Matmenzinger

Review: Just joined the league a week ago, so still wrapping my head around the VHLM, let alone the VHL. These posts are awesome. Really helpful in getting me a little more familiar with the league and how much things change year to year. Already rooting for Seattle and Moscow. Thanks for your writeup!

Agreed. I've been trying to push a bit for Jaguar in chat for the back third of the season, especially with regard to minutes comparison.
Mars has 94 points in 2,006 minutes, while Jet Jaguar has his 90 in <1,500 minutes. That's a huge difference and frankly, Mars doesn't hold a candle to Jaguar because of it. I would hope that efficiency, especially something this drastic in players with similar volume statistics, would be a consideration for ALL committee members.
 
This kind of selection is problematic for the future in the league, especially for rookies since we're going to be seeing much deeper teams. I'm not even entirely sure we can make a "first line vs. second line" argument, since nearly half of Mars's ice time was as a third liner.

Thank you thank you @Matmenzinger Glad to be a part of Moscow! Perhaps another Pizza and Pasties location shall be opening!

First overall got me shook.

Ottawa Lynx Draft S67
 
I need to do a media spot this week, (my first media spot actually) so I'll go over what led to me to drafting the specific players that are on the Lynx roster and if there’s time why I traded the way that I did. 
 
1st round:
 
I traded the 1st overall pick for the 4th overall, a 6th round pick and an 8th round (trash, thought the draft was deeper), mostly because someone came to me with an issue and wanted to help them out because I'm a sucker for sob stories. I figured the 6th rounder would be useful the 8th rounder was a 30 TPE guy who could possibly turn into something and would help someone out. Well I overestimated how large the draft was and it became useless (i’m a sucker). 
 
With the 4th overall pick I decided to go with a player who has had a history in the VHL, he also happened to create a player in a position that I needed to fill. There weren’t a lot of centers in this draft so I went with Thorny Underyew @jack. He’s a sniping centerman who can move the puck well. 
 
I ended up trading for the 6th overall due to a conversation with another GM about drafting players. I wanted a particular player but he the pick before I traded. It was the 6th OA for Ottawa’s 2nd and Minesotas 4th and Ottawas 5th in S69. The 5th is the only thing I regret about this trade and did it in the moment. I figured I could trade some assets to get the 5th back if I need it two season down the line. Was it the best no, was it the worst ehh jury's out.
I ended up getting a great player in Zeno Miniti @Zeno. One again the draft was light on centers so I went with a defensively responsive center who is pretty balanced but focuses on putting the put in the net. 
 
Thankfully the 10th overall pick was Ottawas to begin with so I didn’t have to trade all over to get it. I needed a winger and Anthony Hawk @ahawk2191 fit the bill perfectly. I got a steal with Anthony, coming from Philadelphia where he played a big part in their championship run. He’s a scoring winger who can dangle the puck while quickly passing defenders. I’m a big fan of the defensive side of his game. 
 
I traded away the 2nd round pick for the 6th overall:
 
I ended up with 2 third round picks, I ended up trading David Lindberg for a third and i’m glad I did. It cleared up space for Aamon Grim @aCrypticPancake. He caught my eye with how much he’s claiming TPE. Aamon is an offensive defenseman who has great hands and great defensive ability. I can’t wait to see him take off this season. 
 
With Ottawa’s 3rd round pick I went with the lesser known winger Micha Sage @AcousticKazoo. Micha impressed me with his play on the ice and attitude. Micha Sage is a scoring forward who also has the ability to play in his own end and put the puck in the net.He is going to be a great asset going forward in Ottawa, and everyone should watch out.

 
In the 4th round Ottawa had the first pick from the Bulls which was in Ottawa when I took over the team. I was happy to select Taruas Karazija @ontanis. Tauras is a defensive defenseman who has excelled at playing in his own end. He is extremely personable when talking to the media and is going to be a big part of this team going forward. I was suprised he fell to the 4th round but was happy with select him 34th overall. 

 
Next up was the 38th pick that I received in a trade for Bendan James Lawn, was the player for 2 4th round picks. Both of these picks turned out to be great and I don’t regret the deal. It gave me room for all of the upcoming defenseman that we’re draft. With the 38 pick I selected Jacob Scott @jscott. He is a two way defenseman that can set up his teammates as well as take the body and play defensively. He stood out as an active player and I wanted him on my roster. 
 
My 40th pick, also received in the Lawn deal was for future super star Raymond Bernard @Mr_Hatter. This pick was a bit of a grab but considering I didn’t have any in the 5th it was worth it, especially since after I drafted him a couple of other GM’s wanted him. We’ve just begun working with Bernard in the practice facility but he’s going to be a hell of a goalie. 

 
5th Round Ottawa did not have any picks
 
In the 6th round Ottawa had the pick from the Minnesota Storm. I selected Wonona Levantoes @oramuda. A new player to the VHLM but impressed the scouts with their ability to put the puck in the net.Much like Bernard we’ve just begun working with them in the practice facility. Expect great things going forward!
 
With Ottawas last pick in the 6th round, we selected Journeyman Titus LaClass @Termancy. LaClass spent 72 games in the VHLM last year and was without a team. Having played for SSK he was work taking a shot at on the roster. He is a pass first forward who is responsible. He’s a great addition to the locker room. 
 
In the 7th round and the second to last pick in the draft 76th overall the Ottawa Lynx selected Davoid Souter @boomshocks. Raw but with massive amounts of potential and an absolutely steal in the draft. He is a pass first defenseman who can take the body to make a play and keep on ticking. Expect great things from this man!
 
Considering this was my first draft as general manager and haven’t been around for another one. Also not knowing what to expect going forward, over valuing picks/undervaluing picks, just becoming a huge mess, I think I did okay. I achieved my goal of stocking the locker room with some grade A talent, have some great guys on the team who are all more than willing to help each other. Those picks, while not the best on paper led me to specific players and for that I can’t regret those decisions. I’m looking forward to the season and what these guys are going to bring to the VHLM and the VHL going forward. Personally this has been a learning experience and now that I have a season of drafting under my belt, can’t wait for the next. 

 
word count 1118 claiming for week 7/7 and 7/14

Helsinki won the cup with 12 players, 10 of which were drafted by Helsinki – an all-time record. The only Titans not there since draft day were Thompson and Bailey, the latter solely because he wasn't drafted at all. I've not yet released the spreadsheet which shows this ranking, but the record previously belonged to S55 Helsinki who had 9 draftees + Shayne Gow who was drafted by the Titans, then was traded and returned later on. Quik was excited about the S63 draft from the day it concluded, and that made up the core of the team, but the longest serving player on Helsinki was actually drafted by Higgins in S62 (Dan Montgomery) @BarzalGoat – that sort of transition from contending cycle to contending cycle, from GM to GM, is partially why the Titans are the model franchise of the last few decades.
 
