Ledge

Last night, the 17 of September, was a momentous night for both the VHL and the VHLM. One of those VHLM teams, the Las Vegas Aces, weren’t so successful in their S74 debut, losing two consecutive games to start the season. Linus Zetterstrom, one of those players on the Aces who delivered less than average performances, was visibly surprised at the speed and physicality of the North American game. With little to no training camp experience, this was Zetterstrom’s first smaller ice competition, and you could tell he was struggling. With his hometown Malmö Redhawks, he put up nearly a point per game in the Swedish u20 circuit, and fit in well at the SHL level. He was clearly the best player on the ice in u20, and in terms of skating and hockey sense, one of the top in the SHL. Zetterstrom has a bright future in the VHLM and the VHL, and it’s performances like the one last night that we can dismiss as unusual. After the game, an interview with a reporter went like this: Reporter: That was the second game in a row that you’ve lost tonight, Linus. Care to explain? Linus Zetterstrom: Ah, the team was not at its best. I was not at my best. We can do better, and we will Reporter: What made a difference on the ice tonight? Who made the biggest impact? LZ: Obviously guys like Gary Rush and Kasper Kankkunen brought their A game and it showed. There were also some guys like me who were slow and not ready. I’m used to being the best skater on the ice in Europe, but now I am barely above average. I found my self taking lots of unneeded tripping and hooking penalties because I wasn’t reacting fast enough. It is something that I I’ll work on, and I’ll get better Reporter: Would you say that this team could win a championship? Or can we expect more of the same this season? LZ: For sure we are skilled enough for the championship. We are one of the most skilled teams in the league, Nicky(Sunderbruch), Gary(Rush), and Kasper(Kankkunen) are among the best players in the league. We do have the skill to succeed, but all teams need a consistent effort, and we didn't have that tonight. We deserved the losses, and we will get better. We are too skilled to keep losing. Reporter: Moving on to more personal questions. When do you see yourself making an impact in the VHL? LZ: That’s not really up to me, I’ll let the Aces and the VHL team that drafts me decide that. I would love to be there as soon as possible, but I also want to win a championship with the Aces. It’s a win-lose situation, and I don’t think it’s up to me Reporter: You don’t have to answer this, but I’m going to ask it anyway. If you had a choice, which VHL team would you join? LZ: I really don’t know, again, that’s not up to me. We’ll see how the draft goes, and i’ll be happy with whoever drafts me. Reporter: Thanks for your time, Linus LZ: Thank you Although he got off to a slow start, Zetterstrom managed to regain some of his ability and got an assist in the Aces’ second game. And where’s there was bad news, there was also good news. Zetterstrom’s game was on an increase the whole time, and there were more positives than negatives in the final minutes of the second game. The Aces as a whole got better as the night wore on, and there’s is hope among the fans, the management, and the players. The Aces are still very much a playoff team, and players like Zetterstrom must step up to lead them. Tonight, the Aces have a home and home against the San Diego Marlins, who have a tied-for-league-best 2-0 record. The Aces’ 0-2 record pales in comparison, but there is a whole season ahead of them. There is plenty of time to right the ship, and it starts tonight.

Linus Zetterstrom Junior Review The Las Vegas Aces nabbed Zetterstrom 39th overall, in the 4th round. When you watch Zetterstrom, and all of his past teammates and coaches can attest to this, you notice a couple of main points. One of the smoothest skaters in the draft, he uses that skating as well as his elite puckhandling skills to make a difference in all three zones, where he can either beat you with a quick deke or feather a pass right between your legs. The future power play quarterback for the Aces is not one to shy away from physical play and is not afraid to stand up for his teammates, even being referred to as a ‘pest’ by opposing coaches for his relentless boxing out in front of his net. His stellar defensively play also has opposing forwards hardly beating him on a 1v1, or even a 2v1. Linus Zetterstrom was always drawn to hockey. Growing up in the heart of Malmö, Zetterstrom routinely went to the local Malmö Redhawks SHL games with his older brothers Henrik and Jesper. He has followed his idol, Mattias Ekholm, since he was old enough to skate. He routinely stays up really late/wakes up really early to catch Ekholm playing with the Nashville Predators, his favourite team. Linus joined the Redhawks U8 program when he was only six years old, and has continued to dominate his age group. After playing with Malmö’s U18 team for the most of the year, with the odd call up to the Redhawks’ men’s team, Zetterstrom showed he can play with the big boys, putting up 23 points(8 goals, 15 assists) in 31 games with the U18 team, and 2 points(2 assists) in 9 games with the Redhawks SHL team. Zetterstrom and his family decided that coming to North America for the VHLM was the best option for the development, and quickly caught the eye of multiple teams. Zetterstrom has some experience in international play with the Tre Kronor as well. For the last two years, he has led team Sweden to bronze and silver respectively at the Ivan Hlinka U18 tournament, while being the captain of the silver team. He also played as an 17 year old in the World Junior Championships last winter, putting up 6 points(1 goal, 5 assists) in 10 games and helping Sweden capture the bronze medal after losing to the USA in the semis and defeating the Russians in the bronze medal game. He played especially well in the Russia game, scoring two assists and nabbing the first star of the game in the process while routinely being on the 2nd power play unit during the the tournament. Watch out, VHLM. Linus Zetterstrom and the Las Vegas Aces are coming for your championship

1. Pretty frickn excited not gonna literal. It’s ya first time down doing any of this, and i’m excited to help the Aces win a season much as possible 2. Enjoying time with my family and training daily. 3. Always ready! 4. The odd gamble is a blessing, it’s great to get your mind of hockey for a while 5. Not realistically, but I like to joke that Ryan Chism is my idol. Rory wrote a great paragraph about it in his thing steal from the final round 6. Seems like you’re doing a real good job here. Keep up the good work

I laughed my brains out for five minutes after reading the description of VHL legend Ryan Chism. First ballot HOFer, no debate. My new idol

Great! Thanks a lot, man

Thanks for the offer, real nice of you. One main problem....I don’t have discord. So, I probably have some limitations when it comes to interviews....

Ok, thanks Two additional questions 1. How do I talk to the VHLM gms? Is there a certain thread? 2. Is the VHLM a farm league for the VHL, or vice versa?

I believe it was you that made an account then made a thread to let people know about the VHL. I was interested, so I made an account and yeah. One question: how soon is the next draft? Because my player is supposed to be in it

Player Information Username: Ledge_and_Dairy Player Name: Linus Zetterstrom Recruited From: Other (CapFriendly) Age: 18 Position: D Height: 72 in. Weight: 184 lbs. Birthplace: Sweden Player Page @VHLM GM