SweatyBeaver

As some of you have already noticed, @Banackock has stepped down from his position of VHLM Commissioner, as well as his position in the Board of Governors. We would like to thank him for all the time and effort he has put into the position. He has overseen the largest growth period ever in the VHLM, and has put more hours and late nights into the job than could be reasonably expected.
 
With that said, @Sonnet has agreed to take up the vacant Commissioner post, effective immediately. We believe he is a great choice for the role as someone who does fantastic work with VHLM players on a daily basis, and that, along with @diamond_ace, he will only expand on the fantastic groundwork already laid out in the VHLM.
 
Again, thank you to Bana for all your work, and best of luck to Sonnet!

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.
 
 

Thank you @Zetterberg for the lovely logo
 
Today, I am proud to introduce to you, the Season 72 World Junior Championship Team Europe! Please do not feel discouraged if you were not selected, there were some very tough decisions to be made with such a talented pool of players to select from.
 
Team Europe S72
 
F - Alek Andreshnikov - @PuckPushers SLO
F - Big Chungus - @Ferda SWI
G - Zamboni Driver - @Tape-to-Tape ISL
D - Spencer Elsby - @Spence King FIN
F - Empty - @StamkosFan SWE
F - Marshall James Frostbeard - @FrostBeard LVA
G - Nils Friedriksen - @Biggreen10 NOR
D - Gabriel Gutzwiler - @DaftRaincloud SWI
D - Leon Gutzwiler - @Gwdjohnson SWI
F - Bob Helminen - @Big Bob FIN
F - Chris Hylands - Myself GBR
F - Richard Penisson - @bluesfan55 ISL
F - Gregg Stallion - @SweatyBeaver BEL
F - Valtteri Vaakanainen - @Jubo07 FIN
D - Zyrok12 - @Zyrok ESP
 
Please check your messages and join the Discord we have set up for the tournament as it will be the best way of communicating with the rest of the team and fellow competitors.

I'm not really sure where to start this. This past week has been a whirlwind of events and protests. I have shared my thoughts and opinions on the situation at hand so I will refrain from doing so here. 
 
With that said, I feel an obligation as a student who is in a good position to contribute and as the GM of the Minnesota Storm to making the world a better place. 
 
I have decided to contributed 50$ to various organizations:
$15 to the NAACP Minneapolis Branch; The vision of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is to ensure a society in which all individuals have equal rights without discrimination based on race.
$15 to WASAC (Winnipeg Aboriginal Sport Achievement Centre); WASAC currently offers year round programming for thousands of children and youth in Winnipeg and in Northern communities in Manitoba.
$20 to the VHL Charity Drive to the two charities to be named later.
 
 
On behalf of the Minnesota Storm I applaud this community for coming together in times like this. Sometimes we all need some love and support from people, no matter how far apart we are in both distance and appearance. We are all one people.
~Rayz

When the S66 draft was happening and I had a few talks with the GM of the Vancouver Wolves I was excited and nervous that they saw something in me that would make them want me as a cornerstone to the team. There were plenty of times where I thought why did they put so much faith in me and moved up to the second overall pick to select me. There was a probable thought that I could have dropped and they could have gotten me at 4th overall. I know there were some other teams interested as well and for all the teams that wanted me, I do thank them for even considering me. It was interesting to see Vancouver bite the bullet trade up and get me through. It made me feel like the team was wanting me to lead. I tried my best that first season and considering I was on the first line with some great players I made the most of the opportunity and I am grateful for the first year of my career learning from some great veterans. We went for that postseason making it to the finals only to be swept.  My sophomore year was something special that I was excited to be apart. We were working hard and we made it back to the finals for a rematch against Helsinki but that year I was a little older and a little wiser and we ended up winning 4 games to 2. I was so excited to be apart of that winning team. That next season we traded our captain in the middle of the season and when the team voted me up to be the next captain I was shocked and excited to be holding the future of our team. Unfortunately, since my sophomore season, we never made it past the hump again and even though we made the playoffs each year and won some regular-season awards, it never felt the same as winning it all my sophomore season. My game has improved each season and I think it is great that I was able to win some goal-scoring awards but each season It was not enough to push the team to the final goal of winning it all again. This season I was hoping to get us to the promised land and get us another trophy. My game has changed and even though I am doing my best it is not enough. It is not enough for me to be selfish enough to stop the team from getting better. My time in Vancouver seems to have ended sooner than I wanted, but I never wanted to be the reason Vancouver doesn't get better. Hopefully with this trade Vancouver can get back to its winning ways. It is not enough I wanted to give more. I wanted to win more. I hope that Vancouver can come away with this being even better. I hope that you guys can forgive me for not doing more. I loved being on this team and I loved being your captain. Thank you for the memories and thank you for being there with me to make them.

A lot of people who have followed the VHLM did not think that the Las Vegas Aces were going to achieve the success that the currently have had. At the time of writing the Aces are 2 points behind the red hot Storm and tied with Saskatoon.
 
What has been the key to the Aces strong early season run? I would say it has been coming up clutch and buying into a defence first game. In the Aces first 24 games 5 of them have went to extra time and the Aces have won each game in extra time and have yet to suffer an OTL or SOL. The Aces have won 4 games in the shootout and once in overtime against the Mississauga Hounds. In the OT match against the Hounds Gregg Stallion scored the game winning goal 44 seconds into the extra frame, assisted by star defensemen Alex Letang and Micah Adrienne.
 
Winning 4 times in the shootout is an impressive feat. It speaks volumes to the strength of the team and how they play under clutch situations. The following are the stats of the 4 shootout rounds.
Gregg Stallion: 2/4
 
Jeff Blaze: 1/4
 
Remy Moreau: 2/4
 
Alex Letang: 2/3
 
Domonique Williams: 1/1
 
Nils Friedricksen: 4 goals against, 8 saves, 4 shots against that missed
 
 
For something as fluke based as a shootout it is fascinating that the Aces have dominated them despite not having crazy standout stats and individual success. That boils it down for the Aces, the team is not about individual success, The team game plan has always been defence first, best seen in their goals for which tally in at 89, good for 7th in the VHLM. But lead by a strong defence (lead by Adrienne and Letang along with breakout rookie Matty Socks) and a star goalie the Aces have the lowest goals against in the league, only surrendering 49 in 24 games! The Aces are the most interesting team in the league right now, on paper they are not a super deep team and should not be where they are in the standings. Sure they might slide down a bit but it is clear right now that this is a team that has bought into a defense first mindset and are able to perform in the clutch when needed.

So I've done a LOT of shifting things around this season. I've had some people who like what I'm doing, and I've also had some people who don't. I actually had more than 500 words written up that just summarized every single player I have on my roster, but I was about a third of the way through when I realized that...nobody cares about that kind of thing. It's just a run down the roster and me saying "hey, this player exists, they play for me, they have [numbers off of the portal] this season and here's a bit more filler so I can claim this article for three weeks." It's cheap, it doesn't involve any actual content, and I wouldn't get any likes from anyone who I didn't ping in that article, simply because nobody cares--not even myself. I probably would have finished that up and claimed it for TPE had I actually wanted to finish it, but even I thought it was garbage and my ego is as inflated as a 14-year-old first-gen who signs up thinking we're all about to get wrecked on NHL 20. Anyway, @Renomitsu has been doing whatever he possibly can to get me to stop making graphics and do an article once in a while, so I figured I'd appease him by throwing together a list of all the trades I've made this season so far, along with a bit of opinion and musing. Hopefully this gives a bit of insight into the VHL trading process and helps people with GM aspirations on their way to realizing them.
 
