TMI

1. We had a influx of new members recently thanks to a big Reddit recruitment drive. (If you are not new to the site) Are you scared about the new competition stealing your thunder? Not at all, they can try, but my thunder knows no bounds! 2. Do you have any idea for the Recruitment Team regarding new avenues to recruit new members? not really, I'm not good at recruiting. 3. Were you surprised that the Saskatoon Wild disposed of the Ottawa Lynx so easily in the VHLM Founder's Cup Finals? Not at all, I'm part of the Wild and I knew we had a strong and deep team 4. Do you think the Calgary Wranglers have what it takes to complete the comeback over the Riga Reign in the VHL Continental Cup Finals? I'm going to go with no solely for the fact Riga added ma dude Peace 5. Any VHL team you'd prefer to be selected by in the next VHL Entry Draft? Whoever wants me tbh 6. What are your objectives for next season? To dominate the VHLM

Kyson Blake and the Saskatoon Wild have just won the VHLM Championship and even though he's busy celebrating with his teammates, he's also an extremely cerebral player and in such has agreed to sit down and take part in a reflection piece about himself, the season he just had, and what's next for him. How did you come to be part of the Wild? Man that's a crazy story in all honesty. I filed my papers with the VHL head office and then almost immediately was contacted by a VHLM general manager. I actually had no idea who it was I was talking to as they didn't really specify which team they were with, but it was good dialogue and they were helping me get settled in and make the process smooth for me. Then a little bit later that day I received a contract offer in my email. Being caught up in the whole excitement of joining the league and what not I had figured it was from the team who called me as they were the only team in contact with me, but it turns out it was the Wild, who were not the team who called me. When did you learn the team who called you wasn't the same as the team who offered you? The next day I got a call from that team again and they said that they had to step out for the remainder of the day yesterday. They said they were going to get me setup while I was trying to explain and it was kind of a mutual realization of what had happened. It was a bit awkward to be honest. Do you regret how that situation went down? Maybe a little bit, I mean I felt bad for a while after realizing I had signed with a different team and what not as they were nice and helping me out, but at the end of the day what was done was done and I was already headed to Saskatoon with all my equipment and paperwork filled out and I was a member of the Wild. Looking back at the season, how do you think it went? Well I mean we won the championship right? Doesn't get much better than that. But really though I think even aside from winning it all this year, it was the perfect situation for me to wind up on this team. First and foremost the management of the Wild were extremely great and helpful in getting me situated in the league and really put me in the best situation to succeed day in and day out. It was also awesome to get to practice and play with Rylan Peace and Chace Trepanier who are both a year ahead of me and play the same position so I get to learn from them and watch what they do in order to help my own game out. Plus I get to go up against three of the top four defensemen in the VHLM in Piotr Jerwa, Burnt Toast, and Toby Fitzgerald. If that wasn't already great enough I get to practice my shooting against Brick Wahl who is a World Cup Champion and now VHLM Champion. So what's next for Kyson Blake? It's tough to say really. This Wild team won't be the same next year as we'll all be scattered across the VHLM and some will be called up to the VHL. Obviously the draft is coming up, which is something I'm preparing myself for and hopefully that goes well and most people have indicated I'll be back down for another season of VHLM action so it'll be interesting to see where I'm at and what colors I'll be wearing. Pretty much I'm taking it one day at a time and just enjoying the journey.

Part I - Pick em' (Pick the correct winners of all three games for 2 TPE) Game 5 - Ottawa Lynx @ Saskatoon Wild No Game Game 6 - Saskatoon Wild @ Ottawa Lynx No Game Game 7 - Ottawa Lynx @ Saskatoon Wild No Game   Part II - Predict the Score (Predict the correct score and winner of this game for 3 TPE)  Game 5 - Ottawa Lynx @ Saskatoon Wild No Game Part III - Player Predictions (Predict the correct player for each category, 1 TPE for each correct answer) Series leader in points: Toast Series leader in goals: Gebauer Series leader in assists: Toast

done, although most have been removed

It's been quite the season for the Saskatoon Wild and things aren't done yet. It started off slow for them, but slowly they acquired players and started to gel. At one point the Wild were leading the VHLM and were in first place. They ended up losing that spot, but stuck together as a team and their bond would not be broken. As the season closed, the Wild finished in the second spot, but with all the belief in their club that a group of player could have. Then it happened, the Wild faced off against the Halifax 21st in the VHLM playoffs and like nothing they were down 3 games to 1. Adversity is nothing new to the Wild and after that 4th game the team held a meeting. They knew that they had all the ability to come back from this deficit even if some thought it might be too big a hole. The players rallied around each other and got pumped up. Come into Game 5 and the Wild take a 4-2 goal lead, but crumble and allow the game to get tied up, but in the end they rallied once more and game up victorious. That was all the momentum they needed and they would go on to dominate game 6 and 7 and find themselves on their way to the finals!!!

