Pengu

@hedgehog337, awesome team you have built there and super happy Riga won! Awesome stuff! 

And to all Calgary players and staff, you did an amazing run and it has to said that your team has a truly bright future and we will surely see you around! 

We came out swinging and had excellent defending the rest of the way, big props to Eagles for being so god damn consistent! WOOHOO!! NICE WORK RIGA!!! S72 CONTINENTAL CUP CHAMPIONS!!!! FOR LIFE!!!!!
 

 
Good series Calgary, thought you guys were going to be the spike in the road but thankfully the hockey gods chose us
 

10 seasons passed by and now I finally can post this gif again:
 

 
 
WE DID IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Busser out there scoring big goals in latest games, Eagles doing his Eagles job aka sniping a game away from an opponent and Nyko gets his CWG! RELIEF SEASON!
 
WE CHAMPS!
 
@Renomitsu @Nykonax @Z16 @Greg_Di @Tate @efiug @Kylrad @SDCore @Will @Cxsquared @Patrik Tallinder @Phil @Pengu
 
 
gg Calgary. Thought it's gonna go in 6 games at least, you certainly looked like a favorite after doing great in reg season and being clutch in NA series. And this game went to OT, so yeah. That was close. You still have a nice S69-72 core so your team should be good for seasons. Good luck in next seasons! @Jubis

S72 Continental Cup Final Preview: Riga Reign vs Calgary Wranglers
 
This season’s finals will be the Calgary Wranglers (8-5-1) against the Riga Reign (8-0-0). Riga won the regular-season series against Calgary, winning 3 out of 5 games between the two teams.
 
Riga Storylines:
 
Riga comes into this series having taken an easy road so far through the European Conference. Dominating their opponents with two sweeps so far in the playoffs. They are led by Apollo Hackett (@Renomitsu) who has 13 points in 8 playoff games so far and is 2nd in the league with 12 assists this postseason. They also have Pengu (@Pengu) who is tied for 3rd in the league in goals this postseason, notching 6 in 8 games thus far. However, the X-Factor in this series will be the play of Riga’s goaltender, Greg Eagles (@Greg_Di). His performance so far this postseason has been one for the ages, going 8-0 with 2.12 goals-against average and a stellar 0.931 save percentage. He will certainly be tough to beat in this series if he can keep this level of play up and can absolutely steal a game if need be.
 
Calgary Storylines:
 
The North American conference champion Calgary Wranglers had a much different path to the finals. They had two amazing series. Pushing both Toronto and New York to seven games and taking both series. Calgary’s offensive firepower this postseason shows, scoring 43 goals in the first 14 games this postseason, scoring an average of 3.07 goals per game through the first two rounds. They are led offensively by Sigard Gunnar (@Big Mac), who leads the league in both goals and points this postseason with 10 goals and 17 points. Fellow Calgary teammates Kris Rice (@Ricer13) and Willie Dredge (@Speed) are both tied for 2nd in goals with 7 goals each. The Wranglers also have Edwin THE Encarnacion (@Tagger) who leads the league in assists with 13 and fellow Wrangler Charlie Paddywagon (@DMaximus) who is right behind him with 12 assists. Calgary’s goaltender, Jacques Lafontaine (@SlapshotDragon) also has incredible numbers this postseason, going 8-5-1 in 14 games through the first two rounds with a 2.93 goals-against average and a 0.916 save percentage. However, Lafontaine has played great in seventh games this postseason. In seventh games against Toronto and New York, Lafontaine went 2-0 with a 2.50 goals-against average and a 0.918 save percentage. Lafontaine will be a big factor in this series for Calgary.

 
Patrik’s Prediction:
 
Even though Riga has been perfect through the first two rounds, I don’t think they will stay perfect through the finals. This will be a fast-paced series with high scoring games and a lot of hitting, but I think Calgary will take it. This series will certainly go to 6 or 7 games, but Calgary has been going the distance all postseason long and they know how to handle elimination games. This series could easily go either way. Riga will certainly not go down without a fight and this series will come down to the wire, but the play of both the goaltenders will be the deciding factor and Lafontaine has been great in elimination games thus far in the playoffs, so I see Calgary taking it in 7 games.
 
(536 words, 3130 characters)

seems like @Pengu has decided to pull Ryuu Crimson  more history incoming 
 
gg Moscow and see ya in next conference finals. I guess.

Another exciting regular season has come to a close. That means we can dole out some regular season awards! Welcome everyone to the 7th Annual Unofficial VHL Regular Season Awards honoring S72! Thank you to everyone that reads this. I’m always looking for new award ideas. Please keep the award suggestions coming!
 
These awards have been created by me. There is no voting process and they are not officially recognized by the VHL Board of Governors. I wrote descriptions for most of these award names in the original award post. Let’s get things underway!
 
 
The Pylon Award (worst +/- rating) – Jack Feriancek @Jackie4967 
 
Malmo claimed the bottom 6 spots for this award, with Jack leading the way with a -59.
 
Previous Pylon Award Winners:
Season
Player
+ / -
S71
John Madden
-43
S70
Bert Meyers
-45
S69
Basaraba Moose
-57
S68
Sven Hitz
-58
S67
Piotr Jerwa and Nethila Dissanayake
-34
S66
Bryce Zhields
-49
 
 
The Gandhi Award (least penalty minutes, min 1,000 minutes played) – Jared Spaz @Spaz 
 
Spaz just met the 1,000 MP requirement for this award. But he did and claims it with 2 PIM in 1,106 minutes played. Special recognition to Patrik Tallinder @Patrik Tallinder  (4 PIM, 2,150 MP) and Dean Clarke @Kyle  (4 PIM, 2,166 MP)
 
Previous Gandhi Award Winners:
Season
Player
PIM
Minutes Played
S71
Soren Jensen
4
2016
S70
Denver Wolfe
2
1988
S69
Hugh Chan
4
2050
S68
Jack Lynch
0
1473
S67
Diljodh Starload
0
2091
S66
Beau Buefordsson
0
1939
 
 
Oh what’s this?! A new award, snuck right into the middle of the presentation?! It can’t be… Yes it is! A new award!
 
A lot of people can accumulate penalty minutes, but it takes a special person to get major penalties. The Major2 Award aims to award this special player we can now call the major of majors. The award is given to the player who has the most major penalties.
 
The Major2 Award (most major penalties) - Mikko Lahtinen @Beketov 
 
Mikko topped the league with 9 major penalties this season. Congratulations on winning the 1st ever Major­2 award!
 
 
 
The Timex Award (received most hits) – Anthony Matthews @Anthony Matthews 
 
Matthews led the league by getting hit 274 times. The same number of times last season’s winner, HHH, was hit.
 
Previous Timex Award Winners:
Season
Player
Hits Taken
S71
Hunter Hearst Helmsley
274
S70
Hunter Hearst Helmsley
282
S69
John Madden
357
S68
Mikko Aaltonen
297
S67
Rauno Palo
302
S66
Beau Louth
300
 
 
The John Wayne Award (most shots on goal) - Jet Jaguar @gorlab 
 
Jet launched an impressive 425 shots on goal this season.
 
Previous John Wayne Award Winners:
Season
Player
Shots Taken
S71
Scott Greene
402
S70
Juilius Freeman
453
S69
Juilius Freeman
452
S68
Rylan Peace
466
S67
Matt Thompson
495
S66
Shane Mars
533
 
 
The “Hit the Broadside of the Barn” Award (most own shots blocked) - Henrik Zoiderberg @HenrikZoiderberg 
 
Zoiderberg gets the award with 122 of his shots being blocked. This won over 2nd place finisher and last season’s winner, Guy LeGrande (120 OSB).
 
Previous HtBotB Award Winners:
Season
Player
Own Shots Blocked
S71
Guy LeGrande
122
S70
Shawnomir Jagr
129
S69
Julian Borwinn
136
S68
Rylan Peace
144
S67
Beau Louth
153
S66
Oyorra Arroyo
142
 
 
The “Can’t Hit the Broadside of the Barn” Award (most own shots missed) – RJ Jubis @Jubis 
 
Jubis matched the winning total from last season, 299 missed shots. Really?! You couldn’t have missed just one more to make it an even 300?
 
Previous CHtBotB Award Winners:
Player
Season
Shots Missed
S71
Guy LeGrande
299
S70
Juilius Freeman
343
S69
Elias Dahlberg
320
S68
Rylan Peace
351
S67
Beau Louth
364
S66
Roctrion King
372
 
 
The New Shin Pads Award (most blocked shots) – Condor Adrienne @OrbitingDeath 
 
Condor had this award on lockdown since the very start of the season. He blocked 188 shots, 33 more than the next best player. Simply amazing!
 
Previous New Shin Pads Award Winners:
Season
Player
Shots Blocked
S71
Aron Nielsen
153
S70
Guillaume Fontenette
145
S69
Guillaume Fontenette
166
S68
Seabass Perrin
207
S67
Piotr Jerwa
170
S66
Lando Baxter
189
 
The Tired Legs Award (most minutes played) - Condor Adrienne @OrbitingDeath  and Zyrok12 @Zyrok 
 
These two teammates tied for this award, both playing exactly 2,227 minutes. Oddly enough STHS figured this to mean that Condor played 30.93 minutes per game while Zyrock12 played 30.94 minutes per game. Not sure how that works out, but nice job guys!
 
Previous Tired Legs Award Winners:
Season
Player
Minutes Played
S71
Juilius Freeman
2189
S70
Juilius Freeman
2164
S69
John Madden
2259
S68
Mikko Aaltonen
2290
S67
Shawn Glade
2226
S66
Robert Malenko
2324
 
 
The Snap! Award (most power play minutes) - Micheal Gary Scott @Motzaburger 
 
In a fitting celebration, Micheal Gary Scott organized the entire office to film a music video to “The Power.” He nabbed this award with 340 minutes on the power play.
 
Previous Snap! Award Winners:
Season
Player
PP Minutes
S71
Juilius Freeman
364
S70
Juilius Freeman
372
S69
Elias Dahlberg
368
S68
Joseph McWolf
351
S67
Beau Louth
437
S66
Jake Davis
412
 
 
The 1 vs. 100 Award (most time on penalty kill) - Cody Smith @cody73 
 
Prague must take a lot of pride in winning this award. They dominated this category, taking the top 7 spots. Cody took home the award with 356 minutes killing penalties.
               
