IR's Articles

[iRockstar 307]

Edition 23

-- GM's On The Move

 

Being a general manager comes with a lot of responsibilities, there is a lot to do and if you want to be the best you have to put forth the effort. Before the current season even began, we seen a lot of valued members step down from their prized position of general manager, leaving a lot of holes to fill in a short amount of time. Because so many people stepped down, it really sparked the idea for this current article. Today, we look at how our new general managers are doing, plus chime in on the most recent additions to the GM squad that happened over the past two weeks. Three of the eight general managers stepped down, and to replace them we had Bushito, eaglesfan and Da Trifecta. We're going to take a peek into how they've been doing with their new teams. 

 

First off we're going to take a look at Bushito, who took over the Bern Royals after InstantRockstar stepped down to take over an even more prized position as the VHLM Commissioner alongside Corco. Before Bushtio took over the team, Bern had been consecutively in the playoffs all three seasons with their most recent attempt being a loss in the finals. Since taking over, the team has been on a little bit of a rollercoaster ride so to speak. In Season Thirty-Five, the team placed one of their worst records in recent history, leaving them out of the playoffs and fighting for a top draft pick. After doing what they needed to do in the off-season, Bushito really turned the team around giving them a top two finish and pushing them back into the playoff picture. Unfortunately the team just fell to the Watchmen after having a spectacular year and playoff finish, but with any luck they'll be right back in the picture again next season. 

 

Next we take a look at eaglesfan who took over the most promising franchise in the Yukon Rush. After their general manager who formed the team during expansion decided it was his time to back off the helm due to lack of motivation and interest in the position, we now see a completely new team and view on the Rush. The Yukon Rush had been a pretty competitive team every season they'd been in the league up until recently when their general manager decided to sell off and get almost every valuable pick in the upcoming draft. With that in mind, Season Thirty-Five was a bumpy ride for eaglesfan as the team became a bottom feeder placing third last and hoping that the draft would turn things around. Fortunately for the team things did turn around and the team found their way back into the playoffs, barely getting a spot. Despite barely making it into the playoffs, the team is currently on their way to a cup appearance once again after just recently finishing off the Minot Gladiators. Eaglesfan has really done an exceptional job with this team, and gets my kudos for bringing the team from worst to possible best. 

 

Finally we take a look at the last of three general managers to take over in the off-season and that is Da Trifecta. When Edgar got called up to be the general manager of the Toronto Legion, it was a no brainer that he'd be accepting the job, leaving his position open. Trifecta had never been a general manager in the league before and so he was given this opportunity. The Gladiators have been a team that Edgar always built to succeed, and he left them in a very good place as the Gladiators would finish off Season Thirty-Five with a very good record and second place finish. This was the only team out of all three general managers that actually consecutively managed to make the playoffs as they once again made it this season. In Season Thirty-Five, the team unfortunately lost in the first round, giving them motivation to push themselves for a cup win the following season, and it's sad to report that dream has once again been crushed. As we reported earlier with eaglesfan and the Rush, the Yukon team managed to push forward to the league finals leaving the Gladiators to once again have to re-think their strategy and do it all over again next season. Overall, this has to be one of the better of the three teams just because of their consistent contention, but if they go into a slump, there may have to be some questions raised. 

 

With all of this said, all three of the teams look to be in great care and it's nice to see all of the members really coming together to give these new members and recreates an overall experience they'll remember. Come next season we're also going to see two new general managers that are going to take over the Vasteras and Saskatoon teams. Both of these new general managers were just recently appointed to be the teams GM's after their old one's stepped down for various reasons. D3vilsfire is our first general manager and is a newer member to the community. After some controversy over the position, he finally was named the GM and looks to do big things with Vasteras after previous general manager Sterling left them in a winning position. Coming back for another round of the VHL fun is James who gladly took over the Saskatoon spot. After his recent sketchy activity we believe he'll be on a short string but because of his skill and talent we have no doubt that the team is in good hands. It's also believed that one more position could open up if major changes are made in the VHL system within the next couple of weeks, so as always stay tuned for those big announcements. 

