Fire Tortorella

I've had writer's block for about 9 years now!

@eaglesfan036 update your player and earn TPE you noob.

Recruitment Update S92
 
Hello, VHL. I hope everyone is doing good and that you're enjoying the VHL. I know there's been lots of opinions about how the recruitment team has been doing (or not doing) in the past and because of that, I'd like to shine a little light on how things have been going recently. As you all know this season, the VHL recruitment team made significant changes and moves to bolster recruitment efforts league wide. They started off by saying farewell to amazing members like @Subject056 and @N0HBDY who put in time and effort into bringing members into the place. I'd like to thank them for their time and effort. It's a lot of work and it's often thankless. The amount of hours I've put into it each week since joining is fairly high and it's all in hopes to spread the word about how fun the league is and to get members to join. With them saying good bye, @Moon and whoever else was involved in the process ended up bringing in myself and @dlamb. Following our hirings, magic started to happen. Some of it was planned already, some of it wasn't. At the end of the day, I think we've done a great job so far with lots of work and fine tuning left to do. So, what's been done and what's coming?
 
YOUTUBE ADVERTISEMENT. Unless you are living under a rock, you know by now that the VHL took part in a league advertisement through Youtube. You can take a look at the video and advertisement HERE! It happens slightly after the 4 minute mark and has brought in a lot of members. The advertisement went live 4 weeks ago, specifically on January 7, 2024. The video has received over 109,000 views at this time - which is exceptional for the VHL. We've also seen a greta amount of members join since then! Let's take a look at some of the stats:  
User joined from YouTube since then: 
my numbers are likely slightly off. 192 members since then! We've had a few from TikTok, Sister Leagues and all of that fun.
 
REDDIT. A few members have also joined from Reddit and while we've hit a unique snag (apparently you need to talk a SHIT TON on /hockey), we're still on the search and have had some members join the league. @dlamb has been one of the mains attacking Reddit right now and has done a good job doing so. Furthering, I think because of their activity and account on there, they're also one of the most equipped to do so. As the seasons go on, we'll be looking at ways to make sure we're making the most out of the Reddit Hockey and more community.  
TIKTOK. The VHL is on the Tiktok and this has kind of become my baby. While we've only seen 2-3 members join from Tiktok so far (which I'm honestly pumped about), for me right now it's all about growing the followers at the moment. Every day it seems as though we're growing quickly. As I look right now, we're sitting at 438 followers - most of them being hockey related accounts and few of them being recognizable from the VHL. Every day I'm on there, mass following those who follow hockey, NHL 24 or anything somewhat similar in hope they'll follow us back. @Triller has been making those neat videos you seen on there and we hopefully will have more in store in the future. If you can make videos and want to be part of this, hop on board and reach out to me. I'd love to see what we can do here. The platform is huge and the sky is the limit. It's free for us! This is our community and it's a growing one!  
WHAT IS TO COME?
A lot is in store. We're thinking about a few things that we can do to have a constant stream of members coming in but as some of us know, in order for them to be consistent, we have to always be consistent. Again, it's often a thankless role but I've been very appreciate of those who have offered words of support, kindness and even help with retention. Afterall, as you can tell, retention might now be part of the issue. I've said it in the past and will continue to echo it. People complain about recruitment, but when it happens, very few of those who were crying were nowhere to be seen when it came time to retain these members - welcome them, help them and fire them DM's. It seems if you don't reach out to them while they're initially on, they're most likely gone. Some have no hope in hell. It's not their thing or whatever, but as we've learned from the amazing members who have stuck around, it's possible. 
 
HELP WANTED, APPLY HERE!

We've gotten some awesome standings content on tiktok but are wanting to diverse what we post and really show people what the VHL is all about. If you have any ideas about videos or content we can create and post, please throw a comment below. The think tank is working behind the scenes in the recruitment discord, but we'd appreciate all the help we can get. ALSO, if anyone has video creating skills and can make content for us on a weekly to every so often basis, please let me know. It can count towards you 6 weekly and all of that fun jazz for start and maybe we can talk other things. I'm not the one to hire or pay TPE etc, but surely you'd be able to submit it (if good enough) as a weekly graphic etc. 
 
