I made a cool graphic, but everything got compressed af when I resized it cause it was too big for forums at 600x600. I can provide a better link if it isn't up to par for updaters, but I'd like to use this graphic as my claim if it works.
After a hiatus from posting and moving into my dorm room for school this year, I finally can post again. And we're only less than a week away from the beginning of the VHLM season! Exciting times, as the new AGM of Vegas I'm more than ecstatic to be alongside @Shindigsas he begins another run for the Founder's Cup. I'll be unbiased as can be, and I think this season will be a lot closer than it was last season. Let's begin!
#1: MEXICO CITY KINGS
DRAFT GRADE: A
After being bounced early in the S84 Playoffs, the Mexico City Kings are entering contending mode and utilized their draft picks well. At #7 Overall, the Kings took G Jeremy Swayman, who had an outstanding season last year for the Kings. He posted a .914 SV% and a 1.73 GAA, not to mention adding 2 shutouts. He'll be a key piece for the Kings going forward. Adding penalty box legend Womp Womp Womp Womp Womp Jr. adds to an exciting D core for this Mexico City team. Permitting they stay active throughout the season, Mexico City could have 7 capped players by the end of the season. I currently rank Mexico City #1 and having the best chance of winning the Founder's Cup by the end of the season.
#2: LAS VEGAS ACES
DRAFT GRADE: B+
The back-to-back defending Founder's Cup champions look to take the title home for the third straight season as GM @Shindigswill look to re-steer the ship in his rumored last season after losing numerous players from last season's championship team. Once again, Shindigs does Shindig things. Vegas probably had the most steals in the draft, grabbing players such as C Antoine Barksdale and C Wann Kerr in the later rounds of the draft. The D core consists of newly re-signed D Juan Ceson and D Grigoris Polyhronidis Jr, both who could possibly cap by the end of the season. Retaining LW Larry Abass Jr was key to keeping the Forward core in check. Newly-promoted G Joel Castle takes over as the starter for the Aces. This team could be scary early. Not to mention very active. Watch the Aces improve over the season. I currently have the Aces sitting in 2nd place and with a pretty good chance to win the cup.
#3: HOUSTON BULLS
DRAFT GRADE: C-
Houston was also bounced from the playoffs early and is looking to conquer the Founder's Cup. Houston grabbed a nice D piece in D Reno Reinhold and got a steal in the 3rd Round with C The Mediocre One. Looking at Houston, they possess a nice F core and 2 solid D. They might need to make some moves in FA or trade some picks in S87 to solidify their D core. One concern for this team is the lack of G. May not be a bad idea to send a pick for a nice G or grab one out of FA. I could see Houston being pretty good, but it's concerning about the goalie situation. I have the Bulls finishing 3rd once it's all over.
#4: HALIFAX 21ST
DRAFT GRADE: B-
I liked Halifax's draft. They secured some key players, 2 who have already capped. A first line of Jeffrey Bezos-Vinny Lecavalier-Babay Shrimp could be a deadly line. I still question their trade when they sent Daryl Dixon to Miami in exchange for more picks, but I totally understand they need to build for the future. They could've gotten better value IMO. They'll need to do some searching in FA to fill out their depth. However, I think Halifax will be a dark horse candidate for the Founder's Cup this year.
#5: MIAMI MARAUDERS
DRAFT GRADE: A+
This team took a complete 180. Miami has finally drafted a team that can pull them out of the depths of Hell. New GM @nurxclearly did his homework and has built a solid roster just by drafting alone. Selecting Rick Grimes 1st overall was questionable, but they sent multiple picks in order to grab RW Daryl Dixon from Halifax. While I think they could've sent fewer picks or just keep the picks they had and use them as depth picks for next season, they did a really good job in a time they were considered a dead team. I don't think they currently have the pieces to contend for a championship just yet, but they are definitely on the right track and will make the playoffs this season.
