tcookie

For many young athletes, draft day is simultaneously one of the best and one of the most stressful days of their lives; an agonizing wait and the culmination of years of hard work, officially becoming a professional athlete, all wrapped into one. For would-be VHLers, they often go through it twice in a matter of days. That will be the case for Addison McLaren this weekend with the VHLM draft going on Sunday and the VHL Draft going on Monday. "It's a crazy time for sure," McLaren says. "GMs from both leagues are doing their scouting in the week or two leading up to this, it's a lot of phone calls to answer, a lot of interviews. It's a good thing, though. It keeps you busy and it's obviously much better to have a lot of teams interested in you than the alternative." For a couple of reasons, the VHLM draft probably won't be quite so stressful for McLaren. It's unlikely he'll be waiting long to hear his name called in that one, and it's a home for one season rather than for an entire career. "I don't really know what to expect in the VHLM draft, honestly," says McLaren. "I had some teams reach out to me but not as much as the VHL teams, and with the way the VHLM goes, a lot of the picks are concentrated onto just a few teams every year... so we'll see how it goes. I'll be sad to leave Miami if it turns out that way, but I'm excited for next season." The VHL draft is another matter. McLaren's ranked 16th in the last published VHCS rankings, a late 1st-early 2nd round grade. He's interviewed with a large majority of VHL teams, and hopes to hear his name called early, but it's far from a sure thing. "I mean... I think anyone would want to be a first-round pick, anyone would want to be picked as high as they can be, right?" McLaren clarifies, however, that it won't be something he loses too much sleep over. "I can't control where I go. It's not something that's going to bother me. I mean, yeah, watching the draft is going to be stressful until I hear my name called but if it's first round, second round, wherever, it is what it is. I can only put in the work in the pre-draft process, whether it's at practice, in interviews, or whatever... all I can control is putting in the work there to show teams who I am, and I think I've done that. Personally? Take out the GM players and I don't see 10 guys better than me, but... that's just me being confident in my abilities. I'm sure every prospect who's being talked about in my position feels the same. It's a really deep draft with a lot of good players, and there are so many different things for teams to consider and evaluate players on." Working on his side is McLaren's presence in an active Miami locker room over an improbable Founders Cup run and title. McLaren's also told teams in interviews that he's big on loyalty and would, in an ideal world, like to build a legacy with one team. On the other hand, working against him is that he's a player with no previous VHL ties, something that has in the past been a risk factor for some players. Over the next two days we will see which teams take that risk, and we will see the fate of the next eight seasons of Addison McLaren's hockey career be determined.

I'm in

Good series Mississauga. Would never have expected a sweep. You guys have a great team with a lot of great players over there. That said MIAMIIIII LETS GOOOOOO @Victor you were amazing in this series again, unreal post-season. What a team, and what a run, to be a part of. Thanks @Ricer13 for putting an amazing squad together and to everyone on this team who put in the work to make this happen!

oh shoot, sorry, I just tagged the entire team that was active (or at least somewhat active).. I didn't mean to leave anyone out but I may have missed mentioning a few people

hey, I don't know you or what you did around here in the past, but I think this post shows whatever you may have done wrong before is something you've learned from and grown past, and you deserve a lot of credit for acknowledging and apologizing. Good for you, and I hope everything is going better for you now!

