CowboyinAmerica

Enjoyed listening! Yeah, goalie scarcity is about to get super interesting, super quickly. And I figured too that Toronto trading up was Peace ensuring he got himself, while still being able to plug those other holes.

Very tempted to put that sig in mine now. And hi!

#1. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE NHL TEAM ? It sounds weird, but I've never really had one? I just like watching good matchups. I grew up in Flyers territory and live in Wild territory right now, but I was in Chicago during their Stanley Cup runs and enjoyed those teams, so gun to head that'd probably be my pick. #2. HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN A FAN ? I've enjoyed watching hockey for a while, a lot of my friends in the neighborhood growing up played as well so got it secondhand. Call it a couple decades then. #3. ITS EARLY BUT WHO WINS THE CONTINENTAL CUP NEXT SEASON? Malmo's still a young team, so I wouldn't be surprised if they make a strong push to repeat. Going back-to-back is a very tough thing to do, but that team's set up extraordinarily well to try it. #4. WHAT PLAYERS RETIREMENT WILL HAVE THE BIGGEST IMPACT ON THE LEAGUE? Not just one player, but I'm a bit surprised more people aren't talking about how old a lot of the goalies are, particularly the S75 class that is now going into regression. The balance of power is going to shift dramatically between S82-83 when they're gone. #5. IF YOU COULD PICK AN ALTERNATE JERSEY FOR YOUR TEAM , WHAT WOULD IT LOOK LIKE ? The Padres have camo alternates for their jerseys because of the heavy military presence in San Diego. The Marlins could definitely lean into the same, but call it blue camo perhaps? #6. RIGHT TWIX OR LEFT TWIX ? AND WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CHOCOLATE BAR ? We read left to right in English, only makes sense to eat our Twix the same way. And it's not necessarily a chocolate bar, but I've always been a Reese's person and will be forever.

San Diego, Calif. -- The offseason is about to be a busy time for former Bulls and Marlins goalie Xavier Booberry. Because this year, for the first time, he has not one but two drafts to prepare for: the new VHLE, which he’ll enter next season, and the grand VHL Draft that will determine his long-term home. While the playoffs just ended, Booberry has already heard from a few teams in the VHL, though none in the VHLE. There’s certainly still more time for outreach before the big days arrive, but Booberry’s hoping more than anything that the outreach indeed occurs. “Yeah, I hope teams talk to me. That’s big for me – I want to hear the team’s plan and where I fit in,” Booberry said. “Plus I think it starts off our relationship on the right foot to be able to have a conversation and hear about each other’s likes and dislikes.” The Booberry camp thinks this conversation is more important on the VHL than the VHLE side, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t want to hear from the new VHLE GMs. On the contrary, he points to his experience in the VHLM last year as evidence of the good of that conversation. “I didn’t really talk with Houston before they drafted me – I didn’t really talk with them even when I was the backup the season before,” Booberry said. “If I had the opportunity, I would have raised the exact concerns that caused them to sell off the entire team mid-season. I just don’t want to be in that sort situation again, that’s all.”

Really liked it, obviously super curious myself. I wouldn't be surprised if we see some trades either - particularly LA as you mentioned, don't think Davis is falling that far based on TPE.

Who needs scoring? All shutouts, all the time.

I read this already, so now I'm going to review it because I need a point. Review: 10/10 The main point that sticks out to me for this article is the presentation. It'd be very easy to just bold names and keep them all in paragraph form, but the team bars, the centering of the selections, and the user tagging really goes above and beyond here. It makes the article not only easier to read, but easier to skim too for people who are looking more at the picks than the explanations. The explanations themselves work well too however, taking into account not only team needs, but player builds and stats as well when talking about potential destinations (such as the reasoning for the Detroit drop). If there's one super nitpick there it would be taking more of the long-term futures into account (i.e. what Toronto and Vancouver look like in S80 isn't nearly as important as in S83), but that'd be asking a whole lot and you crammed a bunch in with a short space. I know you called this an amateur opinion, but I view it as anything but that and extremely well done.

Yeah not to belabor the point too much, but if 93.6% of people have the same "incorrect" answer, and not all of those people copied off of one person (as I didn't and know a bunch of others didn't), seems pretty obvious to me that the answerers aren't the ones at fault.

I've decided: wherever I get drafted, I'm getting a shirt. (Please don't trade me.)

