Welcome to my first edition of VHL This Week, the one stop shop for all of the goings on in the Victory Hockey League. This week marks the end of yet another successful season in the VHL. We're in the middle of the offseason (more on that later!) and that means that it is one of the busiest times in the league. Before we take a look at what has been going on, let's take one more opportunity to congratulate the Cologne Express. The Express brought home their first title since their addition to the league, so I hope they are enjoying it and not letting that feeling go away just yet! Congratulations Cologne, Playoff MVP Martin Brookside on finally touting a cup after a long career in net, Ryan Power and the rest of the Express bunch. You can check out their championship page here.
All star teams were announced here, another congratulations to all of those selected! That game was already played here, with the North American conference bringing home the win in an absolute shootout.
Don't forget to claim your experience points if you were a VHL player last season, which can be found here.
If you made predictions last season, the results of those are now tallied and you can claim your TPE here. Also, definitely don't forget to make your predictions for S43, the new predictions can be made here!
If you're looking to earn some more TPE and represent your teams, don't forget to participate in the S42 Team Point Task, as it will be a great way to learn about the league's history while cooperating with your teammates! The due date for the team task is Wednesday, April 29th.
Training camps close on Tuesday, April 28th, so if you haven't participated in your team's camp yet, you can do so here.
The VHL Hall of Fame has 3 new members, announcement here, congratulations to Mitch Higgins, Alexander Valiq and Alexander Beketov!
Did you miss out on last year's new fantasy format for the playoffs? Well fear not, the VHL is experimenting with the VHLFL again, this time for the entire regular season! Set your fantasy team and lineup here.
Lastly, don't forget to check out the preseason games going on here!2
VHL Draft
One of the most exciting times for a young VHL player, the VHL draft! The draft took place on Saturday, April 25th and numerous fresh faces will be featured in the VHL this coming year.
The New York Americans started off their rebuild with the first pick in the draft, and they brought in E'twaun Delicious, a winger with an agent who is perhaps most famous for representing VHL legend Tukka Reikkinen. Delicious will put New York back on the right track towards competing again.
The Riga Reign brought in Bronson Faux, a center who is represented by Brennan McQueen's old agent, who had a long and productive career with the Reign. Their familiarity should bode well for Faux's career, and should help Riga for many seasons.
Calgary got their goalie in Hans Wingate, perhaps the guy who will be in net for them for a long time. Wingate led all draftees in TPE and dropped to third due to positional need. He is represented by the agent of former VHL player Karsten Olsen, most known1 for being Jarkko Olsen's brother.
Seattle had the 4th selection and they got the first "1st Gen" player off of the board, Pablo Escabar, a defender. 1st Gen being a term that describes an agent who hasn't represented a player in the VHL in the past, this normally puts them at a training disadvantage. Escabar is fighting that conventional wisdom and is one of the top TPE earners selected!
Francis York Morgan was another 1st gen, selected 5th by the Stockholm Vikings. Morgan is also a defender and is the last of our draftees who currently have over 200 TPE. York Morgan will look to help out the Vikings as they have their sights set on a title this year, and could get valuable playoff experience early on in his career!
A lot of great players were selected, as that only recaps the first half of the first round! Check out the entire draft here, and be sure to welcome the VHL's newest players!
Free Agency
Drafting players is one way to add new blood to the roster, but free agency is another time for shuffling players and bolstering rosters. Where are the most notable free agents headed?
Niklas Kurri is headed to Quebec! The young center left Seattle this season for free agency, and will be headed to a Meute team that is gearing up for another run at the cup after their defeat at the hands of the Cologne Express in the finals. Kurri will give them a younger forward that will help provide depth and future potential, all while helping them stay under the cap constraints. Kurri put 16 goals in net, to go with his 20 assists, for 36 points last year for the Bears. The former VHLM Yzerman Trophy winner will look to add on to those totals, as well as increase his 158 hits and 20 shots blocked to provide more defense for the Meute.
Jerrick Poole is perhaps the true prize of free agency, and while he fielded many offers his decision ended up being an unsurprising one, as he returns to the Toronto Legion, where he has spent all three of his seasons thus far after being selected by them 4th overall in S40. Poole had a bit of a regression in terms of individual statistics, but still had a nice season in S42. He had 14 goals along with 61 assists, giving him 75 points along with his 134 hits and 96 shots blocked.
Bennett Wahl is still a mystery. He showed up to Seattle's training camp without accepting a contract offer, and then Seattle pulled out of the negotiations entirely. This is his third straight year to test free agency, having signed with Toronto last year and Cologne the season before. He has an offer from the Calgary Wranglers, Oslo (A VHLM team) and himself (which Toronto tried to hijack). In short, no one knows what Wahl will do, as is the trend each season. Wahl might be best suited to wait it out until the trade deadline and join the best contender for a shot at a cup.
King Czar III will be headed to Calgary. Koji Yamazaki is currently leaning towards the Riga Reign. Penis Anthony Hudson will be suiting up for the Helsinki Titans.
Transactions
The final piece of confetti had hardly fallen on the ice when teams starting making calls and trading pieces back and forth. In one of the most exciting times of the year, the VHL saw a lot of players moving.
