DMaximus

@McKelvie(and everyone) Please make sure tag the person picking after you, so they know they are on the clock. I'll take D- Robin Galante Nilsson @NSG88you're on the clock for your first pick.

@Advantageyour 12 hours have expired. You can make your first pick at any time. @McKelvieyou are now on the clock and have 12 hours to make your first pick.

@Advantage2 hour warning. You're on the clock for the opening pick.

My post to track our teams. Please ping me with any questions. Good luck everyone! 1. Team Advantage F - Christian Mingle F - Luke Thornton F - Duncan Idaho D - Cowboy Prout D - Tyler Walker G - Rara Rasputin 2. Team McKelvie F - Aloe Dear F - Dakota Lamb F - Lee Xin D - Kosmo Kramerev D - Kasper Kankkunen G - Zamboni Driver 3. Team DMaximus F - Isabella Campbell F - Addison McLaren F - Cabe McJake D - Robin Galante Nilsson D - Battre Sandstrom G - Jean Pierre Camus 4. Disqualified (fka Team NSG88) F - Henry Tucker F - Red Lite F - Justin Lose D - Matty Socks D - Hard Markinson G - Markus Emerson Jr 5. Team dasboot F - Groovy Dood F - Taro Tsujimoto F - Timothy Brown D - Alex Letang D - L G - Kevin Malone 6. Team solas F - Valtteri Vaakanainen F - SS Hornet F - Muffbeav D - Chris Hylands D - Jeffrey Pines G - Doug Dimmadome

Week 2 claim

1. What are our big needs this offseason? I think we need to solidify our defense by adding a young 4th defenseman. We definitely need to improve our offense. 2. Who do you think will go first overall in the draft? Seems like Tyler Reinhart will be drafted 1st overall. 3. Which team is going to win it all this season? I think we will win it all. We still have a very talented team and just need to work together to make it happen. 4. Will any of our players win individual awards this season? Who and which ones? Seems only fitting for Jeffrey Pines to win the Jeffrey Pines memorial tournament MVP award. 5. What is your favourite song that is about Los Angeles? Not sure what this says about me because it’s about leaving L.A., but probably “L.A. Freeway” by Guy Clark. “Under the Bridge” by Red Hot Chili Peppers is up there too. Based on those answers, I probably need to find more positive songs about L.A. 6. Which animal best represents your player? I’ll go with a jaguar. Compact, muscular, and ready to strike at any moment.

