Spartan

You thought I had milked all I could from my list of my most common last names in VHL history? Think again, for that list provides a wonderful alternative – most popular FIRST names in VHL history!
 
On this occasion I will not list out every player to have played in the VHL but instead focus on some of the big hitters. I will also caveat that I did not add any new VHL players who debuted in S93 so apologies if the totals for some of these popular names need to be adjusted slightly (although I'd be amazed if it was by more than 1 or 2). If you do want the full list, then it is available at the link below.
 
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1FsUQv-rCKu6bI3y0KCfQVUwJvcBlYH3mWl8iF2Kt5Js/edit?usp=sharing
 
Alex (20) and Alexander (21)
Well we have a clear runaway winner. 41 Alexs/Alexanders have graced the VHL (nearly 2% of all VHL players ever). 8 of them are in the Hall of Fame (approximately 5% of the Hall). 3 of them have trophies named after them – Chershenko in the VHLM and the Beketov and Valiq in the VHL. It's a pretty good name to have in hockey (see Ovechkin, Mogilny, and to a lesser extent Radulov). It's only the 44th most popular male name in the US in the last 100 years but as evidenced by the list above, it has a more international impact across Europe especially.
 
Anyway, you guys want me to type out the full list? Of course you do. *deep breath*
 
Abraham, Beketov, Brandner, Buturlin, Carter, Chershenko, Davidson, Deslauries, the Great (good on him making it some 2,350 years after his death), Johnston, Kharlamov, Khavanov, Labatte, Letang, McNeil, Minion, Murphy, Parise, Pearson, Pepper, Povenofsky, Randoulov, Rawnsley (he was actually a CPU but it's not like any other name is particularly close anyway), Sauve, Sclafani, Staal, Stokes, Stoyanovich, Stroheim, Thrower, Torjano, Valiq, Watson, Yengeni, Young, and finally Kachur (twice), Gegeny (twice as well) and Bridges (also twice).
These guys will take some time to dislodge from the top.

 
David (22)
We do have a nearly one-man attempt to challenge the Alex/Alexander supremacy. In fact, if you split those two, they actually finish just below David, the name which former commissioner David @Knight uses to name all his players. He accounts for nearly half of the 22-man roster with 9 Davids – the Hall of Famers Smalling, Henman, Night, and Walcott and also Blind, Hamilton, Januzaj, Knight himself, and now Rashford. So long as he keeps going, the Alexanders can not get too complacent.

 
John (17) and Jon (9)
I'm going to stick this one below David because it's a bit more controversial than combining Alex and Alexander – Jon can be Jonathan and that's less likely to be John although these could be the same name sometimes. More importantly, despite 28 of Johns and Jons over the years, there is not too much quality in their ranks. There's just the 1 Hall of Famer – Locke and only a handful of notable players otherwise with Sleeman and Frostbeard in the level below Locke and Jameson who should be this group's second entry into the Hall.

 
Michael (15) , Mike (3), and Mikey (3)... and Mikael? (3)
Quite a mix here, depending on where you draw the line on what counts as a Michael – in any case it doesn't move them up or down from fourth place. The Michaels on their own don't have much star power but when you add in Mikes you get both Szatkowski and Szatkowski Jr and suddenly this group is looking a lot more glamorous.

 
Matt (13) and Matthew (7)
A more straightforward combination – Matthew straight from the Bible and the shorter version, Matt. We have the three most similarly sounding Hall of Famers here – Bentz, Bailey, and Bentley, and also Pogge, Thompson, and Defosse for a very strong ratio of Hall of Famers to players (6 out of 20). So clearly this is a good name to have if you want to make a real impact in the league.

 
Ryan (17)
The good thing about Ryan is that there isn't really any alternative so we know for a fact there are 17 of them not being grouped with anyone else. One of them is actually just called Ryan with no last name which I think is something unique for this article. There's no Gosling vs Reynolds dynamic in the VHL – the clear leader is lone Hall of Famer Sullivan (the original) although there is also erstwhile all-time TPE leader Kastelic and other noteworthy players.

