Theme Week: The VHL at 15

[Eynhallow 412]

Wow !  Just to think that a simulation hockey league managed to survive for that long.  The VHL is truly the granddaddy of all forum-based hockey websites.  Happy Birthday ! And kudos to all of those folks who have worked so hard and diligently to make this happen for us all.  To put all this into context I wanted to take a look at what was happening 15 years ago:

 1.) Steve Jobs, probably the most famous person in the United States at the time,  introduced the iPhone.  15 years later, it would be hard to argue that the iPhone wasn't revolutionary. Whether you are a loyal iPhone owner or have never owned one, the impact the iPhone has made in our daily lives is indisputable.  What did we ever do without this bit of technology that has become an integral part of our everyday lives.  The VHL would have been conducted almost entirely on computers at that time.

 2.) The 110th United States Congress convenes and appoints Nancy Pelosi as the first female Speaker of the House.  A move towards enlightenment, but we still have/had a long ways to go.

 3.)On July 1 England banned smoking in all indoor public spaces.  This follows similar bans in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.  By way of comparison, in 1976, Ottawa passed the first municipal smoking bylaw in Canada restricting smoking in indoor public spaces. So I guess it was about time for England to get on board.

 4.) Clay Buchholz became the first Boston Red Sox rookie to pitch a no-hitter. In just his second MLB appearance; beats Baltimore Orioles 10-0 at Fenway Park.  He was also only the third player to do this in either his first or second start.  In his career Buchholz went on to play for  the Philadelphia Phillies, The Arizona Diamondbacks and the Toronto Blue Jays.

 5.)The Anaheim Mighty Ducks defeated the Ottawa Senators in five games to capture their first and only Stanley Cup.  Sidney Crosby, at 19, led the the league with 120 points.  He also won the Hart trophy that year.  Martin Brodeur won his third Vezina trophy in 2007.  Evgeny Malkin and Phil Kessel made their NHL debuts during the 2006 -07 season.  In 63 Games Played for the Philadelphia Flyers, Ben Eager managed an outstanding 233 minutes in penalties.  That is almost 4 complete games in the sin bin….wow!

 6.) In the VHL Brett Slobodzian walked away with all the awards for the most talented offensive player in the league.  Playing with Calgary he amassed the surprising total of 171 points (79 Goals and 92 Assists).  Despite a remarkable 69 - 3 record Calgary lost the Continental Cup to a resilient VasterasIK squad led by Hall of Famer Scotty Campbell.  The following season saw a rematch of the first Continental Cup where Calgary’s offense took over and swept Vasteras in S2.

 

As mentioned earlier, kudos must go to all of those who have served on Head Office capacities.  They have managed to successfully negotiate changes in sim engines, Flame Wars, Multi-Accounts and a number of other obstacles.  Yet, that was all managed and the VHL not only survived, but thrived.  So what about the future?  Well, whatever it is I am all in.

 

To be Claimed Week of July 31

[Beketov 9,026]

1 hour ago, Eynhallow said:

changes in sim engines

Fun fact: we’ve never actually changed sim engines.

 

Unless of course you mean that leagues prior to the VHL didn’t use STHS which would be true. As far as I’m aware we were the first player sim to use it.

[Eynhallow 412]

I likely should have written "tweaks" to the sim engine.  I was obliquely referring to the era of the meta.