Gustav

2 hours ago, Spartan said:

1. How about that hockey?

 

I definitely feel like the people making the big differences out there on the ice are the hockey players. They're really doing that hockey and that's what's up.

 

2 hours ago, Spartan said:

2. How cold is it rinkside?

 

In a word, cold. It is very cold down here, I do not get it, back to you.

 

2 hours ago, Spartan said:

3. How do you feel about this being your new permanent assignment?

 

No one told me that. When did we start doing paternity leave? 

 

21 hours ago, Spartan said:

4. What are the rules of hockey?

 

Well, first off, you gotta do that hockey. There's been some guys out there on the ice really getting it done and when one of your main guys scores a goal, that's what's up.

 

21 hours ago, Spartan said:

5. How do you pronounce Skjei?

 

I'm down here with my main man, and I don't know (real-life Gustav doesn't know either), but I gotta ask him, in the next period, how are you gonna do that hockey?

 

21 hours ago, Spartan said:

6. It's not cold down there right?

 

Uh, it is very cold. And I do not get it. Cold as hell.

31 minutes ago, Banackock said:

1. What's the idea behind the name?

 

Lazlo Holmes is the name of the reporter in this SNL sketch from a while back, played by Chance the Rapper. I think it's funny in general, but I can relate to it on some levels because I'm much more of a casual NHL fan than many VHLers. I like names that work whether you get the reference or not, and it sounds nice and is also hockey-adjacent in a nice way.

 

37 minutes ago, Banackock said:

2. How does it feel starting this new player?

 

Interesting. To be honest, I'm not really excited or in any "can't wait" stage, because I'm not really experiencing much new and I know who all the GMs are and all that. I've always had a player and I've played this position before. But I'm still looking forward to it in that I'm happy I'm still here and that I still want to do stuff that also happens to make my player better. Maybe I'll fare better than I thought I would and be an all-time great!

I knew I was creating on defense for a while. It's been a very long time since I played there (and I didn't even spend my whole career doing it), and even though I was terrible at it, I still had a lot of fun. I'm very excited for my next player, whose name I can now reveal (bonus points if you understand it).

 

Something that made me question that a bit, though, was the fact that I'd heard lots of buzz about other people creating at the same position. It's going to be really interesting to see what comes of this--I'm now the sixth higher-profile member to recreate on defense in this draft class. It brings up lots of questions about who's getting drafted and where, because not everyone has a need for someone at our position and someone's going to fall. But that also means that someone's getting a bargain--we might have to fight for those top spots, but everything that matters after that point will be decided on the ice. For some people, it might be just a stroke of particularly good or bad luck.

 

But I look forward to it! This brings up lots of chances to get into things a little bit deeper. We have the chance to define an entire generation of defense and we'll have a good group to measure up to going forward. We've all got serious #1 potential and we'll all have to do a lot to keep up.

 

@KRZY @jacobcarson877 @JCarson @AW13 @Tate Let's all have great careers!

I think it's a shame that these aren't more common.

 

Ask me (or my player) anything!

Art Vandelay

On 2/1/2024 at 1:23 AM, ShawnGlade said:

On Halifax you'd literally start on the first line in front of a good goalie and a great FWD core. Plus we have an all-star locker room this season, and you've never played for Halifax is memory serves correct

 

You've played for me; now it's time for me to play for you. You've given good reasons for me to sign up (and you're the only one who offered who could max my ice time without decreasing someone else's)--let's do this!

 

Thanks to everyone who replied here! I considered it all.

Player Information

Username: Gustav

Player Name: Lazlo Holmes

Recruited From: Other (The Jerk Store)

Age: 24

Position: D

Height: 70 in.

Weight: 194 lbs.

Birthplace: United States of America

Player Page

@VHLM GM

Art Vandelay

 

Welcome back!

28 minutes ago, dstevensonjr said:

Vandelay has been the architect

I see what you did there 

 

Great article as usual! I think Cooke takes it for LA because he’s won an MVP with us, but always happy to be mentioned. 

I remember really early on in my time here, Beav set up teams in NHL and fully customized all the players to do it. He also cranked scoring way up. It was fun to watch for about 5 minutes and I can understand how that wasn't worth the hours of effort.

