MetalToday

The conference finals are still ongoing between Chicago and D.C., and it is a close series. The period started with Nano getting Chicago up by 1, but 7 minutes later, Lavelle got one back for the Dragons. Second period saw nothing, no production whatsoever. The third period saw another early goal by Chicago’s Lavelle but answered by D.C. Juice Box with less than 3 minutes left in the period. Overtime saw nearly a full period of playing, but Bond of the Dragons got the goals with only 6 seconds left in that first overtime period. 2-3 Dragons win.

1. How is your player doing so far in the playoffs?

 

He did good, but mad we lost in 4

 

2. Who (or which team) has been most surprising so far in the playoffs?

 

Moscow for that upset

 

3. We are currently down 0-2 and getting embarrassed by Moscow, largely due to superb defense and goaltending by the Menace. What can we do to turn things around now that we lost 2 home games?

 

We had to score more

 

4. Assume you are entering your final year of VHL as a free agent, which team would you choose to sign for to finish your career?

 

Warsaw, I love it here

 

5. What are your thoughts on the North American conference, where the top 2 seats are oust in the first round?

 

They suck, Moscow is sadly looking good

 

6. What are your thoughts of the early NHL season?

 

Its good Toronto is doing decent so cant complain

 

     The First round for Warsaw was great, there was no need for them to go over 5 games, meaning they took the series with a 4-1 win. Through those 5 games, we saw Brendan Marner lead the team with 5 goals and followed up with Zach Kisslingers 4 goals. The team had good production with their depth, with everyone having at least 2 points, and 6 players with 5 or more points. This is good production between the 5 games the team has played. If you didn’t get that, this means there is 6 players on Warsaw at a point a game or better. Warsaws contender in the first round was H.C. Dynamo and comparing the 2 teams scoring says it all. Dynamo could not score, the team lost from the lack of scoring depth in general. Dynamo only has one player with a point per game, and that same player is also the leading goal scorer for the team through that series. This offensive play was not nearly enough to be Warsaw, and the defensive play was also quite horrendous. The goaltending was good for Dymano, as one might expect from Xavier Booberry, but he wasn’t the best goaltender playing. Warsaw has Wumbo who played like a franchise goaltender, yes, he won 4 games, only losing 1, but Wumbo obliterated Booberrys save percentage of .911. Wumbo got a save percentage of .948 save percentage himself, a crazy number never seen in 5 games. Looking at Warsaws first series, there was nowhere that they underperformed in, they seemed to be dominant in the offensive, defensive, and goaltending categories, and if they want a second cup win, they must stay this course.

               

     The next team Warsaw will see is the Moscow Menace, a rematch on the European finals of last year. Moscow is not the same team they were last year, obviously we saw a drop in production for the Menace, but they came for blood with a big win against London United. Looking at Moscows team it looks to be very similar to Warsaw when it comes to production. With 8 players on Moscow with a point a game or more, the team, you could say, is better offensively than Warsaw. The veteran in net for Moscow in Papa Emeritus is also looking like a gem in these playoffs, with .927 save percentage. This matchup between Warsaw and Moscow will be very interesting as the matchup is very close and the teams might get physical as the games will be close and emotional. Moscow will likely have the edge in scoring and Warsaw in the defensive/goaltending stats, but in all honesty, these could be reversed, but as of now, the teams playoffs are looking like they are going this way.

 

     So, the next question is, who will win this bout? Warsaw looked solid all season, and only continued to improve in the playoffs. Moscow underperformed in the season slightly, but really picked it up in the playoffs, which could surprise Warsaw this series. However, it would be simply wrong to go against the dominant Warsaw team, so Warsaw I’ll win this in 7 game.

10 minutes ago, Enorama said:

 

You sure about that?

LOL Im not sure

Its about time this ended, the rest of the league is ready for the next round! It started with the Wolves getting a goal by Bouchard quick in the first, and later answered by Nezuko. This Dragons goal turned into 2 in a matter of no time by again Nezuko. This worried the Wolves, and once the third period rolled around, the faith was sealed. Lavelle scored quickly for the Dragons, then later answers by Puk of the wolves, but this 3-2 game would inevitably end by an empty net goal by Kitson of the Dragons. Dragons win 4-2 in game 7.

