VHL Magazine Ads/Pics

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In a major announcement this week, Victor Alfredsson has stepped down as co-commissioner of the Victory Hockey League. A guiding light and instrumental in several key areas of the league, Alfredsson leaves a major hole at the administration level and many VHL fans are hoping his replacement is prepared to take over an often difficult and under-appreciated role in the VHL. Several high profile candidates have been contacted and a major announcement regarding staff movements is expected later this week. The VHL Magazine would like to take this opportunity to thank Victor for his efforts and contribution to the league and wish him all the best in his future endeavors.

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With a host of standout stars from S40 including Mason Richardson and Thomas O'Malley, the Cologne Express were expected to be a top contender for the European Conference title. However they find themselves in a battle with the Helsinki Titans who lead 3-1 and cannot afford to lose another game this series. However, when Logan Laich is your leading point scorer after 4 games things look tough for the proud German franchise.

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It's playoff time again in the Victory Hockey League and once again the cream has risen to the top. The New York Americans have started their battle against the Riga Reign and find themselves up by one game after a 2-0 win. It's no secret that these two teams despise each other, so expect to see some fireworks both on and off the ice is this finals series as the North American and European champions go to war.

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When the Davos Dynamo won the S42 Draft Lottery, it guaranteed them the first pick in the draft and a guaranteed star player for seasons to come. Debate raged on who that would be, but the South African born, German raised forward, Bismarck Köenig emerged as the concensus #1 pick and was promptly selected by the Dynamo on draft day. He has switched from center to the wing to accommodate new arrival Devin Sundberg and he will no doubt prove to be a valuable addition to an up and coming Dynamo team chasing a playoff position in Season 42.

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Boasting a .936 save % , a 1.77 GAA and an unbeaten 5 wins from 5 starts, Seattle's Niklaus Mikaelson has been the standout goalie at this very early stage of the VHL's 42nd season. The Bears sit at 5-2, which is good enough for 2nd in the North American conference and are currently riding a 4 game winning streak. If both the Bears and Mikaelson can maintain this vein of form, the Bears may outperform their pre-season expectations by some margin and provide the more fancied New York and Quebec teams with some serious competition.

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It seems everyone wants the autograph of Aksel Thomasen, Quebec's rising star...and for good reason. The Meute forward is having an outstanding start to the season and through 21 games, he has already amassed 46 points.He seems to be following up from a terrific season 41 campaign and alongside Bruno Wolf, forms a lethal combination for the team from Quebec. In fact, the Meute have the VHL's most potent offense so far in season 42 and if Thomasen remains in this kind of form, it's possible that the North American Conference may have a new champion come seasons end.

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One of the few prizes on offer during the Free Agency period was Devin Sundberg, former Legion star turned Dynamo impact player. Much was made of his decision to leave Toronto and head to the Swiss-based Dynamo franchise, but the new environment has suited the strong Center so far in Season 42. He leads the team with 41 points(22G 19A) through 31 games and ranks 4th amongst Center scoring, behind perennial star Tom Slaughter and Quebec's impressive Aksel Thomassen. Sundberg will need to keep contributing if the Dynamo stand a chance of grabbing that all important 3rd playoff spot in the European Conference.

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Riga's Captain, Brennan McQueen, is having yet another solid season and remains in contention for the Boulet Trophy in Season 42. Quebec's Wolf is the favorite for the award at this point, although McQueen's 55 points and 199 hits through 43 games on a rebuilding Reign team are still terrific returns from the scottish left winger. His commitment to the franchise and consistent seasons of great play will ensure he is remembered as a fan favorite long after his jersey is retired in Riga.

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After leaving the over-hyped Bismarck Köenig in his wake, Stockholm's Lord Karnage has established himself as the overwhelming favorite for this seasons Rookie of The Year Award. Köenig fans(all three of them) may point to the inexplicable benching of Bismarck at the start of the season for his struggles so far, but the simple fact is that Karnage has outplayed every other rookie this season and deserves the title based on performances so far. He leads all rookies with 64 points after 55 games and features on several statistical leaderboards and is currently rated the VHL's 4th best Defenseman behind stars such as Bentley, Draper and Villeneuve.