 
 RECEIVES
Jack Feriancek
S72 PRG 2nd (DeFenz Mann)
 
 RECEIVES
Rights to Acyd Burn
 
Yes, this was a bit of a questionable move. Yes, for a rights deal, I paid a ton (I believe the rights to Smitty and Gritty went to Prague for a 3rd or something). Hedge actually asked me, after I made the offer, if I was aiming to compete, and I gave him a "not sure," which, at the time, I was pretty sure was the correct answer. I realized pretty soon after the fact that the only real way to attract a high-profile free agent like this was to make a run at competing, and that more or less set off just about everything else you're about to see below. Back to the actual trade, though--I was aiming to get Feriancek off of my roster because of concerns with roster space and ice time (both his and that of other players) after the draft hit, so at the time I really just looked at this as a 2nd for signing rights (though Feriancek was immediately flipped for a pair of 3rds, so I could have been smarter). In the end, all's well that ends well, and we got a signing. Outcome: I overpaid, but at least it worked out.
 
 
 RECEIVES
S73 DAV 1st
Andrej Petrovic
Chico Smeb
 
 RECEIVES
Jerry Garcia
S73 RIG 2nd
S73 SEA 3rd
 
I was looking to make a major buy after Acyd said he'd sign with Davos, and this was my first move. I had asked another GM about the possibility of buying another top, aging defenseman (who shall remain nameless) prior to making this trade, and received a price that was much greater than this. So, working out this deal was great for me--I got to clear out a bit of roster space and even got some draft assets in return, and it doesn't exactly hurt that Garcia is my player and I could do what I wanted with him--in this case, switch him to forward and reroll to a scoring build. Outcome: pretty solid.
 
 
RECEIVES
S72 TOR 1st (Gino DiGiannantonio)
S73 RIG 2nd
 
 RECEIVES
David OQuinn
S72 RIG 1st (Lucas Brandt)
 
At the time, I was pretty torn on this one. Beav was pestering me about the three picks at the top, and gave me a few offers for 1 and/or 2 that would have made even the casual observer's eyes pop had I accepted them, and I had to make it fairly clear that I wasn't planning on moving either of those. I was a bit more open to moving 4th overall, and had my eyes on a player or two who I thought would be there at 9, so when Beav started going for that pick instead, I was open to negotiation. Originally, I threw him a couple ridiculous offers which he was very right to decline, but eventually we settled upon this. I wouldn't have picked DiGiannantonio at 4th overall had I kept it, though I certainly can't fault Beav for going up to pick someone who had been maxing out before the draft, and I just wasn't positive that the players who were in the range of 4th overall were the right long-term moves for me based on position and such. OQuinn has been a solid contributor and is currently our second-highest-TPE defenseman, adding a valuable piece and a younger player immediately, while that 1st-rounder ended up being flipped later on. After Penny's banning from the league Discord, DiGiannantonio has dropped off strongly activity-wise, and I don't believe he plans on making a return to max earning. So, I'm inclined to say that this trade worked out reasonably well if it's looked at as "DiGiannantonio and a 2nd for OQuinn and a move down," but looking purely at the picks involved I'd call it just about even. Outcome: in my favor, but probably shouldn't have been.
 
 
 RECEIVES
S72 RIG 1st (Lucas Brandt)
S72 DAV 3rd (Keith Krestanovich)
Vin Calia
 
 RECEIVES
S72 MOS 2nd (Jer Lefebvre)
S73 MOS 1st
S74 MOS 2nd
 
This one is difficult to judge because all of what was involved came in the form of picks and younger players. Calia has been great and is an undervalued prospect, and Moscow made a couple selections that (so far) are looking great. Meanwhile, Lefebvre has been coming along well, but the S74 pick is still a question mark and the S73 pick was moved in a later deal. My primary motivations for this were to clear up a bit of roster space by putting Calia on a team where he'd be able to pick up better ice time and possibly fit in more in a group with a less crowded prospect pool, as well as to shift a 1st into a later draft to give me more options if I wanted to start buying this season. Outcome: we'll see. Hard to tell now.
 
 
 RECEIVES
S73 PRG 2nd
S73 DAV 4th
S74 DAV 4th
 
 RECEIVES
Jerry Wang
 
With this trade, Davos managed to pick up both of the players in VHL history to ever be named Jerry. Enough of that, though, let's get to the value assessments and such. I wasn't targeting Cole specifically, but when Beav messaged me saying he needed to clear space asking if I was interested in someone who was very interested in playing for me, I figured he'd be a solid fit with the team. As a S68 player, he'll be around for a bit to come, and is active enough to be a proven commodity as a second-liner. To be honest, I'm not sure how helpful this trade was to me, but at least this wasn't a huge trade with unproven effectiveness. Outcome: I probably lose, but at least it's not too drastic.
 
 
RECEIVES
S73 MOS 1st
S74 DAV 3rd
Derek Eriksson
Michael Hall
Milos Slavik
 
RECEIVES
Jet Jaguar
Killy Foilen
S74 MOS 3rd
 
This trade is interesting because Victor's initial offer was more in my favor than what the trade ended up being after negotiation (some GM, right?). Roster and cap situations needed to be taken into account on my end, though, so something that began with the same backbone ended up with me giving up a bit more so I could make it work without having the cap police kick down my door. Still, though, I got the biggest star I've traded for yet in Jaguar, plus an underrated, consistent guy in Foilen. I probably ultimately won the back-and-forth with the MOS 1st, as I traded for it thinking it was a lower-first-round pick and traded it away thinking it was a higher one (which it likely will be). It seems to be a public-opinion tossup so far in the VSN trade review article, and I think that's fair to say at the moment. Moscow gets a couple fairly consistent prospects and a solid pick, and Davos gets immediate upgrades at forward. Outcome: Depends on whether or not I'm able to accomplish anything at all with Jaguar.
 
 
So, overall:
 
OTHER TEAMS RECEIVE
Derek Eriksson
Vin Calia
Michael Hall
Andrej Petrovic
Jack Feriancek
Chico Smeb
Milos Slavik
S72 TOR 1st (Gino DiGiannantonio)
S72 PRG 2nd (DeFenz Mann)
S72 DAV 3rd (Keith Krestanovich)
S73 MOS 1st
S73 DAV 1st
S73 PRG 2nd
S73 DAV 4th
S74 DAV 4th
 
 RECEIVES
Jet Jaguar
Acyd Burn
Jerry Garcia
David OQuinn
Killy Foilen
Jerry Wang
S72 MOS 2nd (Jer Lefebvre)
S73 SEA 3rd
S74 MOS 2nd
S74 MOS 3rd
 
 
So, hopefully, all of this put together doesn't make me look like an idiot. My brain doesn't work well enough that I'd be able to tell you whether or not it does. Anyway, that just about does it for this one. Hopefully this is more interesting than me just reading off my players' stats...and I'll see all of you whenever I'm done claiming this one!
 
 
1,578 words; good for three weeks.

Wolf Stansson is one among a whole crop of brand-new players for the expansion Miami Marauders. They’re having a difficult time as of late, having just ended an 11-game losing streak to bring their record to 5-19-0 after 24 games. They run a decent power play, of which Stansson is a significant part, to the tune of 19.44%. Their penalty kill (which, in fairness, Stansson also takes a large role in) is atrocious, at just 68.27%.
 
               Fellow blue-liner @Mongoose87 Kramerev leads the team in points with 34. Stansson is tied with team captain @Andre LeBastard for fourth with 23 points. While Stansson’s friendships on the team will be explored down the line, for now it’s just the cold, hard stats. First, the good: he has scored nine goals on just 72 shots, an unusually high shooting percentage for a defenseman. But then there’s the bad: he’s scored just three goals on 25 shots during even-strength time.
 
               What does this mean? It means he is fairly productive on the power-play unit. He has played 112 minutes this season on the power-play, registering six goals on 47 shots and five of his 14 assists. That’s roughly 25 shots every 60 minutes, and roughly 3.2 goals every 60 minutes. It also means that Stansson is either scoring or assisting on a power-play goal roughly for every 10 minutes of man-advantage time. Stansson’s shooting from the point is becoming fairly reliable and valuable.
 
