tcookie

The Cologne Express have won back-to-back Renaissance Cups, and now they have earned the right to play for a third straight.

In a series that was expected to be hard-fought and close, reigning playoff MVP Clark got up to his old ways and took the series over. The Express knocked out Rome in a 4-game sweep, outscoring their opponents 14-4 as Clark put up a stellar .971 SV% with a pair of shutouts.

With 7 assists in 4 games, defenseman Joseph Dubois led the Express in scoring while Joshua Schwarzer and Martin Kemp each tied for the team lead with 3 goals in the series. Meanwhile, Theo Allard stepped his game up after a relatively quiet regular season, putting 6 points on the board.

The Express' next opponent will be from Sweden, as they await either the Vasteras Iron Eagles or Stockholm Vikings. That series is currently tied 2-2. Vasteras has been Renaissance Cup favourites all season, but we will see how that series plays out.

If Clark, who won the VHLM Playoff MVP with San Diego in S89 before winning VHLE Playoff MVP with Cologne last season, can maintain his usual playoff form, the Express stand to have a pretty good chance to extend their streak. However, their next test will likely be the toughest.

Claim for week 2/3

Game Recap: Game 576 - Prague vs. Chicago

With their playoff lives on the line, the defending champion Prague Phantoms came into Chicago to wrap up a somewhat disappointing regular season, but hopefully punching their ticket to a chance to redeem themselves in the playoffs. Their desperation showed through early on, as they outshot the Phoenix 23-4 in the first period and took a 2-0 lead on goals by Nikolas Kauppi (his 32nd) and John Jameson (his 46th). Although they kept their foot on the gas possession-wise, a couple of defensive slip-ups in the early part of the second frame saw Chicago strike right back. First, it was Dank Turtle's 13th of the season that cut the lead in half and then, 50 seconds later, Scotty Sundin's 49th of the year that knotted it up. With one period separating the Phantoms from heartbreak, they continued to push hard but Ryan Artyomov (who finished with 52 saves) stood his ground. The Phoenix capitalized on a powerplay opportunity approaching the midway point on a goal by PJ Daniels, before another untimely Prague penalty resulted in an insurance goal from Sigma Freud, set up by Scotty Sundin picking up his third point of the night. The Phoenix shut the door from there and completed a 4-2 victory, with Sundin and Artyomov being named the first and third stars of the game, respectively (the second star went to Prague's Jameson).

i don't like you either simon

I looked yesterday when I was working on my fantasy corner media spot and noticed I was winning my group by 0.9 with one day to go. Glad to hang on for the win! Good season, Scurvy.

After a bit of an up-and-down season, the Cologne Express finished the year on a hot streak to end up 43-25-4, good for second overall in the VHLE and finishing the season with the most wins in the league.

The Express ended up with the highest-scoring offense (231 goals for) and tightened up defensively as the year went on, with their 185 goals against finishing third and much closer to the top two teams than it was looking like at one point.

Anthony Simmons (31 goals, 79 points), Joshua Schwarzer (35 goals, 73 points), and Jordan Bennett (18 goals, 74 points - tops among VHLE defensemen) all finished within the top-9 in league scoring, though well back of Nick Sansoe who led the league with 94 points.

At one point, goaltender Clark was struggling along with a 0.910 SV% but he brought that up with a strong finish to the year. Clark ended the year with a 0.919 SV% which, while not spectacular, represents a big increase in level of play in the season's second half, and he has a reputation in the playoffs.

Cologne went 9-2-0 in the season's final 11 games and now turn their attention to the playoffs where they hope to continue recent success and win a third straight Renaissance Cup. They are certainly getting hot at the right time, so we'll see if that bodes well for their post-season chances as they prepare to take on Rome.

Note - I’m not affiliated with VHFL in any way. I pulled the data from the VHFL group updates thread because I thought it would be fun to look at, and did some similar stuff with VSN a while back, but this is all very much unofficial! 1581 words, good for the next 3 weeks.

—

A thrilling season of VHL action wrapped up yesterday and with it, a slew of VHFL group champions crowned. How did you fare in your group this year? Who helped you win your league, or who didn’t live up to the expectations you had for them?

