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Calgary's Jaime Hill has continued his run as the VHL's angriest player. With a league leading 5 fights through 69 games, Hill's willingness to drop the gloves on a regular basis is something that teams love in a defenseman. It's a pity however, that despite being involved in those 5 fights, he has only been on the winning end once. That 20% record could be even worse if he had not beaten up Quebec's Francis York Morgan in Calgary's first game of the season. You would think that an agitator would have a better grasp of the fundamentals of fighting but Hill's mouth often gets him into trouble that his fists seem incapable of solving. When Thomas O'Malley(4F 1W/25%) has a better record in fights, you have an issue that needs addressing.

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Does this look like a man who would try to cheat?

 

League commissioner and Helsinki Titans GM, William Shaw, has come under fire recently after claims of game-fixing and result manipulation this season. The loudest voices in this disgraceful witch hunt have been from the Agents of Dynamo winger Simon Valmount and Americans defenseman Thaddeus Humbert, who claim that Shaw had somehow managed to manipulate results in order to favor the Titans. Of course game-fixing is possible, but for the VHL to continue to function there needs to be an element of trust and faith placed in the men in charge and as such, they should be given more respect by those who earn a living playing here in the VHL. Perhaps the agents of Valmount and Shaw should be more focused on the skill levels of their respective players, who both performed poorly this season and seem ready to blame everyone but themselves for their lackluster season 46.

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The big prize in the recent S47 VHL draft was 6 foot 3 Canadian defenseman John Sleeman. It was widely expected that he would be selected by the Stockholm Vikings who held the #1 overall selection, but fans of the team were disappointed when that pick was traded to the Quebec City Meute, in a 3-way deal also involving the New York Americans. Sleeman has terrific skating and passing talents, but also possesses a solid grasp of his defensive responsibilities that will ensure his position as Quebec's blue line maestro for many seasons to come. With an incredible understanding of the game and it's intricacies, Sleeman is in line to be a Labatte candidate for the duration of his career and Guelph, Ontario residents will have a player to be truly proud of.

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With the surprising and sudden departure of long time Davos Dynamo manager Jack Reilly, there's a new man at the helm of the perennial European powerhouse. Looking somewhat shocked at his sudden rise, Spencer Flammer(pictured above) has taken the reigns of the swiss club and will attempt to develop his own style and roster as he looks to dethrone the Helsinki Titans in the European Conference. Reilly stepped aside after some off-season controversy with VHL management, that saw him unable to be available for Free Agency negotiations and the S47 Player Draft, and after discussions broke down regarding his tenure, the fan favorite tendered his resignation with immediate effect. Flammers team has gotten off to a terrific start going 11-2-1 to lead the European Conference at this early stage of the season.

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If this ever opens up again, please let me know. My submission record was pretty damn good 

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As the Season 48 schedule heads towards it's conclusion, one player stands out as the MVP candidate. That man...no, legend, is New York's Edwin Reencarnacion. Leading the league in multiple categories(Points, Goals, pp20mins, Plus/Minus and PIM) and top three in several others he has had a season to remember. No longer in the shadow of Thomas O'Malley, it seems Reencarnacion has arrived as the VHL's premier forward and is no longer known only as a penalty minute monster.

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With the Season 48 VHL Playoffs set to begin, the Toronto Legion are one team high on confidence as they sit back and await their Second Round opponent in the North American Conference. After cruising to a 55-16-1 regular season record and subsequent Victory Cup, the Legion look like a team with great chemistry and talent, and will be a real test for any of their opponents these playoffs. Led by the trio of Molholt, Parechkin and Wingate, the Legion are the favorites among several VHL sportswriters to take home the Continental Cup in Season 48.

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With several positional needs heading into Season 49, the Riga Reign finally had something to celebrate when it was announced that they would have the #1 overall selection in the S49 Entry Draft. After winning only 14 games in Season 48 and scoring the fewest goals(104), they will be looking to add top-tier talent when the draft takes place later this month. The Latvian franchise has a proud tradition and will look to select a player that will be a perennial star and cornerstone of their future success.

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After the fanfare has died and the S48 Toronto Legion have collected their silverware, spare a thought for the Helsinki Titans. Teams that are beaten in the finals are often forgotten, but the emotions those players experience are dramatic after all the work they have put in during the regular season. Perhaps it was the knowledge that long time Titans such as Aleksi Koponen and Greg Clegane were moving on after the series, but many of the Titans were visibly upset after the game 5 loss yesterday. Congratulations to the Legion for their victory, but well done to the Titans also, for the way they have played the last few seasons under the leadership of departing GM, William Shaw.

