sadie

2. It was awesome being on the ice with Laas for the short time I was here, and he will go down as a D.C. legend. If we can't have the cup, I hope he'll manage it. 4. Wolves and Bears, they just seem like two very playoff-ready teams. 5. I did take part, but I think my team could be doing a bit better. I usually finish top half though. 6. I relaxed a lot during New Years and went to bed early! It was great to be able to have that rest after a busy holidays in the prior couple weeks! 7. D.C. in first, then Prague, then Helsinki. Not saying I don't think Warsaw and L.A. can do it, but more needs to happen. 8. I do think I give it to Bolivar; I know it's easy to just say the leading point-getter but Bolivar has really helped Halifax be one of the scary teams to face!

Welcome back to the nation's capital and DBC's VHL Today segment; I'm Michael Burrows and here with me on the line is Brandon Petan Jr, rising star on an exciting D.C. Dragons team nearing their rebuild's conclusion. We're glad to have you back on the show, Brandon! Michael Burrows: We haven't spoken to you since your signing with the VHLM's Ottawa Lynx, and since then, a lot has happened for you! Walk us through how it feels to be finally playing at the world's highest level, and with and against the best of the best. Brandon Petan Jr: It's been honestly as great an experience as I could ask for so far, D.C. has had a massively welcoming atmosphere, from the fans to my team to the management. The first few games especially were kinda hard to believe, it's such a crazy environment in almost every stadium in the league and it's obviously what you work towards your whole life. Getting the first win of the season in that first game has been probably the best feeling so far, although scoring my first was awesome as well. MB: With regards to winning games (many of which have gone down to the wire this year), do you feel the team is happy with the progress you're making despite the super tough conference and schedule you play in? BPJ: I don't think you can ever really say we're satisfied with where we're at, even though we're largely happy with how we are playing. We know this is the position that was expected of us to start the year, and it's true we don't have a ton of experience. But we make sure we have a chance to win every game we play and there is a lot of belief in the team day-in day-out regardless of standings. MB: And so as not to neglect perhaps one of the biggest stories surrounding the team this year, I'd like to talk about your captaincy. Were you surprised to be wearing the C right out of the gate and how has that feeling been? Many feel it might be placing undue pressure on a rookie. BPJ: I don't think it's affected me or the team negatively at all; it's an absolute honor to be trusted like this immediately and named captain, and it was something I never could have expected. I had no idea how to respond, it was super surprising. The team has embraced me and the other rookies as we have to them and it's easily the best environment I've ever had the chance to play in. There's a lot of amazing things to come out of this team for many years to come. MB: D.C. has already faced the Moscow Menace a few times this year. How does it feel to be on VHL ice with your old Giants teammate, River Harrington? BPJ: It's honestly just ridiculously fun to be able to play with River, it's really something we have dreamed of doing and hope to be able to play together one day. MB: Is the rookie points/award race something you are following closely? Is there any pressure you put on yourself to excel above the other newcomers? BPJ: I'd be lying if I said I didn't check those standings, but I honestly wish I wouldn't because it would make it a lot easier to just focus on what matters, which is winning. I do care about the individual success but I don't want it to affect my play. The Stolzschweiger is definitely something that I want, but it's not like I'd be sad to see it go to River or one of my teammates. YNFR and Hitstick are absolutely lighting it up and it's already super fun to think about the core we're going to have for years to come. I couldn't ask for better teammates or a more promising team to get to play on.

Welcome back!

