Mutti

When I first ever laced up my skates, I couldn't even imagine where I'd end up. And now I'm here in the VHL, the best league in the entire world. It is a huge honor to be part of this amazing experience, especially with a team from my homeland of Czech Republic, the Prague Phantoms. I did have to wait for my rookie experience a bit, as I dealt with some personal demons that held me back in my development. A lot of my teammates from the VHLE and VHLM are already kicking ass in here but I needed some 'extra time in the oven'. But that doesn't matter, as now I am finally here and my first season is already over. Man, what an experience it was. We, Phantoms are a rebuilding team, which means that I didn't really expect to go on and win a Continental cup in my rookie season, no matter how epic it would be and how blackout drunk I would've ended afterwards. Nevertheless, I think we pulled of an amazing season in terms of our team progress. This is further embraced by the fact that we managed to steal some big wins and both me and Amir recorded a shutout! We got used to each other in the locker room pretty quickly and we're also building up a strong chemistry on the ice. Guys are future MVPs for sure! I also gotta give a huge shoutout to aftermentioned Amir Redzic @Slav_Sloth who showed me how things work around here and what to expect from thr game. It was an honor to be this man's backup. And, with both of us having Slavic blood flowing in our veins, you can imagine that we had some wild celebrations following our shutouts. I'd also love to thank our GMs @Tetricide @Plate for giving me a chance, even though I caused some tough times for him for sure, referring to the time when I didn't even know if I'm ever going to start in the VHL. I am so glad and forever grateful that he didn't give up on me. He gave me tons of advices and even more motivation to be the best goalie I can be. As for the analytics, I think I did alright. In 10 games that I played, having 4 wins, 2 losses and 2 OT losses is all fine in my books. Of course, those losses make a bit of a stain on my resumé but.. Having .935 save percentage and 2.37 GAA alongside these game stats makes me really happy and content with myself. But, only future will tell how well things will go. I am ready to lock in and shut the net. Let's go, Phantoms! 453 words for week ending 11/24/24

Hey guys, Today, I would like to show you my idea of a new logo for Prague Phantoms. Without further ado, here it is: I used things and aspects which are connected to the city of Prague and to the team name as well. First of all, the sape itself is based on the mask from The Phantom of Opera. I used this direction as it is rather simple, but also visually 'threatening' in a way. And why opera? Well that's because secondly: Prague has a rich cultural life with many, many concerts to go to. And also, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart himself chose Prague for the premiere of his opera 'Don Giovanni'. And thirdly, the colour are based on the ones of city's emblem: Red, yellow, blue and some white. Blue, I thought, would be an awesome underlay for the jerseys, which I'd imagine could look like this: Of course I don't aim at changing the whole graphical outlet for a VHL team, it is for fun purposes only. But if someone really liked it, feel free to have some fun with it or use it, perhaps.. *cough cough* @Tetricide Finally, I'll just share a banner with this logo which I think looks really cool, so.. Thanks for coming to my gallery!

Hey there, let's get em questions! 1. Tough one. I'd say buy, to get some good pieces to help and further develop our prospects. But I don't really know, I'll just focus on keeping the pucks out of the net. 2. I think that as we progress further, into future seasons, we'll improve this statistic. Right now, we're in the middle of the rebuild and many people, our fans included, know that we can't really push it to make a deep run. But with that in mind, we can safely assume that we're going to be a competitive team really soon. 3. Honestly and with all the respect to said teams, I don't think so. We're kinda locked in, or at least as much as our situation allows us to be. We're going to finish in the stronger part of lower standings list, I believe. 4. Yes, I do! I mainly focus on playing the bass guitar but I also play a normal and an electeic guitar. I lvoe music. More questions on this topic, please? 5. As a born Czech native, it is my duty to say Kofola. It's really good, go and find out yourself once you're in the Czecv Republic! 6. To be honest, I don't quite know his story but my great-grandpa's brother was a legionare during the Great War, on the Russian front. I know where he's buried and I'm planning to go and visit him and pay my respects. To all of you who lost a relative during any horrible conflict, I send my condolences. May world never get this insane ever again.

Welcome to the VHL!