13th Annual Unofficial VHL Regular Season Awards – S78 Another exciting regular season has come to a close. That means we can dole out some regular season awards! Welcome everyone to the 13th Annual Unofficial VHL Regular Season Awards honoring the highs and lows of S78! Thank you to everyone that reads this. These awards have been created by me. There is no voting process and they are not officially recognized by the VHL Board of Governors. I wrote descriptions for most of these award names in the original award post. I’m reducing the list of the previous winners to the last 5 seasons. If you want to check out the award winners from every season, use this link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1sAZtX3bxVpPTIsKe1rSRVOenH1-iyWzbQEdR9ZvYOdU/edit?usp=sharing I also added the “all-time” record for each category. Of course by that I mean all-time for the existence of these awards, not all-time, all-time. Clear? Ok, good. Let’s get things underway! The Pylon Award (worst +/- rating) – David Tavau @Ahma David Tavau grew up with a life-long dream to play for Davos. I doubt their dream included winning the Pylon award. They took home the award with a -40 this season All-time record: S73 - Balentine Kidd - -74 Last 5 Pylon Award Winners: Season Player + / - S78 David Tavau -40 S77 Ove Dyrdahl -43 S76 Tyler Walker -35 S75 Pistil Stamen -35 S74 Jay Jones -38 The Gandhi Award (least penalty minutes, min 1,000 minutes played) – Sven Reikkinen @Devise London must be teaching discipline because they take home this award for the second consecutive season. Reikkinen made a bold statement in their rookie season, their 0 PIM with 2,007 minutes played is the first 0 PIM 2,000 minutes played season since Diljodh Starload set the all-time record set in S67. All-time record: S67 - Diljodh Starload - 0 PIM, 2091 Minutes Played Last 5 Gandhi Award Winners: Season Player PIM Minutes Played S78 Sven Reikkinen 0 2007 S77 The Terrible Trivium 4 2136 S76 John Brewitt 0 1320 S75 Jonas Stormsson 4 1700 S74 Uhtred 2 2132 The Major2 Award (most major penalties) - Bob Tristan @N0HBDY With 200+ PIM in each of their seasons, Tristan is one of the top penalty makers in the game today. They deserved this award by recording 11 major penalties. All-time Record: S77 – Randy Marsh - 14 Majors Previous Major2 Award Winners: Season Player Major Penalties S78 Bob Tristan 11 S77 Randy Marsh 14 S76 Riley Knight Gee 9 S75 Gary Tarantino 12 S74 Gary Tarantino 10 The Timex Award (received most hits) – Aloe Dear @Renomitsu Fearless and well-moistured are two words that have been used to describe Aloe Dear. The fearless one comes into play here as they have proven they are willing to take a hit to make a play. Aloe led the league getting hit 312 times. All-time Record: S69 - John Madden - 357 Hits taken Last 5 Timex Award Winners: Season Player Hits Taken S78 Aloe Dear 312 S77 Taro Tsujimoto 307 S76 Thomas Landry II 329 S75 John Merrick 311 S74 Mikko Lahtinen 321 The John Wayne Award (most shots on goal) - Muffbeav @.sniffuM Muffbeav squirted shots all over the place this season. 531 of them to be precise. Those wondering about Lexi Glass’s @AW13 follow up to their record setting season, Glass ended up with a much lower 400 shots this season. That just shows what a difference a season makes. All-time record: S77 - Lexi Glass - 570 Shots on goal Last 5 John Wayne Award Winners: Season Player Shots on Goal S78 Muffbeav 531 S77 Lexi Glass 570 S76 Andrew Su 483 S75 Mikko Lahtinen 510 S74 Patrik Tallinder 532 The “Hit the Broadside of the Barn” Award (most own shots blocked) - Aloe Dear @Renomitsu Dear was able to claim this award by having 161 of their own shots blocked. All-time record: S76 - Chris Hylands - 165 Own shots blocked Last 5 HtBotB Award Winners: Season Player Own Shots Blocked S78 Aloe Dear 161 S77 Patrik Laine 150 S76 Chris Hylands 165 S75 Mikko Lahtinen 146 S74 Ray Sheilds 157 The “Can’t Hit the Broadside of the Barn” Award (most own shots missed) – Aloe Dear @Renomitsu It’s rare that someone wins the John Wayne award but doesn’t win either of the Barn awards. Credit to Muffbeav for that accomplishment. Aloe Dear won this award with 407 shots missed. All-time record: S74 - Brock Louth - 429 Shots missed Last 5 CHtBotB Award Winners: Season Player Shots Missed S78 Aloe Dear 407 S77 Lexi Glass 424 S76 Andrew Su 373 S75 Mikko Lahtinen 375 S74 Brock Louth 429 The New Shin Pads Award (most blocked shots) – Robin Galante Nilsson @RomanesEuntDomus RGN played with reckless abandon, accumulating an all-time record 229 blocked shots this season! Viktor Alexei Kamenov @BigTittySmitty, who set the all-time mark last season, finished 2nd with 209 shots blocked. All-time record: S78 - Robin Galante Nilsson - 229 Shots blocked Last 5 New Shin Pads Award Winners: Season Player Shots Blocked S78 Robin Galante Nilsson 229 S77 Viktor Alexei Kamenov 223 S76 Hulk Hogan Jr 188 S75 Fernando Jokinen 200 S74 Matty Socks 181 The Tired Legs Award (most minutes played) - Robin Galante Nilsson @RomanesEuntDomus RGN winning another award with 2,398 minutes played. Just 3 minutes of the all-time record! This was 95 minutes more than 2nd place, teammate Javad Kamkar @Parriyah9374. All-time record: S73 - Alex Bridges - 2401 Minutes played Last 5 Tired Legs Award Winners: Season Player Minutes Played S78 Robin Galante Nilsson 2398 S77 Andrew Su 2248 S76 Chicken Wing 2213 S75 Alek Andreshnikov 2303 S74 Guy Lesieur 2279 The Snap! Award (most power play minutes) - Muffbeav @.sniffuM Being on the ice with the man advantage helps create opportunities to take shots. John Wayne award winner, Muffbeav took full advantage of his league leading 412 minutes on the powerplay. All-time record: S67 - Beau Louth - 437 power play minutes Last 5 Snap! Award Winners: Season Player PP Minutes S78 Muffbeav 412 S77 Onde Sandstrom 422 S76 Alex Letang 351 S75 Micah Adrienne 414 S74 Micheal Gary Scott 378 The 1 vs. 100 Award (most time on penalty kill) - Kevin Wu @kevinscix A Malmo player wins this award for the second consecutive year. Things were a little more subdued in Malmo this season with Wu winning the award with 368 minutes on the PK. 50 less than the record setting mark from last season. All-time record: S77 - Viktor Alexei Kamenov - 418 penalty kill minutes Last 5 1 vs. 100 Award Winners: Season Player PK Minutes S78 Kevin Wu 368 S77 Viktor Alexei Kamenov 418 S76 Mikeal Keef 359 S75 Dakota Lamb 369 S74 Edwin THE Encarnacion 344 The Sean Archer Award (highest face-off win %, min 1,000 faceoffs) - Aloe Dear @Renomitsu I like it when all-time records are set. This category is trending in the opposite direction. The winning percentage has dropped each season since the high watermark of S74. Aloe Dear wins this season with the record low highest percentage of 57.89% of face-offs won. All-time record: S74 - Brock Louth - 63.72% face-offs won Last 5 Sean Archer Award Winners: Season Player Face Off Pct S78 Aloe Dear 57.89% S77 Christian Mingle 58.42% S76 Benny Graves 59.91% S75 Benny Graves 60.14% S74 Brock Louth 63.72% The Castor Troy Award (lowest face-off win %, min 1,000 faceoffs) - Luc Tessier @KC15 Tessier learned that winning face-offs in the big leagues is different than the minors. They were a top 10 face-off winner last season in the VHLM, but dead last in their rookie season in the VHL, winning only 42.8% of their 2,311 face-offs. All-time record: S66 - Bryce Zhields - 30% face-offs won. Last 5 Castor Troy Award Winners: Season Player Face Off Pct S78 Luc Tessier 42.80% S77 Pietro Angellini 44.71% S76 Nero Endrizzi 43.87% S75 Jeff Odinson 32.74% S74 Kefka Palazzo 32.26% The Triple Deke Award (most penalty shot goals) - Thomas Landry II @Doomsday Landry’s penalty shot moves are the stuff of legend in Prague. Their talents were on full display this season, scoring an all-time high 8 penalty shot goals. What a great way to end a career for the Prague legend. All-time record: S67 - Veran Dragomir and S78 - Thomas Landry II - 8 penalty shot goals Last 5 Triple Deke Award Winners: Season Player Penalty Shot Goals S78 Thomas Landry II 8 S77 Arthur Dayne 5 S76 Kris Rice 5 S75 Ola Vikingstad 6 S74 Benny Graves 7 The Rocky Award (most fights won) – Riley Knight Gee @KnightRiley Gee is building a very impressive resume with back-to-back seasons with an all-time record tying 6 fight wins. Their fight record was 6-2-2. All-time record: S77,S78 - Riley Knight Gee, S74 - Kristopher McDagg, and S67 ACL TEAR - 6 fights won Last 5 Rocky Award Winners: Season Player Fights Won S78 Riley Knight Gee 6 S77 Riley Knight Gee 6 S76 Cabe McJake and Randy Marsh 3 S75 Vin Calia 4 S74 Kristopher McDagg 6 The Glass Joe Award (most fights lost) – Matt thunder @Matt thunder Matt tied Aloe Dear and Ove Dyrdahl @GRZ with 3 fights lost this season. thunder loses out because they won 0 fights (both Dear and Dyrdahl won 2 fights). Do people fight Matt because he didn’t uppercase his last name? We may never know. All-time record: S74 - Lee Xin and S69 Rusty Shackleford - 5 fights lost Last 5 Glass Joe Award Winners: Season Player Fights Lost S78 Matt thunder 3 S77 Randy Marsh 4 S76 Riley Knight Gee 4 S75 Jared Willis 3 S74 Lee Xin 5 The Stars Award (most stars won) – Robin Winter @Sonnet Winter concluded their career with their best season. The 26 total stars they earned were well deserved. All-time record: S76 - Mikko Lahtinen – 34 total stars Last 5 Stars Award Winners: Season Player Total Stars S78 Robin Winter 26 S77 Jim Bob 26 S76 Mikko Lahtinen 34 S75 Mikko Lahtinen 24 S74 Mikko Lahtinen 32 The “Always a Bridesmaid” Award (most stars without winning 1st star) – Jim Bob @jRuutu Jim Bob went from winning the Stars award last season to this award. Some may consider that a fall from grace, but an award is an award in my book. All-time record: S72 - Lewis Dawson and S67 Dan Baillie - 13 stars Last 5 Bridesmaid Award Winners: Season Player Stars S78 Jim Bob 8 S77 Mikeal Keef 9 S76 Dan Baillie Jr 12 S75 Jacob Perry 7 S74 Richard Penisson 12 The Biggest Backpack Award (player with the largest difference in points from the rest of their team) - Taro Tsujimoto @GustavMattias Taro scored 22 more points than their closest teammate, Reylynn Reinhart @Ricer13. All-time record: S76 – Chris Hylands - 36 points more than next teammate Last 5 Backpack Award Winners: Season Player Point Difference from nearest teammate S78 Taro Tsujimoto 22 S77 Groovy Dood 26 S76 Chris Hylands 36 S75 Dagmar Havlova 22 S74 Patrik Tallinder 27 The Anniversary Award (rank in total points matches season number) - Erik Killinger @Peace This is season 78, so the award goes to the player in 78th place in total points. Congratulations to the retiring Erik Killinger! Last 5 Anniversary Award Winners: Season Player Points S78 Erik Killinger 63 S77 Vin Calia 62 S76 Jonas Stormsson 59 S75 Seabass Perrin 62 S74 Pengu 64 The Egghshell Award (goalie with most overtime losses) - Calvin Harvey @Mrpenguin30 Harvey ended their career with one of their best seasons. The only slip up was with overtime losses. They lost an all-time high tying 11 overtime games. All-time record: S78 – Calvin Harvey, S75 - Doug Dimmadome, and S71 Jaxx Hextall - 11 OT games lost Previous Eggshell Award Winners: Season Player Overtime Games Lost S78 Calvin Harvey 11 S77 Thadius Sales 7 S76 Doug Dimmadome 9 S75 Doug Dimmadome 11 S74 Greg Eagles 10 The Jason Voorhees Award (most PIM by a Goalie) - Michael Olson @MSO94 Olson pulled off the extremely impressive feat of winning this award while not being a starter. The entire league applauds your dedication to committing penalties! All-time record: S76 - Doug Dimmadome - 29 PIM Previous Jason Voorhees Award Winners: Season Player PIM S78 Michael Olson 15 S77 Rara Rasputin 10 S76 Doug Dimmadome 29 S75 Jaxx Hextall 12 S74 Ajay Krishna 21 The Poke Check Award (highest % of penalty shots stopped, min 10 penalty shots against) - Grekkark Gyrfalcon @Sharkstrong Grekkark Gyrfalcon cemented their status as the top penalty shot goalie in the league, taking home this award for the 3rd time, with at 78.3% save percentage. Thadius Sales @thadthrasher had the exact same percentage saved, but Gyrfalcon won on a tie-breaker because they faced more penalty shots (46 to Sales’ 23) All-time record: S75 - Grekkark Gyrfalcon – 88.9% penalty shots stopped. Previous Poke Check Award Winners: Season Player Penalty Shots Stopped S78 Grekkark Gyrfalcon 78.3% S77 Jacob Carson 80.0% S76 Grekkark Gyrfalcon 79.5% S75 Grekkark Gyrfalcon 88.9% S74 Jacques Lafontaine 85.7% That wraps it up for this season! Another year, another successful award ceremony! Congratulations and/or condolences to all the winners! As always, please provide any suggestions, insights, or thoughts in the comments. Thank you all for reading and continuing to make this a successful column! 2,000+ words. Will claim for 4 weeks.

