Eynhallow

I just love this guy's name. I also really like the feeling of intensity the render evokes. You have made the render contrast enough with the background to make it stand out. I also like you choice of font. It is easily read and does nor clash with the rest of the graphic. Your colour scheme is consistent with no real distractors. I would have like to have seen this graphic a bit brighter, it seems a bit dark. But that is only my opinion. Overall, though, this good work. 8.5/.10

Noodles Marconi Junior Review As mentioned in his Prospect Scouting Report, Noodles came to the VHLM late in Season 82. Although he has a decent skill set to start with he still had a lot of areas in which to improve. He was offered a position with the Mexico City Kings for the balance of that season. In 12 regular season games he put up 8 points, 5 goals and 3 assists. He followed this up with another 8 points , 2 goals and 6 assists in the ensuing 11 playoff games in which he participated. And that was all she wrote for Noodles’ Junior career. I suppose he could have had a more illustrious career had he chosen to remain in the VHLM, but at the end of S82 he chose to play in the VHLE. Due to the fact that Noodles had yet to be drafted, Season 83 being his draft season, he was not included in a few things, like the VHLE Draft and Training Camp. He was picked up as a free agent by the Istanbul Red Wolves where he saw limited ice time on a star-studded roster. In the 72 games he played, Noodles amassed an underwhelming 11 points, 4 goals and 11 assists. Istanbul bowed out of the playoffs early. In the 7 playoff games Noodles reflected his regular season production and accounted for 2 points, 1 goal and 1 assist. After having played somewhat more than a full season as a free agent, Noodles was finally drafted. He went 19th overall and was drafted by the Davos Dynamo. He remained a Dynamo for a total of about 15 hours whereupon he was traded to the Malmo Nighthawks. It was unlikely that Noodles would crack the Nighthawks lineup and play a significant role there, so, he returned to the VHLE where he was again picked up by the Istanbul Red Wolves. There he has made an impact. He is currently getting first line minutes with the Wolves and has produced 57 points in his 52 games played, 22 goals and 35 assists. He is third in point production on the Wolves behind Busser and Hoodie. The Red Wolves are currently in first place in the VHLE holding a slim 2 point advantage over the Bratislava Watchmen. If Noodles and his teammates can continue to consistently win games, especially against Bratislava, they could finish first in the league. Then, on to the playoffs. During this “second season”, consistency will again be a huge factor. The Wolves will have to maintain their winning ways to progress. Noodles would dearly love to hoist a cup in this his apparent final season in the VHLE.

1. What is your dream career? Have you achieved it yet? Doing it now. 2. They have a resident evil show on Netflix now, have you watched it or are you in anyway interested? Thank-you for mentioning this. I gotta take a peek. 3. The trade deadline is coming up, how do you like our chances, is there something you would like to see moving forward? Well, any trade we make would have to consolidate our current hold on first place and ultimately a cup win. 4. How are you feeling about theme week this season? It was a little different. I enjoyed the task. 5. I know it's crazy for me, but I would like to know how crazy it is to you guys that the VHL has been around for 15 season? It is pretty impressive that a forum-based game has lasted this long. 7. Who would you say has been someone you look up to on this site? There have been a lot of people who I would like to mention, but first and foremost, @hedgehog337 has been a great mentor. My first player, Isau DaMoose played his entire career with Riga.

I likely should have written "tweaks" to the sim engine. I was obliquely referring to the era of the meta.

