exciting," Nixon said in an interview with us today. We met up with him following Vancouver's 3-2 win over Moscow, where he received his first VHL start, and eventually his first VHL win as well. Nixon said on his game, "I was extremely nervous but excited as well. I knew I had to go out on the ice and do my best going forward to try and bring this team a win. I went out there, stopped 17 of 19, and came out on top. It feels good, really really good, but going forward I need to keep up with myself and continue working to try to continue playing as well as I did tonight." I asked Nixon how he thought this season would go for him, and he answered, "I'm gonna be a backup for most of it, and I know that, but GM Beavis let me know that he's gonna try to get me 20ish starts to get me some good experience going forward, and I really appreciate that I'm getting the opportunity. I feel like a lot of guys wouldn't get much time, I'm lucky to have an office that believes in me and it's flattering going forward to be able to get the time. Iseult is an amazing goalie, and being able to back him up and learn from him is good experience in itself as well." We met up with Nixon again after his huge win over Moscow again when the Wolves took a 3-1 win in Game 12. Nixon was chosen as the first star of the game, as he stopped 28 of 29 shots for a .966 save average. Nixon said of the win, "It's huge for me. I went out and played really well. I have to give it to the defense too, they were great out there and really helped me out." This game raised Nixon's Save Percentage to a league leading .938, right behind his teammate Iseult. Nixon's 1.50 GAA is also the best in the league early on. We asked Nixon what he thought, and he said "Let's not get ahead of ourselves here," he laughed, "I've played 2 games. Our defense has been covering well, and we're a 5-0-0 hockey team right now. Iseult has been playing shutdown and I'm glad to have played those two games against Moscow but seriously it's too early to watch too closely at my numbers leading the league. We'll see though. I've been working hard and being able to even see my numbers up there right now is just so cool." We brought up his "first star of the game" performance, and he responded, "it's really cool to be considered that 'MVP' of the game and I'm always surprised to be there. This feeling is new though. I think I was first star a few times as a member of the Aces last season but this whole VHL thing is crazy. The guys in the VHLM are my age and are on the same page as me trying to get ready to go to the VHL, but to be the 'MVP' of the game in the VHL where these guys are way above my level and better than me? That's a great feeling. It's so cool. It doesn't mean I can stop working though. I had a good game, I'd like to come out and do that every time!" Big thanks to Joe Nixon for talking to us after both games! As always, we really appreciate his time!

1st Star of the game! Woo!

F - Evan R. Lawson for my last pick! @Spade18

4-2 Bears

21 Riga Reign 22 Calgary Wranglers 23 Toronto Legion 24 Seattle Bears

D - Shawn Glade @Hybrid1486

F - Jake Davis @Spade18

Joe Nixon - Vancouver Wolves - Darcy Kuemper Also if possible I'd like a GM one for Bonzaijoe - Las Vegas Aces AGM - John Chayka Thanks so much!

I think it's great! Vancouver's a great, beautiful city who deserves recognition and a hockey team! We're proud to play in front of our new crowd! Sadly no, but I've heard it's a beautiful place! Honestly, just everyone. Being a rookie, I'm just happy to be here. It's a great new experience! It's something to look into, we love our wolf pack, so we'd love to do something with them! Hmmm... I don't think it would come up very often, so I'll just let this question sit haha Absolutely! It's tough to leave Quebec city behind but the new city is welcoming us with open arms! I haven't had too many bad ones, I just hope the reporters aren't being assholes to me, that's all! The black and white is sleek, it fits, and our jerseys are lit. I wouldn't mess with it at all honestly. Practice, practice, practice. I'll need it when coming up to the big leagues. I think we'll be in the running. Maybe not first or the best team in the league during the regular season, but if we can pop into the playoffs around 3rd or 4th maybe we can make some noise in the playoffs for sure!

G - Kriketers @Hybrid1486

D - Tzuyu @Spade18 You're up!

My bad! I just copied and pasted my tags from last weeks conference, sorry I missed you! I'll be sure to include you in the tags next week!

Here's some more questions! Make sure to answer all 6 to get your 2 TPE! 1. Games start soon! What are you most excited for? 2. Who are you rooting for in the VHL? 3. How has the offseason treated you? Are you settling in well? 4. How is the team getting along in the early practices? Is there early chemistry? 5. What's your go-to diet on gameday? 6. With the VHL draft happening last week, are you excited to move up in the next coming seasons? Where do you see yourself in 2 seasons from now? @Bandit @Lightningyamasha @mxld17 @Koen Senft @MexicanCow123 @Dingle @Connor mcdavid @Benson @JohnOQuinn @OneBuffalo1230 @Barracuda @Sunburst @jacobaa19 @Jubo07 @Ty343 @Antone10 @SwagSloth @Brolaski @speck1447 @Rykonen

F - Sebastian Ironside @Hybrid1486 you're up!