In this edition of VHFL Fantasy Corner, we’ll take a look at the season that was in S91 and the stars and duds of the fantasy campaign.

Group Winners

There were 14 VHFL groups in S91, with some very impressive seasons among them. 32 teams crossed the 1400 point mark overall, a number that was required to win each of the 14 groups, while 7 teams (6 group winners and one unlucky 2nd-place, @JCarson) hit the 1500 point mark. The tightest group was Group 11, separated by just 6 points.

Here are your group winners for S91 (another disclaimer, please do not take this as official results):

Group 1: @twists - 1518.9
Group 2: @jacobcarson877 - 1456.2
Group 3: @Triller - 1440.5
Group 4: @kirbithan - 1516.3
Group 5: @VattghernCZ - 1495.8
Group 6: @hedgehog337 - 1490.0
Group 7: @Arce - 1516.6
Group 8: @leandrofg - 1461.3
Group 9: @Grape - 1508.8
Group 10: @cLoWn - 1480.1
Group 11: @tcookie - 1485.6
Group 12: @STZ - 1425.8
Group 13: @eagle_3450 - 1548.3
Group 14: @MexicanCow123 - 1508.9

The highest-scoring team across all VHFL groups was managed by @eagle_3450, who put up a whopping 1548.3 points. That team consisted of Larry Abass Jr, Leandro Goncalves, Dogwood Maple, Jake Thunder, Skor McFleury, and Jesse Teno.

Highest Scoring Players

The overall highest scoring player in VHFL this year was Larry Abass Jr of the Los Angeles Stars. The 6’3, 212 pound power forward really came into his own this season. Abass was already a solid fantasy contributor in recent years thanks to a tendency to pile up 300+ hits while contributing on offense, but this season, Abass didn’t just contribute on offense, he dominated. Scoring career highs across the board, Abass finished the year with 46 goals, 55 assists, and 101 points while going well over the 300 hit marker for the third-straight season (357), and was the only player to top 300 fantasy points this season (301.6).

The highest scoring defenseman in VHFL was Malmo defenseman Skor McFleury, another player who changed teams last off-season. McFleury was owned in 100% of groups, and for good reason. McFleury was a fantasy stud last season with 25 goals, 96 points, 211 hits, and 158 blocks. That made him defenseman #1 last year and pushed him over the 300 fantasy point mark with 300.8 overall. It was a similarly dominant performance this time around as he put up 22 goals, 89 points, 224 hits, and 142 blocks to lead all VHFL defenders by almost 17 fantasy points with 282.1.

The highest scoring VHFL goaltender was Davos’ Lachlan Summers, which you can file under “entirely expected”. Davos was always supposed to be a great team this year and they delivered on that promise, leading to Summers piling up a bunch of wins (46). Summers won the Shaw, Clegane, and Slobodzian Trophies last season and he’s got a good shot to take home some more hardware this year, with a 46-12-6 record, 2.24 GAA and 0.933 SV% to go along with 5 shutouts. It was a dominant year and Summers just edged out Art Vandelay for the league lead in fantasy points among goalies.

VHFL All-Star Team

F - Larry Abass Jr (301.6) - AK92 Wit da Hoodie (289.3) - John Jameson (282.1)
D - Skor McFleury (282.1) - Elias Lampi (265.4)
G - Lachlan Summers (244.0)

@RileyL @hedgehog337 @Frank @Alex @Pifferfish @kirbithan

Fantasy MVPs

When we talk about Fantasy MVPs, we’re talking about the guys you regularly find on winning rosters. This isn’t always necessarily the best players, although there is strong correlation. You might find a big name who had a great season a little lower in the FMVP rankings because a similarly good player was able to be found later in the draft, leading to an even stronger presence on winning rosters. This plays into this year’s selection as while big names like John Jameson are definitely found on group-topping teams (Jameson was on 5 group winners himself), Larry Abass Jr was both fantasy’s top scorer AND available later in drafts in general.