 
Jeff and Jack – 15 each
These two names aren't actually the same name, but they're just joint seventh in this list (unless we add Jack together with John which we are not going to do). None of the Jacks have made the Hall of Fame or have been close with the most successful probably being Shephard, although O'Riley, Sound, and Kowalski were also above average players in their time. The Jeffs have a bit more sparkle with Hamilton and the second Downey in the Hall. Both names can more up quickly to catch up to the Ryans and the Matts in due course.

 
That's about as far down the list as I'm willing to go for my own sanity. Other points to note on the list are the David-like effort by his brother Phil to drag that name up the ranking, although unlike David, @Phil has had no help as I believe all 10 players are his (but we know an eleventh is just around the corner). The 10 Shawns in the meantime are primarily the work of TheLastOlympian (Brodeur, Gretzky, Howard, Muller, and Zyuzin) and 3 Shawn Glades. Mildly amusing is the fact “The” ranks in midtable with 9 appearances thanks to The Charm, The Loch Ness Monster, The Mediocre One, The Process, The Seabasstard, The Board Game Clue on Skates, The Terrible Trivium and current star The Frenchman who is en route to be their first Hall of Famer. I think that's as much content as I can get out of this list, for now anyway.

We love NTCs in Moscow

It was a tough choice, but if we hadn't made that move, I'm sure your extension would have had an NTC on it. Just had to try and go for it while we still had some ELCs to flex with

We love NTCs in Moscow

I was having some free time, so just for the fun of it I decided to browse the portal. I noticed that it is not as common for players to have the "NTC" in their contract. Most teams have a couple of players with the clause on their current deal, and some teams have none, so it is fair to say that the majority of players in VHL at the moment do not have an NTC on their contract. I started to wonder why is that. Over the years I have learned that general managers appreciate when a player commits to the team and works towards the common goals. And in my opinion, nothing says I am interested in staying more than a NTC.
 
I think one big reason behind the lack of NTCs is the fact that general managers are too nice. They are out there helping and being good people. If your general manager approaches you and says there have been few offers for you or the season is not going well, so you might be traded, it is a given that the general manager then tries to find a nice place for you. That is wrong and a shame. Where is the fear of getting traded to a bad team? It does not exist, because it has become acceptable for general managers to be our friends. We should hate our general manager, we should be afraid of our general manager. When you are traded, you should hear about it on the forum first. Or ideally, you would not have to worry about it as you have that NTC on your contract.
 
Another reason is the lack of competition. It has become acceptable for teams to tank and suck. It is widely accepted as part of the experience to have teams rebuilding. On the surface, that is how it is in every sport, but in most sports, the level of competition is still more fierce. VHL simply has too many teams and not enough active players. The general managers are forced to be nice because the pool of actives is so small. When teams in VHL tank and suck, they are not even trying to compete and make deals. I think that is because welfare players are too good. It is too easy to build a solid player with welfare. Active players should be fought over, the should be hunted. Welfare players in return should be terrible. The league plays a big part in that, but the real enablers are the general managers and them being too nice. The general managers are out there understanding when they should be making threats and promises about the player getting traded out if they don't make that graphic or media spot next week. 
 
If you ask me, the league should drop a few teams, welfare should be made weaker, and like in Jason Bourne, before any general manager is accepted into the program they should be forced to fire a welfare player. I think through those steps VHL would have more passion and character. More importantly, the users in VHL would learn valuable lessons about thinking a few steps ahead and never describing who is or is not in the room with them when standing in front of a window.
 
