Hex Universe

Welcome back to Minor Adjustments, a series where we take a closer look at the VHL and VHLM teams of the past. Today, our journey will take us back to Europe. Along the Danube River, lies a city with a very unique VHLM past. In days of old, their team watched over the people and gave their best effort to serve. That city is Bratislava, Slovakia, and their team was the Watchmen.
 
 

 
 
BRATISLAVA WATCHMEN [S31 - S53]
Founder's Cups: 7
Prime Minister's Cups: 3
Playoff Appearances: 13
 
 
With the VHL and VHLM growing in the number of active players, the league decided to grant the VHLM two expansion teams for S31. One would be awarded to the Yukon Territory of Canada, and the other would be given to the Capital city of Slovakia, Bratislava.
Bratislava would become known as the Watchmen, and their first GM in team history would be Vince Wong @STZ. The first time GM would immediately begin building his new team and they would find some small pockets of success. The Watchmen would make the playoffs in their inaugural season, only to be ousted early on. It was clear work needed to still be done, especially as Bratislava would fail to reach the playoffs in S32. 
 
The Watchmen were growing, however, and during S33, they were ready to strike. Bratislava would reach the playoffs again in S33 and would take out Vasteras IK in the first round. Following that, the Watchmen would have a tough series against the Prime Minister's Cup champion Kolari Panthers, but would win in seven games. Using that momentum, the Watchmen would sweep the Brampton Blades in the Finals to win their first Founder's Cup. Playoff MVP would go to forward Niklas Lindberg, who earned 34 Points (20 Goals and 14 Assists) in 17 games. Vince Wong would win his first GM of the Year award as well.
 
After S33 many of the top talent would graduate to the VHL, leaving GM Wong to rebuild the team back to championship form. Over the next couple seasons, the Watchmen would be in rebuild mode, developing their core and getting the team ready for another playoff push. So although Bratislava would miss the playoffs in both S34 and S35, it was all going according to plan for Wong.
 
For S36, the Watchmen went from no playoffs to smoking the competition. Bratislava would earn a regular season record of 66-5-1, good for 133 Points, earning the team their first Prime Minister's Cup. Although the regular season was amazing, the Watchmen knew they had one far more important thing to do. Bratislava would go 8-2 in the playoffs on the way to their second Founder's Cup in six seasons. Playoff MVP went to goaltender Martin Brookside and Wong would win his second GM of the Year award.
 
After six amazing seasons in Bratislava, Vince Wong would step down as GM. Seth Plaut @Seth would take over as the Watchmen GM starting with S37. Plaut would lead Bratislava to the playoffs in his first year at the helm, but would be ousted before the finals. The next couple seasons of the Plaut era would end before playoffs began as the team would be in rebuilding mode. Although while not highly successful, Plaut did manage to form the body that would lead to much success.
 
After Plaut stepped down,  Mario De Rossi @KitRas would take over where Plaut left off. For S40, the Watchmen would make it to the playoffs for the first time in three seasons, and would come out on top against the Bern Royals in the Wild Card round. Then after taking down the Saskatoon Wild, the Watchmen would win their third Founder's Cup. Sachimo Zoidberg would win Playoff MVP for their 22 goals and 7 assists during the playoffs.
 
The next season would be even better for the Watchmen, however. As Bratislava would skip the wild card round and would eventually come out on top of the VHLM for the second straight season. The Watchmen would take down the Turku Outlaws in seven games and then the Yukon Rush in five on the way to the Cup. Playoff MVP this time would go to AIM-11, as they registered 9 goals and 15 assists in 12 games. De Rossi would have one more year under the helm in S42, which would end without a playoff berth as the Cup teams of the past couple seasons had graduated.
 
 S43 would be a bit rough for the Bratislava Watchmen, however. Despite making the playoffs, the season would have two GMs as the first one Davey Jones @Da Trifecta would leave after only a couple weeks at the helm. This would leave Kyle Snow @Jericho to lead the team in his place as Bratislava would lose in the semi-finals to Bern.
 
