jacobcarson877

This is the first week in a while I completely forgot Sunday happened and Monday is almost done and I’m just getting my TPE ready! Media Spot recapping Week 4 will happen, maybe tonight who knows. But I wanted to ramble a few words out that weren’t me doing my duties assigned to me by myself or the nature of the jobs I’ve chosen to do. Jillian Woods is pretty fun, I must say. I took a much different approach to building this time with Woods at least compared to Wolanin. Instead of diving towards whatever got me an STHS attribute the fastest, that I would eventually have gotten anyways, I’m really getting the hard TPE out of the way first. I’ll be dropping 20 TPE into getting an attribute from 97 to 99 this week, and getting that DF to 90. And then I won’t have to think about it ever again, until I go buy my Jagrs. Next season is all about pushing the scoring up. Woods can skate and she’s got a great head on her shoulders, and that’s gotten her WAY farther than I had expected, but she’ll need to become a primary play-driver if she hopes to survive on the talent-heavy Menace. You have to earn your space and your ice time, which is an incredible dynamic for someone like me, who loves to dig deep and compete in the earning category.

Final Week of the regular season! 1. We are way, way (way, way way) out of a playoff position. Obviously lots was wrong from the beginning, and we only had so much time to get things going again. But, we've got some new assets in the system, some new prospects ready to play for us next season. Would you consider this season a success? 2. As the season comes to an end, so may/does my tenure as Rome GM. It's been a strange season, but one that taught me a lot. What have you learned this season that will help you in the rest of your VHL career? 3. I've been to almost all of my classes now for college, and I'm starting to really get myself geared up for my life after academics. What is your players plan after they retire? 4. In the last few seasons there has been a disproportionate amount of defenders and goaltenders created. How do you think that will affect team-building going forward, and how can the forwards get an advantage? 5. There's been a lot of talk around the community about the use of AI tools in TPE tasks. We'll never get to a point where an output from AI can be submitted for TPE, but what use cases do you think are okay for AI to be used to help with TPE tasks? 6. If you could make one change to how the VHL currently works, large-scale or small-scale, what would it be, and why?

Welcome back!

Happy Monday everyone! The final stretch is upon us! 1. We've acquired a couple picks and prospects to give ourselves a better shot in the next couple seasons. If you were to GM a team, would you rather rebuild through the draft, or through trading for drafted prospects? 2. We're nearing the end of the season, and well, it was a certifiable disaster from a standings perspective. What's one win that we can remember this season by, instead of looking at the standings? 3. Tomorrow is my college orientation. Are you in school? What are you taking, and if you're done school, what did you take? Where do you want to go from there, or where DID you go from there? 4. It's recreate week! The 97 draft class begins today, and many veterans wait for this week to recreate for the most optimal start. Do you have any plans for your next player? A name? A position? A style of play? 5. How's your future VHL team doing this season? Take a look at the Standings and see what's going on with them. Are you excited to make it there, and how can you help them be better than ever before? 6. It's the final question, and my question for you, is a question for me! What's one question you want to ask me? Can be anything at all, VHL, IRL, and as long as it's a question I feel like answering, I will!

