IamMOOSE

Giving an (A) here on the effort and execution of this post. Very interesting methodology with this. I like the idea and calculations of it. In regards to a team like Ottawa, who in your own calculations is so far outplaying their numeric potential, why do you think that is? What aspect of the team do you think (just a guess) is influencing the sim in their favor? This is another article that's added to the growing story of this season. Teams that have overperformed or at least, outmatched their outlook. Another trend I've noticed late in this season is how trades have affected teams in a negative way. It's happened a lot with teams even in the VHL this season in teams like Moscow, Davos, and Vancouver. Teams that have made move to either build towards contendership now or soft retools of their roster but in the case of a team like Moscow and I'll add Ottawa to this as well, they've somehow gotten stronger with less pieces. I just read the fascinating media spot from @diamond_ace about this subject and I feel it ties in nicely with your post as well. Great work Plate!

I kid you not Moskau is referenced in my Press Conference answer this week for the Aces lmao

Following a series of mailbag questions, which you can view here: https://vhlforum.com/topic/86006-kevin-king-mailbag-qa/, where King made the bold declaration of being potentially a GM in the VHL following his playing career, a source within the family has now revealed which team King is eyeing first for a role as an AGM. It was first rumored that King did not submit any application or hint at the at the time vacant AGM role for his own Las Vegas Aces and it is believed that he was very much in favor of the eventually appointed AGM Twists getting the role. King was expected to have added his name to the now loaded applications post (located here: https://vhlforum.com/topic/85564-vhlvhlm-agm-postings/) where teams can consolidate and pick new GMs/AGMs from a list of applicants on the page but we have yet to see his name. However, it we can exclusively reveal now that Kevin King has expressed interest in one day beginning his front office career with the Houston Bulls of the VHLM. During a BBQ, King revealed that he appreciates the challenges that come with helping build franchises and from a purely front office perspective, he would love to build up a franchise with only a few championships and see if he could bring more prestige to that organization. King would go on to say that plans and ideas can always change. He’s focused on being a player today and hopes to win a Founder’s Cup with Vegas this season and would love to remain with the Aces next season, “if that’s in the cards.”

Speaking as someone who just went through a lot of this recently, it’s not a problem of anything being self-explanatory or even the forum being overly crowded with information that new players need to know (though it definitely is. When you first join there is waaaaaayyyy too much information to go through right away). If I had any advice as a recent new player, it’s focusing on three things: Navigation, Player Creation, and Community. NAVIGATION – Being completely honest, unless you join through a friend who is walking you through what to do, you got to the league through a recruitment post in a subreddit, some website, an ad, something. Sure, you can create an account easy enough but once you’re thrown into the forum with all the newbie content, you’re Bambi lost in the jungle. The problem isn’t so much navigation through the site, as so all the info is there, it’s just too much there. If you really want to make life easier, it’s one section called beginner/new account. It has video explanations of how to navigate the content. If that’s not a route you want to go, then the first thing you should be redirected to after creating an account is a introduction page where you read through a short summary of how the league works and at the bottom there’s a small list users the BoG designated with the job of guiding new players. Helpers with the green dot showing they’re online can be clicked on and the new player can immediately begin a dialogue with a Helper that can guide them and answer any questions they may have. CREATION – New players shouldn’t be allowed to access their update player page until either A) They’ve signed with a team and can get help on assigning TPE, or B) Their Helper unlocks it to help them set up their player. Speaking from experience in it’s current state, you do not get to that How to Build a Player Guide fast enough to learn that half the skills don’t matter much. COMMUNITY – If you’re doing videos, the last introductory video should have a link to the Discord for the league. If you’ve implemented a Helper system, then the Helper would get that set up. Getting on the Discord and interacting with the community, getting help from GMs, talking to players, that was what got me through that first few days. Ultimately, until you get to experience the league chats, and get guidance from veteran league users on what to do, none of those guides really matter. I’m sure there are some select people who can go through and just digest hours of how-to manuals but that’s likely a small minority. It’s not until someone with who’s been around for a bit breaks it down that you start to get a grip on how to play.

