dogwoodmaple

1. We turn off the AC at their team hotel so they get overheated and cannot play well. 2. Pepperoni and (I'm not counting cheese since that's like a base layer) ground beef! And slightly spicy! 3. I think we should make them walk to and from the arena until they get going again. No car, no train, no rides. 4. Absolutely. Only a matter of time! 5. Need our offense to stay efficient 6. Probably MAPLE DOGWOOD! We made the playoffs after I joined, didn't we?

As a young man growing up in the metro Atlanta area, I never imagined hockey would be my preferred sport. Like most kids my age, it was baseball, basketball, and football - in fact, I'm not even sure if we had a hockey rink within a half hour of my house. That all changed one day, but in a way I never would've never anticipated. It didn't start with a dad in love with hockey, a mom from Canada, or distance relatives from more hockey friendly regions. No, it started with a maple tree in my backyard. We didn't have many trees in our moderately sized yard and most of them were pines. But there was one rather magnificent maple tree that stood quite literally above the rest. The story was that when my parents bought their first house right when they got married, all they could afford in the way of lawn decorations and landscaping was a single maple tree. My dad was famously bad at keeping plants alive, but somehow this maple tree thrived. It withstood winters, brutally hot summers, and near-drought conditions from time to time. But what it most famously withstood was the multiple times my parents moved before buying the house I grew up in. Each time they moved, they had the tree uprooted and replanted and despite all of that shock to the maple, it continued to thrive. And it didn't just thrive in terms of staying healthy, it grew and grew and grew. It had to be the tallest tree I'd ever seen, but I was also very young, so take that into account. It far outpaced our other trees and only continued to spring upwards year after year. That is, until the Great Storm rolled through. The Great Storm was a rare ice storm that hit Atlanta especially hard when I was nine years old. The temperature got below 0 and it snowed for days. Most of the pine trees in our neighborhood were casualties, but the maple stood strong. The forecast predicted a break in the storm and eventual warming temperatures on the coming Sunday and we knew if we could just make it to then, our beloved maple would survive. I awoke at the crack of dawn that Sunday and raced downstairs to see the backyard, where my dad was already standing, silently. We lost the maple that night and it's enormous trunk lay strewn across the backyard. I cried for hours, and my dad, ever the one to console me, hatched a plan to cheer me up. I couldn't stand to have the maple just die there, so my dad started carving it up into keepsakes. Coffee mugs, cutting boards, the usual. When he asked what I wanted him to carve, my gut was to say a baseball bat because that was my favorite sport. But I looked all around the yard and saw nothing but ice and snow and it hit me like a ton of bricks. I wanted a hockey stick, made out of pure maple, and handcarved by my beloved father. That isn't just what spawned my love of hockey, though, it also spawned my nickname - Maple. Ever since then, my dad started calling me that and it stuck throughout school, into college, and as I know head into the pros. You never quite know what'll guide your path in life. Hell, mine was a tree.

Game 415: Los Angeles Stars vs. Malmo Nighthawks Los Angeles got out to a hot start in this game, relying on their precision passing and elite playmaking ability to pull away for the win. Malmo actually took an early 1-0 lead in the first period, but the Stars took offense to that. After Malmo's Savaisk Tzesa scored, Los Angeles found the back of the net for three unanswered goals, giving them a 3-1 lead after two periods. Scoring for the Stars were Adam Rage and Jon Webber Jr, the latter scoring a brace. This 3-1 lead turned out to be insurmountable for Malmo, despite getting within a whisker at 3-2 in the third. Los Angeles put two final nails in the coffin, thanks to Napoleon Dynamite and Sunglasses Joyo to seal the 5-2 victory for the Stars.

