MetalToday

9/11

Well deserved @Kisslinger

G - Wumbo @Acydburn

1. Which team appeared to have improved the most to start Season 85? Warsaw! JK the season hasn't started yet silly 2. Tanking, is there even a point for such a thing? No, the top 5 are almost always bangers, unless you draft kiss at 14 or me at 21. The GM's in this league don't know how to scout, Dlamb clearly does. 3. Which team would be the most dangerous obstacle in our Season 85 title defense? Probably Seattle, they always have a good team 4. How were your S84 predictions? Shit, I voted "none" in every category, and they couldn't do shit. 5. How do you usually choose for your season predictions? I KEEP FORGETTING TO DO THEM, but I have Warsaw bias 6. How many people did you invite to the game in your first ever VHL game as a player? two people, my mom and my dad, but they didn't show up

Was it anyone who commented on that thread or was there something else? I think I commented on it

F - Brendan Marner @Ben mclaughlin

D - Poopy Peepants @Acydburn

how do I join?

The World Championship is now complete, and with the strong Eastern European team there is no surprise that they brought home the gold medal. As we discussed last week, team Canada was looking like a tough team but there was no battle since Eastern Europe was so strong. Although Canada lost in the finals, they were appreciative to be on the team that was talented enough to get the second-place silver. Europe was strong in general in the east and west as the east beat the beasts in Canada for gold and the West easily beat USA to get the 3rd place bronze medal. With so much talent in this one tournament, there was no shortage of entertainment, but there was also some surprise when teams like the USA was knocked off the podium as they had such a brilliant team, with a crazy good goaltender. All in all, this was a good World Cup tournament with very interesting and close games.

F - Matty Fire @Ben mclaughlin

F - Vinny Detroit @@Acydburn

D - Hard Markinson @Ben mclaughlin

1. VHL WJC, how did your team (country) fair? Any surprises? CANADA #1 BABY LETS GOOOO 2. How do you like your player's build? Was there a need for a reset? There was last season, I think I fixed it, even though my stats decreased the past few years 3. How does our team compare with last season's championship team? Lost some big names, but I have high hopes with Sock Monkey coming up. 4. If you get to draft 1st overall for S85 VHLF, who would you draft? Brendan Marner #1 baby 5. What is your player's S85 regular season player expectations (statistically)? Brendan Marner really needs to get back to his 100 point self and big hit numbers 6. Thoughts on the results of the recent S85 VHL draft? I think we made out with some decent prospects

Sounds cool, I would love to join, but I've been pretty busy so I don't know if I will have the time, but I can answer some questions at the very least.

