animal74

No curse now...??

So poetic... Nice read. If you think everything is fine, it must be!

Joel Castle: Legion For Life Since coming into the league as a wide-eyed rookie thrust into the starting goaltender role for the Toronto Legion in S87, Joel Castle has experienced all the highs and lows the sport of hockey has to offer. From struggling on last place teams to grinding to the top of the mountain and raising the Continental Cup, the native of Victoria, BC, has worked as hard as any player in the league and now is reaching the end of the road. With less than a quarter of S94 left to play on the schedule, the Toronto Legion find themselves in a familiar spot – near the top of the VHL standings. Their place at the top of the North American Conference is not secure with the Seattle Bears right behind them but with the VHL’s best offense, a playoff berth is all but certain. It will be Toronto’s fifth consecutive playoff appearance only the second time in franchise history that the Legion have made the postseason five or more straight seasons. The other was when Aidan Shaw led them to the postseason each of his seven seasons manning the crease. To be only the second goaltender to lead such a storied franchise to five straight playoff appearances shows how much Castle has meant to the organization. Having the benefit of being a team’s starter for eight seasons will produce some impressive numbers and while Castle may not be considered one of the best in VHL history, he is one of the best in Toronto history. Already the franchise all-time leader in shots against and saves made, he will end his career in the top three in wins, losses, overtime and shootout losses and top ten in SV% and shutouts. In fact, he is on pace to become only the 25th goalie in VHL history to play in 500 or more games. He is also near the top of Legion playoff leaders and may rise to the top depending on how the upcoming playoffs go. Individual awards haven’t been forthcoming – with only the S91 Daisuke Kanou Trophy to his name – but for Castle, it’s been much more about the team. “To me, being a Legion has been everything,” says Castle during a post practice interview. “I love that I’ve been here my whole career and stayed with the same guys season after season. We’re a family and we win and lose as a family. Management have never once asked me if I wanted a trade which tells me they want me and they think we have the chance to be successful and we have been successful. But we want to win one more – I want to win one more Cup. That’s the goal. Short term, day-to-day, yes, it’s one game at a time and ensure we make the playoffs but after that, the goal is the Cup. Full stop.”

Red Panda, hahahaha!! Took me a second, I was like, what's wrong with the goaile mask... LMAO

Thanks for the mention! (Even if it was to slander my VHFL genius!)

Great article @LucyXpher! My first player retired in S12 so I didn't play with Jannula but I won a Cup with @McNeil's previous player Zacky Vengeance in S12 with the Bears.

Ah, thanks! I've been trying to figure out who belonged to Nydroj for my Legion all-time stats!

Just his last season, but he's still 16th all-time in Legion scoring, 8th among defensemen scoring (not counting his season at forward) and 6th in defense goal-scoring.

Over a point-per-game for a D man ain't necessarily a scrub...

Jimi Jaks scored his 100th point of the season on an assist on a Bobby Bob powerplay tally early in the first period in a 5-4 shootout loss to Helsinki yesterday. It was his second assist of the period and made him the first player in the VHL to reach the century point mark in S94 and the first Legion player to score 100 or more points in consecutive seasons since Oyorra Arroyo in S64-S65. He also currently leads the league with 48 goals and 4 hat tricks. He’ll be looking to reach 50 goals for the first time in his career by season’s end. When he does hit 50, he’ll be the first Legion player to score as many in a season since Paul Atreides’ 61 in S83. Jaks has been rocketing up the franchise all-time scoring lists as he now sits 8th in goals (246), 13th in assists (302) and 7th in points (548) breaking a tie with HOFer defenseman David Walcott with his two assists against Helsinki. Talk about climbing the all-time lists, after a going on an astounding tear of 20 goals in his last 18 games, Legion captain and the VHL’s third-leading goal-scorer Mac Atlas has blown by Peyton Nydroj for 3rd all-time with 292 goals and is now tracking down Legion hero Zach Parechkin and his 327 goals. Atlas is also 17th in assists (284) and 4th in points (576). Bobby Bob has also been overtaking many Legion greats especially in all-time assists where he now sits 11th with 329. He needs 6 more helpers to pass Roman Sokolov and break into the Top-10. Bob sits just outside the Top-20 for all-time points but is in 6th among all Legion defensemen with 402 points just a few behind the legendary Jochen Walser. You can find the current All-Time Legion Top-20 here: Mentions: @v.2 @ke1vi @Baby Boomer @DollarAndADream @Knight @omgitshim @Mr_Hatter @Beketov @marshall_222