Previous 1 vs. 100 Award Winners:
Season
Player
PK Minutes
S71
Jacob Perry
344
S70
Jacob Perry
380
S69
Wolf Stansson Jr
328
S68
Jack Lynch
353
S67
Aron Nielsen
374
S66
Lew Bronstein
352
 
 
The Sean Archer Award (highest face-off win %) - Hunter Hearst Helmsley @Beaviss 
 
After being unseated by Jet Jaguar last season, HHH worked hard on his face-off game and reclaimed the title by winning 62.35% of his 3,086 faceoffs.
               
Previous Sean Archer Award Winners:
Season
Player
Face Off Pct
S71
Jet Jaguar
61.84%
S70
Hunter Hearst Helmsley
60.78%
S69
Rauno Palo
59.45%
S68
Podrick Cast
62.56%
S67
Beau Louth
63.09%
S66
Rauno Palo
63.10%
 
 
The Castor Troy Award (lowest face-off win %, min 1,000 faceoffs) - Richard Penisson @bluesfan55 
 
With Zeno retiring, this award was open for anyone to nab. Richard Penisson rose to the occasion. He only won 38.13% of his face-offs. Maybe blood was flowing to the wrong head during face-offs?
               
Previous Castor Troy Award Winners:
Season
Player
Face Off Pct
S71
Zeno Miniti
42.07%
S70
Zeno Miniti
42.07%
S69
Zeno Miniti
32.27%
S68
Gritty
36.31%
S67
Gucci Garrop
35.07%
S66
Bryce Zhields
30%
 
 
The Triple Deke Award (most penalty shot goals) - Sigard Gunnar @Big Mac 
 
6 must be a magic number for this category and for Gunnar. He wins this award in consecutive seasons with 6 penalty shot goals. Micheal Gary Scott @Motzaburger  also scored 6 penalty shot goals, but needed 14 attempts, giving Gunnar the award.
 
               
Previous Triple Deke Award Winners:
Season
Player
Penalty Shot Goals
S71
Sigard Gunnar
6
S70
Owen Nolan
6
S69
Owen Nolan
6
S68
Jorgon Weyed
6
S67
Veran Dragomir
8
S66
Leph Twinger
5
 
 
The Rocky Award (most fights won) – Kristopher McDagg @Viperxhawks19 
 
What a mess this category is. 10 players tied for the league lead with 2 fights won. Ok, so let’s eliminate anyone who lost a fight. Down to 5 players. Now what’s more important? Winning a higher percentage of fights, or having more fights without losing?
3 players went 2-0-0. (Sigard Gunnar @Big Mac, Boris the Forest @chillzone, and Charles Drumm @frescoelmo). Is that better or worse than McDagg’s record of 2-0-4. I’m saying McDagg is more impressive, so he gets the award on the tiebreaker over everyone else, including Jack Feriancek @Jackie4967 (2-0-3).
               
Previous Rocky Award Winners:
Season
Player
Fights Won
S71
Owen Nolan
3
S70
RJ Jubis and Ambrose Stark
2
S69
Edward Vigneault
4
S68
Tyler Barabash Jr
2
S67
ACL TEAR
6
S66
Ryuu Crimson
4
 
 
The Glass Joe Award (most fights lost) – Roll Fizzlebeef @TacticalHammer 
Roll claims the award with a dismal 0-3-1 fight record, losing the tiebreaker to Pengu @Pengu  who had more draws going 0-3-4.
               
Previous Glass Joe Award Winners:
Season
Player
Fights Lost
S71
Benny Graves and John Madden
3
S70
Walter Clements
3
S69
Rusty Shackleford
5
S68
Podrick Cast and Jordan Tonn
2
S67
Kronos Bailey and Hunter Hearst Helmsley
4
S66
Rauno Palo
3
 
 
The Stars Award (most stars won) – Julius Freeman @rjfryman 
 
Julius received 25 total stars this season. Sigard Gunnar @Big Mac tied with Julius with 10 1st stars.
               
Previous Stars Award Winners:
Season
Player
Total Stars
S71
Hunter Hearst Helmsley
28
S70
Randoms
25
S69
Julian Borwinn
27
S68
Matt Thompson
32
S67
Rauno Palo
25
S66
Matt Thompson
28
 
 
The “Always a Bridesmaid” Award (most stars without winning 1st star) – Lewis Dawson @Kendrick 
 
Leiws won 13 stars this season without ever winning the 1st star. Impressively, 10 of those were 2nd starts. So close Lewis!
               
Previous Bridesmaid Award Winners:
Season
Player
Stars
S71
Condor Adrienne
12
S70
Luciano Valentino
6
S69
Tzuyu
12
S68
Zeno Miniti
9
S67
Dan Baillie
13
S66
Mikka Pajari
7
 
The Biggest Backpack Award (player with the largest difference in points from the rest of their team) - Benny Graves @STZ 
 
Benny scored 13 more points than anyone else on D.C. The smallest difference in the history of this award.
           
Previous Backpack Award Winners:
Season
Player
Point Difference from nearest teammate
S71
Roque Davis
20
S70
Julian Borwinn
22
S69
John Madden
28
S68
Mikko Aaltonen
28
S67
Podrick Cast
23
 
 
 
 
The Anniversary Award
 
This award goes to the player whose total points rank matches the season number. This season was season 72. That means this award goes to the player who finished 72nd in total points. The winner of this year’s Anniversary Award is…
 
Ondrej Ohradka @animal74 
Somehow, as we keep moving down the rankings, the points keep going up. Great depth we got going on here! Ondrej scored 51 points this season, landing him in the 72nd spot in the rankings.
 
Previous Anniversary Award Winners:
Season
Player
Points
S71
Elasmobranch Fish
46
S70
Orion Slade
44
 
 
 
 
The Egghshell Award (goalie with most overtime losses) - Michael Johnson @fonziGG 
 
In his final season, Michael Johnson set a career worst 9 overtime losses. That’s enough to win the Eggshell award.
 
Previous Eggshell Award Winners:
Season
Player
Overtime Games Lost
S71
Jaxx Hextall
11
 
 
 
The <Insert best slasher movie of all time title> Award (most PIM by a Goalie) - A Red Guy @.sniffuM 
 
I’m still looking for suggestions for this award’s title. Share your favorite slasher film title with me. A Red Guy sliced and diced his way through the competition to win with 12 PIM.
 
Previous <slasher> Award Winners:
Season
Player
PIM
S71
Greg Eagles
10
 
 
 
The Poke Check Award (highest % of penalty shots stopped, min 10 penalty shots against) - Virgil Ligriv @MMFLEX 
 
Vitrgil stopped 83.3% of the 24 penalty shots taken against him.
 
Previous Poke Check Award Winners:
Season
Player
Penalty Shots Stopped
S71
Greg Eagles
79.30%
 
 
 
Phew that is a lot of hardware! That concludes our ceremony. Thank you for reading. Congratulations and/or condolences to all the winners! Have a good night!
 
 
 

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!

1. Condor Adrienne is having an outstanding offensive season as a defenseman, why do you think that is?
He never takes his foot off the pedal and consistently uses his athleticism to win battles everywhere on the ice, more opportunities = more points
 
2. A magical trade deadline has appeared and we can add any player we want to Riga, who do you bring aboard and why?
Any player that has a similar build to Tate
 
4. Pengu is having a fantastic rookie season, what needs to happen for him to finish in first place for all rookies this season?
Give the boy more ice-time to finish out the season, I'll even volunteer to take less because I've already passed last season's point totals and Pengu deserves it!
 
5. What's the best midnight snack?
Hot rods are good, chicken fingers/nuggets with hot sauce, banana bread or a T.V. dinner
 
6. What team is Riga's greatest challenge when it comes to the playoffs?
A lot of it is going to come down to the coach and how he reacts to certain line combinations and strategies, every game matters now
 
7. Disneyland or Disneyworld?
If I really had to pick.. Disneyland, sorry I've never been a big fan of theme parts, circuses or fairs so I'd probably wouldn't go to either 
 
8. How important is leadership as an attribute?
Not really THAT important when it comes to game results but if you want to have a team environment and active team you better learn quick
 
9. What does Riga need to focus on in order to win the cup?
Taking things one step at a time, the question should be what does Riga need to focus on in order to win the first game? That's my mentality right now
 
10. If you could eliminate any team from playoff contention, who do you choose and why?
I'd choose a team that's already out of contention to nobody will be pissed off.. Now if I'm having a bad day I'd definitely say Calgary

Welcome to the fourth edition of VSN’s S72 Weekly recap (Games 288-370).  We’ll cover a host of things in this recap each week including highlights of important VSN happenings, three stars of the week, power rankings, rookie profiles, and anything else of importance.
 
Speaking of other VSN content, make sure to check out the other great work from the greater VSN family! Here are a few handy links to check out, from our weekly podcasts to in-depth history articles, scouting reports, and more!
Under 250: Week 4 | Deep Rewind: WJC | Ringless: S21 Seattle Bears | S72 Future Watch: EU
Recap
The trade deadline came and went this season without so much as a whimper. With so many blockbuster deals made in the week leading up to the deadline, it’s not hard to see why we didn’t have any trades made on deadline day. This week we had both the Calgary Wranglers and Seattle Bears clinch playoff spots, becoming the first teams to do so. Elsewhere in the playoff race, things are still very much up for grabs. The offensive surge we saw last week came to a halt, as goalies and defences were able to find their feet again. With playoffs right around the corner, they would have been working hard in practice to correct any flaws in their game to ensure success. 
 
As the regular season winds down, and we approach the final 10 games, we are really in for a heated battle. Having only two playoff spots accounted for out of 8, teams on the outside looking in will be doing their utmost to make sure they are in that top 8 come to the end of the season. With the European conference as tight as it is right now, there will undoubtedly be some disappointed players when it all comes to an end. 
 
 
3-Stars
 
First Star
RJ Jubis (CGY) - 7 G, 9 A, +7
Second Star
Berocka Sundqvist (SEA) - 7 G, 16 A, 19 Hits
Third Star
Michael Johnson (HSK) - 2.84 GAA, .914 SV%, 6 W
 
Power Rankings

@Pengu again with the amazing power rankings graphic
European Conference
 
It was a big shake-up in the European Conference this week. The Riga Reign have finally pulled away from the pack far enough that it is hard to see them losing the top spot. But elsewhere in the conference, things have gotten very interesting. The Helsinki Titans had a down week, winning just half of their games and allowing the HC Davos Dynamo to catch back up with them. The really interesting change, however, is the Moscow Menace. At times this season, it looked questionable whether the Menace would even make the playoffs, and they are now within a couple of points of the second seed. There is still enough hockey to be played that we could end up with a surprising playoff picture. The final piece of that picture is the Prague Phantoms. While Moscow surged, the Phantoms quietly kept pace. They are still a few points back, but the next three teams are close enough that any one of them could drop below Prague with a bad enough slide. I will mention the Malmo Nighthawks just to say that they are only holding onto last in the league by a point and need to tank harder to maximize their chances of first overall.
 