Odd tidbit, but despite the above model franchise chat, Helsinki hasn't had a goalie win the Shaw Trophy since before it was called the Shaw Trophy – Jakob Kjeldsen was the last Titan to be crowned top goaltender, back in S23 when Shaw was still active. The Titans have had lots of fine goalies since then, including Astrid Moon and the Hall of Famers Tuomas Tukio and Greg Clegane, but none of these won the Shaw in their time in Helsinki. So big chance for Pepper at the awards ceremony later this week. @Sonnet

Needs more @Matmenzinger

That is rough... #FakeNews 

@cpetrella @zepheter @FerdaJets @uphillmoss @11 Eleven @Matmenzinger @Gabella19
@Mclovin @ahawk2191 @Patpou22 @FakeJenton @Smarch @Psanchez55
@Tophdaddy @Green @jblock3 @Sunburst @BladeMaiden

(Posting this with express permission from Beketov)
 
Hey everyone, you may (or may not) know me from the SBA. I'm here today to gauge interest in our community for a side project I am working on with Molholt. 
 
Now, before I go further - a lot of the elements are wildly different than the typical point task league. That's why I am here to gauge interest - to our knowledge, this hasn't really been done so much (if ever), so we aren't sure what to expect in terms of interest.
 
First things first, this will be a baseball league run by OOTP, using a backend similar to SBAO (or, for those here not in SBA, something that functions similar to the VHL Portal). Let me run through some bullet points about this new league.
 
Baseball, which brings with it OOTP, probably the best sim engine on the market quik sim. Each season will last two weeks, meaning up to 26 could happen in a calendar year. Random player creation. No starting archetype or base attribute list, every player is randomly generated by OOTP (with some requirements). Decide what position you want to play and then see what your starting point is! Do you have some potential for the future, or are you a solid player already? How will it impact your build strategy? No manual player regression or forced retirement. Players can play until they retire in-game. Careers in less than a year. With quik sim and no career length, experience an entire career in less than one calendar year! Player progression and regression are ON in-game. This means you can develop naturally in addition to your own points being applied, and will regress naturally. Injuries and suspensions turned ON. Given the quik sim nature and no limit on career length, missing time for injuries isn't a huge detriment and brings with it much more realism. No point tasks. You do not have to write an article, create a graphic, record a podcast or do anything of the sort to earn points. Subscription model. The league would be setup with a subscription model, meaning that if you're a monthly subscriber you get a lump sum of points each season to apply to your player(s). Given that two seasons would be within a month, each month would be two seasons worth of points. Low Price Point. I'm thinking $5/month gets you one pitcher and one hitter. Once created, they'll be in the system. Any month you subscribe you'll get points for both of them for two seasons. Potential for more players/levels if there is desire. Automation. No requirement for jobs. Updates will be handled by the system I am building specifically for this. Simming done by Molholt. No need for any other jobs. Potential Monetary Prizes. There is potential to reward league MVPs, Cy Youngs, etc., with a monetary reward. If there is a buy in for GMs then there is potential to pay the championship GM each season, etc. Just a thought right now. Low Effort. With no tasks to do, simply show up and enjoy your player's development and career. Chat with other players, decide on free agency, see where you get drafted, etc., all without worrying about writing an article or making a graphic each week.  
Because this is so wildly different, we are gauging interest before we devote a ton of time to it. I know it's out there compared to the standard leagues such as the SBA, VHL and EFL and even the money leagues like the SHL and PBE. However, with the two of us behind it and our passion for not only sim leagues, but baseball as well, I think this could be a really fun community to be a part of. I also think it could attract a completely different group of people that might find some interest in this that then filter over into our standard sim league community. Start them off with low effort and get them hooked, bring them over here. I think it's important to throw out there that we aren't competing with the SBA, or the PBE even, or really anyone in the sim league community. Our subscription model will also not find its way to the Affilite Trio of the SBA, EFL, or VHL - this is a separate endeavor entirely.
 
Let us know what you think. Would you have interest? What elements are exciting for you? What elements would turn you away or cause concern? Hit me up here or on Discord anytime if you have thoughts, love to hear them!
 
Link to our site, where you can sign up for the SimLB mailing list: https://www.simlb.com/
Link to our Discord: https://discord.gg/t7VJXUg

As we're already one game into the final series of the VHLM playoffs, there is a very tight running for the Skylar Rift Trophy. As I don't want to stretch this out, I'll get right into the statistics and state why each player might deserve the honor. 
 
 
 Philadelphia Reapers 
 
Walter Clements 
C | 6'8" | 250 lbs. 
6G | 11A | 17P | +10
Clements currently leads all remaining players in point production this postseason. He is one of the most versatile players in the league. It shows up on both the stat sheet and might be the primary reason why Philly has had such an easy path to the finals. He's a clutch player that makes big time plays in the biggest moments, and he has proven that by contributing to nearly 14% of the Reapers' total points on his own.
 
Bjorn Scoringsonn
RW | 6'1" | 190 lbs. 
5G | 10A | 15P | +4
Scoringsonn was a very respectable top six player this regular season, but has found a match made in heaven with left winger, turned center, Dylan Doyle. He has shown he can play with and against the best players in the league at a high level. Despite having an assist-heavy postseason, he can put the puck in the net just as well. Scoringsonn joins Doyle and Tocco on the highest scoring line in Philadelphia, where they own just over 30% of the offensive contribution on the team.
 
Dylan Doyle
LW/C | 6'1" | 175 lbs. 
7G | 5A | 12P | +5
Doyle has had a tremendous breakout this postseason. He went from averaging 0.26 G/GP to 0.70 so far this playoffs. He's also increased his point per game percentage by a titanic 66%, for 1.2 P/GP during the postseason versus a measly 0.54. Doyle currently leads all remaining players in goals this postseason. 
 
Honorable Mentions 
Boone Jenton(D) - 3G | 9A | 12A | +4
Kolur Bjoernsonn(G) - 9-1-0 | 0.904 SV% | 2.22 GAA
 
 
 Ottawa Lynx 
 
Blake Laughton 
LW | 6'3" | 229 lbs. 
6G | 10A | 16P | +10
Laughton has remained a consistent two way player throughout this postseason. Leading Ottawa in assists, points, and hits. Laughton and fellow star line mate, Martin, have a combined 31 points this post season, which is nearly 30% of the total scoring for the Lynx.
 
Aston Martin
C | 6'0" | 175 lbs. 
6G | 9A | 15P | +8
Martin is tied for the team lead in goals with Laughton. He has also played a significant role in Ottawa's puck possession, as he's responsible for winning around 55% of the faceoffs he has taken this postseason. He's not the largest guy on the ice by any means, so he tends to stay away from the gritty areas, but he is elusive and is a valuable playmaker for his team.
 
