Patrik Tallinder

The article ended up being a bit delayed, so it led to some of the data being off. The trend, risk, potential is something we could’ve explained a bit better, so I’ll try to give you an idea what it is. To use your player as an example, your only slight issue was a moderate risk. That risk represents the risk of you reaching your full potential, which is listed as high. The factors going into risk are considerable variance in weekly capped/total TPE amounts, small sample size, past low/inactive weeks, and reputation in the community. In the weeks prior to this article, you had weeks of 11, 25, 12, 35, and 14 TPE. There’s a fair amount of variance there, but still a ton of potential, especially with you capping out in three of the five weeks. So we’re saying that your potential is extremely high, but there’s a slight risk that you could end up just being a decent player as well instead of a star. That would be due to the lower weeks, which still aren’t too low. Hope this clears things up, if not just lmk ?

1. Eagles. Our goaltending was definitely key that series. 2. Helsinki maybe? Feels like Moscow lost too much this season, with Jaguar, Smitty and gritty, etc... 3. We need to keep shutting the other team down. I think we’re in our element in more defensive games. 4. Shush Nyko is breaking out a bit so far. 5. Probably Eagles for the playoffs, Tate for regular season. 6. I’m a hurricanes fan, so I’m happy that we’re in it for Lafreniere.

In each draft, we see a mix of talent from both new users, as well as older users who have already created a player before. The security of knowing that an older member is much less likely to go inactive is enough for GMs to form a bias in their favour, and that leaves first generation players in a bit of a tough spot. They have more to prove, and need to work harder to convince the league of their worth as a prospect. In order to capture the experience of being a first gen player in today’s VHL, and to find out what leads to their success, I have put together an interview with some of the top first gens of recent times. The interview consists of three S73 prospects who are gearing up for their VHL Draft this offseason, and three of the top first gens of the S70’s so far. Let’s get to the participants. S73 @dlambDakota Lamb: Lamb is a centre prospect currently playing for the Miami Marauders, who put up an impressive 93 points on the season. He has grown into a high quality TPE earner, averaging 23 TPE over his last 5 full weeks. @Mongoose87Kosmo Kramerev: Another Marauder, Kramerev has displayed nothing short of elite offensive ability this season, with 29 goals and 106 points as a defenceman. His TPE earning is also nice, especially in terms of capitalizing on uncapped TPE opportunities. @IamMOOSEKevin King: Listed as one of my underdogs in my recent VSN article, King is an extremely high upside pick who just joined in the last week of S73 eligibility. The numbers haven’t come yet for King, but I think he will break out in the playoffs. S70’s @ROOKIE745(S70) Jaxx Hextall: Toronto’s starter, Hextall has not even slowed down at all since his late surge in the S70 Draft. Averaging 26 TPE in his last 5 full weeks, the Canadian goalie has been maintaining an almost surreal rate of TPE production. @Pengu(S71) Pengu: One of the frontrunners for the Christian Stolzschweiger Trophy, Pengu has been a high quality first generation player for Riga so far in his career. With his recent hiring onto the VSN team, Pengu is still managing to find ways to further establish himself in this league. @Spartan(S72) Alex Letang: A member who made an immediate impact following his entry into the league, Letang has wasted no time becoming a core piece of the VHL. He has two jobs, being an updater and a VHLM GM. He has been a force in the VHLM this season, and could take the VHL by storm very soon. Now that we know all the interviewees, let’s get to the interview! How did you find the VHL? Did you have any prior sim league experience? Who helped you the most in the early stages of your career? How so? How big of a part did your teammates in the LR play in making you feel welcome? Was (or is) that a place where you spend a lot of time? How much attention did you (or do you) pay to the official draft rankings? Did you (or do you) ever feel overlooked due to being a first gen player? How do you feel about the new late joiner adjustments? How much has that helped you? In the case of the older first gens, how much would that have helped you in your draft season? What is your plan to establish yourself as a top prospect in the draft? Are you trying to stay consistent, looking for jobs, etc... (This question is only for the s73 players) What is your biggest piece of advice to new first gen players? (This is only for the older first gens) And with that, we’re finished! Being a S69 first gen myself, I can relate to a lot of the answers in this interview. If I were to answer the last question as well, I would just say to find something that you’re excited to do whenever you log on. Whether that’s writing articles, doing graphics or podcasts, managing a team, or one of an abundance of other options, you should give yourself a reason to come on here every week. For me, that became writing draft articles. When I joined, there wasn’t much draft content at all, so I tried to make it myself. Now, I’m able to do that same thing that drew me into the league, except for VSN now! Anyways, this was a fun interview, and I may end up doing more of these next season. Huge thanks to everyone who participated; I wish you all the best with your players!

