studentized

Hello people of VHL
 
Here are your New York Americans captains for the season
 
C- Boris The Forest @chillzone
A- Lance Flowers @CowboyinAmerica
A- Owen Nolan @studentized
 
I also want to introduce our Ring of Honor. This is for players that may not have had a big impact statistically to be introduce in our Hall of Fame, but that should be recognized. Today we introduce a friend that left us too soon. He was a big part of our organisation and i can say that we wouldnt be were we are.
 

thanks to @Motzaburger for the banners
 

D - Condor Adrienne
 
@Corco

This week’s draft saw many talents get selected to the VHL. Hugh Jass was one of these talents, getting snagged 7th overall by the New York Americans, after the team traded with DC to switch positions in the draft. Jass has a fantastic season in the ‘M last year, scoring over 130 points while blocking a ton of shots. Jass, like most rookies, will have an interesting transition. He’ll go from the top dog in Houston to a young player trying to earn his ice time in New York.  It’s unclear where Jass will play, though it’s safe to assume that New York will look to groom him and use his offence abilities. He plays behind up and coming defenceman Lance Flowers, who is entering his 4th season and is posed to take his game to the next level this year and join the top tier of defenders in this league. He also has David O’Quinn and Fredrik Elembeck ahead of him, two defencemen who are each over 500 tpe. The kicker with O’Quinn and Elembeck is that both players are in their final year of their deal, so depending on how their contract negations go, there’s a chance Jass could see himself moving up the chart quicker than expected. 

@studentized

 

finally i can not care about it even if i didnt care before

This season wasn't an easy for an up-and-coming defenseman in New York. Chosen 12oa in the S69 VHL Entry Draft, he definitely wasn't expected to be a star, but to grow consistent was entirely expected, if not by his peers or management, at the very least by himself. This has not come to pass, however. Defenseman David O'Quinn missed nearly 30tpe this year, which at the end of the day could have been the difference between his team making the playoffs and missing. In terms of individual performance, O'Quinn registered 3 goals and 15 pts in 72 games, a rather modest collection of numbers compared to his 14 goals and 114 pts in his second and final VHLM season, where he helped lead Saskatoon to its most recent VHLM championship.
 
There could be plenty of reasons for this, of course. There's always hardship every season, burnout, struggling to write a good article, struggling with the 'fun' aspect in general. But does this excuse all that missed TPE? and how much will that missed TPA affect him, and his team, in the future? Time will tell with that one. 
 
One thing we can tell now, however, is where does he place in his teams hierarchy? Well, it's not too pretty. Besides backup goaltender Thorvald Gunnarsson and former prospect Ryo Yamazuki II, O'Quinn is arguably the worst player on the entire team. He has plenty of room to grow, of course, most of which he will hopefully utilize, but there are a few players that were picked lower in his draft that are now better than him, and at the end of the day that is nothing short of shameful. As O'Quinn's contract is up this year, the Americans may see fit to not sign him at all, since he has turned out, so far, to be nothing but a depth defenseman on a team that needs better.
 
The future has hope, though. O'Quinn still grew by a rather respectable 100 TPE this season, and if he continues this trend, in a few seasons he will still likely turn out to be a supporting top pair dman, not to carry a line or a team but to help a better player carry the load.
 
This has been an awkward article in an awkward context and tense, by reporter Roger Pennies.
 
 
*
 
Former fan favourite player Fheoren Tleury has been caught doing various hallucinogenic drugs in New York clubs and back alleys, while previously he was considered a H.O.F forsure, speculation has circled stating that he will never be allowed in the H.O.F due to his extra-curricular actives, and what light it may put the league in.
 
The highly anticipated Hockeypunk 2077 VHL roleplay game has been pushed back 6 months, says Latvian developer CD Projekt Blue. Many prominent speakers for the games community have tried to wrestle the fans calm, but rioting in the streets of Vancouver has, again, taken hold. This is their seventh riot this week, including this years third large-scale-protest protesting the existence of a VHL team in Calgary. A spokesperson for the protest organizers gave us this statement. 'Fuck the Lames and any team associated with them! and any team not associated with them! fuck calgary!', we're still trying to translate this, we think it might be in Finnish.
 
549 words, claiming doubles week from here aswell.

VHL / PBE Affiliation
 

 
The VHL is proud to announce our newest affiliation! Please give a big welcome to the Pro Baseball Experience! We look forward a long and prosperous relationship with the PBE, and hope you will check them out and create a new player with them. So now is the time to get started living your Baseball dreams!

Below is a link to their brand new Affiliate post, which includes a link to their website and their league Discord server. One of the benefits of becoming a member of both leagues is you can now cross post your 590 Article to the PBE and it counts as their media spot, so it makes being part of another sim league even easier! Please sign up and enjoy your time in the PBE!
 
Rules:
VHL 590 Articles are worth a weekly Point task on the PBE
PBE Point Tasks are worth a 590 Article on the VHL
 
*Limited Time Only * Create a player on their site today and you can claim one free week PT on the VHL side or the PBE side (Valid with approved player)
*Valid until March 22nd*
 
League Write-up
 
PBE Website Link
 
https://discord.gg/wfkNKu8

Well it was a good push from a team that was told at the start of the season they weren’t a playoff team.  Proud of all you guys on my team, we are one of the youngest rosters in the league and we will only move up from here. Congrats Moscow, well deserved @Victor

As it stands right now, New York looks like it will be able to keep their S67/S68 core together for a few more seasons. Whether or not anyone from this group makes it to the hall of fame will depend on how the group performs together. Naturally, the biggest roadblock for any of these players will be if they retire without a cup and given that the group has committed to each other for the next few seasons, each player’s best chance at a cup probably lies in New York.
 
So let’s assume a cup happens. Who has the best chances to get HOF status (based on results thus far into their career)? The answer is pretty obvious if you know a bit about the team. You’ve got the career long captain and leader Boris the Forest @chillzone, the hard-nosed and well respected former ROTY in Lance Flowers @CowboyinAmerica, and the rock that holds everything together, A Red Guy @.sniffuM. The combination of all three of these guys together is the best reason to think NY can bring home a cup soon and so probably stand the best chance that any one of them make it into the hall.
 
Now for some personal predictions. I really think there is a chance Boris walks away with one of the most underrated careers in recent history. He rarely places in the highly visible top 10 leaderboards for a lot of stats, but if you ever look a bit further, he usually sits just outside. Combine that with his loyalty, leadership and highly consistent play (pretty much the only New York American’s player who's never had a down year) and it makes him the player I root for the most to get in. That being said, just with how competitive it is to get in, it will probably take not only a cup or two as captain, but a couple of seasons in that top 10 in points, goals, or assists to get him some of “fame” he needs. Even if he never gets to be inducted into the VHL HOF, he will almost certainly retire as an all-time New York Americans great.
 