What goals does Kevin King have for his VHL career? King: “It’s been a long road to get here. I had some injury troubles that I had to put behind me, I had to find that place to get back to where I knew I could be competitive. I look at where I’m at now, playing in a great league with some great talent and I still have that drive to do more. The short answer is to get into some VHL games and rack up as points as I can and just enjoy the ride. The long answer is always to be the top of the food chain. I think where I’m at now I’d like to Center some top lines in the VHL, but the ultimate goal is to be champion. If I could end my playing career a champion and maybe parlay that into a front office role, I think that’s definitely the route I’d like to go.” What tpe-level do you think FO (faceoffs) should have for a VHL centerman to be considered elite? King: “85. It’s a lot to throw into a non-formula skill but we’re talking elite here. I think faceoffs are vastly underrated. It’s the start of every play and you can have all the talent in the world but not starting with the puck puts you at a disadvantage every time.” What VHL player(s) do you model your game after, if any? King: “I share some size similarities to Alex McNeil, or a Kevin Brooks and I’d love to follow in either of their footsteps as Hall of Famers in this league. I’d love to model myself towards Aleksi Koponen. Continuing on that last question regarding faceoffs, I think any Centermen that can average 62.3% on the draw should be looked at as a benchmark of where you’d like to be a Center in this league.” If you had to choose a VHL team to NOT be drafted by, which team would it be and why? King: “I don’t like to leave anyone off the table. It may be the pedestrian answer but of teams I’d love to be a part of, definitely the newly branded Chicago Phoenix, a team like the D.C. Dragons, or even Aleksi’s home of Helsinki.” Do you know @twists is also from Michigan? Do you know any other VHL/VHLMers from Michigan? King: “I did actually *lol* and while I haven’t talked to Twists about that yet I imagine we’ll both discuss it somewhere down the line.” What is your desired career path, are you a one-team guy or would you like to experience different locker rooms and teams? King: “I appreciate loyalty from both sides. I understand it’s a business, so things happen. It’s nice to stick it out for the long haul though, help build a franchise or keep one going. If I had to say, I think with my late start and role, it’s too soon to tell how things will progress.” Preferred general route: current expansion team (full on grow with the team), team from the last few expansions (Prague/DC/Malmo, to a lesser extent Moscow - write some of your history into that of the team but also they're semi-established), established team but rebuilding (Van just entering one, Toronto just exiting one, Helsinki with just about enough left to have seemingly avoided that fate?), or established team but contending (Calgary, Seattle at the top right now - Davos climbing, Riga seemingly pretty sturdy from year to year, and NY finally look to get in). King: “Well, to dissect this a bit. I like the idea of helping a team that’s ready to go to that next stage on a rebuild. In my current role, I understand I’m more a piece of a rebuild rather than the face of that rebuild. As answered previously, I like the idea of Chicago as the expansion team that hasn’t gotten a lot of love so far. I think they have major surprise potential and could be in a brilliant spot if put together right. I’d love to be a part of Helsinki, continue that lineage of great Centermen. I think anyone would love to walk into a situation where their team contends. It just comes down to where I go in the draft.” I'd like to thank these fine people below for submitting these questions and more for this mailbag Q&A! - @SweatyBeaver - @gorlab - @OrbitingDeath - @diamond_ace