#6: OTTAWA LYNX
DRAFT GRADE: C
Ottawa had a decent draft. Nothing to get too excited about. They could easily have a few capped players by the end of the season, but they are all forwards, and no D. This most likely means they are gonna have to rely on a couple forwards playing back until they figure out a solution. I think Ottawa will make the playoffs, but they'll be a one-and-done team.
#7: PHILADELPHIA REAPERS
DRAFT GRADE: C
Similar situation to Ottawa, Philly only grabbed forwards and a G in this draft. They're going to have to rely on trading or FA to build a solid D core. However, only a couple D need to be added and I think Philly could be slotted into that #5 spot in front of Miami. With the right pieces, they could be a dark horse candidate.
#8: SASKATOON WILD
DRAFT GRADE: D
Unlike the previous two teams, Saskatoon has a D core to build on. But they still need a lot of pieces to make a push into the playoffs. It's going to take some work in FA to build up said solid squad.
---------------- PLAYOFF CUTOFF LINE --------------
#9: SAN DIEGO MARLINS
DRAFT GRADE: D-
San Diego didn't have a lot to work with in this draft, and they are going to struggle out of the gates. The thing I liked @jacobcarson877doing was grabbing lower TPE players to develop into stars. Only reason I gave them a D- was the talent they selected was lower. I think they should keep this core throughout the season then build on it once the next draft comes. I think San Diego misses this year, but TBH might be for the better. Higher pick in the draft.
#10: MISSISSAUGA HOUNDS
DRAFT GRADE: F
Mississauga took the biggest drop this offseason. They selected really good players who will cap by the end of the season, but they only grabbed 3 players in total. I think they need to build through FA and grab some active, lower TPE players to build around. As it stands now, Mississauga sits in the basement.
All in all, this should be a fun season to watch. It will be a lot more competitive, considering Miami finally kicked it into high gear and many teams are loaded with talent. I think Vegas will have a hard time to 3-peat.
GET MAD AT ME.
1150 words. Claim for week 9/4, only because I like writing.
Thank you. I appreciate how busy you guys are both here and IRL, so I apologize for the incessant whining about the situation. I just didn't know what was happening in relation to HEL and it was incredibly frustrating. I'll shut up about it now that I've heard from you.
This offseason has been great so far, and I've had a lot of fun following the playoffs of the different leagues, seeing other people's great content, and playing in the JST (go brigade go). But coming up soon is the VHLM draft, which will be huge in determining how this season goes for me. I'm a bit nervous about it (if we could get a date that would help). Anyway, here is exactly what will happen in the first round of the draft.
Pick 1/Miami Marauders: Alexander Minion (G)
Being the top goalie at this point in regards to TPE, Minion has also performed outstandingly in the JST and will help any team tremendously. Miami needs a player like this after their bottom of the league finish last season.
Pick 2/Philadelphia Reapers: Sunglasses Joyo (C)
Currently Sunglasses Joyo has the most TPE on the draft board, and therefore would be an amazing addition to any team. At #2 this is a fantastic pick for Philadelphia, who can definitely contend this year using their many draft picks.
Pick 3/Saskatoon Wild: Yaroslav Bogyatrev (RW)
Bogyatrev is the current 2nd highest TPE earner on the rboard and should be at the VHLM cap of 200 by the time the draft is happening. With a substantial attribute gap of 6 between scoring and passing, they will absolutely light it up in the upcoming year.
Pick 4/Ottawa Lynx: Jeremy Swayman (G)
Jeremy Swayman is just about on par with Alexander Minion in terms of TPE earning, being only 1 behind. Boasting a .929 save percentage in the JST is impressive, especially in the playoffs when everyone else is going all out. I look forward to seeing how Swayman will compare against the other top goalies this year.
Pick 5/Halifax 21st: Womp Womp Womp Womp Womp Jr (D)
Womp Womp Womp Womp Womp Jr is hands down a name that deserves to be in some kind of hall of fame already. But in addition to this, they are a top earning defenseman in the draft this year, and great defensemen are invaluable to their team. He is also in sole 1st place in playoff points on the Brigade in the JST as a defenseman, and this is a team that is in the finals.