Enjoyed the mock and the work you put into it! Definitely curious where I end up, since there are some teams picking high that don't necessarily need goalies too.

I'd definitely argue that Toronto tie. I didn't include this season purposefully, since this season isn't fully completed so Peace doesn't have 10 full seasons under his belt. And seems like my interpretation was the common one too.

Magazine editor over here, have done it for a while now and enjoy it. Though I've also got an MBA I did part-time while working, so casually looking around the job market for if I want to change things up.

Xavier Booberry Performs Well in Pre-VHLE Tourney Cologne, Germany -- After the San Diego Marlins got knocked out in the first round of the VHLM playoffs, goaltender Xavier Booberry thought he’d be spending most of his offseason in peace while preparing for the VHL Draft. The new VHLE league, however, had other ideas. To prepare for the upcoming VHLE Draft, and to give the new teams’ GMs a taste for the league, the VHLE decided to stage an early tournament that would determine draft order for the upcoming inaugural league draft. The prospect pool would be comprised of players expected to play in the league next season. Xavier Booberry is one of those shipped off to Europe, and in the random draw he was selected to a team his agency has some familiarity with: the Cologne Express. Not only does Booberry’s agency know Cologne’s GM, himself a VHL mainstay, but the agency’s first player in Karsten Olsen played for Cologne for a short spell at the end of his career. While some may have bristled at the extra games, Booberry saw the tournament as an opportunity – one he’s currently taking full advantage of, given that his .932 save percentage through six games played (two as a mid-game replacement) is the second-best save percentage of all goalies thus far. “It’s nice to show this league what I can do,” Booberry said. “My VHLM season was a bit all over the place, given the midseason trade. But especially in front of a bunch of teams that I’m hoping to play for next season, I think I’m proving myself a bit.” Indeed, we’ll see how impressed teams are with Booberry’s play here shortly. The VHLE Draft, and the S80 VHL Draft as well, will take place shortly after the conclusion of the tournament. Booberry’s hoping to hear his name called early in both places, but only time will tell whether that’s the case.

Which team surprised you the most this S79 season and why is it Davos? The team that surprised me the most this season was Malmo - I wasn't expecting their young players to take such a leap so quickly, but they did well to be top of the standings. They are Davos because we all want to be Davos at heart, neutral like Switzerland even if we're really not. Will anyone ever reach the all-around greatness of Wayne Gretzky or do you think that's already happened? I think someone could certainly be as talented as Gretzky, given that the overall talent in the NHL only continues to rise. But the flip side of that is everyone is getting more talented, so I'm not sure we'll see someone separate from the pack like Gretzky did. When will the Devils win the Cup again? As someone who grew up in Delaware, I know extremely well that nothing good can ever come to Jersey. I say they win the title in 2044 - approximately five years after they've become the San Antonio Devils. Three Questions: What part of the VHL offseason are you most looking forward to? If you could place a VHL expansion team in any location, where would it be? What's your favorite season (winter, spring, summer, fall) and why?

Even With First Round Exit, Marlins See the Bright Side San Diego -- When the Marlins made their run from last in the VHLM to playoff seeding, it was a rallying cry for Marlins fans across the region. The more practical minded of them, though, had an additional goal: get to the 7 seed. That's because the top team in the VHLM, the Mississauga Hounds, have had the Marlins' number all year - 5-0 against them in the regular season, with multiple blowouts. Well, in the end the seeding did not go San Diego's way, finishing 3 points behind Halifax for seventh. And as a result, the Hounds loomed. For some Marlins players, the goal wasn't necessarily to win the series, but to put up a good fight. "I'm a realist, I know it's going to be tough going in there," goaltender Xavier Booberry said before the series. "I think we can put up a fight though, and I believe in our guys to do just that." Ultimately, the Marlins did put up a bit of a fight: They stole one game from the Hounds, dropping the series in five games. Games four and five were the most competitive, with the deciding game being just a one goal affair between the teams. And even with a first round exit, many Marlins players are leaving with their heads held high. "From where we were when I was traded here to now, I feel proud of what we've accomplished," Booberry added. "There are a bunch of ways to measure success, and I'm glad for the success we've had as a team."

