scoop

D - Brian Payne @eagle_3450

I'm pretty sure Prague is one of the bad teams are they not?

Hybrid attributes and the new depreciation rates make it harder to build a skater. Goalies have been completely unaffected by all that. Okay, and what about 16 games? Is that still a rookie? 24? Whatever it is, it should be in the rule book, and not just discussed and decided in a thread so that it doesn't have to be brought up again 3 years later.

There should be something in the rule book regarding rookie eligibility. And in my opinion, rookie eligibility should be lost after a player's first season in the VHL regardless of how many games they played, but the league has been heavily favoring goalies with all the recent changes so I doubt that's the decision that would be made.

F - Sirdsvaldis Miglaskems @ctots

I don't think I'm overreacting to a sim in which we played against two of the worst teams in the league when I say that this Malmo squad might be the greatest in VHL history.

It was a big draft night for the Malmo, who came into the day with the first and seventh overall picks, but would ultimately find themselves making a third first round selection. Things got started with the Nighthawks formally adding Viktor Jensen to the team with the first pick of the draft. Jensen gives the team a young center with star potential, something that they had been lacking. They doubled down on the centers with Ronald Johnson MacWallace III. While Jensen will be playing in the VHL this season as the team's second center behind Ivan Retoslav, MacWallace will be spending a season or two in the VHLE. By the time Retoslav's career is winding down, MacWallace should be ready to take over as the team's second line center. Perhaps the most exciting moment of the drat, however, was when Malmo traded for the 12th overall pick of the draft. The Nighthawks sent S90 WAR 2nd and S91 MAL 1st to the Moscow Menace in order to acquire the pick, which they used to draft Savaisk Tzesar. Picking Tzesar at seven would have been a reach, but he was a player that the Nighthawks wanted badly. His father, Boris Tsezar, spent the final five seasons of his career in Malmo, and Savaisk was keen on playing for the team as well. The Nighthawks have seemingly been building around players who are committed to the team, as shown by their willingness to part with a future first, one that could potentially be a lottery pick, and a second to make this trade happen.

The Board Game Cluedo On Skates

Perennial 6th place New York in shambles

Last season, the Malmo Nighthawks were one of the worst offensive teams in the league. They were 4th from the bottom with 2.46 goals per game, and expectations are that they will be near the bottom again this season. Still, there are some bright spots on the team that are going to be worth watching. The recently acquired Ivan Retoslav has consistently scored near 30 goals, and playing on a team where he will be leading the offense, he could very well set a new career high. Then there are the young stars on the team, either of whom could emerge as candidates for the Dustin Funk Trophy. Yaroslav Trunov and Jacob Stone are two players who the Nighthawks hope will be big factors for the team for years to come. Trunov, a wing who was drafted 6th overall in S87, has 29 goals and 62 points in the first two seasons of his career. Stone had 12 goals and 40 points in his rookie season after falling to 5th overall despite being the consensus best player in the draft. Both Trunov and Stone will be focal points in the offense along with Retoslav. If the three of them can work well together, they should likely perform better than the team leaders from a season ago. The leader in points from S88, defenseman Rex Wolffe Gregor, was traded in the off-season. Stone has surpassed him in skills. Saku Kotkakoivu led the team with 22 goals despite being traded 50 games into the season. Retoslav is arguably a better offensive player than the aged Kotkakoivu was in his final season. The Nighthawks of a season ago didn't have the offensive help for Kotkakoivu like Trunov will provide for Retoslav. The continued improvement from other players on the team should also help take some of the pressure and attention off of Malmo's star players. The team's roster for the upcoming season is likely not complete. They will certainly add at least one forward to the squad either through free agency or in the draft. Whether they intend to go with a similar approach as last season and sign several more players remains to be seen. The team continues to rebuild, and while almost all pre-season predictions will have them missing the playoffs again, that doesn't mean there won't be reasons to watch the team.

Ah, the Harvey Singh approach.

Adjust goalie depreciation rates to match skaters.

1) Who is your favourite comedy actor/actress, and what it your favourite movie/show that they star in? I don't know that I'd say I have a strong favorite, but Paul Rudd is probably up there, especially if I'm looking strictly at people considered comedy actors. As for a favorite movie or show, it might be Ant-Man and the Wasp, or if you want a movie that is definitively a comedy, I'll got with Role Models. 2) Do you follow any non-hockey professional sports? If so, what is your favourite? Baseball is my favorite sport, and the MLB is the professional sports league that I follow most closely, by far. 3) Have you been disappointed with the relative lack of drama in the NHL playoffs this season? No, I honestly don't follow the NHL much outside of the Minnesota Wild. 1. Do you think any teams in the VHL should relocate or rebrand? If so, which team(s)? 2. What was the biggest surprise in any of the VHLM/VHLE/VHL playoffs? 3. Who do you think is going first overall in the VHL draft?

