badcolethetitan

I'm sorry for your loss. I know losing someone so influential and close to you, especially a parent can be tough. I'm sure she's always going to be watching you from here on out. If you ever need anything or to talk, don't hesitate to reach out. The VHL is an amazing community and we're all here for you!

A Season in Review: Chicago Phoenix Expectations coming into the season Coming into the S93 season, expectations were set high. The team was hungry for playoff hockey and the expectations were in some way or another, to reach the post-season. It didn't matter if we were 1st or 5th, just somehow get in and play meaningful hockey. Now, keep in mind, this was at the beginning of the season before a bunch of teams decided to buy. Realistically, I thought we would end up being around 7th in the conference, better than LA, but battling with VAN/SEA for the last spot. However, that's obviously not what happened. The expectation was the post-season, and we ended up making it, even though NA was not the best this season. A 29-33-10 record nets us a playoff appearance, despite not even securing 30 wins on the year. Calgary was able to pick up 31, but us heading to overtime multiple times, securing extra points was the difference maker. On top of that, Chicago ended up going 4-1-0 against Calgary this season, which is a big reason why we made it in, including a 5-1 win against Calgary on the last day. In all seriousness, we got lucky. We should've never made it over a Calgary team that on paper, is way better than our team, but we did, and we're here. Chicago has always found a way to play better than what they are on paper, which is good when you're trying to compete, but not the best when you're rebuilding. Where we're at now Well, we're here. We're in the post-season and it's time to create some chaos. Am I expecting us to win the cup? No, I'm realistic. I wanted to make the playoffs as a stretch, and it happened. Our goal is to try to make things unconventional. We want to make noise and make things difficult for the New York Americans. Do I think we will win? Possibly. We went 2-4-1 during the regular season against NYA, so we can beat them, but that only puts us at a ~28% chance to win the series. We could potentially roll the 28%, but I just want to make life difficult for them. Make them earn the victory. I truly believe we're finally turning a chapter for Chicago and this off-season is going to be the busiest off-season under my tenure in Chicago. Last season was supposed to be busy, but with deals falling through, it just didn't happen. Now with a chance to compete in the post-season, and our young core starting to develop, it can hopefully attract more players to the city. First though, we've got NYA and we'll do our best to take them down! What's the plan for the future? For the future, we'll be looking to compete for a while. I think with our core starting to develop, we're only going to be getting better. We've got pieces in place to the point where we can start supplementing those pieces and picking up some other stars to help aid the core. I'm excited moving forward and I think we can finally start making noise, starting next season.

Any team with @Dil on it is surely a contender in my eyes

Chicago Phoenix staying put and the race for the post season Chicago Phoenix make no moves amid busy trade deadline The Chicago Phoenix currently sit at a 21-21-10 record in the NA conference, with a GD of -20, yet they have themselves in a wildcard spot and would currently be eyeing post season action. There were a lot of moves at the trade deadline, where teams were selling and buying, thinking about the future of their team. However, the Phoenix decided their best course of action would be to stay put, and not make any trades at the trade deadline, as the market for the players they wanted just weren't there. The biggest buyer at the deadline was the Seattle Bears, who are currently second in NA with a 31-17-4 record and a +20 GD, and seem to be poised to make a run in the playoffs. We interviewed the Chicago's GM and asked him about the deadline, to which he said, "There were potentially deals in place, but to only slightly upgrade our team would not be worth it. We are still a very young team and are getting better and better each day. Even if we were to add at the deadline, and add some superstar players, we still lack playoff experience and that could come back to haunt our team in the long run." The Phoenix have a good chance at getting the final wildcard, but would currently play the New York Americans, who would most likely end up making quick work of the team. There really is no ideal opponent for Chicago, as the gap between the top 4 and bottom 4 is pretty substantial. On top of that, you have teams like Vancouver and Calgary who are not out of the race just yet, so Chicago can for sure feel the pressure. Every game is a playoff game currently for Chicago, and they'll be battling it out till the end. The race for the final wildcard in NA There are currently 3 teams in the race for the final wildcard, Chicago, Vancouver, and Calgary. The Phoenix currently hold a 6 point lead on the next closest team, the Vancouver Wolves. However, the Wolves have decided to sell, as they've shipped away Sunglasses Joyo and a 4th for Zyn Westwood and a 2nd. A downgrade for the Wolves for sure, but continuing to build on the young core they have in the future. I would pretty much say that Vancouver is out of the running, however, with how bad these NA teams are, and the wildcard spot only being 52 points currently, they could still make it in. Calgary is currently sitting 9 points out of the wildcard spot, and a 3 game loss streak to boot is not ideal. On top of that, a tough loss to HC Davos Dynamo have them questioning what is happening. Calgary on paper is a good team, and I expect them to make a late season surge back to contesting a playoff spot. Chicago is not an amazing team, so they will drop games. Calgary needs to capitalize on the losses and make up ground, which they can do with about 20 games remaining for each team. It's not too late in NA and any team can find themselves in the final wildcard position come season end.