After S43, the Watchmen turned to the all-time great in the VHL to lead them. His name is Blake Campbell @Banackock and he became the new GM of Bratislava for S44. In the Campbell era, the Watchmen would start slow. Bratislava would reach the playoffs in S44, but would not return to the Finals and a rebuild began. Despite the shortcomings, Campbell would win GM of the Year. For S45 and S46, the Watchmen would skipped the playoffs. Their rebuild was going well, though, as their talent pool grew stronger and deeper during those two seasons. 
 

 
Then came the push for the Watchmen in S47. Bratislava, under the full lead of GM Campbell, would storm back into the playoffs. Taking down Oslo and the Ottawa Lynx on the way to the teams first Founder's Cup in five seasons.  Campbell would win his second GM of the Year award for his work into building the Watchmen back up to championship glory.
 
Campbell's Watchmen would repeat the same success the very next season in S48. Bratislava would win the Prime Minister's Cup as the best team of the regular season, and would beat Oslo and then Ottawa once more to win back-to-back Founder's Cups for the second time in team history. Campbell would win his third GM of the Year award, a team record and no doubts further solidifies Campbells VHL excellence.
 
After S48, Campbell accomplished all that he could, so he left the Watchmen. Sachimo Zoidberg @Jala would take over his former club as the new GM for S49. Although he would only last one season which ended in a playoff exit before the Finals. 
 
Then for S50, the Watchmen hired Benjamin Zeptenbergs @hedgehog337 as the teams newest GM. S50 would end without a playoff berth for the Watchmen, but the team was being rebuilt. For S51, while Bratislava would reach the playoffs, it wouldn't be enough to reach the finals. Then during S52, the Watchmen were at full power once again, taking down the regular season as the top team. Once the playoffs hit, there was no stopping them. The team would defeat Ottawa and Yukon on the way to their seventh Founder's Cup. Lukas Miller was the teams playoff MVP and GM Zeptenbergs won GM of the Year. Zeptenbergs would have one more season in Bratislava, but it would end before reaching the playoffs in S53.
 
After that, you would expect a new GM to rebuild the team and bring Bratislava back to Championship glory, correct? This time, however, you would be wrong. Bratislava, being the only Euro team still remaining in the VHLM during S53, would be forced out of the league. They, along with the Brampton Blades, were the victims of a sadly decreasing player pool during this time. Both leagues experienced massive contraction due to not having as many active players as they once did. So no matter the storied legacy of the Watchmen and how they would always return for more, their story ends there. 
 
Thank you for reading this latest edition of Minor Adjustments. Please be on the lookout for more from me and everyone else at VSN. Special thanks to @boubabi for sending me the original Watchmen logo, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to showcase it here.
 
- Hex Rose | Word Count: 1,350

Hello VHL...
This little birdie is about to begin making a big splash. Travelling all the way from Munich in Germany, I seem to have landed in the VHL at quite the moment, especially for a Euro product. The addition of the VHLE and even Cologne as a part of the league brought so much joy to me. 
Although don't let my excitement for the "E" fool you, I'm here to have success at ALL levels of the VHL system. There is so much I want to accomplish, but at the same time, I don't care about player awards. If I win one, great, heck even fantastic. Although I'm here to win Cups, Gold, Rings, etc. Then that means that I know I helped my TEAM to great success. My first stop on this journey will be very far from home, but a place with great history. I definitely feel the Rush, Yukon. I'll show you what this crow can do on the ice for the team.
 
167 Words

1. As someone who was just signed by the Rush, I am so far quite happy with my decision to accept the offer.
2. *All the Ottawa picks holy heck*
3. I'm definitely expecting us to be near the top of the league for Cup contenders this season.
4. So what I got, show that I am the best team player on the ice.
5. Ottawa, Yukon, Houston, and Minnesota are all very tempting options for this at the current moment...
6. As someone with the nickname "Crow", I oddly feel beckoned and yet frightened by this answer quite a bit

#FeelTheRush 
I wanted something fresh, but also somewhere where I can play my role and do my part on a Cup contending team
At this stage, I don't honestly care about the minutes, I care about making sure each minute counts