Geez I have not been doing well keeping up with these. Been really struggling this season to find any consistency with my sim leagues, I’m either all in, or 20% in. Got things on the backburner to either catch up on or abandon, but I want to make sure I at least finish up with our favourite milestones! --- 100TPE And so it begins, where it always does, with Xhekajs middletoe @Xhekajsleftankle. This player has an excellent 2-way game, and has been picking away this season on the Marlins, and looks to have the opportunity to be a top player there. The first 100TPE is down, and now many more to go! Excited to see where this middle toe can go! While this one might be a bit of a stretch, considering Invader Zimothy Timothy @Emperor_Fun hasn’t earned any TPE yet, they do start their career with a nice bump, crossing the 100TPE threshold with ease. Next week is the start of a new life for this player, and while Vegas has gotten them onto a great career thus far, there’s only better things ahead! Not to be mistaken for Ricer13, the one and the only, RicerFourteen @Bombshuka is in fact a completely different player. Just sliding onto the list for this week with a crisp, even 100TPE, this goaltender has put in a ton of work so far for the Reapers, and has helped secure 25 wins for them. Better results ahead, but for now we can appreciate the work of the past! 200TPE David VanHousen @David VanHousen will be graduating from the VHLM at the end of the season, along with a few other great players. VanHousen has taken the balanced approach, with a variety of attributes, and a ton of TPE. And so far, they’ve gotten a wide range of stats in return. Some dedicated building could churn out a really bright future for this player, and Rome is dying to get their hands on such an asset. Slava Kovalenko @OblivionWalker has been leading the Hounds through sheer force of will. 69 (nice) points so far, and some serious physical stats to back it up, this is a minute-munching workhorse of a defender if I’ve ever seen one. They’ll be a hot commodity in the upcoming drafts, and whoever snags this prize will be getting one heck of a player. Nathan Blaize @Maple has been working hard, and playing their dues. They’ve built some great stability in Mexico, and have provided some great consistency to their lineup. Their VHLE future is unknown for now, and teams should be scrambling for this forward next season. A real force of a player in the offensive zone, and built for any powerplay opportunity they can get. They’ll need to round out their game a bit more, but you can’t teach offensive instincts! Deadpanda @Alex has completely turned things around for Vegas this season. An MVP in every right, and putting up incredible numbers right away. Vegas doesn’t allow goals, and most of that has to do with this eerily named player. Another must-have prospect, and VHL teams will be planning their futures around the coming of Deadpanda. Wefernando Mackingikus @vincentlg2007, the enigmatic being, has been making a name for themselves this season, earning the eye of the Reapers, and recently making a huge career jump to the contending Philly squad. VLG has put up the offense before, and Mackingikus is primed to follow it up again. They’re finding their footing in a new home, but just you wait. Mad Villain @Tate has been quietly plotting in the Vegas strip for some time now. All power, and all protection, the focus has been on defense and strength thus far. Some kind of secret message? A warning to the league? Who knows, but we’ll all need to form a superteam to take down the maddest villain of all. 400TPE Ivan Ivanov @KmaddFPS has returned from the depths of inactivity to an all new height. An earning spike, an interest in STHS and GMing, and a huge move to the dynastic Express. Things are looking good for Ivanov, and Chicago should be ecstatic to have their prospect come back with full force. It’s always been about the VHL for Ivanov, and it’s closer than ever before. David Pastanap @Jubis has taken control in a tight roster for Oslo, making the most of every shift, and earning every one of them. A shooting fiend, and some great scoring to match, Davos has a weapon coming into their arsenal soon. Another player that will have to find some polish outside of their cannon, but a VHL-ready shot is something not many can boast. Exciting stuff coming for this player, and we have yet to see the best of them! --- For those using the prompts, here is your new one for this week! Describe the most intense hockey game your player has been a part of. Who were they playing against, and what are some of the key events that happened? --- Past Weeks Week 1 Week 2 Week 3

@The goat of hockey, to a contender and hopefully a winning experience for you!

And now my VHFL team is unstoppable

Welcome!

Thank you for your great insights oh mighty lurker

find and replace

Days since Sam injury - 0 hopefully we will see a day where that is well well above 0! Thanks for sending off Wolanin in a nice way, wish you all the best!

@samthemancub making a big career move!

Good luck @KmaddFPS! Best of luck in Cologne and then in the VHL! @Elite Steel, excited for you to join the Rome system, and help us build a new identity in the coming seasons!

Life's good my friend! Hope you're doing well yourself, hope to see an excellent followup to Lion, and perhaps even better!

LETS GO welcome back!

