Fire Tortorella

:anderson:

The year just hasn’t started out like the Warsaw Predator’s believed it would.  Lack of scoring and some costly defensive errors have the team struggling from the back half of the division.  Now, to add to their misery several players were involved in an off-ice brawl that has team GM Dlamb scratching his head but also praising the team’s closeness.
 
After a tough loss to Moscow, Dlamb @dlambhad ordered a team curfew only to be rebuked by team goalie Wumbo @Fire Fletcher and defensemen Tavish Degroot @Rory and Brian Payne.  After a team investigation they learned that the trio had snuck out and attended a Warsaw night club known to be frequented by a “rough” crowd.  
 
Reports are still coming in from police, but we’ve learned that several patrons were mocking team rookie Brian Payne for his struggling play recently.  This is when all hell broke loose.  It is rumored that Wumbo and DeGroot (already known for off-ice antics) came flying in, punching the mouthy patron.  The bleeding patron’s friends quickly came to his aid and Payne, DeGroot, and Wumbo made short work of the drunken group.  
 
Ambulances and Police arrived and found the three Predator’s players laughing and drinking in the corner of the bar with the bloodied patrons’ girlfriends.  All three were arrested but released after bail was posted. The only injury suffered on the Predators was a tooth had to be removed from DeGroot’s right hand.  He told the hospital that he wanted to keep the tooth as a good luck charm for the season.     
 
Team GM was contacted and said, “well, I’m not thrilled with their behavior tonight, but I am thrilled they stood up for each other and fought as a team.  Now we just need to do that on the ice.  I will deal with them internally and won’t comment on it further.” 
 
But that’s not all that happened.  Just two days later after a team practice Wumbo, DeGroot, and Payne were involved in another altercation at a smoothie bar in town when they ran into some visiting Helsinki Titan players in town for the next game.  Words were exchanged and then fists with Titan players, Nico Pearce, Flynn Remy, and Milan Dvorak.  
 
Police were called and the two groups (both bleeding) were escorted away.  Team GM Dlamb again was contacted and said he was at a loss for words.  “It stands to reason why DeGroot and Payne are so high on the PIMS board and they seem to carry that aggressiveness wherever they go.  However, I am not upset they stood together and that is what I want from my two Dmen.  I do not want Wumbo hurt though so I will be having a talk with him.”  
 
Later that night the hatred spilled over on the ice when the visiting Titans played the Preds. At 1:56 of the first period Nico Pearce and Payne dropped the gloves and had a spirited brawl at center ice.  This was the spark the team needed as they edged out the Titans 4-1 Wumbo only allowed 1 goal on 28 shots and the team played great on both ends of the ice.  
 
We look forward to the next game between these two rivals as the hatred is there for some exciting games. 
 
 

 
 

It's 99 on Tuesday. That's 25 degrees too hot.
 
 
National sales conference for work (insurance)....nothing exciting.

I have to travel to Scottsdale, AZ for 4 days next week for a 2 day conference - Monday and Thursday are essentially washes for travel days. These things are always a giant waste of time - 75% of it could be done virtually or just isn't important. It's exacerbated by the fact that one of my colleagues is on vacation until the beginning of May and I'm they're primary back up - it was going to be hard enough to not fall too far behind for losing essentially 4 days next week, but I'm going to have to basically just ignore this person's work except for the absolute emergencies, which won't be fun for them to come back to. I've already spoken to management about this and they understand and agree with my assessment/plan.
 
I've been getting into play competitive 6v6 EASHL leagues for about a year now and it's still very fun - easily the most fun I've had playing this game mode since it came out in NHL 09.
 
I'm relatively certain the house across the street from me is selling for at least $75k higher than I paid for mine in Jan 2021, which is nice.

I have to travel to Scottsdale, AZ for 4 days next week for a 2 day conference - Monday and Thursday are essentially washes for travel days. These things are always a giant waste of time - 75% of it could be done virtually or just isn't important. It's exacerbated by the fact that one of my colleagues is on vacation until the beginning of May and I'm they're primary back up - it was going to be hard enough to not fall too far behind for losing essentially 4 days next week, but I'm going to have to basically just ignore this person's work except for the absolute emergencies, which won't be fun for them to come back to. I've already spoken to management about this and they understand and agree with my assessment/plan.
 