 

0Welcome back to this article series that unites sim league hockey into a super league that is theoretically plausible but practically impossible. Last week, the two thirds of the WSH in North America was sorted out and arranged. Today, the European Conference will be explored as well as my plans for the VHLE. While all the teams in Europe come entirely from the VHL, I did pull from SHL history to name many of the teams. So this does unite both leagues as much as the pervious articles in this series. With that being said, it is time to see what the Old World has for hockey clubs.
A Hop Across the Pond
 
With the worst of the work finished with the conclusion of the North American teams, It was time to deal with the eight teams of the VHL's European Conference. Those teams are listed below.
 
HC Davos Dynamo (Switzerland)
Helsinki Titans
London United
Malmo Nighthawks (Sweden)
Prague Phantoms
Riga Reign (Baltic States)
Warsaw Predators
 
With no team from the SHL and needing even divisions, three expansion teams were needed. A similar look back in VHL history would be enough to find worthy cities and names. The WSH European Conference is listed below.
 
Berlin Steel
HC Davos Dynamo
Helsinki Titans
London United
Madrid Thunder
Malmo Mammoths
Moscow Menace
Paris Revolution
Prague Phantoms
Riga Reign
Warsaw Predators
 
The Berlin Steel and Paris Revolution were set to be inaugural clubs in the VHLE but were swaped out at the last minute during to potential copyright issues. (more on that league later) The branding has been mainstays in the Junior Showcase Tournament, but these franchises were ment to be so much more. Including them in this expansion restores what was taken away better than if they remained a part of the VHLE. The Madrid Thunder were a short lived VHL brand that some have asked for to return. The WSH would welcome the revival of the Thunder with a logo and color to recall the Buffalo Thunder, a similarly short term brand from the SHL. Thus the teams is a perfect fusion of both leagues, which is the point of this whole project. Malmo was rebranded because of the Hamilton Steelhawks as per Rule 5. I thought about rebranding Hamilton instead, but with a name perviously attach to Colorado that I believe works better than what I thought up for Hamilton, the Malmo Mammoths were born. Thus the major clubs were completed but my work was not done yet.
 
Changing The E
 
With the finish line in site, there was only one more league to work on. The Victory Hockey League Europe is an optional middle league between the VHLM and the VHL. It started with six teams quickly expanded to eight taking two franchise from the VHLM only to later contract back down to six where it stands today. At the highest of it's power the VHLE had the following teams.
 
Bratislava Watchmen 
Cologne Express
Geneva Rush
Istanbul Red Wolves
Oslo Storm
Rome Gladiators
Stockholm Vikings 
Vasteras Iron Eagles 
 
This league like the awkward middle child that doesn't get the love of it's younger or older siblings. Because I can relate, I expanded the E to fourteen teams under the new name World Simulation Hockey Minors (WSHM). The franchise of this league are listed below.
 
WSHM 
North Division 
 
Amstel Admiraal
Cologne Express
Glasgow Highlanders
Gothenburg War Boars
Oslo Storm
Stockholm Vikings
Vasteras Iron Eagles
 
South Division
 
Bern Royals
Bratislava Watchmen
Geneva Peace Keepers
Istanbul Inferno
Rome Gladiators
Syracuse Hydras
Toledo Scorpions
 
