Cornholio

It's Theme Week. I want that bonus TPE, so here goes nothing. That Dude's current residence is Minnesota where he plays center for the Storm VHLM franchise. It's been an interesting journey as That Dude aspires to become a successful VHL player. Speaking of the VHL, That Dude needs to start preparing for the next chapter in the bigs and beyond. Here is a quick assessment of which cities that I've been to and which cities that I'd like/would not want to vacation. Already Been There Vancouver, Chicago, D.C., Seattle, Toronto, Los Angeles, New York As you probably figured out by now -- I'm based in the United States. I've lived on both coasts and drove across America five times if my memory serves me correct. Out of the bunch, I'd argue that Vancouver is the most beautiful city of the bunch. What I'd do to live there even for like a year or so. I also ski/snowboard, so Whistler yeah. Beautiful mountain, could ski there all week long. New York and Los Angeles as a city to vacation in is meh to me, although I'll give the edge to New York any day 'cause of the water. It really does make the difference in their bagels, pizzas and pretzels. But the activities in those two cities are pretty vibrant and you could easily pull off a killer bachelor's party hitting up clubs and doing activities. L.A. smog, no thanks. I went to D.C. for my undergraduate years and the city has really transformed itself over the years. Chicago is cool too - Millenial Park (sp?) is really beautiful and I feel like I haven't really explored this area enough. Definitely wouldn't mind checking out the place again. The same for Seattle, been there, went to the touristy places, but the local scene can be really good. Toronto, I went there once for a family camping vacation. Actually, I think I shouldn't put Toronto here if I don't remember much from this place. Yeah that pretty much sums it. Would Like to Visit Calgary, Helsinki, Prague, London, Moscow I'm trying not to be too cheesy here but those cities, I'd love to take a vacation. Especially Calgary and the Banff National Park. I'm also an Olympics fan so would love to check out the Olympics venues here in Calgary (should also do that for Vancouver too, didn't have the chance to). I've always wanted to visit Helsinki... maybe for my honeymoon once things are safe enough to hold a "normal" wedding (COVID that). We've always talked about hitting up the Scandinavian countries and Helsinki is a good place to start. Prague, funny thing -- I touched their airport on a layover nearly 8 years ago. Thought about getting out to check out some historical places but the turnaround time wasn't enough. Next time, I'll make sure I do a 12+ hour layover like I did in Amsterdam during that trip (still not enough!). London, yeah, everybody knows about London. Moscow is also intriguing for me, lots of history there and I'd like to see for myself what things are really like over there. Need to Do More Research Warsaw, Malmo, Riga, Davos I'll admit, I will need to do more research on those four cities, see what's up over there. Out of the bunch, I am somewhat familiar with Riga since they have a Bobsled/Luge/Skeleton track, but that's basically about it. Warsaw, Malmo and Davos, I dunno what could be in those venues. My apologies for the American bias here, but it's true. Our education system don't teach us enough about the world. Who knows, once I read up on those cities, I'd move them up to the next category above - but let's see. I hope you enjoyed reading this. Now gimme that bonus TPE.

Minnesota Storm center That Dude has been putting together an impressive season for a center to date. In his first full season in the M, That Dude's been averaging more than a point per game (44 Points thru. 38 Games) to go along with a +19 rating. While it may not rank among the league leaders, his contributions to the Storm's success this year has been impossible to deny. "Last year was quite a learning curve for myself. Joined really late so I had to acclimate to the change in the pace of the game, how guys were playing hockey as opposed to my home country of Iceland and all that, you know. But that brief experience really helped me out as I've gotten a handle on everything for this year. It's shown in my play this year. And I'm grateful to the Minnesota Storm organization for allowing me to showcase my talents how I want to showcase them, instead of conforming to another style of play. " According to the thread title here, That Dude was recently contacted by a VHL franchise that was expressing interest/doing its due diligence for the S77 Draft. "Yeah, I've had conversations with a team. I think I'm still one of the Top-5 prospects in the S77 Draft so understandably there's going to be some serious interest in my game. I'm not going to just be taken by a team that has not spent any time contacting me in advance or at least getting to know me. That's half of the game here in the VHL. I want to know the team, and the team has to want to know me. That's a sign of a good, mutually beneficial relationship. Otherwise, you're gonna waste your pick on me."