Hey there, thanks for having me! 1. We're approaching the number of points total last season, but we're just about to hit half-way! Are things finally looking less grim as we progress and add more players to our roster? - I believe so, yeah. The games are always very close, and we are able to steal some points. I think it's becoming to click. Soon, we'll haunt the league! 2. It's Trade Deadline (TDL) week! Do you think Prague will make any trades? If so, what would make the most sense? - Oh, I am not sure, to be honest. I don't like to get myself involved in trades didcussions much. I think now the team needs to solidify and then get some strong guns for offense, for example. 3. In conjunction with TDL is theme week! What are your thoughts on the theme of VHL History? - It's really cool! I think we've witnessed many impressive and amazing pieces written by many talented members. The level of creativity here is immense, you love to see it. 4. How is your favorite sports team(s) doing this year? - My favourite sports teams are: Blackhawks, Red Wings, Flyers, Devils and Kraken. I think that answers your question very well. 5. We had 2 incredible shutouts by both goalies the other day! What are your thoughts on our main goalie Amir Redzic and backup Ondrej Vencko? - I think Amir is doing a really fucking good job!! He is amazing, with the shifts he has (around 45+ shot on goal per night). I am so glad I can back him up! 6. Winter is coming! Though we are still seeing some tropical storms and hurricanes out in the Carribean/Gulf... How has the weather been where you live for the past week? - It has been freezing around here. I dunno what's happening but.. It's so fucking cold around here. I hate winter. Anyways, thank you so much for the questions. I'll see you later! - Ondrej Vencko

"I sure wonder who is this Ben guy and what lore does he mean.." - Ben Icio del Torro "My attorney advised me not to comment on this rather thrilling story." - Ondrej Vencko "This is awesome. Beautifully structured, perfectly paced. .. Now it's my turn to develop the lore, I guess.." - Mutti

Just trust me bro! ♥ Thanks, luv!

As season 100 is getting closer and closer, I wanted to dig up some myths about the VHL lore. The ‚THEY WON’T TELL YOU THIS ON THE TV‘ types of things, if you want to call it that. So, ready your tin foil hats and let me take you on a journey. Myth 1 – VHL makes Gary Bettman very angry After it was determined last season that Coyotes will move to Utah, it sparked a big discussion whether NHL hockey could come back to Quebec as well. This, as awesome as it would be, sadly won’t happen, probably. It is said that Gary Bettman holds grudge against Quebec because they won the S35 Cup Finals, with Helsinki being a runner-up. And it was the Finnish team Gary was, allegedly, member of. And as he was angry, he decided that he will instead give a team to Salt(y) Lake City. What an unfortunate Finnish. Myth 2 – Knights of Blaník We, Czechs, have many legends. One of them is about fallen knights who sleep inside of the hill Blaník. These warriors are said to come to help us when the times are bad. Now, I am not implying that times are unbearable in Prague, but amidst the rebuild, it would be nice for some crazy horsemen to come out and wreak havoc on the ice. It would only be fitting, as we got Phantoms playing there anyway. Perhaps the knights will hear the outcry for assistance, now that Phantoms have a Czech goalie on their roster. Myth 3 – Inter-International League We all know that VHL has teams in both Northern America and Europe. But what if I told you that the VHL wanted to go even further? That’s right, one of the forgotten markets with many possible fans available. Yep. It is rumoured that the VHL wanted to explore Africa. Now I know it sounds crazy. Hockey in the desert. Who would ever try to do such nonsense... (I see you, Gary!!) But think about it: It is nice and warm there. Meaning that hockey players could have a nice, relaxing time after a successful game. And if they lost, they’d be sent into the desert for an hour or two as a punishment. Or sent into Utah as a punishment for fans. Myth 4 – VHLE ended because of alcohol abuse This myth is fairly new and the wounds may not have healed yet. However, it is possible that the reason why VHLE ended was that many players, fans, coaches and team managers fell victims to the almighty alcohol problems. This can be backed by answers from two players who allegedly spent many days in their VHLE careers drinking: Lucy Leitner@LucyXpher and Ondřej Vencko. Lucy Leitner: “Oh man, I was with Ondřej a lot so… It Czechs out.” .. Well… “Nah, that’s false. I don’t have problems with alcohol. I have problems without it.” Make of that what you will, but it certainly seems that liquor ruled them all. But this myth has its flaws. The biggest one being that Ondřej is Czech, who basically have alcohol instead of their blood system. Anyways, it would be lovely if the VHLE made a comeback, sober or not. We’ll see how things go. These myths can certainly be busted. I thought they are irrelevant and shouldn’t be taken seriously. But then I saw her face… Now I’m a believer. .. But I guess I should just keep my (smash)mouth shut before I uncover something I shouldn’t. Anyways, take care and cheers for many more awesome seasons! - Ben Icio del Toro 600 words capped for week ending 11/10/2024

I dare you, I double dare you! I believe that teammates or not, we'll always find a way to goof around. Or we'll just notify our press writers to arrange interviews again, lul.

