animal74

Toronto Legion veteran Joel Castle became the first VHL goalie to reach 40 wins tonight after a 5-3 victory over the Moscow Menace reaching the milestone for the second time in his career. The last time Castle reached 40 wins was in S91, the year the Legion last won the Continental Cup. Castle hopes the milestone is a good omen. “Obviously, we want to win every game but that’s impossible so to win as much as we have this season has been great. I haven’t been as sharp as I’ve wanted to be so most of the credit goes to the rest of the team as they’ve been scoring at a phenomenal rate.” To Castle’s point, Toronto has been the league’s highest scoring team (249 GF) and is on pace to score the franchise’s most goals in a season since S81 with they poured in 279. They currently have four 40-goal scorers and could finish with five by the end of the season. Castle’s 40th win also kept Toronto’s slim lead at the top of the VHL with 96 points, two ahead of the red-hot Malmo Nighthawks who have beaten Toronto handily in all four of their meetings this season and have a game in hand. The Nighthawks netminder, Ash Sparks @DarkSpyro, who led the league with 46 wins last season, is second in the VHL with 39 wins and it won’t be long before he get his 40th win as well. It will be a close race between the two former Geneva Rush teammates for not only the wins title but also the Victory Cup.

Toronto Legion Press Conference (2 TPE for answering all six questions) 1. We are currently hanging on to the top spot overall in the VHL but a few teams are close behind. Can we hold on and capture our first Victory Cup since S67? 2. We're on pace to have our best offensive season since S81 (279 GF). How many goals will we have by the end of the season? 3. Which do you think will happen first in the VHL: The next 70-goal scorer or 100-assist scorer? 4. If Toronto used a third color to accent the double blue jerseys, what color do you think would look good? 5. Diego Machado is on pace to become Toronto's first 50-goal scorer since Paul Atreides in S83. Will he make it and how many goals will he end up with? 6. Which NHL playoff matchup intrigues you the most? Which matchup could you care less about?

2-0

Truer words have never been written.

VHL Centennial Rebrand I think that there's a huge opportunity coming up to in the next few seasons to not only rebrand a team or two but to give the league a new look - a celebratory refresh if you will - for its 100th season. With all the changes that have happened over one hundred seasons, this is possibly a once in a lifetime opportunity to give the league a new look if only for a season and to celebrate it’s rich history, the seven original franchises that have been around for all 100 seasons, and the teams and players that have made the VHL what it is today. Here are a few rebrands/refreshes I think should be considered for the league’s 100th anniversary: League Logo I think that the league logo needs a “rebrand” for it’s centennial, something that incorporates “100” to celebrate it’s one hundred seasons (similar to what the NHL did) and to show the world that it’s one of the best and longest lasting sim leagues ever. Perhaps it could also incorporate the seven (or eight) original team logos in the centennial logo. The NHL's Centennial Logo Original 7 Logos/Jerseys I would like to see the seven remaining original franchises (Calgary Wranglers, Helsinki Titans, Seattle Bears, Toronto Legion, HC Davos Dynamo (Amstel/Avangard), New York Americans (Hamilton), and Riga Reign (Stockholm) get special centennial logos: either a refresh of the original logos, a part of the original logo in the relocated logo where applicable, or a completely new rebrand of the colors and logos for something new and fresh. Also, I think all team logos should have “100” in the logo. I also propose a graphic/banner for each franchise showing things like number of seasons, past logos, number of Cups and Conference titles, player stats leaders, etc. That way, a new member to the VHL or someone joining a team for the first time have a fantastic way of getting a quick snapshot of the team’s history at a glance. Portal Page/Web Now this is where the VHL’s community could really show their talent. I propose a refresh of the portal and forum banners and have a contest where all who wish can submit a centennial banner and the winner (or Top 3?) get TPE. But we could use all of them and have the banners rotate on the pages (if that’s possible). The banners would need to pay homage to the VHL's rich history. Awards There isn’t a better time to unveil a new award or a rebranded award than during a centennial season. I know that they went through a renaming before, but with so much history and great players since then, it might be time for an award or two to be renamed. Maybe induct a special centennial member into the Hall of Fame? I’m not going to throw out too many ideas at the moment but just putting it out there for the general public to discuss. In conclusion, I think the VHL needs to capitalize on S100 to bring in some new looks and bring back old memories to celebrate this league and all the people that have made it run. New visuals should help attract new members and would liven the place up a bit. Plus it would allow our talented community to showcase what they can do and make this centennial a season to remember!

1. As a team it has been great! Our offense has been firing on all cylinders. I just wish my stats were a bit better. 2. He'll tie Max Molholt at the end of next season and surpass him in his ninth season. The party should be humungous! 3. Sure looks like it. One more to go. 4. Machado has been amazing all season. Going to go with him. 5. It means great stability for the franchise and the chance to be a contender for a while which is something the Legion haven't been for a while. 6. We only had about a 23% eclipse here. I went outside at the peak but didn't see any difference. Watched a couple videos of it live in Texas where it went completely dark which was crazy. My father-in-law went down there and said it was incredible.

Holy smokes, TWO shutouts for @DarkSpyro??? How does he do it??