Pick 6/San Diego Marlins: Lachlan Summers (G)
Lachlan Summers is the best goalie there is, hands down. With his stunning good looks, tendency to burn things, and eerie resemblance to jdrooan bgintingon, he is an amazing presence in the locker room and an extremely consistent earner of TPE. San Diego already knows what he brings to the table as they picked him up on waivers last year.
Pick 7/Mexico City Kings: Daryl Dixon (RW)
Daryl Dixon is an outstanding player and had already surpassed 190 TPE. The only reason he could fall this far in my eyes is positional needs, because they are the third best available TPE-wise. Dixon was one of the best scorers in the JST regular season with the Brigade as well, no doubt boosting his draft stock in the eyes of league GMs.
Pick 8/Houston Bulls: John Richards (LW)
John Richards is an enigma. He can go into slumps, but when he breaks out of them he really impresses, scoring many goals. This underrated winger is a perfect player to have on your team, earning TPE consistently. He is a great friend and will energize a locker room, leading his team to wins.
Pick 9/Ottawa Lynx: Reno Reinhold (D)
At 160 TPE currently, Reno Reinhold is the highest earning defenseman on the draft board. Ottawa, having drafted a goalie already, will greatly benefit from a high TPE dman. They can take more offensively focused players later, as they still have all of their own picks in this draft.
Pick 10/Bedirhan Paard (LW)
Having Bedirhan on your team will ensure that your season isn't boring. You'll certainly have locker room engagement from him. He's a good TPE earner whose media spots are amazing to read and improving every time he writes one.
Just to reiterate, all of this will happen and I can see the future perfectly.
Season 85 VHL Draft Lottery
Date: August 24th, 2022
Time: 6:30(ish) EST
Hi Everyone,
Before getting into the final draft odds and the lottery itself, a reminder of the rules regarding the Draft Lottery:
Onto the odds for the Season 85 Draft Lottery. At the conclusion of the Regular Season, prior to the Lottery Tournament, the odds began as:
Following the Lottery Tournament, the updated odds are as follows:
FINAL DRAFT LOTTERY ODDS
Prague: 25%
Vancouver: 25%
Malmo: 17.5%
London: 12.5%
Los Angeles: 10%
New York: 10%
The lottery will be going live on twitch momentarily:
Hello VHLers! I have had a lot of thoughts over the last few weeks, some spurred on by reading other people’s wonderful thoughts and some I like to think are original. What I want to do here is compile some “theory” on player, line and roster building as a sort of intermediate-level document for those who have read through resources like Gustav’s Guide to Building and the TPE & Point Tasks Tutorial. Since those are already amazing, I will not be overlapping too much, so if you do not know how the STHS attributes work and do not know how to earn TPE please go read those they are great.
To start off then, I wanted to talk about player building. As a current VHLM GM this is an area that I think could use a lot of improvement right off the bat, and with the hybrid-attributes having been implemented for a couple seasons now, my view on building in the VHLM has changed a lot. Historically the idea was to get the Core-4 attributes (DF, SC, SK, PH) up to ~70 and then go from there.
Nowadays, with 1 TPE getting you much less than it used to, some concessions need to be made. Getting those stats up to ~50-60 is not much of an issue if you put your head to it. And for those earning well, this is probably still the way you’ll want to build. I do think one should try to prioritize pushing 1 of those Core-4 attributes at a time, starting with DF, so you always have the advantage at SOME aspect of the sim. The principle of min-maxing in sim leagues is still particularly important. Being great at 1 thing and okay at some others, is better than being good at everything.
This leads into my next, and most crucial point about building. This idea is pretty much a straight rip from Shindigs, but I want to compile it here as well. As much as this is important in the VHLM, it snowballs over time all the way up to the VHL. Building all of the Core-4 attributes to a point where you will be great at them is a luxury even the best earners are struggling to afford. What this means is that lower earning players (I will talk about my love for these players later), need to absolutely capitalize on being dominant in something. If they try to spread themselves as widely as the max earners, they will ALWAYS be at a disadvantage in the sim when it comes to every single comparison check. In order to not be blown out of the water in the VHL, all of those amazing depth players need to be competitive in some aspect as soon as 300 TPE with the new callup threshold.