Marauders En Route to Founders Cup Final Inside the team's celebration after second-round, seventh-game series victory over Las Vegas 1:37 earlier, the Miami Marauders' bench erupted in celebration as Sheldon Juniper scored to break a 3-3 tie in game seven of a semi-final playoff series against the Las Vegas Aces. Now the team poured onto the ice as the final buzzer made it official - the #8 seed in the VHLM playoffs was heading to the Founders Cup Finals against the Mississauga Hounds, having knocked off the #1 and #2 seeds to get there, each in seventh-game thrillers. In the opening round, Cabe McJake scored the series-winning goal with about three minutes left; this time, it was Juniper with less than two minutes to play. Miami's first pick in the S74 VHLM Dispersal Draft was defenseman The Blob at 21st overall. Blob isn't even on the team anymore - he's since been traded to the Hounds and will be facing Miami in the finals. That's part of what makes this run so remarkable - this Miami team is lead by a group of players unheard of when the S74 season began. Despite the presence of Eoin Byrne, Theodore Hoffman, and off-season pickup Chickn Wing, they weren't supposed to be in the playoffs, let alone here. Rara Rasputin signed up early, after a starting job more so than a finals appearance. Rasputin received heavy interest, including from the Halifax 21st, but turned down offers from "better" teams in favour of the Marauders. Then, as the season approached the midway point, the Marauders lured Addison McLaren. A couple days later, McJake. In short order, the Marauders added Nikolas DAndrea, Sheldon Juniper, Martin Master. Rasputin was a known commodity, but McLaren and McJake weren't. The two wingers' work ethics were infectious. They pushed each other, they set the example for their teammates. The wins started coming - Philadelphia's 11-point lead in the standings evaporated quickly, setting the stage for an exciting playoff race. The Marauders added more depth; Vivek Weiner, Hulk Hogan Jr., JL Gunnar, Nathan Perry, Wooshi Cat. And somehow, things began to come together. On the outside, beating Halifax once was a fluke, beating them twice was an accomplishment; in the locker room, the Marauders were far from content with just showing up. McJake's series-winning goal put the VHLM on notice. The Marauders went up 3-0 against Las Vegas, but the Aces battled their way back in the series, forcing Miami into a second straight game seven. And then we were here. The architect of this squad, Kris Rice, watched from the press box as Theodore Hoffman's empty netter sealed a 5-3 Miami win, equal parts proud and surprised as he has been with every mounting victory in Miami's playoff run. He made his way down to the ice as the insurance goal was announced, ready to join his players on the ice in celebration. Amidst the jubilation, we caught up with the game seven hero, Sheldon Juniper, whose 8 goals in the playoffs lead the team and whose 14 points in 14 games have already eclipsed his entire regular season production. More ice time and more confidence have helped create a true weapon on Miami's second line. "Sheldon, you've got some increased ice time in this playoff run and you're really stepping up your game, making an impact for Miami. What's changed for you on the ice?" "I think being on an amazing team and having an amazing management team has made this season special, and I just buckled down and worked my butt off and, not to sound cliche, but hard work really does pay off. I've had some great teammates this year, and I'll give them a ton of credit as well," Juniper said. Momentarily, we were interrupted by a jubilant McLaren: "Sheldon, you're a monster!" It was a small thing, but an example of the attitude and support for each other that this Marauders team has developed. They are driven to win, they don't care how or who does it, and they are quick to share credit. "This series against Las Vegas was a roller coaster and a real thriller for the fans; what's it like to come through and score such a big goal for your team?" Juniper replied, "It's an amazing feeling. Coming through after such a tough battle with such a good team, it's great to be the hero. I really don't deserve the credit on that one; Hulk Hogan Jr. got three assists and Peter Louis II got two goals and an assist, so those guys both had amazing games. It's just great to be in the final after beating two of the best teams in the league." Rasputin, a bit of an oddity as a 30-year-old VHL prospect, took a moment to stand back as his teammates piled up on the ice. After outdueling Kevin Malone in the opening round, he was even better in round two. He only had 67 VHLM games to his credit at the start of the post-season, but he was one of the most experienced members of the team and took on a leadership role in addition to his strong play between the pipes. He spoke glowingly of many younger teammates and the impact they had. "I think the transformation (of this team) over the course has been incredible. So many new faces on the team, jumping right in and first getting us into the playoffs, now going on an unbelievable run. It really gives live to a jaded old guy like myself." Then, he threw a shout out to a VHL legend of the past, sharing the source of some extra motivation. "A friend of a friend, Greg Clegane, heard about my frankly mediocre regular season and gave me a call before the Halifax series," he recalls, laughing a bit. "What can I say, a pep talk from a guy like that makes a difference." Admiration and respect for Rasputin from his teammates was obvious. As McJake skated by us, he was quick to shower his netminder with praise. "Rara's stolen more games than I can count, we've been outshot for almost every game we played in these playoffs and he's held his ground, we only have him to thank," he says. This from a guy who many would call the Playoff MVP himself, who has 17 points in 14 games, second in the VHLM playoffs. We asked him about the chemistry between him and linemates McLaren and Weiner, a group put together towards the end of the regular season that has found instant success. "All three of us are just on the same wavelength," says McJake. "We all know each other's tendencies so we can make plays very easily. I think our playstyles also mesh really well; Vivek being a playmaker and me and Addison being shooters allows us to be a threat off the rush every single time we move up the ice." McLaren has 6 goals and 14 points himself, plus a team-high 51 hits. He plays a slightly less offensive game than McJake, but he thrives in the dirty areas of the ice. And Weiner, though he's been hard on himself for lesser production than his linemates, still has 3 goals and 11 assists in 14 games and, as McJake called out, plays a complimentary style that makes the line click. "Yeah, we fit together really well," McLaren agrees. "Vivek's a pass-first guy that does it all offensively, Cabe and I are both shooters. Cabe's a little more dynamic and I like to go get my nose dirty a bit. All together, we've got a little bit of everything on our line and I think that makes us tough to defend as a line. But I can't say enough good things about the guys on this team or how hard they work. This goes up and down the roster. I mean you look at a guy like DAndrea, he's not playing a ton right now, but he's all in on this team, he's around in the locker room, he does everything he's asked to do. You guys know all the big names, but this run is about more than just the big names, this is for the whole team." "When I came here, it was a tough choice. I've basically never played outside of Minnesota in my career. I obviously had no idea this was what was waiting in Miami and I know I made the right decision. I'm proud of everyone here and just like I said when we won last series - tonight we're going to celebrate this, but tomorrow we're getting back to work. The goal is always a title... whatever happens, I'm sure will look back on it this off-season and we'll be happy, but we've got a job to do right now." The Marauders' were in no hurry to take the celebration to the locker room, staying out on the ice with each other, with team staff, with media for about an hour after the game finished. Finally, as the team headed off, we caught up with Rice for his take. "Each game we win I sit back in disbelief. I marvel at how well these young players are gravitating to this league and how hard each of them have worked. Each win represents exactly that and it’s been an honour as their GM to watch this all unfold." We asked him about the uniqueness of this run, mainly powered by in-season acquisitions. "Houston’s S73 team was similar; they had a very strong season but fell short in this playoffs. It wasn’t quite like this run," he says. So why is this group so special? "The amount of depth of active members on this team is something unheard of. The effectiveness comes from the activity. The majority of these young players have been active which in turn leads to positive results, when you have so many members doing exactly that on one team magic is bound to happen." Make no mistake, Rice deserves credit too. He put this team together and is highly regarded by his players. He played a big part in each recruitment and in helping these players along in their development - their high level of activity is no accident. The Marauders are simply a well-run organization that does things the right way. This playoff run is proof of what can happen when a team has a mix of talent, leadership, and belief. Now there's only one test left. And to a player, the Marauders are united. They are going to the finals, and they are going there to win. --- 1776 words, will claim over the next 3 weeks. @Victor @RedSus @fyrefly @Ricer13 @CosmicStorm @Nikdandrea34 @Tropicalfire @coochiman @tinafrombobsburgers @snackhero @Jake Sumner @Martin Bradac @chikn @LatinViking @Beaviss @Big Mac @matt sovick

