Scurvy

Enjoy Audiobooks more but started a podcast on Spotify called History on Fire.   Some pretty cool history shit. 

HAHAHAHA-  best article in the history of VHL.  Can't wait for Rip to read it

https://public.flourish.studio/visualisation/17588090/
 

 

WAAAAGH! Or at least that is what Grimgor Ironhide would say to introduce himself. 
 
That said, here is my Theme Week submission. 
 
To start this off, I decided to take 3 teams and move them to Warhammer Fantasy universe, teams chosen are for a reason as I do believe 3 teams require a strong rebrand. Those would be Warsaw Predators, Vancouver Wolves and London United. Of course I would love to see Warsaw moved to Munich, Vancouver to Quebec City and London moved to.... London, just with a different name, United doesn't work for a hockey team. 
 
When it comes to Warhammer Fantasy, I will only focus on Locations in the Old World. 

And we are first moving to Parravon...


 
So, for the Warsaw Predators, they would be moved to the great Brettonian town of Parravon, and be officially called Parravon Royal Hippogryphs. We all know that Predators is an absolutely horrible name for any sports team so we take something that the great Grey Mountains of the Old World are known for, the magestic, mighty and gorgeous beasts - Hippogryphs. Parravon, being a city carved into the mountain range, not too far off the Grey Mountains, is a perfect place to create a backstory and a reason for a team like that to exist. 

Now for the 2nd team team, we are moving to Barak Varr.



The great dwarven stronghold and the largest Dwarven port in all of the known world, the most maginificent underground caverns, the most beautiful dwarven carved waterfalls that create ripples of sunlight reflecting from the pools of water that sometimes seem to be cascading down. For Barak Varr, being a true dwarven stronghold there is a certain charm to have a hockey team based there. This team should be called Ironclads, the one thing that Barak Varr produced to the highest quality (Not counting the Dwarven ale which is of course the greatest of treats). So from now on, Vancouver Wolves will be called "Barak Varr Ironclads". I think it is perfect. 

And finally, we are moving to the great city of guns, artillery and gunpowder - Nuln. 



This is an absolutely easy choice, sure, I wanted to first go to Averland and focus on Averheim but in the end went with Nuln. After all, Wissenland is the greatest provice of the Empire. It is the home to Imperial Gunnery School, which trains all the great sharpshooters of the Empire armies, College of Engineering, known for it's technological advancement and development of different cannon and rocket artillery. It is a place where a single matchstick could destroy half of Wissenland. And for that, we need to move London away to Nuln and create the beautiful team called Nuln Hellblasters, named after their local and brutal invention, Hellblaster Volley guns. 


Warsaw Predators become Parravon Royal Hippogryphs
Vancouver Wolves become Barak Varr Ironclads
Lodon United become Nuln Hellblasters
 
Overall, I am personally quite happy with this and will keep this going even after Theme Week as I have plenty of ideas, you just have to wait and see which of the VHL teams could become Skavenblight Warpgrinders...

Was posting this last week, but Theme week happened.

1. Moscow is already tough and now they are really going for it.  I pick them as our rivals for years to come
 
2.  Thought Helsinki could have gotten more for Fukka.  But either way it makes Seattle better without having to give up too much.  Which sucks!   lol
 
3.  I think we can,  We are streaky for sure and just got punished today with lack of scoring.  I think we will get hot though and squeak in.
 
4. It's been great for me.  Happy to be in Vancouver and in VHL.  We knew we were going to have a young club, still earning.  The next few seasons we will grow and be super deadly.
 
5. I did not.  I was off and hanging with family since weather was nice we've been outside mostly.
 
6. NO RAIN!!!!!!!  Rains for like 9 months straight here so its nice for a break

Rip Wheeler's attempt at fighting reminded me of that time Alex Semin tried to fight in the NHL. 
 
 
 

HAHAHAHA-  best article in the history of VHL.  Can't wait for Rip to read it

Guntis Gavilrovs has put together a pretty solid season on the blue line for the Vancouver Wolves this year as the rookie continues to develop his two-way game. With a team leading 168 hits and 120 blocks he's showing he can be a physical and defensive force out there but with 136 penalty minutes he needs to be more disciplined. The team needs Guntis on the ice not in the box, so the big Latvian will have to find a way to keep a cooler head out there while still playing with an edge. Gavilrovs' offense is coming along as expected and with 5 goals and 18 assists from the blue line he can't complain. That's something he plans to work on in the off-season. An area that could use improvement right now would be his plus/minus because it's definitely not great at -28 but on a rebuilding team we're not going to get too upset about it for now. He's been great in other areas so it's more something to keep an eye on as the team improves. Gavilrovs has definitely shown he can become a force in the league and with continued development he should no doubt become a star for Vancouver in the coming seasons. Lots of great future stars in Vancouver, it's the place to be! 

