comrade cat

Phillip Rave took the ice today at Malmo Nighthawks training camp, for the first time attending camp with an expectation of making the VHL team ahead of him. But it will, Rave hopes, be a brief stay at training camp this year, as the S92 World Junior Championships are set to take place this week in Geneva, Switzerland. With rosters to be announced shortly, Rave is anxiously hoping he gets the call to represent Team Europe.
 
"It's a great opportunity, great event and Geneva is beautiful so I'd love to be there, obviously," says Rave. "I think we'd have a pretty good team, though obviously, that makes the competition to make it even stiffer, so... who knows. Ultimately that's up to the GM to pick the roster, and I don't want to worry too much about something that's out of my control. But yeah - it would be pretty cool."
 
Rave's VHL career may have appeared a bit of a longshot two years ago when he signed with the San Diego Marlins with limited organized hockey experience in his lifetime, but he appears on the cusp of making it a reality. A trip to the world juniors would make a nice, neatly-wrapped bow on top of Rave's pre-VHL career.

Now we switch it up a bit we look at malmo’s defense and goaltenders and from the looks of it they are locked a bunch of high earning players who can help the offense which in turn can help malmo out score and still have high defense which is really good that’s what helped them to the playoff “run” last season with a bunch of scoring no matter how much the other scored if they can score more they would win, now about the goaltending Ash Sparks is most likely one of the most underrated goalies and he has showed tons of times that he can be considered for an award, But this isn’t about could haves this is about now and as we speak his chances of being a really good goalie again this season are high and if the team as a whole can keep earning I don’t see a reason why this team can’t make it to the playoffs.
 
Words: 162

not Safari too?

the only issue i see is light mode 😂

the only issue i see is light mode 😂

the only issue i see is light mode 😂

It isn’t a secret that Tzesar has been hard at working and willing to get better with better workout and training he has been clearly seen glowing up becoming a much tougher and ready man, media wanted to speak to him since of the change and wonder what keeps him to continue and never giving up on his goal of winning a cup,
 
“Tzesar your work ethnic has been crazy and crazy good do you think you can keep putting your body to the limit?”
 
“Honestly I don’t have a clue maybe when I break a bone i will stop but I don’t plan to calm down, I meant every word when I said I’m gonna train hard and try to help my team win scoring only 30ish points is barely noticeable and it’s sad to see my father see his proudness drain so I don’t plan on chilling anytime soon.”
 
“But for the long term won’t it hurt your longevity?” 
 
“Honestly its a possibility that it will but I don’t see the same amount of positives if I don’t do this, I plan to be in the Hall of fame and working hard is the only way you see tons of players and they had similar careers to mine by winning in the E and M but all their first season was amazing however mine was far from it, So it time to turn up the gear and mature for the better”
 
“With this massive boost of confidence and skill do you plan big for the future of Malmo and yourself?”
 
“I don’t think there is a single day where I wasn’t planning for the future since VHLM day’s I have been I’ve always been trying to reach my true potential as a player no matter the logo on my jersey my hands are doing all the work and my mind needs to be helping so all this does goes for my future I plan to be the best I ever can be”
 
“After a quick look at the Malmo roaster it seems that it’s gonna be a lot on the young core and just waiting to see improvement from the young core, with all this going on do you think you all can grow to be better together?”
 
“It’s understandable some may doubt us because of how young our core is and I don’t blame them but it just gives us more motivation to continue you know? Just because we don’t have more then 3 seasons our belt doesn’t mean we have no clue what we are doing”
 
“Final question, with all this talk about maybe getting another big player to the team with all the extra space do you hope to see malmo become a powerhouse and try a crack at being in the playoffs?”
 
“It honestly might be that single piece we need to do it and with this amount we could bring someone if there is a chance especially since I’ve personally gone down a more defensive route we might need a mighty scorer who can shoot really nice and while also being able to play a hard hitter.”
 
“Well it was really nice speaking to you Tzesar good luck on your workout.”


words: 524

Now we switch it up a bit we look at malmo’s defense and goaltenders and from the looks of it they are locked a bunch of high earning players who can help the offense which in turn can help malmo out score and still have high defense which is really good that’s what helped them to the playoff “run” last season with a bunch of scoring no matter how much the other scored if they can score more they would win, now about the goaltending Ash Sparks is most likely one of the most underrated goalies and he has showed tons of times that he can be considered for an award, But this isn’t about could haves this is about now and as we speak his chances of being a really good goalie again this season are high and if the team as a whole can keep earning I don’t see a reason why this team can’t make it to the playoffs.
 
Words: 162

It isn’t a secret that Tzesar has been hard at working and willing to get better with better workout and training he has been clearly seen glowing up becoming a much tougher and ready man, media wanted to speak to him since of the change and wonder what keeps him to continue and never giving up on his goal of winning a cup,
 
“Tzesar your work ethnic has been crazy and crazy good do you think you can keep putting your body to the limit?”
 
“Honestly I don’t have a clue maybe when I break a bone i will stop but I don’t plan to calm down, I meant every word when I said I’m gonna train hard and try to help my team win scoring only 30ish points is barely noticeable and it’s sad to see my father see his proudness drain so I don’t plan on chilling anytime soon.”
 
“But for the long term won’t it hurt your longevity?” 
 
“Honestly its a possibility that it will but I don’t see the same amount of positives if I don’t do this, I plan to be in the Hall of fame and working hard is the only way you see tons of players and they had similar careers to mine by winning in the E and M but all their first season was amazing however mine was far from it, So it time to turn up the gear and mature for the better”
 
“With this massive boost of confidence and skill do you plan big for the future of Malmo and yourself?”
 