Wow ! Just to think that a simulation hockey league managed to survive for that long. The VHL is truly the granddaddy of all forum-based hockey websites. Happy Birthday ! And kudos to all of those folks who have worked so hard and diligently to make this happen for us all. To put all this into context I wanted to take a look at what was happening 15 years ago: 1.) Steve Jobs, probably the most famous person in the United States at the time, introduced the iPhone. 15 years later, it would be hard to argue that the iPhone wasn't revolutionary. Whether you are a loyal iPhone owner or have never owned one, the impact the iPhone has made in our daily lives is indisputable. What did we ever do without this bit of technology that has become an integral part of our everyday lives. The VHL would have been conducted almost entirely on computers at that time. 2.) The 110th United States Congress convenes and appoints Nancy Pelosi as the first female Speaker of the House. A move towards enlightenment, but we still have/had a long ways to go. 3.)On July 1 England banned smoking in all indoor public spaces. This follows similar bans in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. By way of comparison, in 1976, Ottawa passed the first municipal smoking bylaw in Canada restricting smoking in indoor public spaces. So I guess it was about time for England to get on board. 4.) Clay Buchholz became the first Boston Red Sox rookie to pitch a no-hitter. In just his second MLB appearance; beats Baltimore Orioles 10-0 at Fenway Park. He was also only the third player to do this in either his first or second start. In his career Buchholz went on to play for the Philadelphia Phillies, The Arizona Diamondbacks and the Toronto Blue Jays. 5.)The Anaheim Mighty Ducks defeated the Ottawa Senators in five games to capture their first and only Stanley Cup. Sidney Crosby, at 19, led the the league with 120 points. He also won the Hart trophy that year. Martin Brodeur won his third Vezina trophy in 2007. Evgeny Malkin and Phil Kessel made their NHL debuts during the 2006 -07 season. In 63 Games Played for the Philadelphia Flyers, Ben Eager managed an outstanding 233 minutes in penalties. That is almost 4 complete games in the sin bin….wow! 6.) In the VHL Brett Slobodzian walked away with all the awards for the most talented offensive player in the league. Playing with Calgary he amassed the surprising total of 171 points (79 Goals and 92 Assists). Despite a remarkable 69 - 3 record Calgary lost the Continental Cup to a resilient VasterasIK squad led by Hall of Famer Scotty Campbell. The following season saw a rematch of the first Continental Cup where Calgary’s offense took over and swept Vasteras in S2. As mentioned earlier, kudos must go to all of those who have served on Head Office capacities. They have managed to successfully negotiate changes in sim engines, Flame Wars, Multi-Accounts and a number of other obstacles. Yet, that was all managed and the VHL not only survived, but thrived. So what about the future? Well, whatever it is I am all in. To be Claimed Week of July 31

1. How are you feeling about your player so far this season? Better than last season. Noodles seems to be starting to play a lot better 2. Are you having fun this season? Oh ya !!! For essentially the same reason as above. 3. We lead the league in a tight race, what do we have to do to keep on top? Remain consistent in scoring and defending, Be willing to do the difficult stuff. 4. Who would you say your biggest rival has been this season so far? I personally haven't given that much thought. 5. Tyler Busser is only 3 points from leading the league, do you have any motivation for him to achieve that? Keep up the effort and I am sure that Tyler can grind it out. 6. What is your favorite flavor of Ice cream? Rum and Raisin

I haven't really updated you all regarding Noodles progression. Overall, it looks like Noodles will be a journeyman center. Nothing really outstanding, but a contributor on both sides of the puck It doesn't seem that he is a liability, but neither is he a superstar. Reflecting back a bit, Noodles had a tumultuous off-season. He continued to develop his skills. He also played 8 games for Team Europe in the World Junior Championship where he contributed a total of 2 points, a goal and an assist, seeing limited ice time. The next event to affect Noodles was the VHL draft. Noodles had already played about a season and a half by this time. After being drafted, he would finally see a payday. Noodles was drafted in the first round, ninth overall by the Davos Dynamo. He was a Dynamo for about 15 hours whereupon he was dealt to the Malmo Nighthawks. Noodles was still not developed enough to crack the Nighthawks line up and so was assigned to the VHLE , specifically the Istanbul Red Wolves, where he had played a somewhat limited role the previous season. Currently, Noodles patrols both right and left wings (depending on what line he plays) for the Red Wolves. The Red Wolves started off the season somewhat slowly, but quickly surged and are now the cream of the VHLE, leading the league with 56 points (26-8-4) after 38 games played. During those 38 games Noodles has contributed 43 points (14 goals, 29 assists) and is third in team scoring, only one point back of second place currently held by his long time friend AK92 Wit da Hoodie @hedgehog337. By way of comparison, Noodles was only able to account for 11 points (4 goals and 7 assists) during the entirety of the S83 Regular Season. In a recent interview by Gale Force, a journalist of some renown, Noodles was asked to what he could attribute this sudden uptick in his performance. Noodles replied, " I think it can be attributed to a number of things. Last season I didn't have the skill development to really make any more of an impact. Since then I have maxed out the skill number that one can attain in this league. Last season, as well, the Red Wolves had a number of highly skilled wingers. This had the effect of reducing the amount of ice team I would see regardless of my skill level. Those guys have, by and large, moved on to bigger and better things in the VLH leaving room for a large increase in ice time as well as the opportunity of playing with other talented forwards. This all pays off in terms of point production." Gale's other question was with regard to the Red Wolves as a team. She asked if Noodles thought that the torrid pace set by his team was sustainable. " Well, as you know. anything can happen in hockey. We could stay hot like we are now, or we could slide into a slump. All they guys can do is keep coming to the rink with a positive attitude and ready to work. If this is the case, there should be no reason why we can't finish first in the league."

