Claimed:Claim Commodities

[Guest Svoboda_3]

Claiming Commodities

VHLM waiver claims are the backbone and the engine that keeps the VHLM running. Through a designed system, anyone who declares for the VHL Draft must enter the VHLM through a VHLM Waiver Claim system as a initiation and trial period prior to the VHLM Dispersal Draft. Over the last little while, the VHLM has seen an influx of waiver claims and while not all will encounter personal success immediately, those players, as mentioned, are the backbone of the VHLM and will be the players we all talk about down the road. Here is a brief synopsis of the claimed players and how they've been able to accustom themselves to the VHLM life with their new teams.
 

Turku Outlaws
RW Ryan Cattrall
RW Alister Graves

Both Ryan and Alister were claimed by the Turku Outlaws one day apart, and while they haven't made immediate impacts, the experience of half a season should get their feet wet enough to prime them for the VHLM Dispersal Draft. Cattrall, a Vancouver, British Columbia native is a big bruising winger who can oppose his physique towards the opposition. Having only played in 5 games thus far, the transition mentioned is apparent with Ryan on the defensive side of things, currently sitting with a -5 rating, but Ryan is averaging a point per game with the ice-time given, entering the day with 2 goals and 3 assists. Faring almost equally as impressive is another right winger in Alister Graves, who, with his own defensive struggles, sits with a -3 rating and has one less point than fellow newcomer Ryan Cattrall. With the Outlaws currently sitting on the outside looking in at the playoff picture, these two young men will be thrown to the wolves in an attempt to try and get the Finnish club into the playoffs.
 

Minot Gladiators
D Danny Schneider

Danny Schneider was an early season pick-up on July 23rd by the Minot Gladiators and has been in fact the only waiver pick-up by the fifth place North American Conference team. On a team that has not benefited at all from being in the same Conference as Yukon, Saskatoon, Ottawa, and Brampton, Danny Schneider was advertised early on as a player "better than you're average Joe." Unfortunately, the work stopped early for Danny and he's been a warm body for the Gladiators all season long, putting up 3 goals and 9 assists for 12 points in 29 games, while sitting with a -24 rating. While it may be the lack of motivation on the part of Danny or the situation of being on a last place team, there is some hope that with a change of scenery, he could return to the fold and be the player he was expected to be.
 

Oslo Storm
LW Tie Probert
C Alecs van der Merder

When Oslo claimed Tie Probert, the relative of the late fighting legend Bob Probert, there were a lot of question marks surrounding what type of player the Storm were getting based on his bloodlines. For Tie, the struggles early on in his first 3 games are evident, sitting with no points and a -4 rating. The career of Probert is still young, so there is a lot of time to develop and gain the necessary experience to succeed. Tie has invested a lot of his talents into a checking role, but so far that hasn't transformed very well at the VHLM level, currently sitting with 10 hits, which is a good start, but I'm sure he expected to play more of a physical force for the Storm. Alecs van der Merder, the Charlottetown, PEI resident, is another fresh face in the Storm line-up. The centerman was given a minor role from the start in an attempt to ease the youngster in, but it's apparent that time is going to be needed in order to see the development take fruition. In 3 games as well, Alecs has yet to register a point and is a -6, while also struggling in the face-off circle with a 41% efficiency rate. Despite the lack of numbers for both players, you can't get discouraged, but rather be motivated to take your game to the next level through hard work and dedication.
 

Bratislava Watchmen
No waiver claims

Unfortunately, the worst team in the VHLM has yet to place a VHLM claim and in the opinion of most, if any team out there were to make several claims and keep these new guys interested with ample playing time, it should be the Bratislava Watchmen. If you aren't winning, you should be developing; otherwise, what's the point of coasting along with a group of inactives sitting at the bottom on the league. You might as well just groom members/players and be at the bottom. You'd at least be productive in at least some aspect.
 

Ottawa Lynx
LW Jacques Grande

Jacques was brought aboard to Ottawa on a free claim August 6th and has since been inserted into the line-up. Playing on a really good VHLM team will have it's pros and cons for Grande. For one, he gets to play with a good team, watching how things are done and how a winning team operates. On the cons side of things, with a roster full of solid players, Grande's minutes get diminished somewhat, but it is all apart of the process of grooming and developing. Sometimes you have to crawl before you walk. However, in Jacques' instance, not only has he played in 3 games, but he's recorded 1 assist and has played in 60 minutes of action, indicating that the Lynx have found a way to get Grande some much needed minutes. Grande is a huge presence, standing at 6"3, 235 pounds, but the big Quebec-born player has shown flashes of skill and finesse, something not often seen with players of his stature. If Jacques can maintain his development, there will always be room for dedicated players regardless of skill-set or statistics.

Next week we will resume the second part of this Media Spot by taking a look at the Yukon Rush and their 19 claims, the Brampton Blades, Moscow Red Wolves, and the Saskatoon Wild.

[Baozi 1,658]

+1

[Victor 10,940]

Fong has not grasped the 'like' button yet.

[Will 4,660]

Content: 3/3

The waiver system is definitely what keeps the VHLM rolling. I've seen people argue that they don't like being placed on a team for a few weeks just to be removed and drafted to a new team, but I think it works and is a much better option than leaving people with nothing to do for weeks until the next draft. It's nice to see people getting claimed to quickly this season, although I think the reason for the Watchmen not making any claims is pretty clear.

 

Grammar: 2/2

Nothing!

 

Appearance: 1/1

Looks good!

 

Overall: 6/6

[Frank 5,209]

Claimed