animal74

As the hockey world celebrates new records being set in two different leagues, from Josh Leivo set a new single-season goal record in the KHL to Alex Ovechkin defying Father Time and besting Wayne Gretzky’s NHL all-time goals record, it makes one ponder whether some of the VHL’s seemingly unsurmountable records will stay intact forever or with the ability of an extra season, if some of them may eventually fall. Greg Clegane’s all-time wins record of 364 hasn’t been remotely challenged with only five goaltenders since his retirement reaching 300 or more wins. Kallis Kriketers came the closest but was still a 40-win season removed from tying Clegane’s total. Art Vandelay was the most recent to realistically had a shot and he finished with 307. With the amount of teams now in the VHL and the parity that is involved, there are usually 4-5 elite goalies at any one time battling for wins. Even with the possibility of an extra season, usually the top prospects go to rebuilding teams and the wins are hard to come by early one in their careers. Clegane’s record appears safe for now. Then there is Scotty Campbell. Still thought to be untouchable, as the amount of depth and talent has grown, it is near impossible for a player in today’s VHL to dominate so thoroughly and for so long as Campbell did – not to mention his single-season numbers have never been challenged let alone his career stats. No one has ever come within 150 goals of Campbell’s 600 with the most recent sniper, Matt Thompson, finishing his career with 422 (still good for 4th all-time). And while assists are a bit easier to come by, even Campbell’s early day rivals could only get within 59 assists of his 639 apples. A quintet of defensemen have cracked 500 career assists over the last 15 seasons, the closest Bo Johansson could get was 551 – the modern record and good for 4th all-time. The it comes to points. The most goals ever added to the most assists ever becomes the staggering number of 1239. That’s 268 more then second place Mike Szatkowski who retire two seasons after Campbell. The last time a player finished a career with 800 or more points was 30 seasons ago (Thompson and Podrick Cast). Safe to say, that record is safe. But then again, records are meant to be broken. Just ask Wayne Gretzky.

Sick!

DC Dragons S98 PC Answer 6 to get 2 TPE 1. We're currently 12 points out of a playoff spot with a game in hand. Can we make a push with the current roster to sneak in to the postseason? 2. We were shut out twice in the last six games. What could we try to generate more offense? 3. Which team has surprised you (good or bad) the most this season? 4. How are your initial Cup Finalist picks looking? Do you still think your picks will make it? 5. What individual award would you most like to win with one of your players (current or future)? 6. The weather is heating up, the snow is melting (at least here)! What is your most detested spring chore? 7. What game or sporting event has been must-watch TV for you this weekend?

"Pavlov for diving" More like a swoon...

When I was trying to think of what to write for the theme of “Tough Guys”, I had to skip a few initial ideas because not only was one of my players the former all-time career hits leader, I’ve also written a lot about tough guys already – from certain eras to dream teams to specific players (Guntis Penetis, Tommy Sleeves, among others). So, I decided to go in a different direction. The modern day record for penalty minutes in a single regular season game is 27, awarded to Helsinki Titan legend Kronos Bailey in S67 during a game against the Moscow Menace. Bailey broke RJ Stafford’s record of 25 PIM in a game that had stood for 40 seasons (although another former Titan, Vojczek Svoboda, tied the mark in S39). Partially aided by that record game, the Helsinki power forward was dinged for a career-high 223 PIM in S67, which was the second-highest amount in the league that season and the third-highest single-season total in Helsinki history before Tommy Sleeves came along. Kronos Bailey definitely comes from tough bloodlines. His grandfather is former Titan and legendary HOFer Matt Bailey, himself a three-time Boulet Trophy winner, who led the league in hits in S13 and collected over 1500 hits and 1000 PIM during his two-way career. The younger Bailey led the league in hits with 346 in S65 and still stands 11th on the Titan’s all-time hits list (1131) and 6th in PIM (744). He averaged over 138 PIM and over 247 hits in his first four seasons before focusing on being more of a gentleman and a playmaker (leading the VHL in assists in S68). Back to the game in question. Helsinki and Moscow were fierce rivals, being two of the top teams in the European Conference in S67, and had played each other twice already with each team picking up a win. Moscow had shutout Helsinki 3-0 a few games before. Who’s to say if that had Bailey riled up more than usual (he’d only taken one minor penalty in the two previous meetings with the Menace) but he was definitely up to no good on this night. Bailey and Jaguar fight to a draw. Bailey got into an altercation with Moscow’s Vladimir Pavlov only 1:36 into the first period with both player being sent off for two minutes – Pavlov for diving, Bailey for unsportsmanlike conduct. Then he was called for hooking at 15:05 – a power play that Moscow scored on to put them up 2-1. Near the end of the period, Bailey was sent off again for tripping. After a couple more minor penalties in the second period, Bailey was up to 10 PIM for the game. Ironically, Titan’s goalie Alexander Pepper got a delay of game penalty in the first minute of the third period, which Bailey had to serve. Shortly after, the Menace scored two quick goals to make it 5-1 and Bailey looked for a spark to get his team going. He goaded Moscow star Jet Jaguar into a fight at 8:41 and subsequently drew 17 minutes for fighting, instigating, and a game misconduct to set the new record. Although a couple players have come close, Kronos Bailey’s record of 27 PIM in a regular season game still stands. Helsinki would end up the first seed in the European Division over Moscow by one point but wound up losing the S67 Continental Cup to Vancouver in six games. Bailey is still sixth all-time among Titans in playoff PIM (107) and hits (165). Mentions: @Quik, @hedgehog337 @scotty @Victor @gorlab

