Another season in the VHLM comes and then goes, and here we are ready for the off-season with so much to look back on. The Houston Bulls recently finished their S93 run after experiencing disappointing back to back second round exits in S91 and S92. After a crazy season in S92, it was foot back on the pedal in S93 for the Bulls to find the playoffs and seek redemption of a finals appearance. With only one player returning on the roster, it was now right to the draft board to scheme up a plan of a "core" to our blank roster.
Goaltender Herald Benson @Benson made his return this season in hopes of leading this franchise to another deep playoff run. Benson played the backup role through the S92 playoffs and was ready for his shot at glory this time around. I made it very clear to Benson that Houston management wanted him in our crease and that we would not be drafting another goaltender. Instead, I decided to make a trade for some skaters. Elf Shoes @ELF_SH0ES and Charlie Klepacki @chuck.hockey7 flew west from Miami after being traded for a future 1st round pick. I figured the addition of these two developed forwards could make my draft decisions much easier. Fast forward and the first round of the S93 VHLM Dispersal Draft ends with the Houston crickets chirping. It was not until the 16th pick in the second round when Houston stepped onto the floor, taking Houston's AGM and assistant captain, Billy Joel @The goat of hockey. Later followed captain Filip Zinek @FiZi, and assistant captain Wladyslaw Mintus @mintusaurus followed shortly after. Last but not least, Cole Stermer @Bazeus finished the Bulls' draft and our "core" was starting to become of shape. Once the draft completed and some time rolled on before the regular season started, two waiver players put the pen to paper. S94 players Hulk Smash @Cuffy and Tommy James Longpre @TJ Longpre finalized the Houston Bulls S93 starting roster:
G - (S93) Herald Benson
LW - (S93) Elf Shoes
C - (S93) Charlie Klepacki
D - (S93) Billy Joel
LW - (S93) Filip Zinek
D - (S93) Wladyslaw Mintus
RW - (S93) Cole Stermer
LW - (S94) Hulk Smash
LW - (S94) Tommy James Longpre
The regular season was ready to commence and Houston's 6-2-1 roster looked to be one of the most competitive when compared with the rest of the VHLM teams. The Bulls came out seeing red! Winning 13 of the first 20 games played, Houston was a competitor in the competitive Western Conference featuring Las Vegas and Saskatoon. Not to mention, sitting above all to start the season was two hot Eastern conference teams. Halifax and Ottawa had an allergy for losing, making this race for the VHLM title a tough one. Houston fell a bit in stride after this 20 game milestone and a small gap was occurring. Luckily a young talented center decided on Houston! A Tsunami rolls into town as Johnny Tsunami @Vice joins the Bulls on his search for hardware and the S94 VHL draft. The entrance of Tsunami really brought me hope in our offence. I felt I had left our all-star goaltender out to dry with the short bench I created. The trade deadline was approaching and another trade was needed to be done if Houston wanted any chance at a finals appearance. San Diego was looking for a rebuild and two defenders is deeply what Houston needed. Ray Stanton @horoscope was leading the Marlins charge and was now relied on to play a big part in Houston's charge. LaClapbomb Hitstick IV @Greasy Gary would also come east with Stanton to fill Houston's defensive depth in his rookie campaign. The two ex-Marlins were excited to be part of a potentially deep playoff run and so was I.
Trade deadline came and so did the date for players to recreate for the S95 draft. A pleasant surprise came to my DMs when Ukrainian winger Konstyantyn Shevchenko @der meister of the Austrian ICE hockey league wanted to become a Houston Bull. The depth winger has a lot of potential and was placed on the first line to bond with Czechian captain Filip Zinek. As well as Shevchenko, another global hockey player made their way to the Houston Bulls locker room this season. Samsayz I-Smell @CaptainSB made the long trek from Antarctica and brought a funny stench as well. With that the roster was complete and the Bulls had a first round playoff series to get ready for. After clinching a spot in the S93 playoffs so early on in the season, the race for position of seeding was on! Houston went on a 13 game winning streak to finish our S93 regular season, outscoring teams 46-15. This boosted the team's morale and to put it into short terms, we were buzzin'. After tying Saskatoon for 1st place in the Western Conference with 98 points, only to lose by ROW, Houston would finish S93 in the 4th seed.