Claim Weeks: 8/28 9/4 9/11 9/18

The World Cup team Canada roster has been revealed, and it looks quite amazing. The team looks like one of the better teams created, but the team has not had the best teams the past 8 World Cups, but this team could very well be the next power team for Canada. Canada has 1 gold, 2 silver, and 1 bronze medals in the last 8 World Cup showings, as the team was one of the biggest powerhouse countries in the seasons 50’s and 60’s. They are tied with the most gold medals in World Cup history, and in second place for the most medals in total. With this reveal we should check out the roster to see what exactly we will be watching, is the team as good as its shacked up to be? The first pick for Canada was Alex Johnson who is seen as one of the best goal scorers in the game right now. His career high is 63 goals and 125 points in 72 games in the season 81, and yes, his points and scoring ability is amazing, but he is not afraid of making those huge hits as he averages over 220 hits a season. His playoff record is very good, but he has a history of not doing so well in the first round, so if the team is able to help bring Canada to the next rounds, Johnson will probably breakout in those playoffs. AJ Williams is another player that made the team Canada roster, he takes crazy shots, even taking over 600 shots in his best season where he recorded 52 goals and 106 points in the 72 games. Williams has a history of amazing playoffs, averaging over a point a game in total over the last 5 seasons even collecting 12 goals and 23 points in only 18 games. Williams is usually on the ice for goals resulting in a positive +/-, and another notable stat is his lack of penalties, where he has only 123 pim in the last 5 seasons in total. Alexandre Leduc is another good pick, but as he can average a point a game in the seasons he’s spent in the VHL and averages a point a game in the playoffs which is huge. Leduc also has a history being on the ice for goals for, giving him a good positive +/-. Leduc isn’t one to throw many hits or block lots of shots, but he is fully willing to do so as needed by his team. His discipline isn’t great in the season, which would need to be better on team Canada, however he has a good touch of not going in the box in the playoffs, making him a real defensive player. Jonathan Ori is a good pick for Canada, he doesn’t take many shots, but once he starts taking more shots there shouldn’t be much surprise his goal count increases significantly. Ori is a big body and can help intimidate the opponents with his big hits, and his passing ability can really compliment the goal scorers on the team. Unfortunately he has only been to the playoffs with his team once, but he was able to prove his worth as he had close to a point a game, and made it to the finals with his team, only to lose to Warsaw, so if he can keep those playoff stats up, team Canada would happily use those services. Brendan Marner is another player that was picked for the team, and they clearly picked him up hoping he comes back to his old self. Marners rookie season seem him score 45 points and 100 points in the 72 games, that was his career high, and he has slowly decreased his totals. Marner is a big body that gives those big hits and will intimidate the opponent to their core. Marner still has time, and he can improve, this is the time for Marner to really show he still has it in him. Baby Bob is the last of the forwards on the team. Bob has had a better VHL tenure since his introduction to the league, with his great scoring ability being highlighted the most goals in a season being 49, ne had always been over a point a game throughout his career, and has only gotten more, and more points with that. His playoffs have almost always impressed the GM’s, close to a point a game throughout his VHL playoff tenured, but this past season he got nearly a goal a game, 7 games and 6 goals. Bob has also always had good +/-, I mean amazing, with a positive 157 in only 4 seasons, Bob can make everyone on the ice just so much better. Despite Bobs small size, he decided to stop the bullying and give some more hits the past couple of seasons. To start the defence, what better way than to pick Nathan Powers. Powers gets crazy point totals during the seasons, nearly a point a game every season. Powers isn’t much of a hitter, but is not afraid to block a tough shot, with a block shot average of nearly 150 a season, proving to be one of the best blockers of the game. His positive +/- can really show how he is always a player to keep the puck out of his own net. With nearly a point a game in the playoffs, it shows Powers is capable on average of producing more than in the regular season, making him one of the best 2-way defenseman in the league. Hulk Hogan 2 is one of the younger players in the World Cup, and is a consistent point producer, averaging just over a point a game, and in the playoffs this young defenseman could collect well over a point a game in the last 3 playoff appearances. With 46 playoff games, and 56 points, that is the kind of offensive defenseman you need. His physical game has gotten much better as he has doubled his hit count each season in the VHL, and now