15 years is quite n accomplishment. Happy Birthday !!

1). We are sitting on top of the standings in the VHLE. Do you think we can hold on and continue leading the standings? I can't see why not. Of course the vagaries of the sim engine has a lot to do with it.2). Who on our team right now would you say has the best chances of being our team MVP? I like AK92 for this. Good offense and defense. @hedgehog3373). How is your player doing right now? Pretty average, but seems to be a contributor.4). Are you watching the NHL draft? If so, how is your team doing? I guess Toronto is doing as well as they could. Even so, their draft is pretty thin.5). How many points do you think the Red Wolves will finish with at the end of the season? We should end up with between 90 - 100 points if we can keep up the current pace.6). Are you a morning person or an evening person? Definitely morning. That is when I get the most accomplished.

1. How excited are you for this upcoming season? I am reasonably excited as I expect that Noodles will have a better season than last. 2. What are some goals you would like to achieve this season? I would like to see the Red Wolves make a deep playoff run. 4. If drafted, how do you feel about your draft position? (Too early, late, or where you expected) Noodles was drafted about where I expected. I did not see the subsequent trade coming though. 5. What is your favorite genre of music? Rock.....very loud rock. 6. Who were you drafted by in the VHL? Davos. Noodles was a Dynamo for about 15 hours before being traded to Malmo. 7. Where do you expect us to finish in the standings this season? Top two. 9. If you're of age, what is your favorite liquor? If not of age what is your favorite pop/soda? Lemon Hart rum. Which is not sold in Ontario....all the other provinces, but not Ontario....go figure.

Quite the "personal trainer" you got there @Steve. No excess body weight on that dude !! I like the graphic in a kind of otherworldly fashion. Normally, I am not a big fan of fantasy, but this graphic and its title brought a smile to my face. I really like the way you have incorporated the Seattle Bears logo into the graphic. I like how you got it behind the dude's skeletal arm. Nice work as usual. Thanks for sharing !! 8.5/10

I am kind of giving away the bottom line of this article in the title. But to keep you up to date. Since my last missive about Noodles, he was asked to play in the World Junior Championship with Team Europe. Noodles wasn't what one would call an offensive threat, but, in his limited ice time he did chip in for a couple of points as Team Europe went on to capture the championship. Subsequent to that Noodles entered the VHL draft at long last. He was drafted 19th overall by the Davos Dynamo. He was a Dynamo for 15 hours before being traded to the Malmo Nighthawks where he signed a three year deal. Because his TPE was still under 400, he was picked up for another year by the Istanbul Red Wolves where he is hoping to play a larger role than he did in his previous season there. The Red Wolves had a number of early draft picks and have assembled another formidable team. We shall see how Noodles fits into the mix !!

1. Happy belated fathers day! Did you celebrate it? Thank-you. I didn't really celebrate. Got a couple of phone calls and a text or two. 2. Or, do you ever plan to become a parent at some point? Am a parent. Kid is all growed up and has done well for herself. 3. Lots of members are complaining about the heat while I'm crying about ''only 20C''. What should I do to turn things around? Don't worry. You don't have to move to Panama just yet. It will get warmer ! 4. How's the Avs vs Tampa finals so far for you? I think the Av's will eventually pull through. But if Vasilevsky gets hot, then the Lightning have a great chance. 5. What are your feeling on EU conference still being stacked as hell? Mixed feelings on that as it becomes really difficult to crack a VHL line-up with a newer player. 6. How more do you think you can spend on sim leagues before calling it quits? Good question. I just don't know.