1) It's a great feeling but just like when we beat Halifax, the job isn't done yet 2) Better than we did on paper against Halifax and Las Vegas, I think, but they're a great team too. Nothing's going to be easy. 3) Miami in 7 seems to be the theme of these playoffs, so why not again? 4) Halifax was a team that was so much better than the rest of the VHLM, they lost 8 games the entire regular season, that was one that we "shouldn't" have won. I felt pretty good about game 7 against Vegas based on how we've been playing. 5) The obvious choice San Diego has been taken, so. Carman, Manitoba? 6) 42

Miami's second line of Theodore Hoffman, Sheldon Juniper, and Peter Louis II had already been putting together one of their best games of an impressive post-season. With two minutes to go in Game 7, it got even better. The play began as Hulk Hogan Jr. intercepted a pass and immediately began the transition up ice. Theodore Hoffman hit Peter Louis II entering the offensive zone, where he took a shot that was blocked but bounced free to Martin Master at the point. Master delayed for a second, then hit Sheldon Juniper with a pass down low. As Juniper took the puck to the net, he was running out of space, defended well by Kasper Kankkunen, but he drew the puck back, aimed high on Drew Minott, and fired. Kankkunen and Juniper collided, a hush fell over the crowd, and the Marauders' bench exploded. With 1:37 left in game 7 of an absolutely thrilling series, Juniper snapped a three-game goal drought with his 8th of the playoffs and gave the Marauders a 4-3 lead. Hoffman's empty netter 1:17 later ensured the Marauders' Cinderella playoff run would continue into the Founders Cup finals. The Marauders played well in the second half of the VHLM season, but nobody envisioned this. A series against the 64-7-1 Halifax 21st should've been their undoing. The 21st lost eight games all regular season. They lost four of seven against Miami in the playoffs. When Miami made a statement by winning the first 3 games of their series against Las Vegas, they suddenly couldn't finish it off. They lost the next three, letting the Aces back into the series. The magic was gone. And then it wasn't, and Juniper's goal was yet another reminder of what the Marauders have consistently shown this post-season - that they aren't ever out of it. If the Marauders are to come away with the S74 Founders Cup, they will have to have beaten three teams that went a combined 168-39-9 over the course of the regular season with a waiver-claim-heavy roster that has only one player picked higher than 44th overall in the S74 VHLM Dispersal Draft remaining on its roster. Yet here they are... one seven-game series away. It's an underdog story written by GM Kris Rice, by veterans Theodore Hoffman and Eoin Byrne, by waiver pickups Rara Rasputin, Addison McLaren, Cabe McJake, Sheldon Juniper, Vivek Weiner, Martin Master, Hulk Hogan Jr, Nikolas DAndrea... and many more. Next week, the final chapter will be written against the Mississauga Hounds.

Honoured to have received a nomination from someone for this so early in my VHL career. Congrats to everyone who received a vote and good luck to everyone in a great group of finalists!

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO @fyreflyyou're a monster let's go miami one more round!

@RedSusget your name in here

^ these guys

@PatrikLaine Addison McLaren - Left Winger - S75 prospect (VHLM Miami Marauders)

The Miami Marauders had an excellent second half to the VHLM season, ultimately grabbing the league's final playoff spot and earning themselves a series against the powerhouse Halifax 21st. The 21st finished the regular season with a stellar 64-7-1 record, a daunting opponent for a team that barely snuck into the playoffs regardless of how well they played in the second half, and the Marauders were written off by many before the series even started. However, they have looked up to the task and not just an easy out for the Halifax squad that has been referred to as a VHLM dream team. The Marauders set the tone by jumping out to a 3-1 lead in the first period of game 1 and ultimately winning 5-4 in OT on a goal by Peter Louis II. Halifax struck back with a 6-2 blowout win in game 2, and again outside observers figured the Marauders for dead, assuming game 1 was an anomaly. But this team hasn't gone away all year, and they continued to fight, rallying from multiple deficits in game 3 to take a 4-3 lead late in the second period. A Halifax goal with eight seconds left in the period swung the momentum, though, and Michael Hall scored the winner in the third period in a tight 5-4 game. Miami put forth their strongest effort of the playoff series in tying it at 2 games a piece, racing out to a 4-0 lead on goals by Addison McLaren, Cabe McJake, Vivek Weiner, and The Great. They would cruise to a 5-2 win and put the VHLM world on notice. Halifax turned the tables and flexed their offensive muscles in game 5, winning by the same 5-2 score. Joe Kelly broke a 2-2 tie in the second and the 21st never looked back, adding two more goals in the third. "Nobody expects us to win, and it's understandable when you're playing a team that won 64 games and lost 8, in the regular season," Miami forward Addison McLaren said to the media after the game-5 loss. "But we believe in ourselves and we're here to win. We aren't thinking about the run that got us into the playoffs right now, there's time to reflect on that in the off-season. Right now we're focused on putting forth our best effort in this series and surprising some people. This series isn't over until it's over and we're looking forward to getting out there in game 6. There's nobody on this team that's ready to have our season end just yet."

