Aimee

Hello, everyone! Welcome to another VHL fantasy opportunity! I was planning to put this out tomorrow, but my PS Portal stopped connecting to my PS5 for some reason. So I hope you're happy, VHL!
 
Note: This form will close on Sunday morning (WEST).
 
 
 

After having been drafted 5th overall in the VHL draft by the Helsinki Titans, Ahsoka Tano gave a brief interview stating that she was excited about being drafted and that she was grateful to Helsinki. While obviously happy, she appeared to have an air of apprehension and nervousness before excusing herself from the press conference room at the draft.
 
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As she walked through the hallways of the draft building, Ahsoka Tano wrung her hands in front of her once she was alone. She checked various doors as she walked the halls, trying to find one that was both unlocked and unused. It was hard to find one given that this was an off-season stadium. The only people at this time of year who would frequent any rooms were the janitors and cleaning crew. After a few failed doorknob attempts, she finally found one that was dark and unlocked. After a quick peak around the room, she realized it was full of old equipment that either was simply in storage or was bound for the dump. 
 
Perfect.
 
She slipped inside and quietly closed and locked the door behind her. Despite the near pitch black of the room, she had little problem seeing enough to get through. She made her way to the back of the room where there was an old desk and chair, and she took a seat. Ahsoka sighed as she leaned back, eyes closed as she took in the day she had just had. It wasn’t the top 3 that people had been speculating but 5th overall wasn’t anything to turn a nose up at either. It meant that she had not only proven herself a good enough player, but seemingly one of the best up and coming. 
 
It was exactly what they needed…
 
After a few moments of silence with her own thoughts, Ahsoka sat back up, took a deep breath, and pulled a disk communicator from her leather jacket pocket. It was a little dinged up and hadn’t been used in a long time, but it still worked. Thankfully. She blew what little dust remained on it before pressing the activation button. It only went to one person, but she didn’t know if they would answer.
 
Time passed as the disk sat on the desk and she willed it to light up with the hologram of her friend and mentor. She knew it was a long distance for the signal to travel; further than she had probably ever asked of it. So, while the wait made her uneasy, she had half expected it.
 
An hour or so passed and her eyes had fully adjusted to the darkness of the room. She had closed her eyes a while ago and began to meditate. In times like this, it helped keep her calm despite the nerves quickly building inside of her. She thought about home, her friends, family, mentors, and her life prior to coming to Earth.
 
As those thoughts began to turn to her current worries, a very quiet beep sounded from the communicator. Ahsoka’s eyes shot open and a robed figure of blue holographic light was there to greet her.
 

 
524 words for week ending 8/4/2024

After having been drafted 5th overall in the VHL draft by the Helsinki Titans, Ahsoka Tano gave a brief interview stating that she was excited about being drafted and that she was grateful to Helsinki. While obviously happy, she appeared to have an air of apprehension and nervousness before excusing herself from the press conference room at the draft.
 
____________________________________
 
As she walked through the hallways of the draft building, Ahsoka Tano wrung her hands in front of her once she was alone. She checked various doors as she walked the halls, trying to find one that was both unlocked and unused. It was hard to find one given that this was an off-season stadium. The only people at this time of year who would frequent any rooms were the janitors and cleaning crew. After a few failed doorknob attempts, she finally found one that was dark and unlocked. After a quick peak around the room, she realized it was full of old equipment that either was simply in storage or was bound for the dump. 
 
Perfect.
 
She slipped inside and quietly closed and locked the door behind her. Despite the near pitch black of the room, she had little problem seeing enough to get through. She made her way to the back of the room where there was an old desk and chair, and she took a seat. Ahsoka sighed as she leaned back, eyes closed as she took in the day she had just had. It wasn’t the top 3 that people had been speculating but 5th overall wasn’t anything to turn a nose up at either. It meant that she had not only proven herself a good enough player, but seemingly one of the best up and coming. 
 
It was exactly what they needed…
 
After a few moments of silence with her own thoughts, Ahsoka sat back up, took a deep breath, and pulled a disk communicator from her leather jacket pocket. It was a little dinged up and hadn’t been used in a long time, but it still worked. Thankfully. She blew what little dust remained on it before pressing the activation button. It only went to one person, but she didn’t know if they would answer.
 
Time passed as the disk sat on the desk and she willed it to light up with the hologram of her friend and mentor. She knew it was a long distance for the signal to travel; further than she had probably ever asked of it. So, while the wait made her uneasy, she had half expected it.
 
An hour or so passed and her eyes had fully adjusted to the darkness of the room. She had closed her eyes a while ago and began to meditate. In times like this, it helped keep her calm despite the nerves quickly building inside of her. She thought about home, her friends, family, mentors, and her life prior to coming to Earth.
 
As those thoughts began to turn to her current worries, a very quiet beep sounded from the communicator. Ahsoka’s eyes shot open and a robed figure of blue holographic light was there to greet her.
 

 
524 words for week ending 8/4/2024

After having been drafted 5th overall in the VHL draft by the Helsinki Titans, Ahsoka Tano gave a brief interview stating that she was excited about being drafted and that she was grateful to Helsinki. While obviously happy, she appeared to have an air of apprehension and nervousness before excusing herself from the press conference room at the draft.
 
____________________________________
 
As she walked through the hallways of the draft building, Ahsoka Tano wrung her hands in front of her once she was alone. She checked various doors as she walked the halls, trying to find one that was both unlocked and unused. It was hard to find one given that this was an off-season stadium. The only people at this time of year who would frequent any rooms were the janitors and cleaning crew. After a few failed doorknob attempts, she finally found one that was dark and unlocked. After a quick peak around the room, she realized it was full of old equipment that either was simply in storage or was bound for the dump. 
 
Perfect.
 
She slipped inside and quietly closed and locked the door behind her. Despite the near pitch black of the room, she had little problem seeing enough to get through. She made her way to the back of the room where there was an old desk and chair, and she took a seat. Ahsoka sighed as she leaned back, eyes closed as she took in the day she had just had. It wasn’t the top 3 that people had been speculating but 5th overall wasn’t anything to turn a nose up at either. It meant that she had not only proven herself a good enough player, but seemingly one of the best up and coming. 
 
It was exactly what they needed…
 
After a few moments of silence with her own thoughts, Ahsoka sat back up, took a deep breath, and pulled a disk communicator from her leather jacket pocket. It was a little dinged up and hadn’t been used in a long time, but it still worked. Thankfully. She blew what little dust remained on it before pressing the activation button. It only went to one person, but she didn’t know if they would answer.
 
Time passed as the disk sat on the desk and she willed it to light up with the hologram of her friend and mentor. She knew it was a long distance for the signal to travel; further than she had probably ever asked of it. So, while the wait made her uneasy, she had half expected it.
 
An hour or so passed and her eyes had fully adjusted to the darkness of the room. She had closed her eyes a while ago and began to meditate. In times like this, it helped keep her calm despite the nerves quickly building inside of her. She thought about home, her friends, family, mentors, and her life prior to coming to Earth.
 
As those thoughts began to turn to her current worries, a very quiet beep sounded from the communicator. Ahsoka’s eyes shot open and a robed figure of blue holographic light was there to greet her.
 

