VHL Editorial

[Doomsday 4,142]

Is It Truly the World's Cup?

 

A longstanding tradition in the Victory Hockey League, the World Cup of Hockey was first played in the second season of the league. It was initially held every two years up until Season 34, when the creation of the Super Cup pushed it to every three years. However, that wasn't the only change the World Cup saw that year. With certain regions lacking in players, talent began to pool up in the same regions, namely the United States and Canada. Thusly, Team World sprung up to claim the huddled few not belonging to the represented countries/regions, with Team Mercenaries popping up to collect the players rejected by their native countries. We've seen some other teams, such as the United Kingdom, Soviet Union, Switzerland and Scandinavia come and go. Western Europe, the original gold medal winners from the first World Cup have returned for Season 40's World Cup. But as far as countries go, only the USA and Canada still have teams... is the World Cup becoming less and less of a matchup between the best players a country has?

 

With only six teams in the World Cup, naturally not every country or even continent or region will be represented. However, there cannot be twenty some teams for each country with a player, for the United States and Canada would always be the ones competing for the gold. You'll have some die-hards representing the United Kingdom or Russia, but it's not enough to outweigh the constant stream of players that North America receives every year. However, the United States and Canada are pretty much the only regular teams appearing in the World Cup year after year and for good reason to boot, with both countries never having trouble fielding a team. Countries such as the United Kingdom and Switzerland have gotten enough players to form teams on their own, as I've already mentioned. But lately, it seems as if the USA and Canada are completely and utterly dominating the talent pool for the World Cup. You know it's getting uneven when two teams are dedicated to two countries, two teams are dedicated to regions spanning multiple countries and the final two teams cover the rest of the planet and players who couldn't make it onto the other five teams. This is a trend that's been continuing for quite some time now, and there's not much that can really be done about it.

 

There is really only one way that the culture of the World Cup can be changed: limiting countries that new players can choose. Now, I'm not saying that someone can't choose the United States because 15 other players have already done so. But instead, perhaps a list can be made in a place that's easily accessible when you're making a player. This list can show how many players in the VHL/VHLM are from the particular countries, along with what VHL/VHLM team they're on, their position and their amount of TPE. This could prove rather helpful to a new player joining while the World Cup is on the horizon, as picking a country that's not as loaded could mean some extra games and exposure for them. While that might diversify the amount of countries participating, it unfortunately won't level the playing field... at least not yet. But seeing as how the country of origin is often times an afterthought when creating a player, that is how the World Cup's playing field will remain until the community decides when and if it is a cause worth undertaking.

 

 

Jethro Novacek is a writer for the VHL Magazine, which remains a fine and quality publication. He enjoys staying up late to watch the Flyers lose, being blacked out from football games and randomly posting pictures of Slapshot.

 

Bolded Quote: The United States and Canada are pretty much the only regular teams appearing in the World Cup year after year.

[Doomsday 4,142]

Top Prospect Game A Letdown?

 

Over the course of the Victory Hockey League's 40th off-season, many stellar events went off without a hitch. The Season 40 VHL All-Star Game bid a fond farewell to the retiring Odin Tordahl, Niklas Lindberg and Thomas Landry as the Season 33 veterans stole the show with a combined twelve points. The World Cup of Hockey saw the return of Team Western Europe, but it was the United States that easily took the gold medal, with Scandinavia the runners-up with the silver medal with the Season One original Western Europe taking the bronze. Both the VHL and VHLM Drafts went off smoothly and with relative ease. So, what's the deal with this column then? Well, there happens to be another game played every year that did not happen with near the amount of success: the Season 40 Top Prospects Game. 

 

The game, in which the best draftees from the VHLM's North American and European conferences play against each other in a showcase of the league's best upcoming talents was originally scheduled to take place on Wednesday, December 3rd. The All-Star Game, which was scheduled for the same day, did not occur until four days later on Sunday the 7th. Now, four days is already a pretty long delay for a single game as it is. Yet, there was still no sign or word about the Top Prospects Game, despite numerous inquiries from interested parties. This dragged on for three more days until finally, a week later, the game was played. One week's worth of unannounced or unexplained delays, ignored probes and members later.

 

I don't think I need to state that this sets an absolutely horrible standard for those young guns, especially considering how many first-generation players are flooding into the league lately. The Recruiting Team has been doing an amazing job lately and I can't help but think slights like this could undo all of that hard work. Now, I don't think anyone is going to leave the league over an exhibition game being simmed a week late, but it does certainly give me the impression that importance wasn't placed on what this game meant to some of those guys. I don't know about you, but doesn't the future of the league deserve better than that? The World Cup was going on, true, but what's one more game on top of it? It's not like this game required a two-hour live sim and recap (although I'd pay money to see Jericho narrate this). The off-season is a busy time for everyone, but there's still no reason for a week-long delay with no acknowledgement of any kind.

 

Let's see the Season 41 Top Prospects Game played on time next year. The ball's in your court now.

 

 

Jethro Novacek is a writer for the VHL Magazine, who has the meats. He enjoys the delicious delicacies of Wawa, smuggling Tide in vast quantities and fighting for your right to party.

 

Bolded Quote: One week's worth of unannounced or unexplained delays later, the game was played.

[Doomsday 4,142]

The VHLM, It Is A'Changin'

 

With the 40th Season of the VHLM (not to be confused with the 41st season of the Victory Hockey League) underway, one of the biggest changes made to the league's minor league affiliate has gone into effect. Gone are the demi-god dominators of the past, with a clear emphasis placed on leveling the playing field. The oft-maligned hard cap of 175 TPE is gone, replaced with a new system that does not allow more than 175 TPE to be placed towards a player's attributes. A player can have an additional 25 TPE banked before the season begins, with another stipulation that you must declare your intentions to stay in the VHLM or to move up to the VHL, giving more leniency to the player in that regard. As simple as this may sound, the changes it has made upon the structure of the VHLM have been clearly noticed so far this season.

 

For starters, no player can achieve an effective level of higher than 175 TPE for any reason in the VHLM now. For some, it has soured their hopes of winning awards and racking up stats. Recreates have lost their competitive edge on the ice, as first-generation players now have the ability to play up to a similar level without being hundreds of TPE behind. Naturally, for recreates it's not as peachy, but then again, there's more to the VHLM than dominating newcomers on your way back to the VHL. The problem, though is that these guys are still using the same methods that worked before the changes. Although the VHLM used to be a square hole, it is now a circle. Just as how the VHLM has changed, recreates must switch to the round peg as well instead of attempting to continue to force the square peg in.

 

Whether we like it or not, more than the amount of TPE needed to go to the VHL has changed. For years, the point of the VHLM has been forgotten more than the true meaning of Christmas. It's not about scoring 200 goals and winning all the trophies. It's not about the Founders' Cup. It's not even about winning. The VHLM exists solely to prepare players for the VHL and everything else is just gravy on top of that. You want to play with an effective level of more than 175 TPE? Go to the next level then. The VHLM can be used to get prospects ready to go as soon as possible, then up to the pros. The extra incentive to stay down and dominate is now gone, leaving the VHLM as a true developmental league. The sooner this is understood, the sooner everyone can stop whining and deal with it.

 

 

Jethro Novacek is a writer for the VHL Magazine, purveyors of excellence. He enjoys thinking of hockey players better than Vinny Lecavalier, cheering on Zack Stortini and ugly sweaters.

 

Bolded Quote: The point of the VHLM has been forgotten more than the true meaning of Christmas.

[Doomsday 4,142]

Tank Running Empty?