1) The job's only partly done... it was an exciting playoff push and really happy we made it in. I want to see what we can do in the playoffs though. We are obviously big-time underdogs against Halifax, but I want to win. We can look back on the playoff push when the season's over. 2) Obviously Halifax is a tough opponent to beat any time, but we've won two already, so why not? 3) Gotta go with Cabe McJake, leading our team in goals and points this post-season. Sheldon Juniper has been great too. 4) Miami in 7! I will believe in this team until it's over. 5) It's almost impossible for me to choose just one song, but I'll go with Zombie, by the Cranberries / covered by Bad Wolves 6) Minnesota (in character. Manitoba, though)

^^ this for sure, the main reason I came to post in this thread was to suggest something like this. There are a lot of games played every day and one per thread in a forum feels clunky. Keep in mind it isn't just a few extra clicks. It's scrolling down to the right games section, scrolling down again to find your games (with the order changing every time anyone posts in one), etc. There is a lot more... not sure the exact thing I'm trying to express here - vertical space per game, I guess? used up in the forum format than anywhere else you can get to games. Obviously these are really tiny things, hardly some kind of huge time sink, but together it all makes the games feel out of the way. I haven't even clicked on a forum game thread yet and it's got nothing to do with discord, I just find it easier to get to my team's schedule page on the STHS index and open a couple boxscores than to find my two games on the forum. I don't think this change is going to get the result you want - though certainly not saying it isn't worth a test run for 1 playoff. But... I think there are issues with accessing games on the forum, and even though you have the ability to force all games to be accessed through the forum, it is just kind of a pain in the butt, and making them easy access is more important than making people check there - and as probably one of the more active new guys here, I can't see myself looking at or posting more on game threads because the discord bot is off. I can almost guarantee I won't. HOWEVER... if you put the full day recap somewhere, now that's a one-stop place to find everything, more people have a reason to go there and there's more information in there to talk about - especially if there's some additional content as this comment mentions... plus you have some interaction with teams that aren't your own - that is definitely something that I'd check out every day. The "sim attendance" PT idea seems like it isn't being considered at all so I probably don't need to weigh in on that, but yeah I am glad you guys are looking for ideas to improve engagement that aren't just throwing TPE at people.

As the S74 VHLM season comes to a close, Miami Marauders forward Addison McLaren is just focused on his team's playoff race with the Philadelphia Reapers. But there's a lot at stake in another way for McLaren, too, as the S75 draft prospect has started to garner more attention and has seen his stock rise for the upcoming draft. McLaren jumped from 35 to 22 in the most recent ranking published by VHCS and is expected to make another leap in the next edition. For his part, McLaren admits he'd love to hear his name called in the first round. "I have a lot of confidence in myself, so if you ask me I'm obviously going to say I think I deserve to be there, and it's been a goal of mine, so yeah... it would mean a lot. But ultimately, it's something you can't control. It's a really deep draft with a lot of good names in it. I'll be happy wherever I go. But I've got other things on my mind right now, a great group of guys in Miami that we want to make a playoff push with." McLaren's impressed with his hard work and tenacity, though scouts (and McLaren himself) would love to see his offensive numbers tick up a bit. "I think I can do more, but I'm just focused on doing what I can to help this team win, and contributing in some way even if it isn't necessarily bringing the offense." He has 14 goals and 23 points in 37 games with Miami. McLaren is aware of interest from VHL teams already, and hopes to hear more as teams step up their scouting efforts as the draft approaches. "I'm not going to say who and I'm not going to say if I have any preferences or anything like that," he says. "Just looking forward to finishing this season up and hopefully making some noise in the playoffs with Miami, and we'll prepare for the draft after that."