1. Not everybody is cut out to be a Philadelphia Reaper 2. Hard to say, I tend to go back and forth depending on what mood I'm in. 3. Two words - Maple Dogwood. Do I deserve it? Who's to really say. 4. 19 Lovstroms, give or take. 5. Coffee and toast. Enough caffeine to start the day and not something super heavy. 6. CHAMPIONS OF THE WORLD

Player Information Username: dogwoodmaple Player Name: Maple Dogwood Recruited From: SisterLeague Age: 18 Position: RW Height: 74 in. Weight: 195 lbs. Birthplace: United States of America Player Page @VHLM GM

92 7GY82779VM104464R Free Week (12 TPE Capped) 5 TPE Uncapped Doubles Week (6 TPE uncapped from a PT being done)

1. I was able to spend a lot of much needed time with family - it was phenomenal! 2. I really feel good about our chances to bring home the title this season. 3. Hopefully some people have some for me! 4. Activity is drinking coffee with Bailey's and watching Christmas movies 5. Absolutely not. 65F and rainy in Atlanta 6. I did not, but some of my friends won a round trip flight to anywhere in the continental USA

1. I think the main thing is that there's a ton of chaos in the league and all you can do it continue to grind hard every day 3. Honestly? I don't think anything at all. Great color scheme, great logo! 4. Trying to spend some relaxation time with friends and family 5. I think Davos brings home the title 7. Right now, TV shows. Just started Peaky Blinders after years of putting it off 8. Scrambled eggs...hard to beat!

1. I am pleased with our performance in the regular season - did what we needed to! 2. Probably my 516 shots. I wasn't afraid to let 'er rip this year 3. Absolutely. Offense is sexy, but if you can't stop your opponent you can't win a title. 6. Definitely football. I'm a huge Georgia Bulldog fan! 7. Okay I Believe You But My Tommy Gun Don't - Brand New 8. NO! A hot dog is its own separate and distinct entity. A hot dog.

2. I'd make each season longer because sometimes it feels like I blink and we're already in the playoffs. Would be more enjoyable with a little more methodical pace. 3. The Georgia Bulldogs! I'm a huge UGA fan IRL and would love to play for them here. 4. Wait, we don't have to play with wooden sticks anymore?! I've been hauling around a massive log of maple this whole time. 6. 31 - in honor of 4x Cy Young Award winner and HOFer Greg Maddux 7. Godzilla vs. Kong. Really entertaining overall 8. Pizza. Versatile, delicious, and checks every box

1. I think the main thing is just trusting our players to continue to work hard and get the job done 2. Right now the Zamboni driver. That man is giving us an absolutely ideal playing surface 3. No such thing as curses! We make our own luck. 4. I've been here for a while! Only thing that's changed has been which jersey I wear. 5. My favorite thing is representing the wonderful people of Davos on a nightly basis 8. I've thought about it some, but want to finish out this career on a high note. But expect a potential defenseman in the next life...

I still remember the first time my dad put a hockey stick in my hand. It seemed like it was the day my entire world changed and absolutely paved the way for my current situation here as a professional hockey player in the VHL. Coming from the American South, there weren't many hockey leagues near us and even fewer kids at school who longed to be a professional hockey player. I gave baseball and football a shot, but hockey was the only thing that I kept coming back to. Something about the combination of speed, balance, and skill always appealed to me and just clicked from an early age. I was never the biggest or strongest kid, so having a sport that could somewhat balance out those deficiencies was fantastic as a young kid. Of course, the elephant in the room is that growing up in Georgia we have a complete and utter lack of ice. That meant my dad had to get creative when it came to practice and drills and he was more than willing to step up in a major way. First thing he did was take a garden hose and completely soak our back yard anytime it was predicted to get below freezing. Now, this didn't do much for skating but it got me used to the cold and the feel of the ice, which gave me a level of comfort that many of my fellow competitors didn't have. He was also willing to pay for private training and lessons from retired hockey players who had moved South for better weather. We would start at the crack of dawn at the arena some 40 miles away and work hard for a couple of hours before school every day. It helped not only with my on-ice skills and abilities, but also with my conditioning, level of dedication, and drive to be great. That's what so many people don't realize about this sport. Yes, you have to be talented. Yes, you have to be fit. But above all else and probably more than any other sport, you have to have the drive and love of the game to continue to work day in and day out. There are truly no days off in this sport. It's also why you can excel in hockey while not being the biggest, fastest, or the strongest. If you have the determination and drive of Gretzky, that will make up for not having the physical measurables. In football, that's not the case. You have to be a certain size to be successful almost every single time, but hockey truly brings out the best in people. You cannot skate by, pun intended, just on raw physical prowess or physicality. You have to have that history of early mornings at the arena, tired legs after practice, and a support system around you willing to help get you through the day to day grind that is professional hockey. I'm blessed to have this opportunity and I cannot wait to get on the ice with Davos to start this second chapter in my VHL career. I have no doubt that all the sacrifices we made as a family are well worth it for me right now. And I guarantee my dad will be sitting at center ice and will be one of the first fans in the stands when the gates open every single game, just like he's always been. 573 words