“I don’t think there is a single day where I wasn’t planning for the future since VHLM day’s I have been I’ve always been trying to reach my true potential as a player no matter the logo on my jersey my hands are doing all the work and my mind needs to be helping so all this does goes for my future I plan to be the best I ever can be”
 
“After a quick look at the Malmo roaster it seems that it’s gonna be a lot on the young core and just waiting to see improvement from the young core, with all this going on do you think you all can grow to be better together?”
 
“It’s understandable some may doubt us because of how young our core is and I don’t blame them but it just gives us more motivation to continue you know? Just because we don’t have more then 3 seasons our belt doesn’t mean we have no clue what we are doing”
 
“Final question, with all this talk about maybe getting another big player to the team with all the extra space do you hope to see malmo become a powerhouse and try a crack at being in the playoffs?”
 
“It honestly might be that single piece we need to do it and with this amount we could bring someone if there is a chance especially since I’ve personally gone down a more defensive route we might need a mighty scorer who can shoot really nice and while also being able to play a hard hitter.”
 
“Well it was really nice speaking to you Tzesar good luck on your workout.”


words: 524

Hello @Members!
 
I'm excited to announce that we have made our charitable donation for the year of $1656 to Doctor's Without Borders!
 

 
Additionally you all donated $1804 separate from the league bringing our total for the 2023 Holiday Charity drive to $3540! I'm always amazed to see the league come together and make such a difference in the world, it's great to see.
 
You all want some rewards I imagine though don't you? Well it was close but thanks to being $40 over the $3500 threshold we have once again hit every community goal which means every member of the community can claim 20 uncapped TPE and a PT Doubles week! It also means all our community items were met which means:
 
@twists will stream a declaration of his love for everyone that's been active in the past week.
@DarkSpyro will perform some Christmas themed metal songs
@Grape will do a full stream of all the Five Nights at Freddy's games.
@Acydburn will stream something, he just hasn't decided what yet.
@Beketov will once again stream Zoo Tycoon 2 Ultimate and name animals after VHL members.
 
As mentioned in the OP, unfortunately to keep things fair and not have a bunch of future creates claiming this: Rewards may only be applied to players created on, or before, December 25th, 2023
 
We'll get that stuff all scheduled as well as the raffle draw scheduled soon so keep an eye out for that and, once again, thank you all for making this time of year in the VHL so special!

Game recap of Toronto vs Helsinki.

The series was on Toronto's favor only needing to win one more game to win the cup the first period came out with Helsinki scoring the first goal making it a 1-0 lead for the Titan's by Owen Lazaro, The second period was more tame with no goals being scored but a lot of shots being given to each other, The Third was a goal tying score by Jimmy MacElroy making the game go into overtime where Toronto scores again by Tomas Sogaard making Toronto the cup winners for this season.

2-1 Toronto wins

Wow even though I'm very late but holy shit man good work even if it's little be proud of every hour you do 

New School Sport

 
In the small town of Eagles lake there was a 10 year old kid named Carter Abrams. Carter attended primary school as a 4th grader when one day he heard about the ball hockey tryouts from the school's intercom. He told his parents about it and it turns out it was the first year the school was finally big enough to have a second sports team. The tryouts were tomorrow after school but Carter wanted to learn about hockey before he went. 
 
The Tryouts


 
He went on his chromebook bought by his parents and looked up “hockey”, he then clicked on a YouTube video named “Connor Bedard Highlights”. Carter was hooked. The kid spent all of his screen time watching Bedard and learnt about his toe drag release before being called for dinner by his mom. Carter told his parents about Connor Bedard and how he wanted to be like him when he was older, his dad was keen on letting him play ice hockey but his mom didn’t want him to get hurt.
 
 Carter was told to sleep on it and the very next morning he was ready for the tryouts, he received a plastic stick and wondered where the curve was when he spotted another kid bending his stick. Carter remembered how Bedard's stick was bent and tried his best to recreate that exact curve on his plastic stick. During the warmup Carter was trying out shooting and bringing the ball up and down the floor since it was his first time with a hockey stick. Soon enough he went to take his first shot in warmup but completely missed the net and had little power on it. He finally managed to score a warm up shot but I was a badly aimed shot with little power. 


 
Scrimmage Time

 
The scrimmage started and Carter had the ball on his stick, he remembered his soccer practices where he was told to look up and when he looked up he found his open teammate. Carter made a terrible pass but the ball managed to just get in the reach of his teammate so he could pull the ball back and shoot. The shot was saved but at least Carter didn’t lose the puck like many other kids were doing. Carter got the ball about 5 meters from the net where there was a defender watching him but he remembered his toe drag release and saw just enough space to release it. Carter pulled his stick towards him dragging the ball with it and made a wrist shot motion just like he saw on YouTube. The ball got through the defenders legs then went through his teammates legs who was standing in front of the net before going five holes on the screened goalie. Carter had scored, it was pure luck but either way it was a goal and the coach was really impressed with Carter.
 
After that Carter was subbed off for someone else after having made a nice impression and the coach told him he made the team before the tryouts even ended. The first practice was after school the next day but it was time for Carter to go home. His parents never heard the end of his toe drag release and Connor Bedard but they were happy about what their son had accomplished. 
 