               The good: Stansson has 72 shots on goal. You can’t score if you’re not shooting (typically). The bad: between having shots blocked or missing entirely, Stansson has more (74) shots blocked or go wide than he does registering on net. This equates to a lot of missed opportunities.
 
               Or does it? It’s not immediately clear. Here’s why: suppose Stansson trails Lebastard entering the offensive zone, and the latter drops the puck back to Stansson. Lebastard, being the center, is going to position himself somewhere in front of that net, either to screen the goaltender, collect a rebound, tip a deflection into the net, or some combination. Stansson’s attempt to pass it to Lebastard down low will nearly always fail, since an opponent can simply get enough sticks and bodies in the way to make this impossible. But if Stansson lowers the boom on the puck and shoots it low and hard, it has a chance to find the back of the net. If it doesn’t, it may generate a rebound that the goalie has a hard time seeing, or Lebastard might redirect it past him. Or it may even miss the net entirely but hold a favorable bounce; perhaps Stansson himself might collect the loose puck and find an open player, or Lebastard grabs the carom off the boards and snap-shots one with deadly accuracy.
 
               There are, unquestionably, things in Stansson’s game he must work on to be an effective player at this level (and much moreso in the next one!). But there are also reasons Stansson and company do what they do—reasons that, once explained, don’t look nearly as bad or crazy as they did at first glance.

Welcome back to Future Watch! Since last season, we have seen many graduations, trades, and most importantly, we’ve had a draft to restock our VHL teams back up with talent. In this series, we take a look at all of the VHL prospect pools and rank them by conference, and by the league as well. This time around, our focus is on the North American Conference. 
 
Before we begin, I’d like to make it known that VSN has some new content coming! VSN Scouting is starting up with myself and @Spence King, as well as more coverage of both leagues from @Hylands33 and @diamond_ace! With @Matt_O returning to deliver some more great history articles too, VSN’s new changes are going to lead to some amazing results. That being said, let’s see what North America has to offer!
 

 
CALGARY WRANGLERS | 6th in NA | 12th Overall
Top Prospect: John Poremba - S72 3rd Round (31)
 
Calgary’s prospect pool doesn’t budge in our rankings, but it has gotten significant upgrades since our last checkup. What keeps them down here is the lack of positional variety. Both of the Wranglers top prospects are goaltenders, and they don’t have much else to offer. Forward Justin Goatman claimed practice facility weekly for a long time but has recently fallen inactive. Their two goalie prospects, John Poremba and Nils Friedriksen have been nearly identical in terms of TPE their entire careers, and look to be potential fringe-starter goalies at the VHL level. They consistently earn in the neighbourhood of 8-12 TPE every week, on top of occasional weeks of higher productivity. Overall, Calgary has themselves a group with some value, but little variety.
 
 

 
DC DRAGONS | 5th in NA | 11th Overall
Top Prospect: Liam Flaten - S72 2nd Round (16)
 
With leFlamant graduating from the VHLM this season, the Dragons really didn’t have anyone to replace him in their prospect pool, until the draft came around. They found themselves a new top gun, by the name of Liam Flaten. Flaten is a defenseman with an unbelievable ability to shoot the puck, which he has frequently displayed this season. His 11 goals in 18 games is a sneak peek of what the 19-year-old could become. He is fantastic offensively, but no slouch defensively either.
 
A bit of a wildcard in this organization is S72 4th round pick Alek Andreshnikov. After being a player who solely claimed practice facility for just about his entire career up to the draft, Andreshnikov immediately posted a week of 26 TPE following the draft. So far this week, he has earned 6, but there is time for more. If the Kings’ centre can maintain this recent advancement in his development, D.C. could find themselves with another solid player.
 
 

 
NEW YORK AMERICANS | 4th in NA | 10th Overall
Top Prospect: Arthur Dayne - S72 3rd Round (34)
 
Once again, we find ourselves with a team who hasn’t moved in the rankings since last season. Like the previous two, they have also made notable improvements. There are three pretty interesting prospects here, with the top one being Arthur Dayne in my opinion. The Canadian is putting up some solid numbers this season, with 10 goals and 23 points in just 18 games with Mexico City. A few weeks ago, he had a week of inactivity, but since then, his production of TPE has been pretty good. He usually earns about 6 TPE a week, though that has gone up lately.
 
I considered making John Brewitt the top prospect, as his TPE earning has been quite good, earning from 8-12 TPE per week on most occasions. His 50 points on a weaker Hounds team last season was nice to see too. However, Brewitt’s 42 defence rating is a bit concerning. But despite this, he is still an exciting prospect who could very well end up as the best of the bunch.
 
The last prospect to discuss here is goalie prospect Bacon. He has seen his TPE production rise lately, but his capped TPE production has also gone down. Now, this is not a big deal if the 18-year-old Bacon starts earning more capped TPE once the uncapped opportunities start to fade, but it is a small concern for the time being. A combined 4 capped TPE over the last 2 weeks isn’t ideal, but 30 total TPE is great to see from him. All of the New York prospects seem to have a little bit of risk attached to them, but their potential is undeniable.
 
 

 
SEATTLE BEARS | 3rd in NA | 8th Overall
Top Prospect: Timothy Brown - S72 1st Round (12)
 
Seattle drops one spot since last season, with the graduation of Sheilds, and the trade of Zyrok12 stinging quite a bit. Returning from last season’s group are Bo Burrows and Erik Hjalmarsson. The latter has been claiming practice facility fairly consistently for a while but hasn’t taken any steps to show much VHL potential so far in his career. Burrows is likely in his last VHLM season, sitting at 221 TPE right now. He earns an average of about 8 TPE per week, with it often ranging from 6-10. He is a physical defender with a powerful shot from the blueline, and will almost surely be a solid defenseman at the next level.
 
The high-profile newcomer this season is Canadian winger Timothy Brown, whom Seattle selected in the first round this past offseason. Averaging an astounding 27 TPE over his last 6 full weeks, Brown is a prospect on the rise and one who is just about ready for the big leagues. One quarter into the S72 season and he’s already quickly approaching last season’s totals. The other player that the Bears elected for in the league’s latest draft was Connor Tanner, who is an interesting case. After a 2 month absence from the league, Tanner came back to claim 6 TPE a couple of weeks ago. He hasn’t updated again since then, unfortunately. He did show some promise early on in his career, but it didn’t sustain for long. Seattle’s group has the star power that was lacking in the groups before them and has some added depth with Burrows.
 
 

 
TORONTO LEGION | 2nd in NA | 6th Overall
Top Prospect: Joseph Gainer - S72 2nd Round (22)
 
Toronto made some huge additions to their prospect pool in the S72 Draft, including their top prospect, Joseph Gainer. Gainer has missed out on only 2 capped TPE since joining and has earned plenty of uncapped along the way as well. Being a late joiner, he had the task of catching up to the others in his draft class, which he has done incredibly well to this point. His build is very balanced, making him quite useful in any situation you put him in.
 
Selected the pick prior to Gainer, was Michael Mac. While Mac likely would’ve been the top candidate for Toronto’s top prospect at the time of the draft, he has since seen his production of capped TPE go down significantly, with just 4 in the last two weeks. Despite this, his overall TPE earning has stayed at a nice level, and his upside as a sniper is tremendous. He is a great shooter with some shifty hands, and could definitely end up an extremely important piece for this team.
 
Two more players were picked by the Legion in that draft, and I would consider both of them wildcards. First off is Adam Frence, whose potential looked to be pretty high, with his activity in the community, and job with VHL Twitter. Seemingly out of nowhere, he disappeared shortly before the draft and hasn’t come back since. The other is Ziarie Anigbogu. While definitely not as big of a wildcard as Frence, Anigbogu is an interesting case because of unpredictability in earning TPE. The Reapers’ defender has gone through periods of earning moderate amounts of TPE, low amounts, and most recently, high amounts. This positive trend has been great to see and will result in a fine player one day if maintained. Anigbou moves the puck very well and has demonstrated that so far in S72 with 15 assists in 18 games.
 
