CowboyinAmerica

ALL HAIL THE HELIX. SHUN THE DOME NONBELIEVERS.

Jarkko Olsen for Playoff MVP. Still on the bandwagon.

Meh, I wanted to switch it up a little bit and put more emphasis on nonstandard people. You always see that in other leagues, guys like Jeremy Lin or Richard Sherman having super high jersey sales because they kind of come out of nowhere.

Too low?

Top VHL Jersey Sales (#10-6) Image stolen from Corco's beautiful work Sure, it’s always nice to win some games and play well. But for the agents of the players on the ice, the season always comes down to one major key: Those sweet, sweet dollar bills. Whether you’re looking at contract funds or endorsement dollars, the VHL’s top stars are rolling in the cash. However, it’s tough to objectively measure a player’s net worth with those endorsement deals always shifting. There is one way to rank a player’s popularity within the league, though: jersey sales. You may never see as many Kameron Taylor jerseys in Germany as you will Bastian Schweinsteiger kits, but jersey sales still represent an adequate judge of a player’s overall popularity. That’s why I’ve decided to count down the top ten highest selling jerseys in Season 36, along with a little background of why each player made the list. Before getting into the meat of the list, there are some important points to make concerning why some jerseys sell better than others: Winning matters: If you want to get the fans’ attention, then Al Davis said it best: Just win, baby. For instance, Simon Tremblay may have had the second-most points among natural left wingers, but his jersey sales took a hit because New York was never truly considered a contender. Newness matters: Tuomas Tukio was one of the best players in the league this season for Helsinki, but then again, he was one of the best players in the league for Helsinki the past couple seasons as well. Those who are fans of Tukio probably already have his jersey, most likely from Helsinki’s S34 title run. Players who recently switched teams or recently saw a huge bump in play are more likely to see jerseys sold. Clutchness matters: Reggie Dunlop may be about fifth in the general league consensus of most valuable Toronto players in terms of practice hours. But on the other hand, sis strong playoff performance up until this point and his nine game-winning goals, tied for fifth in the entire VHL, will prompt a few buys. 10. Sebastian Ball Jr. – Seattle Bears The Bears are an interesting franchise; ever since the breakup of the Seattle Six, the franchise has never had a true face such as Taylor in Cologne, the Valiqs in Quebec or Tukio in Helsinki. However, that all changed this season with the emergence of Sebastian Ball Jr. Already a fan favorite due to being named captain before the season, Ball benefited from a Seattle fanbase that was itching for playoff hockey for the first time in five seasons. Although he didn’t have the stats — his 75 points ranked only 11th among wingers this season — his clutch play more than made up for the low numbers. After Ball’s hat trick in Game 4 of the Seattle/Quebec first round playoff matchup, a game that ended with Ball’s goal in the fourth overtime, the Seattle winger experienced the single-highest jersey sales on any day of the season. 9. Kameron Taylor – Cologne Express No team is more closely associated with one player in the VHL right now than Cologne is with longtime center Taylor. The centerpiece of the team since its inception six years ago, Taylor had his normal MVP-caliber season once again, finishing with 60 goals and 63 assists. Although jersey sales were not at Season 35 levels, as Cologne looked like it would be missing the playoffs for much of the season and got swept immediately once there, the massive size of Taylor’s fanbase meant that he would make this top ten list no matter what. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that many of the other jerseys new Cologne fans could have purchased, such as Dunlop or Cuff, were shipped out of town, leaving Taylor as one of the few choices fans had to choose from. 8. Conner Low – New York Americans Coming into the season, there weren’t many reasons to be excited if you were a New York Americans fan. It was expected to be rebuilding, rebuilding, and more rebuilding, just like it was in Season 35. But then, a funny thing happened on the way to another lottery pick. Somehow, the Americans began winning. And while Toriyama may have been the early season star, and Xao and Wahl were the rookies with the biggest names coming into the season, Low was the one who captured fans’ hearts as the season went on. With future Braxton trophies in Low’s eyes, New York fans bought his jersey in droves in hopes of a better, and perhaps sooner than expected, playoff future. Strangely enough, Low is also the only defenseman in the entire top ten. 7. Ethan Osbourne – Helsinki Titans Sure, Osbourne has been around the block for a while, and one could spot an Osbourne jersey on almost every corner in the Finnish capital even before the season. However, especially with the departure of Odin Tordahl in the offseason, there has been a renewed sense of appreciation for the years of commitment Osbourne has brought the Helsinki franchise. His league-leading 65 goals during the regular season held his sales strong, as did the rumors that Season 36 may be his last in a Titans uniform. The only thing holding down Osbourne’s jersey sales is the perception that Helsinki may be a team on its way out rather than holding strong, leading some young fans to hold out for the next big thing (such as Naomi Young) that may come down the pipe. 6. Keiji Toriyama – New York Americans/Vasteras Iron Eagles Toriyama got to experience two different playoff runs this season, and although neither was ultimately successful, his season meant a lot more attention than many expected before the year started. Long seen as a league journeyman, Toriyama entered the season in New York with very low expectations. After 58 points in 38 games for a New York team surprisingly in playoff contention, however, those low expectations were ripped to shreds. Toriyama jersey sales in New York went through the roof… up until the trade deadline. However, his being traded simply opened up a new sale route. Once he was shipped to Vasteras, Swedes looking for any semblance of hope clung to Toriyama like a panda to bamboo. Although he finished with only 40 points in 34 games, and the Iron Eagles missed the playoffs, even the sheer thought of a playoff run led Vasteras fans to buy Toriyama’s No. 96 in droves. Next week: Numbers five through one on the list!