 

I didn't love community voting because I felt like sometimes it turned into a popularity contest. I remember one time being FISTED ANALLY BY A CIRCUS MONKEY because all the members of a specific group were particularly active in voting for each other regardless of numbers. But I guess the NHL has that same issue.

On 2/4/2024 at 7:06 AM, Victor said:

Gus, floor is also yours for any HoNB nominees you want to resurrect given a fairly manageable ballot of 9 players at the moment.

 

Out of everyone I've looked at so far, I feel most strongly pro-HoF about Voittu Jannula. Was removed from the ballot seemingly with a minority of votes and with not much discussion in S36 and hasn't been mentioned in here since S42. Retired 3rd all-time in points on defense and his career numbers basically match a few other HoF players of the era with practically equal awards/cups.

 

Big reasons why Jannula hasn't been inducted include (a) that he spent a season and a half as a forward at the start of his career, and (b) his first four seasons aren't recoverable as we've lost every index prior to S18. But I think my article puts together enough info that it can be safely said that he's worthy--go read it if you haven't.

 

 

After that, I'm also very much in favor of Lasse Milo. Felix Peters making it into the HoF pretty much necessarily means that Milo should as there's practically no line between them. I also concluded in earlier articles that Kohler/Holik actually deserve to be looked at again, and that Bo Boeser deserves a good look to begin with, but those are really priorities #3-5 for me and two of those have been repeatedly not inducted very recently.

 

My HoNB takeaway? I think that Jannula and Milo should be inducted. I like others but I think there are more semantics involved with them that would make it pretty difficult.

 

 

I'm voting Thunder this season. I'm ok with Papa but I actually think Pearce being best 9-season player (and one of the first) is something more intangible that's a huge bonus for me. That's something that's meaningful + relevant to league history and actually makes him #2 for me out of those currently on the ballot.

 

 

Jannula and (maybe next weak class) Milo should be added to the ballot and my votes would actually be Thunder and Jannula if this happened. It's up to us whether we want to take that step.

I'm recreating, y'all! Art Vandelay has less than 24 hours or so left as a non-retired VHL player. It's been a culmination of a whole lot of words entered into this website, and it feels weird to let go of that. Over the course of my career with Vandelay, I've changed quite a bit both on and off the VHL, so I think it might be fun to speculate a bit on what could happen going forward. None of this is stuff I directly intend to do, but it's all stuff I could see happening based on some very general feelings. We'll see if any of it at all actually pans out.

 

• I will be drafted no earlier than 3rd overall and no later than 6th. I think the league has its share of people who go more insane than I currently do in that there will probably be fantasy zone weeks that I miss out on and I'm not the incredibly active, live-in-the-locker-room-type that I used to be. But no GM will be making a mistake in drafting me--I've max earned almost every single week for the past five years of my life, I have a track record of team loyalty, and I like to think that most people out there see me as nice enough and smart enough that they'd see my player as a benefit.

 

• My player will not make the Hall of Fame and will retire with less TPE than Vandelay. I intend to try as much as possible. I also have zero interest in playing in the E and will likely have a far lower cap than I would have if I decided not to progress on a sensible schedule--which apparently is 100% fair--so unless there's no room for me on a roster, I'm a little bit screwed by something that's ultimately still my choice but that I still think I'm allowed not to like anyway. I'd much rather stick to my principles than chase individual success, and it's a bit of a shame that those can no longer coexist in the VHL. But as for the second part of my original statement, the one about having less TPE? I hope I'll have more going on in my life, and in all the right ways, over the next couple years. What I'm doing at work should get more serious as I end up closer to reaching conclusions on some projects, and I'm also feeling single enough lately to go do something about it even though I have no clue what I'm doing. So, while I don't intend to drop off in earning, just know that if I do, I'm probably having fun.

 

• The league will have one massive change that I love and one massive change that I hate. This isn't me dropping BoG hints. I really have no idea what those changes will be; I just think they're on the way.

 

• I will finally win an individual award other than MVP and I will finally get a Cup. Maybe this contradicts my point about how I don't think I'm making the HoF, but I think I can say this too because I think it's about time. There's a bit less competition on defense anyway--even Garcia got nominated for one of the awards at one point.

 

• At the end of my next career, both Bana and Hedge will still be GMs. They've been in their roles longer than I've been in the league and I have no idea how they do it--10 seasons was enough for me and I still don't particularly want to get back into it.

