McLovin

With the S70 draft recently, and my media spot on the draft picks from Helsinki, let's take a look at the grand scale of the Helsinki's prospect pool, and grade each one, list pros and cons and all that good stuff. We'll sort by draft year too, just for the readers sake S70: Jared Spaz: Grade: A Pros: Impressive offensive awareness, solid puck handling Cons: Very little physicality Projection: Top 6 winger Kyle Andersen: Grade: A Pros: Strong two-way game, good skating & puck skills Cons: Not much physicality despite being 6'8'' Projection: Top 4 defenseman Ike Bennett: Grade: C Pros: Offensive ability & skating Cons: Very little defensive awareness/physicality Projection: Top 9 forward Vladimir Shaposnikov: Grade: C- Pros: Decent two-way game Cons: Defensive consistency/physical presence. Projection: Top 9 forward Julian Dalvao: Grade: D- Pros: Glimpses of offensive ability Cons: Basically everything else Projection: Career VHLMer S69: Daldo: Grade: B Pros: Great all-around game Cons: Consistent growth Projection: Top 6/9 forward Gary Tarantino: Grade: C+ Pros: Elite two-way forward in VHL Cons: Offensive consistency Projection: Top 6/9 forward Jack Russell: Grade: C- Pros: Strong power forward center Cons: Offensively lacking Projection: Top 9 forward S68: Joakim Sakic: Grade: C Pros: Elite scorer at VHLM level Cons: Defensively lacking & slow skater Projection: Top 9 forward Keith Harris: Grade: D Pros: Defensively strong Cons: Little offense, slow skater, no growth Projection: Career VHLMer S67: Jesse Nyman: Grade: C- Pros: Elite two-way forward at VHLM level Cons: Little growth, no physicality Projection: Career VHLMer/Top 9 forward Alexander Shaw: Grade: F Pros: Occasional offense Cons: No growth, severely lacking in everything else Projection: Career VHLMer I might update this more as time goes on but I thought this'd be a fun little experiment