I've been getting into play competitive 6v6 EASHL leagues for about a year now and it's still very fun - easily the most fun I've had playing this game mode since it came out in NHL 09.
 
I'm relatively certain the house across the street from me is selling for at least $75k higher than I paid for mine in Jan 2021, which is nice.

Lots of really cool shit happening in people's lives, mine is arguably less exciting but I can manage.
 
School is a constant, and will be for a while. My grades are fine, I got a 93 average I think, and taking math and french courses a grade up. Exams are within a month or two, and I can predict I won't have much time for VHL for maybe a two week period there. Until then, and after then, I will be here. 
 
Hockey is interesting. I'm entering my U16 year, which is my OHL draft year, and some of my friends are keen on getting picked. I played AA (second best level) last year, on one of the best teams in the province, and a lot of my teammates have left to play for AAA (top level) teams. The issue is, most teams, especially in the OHL-factory of the GTHL, have already filled out their rosters. I considered going to a very weak AAA team in another center, but I figured that the advantage of being seen by OHL scouts would be diminished by being pummeled by powerhouses all year and the center is not close. I also went to a few skates for the AAA team in my center, but they have informed me that I will not be making the team. So I think my best bet at this point is to put together a dominant AA season and hopefully make U17 AAA once I grow and mature physically a bit, then ideally play Junior A then at either an American or Canadian university. It's a pipe dream right now, but I've moved my goals past the OHL and onto the NCAA, which I guess is better for late-blooming players. I'll ultimately just go as far as I can.
 
Yeah, that's pretty much it. School and hockey make up most of my life right now. I do plan to ask for tickets to the Red Hot Chili Peppers this summer for my birthday, when they come to Toronto. 

Well, pre-season is here! It's nice to have some games that actually (kind of) matter, especially given we as a league need to test out the new attributes. We had two pre-season games and went 2-0. The first game was kind of interesting in that we had 60 something shots. I don't know if Malmo is supposed to be good or not, but I was a little worried seeing that many shots in a single game. The second game was 30ish-20ish shots, which is much more of what we're used to. Goalies should be interesting this season. @CowboyinAmericadid a nice fan590 about how few high TPE goalies there are this season and how few there will be in the next couple of seasons. The funny thing is I remember back in the 30s or 40s or so there was a theory by some teams/GMs that cap space/assets were better allocated elsewhere and you only needed a roughly 500 TPE goalie to be a contender. Granted, this was under a different salary cap and a different TPE scale, so you can't make an apples to apples comparison to today, but it's just interesting to see the ebbs and flows of the league "metas" across the years.

Well, pre-season is here! It's nice to have some games that actually (kind of) matter, especially given we as a league need to test out the new attributes. We had two pre-season games and went 2-0. The first game was kind of interesting in that we had 60 something shots. I don't know if Malmo is supposed to be good or not, but I was a little worried seeing that many shots in a single game. The second game was 30ish-20ish shots, which is much more of what we're used to. Goalies should be interesting this season. @CowboyinAmericadid a nice fan590 about how few high TPE goalies there are this season and how few there will be in the next couple of seasons. The funny thing is I remember back in the 30s or 40s or so there was a theory by some teams/GMs that cap space/assets were better allocated elsewhere and you only needed a roughly 500 TPE goalie to be a contender. Granted, this was under a different salary cap and a different TPE scale, so you can't make an apples to apples comparison to today, but it's just interesting to see the ebbs and flows of the league "metas" across the years.

Back in December I told you all that if we achieved $3000 or more in the charity drive I would stream Zoo Tycoon 2 Ultimate for you all. It may have taken 4 months but I am finally making due on that promise. If you all read the off season schedule carefully you’ll know that tonight is the night for that stream! 
 
I’m not sure how long it’ll be but I’m aiming for at least 3 hours starting at 6:30pm EST (which is 7:30 for me). I’m making this topic in advance just so people can discuss and so people have a quick and easy place to get the link when I go live. Unless I decide to switch over to the league YT channel that link will be:
 
https://twitch.tv/beketov_vhl
 
I warn you all now that it’ll probably be a bit of a shit show since I need to remember how to play but we’ll have fun together so so hope to see chat popping and everyone having a good time. I’ll see you all in a few hours.