Claim 2/2

For this season’s theme week, the VHLM, I’m going to revisit a couple of modern-day records and look at them in more depth. We only have access to data as far back as S43, so these records probably wouldn’t be records in the earlier days knowing how many goals were scored some seasons. You’re bound to see some familiar names as you read so enjoy! Zach Parechkin envisioning a record-setting night. Most Goals in 1 Game (Player): Zach Parechkin @DollarAndADream, Bern Royals, S45, Game 12 – 7 Goals In an early polarizing game, and one that would set the tone of the season for both teams, the Bern Royals and Yukon Rush would meet in their third game of the season and, in a weird scheduling snafu (because the 7200 km flight between Yukon and Switzerland is just BRUTAL), the first of 10 meetings in 11 games. Both teams came into this game 1-1 with Yukon getting a surprising shootout win in their last game against the eventual Founder’s Cup Champions, the Moscow Red Wolves. Future HOFer Zach Parechkin opened the scoring at 4:24 of the 1st period and thus the onslaught began. Parechkin would score again one minute and 12 seconds later and add an assist by the end of the period. In the second period, he would score three more times in the span of 2:04 and add another near the end of the period before adding his record-setting 7th goal of the game and adding a second assist in the third. He would factor in all nine goals in a 9-0 drubbing of the Rush. Others with big performances were Sean Blacker (1-4-5) @frescoelmo and Jordan Maverick (1-3-4) @Dmoushey_31. Parechkin’s fellow future HOFer, blueliner Jeff Hamilton @sterling also had an assist on route to a 92-assist season. Bern would go on to win all ten of their games against the Rush, shutting them out five times and outscoring them 64-9. Bern would also lead the league in goals for that season with four 100-point scorers (Parechkin, Hamilton, Blacker, and Mathieu Baptiste @InstantRockstar) while Yukon would be last in the league in goals against. Zach Parechkin’s legendary career would begin with a host of VHLM awards, leading the league in goals, game-winning goals, hat tricks and points while being named MVP. While a few players have scored six goals in a games since, no one has matched Parechkin’s single-game total in almost 50 seasons. The Yukon Rush celebrating yet another goal. Most Goals in 1 Game (Team): Yukon Rush, S80, Game 189 – 13 Goals Ironically, the Yukon Rush found themselves on the positive side of an offensive record during their last season before moving to Geneva and becoming the short-live Rush of the VHLE. On route to the franchise’s tenth Prime Minister’s Cup (best record), the S80 Rush would score the second-most goals in a season since S43 (they scored 10 or more goals nine times that season) and in Game 189 would pick on the team that would allow (at the time) the second-most goals, the Mississauga Hounds. After already thumping the Hounds 10-3 the game before, Yukon would jump out to a 4-1 lead with nine different Rush players getting a point in the opening frame. Then, the Hounds’ red light barely got a break as the Rush poured in 5 straight goals on 33 shots in just the second period with Mississauga’s Marcel Janser @Morcar80 temporarily stopping the streak with a late powerplay marker to make it 9-2. The Rush would pour in four more goals in the opening 7:17 of the third period before another late goal by Marcel Janser to cap the final score at 13-3. On a team full of players headed to the VHL, seven Rush players had four or more points led by Harkat Mulds’ @hylands four goals and six points and five assists from Sting Chameleon @Hybrid1486. Others with four points were Hulk Hogan 2 @Hogan (who went scoreless despite a game-leading 22 shots), Chicken Nugget @LT.CHICKEN NUGGETS, Kyosti Karjalainen @UnkemptCL4PTP, Link Zhang @WHY_Bolts, and Zaza Colors @McWolf. It was the most offense by one team in a game since S72 and while Yukon hit 12 later that season and Houston scored a dozen in S82, no one has yet equaled the Rush’s 13. Honorable mention, in addition to two goals, Marcel Janser had 9 blocked shots (he earlier tied the VHLM record for blocked shots in a game with 12). Future HOFer brother Daniel Janser @Daniel Janser had an assist.

Another close game but I take Round 1 @DarkSpyro For context:

So much time has passed since S86 when two fresh-faced Canadian netminders, Ash Sparks @DarkSpyro and Joel Castle @animal74 were both drafted by the ill-fated Geneva Rush in the VHLE. The now-defunct Rush finished dead last in the league that season with Sparks and Castle splitting the team’s meager 12 wins. But the losing helped forge a deep friendship despite being from opposite ends of the country (Castle from Vancouver Island and Sparks from Ontario). And that friendship continues to this day. The 6th (Sparks) and 13th (Castle) overall picks in the S86 VHL draft find themselves in familiar positions as they are 1st and T-2nd in the VHL in wins – a spot they have regularly been at or close to the past five seasons. S94 will mark the end of the road for both goaltenders and they will renew their friendly rivalry tonight with the first of four meetings in this latter half of the season. To look at their VHL battles over the last seven seasons will show two fierce competitors that bring out the best in each other. Sparks vs. Castle circa S86 Over their 20 head-to-head meetings, Sparks has come out on top more often with a 12-7-0 record vs. Castle’s Legion while Castle stands at 8-6-5 against Sparks’ Bears early on but mostly his Nighthawks. Sparks has proved to have the upper hand after regulation as he has won all five of their games that went past 60 minutes being victorious once in overtime and four times in the shootout including an epic 10-rounder in S92. Each goalie has posted one shutout against the other and 16 of their meetings have been decided by 2 or less goals. Sparks has won the last three head-to-head meetings last season as Malmo had Castle’s number, firing 13 goals past him in less than five periods. When asked if they’ve chatted about the upcoming games, Castle grinned and said, “Of course, we have. We’re going to enjoy this and have some fun. We’ll always battle hard but our goal this year is to meet in the Cup Final and have a chance to battle each other one last time. And after retirement, we'll definitely be getting together over some beers to reminisce about our time in the VHL.”