I'm sure there's some things I'm missing, but that's kind of been what's going on right now for recruitment. The activity and discussion in there is almost daily, certainly every week a sufficient amount of effort is going into things. I can't speak for anyone as I don't know what they're doing behind the scenes, but I'm daily on the TikTok and retention grind and have seen awesome efforts from the teams through discussions and posts from them! 
 
Claiming weeks:
Ending 11th (double week, player store purchase)
Ending 18th
 

Yes this was supposed to included but I ran out of time and hit 500 words. The every team gets a rep part, not necessarily the league figuring it out.

1) I dont really know i've just been tuning the guy out to be honest. As long as we keep up our effort level I think we can keep the momentum going. 
 
2) Obviously I'd love to win the Cup as I've never won it with any of my past players
 
3) Yeah I seem to have picked up the nickname Snowhead. It all comes from my typical shenanigan of throwing snowballs at my teammates heads during practices. 
 
4) Fries and gravy is odd to some people. Idk I thought Kraft Dinner and Ketchup was gross but I tried it and it ain't bad. 
 
5) Warhammer Fantasy
 
6)I don't remember it's been years. Must at least of been before 2017 because I was gifted a voucher for a free movie dated 2017 that I still haven't collected yet. In all reality I don't watch many movies and when I do I'd just rather be in the comfort of my own home and not have to deal with people or commuting. That and if I want to pause for a bathroom break or smoke break I can.

You’re looking at the back to back, 2x tier two winner of the Christmas Lottery Draw. I have so many people to thank, but mainly just Bek for drawing my name both times. I believe last year I hadn’t purchased the Donation yet, but this year I get to use it as a double donation. As a member that has donated in almost every season I’ve had an active player, it’s nice to get this reward. NYA is looking to be back on track after a kiss of life from @Gaikoku-hito. We’ve been playing better, however the majority of our wins and even OTL are because of 36W. We will look to be buyers at the deadline and I can’t wait to get our team cooking in time for playoffs. That is the goal for now, once we get in I think we are a scary matchup for every team. Been quite a busy week for me. Just seems like last min wedding prep has been crazy - along with the two kids and some illness coming through the house. Was nice to watch football all day today since my daughter had the chance to see Taylor Swift so allowed me to use the big screen. Chiefs win, means I get to watch the Super Bowl!

Another week has gone by and for this week’s Around the League in 500 words I’d like to talk about some VHL, VHLE, And VHLM Tough Guys and killers and maybe some other random stuff before I head off to Phoenix and enjoy some sun after endless freezing temps and non-stop rain of late.   So Here weeeeee GOOOOOO! 
 
 
VHL TOUGH GUYS
Make no mistake; I love checking my box scores and seeing my player has gotten into a fight.  It adds a little spice to the box score, and I know some people could care less but I enjoy it.  I think it adds to rivalries and wish there was more of it.  
 
In the VHL there are currently some bruisers, but I think the overall beast of the league is Prague’s John Jameson @Frank.  JJ does just about everything a team could ask for, hits, fights, and scores.  4 straight seasons with over 40 goals and despite ageing he maintains a physical game and has dropped the mitts 5 times already this season, which leads the league.  JJ also leads the league in hits with 148 and PIMS with 131 (in just 35 games).  JJ could be on pace for a 300 hit and 260 PIM season.  
 
Other VHL Beasts:
Fradin McGryer @Fradin99(RIG) – 4 fighting majors – 96 PIM – 108 hits
Callum Gary Yannick Janser- @Daniel Janser- 3 fighting majors- 101 PIM- 121 hits.
Phil Strasmore @PhilPhil- 101 PIM- 109 hits (1449 Career PIMS)
Alfred Champagne @Anthique- 81 PIM – 141 hits (2 straight season with over 200 PM)
Diego Machado @Dadam30- 4 fighting majors 48 PIM
Mason Rice @Sawyer13- 4 fighting majors (2 wins) – 60 PIM – 101 hits.
 
