Doomsday

Oops, must have missed it!

We have 9 living players left, so we will need five votes. @rory role and will?

The only evil role to be taken out was Eagles, and we know that there are at least four out there (3 Coven, 1 Apocalypse). We can't be coy with roles anymore, because if we don't get an evil voted out tonight, it will likely be too late after that.

Hi, it me. Just trying to roleblock non-claimers at this point.

VOTE EAGLES - 9 (Lemorse, subject, omg, Rory, Alex, Adrest, Ptyrell, Advantage, Dooms)

Eagles, who conveniently didn't mention being roleblocked.

VOTE EAGLES Eagles: 4 (Alex, Ptyrell, omg, Dooms) Alex: 1 (eagles)

Maybe stop killing him?

Hi friend, I'm the friendly neighborhood Tavern Keeper! Celebrating a victory beverage with you from our SBA win, and because I knew you'd report being roleblocked so I could confirm my presence with you. Very glad that roleblocking you did not result in your death, however.

Wawa is eternal.

Funkless in Seattle: Big Bummer For Big Boga Yaroslav Bogatyrev is a player who always has had big expectations for himself, which made his early years in the VHL that much more difficult on him. The flashes of brilliance were there, there was no denying that, but it just seemed like things just weren’t clicking consistently for Bogatyrev. That all changed, however, in Season 88, when Bogatyrev enjoyed a breakout season for the ages. Posting vast improvements across his entire game and skill set, it seemed as if Bogatyrev was destined to receive the Dustin Funk Trophy. Readers, at least ideally, are fully aware of not only the title of this article, but the topic of Theme Week this season, meaning that a far different story will be told instead. What was shaping out to be Big Boga’s first big break in the VHL instead became a big bummer. Blake Campbell was done with waiting around for the Seattle Bears’ next Continental Cup, making a big trade with the HC Davos Dynamo to acquire future VHL Hall of Fame goaltender Xavier Booberry for his final season before retirement. On top of getting elite goal-tending, the Bears also received a massive boost from third-year winger Yaroslav Bogatyrev, who made the jump from young tag-along to a key player for the Bears. He set a career-high at the time with 26 goals, up five from his previous season, and jumped from 23 assists in Season 87 to 51 in Season 88, or 28 more assists than his previous career high. This led to him scoring over a point-per-game with 77 points, an increase of 33 points from a season before. That alone would make him an excellent candidate for the Dustin Funk Trophy, but that was only half of the major improvements made by Bogatyrev in Season 88. As great as his steps forward offensively were, Yaroslav Bogatyrev may have made even bigger gains defensively. He became a physical presence for the Bears with 207 hits, more than doubling his total from the season before. He also nearly doubled his total of blocked shots, keeping 42 shots from reaching Xavier Booberry. His plus/minus rating also massively increased, going from -23 to +18, the first time in his career that he had a positive rating. On top of flourishing on offense, Bogatyrev had become a complete player, capable of making a difference on both sides of the ice. However, when the winner of the Dustin Funk Trophy was announced at the Season 88 VHL Awards Show, the winner was instead revealed to be Tomas Sogaard of the Moscow Menace. He had posted 51 goals, 21 more than the prior season, and had won the Kevin Brooks Trophy as the league leader in goals. His 105 points was an improvement of 28 points from the season before, and his transition into elite production swayed just enough voters, with four votes securing the Dustin Funk Trophy over Yaroslav Bogatyrev’s three votes. Daryl Dixon and Deron Nesbitt also each received two votes each to round out the process. This is not, of course, inferring that Tomas Sogaard did not deserve to be recognized as the Dustin Funk Trophy winner, because he absolutely did. However, I personally believed that Bogatyrev’s bigger jump in production offensively, along with posting a massive jump in defensive numbers as compared to a decline in hits and blocked shots from Sogaard, just made Bogatyrev more deserving. It was an unfortunate circumstance of defense being looked over yet again in favor of offensive numbers, especially considering Sogaard was coming off of a season in which he had underachieved, compared to Bogatyrev setting career marks while continually improving and growing into a star player. His glory, however, will have to wait. Yaroslav Bogatyrev has grown into a star in his own right, and he’s on pace to post career bests in goals and points once again, as he has continuously since he entered the VHL. Perhaps he’ll even have a shot at winning some hardware, maybe even the trophy that eluded him back in Season 88. Big things are ahead for Big Boga, as he continues to get better and better every season.

1. Inconsistency has plagued the Stockholm Vikings this season, as the team has gone from looking unbeatable to struggling from sim to sim. What is something your player can do to help the team find the consistency they have lacked all season? 2. The trade deadline is less than a week away! Do you anticipate any big trades in the VHLE and/or VHL this season? 3. Have you figured out an idea for this season's Theme Week? 4. Let's pretend for a moment that you are a master programmer capable of perfecting the STHS engine the VHL uses. What is the first thing you do? 5. Week 1 of the NFL season is in the books, what was the biggest surprise in Week 1? 6. What animal do you think would be the most likely to be able to learn to play hockey?

