McLovin

Confirm condition! Pleasure doin business with ya!

"I'd first like to thank @N0HBDY for the incredible five seasons he gave me in Warsaw, I learned so much and owe a lot of my success to him and the sacrifices he made to give myself and my teammates the best chances to compete each and every season. To my teammates on the Preds, I wish y'all only the best and will definitely miss you guys! I'm looking forward to the opportunity New York is giving me and hope to help contribute to their success! Let's go win a Cup!" - Maxim Anisimov during his last press conference as a member of the Warsaw Predators

Maxim Anisimov - OV

It was definitely a tough decision going through all the applicants and only being able to pick one, but I'm happy to announce @OblivionWalker as the next AGM of the Helsinki Titans! Thank you to all who applied, I wish you all the best luck in future applications!

Hello everybody! With the wonderful @samx & @Triller stepping down from their positions in Helsinki's management, I'd first like to start by thanking them for the fantastic work they put in for this team over the seasons, and wish them all the best in their future endeavors in the VHL! That being said, and with my recent hiring as GM of the Titans, I'm in need of an AGM to help me run the ship! I need someone who can do the following: Weekly pressers for the players both on roster and in the system Assist with lines when I am not available to submit them Help out with scouting for the draft and conducting player interviews General positive locker room presence If you're interested, respond to this post below and I'll likely pick someone within a day or two tops as the draft is fast approaching! Good luck to everyone applying!

BAAAAAAAANG!!!

My Year as GM *I JUST GOTTA PREFACE THIS BEFORE ASSUMPTIONS ARISE, THIS IS NOT A RESIGNATION, MERELY A REFLECTION OF THE TIME I'VE SPENT AS GM OF THE ACES* It's been a little over a year now since I was made GM of the Las Vegas Aces, and a helluva lot has happened in that time, both on the VHL as well as in my own personal life, and I think a reflection is worthy of a media spot as we near the end of my almost 6 seasons so far as GM in the VHL. I gotta start just by saying, I absolutely adore this website. I don't even remember how I discovered it back in 2019, but I was hooked almost immediately. Jumped on board with the all star Reapers mid way through their cup run, won a cup before I was ever even drafted to a team, carried that momentum into my first season in the pros where I won with another elite team in the Vancouver Wolves. It's safe to say I had a pretty easy ride my first couple of seasons, especially considering my first player was so bad and could barely put points together About halfway through my first players career, I got traded to Helsinki, and my true love for the website and community started. Being on a team with such an involved GM as Jubo, it made me want to excel at everything I did in the league, for him and my teammates, and I'm happy that after it all, I gave it my all and have a fun first career to look back on. I'll still never forget my series winning goal I scored in Vancouver to send the Wolves to the Conference Final in my first year. Honestly might've been the best single highlight I've had, of ANY of my players. I took a break from the website right before covid started (I promise I didn't know it was coming, maybe :P) and did not really update my second player at all once he was in the pros. Ironically enough, my second player actually had a better career than my first somehow, despite being like 400 TPA less skilled and a defenseman! About two or so years would pass before I returned to the VHL full time, and by that point I was going through some things in my life and needed a distraction. I remembered this funny little website I used to make hockey players on back in the day, and I thought to myself "Huh, I wonder if they're still up and running?" You can imagine my excitement when I logged back in for the first time in years, and saw that next to nothing had changed about the website I loved so much back in my late teens. I immediately created a new player, and hopped on the first team that would take me, it just so happened that that team was the Las Vegas Aces. @Blazzer was an incredible mentor to help me get me off the ground and acclimated with all the new things the VHL had to offer. When I first played, there was no E, half the teams in the VHL pros didn't exist, and I was unfamiliar with all but a handful of people I recognized from back in the day. So I'd just like to start this little segment/paragraph by thanking Blazzer, as well as @Jubo and @BladeMaiden for all they did to help me get to this point. Without y'all, I definitely wouldn't have gotten as into the website as I have, and I hope wherever y'all are, y'all are well I became Blazzer's AGM around the start of S89, and I picked up pretty much right where I left off in terms of what I did during my AGM run in Helsinki. With the M being much more different in day to day running compared to the pros however, it was a bit of a learning curve. I leaned heavy on the scouting, made a whole google doc and all for the draft class and wanted to show that I'd be a good addition to the team. As fate would have it, Blazzer was resigning that offseason, leaving me as the only one left on the team (as most of our players had either moved up or didn't exist to begin with LMAO) I had applied for a ton of positions prior to Las Vegas, but whether it be my lack of experience or consistent forum activity, I wasn't picked for those positions. Honestly, I'm glad in hindsight I wasn't, cause I wouldn't have ended up in the spot I am now had I been. Y'all have seen it, so I won't go into explicit detail, but more times than not as GM, I've been able to field a pretty halfway competitive team for the regular season. I just need to figure out how to make a playoff team! All being said, having been the GM of this team over the last year now has been fantastic, and I've met some absolutely wonderful people who I consider close friends at this point. This has turned into way longer of a yap than I had intended, so lemme wrap this all up with what I got planned for the future. I still absolutely want to be a GM, whether that be in the M, or for like the Titans or Wolves in the pros, doesn't matter to me. Being able to help players grow their players and love the website and community as I have has always been my priority, and I like to think I've done a pretty decent job of that so far. My lack of a single win in the Founder's Cup finals in both my appearances stings a bit, but if I get approved to become Helsinki's GM here in a few weeks, I'll have ended my career with the Aces on a happy note. I did everything I wanted to more or less, and opening the door for someone to take over the runnings of the team is more than fine by me! I'm not entirely sure what the future entails for me long term. Yes, I'm still gonna keep making players and yes, should I be blessed enough, I'll keep GMing teams so long as the league will have me doing so. VSN is also been on my mind, and we've been cooking up some nice things that y'all will get to see soon, so stay tuned! Overall, I've become very grateful for my time in the VHL, and I'm looking forward to the next chapter in my career here! Thank y'all for reading this if you got this far, I appreciate you! ---------------------------------------------------