Each of the teams locations for the new teams are franchise that did exist in the in the VHL or VHLM except for Glasgow. Speaking of Glasgow, what better way to honor Scotland's proud military history than in Scotland itself. This team is why the Ottawa Lynx kept their name. Amsterdam had a team in the VHL's inaugural season. They were the Amstel Tijgers and being based on a real team is what killed the team. But remembering Dutch's history as a great naval power and invoking the memory of the SHL's Portland Admirals while keeping the Dutch spelling in tribute to the original team results in a perfect revival of a classic club. Gothenburg, Sweden had an early and brief VHLM franchise called the Eagles. With a simple revival out of the question due to nearby Vasteras having a too similar brand, I chose a brand based on Gulinbusti, a mystical boar from Nordic myth. It also gives the three Swedish teams a land, sea, and air synergy going on. The Bern Royals were a long standing VHLM team and current JST brand that was somehow forgotten when the VHLE began. Peace Keepers were a suggestion of my own for a rebrand of the Geneva Rush. With the Rush name back in Yukon where it belongs, this solid name is a tip of the had to one of the biggest employers in Geneva, the United Nations. And we finally have the Swiss rivalry that always should have existed in the VHLE at the start. The Istanbul Red Wolves was one of contracted teams I mentioned earlier.  (The other one was the Geneva Rush) Adding an alliterated name cast off from Atlanta to produce a brand that works, given the history of fires in that city.The Toledo Scorpions are a straight revival of an early VHLM team.The Syracuse Wolfpack were a brief VHLM franchise, that unfortunately for me shared a name with the SHL's New England Wolfpack. So it was only fitting that I pulled from New England's history as the Hartford Hydras to fix this problem. This name brings to mind the great myths build around the Mediterranean Sea, of which Syracuse is a port city on.
 
Conclusion
 
I am thankful the the SHL has a rich history of team name to pull from. It made my life a whole lot easier especiallyin this part of the project. I would like to personally thank the individuals in both leagues who archive this history. It truly makes projects like this possible. Up next week is the full revised list of all the team in this project as it stands. But that might not be the conclusion of this series after all. With two expansion teams in the WSHJ and three in the WSH, I could do six team divisions within conferences in both leagues. So I did just that. I will be set to explain both the expansion franchises and the new divisions in part 5 of this series. But with that, this article is at an end. Let's get a conversation going about the project so far so I can make changes for next week. I appreciate you for taking the time to read these ravings of a madman. Goodbye until next week. Cheers.
 

1. It’s always fun playing meaningful games, but winning more of them would be a bit more fun.
2. Toronto Legion: a lack of depth but just don’t seem to lose
3. I mean in fairness I haven’t been contributing much. A locker room full of me’s would be ever so quiet. I’m making more of an effort lately.
4. No complaints at all. 
5. We’ve kind of settled on the line combos minus some small tweaks. Hard to say whether the early season or late season lines work better.
6. I actually don’t know so I’ll have to look it up!

1) I mean it's still fun even though we've dropped some
2) None stand out to me honestly
3) I don't know. I don't get real active in there so I guess I'm guilty of making it feel empty
4) Doing well!
5) Just ride it out, hope we make some noise in the playoffs
6) When I checked before i didn't recognize the names so I figured it was just emo music or something

Presser for the week ending 4/28

1. Are we having fun yet? Tight race in the EU.
2. What team have we played that has surprised you the most?
3. It's been a bit dead in the locker room lately, why?
4. How is your player doing compared to your expectations?
5. Do you think we need to shake lines up or just ride it out?
6. Who does Spartan listen to on Spotify?

1. The players seem to be inactive in the locker room, why?
Moscow has evolved into communicating without using words

2. Our recent upgrade to defense hasn't panned yet. Any ideas what is going on?
I upgraded my wife to a new model, a better model, but then I realized I miss the old plow horse. Maybe something like that is going on?

3. Although we were on top of the EU world, we have fallen lately. Where will we end up?
 We will have super hot final run in the regular season that will carry us to first position.

4. As a whole, the team looks strong and resilient. Are you looking for that big win streak that I am?
Yes! We have gotten some away wins lately too, so keep pushing and we should be able to put together a nice run.

5. Our tender is doing a good job when you consider this is season two for him. Can the team rally behind him and push us to glory?
I think Reed and the bot should be played more, so Syko does not get too cocky.  Bench him for 5 games in row at least. "Yea you got 6 shutouts, but you still riding the bench". Keep Syko guessing.

6. Overall, not counting this last week, are you happy with your player?
Overall yes, started the season strong, then bit of a slower run, but lately things been picking up again. Hoping for a strong finish!