The Goalieacolypse is Here
 
A few months ago I wrote about the upcoming goalie dilemma facing many VHL teams. Thanks to a banner S75 goalie draft class, there was a dearth of newly created goalies over the following couple of seasons, resulting in very few active goalies between the S76 and S78 draft classes. As a result, it meant that when those S75 draftees retired, there wouldn't be too many high TPE goalies left over.
 
My friends, we are here. Welcome to the Show.
 

 
That's your top 10 goalies in TPA entering the regular season - just eight goalies above 500 TPA in the entire league (once Utonium applies TPE) and just four above the 650 TPA mark. Three of the top four, including myself, are just entering their third VHL season by virtue of playing in the VHLE. A player in his second season will likely be fifth in goalie TPA by the time we hit the playoffs. Recent draft pick Brandt Fuhr is 13th and could be top ten by the end of the season. There's almost total turnover at the top of the goalie rankings from just last year.
 
And there's an added level of intrigue that I couldn't have seen coming when I originally wrote about the goalie dilemma: This may be one of the most important seasons for goalies in VHL history. Thanks to the new updating attributes, it's assumed that scoring will be down across the board, with the advantage swinging back towards defense and goalies. How big of a difference can a top goalie make in the new paradigm? I'm very excited to find out.
 
This is going to level off in a few seasons when the crop of S82, 83 and 84 goalies come into their primes. But for now, it's going to make for an interesting season or two; you can guarantee that at least two teams with sub-500 TPE goalies to start the season will make the VHL playoffs. And it'll be fun to track what this means for stats and awards as the season progresses.
 

Well this is all new to me.  I have never joined something like this.  Don't really know what I am doing.  Just got recruited by someone I know who has been in the league for a couple years.  Have no clue what I am doing but was told that I should write 500 words to get some TPE.  Honestly don't even really know what TPE is but I know that I want it.   As I tend to be obsessive about games I expect that I will be taking over shortly.  So expect that i will be the best writer in the league, I will gather the most TPE and will build my character to be the best.  As I like hockey I also expect that i will try to build this character to be the strongest it can be.  The plan is to be a high offense winger who can equally score and set up teammates.  If that doesn't work out I will focus on becoming the leader in penalty minutes. Have to be good at something or there is no point
 
So I have been told that at this point i am to expect that people will reach out and that i will try to get a contract for a team.  At this point 2 people have reached out, not sure exactly what i need to do with them but i will read what they have to say and decide what i am going to do.  All i know is that i want to get in and start showing what Molly the Cat can do.  Now that i have gotten all this out I am going to start discussing things from the player perspective so you can get to know Molly the Cat.
 
Hey VHL, Molly the Cat here.  Looking forward to being picked up by a team shortly and getting some great playing time.  To my future teammates, look forward to getting on the ice and showing what I can do.  Molly the cat has been working hard to grow as a player.  I have a whole career ahead of me.  Hockey is my life,  and i plan on giving it my all, taking this league by storm and winning many awards.  The other thing you will learn is that I am more than just talk, I will show you with my stats what i can do.  So you should expect shortly that you will see my first goal, followed by my first hat trick.  Yes i said it, i am going to be the offensive powerhouse taking the VHL to new scoring heights.
 
Heard that i missed the draft, those of you who got picked count yourself lucky, if i was around you may not have been chosen.  But I get free agency, the frenzy has already begun.  (I actually expect it is because some teams are desperate for anything with a pulse) Within the next couple days I am going to choose a team that can give me top lines minutes, allow me to play my heart out and become the generational talent that i am meant to be.  
 
So this is me finishing this first posting.  Look forward to my future reviews of my games, reviews of the league and reviews of the other teams.
 