The player I’d place with the best odds amongst the team is A Red Guy. He’s another guy who so far has been just so consistently good, even if not taking home the best goalie award thus far. Why it matters more, is that consistently good as a goalie provides your team a chance to win every year. New York just finished a disappointing S70 season, missing the playoffs by 1 point after a bit of a slide towards the end of the year. I expect that is as wide a margin they will miss by ever again as long as A Red Guy stands in net. I fully believe they will be a playoff team going forward, and it just takes one of them to have ARG guide them to the cup. Goalies are probably the most competitive position to get in and at this point it means you need to have team success and individual success to get in. Hoping ARG gets a lot more of both in the next few years.
 
Finally, defencemen Lance Flowers probably shows the best potential of anyone to elevate his game to heights we’ve not yet seen. Starting his career off hot before cooling down in his sophomore year, this past season showed a glimpse of what Flowers once showed he’s capable of; top end physical and defensive play that helps his team out offensively. In every year he’s played on New York, he’s always been the #2 guy shadowed by LeGrande in S68, Elmebeck in S69 and McWolf in S70, Flowers should be the unquestionable #1 for the remainder of his time in New York. I’ve been a big fan of his play even during his down years, so it’s exciting to think what he’ll bring to the team as the bonafide #1. Hopefully a cup.
 
Claiming for theme week.
 

As it stands right now, New York looks like it will be able to keep their S67/S68 core together for a few more seasons. Whether or not anyone from this group makes it to the hall of fame will depend on how the group performs together. Naturally, the biggest roadblock for any of these players will be if they retire without a cup and given that the group has committed to each other for the next few seasons, each player’s best chance at a cup probably lies in New York.
 
So let’s assume a cup happens. Who has the best chances to get HOF status (based on results thus far into their career)? The answer is pretty obvious if you know a bit about the team. You’ve got the career long captain and leader Boris the Forest @chillzone, the hard-nosed and well respected former ROTY in Lance Flowers @CowboyinAmerica, and the rock that holds everything together, A Red Guy @.sniffuM. The combination of all three of these guys together is the best reason to think NY can bring home a cup soon and so probably stand the best chance that any one of them make it into the hall.
 
Now for some personal predictions. I really think there is a chance Boris walks away with one of the most underrated careers in recent history. He rarely places in the highly visible top 10 leaderboards for a lot of stats, but if you ever look a bit further, he usually sits just outside. Combine that with his loyalty, leadership and highly consistent play (pretty much the only New York American’s player who's never had a down year) and it makes him the player I root for the most to get in. That being said, just with how competitive it is to get in, it will probably take not only a cup or two as captain, but a couple of seasons in that top 10 in points, goals, or assists to get him some of “fame” he needs. Even if he never gets to be inducted into the VHL HOF, he will almost certainly retire as an all-time New York Americans great.
 
The player I’d place with the best odds amongst the team is A Red Guy. He’s another guy who so far has been just so consistently good, even if not taking home the best goalie award thus far. Why it matters more, is that consistently good as a goalie provides your team a chance to win every year. New York just finished a disappointing S70 season, missing the playoffs by 1 point after a bit of a slide towards the end of the year. I expect that is as wide a margin they will miss by ever again as long as A Red Guy stands in net. I fully believe they will be a playoff team going forward, and it just takes one of them to have ARG guide them to the cup. Goalies are probably the most competitive position to get in and at this point it means you need to have team success and individual success to get in. Hoping ARG gets a lot more of both in the next few years.
 
Finally, defencemen Lance Flowers probably shows the best potential of anyone to elevate his game to heights we’ve not yet seen. Starting his career off hot before cooling down in his sophomore year, this past season showed a glimpse of what Flowers once showed he’s capable of; top end physical and defensive play that helps his team out offensively. In every year he’s played on New York, he’s always been the #2 guy shadowed by LeGrande in S68, Elmebeck in S69 and McWolf in S70, Flowers should be the unquestionable #1 for the remainder of his time in New York. I’ve been a big fan of his play even during his down years, so it’s exciting to think what he’ll bring to the team as the bonafide #1. Hopefully a cup.
 
Claiming for theme week.
 

Theme week player card

As it stands right now, New York looks like it will be able to keep their S67/S68 core together for a few more seasons. Whether or not anyone from this group makes it to the hall of fame will depend on how the group performs together. Naturally, the biggest roadblock for any of these players will be if they retire without a cup and given that the group has committed to each other for the next few seasons, each player’s best chance at a cup probably lies in New York.
 
So let’s assume a cup happens. Who has the best chances to get HOF status (based on results thus far into their career)? The answer is pretty obvious if you know a bit about the team. You’ve got the career long captain and leader Boris the Forest @chillzone, the hard-nosed and well respected former ROTY in Lance Flowers @CowboyinAmerica, and the rock that holds everything together, A Red Guy @.sniffuM. The combination of all three of these guys together is the best reason to think NY can bring home a cup soon and so probably stand the best chance that any one of them make it into the hall.
 
Now for some personal predictions. I really think there is a chance Boris walks away with one of the most underrated careers in recent history. He rarely places in the highly visible top 10 leaderboards for a lot of stats, but if you ever look a bit further, he usually sits just outside. Combine that with his loyalty, leadership and highly consistent play (pretty much the only New York American’s player who's never had a down year) and it makes him the player I root for the most to get in. That being said, just with how competitive it is to get in, it will probably take not only a cup or two as captain, but a couple of seasons in that top 10 in points, goals, or assists to get him some of “fame” he needs. Even if he never gets to be inducted into the VHL HOF, he will almost certainly retire as an all-time New York Americans great.
 
The player I’d place with the best odds amongst the team is A Red Guy. He’s another guy who so far has been just so consistently good, even if not taking home the best goalie award thus far. Why it matters more, is that consistently good as a goalie provides your team a chance to win every year. New York just finished a disappointing S70 season, missing the playoffs by 1 point after a bit of a slide towards the end of the year. I expect that is as wide a margin they will miss by ever again as long as A Red Guy stands in net. I fully believe they will be a playoff team going forward, and it just takes one of them to have ARG guide them to the cup. Goalies are probably the most competitive position to get in and at this point it means you need to have team success and individual success to get in. Hoping ARG gets a lot more of both in the next few years.
 
Finally, defencemen Lance Flowers probably shows the best potential of anyone to elevate his game to heights we’ve not yet seen. Starting his career off hot before cooling down in his sophomore year, this past season showed a glimpse of what Flowers once showed he’s capable of; top end physical and defensive play that helps his team out offensively. In every year he’s played on New York, he’s always been the #2 guy shadowed by LeGrande in S68, Elmebeck in S69 and McWolf in S70, Flowers should be the unquestionable #1 for the remainder of his time in New York. I’ve been a big fan of his play even during his down years, so it’s exciting to think what he’ll bring to the team as the bonafide #1. Hopefully a cup.
 
Claiming for theme week.
 

Theme week player card

This is not a joke.

This morning -- at roughly 2:32 AM Mountain -- Elmbeck's brother got in touch with me to announce some very unfortunate news: one of our members has passed away. Fredrik (Elmebeck's real name) passed away late Friday night, early Saturday morning. I get the honor of announcing this to the community he enjoyed -- a hockey community that brings people together -- and salute the memories and friends he made. Hockey is a sport that connects individuals, and those of us who got to know him a little will remember him.

