sadie

First off, it's such a purple graphic that obviously it's amazing. The mountains behind the render are the perfect shade and I love how you lined up the Davos logo so it gives the appearance that the logo's mountains are part of the foreground range. I also like the choice to have the logo sink behind the mountains. Tage Thompson pops out great despite being the same color and I like that the name and team are fairly understated in the bottom left. The only thing I would say is the purple on the Davos logo on the render's jersey seems too different from the jersey color. 9.5/10

This is a really outstanding graphic. The Marlins logo warp is really well done and the colors of the jersey are super vibrant. The lighter blue pops so well! There is a lot of attention to detail down to even the VHL logo in the middle. The render looks like they are emerging from the water which is just an amazing choice considering the team, and the font matches well with the rest of the graphic; it feels almost like the name is part of the waves. The negative space on the edges just enhances this and brings attention to the center. Awesome graphic, 10/10.

1. It's a bummer to not have as much help as we could and we'll see how much it hurts, but it will be cool to see maybe some extra playing time as the tradeoff. 2. Yes, absolutely. Gonna need to be skating much better as well as being physical for long periods of time so that will take a lot of work. 3. I really am just excited to see how St-Louis grows more as a player, she put up career highs last year and hopefully she can do it again. 4. I have not been, but I hope to be seeing a lot of them soon as they progress. 5. Not outside of the normal training camp/preseason buzz. 6. I am gonna have to go with the Stars, as much as I want to say Oilers or Hurricanes.

Again your graphic looks amazing! I really love how the black foreground is brushed away to reveal the graphic underneath- it's one of my favorite designs in graphics. The logo warp looks good, the muted blue-gray looks really great because it makes the red pop. The font coloring is great as well as just the font shape. The VHL logo in the background is the right size and it looks awesome! I think this is definitely one of my favorite graphics you've made, so I will give it a 10/10.

I like the unique design behind the render's head and arms with the square pixels fading out, and I like that lower down on the renders it changes to dots blending into the white background. I like how monotone it is, it makes the render pop more because the skin is the only color and the Wolves logo at the bottom looks pretty great as well. The logo warp is very well done. The only complaint I have is that the Vancouver Wolves writing under Analfist's name is very small and hard to make out, as well as the five year contract. 9.5/10

1. No, I am happy for players on Davos but I am not less disappointed in our exit, we definitely could have beaten them. 2. Welcome AK! Happy to have you on the team 3. I do, it seemed to go by much faster than it normally does. 4. I do enjoy awards and following the offseason tournaments, I do think this league provides enough content to keep me interested in the offseason as well. 5. Oh I imagine it definitely is. It's hard to be super active and having a responsibility to a team makes it a bit tougher. 6. Yay Habs got Petry back but also not yay because of the salary cap. i will miss rem pitlick.

claim for week ending 6/8

I love the black and white color for the render’s face while keeping everything else red themed. The render pops out so well because of the more muted red of the background and I love the decision to make the face larger in the background on the left. The font is awesome as always and the way the background blends at the top and bottom is perfect. Honestly just 10/10 couldnt improve it in any way i think.

1. We just stopped scoring, opposing goalie turned it up. 2. I do think that factored in, probably just fatigue really hurt us at the end. 3. I think we shouldn’t sell them all but we should really try to contend next year and if that means buying players with those picks than yeah we should. 4. Oh it’s very surprising but I was also surprised at the London season; someone always catches fire. 5. Awesome player and awesome presence in the locker room as well as a Habs fan. Will miss him on Riga 6. Oh yes I do, hoping for Canada to not be eliminated today.

