STZ

Cologne: (Toast did top prospects + future)

Of the two VHL expansion franchises from Season 31, it's fair to say the Cologne Express have encountered more challenges over their first years in the league. However, through perseverance as a cohesive team unit under the guidance and leadership of former Sam Pollock Memorial Trophy (Top GM) winner Joey Kendrick, the Express have turned things around to slowly but surely climb the VHL standings.

In Season 34, Cologne had a record season with 75 points and their first ever playoff appearance. Despite their quick exit, the Express learned from their experience and have already exceeded that points total this season, securing a second consecutive playoff spot. This time around, the German expansion team have their eyes set on their first series victory, likely to come against the HC Davos Dynamo. It wouldn't just be an achievement for the Express themselves but would also provide potential bragging rights over the Quebec City Meute who you may be surprised to know have yet to win a playoff series themselves and will likely have to wait until round two this season to break the ice.

Leading the way in Cologne has been their first ever acquisition, center Kameron Taylor of the Kendrick player agency. Career marks of 47 goals and 102 points are now a thing of the past as Taylor has exceeded his previous heights before the end of the season and has entered the MVP discussions as the top non-Wrangler scorer. Taylor's leadership on and off the ice has transformed the Express completely and career highs have this year been established by forwards Reggie Dunlop, David Collier (alongside rookie stand-out Davey Jones), defencemen Cody Inko and Gregory Glass, goaltender Evgeni Chekhov, and even two-time cup champion Malcom Spud. Particularly appealing for local and all VHL fans is the fact that most of these names are home-grown, gradually coming through the productive Cologne system since Season 31. This team has quietly moulded itself into a Continental Cup contender on our very eyes with true German efficiency.

Top Prospects:

S34 Boone Cassidy – Winger
Cologne hasn’t had the best of luck when it comes to the Entry Drafts, but their current prospect core is led by S34 pick Boone Cassidy. Boone has spent the most time in terms of practice hours out of Cologne’s prospects and seems to have the best shot at making the big club in the near future. It will take a bit of work though. Cassidy does not hold the passion seen in some other prospects so Cologne will be looking to rekindle that somehow to make the best out of this pick.

S34 Lauris Prikulis – Defender
Lauris Prikulis was another pick in the S34 draft, and is just behind Cassidy in terms of practice hours. Prikulis was once regarded as a top prospect showing plenty of potential, but has seemed to slow down since the beginning of the season. The Express are hoping that like Cassidy, the spark will return to Prikulis and will find his way to Cologne within one or two seasons.

S33 Mikhail Mikhailovich – Winger
Mikhailovich is probably holding the title for oddest name in the VHL, but other than that he is a solid prospect for Cologne. He sits at just above 100 practice hours but has vanished off the map following his draft, not putting in much effort since then. However, with a little work he could be a nice addition to Cologne’s top two offensive lines. Now it’s just a matter of getting the winger back on focus.

Future Outlook:
There have been rumours circulating this season that general manager Joey Kendrick would be stepping away from the team after leading the team since its debut a few seasons back. Without Kendrick at the helm it will be interesting to see who steps forward to take control of Cologne. There are many options out there in the VHL world, but the GM change is certainly going to affect the team. Once the change does come the first matter of business will be building on to the lack of a true future in Colgone.

Players like Kameron Taylor, Reggie Dunlop, and Davey Jones led the team at the moment and will have to continue to set that example as prospects like Jones develop. Building through the draft will have to be a priority as well to change the assumption that Cologne cannot put together a good draft. With some good picks in the draft and possibly some moves, this team could continue to be a threat in the European Conference.

Cup Prediction: S37/S38

That's not going to stop ME

Really really cool edition
well maded and very fun to read. It's always fun to read about our player and you did a pretty good job
congrats to the vhl mag team.
I Hope the vhlm mag starts soon

New York Americans
 
Current State: The Americans have finally entered a rebuild after setting the record for most consecutive playoff appearances with eleven.  After what many have called a dynasty, the fans of New York now have to get used to a losing team for at least a couple seasons.  The Americans currently sit last in the North American Conference with just seventeen points, and have lost forty-five consecutive games.
 
The team is led by veterans Jack Mason, Adam Harris and Filip Forsberg, who are the only players on the team with more than fifteen points.  Mason has proven to be a valuable defensive commodity in his final VHL season, with 171 hits and 234 blocked shots to go along with his 43 points.  Unfortunately though, due to the reliance on Mason, he has the worst plus-minus in the league with a -102 rating.  Adam Harris has probably been their best skater this year as he leads the team in scoring with 51 points and has 89 hits and the best plus-minus on the team to go along with it.  Finally, Filip Forsberg leads the team in goals with 22 as he continues to improve as a professional.
 
The best player this team has had this year is undoubtedly their goaltender, NYA G.  Despite having a terrible record and a goals-against-average over four, his save percentage sits seventh in the league at .913.  This is a sharp contrast compared to the backup on the team, Atticus Von Braxton III.  The rookie goaltender had a run as the starter when NYA G went down with an injury, but badly struggled as the team failed to win a game with him starting.  Braxton, who likely won't get another start for the team, ended his run with a 7.41 goals-against-average and a .859 save percentage.
 