Moscow Struggling to Finish Season
It has been a long season for everyone in the VHL, it is always a grind. However, for the Moscow Menace the grind has not been kind. In a season that started with so much promise, to many people’s surprise the Menace have finished the final stretches of the season poorly and are currently fighting for a playoff spot. Recently, having lost 5-3 to the Toronto Legion seems like they are still competitive against the best teams in the league. Looking closer at the game paints a bit of a different picture as they were down 5-0 before mounting a tame third period attempt at a comeback. Everything seems to be going wrong for them at this stage and it does beg the question whether they will be able to turn it around before it is too late. Word out of Moscow is that the coaching staff is using their recent struggles to liken the battle for points to how tough it will be in the playoffs. Who knows whether that holds any merit but we will find out before long.

If you look at the European Conference, you will see that the race is so tight, it's hard to figure out who will end up at the top, or anywhere really. The top five teams have been playing lights out all season. I figured by now there would be some sort of separation, a small buffer, a gap between the handful of teams in contention. Nope, it is still a fight to the finish or a big train wreck. There will be winners and losers in this race for sure. Moscow has to get back into winning form and finish the last ten games with some strong play from the team. It has been a bit of an off and on stretch for us lately. A stretch that we want to come out of on the winning side. I feel we have the talent to compete with any team. We are looking forward, not backwards. I think our future is solid and I expect us to end the season on a high note.
 
Word count:173

we can kick @Grape out and make room for you

It is Friday evening, and I am sitting somewhere in Finland listening to my neighbor play their flute. I have lived in this building for a few years now, and I cannot say for sure who lives in this building with me. I like it. I like the anonymous vibe this building has. Unfortunately, now I know someone here plays the flute. I don't know that person, I don't know where they live exactly, I don't know their name, but my respect for the person and towards this building has gone down as a result. 
 
Like a recently planted birch, sitting on a fertile ground, just waiting to get bigger and bigger, each minute that goes by my hatred grows. I started to wonder if this forum would be better if we were not able to see the usernames. All we would see is the content and when it was posted. You could comment and react to the content like now. The portal would not show the updating history, just the statistics and attributes. But of course the updaters/staff could see who posted and what. I think the anonymity and not knowing who posted and what could make for some interesting interactions. You would have to invest in the content in front of you as the username would not dictate whether you take the time to engage or not. You could perhaps be more open and honest in commenting on what you see and hear, both good and bad. Sometimes it is harder to be positive and give nice feedback because then you might feel like you need to do so all the time. Sometimes the content you see should be commented on more harshly than your "role" in VHL allows. Many great moments and stories never come alive because we are too busy keeping appearances up. 
 
If I now think about my flute-playing neighbor again, I would hate them even more if I knew who they were and where they lived exactly, because they knew other people lived in this building, and out of all instruments they decided to play the flute. But then again, now that I don't know who they are and where they live exactly I don't feel as bad yelling at them to stop. On some other day, I could even add a swear word or two into the yelling. If I knew who they are and where they live I would have a harder time yelling for them to stop, because I need to keep appearances up. Nobody wants to be known as the person who yelled at a kid practicing or a pensioner trying on a new hobby. Nobody wants to be known as the person who said nice things to a kid or a pensioner playing the flute - that would be weird.
 
Because of the anonymity, this great meeting of souls could take place. The neighbor feels like they can play the flute while surrounded by other people and I get to yell at them. They know that nobody knows who they are or where they live exactly and vice versa, I know that they know that they don't know who I am or where I live exactly. The flute was still being played, loud words were yelled, and feelings were hurt. This would not be possible if we knew each other on any level. 
 
If we knew each other well and where we lived exactly, the only thing that would have happened was the flute was being played. I would more than likely just ignore the noise. I might not even think twice about it. What a sad story that would be.

Fitting title for me as a GM. No cups, meme away.
 