Elmebeck and I shared a lot of stories during our time together in Saskatoon, and I will always be jealous of his nature life. I won't share personal stories, and I won't share the details of his death, but if you wish to contact his brother you can do so by clicking this tag: @Magnus Nilsson. Please do not spam Magnus, as both he and his family are mourning the loss of a family member. 
 

Rest In Peace, 
Elmebeck!
 
 

If I can't claim for this that's fine but I feel like this is quite a historic moment, and as a Sharks fan I'm really passionate about this. I love keeping up with player milestones, and players like Jumbo Joe and Patty Marleau are hitting some pretty big milestones. I also saw someone a while back make a post on Crosby's return to the Pen's so because of that I feel it's fine to make this, even if again, I can't claim for it.
 
Anyway to get on with it, last night, on February 4th 2020 Joe Thornton started his 1620th career game against the Calgary Flames at 1498 points. He would first assist on a goal from Brent Burns to get to 1499 points and to tie the game. Later in the 3rd period Jumbo would get another helper on a goal from Kevin Labanc and hit 2 milestones with one assist, he got his 1500th point and got his 800th assist as a member of the San Jose Sharks. Jumbo Joe is just the 14th player in NHL history to hit 1500 points. What makes this even more impressive is that Joe played his first 7 seasons during the dead puck era and then the lockout canceled season happened and later the lockout shortened season happened as well, meaning a potential of 116 games couldn't be played. If it weren't for the lockouts I have no doubt he could have somewhere from 125 to 150 more points in his career, and easily another 100 to 120 assists in his career which would put him 3rd or 4th on the all time assists list. Sadly what's done can't be undone so lets look at where he is right now.
 
Joe Thornton                                    
1620 games played-10th all time (15 games behind Scott Stevens for 9th)
1500 points-14th all time (31 points behind Paul Coffey for 13th)
1085 assists-7th all time (50 assists behind Paul Coffey for 6th)
415 goals-87th all time (1 goal behind Tony Amonte for 86th)
 
No doubt a Hall of Famer when he finally decides to retire, and how the NHL didn't put him in the top 100 is beyond me. Obviously Joe Thornton is one of if not the best known Shark player, so lets take a look at where he sits with the sharks in their record books.
 
Joe Thornton as a member of the sharks
1088 games played-2nd all time behind Patrick Marleau
246 goals-4th all time behind Logan Couture, Joe Pavelski and Patrick Marleau
800 assists-1st all time
1046 points-2nd all time behind Patrick Marleau
 
There's also no doubt in my mind that Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau with have both their Jersey's numbers retired once they decide to retire.
 
To look as one final thing, I wanna share the active leaders that are in the top 50 in the NHL to just show again how special this is.
 
Active leaders
Games played leaders: Patrick Marleau 1707 (5th), Joe Thornton 1620 (10th), Zdeno Chara 1537 (18th)
Goal leaders: Alexander Ovechkin 698 (8th), Patrick Marleau 561 (tied for 25th)
Assist leaders: Joe Thornton 1085 (7th), Sidney Crosby 790 (34th)
Point leaders: Joe Thornton 1500 (14th),  Alexander Ovechkin 1268 (37th), Sidney Crosby 1245 (39th), Patrick Marleau 1186 (50th)
 
I think this is truly special as we really don't know when we'll see another player score 1500 points, the 2 clear contenders here are Sid the kid and Ovi but Cosby has a history with injuries, he hasn't even hit the 1000 games played mark, and Ovi is a bit older but I do feel like he has a better chance. It would be cool to see him break the all time goals record and considering he would need just a tad under 200, I feel that if he does break the record he would also hit 1500 points. Looking at the games played record is special to, we have 3 players over the 1500 games mark and the next closest active player in games played is Justin Williams who is 1 game shy of 1250. both Patty and Jumbo have a chance to pass Gordie Howe at 1767, Patty would need just one more season while Jumbo would need 2 more and both have a chance at that in my opinion. Patty would already be passed it if it weren't for lockouts. 
 
I'm getting way off topic though, today I just wanted to congratulate Joe Thornton on hitting a crazy milestone and hope he keeps playing, I know it's been a really rough season for the Sharks but they have a lot of great stories there and I do really believe the Sharks can turn it around next season, I'm just an optimistic fan, what can I say?
 
and to tie this somehow into the VHL..... well you won't see players setting these kind of records in only 8 seasons that's for sure.
 
(word count 817)
 
 
 

Alright, for those who aren't aware, and as of now you will be....  @Members
 
It's all as you were, no change, no one's getting deported: https://vhlforum.com/topic/76680-trivia-rule-update/?do=findComment&comment=711018
 
Now I will make 1 small change... no more corrections allowed. These are rare anyway but basically, make sure you've got the right answer and most importantly, make sure the person you're copying has the right answer. Or... find the right answer yourself.
 
Other than that, all the same. We now have a #trivia-hunt channel on Discord if you want help on how to get the answers. Only rules are same as this thread: don't post the answers there specifically. In your LRs, PMs, whatever, go wild.
 
 
Anyway...
 
Fill out the form linked below.
 
2 correct answers = 2 capped TPE
1 correct answer = 1 capped TPE
Uncapped TPE based on season leaderboard handed out at end of season.
 
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfbRwBRss8q6rWwbmasO42zO1cHz4lv1XDkUzLG2xoQbpLH0w/viewform?usp=sf_link
 
I am always taking question suggestions via PM, with 1 uncapped TPE going your way for each question that ends up getting used.
 

Welcome to the second edition of VSN’s S70 Weekly recap (Games 49-123).  We’ll cover a host of things in this recap each week including highlights of important VSN happenings, three stars of the week, power rankings, rookie profiles, and anything else of importance.
 
Recap

The second week of the S70 season has commenced. Let’s take a look at some of this week’s highlights and low-lights. Competition is fierce in the European Conference and I wouldn’t be shocked to see any of the top four teams at the moment in the first place spot by this time next week. As for the North American Conference, I don’t know if you can pay one of the bottom three teams to take the last playoff spot willingly. Week performances this week from Toronto and D.C. have allowed Seattle to begin clamouring at the door again and they will be a threat to everyone in the conference if they manage to make the playoffs.

We saw an uptick in hostilities around the league as several teams faced off against bitter rivals with thirteen fights in total and two bench-clearing brawls. One such helter-skelter resulted in some of the dirtiest hockey I have seen in this league and calls player safety strongly into question. This correlated with an uptick in scoring across the league, but whether the fights were the cause of or the result of the scoring isn’t clear. This includes the highest-scoring game of the season so far, 6-5 fireworks show between Moscow and Malmo.

This week also featured several players who were traded over the off-season facing off against their former teams for the first time. Most notable among these was the league’s current winningest goalie, Brick Wahl, facing off against his former team, the Calgary Wranglers, with an outstanding performance. But that is just some of the excitement from this week’s games, so strap in and get ready for a lot of recapping.
 