Ambrose Stark
D | 6'3" | 201 lbs. 
5G | 8A | 13P | +11
Stark has been by far the most versatile defenseman throughout this postseason. As a defenseman, he ranks in the top 10 in goals and assists, 8th in points, 1st in points by a defenseman, 1st in +/-, 2nd in shots blocks, and 5th in hits. There's no question he will be a deciding factor in every game he plays as the finals conclude within the next week.
 
Honorable Mentions
Pekka Pouta(G) - 8-1-1 | 0.907 SV% | 2.50 GAA
Thomas Kennedy(C) - 5G | 7A | 12P | +3 
 
There are clearly many bright spots on both of these teams, but I personally think it's Clements vs. Stark. Clements is almost guaranteed to get a point every game, and perhaps even more. Stark and Ottawa will have to shutdown not only Clements, but also the Reapers' second line which has been on fire all postseason. 

Good job boys.

Ok ya that is actually really sick looking. With the storm and graveyard pics. Amazing job.

Okay,
 
So hear me out. With all the debate about team sizes and whatnot, and the need for expansion I got an idea. As you may know, VHL teams are growing from the 6-4-1 to a 9-4-1, and as these bigger recruitment drives and draft classes come, new players won't have room on teams. From talking to people, I've learned that expansion is costly for the league, and not really an optimal solution.
 
The VHL's partners SBA and EFL both have a NCAA system, where your player is in the NCAA for at most 4 years, then in the season before they are drafted they "uncap" and don't have to follow the TPE cap for the league anymore. What I was thinking is to introduce an NCAA system similar to the ones in EFL and SBA. What this means is that there are more spots for players, since they'll be in the league for at most 4 seasons, and won't be a strain on the VHL, where new players who aren't eligible for the VHLM (just over 200) are getting 3rd line minutes.
 
To populate the league, each VHL and VHLM player would get to create a "filler", which is a player who can only apply a specified amount of TPE per season. So that number could be 50 for instance, and each filler could only apply 50 tpe to the NCAA player, so that it isn't OP.
 
Now, we'd change the VHLM to a farm team system, and preferably match each VHL team with a VHLM one. The players who have been VHL drafted would be assigned to the VHLM (if there wasn't a need for them up in the VHL) to develop and eventually join the VHL team. This would mean that the VHLM cap would be increased to say 450 or 500, and players would be allowed to still earn tpe once they hit the cap, it would just need to be banked.
 
The process would be players would sign up, and be recruited by an NCAA team (no draft). Then they would spend at max 4 seasons in the NCAA, with a cap similar to the current VHLM, just wouldn't be allowed to bank any TPE once they hit 200. Then players would declare for the draft by uncapping, and are free to earn as much TPE as possible in their final NCAA season. Once drafted they would either be assigned to the VHLM, or called straight up to the VHL.
 
An increase in career length would also be needed, and I just quickly though of this. Season count stays at 8, but NCAA seasons, and the first 2 VHLM seasons do not count towards this cap. If you're called straight up to the VHL team though, and skip the VHLM entirely, the season counter would start ticking.
 
Let me know if you hate/love/have suggestions for this idea. I obviously don't see it being implemented in the next 3 seasons, but it's certainly a possibility in the short future imo.

Greetings, true believers! I'm taking over this as my new duty from Dills. I'll try and post them each week. VHLM is just kicking off the post-season of S66. We had a few really good teams this season, with four teams reaching 50 or more wins. It's anyone's game as far as a favourite for the championship goes. Without further ado, let's get right to it, and as always, here's what this issue of the mag will contain!
 
 
1) Uncapped TPE Opportunities: Any time there's a one-off or once-a-season point task available to enter, you'll find out about it in the early headlines of the article.
2) League Recap: The middle of the Newsletter is generally based around keeping you up to speed with what's going on around the league, be that changes to how the league works, new features or how the current VHLM season is progressing.
3) TPE Earning Guide: The bottom section of the Newsletter follows the same format each week. There, you will be provided with the links you need to get to the regular TPE earning activities. 
 
Before we start with anything I would like to remind you about the Official VHL Discord Server. The discord is a great place for you to connect with other members of the site and get help with anything you need! I would highly recommend joining and being apart of the community there. Like the last VHLM Newsletter, some of this newsletter will re-tread on the old ground as, with this being a VHLM newsletter, there will inevitably be new members reading this for the first time that won’t be aware of what was in previous newsletters. So what I’ll do is put a bold *NEW* next to any information specifically made for this newsletter so players who have read these before knowing where to go to find the new info!
 
1) Uncapped TPE Opportunities
 
**NEW** Theme Week
Back again by popular demand, theme week! This is a week where HO chooses a theme, and any media, podcasts, graphics, etc. will come with bonus uncapped TPE! Here's the link Theme Week Thread. 
 
Complete a Regular Point Task (Media Spot / Graphic/Video / Podcast), on 'Theme', and receive an extra 6 Uncapped TPE  Complete a VHL.com submission (Written / Graphic / Podcast), on 'Theme', and receive an extra 1 Uncapped TPE  Complete both 'Theme' submissions, receive an additional 1 Uncapped TPE, for a total of 8 Uncapped TPE   
Weekly Reddit Threads 
No new weekly Reddit thread this week, but make sure to check out the thread and keep an eye out for future Reddit threads by clicking the link here.
 
Recruit a Friend TPE 
Probably the best way to earn some uncapped TPE is to recruit a friend! You can receive some hefty uncapped TPE bonuses by recruiting a friend and helping them make a player! You can earn up to 15 Uncapped TPE from a single recruitment! For more information, click this link.
 
Practice Facility
Every week, players in the VHLM are granted 2 free TPE every week for simply posting in the practice facility thread. If you haven't already, go post your player name and "+2" here.
 
Career PT - Player Biography
Once per career, you can write a biography about your player for a whopping TEN uncapped TPE! The biography must be at least 1000 words in length while detailing the history of your player's life, starting off the ice and eventually working up toward it. A more specific rubric can be found on the page here. When claiming the TPE for this task, make sure you submit it under via portal as "Other" --> "Biography"
 
Career PT - Rookie Profile
Once per career, you can write a rookie profile that specifically details your player's strengths and weaknesses on the ice. Think of this like a scouting report, where you're telling GMs what to expect out of your player. A more detailed rubric for the rookie profile can be found on this page. This report must be at least 500 words in length, and focus only on your player's on-ice attributes. When turning this task in, be sure to submit it under "Other" --> "Rookie Profile"
 
 
The VHL Fantasy Zone
Every week, players are given the chance to guess the results of upcoming VHL games. This comes in two different forms- the weekly Pick 'Em's (which are worth 2 uncapped TPE for getting all of them correct), and the weekly Score Prediction (which is worth 3 uncapped TPE for getting correct). Even if you don't get it right, it's worth a shot to take a look at the games and give it your best guess! If you want, you can even cheat and copy the guesses of a member that's already posted. These will be posted in this subforum every week.
 
