kirbithan

SAN DIEGO — With so much time on their hands, what do hockey players do in the offseason? For Lachlan Summers, the answer is an easy one. Making baked goods. Anything you could think of, he’s most likely had a run-in with it.
 
When asked about his love for baking, Summers had this to say. “I reckon it started when I would help my mum in the kitchen when I was a kid. She was always baking something on weekends. So now I’m trying to take her pastry crown from her. Don’t tell her I said that, though.”
 
“I also baked my fiancé’s birthday cake. Decorated it and everything. Quickly learned I actually enjoy that kind of stuff.” The goaltender added with a laugh. “Some of my teammates said I should start an Instagram to show off what I make. We’ll see.”
 
Summers proceeded to present his impressive portfolio of the treats he’s made over the past few months, including but not limited to: double fudge brownies, salted caramel cookies, banana bread, as well as pecan pie ( he noted the pie as his mother’s specialty ). He’s a goaltender. He’s a baker. Now what else does Summers intend to do with his time?
 
“I mean, I’m definitely gonna work on offseason conditioning. Not gonna lay around all day and eat sweets. Maybe I’ll learn how to play the drums next, though.”
 
Word count: 229

@nurx Would love to enter my article into the VHLM Writing Competition if this qualifies!

Lachlan after San Diego’s 5-2 win over Miami
 
In San Diego’s final game of the season against the Miami Marauders, goaltender Lachlan Summers was able to secure his second VHLM win in a dominant 5-2 victory, making 24 saves of 26 shots. The team in front of him had shown significant progress and a new confidence in themselves, wanting to leave it all out on the ice for the last time this season. Afterwards, Lachlan had lingered on the ice far longer than usual, leaning against the goal net and taking in everything he had experienced so far as a VHLMer.
 
With the offseason rolling around and the draft to be highly anticipated, Lachlan has had quite the whirlwind of an experience so far in the VHLM. Most of the members of this young Marlins crew were signed around the same time. They had learned the ropes of the league and what it had to offer together, figuring things out as they went. As they were the late reinforcements brought in off waivers, they were intent on leaving their mark during their short time as a complete unit. A team of misfits is what they were. Thrown into a lineup at the last possible moment, but making every second of ice time count.
 
This team quickly grasped onto the VHLM’s style of play and what they were expected to accomplish, with the help of their eager and welcoming general manager, who wanted nothing more than to watch his new recruits grow and begin to cement their own legacies.
 
Lachlan regards his short stint with the Marlins fondly, and also noted that he had quickly bonded with his teammates. The Australian was particularly glum about the fact that they could all potentially part ways come draft time. It’s bittersweet. 
 
Although they hadn’t shared the ice together long, Lachlan reminisces the late nights where he and other Marlins would exchange advice over some drinks and discuss whatever was going on in their lives and where they all came from ( albeit, most of what was on their minds at the time was how they could help out the team ), sharing whatever pastry or baked good he had learned to bake with those willing to try them, as well as a few very intense board game nights. He understands that hockey is a business, after all, and while they wouldn’t be on the same team anymore, that didn’t mean they couldn’t keep in touch.
 
His time as a Marlin has opened his eyes to the opportunities that he has in the VHLM and beyond. His goal, like his teammates and others around the league, is to rise through the ranks and reach the VHL. But of course, a spectacular feat like that is easier said than done. 
 

 
Admittedly, it was difficult for Lachlan to travel all the way out to North America after having spent his entire life in Australia, minus living half a year in Ontario while participating in a hockey camp for those who lived outside of the US and Canada. The only family member able to follow him in the move to San Diego was his dog. He had to leave behind his number one supporters— his mother Hallie and his older sister Taryn— while his fiancé is currently in Quebec, but is hoping to join him soon. Although there is the pesky and often tiresome problem that is the time zone difference, he reminds himself to call home each and every day, even if he inevitably gets chirped by his teammates when his family calls him by his childhood nickname— Lachy. 
 
With an oversaturation of goaltenders in this year’s draft, Lachlan hopes to impress any GMs that may be the slightest bit interested in him and what he could potentially bring to the table for their franchise. With that, two prime opportunities to put his skillset on display are in this year’s Junior Showcase Tournament and the World Juniors. He was never one to be overwrought or crumble under pressure, and he’ll take things one step at a time.
 
But how far can this goaltender from Down Under go?
 
Word count: 689 words

@thadthrasher

This was a great listen, Jardy! As a new member, I can definitely understand that the retention rate is low because people have no idea what the forum is or what they’re doing. I had read the rules and learned what the VHL was truly about before creating my account and everything, so I don’t think I was too clueless at least? But having a tutorial to help out recruits would definitely be something to consider, for sure, to make it easier for everyone.