Transaction ID: 61E52985KB846963A 5 Uncapped Doubles Week 1M Player Store

Despite going 2-4 in day two of the lottery tournament, finishing in fourth and failing to increase their odds of getting the first overall pick, the Malmo Nighthawks were the big winners in the S89 Draft Lottery. They had finished with the third worst record in the regular season, giving them a 17.5% chance to win the pick. Luck was on their side tonight as their name was called, giving them their pick of the draftees. There isn't a consensus number one in the draft, but Malmo has options for a top player at every position except goalie. As of a few hours before the draft lottery, goalie is not currently a need for the Nighthawks. The Nighthawks made one of the first trades of the off-season, acquiring goaltender Ash Sparks from the Seattle Bears. Sparks, the 6th overall pick in the S86 draft, has been Seattle's backup for the past two seasons. To get Sparks, along with four future draft picks, the Nighthawks gave up Ilya Bryzgalov and Rex Wolffe Gregor. Bryzgalov has been a serviceable backup for the past two seasons, but given his age and stunted development, he was not a good replacement as starter for the retiring Boris Tsezar. Gregor led the team in points last season, but indications were that he was not going to re-sign with the Nighthawks. Both the draft lottery and the trade give the Nighthawks and their fans a lot to be excited about. In addition to first overall, they have the seventh overall pick which they had previously acquired from Riga. They almost certainly won't be contending next season, but they have the building blocks for a good future.

I will be rooting for Team Gustav because it is in bigger, bolder, and more slanty font, which must mean it is better.

ahh, yes, the real playoffs

Ha, I hadn't even seen that.

After losing Game 1 of the Continental Cup Finals to the United, the Seattle Bears answered back with three straight victories. A Bears win in Game 5 would have given the franchise their league-leading 14th championship. Seattle out-shot London 50-28, but a superb game by United netminder Jesse Teno, and a poor game from his Bears counterpart Xavier Booberry, extended the series for at least one more game. The final score wasn't even close, as the United won it 5-2. It was an uncharacteristically bad performance from Booberry, and it has some people questioning whether or not he lost the game on purpose. But what's the motivation? Having set the all-time TPE record, Booberry for a while has been working to set the bar until he is forced to retire at the end of this season. A win for the Bears would have ended the season, putting an end to Booberry's TPE earnings on a Sunday. With the Bears' loss, the season will extend into another week, giving Booberry the opportunity to earn another week's worth of TPE even if they go ahead and end the season tomorrow. The Bears are most likely just going to end the series in Game 6, so it is not too farfetched of a theory. Had Game 5 taken place on any other day of the week, it could have been the end to the series.

Before Season 88, Xavier Booberry had spent his last three seasons with the HC Davos Dynamo. The team had found more playoff success with each year, reaching the finals in S87 for the first time since S61. The team lost, and ultimately that would be the last time Booberry suited up for the Dynamo. During the off-season, he was caught off guard when he was traded to the Seattle Bears for the final year of his career. The Dynamo felt that youngster Lachlan Summers was ready to be a starter in the VHL, and opted to trade one of the most talented players in VHL history. Davos management must certainly be feeling content with the decision they made, as Summers led the league in save percentage (just slightly over Booberry), and they are currently up 2-0 in the European Conference Finals. Seattle is also still in the playoffs. The Bears are even with the reigning champion Calgary Wranglers through two games. Booberry is going to do everything in his power to continue playing until the very end and win his first Continental Cup. The Seattle Bears are a team that you can never count out, and that is going to be especially true when you have a goalie like Booberry on your team. Although he has never won a championship, Booberry is undoubtedly going to be in the Hall of Fame, but it would be nice to add a ring to the collection. I'm sure it would be especially sweet if it came against the team that traded him prior to the season.

The London United are currently on the best playoff run in franchise history, reaching the European Conference Finals for the first time in their existence, dating back to Season 73. They came into the playoffs as Europe's four seed, but they did not face much resistance in the first two rounds of the post-season. London has lost the first two games in the Conference Finals against the HC Davos Dynamo, who are looking to make it back to the finals for a second consecutive season, but the United are not looking to simply roll over and die. In their prior 15 seasons, London has made the playoffs seven times. In those seven appearances, they had not won a single series. With a 9-25 overall record, they had rarely ever come within a game of winning a series. In recent years, the team has at least been consistently making the playoffs. Including Season 88, they have been in five of the last seven post-seasons. The experience that their players have gotten has undoubtedly helped out this year. Some of their best performers are players who have been with the team during those prior appearances. Even with the relative success the team has recently been having, London were far from favorites. In the regular season, they were 1-3-1 against both Riga and Prague, their first and second round opponents in the playoffs. The playoffs were a different story, as the United took down Riga 3-1 and Prague, the Victory Cup winners, 4-1. Things were looking up for the team. Of all the European teams in the playoffs, the only one that London had a winning record against during the regular season was the Dynamo. Things thus far have not been going the same way. They lost the first two games of the series, putting them behind in a series for the first time in these playoffs. An 0-2 deficit came certainly be overcome, and we have already seen it multiple times this season. The Dynamo were down 0-3 against Moscow before winning four straight. That streak has been extended to six games, and London is now tasked with halting that momentum if they want to advance. Who doesn't like an underdog? London is experiencing success like never before, and a lot of people would like to see that continue. Unfortunately for their fans, I do think their run is going to be coming to an end at the hands of Davos. I personally am rooting for the United, but a Davos win would not be the worst. The Dynamo currently have the third longest Cup drought in VHL history, having last won in Season 61. This is a battle between a once revered franchise trying to find their way back to the top and a fledgling newcomer that has never even tasted an ounce of success. A championship would mean a lot for either team. Of course, the winner of this series will still have to take on either the Seattle Bears or Calgary Wranglers.