Eso

I smell it.

1. I hate the off-season with a passion. I want to be pouring over the sim results with my team after every day's games. The PBE off-season is just finishing now, so at least I'll have pretend baseball to keep me going until pretend hockey is back. Oh, I guess I'll play in the VHL Pro-Am too. 2. I don't know what the draft class is looking like, but there aren't any immediate team needs that would be filled by a fresh draft pick, so I'd say maybe one forward and one defenseman, and take the best locker room guys available. 3. I've been saying it all last season, any time the team goes out for dinner or drinks, Askarov shouldn't have to pay a dime for as long as he's on the team, dude has been putting in work. 4. I'll be staying in Calgary for the off-season, putting in time at the team practice facility as a well as scrimmaging with some of the local junior teams to keep that game tempo up. 5. I think we're going to be a playoff team this season. It's tough to win a championship, but I think that if you extrapolate based on how well we played last season, and add a bunch of TPE to every player this season, we are looking real good. 6. Not too sure who we've got joining the squad next season other than a backup goalie to help out Askarov.

This week I'm going to write a little bit more with regard to what I talked about two weeks ago in my last VHL.com article: I am happy to report that in the last two weeks I have done graphics, podcasts, writing tasks, donated money, and couple of career tasks. I'm sure there will still be more things for me to learn and figure out, but I am now much more comfortable with my contribution to my team now that I am a max- (or close to it) earner. It's funny too, the more I learn how to do it, the less like "work" this stuff becomes. I joke on my PBE podcast that it started as a way to earn league money, but now that my account in the PBE is flush with plenty of money, I still do the podcast just for the enjoyment of it. Now I think that I am becoming the same way with VHL - I have stopped looking at my point tasks as a chore, and am now looking at them as an opportunity to engage with my teammates, the league, and also to practice some of my multimedia skills. Every time I do a graphic project I learn a little bit more about handling myself in the GIMP, and every time I record a podcast and add into/outro music and stuff like that, my audio workflow gets a little bit better. I am lucky in that regard, that I am an outgoing guy who isn't afraid of criticism, so I don't mind writing stream of consciousness stuff like I am doing right now, or talking into a microphone by myself for 15 minutes. In conclusion, and to get back to my initial point about gaining a better understanding of the TPE system in the VHL, I now have distilled it to the most important points. Each and every week, the following things that require effort need to be done: 6 point PT (graphic, article, podcast) Any 3 of the 2 point supplemental PTs (podcast, graphic, article, trivia, press conference, PBE affiliate PT) If you can do those things, you're going to be successful. So armed with this knowledge, I am hopefully going to turn Steve Eso the player into a "diamond in the rough" for the Calgary Wranglers, and Steve Eso the user's next player is going to be a monster.

Hey, I'm a few weeks late, but I appreciate the feedback. The text in general is definitely the weakest part of this graphic, I have almost no experience with text for this kind of stuff.

I'm just here for the wife sharing.

1. The vibe in the locker room was awesome all season, I had a blast getting to know all of my new teammates, whether we were talking VHL, NHL, or real life stuff. Shoutout to @Ricer13in particular for being a cool guy who I get along with real well. 2. My players performance was unremarkable - I started the season as a "plus" player, finished the season at even, and didn't light up the scoresheet. The one thing that I wish I had done differently was stepped up my TPE earning like I've done in the last two weeks. 3. I don't really follow too much stuff around the league, but I do like seeing the graphics that guys like @Zetterbergmake. 4. I think we're inna very good spot. We have forwards, defenseman, and a goalie all locked up long term, with enough cap space to turn us into a contender very soon. 5. Wouldn't really do much differently. Maybe I would prioritize scoring ahead of defense slightly this time, and maybe not put as much into checking or strength and focus on the big 4, but for the most part I'm happy with how my build is coming together. 6. Fizzlebeef had to step up and play some major minutes since I think we only had 3 active human defensemen for much of the season.

Because why not have a few beers then read some box scores https://anchor.fm/steve-eso/episodes/VHL-com-2021-04-22-evg4t6 Dammit I should have talked about that game against Toronto from the other day where there was a line brawl 17 seconds into the game. Edit: Now with more Spotify!

