Kisslinger

Recently a trip to the hospital and a few doctors appointments opened my eyes and i received a few diagnoses (nothing super serious i will live!!) but one of them was a thing called CHS, Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome. Basically for the last couple of months I’ve been having uncontrollable vommiting, sometimes up to 20-25 times a day and i finally have had enough. It got to the point I was calling into work, putting off important things because i couldn’t even function. I could barely eat or keep things down, I was taking multiple super hot baths and showers everyday as that is the only thing that would help the feeling go away.
 
I always thought it was something else, another underlying issue but all along it was the thing i used to chill out and relax, weed. Little did i know not only did i grow a dependency on it but it was slowly hurting me and it was just only gonna get worse and worse. I honestly at one point didn’t know if i would be able to make it one day without smoking as i was a really heavy smoker, multiple joints, bongs or thc carts to keep me “happy”. 

 
I know it has only been 3 days but holy hell i can’t believe i haven’t touched it since. I know it’s super early but i just wanted to share my progress to hopefully inspire others to maybe quit or lean back. I know @Banackock has a thread documenting his journey from quitting cigarettes and it really inspired me to start my own journey and bring this awesome community along with me. I intend to stay sober and make better life choices moving forward and I can’t wait to show you all. 
 
Cheers guys and here’s to being sober!
 

Recently a trip to the hospital and a few doctors appointments opened my eyes and i received a few diagnoses (nothing super serious i will live!!) but one of them was a thing called CHS, Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome. Basically for the last couple of months I’ve been having uncontrollable vommiting, sometimes up to 20-25 times a day and i finally have had enough. It got to the point I was calling into work, putting off important things because i couldn’t even function. I could barely eat or keep things down, I was taking multiple super hot baths and showers everyday as that is the only thing that would help the feeling go away.
 
I always thought it was something else, another underlying issue but all along it was the thing i used to chill out and relax, weed. Little did i know not only did i grow a dependency on it but it was slowly hurting me and it was just only gonna get worse and worse. I honestly at one point didn’t know if i would be able to make it one day without smoking as i was a really heavy smoker, multiple joints, bongs or thc carts to keep me “happy”. 

 
I know it has only been 3 days but holy hell i can’t believe i haven’t touched it since. I know it’s super early but i just wanted to share my progress to hopefully inspire others to maybe quit or lean back. I know @Banackock has a thread documenting his journey from quitting cigarettes and it really inspired me to start my own journey and bring this awesome community along with me. I intend to stay sober and make better life choices moving forward and I can’t wait to show you all. 
 
Cheers guys and here’s to being sober!
 

Hello VHL,
 
This post serves as my announcement of my resignation from Recruitment, GM of the New York Americans, Board of Governors, and as one of the VHLE Commissioners. Allow me a moment to explain:
 
On October 8th, 2020, I found myself with a lot of time on my hands. I was working part-time and earning my Master's degree while living in a world that was dictated by COVID. I saw an advertisement on one of Thrash94's videos for the VHL and I quickly joined. I came in eager to learn, eager to earn, and eager to make Hall of Fame-worthy players. I dove headfirst into the VHL community and loved every minute of it. Eventually, I applied to be a GM for Team USA in the WJC and since then I've managed in one way or another. I became a GM for the San Diego Marlins, then the Stockholm Vikings, and finally the New York Americans. In all of that, I helped manage various off-season tournaments as well. That escalated to me taking a position on the Recruitment Team, and being asked to work as a Commissioner for the VHLE, which I happily accepted.
 
While all of that was going on, my personal life and career were taking off. My wife became pregnant, we moved back to our home state, and our family grew. I finished my Master's, and started working full-time, and the time that I had to devote to the league dwindled more and more over time. This year though has been a tipping point. As some of you know, my mother struggled with addiction my whole life, and in April that struggle caught up to her and she passed. Then, my wife and I endured the hardship of losing two children through miscarriage. Those events led us to grow much closer, and it made me realize just how precious the time I have with my family is. It's only here temporarily, and it can vanish in the blink of an eye.
 
Those hard moments were, well, hard. But, there have been so many good things to happen in my life this year, most of them revolving around increased work responsibilities. While I love my work, I don't have the luxury of a job that runs 9-5 and is off on the weekends, so the free time I do get is rather limited and decreases more and more. 
 
All of that being said, I want you to know that I am not making this decision because I'm burnt out, nor because I've lost interest in the VHL. It comes down to the fact that I just don't have the time I used to when I first started, and I can't devote the way I want to the thing that I seem to be lacking. 
 
My goal, at this time, is to finish out my career with Dynamite and then...well, who knows? Maybe I'll take a season or two off completely and lurk every once in a while, or maybe I'll make another player and ride the pension/welfare train for a while. I don't know. What I do know is that I'm thankful for the time I've had here, and for the friends I've made. 
 

Recently a trip to the hospital and a few doctors appointments opened my eyes and i received a few diagnoses (nothing super serious i will live!!) but one of them was a thing called CHS, Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome. Basically for the last couple of months I’ve been having uncontrollable vommiting, sometimes up to 20-25 times a day and i finally have had enough. It got to the point I was calling into work, putting off important things because i couldn’t even function. I could barely eat or keep things down, I was taking multiple super hot baths and showers everyday as that is the only thing that would help the feeling go away.
 