1. After 30 games, Vasteras has begun to build a lead atop the VHLE standings, but outside of Oslo at 17 points, the rest of the field is right in the thick of it. Rome is in second with 38 points, with Stockholm in third with 33 points, with Bratislava and Cologne right behind them. Does this team have what it takes to climb higher in the standings? 2. What do you see as the strength of this Stockholm team this season? 3. During Stockholm's original run in the VHL, the logo used red instead of blue. Which variant do you like better? 4. Is there an aspect of the VHLE that needs to change in your opinion? 5. The NFL season begins tonight! What type of year will it be for your team? 6. What's your go-to dad joke?

Featuring multiple goalie sacks! @MubbleFubbles

Claiming for week of 8/28 to 9/3 Claim 2/2

1. Stockholm was predicted by VSN to finish 5th this season, but instead the Vikings are 2nd after the first week, just one point behind Vasteras. What has the team off to such a strong start? 2. Four teams are within four points of first-place Vasteras, it's still anybody's race after the first week of the season. Do you think the competitive balance will remain like this for the rest of the season? 3. Ryan Artyomov and Jeffrey Blake have both been phenomenal so far in net, what kind of a difference does it make for the team to have not one, but two reliable goaltenders on the roster? 4. To you, what is the single most important aspect of the VHL experience? 5. Who is the funniest person you've encountered so far in the league? 6. Would you rather fight a single grizzly bear or ten thousand rats?

