RomanesEuntDomus

Quick Question With Nicolas Caprivi #3 This is part three of our new interview series with Nicolas Caprivi, we'll ask him a question or two each week - questions that you can send in, so if there is something that you would like to know from or about the German-Canadian Center from the New York Americans, then just leave them in the thread. This is a question by BOOM, after this one my pile of questions currently looks empty so if you send one in right now, by writing in this thread for example, your question could be next! "Last season was very disappointing for me personally, at least up until the playoffs, and it would be way to easy to blame the team and our strategy for it. I got playing time with all sorts of different players and in all kinds of situations, I got to be the go-to on a line of a complimentary piece on a unit with a superstar like Thomas O'Malley. None of it worked out particularly great so I have only myself to blame for that. I don't think it was for a lack of effort but maybe I got a bit too complacent at times, thinking that I was already better than I actually was. Luckily I managed to snap out of it in time for the playoffs, but last season has certainly taught me a lesson or two."

Caprivi Signs Three Year Extension In New York The playoff race in the North American Conference has been a lot closer so far than people had expected at the start of the season. While the New York Americans are doing better than many thought they would, the bigger reason for this unexpected race certainly is the abysmal play of the Toronto Legion over the first 22 games. Both teams are currently tied at 17 points but while the Americans sold all their superstars in the off-season and only added a few younger pieces and depth-players, the Legion looked like a team that could do some damage after they acquired Jackson Miller, Bennett Wahl and Mike Szatkowski Jr. at the start of the year. While Szatkowski's has been good in his first 20 games with the Legion, it hasn't been enough to make up for the lack of skater depth that Toronto seems to suffer from. New York on the other hand has seen some surprising performances from their players, especially young Mario De Rossi and Nicolas Caprivi who, along with veteran Konstantin Azhishchenkov, have been well above a point per game so far. While De Rossi is 2nd in the league in goals, Caprivi currently ranks 6th in assists and 5th in points and both no doubt are among the most pleasant surprises in the league to start the year. It looks unlikely that these can keep up that level of play over a whole season, but they have at least given the Americans' fans something to cheer about in what looked like it would be a dull season. For his hot start to the season, Nicolas Caprivi was promptly rewarded with a contract extension as well. After the less than ideal start to his career some people had expected that New York wouldn't quite trust the hype and only give him a bridge deal, but the Center instead ended up with a rather lengthy three year extension that will pay him $3.75 million a season – quite a lot given the sum of his performances over the last two and a half a year but a possible bargain if he manages to keep up his current level of play. It seems like the Americans decided to rather lock Caprivi up now for a healthy sum of money instead of risiking him becoming even more expensive as the season winds down. As it stands now the new deal will make Caprivi the highest paid player on New York next season, but that could still change with trade acquisitons, FA-signings or other extension. In fact, a significant portion of the Americans roster hasn't extented their contracts past this year and it will be interesting to see what happens with Mario De Rossi, Konstantin Azhishchenkov, Alistar Graves and Godavari Yumalatopinto after this season. While Graves and Yumalatopinto are believed to not be in the teams plans for the future, De Rossi and Azhishchenkov have had good season so far and especially young Mario De Rossi could cash in as well.

Yeah but he was a goalie, a position that many of the teams, including Helsinki and us, didn't need at that time

Just a terribly shallow draft after the Top-3, everyone was already aware of that at the time which made missing out on Draper so much tougher for us

Thaddeuce.

About damn time.

Cologne? More like CoLOLgne! It's okay, I'll show myself out...

A win AND Caprivi doesn't get a point? Worst possible outcome

Rockin' dat mall.

How fitting...

