TukTukTheGreat

Team Europe's proud selection!

Guys, if you got tagged, join us on Discord here: https://discord.gg/fc6kAZb or reach out to me at VerloreneSiege#9910
 
C Frans Eller @Ace 
C Kaspars Claude @Bruins10
C Balentine Kidd @TukTukTheGreat

LW Teemu Lehtinen Jr @Sixersfan549
LW Sigard Gunnar @Big Mac
LW Soren Jensen @Velevra
 
RW Owen Nolan @studentized
RW Mac Hooper @MacH
RW Roadkill Steve @stevo
 
D Wolf Stanson Jr @Cornholio
D Fredrik Elmebeck @Elmebeck
D Pierre Persson @Dominus89
D MORPHEUS DESTRUCTIOUS @Abaddon

G Thorvald Gunnarsson @Saelven88
G Toppi Attakallio @Bobby Bummhole
 

1) The Hounds made a goalie signing this week, picking up Nicolas Fomba (@efiug) as our second goalie. Who wins the battle for Hounds goalie dominance, Fomba or Lukas Schweitzer?
Gotta stay loyal to Schweitzer, but it is good to have a solid backup
2) What's your single favorite emoji to drop in Hounds Discord?
They are all too good
3) The Hounds have three players in the top 10 in points league-wide. Does this surprise you?
Given our excellent coaching and development program it does not.  We are a team that should not be taken lightly
4) Do you think our chances of success are higher or lower than they were at the start of the season?
About the same. I feel that while we may not be the most skilled team in the league we should not be underestimated.
5) The team starts a tennis tournament, and you can pick one player to be your doubles partner. Who is it?
Jerry Wang @ColeMrtz. We clearly have chemistry being one one of the most dangerous duos in the league points wise. 
6) @fonziGG, general manager of Halifax, knocks on your door with some religious material. Do you let him in?
Absolutly not. I would not let any gm into my home.

My clearly over the top first attempt at a proper graphic

What about S68 send-downs? I would assume they can claim it as well once they hit 251.

1. The draft was last night, which is what brought most of you to the Dragons organization. Did you go earlier or later than you expected? If you weren't drafted, how did you make it here?
 
I went about where I thought I would go, I had no real frame of reference otherwise. 
2. What team had the best draft?
 
Clearly the Dragons haha.
3. Who will be the biggest steal of the draft?
 
Rooney, I think some gms passed over on him because he had one busy week but I think he will turn into a stud.
4. Who is your early prediction to go 1st overall at the S69 draft?
 
I would have to say Soren Jensen
5. Do you think the S69 draft is going to be better or worse overall than the S68 draft?
 
I would think a bit worse, this draft had a couple really high end players
6. Who out of your fellow Dragons draftees do you think is most likely to be a future captain?
 
it depends entirely on who puts in the most work so I could not say outright.

EAZZZY

With the VHLM Dispersal draft slated to take place this weekend, there's no better time than the present to make a mock draft! When it comes to a VHLM team, there are two approaches to the dispersal draft: do you take the best player you can and go all out for this season, or do you aim for a more developmental prospect that will still be worthwhile this season but also give you production into next season as well? Let's see how this breaks down!
 
1.) Mississauga Hounds: Brock Louth, D @Beaviss
Mississauga is in need of all the talent they can get, so what better way to start off than with the top rated prospect from the class of S69? It may seem strange to build your team around a defenseman, but make no mistake, Louth has a shot that rivals some of the top forwards in this draft.
 
2.) Mexico City Kings: Samuel Ross, G @Brrbisbrr
There's some concern that Ross may forgo the minors this season and head straight to the pros, but as it can often times be tough to find playing time up there, it's likely he'll stay down for one more season. Like Mississauga, Mexico City is in need of talent across the board, but with 6 picks in the first 3 rounds, they could very well build a playoff contending team this season. Having a future star in the net only helps there.
 
3.) Las Vegas Aces: Ryan Busser, RW @diacope
Speaking of rebuilding on the fly, Las Vegas boasts 7 picks in the first 3 rounds (including 3 of the top 7) as well as 3 of the first 4 picks in the 4th round. While it may take a bit of good scouting to make good on those last few picks, that's 10 players that could easily become contributers for a playoffs minded team. Busser is the top rated forward for next season and will be the pick here.
 
4.) Las Vegas Aces: Benny Graves, C @STZ
And they follow that pick up by snagging the top rated center for next season. Like Louth, Graves is the kind of generational talent that doesn't come along very often. It would not shock me at all to see Graves at the top goal and points scorer next season.
 
