tcookie

Although the Helsinki Titans have been a little susceptible to penalties over the last week or so, the four-team group atop the EU remains largely in tact. There's a little more separation between the teams involved, but a nine-point gap over half a season is hardly insurmountable. The Titans have cleaned up their game a bit after a blip from around the 20-30 game mark of the season and while the duo of Phillip Rave and Grimgor Ironhide are no longer right at the top of the league scoring charts, they still both place in the top-10. After a down year in Malmo last season, Rave is on pace for his first career 50-goal campaign and second-career 100-point season. "I've said it before and I don't care much about personal stats, but certainly it feels good to be contributing to wins and feel like you're playing near the top of your game. I think I can be a little more consistent. It's been a good half season so far and the guys are ready to battle. Lots of good teams in our conference so we'll have to earn everything."

1) Seems like we've been taking a lot of penalties, that's probably the main thing. 2) Just play better hockey, I have not been part of the penalty issues really, but have had some really big games followed by a few games where I'm not contributing much, if I could be a little more consistent I'm sure that would help 3) Nah I don't think there's too much of that mid-season in the VHL and I don't know if we have much need for one. 4) There are a few, I'd like to play with Tzesar again, that probably stands out the most. 5) Back in Malmo I guess, although they are not a contender so the fit doesn't make much sense. 6) Yeah, I think we can do that.

Competition in the European Conference is heating up as we approach the first-quarter pole of S98. The top-four teams in the EU - Moscow, Davos, Riga, and Helsinki - are a combined 47-10-8 for a .785 points percentage, with none of them having more than 3 regulation losses through 16-17 games. They are four of the top-five teams in the VHL thus far, with only 13-2-1 Toronto being among their ranks from the North American side of the league. Moscow, Davos, and Riga are perennial contenders used to being here, but Helsinki is seeking to break a five-season playoff drought after making several additions to their roster over the off-season. European Conference teams also have eight of the league's top-10 scorers, six of the league's top-10 goal scorers and top-scoring defensemen, and four of the league's top-5 goaltenders (by save percentage) thus far. Although that seems to paint the picture that the European Conference is the stronger of the two, two of the league's weakest teams so far also reside in the EU, which could be skewing stats. Regardless, it is clear there are four teams sitting above the rest of the pack right now in the EU, and it will be a hard-fought battle for playoff positioning as the season goes on.

1) I think it could be Lovstrom based on the stats (6-0 .948 SV%) but he has only played 6 of the 10 games, so maybe I would say Grimgor Ironhide instead... leading the team in scoring, tied with Rave but a huge physical presence as well. 2) More or less what I expected, at least in that I figured we would be one of the top teams in the EU. 3) Similar to my answer to the previous question, I think it will be sustainable in that I think we will stay near the top of the EU. I wouldn't expect us to win 8 out of 10 all season long though. That would be like 57 wins, I could see 50ish. 4) Definitely, I think Lovstrom is pretty much a lock to be in the running for major awards and I could see both Ironhide and Rave being in the mix if things go well. 5) I think it's fine, it's not amazing, but the colours go well together and the logo is pretty simple which I think is a good thing. 6) It would be a lot of work I think, but it would be pretty neat to have.

10 games into the new season, it appears that the off-season moves made by the Helsinki Titans are paying dividends. The Titans started off with a tough 5-1 loss to the Prague Phantoms, but have gone 8-0-1 since, with their second game of the season being a 6-5 shootout loss against the HC Davos Dynamo, followed by an eight-game winning streak. Grimgor Ironhide and Phillip Rave both sit in the top-10 in league scoring, with identical 7 goal, 11 assist stat lines thus far. They have fit together nicely on Helsinki's top line and are putting up big numbers. The Titans are actually 6-0-0 with starting netminder Jorgen Lovstrom in net. Last season's best goalie and most outstanding player, Lovstrom has a .948 SV% and 1.48 GAA while backup Draw Mac is 2-1-1 with a .920 SV% and 3.16 GAA in his VHL rookie season. Mac is unlikely to unseat Lovstrom any time soon but does have legitimate VHL starter potential himself. The Titans went all-in on trying to compete this season with a series of moves that certainly mortgaged their future. Their window to win is now basically this season and next. But if they keep playing like this, they may have a chance to make it all worth the risk.