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Congratulations to Defenceman Titan Kronos on his selection as the #1 Overall draft pick by the Riga Reign, in the recent Season 49 VHL Draft. The talented young blue liner was the standout player and Riga have added a franchise player to a roster that needed a cornerstone and Kronos is that man. The offensively gifted American will add a strong presence to the Reign as they look to build a competitive roster in the VHL's European Conference.

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New York's strong start to the season has been highlighted by great performances on both ends of the ice. Left Wing and possibly the most American player ever, Freedom McJustice, leads the league in goals with 20(1 ahead of teammate Jorma Ruutu) and goalie Atticus von Braxton's 0.929 save percentage is currently the VHL's best. The strength and balance of the New York roster set's them up nicely for a run at the Marlow-Marta Trophy alongside reigning Continental Cup Champions, the Toronto Legion.

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Big trade news was made this week, when New York Americans stalwart and elite goaltender Atticus von Braxton IV was traded to the Stockholm Vikings. In a surprising move, the Vikings sent Ariel Weinstein in exchange for von Braxton and a S51 2nd round pick. Only time will tell, but New York saw an opportunity to obtain Weinstein, and have sent a fiercely loyal von Braxton to a team that he is known to have a strong dislike for. We hope it works out for all parties involved in this mid-season deal.

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With 47 games played in the VHL's 49th season, three players are on pace to crush the 100 point mark. Led by pure scorer Max Moholt's(TOR) 98 points(35G 63A), both Freedom McJustice(NY) with 93 points(43 G 50A) and Aleksi Koponen(QUE) with 92(36 G 56A) are on a tear right now and dominating their opposition at will. New York's Jorma Ruutu has 89 points as well, demonstrating that the North American teams are causing headaches for whoever they play on a regular basis. In fact, the first European Conference player on the scoring list is Cologne's Phil Hamilton with a mere 68 points(21 G 47A), which is an indication of the incredible North American dominance this season.

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The Season 49 VHL YouPorn® All-Star game rosters were announced last night, and both Team Victor and Team ADwyer have selected terrific rosters for the popular event. With such superstars as Max Molholt, Edwin Reencarnacion, Black Velvet, Lord Karnage and Hans Wingate(plus many more) taking part, fans are sure to see some exciting hockey played. Karnage, taken at first overall by ADwyer was quoted as saying "This is my 8th All-star appearance so it's apparent that all those training hours have paid off, even the phantom ones that can't be accounted for!" . This seasons sponsorship deal with YouPorn® is somewhat controversial after the VHL announced a restrictive Sexual Content Policy that was hotly debated by several high profile VHL stars at the time, and still has some VHL fans disappointed with the decision.

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Cologne's Phil Hamilton seems like a lock for the Season 49 Sterling Labatte Trophy as the league's top defenseman. With only 2 games remaining for the Express this season, Hamilton looks set to top 100 points, leads the league in penalty minutes and features on the shots blocked and hits leader boards as well. That all makes for a tremendous season and makes Hamilton the obvious candidate for the award. Along with his favoritism for the Grimm Jonsson Trophy once again, Hamilton is the definition of a player you want on your roster.

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Where to from here? After a devastatingly close loss to the underdog Riga Reign in game 7 of the EU Quarter Finals, the Davos Dynamo find themselves in an unusual position. On the back of a weakened European conference, the Dynamo found themselves in the playoffs, but with self-proclaimed demi-god Sir William Covington II declaring his availability via Free Agency this off season, there will be an even greater reliance on Kai Roberts to develop into the elite talent that they need. Covington went missing when Davos needed him the most, being completely outplayed by Riga's Pietro Maximoff, so perhaps his intention to move on to greener pastures is for the best and will allow the Dynamo to build a squad that is willing to play as a team and take that extra step towards franchise success.

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With the Season 49 VHL Finals underway, and the Toronto Legion dominating, the Cologne Express rallied in game 4 to finally get off the mark with a 3-2 victory. Led by a 2nd period Joel Jarvi hat trick(4.33, 5.59 and 6.11) the Express finally found some chemistry to hand superstar Legion goalie Hans Wingate his first finals loss in the series. Cologne's Artom Zhumbayev with 32 saves from 34 shots kept the Express in the game while defensively the Express also had a great night, keeping both Max Molholt and Zach Parechkin off the score sheet, to record a welcome victory for the German franchise.

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So what if it's only 10 games into the season? The rebuilding Helsinki Titans sit on top of the VHL standings and Finnish fans are excited about the performance of this young roster. With contributions from all areas, the Titans are defying the critics that were confident that the team would struggle in the European Conference this season. On a 8-2 run in the last 10 games, much of the success can be contributed to goalie, Dmitri Dadonov whose 8 wins and .940 save percentage has the Titans as actual contenders here in season 50. Impressively, Dadonov has faced the 2nd most shots so far(349 through 10) and if he can maintain theses kind of performances, the future of the Titans looks secure.