Player Information
Username: Phil
Player Name: Phil Sakic
Recruited From: Member (Knight)
Age: 17
Position: LW
Height: 71 in.
Weight: 195 lbs.
Birthplace: United Kingdom

Player Page
@VHLM GM

HAHAHAHA-  best article in the history of VHL.  Can't wait for Rip to read it

When looking around the league for possible rebrand options, there's one grouping that sticks out like a sore thumb.  Looking along the west coast, it's clear that there are just too many teams on that side of the continent.  In order to continue to grow the game and keep interest from fans all across the country, we need to move one of those franchises.  The easy selection is one of Vancouver or Seattle because, while it makes for a nice rivalry, that's just too much hockey for that close of quarters.  Because I once played for Vancouver, I'm letting them stay put and moving the Seattle Bears to Atlanta.
 
Why Atlanta, you might ask?  Well in the interest of full disclosure, I'm born and raised here.  But more than that, Atlanta has everything you want in a major sports city. We have the world busiest airport which is more than capable of handling the fan and team traffic, in addition to thousands of hotels in and around the city to accommodate the gargantuan needs of a franchise.  When you look at what other major institutions call Atlanta home, it's a no-brainer. World headquarters of Coca-Cola, Home Depot, and a slew of other Fortune 500 companies are all here, as well as the College Football Hall of Fame, the Georgia Aquarium, and Centennial Olympic Park. For rabid sports fans, there's the Braves, the Hawks, and the Falcons, as well as the numerous other sporting events Atlanta hosts, including the Super Bowl, the Final Four, and College Football National Championship.  
 
Now that we've established that Atlanta can physically do the job as a major city, it's time to talk about geography. There is a massive hole in the league for teams in the Deep South which needs to be rectified. I know hockey may not be a traditionally popular sport, but the love of the game has grown exponentially in the last decade with more and more professional hockey players coming out of the Peach State and surrounding areas.  For the actual branding, my first gut has to be the Peaches.  Georgia is the Peach State and the city of Atlanta has something like 125 different roads with the words "peachtree" or "peach" in the title.  If we go with peach, I'm envisioning a light peach colored peach with green stem, with some dark red accents on the fruit itself.  Across the peach would be two hockey sticks pointing in opposite directions at the bottom of the logo.  We could even go with Georgia Peaches if the league wanted to, as that's what we're quite famous for.  Another option would be the Atlanta Grits.  With the prominence of Waffle House in the Deep South, I could see a logo of a plate of buttered grits with two hockey sticks acting as fork and spoon on the plate.  This would be a great link to the cuisine and culture of the region and highlight one of the many delicious things that makes the South the South.  We could even partner with Waffle House as we'd have a natural strategic partnership to help market the brand and grow the popularity.
 
Regardless of which brand the league would decide to pick, two things are quite clear: first, Atlanta needs a team, and second, the league needs Atlanta.
 
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There’s something amiss in the VHLM right now.  There’s definitely something strange going on.  I cannot put my finger on it, but I know that I am onto something because the sun is definitely not lining up with the moon.  Well apparently it did for a little while, but that doesn’t explain the phenomenon that is happening.  And this is the topic I get to write about for my TPE; however, before I get into it, if you read through this I am asking for your help to provide some input and solve this anomaly because I’ve been racking my brain trying to figure it out.
 
How can Halifax 21st be the nemesis of the Saskatoon Wild in season 93?  Saskatoon is a dominating team and hands down is going to win the Founders Cup this season, yet every time Saskatoon matches up with Halifax the skies turn dark, the birds stop singing, the squirrels hide their nuts, and Halifax kicks the living shit out of Saskatoon.  Halifax and Saskatoon have matched up four times this season, and Halifax has come out on top all four games.  These two teams match up two more times in season play, and I’ve got to figure out how Halifax is cheating before the next two games take place.  Saskatoon GM, @Dadam30, is doing everything right, and even with their expertise managing the team, cannot seem to overcome the trickery and dirty handed play by Halifax GM, @LucyXpher.  Lucyxpher is no stranger to internal investigations, considering the recent jelly coin debacle.  But to continue, it has come to the point of having to hire some private investigators to determine what means lucyxpher is doing to cause Saskatoon’s misery.
 
With the help of Harry Bosch, Mitch Rapp, Scott Coleman, Joe Pike, and Elvis Cole, here are some of the potential suspicious actions by Halifax over the course of the season to cause Halifax to have a huge advantage over Saskatoon.  When I say “huge advantage” one only needs to look to the record.  Look what has happened over those four games.
 