The New York Americans are not the team they used to be.  They don't have a Benjamin Glover, Tukka Reikkinen, Daniel Braxton or Ryan Sullivan.  This is a team that is in a transitional period looking to acquire some starts to build around.  Hopefully they get back to that point one day again.
 
Top 3 Prospects:
 
1) D - Connor Low (TPE: 227) - By all accounts, Connor Low is the future of the New York Americans.  He has been talked about as a potential franchise defender and has really grown leaps and bounds as a professional talent this year.  Low is currently being talked about as one of the leading candidates for the top defenseman in the VHLM this season.  He has continued to improve and currently sits with 83 points, 106 hits and 113 blocked shots in 61 games.  New York fans should be excited about this prospect as he looks to make a huge impact next season.
 
2) G - Brick Wahl (TPE: 113) - Don't be confused by the TPE, Brick Wahl is perhaps the next great goaltender in the VHL.  The only reason he is behind Low at the moment is that Connor is farther along in development, but expect Wahl to eventually become one of the best goaltenders in the VHL.  Wahl has had a tremendous season in the VHLM this year as he has a .911 save percentage that leads the entire league, to go along with his other solid numbers.  Expect the young Canadian goalie to be in the discussion for the VHLM's top goaltender this season.
 
3) RW - Carter Deaton (TPE: 66) - Perhaps the biggest wildcard in the Americans system is Carter Deaton.  The third rounder has worked to surprise many who felt he would make no progress, and has done a pretty good job so far.  The winger currently has 65 points and 122 hits in just 61 games, and looks to finish above a point per game in just his second season in the VHLM.  While his potential may not be the highest, Deaton is looking to prove that he can become a VHL calibre player. 
 
Future Outlook:  This is where the Americans look best.  The New York Americans have two very bright prospects with high potential already on their way up next season, and have three first rounders to use in the upcoming VHL draft.  On top of that, they have another two firsts in the following draft.  This will give the Americans a great opportunity of acquiring some players to slot around Low and Wahl and give New York a talented core going forward.  The question that many want to know is how long will it be until New York can compete? Surprisingly, I don't think it is as far away as some feel it is.  With Wahl and Low coming up next year, along with potentially a few other first round picks, New York will likely make some moves going forward, to beef up their roster.  While perhaps the cup is a ways down the road, the playoffs might just not be that far away.
 
Cup Prediction: Season 41

Sorry again for not doing it earlier.

LIndberg-
 

 
Namestikov -
 

 
Sixten -
 

Bears Top Prospects
 
Mcqueen -
 

 
Johnson -
 

 
Ernst -
 

Wranglers Top Prospects.
 
Brookside -
 

 
Zamora -
 

 
Tremblay -
 

Meute Top Prospects
 
Corvia -
 

 
Lindberg -
 

 
Lakatos -
 

Current State:
The last time the Seattle Bears were a dominant team in the VHL it was the period between Season 26 and Season 30. Now they are emerging from their rebuild in a tough conference, but should be in top contention for Season 36. There is an obvious generational gap between the two teams and the only real constant is Greg the general manager. The team from the last decade was built with a lot of high flying forwards, but they seem to have taken a different direction this time around. Seattle’s biggest names are all on the blue line with the likes of James Lefevre, Zack Sound and team captain Karsten Olsen.
 
Building a strong defense has never been a major focus for VHL teams as they tend to spend more cap space on forwards who can score, rather than giving the goalie some defensive support. Seattle is trying to break this mould with their top trio of defensemen. The three of them have combined for over 450 hits, 313 blocked shots and 119 points. The primary focus is defense, but as you can see they are contributing offensively as a core. It will be interesting to watch these three young defenders grow to their potentials in the VHL and any other team in the league would love to have just one of these players on their defense.
 
Behind the defense is rookie goaltender Steven Smyl, who has posted some ugly numbers so far this season, but is showing promise heading into the upcoming seasons. With not much hope in terms of having few shots against, Smyl has done a decent job with posting up a .903 save percentage. Heading into the next few seasons Smyl just has to work on building up his practice hours, and as long as he does that there is no saying what kind of goalie Smyl will be for the Seattle franchise. The young keeper is certainly a plus for the future of Seattle.
 
Seattle’s main forward crop consists of rookie Mikey Blade, Sergey Brovalenko, and Sebastian Ball Jr. One of last season’s biggest stories was when Blade attempted to leave Seattle for a new team following some contract confusion. It’s safe to assume that when Blade’s contract expires in S36 that he will be leaving the team. Seattle may look at trading away Blade for a smaller return or may just even let him walk. Obviously though, Seattle should be looking to get something out of it. Speaking of trades, Seattle may have to consider the aging Brovalenko. While being a locker room leader for the rookies as well as a strong performer on the ice, he will not be there two/three seasons down the line, where Seattle is focusing on. Another main player on the offense is Ball, who has been with the team patiently waiting for the rebuild to end. Expect Ball to stick around until the end of his career as he seeks the reward for sticking it through.
 