1. - Between Prague and London? I feel like we could end up better than them. We are in the middle of a rebuild, but we keep fighting and we drag games to OTs and/or shootouts as well. Maybe we can pull out a cinderella story during the season but.. I would remain realistic about that. 2. - Lucy Leitner. From the time in the Minors, where we wercked havoc in Houston, she has been my favourite player to watch play and to spend time with. Love ya, Luc! @LucyXpher 3. - More. More. MOOOOORE!!!! We have to. I will try to lock in, so that we can move forward, raaah! 4. - I'm not really an expert when it comes to hip hop music. But I'll say Tupac. 5. - I'd say that Tarantino and Nolan movies shaped me quite a lot. They hepled me to shape my perception of human-human interaction and to cherish the power of music. That, in turn, hepled to motivate me to pick up the bass guitar and play. That is movies alongside videogames (Driv3r soundtrack fucking rocks!!). 6. - Fucked up. Alternatively, it is a theatre. Life is one huge play, where you and others rotate between being actors and audience. We all can alter our roles, give all kind of feedback, we change roles and script throughout the different acts of this huge play, until it ends, as your two eye curtains shut, forever. -------- Thanks for having me! See you soon! - Ondra

Nice PC, I love it here!

It's that time again, when Ben Icio is here with a new article! Spooktober is coming to an end, everyone is more than thrilled to show their taste in horror movies with flashy costumes and/or horror stories to tell their friends (like saying 'First round against the Bruins.' to a Maple Leafs fan). And so, I would like to bring you some spooky scary skele- ehm, news from Prague. ----- Prank that melted our hearts (and ice) Last week, I attended a friendly match between local Czech teams, with Ondřej by my side as my translator and drinking buddy. It was a thrilling match. However, by the 10th minute of the second period, several people began to notice that skating of the players felt a bit sluggish. And indeed, it turned out to be more serious than that. The maintenance staff turned off the cooling systems and ice on the rink began to melt down. Thus, what started as a hockey game ended in a game of water polo. Luckily, the goalies could use their pads to latch onto them so they wouldn't drown. Ondřej would certainly solve the issue, if it wasn't for the fact that he disappeared. Once again. He only ventured outside and straight to the first pub he saw, though. Luckily, I was able to catch up with him there. He was basically sleeping on a table. Once he woke up, we departed our ways. ----- View on my interview full of different views I also tried to interview Ondřej, as it has been too long since we've done it together. We managed to answer just a few questions, because our beloved goalie was still pretty hung over from the game night before. Here they are: What is your favourite horror movie? -"I'd say Nightmare on Elm Street. However, for a truly scary experience, I'd take a look around the Czech X pages. That's X, not XXX. .. Though we're kinda famous for that, too." How are you going to spend your time on Halloween? -"With my girlfriend. We'll probably going to watch some TV series. Right now, we are in the middle of the season 3 of the series with the most fitting name for this time. Bones." Is the Czech Republic home to wild Halloween parties? -"It's 50/50, I'd say. Especially younger generations, myself included, use/-ed to attend Halloween parties a lot. However, nowadays, I am more inclined towards the original Czech 'holiday' of this part of year, and that's All hallow's eve, sort of. We go to cemeteries, light up candles for the ones that left us and we remember and honour them. That's what I love about us, Czechs. We drink basically everywhere and all the time. But when it comes to the topic of death, we get melancholic and serious. .. That is true except for funerals because we get drunk there too, anyway. Cheers." ----- Now, to end the article, I'd like to get a bit more serious. As Ondřej said in the last answer, there is a holiday of sorts around the corner, specifically on November 2, where Czechs remeber the ones they lost. We, the members of hockey community, sadly witnessed huge losses to hockey around the world, with the biggest one arguably being the loss of Gaudreau brothers. Let's take a moment to remember their and others' legacy together. They will all be missed, but not forgotten. They must not be. To all of you still reading this, thank you for your attention. Love, cherish and hug your close ones. Take care. - Ben Icio del Torro 600 words capped for week ending 11/03/2024

Hey there, as I did with Houston several seasons ago, I tried to create a goal horn for my current team, Prague Phantoms and combine it with a, in my opinion, fitting goal song. I hope y'all like it, especially the people within the Phantoms organisation! I'd like to claim this as capped for week ending 11/3/2024

Ale nene, to zase tak těžké nebylo. Díky moc!