(S70 Helsinki Titans Prospects) As we draw S69 to a close and wrap up the draft for more off-season preparation, let's take a look at the players drafted by Helsinki in this past draft and see where they'll end up on the team. Let's just cover the players as of now, that being the success they've found so far, and potential going into their pro careers with the Titans. Round 1, Pick 8 - Jared Spaz: The first pick of the Titans S70 draft had them taking RW Jared Spaz 8th overall in the first round. The Italian winger has had an explosion of growth in the last few weeks, propelling him into a top 10 pick, and for obvious reasons. Spaz has great offensive awareness & shot, though only being 5'10'' he's not much of a physical player and needs a bit of time to work on skating and defensive positioning. Beauty of Jared and all the players mentioned here is that they're young, and have a long time to get much better, so those'll areas will only improve. Playing with Yukon in the VHLM this year, Spaz had 24 points in 54 games, split evenly among goals and assists with 12 each. Putting up an amazing 20% shooting accuracy as well, Spaz looks to spend at least another year in the minors now with his new team in Philadelphia lighting the lamp and being an offensive threat wherever he plays. If he continues this success, I expect to see Spaz in a top 6 role with Helsinki in a few years for sure. Round 1, Pick 11 - Kyle Andersen: Another Philadelphia Reaper draft pick, Kyle Andersen is an absolute behemoth of a player standing at a staggering 6'8'', 250lbs. Drafted 11th overall, it was obvious why management wanted a shutdown defenseman like Andersen. In a full season with the Reapers, Andersen put up 65 points, including 21 goals and a +33 in the +/- category. In the playoffs he especially showed up, scoring 2 goals and assisting 10 more in just 6 games. The great Dane put up an impressive enough season to have Helsinki want to pick him as they notice their defensive core is getting older, and Kyle Andersen is going to be a great shutdown d-man on the blue line for many years to come, though might require another year or two of seasoning in the minors to really take off, similarly to Jared Spaz. A nice fact though, Spaz & Andersen will be playing with each other no matter what next year, as they were both drafted by the same two teams in the VHL & VHLM respectively. Just a neat little thing I thought I'd bring up. Round 2, Pick 17 - Ike Bennett: Ike Bennett is a very similar to Jared Spaz in the sense that he's an offensively gifted player with a bit of trouble defending in his own zone. 27 games in the VHLM allowed Ike to produce 8 goals and 9 assists for 17 points, with a strong 4 points in 5 games in the playoffs. In the regular season, he didn't shoot the puck too much by a forwards standard, but still held a shooting percentage of around 16.6%, which is still pretty good. Ike unfortunately though is a long way out of being a regular on a VHL roster, though we have seen instances of growth that would suggest maybe Ike reaches a previously unseen potential and becomes a regular on Helsinki. For now though, the road is long and hard for Ike Bennett, but isn't it for all at some point? All I'm saying is don't sleep on this guy, I feel like he'll surprise some people. Round 2, Pick 20 - Vladimir Shaposhnikov: Yet another winger, Shaposhnikov is nearly identical to Ike Bennett in that he's a project player and is a ways off from regular VHL ice time. Only major difference separating the two would be Shaposhnikov slightly favors a two-way game over a solely offensively mindset game. 55 contents in the VHLM with San Diego had Vladdy put up 23 points, with 9 goals and 14 assists respectively. Playoffs weren't too much to mention as only he put up a goal and a blocked shot in 5 games. It's tough to say where Vladimir's career will go as his growth is minimal as of late, though there's a chance by next year his production will take off. Honestly I'm not quite sure, but I think similarly to Ike Bennett, these two players have a chance to prove doubters wrong and really turn on the jets on production & growth. Round 4, Pick 46 - Julian Dalvao: Not sure how much can be said about Dalvao. In 34 games with Las Vegas, Dalvao put up 6 goals and 9 assists for 15 points, but unfortunately also had a -23 in addition to that. Glimpses of offensive potential can occasionally be seen, but Dalvao isn't a player I'd get my hopes up for. His growth has been rather slow, with the last few weeks showing not much growth at all. Maybe he turns on some crazy potential, pots 100 goals and wins the Founders Cup some day, but I don't see that day coming for a while. Conclusion: All-in-all, this draft did it's job for Helsinki in acquiring the players the team will need down the line, but some players pose more questions than answers in the later rounds of the draft and look to be projects for Helsinki. As I mentioned before though, don't count any of these players out. These guys are young and will only get better. Fortunately too, free agency is starting soon, and Helsinki will have chances to fill holes they have in their team now instead of needing prospects to step up into roles they're not quite ready for. To wrap up this long read, the future is bright, and look forward to these players to come into the league in the next coming years to do big things with the Titans ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1,008 words claiming for weeks ending 1/26/20 & 2/2/20

i might be interested if i got to know a little more about the job

--> Titans Off-Season Presser 2 <-- Post-Draft Edition! Answer 3 for 1 TPE, 6 for 2 TPE! 1. What surprised you about the draft this year?: 2. Are you happy with how Helsinki drafted?: 3. If you were the GM on draft day, what would you have focused on?: 4. With the results of the draft, do you think Helsinki is still a contender?: 5. Are you happy with how management has been running the team? If not, where can they improve?: 6. What has your offseason daily schedule looked like so far?: 7. What's a personal goal you hope you reach this season?: 8. On that same note, what's a team goal you hope everyone reaches this year?: 9. Overall, who do you think are the winners and losers of this last draft?: 10. Who were you most excited to see drafted onto Helsinki?: 11. Who is an early candidate for Titans MVP in S70?: 12. Do you have a question you'd like to submit for next weeks press conference? @McLovin @Wheaties @xDParK @Jbeezy76 @Tape-to-Tape @Jubo07 @Quik @Erik Summers @okochastar @Antone10 @SidTheKid87 @Sonnet@MMFLEX

sign me up boss man

Guess I missed this weeks trivia, oops ?

Definitely making my job easier with this, thank you very much!

Helsinki won the trade let's be honest

claiming week 3/3

Future's lookin pretty spicy for Toronto

Papa @Jubo07 has been grooming me to be Helsinki's number 2 center for a bit now and I think it's time to make the position swap, so if a lad could make it official we'd be very appreciative.