I'm down to clown as an AGM for anyone who needs a mentor!

Week ending 9/29/24 Presser! Answer all 6 questions for 2 TPE! 1. We're down 2-0 in the finals, what measures do the Aces need to take to avoid being swept by Philly in the finals for the second time in three seasons? 2. How happy are you with how the season has gone so far? 3. The E is getting removed and all their players under 350 TPE are getting sent back to us! What do you think this will mean for the M moving forward? 4. What has been the highlight of the season for you? 5. There's a fair chance this may be my last season as GM of the Aces, any potential parting words for your GM you'd like to offer? 6. How has the cooling of the weather and transition into Fall been treating you?

I am very interested in joining Helsinki as their GM! They were the first team I got to play out careers for in both of my first two players. They’ve always been my favorite team here and it’d be the most fantastic opportunity to be able to help them add to their incredibly rich history in the VHL!

Week ending 9/8/24 Presser! Answer all 6 questions for 2 TPE! 1. The Aces have continued their tear into the final stretch of the season! What are your thoughts on how the season has gone for the Aces? 2. We recently picked up two players in trades? How do you feel about the Aces going all in this season? 3. How do you feel about our odds making the Founder's Cup Final? Any concerns or points of optimism you want to share? 4. The theme week this week was rookies! How do you feel rookies in the VHL, be it new to the website or to text based sim hockey leagues in general, contribute to the atmosphere of the VHL? 5. What are your favorite hobbies outside of playing for the best team in the VHLM? 6. Thoughts on revoking Manuel Ceson's captaincy?

Aces Rookie's And Their Impact In The VHLM Rookies, and specifically rookie users to the VHL community as a whole, have had a great impact on both the VHLM, and myself as the GM of the Aces. As much as I enjoy having recreates joining the team, to me there's just something unique about having someone join the VHL and choose the Aces as their first team and experience in the community. I've had a few fantastic first time players on the Aces over the year or so that I've been GM now, and I wanna use this article and theme week opportunity to highlight a few of my favorite players to don the Aces jersey as a first time player! 1. Caesar Monterrey @CaptainGatsby Starting off my list is the former Captain of the Aces from S92 to 93, center Caesar Monterrey! Caesar wasn't the biggest point getter in the grand scheme of Aces history, but had a profound impact on the locker room and was voted captain by players and management alike almost unanimously. During the contender run the Aces had from S90 to S93, Caesar put up 17 points in 25 playoff games, with a little over 50 hits to compliment. He did manage to get 81 points in his final season in the VHLM however, which so happened to be the same season the Aces made the finals and subsequently got swept by the Reapers in embarrassing fashion! Despite this, Caesar Monterrey had a fantastic career with the Aces, and was the crucial piece the team needed both on the ice and in the locker room! 2. Jean-Marc Lemieux @Gorth Next up on my list is my brother, and best defenseman I've ever had on the Aces, the great Jean-Marc Lemieux! I may be a little biased putting him on the list here, but his achievements on the Aces can't be overstated. Granted, in his first season he struggled IMMENSELY, but that was mostly attributed to the team as a whole being in a deep rebuild state at the time of his joining. The next season however he really picked it up, racking up 122 hits and over 100 shots block in his first proper season! While that's impressive enough for a defensive defenseman in it's own right, his next season is what really set him apart from the competition. In his last season as an Ace, serving as a captain of the team, he put up over an assist per game to match his 150+ hits and another 100+ shots blocked. These numbers are fantastic for a player who only ever put 10 tpe total into offensive attributes and focused his game solely on keeping pucks out of the net. Incredibly enough, he didn't win defenseman of the year for his effort which I am still salty about to this day! 3. THE MIGHTY ICE WIZARD @Royski Last on our list, (and possibly least :P) we have THE MIGHTY ICE WIZARD who had a brief stint as the starting goalie for the Aces towards the end of S93! While his performance with the Aces leaves a bit to be desired, his off ice and specifically forum contributions are what he appears on this list for! Between working with VSN on his Unplugged podcast, as well as co-hosting the last VHLM draft with me a month or so ago, and plenty of forum and discord activity, he's been the perfect example of how someone can be introduced to the website and having a meaningful connection with the people of the VHL out the gate, and give 112% on everything he contributes to the VHL. Of all my referrals, Royski has definitely been the most involved and dedicated member of the VHL by far, and has earned him a solid spot on this list! As he is currently a rookie in the VHL, he's even putting up respectable numbers playing for Helsinki at the moment! All in all, rookies to the website and to the teams they play for affect their teammates, management, and everything in between in fantastic and unique ways, and with these three rookies having played for the Aces at one point in their careers, it was nice to highlight their achievements in their short VHL careers thus far, and I look forward to seeing what they and everyone else that have joined recently do in their hopefully long and prosperous careers! Thank you for reading if you've managed to get to this point!