550 words, claiming week of April 17 (was told to write this)

So apparently this is actually Part 7 - I skipped Part 6 last week - whoops! Warsaw seems like we're going to be having a fun season and a fun locker room. I only half looked at the LR last season, but the locker room so far has been active with some conversation each day. Hm, more VHL content....no controversies I think recently? None that I can think of. Can the season start already? I know I hard on this every week but it's been forever since I've been in a competitive game. If you could bring back any previous VHL member, who would it be? Leave a comment below. @Squidward if that counts as gone but if not it would be @Will or @Squinty Here's another question - what is/was more important to league growth and the overall health of the league: Discord or the portal? My answer would be the portal - the ease of updating and actually getting your updates into the sim instantaneously is huge. For those who don't know, back in the day, your attributes in the sim would maybe be updated twice - sometimes at the trade deadline and always at the beginning of the playoffs. This was an entirely manual process and you had to double check everything.

Wow this off season seems so long!!!!!   As I am anxious for the start of my VHL career I still feel so behind in TPE so the off-season seemed to help out a bit for me.  The one glaring obvious thing for me that this off season makes it very difficult to find something interesting (for me) to write about for my much needed 6 TPE. 
 
First, I’d like to chat about the recent draft.  My good friend and fellow defenseman, Jake Thunder @Thunder was picked 19th overall in the VHL by Davos and 9th overall in the VHLE by Oslo.  I was excited for him, and I look forward to fighting him every time Warsaw plays Davos when he makes it up to the show after next season.   I was also happy he was drafted by my former and first ever GM JB123.  JB helped me navigate my rookie season in the M with the San Diego Marlins.  Without his help I would probably still only have 100 TPE.  Congrats Thunder!  
 
Next, I want to chat about my team the Warsaw Predators.  With the some great moves by Dlamb we have some super studs in house to hopefully battle for the Cup this season.  Lets take a look at the team:
 
Forwards: 
 
Brendan Marner @MetalToday, Zach Kisslinger II @Kisslinger, and Bogdan Trunov @qripllall lead the team with over 700 TPE each.  These three beasts combined for an amazing 141 goals last and 357 points.  On a special note close to my heart Marner had an amazing 310 hits as well.  
 
Next comes Brian Moreau @weekz, Omi Aberg @osens, Robert Wilk @Tomat0, and rookie sensation Girts Galvins @Girts with between 400-556 TPE.   Between these three they amassed 131 goals and 310 points total.  Having played with Girts last season I can only imagine the numbers he will put up when paired with any of this teams 6 other forwards. 
 
Defense:
 
Hari Singh Nalwa @Dil, Tavish DeGroot @rory Rory, and Brian Payne.  Hari has a total of 847 TPE (a number I would murder for).  The massive 608 250Lb D-man won the Cup in S81 with the Vancouver Wolves and we hope that we can give him another one this year as a Predator.  With 20 goals and 69 assists in his last season this phenom will fit in nicely with the offensive talent in front of him.
 
Tavish DeGroot.  I had the opportunity to play with Degroot in San Diego in the M during our rookie seasons.  He tore up the league and played with a backpack full of sandpaper.  Hits, goals, fights he could do it all.  A testament to his talent and TPE earning prowess he made the jump directly to the VHL.  
 
Brian Payne- Well I am writing this, and I would love to say I had the resumes of the above listed players. But I sadly do not (yet).  I will be a good teammate and depth forward until I can get my TPE up to some decent levels.  I am hoping my build helps the team win some games and compete for a championship.  
 
Goalie:
 
Nothing more to say that WUMBO @Fire Fletcher. He’s a great teammate that played on a struggling Oslo team last season.  Despite that he held an Impressive .910 save percentage on a whopping 1470 shots against in a very tough league.  With a solid defensive team in front of him I am pumped to see what he can do.  
 
GM:
 
Last but not least is team GM -DLAMB @dlamb.  In my short time in the club Dlamb has shown he is willing to make moves to help the club win now.  With him at the helm I see good things for the club this year.  
 
 

I think we should go back to S35 in every way possible just for the current league to experience the old league.

I think we should go back to S35 in every way possible just for the current league to experience the old league.

