CowboyinAmerica

Woooo first star!

Foreskin is clearly a cut above

1. We just can't seem to get any solid momentum going, what do we need to do to get a win streak started? I've found that exorcisms really help. We're in New York City, I'm sure that we can have someone perform one at center ice for pretty cheap. 2. We're chasing Seattle right now for home ice advantage in the playoffs. How big of an advantage does that home ice bring? I'll use my agency's own experience with Seattle to say - not really. McAllister was never above a third seed his entire career, and ended up winning two titles and two Playoff MVPs. Just need to make it to have a chance. 3. How are you preparing yourself for the playoffs this season? It's more mental than anything else. After we've worked so hard to get to this goal, we can't take our foot off the gas. With preparation and planning, we need to be working harder than ever. 4. What skills are you working on as a player right now? Honestly, it's more conditioning to stave off the affects of age right now. I know my skills will start to atrophy soon, and I want to get in front of that trend. 5. Piggy backing off that last question, what do you think is your biggest strength as a hockey player? It's all about the checking for me. It's been nice to have a career high in goals and points, but being up there in shots blocked and hits is an even bigger part of my game. 6. If you were chosen as the pre-game DJ to get the team pumped before a game, which song would you play? See, this is why you don't want it to be me - because I'd troll. So I hope everybody enjoys What's Up by the 4 Non-Blondes.

Flowers +5

SBA +6

1. Esso pulled off another trade, acquiring Acyd Burn from Davos. Is this the final piece we need to make a Cup run? I'd like to think so. I'm extremely happy with Esso going all in as much as possible this year, and I'm hoping it ends up with a big win. 2. We have finally started to play like the team we knew we could be. What do you think the reason for that is? It's been a New York tradition for years to start off slow then work our way into winning. But with the addition of Freeman and Burn, there's just a new energy around the club this year. 3. What do you think we should focus on as a team to solidify a playoff spot for this season? Scoring, scoring and more scoring. I really want to get Freeman another trophy for most goals. And if we do that, the rest will fall into place. 4. Are you happy with how you are performing just past the half way mark of the season? About what I expected, to be honest. Solid offensively, competing for Defensive Defenseman once again, and getting some wins is good by me. 5. What's your favourite way to relieve some stress on your off days? Is it bad to say food? But if we're being real, a good pizza will relieve a lot more stress than anything else. 6. Have you picked up any new skills and/or hobbies during this isolation period? Not really, just some time for old hobbies that I hadn't had as much time for previously. Reading, video games, long walks with the dog - it can seem boring at times, but it's more just peaceful for me.

I mean. It was close in S45, Calgary got to the finals anyway, and I think I had like 200-250 TPE on Bernie by the point. Could've made it interesting.

S46 Calgary would've won if they hadn't traded Wingate for Bernie, don't @ me.

From UK checks out

Nothing Wrong With Being A Defensive Defenseman Manhattan -- For a few years, New York Americans defenseman Lance Flowers was between a rock and a hard place. He was racking up hit totals, but those hit totals were resulting in penalty minutes. So he tried backing down on the hits, but his offense wasn't keeping pace to match his high price tag. The back and forth led to two supremely down seasons in Flowers' second and third years. But now, a little more than halfway through Season 72, Flowers' fifth in the VHL, he seems to have found the right balance. His penalty minute numbers aren't small, but at 90 PIMs (tied for 7th in the VHL), he's felt free to do a bit more hitting and shot blocking. And hitting and blocking he is - Flowers' 164 hits through 41 games is the best among defensemen in the league, while his 91 shots blocked sits fourth, only nine behind first. His offense, meanwhile, has not suffered with this defensive focus, as his 39 points is tied for eighth among defensemen, and his nine goals are already the second-best of his career. Last season, Flowers finished second in Wylde Trophy voting. But his numbers this year on the defensive end have even surpassed last year, and he could be in line for his second Wylde Trophy (and first since his rookie year). And after so many years of struggling, he's happy to see some of his hard work finally take root. "Just like New York's been building to this season, so have I. I'm not going to lie, some of those days back a few seasons ago were frustrating. But I really do think it helped me become the player that I am right now," Flowers recently said at a press conference. "I've had to experiment more with what works and what doesn't in the practice room, a lot more than other players my agency has had. To see it all turn out okay might even be a little bit sweeter, then, because I know the work it took to get here."