Moscow out here putting in work for the Legion

1. We made it to playoffs! Our first series is against Mississauga, who beat us 5-0 throughout the season. Do you think STHS will favor us? Favor? Probably not. But I do think that we'll be able to steal a game or two in this one and make them sweat a bit. 2. What does your player do for fun before a big game? It's all about zoning out and making sure you don't sike yourself out. A bit of video games does the trick, especially something like Call of Duty that's all reflexes. 3. How many goals do you think you will score against Mississauga? Or, if you are our goalie, how many saves will you make? Aww, how nice of you to think of me. And for that reason, my answer will be ALL OF THE SAVES. FOUR STRAIGHT SHUTOUTS INCOMING. 4. If we did a rebrand, what would our city and name be? I actually like both the city and branding as is - I think San Diego's a slept on sports market in general. If I were to change it'd be to make it more hockey-centric - Ice Marlins perhaps? 5. Have you enjoyed your time in San Diego? I have, I'm glad I got traded here. It's been a fun locker room, and I've enjoyed being part of the run from last to into the playoffs. 6. What weighs more, a ton of feathers or a ton of bricks? The ton of people running away from all of those bricks, which weigh just as much as the feathers but are much more compact - meaning if they land on you, ow.

Marlins Need Miracle Run to Move Up San Diego, Calif. -- Upon making moves like trading for Xavier Booberry and John Baard early in the season, the then-last place San Diego Marlins had big dreams. The first dream: Get out of the basement and into playoff position. Surprisingly, that was accomplished rather quickly, with the team getting up to eighth by 45 games into the season. The next dream was to move up the standings to seventh or even sixth, to make a potential playoff road a bit easier. Unfortunately, though, that has turned out to be easier said than done recently. The Marlins have skidded to seven straight losses recently, including one in OT to Miami. The result has been a team that was just three points behind Halifax and within shouting distance of Las Vegas is now eight back of the 21st, with only 10 games to play. "I do put this somewhat on myself; I feel I should have been able to steal one of those games," goalie Booberry said after the team's most recent loss to Mississauga. "I still believe in this team, but we're going to have to play near perfect the rest of the season." Indeed, the Marlins don't have the easiest schedule down the stretch, with just one game remaining against the bottom four in the standings. But they do also have two games against Halifax and one against Las Vegas, all three essentially must-wins if the Marlins are going to make any sort of run. "I don't think anybody expected the run we got on earlier this season either, so you can never count us out," Booberry added. "It's now that we need to show what we're made of."

1. How do you think you did during this weeks games? It could have been better. I was really hoping I could help spur the team to a 7 seed by the end of the season, but a rough spot means it's going to be a tough thing to accomplish. 2. We're 8 points ahead of Ottawa; the current 9th place team. What line pairs would you like to see during the next few weeks of the season? I don't know specifically about pairings, but particularly against the top teams it'd be good to play around a bit. If we do end up playing the Hounds, we'll have to pull a rabbit out of our hats, so why not start the tests now? 3. What do you think the strategy should be to make us more competitive with higher teams like Mississauga, Mexico City, and Saskatoon. I'm all for a high variance strategy - whatever that means, I'm not too well-versed in hockey strategy. I think it's ultimately going to be a bit of luck, and if I can stand on my head. 4. Who do you think is our Locker Room MVP at this midpoint of the regular season? I've been really impressed by Baard since he arrived in San Diego around the same time I did. Not only an absolute beast on the ice, but he's keeping the engagement up in the LR as well. 5. How do you feel about going up against Halifax in the first round of playoffs? Assuming the standing stay the same. Is there anything else to say but that we're going to win? Even as the lower seed, need to stay confident that we're going to take whoever's across from us. 6. How did you end up in the position you currently play? You have to be a certain bit of crazy to play goalie, with all of the hard shots and talent on the the offensive side of things. Luckily, I'm more than a little bit crazy.

1. We are half-way through the season, how do you expect the season to finish? We're looking a lot better for the playoffs now, and I see no reason for the momentum to stop. 6th seed or bust, baby! 2. Who do you think will be the biggest impact player for the remainder of this season? Is it weird to say me? But I think it's me. Getting a few shutouts already really helps out, and I feel confident I'll be able to continue playing well. 3. What areas do you think the team need to improve? If so, where, and why? Consistency, mostly. I think we've got the talent, but we've also gotten shelled by the top teams like the Hounds a few times. I'd like to see some good performances competing with the best of the best. 4. What kind of miracle do you think we need to complete to make it to the playoffs? No miracle at all, just some old fashioned updating and hard work. I think we're already getting there quite nicely. 5. What is the routine of your player, what does a pre-game ritual look like? Some players like to get pumped up and whipped into a frenzy, but I've always been much more of the opposite. Give me a quiet space, a chance to calm my mind and get it right, and I'll be fine. 6. Which team in the VHLM, VHLE or VHL has your favorite logo? Why? I've always been partial to the Titans logo, just because I think it's clean. But of course with Vasteras coming back, I hope the old Iron Eagles logo makes an appearance as well.