Aces & Insights, The High Rolling Aces and My Future as a VHLM GM This has been a fantastic season for my Aces this go around, and it's made me reflect on my career as a GM so far, and where I want to go from here on out quite a bit. This isn't a resignation letter, or even an intent to resign contemplative media spot. I've been in this job for a while now however, and it's worth it to put my thoughts to pen and paper (or in this case keyboard and pixels) and assess what I want to do in the future, and how this season is shaping up to be. I've always wanted to be a VHL GM, pretty much from the moment I joined back in 2019. I initially joined the Reapers back in S66 as a member of the cup winning team, and it was perfect. I got to see how a winning team should look, what they're comprised of and what it takes to win it all. Jumping from a winning team in Philly to a winning team in Vancouver was incredible, and my last three players since were made to chase that high and relive a bit of my glory days from back then, to little avail might I add LMAO When I got brought on by Blazzer to AGM for the Aces, it was like a dream come true. I had AGM'd before, during Helsinki's big runs in the mid 70's, and it was the most incredible time. I was constantly writing pressers, I got named team captain for a season and we even made a couple of deep runs into the playoffs. It set me up for the hope that I could one day run a VHL team myself and go for cup runs too. A little known thing called COVID got in the way of that however, and between that and all sorts of other things going on in my life at that time, I ended up forgetting about my player and wasn't on the website for a handful of years. Come 2023, I decided to return in full force, writing a ton of articles and maxing out my earnings on my new player. I definitely wanted to become a GM again, but I had to first learn all the new things I had missed since I was here last. There was a whole new league, all the people I knew from the S60's and 70's were all but gone, it was wild. Blazzer took a chance with me though and named me AGM of the Aces, made me captain of the Aces during a run we made in S89, and that was the start of my new (but familar) journey. Blazzer resigned as GM of the Aces only a month or so after naming me AGM, so naturally I applied to be GM of the team. They were in big ruts up to that point, never being a super high tier team but never being bad enough to compete for first overall picks. It was hockey purgatory for any well versed GM. I referred a couple of friends to the VHLM, signed and drafted them to the Aces, and we made a couple of pretty good runs. We only ever ended up making the finals once however, and we got swept in our showing. It was definitely a tough time to say the least, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't contemplate resigning after that run. Three solid runs and next to nothing to show for it is ROUGH. After a rebuild season and a half or so, the Aces are back and we're once again at the top of the VHLM standings, and I find myself back in all or nothing mode. If this season works out, every goal I had as a VHLM GM would be complete, and I'd feel inclined to move on and find something else to work towards in the VHLM. At the same time, I feel almost obligated to stick around through it all, and keep pushing until the drive disappears. All in all, I love this league, this team, and what I do here on my free time. I feel like if ever I were to move on from the Aces, I'd want to GM one of my old teams from back in the day, either the Titans or the Wolves, but I want it to come naturally and I want it to feel right when it happens. Until the moment however, Imma stick with my team, and I'll keep riding out the highs and lows until I don't have that drive to anymore. I WILL WIN ANOTHER CHAMPIONSHIP IN THIS IRL DECADE, I CAN'T BELIEVE THE LAST ONE I WON WAS IN THE 2010'S THAT'S CRAZY. That concludes my rant/introspection however! Thanks to those that actually stuck out reading this whole thing, I appreciate you!

