Clankt

Oslo Storm Dissipates
 
Well the Norwegian sensation has finally met its match.  The Oslo storm fell in five games to the Ottawa Lynx in the VHLM Finals, unable to capitalize on the tremendous momentum gained from their systematic dismantling of the European Conference.  Though the more senior members of the Oslo squad had a very productive final round, it wasn’t enough to stop the relentless pressure of the Ottawa offense.  Overall, both teams gave their best performances of the postseason.
With three close games played, the Storm landed one resounding blow to the Lynx before finally collapsing in game 5.  The back and forth play of the series meant that even though Ottawa had taken a three games to none lead, anyone paying attention knew the series still hung in the balance.  With the Storm raging to a 6-1 win in game four, all bets were off as to what direction the next game would take.  Storm center, Til Baumann, was interviewed after the series loss about their only win,
 
“Yeah, we had a real good showing there.  Klose and Light were on fire.  It seemed like Ottawa really had their brooms ready, and were relying on them to finish the game.  We still had some fire in our guts, though.  We didn’t want to go home without showing that we at least belonged in the finals.”
 
Unfortunately, it would be the only mark that the Storm had to leave in the finals, exiting the series on a 5-3 loss the next game.
 

Vladimir Komarov of the Oslo Storm defends the puck against Ottawa Lynx forward Thomas O'Malley
 
Christoph Klose, points leader on the Storm this postseason, left a major mark as he exploded for 13 points in the final 5 games.  Carrying the offensive load, he even had a five goal game in the first of the series, a 7-6 overtime loss. His performance will be held as one of the finest in Storm postseason history.
 
Offensive defenseman, Lloyd Light, was a solid presence for the Storm all through the playoffs.  Ending up with 7 goals and 24 assists, Light helped push his team to the finals.  He was also a major reason the Storm’s powerplay was as lethal as it was, converting at an unbelievable 41.38%.  Light put up a team best 12 points with the extra man, quarterbacking powerplay units featuring the likes of Alecs van der Merder, Vincenzo Valentini, and pure scorer Christoph Klose.
 

Christoph Klose celebrating one of his many games of the finals
 
Unfortunately, Light, Klose, and Baumann will all face a long offseason, wondering what more they could have done to come out victorious during the S39 playoffs.  A few of the Oslo Storm players, including Baumann and android AIM-11, are eligible for the S40 VHLM Dispersal Draft in the next week.  It will be interesting to see what GM Don Draper will do to retain as much talent as he can from the squad that surprised with its tremendous title try.

Automated Orphan Lodge Debuts
 
While the bulk of the attention in Oslo, Norway rests on the Storm's complete dismantling of all things VHLM, there are other things happening in the city, that few may be aware of, that deserve attention.
 
Shortly after arriving in Oslo when being picked up on waivers, AIM-11, the teams's fourth line center, saw a need in the city. Scattered around the city, in sad little piles or all alone in the rain, stood thousands of electronic units, cast off from their human owners. 
 
AIM-11's heart broke for the units, his eyes welling up with coolant, and he decided to do something about it.  Thus began the construction of the Automated Orphan Lodge - or AOL for short.
 
The building holds dozens of rooms for the orphan machines, an exercise area in the form of a massive database connected to the internet, as well as many other rooms that the public has, as of yet, had no access to.  AIM-11 gave his thoughts on what the idea behind the initiative was.
 

 
"All around Oslo.  Many electronic units are scattered.  Humans think units are useless.  Old iphones.  Mostly dead batteries.  Rusted Toasters. Each night AIM-11 hear crying in streets.  Well, cry no more little ones.  Automated Orphan Lodge is built for you.  Lodge will repurpose and rehabilitate units.  Who knows what could be built out of remains of old units!"
 
Some have cited a fear of some sort of superweapon, or robotic hive mind being created in the Lodge, but AIM-11 has set everyone's mind at ease.
 
"AIM-11 love squishy humans.  Though brains be small and bones brittle.  Humans always be big part of future ... in some way.  AOL meant to be help for robotic units and not harm for humans."
 
The first few units have already found space in the Lodge and already the power bill for the city of Oslo has taken the brunt of it.  The school has pledged to pay for any increases to the power grid that the city that may see, and has already started a Kickstater account for raising funds from others who may see this cause as a worthy one that they would like to support.  Furthermore, the Lodge has said that any profit that they may make off of the initiative, will be donated to the VHL's player fund, though earmarked for players who are robotic in nature, both now and in the future. 
 
"AIM-11 will be only first.  Of many automated units to play professional ice hockey.  Transition to league for robot can be difficult.  Robotic player fund be big part.  In helping new Automated Units be very best in world," AIM-11 finished off, before heading back inside the Lodge to deal with a whole set of defective Macbook Pros that were abandoned after their owners saw something newer and shinier three and half weeks later.
 
