CowboyinAmerica

1. What is the best name you have ever heard for a dog? My wife really wanted a dog whose ears perk up and name it "Radar", might still do it one day. Also had a friend growing up who named his dog "Puppy Dog," really appreciate the straightforward nature. 2. What might make the fan's experience of the NHL even better? Honestly, ticket prices. Hockey grabs you so much more in person than on TV, but you're pricing out a whole section of fans by costing an arm and a leg to watch. 3. Do you have a favorite bird? What is it? I saw a toucan live in the wild when I visited Costa Rica last year, that was really cool. Also a fan of penguins, they're just silly. Questions: 1. Are you looking forward to Season 82? 2. What's your favorite hockey mascot? 3. What's an outdoor location where you'd like to see a hockey game that they haven't tried yet?

Had the all-time TPE lead for a hot second until Quik/Bushito passed me. And that's interesting that Stropko is first for goalies, didn't realize that. Maybe Booberry can change that...

I'm in

Review: 10/10 I also love this one, it's a great way to get players involved and engaged in the team. The presentation of each award read cleanly and didn't drag on, making the flow of the article quick and easy. Didn't notice major grammars on a first read either. The bars for each award looked clean and were an excellent addition - I hope those that win are able to put them in their sigs. The one nitpick I'd have with the presentation is spacing, since putting each nominee's name on a separate line (with double spacing) made the article a bit long and tougher to read. Good stuff overall!

Was reading anyway, so let's review! Review: 10/10 Really enjoyed this one, and like getting the GM's behind-the-scenes view on things as well. Even if I disagree on something here or there (or pointing out your downplaying how good the Tallinder trade was for you), it was written in an interesting way that allowed me to have an alternative viewpoint, which I appreciate. The presentation of the article works well, with the logos looking clean and the trades themselves clearly written and centered. It flowed well also, and didn't notice any grammar issues on a first read. Good stuff overall here!

Transaction ID: 20903154702724978 Doubles Week 5 Uncapped TPE $1m Player Store Cash Claiming all this week Edit: Started Page 69, nice

Helsinki -- Last year was treated as a building year for the Helsinki Titans. Sure, it would have been nice to sneak into the playoffs, and Alex Johnston's stats in particular made for some nice highlight reels. But the goal was always to be playoff-ready by S82, and it sure seems like the team is about ready. There's a cavalry coming from the VHLE and VHLM: winger Nezuko and defenseman Flynn Remy will most certainly be up, and Kyosti Karjalainen, Wattson Power and perhaps even William Groves are possibilities for next season. Add that to the team's pre-existing playmakers (including a recently-extended Alessandro Nano), and there's certainly something bright on the horizon. "I feel good about next year, I really do," goalie Xavier Booberry said. "We've got a growing team, and I think we're really ready to start making some noise. But would Helsinki look to bolster its chances even further with a trade? It's possible. The team has the fifth overall pick in the coming draft, which it could certainly use to add more young talent, but also for a potential trade. The team also has all of its own future picks, plus a Seattle first for next season. All together, it's a nice war chest should the team want to accelerate the rebuild. Either way, though, Booberry will be fine. "I can see the benefits of a win-now mode, but my goal is championships," Booberry said. "Whether that's taking it slow or making a move, however we're lifting the Cup, I'm good."

1 - How's the weather in your neck of the woods this week? Actually not bad for the upper Midwest, some snow on Friday but it cleared out nicely. Will get near 0 F but I don't really need to leave my house anyway. 2 - Favorite video game, both all-time and at the moment. Currently, been going into the back catalogs for some Civilization VI. Might end up sinking another 50 hours into that game. I could argue that's my pick too, though if I'm being honest I've played more NCAA Football 13 than anything - here's to hoping they make them again. 3 - Did you make any New Year's Resolutions? Have you been able to stick to them? Not really this year, especially since I've actually been pretty good about exercising regularly and eating decently during the pandemic. I'd like to read more this year, but that's more a hope than a firm resolution. Questions: 1. Is there one food you could eat every meal for a week, and what is it? 2. What's your biggest goal for your player this upcoming season? 3. If you could attend a playoff game in a stadium other than your favorite team's, where would you like to go?

Claim 4/4

That's awesome! Thanks for making it!

