Toast

1. Vibes are good! We're confident going into it and I hope we're going to see a repeat here. 2. Studying film and trying to sell some computers on the side. You always need a plan B when you're an athlete! 3. Especially with the recent wildfires turning Calgary into a smoky mess I see the team really getting behind the Red Cross to support any family impacted by these fires. 4. Lloyd has been working on his offense so he can get a goal here and there and help the team out! 5. I am not but I'm terrified of them. 6. Neither. I'm getting the hell out of dodge at the sight of either.

1. Pretty optimistic! We've got a fantastic squad coming off last season's Cup win and we're led by some of the best in the biz. 2. It's pretty great to be involved in such a storied franchise! I likely wouldn't be in the VHL without this team. 3. Hard not to go with Janser. Despite being a star he cares for all his teammates and the only way Lloyd gets points is if he can manage to find Janser with a pass! 4. He's just happy to be getting success as part of the team. Player success is second to him. 5. I watch when I can! Toronto is gone so I'm thrilled. I think Carolina takes it all. 6. Absolutely not that's so outdated.

1. Theme week is a really cool concept and I should read more entries and participate but I just haven't had the time lately! 2. Nothing in particular coming to mind. I am only focused on my own player and seeing how the team is performing when I check in. 3. He's a solid little role player for the team! I think he has been decent considering his TPE levels and I hope the team is satisfied. 4. Anything in the direction of the net is a win for Lloyd but if he had to choose it's definitely the gap above the should with a clapper fired from the blueline. 5. Yeah! I need to catch up on Mando and check out Andor(sp??) I think! 6. I played a ton of video games growing up but it was definitely Pokemon that had the biggest impact on me. Will always love those games!

1. I didn't know there was a posting but congrats to the new GM! Hopefully some great things coming for the Hounds. 2. ALL OF THEM! We are unstoppable and it's nice to see the team performing well! 3. It's definitely going to be me. While Lloyd will be lucky to have three total goals it's definitely happening. 4. It's definitely his warmup for the game. Dancing around is quite odd but whatever works! 5. It's great! 10/10. I feel bas you'll have to edit and reupload every week for the new date though. 6. Breakfast was from Broadway's, a local chain. Breakfast poutine of home fries, sausage and bacon with hollandaise sauce covering it!

1. Lloyd is doing all right! Wasn't really expecting much from him this season as we're still building him up! 2. No, I did not submit. I don't pay enough attention anyways and I'm sure they would've been wildly wrong. 3. Very disappointing to start off with a loss after winning the championship. I expect that fans would be forgiving since it's the first game but the players would want more. 4. We'll definitely be on top of the league! There is too much talent on the team to keep us down. 5. We did have dinner last Sunday but the family all got covid from it and have been having a pretty miserable week since then. 6. Not at all for the reason above!

1. While Lloyd is very happy to be a permanent roster member in Calgary after extending his contract he does miss travelling through Europe as part of the European league! 2. It's always exciting to have new faces arriving from the draft! Dilson comes from a recognizable player agency and I look forward to seeing how our new faces do! 3. I'm too excited about our own picks and seeing how they do! The drafts are the best moment of the season in my opinion but I really only focus on what impacts my team. 4. Lloyd would appear in front of a checkboard giving himself a checkmark for making a stellar defensive play of course! 5. No of course they would still be the gummy candy. They're too addictive! 6. Yep! Coffee in the morning to survive the day but plenty of water after that!

1. Great to add a Continental Cup to the trophy case! They alluded me for so long back when I first joined the league and I'm thrilled to win it with this group! 2. I think everyone thinks a collapse is possible when they see that lead but we kept out focus and powered through to the win. 3. Probably not sober lol. I imagine most of the players piled into someone's vehicle and either went back to someone's place or a bar to party it up. 4. Absolutely a wizard for getting me back into the league! He convinced me to revive Lloyd and it led to a championship. Hard to believe this player is still useful and I hope I'll stick around for seasons to come. 5. Absolutely! The roster is mostly the same and I expect us only to get better! 6. Absolutely! Love some of their jams.