Week ending 9/1/24 Presser! Answer all 6 questions for 2 TPE! 1. We're on a roll halfway through the season! What are your thoughts on how the team has done so far? 2. @Alex has been absolutely lights out for us in net this season! How important during a run for the cup would you say goaltending is in the VHLM? 3. The Aces are first place in the league, currently placing 4 points above the second place Houston Bulls! What measures can the team take to maintain this standings position we're in? 4. Depth has continually been an issue for us and many other teams in the VHLM. What can the team do to be more appealing to recreates and first gens? 5. How are you feeling about your players individual play this season? 6. Any suggestions on how the Aces can carry this momentum into the trade deadline and playoffs? How can this team improve even more?

Satire or not, BladeMaiden was the reason I got into the VHL to begin with back in S65. Her attitude towards building a strong team chemistry encouraged me to be active and productive in both the forum and my earnings on my player. She was a great leader, and it was one of the very far and few times I've ever been disappointed in this community to see what had transpired in the time between my first player and my return a year or so ago now. Sexism or not, there is definitely a culture in the VHL (albeit a minority opinion amongst the community, absolutely not the majority of people who are on this website for fun, hockey and community) that encourages putting people down for really asinine things. I won't go into great detail cause I don't want this to turn into a rant, but in my eyes, it's worth taking a look into and potentially worth cracking down on if it starts driving away people from a place already struggling with user retention and activity.

