CowboyinAmerica

Vasteras, Sweden -- There are only seven games left for the Vasteras Iron Eagles in their inaugural VHLE season. But to say that anything is at all settled would be an understatement. As it stands, Vasteras sits at 32-27-6, just about a .500 record and good for fourth overall in the league at 70. But of course, only four teams make the playoffs. And the Cologne Express are just one point behind the Iron Eagles with 69, albeit with one more game played. "The playoffs aren't just in the future, for us they've already begun," said goaltender Xavier Booberry after the team's recent overtime win against Rome. "Every game from here on out will be a must-win for us." The road will be even tougher due to the team's schedule in those seven games: one heads up against Cologne and two against last-place Istanbul, but also four of the team's final five games will be split among first place Stockholm and second place Rome. There's even a chance that Vasteras could climb to third with some strong play (Bratislava is three points ahead with an extra game played), but no matter how it breaks down, the Iron Eagles just want playoffs above all. "I really think that these teams are so tight, it's a toss up as long as you're in the playoffs," Booberry said. "But we need to get there first. It's go time."

1) Do you follow the NHL? If so, how has your favorite team started and why is it the Sharks at 4-0? The Sharks started 4-0 because Evander Kane's bookie willed it so. We all know this is true. 2) If you could change your life and be a professional hockey player right now, would you? If it would simply be changing my profession, then sure, it'd be fun. But I wouldn't want to lose my family and friends, or how I was brought up. So depends how much has changed. 3) Predict what day I will do the press conference for for next week? The other option: There will be no press conference this week. 4) Who do you think will take home the Continental Cup this season? I'm a believer that experience actually does mean something in the playoffs, STHS be damned. Chicago's got a bunch of veterans who have been here before, believe they take it. 5) Do you like soup? If so, what is your favorite, if not, why? Not a big soup person in general, but spent some time in the Boston area and man, did I have a lot of New England clam chowder there. I miss it. 6) Tell me your favorite fun fact about yourself. Used to do pit crew for a semi-pro race team, doing fuel and general mechanic stuff. Far different than my actual day job these days, but enjoyed it.

Review: 9/10 A good breakdown of the season thus far (apparently 77.8%, if we're using the correct percentages). I always appreciate articles that incorporate stats into the writing since it shows you did your research, and you certainly have those in spades here. You covered everything you needed to and each aspect of your game, and the headers made each section easy to read. Listing the stats as you did may have made the writing a bit dry at times listing, which is my one knock - wouldn't have minded a bit more analysis in the vein of "I think we can chalk this up to his evolving role on the team." But all in all good stuff, a straightforward recap.

Review: 9/10 I liked the mock a lot! It's always brave to be one of the first to put predictions out there, and I respect the fact that you went out on a limb. I think a lot of the picks made sense too, and you certainly justified the selections well. As somebody tied to Helsinki, I'm definitely interested to see how it all plays out. I think the article itself read well also, but one thing I'd work on if you tackled this again is the presentation. Just putting something like "1. Helsinki: Nico Pearce" before the analysis would make it a lot easier to read for people who are scanning for their name. But all in all great stuff, would love to read more of these!

The Next Wave of VHL Goalies Is Here The future of VHL goaltending was looking a bit dicey there for a moment, even if not too many people were talking about it. Following a banner class of goalies in the S75 draft class, the next couple of seasons didn't produce much by way of goalie talent - S76 Tater Tot (555 TPE), S76 Andrew Bowman (493) and S78 Aike van Giersbergen (463) are the only goalies currently above VHLE level for the S76 through 78 draft classes, and none of the three are currently max earning. (S78s Tobias Reinhart and Leroy Johnson are also close to the 400 mark.) S79 and S80 started to get closer, with Papa Emeritus, Em Em Flex, Xavier Booberry and David Davis already at or near the 400 TPE mark, and Orion D H Chiester IX, Oskar Lindbergh, Alex Parise and others approaching rapidly. Still, would that be enough to get the VHL through the retirement of all those S75 goalies? We now have our answer. S81 is already beginning to see a healthy crop of first generation goalies taking up the mantle, with Juha Jarvinen, Tadhg Byrne, Thomas Price, and Richard Martello, among others all at or near 100 TPE already. And now, with the introduction of the S82 Draft class, we're seeing hyped goalies like Miervaldis Arpa, Jean Francois Papineau, Cole Pearce, and Wumbo, among others, join them. Taken together, it paints the picture of a much stronger class of future VHL goalies than it may have even appeared at the S80 Draft. And for his part, Vasteras's Booberry welcomes the competition. "The entire point of this is to test myself against the best of the best, right? It seems like I'm going to have the chance to do that," Booberry said. "I hope all of these goalies stay active and practice hard. Because I want some epic goalie showdowns in my VHL future."