 
524 words for week ending 8/4/2024

Forwards:
🇦🇶 Piston Maicupp @MandyManiac 
🇬🇱 Youre Not Fucking Retiring @twists
🇨🇿 David Pastanap @Jubis 
🇨🇦 Dwight Schrute @Jamomayo 
🇬🇧 Phil Sakic @Phil 
🇺🇸 Tim Robinson @Tim Robinson 
🇱🇻 Drosmis Sarkanis @Mr Bohannan 
🇺🇸 Bret Weier @Quanack 
🇺🇸 Nathan Blaize @Maple 
 
Defensemen:
🇲🇽 Bollos de Trueno @Thunder 
🇬🇱 Ahsoka Tano @Aimee  
🇦🇶 Samsayz I-Smell @CaptainSB 
🇲🇴 Pan Daffleck @OrbitingDeath  
 
Goalies:
🇬🇱 Jorgen Lovstrom @Pifferfish 
🇵🇹 Deadpanda @Alex
 
Join the discord: https://discord.gg/5hGCPXVPXv

Samsayz I-Smell didn't get the draft result it wanted. Out of the 5 drafts it has been a part of (Pro AM, JST x 2, VHLM and VHL), it has yet to be drafted last. However, there has been one player that was drafted last not once but twice during that period and I-Smell feels it has met its rival - A Holy Cow. A Holy Cow was drafted last JST and now the current VHL draft. The Cow is a vet user with a total of 69 tpe which could symbolize multiple things, very tall at 6ft 8in and only weights 140 lbs which would make it look more like Gumby than a Cow. On the flip side, I-Smell is a big fat white polar bear at 250 lbs. So what does I-Smell need to do to overtake this cow and be the last pick in the VHLE draft which will be its last chance at going last? Does it need to take up religion and be holy? Does it need to produce milk? I-Smell is perplexed and will be spending the the next coming days finding ways to beat A Holy Cow in the VHLE draft.

Nothing like quitting being a GM to get your activity back up! I know that’s not normally people’s experience but I quit before I was unable to do a good job, I quit when I accomplished my goals as a GM.
 
And now I can get myself back to the basics, the things that got me excited about being a prominent member in this league in the first place! I’m back to questioning why we do the things we do, proposing a million ideas for how we could do things better, trying to figure out how to maximize the return on each new member entering our community, finding the pitfalls and confusions that people have, and trying to present information in the easiest to consume manner, so that more people can be inspired to be prominent members of our community and carry on the legacy of our league for as long as we can.
 
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BOG has been the most active I’ve ever seen it. I won’t spoil what we’re talking about, since well there’s a lot of things, and no real consensus yet, but just know that we are seeing, we are experiencing, and we are working to make things better. There will always be inefficiencies, there will always be barriers, and there will always be trolls, but we’re working hard to explore as many options as we can to make the league a better place.
I’m hoping to continue to rise the activity leaderboard for this year, and get back to a place where I was at before I was focused on winning a Cup and crunching salary numbers.
So what should you expect from me this season?
 
Well I’ll be working on some secret projects for the BOG, in order to help us work towards some solutions to perennial issues that plague us. I’ll be hunting down the sources of issues, getting some real objective data, and using that to narrow down solutions.
 
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I’m also hoping to get myself into a place where I can act as more of a mentor for our newbies than I have been in recent seasons. This starts with a project that I’ve been working on recently where I’m hoping to give some inspiration for PTs and .com articles to those who need a bit of a creative nudge. I’m going through press conferences, other league PTs, my own writing endeavors, some brainstorming sessions, and trying to make a long list of prompts that I can dispense week to week that can help fill the gap between Theme Week and our regular weeks.
 
I’ll also be doing my best to see more forum content again and leave some encouragement in the form of a reaction and/or comment. Especially for those putting their toes in the water for the first time, some positive reinforcement goes a long way, and I encourage everyone to join in with me on that to the extent they’re able to!
 
Oh and I’ve always done my best to give my players the best VHFL, Super Coach and Predictions advice that I can, and I hope to open that some of that up to the whole forum going forward. Sure I may lose a TPE here or there, but if more people do VHFL, Super Coach, and Predictions, that’s a win in my books! Maybe I’ll even try to extend it to Fantasy Zone.
 
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Some other ideas that I have that may be more than I can chew every week, but if other people are interested but don’t know where to start, here you go!
 
I’m hoping to try to acknowledge each of the players hitting 100TPE, 200TPE and 400TPE each week. Give them some recognition for their accomplishments, and encourage them to keep up the good work! This could even be turned into TPE from Reviewing! Just be encouraging!
 
Along a similar vein, I’d love to get back to some First Gen shoutouts. I really love @Smarch‘s Player Spotlight series, and think it’s really inspiring.
 
Perhaps these spotlights and milestone shoutouts can inspire some of our graphics members as well! I heard that someone, I think it was @BOOM or @OrbitingDeath used to make player graphics for each player hitting 100TPE. Obviously somewhere along the line that became too many players for one to responsibly handle, but if the community were in on it, perhaps we could split the load a bit!
 
This one might be a little too close to handing out Trivia answers, which we cracked down on a lot a while ago, but someone could certainly write about the history behind the 2 Trivia questions they got that week. This would help fill the actual education gap that Trivia currently has and inspire some people to take in the context of the answers, and not just the immediate TPE.
 
And well, this one isn’t super insightful, but I’d love to see more people do Game Recaps! Look at the games, look at other teams! Come up with fun storylines and trends! What better way to find fun things to write about?
 
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We as a league get so caught up in doing PTs, that we forget that Supplemental TPE is just as valuable, if not more. PTs only get you 2 more, than your standard Welfare, and 10 Capped TPE per week, is much better than 4 from just doing Welfare, or 6 from doing a PT! Explore the forum, be kind, see what secrets you can find, and share them with the community! You don’t have to write about how your player is doing every week. And you especially don’t have to give up on trying some things if you aren’t up to a PT!
 
So get out there my friends! Try something new, say something nice, make some new friends. It’s our job to grow this community organically, and embrace the things that make us unique! Make some @frescoelmo , I mean forum content, and lets bring some new life to this place! People will sign up, but if we can blow them away by how much creativity we’re displaying and community we’re having, they’ll be called to stick around, and contribute.
 
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Happy S95 everyone, and I’m excited to be back!

1. Calgary Wranglers - Spider Panda - G - 347 TPE
S94 Stats: San Diego / Miami (VHLM) – 28 GP, 19–6-2, 0.904 SV%, 2.21 GAA, 2 SO
It seemed to be a perfect confluence of team need and top prospect available, with the Calgary Wranglers holding the #1 and #2 picks in desperate need of goaltending and Roger Eagles being the draft’s top-ranked prospect. The Wranglers did indeed take a goaltender, but they went a different direction, taking Spider Panda instead. In hindsight, it does make a lot of sense to see Panda go off the board here, given the previous ties between team and player agency – ultimately, you can’t go wrong with either of the two top goalie prospects. Panda is a very technically sound netminder who split last season in the VHLM between San Diego and Miami after being part of a late-season three-way trade and posted some good but not great numbers. The pedigree here is outstanding, and Panda is as close to a can’t miss prospect as there is. Calgary has their goalie of the future.
 
2. Calgary Wranglers (from Prague) - Phil Sakic - LW - 358 TPE
S94 Stats: Miami (VHLM) – 72 GP, 48 G, 47 A, 95 PTS, +33, 54 PIM, 362 S, 123 HIT
Another prospect with excellent VHL pedigree, Sakic projects as a franchise player who can do it all offensively - especially score goals. Sakic’s a great shooter who finished fourth in the VHLM last season with 48 goals and was a teammate of #1 pick Panda for most of the season, as well. His hands are high-end and he’s difficult to knock off the puck while his shot is the stuff of goalies’ nightmares. The Wranglers’ forward lineup will be tough to crack in S95 but Sakic is likely to force his way into the plans for S96 and will be an excellent player to build around going forward.
 