North American Conference
 
In contrast, the North American Conference was fairly stable this week. The Calgary Wranglers still hold their fate in their own hands with a relatively comfortable lead of the conference. The only team that can realistically challenge them for the top spot are the Seattle Bears. While they are six points back in the standings, most of those points are from Calgary’s overtime losses, and Seattle only trails them by two in goal differential. These two are so closely matched it is impossible to say there is a clear favourite to win the conference championship. Behind that, the New York Americans have the third seed almost locked in; they are twelve points back from second and six points ahead of fourth, putting them in the unenviable position of having to face Calgary or Seattle in the first round. The last playoff spot is held by the Toronto Legion. They have a five-point lead on the Vancouver Wolves, but it is important to remember that the Wolves have been on a steady decline since selling off assets earlier in the season. I don’t foresee a close racing for the last playoff spot in this conference. The D.C. Dragons are just battling Malmo for the bottom spot in the league, hoping for the best possible draft odds.
 
Notable Games
 
Game 305 - Riga Reign vs. Helsinki Titans
In this battle between the top two teams in the European conference, we saw tempers flare and maybe even a glimpse at a potential Conference Finals matchup. There were 19 penalties handed out between both teams, with Riga picking up an absurd 12 minors. Helsinki took full advantage of their power plays and scored 3 of their goals while having a man advantage, with the eventual game-winner being one of them. Erik Summers led the way for Helsinki with 2 goals and an assist, while it must be noted that Greg Eagles had a magnificent performance in net for Riga, making 43 saves in a tough loss. This win for Helsinki has allowed them to remain within striking distance of that coveted top spot in the conference, which Riga currently holds.
 
Game 314 - Moscow Menace vs. New York Americans
This was a great hockey game between the 3rd placed teams in each conference. A very even battle that came down to goaltending at the end of the day. This game started out with a fight just 2 minutes in between Acyd Burn and Jacob Perry which set the tone for an intensely fought game. Both teams were pretty even on shots taken and if not for an empty-net goal by Oskar Lagesson, this was close right down to the wire. Raymond Bernard stole the show for Moscow, putting up 37 saves to secure the win, and it was Aleelee Kiak who scored the winning goal midway through the 3rd period. Owen Nolan was the lone source of offence for the Americans, as their top guys couldn’t solve Bernard’s stellar goaltending.
 
Game 320 - Calgary Wranglers vs. Seattle Bears
These juggernauts of the North American conference were at it once again this week, this time in a low scoring affair which had Seattle once again coming out on top. Shots were dead even for both teams and just like the other games, an amazing goalie performance, this time from Rayz Funk, was what propelled Seattle to the victory. Calgary’s power play struggled in this game, going 0 for 6 and that definitely contributed to their demise. Ray Sheilds potted two goals for Seattle and earned the first star, while RJ Jubis scored the only goal for Calgary. Seattle will have been happy to have won this game, but their inconsistent play throughout the week sees them now 8 points behind Calgary for the top spot.
 
Events of the Week
 
Fights
 
Game 323 - Jet Jaguar beats up Tyler Barabash Jr This 3rd-period rally call by Jet Jaguar was awesome to see. He first scored to bring his team within one, and then in an effort to get some momentum on his side, he dispatched Tyler Barabash Jr in a fight just a few minutes later. Game 330 - BRAWL! Wow! Two huge fights within seconds in this game between Calgary and Moscow. Tempers boiled over as Vin Calia and Tyler Barabash Jr scrapped, which then spawned three more fights! Those two weren’t done with each other and got into another scrap while Jacob Perry fought Willie Dredge and got himself ejected. That wasn’t all as Aleelee Kiak and Kris Rice threw fisticuffs in this all-out brawl. Game 335 - Mikko Lahtinen ejected It’s hard to say what caused Mikko Lahtinen to instigate this fight with Owen Nolan, but I don’t think he can say he came out the victor in this one. Both guys landed a couple blows, but were broken up by the refs, and on top of that Lahtinen was tossed from the game after instigating the fight. Game 348 - Helmsley and Laughton fight twice After fighting in the 1st period, and nobody coming out on top. These two tough guys went at it for a 2nd time at the end of the game to prove who was the toughest. It was Hunter Hearst Helmsley who came out on top over Blake Laughton. I don’t think these are the last fights we will be seeing between these two.  
 
Hat-Tricks
 
Game 289 - Henrik Zoiderberg Henrik Zoiderberg put Moscow on his back in this game, as he scored the final 3 goals for the team and was able to secure the win against Helsinki. He’s gotta be proud of this as these two teams battle it out for home-ice advantage come playoff time. Game 304 - Bjorn Scoringsonn What a first period in this game between Toronto and Vancouver! There were 6 goals scored between the two teams and Bjorn Scoringsson picked up an amazing hat trick that propelled his team to victory. Game 327 - Ben Hafkey In this game against the last-placed Nighthawks, Ben Hafkey picked up a nice hat trick while his teammates were able to chip in with a couple more of their own in order to secure the victory. Game 344 - Benny Graves Benny Graves sure is heating up as the season comes to a close. His first hat trick of the week came against Toronto, where he helped the Dragons win a very close game by the score of 5-4. Game 356 - Benny Graves With his 2nd hat trick of the week, this time Graves went to work against the New York Americans in one of the shock results of the season. An amazing performance by Graves and D.C. had them come out on top 5-0.  
 
Shutouts
 
Game 299 - Davos vs. D.C. This may go down as the fewest shots faced in a shutout performance. Samuel Ross only had to make 7 saves in this game, as HC Davos dominated D.C. en route to a 1-0 victory. Game 310 - Vancouver vs. Malmo It was a battle of the goaltenders in this low scoring game between Vancouver and Malmo. Solomon Crawford ended up on top in this one, as he put aside 26 shots and claimed the victory for Malmo. Game 325 - D.C. vs. Riga Not the toughest of shutouts for Greg Eagles as he put aside 15 shots, but one that you have to be happy within the leadup to the playoffs. Riga will be hoping to ride this momentum into a strong playoff run. Game 329 - Davos vs. Vancouver Jimmy Spyro made 22 saves in this solid performance against Davos. This marked his 2nd shutout of the season and he’s got to be proud of that on a Vancouver team that is 3rd worst in the league. Game 355 - Toronto vs. Moscow Raymond Bernard picks up his league-leading 4th shutout of the season and leads his team to victory against Toronto. If it wasn’t for the remarkable play of Bernard that we’ve seen all season, there’s no telling where Moscow would be in the standings. Game 356 - D.C. vs. New York Perhaps the shock of the season, the lowly Dragons shutout the Americans on the back of a fine 28 save performance by Stone Wolski. 3 shutouts for him, in an otherwise terrible season for D.C., is nothing to laugh at. Game 359 - Moscow vs. Vancouver With his 2nd shutout of the week, we have Jimmy Spyro stealing the show again. This time making 22 stops to deny Moscow, he was on top form in this game. His 2nd shutout of the week and 3rd of the season is very impressive to see.  
Rookie Spotlight
Pengu

Amazing graphic for himself done by @Pengu
 
Pengu spent his first season in the VHLM as a mid-season signing by the Halifax 21st and was an instant success. Putting up sixty-two points in fifty-four games, Pengu’s performance wasn’t enough to lift the 21st into the postseason. In the offseason that followed, he was drafted by the Las Vegas Aces in the VHLM and the Riga Reign in the VHL. The Reign decided Pengu wasn’t quite ready to be called up, so he spent his second season in the minors. On the Aces, Pengu continued to be a major factor in every game with one hundred and seventeen points.
 
This season, Pengu joined the Reign as a rookie and got right to work. He currently sits in the top three among rookies in points with thirty-five. Riga currently leads the European conference and looks like a solid contender for the cup as they have nearly clinched the top seed. Pengu has some great veterans on the roster to learn from with Codrick Past and Phil Marleau bringing a depth of knowledge for the younger players. And, as those players age out of the team soon, it looks like Pengu could have the spot of top-line centre on the Reign in the next couple years if he decides to stick around.
 
Pengu has always been an offensively minded player, but this season has really highlighted that. He has shown that he can compete in the offensive zone with players who have been in the league much longer than he has. However, he has struggled to keep up in his own end. With only fifty-six hits and eight shots blocked, I would like to see a level of physicality added to Pengu’s game as he matures. With the amount of raw talent this player has when it comes to scoring, I wouldn’t be shocked to see him leading the league in points just a couple seasons from now.
 
 

Congrats @Zetterberg!!! If you or @Pengu ever have questions about things let me know  

As announced in our statement regarding the Black Lives Matter Movement, the Victory Hockey League will be opening up our Christmas Charity Drive up early this year, as a means to help in some small way those affected by racial inequality. We have decided to pledge up to $500 to two charitable organizations TBD (1 American organization supporting BLM, 1 Canadian organization supporting Indigenous Peoples). We will be matching member donations up to this amount, and dividing the total evenly, between the two foundations.
 
All donations made explicitly for this drive will be used 100% to go to these causes. Any donation of $5 or more will allow you to claim 5 Uncapped TPE. Should we reach our goal of $500, all members will be eligible to claim a free doubles week, regardless of if you made a donation or not.
 
A thread has been created in our League Donations section, and can be found HERE. If you would like to donate to the cause, please do so through the league’s paypal, and post your Transaction ID in that thread. As previously mentioned, all donations will be used in full, with none going into the league's account.
 
UPDATE: The league has selected the two organizations that will be receiving the funds raised by our members.
 
The first of which is the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which, if you are unaware, is an organization that was founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person" in America. As one of the leading organizations in defending minorities, as well as a supporter of the Black Lives Matter movement, we feel the ACLU represents exactly what the world needs as they push for change to bring equality to all, in a nation that has been divided for too long.
 