1. Playoffs is about to begin for us, how do you feel about our first round match up?

 

I feel good we bend them over bud  

 

2. How did your player do in the regular season?

 

Amazing, a really comeback year for me

 

3. We didn't meet either of my expectations (everyone 20+ goals / 7 ppg players). Did I set expectations too high or did we slowed down near the end of season?

 

No I think they were both really close, but we played amazing

 

4. What are your player's playoffs expectations?

 

Cup win Warsaw

 

5. Who will be our most difficult playoffs opponent?

 

LOL DIFFICULT? We are too good, literally gonna plow every team up until we plow the cup.

 

6. Who will be our playoffs MVP?

 

Only one other response with Wumbo? are you kidding me? he's basically averaging a .950! Definately MVP

With the first round done, we are seeing an interesting second round match up. With Chicago playing against the Dragons, the match could go anywhere. After Chicago took out the favorite in North America in Calgary, you might be inclined to think they will be the victors to come on top, but I think you might be too focused on one series win. The Dragons have a few notable players in Ronan Lavelle, Ryan Vidot, and Tui Sova. These players have been some of the better players in the playoffs so far, but who does Chicago have? Well, they have two of the point leaders in the playoffs in Alessandro Nano, and The Board Game Clue On Skates. Bo Johahsson is also a notable player to watch this series, and Cole Pearce, a goalie not to forget about. Between the 2 teams, who wins in my opinion? Well, it seems to me that the Dragons have the scoring depth, where as Chicago have a few great players. Goaltending would also be close, but I would edge towards Pearce, so I would Chicago in this category. Overall, it will be a close matchup, but I might need to edge this toward Chicago.

Warsaw had a crazy season, with more players having comeback/breakout seasons, this is an amazing outcome. Well, who is the MVP of the team? That’s hard to say, but it would likely be between 2 players, Kisslinger, and Wumbo. That Wumbo is one of the underrated consistent goalies since he’s entered the league, and with a better save percentage, and 6 more wins, it has been a nice and steady increase season after season. Kisslinger has been very good for a while, but having a real comeback season this season, and always hitting heavily. Sock Money has been amazing in the M and E, but in this season, he had 53 points, which is nothing to laugh at, not a point per game, but 5^th on the rookie scorers. Brian Payne had 88 points in the season, first time this defence had over a point a game yet, but more will come we know. Travish Degroot has had a steady increase since entering the league, with 68 points, and a good hit number with 227. He has had some trouble in the league since his start, but he’s putting up much more respectable numbers now. Johnny Xavier had a terrible season with London, but after coming to Warsaw, he had more than quadrupled his numbers from 12 points last season to 55 points this season, huge improvement! There wasn’t anyone on Warsaw who had a terrible season, but average, above average, to an amazing seasons for each player in Warsaw.

10/2

10/16

1. The end of regular season is in sight and I had a look at our team finances, cupboard, and draft picks... when does a team need to start worrying about salary cap problems moving forward?

 

After we win the cup, its a then issue.

 

2. Looking at our roster stats, is it more likely to see every skater score 20+ goals or 7 skaters get point per game at season end?

 

I think 7 players reaching ppg is more likely, 20 goals from every player is a lot to ask for lol.

 

3. Having locked up top seat for the playoffs, which team do you wish to see us play first in round one of the playoffs?

 

A loser team, thats all I need to think about

 

4. What has been most surprising so far this season?

 

how many players did so good on our team, its really crazy.

 

5. NHL regular season is just around the corner, which team gets your vote to end the season with the P?

 

The presidents trophy could go with the Leafs (their season performance gets underrated by the playoff performance), or Canes (Rangers might be very close), maybe even the Wild(good little underrated team IMO). Its hard to say though. 

 

6. Which NHL team is your favourite team and why do you cheer for them?

 

Leafs, I grew up cheering for them, so I cheer for them.

 

I will be the lowest key player you will ever see. 

 

Warsaw Predators Press Conference 

Week Ending Sunday, October 10th, 2022

Answer 3 for 1 TPE, all 6 for 2 TPE

 

With our 14-point lead in first, do you plan to keep pushing, or let your body rest a little for the playoffs?

