GlowyGoat

We are now 6 games into the first season for the Houston Bulls and if you told them they would be in a tie for 3rd place right now with a 3-2-1 record and 7 points, I think mostly everyone would be happy but the Bulls would not be shocked at all.  Now granted all 6 games have been against the same team, but lets take a look at how Houston has done so far:
Game 1 – The home opener and just over a minute into the game, Laughton scored the first ever regular season goal on the power play to send the crowd into a frenzy.  However, the lead would be short lived though as the Rush tied it two minutes later.  The Bulls got a power play goal again in the first as Sparrow found the back of the net and a 2-1 lead.  The second period did not go well for the Bulls as the Rush scored 4 and the Bulls only one off of the stick of Gibbles and the home team was down 5 to 3 going into the third.  However, Gibbles got his second of the game and a power play goal to cut the lead to one and rookie Jurri scored his first with just under 8 minutes left to send the game into overtime.  However, the home crowd went home sad as HHH scored the game winner and a Rush 6-5 win.  May stopped 22 out of 28 in the loss.

**celebrating the first goal in Houston Bull history
 
Game 2 – The Bulls took the road for the first time and Kirbsson scored his first career goal in the first for a 1-0 Bulls lead.  However, the second period would give the Bulls trouble again as the Rush scored 3 goals and the Bulls got goals from Sparrow and MacElroy as the game was tied at 3-3 going into the third period.  Just 58 seconds into the third, Jurri scored his second career goal and it would be the game winner as the Bulls got their first ever win by the score of 4-3.  May stopped 27 of 30 shots and all 4 he faced in the third to pick up his first win.
Game 3 – The third game between the two teams was much different than the first two – this one was low scoring and low shots as it was more of a defensive battle.  The only goal of the game was scored about halfway through the third period as the Bulls’ Kozlov netted his first of the season and May stopped all 20 shots he faced for the Bulls first ever home win and first ever shutout by the score of 1-0.

**one of May's 20 saves in the shutout
 
Game 4 – This game was lower in shot totals than the other ones, but still had 8 goals scored as the Rush got their revenge on the Bulls by the score of 5-3.  Jurri would score first for the Bulls by the Rush answered with two goals of their own in the first period.  The teams exchanged goals in the second period as Kirbsson scored for the Bulls, but the Rush would take a 5-2 lead with two quik power play goals in the third period and Jurri would close out the scoring in the third with his second of the game to make the final score 5-3.  May stopped 19 out of the 24 shots he faced.
Game 5 – Another high scoring affair that came down to the last minute of the game to determine the winner.  The Bulls took a 2-0 lead in the first period behind goals from Kirbsson and Griffin, but HHH would score the first two goals of the second period to tie the game for the Rush.  Jurri would get a late second period goal and the Bulls would have a 3-2 lead heading into the third.  A total of 6 goals were scored in the third period – the Rush scored the first two to take a 4-3 lead with 8 minutes left , but Jurri gave the Bulls the lead back with two goals in 16 seconds to complete the first ever hat trick in Bulls history.  However, the Rush would tie the game with a little more than 3 minutes left and then win the game 6 to 5 with just 50 seconds remaining as Sigurdsson got the game winner.  May stopped 22 out of 28 shots in the loss. 
Game 6 – The first 5 games between the two teams have either been one or two goal games.  This game was not as the Bulls scored two goals each period and held the Rush to only one goal in a 6 to 1 win.  Kozlov and MacElroy scored in the first period, Kirbsson and Jurri scored in the second and MacElroy and Jurri each scored their second of the game in the third period.  May stopped 22 out of 23 shots as his record after the first six games is now 3-2-1.