Top Three Prospects:
#1 – RW- Brennan McQueen (TPE: 219) – The Seattle Bears seventh-overall pick in the S35 draft has been showing good signs of development, to the point where it looks like McQueen will join the Seattle team next season. With the possibility of forwards leaving the team soon McQueen will be more than a welcomed addition to the team’s build.
 
#2 – D Gabrial Johnson (TPE: 129) – Johnson was selected by the Bears in the S34 Entry Draft as a second-round pick. While only having a slow pace in his development, it is there. If Johnson keeps up his efforts in practice time it’s possible that he could join the Seattle defense in the next one or two seasons. GM Greg would love to see this pick pan out.
 
#3 – C Frédérik Ernst (TPE: 135) – Ernst was the eighth-overall selection to the Cologne Express, who have had horrible luck in entry drafts. Ernst stated he was not interested in the VHL following the draft and the Express looked to ship him off as quickly as possible. Seattle was willing to bring him in, trading for his rights. Ernst has shown slight interest so now it’s just a question of if Ernst will develop well or not.
 
 
Future Outlook:
Greg Harbinson has been the general manager since Season 34 of the current generation of Seattle Bears. His roots obviously go back much further than this though as he was the GM from Season 20 until Season 28, a span in which the Bears went from the league basement to winning a Continental Cup. After a five season break he is back and is hoping to guide the team out of a rebuild. Season 35 has been a hard one for the Bears as the North American conference continues its dominance in the league.
 
Quebec, Calgary and Toronto are all ahead of Seattle in development, but time is on Seattle’s side. The Bears lineup is still young and soon it will be time for a team like Calgary to rebuild. This will leave a spot of Greg and the Seattle Bears to get back into the playoffs and try to dominate like they did in a decade ago. Greg has made big trades in the past and isn’t afraid of pulling the trigger on a deal. He has experience on his side and the Bears prospects and roster should feel comfortable with Greg running the organization.
 
Expect Seattle to make some moves as the trade deadline looms this season. A possibility would be for the Bears to trade Brovalenko for an upcoming pick. One thing is for certain however, the team will be ready to compete in the next one or two seasons. Greg is one of the league’s top GMs and the young crop Seattle has shows promise to develop into a true team.
 
Expect them to be competing for a cup as early as S37.

Mag #165 NA Calgary (Mike & Lobo)
 
Current State:
 
The Calgary Wranglers are considered one of the most storied franchises in the entire VHL.  Currently at the helm is Jason Glasser, aka diamond_ace, and while he has done a great job keeping his squad competitive over the last few seasons, the rebuilding cycle will soon begin for the Wranglers.  Last season, they lost in the finals to Helsinki.  After losing goaltender Skylar Rift to Quebec via free agency, Glasser made a push in the offseason to acquire goaltender Satan and forward Alexander Chershenko, as well as depth players Kraphf Dringus and and Henrik Larsson in exchange for a first, second and third round pick.  However, the trades did not help bring another Cup to Calgary.  At the end of the season, Calgary lost Chershenko, Dringus and Satan due to retirement.  While this could have been a huge blow to the franchise, in the interest of remaining competitive, Calgary acquired some big name talent through trades.  Joining Calgary were Michal Wozniak, Alexander Labatte and a lesser known name in Lars Lessio for two first rounders, two second rounders and two third rounders.   
 
The Wranglers are off to a blazing start so far.  Their pickups have been instrumental on helping them climb atop the VHL standings.  They are currently first in the league and are getting contributions from basically everyone on the team.  Their goaltending has been outstanding; Alexander Labatte is having a bounce back season and is likely to be a frontrunner for Goaltender of the Year.  Wozniak is having a career year so far and seems like he will be the favourite to win MVP.  Wozniak, along with Rybak have been a deadly duo and do not seem to be slowing down.  Clark Marcellin is also having a great year, and seems to be the frontrunner for the Labatte trophy.  Calgary is, in my opinion, the favourite for the cup, though hardly anyone predicted them at the start of the season.  It should be an interesting battle for the Continental Cup.
 
 Top Three Prospects:
 
1) S36 – Martin Brookside – G
Brookside is the current property of the Calgary Wranglers via the GM rule due to his affiliation with Jason.  There is no question he is on his way toward becoming a decent goalie in the league and the clear favorite to take over as the future starter.
 
2) S33 – Felix Zamora – LW
Felix continues to develop at a moderate pace putting him on track to be an above average forward late in his career. He is a good fit leading a second line or filling in as the third forward on the top line.  Calgary wishes to keep him long term but it might be in their best interest to move him for future assets.

3) S34 – Simon Tremblay – LW
Tremblay is the player of notorious VHL player agent Meg.  She has a reputation of bringing in players who explode onto the scene then eventually fizzle out.  Since the VHL has restructured the league in its new headcorders Tremblay has been less motivated.  He still represents a good youthful forward prospect that could become good over time.
 
