Scurvy

This is my first build and my experience in the VHL has been amazing. Thank you so much for caring about his league and making it a great place for all of us.

That is SOLID GOLD!!!

Hey Mexico. Sneaking in to do your PC today. 1. I think your team is a power house so I anticipate you win in 5 games. I attribute your one loss coming from any decisions made by Thunder. 2. I dig It ! I don't know Cole but his Dman in VHL makes teams looks stupid so rooting for him to win one. 3. Well. I am a S82 draftee so not sure if depreciation starts for me or not?? So I am banking in the hopes I can keep my player consistent. 4. Super Strength 5. Edmonton Oilers 6. Nashville. Best Brats and Pulled Pork Nachos ever

For this week’s Around the League in 500 words I figured we’d chat about the VHL Playoffs, some all-time records I found while dinking around forum, and some random shit as my season is now over and the treacherous off season begins early for me. I feel like the hardest part of the VHL is staying motivated to write articles come after your team is eliminated from playoffs and the off season begins. I so desperately wanted to click Welfare this week, which is something I have rarely done. But, knowing I travel next weekend to California I decided to power through and write something. So, I apologize in advance if my lack of motivation shows. VHL PLAYOFFS The fact that my Warsaw Preds are eliminated early this year I am for sure bummed. However, I am looking forward to seeing how this year’s playoffs turns out. There are some powerhouse teams in the European conference and North American. Calgary, Vancouver, LA, and Seattle will battle it out while Davos, Moscow, Riga, and Malmo will compete for the EU. I am excited to see how the EU race turns out as the teams in that conference have battled it out hard all year. Best of luck to all. ALL TIME RECORDS: As I was hunting for an answer to this week’s trivia questions (which I missed and have no idea how) I started checking some career stats and how some modern players rank in all time categories. Now, the post attribute changes make catching some of the early legends impossible it’s still fun to look at. In the overall PIM category, I saw Edwin Ecarnacion is the overall PIM leader with 2028 in 612 games. I am not sure what seasons he played but that’s a healthy number of PIMS. For currently active players LA’s Vinny Detroit currently holds the #5 position with 1574 in 576 games. Detroit was the only active player in the first page of results. In the Hit category Detroit was ranked #3 with 2852 hits. In the #1 category was Brennan McQueen with 2889. Former great and recent retiree Druss Deathwalker was #2 all time with 2882 (so close). Other former legends from my era include Duncan Idaho 2734, That Dude 2109, Henri Le Massif 2057, and Taylor Mourning 2038. BEST VHL TEAM NAME I was clicking through the VHLM today just checking out some stats and seeing how their playoff was going and wondered which team has the best team’s name and logo. I found that (at least for me) that once I was out of the VHLM I didn’t look at the league as often and that’s a shame. It’s cool to see newer players come up and do well like my buddy Rip Wheeler. That being said to vote for the best club name and logo is not easy. I have a loyalty to the Marlins because that’s where I started but they don’t have the best name and/or logo. It came down to two clubs for me. The Philadelphia Reapers and the Las Vegas Aces. Both clubs have great colors, a catchy name, and some cool uniforms. But my winner is…. The Philadelphia Reapers

Well…the season 87 playoffs did not go as hoped for the Warsaw Predators. An offensive power house struggled despite outshooting a talented Riga Reign club. Riga was able to capitalize on their scoring chances and dominated the Preds in 3 straight matches. Moving forward the Predators have most of the club returning next season. Only forward Tom Creeg, defenseman tough guy Jeff Buffy, and goalie Wumbo are on expiring contracts. Wumbo has been a legend for the Preds but has since gone IA so unsure if we can sign him again. The glaring weakness for the Preds was team defense overall. They can score goals in bunches but stopping them consistently in the offensively powerful EU conference proved to be their Achilles heel. Congrats To Riga and I am excited to see how the EU conference playoffs turns out with so much talent. Sad to see the Preds go early but we will be back next year ready to go.

Hahahaha. His dumb ass is on his own.

