okochastar

Heh, what a coincidence. I know zero of the other players on Las Vegas, so this was definitely not premeditated on my end. 

MFW when I get 2 tags and it doesn't pertain to me at all

I'd like to join the Las Vegas Aces for the remainder of the season.
 
“down to get lucky!”

Julian eh... represent!

Hunter Hearst Helmsley + 20 Julius Freeman + 25 Jet Jaguar + 28 Apollo Hackett + 5 Jerry Garcia + 20 Charlie Paddywagon + 43 Mikko Aaltonen + 16 Guillaume Fontenette + 11 Aleksander Rodriguez + 9 Mat Tocco + 12 Ben Hafkey + 4 Dean Clarke + 13 Blake Laughton + 9
 
@Beaviss @rjfryman @gorlab @Renomitsu @GustavMattias @DMaximus @GRZ @okochastar @Jtv123 @Matmenzinger@McLovin @Kyle @Grape

Post Draft Live S66 Class Rankings
 
Rank Δ Drafted Player Name Position TPE Team Nat. Last Updated AVG CAPPED TPE Member 1   1st Overall Hunter Hearst Helmsley C 1828 WAR US 2020-09-06 12.0 Beaviss 2   2nd Overall Julius Freeman LW 1727 NYA US 2020-09-06 12.0 rjfryman 3   10th Overall Jet Jaguar C 1681 DAV UA 2020-08-23 11.949 gorlab 4   7th Overall Jerry Garcia LW 1541 DAV US 2020-08-23 11.75 GustavMattias 5   6th Overall Charlie Paddywagon D 1453 DAV US 2020-08-16 11.38 DMaximus 6   16th Overall Apollo Hackett D 1406 FA US 2020-06-14 11.773 Renomitsu 7   4th Overall Mikko Aaltonen RW 1140 DCD FI 2020-08-16 7.963 GRZ 8     Tyler Barabash Jr C 1127 LAS CA 2020-07-12 10.141 Bushito 9   12th Overall John Frostbeard RW 1057 FA LV 2020-05-17 10.082 FrostBeard 10   30th Overall Guillaume Fontenette D 1039 FA FR 2020-06-21 9.955 okochastar 11   31st Overall Mat Tocco RW 1000 VAN CZ 2020-07-19 7.486 Matmenzinger 12   53rd Overall Ben Hafkey C 965 HSK US 2020-08-23 7.757 McLovin 13   24th Overall Aleksander Rodriguez RW 959 FA US 2020-06-14 8.319 Jtv123 14   29th Overall Jordan Tonn D 931 FA CA 2020-05-17 8.381 MexicanCow123 15   13th Overall Codrick Past C 865 RIG GB 2020-08-16 6.303 Kylrad 16   14th Overall Shawnomir Jagr RW 846 FA CZ 2020-05-17 9.585 TheLastOlympian07 17   51st Overall Dean Clarke D 818 MOS US 2020-07-26 6.797 Kyle 18   42nd Overall Cody Smith D 639 PRG CA 2020-07-12 5.667 cody73 19   47th Overall Blake Laughton LW 631 FA CA 2020-06-14 5.576 Grape 20   8th Overall Aron Nielsen D 577 FA FO 2020-05-17 7.795 solas 21   19th Overall Chico Smeb D 575 LDN KR 2020-07-12 6.244 xDParK 22   33rd Overall Edward Vigneault D 564 FA CA 2020-05-17 6.0 Patpou22 23   9th Overall Arnor Sigurdsson RW 563 FA IS 2020-05-17 8.051 bluesfan55 24   28th Overall Hans Gruber C 513 FA DE 2020-05-17 8.7 TheFlash 25   26th Overall Nethila Dissanayake D 512 CHI LK 2020-07-12 5.653 nethi99 26   17th Overall Rusty Shackleford D 467 LAS US 2020-07-12 8.296 K1NG LINUS 27   11th Overall Owen May G 442 DAV CH 2020-07-12 9.036 FacebookFighter 28   15th Overall Bert Meyers C 395 FA US 2020-07-12 8.727 RunnerBert11 29   5th Overall Dimitri Volosenkov LW 386 FA RU 2020-05-17 7.208 SirRupertBarnes 30   3rd Overall Shane Mars LW 381 FA US 2020-05-17 10.105 Spade18 31   27th Overall Clayton Park G 338 LDN AT 2020-07-12 6.259 leafssteen 32   34th Overall Blake Gaudette LW 316 FA CA 2020-05-17 6.0 Gaudette 33   57th Overall MORPHEUS DESTRUCTIOUS D 313 WAR PL 2020-07-12 6.0 Abaddon 34   20th Overall Valeri Morozov LW 312 FA RU 2020-07-12 5.88 Dangles13 35   55th Overall Walter Clements C 309 FA SL 2020-07-12 4.48 cpetrella 36   49th Overall Kolur Bjoernsson G 299 LAS IS 2020-07-12 6.174 jblock3 37   78th Overall Thomas Kennedy RW 296 FA AU 2020-05-17 7.263 Walter Fizz 38   23rd Overall Maximilian Kirbsson C 285 FA SE 2020-07-12 6.722 Kirby 39   52nd Overall Dylan Doyle LW 264 FA US 2020-05-17 5.409 zepheter 40   21st Overall Beau Buefordsson D 260 FA KN 2020-05-17 6.588 Radcow 41   44th Overall Pascal Batz C 253 FA CH 2020-05-17 4.13 efiug 42   41st Overall AJ Axelsen RW 237 FA SE 2020-05-17 6.353 littleboi 43   22nd Overall Ludvig Sederstrom C 235 FA SE 2020-05-17 6.0 aleks 44   18th Overall Kyle Sabertooth LW 232 FA US 2020-05-17 8.071 uphillmoss 45   38th Overall Juan Jaundice G 225 LDN US 2020-07-12 3.85 Jus 46   39th Overall