LastOneUp

Vote Blademaiden

Vote omgitshim

Agreed. Also, you can see why I've only posted a couple times when people start losing their minds when I make a completely neutral comment lmao I think I'll continue to keep quiet given the hostility.

The Godfather is dead. Hot damn!

Thanks to Nykonax for the bottom graphic.

Oh, you tease.

If experience isn't the main factor in hiring, then I will put my hat in the ring. I have applied for AGM roles and not been hired, so I won't hold my breath. But as I have said all along, I am looking for an excuse to be more active. I am already on the Hounds and I will be in this league for the long haul.

So with this new rule in place, when is the new "best time" to create a new player?

Not sure if this was the plan all along, but this should be used in our Reddit recruitment. Either in the topic body or as a top comment.

I'm in this time!

Applying. Would be happy to have an increased role in this league. Have applied for several jobs. Looking for more to do. In it for the long haul.

Hello (Former?) Fellow Mississauga Hound @dasboot I really like sigs that incorporate their team logo. A bit too advanced for me to not make my own look like crap. I like the colors used as well. The first name is comically small but its obviously not important for you to showcase. The B&W background makes it pop. Rating: 8 out of 10

Great job @Jubo07 I like the unique design of the logo. Not just a rectangle like 99% of the others. The text placement and colour scheme used are all good. Well done. Rating: 9 out of 10.

1. I haven't had much of a conversation with any of the new guys. I think they have been busy with a lot of their mind but I look forward to meeting them for real. 2. Team Canada. If I'm not on the team next season, I will be very disappointed. 3. I hope to average at least one point per game for the season. 4. No, we have been playing like dog shit lately. I am not seeing how we can improve that much in a short time. 5. TV, VHL, with my kids. 6. Better Call Saul. Survivor.