3. Los Angeles Stars - Roger Eagles - G - 452 TPE
S94 Stats: Rome (VHLE) – 60 GP, 32-20-7, 0.932 SV%, 2.50 GAA, 2 SO
The Stars had to have been thrilled to have Eagles on the board at #3, a goaltender who was good enough to take on a starting role in the VHLE before even being drafted to the VHL, and good enough to post some pretty solid numbers, too – like an 0.932 SV% and 32 wins. Eagles is VHL ready, he will almost certainly step straight into the league and contend for Rookie of the Year straight out of the gate. His rebound control and reaction time are already VHL-calibre, he’ll just need to work on his movement and aggressiveness playing the angles, which should certainly come as the season progresses.
 
4. DC Dragons - Konstyantyn Shevchenko - RW - 381 TPE
S94 Stats: Mississauga (VHLM) – 72 GP, 50 G, 57 A, 107 PTS, +49, 397 S, 142 HIT
Shevchenko is the most advanced forward in the draft at this stage of his career. He’s a true power forward, sporting a 6-foot-7, 214 pound frame and a lethal shot, strong two-way game, and physical edge. For a just-drafted player, Shevchenko’s strength on the puck is uncanny. One thing he will need to work on in a big way at the next level is his skating, but he’s just so talented and nearly pro-ready – it’s not hard to envision Shevchenko as a first line VHLer in the very near future. The Dragons are clearly in a rebuild, so the opportunity will come to Shevchenko right away, and we’d expect to see him start the season on the Dragons roster.
 
5. Helsinki Titans - Ahsoka Tano - D - 362 TPE
S94 Stats: San Diego/Houston (VHLM): 72 GP, 30 G, 62 A, 92 PTS, +17, 201 S, 36 PIM, 111 HIT, 107 SB
An offensively-inclined but still well-rounded defender who clearly stands apart from the others in this draft class, Helsinki needed a blueline prospect of this calibre in a big way. Tano is a smooth, fast skater with quick hands, setting the foundation for a truly elite puck-moving game, and is responsible enough defensively despite the 111 hits and 107 blocked shots maybe not completely bearing that out. Their biggest weakness is strength, something that perhaps adding some bulk to their 6-foot-3, 165 pound frame could help alleviate. Tano is not far from playing on a VHL blueline if it doesn’t happen this season, and projects as a surefire top pairing defender in the future.
 
6. HC Davos Dynamo - David Pastanap - RW - 324 TPE
S94 Stats: Houston (VHLM): 72 GP, 39 G, 46 A, 85 PTS, +47, 398 shots, 56 PIM, 116 HIT
A strong young core of forwards in Davos gets stronger with the addition of David Pastanap, a pure sniper with a bit of a power game in the way he protects the puck and drives the net (although he isn’t very physical). At this point in the draft the players are a little further away from being VHL ready, but Pastanap should move up to the big squad for S96 and seems like a pretty safe bet to grow into a first line calibre forward at the next level.
 
7. Los Angeles Stars (from New York) - Samsayz I-Smell - D - 329 TPE
S94 Stats: Mexico City (VHLM): 72 GP, 14 G, 72 A, 86 PTS, +27, 233 S, 78 PIM, 131 HIT, 151 SB
The draft’s second-best defenseman goes here to the Stars, who need one only slightly less than they did the goalie they nabbed at #3. I-Smell actually plays a remarkably similar game to Tano, both being very good skaters who ooze creativity with the puck. I-Smell ranked 3rd in the VHLM with 72 assists and 3rd in defensemen scoring behind Tano and Donald Carlson with 86 points. Their defensive game stands out as well, and with 131 hits and 151 blocked shots, that translated a little better than Tano’s in game action as well. I-Smell is a very welcome addition to a team whose only surefire defender younger than the S89 draft class right now is Erik Thorvaldsson.
 
8. HC Davos Dynamo (from Warsaw) - Alphonse Desjardins - D - 277 TPE
S94 Stats: Ottawa/Saskatoon (VHLM): 72 GP, 15 G, 51 A, 66 PTS, +15, 150 S, 76 PIM, 183 HIT, 102 SB
Davos did need a defender a little more than a forward out of this draft, and while they couldn’t pass on Pastanap at #6, they get their defenseman here in the 6-foot-4, 215 pound French-born Desjardins. While I-Smell and Tano play similar games, Desjardins brings quite a bit of contrast to those two – he’s much more physical and his offensive game is backed more by a heavy shot than speed and creativity. He’s able to use that shot both as a weapon to rip pucks past opposing netminders but also to generate opportunities for teammates, as evidenced by posting 51 assists. Has a little bit of work to do on his positioning, and potentially a slightly longer path to the VHL than the first seven drafted prospects, but Desjardins should be a big contributor at the VHL level one day.
 
9. DC Dragons (from Vancouver) - Einar Mathiesen - D - 276 TPE
S94 Stats: Miami / Las Vegas (VHLM): 72 GP, 18 G, 55 A, 73 PTS, +40, 163 S, 52 PIM, 129 HIT, 104 SB
We have a bit of a run on defensemen going here as the DC Dragons snag Einar Mathiesen with the second of their three first round picks. Mathiesen may not quite have the upside of the previous picks but he’s extremely detail-oriented with a responsible defensive game. There were flashes of offense at the VHLM level, too, with 73 points in 72 games last season, though it’s a little uncertain how well those abilities will translate to the VHL at Mathiesen’s current stage. The Dragons have a few future-VHL calibre defense prospects, but Mathiesen jumps straight to the top of that group.
 
10. Chicago Phoenix - Boris Bone-Breaker - D - 251 TPE
S94 Stats: Halifax (VHLM): 72 GP, 14 G, 57 A, 71 PTS, +45, 157 S, 89 PIM, 213 HIT, 90 SB
One look at the name Boris Bone-Breaker is all the scouting report you need on this guy. Bone-Breaker is a 6-foot-6, 238 pound behemoth on the back end who loves nothing more than inciting chaos and violence on the ice. Bone-Breaker surprisingly put up 71 points in 72 games last year. That’s largely because he played for a stacked Halifax team, because his offensive game tools are underdeveloped, but you’re not drafting him for that. This is a shut-down defenseman with a mean streak, a player who will intimidate opponents but usually does so smartly and without being caught out of position.
 
11. Riga Reign (from Malmo) - Tim Robinson - LW - 319 TPE
S94 Stats: Miami (VHLM): 72 GP, 39 G, 58 A, 97 PTS, +44, 497 S, 53 PIM, 125 HIT
Tim Robinson was the best prospect left (on paper) by far at this point in the draft and it’s a very nice bit of business for the Riga Reign to turn the 11th overall pick into a player with the talent and pedigree of Robinson. He put up big numbers for Miami last season with 97 points and a +44 rating, firing a whopping 497 shots on goal and driving play for the Marauders all season long. Robinson doesn’t have any particular standout strengths or weaknesses, he just does everything well, and it doesn’t hurt that he comes from the agency that once represented Mo Probert, who had a pretty strong VHL career himself.
 
