Tipton and Verhault, Offseason Update

[FTK 49]

It has been quite an offseason for the Victory Hockey League in terms of management turnover, as two of the mainline Victory Hockey League teams have transitioned General Managers in the beginning of the offseason. Starting with General Manager Geoffrey Dee of the Chicago Phoenix, two General Managers have stepped down at this point in the offseason. 

 

The second of these affected Shaggy Tipton and his perceived “job security”. Frank Funk, who was responsible for the hiring and promotion of Tipton, has stepped down as the General Manager of the Helsinki Titans. In a press conference after the news was announced, Tipton was quoted saying: “I am forever thankful to Frank Funk for giving me a shot of a lifetime when it comes to my newfound management career. I never imagined myself returning to the Victory Hockey League, and it is a pleasure to do so.” When asked if he would be pursuing the opening of the General Manager position, Tipton stated: “Although I lack the experience and do not be expected as a serious candidate for the position, I would be open to the idea, but as it stands I support the incoming General Manager and my goal is to perform my job duties as usual, preparing Helsinki for the upcoming Draft.”

 

With the departure of Frank Funk from Helsinki, Tipton’s inexperience in management was once again a topic of discussion amongst Heksinki’s naysayers. As recently as a week ago, Tipton publicly took flights to the DC area, returning to American soil during a time of turnover for the Helsinki Titans. Namely, the DC Dragons also had management openings as the assistant, which Tipton is far more comfortable with in terms of his role and responsibility. 

 

This is not to say that Tipton has strayed from his duties entirely, as he is still a frequent participant in Helsinki’s practices as a former player, coaching up some of the Titans’ prospects who would be upcoming in the Victory Hockey League. And although Tipton never had the pleasure himself of hearing his name being selected in the Victory Hockey League draft, he has attended many Victory Hockey League Minors practices and events, namely preparing his protege Didier Verhault for draft day. Although it is considered unlikely for Verhault to go within the top 16, he certainly has gathered more hype as a prospect than Tipton had been able to. 

 

Verhault has evolved his game in many ways during his lone season at Mexico City, scoring his first professional goals and becoming a regular late in the season and during the playoffs. With an offseason of training and adjustment to North America, the hope is that Verhault can make the leap into becoming an elite defenseman for his draft-day team in the Minors. With strong interviews and good physical performances, it is not hard to see Verhault becoming a top-end prospect in one of the up and coming pools around the many different leagues. 

 

Verhault has attended many practices and try-outs for the Victory Hockey League’s main teams, as well as their branch leagues in Europe and in the Minors. Verhault has regularly tested well as a Two-Way Defenseman, and with refinement added to his game, he can only become better with time.