Gwdjohnson

Final day leggo

More presents baybee

Anotha one

As the 69th regular season for the Victory Hockey League Minors draws to a close, the Halifax 21st have managed to clinch a playoff spot, sealing a 5th placed finish with a game left in the season. The two players at the forefront of their good fortune are Ben Storm and Liam Rooney, who both managed to hit the 100 point mark, but a pair of rookies sitting right below them on the scoring sheet have made their presence known too despite not quite getting the same spotlight: the Swiss siblings Leon and Gabriel Gutzwiler. Gabriel Gutzwiler, a winger, was drafted by Halifax and went immediately into the team from there, but Halifax were determined to have both these brothers linking up just like they did playing in Switzerland, so they traded a small package of picks to acquire younger brother Leon. It has paid off in spades to have both brothers at the club and playing on a line together, as they currently sit 3rd (Leon) and 4th (Gabriel) in team scoring, as well as 2nd (Gabriel) and 3rd (Leon) in team goals. Overall in the league, their impressive outputs put them 31st (Leon) and 33rd (Gabriel) in league scoring, and they are really establishing themselves as threats to opposition that will likely be even more dominant as a pairing next season. Leon has 33 goals and 46 assists this season, giving him an incredible rookie season output of 79 points in 70 games at the moment. He leads the team in faceoffs taken, so despite having a worse faceoff output than #1 center Rooney, he is still being relied on to shoulder big responsibility at center, and he also leads the team in shots on goal, averaging a whopping just over four shots per game. However, as it always has been for them as children, Leon prefers to be the setup man for Gabriel, who likes to be the one putting the chances away. Despite the shots difference between Leon and Gabriel, the former has more assists due to his preference of finding his brother in open space on the wing to create chances. As for Gabriel Gutzwiler, his output has been fantastic too, having a perfectly balanced 35 goals and assists for 70 points in 71 games, also sporting an efficient shooting percentage of 13.41%. His plus/minus is a very impressive +52, behind only star defenceman Boheem Bismarck (+53) for best on the team. With Leon providing him consistent support from center, Gabriel has been thriving in getting chances, and has been making good of them. Gabriel is tied for the team lead in the goal scoring categories of: game winning goals (5), game tying goals (2) and hat tricks (2), clearly establishing himself in the league as a fantastic marksman on the wing with a great eye for goal. There has been some criticism of the 'togetherness' of the Gutzwiler brothers, as it does not seem to be a coincidence that the third members of their line finds points hard to come by, but it's hard to blame the inseparable Swiss brothers when you consider how much of a winning formula they always have been when playing together, and they truly have established themselves as stars in the making in their rookie campaigns. (548 words, doubles week theme)

A whole 3 goddamn nice

Anotha one

Gimme gimme

Oh god did I make it

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3-2 Malmo

319 HC Davos Dynamo @ New York Americans 320 Vancouver Wolves @ Malmo Nighthawks 321 Toronto Legion @ Seattle Bears 322 Prague Phantoms @ Helsinki Titans

After coming over from Switzerland following his drafting by the Las Vegas Aces last summer, Leon Gutzwiler has found his time to be easy in the VHLM, but not with the team that drafted him. Gutzwiler was dealt to the Halifax 21st not long after being taken, due to interest from the Halifax GM in having both Gutzwiler brothers, as they took older brother Gabriel Gutzwiler earlier in the round. The trade cost the 21st a 2nd and 4th, and expectations will be high for Leon, however playing with his brother who he grew up with and played hockey with his entire life should help him immensely. Leon has started off very well in the VHLM as a rookie, putting up 15 goals and 19 assists in 41 games at center, as him and Gabriel have linked up quite well in North America already, and are a big factor in the 21st being as high as 5th place thus far in the standings. Time will tell if Halifax has made the right decision in committing to the Gutzwiler brothers for the time that the Swiss pair will spend in juniors, but so far it is looking good for them. (199 words)

Gold World Silver Europe Bronze Canada MVP Steve Roadkill

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Helsinki Vancouver Prague Seattle

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Helsinki 4-2

With the S69 VHLM Draft drawing to a close, we at VHL.com will have a look at their draft class from tonights rounds. 4th Overall: Mikko Lahtinen -A fast center with a great scoring touch, in an abbreviated S68 in the VHLM Lahtinen put up 16 points in 27 games, as well as 2 points in the playoffs, playing with Mississauga. 21st Overall: Leon Gutzwiler -A young two-way forward from Switzerland who specializes in playing smart and using his deadly release, Gutzwiler will be playing his first games in North America this season. 38th Overall: Colin Moore -A tough winger who doesn't let himself get pushed around, Moore will be an energy add to the Aces depth for this season. 44th Overall: Igor Trice -A raw forward still developing his all-around game, Trice had a brief cameo appearance for 6 playoff games for San Diego last season. 53rd Overall: Scott McGoo -The Italian goalie is likely brought in late to potentially play a backup role this season. 54th Overall: Raimond Jimenez -A 16 year-old roster filler with room for improvement, Jimenez will also be a depth piece in Vegas. 55th Overall: Jesse Jordan -Another roster filler, as Vegas use their late picks to round up potential depth options rather than passing. In rounds 6 and 7, Vegas selected more depth options / potential late gems in Felix Arvid (C), Pornelius Hubert (C), Garrett Bates (RW), Matt Jones (RW), and Ian Valcimond (LW). All in all, a solid-looking draft in which many pieces were added to the Vegas squad. Let's see how it turns out! (263 words)