12. London United - Drosmis Sarkanis - RW - 212 TPE
S94 Stats: Saskatoon (VHLM): 24 GP, 6 G, 9 A, 15 PTS, +4, 98 S, 12 PIM, 25 HIT
A late entry into the S95 draft class, Sarkanis was picked up late in the season by the Saskatoon Wild and made an impression out of the gate. He finished with 15 points in 24 games and flashed strong skating ability and offensive talent. VHL teams will want to see the defensive game improve and he’s likely at least a couple of seasons away from the VHL, but with Robinson off the board, it’s largely just talented project players left and Sarkanis has a chance to be the best of the bunch.
 
13. DC Dragons (from Riga) - David VanHousen - RW - 155 TPE
S94 Stats: Houston (VHLM): 72 GP, 13 G, 31 A, 44 PTS, +32, 158 S, 65 PIM, 104 HIT
With their third of three picks, DC selected David VanHousen, an intriguing but definitely long-range project pick. VanHousen has a well-rounded game but needs to evolve some VHL level skills to further his career. He had a promising start to his career with a 44-point season in Houston and has been consistent in showing improvement throughout the season. Another VHLM season to continue his development is in order and that will probably need to be followed up by a season or two in the VHLE, but if continues his steady progress, he could be a VHLer.
 
14. Helsinki Titans (from Seattle) - Bret Weier - LW - 196 TPE
S94 Stats: Halifax (VHLM): 70 GP, 11 G, 12 A, 23 PTS, +45, 76 S, 40 PIM, 82 HIT
Weier stands out for his steady progress and his ability to make some scouts take notice despite being somewhat buried on a stacked Halifax team in the VHLM this season. Despite only posting 23 points in 70 games, Weier was a +45 on the season and has a shot that’s already deceptive and accurate. He’s sure to receive a bigger role this season which will reveal a lot about his ultimate upside, but this feels like a solid gamble to take for the Titans.
 
15. Toronto Legion - Inker Belle - RW - 177 TPE
S94 Stats: San Diego (VHLM): 72 GP, 33 G, 39 A, 72 PTS, +16, 260 S, 28 PIM, 126 HIT
The Inkling-turned-hockey player has some flashy numbers – 72 points in 72 VHLM games this season – and is a surprisingly good skater with high-end vision. There are definitely some question marks here too, though, not the least of which is her 5-foot-5, 150-pound frame. Belle also can be a little bit easy to defend in the offensive zone as she doesn’t possess much of a shot. While she hasn’t necessarily been afraid to try to take shots, you’d like to see them be a little more threatening. Though she has a long way to go to reach the VHL, there is plenty of skill here, and you could definitely envision a VHL career if she continues to develop.
 
16. Moscow Menace - Ozzy Batty - C - 204 TPE
S94 Stats: Mississauga (VHLM): 72 GP, 43 G, 71 A, 114 PTS, +35, 380 S, 67 PIM, 133 HIT
Batty came out of the gate on fire and put up massive numbers in the VHLM, finishing 3rd in league scoring with 114 points. Obviously, that showcases an elite offensive game but the rest of the package still needs to come around with Batty, who is lacking defensively and only a VHLM-average level skater. Those will be areas to improve on as Batty continues to progress. A player with this level of skill and progress throughout the season could easily have gone higher in this draft – it’s a potentially great pick from Moscow here, who already have a bit of an embarrassment of riches and are also coming off a Continental Cup win.
 
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2260 words or so. Claiming for the next 4 weeks.
 
Players mentioned: @Ozzy Batty @WildfireMicro @Quanack @David VanHousen @Mr Bohannan @Tim Robinson @RileyL @xsjack @Anthique @CaptainSB @Jubis @Aimee  @der meister @Greg_Di @Phil @Ricer13
 

With a handful of interviews done, it’s looking like Ahsoka Tano has a guaranteed home in the VHLE and the VHL. The only question comes down to where and in what draft position. All of the prospective drafts that have come out have had her being drafted in the top 3, consistently 3rd overall. It seems that despite her ups and downs in the VHLM, Tano has proven herself a hard enough worker to possibly earn a high draft position.
 
Currently Tano is working on her overall ability on the ice and has been training nearly every day since the off season began. She has made a lot of improvement in just these past few weeks and it doesn’t seem like her dedication to hockey will be waning any time soon. With only a short while to go before the drafts, we wonder if Tano will be able to prove the mock drafts right.
 
154 words for week ending 8/4/2024

It’s time for the dreaded off-season and it gets harder and harder to find 500 meaningful words for a post.   The World Cup, WJC, and Pro-Am are in full effect and the draft is on the horizon so at least there is something to divert my attention while we wait for another year of battling for a Cup.  I am also going on vacation tomorrow with wifey and daughter to Victoria Island, so my head isn’t in the game.  So, for this weeks Around the League I will probably jump around and chat a mish mash of random shit.  
 
DRAFT
 
The draft is always and exciting time for players in the VHL, especially first gens.  The Calgary Wranglers have the first two picks and have already made a few moves this off-season to improve their club such as the addition of cup winner, Leif Reingaard @Zetterbergand 49 goal scorer, Adi Dassler @BOOM. When I first joined the VHL in S82 it seemed Calgary was always a formidable foe with amazing talent so I predict they will be back to their deadly ways soon.  
 
Davos is another team with an already great group of earners and now two picks in the top 10 which could make them daunting for years to come.  The only other team with two picks is LA who is in the midst of a re-build with some very good young talent in the Phantom of the VHL @Hogan, Erik Thorvaldsson @Tetricide, Pombo @samx, and Wally Lose @youloser1337.  
 
The top 10 picks in the draft are as follows:
1.     Calgary
2.     Calgary
3.     LA
4.     DC
5.     Helsinki
6.     Davos
7.     LA
8.     Davos
9.     DC
10.  Chicago
 
A quick look at the top 10 draft prospects shows a pretty good list of talent with histories of good players.  
1.     Roger Eagles @Greg_Di-   421 TPE.  This is about as certain of a perfect pick as you can get.  Huge earner and proven lineage.  Highest TPE in the draft and guaranteed top 3 pick. 
 
2.     Konstyantyn Shevchenko @der meister.  367 TPE. Huge Right Winger who put up 50 goals in VHLM this season.  
 
3.     Ahsoka Tano @Aimee . 355 TPE.  First defensive player on the board and an easy top 5 pick.  Tano will fill out a roster nicely as a long term anchor on the defensive side.
 
4.     Phil Sakic @PhilPhil. 352 TPE.  Another proven VHL member who makes exciting players that are usually punching my player in the face in box scores. 48 goals for Miami last season and a guaranteed all-star for years to come.
5.     Spider Panda @Ricer13 332 TPE. The second goalie on the board and easily a future brick wall for whomever drafts him.  Has history in Calgary so be interesting to see if they go with him with the top two picks.  Either way I don’t see Panda making it past #3 in draft. 
 
6.     Samsayz-I-Smell @CaptainSB. 323 TPE.  Second defensive player and a First-Generation player which is awesome.  Can hit and block shots and over a point a game for Mexico he should find a home in the top ten picks.
 
7.     David Pastanap @Jubis 319 TPE.  Ranked as one of the top names in the VHLM by me earlier this season Pastanap had 39 goals for Houston and 398 shots.  Gifted scorer who can throw his weight around he will be a solid pickup.
 