1. Lloyd is amped up! Going to the finals is thrilling and hopefully he's going to have a solid performance! 2. No hat tricks so our opponents have played decently defensive but we have had some fantastic performances to outlast them! 3. We're just on top of our game at the moment. I wouldn't say it's a skill issue from the other teams as you have to be decent to make it this far. 4. Definitely loves the energy of the home fans. Calgary is known to show up for all of their home games and the energy can't be matched elsewhere. 5. Terrible. Had a bout last week that had me out of commission for three days with sneezing. I hate sneezing so it drove me insane. 6. Yeah, I'm a fan of Hawaiian Cookout from a chain here. Bacon, ham and pineapple!

1. After those first four games feeling pretty good! Just waiting for the next round to get started. 2. We didn't get any blank sheets but those were some pretty dominate wins against LA! Let's keep it going vs Seattle. 3. I'm shocked that Lloyd has two assists already! Hopefully he keeps it going for the rest of the playoffs. 4. Janser definitely has some coming vs Seattle! Yep, multiple hat tricks incoming. 5. I remember when I was a youngin' using one at a mall. 6. I really enjoyed reading Project Hail Mary and can't wait to see the movie adaption of it!

1. It has been a quick season! Looking forward to seeing how the team does. I think we definitely have a good shot of making a run. 2. I'm answering this pretty late in the week so I'm happy to say that we were good enough to finish second in the league. I think we have quite the shot to take it to Vancouver! 3. Lloyd's favourite arena to visit is Seattle's. There is a lot of history in that arena and it's cool to see! 4. Maybe the fact that the trade deadline happened is most surprising to me because it still feels like the season just started! 5. There weren't moves that were really surprising but the lack of value that Arizona got for Cychrun for Ottawa is pretty wild. Clearly they held out for more and expected to get a ransom which backfired on them. 6. I'm not but I'm terrified of the damn things anyways!

1. Definitely just because they see we're the biggest threat and who wouldn't hate us because they ain't us? 2. That's a great run! If Pedersen can keep up those kind of performances that's definitely the making of a goalie for the future of the franchise. 3. Definitely as we get closer to the end of the season it's only natural that things will start to settle and the point differences between the teams will get further apart as teams start to show who are stronger. 4. Lloyd Braun's role model growing up was Mr. Costanza as he demonstrated effective leadership while keeping his composure. 5. I really liked Jason Spezza when I first started getting into hockey and thought he was a fantastic player. 6. My wife is a huge Trekkie so I'll have to side with Trek for this one.

1. I like theme weeks as it gets people thinking of some original content! Rivalries is a good one especially in a league that's been around as long as this one has. 2. Has to be Vancouver, right? We've been chasing them all season and being so close together in Canada it makes perfect sense that they would be our rivals for the season. 3. It would be a very disappointing loss for Lloyd after seeing the effort the entire team put in. He tried offering his ideas on what the guys should try in the shootout next time but they didn't seem to take kindly to the terrible defender offering suggestions. 4. Getting set up on the point is a dream for a defenseman. Getting to send off a rocket of a slap shot at the goalie is a great feeling and they go so fast you're bound to get one once in awhile! 5. Started at episode 1 of It's Always Sunny and will likely binge the entire series! 6. Never heard of chicken fried steak so let's stick with chicken for this one...

1. We're looking pretty good so far this season! Enough right now for 2nd so if we keep up the strong play I'm sure we'll get there. 2. If we can turn some of those OTLs into wins then we should have what it takes to catch Vancouver! Only seven points between us right now and that's not much. 3. Hockey can be a pain where you never know what's going to happen. We just need to focus on improving and playing our game to make sure that doesn't happen again. 4. Lloyd tries to sell a few PCs to fans outside the arena before the game. More sales means more points! 5. Definitely orange juice. Not a fan of chocolate milk/ice cream. 6. I saw some clips! The breakaway competition seemed very over the top...