is seen as one of the heavier hitters so far. His shot blocking skills are still high, taking more than 125 shots in the last 3 seasons. Defenseman Poopy Peepants is one of the better defensive defensemen in the league while he has 300 hits in one season to be his all time high for hit production, he easily collects 200 hits in other seasons. Peepants has been slowly picking up his production over time with this past season being the first time he has reached a point a game. He has also been one of the better shot deflectors/blockers in the game collecting usually between 130 and 155 in a single season. Although Peepants has not been the biggest producing defenseman in the game, he is a great player to have while looking to save extra shots from hitting the net, and really intimidate the opponent with the many big hits. Lastly Aurelien Moreau is going to play on defense for the team Canada core, I think. Now Moreau has announced his retirement recently, but I guess he will be playing his last games in team Canada, the country he loves. Moreau, if you haven’t heard, is one of the best defensemen in the league, in fact he has collected more points in one season than most of the offensive group could get in one season. Moreau had a career high of 118 points in the 81st season. He only lost his hitting ability these past couple seasons collecting a smaller 100 hits in each season, but before that he was consistently in the high 100s for hits and even in the mid to high 200 for hits for a few years as well. His shot blocking ability is one of the best in the league as well, being a player to consistently collect mid to high 100’s of blocked shots, making him one of the best defensemen in the game all time. His amazing playoff totals, and his overall play everywhere on the ice will make everyone on the team better and it will be fun to watch this old man beat the crap out of all these other young kids. The next section to talk about is the goaltending, and wow these kids are young, but good. Brant Fuhr is the first goalie to talk about, and you will know why if you ever seen him play. Fuhr has only 2 seasons under his belt, being one of the youngest guys on the team, he still has an average of 0.927 save percentage, and this is with a very underwhelming Vancouver team, a stat that than may turn one off is the 3.23 goals against average. This isn’t as good, but when you really look at the team in front of him, there isn’t any help, even with his small 18 wins in 65 games and 19 wins in 64 games. Going from bad team in front of a goalie to decent, Ben Dahl has some good numbers to show us. In the 2 seasons Dahl has played in the VHL you can see an amazing rookie season with 33 wins in 64 games where he also had 0.926 save percentage, and 2.74 goals against average in that same season. In those playoffs Dahl couldn’t control a win, but got a 0.927 save percentage still, and a decent 2.75 goals against average. Although the team didn’t go anywhere, he seemed like a crazy steal of a draft pick from the team. Dahl then responded in the next season to collect 35 wins in 64 games, he also had a 2.66 goals against average but a slight regression of a 0.914 save percentage. However, once Dahl hit that season’s playoffs, he collected 3 wins in the 7 games, but a 3.06 goals against average, and a worse 0.909 save percentage. That playoff series was not Dahls best, but he was sure to be ready for the next season, and the World Cup, if we get season 83 Ben Dahl, we will most definitely see this beast save anything and everything coming at team Canadas net. I had to mention an overlooked player that probably should have had more eyes on him was Zach Kisslinger II. This past season for Kisslinger was not as great as one might expect, however 69 points in 72 games is very close to a point a game, before that he had good runs, best being his run-in season 82 where he had 44 goals and 123 points in 72 games, that was an incredible run, but that’s not where his play ends. Kisslinger has had a slow start with hits but exploded in season 83 for 345 hits and last season with another 255 hits, completely annihilating the opponents. Kisslinger has always been amazing in the playoffs as well, whether its 5 goals and 14 points in 8 games, 6 points in 6 games, or an unruly 14 goals for 29 points in only 20 games, his playoff ability is better than most, and should’ve not been overlooked by the team Canada GM. Oh yeah, and if you want someone to intimidate the opponent in the playoffs, Kisslinger was averaging 5.05 hits a game this past playoffs, this would give him about 364 hits in a 72 game season if that pace was met. He would be the best playoff team Canada forward they have on the roster. Nonetheless, team Canada is stacked, and they are ready to be the next team Canada to bring home gold. There will be some tough battles in the Nordic and USA as there usually is, but if they keep up what they are known to do, this could be the next big powerhouse generation to sweep the next few World Cups! Contract talks may distract some players, but hopefully they will benefit from quick and easy negotiations, so they can focus as much as they can on winning Canada the cup. Let’s bring it home!