 

Did you expect to be where we are now at the beginning of the season?

 

What does your player do in the intermissions? (Between periods)

 

Are you excited for the start of the NHL regular season for most teams on Tuesday? Any hot takes you want to talk about?

 

The Canadian Thanksgiving is upon us, do you have any plans for this Thanksgiving weekend? If you’re not Canadian, when is your equivalent to thanksgiving and are you planning anything big?

 

What’s your favorite part of Thanksgiving?

 

 

Hey, have you seen the standings recently? Well Warsaw is the top team in the league, although that wouldn’t be surprising to most, they also are 11 points ahead of the next place team. Yeah, they have taken this position away from any team that inspired to take the victory cup this season. Warsaw has a beast like team, they will be the favorites going into the playoffs, as the team will look for their 2^nd continental cup. With the team playing so well, players like Brendan Marner and Zach Kisslinger have taken over the top of the leaderboard with 87 and 85 points respectively. Kissligners second half of the season brought him a crazy number of points and even getting the first place for most point this season, but his linemate Marner came back from his own crazy start of the season to go ahead of Kisslinger. These top positions are not 1 and 2 however, they have been taken by Daniel Janser to be in positions 2 and 3. They need just to push a little harder, and maybe they can tie above all other competition, wouldn’t that be cool.

1. It's been an amazing week of hockey! What changed that gave us this good week as a team and for individual personnel?

 

good management I'd say.

 

2. Apart from winning the Continental Cup again, what is one thing you hope the team or your player could do this season?

 

I want the Victory cup this season dude

 

3. Trade deadline is coming up. Should or do we need to do anything?

 

We are in a good place, don't ruin that boi

 

4. It is unreal how well our team's individual players are playing, how many of our players could reach ppg at season's end?

 

I think at least 6 players will most definately get a point a game!

 

5. What are your thoughts on the NHL preseason so far?

 

I goddamn thought it ended tomorrow, I'm kinda mad I need to wait another week for the season to start.

 

6. If injuries is a setting that could be turned on, who is most likely to end the season without being injured?

 

that Brendan Marner is a tough cookie

 

12 minutes ago, Enorama said:

 

name n' shame?

 

I would never do such thing... but I heard that DC Dragons GM has had some trouble as GM, the other GMs seem to be profiting off his lack of knowledge of this league... That's all I'll say

Alright, I made a nice juicy point task last week that would give me 3 weeks without making another, I finally donated this season collecting doubles, uncapped, and 1 million dollars, and now there is a theme week? Well, I guess this is perfect for collecting a crazy amount of TPE in a short period of time. Anyways, lets stop my rambling, who is a good GM? Honestly, I don’t know, I’ve only had Dlamb as a GM for the past while, and he seems pretty good with trades, negotiations, and locker room chatting. I had VHLE and VHLM GMs, but I have only played under them for a season, so I don’t want to speak too much on that lack of experience there. I have also experienced GM’s back when I was on this forum in 2019, but honestly, I stopped updating when the team I joined did not have a discord chat. Since it has been so long since that time in the league, I also don’t want to talk biases about that, so what do I do? Rather than talk up Dlambs ego, lets go talk about what makes a good GM.

 

1.       Talkative

I think one of the best qualities that GM needs to have been a talkative and friendly personality. Being friendly and talkative really helps new players on a team and in the league feel welcome, and those words can travel though the ears in the league and give the GM and the team a more welcoming reputation. Poor communication for a team will make a player believe the team is dead and lose interest in the league.

 

2.       Helpfulness

Having a helpful GM is very important, a GM encouraging new players to explore the forum, and understand the possible tasks. It took me a long time to understand most of the point tasks, where they can find them, and just how many there are. GMs are even more important in the VHLM as that is where a lot of first gen players start and end their VHL career, so keeping helpful and talkative GMs in the minors is very important.

 

3.       Good at negotiating

Now on the negotiation side of things, you need to be good at negotiating top players to join your team, offering money for the player, and pitch them your way. Trade negotiations are important too, it seems like some of the GMs don’t know enough about the league to be in the position they are in, and they actively make their teams worse. Understanding the league better and negotiating more is extremely important in this league.

