McLovin

8 hours ago, Philliefan said:

1. If you were a new draftee, is this the team that you were hoping to join? If not a new draftee, is this the team you were/are hoping to start the season with?

2. Are you excited for the season to start? (hint: yes)

3. With whom are you most excited to play this season?

4. Who's your least favorite player in the league?

5. What brand have you signed with, or are hoping to sign with?

6. What is your personal goal for the season?

7. What is your goal for the team this season?

8. What attribute(s) do you plan to focus on improving?

9. What's your favorite part of the VHL?

10. What brand of stick do you use?

1. I was honestly just hoping to get drafted, but being drafted by the Wolves was amazing. I was welcomed and sent a contract almost immediately so I'm very happy with where I am right now.

2. Is that even a question? This has to be the most exciting time of my hockey career.

3. The Reapers mostly cause they're poised to be a legitimate threat and I want to go back to them for at least one more season to help them win a cup. Everyone there deserves a chance at it considering what some of them have gone through to get to where they are.

4. I honestly have not even thought about who I dislike the most from other teams in the league cause I've been so focused on my own.

5. I have not signed with a brand yet, but I am keeping my options open and waiting for the right one to pop up.

6. Prove I belong in the VHL, and that the people who took a chance on me made the right decision

7. That's the easiest question I've ever been asked. Win a cup, obviously

8. My defense for sure. Something I've struggled with since my time playing U8.

9. The community interaction. There's never a dull moment in the league and everyone is supportive of each other. I love the atmosphere here.

10. CCM, the best brand.

Ben Hafkey

LW

5'9'', 172lbs

Philadelphia Reapers

Vancouver Wolves

Rags to Riches

Early life:

Ben Hafkey, nicknamed "McLovin" was born on March 22, 2000 in Denver, Colorado and has been surrounded by hockey his entire life. His father was a die hard hockey fan, constantly taking Ben to games and teaching him how to play with the moral support of his mother. Growing up in a below average income household, his family struggled to find ways to let their son play the game he loves. At age 4, his father managed to get Hafkey playing with a team, first lacing up his skates playing for his local Skate City U8 program. Immediately he started turning heads with his explosive skating and heads up offensive awareness. By age 6, his father had received an offer from a local U12 team that wanted to recruit Hafkey into playing for an actual touring team. Reluctant at first, his mother and father agreed and Hafkey begun touring Colorado with teammates almost double his age. His speed and skill immediately transferred over and he began tearing up the league with consistent multi point games and a surprising amount of hockey IQ 

Hafkey playing in his U12 inline hockey league

As the season went on, he began to show an interest in goaltending and laced up the pads at age 8 for the first time, stopping 12 out of 13 shots for a 3-1 win. Enjoying the position, he continued to play goalie until his team requested he swap back to skater for a game. He then began to swap back and forth between skater and goalie depending on what his team needed from him, proving to be an incredibly flexible asset for his team as they went on to win two state championships, one as a goalie and one as a skater, as well as a silver medal at the U12 league "All-Star Goalie Competition." As life went on, an 11 year old Hafkey decided that touring was too tiring and he wanted to stay closer to home, resuming play with his local Skate City program, now playing in their own U12 league. Continuing the style of play he had before, his size provided many advantages to his style of play, practically skating circles around his opponents who couldn't keep up, and using a surprising amount of strength to roof shots top cheddar and send hard passes to his teammates. This continued until he graduated middle school and began looking for competition and skill closer to his own.

High School & College:

At the age of 14, he was ready to step up his game and began playing for his expensive high school program, the "Heritage Eagles." Initially struggling to adapt to a higher pace and more physical game, Hafkey had doubts that he could succeed considering he was generally smaller and less physical, meaning he was getting laid out more often and getting injured more frequently, but with more motivation from his mother and practice, he learned that he could use his size to his advantage, burning past and around defenders with speed and using his awareness to create plays for his larger teammates. In his final season with the Eagles, Hafkey put up a franchise best 19 goals and 34 assists for 53 points in 29 games. Because of this stellar performance and him entering his senior year at his high school team, Hafkey was offered a once in a lifetime opportunity. The US Developmental Team had scouted a few of his games and figured with his skill, he could provide a serious offensive punch to the team. Hafkey, of course, took the offer and graduated from Heritage on top, potting 10 points in 6 games and winning the national championship with them in his final year.

Hafkey skating with the US Development Team for the first time.

Between post-graduation life and playing for the U20 US National Team, Hafkey turned on the jets in production, putting up 17 goals and 27 assists for 44 points for the US National Team in just 26 games. Going on to play in the World U20 Championship, Hafkey continued high scoring production, providing his team with 3 goals and 4 assists for 7 points in 7 games, tying 9th place in the tournament in scoring. In the gold medal game, Hafkey scored a goal, but his team unfortunately lost to Finland 3-2. With his National Team season coming to a close, he could now focus on getting a scholarship to play for a University, eventually getting an offer from a local school, the Colorado College Tigers. Playing a season and a half with them, he continued to perfect his game, providing elite offense on a struggling team and became a legitimate prospect of the VHL draft. As the season for Colorado College came to an abrupt end, missing the playoffs and providing Hafkey with a lot of free time, he started to show interest in signing a late season contract in the VHLM and began meeting with GM's of the league.

