FTK

Dope graphic bro!

WRITTEN BY FTK DIDIER VERHAULT, ACES CAPTAIN While some may have not projected such a breakout season for defenseman Didier Verhault, some of the post-draft hype that arose after being selected first overall has come true for Verhault in the Vegas lineup. With this breakout from the Las Vegas captain, the entirety of the newly established Vegas lineup has managed to find success in the new season following a down year where the franchise qualified for the first overall pick (which they would select Didier Verhault with). So far in his first season with the Las Vegas Aces, the team has a record of 11-3-2, good for second in the Western Conference and third in the entire VHLM. This turnaround happened quickly, with the Aces managing a hot start and maintaining the hot streak so far into the season. Verhault, as well as many of the players on Vegas' roster do not anticipate on the hot streak ending anytime soon and have said they would do their best to maintain the winning streak coming to the Vegas fans. Many questioned naming Verhault as the captain, as he wasn't exactly expected to have the pedigree of a first overall selection prior to the start of the season, but he has managed to quiet his doubters, as have many of Vegas' players when met with doubt about a team-wide turnaround just after finishing with the first overall selection in the draft. Despite being over a point per game, and having an assist per game, Didier has not been the highest producer on the Vegas roster so far into the season. Las Vegas is led in points by Left Winger Stinky, who has a stat line of 12-11-23 in just 16 games. Just a point behind of Stinks is Didier's linemate, Bric Sheithaus, who is having a better season than the captain points wise, with a line of 4-18-22 in 16 games as well. Finally above Verhault is Quinndillus Whopper, who has a line of 7-14-21 in 16 games. Verhault has totaled out at 3-16-19 in 16 games, which while over a point per game, is a little lackluster from a captain whose leading scorer is a full 4 points ahead of him. Despite a lack of high-end point totals, Verhault does lead the Aces in Shots blocked and is tied with total hits. He also has an impressive +6 alongside his statline, signaling his ability to work well with his linemates, boosting the overall productivity of any line he plays alongside. Didier has made it known to both his teammates and the organization; he does not consider points to be an all defining stat during his tenure in Vegas. His ambition for the Aces is bringing the Founder's Cup to the team and ending the drought in Vegas. While he will attempt to score as many goals and grab as many helpers as he can to lift the team up, he expresses how proud he is of his teammates, saying that he couldn't imaging serving as the captain to a finer locker room in the entire league. Verhault wishes to send a message to the entire league with his point totals and the wins that Vegas accumulates at such a high rate, the message being that Vegas will only stop after they have won the cup, and that anything else is considered a dissapointment in the eyes of the captain of Juan Ceson Arena.

1. The Titans are off to a strong start this season, how do you feel about the run so far? 2. Do you think the Titans can maintain consistency and avoid a fall-off similar to last season across the entire schedule? 3. Which player do you think has been the most crucial to Helsinki’s season so far! 4. Do you feel like there are any holes roster wise anywhere in the team, and if so how do you expect management to fill them? 5. Do you agree with the statement “A goal stopped is essentially a goal scored!” 6. Who is your favorite “4th liner” in the NHL? (A player with low production, maybe a fan favorite or something)

Returning to Vegas as the first overall selection was definitely not seen in the cards after Didier Verhault’s performance last season for the same team. Playing alongside talented defenseman, namely Conference-Prince-de-Galles in Mexico City, Verhault was only able to produce a statline of 1-8-9 in 24 games, his only goal coming off of a power play. Verhault was even less effective in the playoffs, having just 3 assists in 10 games and also sporting a -5 plus/minus rating by the end of the series. This has been the subject of Verhault’s career thus far, likely falling out of the first round of both the VHL and VHLE drafts simply due to a lack of production in the minors during his career. Perhaps due to an unnamed insider, Vegas’ opinion of the defenseman skyrocketed, and he was selected first overall by the Aces in the S90 VHLM draft. It was clear during offseason conferences and practice insiders that Verhault meshed seamlessly with the Aces squad. Getting along well with every player was crucial to Verhault, who alongside his draftee, Dalkr Vidarsson, was named Co-Captain of the Aces roster going into the S90 season. The Aces had been somewhat criticized for the selection of Verhault, passing up talented players such as Callum Yannick Gary Janser, Axle Gunner, and his former teammates, Theo Allard and Grimgor Ironhide. However just 2 games into the season, Verhault leads all defencemen with 5 total points and a plus/minus of +4. With such a great start early on, it will be hard to maintain consistency for the still young defenseman, but it will be crucial in his quest to win a Founder’s Cup for the Las Vegas Aces.