But enough beating around the bush, what should those lower earning players be sacrificing in order to be dominant in something? The answer is Scoring. I’m not saying don’t invest in scoring unless you’re max earning, but what I do mean is that great DF will carry you much more offensively than mediocre DF and SC. Building a player that can literally have the puck and skate with it without losing it will lead to your player having more opportunities to do the things that get you offense, shooting or passing.
The VHL desperately needs players who can hold and carry the puck for their top stars. One of the leading theories is that only 2 forwards and 1 defender in a unit actually contribute to the offensive output, and the others largely don’t affect the results. Many teams have been riding high TPE duos with a rookie to remarkable success. Many of the top scoring units over the last few seasons have been exactly this. Not to dive into line and roster construction too much here, but as a lower earning player you have to give VHL teams every reason to want to play you in these gold mine roles. Learn to retrieve the puck and carry it, and let the stars drive you to offensive godhood.
My last point about player building is actually one I picked up in the SBA, and it has to do with final builds and order of operations. In your first few seasons, you will be tossed around to multiple teams in multiple leagues in multiple roles. For each team you will likely get that urge to completely change your final build to match the situation that you’re in. Your team needs more offense? Well, I will just plan for more offense in my build. That is not exactly a terrific way to handle it. Having a final build to work towards is essential to efficient and decisive building, and although it does not have to be set in stone, and can grow or shrink over time, it should remain stylistically consistent. That does not mean your player has to be stylistically consistent over their career, in fact I also discourage that. I am all for building around your team’s needs, but perspective matters a lot. You can, and absolutely should RUSH certain parts of your build in order to help your team out. In fact, you should always be rushing the next attribute that your team needs. Breaking your build into chunks helps you be able to adjust stylistically on the fly, while also working towards a significant enough milestone that the sim might actually give you appropriate reward. Working in 5-increase chunks should be the lowest you intentionally go for, but maybe early on when attributes are cheaper you work in 10-increase chunks.
That is it for player building! Remember to focus on DF and build one thing by a significant margin instead of slowly increasing everything to get that competitive advantage!
When it comes to line construction, I have had a lot of VHLM experience, and a little bit of VHLE-level experience with the WJC. But I have been around enough in the VHL to understand the schools of thought, and I have also found some interesting on other STHS forums about the engine.
First off, the non-VHL specific, objectively (although potentially not subjectively) correct way to build lines. GMs from leagues that use NHL players and such to simulate with use this method to enormous success. It is rather simple and makes a lot of sense. You want to have a skater (who is also generally the checker for the line), a playmaker and a scorer. It is ideal for the playmaker to be the C, with the skater and scorer playing the wings. With the overall lack of build variation in the VHL this is not necessarily possible, but there are still opportunities for this sort of line construction. This is something I want to encourage more at the VHLM level, as we work with new players to build for a specific playstyle. By offering build advice that separates our players into “classes” we can encourage build diversity in the VHL and work towards better strategic and build-focused roster construction.
I use forwards as an example, but this concept also works with D, having a higher SK D paired with a higher SC D.
The second way to construct lines, which is the more common way in the current VHL landscape is the dominant duo and competent filler strategy. This is what I mentioned earlier in the player construction section, and as much as I encourage the other line construction strategy moving forward, the “competent fillers” can easily be rebranded as the skater/checker on a line. But for now, having 4 high-TPE forwards and 2 high-TPE D is generally what this cap allows teams to afford. Some teams load their top unit and leave the other to the wind, but many teams have gotten a lot of success from splitting their talent evenly and filling the rest of their lineup with cheap prospect talent. I cannot really spill any theory for why this works, other than the difference in builds is not significant enough that “classes” can emerge, so players are simply branded as either “good” or “not good” and therefore a player who is good, is good at all the things and therefore fits all or any of the above roles.