[iRockstar 307]

Edition 24

-- Finale Fiasco: Watchmen Win It All

 

The playoffs are always enjoyable to watch, even if your favorite team hasn't made it in, because one way or another there will be a team hoisting the cup, and that in itself is a good time. This season, six teams once again embarked on the journey and only two could make it to the finals, and this finals was something for the history books. Both the Yukon Rush and Bratislava Watchmen joined the VHLM in season thirty-one when the league underwent expansion, allowing two teams to join both the VHL and VHLM. Since their joining in the VHLM, both teams have made it to the finals multiple times, and have almost made the playoffs every single season of their existence. The reason this finale is so spectacular and historic, is because it's the first time both teams have ever faced off against one another in the final series. The funny thing about all of this, is that the Rush have won two cups, while the Watchmen have only won one with the Rush winning in their first season (season thirty-one) as well as their fourth season (season thirty-four) and the Watchmen winning in their third season (season thirty-three). This was the chance for the Watchmen to tie it up and prove themselves as a spectacular franchise. 

 

We're going to take a look at both of the franchises and see what brought them to the finals. First we'll take a look at the Watchmen who were run by STZ since they were formed in season thirty-one. The team right out of the gates began to contend despite not having the assets some other teams had, which proved their dominance early on. Into the current season, it was obvious that the Watchmen were once again the team to beat. The teams overall success lead to being first in the league standings wise with a mind-blowing record of 66-5-1. If that wasn't convincing enough, the team had three players contributing OVER one hundred points and top that all off with close to perfect goaltending from Martin Brookside and that is just screaming success. While the Watchmen got a first round bye, they made it look as though the second round should have been the same thing, making easy work of the Royals to advance to the finals. In the playoffs, the team dominated their opponents with scoring, lesser penalty minutes and overall domination in between the pipes. Overall, this team was built to win, and did exactly that. 

 

Now taking a look at the Rush, we notice a little more struggle to their story, it wasn't set out in stone or just given to them on a silver platter, but they certainly impressed and made one hell of a comeback. In regular season alone the Rush finished fifth place, barely making the playoffs as the Storm were just shy of ten points behind them but unfortunately eliminated. Now this seems to have given them a little power boost because in the playoffs they completely dominated the competition as well. The thing that made it most hard for the team was the fact that they had a first round series which didn't give them any kind of break before the playoffs, however it just went to show that the team didn't need it as they took out the Wild in good fashion with a 4-1 series win. Going into the second round, the Rush took on the Gladiators and while the Gladiators had a good regular season they were no match for this playoff power team and were eliminated too early, leaving the Rush to finally make it. 

 

So the big question we have here is...what really happened? Did the first round series tire out the team too much to continue their domination through the playoffs? Obviously no one is going to know the real answer and so it will be left a mystery, but this is one of the best series we've seen despite it not going all seven games. Had the Rush been able to tie the series up and bring it the full distance, this outcome may have been slightly different, though it's hard to bet against such an outstanding and dominating team like the Watchmen. Since the series ended, both general managers have since stepped down as STZ has taken over the role of Helsinki Titans GM in the VHL leaving two new general managers to lead the teams hopefully back into contention. Whether these two will ever meet again in the playoffs will be the biggest question of all, but even if they don't, we can be assured that both of the teams will compete until they cannot anymore. 

[iRockstar 307]

Edition 25 

-- VHLM Draft: The Details

 

The draft officially happened a few days ago and all of the new players have officially found a home on their respective teams for the current season. Now a few games into the season, we get to see a little more depth to each of the picks. This article is going to be full of facts, statistics, picks and more, and should make for a good read. Our intentions today are to break down each team from least amount of picks to most amount, who the biggest steals, busts and reaches were, and our analysis on which team came out on top. First and foremost, we're going to begin with the draft pick tracker, something that is very crucial in understanding the depth some teams picked up. 

 

The Turku Outlaws cleaned house in this draft, having one of the most exceptional pick counts in recent history. The Outlaws picked up fifteen out of a possible forty rookies which is a pretty substantial to bolster any teams roster. Another fun fact about the Outlaws is that they held six of the possible ten picks in the second round alone, and all of them were back to back making it quite easy to select who they truly wanted. On the other end of the spectrum, we look at the Moscow Red Wolves who came into the draft with just one single pick, the thirty-sixth overall pick (4th round) where they selected a slacking center. Moscow was the only team in the league to have one pick, the others all had at least two or more. To put it in perspective, the other teams in no specific order were Gladiators (7), Yukon (5), Bern (4), Brampton (2), Ottawa (3), Oslo (2) and Saskatoon (2). Turku was the clear winner here in terms of pick amount. 

