LucyXpher

Wait, where did I write S93? I can’t find it, am I going crazy?

1. FINALS HYPE! I'm so excited for this team! It's hard to pick one thing that's been clicking the most for us so far in these playoffs... I think our offense has been great, but so has our team defense and goaltending. I think that last win against Davos really proved all of that-- 6-0! I think our biggest strength is our completeness as a team, we're strong up front with Axle @Steve, Kimi @mattyIceman, and Shubham @Will3, and we've got great defense led by future HoFer Skor McFleury @Alex. On top of that, Red Panda @Lemorse7 has been perfect when we've needed a big game! All we need to do is keep it going! 2. I mean, it certainly motivated me. Losing that series was tough, but we lost to a great team and our GM made a few tweaks for this season while everybody has stayed committed to training. I definitely think we're a better team this season and our place is in the finals is well deserved, I think! 3. Again, it's so hard to choose because everyone has been so good and there's not much separating our top players right now. But I do want to shout out Annie Oaks @Noodle Enjoyer with 10 points and a +11 so far (highest on the team), plus Annie's only shooting at 4.65% which means there could be more offense to come! 4. Toronto has a great offense, but I think our defense is better overall and we have a huge goaltending advantage on paper. So I think we really just need to get our offense going early and rely on our strengths at D and goaltending to keep us in tight games. 5. I'm happy for the expansion of the VHLM, though the VHLE was a cool league for what it was. I think the change was necessary with where the overall numbers are at right now and it will really help make the VHLM more exciting and relevant. It also gives VHLM teams more time with players which is something I'm personally super happy about since it was tough seeing players leave after only 1-2 seasons at most. 6. I will probably follow it a bit and it will be fun to see some best-on-best, but it is a bit disappointing that it's only 4 teams. Who am I kidding-- if Jack Hughes is playing for USA, then I guess I'll be watching. You can't really call yourselves the best in the world when some of the top hockey players and countries aren't represented, but it is a good start for rebuilding international play.

S95 World Junior Championship General Manager Application Hello everyone! This season, Team Europe will be hosting the World Junior Championship in Helsinki, Finland! For this tournament, we'll be looking for 5 people to GM the following teams: Canada USA Asia Europe World This job does not require any previous GM or AGM experience and it's a great way to get started with VHL management and learn the ropes! What are the GM responsibilities: Select a roster to represent your nation Learn how to create lines and strategies in STHS Create a fun and active atmosphere around your team (very important) Spread some WJC HYPE! What are the perks of being a WJC GM? Gain experience and practice as a GM so you can apply for other VHL jobs in the future Earn 2 capped TPE per week as job pay for the duration of the tournament Lead your nation to victory! If this is your first GM experience, don't worry! We'll have someone help you through the whole process-- all we ask is that you stay committed! The tournament will end before the start of the next VHL season so it's not a long term commitment. Interviews will start right away and hirings will be made within a couple of days, so if you're interested, please reply to this thread below! (Also, make sure you can download the STHS client which you can get here: https://sths.simont.info/ Good luck to all applicants!

@Oddpurplefly that's you!

RIIIGAAA! ...as long as Simon cooperates

2nd claim - 09/29/2024

HE'S BACK!