Hello everyone, and welcome to a brand new series on VSN! In Diamonds In The Rough, we take a look at some of the upcoming draft’s underdogs. This season has had no shortage in underdogs, to say the least. We have an abundance of unique storylines to cover with these players, and we’re excited to see where they fall on their draft day. With the expansion teams coming in for this draft and being underdogs themselves, maybe they take a chance on a player like this. Now, let’s see who it is that we’re talking about. - Ajay Krishna - G | Ranked #20 in midseason rankings Ajay Krishna has been one of my personal favourites of this draft class for a little while now. Impressively earning every possible capped TPE available to him so far, the goaltender’s progression to this point is something that can be maintained for as long as he chooses. While he hasn’t capitalized on a crazy amount of uncapped TPE opportunities, he did show a flash of promise just a couple of weeks ago when he posted a week of 30 TPE, 18 being uncapped. His TPE earning habits remind me somewhat of a young Jacques Lafontaine in his draft season, and Lafontaine has unquestionably turned out great for the Wranglers. What makes Krishna an underdog is his total TPE. His 146 TPE places him at 23rd in the draft class, so he has a bit of a hill to climb. You may be asking how his TPE would be so low with his impressive productivity, and the answer lies partially in the newly added late joiner TPE. Krishna joined in a time when the adjustment was not automatic, and he needed to claim it manually. He did not do so, and missed out on 12 TPE. Combining this with his lack of uncapped TPE participation so far, it seems that he is a bit behind right now. The good news is that his outstandingly consistent capped TPE earning makes him a very high potential, low-risk pick in the draft. The uncapped TPE will hopefully come as well, and if that is the case, we could be looking at an extremely valuable goalie prospect. - Kevin King - C | Ranked #25 in midseason rankings A prospect with almost scary potential, Kevin King has unfortunately fallen victim to poor timing. Joining in the very last week of S73 eligibility, he has found himself in a position where he has a ton of catching up to do. That said, he has not wasted as much as a second so far. Kicking off his career with a week of 46 TPE, King made a statement to the VHL right out of the gate. Pairing that with the second week of 14 TPE where he capped out once again, it becomes apparent that he’s a player who could skyrocket in value over the next few weeks. On the ice, the offence hasn’t come yet for the American forward, but he does have a decent build. His only glaring weakness is puck handling, but that can be ironed out pretty quickly with time. I expect the goal totals to increase a lot really soon, and hopefully, that puts him closer on the radar of VHL GMs. With his late entry into the VHLM, it sparks the question of where he would be if he had joined earlier. Would he be pushing for a spot in the top ten, or even the top five? That said, there is a spectacular amount of talent here, and hopefully, he is able to reach his highest potential. - Alec Volchenkov - C | Ranked #27 in midseason rankings SirRupertBarnes is a user who is looking for redemption. His last player, Dimitri Volosenkov, was one of the most exciting prospects of the S66 Draft. Following his top-five selection in the draft, Volchenkov would go on to have a fantastic rookie season with 70 points in 72 games. However, that success would be short-lived, as he would post 21 points the next season and go entirely inactive. This time around, his latest player Alec Volchenkov hopes to prove his reliableness. So far, his TPE production shows that he’s off to a great start, with 74 TPE over 4 and a half weeks, including 50 in the last 2.5 weeks. The Russian is a fantastic two-way player who shows much promise as a playmaker as well. He always finds a way to get the puck to teammates in open ice, which is an incredibly useful skill at both ends of the ice. Especially at a time where the majority of forwards prioritize scoring, his ability to thread the needle will likely be coveted by VHL teams to balance their lineups out a bit more. There’s quite a bit of promise in this player, and I don’t think Volchenkov will burn out as Volosenkov did. - John Merrick - C | Ranked #11 in midseason rankings It’s hard to call a first round prospect an underdog, but I think it’s very fitting for John Merrick, given the circumstances. Like King, Merrick entered the VHLM in the last week of S73 eligibility and has not had much time to catch up. I think it is fair to consider him an underdog since had he recreated at last season’s deadline, he may have very well been a contender for a top-three selection, possibly even first overall. The reason I say this is because Steve’s last player, Guy LeGrande, was an S67 player who had already amassed 1177 TPE, which still stands as seventh in his draft class, even with over two weeks since he retired. Merrick is a goal-scoring centre with all the right tools to be successful offensively. His faceoffs could use some work, but he’s still extremely early in his development, so it will likely be improved soon. He has had a quality start to his career with the Mexico City Kings, with 16 points in 26 games. With his rapid improvement presumably continuing for the playoffs, expect him to be a real breakout candidate there. This is undoubtedly an elite prospect, and only time will tell how far he can climb up the rankings before draft day. There are definitely other prospects who have fallen under the radar for one reason or another, but these ones are the most notable ones to me. It’s always fun cheering for the underdog, so make sure to keep an eye on these players around draft time. If you’d like to give some recognition to an underdog of the S73 Draft class, feel free to leave a comment on this article. With that said, we’re all done for this season, but make sure to come back next season for the underdogs of the S74 draft class! One way to follow these prospects is to keep up with VSN’s VHLM content! We’ve got weekly updates for it as well as the big league. Keep an eye out for that, as well as an upcoming mock draft! But really, that’s just the tip of the iceberg with VSN content. We’ve got plenty of diverse content that any member would like. Here’s our latest work: | VHLM Weekly | VHL Weekly | Behind The Trophy | Players mentioned: @Hooperorama @IamMOOSE @SirRupertBarnes @Steve

One of the biggest names in a draft that seems forever away, Nils Tallinder has become unsure of his future path in hockey. The 15 year old can sign a VHLM contract in S76, but the decision to do so is still not made. Nils’ brother, Patrik Tallinder, currently plays for the Riga Reign of the VHL. Although he says it would be a dream come true to follow in his footsteps, leaving his home of Sweden will not be easy. Nils has struggled with English all his life, especially when he lived in Canada briefly early in his life. On top of this, he has been working his way up the ranks back home, even playing 13 SHL games this season. While he only scored 2 points in those games, he displayed a lot of promise as a top tier player for the future. Patrik was asked about this after a game, and he said that “ultimately it’s up to him. The development program in Sweden is unbelievable, so I know he’s in good hands. However, I would definitely encourage him to play in the VHL. There’s no other experience like it.” While we wait for a decision from Nils, we will watch his brother in the meantime, who is preparing for a playoff push with Riga.

1. Now that his brother is a top prospect, he wants to make sure everyone knows that he’s the better one lol. 2. Kris Rice, cause he’s a really good, fairly young playmaking winger who I played with before and had great chemistry with. His contract is also unbelievable. 4. More ice time, especially in offensive scenarios like the pp. 5. premium plus crackers, I could use some of them rn actually. 8. Not important, wish I had those TPE back lol. 9. Consistent offence. It’s been better lately, but sometimes we can be pretty streaky.

1. Warsaw, I think the logo is great. 2. I’ve briefly interacted with McWolf, I think he could do big things. 3. If they do well in the playoffs, idk if anyone could call them a meme anymore. 4. I really don’t know, it’s not like they have any super noticeable weaknesses. 5. Sometimes it seems like it for sure, with how well certain players do relative to people with similar builds. 6. He’s very obsessive over his job. One time I caught him picking at tiny chips in the ice with a butter knife at 5:30 in the morning.