8.     Tim Robinson @Tim RobinsonTim. 308 TPE. Huge scoring potential and overall great locker room guy, TR had 97 points for Miami and was a +44, showing he doesn’t hurt his team on the defensive side either.  A team would be lucky to get TR in their LR.
 
9.     Einar Mathiesen @xsjackXS. 273 TPE.  Another imposing dman who had over a point a game in VHLM and triple digits in hits and shots blocked.  One thing is certain, a VHL team can never have enough quality defensive players so EM should have a good draft night.
 
10.  Alphonse Desjardins @Anthique 270 TPE. The final player on the top ten in TPE is a Dman who had 209 bone crushing hits last season on his way to a Cup. Can block shots, hit, fight, and plays a very tough game in front of the net.  Can’t wait to see AD get to the VHL and lock horns with Guntis Gavilrovs @Girts.
 
On the Vancouver front we are gearing up for the season.  We have three of our top prospects in Bollos de Trueno @Thunder, Pierre Mac Bouchard @Gaikoku-hito, and Soju @Frankall up in the big league now and hungry to win.  Award winning defender, Liv Slater @Subject056 has made the move to forward so the league should look out.  Liv was deadly offensively in the back end so it will be exciting to see now up front. 
 
Everyone has grown in experience and the team has remained intact.  Riley Martin @Smarch, Logan Ninefingers, Owen Lazaro @traphag, and Rip “the Dip” Wheeler @ScottyPScott are all eager to come back and crush the NA conference.  Depreciation hurt a few players, but the Wolves are a team that earns hard and has a pretty fun vibe so other players will step up to fill the void that depreciation hurts. 
 
A quick look at the potential strengths and weaknesses of the Wolves this season:
 
Strengths:
Grit-This team has high checking and loves to impose their will on opposing teams. 
 
Goalies-  With Dalkr @KaleebtheMightythe might and the addition of Soju  the Wolves have a tough tandem that can gift some wins to the club throughout the season.
 
Scoring-  Lazaro, Ninefingers, Martin, Wheeler, PMB, and Slater can all put the puck in the net so I look for both lines to be deadly.
 
Weaknesses:
Defensive depth- With Slater moving to forward, the Wolves are sporting 3 dmen with rookie Bollos de Trueno being asked to play big minutes early in his career.  Veteran Mark Calaway @Beketov and enforcer Guntis Gavilrovs @Girts are great mentors though.
 
Simon-  Simon seemed to hate the Wolves last season so were hoping all the bourbon and gifts we bought this season change this for us!! 
 