 

With Fury doing well in the box office, interest in tanks has suddenly reignited. The rage has seemingly hit everywhere, stopping just short of seeing tanks driving past you on the city streets. However, this same fever has seemingly hit the Victory Hockey League, albeit in a much different way. Tanking in the sports world refers to deliberately losing games in order to secure a better position in the draft, usually to select a specific highly-touted prospect. Tanking does not infer that the players themselves are deliberately trying to lose the games, for it is usually the exact opposite. Often times it is due to the players themselves being of a far inferior quality to their opponents, usually intentionally set that way by the team's management. Many have looked at the Stockholm Vikings, who until this week only had one win in over thirty games played. Could this be an example of tanking in the VHL?

 

On the surface, it certainly doesn't look good. Regardless of the amount of talent on the team, only three wins in forty five games is just bad. Until recently, Stockholm was mired in a thirty seven game losing streak, quite possibly the worst in the forty one seasons of the VHL. Yeah, on the surface it certainly does look bad, especially when you consider they traded away two VHL-ready players in Wesley Matthews and Rami Jacobsen, along with disgruntled Season 41 draftee Rift Pajodcast. Although the trade for the latter brought in Lloyd Light, a talented and more committed player, the team was already loaded up on defense. However, tanking's not the idea here.

 

Stockholm's focus is on Season 42, not Season 41. The Vikings' success (or rather, lack of) this season is not of particular importance to the new franchise's future. Although this season may very well go down as one of the worst seasons by any team in the history of the league and do little to remove the shadow of Vasteras from the team, it's not intentionally. We see this happen frequently in the league when teams prepare for the long haul. Some seasons simply end up being good for little more than player development and accumulating statistics. We saw this with Davos in Season 34, who easily finished dead-last in the league, then went on to make the playoffs the following year, followed by their dominant stretch of Continental Cup Finals appearances. For some teams, re-arming doesn't go too roughly on the outside, but for some teams like the Vikings who lack serious offensive output and goaltending... the results speak for themselves. However, Stockholm should be able to boast massive improvements next year, so at least they've got that going for them. How many other teams in league history have been able to boast a 500% increase in wins from one year to the next? The Vikings may just be able to do that next season.

 

 

Jethro Novacek is a writer for the VHL Magazine, otherwise known as the best of the best plus Kesler. He enjoys ribbing colleagues, playoff victories and wishing Stuart Scott safe travels to the great broadcast studio in the sky.

 

Bolded Quote: Some seasons simply end up being good for little more than player development and accumulating statistics.

[Doomsday 4,142]

Slight Contractions

 

As I've no doubt mentioned at some point this season, Season 41 of the Victory Hockey Leagues marks the 40th season of the VHLM, everyone's favorite minor league system. With the exception of the VHL's initial draft class, every player that has stepped on the ice has played in the league's minor league affiliate. Similarly, just like how the league itself has evolved, so has the VHLM, the most recent evolution leveling the playing field at 175 effective TPE. However, that's not the point here, as we'll be discussing another popular topic: contracting from ten VHLM teams down to eight or six. I don't think that's too great an idea, as we'll go into more in depth here. 

 

For starters, unless the VHL itself is also contracted (which is absolutely not going to happen), there's absolutely no way this is even possible. Although the VHLM teams are not affiliated to a VHL team officially, in the STHS file they are. This means that because there are ten teams in the VHL, there are also ten teams in the VHLM. There are only two feasible ways for a contraction to work: having the contracted teams be filled with dummy players or having a completely separate sim file for the VHLM and neither of them work. Having dummy teams cheapens the experience by padding stats and wins and could have a rather negative effect on the VHLM's competitive aspect in making the post-season and determining award winners. As for creating an entirely separate file... that's a whole new world of problems. It would require, naturally a second person to operate the file. This would create issues with consistency between the two, which naturally would cause additional issues that aren't needed.

 

Another argument is that the league is diluted, with a few teams competing, a few in the middle of the pack and the rest in a dormant state until the year they own half of the first round. Well, a quick look at the VHL standings reveals pretty much the same thing there as well. Even if you go down to say, six teams, you'll have more even competition, but some of those teams are still not going to be as good and will get their butts kicked in just the same. The numbers will add up the same, only you went through unnecessary work just to get it. To me, contracting the VHLM is change for the sake of change and why break something that's already fixed? 

 

 

Jethro Novacek is a writer for the VHL Magazine, succulent slammers of pogs everywhere. He enjoys masterfully crafted beards, causing explosions with his biceps and having a better plus/minus rating than Alexander Ovechkin.

 

Bolded Quote: Contracting the VHLM is change for the sake of change.

[Doomsday 4,142]

The Year of the Goalie

 

It's without doubt that the job of the goaltender in hockey is the most stressful position in the game. One wrong move, one lapse of focus can cost your team. Even if the team in front of you can make countless mistakes, but the other team still can't get the goal unless they beat you. However, in the Victory Hockey League that's not what makes goalie such a difficult position to play. Top prospects at the position are by far the most coveted in the entry drafts, for they are vital to a team's success. With the 41st regular season of the VHL behind us, several VHL clubs are on the lookout for their franchise netminder and man does this upcoming draft class deliver there. Between Jax Barnstormer, Callum Sinclair and Blake Campbell, three teams will be sitting pretty with their rebuilding efforts. However, the transition from the VHLM to the VHL is not typically an easy transition.

 

For starters, the performance of goalies in the STHS appears to be completely and utterly random, despite a multitude of factors affecting their play. A 1000 TPE goalie behind an excellent defensive pairing can still struggle mightily over the course of playing 64 games. It's perplexing to see legendary netminders like Remy Lebeau go from a dominant season to struggling with practically the same roster, but it happens. Rookie goaltenders can be even more unpredictable, although we are starting to see guys like Lennox Moher and "Jack" Niklaus Mikaelson entering the league with higher amounts of TPE. Jax Barnstormer has been the consensus top goalie prospect, but questions surrounding his attitude and commitment have definitely given Callum Sinclair added stock as a safe pick. Meanwhile, Blake Campbell has been working hard to improve his chances on draft day and it's looking more and more like teams won't be disappointed to "settle" for him.

 

Another frustrating aspect for goaltenders is that unlike forwards and defensemen, agents with goalies generally don't see much growth and development. It almost seems as if one goes between night and day in regards to performance. As mentioned previously with seemingly random performances, goalies seem to have three different performances: sucks, good enough to win some games and flat-out ridiculous. It's likely to see all three in three different games. When a forward invests their TPE wisely, they see their player develop into a stud. With a goalie, they see their player more or less stumble around drunkenly until they suddenly become a stud for a couple games. It's a definite level of frustration that other positions generally won't have to deal with (although the sim does indeed take a Pierre McGuire level fascination towards some players). It can definitely take some of the fun out of going through a career with a goalie and we've even seen some of them cut their careers short, with the notorious Skylar Rift topping the recent list. With some of the goalie prospects' agents having had masterful offensive clients in the past, will they be able to adjust to a player that may struggle mightily for several seasons before putting it together? 

 

Three VHL franchises will be calling the names of three potentially great future goalies. They may not even play in the pros this season, at least not all of them. But this draft could be one that might very well be remembered as the year of the goalie. Impeccable timing, with several teams greatly needing their services as well. These prospects may bring it franchises like Stockholm and Toronto out of their recent funk, perhaps Davos will find their next great goaltender. The only certain thing is that we won't know for several seasons and perhaps then we'll truly know if this is the year of the goalie.

 

 

Jethro Novacek is a writer for the VHL Magazine, drastically reducing paper usage worldwide. He enjoys scaring children by openly cleaning his rifle, clamoring for more physical contact in All-Star Games and finding dolla dolla bills in his wallet unexpectedly.

 

Bolded Quote: STHS can definitely take some of the fun out of going through a career with a goalie.

