Steve

1. After defeating Ottawa 4-1 in the first round, the Saskatoon Wild are on their way to the Founder's Cup Finals after a thrilling overtime victory against the Philadelphia Reapers in Game Seven. What's it going to take to beat Mexico City and lift the Cup? Not too much apparently. Just play the game. 2. What was it like on the bench when Kazimir Komarov scored the series-clinching goal in overtime? I wasn't there but those moments are always special. 3. Over in the VHL, the Calgary Wranglers won a Game Seven of their own to advance to the Continental Cup Finals against the Riga Reign. Who do you see winning that series? I'm guessing Calgary. 4. Who do you feel has been the key piece for Saskatoon during the playoffs? Good strategy, great lines, everything going in the right direction. 5. Have any superstitions or themes developed amongst the players during this playoff run? It was all rainbows and lollipops until the end. 6. How has the team been staying focused during this playoff run? Not hard to stay focused when the team has proven to perform under pressure.

Well the playoffs are over and Mexico City Kings gave it their collective all to win. It just wasn't meant to be. A strong Saskatoon Wild team had a good strategy and it worked. Nothing to hang one's head about. Mexico City played with pride to the end. Never stopped believing they could win, which is a very good indicator of the quality of their locker room. Now John Merrick is on his own until the draft. What will happen to Mr. Merrick, only time will tell. I know he is more determined to succeed than ever. Putting in extra training where ever possible. He is a hard worker and willing to put in the work to reach his goals. John Merrick is hoping to land a spot on a team that can use his skills to the fullest. Nothing is better than playing hockey and trying to win. Being the worker that he is, I am sure he will find a fitting team at some point.

1mil Player store cash Doubles week 5 tpe uncapped 7/12

Transaction ID: 5FT97716242440501 $1mil Player store cash Doubles week 7/12 5 TPE Uncapped 7/12

Review: Simple and to the point. Nice text, clean render and like logo in the background. What more could you ask. 8/10

Review: I love this style, who doesn't. Overall looks great. Like the border and logo/text placement. 8/10

Big first series we had. Apparently Kings do trump Aces. I have been playing poker wrong for many years it seems. A brutal series that was full of battles won and lost. In the end, the Kings won the war, and I mean war. Our best players were indeed our best and a bit of help from the others, success was finally ours. Now we will see if the Kings can weather the Storm. A big team that plays the game hard. Each team finding a way to dominate and then get dominated. A strange set of games that should produce some entertaining hockey. The Kings, while not at the top of the food chain, are a scrappy bunch and should offer up some rough play and highlighted skills from our top guys. Trying different strategies and line combinations should keep our opponents guessing. There is a good feeling in the Kings' locker room. Winning at all cost is the theme of the week. We will see how it all plays out on the ice, where it matters.

1. What do you think made the difference in our series against Las Vegas? We won more games than they did, big difference. 2. What did you personally excell at during the series with Las Vegas? I did not excel in any way during the playoffs. 3. How do you think we'll do against Minnesota in the next round? Tough series is what i'm thinking. 4. How are you going to prepare for the next round? Plenty of sleep and party like a porn star. 5. What's the first thing you are going to do with the cup if we win it all? Change the oil in my car. 6. Have you read any good books, audio books, or web articles recently? I don't read but I do look at a lot of pictures.

