Da_Berr

Power Rankings? Who cares about those. We all know that power rankings are made by nerds at desks, with pinstriped ties, with no knowledge of the game at all. Patrik Tallinder, whose that? Sounds like a nerd. Not putting Canada at number 1? This guy must be worse at his job than actual NHL refs. Now here I'm going to tell you the cold hard facts about the WJC. Canada is number 1, screw your power rankings. You heard it here first folks, Canada is taking home the gold. Let's look at the competition and what this "Patrik Tallinder" ranked them as.

#1 Europe?

 I'm sorry but this ranking isn't on who's the best at starting world wars, next.

#2 USA?

 Apologies but they got lost in the nearest Target, trying to figure out how to convert metric into imperial.

#3 Canada?

 This is absolute blasphemy that Canada isn't #1. Lack of Depth? This ain't a swimming pool kiddo, try again.

Asia and World #4 and #5?

Good bottom of the barrel like they should be.

As always thanks for tuning into the REAL WJC POWER RANKINGS. Done by someone who isn't a nerd.

Deleted

We love you @Toast!

1. Getting use to the team and the locker room chemistry, it hasn't been the best start for me though.

2. Get the Ottawa "Legend" Joakim Sakic.

3. We're getting that cup for sure this year. Champs or bust.

4. No idea, maybe something with 90's rock?

5. A couple of whiskey sours.

6. Haven't been here long enough to judge him, but he seems active enough.

The Hounds haven't had the greatest season so far. They are currently fighting for the last playoff spot with Halifax, who is ahead of them by 2 points. Their poor form this season is to be expected, with the management opting to stock up for S72. As such, their most recent trade involving center Andrew Su didn't come as much of surprise. Su, who is the team's leading scorer with 66 points and the captain of the team, was approached by General Manager, Berocka, this afternoon. Below is a transcript of the call.

Berocka: What are your plans for next season do you want to move up to the VHL is that your goal?

Su: I'm planning to move up. Wanna play a full 8 seasons

Berocka: Would you like to go to a contending team this season and make a run for a cup as a centre

Su: Yeah, no offence you guys have been great but I would like to contend this year

Berocka: Okay I will set up a trade. I am looking at sending you to Ottawa are you happy with that?

Su: Sure, thanks and best of luck for the future for you guys

Su was traded to the Lynx for both Ottawa's first and second-round picks in the upcoming S72 draft, putting the Hounds in a solid spot next season. The Lynx also benefits from this trade as they finally get a true and tested second-line center. This move does leave a sour taste in some fans' mouths as they believe Su is copping out, ditching a team that he was supposed to be captain for. This is compounded with the fact that recently the AGM of the Hounds, DoktorFunk, left to GM for the Lynx. Some fans believe that both Su and Funk are taking the "easy way" to get to a cup. In conclusion, it is safe to say that both of them won't be getting any free drinks in Mississauga the next time they're there.

D.C 4 - 2

259 New York Americans @ Calgary Wranglers

260 HC Davos Dynamo @ Vancouver Wolves

261 Malmo Nighthawks @ Riga Reign

262 Toronto Legion @ D.C. Dragons 

1. We all still love you, even if you are traitorous filth now.

2. Maybe, really depends on how quickly our new goalie can improve.

3. Popped open a couple of brewskis with him, and then went to the local night club.

4. Defense for sure.

5. He seems like he knows what he's doing well enough.

6. I would nominate JBrew, he's been working hard and doing well enough to deserve the award.

1. Watching the Oilers play when I was 4.

2. Game, playing a lot of MB2 right now

3. I am actually trash at face-offs, but they still believe I'm a good center

4. In locker room probably Sakic, for the whole of the VHL HHH.

5.  I'm hoping I turn out to be at least a point per game player, I know it'll be way tougher to compete in the VHL than in the M.

6. By then I'll be a promising up and coming center for whatever VHL team drafts me.

For the Hounds, it has been a turbulent season. The Hounds came into S71 with no expectations of being in the playoffs when it is all done and over. This mirrors their previous campaign of S70, where they came in second last in the league. Unfortunately, the Hounds are still in their rebuilding phase from S69, where they were able to take second in both the playoffs and regular season. This "rebuild" hasn't been particularly successful so far. A culprit of this may be how they seemed to lack draft picks in the most recent draft, their earliest pick being in the third round. Despite that, after their most recent two games, both being wins, the Hounds have snuck into 8th place. A lot of credit goes to the team for playing their hearts out, night in and out. But, a lot has to be said about their competition for their spot. They currently sit two points ahead of their closest challenger, Halifax, for the final playoff spot. Yet at the same time, they are 11 points behind 7th, the Wild. Regardless of standings now, there is still a lot of hockey to play, and there is no telling how standings might shift around.

1. I would recreate my player as a LW (after a couple of seasons), since I used to play it and I wouldn't have to put any points into faceoffs.