VSN Presents: S94 World Juniors Championship Recap! (Is the graphic in the room with us?) Welcome dear readers to this VSN Edition of (better late than never) the World Juniors recap! It’s been a few days since the medal games were played, and with the VHL season now underway, let’s recap the last tournament of S94 in today’s article! We’ll be covering the Round Robin games and Medal Games as per usual, and will eagerly await the next tournament in a few months! Without further ado, let’s take a look at how the tournament went! Round Robin: Team Asia: Starting off our recap, we have maybe the biggest surprise of the entire tournament! Asia actually did well, and did so in the most convincing of fashions finishing first in the standings! Historically, Team Asia has not even been able to field a full roster of players without needing to pull a sizable portion from other teams selection lists. This didn’t prove to be an issue this season however as they fielded one of the best rosters for the Round Robin I’ve seen in recent memory! The biggest note to be made of Team Asia’s performance is that of Pombo @samx and the sheer scale of their offensive prowess. A staggering 27 points in 10 games was a major factor in Team Asia’s success in this first section of the World Juniors. The big question going into the medal round is will Asia be able to compete at this same level when it comes crunch time? We’ll save the answer to that question in the medal round recap coming up later in this article! Team Canada: Canada has had a nice resurgence as of late in terms of their competitiveness in the World Juniors, and their 3rd place finish in the round robin has helped to elevate this claim. This team was much more offensively dependent than I think most people would’ve believed they could be, providing point per game performances from 6 players on the team! This was crucial in their push for good seeding as the goaltending was definitely exposed a bit going up against lethal offenses themselves. Despite this, Canada put up a strong showing, and has the potential to make some noise in the medal round! Going into the medal round, the goaltending definitely has to rebound to keep the team competitive, but they have the pieces in place to be able to make a serious run. Between being well rounded in both offense and defense, if the goaltending can pull it around to cap it all off, Canada has more than enough to stake a claim at gold! Team Europe: Onto the halfway point, we have Team Europe! Another strong showing from a historical juggernaut in the tournament, Europe showed up in full force and tied Asia for wins in the round robin, but lost 1st place from Asia’s one overtime loss compared to Europe's zero. Europe was another well rounded team, with 6 of their own players being over point per game as well! Aleksanteri Kaskiniemi-Kekkonen @Snussu had a remarkably strong showing in the round robin, putting up a .924 save percentage with a 2.51 goals against average to match! With a team able to fire well on all cylinders, it gives Europe a prime position to be able to reclaim their place as the dominant team in the tournament. The only notable flaw of their showing this season might’ve been their special teams, with their powerplay only converting 10.87%, and their penalty kill only providing success on a little under 3 out of every four penalties. With a lack of conversion on the powerplay especially noted, it may provide a significant hurdle in terms of matching offensive juggernauts like Asia. Time will tell however if this proves to be detrimental in a significant way. Team USA: Nearing the end of our first half of the article, we got Team USA! Despite their position in the standings, they were actually a pretty decent team all around. The power play and penalty kill were both fantastic, and both the goaltenders were putting up fantastic numbers themselves! Interestingly enough though, the teams downfall might’ve been due to a lack of line management and shuffling when chemistry is considered. A single forward line and defensive pairing were -10 and -8 respectively, and most likely contributed to the USA not putting up the record and numbers they could’ve potentially done otherwise. This isn’t a bash against Team USA’s GM whatsoever, but keeping pairs and lines together that aren’t working the entire tournament is definitely an interesting strategy, and this time around holding out did not pay off in the winning column. Team World: Onto our last team of the round robin recap, we got Team World! This is a very interesting team to look at face value, and a deeper dive into the team reveals interesting facts! Their leading scorer was Bollos de Trueno @Thunder who, as a defenseman, tied for second in tournament wide scoring for the round robin, and was a cornerstone to this teams success in a few games! With 4 other players also in the point per game category, it’s interesting to see that they weren’t a more successful team in the standings. It could be chalked up to a defensive or goaltending woe that couldn’t be solved, or just the level of competition being fielded against them that put them down to this point in the win column. Nevertheless, they still have a chance to win a medal should they find a remedy to the issues they’ve been facing. Time will tell here as well whether or not this happens. With all being said, let’s take a look at how the medal games went! Medal Round: Wildcard: Team USA vs. Team World: Team USA fights Team World in the Wildcard game to determine who moves onto the proper medal competition. It’s very difficult to describe how this game went as for the first two periods, no goals and only two minor penalties against the USA happened. In the third however, David Pastanap scored at 7:37 to put World up 1-0. Team USA put up a good fight, but after an empty net goal with 18 seconds left in the game, World put USA to bed and moved onto the next round of the tournament! Semi-Finals: Team World vs. Team Asia: This may be the most significant game of the tournament with how this showing went down. We had the team who only managed to put up a single goal in almost three periods against Team USA up against the best offensive team in the tournament. This had all the potential to be a fantastic game, and fantastic it was. In the first period on the power play, Samsayz I-Smell put Team World up 1-0. Into the second, Asia tied up the game quickly with an equalizer from Yuki Ishikawa. Only 5 minutes later however, Samsayz I-Smell got their second of the game on yet another power play to put World back on top 2-1. With an absolute hammering of shots from Team World, amounting to 53 across the game, and 19 in the third period alone, Asia couldn’t match the offensive firepower and played most of the game in their own zone, preventing them from tying the game up, and leading to a Team World upset against the top seed! Team Canada vs. Team Europe: After that wild game, surely that’d be the most exciting game of the series right? Well Canada and Europe saw that energy and wanted to match it best they could. In the first period alone, there were a whopping 7 goals scored from both teams combined, a goalie substitution from Canada, all ending with a 4-3 Team Europe lead going into the second. Canada managed to tie the game up with a goal from Nikita Yolishev. With no goals in the third, that meant the game would go to overtime, with the winner moving onto the gold medal game! All chips being on the table, and nearly 100 shots being made in the game from both teams combined, it was a shot from Wayne Shotzky on the power play that sent Canada to the gold medal game! An incredible showing from both teams, this semi-final was exciting start to finish for both games! Now, it’s time for the final two games of the tournament, starting with the bronze medal game! Medal Games: Bronze Medal Game: Team Europe vs. Team Asia: This is a game of pure goaltending, and it was very one sided. Roger Eagles @Greg_Di was absolutely lights out for Team Asia putting up a staggering 53 saves against Team Europe. To start, Team Europe scores on a power play goal 6 seconds into the game. Team Asia then puts up 2 more goals to round out the first period. With a scoreless second period, Boris Bone-Breaker iced the game with a shorthanded goal to put Asia up over Europe. Not letting a goal in for almost an entire game is a remarkable feat, and is very deserving of a medal win for this kind of performance. While this was the only majorly notable thing to happen in this game, we have but one game left to cover. The big one Gold Medal Game: Team World vs. Team Canada: Onto the final game of the tournament, we have the gold medal game! Team World gets off to a hot start in the game, up two goals at the 6 minute mark into the second period with goals from Dwight shcrute and Piston Maicupp. Within a 4 minute timeframe however, Team Canada puts up 3 goals to take the lead over World 3-2 to round out the second period. With an icer from Alexandros Mograine early in the third to put Canada up 4-2, Team Canada pulls off a fantastic run and wins gold in a convincing fashion! I apologize for the delay in getting this article up, I completely ruined my sleep schedule and was unable to write this in a timely manner! Regardless, this was a fantastic WJC and I thoroughly enjoyed watching the games play out, and watching all the players see themselves and their teams compete against the best of the best of the VHLM and E! Thank you to all the readers who got to this point in the article, I’ll make sure to be on top of it for the next tournament! Thank you all for reading!

