AJW

HOUSTON BULLS PRESSER!
Hello and welcome to this week's Houston Bulls Presser! Playoffs are here and the off-season is upon us. The Bulls had a great S93 and look to refuel for the next season! Please answer each question to your best ability.

Answer three questions for 1 capped TPE or six questions for 2 capped TPE!
For the Week Ending May 12th, here are your questions!
 
1. That's a wrap! The S93 playoffs end with the Saskatoon Wild winning this season's Founder's Cup. What are your thoughts on Saskatoon's 4-0 series win against Ottawa? How would Houston have done if we had advanced?
2. How did your player do these playoffs? Did they come out of their shell from the regular season? Was it a quiet playoffs for your player?
3. Speaking of playoffs still, the NHL playoffs just finished their first round. Out of the remaining teams (New York R, Carolina, Colorado, Dallas, Boston, Florida, Edmonton, and Vancouver), which do you think has the best chance of winning the Stanley Cup?
4. The VHL off-season is just around the corner which gives not only your player, but everyone else a nice break of pace. What does your player do in their off-season? My player loves to start boozing around then.
5. I have been golfing so much lately that I decided to host a Houston Bulls Golf Tournament! All friends and family are invited, although I'm stuck on what the trophy will be... What should the winners of our golf tournament get? A trophy? $10 gazillion dollars?
6. I have also been using my bike a lot more lately (mainly because I bring my car to the shop tomorrow). Cardio sucks but I have always enjoyed bike riding. What is your favourite form of cardio if you had to choose one?
 
 
To claim TPE:
Go to the portal > Player > Manage > Claim Capped > Type > Press Conference

Thank you to everyone who participates in these pressers, I read all of your answers!
 
Let's Go Bulls!
 

Congrats to the S93 Founders Cup Champions, the Saskatoon Wild!
 

 

 
 
 

 

Jesus 

An archive of all of my written work and graphic posts so far on the forum. I did this mostly for myself so I could work backwards and reformat some of the older articles and keep track of series names and such.  The pieces below are ordered by date posted-- newest to oldest. Feel free to read or if you have any ideas for articles, I'm happy to discuss a request or collab!  
 
Pier 21: 
Pier 21: Season 93 Halifax 21st Team Awards
Pier 21: A Sacrifice to Simon
Pier 21: Into Deeper Waters
Pier 21: Full Steam Ahead
Pier 21: S93 Halifax 21st Official Roster Announcement
Pier 21: Landfall
Pier 21: Hello Halifax!
 
Halifax SuperSailor: 
Halifax SuperSailor #7 (S93 Playoffs Round 2): Maple Dogwood
Halifax SuperSailor #6 (S93 Playoffs Round 1): Andrew Skilton
Halifax SuperSailor #5 (S93 Week 5): Jon Webber III
Halifax SuperSailor #4 (S93 Week 4): John Season
Halifax SuperSailor #3 (S93 Week 3): Dorji Khan
Halifax SuperSailor #2 (S93 Week 2): Maple Dogwood
Halifax SuperSailor #1 (S93 Week 1): Alexandr Novotny
 
Lucy Leitner:
Lucy "Little Bites" Leitner
Lightspeed: Lucy Leitner
Breaking the 4th Wall: Season 92 and Draft Reflective
Pre-Draft Report: Lucy Leitner
Prospect Deep Dive: Lucy Leitner
Lightbringer: Lucy Leitner
Prospect Profile: Lucy Leitner
 
Running With the Bulls: 
Running With the Bulls: Tempting Fate
Running With the Bulls: Lange Lines
Running With the Bulls: Tending to Controversy
Running With the Bulls: H-Town Heat
Running With the Bulls: Tinker Tyler Sidney Spy
Running With the Bulls: BensonGPT
Running With the Bulls: Valtr Bílý
Running With the Bulls: Green...ish
Running With the Bulls: The Heisenberg Principle
Running With the Bulls: S92 Roster Primer

VSN Articles: 
VSN Presents - S92 Junior Showcase Tournament Recap
VSN Presents - The Season 92 Junior Showcase Tournament
 
Miscellaneous:
VHLM Playoffs: Round 2 Preview
Game 7 Prediction: Mexico City vs Miami Marauders
6-6-6 . . . 7? Predictions for Tonights VHLM Playoff Games
S92 VHLM Playoffs Preview
3 Midseason Signings Playing Big Roles for VHLM Teams
S92 VHLM All-Star Selections
S92 VHLM Trade Deadline: Top 3 Trades
S92 VHLM First Team All-Stars
3 VHLM Players to Watch in Week 3
3 VHLM Rookies to Watch in Week 2
 
Graphics:
Halifax 21st Re-brand: Halifax Foxes
VUT Player Card
Lucy Leitner Signature Graphic
 

Hey Fellow VHL enthusiasts,
 
I've got a silly but true article for you today. Today I present with you a solid case in why the new S95 player Samsayz I-Smell should be drafted last in the upcoming VHLM draft. Yeah, you read it right, it should be drafted last! Please follow along with me as when you are provided with evidence, you can only agree to draft it last.
 
