solas HOF Builder Article

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solas - Class of S84

 

Usernames: lightning25, solas

Joined: S20

Jobs Held: VHL Magazine Cover Artist, Graphics Grader

HOF Players (at time of writing): Theo Axelsson (Class of S59), Lukas Muller (Class of S63), Jean Pierre Camus (Class of S82).

 

solas or lightning25 as he was known as at the time is pretty much the definition of a sim league veteran, having joined the SHL as his first league back in 2010. But it wasn't always a guarantee that he'd end up in the VHL. In fact Jardy had tried and failed to recruit him. It wasn't until Spangle, who was a member of both the SHL and VHL at the time, approached him and asked him to join in 2011 that he decided to give it a shot. And the VHL is thankful that he did.

 

As solas was already going graphics in the SHL he instantly got involved with the graphics community over here and ended up as the long serving VHL Magazine cover artist, having held that position for several years and only missing a single cover in that time. That's the kind of consistency that's been the hallmark of solas' most memorable players as well as his overall league contributions as a member. Though one thing hasn't stayed consistent, his name. At first he was known as lightning25, a name he'd picked out while still young (despite not being a Tampa Bay Lightning fan). But that he didn't quite feel fit him anymore as he was becoming an adult. But he still liked the theme and so went about putting "lighting" and "light" through a translator to various languages in the search for a new name that fit him better, and eventually he translated "light" to Scots Gaelic, which is "solas". And as I've been researching this article I've found his theme of light to be a fitting one. As everyone I've talked to see him as a positive impact. A beacon of light, if you will. Not just by his amazing graphics that he's been producing throughout his VHL career, but also in his work as a Graphics grader in 2014-2015 where he helped illuminate, pun intended, areas of improvement for his fellow graphic community members. And the same also applies to those fortunate enough to have shared a locker room with him. Always a source of intelligent (or dare I say "bright") discussion, wisdom and a seemingly never-ending supply of book and song recommendations. No one's had anything but kind words for solas, be it from working with him on the VHL Magazine or sharing a locker room.

 

The 2014-2015 era is one that stands out when looking back at solas' career in the VHL. By his own recollection this was the time when he felt like he became a "significant member" of the VHL. And considering that era of solas produced two HOF players, alongside all his amazing graphics and grading work. I think it's very hard to argue against that assessment. At that time the league was a very different place to now. Project Player Two was a thing, which is why solas managed to get two HOF players with overlapping careers. And TPE was much, much harder to come by than it is today. With the cap being 9 TPE, and only if you had a league job. This was why Theo Axelsson became solas' first player to eclipse the 1k TPE threshold, which at the time was no small feat. But sadly, that era was one that was much harder than the one we play in now. Having to max earn on two players at once, while also maintaining a league job, along more pressure IRL from his college work-load and just the general inactivity of the league as a whole (imagine no Discord LRs and there sometimes being days between new forum posts) meant that solas needed a break from the VHL. Sadly the timing of it ended up being shortly after his next player, Morozov, had been drafted 1OA in a draft that would go down in history as one of the worst drafts of all time. Mostly due to the amount of members hitting burnout in it.

 

During his hiatus from the league solas still had some sim league presence, putting in 3-4 seasons in our sister league the EFL, which "accidentally" produced a HOF player over there after going IA. But even during his hiatus solas was still keeping an eye on the VHL. Checking in on the forums every once in a while, only to see an influx of new members and the league growing again. So he decided to come back and retire Morozov early to have another go at it. This newfound interest lasted for about a season or so with his player Aron Nielsen. But it just wasn't to be as it didn't quite capture his interest long term like it had before. This is around when COVID hit and solas, like just about everyone else, found himself stuck at home with a lot of time on his hands. He decided that with this time he wanted a fresh start in the VHL, another go at the kind of player career he'd proven himself capable of in the past. That's when he created JPC (Jean Pierre Camus) HOFer and Chicago legend. To say that he reached his goals with that player would be an understatement, as he absolutely smashed them.

 

Because of how long solas' career has spanned, a lot of the people you could talk to about his early days are long since retired from the VHL. But the people he shared a locker room with in Chicago are very much still here and at the time of writing this, he's just reunited with one of his good friends from that era (fishy) again on his current player Milan Dvorak. For now that's where solas' story is at. After many years in the league he's taken a less central role than he once had, but to those that share a discord server with him. He's still very much a source of light, book recommendations and will probably always be the go to guy for fishy when they need new music to listen to. Because that's just who solas is. A genuinely nice guy, with an affinity for culture who is always willing to help his fellow VHLers.