My rankings on draft selections will be determined by a color code, followed by a description of my view of the pick to hopefully give each selection a unique flavor. As a bonus, I will be doing a “who I would have selected” at the end of every pick. Without any further delay, let’s review the first half of round one of the S90 VHL Entry Draft! (PART TWO OF TWO) Green - Good Pick Blue - Underrated Pick Purple - Certified Steal Yellow - Questions, but a good player Orange - A Reach Red - A bad selection situationally 11th Overall - Severus Targaryen, Seattle Bears @Banackock Honestly just a solid selection by Seattle here. Severus might not light up the scoresheet like some of the top end prospects in the draft, but that's why he is a perfect pick outside of the top 10. Rock solid play as a center is honestly needed by every team in the VHL, and Seattle has their own locked up for the upcoming future. Who I would have picked: King Kisslinger 12th Overall - Obuz Schneider Canut du Bocage, Moscow Menace @Grape Spartan is one of my favorite GMs in the entirety of VHL, which is why it feels to be down on one of his selections in the first round. du Bocage no doubt belonged in the first round, but with prospects such as Banner, Zilla, and Kisslinger still available, it's hard to justify taking a defenseman who wasn’t even at the top of his positional board. As du Bocage’s teammate I hope he shatters this rating, but for now it's the biggest reach of the first round for me. Who I would have picked: Bruise Banner 13th Overall - Xiver Zilla, New York Americans @jhatty8 I think Zilla definitely deserved to go around the 12-15 range, but with some of the other prospects on the board falling the way they had, I didn’t see him as the top prospect at the time. Zilla will be a good point-producer regardless of this ranking, this rating is only due to me favoring some of the prospects behind him. Who I would have picked: Bruise Banner 14th Overall - Conference Prince-de-Galles, Prague Phantoms @UnkemptCL4PTP I strongly feel like Prince-de-Galles was the top defenseman available at the time, so for Prague to pick him up 14th was definitely a solid pick. Strangely, Prince-de-Galles didn’t receive much post-draft hype outside of Moscow, I think he’ll definitely play up to this selection. If du Bocage and Prince-de-Galles swapped places, I’d honestly like both selections. Who I would have picked - Conference Prince-de-Galles 15th Overall - King Kisslinger, Warsaw Predators @Kisslinger The definition of a steal for me. Imagining a Kisslinger-Anisimov line is criminal. Warsaw really nailed this draft, honestly I view both of their picks as excellent. If Kisslinger and Anisimov aren’t giving goalies nightmares for seasons to come I’ll be very surprised. Who I would have picked - King Kisslinger 16th Overall - Bruise Banner, Helsinki Titans @ctots Having two steals at the end of the draft may make me look like a snob, but I honestly think both Kisslinger and Banner should have been selected before 15th and 16th respectively. Banner has the potential to become a franchise cornerstone in Helsinki, one can hope he hits his stride while Dixon and Grimes are still in theirs. Who I would have picked - Bruise Banner

1. How do you feel about the selections Helsinki made in the VHL entry draft this season? 2. With the offseason full go, do you think Helsinki should remain active in the trade market? 3. What are your plans during the offseason? 4. Do you feel like your player has improved this offseason enough to make a difference for their team? 5. Whats your least favorite thing about the offseason? 6. Finally, do you believe Helsinki has made enough moves this offseason to become a competitive team?

