Steve

1. Looking to start off with a bang, do you feel this team has what it takes to win? Yes it has all the talent needed to win. It will take some time to tweak the lines but the ingredients are there. 2. What are you willing to sacrifice to get the win? Hard training will take the place of relaxation. 3. What, in your opinion, is the most important factor for success? Getting the right players on the right lines. Sounds easy but it is not. 4. How do you feel about the captains named? Excellent choices. All good leaders. 5. Who is your favorite player to play along side with? It's a team effort, I am honored to play with any of my teammates. 6. Who will be an underdog team this season? Too early to tell.

Well done sir.

One hell of a day for John Merrick. With no expectations at all about the draft, it could not have gone better for this young player. Hard work does pay off sometimes. With a proven pedigree of being a heavy earner, the willingness to adapt to linemates and the head office, John Merrick should be a solid player in the league for many seasons. Being drafted 5th overall by Toronto in the VHL and then 1st overall by San Diego in the VHLM was a dream come true. Two teams that have faith in John Merrick's ability to fit in and contribute to the teams. To say that was exciting is a huge understatement. Now the pressure is on. John is more focused than ever to not let his team or himself down. Working extra hard to be a presence in his season with San Diego while learning the skills required to make the jump to the big league will be number one on John Merrick's checklist. If there is anything that John has learned in this league it would be don't get too down and don't get overconfident. Just work with your team to become a finely oiled machine. Let Simon T figure out the rest.

1. The Toronto Legion only picked one player -- center John Merrick -- in the S73 VHL Entry Draft. What are your thoughts about the most recent addition to the Legion? Huge thanks for picking Merrick. He will work hard and be up after a healty season in the minors. 2. Despite GM Peace trying to move into additional rounds of the draft, he was unable to do so -- how do you think this will impact Toronto in the future? Lot's of talent on the team. I wouldn't worry too much about that.3. How 'hyped' were you about the S73 VHL Entry Draft? Very hyped. And the right team, the one I was really hoping for picked the right player.4. John Merrick will be joining the Legion in S74 with a projected rating of over 400. How will this impact the S74 Toronto Legion? Going for a balanced build with some guidance from the team on which direction to improve in. Should be a stable player.5. Who was the most surprising player drafted in the first round? The big names got picked, so no big surprises to me.6. Were you surprised at any of the prospects that were ranked fairly high but continued to slide through the draft, if you paid attention at all? I saw many fall several places. Under achieving or just getting out worked?

Review: Your render looks a bit rough, though it is well placed. Your font is simple but looks like it fits very well. I would have liked a bit of contrast somewhere to see the text better but not a huge issue. Background looks really good. very bold. Good overall job. 9/10

Review: Very well laid out design. Rich background that doesn't overpower the render. Render is strong and clean. Text is well done though I would like to see most of it much larger. Sweet looking sig. 9/10

Good stuff fonzi. I am glad you have a memory.

WTF

Review: 8/10 The design is subjective and even though I am not a fan of the player number theme, I think you have a few things going on worth noting. The RGB effect is well used and it isn't too distracting from the overall concept. The render could have more detail since you are only showing a portion of the player, it should be unique. Your font works really well with the number style, looks really well planned. Keep posting your graphics, you have skills worth sharing. @dlamb

Review: 8/10 Great design. I like the looks of this, very easy to focus on the important elements of your graphic. I think it would look better if it were larger, it just has like a poster look to it. Good job on the logo swap and your color palette is simple but works very well. Background texture really works here. I would normally say the text is too small but I am looking at this project as a large image and I think it works. Well done. @Jubo07

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.