Plate

This is a personal article I’m writing as an individual and does not express the opinions or values of VSN. I'm a VSN writer and felt the need to share that. I also forgot to include Ottawa in the conversation but uh yeah my points still stand without the team involved in the discussion, sorry! So the VHLE is dead and the commissioner posted the following in the eulogy announcement: "Exactly how players will be moved down is still up for debate a bit amongst the @VHLM Commissioner team but in all likelihood players will simply revert back to the team that previously owned their rights in most cases and go to a waiver system in a few select ones. If that doesn't prove remotely balanced there could be a draft, again we'll know more details soon." - @Beketov Suffice to say it WONT be balanced at all and I felt like I could put forth an argument to the community as something worthwhile and coherent. The VHLM inheriting assets is dumb, bad for the league, and I will explain with three arguments. In addition to explaining why inheriting assets is a bad idea, I will offer a better alternative free of charge. Here are the three main points why inheritance as an asset strategy is bad. It’s incredibly unbalanced. It hyperinflated “all-in” trades from the previous season. General Managers have no choice. To explain what I mean by it’s incredibly unbalanced, I’m going to give you all a table. The two most important columns are CURRENT and POST. Current is the current TPE evaluation of each team. POST is the TPE evaluation of each team post inheritance. Img A. sorted by the current amount of TPE on each team. Img B. sorted by the post inheritance amount of TPE on each team. And here’s a TLDR power ranking of each team given the additional assets in the inheritance: Halifax +5 San Diego -1 Miami – Houston +3 Mississauga -1 Philadelphia -1 Mexico -1 Las Vegas -6 Saskatoon – There would be three drastic changes imposed on the league through no fault of any GM involved. Halifax would get a massive boost in value, basically inheriting an entire team. Houston would pick up all stars on both offense and defense. Las Vegas, of course, would only get one player back from this change and the lack of incoming assets would tank the team to obscurity with a low ranking draft. Halifax and Houston are both important to note in this case. Take a look at the 21st. In the S94 draft, they all-in to finish the rebuild and throw all future assets (draft picks) away for players that clearly will only play one season with the team. Now, with the inheritance setup, many of the players that graduated in S94 to their respective VHLE teams will come back to the 21st in full form to skew the value of all those previous trades. Houston I will also mention did the exact same thing at a very similar scale as Halifax and you’ll also see they get a great increase to their TPE values. Las Vegas is also an interesting story. This season they went all in. And as you can see they tank in terms of team value. This is because many of the trades they made to all in for the cup wouldn’t have an entire season to simmer in terms of value. They would be a strong team but almost everyone on the roster would turn from all-star to prospect, and this massive shift would see Las Vegas be overwhelmingly competitive later on. These kinds of wild imbalances will have a negative impact on the league for both players and GMs. General Managers obviously have not had a choice in who comes into their roster. This benefits only a couple of teams, but comes at the detriment of almost every other. In a situation where you could possibly build a new team and gather assets for trade bait in a rebuild, instead you’re given leftovers from past seasons you never were expecting to get back. My suggestion would be to add a competitive balance draft. A snake draft based off of the results of the S95 VHLM standings post playoffs. Each team would get access to 4 players, with the exception being made to the renaissance cup winner. However, I think getting the cup is worth forfeiting one 200 TPE player. With a draft you completely balance out the redistribution of assets. You get a completely fair and balanced playing field. The snake draft based on standings only enhances the objectives of teams in 95, while keeping it fair. General Managers now have the choice to add who they wish back to their team. If a GM wants to add a player that they had before back to their team, they can do so. All the “all-in” trades made from the past have no reverse effect of being more impactful than the time they were made. Hopefully the board considers this as an option and doesn’t take, what I believe, the easy way out to a nuanced and critical change that could impact the experience of MANY new potential VHLers. If the VHLM is truly a place for new players to experience the league for the greatness that it is, it would be unfortunate to introduce them to a time period as turbulent as what a complete inheritance of players would provide. That’s just my opinion, but what’s yours?

I actually think this is a great change. A lot of VHLM and VHLE rosters are more or less empty and streamlining teams in the VHLM to have team structures similar to the VHL will make the transition feel a lot better. Still sad to see the VHLE go though, and it was an amazing experience to have it around for a lot of areas. It did feel though like a Band-Aid to the TPE inflation situation that was going on. IIRC hybrid attributes hadn't been in the VHL when the E was created and so the double dip in combating TPE inflation felt overbearing. Hopefully we can get some more members going and expand the existing leagues.

I agree which is why I mentioned getting picks to compensate for the lost value in TPE. Again, as you said, straight up TPE swapping is a flawed argument because it ignores all other facets which are equally important. With most stats though, extremes will tell a different story. This was the only franchise that had a TPE out vs in of 50% or lower, which was on the extreme scale. And at least with picks as compensation you have a chance at getting something in return. On that note, I wonder what the average TPE for each pick is across all of the VHLs history. Like what a 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th rounder are all worth when you take a look at the averages in every draft. Sounds like another Plate article that I'm gonna work on for the off season ;).

Well, I knew I'd kick up a bit of the beehive with this one but oh well. As stated, I gave an F for a few reasons, which I am happy to reiterate. Before I do here are some bullet points that I think are important: - As you stated previously you had way too many prospects for the number of roster spots available + you were mitigating cap issues and therefore you simply wouldn't have had the roster spots to play everyone. - Some of the assets you traded away were inactives and to reinforce a healthier locker room you added a few (hopefully more active both in earning and in voice) players to ship out many other players. My criticism, and that's all it is, not a personal attack or demeaning of your ability as a GM, comes simply from the amount of value given up to retain a vision of continuing the rebuild. This team is still incredibly young and has the opportunity to turn the corner in the next couple of season which makes this seasons one of the more important ones of the franchise. There were A LOT of assets traded away. Two high value picks (1st and 2nd rounder) and a couple 3rds, plus TEN players totaling 4,600 TPE and in return there were three players kept (Gregger and Sike got traded away) and those players have about 2,000 TPE. Something that would have upgraded your grade would simply have been more pick value in return. Even a couple more 2nds would have jumped your score up to a D or even a C. If you wanted a B or an A, I think I would have expected a 1st round pick in there somewhere for S97 as a piece of trade bait for the future. This upcoming draft you have two 1st rounders and a third, but the lack of 2nds is going to make the draft top heavy, and with the number of 500-700 TPE players on the roster at the moment you're going to run into the same problem again of having too many players to fit the slots. Now, I know you can't trade two 500 TPE players for a 1000 TPE one (Unless they're max earners etc etc team needs so on). Again, it has nothing to do with Davos and it's not a personal attack. I personally like the brand and hockey club. You have some of my favourite VHL members, @McWolf, @FrostBeard, @frescoelmo on your team. TLDR: Upon trading all the players you retained about 50% of the TPE you traded away and didn't get the other 50% in pick value. That's why I gave the F.

