xsjack

Happy Birthday VHL. crazy to think that it’s already this old

What a season it has been for Einar Mathiesen the young Icelandic defenceman has exceeded all expectations that were placed upon him at the beginning of the season and he certainly proved any of his doubters wrong with the performance he put up across all 72 regular season games and the 6 games Miami played in the postseason this year. The regular season was a good time this year for both Mathiesen and Miami as the Marauders would finish 2nd in the VHLM only being behind the dominant Halifax 21st meanwhile individually Einar would end the season being just over a point per game with 18 goals a good amount for a defenceman and 55 assists for a combined total of 73 points, he would also achieve the 100+ with hits and shots blocked along with a +|- of 40 on the season. Unfortunately, the postseason wouldn’t go as well as the regular season went for Miami as they would come up against San Diego in the 1st round a matchup that should have gone their way yet due to some stellar play from the Marlins especially their goalie and former marauder Spider Panda Miami would fall in 6 games, a very disappointing end to what was a good season Einar wouldn't have long to dwell on this loss as he said goodbye to Miami and everyone on the team thanking them for his time with the club but now was time to make another step in his career as he was going to move up a league of two. The goal for Einar ever since he completed that first year of hockey a few years ago and realized he was talented in a pair of skates and with a stick in hand was the VHL and here he was only a few weeks away from being drafted into the league and if that wasn’t already big enough he was being projected as a 1st round pick you could probably even say he was a lock to go 1st round his dreams were about to come true it all felt so surreal to him. But he wasn't gonna just be drafted once this summer it was very likely that a team in the VHLE would also select him with one of their picks he had even been contacted by some GMs in the E asking him about how he would feel about playing for them he wasn't so sure about the E it was still pretty new to him but if his VHL team whoever that might end up being deemed he wasn't ready for the big leagues just yet and wanted him to play over in Europe for a year he would, playing in Europe again wouldn't be a bad thing he could develop some more as a player and see more of the world like he always wanted. As soon Einar left Miami and went home back to Reykjavik he almost immediately went back to his old rink and got to work he needed to be ready and prove that he was indeed worthy of being a top pick in both drafts it wouldn't be easy but nothing worth it in life ever was. 536 words.

week 3 claim for the week ending July 14th

claiming week 4/4 for the week ending July 14th

1. Till the end of the playoffs simple. 2. 2nd is all we can get now unfortunately but that's where we shall sit until the end of the regular season. 3. anyone but sasky they have some curse on us or something. 4. no comment at this moment in time. 5. verbally and physically abuse the opposition until they can't play anymore. 6. not enough cannons in my opinion we need MORE!

claiming week 3/4 for the week ending July 7th

week 2 claim for the week ending July 7th

We are back once again to talk about my boy Einar Mathiesen and he has pleasantly surprised me so far this season, by the end of this week he should be at VHLMs cap of 200 TPA which feels great to get down I should also have 16 banked after this article which I'll be using to get my poke checking up to 50, last week I played around with the TPA tool and I think I have a vision of Einar's future build in mind up until around 500 TPE now the question is will I remember it and actually stick with it not sure on that front, the plan though for him eventually is a two-way defenceman a skor mcfleury if I want to be delusional. Now the reason why I said Einar has surprised me so far this season is he's actually sitting over a point a game with 65 points (4th on Miami, Tied for 5th for Defencemen in the M) in just 62 games he's been a mainly pass first player having just shy of 50 assists on the season with 49 (2nd on Miami, 6th In M D-men) at this moment but when he shots the puck he has a good chance of scoring with a 12.21% shooting percentage (10th in the league overall) his 16 goals so far this season is pretty decent for his position. when Einar originally got to Miami it seemed like he was just out there on the ice and not really doing much but now its nice to actually feel like he's contributing to the team, offensively he's doing great right now yet I feel the defensive side of his game needs work so that's where any foreseeable tpe will go for now, Miami has been doing quite well this season sure we arent halifax but we've been 2nd or 3rd for the better part of the season and I believe we can really give the 21st a challenge and potentially come out on top in a series against them if we play our absolute best, we shall see shortly though with the playoffs just around the corner. Now to end this off I just wanted to list some goals I want to complete this season and offseason 1. End the season with 20 goals and a point per game average (I think this is certainly doable) 2. Win the cup with Miami (possible but would be hard) 3. Get Drafted in the 1st round of the VHL Entry draft (should happen we'll see) 4. continue to max earn like I have been. anyway, that's it for me this week lots of rambling really in this one but that's how it goes sometimes. 455 words (okay didn't realize it was that much claiming this for 3 weeks I guess)

