animal74

There are two special members of the Toronto Legion who announced their retirement shortly after the team’s Continental Cup win: Dens Oden @Snussu and Tomas Sogaard @Brandon.
 
Sogaard had a remarkable career, retiring as one of only 35 players in VHL history with at least 650 points and at least 1500 hits. He was a part of some strong Moscow teams that won the Victory Cup in S84 and S89. He had his best season in S88 leading the league with a career-high 51 goals which earned him the Brooks (Goals Leader) and Funk (Most Improved) Trophies. He scored 30 or more goals in seven straight seasons (every one except his rookie season) finishing with 288. He also made the playoffs each of his eight VHL seasons scoring 78 points in 79 playoff games including 9 game-winners. His best playoff showing was Toronto’s S91 Cup run where he posted 22 points and a team-leading 12 goals. He led the team with 61 hits and tied for the team lead with 4 game-winners including the team’s only two overtime goals. He will forever be remember for his post-season heroics. His Toronto totals are 66 goals and 134 points in 144 games. In the playoffs he posted 19 goals and 32 points in 29 playoffs games.
 
Oden was a late bloomer and despite being drafted in S83, he bounced around a few organizations before finally finding a home in Toronto and played his first VHL game in S87. He has bled blue ever since. The slick forward may not have been the most talented but he was as consistent and unselfish as they come. He even switched to defense in his final season – a move that undoubtedly helped put Toronto on the path to their Cup win. He scored a career-high 28 goals in S90 and then a career-high 59 points as a defenseman last season. As proof of his leadership and versatility, he had won the team’s Unsung Hero, Most Energetic and Most Gentlemanly awards. Always a positive voice in the locker room, his steady and reliable presence will be missed. He finishes his Legion career with 107 goals and 246 points in 360 games and 22 points in 29 playoff games.
 
Thank you to Dens and Tomas for your contributions to Legion hockey. Enjoy retirement!
 

“And the winner of the S91 Daisuke Kanou Trophy, for leading the Toronto Legion to their first Continental Cup in 26 seasons, Joel Castle!”
 
Shaking my head in bewilderment, I slowly get to my feet and make my way to the stage. I get high-fives and a few hugs from my Legion teammates as I cross the floor. I’m in shock, my brain racing through the last five seasons. From my first start for the Legion in S87 to our first playoff game in S90 and the thrilling series win against Vancouver to the crushing defeat at the hands of Los Angeles. Knowing of all the adversity we faced this season, the struggle to get back into the playoffs but just having that confidence in one another and using the lessons learned the last few seasons to march through each series and finally finish our comeback in Game 6 of the Final. The memory of hoisting the Cup and skating around the rink followed by my Legion brothers is bright in my mind as I accept the beautiful Kanou Trophy from the presenter.
 
Emotion welling up inside, I simply say: “Thank you. Thank you. This is a dream come true, an honor and a day I didn’t know if it would ever come but I kept working toward it anyway. Thank you to our GM Moon for assembling us together and believing in us even when the critics didn’t. Thank you to our captain, Mac Atlas, who could be up here instead of me after his incredible run and breaking the Legion single playoffs points record. Thank you to all the rest of my teammates, Jimi – you were awesome and if Mac hadn’t broken the record, you would have. Dens and Tomas, you both fought until the bitter end and now you retire as champions! Bobby and Jimmy were solid all playoffs in the back end and Burnsy came up big when needed. Our Toronto Trio of rookies, Diego, Harry, and Walter – you guys played like vets – don’t ever forget these moments. And finally, but not least, my brother in pads, Evan you helped keep me focused and loose throughout the whole playoffs. You always kept cheering us on, pushing us to be better. And not to forget, a huge thank you to our fans in Toronto and around the world who have stayed with us for the long haul and now we’ve been able to bring a Cup to TO. You guys are the best fans in the VHL and we love you all! To all the goalies I faced this season – you guys made me push myself to be the best I could be. I look forward to facing you next season.”
 