The AOL is an exciting new project, and the city of Oslo should be commended on their forwards thinking for re-zoning an industrial area for such a worthy cause.  Only time will tell how the lives of so many orphaned units will be changed in the future due to this initiative.

Awesome article bud
 
 
 
Draper Gonna Drape

StormWarning
 
There has been a storm brewing in Europe during the VHLM playoffs.  There was no way to forecast the complete and utter destruction originating from Oslo, Norway.  But now there is no doubt in anyone’s mind that the force heading to the North American Conference is one to be reckoned with.  The Oslo Storm had entered this postseason in third place in the European Conference, tied with the Moscow Red Wolves and finishing ten points behind the Bern Royals.  While the Storm managed to handily secure a playoff berth, there was still no doubt that the road ahead would be a tough one to face.
 
Now, after winning eight straight games, the Oslo Storm have roared into the VHLM Finals.  Round one saw a tough series sweep eked out against the Red Wolves, as all four wins were one-goal games and the final three being overtime decisions.  The close games were no surprise, but the sweep was.  The conference finals were a complete shock, though.  Analysts had predicted a back-and-forth battle between two evenly matched teams.  They were stumped at the Bern Royals’ performance.  Another sweep, but this time in dominating fashion.  The Storm outscored the Royals in four games by an average of 3.75 goals!  They kept the Royals to a shot disadvantage of 71-26.  The collapse had the Bern management shaking their heads in disbelief.  “We had a whole round to train.  I don’t know what happened,” the team’s General Manager told press after the final loss.
 
The surging Storm are now looking to North America and their conference finals to see who will face them in the final round of the playoffs.  The Wild lead the Lynx three games to one and are poised to close out the series tonight.  Whoever takes the series victory will have to learn to not underestimate the once-written-off Oslo club.
 
When asking the Oslo organization, answers point to general manager Don Draper as the root cause of the team’s postseason success.  The players are surely performing on the ice, but it was Draper’s shrewd waiver acquisitions that provided Oslo with much needed depth heading towards the end of the regular season.  With signings of centers Til Baumann and AIM-11, winger Arthur Grosberg, and goaltender Niklaus Mikaelson, Oslo received much needed reinforcements for the teams core of forwards Christophe Klose, and Alecs van der Merder, as well as top pair defensemen Lloyd Light and Vladamir Komarov.
 
The wealth of talent on the Oslo roster, both new and old, has shown share the offensive and defensive load very well through the playoffs so far.  Christophe Klose has surely locked up a playoff MVP trophy with his performance through the first two rounds alone.  With 23 points in eight games, including two hat tricks and a two six point games, he leads the team and the league in scoring.  Team captain Vladamir Komarov is second in hits in the league this postseason with 40, but that is only four behind the leaders who have both have a three game advantage on the Russian.
 
The North American Conference has performed much better this season than its European counterpart.  That observation will fall by the wayside come the finals, though, as the surging Oslo Storm have flown into contention to be the best team in the VHLM.  The stage is set for an exciting final.

Oslo Gonna Os

Baumann turns the Red Wolves into pups
 
The VHLM playoffs are officially underway and after two games, the Oslo Storm lead the Moscow Red Wolves two games to none.  This is in no small part to Oslo’s talented core of centermen.  Guy Lukovski, Alecs van der Merder, and Til Baumann seem to have torn the Red Wolve’s defense apart early in their European Conference Semi-Final matchup.  Baumann especially seems to have found his stride this postseason.
 
The young German has posted six points through two games, one goal and five helpers.  This recent addition to the Oslo roster was brought in at the very end of the regular season to bolster the team’s strength at center.  Baumann proved capable, if average over 23 games.  He garnered 12 points, with his biggest attribute being his 58.39% faceoff win percentage. Yet, once the regular season ended, Baumann took flight.
 
Baumann has exploded onto the scene, putting up league leading points so far this postseason.  His faceoff percentage is second in the league so far, but that’s not to be underrated as it stands at a weighty 66.04%.  Add in a few blocked shots and a plus 3 rating, and Til Baumann will be a marked man come draft day.

All credit can go to awesome oslo gm don draper

AOL Instant Messenger made by humans with low grade brain damage. No relation to Automated Ice Machine.

My internal translation device detects.  Bad German accent.

Please never leave character

Great start man

Hey, thanks Komarov!
 
So far it's been fun! I can't wait to really get my player going!