The organization that will be receiving the other half of the funds is Spirit North, a group that works with indigenous youth in Canada "find the courage to take on any challenge, develop leadership skills, improve their health and wellness, discover new talents and unlock their limitless potential." As the indigenous peoples have faced extreme hardships throughout Canadian history, it was important for us, as a league with a primarily Canadian member-base, to look within, and see what change we can help enact at home, as we aim to improve as a community on all levels.
 
Another note is that, as those of you who are in our affiliate league, the EFL, will know, they have also started a donation drive to support the BLM movement. As affiliate leagues who are both working towards the goal of helping minorities and marginalized peoples, we have decided that anyone who donates to the cause in one league, may claim the donation bonus in the other. For example: As someone who donated to the VHL Donation Drive, you would be eligible to claim a free week + 5 uncapped TPE in the EFL, while anyone who donates in the EFL may claim a doubles week in the VHL.
 
With that said, we will be closing the donations on Friday, June 12th @ 5PM ET, and splitting the donations equally between the ACLU and Spirit North. As the league has shown an incredible amount of support, and we close in on nearly $2000 pledged by our members, we have decided that, should we hit the $2000 milestone, all members of the league will be eligible to claim an additional 5 Uncapped TPE. The positivity and support shown to helping the causes stated have been nothing short of incredible, and while this is not the purpose of the drive, we believe that you should all be rewarded for your kindness and generosity.
 
FINAL UPDATE: Donations have been submitted to both the ACLU and Spirit North. I want to take this time to once again thank everyone for their generosity, and express how proud we are of the community as a whole.
 
The Community perks (Doubles Week + 5 Uncapped TPE) for hitting our goals of $500 and $2000, respectively, will be claimable until the end of the Season 73 Theme Week.
 
 
Thank you,
 
Victory Hockey League
@Commissioner
@BOG
@Members

Hello all,
 
I feel like it's time to reintroduce myself to all of those who really care to read 600 creative words from me, as it's been a while since I've been as active in the VHL as I have been lately. My name is Barzy, but you can call me Dan, sorta like my original player Dan Montgomery (smooth segue). I joined the VHL way back in season 61 (ancient times to some) off of a reddit post in the r/newyorkislanders subreddit made by the one and only @Spade18, and then quickly joined with @Smarch on the Yukon Rush. This quickly led to me having a midnight deep dive of the VHL and getting quite overwhelmed with how exactly to create a player. The week I joined was pretty much the last week before the VHLPortal was active, so my original player is probably among the last to have started a player update page, which I do not care to find. What I did care to find was this article from my first media spot in 2018. Here's some review screenshots from some familiar faces, singing my praise @DollarAndADream and @Banackock.
 

 
So obviously you can tell I was kind of a big deal back in my day (2018 was my day). So now we can fast forward and Smarch in his wisdom as anointed me as AGM of the Yukon Rush- not many AGMs if any existed at this time if I recall- and he really just wanted to step down at the end of the season. Well, when he saw a bright up and comer like me, he handed the reigns over for the playoff run where we promptly blew it with a much better team (keep this in mind). Now after a full offseason of getting meme'd and losing most of my players, I knew what I needed to do .... TANK! So Tank I did, and I was able to gather up 3/6 of the first round selections in next year's draft by trading up and comers @Enorama and @SidTheKid87. This led to me having a well stocked team for what was to be my final season as a GM (until @Josh my AGM took over due to my inactivity on this front). Well, we rode being the best team through the regular season, into the playoffs, and if you remember from earlier.... we lost in 5 to I believe Oslo (now Minnesota) or Ottawa. Heartbroken, I kept going and focused on my player, Dan Montgomery, who had just transitioned from Center to Defenseman.
 
We'll skip Monty's first 2 seasons in the VHL now that you know he never won anything in the VHLM, because they were spent with Helsinki, the team that drafted him, and an empty locker room, with a lame duck GM in @Higgins. Things soon changed as the OG bossman himself @Quik took over Helsinki once again, and promised great things to this wide-eyed first gen. Quickly, he and Quik decided it would be better for the team if he moved to Dman with a large crop of incoming forward talent namely, Kronos Bailey and @Jubo07, and even a once-in-a-generation goalie in Alexander Pepper @Sonnet. This Helsinki team is where I started to coast and become a welfare kind of player, which was fine given the nice TPE base I had given myself from ~4 seasons of hard work and TPE earning. My grinding resulted in a season 66 to remember where I made all-VHL first team, won the Alexander Valiq trophy, and most importantly my only Continental Cup (so far). This Titans team should've earned more, as we had so many great life-long Titans, but that season really was it. We made the finals a couple more times if I recall, but then kind of trailed off....
 
and so with it my VHL career seemed to come to a nice, and subtle ending... until @Beaviss and Bana convinced me to recreate on a whim, and Xavier leFlamant was born! 
 
Xavier is everything I wanted to do with Dan Montgomery where he's a colorful character, a forward (after I sheepishly moved Dan to defenseman), and even a non-USA player so I could make every world cup team. I chose to be from Martinique mostly because I wanted to pick a non-France French speaking country where I could flap my "flamingo" wings. This ended up being extra cool because it teaches people Americans like me do know geography, which some people refuse to believe. While this choice resulted in a few early exits in the world juniors tournament, it was still a great decision for me nonetheless (thanks @Pengu and @Zetterberg for those memories).
 
Which of course leads me to Xavier's time in the VHL, where I am today! I was lucky enough to be drafted by my once mentee (seriously) and now TPE whoring online-friend Enorama, at 20th overall. Like seriously guys read all of the above that I just wrote including DaaD calling me a VHL stud and then imagine I get taken 20th overall, what an absolute steal from my once mentee (I taught him well). I get to play with some new faces I've never seen before in @GRZ (The Great Mikko) and work under a great AGM I've never played with in @fonziGG, along with some ever familiar faces. I even got @McWolf (who I didn't want to not name here) kicked out of the lockerroom for spying because his player SuperSmall Hornet had made the VHL. As a whole, I'm happy with my VHL experience, and glad to see where it goes from here. Seriously, I sat down here to try my best at writing 450 words and now I'm over 900 so I get to claim this for a media spot next week as well, absolutely sick. In summary kids, stay in the VHL it's fun, it won't rot your brain... BARZY OUT
 
claiming 6+$500 donation bonus free week ending 6/21
claiming 6 2eek ending 6/28

Damn @Pengu ?

Welcome to the third edition of VSN’s S72 Weekly recap (Games 203-287).  We’ll cover a host of things in this recap each week including highlights of important VSN happenings, three stars of the week, power rankings, rookie profiles, and anything else of importance.
 
Speaking of other VSN content, make sure to check out the other great work from the greater VSN family! Here are a few handy links to check out, from our weekly podcasts to in-depth history articles, scouting reports, and more! 
 
Ringless | Under 250 | Early Standouts | Deep Rewind
 
Recap
 
This week was the nightmare of goalies around the league. With more than twice as many hat-tricks as we had shutouts, offences surged as defenders and net-minders alike scrambled to keep the puck out of the backs of their nets. Teams appear to be throwing a lot more pucks at the net, with the top goalies in the league still maintaining save percentages comparable to that of previous years. However, the top GAA numbers among starters are over a quarter of a goal worse than in recent seasons. On the offensive end of things, we have multiple players on pace to set the highest points totals since S68, perhaps even breaking triple digits once again.

But the big news everyone is talking about is the announcement of four new expansion teams coming in S73. This bold and aggressive move has been met with a mixed reception. While it is always exciting to see new teams enter the league and give opportunities for maximum ice-time to as many as possible, this decision comes at a time where parity already seems to be on the decline from the past few seasons. However, it is impossible to tell how much of that break in parity may have come as a result of General Managers, who knew about this expansion prior to the season, trying to get their rosters ready for the expansion draft and lower cap that will undoubtedly come with the move to sixteen teams. Regardless of your feelings on the expansion, it shines a new light on several recent trades that were almost certainly made with expansion concerns in mind.

3-Stars
 
First Star
A Red Guy (NYA) - 12 GP, .920 SV%, 2 SO
Second Star
Micheal Gary Scott (NYA) - 4 G, 20 A, 27 SB
Third Star
Lewis Dawson (MAL) - 5 G, 10 A, 19 Hits
 
Power Rankings

Thanks to @Pengu for this excellent graphic.
 
European Conference
 
This season’s European Conference has been too close to call right from the get-go. Here we are at the end of week 3 and we still have no clear picture of who will be missing playoffs. Not much has changed as far as power rankings go but the Riga Reign seem to have solidified top spot in the conference, capitalizing on a 3 game win streak to end the week. Helsinki are hot on the tails of Riga and should they slip up, the Titans will be waiting to leapfrog them into first place. HC Davos are just 3 points behind Helsinki and made a huge trade this week by acquiring Hunter Hearst Helmsley, so their intentions are clear, they want to make a serious run for the Cup. The final playoff spot belongs to Moscow but they are tied on points with Prague and are only in based on their superior goal differential. However, they do have a game in hand and will be hoping to use that to their advantage to put some room between them and the Reign. Still at the bottom of the standings are the Malmo Nighthawks but their playoff hopes are far from squashed. They sit just 3 points behind Prague and could very well find themselves in the playoffs if just a couple results go their way. There’s still lots to play for in this European Conference and it very well could go right down to the wire. 
 
North American Conference
 
Over in the North American conference, we still have the two top dogs going toe to toe for the coveted top spot. Calgary once again remains on top for the 3rd week running, closely followed by the Seattle Bears who are a mere one point behind the Wranglers and will be hoping to keep that pressure on as the season winds down. Having made some huge trades, and directly benefiting from those trades, the New York Americans have jumped up to 3rd place in our power rankings and the statement they made by acquiring Acyd Burn is clear for all to see; they want that cup! They are an impressive 8-1-1 over the last 10 games and have to be considered one of the most dangerous teams in the entire league as of now. Toronto might be slightly upset to fall to 4th in the power rankings, but they are just one point ahead of New York and the Americans have added some key pieces to their team that just slightly edges out the Legion. Vancouver has fully accepted that their time for contending is up, and is selling the farm. Parting ways with Hunter Hearst Helmsley this week, Vancouver is already 8 points behind New York and falling, and it’s hard to see them in a playoff spot come to the end of this season. Another 8 points behind Vancouver, we find the D.C. Dragons. Things just haven’t gone their way this season and they sit dead last in the entire league with only 34 points. If the Dragons manage to figure out just what is wrong with this team, they could make a push for that final playoff spot. There’s no denying the star power is there, but they will have to turn things around very quickly or they’ll be stuck in the basement all season long.
 