5.) San Diego Marlins: Solomon Crawford, G @AndrewWarren13
San Diego is in a similar boat as the previous teams with a near empty roster (save for local legend Roadkill Steve), but without the same draft capital as the others. Thus, the Marlins may be better suited to build towards S69. Crawford gives them a solid body in the net that should more than pull his weight this season and be ready to take the league by storm next year.
 
6.) Houston Bulls: Chad Gilbert, C @Fire_In_Babylon
Unlike the other teams, Houston actually has a decent base of players to build around with a strong goalie, a pair of developing wingers, and a couple of solid defenders. Their biggest weakness is at center, so Gilbert fits the bill here. Gilbert should immediately slot into their top line and give them someone who led the VHLM in faceoff percentage last season.
 
7.) Las Vegas Aces: Bruce Grimaldi, G @Psyduck77
Las Vegas grabbed a couple of forwards earlier, but they will need a goaltender if they want to compete this season. Grimaldi is the best available at this slot, and they'd be wise to lock him up before he's gone, especially with Yukon likely having their eye on them with the next pick.
 
8.) Yukon Rush: Block Buster, G @Banana2311
Yukon is loaded along the defense and have a couple of nice forwards, but like many teams are in need of a goalie. With three of the top four prospects already off the board, the Rush select Buster here to ensure they have someone in there that they're comfortable with, as they know they won't be making a playoff run with a bot in the net.
 
9.) Mississauga Hounds: Soren Jensen, RW @Velevra
The Hounds continue their trend of snagging S69 players by grabbing the promising winger Jensen. Jensen is a bit of a pass first, defensive minded forward, which will pair well with the offensive minded Louth to give the Hounds an inside-out attack that can confuse other teams.
 
10.) Philadelphia Reapers: Balentine Kidd, C @TukTukTheGreat
Philadelphia still has plenty stocked up from last season to make another run this season, but they have one glaring hole in the middle of the line. Kidd will fit in nicely there, as his ability to play the puck and win faceoffs will be invaluable for the Reapers. While some might wonder why not go with George Washington here, the Reapers already have a lot of pass first players on the squad, so getting a scoring minded center would likely be a better fit for them overall.
 
11.) Mexico City Kings: Jeff Tates, RW @PotatoKing
While they locked up their goalie earlier, they still have a lot of holes to fill. Tates is the best player available at this point, so the Kings will select him as they cap off the first round of the draft. Tates has some of the best puck handling skills in this entire draft, and they'll rely heavily on his ability to control the puck this season.

With the upcoming draft I feel like I should start advertising my players services.  While I may not be the newest player around I do believe that I deserve serious consideration in the VHL draft.  I am a active and positive member of the community and will be sticking around for the foreseeable future. I am turning into a true goalscoring centre that can drive the play while also being responsible defensively.  I will be getting as much the as I can be getting over the next while and I fully expect to be a major part on any team that I will be drafted by within a reasonable timeframe.  
 
If you have any questions at all feel free to contact my agent over message.  I have already been contracted by a couple gms interested in my services and I would be happy to talk to as many teams as possible.
 
Balentine Kidd

With the upcoming draft I feel like I should start advertising my players services.  While I may not be the newest player around I do believe that I deserve serious consideration in the VHL draft.  I am a active and positive member of the community and will be sticking around for the foreseeable future. I am turning into a true goalscoring centre that can drive the play while also being responsible defensively.  I will be getting as much the as I can be getting over the next while and I fully expect to be a major part on any team that I will be drafted by within a reasonable timeframe.  
 
If you have any questions at all feel free to contact my agent over message.  I have already been contracted by a couple gms interested in my services and I would be happy to talk to as many teams as possible.
 
Balentine Kidd

FIRST OVERALL BABY

Will your player be going to the draft? If so who will they take with them as their plus one?
 
I will be attending the draft and will bring my family with me.
 
All of you will be taking part in the upcoming draft, why should a team pick you? Give me your sales pitch.
 
I am a good, hard working player who has a high skill ceiling.
 
Are you happy with your players build? Is there anything you would change if you could go back?
 
not really, I want to score goals and that is what I do
 
During the off-season what country would you travel to if you had the choice?
 
Australia
 
Now our season is over I was thinking of handing out some awards to the team. Name an unusual award you would give and who would be the recipient?
 
Cant catch a break award.  I would have to give it to Nate Telker
 
Now be brutally honest how did you enjoy your first season? Could management do anything better?
 
I had fun, next year I would want to win though but I get the team was in a rebuild

1. Some noteworthy names have recreated (or even reappeared) this season after the deadline--Beaviss, omgitshim, and STZ, to name a few. All three went to Philadelphia, a team with a good shot at the cup. Do they, in your opinion, have the time that they need to develop into significant players for their team, or are they simply too far behind as far as this season is concerned?
 
as far as this season is concerned they have arrived too late, despite them being helped by carry over tpe they are still to far short to be of any real impact.
2. If you've seen the "unban boubabi" discussion around the site, do you have an opinion? If so, what is it and why?
 
