hylands

MALMO, October 23, 2023 (Shaiba.ru) – The VHL, a league that is never short of drama, is once again being forced to draw sides following an explosive outburst between Russian forward Yaroslav Bogatyrev and the Seattle Bears management.
 
Tensions rose over the past two weeks, after the Bears desperately attempted to shop Bogatyrev’s rights to any and all comers in order to get some sort of return for their star forward, who said that he was going to go to free agency following Seattle’s mediocre season that saw them fall short in the N.A. Conference Wild Card.
 
In a public post made on Sunday, the Bears management accused Bogatyrev of responding “to no one for days” and then coming out with “sassy little articles” discussing the current state of affairs. Most notably, the Bears management slammed Bogatyrev, saying that “they never turned into the star they should have became when Seattle drafted them.”
 
Shaiba.ru previously spoke with Bogatyrev’s agent, Oleg Markov, who criticized Seattle management for pressurizing his client to accept a sign and trade, despite the Nizhnii Tagil forward consistently saying that he wanted to go to free agency, to get all offers on the table before making a decision.
 
Ironically, Yaroslav Bogatyrev on Monday signed with the Malmo Nighthawks as a free agent, and Oleg Markov told Shaiba.ru that the Swedish side was actually one of the teams that pushed hardest for the Russian forward’s rights. According to insider sources, the Nighthawks made a strong offer for Bogatyrev’s rights, but the way things turned out (with Bogatyrev’s trade to HC Davos Dynamo voided over tricky terms), Seattle are in fact left with nothing for their former star forward.
 
After a period of silence, Shaiba.ru received a written comment from Bogatyrev on Monday addressing both his signature with the Malmo Nighthawks, as well as the comments from the Seattle Bears management.
 
“Firstly, I want to start with the good news. I’m delighted to have signed with the Malmo Nighthawks and I’m looking forward to joining up with the team and hopefully competing for a Continental Cup. I’ve found the team’s management to be highly constructive, and fostering a strong locker room atmosphere. It will be great to finally enjoy a positive locker room in the VHL.
 
Moving onto the comments from the team’s management. I can understand their frustration. Seattle have always been known as a team that shows little loyalty to their players. The management always tries to move players out as soon as they start making over a certain salary, and there’s no ceremony about it. Despite being fully committed to the Bears, I learned that Seattle were shopping me at one point, and to learn of this disloyalty was highly disappointing to me.
 
At the end of the day, why should I bend and sign away my free agent rights, just because you want to earn a draft pick off of me? I have zero vested interest in doing of anything that benefits Seattle if I’m leaving the team, and all correspondence should have gone through my agent, rather than directly to me.
 
As the second top goal scorer in the entire VHL last season, I find it interesting why the management is accusing me of not becoming a star. I frankly think that the Bears management need to take a closer look at themselves, understand the reasoning as to why the team failed to win a cup (after throwing away a 3-1 Continental Cup final lead), and the failure last season to generate any form of offense.
 
I find it unbecoming to make your frustrations known so publicly and then to go on the assault against former players. It’s a sign of poor character, and I would hope that someone close to the Seattle management in order to ensure that something like this doesn’t happen again, and remind them that they are an adult and that they should not act like a child throwing their toys out of the pram.
 
In short, my statement can be distilled down to the following -- don’t blame me for your failure to build a coherent team, and not expect any loyalty from me, when you have not shown loyalty to others.”
 
After Shaiba.ru received Bogatyrev’s statement, we contacted the Russian forward’s agent, Oleg Markov, to get his comment on the state of affairs. Over the phone, Markov said that he was delighted with his client’s agreement with the Malmo Nighthawks, and also went on the offensive against the public statement of Seattle’s management.
 
“Malmo have been fantastic throughout the entire process. From start to finish, our negotiations in the free agent period were solid, and they provided a strong value proposition that will give my client what he was seeking when he made the announcement that he would be going to free agency.
 
Additionally, unlike Seattle, they showed no hard feelings when they were informed that my client would not consent to a sign and trade, and also put no pressure on my client throughout the free agency process when several days were asked to make a decision. In short, they acted as a general manager should.
 
That being said, my client still wishes to express his gratitude to many people in Seattle for their help, assistance, and positive emotions throughout my client’s five seasons in the Pacific Northwest. The team failed to meet its goals, but my client gave his all to the team since S86, and he received a lot back from the team.
 
