CaptainSB

The last season for Stockholm was a sad and bitter sweet ending. Samsayz I-Smell played his last game in the VHL in the last season for the Stockholm Vikings. The team started off great but as the season went on both the player and the team kept struggling and it was a big deal they were still able to make the playoffs. The team when they made it were able to create some noise and came very close to upsetting the top team only to fall short. I-Smell did his best playing great offensively but as a defensemen looking back he most likely hindered his team as it caused him to hold on to the puck more rather than his more qualified wings and center. The team had great leadership from Doomsday so it was sad the team couldn't do better as a whole in their last season in the VHLE. I-Smell had a fun minor season with a lot of promise and production and thanks the league for a great time.

I thought I might as well leave a last press conference for soon to be defunct Stockholm 1. What was your favorite moment in this last season and why? 2. Can you share a good moment about our lovely GM Doomsday? 3. What was the most disappointing moment this season and why? 4. Who was the team MVP and why? 5. Who was the best hidden team contributor and why? 6. How will we look back and remember this last season fot the E?

The end of the E has finally became a reality. For one it is sad that a team I just joined will be gone next season as I love the GM. But on the other side, I do love the decision and that this will allow players to be with the initial M team a season or more longer. As someone new to the league building connections and not having too much constant change is really appreciated. Having the same locker room I feel will definitely help engagement and retaining of newer players. The other positive is I have one less draft scouting process I need to go through as my second season I had 4 drafts - E, L and two offseason tourney drafts which was really confusing. This also means the now the quality and effort of M GMs will be much more important to our league and the future and give them better resources to plan a longer than 1 season future. Hope this allows teams to not just tank a season and find ways to be more competitive over multiple ups and downs of the season.

LA Stars Press Conference Week Ending September 15, 2024 1. LA finished with the fourth worst record this season which means a high draft pick in this class. Playing GM and looking back was the trade for last draft worth this coming draft's pick knowing what we know today? Or would you have rather just spread it out and took a rookie this season? 2. How did your player perform compared to your pre-season expectations? 3. Who were the delightful surprises this season performance wise and why? 4. Who struggled this season compared to expectation and why? 5. Is there any changes you would like to see next season? 6. What do you think is a realistic expectation record or standing wise next sesaon?

1. Rome would be a good landing spot needing a C to lead them to a better showing next season! 2. Rome because they need all the talent in the world! 3. Cologne and Bratislava. It would not be fair after this type of season. 4. Top 2 in the VHLE and no lower than 3. 5. 50% chance he goes drafted first but can definitely go 1st. 6. Why not Rome so you go 1 OA and they get an awesome user to make up for a bad season this year.

What is key for defenders? Just looking at the various defenders in the E there seems to be different approaches with mixed success. Ahsoka Tano style: High Skating and Puck Handling Tano is a very popular returning user and has not only had a great M career but is also having a better E start to her career. Their approach is to make sure SK and ST is high and aligned and this has paid off greatly as it has enabled them to score and assist at a high rate. Boris Bone-Breaker: High Checking and Defense This is a build to punish the opposition and work on delivering strong hits to throw off the opposing scorer. They have constantly led the league in hits and has done well in shots blocked. Ray Stanton: High Pass and Balanced Defense This is a bit more balanced approach. Focused on passing on offense and a nice balance of checking and defense for the defensive ratings. This has allowed Stanton to lead the league in shots blocked as they are more focused on passing and going back to defense. It'll be fun to see which of these styles will become more popular in the league.

Media Review This is a really great spotlight article show casing three amazing rookies across the various leagues. VHL is Andrew Skilton who has been lighting up the league as of late. VHLE Dorji Khan is a sleeper that has been overperforming many GM's expectations and looks to have a bright future in the VHL. And lastly a late sleeper again in Steven Nichols. You did an amazing job highlighting these under appreciated player and hope you can keep shedding the light on these type of users and players. You are an amazing GM and am always impressed at how well your teams have done!