John Merrick- Scouting Report John Merrick Center | 6'3” | 215 lb. Birthplace | USA VHLM Team | Mexico City Kings John Merrick entered the season with the Mexico City Kings very late in the season. He actually only played 24 games out of the 26 listed. There was a bit of an issue at the boarder and his paperwork was delayed. So he rode the pine for 2 game. It was actually a benefit as he was able to pick up on the team's system while watching. In the 24 games played, John played a limited role but did produce 6 goals, 10 assists and finished the season with a plus 7. While not outstanding, it was still a productive set of games. John Merrick has shown to be a hard worker. Understands that training is key to a long future in any league. He is a dedicated player with success being his primary goal, no matter what league he is playing in. It has been well noted by many scouts that John seems to have a high level of confidence in his game and it shows every time he plays. Hard working center that trains like no other. Pros Hockey IQ – John Merrick displays a higher than average hockey sense while on the ice. Makes good reads and is rarely out of position. Player awareness is high and can anticipate plays and reacts with consistent play. This might be one of John Merrick's biggest pros according to several scouts. Speed – While not at an elite level yet, John has some very good traits when it comes to skating. He can go from a stop to full speed in a very small space. He big frame isn't holding him back from being an explosive skater. Moves up and down the ice with pace and plays a honest 200 ft. game. Potential – The sky is the limit with John Merrick. He has a good solid skill set to build on. Fundamentally sound and plays responsible. Cons Passing – John Merrick can pass the puck with accuracy, too often they miss the mark. A skill that needs to be improved if he is going to reach the success he hopes for. As a center in any league, passing is crucial to making plays. John is well aware of this issue and is focusing on this skill daily. Physicality – He isn't a hitting/checking forward. He just doesn't have that style in his skill set. Though this could very well be a pro instead of a con, only time will tell if his puck handling ability will out shine his lack of hard checking. He isn't worried about being physical, he just hasn't had the need to be that type of player. So some scouts marked him lower because of his lack of being a banger, others didn't see it as a con. Time will tell which direction John takes as he adapts to the role his coaches decide is best for the team.

Well the better team won it seems. I hope future success for NY and go on and win the cup.

John Merrick - Center Extraordinaire Born in the Rocky Mountains, John loved the snow and ice. Being the only child, his parents were always there to support him in just about anything he wanted to try. Growing up in the mountains made for a very athletic and strong young man. The local pond would freeze early and hosted all the local activities. At a very young age, John was out on the ice skating, and falling, most everyday. Only 5 years old and skating everyday he could was a lot of fun. His parents weren't surprised when he asked about learning how to figure skate. His father, Joe, was a huge hockey fan but didn't even try to push him in that direction. Figure skating has skills that can translate well into hockey, so his dad was supportive and looked for some local class or instructor. After finding out that the local school had a teacher that was also a figure skater, he hired her to coach his son. Growing up was about to get really good at this point of his life. After a few years of coaching and actually competing in a few events, John came to the conclusion that figure skating was great, but not fulfilling enough for him. Plus his buddies were all playing hockey and he was getting teased a bit about the figure skating. John could handle his friends poking fun at him, they were a tight group of friends, even at that early of an age. John went to watch a few games when the light turned on, he wanted to play hockey. His dad was more excited than John was. As soon as John asked if he could tryout for a team, his dad had him in the car and out to buy all the gear he would need. On the way to the store, his dad was telling him all about hockey and what to do and how to do it. John had to calm him down a bit and asked him if he wanted to tryout with him too. Joe realized he was talking a mile a minute and chuckled. John already knew about the sport, he just needed the desire to actually play hockey. All his buddies were excited all most as much as his dad was. This was the start of John Merrick's life in hockey. John went on to play in at every level of hockey he could as he grew older. By the time he finished junior year in high school, he had colleges scouting him. It was a great time in for John, and his dad of course. He was fine with the attention he was getting. He played very well for his age group and was a standout in many of the leagues he played in. He had a very successful 2 seasons at BSU. The pressure and desire to take the next step and go professional was too great for him. He always dreamed about playing in the VHL, what hockey player doesn't. When he showed the desire to play, there was a team that picked him up in a heart beat. Mexico City, why not. So his career has begun. Only time will tell if he can succeed on that high of a level.