 

Now on to the fun stuff. Each round had a lot of players that could easily surprise us, even the first round. Each round will be broken down and analyzed. In the first round, Kimmo Salo, a goalie prospect went first overall, while Jake Wylde and Bruno Wolf went second and third. This surprised us all here at the mag simply because Konstantin Azhishchenkov was still on the board. The Rush managed to pick Konstantin up with pick number four, while Turku picked up two major players in Vojzek Svoboda and Travis Boychuk. To end the round we seen Jakub Linholm, Logan Laich, Ashton Galbraith and Don Draper all being selected, respectable picks to round off the first round. In this round, we're going to give the edge to the Yukon Rush who picked Salo, Azhishchenkov and Draper. They filled their needs and selected the best player available at their position. For the steal of this round, we're going to give it to Bern who swapped up Logan Laich with the eighth overall pick, a solid pickup to say the least. If we had to list a bust, we're going to say that Ashton Galbraith may be the sore thumb, simply because he's a new member with a lot to prove. 

 

The second round was just as eventful as the first, mainly because Turku just completely took over this round, as spoken about earlier. The first pick going to the Outlaws was Dexter Morgan who is a bright up and coming prospect with a lot of potential if he continues to manage a good work ethic. With the next few picks, Turku would select Mikael Svensson, Kristoffer Ruud and Azmet Ali. All of these picks should help the team with good depth, though I'm not too sure I'll be seeing any of them hit the VHL level unless they begin to improve again. Finally Turku would finish off their abundance of picks with Dimothenis Vlasis and Kez Kinkaid who I personally feel were easy picks to make. Vlasis is going to be VHL ready in a full season or two and Kinkaid has the potential to be, personally surprised they lasted this long, though they landed in the same place. To end the round we'd see Markus Bjorkstrand and Jack Ryan go to the Gladiators while Ottawa would pick up Chris Raymond and Leo Tesla, all solid picks for the team, I do expect to see Raymond and Ryan end up in the VHL with the other two having a chance. Turku is the obvious winner of this second round, simply based on picks, but if I had to select another winner, I'd say Minot came out with two stud prospects. The steal of this round was Vlasis, while he was destined to go to Turku, it was still a major steal. I unfortunately believe the bust of this round is going to be Leo Tesla, there just is not enough to know about him to judge. 

 

Going into the third round, the GM's were still looking to make moves and pray that someone can come and help their team. With Turku continuing their rampage into the third round, it was going to be hard for other teams to compete, but it's just a job, folks. With the first, second and third picks of the third round, Turku would select Cameron Greening, Walt Pringle and Antoine Sauve. Right away I can tell you who my steal of this round is going to be, but we'll continue and save that for later. The next couple of picks see Oslo drafting Spud Murphy and Turku going back to back again to select Joseph Baker and Mirko Draistail. With all of these picks, Turku could make a whole second team, just stop them will you! Rounding out the third round, we see Minot selecting Ryan Barrett, Bern selecting Rocky West, Yukon selecting John Otter and Bern once again back to select David Hall. Truthfully, Turku once again gains the edge on this round simply because of their domination with picks, no other teams stood a chance, and that team actually holds our steal of the round. Cameron Greening is a great prospect with a lot more potential than some may gave him, that gives me enough reason to believe he'll achieve great things. Because I'm unsure of who he is, last pick David Hall is going to be the bust of the round, but I'm sure he could surprise us. 

 

Finally we arrive in the final round. By now I'm sure most of the general managers are looking to take the best player available and run like the wind. Brampton finally gets a freaking pick in the draft, selecting Andrew Sorensen, while Turku comes back at it with Percy Miller. After that we see Ottawa take Krill Lokomotiv and Oslo take Jack Griffith. These are some good picks for sure. Noah Jackson and Kitsune Yamasaki are the next two picks, and finally the final four of the final round are Peter Keller, Vasily Miroshnychenko, Mike Lien and Frederick Andersson. This was the only round every team had a pick, which was pretty awesome to see actually, all ten teams selected. Our winner team wise goes to Oslo who selects Jack Griffith, a very talented prospect. Our steal of the draft is also Jack Griffith who I believe will excel to be more than just a fourth round player. This is the first time out of all four rounds that I have multiple busts, but we're going with Percy Miller and Krill Lokomotiv. Miller exploded and clashed with league officials with many incidents while Lokomotiv already contemplated and may have already went through with retirement, a major step backwards in his extremely young career. 