LA Stars Press Conference Week Ending September 1, 2024 1. The team has taken over 4 teams and is ending the season on a good note. What do you think is contributing to better play? 2. Is there a key player that has improved the most the last two weeks? 3. What does LA need to do better next season so the team can start off the season over .500? 4. Who has been the first half season MVP on the team so far and why? 5. What team do you think LA will be similar to this season? Will they be more like Seattle/Vancouver? Or make smaller improvements like Calgary/New York? Why do you think so? 6. Who do you think has been the best team in the VHL this season and why?

Stockholm Vikings are faltering after a very strong start. The team isn't sure what the issue is as the team has been working hard on improving during the season and has some top talents at the top. The team has 3 strong wings and a strong defensemen. The other defensemen and goalie still have some work to do and maybe that is where the development hasn't caught up in time. The team has been having a hard time stopping their opponents and the Vikings have been coming short causing them to lose. The team is now 25 wins and 20 losses and even have a positive +17 goals but they just have struggled a ton against the top teams. The recent 3 game win streak has helped but unless the team starts to clean up their sloppy defense and attack more they may not go far in the playoffs and disappoint fans another season.

LA Stars Press Conference Week Ending August 25, 2024 1. LA is 10-10 so far this season. What do you think the rest of the season will play out? Will they keep hovering aroud .500? Go Higher? Go Lower? And why? 2. LA has 4 amazing scorers so far this season from the S94 class. Has any of the four stood out the most to you? If so what about their performance stood out? 3. Erik Thorvaldsson is battling the two vets Mason Rice and Braeden Panarella for the most shots blocked this season in LA. Who do you think will end up with the most blocked shots by the end of the season and why? 4. 7 teams already have 13 wins - Toronto, Chicago, Seattle, Vancouver, Riga, Moscow and Malmo. Which two has the best chance to meet in the finals and why? 5. First place Riga Reign is off to a blazing start at 16-5. With a veteran group has there been any player whose performance had stood out the most? Who and what stood out? 6. DC Dragons and the Prague Phantoms ares struggling so far with both having won only 3 games. Which of the two has a brighter future and why?

The three teams tied for 3rd place in your rankings are off to strong starts! It’ll be interesting on how the season unfolds and if Oslo and Cologne storm back to the top. Thanks for the article!

@MikeyKnuckelz - Yay! Confirm please so I get free TPE!

What's up with the VHLE? This is an early week 1 view from a noobie so please bear with me as it is with limited knowledge. First of all, the VHLE has a tier system for sure this season. You have the elite team in Bratislava Watchmen who are 7-1 losing only to Vasteras. Their goal differential is at an amazing +15. You can definitely see them to be the season favorites. Then you have the next tier of challengers in the Vasteras Iron Eagles and the Stockholm Vikings. But even within this tier Vasteras seem like the one team that can really challenge consistently for the title and give Bratislava a scare. Stockholm looks to be more of a solid good team as the goal differential differs with Vasteras playing really similarly to Bratislava. Then the bottom tier is the three teams that look like first round exits in Cologne, Oslo and Rome. Rome in particular could have its own tier with their crazy -25 goal differential, but at the moment the three are grouped together. If you look at Bratislave, their roster is stacked. They have 8 wings, 3 defensemen and 1 goalie of which 6 players have reached over 300 tpe. Their defense is still developing but their wing play is second to none. Their whole team is balanced sharing the puck and they are the odds on favorite to win the VHLE this season. Vasteras Iron Eagles has 7 wings, 4 defensemen and 2 goalies. They have 7 players at 300+ with both goalies reaching that mark. Their strength is really on their 3 man combo of Alphonse Desjardins, Chuck E Cheese and Einar Mathiesen along with their nasty two goalies. Desjardins, Yolishev and Swift have been the key point leaders on the team. Stockholm Vikings consist of 6 wings, 4 defensemen and 1 goalie. Unfortunately only 4 are 300+ so they are a younger team with more development needed. They don't have the depth as the top two teams but they do have the elite playmakers in Phil Sakic, Quinndillus Whopper and I dare to say it Samsayz I-Smell. Cologne has 7 wings, 5 defensemen and 1 goalie so the roster is packed. They have an incredible 8 players at 300+ but their only weakness is their goalie play who has only 199 tpe. They can score with the best of them but without better goalie play they will constantly struggle to keep up with the big boys. Oslo has 8 wings, 4 defensemen and 2 goalies. They have an incredible 8 players over 300+ including their star wing David Pastanap, defensemen Ahsoka Tano and goalie Spider Panda. They just have been underperforming and should be in the mid tier but something just seems amiss as a team as they aren't playing as good as their individual parts. Rome looks hopeless unfortunately this season with only 3 wings, 2 defensemen and no goalie. They will be looking to retool for next season and hope this season ends soon. Their scouts will be busy looking at the next wave of prospects from the VHLM.