**rookies Kirbsson and Jurri celebrating a goal together

When Samuel Sparrow stepped out of the plane in Halifax Stanfield International Airport he was appalled. He looked out onto a scene of utter chaos as the other VHLM prospects were herded by Halifax 21st personnel away from the area in a hurry. Seeing this Sparrow decided to explore before heading to the rink to meet with the 21st. Once he arrived in Halifax proper he picked a random direction and started walking. As he walked he saw 21st flags and banners hanging from every building he saw and was perplexed as to how a minor league team could garner so much support in a city. Then he saw it, the glint of light reflecting of something in an alley. He peered closer and saw a 21st logo and a knife. This wasn’t just any normal fandom it was team enforced fandom. Sparrow quickly walked away not wanting to be caught up in the quickly unfolding mess, but everywhere he passed he saw hints of of forced compliance. The broken windows where tear gas had been thrown in, the splinters of doors that had been kicked in, The tire marks of people making an escape from being caught. Seeing this Sparrow turned and fled not wanting anything of this team or this too small city.
 
Sparrow has been in therapy for several weeks after this incident and has just now been comfortable enough to comment on it.

Ye dont know what fun is until yeve witnessed a drunk on the edinburgh to glasgow train station screamin "a fuckin hate hedgehogs c'mere ya fuckin jabby wee cunt" while circling a hairbrush that been recently dropper on the floor
 
 
that drunk is callum

"WHEN AH WAKE OP
WELL AH NO AHM GONAE BE 
AHM GONAE BE DA MON WHO WAKES UP NEXT TAE YOU"
 
The Proclaimers' greatest hit was blasting out of Callum MacElroy's locker in Houston yesterday, and MacElroy was singing along at the top of his lungs.
 
Still, he agreed to an interview, albeit through a gigantic mouthful of haggis. 
 
MacElroy, the second-year forward from Scotland, was asked the usual--if he expected to be in Houston, if he was happy to be in Houston, what he thought of the team so far, you know the drill. 
 
But when asked if any city in particular stood out to him, he had an interesting answer. 
 
"Ah hud a feelin' ah was gonnae Hooston, but thooght ah micht check it aw th' other VHLM cities an aw," said MacElroy, discussing his pre-draft plans. Due to his strong personal connection with Houston's general manager, Alexander Pepper, MacElroy fully believed he was headed to Houston, and indeed that turned out to be the case. But he still had a bit to say about another city.
 
"Ah visited Halifax an' hated it," said MacElroy. "Ah dunnae kin hoo ye Westerners hink that's a real city. It's much tae wee an' it smells loch auld goat's milk. There's naethin' interestin' thaur an' aw th' folk swatch loch they're fed up it ay their heids ur loch they want tae kill ye." 
 
Representatives from the Halifax 21st could not be reached for further comment.
 

HORNS UP

With the first few games of the VHLM season done, Callum MacElroy made himself available to the media today. As one of the inaugural Alternate Captains for the Houston Bulls, he was eager to answer any questions. Houston’s strong start may surprise many, but when asked about it MacElroy’s only response was “It’s what we expected going into the season. You can’t lie down and accept that you’re going to be bad just because you’re a new team. I think we surprised some people and I want to keep doing that; I think that’s the best way to make a name for a new team. If no one expects anything.” Following these remarks, MacElroy talked about the strength of the locker room. “The group we’ve got is really eager and excited to continue the season. This strong start is really getting the guys going, we’re all looking at the league and thinking that maybe all that talk from the GM in the offseason wasn’t just talk.” MacElroy denied to comment on any potential rivalries between Houston and other teams.

@ShawnGlade has some weird obsessions, and I'm gonna tell you them
 
1. Anime body pillows covered in ketchup and relish
Yes, you read that right. ShawnGlade likes to take anime body pillows and smear them in relish and ketchup. I don't know what he finds appealing about that, but he spends atleast $500 a month on supplies for this acivity
 
2. Elias Dahlberg
Yep, Shawn Glade is obviously obssesed with Davos' star player, and best player in the league Elias Dahlberg. Rumor has it that he has a whole shrine full of pictures of Dahlberg.
 
3. Delaware
Shawn Glade is obsessed with Delaware. Why? I don't know. Like, who even knows where Delaware is? I'm not even convinced its real. Like... do you know anyone from Delaware? No. It's fake like Finland.
 