I turn shake a few hands then grab the trophy and lift it to a round of applause. As I make my way backstage, the announcer says, “This is Joel Castle’s first Kanou trophy and the first individual trophy of his career.”
 
The rest of the night is honestly a blur. There are pictures, more hugs and handshakes, poses and parties. But I can’t stop thinking about the trophy shining in the lights and what it means. Now, I have to be ready even more for next season. We are the defending champs and everyone in the VHL will be gunning for us. And it’s a great feeling. I’m ready for it.
 
 

New year, new me, blah blah blah, as if Wann Kerr was about to change his antics anytime soon. He was a shitpost when I created him in at the end of July 2022 as my first gen player to see what this game is about, without necessarily taking it seriously. And he remains a shitpost to this day. No way I would have imagined Wanker getting drafted 9th overall, or somehow growing to 1349 TPE at the moment (btw, 1349 is a great Norwegian band, what a coincidence). Well, thank you Shindigs for lighting the fire under Wanker's ass, still miss ya buddy.
Due to my lack of crerativity, I've already written about Wanker's humble accomplishments too many times. So how about looking at what's to come now that the last number of the date changes, and somehow people make a big deal out of it?
Well, there are only three seasons left in his career. The first one is set to take place with the United. What would I like to see? We still have elite offense and one of the best goaltenders in the league, we've got as good of a shot at the cup as anyone. Individually, cracking 100 points would be nice, especially after scoring 96 last season and coming back with exactly the same build after handling depreciation.
S93? Well, I don't even know what team will Wanker play for. Will the United decide they want an extra year of the Wanker experience? No matter what team it is, I want Wanker to play for a team seriously competing. And for S94? Honestly, I'll probably care more about the storyline. Kerr moving to London? Returning to Vancouver? Joining Seattle, the Wolves' rivals like a true wanker? Or spending the last season in his home country with the Phantoms? All sound great.
Of course, midway through the 2024, I'll have to say goodbye to this shitpost. The league will certainly be a better place then. What's next? Well, I was thinking about another shitpost, maybe Abel Lend? Or maybe use Czech to create shitpost names, like a Japanese star Masemeno Nasaku (he's got semen on his jacket)? These were all possibilities before I've sold my soul to Greenland.
The league ain't ready for Alagsantere, the first of the Grønvolds.

“And the winner of the S91 Daisuke Kanou Trophy, for leading the Toronto Legion to their first Continental Cup in 26 seasons, Joel Castle!”
 
Shaking my head in bewilderment, I slowly get to my feet and make my way to the stage. I get high-fives and a few hugs from my Legion teammates as I cross the floor. I’m in shock, my brain racing through the last five seasons. From my first start for the Legion in S87 to our first playoff game in S90 and the thrilling series win against Vancouver to the crushing defeat at the hands of Los Angeles. Knowing of all the adversity we faced this season, the struggle to get back into the playoffs but just having that confidence in one another and using the lessons learned the last few seasons to march through each series and finally finish our comeback in Game 6 of the Final. The memory of hoisting the Cup and skating around the rink followed by my Legion brothers is bright in my mind as I accept the beautiful Kanou Trophy from the presenter.
 
Emotion welling up inside, I simply say: “Thank you. Thank you. This is a dream come true, an honor and a day I didn’t know if it would ever come but I kept working toward it anyway. Thank you to our GM Moon for assembling us together and believing in us even when the critics didn’t. Thank you to our captain, Mac Atlas, who could be up here instead of me after his incredible run and breaking the Legion single playoffs points record. Thank you to all the rest of my teammates, Jimi – you were awesome and if Mac hadn’t broken the record, you would have. Dens and Tomas, you both fought until the bitter end and now you retire as champions! Bobby and Jimmy were solid all playoffs in the back end and Burnsy came up big when needed. Our Toronto Trio of rookies, Diego, Harry, and Walter – you guys played like vets – don’t ever forget these moments. And finally, but not least, my brother in pads, Evan you helped keep me focused and loose throughout the whole playoffs. You always kept cheering us on, pushing us to be better. And not to forget, a huge thank you to our fans in Toronto and around the world who have stayed with us for the long haul and now we’ve been able to bring a Cup to TO. You guys are the best fans in the VHL and we love you all! To all the goalies I faced this season – you guys made me push myself to be the best I could be. I look forward to facing you next season.”
 