[Doomsday 4,142]

Seasons Of Change

 

The 41st Victory Hockey League Continental Cup Finals are underway, with familiar foes New York and Riga duking it out yet again for the league's top prize. But after both the VHL and VHLM hand off the trophies, the 41st season will officially be in the books and the off-season will once again be with us. The Super Cup will be back for the third time, with the GMs expected to be announced shortly. The VHL Entry Draft isn't looking to be up to par with the past couple, but there are still studly prospects waiting to be called into the ranks of the VHL. And that's just the tip of the iceberg.

 

In relatively old news, Victor Alfredsson stepped down from his role as league commissioner and blue team stalwart. As a noted overachiever, Alfredsson set the bar for his replacement impossibly high, a situation that the VHL felt was best to handle by bringing in two new members of the Blue Team: Jim Gow and Don Draper. Although they have already been on the job for a couple weeks, they will soon face the daunting task of being part of the group to oversee the off-season. For Gow, who had been a commissioner of the VHLM, this is hardly anything new for him and he'll be more than up to the task. Draper has done nothing but excellent work in every capacity he has served, so I further expect he'll do a tremendous job with the off-season as well. A new-look Blue Team will be more than up to the task in Season 42.

 

Speaking of the Blue Team, Jardy Bunclewirth certainly had a rough stretch during the season in which the league was on hold for several days. Even though it was due to an honest mistake, it showed the league something. Even though Jardy had been ultra-consistent and reliable, the VHL saw that the bulk of the sims should not fall on just one person alone. It's a shame, for few seemed to truly appreciate the hard work that he had been putting in for the league. Being consistent for season upon season, only for his mistakes to be acknowledged. Regardless, I am glad to see other members of the Blue Team and BOG stepping up to help Jardy. I can't imagine what a burden it must have been for him to have to sim and upload the results every night. Either way, it seems for those other times, Jardy's got several helping hands to rely on and it's been long overdue.

 

The VHLM also has a new batch of fresh meat at the General Manager position. Four new hires have been made and they have some very big shoes to fill. Austin Gow, Don Draper and Joey Kendrick depart, with up and comers Kachur, Ramicus, Bluesboy71 and R1c3Muncher (I was tragically unable to find their GM names) taking the reigns. Some of the teams are a bit depleted on resources due to the previous regimes (looking right at you, Gow), it might be a while before their impact is felt. However, the VHLM taking on a youth movement the likes of this is a tremendous step forward for the league. The VHLM is all about developing new talent and now four new members have been added to begin their development as leaders of their own. 

 

The VHL will continue on as it has for the last 41 seasons, but it has been ever-changing in order to survive. These new changes aren't necessarily to keep the league alive, but they are certainly changes to keep the league at its level of greatness. Best of luck to those in their new roles and thanks for doing your best to have gotten there. Do the VHL proud!

 

 

Jethro Novacek is a writer for the VHL Magazine, collectors of the finest Starting Lineup figurines. He enjoys the magical game known as hockey, steering clear of AngryNeeson52 and playing too much Trivia Crack.

 

Bolded Quote: The VHL will continue on as it has, ever-changing in order to survive.

Edited February 3, 2015 by Doomsday

[Doomsday 4,142]

Joining the Ranks

 

When gauging the life of a sim league, the number of seasons it lasts tends to be on the smaller scale. Many times you don't see leagues last beyond their first season, there's even been times that leagues have died in the middle of the inaugural draft. As I've touched upon before, we've been incredibly spoiled here with the Victory Hockey League. 41 seasons are now in the books and as much as I love to harp on that, it's an incredible testament to the members of the league. We've seen a lot of members come and go, we've seen those people serve in different capabilities as well. How many times have we seen leagues die because the original commissioner simply couldn't handle the strain of the job any longer and no one could take their place? Here, that's not the case, not with a commish position, not with any position. Just last week I went on about how many new replacements answered the call. No hiccups, no delays... no nothing so far. Why is that? To me, it goes beyond the quality of our members here: it's a testament to the organizational structure the VHL has towards integrating new members.

 

Joining a sim league can be one of the most confusing aspects of life in this hobby of ours. There's a lot you need to do, like finding out how to properly create your player, update your player and figure out the limitations towards how you can improve your player. This is stuff that gets immensely more difficult when the league you're joining is a disorganized and cluttered mess. However, the VHL is very organized to the point everything is a cinch to find and even if you are having trouble, there's a mentor program precisely for this. A player is then quickly claimed to a VHLM team, getting them into a locker room and getting a good foundation for getting to know members of the league. Even if signings/claims are frozen, they still get placed into a VHLM locker room anyway as to not miss out on the experience. The process towards making sure members are on the right path is a well-oiled machine and they are a largely forgotten part of this league, but not today.

 

I personally can attest to this, as when I joined the VHL, it was nearly ten seasons ago. Not a very long time in regards to the history of the VHL. I learned it all pretty quick, but then again, I've been a veteran of sim leagues for close to ten years now, having been here for close to two of them. If I can't get it figured out by now, I'm hopeless. To me, the most challenging aspect was assimilating to the culture, for other than a select few people, I didn't know who people were. The constant inside jokes flew over my head and the vast history of the league was beyond me and in a ways, it still is. There's a ton of stuff here to grasp besides your player and to me, that's where the depth of the VHL truly lies. 

 

 

Jethro Novacek is a writer for the VHL Magazine, holder of zero convictions in the month of February. He enjoys being union labor, eating quality meatloaf and catching re-runs of Walker: Texas Ranger on the telly.

 

Bolded Quote: The process towards integrating members is a well-oiled machine.

[Doomsday 4,142]

What Sparks A Rivalry?

 

To me, rivalries between teams are one of the best aspects of sports, and that's no different in the Victory Hockey League. Whether it's through the massive line brawls in the playoffs, pages of vehement arguing off the ice or even both, even the fictional teams of the VHL can hate each other. Whether it's been Davos and Riga, New York and Riga or New York and Quebec City, we've seen plenty of heated clashes between opposing teams. Regardless of whether you agree about how the rivalry sliders are applied, there's nothing to stop them from happening off the ice. It's simply a part of the league that will always be. But where do rivalries actually begin?

 

Sometimes, it tends to be obvious that a rivalry will begin. Let's take one that's starting to really kick off this year between the HC Davos Dynamo and the Stockholm Vikings. Ignoring what's happened before the puck has even dropped this season, it's pretty clear that a rivalry was going to break out between these two teams. Both teams went through rough years last season and although they won't be at peak form in Season 42, they'll both be jockeying to take that first step out of the rebuild with Riga beginning their own rebuild. One of these two teams will reach the playoffs and one will be on the couch again, with their season series likely being the difference between who gets to move on. Bad blood was inevitable, and this is hardly a new story. We've seen this time and time again where teams fighting for dominance come to dislike each other.

 

However, sometimes there's something that sparks that rivalry. With Davos and Stockholm, it was the posting of a variant of the "Fuck Vasteras" emoticon, which members of the Vikings did not receive too kindly. That rivalry hasn't truly gotten ugly yet, although one is inevitable and this will likely be remembered as the spark that really got the ball rolling. Sometimes it's the attitude of a team on top that sparks a renewed vigor towards taking them down. Sometimes people on opposing teams just don't like each other. There's a variety of reasons rivalries happen, but regardless of the reason, there's nothing quite like a good rivalry to add fun to the VHL. Few things feel better than defeating a hated rival to move on to or even hoist the Continental Cup and few other things push a team to better themselves quite like the prospects of beating "those guys." You know, for being bad guys and causing some of the worst moments of your career, they also can bring about the very best moments on top of that, and to me, that's what makes a great rivalry worth it all.

