Rin

TL;DR: Didn't want to go back to Mississauga, had already been hearing rumblings about the VHL goalie market being very limited, opted to recreate into a forward so I could keep all options on the table when it came to hitting the big leagues

1) Unfortunately yes, the teams I'm really pulling for are losing and the ones I really don't want to advance are winning. So long as Dallas loses as early as possible, I'd be happy with just about anyone lifting the cup. 2) It's the VHLM. I'm admittedly biased/jaded when it comes to the minor leagues, but it doesn't really matter. 3) My brother had a friend growing up who really did just go out and try EVERY sport, and that included hockey. At some point, he was over at our place when we decided to break out a few mini sticks and get a game of driveway hockey going. We've been hooked ever since, immediately deciding to go out and buy roller blades and a driveway hockey set so we could skate around and up our level of play. It definitely helped that the Blackhawks (my dad's favorite team) and the Penguins (my brother's favorite animal, and subsequent favorite team) were good around this time, so we had no shortage of good hockey to tune into as stranded fans in Houston, TX. ----- 1) What do you think is the go-to strategy for building a team in the VHL? 2) When do you spend the most time scrolling through anything VHL related? Bored at work? Downtime at home? 3) We're almost at the VHL's 100th season. What's your bold prediction for the next 100 seasons?

It's a strong class this year for sure, and I missed out on some recreate TPE and a few points for max earning here and there, but I can't help but be a little surprised by some of the picks ahead of Pepper. After only being scouted/contacted by three teams, Pepper ends up falling to the 5th round to join the Halifax 21st. Incredibly ironic given his pedigree, as the son of former Las Vegas Aces goalie Alexander Pepper will now be playing for the team he feuded with most during his career: the Halifax club which once employed archrival Cole Mertz in net. These days, the 21st are sporting a shiny new logo and color scheme, so hopefully the fresh look for the club will help put an anxious father's worries to rest. On the topic of said disappointing picks... I can't help but notice that one specific club that said they'd been trying to draft me for a while passed over a Pepper pick not once, but twice in favor of pure clickers. That's more than a little embarrassing, hope it doesn't come back to bite them. It's only the M draft at the end of the day, though. There are far more important dates to come.

It's a weird time to be working on full-on PTs for me, given everything that's been going on. I don't have anything in particular that I want to be writing or coding out for the VHL, so usually these gaps would be filled by making jersey swaps or sigs for my players. Only issue there being that Darren Pepper has yet to be drafted, so I have no jersey to properly swap them into. It's items like there where I really appreciate getting 5 TPE in welfare, having already been deep in the trenches twice when it comes to high earning players. It does kind of suck knowing that I'm already behind my earning pace with Yor Bjorven-- that being, max without exceptions. I created Pepper a week after the recreate window, and last week couldn't find the motivation or right topic to sit down and hammer out a .com. A lot of my time these last few weeks has been sucked up in two big developments-- buying a new car (yay!) and finally taking the plunge to homebrew my new 2ds XL. The former, of course, kept me up a little bit with negotiating and researching a life change that I've been working for months at this point. The latter has been a fun pet project as I've started finding out just how much I can do with a 2DS that's cracked wide open, along with my friends who have been equally on the grind. As is natural, the VHL engagement comes in waves, and I'm more than happy to take a back seat and casually earn for a little bit while my greater interests lie elsewhere. Next week is my birthday, and my girlfriend and I are planning out a trip to test out the new car, see a band I like, and visit some friends and family. Should be a great trip; I sure hope the donation window resets so I can cash in a free week for it!

1) I actually really like the branding of most every team, but if I had to pick one, I would unironically want my hometown Knights to be the Las Vegas Knights (or even the Las Vegas Golden Knights) as opposed to the Vegas Golden Knights. It's tiny and nitpicky, and it hasn't come close to preventing me from liking my hometown team, but I think stripping the "Las" from the official team name is a strange choice. The argument was that nobody says "Las" Vegas colloquially, but now people get up in arms whenever a ref says "Las Vegas penalty" etc when announcing to the arena. Very ironic. It's like an Adam Copeland vs "Cope" situation. Having a nickname is fine, but trying to turn your nickname into your actual name just has a weird flow to it. 2) I still don't have either now that I've recreated with Darren, so I'd have to say that desired move would be to draft me! 3) I'm taking Dr Pepper every day of the week. As if the second player with a name that now alludes to it wasn't a big enough giveaway, I fucking LOVE me some Dr Pepper. ---- 1) What city, even if it's not a realistic choice, would you like to see get a VHL team and why? 2) What does or doesn't drive your motivation for weekly PTs? 3) A bit meta, but what press conference question are you tired of answering?

