kirbithan

HC Davos Dynamo Press Conference You ONLY have to answer 6 of the 8 questions Week Of April 6th 2025 - April 13th 2025 1. There has been some debate over theme week these past few days. Do you believe anything about it should be changed? 2. Who is your favorite all-time VHL “tough guy?” 3. We are about 20 games away from the end of the regular season and the battle between the top 4 in the EU is close. How would you rate Davos’ chances to sit at the top? 4. Personally, one of the biggest reasons for my love for the VHL is its strong community. Are there any members you’ve become good friends with or look up to in your time in the league? 5. If you could only dump all your TPE into one attribute, what would it be? 6. The S100 recreates are pouring in! Do any player names stick out to you yet? 7. Where was the last place you traveled to? 8. Since Alex Ovechkin just broke Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goal-scoring record, let’s start a debate: Ovechkin or Crosby?

@RileyL

my apologies

So. . . I have no concrete idea for what I want to do with my next player. You would think since I’m only two seasons into River’s VHL career that that’s fine, but considering I had settled on committing to River Harrington three IRL months into Lachlan Summers’ career— I’d say I’m slacking! I’ve thrown some ideas around and gotten some feedback from a few friends, and the task seems more difficult this time around, because this next player will most likely not already be apart of established lore like how River is with Slava Kovalenko and Brandon Petan Jr., or how Lachlan was with Sadie St-Louis (post-creation, but that’s besides the point). The ideas range from just stealing an F1 driver’s name, to some fictional characters in film and video games, to a few completely original characters. While I know retirement is many seasons away for River, I like to plan ahead, so this is quite the predicament. I don’t think I’ll reveal the name until I’m completely sure, so I suppose my third player will be shrouded in mystery for a while.

HC Davos Dynamo Press Conference You ONLY have to answer 6 of the 8 questions Week Of March 30th 2025 - April 6th 2025 1. Happy Theme Week! Thoughts on the theme: tough guys? 2. What kind of prank would your player pull on April Fool’s Day? 3. What stick tape color does your player use? 4. Is there any NHLer in particular you’re modeling your player after in terms of playstyle? 5. The VHL turns 18 this summer! What season did you join the league in? 6. Who do you predict will win the Victory Cup now that we are halfway through the regular season? 7. Do you have a lucky number? If so, what is it? 8. What is your favorite movie of all time?

For River Harrington, playing in the VHLM with his best friend, Brandon Petan Jr., and rooming with him was great— and for two seasons in a row? Even better. But then they both graduated to the VHL, achieving their childhood dreams, where they have unfortunately been separated by the hockey gods (VHL GMs, in this case) and now every once in a while, they face off on the ice and hate each other’s guts until they flip the switch off once the game is over. Despite River’s team, the Moscow Menace, winning the bout between them that evening, Brandon still scored a goal on them, so he decided to send River a meme that he proudly made himself that simply says “You just got Petan’d,” which made River squint at his phone, staring at it at 2 in the morning. Although he’d pretend he was unamused, River wouldn’t trade this life for anything.