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Congratulations to the Helsinki Titans for their Season 42 European Conference title. With 8 games left in the regular season, the Titans have assured themselves a playoff spot and Finnish hockey fans can look forward to a possible Continental Cup returning to the nation. Behind such names as Gow, Faraday, Miller, Wylde, Young and Szatkowski, the Titans were always going to be contenders this season and now that the Riga Reign have entered rebuild mode, European fans finally have another team to cheer for come the playoffs.

 

 

 

*I'm also dumping the ad's I've submitted a long time ago in case you need space fillers etc. I don't care if you don't need them, just making them available. I want to do new ones anyway.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 1, 2015 by BOOM

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With the season 42 VHL playoffs finally here, it's time for the superstars of the game to show just how good they are. Perennial favorites, the New York Americans are once again involved and their matchup with the Toronto Legion should be a great series for all VHL fans. The series is currently tied 1-1, with the Americans winning game two 2-0 with solid contributions from several players, including Jody 3 Moons, Matt Bentley and Brick Wahl who managed a 33 shot shutout to deny the Legion victory.

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The Season 42 VHL semi-finals are delicately balanced with both the North American and European conferences coming down to game 7 matchups. Two of the stars on show in the Quebec vs New York battle are Meute winger Bruno Wolf and Americans goalie, Brick Wahl. There was a lot of talk from the Quebec camp prior to the start of this series regarding the ease with which they would defeat New York but the Americans have shown a resilience that comes with playoff experience and player maturity. Whoever wins will need to be at their best in order to defeat the strong representation from Europe, either the Cologne Express or the formidable Helsinki Titans. May the best teams win.

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Congratulations to the Cologne Express for capturing the Season 42 Continental Cup. Their game 5 victory, a 3-2 OT win, saw the German team explode into wild celebrations at the games conclusion. The game fluctuated between a first period with 3 goals, then a scoreless second period before Quebec's PP unit leveled the game at 2-2 in the third period. OT was an explosion of PIM's before late season acquisition Robin Gow retrieved the puck from a Wesley Matthews blocked shot to power the puck past Brock Waldron to clinch victory for the Express.

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There were more awards in store for the Cologne Express in Season 42, the most prestigious being the Scotty Campbell Trophy(MVP), which was awarded to Martin Brookside for his outstanding play. The former Calgary goalie finished #1 in save %(.926), GAA(1.88) and 2nd in SO with 8 and his outstanding play throughout the playoffs, highlighted by his .939 save %, 1.66 GAA and 12 wins from 16 games only enhanced his MVP credentials. Brookside will look to lead the Express back to the playoffs again this season and will be a vital cog in Colognes run to defend their title as the VHL's best team.

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Toronto Legion forward Jackson Miller has been in great form since his trade from Helsinki in the Season 42 off-season. Miller currently sits atop the scoring leader board with 21 points(12 G 9 A) and his 6 PPP also rank him amongst the VHL's best.

The 6 foot, 200 pound Canadian winger put up 90 points with the Titans last season and will no doubt be aiming to top those numbers with Toronto in season 43. He is well on the way to doing just that, and may be one of the surprise award winners at the end of the year.

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Seattle's James Faraday, has been a revelations since his move to the Bears from the Helsinki Titans. He sits atop the LW scoring table with 28 points from 22 games(12G 16A) and is the leagues most prolific hitter with 107, outpacing perennial leader Bruno Wolf. Faraday provides the Bears with a veteran presence that they will need, if they truly want to take that next step and contend for the North American conference title in Season 43.

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This week in the VHL, a new name sits atop the goal scoring leader-board and it isn't a Quebec City Meute player. No, the honor belongs to Stockholm's Jody 3 Moons who has amassed 23 Goals from 33 games so far in season 43. He also sits amongst the top 5 players in shots taken(248), PP20 Minutes(1.05), FO%(61.09) and Hat Tricks(3). His strong play has helped the Vikings to a 22-8-3 record and 3rd in the European Conference and keeping pace with both the Dynamo and Express in the race to be Europe's best team.