1. Everyone has been contributing to the team's success, but Jaks is having an outstanding season and has definitely been our most valuable player. He leads the team in almost every category and should be up for a bunch of hardware if he keeps it up! 2. I think people just don't have the money to spend they used to before COVID and the rise of inflation. 3. Now that have seen what set works best, it might be time to stick with the best groupings. But, if there's no real difference then if it's not broke don't fix it. 4. I'm re-reading an older MG/YA fantasy series that's now 50 years old but has a massive following still all over the world. The series is The Dark is Rising Sequence by Susan Cooper and the last book I finished was #4 of 5, the Newbery Medal-winning, The Grey King. I'm currently reading #5, Silver on the Tree. I would highly recommend the series, with a reminder that it is 50 years old so there are a couple things that didn't age well, but for the most part, the Light vs Dark saga filled with Arthurian, Celtic, and Welsh mythology is still a good read and has seen a resurgence in popularity over the last 10 years or so due to Cooper being given a few lifetime writing awards and the BBC producing a radio play of the second book, The Dark is Rising. 5. The offense is clicking on all cylinders but that goalie needs to stop a few more pucks. There are a couple teams that still give us trouble. 6. Not that I can recall.

Congrats @fromtheinside! Well deserved honor! Loved playing with you in Malmo and thrilled to see you have success with Sundin in Chicago.

Congrats!

Congrats in a great career @Gustav ! LA Legend

1. Well the fact that we're one of the highest scoring teams helps and we're mixing things up 5-on-5 and keeping the other teams guessing. Everyone is committed to playing hard on both sides of the puck and that goalie is keeping the odd shot out. 2. I think a couple teams are overachieving so we'll see how long they last. I keep waiting for Seattle to crash back to earth but whatever they're smoking seems to be working for now. 3. Switzerland is on my bucket list and I would even take a long weekend. The mountains, the food, the culture - the long flight would be worth it. 4. My TPE is currently 1615 (will be 1629 after the approvals this week). Castle is my fourth player and highest earning. My last player, Druss Deathwalker did well too ending with 1356. 5. Bobby Bob. He's been unreal and my assists are kind of flukes. Unless I start doing some hail marys at open nets, Bob will lead dmen in scoring. 6. No, I haven't done one yet. I think a couple of my kids have, and we've talked about doing one but haven't had the time yet.

