scoop

The Stockholm Vikings and Geneva Rush have ten scheduled games against each other, five in each city. They have already played out all of the games in Geneva, and every single one of them went to a shootout. This just seems so ridiculously improbably that I deemed it worthy of a VHL.com article (note: literally anything can be a VHL.com article so that means nothing and I'm just filling words that I don't need to, because this will inevitably end up being like 400+ words like half of my VHL.com articles end up being). What a waste of words that last sentence was, huh? So anyway, let's take a look at how the players have fared in those shootouts. The goaltenders in all five shootouts were Jean Mercier for Geneva and Travis Clark for Stockholm. Mercier performed much better, stopped 12/15 while Clark stopped only 7/14. With that large of disparity in goals allowed, it's no surprise that Geneva won 4 of the 5 games. The leading scorer is Kobe Johnson, who scored on 3 of 5 attempts for the Rush. Jeffrey Bezos for the Vikings has found that money can't buy you a shootout goal, going 0 for 5 in his endeavors. Listed below are the stats for the shooters. Vikings Thor Odinsson (1/5) Jeffrey Bezos (0/5) Johnny Kalamazoo (2/4) Logan Foley (0/1) Rush Leonard Triller (2/5) Kobe Johnson (3/5) Luke Glendenning (1/3) Matt Rooster (1/1) The stats in the shootouts mean very little to me. It just seems bonkers to me that every Stockholm @ Geneva game ended in a shootout. Even though the matchups went 4-1 in favor of Geneva, it really doesn't get much closer than this.

undefeated in our last 1 game against Cologne, what a marvelous run we are on

1. This is where I expected to see us, so it's not a surprise to me. We lost some games early that I felt like we shouldn't have, and we had a lot of games against Cologne and Oslo early on as well. I saw those two teams as clearly the top two, and I think we stand alone in the second tier, or at least above Geneva in that tier. We're now winning almost all of the games I think we should win, which is important, but it would also be nice to show that we can beat Cologne. 2. It's the shootouts that are really getting us. All but one of our overtime games have gone to a shootout, so it would seem that we just need to perform better there. I think it's crazy that we've played all of our Geneva road games, and all of them have gone to a shootout. 3. I think they can, for sure. There isn't much separation in skill among the top goalies. 4. We're 1-1-1 against Oslo. Meanwhile, we are 0-6 against Cologne with a -13 goal differential. I think that says enough. We've been competitive in all of our games with Oslo, but Cologne has smoked us several times. 5. Saturday of course. I can sleep in, I can stay up late. I can makes plans for morning, afternoon, evening. If I don't get anything productive done, I don't have to feel bad because I still have Sunday for that before the work week starts. 6. "A lot of people" have negative opinions on baseball, so I guess that is a viable answer, yeah? I'll go with baseball. That counts.

As a highly rated draft prospect, I'm keeping a close eye on the VHL this season. While I may not go first or second overall, I do expect to be a lottery selection. Keeping that in mind, I'm watching especially closely the teams outside of the playoffs. A third of the way through the season, there are two teams that I am quite confident will not be making the playoffs, while even the current seventh place teams in either conference could potentially sneak in. Those two teams, the worst in the VHL, are Helsinki and Toronto. Here are my thoughts on them, specifically as they relate to my player and the chance that I get drafted by them. First off, a couple notes on the franchises and their GM's, because both of the two teams are in the same boat on this matter. Despite these being two of the teams that have been around since I first joined the league, and my combined 61 seasons in the VHL with all my players, I have not played a single game for either of these two teams. I wouldn't say that affects my desire to be drafted by either of them in any way; it's just an observation, really. Among the GM and assistant GM's for these two teams, animal74 is the only one of the four with whom I've really interacted much at all, that being when we were on Malmo together early in Taylor Mourning's career. Looking at their current roster, I don't really see Helsinki having much of an interest in drafting a defenseman, but if they can't get their hands on FISTED ANALLY BY A CIRCUS MONKEY Analfist, they might have to settle. They have some good, young defensemen already, so if they can extend those guys, they would probably be looking for forward help. The best players on their roster going forward, however, are two forwards (Daryl Dixon, Rick Grimes) and a goalie (Fuukka Rask), so they could opt for an elite defenseman. They definitely have some promise, so I wouldn't hate to be drafted by them. Likewise, Toronto has some very good pieces, though I think they are missing a bit more than Helsinki. Forwards Mac Atlas and Jimi Jaks are two of the top players from the S87 draft, and they are set at goalie for a while as well with Joel Castle. Beyond those players, they don't have any young players already in the VHL and only one other current prospect who will make be in the VHL next season. I do think I would fill a need for the team, but I think they really need everything other than a goalie at this point in time. Just as with Helsinki, I wouldn't have a problem with them picking me. I think I would fit their window pretty well.