Claiming for 3rd week out of 3 (previously claimed weeks of Oct. 11 and 18)

1) We got this. We've been playing great the last little while. 2) I have to think Halifax is the favourite right now, they are loaded. 3) Definitely team success. You play to win and in a team sport, personal success doesn't mean anything if it's not contributing to your team winning. 4) It'll be a disappointment for sure. But a failure, I dunno, it's a tad harsh. I don't think expectations were super high for this team but we've picked up a bunch of good players as the season has gone on. For me it's been a great experience, I've learned a lot and played with a great group. The run we've gone on has generated some excitement and it's been fun to be a part of. 5) I'll be sad about leaving Miami. Maybe it will somehow work out that I can stay here but if not, a team well set-up to go on a deep playoff run would be nice, maybe like a San Diego or Mexico that have a lot of picks. Even better if a few teammates from this group are there. 6) Pepperoni, bacon, cheddar cheese... also stuffed crust is nice.

Transaction ID: 8PN46857B8930230N 5 uncapped TPE doubles week

woo shout outs for my boy Cabe and I @RedSus nice job with this! was a good listen (well, only about halfway through, but so far so good lol) and yeah... I may have spent most of a work day looking at those old world cup stats instead of being productive before I wrote that media spot haha

Mexico won game 294 no? @Acydburn

Claiming for 2nd week out of 3 (first claim was for week ending Oct. 11)

I'll add my own perspective too as another new player.. - I don't have a better idea than the waiver system for new guys, I just don't love the idea of picking a team and then going into the VHLM draft and changing teams again. But I think a whole additional league that's nothing but waiver guys is extra work, probably would be quite boring to be a GM in, could be nothing but bots if there's a slow recruitment year, and besides that I find there's plenty of opportunity to play in the VHLM right away. You don't need to step in and be a star right away. I like that you can choose a team though - it lets you pick where you want to start off based on a preference for ice time, for winning, a mix of both, or whatever other factors. But this is also why I don't like the idea I've been reading about re-drafting every season - though I acknowledge it's got some built in benefits like weeding out inactives if you have to declare for the draft, etc... I don't want to be on a different team every single year. I also think that if the VHLM is sort of a place to get some GMing experience and maybe one day move up (maybe that isn't the case though, I'm not completely sure), it makes sense to have a lot of VHL GM-like elements to it. A league in which GMing is nothing but waiting on the forums to try to sign a new guy and then setting lines is all you really have to do with their success sounds pretty awful to be a GM in, though. I am a big fan of the idea of purging inactives on a season-to-season basis, and having a limit that you can't play in the VHLM past your, like, D+2 or D+3 season or something. Nobody really wants to play behind inactives that happened to disappear at 210 TPE so they can stick in the VHLM forever and tear the league up. - I like the idea of a tutorial teaching you the basics of earning TPE and stuff, but I don't think there needs to be TPE for it - teaching you how to earn the TPE regularly is the reward. I guess it might sound weird coming from a brand new player, but I'm already looking at the VHL, and I'm seeing it looks like there is already too much TPE floating around... you can relatively easily get into the mid-90s in most important stats a couple of seasons into your VHL career and a lot of good players are pretty well maxed in everything they want to be maxed in. Maybe I'm just speaking from my experience in GM leagues but I'm not a huge fan of over-inflated ratings. Sure everyone likes getting more points, but you've got to still have them mean something at the next level, and if every new player gets them anyway, it's not like they actually help set you apart. Besides that, it already strikes me as being fairly easy to earn TPE new in a player's career, especially with some of the first-gen bonuses. I'll take more if you're giving them out, but I see plenty of S74 picks with 90s already, plenty of S73 picks with 95s, the high TPE earners a few years into their careers are 99s across the board... And the more easy TPE you give out to new players, the less of an advantage can be gained by a new player that is heavily active relative to their peers (ie. 130 vs. 70 is a bigger difference than 180 vs. 120), and I think you want to give someone that is heavily active that greater opportunity to set themselves apart... But even if there's just a tutorial that helps new people, with the build guide that's pinned in the media spots forum, the earning TPE guide, a few helpful links for new players that is just staring you in the face once you sign up... that would probably help make things less confusing for new people.