Notable Games
 
Game 206 - Seattle Bears vs. Calgary Wranglers
Early in the week, we got a showdown between the top two teams in the league. At the end of the week, Seattle still trailed Calgary by a point, but this game went a long way toward narrowing that gap. Despite the fact that Seattle held the lead for the majority of the game and never found themselves behind, this game felt very close. Until the fifty-ninth minute, when Guy LeGrande scored on an empty net, it looked as though the Wranglers might still wrest control away and send it to overtime. But in the end, this game really came down to powerplay production. Each team had six opportunities on the powerplay, but the victorious Bears netted two goals on the man advantage compared to the Wranglers’ zero.
 
Game 227 - Riga Reign vs. HC Davos Dynamo
We also got a game between the top two teams in the European Conference, although they were first and third at the time, that resulted in another match to keep you on the edge of your seat. Lincoln Tate stole the show with five assists, one on each Riga goal, and Codrick Past was a major player as well with four points of his own. It is fitting than the two of them combined for the two assists on the final, game-winning goal. Production on the Dynamo side of the puck was much more distributed, with nine different players appearing on the score sheet, but only Robin Winter with more than one point. When HC Davos scored their third in a row to take the lead at the midway point of the third period, it looks like they might have enough momentum to win the day, but the Reign quickly answered just a minute later and denied them overtime with a game-winner in the fifty-ninth minute..
 
Game 264 - Helsinki Titans vs. New York Americans 
Finally, we saw a matchup between the third-place teams in each conference. After seeing the first two notable games this week, I didn’t believe we could get a closer one, and I almost highlighted the 8-1 win Davos had over Malmo just to buck the trend, but this game was just crazy. This game became a battle between New York’s back-up goalie and Jim Bob, the Helsinki sophomore who, in fifty games, has already hit his point total from his rookie season. New York jumped out to an early two-goal lead in the first period, but the Titans brought that within one thirty seconds into the second. But for another thirty-five minutes, the two sides were at a stalemate. Then suddenly, Jim Bob ties it up with under five to go, but the Americans quickly answer with another go-ahead goal. So once again, it has to be Jim Bob to tie it up with under a minute to go. Overtime was scoreless, so we went to the shootout. The goalie who leads the league in save percentage among starters again New York’s backup. But after four rounds, a goal by Acyd Burn won the game for the Americans.

Events of the Week 

Fights
 
Game 233 - BRAWL!
These teams have some history, or as much history as a rivalry can have in just a few seasons in the league, and that showed as a brawl broke out just thirty-three seconds into the game. Gary Neal beat up Roll Fizzlebeef and Lewis Dawson beat up Ondrej Ohradka, who was then ejected from the game, and Condor Adrienne, Thomas Landry II, and Andrej Petrovic each received minors for their involvement.
Game 275 - Gritty beats up Graves and Jungkok beats up Ritchie
It was a rambunctious first period between the Wolves and Dragons and Vancouver got the upper hand through force. A minute after the first goal, Gritty and Benny Graves dropped gloves and Graves was sent to the ice quickly by the physical veteran. Three minutes after that, Jungkok found Raleigh Ritchie to much the same result. The Wolves violence didn’t end there either. In the Third period, Brock Louth was given a major and ejected for a vicious spearing. Something had the Wolves hot, but it paid off in this 5-1 victory.
 
Hat-Tricks
 
Game 221 - Codrick Past
A slug-fest at the top of the European Conference, this game had everything, two players with seven shots apiece, fifteen penalties and our first hat-trick of the week. Codrick Past scored all three goals for the Riga Reign in this one, but Acyd Burn kept it close and sent the game to the shoutout. The Reign would end up winning after outshooting the Dynamo 49-42.
Game 230 - Julius Freeman
On a new roster but hasn’t missed a beat, Julius Freeman stole the show, scoring the game-winner in an action-packed first period before finishing his hat-trick on the powerplay late in the third. Micheal Gary Scott should also get a little credit with three assists on the night.
Game 239 - Jerry Garcia
This is the game of the year for the HC Davos Dynamo. Half of their roster had a multi-point game, with Jet Jaguar racking up six points off a goal and five assists. However, the central figure of this event is Jerry Garcia, who scored his second hat-trick of the season. Over a quarter of his goals, this season have come in games where he got a hat-trick, so teams should be scared any time he puts one in the net.
Game 242 - Guy LeGrande
Guy LeGrande opened the scoring, put in the game-winner, and then completed his hat-trick just after the midway point of the game. The New York Americans escaped the first period down by just a goal, but by the time LeGrande was done with them, it was a 5-1 blowout.
Game 246 - Raleigh Ritchie
This should be about the point where you notice we had a lot of hat-tricks this week. Don’t worry, it isn’t over yet. Raleigh Ritchie got the D.C. Dragons on the board and then scored less than two minutes later to give them the lead. They would lose and regain that lead before he scored his next one, but with just six seconds left in the game, Ritchie scored the first hat-trick of his career.
Game 255 - Julius Freeman
With his second of the week, and of the season, Julius Freeman started the game off with an assist on a powerplay goal by Owen Nolan. He followed that up a few minutes later with a short-handed goal. However, the Phantoms and Americans entered the third tied. Freeman was having nothing of a tie and scored twice in the span of a minute and a half to put the game away.
Game 266 - Thomas Landry II
This is my favourite type of hat-trick when a player gets insanely hot for a short burst of time and simply can’t be stopped. That is what happened here with Thomas Landry II, scoring three goals in just under three minutes. Bonus fun fact about this game! Wolf Stansson Jr had four points this game, but none on Landry’s hat-trick goals. It is safe to say the whole team was on fire.
 
 
Shutouts
 
Game 218 - D.C. vs. New York
This game started out ugly for the Dragons and never really got any better. New York shocked their opponents with two goals in the first thirty-six second of the game. From there, they were able to sit back and control the game, scoring just one more before it was all said and done. But it was A Red Guy who stole the spotlight of the night as he earned the first shutout of the week with twenty-eight saves.
Game 244 - Helsinki vs. Vancouver
For a team that is fighting for first in their conference, the Helsinki Titans have a problem with getting shut out. This time it was Jimmy Spyro and the Wolves who did the honours. With twenty-two saves, Spyro earned his first shutout of the season. Despite having a bumpy ride in his first season as a starter, Spyro has always been able to dominate games and he got to show that proficiency here.
Game 269 - HC Davos vs. New York
In a week with an exceptionally low number of shutouts, A Red Guy managed to earn two of the only three this week. Facing twenty-two shots over the course of the game, the Americans allowed most of those in the first period. They only held a one-goal lead for the majority of the game, but A Red Guy shut the door for another great finish.

Rookie Spotlight
Zyrok12

Thanks to @Pengu for this excellent graphic.
 
Zyrok12 is a 16-year-old Spanish defenseman who is enjoying quite the amazing rookie season. First joining the VHLM in Season 71, with the Ottawa Lynx, Zyrok12 was out to prove to everyone that he was a force to be reckoned with. He had a very respectable first campaign where he picked up 54 points in 71 games, as well as helped the team to the Cup Finals with 15 points in 16 games which they unfortunately lost. Next season he was drafted 2nd overall into the VHLM by the Yukon Rush where he absolutely exploded for 117 points in 72 games. He would once again help lead his team to the finals, but come up just short, this time losing to his former team the Ottawa Lynx.
 
Drafted 12th overall by the Malmo Nighthawks he has built upon his success in the VHLM and has made the jump to the big leagues almost seamlessly. Being a strong, puck-moving, defence first d-man who skates effortlessly it’s not hard to see why he has seen so much early success. He comes in at 5th in rookie scoring, but could easily be in 3rd as he is just one point away from taking that spot. On top of all of this, Zyrok12 is an absolute workhorse. He is in the top 10 of the entire league for minutes played this season, and he earned the respect of his fellow teammates in Malmo, who voted him as Assistant Captain in his very first season.
 
As long as Zyrok12 continues to improve at his usual pace, he will be a great addition to the Malmo Nighthawks. His low shooting percentage is somewhat suspect, but you can attribute that to bad luck. Perhaps some work is needed on the scoring front for Zyrok12, as he has scored just 2 goals so far this season, but as he gains experience his shot selection will become better and better. Since he is not the biggest guy, he will need to focus on his skating in order to be successful at the highest levels, but he is certainly someone to keep an eye on in the very near future.
 
 

@Pengu is a graphical wizard deserving of thanks and praise.
 
 HC Davos Dynamo Receive: 
 
C Hunter Hearst Helmsley
S74 VAN 3rd
 
 New York Americans Receive: 
 
LW Acyd Burn
S74 DAV 2nd
 
 Vancouver Wolves Receive: 
 
RW Dalton Wilcox
S73 NYA 2nd
S74 NYA 1st
 
Analysis
 
Another day, another massive blockbuster trade in the VHL. In a season filled with big trades, we're treated to more of the same as two of the biggest stars of the VHL are on the move, along with a slew of draft picks. Jerry Garcia and the HC Davos Dynamo are sending Acyd Burn to Esso Drunkmann and the New York Americans, with Hunter Hearst Helmsley headed to Davos. Keaton Louth and the Vancouver Wolves get an S74 NYA 1st, S73 NYA 2nd and a reliable veteran in Dalton Wilcox.
 

 
The biggest part of the trade, naturally, is VSN's top-ranked player on the Top 25, Hunter Hearst Helmsley, moving to Davos. General Manager Jerry Garcia's squad is a very different one from Season 71, now looking to contend for a Continental Cup. While a young core still remains in place, there's now a massive wealth of veteran talent that makes the HC Davos Dynamo a true contender this season. As it stands, they won't have much of a draft class next season, and that's ok. If they manage to retain enough of the veterans, this team will only get stronger as players like Roque Davis, SS Hornet and Robin Winters develop. The biggest question mark this season is whether or not veteran goaltender Samuel Ross will be good enough in net for Davos to lift the Cup. Joakim Bruden has the potential to be their guy in the future, but this season, it will be up to Ross. If Ross can elevate his game, the Dynamo's roster is good enough to beat anyone. 
 