Co-Hosts: @Royski @Pifferfish @Mysterious_Fish @Spartan https://www.twitch.tv/videos/2215966548

Week ending 7/28/24 Presser! Answer all 6 questions for 2 TPE! 1. The team's standings this season were really bad to put it lightly, what are your thoughts on the team only gathering four wins on the season? 2. Locker room chemistry has faltered a bit over the seasons, what should the team do to bring engagement back to the locker room? 3. Who should the Aces take first overall in this upcoming draft? Or should they trade the pick away perhaps? 4. What was the highlight of the season for the Aces? (There are few to choose from so shouldn't be too difficult) 5. I've been GM in this league for 4, coming up on 5 seasons now, and the league has changed faces many times in that duration. How has the league changed for you in your time since joining? 6. What can the Aces do to be a more appealing team to potential waivers during the season?

yippeeeee! happy birthday vhl!

Here's the word counter and my claim for 2/2 on the media spot as well!

At the Halfway Mark - Maxim Anisimov My current player, Maxim Anisimov, has been the most successful player I've ever made, and by a long shot. He's had by far the most TPA of any player I've made, with my first coming just under 1000, and my second unfortunately being abandoned by myself halfway through his career, so he teetered out around 600. Anisimov has managed over 1100 by this point, and deprecation isn't even gonna hit him until S95's off season. Being at this critical mid point in Anisimov's career, it's important to note all the things that have happened to Anisimov to get him to this point, where he started and where I hope he ends up by the time retirement comes around. Anisimov started in the M as all players do, playing for the team I was AGMing at the time, the Las Vegas Aces in S88. He had an okay first showing in the VHL, didn't do anything crazy or spectacular, only putting up 12 points in 18 games. While respectable, I had much greater aspirations for Anisimov, as almost all people do with their players. In S89, he took off a little bit, splitting time between the team who now drafted him in the Aces, and the Halifax 21st. The Aces were very much outside the contenders list for the Founder's Cup, and being Captain at the time, he wanted the Aces to get value from his being on the team instead of wasting a year of his own career, as well as the Aces time and effort and forcing them to reset entirely. It mattered little however, as the 21st were bounced from the playoffs in 5 games, and as Anisimov was about ready to be drafted to the E and majors, he could kiss a Founder's Cup goodbye! Moving onto the E, Anisimov was picked up by the Stockholm Vikings, who looked to be an on the rise team, and I was personally very excited to play for a team of that caliber! While the team was still a ways off from being a true playoff contender, Anisimov was a goal scoring and true assist machine for them. Racking up 40 assists and almost 30 goals, Anisimov was capable of brining competitiveness to the Vikings, though he couldn't carry the team on his back, and the Vikings missed the playoffs in Anisimov's first and only year in the E. After being picked up by Warsaw in the same draft, after S90, Anisimov was off to the pros. Two leagues down, and next to nothing to show for it. It was a little disheartening, but being with a new pro team, under a steadfast manager and good locker room chemistry, I was looking forward to playing with the Predators from the get. Anisimov got drafted 5th overall in the S90 draft, by far the highest up any of my players have ever gone, so expectations were high for myself to bring a player to the team that could help Warsaw return to playoff contention and give the fans something to cheer for! In my first season with the Predators, I got a real nice slap to the face that my goal was still very far off. While putting up a respectable rookie campaign for the Preds, including 33 assists and 24 goals, Anisimov was a cataclysmic -42 in +/-. We did get some glimpse of greatness however, and Anisimov would put his full weight into the next three seasons to be a more well rounded player on both ends of the ice. S92 swings around, and Anisimov has been putting in effort like no tomorrow. 74 points in 72 games, only a -9 this time around, but again no playoffs. This marks the 5th season of Anisimovs career, but 3rd time the team he's playing for has missed the playoffs entirely. At this point something was needing to change fast, otherwise Anisimov was gonna just be stuck in hockey purgatory. S93 comes around, and this time, this time was gonna be different. Anisimov pulls a crazy season out of his back pocket. 109 points, including 58 assists and 51 goals to be specific. As a player who is advertised to be a strong playmaker, putting up 50 goals yourself on top of 50+ assists is a great showing indeed! The Preds on the backs of this effort as well as the rest of the top forward line were able to make the playoffs for the first time since Anisimov's arrival. It was a flash however, as the Predators were bounced in a mere 3 games. Our most recent season, S94 was going to be more of the same, but prove something to me. In 72 games, Anisimov managed to do another 50 and 50, with 51 goals and 54 assists, nearly matching his last season record he set for best individual seasons a player of mine has had before. with his +/- being well out of the negatives by now, his defensive game has certainly improved from his -42 showing in his rookie year. Despite this consistency, the Preds were bounced in the first round again, only winning one game for their efforts. At least it wasn't a sweep this time! Anisimov is at a junction in his career. I want to stick with the Predators, stick to the program and the plan and try to help get the Predators deep into the playoffs. At the same time, I want Anisimov to succeed, and I want him to be able to have something to show for his effort minus a few Predator records he is on pace for and could possibly win. I'm a loyal man, and I want to see this project through with the Predators, the players and management, and get the a Cup or two, and at this junction in Anisimov's life, he's decided he's gonna play out the rest of his career in Warsaw. The ship will either sink or sail, and he'll be on board manning the cannons and supporting the mast in it's efforts to win the day. I have faith in myself, and in my teammates and management, and I believe that the Predators are only up from here. Let's go Warsaw!