There are a total of 24 prospects in the S95 class. This means there are 23 other competitors to the last pick for I-Smell. Let's go!
 
Case 1: Not in the Top 7 TPE
Smart GMs should value TPE as it is the main source of improving your player. In this class there 7 amazing users ahead of I-Smell. And it is even an ice mix of positions - you get a goalie in Roger Eagles, 3 wings in Konstyantyn Shevchenko, Phil Sakic and Tim Robinson and 3 defenders in Ahsoka Tano, Alphonse Desjardins, and Boris Bone-Breaker. Who would be stupid to pass up on these 7 top players in the league? Be smart and follow what smart GMs would be and value the top TPE users.
 
Case 2: Junior Showcase Tourney GMs know something
Now on top of smart GMs, there are the junior showcase tourney GMs that spend their free time and energy to get to know the prospects more and coach them. If you look at this class you have 6 of the top 7 tpe players going ahead but you also have the hidden gem Ronan Amnon who was a fellow defender go ahead of I-Smell. The JST GMs must know something. Ronan is a dope name and also a very active user in Breeze who asks the smart questions and is very active on discord. A great locker room presence so a great pick up for sure.
 
Case 3: Lack Veteran Experience and Presence
One thing that Minors GMs understand is having a mature leader on the team. There are starters that shine and overachieve because of their leadership, veteran presence and experience. These are the type of players that started early in their youth and have blossomed. There are two types of veterans - one that are really active and have tons of posts. These are players like Meghan Dancalot, Justin Rike, An Actual Holy Cow, Miles Bryant, Einar Mathiesen, and Inker Belle. These are the sure things of the draft with strong activity and history, understanding of the league and the experience to get them quickly overachieving. And the next tier to this is the duo of Cody Cobberson and Harvey Khabibulin who are a tier below the 6 but have been in the league since 2020 and 2019 respectively and have both 28 posts. All 8 would make for a better and safer pick over I-Smell.
 
Case 4: Lack Playoff Excellence aka Flop
Of the 7 remaining, there is one player that joined a bit later than I-Smell but excelled in the playoffs. I-Smell had a solid regular season but really flopped in his two series at Houston costing them the playoff title run. Unlike the 17 games of +15 and 10 points for Houston, I-Smell went an embarrassing -1 over 12 games scoring only 2 points. There were rumors that global bookies were paying off I-Smell with offshore accounts and since I-Smell is from Antarctica his bank accounts can't be properly traced by the VHL authorities. On the flip side there is defensemen Carl Erhardt who only played 2 games in the regular season for Halifax but also had +3 over 11 games. He really was there for 21st as they lost out in the semi finals. If you are a smart minors GM, don't you want a more proven playoff performer who is clutch and does not choke when the lights are on the brightest and is not connected or even remotely rumored to be connected to shady offshore sportbooks and brokers? I would too!
 
Case 5: Why Draft Someone Used When You Can Draft a Shiny New Prospect
I-Smell has already played 17 games and as shown in the playoffs his game is starting to show and being dissected by the coaches. People now know who and what this player is and the strengths and limitations of the player,. On the flip side, there are brand new hot prospects that joined the league. Why not go for a brand new prospect that has a potential to be a superstar over a slightly used old rookie that flopped the prior season?
Rookies that are going up the draft boards are new prospects Damo Garland, Charles Derfler, Shawn Marijekese, Shooter McDangles, Connor McDavide and Sigma Ohio Rizzler. Drafting these 6 are like opening a brand new pack of player cards - you may get a rare gem! Who doesn't like opening player card packs and the lottery as it may change the future of the club for the next 1-2 seasons. 
 