#FeelTheRush 
I wanted something fresh, but also somewhere where I can play my role and do my part on a Cup contending team
At this stage, I don't honestly care about the minutes, I care about making sure each minute counts

Player Information
Username: Hex Universe
Player Name: Magnus Corvo
Recruited From: Returning
Age: 23
Position: RW
Height: 72 in.
Weight: 225 lbs.
Birthplace: Germany

Player Page
@VHLM GM

Welcome to your new home @Hex Universe

Throwing my hat into the ring

9.7/10
This newest version of your Paris Revolution logo is definitely at the top of my list for logo choices now. Just wow! The color choices and where each color is placed is absolutely perfect.  I do think the face could be touched up just a bit, but otherwise outstanding work once again Kaleeb!

9.7/10
This newest version of your Paris Revolution logo is definitely at the top of my list for logo choices now. Just wow! The color choices and where each color is placed is absolutely perfect.  I do think the face could be touched up just a bit, but otherwise outstanding work once again Kaleeb!

Now that we officially have our 6 founding VHLE teams I'd like to put in my suggestions for what logo's we should use.

Starting with the
Berlin steel:


Yup I'm bringing this design back, I got a lot of support of it and it still fits the team name. I decided to go with orange black and gray because that seems to be the consensus pick for berlin. The VHL has only one other orange team making it an easy decision to add another.

Cologne Express:


 
Massive shout out to @KaleebtheMighty for letting me piggyback off his original design . I loved the direction he went in but felt it strayed a little too far from the original. Therefore I combined the two which I think produced an amazing logo that cleans up the original.

Paris Revolution:


 
Red, White, and Blue to represent the french tri-colour. This logo represents the French Revolution by depicting a era appropriate French soldier. Not much more to say about this one I hope you like it 🙂



Now we get to the more boring logo's, not because they are bad but because you've already seen them a million times. Why? because I'm advocating for them not to change (kinda). This one I wouldn't be necessarily against change but I think the original was very well designed and iconic. The only addition is changing the red to blue to better represent stockholm. I could get into it further but instead i'll throw it over to @dlamb who made an excellent post on the reasons why here (dlamb's post) 
 
 
Vasteras Iron Eagles:


 
Yup another original design. But why change it? It's iconic anyone who's been around for a while and is involved in the league recognizes it. I just feel that a change to the logo isn't needed when it's got a solid design. I have seen some re-designs but even though they look super well made they just feel like a knock off of the original.

Bratislava Watchmen:


 
You get the point. I love this logo it's so well made and a shame it was ever cast aside. This is a perfect example of the saying "If it ain't broke don't fix it". Personally I think it would be a disservice to replace this iconic logo and more then any other team will be vouching for it to stay.


I feel a mix of 3 new and 3 original logos fit the theme of the VHLE pretty well. Bringing back teams was partly meant for nostalgia so I believe that including nostalgic logos is a must have. That's also why the cologne logo closely represents it's original. Let me know what you think.


 

In Minor Adjustments: Bratislava Watchmen
 
 
The news of their death was... greatly exaggerated..., and Bratislava has returned for more...
 
The Bratislava Watchmen, one of the most fascinating franchises to ever grace our presence in the VHLM, has officially been reborn in the new VHLE! As a member who worked on detailing the Watchmen history for a week for the VSN article and learning just how insane the team was and how unfortunate their original demise was, this feels like a massive success.
 
I remember getting quite a number of replies mentioning how quite a few members wanted Bratislava back. I hope each and every one of them is happy to see the day has finally arrived. 
 
Although, I know Bratislava isn't the only city celebrating at this time, with former markets like Vasteras and Cologne joining the VHLE as well.  For the Watchmen, however, this achievement is extra special. Bratislava is the only returning market to the VHLE to never have a VHL team. Meaning that this is not only a return, but a full on promotion many seasons in the making.
 
Given how insanely good Bratislava was in their 23 seasons, winning 7 Founders Cups in that time, I think it makes sense that they are the only ones to get a full promotion from the VHLM.
 
Anyways, let's all aboard the VHLE hype train everyone, because this ride ain't stopping anytime soon!