 
With Acyd Burn now joining his fifth team in five seasons, it looks as if he might have finally found his forever home with the New York Americans. "After speaking with Acyd and his representation, we felt confident that New York would be an excellent place to finish his career and push for some silverware. Who doesn't love the Big Apple?" stated New York Americans Assistant General Manager Alabaster Slim, with General Manager Esso Drunkmann considerably too inebriated to field questions. "We are a team composed of many veterans and perhaps the young core of Davos just wasn't quite the right fit for him."
 
It's been a rough couple of seasons for New York, but this time, it seems as if the playoffs are finally in reach for the Americans. With the D.C. Dragons struggling and Vancouver unexpectedly committing to a rebuild, New York should make the playoffs by default, but just getting there isn't going to be enough for them. "We weren't looking to the future when making these trades," continued Slim for the incapacitated Drunkmann. "Our aim was to compete now. We didn't feel like starting a rebuild early was plausible and we were confident we only needed a couple of pieces to really take this team to the next level. Furthermore, our top line of (Soren) Jensen, Burn and (Julius) Freeman is likely one of the most dangerous in the league as well."
 

 
With General Manager Keaton Louth unexpectedly committing to a rebuild earlier in the season, it's been a changing of the guard for the Wolves. Franchise mainstays Julius Freeman and Hunter Hearst Helmsley are now gone as Vancouver prepares for a new core to be built. "I think I got great value for two older players," Louth stated in a press conference held after the trade. "It sucks to move them after playing together in Vancouver for so long, but it had to be done."
 
However, Louth has done a tremendous job of getting Vancouver ready for the future. "Vancouver has six first-round picks in the next two drafts and some of them will be fringe-lotto picks," continued Louth. "Grab some fresh new talent to inject into our core and try to sign a couple of big free agents."
 
With two first-round picks in the upcoming Season 73 VHL Entry Draft and four in Season 74, Vancouver certainly does have the tools to build a home-grown core, and they may need to depend on that. After signing free agents Smitty Werbenjagermanjensen and Gritty under the guise of competing for the Continental Cup, then proceeding to start a rebuild, luring free agents to the Wolves may prove to be tougher for Louth than he anticipates. But as lower round picks lose value with the big expansion changing the draft to 16 picks per round, Louth ultimately won't need to rely on outside signings. If he can maximize those picks, and hit on some gambles with the wealth of second-round picks he has, Vancouver may become too good of a destination for free agents to hold the experiences of Werbenjagermanjensen and Gritty against him. 
 
Overall, Davos benefits the most immediately. Adding a player like HHH makes them an immediate threat to any contender, especially when they really didn't pay a whole lot. New York ended up paying more for an extra season of Acyd Burn, who has not had much luck sticking with teams since being moved from Seattle. However, his timeline fits perfectly with the Americans', so it's quite possible he'll stick around here. Vancouver continues to stockpile draft picks, and with clever drafting, they will be right back in the thick of things again. Surprisingly enough, it's Garcia and Davos taking the biggest gamble with this move. They move a second-rounder in S74 and Acyd Burn for essentially half of a season of Helmsley. As a pending UFA, it's ultimately up to HHH where he spends his final season, which means there's a distinct possibility that half a season is all Garcia gets from this trade. Of course, it won't matter if the HC Davos Dynamo win the Continental Cup, but they could also be left empty-handed if they don't win the Cup and Helmsley leaves. Vancouver certainly is the safest bet to get the most value, but if this trade gets Davos or New York a Cup, they'll have gotten what they wanted too. One thing's for sure: this will be a fun trade to revisit down the road.
 
Get-to-Know the Players
 
Hunter Hearst Helmsley
 
Ranked as the top player in the VHL in VSN's annual Top 25, Hunter Hearst Helmsley was certainly playing at that level this season. With 58 points in 46 games, he's already surpassed his career lows and this season could be among his best. At times, Helmsley was on pace to score over 100 points at times, his production slowed with Julius Freeman traded away. Still scoring well above a point per game, HHH will look to prove that his success wasn't dependent on Freeman, his long-time teammate. Joining a very powerful group of forwards in Davos, all eyes will be on HHH to see if his torrid pace from earlier in the season will resume. 
 
Acyd Burn
 
Didn't we just write one of these for Acyd Burn? The two-time Continental Cup winner with the Seattle Bears is now joining his fifth VHL team in the past two seasons as he heads to the New York Americans. Although clearly on a better pace than his last with Malmo/Riga, things still didn't seem quite right in Davos for Burn. As big name after big name marched into Davos, many wondered if he was playing to his full potential. With his move to the Big Apple, we're going to get our answer, one way or the other. 
 
Dalton Wilcox
 
While all the buzz of this trade is on a franchise player leaving the team he's spent  most of his career playing for, it's easy to overlook Dalton Wilcox. The 28th overall pick of the Season 67 VHL Entry Draft by the Malmo Nighthawks, Wilcox has instead been an integral piece for the New York Americans after they acquired him in a trade. The reliable right-winger has never scored less than 20 goals in a season and has been a strong player on the power play, recording 11 power-play goals three separate times during his career. As Vancouver enters a rebuild, Wilcox is a tremendous veteran presence to have around for the young players left on the Wolves.
 
Players Mentioned: @Beaviss, @Acydburn, @Dalton Wilcox, @GustavMattias, @Esso2264, @Josh, @McWolf, @Sonnet, @Brrbisbrr, @PadStack, @Hylands33, @Velevra, @rjfryman, @flyersfan1453, @eaglesfan0366 
 
Under 250: the VHLM Review | Top 24 Standouts | VSN Weekly Review | Future Watch | Ringless | The Talents Behind the Trophies | WJC Team Rankings | WJC Update 1 | WJC Update 2 | WJC Update 3 | WJC Update 4

I literally learned so much in so little time thanks to you Motza. Sad to see you go!

Hi everyone,
 
This is an official resignation from my position at  @VSN .
 

 
I was very happy to accept this position from @Banackock when VSN was re-vamped. I enjoy working on different projects as this site is too oriented towards signatures being the only means of graphics (still to this day).
 
I have been happy to make various content from many articles and announcements; however, I am not enjoying the role any longer and the work required. Too much is coming last minute and too much is becoming mundane – although VSN has come a long way and provides good writing content, the graphics portion is stagnant and dull considering the nature of how quick graphics are needed and when I can fit time into my busy real life.
 
I’d like to get back at creating content for fun rather than creating content for an article title, a trade, or an awards show. VSN has sucked the ‘creative’ life out of me so to speak.
 
Thank you to @FrostBeard and all the writers!
 
VSN will be in good hands with @Pengu and the future new hire for graphics.
 
- Motza
 

1. No idea but it was fun making the trade graphic
2. Let's just say yes
3. We just need to eat more and drink more together
4. Having new young blood to take away playing time is a good motivator
5. Flipping off seals and walruses
6. The level of competition is way tougher than the NHL hah!
7. Would like a Narwhal!

Welcome to the second edition of VSN’s S72 Weekly recap (Games 120-202).  We’ll cover a host of things in this recap each week including highlights of important VSN happenings, three stars of the week, power rankings, rookie profiles, and anything else of importance.
 
But first, make sure to check out the other great work from the greater VSN family! Here are a few handy links to check out, from our weekly podcasts to in-depth history articles, scouting reports, and more!
Under 250 Review | Trade Alerts | Ringless: The S54 Stockholm Vikings
 
Recap
 
Welcome to Week 2 of VSN’s ongoing weekly coverage of the VHL. I would just like to preface this week’s article to say a thank you to the staff here as they have made my transition to full time writer seamless, and I am immensely proud to be representing the VSN here. Without further ado, let’s get into this week’s action.
 
What a whirlwind the VHL turned out to be this week! Some major trades happened early in the week, and to everybody’s surprise, it was some of the league's most dangerous talent on the trading block. Seemingly entering rebuild mode, the Vancouver Wolves traded away their crown jewel and captain Julius Freeman along with a couple of 4th round picks in a three-way trade. In the European Conference, we had Moscow join the rebuild party by also trading away their captain and star forward, Jet Jaguar. 
 
Looking at what happened on the ice, some interesting trends are starting to appear. We have seen an increase in scoring across the league, with 12 skaters currently on pace to breach the 80 point plateau, while last season only had 3 players reach that same mark. With a strong last 10 games, going 7-3-0, the Riga Reign sit atop the European Conference tied on points with HC Davos, but ahead on goal difference. Meanwhile, in the North American Conference the top two teams, Calgary and Seattle are in a close and heated battle for the top spot, while the other teams battle it out for the final two playoff spots.
 
3-Stars
 
First Star
Lincoln Tate (RIG) - 5 G, 16 A, 41 Hits
Second Star
Julius Freeman (NYA) - 9 G, 10 A, +8
Third Star
Raymond Bernard (MOS) - .905 SV%, 2.67 GAA, 1 SO
 
Power Rankings

@Pengu with the incredible power rankings graphic
European Conference
 
The story of the European Conference is very consistent with that of last week. The gap between first and last in the conference has widened by just one point, from six to seven. While they have yet to achieve sole possession of first at any point, the Riga Reign are the clear number one as the only team in the conference with a positive goal differential. The HC Davos Dynamo and Helsinki Titans have both struggled to put together back to back wins all week, but that has been even worse for the Titans as they are not only a point back, but the Reign and Dynamo each have a game in hand. While I expect some stratification of the conference eventually, I would not be surprised if these teams stay close throughout the rest of the season. At the bottom half of the conference, you once again have three teams separated by only a point. However, my money is solidly on the Moscow Menace at the moment. Raymond Bernard has put the team on his back, and I find it hard to believe that their scoring drought will last forever. Conversely to Moscow’s league-leading defence, we have the Prague Phantoms. Despite leading the conference in goals, their one hundred and eleven goals against is the highest in the league. Somehow, Virgil Ligriv has four points already this season, and if the Phantoms can figure out what is going on in front of him it will be interesting to see if he can return to his form from last season. Finally, the Malmo Nighthawks are being single-handedly carried by Condor Adrienne. Without him, I shudder to think where this team would be. With him, however, they are certainly in the running for the last playoff spot in the conference.
 