SBA Affiliate +6

1. This season's achievement tracker was just released by Banackock. What 2 stats are you going to claim TPE for? I claimed hist and points, but doesn't matter because nothing as a forward gets me above 10 so I'll just be given the minimum 2. The first round of the playoffs saw Ottawa beat Las Vegas 2-0. They are now going against Yukon. Do they have a chance? They definitely had a shot, but it's not looking like they'll get past Yukon. 3. Who wins the other semi-final, Saskatoon or Halifax? We went down big early and are trying to climb our way back. We have the better team, but it's a rough road ahead for us. 4. I just shared a 2-round mock draft, do you think anyone was too high or too low in it? Finn Davison only getting an honorable mention kind of sucks and is too low, but at the same time I get it, there's an abundance of goalies so it's tough for them. 5. The VHL All-Star Game was streamed a couple days ago. Did you check it out and what did you think of it? I didn't check it out I was pretty busy during that time. 6. It's time to make a last push before the draft. How much TPE do you think you'll have on draft day (knowing it's in about 2 weeks)? between 150 and 160? I really have no idea

Kyson Blake Left Wing Hits Points

Affiliate +6

It took a while before Kyson Blake of the Saskatoon Wild felt like he belonged anywhere in the VHML let alone on the Saskatoon Wild. It would be five games before he would register a single point and six before he would score on the positive side in the +/- column. Slowly and surely, much like the Saskatoon Wild themselves, Blake started to gel better with his teammates and worked as hard as he could day in and day out in order to get better. Things continued to click and at one point in the season Blake had something near a 10 game points scored streak. Currently on the year he has 18 assists and 20 goals scored, but what's most important to him is that he's transitioned from being somewhat of a liability and being relegated to the third line to becoming a valued asset on the second line to now sometimes being featured on the first line and one of many key pieces for the Wild as they're making a push for the playoffs. Despite getting somewhat of a late jump in relation to his draft class, Blake has also cracked the top 15 prospects for the S63 class, which he'll tell you he knows nothing about, but I bet he's pretty aware of his status.

1. This season's Themed Point Task had you write or make a graphic about the upcoming Sponsor's Shield Tournament and the brands that will compete in it. I wrote about this for my article, but I think haterade has easily the best roster 2. What would you like next season's theme to be? Maybe a throwback to league origins or something pointed towards VHLM (only say that because this my first season here so that's all I really know about) 3. Who has your vote for the VHLM's MVP so far in this season? I'd probably give the nod to Dahlberg. Mackinnon is right there with him, but has also played 2 more games. Think Dahlberg is the dude. 4. If you had the choice between every job possible in the league, which one would you do? (you can say none if you want to only be a player, it is fine) Updater or Store Manager. I also wouldn't mind fantasy manager either since I run fantasy in both NSFL & PBE 5. I am going to release a mock draft early next week. Let's put you up with the same task; who will be the first 4 picks of the draft? 1st pick (DAV) - Sullivan 2nd pick (NYA)- Dahlberg 3rd pick (HSK) - Zabby 4th pick (NYA from TOR) - Jerwa 6. Do you read the weekly Newsletter? Is this stuff interesting for you? Yeah I try and read it when it comes out. I wouldn't necessarily say it's interesting (some of it is), but it's definitely worth a read.