You were a fantastic boss and an amazing writer to work along side of! Best of luck to you in the future man!

Also claiming 2/2 because I almost forgot to claim this week

(graphic maybe pending) VSN Presents: S94 VHLM Playoff Preview Welcome dear readers to yet another edition of VSN, where today we at VSN are going to give you a VHLM playoff preview, predicting the entirety of the playoffs and who your eventual Founder’s Cup Champion will be! Last season was pretty close, and we at VSN have put our full weight and experience into these predictions this season too! Without further ado, let’s take a look at how the VHLM Playoffs will (maybe) go! First Round: Halifax 21st (1st) vs. Philadelphia Reapers (8th) A rematch from last season’s first round, Halifax absolutely exploded as the forerunner and favorite to win the cup early in the season, and when you look at the stats, it’s hard to see why not. Out the gate, they led the league in both goals for and against, scoring 277 and only letting up 127. Having a goal differential of a whopping 150 is a great sign that you have a system that works, and GM @LucyXpher has built an absolute powerhouse in Halifax. When your two centers in Robin Sierra @ethanjaeda & Ty Duke @TheDuke both put up over or almost 100 point seasons each, you have a strong system to build off of offensively for sure! Not to mention the elite two-way defensive play of Dustin Moore @Maxx and the incredible season starting goalie Jon Webber III @Webberj had with them, it’s hard to see how Philadelphia can match the energy and intensity Halifax will bring to the playoffs out the gate. Prediction: Halifax in 4 VSN Vote: 5 Halifax, 3 Philadelphia Mexico City Kings (4th) vs. Houston Bulls (5th) This is likely the closest series to predict when you look at what both of these teams bring to the table. Houston is one of the best goal scoring teams in the league, while Mexico City is the second best defensive team in the league, only behind Halifax in goals against (and not by much!) The story of this series will absolutely be whether rookie goaltender Dustin Wolf @ElementStyx9 can hold back the firepower of Houston, and when you go up against 4 players who scored nearly or well over 30 goals in the regular season, you certainly have your work cut out for you. That’s not to say the defense of Mexico City with the Samsayz I-Smell @CaptainSB leading the way won’t make it a more competitive series however, and VSN predicts that the firepower will be matched by Mexico City’s defense, and Kings overcome the odds and move onto the second round! Prediction: Mexico City in 6 VSN Vote: Mexico City 6, Houston 2 Saskatoon Wild (3rd) vs. Mississauga Hounds (7th) Up next in our playoff preview, we have quite the interesting matchup between Saskatoon and Mississauga. The offense of Saskatoon cannot be overlooked whatsoever in this matchup. Jacob Longstreet @Dynamicmlb_42 alone had an absolutely insane 133 points this season, including 65 goals! Jerry Box @barryst had over an assist per game, with 75 assists on top of his 42 goals in the regular season proving to be a playmaking machine for the Wild. Captain Nugget Jr @Captain nugget was another elite winger, nearly putting up 100 points himself in his second full year of VHLM competition, a whopping 76 point improvement from his last showing! Third year Mich Cederbaum @MicahC also put up 94 points, with 54 assists and 40 goals to show on top of his very physical and well rounded game! The reason this whole segment was spent discussing the individual seasons forwards on the Wild had was that I don’t see a way Mississauga will be able to hold this back. Rostering only a single defenseman and a 104 TPA goalie, unless a defensive miracle occurs or the Hounds offense is able to match the forward core of Saskatoon, this is going to be a quick series in mine and VSN’s opinion. Prediction: Saskatoon in 5 VSN Vote: Saskatoon 5, Mississauga 3 Miami Marauders (2nd) vs. San Diego Marlins (6th) Onto our final matchup of the first round, we have Miami facing off against San Diego. This would be a much closer series than I think a lot of people would give it credit for. While the Marauders are an elite team, with some of the best goal scoring and defensive numbers of the regular season, San Diego is right there to match in almost all of those metrics. While Miami has Tim Robinson @Tim Robinson & Phil Sakic @Phil with their near 100 point seasons, San Diego has Nicholas Sunderbruch Jr @NickSunderbruch with his 86 point season, and the absolute wall that is Spider Panda @Ricer13 in net to match. This is going to be a ridiculously close series, and this playoff matchup just goes to show that as long