On average, how many times a week do you hurt yourself trying to dance in the shower? When You Dance In the Team shower are you dancing alone? Or is it a team effort? King: "Well, the gang and I are working on perfecting the dance to Moskau by Dschinghis Khan. It's difficult but we'll get there. Definitely a team effort." What’s the most money you’ve ever drunkenly spent at McDonald’s? What did you get? Moose: I have drunkenly spent $104 at McDonald's. I bought so many chicken nuggets and fries that they actually had us pull to the side and had to take other order first while ours was being prepared. We were all obnoxious but I'm a happy drunk so it was okay. Best nuggets I've ever eaten. On a scale of 1 to 10, how intolerable do you find players that post their entire lives on their insta ? Both: I don't have an Instagram. How many bowls of cereal do you eat every single day and why aren’t you eating more? Moose: I like cereal but I don't eat it daily. Who on your team would you let punch you directly in the face no questions asked? King: "Micah Adrienne." How many days have you gone without showering? Did people notice? Moose: I'm not sure. It was during a particularly deep depression where I just kinda shut down. Yes, people noticed. How old were you when you realized Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny probably never actually knew one another in real life? King: "No comment." Can you fit your whole fist in your mouth? Are you trying to now? lol Both: Never tried it. Probably not, though I knew a girl in university who could-

I've started a revolution! MEMBER TAGS FOR ALL!!!!!!!!!

Wasn't aware the member tag was some cardinal sin, just seen it used before and figured it was easier and how everyone does it. lol

Hey guys, thinking of doing a Q&A. Would cover some draft and other league stuff. Would love to get some commissioners and GMs involved. If you're a Commissioner or GM and are interested in participating, please DM me on here or on discord @Moose (#8971 if you need the numbers too). All are welcome to submit questions here if they have anything they'd like asked to a Commissioner or GM! @Commissioner @VHL GM @VHLM GM @Members

I'm interested.

When will the next update be to the rankings?

To fit with our international conference. The city of Okayama in Chugoku, Japan has a purple flag with a golden crest. With is wild boar and deer population in that region, I'm gonna go with the Okayama Elks. Here's the flag for reference:

So sexy. Using the new theme now. I always prefer dark backgrounds as a night owl. Dims the screen and is more esthetically pleasing to me. The animation for the scrolling home is phenomenal work too. Great work, can't wait to explore the rest of the site with the new theme!

Would like to be tagged please.

What’s going on with Kevin King? With the shine and circumstance wearing off, Kevin King’s first 10 VHLM games are in the books, the Las Vegas Aces 6-4-0 in that time. With an average ice time of just under 13 minutes, King has not yet recorded a point and is a +/- (-1) on the season. His overall statistics are less than impressive, nowhere near matching his off-ice presence. Perhaps it’s just a matter of line chemistry or timing (4 of those ten were played against top 5 VHLM teams, with 2 other games seeing King play less than 8:00 minutes). If we take a look back however this isn’t the first time King has been through a slump. In his first competitive season since returning to hockey, it took King four games to record his first goal with the then Flint Freezers of the NEHL. Even following this, he found himself in the worst slump, going thirteen games, including the first two playoff games of his second Freezers season without a point before exploding with a hattrick in game three of that series. Over the course of King’s career, he’s shown to rebound from lengthy scoring slumps in big ways, often responding with high tally performances that span over multiple games. It’s certainly not time to panic with King, as he’s only ten games into his VHL/VHLM career. It feels like only a matter of time before he erupts with one of those stellar performances that have come to define him. We would expect to see a renewed focus in this final stretch of the season and with reformed lines following the Recreation Deadline, expect this article to age very quickly.

Also quick shoutout to @Quik for the Jolt Juice Logo pulled from his article that has the brand logos from the previous version.

I condensed it from a word document. If this keeps gaining attention I’ll throw up a longer my finalized version. It’ll end up massively long. Lol

Thanks DMax! I read through the old version of it. Needed Whiskey afterwards but I think I get what the idea behind it was. I think the secret to money on here is to give more reasons to have it. It's what a lot of sports games fail on. Sure you get paid, but you don't do anything with it. I have ideas, but I'd like to start with this. If it gains any traction we can start to think about things like a reformed Player Store with more stuff, I've thought of maybe like a display page where you can buy items from the store to decorate your display page. Trophies you win can be added, something like that but that's way down the line. Baby steps, starts here. lol