 

 

Jethro Novacek is a writer for the VHL Magazine, masters of bear cavalry. He enjoys placing Don Henley in situations he should not be in, designing impractical weapons involving lasers and building fences capable of holding any animal.

 

Bolded Quote: There's nothing quite like a good rivalry to add fun to the VHL.

[Doomsday 4,142]

What Is Reliability?

 

When it comes to being in a position of importance or leadership in the Victory Hockey League, there are several traits that the higher powers look for. A strong work ethic, respect, understanding of the league and reliability, to name a few. We're going to focus on that last one, and if you've been paying attention to the ongoing fiasco with Seattle this season, you know exactly where I'm going with this. After a disappearance during the off-season that led to some issues for the Bears' procedures, forcing the ever-professional Mr. Jones to step in and do them for Bushito. After several previous rumblings of his replacement in the past, it seemed as if this was finally going to be it for him, as a notice was posted to gauge interest in potential interest for a general manager job, along with Bushito's position of head grader going up for bid as well. However, after his return and a myriad of resistance from Bears players, it seems that Bushito will remain at his posts, at least for now. However, it seems he's on thin-ice after yet another instance of unreliability.

 

However, let it be said that I believe that Bushito has done a tremendous job with the Bears. I've vocally disagreed about some of his decisions, but you can't argue with the results: Seattle is in prime position to reach the playoffs and do considerable damage with the likes of players like Brady Stropko and Niklaus Mikaelson. He's clearly got the support of virtually, if not all of his entire team. There's a very strong sense of loyalty in Seattle to their leader and that speaks volumes about the job he's done there. But at the same time... if you cannot be counted on to do the tasks required to function as a team, what does that say about you as a general manager? The off-season is perhaps the most crucial time for a general manager to be active, with the draft, free agency, training camp and signing your draft picks. With a majority of those done by a previously-unnamed Co-GM in Mr. Jones, it wasn't very encouraging to see Bushito absent for a lot of those things, especially after the previous stint in Davos. 

 

The degree to which Bushito has done his job has definitely been a huge plus to him surviving his periodic unreliability. But at the same time, do warnings not have a meaning anymore? It just seems like every so often there's a span where he just disappears. Maybe with a Co-GM in Mr. Jones, that won't be as big of a deal anymore. Perhaps with communication, these things can be endured by Seattle. It just goes to show that no job needs to be tackled alone, especially a task as big as running a VHL franchise. It'd be a shame to see Bushito removed from the team before the Bears complete their rebuild by reaching the top of the league, but if he pulls another stint of inactivity... it'd be difficult to blame the league for doing so.

 

Jethro Novacek is a writer for the VHL Magazine, profound lovers of the work of Ron Hextall. He enjoys two-hour delays, avoiding people who worship Taco Bell and warm hoodies.

 

Bolded Quote: If you can't be counted on to do the tasks required to function as a team, what does that say about you as a general manager?

[Doomsday 4,142]

Parity and Competition

 

With the vast history that the Victory Hockey League has, it's truly remarkable to see the paths that teams, players, general managers and other things such as positional balances and point trends take. However, you do begin to notice trends when it comes to certain things, such as the status of a team. Generally, the stage of a team is a lot like the water cycle: blowing up the team, rebuilding, competing, and once the window closes, back to blowing up the team to begin anew. Generally, teams are wise (or perhaps simply fortunate) enough to plot out their anticipated peak seasons at a time in which other teams are slowing down or beginning to gear for their rebuild. Sometimes, there's other factors that change that. Draft picks don't pan out, draft classes lack the depth needed, taking hits in free agency... then again, sometimes with awesome draft classes like Season 40's, it becomes a time when everyone wants a piece of it. Two seasons after that draft, the VHL finds itself in an interesting time: one of extreme competitiveness and parity.

 

In a ten team league with six playoff positions, how much room is there for parity? Even if three teams in a conference are not actively trying to compete, one of them's still making the playoffs. However, the standings as of the time of print are truly something to behold. In the North American Conference, the last place team, the Calgary Wranglers, are just six points out of a tie for the third playoff spot. The European Conference features two tight battles for first and third, with Brennan McQueen's Riga Reign still able to steal points on any given night despite being sixteen points out. Think about that: nearly halfway through the season, nine out of the ten teams are still actively in the playoff hunt. To me, that's truly remarkable for a league in which many of the post-season participants are mostly known by this point and simply battling it out for seeding. For new players, this is a fantastic time to be starting up, as you've got a nine out of ten chance to be right in the thick of the action this year as opposed to enduring a lost season good only for development. How awesome is that?

 

Perhaps the best part of this whole situation is that we've still got just over half a season to go! We've had some great games and moments and this really has the potential to be a banner year for the VHL. Competitiveness breeds activity, and activity keeps the essence of the league moving onwards. Season 42 may very well be looked back upon very fondly in the future by those who experienced it... except maybe those who didn't get to make it to the playoffs. All nine teams may not be in the hunt by the time we hit the last week of the year, but we could be heading towards a wild finish, one we may not see the likes of again. Take the time to enjoy it and do your best to make it a great season for all!

 

Jethro Novacek is a writer for the VHL Magazine, renowned experts at dangling TPE and cash prizes. He enjoys the thrills of a great game of hockey, not having the stomach bug and fleece pajamas.

 

Bolded Quote: Nearly halfway through the season, nine out of the ten teams are still actively in the playoff hunt.

[Doomsday 4,142]

Free the Penalty Shot

 

Whether it's an awarded penalty shot or in the shootout following overtime, it's difficult to deny the intensity of the situation. It's the ultimate test of individual skill for both the goaltender and the skater, and in both situations of the penalty shot, success and failure can go a long way towards determining the outcome of the game. Now, regardless of whether or not you agree with using the shootout to decide the outcome of a game following a continued tie after overtime, the fact of the matter is simply that in the regular season, shootouts do determine the outcome of some games in the regular season. Now, does it seem a little backwards to you that only one of the two players has any real control of their success in this situation? The goaltender's attributes come into play for the penalty shot, but for the skaters, an extra attribute is thrown into the formula: Penalty Shot, which is randomly assigned and the player has zero control over. I believe it's time to change that.

 

Yes, this is already an offensively-oriented league, I cannot deny that. Perhaps this is a slight benefit to the goaltender, perhaps it isn't. Either way, I don't think the penalty shot attribute is something that should be left to chance. With how much people love to complain about how all builds are starting to become the same, here's a way to help change that. Instead of randomly assigning a value to the penalty shot attribute, make players have to invest TPE or a player purchase into improving the attribute. This can be an extra factor towards individuality in builds, and another factor for teams to plan for. There will be some players that can score goals, but due to not investing into penalty shot, cannot beat the goalie in a one-on-one situation. But on the other hand, you will get those players who have the creativity to go with their other skills, allowing them to bury that critical goal in a shootout and help their team win those crucial few more games. This change will definitely add further influence and importance to the shootout and make it more than just a toss-up as to who gets the extra point.

 

It also would add another depth of realism to the Victory Hockey League. By adding another aspect to a player, it also changes the focus of teams when looking at free agents and potentially even prospects. If you have a lot of players that aren't skilled in a penalty shot, you'll wind up like the Philadelphia Flyers and find yourselves helpless in the shootout and lose out on a bunch of points. However, get yourself a creative player like a Patrick Kane and you could end up getting enough extra points from shootouts to clinch that first round bye or sneak into the playoffs altogether. The standings could certainly use another aspect to shake them up, and giving teams and their players a way to more directly influence the result of a shootout could go a long way towards doing so.

 

And come on, don't the TPE whores of the league need something else to sink their hard-earned TPE into? 

 

Jethro Novacek is a writer for the VHL Magazine, the worldwide leader in trolling paying customers. He enjoys the finer aspects of tank combat, chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream and a good fez.