The last two to speak on from Toronto are the returnees from last season. Jeff Blaze was the team’s top prospect last time we checked in, and now he has surrendered that title. He is still producing around the same rate, with about 6 TPE per week most of the time. Blaze won’t be a superstar but will add some quality depth for the Legion in the future. S70 draftee Dick Cheezy also returns, after slowing the momentum that he had at the time of our last article. Cheezy has had his fair share of inactive weeks lately, and whenever he’s active, it’s just a practice facility claim. Yet, he is still close to being a VHL calibre player. If he could pick it back up to where he was in early-mid April, this is another quality depth piece for the team.
 
Toronto has a great prospect pool. Star potential and depth in abundance are a wonderful duo, and the Legion definitely has them.
 
 

 
VANCOUVER WOLVES | 1st in NA | 5th Overall
Top Prospect: Gregg Stallion - S72 2nd Round (15)
 
Vancouver’s ranking has dropped quite a bit in the overall standings, but they remain on top of the North American Conference. They have lost two significant prospects since last season, but have kept a lot of them as well, and even added a new face to the group.
 
Let’s start off by returning to the three players who were picked with consecutive picks in the S71 Draft. Xavier Hills and Blake Bridges still struggle with inconsistency but show flashes of VHL potential. I said this last time, and my point still stands; If Hills could claim his 6 TPE welfare every week, he would be a very solid prospect. Bridges has moments of brilliance but often dips in activity as well. The third pick, Raiens Grasis, is the opposite. He has been consistent his whole career, but only with claiming practice facility. To this point, he still hasn’t earned one capped TPE, and for that reason, I can’t see him in the VHL unless something changes.
 
Next up we have another returning pair from the S71 Draft. Second-round pick Squirrely dan has progressed nicely and is at a point now where he is fully ready for the VHL. Currently playing for Minnesota, he has provided a well-balanced forward option who seems to fit in wherever he plays for the team. A few picks later, Vancouver selected Kazimir Komarov, who was trending upwards at the time of the last article. For the most part, he has kept up his higher TPE production, besides one slip-up a couple of weeks ago. Komarov has had an amazing start to his season, with 39 points in only 18 games.
 
We also took a look at an undrafted prospect in last season’s North American Future Watch, being Hunter Harrison. He went inactive for a couple of weeks, but is back in business now, with 45 TPE in his last 4 full weeks. Harrison is a massive defenseman with a physical edge and could end up a nice depth piece on the Wolves’ blueline.
 
The last player we’ll cover is the best of them all. Picked in the latest draft at 15th overall, Gregg Stallion seems to be on the road to becoming a star in the VHL. He has never earned below 14 TPE in any given week, and has had some really good numbers in the VHLM as well. His 56 goals in 86 career games is outstanding, and his 117 points are also impressive. I expect Stallion, dan, and Komarov to be VHL players in S73, and some of the others will get there with time.
 
 
In the next article, we will come back to the European Conference’s prospect pools. I wish the best for all of these players, and hope you can make an impact for whichever VHL team you’re trying to make!
 
Players mentioned: @Goatman @CrlineDijohn14 @Biggreen10 @flatl99 @PuckPushers @Infernal @JBrew42 @Bacon @Walter Fizz @Erik @a_Ferk @Keygan @joeg @LastOneUp @Kachur @ngine4 @NyQuil @goldenglutes @inflastud @Blake Bridge @raiens @jacobaa19 @Gooningitup @I'll change this later @SweatyBeaver

Hello, and welcome to the first edition of a new season of Under 250: The VHLM Report. In these series, we will be taking a look at the trends and topics from the past week in the VHLM. What twists and turns will our minor league hold? Stay tuned to find out!
 
This season we welcome a new writer to our coverage, @diamond_ace! We are very excited to have him on the team, expanding VHLM coverage further. We will be trading off articles, so that’s all for now, but stay tuned for his content coming down the pipeline!
 
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!
 
 | The Talent Behind the Trophies |  S72 Mock Draft | S72 Top 25 | 
 
The Review 
 
With a new season of hockey comes some new, sweeping changes to the structure of the VHLM. It’s been crowded enough the past few seasons, and so our benevolent overlords have seen fit to give us an expansion team! Welcome to the Miami Marauders, the newest addition to the VHLM family. The Marauders are led by fearless leader/GM Kris Rice @Ricer13, who is backed up by his assistant, @bigAL. Welcome boys!
 
 

 
Now into the standings, starting with the Eastern Conference. The Marauders aren’t exactly up to a great start, and sit at the bottom of their conference with 8 points (though not the worst in the league; more on that later). Next up is the Halifax 21st with 15 points, who are trailing playoff position by five points, partly by virtue of their conference’s strength. 
 
Entering the playoff spots in the East we actually have a three-way tie for second place. The Philadelphia Reapers, Ottawa Lynx, and Mississauga Hounds all have 20 points apiece, sitting on 10 wins, 6 losses, and 0 overtime losses. The Reapers take 4th position due to one of their victories coming in a shootout (Game 73 against Halifax), while the Hounds just edge out the Lynx on goal differential to secure the second position. 
 
Leading the Eastern Conference is the Minnesota Storm, whose 26 points is tied for top overall in the league. The Storm have a dominant goal differential of +42 in only 16 games; in part thanks to some really absurd victories (to the tune of 12-0 and 11-0). 
 
Just who did those victories come against? The two teams bringing up the rear of the Western Conference, the Houston Bulls and the San Diego Marlins. These teams have each won just a single game to go along with their 15 losses, and boast a combined goal differential of -160; meaning roughly a -5 differential per game across the two teams. Luckily for last season’s runner ups, the Yukon Rush, should be thankful, as if things keep going the same way their playoff position should be more or less guaranteed. The Rush currently sit at 13 points, having had middling to poor results so far. 
 
Entering the third position we begin to look at competitors again, starting with the Mexico City Kings. The King’s have the second-best goal differential in the league and have looked dangerous thus far, boasting the fewest goals allowed across their 16 games. In second place in the West is the Saskatoon Wild. The Wild have dropped a few games in overtime, including one early in the season against the West’s leaders, the Las Vegas Aces. These late-game performances so far mark the separation between the two, as the Aces have won all three of their overtime games in a shootout, while the Wild have lost both of their shootouts. With only two points separating these two teams, it is clear the margins could hardly be tighter. 
 
This rounds out our review of the standings. Let’s take a look at our ELO charts to see if they paint a clearer picture of the first week of the season:
 


The first thing that jumps out from the ELO charts is the plummet of the aforementioned Houston Bulls and San Diego Marlins, which should come as no surprise given their performances thus far. Going up the chart we see the Yukon Rush having a lot of movement; they kicked off the season strong but fell quickly thereafter. Miami has been a slow ride down, but manage to stay ahead of the Rush for now despite their worse record. 
 
One of the most interesting facts on our chart thus far is the position of the Hounds. Despite being second in the Eastern Conference, they have an ELO barely above average. This can mostly be explained by the difference in conferences, as they would only be fourth in the West, and they are also only in second in the East by virtue of that three-way tie. 
 
Taking a look at the Las Vegas Aces also showcases something peculiar. Although the Aces are first in the West and are tied for the top record in the league, they are next in ELO; meaning they are seventh right now, lower than the Halifax 21st, a team that isn’t even in a playoff spot right now. This tells us two things: one, the power dynamic in the West is almost certainly not settled yet, and two, the Eastern Conference is proving more and more to be a tough mix of teams. 
 
The top two teams by ELO are the Philadelphia Reapers and the Minnesota Storm, with the Reapers just edging out the Storm for that top spot. The Reapers started off strong, but have plateaued recently, while the Storm are currently riding a seven-game winning streak. In general, though, there appear to be a lot of competitive teams this season. The Reapers and Storm in the East are closely trailed by the Saskatoon Wild and the Mexico City Kings in the West; here’s to hoping a Founder’s Cup showdown between equally competitive teams will come to fruition. 