Jacob Stone Scouting Report Position: Defenseman Age: 22 | Height: 6'6" | Weight: 222 lbs Current Team: Stockholm Vikings S88 VHL Draft Projection: Lottery Pick Jacob Stone is a highly-rated prospect in the upcoming VHL draft. After declaring for the draft during Season 86, he joined the Saskatoon Wild for the remainder of the VHLM season. He found immediate success with the team, though they were unable to pass the first round of the playoffs. In the off-season, he made the decision play out his pre-draft in the VHLE rather than spend more time in the VHLM. He signed with the Stockholm Vikings. He has continued to impress, showing no signs of struggling despite the higher level of competition. His play suggests that he may be able to have an impact sooner rather than later for whichever VHL team drafts him. He is currently projected to be an early pick in the draft, if not the first overall selection. Strengths Jacob Stone's greatest strength on the ice is his awareness. He is always cognizant of where he should be, making him a valuable asset on defense. His aptitude for disrupting plays makes him an exceptional part of any penalty kill unit. He has a great vision for making plays on the offense, as well. He knows what to do when he has the puck and where his teammates are. This has been shown in his assist totals at every level of the game thus far in his hockey career. He is also a durable player and has a high level of endurance. He almost never misses a game, and he is able to play hard every minute he is on the ice. He has always averaged a high number of minutes. Whatever VHL team drafts him will know that they are getting a very steady player who they can count on at any point in the game. Weaknesses As good as he has shown himself to be, Jacob Stone is not without flaws in his game. The greatest among those is his skating ability. It wouldn't be fair to say that he is a sub-par skater, it stands out as his biggest weakness relative to the rest of his game. While he has a good game sense, he's not always able to get to his spot. Even in the VHLE, this weakness has not been greatly exposed, but if he doesn't improve, the VHL will likely be a different story. Another weakness of his throughout his hockey career has been a lack of a physical game. He does not utilize his large frame as well as he could. He could stand to put on some more muscle in order to stand his ground a bit better and force more players off the puck.

That was my immediate thought

Dayum we got Cobbered good. Too many penalties

Looks like a pretty good day for my VHFL team there. Thanks for picking it up a bit after I complained about y'all.

1. I'm definitely scoring more than I was expecting to. With 18 points in 14 games, I'm on pace for over 90 points. The current VHLE point record before one's VHL draft is 74, so I'd be well over that mark. I don't necessarily expect to keep up this pace, but I was expecting a season more like 10 goals, 45 assists. Right now I'm at 5 and 13 with just under a fifth of the way through the season. 2. The team hasn't looked so great. I came in thinking we we'd be the third best team behind Cologne and Oslo, and while six of our losses have been to those teams that I thought were better than us, we're looking more like the best of the bottom half teams. Our shutout loss to a Bratislava team with two human skaters was particularly demoralizing; I had thought our 4-3 win against them was bad enough. I think while I'm overperforming, some of my teammates are underperforming. I'll take myself regressing if it means others get back to where I think they should be. 3. As someone who knows the league well, I personally don't need anyone teaching me things, so when I was in the VHLM, I didn't really pay attention to what my GM was or wasn't doing in that regard. And I don't know if other GM's aren't doing all they could, so I can't really speak to how well of a job they are doing. What I will say is that I think it's on the VHLM GM's more than the VHLE GM's to teach people the basics. By the time a player is in the VHLE, they should know what a point task is, so wouldn't blame a VHLE GM for assuming all of their players already know that. 4. They both have 70+ defense, which is very important. Other than those two and myself, the next highest we have is 62. That being said, I think they'll do a lot for the team in terms of puck control. They are both just good players all around, but Poremba in particular I expect to be one of the top players both for our offense and our defense. 5. I've just recently started playing the new Fire Emblem game, and in the spring there is the Mega Man Battle Network Collection, so I'll probably play through those games and relive a big part of my childhood with that. Maybe I'll play the new Breath of the Wild game as well. 6. I get that the VHL is a hockey league, but I don't think that means we need to do a ton of NHL fantasy zone stuff. I prefer the fantasy zone stuff to be more strictly VHL-related.