Future Outlook:

Calgary is planning on using Brookside, Tremblay, Zamora, and Salmon as the foundation to retool rather than rebuild.  The bold strategy could result in a quick turn around for Calgary or a big mistake resulting in an extended period of mediocrity.  Personally since their next first round pick isn’t until Season 37 I feel they should go into a full on rebuild.  Their core is going to be too old by the time they are able to get their own draft picks developed.
 
In Season 36 the Wranglers may still be in the playoffs despite how bare their cupboards are.  Seattle and New York are not looking great at the moment which could force a weak Calgary team into the post-season.  Expect a 3 team race of bad teams where the best of the three worst make the final spot likely being the Wranglers.
 
A quick re-tooling is actually going to take several seasons without a Season 36 draft pick and only one Season 37 pick.  A full on rebuild will take some time as well since the team only has 3 potential prospects to trade away.  I think dark times are on the horizon for Calgary don’t expect them to make it back to a cup till Season 41.

Bratislava looks forward to Season 36
 
After mortgaging their way to a Championship win in Season 33, Bratislava looks like they may be at it again. They have three firsts in the first round of S36, and still a first in the S37 draft. GM Wong has been known to flip his picks to ensure they are all in the same year. With players like Mario Corvia and Lauris Prikulis developing into VHLM superstars, it seems as if the Watchmen are close to filling a team of talented players.
 
The upcoming draft is filled with top young defenders and one all-star goalie. There's little doubt the Watchmen are targeting Martin Brookside, as well as another defenceman to add to Prikulis. However, they've always been known for their offence-first style of play. There has been talks of Bratislava moving an S37 pick to acquire a top end scoring threat for next season.
 
Although most of this is speculation, it is exciting to see some of the new players being created, and how they may fit in with the Watchmen.

164
 
Clark Marcellin


 

 
Season 35 is the last chance for Clark Marcellin to win it all.  The forward turned defenseman is in his final season of a career that can be considered a success.  The career Wrangler is on a stacked Calgary team that looks like the real deal.  So far this season, Marcellin has a ridiculous 74 points in just 39 games for the Wranglers.  He also has 109 blocked shots, and 161 hits in that time span, good for third and fifth in the league respectively.  Marcellin is making a statement to the league this season along with final year forwards Volodymyr Rybak and Michal Wozniak. 


 
Marcellin started his career as a center in the league as he came to the Wranglers via the GM rule as Marcellin’s agent, Jason Glasser was the general manager of the Calgary Wranglers.  His previous client was Lars Intranquilo.  Clark didn’t have a great first season, only putting up 40 points in 72 games, but had a respectable 52 percent face-off percentage as Calgary’s second line center.  From there, Marcellin put up 393 points at his natural position, before making the transition to defence.  Season 34 would determine whether the forward would make a good defenseman.  He certainly seemed to have all the tools to play the defensive side of the puck with over 1200 hits in his career at forward. 


 
In Season 34, Marcellin put up 100 points, with 156 blocked shots and 246 hits.  He was runner up to Ryan Sullivan for the Labatte trophy as the league’s best defenseman.  There was certainly some talk as to whether Marcellin should have beaten out Sullivan, but in the end, Sullivan had slightly better numbers than Marcellin.  However, this season seems to be his year as he is not only dominating offensively, but also showing a great two way game. 


 
 
The success of the Wranglers not only depends on Marcellin’s success, but whether the Wranglers can sustain their domination offensively.  Everything seems to be clicking for the Wranglers, and if they keep going at the pace they are, they will be tough to beat.  Marcellin has won a championship in the VHL, in Season 30.  The Wranglers won in 11 games, with Marcellin putting up 6 points in those 11 games, giving him a Continental Cup in his sophomore season.  His agent, Jason Glasser would also win Executive of the Year as a reward for putting together a championship calibre team.  If Marcellin continues his excellent play, he will be rewarded at the end of the season with some hardware.  Clark Marcellin, who has proven his versatility, is this week’s hometown hero.  

Welcome back to another exciting edition of the VHL Magazine! Before we get into the mag, I would like to quickly point out an exciting announcement made by the new editor of the mag, STZ! To all those who missed it, the VHL Magazine will halt regular production of the mag in order to release two separate special editions! What does this all mean? Well, next week will feature articles dedicated to the North American Conference! That’s right, an entire edition of the mag dedicated to the five teams that make up the western half of the VHL! The week after, it shall be dedicated to glorifying the European conference! Everyone will get a special in-depth look at each of the ten VHL franchises from the point of view of one or two magazine writers! Please get your orders in now for both of the editions, because it will not be something you want to miss!
 