Saskatoon outshot Halifax 102 to 91, yet Halifax put the puck in the net 13 times to Saskatoon’s 4 goals.  Halifax was unusually more aggressive in the competitions, outhitting Saskatoon 89 to 68.  With the extra hits came more penalty minutes, as Halifax spent 69 minutes in the box while Saskatoon had 57 minutes in the sin bin, yet there was no advantage to Saskatoon.  Saskatoon blocked 31 of Halifax’s shots, while Halifax blocked 27 of Saskatoon’s shots.  Both teams scored two of their goals on power plays.  Given these statistics, the biggest stat that is lopsided, and yes I agree its the most important stat, is the goals scored.  What is Lucyxpher doing to give Halifax such an advantage?
 
I asked Elvis Cole to look into this and here is what he found out.  Elvis Cole spent a lot of time looking at the accommodations in Halifax, as well as in Saskatoon and he discovered that the conditions of the hotel rooms provided to Saskatoon were sub par.  The heating was at uncomfortable levels and the air quality was just above hazardous levels, which is likely the reason the Saskatoon players seemed to be out of shape during the contests in Halifax.  Barely breathing while on the ice, there’s no doubt Saskatoon was a victim of foul play.  Investigating further, it was determined that Halifax AGM, @Will3, signed for all of the hotel adjustments.  To make matters worse, the food provided to Saskatoon was determined to have been poisoned, which to no surprise caused some indigestion problems with Bollos de Trueno, as if Thunder Buns needed any help there.
 
Scott Coleman conducted covert surveillance on a few of Halifax 21st players and reported that John Season, @dylanjj37, spent a lot of time at the Juan Ceson Zoo, which is not unusual, but what he found to be unusual was the secret laboratory that he found John Season going to every day.  Coleman noted the unusual manipulation of the monkeys and the walrus.  To make matters even more suspicious was the Geico team meeting with John Season and Halifax goaltender, John Webber III, @Webberj.  Webber was providing some advice to Duncan the walrus.  Coleman came to the conclusion that Webber was given a synthetic cocktail giving him super agility and vision which played a pivotal role in the inability of Saskatoon to score goals against Webber III.
 
Harry Bosch conducted his investigation in the locker rooms and around the arenas to determine foul play.  His report indicated that the Saskatoon sticks had been tampered with as there were several sticks with splinters causing a severe loss of power.  Saskatoon goal scorer, Oliver Loo, @Misty, had complained about something being wrong with the sticks and this certainly explains why Loo didn’t more score goals against Halifax.  Bosch also discovered that the Saskatoon blades had been dulled and all the sharpening tools were not functional.  To make matters worse, there were steel weights found in the pads giving the Saskatoon players a sluggish feel on the ice to go with not having edges on their skates.
 
Joe Pike helped Harry Bosch and he found the boards behind the Saskatoon goal to have been altered, giving Halifax an rebound advantage.  You might ask, “what about when the teams change sides,” and Pike located wireless devices that automatically adjusted the boards to the desired rebound.  Just ask Boston how Florida got their first goal in the last game. This was obvious as Halifax players, Pierre Marc Bouchard, @Gaikoku-hito, has scored 1/5th of his goals against Saskatoon; Maple Dogwood, @dogwoodmaple, put up 6 points against Saskatoon; Aanarsi Reingaard, @Laine, has 21% of his points credited when playing Saskatoon; and John Season has 4 of his 27 assists against the Wild.
 
The final part of the investigation was completed by Mitch Rapp.  Rapp spent some time investigating @lucyxpher, finding her to have secretly have been attending the workouts of Carson Tripp, @Cartripp14, and Micah Cedarbaum, @MicahC.  Lucyxpher adjusted the tensions of the ropes, causing Cedarbaum and Tripp to have rubber arms just before game 3.  Strategically having John Season create a general fight, GM Lucyxpher picked Dorji Kahn, @Oddpurplefly to fight Carson Tripp; and Ty Duke, @TheDuke, to fight Micah Cedarbaum.  Both of these fights, which would have normally ended in Duke and Kahn getting their faces smashed in by Cedarbaum and Tripp, ended in draws and had no favorable bearing for Saskatoon.  Luckily for Saskatoon, Leon Bruhmaninho, @BigBruhman, worked out at a different gym when Lucyxpher was commmitting the fouled play, and did not have rubber arms and Bruhmaninho kicked the shit out of an uninformed Robin Sierra, @ethanjaeda. Although the Saskatoon luck was not enough to come up with a victory as Halifax goaltender, Joe Webber III, was all jacked up on juice and stopped every puck that went at him.
 