The Halifax 21st fell in the first round to the Philadelphia Reapers in a five game series. The 21st put up a good fight in the first three games of the series which were all decided by only one goal, and even picked up a 5-4 victory in game three. It would be their only win of the series, however, as the Reapers would prove to be too much for the boat gang in games four and five, outscoring the 21st in those games by a combined score of 10-2. Being eliminated from the playoffs again and falling short of the ultimate goal is never a good feeling, though in this season of adversity and change, I think it's fair to say that this Halifax team has a lot to be proud of. After two seasons of contention at the top of the league, Season 95 was a step back for the 21st as the team needed to re-tool and recoup some assets to prepare for next season. Accomplishing this goal while also making the playoffs is a success in itself, though it was the life in the team behind the scenes that really signified some cause for hope. At the center of all this was waiver signing Ricky LaFleur @DarkSpyro. After joining the team late in the regular season, LaFleur only played four regular season games for the 21st and managed a record of 2-2-0 with a respectable .911 SV% and a 2.26 GAA-- respectable numbers all things considered. And while he remained the the backup to Vladimir Trunov in their five playoff games, LaFleur remained upbeat about the team and was a source of positivity even in defeat. Despite not starting games in the playoffs, he remained one of the most active voices in the locker room and was a fantastic teammate. While the on-ice results are what people remember at the end of the day, it's the environment and culture around the team that makes it all worthwhile-- win or lose. Though the 21st didn't accomplish the ultimate goal of a Founder's Cup this season, the team took steps forward in other areas to prepare for next season. And while it isn't guaranteed that LaFleur will return to the 21st in S96, his contributions in his short stint with the team will certainly have impacted his teammates who are locked in with Halifax going forward. With two selections in the first round in the upcoming draft, there is a chance Halifax could bring LaFleur back once again, but with a chaotic offseason on the horizon and players potentially returning to the team from the VHLE, the 21st could be in a very different position come draft day in a few weeks time. When asked about LaFleur and the direction of the team going forward, Halifax GM Lexie Leitner had this to say, "He [LaFleur] very quickly became the heart and soul of our team, whether he was between the pipes or on the bench. He was the ideal teammate and we would absolutely love to have him back if the opportunity presents itself in the draft. Ricky LaFleur represents everything we are looking for in players going forward. We want players who are committed not only to their on-ice performance, but also to their teammates and the community around the team. Sure, it's a results driven enterprise, but it's our view that good people make great teams and by building up the foundation of an excellent locker room, we believe the team on the ice will follow naturally. Though we were knocked out of the playoffs again this season, Ricky was everything we could ask for from a player. No matter what happens, we wish him the best going forward into this offseason!" Congratulations to Ricky LaFleur on being named the team's SuperSailor this week! Notes: Steven Nichols @SlyDigi and Gottfried Schloss @acp were the team's top scorers in the playoffs with 6 points apiece. They both were among the few Halifax players with a +/- of 0 or above. While Schloss was signed as a waiver player and will be entered into the VHLM draft, Nichols-- the team's captain-- will return to Halifax next season looking to build on an exceptional rookie season that saw him record just under a point-per-game throughout the regular season and playoffs. Joining Nichols as returnees will be forwards Kokko Miskinen @MikkoKoskinensMistress and Michael Schmicael @K4L3B, as well as defender Victory Hockey League @TheHockey_pro. The team will have plenty of work to do to round out the roster this offseason, but with high-end selections in both of the next two drafts, the future is looking bright in Halifax! ༻❁༺

You're welcome to crash our press conference anytime! I totally agree about Quebec (either QC or Montreal). It seems kinda criminal that there isn't a franchise for either of those cities in the VHL/M!

I definitely agree with doing it before the dispersal draft as proposed for the exact reasons you gave. The higher TPA players would be like those players returning that are already on the roster and you’d draft new players around that.

What an awesome final 3 on the ballot! All well deserving candidates

1. I'm too late for this question... it's over... we lost... Oh well, time to begin the old offseason ritual. 2. Um, well, you know, gotta calm the nerves, stay cool, try not to get too wound up for the high pressure environment. A little bit of liquid courage goes a long way! 3. You're going to make me choose! Ugh, I hate picking favorites... Okay, I'm going to go with Ricky LaFleur. Despite being our 2nd goalie down the stretch, he was fantastic in the locker room and brought a lot of great vibes to the team. It's hard not to love a player like that 4. I'm super excited about the decision to abolish the E-- not because I hated the E so much, but because it means the M gets a boost in player numbers and depth. I think this change will make a big difference in the VHLM for competition and team building, and also means more players in the locker room which is always good for vibes. 5. I don't really have any opinions on the defunct teams since none of them really stand out to me as needing to be brought back, but I do think the VHL could use some Quebec representation, maybe a Montreal team? What would we call them... Montreal Machine? I totally didn't just google Montreal sports team name ideas... 6. 100%, yes! I would love to see an official All Star game where the league's top players get to play against each other in a one-off fun game, maybe for a few TPE to the winner? Not everybody can win awards so having something like an official all star accolade would be kinda cool as well. Cheers to another offseason!