1) I'm excited, it's a bit different for Rave being on a new team but looking forward to playing meaningful games again and trying to win a cup for Helsinki. 2) Yeah I would think with the team we have, we should end up in the playoffs. 3) Could see us finishing top-3, Davos and Moscow are going to be tough to beat but it could happen. I'd rather beat them in the playoffs than the regular season anyway though... 4) I think Lovstrom was the entire league's MVP last season and I could see it happening again, so him. 5) If anything, a really high-end defenseman but we're right up against the cap as is & probably hard to see one of those moving at the deadline, so not really. I think the team looks pretty good. 6) It's really only playoff success that matters to me especially after my time in Malmo. If we're in the conference finals I'd say we had a good year.

I don't think this is just a VHL BoG thing; I feel like in every sim league I've ever been in there is a tendency to really heavily emphasize the "to their team" part of MVP awards. Usually to the point where it becomes "best player on a mid team" instead of "most valuable player" because tons of value gets ascribed to being the reason a team made the playoffs. I think it's weird that you wouldn't ascribe similar, or more, value to being the reason a team was the best team in the league. But everyone gets to decide what value means to them, and that's part of what makes voting on an award like MVP - and discussing the results - interesting. And often controversial. Lovstrom had a season you could argue was the best goaltending season in 10+ seasons (Summers certainly has some that are right up there). Callahan's season was average-ish for a forward that led the league... and 54% of the voters went that way because of the calibre of their respective teams. I don't think that's precedent-breaking, I think that fits very well with the established precedent - that being on an elite team very nearly implicitly disqualifies you from MVP. I don't think it's intentional, nor the precedent that is trying to be set, but I think it has happened anyway. There are 3 or 4 of the MVP award results from the list you shared that I'd probably switch the recipient of if it were strictly up to me, but it is what it is! And it's good discussion and forum content lol

I'll write Jacob Stone's

For the first time in his VHL career, as Phillip Rave attends training camp, it's not in Malmo. The Helsinki Titans centre has some familiar faces in tow -- the Titans brought in Jorgen Lovstrom, Martin Kemp, and Conference Prince-de-Galles all in separate trades with the Nighthawks too -- but the change in scenery still catches Rave off guard every morning. "It takes some getting used to, it's definitely a weird feeling," says Rave. "I was in training camp with Malmo seven years in a row. It's basically all I've known in my hockey career." "At the end of the day, there aren't very many players who get to spend their whole careers in the same place. It was time for Malmo to move to a different phase, and I'm fortunate they wanted me here. You know, we've got some familiar faces, the whole roster is remade, there's a lot of great players here. They want to win and as an older player with only a few years left, you can't ask for much more from a new team, right? I'm enjoying it. Looking forward to getting back on the ice in some meaningful games."

1) The team is looking awesome, I'm excited to be a part of it for these next couple seasons. 2) Probably the weakest area on the team is defense so I'd go with that I guess. 3) Hopefully Darko stays with it and if he does, could be a pretty good defenseman some day. 4) After the first six seasons of my career in Malmo, a good season can only be defined by playoff success at this point. If we're playing in the EU finals it'll be a good season but the main goal is winning it all. 5) Rave doesn't have much of a track record in the playoffs so far. But the good news is, I can change that and hopefully this season I will. 6) I don't know if I ever go into a season saying I see us winning it all, because any given year there's probably at least 5 or 6 teams that could realistically win it. But I do think we are one of those teams.