I turn shake a few hands then grab the trophy and lift it to a round of applause. As I make my way backstage, the announcer says, “This is Joel Castle’s first Kanou trophy and the first individual trophy of his career.”
 
The rest of the night is honestly a blur. There are pictures, more hugs and handshakes, poses and parties. But I can’t stop thinking about the trophy shining in the lights and what it means. Now, I have to be ready even more for next season. We are the defending champs and everyone in the VHL will be gunning for us. And it’s a great feeling. I’m ready for it.
 
 

“And the winner of the S91 Daisuke Kanou Trophy, for leading the Toronto Legion to their first Continental Cup in 26 seasons, Joel Castle!”
 
Shaking my head in bewilderment, I slowly get to my feet and make my way to the stage. I get high-fives and a few hugs from my Legion teammates as I cross the floor. I’m in shock, my brain racing through the last five seasons. From my first start for the Legion in S87 to our first playoff game in S90 and the thrilling series win against Vancouver to the crushing defeat at the hands of Los Angeles. Knowing of all the adversity we faced this season, the struggle to get back into the playoffs but just having that confidence in one another and using the lessons learned the last few seasons to march through each series and finally finish our comeback in Game 6 of the Final. The memory of hoisting the Cup and skating around the rink followed by my Legion brothers is bright in my mind as I accept the beautiful Kanou Trophy from the presenter.
 
Emotion welling up inside, I simply say: “Thank you. Thank you. This is a dream come true, an honor and a day I didn’t know if it would ever come but I kept working toward it anyway. Thank you to our GM Moon for assembling us together and believing in us even when the critics didn’t. Thank you to our captain, Mac Atlas, who could be up here instead of me after his incredible run and breaking the Legion single playoffs points record. Thank you to all the rest of my teammates, Jimi – you were awesome and if Mac hadn’t broken the record, you would have. Dens and Tomas, you both fought until the bitter end and now you retire as champions! Bobby and Jimmy were solid all playoffs in the back end and Burnsy came up big when needed. Our Toronto Trio of rookies, Diego, Harry, and Walter – you guys played like vets – don’t ever forget these moments. And finally, but not least, my brother in pads, Evan you helped keep me focused and loose throughout the whole playoffs. You always kept cheering us on, pushing us to be better. And not to forget, a huge thank you to our fans in Toronto and around the world who have stayed with us for the long haul and now we’ve been able to bring a Cup to TO. You guys are the best fans in the VHL and we love you all! To all the goalies I faced this season – you guys made me push myself to be the best I could be. I look forward to facing you next season.”
 
I turn shake a few hands then grab the trophy and lift it to a round of applause. As I make my way backstage, the announcer says, “This is Joel Castle’s first Kanou trophy and the first individual trophy of his career.”
 
The rest of the night is honestly a blur. There are pictures, more hugs and handshakes, poses and parties. But I can’t stop thinking about the trophy shining in the lights and what it means. Now, I have to be ready even more for next season. We are the defending champs and everyone in the VHL will be gunning for us. And it’s a great feeling. I’m ready for it.
 
 

The Toronto Legion have broken a long cup drought for the franchise, one that stretches back to season 65, in what was the second win of back to back cup winning seasons. Since that time the Toronto had a very hard time finding any level of success. The Legion had no made it to the finals since S65 till S91, and perhaps most interestingly the opponent they ran into was the Helsinki Titans, the same team they had to beat back in season 65 for the cup. Interesting how things work themselves out hey? The win back then was a nail biter of four to three, this one was four to two, not much difference. Jaxx Hextall knows the struggles of the Toronto Legion very well, he played at their starting goaltender from season 71 to season 77. He played in 454 games for the franchise and posted a record of 210-182-48 while in blue. His number 54 has been retired by the club.
 