VHLE TOUGHS
In the E I’d have to say the tough guy award must go to Stockholm’s behemoth defenseman, Guntis Gavilrovs @Girts.  This towering player is not only over a point per game but he’s leading the league in hits (165) and PIMS (98).  Guntis and Oslo’s forward, Logan Ninefinger has a huge rivalry going but have yet to drop the mitts.  Every time they match up it’s an exciting sight to watch.
 
Other VHLE tough guys
Adi Dassler @BOOM-  3 fighting majors- 37 PIM- 77 hits
Logan Ninefingers-  2 fighting majors- 50 PIM- 105 hits
Jussi Jokinenegg @HearnNation67- 4 fighting majors (leads league) 
 
 
VHLM TOUGHS
In the minor leagues I would have to give the tough guy tribute to San Diego Marlin’s big defenseman, Billy Joel @The goat of hockey.  605 and 235 pounds he is patrolling the blue line and crushing opposing players with 100 hits in 34 games.  62 minutes in the sin bin and has 2 fighting majors, tied for the league lead.  
 
Notable other toughs:
Cody Toland @ctoland102- 65 PIM -106 hits
WWumbo @Fire Tortorella.   -62 PIM 101 hits
Dustin Moore @Maxx.  – 57 PIM 106 hits
 
Well, there you have it.  It will be interesting to see where these players end up at the end of the season and who will continue with an aggressive build.  
 
I would like to pose a question???  Do you think there should be a tough guy trophy of some kind in each league? What would it be called? 
 
Also, does anyone see the benefit of creating an enforcer in the league?  Does it benefit a team in anyway? Or only hurt them?  
 
Have a good weekend. 
 
550

Welcome to WEEK 3 of updated power rankings where I spend the first 50 words explaining how this works for a bit. Firstly, all additions and losses are based on who was in the lineup as of the January 26th sims. Some players may have been signed, released, or traded since that point in time and thus were not considered in the new ranks or scores. Also, it may seem confusing but a team's score increasing does NOT necessarily mean an increase in rank. Every team has multiple players earning so they will mostly be increasing in score. Also, some teams may add players to the lineup but decrease in score, this is most likely the result of reducing the playing time of their best players. Last note, this data was collected before the week cutoff so some players have their TPE for this week while others do not. On each line of ranks and scores the first number represents the present and the number in parenthesis shows the change from last week. Enjoy the rankings!!! 



Standings: 10th; 8-28-0; 16pts; -67 GDiff
Overall Rank: 10th (EV)
Overall Score: 20.75 (-8.80)
Forwards Rank: 10th (EV)
Forwards Score: 34.17 (-0.44)
Defensemen Rank: 10th (-2)
Defensemen Score: -9.85 (-27.05)
Goalies Rank: 8th (-1)
Goalies Score: 41.70 (EV)
Additions: G Owen Beckel @HockeyFan4Life, RW Marek Nowaczyk @Chillybro, RW Armas Jortikka @Kavadar
Losses: None



Standings: 9th; 12-21-3; 27pts; -23 GDiff
Overall Rank: 9th (-1)
Overall Score: 32.27 (-3.12)
Forwards Rank: 8th (-2)
Forwards Score: 41.93 (+0.26)
Defensemen Rank: 9th (EV)
Defensemen Score: 5.40 (-11.00)
Goalies Rank: 9th (EV)
Goalies Score: 35.80 (+2.50)
Additions: D Carson Tripp @Cartripp14, LW Connor simard @Alex99, C Braydon Emmell @Elyctre
Losses: D Sylvia Davis, LW Mike Tylerson



Standings: 8th; 12-21-3; 27pts; -33 GDiff
Overall Rank: 8th (+1)
Overall Score: 30.18 (+2.67)
Forwards Rank: 7th (+2)
Forwards Score: 37.60 (+4.57)
Defensemen Rank: 8th (+2)
Defensemen Score: 13.50 (EV)
Goalies Rank: 7th (+1)
Goalies Score: 41.30 (+2.3)
Additions: C Anthony Vincens @Anthony, LW Hunter s @Hunter S
Losses: None