1. the silent assassin….Girts Galvins 2. Decent. We’re in a tough division. We need to be better defensively to get to the finals. 3. Payne has been ok. Started off slow but hasn’t been horrible. 4. boring 5. hmm. Tough question. Possibly need to pick up a piece or two but have a great core group of players. 6. the East Is going for it. NY, NYI, NJ, TOR all made trades. The west better get busy

For this week’s Around the League in 500 words I figured I’d cover the crazy race to playoffs in VHL, who is the top scoring Defensive player, and how does fighting work in SIMS and does the VHL need more fights? RACE TO THE CONTINENTAL CUP Well as it sits right now it looks like in the NA we will have defending champs Vancouver, Calgary, LA, Chicago, and Seattle fighting to see who is best. Impressively, after a shitty start has shown why they should be considered one of the favorites to win. Hopefully they can get over their playoff problems and show the club that they have. LA is another impressive team and has turned it around this year and are deadly. Chicago and Seattle are both streaky teams but have the talent to make noise. Seattle’s addition of past cup winners and former Warsaw teammates Dakota Lamb @dlamband Tavish DeGroot @rory bring some playoff experience and could be a deadly duo if they can keep DeGroot out of the bar. lol My NA champ prediction: LA TOP OFFENSIVE DEFENSIVE PLAYER This year has been a nice battle for the top scoring defensive player and researching this I found that 6 of the top 10 In defensive player’s in scoring are from the European Conference (NO BIG DEAL). Clinging to the top spot right now is Warsaw’s Biggie Cheese @a_Ferk with 86 points followed closely by Moscow’s Hammer Voss @BOOM with 84 points. Davos also has two defensemen representing in the top 10 with Siyan Yasilievich @badcolethetitan and Jake Thunder @Thunder. Thunder is more known for his defensive prowess, urinary track infections, and wine cooler consumption but has been hot lately. Vancouver’s Pierre Emile Bouchard is also threating for the top spot and has a team that puts up big numbers fast. It will be a fun race to see who takes it in the end. A quick look at top 10: Biggie Cheese 86PTS Hammer Voss 84PTS Siyan Yasilievich 84PTS Pierre Emile Bouchard 82PTS Max Torq. 79PTS Brian Payne. 78PTS Jake Thunder 76 PTS Bo Johansson 73PTS Callum Murray 72PTS AirRig GoodBrandSun 66PTS DOES VHL NEED MORE FIGHTS Fighting in hockey has always been a controversial topic. Some fans and players love the excitement of two players duking it out while some find it offensive and detracting from the game. We can all agree on one thing though is that neither side is going to change the mind of the other. I can only imagine that imaginary SIM hockey fighting has its nay Sayers and supporters even among the VHL community. Now I for one love it. Coming up in the league as a total NOOB I loved seeing my player fight some of the legends like Duncan Idaho, Druss Deathwalker, and Vinny Detroit. Now there is an attribute for fighting and grit that a player can use their hard earned TPE to increase the chances of a good tilt but I have found that even with grit and some fighting points, fights are difficult to find, Which is odd. Let’s take a player like Vasile Lamb @dlamb from Seattle. A great goal scorer and all-around stud. He has 80 checking and 40 grit with 0 in fighting. He leads the league in fights with 9. #2 with 8 fights is Randy Bobandy also from Seattle. Bobandy has 1 TPE in body checking, 0 in Grit, and 0 in fighting. Meanwhile Warsaw Defenseman Jeff Buffy @Strider currently rocks 75 Body Checking, 35 grit, and 73 in FIGHTING and has 7 fights. Seems like a player like Buffy should be rocking more fights than Bobandy on any given night or #4 in fights Jason Argos in LA who has 8 fights but 15 TPE in Grit and 5 in Fighting? Now overall I could care less and needed a topic for this week’s media spot but it’s an interesting subject. I understand the real game of hockey is a game of emotion and sometimes unsuspecting players can fight sometimes but in a SIM League with attribute points placed in aggressive items It interested me. Not saying a player with less in fighting or grit is not going to get in a random fight and I support and love to see it when my teammate and goal scorer Girts Galvins gets after it with a good tilt. So should there be more fights or would members like to see their player’s name in the box scores? Not sure. I barely know how the SIM engine works but do always enjoy seeing my player’s name in a nice brawl and I think it helps build some rivalries. See ya next week

The Eastern Conference continues to heat up and its anyone’s guess who will get the last two spots. Right now at 66 games it looks like Davos and Moscow are guaranteed spots and Moscow refused to give up the top spot. But between current 3rd place team, Malmo, with 78 points and 7th place team Prague with 73 points its anyone’s guess at this point. Prague and Warsaw lead the EU in offence with 214 and 216 goals respectfully but are having trouble stopping them. Malmo showing to be the second-best defensive club in the EU only allowing 171 but scoring has been tough. All I know is the team that gets hot in these last few games of the season will make it and some very good clubs will be hitting the golf courses early. It is cool to see such competitiveness in the division as it shows good some good team management by several clubs.

