McLovin

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!

ok boomer

If I had a dollar every time I read “that’s not the issue here” in this media spot I could’ve donated $800 myself to the VHL

While Helsinki is looking to be a powerhouse in the playoffs this year, their future is certainly up for debate. With the retiring of players like defensemen Dan Montgomery & Jesse Wilson, and the likes of Aston Martin looking more and more like he won't resign with Helsinki, there are certainly going to be holes in the team after this year. On top of that, Alexander Pepper also retiring in a year or two, Virgil Ligriv will most likely have to take the reigns of starter for Helsinki, so the depth is certainly going to need to step up should Helsinki continue to pursue Continental Cup championships. Should Aston Martin not resign this offseason, Ben Hafkey looks to be a strong candidate for second line center behind Kronos Bailey, who is also starting to get up in age. Defense has many question marks though and should prove to be a challenge to replace the elite defensive ability Wilson & Montgomery have brought to the table. Whether a trade is made or a free agent acquisition is made, overall this should be a very interesting offseason to see what GM @Jubo07 comes up with this offseason. Reporting from Helsinki, Marcus Svedberg, Titans Nation

Merry Christmas everyone!

As S69 of the VHL Regular Season comes to a close and the playoffs only a few days away, I figured I'd take this time to look at the Helsinki Titans and see what their team is looking like for the many challenges of the playoffs. Today, we'll just be looking at the regular season fared for Helsinki and their projection going into the playoffs. Regular Season: This regular season was a special one for multiple reasons to this Helsinki squad. First and most prominently, Alexander Pepper passed Astrid Moon in Helsinki's all-time wins for goalies this year. That on top of Alexander having also first place in games played and second in shutouts, it's safe to say he's cemented himself as an elite netminder for this team, so expect to see his jersey in the rafters at the conclusion of his career, and a strong showing at the VHL playoffs in a few days. On top of that, the team itself played great, consistently being a top three team for a majority of the season. The continued elite play of players like Julian Borwinn & Kronos Bailey with a surprising amount of depth scoring has ensured Helsinki is a deep team, and has a legitimate chance at coming home with their second Continental Cup in four seasons. Aston Martin is one of these players that has had a surprising amount of success. Playing on the second line, he's been a hair over point per game and 30+ goal scorer this year. Having only been drafted three years ago with the likes of Ben Hafkey & Guillaume Fontenette only getting better, this team has a strong future with a solid mix of veteran and youth experience. Playoffs: The playoffs look to be a whole other beast however. Helsinki has been to the cup final a staggering 4 times in the last 5 years, yet have only won it once in that time span. It's obvious to say that these players want nothing more than to start on a fresh note with their Cup appearance streak ending last season. They want a history of success instead of this "close but no cigar" mentality that some of the veterans might be feeling after years of tormenting themselves over the loses. With multiple players announcing their retirements at the end of their contracts soon, it's truly now or never for these players. The youth is ready to take over however, as we've seen glimpses of greatness from them like in Virgil Ligriv, or Ben Hafkey after the trade from Vancouver. Whether or not the youth does in fact take over, or the team's play is taken over by the veterans is yet to be seen, but one can hope to see a little bit of both when the puck drops. It is my genuine understanding though that this team is coming into the playoffs hungry, and they're ready to take on any challenge in hopes to start on a clean slate and engrave their names on the greatest trophy of all. Players mentioned: @Sonnet, @Jubo07, @Quik, @Sullvino, @okochastar, @McLovin, @MMFLEX