hockeyis66

“Its always tough to miss the playoffs and watch other teams play while you are at home, but it just gives you that much more motivation to work hard this off season and be ready to come out and play next season. I think we will have a real solid team between the returning players and the potential draftees coming in and fully expect the Rush to be one of the top team in the conference and league.” “Overall, I am happy with my season. My numbers fell off a little bit here toward the end of the season and I didn’t keep my point per game pace. I got more assists and points than I thought I would but the goal scoring let me down and that shooting percentage is something I am going to have to improve next season in order to help the team win more.” “We had a lot of solid free agents join the team over the course of the season and I hope we are able to draft them back on the team. It was nice to get to know them during the season and we all got along well together and had a good time even though we were not winning as much as we wanted to.”

1 -- Even though we missed the playoffs, it was still a good experience and got to have a lot of different teammates on the team to get to know and hang out with. As for my player, little disappointed he fell off toward the end of the season but i still hit my goal of 30+ assists and 50+ points so i am glad there, wish i could have gotten to 20 goals though 2 -- i ll probably have a little bit of interest in them, but if i am not playing in them, its hard to follow and good to take a little mental break for a week or two 3 -- team vote is always the best way to go 4 -- i would go with Lorgo, 2nd in goals and 2nd in points and one of the top assist players on the team and can hit and isnt afraid to block shots either 5 -- Its ok -- if you are looking at the Yukon and Rush, maybe either an angry bear of sorts or tough looking miner 6 -- disagree -- give me a milk chocolate with a little heat in it -- either cinnamon or chyenne peppers

RUSH TEAM STAT REVIEW The Yukon Rush finished the season with a 25-42-5 record which was good for 55 points on the season and a 5th place finish in the Western Conference. They finished 21 points out of a playoff spot and and 10th overall in the 12 team league. They had the same record as Ottawa from the Eastern Conference but the Lynx won the tie breakers and finished 9th. The actually had the 6th best offense in the league scoring 249 goals on the season but the downfall in the long run was the goals against which was 10th in the league and one of three teams that gave up over 300 goals on the season as the Rush gave up 301 on the season. Because the offense was so good, the goal difference of -52 on the season was 9th best. RUSH TRADES IN SEASON 77 The Rush did make a couple of trades throughout the season as too. Yukon acquired right winger Apollo from San Diego early in the season for a draft pick. Another big trade was to get center Lorgo from Mississauga along with some draft picks for Pacheco and some picks as well. Dugan was sent to San Diego in exchange for a 3rd and 4th round draft picks in the upcoming draft. As we got closer to the trade deadline and it looked like the Rush would not make it, Yukon shipped out a couple of the better players to the Hounds and 21st. First, Zakrevsky went to the Hounds for Kiak, Grisby and a 3rd round pick. Second, The great went to Halifax in exchange for Clouet and a 3rd round pick in the S79 draft. All of the moves mentioned will help the Rush will depth next season as Yukon will look to make the playoffs and make a run toward the championship as well. RUSH PLAYER REVIEW The goalies faced a ton of shots during the season and played admirably with Cat seeing the bulk of action in 51 games with a 19-29-3 record, 4.04 GAA and a .868 save percentage. Free agent pick up Jacob Rask, saw action in 21 games with a 6-13-2 record, 4.09 GAA and a .877 save percentage. Neither goalie had a shutout on the season. Even though The great was traded, he still led the team in points with 91 and had 43 goals on the season to go along with being a +2, 35 PIMs, 75 hits and 47 shot blocks. Lorgo was second on the team in points with 84 and goals with 36. Lemieux had 64 points in 72 games and free agent pick up Johnston had 50 points in 52 games. After being acquired in a trade, defenseman Kiak was the highest scoring defensemen on team with 77 points in 58 games which was third best and his 51 assists was second best on the team as well. He also led the team in shot blocks with 124. Rookie Powers led the team with 53 assists from the blueline and his 62 points was second among the defense and 5th overall on the team. Powers 112 PIMs and 202 hits also led the team and his 112 shot blocks were second on the team. Overall, the Rush held on as long as they could with the lack of depth along the blueline and even though the offense could score, they couldn’t keep the puck from going into their own net. With a decent amount of picks in the upcoming draft, the Rush should be able to restock areas and have some depth to go along with returning players to not only get back into the playoffs next season, but also challenge for the VHLM Championship! In the words of GM Juice -- "We will RUSH to the top of the standing next season."