We’ve already talked about the dominance of Abass Jr this season, but what really earns him the title of VHFL Fantasy MVP is the fact that he was found on a whopping 10 of the VHFL’s winning rosters. Shockingly, one group didn’t even draft Abass (group 14), so Abass finishes the year up at 92.9% owned, but in the 13 groups he was owned in, his team won 76.9% of them. No team with Abass on it finished worse than third overall.

Skor McFleury can be found on several VHFL champion squads, too - 6 to be exact - but one other player that deserves a mention here is defenseman Elias Lampi. Lampi was only owned in 71.4% of groups (10) but his teams won 4 of those groups. In his second year with the Los Angeles Stars, Lampi put together his best all-around season as he set a career high in points (82) and +/- (+28) while still posting strong defensive numbers (215 hits, 151 blocks). With production like that, you have to figure Lampi will find himself universally drafted next time around.

VHFL All-MVP Team

F - Larry Abass Jr (10 group winners) - Landon Wolanin (5) - John Jameson (5)
D - Skor McFleury (6) - Elias Lampi (4)
G - Jesse Teno (4)

@RileyL @jacobcarson877 @Frank @Alex @Pifferfish @aimkin

S91 Fantasy Steals (Highest-Scoring Players <40% owned)

F Henry Eagles, Malmo Nighthawks (35.7% owned, 247.2 points) @Greg_Di
In hindsight, it looks kind of silly that so many people passed on Henry Eagles in their fantasy drafts this year. Malmo was looking at a big step forward, particularly with the off-season additions of Skor McFleury and Yaroslav Bogatyrev, so why wouldn’t a guy like Eagles take a big step forward to match? There was some skepticism around Eagles’ fantasy relevance this year, probably due to the fact he only put up 58 points last year, but Eagles flourished in his seventh VHL season, matching a career high with 42 goals and setting a career high in points, too, with 96, convincingly leading the resurgent Nighthawks in scoring.

F Francesco Mancini, New York Americans (7.1% owned, 237.5 points) @GioSivo
Now this one, on the other hand, is completely understandable. The Americans are a bad team, finishing with a 29-38-5 record as the second-worst team in the North American Conference, and Mancini had 58 points in his entire VHL career coming into this season. So, nobody could realistically have predicted a 100-point campaign out of him, but here we are. With 47 goals and 101 points, Mancini had a downright massive year. He was only drafted in one group, and in that group, the team that picked him won. Guess they knew what they were doing.

D Rex Wolffe Gregor, Seattle Bears (7.1% owned, 241.4 points) @oilmandan
Gregor had the best season of his five-year career in the VHL in S91, with 27 goals, 79 points, 165 hits, and 137 blocks. His previous career highs of 20 goals, 67 points, and 166 hits were all comfortably eclipsed as he became one of the highest-scoring defenders in VHFL this season. As the #1 defenseman on a Bears team that hopes to take a step forward next year, it wouldn’t surprise anyone if Gregor’s on a lot more VHFL rosters in S92.

S91 Fantasy Disappointments (Lowest-Scoring Players >70% owned)

F Vincent Laroche-Gagnier, DC Dragons (78.6% owned, 192.8 points) @vincentlg2007
It’s not like it was a bad year for Laroche-Gagnier, but after he put up 100 points in his first season in DC in S90, more was expected and he was drafted accordingly. Laroche-Gagnier doesn’t provide too much in the way of physical presence, so he needs to score to put up big numbers in VHFL, and his 35 goals and 78 points overall didn’t quite do it for teams that drafted him high.

F Randy Bobandy, Calgary Wranglers (71.4% owned, 168.4 points) @AJW
Bobandy scored 174 points over his last two seasons in Seattle before heading to Calgary, and there were high expectations of him taking a big role for the Wranglers. It didn’t quite work out that way for Calgary, who struggled to produce offense all season long, and Bobandy dropped off to 59 points, a number reminiscent of his sophomore season. If the Wranglers can fix their offense, you can bet the points will come back for Bobandy next time around, but for such a highly-drafted player to end up with this VHFL score was a disappointment.