Rhys Chism C 223 FA NZ 2020-05-17 5.0 Jables 47   50th Overall Devin Gabella LW 210 FA US 2020-07-12 5.529 Gabella19 48   48th Overall Kari Jurri LW 209 FA NL 2020-07-12 8.182 hockeyis66 49   37th Overall Nacho C 205 FA US 2020-07-12 5.125 Nacci25 50   25th Overall Edgar Tannahill LW 204 FA CA 2020-07-12 6.6 gregreg 51   32nd Overall Rhye Tyr D 201 FA CA 2020-05-17 6.5 Plate 52   45th Overall Hunter Wagner LW 199 FA DE 2020-07-12 4.056 Inf1d3l 53   35th Overall Emil Passerelli RW 198 FA US 2020-07-12 5.533 SparrowLTD 54   36th Overall Anthony Amberback D 198 FA US 2020-07-12 4.588 Oost 55   46th Overall Samuel Sparrow D 183 FA US 2020-05-17 5.0 Birdman 56   54th Overall Wendy Kandee Cain G 170 FA US 2020-05-17 6.154 SlashACM 57   79th Overall Micheal Rasmussen LW 164 FA CA 2020-05-17 3.4 Connor mcdavid 58   62nd Overall Andreas Sundell D 149 FA SE 2020-07-12 3.333 VisualDarkness 59   63rd Overall BALLS McZehrl C 143 FA DE 2020-07-12 3.611 Rent A McZ 60   56th Overall Sunny Burst G 140 FA US 2020-07-12 3.429 Sunburst 61   59th Overall Duncan Jeffers D 136 FA US 2020-07-12 4.0 Tophdaddy 62   58th Overall John Perdue LW 135 FA US 2020-07-12 5.818 johnnyhockey42 63   64th Overall Cody Parkey D 133 FA KP 2020-07-12 4.4 SaltyTalty 64   40th Overall Raphael Nazarians C 128 FA AM 2020-07-12 5.556 LIL V O D AK 65   65th Overall Richard Hejtsel D 123 FA LV 2020-05-17 5.375 hejta 66   61st Overall David Clarkson LW 122 FA CA 2020-07-12 3.063 Jacob Kundrat 67   60th Overall Papa Gage D 121 FA US 2020-07-12 4.333 PapaGage 68   68th Overall Luke Derion G 113 FA US 2020-05-17 4.1 Barracuda 69   66th Overall Titus Stone D 90 FA US 2020-07-12 4.0 MD9 70   43rd Overall Hiromu Takahashi D 83 FA JP 2020-07-12 2.909 O4L 71   67th Overall Eeli Harju C 81 FA FI 2020-07-12 3.5 Teztify 72   69th Overall Sami Van Den Dreissche RW 80 FA BE 2020-07-12 3.25 TsarPeter 73   70th Overall Srraxxarrakex II D 80 FA JP 2020-07-12 3.2 flan 74   71st Overall DWin Championship D 78 FA SE 2020-07-12 3.429 Award97 75     Waluigi De Rossi LW 64 FA IT 2020-07-12 2.75 KitRas 76   72nd Overall Dave John OQuinn D 60 FA CA 2020-05-17 1.0 David O'Quinn 77   73rd Overall Patrick Vigneault G 59 FA CA 2020-05-17 2.0 Patpou22 78   75th Overall Jean ClaudePaul LW 55 FA FR 2020-07-12 1.6 Yusuf Abdul-Latif 79   77th Overall Finn Theismann D 54 FA DE 2020-07-12 1.714 StaticShocked 80   76th Overall Charles Alderson C 54 FA US 2020-07-12 2.143 kithoo 81   80th Overall Fabius Adomaitis D 51 FA LT 2020-07-12 2.0 Claire 82     Fudge Popsicle RW 50 FA CA 2020-07-12 1.714 LaprasRuler 83     Adama Traore C 50 FA US 2020-07-12 2.5 Adama Traore 84     Joakim Sederstrom LW 50 FA SE 2020-07-12 0.0 Samee 85     Thomas Vancheck LW 48 FA AT 2020-07-12 1.333 Thomas Vancheck 86     Markus Lulic Descheneaux C 46 FA CA 2020-07-12 1.6 mxld17 87     Karlis Liede RW 46 FA LV 2020-07-12 1.0 DoubleCarl 88     Alexis Lafreniere RW 42 FA CA 2020-07-12 1.6 Yehboi 89     Londortharl D 41 FA KH 2020-07-12 1.0 MattyG 90     Yuri Kalerov D 40 FA CH 2020-07-12 2.0 Camel 91     Jack Logan D 39 FA US 2020-07-12 0.0 WeaponX 92     Quinton Collins D 39 FA CA 2020-05-17 2.0 Jepox 93     Logan Swallow C 38 FA US 2020-07-12 0.8 TriaL Exotic 94     Jakobe Puffalump D 37 FA CA 2020-07-12 0.0 Puffalump 95     Logan Smith D 36 FA CA 2020-05-17 1.333 Tyguy_31 96     Matthew Tolsma C 33 FA CA 2020-07-12 0.0 matthewtols 97     Anthony Griffis D 32 FA US 2020-07-12 0.5 Tygrzz 98     Marchello Mirabella G 32 FA IT 2020-07-12 0.0 Wandering_Buffalo 99     Tim W LW 32 FA US 2020-07-12 0.0 Spadesy 100     Johnny Puck G 31 FA US 2020-07-12 0.0 Johnny Nasher 101     Brody Wattson D 31 FA CA 2020-07-12 0.0 Brody Wattson 102     Gervais Bulhoes C 31 FA CA 2020-07-12 0.0 HOCKEYBEAST9000
 
Last updated: Sep 6
 
Includes all players in the S66 VHL Draft Class who have added TPE to their player. Once your player has had an update approved by updaters that puts you over 30 TPE, you'll be added to the rankings. 
GM Players will go to the team that their user GM's. They will appear undrafted
.
 