How about the Calgary Wranglers this season? Everyone probably expected the Wranglers to have a good season, but everyone knows that it cannot last forever. Well, the Wranglers are going all out this season and have managed to claim top spot in the league. While the goaltending and defensive play has been quite solid this year in Calgary, allowing the third least amount of goals against with seventy five, it has been the offensive power that has really been on display. They lead the league with 164 goals so far this season, currently 18 more than the next highest scoring team, the Quebec City Meute. Entering his seventh pro season in the VHL, Michal Wozniak is having a career year to be sure. Acquired in the offseason for a future first round pick, Wozniak has stepped into Calgary and formed one of the most dominant offensive lines with Volodymyr Rybak and Chico Salmon. Wozniak currently leads the league in both goals (38) and points (85), 11 more points than his linemate and currently 2nd in scoring, Volodymyr Rybak.  If you want an exciting and high scoring game to watch, any of the future Wranglers games will not disappoint.
 
The only question moving forward is can this high octane offense continue to produce at a consistant level. Rybak, Wozniak and long-time Calgary Wrangler, centre-turned-defenseman Clark Marcellin all currently play more than 30 minutes a night. If they were a few years younger, it would be easy to see them taking those minutes and coming back strong every night. As older guys, do they have enough left in the tanks to play so much during the regular season, and continue to do this during the playoffs? Should the offense start to drop off even a little, Calgary will be able to rely on Alex Labatte. Labatte has had a stellar season so far, posting a 93 save percentage and a 1.89 goals against average, both good enough for second place amongst goalies. He already has seven shutouts on the season, and has even managed to get himself invovledi n the offense, having three assists credited his way this season. The combination of offense and goaltending will have to be perfect if Calgary hopes to take home the Cup for the first time since S30.

#164
Windows of Opportunities - Part 2
 
Last week we found out that 60% of all playoff runs last just one or two seasons.  Only 29% of the Continental Cup wins came from those appearances though.  Essentially we have proved that forcing your team out of a rebuild to win a cup isn’t very effective.  Today we will find the most successful playoff run number and the average number of consecutive seasons spent in the playoffs.
 
The average length of a VHL playoff run is 2.63 seasons.  That number isn’t surprising considering how often a team only makes the playoffs for just one or two seasons.  Let’s round that up to a full three seasons and see how effective teams were at winning the cup then.  Of the eight times a team has made the playoffs for exactly three seasons every single team won the cup at least once.  The exact results of the eight occurrences (24 games) have resulted in ten Continental Cups.  That is a success rate of 42% also counting for 20% of all cup victories.
 
At this point you may be thinking of course a team who makes the playoffs three consecutive times has a higher success rate than a team who only makes it two.  You’d also think a team with two consecutive seasons in the playoffs has a higher success rate over a team who only makes the playoffs once.  I’d probably think that too at least more opportunities to win the more times you make the playoffs.
 
However of the five times that a team has made it to four consecutive playoff appearances no team has won two cups.  A mere 20% success rate for those teams accounting for 8% of all cup wins.  In fact the higher prolonged teams in general seem to have less success.  Twice we have seen five season playoff runs both resulted in just one cup a piece another 20% success rate.
 
Seattle is the only team with exactly six consecutive playoff appearances which resulted in just one win 17%.  The only team ever with a really long playoff run that resulted in multiple cup wins was the Davos Dynamo S19-S25 where they won three cups.  We all know how the perennial favorite New York Americans run went winning just one cup.
 
Before we reflect on what we’ve learn we must be fair and state that these statistics do not include the recent expansion teams.  We are also only using data from Season 1 through Season 33.  I do feel though that we have learned some important things and the data backs up those trends.
 
One and two season playoff runs are premature a team forces a cup run and is usually unsuccessful.  Longer than three seasons a team is putting off a rebuild by fielding teams that aren’t quite there resulting in losing as well.  Teams that go for three seasons exactly win at a higher percentage and rebound quicker by using remaining assets in their prime.

Calgary[7.69%]
New York[7.69%]
Quebec[23.08%]
Seattle[0.00%]
Toronto[15.38%]
Cologne[15.38%]
Davos[0.00%]
Helsinki[30.77%]
Riga[0.00%]
Vasteras [0.00%]
 
