CowboyinAmerica

The All-Time Tournament Question I’m extremely excited about the upcoming 10th Anniversary All-Time Tournament, mostly because I’m a fan of history – how many other times are you going to be able to see these legends on the ice at the same time? It should be a fun activity that truly showcases how far the VHL has come in 10 years, as well as the people that put their time and effort into making this a great league. But selecting the best players from each franchise does have a rub: How do you select which team players who starred for multiple franchises should play for? I decided to take a look at some of the bigger questions and Hall of Famers that may be tough to decide for the selection committee. C Scotty Campbell: Vasteras/Stockholm (S1-S3) over Seattle (S4-S6) The first question may also be the biggest: Who get the rights to VHL world beater and probably record holder forever Scotty Campbell? He was the first ever draft pick of the Vasteras franchise and won the league’s first championship as the team’s star. He won his most titles (2) with Seattle, and arguably had his two best seasons there before being dealt at the S6 deadline. He won an MVP with Toronto and almost led the franchise to its first title. If each had their way, they could have their own claim. But I’m going with Vasteras here, because being the star on the first championship team is too big to ignore. C Alex McNeil: Seattle (S4-S6) over Avangard/Davos (S3-S4, S6) The first Hall of Famer to have a tie in overall service time does so in an odd way – playing for Seattle and Avangard each for part of three seasons. After coming up through the ranks with Toronto, McNeil was dealt away to Avangard before the start of Season 3. Though experiencing a breakout year there, he was then dealt to Seattle partway through Season 4, where he experienced his most success, winning two titles and a Delvecchio Trophy in Season 5. He was then dealt back to Avangard partway through Season 6, but struggled again while there. Although he technically had more games played for Avangard, McNeil should clearly be considered a Seattle legend. RW Cam Fowler: Helsinki (S22-24) over Seattle (S18-21) Cam Fowler is one of the best test cases to see what should matter more: longevity on a team or personal success. Fowler started his career with the Bears as a second round pick, but he shortly worked his way up through the ranks to be one of the best players from an otherwise lackluster draft – fellow Bear Markus Strauss is the only other Hall of Famer selected that year. Season 21 was his breakout, where Fowler won his only Boulet Trophy in his final season with the team. It was in Helsinki where he saw his greatest success though, winning three personal trophies (two Kostkas and a Messier) as well as the Season 22 Continental Cup. For that reason, I see him more as a Helsinki legend than Seattle. C Leeroy Jenkins: Davos (S23-25) over… everyone else Jenkins might be my favorite case of all: What do you do with the player that hopped around chasing titles? Jenkins played only three seasons with the team that drafted him, but he only then played two seasons with Helsinki, one with Seattle, one with New York, then a split Helsinki/Calgary season before retiring. He retired with the most titles (5) of any player ever – on four different teams - and as a first ballot Hall of Famer, he has to fit somewhere. I’m giving it to Davos on service time and winning two titles there alone, though it could be fun to see each team make a case, especially given that a lot of his individual success occurred in Helsinki. G Hans Wingate: Calgary (S43-46) over Toronto (S48-50) As part of the only threepeat in VHL history, it’s hard to argue that Hans Wingate wasn’t a star in Toronto – with the team, he also won an MVP, a Most Outstanding Player, a Top Goalie (should have been two), and a Playoff MVP. By individual measures of success, he was an overall better player than when he came up from the bottom in Calgary. But here’s the rub: He’s not the only major goaltender in Toronto franchise history, where he competes with the likes of most notably Aidan Shaw and Remy LeBeau. Calgary, meanwhile, doesn’t have a single Hall of Fame goalie to its name, and the goalies when it won titles (Max Weinstein, Demetrjusz Dudek, Zach Voss, Joey Clarence, and Marius Henchoz) were solid, but not All-Time Team level. I could see the founders assigning Wingate to Calgary for competition purposes as much as anything else.

If it goes by service time then yeah - 3.5 seasons in Calgary versus 3 in Toronto. Doing a media actually on some of those close calls now.

Might make sense that a player can only play for the team he played the greatest number of seasons for then? Like, as much fun as it would be for me to see Calgary Hans Wingate face Toronto Hans Wingate, I don't think anybody else wants to see that. But I'll wait to see what Phil comes up with. Also, if there are indeed TPE awards, can draftees without a team be randomly assigned? Or placed on a team that doesn't have as many actives like Riga or something?