1) Who is your hockey idol? Just seeing what Brodeur did between the pipes when he was at his prime was astounding. No matter who else was on the Devils, you didn't want to face them. 2) Who is your non-sports related idol? Lucky the Leprechaun has become synonymous with Lucky Charms in a way that pretenders like Count Chocula could never dream of. There's so much marshmellow-y goodness in every bite. 3) Do you think of yourself as an introvert or extrovert? More of an introvert. Being a ghost can be pretty lonely at times, but even then, sometimes you just need a little time to yourself. I'm glad I'm not the opposite, honestly. 4) Favorite shade of blue, go! Navy, or as dark of a blue as you can get. It's easier for ghosts to hide in the shadows that way. 5) If you could lead the league in one category, what would it be? Penalty minutes. Everybody likes goalie fights, and if there was a way to drop the gloves more often, I'd take advantage. 7) Dogs or cats? Much more of a dog person. I don't need side eye when I'm just trying to lace up my skates, thank you very much Mr. Cat.

Yoooooooooooooooo

Appreciate the honor! And hope I live up to the billing.

Review: 9/10 It's good for the 12 TPE by me! A fun read, especially since a lot of people are looking back into the past this week, but you've taken the opposite spin by predicting the future. I appreciate what you're seeing his life is like in the future, and I'm curious whether any of the twists and turns that may happen over his career would change your ultimate vision. A few parts I was confused about (he, uh, doesn't know who the mother is? isn't that the easier one to figure out?), and a grammar error or two in there, but nothing immersion-breaking for me. The narrative flowed well and was easy to read. Good stuff overall here!

Review: 9/10 A fun trip down memory lane here as somebody who remembers Collier in particular very well. Straightforward stories you've got here, which is pretty true to life for a lot of people that leave professional hockey. The people who leave a sport but then have nothing to do with it afterwards always fascinate me though, and I appreciate the ones that have varied interests like that. For the article itself, it read cleanly from beginning to end, and the presentation was fine with the bolded/underlined player names to designate the section. A grammar thing or two, but nothing huge. Great job overall, and I'm happy to see you active and updating again!

Vasteras, Sweden -- The inaugural VHLE season of the Vasteras Iron Eagles franchise was living up to its hype through the season's first half. Despite a negative goal differential for much of the stretch, the team's propensity to pull out close games had them at the top of the standings after 36 games played. It was in a tight VHLE, to be fair, but things were looking up. However, the start of the second half has been rough - four straight losses has the Iron Eagles sinking from first all the way to fifth, out of the playoffs with 43 points if the season ended today. Granted, that's with two fewer games played than the Cologne team just one point ahead of them in the standings. But still, it's a cause for concern among some in the Iron Eagles camp. "Every team is going to have a slump eventually, but that doesn't really make it better when it happens," goalie Xavier Booberry said after the team's most recent loss. "This is really the first time we've had to go through something like this." Making it tougher is that the games are close, with three of the four losses in the streak occurring by just one goal. That's difficult to swallow for a team that was pulling off those close wins earlier in the season, but it also provides a bit of hope that they'll be able to turn it around soon. "It's obvious we have the talent and we're in all of these games," Booberry added. "The talent disparity is just so tight in this first season of the VHLE. We need to pull out every trick in the book to make sure we're stealing wins when we have them in our grasp."