It seems like a lot of people didn't put very much thought into their answers. Right now there are only four teams within reasonable grasp of first place, and we're almost 40 games into the season. So if you picked someone who isn't Calgary, Helsinki, Toronto or Quebec you probably suffered brain damage at some point in your life, or you're 11. Vasteras, Riga, Davos and Seattle rightfully received 0% of the vote. Most of those teams are out of the playoff picture and Davos, while good enough to make a shot, certainly can't win the Victory Cup. Then we have a massive insult amongst our fan base to Jason Glasser and the team he's put together. The Calgary Wranglers, the team that is currently in first place and has many upcoming trophy winners with stupidly good stats, is tied with the NEW YORK FUCKING AMERICANS for 7.69% of the vote. You the people think that Calgary's powerhouse is on footing with the second worst team in the league. Congrats. Next we have a tie between Toronto and Cologne with 15.38%. I totally get the Toronto vote, they're only 3 points back of Calgary and they definitely have an argument. Cologne on the other hand is a good 20 points back of Calgary. They'll get into the playoffs, but they aren't going to win the Victory Cup. So we have a couple of retards who picked their own team without looking at the standings page. You'll be statistically eliminated from the Victory Cup in about a week and a half, so great job. Solid vote. Next we see Quebec with 23.08% of the vote. Again, I see the argument here. Though the Meute are in 4th place they sit only 4 points back of the first place team and have a game in hand. The Victory Cup is not out of their reach by any means. Finally we have the league favorite. The Helsinki Titans won the poll with 30.77% of the voters backing them. Helsinki is a strong option as well. They currently sit in second place in the league standings, just two points behind Calgary. The message I want to impart on you people, the message you really need to understand, is please do some research before you make stupid statements. It took me 15 seconds to look up the data I used in this article, and all of you could have done the same thing. I understand that the New York vote was a joke, but the Cologne picks were awful. It reminds me of those people who posted that facebook status a few years ago where they tried to use legal jargon to say facebook had no right to their personal content. They didn't bother to look up any of the legal terms involved and as a result looked really stupid when people started googling them and found out they had nothing to do with the internet or privacy. Also, anyone who thinks that facebook walls override a terms of service agreement that everyone accepted is a drooling puppet who should go worship Kelser as their god because he's unimaginably smarter than they are.
 
"Homer vote for Quebec! Corcoran will kidnap all the good players on other teams and drag them to Vasteras, so Quebec can walk all over everyone else. Calling it now." - Jordan Eng
"Imma go with Helstinki, too much firepower " - Sebastian Ball
"Calgary seems to have a real advantage with their star power. It helps them punish weak and mediocre teams and though it might not get them through the playoffs, it almost certainly grants them a Victory Cup." - Kyle Snow

I hate to be the spoiler this week, but Alfie has gone far too slow with this so if it’s not released by the time this edition comes out, it’s his fault.  But the Super Cup for the VHL is finally on it’s way after quite some time of preparing. For those who don’t know what the Super Cup will be, it will be a fantasy draft that takes place after the season. It will be an interesting new twist where people will be able to play with people that they never have played with. But 3 things that the Super Cup will add to the VHL that we desperately need at this time, what are they?
 
1. Activity: Let’s face it, the board has been dead and I don’t mean to throw the blue team under the bus but it starts with the leaders of the site and they just haven’t been there since we finally got everything set up over here. With the Super Cup, the blue team may finally start leading once again and add some excitement into the mix and we will finally get rolling again on the boards.  If we don’t get more and more discussion going and soon, then we may start to see a turn for the worst.
 
2. Bringing Something New: Again, let’s face it, the World Cup is probably the most boring features of the VHL and nearly nobody gets excited for it. But with the Super Cup, we will have an exciting new dimension of the league that will be awesome to see.  Obviously the draft will be the most fun part of the entire thing, but you have to consider the fact that you’ll get the chance to play with a lot of members who you may not have gotten the chance to link up with just yet. With the round robin being over 20 games then a short playoffs, you will likely have plenty of time to get to know these members in the locker room.
 
3. Everybody Gets an Ego Boost: As I said before, the fantasy draft for the Super Cup will definitely be the most fun part of the entire thing. Some guys will get a huge ego boost for their squad and while others will take a hit. It will be interesting to see who will get taken in the 1st round, because longevity really has no effect on the tournament. So we will likely see players in their 5th-8th seasons being taken in the 1st round, if I had to guess I would say Ethan Osborne will be taken 1st overall in the fantasy draft
 
So, we have the Super Cup coming which will certainly be an amazing new thing that should a lot of excitement to the off-season. While we are currently in a lull in our community after the stress of switching boards, we in the Board of Governors strongly believe that this will inject some life into the VHL one again. 

S1: Award Controversy Sparks Debate
 
This entry will be a little different than how I usually write things.  Normally I recall the events as I see them and present a historical piece.  However, this will become an opinionated historical entry that will argue against the decision to name Petr Shirokov GMOTY in Season 1.  
 
With Season 1 ending, the Calgary Wranglers and the Vasteras Iron Eagles were the two squads that really separated themselves from the competition.  Calgary had an incredible 69-3 record in the regular season as they stomped opponents on a consistent basis.  Vasteras, on the other hand, would knock off the Wranglers in six games to win the VHL's first Continental Cup.  Therefore, with these two teams standing out so much, the Sam Pollock Memorial Trophy would have to be awarded to one of the two, right? Wrong.  For whatever reason, Petr Shirokov would receive the honours much to the surprise of the attending audience.  
 
Now, let me preface this by saying that I do respect the work Mr. Shirokov did as the General Manager of the Amstel Tigers.  He made some great moves and built a decent team.  However, his team finished under .500, and while they were in a playoff spot, they were a full thirty-nine points back of first place in their division.  Going further than that, they lost thirty-six more times than the Wranglers who were dominant throughout the season.  Perhaps it may have been voted that way due to Amstel not expecting to do much, but is it really that impressive to finish ahead of Stockholm, who only had fifty-one points?
 