2. Nah, podcasts aren't my thing.

3. I'm down to listen to a Hounds only podcast.

4. Usually do a graphic, since I like art more than writing.

5. TPE for gaming? 

6. The sims are like cocaine. They're too addicting. Also it's just fun and something to do when I have freetime.

As of now, we are 2 weeks into S71 and a third of the way done regular-season games. I thought it would be interesting to make a spreadsheet and graph of my player's stats (Andrew Su), and now I have enough data to examine the results. 

First, we have single game stats, looking at how many shots comparative to goals and assists I had per game.

The most interesting part of this graph that I wanted to look at is the number of shots I took per game. Starting the season I had a 20 point difference in scoring and passing (70 compared to 50). Around game 12-13 is when I started to bring my passing stat up a bit towards 60 to get the suggested 10 point difference. Due to how the sim engine works, the stats don't actually affect how good your player is at something, but instead how often they do a certain action (eg. skating, passing, or shooting) (quote me if I'm wrong, but this is what I found from looking around). Based on this idea, I assumed that since my player should be passing the puck more frequently, then the number of shots he would take would also go down. Looking at the graph before game 12 I was taking an average count of 7.5 shots per game. After I got passing up to around 60, my average was around 5.7 shots per game. There are some flaws to this, as the strength of teams I faced varied (eg. Houston and Ottawa are not the same quality of team), and there are some games where the results are an obvious extraneous case (eg. 15 shots in game 24). Everything considered though, the way the sim apparently works lines up with my personal experience. Changing your passing stat does in fact cause you to shoot less, as seen from my player stats.

Second, we have my season overall stats in goals, assists and points.

The biggest problem with my player so far is consistency, as you can see from the graph. As of right now, I have been averaging around 1.8 points per game, with a relative balance in both goals and assists. If I were more consistent, I could be easily averaging around 2 or more points per game. Starting off the season, I had an 11 game point streak going with a total of 21 points in that span. From those 11 games, I had 7 multi-point performances and was tied for 5th in total points. We then see a plateau at around game 9-10, which spans till game 14. In those 5 games, I only had 3 points, which isn't bad but is far from the 2 points per game average I was hoping for based on the first few games. In two of those games, I was held scoreless, which was a huge detriment to that goal. After that, we see this huge spike upwards. That was my 6 point performance in game 14, and it brought me back towards that elusive 2 points per game marker. Then we once again see another plateau being held scoreless in 3 of 4 games. Recently I have started to pick it up again, scoring 2 or more points in each of the last 3 games. If I can maintain the pace I have set so far (1.8), then I would be looking at a 129 point season with 65 goals and 64 assists. And that's assuming I don't get any better from updating my player with TPE, because as of now, Su still only sits at 144 TPE, leaving a lot of room for improvement. 

Unfortunately, my personal success doesn't line up with how well the team has been doing. Currently, the Hounds are second-last in the league. As far as talent and potential, I believe that the best this team can get this season is 8th seed and scrape into the playoffs. Despite having the most wins (7) out of all the "bottom table" teams we are still one point behind Houston for the playoff spot. This is due to most of the other teams having a couple of overtime losses, giving them enough points to stay competitive with us. I believe that we should be a lot better than we are right now, and should at least be a couple of points ahead for the 8th seed. Just like my problems, our team's biggest issue is consistency. We have beaten top teams before, such as the Wild and the Aces (when we beat them they were respectably 3rd and 2nd in the league). But we have also lost to Houston twice already, a team we should be much better than. Our offence is fine, with 5 players averaging a point per game or better, but our goalies and defence have got to improve. Not one single person on our team has a positive +/- and our goalie has less than desirable splits of 0.865 SV% and 5.36 GAA. Granted some of the blame has to go to the rest of the team for our goalie's struggles in the net as he has faced 961 shots in just 24 games so far. That's around 40 shots against per game which isn't sustainable even for the best teams in the league. It can also help explain our 131 goals against, tied second-worst in the league. Despite our team's struggles if I am being honest, I believe that the only reason why my player is doing so well is because of the situation I find myself in. I was drafted 3rd round to the Hounds (their first pick) and they are currently a team that is "rebuilding." I'm currently their second-highest TPE player at 144, with Joakim Sakic at 250. As a result, I play around 28 minutes a night (close to thirty before Sakic was signed) and am on the first line for everything. All of these factors put me in the prime position to rack up points, regardless of team success. 

FULL LINK for stats

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1rnkyKVpHKtcvAbeISVSuJ8R6GlUJNKsz96Ck-7teOBQ/edit#gid=0