3-Stars

First Star
JB Rift (CGY) - .935 SV%, 2.05 GAA, 1 SO
Second Star
Aston Martin (RIG) - 5 Goals, 10 Assists
Third Star
Guillaume Fontenette (HSK) - 7 Goals, 7 Assists
 
Power Rankings

European Conference
Riga Reign - (+3) Skyrocketing to the top after a very strong week of sims against top teams. Moscow Menace - (-1) They need to start beating top teams if they want the #1 spot back. Prague Phantoms - (-1) Wildly inconsistent, beating good teams, losing to lower teams. Helsinki Titans - (-1) Once again, Europe looks very strong this season. I’d rank Helsinki #5 in the league. HC Davos Dynamo - Falling behind isn’t an option in this conference, but Davos is still in striking distance. Malmo Nighthawks - They beat Vancouver this week! That’s about it...  
North American Conference
Vancouver Wolves - (+2) Stop losing to teams at the bottom of the table! That being said, this was a successful week for the Wolves  Calgary Wranglers - (-1) Calgary is currently playing all of the top teams. It shows in their record this week. New York Americans - (-1) A late-week slide really hurt New York this week. They still have a high upside. Toronto Legion - The bottom three here is almost interchangeable at this point. That is bad news for Toronto. Seattle Bears - There is a light at the end of the tunnel that maybe even includes sliding into a playoff spot. D.C. Dragons - A couple of impressive wins by Seattle slips D.C. into the last spot.  
Notable Games

Game 58 - Vancouver vs D.C.
What an upset! D.C. has some great veteran talent, but it just hasn’t come together often for them so far this season. This was a flash of the greatness that we wish we could see from them on a regular basis. The veterans really stepped up this game with Frostbeard and Kriketers dominating the shootout for an important 2 points. We also saw some cracks begin to form for Vancouver with the disgusting OT play of Jeff Downey. There is no place in the league for that kind of play, and doing it out of frustration in OT cost his team a chance to win the game before it went to a shootout.

Game 75 - Riga vs Prague
A battle for the top spot in the European Conference, Moscow leads both these teams but is yet to face either on the ice, so for now, this is the closest we get to a title bout. The first period was insane with a combined twenty-three shots and six goals. Riga got out to an early lead, up 3-1 after seven minutes, and didn’t take their foot off the gas. The Reign can be truly explosive at times and showed it here. However, to be fair to Prague, they went on to win the rematch in Game 98, so their defence is certainly cable of hanging with even the best scorers.

Game 89 - Vancouver vs Moscow
The rematch of one of the best games from last week, this could very easily be a preview of this season’s cup final. Both teams executed their game plans with excellence. Vancouver appeared to dominate offensively through the first two periods, but still, Moscow stayed within one with very efficient shooting on their limited offensive opportunities (at one point, they were scoring on 1/3rd of their shots). In addition to that, both teams produced on the power play, scoring two goals apiece while holding the man advantage. The Menace looked as though they would force overtime through defensive mastery in the third, but Vancouver was able to resist their continued pressure and secure the win.