Good move! Definitely increases his value for me

My rankings on draft selections will be determined by a color code, followed by a description of my view of the pick to hopefully give each selection a unique flavor. As a bonus, I will be doing a “who I would have selected” at the end of every pick. Without any further delay, let’s review the first half of round one of the S90 VHL Entry Draft! (PART ONE OF TWO) Green - Good Pick Blue - Underrated Pick Purple - Certified Steal Yellow - Questions, but a good player Orange - A Reach Red - A bad selection situationally 1st Overall - YaBoi Oven, Helsinki Titans @Doomsday Who could argue with YaBoi Oven going first overall? Not only does this selection suit a need for the Titans as a frontline franchise defenseman, but any team in the VHL would be more than happy to have a defenseman prospect on Oven’s level in their pool. An expected first overall pick, in terms of position and overall I view this as a good first overall selection. Who I would have selected - YaBoi Oven 2nd Overall - Walter Fitzroy Jr, Toronto Legion @Moon This isn’t exactly unexpected. Moon is the GM of Toronto and thus you get a franchise defenseman who is willing to stay long term, as long as Moon remains employed in Toronto. Fitzroy will be a good player, but I can’t am not a fan of GM’s making slight reaches to select their own players. Still, Fitzroy will be a good player in Toronto. Who I would have selected - Axle Gunner 3rd Overall - Ryan Artyomov, Chicago Phoenix @Enorama I don’t think I can overstate how awesome this pick is for Chicago. With recent GM turnover, the new leader of operations in Chicago certainly smashed their first pick. Artyomov will be an excellent goalie in the VHL, and will be key in Chicago regaining contention and making a push for another cup. Artyomov is also probably the best selection in terms of suiting team needs so far as well. Just an awesome pick all around. Who I would have selected - Ryan Artyomov 4th Overall - Axle Gunner, Moscow Menace @Steve A near 100 point scorer in the VHLM with the Philadelphia Reapers, Gunner is a borderline steal for me. I wouldn’t exactly call 4th overall a drop or decline however. Gunner is a center, and figures to play for Moscow sooner rather than later, where he will be a steady contributor in Moscow’s retool. Another excellent selection, but it’s hard to mess up a top 5 selection. Who I would have selected - Axle Gunner 5th Overall - Maxim Anisimov, Warsaw Predators @McLovin I may have been higher on Anisimov than others viewing the draft, but I see this pick as an absolute steal. While Anisimov may not be as valuable defensively as a Center or Defenseman, he was by far the best winger prospect in this class. I think Warsaw nailed this pick, and are setting themselves up with a surefire hardware candidate season in and out. Who I would have selected - Maxim Anisimov 6th Overall - Raimo Tuominen, Calgary Wranglers @SlapshotWrangler While I like Raimo Tuominen as a prospect, and I agree he should have been a top 10 selection, top 5 is just a small reach for me. I don’t see him being the best positionally or overall at this point in terms of the draft. While I think Calgary is getting an excellent player, they could have almost certainly traded down a few selections and got the same player. I will be excited to see Tuominen in Calgary, but that doesn’t change the fact that he was just slightly overdrafted in my opinion. Who I would have selected - Jarmo Ruutu 7th Overall - Catia Goncalves, Riga Reign @cLoWn While I have some question marks regarding Goncalves, I do think she will be a good player for the Reign. Similar to Tuominen, I saw Goncalves as a top 12-15 prospect, with 7th being just slightly early for my taste. Regardless I do think the Reign are getting a capable player and a solid prospect to build a young core up with. Who I would have selected - Jarmo Ruutu 8th Overall - Jarmo Ruutu, Moscow Menace @jRuutu The Menace had an amazing draft. While Gunner may be the best prospect overall selected to Moscow, in terms of pure value I think Ruutu has a case for one of the best in the first round in general. I had Ruutu as a top 5 selection, so while seeing him fall to Moscow was a surprise, it is a welcome one! Spartan is once again assembling a young capable core for the Menace’s retool. Who I would have selected - Jarmo Ruutu 9th Overall - Jebidiah Big Ol Doinks in Amish, Malmo Nighthawks @hylands I think picking up Jebidiah/Hylands is a sneaky hood move for the Nighthawks in their quest for a bounceback to competitive hockey. I think at this point in the draft most of the top end talent had seeped out in terms of the quality selected in the top 5, but Jebidiah is an excellent defensive prospect. I can’t decide if this was a draft fall or the perfect spot for Hylands to end up at. 10th Overall - Martin Kemp, Riga Reign @leafsman Another reach for the Reign. I would have been fine with a Kemp selection at 10, but doubling down on first round wingers when two amazing centers were available is very questionable for me. As previously stated for Goncalves, Kemp will be a good player, it’s just all about fit and the scheme in Riga for me.

