tcookie

Phillip Rave's off-season was a little more stressful than he's used to, but as he prepares to report to Malmo's training camp this week, everything has worked itself out just as well as he'd hoped. There was the matter of contract negotiations first and foremost this off-season, something Rave hadn't really experienced to the same level in prior seasons. Negotiating an entry-level contract is generally much more trivial, and when his first contract was up, he was still a young player looking for a break and Malmo was a clearly contending team, so there was little chance of anything conflicting on either side. This time around, the end of Malmo's window of contention appears much closer, and a rebuild was a legitimate possibility especially given the team's playoff track record. Plus, coming off an 108-point season, Rave had the track record to ask for more than he did the last time around, and was likely to find a large market for his services if he'd opted to test free agency. Then there was the matter of a GM change in the middle of the off-season, which postponed meetings with players as new management took over and had to formulate their own plan before communicating it to the team. But, at the end of the day, Rave got his wish. He's back in Malmo on a new three-year deal, and he's ready to go. "Circumstances ended up dragging that out longer than usual so it didn't feel like there was a lot of downtime for me this off-season. But now we're here, training camp is around the corner, the relationship with new management is great. Everything's worked out for the best and now I just can't wait to get back out on the ice."

1) I think it's great, honestly. The thing is I think something needed to happen if Malmo is to remain competitive past S97. Trading picks for one good player, or keeping the picks and using them, was not going to do it. Bringing in some prospects that you have a rapport with is smart. It's still going to be a bit of a tough task, but now there's a chance especially if the prospects develop well. 2) It's been good! Signing the extension with Malmo is nice, excited to get to play for this management team, and now we're at the World Cup. 3) I'm a little sad that I finished last year just shy of 50 goals so it would be cool to hit that milestone. But at the end of the day the ultimate goal is to get something done in the playoffs. Five years of great teams and we've done nothing in the post-season, we need to change that. 4) DF to 90 and then bank for depreciation, probably. Maybe a couple points into faceoffs. 5) We could go bowling, I like that suggestion. If it's five-pin I'll win honestly, doesn't matter too much but team bonding is very important, so it's a great idea. Maybe hit up the time honoured Malmo tradition of Taco Bell at some point... lol 6) I still need to finish shopping lol. Basically just hang out with friends and family.

Claim week 2/2

Late yesterday, the Malmo Nighthawks and Helsinki Titans came together for a 13-piece trade that drew some surprised reaction from around the league. It was the second trade of Lexie Leitner’s tenure as Malmo GM, and has certainly garnered some attention just for the sheer volume of the deal, even though it was entirely draft picks and prospects changing hands. The full trade saw Malmo receiving prospects Bret Weier, Narnia Shaw, Ty Duke, and Xhekajs Middletoe from Helsinki in exchange for nine draft picks - the entirety of Malmo’s remaining S97, S98, and S99 draft pick collection after acquiring Lucy Leitner earlier in the off-season. That’s Malmo’s 3rd and 4th rounders in S97 and S98, their 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th rounders in S99, and Riga’s 2nd rounder in S98. Although a shocking amount of volume was sent to Helsinki draft pick wise, it essentially boils down to an S99 first-rounder, an S98 second-rounder, and an S99 second-rounder, for the four prospects. Of course, you never know for sure what will become of the later-round selections, but VHL history does not look favourably upon 3rd and 4th round picks. In the past 10 VHL Entry Drafts, only 8% of players drafted after the 3rd round (14 out of 173) have even played a single VHL game, while only 3 of 173 have reached 600 TPE and only 1 of 173 has reached 1000 (Toronto star forward Diego Machado). It does appear that a few members of the S93 draft class will be making their VHL debuts this season, but certainly the trend is clear that late-round draft picks are lottery tickets in the VHL. Even going all the way back to the beginning of the hybrid era, only 13.3% of players drafted after the 3rd round played in the VHL, 5.3% hit 600 TPE, and only 4 of 299 hit 1000 TPE. Most of the successes are loaded into the deeper-than-normal S84 and S86 classes. Adding six of these dart throws over three seasons for Helsinki does give them a chance at finding one of those rare players that does make it to the next level, but if you’re Malmo, odds are you probably aren’t going to miss those picks. So, Malmo has opted to punt on the next three draft classes, in return picking up four young players that are much closer to pro ready. Narnia Shaw is the big name of the bunch, having been selected 8th overall in the S96 VHL draft. Shaw has compiled 105 points over 144 VHLM games in the past two seasons and is pretty close to VHL ready; you’ll likely see them crack Malmo’s opening night roster this season. They’re an offensive defenseman who needs to work on the defensive side of the game, to be sure, but on the other hand, they might already be one of the best passers in the entire VHL. The upside may not be quite the same with the other three players coming to Malmo, but there’s an interesting footnote here as all three of them have played under Leitner with the Halifax 21st at some point in their VHLM careers. Leitner and Assistant GM AJ Williams - who had a successful run as GM of the VHLM’s Houston Bulls himself - have notably good track records with developing good practice habits in prospects that aren’t necessarily can’t-miss players and getting the most out of them, so bringing in some players that they are familiar with seems like a good gamble. That ability served them well in the VHLM and was a big part of the reason their respective programs were successful. Weier was drafted in the first round in S95 himself, but regressed from an 89-point season in the VHLM in S95 to just 50 points in S96 (although to be fair, the introduction of several players from the now-defunct VHLE played a role in that, too). Weier has a legitimate chance to make the Nighthawks roster out of training camp, although he might be best served with one more VHLM season. He’s a skill forward with a common playstyle for the VHL - a shoot-first player with a reliable two-way game - and just needs to develop his game in general to become a solid VHL contributor. Ty Duke and Xhekajs Middletoe are longer shots, but certainly have the potential to be VHL players in the future as well. Duke, a second-round pick in S94, is a defense-first centre who does the little things right. After scoring 97 points with Halifax in S94, Duke suffered a serious injury that kept him out of all practice and games in S95, setting his development back some. But he was able to rejoin the 21st in S96 and put up a 29-goal, 62-point season and more importantly, get back to steadily improving his game. There is risk involved in a player like Duke, but he’s probably a season of steady development away from being a depth VHL player. Middletoe, a second rounder in S96, is still a project and feeling out his path to the VHL. He’s got some offensive skill and a little bit of edge to his game, with 17 goals, 33 points, and 138 hits to his name in Halifax last season. It seems more likely that he’s two years away than one, but like Duke, with consistent effort and steady development, there’s a VHL future to this player. The Nighthawks have been a perennial regular season powerhouse, but they are going to be losing Savaisk Tzesar, Viktor Jensen, and Ronald Johnson MacWallace to retirement after the upcoming season. While they retain a promising core to build around in Phillip Rave, Lucy Leitner, and Jorgen Lovstrom - a true star at each position - the task of supporting those players will get more difficult, and acquiring four prospects closer to being VHL ready certainly fits their timeline better than waiting for draft picks that haven’t been made yet to turn into VHLers. Whether this move is able to successfully extend Malmo’s competitive window beyond S97 will depend a lot on whether or not the management tandem of Leitner and Williams can kickstart the development of the young talent coming to Malmo in this deal. --- 1040 words or something, claiming for this week and next