As always whenever I see a Theme Week theme, I aim to try to skirt my way around it and take it from a different angle than I expect most would. This Week, in addition to my regular highlight of up and coming players that I hope will come out sooner in the week rather than later, I’ll be writing about: Rookie Pitfalls, and Ideally, If They Aren’t Obvious, How to Avoid Them. 1. Not logging in again. We see it all the time, players get created, the VHLM GMs rejoince, sometimes they even join a team, and then they’re never seen again. Whether they didn’t like it, or simply forgot it existed, they’re out a great experience, and we’re out a potentially terrific player. When I first joined I actually only stuck around because I joined n the evening, and then went to bed with it still open. Then I got hooked and left the tab open. Throw us on your bookmark tab! 2. Second is getting overwhelmed, or completely underwhelmed by notifications, both on the forum and on Discord. Head https://vhlforum.com/notifications/options/ to manage which notifications show up in the bell icon, which you get a push notification for, and which go to your email. I only get an email when someone messages me for example, but I do send a lot of things to my notification list. Also, I have the auto-follow thread that I comment/post on setting turned on which I can’t remember how I did that. On Discord my rule is muted, but Only @mentions for most things, and then the most important channels in my most important servers get unmuted, but still Only @mentions. I used to get so overwhelmed by Discord messages and so I turned my notifications off for Discord entirely. And then I lost a ton of activity. It wasn’t until I figured out my Discord and forum notifications that I ever became active. 3. Participating without engaging. And what do I mean by that? This is a forum-based simulation league, with a thriving Discord community attached to it. You could go entire careers without engaging with anyone. You could never post, never send a message on Discord. And even in a non-extreme case, in fact a pretty regular one, you could never post on the forum, and send one or two messages in Discord, and then just earn your TPE alone for the next couple of years. But I feel like then you’re missing 99% of the fun! Take some time to enjoy people’s content, take some time to talk to and get to know your teammates. Even if it’s only about the sims, celebrate the wins, and work to do better after the losses! Figure out those pesky notifications first, and then hang out with us! 4. Not being willing to read. I know in this day and age things are presented to us in a very visually stimulating way, often very quickly and the context switched regularly. But here we slow that down even a little. Some of us are still fiending for more content all the time, and I’ve certainly been there, but the beauty is in taking your time, reading the New Player resources, and learning about what it takes to be a good player, and an even better member. Reading is even more important than creation in my opinion, as it becomes very hard to create without reading. 5. Not asking questions. This is a very strange style of hobby, and even the other leagues in our niche do things very differently. It would be impossible for any member to know all of the things, and so why should we expect you, a new member to know even a large chunk of the things? You’re expected to have a million questions. I still have a million questions. But you deserve to get your answers, and you deserve to be educated on the things you need to be a good player, and once again, a greater member. And as we probably all heard in school, if you have a question, surely someone else has the same one and is too shy to ask. And even more importantly, we give a lot of jargon in our answers, if you don’t understand the answer, get clarification! Sometimes we forget to take ourselves out of our shoes and put ourselves in yours. 6. Spreading your TPE evenly. There’s nothing that hurt more for me than seeing a new player join and then immediately spread their TPE evenly across all of the attributes. Not only are they not good at anything, they aren’t even actually increasing many stats, and usually only the ones we’ve determined to be the least useful, and so have a larger ratio in the Hybrid system. I won’t tell you how to build here, but I will tell you to not build anything until you’ve talked to a GM or read about what the attributes ACTUALLY are, and what they do. Just because something is called Wrist Shot, doesn’t mean it actually helps your wrist shots. Ask your GMs about the history of the Hybrid system, how it came to be, and what it means for us now! 7. Overvaluing PTs. The 6-point Point task is the pinnacle of forum content creation. It is a testament to our dedication to the league and also a complete waste of energy and time for much of our user base. It is a cherry on top, not the foundation. When dealing with Capped TPE, up to 6 TPE comes from your choice of PT, Welfare, or Pension once you meet the requirements. If you choose a PT, you can fill all 6, Welfare is 4/6, and Pension is 5/6. So a PT and Welfare are only 2 TPE different. Regardless of which you pick, you still have access to the other 6 TPE, which are called the Supplemental TPE. These are the bread and butter of TPE earning. I encourage everyone to try a PT for each season’s Theme Week, and for your First Gen Doubles Store Purchase. But realistically, even then you’re not going to fall down the field if you never do a PT. Supplemental TPE is broken down into much more manageable chunks. Your GMs are dying to help you with Supplemental TPE. 8. Getting too focused on the VHLM and VHLE, and not the end goal, the VHL. It’s well known that the VHLM is the place of all hype. Waivers coming in, lots of early career growth, and all of the novelty of a new career. For those who love quick validation, the VHLM is heaven. And the VHLE is the exact opposite. It is a small, tight, competitive league, where the focus goes away from novelty and onto consistency, and structure and foundations. It’s all about burning you in the fires to get you ready for what you came for, to play in the VHL. Often times people forget that, and decide to put their attention to being the best VHLM or VHLE player. But if you never move past the novelty, and through the fires, you never get to enjoy the product that we work so hard to perfect. Where building and TPE earning shine, where long term planning is king, and where an intense community ravishes over every season. Instead of every season being drastically different like it in in the minors, the VHL is all about more-realistic competitive windows, exciting moves and transactions, and trying to get to and sustain the highest level of play. It’s addictive, and exactly why I, and many others, choose to push ourselves through the VHLM and VHLE each career to GET to the VHL. 9. Doing too much, too fast. Many of the greatest members, at least in magnitude of activity, have burned out in just a short time. They grow to resent the league, lose their interest and leave. Sometimes out of the blue, and sometimes with a long-winded apology to us, and most often themselves. I know I, and everyone else here will always push you to be better. But we don’t know you, we don’t know where you’re at. This can absolutely be a chore in the wrong context. I write an essay every week for fun. I don’t always even claim the TPE for it. My friends think I’m crazy, and even other members probably wonder why I’m doing this. I came close to burning out a few times, and I’ve watched it happen too many. So take it easy. Remember PTs aren’t the be-al-end-all of the league. You don’t have to log on every day. You can close Discord. Enjoy some time with your friends and family, and touch some grass please. Drink water, sleep well, and get some sunshine on your skin and eyes. It’s a simulation hockey league. Don’t burn out over this. 10. And for the sake of nice even numbers this will be my final pitfall. I’m sure I and others could brainstorm more, and are welcome to put them below, but the last one is going to be Not Questioning Things. We are nowhere close to a perfect system. There is a ton of miscommunication, there are a ton of bugs, poor wordings, bad intentions, faulty historical precedents, misleading language, conflicting rulings, lapses of judgement, lapses of enforcement, and overall oversights. If something seems weird, ask someone why that is. Maybe you’ll learn something, maybe there is no good answer. We don’t get better if no one calls us out. Be polite, be constructive, but complain, propose, and question about everything. Your ideas could be the catalyst for something new and great changing in the league, and we need your thoughts. You’re as much of a member as the rest of us, so own it. Your vote is as worthy as anyone else’s.