213 Halifax 21st @ Saskatoon Wild 214 Ottawa Lynx @ Oslo Storm 215 Saskatoon Wild @ Las Vegas Aces 216 Oslo Storm @ Yukon Rush

Wild 3-1

Soon the VHL with have a special kind of tournament where all the VHL sponsors will create teams of their top endorsed hockey players and have them go at it. Now this seems like a pretty fun event that will be somewhat lighthearted, but at its core you know the players are going to want to put out for it. I wanted to get caught up and a little more familiarized with the teams and their players and upon doing so I learned one thing; there's clearly one brand who is far more equipped than all of the others. So who is this monster brand? It's none other than Haterade and I think that their name serves them well. Alright so now that you know who I'm talking about you're probably wondering why I feel like they're far and away the best player brand team. Simply put if you look at their players they have 3 of VHL's top 10 goal scorers while also adding the VHLM's 8th best goal scorer. Not enough? Well they also have the number 1 and number 7 VHL leaders in assists. Want some more? Well they also have the 1st, 5th, and 9th best defensemen. Ok but what about their goaltender? None other than the VHL's top goalie in goals averaged against as well as save percentage. I know this tournament is going to be a lot of fun and it'll be interesting to see how it all plays out, but if looking at the teams on paper, if I were a betting man I'd put it all on Haterade to win this tournament pretty easily.

Yukon 4-1

189 Yukon Rush 190 Las Vegas Aces 191 Yukon Rush 192 Saskatoon Wild

+10 Kyson Blake

Affiliate Welfare +6

1. The World Junior Championship medal round just started, what do you believe the top 3 will look like at the end of it? 1 - Canada, 2 - Asia, 3 - Europe 2. There are still important games to be played, but who should be named the World Junior Championship Most Valuable Player, in your opinion? Brick Wahl. Might be biased but dude knows how to win and is putting up a pretty good show for Canada 3. The Yukon Rush were the first team to clinch a VHLM playoff spot, with their 76 points in 52 games. Do you believe any team can compete with them come playoffs time? I believe we (Saskatoon) can definitely compete with them in a series! 4. The S64 VHLM Draft Rankings were just released: (if you are eligible for this draft) In what round do you believe you will be selected? I think I'll probably be drafted at the top of round 2? don't really know as I don't have a good feel for this draft, but I think I've put myself in a pretty good spot 5. What aspect of your game have you been training the most, recently? most recently it's been passing. I got my scoring, skating, and puck handling up but wanted to make sure my passing was up there as well so I can help facilitate plays aside from me just scoring. 6. Were you surprised by the announcement that Tagger was stepping down from the Recruitment Crew? Give a grade from 1 to 10 to McWolf, his replacement (wrong answers only). Yeah he had been doing good stuff, but so far what I've seen from McWolf he's ready to step in and pick up where Tagger left off. I'd say a solid 5.7, it's too early to tell

Normally in things like the WJC and anything that pits countries against each other I'd be all up in arms with my fellow countrymen wearing an American flag or something like that, but this year it's quite a bit different for me. This year I find myself rooting exclusively for Team Canada. Why would I root for Team Canada though? It's pretty simple, for one I've been living and playing in Canada for a bit not and have come to quite like it, but the real reason is because a few of my teammates (Brick Wahl @BladeMaiden, Burnt Toast @Toast, and Rylan Peace @Peace). First off, Brick Wahl is probably one of the best goalies I've had the pleasure of playing with and is everything and more that his name means. After that you have Burnt Toast who is one of the toughest guys you can have out on the ice and you're always glad he's on your side when you see what he can do. He's always out there in the thick of things and is seemingly always making plays. Finally you get Rylan Peace who is just an absolute beast. Dude is that guy who you know is always going to do something special on a nightly basis and at times it seems like he's toying with people it's just too easy for him. So while I'd love to see Team USA do well (they're not off to a very good start), I'm definitely pulling for me guys and Team Canada who look absolutely stacked this year!

It's been one heck of a season so far for Kyson Blake of the Saskatoon Wild and one that has had him questioning himself at times. "When things aren't quite going your way and you're struggling, it's easy to wonder about your abilities and whether you have what it takes, but eventually you'll have one of those games that wipes way all of that nonsense and reminds you exactly why you're in the place you are." Blake had one of those kinds of games recently when his Wild hosted the Ottawa Lynx. Blake would be the initiator in the first goal of the game as he got the puck to fellow draft mate Anton Edvin who would dump it off to Burnt Toast for an easy goal. Blake would then be on the receiving end of a great pass later in the second period and he too would find the back of the net for his fourth goal on the year and it'd put the wild up 2-0. The Lynx would battle back and get one of those goals back, but the two goals for Saskatoon proved to be just enough as Brick Wahl would stop every remaining shot and Kyson would go on to be named one of the games 3 Stars, his first such honor of the season.

Sask 2-1

Halifax Yukon Vegas Saskatoon

EFL PT +6