Well done rambling for my 1000 words.  Off to vacation 
 
Going to claim for 
08-04
08-11

1 Calgary Wranglers     Roger Eagles @Greg_Di                           G TPE: 421                                     Season GP W L OTL SV% GAA SO GA SA     S94 Regular Season 62 32 20 7 0.932 2.5 2 148 2163                             S94 Playoffs 6 2 3 1 0.909 3.46 0 21 232                             Despite a magnificent start to the season, the Calgary Wranglers faltered down the stretch and failed to reach the postseason. Despite a quality rookie season from goaltender David Slezak, rumor has it that Calgary's management isn't convinced that his work ethic will lead to the continued success that matches their championship aspirations. Possessing the first two picks in the draft, Calgary is now in an amazing position to add two real difference makers to an already stellar young roster, with the first one being the clear-cut top prospect in Roger Eagles. After a fantastic season with Rome in the VHLE, Eagles is VHL-ready, and would immediately supplant Slezak in net thanks to his elite work ethic. The Wranglers may be quite thankful they missed out on the playoffs last season after this draft.                                             2 Calgary Wranglers     Phil Sakic @Phil                           LW TPE: 349                                     Season GP G A P (+/-) SHT PIM HITS SB     S94 Regular Season 72 48 47 95 33 362 54 123 13                             S94 Playoffs 6 1 6 7 2 27 4 13 1                             So you narrowly missed the playoffs, but landed a franchise goalie in the draft. How does it get any better than that? If you're the Calgary Wranglers, you get a franchise goaltender AND a generational talent at forward from a builder with a proven track record of success. Phil Sakic had a monster season with Miami in the VHLM last season, scoring nearly 50 goals and just short of 100 points. Sakic is certainly capable of developing into an elite two-way forward, but it was clear in the VHLM that his focus was on offense. He'll be afforded another season of development, this time in the VHLE, and he will almost certainly be a Christian Stolzschweiger Trophy favorite when he reaches the VHL with Calgary. An absolute home run for the Wranglers with their first two picks, this will be a dangerous team for seasons to come.                                             3 Los Angeles Stars     Spider Panda @Ricer13                           G TPE: 332                                     Season GP W L OTL SV% GAA SO GA SA     S94 Regular Season 28 19 6 2 0.904 2.21 2 61 635                             S94 Playoffs 9 4 5 0 0.901 2.66 1 24 242                             In a stroke of bad luck, the Stars miss out on the top goaltender in the draft thanks to an unfortunate result in the draft lottery, but it turns out that this wasn't the worst draft class at all for that to happen in. Losing out on Roger Eagles stings, but there is still another phenomenal goaltending prospect in Spider Panda available for the taking. The Stars have promising pieces of a core coming together, but they're still not ready to compete, which gives Panda a season to develop in the VHLE while Los Angeles continues to shape up. Coming from a builder that has a proven and consistent history of churning out quality players, the Stars still manage to walk away with their solution at goaltender while they continue to generate the capital to finish the rebuild.                                             4 D.C. Dragons     Ahsoka Tano @Aimee                           D TPE: 355                                     Season GP G A P (+/-) SHT PIM HITS SB     S94 Regular Season 70 30 62 92 17 201 36 111 107                             S94 Playoffs 6 2 3 5 0 12 2 5 7                             Given how top defenders are a premium these days, D.C. is surely going to be absolutely tickled to have Ahoska Tano fall right into their laps at fourth overall. The Dragons, in one word, need everything. This franchise needs a face, a leader, the key piece for D.C. to rally around. Tano has already shown the promise of elite two-way play in the VHLM, scoring 30 goals and adding 62 assists. Showing positional awareness at a tremendous level for a prospect, and she'll have the chance to show if that elite promise in both ends of the ice is for real in the VHLE. The Dragons have little reason to rush Tano up, leaving her to develop and be ready to start the Dragons' next era while they continue to acquire draft capital to bring in their new core.                                             5 Helsinki Titans     Konstyantyn Shevchenko @der meister                           RW TPE: 365                                     Season GP G A P (+/-) SHT PIM HITS SB     S94 Regular Season 72 50 57 107 49 397 40 142 40                             S94 Playoffs 5 2 2 4 -3 23 4 5 2                             Even though they are ranked as the second highest TPE player in this draft, Konstyantyn Shevchenko doesn't hear their name called until the 5th overall pick. However, Helsinki could not be more happy with this pick here. Konstyantyn displayed incredible offensive capabilities in the VHLM with the hounds, scoring 50 goals and putting up 107 points last season. As the Titans look to retool and rebuild with a new core, Shevchenko should provide a fantastic piece to their forward group and grow into an incredible player for the Titans.                                             6 HC Davos Dynamo     David Pastnap @Jubis                           RW TPE: 319                                     Season GP G A P (+/-) SHT PIM HITS SB     S94 Regular Season 72 39 46 85 47 398 56 116 29                             S94 Playoffs 6 0 3 3 -5 18 4 7 2                             With their first pick in the S95 VHL Draft, Davos looks to grab yet another forward to add to their growing team. One could argue that they already are competitive, and with Ironhide, Bucatini, Hardy, and Kaskiniemi-Kekkonen, Davos looks ready to fight. With the 6th overall pick, Davos adds another forward with David Pastnap, who put up 85 points in the VHLM last season. There's plenty of room to add another key player here, and while they could add a defenseman here, there's plenty of remaining defenseman they can add. They grab the best forward left on the board and should be pleased with Pastnap at 6.                                             7 Los Angeles Stars     Samsayz I-Smell @CaptainSB                           D TPE: 323                                     Season GP G A P (+/-) SHT PIM HITS SB     S94 Regular Season 72 14 72 86 27 233 78 131 151                             S94 Playoffs 11 3 7 10 3 36 16 27 20                             The tides are slowly changing in Los Angeles. A new team is emerging. With the 7th overall pick, Los Angeles adds a future defensive partner for Erik Thorvaldsson with Samsayz I-Smell. It's a perfect complement, with Thorvaldsson acting as a defensive defenseman and Samsayz bringing in an offensive mindset, evident by the 86 points they put up in the VHLM last season. The Stars won't be upset with no elite goalie in this draft, and should be quite happy with a defensive prospect like Samsayz I-Smell.                                             8 HC Davos Dynamo     Alphonse Desjardins @Anthique                           D TPE: 270                                     Season GP G A P (+/-) SHT PIM HITS SB     S94 Regular Season 72 15 51 66 15 150 76 183 102                             S94 Playoffs 16 0 9 9 7 29 20 41 22                             Remember the defenseman I mentioned Davos could add later in the draft? Here they are. Davos brings back a member instrumental to their cup run in S90 with Alphonse Desjardins. While not as overly an offensive defenseman as other prospects in this draft, Desjardins clearly helped SSK with a Founder's Cup victory. Their staple play on the blue line showed leadership and poise, which is exactly what Davos wants to bring into their locker room as they prepare to seriously contend. With their 6th and 8th overall picks, Davos clearly shapes their future in the EU as a strong team for seasons to come.                                             9 D.C. Dragons     Tim Robinson @Tim Robinson                           LW TPE: 279                                     Season GP G A P (+/-) SHT PIM HITS SB     S94 Regular Season 72 39 58 97 44 497 53 125 36                             S94 Playoffs 6 3 2 5 3 29 2 18 5                             An elite forward on both sides of the puck, Tim Robinson is coming off a great season where he led Miami in scoring with 97 points in 72 games. Additionally, Robinson has no problem finishing as they recorded just shy of 40 goals over the course of the season. Currently DC is in the middle of a rebuild, and adding Robinson will give them a winger with a very high ceiling. We can expect Robinson to step into DC's lineup after 1 season in the VHLE. Robinson projects as a top winger in the league, and this will be a steal for the Dragons!                                             10 Chicago Phoenix     Boris Bone-Breaker @RileyL                           D TPE: 247                                     Season GP G A P (+/-) SHT PIM HITS SB     S94 Regular Season 72 14 57 71 45 157 89 213 90                             S94 Playoffs 15 2 8 10 3 46 16 52 25                             Boris Bone-Breaker is a one of a kind player, the defensive defensemen has made a name for themselves by punishing opponents physically and shutting down all their scoring chances. Bone-Breaker posted 213 hits, 90 shots blocked, and was a + 45 last season. Perhaps most surprisingly, they also had 14 goals and 57 assists for 71 points in 72 games played! Chicago is in a great position to compete sooner rather than later, and Bone-Breaker gives them a option that will be up in the VHL sooner rather than later and will make a impact on their blue-line.                                             11 Riga Reign     Einar Mathiesen @xsjack                           D TPE: 248                                     Season GP G A P (+/-) SHT PIM HITS SB     S94 Regular Season 72 18 55 73 40 163 52 129 104                             S94 Playoffs 6 0 4 4 3 11 6 8 15                             Einar Mathiesen is a text-book two-way defensemen, and one that every team would want to have on their roster. They are coming off of a great season that they split between Las Vegas and Miami where they put up 18 goals and 55 assists for a total of 73 points! Additionally, they recorded over 100 hits and shots blocked while only taking 52 minutes of penalties. Riga really lucks out here with Mathiesen as they get a defensemen that will step into their roster and fill a gap for S96. Mathiesen projects as a solid top 2 defensemen that is solid on both sides of the puck.                                             12 London United     Drsmis Sarkanis @Mr Bohannan                           RW TPE: 195                                     Season GP G A P (+/-) SHT PIM HITS SB     S94 Regular Season 24 6 9 15 4 98 12 25 12                             S94 Playoffs 16 7 4 11 7 64 10 17 21                             While only joining the VHLM just before the trade deadline, Sarkanis has made a name for themselves. After having 15 points in 24 games, they really took a step forward in the playoffs, scoring 7 goals in 16 games. A previous player from the same agency has played in London and it seems to be a great place for Sarkanis as the team starts to look towards the new era of London United players. Sarkanis will be a great piece to start building around.                                             13 D.C. Dragons                             Inker Belle @WildfireMicro     RW TPE: 177                                       Season GP G A P (+/-) SHT PIM HITS SB     S94 Regular Season 72 33 39 72 16 260 28 126 35                             S94 Playoffs 11 2 4 6 -4 39 6 26 3                             The 5'5", 150lb Inkling has thrived in her transition from Inkopolis turf wars to San Diego ice hockey. As a fitting member of the Marlins in her first season of VHLM play she went a point per game in the regular season, finishing with exactly 72 points in 72 games. With her skill set consisting of significance playmaker capabilities, this fresh prospect should develop into a key piece of a rebuilding franchise. Stay Fresh!                                             14 Helsinki Titans     Ozzy Batty @Ozzy Batty                           C TPE: 204                                     Season GP G A P (+/-) SHT PIM HITS SB     S94 Regular Season 72 43 71 114 35 380 67 133 53                             S94 Playoffs 5 2 4 6 -3 29 2 10 11                             Ozzie Batty is one of the best players to come in after the VHLM draft. The British center put on a performance to remember in Mississauga. As a member of the Hounds, he produced just under an assist per game which resulted in a staggering 114 points in 72 regular season games. As a offensive centerman capable of leading his team, The Titans might just pick up their future 1st line center with this pick.                                             15 Toronto Legion     Ronan Amnon @Breeze837                           D TPE: 154                                     Season GP G A P (+/-) SHT PIM HITS SB     S94 Regular Season 72 10 47 57 15 155 66 161 116                             S94 Playoffs 11 1 2 3 4 13 8 18 6                             The Mexico City Kings rewarded Ronan Amnon for choosing them by selecting him with 14th overall pick in the VHLM draft. The 6'6 blue liner from Panama rewarded thus show of loyalty with 57 points,mostly off assist and 161 hits in the regular season. He would contribute to the Kings deep playoff run by scoring a crucial game winning goal. A true two way D man, Ronan can become a good consolation prize to the runners up given time to develop.                                             16 Moscow Menace     David VanHousen @David VanHousen                           RW TPE: 153                                     Season GP G A P (+/-) SHT PIM HITS SB     S94 Regular Season 72 13 31 44 32 158 65 104 15                             S94 Playoffs 6 1 2 3 -3 10 4 9 0                             The 1st round ends with back to back Houston Bulls being selected. He had a solid season with 44 regular season points. the 5'10", 160lb right winger doesn't really fit into any archetype just yet. But with time and training from the champs, David should develop into a star player.                                      
   

Now I haven't had many AGMs, mine was simply perfect first try, but I've witnessed many AGMs, through Calgary and San Diego in particular, and the things that stick out about who did and didn't make it are very obvious.