Happy Monday everyone! We're settled in, and absolutely rocking it this week! 1. The Theme Week theme has been announced! If you have not seen it already, check it out here! (TLDR, it's "Rookies"). Do you plan on doing a PT this week for the extra Uncapped TPE? Do you have a good idea of what you'd do it about, or do you need a hand fleshing out an idea? 2. We've been losing a ton of high-scoring, one-goal games. Other than a goaltender, which would obviously change a lot of things, what do you think it is that our team needs to do better to close out those games? Is it just a lack of endurance, is it a mental thing? Are we getting sloppy in the last few minutes, or is it all just an elaborate plan to tank for (insert top prospect here)? 3. There will be a brand new draft class starting next week, hopefully being populated by some recreates, but also a new batch of first-generation players. You're all generally a couple season into your careers now, what advice do you offer for these new players about what it takes to get here, and what pitfalls they should avoid? 4. There's a few trades bubbling around the league, including some action for your Rome Gladiators. Do you imagine we're the kind of team that you would always hear trade rumours about on Twitter for months before the deadline, and then the exact move gets made at the deadline, or do you think we're the kind of team that blindsides insiders every deadline with a completely out-of-left-field move? 5. For most leagues, the trade deadline is one of the most exciting points in the season. It generally tells you whether management's perception of the team aligns with yours, and gets you really excited for the future of the team, or completely disjointed. What kind of moves do you expect to come from Rome, and how can we get you excited about the next era? 6. In the offseason there should be a posting to try to fill this GM position long-term. What sort of qualities to you value most in a GM, and is there anyone that you'd love to fill that position? @isaak @solyom @Hunter S @KmaddFPS @Nyx @The goat of hockey @horoscope Happy TPE earning everyone! If anyone is in need of some Trivia Help, PT ideas, or build advice, please let me know in the LR, my DMs (forum or Discord), or here in the Press Conference thread!

applied

hell yeah backup starts no punishments for us (hopefully)

Dare I claim Doomsday's? I fear I must!