Review: 10/10 I'd be a bit concerned - if you spend all of your free time in the afternoon practicing, you'll never get any of your relationships beyond like three hearts. And hanging out at arcades only gets you so far, you'll need a bit more ramen to beef up for the VHL. All in all a good story, pretty straightforward. I appreciated the writing in Ryuji's voice, definitely brought some personality to it and made it a more fun read. A clean read as well, didn't notice anything off grammar-wise. I usually ding for presentation if there's not a headline/lead image, but you've got the photo at the end, and thought it was engaging enough elsewhere. Good stuff here.

Review: 9/10 When you started talking about gaming, I could have sworn this was going to start talking about Clue. Anyway, thought the article was a good one - the offseason can be a tough time to find things to write about, but think you got through it admirably here. I appreciated the first-person perspective with it, thought it made for good world building. Grammar and flow were both good by me, a quick read. I'm always one who likes having headlines or pictures to make it seem like a real article, so a slight ding for presentation there, but all in all a good piece!

Helsinki -- Through the first five games of the Lottery Tournament, the Helsinki Titans have been performing better than perhaps expected. They've come down with a perfect 5-0 record to start off, leading the pack by 3 points, and have pulled out a bunch of close games given their +7 overall goal differential. That success, though, has come with some surprises. Namely, the team has shelved starting goalie Xavier Booberry during the tourney for back-up and long-time Titan Trent Gibson, who promptly led the team to that 5-0 record. "It's nice to see him play well, but could I be playing even better? Who knows?" Booberry said when asked about the streak by the media. "It's hard to be any better than a perfect record though, so props to him." When asked about the goalie switch, team management said it was likely due to Gibson playing out the final games of the team's regular season, and the team's depth chart staying the same after that point. There's rumblings that Helsinki will put Booberry in net for the next set of games - but if he's less than perfect, one might expect some fans to start grumbling. "It's a tough bar to reach, and I know these fans love Gibson for everything he did for them recently," Booberry added. "I'll try my best, and that's all I can do. We have a tournament (for better lottery odds) to win."

I don't mind if the picks are on Discord, but trying to do a bunch of live drafts would be rough - both on people who might not have the time to sit down and do one for 2 hours (not sure I could guarantee that personally), but also on you/whoever's trying schedule those things with like a million Doodle entries and planning for 18 different drafts. Sounds like hell to me.

2) What season of the year do you care about the least? Positively or negatively. Spring is always just kind of "there" for me, especially March and April. May starts to pick things up, but it's just extended winter until then. 3) What is your favorite type of fruit? I'm a big strawberry guy. Fresh strawberries really brighten things up, and love the flavor as well. 4) What is your favorite hockey uniform? I'm a fan of the classics, and the Red Wings one is so clean to me. Plus, a red color scheme isn't too common. 5) What is more impressive, scoring the game winner, or a short handed goal? The game winner is usually purposeful and has a lot of pressure, shorthanded almost seems like an accident sometimes. 6) Do you think it's weird to have a game with three periods, or is that just normal for you? It's still an hour long, I think the time makes a lot of sense. Whether you split it as 20 minute periods or 15 minute quarters, doesn't matter much to me. 7) What is your opinion on fighting in hockey? I actually don't have a particularly strong position on it? It's not something I particularly look forward to, but thing it's an interesting quirk that makes hockey unique as long as it doesn't go too far.

Claim 3/4

Review: 10/10 Congrats on the excellent first season! I liked the way you not only recapped the season, but put in some of your own thoughts behind the scenes about what you were thinking at any given moment. It really made the article come to life and an easier read than just recapping the season and playoffs. I appreciated the presentation flairs you put throughout as well, whether it's italicizing a quote or bolded/underlining the points in the playoffs. I'm not always a fan of that stuff, but the way you did it here really helped drive home the points that you wanted to emphasize. Grammar and flow of the piece worked by me, just a small nitpicking thing or two. All in all solid!

Review: 9/10 Solid stuff here, and congrats on the win! Don't think it's anything too crazy or creative, mainly just a recap of the games. But it's a well-written recap, keeping me interested with good flow from beginning to end. Didn't notice anything off on a first read grammar-wise either. I'm a fan of headlines/lead photos and wouldn't have minded one here, but I do appreciate the bolded subheads to set each game apart. Straightforward article, think it works well.