Claiming for VSN article

Welcome back to Future Watch, where we analyse the prospect pools of each VHL team! In the last article, we covered the North American Conference. This week, we will shift our focus to the European Conference. Without further ado, let’s get to it. PRAGUE PHANTOMS | 6th in EU | 9th Overall Top Prospect: Woody McPine - S71 3rd Round (35) Prague saw both of their prospects from last season return to the VHLM in S72, and has added two more. Leading the way for the newcomers is third-rounder Riley Knight Gee. The 5’10” defenseman is a solid player at both ends of the ice and has produced at just over a point-per-game rate over his whole VHLM career to date. His TPE earning has varied a lot in his career so far, mostly because he doesn’t earn an overwhelming amount of capped TPE, but he takes advantage of any uncapped opportunities that present themselves to him. Also new to the organization is Ernie King, who is an interesting prospect. After joining pretty late in the season, King had two productive weeks, earning 23 TPE in that time frame. Following that, he went inactive for two weeks, and only claimed 1 TPE in the next week after that. But then he came back, and seemed back on track, until going inactive yet again for the past two weeks. He could be an intriguing prospect if he finds any regularity in his TPE earning, but hasn’t shown the ability to do so yet. Returning from last season’s Future Watch are S71 draftees Woody McPine and Jack John. McPine is a VHL-ready goaltender having an amazing run with Minnesota this season. His record of 40-5-1 is truly unbelievable, displaying his ability to lock it down when his teammates need it most. He had a brief dip in activity not long ago but is back on track to becoming quite possibly a VHL starter. John is exactly where we thought he would be last time we checked in on him, as his impressive steadiness in earning TPE has remained intact. He has seen much growth in his game this season, already setting career-highs in goals and points, as well as tying his records of assists and hits. This is with 26 games remaining too. Lastly, we have the recently acquired Adam Syreck. Leading the VHLM in points, Syreck is an offensive monster who has torn up the league for two seasons now. With over 350 career points in the minors, Syreck will look to replicate that success with Prague next season with his VHL-ready status. He consistently earns around 7 TPE per week from welfare and practice facility. Prague’s group doesn’t have a crazy amount of upside but will produce some quality players for the future. RIGA REIGN | 5th in EU | 7th Overall Top Prospect: DeFenz Mann - S72 2nd Round (18) Riga’s farm system is one of immense depth at both the centre and defence positions. They have two VHL-ready prospects, and one of them has returned from last season’s Future Watch. That would be JaredN, an S70 draft pick who has steadily made his way to the VHLM’s TPA cap over the past few seasons. He doesn’t have tremendous upside but will provide some high-quality scoring depth for the Reign. The Canadian centre is in the top 10 in scoring in the VHLM in S72 with 84 points, which is a big improvement on what was already a breakout season in S71. DeFenz Mann finds himself in the same boat as JaredN, at least in the sense that they are both waiting for their shot at the VHL level. Mann leads all defencemen in points this season and is following up an incredible S71 performance with possibly an even better one. He earns around 13-14 TPE per week most commonly but can add onto that as well. He is definitely one to keep a watch out for. After picking DeFenz Mann, Riga would later have two back-to-back third-round picks in the S72 Draft, with which they picked Jay Jones and Bobby Wyman. Wyman is an active member in the EFL and SBA, displaying his experience in sim leagues. His TPE output fluctuates a fair amount, but ultimately he’s still earning enough to be successful. He is a mean two-way defender with a physical edge, which is nice to see in a young player. Jones is also a decent two-way player, but he really shines in the offensive zone, where he’s able to put on a show with his versatile skill set. He also sees his TPE output fluctuate a bit, but usually, he doesn’t fall below 10 in a week. There are some less active players in this organization who could be of importance down the line, and as the trend seems to be, one is a centre and the other is a defenceman. The centre is Cassius Gardner, who has struggled to find any regularity in his TPE earning. However, he can claim 6 TPE from welfare due to his SBA activity, so if he can build on that, he could be a really nice piece for the Reign. On the blueline, we have Joe Jacks, who was earning 6 TPE every week, before dropping heavily in activity over the past few weeks. He could potentially be a good depth piece if he gets back to where he was, but as of lately the signs haven’t been too encouraging. Riga has a decent group with plenty of depth, which is nice to see. MALMO NIGHTHAWKS | 4th in EU | 4th Overall Top Prospect: Chris Hylands - S72 2nd Round (14) In contrast to the Reign, Malmo does not have much depth at all, especially with the departure of Adam Syreck. However, depth isn’t all that makes a good prospect pool. What the Nighthawks have is star potential. Their only two active prospects are undeniable stars in the making and have been trending upward for some time now. We’ll start with their top prospect, in my opinion, Chris Hylands. Hylands was selected by Malmo in the second round of the S72 draft and has continued the tear he was on leading up to his draft. He is an extremely flexible player, in the sense that his skill set is adaptable to however the team needs him the most. He can score, set up plays, and break up plays coming the other way. He has established himself in the community with his job here at VSN and is a must-watch for the future. Six picks before Hylands, defender Viktor Alexei Kamenov heard his name called by the very same Malmo Nighthawks. Although I have him ranked lower than Hylands, it is no slight to Kamenov, who has been earning TPE at an almost unbelievably high rate for a while too. He and Hylands have been somewhat similar prospects, rising in the draft rankings around the same time, and finding their current jobs around the same time as well. BigTittySmitty has found his place in the community with scouting, which I can relate to. His series “A Sit With Tit on VHSC” has been a hit so far, and his future looks both secure and bright. HC DAVOS DYNAMO | 3rd in EU | 3rd Overall Top Prospect: Mickey Dickson - S71 3rd Round (25) Davos returns this season with a similar boatload of prospects, though this group doesn’t necessarily have the same upside as it did a season ago. With the sheer volume of players here though, you are bound to have some valuable players come out of it. The team has two players who are ready for the big league, one of whom I believe to be the team’s top prospect. That player is Mickey Dickson, who recently made noise around the league with an article about the importance of treating girls no differently than boys in VHL locker rooms. Outside of that article, Brewins15 has been a relatively quiet member on the forums but has been putting in the work behind the scenes extremely consistently. 10 TPE per week is just about a guarantee, and because of that, Dickson has seen steady and encouraging growth for a long time now. Also, VHL-ready is winger Big Chungus, who has been decreasing inactivity lately. Following the S71 Draft, Chungus quickly proved himself to be a huge steal for his draft slot and had a fantastic VHLM season with Ottawa. He is on pace to improve his goal total this season as well, even after the team lost last season’s MVP, Richard Penisson. If Chungus could just get back to where he was a mere four weeks ago, he goes from a decent prospect to possibly Davos’ best. With two second-round picks in the S72 Draft, Davos elected to choose forwards Joe Exotic and Jer Lefebvre. Joe Exotic is bordering on inactive at this point, but could be a thrilling prospect for the Dynamo should he return. Lefebvre was a bit of a reach at his draft position at the time of the draft but has wasted no time at all in proving his worth to anyone who doubted him. He has earned 69 TPE in under four weeks since the draft and is putting up some nice numbers in the VHLM. Consistency is one of the most common issues for less active prospects, as not everyone has the time or willingness to update every week. Gino Alkamino has flirted with inactivity many times but has ultimately stuck around for three VHLM seasons now. The tendency for his activity to go up and down leads me to believe there