San Diego, Calif. -- When goalie Xavier Booberry was traded from the Houston Bulls to the San Diego Marlins, it was a bit of an odd trade for one reason: the Marlins were actually below the Bulls in the standings. Mired in last place, team management felt that had a winner but needed a jump. They hoped that a rash of trades, including Booberry, would be the spark that inspired the team before it was too late. Now, about 25 games later, it's clear that the spark did its job. As of this article, the Marlins are in playoff position, in eighth place with 43 points and clear of the Ottawa Lynx by 4. And while it would take some excellent play to catch either Las Vegas or Halifax seven points ahead, even the fact that Marlins fans can have that conversation has to be considered a win after the way the season started in San Diego. "We're gelling, and I think everyone can tell," Booberry said. "We've officially become that team that nobody wants to play, and we're doing a damn good job at it if I do say so myself." Booberry himself has been a big part of that resurgence. While his save percentage and GAA has been raised a bit by a few bad outings against the Hounds, his 11-3-2 record through 16 games with the Marlins speaks for itself. "They've really embraced me here, and I'm happy to be a team where I feel like I'm contributing," Booberry added. "Now for the next goal: that title."

1000+ words, claiming for the weeks ending 8/22 and 8/29

Who Should Be on the VHLE Awards? One of my favorite aspects of the VHL awards is that they’re named after VHL legends. To me, this gives the awards a real sense of history and adds to the history-buff’s desire to learn more about the players that came before them. Whether it’s Campbell, Kanou or the many that followed, VHL and VHLM awards’ namesakes have always given something to aspire to. There’s one issue when it comes to these awards though: Most of them have been named for a long time already, with not much room for new entrants. One option could be to rename some awards, but let’s be real, that would be more of a headache than it’s worth. Luckily, however, there just happens to be a third league on the way, with a whole set of awards ripe for the naming… That’s right, I want to name the VHLE awards. Granted, there isn’t exactly a VHLE history for me to rely on, but as noted above there are a lot of VHL players who haven’t even had the opportunity to have an award named after them. So I’m going to do the naming, with two caveats: They can’t have a VHL or VHLM award named after them. They have to either be from Europe or have played the majority of their career for an EU-based team. The second one may be a bit controversial, but I want the VHLE to have a bit of a hometown feel to the extent possible. If this leaves someone out – like my own USA-based and Seattle Bears veteran Gabriel McAllister – I think it’s a worthwhile trade-off for some world building opportunities. Now, to my suggestions! And a thanks to a heavy assist from the Top 75 Players list here. MVP: The Thomas O’Malley Trophy Thomas O’Malley (@OrbitingDeath ) has long been known as the top non-Campbell forward in VHL history, racking up back-to-back-to-back MVPs, four championships, and a whole host of record book honors. Although O’Malley himself was an American player from Boston, he played much of his career with European teams (most notably his S45-S46 run with the Helsinki Titans). His closest connection to the VHLE though might be where he was drafted: the since-revived Cologne Express franchise, which made O’Malley the first pick in the S40 Draft. Playoff MVP: The Hans Wingate Trophy Was this article mostly a conceit to talk about my own player? Perhaps. But the guy who was named the second-best goalie and seventh-best player in VHL history as of S75 was the goalie behind Toronto’s three-peat from S48-S50, still the only threepeat in VHL history as certain Molholts will remind you. During that S48 run, the Scotland-born Hans Wingate (@me) went 8-1-2 with a 0.938 SV% and a 1.53 GAA with 2 shutouts, gaining the Playoff MVP title in the process. Add in an S44 title with Calgary and a co-playoff MVP in a losing effort in S45, and it’s clear Wingate was one of the best playoff performers of all-time. Points Leader: The Franchise Cornerstone Trophy If there’s one thing that Franchise Cornerstone (@boubabi) knew how to do, it’s score. The center was taken with the first overall pick in the S53 Draft by Helsinki, and spent his entire career there. In his final five seasons, Cornerstone tallied 284 goals, an average of 56.8 per season, which netted him two different Most Goals awards over that time. But he wasn’t just a sniper adding 471 assists to his 384 goals