scoop

On 6/12/2024 at 12:33 PM, Victor said:

Now with just four points separating them from sixth place in the league, perhaps we will now see a race away from the top and the Victory Cup curse.

I think this is what Calgary is doing, but they seem to have the wrong idea, sprinting from the top of the league to sixth in the Conference.

With the first third of the season in the books, the Malmo Nighthawks sit atop the overall standings with an 18-4-2 record. They are currently on an eight-game winning streak, which they would love to extend with some important conference match-ups on the horizon. After just beating London 4-2 in Game 180, they will take on the United against in two or their next four. They also have four games against Warsaw in the next 12, and they do not have any games against the Predators in the second half of the schedule. London and Warsaw are currently second and third in the European Conference, respectively.

The Nighthawks were predicted by the VSN to finish third in the European Conference, with a big point of concern being their Randy Bobandy-led offense. So far, the Nighthawks have scored goals at exactly the same rate as last season, though league scoring is slightly up overall. The Nighthawks are the fifth-highest scoring team despite not having a single player in the top fifteen in either goals scored or points. The VSN has consistently been wrong about this Malmo squad, as they have won back-to-back Victory Cups after being predicted to finish fourth and third in Europe the last two seasons. Obviously it's way too early to say they were wrong again, and the Nighthawks could easily be down to third or fourth place in just a couple days time, but they definitely look like major competitors this season.

On 6/8/2024 at 1:15 PM, KaleebtheMighty said:

  PRESS CONFERENCE

Week of: June 9th, 2024

Answer 6 of these questions for 2 TPE

 

1. We are currently tied for first in the EU conference. How do you think Malmo will fare at the end of the season?

2. Do you think Calgary will continue their hot streak throughout the season?

3. Who do you think is shining brightly for Malmo so far this season?

4. What is your favorite snack?

5. What's your favorite band?

6. What goals do you have for your player this season?

7. Should Malmo look to make any trades near the TDL this season, or continue forward with the team we have?

8. HYPOTHETICAL: You've been forced to relive a single day for the rest of your life. That's it, there's no other day you'll experience. Which day are you picking and why?

1. No reason to think we can't finish on top again.

2. No. It's not logical that they are doing as well as they are, and I believe this is just luck in a relatively small sample size. I have started to come around to the idea that they could make the playoffs, but for now I still think that they won't.

3. I'm going to shout out Randy Bobandy. The VSN didn't seem to like that acquisition for us and thought it would hurt our offense, but Bobandy is currently on pace for his best offensive season yet.

5. Motion City Soundtrack

6. Win playoff MVP.

8. I'll not overthink the rules of the question and just go with the Christmas day that I got a Gameboy and Pokemon Red.

Strange, doesn't look like Malmo played any games today.

Wranglers win streak reaches double digits behind Goncalves hat trick

The biggest surprise of the early season has been the Calgary Wranglers, who improved to 10-0 with a win over the Chicago Phoenix. They have now beat every other North American team at least once despite being ranked sixth in the conference in the pre-season. They were led by Catia Goncalves, who continues to put up MVP numbers. Not only did she score a hat trick, but she also assisted on Raimo Tuominen's game winning goal. The Wranglers won the game despite a significant shot disadvantage; Calgary had just 18 shots on goal compared to Chicago's 43. It was not the best showing from Calgary's rookie netminder David Slezak, as he did give up four goals. That was nothing compared to the struggle of Chicago's Ryan Artyomov, who made just nine saves before being pulled from the game after allowing five goals. Joshua Schwarzer (2 goals, 1 assist) and Francesco Mancini (4 assists) were the bright spots for the Phoenix in the game.

20 hours ago, xsjack said:

1. Favorite sport that isn't hockey?

2. who has the best logo in each of the three leagues? ( VHLM/VHLE/VHL)

3. what team has surprised you the most so far this season?