Good day fellow VHLers, future VHLErs, residents of the #hype channel, and everyone else. First of all, thank you to everyone who has voted in the 3 VHLE team polls over the past month or so, everyone who has contributed to the discussions and suggestions around team logos and concepts, and just generally those who have helped make the slow unveiling of the VHLE a very exciting event to be part of.
 
A special thank you as well to those who helped out with logo making, especially of course @KaleebtheMighty and @Zetterberg - we may be needing your services again in the near future!
 
We had 199 members vote in the final poll, hopefully all for 3 or fewer teams, and we got some interesting results, some expected, some less so. I can reveal that for the most part, we will be able to satisfy the majority of the population.
 
@Acydburn and I sat down, considered previous BOG discussions and the results of the vote, and have decided to start the VHLE in S80 with the following 6 franchises. Note that I am not including the logos here as these will be finalised at a later date. I expect most will look like the versions in the final poll linked above, but with some final tweaks and maybe even a different direction will be taken for one or two. It should also be said that these are just the original 6 franchises - there is a very real possibility that the VHLE will one day grow from its starting points and if your favourite team missed out, it might still make an appearance in the future.
 
Without further ado then, the 6 founding VHLE franchises will be:
 
The Berlin Steel
The Bratislava Watchmen
The Cologne Express
The Paris Revolution
The Stockholm Vikings
and of course the Vasteras Iron Eagles
 
Final logos will most likely be revealed along with the GM appointments. As for that exciting next stage of the process, look out for the VHLE GM application thread opening up very soon.
 

June 28th
I'm gonna keep this date in my heart...

Over the course of the last several weeks, I have been having particular thoughts about not only the past, but myself in the present day. I've thought about how both my past events and current events life, how my mind and heart has traversed it and how I found it's history odd...
Like... I've been slightly lying to myself
I'm somebody who thought I was something forever, and never questioned it. Even when small things were beginning to show themselves, I never paid attention or wanted to anyways.
Was I afraid? Why should I be afraid of what this is? Does it matter if I'm afraid?
I should be proud about it and not lie to myself any longer...

So, I believe it's time to say it....
 


I write this to you all today because, as of today, I do come out as both Ace and Aro
Particularly Aceflux and Aroflux
 
Aceflux is essentially I am on a spectrum of sometimes feeling sexual and other times not having any sexual feelings at all, even for the same person
 
Aroflux is the same thing as Aceflux except instead of sexual feelings it's romantic feelings

Tbh I am about in tears writing this, as not only does this end the lie about myself, but I know that this is gonna be a huge change for me in many aspects of my present day life and future life.

June 28th
I'm gonna keep this date in my heart...

Over the course of the last several weeks, I have been having particular thoughts about not only the past, but myself in the present day. I've thought about how both my past events and current events life, how my mind and heart has traversed it and how I found it's history odd...
Like... I've been slightly lying to myself
I'm somebody who thought I was something forever, and never questioned it. Even when small things were beginning to show themselves, I never paid attention or wanted to anyways.
Was I afraid? Why should I be afraid of what this is? Does it matter if I'm afraid?
I should be proud about it and not lie to myself any longer...

So, I believe it's time to say it....
 


I write this to you all today because, as of today, I do come out as both Ace and Aro
Particularly Aceflux and Aroflux
 
Aceflux is essentially I am on a spectrum of sometimes feeling sexual and other times not having any sexual feelings at all, even for the same person
 
Aroflux is the same thing as Aceflux except instead of sexual feelings it's romantic feelings

Tbh I am about in tears writing this, as not only does this end the lie about myself, but I know that this is gonna be a huge change for me in many aspects of my present day life and future life.

All right, I 100% took this idea from the advice of @Banackock and his Bana Blab's series.
Anyways, this season has been pretty freaking crazy, eh? Let's talk about the big boy topic that members of the VHL community have been talking about all season. 
 