I wrote this article on Sept 7th so again, the standings were very different when I was writing. Alex also reached out to me but still I worry about the next few seasons for the team which is why I wasn't a fan of the trades.

Couldn't be me. Those trades looked questionable even for this season, then you look at the future and realize like three quarters of the D core are going to be leaving and there are minimal replacements. Free agency is gonna have to be huge.

Introduction A lot of trades happened this season. With so much going on, we figured it would be best to break down the summary of each team. Grade them based on their trades overall, and give you the reader the most comprehensive guide to the S95 trade list. Each team has a score from A to F. An A being the team made significant and coherent moves towards a clear goal. With an F being given to teams that missed the mark. If your team got a C, it means there was no overall positive or negative impact made towards the team during the trading season. Let’s get into it, starting with the A’s and descending to the F’s. All the standings and stats were taken September 7th, and may be slightly outdated. One formatting note, some teams both acquired and traded the same asset. These are italicized. So anything that’s NOT italicized are assets the team had before a trade. London United Grade - A Acquired - S95 VAN 3rd, S96 SEA 1st, S97 WAR 1st Jonny Elgar, Billy Joel, UghSike, Moritz Stauffer Departed - S95 LDN 4th, S96 LDN 3rd, S96 LDN 4th, S97 WAR 1st, S97 LDN 3rd UghSike, Moritz Stauffer, Jack Jeckler London find themselves in the trio bottom barrel European pod. While London attempts to scrounge as many quality losses as possible, they look to the future with drafts and free agent signings to construct their team. A rebuilding team like this will highly value picks, especially in the early rounds. One may wonder, however, when looking at London, if that is too much value. The TLDR is London gets a couple of 1sts and Jonny Elgar for a bag of pucks. This is some pretty incredible value, especially with the decent S96 draft coming around the corner. One may count the volatility of picks against the United in this regard. However, upgrading depth picks with prospects that will be ready to go soon seems like a no-brainer considering London's position. With all that in mind, I really do like London’s moves. The VHL is a league where roster spots are limited, and grabbing fewer players with higher concentrations of TPE is a viable strategy. Unfortunately, it won’t be a while that we get to see London be a viable or competitive team. New York Americans Grade - A Acquired - S96 PRG 3rd, S96 WAR 3rd, S97 LAS 1st Gregger McKeggegger, Steve French, Cody Toland, Jacob Smith Jr, Steve Lattimer, Toby Kadachi Departed - S95 NYA 1st (Samsayz I-Smell), S96 NYA 2nd Yaroslav Trunov, Steve Lattimer, FISTED ANALLY BY A CIRCUS MONKEY Analfist, Jarkko Laakonen, Jasper Davis New York finds themselves in a very weird limbo. It’s normally not a good sign when you find yourself in a place of mediocrity. Not good enough to chain wins together to create something meaningful, but not bad enough to go for the lottery. This puts the Americans in one of the most pivotal seasons of their time. While there was a lot of maneuvering, I’ll do my best to navigate what might be New York's most important season's worth of trades in the past 20 seasons. The Americans have decided to go for what we call retooling. Selling quality players for high value picks in the hopes that after a couple of seasons they can translate rapid growth into consistency. New York traded three former 90-point scorers, most of whom are on expiring contracts, to retain some value for the future of the franchise. Besides getting a boatload of picks, the Americans also acquired a couple of fledgling prospects. In all honesty, these moves don’t look awful for a team that has almost always sat themselves in the middle of the standings, even though they’ve had some incredible talent on the team. Their cup drought does force their general manager, STZ, to make some pretty bold decisions. I think this is the best retooling attempt I’ve ever seen in my time at the VHL. Even the players that were picked up, notably Kadachi, have a really good opportunity to make a relevant run at the end of their careers, assuming they stay with the team. Riga Reign Grade - B Acquired - S95 RIG 3rd (An Actual Holy Cow), S95 CGY 3rd, S96 RIG 3rd Axle Gunner Departed - S95 CGY 3rd, S96 LAS 1st, S96 RIG 2nd, S97 RIG 2nd Oreo McFleury, Elf Shoes We find ourselves face to face with the kings of Europe. The Reign are currently edging out in the battle against Moscow and Malmo. To be honest, when you have a team this strong, it’s hard to make an improvement without shipping out some high-value picks or prospects. Riga are very early on in their turn out of rebuild and into competition. The ethos for the team shifted towards getting a star forward to lead the offence and fix some lingering goal scoring problems. Axle Gunner is currently sitting 8th in scoring and goals, 6th highest among forwards. While it was a steep price of the downgrade on three picks, Riga won’t need the futures for the next little while. The prospect pool for Riga’s already pretty deep and has a couple lingering prospects from the rebuilding days of a couple seasons ago. Sending off picks and players such as McFleury and Shoes does not have any negative impact on the outlook of the team. Overall, these are strong moves for a strong team. Seattle Bears Grade - B Acquired - S96 NYA 2nd, S97 LDN 3rd Moritz Stauffer Departed - S96 SEA 1st Toby Kadachi, Jasper Davis Don’t let being 4th in the North American standings fool you. Seattle is poised to make a deep run into the playoffs. If they can dodge some dangerous matchups, you could see the Bears hoist another continental cup in the 90’s. Yet when I look at the moves they made, it really speaks to me: Steady as she goes. The Bears picked up two S88 rentals, Stauffer and Davis, to fill out some of the roster. Adding another layer of depth to a team that already looked competitive. While it did cost a 1st and Toby Kadachi, I’m sure the Bears aren’t too sad about sending some quality assets to re-establish chances at a 2nd cup in 3 seasons. I would conclude that Seattle made very classic moves. Shifting a player for something new and offloading a pick for a strong talent. Just to boon, Seattle ends up with the UghSike sweepstakes. I doubt that will mean anything, but if it does, then it becomes a cherry to the solid base of trades made this season. Malmo Nighthawks Grade - B Acquired - S97 MAL 3rd Martin Kemp Departed - S97 MAL 2nd, S97 MAL 3rd Malmo has a pretty good spot to make a decent run this season. Trusting the team isn't a decision that I disagree