solas

the
 
I think.

I got excited because I thought this was about me

Why would there be? It isn't abuse to stack cheap good players. Blame the players that started spamming rerolls and only wanted to build this way rather than managers who stacked players that will make their team win.
 
Or, more realistically, don't blame anyone at all. I don't think anyone "abusing" the meta, players or managers, were doing anything wrong at all. It was on us to change the way the game works so that the min/maxing isn't possible anymore.

You guys didn’t add a meta attribute that hybrids Scoring and Defense. 😡

One book I really would like to recommend is Andy Weir - Project Hail Mary. I really enjoyed getting through this. Don't want to spoil anything, but if anyone read it, let me know what you thought of it.

Hybrid Attributes: Ending the Meta
 
Hello @Members!
 
As I’m sure you’re all aware by now, the VHL has a meta problem. If you aren’t aware…. where have you been? I’ll explain though: at its core, the “meta” in the VHL refers to building a player with max Scoring (as well as ideally max Defense) and absolutely no Passing, or as little Passing as you can possibly manage. This tricks the engine into taking an insane amount of shots rather than passing and more shots means more goals. An individual player doing this has minimal impact on the engine as a whole but an entire team doing it is not only salary efficient (since not much TPE is needed), but can also be very beneficial to that team as they outshoot and outscore their opponents rather consistently. As more and more users have started to discover this, more and more teams have come to adopt this “meta” strategy, intentionally or otherwise.
 
The SHL discovered this a few years ago and completely changed engines to eliminate it. Before I get into our fix I want to explain something to eliminate a misconception: we did know about this and we weren’t just ignoring it in hopes that it wouldn’t be a problem. At the time it was discovered, we ran tests and found the impact to be lesser with our engine version and roster composition. It was present but not extreme - combined with re-rolls being much harder to acquire here, we thought it best not to rock the boat believing changes would be more detrimental to league health than the problem which, at that point, had not really come up in the VHL.
 
Unfortunately times changed and as we know, the meta has been on our doorstep for a bit now. That is why the @BOG has been working very hard the last few seasons to come up with a solution that would not only eliminate the meta without changing engines (something that would be nuclear to the portal and unwanted if it can be avoided) but also improve build diversity, roster makeup, and hopefully league enjoyment.
 
Therefore, I present your new VHL Player Attributes:
 
 
"But Beketov..." I hear you asking, "if we aren't changing engines and we can't change the attributes inside of STHS how do we have new attributes?"
 
Good question theoretical member! The short answer is: we don't. The above are the attributes you as members will be seeing but they are not the attributes STHS will be seeing. We are calling these hybrid attributes and their job is to give us more control over builds without directly limiting what can and can't be added to. They work by spreading out the TPE placed into them into different STHS attributes at different ratios. Specifically the ratios that are used are:
 
 
I know that looks like a lot of numbers and attributes but I promise it's not as complicated as it seems at first glance.
 
Essentially 1 point into a Hybrid attribute = a ratio of 1 or more STHS attributes. For example adding 1 point to Offensive Vision will add 0.3 points to PA and 0.3 points to SC (this sounds quite low but I promise it works out). To make it so that this doesn't completely break how much TPE is needed for a build all values will be rounded down (since STHS cannot accept decimals) but the points aren't lost, they simply aren't used until you hit a new whole number. I also want to assure you that these values were not randomly determined - they were the byproduct of many test sims to ensure they would mitigate all of the issues we were aiming to address.
 
These values can be more easily tweaked over time if a new meta develops and give us granular control over the STHS attributes in a way that simply having an update scale never has and never could. In the specific case of the meta, the eagle eyed among you have probably already noticed that there’s no way to achieve max scoring without adding to passing. In fact if you max all the scoring attributes you will end up around 64 passing by association. This was the crux of the meta fix, build attributes together in a way that making a purely “meta” player is impossible.
 
The additional bonus of course is build diversity, or at least that's the hope. I'm hitting this explanation over the head a bit and I promise I'll stop soon but I wanted to touch on this very quickly because I can see the comments now from that theoretical member again, "couldn't we have achieved the same thing by adding archetypes or simply a required gap between passing and scoring?" Yes, theoretical member, we could have. However we chose to take longer to make this than go one of those routes because the VHL's attributes have always been based around adding what you want, where you want. We do not have limits on specific attributes or requirements like gap; it would be easier but that doesn't inherently make it better. @Beaviss originally came up with an early version of this a few years back (so credit to him) and I shot it down because I didn't think it made sense at the time. However when looking at all of this again it seemed to fit perfectly. Fix the meta and add a whole new world of build theorycrafting. We don't have any new actual attributes but having different ways to get things up and having to balance certain trade offs inherently creates more opportunity to diversify. You can try this out for yourselves since @Spartan ohas graciously simplified our testing spreadsheet here (originally designed by @Enorama, credit where due because I certainly couldn't do all that math) which you can use to start designing your build right now before this all comes into play.
 
