Historical Significance

[Victor 10,992]

257: Jamie and Riga's Love Affair

This season the Riga Reign saw the unveiling of their third General Manager in six seasons and despite the early success of Jim Gow and the promise of Steven Smeall, fans of the team would be forgiven for being reminded of the turbulent years of the cup drought and constant GM changes prior to the appointment of Mike Szatkowski in S28. Szatkowski added stability to the franchise missing since the days of Dustin Funk, not to mention much needed on-ice success, but as he departed, only to resurface at his third VHL GM job in Seattle, uncertainty started to seep back into Riga. Fortunately for the Reign, Mike was not the only symbol of the post-expansion Riga.

One of the first trades of Szatkowski's second Riga rebuild saw him swap S35 draftees Edwin Encarnacion and Brennan McQueen midway through their first season of VHL eligibility. Encarnacion went on to a decent career but McQueen has been inducted into the Hall of Fame as one of the league's best two-way forwards. More importantly for the Reign, McQueen was captain for all 7 of his VHL seasons (S35 was spent in the VHLM with a Founder's Cup-winning squad featuring future Riga teammates like the Gows and Mike Szatkowski Jr.) and playoff MVP in their superb Season 40 cup run. Such was the captain's loyalty that McQueen retired in Riga and was not traded off in their S42 firesale.

That could have been the end of the story – one of a loyal franchise player but not unique in VHL history. McQueen did set a record with the seven seasons as captain, finally breaking the previously unassailable mark of six, but this may have just become a footnote in the recordbooks. However, the member behind McQueen, the notorious Jamie, has managed to keep the run going. Immediately after McQueen's retirement, his successor, similar power forward (except a center) Bronson Faux was drafted by the Reign in the S43 draft. Faux made the instant leap into the rebuilding Riga team and became the new captain, thus extending Jamie's run to eight straight seasons. It is unlikely that Faux shall lose the letter in the foreseeable future and so will lead a refreshed Riga side into a playoff race in Season 45, Jamie's tenth straight as captain of the organisation.

Such a streak is essentially unprecedented in the VHL. It is one thing when a GM sticks around for a long time in a franchise, and even then New York's Chris Miller is currently attempting to break Calgary's Jason Glasser's record of 16 seasons. Jason's return with Kerkko Hyvarinen in the S44 draft means a run that has almost not been broken since Lars Intranquilo was drafted by the Wranglers in S20, apart from Martin Brookside's stint in Cologne, but at the same time you could argue that he was only the face of the franchise when he was GM. Even when looking at the pure numbers, Jamie is not that far off with Riga, a quite remarkable feat for someone who has never held a GM position.

It is often a bit frustrating for loyal players who have to give up the team they love due to retirement and the VHL's cyclical nature. The Riga Reign have clearly benefited from having a unique talisman on board and have strung together many respectable seasons over the past decade thanks to that consistency.

[Victor 10,992]

258: Epic Europe

So the European Conference going into Season 45 has turned out to be quite the unpredictable quintet of teams. After an off-season of surprising activity, where Cologne refused to tank yet both Helsinki and Riga jumped to take their playoff spot, the results so far have been close and it is far too early to make any judgements and final standing predictions. One thing is clear, we're not likely to see a more competitive conference ever again.

However, just how good is Europe this season? Well to put it in perspective, the last time one conference was so clearly superior to the other, crossover was implemented from Seasons 28 to 30. Helsinki, Riga, and Vasteras were in dire states for various reasons at that time and though it would be unfair to compare New York and Quebec to such also-rans, it would be fair to say that both would be unlikely to be in a playoff spot at the end of S45 in Europe. That would also suggest that even the pre-expansion North American Conference could not match the competitiveness of Europe this season. Certainly in Seasons 28 and 29 there was a clear outsider, first Toronto on 62 points, then Calgary on 78 once the Legion made the sudden leap to a Continental Cup. By contrast, you could argue that any of the five European teams this year could make it to the finals (yes, even Cologne, though losing their entire top line might be too high a hurdle to overcome).