Player Store- First Generation Doubles Week
If you've got the money (1.5m in player store cash, the amount of every VHLM contract) you can purchase a doubles week if you're on your first player. For those who haven't had one before, a doubles week allows you to claim an extra 6 uncapped TPE if you submit a media spot, graphic, or podcast! 
 
The VHLM Fantasy Zone
The VHL Fantasy Zone's younger brother allows you to earn even more uncapped TPE for guessing the correct winners and scores. However, these predictions are only available to players within the VHLM, so make use of them while you can! The VHLM Fantasy Zone differs in its TPE rewards, in that the weekly Pick 'Em's are only worth 2 uncapped TPE, but guessing the correct score is worth 4! These will be posted in this subforum every week.
 
The First Generation Bonus
As a thank you to the newer members for sticking around and participating in the league, we're offering 10 free uncapped TPE for your first player, once they cross the 100 TPE milestone! If you've passed that mark, or are about to pass that mark, make a post in this thread and use it to submit an update. To make the job of the updates easier, please select "Other" when applying the update and fill out the box as seen below:

 
2) League Recap
 
As mentioned in our intro, it's playoff time!! In the VHLM, the top eight teams make the playoffs. First seed will play the eight, the second will draw the seventh, and so on. I'll post a quik recap of each series thus far below.
 
(1) Philadelphia Reapers  VS (8) Minnesota Storm 
The Reapers really went all in this year, opting to trade their talent last year for future draft picks. This paid off in the regular season, as they were the favourites coming into the season and ended up with a 56 win season. The Storm on the other hand, were the eight seed. They weren't among the worst teams though, as they made it in the playoffs with nearly a 30 point lead over the next best (worst?) team. The Reapers have had the upper hand so far, winning both games and out shooting the Storm 76-30 over two games.
 
(2) Halifax 21st  VS (7) San Diego Marlins 
 
Halifax has had a good team for a few seasons now, so the expansion Marlins knew they had their hands full when they drew the 21st. Game one proved that, as Halifax trounced San Diego 8-1. Hat tricks from both Anton Edvin and Acyd Burn led the way in this one. But SD woke up, and put up a valiant fight against Halifax in game two, but lost in OT. Some solid experience for an expansion team who is sure to grow and improve in the upcoming draft
 
(3) Ottawa Lynx  VS (6) Mississauga Hounds 
 
3V6 is generally where you see a bit more parity, and game one looked like that would be the story here. We had a back and forth, even game. Ottawa came out on top though, but shots were close and the teams looked locked in for a long series. Unfortunately for the Hounds, they came out flat in the first frame of game two, giving up four goals on their way to an 6-0 slobberknocking loss at the hands of the Lynx.
 
(4) Saskatoon Wild   VS (5) Mexico City Kings 
 
Despite being the fourth and fifth seeds, there was a clear line between these two teams in the regular season. The Wild, were the fourth and final team to reach fifty wins this year, while the Kings where the best of the rest, coming in eight wins shy of the fifty mark. And this has held true so far, with the Wild beating the Kings by a combined score of 14-3 over the first two games of the series. Things aren't looking good for the lower seeds this year, as all three series are off to a 2-0 start for the favourites.
 
3) TPE Earning Guide
 
Player Store *NEW*
-          The new Player Store makes purchasing things for your player very easy! Click the "Player Store" option under "Player Menu" on the Player Management screen. Or by just clicking this link. 
-          You can claim your contract money by clicking this button "Claim Income" button under the "Menu" heading.
-          You can click the blue "Purchase" button under the item you wish to buy, and it will be approved or denied by staff.
-          TPE purchases can be applied under the "Other" option when claiming TPE. You do not need a link to claim these items. Updaters can check if you have successfully purchased it or not.
 
First Generation Bonus
Some of you will soon be reaching the point where you will surpass 100 TPE and to offer some thanks for sticking around with us for that long, we give you guys 10 Free TPE! If you are over 100 TPE or have an update that will take you over 100 TPE, you can claim your 10 Free TPE by going to the Player Management screen, going to Claim Other TPE and filling in the box that pops up as displayed in the image below using this link (https://vhlforum.com/topic/49868-first-generation-bonus/) in the link box.
  
 
Recruitment
Recruiting new members to the league not only helps the league by filling out team rosters, but it also sets you up to earn some lucrative TPE! To find out more about the rewards for recruiting members, go HERE. On top of that, there is a 1 uncapped TPE reward for upvoting the weekly Reddit post (It has not yet been released for this week, but I recommend keeping an eye out for it).
 
Weekly Capped Point Task Opportunities (You Can Earn Up To 12 TPE From The Following)
-          You can submit either a Media article of 500 words, a Graphic or a ten minute Podcast for 6 TPE. If you don’t have time to submit for any of these this week though, there is Welfare available to claim for at least 4 TPE.
-          You can submit a 150 word article and a Player Card for 2 TPE each. You can also submit a five minute Podcast for 3 TPE.
-          You can get a maximum of 2 TPE by answering and asking questions in the Press Conferences. If you are short of answers, you can answer questions in the VHLM Press Conference for 2 TPE.
-          You can receive a maximum of 2 TPE by reviewing other people’s Media/Graphics/Podcasts. Check out the guide to reviewing HERE.
-          There is weekly VHL Trivia where you are asked two VHL-related questions, answer both correctly and you will earn 2 TPE for the week. In addition, players will be able to earn up to 6 uncapped TPE at the end of the season, 1 TPE for every week they submitted for trivia. 
 
Uncapped Point Task Opportunities
-          There is 2 TPE to be earned from posting in this week’s Practice Facility
-          There is the VHLM Pickem and Predict the Score (in the VHLM Fantasy Zone). If you correctly guess the results, you will earn uncapped TPE for your player! You'll be able to participate in the VHL Fantasy Zone as well.
-          You can submit a 500-word Rookie Profile for 8 TPE and a 1000 word Biography for 10 TPE. These two are one time only point tasks.
-          If you haven't already, make sure to spend some of your contract/sponsorship money on the First Generation Package in the Player Store. It's an exceptionally cheap purchase that gives you five uncapped TPE.
 
 
Video Tutorial
 
(I'll post this when I get home, no Youtube on the work computers)
 
 
 
This is a video tutorial of how to improve your player through point tasks that was made a while back. The time stamps are stated below so you can easily maneuver around the video and find the help you looking for:
 
Capped TPE
0:27 - Overview of Capped TPE
1:38 - Media Spots
2:39 - Graphics
4:16 - Podcast
5:09 - VHL.com/Player Cards/VHL Radio
7:06 - Press Conferences
9:00 - Trivia
11:59 - Reviewing
13:22 - Jobs
14:13 - Welfare
Uncapped TPE
16:14 - VHL/VHLM Fantasy Zone
17:08 - Practice Facility
17:44 - Yearly Award Predictions
18:35 - VHFL
19:33 - VHL Lottery (out of date)
20:35 - Rookie Profile
21:21 - Biography
22:30 - Donations (out of date)
Adding TPE to your Player
24:00 - Updating
 
 
That concludes the 31st edition of the VHLM Newsletter! If you feel like there is something I can improve or change, let me know! See you next week!!
 