D Phil Strasmore, Calgary Wranglers (85.7% owned, 170.5 points) @Phil
It seems to be a trend with Wranglers on the list, and it makes sense, because much of fantasy is simply about putting points in the board and the Wranglers struggled to do that as a whole. Strasmore, a longtime Wrangler, had four straight 60+ point seasons before this one but dropped off hard to 40 points in S91. His defensive numbers didn’t quite live up to expectations either, as his hits total (225) was his lowest in five seasons, and his shots blocked 106 was his lowest of his career. There doesn’t appear to be much reason for the sudden decline, as Strasmore still passes the eye test with flying colours, but the eye test doesn’t do much for the 12 VHFL teams that drafted him.

With 6 games left in Phillip Rave's season in Cologne, it's safe to call it a disappointment on a personal level. While expected to grow into a bigger role and start producing by the end of the year, Rave has languished on the third line and has seen no increase in production, sitting on 11 points in 66 games.

That has some scouts wondering if Rave will make the jump to Malmo next year after all. It's long been Rave's plan, but his numbers this year suggest that may not be left up to him - he simply may not be ready for the next level just yet.

To his credit, Rave has said the right things all season long about his stagnant production but at the end of the day, the VHL is for the best of the best and Rave will need to come to camp for Malmo in prime form next season to prove he can handle a promotion and earn his spot.

Fortunately for him, Cologne is headed to the playoffs and that will be a chance to make a strong impression. When you perform your best with the chips down, everyone takes note. That will be the task ahead of Rave for the rest of this season.

1 hour ago, Advantage said:

1. Habs. Always been my team. 
2. Just spending time with the family at home.  Nothing fancy. 
3. 2 dogs. One golden retriever and the other a black lab.  
 

—-

 

1. Favourite Christmas movie?

2. Any traditions you always need to keep alive during the Holidays?

3. Gun to your head….who wins the Continental Cup this season?

1) pretty cliche but probably Home Alone

2) not really... we go visit the family every year but nothing in particular

3) Davos

------

1) Who do you think is the best player in the VHL right now?

2) What's your top 3 VHL teams, by branding only?

3) What's your favourite time of year?

The VHLE campaign rolls right along and Phillip Rave has, he hopes, 22 more regular season games left in his VHLE career. Rave will attend camp with the Malmo Nighthawks next year with a much better chance to break camp with the big club, but for now, his focus remains squarely on helping the Cologne Express win another title.

With just 5 goals and 10 points in 50 games this year, Rave's role all season has been relatively limited. Still, he's enjoyed the experience for what it has been. "Cologne is a great city, a great place to play. We're sitting here with a chance to go into the playoffs and fight for a title, so what do I have to complain about?" he says.

Rave has been working on his puck control and defensive play recently and hopes that improvement shows itself on the ice over the remainder of the VHLE season. "I feel like my game's come a long way over the course of this season, which is a nice feeling. I'm hoping to work on my shot accuracy a little more and as always, keep working on that important two-way game."

On 11/17/2023 at 5:46 PM, Sjin said:

 Express Press Conference 

Answering three questions gets you 1 Capped TPE

Answering six questions gets you 2 Capped TPE

 

1. What do you think of the teams performance now we close in towards the trade deadline?

 

2. Should the team make any moves, perhaps brining players in or trading some away?

 

3. What do you think of your players start to the season so far are you performing above or below expected?

4. Have we got it in us to win another cup and complete the three-peat and who is our biggest challenger?

 

5. Are any players in the league surprising you so far perhaps in a good or bad way?

 

6. If you could pick the lines and ice time what set-up would you do for our team? I may try some suggestions we get!

1) We're in a playoff spot so that's good... being so far back of Rome/Vasteras kinda sucks, but it doesn't matter come playoff time.

2) I dunno, that's up to the GMs who know this thing better than me! We could definitely use something to help keep the puck out of our net, though.

3) A little worse than I had hoped for, but I knew coming in that playing on a deep team and coming in a little lower in TPE than a lot of players, I wouldn't play a ton right away so it's all good. The wins are more important to me.