1. San Diego I think the logo would look better with darker colours like dark blue and black/grey. 2. closing out games in regulation we've had too many games go to OT that we could have won. 3. he's a traitor plain and simple, we'll destroy him just like the rest of them when we meet in the playoffs. 4. Robinson and Pines Jr both playing better than I expected and both are big reasons why we are doing so well I believe. 5. Cooking 100% 6. Nope I personally think the cannons are just fine, they make us look tough.

claiming for the week ending June 30th 2/2

tbf San Diego is my dark horse this year so.

Thanks the more I wrote the more I realized how good you guys are, gonna be an interesting playoffs.

So the trade deadline is upon us soon and that means theme week as well and well it seems I can't escape writing about something to do with the VHLM for even a week as that's the theme this week, after doing some brainstorming I landed on reviewing all 10 teams season halfway into season 94 and I think we'll start with the good end and the teams that are in a race for the Prime Minister's Cup. Halifax 21st The favourites to lift the Prime Minister's Cup right now they sit 1st in the East and the league overall sitting on 68 points after 38 games they have a pretty decent 9 point lead on 2nd place in the league, the 21st have a very impressive goal difference of +98 this is due to having both the #1 offence and defence currently they are on an 11 game win streak and with only 3 regulation losses so far this season not to mention they also have my pick for MVP in Robin Sierra who already has 37 goals and 37 assists for a total of 74 points which is the league leader at this moment, aside from Sierra this is a very strong team having 6 players at 200 tpa with another 2 being in the 190s, Halifax is clearly the team to beat this year if you want a shot at the founders cup. Mexico City Kings The Kings are having a good season so far yet despite that they currently sit 2nd in league standings I think they are more along the lines of the 3rd best team currently which is pretty good, especially for a team whose defenceman are all S95 Mexico City actually has the 2nd least goals allowed against and I would say that defiantly has something to do with their star defenceman Samsayz I-Smell who since being drafted 3rd overall by the team this year has been contributing on both ends of the ice racking up 10 goals and 42 assists along with a good deal of hits and shots blocked, it will be interesting to see how this team does playoff time can they step up their offensive production as right now they score the least amount of goals amongst the top 6. Miami Marauders Miami for me is the other top 2 team along with Halifax as they sit only a point behind Mexico City despite being a game behind them that and the superior goal difference of Miami, This team is good all over they have a top goaltender in the VHLm along with a very solid backup, pair that with two great lines of forwards and then add in some capable defenceman and you've got a team that has a great shot at the cup and they are also 2-1 in their games against favourites Halifax, Miami has been on a very good streak as of late question is can they keep it up and try and close the gap between them and 1st place. Saskatoon Wild The Reigning Champions look if you look at the standings look pretty similar to Miami in that department right? So why do I think Miami is the 2nd best team and the Wild are 4th (aside from my partial bias) i purely believe it has to do with their defence which consists solely of rookies who have the potential but are pretty lacking in ability compared to the other top contenders, now while their defence has actually been pretty good with the amount of tpa they have I'm not sure how well they would hold up against the other top teams come playoffs. San Diego Marlins & Houston Bulls These two teams are pretty similar at the moment almost the exact same record except Houston has one less win and game played they even have the same amount of Goals scored, It's win or die in regulation for these two as they both only have one game going to OT unfortunately for both of them they lose more than you would like to see, right now with the way they are playing they are in that middle ground of good enough to make the playoffs but not at that level to be a major contender, for Houston the problem is quite obvious they only have a goal difference of +10 and you can see why if you look at their roster they only have 2 defencemen both who are alright but not enough when you add into the equation a rookie goalkeeper who is still developing unless they decide to acquire a better goalkeeper or another defender I cant see their offence being able to carry them past the 1st round, San Diego on the other hand is the opposite they have a great set of defenders and a good goalie but their forwards arent there yet, I don't think Tano and Dancalot will be enough to carry them far in the playoffs unfortunately. Mississauga Hounds & Philadelphia Reapers Once again a similar situation, teams that aren't going to be making much if any noise this year come playoff time and are looking forward to the future it will be interesting to see if these teams decide to sell at the deadline as both have some good players that could fetch them something to build on for next year I don't really have much else to say here. Ottawa Lynx Ottawa only has 3 players and that's cause the sale in the capital has already started and Ottawa's draft stash looks nice for it they have 4 1sts in the next 2 drafts along with a bunch of other picks I personally think Ottawa has set themselves up for the rebuild and will be watching them to see what they do with their assets and how they move forward. Las Vegas Aces And Last we have Las Vegas the tank is pretty impressive and they have outdone Ottawa only have 2 players on their roster, and their goal difference will probably end up the worst we've seen in a while the bright side for them is they pretty much guaranteed the 1st pick this upcoming draft and they have a decent stash of picks so the future could be bright in vegas if all goes well. This is probably a lot more than I planned to write when I started this but I'm glad I got every team in here even if some didn't get nearly as much attention as others. 1,088 words claiming for the weeks ending June 23rd & 30th