I always thought it was something else, another underlying issue but all along it was the thing i used to chill out and relax, weed. Little did i know not only did i grow a dependency on it but it was slowly hurting me and it was just only gonna get worse and worse. I honestly at one point didn’t know if i would be able to make it one day without smoking as i was a really heavy smoker, multiple joints, bongs or thc carts to keep me “happy”. 

 
I know it has only been 3 days but holy hell i can’t believe i haven’t touched it since. I know it’s super early but i just wanted to share my progress to hopefully inspire others to maybe quit or lean back. I know @Banackock has a thread documenting his journey from quitting cigarettes and it really inspired me to start my own journey and bring this awesome community along with me. I intend to stay sober and make better life choices moving forward and I can’t wait to show you all. 
 
Cheers guys and here’s to being sober!
 

The season has ended and the rookie journey is over. King Kisslinger has completed his first season in the VHL. Although It didn’t go as planned and the team’s journey ends here for the time being. Kisslinger had some thoughts to share about his team and his performance. I am so very proud of the boys, Kisslinger stated. We went out there knowing we were a young team and never let anyone beat us into the ground. We went hard every game, day in day out. And that’s something we should be proud of. We may not be close to the best team but we are building a family here in Warsaw and once we finally get all our members the league should watch out, we will be scary and i can almost guarantee that. I am damn proud of everyone involved with this organization and i can’t wait to make you all proud one day. 

I don't know about you all but my favourite time of year to be a VHL member is the holidays. From the charity drive to the auctions to the free TPE everyone loves the holidays in the VHL!
 
This is officially the fourth year we've done this after @Banackock originally suggested it back in 2019 and we've chosen, as you can see above, Doctor's Without Borders to receive our charity donations for this year. This is, of course, just our league-supported charity. As always, you are free to donate your funds to any registered charity anywhere in the world and count it towards the auction and our total numbers; all we ask is a screenshot proving the donation (though please remember to redact any personal information). 100% of the money raised by the league will be donated to Doctor's Without Borders, and the VHL will not take any cut. On top of that the league has decided to once again match up to $1000 when the final donation is put in. That means if you all donate $2500 total we'll put the donation up to $3500!
 
In addition to the Donation Drive, we will also kick off our Charity Auction and 12 Days of Christmas. How will it all work? Essentially the same as past years, but here are the exact details for each portion of our holiday season for 2023:
 
Charity Drive: December 12th - 24th
Starting tomorrow members can begin donating. Whether you do so through the league, by donating HERE, privately to DWB, or any charitable foundation of your choosing (receipt proof required for donations made outside the league), it will all count towards the overall contribution from the league. From that overall contribution, the league will match donations up to $1000 CAD, and add that to the donation made through the league.
 
Please post all confirmations of donation, including Paypals through the league, auction wins, and private donations to THIS THREAD. Any donation of $5 CAD, or more, will result in an automatic personal reward of 2 Uncapped TPE + a Full Free Week (12 Capped TPE), as well as an entry to each of the first 3 tiers of the 12 Days of Christmas Raffle.
 
Like past years as well we will be accepting blood donations in the charity drive. Blood is in high demand all year round, but especially at this time. Give the gift of life to someone. If you schedule and follow through with an appointment to donate blood that will count the same as a $5 donation and have the same rewards outlined above and below. For proof just post a photo from during your donation, it doesn’t need to include your face if you don’t want it to, a shot of the machine or your arm or whatever is fine, we’ll take your word for it.
 
As this is the season of giving, members may also donate on behalf of one other user.
 
Holiday Charity Auction: December 13th-20th
@Acydburn will be posting the auction items soon but for now the full rules are available here. Go buy something fun offered up by our community members. Auction wins will count as personal donations for the purpose of individual rewards.
 
As always there are some amazing auction items that we're looking forward to this year so it should be fun.
 
12 Days of Christmas: December 13th - 24th
This year’s 12 Days of Christmas will be similar to the last two years, where there will be a daily thread to claim “tickets” into our final raffle, which will be drawn on a live stream. As always the raffle will contain 4 tiers of prizes, with each day contributing to your entry into each tier, as follows:
 
Dec. 13 - 15: Post in the corresponding thread each day for an entry into the Tier 1 raffle (1 ticket gained per day)
Dec. 16 - 18: Post in the corresponding thread each day for an entry into the Tier 2 raffle (1 ticket gained per day)
Dec. 19 - 21: Post in the corresponding thread each day for an entry into the Tier 3 raffle (1 ticket gained per day)
Dec. 22 - 24: Post in the corresponding thread each day for an entry into the Tier 4 raffle (1 ticket gained per day)
 
Number of Winners per tier:
Tier 1: 10 Winners
Tier 2: 5 Winners
Tier 3: 3 Winners
Tier 4: 1 Winner
 
As with all our previous raffles if someone is drawn twice they will be considered as having won the higher tier item and the lower tier will be re-drawn. Users may also claim any tier underneath what they have won if they would rather have that item. No rewards can be exchanged for cash but we will ship worldwide as @Berocka found out to the detriment of the league having to ship a jersey to Australia...
 