The freaking VHLE has definitely been front and center in terms of massive amounts of discussion and hype all season (VHLE HYPE!). It has had a massive amounts of nostalgia, creativity, and discussion that honestly I don't think has been matched in the VHL community for a very long time, if ever. I personally have been loving seeing the team names and logo creations for potential VHLE teams of market both new and old. As somebody who absolutely loves sports logos, it's been like a logo haven as of late and I have been loving every second of it. Good job to everyone who has been making logo concept and congrats to all of y'all whose logo concepts were used for the most recent VHLE team poll! Hopefully soon we will find out which six lucky markets will be the inaugural VHLE teams in S80. As always, let's keep up that VHLE HYPE!

So, I guess that's everything for this edition of.... oh wait. That's right, I almost forgot about the title of this topic!
So yeah, the secret I want to share is...

I am returning to VSN to cover the VHLE!

... Oh and also, Hex Rose has a kid and they want to be just like their dad. Their name? Raven Rose. Remember that name for the future...

Thank you all for the amazing support! I am so happy to be in the VHL community and have since come out to other people. I love all of y'all and let's continue making the VHL the best place on the internet!

I really don't get how people think the league is rigged, especially this season with all the extra protocols in place.

*Enjoys some freshly made Seattle victory popcorn and shares with teammates*
They do be hatin' eh?

*Enjoys some freshly made Seattle victory popcorn and shares with teammates*
They do be hatin' eh?

June 28th
I'm gonna keep this date in my heart...

Over the course of the last several weeks, I have been having particular thoughts about not only the past, but myself in the present day. I've thought about how both my past events and current events life, how my mind and heart has traversed it and how I found it's history odd...
Like... I've been slightly lying to myself
I'm somebody who thought I was something forever, and never questioned it. Even when small things were beginning to show themselves, I never paid attention or wanted to anyways.
Was I afraid? Why should I be afraid of what this is? Does it matter if I'm afraid?
I should be proud about it and not lie to myself any longer...

So, I believe it's time to say it....
 


I write this to you all today because, as of today, I do come out as both Ace and Aro
Particularly Aceflux and Aroflux
 
Aceflux is essentially I am on a spectrum of sometimes feeling sexual and other times not having any sexual feelings at all, even for the same person
 
Aroflux is the same thing as Aceflux except instead of sexual feelings it's romantic feelings

Tbh I am about in tears writing this, as not only does this end the lie about myself, but I know that this is gonna be a huge change for me in many aspects of my present day life and future life.

dear diary,
 
Lots has been on my mind about the league lately. Since my last point task, sonnet has announced that he’s done with the league, rory and muff have decided to step down from their GM positions, more VHLE discussions have been presented to the league, and Elmebeck nominations have opened.
 
It’s always sad to see beloved members step away, but I, of course, always support people doing what’s best for them. I’m glad we got a chance to do a podcast before he decided to dip, especially because that was something that he mentioned that he wanted to try. Podcasts are and will probably always be my favorite point task for a few reasons. I get TPE just for talking to my friends, you get to deviate from VHL topics a bit more for the sake of an entertaining podcast, and less people interact with them. If there were a way for me to post a media spot and not allow anyone to read or comment on it (but still get my TPE for it), I absolutely would. That completely defeats the purpose of posting, but I usually post for TPE, not league engagement. So it goes.
 
I don’t know if it’s just because I’ve started actually paying attention to it, but I feel like the past few seasons have seen a far higher rate of GM turnover than when I joined. I’m only in my seventh (?) season here, so my experience ought to be taken with a grain of salt.
 
If I had to guess why the turnover rate increased, I would suspect that it has to do with the fact that folks joined/became GMs when they had much more time on their hands amidst the thick of the pandemic. We newer members came in with rose-colored glasses on, too much time to waste, and a drive to be “important” to the league. After seeing behind the curtain and having real life kick into higher gear as society tries to return to “normal,” I’m sure they’ve probably experienced a higher level of burnout and disenchantment, causing them to cycle in and out of those positions. Again, so it goes.
 