isn’t a ton of upside here, but he could definitely be a solid depth piece at the VHL level as long as his activity outweighs his inactivity. Someone who’s had these same habits for even longer than Alkamino is King Kruul. He goes inactive for weeks at a time but never seems to walk away entirely from the league. Being an S69 prospect, his potential is not very high, but he could also serve as a depth piece if he can bring his TPE from 217 to 250 soon enough. In the fourth round of the S72 Draft, Davos seems to have found a lot of success. They picked Turner McHugh with the 37th pick, and he has been exactly what they hoped for. McHugh is a skilful playmaker, which are less common in today’s VHL. His skating and vision stand out the most, and hopefully, they can translate to success at a higher level of play. The team followed McHugh’s selection with American defenceman Chance Rust. This season, Rust returned for his second World Junior Championship, and unfortunately fell to Team Europe in the finals. Rust is a great puck-moving defenceman and will be a solid addition to the Dynamo’s blueline once he reaches the VHL. One more S72 fourth-round pick has become a player to keep an eye on, and that would be Jared Willis. He went from earning 2-6 TPE per week prior to the draft, to an average of 13 since then. His draft position may cause him to have a lower profile than most, but his promise is up there with some of the names taken above him. While it isn’t a player’s dream to go in the fourth round, some would consider them lucky. Multiple prospects go undrafted each season and need to get themselves noticed by VHL teams in order to get a contract to keep their dream alive. Davos has two of these players, being Riley Walker and Trey Nets. Neither of them have been too active lately, but Trey Nets specifically has shown VHL promise early in his career. He left a comment on last season’s Future Watch, explaining that he had to step away from the league for a bit due to some terrible circumstances and that he would be back soon. We here at VSN are rooting for you, and wish you the best moving forward. HELSINKI TITANS | 2nd in EU | 2nd Overall Top Prospect: Spencer Elsby - S72 2nd Round (17) Helsinki saw a big change in the structure of their prospect pool this season. Last season, the draw of their group was the number of decent players who were almost VHL-ready. Well, those players have moved on to the VHL, and now this group has had a complete identity shift. The thing about the active prospects in this system is that each one has shown notable potential. Starting off with the highest potential player, we have my VSN Scouting partner, Spencer Elsby. Elsby has a job as the AGM of Philadelphia, and one as a scout and writer for VSN. As far as his player is concerned, he is unquestionably among the top prospects league-wide. He is approaching 300 TPE and has made his mark on the ice as a premium two-way defender with the potential to quarterback a powerplay. Elsby is a big part of Helsinki’s future and adds onto an already exciting group of defencemen. Also selected in the S72 draft were Zamboni Driver and James Rose. Zamboni Driver seems to be on pace to become Helsinki’s starter one day with his recent increase in productivity TPE-wise. He has been a quality goaltender for two seasons in the VHLM now and has already produced a great VHL player with Joey Boucher. Rose has been earning nicely as well and seems to be yet another fine defenceman in this prospect pool. I would say he is more of a two-way defender with a versatile offensive tool kit and a good mind for the game. Both of these players just back up the idea that the S72 Draft was an absolute slam dunk for this Helsinki team, and will fuel them in the future. Taking a trip back to the previous draft, Bob Helminen and Hex Valentine make their returns to this list in S72. Last season, I called Valentine and Ike Bennett wildcards for the Titans, as Valentine had just come back from a long stretch of inactivity, and Bennett had just gone inactive. This label proved to be accurate, as one ended up inactive, and the other one is still around. Valentine is quite possibly poised to be the backup to Driver if everything stays how it is now, given that his period of inactivity has made it difficult to catch up with his peers. Helminen is back as well, though he certainly won’t be next season. A VHL-ready prospect, the Finnish winger is currently pushing for a goal-per-game average on the season. He has earned his TPE very steadily over the course of time, not necessarily blowing anyone away with it, but proving his reliability. Overall, Helsinki has some nice pieces at all positions and a good foundation for the future with this unit. MOSCOW MENACE | 1st in EU | 1st Overall Top Prospect: Alex Letang - S72 1st Round (11) Moscow’s prospect pool is one with undeniable promise, and the one that I truly believe is at the top of the VHL. Headlining this group are two first-round picks in the S72 VHL Draft, being Lucas Brandt and Alex Letang. Brandt is a centre with close to 300 TPE, and an amazing ability to put the puck in the net seemingly at will. The amount of ground he’s been able to make up on the other stars of his draft class has been a sight to see, considering how late he joined in relation to the majority of them. Letang was recently named Las Vegas’ GM after the resignation of Proto, and also holds a job as an updater. He is a defenceman with high upside on both ends of the ice and is with Brandt on the road to VHL stardom. On the trade front, Moscow has been extremely active in obtaining prospects over the past season. Most recently was Kazimir Komarov, who we actually covered in this season’s North American Future Watch. Komarov has a rich family history, some untapped potential, but also some struggles with consistency. They have also received two S72 draftees, one of which was directly after the draft. Remy Moreau would be that player, and he has inspired a lot of confidence since the deal. A period of inactivity dropped Moreau’s draft stock, but with five consecutive weeks of 12+ TPE, he seems to have left that in the past. Acquired from Davos, Michael Hall makes up the other half of S72 draftees traded to the Menace. Hall has been reliable in his weekly TPE output, with at least 8 TPE in all except his first week. He’s on pace for a second straight 30 goal season in the VHLM, and could even push for 40. He’s a goal scorer at heart, with a great release and some remarkable skating ability. He, along with the other two acquired by trades, is on track to become important parts of this team should their activity stay up. In terms of their own success at the S72 VHL Draft, this team had it in abundance, especially in the later rounds. Kicking off their later picks is Keith Krestanovich, who they chose early in the third round. Krestanovich earns a base of 8 TPE per week and frequently adds onto that as well. His player is a quality sniper with a lot of offensive potentials, but his defensive game is lacking. Moving on, Moscow then picked Cole Newhook later in that same round. Newhook was a late joiner, and only really hit his stride in the league after the draft. Now, he is one of the most active members on the forums and earning far more TPE than ever before. There is legitimate star potential here if everything goes right, which is rarely said for a third-rounder. With the second last pick in the draft, the Menace struck gold yet again with Pietro Angellini. This is another player with star potential, and who only showed that after the draft. He excels in protecting the puck down low and taking it to the net as much as possible. He went from earning 37 TPE over his first 8 weeks, to suddenly earning 89 over the next 4. Hopefully, all these prospects can keep it up because there is an almost unfathomable amount of upside to this group. That concludes another season of Future Watch. I wish the best for all these prospects, and hope to see you at the VHL level soon! Here at VSN, there are many outlets for you to follow these prospects yourself. Consider catching up on the WJC with daily updates, or seeing if any of them are making noise in the minors with VHLM Weekly! Here is some of VSN’s most recent work: WJC Updates | Deep Rewind | VHL Weekly | VHLM Weekly Players mentioned: @KnightRiley @Greg Ernest @HearnNation67 @GoadenGoalie35 @Spade18 @jared @Mike @TTtheT @Lefty_S @jhatty8 @ashton112 @Hylands33 @BigTittySmitty @Brewins15 @Ferda @Joe Exotic @Jer_Lefebvre @ChaceT @LefLop @Turner @turkey2349 @Jared Willis @GlowyGoat @KillaScrilla @Spence King @Tape-to-Tape @MattyIce @Big Bob @DrHexDex @twists @Spartan @Gooningitup @Da Trifecta @Hops @Boragina @GrittyIsKing09 @okifenoki