4. Raccoons
Shawn Glade is so obsessed with raccoons he even has one as his profile picture. He spends up to 3 hours a day just studying raccoons, and probably knows more about raccoons than a raccoon expert. Legend has it that he even has a pet raccoon
 
5. Roleplaying as a couch
 
Yeah... I don't even know how you do this one. Some say they've seen him in action during practice at the Davos rink. He'll go down on all fours and just be there, for often hours on end. Dahlberg has told many rookies about this, and some are still confused. Dahlberg sometimes even has the nerve to sit on his GM.
 
 

With the first few games of the VHLM season done, Callum MacElroy made himself available to the media today. As one of the inaugural Alternate Captains for the Houston Bulls, he was eager to answer any questions. Houston’s strong start may surprise many, but when asked about it MacElroy’s only response was “It’s what we expected going into the season. You can’t lie down and accept that you’re going to be bad just because you’re a new team. I think we surprised some people and I want to keep doing that; I think that’s the best way to make a name for a new team. If no one expects anything.” Following these remarks, MacElroy talked about the strength of the locker room. “The group we’ve got is really eager and excited to continue the season. This strong start is really getting the guys going, we’re all looking at the league and thinking that maybe all that talk from the GM in the offseason wasn’t just talk.” MacElroy denied to comment on any potential rivalries between Houston and other teams.

I'm re-naming and cleaning this topic up as a suggestion / complaint instead of an index. Just doesn't make sense to have all that in an index topic. So if you want to continue the conversation you can do so in here.

It’s common knowledge now that the Houston Bulls have officially arrived on the VHLM scene. Coach @Sonnet has made his picks, got his players, chose his emblem, kits, and even chose their entrance song. Some critics are saying that expectations should be “realistic” for the latest expansion team. Others, such as new fans, are extremely optimistic about the teams chances this year and beyond.
 
Today we will be breaking down the players in the team that are predominantly Center’s, and how they may be used going forward. Coach Sonnet has already gone on record to state that he wants his players to be flexible when it comes to positions, so this article may be accurate or completely off the mark. I guess we’ll have to wait until game one to know for sure!
 
Victor Kozlov @Kuch9
 
What more can be said about this guy than he is an absolute beast on the ice. Primarily an enforcer, don’t sleep on Kozlov as a playmaker. Also one of the captains of the team, his valuable experience will be important for this young, inexperienced expansion side.
 
He is without doubt the top ranked Center in the team and his team mates will be looking to lean on him hard, especially early in the season. Though he may not end up leading the side in scoring come the end of the season, one thing is for sure, Kozlov is the big name player of this team. He is the the guy right now and until the rest of his team mates catch up to his level he will remain the guy.
 
Maximilian Kirbsson @Kirby
 
The young Swede has done lots of talking to the media prior to the season, and he’s going to be a big focus for the Bulls this upcoming season. Also one of the three captains, Coach Sonnet already seems to be putting a lot of faith in the playmaker.
 
Primarily a playmaker, he has great puck handling skills and has stated this off season that his scoring and defense is now pretty much up their with the rest of his game. It’ll be interesting to see if he gets the chance to line up with Kozlov (perhaps on the wing with Kozlov bashing through the middle). If not then we will likely see Kirbsson head up the fire power in the second line behind Kozlov.
 
Rhys Chism @Jake Levine
 
Signed following the draft, Chism is an interesting prospect. He’s quite green, but he’s shown some real hunger so far and his progress already is pleasing on the eye.
 
There isn’t too much film of him yet but we are hearing from the Bulls camp that Chism has one heck of a shot on him. That leads us to believe he is primarily a scorer but undoubtedly the biggest X Factor he has in his favour is that he is very much an unknown entity. Opponents won’t have much of an idea to gameplan against him.
 
Definitely one to watch!
 
Ludvig Sederstrom @aleks
 
Did somebody say... brothers? In the same team? Wow, kudos Coach Sonnet, that’s awesome!
 
Sederstrom, similar to Chism, doesn’t have to much film to go off of yet but he too has had some big comments coming out of the camp in regards to his ability.
 