The school day
 
Carter had to keep up his grades in school if he wanted to play on the ball hockey team and as it happened he had a math test today. His bus arrived at his stop at 7:30 am so he could get to school before 8:00 am. He had his first three periods, art, french and physical education before his lunch period. He ate with his class before being let outside where he would play soccer with his friends at recess. 
 
He was quite good at soccer and managed to make one of his friends fall over with a slick move before sending a missile into the net where the goalie was still in question of what happened. He was popular at his school because of his impressive moments in soccer but soccer wasn’t his interest, more of a side sport. He was then let back in where he was faced with multiplications, however he had studied well and passed the test effortlessly with a 86%. Carter finished with an easy science class before it was already time to go to hockey practice.
 
 The practice disaster
 
Carter showed up to practice where he shot some terrible toe drag releases that all missed the net. The coach approached him suggesting he try a snap shot or wrist shot, he learnt both finding them easier but really likes doing his toe drag releases. Carter was shooting much better after that, managing to pick the bottom corners a few times and even raising the ball on command.
 
In the scrimmage he wouldn’t have the same luck as yesterday, his toe drag release either missed the net or got poked by the defender and his wrist and snap shots were going wide. At the end of the practice the coach put up the lines for the upcoming game in two days on friday. The team could only bring 12 players, 6 forwards, 4 defenders and 2 goalies and there were 16 players therefore because of Carter's performance in practice he wasn’t going to play in the game.
 
Carter still attended the game missing half his science class where his team would get demolished 4-0 by the richer and bigger school from Haliburton, ON. During the weekend he went over with a hockey stick his dad bought him and a ball to the park where there was a net to practice his shot.
 
Hockey at the park

 
When Carter woke up Saturday he walked over to the nearby park with a stick and ball his dad bought him to go practice his toe drag release. Upon his arrival to the park he found that the only two nets were being used by 9 older boys playing 4 vs 5. Seeing the unbalance in the game he asked if he could join but the older kids weren't too keen on letting 10 year old Carter play. They passed Carter the ball and asked him to shoot on the big goalie and when he shot the ball snuck under the goalkeeper's glove and he scored. Their tallest kid said Carter should be good to play and he was put on the left wing where he was told “just stay with the defender”.
 
Carter got the puck 15 meters away from the other team's goal on the left elbow of the rink where he put his head up to find his teammates. All he saw was the defender so he looked back where he saw his defender wide open so he passed it backwards. Turns out Carter's defender had a better vision of the rink so he was able to make a pass that turned into a good chance that barely missed. Carter ran to the corner of the rink where he was overpowered by the defender then fell down because of the sheer strength advantage of the older kid. Carter got hurt but he decided that he could keep playing and got back up where he reintroduced himself to the play like nothing happened. The older kids praised Carter for his toughness since he got back up and even asked him for his name.
 
Carter got a second chance with the ball, this time he had a shooting lane in the slot where it was him vs the goalie. He approached the goalie where the goalies stick was swung at the ball but then he dragged the ball towards him and did his toe drag release. The shot hit the post however it was good enough to impress the older kids who got the rebound and scored off a play that went to the defense for a deflection off the shot. After the game the older kids said they were from Ottawa visiting Huntsville for a house league tournament and they got hotels in Haliburton since it was cheaper. They walked Carter home where they took his parents phone number if ever they were back and left to go back to their hotel. Since they had to leave early because it was a one hour drive to Huntsville where their tournament was.
 
Toe Drag Miss
 
Carter was back to school practice where he kept missing his toe drag release and to make it worse his coach saw him also messing up his snapshot. He was told if he didn’t work on his shot he would be cut from the practices and wouldn’t be able to play this year. It didn’t help that he was a 4th grader since it was mostly 5-6th graders who made the team. Carter went back to the park but this time he was alone at the park and he missed toe drag release after toe drag release. He wondered why when his dad came to pick him up, he showed his dad his toe drag release and was told “just stick to the normal shots for now”. His dad set up some targets at home with spare boots and gloves and said “aim for there, it should help with time”.
 
He kept doing toe drag releases until he did it, he transferred his weight from his back foot to the release and there it was, the toe drag release he was looking for. It wasn’t much but that discovery helped him be more consistent with his shot and even helped him hit the targets 1/3 times.
 
Game 2 selections

 
The selections for the second game of the season was on a Wednesday and armed with his new shot training Carter's shot was looking a lot better. His shot wasn’t good by any means but it was enough for him to get 2 good looks on net and finally score with a snapshot from 7 meters out. The coach put the lines for the next game out and behold, he was the 2nd line left winger.
 
Carter went home and looked up what the left winger's job was, he learnt about a player named Brady Tkachuk. Now his playstyle was very physical so he stayed away from that since he wasn’t very big standing at 4 '1 and 55 pounds. He was mostly watching for the positioning and game sense of an experienced left winger so he could try and replicate it in game. 
 
If there was any advantage Carter had over others it was his passion for the game, he loved playing hockey even if it was only ball hockey he could not hold in his excitement after being picked for the game.

 
Carter’s First Game

 
Carter was rightfully nervous even though he was on the second unit he knew he had to be ready for when he got subbed on. About midway through the first the game is 0-0 and the coach sees this as a good time to sub on the bench unit. The first chance comes and the right winger runs into the offensive zone's right corner with the ball. Carter yells as he makes space for himself in front of the net where the winger looks him off. The ball was lost but the coach saw how Carter got open in front of the net and called for the ball so later on he praised him for that. Carter got the ball as he was crossing the halfway line and once he got to the top of the offensive zone faceoff circles. He takes a pre-scan where he only sees the net so he launches a wrist shot that is gloved with ease by the goalie since his shot is still weak and badly aimed.
 