Well, Warsaw moved up to 2nd place in the draft with the draft lottery! This is probably pretty huge for us - we were right on the cusp of making the playoffs last season anyway and now we have a 2nd overall pick to either select an impact player or to move in a trade for an impact player. Either way, this is nothing but a positive for the Predators. Congrats(?) to Vancouver on their third straight Continental Cup. I know there's been a lot of discussion about if these wins deserve an asterisk or not - some will look at it that way and others won't. Either way, it's hard to argue that these weren't the three Continental Cup wins that had the most significance to the VHL as a whole since they're the catalyst to some pretty major changes in the league. Speaking of that, it seems like this off-season is going to be 4 weeks or so - back in my day, the off-season could be scheduled for 3 weeks but take up to 5! 

USA team announcement woooo!! 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
 
Forwards
The Board Game Clue On Skates- C @MubbleFubbles
William Groves-LW @Will3
Jason Argos-RW @Insypher
Jason coiner- LW @Jason
Pete Mitchell- LW @Crstats23
CDS Leb- RW @CDS_Leb
Matt Rooster-C @hcrooster96
Ayomide Ayodele-LW @KingOercy
Jack Quill-C @GoldGear88

 
 
Defensemen 
Brian Payne-D @Scurvy
Jeff Buffy- D @Strider
Maxwell Mathias-D @Underclass_Hero
Brian Kowalski-D @Wheaties
 
 
 
Goalies 
G-Wumbo @Fire Fletcher
G-Dusty Wilson @dustywilson22
 discord invite link https://discord.gg/cmZvWU3hkG 
congrats to everyone picked, let’s go win gold!!!
 

I thought about putting this in The Great Meta Debate topic, but I didn't want to bog it down with slightly off-topic discussion.
 
These two threads:
 
https://simulationhockey.com/showthread.php?tid=122309
https://simulationhockey.com/showthread.php?tid=122250
 
Are from this month and just continue to show that not moving to FHM continues to be a great idea and that having shorter careers/peaks is paramount to keeping user engagement high. For a variety of reasons, the SHL has the same 3 teams dominating and it takes literal years for your team to re-build, let alone an individual member/player having a player that makes an impact.

I agree with Dil here that with a pure fighting stat it would do no harm to decrease the fighting half of grit as well. At the end of the day there's no real harm in leaving grit as is though. Additionally, the decrease to passing looks good to me.

So, something VHL related - is it next season yet? It feels like forever since I've played a game and months since I played a meaningful game. This off-season is going to be extra long as well with the attributes reset, but that's going to be well worth the wait in my opinion. Now onto the non-VHL related - @Doomsday (congrats on the GM job by the way) might find this interesting - @Squidwardand I went to our first Reading Royals game  today. It was teacher appreciation day so we got some discounted tickets and also $1 nachos (were good), hot dogs (were not great), and popcorn (didn't have). Thought the in arena experience was pretty good (and tbh the goal horn and accompanying light/smoke were better than expected) but the level of hockey is definitely lacking. I think the skill discrepancy is much more noticeable than going to a Reading Phillies game for instance. Could definitely see myself going back again. Giroux trade - lol.

You got to see my wife on the video board towards the end of the second period, she was one of the teachers/paraprofessionals being honored!
 
You also caught the Royals on an off day, they're usually much better than this as the first place team in their conference. But it's a quality experience IMO.

Everyone has said congratulations to you both. I'll say congratulations to only one of you. But which one? 
 
🍻

Wow... I'll write a book when I'm off work, but for now, I just want to say thank you to all of the staff that were involved in the decision. Knowing how long I've been aspiring to make it here, you know how grateful I am for being selected. I'm glad to be at this point! 
 
To @Doomsday this just makes this announcement so much better, to go up with someone I consider a good friend, BLESSED! 

and to @rory and @Peace best of luck to both of you, whatever you choose to do in the league moving forward

I want to thank the entire VHL community for the love, support, and the opportunity to lead the Toronto Legion! I'm excited to face this new challenge and end the drought!
 
Congratulations to @InstantRockstar on finally breaking through and getting a VHL GM gig, and to @Peace and @rory for the hard work and passion you both put into your tenures!

Boys, it has just come to my attention that Seattle played Phoenix Dawson out of position (a center on defence on 5v5 lines) for the entirety of S81.
 
Not sure how big a deal I should make this / what measures can be put in place to avoid something like that.