During Hextall's time there the team only made the playoffs three times, in season 72, 74 and 77, with season 74 being their deepest run. General manager Peace did everything he could to right franchise but he didn't have a lot to work with when he took over the club and unfortunately many of the draft picks just never turned out for the team. Hextall remained committed to the team the whole way through and while he say he wouldn't change anything if he could go back in time, he does feel some responsibility. "There was a trade on the table at one point, somewhere in season 76 or 77, I can't remember for sure. But I declined it as I wanted to finish my career in Toronto. When I look back I can't help but feel I may have forced Peace's hand, for him to try and get the team good enough for one more run in the playoffs instead of entering a full on rebuild when the team needed it. I'm happy I stayed but I also realize I may have just made things harder for Peace too."
 
Jaxx Hextall, believe it or not, is still playing Hockey. Since leaving the VHL he was picked up by the San Jose Sharks and has been playing there ever since. He's still the franchise's starting goaltender even though he's nearing 40 years old. "I just love playing hockey, I love playing goal, it's where my heart is at. My body still feels like it can go so I just keep going. I don't know how long I will continue down this road but my play hasn't fallen apart yet so I just want to keep going. Makes me wonder what Lafontaine and Spyro think, that I'm still going." Hextall was at the cup winning game and got to go into the locker room to hang out with the guys, he never touched the cup though. "My time in the league is long gone, it's not my trophy to hold or touch. I just wanted to congratulate the guys on winning it. With how short one's time in the VHL can be it's really something special to hold up that cup, you don't have those 15, 20 season long careers in the VHL like to do in NHL or most other leagues really."
 
(word count 556)

Welcome to the new season of VHFL! Below is the randomly assigned draft order for your group. 

The draft is conducted in a snake order, meaning that each round goes in reverse order of the last. There is a time limit of 12 hours per pick. If the person ahead of you has not picked within their 12-hour slot, you may make your selection, and they can make up their pick anytime after the skip. If a member misses two picks without communicating to me or the GM - not necessarily consecutive, they will be disqualified and the team will be drafted by me or a filler I appoint. If someone has two picks in a row and fails to do the first one before 12 hours pass, tag them and give them another 12 hours for the second pick in a row. Once you have made your selection, tag the person following you. 

Group Manager: It is your responsibility to make sure that picks are made within 12 hours, and if not, that the clock keeps going for the next pick. Please also have a complete roster within the first few posts of the thread - this saves me time later so that you get your results faster! Please also be sure of each player’s position, and that they are not retired nor in the VHLM before adding them to your roster! When maintaining the updated roster, please copy the roster template below, exactly how it is. Make sure also to spell player names properly when updating your group. Do NOT copy the roster for every single pick.
 
THIS IS A DISCORD DRAFT. JOIN THE VHFL SERVER.
➡️ https://discord.gg/8XNgAvQDs7 ⬅️

Here are some useful links:
VHFL Rules
S91 VHFL Top Skaters
S91 VHFL Top Goalies

If there are any issues, tag the group manager or me. The draft is now live - good luck! Tag me when all the rosters are complete!

1. @Velevra
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2. @N0HBDY
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3. @Steve
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4. @animal74 (GM)
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5. @tcookie
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6. @Renomitsu
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1. I'm not very sure, my player passed out drunk on the bus and woke up 2 weeks later in Edmonton. Having arrived back in Toronto, it sounds like everybody had fun.
 
2. My plan is to continue to develop my defense and puck handling attributes first, and if I can get them both raised enough, I want to look to increase scoring as well. 
 
3. The fact that a Legion player didn't win every award is an outrage and a scandal. The plans to lodge protests on all awards that weren't won by a Legion player are already in motion.
 
4. I think that we need another couple of forwards to fill out the group, and it wouldn't hurt to grab a fourth blueliner. I think that part of our strength last season was having a deep blueline in front of our amazing goalies, so that would help. 
 
5. The need to hang onto new recruits and progress them along from new players to long-term members is a large one, and I think that we can do a better job of checking in with them to make sure that they're coming along well in their first season.
 