He gets one more chance in the slot closer to the blue line where he shoots hard and low where it almost hits his teammates stick but is covered by the goalie. He was subbed off for the whole 2nd period where his coach made it clear to him that his shot wasn’t hard enough and to stay after practice on Monday to work on that.
 
Carter started the 3rd period down 2-1 to the team from Essonville, he immediately got a screened shot off but after getting past the first defender it hit the goalie for a rebound he controlled very well. Then his teammate got tripped which meant his team got a power play, he was on the first unit because of his vision therefore he was the ball carrier. His team formed an umbrella in the offensive zone where they cycled the ball. The left elbow got an open shot that hit the goalies blocker and went into the corner where the winger recovered the ball. The ball cycled back to Carter where he saw an opening in the net that he shot low and hard at. The ball hit his player's stick then the defender's leg that popped out on the right for a rebound. But the goalie was there so Carter yelled for the ball and was passed to for a one-timer that squeezed into the net despite the increasing chaos in front of the net.
 
It was now 2-2 with 1 and a half minutes left on the clock and Carter knew if he wanted to win he had to act fast. Carter got the puck in the defensive zone along the boards and after blowing by the first defender with a fancy move he saw one of the older kids use it and then it was 1v1 against the last defender. Carter advanced to the top of the circle with his teammate closing in on the net wide open for a shot. Before he passed he took one more look at the net and there it was, a small opening for the ball. If he wanted to shoot this he would have to score it and after taking one last look at his teammate who was yelling for the ball he shot it. His coach was nearly ripping his clipboard apart as the ball hit the post and the defense recovered to end the game in a tie. The coach was not impressed with Carter’s selfishness and scolded him about passing the ball. The next Monday at practice he had to do 10 laps of the soccer field before being able to play for the team again.
 
(This is the end of part 1, I will write one next month and claim my TPE while I wait.)

GO MALMO GO

Really good way of looking onto malmo will truly be exciting and interesting to see what we can do

Nighthawks Prepare for S92
S92 Malmo squad characterized by young players ready to break out
 
The Malmo Nighthawks had high hopes for the S91 season, but saw them crashing to a halt in the wildcard round of the playoffs as the upstart Helsinki Titans took them down in five games. It wasn’t supposed to be that way; the Nighthawks were by all accounts a great team on paper and in contention for 1st in the EU much of the year. They were held back by inconsistency in a season full of both high highs (a pair of ten-game winning streaks) and low lows (finishing 4th in the EU and losing in the wildcard round).
 
Entering S92, what will the Nighthawks be like this time around? There’s plenty of young talent in Malmo: the Nighthawks drafted defenseman Jacob Stone 5th overall in S88, then had three first-round picks in S89 to build a solid foundation. With those picks, they selected centres Viktor Jensen (1st overall) and Ronald Johnson MacWilliam (7th overall), as well as winger Savaisk Tzesar (12th overall). Add to that a high S90 first-rounder in defenseman Jebediah Big Ol Doinks in Amish and you have a pretty good core of players from the S88-S90 draft classes.
 
Last season, the Nighthawks were built to contend. They scored a huge prize when they signed forward Yaroslav Bogatyrev in Free Agency, and they brought in arguably the league’s best defenseman, Skor McFleury, too. After failing to make waves last year, though, McFleury’s contract expired and he was shipped to Calgary in a sign-and-trade as he was expected to depart in Free Agency. Yaroslav Trunov, a Malmo-lifer who played five years with the team after being selected 6th overall in S87, found himself sent off to Chicago.
 
The Nighthawks aren’t rebuilding, but perhaps building around their strengths a little. With Henry Eagles and Bogatyrev in the fold, they will surely be competitive again this season. But with McFleury and Trunov out and newcomers Conference Prince-de-Galles (S90) and Phillip Rave (S91) replacing them, the Nighthawks’ lineup appears more focused around that S88-S90 class of players. As they develop - Jensen and Stone are prime candidates to break out this year, and MacWilliam, Tzesar, and Rave are probably not far off - there will be plenty of talent in Malmo peaking as Eagles and Bogatyrev play their final couple of seasons. The Nighthawks feel that’s the right mix. And while they will surely miss McFleury and Trunov, they do have another year of development from their key players, especially Stone and Jensen, coming into S91. So there is no shortage of belief in Malmo that they can contend this year.
 
“I think we’ve got another great group of players in Malmo. We’ve recently found success and I believe bringing back the big players we needed while also getting some help from our new players will drive us forward. The EU conference will be competitive but Malmo should make a name for itself this season,” forecast Malmo GM Christopher James when asked about the upcoming season.
 
Bogatyrev, Eagles, and Jensen will be counted on to lead the offense. Eagles set career highs with 42 goals and 96 points last season, and Bogatyrev completed a seamless transition from Seattle by putting up 40 goals and 82 points of his own. Down the middle, Jensen put up 75 points in 72 games for the best season of his VHL career. With the weapons around him, he’ll surely continue to improve entering his fourth VHL season. The former #1 overall pick continues to flash more and more signs of the dominant player he was expected to develop into at the S89 draft. There’s little doubt that franchise-changing impact is not far away.
 
MacWallace and Tzesar had 34 and 33-point rookie seasons, respectively, but with a full year of development behind them, they’ll feature more prominently in the attack this year, backing up that formidable trio of top-end talent.
 
