CowboyinAmerica

I'm kinda proud we got that close.

Down with the USA! The USA will burn in he-*escorted away by the NSA*

I mean, could argue that two seasons or less means final season of VHLM, rookie VHL, 2nd year VHL, which means everyone hits at least one WC eligibility (even if not selected for the team...)

I thought it was typically like that? (At least it was last season, Wingate wasn't in the preseason.) Figured preseason is more to make sure GMs' lines aren't horribly messed.

I feel like if you're penalizing O'Malley for having a strong team around him, you have to penalize Slaughter for assisting to two other guys who finished top 10 in goals (Karnage, 3 Moons). I'll go with the guy who led the league in goals and finished second in assists. (With Brookside my runner up.) EDIT: Three posts, three opinions. I like it.

Calgary, AB -- Coming into the VHL, Calgary Wranglers goaltender Hans Wingate had perhaps the least realistic goal of all-time: He wanted to be a Hall of Famer. To do so, however, often requires winning early in a goaltender's career. Of the past four goalies to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, three (Tukio, Labatte, CAL G) won a title in the first half of the player's career. Given that he was drafted to a rebuilding team, Wingate wasn't sure whether he'd do the winning early requisite to a HoF candidacy. However, the team may have eliminated that doubt in one quick stroke. On the second day of the offseason, the Wranglers traded draft picks to the Toronto Legion for star forwards Tyler Cote and Jackson Miller, with a second half of the deal yet to be determined. For Wingate, both players represent exciting opportunities. Miller's agent has been around the VHL since its inception and (especially when combined with presumptive #2 selection Kerkko Hyvarinen) gives the team an expert source from which to draw and allows Wingate to train with this agent for the first time. Cote's agent, meanwhile, fielded a player that was teammates with Wingate's agent for many seasons in Seattle, and both have unfinished business in capturing a championship. "I couldn't be more excited to have these guys in Calgary," Wingate said. "It completely reshapes our team. I had heard some rumors through the locker room about a move, but when it actually happened, it instantly got me more excited for this season. It's still early in my career, but I want to win." Will it be enough to catapult Calgary to the level of Quebec and reigning champions Seattle? That remains to be seen, but for now, optimism reigns in Calgary.

VHL's bottom-to-top expansion era teams Lost in the reveries and Brovy bashing that occurred after the Seattle Bears championship is one important, perhaps overlooked fact: The Bears are the first team in the expansion era to go from missing the playoffs to winning the championship. It’s not only true, it completely bucks the common trend of where championship teams come from. Out of the 12 championship winners that have played two consecutive seasons with 10 teams in the league (so dating back to the Season 32 Americans), exactly half had the best record in the league the season before winning the championship. A seventh, the Season 35 Quebec City Meute, finished the season before in second place, along with the best record in the North American Conference. That leaves five other teams that did not win their conference but would go on to win the championship one season later. The four other than this year's Bears, listed from most recent down, are the teams that the Season 44 Dynamo, Vikings and others will be attempting to emulate. Season 42 – Cologne Express Season 41: 4th place (97 points), First Round Loss Season 42: 5th place (83 points), Championship How did they do it? The Season 42 Express are an odd team to figure out. There are myriad ways that the team improved during the offseason between Season 41 and Season 42, most notably adding goaltender Martin Brookside from the Calgary Wranglers. But here’s the odd thing: Those moves actually made the team worse during the regular season. Despite going all-in, the Express’s 83 points fell 18 points short of the conference-leading Titans, and Cologne only beat the eighth-place overall Dynamo by 12 points for a European Conference playoff shot. Still, when push came to shove, Brookside and Co. performed in the playoffs. Strangely, after years of dynasties, one could argue that we’ve had extreme surprise champions in back-to-back years. More parity in the league, perhaps? Season 40 – Riga Reign Season 39: 4th place (96 points), Finals Loss Season 40: T-4th place (94 points), Championship How did they do it? Perhaps, the question should be: How much did they really need to change? Despite technically finishing fourth in the Season 39 standings, the Reign finished just eight points away from the conference-leading Dynamo, and the team came within one game of beating New York for the Season 39 championship. As a result, the key components, including McQueen, the Gows, and goaltender Szatkowski Jr., were kept in place for the following season. It worked. Despite finishing in a tie for fourth overall this time, the Reign bowled over the playoffs once again, finally getting it done in crunch time. Season 36 – HC Davos Dynamo Season 35: 6th place (82 points), First Round Loss Season 36: 3rd place (110 points), Championship How did they do it? It was a combination of trades and simple old getting older. The first time around the block, the rookie season for both Lennox Moher and Matt Bentley, the Dynamo fell meekly to the Express in 5 games and finished the regular season with just a +11 goal differential. Then, a few things happened: Odin Tordahl got the itch to go to another franchise (wouldn’t be the last time), Davey Jones did the same, and Thomas Landry, Moher, and Bentley all improved steadily. Suddenly, what was a promising core in Season 35 was now a force to be reckoned with in Season 36. Although Davos technically finished in third in the regular season, the team was 3 points off the league’s best record, and they also gained the European Conference’s first round bye. Seeing the team go on to the championship was no surprise. Season 32 – New York Americans Season 31: 4th place (101 points), Finals Loss Season 32: 5th place (102 points), Championship How did they do it? It may seem like forever ago (it was this author’s first real VHL playoffs), but the Season 31 New York Americans had one of the most entertaining playoff runs of all time. Dubbed the “Last chance” for New York near-lifers Daniel Braxton and Benjamin Glover, the Americans overcame the Bears and Wranglers in nine games… but unfortunately, for the first time, the playoffs were three rounds, and they fell to Davos in seven games. Strangely, due to the loss of both stars, many people felt New York had gotten worse for Season 32. And yet, there was rookie Skylar Rift making saves, there were key new additions Alexander Chershenko and Radislav Mjers remaining stars, and there were the Americans in the playoffs again, finishing fifth but with more points than the prior season. In a season where the European Conference was loaded (three European teams finished with 104+ points), New York had a relatively easier road, and they were able to dispatch the regular-season winning Reign in seven games.

Yes. And it's Hans Wingate.

Well now. This one comes as more of a surprise. And I'll take it!

Hey look it's a trade that didn't cause an argument woooooo Can we get these guys Calgary LR access? Gonna assume they haven't gotten it yet since they haven't posted.

I feel like this would have been much less of a contentious issue if Seattle didn't agree to give a third round pick, and Mike just walked on as a "free agent" before retiring. And that's stupid.

There it is, was waiting for it. Welcome to the team! So damn excited for this season, BALL + CIA REUNITE

$20 for me (donation from Zachary Warren) 2x doubles weeks, one free week, +5 points. Now have free weeks built up from S41, S42, S43, S44, note for updater.

Boooo. That's on me

Hoooooooly hell, Boom. That's fun!

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I'd like to stump for Cuffy too. Dude has been holding Calgary together the past couple of seasons as an excellent captain, and especially with the lack of Calgary anywhere else on these votes, would be at least nice to see him go through to the final ballot.