Position: G Birthplace: USA Height: 6'1" Weight: 202 lbs. Drafted: S85 – 10th overall (London United) Username: aimkin/ @Aimee Not many players get to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Fewer do it on their first time around the block. Even fewer yet get to do it with 8 seasons on a single team. Even fewer still win the Franchise’s first Continental Cup, as that team’s playoff MVP. And that is scraping the surface of Jesse Teno, one of the VHL’s all-time great goaltenders, and an all-time great playoff performer. All while bringing wonderful energy, extraordinary earning, a kind attitude, a passion for community, and the desire to give back, regardless of their own life circumstances. If I could induct Aimee themselves into the Hall of Fame, I would. But for now, I’ll have to settle for having retired their number and inducting their first-generation player into the Hall of Fame. Career Awards Individual All-VHL First Team | S91 All-VHL Second Team | S89 Aidan Shaw Trophy | S91 Greg Clegane Trophy | S91 Daisuke Kanou Trophy (2x) | S88, S92 Team Continental Cup| S88 Humble VHLM Beginnings It was not all fun and games for Jesse Teno when their career first began. It all started with Saskatoon, who was at the time one of the perennial bottom-feeders of the league. They really struggled, and Teno was one of the few players on the team, let alone the few engaged and active ones. But despite the initially disappointing introduction, they sought out mentors across the league, trying their best to find a circle of people who would encourage them, teach them, and give them the community they needed to persist. And so they did, becoming a great earner within the first few weeks, and pushing many of the veteran recreates down the TPE charts. They lost and lost and lost on the ice, but they gained and gained and gained off the ice. And as it so turns out, learning to take those losses, and pursue future successes with vigor, is exactly what Jesse Teno exemplified. It was a short stint for Teno in the VHLM, fortunate for the VHLE and for their opponents in the VHLM, but most importantly for Jesse Teno, as they would finally find the competition they craved, and could finally showcase the work they had been putting in. Regular Season Stats 84 (SSK), 71 Games Played, 22 Wins, 47 Losses, 2 Overtime Losses, 0.904 Save Percentage, 3.2 Goals Against Average, and 5 Shutouts. Playoff Stats 84 (SSK), 6 Games Played, 2 Wins, 3 Losses, 1 Overtime Loss, 0.909 Save Percentage, 3.68 Goals Against Average. The Rising VHLE Action It was off to Cologne for Teno, and Cologne was just piecing together its longstanding dynasty. They weren’t quite there yet, but they were certainly on the up. Jesse got the healthier half of the starts, splitting the net with Freddy Freeze. In 46 games, Teno would fall just short of 30 wins, with a very respectable 29. But that wasn’t exactly the impressive part, wins aren’t all on the goaltender right? What was impressive is that the difference between VHLM Teno and VHLE Teno was a .904% to a .93%. This was a huge achievement at the time, and while that kind of performance got slightly more normalized for a few seasons before some league changes were made to adjust goaltenders, this was a mark very few ever achieved. It was a thing of dreams even. And all the while barely allowing 2 goals per game, it took quite a disappointing offensive effort to make Teno lose. And that would be a real pattern throughout their career, it was really only ever when the offense dried up that Teno lost. Another thing that became obvious after this season, was that Jesse Teno had another gear for the playoffs. And if you thought their regular season performance was Hall of Fame worthy, which it was, the playoff performance was a whole new level. A .950% in their first real playoff environment, and a 1.72GAA. I have no idea how Cologne lost with that performance, but alas, Oslo started their dynasty and would go on to split 9 of 10 following Renaissance Cups with Cologne at the time of writing this, and well, neither team is out of contention yet in S95. Regular Season Stats 85 (COL), 46 Games Played, 29 Wins, 12 Losses, 5 Overtime Losses, 0.93 Save Percentage, 2.08 Goals Against Average, and 4 Shutouts. Playoff Stats 85 (COL), 13 Games Played, 6 Wins, 4 Losses, 3 Overtime Loss, 0.95 Save Percentage, 1.72 Goals Against Average, and 1 Shutout. Straight VHL Domination The VHLM and VHLE are all fun and games, and important for goaltenders in particular, to get used to the level of earning and building required to be the best. It’s easy enough to be good, and that stands for skaters too, but to be the best, to get those starts, and to beat out the veteran recreates and the other passionate first-generation players, it takes some extra oomph. I inherited London in S88, and while we will certainly talk about that time later, it is important to understand the context of the London United in the seasons before. For most of London’s history they were a fringe playoff team, or missing entirely. They often faced a much better 4th seed in the Wild Card round, as the European Conference never really ceased to have 4 contending teams. They had their fair share of star goaltending. Cole Pearce, Jacob Tonn, David Davis. They all graced London in the seasons before Teno’s arrival, and but up good to excellent performances. But they were often at the tail end of their careers, or realized quickly that London simply wasn’t a team who could compete for a Continental Cup. And so they all passed. London was finally in a deliberate rebuild, moving