S93 Toronto Legion Assistant Captains Bobby Bob @Baby Boomer Entering his fifth season, the Legion's 3rd overall pick in the S88 Draft has quietly become Toronto's leader on the blueline and one of the league's more underrated all-around defensemen. He has led the team in assists the past two seasons and works extremely hard off the ice setting an example for all Legion players to follow. This is his first season as an alternate captain. Harry Callahan @dstevensonjr After a successful rookie campaign, Callahan took his game to a new level finishing last season second on the team in scoring with 75 points and leading the Legion with 9 game-winning goals. He's proving to be as valuable off the ice as well as he has found his voice in the Toronto locker room and has the ear of the other leaders and management. Therefore, he has been voted an alternate captain for the second straight season. Captain Mac Atlas @v.2 Who else would it be? Altas will serve as Legion captain for the fifth consecutive season in S93. Already one of the most prominent players in franchise history, Altas' passion and desire to win is unmatched on the team and pushes the team to strive for greatness. He will do anything to achieve victory and is also climbing Toronto's all-time goal list. These three will lead the Toronto Legion in S93!

Nice article, always nice to be mentioned. Couple of points, McQueen has 2518 hits and ranks 16th all-time. The only reason Detroit beat Deathwalker (yes, I'm biased) is because he played an extra season. Deathwalker still holds the unofficial hits per game record.

Toronto Legion Press Conference (2 TPE for answering all six questions) 1. With five 20-goal scorers already (Machado, Jaks, Atlas, Lattimer, Callahan), who do you think will be the first Legion to hit 50 in ten seasons? 2. Which team in the three leagues do you think needs a name change most? 3. If you could pick an expansion city for each VHL Conference (North American and European), what would be your choices? 4. What were your thoughts on the league's Unfortunate Announcement? 5. How you feel about your performance so far this season? 6. What is your favorite Easter candy?

Woooo!!

Toronto Legion Press Conference (2 TPE for answering all six questions) 1. We are hanging near the top of the conference despite being in the lower half of goal scoring. What do we need to do to score more? 2. Walter Fitzroy Jr @Moon is tied for the league lead in assists. Do you think he'll have a shot at the Beketov Trophy (Most Assists)? 3. How would you rate your start to the season? 4. Rookie goalie Toddly Bobbly @ToddlyBobbly has stepped right in and is 1-1 in his first two VHL starts. What do you think of his performance so far? 5. Do you like the Team Awards? Is there an award you would like to see added/removed? 6. What NHL playoff match up would you most like to see?

I picked you so don't fail me twice!

Joel

I'll take F - Maxim Anisimov

D - Leif Reingaard F - Yaroslav Trunov @MubbleFubbles

F Jimi Jaks G Fuukka Rask @MubbleFubbles

Could make S94 perhaps??

Get a super large jersey and put us both in at the same time! No one would notice a four-legged goalie!

But it was @Baby Boomer who put him in...

After Team Canada failed to defend their World Cup gold, losing to Team USA 4-3 in the semi-final game and instead settling for bronze with a gutsy 4-2 win against Team Nordic, the various media outlets, YouTubers, podcasts and pundits started whispers about a potential goalie controversy that may have cost Canada a chance for three-peat gold medal. After starting the first four games of the World Cup round robin, last tournament's gold medal game starter, Joel Castle had been looking on from the bench. Despite sparkling numbers (1.97 GAA, 0.939 SV%, 1 shutout), Team Canada only scored five goals in those four games to start the tournament with a less than inspiring 1-2-1 record. Merome Dilson started the remaining six games and won all six as Canada finally found their scoring touch, lighting the lamp 22 times for 3.56 goals/game compared to 1.25 in Castle's games. Dilson was still great (2.26 GAA, 0.925 SV%, 1 shutout) but he didn’t need to be quite as stingy as the players in front of him scored almost triple the rate they scored with Castle in net. Joel Castle backstopping Team Canada Obviously looking at win record and not stats, Canada chose to start Dilson in the semi-final which ended up backfiring on the Red and White. Canada lost 4-3 to USA – who Castle had shutout in his final appearance. Now, the loss was definitely not Dilson’s fault. After Canada took a 1-0 lead into the second period, USA scored on three of four power play opportunities in the middle frame to take a 3-1 lead that Canada never recovered from. Dilson’s effort was valiant stopping 42 of 45 shots, but as the critics wondered after, would the knowledge that they hadn’t beaten Castle perhaps played a critical mental game with the American players as they had scored five times on Dilson in their meeting, a 6-5 shootout loss to Canada. Either way, having already beaten the USA twice in the round robin, losing to them in the medal round was especially bitter for the defending champions. When asked about the decision on a podcast days after the World Cup had ended, Joel Castle gave his typical professional answer. “As a competitor, you always want to play, but to be fair to Dilsy, he had a better season than I did leading up to the World Cup and he played fantastic in the round robin. I feel the team as a whole kind of played a little too loose in that second period against the States and we got into penalty trouble and they capitalized. It could have been way more out of reach but Dilsy played out of his mind really. We got outshot 26-10 in the second and 36-16 over the last two periods. You don’t win many games when you get outshot like that. And we made a push but in the end, it wasn’t enough and we had to play for bronze.” Asked if he thinks he’ll be able to play in the S94 World Cup, he just shrugged and said, “Hopefully, I’m still playing a level that allows me to play for Canada one more time. Dilson will probably be the starter again but I’d love another chance to get another gold medal. Time will tell. I have to stay in shape until then.” Castle’s record in two World Cups for Canada, including medal games, is 9-3-2 with a 1.72 GAA, 0.945 SV% and 2 shutouts for one gold and one bronze.

D Liv Slater @MubbleFubbles

Why no tagging? @leandrofg

Toronto Legion Press Conference (2 TPE for answering all six questions) 1. What trophy do you think is missing from the VHL Awards? 2. Which team will win World Cup gold? 3. How would you design a Legion third jersey? 4. If you could change the overtime/shootout format, what would you do? 5. What is your least favorite part of off-season training? 6. What book/movie have you read/watched recently that you would recommend to your teammates?

Claim 2/2 (1000 words)