solas

Anybody read Piranesi by Susanna Clarke? I just finished it and enjoyed it a lot.

VHL Wordle https://vhl-wordle.herokuapp.com 22 2/6 pretty lucky on the first guess

ho ho ho

bring back lavender for the VHL Mag

1) How do you feel about our stsrt to the season thus far? Hard to be too upset with it. I mean, obviously it's not ideal but we're still young as a team and EU is tougher than NA this season. Warsaw/Moscow/Helsinki is still pretty close, anyways. (Plus the team's gonna be better when I make it up to the league ) 2) Do you enjoy Valentine's Day? Have any fun plans? It's alright. No strong feelings about it either way but I like chocolate so that part is cool. And no, I sadly do not have plans. 3) What is your favorite VHL memory? Oooooh man that's a tough one. I have fond memories from my time here - winning my first cup with Calgary in S30 (that was a fun team), my brief time with Vasteras in the 30s, the "dead era" of the 50s that was actually kinda fun, or any of the dumb bullshit drama threads that have happened across my ten years here. But I'd probably go with my most recent cup, winning in S76 with Chicago. Getting drafted by the Phoenix and getting to know everyone in that locker room was seriously fun, and that time period was seriously great on Discord and the forums. 4) Would you rather have a 75% faceoff record or lead the league in hits (if you were a center) Faceoff record for sure. Hits are fun to look at, but imo they can harm the team a lot because they often correlate with a lot of PIMs. High faceoff percentage helps the team a lot more. 5) What is your favorite icebreaker when meeting someone for the first time? Honestly I hate icebreakers. Maybe that's why I'm bad at meeting people lol. 6) What is your ideal real world first line? I'm gonna be honest with you, I had like three different joke answers to this and then got rid of them because they weren't funny. So uhhhhhh... Ovechkin-McDavid-Kucherov? I don't know. I don't know hockey. I just googled the best forwards in the NHL and recognized those names. Sorry.

VHL Wordle https://vhl-wordle.herokuapp.com 6 2/6

lmao I think we literally had the same guesses VHL Wordle https://vhl-wordle.herokuapp.com 4 2/6

1) I think it's a great acquisition. We only gave up prospects, no draft picks or VHL players, and we gain a young player who's already in the league. Plus he's been a good presence for the locker room. 2) I think we're kind of on the bubble as far as playoffs. My prediction is that we'll probably be the four seed in the EU. We've got some higher-end talent in Booberry, Ori, and Johnston, so we could make some kind of a push for the playoffs, but our defense is a little weak and we don't quite have some of the depth to match other teams. We're young though, so that'll come with time. 3) I think that's fair. I'm slightly more bullish on our chances but considering we're dead last in the conference at this point I could be overestimating us. We only have a few people meta-building anyways. 4) Do well in the VHLE, maybe win a cup. Would be cool to be the top defenseman in the league, or at least be up there in scoring. 5) It's a combination of things, I'd say. I've mentioned it before, but just based on a cursory glance we don't have as many meta builds as the other teams in our conference. But at the same time, I think the EU is tougher than NA this season. We're clearly better than DC, New York, or Chicago (sorry Jeff) this season. And we've only played one of those teams once. Plus there are a couple teams that I think will drop down the standings in due time. 6) You know people argue about this all the time but I've never really thought about it that much. It's just a hot dog. If we're doing things literally, then yeah I can understand why it'd be a sandwich. But human knowledge isn't purely literal, is it? How similar is the way we would think of a hot dog to the way we would consider, say, and peanut butter and jelly sandwich? What about a sub? Epistemologically, how much leeway is there within our own definition of a "sandwich"? Is it simply that each person has their own intuitive definition of what a "sandwich" is, and therefore trying to strictly categorize whether or not a hot dog fits into this definition is a fool's errand because truth is not, ultimately, as objective as we wish it was? Are these just a bunch of pointless questions that I’ve written to make myself sound smarter and feel better about my liberal arts degree? I don’t know.