In principle I hate the fact that I need to bail out American people from the hands of the American government, but other than that I'm all about it. Wish I had more money just laying around so I could actually feel like I'm helping someone, but here you go. black lives matter 
 
Confirmed. -sterling

In principle I hate the fact that I need to bail out American people from the hands of the American government, but other than that I'm all about it. Wish I had more money just laying around so I could actually feel like I'm helping someone, but here you go. black lives matter 
 
Confirmed. -sterling

+6 Simulation Basketball Association - League Simmer
 
if I understood that correct?

@okochastar You raise some excellent points in your post. I should clarify that I'm not trying to white knight the VHL. My posts even in the public announcement thread were not meant to call out the SBA and champion the VHL. But because of the circumstances, there were members here who needed to know we weren't just going to leave them behind or play politics with another league to determine the fate of members reputation here. 
 
The whole reason this argument actually boiled over in the public space is largely because the SBA couldn't keep their story straight. We were reacting to communications from Emidas, speaking on behalf of Molholt and then getting second hand stories of what things were from other members, such as Evans. We were later informed that members such as Evans weren't speaking with the authority they had. Even more than that, Molholt flat out denied that the messages from Emidas on behalf of him were even coming from him. Which is tough when one of those messages literally targets one member and says no relationship will ever come while said member is in their current prominent position. We're meant to put water under the bridge for every miscommunication error that comes across on their end all the while every little transgression one of our members makes gets repeatedly thrown back in our face. 
 
If it's water under the bridge, that means it's for both sides. Even still, it's super unprofessional to not be all on the same page when discussing through drama and issues like this. Regardless of personal feelings on the issue, our entire BoG was shown the chat logs and made aware of the exact step by step of this process to avoid these miscommunication issues that it's very clear the SBA had. It's a big reason why so many of us here have been confounded by what it is the SBA wanted to re-affiliate, or if they were even open, because there was nothing straight forward about these communications. It's unfortunate that I have to state this in such a way that somehow comes across as if the SBA was being unprofessional and we weren't, because it's not like we've never been unprofessional or that we weren't wrong in many regards here. I have freely admitted our toxic community issues previously as has many of us. There are members who still say things on our Discord that I'm not comfortable with, but I also admit that what's considered comfortable in either league shouldn't be up to one person. Our collective group has decided what we are okay with, as has the SBA's. It's very easy to be upfront and state that the SBA wasn't comfortable with what our community decided it's tolerances levels were without ever bringing up any specific members or issues. If it was clearly the only problem then there shouldn't of been so much of a run around from the SBA front. The chat logs show a distinct hostility from the SBA side towards us that I don't think a lot of people really give credit too. Blow ups, or tantrums from Molholts end (according to Emidas) were there. None of that happened on our side from the staff or associated members dealing with it, at least not until Bek hit his wits end, but now Quik has taken over negotiations on that front. 

unemployment checks for Reno

oh that's why my update was still pending
 
sorry about that, updaters.

BOG Membership Update:
 
@Enorama @GustavMattias @McWolf @Rayzor_7 have been selected for BOG to replace @Matt_O @Renomitsu
 
Thank you to all prior members for their assistance and time. Welcome to the new members and thank you for your continued efforts to grow the community.

Good luck all

Welcome to the third edition of VSN’s S71 Weekly recap (Games 133-216).  We’ll cover a host of things in this recap each week including highlights of important VSN happenings, three stars of the week, power rankings, rookie profiles, and anything else of importance.
 
Also, make sure to check out the wide variety of content here at VSN. There are in-depth weekly updates and an award tracker for the VHL, a great podcast, and daily WJC coverage when it starts up, among other informative articles. Check out our latest installments here:
 | VSN Radio | Under 250 | VHL Award Tracker | Deep Rewind | 

Recap
 
It has been a week of big trades around the league and one already seems to be paying off. After acquiring goalie Greg Eagles, the Riga Reign have shot up through the standings and now sit atop the European conference. This looked like a good move for the future, but it is paying off greatly already. On the other side, Vancouver also seems to have improved after receiving Finn Davison in return. It is not often that you see two teams who have a real chance of facing each other for the cup make a trade of this calibre.
 
In the North American Conference, Seattle has jumped up out of the pack to take the lead, but only by a point. In fact, the top four spots are each separated by just one point each. Calgary leads the league in goals for and Vancouver leads the conference in goals against, so it is impossible to make an airtight case for any of these top four teams as the best in the group. Regardless, one thing we know for sure is that it is going to be a gauntlet to get out of the North American Conference this season.
 
In the European Conference, that span of three points separates the top three teams, but they have started to pull away from the bottom half. The Riga Reign now leads the conference, but Moscow and Prague are close behind them. Riga also has the second-fewest goals allowed in the league, beat only by the Helsinki Titans who are narrowly hanging on to the fourth playoff spot at the moment. The biggest shock of the season might be the struggles of Malmo. It will be interesting to watch and see if they can turn it around and reclaim a playoff spot.