Phillip Rave has always said if it were up to him, he'd spend his entire career in Malmo, and now the opportunity is right there in front of him. After a huge trade with the Riga Reign that brought star defender Lucy Leitner to Malmo, the mandate from Nighthawks' new management was loud and clear - they were, in fact, going to keep competing, which meant there was certainly mutual interest between Rave and the Nighthawks to keep him in Malmo. Shortly thereafter, he signed a three-year, $18 million contract extension with a no-trade clause in all three seasons. "Just super happy it worked out this way, you know? There's always some uncertainty in a contract year and you factor in new management and stuff, it can be a little stressful, so glad we were able to come to an agreement, the negotiations were easy, and I get to stay in Malmo," said Rave. Still, there is speculation that with several key players retiring next off-season, Malmo's status as a contender may be in limbo beyond S97. Although the no-trade clause does give him the ability to ensure he spends his whole career in Malmo, Rave did indicate he wouldn't do anything to hold the team back if they chose to go in a different direction. "First off, that's a long way away, so I'm not super worried about that right now... but look, I didn't get that no-trade just to hold Malmo hostage. I just want to be able to know that, if it comes down to it, I'd be going into another situation that makes sense." "Right now we've got S97 to focus on, and we're all really excited about the team's direction and what lies ahead, so I don't want to talk or speculate about anything that might come past that. A lot can happen."

1) I hear the Taco Bells around here are good lol ... you two have both been awesome in your previous GMing tenures, I'm sure you'll do a great job here. Welcome! 2) I did not. I was hoping for Malmo obviously... my other pick would have been Moscow 3) I love it! We needed a new #1 d-man with Stone retiring and Leitner is a star! I like the aggressiveness especially with a team capable of competing here, and I've been hoping to get a chance to be teammates with Leitner, so I'm excited! 4) I'd just like to see the moves made to keep us competitive this season and go from there, so whatever you two feel is right I'm 100% confident in. 5) Yeah usually I just kind of chill out during the off-season and get mentally refreshed. Although there were some big contract negotiations that needed to take place this year! Now that's resolved and I'm super happy to be back in Malmo! 6) Honestly, I was a little bit disappointed to fall to the second round on draft day. I knew I wouldn't go high but I thought going late first round was in the cards. But I was happy to end up somewhere that wanted me and as it ultimately turned out, I wouldn't change a thing. Malmo has been such a great place for me to end up. I love it here and I love the people that have been in the locker room throughout my time here.

Let's gooo Happy to be back!

1) Iced Tea 2) I think it will probably end up being Yeti, but I kinda hate it, so I hope I'm wrong 3) I don't know why but my mind is blanking on every song I know lol... but I like Iconic by Simple Plan and have been using it a lot as a pump up song lately so... let's go with that 1) What rebuilding VHL team do you think is closest to making the playoffs this season? 2) Who's your favourite player, in any sport? 3) How do you feel about winter?

After leading the Nighthawks through one of the most successful 5-year stretches of regular season hockey in VHL history, Nighthawks GM Victor Grachev stepped down heading into the S97 off-season. Shortly thereafter, Malmo announced the hiring of Lexie Leitner as their new GM, stepping into the VHL spotlight for the first time after a successful few seasons at the helm of the VHLM's Halifax 21st. Leitner will be looked upon to guide the Nighthawks through a key off-season as several key players are about to enter their final season in the VHL (Victor Jensen, Savaisk Tzesar, Ronald Johnson MacWallace III) and a few more could enter unrestricted free agency this summer (Phillip Rave, Vlad Von Carstein, and Tsezar). With their playoff track record, it is possible the Nighthawks look to enter a rebuilding period; on the other hand, they certainly still seem to have the horses to compete and a change in the team's upper management may end up providing a spark to the players. Over the next few days, we will surely see Leitner's plan for the upcoming season begin to take shape in Malmo.

6th and 9th overall seems appropriate for these two, make it happen VHL GMs