Rebranding International Play

[Doomsday 4,130]

Rebranding International Play

 

 

Over the course of VHL history, international play has been a staple of the league. In the early days of the league, achievements on the international stage were considered a big deal, and are frequently listed in the biographies of Hall of Fame players of those eras. Over the years, however, those achievements have diminished in importance, and the World Cup is gradually becoming irrelevant to many members. While there are several reasons for this, the Theme Week theme is rebranding, so that’s the approach we’re going to stick with for this article. That being said, simply rebranding the name of the World Cup isn’t going to change anything, so what we’ll do instead is evaluate the teams we do have, and do our rebranding there instead.

 

Throughout the years, we have had several teams come and go, depending on the representation available through VHL players. Let’s start with the six teams, evaluate their representation in the VHL, and determine if there is the potential for a new team:

 

United States of America

 

 

Team Representation:

 : 12

 

It should come as no surprise that the USA is well-represented in the VHL, with a large portion of the members of the league being Americans. Along with many first-generation players matching their own nationality by making an American player, many of the league’s top American players are also recreates, giving the USA a formidable roster each and every tournament. No changes need to be made to this team.

 

 

Canada

 

 

Team Representation:

 : 12

 

Just like the USA, Canada is also very highly represented in the VHL due to many league members themselves being Canadians. As a result, Team Canada frequently receives excellent representation in the sim for the same reasons the USA does, making it a highly competitive roster to earn a spot on. Team Canada needs no changes, as they have been well-represented from Day One and will continue to be so.

 

 

Team Eastern Europe

 

Team Representation:
 : 1

 : 2

 : 1

 : 1

 : 2

 : 2

: 1
: 2

 

Europe as a whole traditionally received a team consisting of players from all across Europe, but increasing diversity in player representation has led to an Eastern and Western team for Europe. The gold medal-winning Eastern European team was especially diverse, featuring players from eight different nations, none of which had more than two players on the team. In spite of nations like Russia and Czechia being traditional ice hockey powerhouses in the real world, they are not nearly as well-represented in the VHL, with just two Russian and Czechian players each on this roster. It’s worth noting that during Season 24 to 34, the Soviet Union existed as a team, containing many of the Eastern European nations in it, while Europe simultaneously existed. As it stands now, Eastern Europe is working just as intended, and quite successfully as well. No nation under their umbrella has the ability to stand on their own just yet, and no changes are necessary at this time.

 

 

Team Western Europe

 

 

Team Representation:

 : 2

 : 1

 : 1
 : 1

 : 1

 : 1
: 2

: 2

 : 1
 

 

The other half of the former Team Europe, Western Europe, features some traditionally strong and well-established nations in ice hockey, but is the first team we’ve gone over that has talent from outside of their pool. Goaltenders Olober Syko and Dalkr Vidarsson are from the USA and Greenland, respectively. The United Kingdom (who once upon a time had their own team in the World Cup), France, and Switzerland each have two players on the team, but to me the biggest surprise is Germany with just one player on the team. Their lack of goaltenders of their own is also troubling, as Syko certainly will represent the USA in the future and Vidarsson could very well represent his own nation, as I’ll get into later. It’s fair to conclude that no nation represented by Western Europe is ready to stand on their own.

 

 

Team Nordic

 

 

Team Representation:

 : 1

 : 8

 : 1
 : 2

 

As the GM of Team Nordic, I was hoping to build a team that represented the Nordic region, but it quickly became apparent that this team was going to be largely composed of one nation: Finland. With a staggering eight players of Team Nordic from Finland, it is pretty clear that Finland is a nation ready to stand on its own legs. Allowing Finland to be their own team will allow for Team Nordic to become a team consisting of the other nations in the region, allowing more players to experience international play, Sweden in particular would largely help to fill in the gap, as the other nations have some work to do with recruiting. It would be a tough road for Team Nordic, who would certainly experience a stepback with the loss of Finland, but with the knowledge of having international roster spots available through the other Nordic nations, those who want to experience it could be swayed to create their new players under those nations instead of potentially being held out for multiple World Cups on nations like the USA or Canada. Finland, meanwhile, could be ready to compete for medals, especially if Aleksanteri Kaskiniemi-Kekkonen develops into a goalie capable of taking over for veteran Fuuka Rask.

