VattghernCZ

1. About as close as someone participating can! 2. Not really. I would, if my player was there, or maybe if I was in management and some of my team's players or prospects would be there. 3. Hey, my nameplate has just been put on my locker room stall, I've just arrived. I have yet to find time to look into the Wolves lore. 4. Being a part of the team for some time is definitely a plus. But I think the most important things are team first mentality and their locker room presence. 5. Not at all to be honest, I've only seen the announcement about the temporary cap relief and that's it. 6. It physically joins something together by biting? It has to be a stapler! And all the victim, fate, might etc. is stapling together legal documents!

G - Clueless Wallob @rory

D - AK92 Wit da Hoodie @leandrofg

Every player puts their offseason in good use. It's the time of the year to put on some muscle weight and work on their technical skills to come back stronger, tougher and faster than before next season. This was the case for Wann Kerr as well, naturally. This offseason he's focusing on his shot and adding muscle the most, and it pays out - at the training camp that's about to end, he's already looking like one of the stronger Wolves players. But that's not the only thing the czech forward focused on. Despite what seems to be a brutal workout schedule, he often finds a way to visit kids' hockey trainings to motivate the kids and give a few tips to the coaches. It's one thing for the youngsters to hear about the deeds of the country's pro players, but meeting them, speaking to them in person and having the opportunity to touch a WJHC gold medal is a different thing. "Look at pro czech players. Whether it is VHL or its lesser wannabe rival league NHL, most of the czech players there don't come from czech hockey leagues nowadays. They play in Canadian junior hockey leagues, in NCAA, in Scandinavia, in Switzerland, you name it. There's just no real development program here. Just a bunch of clubs with funding not even worth talking about. And the pro junior league... Players whose parents are rich find a way into it more often than really talented kids. If I can do my part in building a foundation of a development program for a new wave of czech players, I'm happy to do so." - said Wann Kerr for czech media. And it looks like he's backing up what he's saying. It was confirmed Kerr met with Czech Ice Hockey Federation executives and made a significant donation to help youth hockey funding. It looks like getting a few professional hockey seasons under his belt has changed his priorities completely. Before joining the VHL structure, Kerr had stated his goal is to fulfill his dream of running a reptile zoo - or "the best reptile zoo the world has ever seen" as he said - but now he looks commited to his new cause. Perhaps a place in player development is in Kerr's cards after his pro player career is over. But that's far enough in future. Now Kerr is preparing himself for his rookie season in the big league with the Wolves. The freshmen competition will be really tough, with a lot of high profile prospects graduating. Even though Kerr's newest cause is an important one, he should not get distracted if he wants to rise to the top of his draft class. His top-10 pick pedigree and playing for a reigning Founders Cup champion definitely light fire under him, perhaps enough for him to set his eyes on the Stolzschweiger Trophy? He said he doesn't aspire to win it, his priority is performing well in a role his team needs him to. But there's nothing wrong with overperforming, is there?

F - Igor Molotov @rory

F - Sergey Preobrazhensky @leandrofg

1. So-so. I wasn't a full time member of the team last season, so no matter what changes does the offseason bring, the S87 Wolves will be my real first impression on the team. 2. I'm sure I can't recall all of them. But it's great to see a GM not getting lazy after winning The Cup. 3. It's said the team who gets the best player wins the trade. I don't think anyone is happy to see Leduc leave, but it's too early to tell. There are picks for S88 and S89 drafts involved, who knows. 4. Not saying it's fair to them, but yes, they for sure will be. At least by the fans 5. I've played with Jeremy before, he's been a fantastic goalie on every level he's player on. But it will take some time for him to adjust to the big league, I don't think there will be a real controversy this season. 6. I think we're looking solid! A few prospects are joining to fill in depth roles, the top end is looking great, I'd give it a solid 9.7/10.