Happy Birthday VHL!

1. Who you got winning the cup? How many games? I think Seattle will win in 6 games. 2. What are the big offseason moves to make us good again? I think we need to pickup up or draft a promising young 4th defenseman. But offense was our worst part last season, so I guess a couple strong offensive players. 3. How hyped are you for the Draft Lottery Tournament? I always love playing hockey, so I’m hyped for that. I’m hyped to help the franchise improve by winning the tournament and hopefully get a better draft pick. 4. What's the best thing to do in an LA summer? Escape the city and travel to remote, quiet locations. If I am in LA it’s tough to turn down a day at the beach, in the ocean. 5. Favourite type of food to get before a home game? Got to keep it clean and healthy before a game. I love Acai and oats for a pregame snack to give me the energy for a game. 6. What's your favourite city to visit during road trips?? I like traveling overseas. Davos is probably my favorite place to visit because it is so beautiful.

I will play, manage, and fill as needed.

week 4 claim

I absolutely love that you implemented these awards. Great job @KaleebtheMighty! Congrats to all the Reapers! Great work everyone!

1. The season has come to a close for LA. What are your overall thoughts on the teams play? I can’t help but be disappointed. I legitimately felt like we had a team with the potential to win a cup. To not even make the playoffs is a big let down. 2. How do you feel your player did individually? worse or better than you expected? Pistil had a terrible season, there’s no way around it. Coming off a solid season last year, I expected the trend to continue upward, or at least get a point a game. Pistil only had 38 points all season, much worse than expected. 3. Who would you pick as MVP this season? Why? Jeffrey Pines has to be the team’s MVP for the season. He was the leader in points, hits, game winning goals. For the league, I’d go with Aloe Dear. 4. What should LA acquire this off-season to make a better team? It’s tough to not question our offense after having the 2nd worst goals for in the league. But I think we still need to secure a solid 4th defenseman. 5. LA is going to have a new agm going forward. Thoughts on the new hire? It’s funny that the rory and brewins just swapped positions basically. Congrats to both of them. 6. What's your go to meal at a restaurant? I like to try new things, especially at restaurants. I’m not sure I’ll ever order the same item at a restaurant, so I don’t think I have a go to meal. I do really love French onion soup, so it is pretty tough for me to not order that when it’s on the menu.