“Our GM has made a couple of great moves in trading a couple of our top players for other players that will come in and play next season for us and some draft picks. This will set us up well next season to not only make the playoffs but also challenge for a league championship. We are in a great drafting position with a lot of picks that will allow us to add some significant talent to the team.” “It was definitely a tough go of things here lately for us but we kept our heads held high and continued to play some solid hockey even though we couldn’t get the wins we needed to keep ourselves in the playoff chase. You always want to finish the season out strong no matter what and carry that momentum into the next season.” “As for my game, little disappointed here in the past 20ish games or so cause I really thought I could have a good chance at a point per game this season but my goal scoring let me down and that 8% shooting percentage is something I will need to improve upon next season. I am going to continue to skate and work hard during the off season to hopefully earn a spot on the top line next season.”

1 -- losing GM has to write their article for the week based on how great the winning GM is, how the winning GM has shaped his life here in the VHL and how the losing GM will strive to be more like the winning GM in the future 2 -- we knew it was going to be a long shot coming into the season to make the playoffs and we gave it as good as a run as we could based on our depth, etc. It is always a bummer to miss the playoffs but its basically out of reach now for us. 3 -- It is a good to move to always improve the club for the future and looking ahead to next season. The Rush did a great job drafting this season and with another draft like that, the team should be set up real well for the next couple of seasons. 4 -- i am sure its something one of my kids did in public when they were young or did something to me 5 -- Pennsylvania has been slowly lifting restrictions since the first of the year so things are kinda getting back to normal but i am still working from home and two of my kids are still doing school from home although they will be going back 2 days a week here shortly 6 -- i ll watch college basketball and football mainly; NBA once in a while and same with NFL; MLB hardly ever

What if…what if during the last expansion, the VHL expanded into 24 teams – 12 in Europe and 12 in North America with stipulations being an East/West divisions for both, the cities in Europe must be a major city and in North America, the cities cannot have a current NHL team – what would this look like potentially. In the North American divisions, I would like to have 3 Canadian and 3 United States cities in each one. In the Europe West Division – London, Paris, Berlin, Prague, Vienna and Budapest to hit all of the major cities in predominate hockey countries and keeping it to one city per country as well. Travel would be pretty easy the cities as well with the only trip over water having to play in London. Other cities in play would be Amsterdam, Brussels, Madrid and Rome. Amsterdam would probably be next on the list with Madrid and Rome last on the list since they are farther east and south and more in a warmer climate than the other ones. In the Europe East Division – Oslo, Stockholm, Helsinki, Moscow, Riga and Warsaw would be my top 6 picks with Minsk, Kiev, Copenhagen and Bucharest just missing the cut. Keeping the Nordic countries of Norway, Sweden and Finland together would make for some great rivalries and travel would not be too bad either as a team could play all 3 of the Nordic teams in a row or all 3 of other teams to the east of the Baltic Sea at once. I like my mix of cities here in Europe – travel is easy and there are natural rivalries between the cities already. As the VHL continues to grow, there are already cities that could easily jump into the league in both divisions to keep the travel at a minimum and the competition high. North America West – For the US Cities and using the Mississippi River as the divider between West and East, I would go with Portland, Salt Lake City and Kansas City to give a nice spread of coastal, mountain and Midwestern flavor. For the Canadian cities, I would pick Victoria, Saskatoon and Regina. Victoria and Portland would end up having a nice rivalry on Western coast and the other 4 hit my Mountain/Midwestern look that I was hoping to achieve. Fargo and Boise would be a couple of US cities that come to mind as potential destinations as well while maybe Moose Jaw and Red Deer just miss the Canadian city cut. North America East – Quebec and Hartford are in no matter what. No agreement. No discussion. They are in. Period. For my other two Eastern US cities, I am going to keep with the Midwestern/Great Lakes theme here and select Cleveland and Milwaukee. Two Midwestern cities both situated on Great Lakes and easy access to Canada. Nothing south or below the Mason-Dixon line. Also thought of Cincy and Indy and possible Baltimore here, but being a Pittsburgh native my whole and selecting Cleveland should tell you a whole lot. Lots of choices for the two Canadian teams, but I am going to go with Hamilton and Halifax. Hamilton is close to Cleveland and will make for a nice rivalry there and Halifax is a coastal town which will match up nicely with Hartford. Same as with Europe, I am happy with the overall mix of the North American cities – coastal, Midwest and mountain – and nothing more south than Kansas City. And with as the same as Europe too, there are still good possibilities to expand into.