Congrats bro!!!

I am working on him! he's slow!!!!!

I think Thunder's more accurate Render would be Happy Gilmore. Just sayin

I failed with Emoney for sure. Which is weird as he has more time on his hands than all of us. I've tried Wrench but he seems meh about it. Not much of a hockey fan I think. I am always pimping the league and how much fun it is so I will keep on it. I need to hop on NHL23 EASHL and start pimping the league in there maybe.

Reminded me of my last root canal

That’s awesome!

Is Rip Wheeler the real deal? The VHLM rookie has started his career with some ups and downs for sure. Playing for the struggling Las Vegas Aces they have had a tough season. But for Rip he has shown that he can play in the league and has done a decent job earning TPE. @ScottyPScott At the 52 game mark he has 17 goals 34 assists 51 points and 132 hits. He is currently at 141 TPE and had a nice week last week for Theme week. I am hoping he continues to grow in his love for the VHL and just how much fun it is here. He is still learning and I still don’t think he understands how to get into his locker room on Discord but small steps. LOL. Between Jake Thunder @Thunder and I were hoping to get ScottyP to be a regular name seen on the forum and a player that both Thunder and I can beat up when he makes it to VHL.

1. I think some teams like Davos are going all in to win it. Anything can happen in Eau since it’s so close. 2. Riga and Prague 3. Not sure really. We just need to be consistent and beat the clubs near us in standings. 4. I’d say 6. 5. Jake Thunder 6. I’d say pretty busy. Especially in the East. I’d expect Carolina to make a move to Match Toronto

Today for the Around the League in 500 words there is much to cover. Los Angeles is whooping serious ass, Moscow pulling away in the EU, and is Vasile Lamb the best power forward in the league? LA ON HOT STREAK To say the LA Starts have made a huge turn around this season is an understatement. On a 7 game win streak they are currently #2 in NA, 9 points behind defending Continental Cup Champions, Vancouver. The off-season addition of tough guy, Vinny Detroit has certainly changed the culture of the club and it shows on the ice. They check the boxes on all ends of the ice as well with Sirdsvaldis Miglaskems @FrostBeard (35 goals), stud defenseman Callum Murray @Berocka(23 goals), and Vinny Detroit @dasboot(24 goals and 250 hits). Art Valdelay @Gustav is crushing everything net too with a .932 GAA and 6 shutouts. The one knock on the club is do have a short bench on defense. Both defensemen (Murray and Scoish Velociraptor are both great but come playoff time they will have their hands full game in and game out. Either way, its great to see the LA Starts doing so well after some tough years. Great job @InstantRockstar MOSCOW PULLING AWAY Now it’s pretty normal to hear Moscow’s name year in and year out as a powerhouse in the league. Whether through trades or draft this club just remains tough and is always in the conversation come playoff time. This year is no different. Riding an 8-game win streak the Menace are 8 points ahead of #2 Davos. The EU conference kills each other and there is merely a point or two separating #2-#7 in the division which makes Moscow’s run so much more impressive. Led on the front end by Nico Pearce @Spartan , Ronan Lavelle @Arce , and Tomas Sogaard @Brandon they have the offensive talent to make opposing defense and goalies shutter. On Defense they have Hammer Voss @BOOM having a career year with 28 goals 44 assists 72 points in 52 games. Fellow dman, AK92 Wit da Hoodie @hedgehog337 is a steady point producer and is bocking shots (120) at an amazing pace. In net Matt Murdock @Acydburn is lights out as well and already has 4 shutouts. Overall, a pretty tough team going into the second half of season. The team has grit, scoring, defense, and more importantly experience winning in the post season. VASILE LAMB GREATEST POWER FORWARD? OK, as I started typing this I luckily checked the trades and saw that Vasile was traded to the Seattle Bears today. So the question, Is Vasile the best power/two way forward in the league?? It’s a tough question for sure but lets check out his career to date. The S82 first overall pick he made the jump directly to the VHL from the M. In his first season he had 43 goals and 384 hits on a re-building NYA team. Here is his career so far: S82- 43G 39A 82P 384HITS S83- 49G 45A 94P 344HITS S84- 34G 49A 83P 289HITS (CONTINTAL CUP CHAMP) S85- 38G 46A 84P 280HITS S86- 53G 53A 106 303HITS S87- 33G 31A 64P 245 (CURRENT SEASON 52 GAMES) Lamb @dlambseems to do it all. He hits, plays defense, fights, and scores at a high rate. If I had to pick some NHL equivalents to Lamb I would put his name in there with players like Eric Lindros, Keith Tkachuk, Brendan Shanahan, Cam Neely, and Jerome Iginla. Some pretty good names to be compared too Lamb is on pace for another career year and one could argue he is worthy of being considered one of the best PF in the game for sure. Surely worthy of that 1st overall selection. Best of luck Lamb in Seattle.