4) Absolutely. I think Vasteras is the best team on paper, but the best team on paper doesn't always win. We've got a great group here.

5) Surprise maybe isn't the right word because he's a great player but Schwarzer is on quite a tear recently, it's nice to see!

6) I'm not crazy familiar but I do know White & Rave had some good chemistry in San Diego - and I believe Marchand & White from a year earlier - maybe that would spark us as I think Marchand and I have been underachieving a bit. But honestly I ain't one to complain about ice time or what have you, I just wanna win!

With 4 goals and 8 points through 38 games in his VHLE rookie season, it's safe to say the first half of the year hasn't quite gone the way Phillip Rave would've hoped.

"At the end of the day, we've got a team that's playing pretty well; we're maybe a little inconsistent, but it's clearly a good squad with great guys. I love coming to work every day and that's a great sign. We've just got a few things to tighten up," says Rave. "And that's all you can ask for - when you play the right way, the points will come."

Yet his slow production has caused the question to start to be asked: will he actually be able to step into the VHL next year? Rave has been open about that being his goal, but many VHLE players hoping to make that jump have been significantly more productive than he has this year.

"Like I said," mentioned Rave, "the production is going to come when you play the right way. I'm fortunate enough to play for a strong team with a lot of depth and what I need to focus on is just getting better every day and hopefully, making some noise here in the playoffs with this team. I've had conversations with Malmo and worrying about what happens a season down the road is not really conducive to winning games right now... we'll cross that bridge when we get there. It's a long season."

The VHLE season has just crossed the halfway point and the fates of both Phillip Rave and the Cologne Express are largely unchanged since the last time we checked in. Over those past 14 games, the Express have posted an 8-6-0 record to move to 21-15-2 and remain firmly entrenched in third place, well back of the Rome Gladiators and Vasteras Iron Eagles but also 8 points ahead of the Bratislava Watchmen, the closest non-playoff team.

The Express continue to have the league's best record, with 124 goals for, and also continue to have a middle-of-the-pack defense, with 106 goals against (4th among the league's 6 teams). Anthony Simmons (18 goals, 45 points) continues to be the team's best player while Joshua Schwarzer now leads the team in goals with 21 and is tied for second with 39 points. Schwarzer has gone on quite a run over the Express' last 14 games, soaring above the point-per-game mark on the season. Those 21 goals place Schwarzer third in the league, and his development and recent hot streak has to be exciting for the Chicago Phoenix, who drafted him 6th overall in the S91 VHL Entry Draft.

Simmons sits 4th in league scoring while veteran defenseman Jordan Bennett has maintained his own point-per-game pace with 39 points in 38 games himself. Bennett has taken over the VHLE lead in defenseman scoring. Three of the league's top seven scorers play in Cologne, so it shouldn't be surprising that they are boasting the league's best offense.

But the Express continue to struggle at keeping the puck out of the net and it's a problem that they'll have to figure out if they want to be a contender when the game tightens up in the playoffs. You could argue that Clark (2.77 GAA, .910 SV%) has been outplayed by backup Devon Giguere (2.53 GAA, .906 SV%) and the Express need more out of their starting netminder. However, they need more out of the entire team defensively, too.

"We just haven't been taking care of business in our own end," said rookie centre Phillip Rave after a recent loss to Vasteras. "We get sloppy at times and then we're hemmed in our own end for a bit and then the puck's in the back of the net. Playing good team defense is about working hard, making the smart plays, providing puck support for your teammates, all the little things... that's what we're struggling with right now. That's what we need to do better and it's throughout the whole lineup. It's easy to point at the goalie but the bottom line is we aren't helping him out; we're making his job tougher. I know we have the right players on this team, we have the guys who can play like that and make it work... we just have to dig a little deeper on game day and make sure we're doing it consistently."

Three of Cologne's next four games will come against VHLE leaders Vasteras and Rome, so that philosophy will be put to the test in a hurry. There's a half season left for the Express to reign in their game and chase down the teams above them in the standings, sending a message that they'll be a factor come playoff time, but the sooner they start the better; the end of the season comes faster than you think and it's imperative for the Express to sort that issue out if they intend to capture a third-straight championship.

