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

1) It's not who I would have expected, but they are a pretty good team nevertheless. Bana's teams always seem to find a way. 2) I'll leave that to the bosses. Obviously we'll be a bit of a weaker team on paper, maybe more able to make a run in my final season. Maybe a bit of a retooling will happen to stock up for Malmo's future. We'll have to wait and see, but I have faith that you and Lucy will do what's best for the team. 4) Selfishly hoping for a career year after playing what I feel is quite a bit below my ratings this season -- maybe we'll make up for it next one. But at the end of the day the goal is always the same, winning that Continental Cup. 5) Obviously would depend where that pick falls, but I think either Cardinal Copia or Agustin Martinez would be both great players & good to be in the locker room with. 6) Sure doesn't feel like it's coming to an end here, been like a week+ straight of -30, -40 temperatures. But definitely excited for warmer weather lol 9) I'll just take the regression hit and then build back up to a similar build to what I have now. I always want to be near 90 SC 90 DF in STHS ratings, so hopefully I can get back there, should be very close at least.

Congrats man, Malmo legend! Best of luck with the next player.

Phillip Rave stood in front of the media in S94, after the Malmo Nighthawks were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs for a third straight season, and said that it was no longer time for “saying the right things” after a playoff loss. “We have a great group here. I believe in this team.” “We just have to learn from it, work harder, and be better next season.” What does it even mean? When you have a certain reputation, that just starts to sound like spewing cliches. Professional sports is a results-based business. You can learn all you want from three straight first-round exits, but if it leads to a fourth, nobody cares. So in his first season as Malmo captain in S97, what was he supposed to tell the media following a sixth straight first-round exit? The questioning around Rave this off-season will be harsh. He is, on paper, one of the most talented players in the VHL. Most expected him to build on a breakout 108-point season in S96, but after signing a big contract extension and being named team captain, Rave regressed in S97 to finish 18th in the league in goals, 33rd in points. It wasn’t a bad season, no, but it was not what Rave, Malmo, nor the Malmo fanbase expected. A three-time 40-goal scorer with 136 goals over the past three seasons, he’s scored just 10 times in 33 playoff games. By contrast, Axle Gunner and Severus Targaryen had already reached that mark this year alone by the time Riga had finished sending the Nighthawks home early. What feels like an eternity ago, a 20-year-old Rave was one of the most talented up-and-comers in the skiing world. On the cusp of stardom, Rave fell apart. A string of poor performances as he struggled to deal with the attention caused an internal battle with his own expectations that eventually sapped his love for the sport, and Rave quit skiing completely. So, he became a hockey player - against all odds, a very good one at that. Except… doesn’t all that sound kind of familiar? There’s a narrative out there that when the chips are down, Phillip Rave just doesn’t have it. On the day of Malmo’s year-end press conferences, the media spared him of directly addressing it, but it will undoubtedly linger throughout the off-season. Instead, Rave talked about what it meant to play with Malmo’s outgoing stars. Good friends in the locker room who have spent their entire careers in Malmo navy and lime green, enduring the same cycle of success and disappointment with each new season. “It doesn’t do any of us any good to sit here and listen to me say the same things over and over every year. You don’t want to hear it, I don’t want to say it. Let’s just appreciate what some of these guys have done for Malmo. Viktor (Jensen), Savaisk (Tzesar), RJ (MacWallace III)... these are my guys, man, it’s been so awesome playing with them since I came into the league. I’ll always regret that we couldn’t find more success for them. For (Jacob) Stone last year too. It hurts that those guys didn’t get to see a long playoff run.” In that off-season leading up to S95, Rave didn’t talk to the media at all - he simply retired to Lichtenstein and hit the ice every day, working on his game - a change from his usual off-season strategy of taking some time to refresh. He has always shown an outward understanding of what it will take to turn things around, and a willingness to change his routines, his playstyle, or whatever it may be if it’s for the good of the team. But the results haven’t changed. And without the results, what does it matter? What good is knowing how to right the ship if it just keeps sinking anyway? Malmo’s competitive window will probably never in Rave’s career be as open as it was in S97, though the team figures to remain relevant. It’s possible he finds himself traded at some point in a retooling or rebuilding effort. It’s possible he plays out his career in Malmo; even possible that they find it in them to finally go on a playoff run despite a weaker on-paper roster. Whatever the case, Rave will find his legacy on the line over these last two seasons. After all, a captain always goes down with his ship.

I was actually curious about what the real numbers said about the "wildcard boost" ... it's thrown around a lot and certainly playing for Malmo I understand the feeling, but it's still just feeling. Never got around to digging into it myself but it's cool to see the actual numbers. I think STHS gets a bad rap for what is actually realism sometimes. When a simulator gives us something like the Columbus over Tampa sweep in the NHL back in Tampa's 62-win season it's ripped on mercilessly, but that happened. I've got my issues with STHS with stuff like the implementation of PA and DI, but I think the actual game results it gives are ultimately pretty good.

3) I think Riga, wildcard team playoff runs happen so often and they're up 2-0 already 4) Probably lean towards Toronto for this one 5) Riga 6) We'll see right? Might be a bit of a retooling year in Malmo where we're a lower end playoff team and then a bit better for my final season. I hope to be here and see what we can do and hopefully produce a little better than I did last season. 8 ) My old answer to this was always Lucy Leitner lol. I'd like to play with lemorse or Ricer, but we have a franchise goalie, so the fit isn't there. OD / Pan Daffleck would be cool! 10) I drink iced tea alllllll the time lol

you kinda cooked here

It's over. Again. The S97 Malmo Nighthawks turned in a vintage performance, really. A team that has done nothing but excel in the regular season and nosedive in the post-season followed up the highest of highs yet with perhaps the most painful of playoff crash-outs. They were the best team in the VHL during the regular season - by a comfortable margin - and the best Malmo team, statistically, ever assembled. And here they are, seven games, one playoff series later - eliminated from Continental Cup contention. This time, there were signs that things could be different. The Nighthawks held a 3-2 series lead. It felt generous that Riga was still alive, having somehow squeaked out a game one OT win despite being outshot 49-13 over the first two periods and 58-31 overall. The Nighthawks seemed to outplay Riga for most of the night in game seven, too. But on the scoreboard, they were stymied by Red Panda and defeated in overtime by Tim Robinson's first career playoff goal. In the end, it wasn't different at all. And with that, the Nighthawks said goodbye to franchise cornerstones Viktor Jensen, Savaisk Tzesar, and Ronald Johnson MacWallace III. Jensen, Tzesar, and MacWallace all finished their careers above a point-per-game; they are the #1, #6, and #7 scorers in Malmo franchise history. All three were truly great players, Malmo icons... players who deserved a better fate. It's hard to really say why, but this Malmo core simply wasn't able to get it done. "Just feel terrible for those guys," said Malmo captain Phillip Rave after the series-ending overtime loss. "Just like Stone last year. Like Sparks a few seasons ago. Those guys did so much for our team. They don't deserve this. That's all I really have to say right now. Just sucks."