LA Stars Press Conference Week Ending August 18, 2024 1. How has the team performed so far in the first week compared to expectations? Did it meet, exceed or disappoint and why? 2. Who has been the brightest player so far in the first week giving the team hope? 3. What are some realistic expectations you have for your player this season? 4. Is there any team in the VHL now that you think are rivals to the Stars? If so, please state why! 5. If the Stars were to compete next season for the title, what area would they need to improve upon this and next season to get there? 6. Out of all the offseason tournaments, do you have a favorite? If so, please elaborate.

The Stockholm Vikings are having a very solid number 2 like season with a strong emphasis on offense and a solid defense. The team is tied with the Vasteras Iron Eagles. The three man attack group of Artav, Sakic and Whopper along with the presence of the defensemen I-Smell have been the engine of the scoring as the team has had really good scoring production from the team. I-Smell and WWumbo have been doing their best on defense deflecting shots but the defensemen need a little more work to compete with the elites. Austin Goulet lll has been solid and will look to keep improving. The team has had its ups and downs. It either scores in bunches or just outright struggle to score so as a young team the coaches will look to make sure the team plays at a more consistent level and that they are stronger in the face of adversity. The team looks to have the potential to make a deep run but if they keep having their ups and downs they could also be easily eliminated early.

Media Review Wow this is an impressive analysis of the VHL awards for S94. I agree with all the first, second and rookie teams and think you are spot on with the selections though people can debate a few for the second team. The individual awards seemed pretty spot on and the cases were really nicely made. However, the only one I would have argued as you highlighted was the most improved player and thought Eric White Jr. was a bit more deserving.

Going in the first round of the. VHL draft and the second pick for LA, the Stars select defensemen I-Smell to help fortify a defense and join last year's sensation Erik Thorvaldsson next season. The team is hoping with future picks already traded that these two are the pillars of the LA Stars for the next 5 to 8 seasons. The duo will be looking to complement each other and give the opponents different looks. While Thorvaldsson will be really defense heavy, I-Smell has been adding to his offensive arsenal and hopes to develop it another level in the VHLE. I-Smell is in a group of star defensemen in the S95 class and all three will be competing for ROY honors in the following season. Ahsoka Tano, Alphonse Desjardins, Einar Mathiesen, Boris Bone-Breaker and Samsayz I-Smell make up the five star defensivemen in the class. Tano has more veteran presence and poise so she will be the favorite but I-Smell along with the other 3 have a chance to create enough noise in their rookie seasons by scoring points and blocking shots that the voting will be close and probably not decided until the final week of the season like the VHLM award was decided. So what can you expect from I-Smell when he makes the leap? We need to look at the past rookie of the year nominees. The three nominees were Antonia Bucatini, David Slezak and Tom Dufour. Bucatini led the league as a center at 92 points scored followed by Dufour. Slezak was the top goalie. As you can see no defensemen was ranked high. Of the rookie defensemen, the one that stood out the most is Lucy Leitner so realistically having a season similar to her would be a nice achievement. The difference is Lucy is more scoring oriented while I-Smell will be a little more balanced between offense and defense. But 50 points and 200 shots blocked seems like a realistic target and being a top 3 rookie defensemen will be his goal. The team he joined in LA is really primed to grow, develop and flourish together. The team had consolidated the picks to the last 3 rounds and has those all developing together from wings to defensemen to goalies. The offensive wings are led by Pombo, The Phantom of the VHL and Wally Lose who were all S94 class. The defense will rely on Erik Thorvaldsson of the S94 class and I-Smell of the S95 class. And the goalie is rookie Roger Eagles, who although they are in the S95 class will be making his debut in the VHL this season. This is exciting times to be a young star in LA and I-Smell will look to join the team next season and be a part of that 6 man future.