The Highlights
 
Miami’s Big Break
 
First things first; let’s look at the Marauders. Usually, we won’t cover individual games in too much depth, instead focusing on the bigger picture, but hey, the first game of an expansion team deserves something. And boy was that first game something else. Game 4 on the season, between newly minted Miami Marauders and the perennial contenders of the Minnesota Storm. The Marauders were travelling to Minnesota in this match, but it did little to deter them. The franchise’s first goal was scored by their top-line centre and first star of the game, Andre Lebastard, with the assist from Kosmo Kramerev. Congrats you two! 
 
Despite scoring first, the Storm hit back and hit hard with three unanswered goals to close out the first period, outshooting Miami 21-3. The second period was more of the same on the shot totals, but somehow, Miami evened up the score with two more finding the back of the net. Heading into the third period, I don’t think anyone could predict what was going to happen. 
 
Thirty seconds into the period, the Marauders took the lead off a goal from Bobbie Cheechoo. Not to be outdone, the Storm evened it up, but they wouldn’t score again. The game-winning goal came from Kosmo Kramerev, whose powerplay snipe sealed the franchise's first franchise win in their first-ever game. A nervy third period played out, but with only a minute or so left, Miami sealed the deal with an empty-net goal. Particularly impressive was the performance of Miami’s goaltender, the one and only Bacon, whose 46 saves on 50 shots was the backstop that weathered the Minnesotans storm of offence, leading them to victory. 
 
A Season for the Goalies
 
So far this season we have seen some impressive offensive performances (mostly thanks to a few team’s particularly unimpressive defences). Take a look at Game 72 in which the Minnesota Storm beat the Houston Bulls 12-0. This tied the league records for most goals by one team in one game (12), most assists by one team in one game (24), and most game points in one game (36). Interestingly enough, the Bulls nearly beat their own record for shots blocked in this game with 30; that’s because they got 31 earlier in the season against the Saskatoon Wild in Game 19 that saw them outshot 93-6. 
 
Despite such one-sided displays, it is in fact the defensive qualities that are most impressive this season. The goalies, in particular, have started off hot, with three starters over .900 SV%, and another two right on the border with .899.  Granted, it is still early, but compare this to the end of last season, where only three players had an SV% over .895, and the top goalie ended at just .900. That is a pretty impressive difference, sample-size notwithstanding.  Thus far Grekkark Gyrfalcon has the highest SV% through his 12 games at .910, followed by Mexico City’s Zamboni Driver with .906 over 16 games played; both goalies are currently tied on GAA with 1.81. Last season, no one had below a 2.61. 
 
Who knows if this trend will continue, but let’s enjoy it while it lasts. It’s not too often that we are treated to such impressive goaltending displays, regardless of opponent quality. 
 
That’s all for this edition of Under 250: The VHLM Review. Thank you all for reading, and stay tuned next week for the inside scoop on all that’s going on in the league. Until next time!
 
GMs:  @Proto, @ColeMrtz, @DoktorFunk, @Dil, @Rayzor_7, @Motzaburger,
@MexicanCow123, @McWolf, @DMaximus, @iRockstar, @Sonnet, @Ricer13
 
Players Mentioned: @Andre LeBastard, @Mongoose87, @Sharkie, @Bacon, @Sharkstrong, @Tape-to-Tape
 
 
 
VSN Writer Mr_Hatter
 

While the top prospects for the Season 72 VHL Draft are pretty much set in stone, there is one prospect that is the new kid on the block and has to prove himself, and his name is Patrik Laine.
 
HOUSTON BULLS - RW #29 - Patrik Laine
 
Patrik Laine is a skilled winger out of Tampere, Finland. He is dangerous all over the ice due to his skill. He has a lethal wrist shot and one timer, which makes him lethal on the power play and he is great defensively. Not bad for a guy weighing in at 205 pounds. Laine's most lethal asset beside his shot is his size. He stands 6'5 which means he can use his big frame to block shots, make hits and provide a screen in front of the net. Despite having all these tools at his disposal, Laine's road to the VHLM was not an easy one for the 18 year old. As a junior hockey player, Laine was a point a game player for the U-16 Tappara team back in Finland. In the S71 IIHF World Juniors, Laine had a tournament to remember. He led the tournament in goals with 7, points with 13 and plus-minus with a +8 on his way being named tournament MVP and leading Finland to a gold medal. Despite this, he went undrafted but received plenty of contract offers to play in the VHLM a few weeks later. Laine decided to sign a 1 year, 1.5 Million dollar contract with the Houston Bulls, where he should be playing on the 1st line along with Sidney Patrick Crosby and Riley Walker. So far in 2 games with the Houston Bulls, Laine has a 1 goal, 0 assists and has a plus-minus of -2. He is expected to stay with Houston until his contract expires at the end of S73.
 
Draft Potential:
 
If Laine continues to develop, he could be a 1st Line right winger at the VHL level. With his lethal shot and big frame at the age of 18, he still has plenty of games ahead of him. Laine both on and off the ice however, has a great personality. He is known for being a leader on the ice and setting by example, but off the ice he enjoys the media attention and loves to have fun with the fans, coaches and teammates.  However, he is also very professional and loves to have interviews with the media.
 
Interview with Patrik Laine:
 
While in the process of writing this article, we had a chance to sit down and have an interview with Laine. We ask him the following questions:
 
Do you think you have the potential to score 50 goals in a season?
 
Laine: I think I can train my shot to be able to score 50 in a season, but I won't just shoot, shoot, shoot for 50 goals. On the ice, I make sure I make the best decisions for the team whether it means I get the goal or my teammates score the goals. Whichever one helps us win more.
 
How does it feel being able to play for the Houston Bulls?
 
Laine: I didn't expect to be playing in the VHLM this time last year, but I have an opportunity and I can't waste it so I just gotta play my best hockey for the team. We have a great team, great coaches and a great front office and for my first time being in a professional hockey organization, it is an absolute dream.
 
Are you nervous about the upcoming draft? How do you feel in terms of your chances to get drafted by a VHL team?
 
Laine: I would be lying if I didn't say I was at least a little nervous about the draft. I don't pay attention to the draft rankings because for me, I know what I am capable of on and off the ice and I just need to play my game to show the VHL GMs what they could miss out on if they don't draft me.
 
Where do you think you would fit on a VHL roster?
 
Laine: I wouldn't really care where I fit on the roster, whether it is 4th line or 1st line. Of course, I would love to play on the 1st line at the VHL level but if it is best for the team for me to play on the 2nd line, I would be willing to do that to help the team win.
 
Okay last question. If you could get drafted by any VHL team, where would you go.
 
Laine: That's a tough one. I would be happy to play anywhere but if I had to choose one, I would play on the Helsinki Titans. Very close to where I grew up in Tampere, Finland and it was the team I grew up cheering for so it would be a dream come true to play there.
 
(Total word and character count:
823 Words, 4066 Characters)

Last week a disturbing video was leaked by an anonymous source that showed an extremely drunk Gregg Stallion causing thousands of dollars in property damage as well as taking the lives of 327 Rabbits at the Houston Rabbit Sanctuary. Stallion’s draft status tanked as most VHLM Gms were too afraid to draft the volatile forward despite his upside leading him to fall all the way into the middle of the 2nd round.
 
Stallion refused to talk to reporters who were wanting to interview him after the draft and spent the week in the midst of a massive legal battle as P.E.T.A. sued him for 2.8 Million dollars ($8,562 per rabbit life taken.) In the end Stallion donated 1 million dollars to the questionable organization and came to a settlement as long as Stallion addressed his alcohol problem.
 
“I am committed to be sober, in honour of the countless Rabbit lives lost, and in order to better myself to be a better man to society.” Stallion said at his first Alcoholics Anonymous meeting that was televised on ESPN 3. “It is my desire to change for the better and I am going to fight my desire to drink so much alcohol…Whisky, Rum, Gin…Rum again” Stallion said as he visibly drifted away in thought fantasizing about the alcohol he could drink.
 
