CowboyinAmerica

1. After a hard-fought series, the Bears come out ahead in Game 7. How do we feel about the series? Turns out we took the eventual champions further to the brink than anyone else in the VHL. Personally, I think we should be feeling pretty good about ourselves and our chances. 2. With the season officially over, it's golf season. Who's the best golfer on the team? It's all about the power and the hand-eye coordination. A Red Guy's got those in spades, so it doesn't really surprise me to see his golf game. 3. Is it better to lose to the cup champs or watch the team that beat you also lose it all? Depends on the team, honestly. Our series with Seattle was pretty cordial, all things considered. I was fine to see them win. 4. What do you want to improve in the offseason? I think we just need one more scoring threat to put us over the top. Whether that comes in FA, a trade or even the draft, I trust our management to pull it off. 5. What are you most excited about for S70? This was the year we were targeting for real contention all along, and I do think we'll be there in the mix. It'll be fun to go into the season with real expectations. 6. How was everyone's New Year's? It was solid - went to an NHL game while the VHL is out of season. Man, after watching our games, those guys move so slow on the ice.

+5

1. Tomorrow we play an elimination game against Seattle, with Seattle being on the ropes. What’s the game plan? Our game plan should be to not go to OT. We're 3-0 in regulation and 0-2 in OT, so I'll take a nice 3-0 win without having to deal with stress, please. 2. Any predictions for tomorrow? I predict a fun game, where both teams try their hardest, and nothing happens that predicting it would result in me jinxing the team. 4. Who’s been the more dangerous Esso, Keven Foreskin or Joel Ylonen? I'm going GM Esso. Given LeGrande, I'm still not putting it out of the realm of possibility that A Red Guy will be changing jerseys at the second intermission of Game 6. 5. Bana has been seen rioting in the streets of Seattle after the latest loss to the Americans. Does this affect your psyche at all? To be honest, I'd kind of like to see this. What does a one person riot look like anyway? Just one person trying to push a car while everyone else looked at him worried? 7. Who has grown the best playoff beard so far? I don't like to brag, but my Hitler-esque mustache and my patchy 21 year old beard looks rather dashing, if I do say so myself. 10. How do you feel about the current playoff format? I do think too many teams make the playoffs, honestly. I wouldn't mind three teams from each conference, with the best record getting a bye. That's the old system, and I think it worked just fine.

Flowers +5

Nice

12/12

Manhattan -- The VHL regular season ended yesterday, and with it was the capper on what has been a roller coaster ride for the New York Americans. In the first third of the season, the Americans were last in the conference, spitting distance from last in the league, and it seemed like the team's rebuild had sputtered. But then, it all came together, and after a miracle run that saw them shoot past D.C., Calgary and Toronto, New York somehow made its way to third in the conference. Now, the Americans will face the Seattle Bears in the first round of the playoffs - a team that, as you may remember, bulldozed its way through the playoffs just last season. It's also the team that former Americans defenseman Guy LeGrande made his way towards in a trade, hoping for more immediate contending opportunities. Vegas lines have the Bears as the heavy favorite, for understandable reasons. In the New York locker room, though, there remains hope. The team only has to look at its 4-3-1 record against these very same Bears during the regular season, with two of those wins coming on the road. Near the end of the season, the two teams split games in New York - the Americans won the first game of the back-to-back 5-2, while Seattle took the second one 4-0. "I just want to make this a series, and I believe we can get there," said defenseman Lance Flowers. "Our goal for this year was playoffs, and now we're here. So anything on top is simply gravy. With that mindset, we're going to play loose - so why not go out and surprise a few people?"

1. Through 72 games we've seen some highs and some Lows (hehe), but through it all what's everyone's favorite memory from this season? I don't remember the exact run, but winning something like 9 out of 10 games, including wins over Vancouver and Seattle, was certainly a confidence builder. It obviously took us from out of the playoffs to in, but let us think we might be able to do something too. 2. We finished 7th overall in the league, coming ahead of both Toronto and Calgary, while nearly taking 6th place from Malmo in the process. Is this better or worse than you would have predicted before the season started? Maybe a little bit better, honestly. I was expecting the final seed in North America, so to take the third and almost beat Malmo is spectacular for this young team. 3. Going back to the highs and lows, which was more surprising? Our race to the bottom of the standings or our unbelievable redemption run to get us where we stand now? The race to the bottom was more surprising to me, but we simply needed to get our footing. Now we're here, and it's great. 4. Looking forward we are set to face Seattle in the first round, how do we feel about this matchup? I'm not going to sit here and pretend like we're the favorites or anything. But I also wouldn't count us out - we've taken games off of Seattle in the regular season, and I definitely think we can make this a series. 5. Looking into the storylines, Guy LeGrande, former Americans defenseman will be coming home to face us in this first round matchup, what impact does this have on the coming series for you? You know our guys are going to come out fired up. It also means Low facing his old team, and similar to that first game after the trade, I wouldn't be surprised if he comes out on fire. 6. Rookies Soren Jensen and Ryo Yamazuki II make up 2 of the top 3 rookies in terms of points, with Jensen looking to take home ROTY. How do you expect next seasons rookies (David O'Quinn, Jaxon Walker and Danny DeYeeto) to preform? I expect a lot, since all of those players are talented. But with that said, our talent as a whole is getting better as well, and they won't necessarily be able to crack top line minutes like Jensen was. It's a good problem to have, honestly.