 
 
 
 

Thanks! I plan on doing one for each round.

This looks amazing Mat!! Way to commemorate the Reaper’s run for the cup 

The Philadelphia Reapers put the rest of the VHLM on notice when they aggressively entered the trading pool towards the end of this season. At the time there were debates on whether or not making those moves would pan out for the Reapers, however after seeing them lock up the top spot ending the season with a six game winning streak, it is hard to find any fault with the actions of the front office as they approached the trade deadline. 
 
Let us recap the trades in question before we move on, for those who may not know. The first late season trade the Reapers pulled off was to send Rhys Chism over to San Diego, in return they recieved a S67 SDM 2nd round pick, S67 OTT 4th round pick, and center Scotty BigShotty. This could have been seen as the Reapers dishing off one of their top guys doing their best to develop some depth in the upcoming season, which would have been right, but the Reapers weren't finished there. Soon after their trade with San Diego, they engaged in three trades with Minnesota in quik succession. As we all know, Minnesota had just recently brought in some new leadership and it was expected that they were going to shake things up a bit, but nobody could have foreseen what was about to happen. The first trade between the two organizations was for Minnesota's top defenseman, Boone Jenton, which the Reapers had to part with S67 2nd round pick which originally belonged to Minnesota, as well as players Michael McConway and Tony Mac. This trade alone created quite the rumble around the league, as it became quite clear that the Reapers planned on making a late run in the upcoming playoffs and they were going to do whatever it would take to make it happen. But yet again, the Reapers weren't finished, they quickly also secured Minnesota's top offensive player Mat Tocco as well, while giving up their S67 2nd round pick as well as player Logan Swallow. At this point it was clear that the Reapers weren't messing around, and to put the final nail in that coffin they also acquired Tocco's long time friend and teammate Andrew Hawk while sending Peter Schilling to Minnesota. 
 
While it was clear that the Reapers had added an amazing amount of talent to their already deep roster, the league was waiting to see if the gamble would pay off. Well fortunately for Philly, they didn't need to wait long as the recently added player almost immediately made their presence known. In the short time the players were on the team they had already 53 points between the four of them. Mat Tocco (7 goals, 6 assists), Scotty Bigshotty (3 goals, 4 assists), Boone Jenton (2 goals, 31 assists as well as 26 shots blocked), and Anthony Hawk who had no points but added much depth and talent to the team. It is clear that the Reapers had made the right choice. 
 
During the time after these late-addition players were added to the team, the Philadelphia Reapers rose to the top of the standings and secured the number one seed going in to the playoffs. And ironically enough, the first team they will be playing, the team that gave all the new found talent to the Reapers, is the Minnesota Storm. It will be very interesting to see how this series plays out, but it is hard to see the Reapers not coming out of this one. We expect the Reapers won't see much of a challenge until the finals but it has become very hard to bet against them no matter who they face coming up. However, we know anything can happen come playoff time. We will be very excited to see where the Reapers end up

A couple weeks ago, @Renomitsu wrote an article which put together grades of each North American team's draft class, and at the end put this out there: 
 
 
I agreed to do this, but only on the condition that I did not grade Malmo. You see, I play for Malmo, and I wanted to be fair--I can easily see myself trying to be modest and calling Garcia a bust (which I don't think he is), and I can also see myself not wanting to be mean and giving all my teammates high praise, whether or not they deserved it. I feel that I can be objectively fair with the rest, though, especially since the last article made clear that the grades contained therein are meant to revolve around 5/10 being average. Not great, but certainly not as bad as 5/10 sounds in most contexts. 
 
If you're wondering about the Malmo grades, Renomitsu has written them up, and they'll be in this article as well
 
This article will take into account players' TPE as of the week ending June 2nd, so as to provide a picture consistent with that of the North American conference article, which was written on the 1st. I'll also do my best to grade players and teams in the same manner as the previous article, using the same metrics. And speaking of pictures consistent with those of the last article, here's one, shamelessly copied and pasted, and for my own reference just as much as yours...
 
*quik note: Renomitsu went through the trouble of calculating TPE and averages for players as of this week, so, while the Malmo numbers have been run with a greater sample size, it is my belief that the numbers present here provide a nice picture of things as well, and as these are the ones already available to my lazy ass, these are the ones which will be used.
 

 
So, anyway, PREPARE TO BE UNDERWHELMED! In no particular order...
 
HC Davos Dynamo

 
Draftees:
D Charlie Paddywagon (6th)
D Codrick Past (13th)
LW Chico Smeb (19th)
LW Blake Gaudette (34th)
D Hiromu Takahashi (43rd)
C Pascal Batz (44th)
G Wendy Kandee Cain (54th)
D Cody Parkey (64th)
C Shawn Michaels better than HHH (74th)
 
As the guy who was projected to be the first defenseman off the board by just about everyone (at least, just about everyone after I'd become the highest-TPE defenseman in the draft class), I thought I was going to Davos at #6. Sure, I'd written in Garcia to Malmo in my mock, but in the time between my posting and that of the draft results, I'd heard so much "Davos is picking a defenseman" around the league that I'd simply assumed that this would be the case. These being the facts of the matter, I was very surprised to see Charlie Paddywagon (@DMaximus) going to the team at #6--I'd projected Paddywagon to Davos at #13, and Garcia wasn't even off the board yet! Paddywagon's selection, however, proved to be not entirely questionable in this instance--his 71 TPE earned between the draft and the week ending June 2nd beats the average for the first round, and, in fact, actually beats out Garcia, who still leads the way in TPE by a week or so but earned 69 in the aforementioned period (I like to think I earned 69 on purpose).
 
In the second round, though, Davos' defensive pick leaves a bit to be desired, not necessarily in value but in placement. Codrick Past's (@Kylrad) TPE earnings amount to 51, a few below average, and as a welfare claimer, it appears that Past may have been a bit of a reach at #13. At the end of the second round, though, Davos made up the ground they lost by selecting Chico Smeb (@xDParK), a winger who fell all the way to #19 and who was easily the best player available as far as TPE is concerned. While Smeb's +59 is as far above the average as Past's +51 is below, Smeb is also a welfare claimer, and, though he consistently earns 10 TPE or more per week, could start to see his value drop off some if his peers become more competitive in the future. 
 
The fourth round proved quite eventful for the team, though not necessarily in the way general manager @ShawnGlade would have hoped. Davos selected winger Blake Gaudette (@Gaudette), who almost immediately requested a trade due to circumstances about which I do not know enough to attempt to explain. Gaudette was promptly traded to Malmo, and the jury is still absolutely out on which team won the trade as there is a "part 2" which is due to happen this coming offseason. Gaudette, however, was a solid pick in the mid-4th, as he's got a nice +71, far above the round's average. Though the trade hasn't yet been completed, Davos has received Malmo's 4th-round pick in the coming draft already, and it's been hinted that Malmo will be on the negative end of things in the second part, making Davos' return on the investment quite helpful.
 