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Meute veteran Tom Lincoln, currently finds himself as overall points leader after 24 games. His 18 goals and 19 assists for 37 points sees him lead the Dynamo's Francis York Morgan by just 1 point. His total of just 1 hit means he is still a pussy, but you can't deny his scoring ability right now. Despite his offensive talent, the Meute still find themselves trailing the mighty Toronto Legion by 9 points in the North American Conference and will look to at least lock up the 2nd place in the conference to ensure yet another playoffs appearance.

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The long awaited S49 HOF announcements were made yesterday, and surprisingly only one name was added to the VHL's elite club. In a narrow vote which showed that the voting members were quite split on the decision, Center Bismarck Koenig(285G 320A) was voted in with just 8 votes out of 13. The UZI® player agency which represents him was initially embarrassed by the announcement, but has still accepted the decision which honor and gratitude. Season 47 was Koenig's standout performance, winning the Campbell, Slobodzian, Szatkowski and Beketov trophies after scoring 120 points for the Titans. The player himself is said to have relished his World Cup experiences even more, after consecutive gold medals with the Western European team and securing the S43 MVP as well as back to back Top Forward awards in S43 and S46.

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The Helsinki Titans have assembled a great young roster in their bid to once again be a dominant force in the VHL, and season 51 may just be the start the next run of success for the proud Finnish franchise. With the much hyped Thor Odinsson up front and getting all the attention, fellow forward Asher Donovan is quietly going about his business and becoming a vital cog in the Titans machine. His 36 points(20 G 16 A) put him 4th on the rookie scoring list, but more impressively, he is the current hits leader with 267 through 49 games. As he continues to develop and contribute in both areas of the game, he may very well become the more impressive and valuable offensive rookie in Helsinki.

[STZ 5,316]

ur my rock <3

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On 17/08/2016 at 10:01 AM, STZ said:

ur my rock <3

 

Well make sure I don't drag you down.

 

 

The Season 50 VHL All-Star game was played yesterday, with Team Kendrick emerging victorious 5-3 over Team Power. In an unusually defensive game when compared to previous All-Star shot-fests, Quebec's veteran center Tom Lincoln would emerge as MVP after a 3 Goal, 1 Assist performance, although the insipid play of Greg Clegane no doubt contributed also to the Team Kendrick win. The VHL's head office is said to be investigating betting irregularities in both Latvia and the UK prior to the puck drop so Cleganes 4 goals allowed on just 6 shots looks likely to come under scrutiny during the investigation. With a verbal battle raging between the teams respective managers before the game, the result itself has settled the score and Joey Kendrick takes the win over Ryan Power. It was all in good fun though and Power has already sent his congratulations to the winning team.

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With the regular season's 72 games having been completed, the VHL now looks forward to yet another exciting playoff series. The Toronto Legion again showed their dominance, finishing with 117 points(56-11-5) and displaying that they are the team to fear in the race for the Continental Cup. In the first round of the North American playoffs, the VHL's dominant offensive team, the Quebec Meute will be favorites to advance over the Calgary Wranglers. With elite scoring options as Unassisted,Lincoln and Koponen, they should easily despatch the Wranglers and move through to a showdown with the boys from Toronto. Over in Europe, the Cologne Express will take a week off and wait to see who they will match up against, when the Davos Dynamo take on the Riga Reign. The Dynamo should be too strong in this series, although Riga has surprised before and the plucky Latvian team will be looking to send the more fancied Swiss team out of contention. The majority expect the final match up to be Toronto vs Cologne, but the VHL throws up shocks and surprises on a regular basis, and season 50 may prove to be no different.

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I was kidding about the centrefold....but

 

 

 

 

 

 

With Issue #300 of the VHL magazine hitting stores today, it's time to also reflect on 50 amazing seasons of The Victory Hockey League. Since it's inception, thousands of players have been drafted, traded, played in cup winning teams, won awards and inevitably retired to greener pastures. When most VHL analysts are quizzed about the best of those players, it often comes down to two names....Campbell and O'Malley. From incredibly different eras these two superstars have defined what it is to be a VHL legend and be spoken about in awe by the fans of the game. There have been many great players(the likes of Labatte, Slobodzian and Shaw come to mind), but these two centers defined what it means to be an elite offensive force in the VHL. We can only hope that the next 50 seasons brings us similar talents and that the VHL itself continues to be the entertainment machine it has proven itself to be. Congratulations VHL for 50 incredible seasons.

Edited September 7, 2016 by boom