1 hour ago, Zetterberg said:

No one is gonna be drawn in to a post with Alex Letang in a Malmo Jersey with the name Reese McFleury plastered across his body. Cause it doesn’t make any sense to anyone outside of the vhl, which just so happens to be WHO YOU ARE ADVERTISING TO!! Like look at this post and tell me you aren’t going to instantly scroll by it.

Genuinely there’s maybe 3 posts where I’d imagine a normal person looks and doesn’t think “wtf” then keeps scrolling. 

 

I think this is a super, super important point. If a post on there isn't interesting or meaningful to someone who has no idea what the VHL is, then it's not doing anything. This is an area I've personally done a lot of looking into over the last couple years and I still have a ton to learn but I'll try to share some thoughts that hopefully come across as helpful and not critical..

The pinned post on there is good - now I would probably prefer the wording "5 points to build your player" or something to "5 uncapped TPE" because the terminology "uncapped TPE" is sorta gibberish to someone just scrolling by, but you can definitely infer what "points to build your player" means & that it's a good thing, even if you don't know specifically how it works. I'd make that section more prominent as a reward that could draw someone in - but anyway, it's a good post with a lot of good information, promotes the league, tells people why they should be here.

But as Z said, a post with a Kris Letang jersey swap and the name Reese McFleury on it doesn't mean anything to anyone except the people that are already here. And that kind of thing is 90% of the Instagram. In addition to not making much sense to someone who isn't here, it also doesn't draw anyone in. Even if it looks cool, it doesn't really scream "there's a league here, check us out" - where stuff like standings, draft rankings, playoff/stats races do.

Put a call to action on the stuff that goes up there - just like a "this could be you!" on an award or championship graphic, or a "join the VHL // vhlforum.com" on something general, or something so that if something does catch someone's eye, they know there's a fantasy league & they immediately know how to check us out. It being in the description means they have to decide they want to read the description to get there. People don't get that far very often. That's another key point. If you really want people to see something, it shouldn't only be in the description.

Promote the players of standout first gens / new members especially, when you can - so that people don't feel like "oh they're 90 seasons in, how am I going to catch up in something that established anyway".

I don't have any specific ideas as far as engaging with users goes, but stuff that makes people want to interact & respond is huge... especially if you can get it to be of interest to non-VHL members & something they can contribute to.

We are one-third of the way through the VHLE season and the Cologne Express, seeking a third-straight title, have established themselves as a contender once again.

Cologne sits third in the VHLE right now with a 13-9-2 record, a little ways back of the Vasteras Iron Eagles and Rome Gladiators, but firmly entrenched in a playoff spot and within range to pose a threat to the league's top two teams. Their +14 goal differential actually matches that of Rome, but some things just haven't quite gone their way, particularly on the defensive end as Cologne leads the league in goals for (82) but has a middle of the pack defense with 68 goals against.

The Express have been led by a pair of VHLE veterans so far, with centre Anthony Simmons leading the way with 14 goals and 30 points and defenseman Jordan Bennett right behind with 8 goals and 25 points. Eric White Jr is the squad's top-performing VHLE rookie, having picked up 6 goals and 24 points through 24 games. Together, the trio gives Cologne three of the league's 15 PPG players; Bennett is tied for the VHLE lead in scoring by a defenseman.

Between the pipes, netminder Clark has a 10-8-2 record with an 0.910 SV% and 2.72 GAA, though he has yet to record a shutout this season. It's actually the worst save percentage, by a fair margin, among all VHLE goalies who've played in at least 12 games this season - but not to worry, everyone knows that Clark brings his best in the playoffs.

As far as the special teams go, Cologne's been clicking at 23.64%, ever-so-slightly behind the league leading Oslo Storm (23.66%) - bet that's not who you would have guessed would have the VHLE's most dangerous powerplay! With a 79.35% penalty kill efficiency, ranked 5th in the league and 6-7% behind the league leaders, the Express' PK has struggled and should be a focal point for the team going forward. Keeping pucks out of the net has been the main reason for Cologne not being at the top of the standings alongside Vasteras and Rome so far, and the poor penalty kill is definitely a factor.