week 3 claim

1. what's your go-to shootout move? I do a modified version of a soccer move called the elastico. It’s basically a move where you start going to the left, then quickly cut back to the right, all while maintaining the puck on the stick. This allows you to quickly shoot the pick as you move to the right. 2. How much do the fans have an impact on how you play at home? There’s nothing like feeling the energy of your fans supporting you. It’s able to lift your soul and spirit. 3. If you had to pick an alternative logo for LA what would it be? What color would the jersey be? When I think of LA, I think of Hollywood, which makes sense for the team name, “Stars”. Hollywood makes me think of glitz, glamour, and the color gold. I would want the alternate logo to represent Hollywood, maybe some spotlights, a marquee, movie stuff. Of course, gold would be the prominent color. 4. What's the bets piece of advice a coach or gm has given you? You can only control your own actions and your own response. Focus only on yourself, let other people worry about themselves. 5. Do you feel pressure to preform well? If so does that motivate you or does it make it harder? I was the 1st overall pick, I definitely feel pressure to perform well, to meet the expectations of the team and the fans. Based on my performance this season, I would say the pressure is making it harder on me because I’m not producing results. 6. Where's your favorite vacation spot? There’s so much of the world I haven’t seen yet, so I don’t really know. Since I’ve been away from Brazil for so long, going home now feels like a vacation. So I guess my homeland is my current favorite place for a vacation.

I'll apply. Good luck to all the candidates!

Week 2/2 claim

1. The trade deadline has now passed. What do you think was the biggest move throughout the vhl this season? I’m not sure about a single trade that was the biggest move, but both London and Toronto made a lot of moves this season. 2. If you could change any rule in the vhl what would it be? I’d change the forced retirement rule. Let a player play as long as they want! 3. What does your player HAVE to have in the locker room at all times? A good luck charm? Snacks? I have to have my lucky roll of tape. Sure it’s old an unusable, but it has to be in my hockey bag or things will go really bad. Actually let me go check on that, maybe that’s the reason I’ve been terrible this season. 4. Who is LAs biggest rival? what does that change in terms of how you play against them? I think Seattle is, because they knocked us out of the playoffs last season. 5. Do you have any game day superstitions? if so what are they? I’m not superstitious, only a little stitious. The tape roll I talked about earlier is really my only one. On gameday, I have to keep my mind focused on playing, I can’t worry about putting equipment on in the right way, or tucking a jersey in some way. Focusing on the game is what matters. 6. Whats the strangest thing you have heard in the locker room? Well without getting too disgusting, let’s just say someone, who shall remain nameless, took a risk on a fart and lost. That was an interesting sound to be sure.

That is possible and definitely not a good outcome. One of my other suggestions with players immediately going to the E when they get over 200 TPE would solve most of that issue.

The virtual hockey world is still reeling from the announcement of a brand new league, the VHL:E (more commonly referred to as the VHLE). The target of this league is players who need a little more time to prepare for the demands of the big league, the VHL, but have outgrown the minor league, the VHLM. Let’s take a look at some of the details and I’ll share my thoughts First, I’ll say I think it’s great to have the option to even create a third league. Thanks to everyone’s hard work, this league keeps growing and I think it’s fantastic. A big congratulations to everyone who positively contributes to this community, this league is possible because of you. I think this league is a wonderful idea. More meaningful jobs, more meaningful games, more hype, more everything. All of that is great. It seems inevitable that the VHLE will grow while the VHLM will shrink. (This might be where one could regret calling it the VHLE, now preventing teams from just being able to move from the VHLM to the VHLE to accommodate the increased number of players staying in the VHLE for longer than the VHLM. Although, it could be funny to take a VHLM team and slap a European city name on it, like the Munich 21st. Similar to what then NBA did with the Lakers and the Jazz, where the mascot name makes no sense for the city.) I say inevitable because, just naturally, the TPE difference a player needs to earn to leave the VHLM is different form the VHLE. Here’s the new TPE caps: VHLM: 30-199 TPE VHLE: 200-399 TPE VHL: 350+ TPE On first glimpse, it appears that it actually requires you to earn more TPE to leave the VHLM (169 TPE) than the VHLE (150 TPE). That is true but only for new creates with no carry over TPE who create within 3 weeks of the trade deadline. After 3 weeks, the catch up TPE will give a new player at least 24 TPE, making it require less TPE to make it out of the VHLM. For most people, it will require more TPE to get out of the VHLE, meaning more players in the VHLE, less in the VHLM. Ultimately that will mean more teams in the VHLE and less in the VHLM. As an ex-VHLM GM, it hurts a little to see the downgrading of the M. But change is good and I think the league should embrace this new structure. To really make the VHLE succeed I think these changes should be implemented: 1) Increase the starting TPE for new players. I think 50 TPE should be the new starting TPE for any player. Since the VHLM is development focused, we should want to get players out of the M as quickly as possible, let them learn the ropes, learn how to earn, learn how the league works, and then move up in the world. Currently if someone starts at 30 TPE and earns a healthy 10 TPE/week it would take them 17 weeks to be able to graduate from the M. That’s 2 seasons in the M. Clickers earning 6 TPE/week will take 28 weeks to graduate from the M. 3 or possibly 4 seasons. That’s a really long time for someone to be in a development league, especially if there’s now another league they have to go to before making the VHL. I know, I know, we’re trying to fight TPE inflation. 20 TPE is a lot. Just to give to everyone Thankfully we can make some minor adjustments to keep things under control. Maybe don’t start the catch up TPE until the season starts. Maybe keep 30 TPE the starting point for recreates, so that carry-over TPE doesn’t get crazy. 2) Double all point tasks for all VHLM players under 200 TPE. We really want to encourage players to contribute and rewarding with TPE is a great way to do that. Of course, this could be abused by someone staying in the M for an additional season just to earn double PTs, so we prevent that by stopping the doubles at 200 TPE. Honestly, I think all tasks should be doubled but I’d be ok with just doubling point tasks. Side question for this, why do we double the practice facility for the M, but nothing else? 3) Allow players to move up from the M to the E during the season. This is the death knell for the M. But it should happen. We want to reward people who earn TPE. Why force them to stay in the bottom league if they’ve earned enough to move up? So let’s let them move during the season. Have a waiver system or something in the E to sign anyone who goes over 200 during the season. 4) Prolong the player’s draft experience. As a player getting drafted is one of the most exciting moments in their career. We should try to make that happen as much as possible. We’re currently setting a player’s VHL draft to the season after they create (technically this isn’t completely accurate because if you create after the trade deadline it’s 2 seasons, but that’s irrelevant for this discussion.) That means any player who creates after the season begins but before the trade deadline and is under 200 TPE will be drafted in the VHL, VHLE, and the VHLM in the same season. Not only is this confusing, it robs the players of getting the full draft experience for all drafts. They only get this shortened draft experience with their VHL team being so far in the future it’s almost meaningless. To fix this, we should change the draft eligibility rules so that a player is ineligible to be drafted in the VHL until after they’ve been drafted in the VHLE. That makes sure the player can’t be drafted by both leagues in the same offseason. Of course, there would be exceptions for players who want to skip the VHLE and go straight to the VHL, just let them declare for the draft. Maybe declaring for the draft makes you ineligible to play in the VHLE or something. 5) Change one of the draft styles. Ok now I’m getting a little out there, but the standard draft is fun and all. But what if we made one of the drafts an auction draft? Each team gets $100, teams nominate a player for auction, blind auction determines who gets the player. Or a snake draft where the order is decided by a sim tournament where the GMs get to create their own team with 1,000 attribute points to distribute or something. Not sure either of those are the best answer, but let’s talk about ideas and come up with something. Let’s spice up the draft! I’m interested to hear your thoughts on these ideas. Thanks for reading!

