Alex

Welcome back @tinafrombobsburgers!

@LucyXpher Hey everybody! Welcome to the S97 VHL Season Preview. After another offseason, albeit quieter than usual, with only a handful of major trades, the North American Conference is still a bloodbath, while the EU has only 4 competitive teams. North American Conference 1 - Vancouver Wolves Forward Rank - 3rd Defense Rank - 1st Goalie Rank - 5th Conference Rank - 6th League Rank - 1st Coming off a Continental Cup, it would make sense that the Vancouver Wolves are the favourites once again and by a considerable gap to the rest of their conference. The offseason saw some reshuffling due to cap concerns, with King Kisslinger and Erik Thorvaldsson going out, and all of Celise Pereira @asteria, Einar Mathiesen @xsjack, Scrungle Bungle @Novanod, and Eno Velvson @Nykonax joining the team. This accomplished Vancouver’s main goal of keeping their high TPA core intact, though it cost them some depth. Vancouver should cruise to the top of their conference this season, but the question remains if losing their depth will make a impact to their overall success? 2 - Calgary Wranglers Forward Rank - 2nd Defense Rank - 7th Goalie Rank - 9th Conference Rank - 3rd League Rank - 6th The Calgary Wranglers are essentially running it back this season as they made no trades of consequence through the offseason and had one call up with Wladyslaw Mintus @mintusaurus. They will be needing their top-end forwards to live up to their paychecks this season or it could realistically be over before the playoffs. This season, Calgary will have to prove that their regular season success in S96 wasn’t a fluke, and they will be looking to build off of their conference finals appearance last time out. 3 - New York Americans Forward Rank - 4th Defense Rank - 9th Goalie Rank - 2nd Conference Rank - 4th League Rank - 7th The New York Americans could very well be the big surprise of this season, their core is hitting their prime and they have the cap space to add towards the trade deadline. They swung big in the offseason, adding George Richmond @badcolethetitan and a backup goalie in exchange for the 2nd overall pick and Tommy Shelby. The trade does give them a true franchise center that will hopefully work hand in hand with franchise defensemen Callum Gary Yannick Janser @Daniel Janser, who is primed for a massive season. This should be an interesting one in New York as the team will be needing players to perform at high levels for them to have success. 4 - Toronto Legion Forward Rank - 7th Defense Rank - 3rd Goalie Rank - 3rd Conference Rank - 2nd League Rank - 4th The Toronto Legion are an interesting one this season. S96 was an absolute failure by any measure, and with a new GM they swung big, adding Konstyantyn Shevchenko @der meister at the cost of their entire future. With that being said, most teams in the conference improved in the offseason, whereas Toronto really is no better than they were last season, which is the main reason why they are lower down then their rankings would suggest. Toronto really has only one more kick at the can before a massive rebuild process. This season is the definition of a all-or-nothing season for the Legion. 5 - Chicago Phoenix Forward Rank - 10th Defense Rank - 6th Goalie Rank - 7th Conference Rank - 5th League Rank - 8th The Chicago Phoenix had a small retool in the offseason as they had to bring in a couple players to replace retirements. Chicago’s season is fairly dependent on the performance of Ryan Artyomov @Enorama who could be an early favourite for the Shaw. The addition of rookie Boris Bone-Breaker @RileyL could be a huge one for Chicago as they will bring a massive physical presence to their blue-line. On paper, Chicago is fairly average, however, they do have 2.5 million in spare cap space to improve the roster as the season progresses. 6 - Seattle Bears Forward Rank - 9th Defense Rank - 8th Goalie Rank - 1st Conference Rank - 6th League Rank - 9th Once again, the North American Conference has 6 competitive teams, and with only 5 making the playoffs somebody will miss the playoffs. In all likelihood, the team that misses won’t be Seattle since they have been known to outperform expectations for some time. As of right now, however, we do have them on the outside looking in. Seattle’s success will likely come down to the league’s top goalie in Giorgiy Costanzov @Mongoose87. Time will tell if the Bears can outperform expectations again and make the playoffs. 7 - D.C. Dragons Forward Rank - 11th Defense Rank - 11th Goalie Rank - 10th Conference Rank - 7th League Rank - 11th The DC Dragons are without a doubt the best team that is rebuilding and without a doubt would make the playoffs in the European Conference. They have a couple pieces starting to come together with Brandon Petan Jr @sadie and Youre Not Fucking Retiring @twists now on the roster, and Albin Aldgard @animal74 who will be in the VHL next season. The only real area for concern at this point in the rebuild is that they’ll need pieces to round out the roster and should be in the market for a top goaltending prospect that will develop with the team. 8 - Los Angeles Stars Forward Rank - 14th Defense Rank - 16th Goalie Rank - 8th Conference Rank - 8th League Rank - 15th The Los Angeles Stars right now are fairly confusing. They appeared to be on their way out of a rebuild last season, and then at the last moment traded away all the assets that made them competitive and were then left with a handful of first round picks (which they used well), and a couple really bad contracts. This season will be terrible for LA as they find themselves well at the bottom of the conference, and with a confusing direction forward. The only bright spot at the moment will be Roger Eagles @Greg_Di as they’ll have to be absolutely elite for LA to win a few games. European Conference 1 - HC Davos Dynamo Forward Rank - 1st Defense Rank - 2nd Goalie Rank - 11th Conference Rank - 1st League Rank - 2nd Last season’s European Conference champion, Davos finds themselves in a dead heat with Vancouver for the number 1 spot on paper, with a very small margin between them and a considerable gap to everybody else. Davos swung big in the offseason, adding Gianfranco del Rocco @Victor and Sunset Moth @McWolf via trade, THE MIGHTY ICE WIZARD @Royski in free agency, and Taavetti Jokinen @Ahma during the draft. Davos will lean heavily on their offense this season and we can probably expect a huge breakout season from Antonia Bucatini @CowboyinAmerica and Felicia Hardy @JCarson who will be looking to help carry Davos to the next level. The only real question mark is in goal with Aleksanteri Kaskiniemi-Kekkonen @Snussu, who is a step below other top-end starting goalies, but does have the support group in front of them to help them succeed. The sky is the limit this season for Davos, but by no means will it be an easy run. 2 - Moscow Menace Forward Rank - 6th Defense Rank - 4th Goalie Rank - 13th Conference Rank - 3rd League Rank - 5th On paper, the Moscow roster is very similar to Davos’s high end scoring and top defensemen, but lacking a true star goaltender. However, the Moscow roster should continue to improve quickly over the season, which should help propel them ahead of Malmo. The big question for Moscow is if Maverick Goncalves @leandrofg and company can fill the gaping hole left by George Richmond, who was traded to New York for the 2nd overall draft pick. Assuming that they are up to the task, we could be looking at a 3rd straight Victory Cup for the Menace. Also, the addition of a 4th defensemen will help move the needle significantly and should allow for them to contend at the top of the conference yet again. 3 - Malmo Nighthawks Forward Rank - 8th Defense Rank - 5th Goalie Rank - 6th Conference Rank - 2nd League Rank - 3rd The Malmo Nighthawks have probably the highest ceiling and lowest floor in the league. If things go right there’s no reason why they can’t compete for the Victory Cup or even finally win an actual playoff series, something they haven’t done since S87. A large part of Malmo’s success will come down to how well Lucy Leitner @LucyXpher can fill the gap left by Jacob Stone @scoop. With no notable prospects, high-earning young players, or draft picks and with three of their top forwards retiring following this season, it’s cup or bust in Malmo, likely with a massive rebuild right around the corner. 4 - Riga Reign Forward Rank - 5th Defense Rank - 12th Goalie Rank - 4th Conference Rank - 4th League Rank - 10th The Riga Reign had a weird offseason, trading out Lucy Leitner and acquiring Simons Worst Nightmare @zepheter. The main benefit of this is that Riga is now primed to add at the trade deadline, they could use their $6 million in cap space to make massive improvements and will still safely make the playoffs in a relatively uncompetitive European Conference. They should also be able to stay in the race for a top three spot thanks to Red Panda @Lemorse7 and their high-end forwards, specifically Severus Targaryen @Banackock who will be looking to duplicate last season’s successes, and Axle Gunner @Steve. It’s worth remembering that this Riga team is only 2 seasons removed from winning it all and, without a doubt, they know how to do it again 5 - Prague Phantoms Forward Rank - 15th Defense Rank - 10th Goalie Rank - 14th Conference Rank - 5th League Rank - 12th The Prague Phantoms are the first of four European Conference teams that are still in full-rebuild mode, however they are certainly on their way out. The addition of Erik Thorvaldsson @Tetricide makes a big difference this season, but with no notable forwards or top end, the trade does leave some question marks, especially because they do have two high end defensemen in the system already. It will be a long season for Prague, and they’ll likely make the playoffs, which they might not want to do at the cost of a better draft pick. 6 - London United Forward Rank - 13th Defense Rank - 13th Goalie Rank - 15th Conference Rank - 6th League Rank - 13th Similarly to Prague, London is also on their way out, but do have more notable young players already on their roster with Drosmis Sarkanis @Mr Bohannan, Alagsantere Groenvold @VattghernCZ, and Chazz Michael Michaels @Xflexz. Additionally, they did get the top two forward prospects in the last draft to round out their future forward group. London is going in the right direction and will be looking to add another piece in the S98 draft. 7 - Helsinki Titans Forward Rank - 12th Defense Rank - 15th Goalie Rank - 16th Conference Rank - 7th League Rank - 14th Of all the rebuilding teams, Helsinki probably has the longest road, with only one notable prospect in Hugh Neutron @Corco already on the roster and no other truly elite players in the system, they will have to continue to draft and develop players for at least two more seasons. On the positive side of things, they do have a mountain of draft picks to do it, including Malmo’s S99 1st which will likely at least be in the middle of the first round. 8 - Warsaw Predators Forward Rank - 16th Defense Rank - 14th Goalie Rank - 12th Conference Rank - 8th League Rank - 16th Warsaw is already focusing on the S98 draft where they have 4 1st round picks, two of which could be in the lottery. As for this season, it will be a long one as Slava Kovalenko @OblivionWalker is realistically the team’s only bright spot. Thank you for reading this season’s VHL preview and best of luck to everyone! 2017 words - Claiming as a media spot