with, and ultimately that's what the Nighthawks decide to do. Essentially, they traded for Martin Kemp with a 2nd. Kemp is a very strong 2nd line forward/weaker 1st line forward that finds himself producing at a ppg pace this season. In all honesty, besides that being the only trade made by Malmo, it also happens to be one of the more solid ones throughout this season. Moscow Menace Grade - B Acquired - S96 CGY 1st, S96 LAS 1st, S96 WAR 2nd, S97 RIG 2nd FISTED ANALLY BY A CIRCUS MONKEY Analfist, Nils Andersson, Oreo McFleury Departed - S95 MOS 2nd (Kokko Miskinen), S95 PRG 3rd (An Actual Holy Cow), S96 CGY 1st, S96 MOS 2nd, S97 MOS 3rd Steve Lattimer, Leif Reingaard, Axle Gunner Moscow is absolutely a menace this season. They have one of the best forward corps in the league, a star defenseman, and an amazing goaltender. There really is no facet of the Menace that needs dire improvement, so the many moves that were made here paint an interesting picture of the future of the Menace. At the end of the day, the Menace acquired a couple of veteran players to fill out those 6th forward and 4th roster spots. When you take a look at the prospect pipeline, you won’t find it’s very full. Typically, teams will push as much as they can towards cup contention, as we’ve seen previously. Moscow is taking a different approach. With some shuffling of picks, they’ve managed to snag an extra 1st rounder for this season from Los Angeles of all teams, so they will have a great shot at a lottery pick. All in all, even though the players they lost are more valuable than the players they acquired, Moscow finds themselves in a comfortable position. Roster spots on this team are hard to come by, and shipping off extra roster players doesn’t do anything negative for the team. The lottery pick should turn into either a solid defenseman to play alongside a veteran Bocage or a great piece of trade bait. D.C. Dragons Grade - B Acquired - S95 RIG 1st (David VanHousen), S96 RIG 2nd Departed - S96 RIG 3rd Ben Laas Bottom teams typically buy picks and bolster the roster through futures while selling veterans. Unfortunately, D.C. barely has a team. FrostBeard essentially has a completely clean slate to work with, as there’s a handful of talent coming up from the depth charts and into potential roster territory. With the lack of assets to move in mind, the Dragons did an admiral job selling at the draft to get a depth 1st rounder in exchange for Ben Laas. Ignoring the quality of the pick, since this is a trade report, not a drafting one, to get a 1st with a rental is quite a good trade. I’m going to assume the Riga pick swap was a part of a conditional trade. Overall, the one deal that D.C. did make was a solid improvement as they look to make a move towards the future. We’ll see if VanHousen can build on a strong start in terms of development, but some early warning signs are saying he’s slowing down. Calgary Wranglers Grade - B Acquired - S97 MOS 3rd, S97 TOR 3rd, S97 TOR 4th Jack Jeckler, Leif Reingaard, Adi Dassler, Keita Kourou Departed - S95 VAN 3rd, S96 CGY 1st, S96 MAL 1st, CGY 3rd Kyle Toms, Moritz Stauffer Calgary went into this season 6th in the North American Conference ahead of the draft, needing help on both sides of the ice. Many players sit in their prime on this team. Raimo Tuominen was sitting as the best, and most improved, player on the roster. The Wranglers are in a weird spot to start their moves. They could potentially go for a playoff push, or draft some prospects and sign free agents to push for next season with the cap space Tuominen will be opening up. The start of the season saw a couple of depth purchases in Keita Kourou and Adi Dassler, Dassler being by far and away the best trade the Wranglers would make this season, it would end up with the exchange of a 1st round pick. Calgary would then double down on their chances with the Leif Reingaard and Jack Jeckler trades. Ultimately, you could read the trades made by Calgary as two 1st rounders, Kyle Toms and Moritz Stauffer, for a combination of Jack Jeckler, Leif Reingaard, and Adi Dassler. When you consider the slight upgrade from the player swapping, and the 1st round payments, Calgary fits pretty nicely on the scale. Adi Dassler should turn into a generational player for them, and I can’t see any team holding back two 1st round picks to acquire him. Chicago Phoenix Grade - C Acquired - S95 TOR 2nd (Dustin Wolf), S96 PRG 3rd Jarkko Laakkonen, Dwight Shcrute, Ivan Ivanov Departed - S96 CHI 3rd, S96 PRG 3rd, S96 CHI 4th UghSike Chicago is on the good side of a finished rebuild with a very solid long term goaltending solution in Ryan Artyomov and the star Joshua Schwarzer on the front end of the ice. Phoenix doesn’t need to do a whole lot to stay competitive on the outset of S94. Besides some deep positional changes, there’s not much to talk about with Chicago. Both Dwight Schrute and Ivan Ivanov are projects that will fill out the 2nd line depth of Chicago once the top end of the team departs. However, I will say there weren’t any critical purchases. Nothing to push Chicago over the birth of a possible championship. The lack of decision could prove to make Chicago a forgettable team heading into the late S90’s. UghSike is still a prospect with high amounts of upside but low potential to do so. Drafted 5th overall by Chicago, this prospect was let go and given another chance where they currently sit with Seattle. I think moving away from this prospect, while painful, is also necessary to dock the ice time to other contributors that can make Chicago more competitive. Prague Phantoms Grade - C Acquired - Ellis Woolfenden Departed - S95 PRG 4th So this is going to be incredibly short and sweet. Prague has really nothing going for them, and they’re on the outside looking into contention. As the worst team in the league, by far, there’s plenty of opportunity in the future to make some waves. For the Phantom this year, however, they send one 4th round pick for an inactive player. This trade could have never happened and nothing would have changed for Prague. Los Angeles Stars Grade - C Acquired - S95 NYA 1st (Samsayz I-Smell), S97 VAN 2nd Departed - S96 LAS 2nd, S97 LAS 1st Mason Rice Beating around the bush isn’t something I’m great at. I’m not in love with what’s been done here. Los Angeles does have a tunnel of talent and should be on the upswing towards relevance anyway. However, speeding the process by buying a pick two years in advance is something I have particular opinions on. Mason Rice is an inactive player, so that’s irrelevant. However, shifting your 1st two seasons earlier does mean that you’ll be competitive sooner, in theory. In my opinion, if Los Angeles believes they have the depth pieces in the system to maneuver themselves with higher end talent later, it could put them