After the meeting Stallion packed his belongings to move to somewhere that would help him in his commitment to sobriety, unfortunately for Stallion he was drafted by the Las Vegas Aces and was moving to Sin City USA. Reports say that Stallion got in an Uber and drove past approximately 120 bars and night clubs before caving to temptation and bursting through the car window and going to the closest bar. Stallion was later spotted skinny dipping in the Bellagio fountain claiming ‘He was 150% totally sober and not drunk.’
 

 

Hey everyone, it's a new season so that means it's time for me to start releasing my [S72] VHL Team Overal Ratings! There has been a lot of changed for nearly every single team due to rookies being called up into the line ups, and of course because if veterans retiring. As always I will link the explaination post at the bottom(along side this season's earlier O.R ratings) and I have organized the teams below according to their "Total Overall" so if you see identical ratings but 1 team is listed higher than another, that team won that spot by a tie breaker. Now to finally get on with what you are all here for, the first Team Overall Ratings for S72:
 
NA
 
Seattle Bears
Overall Ranking: 1st

Offence Ranking: 1st
Defence Ranking: 5th
Goaltending Ranking: 1st
 
Calgary Wranglers
Overall Ranking: 2nd

Offence Ranking: 2nd
Defence Ranking: 6th
Goaltending Ranking: 8th
 
Vancouver Wolves
Overall Ranking: 4th

Offence Ranking: 8th
Defence Ranking: 3rd
Goaltending Ranking: 6th
 
New York Americans
Overall Ranking: 6th

Offence Ranking: 7th
Defence Ranking: 1st
Goaltending Ranking: 4th
 
D.C. Dragons
Overall Ranking: 8th

Offence Ranking: 4th
Defence Ranking: 4th
Goaltending Ranking: 12th
 
Toronto Legion
Overall Ranking: 11th

Offence Ranking: 11th
Defence Ranking: 12th
Goaltending Ranking: 7th
 
 
EU
 
Riga Reign
Overall Ranking: 3rd

Offence Ranking: 9th
Defence Ranking: 2nd
Goaltending Ranking: 2nd
 
Moscow Menace
Overall Ranking: 5th

Offence Ranking: 5th
Defence Ranking: 8th
Goaltending Ranking: 5th
 
Helsinki Titans
Overall Ranking: 7th

Offence Ranking: 6th
Defence Ranking: 9th
Goaltending Ranking: 3rd
 
HC Davos Dynamo
Overall Ranking: 9th

Offence Ranking: 3rd
Defence Ranking: 10th
Goaltending Ranking: 9th
 
Prauge Phantoms
Overall Ranking: 10th

Offence Ranking: 10th
Defence Ranking: 7th
Goaltending Ranking: 11th
 
Malmo Nighthawks
Overall Ranking: 12th

Offence Ranking: 12th
Defence Ranking: 11th
Goaltending Ranking: 10th
 
 
Overall Ratings Explained:
 

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls of all ages. I would like to introduce you to the first episode of a brand-new show here exclusive to the VHSC called A Sit with Tit. That’s right folks, the show where Kamenov made his debut on ESPN.mx that went untitled has been picked up and re-branded to A Sit with Tit with me your host BigTittySmitty. So, what is the point of this new show here and not on the VSN. Well, when league ownership came to me, they loved what the production crew at ESPN.mx were able to pull off with Kamenov to the point you will notice that interview will slowly be released in back end channels on the old EPSN.mx site.
 
With a new show, and no new guests on today what is the plan for this week? Well today it is all about explaining what the show is about. Typically, the show will be a piece where I have goals of conversing with about 3-4 prospects who are playing in the VHLM right now it is just a matter if and when their agents will get back to us about getting on the show. So far, we have two guests so far confirmed for the show and I will be looking for more to join us. If you would like to join me on the show please reach out to me on discord at BigTittySmitty#7242 or here on the forums through DM.
So, with no guests today is going to be me just opening on my thoughts in general about the future players of the league and where they might land. So, without further ado, let’s get started.
 