After his breakout season as captain of the Saskatoon Wild in his second full season in the VHLM, Steve Eso was interviewed by several teams heading into the S75 VHL entry draft. He was far from a blue chip sure thing - this was a deep draft class led by Taro Tsujimoto. After watching the first few picks on TV, his phone rang. It was the general manager of the Chicago Phoenix, saying that they intended to take him in the third round. Though he was not at the draft, he was proud to hear his name selected as the 37th overall pick. Late that summer he went to training camp in Chicago, looking forward to learning from the experience, but fully expecting to be sent back down to Saskatoon for that season. However, after cap concluded he was told that he had made the team - this was partly on his own merit, but also a reality that Chicago needed a few players on entry level contracts to round out their roster. He made his debut, and had to quickly adapt to the realities of the VHL - after being one of the best players on his team at every stage in his life up to this point, he was now the worst player on his team. He played third line minutes in a checking role, but only played around 10 minutes per game on average, as Chicago had a highly skilled top 6 that shouldered most of the load. Eso had a great time in Chicago, getting to know his teammates, and winning a lot of hockey games. Although Eso did not contribute an amazing amount in his rookie season (23 points in 72 games, minus 5), his job was mostly to hold down the fort and not get scored on while the top line caught their breath. The Chicago Phoenix were so strong that season, that they were able to go into the playoffs as a top seed, and eventually won the championship! A bit of a storybook start to Eso's career, hoisting the trophy in his rookie season. Eso was almost non-existent on the scoresheet during that playoff run (0 goals, 4 assists, plus 4 in 15 games) but was happy to do his part, whatever role that might be. In the off-season, he was informed that Chicago was facing a cap crunch and they were seeking to trade him to shed salary. Eso was traded to the rebuilding Calgary Wranglers where he could be a part of a young squad, and he was named an alternate captain before the start of his sophomore season.

As is common in all sports (and most fields in general), as Steve Eso graduated to the next level of his hockey career, he once again struggled to adjust to the heightened level of competition. Previously through out his amateur career and as a minor, he had been good enough to stand on his own merit and fit in. But when he signed a try-out contract with the Mexico City Kings towards the end of season 73, he was in for a real shock. Suddenly he wasn't just playing against kids his age, he was playing against professional hockey players, most of which were on career trajectories that were going to take them to the VHL. Now he had to force himself to focus on hockey, putting in hours in the gym and on the ice, and really applying a more clinical approach to his training. Not just "work hard and it'll come", but to look at how to improve everything. Need to get faster - but how? Leg strength sure, but spending time with power skating coaches that analyzed his stride on a slow motion computer. Need to get your shot off quicker, but how? Again, expert coaches made him modify his grip, his position, his weight shift, and then take wrist shots a few hundred times every practice until his arms felt like they were going to fall off. Eso did not immediately impress in Mexico, scoring twice and adding three helpers in the 10 games he spent there. He hoped that he had done enough to get an invite back to next year's camp, but was worried that he might have been hitting the "ceiling" of his hockey career - all these other players were just that good. That's why it was such a surprise when he got a phone call from the general manager of the Saskatoon Wild informing him that they had selected him in the VHLM entry draft. Eso was flabbergasted by this - not only was he getting a chance to once again earn a spot on a VHLM team, but being from Manitoba, Saskatoon was the closest thing to a "local" team for his family that there was. Although he would regret not getting a chance to absorb more of the culture in Mexico City, he was thrilled to be spending the next season close to where he grew up, where his friends and family could occasionally make it out to games, and where he had the support of his parents so that he didn't also have to worry too much about living on his own. That first season in Saskatoon, Eso started to turn into a "professional" hockey player. Going to practice, the gym, putting in a real effort, started becoming something that came naturally, that he didn't have to force himself into. He put up 45 points in 72 games during that first season, as the Wild made the playoffs but were knocked out in the first round. The following season, as had happened when he was playing junior hockey, his innate leadership was rewarded by being named captain of the team. He had a breakout year, scoring at over a point-per-game pace that season (96 points in 72 games), and the Wild once again made the playoffs. They went down three games to zero in the first round of the playoffs, then clawed their way back to force a game 7, which they unfortunately lost. Prospect report: Pros: Hardworking two-way player, faceoff specialist, decent but not remarkable skater, tracks back in the defensive zone to support his defensemen. Does not take many penalties. Cons: Would score a lot more with better finishing, skating could use a bit of work, sometimes tries to do too much by himself and turns the puck over.

Transaction ID: 20603893470049795 Free Week (Claimed) 5 TPE Uncapped (Claimed) Doubles Week (Claimed)

Thanks! I'll save my cash for the depreciation stuff instead of buying a doubles week (preventing depreciation to a 99 rated stat is worth a lot more than 12 TPE I imagine). I still have to figure out how depreciation works here anyway. I also need to look into the cash donation thing too.