oops didnt finish that title

Brendan Marner and Warsaw Predators just agreed upon a renewal with the mutual option Marner had in his contract for this season. With this agreement Brendan Marner will have at least one more year in Warsaw at the cap hit of 5.5 million dollars. Last season Marner had a No movement clause in his contract, but this mutual option did not include a no movement clause on the end of it, allowing Warsaw to complete trades including Marner without asking him for a trade list, or Marner complete access where he goes. Warsaw has a good team this upcoming season, but with 3 ufas and only 8 million dollars in cap space, it is unlikely Warsaw will look anything like what they looked like last season. With Sock Monkey coming up for this season, one of the second line forwards will likely be replaced with him giving Warsaw 8 million to resign 2 players. Considering the success last season, I wouldn’t be surprised if Warsaw goes with the 6-3-1 setup again, so another forward signing and one more defence will be likely. In the end we will need to see what the result will be, but with the salary increase, this will help Warsaws cap trouble go away.

1. What is your player going to do this off season, given it is shorter than previously? Sign this Option and practice for the next season baby!!! 2. How is your player going to train this off season in preparation for a Title Defense? gotta work more on the scoring, didnt cut it last year. 3. Who is the go to father/mother figure in the locker room? Bogdan Trunov is the locker room daddy, mans been in Warsaw since forever. 4. What is the worst thing your player has done during a game that got you a scolding? Marner took out a 6 pack in the middle of a game and started to throw the empty cans at opposing fans he didn't like. 5. What was the worst thing your player has done pregame or postgame that got you in trouble? Marner got a hold of a few lines of coke went he was with the Watchmen, that was a crazy game tho 6. Did you sign up for Pro-Ams and is it worth the participation? Wtf is that??

Warsaw is the new champions of the VHL, and the team is going wild! Brendan Marner specifically pointed out how he was offered a position on Seattle last offseason, and he was thinking about it, but he liked Warsaw’s pitch much better. Marner was happy that he chose so wisely and took some shots at Seattle after being awarded the cup. He said, “I am very happy to have won today, this Seattle team wasn’t as hard as Moscow it, but obviously they are both losers. Imagine I was on this Seattle team, would Warsaw still have won? I think so, Kisslinger is a goddamn beast. Who does Seattle have? Hahaha!” Brendan Marner was not holding back his shots and the crowd ate that up, as the game played in Warsaw, Marner said, “This crowd is amazing, I don’t think the game would have been such a blowout for us without the loyal fan base here tonight and have been with us throughout the series.” The crowd roared as that final buzzer counted down and finally sounded. The next step for Warsaw is to investigate contract signings, resigning’s, and bringing up the ready prospects. Veteran centers Bogdan Trunov and Omi Aberg both need contract renewals with this next season and considering the team doesn’t have any centers signed next season, I would expect at least one of the two players to be signed again. If they decide to let those players walk in free agency, you might expect the GM to make a big push for centers with trades or signings. Two other notable players that have not resigned are defenseman Hari Singh Nalwa and left winger Brendan Marner. I am not too sure of the status of Nalwa, but I have some beliefs that he either may not want to stay in Warsaw for another year, or there may not be the cap space to have him signed with the rest of the team. Warsaw may not need him with Brian Payne and Tavish DeGroot showing to be big elite defensemen but having those three in the top four would be sweet. I mean losing one of the top point producers on your team would be a huge blow. Obviously, the last player to resign is Brendan Marner, as he is on a Mutual option this season, there is some interest for the two to stay together. Brendan Marner has been underwhelming the past couple of seasons, and it might be time to move on to prove himself again. Although the reports say nothing about Marner leaving, there are questions if the player brings a 5.25-million-dollar performance. Nonetheless, Warsaw has reported to have been interested in keeping him, now its just a question if the player himself wants to rejoin. Sock Monkey is a VHLE player that was meant to come up last season, however, with a salary cap problem the player had to be sent down again. Monkey says he is ready to win a cup with Warsaw for the second time, and he is more than hyped to prove what extra skills they were missing last season. The likeliness of Monkey coming up is more than likely as he has been a dominate player in the VHLE for the last couple of seasons, and you don’t want to waste that potential by keeping him down any longer. We will need to watch as the offseason progresses to see if Warsaw will be cheering like they did after this last win!

This is a crazy VHL finals this year and Warsaw is really giving Seattle everything they got. Warsaw only ended this past season in 5th place, where Seattle finished 3rd overall, Although Warsaw was seen as a slight underdog, they had also beaten Moscow in the last round who finished 1st in the league themselves. Warsaw has had some good scoring this playoff, but its not amazing. The reason Warsaw almost lost against Moscow is a good goaltender, and poor scoring from top Warsaw players. Well, that has changed with this Seattle series, as players have been able to find the net behind the Bears. The scoring is still not as it was expected; however, Kisslinger has proven himself to be an underrated player in this league with his crazy playoff numbers. The final series at a 3-2 lead for Warsaw, these underdogs are proving themselves and now they just need one more big showing to win it all.

