RunnerBert11

Hans Gruber started as a free agent signing on the freshly minted Philadelphia Reapers. Being thrown a bone by @BladeMaiden , he took the third line centre role and hasn’t looked back since. Quickly moving up the lineup and being nominated captain by teammates, he was able to make a name for himself on a team filled with skilled players. 
 
And then the hammer fell.
 
Gruber was one of ten players traded away from the Reapers, and was shipped out to Saskatoon. He’s grabbed the bulls by the proverbial horns, scoring nearly an assist per game and adding 7 goals, he’s up to 31 points in 26 games as a Wild.  Giving him a more than respectable 49 points in 56 total games. He’s made his way back to that first line, and is helping to lead the charge to a postseason birth for his new club.
 
Wherever Hans ends up, he’ll do what he’s done his whole VHL career. Thrive.

Australia shafted again! 

Disclaimer: I obviously didn't create this logo!

Next expansion team, Brisbane Koala Bears

So this proves that @RunnerBert11 is definitely a spy right?

SICK LOGO!! Favorite color and awesome concept! Congratz to @Advantage 
You know you want to pick up LW/C Bert Meyers so he can slip on one of those sexy ass green jerseys!


 
Hi Everybody,
 
As many of you are aware, the VHL is a little crowded. In addition to expanding to an odd number, with now 9 teams in the league, the amount of prospects coming up next season (shoutout once again to our fantastic @Recruitment Crew) necessitated expansion, returning us to a 10-team league. With that said, I will let the league's "newest" GM introduce his franchise:
 
 
Logo Reveal:
 
For those wondering, the expansion draft for this expansion will follow the same rules as last draft (teams may protect 7 players + GM player, players with NTCs must contact a commissioner to confirm they have waived them in order to be exposed, if a team cannot expose at least one active member, the new team may select a 3rd round pick from any of the next 3 drafts [S66-68, thanks again @Devise ? ]).
 
The expansion team will also have a lottery to determine their slotting in each round of the S66 VHL Entry Draft, with equal odds of selecting anywhere from 5-10.
 
Thank you for reading, and best of luck to Advantage in the upcoming season, and beyond!

Graphic to celebrate Bert's 1st hat trick!

Graphic to celebrate Bert's 1st hat trick!

Let me know if anyone needs help with setting lines  wooo! Lets get the party started!!

Ottawa receives:
Hiromu Takahashi
S66 OTT 1st

Minnesota receives:
Codrick Past
S67 OTT 4th

This trade has been accepted by both parties.

With apologies to anyone who's been waiting for this, a few issues have been worked out with the tournament and I am now able to announce the new and improved lineup for Team Asia, after I have made a few mercenary changes. Everyone active is still included on this team, but I have been allowed to replace 7 inactives with other players with more TPE than 30 or so. Here are our new lines:
 
Forwards:
1. Matthew Kai (@FBR)
    Viktor Kozlov (@Kuch9)
    Dimitri Volosenkov (@SirRupertBarnes)
 
2. Chance Matthews (@DaftRaincloud)
    Bert Meyers (@RunnerBert11)
    Kyle Sabertooth (@uphillmoss)
    
3. Valeri Morozov (@Dangles13)
    Raphael Nazarians (@LIL V O D AK)
    Chico Smeb (@xDParK)
 
 
Defensemen:
1. Evgeni Komarov (@Gooningitup)
    James Lombardi (@nymets5)
 
2. Bald Guy (@Galdoblame)
    Cody Parkey (@SaltyTalty)    
   
3. Edward Vigneault (@Patpou22)
    Srraxxarrakex II (@flan)
    
 
Goalies:
1. Tyler Smith (@DrHexDex)
2. Divaani Sohva (@Sohva)
 
 
Captains: 
Captain: Evgeni Komarov (@Gooningitup)
Alternate Captains: Bald Guy (@Galdoblame) and Matthew Kai (@FBR)
 
We have a Discord server, message me if I forget to invite you.