The New York Americans started off their rebuild by acquiring a 1st round pick in the S45 draft, Godavari Yumalatopinto (who will probably find his way back to Calgary, or maybe Oslo with the GM changes) and Nicolas Caprivi3. Caprivi will be a nice piece for New York's rebuild and the pick remains to be seen. Cologne added pieces to try to defend their title, by receiving Christoph Klose and Xin Xie Xiao from the Americans. Xiao (XXX) gives Cologne one of the top forwards in the league, adding some firepower for the title defense.
Calgary acquired Jaime Hill from Toronto for a 1st and a 2nd round pick, both of which should likely be lower value. Hill adds a young defender to a Calgary team going through a rebuild.
Helsinki started shipping off assets by sending James Faraday to the Seattle Bears for 1st round picks in S44 and S45 and a 2nd in S45, all belonging to Seattle. Helsinki gets some draft help for the future as the head into a rebuild and the Bears pick up a solid forward as they look to compete moving forward.
New York shipped Brick Wahl, Tom Slaughter and Jody 3 Moons to the Stockholm Vikings, who are loading up on talent and making their first legit run at a title as a re-branded team. Slaughter has been one of the league's most talented forwards and Wahl is a top net minder. In exchange, New York adds goalie Jax Barnstormer and winger Mario De Rossi, both pieces that can be solid for their future roster. They also pick up a S43 1st round pick belonging to Davos (which was 1st overall and turned into E'twaun Delicious), a S43 2nd round pick (11th overall, Golden Jedtsson) and a S44 Stockholm 1st round pick, which will likely be a lower value pick. New York picks up the goalie they think will be in net for them for the foreseeable future and a top draft selection. Stockholm gets some immediate firepower and one of the top current goalies available.
Calgary picked up winger Rami Jakobssen and a 2nd round pick in exchange for two 2nds (Helsinki's S44 and their own S45). Quebec picks up two 2nd round picks that might likely be used as trade pieces, while clearing cap and roster space. Jakobssen gives the Wranglers a nice young forward for their rebuild.
Toronto picked up Jackson Miller by trading the Titans two 1st round picks (Toronto/Cologne, both S43) and Fedir Okranitz. Toronto adds a piece that could be productive for them for 3-4 seasons, while Helsinki adds more picks to their collection. They'll need to hit on them (or get good return on a trade) to ensure a timely rebuild.
Davos shipped off their top selection Bismarck Koenig and trade piece Azmet Ali to the Cologne Express, who sent back Mason Richardson, two 2nds and a 3rd. The deal has a contingency that Richardson sign through S45. Richardson is on pace to be a top TPE earner all time, and gives the Dynamo a great piece on their defensive side, while also freeing up somewhat of a logjam of centers. Koenig adds good depth for the Express with their forwards and makes way for their future defensive prospect to enter into the fold.
Helsinki acquired Quebec's S44 and S45 1st round picks as well as two 2nd round picks in exchange for Jake Wylde and Patrick Demko. This gives Quebec a nice defensive pairing as they look to return to the finals and hopefully win this time around, while the Titans stockpile more picks for their rebuild.
Closing Thoughts
A lot of "stuff" is going on right now, as we are right in the middle of the offseason. Normally there won't be so many events and transactions to talk about, and I hope to go more in depth with things happening around the league and target some more creative areas. I also hope to completely overhaul how these will look.
This seems like a good time to say that I'm open to any and all feedback, be it a reply, a comment in chat, a PM, etc. If something isn't working for you, let me know. If you've got an idea for something that should be added or discussed, let me know. The point of this area is to inform, entertain and be whatever the members want it to be. I think it should constantly be evolving, improving and growing. Help me get it there. I look forward to future editions, and to this season in the VHL. It should be a good one!
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1 Obviously Karsten Olsen had a great career and is known for many other things besides being Jarkko's brother - but as Jarkko's agent, I couldn't resist.
2 Added preseason games post publishing.
3 Corrected spelling of Nicolas Caprivi's name.
After a month of waiting, your favorite section of the VHL Magazine is back! This week we'll take a look at the wildly successful career of forward Xien Xie Xiao. One of the few past or present VHL players born in China, he has certainly made a name for himself since being drafted third overall by the New York Americans in the Season 36 Entry Draft. As a three time all-star, Scott Boulet Trophy winner, and with two Continental Cups under his belt, it is fair to say that Xiao has cemented his legacy as a key cog to the New York dynasty we have witnessed over the past five seasons.
After a Season 35 performance in the VHLM with the Saskatoon Wild which earned him the Steve Yzerman Trophy as the league's top two-way forward in addition to the Esposito Trophy as playoff MVP, the league's eyes were on Xiao as the Season 36 Entry Draft approached. In what could be characterized as a steal, the Americans managed to grab him with the third overall selection, the team's first pick in the draft. Dubbed "XXX", he made the jump straight to the VHL and made an early impact. As a rookie, he picked up an impressive 72 points, getting beaten out of the Christian Stolzschweiger Trophy by teammate Conner Low, a sign of a bright future in New York.
