CowboyinAmerica

FUCK. That's what I get for having COL RW1 on my fantasy team instead.

Love Merica and Hammer getting the top two stars. Wanted Bern to win this one. Congrats!

Feel like this is the quintessential Minot win. Our top draft picks Wingate and Jeltz did well, our waiver pickups like TebowGow played a crucial role, and our one free agent (Jack MFing Ryan) scored the game winner. So happy!

Hi there, Minot tried to put in new lines but I don't know if they're uploaded automatically or if IR just told Jardy. Would be cool if those were in if possible.

*Shrugs* Honesty man. The Big Three among my friend group growing was always Basketball, Football, Baseball (probably in that order), with a dash of NASCAR thrown in as well.

Yup, 100% didn't read that correctly. Oh well.

Total bandwagon Hawks fan, but I was never much into hockey until I moved out to Chicago for college in '08, and then 2010 got me hooked.

True story: Took a 3:30 am cab to the airport this morning to catch a redeye. While in the cab, checked the VHL on my phone to see if the Minot game had been simmed. Think I confused my driver when my muttered "Son of a bitch" was the first words I had said in about 15 minutes of the ride.

I agree to play for Riga, but only if you don't retire Gow and also trade for either Sinclair or Mikaelson. Goalies on goalies on goalies.

I can only assume.

Minot, ND -- If you're looking to be anywhere in downtown Minot tonight, you may run into a little traffic. That's because the Minot Gladiators are set to take on the Ottawa Lynx at home in Game 7 of their first round series, and the stakes are high. Not only is Minot looking to advance to face the Brampton Blades to extend the season, the franchise is looking to extend itself as an entity as well. That's because, thanks to VHLM contraction, tonight could be the very last VHLM game ever played in Minot. "It certainly puts the extra pressure on. Every single person in this stadium wants to see another game," Gladiators goalie Hans Wingate said in a pre-game press conference. "If we mess this up, we may not get another chance." Fortunately, the Minot coaching staff has a few tricks up their sleeves. The team has updated its lines to more prominently focus Vogon Jeltz, the VHLM's leading goal scorer this year. The team's focus has partially shifted away from Jeltz as other players have joined the team, but Minot expects tonight to be a throwback to his dominate early part of the season. Given all that's at stake, and the fan base for Ottawa, tonight's Game 7 may be one of the most VHLM matches in a long while. Here's to hoping it lives up to the hype.

3-1 Titans

Americans Titans Meute Titans

Best of luck Ottawa. And may one of us bring down Brampton

To use a different example that isn't the normal sim hockey fight, I enjoyed how Shane Banks did the SBA sims on a scheduled time, sure, but I always felt like that was more of a luxury than a necessity. Especially because it's not like it's live play-by-play or anything, whether the sims happened a certain night or not isn't what I come to the league for. Life happens, and frankly, I think that's a good thing for mental health and part of the reason there isn't high simmer turnover and this league has lasted so darn long. Chill I think is a good word; people crack jokes at Jardy sometimes, sure, but I don't think I'd be here long if people were actually actively angry about a strict schedule.

Partially what Frank said above me, partially because I like the idea of building a guy's story and build RPG-style. It's fun to see a player's progression, especially in relation to people who are also doing the same thing, even if he's not a superstar. And I feel like putting in work makes it both more immersive and more personally rewarding, which is why I prefer a structure of the VHL (or PT leagues in general) to that of the SHL. There's a reason my PTs are rarely half-assed - that stuff is actually part of the appeal to me.

Sigh. Is a little consistency too much to ask?

If you want to temporarily reallocate all of your points to fighting before the second round in protest, your updater will be happy to help you out.

Good point, didn't consider that. Don't think it would bump up Cologne on my ranking though.