1. Certainly doing pretty good! It may have started off a little rough but it's enough to be near the top of the league now. Let's hope it keeps up! 2. Larry has fallen a bit behind the lead at this point but if the strong play of the team keeps up then there's a good chance he turns it around! 3. Janser is playing extremely well! Enough to lead the league as of this post so lets hope that it keeps going for the rest of the season! 4. Well to keep up the shutouts and the strong play for Lindbergh we should keep up the good defensive play and hope to shut teams down. 5. The post-game rum and cokes are too good to pass up on! 6. The Sens are all right, seem to be middling about when I would rather they just bomb for Bedard. Waiting for baseball to come back around for the Blue Jays season!

1. I don't know the last time I paid attention so I didn't expect anyone to win. It's a nice competition though and I'm happy to see the community still really cares about it! 2. So far so good! I'm sure Lloyd will eventually contribute to the team. I'll just keep puttering along until then! 3. Didn't do them this season or last season! 4. Definitely me as I skate over to the whiteboard at the bench and give myself a check for every PC sold to a fan. 5. Eagle so I wouldn't have to fear anything. 6. Unfortunately yes. Doesn't work great for me when I use it but all the signs are there for it taking over.

1. It's training camp time! That means season 87 is just around the corner. How prepared is your player? Not at all! I'm surprised Lloyd has been called up to the big leagues this early but I'm ready to give it whatever I can manage to help out Ricer and the team. 2. The drafts are also complete. Did you watch any of them go down? I did not! I know Spartan probably does quite a bit for the VHLM show but I just can't find the time to get involved. 3. The World Cup is upon us! Who are you rooting for?! Rooting for whichever nation I'm in the system for I guess? This is another thing that unfortunately falls to the wayside with being less active. 4. How pumped is your player for the new season? Stoked! Hopefully won't be an absolute disaster on the ice in the VHL but we'll see! 5. What time do you usually go to bed? 11 p.m. EST is my ideal bed time but later lately due to Fire Emblem addiction. 6. What is your favorite day of the week? Saturday for no work and relaxing!

1. The best part of the off-season is seeing all the moves! Most importantly the Entry Draft. It's exciting to see your player finding some new homes. 2. I have zero idea what's happening in the VHL but Warsaw just sounds like a strong team based on location alone. Good for them! 3. My favourite team is the Riga Reign just for the seasons that I played there and also GMd to a championship. 4. My favourite teammate was Phil of course! Ending up on the same teams is always funny. Nice to see him drafted high. 5. I would love to go anywhere outside of North America. Would be nice to see London or go even further and visit somewhere like Tokyo. 6. Extremely busy and now it's time to get some sleep. I hope you enjoyed yours!

1. I'm disappointed that we weren't able to make a good run in the playoffs but overall it was a good time to have a player back in the VHLM. 2. Great work! The locker room was active and you were good to remind the tea mof tasks. 3. See what tea I end up on next and keep working on the player build. 4. Of course I am! Drafts are arguably the most fun in sim leagues. 5. All good here. Nothing too crazy to inform a sim league on! 6. A sim league hockey team

1. Well I'm very late to answering these and it just wasn't meant to be. The safe bet is to blaame STHS. 2. Now that we're eliminated I have no interest in the playoffs. I just hope they all had fun. 3. Phil definitely is that player for me. We seem to always end up together and a friendly face kept me going. 4. Bill Nye for having the most determination out there of everyone. 5. I'm most hype to see how my player ends up doing. It's an opportunity to impress before the next seaso. 6. Everyone is getting vanilla and liking it to ensure I'm able to serve everyone in time.

1. It's so hard to read any of this so I'm going to guess my answers. We're heading into the playoffs after a strong finish and just need to play our game to keep it going. 2. Braun is going to do his best to leave it all out there on the ice. Take some pucks for the boys and not complain about it. 3. We're definitely winning it! Why is this a question?! 4. I'm not sure what MVL stands for. Most Valuable Loser? Give it to Braun for not living up to his potential. 5. Definitely a celebration in the locker room with the cup then off to the bar for a 70K tab. 6. Braun would definitely ask for something bland as the music and chicken wings for the dinner. Afterwards everyone gets a 32nd of the pie each.