Events of the Week

Fights
Game 49 - Nolan draws with Vigneault After an action-packed first period, it had been twenty-eight long minutes since the last scoring. Nolan and Vigneault must have been getting bored because they decided their last fight needed round 2. This time, they each got in a few solid blows but there was still no clear winner. These teams face each other again in Game 127, so key an idea on these two to see if they get up to these antics again. Game 51 - Kastelic draws with Plunkett After going up 3-1 on the Dynamo, Ryan Kastelic decided to add injury to insult. Right from the faceoff, Kastelic started throwing his weight around. He was eventually able to find a sparring partner in Brendan Plunkett, but even he didn’t seem interested in a real fight. After a lot of jersey holding and jabs, refs broke it up and sent Kastelic off for instigation. Game 56 - Jubis beats up Vigneault In his third fight in as many games, Edward Vigneault finally got what was coming to him. Fighting is fine, but being a goon is different. One can only hope that the beating Vigneault received at the hands of RJ Jubis was enough to make him think twice before dropping his gloves at the drop of a hat again. Jubis’s victory was the only one the Phantoms would find in this game. Game 61 - Barabash Jr. draws with Vigneault So much for knocking some sense in the Edward Vigneault; this makes four in a row. This time, the job of fighting Vigneault fell to Tyler Barabash Jr. It took the refs four games to finally have enough of Vigneault’s nonsense and ejected him from the game following the fairly meaningless fight. Game 62 - BRAWL! This was a shameful display by both teams. Hockey sticks are dangerous weapons and should be treated as such. Brendan Plunkett and Walter Clements got into a heated discussion right off the faceoff and their fight sparked complete chaos. John Madden ended up bloodying Jaxon Walker and Fernando Jokinen threw a few punches at Ryo Yamazuki II but the smaller forward had no interest in that matchup. The truly horrific part was the four skaters who wildly and dangerously tried to hit others with their sticks. Matthew Materazo, Joseph McWolf, David O’Quinn, and Jagger Philliefan should all be ashamed of their actions and the league should take a hard look at further discipline for those involved. Game 70 - Adrienne beats up Dissanayake After scrapping in the corner for the puck, these two came out swinging. It is unknown what really sparked the hostilities in a game tied 1-1, but Adrienne definitely managed to get the upper hand over Dissanayake. Play resumed uneventfully while these two sat in the box and another goal wasn’t scored for another thirty-five minutes. Game 91 - Summers draws with Laughton Blake Laughton is the most penalized player in the VHL, but sometimes he is answering the needs of his team. Prague was down by a goal going into the third period and they needed a spark. Laughton provided that when he dragged Erik Summers into his first VHL fight. Summers managed to hold his own through the fight, with both sides landing several blows, but it lead Titans to draw four more penalties in the third, with one of them resulting in the tying goal. Despite Laughton’s ejection from the game, Prague went on to win in the shootout. Game 101 - BRAWL! These undisciplined melees are becoming more common as the season goes on. After Jack Lynch bodied Gritty on the forecheck, Gritty came up swinging and found Ambrose Stark ready to drop gloves. Dan Baillie picked up Lynch and started wailing on him. Neither fight had a clear winner, but both Moscow players were ejected from the game for instigation. Plenty of sticks and fists flew from other players as well resulting in penalties to Oskar Lagesson, Vladimir Pavlov, Henrik Zoiderberg, Berocka Sundqvist, and Mat Tocco. Game 109 - Tear draws with Okada Two players who rarely fight, these two had simply seen enough of each other tonight. Following a puck tipped away from ACL Tear as he entered the zone by Hiroshi Okada, the play moved on but the players different. It was a long fight, as both players refused to go to the ice, but in the end, they each sat their five minutes and by the time they returned, the game-winner had been scored. Game 123 - Forest draws with Crosby It isn’t clear what transpired between these two earlier in the period, but they had some words a few minutes earlier. That conversation continued on the bench with chirping back and forth. Eventually, both players decided to give in to the inevitable and as soon as Crosby stepped on the ice, he skated straight to Boris who was eagerly awaiting him. The fight was over quickly, and both sides seemed to cool down as they went into the second period.  
Hat-Tricks
Game 55 - John Madden After going down by two goals in the first period, John Madden put the rest of HC Davos on his back and got to work. Over the next twelve minutes, Madden put up three unanswered goals. From there, Bert Meyers took over with two of his own to put the game away for the Dynamo. Game 57 - ACL Tear With an empty-netter in the final seconds, ACL TEAR has secured his first hat-trick of the season. The early season series between Helsinki and Riga has been intense and each side now has a hat-trick in the series as well. Apollo Hackett deserves recognition here as well with assists on all three goals.  Game 66 - Mat Tocco Mat Tocco becomes the second player in S70 to put together a four-goal game. To do that and somehow still not be the highest-scoring player in the game is a cruel fate. At least they were smart enough to give Tocco the first star, but Vladimir Pavlov’s five assists should also be made note of. Game 80 - Codrick Past A one-period hat trick! Svoboda tacked on one more in the second, but this game was over as soon as Codrick scored his third goal in less than eleven minutes. Also of note, Ryan Kastelic had four assists (two primary and two secondary) in this game to move himself up into the top ten in assists in the league while Past moved into the top five goal scorers. Game 95 - Jet Jaguar It took overtime, but Jet Jaguar managed to put together his first hat-trick of the season. Jet scored the game-winner with just twenty seconds left in OT to save his team from the ever-fickle shootout. Moscow and Riga are racing to lead the league in hat-tricks. Game 108 - Dan Baillie And just like that, Moscow ties Riga with three hat-tricks so far this season. Dan Baillie counted for nine of Moscow’s forty shots and ended the night with three goals and an assist. Despite having four points in the game, Moscow still needed one more goal from Nate Telker, his first of the season, to put Malmo away. Game 117 - Tyler Barabash Jr. Tyler Barabash Jr. opened up the scoring for Calgary on the power play just over three minutes into the game. In the second period, he went on to score the game-winner and then put the cherry on top with a phenomenal short-handed goal. He also nearly had another goal in the second put it was tipped in by his teammate instead when Barabash’s shot seemed to be on target but Kris Rice secured the goal with a last-second tip to beat Samuel Ross. Shutouts
Game 56 - Calgary vs Prague Sweet, sweet revenge. After threatening to retire if he stayed in Calgary, this matchup holds an unimaginable amount of significance for Brick Wahl. How sweet, then, it must feel to get a shutout in your first game against your former team under such circumstances. Brick Wahl is showing us all that he still has some great goaltending left in him. Game 65 - Malmo vs Seattle Is Seattle getting over their cup hangover? Maybe back-to-back cups means double the hangover. If Seattle wants to 3-peat they are going to have to have performances like this from Rayz Funk a lot more often. Seattle’s defence also deserves a shoutout for only allowing four shots in the second period. Game 67 - Calgary vs New York Oof! That is two shutouts in a week against Calgary. This team has the weapons, but scoring has been ice cold recently. A Red Guy records his first shutout of the season and New York manages to keep the series between these teams close and the rankings at the top of the North American Conference even closer. Game 86 - Calgary vs Davos JB Rift has been on a tear this week and this shutout was the finishing touch on his this masterpiece of goaltending he has put together. Davos has struggled to produce a lot of scoring opportunities in a few of their recent games and the Calgary defence took full advantage of the struggling Dynamo to hold them to only seventeen shots. Game 113 - Toronto vs Seattle This game was a goal-tending clinic. The two goaltenders walked away with the first and second star and combined for sixty-eight saves on sixty-nine shots (nice). However, only one can walk away with the win and the shutout, and that honour goes to Owen May with his first of the season. Game 114 - Malmo vs Vancouver In what might be the most shocking box score of the week, Malmo shut out the Vancouver Wolves despite allowing forty-nine shots on goal. Michael Johnson records his second shutout of the season and he deserves every ounce of the glory. His team hung him out to dry again and again and he simply could not allow a puck to slip by him. Easily the most impressive single-game performance of the season. Game 119 - Vancouver vs D.C. Greg Eagles must have felt inspired after watching Johnson’s performance in the Wolves’ last game. Either that, or he didn’t want someone else to have more shutouts than him because he came into this game with a chip on his shoulder. By the second half of this game, with a 3-0 lead, Vancouver’s defence simply became oppressive, allowing only twelve shots in the final thirty minutes of play. Game 120 - Moscow vs Seattle Remember what I said about the Malmo/Vancouver score being the most shocking of the week? This is the only game that rivals it. Rayz Funk wasn’t going to let another amazing performance go to waste as he was a Walrus in net while his team chased Moscow’s starting goalie from the ice. Toronto should be scared knowing this Seattle team is clawing up behind them for a playoff spot. Game 122 - Prague vs. Davos Brick Wahl is now the winningest goalie in the league so far this season. He has played a couple more games than his nearest competition, so we will have to wait and see if that stands, but performances like this one will keep him firmly in that position. Prague killed off nine penalties in this match, nine. It was a miraculous piece of goal-tending that saved them here.  
Rookie Spotlight

Calgary’s Youth Line

At one point this week, the Calgary Wranglers had the three highest-scoring rookie forwards in the league. Ondrej Ohradka, Kris Rice, and Mikko Lahtinen have combined for 27 points in their first season in the VHL. Ohradka and Lahtinen had some great chemistry coming into the season after spending last year together on the cup-winning Saskatoon Wild team of S69. There, they combined for 211 points while Rice put up 137 in Mississauga, first among forwards.
 
Interestingly, Rice and Lahtinen also had a VHLM connection while playing together for the Mississauga hounds in S68, but found themselves on opposite sides of the ice for the S69 cup final. Apparently there are no hard feelings because these two have been playing off each other wonderfully so far this season.
 
Calgary’s future is looking extremely bright with so much young talent at hand, it just took a strangely constructed tank last season to get there. If the Wrangler can entice these three to spend a large chunk of their careers in Calgary, expect this to be the top-scoring line in the league just a couple seasons from now.
 
 

Another suggestion I thought I'd pitch but since I don't like to do anything for free, I'm writing it up here for some TPE. I'm not sure about the history of coaches in the VHL and if they have existed in the past, but it seems like an interesting route to explore.
 
Coaches have editable attributes like players do: https://vhlportal.com/VHL/70/Coaches.php
 
These provide stat boosts to players for games. 
 
Coach effects can be completely turned off as a league setting (which I assume we have done since we have no pro coaches), but if enabled, everything I've found suggests they would have an effect on player ratings in sim engine 1.1. Again, like my last suggestion I have no idea how large an effect it would have but it would just give another dimension to play with. Some testing out prior to making any change should be done.
 
How I could see it work:
Coaches are managed by GMs. 
All GMs get the SAME fixed amount of TPE to spend on their coach, allocating it however they like. Maybe even use the same update scale.
Coach stats can only be updated in off-season (just to try to prevent someone over using it to win a matchup every game). Maybe this part is dumb. 

Would be curious if anyone has played around with coaches before in STHS (VHL or otherwise). No idea if their effect is even worth the overhead they'd bring, but its something else that could add a bit of change to what we've been used to.

I actually like this idea. I don’t know how much but SHL does it and it’s whatever. 
 