With the number 2 pick in the VHLE draft, the Stockholm Vikings select.....Samsayz I-Smell! Wow a shocker as I-Smell was expected to be the last pick and got over-drafted in Europe. I was reminded by the vets that unlike other leagues the VHL European league was different - they actually tolerate smells and stinks of all kind as it is a diverse and inclusive league! I-Smell to the excitement of the moment took the first boat to Stockholm from Mexico City. As he is a polar bear he cannot fit in normal airline seats so he decided to go on a longer journey by boat and reflect and train in the sea. I-Smell had a very productive season in the VHLM and was a top 5 defender in most categories being nominated for a few awards. However, the coaches after the draft had asked him to bulk up and improve on the following things to succeed in a tougher league. 1. Improved Defense This sounds easy as I-Smell was a top 2 defensemen. He was second in shots blocked and helped Mexico City have a top 3 defense. As players are bigger and stronger, he needed to bulk up and make sure he has improved defense which will in tern help him with overall placement in the rink. 2. Improved Puck Handling and Skating One of the things I-Smell struggled was to catch up to the speed and physicality of the game. He started to wear out at the end. To combat that, the coaches has asked I-Smell to work really hard and get over a 80 in puck handling so all the hits he takes won't cause any turnovers. He needs to secondarily improve on his speed and skating to catch up but he isa bigger and heavier player so staking is secondary priority at 70. 3. Offensive Prowess Now the big leap between his short rookie stink and the full season was his offensive prowess landing in the top 5 in points by a defensemen. He needs to really up his game in both scoring and passing so getting them above 60 will be key as it is more then double the difficulty he will be facing compared to the VHLM. The formations and lines are really solid throughout and it is harder to abuse some of the opposing team's weakness like he did in the VHLM. With all that, the biggest thing the Vikings fans are excited about is seeing how his teamwork and timing works with the other star of the team and VHLE draft steal, Phil Sakic. The team's future will be determined by how these two can combine to score at will against the opposing defenses as the team's overall defense will be a bit diminished compared to last season.

1. Knowing I finally got drafted was a big sigh of relief as I had been campaigning to go last for so long. I was shocked and sad I didn't go in the last round but I am excited that I landed on a great young team that has a bright future ahead! 2. Being near max in my one and only VHLE season! 3. I want to be great in assists and shot blocks. I hope goals made and hits follow. 4. I hope to be a good defensemen so that LA can say they didn't waste a pick on me. 5. I don't know ice hockey the sport well so this is all new. 6. Guilty food pleasure... it has got to be crispy fried chicken and cold beer!

This week has been a happy but sad day for Samsayz I-Smell. It had been doing all it could to go last in any of the drafts it was eligible for. As a new create in its first season, it joined the VHLM and Junior Showcase Tournament draft. This offseason it joined the VHL, VHLE, Junior Showcase Tournament and Pro-Am drafts and unfortunately for I-Smell no GM is listening. I-Smell is thankful for the LA Stars and Stockholm Vikings had faith in it, but not enough to have it drop to last in any of the key drafts. As scouts and analysts dissected every small inch of his prospect profile, I-Smell was criticized as not doing enough on defense and offense. And it was not a master of any trait and all its teams end up in failure. I-Smell needs to regroup before the start of the VHLE and re-create his image to have a brighter future with all the drafts now completed. Will I-Smell be the biggest and stinkiest let down of the drafts? Or will it prove the GMs right as being a key cog in the future? Only time will tell.