The Portal Stats is best to see the active leaders (use the Sum slider) but not all the stats there are 100% accurate. The thread Janser gave you will give totals of anyone retired but not active - go to the Hits tab in the Skater stats sheet. You can also go here for most Hits in a Season:

I've been writing about Tough Guys for years...

1. I'm actually pleasantly surprised so far. My scoring rate has been more than my VHLM seasons and I'm holding a Top-8 spot in rookie scoring so I'm quite happy. I wish obviously that we would be in a playoff spot and that I could help the power play more but overall I'm really happy with my individual performance. 3. I think we are fairly on par with where are roster construction dictates although I think we definitely could be higher. 4. I posted a few ideas in the thread. Hopefully they are thought provoking... 5. I do. It's not the most active I've been in but at least it's not quiet for days. I try to pop in every day although irl I'm pretty busy. I think @qripll and @Alex as the GM/AGM you're doing a good job of being active and encouraging others. 6. Ooooh, good question! Rock - Six Feet Deep and Hell You Call A Dream by The Warning (best band out there right now!), Indie Pop/Rock - I Don't Wanna Talk by The Royal Foundry (great brand new summer track), Dance Pop? - With Me by Solar Heavy, Sofia Kafas (catchy new-to-me song/artist) 7. Maybe another game channel? Or a Dragons history channel. I could work on some stats sheets

The two active VHL leaders in career hits recently crunched their way to new milestones as both of them became the 19th and 20th players in VHL history to record 2300 hits. Toronto Legion winger Toby Kadachi (S98’s current hit leader with 177) @ROOKIE745 and Helsinki Titan-for-life blueliner Tommy Sleeves @dasboot each passed the mark earlier this season with Sleeves also passing HOFer Xin Xie Xiao @Baozi for 18th on the list and currently sits with 2379. The next on the list is another HOFer, Brennan McQueen @Jamie with 2518. Both Sleeves and Kadachi are on pace to finish the season just under 2500 hits. It would be remiss not to mention that Tommy Sleeves also set the new VHL record for career penalty minutes in Helsinki’s sixth game of the season a 3-1 win against Moscow. Having collected 12 PIM in his first five games, Sleeves entered the game 4 PIM (1854) behind Peter Payne (1858). The Titan of Toughness fought Jarmo Ruutu @jRuutu in the second period and was given a 5-minute major to put him one minute ahead of Payne to set the new VHL record. He was awarded two more minor penalties early in the third period to set his game-end career high at 1863. Unsurprisingly the VHL PIM season leader with 129, he currently sits at a career total of 1969 and most likely will be the first player in VHL history to reach 2000 penalty minutes by season’s end.

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The D. C. Dragons have surprised some critics after a disastrous start to the season losing their first five games. They have since gone 7-4-1 (including handing the Toronto Legion their only three losses of S98) to get back within range of a play-in spot in the North American Conference. Rookie defenseman Albin Aldgard may have taken a few games to acclimate himself to the VHL but he’s been on a tear as of late to help D. C. trend in the right direction. After only posting three assists in his first nine games, Aldgard has scored five goals and seven assists for 12 points in his last eight games. This stretch included a five-game point streak (3G-6A-9P) that saw him score his first VHL goal in his 12th game, a 3-2 overtime loss to Moscow and he put up the first 2-goal, 4-point game of his career in an 8-2 drubbing of New York. He followed that up two games later with his second multi-goal and third multi-point effort of the season with 2G-1A-3P in a 5-4 loss to Warsaw. The surge has seen him climb into the Top-8 of rookie scorers, a spot he hopes to improve on in the coming games.

Don't worry, if Hellebuyck can let in 5 goals, so can you!

1. After a couple of multi-point games, yes, they are finally matching what I'd hoped for. 2. The coaches got the right mix and we are now scoring more and getting contributions from everyone. 3. On paper, Prague has a better roster, I think their stars will help them stay in a playoff spot. 4. As much as I am partial to my old team, I think the LV Aces logo could use a redo. I don't mind the color scheme but the logo is a bit bland. 5. A big parade and a bigger party! 7. I don't think GMs should be fired due to poor results necessarily. If there is a lack of effort on the management side then perhaps after some coaching if things don't get better, I think having a review process to allow the BOG to fire a GM isn't a bad idea. Usually, though, GMs realize when they can't handle the responsibilities of GMing and step down.

Stellar!! Thanks @sadie

Honored to be given an 'A' right out of the gate! I hope I represent the Dragons well!