Everyone is freaking out right now about inflation and update scale in the BoG or whatever...
 
Is this not an extremely easy answer? 80-90 was always a good range I think on SHL do it would be a good way to get rid of a nice little chunk of TPE. My only issue with it would be regression but I think with everyone in the same level, we’d essentially have fairness across the board. Just depends how people build and save. 
 
Thank you @studentized for the suggestion and putting in effort bettering the league. Sometimes some members in the BoG get way too ahead of themselves and whenever things arise, we got back to what we know and typically what we know is a whole system or picture. This is a great example of looking within the picture and finding ways to make it even better without major overhaul. 
 
@BOG

Just as an fyi for the league, Bana wasn't aware but discussion was already ongoing about this. Both a blue and a BoG member had voiced support for seeing Endurance turned on during test sims, so it's absolutely something we are willing to see what it does, and if we can  make it worthwhile for our league. As Bana said though, we always appreciate the input and suggestions.
 
 

So initially I was just going to submit this to Suggestions sub forum, but I need the TPE and I think I can make 150 words of this. If anymore ends up agreeing or has information to add, feel free to start a post there as well.
 
Currently we default EN to 99 for all players. Part of the reasoning for this was that we didn't even know if EN rating was taken into account in the 1.1 sim engine (which we still use afaik). From my own personal findings, the EN rating DOES have an effect (even as early as 1.1) and its two fold.
 
It affects how quickly a player becomes fatigued; which in turns affects how many minutes they end up playing in the game. It also affects the severity of the fatigue penalty that is applied. 
 
Obviously I haven't confirmed the effect this would have using our particular player ratings file/league file, so going forward with this probably warrants some independent testing on the VHL side (I don't expect anyone to immediately take my word for it). However, I do think it would add an interesting wrinkle to building players and I'm sure the bog could come up with a good way to grandfather existing players into a non-99 value.
 
To those with STHS licences, let me know if you've seen similar things with tweaking the EN rating. Having someone else verify would probably push something like this through sooner (or put it at rest forever if for some reason the effect it has looks negligible).
 

The VHL's seventh decade saw much positive change from the top down – starting from the remnants of Project Player Two and the original S31 expansion to abolishing second (and GM) players entirely and ending with 12 teams, more than ever before. There's a separate article which could be written just on the upswing in the league's fortunes on its own but how were the 60s on a team-by-team basis? Ignoring the new expansion franchises (so a third of the league), I've delved into all eight “original” franchises and tried to put this decade in the context of where they were at the start of it. Overall, most teams had some highlights with a fairly even spread of Continental Cups throughout the league. However, because no one had a terrible time, everyone has a few regrets.
 
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Calgary

The Wranglers had reached an all-time low point in the 50s. They had already made a bit of a living off past glories, trumpeting left, right, and centre about their proud lineage dating back to that 69-3 season in S1, but then it was all cut away in contraction in S57. That place in VHL history ultimately saved Calgary, hence they picked up the assets and GM of the cursed Stockholm Vikings instead, but it was still a humbling moment. With just one championship since S30, would the Wranglers ever reach their former heights again?
 
That GM, Tyler Barabash, is an interesting case study on his own. Like Calgary, he had something to prove, with inactivity tarnishing his legacy in his previous two GM jobs, even as his teams won the cup right after he was replaced. You could see an improvement – the S31 Davos squad was almost handed to him but S43 Seattle was Barabash's own creation – and it went up a further notch with early 60s Calgary, arguably the most star-studded roster of the decade. With two Hall of Famers and playoff greats in Mats Johnsson and Norris Stopko, as well as three current ballot members in Jasper Canmore, Keaton Louth, and Oyorra Arroyo, three straight finals in S61-S63 was almost a foregone conclusion and the only regret is that this team won just one Continental Cup.
 
Things have soured a bit as the decade has gone on, however. Where Stopko and co's Calgary was the biggest fish in a pretty small pond, the rushed mid-60s rebuild meant the Wranglers had to contend in an increasingly competitive top end of the VHL. The result: just one playoff series won by the new generation, a reset of the rebuild, and some assistant GM and retirement/unretirement controversy. The back-to-back-to-back Game 7s against Vancouver will live long in the memory, and Brick Wahl will go down as a Calgary legend, but it has been far from smooth sailing for the historic franchise.
 
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New York

If you had to rank the eight franchises profiled in this series by their success this decade, it would be hard to argue against the Americans coming rock bottom. This is not just a boring look down the cup winners list and seeing everyone but New York got one in the 60s. It's a reflection of the fact that their last finals appearance was in S60, meaning New York is now on one of the all-time long finals droughts, and they've not really come close in the years since.
 
That S60 team had potential, was unlucky to lose that season, but was torn apart shortly after for reasons out of their control. GM Vince Wong resigned abruptly, taking franchise goaltender Ike Arkander with him, while star forward Chase Keller also retired young. The talent that remained, led by defencemen Casey Jones and Colton Rayne, was traded off to kickstart the rebuild. The odd thing, however, is that the rebuild went pretty much the same way – GM Colton Rayne went inactive, with a knock-on effect on franchise goaltender Ismond Kingfisher, and a few key pieces also didn't reach their full potential. Those that did, like Joseph McWolf and Dan Wilinsky, were sold off by the team's third GM of the 60s, Joel Ylonen.
 
It's a bit early to assess the latest rebuild as it was built primarily around the S67 and S68 drafts, but the signs are again hopeful. If the VHL went defunct today though, the Americans would have an interesting arc though, from the late maiden cup in S14, through the four straight lost finals until the floodgates opened in S32, before accumulating more dynasties than most in the ensuing years and yet somehow ending up where they started. New York will be hoping the trend turns around going forward.
 
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Seattle

By this point, we can safely say GM Blake Campbell knows how to navigate his way around a rebuild. You would certainly hope so after 20 seasons on the job, but it's certainly reassuring that they have also gotten better over time. Campbell came into the decade on the back of his first Continental Cup as GM, and Seattle's first since S43. The feeling though was that the Bears couldn't sustain prolonged success, certainly not like in their glory days of yore. In that sense, they're still not quite at “dynasty” level, but fitting two separate genuine contenders in the space of 10 seasons is an impressive feat and Campbell can rightfully claim the Bears team that ends the decade is the best he's built.
 
Up until the cup in S68, it felt like the 60s were going to be another “what if” in recent Seattle history. With some of the best attacking talent of the decade, led by Matt Thompson and Vyacheslav Smirnov, but also guest appearances from Gabriel McAllister, Veran Dragomir, and Sebastian Ironside, the Bears were a fun watch and deserved better than three first-round exits in a period they were a top two team in the league (S63 to S65). Ultimately, they were let down by a defence more focused on scoring than preventing goals and a goalie in Roger Sterling who never became consistent enough.
 