 

 

Team World

 

 

Team Representation:

 : 1

 : 2

 : 1
 : 4

 : 1

 : 1
 : 1
 : 1

 

Lastly, we have Team World, the catch-all team for nations that don’t fit elsewhere and players who didn’t make the cut for their respective nations. The interesting part here is that Greenland, which has typically been a part of Team Nordic, is included here with Team World. With four players, they are actually the fourth highest represented nation in the Season 92 World Cup, behind only the United States, Canada, and Finland. Looking at their list of players currently active in the VHL, there is practically an entire roster there, although depth is currently limited. As it stands however, there is definitely potential there for Greenland to be their own team. You heard it: it’s finally time to make Greenland their own team.

 

Of the remaining eight players, it’s pretty evenly split in half with players who are the lone representative of a nation not otherwise represented, while the others didn’t make the cut on their own nation’s team. Of those four, two are Canadian and another is an American, not surprising considering the stiff competition to make those two teams. The big surprise was Sunglasses Joyo of the United Kingdom being on this team, a testament to how tough the competition at forward was for Western Europe. Great Britain actually boasts a pretty respectable group of forwards, enough to form two pretty solid lines, but their defensive and goaltending depth simply isn’t there, with Phil Strasmore the only defenseman that would warrant making an international roster spot. VHLE legend Clark is the only UK goaltender, and Western Europe opted against taking him for their own roster, as I doubt he would fare well on the international stage. The United Kingdom certainly has promise to be awarded their own team once again, as they were from Season 26 to 34, but they’re not quite there yet.

 

 

The Return of Team Mercenaries?

 

 

The best of the rest, Team Mercenaries was a team that was able to add any player that was not selected to their own nation’s team, giving them the opportunity to prove to their country that they were wrong to pass on them. Indeed, twice they pulled off the ultimate upset by winning gold with a roster of castoffs, two of the greatest stories in the history of the VHL’s international play. It was a fun and unique challenge, and as enjoyable of one as it was to undertake, with Team World getting to select leftover players, it defeats the point of Team Mercenaries. Unless Team World was restricted only to nations not covered by the other teams, with unselected players being left to Team Mercenaries, the two can’t really coexist as is. But if we really want to revamp the World Cup and get as many players into it as we can, Team Mercenaries can return once again.

 

Can the Rebrand Be Done?

 

 

International competition has been a part of the VHL for the entire part of the league’s journey, and I would love for it to capture the luster that it once had. Winning gold medals used to be an important part of cementing a player’s legacy in the VHL, not that it should ever be a deterrent to a player making or not making the Hall of Fame. To me, increasing the amount of representation for the World Cup would be a great way to boost interest for the tournament, especially amongst nations that have gained a strong enough base to compete under their own banners. More teams would also lead to more diversity in games played during the Round Robin as well, not to mention add to the achievement of winning a medal. With a little bit of rebranding, we can make the VHL World Cup worth getting excited over again.

[Banackock 8,060]

I like East / West Europe tbh. 

[Doomsday 4,130]

1 hour ago, Banackock said:

I like East / West Europe tbh. 

 

It definitely really works out with getting far more people involved than Team Europe on its own did. The UK is really the only nation that's anywhere close to being able to field their own roster, so I don't see it changing anytime soon.

[tcookie 902]

I would probably care a lot more about the international tournaments if teams were actually just international teams representing one country, and teams that qualify for any given tournament were picked based on the number of eligible players they had or something. But that would mean completely leaving some people out, some teams being completely outclassed, etc... so I definitely get it. I created a guy from Lichtenstein so I'd never get to participate (short of trying to get a bunch of other people to create Lichtensteiners too). It just doesn't really feel like international play to me so it may as well be just another off-season tournament variant.

[Doomsday 4,130]

16 minutes ago, tcookie said:

I would probably care a lot more about the international tournaments if teams were actually just international teams representing one country, and teams that qualify for any given tournament were picked based on the number of eligible players they had or something. But that would mean completely leaving some people out, some teams being completely outclassed, etc... so I definitely get it. I created a guy from Lichtenstein so I'd never get to participate (short of trying to get a bunch of other people to create Lichtensteiners too). It just doesn't really feel like international play to me so it may as well be just another off-season tournament variant.

 

It's an unfortunate reality that most countries simply don't have enough quality players to do that. Currently, only the USA and Canada have their own teams, although I believe Finland and Greenland could also roster their own teams. If the amount of nations that players could choose at player creation was limited, that could help result in more balanced international representation, but USA and Canada would still receive far more than the others. Outside of having Team Eastern/Western Europe and Team World to give other nations a chance to grow while still allowing their players to participate, too many people would be excluded at this point.

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