There are 48 games left on the schedule for the Express to make their move, and it would seem we can bank on some improvement from players like Brad Marchand, Joshua Schwarzer, Theo Allard, Phillip Rave, and Lionel Collberg down the stretch to help deepen the lineup even further. All of these players have been improving since the season began and have more room to improve yet as they get acclimatized to the VHLE. For some, that could mean improving on already productive seasons (Schwarzer has 10 goals and 21 points while Collberg has 17 points) and for others, that could mean starting to put up some numbers to help make a scary Cologne offense even better (so far, Marchand has just 11 points, Allard 10, and Rave 4).

Back in action tomorrow for a third-straight match against the Bratislava Watchmen (the previous 2 were split), the Express hope to keep the offense rolling and straighten out some of the issues in their own end to regain their place among the VHLE elite.

With 14 games gone by in his VHLE rookie campaign, it's clear that the E has been a step up in competition for Phillip Rave, whom Cologne selected 9th overall in the S91 VHLE draft.

Rave has played a limited role so far and has just 1 goal and 3 points to show for it, although he feels like he's generally played pretty well. "We have a deep team with a lot of good players, so it's not like everyone gets to play 30 minutes a night," says Rave. "I just want to bring it every time I step on the ice and make some good things happen."

In addition to those 3 points, Rave has 15 shots and 10 hits, but perhaps more importantly, a +4 rating. Rave's defensive game has noticeably improved and he's been spending some time working on his skating as well.

The VHLE has quickly clustered up into two groups, with the top-4 teams in the league posting 22, 21, 18, and 17 points so far while the other two teams have posted just 9 and 5. At 8-5-1, the Express sit 4th but within that group of teams, it seems like anything can happen.

1. @Spartakiller2
F - Jason
F - Daryl Dixon
F - Vinny Lecavalier
D - Brian Kowalski
D - Velociraptor Greg
G - Lachlan Summers

2. @Banackock
F - Leandro Goncalves
F - Henry Eagles
F - Sadie St-Louis
D - Jimmy MacElroy
D - Jacob Stone
G - Merome Dilson

3. @tcookie
F - John Jameson
F - Yaroslav Bogatyrev
F -  Larry Abass Jr.
D - James Marino
D - Jake Thunder
G - Joel Castle

4. @Scurvy
F - Wann Kerr
F - Mac Atlas
F - Alfred Champagne
D - Skor McFleury
D - Pierre Emile Bouchard
G - Art Vandelay

5. @Bojovnik
F - AK92 Wit Da Hoodie
F - Dogwood Maple
F - Napoleon Dynamite
D - Ryuji Sakamoto
D - Elias Lampi
G - Matt Murdock

6. @OrbitingDeath
F - Todd Cooke
F - Randy Bobandy
F - Landon Wolanin
D - Mark Callaway
D - Phil Strasmore
G - Jesse Teno

1) Good picks, all well deserved!

2) wing I guess? I'm a scorer so a forward position is logical

3) 20g 20a ish, I'll have to pick it up a bit though lol

4) We're playing well. A little up and down but it doesn't really matter until the playoffs anyway!

5) Not doing much so far. Not much ice time and not much to show for it. Kind of to be expected though as I'm just comparatively low on the TPE scale for a VHLE player

6) Honestly I have no idea, nicknames are not my thing lol

The Cologne Express are back-to-back VHLE champions and thanks to the good work of General Manager Sjin and Assistant Manager Fradin, they appear poised to put themselves right back in that conversation in S91.

There are more than a few key players moving on from Cologne this year, including Sjin, Keegan Gamble, and Eurydyka Sklowdowska Dudzinska - three of their top-4 scorers from the S90 playoffs - among others. But there are several key returnees, and the team feels they have adequately replaced the outgoing names too.

One of those key returnees is netminder Clark, the reigning Playoff MVP who sported a 28-23-3 record and 0.926 SV% last year before stepping his game up even further in the playoffs, going 8-2-2 with an 0.938 SV%. Clark was the VHLM's playoff MVP with the San Diego Marlins a year prior - he has established himself as a big-time winner and playoff performer, and will be instrumental in any three-peat efforts from the Express.