A Closer Look At The Cologne – New York Blockbuster It was the blockbuster that kickstarted the off-season. Only days after their cup-win the Cologne Express announced that they had reached a deal with the New York Americans and Nicolas Caprivi was right at the center of it. Caprivi had been one of the best players for the Express during their cup run, showing what potential he truly has for the first time since entering the VHL. After a rather pedestrian regular season with just 43 points (only 10 of them goals) in 72 games along with 91 hits, the German-Canadian center finished the playoffs 4th in scoring with 16 points in as many games. Still, the Express management felt that going in a different direction would give them the best chances to defend the cup in Season 43 so they traded a package that included Caprivi to bring in veteran superstar Xin Xie Xiao along with Christoph Klose. Xiao, one of the premier power forwards in the league over the last couple of seasons has not disappointed so far, since the trade he has put up 19 points in his first 12 games in an Express uniform while still racking up those hits like he has always done. Xiao is expected to only play one more season after this one, but for a team that is now at the peak of its competing cycle he seems like the perfect acquisition. Christoph Klose on the other hand is only a year older than Caprivi, which made some people speculate that the Express coaching staff had not been too happy with Caprivi recently. According to these sources they have been unhappy with either his play on the ice or his behavior in the locker room for quite some time now and had therefore been looking to swap him for another relatively young player. Neither the Express management nor the coaching staff were willing to comment on these rumors though, so we can't confirm them. Along with Caprivi, the New York Americans also received Godavari Yumalatopinto, Alistar Graves and the Express' first round selection in the Season 45 VHL Entry Draft. Yumalatopinto had been an integral player for the Express during their cup-run, providing vital depth scoring and a veteran presence during the regular season and following this up with a playoff campaign that saw him finishing 6th in scoring and among the best hitters. Due to his age and cap hit the Express decided to part ways with the veteran forward who is entering his last season in the VHL and so far "Yuma" has only played limited minuts for the Americans. But the veteran has made the best of his situation so far, putting up a very respectable 5 points in 12 games while averaging less than five minutes of ice time per game and being one of only two plus players on the Americans. Alistar Graves on the other hand was only a minor piece for the Express that they didn't mind parting ways with but who has found some decent success in a bigger role with the Americans. After just 12 games he has already surpassed his point totals from last season, putting up 10 points compared to 9 in Season 42. Yumalatopinto and Graves are likely not in the Americans' long term plans though and only getting Nicolas Caprivi doesn't seem like a great return for Xiao and Klose, which makes the first round pick that is also involved in the deal the x-factor. The Express will lose reigning playoff MVP and starting goaltender Martin Brookside as well as Logan Laich to retirement next off-season, but they still have plenty of pieces left which leaves them with a big decision: Will they go all-in once more to contend for another season or two or start a re-tool? It's a question that likely won't be answered for a few more months, but one that could be crucial for the Americans. If Cologne keeps contending and the pick turns out to be a late first rounder then the Americans will likely be seen as the losers in this deal unless Caprivi develops into a bona-fide superstar in New York. If the Express decide to re-tool on the other hand and maybe even miss the playoffs, then a lottery-pick might be on the way to the Americans, giving the team a great chance at a franchise caliber player. With the Americans likely to miss the playoffs this season, expect their fans (and maybe even their management) to direct their attention towards Cologne as the season progresses. What happens in Cologne over the next few months could be even more important for the future of the Americans franchise than what happens in New York...

Express Bears Vikings Meute

3-0 Dynamo

Quick Question With Nicolas Caprivi #2 This is part two of our new interview series with Nicolas Caprivi, we'll ask him a question or two each week - questions that you can send in, so if there is something that you would like to know from or about the German-Canadian Center from the New York Americans, then just leave them in the thread. This is another question from Smarch, who had sent me two questions for the first issue, next up will be BOOM's question from last week and after that, YOU could be next! "I hope that I can be a leader for this young team, I know that nobody expects us to do much this season and that we are not very likely to make the playoffs over the more experienced teams in our conference like Quebec, Seattle or Toronto, but I still think that this year can be a tremendous learning experience for us. Guys like Barnstormer, De Rossi and Delicious will have to be key players and leaders for us if we want to be cup contenders a few seasons down the road and even though I'm not that much older than these guys, I hope that I can help them get there. My first two seasons in the league haven't been easy and at times I've struggled to play to the level that both the fans and I myself expect from me. But if our recent cup run in Cologne has taught me one thing then it is that anyone can become a hero in the postseason. You might struggle in the regular season, but if you keep working hard then things can turn around for you within just a few games in the playoffs. This is when champions are made and everyone, no matter how young or old he is or how many points he put up over the course of the season, can help his team become that champion."

So is there a list of participants teams ?