He seems to be the more well rounded prospect than Chism so far, but apparently he is not yet as strong of a scorer.
 
A character on and off the ice, it’s going to be really fun seeing him and his brother mix it up in the VHLM this season, and man I don’t know about you guys but I’m itching for that Sederstrom partnership line to be a real thing!
 
 

The Houston Bulls have definitely charged into the VHLm scene through extraordinary free agency acquisitions and expert drafting by their General Manager; Alexander Pepper. The current projected roster shaped out to be like so:
 
FORWARDS:
Griffin - Kozlov - Laughton
Jurri - Chism - Kirbsson
J. Sederstrom - L. Sederstrom - MacElroy
 
DEFENSE:
Gibbles - Sparrow
Radcow - Garcia
 
But the most interesting line that the Bulls have currently is definitely what the locals have dubbed, "the North Sea Express." General Manager Pepper outdid himself with this one by acquiring the Swedish twins in Free Agency, and drafting Callum MacElroy with the final selection in the draft, at 56th, which is looking to be one of the biggest steals of the draft as hes currently made leaps and bounds in the development of his scoring toolkit, improving the velocity of his slapshot from an average of 87mph to a respectable 92mph over the course of the past couple weeks. Hes also worked on the release of his wristshot, causing him to be incredibly dangerous on the dot, in fact, hes gotten so proficient at it that it garnered the attention of the VHL Calgary Wranglers, where he was drafted at 30th overall in the most recent draft. For the next couple seasons though, it looks like he'll be sticking out his VHLm career with the Houston Bulls, where he'll be receiving feeds from our next player...
 
Luvig Sederstrom, being the playmaking center of the group, is looking to be a catalyst to the rookie lineup, with his great passing, skating, and puck handling, will most likely be responsible for zone entry when it comes to transitioning from the defensive zone to the offensive zone. Ludvig can usually be seen in game footage receiving breakout passes from the defence and immediately attempting to get control of Gretzkys Office, allowing him to use his great vision to make the correct play, whether that be teeing it up for MacElroy, or passing it off to his not so identical brother; Joakim Sederstrom.
 
The more stout and small brother of the pair definitely uses his size and speed to his advantage. Despite being a sniper, he is definitely not afraid to use blistering speed with the combination of his strength to dive down the wings and cut into the middle, while having no trouble sniping a shot at high speed placed perfectly in the far high shoulder slot. Joakim is also not afraid to lay the body and put out the physical work of the North Sea Express line, as Ludvig isnt as built, and MacElroy lacks the size, which is something that would normally be desperately needed on the line. Hes more than willing to punch the lights out of anyone who messes with MacElroy or Ludvig.
 
All in all, it looks to be a pretty solid line, and rounds out the new expansion teams top 9, leaving them as serious cup contenders. We were able to get some closing comments from the GM himself"
 
"i knew what i was doing in taking MacElroy- this kid is a sleeper star, and i know he's going to put some effort forth into proving me right. signing the twins was a no brainer- the NHL had the sedins to prove why that kind of chemistry is so important in hockey. putting them together, I feel, is going to bring out the best in every party and help solidify an unstoppable top 9 for us."
-Big Boy Pepper
 
571 words

Name: Callum MacElroy

Age: 18

Birthplace: Edderton, Scotland, United Kingdom

Height: 5’ 7”

Weight: 190 lb

Position: Right Wing

Shoots: Right

“Small size may be cause for concern… Natural goal scorer… Unselfish player, willing to pass... Shows remarkable determination in his play… Needs to improve strength, puckhandling, checking… Too easily separated from the puck… Sees passing lanes where others don’t… Physical play leaves much to be desired… Needs to improve decision making… Ultimately, a small, skilled but flawed winger with a penchant for scoring goals and room for massive improvement.”


 
Strengths

Skating: MacElroy’s top skating speed is nothing special, but he has the ability to reach it in only a few short strides, leaving defensemen behind him with relative ease. He can be easily trusted to carry the puck across the ice, though is more likely to shoot than carry in most circumstances.