After missing the playoffs for five straight seasons, the Helsinki Titans made some moves in the off-season in an effort to change that. Several big acquisitions come from the S91 draft class, which means the Titans will basically be opening up a two-year window of contention in exchange for selling off assets acquired through their rebuild. The biggest pickups made in the early part of the off-season were Grimgor Ironhide from Davos and then Martin Kemp and Phillip Rave in separate trades with Malmo, and it appeared that young netminder Vladimir Trunov was set to become the team's goalie of the future. But in a recent development, Trunov was shipped with a package of depth players in a third trade with Malmo that brought in Jørgen Løvstrøm, whose brilliant S97 campaign was a big reason for Malmo winning the Victory Cup. Løvstrøm went 50-12-2 with a .934 save percentage and is a strong contender to win the Slobodzian, Campbell, and Shaw Trophies. It's undoubtedly a huge acquisition that gives the Titans arguably the league's best goalie. Other off-season additions include forwards Theo Allard and Vanuza Kolesinska and defensemen Karol Lamb and Armas Jortikka as the Titans seek to make an impact on the European Conference. With longtime contenders Malmo selling and Riga's status uncertain - they still have top-end talent, but only 7 players currently on the roster - there is certainly an opportunity for a new team to climb the standings in the EU. Though the Titans may inevitably fall back into rebuilding mode after a couple of seasons with this new-look roster, fans are excited to see winning hockey and believe there is a chance to make some noise in the playoffs.

1) Probably still the first Founders Cup win with Miami just because of how unlikely a run it was. If only Malmo had managed some playoff success it probably would've taken over because it means more to win it in the big leagues, but... we know how that went lol 2) Mostly just them being local, as far as the NHL Jets / CFL Blue Bombers goes. Generally when I started paying attention to a league where there wasn't a local team it's logo/colours. No, I can't see my favourite teams ever changing, as long as they still exist. Like if the Jets were to relocate again (knock on wood), good chance I probably wouldn't care about them once the players I like are gone, but who knows. 3) Honestly I prefer text-based, it's quicker. It's kinda cool to see what's going on but the thing that interests me most about sim leagues is the build up of a history & stats. ----- 1) What was the most surprising trade of the off-season? 2) What are you most looking forward to about the next season? 3) If you could make any 1 change to how the VHL works, what would it be?

It's truly the end of an era in Malmo. With the retirements of Viktor Jensen, Savaisk Tzesar, and Ronald Johnson MacWallace III in the off-season, it was always a possibility that it was time for Malmo to take a step back among the contenders in the EU, but they held the core of Phillip Rave, Lucy Leitner, and Jorgen Lovstrom, which gave them options. But when Leitner was shipped off to Prague for a package of draft compensation including the S98 1st overall pick, it kind of felt like it was inevitable that Rave would eventually follow somewhere. It may not have been a foregone conclusion, but it seemed like the most likely outcome. Today, Rave officially waived his no-trade clause to head to the Helsinki Titans in exchange for Elf Shoes and an S99 1st round pick (originally Malmo's, acquired in a trade last off-season). "Malmo's been home for so long, and been such a great place to play, so it's definitely weird," said Rave. "But I get it. This is about the business side of the game and what made the most sense for their team going forward. I wasn't going to hold them back. Lexie was great to work with during this whole process, I did know what was going on and who they were talking to, and I appreciate that." "Helsinki has been making some moves, looks like they're going to be a competitive team this year... you know, we've seen them rebuilding for a while and this off-season they're trying to take a step forward. So that's fun, it will be exciting to be a part of that."

Thanks @LucyXpher and everyone who was around during my time in Malmo, it's been awesome. Lucy, you're killing it and I know Malmo is in good hands with you there! I'm sure we'll cross paths again. @McLovin Let's go make this worth it and win Helsinki a ring

Malmo turning 11th and 12th overall picks into - a season with Leitner in which we won the Victory Cup by a ton (so clearly were good enough to try to win) - an extra 2nd (later traded) - 1st overall in S98 - two more 2nds and some late picks and saying that's a bad thing is wild 11th and 12th overall picks for a 1st overall pick alone is great value