1. I would say that the team is very active. It's nice to have a bunch of people talking about the games after sims. 2. I think for skaters, it's probably defense. For goalies, I don't know because I've never really created a goalie before. 3. Arizona had to move eventually. I don't think it's going to solve the problem, but it's a solution to one problem. 1. How is your player doing this season? Better or worse than you expected? 2. Who do you think is going to make the playoffs (last wild card) in the Eastern Conference for the NHL? 3. If you could play with one player in the VHL, who would it be and why?

1. I think if the timing and trade is right, we should, otherwise we don't have to make trades now. 2. I would name it "The Nest". 3. I think it's pretty cool. You get to see the creative side of people. 4. Columbus Blue Jackets. I like the cannon, just not a fan of the jerseys. 5. I mean, it has to happen eventually, right? 6. I'm going to go with the Dallas Stars. They've got some great depth and seem pretty stacked.

Tage Thompson my KING

Chicago Phoenix Potential Rebrand to... Why Rebrand? First off, I just want to say that I like the Chicago Phoenix currently. I wouldn't actually want to rebrand the team and I'd want to keep it pretty much how it is. However, that's not the whole point of this week, which is the theme: rebranding. I had a couple ideas on how to take this, but ultimately landed on this one as the final choice, I think it's a cool idea, but it will never become a reality, thankfully. Team Name and Colors, Reasoning The team name I'm going to be rolling with is the Windy City Locomotives. You might be wondering, where is the Chicago name going? Well, we are going to be changing it to the "Windy City", as it's one of the nicknames for Chicago. If you didn't know, this actually comes from the 1870s, where a newspaper by the name of the "Cincinnati Enquirer" called Chicago this, because of a tornado that went through the city of Chicago. On top of that, they were doubling down on the name, highlighting the local speakers at the time who were "full of wind," basically calling them egotistical (I had to look this part up, because I had no clue why it was called the Windy City, I thought it was just because of how windy it is). Now that you know why we're switching to the Windy City, we can now focus on the team name, the Locomotives. I ended up choosing this over the "trains" because it obviously sounds way better in my opinion. Chicago actually has many trains that go in and outside of the city, as it's in the middle of the mid west and acts as a hub for most train companies as a middle point, hence why I chose the name Locomotives. As for the coloring, I decided to keep with some of the same colors that the Phoenix have. Overall, the main colors would be Red, Black, and White, however I decided to keep a bit of orange in the jersey to still have the "Chicago Phoenix" touch even though we are rebranding. Our goal horn would then change, as we would probably have a train horn as our goal horn, as for the song I have no clue. The coloring for the jersey was just my own opinion, because I think red and black work really well with each other. As for the logo, I basically found it online and recolored it, hence why I didn't use it for a full tpe graphic, and wrote an article instead. The logo belongs to the Syracuse Mets, which is the Triple A affiliate of the New York Mets. I think they've got a sick logo and it fits perfectly with the "C" standing for Chicago and the train obviously being for our team name. As for our arena and such, we'd still be located in Chicago and wouldn't end up changing location, as it wouldn't make any sense. Overall, this is all for fun and at the end of the day, I wouldn't want to rebrand the Chicago Phoenix, but I think this is a pretty fun spin on rebranding.

You telling me you had Chicago slotted as a playoff team? Plus, not really. I think I actually have not done the best job as a GM, and it's widespread that I think that about myself. lol