Rewards and Donation Milestones
As previously mentioned, there will be personal rewards to those who participate in the charity drive / holiday auction, as well as stretch goals to hit which will result in rewards for the community as a whole!
 
$500 Community Donations: 2 Uncapped TPE for Everyone + @twists will stream a declaration of his love for everyone that's been active in the past week.
$1000 Community Donations: 4 Uncapped TPE for Everyone + @DarkSpyro will perform some Christmas themed metal songs
$2000 Community Donations: PT Doubles Week for Everyone +  @Grape will do a full stream of all the Five Nights at Freddy's games.
$2500 Community Donations: 6 Uncapped TPE for Everyone + @Acydburn will stream something, he just hasn't decided what yet.
$3500 Community Donations: 8 Uncapped TPE for Everyone + @Beketov will once again stream Zoo Tycoon 2 Ultimate (which I'll have to re-install) and name animals after VHL members.
 
Additionally, though not a "stretch goal" in the classic sense, for every $100 donated @eagle_3450 will do a lap of the Nurburgring in BeamNG.drive
 
**Disclaimer: Rewards may only be applied to players created on, or before, December 25th, 2023**
 
Let's do this @Members!

The season has ended and the rookie journey is over. King Kisslinger has completed his first season in the VHL. Although It didn’t go as planned and the team’s journey ends here for the time being. Kisslinger had some thoughts to share about his team and his performance. I am so very proud of the boys, Kisslinger stated. We went out there knowing we were a young team and never let anyone beat us into the ground. We went hard every game, day in day out. And that’s something we should be proud of. We may not be close to the best team but we are building a family here in Warsaw and once we finally get all our members the league should watch out, we will be scary and i can almost guarantee that. I am damn proud of everyone involved with this organization and i can’t wait to make you all proud one day. 

1.  Work harder and make sure that when we are ready to make the playoffs I’m in the best shape i can be in. It’s all apart of the process. 
2. point per game, may look unrealistic now but just wait. 
3. top 4 team in EU
4. Skating or maybe IQ if you count that! 
5. being with my family. I don’t get to seek them very often so it’s super nice when i can! Other than that tobogganing!!
6. I will check it out, charity is always good to help!

King Kisslinger has been picking up his play on the ice currently, finally finding his way to the score sheets and working towards become that player he knew he can be. King Kisslinger has been scoring a point in almost every game played recently for the past couple sims and it is hype to see. Earlier in the season he was in a slump and could not find his way out but it seems like he has found his stride. “I have been playing some top notch hockey” stated King Kisslinger. “Lately i have been gaining so much confidence and my team members have been encouraging me and I’m just in a really good spot right now. I honestly wouldn’t change a thing about our team, we are slowly building a culture here and i know you can see it with some of our games. I’m really hoping this play continues and i can lock in more!” King Kisslinger said.

My player hasn’t been scoring very many points as of late and is in kind of a slump. I know it’s my rookie season and I’m still not the highest tpe but i just can’t shake the feeling of feeling brand new. I sometimes have flashes of brilliance than nothing for 2-3 sims and it’s really tough to see. I have been putting in the work but maybe it’s just not my season and the next season will be better. I’m so proud to be on Warsaw even though we are not a competitive team right now, I do feel like the management picked me for a reason gave me a path to greatness. I’m sure my play will pick up and I’ll start getting back to scoring and I’ll be super super happy. 
Real life has been great, working lots and making money. Hope the good feelings continue for the holidays! 

1. Not American but happy to see all the plates of all the good food!
2. I didnt, i was gonna get a couple games but decided not to!
3. Well as a Warsaw player the other bad team i know how it feels to lose, i don’t mind losing close games but blow out games are tough 
4. Europe is a blood bath and NA is fine so not really.
5. Well not really, not getting many points currently, only rookie season though 
6. Yellow? Idk hahaha

My player hasn’t been scoring very many points as of late and is in kind of a slump. I know it’s my rookie season and I’m still not the highest tpe but i just can’t shake the feeling of feeling brand new. I sometimes have flashes of brilliance than nothing for 2-3 sims and it’s really tough to see. I have been putting in the work but maybe it’s just not my season and the next season will be better. I’m so proud to be on Warsaw even though we are not a competitive team right now, I do feel like the management picked me for a reason gave me a path to greatness. I’m sure my play will pick up and I’ll start getting back to scoring and I’ll be super super happy. 
Real life has been great, working lots and making money. Hope the good feelings continue for the holidays! 

My player hasn’t been scoring very many points as of late and is in kind of a slump. I know it’s my rookie season and I’m still not the highest tpe but i just can’t shake the feeling of feeling brand new. I sometimes have flashes of brilliance than nothing for 2-3 sims and it’s really tough to see. I have been putting in the work but maybe it’s just not my season and the next season will be better. I’m so proud to be on Warsaw even though we are not a competitive team right now, I do feel like the management picked me for a reason gave me a path to greatness. I’m sure my play will pick up and I’ll start getting back to scoring and I’ll be super super happy. 
Real life has been great, working lots and making money. Hope the good feelings continue for the holidays! 