With the Victory Hockey League’s S90 entry level draft concluded, many new storylines and questions about the league’s future stars have emerged. Does Yaboi Oven succeed in Helsinki, what's Anisimov’s ceiling, can Prince-de-galles and Kisslinger find success on their own respective teams? With the draft comes hype, but also many question marks. One of these question marks was Belgian player Didier Verhault. Verhault was one of the late risers of the S90 Draft Class, and by entry date is the oldest player in the draft. A culmination of age and lack of success in the Victory Hockey League Minors caused many teams to overlook Verhault as a prospect. On the day of the draft, scouts ranked the most likely teams to select Verhault. Number one on the list was Helsinki, followed by Moscow, followed by Riga. Helsinki seemed evident due to the Tipton-Verhault mentor connection that had also been established in the minors with Mexico City, but Verhault would follow his mentor’s way in a seperate and very unexpected way. With the 21st overall pick in the entry level draft, the Moscow Menace selected Didier Verhault. The Menace themselves are considered to have had an amazing draft, selecting Axle Gunner in the early first as their headliner, and many more promising prospects behind him. Being selected by the Menace, he has dubbed the nickname the “Menace of Brussels”.

It has been quite an offseason for the Victory Hockey League in terms of management turnover, as two of the mainline Victory Hockey League teams have transitioned General Managers in the beginning of the offseason. Starting with General Manager Geoffrey Dee of the Chicago Phoenix, two General Managers have stepped down at this point in the offseason. The second of these affected Shaggy Tipton and his perceived “job security”. Frank Funk, who was responsible for the hiring and promotion of Tipton, has stepped down as the General Manager of the Helsinki Titans. In a press conference after the news was announced, Tipton was quoted saying: “I am forever thankful to Frank Funk for giving me a shot of a lifetime when it comes to my newfound management career. I never imagined myself returning to the Victory Hockey League, and it is a pleasure to do so.” When asked if he would be pursuing the opening of the General Manager position, Tipton stated: “Although I lack the experience and do not be expected as a serious candidate for the position, I would be open to the idea, but as it stands I support the incoming General Manager and my goal is to perform my job duties as usual, preparing Helsinki for the upcoming Draft.” With the departure of Frank Funk from Helsinki, Tipton’s inexperience in management was once again a topic of discussion amongst Heksinki’s naysayers. As recently as a week ago, Tipton publicly took flights to the DC area, returning to American soil during a time of turnover for the Helsinki Titans. Namely, the DC Dragons also had management openings as the assistant, which Tipton is far more comfortable with in terms of his role and responsibility. This is not to say that Tipton has strayed from his duties entirely, as he is still a frequent participant in Helsinki’s practices as a former player, coaching up some of the Titans’ prospects who would be upcoming in the Victory Hockey League. And although Tipton never had the pleasure himself of hearing his name being selected in the Victory Hockey League draft, he has attended many Victory Hockey League Minors practices and events, namely preparing his protege Didier Verhault for draft day. Although it is considered unlikely for Verhault to go within the top 16, he certainly has gathered more hype as a prospect than Tipton had been able to. Verhault has evolved his game in many ways during his lone season at Mexico City, scoring his first professional goals and becoming a regular late in the season and during the playoffs. With an offseason of training and adjustment to North America, the hope is that Verhault can make the leap into becoming an elite defenseman for his draft-day team in the Minors. With strong interviews and good physical performances, it is not hard to see Verhault becoming a top-end prospect in one of the up and coming pools around the many different leagues. Verhault has attended many practices and try-outs for the Victory Hockey League’s main teams, as well as their branch leagues in Europe and in the Minors. Verhault has regularly tested well as a Two-Way Defenseman, and with refinement added to his game, he can only become better with time.