Entering season five of his VHL career - a common time for VHL players to take a step forward from good to great - defenseman Jacob Stone is Malmo’s stalwart and after posting 69 points, 191 hits, and 175 blocked shots last year, the do-it-all defender is going to be key to Malmo’s efforts this year. Replacing Skor McFleury is a nearly-impossible task, but Stone is a good bet to give it a run. The younger McFleury, Reese, remains on Malmo’s back end and, with Big Ol Doinks in Amish, gives Malmo an effective 2-3 punch - though both will probably need to add some more physicality to their game to continue to grow their defense at the VHL level.
 
Ash Sparks returns between the pipes for another year after going 38-21-5 with an 0.923 SV% and 2.56 GAA (with 3 shutouts) last season. Sparks has been fairly successful since coming to Malmo, sporting an 0.926 SV% over three seasons. The Nighthawks will need quality goaltending in a very competitive European Conference this season, so Sparks will need to be at the top of his game.
 
By and large, Malmo’s season this year will come down to whether or not their young players can step up to the plate and deliver on their promise. This is a team that has the potential to do great things, but they have some difficult losses to overcome on their off-season slate. If the strong collection of young talent assembled here has it in them to, collectively, make up for the departures of McFleury and Trunov, we could see a big year out of the Nighthawks.
 
Rave, for his part, can’t wait to get on the ice. While he won’t play the biggest role in the team’s offense out of the gate, his work ethic has shone through over the off-season and his excitement for the game and desire to make an impact can’t be overstated. “I think we’ve got a great group of guys here, a lot of guys that are hungry to take that next step. Obviously, I never got to play with Skor or with Trunov and those guys are great… Skor is probably on track to the Hall of Fame one day, and you don’t just replace those guys overnight. But man, we’ve got talent here, you know? I know these guys can do it and I know Henry (Eagles) and Boga (Bogatyrev) have a lot left in them. I’m really excited to play with those guys, to get on the ice with this team and show the VHL what we’ve got.”
 
---
 
1076 words, for this week & next.
@Advantage@Greg_Di@Bojovnik@RJMW@comrade cat@UnkemptCL4PTP@hylands@Spaz@scoop@DarkSpyro@KaleebtheMighty

One week done ✅! Super easy week with honestly little temptations! Working hard to improve myself has become my new addiction!

I’m not even home until tomorrow so don’t sweat it. Like yes it was supposed to be done the 24th but its for charity so we aren’t exactly gonna be hard asses about the deadline.

@Doomsday
 
Hi everyone, this article was initially set to be out a while ago, but due to real life things got delayed a bit. Still using the old graphic though as Doomsday put in a lot of work in this top tier graphic. In line with yesterday's article we'll be taking a look at each teams offseason so far and what can be expected down the road.
 
Calgary Wranglers - Buyer
S91 Record - 30-30-12
Projected Cap Space - $2,500,000
Number of resigned players - 11/11
 
The new Calgary GM @leandrofgdoesn’t really have much to do this offseason, while they don’t have their first the assignment this offseason is fairly straight forward, use the remaining cap space to sign a 4th defensemen. Calgary should have a fairly quiet offseason, but stay tuned for them to maybe make a big swing.
 
Chicago Phoenix - Conservative Buyer
S91 Record - 35-23-14
Projected Cap Space - $28,000,000
Number of resigned players - 9/11
 
Chicago has a very strong young base, addition of veterans could help the team over the edge, and watch for them to potentially go all-in though with this season's surprise success . The addition of Yaroslav Trunov @qripll is a needed step, and Chicago could likely continue down this path and could stand to take another step forward. The main area of concern is with the retirement of Scotty Sundin @fromtheinside and filling the void that they left. Chicago will be busy this offseason and could be a top candidate to draft the one and only Wayne Gretzky @MubbleFubbles.
 
DC Dragons - Buyer
S91 Record - 36-26-8
Projected Cap Space - $8,500,000
Number of resigned players - 9/10
 
I have D.C. in a very weird spot, they have a great roster for the most part, but do not have a goaltender signed and while Geoff Bezos @Quik is serviceable, they are a step below the true talent that is needed to compete at the top of the league. We can expect D.C. to try and acquire an elite goaltender via trade as there aren't any top goalies in free agency. Other than that the roster is very solid, but if they can’t figure out their goaltending it’s hard to say how they’ll do this coming season.
 
Los Angeles Stars - Buyer
S91 Record - 46-19-7
Projected Cap Space - $4,500,000
Number of resigned players - 10/11
 
Los Angeles' best chance is now, with the oldest roster in the league, they will have at most 1 more season to compete. We can expect LA to go all-in this offseason as they push for that elusive cup. Most of their roster retires after this season, so they really only have one season left before a rebuild. LA should be one of the most active teams in the free agent and trade market this season as they will be looking to put together the best possible roster in a short amount of time.
 
New York Americans - Conservative Buyer?
S91 Record - 29-38-5
Projected Cap Space - $28,500,000
Number of resigned players - 6/11
 
New York’s direction this offseason is widely unknown, they have a bunch of pending free agents specifically Jesper Davis @Josh, and plenty of young prospects, all of whom could find themselves in the ROTY conversation. If New York decides to buy, they are a little bit limited on the draft capital that they can send out, and a patient approach may be best. While playoffs are certainly not out of the question there is a lot to be done, not much time, and some decisions to make, new GM @STZ certainly has their work cut out for them. New York also has the 1st overall pick for the 2nd season in a row and will be looking to pick up a franchise player, likely looking towards the forwards as they already have CGY Janser @Daniel Janser on D.
 