If there was a more competitive conference or indeed season than Season 45, that would have to be the very last season before expansion – Season 30. Five teams that season had between 100 and 91 points, including all four from North America. Defending champions Toronto were the casualty, in a shock which would be similar to Stockholm or Davos missing the playoffs this time around. Indeed, conclusions can only truly be drawn once the playoff spots are sealed and the final points differences known, but the early pace is encouraging with no one lagging behind just yet.

Another point of interest is that in both Seasons 30 and 45, the deciding element of unpredictability was added by the team managed by Ryan Power. The Express' current refusal to rebuild in the conventional manner is not too dissimilar to New York hanging on to Tukka Reikkinen and Benjamin Glover all those years ago and finishing third in the league despite low pre-season expectations. In Season 30 this was enough to turn an obvious top four into a fight for the playoffs, but perhaps what makes this season more impressive is that a playoff race would have taken place anyway after both Helsinki and Riga's off-seasons. Cologne simply complicated matters further to the extent that two good teams will now have to sit out the playoffs. That is unprecedented and ultimately further testament to the strength of the VHL and the success of expansion. After all, it would have been realistic to expect Season 30 to be the pinnacle with the addition of two teams and thus the dilution of talent. Instead, that peak looks to have been surpassed and we can sit back and watch the most exciting playoff race in VHL history.

[Victor 10,992]

259: Was Quebec the Best Team to Never Win a Cup?

Obnoxious, controversial, annoying, hated. The above adjectives are arguably all applicable to the recent generation of the Quebec City Meute, spanning from Season 40 to 44. Despite this, even the biggest critic of Quebec's way of doing things or their number one rival would surely struggle to insist that the team lacked talent. In fact, you could well say that no better squad has ever failed to win the Continental Cup. Although the Meute are still safely in a playoff spot in North America, retirements, their off-season dealings, and the recent trade of Jake Wylde (and perhaps that of Bruno Wolf in the near future) surely spell the end of their cup attempts and thus the perfect opportunity to embark on a post-mortem of the peculiarly universally unloved team.

In truth, Season 40 was a bit of a false start for this past edition of Quebec. In possession of limited assets upon taking over the ageing S35 champions, GM Frank Chadwick's rebuild never looked particularly promising until an off-season of wheeling and dealing landed him the young Wolf as well as the majority of the HC Davos Dynamo, a team which had just been to four straight finals. Despite the addition of talent and pedigree, the Meute had a stop-start season and were upset in round one by Calgary. With no player particularly excelling individually (Lennox Moher's Aidan Shaw Trophy was largely achieved in Davos), perhaps the more accurate start to this run was S41, with the ascent of GM Clinton Chevy and the departure of all four Dynamo veterans.

For the next four seasons, Quebec City was definitely in the spotlight. Although the outspokenness always came back to bite them in the playoffs, the Meute were regular season kings and there are many who would suggest that the larger sample size might well be a better way of assessing teams' talent, rather than the element of hot streaks, luck of the draw, and line management in the post-season. Certainly few would argue that S43 Seattle was superior to Quebec. The Meute were dominated, perhaps to the point of detrimenting the team come playoff time, by the dynamic duo of Aksel Thomassen and Bruno Wolf, who racked up a remarkable amount of trophies and some very solid, historically speaking, stats, in four seasons which should help their Hall of Fame cases significantly. To focus the attention on Thomassen and Wolf discredits the contributions of the likes of Travis Boychuk, Jake Wylde, Brock Waldron, and Niklaus Mikaelson, and the S44 edition was particularly talented. Despite two Victory Cups, however, and managing to break down one of the best teams of all time, the New York Americans, in S42, the Meute failed to win it all, never coming closer than that slightly underdog run in S42 in fact and so can only think of what could have been?