EASTERN CONFERENCE (A1) Montreal vs (A2) Tampa Bay Winner: Montreal # of Games: 7 (M1) New York Rangers vs (M2) Washington Winner: New York # of Games: 5 WESTERN CONFERENCE (C3) Chicago vs (W1) Minnesota Winner: Chicago # of Games: 5 (P1) Anaheim vs (P3) Calgary Winner: Anaheim # of Games: 6

Looking forward to finding out who picked who

Quick Question With Nicolas Caprivi #1 This is the start of our new interview series with Nicolas Caprivi, we'll ask him a question or two each week - questions that you can send in, so if there is something that you would like to know from or about the German-Canadian Center from the New York Americans, then just leave them in the thread. The first question comes from Smarch a.k.a. the adopted Labatte. "In short: everything. I really have to improve every aspect of my game if I want to become an effective Forward in this league because what I have shown so far certainly isn't good enough. Last season was my first as a forward so it wasn't really a surprise that it took me some time to adapt and get used to the new position, but I still barely improved my offensive numbers compared to my rookie season. That's just unacceptable considering that I was not just a defenseman both also a less developed player in my first year in the league. Maybe it was just a classic sophomore slump and he fact that my numbers improved considerably also gives me some hope as well. I'm already a fairly good skater and passer with a solid defensive game but my scoring and puck handling are definitely a weakness at the moment, so I'm planning to mainly work on these two areas next. Maybe I'll get some extra faceoff training in there as well and after that, the plan is to perfect my playmaking abilities to finally become that player that my GM can build around."

So we either get shut out or score 12, interesting...

Two Days Caprivi Wins Cup & Gets Traded "O'Malley and Yamazaki battle along the boards... O'Malley kicks the puck free and Ron World Peace picks it up. He has some room at center ice... Carries it into the offensive zone where he is pressured by Wolf... Drop pass to O'Malley... Big Slapper!!! Blocked by Matthews but O'Malley gets his own rebound... Mad scramble in front of the net... O'Malley tries another shot but it deflects off Matthews once again... Right to Robin Gow! He shoots!!! SCOOOOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSS!!! THE COLOGNE EXPRESS HAVE WON THE CONTINENTAL CUP!!!" Nicolas Caprivi smiles as he watches the TV-screen where we show him some clips from the broadcast of the deciding game between his Cologne Express and the Quebec City Meute. Caprivi himself got to watch the goal that brought the Express their first ever Championship from the penalty box, where he was serving a roughing minor for participating in a scrum just a minute into overtime along with his teammates Logan Laich and Mason Richardson. Caprivi has seen this scene a hundred times since then, but he certainly isn't close to getting tired of it. "The last few months have been unreal and this is the moment that stands out of course", the young German Center tells us as we meet him in his hometown Mainz during the off-season, "it's a feeling that you just can't describe to someone who has never experienced it himself, and being able to share it with all these great guys in Cologne made it even better." But while his teammates went on to celebrate this victory over the summer, relax and maybe get some off-season training in there as well, that was just the start of tumultous off-season for Caprivi. After a wild party following the win and parading the cup through the city for much of the next day, Caprivi finally found some sleep later that night but when he woke up late in the afternoon, he saw not just a ton of missed calls but also a message from General Manager Ryan Power, asking to meet him in his office. "I didn't make much of it at the time, I was both tired and super excited at the same time and probably still drunk as well, so I called his assistant, asked if it was okay if I came in in about an hour and took a cab." About two hours later, the Cologne Express sent out this short press release: "The Cologne Express today announced that the team has acquired forwards Xin Xie Xiao and Christoph Klose from the New York Americans in exchange for forwards Nicolas Caprivi, Godavari Yumalatopinto and Alistar Graves as well as the Express' first-round draft pick in the Season 45 VHL Entry Draft." Just days after winning the cup, Caprivi was not a member of the Cologne Express anymore. "I didn't expect that to happen at all and it really hurts to leave behind all the friends that I have made in Cologne, but Mr. Power as well as Mr. Miller and the Americans have been terrific through that whole process. I never would've thought that I would leave the Express just after winning a cup with the team, but both GMs were very open when they explained their reasoning to me and why they thought that the trade made sense for both me and the teams involved. So now I'm really looking forward to the new challenges in New York, I know that I am joining one of the most storied and successful franchises in the VHL with one of the best general managers around and while we are in a rebuilding stage right now, I don't expect it to be long until we can contend again."

Claim 6 TPE for Mario de Rossi (100 -> 300 TPE) Claim 16 TPE for Patrick Demko (0 -> 200 TPE x2 for recruitment drive)

Meute Legion Vikings Express

4-1 Seattle

I think't O'Malley centering you two would work fine, abbreviation-wise