Minnesota Storm center That Dude has been in the middle of the team's strong offensive surge this year. After starting out in a mix between the first and the second line, it seems That Dude has firmly entrenched himself as the first line center for the time being while the team rotates the wingers/defenseman platoons. "Of course baby I'm first line! That Dude is that good! I win my faceoffs, I take care of the puck well and I make plays. While I'm not the number one points-earner on the team, everybody eats because of me. They get assists if they pass the puck to me and if I syke the defense out of a shot, it ends up going to a teammate who gets a wide-open net to shoot at. Easy peasy. Our team is numero uno in the VHLM in offense and you could say that I'm kinda a big deal in that offensive surge. Ain't no team out there that can hang with us. Of course, there is always room for improvements in my game as I prepare to make the jump up to the bigs with the big bad boys. Right now, I've been hitting the weight room a lot - getting myself all buffed up and shit like that. Then I'll probably focus on my footwork as well as puck handling. It's a continuous process to improve ourselves and in order to achieve greatness - one's got to put in work on a daily basis. I look forward to leading our Minnesota team into an equally-as-strong second half of the season! Hopefully with the number one overall seed in our back pocket, but we'll see."

Love you too boo

no love for S68?

Maybe not the best fit but why not? Things that you'd like to see added/removed from the VHL Portal

1.) Telker, guy leads us in goals. Or is it Max Jankowski? Man too many of us scoring goals I’ve actually lost count. 2.) Ron World Peace has been clutch for us, and I love the guy’s last name. So yeah. 3.) Nah that a hot dog. With a hot dog bun. 4.) Brendan Telker no doubt. He gets us going and we wouldn’t be where we are without him. 5.) I’d venture out and say I could see maybe three Storm players winning awards at the end of this season. I just made that number up but yeah - whoever out of us ends up winning definitely deserves it. 6.) I’d rather keep the game winning puck cause everybody’s gonna want the cup first. 7.) a old drunk Viking

Second Boom's comment. Great read, hope to see this on a weekly basis... hope Minnesota's able to keep up and eventually overtake Houston

Kyl Oferson @Mr_Hatter

1.) I think that honor belongs to Mr Hatter - he has that Mad Hatter kind of dance whenever he gets the press conference questions out for the week. 2.) Protein drink yeah. Maybe chicken wings too. From Buffalo Wild Wings yeah. 3.) We’re scoring. Which is fun. But we just lost the top spot so we need to get that back. 4.) There's always room for improvement. Our offense is there, our defense could be improved. And then there’s the other teams too; they’re doing work so we have to do more work. 5.) Be one with the force. 6.) I guess Prague? They did good to Wolf Stansson Jr so I’m returning the favor. Would like to play for Prague as well but we’ll see.

D RJ Jubis @GRZ

That Dude barely made ripples in the VHL Community last week when he grumbled about not being taken in the first round of the VHLM Draft was other sub-250 TPE journeymen were taken earlier. Ultimately, this may prove to be a blessing in disguise as he finds himself in a favorable situation with the Storm. This team currently leads its division and sports the #1 scoring offense in the M right now. “I love it here man. Minnesota really likes to open up the ice and let everybody fly around, make plays and all that. It’s been awesome and I’ve enjoyed the insightful game analytics that is provided by our teams’ front office. Gives us more insight in what we did well last game and what we could improve upon. I’ve gotten ample playing time to showcase my offseason training which is what I wanted the most of all in my uncap season. Second line, first line - doesn’t mater to me as long as I’m balling. We’re already sizing ourselves up against Houston, I think that’s the other good team leading in their division right? It’s all in or bust for us and I’m going to make sure we end up on the all side.”

Double picks G Jean Pierre Camus D Alex Letang @Mr_Hatter

F - Andrew Su @Mr_Hatter

F Ola Vikingstad @GRZ on the clock

nice start for Minnesota, looking forward to this season

1.) it’s been a long offseason which has its pros and cons. But I’m looking forward to getting back to work with my new team. 2.) I’d like to have the opportunity to display my skill set as a center - winning face offs, hitting people and scoring goals. Oh and help our team strive for the M Cup. 3.) Win the M Cup. That’s what we’re all here for right? 4.) Assemble the best possible chemistry/team. And give me ample playing time too. 5.) I’m not too sure who else are the favorites this year but we’re gonna beat them all. 6.) Definitely chicken wings. Can’t go wrong with that shit. 7.) Probably the kids’ over dependence on technology. Kinda scary

Icelandic center That Dude’s offseason of uncertainty is officially over. After a brief stint on the Saskatoon Wild to close out S75, That Dude awaited his S76 fate and where he’d end up playing his uncapped season... only to find out that he didn’t even go into the first round. He’d end up going 14th overall to the Minnesota Storm organization. ”Its nice to know where I’m going to play next. But at the same time I’m also feeling stuffed. A second rounder pick, moi? Hell no jose I’m much better than that! You know what has me bewildered? a bunch of S76 guys going in the first round for reasons that doesn’t make sense to me. I believe I was ranked the 5th best prospect in the S77 draft pool and I ended up going 14? There was even a S77 guy that’s nowhere near the Top 5 that was taken in the first round over me! whatever! Those teams passing on me, I’m going to make sure they regret this folly when us Minnesota Stormers raise the M Cup at the end of the season!”