I'm gonna assume you're being facetious, but it's funny because the Davos GM @Alex was the one who wrote the article

I don’t get it

I don't disagree with your above examples, but I'm not arguing against those cases. Here's what I'm talking about in your terms: Team Champion acquires - All-Star player (200 TPE). Duration of time spent with the team - 1 playoff run. Team Rebuild acquires - 1st Round Pick (400 TPE player in the future). Duration of time spent with the team - 2-3 seasons. It also may not be a 1st, but a 2nd that translates into a 3-4 season player. I think it's also true that a 400 TPE player is worth more than a 200 TPE player, which is why the same trade might hold up with new and old rules. The time it takes to develop a 200 TPE player vs a 400 TPE player are also very different, which is another reason why a 400 TPE player would be worth more IMO, even if they are both "capped". Regardless, there are so many trades that don't fit this neat little box that wouldn't be addressed by dispersal vs inheritance. I wrote up a more complete proposal HERE if you want to see what I'd propose as a solution because it's not pure inheritance anyway. I just prefer inheritance as a starting point. I don't like the idea of a dispersal draft in this case. Also, the notion that Halifax stands to inherit a bunch of rental players is untrue. There's only one active player that we might potentially inherit that fits that description. I'd be interested to know how many other teams might get? If we allow teams to keep currently rostered players at or over 200 TPE, then there are definitely a bunch of teams with players matching this description. Which I'm okay with.