 

4.       External chat

This is the one curve ball I wanted to include, when I started in the VHL in 2019 there was discord for most of the teams I played for, I think it was only when I joined the VHL team from the draft is where the GM told me the commissioners wanted the league chat to be the “discord”. Well as someone who was not religiously on this site, I inevitably forgot about it. Without the reminders I got from discord, and a live chat, I really did forget this league existed. Eventually I joined back to where I am now, so I remembered, but it took some time. These external chats are important, please do not give it up.

 

 

I think that is really everything that makes a good GM, I could probably think of more, but generic ideas should be enough for is theme week, but anyways, this is the best article to read if your becoming a GM, so read it.

Transaction ID: 6P224564D0879044L

 

5 uncapped

Doubles

1 mill

 

Its coming down to the wire in the VHL, and Warsaw has been moving further and further into the first-place position. From the start of last season people have been underrating Warsaws talent, even people believing Warsaw would miss the playoffs. Obviously, that was not true whatsoever, instead Warsaw won the cup, and even with that ring, people still ranked them in the middle of the pact for this season. Now that Warsaw is solidifying themselves in that first-place position, the team might be seen as the favorite to with the continental cup once more, but the playoffs is full of surprises. Even while Warsaw was high in the standings last season, the team was not the favorites, they were showing below Seattle and Moscow as 2 teams off the top of my head, but the favourites lost. Warsaw being a favourite this playoffs would be suited, the team is amazing, don’t keep underrating the team.   

Claim:

 

9/25

10/2

10/9

Intro

 

Yes, this is a little bit late, but I still want to talk about my Fantasy picks and why I picked who I picked. Since we are already halfway through the season, I will also provide some of the fantasy scoring numbers for each player, what they are doing well this season, and what they might need to improve on. So, I will go in the order of my picks:

 

 

1.       D – Hard Markinson

 

Well Nico Pearce went first overall, so who else could I pick other than Hard Markinson? The top defenseman for last year with a crazy 253 hits, 116 shots blocked, and 106 points as a defense! Being on a top team in Moscow yet again, why wouldn’t I have expected another good year?

 

Well now that we are half a season into the season, it is good to look at what Markinson has done, and well, he hasn’t been as amazing as last season. He is scoring heavily, but he is only on track for about 90 points which is quite lower than the previous season. 90 points is good, but 2^nd overall you’d hope he could snag a few more points. Although the scoring is down a little, the hitting for Markison and shot blocking ability is just where it was last season, which is good for the passive daily points. Right now, Markinson has 140.5 points put onto my team, making him the 2^nd best player in my group, only to have Pearce collecting more points than him.

 

 

2.       F – Vinny Detroit

 

Vinny Detroit is a gritty phenom that plays for a good team in HC Davos. Detroit had a good showing last season with 373 hits, and 82 points making him have a gritty scorer play style, and being a S80 draftee, the likeliness of the player getting better improves greatly.

 

Detroit has played only one season for Davos, and had a career year, being on this team for his second year, Detroit was believed to take off with his career. The quite opposite of a career year, right now Detroit has 163 hits which is great, but he is on track to collect about 50 less hits than last season, as well he has only collected 26 points in his 35 games, that’s a big regression from the 82 points in 72 games last year. I wouldn’t be surprised if Detroit comes alive by the end of the season, but it’s looking a little grim right now. Detroit currently has 99.9 fantasy points, so nothing terrible, but I did expect more production in all honesty.

 

 

3.       F – Matty Fire

 

Matty Fire is a Toronto player that just had a breakout season, and he was looking strong offensively and defensively. He collected over a point a game last season and complemented that with a strong 230 hits, and 32 shots blocked. With the season he had and a rising Legion team that would need some of his top scoring, the belief was there and as a 3^rd round pick, this would possibly be a steal.

 

After playing 34 games, Matty Fire is looking alright, he is currently not at the point a game he was last season, but he is keeping up with his 121 hits and 18 shots blocked. To even get to the season he had last season he would need some more points, but the defensive stats are there, so if he can avoid that sacrifice, than that could give him a better year. We know Fire is better than the 92.1 fantasy league points he put up, but we will need to see how the rest of his season goes for further judgement.