THAT DUDE SCOUTING REPORT S75 - Saskatoon Regular Season - 8 G, 1 AST, 1 PT, -4, 11 PIM, 4 HITS, 1 SB Postseason - 7 G, 1 Goal, 1 AST, 2 PTs, +3, 8 PIM, 5 HITS That Dude joined the Saskatoon Wild as a post-trade deadline free agent, which was extremely late in the regular season. There wasn't much time to acclimate That Dude into the Wild's system but you can tell that he slowly got better as time and game minutes progressed. Comparing his regular/postseason with nearly identical amount of games - That Dude played better in the postseason when the spotlight shined the most and the pressure ramped up. In a tough, bitter 7-game series against the Las Vegas Aces, That Dude held up the Wild' third line and posted a plus/minus rating of +3 -- which is a good sign of his impact while skating on the ice. With a full offseason of training where That Dude has been skating and hitting the weight room like crazy -- the potential is there for That Dude to break out as an impact player in S76 for whichever VHLM team drafts him. In order to help VHLM GMs assess what they could get when drafting That Dude - here are two pros and cons. PROS Faceoffs - That Dude loves faceoffs. As a 50-year old center, he embraces faceoffs and is readily willing to take on anybody. If he wins the faceoff, he's gonna play a lot better on the current possession. If he loses -- his mind is liable to wander off to ponder how he can win the next one. But that doesn't happen too often as That Dude's reaction time and hand-eye coordination from the second the referee drops the puck is uncanny. Overtime - you want That Dude taking all of the faceoffs, he's going to get you the puck first. Skating - That Dude is an extremely talented skater who can skate forward, backwards, sideways and even on his gloves if needed. I'm not sure how the latter is relevant to success in the VHL(M) but yeah, That Dude just wanted to point that one out. He's a speedster too, so if he breaks away - nobody is catching him. If somebody else's breaking away - Dude is gonna catch up. You really cannot teach skating at this level - either you got it or you don't... and he got it. CONS Discipline - That Dude doesn't really care if he gets sent to the penalty box. If he makes a mistake, he'll just go over to the box, do his time and then come back onto the rink. He is only focused on himself and how he can be in a position to make plays, either that or he's running replays through his mind on the previous faceoff and how he can win the next one. So if you're a team that hates penalties, That Dude may not be the best fit. Passing - This is an odd bit -- as a center, often the guy has to be extremely well-rounded and a good distributor for the shooting wings. But That Dude's a scoring center who likes to shoot the puck and not give it off to somebody else. That could be a potential red flag if That Dude doesn't work on it before the next level.

I’m down for this. If needed, I can help manage

That Dude was taken back when he received a notification on his phone that the Saskatoon Wild had no further use of his service and released him from his contract. At first That Dude shouted out a couple of explicit words that quite needless to say, caught the attention of some folks in his immediate surrounding. But then That Dude realized that it was the custom. M players are mostly free agents at this point, awaiting their fate in the upcoming dispersal draft. "Yeah I was mad at first. But then I realized that it's all fine. All good in the hood. 'Cause that happens to everybody and I realized that Doomsday did warn us that due to his transaction moves over the past season in an attempt to contend, that Saskatoon wouldn't have any picks in the first few rounds. So they just did the release move as a courtesy for the Portal thingy. Still! Don't scare me like that ever again. Getting back to the point - I look forward to the upcoming Dispersal Draft. It's gonna happen only once in my M career, since I'm going up to the bigs after this round. I look forward to the mystery unfolding, finding out my new wherebouts and getting together with my new teammates. It'll be interesting, but at the same time, bittersweet, since I did really enjoy my time in Saskatoon. They got me in, broke me in, and I feel like it's only appropriate if I return the favor. But that is life in the M, and we're all victims of the system really. Somebody had me going in the Top-12 in the draft or something, 'cause there's going to be other older guys into the draft too - I'm not quite sure really how that works but yeah. I guess something to do with having less than 200 or 250 TPE. That stuff doesn't interest me - I just want to know where I'll be making plays next season. Gotta continue to bolster my draft stock for the actual big draft that counts. Anyways That Dude out."