I’ve been thinking about posting my thoughts about the VHLE team concepts and have held off because 1) it’s mostly me being petty, 2) I wouldn’t say that I’m really qualified to critique logos, and 3) in the end, my input probably doesn’t really matter, lost in the midst of everyone else’s equally nearly-meaningless thoughts. Nonetheless, I feel like I won’t have the right to complain about the team concepts after they’ve been published and finalized if I don’t throw my thoughts into the mix, so for the sake of allowing myself to bitch and moan later, I’m going to skim through my thoughts on the VHLE team concept proposals.
 
First, I was really glad to see the conversation about the Berlin Steel logo was addressed, leading to an amendment of the concept. It’s reassuring that, although posting on forums seems like screaming into the void, someone is listening.
 
I’m honestly not exceptionally fond of any of the concepts. Is it because I don’t like new things or change? Maybe. I’m not going to act like I know what I want, because I don’t.
 
Berlin Steel: How many times do members have to point out that a good logo doesn’t need big text on it before we start adapting logos to be in accordance with popular opinion? Apparently far more times than has already been noted. What is this logo without the text? A hammer. It is a fancy hammer.
 
I know that steel manufacturing or whatever is significant for Berlin or Germany, but like, a hammer? My biggest hope for a team concept is that the creative takes on it are actually interesting and abundant. I suppose if you really wanted to stretch it, you could make something work with steel and hammers and hockey and beating down the opponents. Otherwise, it’s… odd.
 
Also, Berlin Steel Construction Company is a company in Connecticut. Largely irrelevant, but I’m noting it anyway.
 
Bern Royals: This looks like a knockoff Moscow logo. Everyone ought to be thinking it, so I’m just going to say it. Moscow logo meets Stonehenge.
 
Bern does have significance for royalty in Switzerland, I’ll give it that. It’s a good location (from the biased research I’ve done) to use “Royals” for. I also acknowledge that Catholicism is (or, at least, was) the dominant religion, but do we really need a cross on the crown?
 
Bratislava Watchmen: What is the significance of watchmen for Bratislava? I did a quick google search and can’t find anything. Did I look very hard? No, but I don’t think you should have to.
 
I like the blue and green in the logo; no other team (from the top of my head) has that color scheme, which definitely works in its favor. Otherwise, I can’t put my finger on why, but this logo feels off.
 
I’d say this is one of the better concepts other than the fact that I have no idea where the “watchmen” came from.
 
Cologne Express: Great, another german team. I, like many others, don’t think it’d be optimal to have more than one team in any country. There are so many options that it just feels extremely unoriginal.
 
I get the relationship with Cologne and trains; the Köln Hauptbahnhof is a major local, national, and international (thanks, Wiki) station, so the concept makes sense to me. The train vibe is easy to adapt to hockey team morale, which also scores it some points in my book.
 
The logo, honestly, isn’t bad. The text is a bit funky, but it’s not overbearing and I like the placement. Another one of the better concepts in my opinion.
 
Istanbul Red Wolves: We already have the Vancouver Wolves. We do not need another wolf team.
It’s also great that we have red in there, because this was one of the first articles for “Istanbul wolves” in my google search:
 
The Grey Wolves, officially known as Idealist Hearths, is a Turkish far-right organization and movement affiliated with the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP). Commonly described as ultranationalistic, Islamistic and neo-fascist, it is a youth organization that has been characterized as MHP's paramilitary or militant wing. Its members deny its political nature and claim it to be a cultural and educational foundation, as per its full official name: Ülkü Ocakları Eğitim ve Kültür Vakfı (Idealist Clubs Educational and Cultural Foundation).
 
There are too many almost-very-bad things here, need I say more? (probably, but I’m not going to)
 
Paris Revolution: I liked the guardians logo concept better than this one. I don’t know why, but I don’t like this concept. Oooo, so original, France in another revolution, haha, very funny.
 
I have no constructive feedback (not that I’ve offered any so far), so I’m moving on. Also, I’m getting tired of writing.
 
Rome Gladiators: Now THIS team concept works for me. You don’t need a google search to understand the team (not that googling to understand a team is a bad thing, I think those ones are kinda cool and feel more authentic). This concept feels very safe. The gladiator representation is pretty cohesive with the traditional depiction of a roman gladiator, so props for that one.
 