All of these allegations were found to be factual and everything has been turned over to VHL Commissioners, @Beketov, @Acydburn, and @Josh, who requested a $1000.00 filing fee, which was paid in small unmarked bills to Josh, as directed.  We will all have to wait for games 296 and 331 to take place to determine if the commissioners did their jobs or if lucyxpher has juice and everything was overlooked.  I can only hope that by the time playoffs start the moon is no longer aligned with the sun, the birds are singing again, the squirrels found their nuts, and the Halifax curse no longer exists.
 
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To be claimed 04-21 and 04-28.

Things are starting to heat up between Prague Phantoms winger Rip Wheeler, @ScottyP, and Vancouver Wolves winger Logan Ninefingers, @Scurvy.  Game #393 found Rip Wheeler to be skirting the ice time with Logan Ninefingers, knowing all too well that Ninefingers has been after Wheeler.  Logan Ninefingers, the hard working, gritty power forward for the Wolves had reached out to his GM, @Frank, for a chance to share the ice with Wheeler so they could match up and air out some differences.  Ninefingers has been vocal about how disappointing Wheeler is as a hockey player, giving a lackluster effort and just going through the motions.
 
For almost two periods, every time Logan Ninefingers stepped on the ice, Rip Wheeler immediately asked for a sub out.  This chicken shit worked as Logan Ninefingers was keenly aware of Wheeler’s antics of being mouthy only when Ninefingers cant get to Wheeler.
 
At the 16:43 mark, Wheeler had only four shots, all of which were easily stopped by Dalkr Vidarrson, @kaleebthemighty.  Wheeler received a pass from Skor McFleury, @Alex, while looking on the Vancouver bench and seeing Ninefingers was about to jump on the ice.  Wheeler dumped the puck and went right after rookie Riley Martin, @Smarch, with what can only be described as a limpwristed attempt to challenge Martin.  Now Martin, not about to back down from anyone, let alone Rip Wheeler, reveled at the instigating and proceeded to use Wheeler’s face to redden his knuckles.  Spanish Moon Moth, @Renomitsu and Guntis Gavilrovs, @Girts embraced for a fight to a draw; as did Nikolas Kauppi, @Tetricide and Mikko Borisyuk. @Minebro.  Spanish Moon Moth and Nikolas Kauppi both shook their heads in disgust as they saw Rip Wheeler pick himself off the ice and skate to the bench as quickly as possible knowing that Wheeler will not be tangling against Logan Ninefingers anytime soon.  Before opening the bench door, Wheeler could be heard begging the referee to give him a game misconduct so he could avoid Ninefingers another day.
 
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Playoff are right around the corner and the VHL in both conference as a ton of developing story lines; Could we see a three way tie at the end of the week and maybe the season in the European conference title? It might just happen!! Toronto Legion has the North American Conference all but locked up right? Nope, Watch for the Seattle Bears to make a late season push to catch Toronto, which could set up a fantastic finish for the North American title between the two teams in the final week. Is six points up in the final wildcard race enough? Chicago hopes that it will be as they try to hold off Vancouver and Calgary to claim the final wildcard spot in the North. Some team are also looking a head to the end of the regular season and what they hope will be a turn around off season through the draft, free agency and management changes. Either way lets get into this week.
 
 

 
Current Standings:
                    Standings                                        Record             Points                   Last Wk                          Prediction Last Wk                       
1.     Toronto Legion                                  39-11-1           79pts                 10-3-0                       🟰         1st North American
2.     Seattle Bears                                    31-17-4           66pts                  9-3-2                       🔼        4th North American
3.     New York Americans                       28-16-9           65pts                  7-5-3                       🟰        3rd   North American   
4.     D.C. Dragons                                    31-18-3           65pts                  4-8-2                       🔻         2nd North American  
5.     Chicago Phoenix                              21-21-10          52pts                  4-7-3                       🟰         5th North American 
6.     Vancouver Wolves                           20-26-6           46pts                  5-7-2                       🟰         6th North American 
7.     Calgary Wranglers                           20-29-3           43pts                  4-8-2                       🟰         7th North American  
8.     Los Angeles Stars                             3-48-1              7pts                  2-12-1                      🟰         8th North American  
 
 
Next Week Predictions:
 
 1.    
Toronto really pulled away during this past week from the rest of the North American conference so should easily walk to the NA title, right? Nope, the Legion will be watching over their shoulders this week if I am correct as the fast-charging Seattle Bears should get close to them in overall points and might just pass them but since the Bears are so far back, I am not going to be that bold but should set up an interesting finish as Toronto and Da bears play twice in the final week of the season. Why has Toronto been so dominate so far well look no further than 204 GF; which is 15 more than any other team. The Legion are head by a three head monster of Diego Machado @Dadam30(35-47-82pts), Harry Callahan @dstevensonjr(25-57-82pts) and Jimi Jaks @ke1vi(37-41-78pts) all top three in the league in scoring. Which is only telling part of the story.
 