in a better position. Toronto Legion Grade - C Acquired - S95 MOS 2nd (Kokko Miskinen), S96 CHI 3rd, S96 CHI 4th Kyle Toms Departed - S95 TOR 2nd (Dustin Wolf), S97 TOR 3rd, S97 TOR 4th Nils Andersson Here we see the other kingpin of the league, the Toronto Legion. Sitting at the top of the conference, as the only team with 40 wins, gives Toronto a strong advantage at sitting back and letting things ride. While they didn’t really do a whole lot, I do think the moves they made make sense. Kyle Toms is a serviceable 2nd line forward that could spend the rest of his career in a Legion uniform. Nils Andersson is a good player in his own right but hasn’t really found his own in the league so far. The picks are identical swaps, as well as the players you could argue, but so far it seems like Toms has been playing a bit better for the Legion thus far. Vancouver Wolves Grade - C Acquired - S96 CGY 3rd, S97 MAL 2nd, S97 MAL 3rd Mason Rice Departed - S97 VAN 2nd, S97 MAL 3rd Keita Kourou, Martin Kemp This is by all accounts a very strong iteration of the Wolves. However, due to unfortunate circumstances, they had to send out a couple of high-quality players in Kourou and Kemp. Both forwards have quite a bit more production left in them. It was a good problem to have, though; these 700-800 TPE players were not strong enough to crack the starting forward roster. To preserve their time, they had to be moved. So while it doesn’t look like the Wolves got the best return for them, because, let’s be honest, they gave them away for nothing, it wasn’t because they had the choice in doing so but because they had to. You could argue they had to fight a bit more for some more value going their way, but GMs are nice enough to grab a player in order to preserve their engagement with the league. While there was an opportunity for Vancouver to wiggle out some more value, I commend them for staying patient and prioritizing the playing time of the players they sent out. Helsinki Titans Grade - D Acquired - S96 MAL 1st, S96 CAL 2nd Departed - S96 CGY 2nd Adi Dassler Helsinki have found themselves in a very simple lane. Battling with London and Prague for the bottom spot of Europe, the Titans have an opportunity to go for the lottery and build a team for the future. There’s not that much to talk about with Helsinki, but the couple trades they did make (which essentially translates to one trade) had a pretty decent look. Adi Dassler is an absolute star and should continue to make waves in the VHL. In all honesty, two 1sts should have been the price tag for the player, but getting just a 1st seems like a steal. While I understand having Dassler on the roster didn’t make sense for the long term, I would have liked to have seen more return on a player that’s obvious trade bait. Warsaw Predators Grade - D Acquired - Steve Lattimer, Merome Dilson Departed - S96 WAR 3rd, S97 WAR 1st, S97 WAR 3rd Cody Toland, Jacob Smith Jr We find ourselves with the Warsaw Predators. A team that hasn’t really found themselves among the big three in the European conference. In all honesty, the Predators are in a very awkward situation. On paper, they have a very good team, but things just haven’t worked out for them. In addition, many of their critical players are in the last season of their careers. With most of the defensive core about to retire, Warsaw pulled the trigger and snagged star goalie Merome Dilson. It had the price of a 1st round pick in a couple of years when it had a strong potential of being a lottery pick. In addition, the acquisition of Lattimer cost Warsaw a plethora of value, including a couple 3rd rounders and prospects Smith Jr and Toland. Warsaw are basically forced to go for it this season. Picking up a goalie and a depth player could be just enough to make them a dark horse into the playoffs. My opinion? Warsaw needed major scoring help. I worry that even if these trades help Warsaw make it into the playoffs, the lack of goal scoring will keep them outside of the first round, and therefore these trades didn’t help their chances too much in a must-win season. HC Davos Dynamo Grade - F Acquired - S95 PRG 4th, S96 SEA 2nd, S96 LDN 3rd Varoslav Trunov, Gregger McKeggegger, Elf Shoes, UghSike, Ben Laas Departed - S95 RIG 1st (David VanHousen), S95 CGY 3rd, S96 SEA 2nd, S96 PRG 3rd Gregger McKeggegger, Steve French, Jonny Elgar, Billy Joel, UghSike, Carson Walker Jr, Ellis Woolfenden, Dwight Schrute, Ivan Ivanov Davos was pretty busy this season with the trades. However, most of these assets were acquired and moved on. You’ll see a pretty grim picture of the Davos summary here in a moment when you tally everything together. First, we need to understand the position that Davos found themselves in on the outset towards S95. Transitioning from rebuild to contender takes a very important step. You form your core players, the long-term assets that shape your team. Other players you could consider auxiliary tools. You have to fit what’s right—the player type, playstyle—and create a coherent team to work towards that singular goal—winning. To simplify the trade, these are the players we’ll consider Davos acquired; Varoslav Trunov, Elf Shoes, and Ben Laas (total TPE: 2,478). Both Trunov and Laas are short-term rentals. They have had incredible production for their positions, and Shoes looks like a solid prospect. I have no problems with these acquisitions, but let’s take a look at the long list of departures for the team. Players departed: Gregger McKeggegger, Steve French, Jonny Elgar, Billy Joel, Ugh Sike, Carson Walker Jr, Ellis Woolfenden, Dwight Schrute, and Ivan Ivanov. (Total TPE 4,626). While it is more valuable to consolidate TPE onto a couple lines worth of players, the sheer total loss value of players (some are inactive, mind you) makes me scratch my head at the pursuit of glory. Many of these players are even S93 prospects with plenty of room to grow and develop. It’s clear that the strategy for HC Davos was to buy in for this season and turn the rebuild they exited into a retool. One may wonder about the success of such a strategy. It’s certainly high risk, and the only true marker for this would be if Davos wins the cup. My best guess is that it’s unlikely, and these trades were simply a massive overpayment to hedge a bet of success within the very clear short term. I give this the lowest ranking trade report of the season, with the stipulation that if they win the cup, it doesn’t matter and they achieved their objective. Conclusion But what do you think? Do you agree with my criticisms or praise? Maybe there's context that I'm missing. Let me know in the reply section (I read all my replies) and give me your thoughts. If you made it this far, please leave a rating as it lets us at VSN know the kind of content you'd like to see in the future. Mentions