The next season displayed a further progression for XXX, proving he could do it all at the VHL level. Whether it means shutting down the opposition, picking up the big hits, or scoring goals, it was clear he could do it all - and do it well - as he was selected to his first career all-star roster. It was the next season, though, that was, without a doubt, XXX's breakout. He picked up an incredible 98 points while leading the Americans to a Victory Cup as the league's top regular season team. Unfortunately, they were unable to convert a strong regular season performance into playoff success as they lost in the North American Conference Finals after a first round bye.
Season 39 was a bit different for XXX and the Americans, though. Although Xiao was unable to replicate his career high point total from the previous season, New York once again finished the regular season as the league's top team. This time, though, they easily dealt with the Seattle Bears, beating them in five games to earn a trip to the cup finals where they would face HC Davos Dynamo, the defending champions. But that did little to phase New York as they rode right past Davos in five games as XXX picked up his first career Continental Cup.
Season 40 was when Xiao truly put his mark on the league. The Americans dynasty was in full effect as they remained as dominant as ever en route to a third straight Victory Cup. Xiao set career highs with 50 goals and 56 points while remaining a physical force on the ice. His play not only earned him another all-star selection but the Scott Boulet Trophy. Unfortunately, Xiao's individual success didn't lead to a second straight cup victory as the Reign quickly disposed of the Americans in the finals.
While many might view a devastating loss in the finals as a sign the team would have to begin a rebuilding process, XXX and the Americans remained focused on taking the cup back from Riga. As if it was any surprise, New York picked up another Victory Cup and ultimately faced the Reign in the Continental Cup Finals. It was an exciting series as New York was down three games to two before winning the series in seven games.
Although XXX set a career high in points in Season 42 with an incredible 113, the Americans began to show signs of mortality. For the first time since Season 37, they were unable to secure the Victory Cup. Although they easily made it out of the first round of the playoffs, they were promptly shut down in seven games by the Quebec Meute. With the rest of the league clearly catching up to the Americans, the upcoming off-season was finally time to put an end to an incredible run. As part of a massive firesale, New York sent Xien Xie Xiao to the Cologne Express, who are currently looking to defend their title.
This season should be an interesting one for XXX. It will be his first and only season of his career to not be playing for the Americans and regardless of what happens, he will leave a solid legacy and has the potential to be inducted into the Hall of Fame once he retires. He will be relied on as a leader for the Express as they look to become the first repeat champions since Davos way back in Seasons 24 and 25. Now, it's time for the final chapter of an illustrious career to be written as Season 43 gets underway.
After days of intense discussions with teams around the league including the Quebec City Meute, Seattle Bears, Stockholm Vikings, and Toronto Legion, Jerrick Poole has finally made the decision to stick with Toronto. He has spent his entire career with the Legion since they made him the fourth overall pick in the Season 40 Entry Draft. He has enjoyed his fair share of individual success with the team, averaging over a point per game while being named an All-Star in each of his first three seasons. Because of his play since entering the VHL, he was a highly sought after commodity in free agency during an off-season in which we saw two top teams, the New York Americans and Helsinki Titans, essentially ship away their entire rosters in order to rebuild.
The Legion managed to bring Poole back after a huge deal with Helsinki which has netted them forward Jackson Miller. It was understood that Poole's desire was to stay with the Legion but was willing to go elsewhere if a cup was not attainable in Toronto. Now, though, the Legion will have one of, if not the strongest teams in the VHL on paper. By bringing back Jerrick Poole and therefore preventing their opponents from acquiring the talented defenseman, Toronto has propelled itself to become one of the favorites to win the Continental Cup in Season 43.
James Faraday who was recently traded to the Seattle Bears has been sent down to the VHLM for a conditioning stint. Faraday scored 98 points in Season 42 playing for the Helsinki Titans of the VHL, but his playoff appearance was a major disappointment. He joined the Oslo Storm to practice and play with the team for two preseason games.
We contacted the Seattle manager, Bushito, for a comment on the situation. "We have had scouts watching Faraday over the past season and to be blunt we don't think he is up to the standards of the rest of the Seattle Bear roster. He physically isn't fit enough to play on our elite squad of grizzlies. He may not be mentally fit either, after playing with Harumpf for so long it must have taken a toll on Faraday's sanity."
Faraday laced up for the Oslo Storms first preseason game earlier today and played just under 16 minutes of ice time. He scored 2 goals in the first period and also had 6 shots and 2 PIMs and was a +2 in the game as Oslo cruised to a 5-0 win over the Yukon Rush.
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Ninetyfourgoalie reacted to Mike in S43: This is our year for the cup!
Ninetyfourgoalie got a reaction from Jala in Jerrick Poole Returns to Toronto
Ninetyfourgoalie got a reaction from NotAVHLM-GM in [S43] --- (S40) D - Jerrick Poole
Ninetyfourgoalie got a reaction from Kesler in [S43] --- (S40) D - Jerrick Poole
Ninetyfourgoalie got a reaction from Munk in [S43] --- (S40) D - Jerrick Poole
Ninetyfourgoalie got a reaction from Higgins in [S43] --- (S40) D - Jerrick Poole