1008 words claiming week April 6-12 and April 13-19

Van 4-2

109 Malmo Nighthawks @ Vancouver Wolves 

110 Toronto Legion @ Prague Phantoms 

112 Helsinki Titans @ HC Davos Dynamo 

113 Riga Reign @ Moscow Menace 

1. VHL Big Chungus, I don't know if Cricket players know how to fight

2. Cry and sleep

3. I just a god. But for real playing 30 min a night and being 1st line for everything helps.

4. Really friendly and helpful locker room

5. Weekend's new album 

6. Mount and Blade 2 just came out, also Rimworld got new DLC recently

+4

The first week of VHLM hockey has just finished, and so far, the Hounds have played 11 games. After the draft, the Hounds were ranked second last in average TPE. Despite low expectations for the team, in the first 6 games of the season, the Hounds were on a roll. In their first 6 games, the Hounds were able to go a respectable 4-2. Within those games, they have beaten solid teams such as the Wild and the Rush, both of which are currently in the 3rd and 4th seed. Unfortunately, after their solid start, the Hounds lost their next 5 games. So far, from what has been seen, the Hounds' biggest problem is consistency. One game they can dominate a top tier team, and in the next, they lose to a team like Mexico. To deal with these problems the team has recently brought back winger, Joakim Sakic, in hopes of invigorating their offence. Even with the skilled winger back, the Hounds' main issue is their defence. The team might be shopping for a defenceman currently, as the team is still in the 8th seed right now and hopeful to make a playoff push.

7 minutes ago, Berocka said:

This is all I see is this a problem with my chrome or is the pic not there

fixed

So far, in my short time in the with the VHL, I have seen some remarks about the length of the offseason. Specifically, people have been saying that the offseason is too long. Currently, S70's offseason has been officially on for 2 weeks by now. Although two weeks is not a long time, we have to consider that that time is "offical" preseason. By that, I mean only players or managers who made it to the championships would have two weeks of offseason. A player who was eliminated in an early-round or didn't even make the playoffs would have more likely around three weeks of no hockey. Personally, as a player whose team didn't make the playoffs, I think the time off is fine the way it is. Not having hockey sucks, but it also allows for time improvement and rest by players. Despite the official league not having any games during this time, there still is a host of activities held. Such as the awards ceremony, World cup, HOF inductions and many more.

6 hours ago, DoktorFunk said:

Another week and more press questions! Please be safe out there! Answer three of these for one TPE or six of these for two TPE!!!!

 

 

1. What are you planning on doing if you get quarantined?

 

2. What attribute are you going to get the highest on your player?

 

3. Is this offseason too long?

 

4. @Berocka is being tried in the Hague for his crimes. Are you on the prosecution or the defense?

 

5. @GlowyGoat isn't on our team. Do we need her back?

 

6. IF you had a chance to shoot me, would you and why?

1. My city basically already is, so gaming and grinding out the new Doom.

2. Scoring and then defence

3. It's my first offseason, personally I think it's fine.

4. Defence even though I have no idea about law.

5. Sure, any help is useful

6. No, u were quite friendly to me and helped me get started when I first got recruited

+10 Andrew Su

Andrew Su Junior Review

Growing up in the western Canadian city of Edmonton, Andrew Su spent his playing hockey with his twin brother, Chris. Despite coming from a family that didn't especially care about sports, they both developed a passion for the game of hockey. From as early as they could stand, both brothers had skates on and were playing hockey at the local ODR in winter. After being brought to multiple VHL games in the neighbouring city of Calgary, both brothers were entranced and made a promise to each other to both play in the VHL someday. 

Both Andrew and Chris started their hockey careers playing for the local clubs in the Edmonton South area. They often played with others who would be two to three years older than them. From novice till peewee, the two brothers developed a fearsome reputation of being the best center/winger duo in the province. Andrew took most of the glory being a renowned sharpshooter that could put the puck in the back of the net from anywhere. Chris was his wingman, being a skilled puck-mover and power-forward. The two brothers, in one of their championship seasons, had the absurd stat of having over 90% of the team roster's total points. Although Andrew was more of an eye-catching player than his brother, most scouts agreed on the fact that Chris was the better player. Andrew often had defensive lapses and wasn't a great skater or puck handler. All of which were covered up by Chris' play. 

Unfortunately, in the offseason leading up to their highly-anticipated bantam season, Chris died in a tragic car crash. Andrew, devastated by this loss, changed from #6 to his brother's #7. Once being known as the locker room clown, in the following season, one of Andrew's teammates said, "He's so silent now, it's insane. Before you couldn't get him to shut up, but now it's like he's an entirely different person." Andrew's change in demeanour also marked a huge change in his game. Without his brother to cover up the flaws of his game, scouts were worried that Andrew would regress. Despite the uncertainties, Andrew would catch the attention of the VHLM and prove the scouts wrong with a monstrous bantam career. Over the four seasons he spent in AAA bantam, two of which he was underage, he posted insane numbers of 142 G, 41 A in just 128 GP. Not only did he improve his already deadly shot, but he also developed into a smooth skater and puck handler. One of his coaches, Shidney Crosby, said, "He's a tough kid, it's hard to come into this league underage and dominate it. He's got a great drive and work ethic; it shows in how he rounded out his game." Andrew had already gotten the VHLM's attention but reinforced that with a great showing in the U16 Canada Winter Games, with stats of 12 G, 3A in 8 games.

Entering Season 71 VHLM draft, he was ranked as a top S72 player. Despite that, Andrew dropped to the 3 round being selected as pick #25 by the Missisuaga Hounds, due to the presence of S71 players also being included. Now being one step closer to the promise he made to his brother long ago, Andrew is looking to make it to the VHL with his brother's number on his back.