In contrast, the work Brett Slobodzian did with the Wranglers is incredible.  The easiest argument is that they were stacked and because they lost in the finals, he doesn't deserve it.  The fact is, Amstel didn't even make the finals, and the Wranglers may go down with the best record in VHL history.  It is truly a record that may never be topped.  Why shouldn't Slobodzian receive more credit when he built a team full of superstars, creating a wrecking ball that hit anything in its path?  A 69-3 record should be recognized and it is insane that it didn't receive more credit.
 
Then there is the work of PensFan who controlled Vasteras.  While his team finished second in the campaign, they were far better than Amstel and were the only team within striking distance of Calgary.  This continued to prove true when they went on to defeat the Iron Eagles in six games to win the Continental Cup.  The Wranglers lost more times in that series than they did all season, proving just how good of a team PensFan built in Vasteras.
 
Whatever the reason for the decision, my argument is that it was the wrong one.  You reward the best in Season 1, and the Wranglers and Iron Eagles were clearly the best constructed teams.  The Wranglers had the best team all-around and showed it with an unimaginable performance, while the Iron Eagles knocked off that team to win the prize we all play for.  Meanwhile, the GM of the Tigers was able to construct a team who finished under .500 and was fourth in the league.

Insider Trading: Commissioner
 
Hey VHL this week I’m going to have something a little different to talk about. As the league gets back up and running, a little slower than we had hoped, things will be getting back to normal soon. This week I’ll be doing an Insider Trading based on admin issues for the league and forum. There are a few things on the agenda currently and they include ‘Super Cup’, forum skinning, boosting activity, recruiting and hosting costs.
 
First off it is my hope that a Super Cup type event will be officially announced sometime this week. Super Cup will involve everyone on the board in all kinds of different capacities and will shake up the off-season. Being drafted is one of the best moments of a player’s career in the VHL and it may only occur once every eight or nine seasons for some of us. Why not have an event every few seasons that includes a draft to get people interested and engaged into winning with “temporary” teammates. After all this site is all about having fun, building a player and meeting new people and friends. This event basically goes hand in hand with boosting activity as well. I know I haven’t been the most active on the new board yet and I have my excuses, but in reality I’m just not as engaged as I was before after having such a long break. No more excuses though as I want to see the VHL keep growing into this new era.
 
On the topic of the forum template it seems that the skinning group has come in a dead end in the past week or two. I know it is a lot of work to skin for a new forum and the expectations are high after seeing the amazing mock up so there is a lot of pressure for the skinner. I tried downloading and installing pre-made templates and seeing how they look, but it just isn’t the same as having a custom design. If the worst comes then I’m sure a downloaded template could suffice with a good VHL banner. If anyone is interested in skinning and has patience, can handle pressure, and is excellent at graphics they should post or message a commissioner, I’m sure the TPE pay would be A+ too.
 
Now I’ll move onto recruiting. In the past I have had zero incentive to recruit people and I’ve never actually considered trying to seriously recruit anyone. The TPE reward was too low and didn’t make any sense. A single new member has the potential to become a commissioner in only 10 seasons, I’m living proof as I worked my way up in the league starting as a petty scrub in Season 22. If a recruit is active and does point tasks weekly they are a valuable asset to our community. The recruiter needs to have incentive to recruit, but to help these players. We need to see a major increase in TPE for recruiting. Finally I will talk about the cost of running the forum and hosting. The forum itself is ~33$ Canadian per month and I unfortunately cannot front the bill. I’ve always been happy to donate 15$ a season and will continue to pay for the host. We have a nice reward for people that donate and hopefully you think the VHL is a valuable asset to invest a few dollars every now and then so that we can pay for the hosting costs. This has been a special edition of Insider Trading with your host Higgins.

165
 
This is the End
 
Well my friends, it's been a long, fun journey on the VHL Mag, but my time has come and gone. There are people who can infuse a little more piss and vinegar into this piece. I've been doing it for a long time, I don't even know how long. I think I joined the magazine back around edition 77, but I can't remember now and when that is the case, it's time to let go and try something new. I've done most of the jobs in the league now, but there is something else I'm sure I can do now. I've mentioned a few times that I've never missed a point task on this site in the 6+ years I've been here and because of that, I'm tired of writing. I'm tired of writing this piece every week.
 
It's a lot of fun to give your opinion week in and week out, but it takes a lot to come up with something new every week for you. I've done it so many times now, my schtick has grown old. Now most people simply see me as that arrogant twat that tells them what to do (if they bother to read this, which they don't). On the forums I also get combative with people because I'm an asshole that tells people how it is. There's a new generation here in the league though that haven't really been through everything. They have new ideas, which is great. I think we need more people with fresh ideas around this place.
 