3-Stars
 
First Star
Cinnamon Block (PRG) - 4 G, 15 A, 24 SB
Second Star
Ambrose Stark (SEA) - 11 G, 11 A
Third Star
Jacques Lafontaine (CGY) - .921 SV%, 2/57 GAA
 
Power Rankings
 
European Conference
Moscow Menace - They are clinging onto first in my power rankings, but just barely. Riga Reign - (+3) A huge surge in the standings this week. They look significantly better after their big trade. Prague Phantoms - (-1) They have been pretty consistent all season. They can still compete for first. Helsinki Titans - (-1) Currently holding forth by a tight margin. Will we see any moves to sure things up before the deadline? Malmo Nighthawks - (-1) Still a lot of potential, but their offence fell apart this week. HC Davos Dynamo - They’ve slowed the bleeding some, but it looks like too little too late.  
North American Conference
Calgary Wranglers - Ranking the top teams in this conference is near impossible, but they have been good throughout the season so far. Vancouver Wolves -  (+1) A little post-trade bump. I still think they are a serious contender. Seattle Bears - (+1) Another surging team. After a slow start, it took a lot for them to get here. D.C. Dragons - (-2) This was a disappointing week, but they are still within striking distance of the lead. Toronto Legion - (+1) They actually went on a good run this week, but it is going to be very hard to find room in the playoff picture. New York Americans - (-1) They were tied for last in the league at one point. They sold early, time to tank for the future.
User-Voted Rankings
 
European Conference
Moscow Menace - I’m interested to see if this drops at all this week  Prague Phantoms/HC Davos Dynamo -  (+2) Okay, I know they tied in votes, but one of these things is not like the other. Helsinki Titans - Holding on, just like in the standings. Malmo Nighthawks - (-2) Public favour turned against them before the standings did. You called it. Riga Reign - Really? This is just cruel.  
North American Conference
Calgary Wranglers - (+1) They continue to make the case for cup favourites. D.C. Dragons - (+1) Trading away Frostbeard? Really? Seattle Bears - (+2) Could they make it to first this week?  New York Americans - (+1) After the recent trade, this is now the greatest team in the league. Vancouver Wolves / Toronto Legion - (-4/-1) I’m not sure what Vancouver is doing here.   
Notable Games
 
Game 140 - D.C. Dragons vs. Vancouver Wolves
Finn Davison has gotten off to a great start with his new team, but this was actually one of his lesser games this week. Instead, the wolves turned to their consistent safety valve, Julius Freeman, who scored two goals and an assist on the night. The Dragons managed to tie the game up late, with two goals in the third period, but they got swept out of the shootout after just two rounds. Mikko Aaltonen also had a three-point game with a goal and two assists. This included an assist on the tying goal with less than two minutes to go by John Frostbeard, in one of his last games with D.C.
 
Game 157 - Seattle Bears vs. Calgary Wranglers  
We didn’t know it at the time, but this game would end up deciding who leads the conference at the end of the week. It will be a very exciting series if we get this matchup in the playoffs because these teams have very different compositions. Seattle’s star-studded roster is very similar to the one that won those back to back cups just a couple seasons ago. Meanwhile, Calgary has some of the most exciting young talents in the league without having a clear superstar. Seattle edged them out in this one, but I am eagerly looking forward to the rematch.
 
Game 193 - Riga Reign vs. D.C. Dragons
These two teams were on opposite trajectories this week. As Riga rocketed up the standings, D.C. slowly got passed by teams in their conference until they were holding onto the last playoff spot. Riga started the week outside of playoff qualification, but after a rather surprising trade for possibly the hottest goalie in the league, they began to dominate teams left and right. Domination isn’t what happened in this game, but Eagles definitely played a large role in keeping them in it, making thirty saves on the night. It wasn't until the second half of the third period that Riga would score a power-play goal to put them back in the lead, a lead they would manage to hold to the end.
 
Events of the Week
 
Fights
 
Game 137 - Stark draws with Gritty
This fight was impactful in a different kind of way. Going into the final minutes of the third period tied 2-2, Ambrose Stark looked to spark something in his team and propel them to victory by dropping gloves with Gritty. However, that didn’t work out so well as Stark was ejected for instigation and the Bears went on to lose in overtime, where they certainly could have used their top scorer.
Game 148 - Telker draws with Frobe
It was a quiet first period with just a single goal scored by the Phantoms. However, after a fight between a couple of bottom-sixers, the game exploded. Nate Telker got called for instigation and drew an ejection as he went after Gert B Frobe. This was in retaliation for a pretty dirty trip committed by Frobe a few minutes earlier. But once their fight was over, the scoring was blown wide open with six goals in the next sixteen minutes.
Game 164 - BRAWL!
In the final minute of a scoreless second period that would drag on into a scoreless third, we got a flash of excitement. John Madden and Lewis Dawson fought to a draw and Lewis Dawson was ejected for instigating this whole mess. Milos Slavik took the opportunity to beat up Nate Wright and several players game in a sword fighting match with their sticks. Walter Clements, Pierre Persson, Aleksander Rodriguez, Jerry Garcia, and Fernando Jokinen each got either slashing or high-sticking calls for the reckless swinging.
Game 196 - Nygren draws with Nolan
How do you know there is a beef between two players? One way to tell is when they get into a fight just nine seconds into a game. Despite never playing in the same conference, let alone for rivals, something has been brewing between Lucas Nygren and Owen Nolan that just couldn’t wait. Although the fight had no clear winner, Nolan clearly won the night, scoring the game-winning goal in the shootout.
 