1. positioning and timing it's all about being in the right place at the right time. 2. Skates I feel the blades on them could be of some use. 3. "if at first you don't succeed, try, try again" - W.E Hickson. 4. I find the streams a ton of fun, especially the draft ones. 5. jogging and listening to music. 6. probably not but I'm still gonna say a young Owen Wilson.

2nd week claim

1. We definitely have a shot at it but we would need to be in our best form to do it. 2. I'd say we are doing pretty good just need to not drop points to inferior teams like earlier in the season and maybe Mathiesen could provide a bit more defensively. 3. something by Miami legend Pitbull probably Fireball. 4. Andrew Ladd used to love him when I was younger, even had #16 when I played and everything. 5. extend overtime to 10 minutes, fewer shootouts and therefore more actual hockey. 6. Increase the career length to 10 seasons.

Einar Mathiesen has been on somewhat of a hot streak recently after a solid start to the season it seems though that the Miami Defenceman has started to find his grove in the last few games putting in good performances on both the offensive and defensive ends of the ice, the question is can he keep it up? His hot streak would start against the current worst team and also his former team in the Las Vegas Ace's where Mathiesen would bag 3 assists all in the 1st period along with 3 hits and 2 shots blocked in a 4-0 win for the Marauders for his performance Mathiesen would be named 1st star of the game his 1st of his career so far, the following game against Saskatoon wouldn't go as well for Miami or Mathiesen although he would still finish the game with a goal and an assist, the Wild would come out victorious 6-3 in that game which had to be quite entertaining. His next game would be against the San Diego Marlins where scoring wise the game would be quiet up until the 3rd period where a Kevin Johnathen powerplay goal assisted by Dancalot and Akimoto would give the Marlins a slight lead but it would only take a few minutes for Miami to answer back with Elf Shoes goal assisted by Mathiesen and Mclaughlin (both were traded from Vegas earlier in the season) after the 1st Miami goal of the game it would only take them 22 seconds to get another this time it was Jortikka scoring while Shoes and Mathiesen get the assists the game would finish off with a Sakic empty netter to cap off a nice 3-1 bounce back win for the Marauders, Mathiesen would collect the 2nd 1st star of his career after getting 2 assists along with 5 hits and 3 shots blocked. It will be interesting to see if the young defenceman can keep up the good play, I doubt he'll be putting up 2 points a game for the rest of the season like this small stretch of games but it does prove he can be one of the top players out on the ice in games. 368 words (claiming for this week and next week)