Rank Tit Movement Player Position The Tit Factor 1   Marshall James Frostbeard Left Wing Big, tall, hits you, is an amazing player. So far this forward is dedicated to the Malmo Nighthawks. They are adding another great forward to go with their future core. May slide down the draft rankings when we start discovering the season standings 2   Tyler Walker Defence Tyler comes into his second season tied for 3rd in the VHLM in points. Standing 6 foot 2 inches. He is someone you want quarterbacking your powerplay shooting clappers from the point. 3   Micah Adrienne Defence Just like Tyler sadly Micah falls second in the draft in my opinion as even though same production as Walker right now as Adrienne just hasn't fully excelled in certain aspects of his game where Walker has. Keep an eye on Adrienne as if he works more to excell in certain aspects of his game before the draft we could maybe see him jump to first because he has something you simply cannot teach Walker and that's height. 4   Viktor Mjers Defence I keep having to repeat myself but I honestly feel this is the year of the defencemen. Seeing three come off the board and so early in the season and the talent level so close. It's almost a matter of asking which name do you feel like attempting to pronounce on draft day at the podium. Could this be a steal of a pick? 5   Jeffrey Pines Left Wing Pines shocks the league and lands fourth overall in the draft. He is rocking the VHLM playing for Mexico City alongside returnee Chris Hylands. Is Pines benefitting more because of Hylands or is Pines finally finding his game? The Titty Factor on Pines is someone you do not want to snooze on. He may be the shortest player taken but he is a responsible player playing a two-way game able to move the puck. Do not exclude Pines from surpassing the trio of defencemen. We have seen some crazy things 6   Dan Baillie Jr Right Wing Big, Tall, is not the most amazing at one thing but give him time. With only a partial season played last season if he shows the drive we have seen so far right now its so close its anyones game 7   Jacob Tonn Goalie The top goalie in the draft. So far he is good but not great. If Tonn wanted to play in any other position than goalie he would be rated higher. Just because he stops the puck it makes more sense with the talent already still on the board to make Tonn slide 8   Grekkark Gyrfalcon Goalie Standing 6' 8" does this man need to move in the net and actually try to stop the puck or will shooters have such a hard time finding holes. Not sure what will be worse trying to pronounce that name or the height 9   Shawn Glade lll Defence Contraversial and short player however hopefully there is a bright spot for him as he could be a big player in a small frame for whomever gets him. Needs work in many areas to be dynamic. Solid option but unless things change.. 10   Andre LeBastard Center The 6 foot 3 centermen gets picked early as a team has a need of a centermen and with such minimal action so far on the draft board. Someone may shock the system and draft him early just to secure that center talent. There are many ways this could go 11   Bobbie Cheechoo Right Wing Cheechoo is one prospect the league needs to keep an eye on. He may not have the greatest seaon this season but I see a huge piece to a future organization. Playing in Miami will show some faults in his game but we all need to not freakout at his stats.. well because you know 12   Fongs Son Right Wing Bigger player which has a history of contrversey shortly after filing his papers with the league. Will the league forgive him as there is a lot of promise if he can get his game out of the clouds? Being on Halifax could make or break the player 13   The Terrible Trivium Right Wing Minimal Exposure to the player so in all honesty it is quite hard to get a gauge on them right now. Good depth option at this point? 14   Florent Vericel Left Wing Very promising so I am going to give the benefit of the doubt and skyrocket this youngsters stock. I am liking what I am seeing on the scoresheet even though he is shorter than normal 15   Jean Pierre Camus Goalie Tall as can be but questionable work ethic… Could he become the best backup option for a team? Nothing wrong with that to be honest. Every team needs a back. 16   Groovy Dood Left Wing I am honestly impressed that this player with so little time on the ice making big gains as no matter what he will always smoke his first season production. Hopefully he gets an opportunity to shine 17   Dakota Lamb Center I am enjoying watching this youngster develop his game. Already putting in work and the results already showing for him. Is he a reach at this stage of the game or will he 18   Cal Conway Goalie Short, and the numbers aren't on his side. At this point so far we have seen such minimal results to truly gauge his talents. Will he show up when we need to see it most? 19   Kosmo Kramerev Defence So little action we saw last season with 5 playoff games putting up 5 apples and a new team and season to see if he can put up better numbers to improve draft stock. Kramerov joined the draft when many people are looking to retire. The Titty Man questions his ability to survive another few more seasons 20   Mikeal Keef Defence Keef is someone I want to keep a pin in and see what happens. Like the others he is adequate in somethings but not great at anything. Lots to learn 21   Kirishima Wakaro Defence The best thing from Japan since I honestly do not know when. He has already clipped his point totals from last season. With the right management team I can see Wakaro being a very solid depth piece for an organization. Nothing to sneeze at where we are in the draft 22   Wolf Stansson Defence He can play defence but unlike the others he is trying to slowly work on the rest of his game. Sleeper pick maybe? 23   Han Jae Kuk Defence At least he is 6 feet tall? He can skate and play good defence. Right now there is not enough video on this player to see what they want to do for their career. Risk/Reward could be huge here 24   Rick Osman Defence He is tall and can play defence very well. A career locked to Halifax can sadly kill his stock. Hopefully he is willing to at least be nice to us if we call on him for an interview. Could that help him if people like Osman? 25   Peekay Soupcan Left Wing So far just looking at a decent depth piece. Hopefully after we watch some more footage of his game he could get better. Lots to learn. Could be a decent depth project for a team that is very patient 26   Jeremy Lin Right Wing He won a championship with the Toronto Raptors being a late bench player with minimal action. Does he take the same ability from the court to the rink? 27   James Boxman Right Wing Is it disappointing that when reviewing the footage I felt boxed in? At the moment I am seeing a depth piece unless something shocking happens in his game 28   Ajay Krishna Goalie Stupidly tall with very average to below average numbers. The 16 year old has lots of promise, will we be worshipping the play of this kid or will we be wishing on the gods in the future if we take him 29   Calvin Harvey Goalie A goalie with so many other better options? A real youngster so at this step I can see big risk/reward if someone willing to take the gamble 30   Oh Sens Right Wing Under 6 feet tall where it seems the most dominant outside of Pines is over 6 feet tall. He's playing some decent hockey so far in Miami. Let's see what happens 31   Keno Wolf Right Wing Tall and small, but can play defence. At this point he projects as a solid third liner 32   Gary Rush Right Wing Right now with a lot of players with so little footage we need more time. I cannot make any assessments yet on this one 33   Jack Ogilvey Defence A big killer defencemen who may be over performing or it’s a sign of things to come. 34   Matty Socks Defence So far the jury is not out on this one. He's doing quite well in a sheltered role. Could be a huge surprise 35   Rocket Left Wing A small winger who with a name like Rocket you would expect to be a speedster. So far not really seeing that speed. No speed, not enough points 36   Teriyaki Chicken Defence So far, we know he is tall at 6 feet with not enough information. Will he be as tasty as his name sake? 37   Fat palloon Defence Bigger player that is somehow putting up points. Is this an issue with a lack of a roster or is he as good as he is showing us? 38   Secel Keller Right Wing If he wasn't 6 foot 3 it would seem a lot of this play is too much of a secret. Being on such a good team could not give him a spotlight to showcase his talent. I honestly feel for them 39   Eton Beaton Center We need more of these and being 6 foot 5 without a team. Someone should scope him up 40   Ben Mills Defence A small defencemen that somehow put up some apples. Not sure how he is doing it but at least he is performing 41   Casey Scott Right Wing Very good production on a team with next to no one on it. Is he benefitting on the scoresheet as no one else to pass to? 42   ClaudeLappy Left Wing No points, but trying with 5 shots on net, at least he is hitting people. The potential 43   Jack Mount Center A 6 foot center that has put up 1 goal and 3 points. Centers will be something to watch for here 44   Blake Cornviel Right Wing Lots of potential for this youngster. It's just a matter if he can keep it up. Lots of small okay things he can do so is production over pacing? 45   Michael Bennett Left Wing MB… Benefitting being on Yukon where the talent is not all there. Points are slowly gaining. Will he keep it up? 46   Joey Fields Right Wing Massive right winger that can do many things but not one thing amazing. Could be a sleeper for a team looking for someone 47   Vlad Imir Right Wing Not sure what to think as the scouts need more from Vlad 48   Mikkel Kjotthaug Goalie Young, norwegian, and big and goalie… no team yet so kind of scary 49   Drew Bridges Left Wing Big left wing that can put up points on a contender. Unless he shows up more will this be a swing and a miss or will Bridges live up the the family namesake afterall? 50   Dylan Calvert Center We need centers so will get picked up. 51   Steamy Steve Left Wing Jury needs more data as limited action 52   Jikim Connelly Defence At least he is not a complete liability this season? 53   Connor Federko Left Wing No team somehow but scouts see is is okay at many small things but not good at one thing. A great project? 54   Jack Smith Right Wing Small, tiny, but puts up points. Career minor leaguer? 55   Bean Bagel Defence Big Defencemen that was sadly traded from a contending team to another team. Points are there as he has 4 points in 8 games. Did he play games in Mexico or not? Not sure what to expect moving forward 56   Frank Apples Right Wing No team yet but he can skate. If you do not have the puck. You gotta chase it right 57   Jack King Left Wing No team yet but scouting believes he can dish the puck. Get him someone that can put it in and be beneficial 58   Jacob Jackson Goalie No team yet but not sure if he can find one with how many goalies are in the league. Could no action really hurt a player? 59   Nicolas Takacs Left Wing No team yet but at least he can somewhat skate 60   Edvard Sokolovskis Center He's a center but that's it 61   Oscar Gustavsson Goalie Smaller in size and no team. Just means like some of these other prospects they gotta work twice as hard to be noticed 62   Tim Kamashev Defence Smaller in size defencemen looking for first time on ice. This could be interesting. At least he can skate away from the hits 63   Asher Quick Left Wing At least 6 feet 64   Ilya Sorokin Goalie Over 6 feet tall with no work. Cannot really judge 65   Mitchie Ross Right Wing So far the scouts need to see more. Good thing we will be doing a midseason report later on 66   Cash Wheeler Right Wing Putting up some points and almost halved what he has done in about the same amount of time as last season. Not sure what to think here 67   Jack Rozon Center Small center, could be used for minor league depth cannon fodder 68   Jackson Busta Goalie No stats, at least taller than 6 feet 69   James Davies Right Wing Just because you are big I am not sure its worth the gamble. Could be a career minor leaguer at this rate 70   Swiss cheese Goalie Hopefully he plays better than swiss cheese 71   Tigran Bogdanov Goalie Small, skinny, could we have someone who is actually swiss cheese? 72   Akito Helsing Goalie No data 73   Denali Hussey Defence Tiny, extremely skinny defencemen. Please eat 74   Emery Goalie Wow… these tiny goalies. Not sure what to think 75   Joshua page Left Wing Small, skinny, not sure as somehow he could hit someone 76   Kyle Kurtovic Goalie A tall goalie.. Other than that nothing 77   Ruslan Sorokin Right Wing Tall, no team, nothing 78   Albert Zednik Right Wing Not sure what to think about Zednik as he was picked up as a depth piece In the draft. Eight GP 0s all across the board 79   Braylon Selle Center Big center with no team 80   Jeff Hope Center He's tall and no points for Mexico. Ouch 81   Jordan Wampole Goalie Short and tiny, with no team 82   Nicholas Wilson Left Wing Just under 6 feet, not sure with no data 83   Zach Ryan Right Wing Picked up in the draft as a hopeful but nothing after that. Release by original organization

To say it has been Great start for Jer Lefebvre, in his first full season in the VHLM could be seen as a bit of an understatement. Coming in late to the season last year he was only around for 38 games, overall it was a very great experience for his first taste of the VHL as  whole. Being in Houston it was a bit of a roller coaster ride to start out many losses to be seen but eventually we were able to stabilize and make a big push for a playoff spot!  Now, after being drafted be the Philadelphia Reapers with the 19th overall pick in the VHLM dispersal draft it is a whole new year, a very exciting one for Lefebvre as he is coming in after a very big summer!
 
