VattghernCZ

„Man means, life changes“, says a Czech proverb. Even though its original version was „man means, God changes“, the version with „life“ is more common. Maybe the fact Czechia is one of the least religious countries in the world has something to do with it. Whatever version you prefer, the meaning is still the same – sometimes, things just don't go the way they have been planned, and they can change minute to minute.

The last offseason, Wann Kerr, one of the top Czech players in the VHL, certainly could relate to this proverb. After spending all 288 games of his professional career in Vancouver on a team that hasn't missed playoff once in that span, won a Victory Cup and appeared in a Continental Cup finals, the Wolves brass decided for a rebuild. And Kerr was one of the pieces that were moved as a part of it.

Right now, Kerr is enjoying a day off after finishing round robin of the World Cup, where his Eastern European team absolutely dominated and won 7 out of 10 total games, with Kerr being the top goal scorer and point scorer of the whole tournament. One of our reporters took the trip from Prague to Berlin, where Wann agreed to meet up in a café for a few words, so Czech fans can catch up with his life and what's going on.

Hello Wann, long time no see. So, how have things been?

Yea, I can't even remember the last time we talked, it's been hard keeping up with Czech fans while living in Canada. I haven't really had much time for social mdia and stuff like that, and it's refreshing to hear someone speaking Czech after such a long time. Yea, things have been great actually. I'm trying to handle the still somewhat new role of a husband and an adoptive father while playing professional sport, but I like keeping myself busy. Yea, things have been good.

Great to hear! I guess the good vibes translate to your on-ice performance. Since the last time we spoke, you took the league by storm by being the top goal and point scorer in the S89 playoffs, then scoring 41 goals in S90, and now you're leaving quite an impression at the World Cup. What has changed in your game that allowed you to break out as one of the may I say best forwards in the league?

(Laughs) One of the best forwards, thanks. Hard to say, I think a big chunk of that was playing with Nico Pearce in S89, he was always there to cover for my stupid mistakes and that really helped my confidence. It was the biggest thing, for sure, the confidence. Then I spend the whole S89/90 offseason studying the tape on mostly John Jameson, really trying to model my game after him, especially the off-puck habits and the way he uses his physicality. I think he's the best forward in the league right now, so obviously he's the player I want to study. It has made me more effective in gaining possession for our team, and good things happen when we have the puck. Yea, I think it really comes down to playing with guts and intensity, and of course having as great of linemates as I've been gifted helps. Whether it's Oreo (McFleury) $nubbed (Analfist) or Girts (Galvins) in Vancouver, or Big Bog (Yaroslav Bogatyrev) or Henry (Eagles) now at World Cup, they're all guys who can just make you look better.

But now, there will be new teammates for you to build chemistry with. So let's address the main thing – your trade to London. How did it go?

Well, when I saw Doggy (Dogwood Maple), McFlower (Oreo McFleury) and Bouchy (Pierre Emile Bouchard) traded on top of Girts (Galvins), Hockley (Mann) and of course the one and only Payne (Brian Payne) retiring, I had the feeling I might have had played my last game as a Wolf. We had a long, long conversation with Frank, talking life and business while having some beers. He explained his point of view, and we decided it's the best move for both the Wolves' rebuild and my career to accept the London's trade offer. So I waived the NTC and it was a done deal. No hard feelings on either side.

So what are your first impressions on London? Will it be a change for you to play closer to home?

Closer to home? My home is in Vancouver, my wife stayed there with the kid, I don't think it's good for a child to move so often. They're staying on Bowen Island. I'm renting a nice cozy home on the outskirts of London, it's nice here. Especially the food here is great. You know Mei Mei? It's a Singapore restaurant run by Auntie Liz, I highly recommend their nasi lemak! But I guess you're asking about the team. Yea, really chill, laid back atmosphere in the LR. We all want to and expect to win, and certainly have the team to do so. I'm excited for the next season. I hope I'll be able to hold my end of the bargain and do what I can to help them forget they've paid two first round picks for Braun and I. And hopefully, it will be two 16^th overall picks.