There are 2 groups of great AGMs. I haven't met anyone who was a great AGM who didn't fall into one of these groups:

"I want to be a great GM". They are asking for tasks, they are answering questions on their own, they're keeping the GM accountable. They're asking questions, and proposing hypotheticals without worry about being wrong. They just want to know how to be a GM. You don't really teach them. You never word dump on them or anything. You just end up answering enough questions, and they take enough initiative that they simply become a GM. And these ones usually get scooped up pretty quickly.

"I am happy with and commit to being an AGM". This is the sort of person who never really wants to be a GM, whatever their reason, but they are controlled and deliberate with their efforts as an AGM. They start and engage in conversation, they become a part of the team, and sure maybe they do the press conference. But their role is more to be a constant part of the identity of the team, the team's biggest fan almost, rather than a GM 2. There's a ton of GMs, myself included, and probably you too, who don't necessarily want or need a second GM. But, I like knowing that I don't have to be the only one starting conversations and engaging with the team, and its brand. I don't have to be the only one pushing the narratives that I want to put out. I simply don't have the skills or the energy to put out all that content. @Aimee  and @Triller are amazing examples of this. @Ricer13 is somehow the perfect mix of the 2 styles. I would say @Garsh and @animal74 probably fit in this group too. You know when you see them in an LR that conversation will be had, and vibes will be excellent. It tends to be our older folks that make up this group, and that would probably jive with your style ya old fart.

And the last thing is if you don't like the AGM market, you don't have to hire anyone! Keep an eye out on the JST, see who is posting great forum content, and see who you might connect with! You don't NEED an AGM, and sometimes picking up someone who won't fit well actually hurts their chances of sticking around. So be patient and see what happens!

Offseason is in full swing; the offseason tournaments are proceeding, and the individual leagues have announced their draft dates.  With the drafts spanning almost an entire week that leaves keen players the opportunity to gain some much-needed TPE prior to the season starting. As another season approaches, I am going to do my regular installment of what should I do my media spots on. For those of you who have been paying attention over the last number of seasons (since at least season 84) I have done a media spot to VHL.com article during the offseason to provide some framework for my writing for the next season. With the need to produce more media spots and vl.com articles this season, to gather TPE to build Felicia Hardy, I am going to piece together some thoughts for what I might do. 
 
First some thoughts for my VHL.com article.  For these articles I would like to do something quick and easy, potentially something that I have a base structure that I can use to analyze from week to week. Generally, when you are doing an analytical piece, you need to measure against some goal.  Here are some options: 
 
1) Felicia Hardy quest for point per game 
2) Mexico City Kings Quest for 80 points 
 
From a perspective on a media spot the article needs to be larger and more in depth.  Several people mentioned that my previous media spot series on my thoughts as a first year GM was interesting and so I am pondering if doing repeat topic might be interesting now that I have more experience being a GM. I also have the option of doing a larger topic related to my experiment building a defensively minded Defense person.  Those may be more expected topics and there is some fun in going off the board ever once in a while.  So here are some weird and potentially whacky options: 
 
1) I could do an expose of the cities in the European Conference, focusing on the teams outside Davos that Felicia Hardy would be travelling to. 
2) I could also do a series on the top rookie players of season 95 looking to predict the outcome of the Rookie of the Year award. 
3) And just to make everything be extremely weird, I could go off hockey all together and do a series related to foods that Felicia Hardy enjoys on game days.  Who knows maybe by the end I will have a completed work and can publish a cookbook. 
 
There are so many options for both media spots and VHL.com articles that it is always fun to choose. Hopefully, I will be able to decide before the season starts, and I need to publish my first article. Part of me wish I knew how to do graphics so that I could include some of my own pictures in the process. Doing a series that included both written and graphical components would be so much more interesting. 
Only time will tell what i decide, stay tuned to find out. 

"VHLPA debates banning Force Users as they have unfair advantage"

I think I'd like to see situations thrown into the VHL that don't have actual impact, but give people something to write about. So we all know that we write about our own promotions, demotions, trades, drafts, etc.. But what if there were league wide situations made up on a weekly basis to make the VHL feel more real? 
 
For example:
 
Player was found to be throwing games in order to win at betting. 
 
GM has been spotted talking with other team admins and it sparks debate about if they are planning a move.
 
Changes in game rules like in real life.
 
 
All these would give everyone the chance to write something creative and could also give graphic artists something interesting to work with. 
 
With Jesse Teno I sort of did something like this where I wrote about them embezzling funds from their charity over the course of a few media spots. I feel like these sorts of prompts could really bring in some creative writing and graphics.

It's been amazing playing and hanging with you, Triller. Can't wait to see what the future has in store for you and your next player. 

So that's the end... for now.
 
My first ever VHL player is done.  I went all the way to the end with him and it feels good to have my first one play out as he has.  The end however feels unceremonious, like putting out a candle during a bonfire, hardly subtracting from the overall glow.  Oddly, I am a bit sad it is done.  After two seasons in the M, a season in the E and seven awesome seasons in the VHL with London, my player ends his career with 1983 TPE and 1585 TPA.
 
I created Leonard Triller about a month before I became a father.  I don't quite remember why I decided to join at that specific time, but I know I wanted a place other than work to be creative and I love hockey so it seemed like a perfect fit.  When I joined the league I didn't start by max earning.  I missed the last 2 TPE for a whole season as I was too busy learning the forum and trying to figure out how the portal and index worked.  Trivia didn't seem enjoyable without context and I didn't want to review other members' work before I had enough of my own to show and be available for the same scrutiny.  Eventually, I realized that the reviewing wasn't very in-depth and that the trivia still wasn't enjoyable even with context so the max earning began!  
 
I continued the max earning trend until the end and am very happy to have stuck with it.  After 56 weeks of my players career I have created roughly 40 graphics, not including .coms.  I've done 3D animated, 2D animated, and traditional 2D graphics.  I've created team hype videos, draft graphics for the VHLM, a VHL AD for social media and even created a fake custom stick company and put out a showcase catalogue with working QR codes that take you to 3D renders of each custom stick.  I have also created and continue to update 3D versions of all three championship trophies for the winning teams to celebrate with.  Sometimes it was hard to come up with ideas and I had to drop the 3D stuff near the end due to time constraints but I managed to figure out a path to the end.  I am proud of what I have created over this career and am already planning ahead for the next.  Just need to update that portfolio!
 
So far in my time here I've met some great people that I will likely be seeking out to play with, or for, when I recreate and I've also come across some people that I will likely be avoiding.  No one has been terrible but I've learned who I'd get along with the best and hopefully I can share a locker room with those people.  Still a lot of people I've not had the pleasure to chat with but hopefully that changes!  I will continue to be active in the league by providing championship teams with trophy updates, continuing to send recruitment the league standing videos and keeping up with my duties as the AGM in Helsinki for as long as Sam wants to GM the team.  I don’t know when I will create again but I will for sure have a new player in the league as it hits its 100th season.  The main reason I am not recreating right away is because within the next week, I will once again become a father to a new, little human.  @Subject056 has powered through and I am very proud of her!  We got this!
 