 
2.    
Trade swung the standings for the Seattle Bears last week as they climbed to second in the North American conference and add in  a weaker schedule this week could see the Bears actually go undefeated this week but that might be a bit bold since they play the Dragons three times but that could only slow them down. By the end of the week the Bears led by new tender Fuukka Rask @Jubis(6-2-1, 2.50ga & 0.918%) should be charging down Toronto and clearly second by the end of the week.
 
 
3.    
Pretty much the same for New York this week playing a few games above five hundred and secure in the third or fourth spot within the conference. FISTED ANALLY BY A CIRCUS MONKEY Analfist @STZ(28-22-50pts) has really fallen off lately and will need to be better down the stretch if New York is going to be a concern for any of the top three teams in the conference. 36W @rory(25-25-8, 2.44ga & 0.929%) has clearly been a bright spot again this season for New York but can he steal a playoff series or two for the Americans?
 
 
4.    
Well, I guess my kiss of death is still working as I didn`t foresee the Dragons falling out of the sky with an 4-8-2 record this past week. Can the bounce back? This will really depend on the three-game series against Seattle this week; if they lose all three games then they will back and clearly be looking at playing in the wildcard round but if they can beat Seattle than they will put some thoughts into the Bears heads as it could be a first round preview. Henry Tucker Jr @NSG(27-15-2, 2.82ga & 0.919%) will need to lead the charge of the Dragons.
 
 
5.    
Are the Phoenix playing with the chasing Wolves? It seems that way since the Phoenix are doing just enough to stay a head of the Wolves only dropping a single point this past week to chasing team from Vancouver and at the current pace should be enough to secure the final playoff spot. Overall, the team needs just a bit more from Yaroslav Trunov @qripll(36-31-67pts) just behind his 94pt pace from last season and Ryan Artyomov @Enorama(15-21-7, 3.29ga & 0.912%) if Chicago is going to claim the final spot.
 
 
6.    
The wild dogs are chasing but how much do they have left as I think I am starting to see the tongues starting to hang? Can Vancouver make up the six points to the Phoenix? Yes, but I think they will need some help if they are going to actually pass them and make the playoffs. First Vancouver need to worry only about what they can control and that is winning game that they need to win. Vancouver will need Liv Slater @Subject056(20-37-57pts) to regain the former from last season an one of the two offensive rookies to take the next step in Logan Ninefingers @Scurvy(19-20-39pts) or Riley Martin @Smarch(18-16-34pts).
 
 
7.    
Calgary has been rather disappointing since they trade for Larry Abass Jr @RileyL(12-10-22pts) and Jens Lekman @Bobcat(5-9-14pts) since I expected them to move up the standings. For whatever reason the trade just hasn`t worked and is most evident by Larry Abass Jr @RileyL struggles since joining the the Wranglers since he had 33pts in Vancouver in 22 games and now only has 22pts in 30 games with Calgary. What has gone wrong other than the fact that the team just cannot find any goal scoring with a defender leading the team in scoring in Phil Strasmore @Phil(9-40-49pts). Nine points back of the final wildcard spot with 20 games remaining; likely means season done and dusted.
 
 
8.    
The season cannot end fast enough for this team but some hope last week as the Stars up ended Warsaw and HC Davos giving some sign of hope and more important fight from a team that will be dusting off the golf clubs in next two weeks. Draft is coming and so should some more help.
 
 
 
 

 
Current Standings:
                    Standings                                        Record             Points                   Last Wk                          Prediction Last Wk                       
1.     Malmo Nighthawks                           34-13-4           72pts                 10-4-0                      🔼       3rd European Conference
2.     Prague Phantoms                             34-14-4           72pts                 10-4-0                      🔼       4th European Conference
3.     Moscow Menace                              33-16-3           69pts                   7-7-0                      🔻        1st European Conference
4.     London United                                  32-15-5           69pts                   8-5-1                      🔻        2nd European Conference
5.     Warsaw Predators                            33-16-3           69pts                  11-3-1                      🟰        5th European Conference
6.     Helsinki Titans                                  28-22-1            57pts                   9-4-1                      🟰        6th European Conference
7.     Riga Reign                                         18-29-5            41pts                    7-6-1                      🟰        7th European Conference
8.     HC Davos Dynamo                           10-40-2           22pts                    6-8-0       　           🟰       8th European Conference
 
 
 
Next Week Predictions:
 
1.    
Can I throw my hands up and say I don`t know!! I have a possible three way tie happening for first in the European Conference this week so will have the Malmo remain at the top of the standing as the Nighthawks could be either first or third by the end of the week. Ash Sparks @DarkSpyro(33-12-4, 2.41ga & 0.925%) has been unreal this season for Malmo as he was last season; the question now is can he carry them in the playoffs? Malmo continue to play the team game with no one near the league leaders in scoring. While Jacob Stone @scoop(15-45-60pts) should have his name mentioned again in the Jake Wylde conversation.
 