The VHL:

In early 2019, shortly after graduating from Colorado College, he was offered a VHLM contract by the Philadelphia Reapers, and played 22 games with them in his first year, putting up 6 goals and 5 assists for 11 points. Hopeful for a full season with the Reapers before a VHL team acquired him, he was drafted 37th overall by the team who originally signed him in free agency, the Reapers, and had his professional rights drafted by the Vancouver Wolves. Being offered a 3 year contract with the Wolves, Hafkey was finally able to return the favor to his parents who sacrificed so much to let him play the game he loved. He was able to buy them a nice house in Philly with season tickets to Reapers games. Feeling blessed and lucky by the path bestowed upon him, he felt it was only right to prove all of his doubters wrong by playing the best hockey he can and showing everybody that he belongs where he is.

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i'm in, gimme the tpe b0ss

7 hours ago, Beaviss said:

@TheFlash @ItsMcLovin @Rent A McZ

 

Don't forget to get your free +10 Uncapped TPE!

ye i got mine on saturday  

+2

+4

+10 Ben Hafkey

+10

9 hours ago, BladeMaiden said:

1-Did the draft go as you expected it to?

2-Most exciting part of the draft for you personally?

3-Who do you think will be our greatest competition?

4-Team that you think will struggle to win games and why.

5-Were you surprised with Philly's picks?

6-Who would you have chosen 1st OA?

1. I was definitely surprised by it, by the selections other teams made to my very own, it was all very interesting to say the least.

2. Being picked at 37th when I wasn't projected to go in the top 50 earlier in the mocks was probably the most exciting part of my draft day.

3. Saskatoon made some really nice picks in the draft and feel as the Reapers grow and become better, they will follow a similar path making rivalries and entertaining games moving forward.

4. Following the topic of the draft, I felt Yukon had a rather disappointing draft and feel they might struggle without more help through free agency or trades.

5. Like I said earlier, moving up to 37th from a late 60th-70th overall projection definitely surprised me. I wasn't surprised that we drafted well though, we have good management to thank for that.

6. With the amount of skill in the top 5, any of the players would've been a good pick, but personally I feel with John Frostbeard's performance last season, he definitely deserved his selection at first. 

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+4

On 4/21/2019 at 9:27 PM, BladeMaiden said:

1-If you got stuck in the elevator and was forced to listen to only one song, which would it be?

3-What is the best advice anyone has ever given you?

4-If you could live anywhere, where would it be?

5-How do you treat people who annoy you for no reason?

6-What does your name mean?

11-Where do you think you are going in the draft (round and team)

1. Big Ships - E-Dubble

3. Nobody knows you like you know you.

4. Stockholm, Sweden or Toronto, Ontario

5. Typically I just flame them back till they stop or we end up laughing it off

6. McLovin was a nickname I was given in my freshman year of high school by my JV hockey team.

11. I believe I'm projected to go in the third round, but hopefully I'm going back to Philly. 

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+4

Part I - Pick em' (Pick the correct winners of all three games for 2 TPE)

Game 3 - Toronto Legion @ Helsinki Titans 

Game 4 -Toronto Legion @ Helsinki Titans 

Game 5 - Helsinki Titans @ Toronto Legion

Part II - Predict the Score (Predict the correct score and winner of this game for 3 TPE)

Game 5 - Toronto Legion @ Helsinki Titans 5-3

Part III - Player Predictions (Predict the correct player for each category, 1 TPE for each correct answer)

Series leader in points: Borwinn
Series leader in goals: Arroyo

Series leader in assists: Borwinn

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+2

On 4/9/2019 at 11:25 PM, BladeMaiden said:

1- If you could ask your Gm any Question what would you ask Her?

2- The VHL Draft is just around the corner where are you hoping to go?

3- Are you coming back to the VHLM to play a victory lap? Why or Why not?

4- You are Hungry after a Game where are you going? What did you Order?

5- All the tape is gone from your hockey bag and it has been replaced by neon pink, green and Orange tape (your Fav GM just played a tick on you )do you use it or go without? What would do to retaliate?

6- a.) VHLM team you would like to see lose the cup and why.   OR

    b.)VHLM team you would like to see win the cup and why.

1. What was the inspiration behind the shower rooms?

2. Philadelphia, obviously.

3. Absolutely, the Reapers have just begun to scratch the surface of their potential and to be a part of this team's success is a goal of mine for the foreseeable future.

4. I'm grabbing some McDonald's cause I'm basic that way. Something off the dollar menu most likely cause I spent most of my contract money on neon pink tape.