Which team will hold the first pick? It’s safe to say that I have somewhat of a particular interest into what happens with the first overall pick. However, it’s not just because my client, Hans Wingate, is in line for the first overall pick in the draft. It’s because, for the first time in a while, the possibilities of not only who will be drafted, but which team will be drafting there, are endless. Yesterday, YEAH! put together an informative read analyzing the lottery, which I highly suggest that you read if you have not already. One thing he did not do, however, was spend so much virtual ink on which teams would potentially trade with Stockholm for that number one pick. There’s a good reason for this: Trades are incredibly speculative, and you never know the full depth of a team’s plans through even one trade. Who would have predicted both Koenig and Sinclair on the same team last season? It’s a fool’s errand to predict trades. Well, I personally find it more fun to be a fool. That’s why I’ve sorted each of the VHL’s 10 teams by how likely they are to wind up with the number one overall pick. You may disagree with the assessments here, but creating arguments in the comments is half the fun of speculative articles anyway. 10. Seattle Bears The Bears may be a young team, but their holes aren't that numerous. There certainly isn’t one at goalie, where Mikaelson will likely be in place for a while. With Stropko, Rhinehart and Strauss, wing also seems full. Those two particular positions, however, are where presumptive number one candidates Wingate, Delicious and Faux play, and especially given Delicious’s stated desire to not play in Seattle, trading up for one of them would seem odd. If Seattle strongly prefers either Escabar or Morgan over the other, I could see a trade up to #2 or #3, but not what it would take to move all the way up to #1. 9. HC Davos Dynamo It’s simply wait and see time for the Dynamo; they really don’t have much of a reason to try and acquire back their own first. Callum Sinclair is set in goal, and the team has more forwards than it knows what to do with. Adding another player right now would either be a luxury that it cannot afford, or a very early assault on a salary cap problem that could cripple it in two seasons’ time. The only reason I put them above Seattle is that they have more pieces if they did want to work out a trade. 8. Quebec City Meute Heading into Season 43, the Meute would seem to have the strongest team, especially before Waldron and Wolf are hit too hard by depreciation. Couple that with relatively young wingers in Cattrall and Jakobssen, and the additional pieces it would require to jump from the 8th pick (at the earliest) to 1st, and it’s unlikely the Meute would pull the trigger on a piece that falls outside their current age ranges. The only way I could see it: Quebec is scared by Waldron’s incremental production and shoot for Wingate as a goalie for the next four seasons. I’m not banking on it. 7. New York Americans If I had to make a prediction, I see New York going for it all with a Season 32-esque final run this next season before Wahl and XXX ride into the sunset. If that is indeed the case, shipping off a load of picks/players for a young guy that would have to sit through a rebuild would not be the soundest decision. Adding Delicious or Faux may be nice as a Low replacement, but the amount New York would need to give up does not make it feasible. If New York decides to blow it up a season ahead of schedule, though, Wingate wouldn’t make a bad first rebuilding piece. 6. Cologne Express This middling spot isn’t for a lack of need; I’m sure Cologne would love to put Wingate in goal, or pair Delicious or Faux with O’Malley, for the rest of the Season 40 stars’ careers. However, Cologne simply doesn’t have much that would match with Stockholm for the first overall pick. Including Laich, who would retire immediately as a GM player, any of Cologne’s older guys would only be for one season, and I’m skeptical that Cologne would give up former GM Caprivi. Couple that with a lack of Cologne firsts, and a deal would be tough. 5. Riga Reign Naturally, a trade into the first slot wouldn’t be for Wingate, and I would think that Riga would be content to wait and see whether Delicious or Faux (or both) fall to number two. But what about if Riga fell in love with one player, particularly Delicious, who has said that he would love to spend his entire career with the franchise? It wouldn’t cost too terribly much to move up one spot on the board, and it would guarantee Riga the player of their choice. I wouldn’t say that it’s likely, but I believe it’s possible. 4. Helsinki Titans At first glance, Helsinki would seem to be in the same boat as Quebec, but in actuality, the team is my dark horse for a pick swap for three main reasons. First, the team will see a ton of cap come off the books with Young and Gow’s retirements. Second, with most of their core between S38 and S40, they’re in the sweet spot to be a contender, but they will need to add to their team somehow with only two wingers and one season of a goalie. Third, unlike Quebec, they actually have young prospects in Demko and Patton that could be intriguing trade options. Now, would Stockholm want to help out the conference leader? For the right price, I could see it. 3. Toronto Legion It’s crunch time for the Legion. Having already seen Devin Sundberg walk out the door before Season 42, the team could see the same thing with Jerrick Poole before Season 43 if it does not demonstrate marked improvement that catapults it over Quebec (and a closing fast Seattle) for seasons to come. Goalie is the obvious need right now; Okranitz’s updating has middling as of late, and Salo is a poor long-term answer. However, would it be willing to spend the price needed to move from a presumed 6th pick up to number one for a goalie answer in Wingate? Getting a franchise goaltender isn’t worth it if you gut the team’s core to do it, and Toronto is looking to win now. 2. Calgary Wranglers As YEAH! explained in his piece, Calgary really needs a bit of everything, and it would make all the sense in the world for the team to hold at number three and pick up the best player available. Goalie prospects, though, don’t come along every day. The team does have one currently, having picked up Coca Cola at the trade deadline, but his recent work ethic has been... spotty, at best. Wingate is two seasons younger, and he currently has more TPE as it is. Stockholm would probably be a willing trade partner, as it would have its choice of Faux, Morgan or Escabar at the spot. However, for a rebuilding team, picks are important capital, and Calgary may feel either confident in Cola picking up the pace or grabbing a goalie down the road rather than spending the pieces to move up two spots. 1. Stockholm Vikings When in doubt, the team currently holding the selection is the best option. E’Twaun Delicious could very easily be a first line winger for the team, perhaps as early as Season 44 if he outpaces Jeltz and De Rossi in TPE. It also helps that, unlike Calgary and Seattle, Delicious has shown a willingness to go to the team, even if it’s not his first choice. In my humble opinion, though, the more interesting dilemma comes in the form of the Campbell v. Barnstormer v. Wingate debate. Campbell was the highest draft selection last season, and he has had the whole year to integrate himself into the locker. Barnstormer may have the most current TPE of the three; just wait for that offseason update. Wingate may be the solution to postponing cap problems by a year, but he hasn’t had the time to gel with the team. It’s an interesting dilemma with the first pick, and Stockholm has until they are on the clock to figure it out.

I forgot to actually ask this, but we can roll these things over season to season as long as we have the same player, right? Like, I never used my free weeks from S41 or S42, but figured I'd need them more in the future than now.

But that's more like it. LET'S GO!

Not much I can do with that shot disparity.

R.I.P.

The real twist: Bushito is feeding Jones false information, Seattle actually angling for Roland Rengel as a Mikaelson replacement. Mikaelson traded to Saskatoon.