Claiming double for Theme Week

Julius Freeman: Hall of Famer? About a week ago, New York made one of the biggest transactions of the VHL season, trading for longtime Vancouver forward Julius Freeman. It was certainly a swing for the fences, given that New York was out of the playoff picture at the time (behind even Vancouver). But it certainly seems to have paid early dividends, with the Americans beginning to turn their season around, and Freeman himself staying near the top of the scoring charts. Before he came to the Americans, I didn’t know Freeman and @rjfryman too terribly well. So in keeping with the theme of this season’s Theme Week, I decided to take a look at Freeman’s career with a single question: Is he a Hall of Fame candidate? And after taking a closer look, I think there’s definitely an argument—though it will require continued good play the final season and a half of his career. Points in Freeman’s Favor 1. Goals Get In: Overall, scoring has been down across the VHL in recent seasons—the past three seasons have seen nobody reach 45 goals, something that had literally never happened once in VHL history before this stretch. That means that every forward playing in this era may not have the raw numbers that compare to historical data. But among those scorers, Freeman has stood out. With 44 goals in S69 and 40 goals in S71, Freeman has won the Brooks Trophy two of the past three seasons. And as of the writing of this article, his 28 goals are two more than anybody else in the league as well. Over the life of the VHL, a whopping 17 players have won the Brooks Trophy at least twice: Brett Slobodzian, Scotty Campbell, Matt Bentz, Leander Kaelin, Markus Strauss, Peyton Nydroj, Leeroy Jenkins, Alexander Chershenko, Odin Tordahl, Bruno Wolf, Thomas O’Malley, Edwin Reencarnacion, Diana Maxwell, Franchise Cornerstone, John Locke, Oyorra Arroyo, and Matt Thompson. Of those, only one has not made the Hall of Fame: Nydroj, who retired a season early and sits 51st on the all-time goals list. By my count, only three players have ever scored the most goals in a season three times: Campbell, Chershenko, and Thompson. Each of the three were first ballot Hall of Famers. Just saying. 2. All About Winning: One of the main points against potential borderline cases is that they haven’t won enough. But that’s clearly not the case for Freeman. His Vancouver squad obviously won it all in Season 67, but even beyond that, the Wolves have been perennially been a top team with Freeman as a contributor. Starting in his second season, S67, the Wolves have finished 2nd, 7th, 1st, 2nd, and 1st in the overall VHL standings, leading the way as a potential championship team each season. And even if Vancouver only did have the one title in that stretch before retooling this year, it’s clear that Freeman was still a major contributor. In the six seasons he’s made the playoffs, he’s only had a negative plus-minus once, the S68 team that was Vancouver’s weakest of the run. In the S67 championship run, he finished with 9 goals and 17 points. His S69 playoffs saw him with the most goals on Vancouver (7), while in S70 and S71 he finished tied for most points, then one off most points on the team for the playoffs. 3. There’s Still Time Left: It’s worth noting that Freeman is nowhere near done yet. Beyond leading the league in goals this season, he’s second in total points (first among forwards), third in game winners, and fourth in plus-minus. He’ll rightfully receive a lot of credit if the Americans do turn this season around, and he should have another chance at increasing his playoff stats. Plus, for those who like the activity - Freeman is currently 11th on the all-time TPE list, with a season and a half to play. It’s extremely reasonable to guess he’ll finish fourth or fifth on the list, behind Kastelic, Borwinn and Helmsley, and somewhere around Johnsson. All that TPE (with 136 banked) means he’ll be equally as effective in S73, when he’ll make one more final run at glory. The counting stats and the lack of overall awards means that Freeman’s Hall of Fame case won’t be an easy one. But I do think he has a case. Given that he was a leader on one of the best teams of the ‘60s, put up goal numbers in a period where nobody has been putting up goal numbers, and was one of the top earners and most talented players of the era, Freeman should at least be considered. And as his teammate now in New York, I hope the Americans can give his career another boost and the send off he deserves.