as well, for a total of 855 points. That puts him 13th all-time in the points scored category. Goals Leader: The Phil Rafter Trophy I’m a bit surprised that there’s isn’t a Rafter trophy already, because England-born center Phil Rafter’s (@Phil) accomplishments speak for themselves. After bursting onto the scene with 43 goals in his rookie season with Davos in S27, Rafter would go on to retire as one of only four players with 400 goals – a number that has largely stood the test of time, being still tied for fifth at 407 total. Rafter would make his mark on European hockey in particular as well, winning the S31 title for a beloved Davos team. Assists Leader: The Japinder Singh Trophy Another Davos legend in a slightly older era, Japinder Singh (@8Ovechkin8) was one of the more underrated playmakers in VHL history. His 580 assists ranks second all-time in the VHL and first among all players after the league’s first ten season – he’s 38 assists ahead of O’Malley for the lead in that second category. Despite only one time being the assists leader himself, his consistency and three titles between Davos and Helsinki keeps the India-born defenseman as a beloved player in Europe. Top Defenseman: The Smitty Werbenjagermanjensen Trophy The most recent player to have a trophy named after him here, Smitty Werbenjagermanjensen (@Fire Vigneault) helped both revive Davos’s blue line and brought winning to recent expansion team Moscow in a three-straight run of Top Defenseman awards that established the American as one of the best defensemen of all-time. His Season 70 is particularly notable: winning Labatte, Slobodzian and Valiq trophies in the regular season, before scoring 21 points in the playoffs to help lead Moscow to its first ever title. Top Goaltender: The Tuomas Tukio Trophy I feel like Tuomas Tukio (@Higgins) sometimes gets lost to history, but the Finnish-born goaltender and S31 GM player to the Helsinki Titans remains a legend in Scandinavia. The winner of back-to-back Campbell and Slobodzian Trophies, Tukio combined dominance with overall consistency - only in his rookie season did he ever drop below a save percentage of .920, and only twice did he fail to win 40 games or post a GAA above 2.00. His back-to-back Victory Cups in S33 and S34 Continental Cup with Helsinki cements his status as a legend. Top Two-Way Forward: The Theo Axelsson Trophy For a league with two Swedish teams, it makes sense to me to end here with a Swede who reps Vasteras (who primarily plied his trade elsewhere in Scandinavia in Helsinki). A three-time winner of the Boulet for Two-Way Forward himself, S50 draftee Theo Axelsson (@solas) still ranks second all-time in the VHL with 2729 hits, while also sitting top 50 with 331 goals scored. A two-time Continental Cup winner with Helsinki, he also capture Playoff MVP honors with that two-way play: 13 points and 34 hits in 12 games, and the Cup-winning goal.

There's a lot here that I'm not going to read through everything, so sorry if I'm posting any duplicates. But here's a few off-the-wall ones that I think could be worthwhile. 1. Utilize live presentations (especially on Twitch): I think the Draft, complete with live graphics, is one of the coolest things I've seen in a sim league. Now, I know it's not particularly realistic to have a "live" game with STHS. But if we were able to able to make big games (like the Finals) more of an event - maybe pregame/postgame shows and quarter-by-quarter reveals of PBP with something resembling a live broadcast - I think it would be both good for engagement as well as draw in some of the Twitch crowd. 2. Adjust the VHLM Inactivity Rules: The reason the Bulls didn't have any players on their team for a while had nothing to do with rebuilding. It's that, due to the draft, the team only had 8-ish players to start. And when a few went inactive, Houston was forced to release them due to archaic rules - leaving only 5 players on the team pre-teardown. There should be some sort of minimum so that if a team has, say, 9 players or less, it doesn't have to cut due to inactivity, giving at least some semblance of a team for any new players. 3. Donation Transparency: I think the VHL is the best league around in terms of speaking on what's happening with donations, as well as keeping a balanced book where income = expenses. But I think more could always be done on that front. Perhaps a yearly (or every other season or something) income statement about where some of the cash was spent and what's on hand. Or revealing more on what advertising costs are to people who are interested. I'd hope that sort of transparency would even increase donations, since people are able to see more clearly how they're helping the league.