Seattle Bears - Seller
S91 Record - 27-34-11
Projected Cap Space - $33,000,000
Number of resigned players - 6/6
 
Seattle has already been active in the trade market, and look to be continuing their rebuild, they already have some key pieces in place and will be looking to build upon that in the draft 5th overall. With the prospect pool fairly empty we can maybe expect Seattle to trade down to grab a goaltender or maybe just take the best player available. It will be a tough call and a long road ahead for Seattle.
 
Toronto Legion - Buyer
S91 Record - 46-24-2
Projected Cap Space - $15,500,000
Number of resigned players - 6/10
 
The Continental Cup Champions have a lot of work to do with only 6 players signed for next season and FA opening in a couple days. While cap space isn’t a concern right now, Toronto will have to make some choices and quickly. Sogaard’s @Brandon retirement does help with the cap space, but the number of pending FAs is certainly concerning. Look for Toronto to hopefully get the players signed quickly, if not we could expect a busy trade market as the team will need to get ready for the season in a hurry.
 
Vancouver Wolves - Conservative Seller
S91 Record - 21-42-9
Projected Cap Space - $29,500,000
Number of resigned players - 4/9
 
Holy first round picks! Vancouver has amassed 6 S92 first round picks, which is honestly kind of impressive. These picks will go a long way too, they already have several key pieces in place with FISTED ANALLY BY A CIRCUS MONKEY Analfist and Liv Slater, along with future franchise goaltender Dalkr Vidarsson. We can expect Vancouver to have a very strong draft as well, as they’ll be looking to add both forwards and defensemen as they draft early and often. While Vancouver doesn't have much to sell, we could maybe expect them to move some smaller pieces to competing teams that are in more of a cap crunch.
 
HC Davos Dynamo - Conservative Seller
S91 Record - 49-16-7
Projected Cap Space - $24,500,000
Number of resigned players - 7/8
 
An era has come to an end in Davos with the retirement of Jake Thunder @Thunder and Pete Mitchell @Crstats23. With this we have seen Davos selling off their remaining pieces, the only reason why I don’t have Davos as a full blown seller is long term commitments to David Jokinen @Ahma and Lachlan Summers @kirbithan. We can look for Davos to likely take on salary where needed from top teams and maybe be active in free agency to try and supplement their remaining pieces and maybe add a new top forward.
 
Helsinki Titans - Conservative Buyer
S91 Record - 41-27-4
Projected Cap Space - $1,500,000
Number of resigned players - 11/11
 
Round 2 anyone? Helsinki is back with essentially the exact same roster, Wolanin’s @jacobcarson877 retirement helps them avoid cap hell, and Grimor Ironside @FrostBeard comes up to fill the void. Helsinki will likely have the smoothest offseason out of any team in the league as @samx just has to sit back and relax at this point. They will have a bit of cap space if they wish to do anything, but their roster is still one of, if not the best in the league.
 
London United - Conservative Buyer
S91 Record - 44-19-9
Projected Cap Space - $13,000,000
Number of resigned players - 8/11
 
London is in a very strange spot right now following the retirement of two of their top defensemen. They have a great forward core led by Wann Kerr @VattghernCZ, Molly the Cat @JCarson, and Leonard Triller @Triller and Jesse Teno @aimkin in goal. But, their blueline leaves something to be desired, we can expect London to be active in the trade market as they look to add defensemen, they’ll also likely try to make a big splash in Free Agency.
 
Malmo Nighthawks - Buyer
S91 Record - 45-22-5
Projected Cap Space - $7,000,000
Number of resigned players - 10/11
 
Malmo had to make one trade this offseason to free up cap space which saw the departure of Yaroslav Trunov. This leaves them with 7 million to bring in another defensemen and maybe make improvements elsewhere on their roster. Malmo does have a bit of momentum right now following a disappointing loss, but with most of their roster returning they should enter S92 very fired up and ready to go. Malmo will likely be fairly active on the trade scene or in Free Agency to polish up their roster.
 
Moscow Menace - conservative buyer
S91 Record - 19-43-10
Projected Cap Space - $20,000,000
Number of resigned players - 9/15
 
Moscow could just be in the best position out of everyone in the league right now, almost their entire roster is high earning players on ELCs or players that are just hitting their prime. While Moscow will likely be letting some players go to FA, their roster is solid and may just compete for the playoffs or at least be in the race. In particular goaltender Olober Syko @Spartan enters next season as the favourite for the ROTY honours.
 
Prague Phantoms - Hold
S91 Record - 39-26-7
Projected Cap Space - -$500,000
Number of resigned players - 12/12
 
Prague is in a really weird spot right now following a disappointing S91. Their entire roster is signed for this season as Kyle Toms @Ktoms22 and Conference Prince-de-Galles @UnkemptCL4PTP join the big club alongside recently acquired Spanish Moon Moth @Renomitsu. The only slight issue for Prague comes with their cap as they are currently projected to be $500,00 over the cap, however this can be solved easily by moving one of their five defensemen which will free up at least $1,000,000 for improvements elsewhere in the roster if @Acydburn sees fit. We can look for Prague to make 1 or 2 minor moves, but for the most part their roster is set and is looking to return to their S90 form.
 