I thought I got mentioned in a podcast and now I'm sad

1) What has surprised you the most about the season so far? I wasn't expecting Vancouver to be this good, this quickly. They've really seemed to hit on something here. 2) Does your player’s performance meet your expectations? Why or why not? Definitely, so far. Save percentage is high, have won a decent amount of my games. I'm feeling good about this season thus far. 3) If you could add any superhero to your roster, who would you add and why? Thinking outside the box, can Aquaman have control on ice as well as he can water? Because I feel like that one could get very interesting, very quickly. Questions: 1. What crazy concept would you want to try for a future VHL player, just to see how it does? 2. What VHL team do you want to play for that you haven't yet? 3. What's your favorite hockey stadium concession stand item?

He Thinks He's (Win)God: Catching Up With Hans Wingate Calgary, Alberta -- Following his successful career with the Calgary Wranglers, Riga Reign and Toronto Legion, VHL fans haven’t heard much from Scottish goaltender Hans Wingate in recent years. On the one hand, that’s a bit of a surprise – he was recently named one of the top ten players in VHL history, after all, a veritable legend for the only team to win a threepeat in VHL history. On the other hand… well, you only need to look at his social media. It all started in late winter, two years after Wingate moved back to the Calgary area after hanging up his pads. He and a group of friends were out snowmobiling, when he went over a jump he thought was harmless. It was not. His snowmobile veered left in midair, and he couldn’t correct it. Wingate went crashing to the ground, the snowmobile landing square on top of him. As he lied motionless in the snow, his friends thought that was it. “He wasn’t moving, I thought for sure he was gone,” friend Buck McBuckington said. “No normal person takes that type of hit and lives.” The group called him an ambulance, which due to their location in the Canadian wilderness turned into an airlift operation. It was an hour and a half trek to the closest trauma center in Calgary. An hour and a half that, for certain, doctors thought they didn’t have. Upon arriving in Calgary, doctors pronounced Wingate in critical condition, giving him a 5% chance of emerging from his induced coma. But then, a miracle occurred. Somehow, someway, Wingate began to recover. Doctors were able to take him off life support after a few days; he returned to consciousness a week later. And over the course of months, he began to regain full motor function and ability. This is the story the public knows, the one of the star hockey player returning to form. His jersey retirement ceremony, which occurred almost a year to the day after this accident, was a particularly tear-filled affair. However, there is a twist. Wingate, it turns out, knew exactly how improbable his comeback was. He heard the fans, calling him a modern miracle. And somewhere in his brain, whether through concussion or pure delusion, he began to conflate his playing days nickname of “WinGod” with the accident that befell him. It is then, sources say, that Hans Wingate began to view himself as something more than human. He began to look at himself as divine. The reveal began slowly. One of his first tweets after the accident reads, “I am doing fine! God is good! I am good!” To the public, this seemed like a proclamation of him being okay. But those close to him now say that the last sentence, “I am good!” was less a declaration of how he was doing, and more equating himself with “God is good!” From there, sources and his social media history says, he began to believe he was a higher power. “Think about it this way. You’re a star hockey player randomly out of Scotland. You’ve been called above mere mortals your entire life. And then you survive a horrible accident in a way that is called far and wide a miracle. I mean, can’t you see it?” McBuckington says now. “Of course he was going to have a big head, he was called 'WinGod' for Pete's sake. I’m just a bit surprised it’s gone this far, I guess.” “This far” is perhaps an understatement. Wingate is not verified on Twitter, but those close to the goalie have confirmed that the @WinGOD account is in fact his. On that platform, Wingate has filmed himself attempting to perform various miracles, such as turning water into wine (using purple food coloring) and walking on water (it was a puddle, and his shoes indeed got wet). He also spends his days writing various “verses” on Twitter to his followers. Some of them are direct copies of scripture from the Bible or Quran. Others, perhaps amusingly, are song lyrics. The one tweet of his that went viral, and for which most people may know of his current state, reads, “And lo, beware: This world is the jungle, we take it day by day. If you want it you're going to bleed, but it's the price you pay.” Friends have tried to get Wingate help, but law enforcement officials believe that if he’s not hurting anybody from his rural Alberta home, they might be best letting him live in his delusions. “He’s definitely not the first guy to think he’s a higher power, and he’s probably not the last,” McBuckington said. “Probably not the best for a former VHL star, but what are you going to do?”