 
2.    
Again can either be first or as low as thrid in the standings, it is too early to judge the LeBen Aky @Ben_Reformed(0-3-3pts) trade but should help the team as they move towards the playoffs. Still expected to see a bigger move by Prague but it is what it is at this time. Likely it will cost them in the playoff unless John Jameson @Frank(35-54-89pts); Nikolas Kauppi @Tetricide(41-40-81pts) and Skor McFleury @Alex(16-58-74pts) can continue to carry the team with Matt Murdock @Acydburn(29-11-4; 2.55ga & 0.934%). Go time is right around the corner for this team!!
 
 
3.      
Average hockey last week cost me and this team in the standings. Kiss of death is still real it seems but I am going to double down and see this team with a bounce back this week. First or third is my prediction in the really tight European conference. Huge trade see Moscow also get better at the back end with Kronchy Kardashian @Garsh(1-9-10pts). Which is looking good through ten games. Will it be enough to push them toward the Continental Cup at the end of the season? We only have a few weeks to find out!!
 
 
4.    
With the leading goal score Wann Kerr @VattghernCZ(38-55-93pts) on your team, you would expect to be higher up than a wildcard spot but European Conference has been that tight this season that a team that could have easily won the conference is likely playing in the Wildcard game against Warsaw. Can one line drive this team high up the standing and to the Continental Cup? I am not so sure but after the trade deadline that is what they are planning to do!!
 
 
5.    
It will be close with London for home ice advantage during the Wildcard round and I am not sure who is going to finish where. Warsaw has been the surprise team of the season in my eyes with King Kisslinger @Kisslinger(28-54-82pts) breaking out and clearly a Dustin Funk leading candidate; not to mention Thor Reingaard @N0HBDY(37-42-79pts) and Maxim Anisimov @McLovin(34-42-76pts) taking another step this season. Easy when you have an elite goaltender allowing you to cheat towards the offense end as Lachlan Summers @kirbithan(31-16-2, 2.56ga & 0.935%) has been this season.
 
 
6.    
Well, that wasn`t what I expected from Helsinki when I was looking for them to make a trade last week to push them back towards a playoff spot. Gone is star goaltender Fuukka Rask @Jubis(13-18-0, 2.81ga & 0.923%) traded to the Seattle Bears and out goes former Alexander Valiq Trophy winning Kronchy Kardashian @Garsh(12-27-39pts) to Moscow; all but giving up on the season? But than why haven`t they traded aging Daryl Dixon @Ricer13(30-40-70pts) or Michael Shotter @TacocaT9(8-38-46pts)? Twelve points out of the playoffs so it is very unlikely they will make the dance this season as the window of contention is clearly closing for the Titans; if not closed already!!
 
 
7.    
Interesting off season lay a head for the Riga Reign as I look at the team as if they are at a cross road with a new management team expected to take over but also just not good enough to really push forward with the current roster. The roster is lacking star power and with one pick this off season; it is likely that even if they pick star player is going to be enough to push this team towards contending. It will be interesting how the new management views the teams current assets and how aggressive they will be trying to turn this team into a contender. Left in better shape than most teams when changing management so the new managers should have some ability to make changes if that is the direction that they look to head.
 
 
8.    
How long will the rebuild last? Davos looks set to pick another solid three players this off season with what should be at least top three pick with a bit a lotto luck should be top two and two early second round picks at 18th and 19th or 20th. Add in the prospect that the team drafted last season and they should be much better next season but still clearly needing time for the prospect to develop. So how much longer is this fan base going to put up with losing?
 
 
 
 
Final Thought:
10/16 this week or 62.5%. Worse than last week thanks to Moscow and D.C. or the kiss of death; not to mention early pay-off of some of the trade completed last week ahead of the trade deadline. A bunch to still watch for as any of the top five team in the European conference can place 1st or 5th. While in the North American conference the Bears are charging hard for the top spot while Chicago will try to hold off the Wolves and Wranglers for the final playoff spot.

Enjoy Audiobooks more but started a podcast on Spotify called History on Fire.   Some pretty cool history shit. 