1. As a Moscow alumni you definitely will not pass them and should just forfeit if you end up playing them in the playoffs. (In all seriousness though looks like a close race and it could be the start of a great rivalry) 2. Depends on if he's made his Simon prayer and has done his due diligence earning the TPE. You get what you put into the league. 3. Scoring pace for a player depends less on the scorer and more on the supporting cast around them. As long as the group continues to work results will come. 4. I literally only watch American Football for the superbowl and really could not care how it pans out otherwise. 5. Shawshank Redemption is an instant classic. That movie just does such a good job at digesting evil and how we cope with the realities of it. Second would be Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, that movies has NO RIGHT being as amazing as it is and I highly recommend it. Lastly I'll throw in Spiderman No Way Home, just a good movie and amazing cast of course. 6. I heard there's this guy called Joel Jakobs who's supposed to be pretty good but idk much about him.

I've always been a little puzzled by certain moves. Particularly, the prospect of moving up in the draft and giving away multiple assets to get a particular player. In my opinion, unless there's a huge drop-off in terms of TPE and or build quality, most players sim pretty evenly to each other. Some teams have traded a couple of firsts for the 1st overall pick in drafts, and in my opinion, it confuses me. Now I'm not saying you shouldn't go for it, but with the way the engine works (from what I can remember and see from coming back) your team needs to have depth in order to stay competitive. You can have a line with one strong player and a couple of supporting casts but the moment you have a bot on your team you have a huge goals allowed problem. Which, again, makes me confused when teams without a full roster trade multiple assets for that one player they think they need. In my opinion, it's best to build the team from the bottom up, instead of the top down. This is just because the bottom will stay on the team longer, and having a couple of solid welfare earners will go farther for your franchise (In the VHL and VHLE) than a max earner would for one season.

I prefer daily sims for a couple of reasons: 1. It keeps the seasons moving at a fair pace. When you total an entire players career it can end up being half a year by the time someone's done with their player. That's a lot of commitment, and slowing things down by 20% would make it such that you might not even get two careers out of one full years worth of time. 2. During the playoffs, players for teams that don't make it already have to wait a long time between the offseason and playoffs. You'd be looking at maybe a months worth of downtime before someone would skate again if they missed the playoffs. I don't think that would be good for player retention - the single most important facet of growth for basically anything.

San Diego are terrible. Which is surprising considering the great talent the team had prior to the trade deadline. The decision to sell one of the VHLMs best players Inker Bell comes at a really odd point. Considering the team also had another piece as trade bait, a player they traded two 1st round picks for, who will only be with the team for one season. I wouldn't go as far as to call this mismanagement, but it's certainly startling sending TWO first round picks to snag the first overall pick, an then to use it on a goalie. Maybe Mysterious Fish knows something I don't. Now they have a couple more drafts to fix the damage of this last season. Not that it's up to me but San Diego are going to need a lot of help next season before they can make some stronger moves and make a deep run and be relevant again. I just hope they don't trade both of their 1st round picks again for the 1st overall selection and learn that depth and filling roster spots will make the team more competitive.

Yeah I mean I also played a fuck ton of games in the E.

Yes this is a record. Nobody else has 4, it's either 3 or less

1. We should 100% be in the top 2 at least, we have some strong earners with good builds that should keep us locked in at the top contending spots in the Conference. 2. Honestly, we need depth on the defense. I know we made a move for a goalie since this was written post trade deadline but I'm pretty happy with the moves we made and I think we have a good chance moving into the last part of the season. 3. I would challenge my player to continue his pace. We rely on him for his playmaking and defensive abilities. These are integral to the outlook of our roster so far, and his success ties directly to the success of the team. 4. Regular season means nothing. Cups are all that matters. Get rested, stay healthy, prep for playoffs. Champions are always remembered. 5. Germans really are indifferent about Jakobs. He had played in the DEL in the past and already had a reputation, but his career had failed there so there's not that great of a good look. 6. Sponge bob has an incredibly deep and lasting cultural relevance that very few tv shows can capture. Sponge bob is more relevant now than the majority of film and tv right now.

Joel Jakobs has been tearing it up in the VHLM so far. As a rookie, in 50 games Jakobs has put up 24 goals and 43 assists. For a player that is not known for his shot, he's both complimenting his high shooting wingers and taking the shots that open up for him when defensemen leave coverage to protect the lanes. For a lot of top scorers that struggle with preserving their +/-, Jakobs hasn't fallen into that struggle either. Maybe even more impressive is his physicality. Laying out the body nearly twice a game and staying out of the box while doing so. We'll see if he can keep the production going into the playoffs. My guess is not, since most players are a lot better the deeper you get and simulations become less predictable. We'll see how Jakobs can adjust. His team, the Reapers, are battling for 1st in the Eastern Conference against Mississauga. They currently sit at 2nd place.