1. Another week has passed. The Wranglers have been on an incredible run, going (11-3-2 ) since our last press conference. What is needed to continue winning at this rate ? Whatever has worked so far doesn't need to be changed. 2. Your season record has improved to (33-12-5). This pace would have the Wranglers finish with 48 wins. Would this surpass your expectations ? It looked like things were going to go right this season, no shock at all. 3. Even tho you have been winning a lot of games, Seattle has stayed within a point from you. Tuesday Calgary and Seattle play each other twice. What are your score predictions for those two games? Games can sim strange and it would be hard to call out a winner or even guess at a score. 4. Calgary just pulled the trigger on a deadline deal to aid in solidifying its playoff run. Specifics aside, how happy are you to have a legend , a potential HOFer, like Smitty Werbenjagermanjensen join the team ? Smitty is a hell of a player and LR favorite, great addition. 5. What are your thoughts on the newly announced expansion? Good for the league is what I hear. 6. What expansion team city and logo do you like the best ? I don't really have a favorite.

5 TPE Uncapped- Week ending 7/5

Review: Very clean with great appeal. Well done with this design. Proves you don't need 4 garbage layers of background, splatters and over saturated elements to make a clean sig. I like the render, nice detail without going overboard. I really like you text and all elements are well placed. Great job. 10/10

Review: I really like this sig. Great format. Nice flowing background that doesn't distract. Text is very well done and looks amazing. Great job. 10/10

Playoffs are here. Game day actually. I hope my team mates are as pumped as I am. They sure have been looking forward to getting this show on the road. Mexico is going to do good I believe as the team has really been trying to get some skills and practice sorted out. Prepping for the playoffs is important. Any advantage you can get, you take it. Training and practice until you drop. That is where we are now. We are fully loaded, waiting to pull the trigger. No matter what the outcome of today's games, we have to take each game, each period and each shift with one hundred percent effort. We really do need to be on our toes. Nothing is handed to you in the playoffs. We expect our opponents to bring their “A” game, we need to be a notch better than their A game. With hard work and great leadership, anything could happen. I hope the best of luck to all the teams in the playoffs. Stay safe.

Transaction ID: 31U81329Y0455740C $1M Player Store Cash 5 TPE Uncapped- Week ending 7/5 Doubles Week- Week ending 7/5

5. Who is the best on D? Berocka is having a hell of a season but it takes teamwork for anyone to succeed. 6. Who would you trade away from the team and to where? Can't think of anyone. 7. Who would you want on our team? The team has a winning pedigree, not sure adding to it makes a difference. 8. @Banackock always makes like 30 questions at a time, how do you think he comes up with so many? Too much time on his hands? 9. Can we get a 4th cup? I believe it will happen. 10. Why do you think Seattle has had so much success recently is it cause of Bana or just sheer dumb luck? Takes more than good players to win cups for so many seasons. Bana has the master plan and I would say it works where other teams have failed.

Review: This is a very busy graphic. A lot going on here but the overall feel of it is very good. The render, from what I can tell looks clean cut and sharp. Everything is so over processed it's hard to tell what's going on. I think with this design you text and font choices were great. Colors blend very well and I like this wild project. Great job. 8/10

Review: Render looks low rez but not bad, very clean but not sharp. Good job anyway, I have seen much worse and it all depends on the resolution of the original. Logo/jersey swap was well placed but looks very low rez. Font looks good, not placed in any format that I can see but it seems to work with your design. Blurred background is effective but looks a bit lazy and not sure it isn't part of the original. Maybe a little lighting and shadow work. 5/10

The season is winding down. Only a dozen games to play and the fight for position is very heated. Mexico City Kings are in the mix trying to nail down the forth spot. It has been a tough battle to say the least. Some games click and we win, some go sideways fast. Sound familiar? That's how it goes. Unless a team is really talented, it will be a roll coaster of a season. With all the ups and downs, there are plenty of positives to take from even the worst games. The GM has some ideas about line mix and we could, or should, start to settle in with some set lines. Always something to mess with, more so in the minors where you are playing young players with different skill levels. Everyone needs to be better if we want to make any sort of run in the playoffs. I feel we have to horsepower to do just that. We, as a team will be pushing hard in this last part of the season and hopefully be on a hot streak for the playoffs.