Claimed:VHL All-Star Game Through the Years [Reviewed]

[Kendrick 4,741]

VHL All-Star Game Through the Years

The Victory Hockey League has been blessed to have so many players run through it's system over the years. We have seen countless Hall-of-Famers and various other characters represent the league at the annual VHL All-Star Game to showcase the leagues talent. Beyond the talent though the showcasing in the VHL seems to be taken a step further than leagues like the NHL, AHL and MLB. The Victory Hockey League likes to send their talent on an annual trip to a destination untapped by professional hockey franchises or other major sporting leagues. The NFL wants to branch out to London in the future, well the VHL has already been there before. The NHL is thinking about placing a team in the gambling city of Las Vegas Nevada, well the VHL has already tapped into that tree. Today we figured we would let you in on the history of the VHL All-Star game as we take a look at more recent locations that the VHL has touched down in to showcase their star studded cast of skaters and net minders.

 

Cape Canaveral, Florida (USA) - Season 46

Located beside Banana River, north of Cocoa Beach Pier is a place you'd think we found from some children's book. Despite it's very interesting description it is quite the real place, especially if you ask the locals. The population is a conference hall short of 10,000 people and the gold course is always full. Something tells us this quiet little oasis in the middle-western portion of Florida was given an All-Star game last season for the golf accessibility alone. No Victory Hockey League teams has graced this land of citrus fruit, but the SHL does feature a team close by (at least we think they are). If you're in the neighbourhood a tour of the Kennedy Space Centre is a must.

 

Luxembourg City, Luxembourg - Season 45

A busy city in Luxembourg which happens to be the countries capital, held host to the VHL All-Star Game two years ago. Although unlike Cape Canaveral, this city actually has about ten times as many residents living amongst it. Luxembourg isn't really known for their hockey, as they focus primarily on Tennis and European Football. A strange place for the VHL to venture too but like we said before, these or more or less vacation destinations for their star players. The Cathedral of Notre Dame is the place to check out here, many VHL stars did tours with their families and were very impressed.

 

Undetermined - Season 44

At the time the Victory Hockey League couldn't determine where to host the 44th edition of the VHL All-Star game. Sources say sanctions against the league weren't allowing them to hold the event on international ice so they did it in North America in front of no fans. TSN reported that through horrible Commishing at the time from a Philadelphia based Commissioner, they were too lazy to set it up. This one is the black scar on the leagues annual All-Star festivities.

 

Prague, Czech Republic - Season 43

If you have ever been to Prague you may be able to agree with me here, this city is largely overrated by "travellers". However, the VHL decided it was the place to be for the 43rd annual All-Star Game. The largest city of the ones talked about with roughly 2.15 Million people living in and around it. It is Czech Republic's largest city and their capital as well. Czech Republic is used to hockey and they are very good at it internationally speaking. This one looks more like a showcase to the country to gather funds for their own team. They have the people, the players and the fever for the game of hockey; will we see a team in this country?

 

Denver, Colorado (USA) - Season 42

Denver is actually one of the hockey hotbeds in the American country. Denver has some very competitive college teams as well as their very own NHL franchise in the Avalanche. This showcasing looks to be more of a display of respect for the game in the area and what it has provided the VHL with over the years in talent. Players used the time to head up to the hills and explore the great runs at the various ski resorts. Celebrities from the area filled the arena when they found out Denver would be hosting this one. Of course Denver isn't short of fans through all this, they feature close to a population of 650,000 people.

 

Munich, Germany - Season 41

With the game growing in one of the VHL's newest cities (Cologne), the league decided to take it's talents to the capital of Bavaria. The players and families got to experience a bit go German culture and a trip to the Allianz Arena home of Bayern Munich. This games might have just whispered to the city that a VHLM team might be in the cards for them. Many of the players were excited to get a tour of the BMW headquarters. The 2.6 Million people in and around the city had to line up quick to get their tickets for this event when it came by.

 

Lewiston, Maine (USA) - Season 40

Lewiston, Maine is not actually a very surprising place if you think of the makeup of this league. The founder of the VHL is from Lewiston and this All-Star Game was a showcase to his hometown on what he had created forty season prior. With a population just over 35,000 people in the city area, it's a very small city when comparing to others but it is a hockey crazy place. The Lewiston Maineiacs used to be a hot ticket before they moved back to their original home in Sherbrooke. Kevin Brooks got emotional when it he dropped the puck at centre ice to kick this one off.

 

Madrid, Spain - Season 39

In the 39th edition of the VHL All-Star Game they went back to a city that hosted a VHL team for a good chunk of time. The horrible decision the VHL made by allowing a team to re-locate to Madrid somewhat stunk over this event, but it still showcased things. Madrid should have never been more than a All-Star destination like many of these other hosting cities. Madrid is a European Football crazed city of 3.16 Million people who could not careless any less about the sport of hockey. We're pretty sure that Christiano Ronaldo rules this city, no room for the likes of Evgeni Chekhov or Ville Sixten.

 

Las Vegas, Nevada (USA) - Season 38

The gambling city we mentioned at the beginning was home to the 38th edition of the VHL's All-Star Game. it was a huge success and something the league and the city are looking at make happen on a permanent basis or hosting a team altogether. Of course the gambling issue will always be a big issue as the Pete Rose's of hockey may find their way into the game, but the VHL rarely cares about that anyways. The city is home to nearly two million people, so the chances of supporting a team are very likely.

 

Copenhagen, Denmark - Season 37

This might just have been the biggest showcase to a city that needs a team. In regards to the top five destinations that would be up for hosting a team in the VHL, Copenhagen has to be one of them. This was one of the best star studded events and the city hosted with perfection. The city is home to close to two million people give or take a handful here and there. The castles and ancient buildings are truly a sight to see and the players took full advantage of this old quiet metropolis of a capital city. Denmark is no stranger to hockey either after seeing a handful of players grace the NHL and VHL over the past decade alone.

 

So where will the game be this year? Various cities have been brought up. Finland, Austria, Belarus and hell even Vatican City have all thrown a pitch in to get the annual star studded event in their respected countries. We like to think the best choice this year is Monaco, because of it's beauty and ultimate location.

 

 

 

[evrydayimbyfuglien 600]

Very nicely done.  Very thorough job.  I guess I didn't even realize there was an All-Star Game for the VHL until the recent posts about it.  Only complaint would be maybe this list should have gone from oldest to newest. Still, overall, nicely done.

[Ahma 1,426]

Interesting article Kendrick! You don't see many of these kind of Media Spots

[CowboyinAmerica 2,880]

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