As we look in at what most likely is the leader in the Rookie of the year standings, Theo Allard @InstantRockstar there is more to his game than his over a point per game average.  At the 50-game mark he has 21g 37a 58pts and 54 PIMS.   Not overly imposing at 603 188lbs Allard is taking the rookie class by storm with his grit and scoring prowess.  
 
Now, he is on a stacked team with the defending champions and has some leadership to lean on but…he still must put the puck in and he’s doing it.  What is more surprising is the young rookie has 8 fights this season already with low PIMS.  Meaning he picks his spots well and fights strategically as not to hurt the club.  
 
It will be a good race to the finish for the coveted rookie of the year with some greats like MacAvoy and Richmond nipping at Allard’s heels.  Best of luck! 

1. Not sure there is much that can be done when re-building.  I guess best thing is players do a few extra point tasks and earn a bit to improve chances of winning 
 
2. yes for sure.  The vhlm is a tough league to stay consistent on top. I expect Miami to be contenders next season.  
 
3.  I want Ninefingers to be a John Jameson type player.  Hitter and scorer.  
 
4.  When I was in M for the first time I was happy with active leadership group in LR.   Really helped me stay interested as I learned the difficulties in VHL 
 
5.  CCM.   Only skates I ever truly liked 
 
6.  When I played I  had to put my left sock and skate on first.  Left glove first as well.  

1.     Major trade ended the previous week as Vancouver Wolves shipped Larry Abass Jr @RileyL and Jens Lekman @Bobcat to Calgary Wranglers for Thor Odinson @GoalPlays and S94 CGY 1st; who won the trade and why?
Hopefully it turns into a win win. Oddly enough we've trended better since we traded one of our best players. Just STHS things.
 
2.     Vancouver Wolves have struggled to start the season so are you still confident that Vancouver will turn it around and make the playoffs?
I hope we can sneak into the wild card round by seasons end. This season was all about turning the page on the rebuild but if it takes another season to contend then so be it. 
 
3.     Playoffs, Yeah, I am talking about playoffs!! With the NHL playoff only a few weeks away, is your team going to make the playoffs and what do you think of their chances of winning the cup?
Yes but the Canucks love to disappoint so I'd say the chances are slim.
 
4.     Fools day came and went with a few jokes being played, what one did you like and which one might have caught you out? (League embezzlement, Fake trade, GM stepping down etc..)
Fake trade was the best. Especially since Josh fell for it lol. Not sure how he missed the VHL Bot wasn't the topic author. No harm done though. 
 
5.     What did you think of the Fake trade involving Vancouver Wolves and the Moscow Menace; where Vancouver shipped off newly announced Captain Liv Slater @Subject056 to Moscow for S94 WAR 1st & S94 MOS 1st? Would this be a trade that you would complete? Why or why not? Did this joke caught you out? Why or why not?
@Subject056 is retiring a Wolf unless I step down as GM or she asks for a trade. 
 
6.     Captains have been announced so what are your overall thoughts about the new Leadership group being announced with Liv Slater @Subject056 as Captain, Left Alone @okochastar & Sunglasses Joyo @JetsGoalie101 as assistants?
Three great members. Two nearing the end with their players. Hoping Alone can find sone playoff success if not this season than next season.

I gamble everyday with my 300k mortgage and getting engaged in the same year 

Wait 'till Grønvold arrives!

As we look in at what most likely is the leader in the Rookie of the year standings, Theo Allard @InstantRockstar there is more to his game than his over a point per game average.  At the 50-game mark he has 21g 37a 58pts and 54 PIMS.   Not overly imposing at 603 188lbs Allard is taking the rookie class by storm with his grit and scoring prowess.  
 
Now, he is on a stacked team with the defending champions and has some leadership to lean on but…he still must put the puck in and he’s doing it.  What is more surprising is the young rookie has 8 fights this season already with low PIMS.  Meaning he picks his spots well and fights strategically as not to hurt the club.  
 
It will be a good race to the finish for the coveted rookie of the year with some greats like MacAvoy and Richmond nipping at Allard’s heels.  Best of luck! 

As we look in at what most likely is the leader in the Rookie of the year standings, Theo Allard @InstantRockstar there is more to his game than his over a point per game average.  At the 50-game mark he has 21g 37a 58pts and 54 PIMS.   Not overly imposing at 603 188lbs Allard is taking the rookie class by storm with his grit and scoring prowess.  
 
Now, he is on a stacked team with the defending champions and has some leadership to lean on but…he still must put the puck in and he’s doing it.  What is more surprising is the young rookie has 8 fights this season already with low PIMS.  Meaning he picks his spots well and fights strategically as not to hurt the club.  
 
It will be a good race to the finish for the coveted rookie of the year with some greats like MacAvoy and Richmond nipping at Allard’s heels.  Best of luck! 

