STZ

Tom Slaughter celebrates a goal with Slaeter Fjorsstrom
 
Bratislava, one of the hotbeds for Season 37 VHL prospects, was visited by VHL scouts this past week to interview players.  
 
"It's always good to get a sense of the personalities behind the players.  You never want to draft someone who will be a burden to your franchise.  The top drafting teams need players who are willing to help steer the ship around and stick around longer than a couple of seasons.  There's a lot of depth in this draft and it should be one of the better ones in a while." - Unnamed Scout.
 
So far the Wranglers, Reign, Bears and Express are the bottom four teams in the league.  However, not all the teams in the bottom four hold their original draft picks.  If the draft were to happen today (without the lottery), the order would be:
 
New York 
Riga
Calgary
Cologne
 
It will be interesting to see how the rest of the season plays out and how the draft unfolds.  Watchmen teammates Tom Slaughter and Slaeter Fjorsstrom will more than likely go 1 and 2, but the order depends on what each team drafting in the top two needs.

Jakob Linholm
 
Bern Royals
 

http://www30.zippyshare.com/v/95872451/file.html
 
Chris, Kendrick and Boom join me for this big edition. We spend a lot of time talking VHL and highlight several topics from standings, Hall of Fame, S37 VHL Entry Draft, Player Builds, and even more. Kendrick and Boom also give us a brand new Pajodcast quest for the loyal listeners for next week. A little on the longer side today as opposed to the usual one hour ones, but it was great to have Kendrick/Boom join us so we dug in a bit more on some interesting conversations. 

I could guest.

"What is your biggest regret as a General Manager in the VHL?" Thank god I wasn't on this podcast, it would have turned into a three hour segment if I was.

Yep Kesler. Just headed back from the kangaroo farm and thought I'd take a selfie gif. Must say, I'm looking pretty good considering the circumstances.

I don't type STZ... can I do this instead
 

With Bratislava bringing on an assistant GM, I believe that the other teams should be following suit. This is a wonderful opportunity to give members the chance to learn the ropes, which brings us to this post.
 
Riggs recently returned to the site and expressed an interest in learning more about the STHS program as well as GM responsibilities. I'm hoping that with a management role that Riggs will stay active and help return Brampton to the glory that it had seasons ago. Riggs will be able to send in lines, talk deals, and all that good stuff. Ultimately I will have the last say of course.
 
Glad to have Riggs aboard! 

#175 The Super Draft
 
The race to the post-season is in full swing with most of the league still in the hunt for a Continental Cup.  That doesn’t mean its too early to talk about the draft though.  The Season 36 Draft ended up being quite amazing for high end talent with decent depth.  The Season 37 Draft is shaping to be not quite as top heavy but even deeper than the draft we had last season.  A ton of former player agents have sprinkled new players back into the league in recent days and weeks.  The crop of first generational talent though is quite remarkable with the recruitment efforts the league has had lately.
 
We can’t yet put the “Super Draft” label on this class but I wanted to talk about dealing with a better draft and the pressure behind it.  Every draft must be scouted in depth especially if you have a number of picks.  When the draft is weaker you already kind of know what you are getting.  The chance for late round steals become harder and the late first round talent often bust too.  When there is talent at every corner though and everyone seems to be destined for the VHL things are actually much tougher.
 
When expectations are low there is no pressure.  In a super draft you know any pick could turn into the next Hall of Famer.  There will be a range of six to eight players that look identical going into the draft.  A bunch of them will fizzle out and never make it even out of the minors.  The rest though will go on to become the next generation of VHL superstars.  The pressure on a GM to figure out which of the many rising VHLM stars will be able to take the next step is enormous.  The fate of the franchise can rest with the picks in a great draft and you don’t want to be the only one that misses out.
 
A GM can live with a bad trade, he can learn from it, and take accept a bleak future if it means winning now.  A GM cannot sleep over the picks he missed in the draft.  Knowing that for the simple act of calling out a name he could have the next Scotty Campbell is enough to drive you crazy.  If you don’t do the research of every nook and cranny to find the truth when a prospect says yes I’ll make it someday you won’t forgive yourself.  The realization a season later when you passed on the Rookie of the Year for a no name minor league scrub is what the “Super Draft” is all about.

Never.

Ever.

Predict yourself to win anything.

I'd like to apply for this.
 
I've consistently done the VHLM fantasy zone each week for the past two seasons. I help when the site crashed and I believe I am ready to take on more responsibility.
 
Being here so long I understand how important at least seeing your player page updated  is to some peoplel. I understand how to update and that it needs to be done weekly. . 
 
Plus this opens up the much easier VHLM fantasy zone position for one of the new members we have gotten over the past weeks.
 
Hope you agree!

I decided to have some fun and try to do some jerseys. I took the St. John Ice Caps jerseys and modified those.. this is the first version.. i plan to have more fun later and change it more.. Also might make alternates.. Take a look and please send me suggestions! Thanks!
 
 
Btw: With this, all v1 jerseys for VHLM teams are finished.. I will now start working on v2.
 
Home Jersey:
 

 
Away Jersey:
 

175: Devising Drama

An exciting and unpredictable season has brought about what is looking like an interesting run-up to probably next Monday's (February 3rd) trade deadline. This past week has seen a flurry of various transactions and different types of activity and one man has been at the centre of a few events: Devise22.