claiming for week 2/4 for the week ending June 16th

Halifax looks really good so far with already a goal difference of +61 the next best is my Miami Marauders with +35 still quite respectable but the gap between the two right now is definitely noticeable, I will gladly point out that Miami is so far 2-0 against Halifax so goal difference isn't everything, San Diego a team I thought would be very good and a major contender this year has not been doing the greatest as they sit in 6th place overall and are 6 points behind the 5th seeded Bulls I'm not sure what the problem is in San Diego they have 3 defencemen all who are at 200 tpa along with a 192 tpa goalie and they have a couple of good forwards maybe it's that they do not have much depth I still think they should be doing better than this we shall see, and last in this and the standings the Las Vegas Ace's not surprising at all after all they have 4 players and 2 of them have 0 tpa it will be interesting to see how they can hopefully turn it around this upcoming offseason they do have 5 picks in the first 3 rounds this draft so that's something at least.

It was chilly out when he woke up that morning and it was also earlier than he usually woke up at but today was a big day he'd be making the trip to Las Vegas today to finally meet the front office and what little of a roster they had so far it was only eight players including himself last he checked and half of them were defenceman he had faith in the front office to change that though, he looked around his room making sure he had everything he felt he wanted to take with him to Vegas he grabbed his bag turned off the bedroom lights then closed the door walking down the hall to where his parents stood and despite how many times he had told them in the last couple of days that they didn't need to see him off at that airport and that they should get some rest they kept insisting that they would be there to see him off he knew he had lost that particular battle when he woke up that morning and he was okay with that despite all his excitement about playing for the Ace's and going somewhere new he was still leaving his country which meant family and friends as well but he would see them all again maybe not as soon as he would like. The three of them all got in the car and started the drive to the airport he stared out the back window while his father drove and his mother talked like she would never see him again he reminded her that he had already done this once before when he left to go play in Sweden last year although this did feel different than that perhaps it was cause this is where his professional career was really gonna take off and that meant this was all real and not just some dream like football was for him after all he was currently heading to the airport to get on plane that would take him to Las Vegas where he was gonna play hockey for a team that said he was going to be big for them this season and he truly believed them when he was told that, he knew the media had questions about him he had heard most of it there were concerns about his only three years on skates or the fact that two out of those three years were in a low level league compared to elsewhere not to mention said league only had three teams he thought he got rid of that narrative after playing in Sweden yet it still stuck and it probably would still stick unless he showed out this year in the VHLM which he was determined to do. The Car came to a stop and broke him out of thought he looked out the window and realized they were there at the airport he got out of the car grabbed his suitcase and backpack from the back then hugged his parents his mother reminded him to call them every couple of days and his father told him to give it all he's got which coming from him said a lot in so few words he said his goodbyes and started the trek to his plane ticket in hand and proceeded to broad the aircraft he found his seat one which was by a window he made sure of that when purchasing his ticket he looked out the window of the plane and watched the ground as it took off up in to the sky there was no going back from here, He wondered what Las Vegas would be like he knew of its reputation and the nickname of Sin City if what he heard about the city was all or mostly true it would be radically different than anything in Iceland or that he had ever experienced he wasn't sure how he would adjust to a place like Las Vegas, from what he read online it could get quite hot which was something he knew would end up absoulutely hating and at times would probably end up making himself rethink of this whole VHLM thing atleast until he cooled off, he watched out his window as the plane took off from Keflavik international and started its trek across the atlantic this would be the longest flight he had ever been on and he was beginning to feel the affects of not getting enough sleep due to a number of reasons so he decided he would catch up on a few hours of sleep. He only woke from his slumber when it was announced over the intercoms that the plane would be landing at JFK International in New York City shortly he looked out his window and could see the famed city in all its glory it was like a whole different world compared to Reykjavik when the plane landed and all the passengers departed he was left wondering what he should do he had a few hours to kill before his flight to Vegas was set to leave he had tried finding a direct flight from Iceland to Las Vegas as he should have expected. He was going to stay the few hours at the airport yet he would learn that his flight to Las Vegas was delayed until further notice due to storms in the region with even more time to kill in a new country and one of the most famed cities in the world einar decided he would do a little bit of exporling he went to tourist attractions like The Statue of Liberty,The Empire state building and Central park until his stomach got the better of him he walked around for a bit until