Could this be the season that changes? Possibly, but this is also the narrowest EU conference I've ever seen during my time as Moscow GM. Every playoff team has a chance to still clinch the top seed, or go on a few game skid that would result in a fall to the 5th seed and a wild card appearance. Moscow currently sits 4th in the standings, just a few points away from the lead. Inconsistent performances against stiff competition have dropped Moscow from the top seed, but Kronchy Kardashian's @Garsh addition will hopefully provide some stability once the chemistry and lines begin to click.
 
Outside of Moscow, I feel like I'm just pretty unaware. Or just not caring for much. I've noticed myself struggling to finish my one 2 TPE task per week beyond my job pay, and I don't read as much on the forums as I used to. Could just be an effect from moving out and having a better life going on, could also be VHL burnout. Whether that's actually burnout or not is to be seen, as I'm still pretty comfortably maintaining my 12/capped per week average across my now 4 year VHL career. GM'ing is still a treat, and Moscow has a nice future asset pool to make use of. But I'm just not seeing much else around the VHL community to spark interest beyond my LR and the league/gaming folks in the main server.
 
Quick, someone go start some drama (if mods come asking, it wasn't me encouraging it).
 

Reducing VHL unemployment since S65.
 
It's true that I have an important job. It's true that I have a lot of posts, that people have liked those posts a lot, and that I'm a big fancy old guy who can make targeted attacks against you and your player specifically influence league policy through both my job and my role in the Board of Gustav. But I still find it hard to claim that I'm any more influential than I used to be. Maybe I'm a little more respected as the portion of people here newer than me continues to grow, but influential? I think I was at my peak as a VHLM GM. That influence stayed within our own team for the most part, while others just heard about it--but I've never been able to say that the work I put in to interact with people helped to shape them into active members quite as much since then.
 
I won't tag everyone who played for me and eventually ended up in a management role of some sort, because that would be a few too many tags (💪). Instead, I'll point out a few who started on my teams and made it really far. I like to think that the work of @Ricer13 and @Berocka speaks for itself, and while I take zero credit for anything that's happened since S68 or so, I still think about their beginnings with the Hounds--Ricer as a then-pass-first forward who initially described himself as a "lurker" in our server after we drafted him late, and Berocka as a waiver signing who didn't even join our server at first and who we had to pressure a bit to talk to us. I think both of these were cases where the VHLM can really change the course of a person's involvement--I described in my first article here how I was very hesitant to say or do much at first, and the teams that go beyond a simple "welcome, tell me if you need anything" can make lots of things happen.
 
VHLM GM is also the one job I've had where I feel no need to self-deprecate. I never won much on the VHL level, I've done some unpopular things and been less visible as a commissioner, there have been times where I've said things I now disagree with in BoG, and my heart was never in updating during the time when I did it. But I was really good in the M and I believe that on some level, the league has seen activity from people other than myself that may not have necessarily happened had my team been run by some other GMs of the day.
 
This led to me writing up a statistical article a few seasons in where I concluded that people on my teams were more likely to get hired than people off of them. Looking back on the first one, this wasn't even true. It's a long story, but my analysis showed a p-value of about 0.2 and most stats people don't care until that goes under 0.05. Some of the comments I got weren't incredibly friendly, either--I managed to make it funny by joking about it on Discord a lot, but it definitely rubbed some people the wrong way. It was still a joke about 6 months later, and I still occasionally caught some snarky comments about it at that point, so I ran the numbers again.
 
This time, it came with a better understanding of calculating statistical significance (along with a better understanding that maybe I shouldn't tag 27 people in passing mentions to get my point across). I had the right p-value in mind and put together an updated list. And lo and behold, after a few more seasons as a VHLM GM, it had become super-ultra statistically significant. In fancy statistical talk, our "null hypothesis" was "Gustav does not positively influence a member's chances of being hired" and the results pointed to strongly rejecting that statement. Like anything in stats, though, this isn't direct proof, and I also think that the multiple layers of interpersonal relationships and luck and whatnot that are separate from the numbers don't make any test like that definite. But I'd done my best to quantify it in a way that I've never seen anyone else do, and I think that in the end it is a real testament to my own effect on the VHLM (however seriously you want to take the results). 
 