The link if someone wants to update the first post: http://www.vhlsim.net/VHL36-Playoffs/VHL36-PLF-Farm-43.html Fjorsstrom wants that No. 1 overall pick

LeBeau refuses to lose

Toronto Davos Toronto Toronto 3-2 Davey Jones Odin Tordahl Reggie Dunlop

Rift don't wanna leave quite yet.

Olynick for 4 straight shutouts please. Bratislava winning would be too easy.

#KJAfor1stPick #ScrewRecreates

Just a 3-1 victory without needing 4 OTs? Amateurs.

Jarkko Olsen 4 Playoff MVP

I vote that we get a free TPE for every goal scored in the Canada/Latvia game.

Somebody took the Bears' loss a bit too hard...

Gah. Well, it was a good run and a hell of a series. Better things coming next year.

Just two weeks after the Seattle Seahawks grabbed their first Super Bowl in franchise history, the city is once again on the verge of shutting down for a major sporting event. This time, it’s the Seattle Bears who have captured the city’s attention, as all eyes will be glued to TV sets when the hometown squad travels to Quebec City for a crucial Game 7. “I never really paid attention to hockey that much, because the team hasn’t been very good recently,” Mercer Island resident Jon Smiley said. “Now that these guys are taking the defending champs to a Game 7, though? Of course I’ll watch!” Popular retailer Dick’s Sporting Goods has announced that No. 13 Sebastian Ball Jr. jerseys have seen a 257 percent spike in sales since his Game 4 victory at home, while No. 82 Karsten Olsen jerseys have seen a bump as well following his two goal Game 5 performance. For the first time since the days of the Seattle 6, the Bears telecast of Game 7 is expected to even surpass the playing of “Nirvana: Behind the Music” on Seattle televisions. This type of hype stands in stark contrast to the relatively muted reaction coming from Quebec City. While goaltender Skylar Rift has done his part in attempting to rile up the crowds, none of his teammates have seemed very adamant about encouraging home fans to come to the arena. Perhaps this let-down was inevitable after the team’s Season 35 Cup run. “They’re used to this. We’re not,” said Seattle resident David Davidson. “This is our time now. The Seattle dynasty begins!” The Quebec City Meute squad is still heavily favored in the game, but Seattle’s recent hard practicing has made the gap closer than many experts would have believed. And indeed, after two multi-overtime games already in this series, anything is indeed possible.

http://vhlsim.invisionzone.com/index.php?/topic/4802-kyle-dowd-likely-to-call-it-quits/#entry37011

Loving those 11 hits and first star. Sick.

I do like a girl who can dance (plus I'm all about luge)

That full shoot: http://mediapunch.photoshelter.com/gallery/Portraits-of-Russian-Curler-Anna-Sidorova/G0000bhog9lHbUs0/ (I don't have that link saved at all...)

But because high activity is always at a premium, I feel like it's almost better to have a revolving door of VHLM GMs. For instance, I was named Oslo GM as a replacement for Sandow, who was quickly losing activity (and is no longer active). If I didn't take over, the team probably would have been screwed. But when I received the financier job and was S34 World Cup Commissioner two seasons later, I realized I wouldn't be able to commit proper attention to the job either, so I handed it off to Doomsday. Ultimately, I feel like activity should take precedent over longevity, and while it would be great to have both, often doesn't happen that way.

I feel like there's something to be said of improvement throughout the season too though. Seattle has a whole host of active players (hell, Ball's ~24 point update right before the playoffs might have played a big role in Game 4), while Quebec hasn't been as active. While there's still a gap, it's not the same gap that was there during the regular season.

Aww. I had dreams of fun battles for the Defenseman of the Year trophy as recently as earlier this season. Sad to see you go, you've helped make my limited time here fun.