My first draft here, S33, I was super prepared to go third overall to Toronto. Had talked with Sandro for over a month and everything was good. Draft day comes and... apparently Boom didn't want to go to Seattle, so I was selected second overall, sight unseen. Seattle was a cool place to end up, but was an early reminder that randomness happens a lot in the VHL.

Sure why not. I didn't join VHL upon startup (never really was much of a hockey fan), but was helping run the MSFL_R at the time and a lot of the membership overlapped. Was 17 during the summer before senior year of high school (grade 12 to you Canadians), was going on college visits while doing odd job landscaping work, still living in Delaware (about half an hour outside Philly) where I was born and raised, and definitely didn't have much going on in terms of a dating life or anything like that. Senior prom me, so happy I eventually got contacts: Finished high school and moved halfway across the U.S. to ended up in college outside Chicago. Got myself a journalism degree and guarantee I don't make money for the rest of my life, also broke out of my shell a bit there, and dated and widely expanded my social circle for the first time. Graduated college and met my current girlfriend soon after in 2012, lived on the north side of Chicago for four years. Joined the VHL during the Blackhawks 2013 Cup run, when I really started getting back into hockey. Now, still working in journalism (focusing on the law) and followed the girlfriend up to the Twin Cities in Minnesota last summer where I'm now working on an MBA. No kids or marriage yet, but in the early stages of ring shopping. You grow a lot between 17 and 27, but happy how I at least somewhat have my shit together. Photo the girlfriend took on Valentine's this year:

Hey there! Sounds like you've already got somebody to answer questions, but if you have any more feel free here.

3-2 Meute

351 Meute vs Americans 352 Express vs Reign 353 Bears vs HC Dynamo 354 Vikings vs Titans

Sounds reasonable, I really don't pay attention to any two-player stuff

VHL Windows of Contention: Europe Last week, I took a quick look at the next time we thought some North American teams might be contending. This week, we naturally swing to the other side of the coin and look at the – honestly, more straightforward – European Conference. Again, these projections are just a snapshot in time and don’t reflect what might happen in the future or GMs’ plans. I’m an analyst, not Melisandre. But for now, here’s what I’m thinking: Cologne Express: Season 58-60 I honestly even thought about making the beginning of the scale Season 59, but I think five seasons of rebuilding would make anybody a bit cranky. Vernon von Axelberry has said publicly that he’s committed to this rebuild, but it’s clear that it’s going to take a while—the cupboard’s completely bare except for himself and one forthcoming GM player. Out of any team in the league, even Seattle, Cologne’s the furthest out. This year’s first round pick, likely first or second, and Calgary’s pick, likely fourth or fifth, is a good way towards building that base. But if Cologne doesn’t have some lottery magic, then it’s likely Season 57 at the earliest that those picks will contribute, meaning one or two years of relying on the lottery. The pre-Season 58 offseason will likely be an interesting one in Cologne though—not the least of which because, if it looks like the team’s on the verge of contention, Rudy Ying lurks at the end of his rookie contract. HC Davos Dynamo: Season 56-58 This one is fully about the goalies—if it were only Fujimoto, Gretzky, Trombone and those forwards in the mix, I would say that the Dynamo could afford to wait another season to see if Stockholm would sell. But Mist4ke (S53) and Reencarnacion (S52) entering the primes of their careers reconfigures the calculus a bit. The time to strike for Davos begins next season, when the roster’s still at reasonable TPE levels, but not so high where the team needs to sell everybody off before the primes of their careers. I’m actually more curious about the back end of this range than the front end. The Dynamo will have a bunch of players right now that retire of Season 57 in Dotran, Donovan, etc., but I’d argue that some of those will be gone at the end of this season. By the end of Season 57, though, the Dynamo will have pretty much its whole core on prime contracts, with only this year’s likely 6th pick still on a rookie contract. Will they be able to manage the cap and extend the winning streak past that point while still maintaining depth? Helsinki Titans: Season 55-56 Most dynasties only last about three seasons, and anything past that is a last gasp—just look at Season 51 Toronto, or even arguably New York this year. That’s why I would normally place Helsinki’s run ending next year without even looking at the players and contracts. What I see there, as well as Helsinki’s past franchise history of reloading early, has me sure that this will be a short run. At the end of this season, all of those top TPE S53 players in Moon, Cornerstone, and Jokinen (an UFA) will hit prime contracts. True, the Titans can absorb that in the interim with Velvet retiring, but add Abbott and Schmekeldorf to the mix the following offseason, both of whom are high TPE earners, and the math becomes much tougher. By that point, Gow will also be retired, and Axelsson depreciated entering his final season. Meanwhile, while Jack Shepherd should be a good, cost-controlled addition, there won’t be much else coming through without trades. Riga Reign: Season 57-59 Similar to Calgary in North America, I think Riga’s the team that’s hardest for me to nail down in Europe. The presence of Fredinamijs Krīgars, Marcus King and a duo of solid Season 55 prospects, Niko Bogdanovic and Rudi Ying, would make me think that contention is sooner rather than later for Riga. However, four players does not make a team, those S55 players are still in the VHLM and will require a bit more seasoning, and it remains to be seen whether the team can snag solid prospects with Quebec’s first and its own second this draft. The thing that ultimately helps me land on Season 57 are the teams directly above and below. Both the Titans and Vikings, alongside a team like the Meute, are poised to be sellers following Season 56. By that point, Toronto and Calgary are likely to have already made their push, and Calgary and Seattle may still be a year away. Riga may be in that sweet spot to be one of the few major buyers next offseason, and if that’s the case, they should take full advantage. Stockholm Vikings: Season 55-56 Unlike the Americans, I actually do think it makes sense for the Vikings to try and stretch the window of contention one more season. Why not? The team won’t have any major cap problems due to Kohler’s retirement and many of its new S53 prime contracts being lower TPE. Maximoff and Klingberg face regression, but the S52 and S53 contingent that are gaining TPE should be able to pick up the slack. And with the competition, I’m not sure Davos will be fully ready yet. Then, next offseason, it’s not like Stockholm wouldn’t have parts to sell. The question though comes in free agency – the Vikings may have their decision made for them. I mentioned in the Toronto section how Xander Finn should be a top target for the team, but he’s far from the only free agent. De Rossi, Dragonslayer, Klingberg and Kopralkov are all free agents as well, and although 3 of the 4 are likely to re-sign (2 inactives and the GM player), it could certainly factor into the calculus for Stockholm to not want to keep paying these players for little production, especially if the two actives in the group jump ship.