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The Cologne Express currently have the #1 and #2 leading offensive players in season 43 of the VHL. While boding well for a great chance at back to back championships, it's by no means a guarantee of success. Leading the scorers this season is former New York star, now Cologne fan favorite, Xin Xie Xiao who has amassed 72 points(33G 39A) through 43 games here in season 43.

XXX as he is more commonly known, is the leagues leading Right Winger, and is top 5 in multiple categories including Goals, Assists, PP20, PIM, Hits, PPG, GWG and GTG which should see him contend for several awards at the end of the season, all of which would be well deserved.

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New York Center, Nicolas Caprivi has signed a new three year extension that will see him play a vital role in the Americans fast-paced rebuild. Caprivi currently sits at 67 points this season(22G 45A) which is already 24 points more then he had in the entire season 42 campaign. Caprivi who hails from Kitchener, Ontario even leads a statistical category this season, although it's not the one he would have hoped for. After taking 271 hits through 58 games it remains to be seen whether he can stay healthy enough to stay on the ice until the end of this season. We have our fingers crossed for the popular Canadian.

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With the Season 43 playoffs just around the corner, the regular season stat leaders have been finalized. Former Titan, now Quebec stalwart, Jake Wylde has finished an astonishing 29 points ahead of his nearest rival, Mason "The mag needs more me" Richardson of the Davos Dynamo. Wylde's 103 points(22G 81A) are a reminder of his quality, and his position amongst the top 10 of several categories including assists, PP20M, +/- , PIM's and Hits ensure that he should be in strong contention for the coveted Sterling Labatte Trophy to go along with his already secured Bekotov Trophy for Assists leader in Season 43.

Edited June 7, 2015 by BOOM

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After leading the surprising Seattle Bears team past both Toronto and Quebec during the North American Conference finals, defensive star and all-round good guy Phil Villenueve will again try to motivate his team to outperform their playoff estimations. His solid contributions across several statistical categories have no doubt helped the Bears in their season 43 playoff run, and along with key veterans James Faraday and Brady Stropko, will need to be at their best to resist the overwhelming force of the Cologne Express. The European champions have hit white-hot form at the most important time of the season and are determined to win back to back titles and seal their place in VHL history.

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After being jettisoned by the Quebec City Meute in order to accommodate former Bear Niklaus Mikaelson, Brock Waldron has found a new home in Cologne. While the german team has struggled out of the gate this season, no blame can be placed onto Waldron as he holds a .966 save % and a miserly 0.74 GAA at this early stage. His forwards have let him down so far in Season 44 and will need to get their act together if the team is to even challenge the Stockholm Vikings or Davos Dynamo in the race for the European championship. Waldron has long been underrated and his teammates will be determined to help however they can to ensure he gets the recognition he deserves.

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Not a popular pre-season pick for S44 Rookie of The Year, Helsinki's Austrian left winger, Thomas Duddy leads the way over fellow Titan Souryuu Kaminogi in the battle for the Christian Stolzschweiger Trophy. Duddy's 23 points(12G 11A) also see's him in 12th position on the overall scoring leaderboard, ahead of such names as Boychuk, Cote and even Bruno Wolf, an impressive feat at this early stage of the season. Popular selection Edwin Reencarnacion with only 8 points(4G 4A) has a lot of ground to make up and will need to start his run now if he stands any chance of justifying his early favoritism for the Rookie award.

Edited July 12, 2015 by boom

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Toronto Legion fans awoke this week to news of General Manager Sachimo Zoidberg's departure from the club, in what could be seen as a shock decision. The decision is still clouded in mystery, although rumors have started to surface of Zoidberg not being able to handle the pressure of managing a VHL team and his reconsideration of a proposed deal with the Stockholm Vikings. The method of his departure is less than ideal and no doubt could have been handled in a more professional manner, something that the the beleaguered Legion fans surely deserved. Zoidberg's replacement has been named, with experienced GM Mike Molholt already at the team headquarters and taking charge of day to day decisions and planning for a positive Toronto future.

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Bump to avoid confusion.