1.) Wasn’t really paying attention to how the M postseason ended but thanks for the update. Congrats to the champions I guess. I fully expect to be in that position next year. 2.) I don’t know if it’ll be at a time that’s friendly for me. But I’ll probably catch it on the flip side when alls done. Or somebody calls me and spoils it for me. Im really curious where I end up going. 3.) Whichever team is leading it at the moment. 4.) again, I don’t know. Since I was not selected I could care less. I only care if I’m playing? 5.) Me? Do I count as one? 6.) yeah I’ve been working with Wolf Stansson Jr on hosting a couple of clinics back in our home country of Iceland. Always nice to give back to the community.

1.) Reflecting on your S75, is there anything that you'd go back and "redo" or are you satisfied with how it went down? 2.) We went down to Las Vegas who ended up losing to the Mexico City Kings in 5 in the semfinals. Does that help you feel better or worse? 3.) Who are you rooting to win the M Cup this season? 4.) Where are you hoping to end up next season in either the VHL/VHLM? 5.) Which means more to you, winning the M Cup or the VHL Cup? 6.) Rate Doomsday on a scale of 1 - 5.

Game 7 of the Las Vegas Aces versus the Saskatoon Wild ended unpleasantly for the home team. After a 3-2 first period deficit, Saskatoon fought back to take a 4-3 lead heading into the final period. With home rink advantage and their fans on full-force... Saskatoon just had to hold the Aces off to advance to the VHLM semifinals. Unfortunately, with just over 4 minutes remaining in the game Las Vegas was finally able to knot up the game. And off to overtime we went... a sudden-death overtime. Nerves racking as I'm sure you can imagine. Both teams fought for every loose puck, took great care of their passes and trying to craft up a perfect offensive attack. Then came an untimely Wild penalty and Las Vegas was able to hit paydirt halfway through the first overtime period. Las Vegas would move on to the semifinals while Saskatoon was sent home packing. "This sucks man. I thought we had it in the bag. We really should have. Home rink advantage, coming back from a 3-1 series deficit and we were playing a whole lot better than them. It is what it is and our season's over. Another long offseason ahead of us and we've got to figure stuff out. The organization... and myself as well. Since I'm not coming back to the team next year as I'll be subject to the dispersal draft. Saskatoon doesn't have a pick until the fifth round and I'm not even sure if I'll last that long in the draft pool. But yeah, it was a great experience and I would like to thank the Saskatoon front office from the bottom of my heart for a great ride this season. I wish I did more to help us out in the first round series, but it is what it is. This offseason is going to be really important for me because we have to train our ass off, jockeying for draft position as well as for our actual BIG VHL Draft auditions which will be going on all the way throughout the season. So far I'm the 5th best prospect by the looks of it. I'm really curious as to how that draft pool will pan out by the end of our first full M season. I'm already checking out some of the great performers' build from this past season for ideas on how I can best perform next year. That Dude... is winning a M cup next season, bank on it."

That Dude is a third-string center for the Saskatoon Wild who find themselves in a fight for their lives in the first round going up against the underdog Las Vegas Aces. Las Vegas was able to jump out to a 3-1 series lead, but Saskatoon with their backs against the wall, was able to steal Game 5. They will need to continue to play like that over the next two games if Saskatoon is to have any chance of advancing to the semifinals. "It's like been a good experience man. Nothing like postseason hockey to really get your blood flow going, you know? The regular season, I came in late so I was sort of like, acclimating to the game and to my teammates. Not like that eight games was much of an acclimation period but it's better than nothing though. I know that I definitely can do and play much better than I am right now. I just need to find my spots, win my faceoffs and be in position to make plays for myself or for others. That's all really. Las Vegas is playing on an whole another level, and we are starting to pick ourselves up and match their intensity. Nobody ever said that it was going to be easy, but I feel like we should be a better position than we are right now. It is what it is and we're going to move on and play better. It's either that or go home, right?" In a recent VHL S77 Draft Class Ranking, That Dude was ranked fifth-best prospect. When asked about this, That Dude had some thoughts to share: "Fifth? C'mon man, I'm clearly better than the four scrubs ahead of me. I guess I just have to go out there and prove it to everybody else once again. I clearly have no problem with that and I'm just going to have to go out there and play my hardest in the next two games to prove myself and redeem my draft stock. Anyways, I hear that the VHLM do their dispersal draft every year, so I'm really curious as to where I end up next year since it doesn't seem like Saskatoon will have a chance to keep me around. Really curious about that one. "