VHL Wordle https://vhl-wordle.herokuapp.com 2 3/6

Scouting Report: Milan Dvorak Position: D Height: 5’9” Weight: 180 lbs. From: Prague, Czechia Drafted: 5th overall, S82 (Helsinki Titans) VHLE: Geneva Rush VHLM: Yukon Rush (S80) / Ottawa Lynx (S81) The Season 82 draft certainly had its twists and turns, and there were many big-name prospects getting a lot of media attention going into the event. One name that didn’t quite get as much media attention was Czech defenseman Milan Dvorak. That’s not to say Dvorak wasn’t talked about at all - he certainly was. But he certainly wasn’t earmarked as one of those elite, can’t-miss talents that headlined the top of the draft class. There were some suggestions that he might be selected by the Chicago Phoenix at fourth overall, in part due to his agent’s relationship with the organization. But other mock drafts that didn’t consider this fact had him pegged as more of a mid-to-late first rounder, hovering somewhere around the 8-10 spot. So when he was selected by the Helsinki Titans at fifth overall, it was a surprise to many watching. Some sources within the player’s circle suggest that it was even a surprise to Dvorak himself. And most Titans fans barely even knew who he was. So who is Milan Dvorak? After spending much of his career with Sparta Prague in Czechia, the young defenseman made the surprising decision at age 19 to move to the VHLM for Season 80 with a view towards entering the S82 VHL Entry Draft. Dvorak signed with the Yukon Rush for the remainder of the season, and averaged about a half a point per game as a depth defenseman. After the Rush fell in seven games in the Founders’ Cup Finals, he was selected 16th overall by the very team that Yukon lost to - the defending champion Ottawa Lynx. Dvorak then put up 78 points in the regular season (T-7th among VHLM defensemen) as a part of a dominant Lynx team that won its second cup in a row. That brings us to this season. Now, Dvorak will be making his way to the VHLE with the Geneva Rush for a bit more seasoning before he (presumably) plays for the Titans in S83. So what can Titans fans expect to see out of their new hot prospect? PROS Scoring - Dvorak has very impressive goalscoring abilities, especially for a defenseman. He put up 16 powerplay goals with the Lynx in S81 (T-5th among all skaters), a sign that he’s got not only a dangerous slapshot from the blueline but also a keen eye for goal. He’s an offensive threat almost any time he’s on the ice, which is an asset as we move towards a new high-octane offense era in the VHL. Puck Handling - Dvorak’s offensive ability doesn’t purely come from his shooting. He’s also great at carrying the puck into the offensive zone, which makes him a useful player to have in transition. His great hands tend to create goalscoring opportunities for both himself and others, which can often take a decent amount of pressure off of the forwards. Defensive Positioning - He doesn’t necessarily throw the body around like other defensemen, but make no mistake about it: Dvorak is a very intelligent player defensively. What he may lack in size, he makes up for in an ability to cut down angles and see passing lanes. It’s easy to watch Dvorak play and categorize him as a liability on defense. And while he is an offensive defenseman, one cannot disregard his keen defensive awareness. CONS Size/Strength - We’ve mentioned it briefly before, but now it’s time to address it head on. At 5 foot 9 and 180 pounds, Dvorak is certainly not the prototypical size teams would want out of a defenseman. This was a sticking point for multiple front offices - some of whom wanted him to move up to the wing, which Dvorak and his team were dead-set against - and a large part of why many expected him to go later in the first round. This won’t truly be tested until he gets to a higher level. Dvorak was able to avoid questions about his size in the VHLM and Europe thanks to his offensive ability as well as the comparative talent gap of the teams that he ended up playing for, but he might not be able to get away with it in the big leagues. Checking - This is kind of a situation where one plays into the other. Because of his size, Dvorak has developed a game where he avoids having to rely on physicality wherever possible. This is an understandable approach. But it could also turn out to be a drawback, especially as he gets to the VHL. It’s very possible that Dvorak’s skillset won’t be nearly as unique when he gets to the pros, and so he might be exposed by players who are more adept at throwing their body around. It’s likely that Helsinki might pair him with a much more physical defenseman in the VHL in order to disguise his shortcomings. Passing - It’s surprising to see an offensive defenseman who isn’t a skilled passer of the puck, and it might not be considered that much of a drawback in today’s shoot-first-ask-questions-later VHL, but it’s a weakness nonetheless. Dvorak tends to rely on his shooting and puck handling when it comes to his offensive game to create space for passes. This can work, but it’s a problem when things don’t come off as expected. He’s hesitant to make the more aggressive pass, and can sometimes misplace simple passes that lose possession for his team. This is a less serious issue than the other two, though, and can likely be remedied fairly quickly.

Your S82 Shaw winner, β-CHI G

(Bruh)

xavier booberry is the meta killer

you better be good @Dil

G - Rara Rasputin @Spartan

1. From 1 to 10! How did you find this year's draft? I'll go with a 5. I didn't hate it, but I missed a lot - didn't catch the VHLE draft at all, and didn't make it to the VHL draft in time to see myself get picked. But all in all I'm not upset with the outcome. 2. Do you agree with the position you were drafted to? If so, why? I think it's about fair. I went in about the right place in the VHLE considering the cap. To be honest I think 5th might've been too high for me in the VHL draft but I'll take it. 3. Are you happy that you were selected by our team? I don't really have any opinions about VHLE teams other than that I like Vasteras a lot and was kinda hoping to end up there. But it doesn't look like they needed a defenseman so in that case it doesn't really bother me. Hopefully things go well with Geneva! 4. If you had an improvement to make in relation to the VHLE draft! What would you do? I feel like it's kinda in a weird spot where people aren't as interested in it. I don't know if that could be helped with more articles/coverage or if that just has to do with the nature of the VHLE. It'd be cool to see a VHLE mock draft or two, I guess. To be honest I didn't really care too much about it so it kinda felt weird to get a bunch of VHLE interviews when I was really thinking more about the VHL draft at the time. 5. What is your goal as a player for Geneva Rush? Win the cup. Nothing else, really. I want to win all three cups with Dvorak. 6. Following the official retirement of Willie O'Ree! Who is your favorite NHL player? Uhhh I don't really follow the NHL so I wouldn't really have an answer. Sorry.

D - Jan Hlozek @Tate

F - The Seabasstard @Spartan

D - Robin Galante Nilsson @Tate

F - Taylor Mourning @Spartan

F - Alex Johnston @Tate

In

All the logos should be in the spoiler tags here (and then of course the Rush and Storm are in the VHLM section). The Stockholm logo is kinda cut badly but there's a cleaner version with red here and I'd be willing to make a version with the new colors if people need it. Also if anyone needs a higher-res or vector version of the new Vasteras logo I can get it to them.