 

Bolded Quote: Only one of the two players has any real control of their success in the shootout.

[Doomsday 4,142]

Contraction Reaction

 

By now I'm sure everyone who's taken the time to read through the entire magazine is aware, it was recently announced that the VHLM, the minor league affiliate of the Victory Hockey League, will be contracting from ten teams to eight teams, with the Turku Outlaws and the Minot Gladiators the two unlucky clubs being removed. The VHL, however, will continue to run with ten teams. Unfortunately, that's more or less the extent of how we know that this will be playing out in the future, at least for now. There are some pretty big ramifications here, both positive and negative and regardless of how this plays out, some of these are going to happen.

 

For starters, the contraction leaves room for one of two options: a completely separate sim or a VHLM in which two teams consisting entirely of bots exist. Neither really sound that bad, but think a little more about it. A separate sim is more than it sounds like, for it means that it's an entirely different file. This means it will require a second staff to keep it running. But wait, you're likely thinking, the VHLM already has a commissioner of its own. Yes, yes it does, but the VHLM Commissioner has not needed to do any simming at this point, for it was already handled by Jardy or whoever it was simming. Running through one index is more than enough for the simmer, meaning that a second reliable simmer must be found, and the consistency will be absolutely vital. There will now be two separate indexes running, two separate seasons that must conclude at the same exact time. Before, it wasn't a problem. But now, you'll need to rely on two people to be synchronized enough to keep up with each other, lest you have large gaps between the two seasons. By comparison, it doesn't make having two bot teams seem that bad. They likely won't win games (other than against each other), but they will seriously inflate statistics and will without a doubt require an entire overhaul of the Achievement Tracker. Additionally, records will likely be shattered with the addition of these two dead-weight teams. But those problems pale in comparison to having two separate sims.

 

On the bright side, contracting will lead to more prospects being together, as opposed to spread out. That will no doubt help boost activity in the VHLM and will also lead to more competition, both being excellent things for the league. With a lack of players to fill the rosters, many VHLM squads endured brutal periods in order to build for one, two years tops of competing. With less teams, there are now more players available to fill out teams, meaning that the model of building will also change. Perhaps we'll see more parity, perhaps we'll see more teams able to compete for longer due to being able to keep adding new prospects. There's a lot that remains to be seen with how this new model will work. However, even with the promise that these changes bring, there is an even greater risk of disaster, one the VHL must not take lightly when implementing these changes. A lack of planning and/or poor execution could be a major setback for the enduring legacy, and perhaps continuity of the VHL. Major challenges lie ahead, and unless they are met head-on, things could be looking south for the already-shrinking VHLM.

 

Jethro Novacek is a writer for the VHL Magazine, noted purveyors of doomsday rhetoric. He enjoys the hum of the engines of a Boeing B-17, the booms made by a six-inch ordnance gun and that weird-ass Mountain Dew commercial.

 

Bolded Quote: There are some pretty big positive and negative ramifications here.

[Doomsday 4,142]

Quadruples Redux?

 

During the 40th season of the Victory Hockey League, several unique events took place. The Hall of Fame Tournament, a banner competition and among things, the team point task, which was recently announced to be returning for a second go-around. However, the clear-cut favorite of these festivities was the Quadruples Week, in which a point task for that week was, obviously enough, worth four times as much. It provided a valuable boost for players both young and old, to the point it was eventually offered to all new players who joined before the Season 41 VHLM Dispersal Draft. However, no sign of a repeat appearance of the quadruples week has materialized, outside of the return of the team point task. As much as we'd all likely love for that to happen, is it really plausible?

 

For starters, with all the hee-hawing going on about TPE inflation, throwing out another quadruples week, especially to players who've already gotten one. It's difficult to argue about the unfairness behind some players getting two quadruples weeks. It really doesn't sound like it in the grand scheme of things, but an extra 24 TPE (25 if you belong to this quality publication or On The Rise) can make a big difference in the grand scheme of things, especially considering in Season 40, this happened in the weeks leading up to the playoffs. With the previous quadruples week occurring two seasons ago, the amount of players who would be getting this advantage would be quite high as well, unless it's decided that a player can only claim a quadruples week once. If that's the case, then the league is signing itself up to do a lot of homework to make sure no player claims it twice.

 

Unless, of course, the quadruples week is only done once every ten seasons, absolutely ensuring that no player can possibly get more than one per career. However, this still will keep some players from getting it, those who haven't signed up or for whatever reason aren't around when the quadruples week is issued. To counter that, you could instead argue that every player is entitled to a quadruples week, just for signing up. But come on now, that's a bit much considering everyone already gets three doubles weeks to begin with, which are already worth more than the single quadruples week in the end. The more I talk about it, the less it's really plausible from the league's perspective to really do this again, even if this is just a pipe dream. Which is likely why we'll never see one of them ever again.

 

Jethro Novacek is a writer for the VHL Magazine, a prized treasure to your community. He enjoys old Harrison Ford movies, speaking a terrible Irish accent and always carrying ropes.

 

Bolded Quote: Is it really plausible to have another quadruples week?

[Doomsday 4,142]

Cologne's Continental Conquest

 

In a fitting match-up between the Victory Hockey League's two expansion teams, it was a clash between opposing ideologies. The Quebec City Meute, winners of the Continental Cup in Season 35, brought explosiveness and quite possibly the league's most dynamic offensive presences in Bruno Wolf and Aksel Thomassen. Although Clinton Chevy was not the architect of the Season 35 squad, he created his own core through a series of trades, building what would eventually come to challenge for the franchise's second. However, they encountered a familiar foe in the Cologne Express, their fundamental opposites. Building through the draft, particularly through Thomas O'Malley and Mason Richardson, Cologne's approach has always been to build their way and stick with their guns. However, it never worked for the snakebitten Express... at least not until Robin Gow beat Brock Waldron 1:24 into overtime to finally bring the Continental Cup to Cologne.

 

For twelve years, Cologne has been the team that just couldn't make it over the hump. Despite the best efforts of Joey Kendrick, it just seemed as if fate was against the Express. Despite hitting on their draft picks and putting together by all accords excellent teams, but something was always there to thwart them, whether it was the HC Davos Dynamo or Vasteras stumbling their way out of the playoffs and messing with Cologne's draft stock. If you can think of a way for a team to figuratively get kicked in the dick, it happened to the Express during this time. As much as I won't complain about how those seasons went for me, looking back it was a shame to see it happen to Cologne. This was a team that was being built right, being very capably led, but in the end, they were always a day late and a dollar short. Always that one last piece or two away from really being a powerful contender.

 

But when the elder Gow scored in that fateful overtime period, twelve years of pain and misery suddenly evaporated. For the first time, their past season will not be one of foiled plans, but one of triumph. The Continental Cup is finally on its way home to the Fatherland and with that, Cologne's climb has come to an end. They finally stand atop the mountain that is the VHL, and well, it's up to them how long they'll be there now. Congratulations to every member of the Cologne Express, past and present. You have deserved this for a long time now and I'm very glad to see you have your moment.

 

Jethro Novacek is a writer for the VHL Magazine, your leading supplier of feels. He enjoys venison steaks, fighting for your right to party and informing people that you can totally get Baja Blast outside of Taco Bell now.

 

Bolded Quote: The Continental Cup is finally on its way home to the Fatherland.

[Devise 4,475]

The Brookside Effect

 

In my first article as the new head of this editorial I wanted to take a look at a particular path to success in the VHL. A path you could, now, name the "Brookside" path. I can't help but notice as the seasons roll on the amount of early retirements we see. While there are some motivated by real life events, or positional needs in the case of new GM's and what have you. A lot of the retirements that we see early come from lack of earned TPE or individual player success. When I see people retiring early, specifically for lack of player success it always irks me. Not because I don't think members don't have a right to retire, of course not. It is their own players and they are free to do what they wish. No I get irritated because I feel members far too often give up on their players. So many members idea of success is the "Conner Low" breed. Hit early, hit hard, hit fast, hit the Hall of Fame. If they don't see the early peaks they bail and start over.