Welcome back to another Kirby Rambles! I figured a little check-in is due now that we’re almost halfway through the regular season already (wow, time flies). In terms of what’s been going on in real life, I’m less than two months away from graduating university, should everything stay on track with my last four classes. While I’m excited to finally have a degree in my hands, it begs the question what the hell I want to do with the rest of my life, which, honestly? I’m not ready to confront yet, nor have I started job-hunting at all. I suppose I’ll go with the flow and see where it takes me, as I have a good support system that will help me along the way. One of my biggest fears is spending all these years going to school only to end up being completely unsuccessful post-grad, but with some encouragement from friends and family, I think I’ll be okay. I picked up my grad stuff two weeks ago, which includes my cap and gown, and it’s now just set in how soon graduation day is. In other news, my dog, Olli, had a bile acid test last Tuesday because he had a liver enzyme that was abnormally high, but after two separate blood draws, he’s been cleared with good health and is still maintaining a functional liver! This means he’ll be able to go under anaesthesia to get a small mass in his leg removed, which we had originally scheduled for mid-March, but with the enzyme spike, my family, vet, and I wanted to make sure he was 100% for this procedure. So we plan on rescheduling it mid-May after I graduate so I can dedicate time to take care of him. Onto VHL news, River has 35 points in 36 games, which is a good pace for a defenseman with 800 TPE on a stacked team like Moscow. After a bit of disappointing sim on Friday, River stormed back with a 5 point sim on Saturday, which included a 4 assist performance against Malmo! I’m hoping he’ll start being able to score some more goals soon, since he’s only got 6, but we’ll see what happens after I get some more TPE applied. Getting closer to that big 1000 TPE mark by the week. One thing I wanted to bring up is the topic of roleplaying (RP) in the VHL, which some members have leaned into more than others, but from my knowledge (please correct me if I’m wrong), roleplaying as your player was far more common many seasons ago than it is now. Personally, I really enjoy the more lore, character-driven, roleplay aspects of the league in the form of story-driven media spots or interviews where you step into the shoes of your player beyond stats on a webpage, and wish there was more of that on the forum! I wrote a small piece in this genre a few weeks ago about River’s thoughts on becoming a VHL sophomore, while also mentioning his connections to other players in the league, giving him some more character. Maybe I’m biased, though, since the two players I’ve created so far were based directly off characters I’d made beforehand with fully fleshed out backstories that I tailored to fit the VHL lore. Anyways, that’s all from me this week, folks! This last little bit of the semester may kill me, but I’m going to do my best to finish strong and get this damn degree. See you in the next edition of Kirby Rambles!

HC Davos Dynamo Press Conference You ONLY have to answer 6 of the 8 questions Week Of March 23rd 2025 - March 30th 2025 1. As we are still off to a strong start, what is the key to Davos’ success in S98? 2. Which team do you predict will be our biggest rival this season? 3. Yesterday, we were almost graced by a goalie fight between Jeremy Swayman and Darcy Kuemper— should there be goalie fights implemented in the VHL? 4. How do you think the league should further incentivize activity and content production from users? 5. When scouting prospects, especially first-gens, what is the most important attribute to look for? 6. If your player was an animal, what would they be? 7. How is your favorite NHL team doing now that we’re close to the final stretch of the regular season? 8. Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter, or Tekken?

@OblivionWalker

OFCCC

Transaction ID: 0PB65629W1481800C 5 TPE Uncapped Doubles Week

@Xhekityb123

HC Davos Dynamo Press Conference You ONLY have to answer 6 of the 8 questions Week Of March 16th 2025 - March 23rd 2025 1. I’m currently reporting to everyone from Las Vegas, Nevada, where I’ll be vacationing until tomorrow! This begs the question, out of all VHL/M cities, which one would you most like to visit IRL? 2. We’re off to a rocketing 9-0-1 start as of Monday, March 17th! Did this dominance come as a pleasant surprise? 3. Between the NA and EU, which conference do you expect to be stronger this season? 4. What is your favorite active player name in the VHL currently, if you have one? 5. Have any of your players ever scored a Gordie Howe hat trick? 6. What do you think the Utah Hockey Club’s mascot will be? 7. As it is St. Patrick’s Day, are you wearing green? If you are answering after Monday, did you wear green that day? 8. What is your favorite type of dessert?

Review: Got a trivia question wrong this week unfortunately, but that means I get to review this awesome trading card! To start, what drew my attention first was the super clean jersey swap. I know how difficult it can be when the player is at an angle + having their arm in the way like that when it comes to swapping logos, so I really appreciate the work that went into it. The detail of not only jersey swapping the render, but the player behind is also something I appreciate greatly. The template for the actual trading card is also super clean and while it looks incredible, doesn't take away from the star of the show (the render). I always love seeing a part of the player coming into the foreground in front of templates like you did with the render's helmet. Only real piece of constructive criticism I have is that you missed the chance to put the VHL logo on his collar! Amazing work as usual. Keep it up, Matthew! (9.5/10)