So you're now fully on board with the United? No playing favourites for the team that drafted you?

Oh absolutely. You know I've always given my all for the team on the front of my jersey. I don't care whether it's Vancouver, or Maple and his Davos, or Bouchy and his Helsinki, or Oreo and his Calgary – they're against us now. We might exchange some friendly words before the game or during the intermissions, but we're not teammates anymore. If they're carrying the puck through the center of the ice, I'm bodychecking them. If they play dirty, I'm dropping gloves.

Always loyal to your team, love it. So what are your expectations for the next season, both individually and as a team?

Well, I'll do my best to try to replace the retired Igor Molotov for the team. I think that's what expected from me. That's a hard task, but I'm always up for a challenge. London is full of technically really great players with strong two-way game, I think I'll take it on myself to be more of a blue collar physical presence. I know I'm not the biggest guy around, but working along the board, in the corners and in front of the net are probably the strongest areas of my game. I think I could mesh well with the forward core, and it could help our teams. I think our offense is as good as any team's, and we've got one of the best goaltenders in the league. Yea, I think we're serious contenders, and will be ones for the years to come.

I definitely wish you good luck next season, I hope you will be as successful in London as you were in Vancouver.

Thank you, thank you. I have to go now, we have a voluntary skating in a moment, so I'll try to stay sharp, and I hope to speak with you soon!

It's interesting to watch how music my preferences change throughout the year. Some music just hits different as the days are getting shorter and the air is dilled with the smell of bonfires. Let's not get too poetic tho lol

Thanks you for the opportunity, I can't wait to meet the team and get this season going! Go Bulls go!

Week 3 press conference - we're tied!

After we made the wild card round look easy against the Warriors, the 1st round series against the Steel didn't start great for as as we lost first two games. However, after some adjustments, we tied the series and are back on track!

Feel free to answer 3 questions for 1 capped TPE or all 6 questions for 2 capped TPE. Just a reminder, you may only submit 1 press conference claim a week.

1. Great 2 wins by you guys to tie the series! Are we carrying the momentum and taking the series home?

2. Brigade dominated round Robin and are cutting through the Rush like a knife through butter, leading their series 3-1. When you or your player aren't involved in the series, do you enjoy close nailbiter series, or examples of domination by one team?

3. We've re-worked penalty kill lineups, and generally adjusted strategy to play more "boring", defensive game limiting the Steel chances. Is this our new identity going forward, perhaps even to the finals?

4. On top of those changes, we've also put Joshua Schwarzer, the wild card MVP, on the second line to open better matchups for him, now we can roll 2 lines both with an elite forward - Minion on 1st and Schwarzer on 2nd. Do you prefer when teams stack their top units, or are you more in favour of spreading the wealth?

5. Now the VHLM dispersal draft is behind us. If your player was eligible, how did it ho for you? If not, did you follow it and did you see something that surprised you?

6. No Cup hangover for the Golden Knights, Bruins still unbeaten after losing a ton of crucial players, Devils struggling and a ton of other weird or unexpected things going on in the NHL. What has been the biggest surprise for you this early in the season, for good or bad reason?

@Tetricide @UnknownMinion @sliceruser @Velevra @Syzygy @jacobaa19 @Dil @DDZ_44 @NineIQ v2 @Zetterberg @Sisyphus @Oldhead91 @KaleebtheMighty @Vik

So happy to play with Eagles again!

3 hours ago, Velevra said:

1. Is this your first JST? If it is, what would you consider a success - for you personally and for the team? If it's not, what way your biggest JST success?

First JST I believe, don't think it was a thing back when I used to be in the league. Success would be making the finals at least I think!

 

2. How closely do you follow offseason tournaments? Do you follow them even when you're not directly involved?

Usually only follow along with the ones I'm involved in. Checking Index and LR every now and then
 

3. The first sim is behind us, as I'm writing this. 8 games total, 6 of them saw 10 or more total goals scored, majority of forwards and a good chunk of defensers are over point per game. Do you think this trend will continue throughout the whole tournament?
A little late answering these but that first sim was definitely an anomaly due to a different sim version being used.