In the end, 15 people who were either my teammate or a player I had GM'd (mostly the latter) got jobs as GMs or AGMs between S65 and S70--not counting three hires I'd made on my own terms by making my players my own AGMs. At a rate of about three hirings per season, I think that's pretty solid. So I hope you can forgive the ego stroking in this article, because it's kind of what I have to do to make it a readable piece about what I've done for the league's first-gens. What happened to these players on my teams is a different (and less biased) story from the player and team end, and I'll be happy to tell it soon.
 
 
Read my other articles for the full Gustav experience (hi Berocka):
 
#1: Lightning Glory Gonna Be My Name
#2: Can't We All Just Get Along?
#3: Who Needs Cybersecurity Anyway?
#4: The House That I Built
#5: Can We Fix It?
#6: American Beauty

This is the worst thing I have ever had to do.

When we consider the day-to-day work of a general manager in VHL, VHLM, and VHLE, I think it is safe to say the level of effort and dedication required could be compared to the effort and dedication of a car salesperson. The cars are going to be there even if the salesperson is not right next to the car all the time. If you have a question or if something needs to be done the car salesperson will get back to you in a bit, or they will send the recently hired young car salesperson to do the dirty work. 
 
A lot of the actual selling is done by the internet as the cars are advertised on the websites and other forums. People can also research the cars in advance.  Sure, the car salesperson can hype up the car and say this and that, but you would be foolish to fall for their sweet words.  Similar to VHL, the actual selling is done by the portal as we can see the players, picks the team has, etc to see if we would want to play in the team. When the GM approaches you or starts to sell their team up, you know they are up to no good, you would be foolish to fall for their sweet words. 
 
Quite interestingly, the general manager also shares a lot of similarities with a person about to buy a new car. They both point their fingers toward something while saying: " I want that one".  General managers, of course, point their fingers towards players. They look at the stats and numbers but ignore them completely as something else captures their attention, similar to a person who is about to buy a yellow car that eats a lot of gas just because they are over 40 and think they deserve nice things. 
 
A lot of being a general manager and car salesperson is about showing up. Some days it will rain, and some days the sun will shine, but when you come to the office most of the hard work is already done. 

With about 20% of the season left to play in S93, contenders in the VHL's European Conference are in the midst of a potentially unprecedented race for playoff positioning. Just a couple of days ago, teams one-through-five in the EU were *all* tied with 36 wins and separated by just two points in the standings overall. For five teams to be so tightly-packed is incredible, and certainly makes for an exciting ride for the fans! The teams aren't just close in terms of points in the standings either, as they have the second-through-sixth place goal differentials in the VHL as well, with a range of +43 to +60. All five teams seem poised to battle it out for positioning right to the bitter end.
 
Malmo Nighthawks
Leading the EU with a 38-15-4 record and 80 points are the Malmo Nighthawks. The Nighthawks have, to an extent, had some issues offensively this season, but they are riding strong team defense and goaltending to a contending spot. Their 190 goals for ranks 8th in the VHL, but their 144 goals against is fewest in the league. Netminder Ash Sparks @DarkSpyro is in the league's top-five in SV% (0.925) and is second among starters in GAA (2.43) and shutouts (4). Viktor Jensen @Advantage is the star of the show offensively, leading the team with 68 points, although Malmo's offense features a pretty balanced attack overall with six players right around or above the PPG mark. All-situations defender Jacob Stone @scoop is having his best year in the VHL, with 67 points, 178 hits, and 138 blocks as the #1 defenseman on the league's best defensive team.
 