At 1:17 pm CT the Saskatoon Wild announced that Bert Macklin (RunnerBert11) would be filling in the Assistant GM vacancy. We had a chance to catch up to Macklin after the news dropped and he had the following to say. "I'm super excited and consider myself fortunate to have been given this great opportunity at such an early stage of my career. I hope to bring some more energy to this already amped up organization. I really like what the team has done recently to bring in some new faces and you can't help but notice how rapidly this team has evolved into an almost entirely different entity overnight. I'm hoping to get settled into my new office and acquainted with the staff and players later tonight. With all the newly acquired players in this organization lately I'm ready to help sort through the paperwork and see where this group can take us! I would also like to personally thank @Beaviss for immediately informing me of the open position and @Goonie for taking it upon himself to give me a glowing recommendation which I can only imagine helped put me over the top and gave me the edge over some of the other well qualified candidates. I'm excited to get a chance to learn the ins and outs of the GM role under the tutelage of @Peace. I can't wait to get a chance to sit down and pick his brain a bit, find out exactly what's going on in the mind of Peace and what his plan is going forward for the season. At the rate he's going I wouldn't be surprised if he has his sights set on another player or two, but who knows, maybe he's a one-stop shop kinda guy, that last trade did bring a handful of new guys. As for now though I'm just looking to take in and learn as much as I can to help me become the best AGM I can right now so I can help elevate this club to its fullest potential and hopefully hoist that Founder's Cup! Now you might think I’m getting a bit ahead of myself with a statement like that, but consider this. Yes, maybe they’re currently sitting 7th out of 8 teams in the standings, but don’t be fooled. They have managed to string together an impressive streak of 5 wins that was just ended today by 6th place Yukon. Now while it would’ve really helped narrow the gap in the standings and help get us back into contention, we cannot overlook the recent success this team has found and the measures management has gone to, to bring in the necessary players to fill some of the voids this team had earlier on in the season to make them a legitimate playoff and Founder’s Cup contender. Now if you could please excuse me, I have a flight to catch to Saskatoon and a crew of young guys I’m very eager to meet!” 
Bert Macklin was last seen passing through airport security on his way to catch his Saskatoon flight to his new home and team. We'll keep a close eye on Bert Macklin as he begins this next step in his career and keep you all updated on his developing story.

Bert Macklin The Fucking FBI  Saskatoon Wild AGM
 
 
555 Words

At 1:17 pm CT the Saskatoon Wild announced that Bert Macklin (RunnerBert11) would be filling in the Assistant GM vacancy. We had a chance to catch up to Macklin after the news dropped and he had the following to say. "I'm super excited and consider myself fortunate to have been given this great opportunity at such an early stage of my career. I hope to bring some more energy to this already amped up organization. I really like what the team has done recently to bring in some new faces and you can't help but notice how rapidly this team has evolved into an almost entirely different entity overnight. I'm hoping to get settled into my new office and acquainted with the staff and players later tonight. With all the newly acquired players in this organization lately I'm ready to help sort through the paperwork and see where this group can take us! I would also like to personally thank @Beaviss for immediately informing me of the open position and @Goonie for taking it upon himself to give me a glowing recommendation which I can only imagine helped put me over the top and gave me the edge over some of the other well qualified candidates. I'm excited to get a chance to learn the ins and outs of the GM role under the tutelage of @Peace. I can't wait to get a chance to sit down and pick his brain a bit, find out exactly what's going on in the mind of Peace and what his plan is going forward for the season. At the rate he's going I wouldn't be surprised if he has his sights set on another player or two, but who knows, maybe he's a one-stop shop kinda guy, that last trade did bring a handful of new guys. As for now though I'm just looking to take in and learn as much as I can to help me become the best AGM I can right now so I can help elevate this club to its fullest potential and hopefully hoist that Founder's Cup! Now you might think I’m getting a bit ahead of myself with a statement like that, but consider this. Yes, maybe they’re currently sitting 7th out of 8 teams in the standings, but don’t be fooled. They have managed to string together an impressive streak of 5 wins that was just ended today by 6th place Yukon. Now while it would’ve really helped narrow the gap in the standings and help get us back into contention, we cannot overlook the recent success this team has found and the measures management has gone to, to bring in the necessary players to fill some of the voids this team had earlier on in the season to make them a legitimate playoff and Founder’s Cup contender. Now if you could please excuse me, I have a flight to catch to Saskatoon and a crew of young guys I’m very eager to meet!” 
Bert Macklin was last seen passing through airport security on his way to catch his Saskatoon flight to his new home and team. We'll keep a close eye on Bert Macklin as he begins this next step in his career and keep you all updated on his developing story.