"With the 21st overall pick, the Las Vegas Aces are proud to select...from Switzerland--" Leon Gutzwiler knew what was coming. After his brother Gabriel had gone 17th to the Halifax 21st's earlier in the round, Leon knew that there were no alternative options from Switzerland that would be selected here. And sure enough... "Leon Gutzwiler" Sure enough, it was Leon's time to go up to the stage and accept his jersey, handshakes and smiles with members of the Las Vegas organization. Having spoken at length before this draft about his desire to link up with his brother at a team, there were some doubts about his commitment now that they are sure to be split up. We at VHL.com spoke to him for an interview while the rest of round two played out. Q: So Leon, you've gone 21st overall in the VHLM draft, and will be packing your bags and heading to the beautiful city of Las Vegas! How do you feel? LG: I am feeling pretty good! I have not been in North America very long, but I know Las Vegas is a very popular and fun city, so I hope to do well here. Q: Obviously, you made it no secret that you held a strong desire to be able to play with your brother Gabriel in the minors. Are you disappointed or upset at all that it has not played out that way in the end? LG: A little bit, I would say. Me and Gabe have a great connection on and off the ice, and it is too bad that we are split up in the league, but it was always going to be hard to keep us together. I will still do the best I can, anyway. Q: Do you feel your motivation could be hurt at all by your separation? It really seems like your play styles meshed perfectly when you two tore it up in Switzerland; do you think it will be harder to reach that same level of production in another continent without Gabriel around? LG: I don't think so, no. It will be a big adjustment for both of us to learn to play without each other, but I think we can both adapt well and be good for our separate teams. Q: What would you say are your main strengths that you can bring to the table for the Aces, and what do the fans have to be excited about for the one Gutzwiler brother that they landed? LG: I would say my two big strengths are my positioning and my shooting. Gabriel and I are both players who like to think about the shot before the pass, and we are both good on the forecheck and tracking back into our zone. I always want to improve my complete game, and I want to be a center that kind of does everything. I want to be good on faceoffs, good at controlling and stealing the puck, and getting points. That is where I see my value. Q: Well that should wrap it up, we will let you talk about the draft with Gabe and the rest of the Gutzwiler family now. Thanks. Leon stepped away from the interview and went back to his family in the stands with a smile, although he did have a bit of a defeated look about him. Only time will tell how the Gutzwilers play on separate teams, but Leon assures they will be just fine. (582 words)

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Game 3 - Malmo Game 4 - Seattle Game 5 - Malmo Game 5 - 4-2 Malmo Series leader in points: Matt Thompson Series leader in goals: Matt Thompson Series leader in assists: Joel Ylonen Who has the series PIM lead: Hulk Hogan Who scores the series winning goal: Matt Thompson

Today for VHL.com, we've spoken to soon-to-be VHLM draftee Leon Gutzwiler to find out what the promising Swiss center sees in the VHLM franchises based on design. 1. Halifax 21st I like the design! The ship reminds me of the Anchorage Armada of the SMJHL, a team from the Simulation Hockey League forum that I am a huge fan of, and Halifax is a nice place for a hockey team. 2. Houston Bulls I think this logo goes a little overboard, and I've never been a huge fan of bulls as logos for teams, personally. This logo just seems a little corny to me, but I guess they're doing something right looking at the standings! 3. Las Vegas Aces Big fan! Obviously there's no anti-casino policies for this league, so Aces was a no-brainer for a Vegas team. Logo looks nice and clean and the colours mesh well in my opinion. 4. Mexico City Kings This logo is a bit strange overall from my perspective, but I do really like it. Something about it is just really intimidating, maybe the intense red surrounding the king, holding the team name in your face for you to gaze upon. 5. Minnesota Storm Meh. Pretty unremarkable overall to me. It's pretty simplistic and avoids being too flashy, which I can respect. 6. Mississauga Hounds Wow that's a grumpy-looking dog. I don't find the dog part of the logo to be anything special, but the logo colours make me think their jerseys probably look great. I love that blue in it. 7. Ottawa Lynx Not a huge fan of this one. It looks overall just pretty bland and lacking bite and personality. 8. Philadelphia Reapers I really like this logo. The colours for the ominous reaper dude are pretty nice, and the touch of red on his scythe makes it look really aesthetically nice. Bet they have some fire jerseys too. 9. San Diego Marlins Although marlins don't really scream 'hockey' to me at all as far as animals go, this logo looks really nice and clean, with a great colour scheme that blends well. 10. Saskatoon Wild I find this one has a bit of the same issue as the Ottawa one, but I'm a sucker for blue in logos so this one is better in my eyes. 11. Yukon Rush Normally I'm not huge on logos revolving around a single letter, but man I love the colour scheme on this one. It all ties together very well. 415 words (OK I went way over the minimum count with this but I'll take it lmao)

Hell yeah brother let's get it. Gonna be gunning for as good as I can get.