DBC 2023 The Riga Reign have done it again! Although we hope that the event they have repeated is a key winstreak such as the one at the end of the season or a glorious seven-point game for The Frenchman making a strong start to their playoffs, the reality is that yet again, Riga has failed to make it work. Is it simply a case of encountering the wrong goalies at the wrong times, given that Lachlan Summers and Jesse Teno have terrorized their forwards come playoff time? Could it be that this Reign team is suffering a similar affliction to the well-known curse of the Toronto Maple Leafs (a fifth-tier North American side made famous for its choke artistry)? Or is it something else? To try to get a look inside the hearts and minds that fill Riga’s locker room, Keita Mālina interviewed Sadie St-Louis, a player regarded as one of the leaders of this team’s core. Although younger than some of her counterparts and often facing struggles with production, there’s no doubt that she cares about this Riga team and where they go deeply. Keita Mālina: The Riga Reign have fallen again to HC Davos Dynamo, who seem to be a familiar foe. Do you think that your struggles to advance in the playoffs are just a result of Davos being always a little bit more of a contender? Sadie St-Louis: I can’t really attribute it to Davos being better, because at the end of the day that’s not really true. When we’re clicking out there, no team can stop us and you all saw that in game one. Every time we have a chance to make a run, we crumble and I don’t know why. KM: Do you think it’s a lack of effort on the part of the team or of certain players that’s impacting you guys negatively? Can you give any insight? SSL: I don’t think its fair to place blame on players and series like this aren’t a place for that anyhow. It was really hard fought between both teams and everyone gave their all. We must have used up all our luck in game one, I guess. I don’t know I’m just really mystified. KM: It always seems to come back to Lachlan Summers, Davos’ superstar goalie and your friend. How did his play affect the outcome of the series? SSL: Lachlan’s awesome and always has been an awesome goalie. I could barely believe it when I got one puck by him in this series, let alone 2 in a game and 3 in the series! I think if you watch the replay you’d see my jaw hit the ground. But in all honesty I find it easy to be super happy for him even though its really bitter to lose again. Lachlan is totally the reason for their win in my eyes and I think game 1 lit a fire under him. We talked after the game and you could see plainly in his eyes that he was reliving the trauma of an incident about a decade ago that involved potassium filled fruits. Well, allegedly but never mind that. He was definitely the key and is perennially I believe, to Davos success. KM: Is Riga starting to lose hope after so many repeated failures? There’s some speculation about management being the problem- thoughts on that? SSL: No, we always bounce back ready to win, and it’s going to happen. We will be back next year stronger than ever and it will only be helped by our amazing GM. They haven’t been the reason for being unsuccessful, and have helped us make many key additions which we wouldnt have made the postseason without. KM: On a lighter note, thoughts on Brian Kowalski and the amazing season they have had this year? SSL: I think it's just astonishing what they've been able to do as a defenseman especially. They have been playing big minutes and being a huge part of this team defensively, laying the body on opposing players as well as sacrificing it for us. The offensive pace is unreal. I will be incredibly surprised if they don't win a bunch of awards- it will be so deserved. KM: What skills are you planning on training most in this offseason? SSL: I really feel my shot still needs work, I'd like to see more goals versus the amount of pucks I put on net. Also strength, I really need to contribute more on the physical side of the game and definitely have some better hit totals haha. KM: Any words you have for the fans before your offseason really begins? SSL: Thank you Riga for showing up. We know we can count on you to show up and get loud at home and to follow us to away games. All of you have made me feel so welcome in this city and are the reason our team is so determined to get back out there and win. We’re going to get that Cup for you next year, Riga. KM: Thanks so much for sitting down with me Sadie! Best of luck to you and the Reign next year! Sadie’s production was at a personal best for her this year, with a whopping 77 points in 72 games. While she had certainly shown the talent to be able to put up more than that, it’s a significant jump from last years point total of 55 and her first time finishing above that point per game threshold. Her goal total increased by 50% as well this year, showing that last offseason’s commitment to shooting practice paid off. She is looking to take a step to the next level again next year, now having touched a point per game, her sights are set on 80 or even 90 points (that would be very cool!). Before we see what she does next year, however, we have a long offseason to go. Sadie will be in Switzerland, hopefully catching a Davos Continental Cup win while she's there. Here’s to a better next year for her and Riga!