So the VHLE is officially going the way of the dodo... With news of this decision coming down this past week, there's so much still to be determined about how things will change around the VHL and particularly the VHLM. In some ways it's a bit sad to say goodbye to those six great European teams. I personally enjoyed my one season in the VHLE playing for Vasteras and I found the jump up from the M was something new and exciting to build into my player's lore. I had a lot of fun writing my "Hello Europe" career point task and I'd love to see another career point task added as a replacement in the future. I know there are mixed feelings about career point tasks around the forum, but I personally love them. It was an opportunity in each of my first three seasons to shamelessly write about my player and build up a backstory, obviously with the reward of a little bit of TPE being a sweet incentive. As a way of breaking up that early career grind, I thought the E was a great league for keeping things fresh and providing a stepping stone to launch into the VHL. It wasn't without it's problems though, and on the whole, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't happy it's being abolished. Over the past couple seasons following the influx of players in S92, the VHLM has been a bit starved for players with some teams languishing at the bottom of the league with empty rosters, doomed to get stomped on the daily by teams who managed to collect more players either through the draft or through waivers. With top prospects flying through the league in 1 season or less and a max expectancy of 2-3 seasons for most other players, the M was a league where teams struggled to stay competitive over the course of a long window. Some teams found a way to stay in the mid table season to season via waivers and constant retooling, but to really compete, a boom-bust mentality seemed to be the way forward. Tank for a season or two, build up picks and prospects with term, compete for a season or two, sell, rinse and repeat. I don't know, maybe I'm misrepresenting things a bit because I've only been a GM in that league for three seasons, but it seems that the league rules sort of lent to that kind of build-rebuild mentality by GMs with inevitable player turnover. With the VHLM's league cap being raised to 400 TPE and a swath of players becoming available to return to the M, the VHLM player pool will become much healthier for competition and should help bring more parity to the league in the longer term. I also look forward to the prospect of having players remain with the team for a longer duration, even if that is only extended by a season or two. One of my greatest laments about the M in the past was how sad it was every season to say goodbye to great people and players who had become part of our Halifax community. 1-2 seasons is such a short time and increasing that to even 2-3 seasons makes a world of difference for building team culture and having that culture continue on season-to-season, even as players move up eventually. Team building in the VHLM becomes less volatile with this change, I think, and it seems there will be more room for a diversity of trades beyond the usual buy-sell transactions that happen around the deadline every season. Maybe now we'll see more "hockey trades" where it's a little more ambiguous what each GM's direction is. Beyond the movement of players, I think these changes have the potential to make building for a wider competitive window much more viable. With the increase to VHLM player careers and the availability of more players, GM's will have more ways to build competitive teams that can stay competitive for a longer period fo time. Overall, I think this is a very exciting change for VHLM teams and GMs and should bring some more stability and competition to the community's league of entry. Heading into this important offseason, there are still many details about the transition that will need to be ironed out, first among them is the problem of how to disperse eligible E players below 400 TPE onto VHLM teams. Let me preface the following thoughts by saying I have full faith our VHLM commissioners, @Spartan and @Gustav , will find a solution that is fair for teams and players, but will also promote the health and competition of the league. It's certainly a complicated problem and, while I have ideas, I don't envy the task of making a final decision that will try to please everyone. I suspect that not everyone will be 100% happy, but with teams across the VHLM standing to lose and gain through this process there will likely have to be some compromises for the good of the league going forward. At the end of the day, however this is handled, I'm still going to be excited for the VHLM moving forward! The way I see it, there seems to be three potential ways to address the problem of player dispersal from the E to the M: Inheritance (players return to the their last M team, or the team that has their rights), Dispersal Draft (players are distributed evenly among VHLM teams), and Free Agency (players sign with teams that offer them contracts-- potentially controlled by a limit on the number of players a team can sign). A solution could also combine two or all three of these things for the most fairness. I'm not going to try and hide the fact that implementing an inheritance system would benefit Halifax to some degree. As it stands, regardless of how players are categorized (i.e. drafted players, or acquired through trade) Halifax would receive more inheritance from the VHLE than most other teams. Of course I want that, who wouldn't? Having spent the past few seasons with some of these players, they are people I have become familiar with and could even call friends. That said, I have tried to keep that bias separate from my thoughts on this problem since having a healthy, fun, and competitive league is important to me as well. Without that, the potential of winning honestly doesn't mean as much anyway. For those who care, here's what I would propose: VHLE players should be returned initially to the last team they played for via inheritance at the end of the S95 playoffs. Before the S96 VHLM Dispersal Draft, teams must drop all inherited players with expired rights. In the time between the end of the playoffs and the VHLM draft, GMs will have had the opportunity to reconnect with all former players to explore the possibility of re-signing with the team. Players who's rights have expired would then become free agents at the conclusion of the VHLM draft and available for any team to sign. To avoid teams collecting too many players, a temporary roster cap (e.g. 8F-5D-2G or something similar) could be implemented prior to free agency, allowing for teams that need players to sign more as needed. Note: Teams with players that are currently at the 200 TPE VHLM cap can keep those players at the end of the season instead of dropping them. I can think of some concerns people might have with this solution, and I'm sure there may be more, but I'll do my best to answer some of them here briefly. 