1 -- we have gotten ourselves in a little bit of a pickle now that we are 10 points behind SD for that final playoff spot -- its going to be a tough climb, but i think we have the tools in place to make up the ground and challenge for that spot 2 -- i have heard from a few teams already and it will be cool to get to the VHL eventually, but i am excited to play in the VHLM for a couple more seasons 3 -- yes i definitely will, its a pretty cool idea and something fun to write about 4 -- oreo for sure 5 -- Joe Namath 6 -- we got Jeff Carter which isnt that bad of a pickup and gives us some depth down the middle with Malkin out potentially long term and Tanev basically out till at least the playoffs

It has been a tough go of it lately for the Yukon Rush as they have fallen 10 points behind San Diego for the 4th and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. They were also scoring more goals than they were giving up, but now have given up more goals than they have scored. “We haven’t played well recently and we have put ourselves in a position now were we have to play catch up and hope the Marlins lose. We split games with them last week too so we didn’t really make up any ground in the head to head matchups.” Lemiuex has also dropped below a point per game average now with 47 points in 49 games on 14 goals and 33 assists. He was also a “+” player but is now a -9 on the season. “I really have to continue to up my game here in the second half of the season and play better defense. I have to skate hard on the back check, help to clear out in front of the net and get the puck out from in front of our net. I am scoring a little more too, but its still not enough and have to get my shooting percentage up over 10% and closer to 12-15% on the season.”

+10 Jaromir Lemieux

With the season a little more than halfway over, the conference standings are starting to shake out with teams pulling away in the first couple of spots and the teams at the bottom fighting for playoff spots in what will turn out to be a couple of tight races here in the second half of the season. EASTERN CONFERENCE Mississauga – What can you say about the Hounds? They are 39-3 on the season and will be clinching a playoff spot here soon. They have the best offense in the league scoring nearly 200 goals in 42 games and only give up 89 goals which is just over 2 goals a game. Spinelli in goal has a 1.96 GAA and a save percentage of .912 while winning 32 of 35 games. Lambert, Nasherov and Wachiure lead the team in scoring and form a tough first line to matchup against. Miami – The Marauders are in a distant second place but have a firm hold on a playoff spot with 56 points. They currently have the second best defense in the league and can also put the puck in the net as well with 3 20 goal scorers in Alexander The Great, Trevor Wallace and Noah Mashford. ClapbombsRUs has a 2.49 GAA and a save percentage of .883 this season. Minnesota – The Storm sit in third place with an 8 point lead on the 5th place team. They have basically scored the same amount of goals this season that they have given up. Grapes and Puhovs are their only two players averaging more than a point per game but Vaughn has been solid in net with a .885 save percentage and a 2.83 GAA. Halifax – The 21st are in the 4th and final playoff spot, 5 games up on the 5th place team but only 3 points behind the Storm. They are better offensively than the other two, but not as good defensively. Glass leads the team in goals, assists and points while they have split goaltending duties between Bustard and Johnson with Bustard having a little better season statistically. Ottawa and Philadelphia – The Lynx and Reapers sit in 5th and 6th place respectively. The Lynx are 5 points back of a playoff spot while the Reapers are 11 back. The Lynx are not a bad team defensively, but are the worst team in the league offensively. The Reapers can score but have trouble keeping the puck out of their own net as they are the next to worst team in the league defensively. WESTERN CONFERENCE Saskatoon – The Wild lead the conference with 60 points and are ahead of the second place team by 7 points and are in no real danger of missing the playoffs. They are second best team in the league goal scoring wise while being one of the better defensive teams. Montana and Mackenzie have both over 70 points on the season with both players scoring 35 goals. Bowman has 29 wins, a .890 save percentage and a 2.53 GAA. Houston – The Bulls are currently in second place and only two points up on 3rd place Las Vegas in a battle for home ice in the first round. They score less goals and give up more than Vegas but have more regulation and OT wins. They also have two 70+ point scorers in Myers and Senjo and Van Giersbergen has been solid in net with a 2.89 GAA and a .890 save percentage. Las Vegas – The Aces are in 3rd place in the conference and have a playoff spot down while looking to move up into either second or first in which they are 9 points out of. McDagg leads the team in goals and points while defenseman Tipton is second on the team in points and leads the Aces in assists. Karlsson has been tough in goal with a 2.66 GAA and a .891 save percentage. San Diego and Yukon – The real battle will take place between the Marlins and Rush for the final playoff spot. The Marlins have a 5 point lead and a game on hand on the Rush. The teams have a similar goal difference but the Marlins score less than the Rush and also give up less goals. The Rush can score but cant keep the puck from going into their own net though. The teams face each other 7 more times the rest of the season. Mexico City – The Kings have only won 6 games on the season and have 14 points which is 23 behind the 4th place Marlins. Miklavz leads the team in goals with 22 and points with 47 while defenseman Sova has the most assists with 28.