Those are really the 2 schools of thought as far as I know for line construction, and both seem to have their success depending on the roster you have. As we know, most of what we do in the VHL is trying to break STHS in our favour instead of following its intentions, so theory and reality can be rather random, leading to the “Simon does what Simon does” phenomenon.
When it comes to roster construction, you have to commit to a set of values that your team is going to adhere to. Much like real NHL teams have “identities,” your team, regardless of the level, must have an identity. This often boils down to the players currently on your roster, but players come and go, and if you simply ride whatever players, you currently have, you will never build a pattern of long-term success. There are certain players that I pass over at the draft because they have not built in the style that I like, even at the VHLM level. Obviously ignoring players so new that they do not have the TPA to have gone in the wrong direction for me. Las Vegas under Shindigs has built an identity of dominant 2-Way forwards and rugged, tough defensemen. The Warsaw Predators under dlamb committed themselves to a high-flying offense, while sacrificing defense. This is how these teams were intentionally built, and although not everything was handed to them exactly how they wanted it, they committed to their identities and their line construction vision.
This is something I have really had to sit down and think about, watching my first attempt at a roster fail, then get traded off and now lost to the VHLM Draft and the VHLE. As much as I think all of my players have grown into talented players, and had a lot of success this season, I think I could have improved my advice to them over the course of my mentorship. I have perpetuated the meta, and although there is a need for meta-styled players in the league, not all of them will earn to the point where they will see the statistical success for which they might hope. My vision for the Marlins, and also for my player and the team I play on have changed. I hope to provide better tailored advice for my players and encourage players across the leagues to talk to their GM about their vision for the team. Every GM is going to have a different view than I will, so I will not spill too much about how I view building, to avoid misleading players according to their GMs plans.
There is room for a lot more build variation in this league, and STHS has the capacity to handle it effectively. We have abused this engine for so long, but I want this article to be a call for return to the ways that STHS has designed. Bring back line chemistry, interesting line/roster construction and strategic drafting selections. I bid adieu to the days of working in the BPA at the draft. To build a league free of the meta, we must commit to exploring a possibility that there are other things besides the meta. It starts in the VHLM, and with our top young talent in the VHL. Hockey is a bandwagon sport, so by demonstrating success, people emulate it. Let us show everyone that success can come from a variety of ways and philosophies. I am working to break my player from the mold of the meta that I fell into, and I hope to use my platform as a VHLM GM to build the next generation of builds from the new payers I am gifted with. It will take time to explore, and some commitment by everyone, but it is worth the risk for me.
Finally, I want to talk about player roles and really sit and be frank with everyone. Not everyone can be the star. And honestly, not everyone SHOULD be the star. We tried that, and then we broke STHS. But just because you are not the star (because if you are reading this it is more likely you are not the star than are), you have to accept that the best way to help your team is to embrace a role. What ties this article together is the fact that at a player building, line building and roster building level, we need to be ready to accept that role players are necessary and really the building blocks of every team. Get a few draft picks and you will get some star players. That is not really the question here anymore. Many teams have the stars they would need to compete, but they do not have the system around them to compete. Building a great prospect system full of a wide range of earners and build types is now necessary for long-term success. We need cheap talent to support holding stars. And honestly, the cheapest and most sustainable way to hold that window of winning open is through our lower earning players. I am not encouraging people to stop earning, but rather appreciate our welfare earners for the assets they are, enabling the top earners the security to stay with a team and a system that treats them well instead of being perpetual cap dumps in the offseason. Having a system of varied players, stylistically and earning-wise allows us to be able to replace talent as they retire and build a system of talent that follows our identity.
Look at real NHL teams like Tampa Bay. Whenever a player prices them out in contract negotiations, they always have someone in the minors eager to step into that role. They always have talent ready to shine, and always have a revolving door of talent ready to move out. Teams overpay for their cast-offs in free agency, and they laugh as they steal yet another project piece in the draft. This is how we have to look at our VHL franchises.