Riga Reign - Conservative Buyer
S91 Record - 49-17-6
Projected Cap Space - 11,500,000
Number of resigned players - 12/15
 
Following last offseason where we saw an exodus of big names leaving Riga, many thought that they would just miss the playoffs and they went ahead and proved everyone wrong. With a renewed young core, Riga has quickly become a top team of the future and still has plenty of draft capital as well. It is hard to find a gap in their roster, outside of needing a true number 1 defensemen, as their forwards should continue to improve to provide the needed scoring and their goaltending is set for the next 9 or so seasons.
 
Warsaw Predators - Buyer
S91 Record - 20-48-4
Projected Cap Space - $14,500,000
Number of resigned players - 10/13
 
Warsaw came out this season determined to end the rebuild, they quickly brought in all of Alfred Champagne @Anthique, Dogwood Maple @dogwoodmaple, Rex Wolffe Gregor @oilmandan, and Clueless Wallob @DMaximus from Davos and Seattle. This supplements their young core group of forwards centered around Maxim Anisimov @McLovin and King Kisslinger @Kisslinger. With that being said there is still some serious question marks here as their defense leaves something to be desirted, and a long-term solution in goal is needed. We can look for Warsaw to likely continue to buy to round out their roster or lean heavily on FA.

After a long day of working into the gym trying to become better the media wanted to interview Tzesar to see his progress.
 
“Tzesar! You have been putting in the work”
 
“Well I’ve fully been into getting better and I don’t plan on stopping I’ve came up with a plan of doing a full 3 weeks of just straight working out and getting better nothing else comes first”
 
“Do you think this is healthy?” 
 
“No but some things need to be done bad or not in the long term it will help me out more than anything I do now I have to have a mindset of everyday being my last so I gotta work on being better to go for longer” 
 
“Well Tzesar we certainly trust that you will be able to do it good luck and we find all of this really exciting to document. I hope you are right and these 3 long weeks of working out will help you for the seasons to come, good luck and see ya next week Tzesar!” 
 
Words: 176

After a long day of working into the gym trying to become better the media wanted to interview Tzesar to see his progress.
 
“Tzesar! You have been putting in the work”
 
“Well I’ve fully been into getting better and I don’t plan on stopping I’ve came up with a plan of doing a full 3 weeks of just straight working out and getting better nothing else comes first”
 
“Do you think this is healthy?” 
 
“No but some things need to be done bad or not in the long term it will help me out more than anything I do now I have to have a mindset of everyday being my last so I gotta work on being better to go for longer” 
 
“Well Tzesar we certainly trust that you will be able to do it good luck and we find all of this really exciting to document. I hope you are right and these 3 long weeks of working out will help you for the seasons to come, good luck and see ya next week Tzesar!” 
 
Words: 176

Eventually when everything slows down I'll have a statement released!!

I don't know about you all but my favourite time of year to be a VHL member is the holidays. From the charity drive to the auctions to the free TPE everyone loves the holidays in the VHL!
 
This is officially the fourth year we've done this after @Banackock originally suggested it back in 2019 and we've chosen, as you can see above, Doctor's Without Borders to receive our charity donations for this year. This is, of course, just our league-supported charity. As always, you are free to donate your funds to any registered charity anywhere in the world and count it towards the auction and our total numbers; all we ask is a screenshot proving the donation (though please remember to redact any personal information). 100% of the money raised by the league will be donated to Doctor's Without Borders, and the VHL will not take any cut. On top of that the league has decided to once again match up to $1000 when the final donation is put in. That means if you all donate $2500 total we'll put the donation up to $3500!
 
In addition to the Donation Drive, we will also kick off our Charity Auction and 12 Days of Christmas. How will it all work? Essentially the same as past years, but here are the exact details for each portion of our holiday season for 2023:
 
Charity Drive: December 12th - 24th
Starting tomorrow members can begin donating. Whether you do so through the league, by donating HERE, privately to DWB, or any charitable foundation of your choosing (receipt proof required for donations made outside the league), it will all count towards the overall contribution from the league. From that overall contribution, the league will match donations up to $1000 CAD, and add that to the donation made through the league.
 
Please post all confirmations of donation, including Paypals through the league, auction wins, and private donations to THIS THREAD. Any donation of $5 CAD, or more, will result in an automatic personal reward of 2 Uncapped TPE + a Full Free Week (12 Capped TPE), as well as an entry to each of the first 3 tiers of the 12 Days of Christmas Raffle.
 
Like past years as well we will be accepting blood donations in the charity drive. Blood is in high demand all year round, but especially at this time. Give the gift of life to someone. If you schedule and follow through with an appointment to donate blood that will count the same as a $5 donation and have the same rewards outlined above and below. For proof just post a photo from during your donation, it doesn’t need to include your face if you don’t want it to, a shot of the machine or your arm or whatever is fine, we’ll take your word for it.
 
As this is the season of giving, members may also donate on behalf of one other user.
 
Holiday Charity Auction: December 13th-20th
@Acydburn will be posting the auction items soon but for now the full rules are available here. Go buy something fun offered up by our community members. Auction wins will count as personal donations for the purpose of individual rewards.
 
As always there are some amazing auction items that we're looking forward to this year so it should be fun.
 