My client is now currently in the midst of a rigorous preseason schedule, and he is confident of coming into the season in the best form he’s been in in his career to date. He is delighted to be returning to Europe in order to be closer to friends and family, and we are confident that the Nighthawks are going to be one of the contending teams in the European Conference next season, and there are few teams that can match the team’s talent level.”

i am fresh out of stuff to write about as the typical off-season lull leaves all of us in a state of limbo. but i don't mind getting a couple weeks to really refresh and refocus myself for what lies ahead. having said that, there was some excitement to be had in the form of the vhle draft! 3ppao with muff attending in spirit did an excellent job of hosting the draft if i do say so myself. coming off a season where bratislava did our best to find some playoff success, there were some holes to fill, and i think we did a good job all things considered.
 
mostly our draft was focusing on the future of the team, but we did make a stellar first round pick in fong's player mina. with the players returning, and prospects graduating we can still ice a pretty good roster. there always seems to be a lack of great defensive talent in the drafts. that meant we were just hoping the players we had our eyes on would still be available when it was our time to pick. not everything went our way, but it definitely could've been a lot worse.

i am fresh out of stuff to write about as the typical off-season lull leaves all of us in a state of limbo. but i don't mind getting a couple weeks to really refresh and refocus myself for what lies ahead. having said that, there was some excitement to be had in the form of the vhle draft! 3ppao with muff attending in spirit did an excellent job of hosting the draft if i do say so myself. coming off a season where bratislava did our best to find some playoff success, there were some holes to fill, and i think we did a good job all things considered.
 
mostly our draft was focusing on the future of the team, but we did make a stellar first round pick in fong's player mina. with the players returning, and prospects graduating we can still ice a pretty good roster. there always seems to be a lack of great defensive talent in the drafts. that meant we were just hoping the players we had our eyes on would still be available when it was our time to pick. not everything went our way, but it definitely could've been a lot worse.

But more importantly Bratislava did !

the end of the most recent season was a bit of a slow fade away for jebediah big ol doinks in amish. his point production came to a screeching halt it seemed as the last few games of the regular season passed. once playoffs hit it was more of the same. in the back and forth seven game series against the rome gladiators jeb managed only three points! he was poised to set a new personal best for points in a season too with multiple games left and came up short, only managing to equal his previous best.
 
off the back of that disappointing finish, jeb finds himself heading straight to malmo to integrate with his new team. a couple of trades have seen some familiar faces leave the locker room, and some new ones join, so there is plenty to talk about amongst the players. jeb will be keeping his expectations low going into his first season in the vhl. he intends to adjust as quickly as possible and then get his head down and work on becoming the best version of himself he possibly can. hopefully that brings along some success with it.

1. What is your immediate reaction to our playoff elimination? Are you happy with your individual performance?
Rigged! There's no way we didn't win this one 😠
I think my player did OK, but clearly Spanish Moon Moth needed to do more to prevent the loss in the series.
 
2. Heading into the off-season, what are your plans to prepare for the upcoming season?
Spanish Moon is probably going to mope and be sad for a few weeks in preparation for being drafted to the VHLE and VHL. Losing is hard.
 
3. If you take a vacation, are you staying at home to relax or going away to become a full on tourist?
Recently and generally in my life I would stay home to relax. However, with some big decisions coming up soon I have to be a tourist.
 
4. Where is your player headed to next season? Are you excited for whatever is to come?
I don't know! That's the spooky part. I'm headed to the VHLE draft, where I suspect my stock may drop because my player is only going to be there for a maximum of one season, and some VHL team is going to try to draft my player too I guess.
 
5. The FTX Amazon Apple Microsoft Temu Rogers Rorydome sponsored by Shein is undergoing renovations heading into next season, what do you suggest we add?
Needs more sponsors. I heard X/Twitter is a great investment right now and totally politically inoffensive.
 
6. What is a pokemon that you were positive had an evolution as a kid, but it turns out it never did?
Kangaskhan. I mean, come on, Cubone -> Marowak -> maybe Kangaskhan made sense, right? I know that's not the order you were thinking of since Cubone truly does have an evolution, but I'd think one Pokemon leads up to Kangaskhan.

Watchmen.SK - Jeffrey Pines and the president of SAP Miller announce today the beginning of a five year contract between the Watchmen and the original pilsner, Pilsner Urquell. Starting in the S91 pre-season, the Amazon Apple Microsoft Temu Rogers Rorydome will exclusively be pouring the beer brand across the arena. After upgrades around the all-star break, the area between benches will feature a full bar, that both teams will have access to during matches. Medical staff, of course, are not subject to this.
 
"We're very proud of this deal. Both of our organizations have such a storied history and we are very excited to see them blend together with this partnership. I've seen some of the sketches for the upgraded arena and I know it'll be a positive effect for our team down the stretch at the end of the season."
 
Fans can expect to pay €7,50 for a Hladinka inside the Rogers Rorydome.

the end of the most recent season was a bit of a slow fade away for jebediah big ol doinks in amish. his point production came to a screeching halt it seemed as the last few games of the regular season passed. once playoffs hit it was more of the same. in the back and forth seven game series against the rome gladiators jeb managed only three points! he was poised to set a new personal best for points in a season too with multiple games left and came up short, only managing to equal his previous best.
 
off the back of that disappointing finish, jeb finds himself heading straight to malmo to integrate with his new team. a couple of trades have seen some familiar faces leave the locker room, and some new ones join, so there is plenty to talk about amongst the players. jeb will be keeping his expectations low going into his first season in the vhl. he intends to adjust as quickly as possible and then get his head down and work on becoming the best version of himself he possibly can. hopefully that brings along some success with it.

