Steve

Player Information Username: Steve Player Name: John Merrick Recruited From: Reddit Age: 18 Position: C Height: 75 in. Weight: 215 lbs. Birthplace: United States of America Player Page @VHLM GM

It was more about the comments in the discord chat that made me leave.

Some of what I have read should be stifled. Making an uncomfortable announcement into unproductive content that has players taking sides, which in my opinion isn't the best way to do things. I said what I wanted to say, moving on.

1. It's no secret that the start of this season has been .... bad. What is one optimistic take you can have on it (say something nice)? Things can only get better right? 2. Are you a superstitious player? Mildly-stitious player? Do you have any pre-game routines to help get our team out of this rut? I have a Voodoo doll of every opposing player that I use before each game. 3. Some players on the team are beginning to ask whether we should try a rain dance to bring some goals and end our drought, do you think this is a good idea? Doesn't work, I have tried it. 4. Rookies get "messed with" or "hazed" all the time, are there any tricks in particular that you've played on leFlamant and/or Wolski that you'd like to share with the press? I put super glue on somebodies stick handle once. 5. Boris the Forest (95 hits) and Benny Graves (93 hits) have becoming two of the premier checkers in the league this year, since we all practice together, who hits harder? Boris hits like a truck, a Tonka truck but still. 6. We all know that every now and then it may be peanut butter jelly time, but is it possible to have just peanut butter time, or just jelly time? Which would you prefer to have on its own? Can I just have the bread?

This should have been a locked announcement and not open to stupid comments. Any comments could have been made in their own separate posts. Combative comments do nothing to bring the community together, rather the opposite. Old man logic may not apply here.

The VHL is a great place to come in and forget about personal issues and world issues also. While any responsible adult would know right from wrong, coming here and being taught or reminded about real life isn't what I need to see. That said, there are many that should read the posts and might have a better understanding of real issues that are happening in the world. Enough of this stuff for me. Let's move on with some sim hockey talk. The season has been full of successes and failures. For the most part it has been positive. Seattle is looking towards a big push in the playoffs while other teams are working hard to also press forward with hopes of winning the cup. It should make for another exciting playoffs. I try to do what I can do as a player to help the team reach the ultimate goal, winning the cup. I hope to heat up a bit before the playoffs. I hope the best for all teams as it should be a hard fought battle in most of the series. +4 TPE 1/5 TPE package

Review: I like this fun bright graphic. Nice hat and logo placement. Crazy blend of colors that looks really fun. Render looks clean and well placed. Text is very clean and with just the right amount of adjustments to make it have a quality feel. Great job 9/10

Review: Great design. You have all your elements working together, which is good. Simple color palette yet works well. It's not easy making goalie sigs but you did a good job here. There are a few things you could tiddy up like the background could be a bit lighter and maybe a small blur? Text looks good though I think white would look better, or not. Text spacing is a little off as you don't want it too close to an edge or render. Just a few small adjustments would tighten it up some. Great concept, well done. 8/10

1. Due to Esso's conflict with work, AGM Spartan submitted lines for the first two games of S72. What were your thoughts on my line management debut? Always good to have an AGM that knows how lines work, good job. 2. Realized that I never asked this key question, but what is your goal for this season? To win the cup 3. After 7 games, what are your thoughts on the team's performances? Too small of a sample. Let's talk after 25 games are played. 4. What have you been most proud about your performance so far? I am consistent and take very few penalties. 5. What are you going to try to improve the most after our first slate of games? I am learning a new way to tape up my stick. 6. Lastly, what are your thoughts on our captain selections (which can be found here) Lance is a true warrior and a great leader. Great choice.

Review: 8/10 Looks like you put some effort into this sig and you have some really interesting effects. I like the color pallete, it just works well overall. A couple of things that stand out to me is that the render is very small and, the text is very big. I think there should be a better balance between those two elements. Overall a very good looking project. Great job.

Review: 9/10 Great looking sig with all the right elements that make your work a step above most. Colors are few but really has a good overall appeal the way the purple is blended. One thing that I am not crazy about on any graphic is the text appearing to be chopped off as any point. I am not sure if this is a design choice or an overlook. I am not sure of the duplicate offset of the text is really helping this sig. Great work from one of the best around.

I thought I would share some insight to being part of the very successful Seattle Bears team. I took a moment to reflect on the ups and downs of my players career and came to the conclusion, I wouldn't be where I am today if not for being 1, on the Seattle team and 2, having Bana as my GM. Bana is a colorful person. Misunderstood by some, loved by most from what I see. It wasn't until we were talking in the LR the other day that Bana is getting fairly close to 1000 wins. Well, still just under 900 but the time will come when that milestone is reached. A truly deserving GM to eclipse that marker. I hope to be around the league when that happens as I will most certainly celebrate his achievement. It's not like it's all love and no hate. Playing for Bana has it's moments and we have locked horns a few times. He has shown me time and time again that he has a real heart and is devoted to this league. I find myself humbled in many ways by how he treats certain things compared to how I would. I am not trying to blow smoke up anyone's ass. I just thought it would be a good time to talk about the driving force behind all the success Seattle has had and who is the real genius behind it all. Best of luck to all the teams this season and if we meet you in the playoffs, the gloves come off.