 

But the path to success in the VHL is rarely ever one-dimensional. Look no further than current hot topic player Martin Brookside. Members newer and old are constantly talking about his domination, he is featured all over magazines and media spots. I mean how couldn't he be? Last seasons top goalie, playoff and regular season MVP? He is well on his way to two more of those awards again this season. But the journey was never easy for Brookside. The season 36 draftee joined the pro's in the VHL and was constantly a lower in the pack goalie. Going from a .919 save percentage rookie season to a .909 sophomore season is just an example of some of the struggles diamond_ace had to go through with Brookside. Being the back stop and GM of a Wranglers team that just couldn't get their ducks in a row well enough to make a legitimate run during his tenure seemed to define Martin Brookside. But Brookside was also defined by perseverance. It is very easy to quit in this league. Especially when things are tough. Instead diamond_ace stayed the course, pushed his activity on and he was eventually rewarded with a season, and possibly two every player wishes they could have.

 

The lesson here? Don't give up on your players, more often than not it is very hard to make a player that has an immediate impact on this league. Odin Tordahl wasn't the dominating offensive force he became known for in his first few seasons. Bruno Wolf and Aksel Thomassen weren't the dynamic duo from day one. Martin Brookside was a struggling netminder until he finally put the pieces together. Ultimately making a hall of fame caliber player in this league is exceptionally difficult. Some of the most active members in the league struggle to have even one there. But staying the course with your players can lead to not only greater Hall of Fame chances but the reward of seeing your hard work translate into results in the sim. 

 

Bold Quote: Don't give up on your players, more often than not it is very hard to make a player that has an immediate impact on this league. 

 

Ryan Power is the writer of the Offside Editorial, the creator of the infamous Pajodcast and personally responsible for ruining the VHL Player Store. He is known for hating malls, posting three paragraph rants, and lacking a true comprehension at pronouncing anything correctly, specifically player names. 

Edited May 23, 2015 by Mr. Power

[Devise 4,475]

Incentivize Trade Deadline

 

We have seen yet another uneventful VHL trade deadline fall by the wayside. We had one deal, a "minor blockbuster" of sorts that saw Tyson Stokes get sent to the Toronto Legion in exchange for a Season 45 Toronto first. This completed the last of the Helsinki Titan rebuild, as they also sent away Don Draper a few days before the deadline.

 

The conversation about the trade deadline feeling meaningless is not a new one. We have all seen seasons go by with very little activity, and all wondered "why?" The biggest reason, as most might know, is the desire for team security and chemistry. It leads to GM's doing most if not all of their trading in the off-season. It isn't that we as a league see a lack of trades. Off seasons prove that, as they pile up within days. It's the nature of wanting to see how good the team you built actually is, and get the benefits of your traded players for the entire season. It also provides you with security, especially when trying to leverage other deals.

 

Ultimately, the trade deadline doesn't really give enough of an incentive for GM's taking the risk. Unless they know they have a deal lined up, why go into a bidding war or a gamble over halfway into the season? It is with this in mind I look at proposing a change to trade deadline that may get more GM's to bite on the waiting game.

 

Currently, in the lead up to trade deadline and on it teams trading for a player have to pay 60% of the players salary. That is the absolute lowest you'll ever pay for any player. Your basically paying for the rest of the season of their play. Most trade deadline deals involve cup contenders trying to put a few pieces in place to complete their playoff run. So I was looking at an idea, a bit more "radical" that I think would help incentivize trade deadline acquisitions.

 

That change is as follows. If you make a trade on the day of the deadline, you will only pay 40% of the acquired players salary. A near 20% dip. Teams trading the player would still be required to pay the other percentage of salary. This could make a huge difference in seeing deadline activity. Teams could look at keeping their pieces to deal them at the deadline for huge discounts to competing teams. Competing teams up against the salary cap vices could add more pieces for less, or a bigger piece that would never otherwise be possible.

The solution is likely a bit radical, but it helps with the issue many teams and GM's face by circumventing some of the salary cap, but at a price. The price you pay is that you don't get the players you trade for nearly as long compared to trading in the off-season, and you risk not getting a deal done at all. I think this is a change however, that could add interest and intrigue to the trade deadline. Something we can all agree has been sorely lacking for a long time in the VHL. 

 

Bold Quote: Ultimately, the trade deadline doesn't really give enough of an incentive for GM's taking the risk.

 

Ryan Power is the writer of the Offside Editorial, the creator of the infamous Pajodcast and personally responsible for ruining the VHL Player Store. He is known for hating malls, posting three paragraph rants, and lacking a true comprehension at pronouncing anything correctly, specifically player names. 

Edited June 1, 2015 by Mr. Power

[Devise 4,475]

What It Takes To Be A VHL GM

 

It is official. Former Seattle Bears General Manager Bushito had failed to log in again for a long spurt of time, and thus it was decided he would be removed from his duties.  Member of the Blue Team, Higgins has stepped in as interim general manager of the team until next season. This event followed a quick retirement and un-retirement of Seattle's star goalie Niklaus Mikaelson.

 

While one could go on and on about the issues of Seattle, Bushito as a GM, the Board of Governors opinion, and who is the right candidate for the job next season. I instead wanted to focus on the position, as a whole. Very few people in this league knows what it actually takes to be a General Manager at the VHL level.

 

Sure, lots of people have been GM's. But lots have also only held the position for a single season. Currently we've seen 13 tenures in our illustrious history that have lasted a single season or less. Several more have only lasted two seasons. While being a good VHL GM isn't really that much of an achievement, the struggles and work put in season to season for those who have shown the ability to do it often goes unnoticed. Like many jobs around the league, being a solid GM for a franchise is often a thankless position. But it's a position that can create positive waves throughout an entire team, and by proxy the league. You can look no further than the Stockholm Vikings as an example.

 

Before becoming the Vikings, the Vasteras Iron Eagles were a franchise constantly in disarray. A few moments of triumph couldn't help them overcome seasons of disappointment. Despite not having that many GM changes overall, the franchise had a hard time attracting players and building a team worthy of competing. Some may argue that the positive change around the Vikings has a lot of do with the relocation. All the move and name change did was give the team a bit of a fresh start to newer members. Really the man who tackled the meat of the work was current General Manager Boubabi. His approach to building a team in his own direction was paramount in the current rejuvenated air around the Vikings. It wasn't just about good trades, or good player relations. It's that he had a vision for his team and was able to adapt and stick to it throughout any misfortunes.

 

Ultimately the Vikings situation is a lesson to the aspiring GM's around the league. Corco spent the better part of 8 seasons trying to build a Vasteras team that could win. He didn't care about a team identity. As such he built the team who "needed" a Cup to prove themselves but never got one. While it is easy for me to speak high simply because I'm a GM who has won two Cups with two different franchises I also know my opinion isn't the only one out there. I'm also not the only solid GM out there. I've gathered some quotes from some current and former GM's about the struggles of being a GM in this league. I hope through this article, and these quotes you gain some insight about the GM role at the VHL level. Being a good GM isn't easy, it isn't fun, and it takes much more than the ability to "work" the system. 

 

Bold Quote: Being a good GM isn't easy, it isn't fun, and it takes much more than the ability to "work" the system. 

 

Ryan Power is the writer of the Offside Editorial, the creator of the infamous Pajodcast and personally responsible for ruining the VHL Player Store. He is known for hating malls, posting three paragraph rants, and lacking a true comprehension at pronouncing anything correctly, specifically player names. 