Tonight we sat down with a familiar face, as we are checking in with Vancouver Wolves Goaltender Joe Nixon. Were you drafted higher than you expected or lower? How do you think the draft went? "Higher, absolutely! I was thinking maybe I'd be a pick from Moscow or I'd drop a little low as a real backup for a team that wasn't really looking for one actively, but I was so happy to be picked up higher than I expected! I'm absolutely loving the atmosphere of Vancouver and this team is awesome to work with. My draft position shows that the front office believes in me and that's what matters to me most. I'm gonna go into this great city and give it what I got to help this team win a cup in my time here!" What are your expectations this season? "As a team? Honestly I'm not quite sure. I don't think I've been around the team enough quite yet, but from the time I've spent with them this looks like an amazing team that's capable of winning games and being competitive night in and night out. I just have that feeling. We've been playing well, getting along well, we haven't had any issues, I'm just excited to get on the ice with them. As for my personal expectations, I'm just trying to play to the best of my ability. I'm gonna do my best to try to reproduce my production that I had in the VHLM playoffs when we won the cup and maybe try to channel that inner beast that had come out then and during the WJC during our Bronze Medal run." What is your role within the organization this season? "Backup goalie, and that's just the hard truth. The team has Iseult, who I'll be playing behind for a while. I have nothing wrong with that, Tristan's a great goalie and a great guy, I'm gonna enjoy having him as a role model to look up to as I try to continue my career as a goaltender in this league. I really look forward to working with him to up my game and make myself better as a goalie." Any words of advice to the new Aces? "Have fun with it, seriously, that VHLM season I played with Vegas was unbelievably magical. I won't have that same experience again, even though I'd love to. Being able to make it all the way and have fun with a bunch of other guys who have just as little experience as I do, it's really cool. I made some great friends on that team and I'll never forget all the experiences I had with them! Seriously, my advice is to just enjoy it as much as you can while you're there." Are you excited for the season to start? "A little excited, a little nervous. A combination of both, really. The VHL is scary, because I'm not sure I'm really ready for it yet as a player, but it's been my dream to play in this league, so I'll probably have to go more with excited. I'm ready to step onto the ice in the Wolves' uniform. I know what it means to be in this league and I won't take any of it for granted" Huge thanks to Joe Nixon for sitting down with us tonight and catching up! We wish him good luck in the upcoming season and hope to see him on the ice soon!

The VHL draft is an exciting time, when players go from the little leagues to the big ones, but sometimes for one-and-done players, the move can be stressful. Joe Nixon of the Vancouver Wolves, a new draftee in the big leagues, just had to make that new move again. "I was just getting settled into Vegas, but that's just how the league is. I was smart to only get an apartment, even though I didn't anticipate having to make a big move this quickly!" Nixon said in an interview with us today, "I absolutely love the city of Vancouver and the place is absolutely beautiful. I'm sure I'll get settled in no time at all. It's just weird to have made the moves basically back to back!" We asked Nixon to compare the two cities and he replied, "Obviously, nightlife. Vegas is Vegas and we know how that goes. One similarity, though, is their love for hockey. Both towns live and breathe this sport just as much as the players do and that is just so insanely cool to me. With this city behind me, I can play just as well as I did in Vegas, if not better! I want to help try to bring a cup to this town! The first step, though, is to unpack these boxes and get to practice haha"

Got robbed of the Playoff MVP but Mars deserved it too, glad it could go to someone who put out their all in those playoffs!

i'm in again!

Nixon had 7 shutouts so just that puts me at the 20 TPE cap for this, am I able to still claim even though I'm late?

Here's the first press conference of the upcoming season! Make sure to answer all 6 to get your 2 TPE! 1. What do you look forward to in this upcoming VHLM season? 2. Do you think the Aces have a shot at defending the cup? Why/Why not? 3. How do you think your player will play this season? What do you hope to accomplish in the minors? 4. Who do you think drafted the best, and why? 5. What new expansion or relocated team are you most excited to face this year? Philadelphia, Houston, or Minnesota? and why? 6. What are your first thoughts on being in Vegas? Do you like it here? Share some of your excitement! @Bandit @Lightningyamasha @mxld17 @Koen Senft @MexicanCow123 @Dingle @Connor mcdavid @Benson @JohnOQuinn @OneBuffalo1230 @Barracuda @Sunburst @jacobaa19 @Jubo07 @Ty343 @Antone10 @SwagSloth @Brolaski @speck1447 @Rykonen

AGM Bonzaijoe said in an interview with VHL.com this evening, "I'm lucky to be here. It's a great opportunity for me and the players we picked up tonight look great in Green and Yellow!" AGM Bonzaijoe has just recently begun his career in assisting GM Jubo in the Vegas Front Office and he had nothing but good words to say about the draft class that was announced tonight. "All these young guys are great. We've looked through everyone thoroughly and Jubo and I feel that we've been able to build a great squad with the opportunity we had in the draft." We asked if he thought it could've gone better, and Joe responded, "If I had my way, every team in front of us would've passed on all the great players and let them drop to our spots! Of course I wish we could've had a few of the ones who got away but at the end of the day, the best players get picked first. You can't have them all! That being said, all the guys we picked tonight are the guys we believe can make this team great and are here for the future, to win and develop their game!" I asked Joe for some final words on the night, and he responded with nothing but excitement, saying, "I'm so happy to be here and I can't wait to his the ice with these guys! We're gonna have a great season, and I look forward to trying to defend our cup! Vegas is the home of the cup right now and I can't wait to work with Jubo and our guys to keep it that way!"