DRAMA DRAMA DRAMA

Big Game 6 coming up! Let's see Riga force a Game 7!

1) The draft is this Sunday; which position(s) do you expect the Titans to focus on? From what I've been seeing, acquiring a top-6 forward and defensive depth. 2) Where do you usually watch hockey drafts? Either at my place or one of the boys, gotta see who we're gonna be playing with soon after all! 3) What skills are you strengthening this off-season? Working on my skating definitely, but might mess around and train my faceoffs a little bit too should I need to learn it ? 4) Pepper needs 28 wins to reach 300; does he do it? Absolutely, guys a machine he's got this down. 5) McLovin was hired on as AGM this week. What do you hope to see from an AGM? I can probably answer this from what I hope to see from myself. I wanna learn all I can and be the best AGM possible to this team. Put the boys first and help Jubo put together a good team & win a couple Cups. 6) Who will take home the S69 Continental Cup; Riga or Seattle? Gotta say my money's on Riga this time. Though Seattle's got a nice comeback kids story brewing.

With the Continental Cup finals drawing to a close, the Helsinki Titans decided to take advantage of the time and search for candidates for the Assistant General Manager position. GM @Jubo07 initially went into his first year of General Managing with the weight of everything on his back, but decided that now'd be the best time to get some help in the front office with free agency and the draft coming up. One of the candidates he looked at was S69 WJC Team USA GM McLovin, who had just brought home a Bronze Medal with the team and was hopping to expand his knowledge of the position by finding a job in the VHLM. After failing to find a job in the minors, Jubo saw this as an excellent opportunity to hire somebody he could trust into an important job in the front offices. McLovin was quoted during a press conference Jubo held to announce the hiring saying: "Jubo is an incredible mentor, and an even better friend, and has taught me so much of what I already know. Now being able to work with him directly in Helsinki, I look forward to learning from the best the game has to offer." This hiring looks to help Jubo with the load of off-season work Helsinki has got, as well as giving McLovin an opportunity to learn the ropes and perhaps one day carry the mantle. Reporting from Helsinki, Marcus Svedberg, Titans Nation.

claiming week 2/3

Quote from McLovin during Helsinki Press Conference after announcement: "Helsinki is a storied franchise, having won multiple Continental Cups and countless playoff and Cup appearances. Coming off our Bronze Medal win in the S69 WJC, I was looking to take my GMing to the next level and find a job somewhere in the VHL. While I was primarily looking in the VHLM, GM @Jubo07 gave me a once in a lifetime opportunity when he offered me an AGM position on the Helsinki Titans. Having worked with Jubo during the WJC and in previous years, it was an offer I couldn't turn down. Jubo is an incredible mentor, and an even better friend, and has taught me so much of what I already know. Now being able to work with him directly in Helsinki, I look forward to learning from the best the game has to offer, and hope to contribute to this teams rich history and bring the Cup back to Titan Nation."

This week on monkey shit being flung onto a keyboard

Part I - Pick em' (Pick the correct winners of all three games for 2 TPE) Game 3 - Seattle Bears @ Riga Reign Game 4 - Seattle Bears @ Riga Reign Game 5 - Riga Reign @ Seattle Bears Part II - Predict the Score (Predict the correct score and winner of this game for 3 TPE) Game 5 - Riga 4-2 Part III - Player Predictions (Predict the correct player for each category, 1 TPE for each correct answer) Series leader in points: Palo Series leader in goals: Palo Series leader in assists: Hackett Who has the series PIM lead: Wilinsky Who scores the series winning goal: Hackett