London United
The London United are actually tied with Malmo at 80 points, but have one more game played and one fewer win (37-15-6). The United boast a formidable roster that's a little differently-constructed than Malmo. They're a lot more top heavy with less depth, but equally effective, with Wann Kerr @VattghernCZ leading the entire VHL with 102 points and linemate Leonard Triller @Triller with a remarkable 85 points in 58 games himself. London has the sixth-best offense but second-best defense in the VHL, with certified superstar Jesse Teno @aimkin between the pipes. Teno is in the final season of an eight-year VHL career spent entirely with London, and he is authoring yet another excellent campaign.
 
Prague Phantoms
The Prague Phantoms come next, currently one point back of Malmo/London (37-16-5, 79 points). Prague has a bit of a unique roster construction as they have played most of the season with two fewer players than most VHL contenders. The recent pickup of LeBen Aky now leaves them just one defenseman short of a "full" roster. They have not been punished for this, though, as they've been on a roll all year long. Prague has some true star power in the lineup with John Jameson @Frank, Nikolas Kauppi @Tetricide, and Skor McFleury @Alex, and all three players are living up to the hype. Jameson is second in the VHL with 101 points, Kauppi leads the league with 46 goals (93 points), and McFleury leads the league in assists (62) and defenseman scoring (82) points - while being top-5 in hits (231) and blocked shots (185), too.
 
Moscow Menace
The Moscow Menace are fourth in the conference but they, too, are sitting on 37 wins (37-18-3, 77 points) and boast the league's second-best offense with 214 goals for. Moscow are a young team with a roster built similarly to Malmo's in that they're very deep and balanced, and having nine players at the 50-point mark is a testament to that depth. Axle Gunner @Steve has been the team's best player since his rookie season in S91 and continues to improve, having gone from 73 points to 94 to now pacing for 103 this season (83 points in 58 games). On the back end, Leif Reingaard @Zetterberg is having a stellar year with 68 points in 58 games so far. The second-year pro is already one of the league's best offensive blueliners.
 
Warsaw Predators
Warsaw (36-20-3) sits in fifth place, with brick wall Lachlan Summers @kirbithan having a massive part to play in that. Summers was brilliant in S90 for Davos and captured some individual hardware then - he seems poised, now, to fill up that trophy case a little further in his first year outside of Davos. Summers has faced a tougher workload than most starters - the only goalies that have faced more shots are Matthew McCagg, Karl Pederson, and Red Panda who all play for rebuilding teams in LA, Davos, and Riga (for perspective - Summers has 32 wins himself; LA, Davos, and Riga combine for 34 wins all together). Despite facing 260 shots more than the nearest goaltender on a playoff team, he's atop the league with a .935 SV% and also has 4 shutouts. Their offense has been keyed by breakout seasons from their entire top line of King Kisslinger @Kisslinger (88 points in 59 games), Thor Reingaard @N0HBDY (86 points in 59 games), and Maxim Anisimov @McLovin(85 points in 59 games). Their biggest weakness is a lack of depth - they have six players over 56 points, but then nobody else with more than 17 - but they did make a recent move to pick up Sunglasses Joyo @JetsGoalie101 to help remedy that.
 
This will mark the 21st season since the league's expansion to 16 teams, and only twice in that time have teams 1-through-5 in either conference been separated by even less than 10 points: S87 when first-place Davos was separated from fifth-place London by 9 points, and S77 when first-place Chicago was 9 points ahead of fifth-place Vancouver, making this season's race potentially historically-close. For the vast majority of S93 so far, these five teams have not been separated by more than 5 points. Remarkably, the first-through-seventh place teams were only separated by 11 points in S87, so there were higher stakes in that case, as two teams didn't even make the playoffs. Still, if the level of play shown by all five of these teams so far continues through the final 13-15 games, we could be witnessing the hardest-fought battle for positioning within a conference in recent VHL history.
 
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1032 words, for this week and next

Actually criminal

rip we lost a good member 

Actually criminal