 

• The greatest defenseman of this generation--if he makes one--will be made by @jacobcarson877. The third time is far more than enough to be the charm here, and he's the one person I can name who I'm pretty sure is going defense and will probably out-earn me.

 

• Contrary to what the past few seasons have indicated, I think we're going to have another too-many-players crisis. The recruitment server is popping off and I hope the recruitment that's done comes with actual targets in mind instead of the "pump the league as full as possible" mindset of a few years ago.

 

• We will see at least one major drama with a well-regarded user. I have no indication of what this might be; it's just been a while.

 

• The S100 class will cause legitimate issues with people trying to be part of that one specifically--I've even heard people saying they're going to do this and I don't like it. Expect 99 and 101 to be a little bit thinner, and expect a lot of shady GMing surrounding that as people try to get their picks in certain seasons. I wouldn't be surprised if a recreate or two were made at times more conducive to that player's placement on a specific team (let's say a GM creates in S100 so their player is more likely to be available, or loads up on the 99s and tries to change a few minds.

 

• Going off of that, I think we're going to see some really really good players in the S96-98 classes or so. If the S100 panic is enough, we could see players hitting their peak builds a few seasons before a large part of the league, with not many players with TPE levels in between. It's possible this effect could even extend to players created this coming week, and maybe I'll benefit from it as well if enough people retire after S98.

 

That's what I think could happen. What do you think?

1 hour ago, Enorama said:

Oh, mighty GustavMattias, virtuoso of the ice, we beseech your unparalleled prowess to grace our humble hockey team with your unparalleled skills. Your name resonates like a hymn in the rinks, echoing tales of unmatched finesse and unrivaled victories. We stand in awe of your sublime talent, envisioning the glory and triumph that would surely follow your esteemed presence on our team.

 

With the grace of a figure skater and the power of a thunderous slap shot, you are the embodiment of hockey excellence. Your stick dances on the puck like a maestro conducting a symphony, leaving opponents in awe and teammates in utter admiration. The very thought of your joining our ranks ignites a fervent flame of hope, as we envision the victories and championships that could be within our grasp.

 

Oh, GustavMattias, we kneel before you, our hearts entwined with the blades you masterfully glide upon. We implore you, with the utmost sincerity and humility, to consider gracing our team with your celestial talent. Join us on this journey, and together, let us etch a legacy of triumph on the icy canvas of the hockey arena. We await your benevolent response, oh hockey deity, with bated breath and unwavering devotion.

I don’t even need to run this through the AI detector to know smh

 

10 minutes ago, Spartan said:

This man really got rid of waiver pitches and asked to be waiver pitched smh

 

Damn right. Forum content for me not for thee

What's up @VHLM GM! I'm recreating next week, and I'm sure you know that, thanks to the new waiver system, I have the chance to play anywhere I want.

 

The trouble with that, though, is that I don't want any of you to feel as though I'm picking favorites or screwing someone over by going a certain way. As commissioner, I want to be as fair as possible.

 

Something that's just as contentious as recreates choosing to play in places that appeal to them (could you imagine?) is the sentiment that, under the current waiver system, GMs lose a little bit of their own personalities and can't communicate as directly with new players--sacrificing a little creative edge for something that's otherwise been fairly convenient and taken the load off. It's with those old feelings in mind that I'm inviting you to make a pitch in this thread to my upcoming player (who's going to be on defense, if you're wondering).

 

I'm not asking to be worshipped or begged here; just give me the no-BS rundown of why your team will be the right landing spot for me next week. You can give me any reasons you'd like (and being creative in the right ways could be a bonus), but I'm mostly looking for solid reasoning as to what should make me want to click your button. What will I get as a player? Do you have any special first-gens I should get to know? Why will I enjoy interacting with your team? 

 

I'll likely go with whoever I think is most convincing, so convince away if you'd like! I'll show you pretty soon where hard work and honesty can pay off.

Good evening VHL!

 

I thought about doing a few different things for all-star week, but none were really clicking for me. Could I do an article where I try to select my own dream team? Sure, but I'm sure everyone else is doing that too. Could I make one where I select a dream team out of players past or present? I have done that three times already. Really, anything to do with players is an idea that's bound to be worn out.