Lachlan Summers is back in Davos as a goaltending coach for HC Davos Dynamo for his second season, and the Switzerland-based team is off to a roaring 8-0-0 start. After spending a majority of the offseason in Brisbane, Australia, his hometown, Lachlan also participated in the ProAm with the Baie-Comeau Beavers, and while that campaign didn’t end as sweetly as he would’ve liked, he’s more prepared than ever to continue to keep the train rolling with Davos. It’s clear retirement had him itching to be back and involved in the VHL in some way. After dedicating so much of his life to the sport of hockey, he couldn’t stay away for long. When the position had opened up with Davos before last season, he’d gotten the job in a swift interview process with GM Alex Johnston and AGM Kirby Phan. With Davos’ strong start, matching the NA Conference’s Toronto Legion for league best, Lachlan hopes that this will be the year they bring the cup back to Switzerland for the first time since he won it with the team back in S89.

River Harrington, now a sophomore defenseman for the Moscow Menace, has something to prove: to himself, his team, and the entirety of the VHL. Making it to the big leagues isn’t for the faint of heart, you either kill or be killed, and he wasn’t exactly fond of the latter, thank you very much. Racking up 47 points in 72 games in his rookie campaign, River was hungry for more, and with his role becoming bigger this time around with Obuz Schneider Canet du Bocage swapping their position to forward, this meant River would have to step up and help fill in at defense. River had learned a lot in his rookie year, and had a few “Welcome to the VHL, kid” moments, but knew better than to lose his head like he had back in his junior days. He’d like to think he matured out of those outbursts, unnecessary penalties, and fights (that may or may not have led to game misconducts). This year was going to be his year. At least he hoped it was, at least. During the offseason, a lot had happened. He finally got settled into his apartment, and finally unpacked all the boxes that he’d had lying around, but had some duplicates of things he had to buy again after not knowing where they’d ended up (they were in the boxes). He saw his best friend, Brandon Petan Jr., win the Stolzschweiger Trophy for Rookie of the Year, and River swore he was on his feet clapping for at least 5 minutes. He’d also gotten engaged, but he and his partner, newly-minted Seattle Bear Slava Kovalenko, decided they’d keep this news to themselves and divulge details when they were ready. Was he hoping that Moscow would’ve been able to secure Slava in the Kovalenko sweepstakes? Of course. But from what Slava had told River during their daily phone calls, Seattle was a great fit for him and River was just happy that his fiancé seemed to find a team and a place that he truly enjoyed. 9 games into the S98 VHL season, River was now starting off strong with 11 points (1 goal, and 10 assists). The single goal he’d scored so far was a power play goal, and a game winner, at that, so he was hoping he’d be able to continue capitalizing on those goal-scoring opportunities while keeping his +/- in the positives. He looked a lot more confident out on the ice than he had in the previous year, already showing some traits of a solid leader. With the faces he had around to mentor him, it would be no surprise if River continues to improve both on the ice, in the locker room, and as a person in general. River wanted trophies. Individual, team, it didn’t matter. He just liked to win as much as the next guy did. Coming up short in the VHLM multiple times made him realize he needed to be better, and in the big leagues, there was no room for mistakes. Hopefully this year would change things.

HC Davos Dynamo Press Conference You ONLY have to answer 6 of the 8 questions Week Of March 9th 2025 - March 16th 2025 1. There has been some discourse on certain VHL awards. Do you think the Slobodzian (Most Outstanding Player) and the Campbell (Most Valuable Player) trophies should overlap? 2. What is your main goal as a player or member for S98? 3. Did you sign up for VHFL? 4. Getting to 100 seasons in a sim league is a tremendous feat. What do you think has been the most important factor to the VHL’s longevity? 5. How has being apart of the VHL impacted you positively? 6. Thoughts on the trade sending MIkko Rantanen to Dallas? 7. If you watch F1, who do you think will win the Australian Grand Prix? 8. Do you prefer rainy weather or sunny weather?

thank you so much! it’s appreciated.

@OblivionWalker for da new team, DA BEARZ

a man of culture, i see. those two songs are on my “on repeat” playlist, haha. great picks!