Helsinki -- The regular season is over for the Helsinki Titans, and while a spirited effort, the team came up short in its bid for the VHL playoffs. That doesn't mean, however, that there isn't hockey left to be played. On the contrary, the VHL will be sending its bottom six teams to play in the Lottery Tournament, affecting the odds of who gets this offseason's #1 pick. Some players are ready for the offseason to get here and don't take the Tournament super seriously. But for Titans goaltender Xavier Booberry, it's being seen as more of an opportunity than a burden. "I've got VHLM, VHLE and World Juniors experience with the playoffs, but nothing on the VHL level. This isn't the playoffs, but it's the next closest thing to me," Booberry said. "I just want to test myself in a bit more of a high stakes scenario." Plus for the Titans, there could be huge dividends. The team currently holds the fifth best lottery odds, which means that the #1 overall pick remains unlikely. But if they were able to snag the top slot for the third season in a row, it would set them up even better for a long run. "Everybody wants more talent around them, and anything I can do to help grab that talent would be great," Booberry added. "Here's to better lottery odds!"

1) Happy New Year! What did you do to bring 2021 to an end? Had a few friends over, drank and played some board games. I can officially say I ended 2021 and began 2022 by winning Catan, which is cool. 2) What is your favorite holiday? It's random, but my birthday, my anniversary and Mother's Day all happen to be the same week. So it's a nice week of celebration for me. 3) Do you have any new year's resolutions? Not really, just to take care of myself. Especially in the midst of pandemic things, think that's the most important. 4) What is your go-to fashion statement? I'm bad at fashion. Does just flannel shirts in the upper midwest really count as fashion? If so, that. 5) What is your least favorite boy band? Honestly, don't really have a least favorite. I'm trying to do better on not hating on things that others like just because. But I'll say, never really enjoyed any One Direction. 6) Is hockey your first priority? If not, what is? Played basketball all throughout childhood, still probably my favorite sport. Though I've done a bunch with racing too and that's the one where I have the most friends.

lololol second straight year I'm top 10 overall and second in my group. I'd deserve damages TPE for emotional distress please.

Review: 9/10 First thing's first: As somebody who lived in Chicago for a while, I had a visceral reaction to taking not one, but three shots of Malort. Just, why? All in all in a fun read, I enjoy the slice of life sort of articles that add a little background and color to players. And hey, if Obi doesn't play well for a few games, you have something to explain it away! The article itself was a clean read, a small grammar error or two (the worse alcoholic drink) but nothing that really took me out of it. I generally like a headline and/or photo too, but I do appreciate the italics, showing an effort for presentation. All in all good stuff here!

Review: 9/10 Congrats on beginning to come around! I've been there with a frustrating early start to the career, and a bit of team success can indeed also go a long way towards getting past those struggles. The article itself read very cleanly, didn't notice any grammar issues on a first read. I really appreciate the sections and the subheads as well, certainly helped with readability. I'm good with the font and size changes - if I had a nitpick it's that I'm always a fan of photos and/or headlines as well, but that's a small thing. Great story of Luc's career thus far, and best of luck in the playoffs!

