My thoughts on the VHLE

[Hoopydog 195]

With the trade deadline fast approaching, it is once again theme week and for theme week, we will be discussing VHLE, the impact it will have and lastly, why Glasgow should have a VHLE team at some point in the future.

 

The VHL had been experiencing a mass influx of new members and players joining the league and some issues were being seen around the league with lower TPE players getting next to no ice time as they weren’t quite good enough to play at a VHL level. So, the solution that the league came to was the VHLE, an intermediate set between the VHLM and the VHL. Kinda like the relationship between the AHL and the NHL.

 

I think that the VHLE will be a great addition to the league system, not only will it provide players with a chance to get more ice time, put up more points and give players more exposure than they would have gotten if they were playing fourth line minutes in the VHL, but it has also opened up a plethora of new job opportunities for new and experienced members to take a more active role in the community.

 

It has been announced that there will be 6 teams to kick off the first VHLE season. Here’s what I think the first 6 teams should be. First, I would like to see a team in Germany, playing out of either Berlin or Munich, currently to big hockey cities in Germany with 2 teams playing in the DEL (The German top flight). Next, I would like to see both Norway and Denmark receive teams, since their neighbours Sweden and Finland both have teams. From these 2 countries, I would select Oslo and Copenhagen, they are both the capital city of their respective nations and in turn both countries have a good ice hockey culture. I would then look to Zurich in Switzerland to be my 4^th team and Either Paris or Rome to be my 5^th team. Zurich is a major city in Switzerland and resides in a country with a rich hockey history and both Paris and Rome are amongst some of the most historic and most important cities in the world. And finally for my last team selection, queue the biased nature of my choice… it’s Glasgow.

 

Why Glasgow should have a VHLE franchise. With the rise of British ice hockey, and their gutsy performance at the latest IIHF World Championship, Glasgow is a great fit to be a new VHLE team. Glasgow saw a brief stint as a team, as the Glasgow Guardians were formed to compete in the VHL off-season Pro-Am tournament. We the potential team names were put on a straw-poll for the participating member to vote on, Glasgow was the most voted for team which shows that the members were all for it. Glasgow is a city which welcomes tourists and has a rich sporting culture and a VHLE team would be a great addition in my opinion.

 

So now we have our places, now we need the team names here is what I would go with: the Berlin Bratwursts or the Munich Monarchs, the Oslo Vikings, HC Copenhagen (Couldn’t think of a good name), the Zurich Lions, either the Paris Renegades or the Rome Spartans and lastly the Glasgow Stags.

 

That’s my take on the VHLE and I do hope that one day Glasgow will have a team and some step of the VHL ladder.

 

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Edited June 12, 2021 by Hoopydog