Beyond the fourth, though, Davos' picks were a whole lot of not much. The team picked Hiromu Takahashi (@O4L) at #43, who hasn't claimed a single point since the week of April 28th. Following that up, they selected Pascal Batz (@efiug), a welfare claimer whose +37 is right around the round's average. Pick number 54 saw goaltender Wendy Kandee Cain (@SlashACM), once the top goaltender in the draft class and now the top retired goaltender in the draft class, while inactive Cody Parkey (@SaltyTalty) went at #64 and Shawn Michaels better than HHH (I blame Quik), a worthless test player, was selected at #74. 
 
Overall grade? Paddywagon ended up being a nice choice (though, for the moment, Garcia is still better). The second round's picks evened out to average. Gaudette was quite the steal and could end up being costly for Malmo in this mysterious part 2, but the team looks to have missed completely on every pick but perhaps Batz after that fact. 5/10.
 
 
Helsinki Titans

 
Draftees:
C Bert Meyers (15th)
C Ludvig Sederstrom (22nd)
C Jordan Tonn (29th)
D Guillaume Fontenette (30th)
C Rhys Chism (39th)
G Kolur Bjoernsson (49th)
D Duncan Jeffers (59th)
RW Sami Van Den Dreissche (69th)
LW Micheal Rassmussen (79th)
 
I had a feeling prior to the draft that Bert Meyers (@RunnerBert11) would fall some, as the teams who needed a center satisfied said needs with earlier picks, leaving Meyers to fall until he was far enough behind that not picking him would be a move worthy of great question. And he did, eventually being picked up by Helsinki (who, I'd imagine, was very happy to have a first-round talent, TPE-wise, fall to them in the second). Meyers actually improved at a rate greater than many first-rounders, as he recorded a very nice +90 by June 2nd and shows no signs of slowing down. 
 
The Titans' second pick, though, proved to be more of a miss than most GMs would like to see in the early third round, in Ludvig Sederstrom (@aleks). He was certainly active enough at the time of the draft to warrant a selection at #22--he was #20 in the TPE rankings. Since then, though, he's racked up a total of 17 TPE, whether we look at the week of June 2nd or today. Though aleks was my teammate last season in Houston, and I've seen enough in Discord to know he's busy rather than inactive, Sederstrom is still dangerously trending toward bust territory.
 
The team had to wait until the end of the third round to make any more picks, and there they drafted Jordan Tonn (@MexicanCow123) and Guillaume Fontenette (@okocha5). Tonn is +50, while Fontenette is +60--both above average for the round. In fact, since Meyers' TPE puts him inside the top 10 of the draft class, and the earn rate of Tonn and Fontenette averages out to just about your friendly neighborhood second round, Helsinki's choices so far would have earned them an only slightly below-average grade had they been mid-round picks an entire round higher. It gets even crazier when we look at Rhys Chism (@Jables), a scoring center who, to anyone who wasn't his teammate in Houston last season, came out of absolutely nowhere to become one of the more active members of the league this season, currently AGMing Houston (and, oh, look, he's got a +67 on top of that, managing to run right with the first-rounders' earn rate). All in all, an absolutely ridiculous first four rounds for the Titans.
 
After that point, the team's picks quieted down somewhat. Kolur Bjoernsson (@jblock3) is a +56 and a reliable welfare claimer, representing solid value at the 49th draft position. Bjoernsson could develop into a reliable backup for Alexander Pepper in a few seasons, but when Pepper is out the door, Bjoernsson, if he keeps claiming, will likely be far enough along that he's able to start in net for a few seasons in Helsinki. While it's a solid pick for now, time till tell if it develops into anything meaningful. Duncan Jeffers (@Tophdaddy), while he came back a couple weeks ago and claimed some, is still +18 and hasn't shown the greatest steal potential as of yet. It's my opinion that Sami Van Den Dreissche still may amount to something or other in the future--his agent, @TsarPeter, was a fairly active member, and a media spot guy at that, right up to mid-March, when he very suddenly went inactive after being named GM of Team Europe in World Juniors (will he ever know that he won gold? Maybe, maybe not). Whether he suddenly lost interest, or life got in the way for a bit, the interest was 100% there for a good while, making this +0 pick a potential steal in my mind.
 
The Titans actually managed to pick up a player who's been...around the site to some extent in the last round, and the only last-round selection who's been around the site to any extent, Thomas Kennedy aside--Micheal Rasmussen (@Connor mcdavid). He's been around VHL Discord recently, and though he's +10 as of the week of June 2nd, it should be noted that he's +12 between that point and now. He may be back, and Helsinki might have themselves a legitimate steal.
 
Overall grade? Amazing value with the first four out of five, even first five out of six, picks. The team may have whiffed in the sixth and seventh, but it's hard to count later-round picks against a team. Sederstrom aside (and we could see Sederstrom start picking up the points in the future, I don't doubt that), I'd argue that Helsinki may have had the best draft, value-wise. Not much quantity here, but @Quik still has quite a bit to look forward to with this class. 8/10 7/10, as Rhys Chism just announced that he'll be leaving for a while.
 
 
Moscow Menace

 
Draftees:
LW Dmitri Volosenkov (5th)
C Jet Jaguar (10th)
G Owen May (11th)
D Beau Buefordsson (21st)
LW Edgar Tannahill (25th)
RW Mat Tocco (31st)
D Edward Vigneault (33rd)
RW Emil Passerelli (35th)
RW AJ Axelsen (41st)
LW Devin Gabella (50th)
D Dean Clarke (51st)
D Papa Gage (60th)
LW David Clarkson (61st)
D Srraxxarrakex II (70th)
D DWin Championship (71st)
D Fabius Adomaitis (80th)
 
Well, here I'm stuck sorting through half of Toronto's picks--Moscow ended up with Toronto's first-round pick, as well as every Toronto pick from the fifth round to the last. In terms of quantity, the Menace did great, but this isn't about quantity, it's about quality. But since we've got quantity, buckle up, as this might take a while.
 
Anyway, to start things off, Moscow picked up winger Dmitri Volosenkov (@SirRupertBarnes). Though Volosenkov is +68, beating the average by a few, he's been more or less a welfare claimer, and sometimes not even a welfare claimer, in recent memory, and though he's still on every week to claim a few things, has seen his activity drop off to some extent lately, making his progress something to watch and indeed a concern should the trend continue. By stark contrast, though, the team's second pick, Jet Jaguar (@gorlab) has arguably been their MVP this season, producing at (maybe) ROTY-level after somehow falling to the end of the first round. Jaguar's also +100 between the draft and the week of June 2nd, and as one of the league's resident sig gods, will most definitely be around at this level for a good while, and may end up the face of the franchise in a season or two, if he isn't already. A case could have been made for him at #5, even, as he was only 4 TPE behind Volosenkov at the time of the draft, so it's a surprise that he fell as far as he did and I'm sure @Victor doesn't mind.
 