@Ricer13 It’s hard to put greatness into words. But people? Imagine putting greatness into a person. And doing that time and time again. Sjin, the longest running VHLE GM has done exactly that. On a season to season basis he brings back players from inactivity, wins games, and builds teams with an unrivaled passion for the VHL. More importantly, a passion for its people. This passion has been translated into 4 Renaissance Cups within the span of 6 seasons. This includes 17 total awards for both the team and individuals all related to the Cologne Express organization. The dominance of Cologne begins after their first cup win in S87, and we will take a trip to discover the track Sjin laid to steamroll his way into VHLE dominance. For the sake of this article we will be taking a look at the three-peat that took place the moment Sjin took over the team in S89. You’ll get the inside scoop as to how exactly the team was built, the key trades that took place to establish the team, and what future VHLE hall of fame players look like. I would like to extend a moment of gratitude directly to Sjin. And a resounding and grateful thank you. Sjin, you truly are the best conductor in the VHLE. You welcome all those that join your roster, even for one game or entire careers. It’s symbolic that the team you inherited is a train. Much like a train, many passengers enter this team with different destinations, backgrounds, and perspectives. You built the framework for a great place for people to stay for the ride as long as possible or platform from one team to the next. It’s safe, welcoming, and a pillar of the VHL community. S89 Retrack Sjin took over in S89 in a comfortable position with one goal in mind. Rebuild and modernize the Express. However, sometimes things don’t always go to plan as Cologne was blessed with an opportunity to go for it. There’s a certain quality to bring back players from inactivity and the value that provides. Many of the players on the S89 roster were pending free agents or free agent signings. Two of the top three scorers for Cologne - Cameron Elsby (D) and Thor Odinson (RW) - were such free agent signings. Both racking up 87 points in the regular season and combining for 12 points in the playoffs that year. One notable aspect of Sjin’s GM style is the calculated effort of trades. Trading to make notable improvements based on the current outlook of the team. Early free agents and resigns paved the foundation for a trade that would shake the VHLE. Easily one of the best trades in VHLE history heavily favoring Cologne. Jack Quill (D), would only put up 1 point in his 26 game tenure with the Express before retiring, however, with no +/- differential he was a solid contributor on the ice. Mason Rice (D) would slot alongside Jack Quill in the defensive end getting 6 points and having an equal +/-. However, the real steal of the show was Montgomery Burns (D). A near PPG defenseman both in the regular season and in the playoffs helped solidify Cologne’s front end talent to secure the S89 Renaissance Cup. What did the Express give up in return? Brayden Albrecht (C) who put up an incredible 35 points, 18 goals in those remaining 26 games. Alongside 51 hits. Albrecht was a power forward with a lot of promise going into the playoffs. He could be benched after two games, only putting up an assist and having a -3 +/-. James MacAvoy (RW) never played in a Vasteras sweater, another large part of the trade. The 3rd round pick three years later would turn into S93 Continental Cup winner Gustav Mattias (RW). Cologne would lose one game in their S89 playoff run in the opening battle against Geneva (Game 3) but would outscore Istanbul in the finals 19-10. Certainly both a dominating offensive and defensive showing from the Express. S90 Jump Ship, Board Train You’d think that on paper, Cologne entered S90 as champions. The team to beat. Now I’m going to give you a list of the players that stayed on the roster after the S89 championship, because it’s way shorter than the list of players that left; - Al Land (RW) - Reginald the Dodo (D) - Jarkko Lakkonen (LW) - Eurydyka Skłodowska Dudzińska (D) If you don’t know these players I wouldn’t blame you. Everybody from the Express jumped the ship the moment the cup was won. Players either retired, got called straight up to the VHL, or were traded before the season began. The starting S90 roster for the Express had a lottery draft pick written all over it. Sjin would have to make some legendary additions to the roster in order to have a chance in the playoffs. Let me tell you something. When the stars align, they shine brighter than the fuel burning in that good ol’ coal locomotive. S90 was the year Sjin’s GM player, Sjin (C), was traded to Cologne from Vasteras, and we’ll talk about that trade shortly. He’d put up a casual 86 points. Keegan Gamble (RW) the S89 draft pick from Istanbul’s 2nd round pick established a 79 point campaign and led the team in goal scoring with 38 snipes. The leading scoring defensemen was current two time Renaissance Cup champion and Express alumni Jordan Bennett (D). 47 points would be his lowest scoring season since being drafted by Bratislava 6 seasons prior. Firstly I’m going to apologize to Vasteras who keeps catching strays in this article. This trade is definitely a decision that was made. On the Vasteras side, Ben Dover (RW) would never play for Vasteras. Xiver Zilla (C) played in his draft season for Vasteras but again, Vasteras would lose to the Express in the playoffs. Cologne acquired Davis McLirath (C) who was an add on that didn’t play for them. Sjin, who we mentioned earlier as the leading goal scorer for Cologne, and finally the 4th that would turn into Eric White Jr (LW). We will talk about Eric next year, just know that he was an established cup winner with San Diego in S89. None of these players even compare to the free agent signing that would carry the future of the Express. I’m talking about Express wins leader, shutout leader, 3rd highest career SV%, 3rd lowest GAA (Min 50 GP) and ultimately VHLE Hall of Famer, Clark (G). So with a full frontline of fresh skates on the ice, the inaugural VHLE season of a goaltending all-star and draft picks coming into their own to play key depth roles, the Cologne Express would defeat Vasteras in the first round and head into the finals against Rome. Rome would take a 3-1 series lead over Cologne, averaging 4 goals a game and averaging 1.33 goals against in the three victories over the Express. However, they fell victim to the worst lead in hockey. It's often said that the game when everything is on the line is the hardest to win, and it proved true here. I would say, it’s also the easiest to lose. Rome would fall apart allowing 20 goals in their last three matches of the grand finals. A courageous comeback from the underdog Cologne team to propel themselves to a back to back cup win. S91 Derailed or Detour? Once again I can not stress enough how unlikely it is for a team in the VHLE to stay dominant in the playoffs for so long. Teams do not stick around for longer than a couple seasons at most, and so GMs have the unique task of taking the bits and pieces they have from the season prior and making the most out of it the following season. S91 was unique for Cologne in that sense. Al Land and Jordan Bennett stuck around from the championship prior, hungry for another cup win. Clark stayed and wanted to be solid between the pipes. Sjin was the recipient of value trades from the past bearing fruit for the present. One such trade made early in S91 was for Anthony Simmons (C). In typical Vasteras fashion, Simmons would lead Cologne in scoring with 79 points, 31 goals. The 4th round selection, William Wallace (RW) would never play for Vasteras. Of this new age Cologne roster, key contributors Joshua Schwarzer (LW), Lionel Collberg (D), Eric White Jr (LW), Theo Allard (C) would all join the team through the draft and fill the 3rd - 7th top scoring spots on the roster. It was a fresh expression of the Express. Instead of building on top end talent with free agent signings, the draft was used to full effect to fulfill the needs of the rest of the roster. With the chance of a threepeat on the line, Clark single handedly put the Express on his back, yelled choo choo (I was in the locker room it was quite intense sometimes), and plowed through any and all competition. He started the playoffs with two shutouts against former Renaissance Cup finalists Rome, averaging 1.00 GAA in that series. Our friends Vasteras would solve Cologne in game one of the finals but ultimately it was no match for the defensive prowess and brick wall goaltending of Clark to give Cologne the well deserved threepeat. Interview As a former player of Sjins I had unique access to get an interview with his process, motives and thoughts throughout his lengthy career. Do you remember when you first took over Cologne, how you were feeling and what your plan was with the team? Well, rebuild actually. We didn’t have much going into the season but I was very committed. Managed to resign all the players that we had heard nothing from and sign a couple of extra in FA. Once that happened we had a strong team and we just went for it. I had been AGM of a couple of teams but nothing prepares you for your own, you just need to throw yourself into it and be very committed to the job. Commitment certainly is one way to describe the strategy you went for in that first season. You made 8 total trades compiling 28 assets that season. Is there a trade you can recall that speaks out to you? Notably 5 of those were with Vasteras. In S89 would have to be this one. The first time I went in at the deadline. Is there a particular reason, did you think you won the trade? We won the cup. James MacAvoy never played for Vasteras. Albrecht was inactive. We got an upgrade for inactive dman getting Jack Quil. Mason Rice and Burns were two very strong forwards and helped a lot in our push for the cup. Certainly that first season set you up for future success as you’d win three cups in a row (S89-S91). What do you credit the success of the early S90’s to? Well, I had a great AGM Fradin, and we were really particular on the details. We had close relationships with SDM (San Diego Marlins) and they had a pipeline of talent coming through who Cologne drafted most of them. I was really big on offering build advice and I found getting players to apply TPE effectively made for huge positive differences. Out of all three of those cup wins was there one team that you were scared of facing off in the playoffs? And did you alter strategies in the lines to accommodate for that? I found Rome the hardest. And no we never really found a way to counter them directly like the other teams. We just beat them in game 7 so it was very close. S92 was an incredibly shallow, however important draft and the first time since the start of your tenure that you had access to a 1st round pick. Do you have any takeaways from that draft that stick to you today? First rounders are overrated . You build through depth. That’s the key. Depth wasn’t really something you found yourself in the standings though. You’ve been consistently in the top 2 of the VHLE standings during the regular season and are often considered the team to beat. What would you say is the formula when constructing your team. You mentioned through depth, but do you focus on trades, drafts, FA? I mean I think it’s picking and choosing trades. It’s very easy to get over invested in one trade and overpay, underperform in the postseason and be left without a cup and a lot of rebuilding work for the cost of the season before. I was about to ask if there was one failure during your tenure that sticks out to you. For as much success and excitement as Cologne has had, there must have been an equal amount of disappointment in other areas as well. Well, I think losing the first cup really hurt. After winning so much you get used to it. And losing hits that much harder. I think the most recent cup wins has to be one of the best moments other than S89. But I felt I build this team a lot more, though still owe it to Leandro for being present at the drafts for me. You did win the cup last season, congratulations by the way. Is this the start of another dynasty or are there bigger plans for you? Hopefully the start of another dynasty. I may step away from Cologne in the near future but I need a strong replacement. I don’t think I’d GM a different team. And with that being said, is there something you want to share to any future GMs or GM hopefuls in the VHL eager to take a spot along the HoF GM greats such as yourself? Keep it personal, it’s important to build a relationship with your team and players. Closing Thoughts I would like to end this article with a conversation starter. The roles of the VHLM and VHLE are as development leagues, where new players come to explore the awesome world of the VHL and create longing memories with their teammates. I fondly remember McWolf, Thranduil, Laine, Reno, Sjin, Rjfryman, and many others. The rates at which TPE myself and those mentioned above earned were expedited. Our activity shooting through the roof and these special groups splitting up early due to the high turnover nature of fast growing players in the dev leagues. We never had a chance outside of one season to be teammates together, and I would never be teammates with them again. This coupled by the fact on a practical level low earning players stay on development teams longer, skews the value proposition of prospects and players in these lower leagues. As someone that’s been heavily inactive, and has been greatly rewarded for doing so with four VHLE championship titles, it’s occurred to me that the ecosystem for the VHLE, VHLM and VHL are vastly different. Maybe this isn’t a problem. What I do know, is that the incentives for these leagues and the quality of these players change massively on a league to league basis. Sjin may be the best GM in the VHLE that understands this. Moreso, understands that the journey is often much more important than the destination. After all, why take the train, if you can’t enjoy the ride? Mentions