Were they the best team to not win? There is worthy competition, though pre-expansion VHL was particularly notable for not having a lot of near-misses. Generally, any great team got their cup, with notable exceptions being the S16-S17 Toronto Legion (Victory Cup winners in S17 with the likes of Brandon Rush, Zak Rawlyk, and Hall of Famers David Henman and Carl Jacobs), and of course the Benjamin Glover-Daniel Braxton New York Americans, who lost five finals from S25 to S31. The former only had one season of individual brilliance in truth, while the former had the longevity but it's hard to say they were favourites in any of the seven seasons. Meanwhile, the Quebec City Meute have become the highest profile casualties of this era of greater parity, and while few tears were shed over their failure to win, it is a warning to stacked teams in the future.

[Victor 10,992]

260: A Scoring Race for the Ages

Lost in the midst of an extremely close season in terms of teams, especially in Europe, is the fact that the VHL is also experiencing a very tight scoring race in Season 45. After two seasons which saw Thomas O'Malley evolve from promising star to superstar, his move from Cologne to Helsinki caused some teething issues and the alley cat's rivals haven't missed a golden opportunity. Fourteen players, including O'Malley, are currently on pace for between 100 and 124 points, with just 12 points separating them all at the moment. Impressively, this top 14 contains players from nine of the VHL's ten franchises, with Riga's top scorer Aksel Thomassen not too far behind in fifteenth. While Max Molholt (TOR) and Jakub Rhinehart (SEA) have certainly benefited from their teams' lacklustre performances in the standings (which does not undermine Molholt's very strong rookie season to date), the current situation is symbolic of the general league parity and we can only hope it is maintained throughout the second half of the season.

Of course, the halfway point might be long forgotten when the dust settles on Season 45. Many scoring races in the past have seen a runaway winner later on, or two-three players separating from the rest. While the odds are surely against Gifford Shock, who is playing like a man reborn in his first season outside of Davos, the quartet immediately behind him all have the quality to end the season with much better stats than they are currently on pace for. There are O'Malley and Bismarck Koenig, last season's top two scorers while linemates in Cologne, both in their primes, as is Lord Karnage, looking set as the great two-way forward of our time. This is a title he seems to have wrestled away from the ageless Bruno Wolf, the veteran of the group and one enjoying being the absolute main man in the worst Quebec City squad since his rookie season. Should one of these top VHL names go on a particularly hot streak to end the season, the extremely balanced leaderboard in terms of team representation means they would be hands-on favourites to be crowned league MVP.

This season, forwards, both in terms of their output and recognition, are certainly aided by the continued weakness in goal. We have become accustomed to generations of insanely talented netminders like Tukio, LeBeau, Wahl, Brookside, and Szatkowski Jr., so the last two seasons have been a slight culture shock. Last season, the long-term answer looked to be the rivalry between Niklaus Mikaelson and Hans Wingate, but the former will soon retire and the latter has shown that he is after all just three seasons into his VHL career. The same growing pains have hindered Bernie Gow and Greg Clegane and ultimately, this is a goaltending crop for the future, minus the steady but unspectacular Brock Waldron. Offensive-minded players league-wide, meanwhile, have chosen to live in the present.

Season 45 may not go down as a particularly ridiculous season in an attacking sense like Seasons 20, 26, or 31, but on the other hand it will almost certainly be more competitive, in both a team and individual sense. The best course of action would be to enjoy it while it lasts and take cover when the MVP debate comes around if things remain as they stand.

[Victor 10,992]

The much anticipated return!

The Difficulty of Leaving

I recently almost permanently left the VHL and most likely would have done had my player not been in his rookie season but a bit further along in his career. Although perhaps that is only an excuse in my mind and the true reason I am here, typing out this article, is because it can be quite hard to leave the league, especially after giving so much to it over several years. Indeed, VHL history would suggest that it is the members who held positions of power who have had the hardest time giving up and yes, that is what the next few paragraphs will be about.