Hat-Tricks
 
Game 139 - Thomas Landry II
This is several levels of impressive and might go down as one of the top highlights of the season. First, a hat-trick is always a major feat, even more so from a rookie. It takes it to a whole other level when you consider the scoring drought we saw from rookies last year. Then, to cap it all off, Thomas Landry II went a step above and made it a four-goal game as well. He could have stopped at just his second and still won the game, but he was hungry this game and there was nothing the Titans could do to deny him.
Game 153 - Zeno Miniti
Coming into this season, Zeno Miniti’s career had been on an unfortunate trajectory. After an impressive showing as a rookie, Zeno’s scoring has declined every season since. However, he seems to have entered some sort of renaissance and this hat-trick is the icing on the cake. For the first three-quarters of the game Zeno was the only thing keeping Toronto in it, matching Davos’ three goals with three of his own. Finally, after he had finished his hat-trick, the rest of the legion stepped up to seal the victory.
Game 155 - Brian Strong
Brian Strong had some huge shoes to fill this season, and so far he has done an excellent job. After several key retirements on Helsinki’s roster, it is now Strong’s turn to lead the team in scoring. Getting one goal in each period, it was the same small cast of actors terrorizing the Nighthawks all game. Guillaume Fontenette had assists on each of Strong’s goals and Cody Smith contributed to two of them. This is the type of scoring Helsinki needs right now.
Game 182 - Jet Jaguar
Maybe we are finally out of the league-wide scoring drought with our fourth hat-trick of the week. Jet Jaguar showed that he still has the ability to put his team on his back and carry them to victory, scoring all three of Moscow’s goals against Helsinki. Rookie, Kyle Anderson, tried to get the Titans back in it with two goals of his own, his first of the season, in the third period, but it was too little too late.
Game 189 - Joel Ylonen
This was a rough one for the Phantoms, despite being their second hat-trick of the week. Joel Ylonen scored his entire hat-trick in the first period and Prague left the period down 5-3. They would end up down 7-3, less than three minutes into the third, causing them to swap goalies. Despite a valiant effort, they were only able to draw within one, leaving the comeback incomplete.
Game 200 - Kris Rice
Leading the amazing run the Calgary Wranglers have been on is their unbelievable young talent. Kris Rice is second in scoring on the Wrangler’s roster and just behind a point per game pace. That might be the most interesting thing about Calgary, the way they spread the scoring around. However, in this one, it was all Rice. Scoring four of their five goals to lead them to a win over their rival Americans, Rice completes his first hat-trick of the season.
Game 215 - Ryan Busser
Riga has been seeing the top-level play from unexpected places all week, and this game it came in the form of Ryan Busser. I don’t want to disparage Busser’s earlier play in any way, but he has taken a huge step forward this season and it is good to see him get rewarded with this hat-trick.
 
Shutouts

Game 143 - Calgary vs. H.C. Davos
The offence isn’t Davos’s thing this season, but this was a new low. Facing the Wrangler’s sophomore goalkeeper, Jacques Lafontaine, the Dynamo only managed six shots all game. At the very least, they managed to avoid getting held to zero shots in any period, but that is a very very small victory. This was just ugly.
Game 155 - Malmo vs. Helsinki
Two of the hottest goalies in the league going into this week, Virgil Ligriv got the better of this matchup. Getting some assistance from the strong offensive play of Brian Strong and company, Helsinki dominated possession and only allowed fifteen shots from Malmo. With that, Ligriv records his third shutout of the season.
Game 191 - Malmo vs. Seattle
While the majority of the league seems to have figured out at least some of their scoring issues, Malmo continues to struggle offensively. Rayz Funk has faced a lot of shots this season, so I am sure he was thankful for this seventeen shot reprieve and his first shutout of the season.
Game 197 - Davos vs. Prague
The Dynamo had a better performance in this one, forcing Solomon Crawford to make nineteen saves, but that wasn’t enough to get one past him. By the end, the Phantoms were in absolute control, holding Davos to just a single shot in the third period. It has been a hard week for the lower half of the European conference.
Game 198 - Seattle vs. Vancouver
Seattle continued their rise up through the standing this week, but someone forgot to tell Finn Davison and the Vancouver Wolves. Davison seems to be adjusting well to his new team with an amazing twenty-nine saves to capture his third shutout of the season. It will be hard to compete with Riga’s post-trade success, but Finn is certainly keeping the conversation going about who won this trade.
Game 201 - Malmo vs. H.C. Davos
It has been a rough week for both of these teams, but one of them had to win this game. They actually both managed reasonable offences, despite struggling in that regard all week. Samuel Ross stopped twenty shots in this 3-0 game to earn his second shutout of the season.
Game 204 - Vancouver vs. Moscow
Moscow had plenty of opportunities in this game, but Finn Davison was outstanding. Davison is meshing very well with his new team and shutting out the reigning champs should prove to everyone that Vancouver got exactly what they wanted from this trade.
Game 206 - New York vs. Helsinki
Another matchup between two teams that struggled this week, New York looked stronger defensively than they have all season. After two quick powerplay goals in the second, this game was in the bag and A Red Guy had his first shutout of the season.

Rookie Spotlight
Kyl Oferson 

Probably the most explosive rookie to enter the league this season, Kyl Oferson started his career with the Mississauga Hounds. However, it was after being drafted by the San Diego Marlins that his explosive playstyle took off. Scoring one-hundred and fifty-three points and carrying an absurd +126, it was no surprise that he went first overall to the Riga Reign.
 
It has taken some time for Oferson to adjust to the speed of the VHL, but he seems to have gotten it all figured out at the right time. Riga was dominant all week, and Kyl played an important part in that. He is currently third in goals scored on the Reign roster and I wouldn’t be surprised if he climbed even higher.
 
There was some question as to whether Riga would be heading into a rebuild in the next couple seasons, but with top-notch talent like this, it seems like they have pushed that further into the future. It has to be fun to play for a real contender as a rookie, but it is likely even better when you are playing a significant role in getting them to that point.
 
 

SBA sucks anyway

S71 Helsinki Captaincy Reveal
Over the course of the weekend the Helsinki Titans organization held a player vote for team Captaincy. I was a close race out of the gate and it ended the same way with just a single vote between the names who will ultimately wear a letter.
 
The assistant captains for season 71 are Erik Summers @Erik Summers and his defensive partner Guillaume Fonetenette @okochastar. The duo played the entirety of S70 together combining for 25 goals, 83 assists and a +37 rating. Fontenette led the VHL with 145 blocked shots. Erik Summers was the successful candidate for S71 Rookie of The Year and does not look to slow down at any point in his career. Both have a strong presence in the locker room and are very deserving of wearing an A.
 