Through 33 games, Jaromir Lemieux has 8 goals and 26 assists for 34 points on the season and a point per game average. “Its not like I am not taking any shots on goal as I am averaging almost 3 shots per game, I am not just hitting the back of the net like I thought I would, but still having 26 assists and being able to set up my teammates is just as good since we can score well.” Lemieux is also a -1 on the season with 45 hits, 16 PIMs and 10 shot blocks. He has also contributed 2 power play goals and a game winning goal as well. “Coach has confidence in me that I can play in all situations and that’s what I eventually wanted when I was drafted by the Rush. I wanted to show that I can play both offense and defense and be counted on during the penalty kill.” With the Rush sitting one point out of a playoff spot right, the team knows that it will need to get every point possible here in the second half of the season and it will all start on the defensive side of the ice. “We know we have to play better defensively and that will be a focus in the final 40+ games and we cant leave our goalie out to dry. We have to limit shots against him and clear out in front of the net to limit the other team’s chances.”

1 -- there is definately no harm in trying a little more defensive approach -- we should be able to score goals either way, but definately helping to protect the goalie and maybe giving up less shots per game should help bring down the goals against 2 -- right now my focus is doing whatever i can to get us into the playoffs and if that means going out and playing extra hard against a team like that, thens thats what i will do to ensure we get the win and they get no points 3 -- no interest, too old for that stuff anymore 4 -- very nice, good food, good weather and lots of hockey on the driveway 5 -- Tiramisu 6 -- Thunderstruck by AC/DC

It took 11 games, but Jaromir Lemieux finally scored his first career VHLM goal in a 6-3 win over Mexico City. With the Rush up 5-2, Lemieux took a pass from Zakrevsky and buried one behind the goalie just under 5 minutes into the third period to make it 6-2 in favor of the Rush. “It took a lot longer for me to score than I thought it would, but it was definitely a good feeling when the puck hit the back of the net and get that monkey off of my back. It does start to play with your mind after a while, but my coaches and teammates just told me to keep shooting and the puck would go in eventually. Just glad it did and glad we could win the game as well.” Through 20 games, Lemieux has 6 goals and 15 assists for 21 points. He is also a +3 on the season with 14 PIMs, 34 hits and 66 shots to go along with 7 shot blocks and playing over 22 minutes per game. “I am glad that coach has confidence in me to play me in all situations so far including the power play and penalty killing units. I am going to keep working on my skating, shooting and defense in hopes to continue to improve my play and show the organization my dedication to do whatever it takes to help the club win games.”