I have no experience making graphics, so I’m happy with how this turned out.

*LISTENER DISCRETION ADVISED*
 
Fucks Delivered
 
https://anchor.fm/jardy-b/episodes/Jardys-Hecking-Podcast--S2-Episode-13-Hottest-Retention-Idea-of-the-Year-e1m5b10
 
 
Featured song is Lifeboat by Gallago. If you're not listening carefully you won't notice that I edited a minute out of the intro of the song
 
Segments of this episode:
- No One Gives a Shit, @Phil ~(1:00-4:00)
- Nodesode Summary/Bathroom Search/Topic Search *TUNE IN TO LEARN @Ptyrell's REAL NAME!* ~(4:00-5:20)
- Housekeeping/Nurx Plugs/Sky Observations (I don't have ADHD, you do) ~(5:30-11:00) @Beketov @nurx @Doomsday @Gustav
- Optimizing the New Member Experience. Drink everytime I say "forum" or "portal." ~(11:00-20:00) @Joe Biden/@Barack Obama @jacobcarson877 @Baozi
 
Enjoy

https://anchor.fm/howzat-league/episodes/Bite-Sized-Berocka-33-e1m05sk
 
Ask questions below to be featured in a future episode 

With the San Diego Marlins being eliminated, sadly, with two losses today, the VHLM playoff teams are officially confirmed. I thought I would give my opinions on who the most likely champions are in my inexperienced brain. 
 
The Clear #1: Las Vegas Aces
Far and away the most likely champion in my eyes, the Aces have been the most dominant team so far. With a 24 point lead on the 2nd place team in the league, they have easily clinched the top spot. They boast FIVE of the top 10 point-getters and their goaltender Cory Evans leads the league in wins, shutouts, save percentage, and GAA. Currently 13-2 in their last 15 games, they are red-hot. However, both of those losses came against Mississauga, so perhaps the Hounds will have their number in the playoffs as well.
 
Second Tier/Has A Chance
 
Mississauga Hounds
Mississauga sits atop the Eastern Conference, and is tied for second in the league with Mexico City. While they don’t necessarily have the flashiest players who lead the league in points, goals, etc, they are an extremely good team who gets results. Their 247 goals are among the best in the league in that department and they have 5 players over 70 points. They are the only team to have beaten Vegas recently, and I think they have a very good chance at winning it all.
 
Philadelphia Reapers
While the Reapers are 5th in points this year, I believe they have a very good chance at going on a run. They have 3 players at 200 TPE with a couple more on their way soon. 10 wins in their last 13 games shows them as one of the hotter teams in the VHLM right now. Two trades with the San Diego Marlins and some pickups during the season improved the roster, which I believe is better than their point total shows.
 
Mexico City Kings
Mexico City is an extremely good team and one that I may have underrated in these rankings. They are currently tied for second in the league, and have a deep team. 4 Kings players sit at 200 TPE, including a goaltender (Henry Tucker Jr). If their goaltending continues to show up, it could be a huge part of these playoffs. Las Vegas and Mississauga both have more rostered players than the Kings, which could be a problem if they are matched up.
 
Houston Bulls
The Bulls have an extremely strong roster, especially their skaters. They have 5 players at 200 TPE and only 3 below 100. Their roster is fully filled out, unlike Mexico CIty’s or Philadelphia’s and the only reason they aren’t ranked third on this list is because of the Kings’ goaltending/2 point lead in the standings and… my weird belief in Philadelphia that has probably been influenced by other people saying they’re going to be good. Anyway, I expect them to go far in these playoffs.
 
Bottom Tier/You Made the Playoffs
 
Halifax 21st
Halifax owns a significant point lead over the other teams in this tier, Ottawa and Saskatoon. It also has an extremely large goal differential lead. But as a team that is guaranteed a 5th place finish of below, they’ll be playing a very good team (I assume that’s how this seeding works). With only 6 forwards and 1 defenseman, I don’t see a scenario where they get anywhere, but anything can happen I suppose.
 
Ottawa Lynx
Ottawa, you did a great job of filling out your forward group. But the truth is, there are only two players on the team with triple digit TPE and you’ll probably be playing Mississauga or Las Vegas. Also you have no defense. Good luck.
 
Saskatoon Wild
I feel like having only 6 players against a top team won’t cut it. On the bright side, ⅓ of your team is at 200 TPE.

 
That’s the end of my very bad list; hopefully I get something right.
Champion: Mississauga Hounds because I kinda like upsets.