Bert Macklin The Fucking FBI  Saskatoon Wild AGM
 
 
555 Words

Thanks man, truly appreciate it. Looks like we're both getting a chance to get our feet wet in the management side of things! Good luck with worlds!

From one new member to another, congratulations! Here's to your success, unless you play us then I hope you suck. Job well-earned my friend!

At 1:17 pm CT the Saskatoon Wild announced that Bert Macklin (RunnerBert11) would be filling in the Assistant GM vacancy. We had a chance to catch up to Macklin after the news dropped and he had the following to say. "I'm super excited and consider myself fortunate to have been given this great opportunity at such an early stage of my career. I hope to bring some more energy to this already amped up organization. I really like what the team has done recently to bring in some new faces and you can't help but notice how rapidly this team has evolved into an almost entirely different entity overnight. I'm hoping to get settled into my new office and acquainted with the staff and players later tonight. With all the newly acquired players in this organization lately I'm ready to help sort through the paperwork and see where this group can take us! I would also like to personally thank @Beaviss for immediately informing me of the open position and @Goonie for taking it upon himself to give me a glowing recommendation which I can only imagine helped put me over the top and gave me the edge over some of the other well qualified candidates. I'm excited to get a chance to learn the ins and outs of the GM role under the tutelage of @Peace. I can't wait to get a chance to sit down and pick his brain a bit, find out exactly what's going on in the mind of Peace and what his plan is going forward for the season. At the rate he's going I wouldn't be surprised if he has his sights set on another player or two, but who knows, maybe he's a one-stop shop kinda guy, that last trade did bring a handful of new guys. As for now though I'm just looking to take in and learn as much as I can to help me become the best AGM I can right now so I can help elevate this club to its fullest potential and hopefully hoist that Founder's Cup! Now you might think I’m getting a bit ahead of myself with a statement like that, but consider this. Yes, maybe they’re currently sitting 7th out of 8 teams in the standings, but don’t be fooled. They have managed to string together an impressive streak of 5 wins that was just ended today by 6th place Yukon. Now while it would’ve really helped narrow the gap in the standings and help get us back into contention, we cannot overlook the recent success this team has found and the measures management has gone to, to bring in the necessary players to fill some of the voids this team had earlier on in the season to make them a legitimate playoff and Founder’s Cup contender. Now if you could please excuse me, I have a flight to catch to Saskatoon and a crew of young guys I’m very eager to meet!” 
Bert Macklin was last seen passing through airport security on his way to catch his Saskatoon flight to his new home and team. We'll keep a close eye on Bert Macklin as he begins this next step in his career and keep you all updated on his developing story.