 

But what's more valuable than our players? We're a community of individuals and a community of friends. That's bound to make some moments happen. And with Vandelay gone for good after this week (and that's weird, isn't it?), there's been some stuff in the past almost-two years (which is even weirder) that's worth remembering.

 

That's right, we're not talking about all-star players but all-star moments. The types of things I'll remember long after Vandelay and all the ways the league has changed over his career. Let's name a few.

 

• The Great AI Takeover: In one of the dumbest moves I've ever seen, many of you have approached the task of cheating on your submissions with unwavering determination. It's a stain on the league to constantly watch people get punished for this, and it's also a slap in the face to the idea that you earn well by applying your mind to creating content that people enjoy. Don't be part of this.
• Town of Salem #27: possibly my favorite one ever. For those unfamiliar, this one featured @omgitshim winning with a role that doesn't usually win, in a game that went right down to the wire and had one big play after another. We also saw something we'll probably never see again in @jhatty8 waking up from surgery and telling everyone he was evil while under the influence.
• Delete the E: My favorite incentive. This wasn't even the point of the thread I linked, but it did spawn some productive discussion on a controversial subject. More specifically, and not related to the title, GMs who don't scout their players are stupid.
• The Very First Vandelay: I've spent basically my entire career thinking that I came up with the art of writing Vandelay in game threads--most of the time, if I go 2-0 in a given sim and/or record a shutout, I'll simply comment "Art Vandelay" under the sim thread. I've also known @jacobcarson877 to follow suit this whole time, which consistently flatters me--but imagine my surprise when I found that he was the first one ever to comment my player's name, and only his name, on anything (at least on the forum). Regardless of origin, I'm glad that Vandelay has something that makes him more visible (and hopefully more likable).
• Town of Pallet: an incredibly in-depth Pokemon game created entirely by @Ptyrell, this ultimately failed because it required 100% participation from all players and was also even more incredibly work-intensive from the game mod end. It was fun while it lasted, though, and was a huge testament to one person's creativity and drive to have fun.
• Hybrid Attributes: Easily the league's largest change since I created Vandelay, this dropped a week after he first hit the ice in Ottawa. I was part of the planning for this and partly created a goaler because I wasn't sure what to think, but it's worked well enough since it was (against my wishes) implemented that I think it's been a positive change. Nothing is ever perfect, so we'll see how this holds up in S192, but everyone needs to know the context behind this and understand why it's important.

 

I didn't even know before I created this article that I created Vandelay before I'd left undergrad. That feels like forever ago. Since then, I've moved, started earning my own living, gone through all my grad classes, wasted all of last spring semester on a side project that went nowhere, talked about my research at a big conference, started working out (and still stayed single, dammit, I'm 23 and it's February tomorrow), and made tens of new friends who not only are amazing people but who also come from all over the world and have taught me lots of things I never knew. I'm excited and worried and overall really interested in what the next almost-two years are going to bring real-life Gustav. But I think the VHL has grown just as much, and I think it's important that we feel the same ways about it. It's time for a whole other player, and hopefully it's going to be an all-star one.

Art Vandelay

FISTED ANALLY BY A CIRCUS MONKEY

Art Vandelay

10 minutes ago, Beketov said:

Tbh I don’t even remember there being a word filter for traded but I believe it existed.

 

If anything there are probably actually more of them these days, they just aren’t things that often get mentioned.

 

I can think of two others that are both BoG-specific and I don't like either of them; one feels like censorship and the other wrecked a good joke.

 

"Quick" changing to "Quik" was funny when he was around. I'm not sure I know of anything else.

55 minutes ago, Fire Tortorella said:

Traded

 

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

ART VANDELAY

Art Vandelay

5 hours ago, Berocka said:

Not to out Gustav @Gustav  but have a look at this DI means essentially nothing in this sim

 

 

I think the point was that BC is a way to get DF, so you essentially can go for higher DI if you only want the defense and not the checking. 
 

It’s not a strategy I would follow though. BC is very inefficient at upgrading DF as it is and spending even more to cancel out the rest feels like a waste. 

Yeah if you go back and read that BoG thread you’ll find that I was pretty against it. It’s complicated and actual improvement is slow. 
 

It’s at least worked and it gets me much less annoyed than watching whole teams following some stupid cheap way out and then bragging about it. But I do wish that never happened in the first place.