animal74

1. Cup or bust! There is no reason the Aces shouldn't be contention for the Founder's Cup. We have a talented group of players who are working hard and we should be one of the top teams in the VHLM. 2. Playing in the JST (Game 7 tonight!) and moving into my new place in Las Vegas. I checked out the sites, caught a couple shows, got familiar with the area. 3. There's a big rivalry with the Reapers and it's always good to play them. 4. I like looking for answers to the trivia questions as well as researching questions to submit! 5. I found a good deal on a 2020 Volvo XC60 SUV. It's great for exploring the area. It's got some pep, some space, and great speakers! 6. I don't mind trying something different as long as there are great desserts!

Um, WOW! Amazing recap. That is all.

After leading the Royals in scoring for much of the junior showcase tournament and ending the 30 game round robin first on the team in assists and second in points, Albin Aldgard almost completely disappeared from the score sheet during the team's 7-game playoff series against the Warriors only managing one goal and one assist. Despite the Swedish defenseman's offensive woes, the Royals still beat the Warriors four games to three to win the series. In the first game of the JST final vs the Rush, Aldgard did manage an assist in a 3-2 loss before the Rush shut out the Royals in the next game. Currently down 2-0 in the Final, the Royals will need Aldgard's offensive talents to breakout in order to come back and win this tournament. Realizing this adversity is part of a young player's trajectory, Aldgard has been staying longer at practice, getting more sleep and eating less pickled herring. "I guess I just wasn't mentally prepared enough for the playoffs," he said in a media scrum. "It's a long tournament and at times I wasn't as sharp as I should have been. I need to learn how to be more consistent so my teammates can rely on me more in the big games."

Honored to be part of this leadership team! Let's do this! #AceUpTheSleeve

I've read Sanderson's Legion series and The Emperor's Soul - all very good. I knew it would take me forever to get through the Stormlight Archive so I've been putting it off (I've been stocking them up on Audible). So far not a huge fan of the narrators unfortunately. Yes, the Loconte book is about the socio-economic and philosophical state of Europe and the world leading up to and during WW1 (and WW2) and how it influenced their writing. So far pretty interesting. Listening on Libby.

I'm slogging through a few books right now... Fiction: Malice by John Gwynne The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson Writing related non-fiction: Dreams and Wishes by Susan Cooper A Hobbit, a Wardrobe, and a Great War by Joseph Loconte I do a combo of physical books, Audible and Libby. Very occasionally ebooks.

Love it!

1. The Aces drafted me so it was great! Seriously though, the team didn't have many holes but drafted some underrated players late that should help the team in the future. 2. I think just seeing how the "new" VHLM works will be interesting to watch. 3. My first pregame warmup shot is always high, glove side on our goalie. 4. I want to provide a lot of offense while staying defensively responsible. 5. I would take them to Sweden and show them all the natural beauty there. 6. Egg Nog

Stoked to play with you again @Jayrad28. We had a great run in Prague with Alex and Ondrej!

Swedish defenseman Albin Aldgard was all smiles when he heard his name called by Las Vegas Aces’ GM @sadie 8th Overall in the S96 VHLM Dispersal Draft. At the post draft press conference, Aldgard’s smile was still as big as when his name had been called minutes earlier. “I’m super excited to be selected by Las Vegas. It’s a great city, it’s a great team, they have a smart management team and I think it’s a perfect fit. My agent has told me all good things about the franchise. I think my speed and skills will be well received by the fans and I like that the Aces have Cup aspirations.” @sadie has had the opportunity to scout Aldgard quite a bit as the GM of the JST Royals of which the defenseman was one of the top scorers during the main tournament with 9 goals and 19 assists for 28 points in 30 games. Aldgard also got his feet wet in the M with the Mississauga Hounds for the last 16 games of the S95 regular season along with 9 playoff games.