1. Why should teams inherit players initially based on the last team played for and not only by active rights? Firstly, regular VHLM players with expired rights often have the chance to discuss re-signing with their current team before reaching free agency. Returning all players to their most recent team allows first negotiation rights to the team that player was last on since those rights were acquired via draft or trade. Secondly, by allowing teams to reconnect with former players between the end of playoffs and the beginning of the draft, there is a possibility for greater continuity from past seasons in the league and for players to have some agency in where they continue their career. Thirdly, returning players to their last team preserves continuity and value in prior trades. With the length of VHLM careers extending, the value of picks made in trades over the past couple of seasons has increased-- or at the very least, changed. A high 1st round pick, for example, used to represent a high-earning capped player for 1 season. With these new changes, that pick is probably a player between 200-400 for two full seasons in the VHLM. Any pick traded in the past couple of seasons has likely gained value, provided the pick is unused or the player chosen is still VHLM eligible. My thinking is that through full inheritance, players are reunited with their last VHLM team to balance the increased value of picks used to acquire them-- keeping in mind that teams would have already missed out on at least one season with those returning VHLE players as they played the last season or two in the E. I think the simplest solution here is the best one since it doesn't attempt to artificially balance any trades that already occured. Aside from clear cut buyer/seller trades, there are so many other trades with asset values impacted by the VHLE/M merging that won't include inheritance players. I think it's best just to let them all stand as they are. Fourthly, because I propose teams keep players that are currently at the 200 TPE cap who would normally be lost to the VHLE (regardless of how they were acquired), the same reasoning should be applied to players being returned from the VHLE. For anyone concerned that Halifax would somehow be receiving a bunch of players back that were considered deadline "rentals", there is really only one player with the potential to return via inheritance that would fit this category. Funny enough, that player-- completely unsolicited-- actually reached out to me this week expressing interest in returning to Halifax after hearing the news about the VHLE ending. Fifthly, (lol this is becoming un-brief), the proposed solution keeps to the current rules of the VHLM regarding player rights and free agency without adding in anything artificially. 2. Inheritance unfairly benefits some teams more than others. It's true that some teams receive more players than others initially, but with the exception of Philadelphia who wouldn't receive any players, and San Diego who would only receive 1 player, every other team would receive 3 players except for Vegas (4), Ottawa (5), and Halifax (6). Of all those players returning to the VHLM, most will have had their rights expire and will need to be re-signed as free agents, therefore putting the onus on GMs to communicate with potential returnees and entice them to re-sign. In the case of Philadelphia, they would not receive players because their one former player currently in the VHLE player has since gone inactive. After winning the Founder's Cup in S92, the team dropped down the standings over the following two seasons, rebuilding their stockpile of draft picks in order to be competitive in S95. Philadelphia finished 2nd overall in S95 and currently holds 9 rostered players that should be eligible to continue with the team in S96 (4 F, 4 D, and 1 G). Some of those players are currently at the current 200 TPE cap. While inheritance might seem unfair to Philadelphia at face value, they'd still have the opportunity to sign free agents with lapsed rights, and select quality players in the S96 draft as they still have a 1st round pick. It seems likely that they won't struggle to assemble a roster of at least 6F-4D-1G that will be moderately competitive in S96 and that they can continue to build for future seasons. In the case of San Diego, of their 5 former players at the VHLE level, 5 are considered inactive, and only 1 of those is within the rights eligibility window of 3 seasons. The only other player they might add via inheritance is on the fringe of activity. San Diego currently has 2 forwards and a capped goalie that could return to the team next season. Additionally, they hold two 1sts and a 2nd round pick in S96 and a 1st and two 2nds in S97. While the road back to contention for San Diego is likely still a couple of seasons away, they certainly have the assets to begin that process. Another part of this equation is the fact that San Diego owned the 1st overall pick in each of the last two VHLM drafts. One of those picks is their current goaltender while the other will already have moved on to the VHL as of S96. As I see it, they had a very clear opportunity to build these past couple of seasons with such high selections, even selecting 1st and 4th overall in S94. While the VHLE being abolished might delay their rebuild by a another season or two, San Diego was already poised to be building over the next few seasons via the draft. I will say, they are one team that I have some concern for reaching the 6-4-1 threshold in S96. With only 2F and 1G returning, they will need to add 4F-4D (8 players) in order to reach this threshold. With their current picks, they will most likely add 4 players, maybe 5. With a couple of VHLE free agent signings, they could be up to 6-7. Perhaps this is where we could see a hard cap of 9-6-2 implemented to prevent teams from adding too many extra players while teams like San Diego need more. I could go through every VHLM team, but I'm not going to. To some degree, I think inheritance fairly reflects continuity of the VHLM-- trades, asset management, scouting, etc...-- and the continued trajectory that teams were on over the past few seasons. I think inheritance offers continuity through this transition while I think a dispersal draft or complete free agency artificially tampers with the continuity of the league. 3. Why not have a dispersal draft or free agency instead of inheriting players? Initially, I was in favor of a dispersal draft being the best solution, though my thoughts have changed as I've spent more time thinking about it. As stated above, I think it messes with the league's continuity, where teams were at in terms of building, the value of past assets, trades, player management, development, drafting, etc... I don't necessarily think a dispersal draft makes the league any more balanced for teams like San Diego who may be short a player or two to reach the 6-4-1 threshold. With a dispersal draft, they'd be guaranteed 3 players from the VHLE-- which they might get anyway with the inheritance model I propose, and still might be short a player or two. Full free agency without a negotiation period creates a high-stress situation for GM's and forces them to compete with one another to sign players in a narrow window of time. It would probably favor teams trying to re-unite with former players anyway, but I still see the inheritance + free agency model as being a better way forward to facilitate a period of communication and some player agency. I could go on, and maybe I will if people want to continue the conversation. I'm sure there are more questions and potential issues. As I said earlier on, I'm confident that our VHLM commissioners will decide on a good solution, and if these thoughts can help make that easier, then great! If not, then at least I got it off my chest and some media spot TPE! At the end of the day, it's an exciting time to be a GM in the VHLM and I can't wait to see what the league looks like in S96 and beyond. ༻❁༺ LucyXpher 2600+ words 1st claim - 09/16/2024