6. I'd go with on a hill to ski or snowboard on. Either that, or in cone form with syrup.

You may have flipped the stats, but good read regardless! It was an interesting time, that's for sure.

Aww respect! Appreciate that then lol 😂 
I def felt like the backup back then cuz I was drafted after Castle (in the same draft to the same team) and man has just been an absolute legend of a goalie his who career too!

I'm probably biased and not everyone might gravitate toward this but with S100 coming up, I would like to see (and perhaps spearhead) some more gathering and presentations (graphics, etc) of the league's statistical history whether it be more team-related (Top 10 stats per team, etc.) or what have you. I realize @Victor is God in the history realm but he is but one being and there are many possibilities (I love you, Victor). Also, I think adding more (accurate) history to the portal like the Retired jerseys would be great. VSN is planning some 100-related stories and I continue to work on the All-Decade Teams but (time-permitting), there is so much more we can do to make VHL's rich history more interesting and accessible.

Congrats to @dstevensonjr on being the only person to correctly pick all three Cup winners!
 
Thanks @Mysterious_Fish for running this!

Make the Main VHL Discord be an more open and connected space to the league:
Here are some of my suggestion

Press Box: Area for GMs to post offical statements from there team, and allowing you to roleplay as your player in a space where you can come up with small statements about sims, too small for a point tasks but still fun, who knows it may help players come up with ideas for PTs
 
Job Board: Its easy to miss Job application posts if you don't check the main site fast and often, and discord post are quickly lost, an real place for those links make sense, as they get posted there anyways, and then more people may apply for jobs!

Neutral VC's: All the Voice chats being named makes it hard to feel like you should joining, have one or two neutral VCs may create more activity.
 
Events: Inner leagues events, This takes a while and effort, but approved members of the league should be able to host event nights, games, watch party's, movie night, etc. Plus more treasure hunts for TPE on the forum its been done before and was fun. maybe two theme weeks a seasons, just more for engagement where the league actually feels connect and builds bonds

You’ve clearly never seen the energy levels and bossiness of the toddler in question. I was most certainly not the one in control, purely survival mode.

I'm probably biased and not everyone might gravitate toward this but with S100 coming up, I would like to see (and perhaps spearhead) some more gathering and presentations (graphics, etc) of the league's statistical history whether it be more team-related (Top 10 stats per team, etc.) or what have you. I realize @Victor is God in the history realm but he is but one being and there are many possibilities (I love you, Victor). Also, I think adding more (accurate) history to the portal like the Retired jerseys would be great. VSN is planning some 100-related stories and I continue to work on the All-Decade Teams but (time-permitting), there is so much more we can do to make VHL's rich history more interesting and accessible.

Ah, gotcha, I read it wrong. I plead that I was being dragged around a toy store by a toddler at the time..,

That part’s easy, I already added them all.

I'm probably biased and not everyone might gravitate toward this but with S100 coming up, I would like to see (and perhaps spearhead) some more gathering and presentations (graphics, etc) of the league's statistical history whether it be more team-related (Top 10 stats per team, etc.) or what have you. I realize @Victor is God in the history realm but he is but one being and there are many possibilities (I love you, Victor). Also, I think adding more (accurate) history to the portal like the Retired jerseys would be great. VSN is planning some 100-related stories and I continue to work on the All-Decade Teams but (time-permitting), there is so much more we can do to make VHL's rich history more interesting and accessible.

I'm probably biased and not everyone might gravitate toward this but with S100 coming up, I would like to see (and perhaps spearhead) some more gathering and presentations (graphics, etc) of the league's statistical history whether it be more team-related (Top 10 stats per team, etc.) or what have you. I realize @Victor is God in the history realm but he is but one being and there are many possibilities (I love you, Victor). Also, I think adding more (accurate) history to the portal like the Retired jerseys would be great. VSN is planning some 100-related stories and I continue to work on the All-Decade Teams but (time-permitting), there is so much more we can do to make VHL's rich history more interesting and accessible.

Personally, I would like GMs to reach out to players more and create that personal bond.
 