1 -- It was a solid trade for both sides and one that will give us some much needed depth on the blue line this season and next season as well as another forward for us. We have a tough road ahead of us to make the playoffs, so this was a good deal for us to move a great player for some assets that will help us in the long run. 2 -- I think we definately have a chance for sure -- we have been playing better as of late and now with some blueline help, that should keep our shots and goals against down a little bit and give us a chance to climb back up the standings 3 -- i am hoping to have a 20 goal, 30 assists, 50 point season 4 -- i am in different about it, havent really looked at any team or anything like that since i will be spending at least another season or two in the VHLM 5 -- oh yeah absolutely its been great, management has been awesome and everyone in the LR gets along good, wouldnt change a thing at all 6 -- Even with all of our injuries and stuff, Pittsburgh has done well so far, but at some point, losing your top players for any significant period of time will eventually catch up to you

The Yukon Rush is coming off of S76 in which they finished 3rd in the Western Conference with a record of 43-21-8 which was good for 94 points on the season. After beating Miami 4 games to 2 in the first round, the Rush were swept in the semi-finals by Houston 4 games to 0. This season will be different since the Rush does not have the depth that they had last season especially on defense and will look to the waiver wire and free agents to fill the void there. Goaltender – Darcy Cat – In this third season in the VHLM and second full season, Cat will be the full time starter for the Rush after spending last season with the San Diego Marlins. Cat signed with the Rush after being released by the Marlins after posting an 11-58-3 record for them last season. Cat had a .866 save percentage and a 4.76 GAA and no shutouts in 72 games for San Diego. Cat will face a ton of shots this season due to the lack of depth on the blue line and will be called upon to keep the Rush in games. Cat making one of many saves on the season for the Rush Defense – Nathan Powers – Powers was drafted by the Rush 57th overall in the VHLM draft and has played in 10 games so far this season with a goal and 5 assists for 6 points. He has 10 PIMs, 12 hits and 12 shot blocks while being a -6 on the season. Powers is a good skater and passer while playing solid defense and chipping in with a little offense as well. Defense – Mitchell Osborne – Osborne has joined the Rush as a free agent after the season started and has a goal and 3 assists in 7 games to go along with 8 PIMs, 8 hits, 6 shots and a -2 while helping to provide some depth on the blue line. He is a perfect complement to Powers since Osborne is more physical and more of a stay at home defensemen right now. Osborne knocking an opponent to the ice with a big hit Centers – The great and Lorgo Pompronkimishkonov – The great will be the #1 center on the team and is an all-around center that can pass, skate, defend and can shoot. Lorgo can defend and score and will be on the second line. The great has 7 goals and 8 assists in 10 games this season while Lorgo has 8 goals and 8 assists in 10 games. They are second and third on the team in points so far this season. Wingers – Gaspar Zakrevsky, James Albini, Jaromir Lemieux, Apollo, Emils Pless – Zakrevsky currently leads the team in goals, assists and points and will play in all situations since he is a good defender, can skate and can handle the puck. Albini is 4th on the team with 9 points on 4 goals and 5 assists. He has a solid overall game between defense, offense and passing and isn’t afraid to throw his body around checking wise. Lemieux has 8 points so far, all assists, while working on becoming a two-way forward that can play a full 200 foot game. Apollo has 2 goals and 5 assists this season and is your prototypical power forward who can score and check and Pless has 2 assists on the season as a scoring/checking type of forward as well.

Through the first 8 games of the season, the Yukon Rush have only won two games, but the team knew it was going to be a tough season with little depth on defense and the goalie getting peppered with shots every game. So far, the team doesn’t seem to have any trouble scoring goals. One of the newcomers to the team this season is rookie Jaromir Lemieux. He played 10 games for the Rush last season in the playoffs as a free agent and then was lucky enough to be drafted by the Rush for his VHLM career. “I knew I was going to go late in the draft and when the phone rang and it was GM Juice on the phone saying I was the newest member of the Rush, I was totally excited.” So far in 8 games this season, Lemieux had 0 goals, 8 assists for 8 points. He is also even on the season with 20 shots, 12 PIMs, 14 hits and 4 shot blocks. “I knew the players were going to be bigger, faster and stronger in this league, but until you play against them, you don’t really realize how true that is. I am still waiting for my first goal and will keep shooting, but 0 for 20 does start to weigh on your mind after a while.”