@Sportsboy57I'm so glad you're enjoying the VHL! I'm glad you were able to be part of the Reapers cup winning team! Your excitement during that run was infectious and helped make for a great locker room. Keep it up!

1. As it starts to warm up what is your players favorite activity to do on a hot summer day? There is nothing like relaxing by the pool or even better, the ocean on a hot summer day. When it’s hot, you have to be close to water. 2. What type of workout do you absolutely hate? what's so bad about it? I have a love/hate relationship with squats. They’re extremely beneficial and rewarding, but man why are they so tough? 3. Trade deadline is quickly approaching any suggestions for what should happen? Since we’re on the outside looking in, I think something should change. Based on my poor performance this season, I’d be surprised if I wasn’t shipped off somewhere. 4. Is you could have one attribute that would never deprecate below 99 what skill would it be? why? I think scoring. Scoring is how you win games, so it would make sense to permanently keep that one highest. 5. What do you believe is the most important attribute for a player? why? I think a strong mental focus is the most important attribute. Look, we’re all amazing athletes, we wouldn’t be playing at this level if we weren’t. The thing that separates the best from the rest is how strong their mind and willpower is. 6. As we are around midway through the season do you think LA will make the playoffs with how things are looking? What needs to happen to ensure they LA does? It’s a little worrisome that we’re not higher in the standings at this point. I think we have a talented enough team to not only make the playoffs, but to excel. It just seems like we don’t click all the time. Maybe we need some new lines or a change to our overall strategy.