To Seattle's credit, the plug was pulled at the right time to initiate another quick rebuild. With enough pieces to sell in a seller's market, Campbell stocked up on S67 draft picks, which turned out to be the best draft to stock up on all decade, resulting in a young team which developed quicker than anticipated and won it all with only a couple veteran pieces. Even after back-to-back cups, it's too early to properly assess this young Bears team and what they might achieve but it's certainly an optimistic outlook and in the most simplified view it's quite amazing what an impact the franchise goalie has on a team, as seen here in the contrast between Sterling and Rayz Funk.
 
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Toronto

The Legion came into the 60s fearing the worst. An ambitious move which sent a future first overall pick (Matt Thompson) to bitter rivals Seattle secured a place as the on-paper favourites going into S59, but Toronto would be shocked by the Bears in the first round and could only watch as they secured the Continental Cup instead. Cue a firesale and a rebuild slow out of the blocks due in part to that lack of the first overall pick and then trading another future first overall (Ryan Sullivan Jr.) even more inexplicably for the inactive Aksel McKnight. The halcyon days of the threepeat seemed much longer than 10 seasons ago.
 
Toronto responded by hiring the VHL's ultimate short-term fixer: Ryan Power. Power's aversion to drafting and reputation as wheeler-and-dealer preceded him, but even by his standards this Legion tenure has gone above and beyond anything seen before in terms of laughing in the face of VHL team-building convention. Yet it's worked and the Legion end the decade with the joint-most championships. It took an odd combination of some genuine stars (Norris Stopko, Sebastian Ironside, Oyorra Arroyo) and some players playing out of their skin (think not just the heroics of playoff MVP Johnny Havenk Carison but also timely goals from Evan R. Lawson or defensive sacrifices of Lespineau-Lebrunette), but Toronto secured back-to-back cups in S64 and S65 in the most unexpected fashion.
 
It wasn't vintage Toronto by any means and no one will put that team on the same pedestal as the threepeat or even the class of S9 or S21. However, the Legion won't care. They remained competitive for most of the decade (a Victory Cup followed after more free agency coups in S67), put behind the demons of the late 50s, and only need to worry about how this high-risk strategy affects them for the next decade.
 
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That's all for now, Vancouver, Helsinki, Davos, and Riga to follow in a couple weeks' time. Have I forgotten about my alphabetical list of every nation's greatest ever VHL player? God no, the timing for this is just perfect as we are literally at the end of the 60s (and yes, decades run from 60 to 69 or 2010 to 2019, unlike centuries, because decades are named after the years while centuries are just a number. Fight me on this).

Welcome to the first edition of VSN’s S70 Weekly recap (Games 1-48).  We’ll cover a host of things in this recap each week including highlights of important VSN happenings, three stars of the week, power rankings, rookie profiles, and anything else of importance.
 
Recap

And just like that, another season is upon us. We have gotten our first look at this season’s competition with many new faces and old faces in new places. Several rookies have set out to make names for themselves. Jimmy Spyro was flawless in his VHL debut with a shutout against Toronto. Patrick Tallinder beat the snot out of Phantoms’ enforcer Blake Laughton. And Erik Summers leads the Titans in +/-. Meanwhile, several free agents have made waves on their new teams. Codrick Past has already scored two short-handed goals for Riga. JB Rift shut out the New York Americans in his second game as a Wrangler. And former Calgary tender, Brick Wahl, has put up impressive numbers in Prague.
 
It is hard to say that anyone is performing above or below expectations so early in the season, but I think a couple of teams stand out. You can call it a cup hangover or you can call it cap space hell, but I don’t think anyone expected to see Seattle scraping the bottom of the North American Conference. Hulk Hogan even lost a fight! What has become of the reigning champs? On the other end of the spectrum, after the intense locker room drama of S69, the Calgary Wranglers are leading their conference early in the season. Time will tell if they can hold it together is S70, but it has certainly been a promising start. Also of note, Davos… doesn’t suck? I think we all expect great things from Gustav, but turning around Davos this quickly is certainly a shock. We will have to wait and see if they can continue to contend for a playoff spot in the European Conference.
 
As far as league news goes, it has been a fairly slow week. The only major change made this week affects a relatively small selection of players. Players claiming pension will now have to have two players at 700 TPE instead of the previous 400 TPE. This inflation is allegedly a response to uncapped TPE becoming easier to acquire in recent seasons. It seems that teams are still trying to get settled into their new rosters and find their identities. I expect in the new week or so that we will start to see teams begin grappling with whether they intend to contend this season or look to start moving their upcoming FAs to teams that are in the hunt for the cup.
 

3-Stars

First Star
Smitty Werbenjagermanjensen (MOS) - 3 Goals, 10 Assists
Second Star
Julian Borwinn (HSK) - 7 Goals, 10 Assists
Third Star
Owen May (TOR) - 0.936 SV%, 1.83 GAA
 

Power Rankings

European Conference
Moscow Menace - They haven’t played any top teams outside of Vancouver and they went 1-1 with the Wolves. However, leading is leading, and it is hard to argue with results. Prague Phantoms - Prague could be number 1 on this list, but losing to Davos was a bad look for the Phantoms. They are going to have to prove it if they want to win my confidence. Helsinki Titans - Helsinki doesn’t lead the league in much, but they do have more goals than anyone else. If they can start winning close games they will start racking up points. Riga Reign - They beat Davos and lost to Helsinki, then they lost to Davos and beat Helsinki. Riga has been starting their backup goalie a lot so far, so expect them to improve soon. HC Davos Dynamo - 3 OT losses mean Davos might not be behind Riga and Helsinki in the standings, but they are still losses. That being said, the 3, 4, and 5 spots are tight right now. Malmo Nighthawks - Second fewest goals in the league and the second-most goals against. It is hard to know where to start with the Nighthawks problems.  
North American Conference
Calgary Wranglers - Calgary has the best record in the league and they played real teams to get it. At the moment, they are the team to beat if you want to call yourself the best. New York Americans - The top two teams in NA have already played each other five times. The Americans only won two of those games and find themselves in second as a result. Vancouver Wolves - Vancouver is good, beating Moscow proved that, but how good? Getting to play D.C. three times already may indicate that their record is better than they deserve. Toronto Legion - It is a testament to the strength of the NA Conference this season that Toronto is this low. Don’t be fooled, this is a team that can and will beat anyone. D.C. Dragons - Defense is a real concern in D.C. They have the worst point differential and the most goals allowed in the conference. Seattle Bears - The cup hangover is real in Seattle. Don’t expect them to look this bad all season, but for now, they are at the bottom my NA power rankings.  

Notable Games

Game 39 Calgary Wranglers vs New York Americans
Game 5 of the series between the top two teams in the North American Conference, this match certainly lived up to the hype. Both teams came into this game with two wins over the other so we had a rubber match on our hands. It got extremely chippy, with both teams giving up seven power-play opportunities, but Calgary was able to take advantage with the only PP goal of the game. The Wranglers walk away from this one with the conference lead… for now.

Game 40 - Vancouver Wolves vs Toronto Legion
I chose this game at the beginning of the week to highlight a series between what I expected to be two of the top contenders in the North American Conference. It seems I may have overestimated Toronto’s talent and I considered cutting it from my notable games list. However, one thing made me keep it in, goaltending. Rookie tender, Jimmy Spyro has won all three of his first games, including a shutout and one three goals allowed. Part of that is due to Vancouver having one of the best defences in the league, but it is hard to overstate how impress Spyro’s early performance has been. 