the end of the most recent season was a bit of a slow fade away for jebediah big ol doinks in amish. his point production came to a screeching halt it seemed as the last few games of the regular season passed. once playoffs hit it was more of the same. in the back and forth seven game series against the rome gladiators jeb managed only three points! he was poised to set a new personal best for points in a season too with multiple games left and came up short, only managing to equal his previous best.
 
off the back of that disappointing finish, jeb finds himself heading straight to malmo to integrate with his new team. a couple of trades have seen some familiar faces leave the locker room, and some new ones join, so there is plenty to talk about amongst the players. jeb will be keeping his expectations low going into his first season in the vhl. he intends to adjust as quickly as possible and then get his head down and work on becoming the best version of himself he possibly can. hopefully that brings along some success with it.

the end of the most recent season was a bit of a slow fade away for jebediah big ol doinks in amish. his point production came to a screeching halt it seemed as the last few games of the regular season passed. once playoffs hit it was more of the same. in the back and forth seven game series against the rome gladiators jeb managed only three points! he was poised to set a new personal best for points in a season too with multiple games left and came up short, only managing to equal his previous best.
 
off the back of that disappointing finish, jeb finds himself heading straight to malmo to integrate with his new team. a couple of trades have seen some familiar faces leave the locker room, and some new ones join, so there is plenty to talk about amongst the players. jeb will be keeping his expectations low going into his first season in the vhl. he intends to adjust as quickly as possible and then get his head down and work on becoming the best version of himself he possibly can. hopefully that brings along some success with it.

the end of the most recent season was a bit of a slow fade away for jebediah big ol doinks in amish. his point production came to a screeching halt it seemed as the last few games of the regular season passed. once playoffs hit it was more of the same. in the back and forth seven game series against the rome gladiators jeb managed only three points! he was poised to set a new personal best for points in a season too with multiple games left and came up short, only managing to equal his previous best.
 
off the back of that disappointing finish, jeb finds himself heading straight to malmo to integrate with his new team. a couple of trades have seen some familiar faces leave the locker room, and some new ones join, so there is plenty to talk about amongst the players. jeb will be keeping his expectations low going into his first season in the vhl. he intends to adjust as quickly as possible and then get his head down and work on becoming the best version of himself he possibly can. hopefully that brings along some success with it.

i think i will make a new one

i think i will make a new one

i think i will make a new one

i think i will make a new one

i think i will make a new one

@Scurvy
 
Logan Ninefingers entering home arena for a little presser pose before game 6.

1. Definitely disappointed in the end result, I thought that we battled hard, but losing a game 7 sucks. Nope, not happy at all, any time you lose you feel like you could always do more. Very disappointed that the leading goal scorer this season couldn't muster more than 2 goals in a 7 game series, especially getting shut out on the powerplay.
 
2. Going to work to keep adding TPE to my player. I'm pretty proud of the fact that I finished with the second most TPE in the VHLE this season, so I hope to carry that earning level moving forward.
 
3. Would prefer to either stay home and relax or go somewhere and relax, unless it's to travel somewhere to watch sports, then I'm all in on being busy.
 
4. Heading up to the Toronto Legion for my first trip to the VHL. I'm very excited to move to the next level, and hopeful that I can help contribute to a team that is currently on a playoff run!
 
5. The arena definitely needs to add a special concession stand that is run by Costco. Cheap hot dogs and chicken fingers for all!
 
6. As a kid who played Red, Blue, and Yellow religiously, as well as the Trading Card Game and Snap, I don't know that I ever had an issue with that. The hours that I've played those games over the course of my life would be a pretty impressive total if I could add them all up.

1. What will be the biggest challenge when matching up against a strong Rome team?
Consistency. I think one of our challenges this season has been consistency game-to-game and that could easily be our downfall against a Rome team I think we're better than (as it turns out, this was the case 😭 )
 
2. Are you a fan of the new playoff format where only the top four teams make it? Or would you prefer a wild card round be played?
For the VHLE? Yeah, I guess it makes sense. I don't particularly care for a wild card round and we recently contracted, so it makes sense that not everyone is included necessarily.
 
3. If you had to choose between winning some individual awards or winning the cup with your team, which would you choose and why?
The cup obviously. I've never been much of an individual accolades person and I'm OK with personal success only after team success.
 
4. Do you have a lucky piece of equipment that you keep around? Why or why not?
Absolutely not. Spanish Moon Moth is someone who believes in their personal fortitude, strength, and skill over superstition (though if the superstition helps I suspect SMM would be open to the idea).
 
5. You have been tasked with coming up with a mascot concept for the team, but the mascot absolutely can not be a lighthouse. What is your idea?
It'll be a destroyed seafaring ship, with the implication being that our maritime infrastructure would fail without us (plus it'd be a weird homage to the angry boats).
 
6. The NHL will be starting up shortly. Are you optimistic for your favourite team heading into the season? Or are you more worried about their chances?
I don't follow the NHL. I know it's crazy, but it's true nonetheless. I've only been playing make-pretend hockey for like a decade.

@hylands

Back by popular demand!
 
Buff @Beaviss is attending a concert, can you find him? (Open image in new window to zoom in)
 
 

 
 

can you make another where’s buff beav?

big smooth brain, big smooth creative brain, big smooth edumacated brain