Grade: 10/10 I really enjoyed this one, think you did a great job. You can tell off the jump the amount of work you put into it with laying out the different stats, but the forward-looking analysis of what it means for the rest of the season lived up to it as well. The article flowed well from beginning to end, and I think it was laid out well with the intro, stats, comparison, then look forward. The presentation was great too with the colored/bolded headings, and I always appreciate the little detail of tagging the people you're talking about. All in all it made me interested to read about other matchups in the series even as someone who doesn't have a vested interest in the VHLM, which is the best thing I can say about a piece.

Review: 8/10 I've been enjoying this series! It's fun to think about alternative places for teams, and I think you did a great job here of both background research into the locations, as well as how a potential team would fit there. I particularly appreciated this one since my brother-in-law lived in Busan for a while - it wouldn't be the top of mind place for hockey, to be sure, but I get the impression that the people there would support it well. My two quick notes here: I'd work on presentation a bit, taking a look at some other articles as inspiration for things like headlines and pictures. Those make the article look a bit more like an actual journalism piece. Also, I'd break up those paragraphs a bit rather than one long paragraph for each suggestion, since that would make it easier to read. But all in all, a great job!

New locations? That's thinking too small. I don't want another league of humans playing hockey. I want a new league of bears playing hockey. Sample measurements: Claw size, fur courseness, teeth length Sample attributes: Mauling discipline, hind leg dexterity, ability to tell friend from foe, fat layer (for whether they'd be comfortable on the ice) And naturally, the locations would be Alaska, Siberia, northern Scandinavia, what have you. Adding China and pandas might make for an interesting wrinkle, but I think they wouldn't perform well.

Oh sure, axe it now that Peace is actually the longest-serving Toronto GM. Convenient.

Vasteras, Sweden -- One-third of the way through the VHLE's inaugural season, the Vasteras Iron Eagles have picked up where they left off in the draft lottery tournament, sitting in first place overall (tied with Istanbul, but with a game in hand). But despite being the top name in the standings, it's clear that management and players alike don't feel particularly secure in their current position. For starters, the VHLE has extreme parity this season - despite being in first with 28 points, Vasteras is only four points ahead of last place Bratislava and two points ahead of fifth place Cologne. Second, there's the pesky goal differential, where Vasteras actually has a -4 so far, indicating a market correction may not be far behind. "I don't even look at it like we're in first right now. I view it like a six way tie at the top of the standings," goalie Xavier Booberry said after a recent game. "We absolutely can't rest on our laurels and need to play every game like it's a fight for positioning." Still, there are reasons to be excited for Iron Eagles fans. The play of the offensive first line has been spectacular, with Kyle Peace sitting second in the VHLE in goals and Saku Kotkakoivu third in assists. The goaltending, meanwhile, has been a mixed bag - starter Xavier Booberry is first among regular goalies in save percentage, while backup Oskar Lindbergh is dead last. But Lindbergh is only mandated to start seven more games by league rules, which means if he doesn't show up to practice, Vasteras will get Booberry a lot more down the stretch. "I'm ready for that increased responsibility if it comes my way," Booberry added. "We've got a lot of the season ahead, and my goal is to start putting some space on others in the standings."

Definitely agree with this, that's why my last player in Flowers was mostly welfare before ramping back up with Booberry. But I'm also one who tends to go big or go home, and I find I have a lot more fun if I'm trying to max earn and be the best I can. I don't think it's fundamentally a bad thing, as long as you're extremely cognizant of turning sim leagues into a chore rather than a hobby. In that case, I've also had a lot of success simply taking a break between players. Even just a couple of seasons or so, like 9 months real time, does so much to recharge the batteries and make things seem like less of a constant churn. Plus, it gives time for the league to evolve a bit, new people and fresh faces to pop up, which gives a whole new experience for each player.