Probably the only time @Beketov has ever agreed with me in BoG, and it was before I was ever part of it.
 
 
The VHL has seen its share of TPE inflation over the years. The update scale used to max out at 9 TPE until that was changed at some point in the S50s. Things like doubles weeks and predictions and fantasy zone consistently give us more than we're guaranteed to earn every week. Plus, we now have one more season to earn with, a depreciation system that I hate, and new systems like catch-up TPE that do make VHL life more fair but do so by...giving out more TPE. Really, the only change I've ever seen that cut down on TPE inflation was a scale-back of the amount that could be earned through Fantasy Zone every week, when the way it worked more or less made the weekly cap 15 when you bothered to do it and make reasonable guesses.
 
Well, almost. The only other one I can think of was the abolishment of the VHL lottery--and also the first real change I ever advocated for on the forum.
 
If you were around when I joined the league, chances are that you remember the lotto. Chances also are that you haven't thought about it in a while. If you aren't familiar with the system, it's more or less exactly what it sounds like. Back before my time, it was run by @Smarch and featured a poll at the top of a forum thread that people could answer, with each answer constituting an entry to the lottery. Each week, a winner would be chosen from that field of answers at random. Which was fine--except that no one liked it.
 
So, at some point not long before I joined the league, the lottery system was overhauled. This time, instead of purely random based on one entry, VHL leadership decided to try to tackle two things at once and make the lottery a way to make game threads more active. This was in the days before game reviews were a thing, and there wasn't really any reason to comment on game threads unless (gasp) you wanted to use the VHL for its intended purpose of getting to know people and having real human interaction. Which, of course, no one really cares about unless you force them to (a mindset that I've always seen here on some level and never really liked). It seemed like a really good idea to reward those who were doing that and making the forum a more active and readable place. But what was never addressed was the fact that there was really nothing stopping anyone from trying to stuff their own box by just commenting everywhere...and getting tons of chances.
 
As far as I understand it, this really took off in S65 with the emergence of the S66 draft class. You'll know by now that we were historically large, historically new, and historically active. That also made many of us historically competitive--and waving "there's a positive correlation between the number of comments you leave on game threads and your TPE" under our noses wasn't something that took people very long to figure out. Take a scroll through the S65 Games section for the VHLM and tell me what you see--tons of comments on every game thread, all of which were made by the same handful of people. These people were doing nothing wrong, just taking an opportunity they were given. Still, it didn't quite match the intended purpose of promoting discussion--because everyone openly did not care about discussion. I remember talking about the lottery on a few different occasions with @Renomitsu and @rjfryman--two people who took full advantage of the system--and they'd openly admit that the reason why they posted everywhere was that the way things were set up was designed in a way that made that choice one that was in their best interest. This was more than fair enough, and the benefit that it served their players was sizable--eventual Hall-of-Famer Julius Freeman would enter the draft second in the class in TPE as a first-gen.
 
I'd comment on things when I felt like it and a few times ventured into lotto-whoring territory, winning something a couple times but not going as far as some others had. That still didn't stop me from taking issue with how things went--after all, it felt kind of dumb to open up my team's thread and see it already commented on by people who probably didn't care how my team did in the slightest. So, for the first time ever in the VHL, I took matters into my own hands.
 
I considered this suggestion thread my magnum opus at the time, and it was called "FIX THE LOTTERY SYSTEM GODDAMMIT", with the last word specifically added because I was under the impression that there was some study showing that cursing in the title of a book made it more likely to be bought (I can't find that, but there are a lot of online articles about that topic in general). I had done well as a player up to that point, was doing pretty well as a GM, and was ready to start throwing my VHL influence around. People largely seemed to agree with me in the replies, which felt really good, and it felt even better when I suggested in a status update that people start throwing around a "#fixthelottery" or two in their game thread comments. Some people actually did, and I had a cool week or so when I had backup every time a sim went up. 
 
I'm not sure exactly when the lottery was fixed, but it happened pretty quickly. The league went back to its old system (one entry in a separate random draw), which was closed entirely before long. The changes to the lottery had created a weird system that I'm sure would have been changed eventually no matter what, but I was the first one to really jump on it. You'll notice a natural progression in these articles, as time goes on and the stories become more recent, where I move a little bit away from my achievements as a player or as a GM and a little bit more into the administrative side of things. That will also come with more "making things happen" than experiencing things on my own. I'm glad I've experienced both, and that there was a time when was heavily involved in both at once.
 
 
Read my other articles for the full Gustav experience:
#1: Lightning Glory Gonna Be My Name
#2: Can't We All Just Get Along?
#3: Who Needs Cybersecurity Anyway?
#4: The House That I Built