VattghernCZ

@Frank

F - Nezuko @Daniel Janser

D - Biggie Cheese @twists

@Brandon You have skipped your selection, please make up your pick no longer than at the end of your next turn @sadie You're on the clock

I messed up tagging, I was supposed to tag @Daniel Janser

D - Bo Johansson @Brandon

1. @Jason kranz F - Igor Molotov F - Girts Galvins F - Perry Laperriere D - Brian Payne D - Pierre Emile Bouchard G - Brandt Fuhr 2. @twists F - Tomas Sogaard F - Zach Kisslinger II F - Sirdsvaldis Miglaskems D - Hammar Voss D - Callum Murray G - Art Vandelay 3. @VattghernCZ (GM) F - Nezuko F - Tavish DeGroot F - Dogwood Maple D - Bo Johansson D - Biggie Cheese G - Clueless Wallob 4. @Daniel Janser F - Daniel Janser F - Saku Kotkakoivu F - The Board Game Clue on Skates D - Max Torq D - AirRig GoodBrandSun G - Oskar Lindbergh 5. @Brandon F - Vinny Detroit F - Ronan Lavelle F - Nico Pearce D - Jake Thunder D - Hari Singh Nalwa G - Matt Murdock 6. @sadie F - Brendan Marner F - Landon Wolanin F - Vasile Lamb D - Siyan Yasilievich D - AK92 Wit da Hoodie G - Lachlan Summers

The training camps are open throughout the league, and one of the first players to arrive at the Wolves training camp was Wann "lil' Wank" Kerr, who's looking to build on his strong rookie season. On the offensive side, Kerr scored 20 goals - 6 of them on man advantage - on 189 shots, and assisted on 24 other for 44 total points. "I feel like I had too much puck luck, many of my goals were rebounds and redirects. No way I would have won the team Sniper Award if I actually tried to create offense, I would have probably just slowed my linemates down. The fact I did score 20 says a lot about the team around me," said Kerr. However, scoring is just a part of Kerr's game, he's already showing how mature and well rounded player he is. Defensive play, forcing turnovers and puck battling along the boards and in corners are things overlooked by stat sheets in the VHL, and that's where Kerr already looks like a seasoned pro, utilizing his unexpected physical strength. He could however add a little bit of grit to his game to be even more effective in these areas. When asked about his goald for the upcoming season, Kerr said: "I think I need to keep playing the game the right way. Not cheat on defense, keep the puck away from our net, and clear the slot in the offensive zone to create space for my teammates. I should get more involved physically as well, I think I'm strong enough to try outmuscling opposing puck carriers more often than I did last year."

Woooooo, that's awesome!

I was just making fun of the unoriginal way hockey players' nicknames are created, taking it over the top lol

1. In a different situation, we surely could have got more for Preo, but everyone knew we were cap strapped. I don't hate it. Plus 9th overall is where the best players are, right? 2. It's really hard to say which one was more surprising, Totsy meshed with the team really well, and Puksy has been around forever, the team sure will feel different without them. 3. Oh, had they? Weird. I guess I got hit in head and don't remember it. 4. Well now we know. But at the time this conferemce was published, I wouldn't have an idea. I must say I'm really bad in keeping up with the league outside our team. But I must say I'm thrilled to have Fistsy on the team, they're gonna be the next face of the franchise for sure! 5. I'd do my best to still be an asset for my team. But if they need to move me and consider it the right move, I'm not thrilled about that, but I'd personally feel like I'm screwing my new team up by retiring because of that, and you don't do that to your teammates. I'd still play and give it my 110% as usually. 6. I'd say 8/10. No doubts we will still make the playoffs and be a legit threat to win the cup, but losing Preo is just too much to play on the same level. Despite Mapsy and Eagsy being ready to explode into true league's stars after their fantastic seasons.

Damn, you're already GMing Piffer? Wow, great job and dedication! Can't say I'm surprised, you've always been great to be on a team with

1. Oh yea, it did surprise me. The only thing that wouldn't is us winning! But fair play, they're the second best team in the league. 2. As a player, probably game 4. Just make it quick. But going to game 7 is better for the fans and for the team image I guess. 3. Well luckily it's not really my job to worry about that. Honestly, I'd increase it even more and maybe cut down the number of teams, I'd love to see teams with full three or even four lines. 4. I still haven't be around long enough to know how common such changes are, so I can't really say either way. 5. After the season we've just had, I'm surprised there aren't more Wolves nominated, if anything. I'd give it to Bouchard simply for the nice amount of assists because I'm very mature. But seriously, I think Fuhr has got to be a favorite. 6. Is it something about holes, like golfers wanting to hit holes while skydivers don't want to have holes in their parachutes? But it doesn't say anything about them being bad. No idea about this one.