If build variety does not expand, then all we have to judge players on is TPA. Everyone who has ever talked to their GM builds pretty well. If TPA continues to be all that matters, then there is almost no reason to have attributes at all.
When it comes to prospects, there is also now an interesting dilemma about who to call up. Assuming people take my advice and lower earners build strong defensive players then it is almost a no-brainer to call up a lower earning forward of this mold and let the higher-earning talent develop and compete in the VHLE. This seems counter-intuitive, but the high-earning scorers only really provide that top-end value towards their peak, and at 300-500 TPE are probably worse off on a VHL roster than a 300TPE defensive forward. Much like the NHL, the young forwards who make a dent in the league are usually the high-energy puck retrievers, not the high-octane offensive guys. And generally, of those offensive guys, the ones that see the most success are on shallow rosters, where it would make sense in the VHL to call them up anyways.
As those role players grow into more expensive assets, they can be flipped to rebuilding teams looking to field a roster. There are more than enough roster spots in the league for those who are at the TPE for it. I order to continue to encourage players to reach that level, there has to continue to be opportunities to be useful pieces, and that boils down to how they build and how we approach roster construction. As someone who has been in that boat, although as a backup goaltender, my activity was directly tied to how much I was contributing to my team. If we treat our potential role players like the royalty they are, there will be more of them and better prepared for the VHL. How do we get more VHL-calibre talent? Allow for more than one route to being a successful player, and stop making our attribute system virtually worthless, by all building the same way.
I think that is probably enough to get some discussion going. Feel free to disagree, because well there is lots in here that could be wrong or be seen differently. But also, really try to understand what I mean, and do not take my frankness as an insult to your character. We are all out here trying to be better (or we should be at least). Please feel free to discuss below, I want to learn more, and I know some of you have some knowledge to dispense. This is well over 2000 words and I am sure I’ll probably only claim it once, but it was rewarding enough getting the thoughts out there.
Appreciate you all and best of luck!
Thanks to @Gustav, @Shindigs, @badcolethetitan, @Daniel Janser, @Spartan, @fromtheinside and @Ricer13 specifically for continuing to expand my perspective and teach me more and more about the different aspects of being a player, GM and member on the site! Most of these ideas stem from conversations we've had over the last couple years and have fundamentally shifted how I interact with the VHL.
I, Antoine Barksdale am an idiot who can't figure out how money, or earning points works so ya know I was wondering in the snow ridden wasteland that is VHL, and was just walking around doing some buffoonery you know, and I stumbled upon these two nice Gents named Spartan, and Josh who resolved my issues with ease. I was in debt, and STRUGGLING with my hockey career before these two saviors popped out of the snowy forest tree line, and offered to ease my woes with their slick talking, and quick ways. They were fast on their feet, and before you knew it I had stacks of cash, and packed on at least fifteen pound of muscles for the season. Truly the best hockey crew I ever done had seen. Ain't nothing like it. Also the best updaters, but that's just me trying to shmooze the team. No, but for real the VHL operational team is insane, and thank you for the support in these trying times for TPE grinders.
I, Antoine Barksdale am an idiot who can't figure out how money, or earning points works so ya know I was wondering in the snow ridden wasteland that is VHL, and was just walking around doing some buffoonery you know, and I stumbled upon these two nice Gents named Spartan, and Josh who resolved my issues with ease. I was in debt, and STRUGGLING with my hockey career before these two saviors popped out of the snowy forest tree line, and offered to ease my woes with their slick talking, and quick ways. They were fast on their feet, and before you knew it I had stacks of cash, and packed on at least fifteen pound of muscles for the season. Truly the best hockey crew I ever done had seen. Ain't nothing like it. Also the best updaters, but that's just me trying to shmooze the team. No, but for real the VHL operational team is insane, and thank you for the support in these trying times for TPE grinders.
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