[iRockstar 307]

Edition 26

Player Spotlight: Dimothenis Vlasis

Is he our next superstar?

 

Last week we took a look at the VHLM dispersal draft for season thirty-seven and the domination Turku had in that draft, pretty much picking up a whole new team. While looking at that draft, we seen an interesting pick that sparked our interest to write this article. Dimothenis Vlasis was selected in the second round with the fifteenth overall pick. This was one of many Turku had in that round, giving him a solid chance to win now and possibly in the future if Turku stays in contention. While Vlasis has been pretty quiet thus far, he's one of those players we like to call silent but deadly, in a good way of course. Currently the Outlaws are in fifth place with a 10-5 record. This just goes to show how deep the league has gotten this season. Now back to the good stuff, a look at the background of Dimothenis Vlasis. 

 

Dimothenis Vlasis at first glance is an average sized defender, standing six feet two inches tall with another average weight of approximately two hundred and ten pounds. Vlasis, a very uncommon name comes from Athens, Greece and has been a native his whole life. This is the first time Vlasis would ever move in his whole existence, so as you can imagine, it's a scary procedure, but one well worth his career. Dimothenis is a natural defender who can play either side of the ice. While he's a left handed shot, any rifle from him is guaranteed to hit the net. Right now, Dimothenis is sitting at seventy-seven practice hours and is looking to hit the one hundred mark before the season comes to a halt. 

 

With those seventy-seven practice hours comes a lot of impressive statistics, especially for a defender that has virtually no time spent on his offensive game. Just seventeen games into the current season, and Vlasis looks to be fitting right in. Currently he has five goals and thirteen assists for a total of eighteen points, putting him just over a point per game player. If that wasn't impressive enough, the average sized defender also has thirty hits and forty-eight blocked shots giving him a team leading total on both defensive statistics. While he may be a rookie, it's clear that his career is going to take-off. At this pace with most of the season to go, we're likely going to see his defensive statistics both hit well over one hundred, and if he keeps up his offensive pace and continues to work hard, we may even see him continue to stay over a point per game player. 

 

So of course the big question now is what's next for this enigmatic defender. The biggest thing is going to be the VHL draft. Vlasis will be entered and will likely be a hot commodity to general managers. His agent is active and he's working hard to rack up those practice hours, put that all together with his outstanding talent at playing a good two-way game and we're likely going to see a steal of a pick here. It's unlikely that Vlasis will play another season in the VHLM unless he holds out and stays under the practice hour limit, but if he does, we could see a trophy winner for top defender, most points by a defender and likely even some team-ridden trophies. Overall, Dimothenis Vlasis was a steal in the VHLM and is proving it this season. 

 

[iRockstar 307]

Edition 27

Is it time for a change? 

Some teams that could benefit from relocation

 

Relocation is a big subject that has a long process in both the VHL and VHLM, sometimes never leaving the first stage of discussion. It takes a lot to make the commissioners in the league budge for relocation, simply because it seems they either don't like change or feel the current city or team name has too much history to change it at the time. But the big question always arises when discussing relocation, and that's if a team could really benefit from moving to a new city or even a new country. This season, we seen Vasteras move to Moscow, and while their still not having the greatest success, their slowly starting to inch their way towards that direction. There are a couple of teams currently in the league that have new general managers since they moved to the current city their in, and it could really benefit the general managers if the team was in a city more to their liking. In this article, we're going to discuss three possible teams that could possibly bring them more success with a relocation. 

 

Based on the standings, their current location and their general manager, these three teams really stick out like a sore thumb, and could really use this relocation. The first of three teams is the Oslo Storm. I think there is a lot of possibility with this team, with both relocation and possibly even a change in conference. For obvious reasons, their in the European Conference with Oslo being in Norway but they could be the true beneficiaries of moving both the conference and country/city. The first big reason behind my thought process is that Oslo is not a huge city, on top of that it's not very well-known to be a hockey town, so somewhere that could actually benefit from drawing in large crowds could make this team a little more competitive. Currently Oslo sits in sixth place and were renamed many seasons ago by general manager InstantRockstar. While they needed the change it looks like now they could use it even more. If their mediocre record in the standings and lack of a hockey city isn't enough, how about we take a look at their current general manager, Doomsday. He's an American patriot who loves to flaunt his knowledge on the American culture and history. Moving the team to an American city or state could benefit this team from both a team standpoint and a general manager standpoint. Regardless, this team needs some help, and unless some good drafting or trading comes up soon, this could be their best option. 