After being drafted by the Los Angeles Stars of the VHL, I-Smell is looking at how he can best improve his skills and play in the VHLE before making the jump to the pros. He has been working on his game mostly on the offensive side before now transitioning into clearing up his defense and body checking. The Stars have an aging defensive line with Erik Thorvaldsson being the young defensemen of the group. The other four prospects in the Stars pipeline seem to have ways to go before making it to the big leagues. WWumbo, Alexandr Novotny, Connor Mclaughlin and Miles Bryant need a bit more time to be ready. That leaves I-Smell ready to join in a season while the team calls up their star prospect Roger Eagles this season to shore up the goalie position. If you look at the current prospect pipeline, I-Smell has already shot up the ladder and is now the number 1 prospect heading in to the upcoming VHLE season. 6 of the prospects are in the 200 tpe range and 3 are in the 100 range. So in one season, you can expect I-Smell to take over for the aging Braeden Panarella and partner with Thorvaldsson and Eagles to form a scary defensive back for the Stars. Thorvaldsson has a strong defensive focus and has good speed. I-Smell has been working on his offensive a bit so having those two contrasting styles should benefit the team as a whole. Now let's take a look at the whole team. The team is in an exciting path with the core all in the S94 and S95 class. For the wings, you have Pombo, Wally Lose and The Phantom of the VHL leading the group with most likley Pombo and Lose on the wings and Phantom playing center. The defense as mentioned will be led by Erik Thorvaldsson and future Samsayz I-Smell with the goalie being led by Roger Eagles. This is a great team where they can now fill in the remaining pieces with a mix of vets and second tier rookies to round out the roster. The two classes make up 6 core players with 8 prospects in the S93 to S95 range that they hope will work out. 3 vet wings and defensemen will be providing the leadership and this team will look to really change for the Cup in a few seasons time. The GM InstantRockstar and assistant KRZY has done a great job assembling the team and now it is up to the players to continuously earn and develop. The team doesn't have much draft picks in the next two drafts as they traded away their 1st and 2nd for next season and 1st in S97. The team will be leaning on the S94 and S95 class and has consolidated to give the team the best window to compete. The other big challenge for the team is with all the varying personalities how will the GMs be able to make sure everyone is on the same page. If he can get them all supporting each other and winning, you will see a future dynasty. If you see them bickering and frustrated with losing you will see a big internal meltdown so how this unfolds will be a fun storyline for the casual VHL fans to follow.

Samsayz I-Smell didn't get the draft result it wanted. Out of the 5 drafts it has been a part of (Pro AM, JST x 2, VHLM and VHL), it has yet to be drafted last. However, there has been one player that was drafted last not once but twice during that period and I-Smell feels it has met its rival - A Holy Cow. A Holy Cow was drafted last JST and now the current VHL draft. The Cow is a vet user with a total of 69 tpe which could symbolize multiple things, very tall at 6ft 8in and only weights 140 lbs which would make it look more like Gumby than a Cow. On the flip side, I-Smell is a big fat white polar bear at 250 lbs. So what does I-Smell need to do to overtake this cow and be the last pick in the VHLE draft which will be its last chance at going last? Does it need to take up religion and be holy? Does it need to produce milk? I-Smell is perplexed and will be spending the the next coming days finding ways to beat A Holy Cow in the VHLE draft.

Love it!

1) How do you feel about where you landed in the VHL draft - either order or team? 2) Which pick went higher than you expected? 3) Which pick went lower than expected?

1) For the VHLE draft, I think it will be a different top 3. Let's take Sakic > Tano > Panda in that order! 2) For the VHLE, I would be happy to go to any team. Top 5 VHL would be now LA by far as number 1. They will be followed up with DC, Prague, Helsinki, and HC as they all respected my wish and passed on me to give me hope of going last! 3) Almost everything outside Ice Hockey lol