on from some franchise great players to pave the way for players who would soon become the franchise leaders in most statistics, notable Molly the Cat, and Leonard Triller. Both get their nod as franchise greats, and will hang from the rafters in London forever, I am certain of it. In the second draft of this rebuild, London grabs a late round steal in Jesse Teno. The 3rd goaltender to go in the draft, and while the first two got their Continental Cups, they were nowhere near the dominant forces that Teno would become. Of course, a first-generation goaltender, fresh out of the VHLE is rarely handed the keys to the castle right away. David Davis got the starts this season, and put up an objectively excellent season. But Teno persisted, and showed management that they too were capable of putting up not only wins, but strong goaltending statistics as well. Their rookie season .923% would go on to be the worst save percentage they would have in a season, a number that for some goaltenders, would end up being their best. It was up from there, and with Davis moving on, Teno took on the brunt of the starts. 34 wins became the baseline, something that Teno only missed twice, while I was figuring out why passing was annoying, more on that later. A bump in save percentage, and some incredible tough minutes, but Teno was up to the task. No playoffs yet, but that time would come. Another season of personal dominance. This time taking down the Goals Against Average, still without much support, and eager to get into the games that mattered. In S88, I took control of the team. Teno was in a prime position. A few hostage situations led to winning some major trades, completely accidentally. London was hot, and people wanted to be there. A rookie GM, with VHLM accolades, a first-gen trio that was already showing that in their young careers, they weren’t to be messed with. The most complete team London had seen yet, and ironically what seemed to just be the starting point. We were close to pulling out of the Wild Card game, and taking our chances with an also-rarely-contending-but-now-near-dynastic-led-by-a-first-generation-HOF-calibre-goaltender Davos Dynamo. But a late season stumble had us in position to take on an arguably better, but unlucky Riga Reign. We were incredibly low scoring, relying on way better defensive ratings and an incredible goaltender to win 2-1 games. But we made it. And one game at a time, Teno and co. picked away at teams, dropping only one game to Riga, 1 game to Prague, winning a tightly contested matchup in Game 7 against Davos, and closing it out in one more Game 7 against Seattle. It was the run of a lifetime, and knowing that there was so much more in the tank made it all the more exciting. This win was driven by out-earning our opponents, bringing hype every single day, and sacrificing anyone who got in our way to Simon. With that being said, S89 was supposed to be a repeat. Sure we had some big players leave, but we had more big players join. But here is where I began to learn the valuable lesson that too many passing players on a unit tanks shots, tanks goals, and most importantly tanks wins. But I do think Jesse Teno forgot that part. They went on to put up a career best (so far) season, stepping it up to a new level in the regular season. The playoffs were done in a flash, but even still, Teno matched their performance in their Daisuke Kanou winning debut postseason. It was certainly not their fault, in fact we were only there because of their dominance. S90 really took a bite out of all of us, and it’s the season I regret the most. I dug deeper, trying to get passing to work for me, and we fell far short of 200 goals on the season. It took away some great opportunities from my players to compete for scoring titles, HOF nominations, and even the desire to return to London. After seeing the highs so early, it all crumbled so fast. This would be Teno’s worst season, and even then, would tout a .925% and 6 shutouts. That’s the kind of player I was blessed with. Even when everything went wrong, Teno was stonewalling teams left and right. And so in S91, we retooled on the fly. It was a terrifying few weeks, and led to many more terrifying few weeks in future seasons. We committed to defense by committee, and scoring by starpower. We were finally seeing 100 point seasons, and Teno topped 40 wins. We were back in business, led by a career best season from Teno, and optimism was high, but we were hungry. Most of us remembered S88 like it was yesterday, and it was time to get back to contending. We stomped Riga, and then in the blink of an eye it was over. Helsinki showed up, and my own player wrecked my hopes of another GM Continental Cup. But Teno wasn’t done. It wasn’t over for London, and it wasn’t over for Jesse. The Shaw, the Clegane, they were incredible, and I was very proud of Teno for those awards. It meant a lot to them, and it was really special for the organization, and for my friend. But it wasn’t enough, and it wasn’t where Teno belonged, in Game 7 in the Continental Cup Finals. A bit of a cruel joke for myself there, as you’ll come to see. S92 was a weird one. It wasn’t 91, but it was better than 88. We knew better than to assume playoff success based on regular season success. Not Teno’s best season personally, and they took that to heart, but we knew there was a beast in Teno that came out during the playoffs. The best way I can describe the feeling was cold anticipation. We ended the season as the 4th seed, taking on a still great, but on the down Prague team. You should hear more about that