Review: 9/10 
Great article. I do feel like the RP aspect of the league is what drive a lot of the motivation to do the media spots and long writing process. It definitely does for me! But If you don’t have that RP mind it is definitely hard to smash out 500 work articles every week so i do feel like a change to media spot word count wouldn’t be a bad idea at all. i do feel like there would be a way to achieve that. The article was an easy read, punctuation is well done. Only thing i could give for advice is a photo and a title but sometimes that’s hard so i get it. 
 
hopefully the league would take a peak at the media spots and try to figure out a way to make them more friendly for newer and older members!

So recruitment is the theme for this week eh? This is one of those topics I've never put much thought into, I just don't feel I have the mind for it, for how to best bring in new people to a sim league. A sim league can be a hard sell to because I think it takes a good level of imagination to get the most out of it, there isn't an actual game to watch after, you just check in day after day, week after week, month after month, to look at your screen and see the score sheet and final score and move one. I know there are more descriptive aspects to look at but at the end of the day it's still text on a screen, there isn't a highlight reel to go watch after a game is simmed. This goes for the more tedious part of it too, typing articles and media spots. (I know graphics are a thing to but a good chunk will always feel typing is their only option) I've always leaned more into the role play aspect of the league as it helps me find motivation and enjoyment from the league, it's why I tend to type more posts that feel like there serious and in the actual world of the VHL, and I avoid saying TPE, because it doesn't make sense in a literal context. There are a number of challenges that come with leaning into the RP aspect of it though, like ridiculous names that are more so for a meme or some other silly reason, how fast the season goes by because there's no way in real life players are playing two if not three games a day, and if each season in the VHL is like the NHL and is almost a year long then the year it would be in the VHL is sometime in the future and..... ya it just gets hard to make sense of it all, so I avoid talking about certain factors because of it. For the record I'm not suggesting changing this as I think having a season that actually last close to a year long would be tiresome and I don't think player freedom should be taken away when it comes to names.

Before I continue I can only state that this is my opinion and what I have come to enjoy about the VHL, at least as much as I can. I know it will be different for other people, in terms of what drives them to return with player after player. So after that rant I think it's clear what I'd like the VHL to do, lean into the RP side of it more, advertise that, make a player's career feel special and life like. Dive into the history aspect of too and mention some older players that people like me never even knew about. They don't all have to be hall of famers either, you can have some very solid career players that never dominated the league but were consistent and perhaps heavily tied to one team. I don't know how you go about getting that out there but it's what I would like to see. I also can't help but echo something I saw in another media spot, and that's changing the amount of words or TPE tied to a point task. In my case I've thought about this before with media spots, maybe it's time to reduce the minimum amount of words in them. Lower to it 350 perhaps? Yes this would mean 700 for two weeks, 1050 for three, and 1400 for four, heck maybe let us to 1750 for five. Make it easier for new players to complete them? And for veterans like myself (I can call myself a veteran at this point, right?) it's less tiresome to pump out a media spot. Another option might be to let new players have a limited number of time they can claim an MS that 350 words or greater, make it seem less daunting to do. Another change I thought about was for press conferences, perhaps we could change it we can get 3 TPE max from them, 1 TPE for two questions answered, it's just another small change that I think would make it more friendly for new comers and again veterans who no longer have the energy to max cap. I hope someone likes some of the suggestions in here but that's all I have to say, thanks for reading!
 
(word count 756)

Review: 9/10 
 
Great article and great topics covered, i really think the VHL hype team idea could be the start of something truly great. I like that you have a photo, a title. Punctuation is well done and i found it super easy to follow and understand what you were trying to say. Holding gm’s accountable is a good idea as well. 
 
for future media spots the only improvement would be to underline all titles, only the VHL hype team one was and it caught my attention the most! 
 
hopefully one of your ideas can help change the league for the better!! 

Recruitment ideas
 

 
I would likely to start off the article with a disclaimer, as I don’t have any idea what recruiting avenues the league has looked into over the last year, so some of these ideas might already been in process or proven to not work.
 
Recruiting on podcasts: 
 
Podcasting is the hot thing right now instead of your traditional radio, with hundreds upon hundreds of podcasts available that hit every topic in the world. An idea that I thought of would be looking up the sports podcasts around the world and reach out to see if we could hop aboard a podcast that has a decent amount of followers. Now podcasts like splitting chiclets or the Steve Dangle podcast might be outside out reach financially, something along the lines of a fast browsing podcast such as Tales with TR, might still be cheap enough to hop on board for a few advertisements throughout the hockey season and possible one in the off-season to catch those maybe with some hockey FOMO. Outside of recruiting with advertising on already established podcasts, the league should look into getting a crew together to start a weekly professional podcast discussing all things VHL, with the thought of getting the postcard noticed around the hockey world. Now of course that would take time and dedication, but this might also open up additional jobs for those around the league looking to get more involved in recruiting. 
 