The Menace kicked off the second round by selecting goaltender Owen May, to the surprise of not many. May, at first just about universally projected to go to Malmo at #7, rapidly became the consensus pick for Moscow, who fulfilled the expectations of most by picking him up at #11. Throughout S65, May climbed the goaler rankings, surpassing the likes of Wendy Kandee Cain and Clayton Park to become easily the top goaltender in the draft class. He's +68 by my standards, making his earn rate right up there with the first-rounders. @FacebookFighter has also since proved himself to be one of the team's foremost leaders, creating a Discord locker room, asking press conference questions, and being named AGM of the team, demonstrating his value off the ice as well as on it. 
 
...And here's where I get to call Beau Buefordsson a bust again, much to the dismay of my own AGM, @Radcow. Though I can attest to his dedication, enthusiasm, activity, and value as my own AGM, and I can confidently state that he will one day make a great GM (take note, commissioners!), his player, Beau Buefordsson, is a bit of a different story. Buefordsson went above the cap prior to the draft with a burst of activity that may have helped his draft stock. He's actually +46 between the draft and the week of June 2nd, above the third-round average, but only claimed trivia that week and hasn't claimed a single point since, raising questions about his value to the team. The same can be said of Edgar Tannahill (@gregreg), a league vet whose business with the league, as I understand it, goes way back--he's one of the all-time longest-tenured GMs, and in fact the all-time losingest (I don't care if that's not a word, it was the best way to put it), as we learned from a trivia question last season. Tannahill was drafted 25th overall, after writing a few articles exhibiting his great desire to be called up to the VHL if possible, as well as to be picked up by Moscow. The latter happened, though the former didn't, as Tannahill currently sits in San Diego. Though Greg may be back in it at some point in the future, Tannahill is +12 and hasn't claimed since mid-May.
 
Here's also where I get to make up for my undervaluing of Mat Tocco (@Matmenzinger) in my mock draft, as well--he's +53, well above the fourth-round average, and though the fact that he gave up a good amount to stay down likely made him slip a bit in the draft itself, Moscow came away with a solid, active forward prospect with this pick. The fourth round contained two other Moscow picks, in fact--defenseman Edward Vigneault (@Patpou22) and forward Emil Passerelli (@SparrowLTD). Vigneault is +42, and steadily earning around 6-10 TPE a week as a welfare guy, while it appears that the team may have missed out on Passerelli (and, meanwhile, Halifax may have hit a gold mine for next season). The winger currently sits at 198 TPE, and his agent last visited the site over a month ago, making him, by the league's definition, inactive. 
 
The team began hitting on their picks again in the fifth round, picking up AJ Axelsen (@littleboi), a +74 forward who's been consistently active, getting into media spot writing a bit, being active on Discord, and developing at a nice rate. They also managed to pick up Devin Gabella (@Gabella19), who's +44 and currently sits at exactly 200 TPE. He's a welfare guy, but does do more than the bare minimum and has been developing consistently. Dean Clarke (@Kyle), selected at #51, is also +44, but he's a league vet and former first-overall choice, and figures to bring some valuable experience to the team. 
 
After this point, there's not a whole lot to be seen from this draft class. David Clarkson (@Jacob Kundrat), who's +41 and has been earning TPE mostly in increments of 6 as a welfare-and-practice-facility claimer, stands out as the only active member out of the rest--Srraxxarrakex II (@flan, someday I'll learn to spell that), DWin Championship (@Award97), and Fabius Adomaitis (@Claire, this draft's Mr. Irrelevant as the last selection) have all gone inactive. 
 
Overall grade? A few good choices. Jaguar, May, Tocco, and Axelsen all come to mind, but all things considered, there were more misses than there should have been. Volosenkov has underproduced for a #5 overall, the third round was one big swing and a miss, and it's likely up for debate whether or not most other players picked will amount to anything. 4/10.
 
Riga Reign

 
Draftees:
C Hunter Hearst Helmsley (1st)
RW Mikko Aaltonen (4th)
D Aron Nielsen (8th)
RW Arnor Sigurdsson (9th)
D Apollo Hackett (16th)
RW Aleksander Rodriguez (24th)
D Anthony Amberback (36th)
D Samuel Sparrow (46th)
G Sunny Burst (56th)
D Titus Stone (66th)
C Charles Alderson (76th)
 
I'm in love with the management practices of @hedgehog337 leading up to this season--not only did he make Riga one of the top teams in the league, but he managed to amass a veritable arsenal of picks in the draft, coming away with four (yes, one, two, three, and four) first-round picks (and, oh, by the way, this was after trading up to #1 overall). Riga surprised absolutely nobody by using that pick to take Hunter Hearst Helmsley (@Beaviss), who racked up 125 points in Yukon last season and has already broken 550 TPE (Beav is on record as having said that he aims to get Helmsley to 99 in every stat, so we'll see if that happens. It would take quite a bit of updating, as well as breaking the all-time record by over 500--getting every stat up to 99 requires 2,220 TPE, and that's before depreciation. But it is HHH, after all). Anyway, HHH has produced this season (he's also +92, by the way), putting up 50 points on a team with a good amount of depth, making this look like a nice choice for Riga so far. 
 
The next pickup of the first round was winger Mikko Aaltonen (@GRZ). Aaltonen is +65, or just about average for the first round. The fact that he only managed to put up 34 points this season could call his value into question, but we also have to remember that he's playing on one of the league's deeper teams, and could move up the chart in future seasons if he remains active. A look at his update log shows that while he claims welfare, he maxes out otherwise, making him, while not the ideal first-round pick, a pick with potential to play an important role. The same not-ideal-first-roundiness can be applied to defenseman Aron Nielsen, the third defenseman out of this draft's "big three" to be selected in the first round. While @solas has reached the Hall of Fame twice, he doesn't appear to be able to devote 100% of his time to the league as of late--as someone who knows his way around Gimp, he's done graphics, but only just graphics, the past couple weeks, and he's +51 in the timeframe being used here. While this is hardly a concern, Nielsen is also not quite living up to the expectations of a first-rounder and will not likely live up to his agent's reputation. The first round actually wasn't full of a whole lot of wonderful picks for Riga, as Nielsen was followed right up with Arnor Sigurdsson (@bluesfan55), who's +38 and a welfare claimer as of late, in much the same way as Aaltonen.
 
The second round brought about Apollo Hackett (@Renomitsu, who I've tagged absolutely nowhere else in this article), a defenseman who emerged late in the season to become (after a hiatus or two) one of the league's more active members. Hackett is +90 in the timeframe given, and +34 in the two weeks since, and though Renomitsu leads a busy life which should be expected to get busier soon, he's got that covered with media spot claims running into September. The third then brought Aleksander Rodriguez (@Jtv123), the second overall draft choice in the VHLM this season. Rodriguez does all right TPE-wise--though only +36, he's earned 10 or more TPE per week recently, and while claiming welfare, does more than the minimum and has demonstrated his enthusiasm for the league in the past, so we can't write him off at all. 
 