A few hours after the article about the article about Wann Kerr's possible upcoming extension with the Wolves was released, Bob Knob (a reputable Wolves insider) tweeted: "Kerr extension almost signed. I'm hearing it's a max term deal. Lekman extendion probably coming soon after" There's always fire to the smoke with Knob's tweets. Sure enough, later yesterday, Kerr's extension was officially reported as 5×1.5M, effective from S89 to S93, with full NTC throughout the whole term. Lekman's extensios was reported 8 hours after Kerr's, it's 4×1.5 with NTC zhrough the first two seasons, effective from S89 to S92. Both contracts are great cap management work done by Frank, signing both players for league minimum. Which is of course not allowed by the VHL CBA, but it ensures both players will be paid minimum per salary cap bracket, giving Frank as much wiggle room under the cap as possible and making it hard to imagine these contracts aging badly. Realistically, Kerr will probably be paid 3.5M when the contract kicks in and 6M in its last year, and Lekman probably 2.5M or 3M in the first year and around 5M in its last year. Those are still very team friendly deals.

To save you a click

After quite a successful rookie campaign with an untimely bitter end, Wann Kerr, one of the brighter rising stars among Czech VHL players, is set to enter one of the more important seasons of his career - the last year of his rookie contract. The Wolves organisation would surely like to secure services of the promising two-way forward, who scored 20 goals in his debut season and has shown extraordinary work ethic ever since his VHLM draft, on a team friendly deal. "I try not to think about contract negotiations right now, I'm leaving this to my agent. It's her job. My job is to make sure I come back faster and stronger next season. My playoff performance was unacceptable, I let my team down," said Kerr when asked about his upcoming contract year. "Look, @Frank hinted he'd like me to stick around and will work on an extension. As for me, I trust him. He knows how to build a championship team with winning culture. Being on this squad is a privilege, I made it clear to (Kerr's agent) it's a priority for me to stay in Vancouver, even if it means making less money myself to give Frank more wiggle room. That's all I'm able to tell you at this moment," closed Kerr. With mutual interest in contract extension and seemingly good work relationship between Kerr and the Wolves GM, there is no reason to anticipate any trouble with Kerr's re-signing in Vancouver.

1. I did a lengthy media spot comparing the two teams, I expected us to win in 6, so yeah, definitely. 2. I did vaguely follow the series , it sucks not playing the Wranglers ouselves. 3. I won't call you out on that, but 99 times out of 100 it will be because of my own ignorance. 4. The series is now tied at 2, you love to see a series this thrilling. Of course I cheer for Oreo eben though he's a Storm. Ughhh...is golf mandatory? 5. Kerr winning the sniper award is absolutely hilarious, it makes me anticipate sophomore slump tho. And Nezuko winning the little wolf is awesome as well. 6. I think the best chance is for Fuhr winning the Shaw. I can also see him being in the Campbell conversation, along with Bouchard.

I hope there's IKEA in Vancouver, Kerr's gonna need bigger shelves

Wow, literally half of your life. That's insane, thinking about it. I'm still fairly new here, so I can't really fully appreciate the work you've done for this. But I'm sure it's grown as a game and more importantly as a comunity just as much as you did as a person. Great job!

Claim 2/2 for week ending 3/19

Stop! I'm already dead!

This whole thing aged like milk

1. I expected Chicago to win this for sure. But I guess I've underestimated how strong the Bears have been since the deadline. 2. I didn't really follow that series to be honest. Stuff happens. Moscow is a powerhouse on the other side of the pond, I expect to meet them in the finals. Sorry Riga! 3. A B? Or a bee? That's the first thing to come to my mind. 4. I have no idea about this one. I've googled it and lolll this one is a knee-slapper! 5. They're always full of stuffing! Can't wait for Easter stuffing by the way, I might miss some games during Easter. 6. My first thought is I hope not, because we lost to the Joker Card Storm last year in the finals with Gladiators, but I guess it would be great for Oreo. Go Storm!