This is cool, well done guys

Yeesh. Even if you're right (and it's a whole lot more complicated than this), shitty care > No care. There are so many people in the U.S. who don't call an ambulance, or who don't go to a doctor, because they simply can't afford it. It's a risk/reward analysis in the U.S., but when the risk is dying, how does that make rational sense? And it's often not just people with jobs - it's kids of lower-income families, those who are retired (or retirement-age but can't afford to do it), or people who have legitimate mental or legal reasons why they can't work. It's same with many medicines, which are simply too expensive, sometimes even with insurance (it takes 20 years for a U.S. patent to expire after all, which drives recent medicinal innovations sky-high). A lot of employers offer comprehensive insurance, but even that's not universal, particularly for part-time work - and the current GOP healthcare bill will lower the number of people offered insurance even further, even for people with jobs. And even if you're economy-focused, how the hell does it help the economy to have a core work force that can't stay healthy enough to actually work? I think every U.S. lawmaker should be required to spend a week in a low-income medical clinic before they're allowed to create legislation on the topic. Because it's so easy to hand-waive away the problems if you don't see them personally. I know people personally who are about to be fucked by the GOP healthcare bill, but nobody cares. Source: Work in U.S. law, girlfriend in medical school with lots of experience in low-income health clinics. You see some shit man. .... .... .... welcome to the VHL, Quill!

When I can unbank points, think I'm gonna put them all in penalty shot

Obviously, Boner's growing

Potentially a big one for the playoff race. Calgary isn't giving up easy

New lines = three CPU defensemen taking penalty shots? A bold strategy...

Welcome! If somebody hasn't already, I'm sure they'll be reaching out shortly to tell you what everything's about.

60% save percentage and still a win. The Saskatoon Way.

You know they changed the scoring sliders when...

Calgary falls out of the playoffs, Calgary's pick wins the lottery so Cologne has 1 and 2, picks Boubabi one and me second for shits and giggles. Calling it.

The Legion have 4 games left against the Bears/Reign/Express while the Wranglers have 3, the two teams play each other one more time, and Jacob hasn't sat a game yet. I wouldn't call this playoff race over...

Hah. Boner.

Welcome! Picked a great time to join, coming up near the playoffs and a lot of new faces this week as well.

Wooooo! Though my luck in shootouts is so bad...

Nice, already 2 assists and a second star for Namestnikov!