journey with the upcoming John Jameson article in the works. We dropped one to Prague, walked right over the Victory Cup winning Malmo Nighthawks, got revenge on the now-my-player-less Helsinki Titans in a stinging Game 7, to take on the D.C Dragons, still riding the high of their own first Continental Cup win, just before our own. I remember sitting at my desk, watching Game 7, and the simmer was taking a super long time to press the button, just to mess with me. I saw D.C win, and it was just a horrific moment. Molly the Cat was set to retire, and it took seasons to get back here, just to blow it at the last moment. Teno put up yet another all-time playoff performance, but D.C had Simon on their side this time. S92 was dubbed our last chance. This would be Teno’s final season, and we had to make the most of it. Triller and Kerr would lead us offensively, with Sjin and a growing depth making up for the departure of Molly the Cat. Things seemed pretty easy this season in the games. Ironically this was probably the least active I have ever been. I was without player, and for quite a while, and my poor core was going through their own personal adventures. Between moving, weddings, financial busy season, having kids, catching COVID, and everything in between, it was the quietest season for this group. But we persevered. Teno hit 250 wins, and finished their career with a ridiculous .928%. At the time of their regular season retirement, they had the highest save percentage amongst a consistent starter since S12. Since then, longtime rival and fellow first-gen goaltending phenom has surpassed them, facing a heavier rain of shots on slightly more fringe teams, and will also certainly be featured in one of these Hall of Fame articles soon enough, has beaten them, but those two stand alone at the top of a very historically stable mountain. But as we know, the playoffs are what matter. It would be another trouncing of Prague, followed by a sweep of the upstart, and now approaching dynastic Moscow Menace that would take them to the Finals, riding the high of an 8-1 record. Our first Cup was won here, on this stage against Seattle. We were ready, and we had what it took to do it. We split the opening 6 games, 1 win, 1 loss. It would be Game 7 again. We had won many before, and Teno was not one to lie down. Once again I waited for the simmer to just press the damn button. And again, Game 7 was not ours to take. Seattle would go on to add their millionth Cup to their catalog, and Jesse Teno would retire from VHL hockey. While the “final run” ended up being a bit of a lie, as Merome Dilson gave us a stellar season the following season to close out Leonard Triller’s franchise great career, the playoffs were where we stumbled. Teno was missed, and not by any lack of Dilson. And as such the rebuild began, I stepped down, and a new story will be told. But the stories of this great core, this first-generation energy will stand the test of time. And I hope when players look back in 100 seasons, they’ll be able to reflect on our experiences, and the greatness that is, was, and will always be Jesse Teno. An all-time saver of pucks, and an all-time member. Welcome to the Hall of Fame my friend, and may your subsequent careers be just as illustrious! All the best to you, as I know you’ve come out of the last few years a changed person, and for the better. I’ll always be cheering you on, and you’ll always be the leagues kindest villain. Thanks for everything Jesse Teno. Regular Season Stats 86 (LDN), 11 Games Played, 7 Wins, 3 Losses, 1 Overtime Loss, 0.923 Save Percentage, 2.43 Goals Against Average, and 1 Shutout. 87 (LDN), 64 Games Played, 34 Wins, 23 Losses, 7 Overtime Losses, 0.925 Save Percentage, 2.62 Goals Against Average, and 3 Shutouts. 88 (LDN), 66 Games Played, 34 Wins, 22 Losses, 8 Overtime Losses, 0.925 Save Percentage, 2.45 Goals Against Average, and 3 Shutouts. 89 (LDN), 64 Games Played, 33 Wins, 25 Losses, 6 Overtime Losses, 0.933 Save Percentage, 2.38 Goals Against Average, and 5 Shutouts. 90 (LDN), 64 Games Played, 28 Wins, 33 Losses, 3 Overtime Losses, 0.925 Save Percentage, 2.49 Goals Against Average, and 6 Shutouts. 91 (LDN), 64 Games Played, 40 Wins, 16 Losses, 8 Overtime Losses, 0.937 Save Percentage, 2.02 Goals Against Average, and 6 Shutouts. 92 (LDN), 65 Games Played, 36 Wins, 21 Losses, 8 Overtime Losses, 0.924 Save Percentage, 2.51 Goals Against Average, and 4 Shutouts. 93 (LDN), 64 Games Played, 41 Wins, 17 Losses, 6 Overtime Losses, 0.925 Save Percentage, 2.5 Goals Against Average, and 4 Shutouts. Playoff Stats 88 (LDN), 23 Games Played, 15 Wins, 6 Losses, 2 Overtime Loss, 0.949 Save Percentage, 1.92 Goals Against Average, and 4 Shutouts. 89 (LDN), 4 Games Played, 1 Win, 2 Losses, 1 Overtime Loss, 0.947 Save Percentage, 2.42 Goals Against Average, and 1 Shutout. 90 (LDN), 11 Games Played, 5 Wins, 6 Losses, 2 Overtime Losses, 0.9 Save Percentage, 3.63 Goals Against Average. 91 (LDN), 10 Games Played, 5 Wins, 5 Losses, 0.923 Save Percentage, 2.51 Goals Against Average. 92 (LDN), 22 Games Played, 14 Wins, 5 Losses, 3 Overtime Losses, 0.947 Save Percentage, 2.19 Goals Against Average, and 3 Shutouts. 93 (LDN), 16 Games Played, 11 Wins, 4 Losses, 1 Overtime Loss, 0.929 Save Percentage, 2.6 Goals Against Average, and 1 Shutout. Regular Season Career Record 462 Games Played, 253 Wins, 160 Losses, 47 Overtime Losses, 0.928 Save Percentage, 2.42 Goals Against Average, 32 Shutouts. Playoff Career Record 86 Games Played, 51 Wins, 28 Losses, 7 Overtime Losses, 0.936 Save Percentage, 2.42 Goals Against Average, 9 Shutouts.