Game 46 - Moscow Menace vs Seattle Bears
Last season’s champs against one of the favourites for the cup this season! This game was a clear showcase of the difference between a team that was good but lost a couple key pieces and team currently in their prime. Moscow dominated every facet of this matchup. Moscow has been one of the harder teams to figure out early on this season, which meant even this matchup was in question. They have a good record, but that is mostly from beating up on the worst teams in the league, they go 1-1 with Vancouver, and then they get shut out in their last game against Malmo. Honestly, I want to see them play a couple more real contenders before I’m convinced they’re as good as their record suggests.
 

Events of the Week

Fights
Game 15 - Tallinder beats up Laughton The first fight of the season and it is a fresh face dropping gloves against a seasoned veteran. Tallinder cleanly hit Teagan Glover, but Blake Laughton took exception to the hit and dragged Patrick into a fight. Not only did he take a beating, but Laughton also got a penalty for instigation and ejected from the game. However, the fight inspired the Phantoms, as they went on to score twice shortly afterwards and went on to win the game. Game 16 - Graves beats up Hogan Graves takes the belt! Hulk has a reputation for fighting, and it looks like Benny was in search of some clout of his own. Seemingly unprovoked, Graves dropped gloves and challenged the fighting champion. Never one to back down from a fight, Hogan obliged, but the fight did not go his way. Benny got an additional penalty for instigation and an ejection, but, just like in game 15, the team who went down a player responded with a quick goal and an eventual victory. Game 24 - Aaltonen draws with Stark After sustained offensive pressure in the Dragons’ zone, Aaltonen was able to change things up by dropping gloves with Ambrose Stark. Although the first didn’t really go anywhere before it was broken up, it helped change the momentum enough to bring the Dragons back into the game. D.C. went on to win in the shootout, and they have Aaltonen to thank for the much-needed change of pace. There have been two fights between these teams in the first week of the season, keep an eye on this developing rivalry in the near future. Game 27 - BRAWL! After a high stick from rookie defenseman Shawn Glade Jr., Seabass Perrin took exception and jumped him. Glade didn’t put up a fight, but his teammates stepped in on his behalf and we found ourselves with our first all-out brawl of the season. John Madden, Edward Vigneault, Milos Slavik, Roll Fizzlebeef, Andrej Petrovic, and Willie Dredge all paired off. Although none of the fights had a decisive winner, Dredge went on to score in the early minutes of the following period. His goal became the game-winner, so it would feel wrong to call anyone other than the Phantoms of the winners of the mayhem. Game 44 - Vigneault draws with Nolan Both teams forgot to play defence in the first period. After going up 3-0, Prague let New York come back within one with just over a minute left in the first on a penalty to Roll Fizzlebeef. Taking exception to the call, and to the non-stop scoring, Edward Vigneault and Owen Nolan sought each other out as soon as they got on the ice. Although the fight didn’t really go anywhere before being broken up, it seemed like it might have finally slowed things down… for exactly ten seconds, before the Phantoms scored again.  
Hat-Tricks
Game 21 - Pat Svoboda The first hat trick of the season, Svoboda’s work went to waste as Riga decided to keep their back-up goalie in until Helsinki had put up six goals. However, this is very promising for the Reign’s leading scorer. If he can score three goals against Pepper, he can do it against anyone. Game 22 - Bjorn Scoringsonn Scoringsonn lives up to his name with the first 4-Goal game of the season. Bjorn took over a third of his team’s shots in this game, so Toronto’s game plan seems pretty clear, get the puck to Scoringsonn and let him shoot. Nethila Dissanayake has two primary assists and a secondary assist on these goals, so look for more big games from this duo. Game 43 - Julian Borwinn At first glance, it would be easy to chalk this one up to facing a back-up goalie, but after a closer look you’ll see that Finn Davidson came in just nine minutes into the game and gave up two of Borwinn’s three goals. When you start your backup goalie and go one for four on the penalty kill, you know you are going to have a bad day, but Borwinn put an exclamation point on this one with his first hat-trick of the season.  
Shutouts
Game 7 - Calgary vs New York From zero to hero, JB Rift allowed five goals in the first game with the Wrangler, but he more than made up for it in the second game of their series against the American with the first shutout of S70. Game 18 - Vancouver vs Toronto What a way to start your VHL career! Jimmy Spyro was perfect in his first VHL game for the Wolves. Spyro has an exciting season in front of him if he continues to play like this as a backup goalie. Game 33 - Riga vs Davos It was like watching a VHL goalie face off against a VHLM scrub for the first half of this game. Finally, Riga decided that their backup goalie just wasn’t cutting it but the damage was already done. Davos walks away from a win and Samuel Ross gets his third career shutout. Game 34 - Vancouver vs Seattle Not to be upstaged by his backup, Greg Eagles locked in a shutout of his own, giving Vancouver two shutouts before most teams even have one. This was almost a scoreless game until Julius Freeman was finally able to get on the board with a power-play goal late in the third. Game 41 - Moscow vs Malmo This was certainly an unexpected result. Malmo has struggled early this season, but having to face Moscow over and over makes them look worse than they actually are. That being said, Michael Johnson only had one win in six games going into this matchup, and to walk away with the shutout in this one is a good confidence builder for a team in desperate need of inspiration. Game 42 - D.C. vs Seattle Kallis Kriketers has had a bumpy start to his time in D.C. with the lowest SV% and the highest GAA he has seen in years. Kriketers isn’t unfamiliar with having questionable defensive talent in front of him and every once in a while he just does what he does and puts a whole team on his back. The Dragons seem like 85% of a team and the moment, but they are going to be a real threat if their veterans can continue to play as they did in their peak.  

Rookie Spotlight

Jimmy Spyro

At this point, I’m done saying there is anything Jimmy Spyro can’t do. Becoming the starter for Ottawa halfway through his first season in the VHLM, Spyro scraped together only four wins in thirty-two games that year. However, the Mississauga Hounds saw something they liked and snatched him up that off-season. He went on to lead the team to second place in the regular season and a cup final with a 0.885 SV% and a GAA just a hair over 2. Jimmy Spyro became the shutout master, racking up 10 shutouts throughout S69.

Probably more impressive than his time in the VHLM was Spyro’s performance at the WJC for Team Asia. Taking home silver and the tournament MVP award.
“Coming in as an underdog and being passed off to Team Asia by his qualifying country Jimmy Spyro decided to make a name for himself. Going 7-0-1 with a .932 save percentage in the round-robin and going 1 -1 with a save percentage of .903 in the medal games.” - WJC Commissioner Acydburn

What do you know? He continued his reputation with a shutout in his first VHL game. Facing the veteran Owen May, each goalie faced 36 shots, and Spyro stopped every single one. If Jimmy sees more than the 8 games minimum that is required from a backup, he may even see some votes for Rookie of the Year.
 

 

@Maasa (your tag was missed, so your clock can start now instead of 6 hours ago)