--- 
 
Which leads me out of the meat of this announcement and into the nitty gritty details: Implementation and what it all means.
 
First off, this is going into effect for the start of S83 which will likely mean extending the off-season slightly because we need to accommodate the fact that every skater in the league will be re-rolled down to TPA + banked after depreciation is run, which will happen early. This is done so that you can re-apply your TPE into the new attributes as you please. You can choose to change your build if you'd like or you can try and build exactly the same, the choice is ultimately yours. Inactive players will be re-rolled by their GM's and any players not re-rolled by the start of the season will be retired.
 
We recognize this is a large change though and builds may not be perfectly finalized even with the extra tools and preparation time. For that reason we will be offering a 3 season window (ending at the start of S86) in which you will be able to re-roll your player again for free. Everyone will be able to do this once regardless of if they have previously used the paid re-roll or not.
 
We do also recognize that this is a WC off-season as well as the other usual off season tournaments and those will not be affected. We will download a ratings file for them the last day before everyone is reset and run the tournaments off of that file. You may have noticed by now that none of those attributes above and nothing I have said thus far relates to goalies; that is because goalies shall remain untouched for now. They will not be re-rolled or affected in any way at this time. If changes to their attributes need to be made in the future we shall do so but for now we want to gather data without adjusting them.
 
The update scale and depreciation will also remain unchanged, again at least for now. From our testing depreciation should be roughly the same difficulty to fight as before for the higher TPE players and should be slightly easier for the lower TPE players. Additionally the update scale does not appear to require changing and will operate in exactly the same way as before with 1 caveat: attributes will start at 0 and go to 99 instead of the 40-99 that the VHL has ran with for 82 seasons. This only applies to the hybrid attributes with the ones inside STHS still having a baseline of 40. The update scale for 0-70 will remain at 1 TPE per point. The process of updating will also remain unchanged however it will look slightly different. We will be upgrading the update page to showcase not only which points go into your hybrid attributes but also the effect of your STHS attributes. It is worth noting, however, that there will be disheartening moments in this system on occasion. Because of how the ratios work and the rounding down there will be times where you add a point and see nothing change. Again I would like to clarify that every point added does get counted, it may just not be enough to push you over the rounding threshold. The TPE tool shall also be adjusted accordingly to help people figure out their builds and see exactly what adding to everything does. It will work the same as the above link but be a lot less manual.
 
I recognize this is a long explanation, a lot of words, and a lot to take in. It is not a decision we made lightly but it is a decision we are excited about. It should hopefully fix a lot of player attribute problems we have been facing in one move and allow the league to grow without destroying everything we have built with STHS. This will allow our attributes to be closer to the expectation of the engine without suppressing the creativity to do as you please, it will put an end to the meta build, it will make for an increase in build diversity, and it will allow the VHL to continue to thrive. Please know that we will be keeping an eye on things over the next few seasons as, regardless of the amount of testing we did, ultimately the biggest test is getting it in all of your hands. If we need to adjust sliders or change goalies or anything else we will do so. We ask that you all embrace this change and help to make the league better.
 
If you have any further questions, points of clarification, or concerns, please reach out to a Commissioner or a BoG member. We'd be happy to explain details to prevent incorrect information from circulating.
 
- @Commissioner

As the title says, I’m picking a team of 6 players that were the best that my players played with, but with the caveat that I’m only going to pick 1 player who was a teammate of each one of my players. So for example, I’m not going to pick two players who played with my lone HOFer Edwin Reencarnacion and not pick anyone who played with The Board Game Clue On Skates, every era’s gonna get represented. Which is why I’m leaving Aackckqz Ky off this article since he was a player I had during the “Two Player” era of the VHL, so his era aligns with Threencarnacion.
 