Halfway through the season, and it’s been a fun one so far! Been fun to play in the VHL again, and really enjoying my recent stay in the VHLE! Been nice getting some people back into the VHL, and ideally into the big leagues ASAP! So lets see who has made some progress in the earning categories! --- 100 TPE (First Gens, don’t forget to claim the First Gen Bonus!) Starting us off is another entry into VHL veteran @ColeMrtz‘s catalog of players, this time in Kirill Tyutyayev. This will be their 5th player to reach this mark, and I certainly have high hopes that this will be at least another great role player in the VHL for quite a few seasons. They’ve been cooking steadily in Vegas, and we’ll see where they head next! Adam Joy is @MrMom‘s followup to the longtime underrated depth player Adam Rage, which brings back a wave of nostalgia for that era of the VHL. Joy has been a steady all-around defender for Philadelphia so far, and should be well on their way to another successful VHL career! @McGriddy10 is back from their last run with Brad Marchand, the dynamic depth scorer turned stalwart defender, and is now ready to block some shots, with Shot Blocker. I’m thrilled to see them back in action, and hope to get even a portion of the energy they brought last time around. San Diego has great need for some shot blocking, so they should be able to develop their game quite nicely there! 200 TPE Our first VHLM Graduate is none other than the goaltending machine @samthemancub‘s new entry, Samuel Wazinski! They’ve seen some vast improvements this season, and Rome, currently without goaltender, will be thrilled to have this player in their lineup next season. @Kendrick has been around for a long time, and has had many a great player in their time. Miles Bryant, the all-around defensive cog in the Vegas machine, has now reached the pinnacle of the VHLM, and Cologne waits patiently for another great defender to join their ranks. Further down the line Los Angeles will need all the talent they can get in the coming seasons, and Bryant could fill a huge hole for them. Another member who has been around a long time, this time it’s @okochastar returning with a Cam Ward-esque Draw Mac! Bringing tremendous value to our affiliate partner SBA, and paying us back the favour with some outstanding goaltending performances in Miami. They’ll be a hot prospect in this coming draft, and the value of Affiliate 12 is something many teams are keying in on these days. Somewhere between when I last wrote an article and now, Alex Ovechkin has appeared for a 3rd time, and is a VHLM graduate! They’ve been the epitome of consistency for some time now, and are a leader in Houston’s offense. Next up for @Bruh is a talent-starved Rome, who should have a great role right off the bat for the reincarnation of one of the greatest scorers of all time! Another player from a nostalgic era for me, is the new player from @Xflexz, Chazz Michael Michaels! The master of the Supplemental TPE, this will be their 3rd player to pass 200TPE, and they have always filled a sorely needed niche, someone who can build to 700-900TPA, and stay that way for a long time. After one round of defense, they’re back to their bread and butter, goaltending, and have been providing a steady body of work for Mexico thus far. We’ll see where they head next season! Our final player in this category is another Rome prospect, this time in @ThatCanadian’s Mathias Gunnarsson! The 2nd VHLM graduate of their career, and a dynamic playmaking defender for Halifax so far. They’ve been very consistent, and that’s what will get them to the VHL, and Prague will enjoy a longstanding presence like Gunnarsson! 400 TPE We have no players that have reached the 400TPE threshold this week, but there are a few hanging right around the cusp that I expect to be on next weeks entry! --- Great week for the VHLM GMs, with a ton of great players making it through their ranks. Consistency is working, and getting Supplemental TPE will remain the focus for a while to come! Our Media Prompt for this week, which once again can absolutely be written, graphical, or in Podcast form is as such: Have you tried all of writing, graphics, and podcasting? What made you settle on the one you do the most, and what’s stopping you from trying any of the others? Do you find one easier, or more efficient, or do you simply enjoy another one more, regardless of the work it takes to do it? --- Past Weeks Week 1 Week 2

I am not even kidding, get worse teammates