The pack from Vancouver has clawed their way to the top early and managed to hold onto it throughout the season without chipping a fang, finishing with Victory Cup winning record. While Vancouver players were licking their wounds, Seattle's pawth to the postseason lead through the Chicago territory. They showed their thick fur and wrestled Chicago into submission in 5 games. I'll stop with the puns, I promise. It's becoming unbearable. Seattle made some major trade deadline acquisitions, and with a strong finish to the season it will be interesting to see how will they compare with championship caliber Vancouver roster. Let's briefly compare these teams in different areas of the game. Goaltending While Dusty Wilson has been very reliable tending the Bears' goal for the last 4 seasons, Brandt Fuhr on the opposite side is one of the elite goaltenders in the league. Their career save percentage might be close, but this season Fuhr has clearly been playing better with .931 SV% compared do Wilson's still great .921 SV%. But the biggest difference between them is in the postseason, where unlike Fuhr, Wilson doesn't have a great track record of providing game-breaking performance. Despide being hot in the recent wild card games. My money is on Fuhr to be the better netminder in this series. Defense Despite only having 3 defensemen on their roster, the Bears are the team with fewest shots against (2408, 33.4 per game). Well, they had 4 defensemen for a bit before switching Tavish DeGroot to play forward. The fact they have also logged the fewest blocked shots of any team (671, 9.3 per game) on top of that is a clear indication their defence is based on puck possession and not allowing the opposition to get to shooting position. Ryuji Sakamoto, Alessandro Nano and rookie Elias Lampi are all defenders who pride themselves in their puck moving ability. Sakamoto is one of the best skaters in the league lethal in transition, and Nano has fantastic vision and decision making making him a proficient powerplay quarterback. Vancouver doesn't look too shabby defensively either. They're a top-5 team in shots against (2496, 34.7 per game) with middle of the pack shots blocked (744, 10.3 per game). They're allowing the opponents to get more looks on the net, but the difference is small enough for thwir slightly superior goaltending to neutralize. The clear cut no.1 player on the Wolves' blue line is their captain Pierre Emile Bouchard, the author of last season's Continental Cup winning goal and arguably the best all-round blueliner of this series. He shares the ice with Tater Tottingham, a young offensively talented defender whom the Wolves acquired before the deadline to round out their defensive core. Their second pairing consists of Jimmy MacElroy and rookie Jens Lekman, two shutdown defenders who bring quite some physicality. Offense The Wolves are one of the more actively ahooting teams in the league, testing the opposing goalies' attention 2929 times (40.7 shots per game). What's remarkable is their ability to get to more dangerous areas, leading to them being the highest scoring team with 250 goals (3.47 per game) despite being outside the top 3 in shot volume. That's impressive efficiency. The leading goals and points scorer is Nezuko, an undersized winger who's been signed in free agency to try to replace Alexandre Leduc's production - succesfully I'd say. Centering their first line is Dogwood Maple, a dynamic up-and-coming forward with high-end offensive IQ. On his wings are Svatopluk Puk, a fantastic playmaker from Slovakia, and Henry Eagles, another youngster with great size and big shot. Second line of Nezuko and rookie undersized two-way forward Wann Kerr, who started his VHL career with 20-goal season, is centered by veteran Swiss Army Knife forward Sergey Preobrazhensky, an experienced leader who I believe can be a difference maker in the postseason. Many of the Wolves' players have set new career highs this season, and every forward apart from Wann Kerr scored over a point per game. The Bears' offensive stats are a bit misleading. They were not great offensively to start off the season, but thanks to their additions before the trade deadline, they are arguably the most improved team. Overall, they've generated below-average 2330 shots on goal (32.4 per game) and scored below-average 179 goals (2.49 per game), actually making their goal differential negative (-28) - given how great their defensive game has been, it only accentuate how much they struggled offensively early on. Leading the team in goals and points is Vasile Lamb, a high scoring power forward acquired from DC Dragons. The top scoring forward who spent the whole season with the Bears is brother Hulk Hogan 2, a tough SOB centering the first line, who's steadily been one of the elite well rounded players for what seems to be forever. On his wings are Yaroslav Bogatyrev, a towering 2nd-year player with strong fundamentals and superstar potential who's been struggling to find his game so far, and Tavish DeGroot, a star two-way defenseman acquired from Riga who's been tasked to switch position and provide some spark to the anemic Seattle offense. Playing with Vasile Lamb on thr second line are one of the top S87 rookies Randy Bobandy, and Chip Stone, a creative dangler that's fun to watch. Rookie passer Left Alone takes Stone's spot during Lamb's line sevond rotations. While 5 Wolves' corwards scored over 72 points, only 2 Bears' forwards managed to reach the point-per-game plateau - Vasile Lamb and Tavish DeGroot, both players who started the season on other teams. Special teams Combined, the Wolves are a bit better team in man advantage situation. Their powerplay is league leading at 20.76% conversion rate, but their penalty kill is below average at 80.28% success. For Seattle, special teams are nothing to write home about. Both their powerplay (17.42%) and penalty kill (81.16%) are slightly below league average. The powerplay results are probably not surprising to anyone, but considering how stout their defense is, the lack of penalty kill success is unexpected. Final thoughts My player is in Vancouver, so I might be biased, but I can't see the a little bit stingier Seattle defense overcoming the massive advantage in firepower Vancouver has. I think it will be a bit closer than the standings would suggest, maybe taking 6 games, but I believe the Wolves will show why they're the favorites entering the series.