Written by Michael Mac: MISSISSAUGA - Look inside the locker room of any team in the VHL, and at the heart of the space you’ll find a revered staple of the Room. No, not a Bieber-trampled emblem (although any hockey fan knows the extent to which the logos on the carpet are respected). I’m referring instead to the other cherished staple: the Ping-Pong table. For years, Ping-Pong tables have had a special place in the VHL. In the NHL in the 1980s, rumor had it that Wayne Gretzky and his Oilers buddies would do battle just moments before puck drop en route to their Stanley Cup dynasty. In recent times, more controversial Ping-Pong stories hit our feeds, like an incident involving a visiting team getting some flack for using the home team’s table on a practice day … during the playoffs. Ping-Pong has been an integral part of hockey’s locker-room culture for decades, and having played in the NHL, NCAA, AHL & now VHL, I can attest to that. Why Ping-Pong? Most athletes share this intense hunger for competition. Whether it’s video games or poker or golf, if you have the mentality of a pro athlete, you love games. But I think why so many guys gravitate toward Ping-Pong is that it tests some of the same attributes you use in sports, but it’s also completely removed from the scrutiny and pressure of performance-as-profession. (Unless you’re a pro Ping-Pong player, in which case, maybe you unwind with some Quidditch.) Michael---action-shot I grew up playing Ping-Pong as my preferred rainy day activity whenever I couldn’t be outside playing hockey or my other favorite sport, tennis. Like tennis, I gravitated toward Ping-Pong because of the rhythmic back and forth of the ball and the way it was propelled with skillful spin and touch, and how those two things combined with a cerebral strategy to bring your opponent to his knees. Yes, competition was a large part of the draw — and with two older brothers, the environment in my house was definitely ripe for some battles. Aside from my brother Steve, my favorite opponent over the years has been @JBrew42. I played with JBrew every night this season. We both shared a passion for Ping-Pong and we would spend hours before and after practices and games duking it out. For the record, I’m not talking about the kind of Ping-Pong you play at your family reunion with your cousin. I’m talking about stand-back-and-swing-out bash ball, where you’re diving for shots 12 feet from the table to keep the point alive. I’m talking about Ping-Pong that’s actually fun to watch — where teammates gather around the table and scream when a reflex backhand off a smash finds the corner edge. I’m talking trick serves, touch shots, drop shots, and chop blocks. I’m talking heavy-topspin crosscourt forehands and sidespin backhands inside out. I’m talking Ping-Pong where you sweat — a lot. Well, unless you’re @Berocka, in which case your perspiration has nothing to do with your exertion. You’re already leaking when you walk through the door. ? JBrew and I would play set after set because a) It was fun; and b) J would want to keep playing until he won one. Yes, trash talk is also a big part of the action, and most of our banter usually revolved around me laughing at his “win-a-point, lose-a-point” body language, and him taking issue with my stalling tactics (if he got on too much of a roll, I’d pretend like I couldn’t find the ball under the table). We also had contrasting styles. He loved to play an aggressive topspin game that was good when his swagger was up, and I preferred to play with backspin, not because that was my game, but mostly because it drove him nuts. He just couldn’t handle it, and his body language would reflect that. The idea of creating a charity Ping-Pong event had been on my mind for a while. I loved to play the game, and it seemed like it was a no-brainer that it was the perfect theme for a charity event. For one, it’s social. Unlike golf tournaments where you play with the same foursome for six hours and then sit through a banquet dinner while the sandbaggers and creative scorekeepers collect their commemorative golf towels, Ping-Pong was conducive to a party atmosphere, with much more mingling and interaction between all the guests, and it’s a game that pretty much anyone can participate in and still have fun. In addition to that, I also thought it was a great chance to really showcase the players’ personalities. Hockey players are often criticized for their drab quotes and mundane interviews, but it can be hard to show any charisma during the season when teams like to protect privacy, (see “lower body injury”) and when you’re loaded up with thirty pounds of equipment plus a helmet and visor. The event, I thought, would be the perfect way for players to show their personalities, and also bring the inside of the locker room culture out to the public. In this sense, too, the event would be an inside-out thing. With the help of the VHLPA, we started working on a plan back in 2019. Pretty early on, we developed a tight-knit little team of people that “got it.” The idea was so unique and quirky that when you told it to someone they either understood or they didn’t, and the ones who got it were pumped and fired up to get it off the ground. It’s never easy when you do something for the first time, and because the event was so different, we really didn’t know what to expect, or how it would be received. We focused our efforts on one thing: Everyone who came to the event — corporate sponsors, guests, players — should come away saying they had a blast. The tourney is held at Steam Whistle Brewery beneath the CN Tower in downtown Toronto, 30 minutes from where the Mississauga Hounds play their home games. The festivities start with a pro-am doubles tournament with teams captained by VHL stars, followed by a singles bracket to crown a players’ champion. The first half is definitely more of a social scene, and the second half is where it gets intense. And I really mean intense. Last year the two finalists even got into a heated argument when one of them claimed interference with a camera on an important point. The official had to make a ruling to end the spat, and even though he had to remind them it was a charity event, I was actually proud of the intensity the guys were bringing to the table. For me, it was the culmination of the vision that those of us involved had all along. I know my fellow Canadians @justinbieber and @drake are both Ping-Pong fanatics, so maybe they’ll reach out. Don’t worry, Justin, we won’t hold the carpet incident against you. And some guys may have trouble with that lefty spin. Heck, maybe our new prime minister, Justin Trudeau, would be interested in joining us. He’s already done a charity boxing match, so what else is there for him to lose? But whatever transpires, everyone involved will be winners — the players, the organizers, and the guests — because when you work from the inside out, it’s impossible to lose. Unless, of course, you’re @JBrew42 and you’re playing me in your cut-off long johns and bare feet. Then it’s very possible.