Thank you so much for everything you've done for VSN, both when I was there and before it. Good luck with your future endeavors, and expect that Future Watch graphic to live as long as the series does!

Warsaw logo ??

A VHL YouTube channel is a great idea! I could probably chip in occasionally with promo videos (for the playoffs, draft, stuff like that) if you guys wanted, similar to the stuff I’ve done before

10$ Transaction ID: 9E595726A6782140M 5 uncapped for myself and @Cxsquared ? Confirmed. -sterling

The original one is nice, but this one is amazing. Great work man!

That would definitely be interesting! If everyone’s willing to do it, I think that would a fun topic for an interview.

Hello everyone, and welcome to my first draft interview! This draft has plenty of strong players with different backgrounds in the league. Something I’ve wondered about after covering the last few drafts is the mindset of a GM, specifically when they are creating and drafting a self-made player. This season, @FrostBeard finds himself in that situation as the GM of Malmo. I decided to look further into this, and invite him to an interview. This interview would not be one-on-one though, because I also got @Peace in on it as well. Peace drafted his player, Erik Killinger, 11th overall in the S71 Draft. More than a season later, he has had the chance to experience the different elements that a GM player brings to a team. So we have two perspectives here; one with a season’s experience, and one who is preparing for the experience of a GM player. NOTE: I use the term GM player in this interview, and it doesn’t refer to the official GM players that were removed a few seasons ago. It is just an easier way to say a player created by the GM. With that said, let’s not waste anymore time. We'll start with something simple: What do you think is the biggest advantage of having a GM player instead of another regular player on your roster? Peace: Biggest keynote about GM players -- probably just for me -- would be the reliability, benefits and stability GM players bring to a club. As a GM, having a player I control gives me exactly that and then grants those benefits to the entire team around them as well. As rude as it may be to say it in an interview like this, sometimes you get bit when you put your entire teams structural integrity on the shoulders of another member. You have to trust they won't go inactive, and unfortunately that does tend to happen. I should note that my opinion on GM players are unique. I don't think they are the teams greatest assets, they're just stability, you can build a team around a GM player but it's more important to use them to reinforce a core you build. FrostBeard: I have a simple answer to this. There are 2 things. Firstly, you have the ability to build a player that is exactly what he needs to be for the team, I have the ability to easily change a position without asking others to do it. To me it is an asset that allows you to know that there is something you can easily go back to if something does not go as planned in terms of trades, draft and free agency. Secondly, it is a player I have no problems putting down in the lineup if others who have shown activity deserve higher position, role and so on. In the end, it is a tool that a GM can use if others have failed. Analysis: Stability and flexibility seem to be the main themes here. You can use GM players however you want, and know they will never go inactive. Was the thought process behind your player’s initial position and build based around your personal preference, or the team’s positional needs? Peace: At the time when I recreated Killinger I was still Saskatoon's GM, so it was simply a player to replace the now retired Peace. I know I wanted to be a Hall of Fame forward, and that was my goal... but positionally Toronto needed a defender, so that's why he's a defensemen now. FrostBeard: I wanted to keep going with a player on a wing. It has always been my favourite position and after John's career ended I knew I can do better so here we are. It was my own preference as I knew that with Malmo going into the rebuild, I will have a place for my own player in any role I would desire to put him into. In this case it was a wing and everything lined up perfectly. I probably would have created a player in a specific position if there was a need for that. Analysis: The team needs seem to come first, but in FrostBeard’s situation, he was able to pursue his personal interest because of the state of his team. Is the GM player that was removed a few seasons ago something you wish you had right now, or do you say good riddance to that rule? Peace: I wouldn't mind it coming back, honestly, but I think the league is healthy enough (active enough) that it's not really needed. FrostBeard: There was only one reason to have a GM player. To have enough players to fill the roles. Right now, I do not see a reason to have a player. Also, I don't want it back at any point as I find it to be an unnecessary tool for the GM. Analysis: The consensus here seems to be that GM players were useful in a less active VHL, but with today’s league activity, they are no longer needed. Knowing that you’d likely end up in a certain draft slot anyway, how much attention did you pay to your draft stock relative to your peers? Peace: When I recreated with Killinger, I was still SSK GM, so I didn't have any real insight of where he was going. I learned later I could use a first round pick to select my player, so that's what I did; draft stock and where I was in terms of TPE to other players in the draft class didn't really matter too much to me after I made the decision to go that route after receiving Toronto from Devise. FrostBeard: Well, to be fair, because this is my player, I don't really care. I will select him with my last 1st round pick and it will be fine. I just want my player to be great and actually do something. That said, it is nice to see myself at the top of the list. It motivates me to put in work and get him better and better each week. Analysis: Draft stock doesn’t seem to be of much importance, but staying up to par with the other draftees can serve as motivation to keep improving. Obviously as general managers, you guys have mostly team-oriented goals, but do you have any individual aspirations for your player? I know for Peace, you said you wanted to have a HOF career, but anything on top of that? Peace: Not really, I had an outside shot with Peace a few times in his career, so it was mostly a “would be nice” thing. In reality I morphed Killinger into what Toronto needed, which is why he’s a defender now. FrostBeard: For me it is simple - to be the best player I can be for my team. Of course, it would be nice to have individual awards and be a dominant force in the league but that is not a primary goal. As far as I am concerned, I will be fine with 3 Continental cup wins for Marshall. Analysis: Obviously the main goal here is team success, and their players are a nice tool to help achieve that. All the glory beyond that is a bonus. I’m really grateful both of these guys took the time to do this, and I look forward to doing more in the future. Expect another one later this season!