S93 TEAM AWARDS After a surprise playoff run in S92, the S93 Toronto Legion were very optimistic about their chances in S93. Although with their backend taking a hit through retirements (including two-time Continental Cup winner Jimmy MacElroy and beloved backup goalie Evan Bihler) and departing free agents and not a lot of cap space to play with, the Legion bet on offense to lead them to the promised land. It almost worked. They were one of the top teams throughout the season, finishing second in the NA Conference and narrowly led the league in goal-scoring thanks to career seasons from most of their players. In fact, they became only the third documented Legion team to have four 40+ goals scorers (the other times being S59 and S10). It was the first time since S83 that Toronto produced three 100-point players in the same season. The Legion also had four of the VHL’s top eight shooters with Mac Altas, Jimi Jaks, Harry Callahan and Steve Lattimer all throwing over 510 shots at opposing goalies. Unfortunately, Toronto’s Cup aspirations were cut short as the offense dried up in the first round against Henry Tucker Jr and the D.C. Dragons, scoring only four goals on the way to being swept in four games. Here are some of the individual highlights: - Mac Atlas (47), Steve Lattimer (44), Diego Machado (44), and Jimi Jaks (43) all set career-highs in goals becoming the third foursome in Toronto history to all score 40 or more goals in the same season - All but one player on the Legion roster set a career-high in points - Harry Callahan was 10th in VHL scoring with 104 points. He was also 7th with 526 shots, T-7th with 68 assists with 9 GWG and 9th with 489 shots - Bobby Bob’s career-high 85 points were T-7th among defensemen and his 72 assists were 4th in the VHL - Jimi Jaks set numerous career-highs. His 537 were second on the team and fifth in the league. He was also among Top-10 leaders in hat tricks and shorthanded goals. - Mac Atlas set career-highs with 47 goals (T-7th in the VHL) and 579 shots (3rd in the league), while his 11 PPG were T-8th and 10 GWG T-3rd - Joel Castle’s 41 wins were T-2nd in the league as was his 4 assists Statistical Leaders: Goals: Mac Atlas 47 Assists: Bobby Bob 72 Points: Harry Callahan 104 +/-: Mason Rice 21 PIM: Jimi Jaks 129 Hits: Jimi Jaks 193 Shots: Mac Atlas 579 Shots Blocked: Mason Rice 168 PPG: Mac Atlas 11 GWG: Mac Atlas 10 Fights: Jimi Jaks 9 Wins: Joel Castle 41 GAA: Toddly Bobbly 2.85 SV%: Joel Castle 0.917 SO: Joel Castle 2 Here are the S93 Team Awards as voted by the Toronto players and management: Best Defenseman Bobby Bob @Baby Boomer For the third straight season, Bobby Bob led the Legion in assists with 72 (4th in the league) and was the team’s leader on the backend. He also led Toronto in power play assists and minutes played. Rookie of the Year Toddly Bobbly, G @ToddlyBobbly Bobbly was the only rookie on the roster and showed he was ready for the VHL. He filled in admirably when Joel Castle struggled at times. He finished with a 7-3-1 record, a 2.85 GAA and 0.910 SV%. Unsung Hero Mac Atlas @v.2 Seeing as the long-time captain is one of the greatest goal-scorers in franchise history, naming him an Unsung Hero seems almost like a backhanded compliment. But despite leading the team in goals for the fourth time in his career and leading the team with 10 GWG and 579 shots, he was fourth in points and was sometimes overshadowed by other players having breakout years. Most Energetic Harry Callahan @dstevensonjr Callahan’s presence has only grown more prominent in the organization. His breakout year leading the team in scoring and among the top in almost team category shouldn’t be a surprise as few players in the league work as hard as he does. This is his third consecutive Most Energetic Award. Most Gentlemanly Joel Castle @animal74 Despite a down year and knowing that his window for another Cup is closing fast, the Legion’s veteran goalie remained positive and encouraging and faced every obstacle with his standard professionalism. He is a role model for future Legion players as this is his fifth Most Gentlemanly Award. Most Valuable Player Diego Machado @Dadam30 This award could have gone to a few players this year but that is not to take away from Machado’s incredible breakout season! On the way to leading the Legion in scoring for much of the season, he set new career-highs in every offensive category and improved on his previous best by 40 points which led to a Dustin Funk Trophy (Most Improved) nomination! He also led the Legion with eight 1st Star selections during the season. Legionary of the Year Harry Callahan @dstevensonjr This young man has a bright career ahead of him. He has been the Legion’s bannerman the last few seasons now and not only brings everything on the ice but also to the locker room, team meetings and the management side. His voice is heard and trusted whether with an encouraging word or a line up suggestion. This is his third consecutive Legionary of the Year Award. 3-Stars Award Jimi Jaks @ke1vi This was one of the closest 3-Star races in recent memory. The top five Legion on this list were separated by only 70 points and the top four all had 18 or 19 selections. Diego Machado led the team with eight 1st Star selections, the lowest leading amount in the last ten seasons if not more. But that is a testament of the team’s depth not lack of talent. Jaks beat Machado by 10 points (one selection) to earn his second straight 3-Stars Award. Jaks set career-highs in goals, assists, points, shots, penalty minutes and shot blocks while continuing to be Toronto’s physical leader topping the team in hits, penalty minutes and fights. Full 3-Star standings below: Player 1st 2nd 3rd Star Points Total Stars Jimi Jaks 7 7 5 400 19 Diego Machado 8 5 5 390 18 Steve Lattimer 6 7 6 380 19 Harry Callahan 4 8 6 340 18 Mac Atlas 6 5 5 330 16 Bobby Bob 3 3 7 220 13 Joel Castle 4 2 4 200 10 Kobe Johnson 2 1 0 80 3 Walter Fitzroy Jr 0 2 2 60 4 Mason Rice 0 0 1 10 1 Toddly Bobbly 0 0 0 0 0 Congratulations to all the award winners!

Yeah, when you originally put the Legion career leaders together, Max hadn't finished his career yet. You wouldn't happen to have any more Legion historical documents/stats hiding somewhere would you (aside from what's already on the forum)? I've got lots more planned...

Love the orange Chicago jersey, that would really pop on the ice. The other two Chi kits are good too! Also love the NY alt and I'm a big fan of the gradient sleeves on the Seattle champ jersey. The Legion away is so clean. Fantastic work, bud!

Aside from the Malmo jerseys, I think my fave is the retro alt Titans one. That's a thing of beauty!