Bert Macklin The Fucking FBI  Saskatoon Wild AGM
 
 
555 Words

At 1:17 pm CT the Saskatoon Wild announced that Bert Macklin (RunnerBert11) would be filling in the Assistant GM vacancy. We had a chance to catch up to Macklin after the news dropped and he had the following to say. "I'm super excited and consider myself fortunate to have been given this great opportunity at such an early stage of my career. I hope to bring some more energy to this already amped up organization. I really like what the team has done recently to bring in some new faces and you can't help but notice how rapidly this team has evolved into an almost entirely different entity overnight. I'm hoping to get settled into my new office and acquainted with the staff and players later tonight. With all the newly acquired players in this organization lately I'm ready to help sort through the paperwork and see where this group can take us! I would also like to personally thank @Beaviss for immediately informing me of the open position and @Goonie for taking it upon himself to give me a glowing recommendation which I can only imagine helped put me over the top and gave me the edge over some of the other well qualified candidates. I'm excited to get a chance to learn the ins and outs of the GM role under the tutelage of @Peace. I can't wait to get a chance to sit down and pick his brain a bit, find out exactly what's going on in the mind of Peace and what his plan is going forward for the season. At the rate he's going I wouldn't be surprised if he has his sights set on another player or two, but who knows, maybe he's a one-stop shop kinda guy, that last trade did bring a handful of new guys. As for now though I'm just looking to take in and learn as much as I can to help me become the best AGM I can right now so I can help elevate this club to its fullest potential and hopefully hoist that Founder's Cup! Now you might think I’m getting a bit ahead of myself with a statement like that, but consider this. Yes, maybe they’re currently sitting 7th out of 8 teams in the standings, but don’t be fooled. They have managed to string together an impressive streak of 5 wins that was just ended today by 6th place Yukon. Now while it would’ve really helped narrow the gap in the standings and help get us back into contention, we cannot overlook the recent success this team has found and the measures management has gone to, to bring in the necessary players to fill some of the voids this team had earlier on in the season to make them a legitimate playoff and Founder’s Cup contender. Now if you could please excuse me, I have a flight to catch to Saskatoon and a crew of young guys I’m very eager to meet!” 
Bert Macklin was last seen passing through airport security on his way to catch his Saskatoon flight to his new home and team. We'll keep a close eye on Bert Macklin as he begins this next step in his career and keep you all updated on his developing story.

Bert Macklin The Fucking FBI  Saskatoon Wild AGM
 
 
555 Words

Review: Great profile man! I'm really liking the projection you added and how you think the first season might stack up. Nice formatting as well, everything is super easy on the eyes, great start to a career if you ask me!
 
I wanted to review a few rookie profiles of people that joined around the same time as me so I can see how I am stacking up against my fellow rookie classmates. Hope to get to know you more during S65!

In the VHL you will be 220 TPE going against players with 500-1,000 TPE. I’m out “walking” my dog. Skimmed it - some interesting thoughts for sure - but I don’t see the TPE levels changing that much at all  its to include everyone and to maybe represent more than once if you’re lucky enough. 
 
The purpose of the WJC is to give new members AND all lower TPE level players at chance at representing a country as the WC happens less and sometimes requires much higher TPE. 
 
Ill read when I get home but I always love members suggesting how to make things better. That’s what this whole entire site is about - everyone enjoying their time  