 

4. Hand in hand with plethora of goals scored go at first glance underwhelming goaltender stats. No goaltender has a save percentage .900 or higher. Do you think any goalie - perhaps our own Dalkr Vidarsson - can break it and finish with better looking stats than this?
Of course, once again I have the benefit of hindsight so things were corrected to be more standard.
 

5. Don't be afraid to overreact, what do you think about your player's and our team's performance so far?
Player seems to be doing alright, we seem to be giving up a good chunk of goals though so wish I could perform a bit better defensively.

 

6. (After I post this, I'm gonna look at the form and name team's captain(s) so this question is relevant) What do you think of the leadership group of this season's Royals? Do you have some history with any of them?
Should be a good group of guys. Some great guys like Zetterberg, Kaleeb, and Tetricide who seem quite active in the league.

 

It was technically for the last week, but no worries, it should be approved no problem

Week 2 press conference 

Brigade are dominating the league, we play some close game with Steel, we usually have the upper hand on Rush, and we definitely have Warriors' number.

Feel free to answer 3 questions for 1 capped TPE or all 6 questions for 2 capped TPE. Just a reminder, you may only submit 1 press conference claim a week.

1. I'm posting this a few hours after the VHL entry draft. If your player was eligible, how did you do compared to your expectations? If not, the VHLM dispersal draft is coming soon, what are your expectations for the draft?

2. The Royals were sitting in the 3rd place for most of the tournament, but Rush was able to sneak past us. Can we reclaim the 3rd?

3. Currently we're looking for a way to get the powerplay going. Make a quick case for your player to get more powerplay minutes here!

4. Other than o you have other big concerns about the team and its performance?

5. We have a complete roster now, with Viktor Vyzovsky running the Detroit boost joining the team, so now we have two players with some points in fighting. How much do you think this makes us harder to play against?

6. The NHL season has started, finally. What's your team and how have they been doing so far?

@Tetricide @UnknownMinion @sliceruser @Velevra @Syzygy @jacobaa19 @Dil @DDZ_44 @NineIQ v2 @Zetterberg @Sisyphus @Oldhead91 @KaleebtheMighty @Vik

That's a big one

Yoou can't leave, I just got 5 uncapped, I like you!

What a way to ride into the sunset for Payne

@CODENAMEJIMMY

Hello Vik!

It's currently offseason, so there's no hockey to be played but Junior Showcase Tournament. That could be a chance for your player to shine in front of the scouts from every team! With the Royals, we're looking for one more defenseman to complete our roster, so we can definitely offer your player more than enough time on ice to impress the scouts, and he'd also start his JST journey playing with our top defender and one of the tournament's best! If you'd like to join the Royals, just answer with #LetsGoBlueBlood

3 hours ago, Gaikoku-hito said:

Vancouver Wolves weren`t able to contain Ronan Lavelle @Arce so they decided to remove him from the game sending goon Wann Kerr @VattghernCZ over the boards to deal with him. Ronan Lavelle @Arce somehow ended up with a Game Misconduct;

The only useful thing Wanker did this  postseason

Hello! Welcome to the VHL! Since there's offseason now, there's not much hockey to be played for a newcomer. But there's Junior Showcase Tournament right now! This could be an opportunity for your player to prove themselves in front of the scouts from every team, before the upcoming VHLM dispersal draft! I'm in charge of the Royals, and we are missing a defenseman to complete our roster, and would like to offer you the final spot, which would guarantee you a lot of time on ice, and you would start your JST journey playing in a pair with our best defenseman! If you're interested in joining the Royals, just respond #LetsGoBlueBlood ! And don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or concerns, whether it's regarding the tournament, or not related to it at all!

S90 Junior Showcase Tournament is here!

A perennial opportunity for the youngsters to show their quality in front of coaches from all leagues is here again. Let's give them something to look at and see what this crop is all about!