My (only, really) issue with the concept is that the colors are too similar to solas’s Vasteras logo concept. The grey and yellow/orange-yellow palette probably shouldn’t be used for two teams in the same league.
 
Stockholm Vikings: I don’t like the Vikings idea, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a bad one. The term “viking,” being a modern catch-all, feels really tacky for this location.
 
The logo feels very… cookie cutter. I don’t know how else to describe it. And, like I mentioned earlier, do we really need the text? A good logo should be able to stand alone without big text telling you what it’s supposed to be.
 
Vasteras Iron Eagles: Yay, great, another Swedish team. Again, like I said for Germany, having two teams in the European league in the same country is weak and unoriginal. We would optimally choose between Stockholm and Vasteras.
 
People who have been around for a while are in love with bringing Vasteras back, but I can’t really think of a great reason why this is a great idea. I don’t understand the significance of eagles in Vasteras because a bunch of the google search results are about the Vasteras Black Eagles hockey team……………………………………………..
 
The eagle is a really cool idea for a team because of its spiritual meaning (much of which would probably be from native or indigenous beliefs), but the iron eagles? Why?
 
Solas’s logo is cool, but again, the color scheme wouldn’t be great with the gladiator logo if we decide to move forward with both of those.
 
I’ll finish out my VHLE section by saying that 1) I know that I didn’t offer any constructive feedback, which is why it’s in a media spot and not in the voting thread and 2) I think the idea of a whole league in Europe is boring. I will not be elaborating.
 
Although I am already able to claim this article as-is for three weeks, I’m still going to tack on my thoughts on the Elmebeck. If I wait, then it will probably be around or post-awards, and I don’t want anyone to take my thoughts as a direct attack. It’s not an attack on any member, just some thoughts I’ve had on the topic for a while.
 
I don’t see why we feel the need to give out this award every season. The Elemebeck is described as the following in the VSN Awards Show:
 
“On now to one of the most meaningful awards the VHL has to offer: the Frederik Elmebeck Trophy. Named in the honor of Frederik Elmebeck, a wonderful man who engaged our community with incredible passion and positivity before he was taken from us all far too soon, this award is to honor the lasting legacy of Elmebeck by recognizing the member who best served the VHL community.”
 
This award, in my very humble and unimportant opinion, is meant to be given to someone who demonstrated an exceptional dedication to the league and made a notable contribution during a specific season. Victor recently made a few posts pushing for more nominations for the award, which makes me think that there haven’t been many nominations. That tells me that 1) there wasn’t really anybody this season who did exceptional work and/or 2) people aren’t in agreement about what “exceptional” means.
 
It seems, to me, that it somewhat defeats the purpose of the award if we give it out every season out of obligation. I think that it ought to be amended to have nominations open every season, but the BoG reserves the right to say “there weren’t really any great candidates this season” without it being a huge deal. It’s not necessarily a bad thing to not have anyone stand out for doing great things, it (hopefully) just means that we’ve had a quiet season where things ran smoothly and without a hitch.
 
Are there ways that this idea could be terrible? Absolutely. We risk losing the award because it gets forgotten or we subconsciously raise the standard for the award to the point where no one can really win it without getting torn to shreds for not being good enough. I recognize that, but at the same time, I still think that the Elmebeck can, and will, lose its significance if we start giving it out simply because we “have to.”
 
Anyway, I think that concludes my thoughts here. I truthfully wasn’t expecting this article to end up as long as it did.
 
I’m finishing this out by saying that, although this should go without saying, these are simply my thoughts. I’m not going on a crusade about anything mentioned here, I’m not interested in fighting people about what was said here, and nothing said was meant to be an attack on any individual. (I’m saying this specifically because of my comments on logos. I don’t do graphics, I’m unqualified to comment on them, and I didn’t offer any way to get better. I acknowledge that and simply don’t care.)
 
Finally, I don't proofread, and I don't intend to start now.
 
Cheers,
fishy
 
this article is over 2000 words, so i'll be claiming for the next 4 weeks beginning week ending 7/4

I also don't really understand what this means (also from sask.) but do you man. Whatever makes you happy.