Albin Aldgard, D S97 Draft Eligible Sweden Albin Aldgard was born in Ostervala in Uppsala County, Sweden. While the smaller southern town of roughly 1600 may not have had the amenities of some larger centres, it still had deep hockey roots, being also the home town of NHL hockey players Filip Forsberg, Marcus Ragnarsson, and Gustav Lindstrom. Albin’s parents nurtured their only child in his early years through their love of sport. His father, Viktor, a hockey player for the local HockeyFyran (Division 4) team Ostervala IF, taught him to skate when he was four years old and his mother, Ella, a cross-country skier, competed around Europe and instilled in him a love for the outdoors. Although being a smaller child, his athletic aptitude and competitive will was quickly evident and his desire to win at even the smallest game became the fuel for his future career in hockey. With watching his father play for the local hockey team since he was a toddler and learning to skate with his dad when he was able to, hockey had always been a part of Albin’s life since he could remember. But the spark came one winter when he was six and his family was visiting his mother’s sister – his aunt – in the city of Vasteras. His aunt took them to one of Sweden’s popular outdoor activity parks Aktivt Uteliv Björnögården on the island of Björnö to skate on the frozen waters of Lake Malaren with kilometers of cleared tracks for skating. Whizzing along the endless paths of ice made young Albin feel like he was flying and he never wanted it to end. That evening, they went to watch Vasteras’ new VHLE team, the Iron Eagles, a team founded on the heels of the Malmo Nighthawks’ VHL championship the season before. Albin got caught up in the crowd’s excitement of a new league joining the city as well as having a talented Swedish goalie, Oskar Lindbergh @Doomsday, in net for the team. The next night as his parents tucked him into bed wearing his new Iron Eagles jersey, Albin announced he wanted to be a hockey player when he grew up. Skating on Lake Malaren near Vasteras sparked Algard's love of ice. Over the next few years, it seemed like Albin was always playing hockey, and when he wasn’t playing hockey, he was skating, either on the rink or on the nearby Lake Tamnaren when it was frozen. He quickly became the best skater in his age group and this skill eventually saw him transition to defense due to his ability to get back to his zone faster than anyone else. He loved the game and was constantly working on his skills whether it was shooting pucks or playing keep-away with his dad. Word started to travel about this lightning fast defender in Ostervala and local scouts took notice. For his Age-16 season, the family moved to Gavle so Albin could play for the Brynas junior team. He would spend the next three seasons in Gavle, leading their defensemen in scoring in two of those three seasons. They never made the playoffs though and that bothered him. At the end of the third season after accumulating 54 points in 88 games over three seasons, the Swedish Hockey League parent team Brynas IF invited the 18-your-old to play in a few games at the pro level. He skated in three SHL games, collecting an assist in his first game and acquitted himself well drawing praise from the pro players. The experience cemented his desire to make hockey his career. In 2022, the city of Uppsala was granted a HockeyAllsvenskan (Division 1) team after a multi-year hiatus and as Uppsala was closer to Ostervala than Gavle, Albin joined Uppsala’s Almtuna IS Jr. team for the 2022-23 season. He was leading team defensemen in scoring with 24 points in 31 games when he was one of the last cuts for Team Sweden’s World Junior squad so with the Almtuna IS Jr. team in third-last in the league and with no hope of making the playoffs, the parent team called him up and he spent the next 22 games of the season with the Division 1 Almtuna IS where he scored 4 goals and 12 assists for 16 points but didn’t dress for either of the two qualifying playoff games. Aldgard spent his adolescent years with Almtuna IS Jr. and Brynas Jr. teams. The next season he made the full-time jump to the SHL signing with Orebro HK, a team that also featured NHL prospects Jonathan Lekkerimaki, Samuel Johannesson and briefly Elias Pettersson. Despite a strong start to the season Albin was again a late cut for Team Sweden’s World Junior team in December. He finished 7th on Orebro HK in scoring and 3rd among team defensemen with 18 points in 40 games which tied him for 6th among league rookies and tied for 1st among first-year blueliners. Finally, he played in one qualifying playoff game – his first playoff game since leaving Ostervala as a teenager. Feeling that playing for less successful teams had been hurting his chances on the World Junior teams which gave him less exposure to international scouts, he talked to teammate Jonathan Lekkerimaki about Canada who gave him positive reviews about his time there for the 2022 NHL draft in Montreal and the Vancouver Canucks’ development camp. With this info in mind and childhood memories of the VHLE and the Vasteras Iron Eagles, he asked his agent to contact teams connected to that league for opportunities. The Mississauga Hounds in the VHL’s minor league (VHLM) responded and as they were a contending team guaranteed to make the playoffs and with a need on the back end, Albin Aldgard left his beloved Sweden and flew across the world to join a new team in an attempt to continue his dream.

1. Discipline continues to be an issue. But we also need to tweak the offense - maybe the line combos - to generate more goals. Also, perhaps try some others in the shootout. 2. Well, I can't complain with leading the team in scoring (currently) and being one of the top offensive defensemen in the tourny so, yeah, that's what I was hoping for. A better plus/minus rating would be ideal 3. Chazz - he's been stopping everything! 4. Yes! I'm looking forward to the M draft to see where I end up. Excited to hopefully be in the Top-10 for the first time. 5. Anywhere with mountains. 6. I think it's great! Having played in it and managed a team (Pickles) I think it one more thing to get new players engaged and excited about the league.