Case 6: I Smell
As Samx can attest, I smell. Not just smell but I stink. Players I had managed in the ISFL and PBE all had stunk so there is higher probability with my sim luck you will be getting a stinky player. So why bother and take the risk when mentioned above there are so many better options? Also, I don't plan to answer anyone's discord messages and forum messages during the draft so all GMs will have to take a big gamble on whether Samsayz I-Smell is actually a legitimate prospect. He hails from mysterious Antarctica and no one really knows the guy. He may equally just vanish from the sport so he is a very high risk prospect.
 
Conclusion
Not a top TPE user. Junior Showcase Tourney GMs knew to draft him late. Lack veteran presence and has flopped in the playoffs. Not the shiny new prospect that can be a huge lottery win. And the fact I smell evidenced by the league smelling professional Samx.
 
I-Smell thus makes a perfect case for the last pick of the draft. In American football, there is a name for the last pick - "Mr Irrelevant." Samsayz I-Smell wants to revolutionize the draft thinking and make going last a cool and rare feat. What better to have this player go last in the VHLM, VHLE, and VHL drafts and have the pick named after I-Smell? If you are a smart GM, a savvy GM and not a stupid GM, you will be able to both logically, emotionally and rationally make a decision that I-Smell deserves to be the last pick and not worth even a flyer earlier.

Inspired from @CaptainSB's:
 

In his first season in the VHLM, Samsayz I-Smell had a great initial season. He joined late off waivers to the Houston Bulls playing backup defensive minutes to a veteran laden team. The team was already second in their division and was looking for some solid late minutes from the rookie. I-Smell came in early and had a bit of an adjustment as the team started slow into a 1-3 record. However as he became more acclimated to the team, the team and I-Smell came together and started to play better by the week. The team went on an incredible 15 or so game run and I-Smell kept playing solid minutes and assisting in many of the games. It became a good happy story of a hidden gem helping a team late. The season though fell a little short as with the crazy late run, Houston ended up tied with the eventual champions Wild as the top. What could have been had Houston took the tie breaker and had a different matchup! 
 
The Bulls ended up taking on their nemesis the Las Vegas Aces. The two teams battled hard as they had done during the season. During the season, Las Vegas had the better of the two having won the last two games with the current squad. Also, Las Vegas has a history of having beat Houston in the playoffs so this was a litmus test to see how far Houston had come under the GM, AJ. However, in this playoffs the team would not go down quietl y and fought tooth to nail. With Vice leading the scoring and I-Smell playing solid defensive backup minutes the team went on a great 4-1 series win over the Aces and made easy work over their nemesis. The Teams had some rough battles in between with many penalties and body blows taken, but the good teams always seem to prevail in these moments and Houston went on to the semi-finals against Ottawa.
 
In the matchup against Ottawa, the two teams were locked in a battle. The two teams went to game 7 in a stellar contest with both sides exchanging constant blows. Neither team would want to be denied and both thought they were destined. The two teams would constantly take one game a piece with the other winning the next one. Houston decided to rely on their more veteran starting lineup so I-Smell played more cheerleader and started to defer to the captains of the team. And the strategy worked like magic as Houston ended up with the great series 7 game. However, the team ended up falling slightly short as Ottawa, division winners, just were too much offensively for the Bulls. The better team had unfortunately won, but Ottawa ended up being swept by the Wild in the finals. 
 
Had the seeding been different, the Bulls can only wonder what could have been once again as the Bulls were favored over the other teams in the playoffs. It was just a bad luck case of bad matchup and Houston will go into the offseason looking to figure out how their GM can overcome the disappointment of the playoffs and build off the strong finish to the regular season. I-Smell is not sure what the future entails but has really enjoyed a fun rookie season.

Samsayz I-Smell is going into the offseason with a nice taste of the league and eager to learn and experience more.
Where does it go from here? He had not been this long away from the Artics and is adjusting to living in warmer temperatures.
He has still a ways to go as experienced during the playoffs and he hopes to add more strength and speed to his game.
The game gets more physical during the playoffs and Samsayz needs to be a professional and work on his body during the offseason.
He is hoping for a nice playoff run in his next minor league season so he is going to be very disciplined in his approach.
He is getting a nice hefty diet and hopes to be. the first and last out of the gym so he can show big progress for the start of next season.
He hopes to be the future of the defensive line and hopes he can get another opportunity in Houston before he potentially gets pulled into the Euro leagues.