Come back to Warsaw!!!!!!!!!!

Vasile is a beast!!!! We need you back on Warsaw!!!! 9 fights this year too bro! Love it

OrbitingDeath did it. I am way too stupid to know how to do graphics

1. I am doing nothing to help your slump as my team is slumping too and were in same division! LOL 2. I think London is an underrated club and has a chance to make it to playoffs. The damn EU conference is so tough we hurt our standings because it's so competitive. 3. No, I hung out at home with my wife, dogs, and 4 year old. We did watch the game tho and its as a good one 4. Bo Johansson probably. We played in E together and he helped me build my player up 5. Baked Potato 6. Probably Golf. Thanks for letting me drop. in on this PC. Ours isn't up yet and was trying to knock out all my points this week now. Best of Luck London!

Yay for Theme Doubles Week as I bank toward my inevitable depreciation next season. As I rack my brain I try to remember all the rivalries I have had since my first season in the VHLM. I remember being part of a stacked San Diego Marlins team we went head to head with tough Las Vegas Aces and Philadelphia Reapers clubs. I was so new at the time and freaking out about how to get TPE, claim properly, and navigate the forum and discord I didn’t take the time to appreciate the rivalries and now that I am established a bit more on how this works I do take more time to respect a good rivalry. So here we go! JAKE THUNDER Ok Thunder @Thunder and I are friends in real life, and I recruited him to this league. He has taken off to become an award-winning defenseman and is always in the conversation for defensive awards and is a great TPE earner. Now with all that good being said about him I (Brian Payne) wants to smash his face on the ice. We had one fight two seasons ago and Thunder came out on top. Look, anyone can get caught with a lucky one but since then it’s been non-stop shit talk from Thunder and the SIM gods have forbidden a rematch as of yet. So, I usually wish the best for Thunder until we play Davos then I want him to completely shit the bed! Now, get ready for not so witty response to this post I am sure from Thunder.... The EUROPEAN CONFERENCE Ok this is a different kind of rivalry as the whole damn conference is good and the amount of lead changes from 1st to 6th is insane. Moscow, Davos, Warsaw, Riga, London, Prague, and Malmo area all competitive for playoff spots right now and each week shows a huge swing in the standings. I’d say over the course of my VHL career, Moscow has been the main stay rivalry team as they are just freaking good every year. Huge credit to the club management @Spartan for drafting-trading to keep such a powerhouse club. Overall, I think the EU is chalk full of rivalries just buy the sheer competitiveness of the division. BO JOHANSSON Not many people have been as helpful to my development as BoJo @Shindigs. We played against each other in the VHLM where he dominated. We then became teammates in the VHLE for Bratislava where he dominated while Payne was MEH. BoJo was always helping me develop Payne into a better defenseman. After our year in the E we moved on to the VHL where BoJo again hit the ground running and I improved slowly. As the years have gone on we have developed not so much of a rivalry but a healthy competitiveness against each other. I always root for BoJo, expect when he plays Warsaw. Now I think we all can agree BoJo is a potential hall of famer while Payne isn’t but it’s always exciting to play against a mentor and maybe get a win or two every now and then.

For this weeks quick VHL article I want to highlight VHLM rookie Rip Wheeler @ScottyP (good and bad). Now ScottP is a friend in real life, and it took some convincing from me for a long time to get him to join the VHL because I knew he would dig it if given the chance. So at 38 games into the season let’s check and see his progress. Stat Line: So far in 38 games he has 12 goals 20 assists 32 points….45 PIM and 91 hits. Not too shabby truly on a struggling Las Vegas club. There is some power houses in their division and they have found themselves in some tough games. Now as far as TPE earning he has been doing a decent job and still struggles with just what to do and what to write about. He also bitches about finding time, but I call bullshit on that because he stares at Twitter a minimum of 4 hours a day. LOL He is currently ranked 15th overall in the upcoming draft and will need to max his TPE earnings to raise his profile if he wants to go early. Overall, I am happy with Rip’s progress and I am excited the VHL obtained and interested player who will be around for years to come.

Very sorry about your loss!! Congrats on the engagement!!