week 2 claim

Best VHL Game of Season 78 (so far) I combed through all the data from the games of season 78 and found the most exciting game of the VHL season to this point. Let’s take a closer look at how the game played out. Game 159 - Moscow Menace vs Warsaw Predators Based on their distance in the standings, it might be a little unexpected to have these two teams in the most exciting game of the season. But both Moscow and Warsaw play with an offense-first mentality. This style of play lends itself to back-and-forth exciting games loved by fans. Which is exactly what we got here. Let’s dive into the details. 1st Period Moscow showed they came to play by bursting out of the gates and scoring a phenomenal opening goal in the first minute of the game. A clean face-off win by Cole Newhook @GrittyIsKing09 led to a sequence that saw Moscow move down the ice into Warsaw’s zone leading to a beautiful passing sequence where every Moscow player touched the puck. The passing sequence ended when Grapes @Grapes-Tophat_Clan- fired the puck on frame. Warsaw goalie, β-WAR G, only caught a piece of the puck and it barely trickled over the line. The ref was unsure and went to video replay. The replay showed the complete puck barely crossed the line before being swatted away by β-WAR G. Barely is all you need and it was ruled a goal after the replay. 0:42 of 1st period - Moscow Menace : 1 - Warsaw Predators : 0. Grapes 6 (Cole Newhook 9, Pietro Angellini Moscow’s early goal sequence and the replay decision appears to have lit a fire under Warsaw, especially Chris Hylands @hylands. Hylands intercepted a pass from Shaggy Tipton @TheTiptonKing, led Warsaw down the ice, and pounced on the bounce off the boards from an errant shot by Uhtred @leafsman. Hylands drove that loose puck home and tied the game 33 seconds after Moscow’s opening goal. 1:15 of 1st period - Moscow Menace : 1 - Warsaw Predators : 1. Chris Hylands 6 (Uhtred 10, Victor Grachev 16) A Duncan Idaho @OrbitingDeath high-sticking penalty gave Warsaw the first power play opportunity. Moscow held strong thanks to the excellent work of Pietro Angellini @okifenoki who intercepted passes and cleared the puck all the way down the ice on two separate occasions during this PK. About a minute after the penalty expired, the Gregg Stallion @SweatyBeaver show came to town. A strong check by Aloe Dear @Renomitsu on Grapes freed up the puck for teammate Tim Waters @Siddhus who passed it to Stallion. Stallion looked like a novice horse rider as they stumbled their way down the ice, losing and regaining control of the puck, then they fired a shot that missed the net, only to grab that loose puck and send it past a confused Kevin Malone @WentzKneeFan036. 4:56 of 1st period - Moscow Menace : 1 - Warsaw Predators : 2. Gregg Stallion 4 (Tim Waters 13) Warsaw was presented with a great opportunity to extend their lead as Moscow found themselves 2 players down after Hard Markinson @STZ and Dolant Fertitta @Dolant penalties. During the 5-on-3 sequence, Kevin Malone was peppered with shots, but stood strong and stopped them all. Shaggy Tipton helped out by blocking a shot and clearing the puck out of the zone, wasting precious seconds. Moscow rode the wave of positive energy from killing off the 5-on-3 and scored their next goal shortly after returning to even-strength. Moscow took advantage of a Warsaw line change to quickly enter Warsaw’s zone. A great Bob Tristan @N0HBDY pass setup Cole Newhook with an open look which he slammed home to tie the game. 7:35 of 1st period - Moscow Menace : 2 - Warsaw Predators : 2. Cole Newhook 5 (Bob Tristan 8, Pietro Angellini 9) Now we enter the longest sequence in this period without a goal. 4 minutes and 5 seconds. Worried the fans might actually be able to take a breath, Warsaw just started firing the puck on net. But Moscow was a tough nut to crack. Shot by Uhtred, save by Malone. Shot by Dakota Lamb @dlamb, blocked by Tipton. Shot by Uhtred, blocked by Markinson. Victor Grachev @KaleebtheMighty picked up the loose puck from that block and slotted it home under a sprawling Malone to give Warsaw the lead again. 11:40 of 1st period - Moscow Menace : 2 - Warsaw Predators : 3. Victor Grachev 6 (Uhtred 11, Dakota Lamb 19) Creating a turnover on defense can help spring your offense to life because it helps jump start a fast break. Moscow demonstrated this when defenseman Hard Markinson intercepted a Uhtred pass leading to a rapid fire break out thanks to a quick 1-2 with partner Shaggy Tipton. Markinson hit a streaking Kyle Glass @Tbeez99 who scored to tie things up and then sang a song of exalting joy. 15:40 of 1st period - Moscow Menace : 3 - Warsaw Predators : 3. Kyle Glass 5 (Hard Markinson 11, Shaggy Tipton 10) Fans love powerplays because it creates this anticipation of a goal. The team on the powerplay has an opportunity to control the puck more, slow things down, take high quality shots. All of that adds to the excitement felt by fans. We had 6 straight even-strength goals so far in this game. It’s almost like the teams got together and said, how can we make this game even more exciting? They answered that question by saying, let’s make the next 6 goals powerplay goals. So, they did just that. Jordan Tate @Aye my name jeff started the powerplay goal frenzy after an interference penalty on Hadrian @bluesfan55. Moscow did a good job of maintaining possession during their powerplay, regaining the puck after a save with a rebound and some missed shots. Ultimately Pietro Angellini fired a shot on goal from the top of the left circle. Jordan Tate deflected it in and gave Moscow their first lead since the opening minute. 17:01 of 1st period - Moscow Menace : 4 - Warsaw Predators : 3. Jordan Tate 4 (Pietro Angellini 10, Bob Tristan 9) (PP) An unbelievably exciting first period comes to a close, but not before Moscow defenseman Bob Tristan commits a roughing penalty with 26 seconds left in the period. Warsaw wasn’t able to capitalize before the period ended. Goals for this period are 4 for Moscow Menace vs 3 for Warsaw Predators. Shots for this period are 16 for Moscow Menace vs 19 for Warsaw Predators. 2nd Period Yes, we’re over 1,000 words already. Still plenty of action to come! There’s a reason this was the most exciting game of the season to this point. Warsaw starts the 2nd period on the powerplay and capitalize on the clean ice. Victor Grachev starts the sequence by intercepting a Shaggy Tipton pass. Later, Grachev picks up a loose puck from a Uhtred shot and quickly fires it home to tie the game 25 seconds into the 2nd period! 0:25 of 2nd period - Moscow Menace : 4 - Warsaw Predators : 4. Victor Grachev 7 (Uhtred 12, Dakota Lamb 20) (PP) After watching Warsaw tie it while he was in the box, Bob Tristan smartened up and made sure to take someone else with him to the box. Tristan and Aloe Dear got into a stick swinging incident which saw both players off the ice with coincidental minors. Here’s a picture from the incident: Since this didn’t lead to a powerplay, no goals were scored. As per the agreement reached near the end of the previous period. The next penalty went to Warsaw winger, Gregg Stallion. A minor for roughing. Moscow pounced on the opportunity. It took 5 shot attempts to get through, but finally Cole Newhook capitalized on their opportunity, scoring their second goal of the game to give Moscow the lead. 11:52 of 2nd period - Moscow Menace : 5 - Warsaw Predators : 4. Cole Newhook 6 (Dolant Fertitta 4, Bob Tristan 10) (PP) The next penalty goes to Moscow goalie Kevin Malone. A delay of game for firing the puck over the glass. Bob Tristan served the penalty and just like the last time he was in the box alone, Tristan watches Warsaw score a goal. After a face-off win by Dakota Lamb, Warsaw maintained control of the puck in the Moscow zone. Their continual pressure and excellent puck movement found an open Lexi Glass @AW13 on the doorstep. Lexi Glass made no mistake and buried it home to tie the game. 15:33 of 2nd period - Moscow Menace : 5 - Warsaw Predators : 5. Lexi Glass 8 (Chris Hylands 17, Dakota Lamb 21) (PP) Unexpectedly, Moscow successfully killed off a Shaggy Tipton holding penalty. They did a great job of keeping the puck out of Warsaw’s hands and only allowing one shot during the powerplay. Moscow wasn’t so fortunate with their next penalty. Bob Tristan found himself in the box alone again after a hooking penalty. Warsaw did the predictable thing and scored on this opportunity. A quick-fire breakout found Warsaw defenseman Victor Grachev streaking down the right side. Grachev fired a slapshot over the shoulder of Moscow goalie Kevin Malone, seconds before the period ends. The goal gives Warsaw the lead and Grachev a well-earned hat trick! The Warsaw fans go wild and spontaneously decide to donate hundreds of hats by throwing them on the ice. 19:54 of 2nd period - Moscow Menace : 5 - Warsaw Predators : 6. Victor Grachev 8 (Uhtred 13, Lexi Glass 9) (PP) The period ends. Goals for this period are 1 for Moscow Menace vs 3 for Warsaw Predators. Shots for this period are 13 for Moscow Menace vs 20 for Warsaw Predators. 