1. Our free agent foot rubbing worked just the way we wanted, as Acyd Burn and ACL TEAR have signed with us! Do you treat them any differently now that they're under contract? Acyd Burn was a good move. Nothing like having an underachiever on the team to make everyone else look good. We have a lot in common. 2. I've made a TON of moves in the past week or so, and it's starting to look like we're doing what we can to compete this season. Do you agree with this? Do you think it's being taken too quickly? Great moves and yes, I feel it will be a very successful season. 3. The draft was this past Saturday! We picked up Hornet and Winter at 1 and 2, and loaded up on VHLM prospects in the later rounds. If you've gotten a chance to take a look at our draft class, what are your opinions? I haven't a clue as I don't follow the draft. Seems like you did very good. 4. Last week, I failed to mention that we brought up Joakim Bruden from the minors as well. What should my punishment be? I think a firm spanking would suffice, but you would most likely enjoy it. 5. Some non-trade news came recently when it was announced that I'd be bringing in as my slave AGM. What are your thoughts? AGM's are good to have when you have so many moves to make and a huge draft. 6. We have one assistant captain spot open! Who's your #1 choice for it? Acyd has great leadership qualities.

Well we won the cup, been there, done that..... three out of four seasons. Feels good to be on the Seattle team. Great in the playoffs, not so great in the regular season, or at the beginning of the season. We are in a comfortable spot right now. Finding our way with sporadic play from just about everyone. That will soon end and we will put some wins together. Blending the talent we have takes time and the GM has always tweaked lines to see how the young play with the vets. This is nothing new to us and we will use the first part of the season to play around with lines. Seattle has some really good younger players and some vets that are just starting to slow a bit. The team is fairly well balanced and will continue to push hard when it matters. That's how we roll. Very happy to see a few teams doing well at the start of this season that normally are in the bottom bracket towards the end of the season. This should make for a very interesting season.

Review: 8/10 Very nice looking sig. A huge step up. I like the placement of your elements a lot. Text is sharp and clean, background has the right amount of blur to give the render some relevance. I think your next step should be to work on cleaning up the edges of your render and watch out for lack of detail. Great job.

Review: 7/10 Not a bad looking sig but I think the render needed a bit more work. No blending or lighting/shadow effects makes it look rather plain. I like the background, it just seems disconnected from the render. Text looks really good though not sure about the placement. Good overall, could have been better.

1. Who is your favourite player in this season's draft? That one guy that had a lot of points. 2. Who needs to take the biggest step forward for us to be successful next year? It's a team effort, everyone needs to take another step. 3. Which team do you think will be the most improved next season? Davos most likely. 4. Is Stone Wolski going to be a worthy replacement for JB Rift between the pipes? I believe in Wolski. 5. Who is your favourite teammate? For team chemistry, they are all my favorites 6. Pie with ice cream or ice cream cake? Pie with ice cream of course.

Well, another season comes to a close. Seattle wins another cup. What is that, 3 cups in 4 seasons now? Amazing team that just doesn't quit. It's been a pleasure playing on the Seattle team, a very solid group for sure. Now we prepare for our next attack for the cup. With most of the core intact and the addition of more youth, I see no reason for Seattle not to be there fighting in the end. With great leadership and players that really want to succeed, it is a recipe for more cups. The draft went well for us and I am excited to see how everyone fits in. It shouldn't take long to start finding our pace. It was a slow start this last season as we were trying different strategies. This season could go about the same as we evaluate the lines and tweak them into greatness. Good time to be a Bear. Overall for myself, it has been a good season. Not a super star but a consistent player that could pop in a goal here and there. Sometimes it's more of a team fit than individual stats. I think I played the game well and hope to do even more this next season. Good luck to all the rookies beginning their big league careers. See you all on the ice.

Review: Good looking sig. I like your color choices, works well with the overall look. Render looks a bit over processed but not bad looking. I would say your text is really good except the 3D effect is way over done. I think it would have served this sig better if that was toned down along with too much shadow under the name. Good placement of the text/render. Lighting looks like it fits in with your design. 8/10

Review: I really like this design. The double exposure effect can be tricky to pull off but this time it seems to work well. Colors work really well with the other elements and I like your text, though a touch larger or longer might look better, or not. Great overall look. Great work. 8/10