as you’re not in the bottom two of the league standings (looking at you Las Vegas) and are able to make the playoffs, anybody has the chance to be competitive and a series and potentially a name for themselves in the history books. Despite this, it is VSN’s prediction that Miami gets the edge over San Diego and pulls ahead into the second round! Prediction: Miami in 7 VSN Vote: Miami 5, San Diego 3 Second Round: Onto the second round, you’ll notice that the four remaining teams are all teams who finished in the top 4 of the regular season standings, which means we’re getting the absolute best of the best going into head to head matchups. This will certainly provide some interesting story lines and great entertainment to the fans of these franchises! Let’s take a look at how this will likely go! Halifax 21st (1st) vs. Mexico City Kings (4th) When facing off against a juggernaut like Halifax, you look at the Mexico City Kings and see where they might be able to pull ahead of the 21st in individual metrics. If we were to cover how Halifax had an incredible SEVEN players with over 70 point seasons in the regular season, we’d be here all day, so it’s worth it to note that Dustin Wolf has had a remarkably strong season in his short time with the Kings, and given that he has helped propel Mexico City up to this point past one of the best offensive teams in the league in round one, it’s easy to say that he might be able to do it again. Whether it be fatigue or just an overwhelming amount of shots against, VSN predicts that the wall will unfortunately crumble however, and that Halifax’s sheer firepower will be too great to overcome for the young starter. The 21st will dominate the Kings across the board, and walk away with yet another sweep in the playoffs on their path to the Founder’s Cup Final! Prediction: Halifax in 4 VSN Vote: Halifax 6, Mexico City 1 Miami Marauders (2nd) vs. Saskatoon Wild (3rd) This will be by far the closest series in this round, and with how nearly identical the two teams are in a head to head comparison, it’s incredibly difficult to determine who would pull ahead in this hypothetical matchup. The aforementioned regular seasons the likes of Robinson and Sakic had will definitely contribute to the Marauders goal scoring yet again in this series, while Spider Panda looks to lock down the crease and prevent the Wild’s lethal offense from squeaking on through. With Longstreets remarkable 133 point season, as well as the other 3 forwards mentioned earlier having near or over 100 point seasons, it’s important to note the point scoring difference between the 4th and 5th highest scorer on the team. While Cederbaum put up 94 points, the next highest point total was by a defenseman with only 47 points. This provides evidence that the Saskatoon Wild are a bit of a top heavy team, but by the grace of Austin Goulet III’s @Tuchy performance, this obstacle may be overcome, and the Wild may be on their way to their second Finals appearance in the same amount of seasons! Prediction: Saskatoon in 7 VSN Vote: Saskatoon 5, Miami 2 Founder’s Cup Final Halifax 21st (1st) vs. Saskatoon Wild (3rd) This is the perfect Founder’s Cup Final matchup in my humble opinion, it genuinely can’t get better than this. This is David vs. Goliath, this is the greatest Finals one could ask for. The incredible individual numbers of Saskatoon vs. the utter machine of Halifax. These teams are incredibly even across the board, but there is one little catch that keen eyed readers will have probably picked up by now. Remember how I mentioned in the previous category that Saskatoon is a remarkably top heavy team, and Halifax has 7 players who put up over 70 points in the season? Those points are important because they play a massive role in this series. While there’s no doubt that Longstreet and Box would be able to put up a fair amount of points, the sheer depth and lethality of Halifax cannot be overstated, and because of this, while it will be a close series in the end goal scoring wise, Halifax caps off a perfect playoff run and achieves their dream of bringing home the franchises first ever Founder’s Cup Championship! Prediction: Halifax in 4 VSN Vote: Halifax 5, Saskatoon 1 This has been an incredibly fun article to write, and it helps that it’s been an incredibly fun season so far! Obviously with predictions, everything should be taken with a grain of salt, but with a great amount of research into stats and using our collective experience, we’re confident in these predictions! I’d like to thank our readers for reaching this point in the article! For VSN, this is Marcus Svedberg, signing off! Happy playoffs everybody!

I'll throw my hat into the ring!