5. I'm rocking neon pink all day, absolutely. As for retaliation, I'm using the neon pink tape I have left to tape her office. Computer, desk, door, everything is getting a dash of pink.

6b. I want to see the Reapers win the Cup because we deserve it. From worst to first is an incredible step to take and we'd stun the hockey world with a Cup win after our unfortunate season this year.

Ben Hafkey

Forward

Points

Hits

I'll take my free 13 TPE yee boi

Ben Hafkey Rookie Profile:

Ben Hafkey, born in Denver, Colorado came out of the USA National Development Program as a scoring winger looking to prove himself in the VHL. The 19 year old signed with Philadelphia almost immediately after coming out of the program and is looking to become a crucial piece of @BladeMaiden's future cup runs.

STRENGTHS:

SPEED:

As a scoring winger, Hafkey has worked on his speed quite a bit to make up for his lack in size to evade and maneuver around his opponents and create open space for him or his teammates to use. At 5'9'', he is great at putting his head down and carving up ice to get a nice play going.

SHOT:

Naturally you would hope that for being a "scoring winger," Hafkey would have a decent shot, and that he does. He is almost able to score at will, whether it be unloading a one timer from near the hash marks or blue line, cutting close and beating the goalie and defense with a split second wrister, or shooting from a difficult angle, Hafkey makes the shot count and is definitely one of the strongest aspects of his game.

SCORING:

His natural offensive awareness to recognize plays and create chances is most likely the best part of his skill set. He will see holes in the defense and send a pretty pass through the legs of the defender, bank a pass up or around the boards to an open teammate or fire a shot for a rebound. He is dangerous with the puck on his stick in the offensive zone, and will always have a trick up his sleeve for an unprepared defender.

WEAKNESSES:

SIZE:

Standing at only 5'9'' 172 lbs, Hafkey's physicality and body presence on the ice is below average to put it simply. When it comes to checking one of the larger this league has to offer, he will in most cases lose that battle and be forced to use his agility to get himself out of sticky situations, which can land you flat on your back in some cases. Obviously as a scoring winger, don't expect many physical plays like heavy hits or board plays to come often due to his size.

DEFENSE:

He sacrificed smart play in the defensive zone for smart play in the offensive zone, so he will occasionally make a bad play in his zone that can result in a turnover, goal against or really anything else. That mixed with a smaller size makes it easy for him to get caught with his head down defensively and get leveled, giving up a potential odd man break or scoring chance later on. This is definitely a category he'll need to work on to become more of a two-way forward.

PUCK HANDLING:

Hafkey will find himself losing the puck on a play a little too nifty for him to make, causing turnovers and embarrassing plays. This seems to be one of the key factors he is improving on, however, so that his game can be completely offensively based. So time will tell how long it'll take him to learn to make the smart, simple, and pretty play all the time.

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On 4/4/2019 at 10:39 PM, Renomitsu said:

New set of questions for you guys!

 

1) The Reapers are eliminated from the playoffs and are almost guaranteed the top spot in the draft (answer one of the two):

1a) (If you were drafted by Philadelphia) Who do you think your team should target in the Dispersal Draft and why?

1b) (If you were picked up as a brand-new player) Where do you see yourself going in the S66 VHLM Dispersal Draft? Where would you enjoy going most if you couldn't be drafted by @BladeMaiden?

 

2) The Malmö Nighthawks are joining the major league next season. How interested are you in joining them?

 

3) What player(s) outside your current team are you following in the VHLM right now? Why?

 

4) MORPHEUS DESTRUCTIOUS @Abaddon is literally 50 years old and 6'8". What's the weirdest thing he's done in the locker room?

 

5) Philly has a ton of picks in the next two Dispersal Drafts. Realistically, how far do the Reapers go in S66 and S67?

 

6) Let's say 4 seasons from now you're a bona-fide VHL star at your position. How important (on a scale from 1-10 each) are: team loyalty, ice time, contract (i.e. $$$/season), and contender status?

1b. I have absolutely loved my time in Philadelphia, but if I was not to be drafted back, going to a contender with players who are experienced in the league who are willing to give me advice on how to be the best player I could possibly be for them would be ideal, but honestly I've got my fingers crossed I'll be a career Reaper.

2. I'm excited to see this new team enter the league, they have a lot of potential and I can see them putting on a big show to kick things off.

3. I've been interested in Shane Mars of Minnesota, and HHH of Yukon. Mostly because of their incredible scoring ability, I want to do the same for Philly and I've been modeling a lot of my game after them.

4. Ever hear of "sunny's delightful shower?" What happens in the shower room stays in the shower room.

5. Extremely far. This team has incredible potential and I easily see us becoming a contender in the next season or two. Easily.

6. a. 9

b. 6

c. 7

d. 7

It's safe to say that if I end up getting to that position, the money and status won't matter, it's what I can do for the team that needs me to be there, whether it be to lead or score, I'm dedicated to making my team better in any way I can.

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