The captain of the Titans this season is none other than top line center Ben Hafkey @McLovin. Hafkey was the recipient of the Dustin Funk trophy last season becoming a point per game player with 36 goals and 47 assists (73 points) smashing his prior career high by 39 points. His player agent is also the Assistant GM of the Titans. Hafkey will look to lead in Borwinn's absence this season and carry the Titans to an eighth consecutive playoff berth.

Julian Borwinn
 

 
HOF-tie in version:
 

Julian Borwinn
 

 
HOF-tie in version:
 

I am so massive

SUMMARY

Welcome to the third edition of VSN’s S70 Weekly recap (Games 124-205).  We’ll cover a host of things in this recap each week including highlights of important VSN happenings, three stars of the week, power rankings, rookie profiles, and anything else of importance.
 
Recap

We have nearly reached the midpoint of the season and defences around the league have hit their stride as we saw an extremely low-scoring week all around the league. This included multiple games that went scoreless until the shootout and the most shutouts we've seen in a single week so far this season. This has been especially true for the North American Conference and anyone playing against the Helsinki Titans (sorry Titans, it was a rough skid).

It shouldn't be shocking at this point, but after the rough start, many wondered if Seattle had lost a step. However, the Bears came roaring back up through the standings and are threatening to take the top spot at their current pace. Seattle has probably benefited most from the defensive surge around the league as they have consistently shown the ability to win low-scoring games while struggling to keep up in more offensive matches.

While Seattle soars, Helsinki, New York, and Davos have all had a rough week. I think a lot of people were cheering for the Dynamo to succeed under their new leadership, but it may take longer than it first appeared to recover. The Titans were the highest-scoring team in the league entering this week, but their offensive production completely shut off midweek and they have struggled to get back up to speed. New York faced the toughest part of their schedule this week, so I would expect the Americans to make a comeback soon.

 
3-Stars

First Star
Hunter Hearst Helmsley (VAN) - 6 Goals, 14 Assists
Second Star
Finn Davison (RIG) - .935 SV%, 2.1 GAA, 3 SOs
Third Star
Jet Jaguar (MOS) 7 Goals, 11 Assists
 
Power Rankings

European Conference
Moscow Menace - (+1) Back on top of the league, and now also the scoring leader. Riga Reign - (-1) A bit of regression to the mean this week. Prague Phantoms - One of the quietest good teams in the league. Helsinki Titans - Oof. They need to find their identity quickly. Malmo Nighthawks - (+1) A much better week than last, even sniffing a playoff spot. HC Davos Dynamo - (-1) It was a tough schedule, but definitely a disappointing result.   
North American Conference
Vancouver Wolves -  Fell behind Moscow slightly, but could still be the best team in the league. Seattle Bears - (+3) This team finally woke up from their cup hangover; Watch out! Calgary Wranglers - (-1) A middling performance this week. This team can produce better. New York Americans - (-1) A tough schedule leads to a bit of a slide. D.C. Dragons - (+1) Wins are wins, and not being in the basement is nice. Toronto Legion - (-2) The N.A. Conference caught up to Europe this week. Toronto did not.  
Notable Games
 
Game 137
This game sums up Seattle's week. The Bears had solid point distribution across their roster, with only two players going without a point this game, they managed top-notch goal-tending from Rayz Funk, and their defence shut things down after the first period. For Vancouver, this game should be a wake-up call. Just because you are at the top of the North American Conference, doesn't mean the former champs aren't still a threat. Hopefully, this game broke any potential complacency building in the Wolves locker room.

Game 176
These are the two quietest playoff teams in the league and this was an excellent inter-conference match. New York needs to win these games if they're going to hold on to their playoff spot, especially in the middle of their toughest schedule of the season. For Prague, this game was a great example of what is keeping them in striking distance of the top teams in the league. They walked away with two points in a game where they easily could have earned none and have nearly locked up their position in the playoffs.

Game 194
A battle for dominance of the European Conference, Moscow walks away with the win and the too spot in the league after this one. We saw excellent net-minding and defensive play from both teams, but the Menace were able to capitalize on their limited scoring opportunities early in the game. Despite out-shooting their opponent twenty to twelve, Riga went into the third period down by two. They managed to avoid the shutout, but Moscow's defence proved to be too much for the Reign this time.