C – Podrick Cast @Victor (Played with Edwin Preencarnacion for Riga Reign in Seasons 61-66)
 
My players have played with quite a lot of good centers over the years (The standout of the remainder would have to be Thomas O’Malley in Season 47), but there’s no doubt that Cast is the player who belongs in this position. Cast and Preencarnacion were drafted third and sixth overall respectively by the Riga Reign in the Season 61 Draft and the duo were quick to make an incredible impact on the team. Through their first four seasons paired together, both Cast and Preencarnacion were both in the top 10 in goals, with the highlights being the duo combining for an incredible 144 goals in Season 62 and their Continental Cup winning efforts in Season 63. When I think about players who have brought out the best in me, Cast is top of the list.
 
LW – Jorma Ruutu @jRuutu (Played with Edwin Reencarnacion for New York Americans in Seasons 44-49)
 
The lone player on this list who I was also GMing at the same time that my player was playing with him, Ruutu’s first player in the VHL was a key asset into the Americans six season playoff streak from Season 44 to Season 49 and was also a big part of our Continental Cup win in Season 47, a side that Jorma Ruutu was the captain of! Most impressive about that season was Ruutu’s 18 Game Winning Goals, which at the time broke a record that had stood since the very first VHL season courtesy of Scotty Campbell and as we know, when you’re being compared to Campbell, you’ve done something very noteworthy!
 
RW – R.J Jubis @Jubis(Played with Edwin THE Encarnacion for Calgary Wranglers in Seasons 70-76)
 
It’s a bit of a surprise to me that our Wranglers team never won a Continental Cup, but a player who certainly put us in that position to win it was the Wranglers main offensive threat and also (for most of that run) the GM of the team, RJ Jubis. Jubis led the team in points in three straight seasons, from Season 72 (where the team also won the Victory Cup) to Season 74. While he didn’t get any personal awards for those seasons, he was recognised for his strong play with an All-VHL First Team selection in Season 72 and an All-VHL Second Team selection in Season 73
 
D – Conner Low @Smarch (Played with Edwin Encarnacion for Saskatoon Wild in Season 34)
 
The lone VHLM representation on this list, Encarnacion’s time with Conner Low in the VHLM is a big reason why I’ve stuck around as long as I have. With no other actives outsides of ourselves and a GM who wasn’t the most active in the locker room, it wasn’t setting up to be a particularly great first experience in the league for myself, but bringing in Low boosted our LR activity immensely as we’d have discussions about the most ridiculous things in there at times. Entering the S35 VHL Draft, I went 5th overall and Low went 6th overall. It would have been interesting to see this pair team up one more time in the pros given that Low was the greatest defenseman of his generation, picking up five straight Labatte awards, and Encarnacion went on to break defenseman career records for hits and PIMs and finished second in career shot blocks
 
D – Milan Dvorak @solas (Playing with The Board Game Clue on Skates in Season 82)
 
So obviously when it comes to Clue, it’s difficult to pick a player for this spot so early but since I gave the M a slot, I figured I’d give the E one as well and shout-out Solas, who funnily enough I’d just said in the Chicago Discord that we hadn’t been on the same team in ages, completely forgetting we were on the same team right now (Clearly I’m still getting used to this trade!). Dvorak is proving his worth as the top defenseman taken in the S82 Draft, leading the Rush’s defensemen in points and shot blocks. If Dvorak winds up as good as his last player Jean Pierre Camus, everyone involved goes home very happy!
 
G – Apollo Skye @Velevra(Played with Edwin Threencarnacion for Quebec City Meute in Seasons 53-54)
 
“To every great goalie, there is a great backup” is not a phrase that anyone uses ever, but that was the case in the early Season 50’s when the Quebec City Meute (Now the Vancouver Wolves) boasted both one of the best goalies in the league and the best backup in the league. This was clearest for all to see in Season 53, where Skye was a comprehensive leader in save percentage among starting goalies (so much so that he won both MVP and Top Goalie honours for the year) and the player with the next highest save percentage was his backup Threencarnacion. This carried into the following season where, spookily enough, Skye and Threencarnacion shared the same save percentage (.933, which was enough for Skye to once again have the highest save percentage among starters) and Goals Against Average (1.5). Threencarnacion later moved on to Davos as it was no longer feasible to keep Threencarnacion on as a backup once he entered the Prime Salary Brackets, but Skye would continue on with Quebec for the remainder of his career and eventually got inducted into the Hall of Fame.
 
1020 Words (Claiming for W/C 20/3 and 27/3)

Hate Mr. Simon Tremblay himself for not selling us an editable license.

don't hate the player hate the game

VHL Wordle
12 1/6
 
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Agreed

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

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

great coincidence, I actually made this change a few days ago, currently pending lol

@Brodie_Landry

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.
 

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.
 

Pov: you are in Berlin in 1989

(Bruh)