I have not been around long enough to have much of a say on the matter.
3. What's your favorite band that I've never heard of?
 
Marrilion but only the Script for a jesters tear album
4. What's your favorite sport that isn't hockey?
 
Football
5. If you were a GM, what kind of strategy would you go for? Anything that would make the way you would run a team unique?
 
I would build my team around goalscoring wingers who can put up points and a really solid goalie. I am not sure if this would make the team unique but perhaps it might.
6. All of you are (or at least have been, at some point) free agents. What advice would you give to someone who enters the league after the draft and has to sign with someone?
 
Have fun and sign with whoever you think can help you succeed.

Ideally as a new draftee  I would be taken by an expansion team and this is why. When you are joining a established franchise you arrive with very little expectation.  They already have their star players, established lines and you will need to wait your turn before you can get a proper slot in their lineup.  With a expansion team you will need to push yourself and fight for a spot in a lineup, and while the team might not succeed in the first couple seasons it creates a team dynamic and every team will envy and leads to success in the future.  Hockey is not a single player sport like Baseball or Basketball.  Instead it puts a ton more emphasis on team play and teamwork.  As a result having a incredibly tight nit group of guys who play their hearts out every game provides infinitely more value than a city with perhaps a worse hockey culture.  In conclusion while I will be thrilled to be taken by any team I feel that perhaps being taken by a expansion team might provide myself with more opportunities than I would have otherwise gotten.

This is my first article so take it easy on me.  I have just signed my first ELC with the Mississagua Greyhounds and will be sharing the C slot.  While I don't expect my first season in the minor leagues to be hugely productive I believe I should set out some goals for myself.  I realize that I am joining in midseason but I will do my best to not let that stop me. I plan on scoring at least 10 goals in the reminder of this season while putting up a 25 point total.  I have had a huge amount of support from the staff and players in the Mississagua Greyhounds and without this support I would be entirely out of my depth. They have started to train me in what to focus on as it relates to my game.  Of course I will take these words to heart and I have already noticed improvements especially in the areas of my Defence and Face-offs.  With any luck after the following season I will have caught to eye of some of the larger league scouts and I can see where my career takes me.
 
Balentine Kidd

To the VHL Community,
 
As a new player being constantly active is a bit intimidating and I have no idea if I can continue my newfound stream of mediocre content. This has got me thinking, would there be a way to automate a 250 word post every week using neural networks. Would it be possible to scrape word use from all the posts that active members create on a weekly basis and come up with talking points that people seem to bring up more often than others.  You could in theory use premade software such as Article forge however this might end up costing the user far more than it is worth in licencing fees from the software itself.  
 
While I see this as a very real possibility I feel like it also completely defeats the point of the purpose of doing these exercises. That being to keep the community actively engaged with one another and active.
 
I hope you enjoyed hearing my thoughts on such a meta topic

This is my first article so take it easy on me.  I have just signed my first ELC with the Mississagua Greyhounds and will be sharing the C slot.  While I don't expect my first season in the minor leagues to be hugely productive I believe I should set out some goals for myself.  I realize that I am joining in midseason but I will do my best to not let that stop me. I plan on scoring at least 10 goals in the reminder of this season while putting up a 25 point total.  I have had a huge amount of support from the staff and players in the Mississagua Greyhounds and without this support I would be entirely out of my depth. They have started to train me in what to focus on as it relates to my game.  Of course I will take these words to heart and I have already noticed improvements especially in the areas of my Defence and Face-offs.  With any luck after the following season I will have caught to eye of some of the larger league scouts and I can see where my career takes me.
 
Balentine Kidd

This is my first article so take it easy on me.  I have just signed my first ELC with the Mississagua Greyhounds and will be sharing the C slot.  While I don't expect my first season in the minor leagues to be hugely productive I believe I should set out some goals for myself.  I realize that I am joining in midseason but I will do my best to not let that stop me. I plan on scoring at least 10 goals in the reminder of this season while putting up a 25 point total.  I have had a huge amount of support from the staff and players in the Mississagua Greyhounds and without this support I would be entirely out of my depth. They have started to train me in what to focus on as it relates to my game.  Of course I will take these words to heart and I have already noticed improvements especially in the areas of my Defence and Face-offs.  With any luck after the following season I will have caught to eye of some of the larger league scouts and I can see where my career takes me.
 
Balentine Kidd

I accept the offer to join up with Mississauga

I accept the offer to join up with Mississauga