1. Baseball. It's my favorite sport, period.

2. I'll say the Nighthawks, Watchmen, and Marauders.

3. Without question, Calgary. I don't always agree with everything in the VSN season preview, but ranking them as the 6th best team in the North American Conference I would have definitely agreed with. For them to be 11-0 at this point is astonishing. It's not even like they've had a cakewalk of a schedule so far. Six of their games have been against teams that I had pegged as playoff teams. Honestly, I still expect them to miss the playoffs because I don't think they can keep this up, but then again, I wouldn't expect them to be where they are now, so who knows.

1. What is something that you think could be a good addition to the player store? If you don't have any ideas, what would be your thoughts on the option of purchasing extra seasons beyond the usual career limits?

2. If the VHL were to expand or a team from each conference were to relocate, what would be your proposed location of a team for each of the North American and European Conferences?

3. Do you think you get enough sleep?

@Tim Robinson

Well, I needed something to write about for my VHL.com article this week, and I've just stumbled across yet another poorly written trivia question. This one at least it is clear what it is going for, but two of the answers here are technically correct. See the question below.

There is only one longest playoff game but this question seems to define "longest playoff game" as any game that appears on this spreadsheet, as found in this thread that includes a lot of historical playoff information. The Cologne Express participated the three longest playoff games, but the Oslo Storm also participated in "all the longest playoff games" because only that matchup between Cologne and Oslo is, by definition, the one and only longest playoff game. The question says nothing about the second and third longest.

Now, what if there was a trivia question (and so help me, if I see this down the road) that asked "How many of the longest playoff games in league history have the Malmo Nighthawks participated in?" The answer, by the logic of the question pictured above, would be 1, because that's how many times they appear on that spreadsheet. In reality, the Nighthawks participated in the 11th longest playoff game.

At least this trivia question has a decent subject matter for trivia. Though it really should just be asking about the longest game. I think simply asking how many overtime periods were in the longest game or asking who won the longest game would be better. As it is worded, it technically has two correct answers but it is very clearly going for the Cologne Express as the answer, because they also played in the second and third longest.

But hey, at least it's not asking about something so mundane as draft lottery odds.

I wonder what the record for most wins to start a season by a team that doesn't end up making the playoffs is.

Sometimes going into the season, it's not clear who will make the playoffs. I do feel like it's more often a case of there being more than five teams trying to compete, as opposed to fewer than five. That is to say, it's more likely that a team that would like to make the playoffs is left out, rather than a team making the playoffs simply because they are the best of the bad teams. This is why the playoffs are so unpredictable; there are almost always five teams that have a real shot at winning any series. This season, it looks like we have five teams in both conferences that I would label as contenders, making it easy to predict who will be making the playoffs. I don't necessarily thinks it's a guarantee, as teams that look good may underachieve while questionable teams exceed expectations, but I'm fairly confident about which teams will make the post-season.

North America

Seattle, Toronto, New York, Chicago, Vancouver

In no particular order, these are the five teams I believe will make the playoffs this season. Each of them could have a shot at winning a championship, though I do believe some have some work left to be done on their roster. I do think there is a fairly clear divide between the top five and the bottom three in North America. Teams like Toronto and New York will rely heavily on a few of their best players, while Seattle and Chicago have very balanced rosters with no glaring weaknesses. Vancouver is probably first in my ranking of the teams, but from one to five all teams have the potential to be competitive. The other three teams are simply not trying to compete, and I would be shocked if any of them are in the playoff picture at the end of the season.

Europe

Malmo, London, Moscow, Warsaw, Riga

While I do think Europe's bad teams look better than North America's, I don't see Davos or Helsinki making a serious run at a playoff spot. Riga is definitely the team that I think could be in jeopardy of not making it, but I don't give that much of a chance. None of the three teams that I have missing the playoffs have any stars on their roster, and while teams like Malmo, Moscow, and Riga all arguably have just one elite player on their roster, they have supporting casts that are noticeably better than the three non-playoff teams.

