badcolethetitan

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!

Transaction ID: 90E12241X4456040D 5 TPE Uncapped Doubles Week

Chicago Phoenix Fans Left Questioning Off-Season The Chicago Phoenix came into the off-season looking to be buyers, as a lot of their players had finally got to a level where they can compete. With names like Trunov, Schwarzer, Gaming, and Artyomov, in the system for a bit, and young guns in Collberg, Lamb, and Woodworth, this team seemed ready to make that next step to be a playoff team. Only a couple pieces away, as they already have much of the core in place, this team had the chance to do some damage in the upcoming season(s) with plenty of cap space and a young roster. The fans were finally ready to be out of the rebuild, to start competing and winning. One fan said that, "They can't wait to see Chicago hoist the trophy and we know we're getting there soon!" With the GM willing to part ways with picks, it seemed that it was finally time to start competing. However, too many trades ended up falling through for the young GM as he couldn't come to agreement on multiple deals. One by one the star players ended up being shipped away that were available and the Phoenix were left with nothing to show for it. The only notable move they made was moving out a defenseman for a third round pick in the upcoming draft, who they used to select Micah Cederbaum @MicahC a young forward who will take some time before reaching the pros. Regardless, what this team could have been for Chicago left them disappointed in the GM for not making moves. The fans wanted to compete and the time was now to make that next step, but that step hasn't been taken. Draft Heading into the draft, there were questions if Chicago would be selecting 5th overall, as trades were coming in left and right for that pick. However, as no trade ended up sparking the GMs eye, the pick was made, drafting @UghSike at 5th overall. An amazing young forward that would be a huge addition to the young forward core in the future. Moving on, 20th overall was looming and the GM was busy with trades coming in from over 5 different teams. Originally, the plan was to move back in the draft and secure extra draft capital in an already stacked draft. However, there was a player that caught their eye at 20th overall, that being Jean-Pierre Devote @eagle_3450. A player with an amazing upside, however, question marks on his activity and consistency. Chicago ultimately decided that at 20th overall, the reward would outweigh the risk and took the young forward, however, that wouldn't be the end for the Phoenix already busy draft. After the pick was made, Chicago had been eyeing prospect Vanuza Kolesinska @chikn and had tried to move up in the draft previous to 20th overall, but to no avail, as they had been selected 18th overall to Prague. Eventually, Chicago and Prague would come to a deal where Chicago would land Kolesinska for two 2nd round picks in S94 and S95. Adding a solid player such as Kolesinska would be huge for the Phoenix, as they continued to add to their stacked forward core, however the risk is that in S95, the draft is extremely deep and that 2nd becomes an insanely solid player. The draft would end off with Chicago making their third round selection in Micah Cederbaum @MicahC and their fourth round selection in Kevin OConnor @Luke033. A very busy draft for Chicago as multiple trades were potentially going to happen! Free Agency After the draft, Chicago had to reassess where the team was this season. They were still again only a couple pieces away from being a playoff team and potentially going on a run in the playoffs. The expectation heading into this season was to be a wildcard, with teams at this point in Los Angeles, Vancouver, Seattle, potentially not being the strongest moving forward, however, that had changed. Chicago was making a run at top Free Agent Henry Eagles (so was almost every team I'm pretty sure), as he was the big fish to catch in free agency. However, Chicago again would come short, failing to land the stud forward that could've helped propel them into the post-season. Even worse, a team that potentially was going to be weaker in the Seattle Bears ended up landing the stud forward, throwing them into the playoff mix, and honestly, favorites ahead of Chicago at this point. Chicago now has a hole to fill in their forward core and also defensively, as their prospect Darko Alexander Malkovich had walked without a single word to the GM. There is still lots of time for Chicago to field a roster, and concerns of them not having a full roster are overblown, as they've found ways to ultimately put together a roster every season. Not too long ago was Chicago 3rd seed in NA, with Scotty Sundin carrying the way, when expectations were to finish bottom of the league. This team could potentially end up making a run again, and this season could look very different. Conclusion A disastrous off-season in what "could have been" a very young playoff team, with only upside as the season went on. Many fans are starting to question if their GM can truly get this team into the post-season, or if they'll be stuck in yet another rebuild. Chicago fans want to win, and they want to start winning now. This doesn't mean a championship this season, but forward steps into being a playoff team. Failure to do so would further make Chicago not an attractive destination for prospects and players in the future. The GM will have his hands full this season, including around the trade deadline where he'll have to decide if it's playoffs, or time to sell off for the draft. Regardless, you can expect Chicago to be "all-in" next season, where they'll finally look to make a push to the post-season. Also, just want to point out that some of this is dramatized for the article. It's not actually that bad, most of the trades fell through due to timing, and not necessarily value. I'm still happy with how the draft turned out, as we got a bunch of young pieces for the future in a stacked draft class. Building through this draft was absolutely crucial, and I hope it's going to pay off in the future. 1000+ words

1. London I think is going to win it all, as they were my pick before the series started. 2. I'm going to go with the Florida Panthers, they're built for the playoffs and I can see them winning. 3. Chicago Blackhawks. They'll be gifted Celibrini and then they have their dynamic duo. 4. It was the Buffalo Sabres vs. the Ottawa Senators back when Ryan Miller was on the team. It made me become a Sabres fan. 5. Richmond uses white hockey tape, as it looks clean with the toe taped and puck marks on it. 7. I was just watching Jujutsu Kaisen and picked Sukuna as my pfp, as I had some other people from JJK before.