Bro straight up read my rookie article to build on the Jakobs lore, this article is honestly insanely well done and researched HOLY.

TPA Recall 1 Joel Jakobs DK 16-6

OH that makes a lot more sense. Didn't notice it was the flag at all.

Joel Jakobs is touted as being one of the premier playmaking centers in the upcoming draft. His strong playmaking ability, faceoff taking and defensive capability make him a great target for pro scouts looking to have a strong 2nd line center to put on both specialty units. Jakobs might have strong statistics in terms of production, but lack qualities when it comes to the physical side of the game. Both attempting to lay the body, and being hit himself. His shot is also very forgettable. Upside Playmaking. Jakobs has spent a long time developing his puck moving abilities. Not only can he get a tough pass in through coverage, but he can also win the faceoff clean to create scoring chances in the offensive zone and break the puck out in the defensive zone. Responsibility. Hockey has two zones of ice, and Jakobs is proficient in both of them. While he doesn't have the puck he is well positioned and very capable of blocking a shot or intercepting a pass, using his passing to create breakout opportunities for more heavily offensive minded players to break the zone. Handling. Much time has been spent in Jakobs training regimen to complete puck handling drills. When he gets the puck it can be pretty difficult to strip it from him with skill alone. This ability to create offensive plays by finding open ice makes him a threat in every part of the ice. Downside Body. Jakobs gets hit, a lot. And without proper space he can get squished into the boards pretty badly. Don't rely on him to work the corners of the ice and win physical puck battles. He can't give a hit and he can't avoid one either, costing turn overs in areas you wouldn't expect him to. Shooting. This player might have one of the most disappointing shooting styles in the league. His wrist shot is inaccurate and his slap shot has no power. Any goalie that gets scored on from Jakobs either had their eyes closed or was way out of position and let a weak one slip through. Overall, Joel Jakobs has the potential to be a strong center with good faceoff ratings, high pairability on the first offensive lines alongside sniping or power wingers, and can support the defense when needed. We give this players potential a low elite. He's projected as a 3rd round pick in the VHL draft.

Review So I actually think there's a lot of good here but also a lot to improve on. First of all, the reference choice is great with the team the player is on. An opportunity might be that red block on the right, if the red was cut clean from the black and white via the stick, and you stuck the players name in front of the black and white where it would be more prominent. Good catch on reposting because the gold didn't follow the entire border of the graphic. The only other suggestion I have is the filter used to make the player be focused could be substituted for something a little easier on the eyes. In my mind, the point of the filter would be to shift attention towards the player. Overall I think it's pretty decent and you should be proud of it. I give this a constructive yet warm 6/10.