12 Days of Christmas: December 13th - 24th
This year’s 12 Days of Christmas will be similar to the last two years, where there will be a daily thread to claim “tickets” into our final raffle, which will be drawn on a live stream. As always the raffle will contain 4 tiers of prizes, with each day contributing to your entry into each tier, as follows:
 
Dec. 13 - 15: Post in the corresponding thread each day for an entry into the Tier 1 raffle (1 ticket gained per day)
Dec. 16 - 18: Post in the corresponding thread each day for an entry into the Tier 2 raffle (1 ticket gained per day)
Dec. 19 - 21: Post in the corresponding thread each day for an entry into the Tier 3 raffle (1 ticket gained per day)
Dec. 22 - 24: Post in the corresponding thread each day for an entry into the Tier 4 raffle (1 ticket gained per day)
 
Number of Winners per tier:
Tier 1: 10 Winners
Tier 2: 5 Winners
Tier 3: 3 Winners
Tier 4: 1 Winner
 
As with all our previous raffles if someone is drawn twice they will be considered as having won the higher tier item and the lower tier will be re-drawn. Users may also claim any tier underneath what they have won if they would rather have that item. No rewards can be exchanged for cash but we will ship worldwide as @Berocka found out to the detriment of the league having to ship a jersey to Australia...
 
Rewards and Donation Milestones
As previously mentioned, there will be personal rewards to those who participate in the charity drive / holiday auction, as well as stretch goals to hit which will result in rewards for the community as a whole!
 
$500 Community Donations: 2 Uncapped TPE for Everyone + @twists will stream a declaration of his love for everyone that's been active in the past week.
$1000 Community Donations: 4 Uncapped TPE for Everyone + @DarkSpyro will perform some Christmas themed metal songs
$2000 Community Donations: PT Doubles Week for Everyone +  @Grape will do a full stream of all the Five Nights at Freddy's games.
$2500 Community Donations: 6 Uncapped TPE for Everyone + @Acydburn will stream something, he just hasn't decided what yet.
$3500 Community Donations: 8 Uncapped TPE for Everyone + @Beketov will once again stream Zoo Tycoon 2 Ultimate (which I'll have to re-install) and name animals after VHL members.
 
Additionally, though not a "stretch goal" in the classic sense, for every $100 donated @eagle_3450 will do a lap of the Nurburgring in BeamNG.drive
 
**Disclaimer: Rewards may only be applied to players created on, or before, December 25th, 2023**
 
Let's do this @Members!

Recently a trip to the hospital and a few doctors appointments opened my eyes and i received a few diagnoses (nothing super serious i will live!!) but one of them was a thing called CHS, Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome. Basically for the last couple of months I’ve been having uncontrollable vommiting, sometimes up to 20-25 times a day and i finally have had enough. It got to the point I was calling into work, putting off important things because i couldn’t even function. I could barely eat or keep things down, I was taking multiple super hot baths and showers everyday as that is the only thing that would help the feeling go away.
 
I always thought it was something else, another underlying issue but all along it was the thing i used to chill out and relax, weed. Little did i know not only did i grow a dependency on it but it was slowly hurting me and it was just only gonna get worse and worse. I honestly at one point didn’t know if i would be able to make it one day without smoking as i was a really heavy smoker, multiple joints, bongs or thc carts to keep me “happy”. 

 
I know it has only been 3 days but holy hell i can’t believe i haven’t touched it since. I know it’s super early but i just wanted to share my progress to hopefully inspire others to maybe quit or lean back. I know @Banackock has a thread documenting his journey from quitting cigarettes and it really inspired me to start my own journey and bring this awesome community along with me. I intend to stay sober and make better life choices moving forward and I can’t wait to show you all. 
 
Cheers guys and here’s to being sober!
 

Hello VHL,
 
This post serves as my announcement of my resignation from Recruitment, GM of the New York Americans, Board of Governors, and as one of the VHLE Commissioners. Allow me a moment to explain:
 
On October 8th, 2020, I found myself with a lot of time on my hands. I was working part-time and earning my Master's degree while living in a world that was dictated by COVID. I saw an advertisement on one of Thrash94's videos for the VHL and I quickly joined. I came in eager to learn, eager to earn, and eager to make Hall of Fame-worthy players. I dove headfirst into the VHL community and loved every minute of it. Eventually, I applied to be a GM for Team USA in the WJC and since then I've managed in one way or another. I became a GM for the San Diego Marlins, then the Stockholm Vikings, and finally the New York Americans. In all of that, I helped manage various off-season tournaments as well. That escalated to me taking a position on the Recruitment Team, and being asked to work as a Commissioner for the VHLE, which I happily accepted.
 
While all of that was going on, my personal life and career were taking off. My wife became pregnant, we moved back to our home state, and our family grew. I finished my Master's, and started working full-time, and the time that I had to devote to the league dwindled more and more over time. This year though has been a tipping point. As some of you know, my mother struggled with addiction my whole life, and in April that struggle caught up to her and she passed. Then, my wife and I endured the hardship of losing two children through miscarriage. Those events led us to grow much closer, and it made me realize just how precious the time I have with my family is. It's only here temporarily, and it can vanish in the blink of an eye.
 
Those hard moments were, well, hard. But, there have been so many good things to happen in my life this year, most of them revolving around increased work responsibilities. While I love my work, I don't have the luxury of a job that runs 9-5 and is off on the weekends, so the free time I do get is rather limited and decreases more and more. 
 
All of that being said, I want you to know that I am not making this decision because I'm burnt out, nor because I've lost interest in the VHL. It comes down to the fact that I just don't have the time I used to when I first started, and I can't devote the way I want to the thing that I seem to be lacking. 
 
My goal, at this time, is to finish out my career with Dynamite and then...well, who knows? Maybe I'll take a season or two off completely and lurk every once in a while, or maybe I'll make another player and ride the pension/welfare train for a while. I don't know. What I do know is that I'm thankful for the time I've had here, and for the friends I've made.