I, too, shall also apply here

(Titans players after their Game 6 OT loss to Moscow) And with that, the Helsinki Titans playoff run is over in an abrupt and heartbreaking fashion. For the players, it's time to rest and prepare for next year, but for me, the grind continues. On a lighter note though, this season did have a lot of highs as well, and on that topic of discussion we have a lot to talk about. To wrap up the season, let's review the entire year, all the trades, contracts, records, and post-season disappointment and all, everything. This is an entire season in review after all, so we gotta get into the nitty-gritty for this one. Trades: The Titans made a couple of off-season moves before the year started in FA as well as in the trading market. Four trades in total were made in the off-season, with one coming later towards the first couple games of the season. The first of these were acquiring Aston Martin, Hans Gruber and a S71 fourth round pick for a S70 second and S71 third. While Hans Gruber never really did anything for Helsinki, (or for any other team for that matter.) the real prize was in Aston Martin. Aston would end up going on an absolute tear this year, shattering his previously career high in points with a very solid 73 points in 72 games. That on top of him only playing on the second line definitely has him as a legit 2C, but whether he resigns with Helsinki is a whole other question. The second trade involved acquiring rookie Joakim Sakic & a second rounder in S70 for Dan Wilinsky. This trade is okay if you look at it from a "preparing for the future" or "salary dump" point of view. Joakim Sakic looks to be a career welfare getter, but he did just come off a 132 point season with Ottawa in the VHLM, so maybe he'll turn some heads should he make it to the VHL. Dan Wilinsky on the other hand is a grizzled veteran of the league and is looking to get his second Continental Cup before Old Father Time catches up to him. Third trade was a decent roster player swap, with Brian Strong and a S71 coming to Helsinki, while Jordan Tonn and a fourth in S71 got shipped off to Toronto. Honestly not much can be said other than this was just a good deal for both teams, and no one really lost. Fourth trade was a biggy as only 4 days after trading for him, Hans Gruber (as well as a S69 second which became Markus Nygren) got sent off to New York for Nethila Dissanayake, a S69 third rounder (which became Gary Tarantino) and a S71 fourth. To not call Helsinki the winner of this trade would be criminal. Hans Gruber went on to score a WHOPPING 9 points in 72 games. I wish that was an exaggeration. Little can be said other than that's just a rough trade for New York. We'll see how they manage that contract as he's still signed for 3 more years. Last of these trades involved getting Ben Hafkey, a S70 second & fourth from Vancouver for ACL TEAR. It's also very hard to say that Helsinki didn't win this trade. Even though ACL TEAR and the Wolves are moving onto the second round, ACL has more or less hit a brick wall on his development, and even looks to not be signing with any VHL team after this season. Ben Hafkey has matched his production and is still signed through next year, with rumors he'll be swapping to center should Aston Martin not resign. This would be a steal for Helsinki already, but on top of that they got a free second and fourth to go along with it, so they'll take that every day of the week and twice of Tuesday. Contracts: This shouldn't nearly be as long as the trade sections, but there are still some interesting points to make out of the contracts handed out this last off-season. A grand total of 9 players signed this year, so let's rapid fire through them and get to the post-season section of the article. Julian Borwinn was signed through S70, and this looks to be his last chance at a Cup consider his inevitable retirement at the conclusion of his contract. Coming off a 93 point season this year and leading the VHL in points, one can only hope he has a chance to lift the Cup once again. Virgil Ligriv, the future of Helsinki's goaltending was signed into S72, and as previously mentioned in articles before looks to take over Alexander Pepper's starter role, though living up to the player Pepper has become for Helsinki will be hard. It's safe to say he'll be a good player nonetheless. Jesse Nyman looks unfortunately to be a career VHLM'er, so a contract through S71 is more or less just there to hold onto his rights in case he decides to play in the pros, but don't hold your breath. Jesse Wilson is another case of veteran signing into his retirement in hopes of winning one last cup. With him announcing his retirement at the conclusion of his contract, fingers crossed on this guys getting a solid chance at glory. Gary Tarantino was also signed, and coming off a Bronze medal with Team USA in the WJC, and over a point per game production in the VHLM so far, he's looking to become a very solid player for Helsinki. Daldo, Erik Summers & Jack Russel all signed identical contracts and are the future of Helsinki. With all of them finding regular and post-season success, the future looks bright for the Titans. Regular Season: Not much can be said about the strong regular season Helsinki put together other than it was full of narratives. Whether it be Alexander Pepper becoming the winningest goalie in Titans history, the emergence of players like Aston Martin, Guillaume Fontenette or Ben Hafkey, or anything else, the Titans had a very good regular season. Tons of winning streaks and strong production by veterans and youth alike had this team finishing third in the league, second among European teams. Expectations were varying depending on who you asked, but the narratives certainly became the main topic of discussion for this team at the conclusion of the year. To start, Alexander Pepper having the most wins in Titan history is huge, and has been covered before. To oversimplify, expect to see his name and jersey number retired and forever in the rafters at the conclusion of his career. With that, Virgil Ligriv had an amazing start to his VHL career with a 7-1 record, .936 sv% and only 1.62 GAA. If this isn't a glimpse of what's to come, I don't know what is. On top of that, the previously mentioned production of Aston Martin surprised many, but with his future in question, we'll stop beating the dead horse that is bringing it up again. Guillaume Fontenette becoming a solid point producer as defenseman this early in his career is going to help pick up where Sidney Crosby and company left off. Ben Hafkey is just getting started too, and if he switches to center watch out for a similar point production explosion like Martin had this year. Playoffs & The Future Unfortunately, the adrenaline of momentum would wear off as Helsinki came into the playoffs against the underdog Moscow Menace. They would live up to their name as they took Helsinki to six, beating them in OT and securing their spot to the second round. Offensive inconsistency would prove to be their undoing as in multiple games got held to only one or fewer goals despite Moscow coming into the playoffs with the most goals against among playoff teams, and Helsinki having the fourth most goals for in the league. Little can be said other than this loss shocked Titans Nation and put a strain on the morale of older players, who may exercise options to go onto contenders should Helsinki enter a rebuild this year. Personally, I think the time of Helsinki making deep playoff runs is nearing a temporary end as veterans will only be declining from here on out, and the youth isn't ready to take over the positions the legends have settled themselves into over the years. That's why I suggested a retool for a strong push this off-season, because I doubt many players want to actually leave the team that's given them the opportunities Helsinki has given them, not to mention they're still a strong team at it's core. I do believe though that this team is in excellent hands, both managerially and on the ice, and whether the answers come now or later, this team is going to come back strong and hungry for a title, for themselves and all of Titans Nation that's been wanting more success from this very good team. Let's Go Titans! For Titans Nation, reporting from Helsinki, this is Marcus Svedberg. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1,511 words, claiming for next three weeks.