 

 

"You have to be very invested in the league and it's very time consuming. During off-seasons and sometimes trade deadlines you can spend all your time online negotiating or waiting to negotiate and the time spent on the VHL might be more than you planned. But it's important because you need to be aware of the market and be a motivating example of activity to your team."

 

Victor - GM of, New York (S15-16) Davos (S34-S38)

 

 

"One of the main things you need as GM is thick skin. You have to do what you think is best for your team, not necessarily what the popular move is. No one is going to remember the fact that you "overpaid" for a short-term rental if you win the Continental Cup. On top of that, you have to recognize that failure to win a Cup does not mean you were a bad GM. Your job is to make moves for the better of your team. There are factors outside of your control that you can't account for when making long term decisions. You can make all the right moves and still not win a cup."

 

Flyersfan - GM of, Riga (S40-Present)

 

 

"I think you need patience, good luck and you need a lot of time and energy. One thing I've learned from being around the league and so many GM's is that almost nothing ever goes fully to plan so you have to be very good at coming up with multiple solutions."

 

Sterling - GM of, Toronto (S23)

 

 

"As a VHL GM, there's always a delicate balance to be had between what's best for your team and what's best for the league/the interest of your actives. Whereas that line is very clear in the minors, in the bigs it can be much more murky. Sometimes you have a guy who wants to stay loyal, and when you're on the back end of a rebuild or competitive that's great, that's exactly the type of guy you want. Where it becomes a problem is if he's loyal to a fault, and won't ship off for pieces entering a new rebuild, or if he's semi-active and expendable to acquire a fully active. That's just one example, there are a few situations where a VHL GM can find his interest at odds with some greater good concept, in which case it becomes a balancing act to find where the line is."

 

Diamond_Ace - GM of, Calgary (S23-S41)

 

 

"As hidden as it seems, you need to have a grasp of the member behind the player just as much as you have to have of that players build. Building a team based on popular opinion doesn't always bode well. A constant recognition of league happenings and knowledge of all rules. Time consuming is what it is, but if done intelligently it can provide a very clean result."

 

Kendrick - GM of, Seattle (S1-2) Cologne (S31-36) Helsinki (S17-S22)

Edited June 8, 2015 by Mr. Power

[Ball 453]

I vote that you have to fit your entire editorial into three paragraphs from here on out. It feels more, Devisey imho

[Ball 453]

I vote that you have to fit your entire editorial into three paragraphs from here on out. It feels more, Devisey imho

[Devise 4,475]

World Cup Awards

 

As we near the end of the VHL and VHLM playoffs, we near the beginning of one of two off-season events we engage in. That is of course, the World Cup, which is held every third season. Those new to the league need only look at the Olympics or World Championship to get an idea for how we run the World Cup.

 

One of the things that VHL has prided itself on even since my arrival here was the attention paid to more than just the day-to-day. Life in the VHL isn't just about your players stats season to season. Whether it is Team Point Tasks, new ideas like the Fantasy League, or both the World and Super Cup. We try to keep things moving while also showcasing as much of the talent and members here as possible.

 

It is with that thought process that I am left wondering if we are missing something. Specifically with the World Cup. As it stands now, the World Cup has six teams mostly represented by countries save for Team World and Team Mercenaries. With big prizes awarded as the tournament winds down, after the round robin you see teams play each other based on the seeding for a chance at winning either Bronze, Silver or the coveted Gold medal.

 

While there is nothing wrong with our current formula and my suggestion isn't to change that. Rather I'd love to see an addition to it. We pay little attention to the statistics or play of players during off-season events like the World Cup. In the moment, players may help lead their specific country to the promise land. We remember that, but not the player responsible. Even players overall stat and performance in the World Cup is not even factored into their inclusion into the Hall of Fame.

 

I feel that all needs to change. We put a lot of focus and attention in our off-season events, and another step towards that would be to add some individual player awards. They could be voted on by the General Managers selected for the World Cup, or by the BoG/Blue Team. We shouldn't go crazy with it, we won't need nearly as many as in the VHL and VHLM.

  

A base idea would be, Tournament MVP, Leading Scorer (Points), Best Goalie, Best Defender, and finally Most Outstanding Player. Only one of these awards would be given out without a voting process, and both Tournament MVP and Most Outstanding Player could give big boosts on a players HoF resume. Ultimately more recognition for the members and players that help make the World Cup memorable is nothing but good for the league. 

 

Bold Quote: Ultimately more recognition for the members and players that help make the World Cup memorable is nothing but good for the league. 

 

 

Ryan Power is the writer of the Offside Editorial, the creator of the infamous Pajodcast and personally responsible for ruining the VHL Player Store. He is known for hating malls, posting three paragraph rants, and lacking a true comprehension at pronouncing anything correctly, specifically player names. 

Edited June 14, 2015 by Mr. Power

[Devise 4,475]

Seattle Stops History

 

I was dead set on doing an article about the history of repeating as Continental Cup Champions in the VHL. I won't lie, after game four when the Cologne Express were up 3-1 I thought I would be writing about the franchise etching their name with the historic achievement. Instead, as we congratulate the Seattle Bears on their cinderella run all the way to the Continental Cup, I will look at the history that Seattle prevented.

 

Only 4 times since the leagues birth has a team gone on to repeat as Continental Cup Champions. The Calgary Wranglers obtained with the first back to back, as they did it very early on in Seasons 2 and 3. Seattle would answer Calgary winning back to back in Season 4 and 5. There was a long delay as parity grew in the league until the Wranglers won back to back again in Seasons 18 and 19. Finally, the Davos Dynamo added their franchise to the repeat club in Seasons 24 and 25. That marks the last time the feat has happened.

 

While the jokes of a repeat curse are fun to talk about, the rarity that this feat has happened is still quite interesting. In the modern era, an era which see's two teams more than previous, welfare and several other changes the feat has never happened. In fact unless the Bears manage to win next season, we will guarantee at least 20 seasons without a repeat.

 

Several teams in the modern era have had the opportunity.The Americans were the first to reach the finals post Davos back to back win in Season 33 following their Cup win in Season 32. They however lost in six to the Riga Reign. Following their big win in Season 34, Helsinki made it all the way to the finals in Season 35 before being bested by the Muete in six games. Davos looked to add their name to the list a second time coming off their Season 36 win but they were embarrassed and swept by the Legion in the finals in Season 37. The Legion and the Dynamo met again in the finals in Season 38, this time with Toronto trying to make history and Davos playing the spoiler winning in six. Davos for a second time with the same core tried to repeat in Season 39 but lost in five to New York. In Season 40 it was the Americans turn to go for that glory, but they were yet again toppled by the Riga Reign in five games. Riga poised and confident tried in Season 41 to nail the repeat down, only to lose in seven to New York. And of course the Express just recently lost in seven to Seattle.

 

Quite the stormy history, with a lot of very good rosters. Since Davos last pulled off what now seems like an impossible feat, a grand total of 8 teams made the finals the year after they won a Cup attempting to repeat. A grand total of 8 failures, as underdogs, rivals, all spoiled history.

 

One has to wonder, is this feat possible in the modern VHL? If you ignore the randomness of STHS and begin to digest some of the facts, you come to an interesting question. Is the parity in the post expansion VHL too great for a repeat? Regardless, I look forward to seeing if another franchise can etch their name into what clearly is pretty esteemed company in pulling off back to back Continental Cup wins. 

 

Bold Quote: Is the parity in the post expansion VHL too great for a repeat?