D - Jake Thunder @rory

F - Daniel Janser @leandrofg

Not counting the three games at the end of S85 and a playoff run with the Lynx, every season Wann Kerr has played so far has been a rookie season on any given level. The same goes for me as a member, being first gen. But I've talked about this side in my theme week MS this season, let's focus more on the player here. VHLM experience - S85 Las Vegas Aces Strictly speaking, Kerr's career has started with Ottawa Lynx after they claimed him as a newcomer. But the true start of his career was the dispersal draft, where he went 33rd overall to back-to-back champions Las Vegas Aces. He was drafted as a black horse, no one exactly knew what to expect of him, but he's a prime example of how a player can absolutely explode when working with the right GM. Kerr eventually became one of the top Aces' forwards and was regularly centering their second line. Eventually the Aces went to lose in the final series. Seeing such a success - both as a team and as a player - early in his career, his VHLM experience set Wann Kerr on fire. He wanted to experience this high again. Getting to the finals with his Junior Showcase Tournament team only made this desire stronger. VHLE experience - S86 Rome Gladiators Kerr's Rome experience was a bit different to his Aces tenure. Nearing the end of S85, Kerr had been contemplating staying in the M for one more season as a TPE capped player to try being The Guy on offense, and jump straight to VHL after that. Ultimately, he decided against that, which turned out to be a great idea. Because, foreseen by no one, he started the season by a 6-game point streak and quickly became The Guy. It was a character building experience for Kerr - either he could get cocky and claim the team wouldn't get as far as they did without him, or embrace his inner on-ice leader (displayed by the A on his chest) and team player, and be thankful to be put in the position to succeed. Judging by how he's been speaking at press availability and on his social media, the latter was the case. All in all, this season was as succesfull for him as the previous one - the Gladiators lost in finals. But this time, Kerr was the team leader in goals and points both in regular season and playoffs. What a way to end his development leagues career. And just to add to that, Kerr helped Team Europe to win their second straight gold medal. VHL expectations for rookie season Now that's a tough one. I was penciled as the second line left wing on the Vancouver Wolves squad, playing opposite of the Wolves' elite scorer Alexandre Leduc. But that was before the huge trade that saw Leduc leaving the team. The lines will surely be shuffled before the first puck drop. Kerr should start the season as a 500-ish TPE forward playing on the wing, despite being natural center. The Wolves have great forward depth, on one hand it will give Kerr less ice time, on the other hand it could give him more favorable matchups. I don't particularly aspire to win the Stolzschweiger Trophy, but I would like to see Kerr scoring 20 goals and being a defensive asset. Twenty goals is a high ask, but so far, my expectations have been too low. Now let's go for it. Go Wolves Go!

Both Kerr and Joyo should put some points in fighting to make it more entertaining. I hope Joyo wasn't that teammate who stole Kerr's gf back in his beer league days

Maybe they will be, but not now during the WJC lol. Can't bring bad blood in the LR

Nope, he was in Team World

A1: I'm extremely happy for the Wolves, it's the team that drafted me, I'm joining them for the next season. Let's hope for back-to-back! A2: Probably not. Seeing they haven't fixed literally any of the issues that make it so frustrating for me to play it, I didn't even get the game. A3: Of course Wild, it's my team! But not counting them, I think this finally is the Leafs' year. Q1: What are your player's goals for the next season build-wise? Q2: From what's already decided, how are your predictions looking? Q3: Do you have any pet(s)? If not, what pet(s) would you consider getting?

Rumor has it that Wann Kerr's first phonecall after the Gladiators' loss in the VHLE finals was to set up an appointment with a therapist. He rarely loses his cool, but on the ice it seemed like he took the L harder than most of his teammates. Allegedly he was also the first player to leave the rink and he cut off contact with everyone for the following two days. There were even some concerns that he might be locked up in Juan Ceson's cupboard again. These concerns were put to rest when Wann Kerr contacted his team apologizing for his behavior, saying he had to "deal with an urgent personal issue". We get it, experiencing nothing but finishing second is tough, but that's a part of being a professional athlete. Whatever Kerr was dealing with - inferiority complex, frustration, impostor syndrom, your guess is as good as mine - venting to a therapist seems to help him. He now presents himself in much better state, hyped for the upcoming WJC. At least that's what can be deduced from the photo he's posted on his social media, where he's skating in his Team Europe jersey, commenting it "this is about f**king winning".

1. Oh yeah, every year. I was the type of kid who would open the whole box on December 1, eat all the chocolates, put the plastic tray back in and glue the box closed, then I would just keep opening the windows. 2. The playoffs started during the holidays this season, so not much really. We were all more focused on the game. 3. To his eyes - at 5'9" he's a pretty short fella, and longer stick gives him a deceptively long reach which he uses well when poke checking. Q1: How happy are you with your player's/team's performance this season/postseason? Q2: What are your player's plans for the offseason? Q3: Does your player have/want any tattoos?

Game recap: What a thrilling, yet low scoring end to the final series, where the only thing overshadowing Phantoms elite goaltending was Wolves HOF caliber goaltending. The Phantoms took control early, peppering Brandt Fuhr with 23 shots in the 1st period - compared to the Wolves' 13 shots - but neither Fuhr nor Clueless Wallob allowed the puck to get past them. Second period was much more even, and it brought the first goal of the game, after Pierre-Emile Bouchard blasted the puck past Wallob on powerplay in the last 4 minutes of the game to put the Wolves up by 1. The Wolves were not able to carry the momentum into the 3rd period as Faith Hope Love tied the game just 49 seconds in and slightly tilted the ice in the Phantoms for the whole period. But Fuhr stood strong just like Wallob, and the game was tied at 1 after the end of 60 minutes. Faith Hope Love might have been the hero in the 3rd period, but unfortunately for his team, his minor interference penalty gave the Wolves another powerplay opportunity that allowed Pierre-Emile Bouchard to end the game with his second goal. Congrats, Wolves!