North American Conference
 
Completely inverse to the EC is the North American Conference. Twenty-one points separate first and last as well as a goal differential of fifty-five goals. At the beginning of the week, it looked as though the Calgary Wranglers may have been running away with the conference, but as the week went on, the Seattle Bears drew within a point. Beyond the point advantage, Calgary also has the slight bonus of having played their backup goalie more than Seattle so far this season. The Toronto Legion fell back to eight points behind, but they maintained a decent cushion from fourth and fifth at their backs. Among the biggest news of the week, The Vancouver Wolves appeared to be throwing in the towel, trading their best player, Julius Freeman, away to the New York Americans, their closest competitor. However, at the end of the week, they still sit one point ahead of the Americans, acting as gatekeepers of the playoff race. With the addition of Freeman, I expect New York to overtake them, but it will be interesting to watch just how long that takes. There is also always a chance that Vancouver has plans for the roughly four million in cap space they now have in order to make another push to the top. At the bottom, we have the D.C. Dragons. Coming into this season, it was obvious that the North American Conference would be a slugfest, but I for one did not see D.C. suffering this much.  At this point, it would be hard to argue against a Boris the Forest curse.
 
Notable Games
 
Game 123 - Seattle Bears vs. Calgary Wrangles 
In a rematch of one of last week’s featured games, the top two teams in the league found themselves facing off yet again. Seattle would come out on top this time after a fantastic team performance in which all but two of their contracted skaters contributed with at least a point. A fantastic back and forth game where Calgary showed some signs of a fight, but came up short in the end and had fans at the edges of their seats from puck drop to the final buzzer. A fine First Star performance from Ray Sheilds along with help from the usual suspects in Ambrose Stark and Berocka Sundqvist was enough to keep these two amazing teams neck and neck at the top of the standings. Also, let’s not forget leading points getter and goal scorer for the Wranglers, Mikko Lahtinen, notched 2 tallies and his total at the end of the week landed him tied for first in the league with 23 goals.
 
Game 167 - Riga Reign vs. Toronto Legion 
What a dominant performance by the Riga Reign, in all aspects of the game, this was. Phenomenal goaltending, solid and responsible defensive work, along with amazing offensive prowess was on display as Riga brushed aside the Legion. The Reign’s offence was firing on all cylinders and was spearheaded by Season 71’s first overall pick, Kyl Oferson, who scored a tremendous hat trick. Toronto kept the Reign’s goaltender, Greg Eagles, busy all game as they put up 33 shots, but they just weren’t quality enough to really threaten Riga’s strong performance. Kristopher McDagg of the Legion ended the game with 2 assists and logged the most time on the ice in the entire game playing a whopping 32 minutes and 39 seconds.
 
Game 173 HC Davos vs. Helsinki Titans 
In this European Conference battle, we had two teams right in the thick of a playoff race looking to shore up on points and cement their berth in the postseason. Many people expected fireworks in this one but instead, we got more of a chess match. Neither team managed to muster up much of any momentum in this close-fought battle and overtime was needed to decide a winner. Only allowing one goal and coming up with big saves when Helsinki needed them most, Michael Johnson had a great game with 23 saves. However, it was Ben Hafkey who played the role of hero on this night as he scored a wonderful goal just 1:26 into the overtime period to seal a victory for Helsinki. Acyd Burn scored the lone goal for HC Davos.
 
Events of the Week
 
Fights
 
Game 134 - FULL LINE BRAWL!
Wow! This action-packed game between Calgary and Moscow culminated in a huge line brawl shortly after Moscow had brought the game to within one midway through the 3rd period. Jacob Perry and Mikko Lahtinen fought to an inconclusive draw, Sigard Gunnar got the best of Nate Telker and Aleelee Kiak scuffled with RJ Jubis but neither landed any finishing blows.
Game 172 - BRAWL!
Another brawl, but this time in a cross-conference game. Markus Nygren got himself ejected for instigating a fight with Codrick Past and his linemate Randy Marsh got into a shakeup with Pengu with nobody coming out on top in either fight.
Game 199 - HHH Fights Twice
Hunter Hearst Helmsley won’t be extremely proud of these two fights. He got laid out by Sigard Gunnar in the 1st period, and maybe his ego took a bit of a hit because he sought out to gain redemption and this time took up a fight with Tyler Barabash Jr. He will have done himself no good here as the fight resulted in the two grappling awkwardly before the refs broke them up.
 
Hat-Tricks
 
Game 133 - ACL TEAR
This young Davos side sure is an exciting team to watch, but it was one of the old guards that was at the forefront of this game. ACL TEAR put on a show of his own against the D.C. Dragons where he scored a hat trick, including the eventual game-winner, and even added one more for good measure bringing his tally on the night up to four. Also of note, ACL TEAR did not need the power play to help him out as all four goals were scored at even strength.
Game 165 - Ola Vikingstad
In a match between two of the recent powerhouses of the league, it was Ola Vikingstad of the Seattle Bears who had the last laugh. It was a pretty dominant game for the Bears, easily overcoming their opponents, and they have Vikingstad to thank for that. Ola scored a natural hat trick that was split between the 2nd and 3rd period which helped lead his team to a 4-1 win.
Game 167 - Kyl Oferson
This match between two teams right in the middle of an intense playoff battle was one to remember for Kyl Oferson. He scored half of his team's goals with a wonderful hat trick and is showing that he is ready to be a consistent contributor in his sophomore season. Nearly equalling his goal total from last season in 40 fewer games the sky really is the limit for this great young talent.
 
Shutouts
 
Game 124 - D.C. vs. Riga
Earning the first shutout of week 2, we had Stone Wolski of the D.C. Dragons who came up with a 14 save effort, for his second shutout of the season, against Riga Reign in a close game that ended 1-0. Perhaps a fire was lit underneath the Dragons’ bellies after stumbling out of the starting blocks to begin the season.
Game 141 - Malmo vs. D.C. In what will probably turn out to be the weirdest shutout of the season, D.C. were shutout by the Nighthawks, which seems pretty normal when you look at it on paper. However, this shutout was recorded by Malmo’s emergency backup! Yes, that’s right folks, Malmo does not have a proper backup goaltender and their emergency backup managed eight saves, for a shutout, in a game which was dominated by the Nighthawks. Game 144 - Moscow vs. Helsinki I’m not sure what Helsinki did to anger Raymond Bernard so much, because this is now the third time this season that he has shutout the Titans. After a 41 save performance in Week 1, Bernard is back at it again, this time with 37 saves en route to his third shutout of the season, all of which have come against Helsinki. A lone goal in the 3rd period by Mat Tocco was enough to seal the victory. Game 150 - Moscow vs. D.C. Back to back shutouts from the goaltending duo in Moscow must have you thinking the Menace are on a tear up the standings! Look for yourself, however, and you will find them anchored at the bottom. A 31 save game from backup Clayton Park and a couple of points from Mat Tocco helped them to a 2-0 win. Game 170 - Malmo vs. Toronto Recently acquired Malmo goaltender Solomon Crawford stopped all 34 shots in a tough game against Toronto. His first appearance for the team will be one to remember and General Manager John Frostbeard must be happy with the instant impact. Game 180 - Prague vs. Malmo It wasn’t the most eventful shutout of the season, but Virgil Ligriv will be happy nonetheless after making 20 saves in a 2-0 victory against Malmo for his first shutout of the season. Furthermore, Virgil was traded from Malmo earlier this week and will undoubtedly be extremely happy to shut out his former employer in his first game against them. Game 198 - Toronto vs. Moscow Picking up his second shutout of the season, Jaxx Hextall had a solid game where he made 23 saves in Toronto’s victory over Moscow. Not the toughest shutout of his career, but one that he will be proud of nonetheless. Toronto walked out as 3-0 winners with Teemu Lehtinen Jr snagging two points.  
Rookie Spotlight
Vladimir Shaposhnikov

Thank you @Pengu for this awesome banner as well
 
Vladimir Shaposhnikov spent some extra time in the VHLM, bouncing from team to team. He picked up a cup in his first season with the Saskatoon Wild. He was then drafted late in the second round by the Houston Bulls. He proved to be quite the steal for them, scoring fifty-eight points and helping them make it into the second round of the playoffs. Meanwhile, he was drafted by the Helsinki Titans in the VHL. In the offseason that followed, Shaposhnikov was traded by the Bulls to the Las Vegas Aces. There, he became a centrepiece of that team, scoring one hundred and two points and another ten points in the postseason.
 
Entering S72, the Titans were strapped for cap space and Vladimir was due to be called up. They traded his rights away to the Toronto Legion where he joined the squad immediately. Since then, he has had a solid play, with sixteen points in thirty-four games. Arguably, it is the unexpected play from skaters like Vladimir that has allowed the Legion to rise so far above what everyone expected of them this season. After their disappointing recent history, it is exciting to see surprising young players like this be such a big part of their return.
 
Going forward, I would like to see Shaposhnikov get back to what he did best. Given his goal-scoring capabilities in the VHLM, I think his shooting percentage should come up over the course of the season. If the pucks begin to bounce in his favour, Vlad could make a big impact in the weeks to come. I think improvements also need to be made to his defensive game. Shaposhnikov can be invisible at times in his own zone, but that is common with young players. He has the size, I expect we will start seeing him throw his weight around as he becomes more comfortable playing at this level.
 
 

Special thanks to @Pengu for being a beauty and making this!
 
New York Americans Receive: 
 
Julius Freeman
S74 TOR 4th
S73 TOR 4th
 
Toronto Legion Receive:
 
Fredrik Elmebeck
 
Vancouver Wolves Receive:
 
Ryo Yamazuki II
S74 NYA 2nd
S74 MAL 1st
 

Analysis 

Our second major trade of the week, it looks like we aren’t going to have to wait for the trade deadline this season to see the big moves. Not only that, but we also got an interesting three-team trade. As usual, I will first examine what each team got, then talk a bit about who got the best value, and finally, we will take a look at the players in the trade.
 
The big headline of this trade is Julius Freeman going to the New York Americans. The Americans also received a couple of fourth-round picks, but those are usually inconsequential as the VHL stands today. Freeman is undoubtedly a future hall-of-famer and I would be shocked if Vancouver doesn’t retire his number. With Julius, the Americans are receiving a perennial scoring threat, power-play quarterback, and lockerroom leader. New York is currently tied in points with Vancouver, but this move makes clear which of these teams sees themselves as a contender this season. If the Americans make a deep playoff run, Freeman also provides a lot of experience in that regard, including having his name on the cup.
 