+10 Michael Mac

Calgary 4-2

331 Helsinki Titans @ Malmo Nighthawks 332 D.C. Dragons @ Calgary Wranglers 333 Toronto Legion @ Vancouver Wolves 334 Riga Reign @ Moscow Menace

There is no point in lying or understating it. The Mississauga Hounds have been hot garbage of late. They stink. Barely scoring a goal most games, they haven't had many bright spots since @Da_BerrAndrew Su left. One of the few bright spots has been RW Michael Mac. The up and coming prospect has averaged over a point a game since Su left, including first star this week when he notched his first Hattrick. @Berocka was quick to praise Mac. "We grabbed him off the waiver wire so he will have to go back into the draft this offseason. We really hope we can draft him as he has been a leader on and off the ice." Mac looks to continue his hot streak this week as the Hounds face a difficult schedule.

? Congrats @Zetterberg

I saw Mississauga was blue, looked at the graph and thought, wow we are doing way better than I thought... Nope, wrong shade of blue.

Shit. I saw a conversation about them starting this up again but had no idea it had already happened. My bad. Next time.

The Mississauga Hounds are battling adversity to stay in hunt for playoff spot after trading their top star to the #1 team in the league. They did acquire a first and second round pick for the team leader in points, so the return will be worth it in the long run. It seems obvious @Berocka does not think it is the Hounds time. Or maybe he thinks it's time for his youngsters to step up with more opportunity. The Mississauga Hounds have remained in the race for a spot in the VHLM Playoffs by latching onto one idea since the start of training camp: Staying in the fight. Despite a revamped defenseman group and injury issues throughout the season, the Hounds are 4 points behind Halifax for the last playoff spot as of Tuesday. "We have one of the youngest teams in the League, and there have been some points in the season where (normally) ... there would be some hard meetings and hard practices, but we just don't have the ability to do that," said assistant captain Michael Mac, who has 38 points (13 goals, 25 assists) in 41 games this season. "So I think we've done a really good job of trying to teach and trying to get the most out of everyone and trying to empower as many guys as we can so that we've got a lineup full of guys that feel they're involved in the game and involved in us pushing for a playoff spot. "I don't think I can count the easy days on one hand because there haven't been any. There haven't been any lollipops [and sunshine]. It's been a really challenging year for a lot of different reasons." After Mississauga qualified for the postseason in S69, finishing 2nd overall with 117 points, its chances seemed to take a hit that offseason with practically all of its top players moving on. Then, yesterday, on April 13 @Da_Berr Andrew Su was traded to the Ottawa Lynx. Once the season began, the odds grew larger, with Mississauga losing currently in the middle of losing 8 of its last 9 games. An awful stretch in any league. Many against the elite teams were never close, ending in blowout fashion. Belief has remained, Mac said. "We haven't turned our backs on each other," he said. "We haven't pointed fingers. Even after the stretch where we were losing a lot of games, we just keep having beers together, doing things together, staying in it together, chilling in the Discord and ultimately that builds some equity at the end of the season when it's hardest." The Hounds dropped out of playoff position when they lost five in a row, but are still only 4 points out. Instead of having a high-profile group of defensemen making frequent highlight-reel plays, the Hounds have become more workmanlike out of necessity, defenseman Albert Stoner said. "As a function of some of our lost players and obviously some changes to our blue line, we've had to battle for every inch we've gotten," said Stoner. "Nothing's been given to us. In past years maybe we could sort of win some nights just off our skill. We still have a ton of skill in our room, but that's just not the way you play if you want to win games. "Perhaps a good lesson for a pretty young group." Mississauga will need those lessons for its remaining games. The next is against San Diego on Tuesday. "It's a little bit different team than last year," said forward @JBrew42, who has 40 points in 43 games. "With the guys we have here and with all the injuries we have, we've tried to grow more as a team, and it's definitely something that's kept us in the fight. "We've played [like it's] the playoffs for the last couple of weeks at least and it's not going to get any easier. All the other teams above the line are winning, too. So just try to grind it and hopefully make it, but it won't be easy." But having overcome the adversity this long, the Hounds are driven by the possibility of reaching the postseason, Mac said. "It's right there for us," he said. "There's a lot of excitement in our room about having an opportunity. We have a lot to play for."