This is a sad ending to the Houston Bulls run. The team had started off the season strong and had an amazing late season run for the ages. With the late season acquisitions, the Bulls went on a tearing 15 game run and were on point to do something that wasn't possible. Their goal was to finally beat Las Vegas and then get to the finals with a veteran group. The team started off strong taking down Las Vegas in 5 games with the team scoring in bunches. The team's strength though out the season had been the veteran wings and the scoring in munches mentality. However, it was not to be against Ottawa. Ottawa beat Houston in the decisive game 7 and the teams going back and forth. The two teams were locked in battles exchanging wins and losses. Houston wouldn't be denied and go down easy so they gave it all their shots relying a bit more on their veterans in the semi-finals. However, Ottawa came out victorious and Houston's dream season came down crashing. Houston will need to regroup and add to the veteran line up this coming offseason and hope they can finally achieve their championship with the core in tact.

1. The first round was the key moment for us in Houston. I would have rather beat Las Vegas than lose in the finals as Vegas is our rival and has a stinky user on that team
 
2. We can so close to winning and felt had we won the tie breaker our future might have been different and we would have won it all. But giving the top team all it could handle in game 7 was amazing. We can only go up from here.
 
3. The physicality and how it leads to competitiveness. Each go harder and the refs seem to be more lax on the rules so both teams bashing each other to see who is left standing makes the playoffs fun!
 
4. I am doing my best to go last in every draft I am eligible for! Wish me luck!
 
5. I thought Halifax would have won but who saw Saskatoon Wild win the series and go out on top. We should be there on top with the championship trophies instead.
 
6. You should travel and just enjoy the experience. Don't go looking to sight see, just enjoy the city as is and be a local!

@der meister

Following an unfortunate defeat to the Saskatoon Wild, the offseason for the Halifax 21st came earlier than they might have hoped, and with that comes changes.  While the roster is expected to change significantly before the puck drops on Season 94, there is also some change going on behind the scenes in the Halifax front office.  

After nearly a full year of service as the Halifax AGM, @Will3 will be parting ways with the team, hopefully to pursue new management opportunities in the higher leagues.  In his time with the team, he made great contributions in the locker room and on the forums and was a great help to both the previous GM and myself.  I'd like to thank Will for his consistency, professionalism, and willingness to help the team any way he could.  I'm sure he'll be a fantastic addition wherever he lands next in a management role.
 
As a replacement, the Halifax 21st are proud to announce the hiring of @ace_five_ as the new AGM.  As a player on the team last season, he was a great leader in the locker room and it was clear that he definitely had the aptitude for leadership and management.  He had a brief stint as AGM for Miami this past season and this offseason he'll be GMing the Steel in the JST.  I'm very excited to be able to add such an enthusiastic member to our management team who is also well known in the Halifax community and I look forward to working more closely with him towards a Founder's Cup!
༻❁༺

Deja Vu. Good luck Ottawa

Shev showed up but way too many penalties.
 
GG Ottawa. 

as long as Ottawa win im ok with this

GGs Ottawa! What a series!! Good luck next round 🔥
 
Houston we battled hard, I’m proud of all of y’all 

Awesome name

its better than awesome

Awesome name

Applying!

Player Information
Username: nurx
Player Name: An Actual Holy Cow
Recruited From: Returning
Age: 16
Position: RW
Height: 80 in.
Weight: 140 lbs.
Birthplace: Holy See

Player Page
@VHLM GM

Nikolas Kauppi is my first-generation player, and I gotta say...I'm proud of what I built. Played 2 seasons in the M, 1 in the E, and the rest all in Prague for the VHL. Had a crazy sophomore slump and was denied the Funk trophy the following season by one vote (yeah I'm still hurt by it ). Continued to be ~80 point producer up until this season. I'll add it up to the slider changes that were implemented, but I'm not complaining. I'm just happy he was finally able to break the 100 point barrier and basically do cartwheels on the ice. I originally intended him to be a power forward, but his hits pale in comparison to those who have a more gritty build. Despite no individual awards (probably not this season either, but I'm not waiting to find out before posting this), Kauppi was a part of Oslo's back-to-back Renaissance Cup wins as well as Prague's first ever Continental Cup. I created Bobbus Dingus, an interviewer who had a strange friendship with Kauppi. I make more graphics than articles, but who's to say Bobbus won't be back for my Thorvaldsson era... It's bitter-sweet as I close out the final chapter of Kauppi, but now it's time for him to retire and learn how to use a 9 iron.

Great series Saskatoon! Good luck in the finals

Let's go! Hopefully Shevchenko can show up for 7!

Boo. Bounce back bulls