 

Second on the chopping block is going to be a team that may come as a surprise to some, if not most. The Brampton Blades are a Canadian team based out of Brampton, Ontario and boy do they need help. Brampton is always a bottom feeding minor team that just cannot get things rolling for them. Currently their general manager Toast is semi-active and trying to get that team the push they need, but he could be pushing all the wrong buttons. Brampton was relocated by megster god only knows how long ago and since then has completely crapped the bed time and time again. Brampton is an original team in the league that has been relocated a handful of times but has never found success, this is the reason behind my logic of you people not understanding the reason for them to relocate. For me, Toast just needs to give himself more of a homey place to be, while Brampton is a great hockey city, I just feel like Toast or the possible next general manager could benefit from bringing the team somewhere they prefer over somewhere megster preferred. 

 

Finally, we come down to the final team. This team has been a roller-coaster for the past few seasons and hasn't really found a consistent groove. Under newer management, we've seen the team possibly takeoff and find direction in the sense of winning, but if it doesn't continue, they could continue moving. The Minot Gladiators currently just had their logo revamped to look a little more Gladiator like, but a logo change isn't going to cut it. Minot is another area that has an average sized population and a lesser hockey fan base. This is the team I could see switching conferences with Oslo as the general manager Da Trifecta likes the more foreign countries and could benefit with the large change of scenery. Minot is one team in the minors that has not seen a relocation in quite some time but under new management could see it to help benefit the teams overall success and popularity. Currently the team is sitting fourth in the standings and could improve by seasons end. Overall, this team could benefit from seeing a whole new scenery and perspective in a town that could support them more. 

[iRockstar 307]

A new segment each week is going to be myself, InstantRockstar, taking on the task of learning a little bit more about the newer guys to join the VHLM. The VHLM is all about development, getting your name out there and hopefully becoming a superstar, but there is only so much one person can do to get exposure, and this should help. In this week's edition, we're going to be talking to Don Draper, a very big star for the Yukon Rush. After being drafted, Draper made an immediate impact to the team, allowing himself to really show what he can do. Since then, he's been on a tear through the league hoping to be picked high in the VHL draft next season. Without further ado, the interview you've all been waiting for. 

 

1. You were selected as the 10th overall pick in the season thirty-seven draft, a massive achievement for any new player to the league, how did that moment feel for you, did you feel pressure right away to perform? 

 

Well, obviously I was extremely excited that I was picked up by the Rush so early on. However, after it sunk in a bit, I was a little shocked that they took such a gamble on me. Initially, I did feel some pressure because of the hype that going in first round put on me, but my GM was great to tell me to just practice as much and as hard as I can and not worry about anything else.

2. Now that the season is more than half way in, did your expectations for yourself change or have you kept the same thoughts and hopes all season long? 

 

I don't think my expectations have changed any. Ever since the beginning, my goal has just been to improve my player and be the best player I can, on and off the ice. I think that so far I have stuck to that goal. 

3. I'm sure everyone wants to know, how is it playing for the Yukon Rush? They've been a contending team since they joined the VHLM during expansion and now you're a part of that legacy. Is it enjoyable or a little intimidating? 

 

Playing for Yukon is truly awesome. The players are great, the coaching staff is great, and the management is unbelievable. It's definitely never a dull moment in the Yukon locker room, so I would certainly say it's enjoyable. At first, it may have been a little intimidating, but the warm welcome from both the other players and the management made any intimidation fade quickly. 

4. The big question for us is, who is Don Draper? You're an active member of the community, you're a big help to the Rush, but who are you outside of the game of hockey? 

 

Well, I mean, I'm just a regular guy. Since this is my first year in the VHLM, I'm really not making much cash, so the majority of my time is split up between hockey and working. Other than that, I'm pretty boring. Like I said, I'm just a regular guy. 

 

5. The final question for me has to be, which team would you be most excited to play for after this season is done. With so many great options in the VHL, I'm sure you have one preference over the rest, whether you actually play there or not. 

 

Well, I would be happy to go anywhere for sure, and I will work hard regardless of where I go. However, I think that everyone has those teams that "stand out" as places where you would really like to go. For me personally, those teams are Riga and Helsinki. 

Edited April 8, 2014 by InstantRockstar