1) I really hate the amount of actual, personal vitriol people have for someone who roots for a different team. At this point, I've stopped attempting to even talk to other people that enjoy sports because liking the wrong team apparently brings out the worst in sports fans. 2) That's a really good question, honestly. I think my biggest surprise as I've joined and participated is just how seriously it gets taken a lot of the time. If you partake in the right activities or jobs, it starts to feel like a second job altogether instead of a casual hobby, and that wasn't really something I was expecting. 3) I usually get between 5 and 6 on weekdays, and somewhere between 8 and 11 on weekends (excluding naps). I actually wish I got a little less on weekends, sometimes it feels like I just sleep a day away, but everything is working out as it stands. ----- 1) What underused color scheme would you love to see used for a hockey team? 2) What player, in their prime, are you giving the puck when you need a goal late in the 3rd? VHL or NHL. 3) What's your favorite playoff memory, in any context?

I wouldn't mind chiming in. Doesn't seem like a hard/unreasonable ask at all.

5? wtf im NEVER good at these

1) I'm biased and incredibly tempted to say goalie, but an entire team can get shelled and there's not much your goalie can do aside from keep it out of the net. He can't score for you. I've gotta say defense with how today's game is played, a star on your blue line is going to eat TOI for breakfast, and do so much to influence your game on both sides of the puck. 2) I think, personally, I enjoyed being able to throw together a little trading card website for a PT. I'm now officially out of being a dev in my work time, so keeping those skills warm for a VHL side project is good fun. 3) French fries clear easily, there's so many different ways to prepare them with so many different textures. ------ 1) What's your favorite thing about playoff hockey? 2) Looking back at your own contributions to the VHL, be it through projects/jobs/PTs, what would you say is your favorite and why? 3) You're down a goal going into the 3rd, what's your locker room speech to help get everyone fired up for the final frame?

Fuck, will HR need to get involved?

Nah, a single tongue-in-cheek .com article feels about right to me.

Drama unfolds in the Mississauga locker room as season-long starting goaltender Yor Bjorven began the first two games of the Hounds failed playoff campaign on the bench, leaving the lesser experienced Herbert Gilleyes in for a shelling that led to a swift 2-0 deficit in the series. When approaching Yor Bjorven for comment to gain more of the story, a seemingly greater issue was quickly brought to light. "I talk about this for a while," said Bjorven, who had been in a backup role in the previous 8 games before the start of the playoffs. "We bring in new goalie, coach say I've earned rest against weaker teams. I say okay. We play strong team like Houston, this new goalie still take ice first. I ask coach again, he reassure me that I'm still the number one goalie for the playoffs. I say okay, no worries. Give the kid some ice time, is good for development, no? "Then we get to playoffs, I arrive to ice early, I am told by training staff that I'm still not starting. I sigh. I don't know what this is about, but I did not come to the North America to work hard and watch season go down the drain. Issue resolved by game 3, but by then, damage is done. Is what it is." We reached out to Mississauga staff for comment, but were swiftly declined and shown the door. Rumor has been circulating throughout the league that the coach had been staying up all night preparing his strategy, and sleeping in late to rectify the lost sleep. VHLM procedure dictates that lines be provided to the officials well in advance of puck drop, and in his stressful haze of preparation, the coach simply forgot to inform the league that Gilleyes's conditioning stint would be ending once the playoffs started. We were not able to corroborate this rumor, but sources within the team refused to deny it outright. After posting a stellar 0.947 save percentage in relief and losing efforts (for a record of 1-2 in the postseason, with 6 goals allowed across 4 appearances), Yor Bjorven nonchalantly informed the press of his impending retirement in a post-game presser. "Being in the North America, it has re-ignited my passion for alcohol. The hockey has been good, but the booze has been great. I cannot wait to return home to brew a keg for myself, using this new knowledge I have learned." And so the Icelandic Ironman returns home, no doubt to cries of welcome and praise. The country's best tavern is nothing without its biggest star, after all.

Claiming for the 3rd and final week

Officially? Definitely not, getting a doctorate is hard As a nickname, though? ...That may or may not have been the idea This was the case with Alexander Pepper as well; if the name was ever shortened for display to read A. Pepper, you could think of me as "Being A. Pepper"