2000+ words, for the weeks ending 1/2, 1/9, 1/16 and 1/23

Where Every VHL Team's Goalie Situation Stands Right Now The Season 75 Draft was a banner one for goalies, with five top netminders all finding homes and promising to duke it out for the entirety of their careers. With Sales, Rasputin, UnGuri, Tretiak and Klamasteris all reaching above 1000 TPE, it solidified that they would be grabbing all of the goalie awards for the coming seasons. And if that discouraged players from building goalies in the coming drafts, well, VHL teams would deal with the reckoning when it came. My friends, the reckoning is about here. Due to a dearth of active goalies between the S76 and S78 Drafts, there are a number of top VHL teams that could be facing a goalie crisis as soon as next offseason when those S75 players retire. Still others are looking to reload their goalie shelves this offseason, with a number of top netminders up for grabs in a strong S82 Draft. And then there’s the teams in the middle, looking to capitalize on the goalie vacuum by riding their goaltenders to the top in the mid-80s. Below, here’s a look at where every VHL team stands with their goalie situation entering the S81 offseason. As always, this is one person’s opinion, I'm bound to get things wrong, and all it takes is one major trade or free agency signing to make all of this moot. Still, I hope it’s an interesting breakdown to see where the goalie market lies entering what could be a chaotic offseason. Calgary Wranglers Starter: Sirkants Klamasteris (S75, 1050 TPE) Active in System: The Red Menace (S80, 261 TPE) Breakdown: The Wranglers are certainly a team built to win now, and despite being an expiring contract, I’d imagine Klamasteris will be brought back for his final season next year. But with Tallinder, Kotkakoivu and Jokinen, the Wranglers have pieces to win in S83 and beyond as well. The Red Menace can be serviceable, but he’d need to start earning more than 5 TPE a week to be Calgary’s answer in S83 and S84, I figure. They could definitely be a team active in the trade market or free agency next offseason. Chicago Phoenix Starter: Barry Taffe (S76, 300 TPE) Active in System: N/A Breakdown: It’s pure rebuild time in Chicago, and the goalie coffers are completely bare. I can absolutely see the Phoenix taking a goalie early like they did as an expansion team, as Jean Pierre Camus was the team’s netminder for every year of its existence until now. With currently the second-best lottery odds, a Pearce, Utonium or Arpa would make a lot of sense at that part of the first. With the S83 goalie chest looking a bit more bare, I’d be surprised if they don’t come out of this draft with a goalie. D.C. Dragons Starter: What’s a Goalie? Active in System: N/A Breakdown: When the only goalie in the system is S81 third round pick Mike Hroch, who hasn’t updated since mid-November, you know you’re hurting for some talent. The Dragons have the worst record, and thus the best lottery odds. But with talent needs all over the board, would they want to start the rebuild with a goalie over someone like Lamb, DeGroot or Torq? Having the L.A. pick helps here – I wouldn’t be shocked if they either hope one of the top three fall, or grab someone like Wumbo mid-first. Los Angeles Stars Starter: Rara Rasputin (S75, 1111 TPE) Active in System: N/A Breakdown: Similar to the Wranglers, the Stars are built to win right now, but they also have some young pieces (Williams, Sova) where it’d be reasonable to want to win in S83 and beyond as well. But there’s not even a Menace in the pipeline here, and as just noted, they don’t have their own first this year. I can see L.A. being active in the goalie trade market next offseason—or perhaps even this offseason, since Rasputin’s an expiring contract and has been a mercenary in his later years. New York Americans Starter: Morgan Karlsson (S76, 396 TPE) Active in System: Tadhg Byrne (S81, 240 TPE)? Breakdown: Another rebuilding team with an under 400 TPE goalie, it’s clear that Karlsson isn’t the goalie of the future. The Americans are in an interesting spot though – they thought they had their next goalie in taking Byrne with the 16th pick of last year’s draft. Bryne, however, has earned exactly 1 TPE in December. With the fourth-best lottery odds, could the Americans cut bait that quickly and take one of the top three goalies in the draft? With goalie at a premium, it wouldn’t shock me. Seattle Bears Starter: Em Em Flex (S79, 511 TPE) Active in System: N/A Breakdown: Finally, we have a team that has reason to feel secure in its goalie situation long-term. Taken with the 11th pick in the S79 Draft, Em Em Flex may not be a max earner, but he’s more than consistent enough to lock down the starting job for the Bears long-term. With the S81 Draft cavalry coming shortly, things could get sticky when he’s in year seven and eight and regressing. But S85-86 is a ways off, and I expect to see him in place for at least 3-4 more seasons. Toronto Legion Starter: Oskar Lindbergh (S80, 502 TPE) Active in System: Boris Tsezar (S81, 239 TPE) Breakdown: The Legion also have their goalie of the future, and after a short break last season, the former fourth overall pick now looks to be back on track with his TPE earning. Given the preponderance of S80 and S81 forwards in Toronto, they’re angling for a mid-80s dynasty, and Lindbergh’s timeline is right along with that goal. Don’t sleep on Tsezar in goal either though – the third round pick is looking like a potential steal as he moves up to VHLE next year, and could be a trade piece to a goalie-starved team. Vancouver Wolves Starter: Thadius Sales (S75, 1214 TPE) Active in System: Aike van Giersbergen (S78, 493 TPE)? Breakdown: The Wolves have one of the more fascinating goalie