Review What the fuck man. This is an online fantasy league we don't need professionals to come out here and make graphics people would pay for. The only thing you could ask for in this is maybe a jersey swap on the player, but since the colours are the same it doesn't matter too much. It has a very modern sports feel with the logo peering in the background and overall because the face is the lightest thing in the space you get to look dead center at the word and have it embedded into your mind. 9/10, jersey swap would have made it a 10 easy. Well done.

Joel Jakobs is currently eligible for the S96 draft. And where he will go is up in the air for a lot of GMs. Veteran GMs will likely shy away from this player as his agent, Plate, is the most inconsistent person in the world. Plate has been the agent of a few high profile players, such as 22nd overall, VHLE best defenseman of all time (Don't even try to deny it), FOUR time renaissance cup winner, Jordan Bennett who saw one season in the VHL (S86) before being sent back down to the VHLE where he could become a career player. In addition, Plate has also been the agent of 7th overall pick Markus Schauer, who actually had a VHL career and ended it shortly after finishing his one season in London. Schauer didn't really do anything besides not score a lot of goals and be terrible defensively but at least he blocked shots. Finally, the oldest and inaugural player Plate released into the VHL stratosphere, was Rhye Tyr. He was a VHLM player who played in two seasons and was drafted 32nd overall in season 66. However, that was also one of Plates fondest players. We'll see who in their right mind would take a player from Plate considering 450 TPE seems to be the ceiling for most of his players.

1. I haven't been drafted by the Phillies I chose to be here. It feels good, there's a lot of potential on the team and if we all group up together and trust the coaching and training staff I think we have a good shot at going deep in the playoffs. 2. Our goalie, Ricer, honestly has been standing on his head in the sims. I don't know what it is but he's got an insane 9.12 and 2.39 GAA on a .500 team. Like those stats are insane, plus he has a shutout. Unbelievable. 3. We have a huge gap on defense right now and you can tell scoring opportunities and stopping them is difficult for us. It's mitigated a little by the amount of defensive coverage we get on the forwards but even having one more defenseman that can just be the guy and play 30 minutes a game would help win us a lot of games. 4. For me I'm using assists as a marker. A lot of teams, including this one, have really heavy scoring forwards but not a lot of puck movers to take advantage of them. If my player can end the season with more than a PPG, and moreso more than a APG, then I'd be ecstatic with his performance. 5. Las Vegas have a pretty weak team and one extra defenseman that would likely be involved in a trade. Likely Manuel Ceson is a good target as he's got really good growth and Las Vegas likely won't make a deep playoff run. Besides, they need a lot of help on forwards and one prospect could turn that around for them for next year. 6. Honestly yeah crepes are over rated. Like nothing beats a tall stack of pancakes. There were these Japanese style pancakes in Calgary I really liked and I honestly forgot the name of it but every time I went I cleaned my plate which is super not like me.

Houston Bulls Roster Rundown, Plate Report Card Forwards - A+ Defense - B+ Goaltending - B+ Forwards The Houston Bulls have deep pockets on the forward position. Their two star forwards, Lightning Mcsnipe and Alex Ovechkin III are both former San Diego Marlins (S93), linemates for their entire VHLM career. With the wealth of experience between the two Ovechkins passing offence matches nicely with the scoring focused Mcsnipe, creating a dominant 1-2 punch for both the powerplay and first lines. This high powered offense with very concise skill sets up front but going down the list with VanHousen, Smash and Longpre you find some more spread out builds. The two way winger VanHousen does have some use though. Being an anchor on the wing can make players like Ovechkin and Mcsnipe really stand out. You also do need some more defensive coverage on forward for 5 on 5 play. He's also likely playing center instead of the wing because he has an average skill set in quite literally every category, including face offs. On the second line you have the pairing of Smash and Longpre. Smash is pretty straight forward. He sees something, he hits it. He's got decent stickhandling so getting the puck off that guy is very difficult. Important to note that three of these five players are 1st generational. Houston gets extra points for fulfilling the role of the VHLM and introducing new players into the league. Hence why they get an A+ for their forwards report card. Defense LaClapbomb Hitstick IV leads the charge on defense. Not much else to say besides this is a guy you want on defense. He does almost everything right and nothing wrong. He plays solid defense. He can pass, he can shoot for rebounds, he can hit and he can evade attackers with solid puck skills. The only real downside is the lack of discipline. When a player is getting that much ice time and is integral to your defensive strategies, he's someone you want killing penalties and not taking them. His partner in crime and depth are LeBlanc, Kau and Smungus. The latter two players are both incredibly new to the league and have a decent amount of upside if the coaching staff in Houston can continue their development. Smungus is looking to be a bit of an enforcer, protecting players and punishing those who attempt to target younger players. The league has transitioned away from a physical game and into more of a skills one, so we'll see how the Bulls emphasize the utility of this player. Their linemate Kau is also a relatively new member to the VHLM. They too have a more physical build, caring more for player pressure than puck pressure. We'll see if the combination can work on securing 5v5 and penalty killing time. LeBlanc, who I saved for last, I think has the potential to develop into a top 5 defenseman in the league, maybe even by the end of the season and beginning of playoffs. This is a player that will strip the puck off of you and pass it away before you realize you lost it in the first place. Very interested to see how his development goes, in particular. Overall, because Houston has again selected many 1st gen players, they get a B+ on their defensive report card, with the defensive depth being a wild card. Goaltending Zaps Cat is looking to recreate a tremendous record from last season posting a very solid 46 win, 26 loss campaign (1 OTL). Very likely Cat will have to produce a lot more saves than what they are used to last season, as the defensive depth is looking to let certain scoring opportunities go in favor of roughing up opposing players. This transition from a very shut down defense might pose a bit of a leap for the netminder. However, I'm confident that with a few reps and early jitters out of the way that Cat can create a similar, but not better, record as last season. For that reason, and the fact that Houston has yet again another 1st-gen player on their roster, I am giving them a B+ on their goalie report card. Editors Notes Houston should prioritize sniping a 2nd line C from a fringe contender or rebuilder to bolster their already in depth offensive lines. And if they can reinforce some basic defensive principles to their depth defensemen I can see Houston being a force to be reckoned with. Their overall team grade is an A, and a nod to the general manager for selecting so many 1st gen players. As always, I've been Plate.