1. Well, Moscow seems to be done with contending. 2. Moscow for sure, but Vancouver isn’t quite giving up. 3. I’m not sure, but the past 2 seasons haven’t necessarily been in their favour. On paper, they have a really solid lineup though. 4. Idk, everything clicked all of a sudden. It seems that our scoring is actually finding some regularity, so I’m hopeful that it can continue. 5. Go back to Sweden and watch old exercise DVDs. 6. I heard the commissioners have some magic dust that makes you forget how to skate after you’re eighth season. Don’t know if it’s true, but I guess we’ll find out.

@Banackock I really want to thank you for everything you’ve done for the M. Idek if you remember this, but you left a comment on one of my posts in my draft season that said “I’m watching you @Patrik Tallinder.” This comment, along with another comment from @diamond_ace, were just regular comments. But for me, they were motivation to stay active. Especially when my name was nowhere to be found in draft-related articles at that point. To be recognized, even just briefly, by commissioners and GMs was exciting, and part of the reason I started making draft content was to give other new members that same feeling. Cheers man, good luck with Seattle in the future.

Congrats @rory!

Hello everyone, welcome back to our third instalment of The Stars Of Tomorrow! In this series, we look at future VHL players who haven't yet been created. Today we have some exciting new players to look at, who could be coming to the VHLM very soon. Without further ado, let’s get right into it! Kevin Malone User: @ContinentalCup036 Current player: Gritty (1005 TPE, S65) After years at the office, Kevin Malone has decided to pursue greater things. After recently taking up hockey, he has found a tremendous talent that he never even knew he had. His larger frame has allowed him to see quick success in the net, as well as on defence. Currently he’s unsure which one he prefers, but there is one thing he is sure on: he wants to become a professional hockey player. He has been working tirelessly to reach this goal, and the results have been incredible. His skating and puck handling have progressed nicely, and I honestly can’t wait to see how far he can go with this. The scouts I’ve spoken to don’t seem to consider him a legitimate VHLM prospect, but I really think there’s more to this. His talent is undeniable, and his work ethic is fantastic. Whichever position he sticks with, he might just go out and become one of the VHL’s best. Anthony Matthews II User: @Anthony Matthews Current player: Anthony Matthews (794 TPE, S65) The second incarnation of Anthony Matthews has a play style that some would say contrasts that of his predecessor. While Toronto’s Anthony Matthews is primarily a playmaking center who also possesses some great hands, the same cannot be said about the next man up. Anthony Matthews II is a sniper at heart, with an outstanding drive to put the puck in the net. He is also much more willing to put in the work down low, play physical, and retrieve the puck for his team. Matthews II is a high energy player who keeps defenders looking over their shoulder whenever they get the puck. As opposed to being a center, like the current Matthews, he finds the most success when playing on the wing. The next Matthews will be a big change from the VHL’s current one, with his drive to score and play physical. He will also be one of the VHL’s better prospects in no time at all. Thanks to both of these guys for participating! If you know the name, position and build type your next player will be, feel free to PM me, and they could be featured in this series! With that said, thanks for reading, and I hope to write another one of these soon.

1. maybe Wolf Stansson Jr. 2. I don’t know, maybe Hafkey. 3. I think so, our offence doesn’t show up to play enough, myself included. 4. We’ve been social distancing from the puck. 5. VHL scout, if that’s normal enough haha. 6. Well, be a VHL scout.