F - Harry Callahan F - Maverick Goncalves @comrade cat

Season 97 could be a interesting one, for both Davos and my player. I decided to take some time to gather my thoughts before the season, and heck I’ll toss the Davos captaincy announcement in here too, because I can! Deadpanda: It’s weird going into a season as the starting goalie for a team that is the direct challenger to the team you GM, this is essentially the reason why I would prefer to play in the NA but will stick it out with Moscow long-term if there’s no trade. I have also been told that there were some talks around my player, with them heading to a rebuilding NA team, one where I would be open to a long-term contract, so long as they are going in a good direction (by the looks of things they are). So, whether or not I’ll actually be playing for Moscow is still a little unknown. As for my goals, anything short of the All-VHL Rookie Team will be disappointing, there’s only 2 other notable rookie goalies though, so it could be a fun race. Would be really nice to win ROTY, but I guess time will tell what happens here. HC Davos Dynamo: We had a fairly busy offseason with needing to trade up to 9th in the draft to take Tavetti Jokinen, trading out Ben Lass, brining Sunset Moth back to the team, and lastly we made what could have been the biggest trade of the offseason when we acquired Gianfranco del Rocco for Forum Content and a couple picks. It was a very successful offseason in my opinion as we improved our offense and got younger overall. It was really nice to finally get a del Rocco trade done as it’s something we had been trying to do since the S93 draft. The main goal for this season in Davos is simple, win the cup. S97 Davos Captaincy Announcement: With expectations being higher than recent seasons, we are very happy that we have a good mix of veterans and “rookie” to lead us this season, you S97 Davos Captains are: Captain: Tavetti Jokinen Drafted with the 9th overall pick in the S97 draft, Jokinen embodies everything Davos. Currently Jokinen is a very solid defensive defensemen, which should work perfectly and complement their partner well. In the locker room, Jokinen is probably the most vocal player and is without a doubt Davos’s biggest fan. Alternate Captain: Antonia Bucatini After being drafted 1st overall in the S93 draft, Bucatini has been an integral part of Davos since. Currently Bucatini has 101 goals and 158 assists for a total of 259 points through 216 VHL games along with winning top rookie honours in S94. Alternate Captain: Grimgor Ironhide Since joining Davos in S94, Ironhide has been the team’s top offensive contributor never having less than 85 points and 40 goals! Ironhide has been an alternate captain for the majority of their time in Davos and that run continues this season. Anyways, that just about does it good luck this season to everyone, except Spartan. Mentions: 511 words

Personally, I do think that it was a very good trade for right now. However, where it benefits Helsinki is with half of the Malmo forward core retiring this season, a minimal forward market, no notable prospects coming up to replace them, and near zero trade assets to bring in other forwards could leave Malmo outside of the playoffs in S98, making that 1st suddenly a lottery pick, if not likely in the 7-10 range would could deliver a better player than every asset received in the trade (maybe with the exemption of Shaw, if their earning recovers considerably).

@Agito skipped, @Gustav please pick 2

D - Callum Gary Yannick Janser D - Yaboi Oven @comrade cat

Hi

@Gustav you have 12 hours

1. @Gustav F - George Richmond F - Logan Ninefingers F - Spanish Moon Moth D - Guntis Gavrilovs D - Lazlo Holmes G - Soju 2. @Agito DQ F - Jarmo Ruutu F - Antonia Bucatini F - Raimo Tuominen D - Tommy Sleeves D - Jillian Woods G - Spider Panda 3. @Gaikoku-hito F - Severus Targaryen F - Riley Martin F - Pierre Marc Bouchard D - Lucy Leitner D - Bollos de Trueno G - WWWWWWWWWWWW WWWWWWWWWWWW 4. @MexicanCow123 F - Axle Gunner F - Grimgor Ironhide F - David Rashford D - Obuz Schneider Canet du Bocage D - Andrew Skilton G - Red Panda 5. @comrade cat F - Savaisk Tsezar F - Phillip Rave F - Eric White Jr. D - Leif Reingaard D - DB IV G - Jorgen Lovstron 6. @Alex (GM) F - Harry Callahan F - Maverick Goncalves F - Toby Kadachi D - Callum Gary Yannick Janser D - Yaboi Oven G - Giorgiy Costanzov

1. Toronto misses the playoffs again 2. For my player it's to win ROTY 3. YUKON RUSH!!!! 4. I always enjoy the draft 5. Nikoli Khabibulin 6. Weird trade, will be interesting to see if Kakko can revitalize their career

hi

Hi

3.5

2

Hi

Hi

My bad, I was working under the assumption that it was 3 weeks. Will be 30 days by the start of the season anyways, it also could be 30 days by now depending on when he last updated. But I do understand the grey area.

Hi

IA position change @Commissioner https://vhlportal.com/players/playerfocus/6047

6

Hi

Transaction ID: 1S6880411X355550G $10 for @Snussu and myself.