1. Always busy with the family! Enjoying the time spent with them. 2. I think it'll be a massive move for our franchise and the future. 4. DARK HORSE DOGWOOD MAPLE 5. I think it should be phased out, there's enough hitting during live play to allow for goonerism 6. I'm a big sim leaguer! PBE, ISFL, SHL! 8. All the Pretty Horses. Highly recommend

Free Week (12 TPE Capped) $1M Player Store Cash (How to Claim) Doubles Week (6 TPE uncapped from a PT being done) 47B76761MK7003131

1. Unfortunately, it's our too-early of an exit from the playoffs. Didn't see that one coming 2. I guess this is a "refer to #1" type question. I really felt like this was a year where we'd bring home another title. 3. Of course! I'm a huge hockey fan so I always stay up to date on it 4. Main thing is some much needed rest and relaxation time with my family. 5. A TITLE! WE CAN DO IT! 6. Duck tape?

Dogwood Maple - OV

1. ME! Let's go with...80 points? 2. Time for the daily double, me again but this time 49. 3. Well, if it's good for the goose it's good for the gander. Dogwood x3 with 31 goals. 4. That's a tough one, but definitely not me. I shoot too much for that! 5. Apparently I have an early lead for this category. Been in a bad mood all year! 6. Your future?

1. I think he should've won most valuable teammate! 2. DOGWOOD MAPLE! Nominated for most entertaining media pieces. 3. Sharing awards is fine if both candidates are truly deserving. 4. Boy do I have a bunch of those. Beavers, bears, moose, wolves, you name it. 5. Why not Maple? I've been here seemingly forever and know where all the skeletons are buried. 6. I'll go with our entire defense. We're going to absolutely stonewall some folks this year.

To celebrate the offseason, Vancouver forward Dogwood Maple has decided to take a much needed vacation. He and his family traveled back home to Georgia and spent three weeks in the scenic Blue Ridge Mountains. Their days were filled with relaxation, smores, and some quality family time that they had all missed during the season. "Don't get me wrong, I love playing hockey. But it can be hard on my family and I hate that I don't get to see them that much during the season. We're always traveling, practicing, and training, so it just makes it difficult to get that quality time with everyone. That's why we decided to take this trip to really be able to try and make up for lost time. Everything was going fantastically...until the beavers started showing up." One of the reasons Dogwood picked this certain cabin was because it was near a medium-sized creek, where they could go fish or just simply enjoy the dulcet sounds of rushing water. Unfortunately for the Maple family, a hoard of enormous beavers had recently moved into the area and decided to make it their mission in life to dam up that creek. And, for some reason, the beavers did not chew down the enormous pine and oak trees surrounding the creek, but rather set their sights on the wood cabin the Maples were staying in. "One night I woke up around 2:00 AM and heard something downstairs, so I decided to go check it out. I figured it might've been an animal that got up on our porch, which wouldn't be that unusual. This cabin was pretty remote and I've awoken to deer or possums or raccoons right outside the house. But I didn't see any of those animals. Instead, I saw something that shook me to my very core. On one of the many windows in the living room, there was a message scratched into the glass: LEAVE NOW OR BE DAMMED FOREVER At first I thought it was some kids playing a prank because "dammed" was misspelled, but those suspicions were disspelled when I went outside and saw the largest beaver I've ever seen, standing on its hind legs, and pointing a claw at the message. He nodded, pointed his claw at me, and then ran off," Maple said. "I really thought I dreamt it, right? I mean, beavers can't write, read, or do any of that. But I woke my wife and she went downstairs and saw the message as well," Maple further explained. After calling the police, the Maples attempted to get some sleep, before Dogwood was awoken again by vibrations coming from all around him. He ran outside and saw nine large beavers absolutely chomping away at the lowest level of the house. They were carrying the larges pieces off towards the creek and that's when it hit Maple. LEAVE NOW OR BE DAMMED FOREVER. "That's when I understood. They didn't mean 'damned', they really meant we would become part of the dam if we didn't leave. I wasn't sure what to do, but I knew how crazed beavers get around running water. So that's when I went in the utility closet, grabbed an axe, and joined my beaver companions in chopping down nearby trees. I figured if I helped them, they would leave my family alone and quit eating the house. Fortunately, I was right. We toiled all night to dam that river and at the very end, the beaver who had come up to my window simply looked, nodded, and ran off into the night," Maple said. 599 words