Thaw next ideas are in my opinion recruitment related as with recruitment should also come retention, as a GM or member shouldn’t be held responsible for making the VHL a desired place after you sign up and create a player 
 
Retention:
 
GMs of the VHLM and VHLE need to be held more accountable for helping with retention. They are paid a fairly decent salary in TPE, and in my opinion need to be the most active people in the teams discord locker rooms. I understand not every team is expected to compete year in and year out, but from my personal experience now twice in the league with this situation, it’s tough to put time and effort into something that you don’t get much out of to log in each day to silence in the locker room especially if your team is also doing poorly. Now I’m sure GMs are doing they best they can, but previously moderators and commissioners were able to view team locker rooms and if they still can, can help out with this task of checking in on players on teams that have inactive locker rooms. I could imagine being a new player trying to make your way in the league with no discussions in your locker room. Also if the moderators and commissioners can see a lack of effort being put forward by a GM, they need to get more involved well before the person just goes inactive. Now I understand life happens, but that’s a poor excuse for not pulling your weight when you are paid to run a team in the league. 
 
VHL hype team: 
 
Yea, you read that right, I fully believe the league needs to hire members similar to VSN employees, but this crews job is to hype up players in media spots or signatures each week. Old members and new members love seeing and reading about their players, but of course most players that aren’t leading the league in something or a member that loves to talk in discord and on the forum don’t see themselves in signature and media spots often. My suggestion here is to have as many people as necessary 4-5, and focus on a draft season each week. One week look at those in their final seasons, next week look at those who are not yet drafted into the VHL. Hopefully those putting forward an effort each week, if their player is doing well or not, the hype team can help people stay engaged in the league. 
 
Claiming capped TPE week of November 27th 

This week was all about cardio and skating for me. I was working really hard with the skating coach of the team as well as my trainer for my cardio. I know that I need to be faster and lighter on my feet out there. sometimes I feel like I am made of stone so it will be nice to finally work on what I feel is a weakness in my game. A lot of my skating training was focused on techniques because I have the power I just don't know when to cross over or push as effectively. A lot of this training was more or less about breaking old habits and it was not very physical. My cardio training on the other hand was a lot harder. Did some running up inclines, sprinting hard then jogging then sprinting again, it was a lot of tough work but I made it through it. I think overtime this will help elevate my skating ability!

Training hard will pay off. Nice article.

This week was all about cardio and skating for me. I was working really hard with the skating coach of the team as well as my trainer for my cardio. I know that I need to be faster and lighter on my feet out there. sometimes I feel like I am made of stone so it will be nice to finally work on what I feel is a weakness in my game. A lot of my skating training was focused on techniques because I have the power I just don't know when to cross over or push as effectively. A lot of this training was more or less about breaking old habits and it was not very physical. My cardio training on the other hand was a lot harder. Did some running up inclines, sprinting hard then jogging then sprinting again, it was a lot of tough work but I made it through it. I think overtime this will help elevate my skating ability!

Hello again, so recently there’s been a tiny bit of drama around the recruitment teams methods of recruiting. Today I’d like to focus on what I find the most important the VHL Instagram. In my last post I got criticism for not providing solutions, So I’ve made a complete guide on how to actually use Instagram to promote the leagues brand and I have created my own Instagram account with examples.

Also I’d like to change my opinion on one of my points in regards to using NHL player’s likeness. I think it’s fine
because of how small the VHL is HOWEVER, It’s still legally questionable so it should be a caution we are aware of. 
 
(Disclaimer: I’m away on a trip so I didn’t have access to a computer meaning I couldn’t make examples of everything, but it should put across the main point.) 
 
1. Aspect Ratio:
When creating a post Instagram will automatically scale it to fit on your screen and will accommodate any photo. That is not the same if you decide to post a reel which has a fixed aspect ratio which is why we see the big black spaces filling up most of the current VHL insta’s posts. Photos should not be posted as reels keep them as photos and that solves the problem, you don’t need smoke effects and music over every still image. You should in general post using the classic 1080x1080px however it’s not necessary. 
 
2. Reels:
As mentioned before every single post made by the current insta is a reel. I’m assuming this is done to take advantage of the high traffic of users scrolling through reels to get more attention on posts. First I want to say reels is an important tool to be used when advertising on Instagram, however not when your post aren’t ads or more importantly not videos. The only still images that get attention on reels are screenshots of twitter, that’s it. Anything else put it in a regular post. So how does the VHL use reels then? Video ads, watch Kazxi’s ads on the game slapshot rebound, they are good examples of what I’d envision a vhl ads should feel like, obviously the content will be very different and focused on VHL activities. https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cs6SMFRNodi/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
that’s my idea at least but just as long video form content aimed at bringing in members is getting posted I’m happy.
 
 
3. Types of Posts:
Now one thing that I don’t think I made very clear on my last post is not every post has to be advertising. It’s ok to have a mix as long advertisement is present. In my mind there’s 3 types of posts, Ads, league retention posts, and a mixture of the two. Ads as mentioned in the reels section should be focused entirely on bringing in members.
 