1. I can't say with any certainty. I would have to look into that further. 2. My daughter replicates my mom's home made multi-layer chocolate cake with crushed Skor in the icing. It's to die for. 3. That's definitely helped. Bobbly had some great games for the Legion too. 4. I think it's some of both. Many teams lack a bonafide QB but win with defense. It's a weird parity but the injuries also cause chaos. 5. I only played one and it wasn't my favorite. Castle played for the S86 Geneva Rush, one of the worst teams ever. There were only three non-bot players and two were goalies, me and Ash Sparks - who's friendship was the only thing that made that season palatable. 6. Yeah, probably... and for my birthday!

When Albin Aldgard was informed that he had been selected by the Royals for the S95 Junior Showcase Tournament, he was thrilled. “I got the call from GM @sadie that I had been selected to the Royals and it’s been a great experience so far. A few more wins would be nice but I think we’re coming together as a team and we’re going to have a good stretch of games here.” The Royals have gone 3-5-1 in the first nine games and Aldgard shares the team lead in points with 8 (2 goals, 6 assists). He also leads the team in blocked shots (22) and power play assists (4). Statistically, he has been one of the top defensemen in the tournament so far along with former Mississauga Hounds teammate Slava Kovalenko @OblivionWalker. Aldgard will wait to see where he plays after the JST until the VHLM holds its Dispersal Draft. As one of the top defensemen available, he is expected to go in the 1st round. Surprisingly, he is currently the only Swedish player to have declared for the draft.

@Steve Axle Gunner screws Toronto two Finals in a row - this time with the Cup-Winning Goal.

Congrats Riga on your first Cup since S72! Legion, you were so close again!

LEGION LEGEND MAC ATLAS SCORES HAT TRICK GOAL IN OT TO FORCE GAME 7!!! He becomes just the 20th player in VHL history with 100 career playoff points! @v.2

Let's go Royals!!

Same here!

But Deathwalker did it in eight seasons and Detroit in nine. Deathwalker still holds unofficial hits/game record.

Congrats, Philly! Last Founder's Cup of the VHLE era.

When defenseman Albin Aldgard left Sweden to test what opportunities were in North America, he landed in as good a spot as he could have hoped for with the contending Mississauga Hounds of the VHLM. One of the top teams in the league were looking for some depth in their playoff quest and Aldgard provided just that. In the 16 regular season games in which he played, Aldgard acquitted himself nicely as the Hounds went 11-5-1 with Aldgard in the lineup to finish the season in 2nd place in the Eastern Conference and 3rd overall with a 46-20-6 record for 98 points. Aldgard didn’t look out of place providing some offense and handling his defensive duties. He didn’t hit the scoresheet until his fourth game when he registered his first VHLM assist and provided seven more points the rest of the way to finish his stint with four goals and four assists for eight points in 16 games. He also had a +10 rating and provided just over a shot and a hit per game while scoring his first three goals on the power play and notching a game-winner. The 5’ 10” Swede, who has garnered comparisons to the Vancouver Canucks’ Quinn Hughes, stepped it up in the playoff with 2-4-6 in 9 games as they swept the Houston Bulls in the first round but were stopped short in five games by their Eastern rivals, the Philadelphia Reapers. Overall, Aldgard loved his experience in Mississauga and looks forward to find out where he will play next. “Mississauga, the players, the management, they were great to me. I loved every minute playing for the Hounds. It was good for me to see what the next level of hockey is like and I feel like I played fairly well. I am excited for the draft to see where my next step will take me.”

1. Lost in 5 but I think it was a great season for the Hounds with lots to build off of. You guys have a great room and dedicated management so I think you'll go far! 2. Well, I only played one season with my previous player and it was on one of the worst teams in E history so I'm not particularly attached to the league. I feel bad for the GMs losing their jobs but I think league participation is at a place where the VHLE is not needed and by closing it, will strengthen the M and VHL. 3. No. 4. That's hard to say. Teams like Moscow, Davos, and Helsinki have good young rosters with lots of prospects and multiple first round picks this draft so they look to be setup pretty well for the future. 5. Probably behind someone who is tall. At least high up, you can still see the large screens (if there are any!). 6. I prefer rock. The Warning's new album Keep Me Fed is full of awesome pump up songs.

3 OT in MIS/PHI Game #3!!

Great answers! Thanks @Victor for the time you put into those answers. Appreciate all you do for the league! And thanks @Ahma for setting this up!