The Reign decided on defenseman Anthony Amberback (@Oost) in the fourth round, and here we have another pick who has, so far, been somewhat of a disappointment. He's +32 and did a nice job in the weeks immediately following the draft, but quickly dropped out of the picture as he currently sits at 196 TPE. Being a member of the Saskatoon Wild, it's possible, though remotely so, that Oost is planning on staying in the minors another season, though he does happen to be giving up quite a few points in doing so. Another defenseman with much the same story was selected in the fifth, that being Samuel Sparrow (@Birdman), an old Houston teammate of mine. Sparrow is +29 and hasn't updated since the week of May 29th. At 183 TPE, also, he could end up in San Diego for another couple of seasons if his inactivity turns out to be "not just a phase, mom."
 
We see the same story yet again in the next round, when the Reign selected goaltender Sunny Burst (@Sunburst). I thought this was a great pickup at the time of the draft--Burst had shown more activity in the offseason, had done a few solid-looking (at least by my standards) graphics, and appeared to be on the road to activity. This was not to be, though, as his last update also came during the week of May 12th, and the goaler's +26 may end up being all he ever gets. The last two picks here are no different, as defenseman Titus Stone (@MD9) and center Charles Alderson (@kithoo) may be long gone from league business.
 
Overall grade? I think Hedge is a great GM, far better than I am. Most of his picks, at the time of the draft, I thought were good ones, and had I written up a review then, Riga would have received a pretty nice grade from me. The only picks which have stood out as good ones, though, are Helmsley and Hackett, and Helmsley's selection involved no real deliberation on the matter, as he is and was indisputably the best player of the draft class. The rest, in general, form a sea of players who are at best average and at worst just downright ugly. I hate to do this, but: 3/10, and I even strongly considered giving Riga a 2. 
 
 
And now, a set of grades written by @Renomitsu himself...
Malmo Nighthawks

Draftees:
D Jerry Garcia
D Rusty Shackleford
G Juan Jaundice
C Nacho
LW Blake Gaudette
LW Blake Laughton
D MORPHEUS DESTRUCTIOUS
C Eeli Harju
D Finn Theismann
 
The Malmö Nighthawks started this season as remarkably as any expansion team in VHL history. Through twelve games they were 9-3, with important victories over second-seeded Riga and a heartbreaking 1-0 loss to the runaway Victory Cup lock for this season in the Helsinki Titans. They had strong victories over New York, Toronto, Vancouver, and Moscow early on, suggesting a reasonable shot at the playoffs. Their hot streak eventually came to an end and they were eliminated from the playoffs, but Malmö’s early success can be attributed to a strong Expansion and Entry draft class, the latter of which we’ll investigate now.
 
Our S66 expansion team started by drafting defenseman Jerry Garcia @GustavMattias seventh overall – and the second of three consecutive defenders to go in the first round between Charlie Paddywagon to Davos and Aron Nielsen to Riga. Garcia has contributed wonderfully to the Nighthawks as a relatively pure defender; he’s tenth overall in shots blocked (140 through 70 games) but firstamong rookies, putting him in good company like Tzuyu, Samuel Gate, and Robert Malenko. As one of only four defensemen on the team, he gets first-line minutes both at even strength and on PK lines – which means he’s often up against players with twice his TPE. Since the last rankings, he’s gone from 286 to 373 TPE, which makes Malmö’s investment in him perfectly justified. He’s earned a little more than most first rounders (87 vs. first-round average of 80.2), so Malmo GM @Advantage should be happy with this pick.
 
Malmö’s second-round selection and defenseman Rusty Shackleford @K1NG LINUS has out-earned even Garcia (94 vs. second-round average of 72) while contributing a +20 plus-minus with Saskatoon in the VHLM this season. He’s been among the more point-productive defenders in the minors as well, with 46 assists in 65 games, and also contributes plenty of hits (152) and shots blocked (95). We’re two-of-two so far for the Nighthawks before moving on to the team’s three fourth-round picks.
 
Strangely enough, all five of Malmö’s mid-to-late round picks were hits as well – among them fellow Saskatoon Wild teammate G Juan Jaundice @Jus, Halifax teammates C Nacho @Nacci25 and LW Blake Gaudette @Gaudette, Ottawa’s winger Blake Laughton @Grape, and titan-like MORPHEUS DESTRUCTIOUS @Abaddon. Jaundice and Nacho above-average for their draft position (+51 and +47 respectively, +41 round average) by a handful of points – a positive sign for a team with a goalie just hitting his prime and only 3 or 4 active forwards. Nacho has contributed valuable second-line minutes to his minors team and while his earning has slowed down somewhat, he’s nonetheless a promising prospect to get third- or even second-line minutes over the next couple of seasons. Jaundice, on the other hand, is currently the winningest goalie in the minors and has pitched 7 shutouts (T-2nd). He’s been middle-of-the-road in save % and goals against on average, but stats tend to compress in the minors. Malmö’s fifth-rounder, LW Blake Laughton, has been similarly above-average for his round (+55 vs. 46 round average) and will graduate to the majors this upcoming season. Should he stay active, he’ll probably get second- or third-line minutes alongside Halifax teammate Nacho.
 
The team’s last fourth-rounder in Gaudette and sixth-rounder in DESTRUCTIOUS have been major boons for the Malmö drafting committee. Gaudette (+81 vs. 41 round average) and DESTRUCTIOUS (+84 vs. 40.6 round average) have blown expectations out of the water, doubling their fellow draftees’ earnings. At present, neither is starter- or high-second-line worthy, but their performances in the minors and first-round-draftee style earning potential makes for a very promising future for the Nighthawks.
 
In draft rankings, it’s pretty hard to count seventh- and eighth-round draft picks against teams, since their TPE increases are usually pretty minimal (11 for 7th round, 16 for 8th round due to one outlier). C Eeli Harju and D Finn Theismann have essentially ghosted the Nighthawks since draft day, and it’s unlikely they’ll make the majors any time soon.
 
Draft Grade: 9/10. Malmö hit on all of their high- and mid-round picks, which is more than any other team can say – their pickups have arguably been even more impressive than Vancouver or Riga.
 
 
Word count: 
-3,900-some for me, I doubt I'll ever go 4 weeks without writing a media spot, but should I decide to over the next four weeks, here it is. I believe this is also my 666th post maniacal laughter intensifies
-721 for Renomitsu, who (should those in charge of these things agree) can add a week on to an already massive list of stuff to claim for the future if he so desires.
 

When random draftees show up in the Game of Thrones thread before they're even drafted you know they're gonna stick around @Matmenzinger