conundrums coming up. Particularly with their S79 forward stars, they’re going to want to extend their recent dominance as long as possible. Sales, though, only has one more season. The assumed goalie of the future, former sixth overall pick van Giersbergen, hasn’t been around since mid-November. He’s good enough to be a stopgap, and that may be all Vancouver needs with the rest of their talent. I wouldn’t be shocked if they pay highly for another star goalie next offseason though. HC Davos Dynamo Starter: Kunibuni UnGuri (S75, 1104 TPE) Active in System: N/A Breakdown: They’ve got one more go around with UnGuri, who has 104 TPE banked and I would assume would re-sign for an eighth go-around in Davos. Once he retires (alongside Tsujimoto) though, it may be rebuild time in Davos. Seattle has the Davos first this season, so trying to jumpstart the goalie rebuild in this draft may be tough. But they’re a team I wouldn’t be surprised to see them already eyeing someone like Brandt Fuhr in the S83 Draft. Helsinki Titans Starter: Xavier Booberry (S80, 679 TPE) Active in System: Anime Protagonist (S78, 354 TPE) Breakdown: I like to think I’m secure in my position, right? Seriously though, Booberry’s probably going to be second, right behind Emeritus, in goalie TPA in a season or two’s time, so the talent’s there. And his timeline matches up with a Helsinki team looking to be competitive as soon as next season after bringing Johnston on board. As long as there’s not a serious front office mishap, you can lock him in as the starter for the next several seasons. It’s also worth noting too that Protagonist is still chugging along at 5 TPE a week, and could be a definite FA pick up for a team with a retiring S75 goalie. London United Starter: Tater Tot (S76, 624 TPE) Active in System: Ed Nu (S81, 236 TPE) Breakdown: Raise your hand if you had Tater Tot as the goalie with the highest save percentage this season. Now, put your hand down, you filthy liar. Especially with his excellent season for a rebuilding team, I’d expect Tater Tot to get a fourth and fifth season in London before retirement if he wants it. But this United team has long-term aspirations and wants a goalie of the future. Could that be Nu? The third rounder has been progressing nicely in Ottawa, and could be a diamond in the rough should London use its early first to go defense (also a position of need) rather than goalie. I can see them going either way. Malmo Nighthawks Starter: Artem Tretiak (S75, 1061 TPE) Active in System: Thomas Price (S81, 214 TPE) Breakdown: Tretiak’s had an excellent run in Malmo, winning two cups and hoping for a third with this season and next year to go. But the time to look post-Tretiak is certainly here, especially with the Nighthawks viewing S83 and S84 very much in Telker, Deathwalker and Mourning’s window. S81 third rounder Price had stalled out a bit, though he’s used Christmas giveaways to get into VHLE territory recently. I could see Malmo being very active in the trade market next offseason for a goalie to extend their window a season or two further. Moscow Menace Starter: Papa Emeritus (S79, 726 TPE) Active in System: Leroy Johnson (S78, 390 TPE) Breakdown: There was a time a season or two ago, when they signed Rara Rasputin ahead of him, where I was curious if Emeritus might request a trade so he could get more early playing time. But he ultimately banked on having a strong six season career as Moscow’s S77 players entered their peaks, and it’s paying off this year. Emeritus will go into next season as the likely goalie TPA leader, and there’s no reason to believe he’s headed anywhere else anytime soon. Johnson, by the way, updated for the first time in a month last week and could be a trade piece for a goalie-desperate team as he’s signed through next season in Moscow. Prague Phantoms Starter: David Davis (S80, 531 TPE) Active in System: N/A Breakdown: Taken with the seventh overall pick in the S80 Draft, Prague put all of their chips on Davis as the goalie of the future. With his auto-12s, seems it would be a smart bet as well, as he’s kept up the growth since then and will likely be in contention for Shaws throughout the mid-80s. With strong S78 defensemen like Powers and Reikkinen in front of him as well, I don’t see much reason that he’d jump ship in free agency, but if a godfather offer is there from a Calgary or Malmo trying to extend their window, would Prague consider it? Riga Reign Starter: Tobias Reinhart (S78, 497 TPE) Active in System: N/A Breakdown: The Reign are an interesting one to me – they’ve got a bunch of S75 players to make a run this season and next, but Reinhart as a S78 player is actually more of a post-S82 goalie play at his current TPE level. If there’s one goalie I’d have my eye on to potentially be moved this offseason or next, Reinhart is it. He’s stuck between Riga’s present and future (with S81s Leduc, Chiang and Cheese up soon), and with the sixth-best lottery odds, taking a swing on a goalie this draft that more lines up with their window wouldn’t shock me at all. A very possible Arpa landing spot. Warsaw Predators Starter: Andrew Bowman (S76, 601 TPE) Active in System: Orion D H Chiester IX (S79, 379 TPE) Breakdown: Bowman was a sneaky strong free agency signing that you might have missed – after splitting last year between Toronto and Riga, Bowman’s found his home in Warsaw and has helped make them a likely playoff team. He’s a pending free agent, but with his recent activity, I wouldn’t be shocked if they bring him back for another two seasons to finish out his career. The downside is, that may leave Chiester out in the lurch – he’d be entering regression as Bowman finished his career, and may end up a trade piece should Warsaw end up in a future rebuild.