 

Ryan Power is the writer of the Offside Editorial, the creator of the infamous Pajodcast and personally responsible for ruining the VHL Player Store. He is known for hating malls, posting three paragraph rants, and lacking a true comprehension at pronouncing anything correctly, specifically player names. 

Edited June 23, 2015 by Mr. Power

[Devise 4,475]

The Thankless Work

 

While most of the league invests in sim results, particularly Calgary beating Quebec and the massive thread that followed, so many members around here overlook the hours upon hours of work that go into making this site what it is. Now I'm not just talking about people like the Blue Team, although they do put in hours, or the sim team. While you could look to the more prominent positions in the league to see work being done, you can also search the forum to see less prominent, but still vital work being done across the board.

 

Which is why I wanted to take the time this week to highlight all the people who put in work to never receive the gratitude they deserve. While the VHL is a sim league, it is also a community. The sheer amount of intangibles that we offer at the click of a button don't just manifest themselves. intangibles such as consistently updated records, all time stat sheets, a constantly updated player store and finance section. But this only really touches the surface, we have player cards being made, Hall of Fame articles being written, series like the 30 in 30 and 40 in 40.

 

Every single one of our team logo's is hand-built by talented graphics artists. Updaters work very hard to try to keep your player as up to date as possible. The various Fantasy Leagues require monitoring, calculating, and are member run. Our recruitment crew is hard at work trying to make sure new members have the best intro to the league. Even the editor of the magazine puts in a lot of extra time to make sure one of our highlight features remains.

 

While it is easy to say some of these jobs earn TPE, the reality is so many of them don't pay anywhere near the ratio to work being done. I have done a lot of work in my time in this league, I put in years running the player store and once I joined the BoG the non paid work I put in grew. Yet so many of us find ourselves using the features, the intangibles presented without so much as a blink. So the next time you are chatting with some of the members responsible I urge you to give them a well deserved thank you. Jobs like this around the league are very time-consuming, but we do them because we care about the VHL.

 

With that I want to give a personal thanks to everyone who has contributed to this league in many ways. Our sim team of Jardy, Higgins, and Draper, Flyersfan for his extra work, Victor for all his efforts across the board, Streetlight for being the official spreadsheet guy on all fronts, YEAH! for his excellent job in the player store, Gorlab for being a fantastic financier, Advantage for countless jobs, Boubabi for presonally taking over the PC Crew and doing the bulk of the work, Kendrick for his hours throughout the years, Phil and several other former and current BoG membesr for putting work in on the records section, all current and former updates and graders, all my fellow past and present writers and graphics makers for the magazine, Koradek for his amazing logo work, STZ for his fantastic job editing this, and anyone else I might have missed.

 

Thank you, you all make this league the living entity that it is. 

 

Bold Quote: So the next time you are chatting with some of the members responsible I urge you to give them a well deserved thank you.

 

Ryan Power is the writer of the Offside Editorial, the creator of the infamous Pajodcast and personally responsible for ruining the VHL Player Store. He is known for hating malls, posting three paragraph rants, and lacking a true comprehension at pronouncing anything correctly, specifically player names. 

Edited July 7, 2015 by Mr. Power

[Devise 4,475]

Getting Through The Grind

 

The VHL is very much a roller coaster ride. We go through large highs of activity, particularly during the off-season and during any big event. Things like the World Cup show up and keep us excited, we see teams change from competing to rebuilding, drafting, and off seasons filled with lots of chatting, negotiating, and conversing. Those are things that would be the highs. But we also experience lows. Lows generally come after the dust of the start of the season settles and you truly get into the regular season haul. Usually a good 2-3 weeks after the season starts you see this lull.

 

During this lull, the grind becomes a real thing. For those of you who don't know what I mean by the grind, I mean seeing the VHL less as a fun side activity and more as a job. You try to schedule time to do your point task, to make sure you get on week to week earning the points you need. There is less going, the site has less activity, and unless someone causes some random drama you often see a lot of people begin to question their activity in the league. 

I noticed recently that we saw several Fan590's since we started to begin the grind this season from members newer and older discussing the grind and how it relates to their activity. I figured as a veteran of 20 season now that it'd be worth it for me to try to give you all some tips and pointers on getting through the grind.

 

The first and best piece of advice I could give you is to get engaged in the site in any way possible. The sim isn't the only thing this community has to offer. Do you like video games, movies, music? Start posting and starting conversations in the off topic sections. It honestly be a primary driving factor to logging in, and often make you forget at times that your even posting on a sim site. For those of you who don't have jobs and spend your time doing point tasks, get more creative. Doing a media spot that is just an interview with your player, or focusing on just generic stuff isn't always the best way to get the most out of your point task. The key to enjoying your point task is to try to do something you enjoy. For writers that may include writing about their players travelling to the moon, or other random nonsense. Some also create a new sub set of media spot types.

 

Also I don't think you can state enough how important it is to try to get to know some people on this site. Being in an active locker room helps, but finding people with similar interests you can chat with really does help keep you engaged without the grind feeling as large. While none of these things truly get rid of the grind, it affects all of us. These tips should help you with lessening the blow the grind dishes out and work towards making the VHL a more enjoyable place to visit. 

 

Bold Quote: The sim isn't the only thing this community has to offer.

 

Ryan Power is the writer of the Offside Editorial, the creator of the infamous Pajodcast and personally responsible for ruining the VHL Player Store. He is known for hating malls, posting three paragraph rants, and lacking a true comprehension at pronouncing anything correctly, specifically player names. 

Edited July 11, 2015 by Mr. Power

[Devise 4,475]

Caution: Two Part Deals

 

While the VHL celebrates its eight year in existence we recently had a bit of controversy over a planned two-part deal that was instead overturned. Stockholm and its General Manager Boubabi had negotiated a deal with former Legion GMJaladolar. The deal got started in the off-season as Boubabi traded away semi active Teuvo Ruutu, inactive Jack Kowalski for a Tornto S45 3rd round pick. This would be the cap dump part of any two-part deal. We would later learn that Boubabi would've received Jerrick Poole, Shadhu Rathod, and Tyson Stokes from the Legion at the deadline, with Joseph Roy going back the other way.

 

However the second part of the two-part deal didn't happen. Jaladolar would soon be relieved of his duties, and Molholt came in and instantly wanted no part of the deals second part. How could he? There was no doubt Toronto losing this deal. Eventually facts surrounding Jerrick Pooles intention of signing with Toronto expressly to let them get something for him leaving as opposed to just bailing in free agency came out.

 

All the drama of that specific trade aside, I am honestly glad this controversy happened. Not because either side involved or the players in question deserve the controversy. No, it is things like this that serve as a good reminder, a cautionary tale. Two-part deals are risky, and if you're not careful you could wind up on the bad end of one.

 

More so this controversy has finally caused the league to evaluate and list an official statement on two-part deals. A statement that I think is right on the money. Two part deals are a high risk high reward move for a GM. They allow them essentially to avoid some of the pain of the salary cap to ice the best team possible for the playoffs. But even if a GM doesn't get replaced mid-season, it is very easy for a GM on either side of a two-part trade to bail on the second part. This could screw either the buying or selling GM over depending on the nature of the deal. As a GM myself I think it is a GM's responsibility to recognize they are putting their trust in another GM as a member and a person when they make a two-part deal. A trust that isn't that hard to break. But it is important that the league got the situation right here, and they did. The end message? Make two-part deals at your own risk. 

 

Bold Quote: Two-part deals are risky, and if you're not careful you could wind up on the bad end of one.

 

Ryan Power is the writer of the Offside Editorial, the creator of the infamous Pajodcast and personally responsible for ruining the VHL Player Store. He is known for hating malls, posting three paragraph rants, and lacking a true comprehension at pronouncing anything correctly, specifically player names. 

Edited July 27, 2015 by Mr. Power