11/11

10/10

Heyyyyy. Transaction ID: 76N10298AL661962K

9/9

8/8

Theme Week +8 - media this thread and VHL.com here

1000+ words, for weeks ending 12/22 and 12/29

The Story of the Only 100 Assist Season in 30+ Years It’s been said that in recent years, scoring has been down across the VHL. It’s incremental, but you can see the damage if you try. Look, for instance, at the top single-season assist totals in VHL history. Just eight times have players topped 100 assists, a ludicrous number that comes out to almost 1.4 assists per game. Three of those times came in the league’s first seven seasons; seven of those times came S31 or before. And then, every once in a while, a hero comes along. He’s not a Hall of Famer—in fact, he won trophies in just one VHL season after his rookie year. This is the story of Joel Jarvi: the man who had 100 assists in S53. The original defenseman from Cologne GM @gregreg Greg Harbinson, Jarvi was his swan song before going into VHL retirement. All started off well for Jarvi—he win a Founder’s Cup with Ottawa in S46, followed by the Top Rookie award with the now defunct Cologne Express in S47. That year, he had 52 assists and 67 total points, showing that the penchant for being a playmaker was there. The next season was roughly the same, but then Jarvi moved to center increased his goal scoring—31 goals in S49 and 39 goals in S51 showed that he was rounding out his game. There was one problem though: Cologne was good, but never quite good enough. Harbinson completed the team’s rebuild in Season 48, Jarvi’s second season, and started a run of six straight playoff appearances. There was no European power during that time quite like Toronto’s run of four straight finals in North America, but even so, Cologne couldn’t find a way to consistently take that last step. In those six seasons, every European team made the finals at least once, with Cologne only getting one finals bid. That came in Season 49, where they ran into the second of Toronto’s threepeat and fell easily in five games. By the time Season 52 came around, the writing was on the wall – not only for Cologne, but for Jarvi. Though the team remained with enough talent to be in playoff contention, the rebuild was imminent, and Jarvi was beginning his slide into depreciation. Harbinson traded his own player for a chance at glory – and was stymied once again. Jarvi had his own personal best season with 60 assists and 107 points, but Seattle was knocked out in the conference finals to the upstart Americans. Where do you go if you’ve been crushed once again? Once a promising Rookie of the Year, Jarvi was still putting up solid numbers, but overall had stagnated. He hadn’t won a cup, hadn’t won any more awards, and it was looking like S53 would be his final season. He needed a way to go out in a blaze of glory. First Jarvi was traded along with a first to Riga for Pietro Maximoff – Jarvi a bit part in a larger deal. Then, Harbinson traded Riga for his own player, sending off a low TPE goalie and a second round pick. This would be his blaze of glory. Cologne might not be able to get a title, but it would get Jarvi some points. And points Jarvi did get. To say he got out to a rocket start would be an understatement. In Cologne’s first 53 games, Jarvi got 141 points. That was a pace of more than 2.5 points per game; in the previous 15 seasons, only Max Molholt’s 145 points in Season 49 topped Jarvi over the entire season. There was talk of Jarvi getting close to Scotty Campbell’s “unbreakable” record of 190 points in a season. People like Devise began to be on Jarvi Watch. And it all put Harbinson in a tough position: Go for the record, or do Cologne’s rebuild properly? The best thing for the team would be to cash in on Jarvi, shipping him off for picks. That would also give Jarvi one last chance at a title. But on the flip side… it’s not every day you get a chance at history. In the end, though, Harbinson decided to go for the team over records. Cologne sent Jarvi off to New York in exchange for center Sir William Covington III. Then, Cologne was able to flip Covington to Helsinki for a second round pick. It was the best of the situation – in New York, Jarvi would be with an established contender with a chance at one last finals. Only thing, it would come at the expense of his points. After the trade, Jarvi’s production dropped as yet another piece in the New York machine. He finished with 21 points over his final 19 games – still a point per game average, but not at the insane levels he put up in Cologne. Still, it was good enough for 162 total points – and crucially, exactly 100 assists on the season. It was the most assists anybody has put up since Ryan Sullivan had 101 in Season 31. It was the most points in 30+ seasons until it would be topped by Podrick Cast’s 174 in S62. And in the end, Jarvi had a happy story. Having never won a title since the VHLM, he went to a stacked New York team that did end up winning the whole thing. In the playoffs, Jarvi shined – 18 points in 19 games, with 7 goals, 11 assists and a +3 rating. It took until Game 7 for New York to beat the now-defunct Stockholm Vikings, but finally, Jarvi had his glory. Overall, Jarvi wasn’t a particularly beloved player, even by Harbinson himself. That offseason, he would retire him with a succinct “Bye Jarvi you loser.” But for one season, there was magic. It was a trick of STHS that allowed Jarvi to somehow transform into the single best offensive player in 30 seasons, that allowed him to win awards for Most Points, Most Assists, and Most Outstanding Player in the final season of his career. Jarvi may not be a Hall of Famer, but future players may be confused when they look at the record books. But for Season 53, he was the ultimate unsung hero.