Unfortunately it looks like that purchase can only be used prior to the completion of your VHL rookie season, and I'm a sophomore now

So my big excitement as a VHL user was that I just learned a whole bunch of stuff about TPE earning in this league. Better late than never, I guess. I've always been a casual/part earner in my time in VHL, as PBE is my primary sim league and I don't have enough free time to fully commit to other leagues. So for the most part of I've been claiming 2 TPE every week via the "affiliate VHL.com replacement" agreement with the PBE, 4 from welfare, 2 from a press conference, 2 from trivia, and 1 from practice, and that's been it. For the last two weeks, with PBE being in the off-season and not having any PTs to do there, I've actually done graphics for 6 TPE each week. What I didn't learn until today is that your "main" 6 point task, and the VHL.com "supplemental" tasks are not the same thing - you can do up to 6 TPE worth of graphics/articles/podcast, and none of them have very high requirements. So this should make it a lot easier to earn that 12 capped TPE each and every week and hopefully improve my player a bit. Now the next things I need to figure out is doubles week stuff. I did a double media graphic last week, but I guess there's also stuff that you can buy in the player or store or by donating real money where you can completely double everything for a week (for 24 that week I guess?). More research needs to be done, but I think this is going to get me a little bit more invested in this league. 281 words

I wish @Zetterbergwas my dad.

The Calgary Wranglers are proud to annouce their new title arena sponsor, Maple Leaf Foods, due to General Manager @Ricer13's obsession with hot dogs.

And now we're having a civil exchange about it, gotta love hockey.

First period in game 463 was a wild ride. Line brawl 17 seconds in.

The safe word is "wiener".

Oh, so that's what we're going to do? Have a fight?

1. They seem like great additions to the locker room, and particularly with Johnson I have been loving the prevalence of "The Rock" gifs flying around now. 2. Some sort of cowboy pun. Stud of the Year or something (although that might run into issues with not being gender inclusive). The Gunslinger Award? 3. From a role-play perspective, my guy is Canadian, so no, he wasn't one of those Sidney Crosby/Alexis Lafrieniere consensus 1OA picks. 4. Haven't really paid any attention to them, not sure if my player has been in any of them. In real life I'm a big fan of the junior and senior international tournaments though. 5. If ordering from a restaurant, tenders. If making myself, nuggets (nuggets have more surface area, more crunchy fried exterior, I like to use italian breadcrumps and parmiggiano). 6. Is it cheating to say Dungeons and Dragons? Probably that.

1. Well, here I am doing a press conference for a team that I don't even play for any more, so that should be telling. Practice, welfare, "click the button, receive TPE" tasks I do right away on Monday. Stuff that actually takes effort? Yeah that's a weekend problem. 2. I like a lot of things. Beer of all sorts, wine of all sorts, rye and cokes, brandy/sherry/port. My "desert island" drink would be a modern hoppy session strength pale ale. A crisp golden beer with citrus and pine notes, appropriate bitterness, and alcohol content in the sub 5% range. 3. I don't know, you guys have shitkicked Calgary when we've played you. Maybe juggle the lines a bit? 4. Steroids, and lots of them. 5. Mississauga Hounds have a beautiful colour scheme, but I'm not sold on the logo. That said, I'm not a huge branding/aesthetics/logo guy so none of them really bother me. 6. The one where STHS was so advanced that not only did it simulate the game, it also has a 3D presentation that would actually "play" the game out so you could actually watch the whole game like a real hockey game.

Doing the alternate history thing, what if my player was actually a decent earner and was drafted first overall by the LA Stars? Also I'm really new at doing graphics, please criticize me mercilessly. Can't take credit for much of a jersey swap on this one, as I used a shot of Tanner Pearson when he was on the Kings so the jersey colours were already there.

1. Sad to see a teammate go, but that's the stage of the rebuild that we're in. 2. Stop puck and make enemy go boom. 3. Being able to have custom leagues in chell would be huge for fostering an online community, instead of the current meta which is to make an EASHL player who is a 7 foot tall black man with a racist name. 4. Born in Canada, came out of the womb wearing skates. 5. Well based on what people tell me about STHS, 99 DF/90 SC would be arguably superior, and in fact my current player is at 91 DF/90 SC. 6. I want to make a guy who is a dependable faceoff winning penalty killing two way center at the early stages and twilight of his career, while also being able to contribute elite scoring at the top end of his TPE earning. So far so good, I think, though I have never and will never be a max earner.

1. Trade Steve Eso, that guy's a bum. 2. Well I had been hoping that the Canucks would be sellers, but now with all the current covid infections, they might not even be able to do that. 3. Two words: well fare. Nah, just kidding. But I do my PBE PTs every week and then just claim them as affiliate here. I also enjoy press conferences. 4. This on repeat: 5. We're holding our own for the most part, but our special teams could really use some work. 6. I'm still holding out hope, but I think it's looking less and less likely as the season wears on.