I would @ a bunch of people for commenting or reacting on what I have created during my time as well as all the people I have enjoyed the LR with and anyone else I have interacted with or worked with but you all know who you are and I am still around anyways so hit me up whenever about whatever and in my sleep deprived state I will chat you back!  I am cooking up my next player and am excited to start the new career off with a bang whenever that may be!

THANK YOU VHL!

Boy that sounds like needing to come up with theme weeks every single week of the year so fuck that noise.

I'd get rid of the VHLM waiver system and have new players assigned based on team need at each position with ties broken by reverse standings.  That should help all VHLM teams be more competitive and leave the GM's to focus on player development. 

The idea I just can't shake is an 8 team minors + 8 team affiliate. The minors team should always have the numbers to support a 6-4-1, and in larger recruitment periods, the overflow into the affiliate team would be enough to support the most we'd ever need. Teams with 2 goaltenders can give both goalies full time starts, players with lower TPE can play in an environment that they can compete a bit better before joining the 400TPA squad (although I've tested it, 400TPA isn't too crazy of a difference from 30TPA, less different than the 250TPA pre-hybrid M used to be), and recreates can get top playing time without stealing roster spots from the newbies. All of the transactions happen easily in STHS, so minimal portal support needed. There's a few other ideas I like adding in there, but that's the gist, and I hope to be able to demonstrate it this season!

The most boring media spot ever written: A Yapping session by VLG
 
 
 
Hello there, been a while right ? Haven’t written a media spot since forever… actually my last would be my career reflection on October 4th. The last actual media spot is a theme week one ! Where I was debating whether or not I was FISTED ANALLY BY A CIRCUS MONKEY off the S89 Funk trophy. Made a couple graphics in between but I’m back to writing  a 500 words essay. Let’s say getting tpe is a bit longer when you don’t have a 10 tpe job pay ! 
 
In the mean time a lot happened for Vincent Laroche-Gagnier : He got traded, continued being a star and even retired. Isn’t it weird that the dude is better off without me earning tpe and applying them ??? I won a cup too ! I would go on about how historic and legendary the run was but I legit have no idea how it went lmao. 
 
 
Ultimately, I decided to recreate. I’m hoping I can  be active a lot again and maybe earn some individual hardware with my new player. I think a few people already knew the name of the player for over a year now. Wefernardo Mackingikus was already decided for the name and St-Vincent and the Grenadines for the location. The position is what remained to be determined. I kept a winger so I’m staying on familliar ground. 
 
The main objective with Wefernardo is individual hardware and in the best world a Hall of Famer. I honestly feel like for a first gen VLG did good. The guy stayed at the top of the stats without any problems while I was away that’s not anything ! 
 
The draft is soon I think ? Haven’t received any draft interview yet obviously and I don’t know If I will. I think some of the gm already know me and I think that’s probably where I’ll end up since I’m not at the top of the TPE lists. 
 
I’ve noticed that the portal got a retool it looks super from what I’ve seen. I have a special spot for the user page with all their players, awards, stats etc. It’s a great addition that I’m a fan of. 
 
In terms of player, Vincent Laroche-Gagnier and Wefernardo Mackingikus will be very similar but what I’m curious is how similarly and how differently their careers will plan out.
 
Vincent the user has really changed since the last time I’ve been active. I graduated high school, got my drivers license, got my car, renovated my room, got in Cegep ( Quebec’s version of College) and prom and graduation which correlates with ending high school obviously. 
 
VLG made a surprise come back to the Pro-Am tournament to start my revenge tour and my return to activity. I’ve been told that RC tried making a come back but disapppeared after only a day… hopefully my come back ends up lasting. There’s a good portion of new active members in the league and I hope I’ll have the opportunity to interact with them. 
 
I am currently on a vacation with a friend’s family in Gaspésie so I don’t have access to a computer which is why I’m just writing a bunch of random stuff. A super blend media spot without any real content, continuity, layout, formatting,
Images or message. But no worries everyone, I won’t be making boring media spot like that forever ! Im finally at 500 words… 

Player Information
Username: vincentlg2007
Player Name: Wefernardo Mackingikus
Recruited From: Returning
Age: 17
Position: RW
Height: 75 in.
Weight: 180 lbs.
Birthplace: Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Player Page
@VHLM GM

Well, I got a couple claims here of JST Simmer pay, and it bought me some time to avoid writing a new Media Spot. It feels very strange seeing someone else’s name on the team you ran for a long time, and not having anything to prepare for in this offseason beyond plotting my build for Woods. It’ll be good to get some alone time with Woods, as I really haven’t gotten the opportunity to bond with her much in the M and E. I’ll be joining a star-studded Menace group that is fresh off a Continental Cup victory, with loads of assets in the tank and plenty of youth to take this for term. Gaining that longevity however has cost the Moscow team Axle Gunner and Leif Reingaard so far, with some options for wiggling still available. Leandro and I do not planning on coming in cheap either, so we’ll need to earn our spots, and our pay on this roster with good, consistent play.
 
When it comes to GMing, I’m hoping to take a step back and really evaluate what I can bring to the table, and where I can bring the most value at this stage in my VHL and beyond life. I’m not in front of the forums or Discord as much as I used to be. I’m very active at least once a day, but it’s not 8+ hours of the day anymore. Will I be again? Who knows! I start school again in September. I’m set to be unemployed once again at the end of September, and I’ll have plenty of productive reasons to be sat in front of my computer again. I’d love to find myself in a position to be a great, long-term VHLM GM again. I was at my happiest when I was there, I was feeling the most fulfilled as a VHL member when I was there, and I built the best connections while I was there. Being a first point of contact, a font of knowledge, and an inspirer of the masses, that’s my skillset. Am I happy with the current VHLM setup? More so than I was when I first started GMing, but there is so much I wish fit my vision of the VHLM, and I sense some serious barriers between what our goal is for VHL-ready players, and the processes we put them through to achieve that. So one of my goals this season is to really follow along the stories of the VHLM and VHLE, to build a first-hand model of the situation, and come up with a plan on how I can best use my skills to get more players ready for the VHL.
 
Something I’m considering doing, and which I’ll need to land some final details on, is running a side-by-side season with the VHLM/E implementing my changes and playing all of the GMs. Then, I would do my best to report my findings and make any changes for my testing next season! Obviously I can’t accurately simulate LR dynamics and root causes of activity and inactivity, but I can simulate a season of real-time events and see how the fluctuations of season, and some format changes could affect us directly. Anyways, that’s all for hypotheticals, and I’ll try to bring some concrete evidence to y’all soon!

for week ending 7/28/2024

Ahsoka Tano is participating in the Junior Showcase Tournament this offseason and is playing for the Brigade. She was selected 5th overall. So far she has played in all 10 games and has 2 goals and 5 assists for 8 points with a -4. It seems she is also back in her old habits as she has racked up 18 penalty minutes. Overall she is the 13th best player in the tournament and the 5th best defenseman. 
 
“The tournament has been fun so far and it’s nice to keep my body going during the off season. But I am disappointed in my performance. I’m just hoping it doesn’t make teams think I can’t produce. I’ve also got the ProAm coming up so I’m looking forward to that.”

Tano was selected a not so surprising 45th overall by the Kitchener Kitsunes. Given that she is going to be playing with well established VHL players, it’s not farfetched to think she would be drafted that low.
 
164 words for week ending 7/28/2024