3rd Period I imagine that at some point during the intermission a Moscow coach went up to Bob Tristan and said something along the lines of “They score every time you’re in the box. Stop getting penalties.” Tristan probably agreed and said “You got it coach!” Imagine everyone’s surprise when, 2 minutes and 45 seconds into the 3rd period, Bob Tristan commits another hooking penalty. Warsaw must have felt bad for the guy because they put him out of his misery by scoring 10 seconds into the powerplay. An Aloe Dear face-off win gets the puck to Gregg Stallion, who wins a battle with Moscow defenseman Shaggy Tipton to maintain possession of the puck. Stallion rips it home for his second goal of the game. 2:55 of 3rd period - Moscow Menace : 5 - Warsaw Predators : 7. Gregg Stallion 5 (Aloe Dear 24) (PP) For the first time in the game, there is a 2 goal difference between the teams. Warsaw’s hero of the game, Victor Grachev, put their status in jeopardy as they committed back-to-back penalties. Add to that a Chris Hylands penalty, Warsaw had to kill three consecutive penalties to maintain their 2 goal lead. They did just that, thanks primarily to the outstanding performance by backup goalie β-WAR G, who made 9 saves during those penalty kills. Back to even strength, it took a fantastic individual effort by Moscow’s rookie sensation Paul Atreides @Mr_Hatter to break through. After an icing by Warsaw winger Chris Reynolds @Crstats23, Atreides won the draw in the Warsaw zone to teammate Philip Stein @IHateBobNutting. Stein quickly returned the puck to Atreides, who snaked their way through the Warsaw defense and made a nice deke to create an opening for them to steer the puck into the net. 16:28 of 3rd period - Moscow Menace : 6 - Warsaw Predators : 7. Paul Atreides 12 (Philip Stein 17) For the remaining three and a half minutes, Warsaw put on a masterclass on how to close out a game. They controlled the puck and stifled Moscow, creating many turnovers. Moscow was only able to register one shot during this time, and that was during the final minute, with their goalie pulled. Goals for this period are 1 for Moscow Menace vs 1 for Warsaw Predators. Shots for this period are 21 for Moscow Menace vs 7 for Warsaw Predators. Warsaw hangs on for the win! The home fans applaud both team for such an amazing and exciting game! This will be a tough one to top, but we’ll see if there’s any better games this season. Comment if you think there was a better one. Tagging the GMs: @Spartan @.sniffuM. I'm sorry if I missed any tags. Advanced Metrics Moscow Menace PlayerName G A P +/- PIM S H SB GA TA GA/TA GA% FO MP PP MP PK MP HitLP PassINT LPPickup RPass DumpIns Icings LPfromHit LostPuck Passes PassPct SDelfect SMiss SBlock SHitPost Shots SOGPct ---------- - - - --- --- - - -- -- -- ----- --- -- -- ----- ----- ----- ------- -------- ----- ------- ------ --------- -------- ------ ------- -------- ----- ------ -------- ----- ------ Bahram Kamkar 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0/0 0:00 0:00 0:00 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0/0 0% 0 0 0 0 0/0 0% Bob Tristan 0 3 3 1 8 1 6 3 14 13 -1 23% 0/0 27:02 4:30 3:55 5 13 23 26 7 3 2 0 29/42 69% 0 6 1 0 1/8 12% Cole Newhook 2 1 3 1 0 7 0 1 13 6 -7 21% 16/30 27:01 4:30 3:50 0 6 13 43 8 0 0 0 47/60 78% 3 6 0 0 7/13 54% Dolant Fertitta 0 1 1 1 2 5 0 3 17 18 1 26% 0/0 28:29 4:30 4:19 0 18 22 26 7 0 1 1 33/48 69% 0 2 1 0 5/8 62% Duncan Idaho 0 0 0 -1 2 6 5 0 10 6 -4 20% 1/1 19:53 2:38 0:00 2 6 8 36 3 0 4 2 22/30 73% 1 3 1 0 6/10 60% Grapes 1 0 1 1 0 4 3 0 6 6 0 18% 0/1 18:41 0:00 0:00 2 6 3 25 1 0 3 2 19/23 83% 0 1 0 0 4/5 80% Hard Markinson 0 1 1 0 2 6 4 12 21 21 0 33% 0/0 30:25 2:25 3:46 2 20 19 24 5 0 3 1 25/44 57% 0 1 0 0 6/7 86% Jordan Tate 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 -2 13% 4/20 9:50 4:30 4:31 0 0 3 12 3 0 0 2 10/11 91% 1 2 1 0 1/4 25% Kyle Glass 1 0 1 1 0 2 0 0 2 1 -1 12% 0/0 7:45 0:00 0:22 0 1 4 12 0 0 4 0 8/9 89% 0 2 0 0 2/4 50% Owen Taylor 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 20% 0/1 7:23 0:00 0:00 1 1 1 3 0 1 1 0 1/2 50% 1 1 0 0 1/2 50% Paul Atreides 1 0 1 -1 0 7 0 0 5 6 1 10% 23/36 19:54 2:38 0:00 0 6 11 31 4 0 1 0 49/54 91% 2 6 3 0 7/16 44% Philip Stein 0 1 1 -1 0 1 0 0 12 5 -7 18% 0/2 18:44 2:38 0:00 0 5 13 49 5 1 1 3 37/49 76% 0 5 0 0 1/6 17% Pietro Angellini 0 3 3 1 0 6 1 0 13 7 -6 21% 0/0 26:58 4:30 3:47 1 7 16 40 6 1 2 5 27/36 75% 0 4 2 0 6/12 50% Shaggy Tipton 0 1 1 0 2 2 2 6 17 28 11 28% 0/0 30:29 2:25 4:01 2 27 12 22 4 4 0 0 30/47 64% 0 0 1 0 2/3 67% The Seabasstard 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 3 2 10% 9/21 11:38 0:00 3:26 0 3 1 6 4 0 0 0 11/12 92% 0 2 0 0 1/3 33% β-MOS D2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0/0 2:34 0:13 1:18 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0/0 0% 0 0 0 0 0/0 0% β-MOS D3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0/0 0:54 0:13 0:06 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0/0 0% 0 0 0 0 0/0 0% β-MOS D4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0/0 0:00 0:00 0:00 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0/0 0% 0 0 0 0 0/0 0% Team Totals 6 11 17 5 16 50 22 25 134 121 -13 22% 53/112 N/A N/A N/A 15 119 149 355 57 10 22 16 348/467 75% 0 41 10 0 50/101 50% GoalieName Saves ShotsAgainst SavePCT MP SaveNoRebound SaveWithRebound PuckRetrieved ---------- ----- ------------ ------- -- ------------- --------------- ------------- Kevin Malone 39 46 0.848 59:00:00 28 11 12 Moscow Menace Advance Metrics Corsi For: 101 Corsi Against: 113 Corsi: -12 Corsi For %: 47.2 Fenwick For: 91 Fenwick Against: 88 Fenwick: 3 Fenwick For %: 50.84 PDO: 96.783 Warsaw Predators PlayerName G A P +/- PIM S H SB GA TA GA/TA GA% FO MP PP MP PK MP HitLP PassINT LPPickup RPass DumpIns Icings LPfromHit LostPuck Passes PassPct SDelfect SMiss SBlock SHitPost Shots SOGPct ---------- - - - --- --- - - -- -- -- ----- --- -- -- ----- ----- ----- ------- -------- ----- ------- ------ --------- -------- ------ ------- -------- ----- ------ -------- ----- ------ Aloe Dear 0 1 1 -2 2 3 2 0 19 13 -6 27% 35/54 29:32 3:48 3:42 2 12 12 46 9 2 8 2 58/71 82% 0 5 2 0 3/10 30% Chris Hylands 1 1 2 1 2 4 0 3 14 15 1 20% 0/0 28:30 4:55 2:29 0 15 16 39 7 3 1 0 39/52 75% 0 1 1 0 4/6 67% Chris Reynolds 0 0 0 -2 0 6 2 0 17 11 -6 22% 0/0 25:51 3:48 0:00 1 11 16 49 8 1 1 2 31/48 65% 2 7 2 0 6/15 40% Clinton Giftopoulos 0 0 0 -2 0 1 1 1 8 15 7 24% 0/0 22:58 3:48 0:00 1 15 8 10 3 1 0 0 17/25 68% 0 2 1 0 1/4 25% Dakota Lamb 0 3 3 1 0 4 3 0 7 8 1 16% 21/49 30:09 4:55 3:26 3 8 15 20 7 0 0 1 40/46 87% 3 6 3 0 4/13 31% Gregg Stallion 2 0 2 -2 2 4 2 0 10 5 -5 24% 0/3 22:57 3:48 0:00 2 5 10 26 3 0 3 1 15/25 60% 1 3 2 0 4/9 44% Hadrian 0 0 0 -1 2 0 4 0 1 3 2 11% 0/0 10:35 0:00 3:34 3 2 2 5 3 0 0 0 4/5 80% 0 1 0 0 0/1 0% Kaladin Kvothe 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 2 0 29% 0/0 2:53 0:00 0:00 0 2 4 1 0 0 0 0 1/3 33% 1 1 2 0 2/5 40% Lexi Glass 1 1 2 1 0 1 1 2 10 9 -1 23% 2/2 29:28 4:55 3:26 0 9 14 21 4 1 1 0 20/29 69% 2 7 5 0 1/13 8% Tim Waters 0 1 1 -2 0 4 2 3 14 22 8 25% 0/0 31:00 3:48 4:18 2 22 18 17 4 2 0 0 28/42 67% 0 1 2 0 4/7 57% Uhtred 0 4 4 1 0 6 2 0 13 6 -7 19% 1/3 29:10 4:55 2:55 1 6 15 47 8 0 0 5 31/42 74% 2 4 3 1 6/14 43% Victor Grachev 3 1 4 2 4 11 8 1 15 13 -2 23% 0/0 23:46 4:55 1:48 7 12 17 35 4 1 1 1 24/39 62% 0 3 2 0 11/16 69% β-WAR D1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0/0 3:07 0:00 2:07 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0/0 0% 0 0 0 0 0/0 0% β-WAR D2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0/0 0:00 0:00 0:00 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0/0 0% 0 0 0 0 0/0 0% β-WAR D3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0/0 0:00 0:00 0:00 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0/0 0% 0 0 0 0 0/0 0% β-WAR D4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0/0 0:00 0:00 0:00 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0/0 0% 0 0 0 0 0/0 0% β-WAR LW1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0/1 0:51 0:00 0:47 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0/0 0% 0 0 0 0 0/0 0% β-WAR LW2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0/0 0:00 0:00 0:00 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0/0 0% 0 0 0 0 0/0 0% Team Totals 7 12 19 -5 12 46 27 10 130 122 -8 22% 59/112 N/A N/A N/A 22 119 147 316 60 11 15 12 308/427 72% 0 41 25 1 46/113 41% GoalieName Saves ShotsAgainst SavePCT MP SaveNoRebound SaveWithRebound PuckRetrieved ---------- ----- ------------ ------- -- ------------- --------------- ------------- β-WAR G 44 50 0.88 60:00:00 29 14 17 Warsaw Predators Advance Metrics Corsi For: 113 Corsi Against: 101 Corsi: 12 Corsi For %: 52.8 Fenwick For: 88 Fenwick Against: 91 Fenwick: -3 Fenwick For %: 49.16 PDO: 103.217 2047 words before the stat dump, will claim for 4 weeks.