Feel free to answer 3 questions for 1 capped TPE or all 6 questions for 2 capped TPE. Just a reminder, you may only submit 1 press conference claim a week.

1. Is this your first JST? If it is, what would you consider a success - for you personally and for the team? If it's not, what way your biggest JST success?

2. How closely do you follow offseason tournaments? Do you follow them even when you're not directly involved?

3. The first sim is behind us, as I'm writing this. 8 games total, 6 of them saw 10 or more total goals scored, majority of forwards and a good chunk of defensers are over point per game. Do you think this trend will continue throughout the whole tournament?

4. Hand in hand with plethora of goals scored go at first glance underwhelming goaltender stats. No goaltender has a save percentage .900 or higher. Do you think any goalie - perhaps our own Dalkr Vidarsson - can break it and finish with better looking stats than this?

5. Don't be afraid to overreact, what do you think about your player's and our team's performance so far?

6. (After I post this, I'm gonna look at the form and name team's captain(s) so this question is relevant) What do you think of the leadership group of this season's Royals? Do you have some history with any of them?

@Tetricide @UnknownMinion @sliceruser @Velevra @Syzygy @jacobaa19 @Dil @DDZ_44 @NineIQ v2 @Zetterberg @Sisyphus @Oldhead91 @KaleebtheMighty

I have to have some Yellow Spot in Payne's memory 

It's been a nailbiter so far. Damn, Castle is on fire!

23 hours ago, Gaikoku-hito said:

Wildcard Series & First Round

 

Here we are a day or two after a wildcard series and we will march on towards one of the best teams in the league in the Toronto Legion so let quickly review the series and look ahead to the next round. Answer three questions for one TPE or all six for two TPE. As always have fun!!

 

 

1.     After reading an article by one of your players managers about how we have lost five of the past six series against Seattle Bears; were you confident that we were going to make it 2-7 or were you concerned that Seattle might once again upset us?

 

2.     Oreo McFleury led the team in the first round with amazing 4 goals and 4 assist in only four games; Do you think he will continue to led the team against Toronto and do you think he will continue the current scoring pace?

 

3.     Pierre Emile Bouchard finished with the highest shooting percentage in the first round with an amazing 25%; Do you think he should shoot more or will that bring down this shooting percentage?

 

4.     Brandt Fuhr numbers in the first round were rather unimpressive with an 3.50 GAA and 0.892 sav%. Are you concerned by his current play or was it simple a reflection of the team play?

 

5.     What do you think will be the keys to success for the Vancouver Wolves to beat the Toronto Legion in the next round of the playoffs?

 

6.     VSN has voted against us against Toronto so do you think that makes us the under-wolves and do you agree with their assessment of how the series might play out?

 

 

1 Things could go either way between these teams. I was about 80% confident.

2. Oreo is a fantastic young player, not surprising he leads the team, and I see no reason why he shouldn't continue. Keeping up the current goal scoring pace would be quite something, I'm not sure if it's really sustainable to be honest. But I'd love to be proven wrong!

3. If he's gonna score one on every 4 shots, I think we all should pass him the puck! Can you imagine him scoring like 8 goals every game?

4. He's not a young kid anymore, there's some regression expected, but he'll bounce back. He's still a very good goaltender, better than his wild card round numbers. I'm more concerned about the S91 and S92 goaltending than about this playoff run.

5. Their offense is lethal, it could be a series of games with less than 3 goals scored when we focus on shutting their elite offense down, and 8+ goals games when we go full glass cannon on them, with nothing in between. Then there's Joel Castle of course.

6. The last time Vancouver beat Seattle in a playoff series, they...you know what, I've learned my lesson about jinxing last season. Just go look up. Beating our rivals this early can do only good to our morale, we can beat anyone now, including Toronto. I don't agree with them, we've got this

1 hour ago, Banackock said:

Probably see you next season.   Hopefully just later in the playoffs!

Conference finals sound good!