HC Davos Dynamo Press Conference You ONLY have to answer 6 of the 8 questions Week Of March 2nd 2025 - March 9th 2025 1. Thoughts on Davos’ first round picks: Gingy and Sidney Sheppard? 2. What are you most looking forward to at the start of the season? 3. What is your one bold prediction for S98? 4. Predict how many recreates we’ll get for the big S100! 5. Do you prefer VHFL or Super Coach? 6. Are you in any other sim leagues that you may want to recommend? 7. A few seasons after the VHLE’s removal, what are your thoughts on its impact on the league (positive or negative)? 8. What is one song you’ve been listening to on repeat lately?

So, I realized users don’t like playing as a goalie in this league a majority of the time. This was something I realized pretty recently with some goaltenders retiring early in favor of creating new skaters. I see where they’re coming from, as there's only so many limited roster spots for goalies and they don’t follow hybrid attributes and any TPE that gets dumped in goes straight into the single attribute. But if you build your goalie properly (which is extremely easy if you know what you’re doing), then you can have an elite player on your hands. As a first gen who picked goalie and ended up carving a Hall of Fame career, I had a blast, but maybe that was because of how successful Lachlan was throughout his entire VHL career after some rocky runs in the M and E. Or maybe I’m weird, who knows. Goalie stats also aren’t as “exciting” as skater stats, I suppose, since you really just look at win, save percentage, GAA, and if you got a shutout or not. It also depends on the team in front of you as well and I was lucky to have some pretty solid defenses in my career besides my last season with Davos, which you really can’t complain about. Overall, I understand why other members may not enjoy being a goalie as much as I did, but thought it was an interesting observation.

A new season will be upon us soon and I am excited as always. The S98 VHL draft was just this past Friday and Davos managed to snag Gingy and Sidney Sheppard, who were at the top of our board for reasons that need not be explained. Our other pick this draft was a 4th and given how weakly this draft class was ranked, you can assume how things went on from the first round. Either way, the draft went just about as good as it could for Alex and myself, and I’m happy, considering we are rather lacking in the prospects department. In other news, a flurry of trades happened over the past few days, some more notable than others, but of course the one trade I wanted to bring up with one between Seattle and Warsaw, with Warsaw sending Slava Kovalenko to the Bears in exchange for a S99 HSK 1st, S100 SEA 1st and 2nd. I wanted to briefly discuss this trade in particular because @OblivionWalker is both my friend and recruit! So a few members were calling this an overpay on Kovalenko, but I disagree and say both teams got exactly what they needed out of this trade. Lee had been wanting to move and Warsaw got some great pieces in return while the Bears received a great player and person, so there’s upside for everybody involved. GM, player, and all. I will say that it seemed like everyone wanted in on the Kovalenko sweepstakes to the surprise of nobody, including Davos. Overall, I hope Lee is happy with where she ended up and that Slava has a lot of success with his new team. I also brought this up before, but while I was happy with River’s rookie season and understand that he arrived at the bottom of the totem pole because of how competitive and strong Moscow’s roster is, I hope he can go for the Dustin Funk trophy this upcoming season. I’ve opted to bank all of my TPE until I can dump it all at once to truly make a difference in my sophomore year. I’ve just crossed 810 TPE (before this media spot and .com get approved) and have 56 TPE banked which should be a decent amount to play around with for an offensive defenseman build now that I’ve gotten the hang of hybrid attributes. On a personal note to end this Kirby Rambles, my dog has to get two vaccines tomorrow as well as a blood panel to see if he’ll be able to go under anesthesia for a surgery scheduled for Tuesday two weeks from now to remove a lump from his leg that had initially come back as an inconclusive tumor, as I had brought up a media spot ago. I am extremely anxious and nervous, because as a pet owner, you always fear the worst, and I had a family member try to give me unwarranted and unwanted “advice,” who thought she knew more about my dog than me, which frustrated me even more. I just hope things will turn out alright for my boy and that the surgery will be the end of it. That’s all I have for you this time, folks. Thank you for reading and see you in the next one!