The Fire Rages on and the King of EU Chicago Phoenix continue to surprise The Chicago Phoenix are currently sitting in the final wildcard spot in NA, with a record of 17-14-7. They currently have a 7 point gap over 6th in NA, that being Vancouver, with a 15-19-4 record. Chicago coming into the season was projected to finish around the bottom of NA, as their team on paper wasn't as good as other teams, like the Calgary Wranglers and the Vancouver Wolves. However, as we've seen time and time again, Chicago continues to perform when they aren't expected to. They find way to win games and collect points, despite being on paper worse than a lot of teams. The spirits are high in Chicago where they might find themselves back into the post-season as they're ending the tail end of the rebuild, ready to start competing. Leading the way for Chicago is veteran Yaroslav Trunov @qripll, who has 55 points in 38 games played, with 30 goals and 25 assists. Trunov is currently on pace to break his career high that was set last season, where he's been on fire ever since he's joined Chicago, picking up a bigger role in the process. This team has some solid depth, but no real superstar player, as they rely on the sum of their parts to be a good team. Compared to the top teams, Chicago is a way off, but just making it to the post-season are baby steps to what the final goal is, to lift the trophy at the end of the day. George Richmond impresses and Menace on top The Moscow Menace have been the Kings of EU this season, finding themselves in first place in the conference, with a 26-9-3 record. Axle Gunner @Steve and Jeff Lewis @nerji have been the focal points on this team so far, both amassing over 50 points and bringing to life the offence. Richmond a rookie in the VHL currently finds himself at a point-per-game pace, with 38 points in 38 games played, 18 of those being goals. Currently, Richmond finds himself second in the rookie race, where he has a good shot to take home ROTY if he can continue to perform. We caught up with George Richmond and asked him about the pace of the VHL compared to the E, and how he's been able to adapt, to which he replied, "It's a lot faster for sure. You go from playing with players who are either veterans on their last leg, or young players trying to develop, to playing superstars and the best the world has to offer. It's for sure been a difficult process to adapt, but I felt like I've done my best in adapting. I'm still learning game by game on how to be a better player and read situations better, as Obuz Schneider Canet du Bocage @Grape has been helping me out, so shoutout to him. He's been like a brother to me and we hope to continue our dynamic duo on the ice." Moscow looks geared up for a playoff run, as they have been at the top of EU for a while now. While many players on Moscow have hopes for a championship, Richmond is just taking it all in and learning from the experience game after game.

1: For VHL, I'll go with Toronto. VHLE I'll say Cologne. For the VHLM, I will say Ottawa. 2: Kickstart my Heart by Motley Crue 3: It's going to be a while away for my next player, might try a goalie as I haven't done that yet. 4: I feel like possibly, but most of that specific type of game is dead. It's all about speed now. 5: He'll probably keep going until he thinks it's not worth it anymore. I don't know how many more seasons he's got in him though. 6: Sidney Crosby. I could see him being a coach after he retires in the near future.

A Look Around at Friends in the League Before I start, I want to let everyone know that I have/had a bunch of friends create in this league. Some stick around, some eventually fizzle out, but one thing is consistent, in that they all enjoy the experience. They might not be the most active people, where some don't talk in locker rooms and prefer to talk on the forum, however, their passion for the league is just as same as some of the other players. I've had conversations with them about the VHL multiple times and daily now we talk about our players performance in sims. Although you don't see that on the forum, they are still active and it's key that some people might not be max earning and super active, there are still players that are just as important to our league! Lightning McSnipe My friend @Langostine joined the league a couple days ago, where he selected the San Diego Marlins. At first glance, I knew this was going to be very interesting, as SDM on paper is not a very good in the M currently. Riding a 3-18-2 record with a -46 GD makes them the worst team in the M currently. With only one capped player in Ray Stanton and an incomplete roster, it will be very difficult for this team to qualify for the playoffs. Regardless, McSnipe joined the team and finally played in his first games a couple days ago, where today he scored his first ever goal, two to be exact, in one game, helping San Diego secure their third win of the season. With 4 points in 6 games played, McSnipe could have a fairly decent season in his waiver season, on a pretty bad team. I'm hyped to see how he's going to be in the future, as he is very hyped about the VHL and won't stop yapping about it. Wayne Shotzky Shotzky has been around longer than McSnipe, as they are a S92 and had amazing success when they played in the M. They put up over 100 points and were a very solid player for the Ottawa Lynx, however, they have made the jump to the E this season, playing for the Stockholm Vikings. The Vikings seem to be a playoff team in the E, but they are right on the bubble sitting in the fourth place spot. @Kenamatic has had a great time in the league, but the crazy thing is his player always performs. In the E currently, he has 24 points in 24 games played, and is a +11 on the Vikings, despite being at only 257 TPE, around 150 off the cap for the E. I don't know what kind of magic this guy has been performing, but being able to perform at both the M and E level despite maybe not be the best player on paper is very impressive. On top of that, they are forever immortalized in the M hall of fame, taking home the Ethan Osborne Trophy (Most Points) in S92. An exceptional career in both the M and the E for him so far and hopefully he can continue this pace one day at the VHL level. Toddly Bobbly Last, is ToddlyBobbly, who is a S91 and the first one to join and stick around for a while. @ToddlyBobbly has had an exceptional goalie career so far, especially in the M where he helped lead the Saskatoon Wild to a championship, securing both the Founder's Cup in S91 and also the Skylar Rift Trophy (Playoff MVP). An exceptional 12-3-2 record with a .928 and 1.76 in the playoffs was his stat line, helping him secure such awards. In the E, he split time with Oslo before being called up with Toronto the season after. He was able to have a 14-14-6 record with a .923 and a 3.1 GAA. Now in the VHL for the Toronto Legion, he has a 3-1-0 record with a .891 and a 3.25 as the backup. Eventually, he will probably become a very good backup or average starter, where he will easily be able to find a team if he stays active. Another amazing player that dominated the lower leagues and is looking to make his impact felt on a bigger stage very soon. Overall, all of them have one thing in common, and that's they enjoy the league. They are maybe not the most active in chats, but they truly do love checking how their team and players are doing every single day. A reminder to us all that every single player has a member behind them.