 

 

4.       D – Poopy Peepants

 

Ahh yes, Poooopy Ppeepants has a name for the ages, but his game is something for the fantasy winners. Peepants has good shot blocking ability, and isn’t afraid to throw his body around here and there, but his point totals have been increasing ever since entering the VHL. There was only one season Peepants wouldn’t at least collect the numbers he did the previous year, but he was still only 4 points off. For this increase, I thought it would be appropriate to pick him later, and possibly steal him.

 

Poopy Peepants has had an underwhelming season to say the least. Peepants has lost his point a game record and is trailing with 23 points in 35 games right now. He moved to New York which might be a part of the cause for his failure, but it seems like a bad move if he wanted the season he did with DC. Peepants has been hitting and blocking shots like he used to, maybe minorly regressing on that front, but all in all he was a 4^th round pick, you can’t expect him to be Pearce. Peepants has a low fantasy rating of 84.2, making him the lowest performing player on my team unfortunately, or fortunately as we are only on pick number 4.

 

 

5.       F – Brendan Marner

 

Aww yes, you know I was going to pick myself as some point. Well Brendan Marner hasn’t had the best couple of years on Warsaw, only really having a notable season in his rookie season. Brendan Marner has had a history of giving a lot of hits, but like his point totals, that seemed to be regressing as well. Marner was still looking good for the passive defensive points he could provide, but this pick was a big risk, especially as he has had poor seasons on the Warsaw team, and he seems to refuse to leave.

 

Well, how has Brendan Marner done this season? Well, he is currently on the top 10 for most points, and he was on the top 10 for most goals at one point as well, before losing that after a small scoring drought. Marner has also come back with heavy hits and strengthening on his shots blocked. Marner is looking good for Warsaw, and if he can continue this streak, he might be the biggest steal of the draft. In fact, this 5^th round pick has given me the second most fantasy league points on my team, only to have Markison in front. Marner has 115.3 fantasy points making me excited to see how the rest of his season goes.

 

 

6.       G – Wumbo

 

Last but certainly not least we have Wumbo. There was so many good goalies, so I thought I would wait till the end to see who was available, but it turned out the GOAT goalies where taken, so I really had to look for- lol that’s a lie, I saw this young Champions name and I had to have him, Warsaw has a good team, they were not going to miss the playoffs, and the goalie has had a really good track record with save percentage going up season after season, and goals against average at a good value as well. For some reason Wumbo seems to be the underrated goaling in the VHL, but that would be everyone else’s lose, and only my gain.

 

What has he done this season? Well, Wumbo has 19 wins and 10 loses, and is on track to have the exact same stats as last season, except he has an even better save percentage. The idea that goaltenders would either be underrated or drop to the end ended up being very true, and an elite goaltender ended up being picked with the second last pick. His fantasy points is quite high at 105.8 making him, the 6^th round pick, be my 3^rd highest player on the team. Wow I feel I had a good deep draft from this.

 

 

Ranks

 

My group in group 6 has some pretty good teams with Sadie’s team at the number one spot with 663.3 fantasy points, than I am second with 637.8 fantasy points. As we hit the number 3 spot, this is where things go from tight, to very tight. Qripll has collected 609.5 points to take hold that number 3 spot, DQ (I love their ice cream) is 4^th with 598.9 fantasy points   …   before you go crazy calling me stupid its xNJDevilsFanx (DQ) he got DQed but continued the picking, this gives only half of the TPE reward   …   , and the group GM Acydburn is in spot number 5 with 586.7. Last, we have Ben Mclaughlin in the last spot with 547.9 fantasy league points. The gap isn’t crazy far between most of these teams, and we very well might see some upsets by the seasons end.

 

 

Conclusion

 

In the end my team is second in my group with some very close competition, so if my underperformers can come back and reperform, then this could be the best team created in my group pushing me hopefully to number 1. But I guess that is what everyone wants. What did you think of my picks? Obviously I didn’t have access to half of the season like we do now, but is there anyone you would have tried to pick instead? And what are your fantasy teams looking like?