Events of the Week

Fights
Game 127 - Laughton beats up Clements I don’t call him the top enforcer in the league for nothing. Blake Laughton must have heard he was falling behind the number one spot for penalty minutes. After a hard hit on Ryo Yamazuki II by Seabass Perrin, Walter Clements took exception and started looking for some retribution and Laughton saw his opportunity to keep up his reputation. Despite winning the fight, his team was unable to hold on to their 3-0 lead and had to settle the game in the shootout. Game 128 - Hafkey beats up Kastelic When scores are lopsided between rivals, fights happen. It was 4-1 to start the third when Ryan Kastelic hit Brian Strong cleanly. However, the legality of that hit was in question by at least one person, and when Ben Hafkey saw that the officials weren’t going to act, he stepped in to seek his own justice. Hafkey won the fight and his line won this game for the Titans. Game 131 - Scott draws with Nygren and Marleau It is good to see that in the third week of the season we are still having some season-firsts. Micheal Gary Scott got into fights at the beginning and end of the game. First, after a very physical first minute of the game, MGS was called upon to send a message that Vancouver would not be a victim to such heavy play. Markus Nygren was happy to oblige and get one of the Wolves top players off the ice for five minutes. That worked in Malmo’s favour as the scored just seconds later. A similar outcome came in Scott’s second fight, although Malmo would have to also sit one of their best players to make it happen. Unsatisfied with the first fight being called a draw MGS thought he could at least win something this game by fighting Phil Marleau. Alas, he could not. Two even fights and the Nighthawks were able to cling on to the lead to win it in regulation. Game 141 - Meyers beats up Laughton Blake Laughton took an absolute beating, but he took it for the team. Despite being in the offensive zone with the man advantage, Bert Myers thought it would be a good time to drop gloves with Laughton. Perhaps Laughton was still a little sore from his last fight since it has never been a long time since his last, but he did not look ready for the beating he received. Game 142 - Helmsley beats up Washington D.C. has been looking for a solid rival since joining the league and the top team in the conference is always a good choice. HHH and George Washington met in the faceoff circle and had a few choice words for each other. Reviewing the replay, it doesn’t look like either player even touched the puck before going for one another. Helmsley only had an inch on his opponent but used his seventy-five-pound weight advantage to pummel Washington to the ice. Game 155 - Stark draws with Jaguar Seattle vs Moscow has consistently been one of the most exciting matchups of this season and despite losing in their early meetings, the Bears have gained the upper hand in the most recent games. Tensions flared as the two teams went into the third period tied at two. After a hard hit from Jet Jaguar, Seattle enforcer Ambrose Stark stepped in to settle the score. Despite not winning the fight decisively, his protective instinct inspired his teammates to score the game-winner just nineteen seconds later. Game 158 - Jaguar beats up Clements and Nolan draws with Gritty Good to see this type of scrappy mentality from Moscow. We have watched them throw away too many close games this season with low-effort moments. The third period of this match-up against New York was a great example of the opposite. Fighting to hold on to a 3-0 lead, Jet Jaguar and Gritty both put it all on the line to deal with the building momentum of a surging Americans’ team. Game 160 - Stava draws with Hafkey Down by just one, Edu Stava gets levelled by Sidney Crosby. However, just like his team, Stava would not be kept down. Coming up the ice looking for more, he was cut off by Ben Hafkey before reaching his assailant. He must have figured that was good enough and they dropped gloves. The fight that ensued was entertaining but was ultimately broken up before a winner could be declared. Toronto went on to tie the game before the Titans sealed the deal late in the third. Game 170 - BRAWL! Of the ten skaters on the ice, only Joey Boucher walked away without a penalty, but that likely only because he was bleeding on the ice from the high stick of Jordan Tonn that started it all. The pairs of combatants were as follows, Hiroshi Okada and Ben Hafkey, RJ Jubis and Chico Smeb, Kefka Plazzo and Brian Strong, and Cody Smith and Sidney Crosby (although these two only got minors). Helsinki was unable to capitalize on the ensuing three on four and was ultimately unable to manage a comeback. Game 178 - Okada beats up Graves We have a new heavyweight champion! Hiroshi Okada has become quite the fighter this season, and he may now have his crowning achievement, the championship belt. Okada fights often enough that we will hopefully get to see him defend his title soon.  Game 182 - Nygren draws with Matthews This game felt like it was over already, just a minute and a half into the second period when these two dropped gloves. Malmo already had a 3-0 lead after a dominant first, so perhaps Anthony Mathews thought he could give his team some life with this fight, but Markus Nygren stood his ground and ultimately, so did his team. Game 188 - BRAWL! What is it with Calgary and fighting European Conference teams? So far, it has worked out for them, as they have won both games, but this is the second time in a week that they had five players sent to the box at the same time for a brawl. This time, the refs decided everyone must go, filling the boxes with all ten skaters on the ice. The fighters paired off as follows, Tyler Barabash Jr. and Phil Marleau, Sigard Gunnar and Dan Wilinsky, Kris Rice and Aleksander Rodriguez, Charlie Paddywagon and Condor Adrienne, and Cody Smith and Lucas Nygren. Game 195 - BRAWL! Following a bad hooking penalty by Jerry Wang on Dagmar Havlova, both teams paired off and we got a good ‘ol fashioned punch-fest. The individual fights were as follows, MGS and Gert B Frobe, Kevin Low and Scotty Bigshotty, Brock Louth and Ben McGirr, and Shawnomir Jagr got the worst of it from Edward Vigneault. Despite losing their entire second line to penalties for five minutes, Vancouver went crazy in the third, racking up a 7-2 lead in the end. Game 202 - Scott beats up Hafkey and draws with Bailey A four-game series between Vancouver and Helsinki has gotten off to an exciting start, with two games decided by only one goal. After MGS got the upper hand over Hafkey about halfway through the first period, each team scored their first goal of the game within the next two minutes. MGS’s second fight, against Kronos Bailey this time, didn’t have the same effect of spurring on scoring, but he was desperate for a second win on the night and got the game-winning goal as well in the closing minute of the third. Game 204 - Martin draws with Gritty This game was a battle in every other sense of the word, so it is fitting that we got a fight as well. Although the result was rather anti-climatic, being broken up quickly by the refs, Aston Martin and Gritty served as a great metaphor for the rest of this match. In the end, there were more shots taken in the shootout than punches thrown in this fight.  
Hat-Tricks