At the conclusion of the VHFL Group 17 draft, I was feeling good about the team I had drafted. To start things off, I selected Vasile Lamb and Bo Johansson with the 6 and 7 picks. Lamb is a player who is obviously going to put up a ton of hits, having 78 checking while all of his forward teammates have 40, but also he is one of two forwards on the Dragons who I saw with the potential to have a big offensive season. Thus far, Lamb has not disappointed, with 11 goals and 76 hits. Lamb has been the shining light of my team. Johansson has been a let down due to Chicago's inability to score goals. I knew BoJo wouldn't be scoring many himself, but I thought he could put up big enough assist numbers again (though looking at Chicago's roster, I don't know why I would have thought that). I was close to picking AirRig GoodBrandSun with this pick, who thus far has only been slightly better, and went completely undrafted in my group. With the 12/13 picks, I took Nezuko and Hari Singh Nalwa. Similar to my line of thinking with Lamb, I liked Nezuko's potential because he is bound to get a good number of hits, so if the scoring lags a bit, I can still count on for something. Nezuko has been fairly average this season, as Vancouver is unfortunately looking like a team that won't have standout players when it comes to scoring, but rather a balanced lineup. When I was able to get Hari Singh Nalwa, I thought I was getting a huge steal. Looking at the rest of the London roster, I could see a lot of shots blocked and a decent hit total on the way. Where I have been really disappointed is the goals total. 58 shots on goal is good for a defensemen, but just three goals on that many shots is not. I was expecting a 25-30 goal season, and right now, he is on pace for 15. In my final two, I needed a goalie and one more forward. Somehow The Board Game Clue On Skates was still available. Last season, I made the mistake of picking Clue early on. This time around, I was pleased to get them with the first pick of the final round, but they just continue to perform far worse than I really think they should. Clue has just six goals despite 90+ scoring, skating, and puck handling. As I typically do with forwards, I look for players who should get around 2 hits per game, and Clue is at least giving me that. In terms of attributes, I don't think there is a player who stands above the rest of their team more than Clue does (given that Johansson isn't going to be taking scoring chances away from Clue). For my goalie I took Oskar Lindbergh because I thought Calgary looked like one of the best teams and Lindbergh was a good enough goalie.

Stockholm may have lost to an elite team like the Cologne Express, but you guys lost to the lowly Vasteras Iron Eagles? Pathetic

wtf @Frank stop winning it's like you don't even want to draft me

G - Oskar Lindbergh F - The Board Game Clue On Skates @Vkobe-v

In electing to play in the VHLE this season, Jacob Stone put himself in a position where he will be up against the toughest competition he has faced yet. He had performed adequately in his brief stint in the VHLM last season and in the JST during the off-season, but there was no clear indication that he was ready for the next level. A concern when deciding to fast forward one's career by not playing a full season in the VHLM is that you may be a liability to your VHLE team. After four games with the Stockholm Vikings, that doesn't seem like it will be the case for Stone, though by no means did he dominate. The Vikings went 2-2, with Stone leading the team in minutes played, averaging 29.22 per game. He got his first point out of the way in the first game, and his first goal came in game four. In addition to the two points in four games, he had seven hits and eight blocked shots. All in all, his numbers were rather pedestrian. The high point of his game thus far has been his ability on the penalty kill. He has yet to commit a penalty himself, which has left him to get plenty of time on the ice down a man, averaging 3.45 minutes on the penalty kill per game. He has been a big part of the success of the Stockholm penalty kill, which has allowed just two goals on 17 attempts. There is a lot of season left to be played, but thus far Jacob Stone hasn't embarrassed himself in the VHLE, and given where he is at in terms of his development, the expectation is that things will only get better from here on out.

Do worse

I feel you

This time

D - Haro Songh Nalwa F - Nezuko @Vkobe-v you again

@Vkobe-v Tavish DeGroot had already been selected a couple picks before, so go ahead and pick someone else

1. I think more than anything, I'm expecting to get a decent number of assists. I've done fairly well in terms of shots blocked and hits in the VHLM last season and the JST in the off-season, but I think being on one of the better rosters, I might see those numbers go down. I think my assist total, while it will probably still be worse because I'm playing against much tougher competition, will be the highlight of my stats in the season. That being said, I'm still not expecting to do too great, but hopefully by the playoffs I can become a major contributor. 2. No, I'm just trying to be as good as I can be to be a great player all-around. 3. I think Cologne and Oslo look like the teams to beat, with the Storm having a slight edge if I had to pick one. I do think Cologne looks like the slightly better team now, but I think the Oslo roster will overtake them during the season. 4. I didn't even really notice I was playing in the JST for a while. My team didn't do too great, I think we were last going into the playoffs, but we won our first round in a good series. I had moderate success I think. I did quite well in the playoff series that we won. Really though, I didn't care much for the tournament and hardly paid attention. 5. It gets both hot and cold where I live, but I think as far as extremes go, it's more on the cold side. That being said, I choose hot because I'm sick of the cold. 6. My highlight of 2023 thus far has been the first day of the year. I had spent NYE through the following day at a friend's cabin with a fun group of people. It was a good time.

who even frickin cares about the world cup anyway