I don't particularly want to dedicate an article to Devise immediately after his piss-poor treatment of the Keiji Toriyama to Vasteras trade but you can't ignore the fact that the 3-paragraph man knows how to get VHL drama going, even if often involuntarily. Before he engulfed in the distasteful argument over the short- and long-term strategy of Corco and the Vasteras Iron Eagles, an even more intriguing event transpired: Skylar Rift retired. It came out of the blue for many members and though I knew that Rift would likely not play out his maximum possible career, I still felt Devise would give him more time given that Rift's career looks from the outside to be about as fun as it is physically possible for a goalie. Instead, Rift will retire having appeared in just five VHL seasons and most surprisingly of all for me, he opted to retire long enough before the trade deadline to not be eligible to be in the S38 draft and give his new player more time to develop.

Up until Rift's retirement, the trade market had gone a bit stale. I don't think we should credit the subsequent trades involving Vasteras, New York, Cologne, and Seattle to the retirement but it has definitely opened up a wide range of opportunities. The off-season is now quite a bit of an unknown and that should bode for some good activity, in a trade sense and a forum sense. Will Quebec sell? Will Quebec buy from Helsinki or Cologne or both? Will they have to overpay? Who else will opt to sell or buy now that there might actually be buyers? Lots of questions and few answers which is always good for league activity.

There was a very brief discussion in the Board of Governors recently about the vast majority of actives now playing out full eight seasons as opposed to six which was the norm up to around Season 20. Devise has gone against the flow with Rift and that's a positive, since when things follow the same blueprint (not that I'm against full eight-season careers), a bit of change always raises eyebrows and creates discussion. In five seasons, Rift played for three teams, the change from Calgary to Quebec being the most infamous and again different, and never shied away from speaking his mind when most went on with their business. So credit where credit is due to Devise even though he can come across as a bit of a dick, especially to those who don't really know him, more often than not.

I want to thoroughly thank STZ for this tremendous opportunity. The Bratislava Watchmen are one of the two newest VHLM franchises, yet they have already cemented a lasting tradition in the forenamed league. It's an honor to be associated with this franchise, and I will do everything in my power to continually produce active first generation players. Moreover, install a phenomenal lockeroom every season, and continue to be the epitome of success for the VHLM. 

The Bratislava Watchmen are proud to announce that we are adding a new member to our management team. As of now, this is just on an assistant basis, as we take on an eager member of the forums who is looking to learn the ropes of the VHLM and get his foot in the door for more league responsibility. The Watchmen are proud of our rich alumni group and success in developing players to the VHL. This addition to our team will ensure that this developmental ground improves on what it already is.
 
So with that, the Bratislava Watchmen are proud to announce Seth as our Asst. GM.
 
In addition to this, STZ has officially diverted all TPE earned in the "VHLM GM Incentive Program" for Bratislava to go to Seth starting from the players we acquire starting on Jan 26th. This agreement will only be in place while Seth is an active part of the Bratislava management team. Our expectations are that Seth will be an integral part of our developmental department of the franchise and we are excited to continue pumping out VHL caliber members out of Bratislava.

The Bratislava Watchmen are proud to announce that we are adding a new member to our management team. As of now, this is just on an assistant basis, as we take on an eager member of the forums who is looking to learn the ropes of the VHLM and get his foot in the door for more league responsibility. The Watchmen are proud of our rich alumni group and success in developing players to the VHL. This addition to our team will ensure that this developmental ground improves on what it already is.
 
So with that, the Bratislava Watchmen are proud to announce Seth as our Asst. GM.
 
In addition to this, STZ has officially diverted all TPE earned in the "VHLM GM Incentive Program" for Bratislava to go to Seth starting from the players we acquire starting on Jan 26th. This agreement will only be in place while Seth is an active part of the Bratislava management team. Our expectations are that Seth will be an integral part of our developmental department of the franchise and we are excited to continue pumping out VHL caliber members out of Bratislava.

The Bratislava Watchmen are proud to announce that we are adding a new member to our management team. As of now, this is just on an assistant basis, as we take on an eager member of the forums who is looking to learn the ropes of the VHLM and get his foot in the door for more league responsibility. The Watchmen are proud of our rich alumni group and success in developing players to the VHL. This addition to our team will ensure that this developmental ground improves on what it already is.
 
So with that, the Bratislava Watchmen are proud to announce Seth as our Asst. GM.
 
In addition to this, STZ has officially diverted all TPE earned in the "VHLM GM Incentive Program" for Bratislava to go to Seth starting from the players we acquire starting on Jan 26th. This agreement will only be in place while Seth is an active part of the Bratislava management team. Our expectations are that Seth will be an integral part of our developmental department of the franchise and we are excited to continue pumping out VHL caliber members out of Bratislava.

It's because I'm not there, isn't it?

If you do get moved, best of luck wherever Osborne ends up.

Going to write my article this week about handling a super draft.

Leiter won 2 cups back to back and you call him a bust! Get on his level baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaud
 
dat Helsinki picks doe

Ad dump updated and will find someone for the usual player pic.

Holy crap. #butterflyeffect

Can't wait for the next Pajodcast.