1. Mastermind GM Esso made a whirlwind of a trade this week. What are your thoughts on it? Absolutely love it. We needed offensive firepower badly, and Freeman is perhaps the most qualified player in the league to bring it. 2. As veterans of the Americans, what advice would you give our new player, RJ? We're scrappy. We're used to playing from the bottom and getting a bit chippy, so don't be afraid to get your hands dirty in playing with the underdogs. 3. We're only 1 point behind Vancouver with a game in hand. What can we do as a team to leapfrog them? Beating fucking Toronto for once would be a good start. Otherwise, I think we just need to get in a rhythm and get the lines down with our new team. 4. With the trades this week, we're now running with only 3 defenseman. How would you shift our style of play to better assist them on defense? I don't think we need to shift it much, actually. We'll need to cycle people through to make sure everyone is rested, but all three of us are highly capable. 5. In the past few PC's, I've asked for music and tv show references, and have them all on my list. Now, I'd like to ask what book you would recommend! Especially given recent events, books that analyze race relations in a thoughtful way are high on my list. Between the World and Me by Ta-Nahesi Coates is a recent favorite. 6. Keeping with the theme of literature, who is your favorite author? In general, I really like Cormac McCarthy. Westerns are generally not my jam, but his prose is beautiful, and I love his psychological looks inside the minds of largely broken men.

(You think he's joking, but probably the most important part of the job)

1. After 22 games, we sit firmly in the middle of the rankings in the VHL, and tied with Vancouver for 4th in the NA. What are your thoughts on the team's performance? A few games later, about the same. Wishing we were higher up, but there's still a lot of time left to play. 2. Which game has been your personal favorite this season, and why? It's recent, but Freeman going off against Vancouver in his very first game with us - followed by my game winning goal! - was a whole lot of fun. 3. Our goaler has the 4th most shots against in the league. How can we try to reduce the amount of shots on goal? Well somebody told me I should have fewer penalty minutes this year, so I can't just beat everyone up like I want to... 4. Esso seems to need a little motivation to keep his spirits up after our start. What would you say to the Birdman? Honestly, with all going on in the world, we all need a little more to have our spirits up. We just need to keep smiling and work - there's nothing else we can do. 5. On a different note, I've been watching a show on Prime called The Expanse. Good Sci-Fi show. Anyone have anything they're watching right now? Not really, it's been mostly video games for me. Got back into Civilization recently, which is dangerous and cuts into my practice time. 6. This time on a similar note, I'm always looking for music recs. What's a song you have on repeat right now? The new Run the Jewels album came out a few days ago, that's what it's been for me. Been a fan for a while, and it's right in line with their old stuff.

OT winner weeeeeee

Copy/pasting myself from a work newsletter I write up and send out: Put it in the name of the Minnesota Storm or something. I don't know. I could write an essay here, living in the Twin Cities during all this. But I won't. Jericho's point is very well put.

1. Due to Esso's conflict with work, AGM Spartan submitted lines for the first two games of S72. What were your thoughts on my line management debut? I must say, I thought it was a refreshing change of pace to have a winger play center. I, Lance Flowers, am extremely excited for my turn at goalie. 2. Realized that I never asked this key question, but what is your goal for this season? I just want to win, man. After a couple seasons of cruelly missing the playoffs, I don't really care about anything else right now. 3. After 7 games, what are your thoughts on the team's performances? It would have been nice to pick up a few of those OT wins, but all in all I can't complain too much. It's better than coming up super cold the past couple of years. 4. What have you been most proud about your performance so far? It's all about playing the hits, baby. Still being top ten in hits and shots blocked while keeping my penalty minutes manageable is a huge victory. 5. What are you going to try to improve the most after our first slate of games? My offense isn't quite where I want it to be yet, I'm hoping that a few more of my passes connect in coming games. 6. Lastly, what are your thoughts on our captain selections (which can be found here)? Despite all my joking about being a bad captain, it's a big honor that I was selected. I hope to represent the Americans well on and off the ice.

SBA +6

Sorry for the delay. D - Seabass Perrin

Was trying to give some time, but about to go to bed. I'll take F - Phil Marleau and G - A Red Guy @Sonnet and still @Alex Bridges up

Two games, two shootout losses is right in line with how much STHS loves us.

I was coming in here to make the case for @Motzaburger but somebody was nice enough to do it for me!

F - Boris the Forest D - Condor Adrienne @Sonnet

Me and my No Trade Clause are proud to have the honor