1. The steady moves have been promising to see because it shows we are serious about competing. 2. Things are awfully close at the moment but I predict that we'll be able to move up to 2nd. 3. Still lots of work to do but Braun seems to at least be serviceable on the ice. 4. I'll help out with the party isntead by bringing some chips and pop for the party goers to enjoy. 5. I would love to see Braun go on a tear to move up into the top 10. 6. Cliche but my favourite day is Saturday since it's the start of the weekend and gives me a full day to relax or do things I enjoy instead of work.

There have been a lot of moments for everyone in the past 15 years but the best memory I have of the VHL happened on November 19, 2016. Hard to believe that was nearly six years ago now. Back then I was a young 20s GM hoping to make some sort of impact on the league as a GM. I had joined back in the late S20s/early S30s I think and had yet to win a Continental Cup in the league. World Cup medals were easy enough to come by but I seemingly could never win the big one. Until that day anyways. In S51 we saw a lot of high profiled free agents sign together with the Calgary Wranglers. People thought the season was done with from the get-go and we were just waiting for the inevitable cup win from this group. In the semi-finals though, the Toronto Legion were able to pull off the upset and eliminate this super team. They eliminated them in dramatic fashion by doing it in five games and the entire league was shocked. The members who grouped together were disappointed and frustrated that STHS had other ideas for them with some even claiming that the Toronto dynasty was locked in to make another run. All the fun can still be seen on the forum: https://vhlforum.com/topic/35227-na-semi-finals-gm-5-toronto-vs-calgary/ With that dramatic series out of the way, the other semi-final saw Riga and Cologne having an intense battle. That Riga team had quite a bit of talent with Jardy, sterling and Green all playing key roles on the team. While we weren’t the favourites by any means, I felt like the roster had a chance to win it all. That was almost lost to Cologne as the team was able to take Riga to game 7 but the team was able to pull it together and book that ticket to the finals vs Toronto, or more importantly, the Cleganebowl. I’m sure I’ve written a piece on this before but Jardy and Victor having the opposing Clegane goalies was a great story in the VHL and finally they were set to do battle. Both goalies were fantastic in the final series that would go all the way to game 7 again for Riga. Thanks to the strong play from Jardy, the team was able to pull off the championship win and my drought without a championship was finally over. Check out the insane stats here: https://vhlforum.com/topic/35330-vhl-cup-finals-gm-7-toronto-vs-riga/?page=2#comment-387388 It was an incredible feeling to finally win a title and I’m pretty sure after this the roster would change dramatically and lead to me stepping down from the position soon after. While it was not a hall of fame career by any means, it was a thrill to help lead a team to a championship and see the people that we were able to bring on board for that run. It’s always going to be my fondest memory from the league and you can still see my excitement from six years ago here: https://vhlforum.com/topic/35330-vhl-cup-finals-gm-7-toronto-vs-riga/?page=2#comment-387410

Happy Sunday, VHL! It’s nice to see everyone’s spirits up to celebrate the 15th year of the league. It’s crazy to think that sim leagues in general have been around for so long but to see a league succeed for this long is even better. This is because of all the hard work of the members through the years and it’s nice to see so many new people stepping up to help positively change the league and many of the old members still around helping out in whatever capacity they can or just enjoying the game after so many seasons with the league as well. I’m not too happy with how Braun is playing with Houston so far but with all the extra uncapped TPE from the birthday event, hopefully he’ll be able to make some sort of impact and help the team once we’re heading into the playoffs. Maybe I’m just not remembering what attributes are the most important ones to update in STHS but I’m sure it’ll come back to me as I see if this focus on defense does much to improve him. Enjoy the rest of the weekend and I’ll be back next Sunday for some more ramblings for TPE!

1. Definitely a bit of a headache at 15 not really understanding how to act! Definitely some cringe-worthy memories looking back on those days that we won't go into. 2. Friendly teammates who are looking out for each other and management who makes sure we're doing whatever we can to succeed. 3. When in doubt I usually go for potato chips because we're bound to have more than a few people who would enjoy that. 4. Having a birthday party at the movie theatre and getting to see Happy Feet. Great film. 5. I would have Dominik Hasek join the team so we can get rid of Bill Nye. 6. We just need to make sure we're getting all of our updates in and using them so the team is the best we can be heading into the final bit of the season.

Happy birthday, VHL!