This is not the kind of writing I normally do but I currently find myself with 1 hour and 1 minute to get my TPE in for the week; I've weirdly been cutting it close lately despite it being the holiday break, which you'd think would give me a lot more time on my hands but no. I was pretty busy with family during the holidays and basically all the rest of the time has been taken up by work. Theoretically I get back in rhythm next week going back to school and getting on more of a consistent schedule. But anyways, on to what has been happening for me VHL-wise lately. Brandon Petan Jr I'm really happy to have been made captain of the D.C. Dragons immediately, something I didn't expect so quickly, and certainly not before stepping foot on VHL ice for the first time. I hope I can retain that position for seasons and seasons to come and become the face of the Dragons franchise. I also think it's pretty fun that I'm playing on the Dragons, given that we're the one team that my last player Sadie St-Louis was absolutely on fire against for the entire duration of her career. For reference (and this doesn't even include her last season in S94), St-Louis scored 63 points against D.C. She didn't even score more than 40 against any other team, and did this while playing in the EU Conference for more than half her career. As far as Petan's play this season, I'm certainly not unhappy with the production but I feel it could be more, especially taking into consideration BPJ's TPE compared to many other rookies. I'd like to earn some individual accolades at some point in the career, but am not surprised that I likely won't grab the Stolzschweiger. I have believed (and still do) that River Harrington will take it home, especially given the production that comes from a team that scores as frequently as Moscow, not to mention all the star power present there. Petan sits 8th in rookie points, and I'd expect that position to rise a little, but I'm thrilled to see YNFR and Hitstick up there as fellow Dragons. We have a bright future! GMing Frustrations Although I have to say I've really enjoyed GMing so far, I also have to acknowledge there have been points of great frustration. Vegas lost both our games today, and yet again it can be chalked up to the inability to finish and have sustained offense. We sit dead last in the league in goals for, despite having the 2nd best goals against (and we're 1 away from 1st). It really does make sense considering 5 of our forwards are young and developing; they're still building up their TPE and I'm really pleased with the growth I'm seeing from them! But losing two top tier players just really stung; first it was Ozzy Batty, then Anthony Simmons II, the two players that our plans were built around that now currently sit IA. The ever-present possibility of users going inactive is such a large wrinkle in the management of a team, I've realized. It's not even having to deal with the gap left in the team that's the worst; you really just end up worrying about the well-being of the users especially when they just completely disappear without a trace and haven't even been online on discord in forever. Vegas I know I just listed a bunch of things that stressed me out, but Vegas is great overall. It's been lovely to draft players and watch them grow, namely Ethan Ashcroft, Albin Aldgard and James Pearson from the S96 Dispersal Draft who I've gotten to watch improve greatly this year. The same goes for Jagger Bomb Jr who we got as a waiver last year and brought back in the draft. Our defensive play as a whole has been staggeringly good, and not something to overlook despite the lackluster offense I seem to have a knack for bringing to the team considering both this year and last year. Captain Manuel Ceson has been leading valiantly and Danny Ross is leading the league in hits and striking fear into the hearts of our opponents and even his teammate, the formidable Kazuma Satou. Our goalies have been INCREDIBLE; of course it has been mainly OCO who has played so far but be sure that Brian S will be seeing more starts as we progress. I'm honestly pretty happy with everyone on the team- I think our frustrations stem mainly from the absences of who was supposed to be here but isn't. I'll be changing things up offensively until we see improvement, and maybe there are even some moves on the horizon to force us into that contending stage. There's a solid 800 words! I'm hoping to change it up and finally get a solid graphic out in the next couple weeks because I really enjoy doing them and don't get around to it enough. Also, watch out for a massive article coming soon to a forum near you later this month!

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my first zero ever

1. Hard to explain my offseason progress since I jumped from the M to the VHL, but I'm confident I improved a lot since I had a ton of banked TPE. Got a lot better at defense. 2. I'm definitely excited to play with YNFR since we're coming up at the same time from the same draft year, and oh man were those a couple of good VHLM seasons. 3. Was very fun, we actually did the second part of Christmas only yesterday since we celebrate again with extended family. 5. I think we'll definitely have some interesting games against Toronto given the earlier trade. 6. Get some school done, hopefully attend some cool events, and ski a lot. 7. A year full of success, excitement, and happiness.