Rebranding Branding/Sponsorship OVERVIEW With the Branding/Sponsorship for the VHL dead in the water, it's time to reevaluate and revive it into a new, and beautiful system. Brands can be the cornerstone of a league on the business side and a fun extension on an off-season. Sponsorship can afford players with cash to spend on new things, and objectives/expectations can add new wrinkles to the experience that veteran users may find refreshing. Through long winded review, and the ideas of a madman, let's take you through the short (yes, this is considered the "short version" of a proposal to reform and reboot Branding/Sponsorship in the VHL. BRANDS The essential function of a Brand is to sponsor players/leagues to help boost their product awareness and bring eyes to their Brand. Since we’re in a simulation league, obviously that doesn’t apply (I know, it’s still real to me dammit. Little reference for any wrestling fans out there). Because of this, the focus switches to the player. In the VHL, Brands could act as an agency for a player, influencing salary growth, destination, and create a bridge during negotiations. Brands will act as an additional objective board for players during their career and can give player the leg up in earning cash for Player Store Items. Brands will be run by Players who want to take up the mantle as the head of that brand. Brand structures will be a topic for another Media Spot if this proposal gains traction. In short, the user running that Brand would allocate their budget, be able to recruit for their brand, and would have objectives of their own in order to stay involved with the VHL as a permitted Brand. Again, a massive Media Spot will be done for Brands in depth if this gains traction. List of Brands: - Haterade (previous Brand) - Jolt Juice (previous Brand) - Konecny Goods (NEW!) - NETFLEX (previous Brand) - True North Gear (previous Brand) - Ubuyalot (previous Brand) - [Brand to be Reveal] - ??? SPONSORSHIP So how would sponsorship work? Well, not through tournament play, that’s for sure cause all the Essential Function people in the league got enough to do, let’s not add more simming and tournaments to their to-do list. Instead, this would fall on the Assistant General Manager (AGM). While Brand Representatives may approach players as they wish, it will in general, fall on the AGM to send over a small list (up to five) of players they feel deserve to have brand sponsorship. After careful assessment, the Brands may then offer that player a contract with the brand. Once accepted by the player, it must be approved by a league commissioner, the only task that a commissioner would need to be a part of in this (Or you could create a Brand Officer position for that job specifically if that would be simpler). Once the contract is league approved, the player may sign the deal which goes into effect immediately. Sponsorships are contracts between the Brand and player, which entails several incentives and objectives based on the contract provided. CONTRACTS Contracts are where this gets tricky. Contracts are signed between the player and Brand but must be approved by the Commissioner or Brand Officer if you go that route. Once approved, the Brand Representative will update the contract to show who approved the deal, and the player will then be able to quote it and sign it. Contracts may involve many things, from Objectives, Expectations from your Brand, and even Incentives to earn more money from your Brand upon completion of tougher milestones in the VHL/VHLM. Some Expectations may be that you remain with a North American team, or that you expand to an international team to spread the brand awareness of your sponsor. You may be asked to reach certain statistical milestones or play a certain average in minutes. It is all to add to the immersion and challenge of playing the VHL/VHLM. For aesthetic, a contract could look something like this: In the example above, 22-year-old, Frank Unger signed a 2 Season Contract with Jolt Juice to sponsor him. He will have to remain in North America, whether he remains with the Philadelphia Reapers, or is called up to the Calgary Wranglers, he must play for a North American team for the next two seasons. Let’s say his contract with Calgary expires and he has the option to go play in Moscow or Vancouver. If he were to sign with Moscow, it’s a violation of his sponsorship deal with Jolt Juice and may result in his contract being terminated with that sponsor. While this example contract doesn’t have any breach penalties, other generally longer-term deals would be expected to have severe penalties for breaching contract (usually resulting in that player forfeiting some earnings). On a more positive note, because Frank Unger is expected to be a future superstar Defensemen in the VHL, an incentive has been placed in his sponsorship deal that would see him earn extra cash for winning the Trophy related to that position. For obvious reasons, that total is not available now as the league commissioners and those in charge of branding/sponsorships should have it nailed down first how to properly integrate earnings, without over-inflating player salaries to destroy the Player Store. REVENUE AND THE PLAYER STORE In order to keep the stress off of commissioners, it is the recommendation that we appoint a Brand Officer or one Commissioner to oversee the Branding operations/approvals. To put it simply, Brands would submit their player contracts to this overseer who would keep them on file (If I were doing it, it would absolutely be on Excel) and would be in charge of approving the salary gains for those players. Note that this should be done either as a season end lump sum or broken up between one half payment at the midway point of the season and other half at the end. The weekly gain would be a headache I don’t wish upon anyone. Additionally, the only ironing out that would be needed now is how to match it to the Player Store. I haven’t been here long enough so I’m not comfortable making those ratios and would need commissioner, veteran league input. Additionally, we could see the addition of more Player Store items from these as monetary gains help bolster the league economy. FINAL NOTES This is an early stage proposal. It is open to comments and refinement. If you have any comments on parts of this proposal, Brand ideas, contract stuff, or how you’d implement a new sponsorship tree in the VHL, I’d love to hear it. If you have any questions, feel free to ask away. This was over 1,500 words when I started but I tried to trim it down to start with.