When I wrote my last articles, Noodles' team, the Istanbul Red Wolves, held a 3 - 1 advantage over the vaunted Bratislava Watchmen. Victory, it seemed was all but assured. Unfortunately, that was not to be. The Hockey Gods did not smile kindly on the Red Wolves as they lost 3 in a row and watched as the Watchmen went on to the league finals. There can be no "finger pointing" here. A loss, not matter when it occurs, is a collective thing. All the players contribute to a loss. Its not just goal tending or defense or lack of offense. It is a combination of all of those things along with a healthy dose of puck luck. I expect to see Istanbul back with a vengeance next season. This is a bit harder to do in the VHLE as players may only be there for a limited time. In Noodles' case, he will be drafted in the upcoming draft and that will spell out where he will play next season. On a personal note, interest in Noodles seems to have dried up as he hasn't had any more VHL teams interview him. This might be because he went "O-fer" in his lst 3 games. That means he didn't put up a singe point in the last three losses to Bratislava. Noodles will continue to work on his skills during his off-season in order to make himself as attractive as possible to any of the VHL teams that might be interested in drafting him. According to Central Scouting, Noodles should be drafted in the first part of the first round. Here is hoping for a big contract as Noodles played for free this last season as an undrafted free agent.

1. We lost to Moscow (again) how do you feel about your players performance in the playoffs? I think Riga made a bold run. Maintain that focus in the coming season, lads! 2. Who are you hoping to win the title now? Moscow and Seattle should be a good final. Moscow will prevail, I think. 3. Does Riga try it again with the same core next year? (only hedge can answer this ) Hedge @hedgehog337 is a great, experienced GM. I expect he will do some tweaking. And I expect even better results next season. 4. Are you taking a vacation between now and the offseason training or heading straight to the gym? Noodles (Istanbul Red Wolves) has yet to be drafted, so, because he didn't get paid this season, he can only afford to go to the gym. 5. Are you paying more attention to the NBA or NHL Finals? With the Raptors out, my attention is on the NHL playoffs. 6. Do you have any pets? No.

This is a pretty cool graphic. I like the night time ambience and the consistent color palette. I am a great fan of city backgrounds. I personally use them a lot. So the cityscape of Seattle is just great. Using the Space Needle as an identifier was spot on. I like what you are trying to do with no text. It gives one pause for a little thought. However, as a suggestion only, I might have tried to work in the Bears logo somehow. Just a suggestion though. 9/10

Noodles and his team, The Istanbul Red Wolves, have entered the playoffs firing on all cylinders. Currently, the Red Wolves lead their series with the Bratislava Watchmen 3 games to 1. Bratislava finished the regular season with one point more than the Red Wolves, thus assuring themselves of home ice advantage. This series has every indicator of being a long one as the two teams are very evenly matched. Having said that, the Watchmen's backs are against the wall as they enter a series of 3 consecutive elimination games. On a personal note, Noodles entered the playoffs as an undrafted free agent. so. to provide a little more distraction, as if it was needed, there have been a few VHL teams that have already interviewed him as a potential draft candidate. This has not seemed to deflect Noodles' concentration though. He has managed to erupt for 2 points (1 goal and 1 assist) in the 4 playoff games played thus far. Hopefully this trend will continue as the Red Wolves make their run. They should be able to knock out the Watchmen and face the Vasteras Iron Eagles in the finals. However, the Hockey Gods may have something to say about that !

1. What's your message for Riga as we head into the first round? Remain focused on the task ahead. 2. What's the biggest surprise for you when it comes to playoff seeding? For a change there were few surprises. That in itself is unusual given the wildly unpredictable nature of STHS. 3. Does your pregame routine change for the playoffs? No. To remain focused, all the other stuff has to remain the same. 4. Any advice for the first time playoff teammates? Enjoy the moment. It doesn't happen very often. 5. Only 5 teams left in the NHL, order them by your preference of winning. Avalanche, Lightning, Oilers, Rangers 6. We're almost into summer - any big plans? A bit of visiting those people whom we haven't seen in a couple of years. Other than that, same old, same old.