he saw a restraunt that interested him he ordered some food from there ate it and then realised he should probabley head back to the airport as it was getting late on the way back he stopped at a corner store to grab a drink and snack as he still wasnt sure when his flight would be ready to go when he got back to the airport when he got back he check and saw that his flight was only delayed for another hour and a half so while he waited he watched some highlights from last season eventually the time would pass and he would board his flight and fall asleep again as the day been had exhausting. It had been almost 24 hours since he left Reykjavik when he finally touched down in Las Vegas it was close to midnight when he found his ride to the place that he had rented for the season it wasnt a nice place by any means yet he didnt care, all that mattered was that it was close to the arena and pratice facility he dropped some of his stuff off there then took his pair of skates and stick along some pucks and made his way to the rink luckily for him the maintence crew was there and after much convincing that he was an actual member of the team he was allowed in to the facilities where he would practice by himself for hours like he used to do back when he just learning the sport except now here he was on whole another continent to play a sport he didnt know how to just a little over four years ago it was all surreal,Later that day he would officially met the Ace's front office and then what there was of the team, he was determineed to improve even more every day up until the regular season he was either praticing or working out in some capicity usally for hours at a time. Einar's first game was to be against the Halifax 21st one of two teams that he hoped he would go to in the draft the other was Houston but as it would play out he would go to neither obviously, he would be lying if he said he wasnt a little bit nervous before his first VHLM game but he would put those nerves to rest quite quickly netting the first goal of the five minutes and twenty-nine seconds in to the 1st period but by the next time Mathiesen and the Ace's would get a point they would be down 5-1 Einar was able to get a pass up to O Cleirigh which would end up in the back of the net unfortunely that was it for the game and despite Mathiesen having a good indiduval debut it wasnt enough which would kinda be a theam for time in Las Vegas he was one of a few bright spots on a team that was months behind on their power bill,in 6 Games for Vegas he would net 3 goals and 4 assists along with 10 hits and 13 shots blocked the Ace's would not win a game during his time with the team, his stint in Vegas would be quite short as after those 6 games he and his fellow defence partner Connor Mclaughlin would be traded to the Miami Marauders for a future 1st. Once again Einar would be on a plane to a new city to play for a new team truth be told he was happy he got traded he had nothing against the Ace's he actually enjoyed his time there as long you dont count the losing part it wasnt something he was used and he didnt want to get used to it, losing is depressing especially when your doing all you can to win and it just doesnt happen fortunely for Einar Miami was the exact opposite of Las Vegas at the time of the trade a team that was actually winning sure his role would be reduced but he was fine with that if it meant winning games, Miami was hot like Las Vegas but it was a whole different type of hot and if he thought Las Vegas heat was too much for him Miami beat that by a mile but it was price he would pay atleast for this season as Europe was most likely the next step he was already thinking too far ahead though focus on this season and the rest will come he hoped, perhaps Einar would check out the nightlife here in Miami he heard it was good he would just have to be on better behaviour than when he first went out on the Las Vegas strip where he ended up gambling a few hunderd dollars on games that didnt really understand that well also the fact he was drinking may have partially helped ( they didnt ID him in Vegas and he thought Miami would be no different) he would be escorted out of the casino it would take him close to two hours to get back to his place much much longer than it should he regretted it the next money when relised he wasted a good amount of money and all he got for it was a raging headache he would show up to pratice a little worse for wear perhaps this was push Vegas needed hes not sure nor does it really matter. Since being traded Einar is happy and has been playing pretty decent and week by week is improving steadily So for this season, he has put up 4 goals and 12 assists for 16 points along with 41 hits and 30 shots blocked along with a positive +/- of 8 in 22 games played, Miami currently sits 3rd in the VHLM although they aren't that far behind Mexico City and Halifax and are still a strong challenger for the Prime Ministers cup. alright so I've had like half of this cooked for a week or two and wasn't sure exactly what I wanted to do with but today I figured that out so I've finally completed feels good knowing I'm good for this week plus the next three especially since I assume it's gonna be a busy summer (it feels so close here) anyway I'm done not even sure what to call this I'm sure ill figure something out for it. 2,000+ words

1. The biggest surprise to me so far is San Diego I for sure thought they were going to be a top 2 team and right now that's not the case at all meanwhile Mexico City and Halifax have come out the gate strong and have done better than I expected. 2. Houston but that's probably cause half of the games we have played so far have been against them. 3. definitely the playoffs 4. No I'd probably mess something up and cause the ship to run aground or sink. 5. I want a Canadian team to finally lift the cup again so I'm cheering for Edmonton unfortunately. 6. Relish by default since I've never had Hollandaise.