I took over this opinion piece from Robbie Zimmers who did a terrible job. Often times people couldn't even read what he wrote and often times his many rants made little to no sense. There was no one editing his grammar or spelling and it just looked like shit. I'm certainly not as interesting as Robbie because I try to make sense with what I write and I try not to insult people. I do respect the precedent he set with this article though. A lot of people tuned into the magazine to see what his sloppy piece was about, what new low he had sunk to that week. It was funny, it was interesting and it was controversial. He pissed people off and didn't care.
 
A few good conversations have started from some of my articles and even a few changes have been implemented to the league based on what I've written (or ranted about). That is the job of this piece. To question what's going on in the league and how we can improve. This league has made a lot of changes, and positive ones at that, over the years, but we can't stop. We need to recruit more people. Things are too complacent around here right now. We need some fire back into the league Hopefully the person who takes over will be able to provide that. I'll be reading.
 
At this time it would be appropriate to thank all of the folks who have read my articles over the past few years and enjoyed them. I hope I was able to at least make you crack a smile. I've never taken this league seriously, I just keep going because other people get enjoyment out of it. I've never meant to hurt anyone's real life feelings with anything I've ever said. Now that this is over, I can go back to my peaceful existence of non-influence. Sometimes the bleachers are the best place to be. Good luck magazine, you'll be great just like you've always been and thanks for so many years of amazing work and the opportunity to say stupid shit.

Current State:
One of the newer VHL franchises, the Quebec City Meute are entering just their fifth VHL season as a club. The current owner and general manager of the club, Pavel Koradek, managed to win the bid for the newest member of the North American club after the league announced that it would be welcoming both a team to both North America and in Europe. Koradek wasted little time going from struggling expansion team to powerhouse in the conference. After making the playoffs just once in three years (even then, it was mostly due to a weaker NA conference), Koradek decided to make a huge splash prior to season 34.
 
Koradek managed to sign two of the biggest names in the free agent pool when he got goal scoring forward Yuri Grigorenko and Continental Cup champion Skylar Rift to sign contracts in Quebec City. When you couple these signings with the trade for promising young gun Wesley Kellinger, and the growth and development of their own prospects and players, Quebec City had finally asserted itself as ready for cup contention. They won the Conference, but were eventually ousted by the Calgary Wranglers in a thrilling seven game series.
 
Fast forward to this point of their fifth season, and they are still in fine form. They currently (as of Nov 8th) sit atop the North American and league standings. With 73 points thus far, they sit with a four point lead over Calgary for the lead in the NA, as well as a three point lead over the quiet, yet dominant Helsinki Titans. They have the most goals for so far this season, and are the second best defensive team in the league.
 
In terms of current players, Grigorenko had an excellent season last year, scoring 48 times and adding 46 assists, and has continued his dominant play, lighting the lamp 30 times this season so far, while adding 44 assists for a team leading 74 points. Rift has been equally excellent thus far with a 1.97 goals against average and a .923 save percentage. The only player that that stands out in a weird negative light, has been the face of the Meute franchise, Alex Valiq. Valiq, while being a point per game player so far, has not been playing up the standards that we are used to seeing. Valiq is usually amongst the team scoring leaders and we just haven’t seen that player so far this season. Being one of the few natural defensemen on the team, if Quebec is to have any success in this year’s playoffs, he will have to step up his game.
 
Top Three Prospects:
1) Mario Corvia – The second round pick of the Meute back in S33, Corvia hasn’t exactly been a brightspot for the Quebec City Meute. With decent offensive capability and skating, it is possible that Corvia makes the team as a depth player. Until he starts training with some regularity, Corvia will be doomed to skate in the minors for the foreseeable future.
 
2) Mikael Lindberg – Taken in the third round, not much is expected from Lindberg. Since being drafted in S33, he has yet to show up to a single practice, and manages to just walk in for game time. No one should hold their breath for Lindberg to be the next VHL superstar.
 
3) Alexander-Sven Lakatos – With their final pick in the S33 Entry Draft, Pavel Koradek selected Alex-Sven Lakatos. Lakatos has spent minimal time in the practice facility, and even when he has, he basically sat around and did nothing. Much like Lindberg, it appears that Lakatos will be a career minor leaguer.
 
Future Outlook:
With Miles Larsson set to retire at the end of the season, and only forward Yuri Grigorenko not under contract, the Meute will be able to ice an almost identical team next season to this one. The only problem that should arise in the future for the Meute is the fact that they had no picks in last year’s draft and the upcoming one, as they were all traded away for Wesley Kellinger. While they might be able to hang on for now, they will definitely want some younger players coming in to take over for older ones like Roberto Martucci and Alex Valiq.
 
In terms of expectations for S36, expect much of the same from the Meute. The core of the team will remain intact with or without Grigorenko. With players like Sergey Brovalenko, Smooth Jive, Steven Stamkos, amongst various others set to hit the free agent scene, they might not even need to bring back the veteran winger in hopes someone new can take his spot. All is looking well for Quebec City.
 
Cup Prediction: Before S40. 
 
 
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I hope this is what you were looking for. If there is anything I can do to change / make it better, please let me know!

Posted.

Nice! Should make for an interesting read.

Should I recreate and be active again?