League retention is more making content specifically for your followers, posting community graphics would fall under that as well as media spots, VSN posts, and basically anything you’d need a prior knowledge of the VHL to understand. These kind of posts are ok if they aren’t the entire Instagram. They should not be spread out into multiple posts. Add all the images into one singular post (in my example they are all on one image but using multiple slides in one post is also an option depending on how you want to present it) and throw in a title image to give the post some context. 
 
The mixture would be standings, stats,  trade announcements, and championship posts. It’s enough context for someone to understand what they are looking at even if they haven’t interacted with the VHL before. 
 
4. Branding: 
Branding is important, all posts should reflect the VHL brand identity which means careful attention and care should be used when designing a post. This includes the image pixel quality, and the quality of the image itself. That does mean jersey swaps and how well an image is cut. Using beginner artist works I think is fine in the occasional community post but shouldn’t be involved in larger scale league branding. Every single time you post you should keep this in mind, when people click on the vhl profile we want a good impression.
 
5. Example:
This example shows both the league retention and mixed posts as mentioned in Types of Posts, I didn’t include an ad because (as I mentioned before)  I’m on trip, and because of the amount of effort to do it should be the job of someone getting 6 tpe a week in job pay. But anyways here’s the insta: https://instagram.com/vhlsim_?igshid=YTQwZjQ0NmI0OA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
 
I did see the current account posted a trade which is a good step in the right direction, despite the arguments I’m glad you guys listened and have shown you’re open to improvement. Hopefully this conversation helps get the recruitment going in the right direction. 
 
 
@Moon @Subject056 @Triller

Hello VHL, just wanted to rant about something real quick, I’m sure I’m not the first to talk about this and I’d hope that higher ups are aware of the issue but I feel it’s worth getting more attention. What is happening in the VHLM. Teams have no players! Like at all! Look at this!! 
 

 
How are these actual teams that are actually stepping on to the ice night after night?? That’s embarrassing. I get teams having 6-4-1 instead of the irl usual of 12-6-2. It’s sim hockey everyone wants some minutes but running a 2-1-1?!?! Or a 3-0-1?!?!?! 0 defenders on a hockey team…How is this supposed to encourage anyone on those teams to keep playing? And it’s not just Mexico and Halifax, Miami is running a 3-1-1, Mississauga is running a 4-2-1, Philly is running a 4-2-1. Hell the top team in the league rn Houston has 5 forwards and is about to lose one to IA.
 
The VHLM either needs to fold a bunch of teams next season or we fix the real problem and get recruitment to do something. Now I would like to say if you are apart of recruitment I don’t dislike you guys as members. But as the recruitment team you need to stop fucking around with reposting graphics that makes no sense to anyone outside the league on instagram and TikTok. Start doing what works. Get YouTube ads out, they bring in players every time and the majority of current members came from YouTube (me included). And get some better ideas for promotion I’m sorry but the instagram looks like garbage.
 
The image quality is all over the place the framing is even more all over the place. It looks sloppy and unprofessional. No one is gonna be drawn in to a post with Alex Letang in a Malmo Jersey with the name Reese McFleury plastered across his body. Cause it doesn’t make any sense to anyone outside of the vhl, which just so happens to be WHO YOU ARE ADVERTISING TO!! Like look at this post and tell me you aren’t going to instantly scroll by it.
 

Genuinely there’s maybe 3 posts where I’d imagine a normal person looks and doesn’t think “wtf” then keeps scrolling. 
 
Also probably the most important part do we even know if we’re allowed to be using NHL players to promote our site? Like it’s definitely okay to make stuff for the forum because it’s personal projects, but when it crosses into advertising I have to imagine that’s not allowed right? Like those are real people’s likenesses being used to promote the VHL without giving them financial compensation or getting consent.
 
It feels like recruitment has been bumbling around not putting any real effort or at least not coordinating a proper vision of how to promote the site. To end it, save the VHLM by getting a god damn YouTube ad out, and fix the sloppy mess that is the social media accounts. 

It does not feel like long but I have been in the VHL since May 25th, 2020 Who would have thought? Time sure has flown by! I can't believe that I am only on my third player. each player I want to be better and better than the rest but today I wanted to look back on my other players, Zachariah Kisslinger and Zach Kisslinger II and my newest player King Kisslinger
 
Zachariah Kisslinger 
 
Zachariah Kisslinger was my very first player here in the VHL, My good buddy @JBrew42 was like, "Man, you have to try this league out it's super cool!" and after a few attempts I finally decided to make my first player. Zachariah Kisslinger was a Defenceman, I believe at the time of creation the league did not have many Defencemen so I thought this was a chance to at least guarantee me some playing time in the big leagues eventually. I signed my first waiver contract with the Missisagaua Hounds! I got to play with my buddy @JBrew42and it was a very cool thing to be happening. the only problem I had was I didn't know how to update anymore than the simple welfare and press conference lethal combo lol. It took me a very long time to make it out of the M, I would go on to play two seasons in Ottawa. The First season I did not do the best but I was a plus twenty. The second season was a great year and I had a huge jump and put up 77 points and was over a ppg! I remember being so happy seeing that lol. Then came my time to play in the VHL and my very first team was Prague. I remember when Diamond Ace drafted me in the discord he called me the steal of the draft, if only that was true haha! That team was so fun and so legendary, doomsday, dom a super fun time! I ended up playing four seasons in Prague and honestly, for a 500 tpe defenceman, I was putting in a decent amount of work on the ice. I was also pretty decent in the playoffs as well. I don't think I would have the knowledge and the passion for the league I have now If I never had this player, This player showed me that even If your player isn't good that's not what it's all about. it's about meeting and connecting with other people and building relationships. 
 