As the GM of Halifax I strongly disagree. No but seriously, I think you’re dismissing the value of those picks that were traded away which have also gained value (as I explained above). The fact is, our draft picks that were traded away are still out there and can’t be accounted for in a dispersal draft. Think of it this way: for example, the intention at the time was to swap a 1st for a 200TPE rental player to push for a Cup. The value we received in the trade doesn’t change with dispersal, but the value we sent out in that 1st has changed because players will play more seasons in the M. So instead of swapping a 1st under the old system for an end of season rental player, we’ve given up a 1st under the new rules for that rental under the old system. That’s not fair value and benefits the team with the draft pick now.

But hasn’t the value of the assets gone up now as well? Like a 1st round pick used to get you a recreate that plays 1 season before moving on, for example. With the E being dissolved you now might get a 2-3 season player. So teams that sold should still have assets with increased value to make them better in future seasons while teams that inherit won’t retain those players as long, presumably. You could argue that doing a blanket dispersal draft unfairly benefits teams that sold players for picks since they’ll get the same number of players back as teams that spent assets in previous seasons and they’ll retain the assets they traded for with increased value now. Edit: I know I’m kinda contradicting part of my previous post, but the more I think about it the less I’m convinced inheritance really favors the teams that acquired players for playoff runs. Add to that the factor of player/team familiarity I think I’m in favor of full inheritance— no dispersal draft needed!

I mean, it’s easier said than done drafting the players I want lol, that’s every draft. I might get one or two, but beyond that, who knows. I just think having some continuity with drafted players who were never traded would be nice for both team and player, while players who were traded away or acquired by trade could all be redispersed because that seemed to be your main point of contention with player inheritance— past trade values not holding up once the E is dissolved. That and player inheritance causing imbalance, which I don’t think would be an issue if we distinguish between one-team players and traded players. Im not sure if this came across, but there are players currently in the VHLM that are past the 200 TPE threshold that were traded this past season for picks under the assumption that they would be going up to the E in S96. That’s why I suggested all players over 200TPE in the M and E be redistributed if any redistribution is happening— sorry if that wasn’t clear.

I understand your point about the picks traded out to bring new players in, but I would argue that players I just traded this season for picks should have been valued more knowing now that they’ll be in the M for a couple more seasons. See Gunnarsson and Wazinski. By your pick inflation logic, which I think makes sense, shouldn’t those players be redispersed since the trade value didn’t reflect this league change? So maybe a dispersal draft should apply to all 200+TPE players in both the VHLM and VHLE? Another thought is if there was a distinction between players drafted by a VHLM team that stayed with the same team their whole M career and players who were traded? I personally feel strongly about the players we selected in Halifax and would love to bring those people back. I also think that continuity would be good for keeping them engaged since there’s already familiarity rather than subjecting them to another team change. It also rewards teams who drafted well and committed to developing players all the way through the M whether that was 1-3 seasons. Proposal: Players at or over 200 TPE who were traded at any point during their VHLM career are re-entered into a dispersal draft while players who were drafted and stayed with the same team were returned to that team.