Standings: 7th; 14-18-4; 32pts; -11 GDiff
Overall Rank: 7th (EV)
Overall Score: 38.98 (+0.33)
Forwards Rank: 6th (-1)
Forwards Score: 44.23 (+1.33)
Defensemen Rank: 6th (EV)
Defensemen Score: 32.50 (-1.50)
Goalies Rank: 10th (EV)
Goalies Score: 35.20 (+1.00)
Additions: D Blaze Thunderstrike @eaglesfan036, D Joey Mininni @Joey Mininni
Losses: None

 

Standings: 2nd; 24-10-2; 50pts; +34 GDiff
Overall Rank: 6th (-2)
Overall Score: 46.03 (-2.08)
Forwards Rank: 2nd (-1)
Forwards Score: 62.87 (+0.40)
Defensemen Rank: 7th (EV)
Defensemen Score: 22.55 (-7.95)
Goalies Rank: 6th (EV)
Goalies Score: 43.70 (+2.20)
Additions: None
Losses: None



Standings: 6th; 20-14-2; 42pts; +1 GDiff
Overall Rank: 5th (-2)
Overall Score: 47.72 (+0.27)
Forwards Rank: 9th (-1)
Forwards Score: 36.70 (-1.40)
Defensemen Rank: 3rd (-1)
Defensemen Score: 48.10 (+1.40)
Goalies Rank: 1st (EV)
Goalies Score: 80.00 (+3.00)
Additions: RW Corey Perry Jr @Yamo, LW Owen two @do3bo1, D Pelle Granell @pern
Losses: RW Rustin Cohle



Standings: 4th; 20-10-6; 46pts; +23 GDiff
Overall Rank: 4th (-2)
Overall Score: 48.10 (+0.40)
Forwards Rank: 5th (-1)
Forwards Score: 45.27 (+0.07)
Defensemen Rank: 4th (-1)
Defensemen Score: 46.60 (+0.80)
Goalies Rank: 3rd (EV)
Goalies Score: 59.60 (EV)
Additions: RW Oliver Loo @Peiffy
Losses: None



Standings: 1st; 27-7-2; 56pts; +42 GDiff
Overall Rank: 3rd (+3)
Overall Score: 48.92 (+3.79)
Forwards Rank: 4th (+3)
Forwards Score: 45.33 (+4.93)
Defensemen Rank: 5th (EV)
Defensemen Score: 39.10 (+1.20)
Goalies Rank: 2nd (EV)
Goalies Score: 79.30 (+5.50)
Additions: None
Losses: LW Sam Lindgren



Standings: 5th; 21-12-3; 45pts; +13 GDiff
Overall Rank: 2nd (+3)
Overall Score: 51.27 (+5.89)
Forwards Rank: 3rd (EV)
Forwards Score: 50.37 (+3.60)
Defensemen Rank: 2th (+2)
Defensemen Score: 48.85 (+8.45)
Goalies Rank: 4th (+1)
Goalies Score: 56.80 (+7.60)
Additions: C Bolor Khan @Bolor Khan, C Micah Cederbaum @MicahC, D Bufert T Smustice @Crummer77
Losses: None



Standings: 3rd; 22-11-3; 47pts; +21 GDiff
Overall Rank: 1st (EV)
Overall Score: 61.10 (+6.65)
Forwards Rank: 1st (+1)
Forwards Score: 67.43 (+11.40)
Defensemen Rank: 1st (EV)
Defensemen Score: 55.10 (+2.85)
Goalies Rank: 5th (-1)
Goalies Score: 54.10 (EV)
Additions: G Da TypThond @Erik
Losses: None

 Shoutout to all of the players in the VHLM that are improving at a great rate and making their teams the best they can be. Here is every player who grew by 5+ individual score this past week:
D Wladyslaw Mintus @mintusaurus
 LW Forum Content @frescoelmo
 G ryeley michel bias @logQ
 RW Annie Oaks @Noodle Enjoyer
 LW Aanarsi Reingaard @Laine
 D WWumbo @Fire Tortorella
 D Billy Joel @The goat of hockey
 D Solano Gavriello @Louie_Z
 D Gul Dukat @MSouthworth
 G Jorgen Lovstrom @Pifferfish
 G Piotr Kupczak @Tatertot33
 C Walter Jinn @Adrest245
 G Herald Benson @Benson
 G Ondrej Vencko @Mutti
 D Lucy Leitner @LucyXpher
 D Benjamin Abenduct @Schnee
 LW Chris Reynolds Jr @Crstats23
 RW Dylan Boland @shadowbloxgame
 RW Trimiskez Artav @jake
 C Tyler Lawson @Nyx
 RW Elle Aura Ashe @Lynersify
 D Harjen Van Araken @VaderTheTater

Good luck to all of the players in the "Additions" categories and thank you to all the players just mentioned for your strong contributions to the competitive success of your franchises!  