Game 165: Trunov put up 5 goals with 15 shots? Holy crap what is this guy on? @qripll

1. I think we will make the post-season. We've played a lot of strong teams and have yet to play teams around us in the standings. 2. Yes, he has been going crazy this season and can see it doing again. 3. I think so. They've been the #1 guy since Scotty Sundin retired. 4. My player doesn't have a nickname, but it would probably be Georgie or Richie. 5. I think George Richmond at the moment is a two-way forward. Eventually he'll be a sniper. 6. I really like Chicago's logo, but besides that Moscow has a really nice logo. I think a lot of the VHL teams have extremely good logos.

MID

S93 Chicago Phoenix Captains Another season gone, where did it go? This season the Chicago Phoenix look to finally start the climb into the post-season with their amazing young core. It should be interesting to see if we're able to get into the post-season. The new generation of players are finally here, and with that, new captains! Also, new gif! ALTERNATE CAPTAIN #1 - Lionel Collberg - @Masu Chan Lionel Collberg is coming off a fantastic rookie campaign, dropping 50 points as a defenseman. The sky is the limit for him and he's going ot be a fantastic add to the captain core moving forward! ALTERNATE CAPTAIN #2 - Yaroslav Trunov - @qripll Yaroslav Trunov although older than most of the players here, they can help provide veteran leadership and mentor the younger players coming into the team. Coming off of a career high 94 points with the team, Trunov will be a fantastic piece and one of the most important players on the team this season! CAPTAIN - Joshua Schwarzer - @Velevra The time is finally now, and we're excited to announce our new captain moving forward! Joshua Schwarzer burst onto the scene as a rookie last season, but has stepped it up on and off the ice. With 57 points as a rookie, the future is bright and having a young leader at the helm mixed with some veteran leadership is exactly what we need! Congratulations on being named the captain!

Graphic Review: At first glance, there is a LOT of blue on this graphic. I will say that I like the border surrounding the image, even if it's slightly too big in my eyes. The text is unique in the fact that it punches into the border, which personally I do like. I also think the jersey swap was pretty well done with the render, so I will give you props for that. I would probably end up adding something in the background so there isn't just black void, but that's just me. Also, I would try to made the "Season 93 Draft" in the corner pop out more, as you can barely see the shape. There is an outline that is blue that helps, but you should make it a light blue so that you can see the shape pop out more. Overall, it's a good graphic and I like what you did! Rating: 8/10

1. I have no clue what I'd name it. Sparkie? Sparky? Because it's a Phoenix? 2. I think either Chicago or San Jose. Realistically, it should be San Jose because the Hawks got Bedard. 3. I watch College Basketball and College Football. Both are a blast to watch and March Madness is coming up! 4. I really like NHL 12, it had a banger soundtrack and was a bunch of fun. 5. My favorite youtuber at the moment is Stick On The Ice, he does a bunch of challenges for NHL and they are fun to watch. 8. Butter Pecan. It's a bit out there, but I like it a ton and so does my dad.

Week 2/2

Upcoming Season with the Chicago Phoenix An Outlook The Chicago Phoenix are coming into the season with high hopes of finishing in a playoff spot. With teams like Los Angeles focusing on the future, Chicago feels like their time to make the playoffs is now. It's going to be a difficult road though, as teams like Vancouver and Seattle this off-season have brought in players to help them compete in the playoffs, shortening their rebuild. I have three teams in Chicago, Seattle, and Vancouver battling it out for the last wild card spot, and it's going to be a battle all the way to the end. Chicago is most likely going to finish ahead of Seattle, but behind Vancouver, so they are going to need a bit of sim luck to be able to make it in. However, a couple seasons ago Chicago was able to secure a third seed in the playoffs, despite not being a very good team. They'll be looking to run that luck back and this time, finally make a run into the playoffs.

1. I think we will finally start to be on the up! I'm ready to start competing soon. 2. I intend to focus on defense the most, as it's the most important in my eyes. 3. I like the jersey tuck on the left, so the right side is hanging out. 4. We would be going to Utah and something with Salt Lake City. I don't know what the name would be, but somewhere there. 6. I've watched highlights of multiple games before, but never rewatched a full NHL game. 7. Probably the Price is Right, I am decent with guessing.

Big deal!