VHLM GM Round Up!

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Hello readers, my name is Todd Ripley of the Halifax Times and welcome to my independent blog. This week I wanted to take a quit step away from just Halifax sports news and take a deep dive into the minds of the VHLM’s General Managers. The following is a series of quick three to five question interviews in which I attempt to get their thoughts on topics such as the trade deadline, the rise of skilled defensemen, and their duties. 

 

The first interview I conducted was with the general manager of the Mexico City Kings. This was on the heels of a big time move for their franchise and I wanted to be the first to get a word from coleh. 

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Ripley: Your team recently made a trade (barring action from the league) with Houston in which you brought in two players for two picks. What about those talents' games made you reach out to Houston for them?

 

Coleh: They're currently the leading scorer in the M and for the Mexico City Kings, we really need someone who has an elite shot and can put the puck in the net. Our team currently struggles to score and adding someone of the caliber is a huge boost to our team's offensive potential.

 

Ripley: Many would have considered the Kings one of the lower teams in terms of strength and a likely sell candidate. What led to the decision to get aggressive with your draft capitals at the deadline?

 

Coleh: I can for sure see that some teams think that we are a potential selling candidate. However, if you look at our beginning of the season schedule, we actually only played the top teams in the league, which led to our record being worse. I think our team as of right now is a playoff team, and we are making a push to potentially go far in the playoffs. [Redacted upon Coleh’s Request]

 

Ripley: Nanashi Mumei is one of the most dominant Defensemen in the league right now. He is top 10 in points, hits, and shot blocks at the position. How valuable do you as a GM find elite two-way players? Would you rather have elite defenders mixed in with elite offensive weapons?

 

Coleh: Two-Way players are super valuable to a team. I currently also have a TWD in the VHL and it's the nicest thing to have to be honest. I personally think that elite defenders, especially this season, can go a very far way. I also helped my friend on his build, and it seems to be working pretty well for him since he's top 10 in multiple categories.

 

Ripley: What goes into the GMing of a team for the readers who might not know what it takes to run a team?

 

Coleh: Yep. I would say a lot of things go into GMing, draft, trading, player management, strategy, there's so much that go into this. I would be here forever if I tried to explain every single thing, but I would say the best thing that I like doing as a GM is being able to help new players and get them invested in the league. I really like meeting new people and sharing the same joy with them, that being hockey!

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Enlightening chat with him as his team made the somewhat surprising move to go for it this year despite having been last in their division recently. We wish Mexico City the best of luck in its quest for the Founders’ Cup. We are going to stay in that warm, sunshiny weather as we make our way to South Beach to continue our “GM Round Up” with Nurx from the Miami Marauders.

 

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Ripley: Your team was one that many analysts picked out as a buyer at this deadline. You finally struck with a deal to send two picks to Mississauga for Justin Lion and Ben McLaughlin. What about these players and their games made them ideal targets for your team? 

 

Nurx: Ben McLaughlin is my AGMs player. I think that McLaughlin is a huge player with a possibility of being a strong piece in the puzzle in expanding those goals scored numbers. Justin Lion is a wild card. They could become a starting goalie quickly or they could continue tandeming. It all depends how they continue to develop. I love seeing the first gens put the work in though!

 

Ripley: Many have said no roster is ever perfect, do you feel this way about your current team? If so, can we expect to see more moves in the coming days?

 

Nurx: I do believe that we have weaknesses. I do expect to make a move, but not how you would expect. I do want to continue to work towards this season, but also secure a strong season with a strong draft next season. Currently I sit with only 3 draft picks in the first 3 rounds which isn't ideal in what appears to be a weak draft class.

 

Ripley: How large is the impact of having two top 5 scoring Forwards in Daryl Dixon and Rick Grimes? What about their games specifically makes them so good at finding the twine night in and night out?

 

Nurx: Well, they have very good builds. The meshed very well on a line with the playmaking Swinsola allowing for the three to be likely the most dominant trio in the league where the 3rd player isn't even known. They are both shoot first forwards which leads to a lot of shots with a [defensive core] behind them who are pass heavy defenseman. 

 

Ripley: That perfectly leads into my next question. Hockey as a sport has moved away from stay-at-home defenders in favor of pure puck movers combined with a 2-way guy on the other side. For you as a GM building a roster, what composition of skillsets do you prefer your defensemen to fill?

 

Nurx: I prefer to have 2 different types of defensemen paired together. The defense first and a two way. This gives me a scoring threat on the offense side while continuing to allow for good defense with the other defenseman.

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You love to hear that from a confident GM; he/she knows there is work to be done still and is keeping at improving the team little by little. Best of luck to the Marauders in the rest of the season. Can't stick around long, however, as we have to make our way to Houston to talk with their general manager, AJW!

 

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Ripley: Houston had boasted four of the league's best scorers heading into the deadline with four player top 10 in points. What led you to be a seller at the deadline with this fact in mind? 