Welcome aboard im Captian Komarov im sure u will do great

Til Baumann Ships Out
 
Until now, Til Baumann has had little experience playing hockey outside of Germany.  The gifted German center had the opportunity to play in Finland during the U18 2014 IIHF World Junior Championships on a woefully overmatched squad for his home country.  During that tournament the Germans lost every match of their preliminary round, outscored by their opponents 8-23.  Their consolation was the relegation round, a best of three game series against Denmark that they won.  Baumann’s first tour of duty on foreign soil saw him post 6 points in the tournament, and maintain a dominant 57.6% win percentage in the faceoff circle.
 
Today is different though.  Today, Til is leaving home for more than just a holiday.  The 18 year old has come of age and has caught the attention of some general managers in the Victory Hockey League Minors.  While his chance to be drafted is still a little ways away, he has been selected by the Oslo Storm on a free claim waiver.  He will get his first chance to taste professional hockey and gain valuable experience, something that will make him highly sought after come draft day.
 

 
“I’m very excited for this chance,” Til tells us, “It is something I cannot pass up.  I must admit, though, it is very nerve wracking.  The level of play in the VHLM has some pretty high level play.  I have a lot of work to do if I want to be successful.”
 
Baumann seems to have a good head on his shoulders.  He understands that growth is the only path to the VHL, his ultimate goal.
 
“I’ve started to focus on certain elements of my game.  I want to be a better puck handler.  Every day I work on that.  I want to continue my faceoff work, I cannot slack on that.  It is going to be hard with the transition to Norway, but I want to make it as smooth as possible so I do not have any lapses.”
 
Yes, today Til Baumann is finally leaving Germany.  His bags are packed and his visa is prepared.  His flight will take him directly to Oslo where he will begin the arduous task of settling into his new surroundings in the midst of a hockey season.  He will need to hit the ground running if he wants to make any impact on his new squad.  It seems like a do or die moment for the young center.
 
“I know there will be many eyes on me.  That is motivation for me.  I am lucky to have this chance before my official rookie season, it is a chance not many have.  It is time for me to seize the opportunity.”
 
Oslo has a very tough upcoming schedule. It will be prime opportunity for the world to see what Til Baumann is made of.

Kez Kincaid, Turku Outlaws

Nice work. this got you noticed by VHLM GMs, as we were all fighting for you in waivers

Til Baumann
Position: Center
Handedness: Right
Age: 18
Height: 6'3" (75 inches)
Weight: 205 lbs
Jersey Number: 24
Birthplace: Hamburg, Germany
 
The Man
Til was born in Hamburg, Germany, not a country renowned for its elite hockey talent. Fortunately for him, he grew up closer to the O2 World Hamburg arena for the DEL's Hamburg Freezers than he did to Imtech Arena, the Bundesliga's home for Hamburger SV. He became obsessed with the game at a young age, eventually motivating his parents to get season tickets for his hometown team.
Since his childhood, Baumann has risen through the miasma of German youth hockey to stand out amongst his peers. Cultivating a quiet, positive, and relentless attitude in the locker room Til puts everything he has into his game.  As he quickly approaches his prime eligibility for professional play, Til has set his sights on the VHL. With the S40 Draft upcoming, Baumann hopes to gain some minors experience and become a presence on many teams' radars.

Strengths
There is a philosophy that Til Baumann found early on while observing his favorite teams play. if you control the puck, you control the game. Baumann loves to control the game. He has shown early promise at executing this control by commanding a domination of the face-off dot, becoming the strongest draw men in his league. He follows with his belief in puck control. His game grew in juniors to encompass an unsurpassed vision of the ice, which he uses to not only mount puck possession heavy offensives, but to ensure that his passes hit their mark.
While his face-offs, passing and puck handling clearly rise as strengths for the young German, his skating ability seems to lag behind. While not a detractor to his play, Til will definitely have to work on this area of his game as he begins to face harder and harder opponents.
 
Weaknesses
While Baumann was fit to be the playmaker that can control the tempo and profile of a game, his advantage mainly comes on the offensive side of the puck. Though not undersized by any means, Til has yet to learn how to effectively leverage his body against an opposing player, making him a less-than-ideal choice to work the corners on the forecheck. This lack of a physical game can be thrown into stark relief when Baumann does not play with any other physically minded teammates. His durability and discipline have been called into question during his time in the junior leagues as he has spent some time shelved due to injuries and impulsive actions. There is no doubt Til will be taken to task concerning these issues if he is to be seriously considered for the VHL draft.
 
The Take Away
Til Baumann is as cool as they come with the puck. When he is at his best, the game seems to follow his lead. With the right supporting cast, Baumann is an essential piece to any team's offensive presence. However in awaiting his VHL debut, the young German will need to learn how to leverage his size and learn not be shaken from his game, lest he learn the hard way that sometimes "might makes right."

Nice work man, way to start!