Ask Kevin King any questions here. I'd like to compile a nice list of mailbag questions I can throw into a Q&A Media Spot for Kevin King. If you have any questions or suggestions, please comment them and I will tag you in the question during the Media Spot!

1. Do you guys think @Spartan is doing a good job as GM? Blink twice if you are being held at gunpoint. King: "I think Spartan has done an admirable job at the helm of the Aces. It's a tough position to bring together pieces from a previous regime while instilling your own blueprint on the team but he's done a good job thus far. We're expected to contend this season and that's in large part thanks to the moves Chief [has] made throughout the campaign." 2. VHL's Pride month is in full swing now. What do you think of the logos for the various teams? King: "Big shoutout to @Poptart for some of the excellent work on logos. It's no secret where the world currently sits and it's great to see so many people coming together. It's been personally affecting to see how Pride month has effected the lives of friends and family and anything that furthers that cause is outstanding." 3. We raised an incredible amount of money for our BLM charity drive. How do you feel about the charities chosen to receive the money? King: "To echo previous statements, it's no secret where the world currently sits. While I don't choose this platform to take stance on any particular events currently in the news I am tremendously proud to be in a league and with a team that is so inclusive and represents the values and morality of human kind and human kindness. It's an incredible feat for any league to set aside hard earn monetary gains to help stimulate change on a global scale. While I haven't personally researched some of the foundations receiving donations I can take comfort in the brilliant minds of the VHL/VHLM that this money is going exactly where it should. I'm proud of everyone." 4. What are your goals for the team as we near the playoffs? King: "To pick up on an earlier question, I expect us to contend for the Founder's Cup. I think we have the pieces to go deep into the playoffs and expect the stellar play we've gotten all season long to escalate into the postseason. Everyone needs to do their part. I can't and won't speak to the goals and mindsets of my teammates, I will say that my performance starts with me. While I haven't yet hit the scoresheet I have to continue to do the right things and be in the right places for us to succeed. At the end of the day there are two teams ahead of us in the standings and once playoff time comes anyone can make a run. My job is to facilitate the Aces on that run, whatever my role may be." 5. Have you used our wonderful in-house casino? If not, why haven't you gambled away all of your salary back to the team...erm I mean won? King: "No *laughing*, I haven't had a chance to double or triple my salary yet. I can't speak to others' success in the casino but I've heard some horror stories in the lockeroom." 6. Have you talked to our new AGM twists? If not leave a friendly hello! King: "I have not had the chance to have a one-on-one conversation with Twists as of yet. Definitely excited to see what our new AGM brings to the table."