So Mathiesen got traded and what a turnaround it is went from Las Vegas a team that has 0 wins and only a point in eight games to Miami a team that hasn't lost yet and is tied for the most points in the VHLM a team that I would probably bet on to win both the Founder's and Prime Minister's cup Miami doesn't seem to a have weakness after the trade. It reminded me of another time I got traded it was actually the first time I got traded and like this one it was in the VHLM kind of a similar situation then to an Ottawa team that was going in to a rebuild but my player back then Jack Lynch was in his 2nd year in the VHLM and was a top player that season and was dragging Ottawa to wins as much as he could eventually around halfway in to the season Ottawa sent Lynch to Houston for a player and picks not sure who won that trade since Houston unfortunately couldn't lift the cup hopefully Mathiesen can do what Lynch couldn't and lift the Founder's Cup.

1. Defence and skating the most but a few things as well. 2. VHL: Moscow they have a very nice offensive core and a good goalie, VHLE Stockholm all around good team VHLM Miami picked very well in the draft plus picked up a nice goalie and I'm a bit biased 3. Two half sandwiches 1. Favorite sport that isn't hockey? 2. who has the best logo in each of the three leagues? ( VHLM/VHLE/VHL) 3. what team has surprised you the most so far this season?

I am cutting it pretty close for not having a media spot or graphic this week I could just claim welfare but that would ruin my little streak of doing a 6 tpe task for 3 weeks straight 4 if I include this one and I was trying to write something but just wasn't feeling it so I thought why not just talk about something I was kinda of excited for this week the S94 VHLM dispersal draft I watched most of the live stream and saw some things I liked and so here I am deciding just to jot down some of my thoughts on something that felt like it happened a month ago instead of just earlier this week. Well let us start with a team who I thought certainly won the draft hands down and that was the San Diego Marlins They had 5 picks in this draft all of them being within the first 3 rounds and even two within the top 5. With the 1st pick in the draft, the Marlins went with Speedy Defenceman Ahsoka Tano who is right now sitting at 190 tpe and based on their previous earning I would say they should be hitting the VHLM cap pretty soon last year they were pretty solid for Miami having a goal and 10 assists along with 44 shots blocked and 32 hits in just 15 games so pretty solid I think this is a great pick for the Marlins. The Marlins with the 4th pick would select Center Nicholas Sunderbruch Jr a nice all around Center who sits at 175 tpe and like tano should hit the cap in no time he was decent for Las Vegas last season putting up 2 goals and 5 assists along with 49 hits in 25 games also had positive +/- of 3 so another good pick I would say. Now while I like their 1st round picks I feel the Marlins really hit on their later picks In Belle,Rike & Dancalot all of whom are S95 and have been solid earners since creating and should all be decent contributors to a strong looking contender in San Diego. I am not sure at all how Tim Robinson wasn't a first round selection but I'm sure Miami is extremely glad he wasn't as he is an absolute steal in my opinion sitting at 170 tpe now was 162 at draft this guy is a great and consistent earner also his build looks solid to me getting both him and Sakic out of this draft is an extreme win for Miami and looking at their roster they look like another strong contender this, especially after the signing of Goalie spider panda I expect a great season from this Miami team. My player Einar Mathiesen was selected in the 1st round which came as a welcome surprise Las Vegas does kind of seem a bit bare at the moment and I'm not entirely sure how we are gonna do this season I doubt we will be as dominant as I expect Miami and San Diego to be but I'm not gonna rule us out of a playoff spot before we've even played a game yet. a couple of other selections I liked were Danny Ross by Miami and The Legendary David VanHousen by Houston. 555 words

+10 Einar Mathiesen