6 hours ago, Banackock said:

Damn. 5/6. 

 

 

You can make it 5/7 Good series, as usually between these two!

3 minutes ago, animal74 said:

@VattghernCZ I'm ready for ya buddy! Former LV Aces teammates going at it!

Lessgooo! Whoever wins, let's make Shindigs proud!

Two and a half hours long drive down the I 5 and Highway 99 apart lie the cities of Vancouver and Seattle. Both these cities host a VHL team showcasing a predatory animal - a wolf and a bear respectively. And of course, their passionate fanbases. A geographic proximity of teams playing in the same division, and passionate fanbases are the foundation of any great rivalry.

And it didn't take long after the controversial S65 Quebec Meute relocation to Vancouver for these organisations to grow some despise towards each other.

Season *nice* was the first time these teams - their current iterations - met in the postseason. After both the Victory Cup winning Wolves and the 2nd NA seed Bears advanced past the first round in 7 games. They went toe to toe for the first 4 games, leading to a 2-2 split, before Seattle won 2 straight, both by one goal. The Bears would then go to win their 8th Continental Cup to start the then-newest VHL dynasty.

Their season 70 clash had similar introduction - Vancouver was the better regular season team as they had finished 2nd overall, compared to Seattle's 6th overall finish. However, the roles switched in their postseason series. The Bears dominated the Wolves in game 1 to gain traction, and would carry the momentum through game 2 and 3 close wins. Vancouver would win game 4 in overtime, but it wouldn't be enough to reverse the tide, and Seattle would take the game 5. While the Wolves' fans could make the argument they had narrowly lost to eventual champions in season *nice*, this time they lost 1-4 to a team that would be eliminated by the Cup runner up.

Season 71, once again the Victory Cup winning Vancouver is facing the 2nd NA seed Seattle in the second round. And once again, the Bears would come on top. Wolves stole game 2 in overtime, but other than that, it was all Seattle. They would then continue further to win their second Continental Cup in three years.

For 11 years, S71 was the last time Vancouver and Seattle met in the postseason. The Bears would win the Continental Cup in S73, to solidify themselves as a dynasty by winning 3 cups in 5 years. Those clashes with Vancouver didn't feel like a true rivalry. They felt like an older brother picking on a youger brother or a 4th-grader bullying a 1st-grader. While there's no question that this started the deep rooted grudge against Seattle in many Vancouver fans, the matchups would need to be more even for it to be a true rivalry. Seattle's dynasty boasting the likes of Hulk Hogan, Guy LeGrande, Ambrose Stark, Scott Greene or Rayz Funk made the Wolves their bitches, it's as simple as that.

There was a lot of excitement in anticipation of the S82 playoffs first round. Once again, Vancouver won the Victory Cup while Seattle barely qualified for the postseason and had to go through Toronto in the wild card round. Obviously, the old-timers were skeptical. They had seen this before. But this time, the outcome was different. This Wolves team had just won back-to-back Continental Cups. This Wolves team was special, and it took them 6 games to deal with the Bears. But more than that - they went on to win their third straight Continental Cup.

Fast forward 5 years. S87, the Wolves are once again your Victory Cup winners, while the Bears have to go through the wild card round to face them in the first round. The Rogers place was sold out mere hours after the playoffs ticket pre-sale had been started. But Vancouver loses first 3 games in row. They make it semi-interesting by winning game 4, but it's not enough. 5 games, and that's it. Seattle would then lose in the semifinals to the eventual Continental Cup champion.

The teams met again in S88 playoffs. This time, it way Vancouver who had to fight their way through the wild card round to face Seattle. And they did. But as the story goes more often than not, it way once again Seattle who finished on top. This time, it took 6 games, and Bears fought their way to the finals, where they lost in 7 games.

That's 6 series between these two teams, with Seattle winning 5 of them. As I'm writing this, the Wolves and the Bears are once again going head to head, this time in the wild card round. The score is 1-1. Let's see whether it goes as it usually does, or whether the Wolves cam overcome their demons.