Please don't let me be misunderstood. I think your graphic is really very good. Perhaps my choice of words (i.e. "original") was not well considered. The image of JC, and His pose (Sermon on the Mount), is quite common in Christian statuary....that is what I meant by "original". Whether or not I am a Christian does not detract in any way from what you are trying to do here. I think that any time a person creates a really good piece of art, especially one with religious content, there will be some reaction to it. As we all know, religion and politics seem to bring something else out of all of us. In any event, there was absolutely no disrespect intended. Keep up the fine work. @Steve

Noodles Loves His Pasta So, another week has slipped by. It was quite an exciting week for the Istanbul Red Wolves as it came down to the final sim to determine whether or not they would make the playoff picture. In the end though, the Geneva Rush faltered badly at the finish line, losing to the Red Wolves and to the Bratislava Watchmen to seal their fate on hitting the golf courses early. The Red Wolves will continue on and hopefully make a deep run in the playoffs. As far as Noodles was concerned, he really stepped it up in the last few games of the season, finishing with 11 points, 4 Goals and 7 Assists. Almost half of Noodles’ production came in the last 25 percent of the season. I believe this is in large part due to the increased ice time afforded him. He did have more time to put up some points, but he also had more time to make mistakes. Noodles will be continuing to work on his defense overall as well as his offense. As time passes and Noodles’ skillset grows, perhaps he will be able to contribute at a higher level.

OK, so I have to say that I did a double take when I looked at this image. At first, I wasn't to sure how I felt about it due to its heavily religious connotation. I like the overall feel for the piece, jus as I would have done with the original. Again, a lot of what I feel is due to the subject matter and how I react to it. It really like your adaptation to hockey, though. The inclusion of the Seattle Bears logo, the hockey stick and the puck really give it an interesting twist. This one is really hard to evaluate, so I am gonna pass on the part except to say that I did like it quite a bit.

I mostly like what you have going on in your graphic. I really like your choice of color palette. That nice vibrant yellow feels uplifting. The texture of the background is a little funky, but works in the overall scheme of things. Your render is nice and clear. The player's expression conveys a game type dynamic. Your choice of font is good as the writing is clearly seen. As a suggestion, I think you could have included where Retoslav plays. Overall, very good work 7.5/10

Appreciation I have to agree wholeheartedly with Beketov on this one. All too frequently forum-based games, such as this one, can become toxic due to some perceived personal attack or inequity. It is unfortunate that this type of post is, by far, the fewest in number, but seem to dominate the entire forum when they occur. What seems to go unnoticed is the fact that the whole forum and all its activities are done by volunteers. These folks work very hard at making sure things run smoothly and dealing with issues in a fair, unbiased manner when they arise. My hat goes off to all of those people who give so much of their time and energy to making the VHL what it is. The VHL is, in my opinion and enjoyable and interesting place to be. If it weren’t I, for one, would not be participating. Again, this is mostly because of the folks who run the site as well as many of the members who are of like mind. So what is all this appreciation stuff about anyway ? According to The Harvard Business Review, whatever else we gain from our participation here, on this forum in specific, there may be nothing more important than feeling valued, feeling that we have contributed something of unique value to the forum as a whole and we are recognized for it. At the basic level, being appreciated makes us feel safe. And, as a consequence, frees us to do our best work, or give things our best effort. The other side of that coin is that if a person does not feel appreciated, the attendant worry, concern and sometimes drama deflectc our energies away from the stuff that really matters. OK, so why are we nor slinging around “attaboys” or virtual back slaps with abandon? Well, it appears that we are far more experienced in expressing negativity. It is almost as though we don’t know how to express appreciation without feeling awkward about it. So what can a person do? Firstly, there should be a bit more thought going into our reactions to what others say and do. Try to be positive, even when things have gone a bit south. Negativity breeds toxicity and that's what we are trying to eliminate. Start with yourself, take a look at what you have done or said and ask “What can I be proud of in all this ?” We also have to make it important to recognize peoples’ efforts when things go right. We are very willing to take for granted when things go right and complain when things get derailed. So that it for my 2 cents about appreciation. I have a couple or three kudos to throw out there. When I first started here at VHL and was learning how to get around and develop a player both Spartan and Mexican Cow offered invaluable advice (some of which I actually acted upon!). As well, my player at the time, Isau DaMoose, was fortunate to spend his entire VHL career in Riga. Hedgehog was very helpful and I still count him as a friend today, even though we do not communicate nearly as much. Then there are all of those folks who treat others with concern and respect. Good on all of you !! Theme Week Claim May 29 PT Claim June 5