Welcome back to Future Watch! Since last season, we have seen many graduations, trades, and most importantly, we’ve had a draft to restock our VHL teams back up with talent. In this series, we take a look at all of the VHL prospect pools and rank them by conference, and by the league as well. This time around, our focus is on the North American Conference. Before we begin, I’d like to make it known that VSN has some new content coming! VSN Scouting is starting up with myself and @Spence King, as well as more coverage of both leagues from @Hylands33 and @diamond_ace! With @Matt_O returning to deliver some more great history articles too, VSN’s new changes are going to lead to some amazing results. That being said, let’s see what North America has to offer! CALGARY WRANGLERS | 6th in NA | 12th Overall Top Prospect: John Poremba - S72 3rd Round (31) Calgary’s prospect pool doesn’t budge in our rankings, but it has gotten significant upgrades since our last checkup. What keeps them down here is the lack of positional variety. Both of the Wranglers top prospects are goaltenders, and they don’t have much else to offer. Forward Justin Goatman claimed practice facility weekly for a long time but has recently fallen inactive. Their two goalie prospects, John Poremba and Nils Friedriksen have been nearly identical in terms of TPE their entire careers, and look to be potential fringe-starter goalies at the VHL level. They consistently earn in the neighbourhood of 8-12 TPE every week, on top of occasional weeks of higher productivity. Overall, Calgary has themselves a group with some value, but little variety. DC DRAGONS | 5th in NA | 11th Overall Top Prospect: Liam Flaten - S72 2nd Round (16) With leFlamant graduating from the VHLM this season, the Dragons really didn’t have anyone to replace him in their prospect pool, until the draft came around. They found themselves a new top gun, by the name of Liam Flaten. Flaten is a defenseman with an unbelievable ability to shoot the puck, which he has frequently displayed this season. His 11 goals in 18 games is a sneak peek of what the 19-year-old could become. He is fantastic offensively, but no slouch defensively either. A bit of a wildcard in this organization is S72 4th round pick Alek Andreshnikov. After being a player who solely claimed practice facility for just about his entire career up to the draft, Andreshnikov immediately posted a week of 26 TPE following the draft. So far this week, he has earned 6, but there is time for more. If the Kings’ centre can maintain this recent advancement in his development, D.C. could find themselves with another solid player. NEW YORK AMERICANS | 4th in NA | 10th Overall Top Prospect: Arthur Dayne - S72 3rd Round (34) Once again, we find ourselves with a team who hasn’t moved in the rankings since last season. Like the previous two, they have also made notable improvements. There are three pretty interesting prospects here, with the top one being Arthur Dayne in my opinion. The Canadian is putting up some solid numbers this season, with 10 goals and 23 points in just 18 games with Mexico City. A few weeks ago, he had a week of inactivity, but since then, his production of TPE has been pretty good. He usually earns about 6 TPE a week, though that has gone up lately. I considered making John Brewitt the top prospect, as his TPE earning has been quite good, earning from 8-12 TPE per week on most occasions. His 50 points on a weaker Hounds team last season was nice to see too. However, Brewitt’s 42 defence rating is a bit concerning. But despite this, he is still an exciting prospect who could very well end up as the best of the bunch. The last prospect to discuss here is goalie prospect Bacon. He has seen his TPE production rise lately, but his capped TPE production has also gone down. Now, this is not a big deal if the 18-year-old Bacon starts earning more capped TPE once the uncapped opportunities start to fade, but it is a small concern for the time being. A combined 4 capped TPE over the last 2 weeks isn’t ideal, but 30 total TPE is great to see from him. All of the New York prospects seem to have a little bit of risk attached to them, but their potential is undeniable. SEATTLE BEARS | 3rd in NA | 8th Overall Top Prospect: Timothy Brown - S72 1st Round (12) Seattle drops one spot since last season, with the graduation of Sheilds, and the trade of Zyrok12 stinging quite a bit. Returning from last season’s group are Bo Burrows and Erik Hjalmarsson. The latter has been claiming practice facility fairly consistently for a while but hasn’t taken any steps to show much VHL potential so far in his career. Burrows is likely in his last VHLM season, sitting at 221 TPE right now. He earns an average of about 8 TPE per week, with it often ranging from 6-10. He is a physical defender with a powerful shot from the blueline, and will almost surely be a solid defenseman at the next level. The high-profile newcomer this season is Canadian winger Timothy Brown, whom Seattle selected in the first round this past offseason. Averaging an astounding 27 TPE over his last 6 full weeks, Brown is a prospect on the rise and one who is just about ready for the big leagues. One quarter into the S72 season and he’s already quickly approaching last season’s totals. The other player that the Bears elected for in the league’s latest draft was Connor Tanner, who is an interesting case. After a 2 month absence from the league, Tanner came back to claim 6 TPE a couple of weeks ago. He hasn’t updated again since then, unfortunately. He did show some promise early on in his career, but it didn’t sustain for long. Seattle’s group has the star power that was lacking in the groups before them and has some added depth with Burrows. TORONTO LEGION | 2nd in NA | 6th Overall Top Prospect: Joseph Gainer - S72 2nd Round (22) Toronto made some huge additions to their prospect pool in the S72 Draft, including their top prospect, Joseph Gainer. Gainer has missed out on only 2 capped TPE since joining and has earned plenty of uncapped along the way as well. Being a late joiner, he had the task of catching up to the others in his draft class, which he has done incredibly well to this point. His build is very balanced, making him quite useful in any situation you put him in. Selected the pick prior to Gainer, was Michael Mac. While Mac likely would’ve been the top candidate for Toronto’s top prospect at the time of the draft, he has since seen his production of capped TPE go down significantly, with just 4 in the last two weeks. Despite this, his overall TPE earning has stayed at a nice level, and his upside as a sniper is tremendous. He is a great shooter with some shifty hands, and could definitely end up an extremely important piece for this team. Two more players were picked by the Legion in that draft, and I would consider both of them wildcards. First off is Adam Frence, whose potential looked to be pretty high, with his activity in the community, and job with VHL Twitter. Seemingly out of nowhere, he disappeared shortly before the draft and hasn’t come back since. The other is Ziarie Anigbogu. While definitely not as big of a wildcard as Frence, Anigbogu is an interesting case because of unpredictability in earning TPE. The Reapers’ defender has gone through periods of earning moderate amounts of TPE, low amounts, and most recently, high amounts. This positive trend has been great to see and will result in a fine player one day if maintained. Anigbou moves the puck very well and has demonstrated that so far in S72 with 15 assists in 18 games. The last two to speak on from Toronto are the returnees from last season. Jeff Blaze was the team’s top prospect last time we checked in, and now he has surrendered that title. He is still producing around the same rate, with about 6 TPE per week most of the time. Blaze won’t be a superstar but will add some quality depth for the Legion in the future. S70 draftee Dick Cheezy also returns, after slowing the momentum that he had at the time of our last article. Cheezy has had his fair share of inactive weeks lately, and whenever he’s active, it’s just a practice facility claim. Yet, he is still close to being a VHL calibre player. If he could pick it back up to where he was in early-mid April, this is another quality depth piece for the team. Toronto has a great prospect pool. Star potential and depth in abundance are a wonderful duo, and the Legion definitely has them. VANCOUVER WOLVES | 1st in NA | 5th Overall Top Prospect: Gregg Stallion - S72 2nd Round (15) Vancouver’s ranking has dropped quite a bit in the overall standings, but they remain on top of the North American Conference. They have lost two significant prospects since last season, but have kept a lot of them as well, and even added a new face to the group. Let’s start off by returning to the three players who were picked with consecutive picks in the S71 Draft. Xavier Hills and Blake Bridges still struggle with inconsistency but show flashes of VHL potential. I said this last time, and my point still stands; If Hills could claim his 6 TPE welfare every week, he would be a very solid prospect. Bridges has moments of brilliance but often dips in activity as well. The third pick, Raiens Grasis, is the opposite. He has been consistent his whole career, but only with claiming practice facility. To this point, he still hasn’t earned one capped TPE, and for that reason, I can’t see him in the VHL unless something changes. Next up we have another returning pair from the S71 Draft. Second-round pick Squirrely dan has progressed nicely and is at a point now where he is fully ready for the VHL. Currently playing for Minnesota, he has provided a well-balanced forward option who seems to fit in wherever he plays for the team. A few picks later, Vancouver selected Kazimir Komarov, who was trending upwards at the time of the last article. For the most part, he has kept up his higher TPE production, besides one slip-up a couple of weeks ago. Komarov has had an amazing start to his season, with 39 points in only 18 games. We also took a look at an undrafted prospect in last season’s North American Future Watch, being Hunter Harrison. He went inactive for a couple of weeks, but is back in business now, with 45 TPE in his last 4 full weeks. Harrison is a massive defenseman with a physical edge and could end up a nice depth piece on the Wolves’ blueline. The last player we’ll cover is the best of them all. Picked in the latest draft at 15th overall, Gregg Stallion seems to be on the road to becoming a star in the VHL. He has never earned below 14 TPE in any given week, and has had some really good numbers in the VHLM as well. His 56 goals in 86 career games is outstanding, and his 117 points are also impressive. I expect Stallion, dan, and Komarov to be VHL players in S73, and some of the others will get there with time. In the next article, we will come back to the European Conference’s prospect pools. I wish the best for all of these players, and hope you can make an impact for whichever VHL team you’re trying to make! Players mentioned: @Goatman @CrlineDijohn14 @Biggreen10 @flatl99 @PuckPushers @Infernal @JBrew42 @Bacon @Walter Fizz @Erik @a_Ferk @Keygan @joeg @LastOneUp @Kachur @ngine4 @NyQuil @goldenglutes @inflastud @Blake Bridge @raiens @jacobaa19 @Gooningitup @I'll change this later @SweatyBeaver