It was Kesler at the time and @Jericho figured it out because I believe Kesler told him it for some reason.  
 
The password I’m pretty sure was just his username (Kesler). 

This one was gone before my time. The other one is still great though even if it's having to be explained more and more these days.

It was $1 you scrub

It was $1 you scrub

It was $1 you scrub

1. Put me on the first line
2. I'm old, my first player was in S7 won a Continental Cup in S11 and haven't won it since, been cursed ever since going even to what 4 straight finals appearences with Moscow and losing all of them. 
3. I'm not sure I don't pay that much attention to what's going on to offer any real insight. 
4. My younger self was wrong thinking that "quitting smoking can't be that hard just stop and you know mind over matter and dont be a pussy and you'll do just fine" It took me almost 6 years to finally quit smoking lol
5.Went skating in the woods on a frozen wetland area we shovelled a path on. 
6.Cold. You can always layer up. With the heat there's only so many layers to remove and having to be wet all the time from sweat or just having to cool off is just gross. Nobody likes swamp nuts. 

Review:
A good introduction to the top 7 goalies of the VHLM. It's always interesting to see how much a top team carries a goaler versus a top goalie carrying the team. A different era, but one of my previous goalies finished with under a .900 save percentage but still had one of the lower goals against averages in the league. Would be interesting to see a comparison done between now and the end of the season on how these story lines change. Also, if you weren't aware, you can use the "@" sign and then the members name to tag the member and alert them that their player is mentioned.

#SethKnew

Well, 10,390th.. I've been subtley keeping track of when I would hit this milestone after seeing that I would hit it with Analfist, my 9th player. I thought about doing a full media spot, but I doubt anyone really wants to read about each of my players. So this is what the timeline looks like, and how I reached 10,000 TPE...
 
S30 - Ethan Osborne 1212 TPE
S38 - Jake Wylde 1116 TPE
S48 - Unassisted 1249 TPE
S52 - Rhett DeGrath 1286 TPE
S57 - Ike Arkander 772 TPE
S60 - Bryce Zhields 281 TPE
S69 - Benny Graves 1520 TPE
S78 - Hard Markinson 1786 TPE
S88 - S.nubbed Analfist 1166 TPE
 
Kind of crazy to see it typed out. I've been super fortunate in having players that have done well in the sim, but obviously earning at a max rate does help. Shoutout to all the members that I played with/for during this time. What a wild ride. It's really crazy to think I hit Wylde's TPE already with my current player, but obviously these were different times. I still hate that I went inactive with Zhields, but it was right during the time of my first kid, and just going through a lot of things personally that took me away from the league for a bit. In my head I was always away for much longer than what I actually was. Technically, if I had played out that career, Graves would have been created the same time organically. It's hard to say what my favorite player has been, I've had so many different experiences. I am excited to play out my career and then hopefully recreate for the S100 class with my 10th player - which will be an ode to my first player and my son who was born on the 10th and it was my hockey number growing up.
 
Anyways, this is what 10,000 TPE looks like. I'm sure there are a few other members that have this like OD, CIA, BOOM, Bek, Frank, Phil, and probably more?

Review: Enjoyed the interview and the bit about Chipotle - will expand on that later. This was a good article introducing your player to the greater VHL community and the graphic work fits in very well, especially since I think the Chipotle hockey jersey was something you created? Overall, just a very solid and entertaining article - hopefully the first of many to come! Wishing you the best of luck - except when you play Ottawa!
 