Zach Kisslinger II
Zach Kisslinger II, man I really stepped my game up with this player. I locked in and actually took the time to learn how to max earn and get involved in the community a little more. this player was part of the first-ever VHLE draft which is also pretty cool! I believe that if I kept updating and never had to deal with some real-life stuff this character would be a first-ballot hall of famer, there I said it haha. This player had his way in every single league he played in at some point. Kisslinger II signed with Houston to start his career and played 13 games there but then was drafted by Halifax, and that's when the career started! in my rookie season, I had 50 goals and 89 assists for 139 points which is crazy. I brought home some hardware that season bringing home the Vladimir Boomchenko Trophy for most assists in the league. If this did not put the league on notice then I don't know what could. For the first-ever VHLE draft Kisslinger was selected 30th to Stockholm, the team I would AGM for the first time ever! Kisslinger II continued the pace and put in 46 goals and 65 assists for 111 points in 72 games. Stockholm would go on and make it to the finals that season but ultimately lose. That didn't set me back because, for the first time, someone took a risk on Kisslinger II by taking him in the first round. That was Dlamb and Warsaw. Kisslinger II was selected 14th By Warsaw. Kisslinger went on to put himself in the history books on this team. KIsslinger went on and put up an amazing rookie campaign and put up 89 points for my first season. Kisslinger II would be promoted to assistant captain and in Season 84 Kisslinger and the Preds would finally break through and win themselves a cup. Kisslinger would go on to have an amazing playoff and IMO was robbed of playoff MVP this season with a stat line of 14 goals 4 game winners including a game-seven and 15 assists for 29 points in 20 games. Kisslinger would add three more pieces of hardware to his resume, with a Continental Cup, Victory Cup, and a Scott Boulet trophy. Kisslinger would move on to become the captain for the rest of his 7 season career. Kisslinger II was the franchise leader in Games Played, Goals, Assists, Total Points, and Hits. This player I am so proud of and it gave me confidence in my build-making ability!
 
King Kisslinger 
King Kisslinger I am hoping for a repeat of Zach Kisslinger II but without the 2 seasons of going MIA. The careers are pretty similar already minus the points, Both of them lost in the VHLE finals, and both go around the same overall to Warsaw, 14th, and 15th respectively. I have done really well with keeping up with this player. I try to max earn every week no matter what even if that means scrambling last minute to find the trivia answers or typing up a media spot! I am pretty impressed with King Kisslinger this season, only six points off PPG and that is just two good games and I am right back in it. I have been thinking and I just want this player to be a winner. I want to have so many cups with Warsaw eventually I would not know where to put them. I cannot wait to see what the rest of the season brings and all I can say is LETS GO PREDS!!!!!    
 
1016 words claiming week ending November 12
& week ending November 19

It does not feel like long but I have been in the VHL since May 25th, 2020 Who would have thought? Time sure has flown by! I can't believe that I am only on my third player. each player I want to be better and better than the rest but today I wanted to look back on my other players, Zachariah Kisslinger and Zach Kisslinger II and my newest player King Kisslinger
 
Zachariah Kisslinger 
 
Zachariah Kisslinger was my very first player here in the VHL, My good buddy @JBrew42 was like, "Man, you have to try this league out it's super cool!" and after a few attempts I finally decided to make my first player. Zachariah Kisslinger was a Defenceman, I believe at the time of creation the league did not have many Defencemen so I thought this was a chance to at least guarantee me some playing time in the big leagues eventually. I signed my first waiver contract with the Missisagaua Hounds! I got to play with my buddy @JBrew42and it was a very cool thing to be happening. the only problem I had was I didn't know how to update anymore than the simple welfare and press conference lethal combo lol. It took me a very long time to make it out of the M, I would go on to play two seasons in Ottawa. The First season I did not do the best but I was a plus twenty. The second season was a great year and I had a huge jump and put up 77 points and was over a ppg! I remember being so happy seeing that lol. Then came my time to play in the VHL and my very first team was Prague. I remember when Diamond Ace drafted me in the discord he called me the steal of the draft, if only that was true haha! That team was so fun and so legendary, doomsday, dom a super fun time! I ended up playing four seasons in Prague and honestly, for a 500 tpe defenceman, I was putting in a decent amount of work on the ice. I was also pretty decent in the playoffs as well. I don't think I would have the knowledge and the passion for the league I have now If I never had this player, This player showed me that even If your player isn't good that's not what it's all about. it's about meeting and connecting with other people and building relationships. 
 