The blur on the background of the graphic really helps the player pop out and the shadow on the font allows the name to be read much more easily. I like that you chose to make it a signature and the number is nicely spaced away from the letters in the name. The logo warp is just super awesome and the color swap onto the jersey and onto the helmet works well too. If I were to change anything, I'd just make it further Helsinki-themed by making the background more blue-tinted or monochrome to fit into the color scheme. 8/10

I really like the way you decided to go about this graphic- the numbers behind Liv make a massive difference and the city skyline tint changing is a huge plus. It's helpful to have the player name next to the signature to add interest but also better allow people to read it (even though the signature is nice and legible unlike many). The render pops out enough that the red background doesn't hurt at all and I love the font you used for Chicago. 9.2/10

1. Really positive, think the end of the season showed we can beat Davos. 2. I think their consistency is their weakness, even if they get a lead I think we can come back. 3. I think I have to say Larry Abass who is just an absolute force and does so much on the physical side. 4. There still isn't one, they will not work against Davos. 5. Probably someone with an offseason injury. 6. There surprisingly aren't right now.

and nic petan happy bday again vhl

My predictions for S89's end of regular season standings in the European Conference are as follows- 1. HC Davos Dynamo At this point, I think Davos should be able to hold on and secure the best record in the league. They have so many weapons and an absolute wall in net to make up for the rest. Save for a complete breakdown, I don't see Davos losing until the semifinals at least. 2. Moscow Menace The trio of Ronan Lavelle, Hammar Voss, and Tomas Sogaard have taken this team far, but I don't think they can overcome Davos, just a more deep team. I do think the race for the Victory Cup will tighten as we near 72 games played, and I predict a one-point away heartbreaker for Moscow. However, come playoffs, they will be an absolute force if their star players are on. 3. Riga Reign Riga hopes to avoid wildcard drama this time around with an even better team than they've put forward the last few years. They've got an awesome young core with The Frenchman having an outstanding season and Brian Kowalski leading them on defense, with every defenseman award in their sights. 6 points clear of Prague currently. 4. London United They are currently only four points behind Prague, and hope of catching Riga is fading fast given the Reign's good fortune lately. London seems to be set up for a battle for home ice advantage in the wild card playoff, and I can't see them dropping off below Warsaw or beating Riga. I always have London on my radar for a playoff run now. 5. Prague Phantoms It's essentially the same story as London, except they have a much better chance of catching Riga. Prague is on the latter end of their window and I think they just fall short to London. 6. Warsaw Predators It's not looking up for Warsaw this year, but with the loss of Brendan Marner, some saw this coming. The only battle standings-wise is with Malmo at this point, barring an extremely low chance run. 7. Malmo Nighthawks Same story as Warsaw here, their playoff hopes are fading if they continue in their current form but with a bit better chances. I think Warsaw overcomes those three points though and wins that. 8. Helsinki Titans This is a disappointing season for Helsinki, with another disappointing finish looming but a good lottery pick! It looks like a last place finish, and Helsinki needs to turn this around soon and open a window.

@Ricer13

I am more than ok with it, looks so awesome- thank you!

1. We're really settling in now, I think its just figuring out the lines at the right time. 2. He absolutely can, and I hope he does. 3. It's got to be between him and Vincent Laroche-Gagnier for me. 4. Abass should hit enough points to be nominated in my opinion- its just an insane amount of hits. 5. I believe in us, we've been pulling all year and it's finally coming together. 6. Vermont is flooding horribly so that's not fun, but thankfully no fire or tornado.

This graphic is probably one of the more striking ones I've seen- the bright blue looks great and the shine on the visor really draws the eye. There is a lot going on in the background, but it is consistent and doesn't take away from the render, and the logo behind is something I really like. Making it less hidden away would take away from the effect that the background has on the render. The font is well chosen and the diagonal pattern across the background gives it all yet another layer. 8.5/10

This graphic is beautiful! I love the slightly muted gold background with the Menace logo peering out. The jersey being a couple shades brighter really helps the graphic pop. Both the logo swap of the jersey with the Moscow logo and the VHL logo on the collar are done very well and show attention to detail. The font is bright enough to pop out against the background without looking out of place and still fits in with the two-color graphic. There really aren't any problems I can find with this, attention to detail is 10/10 and so is the graphic.

