Expansion Eminent

[SpartanGibbles 8]

Big news has hit the wire this week with both the VHL and VHLM announcing plans for Expansion. The VHLM will gain 2 teams while the VHL will only gain 1 for the time being. This news comes after a highly successful recruitment leading to many new players in the league. The VHLM expansion will primarily focus on North America while the VHL's expansion will continue the leagues international focus.

 

Starting with the VHLM, the first expansion franchise has been granted to the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The city has strong ties to the game of hockey as well as being the only eastern American city to be granted a team. The fans in the east have long been clamoring for a team of their own to root for. The new team will be named the Philadelphia Reapers and boasts a blue, red, and yellow color scheme. With no nearby teams, the Reapers will likely look to Ottawa and Halifax as potential rivalries. Fans are already clamoring to find out what kind of cuisine will be featured at the arena. Many expect traditional Pennsylvanian fare such as cheesesteaks, scrapple, and traditional Amish foods to be among the new delicacies.The first General Manager of the team will be BladeMaiden.

 

The second VHLM expansion team has been awarded to the city of Houston, Texas. With this expansion we have a second team located within the southern United States(the first being the Las Vegas Aces). Many fans bemoan more teams being created outside of traditional hockey markets but the league feels that in order to grow the game they must reach out to new territory. The city has long been starved for a hockey team and the VHL hopes to capitalize on this demand from local fans with a new team. The team will be named the Houston Bulls and will feature a color palette of red and yellow. Many hope that the recent expansion to the south will open up the sport to new audiences not used to the game. The most obvious rival for the Bulls will be the Las Vegas Aces. Although the Bulls will have a challenge as the Aces currently sit atop the league. The inaugural GM of the Houston Bulls will be Sonnet.

 

The lone VHL expansion will happen halfway across the world from the VHLM expansion. The city of Moscow, Russia will be the latest site for hockey excellence. Following the trend of having the league spread across the world; Russia seemed like an obvious choice for growing the league. Russia is a country with a rich hockey history and a huge fan-base waiting for a team to support since they last lost a team in Season 10. The team will be known as the Moscow Menace and features a gold and white color scheme. The team logo is fierce and will likely lead to many merchandise sales. The GM for Moscow will be Victor who has a history of building top notch teams.
 

Of course this expansion will affect all teams as both leagues will feature an expansion draft prior to the 65th season. We look forward to the changes that expansion will bring to the league. With so many changes the VHL must continue to adapt and improve itself to keep itself relevant.

 

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