Game 128 - Chico Smeb Scoring his fifth, sixth, and seventh goals of the season all in one game, Chico Smeb helped Helsinki’s second line dominate this game with four of the Titan’s five goals. If this line can continue to produce against top-tier opponents like Riga, the Titans will be a scary opponent going into the second half of the season. Game 157 - Shawnomir Jagr I wouldn’t have believed you if you had told me this game was a hard-fought and evenly-matched contest with eleven minutes left in the third. However, over the next seven minutes, Vancouver went crazy. Of the five goals scored in that stretch, Shawnomir Jagr picked up his second and third for his first hat-trick of the season. Game 185 - Matthew Materazo D.C. thought that the slumping Davos Dynamo would be a safe game for them to start their back-up goalie. It took Matthew Materazo less than seventeen minutes to chase Pekka Pouta from the game. Even better, he was then also responsible for chasing Kallis Kriketers as well, late in the third. The Dragons’ goalies were thoroughly humiliated, each going five for eight for an SV% of .625. This was one for the record books as well for Materazo, scoring a hat-trick on just three shots. Game 195 - Julius Freeman You almost have to feel bad for Tzuyu this game, having a five-point performance and still only getting the second star because a teammate got a hat-trick. However, I’m sure it was celebrations all around the Vancouver locker room after this game following the clinic they put on in the offensive zone. Julius Freeman got his first hat-trick of the season, but the way this team has been playing recently, I don’t expect it to be his last.  
Shutouts
Game 129 - Davos vs Calgary It is a hard case to make, but I would argue that Calgary, despite getting the shutout, looked like the worse team in this matchup. That isn’t to take away from what JB Rift accomplished, stopping twenty-five of twenty-five shots is always a good night. However, when you spend almost an entire period on the powerplay and only manage to outshoot your opponents by five shots and score a single goal, it is hard to say the Wranglers looked put together. But two points is two points and a shutout is a shutout, so keep up the good work. Game 130 - Moscow vs Toronto This is what we expect to see from Moscow on a regular basis. The toughest part of their schedule is ahead of them and they haven’t always been this impressive against teams they should be putting away easily. Goal-tending has probably been the biggest concern for the Menace so far this season, so it is good to see Raymond Bernard get his feet under him and put together his first shutout of the season. Game 133 - Prague vs Riga I don’t know what is happening, but this isn’t the last double shutout this week, but it is the first of the season. Something has gotten into the defences around the league to lower league-wide scoring significantly in the first few days of this week, but this one was all on the goalies. Finn Davison and Brick Wahl managed to stop a combined sixty shots without letting a single one go in through regulation and overtime. It was not until the shootout that they each gave up a goal and Davison ended up gaining the win. Game 135 - Calgary vs Davos Remember what I said last time these two played? Yeah, none of that applies this time around. Calgary walked all over the Dynamo in this one, opening up the scoring while shorthanded. Instead of spending over fifteen minutes on the powerplay, they only got a single call in their favour, and yet, they were able to hold Davos to just fourteen shots the entire game. The Wranglers’ defence was overbearing, but the third period was nearly perfect, allowing only a single shot. The goalie always gets credit when they get a shutout, but this was probably the easiest perfect game of Rift’s career. Game 136 - D.C. vs Malmo I am not certain (feel free to correct my work on this one), but I believe this game saw fewer shots than any other so far this season, with Malmo getting stuck in the single digits. The second period was the only sustained excitement with D.C. getting over half of the game’s total shots. Even then, the only goal of the game came on one of D.C.’s last shots in the third. Game 151 - New York vs Riga Some people may claim I shouldn’t count games going scoreless to the shootout as shutouts, but I think they count. However, even if that is your position, A Red Guy got a true shutout stopping both shots he faced in the shutout. Another defence-heavy game, Finn Davison only faced sixteen shots, including the three in the shootout. If the defence we have seen so far this week keeps up, we may see one of the lowest-scoring seasons we’ve seen in years. Game 159 - Davos vs Riga Finn Davison has been making his case for the Aiden Shaw this week at a crazy pace with his third shutout of the week. Riga’s defence once again shut things down, allowing only eighteen shots all game. For Davos, scoring has become a real problem. They have been shut out four times in the last seven games. Game 161 - Vancouver vs Seattle Seattle has been surging back after a rough start, but it was time for Vancouver to show who’s the king of the North American Conference this season. It took one period to do so, denying all thirteen of the Bears’ shots and scoring four of their own. The rest of the game was just gravy as Greg Eagles went on to collect his third shutout of the season. Game 166 - Helsinki vs. Moscow Alexander Pepper was the only reason this game was even close, stopping ten more shots than Raymond Bernard faced, but Moscow’s sustained offensive pressure simply overwhelmed the Titan’s defence. The Menace managed so much offensive zone possession that Helsinki could rarely even threaten a scoring opportunity in this one and Bernard walked away with his second shutout of the season. Game 167 - New York vs Vancouver I realize now that I should have started counting at the beginning of the week, but this is yet another game where the goalies took both the first and second stars of the match. Greg Eagles finds himself back on top of the shutout leader-board with his fourth of the year while A Red Guy still maintained a .953 SV% in this 2-0 loss. Hopefully, for the sake of excitement, the offences around the league figure out their slumps and we see a little more scoring next week. Game 185 - Davos vs D.C. D.C. has been replaced by Davos at the bottom of the league for now, but it did not show at all in this game. Samuel Ross has been the Dynamo’s MVP so far this season with another excellent showing. However. Davos’s young defensive core still looked shaky, allowing a total of thirty-four shots. If Davos is going to finish above the bottom of the league, solidifying this strong defensive identity will be the way they do it. Game 198 - New York vs Malmo The American’s had a rough week in many aspects, but games like this can be looked back on with pride. New York’s defence allowed only sixteen shots, helping A Red Guy achieve his third shutout of the season. They also played an incredible disciplined game, giving Malmo zero power-play opportunities. Ultimately, that discipline was a deciding factor, as the game-winner came on a New York power play in the first period.  
Rookie Spotlight
Edu Stava 

After back-to-back championship wins in the VHLM. Edu Stava has finally arrived in the VHL and he is giving everyone something to talk about. He is currently shooting with 15% accuracy but hit limited opportunities have held him to six goals so far this season, behind only Rice and Tallinder, who each have a more impressive supporting cast around them.
 
It will be hard for Stava to top his performance last season in Saskatoon, but it is possible that he might find himself packaged up to a contender in need of some depth before the trade deadline. If that happens, his recent championship experience might really help the rookie centre.
 
This may be an outside chance at the moment, but I think a strong case can be made for Stava for Rookie of the Year. If he finds a hot stretch and bumps up his point total a little more, his performance looks even more impressive when you take into consideration the limited help he is getting from lacking top-level talent on his line.
 
 

according to this I'm as vital to league health and growth as @hedgehog337