I will say though, maybe assigning a value for each pick could be something that could be explored in the future data wise: Possibly taking the amount of players that make it to the VHL from each round and assigning the pick then based on a value of that. Don't really know though, as each draft will be different, so it would need to be an average off of X amount of drafts then.

Just quantity, didn’t go that deep into it. If I were to actually go very far deep into it with more analysis, teams would switch around 100%.

How is your VHL team looking for the future? Breaking down the graph Before we get into it, I want to point out this is not taking into account players, a rosters age, etc. There are teams that have a young roster with little picks that could be on here, so just because your present team and/or future team could have less picks, it doesn't mean your team is screwed. Now that we got that out of the way, let me give you a quick rundown of what this graph is actually showing by explaining it if you don't understand. Point % is on the x-axis and how to calculate point % is take the amount of points your team earned (example: 65 for Chicago) and divide that by the maximum amount of points that can be earned (in this case, it would be 144 as there are 72 games played * 2 which is the maximum amount of points you can earn for a win). So, when people say you are a ".500" team, that means you have earned 50% of the possible points at that time. The "Draft Picks" is pretty self explanatory as it's just the amount of draft picks the team has in the next two drafts. Now that we understand the numbers and where they come from, we can finally get into the point of the article! The "normal" teams These are the teams that either had a good point % (good record) and not a lot of picks, or a bad point %, but a lot of picks. Also, keep in mind that the average number of draft picks is 8, so I would consider have "a lot of draft picks" at anything 10 or higher. Having little draft picks is technically 6 or lower. First, we'll look at the teams with good point %, but not a lot of picks. The teams that fall into this category would be: Malmo Nighthawks, Los Angeles Stars, D.C. Dragons, Toronto Legion, and London United. All these teams are fairly good (all were playoff teams), but they don't necessarily have draft capital for the future. This is OK, as it's completely normal, as to have a good team, you usually need to trade away futures to compete! I would also consider Chicago in this category, but they are kind of stuck in no mans land, where they were average and have slightly under average the amount of picks. They don't really fit in the "bad" team category, but don't really fit in the "normal" team category, but they're closer to "normal" than "bad", so it's a toss up where they should be. Next up, we have the teams with bad point %, but a good amount of picks. The teams that fall into this category would be: Vancouver Wolves, Riga Reign, Seattle Bears, and HC Davos Dynamo. These teams are all in the same in that most of them weren't that good this season (with the exception of Riga, they were average), but have lots of picks and a bright future ahead. They should be able to be towards the top of the standings in a couple of years with the amount of draft capital they have, they're having a good rebuild one could say. The "good" teams Moving on, these are the teams that had a good point % (good record) AND also have more than the average amount of picks (8) in the next two drafts. These GMs are able to find a way to be competitive, while at the same time still be able to have assets to make moves to become even stronger. These are contender teams, where in the near future, even next season, they could be winning a cup. These teams that fall into this category would be: Moscow Menace, Helsinki Titans, Prague Phantoms, and Calgary Wranglers. I want to give a quick reminder that this is NOT looking at players age, players, etc, this is just looking at point % and draft picks. Prague is losing multiple players to retirement and will basically be forced into a rebuild, despite fitting into this category. Regardless, these four teams are going to be contending for a championship very soon and their GMs should be considered some of the best GMs in the league. I just want to give a quick shoutout to @samx @Spartan and @leandrofg, you guys are doing fantastic work and a trophy could be in the near future! The "bad" teams Last, these are the teams that had less or close to a 50% point % (average-bad record) AND also have less than the average amount of picks (8) in the next two drafts. These would include: New York Americans, Warsaw Predators, and Chicago Phoenix. Again, not always do the stats tell the tale, as New York had in the playoffs, and Chicago has a young team. Warsaw is really the only ones that "fit" into this category, however, these other two teams in NYA and CHI have to be included as well. These are the GMs that have found a way to have a less than optimal team, and also not have the draft capital to improve the team. If this team is not a young team, they could be in for a dark age, where the team unfortunately isn't able to compete and the assets to get them to compete aren't there. Closing I just want to say that this isn't trying to call out any GMs for how bad they are. I think every GM in the league knows what they need to do to win and is trying their best to get their franchise a W. I don't think in the long run anyone is trying to "lose", otherwise they wouldn't have a job. I made sure to include myself in the "bad" teams so that people wouldn't say I tried to keep myself out. Also, data doesn't always show where a team is heading! Prague although considered a "good" team needs to rebuild, but they've got a head start due to their old GM @Acydburn. It'll be interesting to see if any of Helsinki, Calgary, or Moscow end up winning next season, as they were considered the main three at the top! Thanks and I hope you enjoyed the read. 1000+ words