With the playoffs for the Titans ending the way it has, the question now is where will the team move from their first round exit? With many players retiring and looking to not sign in the off-season, it's going to be a long summer for Titans fans to say the least. With a couple young players coming up and the free agent class looking good so far, Helsinki could potentially sign and draft themselves into a small one year rebuild and retool for a strong push into the playoffs a little down the road, but whether this is where GM @Jubo07 decides to take the team is to be determined. With that, they need to look further down the line as well. A whopping 6 players from the main roster will be retiring by the conclusion of S71, and that will leave many holes in the roster that will need to be filled with youth. The time to win is now for this core, and that time is starting to run out for some of these aging players. Considering though how the playoffs unfortunately went for some of these players, a lot will need to be done to turn this team into a contender. Trust the process, trust the system, and Go Titans Go. Reporting from Helsinki, Marcus Svedberg, Titans Nation.

What a series, GG's to Moscow!

1) In your opinion; in what aspect are we the stronger club? We have the veteran star power absolutely 2) In your opinion; in what aspect are are the weaker club? I'd say they've got some crazy depth on their team 3) What are your thoughts on all four round one series going 6 or 7 games? Well considering this is being answered after the games were played, I guess I can answer if I expected the games to go the way they did. To that, I can say our game against Moscow didn't go the way I expected for sure. 4) New York has two chances to upset Seattle. What have you seen from either club that has led to this? They're both very good teams and their series is going to come down to whoever is hungrier for game 7. 5) The off-season is quickly approaching, what off-season activity to you most look forward to? Probably training up my faceoffs and using the team to fix holes in my game. 6) What is your favorite holiday food leftover? Turkey easily, it's the best food to have for the last 3 months of the year.

I just wrapped up GMing Team USA to a bronze medal in the WJC, and would love to give GMing in the VHLM a try!