This hilariously awful image by @Doomsday is serving until the real one by @Zetterberg appears. 90 seasons is a long amount of time, 16 years in the real world, to be precise. It’s a long time for legacies to be built, for champions to rise, for innovators to find their way to the forefront of the league. However, after 89 seasons, all members who had been general managers of Victory Hockey League teams had one thing in common: they were males. That is not to say that there are not female members in the league, as there have been female members throughout the nearly two decades of the VHL. On the other hand, I’m not about to suggest that there is rampant misogyny going on behind the scenes either, as women have served as general managers in the VHLM and in other league jobs. Regardless, the metaphorical glass ceiling of ascending to becoming a VHL GM was shattered when @samx was announced as the new boss of the Helsinki Titans after the off-season resignation of Frank Funk. When asked what went through her head when she got the news that she was the new general manager of the Helsinki Titans, Sam’s attitude was rather candid. “I suppose my first thought was, well, let’s get to work,” she answered. “There was a lot of speculation going around of who was going to be picked. I was excited to take over the reins and bring Sam life into Helsinki.” Sam brings seven seasons of experience as the general manager of a team, with six in the VHLM and one in the VHLE. She also served as the Assistant General Manager with Helsinki under Frank Funk, giving her crucial familiarity and positive relationships with the players on the team, a crucial aspect to her returning as the General Manager. Her work in the VHLM was recognized when she was named the Jack Reilly Trophy in Season 80 as the top general manager in the VHLM, the second woman to receive the award. The first woman to win the award was Megan Anderson, when she received the award all the way back in Season 22 when she was not only recognized as the top GM of the VHLM, but she also became the first woman to lead a team to a championship when her Brampton Battalion swept the Kolari Panthers in the Founder’s Cup Finals. But if women were showing they were capable general managers that long ago, why did it take 89 seasons for a woman to finally be hired as a VHL GM? The Founder's Cup banner for the Season 22 Brampton Battalion, which Megan Anderson led to championship glory. “For a while, I think it was just there weren’t women in the league to be hired,” answered Sam. “Until recent seasons, I only knew of one or two women who stuck around the league for a while. There was a period of time where this league wasn’t very female friendly. Luckily that has faded and women are able to feel more comfortable and confident going for jobs and just being around the league.” As it turns out, sticking around was an issue for Anderson. She served as the Brampton General Manager from Season 21 to 24, two seasons with the Minot Gladiators in Seasons 33 and 34, and returned one last time to manage the Oslo Storm in Season 56. While Anderson no doubt had proven that she had the ability and skills to build a championship roster, her ultimate undoing was her lack of lasting power, keeping her from making the leap to the professional level. Another prominent female general manager was Katherine Blade, who burst onto the scene as the inaugural general manager of the Philadelphia Reapers in Season 65 and quickly established them as a franchise. Her passion for the job was second to none, and she quickly cultivated a culture of ferocious loyalty and tenacity with her Reapers, but it came with an unfortunate cost. “Her passion was a double-edged sword,” spoke Thomas Landry II about Blade. “Blade was so fully devoted to developing her players that they became fiercely loyal, which in itself is a good thing. However, slights against them, whether actual or perceived, were met with her full fury, along with that of the Reapers. Again, on the ice, this was a good thing, but off the ice, it was not. It led to division, and while I obviously can’t prove it, I feel like it was what prevented her from making the jump to the VHL. She had the ability and the means, and I believe that she was running the show during Bushito’s absence in Calgary. I just don’t think they wanted the potential drama making its way to the VHL.” Thomas Landry II, owner of praise for Katherine Blade, a poor choice of NHL fandom, and one fine mustache. However, in spite of what may have held previous potential general managers, Sam pushed on, and as it turned out, the historic achievement of becoming the first female general manager in the VHL came as somewhat of a surprise. “I had (known that I would be the first female VHL GM) when I was applying in the past,” Sam recalled. “But it wasn’t something that I remembered till some time later.” What was clear, however, was her purpose and motivation for her new role. “I’ve always said that I want to make some sort of impact any place I go,” Sam elaborated. “To me, the ability to do that had to come from getting some sort of role within the league. For the M specifically, my former GMs were crucial in my love for the league and I wanted to be that for someone else. As for the VHL, it just seemed like a natural progression at some point.” When asked what she envisioned her impact being in Helsinki, Titans fans were utterly delighted with an answer that they no doubt had hoped to hear. “Ideally winning the Cup,” Sam proclaimed. “Helsinki has been a bit of a meme team for a while now, so I’d like to hopefully get rid of that and make it a team people fear to play against.” Sam wasted no time making an impact, acquiring cap space and Season 92 2nd and 3rd round picks from Malmo in exchange for Mo Probert, setting her up to bring in forward Landon Wolanin and defenseman Lloyd Braun from Calgary in exchange for a Season 91 1st round pick. On top of bolstering the roster for the upcoming season, Sam also brought in a wealth of talent through the draft, including using the first overall pick on defenseman YaBoi Oven, who made the pro roster in his first season of eligibility. Forwards Bruise Banner and Alexandre Crosby were added with the 16th and 17th overall picks, with hulking defenseman Tommy Sleeves selected at 23rd overall. Late round selections Barry McOckiner and Gremlis Lielais could also potentially factor into Helsinki’s future as well, and suddenly, the Titans have gone from a team stuck in limbo to a legitimate threat to contend while also giving themselves a pool of prospects worth being excited about. The immediate impact Sam desired has given Helsinki both a present and a future, neither of which seemed in the cards as Season 89 ended. Helsinki Titans fans are once again ecstatic to cheer on their hometown team. Sam also provided words of encouragement for aspiring general managers looking to make a similar impact in the VHL as well: “Keep applying,” she implored. “Don’t give up if you don’t get a job your first, second, third, twelfth time. 95% of the time you aren’t doing anything wrong, there’s just not enough spots for the amounts of talented candidates you have. Don’t be afraid to ask why you didn’t get a job. As long as you aren’t a brat about it, generally people will be pretty willing to talk to you.” It’s not only perseverance, however, and continuing to learn and increase your knowledge is just as important to getting your foot in the door. “Pick other GM’s brains,” continued Sam. “You’ll gain a lot of knowledge before you are a GM and it will help you in the long run.” The Helsinki Titans are on the rise, and while this is a story that is far from over, it could hardly have gotten off to a better start. But while this story is blossoming, there are even more waiting to begin. Perhaps the time isn’t right, maybe they aren’t experienced enough, or there’s more to learn first. But new innovators, pioneers, and leaders are out there, and sometime soon, their journeys will begin as well. We’re closing in on 100 seasons, and perhaps we’ll witness even more amazing feats along the way. Congratulations to Sam on smashing the proverbial glass ceiling of the VHL and becoming the first female general manager of a VHL team!

We're back!! 1. It's been an interesting off-season which saw lots of change in the VHLE, but hockey is finally coming back to Stockholm once again. What journey did your player take to get here? 2. What type of role do you think your player will have with the Vikings? 3. Do you think the VHLE will be better off with six teams instead of eight? 4. Which VHL member do you think would raise the most money by being placed in a dunk tank? 5. What is your favorite fictional sports team? 6. What do you believe is the most sensual of the cured meats?

1. I'm here as a result of it, so great! But in seriousness, it was a fantastic draft that not only brought in some players with great potential, but great personalities as well. This is a team that is going to have a lot of fun together. 2. I imagine that Sam is still looking for a fourth defenseman, so stay tuned! 3. Keep working hard! If Helsinki needs me this season, I'm going to be ready! 4. Oven should be a VHL-ready defender, but points likely won't come in droves just yet. Soon, though! 5. The last week of it, because everything is done and everyone is ready to get the new season started! 6. I do, and there's still more talent on the way in my opinion. This is a team that will make noise this season!

Cheers to a wonderful team filled with great friends and memories! I'm blessed that I got to be a part of it with you!

Hell of a run for Team Asia, they were a tough customer this season!

I'm excited I get to work with you in both the E and VHL!