About Chipotle - had a location open up about 5 minutes from my house and was extremely excited. This was about 3 months ago. Unfortunately, this might be the worst run fast food location I've ever seen. At some point in time, this location has run out of rice, guac, chips, fajita veggies, and lettuce. There is a hilarious google review where someone ordered a salad and wasn't told they were out of lettuce and received everything included in a salad except for the lettuce.

I'm back! After taking a 2 year hiatus (at least - pretty sure my actual activity slowed down way before then anyway), we're gonna see how this goes. The days of me being a top TPE earner are long gone, but I'm gonna have some fun with this player. "The meta" is gone and I'm just throwing around TPE willy-nilly in these new attributes, but I'm looking to make more of a two-way defenseman this time than my usual offensive defenseman. That reminds me - I don't think I've created a forward in....5 years? Was Robin my last forward? I legitimately have no idea, but I can't think who else it would have been. So what have I been up to? @eaglesfan036 and I have entered the world of competitive CHEL. He runs an ITHL team with family members and friends we've made along the way and both of us play in LG. I'm down in the CHL for my second full season, though I'm pretty sure I could have at least been in the ECHL if I really wanted to. Eags made it to the big leagues this year but pretty sure he enjoyed his time in the AHL much more.

I'm back! After taking a 2 year hiatus (at least - pretty sure my actual activity slowed down way before then anyway), we're gonna see how this goes. The days of me being a top TPE earner are long gone, but I'm gonna have some fun with this player. "The meta" is gone and I'm just throwing around TPE willy-nilly in these new attributes, but I'm looking to make more of a two-way defenseman this time than my usual offensive defenseman. That reminds me - I don't think I've created a forward in....5 years? Was Robin my last forward? I legitimately have no idea, but I can't think who else it would have been. So what have I been up to? @eaglesfan036 and I have entered the world of competitive CHEL. He runs an ITHL team with family members and friends we've made along the way and both of us play in LG. I'm down in the CHL for my second full season, though I'm pretty sure I could have at least been in the ECHL if I really wanted to. Eags made it to the big leagues this year but pretty sure he enjoyed his time in the AHL much more.

I'm back! After taking a 2 year hiatus (at least - pretty sure my actual activity slowed down way before then anyway), we're gonna see how this goes. The days of me being a top TPE earner are long gone, but I'm gonna have some fun with this player. "The meta" is gone and I'm just throwing around TPE willy-nilly in these new attributes, but I'm looking to make more of a two-way defenseman this time than my usual offensive defenseman. That reminds me - I don't think I've created a forward in....5 years? Was Robin my last forward? I legitimately have no idea, but I can't think who else it would have been. So what have I been up to? @eaglesfan036 and I have entered the world of competitive CHEL. He runs an ITHL team with family members and friends we've made along the way and both of us play in LG. I'm down in the CHL for my second full season, though I'm pretty sure I could have at least been in the ECHL if I really wanted to. Eags made it to the big leagues this year but pretty sure he enjoyed his time in the AHL much more.

Oh duh - my sig is for John LeClair II - so I guess I did make another forward!

I'm back! After taking a 2 year hiatus (at least - pretty sure my actual activity slowed down way before then anyway), we're gonna see how this goes. The days of me being a top TPE earner are long gone, but I'm gonna have some fun with this player. "The meta" is gone and I'm just throwing around TPE willy-nilly in these new attributes, but I'm looking to make more of a two-way defenseman this time than my usual offensive defenseman. That reminds me - I don't think I've created a forward in....5 years? Was Robin my last forward? I legitimately have no idea, but I can't think who else it would have been. So what have I been up to? @eaglesfan036 and I have entered the world of competitive CHEL. He runs an ITHL team with family members and friends we've made along the way and both of us play in LG. I'm down in the CHL for my second full season, though I'm pretty sure I could have at least been in the ECHL if I really wanted to. Eags made it to the big leagues this year but pretty sure he enjoyed his time in the AHL much more.

Player Information
Username: Fire Fletcher
Player Name: WWumbo
Recruited From: Returning
Age: 50
Position: D
Height: 73 in.
Weight: 195 lbs.
Birthplace: United States of America

Player Page
@VHLM GM

I forgive you - I came back two days ago!