Zach Kisslinger II
Zach Kisslinger II, man I really stepped my game up with this player. I locked in and actually took the time to learn how to max earn and get involved in the community a little more. this player was part of the first-ever VHLE draft which is also pretty cool! I believe that if I kept updating and never had to deal with some real-life stuff this character would be a first-ballot hall of famer, there I said it haha. This player had his way in every single league he played in at some point. Kisslinger II signed with Houston to start his career and played 13 games there but then was drafted by Halifax, and that's when the career started! in my rookie season, I had 50 goals and 89 assists for 139 points which is crazy. I brought home some hardware that season bringing home the Vladimir Boomchenko Trophy for most assists in the league. If this did not put the league on notice then I don't know what could. For the first-ever VHLE draft Kisslinger was selected 30th to Stockholm, the team I would AGM for the first time ever! Kisslinger II continued the pace and put in 46 goals and 65 assists for 111 points in 72 games. Stockholm would go on and make it to the finals that season but ultimately lose. That didn't set me back because, for the first time, someone took a risk on Kisslinger II by taking him in the first round. That was Dlamb and Warsaw. Kisslinger II was selected 14th By Warsaw. Kisslinger went on to put himself in the history books on this team. KIsslinger went on and put up an amazing rookie campaign and put up 89 points for my first season. Kisslinger II would be promoted to assistant captain and in Season 84 Kisslinger and the Preds would finally break through and win themselves a cup. Kisslinger would go on to have an amazing playoff and IMO was robbed of playoff MVP this season with a stat line of 14 goals 4 game winners including a game-seven and 15 assists for 29 points in 20 games. Kisslinger would add three more pieces of hardware to his resume, with a Continental Cup, Victory Cup, and a Scott Boulet trophy. Kisslinger would move on to become the captain for the rest of his 7 season career. Kisslinger II was the franchise leader in Games Played, Goals, Assists, Total Points, and Hits. This player I am so proud of and it gave me confidence in my build-making ability!
 
King Kisslinger 
King Kisslinger I am hoping for a repeat of Zach Kisslinger II but without the 2 seasons of going MIA. The careers are pretty similar already minus the points, Both of them lost in the VHLE finals, and both go around the same overall to Warsaw, 14th, and 15th respectively. I have done really well with keeping up with this player. I try to max earn every week no matter what even if that means scrambling last minute to find the trivia answers or typing up a media spot! I am pretty impressed with King Kisslinger this season, only six points off PPG and that is just two good games and I am right back in it. I have been thinking and I just want this player to be a winner. I want to have so many cups with Warsaw eventually I would not know where to put them. I cannot wait to see what the rest of the season brings and all I can say is LETS GO PREDS!!!!!    
 
1016 words claiming week ending November 12
& week ending November 19

London is off to a wonderful start so far, really fulfilling the vision the team came in with. We have conceded the least amount of goals so far, even with a few particularly lackluster backup goalie performances this week. Jesse Teno has been a workhorse and the team defense has been particularly strong.
 
Special Teams has made a major difference so far, averaging a powerplay goal a game so far, at a league leading 23.5% conversion rate. The penalty kill unit has also been in the top quarter of the league, giving us a special teams goal differential of 9 in the first third of the season.

Our goal, quite simply, almost painfully simply, is to score more goals than we concede. Why yes, that is the point of the game you might say. What this means to us is that scoring is not a scale from 0 to infinity. It is a binary of enough and not enough. So long as the number of goals we score is greater than that of our opponents, which we are keeping very low, then we have done enough to win the game.
 
We have positioned our players to be playing the minutes that best apply to them. We know that we have a distinct separation in talents between our players, and each one is positioned to be the best possible for their task. I do not ask my top scorers to play on the penalty kill, because I need their energy to be focused on running a top powerplay, and winning the game at even strength. In the same vein, I need my lower scoring players to be in the position to run a top quarter penalty kill, and focus on reducing goals against.
 
So far, everyone has done their job to near perfection. As the season moves along, I expect players like Sjin and Ivan Retoslav to begin breaking in offensively, both as members of the powerplay and also in sheltered even strength minutes.
 
Our defenders are used primarily to defend, outside of Lloyd Braun. Braun is built as a dedicated powerplay quarterback, and has picked up 11 points with the man advantage already. Nesbitt, Solyom and Jeckler take on the majority of the tough defensive minutes, particularly youngster Jack Jeckler, who plays a significant portion of their time on the penalty kill.
 
Finally, we have been blessed with an absolute masterclass of a performance so far by Jesse Teno. They currently lead starters in Save Percentage, and Goals Against Average, by a significant margin.
 
Unfortunately our schedule has had Teno sitting a lot this week, as we get our mandated backup starts out of the way so Teno can take us all the way to the playoffs. There is a long road ahead but we can be way more comfortable to let loose and grow knowing such an elite goaltender is behind us.
 
London looks well suited for the kind of hockey that the playoffs will require, and while it is still early, we hope that this team can last the pace and try for another championship!