7/7

Heyyyyy. Love it

3-2 Vancouver

408 Vancouver Wolves @ Moscow Menace 409 Prague Phantoms @ Malmo Nighthawks 410 Helsinki Titans @ HC Davos Dynamo 411 New York Americans @ Calgary Wranglers

6/6

I'm answering this on my phone from a Vermont airport. I'm committed, dammit. 1. We're looking pretty secure for a playoff spot now after a shaky start to the season, and currently it looks like the first round may be against Seattle. What do you think of our chances, and is that the opponent you are hoping for? Just getting to the playoffs was my goal, so anything else is gravy. With that said, we've been playing solid recently. I don't think seven games is out of the question. 2. Do you like the VHL's 12 days of Christmas? Do you think you'll post in every daily thread? I'm five for five so far, plan to do everything I can. I want the big prize, but too bad I'm unlucky. 3. Who's the MVP of VHL so far into the season? And on New York? I've had Randoms for three straight seasons in fantasy, it's nice to see him finally with a big breakout. And for New York, I don't know where we'd be without Red Guy's leap. 4. Is your town/shops/malls/streets also in full Christmas attire now?! And have you started worry about buying gifts, planning trips or hosting meals? It's New York, it has to be right? Miracle on 34th Street and all that. Which is a good thing that Christmas spirit and gifts are everywhere, because I haven't done a single thing of shopping yet. 5. Any hobbies you will have time spending a little bit time on between Christmas and New Year's? It's winter, it's snowing, it's the perfect time for a good book. I like getting away from the world a bit, and this is the perfect opportunity. 6. Star Wars premiering on the 18th, your thoughts and expectations? Will you go watch it with the team? What is this Star Wars you speak of? Star Trek for life baby, go Spock and fuck the haters.

5/5

Heyyyyyy

The Season 44 Calgary Wranglers were remembered for coming out of nowhere to take a title - taking down the Meute then of Quebec City in the semifinals, followed by a Cologne team in its third straight finals thereafter. Over time, a lot of credit for this win has gone to Hall of Fame goaltender Hans Wingate or to the team's GM Austin Gow. But the Playoff MVP for this run was neither of these - it was forward Tyler Cote, who perhaps lost to history had one of the great playoff runs ever. The player from @Ball, Cote finished the Season 44 playoffs with 31 total points. For reference, not a single other player has reached 30 points in a single playoffs since, and you have to go back to Season 34 ( @Victor's Chershenko) for the previous time it happened. Cote finished with 8 goals and 23 assists in 16 games that playoffs with a +22 and 56 hits. And to think, this was also his first season on the Wranglers, coming over from Toronto in an offseason trade. Unfortunately, that would be the high water mark for both Cote and Ball - he wouldn't win another individual award or a title, despite topping 35 goals and 85 points in each of his three seasons in Calgary. The following season, the Wranglers would go up 3-1 in the finals, but ultimately fall to Helsinki in tragic fashion (Cote had 21 points that playoffs too). Ball himself, meanwhile, has been in and out of activity since then. But it was a magical playoff run for all involved, and for Cote's 31 points, a playoff run that is indeed unheralded.