 

1. We are leading our conference and tied point-wise for 1st in the league. How is your player doing according to preseason expectations?

 

I really wasn't sure we would be this high this season, I don't think we lost any real key players, but this is a really good start

 

2. Almost everyone on the team have 20+ points, who has been the most surprising for the team so far?

 

I don't wanna say it, but for me its Brendan Marner, I knew he would have a break out year soon, but right now he is competing for most total points, this is actually better than I thought I'd do

 

3. Who has been most disappointing for the team so far?

 

I cant put my finger on one, the team is playing amazing, only one player below that 20 point mark, and he is the rookie at 19 point, like WHAT. Wumbo having another amazing year too. 

 

4. What is one thing we could do to improve our team?

 

I think filling the spots to have 2 lines of defense would be ideal

 

5. When we're playing at home, do you eat dinner out or at home with family?

 

I eat out, its faster, and I have more time to prepare for the game. I ain't have time to make shit yo.

 

6. Does your player have their own family? If so, describe their immediate family.

 

Nope, Brendan Marner is a PARTY ANIMAL, drinks, drugs, and lots of B!tches bro

 

Jesus, how long has it been since I wrote something for this league, it feels like I miss 2 months of points tasks for this league, but of course that is not true, I would NEVER miss a point task. Anyways I am here, and I can do a nice little recap of what we saw in Warsaw this past week. We saw a Bobcat! In other news, Moscow took the first overall spot in the European division today, they are looking good, but they have an extra game played over Warsaw, meaning Warsaw might take the number 1 spot again. What else happened? Well, my hockey fantasy league drafted this past week, and let me tell ya, my teams looking mean! And yeah, when I say mean, I mean THEY WILL HURT YOU. Yeah, my league values hits and blocked shots high, and I am banking on these heavy hitters to murder, well at least hit those other kids. Where was I going with this mess? I don’t know, figure it out yourself.

We are 21 games in, and Warsaw is at the top of the leader board, this was expected by most fans, but what they didn’t expect was the quality scoring seen on the team this year. Unlike last year, there is multiple players on Warsaw that have collected more points than games played. This Warsaw team is getting further into their prime, and it shows with how they are playing. Warsaw is more confident and the top players in Brendan Marner, Zach Kisslinger, and Hari Singh Nalwa are nasty. Brendan Marner was a force in his rookie season, only to be a below average, overrated player for the next 2 seasons saw him take a major regression. This would cause people to forget about Marner, but now, he is their best goal scorer this season, and collecting the most points on the team with that. Kisslinger is a player most people expected would do well after last season totals, and his playoff numbers, Kisslinger was not going to be seen as an overrated player, and it shows as he is sometimes seen as the star of the franchise. Nalwa is that defense the team has that just gets wayyy too many points, yeah, ok there Roman Josi calm down, give the rest of us some points. All jokes, but yeah, this defense could be a forward and would get much better results if he did so, but as the defense that can play good offense, he is possibly the best player on Warsaw right now. I find defense often get underrated, but I don’t know, maybe that just me. Anyways, hopefully Warsaw continues this streak so I can report on this again in the future! GO WARSAW!

9/18

1. How did we fare after a first week of hockey in S85?

 

Really good! we seem better than last! we have a real shot at getting the cup again!

 

2. It's Pizza Day, what kind of pizza is your player getting?

 

Bacon is a MUST, other than that, cheese in the crust is the only other important add in.

 

3. A VHL season is a very stressful period of time, how does your player clear their head and relieve stress?

 

He does not get stressed in the season, if he gets stressed he will lose his game, and by the way he started, he is NOT stressed

 

4. When the team is out on a road trip, what do you order for the team during dinner?

 

five guys and a prostitute, yes just the one  

 

5. Road trip song in the team bus and plane?

 

Immortal Disfigurement - Dragged through the inferno... But everyone yells at me to turn it off.

 

6. NHL training camp and preseason HYPE, what are you looking forward to the most in the upcoming training camp/preseason in the NHL?

 

i wanna see what the leafs goalies will look like, and their young talent.