2 hours ago, Kisslinger said:

1. Do you have any wild predictions for this upcoming season?

2. Have you been doing a new activity ar all? if so what!

3. What are your mandatory pizza toppings?  

1. There will be multiple 60-goal scorers this season.

2. I wouldn't call it an activity, but I've been looking at cats to potentially adopt.

3. My one requirement is no mushrooms. I'm fine with other toppings and don't require anything else.

1. What goals do you have for the upcoming season?

2. What is one prediction for the upcoming season that you are confident about?

3. If money were no issue, what is something you would like to do more?

2 hours ago, Victor said:

@Jericho – 16 seasons (Daniel Braxton, S24-S31, Wesley Kellinger, S33-S40)

The next name that came into my head was Jericho, long inactive but a massive part of the VHL middle ages. His first two players were Hall of Famers, a reasonably rare feat (Kellinger being inducted significantly later than Braxton), but even rarer is the fact neither missed the playoffs. Therefore, while his 3^rd player, Jax Barnstormer, ruined things from the very start (and Jericho would never really reach his previous heights again) and 16 seasons is where this streak caps out, it is still worth a shout-out for being a streak from his first season. That might be a small record of its own.

If only Barnstormer never existed. His next player was 8/8 as well.

Also, if I'm not mistaken, and I very well may be, is boubabi technically on a 19-season streak? To my knowledge, Ay Ay Ron was his last player, and his career overlapped with Franchise Cornerstone. They were both 8/8. Add the three final seasons of Lord Karnage's career and that's 19 in a row.

As had been expected, it appears that Jacob Stone and Viktor Jensen will both be career Nighthawks. Stone, who had been with the team since Season 88, was the most recent Malmo Member to sign an extension. Adding two more seasons onto his current contract, he is set to play his finals seasons with the Nighthawks. Jensen was also approaching the final season in his current contract, but his new extension will keep him in Malmo for his final three seasons of VHL eligibility. Both deals have No Trade Clauses attached to them, and assuming they don't get waived at any point for a deal to be made, these two should both end up with nine full seasons played for Malmo. There is definitely a chance that they end up numbers one and two, in some order, in franchise points.

Malmo also signed Vlad Von Carstein, who they acquired via a trade with Vancouver, to a two-year extension, making him one of six players (including the aforementioned Stone and Jensen) who are under contract through Season 96. Phillip Rave and Savaisk Tsezar, two key pieces to Malmo's balanced offense, had previously signed long-term deals. Defender Conference Prince-de-Galles is signed through Season 97.

While the Nighthawks roster has seen some changes from season-to-season over the past few years, there has been a lot more steadiness than before the likes of Stone and Jensen joined the team. No doubt, the stability of the team has helped them stay competitive over the last three seasons, and it could keep them in the mix for the next few as well.

On 5/12/2024 at 9:53 PM, KaleebtheMighty said:

 

  PRESS CONFERENCE

Week of: May 19th, 2024

Answer 6 of these questions for 2 TPE

 

1. Another Victory Cup, another early playoff exit. How well do you think we will bounce back next season?

2. Teams around the VHL are retooling. Who do you think will be the toughest to play against next season?

3. We traded to bring in @Dom. Welcome him to the team!

4. Where do you think we finish in the standings next season?

5. What’s your late night go to meal?

6. Books or movies?

7. What are you most excited about for next season?

8. HYPOTHETICAL: If you had to play hockey with either a crappy stick or crappy skates, which would you choose?

1. To be honest, I don't think we'll be winning another Victory Cup. Though given the past couple seasons, maybe that'll be fine.

2. I'd say Vancouver may have shot up to number one in my rankings. I think they could have far and away the best offense in the league.

4. Looking at things realistically, I'm going to say 3rd or 4th in Europe, 7th to 9th overall.

6. Movies. I don't read much, though about a month or so ago I was looking through a bunch of books at a Goodwill. Didn't find anything I wanted, but I think I may try to start reading more.