SAN DIEGO – As the VHLM regular season reaches its tail end, the San Diego Marlins are still behind the Saskatoon Wild by 10 points for the last playoff spot in the Western Conference. It comes as no surprise to anyone as the Marlins have been struggling as of late, but with multiple new acquisitions from waiver signings a week prior, the Big Fish seem to have a new life brewing within them.
 
Scoring has been a major concern that the Marlins have been attempting to address, but as the new recruits are willing to fight until the end and generate much needed offense, it’d be unwise to count San Diego out just yet. With the season dwindling down to its final few games, the fight for the playoffs will come down to the wire.
 
Putting up a fight against playoff bound teams like the Philadelphia Reapers and taking away an important point from the Houston Bulls just the other day, the Marlins hope these positives can propel them to playoff glory and beat the odds that are stacked against them. 
 
The Marlins’ new players note their chemistry as something remarkable and enjoy being a team of misfits that hope to prove the doubters wrong, come the end of the regular season campaign.

Congratulations on being the best Aussie GFX maker in the VHL!

I have no experience making graphics, so I’m happy with how this turned out.

On Thursday July 28th, I joined the league as a free agent in the VHLM. My player, Sadie St-Louis was promptly offered a contract with the San Diego Marlins. She accepted quickly, happy to actually get an offer from a VHLM team. While the team wasn’t necessarily in a good position to succeed, being at that point more than 10 points out of a playoff spot, the rest of the Marlins roster and our GM Jacob were very nice and happy to help with anything I needed. Jacob has been extremely helpful in giving his opinions and advice on what categories to put TPE into and the strengths and weaknesses of putting TPE into certain categories. Sadie joined in the middle of a flurry of signings made by the Marlins, bringing the total player count on the roster up to 13, which now greatly benefits our team during games.
 
Since signing with them, Sadie has played 7 games with the Marlins. 2 wins in a row happened against Houston and Saskatoon, her first ever wins with the team which have helped keep San Diego in playoff contention. Getting more ice time has helped her production a lot. In these 7 games, she has:
 
Goals: 3
Assists: 6
Points: 9
+/-: -1
Shots: 30
PIM: 2
Hits: 14
Shots Blocked: 5
Power Play Goals: 1
 
9 points is above a point per game, which is especially good considering she only had 1 assist across the first three games. Her shooting percentage is at 10%. The category that could be the most improved upon is plus minus- being at a negative is hindering the team’s success. I would say that this has been a good start in the VHLM for her, especially considering that I started out having no idea of how to build a player the right way. But again, I could be very wrong being so new to the sim leagues.
 
I have high hopes for the rest of her career, starting with a potential push for the playoffs. San Diego currently sits at 9th overall in the 10 team league, and is trailing the Saskatoon Wild by 10 points. However, with only 6 games remaining before the playoffs, they are going to have to have a practically flawless finish to the season if they want in. Saskatoon will also have to essentially go into a free-fall. Houston and Ottawa will need to play extremely well, as they make up 5 of the Wild’s 6 remaining games. After this season concludes, Sadie will sadly be unable to stay for sure with San Diego, and will head to the dispersal draft. Hopefully she is able to head to a team she will enjoy. I plan to earn as much TPE as I have time to earn over the coming weeks, and upgrade my player so that she can be selected higher in the draft. Next season, she should show significant improvement. And one day, she hopes to be drafted into the VHL, the most prestigious of the three leagues, and have a long and successful career.

As I sit with all my new Marlins, I can’t help thinking about the team I drafted and built throughout the season before making the tough decision to sell. Recruitment was incredibly low, teams were pretty desperate to fill out their lineups with established talent, and the market was honestly too good to pass up. But if I had known an amazing set of reinforcements was on its way, just in time to lead into the playoffs, maybe I wouldn’t have made the decisions I made. Sure, it would’ve had adverse effects on future seasons, but coming in as a brand new GM and immediately tapping out at the first sign of adversity didn’t sit well for me. But I also knew mediocrity is the enemy of long-term success, so I had to move on from an incredible, however shallow, roster. Now they are all preparing to duke it out in the playoffs, and with the San Diego Marlins on the outside, frantically looking in, it appears that I will be turning my attention towards the JST, the VHLM draft and future seasons. I’m hoping to find incredible new homes for all of the great waivers I’ve gotten this week, and build a reputation for development, good vibes and consistent performance here in San Diego. Teams like Las Vegas, Philadelphia and Ottawa have historically had the image that I’m seeking to incorporate, so using my experience with those franchises will be crucial for my GMing career.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lXVSpNWmIv8HFYqNYZ5IDwSpnYnwyz5X/view?usp=sharing
 
 

HOLY SHIT!
 
amazing

I have no experience making graphics, so I’m happy with how this turned out.