Q1: How long will it be before EA makes a good NHL game again? The year there is threat of competition will be the year they start really improving the game Q2: What member of the VHL provides the most entertainment to you? I don't really find any specific member entertaining honestly. Q3: What VHL player do you think should be awesome, but just isn't? Brendan Marner, he should be much more awesome than he is showing. Who do you have winning the VHL final? Was there any shocking series in this playoffs? Who do you think is the most underrated/overlooked NHL team with this upcoming season?

Well after the first 2 games, it is clear Warsaw versus Moscow will be a tough battle and will be close series. So far from the 2 games Warsaw won the first game at a score of 4 to 1, a bit of a blow out for a victory cup team, but then Moscow won the second game by a tight score 3-2. Warsaw was the underdog for this series, but with their tight defensive skills and the increased scoring, the underdogs came to be the favorites. Although this is only 2 games, one thing that fans, players, and management have noticed is that the top players on Warsaw have started producing again. Take Brendan Marner for example, he had gotten 3 goals and 7 points in the last 2 games, much better production than he had in the last series against Helsinki. Will Marners 2.5 points a game continue? Probably not, but this series has proved that he found his game again, and if Warsaw wants to stay on top, they will need to have Marner and other top line players to continue to improve. Vasile Lamb is another top player that has seen an improvement in productivity, where he has gotten a 4-point night in the first game in this series, almost matching his points in the series against Helsinki, all that in one game. Omi Aberg is another player who has had some trouble with production last series, although he is more of a depth piece, it is still somebody you want to see production from. At that depth role, Aberg has really proven his worth against a team that came on top in the regular season, with 5 points in the last 2 games, that is more than double the production he had in the 7 games he played against Helsinki. As the playoff move on, you want to see your players play better, and that is what we are seeing in Warsaw, the will to win is going up. What we need to see from Warsaw is take a series in less than 7 games, they need to prove they are ready to win, they are ready for the run, but they took Helsinki in 7, and if they keep on the 1 to 1 games they are doing in Moscow, they will likely take the series to game 7. Warsaw needs to prove the victory cup means nothing in this league, but they still need to win 3 more games, the series has come to the best of 5, and with the help of the top players productivity increase we should see the underdogs take the game before we see 7 games. Moscow has a good team and without Warsaw’s depth and experienced team, there may have been no chance for a Warsaw victory. Warsaw will look different next season, but they may not be as different as one might expect, with the resigning’s midseason, the team is ready to be competitive for years to come. There are still some players looking to resign, but they are probably waiting to see if the continental cup goes to Warsaw to really gather that money bag. The end of this season will be very interesting in the end as there will be some players looking for a huge pay day just for being cup champions, and from that will Warsaw be able to pay the money to those winning players? We will need to see if they win first.

That was a close one, Warsaw went to game 7 while being on the brink of elimination for 2 games, but they took it back and won. Warsaw didn’t back down and they proved that their will to win was more than that for the Helsinki Titans. Although the team has had some trouble with scoring from the top players, the team has still had success from the rest of the team. As we are going into the next round of the playoffs, Warsaw will need this productivity back for the top players on the top lines to really be ready for the next round when they meet the Victory cup winner Moscow Menace. Its will be a very tough battle but there is some belief that it could be a closer battle than the public thinks. Mid way through the season, Warsaw was the top team in the league, later moving down, bringing Moscow to the top. With Warsaw being with Ukraine, it would only make sense that Warsaw is going to bring their all and hopefully win the battle, putting the end to Moscow’s run, and bringing Warsaw to the finals.

1. It's finally our time to shine! Who will score our first goal of the playoffs? Hmm I'll go with Girt Galvins as the one who scores first for Warsaw 2. Who's the player you hate playing with as a teammate? Nalwa... Everythings about him smh. 3. What else does your player do outside of hockey? My player is a professional alcoholic 4. It's the second intermission and the team is down big, who is going to pump up the team and what would they do? Its actually gotta be the GM Dlamb, always pumping us up 5. What is one special talent your player has that is unrelated to hockey? My player is amazing at scaring people away! 6. Who won the Tkachuk trade between the Calgary Flames and Florida Panthers? Calgary, they get multiple years of a 100 point guy, a first round pick, a prospect, and a top defender for at least a season