1. You bet we can! I have high hopes 2. I think it was a great move and will help us long term 3. Hopefully a lot of energy and excitement both on the ice and in the locker room 4. I'd love another forward, but I always want elite scorers! 5. I'm ambivalent, if I'm being honest. 6. THE DICTIONARY

Dogwood Maple - OV

Birthdays run the gamut when it comes to emotions. Some of them are just outlandishly exciting, some are quiet, and some can be sad, but I always like to use them to sort of take stock of my life and what I'd like to accomplish in the following 365 days as we travel back around the sun. The main thing I always think about is my family. As I've gotten older, I've come to appreciate my parents much more than I probably should have when I was just a kid. It's hard to really see what all your folks do for you when you're young, but now that I've got some age on me it's apparent how much they sacrificed for us in order to give us a good life. And when I say I think about my "family" I'm also including my close knit group of friends. Some family you're born into, but some family you pick and there's nothing that give me more joy than spending time with my close friends as we catch up and update each other about what's going on in our lives. But with each passing year, there is a bit of sadness that necessarily follows that isn't immediately apparent for every birthday. Just the slow sort of itch that makes you realize that your loved ones won't always be around, but there's also some comfort in making sure you enjoy all your time with them if you can. None of us get out of this thing alive, so we have to make the most of our opportunities on a daily basis. Of course, that doesn't mean every day is gravy or fantastic or even okay, but it isn't supposed to. The ebbs and flows of life, like birthdays, help us mark our course of life as we continue to barrel through the universe. I'm also thankful for my VHL family and all the great friends I've made along the way here. I likely won't ever meet any of you in person and there will come a time when I'm no longer in this league, but I truly appreciate everything y'all have done for me. This place is a great outlet to blow off steam and take a break in a great online community. Sure winning Cups is nice, but I'd be perfectly content to just hang out in locker rooms and try to give it out best shot year in and year out. I honestly can't believe this place has lasted this long, but in some ways it does make sense. There's a great leadership group here which is the engine of any sim league. It can sometimes be a monotonous and un-sexy job, but without the general managers, updaters, bankers, and league officials, this place is dead on arrival. So on VHL's birthday, I raise a glass to all my comrades in the league, all the players I've played with in the past, and all the ones whose time together has not yet come to pass. Here's to a hell of a league, a great community, and a wonderful way to celebrate birthdays. Cheers! 522 words

1. I was a much younger man....woo wee that was a while ago. 2. I can't remember the exact day, but I stuck around because the people are so fantastic. 3. Celebrating with your loved ones 4. Freedom (and no mortgage!) 5. Probably winning the cup here with Vancouver. Just a hell of a run! 6. it falls on a SADurday?