     Over the summer Lefebvre knew he needed to make big strides In order to become a difference maker in the league. That was the goal, he worked hard everyday putting on 10 pounds of muscle over the summer and made the big changes in his shot to become the goal scorer he is expected to be. Hours and hours of shorting puck and wrist exercises have lead to his shot being much heavier and his accuracy being right on point
 
     In 38 games in Houston at the end of last season Lefebvre was able to accumulate 5 goals and 11 assist for 16 points, along with that he had a plus minus of -23, and 44 shots on goal. For a player just getting the feet wet with their first taste of the VHL it was a decent stat line. Being able to make the playoffs would have been an amazing experience for a first year guy, unfortunately even with the big push they made and Lefebvre contributed to the Bulls came up just short of the post season.
 
     Now In his first full season with the Philadelphia Reapers Lefebvre is showing that the potential many seen in him is coming to the forefront. His summer of continuous work and practice has really paid off, in only 10 games so far this season he is only 1 point shy of his complete total from the 38 games he played in last year. In total so far he has accumulated 6 goals and 9 assist for 15 points, along with that his plus minus has turned around substantially with a mark of plus 17! He has also added 30 shots on net already, with his new improved shot that is going to lead to many more goals this season.
 
    Jer is extremely excited to continue on through the rest of his first full season in the VHLM, the Reapers have championship aspersions with a bolstered roster from a Great draft, Lefebvre is really having his coming out party to start the year not only has his play been doing the talking but he has blossomed as a leader as well on Philly, just officially named today as a part of the Reapers leadership group wearing an ‘A’ for the season. It is a huge honour and Lefebvre is extremely excited to help push this team over the hump to the next level, while trying to help advance the younger players coming in. 

1. How was your first game in the VHLM? If this isn't your first season, how'd it feel to be back?
   I felt a lot better than in my first season, this time I know what I am capable of and it helps my confidence out
2. How do you feel about the first week of the season? 
   Team wise I think we have something great happening, Statistically I am disappointed and I need to do my part of this team
3. Do you think we can maintain the pace that we are on?
   I think we will slowdown a but this is a team of winners so I expect us to keep on winning
4. What's your signature move after you score a goal?
   I usually take a shot of whisky if I am completely honest
5. If your player had a documentary made about them, what would the title be?
   The Wild Stallion
6. You just won $1,000,000 on a lotto ticket. What's the first thing you do?
   I don't want to say spend it all on alcohol...but...……..

Last week a disturbing video was leaked by an anonymous source that showed an extremely drunk Gregg Stallion causing thousands of dollars in property damage as well as taking the lives of 327 Rabbits at the Houston Rabbit Sanctuary. Stallion’s draft status tanked as most VHLM Gms were too afraid to draft the volatile forward despite his upside leading him to fall all the way into the middle of the 2nd round.
 
Stallion refused to talk to reporters who were wanting to interview him after the draft and spent the week in the midst of a massive legal battle as P.E.T.A. sued him for 2.8 Million dollars ($8,562 per rabbit life taken.) In the end Stallion donated 1 million dollars to the questionable organization and came to a settlement as long as Stallion addressed his alcohol problem.
 
“I am committed to be sober, in honour of the countless Rabbit lives lost, and in order to better myself to be a better man to society.” Stallion said at his first Alcoholics Anonymous meeting that was televised on ESPN 3. “It is my desire to change for the better and I am going to fight my desire to drink so much alcohol…Whisky, Rum, Gin…Rum again” Stallion said as he visibly drifted away in thought fantasizing about the alcohol he could drink.
 
After the meeting Stallion packed his belongings to move to somewhere that would help him in his commitment to sobriety, unfortunately for Stallion he was drafted by the Las Vegas Aces and was moving to Sin City USA. Reports say that Stallion got in an Uber and drove past approximately 120 bars and night clubs before caving to temptation and bursting through the car window and going to the closest bar. Stallion was later spotted skinny dipping in the Bellagio fountain claiming ‘He was 150% totally sober and not drunk.’
 

 

Kendrick Division
 
Mexico City Kings
 
Rank: 2nd
 
The Kendrick division is an interesting one this season, containing Mexico, Houston and San Diego. Mexico really lucked out with the new division alignments this season, as both Houston and San Diego are in the process of rebuilding. In fact, they only have a total of 7 players between them. With that being said, Mexico essentially has a free pass to the playoffs this year as they have the worst two teams in the league in their division. Mexico boasts a well rounded team with a fair amount of depth. This is evident by looking at their top three players, Driver, Hylands and Kamenov, who play goalie, right wing and defense, respectively. All of these aspects were good enough to get them ranked 2nd.
 
San Diego Marlins
 
Rank: 5th
 
There is not a lot to be said of the Marlins this year, who are in the middle of a rebuild. The Marlins traded away a lot of their draft picks and as a result they didn’t have many last year, which is quite obvious after looking at their roster. San Diego currently only has 4 players on their roster, and goaltender Calvin Harvey is perhaps their only active player. The only thing they have to look forward to this year is the offseason. I am predicting San Diego will be 5th this season, because while they have players with lower TPE, they also have one more player than Houston.
 
Houston Bulls
 
Rank: 6th
 
Houston is in year two of their rebuild, after narrowly missing the playoffs last season to the 8th place Halifax 21st by 2 points. Although, the Bulls are objectively even worse this season. They are in a very similar situation to San Diego this season, with almost no draft picks last year and a current roster of only three players. The Bulls as of right now have players that are slightly better than the Marlin’s players, but the Marlins have one more player on the roster so I have Houston picked for 6th. Riley Walker looks to be somewhat active and free agent signing Casey Scott could help them out, but expect this to be another dark season for Houston.

 
Corcoran Division
 
Saskatoon Wild
 
Rank: 1st
 
In my mind, Saskatoon is the favourite to win it all this season. They had a very successful draft with an abundance of picks, and had the good fortune of TPE leader Lucas Brandt dropping to them at 4th overall. Saskatoon is currently in one of the stronger divisions, which currently has Yukon and an undefeated Las Vegas team. Saskatoon has heavy firepower on offense led by Brandt and Kazimir Komarov. The defense boasts Tyler Walker and King Kruul. One of the scary things about Saskatoon’s team is that they have 2 active goalies, and both of them should be over 200 TPE come playoff time. It is cup or bust for Saskatoon, which is why they are ranked 1st.
 
Las Vegas Aces
 
Rank: 3rd
 
The Aces are currently the only undefeated team in the league, but I do think they have been playing above their overall. Regardless, I think they have the personnel to take them to a playoff spot. The main concern for Vegas will likely be depth on defense, as they have a really good first pairing of Alex Letang and Micah Adrienne but not a whole lot after that. Some lower TPE players will have to step up for that on the second pair. The Aces have a pretty good goaltender in Nils Friedriksen, and their top two lines look pretty solid. They definitely don’t have the firepower of top teams like Saskatoon or Minnesota, but they are good enough to rank 3rd. They could be a dark horse in the playoffs.
 
Yukon Rush
 
Rank: 4th
 
After a cup run last season, it is time for a rebuild in Yukon. The team from last year is essentially completely gone, and they will have to rely heavily on star goalie Jean Pierre Camus. However, the Rush are not in a state of almost no players like Houston or San Diego. Yukon currently has a squad of 10 players. On the other hand, only 2 or 3 of them appear to be active. Unless they pick up a few players during the season, I don’t see them making playoffs. Having a few lines and a first defense pairing was enough to rank Yukon at 4th.
 
743 words, using for week ending May 24th