I’m not necessarily talking about myself, but I’ve heard stories where players get tossed around, (specifically clickers), that have been active and they just get launched from one team to another. I have two friends in the VHL that are clickers who literally look at every single game they’re in and post their scores, with stats to me every simulation. Their GMs barely have any communication with them at all and it really takes away from the experience. Just reach out to your players, even if it’s a simple “Hello.” Keep in touch with your players, especially if they are forum only and don’t have discord. Send them a message! It’s going to go a long way and I think GMs should actually be held accountable for doing their job. I know we are around the holidays and people are busy, but it shouldn’t take that much time to do so.
 
At the end of the day, this is about the experience. We all have made up players that don’t exist, but behind every player is a real person. This isn’t some AI that doesn’t have emotions that you can ignore, or use as trade pieces. We should be getting to know the person behind the screen and ensure that they have a great experience, which then would help with retention overall.
 
I am not saying that every GM doesn’t already do this, because some do. I’d just like a collective effort that should already be the standard.
 
The community is what makes the VHL great, we should continue to welcome people into our community!

Sorry for the big delay on these payouts but here we go
Reminder of the Payouts
Predict the cup winners (VHL = 2 / VHLE = 1 / VHLM = 1) = 4 TPE
1st Place = 6 TPE
2nd - 3rd = 5 TPE
4th - 6th = 4 TPE
7th - 10th = 3 TPE
11th - 20th = 2 TPE
21+ = 1 TPE
 
Let's get started with the payouts!
I'll start with the top 20
FORMAT:
Final Standing - Name - Points - TPE
A * indicates they picked a cup champ and got bonus TPE I will say how much bonus TPE they get
 
1. @Renomitsu - 100 - 7 (* +1)
2. @CowboyinAmerica - 95 - 7 (* +2)
3. @v.2 - 95 - 5
4. @Gaikoku-hito - 90 - 4
5. @ke1vi - 85 - 5 (* +1)
6. @Trazan - 85 - 5 (* +1)
7. @RJMW - 85 - 5 (* +2)
8. @animal74 - 85 - 6 (* +3)
9. @Velevra - 80 - 4 (* +1)
10. @Jason kranz - 80 - 5 (* +2)
11. @Alex - 80 - 5 (* +3)
12. @badcolethetitan - 75 - 2
13. @jacobcarson877 - 75 - 5 (* +3)
14. @Anthique - 75 - 3 (* +1)
15. @Scurvy - 75 - 2
16. @Doomsday - 70 - 3 (* +1)
17. @Berocka - 65 - 3 (* +1)
18. @Jubis - 65 - 2
19. @STZ - 65 - 3 (* +1)
20. @Baby Boomer - 65 - 4 (* +2)
 
Congrats to the top 20! The rest payouts will be out shortly!

Was a fun final season for Sundin... great way to ride off into the sunset. Congrats Toronto on the Cup.

Wow, As I mentioned elsewhere I never even expected to be nominated for such an Award but to actually win the Frederik Elmebeck Trophy is such a humbling honor. Thank you for everyone that voted and nominated me.
 
Also I hope everyone takes the time to congratulate the other for even being nominated for this award in @Jason kranz, @Subject056 and @Zetterberg as they are all outstanding members of our community. I hope you all continue to make the VHL community a great place to visit, chat and generally spend our time.
 
 

Thank you for not only this award - my first individual award of any kind (with my fourth player) - but also the three other nominations! This Kanou Trophy could not have been possible without the rest of my Legion teammates. I honestly thought Atlas @v.2  and I might split the vote. 
 
Congrats to all the other winners, especially @Gaikoku-hito and @Pifferfish!
 
Also, @Alex, great ceremony!!

Thank you for not only this award - my first individual award of any kind (with my fourth player) - but also the three other nominations! This Kanou Trophy could not have been possible without the rest of my Legion teammates. I honestly thought Atlas @v.2  and I might split the vote. 
 
Congrats to all the other winners, especially @Gaikoku-hito and @Pifferfish!
 
Also, @Alex, great ceremony!!