The Express' blueline looks very solid. The main returnee here is Jordan Bennett, a VHLE veteran entering his seventh VHLE season. Bennett had 47 points in 72 games last season, though he's just one year removed from an even bigger 88-point campaign with Istanbul in S89. Bennett has 432 VHLE games to his credit and has seen it all at this level. Marty Byrd @Marty_B is also back after putting up 19 points in 72 games as a VHLE rookie.

Bolstering the blueline will be another VHLE veteran, Swinsola, who has actually played mostly forward to this point in their career and is entering their fourth VHLE campaign, joining their fifth different VHLE team. Joseph Dubois has earned his way up to the E after a 77-point S90 campaign with the VHLM's Mississauga Hounds, and Lionel Collberg figures to play a huge role. The VHL first-round pick had 92 points in Miami last year and will almost certainly just spend the one year in Cologne, but it should be a good one.

There are eleven forwards currently under contract to the Express, so we'll see how the situation shakes down in regards to playing time, but it theoretically should be a strong, deep group. Al Land is the leader here as he enters his fifth season in Cologne. Land has 300 career points in an Express jersey and should put up a whole bunch more this year. After a 23-point rookie campaign in the E, Martin Kemp is poised to step into a much bigger role this season and is a very talented offensive player. In a similar vein, Brad Marchand posted 24 points in his own VHLE rookie campaign last season and is poised for a big promotion of his own.

As far as new guys go, look for Eric White Jr to make a big impact right out of the gate. White is a gifted goal scorer with a responsible two-way game, and he showed what he was capable of by laying waste to the VHLM last year (53 goals, 104 points). He will definitely be a big part of the Cologne offense this season. Fellow 100-point VHLMer Theo Allard is here too and is the most natural centre on the team. Joshua Schwarzer and Phillip Rave are two more point-per-game players at the VHLM level who are coming into Cologne this year. While none of the latter three are as assured of a big role as White seems to be, they're all very talented players who will grow into a bigger role and, by season's end, Cologne should be able to roll three extremely good scoring lines.

The Express have a number of high-profile VHL prospects from the S91 draft in Schwarzer, Collberg, Allard, and Rave - plus S90 first-rounder Kemp - and can probably expect to see Clark, Marchand, and White move on after the season, too, so there will certainly be some pressure on this group. There are a number of strong teams in the VHLE this year, and nothing will come easy, especially with the target on their backs that comes with being back-to-back champions, but the Express have a chance to win a third-straight Renaissance Cup - a rare feat indeed in any of the three VHL-affiliated hockey leagues. It will soon be time to find out if they can put on the finishing touches and become a true dynasty.

It's been an eventful offseason for Phillip Rave, the kind that you only really experience once. For any would-be hockey prospect, the summer of your draft year is a once-in-a-lifetime type of experience as you interact with various teams, participate in combines and showcases, and sit through an anxiety-inducing draft that decides your pro hockey future.

Today that off-season is officially over as Rave will take to the ice for the Cologne Express when the VHLE season kicks off. His only goal this year is to help his team capture a third consecutive Renaissance Cup.

Cologne will kick off their season with two games against the Oslo Storm before games against Stockholm, Bratislava, and a second game against Oslo. With expectations high and three of their first five games against a rebuilding team, there will be some pressure on the Express to make sure they don't falter early.

"We need to come out of the gates playing the right way," agrees Rave. "You can't take anyone lightly. Bring it every single night. That's why this team is a championship team and that's how we're going to be right up there again this year."

Rave's game has made noticeable strides over the off-season. He says he feels more comfortable in the defensive zone and has been continuing to evolve his two biggest strengths: his shot and his ability to use his body to shield the puck from defenders. Soon, he will finally get the chance to put those chances to work in a meaningful game. "When you get to this level there's an expectation of everyone, I think, to work hard over their off-season and I'm just pumped to get on the ice and put that work to good use."