Jaromir Lemieux is a late bloomer to the hockey scene and isn’t going to be the guy that blows you away with a ton of goals or points each season. He is going to be your two way second/third liner that is going to play solid defense and back check while chipping in with some offense here and there to take the pressure off of the top scoring lines. So far in Lemieux's young career, he has played in the playoffs for the Yukon Rush and did not score a point and then this season, he was drafted by the Rush and has 3 assists in 3 games while being a -2 with 8 PIMs, 6 hits and 3 shot blocks. Let’s take a look at some of his attributes: Checking – Lemieux will not be a big body checker even with his 6’2” frame, but would rather use his hockey IQ and speed to beat opponents to the puck or poke check the puck away from them. Look for him to check an opponent while they are in the corners or maybe on the forecheck against a defenseman. Skating – Lemieux loves to skate and will use his skating to his advantage to out race his opponents down the ice to create offense or help get back on defense and to beat the other team to the puck. He can stop quickly and go the other direction with a quick burst of speed and acceleration. Other than his strong two-way game, look for Lemieux to be known for his skating ability. Puck Control – This is one area where Lemieux will need to work on and improve over the course of his VHLM career. He will need to use his body to shield the puck away from the other team and Lemieux will need to make quick decisions to get rid of the puck by either finding an open teammate or even just dumping the puck into the corners. Passing – Another area that Lemieux will need to work on is making sure he has his head up and looking for teammates that are open and using his vision on the ice to find them. Quick gives and go, not making bad passes in the neutral zone and finding teammates to start the rush from the defensive end of the ice will all be areas of Lemieux’s passing game that he will need to work on. Scoring – Lemieux has a great wrist and slap shots but needs to work on getting them on the net more instead of trying to just pick corners. Lemieux can come down either wing and wrist shot off of either foot to deceive the goalie on where the shot is going. When his slapper is on net, it is very fast and hard for the goalie to control the rebound setting up his teammates for an easy empty net goal. Defense – This is the area that Lemieux takes most pride in and that is being able to play a full 200 foot game, play in both the defensive and offensive zones and play on both the power play and penalty killing units. Lemieux wants to the guy that wants to play in all situations and be out there when the team is up by a goal with time running out to stop the other team from scoring.

1 -- i would like a 20 goal, 30 assist type of season for 50 points -- just being able to contribute anyway that i can on special teams as well 2 -- until we get some more d-men, it will be tough on our goalie. i think we will be good offensively, but i think it will be a tough go of it on the defensive side of things 3 -- team success easily -- being able to hoist a championship trophy as a team and skate around with it is far more important than any individual award 4 -- so far so good -- Juice has been an amazing GM so far and very helpful and laid everything out that i need to do and honestly coulndt have asked for anything better than that 5 -- Adam SAndler movie -- Sandy Wexler -- i would say 6 out of 10 6 -- Nicky's Thai Kitchen in pittsbugh -- pad see eaw with beef and then a hot ginger tea with it

Transaction ID: 20563392253153109 5 TPE -- claiming w/e 3-21-21 Free Week (12 capped) -- claiming w/e 3-21-21 Doubles Week (6 uncapped) -- claiming w/e 3-28-21

#FeelTheRush

Player Information Username: hockeyis66 Player Name: Jaromir Lemiuex Recruited From: Returning Age: 18 Position: RW Height: 73 in. Weight: 200 lbs. Birthplace: Denmark Player Page @VHLM GM

D- Condor Adrienne @NotAVHLM-GM

IN

Player Information Username: hockeyis66 Player Name: Seemu Telanne Recruited From: Returning Age: 16 Position: LW Height: 74 in. Weight: 205 lbs. Birthplace: Switzerland Player Page @VHLM GM

using for second free week since I cant use original post