The season was definitely a fun experience I'll happily reflect on as Wann's career progresses. Coming so close all these times feels extremely rewarding for a newbie like myself. You guys in the management did a hell of a job putting this team together. It was also great seeing my player being put in a position to succeed on a team as strong as this Gladiators squad was. And Swayman, oh boy, how great it was to have one of the league's best goalie tending the crease and just being an MVP. See you guys soon, maybe on the opposite end of the ice, maybe in a locker room, who knows.

The day is October 23, 2022. The Las Vegas Aces are suiting up to play game 7 of their semi-final series against the Mexico City Kings. The winner of the series would be a massive Founders Cup favorite. Centering the second Aces line is Wann Kerr, a young Czech forward for whom it is the first ever full season in the VHLM. A gutsy performance by the Aces allowed them to advance to the finals to clash with the Philadelphia Reapers. Everybody but the S85 Aces has to love the underdog story of the final series. Wann Kerr was watching the soul-wrenching scene of his opponents lifting the cup after the Aces lost in 6 games. Fast forward to November 10, 2022. There is Wann Kerr, raising his draft stock as one of the top Junior Showcase Tournament players leading the Brigade to the tournament final. It's game 7 of the final series against the Delhi Pickles. A very close game was decided by a 3rd period goal scored by Wann's teammate, woooooo! Oh wait. It was his Aces teammate. Who was a member of the Pickles now. An all too familiar scene was now taking place in front of Kerr's eyes, as the Pickles players lifted the cup. Let's jump to January 6, 2023. Rome Gladiators are facing the Oslo Storm in game 7 of the VHLE finals. Leading the Gladiators in goals and points is Wann Kerr. But Oslo couldn't be stopped. After advancing to the semi-finals as a wild card team, they upset the VHLE juggernaut Cologne Express, and the momentum was definitely on their side in the final game against the Gladiators as they've tied the series after being down 1-3. Another character building moment for Wann Kerr as he watched his opponents lift the cup for the 3rd time. Will the Wolves or this season's WJC Team Europe change this trend, or will Wann Kerr bring his curse to his teams? Let's find out.

I love those! If you find yourself short of TPE, can you please make one for me? Player name: Wann Kerr Player render: Calen Addison, preferably with greasy lettuce he used to rock Team: Vancouver Wolves

Claim 2/2 for week ending 1/8

I fancy our chances lads!

In Gustav's guide to building players, it says defense is, in Gustav's opinion, THE MOST IMPORTANT ATTRIBUTE FOR ANY POSITION OR BUILD. According to my first VHL mentor Shindigs, defense in the sim basically dictates how often your players has the puck. So what was my experience? Building a two-way center, I always knew DF would be high on my priority list. I got DF somewhat high in the M, and was able to put up almost 100 points. Not bad, but I also had 60 SC. During JST after I left the M and was able to allocate all my banked TPE, I put it all to DF (and something to FO), so by the start of S86 - when I graduated to the E - my DF was already around 70, but my SC was still 60 and my SK and PH in high 50s. Throughout the year, I mostly focused on upgrading DF. At the end of the season, my player had DF 76, FO 65, SK+PH 64, ST 63, SC+PA 61. The result of this ultra-DF center build? Team leading 37 goals and 84 points, both top 10 in the league. Now capped in the E finals, with DF 76, SK+PH 66, FO 65, ST+SC 63 and PA 62, my guy is sitting at 5 goals and 7 assists for 12 points (all three stats team leading) in 7 playoff games. Is defense really that OP? At least below the VHL level? Or am I just being lucky? Can't wait to find out.

Remarkably consistent effort brought the Phantoms victory in game 76. The first period was even on the scoresheet, but not necessarily on the ice, as the Phantoms were clearly the better team. Perry Laperriere opened the scoring for the Phantoms in the 7th minute, but Mason Jones promptly tied the game. Similar situation followed shortly after when John Jameson put the Phantoms up by one again, but James Teekirque tied the game again. Clueless Wallob in the Phantoms net was really true to his name, allowing 2 goals on 5 shots. Second and third periods were like carbon copies of each other - Prague led in shots in both, and scored a goal a period. Faith Hope Love and Nils Godlander were the shooters adjusting the final score to 4-2.