If I was commissioner for a day, there are a number of things I would like to do. First of all, the New York Americans' branding makes me sad, but I don't really want to change it as is (sorry thad for continually insulting nya). The Americans should be removed from America and relocated to Montréal because they should have a team. While I'm at it, I also need to take Mississauga and put them in Burlington, Vermont. I would be ashamed of myself if I didn't bring VHL(or M) hockey to two of my favorite places. I would also like to change the tan in Seattle's color scheme to a color that isn't awful like a green, blue, or purple. I think something could be done better with the Geneva Rush and Vasteras Iron Eagles logos too; there is just a lot more potential for a more imposing/impressive design. I do actually think that something needs to change in relation to the VHLE, because the general stagnation that you see happening there with inactive players is not good for the VHL as a whole. I had an awesome time while playing there, but I don't think everyone shares that. So, because I can, I would merge the two leagues, VHLM and VHLE. Some may argue that having such a high TPE cutoff would, perhaps significantly, lower retention because of the high skill gap between players coming into the league and those ready to make the jump to the VHL, but I would argue that it sets up what one can expect from the VHL, with players often coming up at around 400 TPE and playing against people with 1000+. Wherever you are, you won't be the best when you're just starting and honestly, that's a smaller difference in the newly merged league. But we need other ways to retain our members. Above all, we need to make sure that they don't create their player, write a media spot, and then wonder why they're doing it and slip into inactivity. We need to add more ways to engage throughout the week, and although there is tons of great content put out by individual members, I think expanding the VSN and VSN Illustrated sections of this league could do wonders. Having that kind of really well structured, and just well-made content is great and having as much of it as possible and advertising it on the front page of the forum more prominently. We also need to ensure that our new users don't fizzle out as a result of a inactive locker room, which is often the only real avenue of communication at first, as it isn't as easy to start a conversation on the forum and talking in the big VHL server can seem daunting. Moving on to some more fun and quality of life things, I'd like to have more opportunities for TPE based on quality of work. If we're being totally honest, there is some writing and art (and podcasts too I totally didn't almost forget) that stands out as far above the rest, and there also exists submitted work on the other end of the spectrum. Now, I'm not going to advocate that PTs be reviewed, because that would add so much undue stress and be hell for the updaters or whoever decided that. But we should have themed competitions fairly often as an opportunity for extra TPE, perhaps voted on by the community the following week. It would be cool to implement a way to see your players point's against each team, perhaps a filter system on the player page where you can set by team and season to see those respective stats. And while we are at it, make the player pages more customizable with a couple of featured articles/graphics/podcasts set by the user (which should be on the user profiles as well) and also put in a way to write a summary of the player and as the famous @kirbithan suggested, pictures! Last thing would be to give a little bit of TPE for 'winning the day' for say every 3, or 5 days won. It would reward consistent and high engagement. At this point it would probably be like a couple minutes to midnight so I would pack up my things and give up my office to one of these other prospective commissioners, as long as it is one who thinks the New York Americans branding needs changing.

1. I really do think Riga can contend to win it all, will be tough to get past davos though 2. Honestly it seems to be going well right now, just need to keep doing exactly what we are doing. 3. I think the production from Brian Kowalski is too much to ignore, could be in position for an award 4. I think it is very interesting, good to see all the ideas from members 5. I had a little bit of trouble but enjoyable nonetheless 6. decently, it's been too hot for me but I like the free time I've had

Interviewer: Riga looks poised for yet another tough battle this year with Prague, London, and Warsaw for playoff position, with Moscow and Davos yet again breaking away. How do you think the end of the season will shake out? Sadie St-Louis: Of course, there is no way to know for sure, and you guys know that. It will all come down to the trade deadline and what moves Riga can make there. I am really hoping we can avoid another wildcard round, it's just so much easier without that added stress of an extra series. Interviewer: What needs to change for Riga to take that next step this year? What's to prevent the same story repeating itself? SSL: It's the fact that those past years have happened. We have had playoff loss and are no longer as inexperienced as we once were. We have players who have grown tremendously in the last year and should be able to carry us deep into the playoffs. I just gotta hope everything doesn't fall apart at the wrong time again.