Presser for 10/3 or 10/10 1. What's your thoughts on how your season's gone so far? 2. How long into a season does it take you to get back in your groove? 3. What are you focusing on the most right now in practice? 4. How are you enjoying the VHLE so far? Or paying any attention at all? 5. What's your favorite thing to do around Helsinki? 6. Are you somebody who likes the snow? (Warning if you're not: There's a lot in Finland.)

Review: 10/10 Fun roundup! Especially as somebody who's been paying more attention to the VHLE than the VHL this season, I really enjoyed this one to get me up to speed quickly about the goings-on in the league. I'd definitely recommend it to newer members to get a lay of the land. The presentation of this piece was excellent, with the proper noun bolding and even the custom graphic at the top. (Though I'm maybe not as enthused with everything being italicized, but I know that's a style choice.) The article flowed well also. If there's any sort of nitpick, I suppose it's more of a variety in the topics (I was promised goalies!), but especially if you're looking to do this weekly, I know there's a balance between fitting this in and not making it like 1500 words. All in all an excellent piece here, hope you do keep it up!

Review: 9/10 Good article! As somebody in the Titans system I've definitely been watching the top of the draft closely, and I definitely agree that these three have set themselves apart. My question is that all three are GMs of teams that might not be at the top of the draft, and will they want to play for teams that aren't their own? For the article itself, it was straightforward and organized well. I really appreciated the bolding of the names as well, though I wouldn't have minded a picture or headline, something else to spruce up the presentation. The other thing I'd note from the editor in me: Watch out for run-on sentences. Something like "He is expected to be a stud in the upcoming season, but he can work on his passing, however this sniper is in a good position to take the 1st overall spot." doesn't read that well and could be a split up. A few of those in this piece.

I'm claiming this next week, just wanted to do it now to help Blade with the podcast: 1.) how does it feel to be on a team that carries so much vhl history and was reborn in the the vhle? It's wild - it would be wild even if I wasn't on the team, frankly. I've been pushing for Vasteras to come back ever since even before they were gone, since I thought (and still think) it was a horrible decision to get rid of the league's villain. I hope this team's able to pick up the mantle. 2.) what does being involved in the first season of a new league mean to you? It was a main reason I recreated, honestly. The chance to make some history always appeals to me, and I'm glad I'm around to give it a shot. 3.) what do you think sets your team apart from others This team has like 3 GMs, 2 or 3 former GMs, and other members who have been here a long time. The amount of VHL experience here is actually kind of absurd. 4.) tell me something fun about your player I think I've settled that he's a literal ghost from the family on the Boo Berries cereal. Which you would think wouldn't make a good goalie, but you'd be wrong. 5.) any crazy team traditions There's an actual eagle that we have as a team mascot, and being as cold and dark as it is, we also have a lot of booze flowing around. If the eagle has a sip or two of beer after each win, who's to say... 6.) tell me about your fav player/ bestie on the team You'd think there would be a goalie rivalry, but Oskar Lindbergh and I get along real well. We're pushing each other to do better, which I think will only help when we're two of the top goalies in the league in a few seasons.

Vasteras, Sweden -- It has been a roller coaster early part of the season for the Vasteras Iron Eagles, and not just because the team's returning to VHL-branded hockey after 40 seasons away. It seems so far like the team just can't get on a run - every time they pick up the win, they inevitably seem to drop the next game. Break the season up in two game stretches, and they seem to go 1-1 almost every time. To be fair, that's also the case for many VHLE franchises, who have similar levels of talent due to a large player pool and an initial VHLE Draft that spread all those players out. But for the Iron Eagles players, it doesn't make them any less antsy. "Of course, I want to win a few games in a row," goaltender Xavier Booberry said. "I came here to win, and I'm hoping we can go on a run soon to do so." Booberry in particular has had a rough time getting in a rhythm. As the VHLE mandates that backup goalies start at least 20 games, the Iron Eagles have been splitting time between Booberry and Oskar Lindbergh in the early going. If the latter remains absent from practice, however, Booberry is set up to receive a large number of starts later in the season, where he hopes to build on his current .925 save percentage. "Overall I've been happy with my play, even after just eight games in the net," Booberry added. "I think we've got the talent to show something special this season, and I'm excited to get that chance."