7. I'm looking forward to the team exceeding my expectations.

8. I'd say a crappy stick. If you can't move around anyway, what does having a good stick matter. Plus I feel like there is probably an increased injury risk with poor skates.

Star defender of the Malmo Nighthawks, Jacob Stone has seen almost no playoff success. Making the post-season in each of the past three seasons, the team has just three playoff wins. They have yet to win a playoff series despite having won back-to-back Victory Cups. It has been very disheartening for Stone and his teammates, and you have to wonder if a change of scenery is what he will need. Stone is coming up on the final year of his contract with the Nighthawks. His career eligibility goes through S96, meaning he two more seasons after the current contract is up. Could we see him suit up for another team in the future?

No. Absolutely not. Jacob Stone is going to finish out his career with the Nighthawks. I fully intend to sign an extension for those final two seasons, with a No Trade Clause included. I'm looking to st some Malmo career records, before possibly seeing them beat by Viktor Jensen. Do I want to win a Continental Cup? Absolutely. But I'm not going to go cup chasing. The Nighthawks could still do it in my time here, even if the last few seasons were our best shots.

Just now, Kisslinger said:

1. do you follow any sports outside of Hockey? If so what are they?

2. Have you met any famous athletes before? If you haven’t who would you like to meet and why?

3. What type of cuisine is your favourite to eat? 

1. Of the big four American spots leagues, the NHL is actually the one I follow the least. MLB is number one for me, for sure.

2. I didn't meet him, but I did walk right by Apolo Ohno once. It didn't register in my brain until after we passed. He had come to my college to speak. Honestly, I don't really care too much about meeting famous people.

3. Mexican

1. Do you find yourself more invested in VHL results than the results of your favorite sports teams?

2. I'm looking to get a cat in the near future. Do you have any pets? If you do, tell me about them. If you don't, do you have an intentions or desires to get a pet in the future?

3. What is a good movie that you have recently watched? If it is on Netflix or streaming free anywhere else, I'll give it a watch.

50 minutes ago, Kisslinger said:

1. have you watched any good movies lately? If so what are they?

2. Are you hoping your favourite NHL/VHL team makes some trades this off-season?

3. If you had to pick any goalie all time to help win you a game 7 who would it be? Can be NHL or VHL!

1. Prisoners, starring Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal. It's from about ten years ago, but I just saw it for the first time a couple months ago and it was phenomenal.

2. Yeah, I'm hoping my favorite team the New York Americans trades for an elite defender. And I'm hoping my other favorite team the Malmo Nighthawks trades for New York draft picks. Please don't read anything into this.

3. Recency bias has me wanting to say Jesse Teno, but I'll also give a shoutout to Daisuke Kanou, namesake of the Playoff MVP trophy.

1. How did you come up with your player's name?

2. What career or single season VHL record do you think has the greatest chance of being broken?

3. What is your favorite snack?

It was another successful fantasy season for me, as I won my VHFL group and finished 19th in Super Coach, just narrowly missing out on the 5 TPE payout. Although my Super Coach finish coudl have been better, I am satisfied with the result given that I spent over 50% of my budget on my two defensemen because I anticipated an amazing season from Skor McFleury and I wasn't going to not include Jacob Stone.

I'm not going to say I'm the best when it comes to these fantasy games (perhaps I will do some research to see who actually achieves the best results), but I am quite pleased with my performances. Just looking at how I have done during Jacob Stone's career, I have never received below 4 TPE for either VHFL or Super Coach. In seven VHFL seasons, I have three 1sts, two 2nds, and two 3rds. As for Super Coach, my worst finish by percentile was 0.667; and I have twice finished above 0.930, in five seasons.

Since I need a few more words, I glanced over the Super Coach payouts just to see if there was a name that stuck out as a high finish season after season, and I would say that @hedgehog337 was probably the best, at least when they were participating. From S88 to S91, they finished first, fifth, second, and first.

boo