A point about this:
This year, I, as GM of Team Asia, am being allowed to replace my inactive players with other players who have not been selected by other teams. First of all, I'd like to thank @BladeMaiden for what I consider an outstanding move. These players, who are active members of the VHL community, will appreciate their placement on a WJC roster (even if Team Asia, this season, seems to have been everyone's favorite laughingstock) quite a bit more than someone who created their player, logged off the site for good a week later, and hasn't been back since. Not only is this the case, but this system allows Team Asia (and, should it continue to be implemented, teams of the future with a highly inactive draft pool) to make up for some of the arguably unfair advantage given other teams, who are able to select an entire team of active, and, relative to the rest of the WJC, top-tier players, making them easy favorites. 
Obviously, the system of having players from certain countries be drafted by their countries should not be abolished--then we'd have the meaning of "World" taken right out of "World Junior Championships." Imagine playing for "Team GustavMattias," when most people on this site probably don't even know who I am. Nah, man, give me Team Asia any day. And I'm not necessarily advocating for change, either, since what I'm talking about is currently in place. All I'd like to see is a system wherein any team with one or more "inactive" players (I'll leave the definition of "inactive" up to the people running the tournament) is free to replace those players with active members who have not been chosen by any World Junior team, after, of course, Team World has selected their own roster. If there is more than one team with an inactive player, then maybe there could be a sort of draft at that point, with both teams that need players alternating picks from the leftover pool.
To add to this, I'd like to point out that this eliminates the need for "dual citizenship," as players being named to a roster are named to fill holes in the roster--for one, nobody has to change their nationality to make a junior team, and for another point, this makes the selection process less political. I actually asked a teammate of mine if he would like to change his nationality for my team (spoiler alert: he didn't) and this didn't really feel right. For those who know the GM on a close and personal level, this may work out every once in a while (which, I might argue, gives a few pro GMs an advantage as they've been around much longer than us new guys), but for those who don't, this option may not be as available as it seems.
As to @FacebookFighter's point of not knowing where the GM application thread is, I can say I wholeheartedly agree with this. I found the thread, but consider myself very lucky to have done so. I can absolutely see how other members might not have found it. In the future, I'd like to ask that all members be tagged--yes, I know this makes some people mad at being notified, but I feel that the people who would appreciate this are far greater in number than the people who would be against it. 
Nice article, and many good points. 

ECN on VHL Portal #3 Special Report on VHLM trades!
 
Another week has passed and here we with next update from yours ECN, powered by FrostBeard Entertainment!  
So, what has happened in VHLM this week? Philadelphia Reapers have been selling everyone with last trade sending away Mat Tocco and Wendy Kandee Cain to Minnesota just a few hours ago. After contacting our analysts and trying to figure our BladeMaiden’s (GM of Philadelphia Reapers) mindset we came to three possible options why she decided to go and trade away players like – Mikko Aaltonen, John Frostbeard, Hans Gruber, Tyler Barabash Jr, Charlie Paddywagon and so on – we could name basically everyone on the Reapers squad from week ago.
 
1st reason for these trades could be GM’s interest in gaining future picks as to basically sack the first expansion season and then be truly dominant in the next 2/3 seasons, as with the picks gained by those trades could give Philly plethora of talent from future drafts.
 
The 2nd reason could be just interest in providing players with a better chance of winning a cup. Knowing how dominant many teams in VHLM this season are, it might have been GM’s interest to give her players a chance to compete together with other teams and show everyone what they can do on a bigger stage. The increasing talent on other teams gives Philly not only a chance for a great pick in the upcoming draft but provides other teams, that were not considered to be contenders, a chance to get that cup.
 
3rd reason – a bit of both? Maybe Blade is truly a very deep strategist – with precise moves and understanding what the future could be, she can not only strengthen her relationship with her players by giving them an opportunity to fight for a cup but get enough back that would allow her to build next Dynasty here is VHLM?
 
Could there be more trades coming and could we see another team do a complete sellout? That surely can prove to be an interesting step as many teams are already stacked with an enormous amount of talent like for example Minnesota Storm, who are already having 13 players over 100 TPE and 4 of those are already 200 and above!
 
Well, our guess is as good as yours – sure give your opinion on these trades down below and smash that “Fire” button for more content like this by European Cable News.
 
People mentioned in this post - @BladeMaiden @GRZ @Bushito @TheFlash @Matmenzinger @SlashACM @DMaximus

As a fairly new member of the site I have done my best to stay out of complex conversations because well, I don't know the ropes. However, something that caught my attention was the process involving the GM selection process at the WJC. Lots of ideas have popped into my head and I would like to ask the general population what they would like to do. This article is meant to spur conversation into making changes to how we run this site and future development of communication to the new generations.
 