Thank you @ace_five_ for the quick and easy trade talks, pleasure doing business! Welcome to Vegas @Tyler; we're happy to have you join our team and look forward to the season ahead

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twelve

Hello, and welcome back to VHLM Today, brought to you by the DBC. Again, I'm Michael Burrows, and as we approach the start of the regular season we are proud to welcome another GM on the air today in Sadie St-Louis. She's coming fresh off her first year managing the Las Vegas Aces, having jumped into the front office surprisingly quickly after a long and successful career in the VHL. We go now to our Riga correspondent, Keita Mālina who's sitting down with St-Louis to ask her a few questions. Keita Mālina: It's a pleasure to have you on today! We're all wondering about your perspective on management now that you've got your feet under you. After your first full season with Vegas, how are you feeling about the trajectory of the team going into year 2? Sadie St-Louis: I feel much more positive going into this season; the group of players we have put together projects to work wonderfully, and the atmosphere around the team is great. We're intending on being among the top teams in the league by the end of the year, and I'm confident in the strategy and coaching we have going into it. KM: Can you give us your perspective on Vegas' draft and free agency this season? SSL: Our team has really undergone a noticeable transformation, as most in this league tend to do from year to year of course. After the loss of Ozzy Batty and Samuel Wazinski, we were lucky to be able to persuade a goalie of Oluwaseun's caliber to join our team as well as being able to add the steadfast Danny Ross to our top six. Kazuma Satou of course we see becoming an instant star for us, and a massive one at that. The team, the fans, and myself are overjoyed that we've managed to land who is regarded by most as the best player in the draft. We are also very grateful to have been able to bring back Matthias Gunnarsson through FA, one of our anchors on the blue line last year, as well as Jagger Bomb Jr, who acquainted himself with the city as a rookie last year; I see him becoming a very loved player here. KM: How have you felt the fans and the city have received you? SSL: Despite what was admittedly a bit of a disappointing result in S96, I feel wholly embraced by what are undoubtedly the best fans in the league. I know the idiots over in the Golden Knights management and fanbase tend to overshadow how great hockey can be here, and I think we have a base that will support us through whatever. The excitement around the draft has been unreal, especially with us being able to bring in someone as strong as Satou. KM: What have you found to be the biggest obstacle or difficulty in your time GMing so far? SSL: Most of it has to be dealing with the pressure there is on you to make the right moves, which is much different from the pressure media and fans placed on me as a player, even in times where I wasn't performing. It definitely makes you very hesitant in some ways because you don't want to ruin what you might currently have in a team. KM: What are your plans for your future career, if you care to share? Might we see you as a VHL GM someday? SSL: I certainly have held the ambition to GM a couple of VHL teams that are pretty close to my heart, but my commitment is to the Aces and building a lasting culture here, and a winning one as well. Vegas will be somewhere I'm sticking with for what I hope is a long time. KM: Thank you so much for sitting down with me today; we at the DBC wish you and the Aces luck with your quest for the Cup this year! You've certainly got a lot of people behind you here in Riga. SSL: Thanks for having me! It's always been a pleasure to do these interviews, and I'm hoping for a lot of positive things to talk about in the next one!

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pebbles

olrange

a post with words

1. Season's over. Did it meet your expectations? It did, I was hoping we’d move up in the lottery but you can’t have everything. I’m thrilled to have a full roster now though! 2. How is your offseason going? Going pretty well so far, having fun in the Pro-Am and had a very busy start of the offseason with a ton of M draft interviews and planning. 5. 5 players called up during the offseason. Do you think any of them could participate in Best Rookie Award race? I’m hoping I end up winning it this time- I was the best rookie skater with my first player but Matt Murdock had an outstanding season and deservedly won the Stolzschweiger over me. 6. How would you describe first season of qripll's tenure as a GM? I think it’s gone very well, I imagine it’s a real big adjustment to get thrown into the VHL, especially with it being a league that has more nuance in terms of contracts and a salary cap in comparison to the M. 7. How are you going to celebrate Christmas? Gonna visit my grandparents along with some of my extended family in the few days following Christmas 8. Will you take part in Annual Charity Drive? Already donated for it, and if anyone ends up wanting to donate for a graphic from me that is an available item as well. It’s definitely one of the most enjoyable times of the year in the VHL!

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