Playoffs quickly came and the stinkin' Las Vegas Aces were on the menu. All season long Las Vegas and Houston traded games with Las Vegas having a 7-3 regular season record. The Bulls seemed to be unstoppable as of late and that is exactly what happened after five games. Houston would move on to the second round for the third season in a row, this time to see the 1st seed Ottawa Lynx. Quick history lesson:
S91: Houston loses 2nd round 4-3 to 1st seed Saskatoon; Saskatoon wins Cup
S92: Houston loses 2nd round 4-2 to 1st seed Philadelphia; Philadelphia wins Cup
If history was to repeat itself, we were screwed. I had a lot of confidence in this series since of the 13 game win streak to end the season, Ottawa was 2 of those games. The series started off like a ping pong match, Games 1 and 2 with the series tied at 1-1... Games 3 and 4 with the series tied at 2-2. Then we headed to single day sims, Games 5 and 6... series tied at 3-3. Game 7 was needed to decide if Houston could break this 10 season Finals Appearance, "second round curse" that the Bulls have built to our franchise's name. Game 7 came and so did a lot of penalties before an Ottawa Lynx win. What a series, what a season, what a team. It was devastating to see that loss after such a good season. Starting off with only a franchise goalie in the crease, to filling out a roster, to a second round exit, I can not complain. Houston gave it our all this season and I am very proud of the consistency and effort this team showed me. The cherry on top is that Houston did not have to release anyone to inactivity!!! It makes me so happy to see everyone stick around for the run, even with someone getting engaged, someone broke an elbow... a lot of life getting in the way which is so okay! Thank you Bulls for making it another fun season even though we couldn't get a chance at that trophy. It did feel good to watch the Wild sweep the finals though lol.
The Future of Houston
(S93) G - Herald Benson: 326 TPE ->
(S93) D - Billy Joel: 246 TPE ->
(S94) C- Johnny Tsunami: 234 TPE ->
(S93) D - Ray Stanton: 238 TPE
(S93) D - Wladyslaw Mintus: 220 TPE ->
(S93) LW - Filip Zinek: 201 TPE ->
(S93) LW - Elf Shoes: 194 TPE ->
(S93) RW - Cole Stermer: 154 TPE ->
(S95) RW - Konstyantyn Shevchenko: 153 TPE ->
(S93) C - Charlie Klepacki: 138 TPE ->
(S95) D - Samsayz I-Smell: 117 TPE ->
(S94) LW - Hulk Smash: 99 TPE ->
(S93) D - LaClapbomb Hitstick IV: 98 TPE ->
(S94) LW - Tommy James Longpre: 73 TPE ->
The S94 VHL draft is coming up and 3 Houston Bulls will be eligible! Johnny Tsunami, Hulk Smash and Tommy James Longpre are all S94 VHL draft eligible players in Houston's discord!
What are Management plans? We secured the right amount of picks to be pick compliant again this season and look to use those picks to draft some more studs. Houston is always looking to be competitive and future draft eligibility will have to be dealt with, but should be an easy fix. For myself, I'd like to make it publicly clear that I would like to apply for the position of Riga GM once that opens. I have completed 8 seasons as Houston GM and I am ready for more, but I feel like I am also ready for something bigger now. This will be my first time applying for a VHL GM role so I am very excited!
.png.ed69a7260a477fcf4feead7a0e4b7506.png)
.png.85a3491f02aabb18397b5a7afd356440.png)
.thumb.png.7bfa47214f2b318864cff6f7d52c75a2.png)