 

AJW: It is tough to see how great your players are performing while thinking about rebuilding. The reasoning for the trades was because our position in the standings didn’t match the success of our player’s scoring abilities. Before the trades were made Houston was 8th in the league standings with most wins coming against Mississauga, who is win-less halfway through the season. I realized I didn’t have the right assets right now to go for it all, so instead we will try to bring in more players next draft to buff up the team with the players who will be returning next season.

 

Ripley: At the deadline you moved the league's top point scoring forward and defenseman. With that capital what types of players do you plan to bring into you roster at the draft as far as player archetypes?

 

AJW: I plan to bring some of my waiver players from this season back next season. They are working hard to earn TPE and should have break out seasons in S86. Our locker room is a lot of fun right now too even with not having a great record. Everyone is still positive and still wanting to win, so my goal is to get this squad back together as well as bringing in more defensemen since we currently have none. Player builds don’t really matter to me as I’d rather have active members over good players. So, if you’re an active player, you’re at the top of my draft list.

 

Ripley: Reno Reinhold appeared to be a part of the at large movement in hockey to have puck offensive weapons at defense while still being able to lock down their own zone. Do you feel that an increase in offensive production out of defenders is a net positive for hockey as a sport? Is this now something you will specifically target in future draft classes aggressively?

 

AJW: I mean look at real life NHL, Cale Makar is arguably a top 5 player in the league right now as an offensive defenseman. In our sim league I feel like it’s the same too. Having a top defenseman to work your power play as well as even strength is a massive bonus for your team. This especially helped since we didn’t have the strongest goaltender this season, so Reno really stepped up on the back end of our roster.

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We appreciate Houston's AJW for his time and wish him the best in his rebuild. Definitely looking for big time draftees to turn this team around next year. Speaking of turning around, we need to turn our attention from the South to the North as we fly on up to my hometown of Halifax to end our journey with most our reader's current favorite general manager, Shawn from the 21st!

 

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Ripley: One of the most important parts of any GM's season is upon us. With your team rolling in recent weeks, do you plan to acquire assets for a potential cup run?

 

Shawn: I'd like to, but it's always tough when some teams beat me to the punch and offer something better than I would've. I guess we'll have to see where the chips fall but it's something I'm interested in.

 

Ripley: As far as your present roster is concerned, it's been mostly built through the draft. In an article, written and edited by yourself, you highlighted your mindset during the draft that's lead to a lot of this team's talent. Which of those players has been the biggest surprise thus far? Have any been a disappointment?

 

Shawn: I'd say Anssi or Paard has been the most surprising. Both were thoughts to be role players when I picked them, but they exploded to be my most producing forwards out of nowhere. I wouldn't say anyone has been a disappointment, everyone is playing as good if not better than expected.

 

Ripley: One of the most easily noticed strengths of the Halifax 21st is its goaltending tandem. Your team boast 2 of the top 3 goalies in save percentage. How important is it to have not only a great starter, but a quality backup in the modern, high-scoring game of today? How do you decide when to get Igor Vezina playing time?

 

Shawn: Those two have been awesome. Ash Sparks has been the heart and soul of this squad winning us as many games as he has, and the locker room loves him. Vezina is a beast in his own right, and I want him to be the future goalie for this team. I want to ease him into playing time to get his legs under him and get some action but also playing him when Sparks needs rest or whatever and he's been awesome when we need him.

 

Ripley: One of the things your team has struggled with, despite the recent successes, is a great disparity in the plus/minus between your units. We've noticed some tweaks to the lineup in your most recent games. About how big of a sample size do you personally need to make changes during the year and what other factors do you consider when making such adjustments?

 

Shawn: I try and look at 5-10 games before making lineup changes usually. With 72 games in a season, you can't afford to go 20 or 30 games with a bad lineup because that could ruin your season. Factors I consider are definitely TPA and who's allocated into what. I want to give everyone a meaningful role on the team and luckily some guys allocate their TPE perfectly for me to do that.

 

Ripley: A recent acquisition, defenseman Elias Lampi, has been quite outspoken regarding his displeasure with the amount of time the 21st has spent on the penalty kill since his arrival. Is Lampi's concern valid? Furthermore, do you as a general manager encourage your players to speak their minds no matter the place or has Elias's behavior been seen as problematic by your front office?

 

Shawn: It's valid. Our special teams this season have been abysmal to say the least. I encourage players to speak their mind, this is their team and I'm just the one pulling the strings, right? I wouldn't like it if someone was telling me to do but I don't have an issue with players bringing ideas to me.

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Thank you to all of the GMs who gave me their input on league related topics. I hope my queries were to their satisfaction and they had a good think about some of these questions. Thank you to the readers if you made it all the way through this piece. Have a wonderful hockey season!

 

2,229 words
weeks ending: 10/10 | 10/17 | 10/24 | 10/31
 

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i just realized im such a bot... i forgot the best interview of the 5 i did!!!! omg omg... i might just release it for no points... such a waste. ill be better in the future.

 

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On 10/10/2022 at 3:24 AM, Pifferfish said:

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