1. we currently sit 11th overall in the standings. Is this worse, better or just about where you expected LA to be? Where did you expect us to be? I have to be honest, this is much worse than what I expected. I thought we’d be in first or second place, not out of the playoffs. The good news is, there’s a bunch of the season left so we have a lot of opportunities to improve ourselves. 2. Is hockey more of a mental or physical game? what percent of each? (ex: 30% mental 70% Physical) I think the mental part is a huge component of your preparation. You want to think as little as possible on the ice, just execute. But to get to that point, you have to put in a ton of mental work during our practice and film sessions. You have to understand the system so well that you’re able to not think on the ice. To give exact percentages I’d say 60% mental 40% physical. 3. What is your favorite pregame meal? why do you like it so much? I’ve always loved a big plate of spaghetti before a game. I loved it as a kid and still do. It’s a great pregame meal because of all the carbs and good sugar to power you through the game. Plus it’s delicious. 4. If you had to bring in another team what city would you put it in and what would their logo be? I’d love for a team to go to my home country, Brazil. It could go in Rio, but I think a team to represent the entire country is better. I’d call them the Brazil Beauties because everything and everyone in Brazil is beautiful. The logo should represent the natural beauty of our Amazon Rainforests. 5. What's the worst are the parts of being on the road? Packing and unpacking a suitcase. It just sucks to have to do it over and over and over. 6. What are the keys to being a successful team? Everyone has to be on the same page. Owners, office staff, coaches, players. We all have to share the same vision, goals, and path to achieve those goals. If we are all united, we’ll be successful.