It is somewhat shocking to see the Vancouver Wolves packing it up this early in the season, especially when you consider that, even without Freeman, they may still be able to make the playoffs. However, with any path to the finals likely going through both Seattle and Calgary, it is understandable that they are looking past this season already. So what did the Wolves receive to prepare for the future? Ryo Yamazuki II is a depth forward that could find a home on most rosters. He likely won’t ever be a top-line talent, but he is exactly the type of player you want to fill out the rest of your roster. He is also in a contract year, so, if there is always a chance he will be gone in free agency, so I think this was more of cap move for New York than anything. The real prize for Vancouver is those picks. A first and a second in S74 means that they will have to wait to see the true value of this trade. However, with Malmo entering their rebuild a season earlier than many expected, their S74 first-round pick may be less valuable than it seemed when New York acquired it. 
 
As a side note, the ways in which New York got screwed by the John Frostbeard trade are extensive and deserve their own article. All I will say about that trade here is that the retirement of Frostbeard and the early tank of Malmo both destroyed the value the Americans got from that trade and are some of the keep factors that necessitated their acquisition of another top forward in Julius Freeman.
 
Finally, we have the Toronto element. Allowing New York to free up enough cap space to acquire Julius Freeman, the Toronto Legion receive Fredrick Elmebeck. Now, I’m going to drop the pretence of talking about this simulation league as though these are real players and real teams for a moment. For those of you who don’t know, Elmebeck passed away four months ago. He has since been memorialized with the Fredrik Elmebeck Memorial Trophy for the most exceptional members of our community. Elmebeck had a close relationship with Peace after working together in Saskatoon. The value that Peace gets out of this trade is his own and I will not sully that by talking strategy or return.

Get-to-Know the Players

Julius Freeman
Drafted 2nd overall in S66, Julius Freeman made his presence known immediately with thirty-nine points in his rookie season. He followed that up by lifting the Continental Cup in just his second season. Two-time Kevin Brooks trophy winner, Freeman has been overlooked for other awards throughout his career, but his stats can not be ignored. He finished S71 one point shy of bringing his career average to a point per game.

Leaving the Wolves for the first time, it is exciting to see what changes may come under a new system. Over the past two seasons, Freeman has already adopted a more physical play-style and is already in triple-digit hits just a third of the way into the season. With the increased physicality, he has also spent a lot more time in the penalty box this season. New York has to be hoping that can be changed because this is a player you want on the ice at every opportunity.

Ryo Yamazuki II
Next, we have Ryo Yamazuki II, drafted late in the third round of S68, the New York Americans got an absolute steal. After spending an extra season in the minors, Yamazuki scored thirty-nine points in his rookie season, funny enough, the same as Freeman. After a bit of a sophomore slump, he returned to form last season and is once again on pace for a solid thirty-five to forty point season.

On Vancouver’s roster, he will be relegated to the third line most likely, but, if he is unsatisfied with that, he will be a free agent at the end of this season and I am sure there are a lot of teams looking for his kind of talent to fill out their second line.

Fredrik Elmebeck
Please visit this thread and view many of the great remembrances of a great person. That is all.
 
 

Would like to reserve the right to share the spoils with someone else in GrittyIsKing's position, should they come forward - much respect to Der Meister's gesture. I said in the board I'd be doing 200 before we even had a drive, and I am a man of my word. (Plus this actually worked out cheaper anyway - 200 Canadian here plus the 40 unrelated donation I posted in the board thread that isn't part of the drive is still cheaper than 200 American)

Confirmed. -sterling (Pass it onto another member if you wish)

Special thanks to @Pengu for being a beauty and making this!
 
 HC Davos Dynamo Receive: 
 
C Jet Jaguar
RW Killy Foilen
S74 MOS 3rd
 
 Moscow Menace Receive: 
 
RW Derek Eriksson
LW Michael Hall
LW Milos Slavik
S73 MOS 1st
S74 DAV 3rd
 
Analysis
 
This may not be the first trade of Season 72, but it is for sure the first bombshell transaction. It's the end of an era in Moscow, for 23 games into the season, General Manager Victor Alfredsson has decided that it's just not in the cards this season, and franchise icon Jet Jaguar is on the move. Naturally, if you're going to embrace the tank, you need your first-round pick, which the Menace didn't have. The HC Davos Dynamo and General Manager Jerry Garcia, however, had that pick and were able to work something out with Alfredsson and Moscow, otherwise, you wouldn't be reading this article. 
 
"I don't think it's any secret at this point that I'm planning to build a competitor this season," said Garcia in a press conference held when the trade was announced. "Jaguar is the main piece for me and represents the main star power, and Foilen is at a point where he can certainly be a solid contributor as well. So, I'm hoping this gives us some improvement this season and increases our chances of being a competitor."
 
After acquiring big names like Acyd Burn and ACL Tear over the off-season, Davos still found themselves in the middle of the pack. By moving some depth players and their only first of Season 73, they add a perennial top-five player of the VSN Top 25 rankings, Jet Jaguar, along with Killy Foilen. Although he's nearing the end of his illustrious career, Jaguar continues to perform at a point per game level, with 11 goals and 13 assists for 24 points in 23 games. The HC Dynamo have boasted strong wingers, and although they have a future stud in SS Hornet, they needed a pure centre to really push in Season 72, and Jet Jaguar will do exactly that. Foilen has been primarily a role player for Moscow but has experience in big games. He was a member of the Season 69 Saskatoon Wild, perhaps the best VHLM team ever, and was also on the Season 70 Moscow team that won the Continental Cup. With an elite scoring talent and another veteran, both with Cups under their belts, Davos has gone from a team at the bottom to a very talented and deep squad. The European Conference is wide open this season, and the HC Dynamo have a very real chance of going worst to first now.
 
It's a black day for Moscow, as seeing a franchise talent like Jet Jaguar leave is simply never a day you want to see come. With the losses of players like Dan Baillie, Smitty Werbenjagermanjensen, Gritty, and now Jaguar and Killy Foilen, it truly is the end of an era for the Menace. 
 
"I had suspicions about Moscow's ability to keep competing since the end of last season when we were outmatched by Seattle in the finals," stated General Manager Victor Alfredsson. "As the season progressed though, we were clearly drifting further away from the contenders and potentially going to miss the playoffs without having our own first-round pick. So with our window clearly slamming shut,  I had to make the difficult decision of trading two fan favourites in Jaguar and Foilen, but also ageing, to get our 1st back. Plus also Eriksson and Hall who I think public opinion is sleeping on and will make the trade for us in the long run."
 
This move definitely seems to indicate that Moscow's reign at the top of the European Conference is over, at least for now. The crown jewel of the trade is clearly regaining their Season 73 1st Round pick, the value of which has grown even more with this trade. The hardships that Alfredsson and the Menace will endure the rest of the way will now, at least, result in the addition of a top prospect to their new core. The excitement over bringing in Derek Eriksson and Michael Hall, however, couldn't be missed, and there's reason to believe that Alfredsson is right about them. They likely won't be superstars like Jet Jaguar, but they are consistently improving prospects that have the potential to become quality players of the new core, which are essential to any rebuild. Milos Slavik is a guy who can fill a role now but is definitely a flier at this point. His work ethic has all but vanished, but if his drive to become a better player would return, suddenly it becomes a steal. However, that's a rather slim possibility, but still worth the gamble. 
 
But as far as gambles go, this is a big one for Davos and Garcia. They definitely receive more immediate value, and having Jaguar under contract for the rest of his career is big. This is a move that very well could result in a Continental Cup, which of course would immediately make the trade worth it for Davos. Long-term, it's tipping in Moscow's favourite. They get off to a good start on the rebuild by getting their Season 73 1st Round pick back, along with two players who should factor nicely into it. As it stands today, this is a pretty even trade, and one I can't fault either GM for making. Ultimately, I get the feeling that whether or not Jet Jaguar is able to bring a Continental Cup to Davos is what will ultimately decide the winner of this trade. 
 
Get-to-Know the Players
 
Jet Jaguar
 
The 10th overall pick of the Season 66 VHL Entry Draft has been among the league's best players virtually his entire career. Scoring 40 goals and 90 points as a rookie, Jet Jaguar quickly established himself as one of the VHL's elite. Although his numbers dipped the next two seasons, Season 69 (nice) marked the return of his elite scoring prowess, scoring 35 goals to go with 85 points. Season 70, however, was the Year of the Jaguar. With a career-high 42 goals and 55 assists, Jaguar led the VHL with 97 points, winning the Mike Szatkowski Trophy as Moscow crushed all opponents. The dominant year ended in triumph, as the Menace proceeded to win the Continental Cup. Although he didn't replicate those numbers in Season 71, Jet Jaguar remains as dangerous as ever, especially on a Davos team gunning for the Cup.
 
Killy Foilen
 
Although definitely not a star player like Jet Jaguar, Killy Foilen still made his mark in Moscow. As a member of the Season 69 Saskatoon Wild, Foilen also was part of the Season 70 Moscow team that won the Continental Cup. After stepping up his game in Season 71, Foilen became a rock star in Moscow for demolishing Ola Vikingstad in Game 5 of the Continental Cup Finals. His role elevated again for Season 72, Foilen instead now finds himself in Davos, where his championship pedigree will be a huge asset for a team seeking to return to glory. 
 
Derek Eriksson
 
After two seasons with the Philadelphia Reapers, Derek Eriksson made the leap to the VHL in Season 71 with the HC Davos Dynamo, putting together a very respectable 35 points on a team that didn't have much to celebrate. This season, he had ten points in 23 games before being relocated to Moscow. As a solid depth player that is consistently improving, General Manager Victor Alfredsson is right to be pleased to have added Eriksson to Moscow's new core. 
 
Michael Hall
 
Drafted by the HC Davos Dynamo with the last pick of the third round in the past draft, Michael Hall moves on having never suited up for them. Showing promise in Season 71 by scoring 30 goals with the Houston Bulls, Hall is currently a part of the VHLM-leading Minnesota Storm. Establishing himself as a viable scoring option, with 26 points he is averaging over a point per game. If he continues to improve his game at a consistent level, he could be making his pro debut as early as next season.
 
Milos Slavik
 
Originally a prospect on course to be a major steal as a third-round pick, Milos Slavik's work ethic suddenly evaporated. What made him such a promising player suddenly made him a guy capable of little more but eating up minutes and roster space. His agent has a tremendous history of producing quality talent, so it's definitely worth the shot at acquiring him, but unfortunately, a return to form doesn't appear to be in the cards.
 
Players Mentioned: @gorlab, @Aye my name jeff, @DirtyDerek, @Hops, @Frank, @Victor, @GustavMattias, @Acydburn, @Quik, @McWolf, @wcats, @flyersfan1453, @ContinentalCup036, @Dil