Hello everyone, welcome to my first draft analysis article! As you may or may not know, I followed the last three drafts very closely in my Draft Profiles series. While reflecting on the most recent S72 draft, I found a connection to the first draft I ever covered. That connection was that the top 2 picks went to the same team. In S70, Edwin THE Encarnacion and Mikko Lahtinen were selected with the respective first and second overall picks by the Calgary Wranglers. This time around, SS Hornet and Robin Winter were both picked by the HC Davos Dynamo with those same picks. Imagine this. You’ve begun a brand new VHL franchise, and you have no other players yet. You have the choice to build around one duo; there is Lahtinen and Encarnacion, or Hornet and Winter. But what’s interesting about this hypothetical is that time has been rewinded for all of them, restoring their TPE and age to the moment they were drafted. Now that we’ve removed as many biases as we can, let’s take a look at what’s on the table here. Shoutout to @Tagger and @enigmatic for the graphics I used to make this. Edwin THE Encarnacion // D // 371 TPE Mikko Lahtinen // C // 350 TPE Another shoutout to @zepheter for the one on the left. Couldn’t find one for Hornet, unfortunately. SS Hornet // C // 379 TPE Robin Winter // LW // 325 TPE Previous Players While this isn’t an accurate indicator of what this player will be, it is never a bad idea to have a background check on the user. Let’s look at how much TPE they earned with their last player. Tagger - Edwin Preencarnacion: 1064 TPE Beketov - Matt Thompson: 1571 TPE HOF McWolf - Joseph McWolf: 1434 TPE Sonnet - Alexander Pepper: 1390 TPE It’s worth noting that TPE inflation could have been different at their peaks, but I can’t say I have any knowledge on that. Draft Season Edwin THE Encarnacion had a fantastic draft season, in which he put up 122 points (3rd amongst defensemen) in the regular season, and added a league-leading 24 postseason points. His efforts were key for a nearly unbeatable Saskatoon team, en route to a Founder’s Cup victory. Mikko Lahtinen was traded early in the season, and headed to that same Saskatoon team. He posted 44 goals and 93 points on the season, with 83 coming from his time with the Wild. Lahtinen’s faceoff percentage was second in the league amongst the players with more than 25 faceoffs taken, which was impressive for such a young center. His 18 points also helped the team reach their S69 championship. SS Hornet and Robin Winter unfortunately didn’t play on a Founder’s Cup winning team. Hornet made it to the second round with the Aces, tallying 4 goals and 17 points in 12 games. This came after a season of an identical 41 goals and assists, totaling 82 points. Robin Winter had a remarkable draft season, with 57 goals and 120 points to show for it. Minnesota would go on to have a first round exit, but to no fault of Winter, who posted a point-per-game on the series. TPE Earning Now, we move on to the most important category, TPE earning. First, we’ll look at capped TPE. Obviously, as these guys are all top 2 picks, they’re bound to miss out on very little of it. The only one to not earn the maximum amount of capped TPE available to them was Mikko Lahtinen, who only missed out on 2. With that out of the way, it’s time to look at the uncapped side of things. This really puts into perspective the differing opportunities they had to earn TPE. First off, the time frame here isn’t the same. The S70 duo had 14 full weeks to earn TPE before their draft, while the S72 duo was finishing up their 13th week when they were drafted. Now that it’s been more than a week since the draft, we can see what they would have earned in that 14th week. 20 TPE must be subtracted since they wouldn’t have the training camp or VHLM graduation bonus, but that still adds a respective 19 and 30 TPE to Hornet and Winter. With this, their total TPE becomes 404 and 358, better than Encarnacion and Lahtinen. Another opportunity the S70 players had was the VHL’s 12 days of Christmas giveaway. This totaled up to 15 uncapped TPE, which is a significant advantage over the S72 duo. Back then, donations could include an extra 5-6 TPE (though it should be mentioned that this was not used by Lahtinen), and they had two trivia payouts as well. With how the S72 guys still put up close to the same TPE totals as the S70 two, I would definitely give them the edge in TPE earning, given the lesser opportunities they had. Other Factors I’m not here to say one of these pairs of great players are better than the other. I leaned heavily towards the S72 guys in the last section, and I’m going to do the opposite here. I’m just trying to lay out all the information for you to make the most accurate vote. So here is the biggest factor I haven’t covered yet: position. Hornet and Winter are both forwards, being a center and a left winger to be exact. Encarnacion and Lahtinen cover two bases that are essential to a successful team; Lahtinen is a future #1 center, and Encarnacion is a future #1 defenseman. If you were in the hypothetical situation where you were building a team from scratch, that’s something that could greatly benefit your team. Jobs could also be a factor down the line. The most significant case here is Lahtinen, whose jobs are being a commish and simmer guarantee him 10 capped TPE each week. It likely isn’t a huge advantage, given that the others are almost always going to be capping out anyways, but it gives him a much lower chance to dip in TPE production long term. Thank you for reading this, it has been fun to cover. I ask that you be as unbiased as possible in your vote, and I hope I was unbiased enough in my explanation.