After an up and down season that saw the Halifax 21st finish one game below .500, the team finished the season strong going 6-3 in the last 9 games. In that stretch, the team picked up two huge wins against the VHLM's top two teams-- the Las Vegas Aces and the Philadelphia Reapers. The 21st took down the Aces in a tightly contested 3-2 affair, despite being outshot 27-22. Team captain Steven Nichols @SlyDigi scored the game winner in the 3rd and the team's defense helped lock it down the rest of the way. Against the Reapers, Halifax managed to eke out a 2-1 victory, though they were outshot 28-13! Once again, Steven Nichols came in clutch with the game winner, but across both games the other major consistency was the play of goaltender Vladimir Trunov @qripll. With a .926 SV% against the Aces and an even more impressive .964 against the Reapers, Trunov willed the 21st to victory against the league's top squads when the games mattered most down the stretch. It's a well known trope in hockey that games are often won and lost on the back of the goaltender. If you want to go far, it will be hard to do so without an elite backstop between the pipes. Trunov is that goaltender. That said, however, a goaltender is enabled by the players in front of them, and as the team has improved with recent waiver signings, so have Trunov's performances. Joining the team as a waiver pickup just before the trade deadline, Trunov had a difficult start to his tenure in the Halifax goal as the trade-depleted squad struggled to defend in front of him. The loss of elite defender Mathias Gunnarsson @ThatCanadian was especially felt as the team only had one regular defender left to support their goaltender. With the waiver signings of Hugh Neutron @Corco, Bubbles LaFleur @AJW, and most recently Gottfried Schloss @acp, the team now has a D corps that is deeper than it was prior to the the TDL. Through the tough games, Trunov remained a positive contributor to the team in the sims and in the locker room. His 6-10-0 record doesn't adequately reflect his performance on the ice as he's recorded 2 shutouts in those 16 games and the league's 3rd best save percentage at .917. As the team has improved, so has Trunov's record, leading the rejuvenated 21st to a playoff berth and a first round matchup against the Reapers. Though the 21st were arguably outplayed against Philadelpia in that recent victory, the team will be happy to know they can lean on their goaltender and find a way to win. In the season series, the 21st hold a 6-7 record against the Reapers-- once again, a cause to hope for a 1st round series victory. The 21st can hang with the best of them, even if they have to scratch and claw to stay in those games. Make no mistake, Halifax is an underdog in that series as Philadelphia boasts a very well-built team this season with strength at every position, but if players like Trunov can continue to put in exceptional performances, there's no reason Halifax can't find a way through to the 2nd round. For his exceptional play in the last quarter of the season as well as his consistent positivity around the team, congratulations to Vladimir Trunov on being named the team's SuperSailor for the last week of S95. Notes: An honorable mention once again to Steven Nichols who scored the game winners in both of those important games and who finished his VHLM rookie season with an impressive 69 points in 72 games! I also need to shout out the team's other goaltender Ricky LaFleur @DarkSpyro who has been absolutely incredible for the team over the past week, especially in the locker room with the amount of fun and positivity he has brought. It's been a breath of fresh air to have players around who bring those vibes to the locker room and I have no doubt he'll go on to have another incredible career as a goalie in the VHLM and VHL. With the end of the VHLE immanent for S96, I'm also super excited to be able to keep drafted players around for those extra 1-2 seasons and help prepare them for the jump to the VHL. I think this change will be great for VHLM rosters and for building community around the league as it was always difficult watching players graduate up after 1-2 seasons at most. ༻❁༺

So is the proposal to remove welfare clicking altogether in favor of AI? Would the AI content have to be specifically VHL related or just hockey related? And how would it be evaluated— is it a thing where as long as you post something you can claim welfare, or does the content need to meet some criteria to qualify? IMO not all AI content is equal and someone could use AI to produce something worthwhile, but it could also be used very lazily where it might become nothing more than forum spam, especially for those like myself who like scrolling through the “browse new content” tab. I don’t know how much patience I’d have for sorting through super generic AI articles about sim hockey that don’t connect to the sim results or process in any meaningful way. There’s a way this could work I think, but I’d be hesitant to support completely replacing welfare clicking with AI posting without certain guidelines that make the content somewhat meaningful.

700+ points for Skor is incredible! What a legendary career— aspirational, honestly Congratulations!

I learned everything I know from @samx and @AJW... well maybe not everything, but the important things!

Okay fine, you can smoke at “pretzeller concerts” if you want, I’ll make sure no one gives you a hard time. We wouldn’t want you getting too stressed out! Oh, and if there’s something other than water in your water bottle, no one is gonna know, just keep it on the down low