I've been on this site for a couple of months and it almost feels like a caste system. I know my GM and my team. I feel like an untouchable, the people who have been here longer seemed annoyed with anything said by players who have less experience. I didn't even know about the WJC GM selection until days later when I checked my discord. Something that big should be informed to the masses. I'm glad one of my teammates was selected but I would have also appreciated a chance to throw my hat in the ring (despite the lack of experience).
 
So I'd like to address some ideas:
 
 
 
The Implementation of Committees:
In real life, every country has a committee that selects the country's GM and then the GM picks the Coach. While I would like the idea of implementing a coaching system, that's a topic for another day. So my overall proposal is that every team is granted a committee as opposed to one committee selecting all GM's. These committees will be three people who have played out at least three full seasons in the VHL. It will be a job that is a capped 2 TPE towards their players. To select these committees, I believe there should be an election. A separate topic can be created where a neutral party can hold a press conference for candidates to campaign (would count as Press Conference for the week). Then a Google Doc poll can be created, just like the ones @Josh. has been making for the VHLM Predictions (10/10). Everyone will be tagged in this thread and will be rewarded 1 Uncapped TPE for participation in the election. Candidates can run for multiple countries but can not be hired for more than one. Every Four WJC the Committees can be voted upon once again unless ran unopposed.
 
GM Selection:
Once committees have been set up they are then free to select a GM. Here's where things get extra spicey. So for the WJC I propose it to be a complete amateur showcase. That means all GM's being people who have not completed more than one season in the VHL and have zero managerial experience except possibly being an AGM. I think this brings some more fun to the competition rather than having seasoned vets who understand the simming principles. The World Cup these restrictions would be lifted but I would also like to see the use of committees at the Pro level. To entice people to take the GM role seriously I propose the job pay 6 Capped TPE. If the committee decides to move on from the current GM he can be bought out at a price of 3 capped TPE. If the entire committee believes that the GM was negligent in his role, the player must forfeit their next week's TPE. I believe the introduction of a high risk- high reward system would put more of competitiveness into the competition.
 
No Dual Citizenship:
I believe players should not have the ability to switch nations until their removal from WJC eligibility. And they must make a one-time selection once they're introduced to the WC. Basically, in simplest terms, I declared as Swiss even though I was born in the U.S. I can not switch my nationality representation until I have been entered into the pro world cup. I believe this prevents stacking and cliques trying to stay together. Have some fun, losing is part of the experience. Forsberg faced Sakic many of times. I like my teammates and my GM but there's some fun to be had going against them as well.
 
The Decrease in TPE Limit:
As a VHLM player, my TPE sits at about 145. Not good overall, but decent, considering the amount of time I've been on this site. I've maxed out every week except my first week because I claimed Welfare not understanding the system. However, I will be facing players that are near 350 TPE. Which is completely ridiculous. I believe it should be brought down to 275TPE at least. This will create a more equal playing field for players. A lot of players who are new but have been getting their full weekly TPE are being left out while people on their 3rd or 4th character are hopped up onto the first line. Let other people have some fun. If you're trying to entice new people to stick around, putting them on the back burner doesn't exactly make a great business model.
 
 
 
Final Thoughts:
These are not the end all to end all. Its to open discussion on how to improve the experience on this website. Some of my thoughts may already be happening too and if they are I'm sorry. Also, I wouldn't mind these principles being implemented into the VHL as well. I like the idea of a GM being fired. Rather than the same people hold power, open the door for others who want to have a chance at managing a VHL team. Have the current GM's or just the long-standing ones be moved up into an owner role where you run operations for a designated amount of seasons unless you "sell the team" to somebody else.  Also, have we ever thought about moving the sim system to NHL? Give some visual representation? I understand the difficulty and time consumption as we would need a complete overhaul of the rating system.  So for another time then
 
Thank you for your time this has been my TED Talk.
 
WC: 1004 Claiming as Media Spot Week ending 3/24 and 3/31