Hello Europe - George Richmond Hello Europe - George Richmond George Richmond coming into the season had high expectations for the Cologne Express. Cologne has won the cup multiple years in a row and it seemed poised that they were destined to do it yet again this season. Richmond started the season on the first line, where he saw himself among the top five at the beginning of the season, however, he fell off at the end, only having 71 points in 72 games played. In the draft, Richmond was projected to go either first or second overall, but fell to 5th overall. This is the second time in his career that he has failed to live up to his projection, which makes people think that possibly there is something wrong with his character. Richmond has always had a team first mentality where he will do whatever it takes to win, however, maybe teams are looking for more of that superstar x-factor egotistical personality. Richmond unfortunately isn't that type of player, so that could be a huge red flag for some organizations looking to draft a franchise piece. Richmond will most likely not carry teams by himself, but he'll make everyone around him significantly better, something he was looking to bring forward to Cologne. Expectations wise, a cup was the expectation. Cologne as a franchise has a ton of history and Richmond will be looking to help keep the streak going. Alongside Richmond is Anthony Simmons, Baby Moo Moo, Theo Allard, and many more talented forwards. This team has no holes in their lineup and any player on any given night can carry the team. It should be a great season moving forward for the Express and I'm looking forward to meeting new people! Failing to Meet Expectations As I am technically writing this days after the finals, we fell short to the Bratislava Watchmen in the finals. We got swept. Richmond didn't do very well in the playoffs, dropping 7 points in 9 games played, a bit of a disappointment for the young centerman. Richmond never was a high goal scorer either in the M or in the E, as he focused more on his defensive game, however, losing in the finals and ending the streak is not something he is proud of. When he was asked his thoughts, he responded, "I mean, yeah it's really rough to lose like that. All the games were close, but we just couldn't get it done at the end of the day. I had a horrible finals and I let the city of Cologne down. I do truly feel sorry for this city and franchise, as they are a wonderful team to play for and I hope they bounce back next season. As for myself, I'll finally be heading to the VHL to play for Moscow, so I'll be looking forward to that." Richmond thanked all his teammates and the general managers for his time in Cologne, but he had an amazing time and will always think of Cologne in a positive way.

1. Since I'm a Sabres fan, it would have to be the Taro Tsujimoto draft pick. 2. I won't say too much as I'm also a GM in the VHL, but just don't break the rules and nothing bad will happen. 3. Well, I GM Chicago, and as I am from there, I probably wouldn't leap at another job GMing wise. Ask 3 1. What are you looking forward to next season for your player, regardless what league you're in? 2. How is your NHL team doing that you support? Above expectations, meeting expectations, or below expectations and why? 3. If you could change one rule about anything in the VHL, what would you change and why?

Bye Acyd

Bump for Week 4/4 Claiming

Transaction ID: 0C272983W13795217 5 TPE Uncapped Doubles Week

1. I think we basically did how we were expected to do. I want to make playoffs next season. 2. The only other sim league I'm in is GOHLS. 5. I think it's inevitable that he's going to do it, but I don't know why. 6. I would say Samurai, they're pretty cool and even when other armies were using muskets, they would still have swords. 7. It was pretty funny I'm not going to lie, especially since it is against the Leafs. 8. I don't mind the chiefs, but I hate the whole Mahomes and Taylor Swift stuff.

it's happening again @Alex

1. My player started off very well, but fell off in the E. I am still above a point-per-game though. 2. I like lasagna, but personally I like chicken parm better. 3. My player isn't religious. However, personally, I am a catholic, have been my whole life. Ask 3 Questions 1. Who do you have winning the super bowl and why? 2. What is one record you want your player to break and why? 3. If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?

2: I would consider our team to be conservative buyers. If the right deal is there, the trigger will be pulled. 3: Well, I am aiming for 40 goals in the E, but my player has slowed down recently. 4: I thought it would be McDavid before watching, but it was Matthews. 5: I think Celibrini is a good player that is getting overlooked due to not having the "franchise" tag to him like Bedard did. 6: Rasmus Dahlin. He carries our defensive core without a doubt. 8: I didn't watch it, but he's an old wrestler if I remember correctly. Good for him.

I'll be waiting!