Shooting: MacElroy has a varied and deadly selection of shots, his wristshot has deadly accuracy. Combined with his ability to find open ice, this makes MacElroy a constant goal scoring threat that the opposing team must to be careful to cover at all times. His skills are on full display when deployed on the powerplay, where his ability to find the open ice and shoot can be a game breaker.

Defense: MacElroy’s defensive positioning has led him to be a player who can easily and quickly force turnovers in dangerous areas, giving him even more room with which to score. While he remains unlikely to physically separate his opponent from the puck, his ability to open space for a pass adds a dynamic quality to his game. He can also be trusted on the penalty kill, but should not be relied on this area, as this is not his strongest attribute.


 
“Despite MacElroy’s obvious strengths, it’s difficult to overlook that most of his weaknesses come from his size, and he will thus be unlikely to ever overcome them. His small stature lets opposing players easily knock him off the puck, and inhibits his ability to lay a solid check. Despite that, he is still able to improve his puckhandling to increase his skill-based playstyle.”

Weaknesses

Strength: MacElroy’s small stature leads to him being easily separated from the puck, despite his best efforts. He is able to easily get back to his feet following a hit, a skill a player his size must possess, but is likely to lose the puck in the process. His efforts to improve this aspect of his game may impact his overall ability more than any other aspect.

Checking: Another issue arising from the small stature of MacElroy, his physical play leaves much to be desired. It’s difficult for him to land solid hits, and he almost never separates his mark from the puck, instead relying on his ability to force turnovers in order to gain possession.

Puckhandling: MacElroy only has one move to create a scoring opportunity, and once that’s figured out he lacks the puckhandling skills to create new, unique and unexpected ways to open up space for himself to find a shot. While this is a skill he is slowly improving, it must be noted that he just simply lacks a game breaking ability.

+10 for Callum MacElroy

With pick 30, Calgary selects Callum MacElroy
 
 
                       
   
    @GlowyGoat                 
 

Callum MacElroy, the 56th pick of the VHLM draft, recently arrived to his new home: Houston, to begin play in the inaugural season of the Houston Bulls. As a pick so late in the draft, he’s not expected to be much of a player, nor would it be considered any great loss for the Bulls were he to have not shown up in Houston at all. Despite the low expectations, the Scottish-born winger is eager to overperform and make other general managers regret having passed on picking him.

“I think they overlooked some of my skills,” MacElroy said “I’m thrilled to be in Houston, and I fully believe that [Houston GM] Alexander [Pepper] can build success here in Houston.”

When asked how he feels about the city itself, MacElroy was just as enthusiastic with his answer.

“The city definitely seems to be all in on us,” He said, “It’s great to see such a passionate fanbase for such a new team.”

HOUSTON--We have a problem. Or at least Beau Buefordsson does. 
The city of Houston pulled countless strings to bring out the best for the Bulls, one of the VHLM's two new expansion teams. Just short of $700 million was spent on a state-of-the-art arena, connected to a multipurpose facility housing everything from a shopping mall to the Bulls' practice rinks. 
And yet, just a few days after the ribbon was cut on the practice facility and team activities began, the doors were closed, citizens hoping to catch a glimpse of the Bulls' practice were turned away, and there was ribbon up again, this time of the yellow "DO NOT CROSS" variety. And after a day and a half of speculation, the answer has finally been released to the media. 
"When Buefordsson walked into the room," said a member of the team who did not wish for his name to be printed, "I almost threw up." Furthermore, according to this player, "[w]e couldn't even get the smell out after he left. We've just hired a private contractor to replace all the carpeting in the locker room and we also plan on getting the entire thing fumigated. I don't even know how something like this is humanly possible." 
For Buefordsson, as well, things got ugly. "[Houston GM] Alexander [Pepper] chased him out of the building with a sponge and a gallon of bleach. I don't know what happened after that and I'm not sure I want to," said the player. 
Buefordsson has reportedly been ordered to pay for the professional deodorizing of the facility, as well as for an entire year's supply of air fresheners and cleaning equipment. When contacted by the media, both Pepper and Buefordsson declined to comment.