Let's start with the most obvious example: Scotty Campbell. An iconic name in the VHL, both for his ridiculously successful player and being the original league commissioner and simmer for almost 14 seasons. His departure from these roles, as well as that of GM of the HC Davos Dynamo, was quite abrupt, midway through another excellent career as defenceman Tomas Jenskovic, and this seemed to suggest that he needed to move on. However, despite this being now some 30 seasons and 6 years ago, very few current VHL members can say they haven't ever interacted with Scotty. The only reason this is possible is that he has constantly returned in bursts of spontaneous activity, with the likes of RJ Stafford, Leon Leitner and indeed just last season as Maxime Deschamps, now plugging away in the Seattle Bears system.

Scotty's example is perfect for the purpose of this article but does not stand alone. All of his partners in crime from the early days of the league, namely Brett Noiles, Kevin Brooks, and Mike Kloepfer, have made numerous failed returns to activity long after the league had consigned them to the history books. The hope is always of restoring the good old days but the feeling never lasts despite all the best intentions.

Brett Slobodzian, better known as Slobo, was Scotty's immediate successor in the head commish role and is as famous for his dedication for the league as he is infamous for suddenly quitting it. It seemed that Slobo had enough after Emerson Hrynyk (in S17), then Ignatius Feltersnatch (in S24), Volodymyr Rybak (S34), but he kept on coming back and even went first overall with his last player, Vojczek Svoboda. His last departure seems to be final but as the multiple examples above show, you just never know with these things.

This article is not an exhaustive summary of all returns of prominent VHL members, but it gives some insight into the difficulty of leaving the league after perhaps being a bit too active in it. More recent examples could be provided, like the comebacks from David Knight (hopefully long-term this time) since he stepped down as commissioner. Or perhaps that of Jardy, who has seemed for years to be on the verge of leaving but keeps coming back and performing his job. It is not a situation I particularly want to be in personally, but it looks like cutting ties will have to wait, so see you next week with a more traditional instalment of this revived segment.

[Victor 10,992]

264: History at the Awards Ceremony

I absolutely love it when an awards ceremony falls on a Friday or a Saturday because that makes it very easy to incorporate it into my weekend Point Task routine by writing my favourite recurring feature on Historical Significance: the dissecting of awards in a historical context. These things usually end up longer than expected so let's abandon introductions and get right to it.

Thomas O'Malley and the Quest for Eternal Greatness

A good starting point is addressing the elephant in the room, or rather the alley cat, which is of course Thomas O'Malley accumulating yet more awards. When Streetlight compiled career stats after Season 44, I mentioned O'Malley was on pace to finally break into the elite 400-goal and 800-point club and it felt like a jinx in his early days in Helsinki, until he turned it around and ended up as the VHL's top scorer anyway. Now with two of those and two Scotty Campbell Trophies, O'Malley is in some legendary company but not quite record-breaking yet, though there are of course two seasons left to go. He has however set a record with three straight Brett Slobodzian Trophies and while this may be because Scotty Campbell retired before the trophy was introduced, it still feels like just the first hurdle overcome en route to O'Malley securing a place in the very highest echelon of VHL's greats.

#Philership

Phil didn't win the Grimm Jonsson Trophy as Top Leader in Season 44 solely because he wasn't eligible for it. Now, with Phil Hamilton making his VHL debut, he's picked up where Phil Villeneuve left off and you have to wonder who can stop him. Phil has always been known as a great locker room presence but his post-Rafter renaissance has been something else entirely, as indeed he had only won this award once previously, back in the early days of Phil Gerrard. Now with three separate players being named top leader, Phil matches Sterling and Slobo's accomplishment, though he at four awards, he is still some way off Sterling's record of seven (two with the original Labatte, one with Bencharski and of course four with Jonsson). It seems like a matter of time though, unless of course we get a bit of a Hamilton rivalry for this award.

Cup Droughts keep on being Cyclical

A couple of seasons ago there was some banter over the fact that Seattle and Calgary, two of the better franchises in VHL history, had gone some time without a championship – until of course they won it in back-to-back seasons. It was then not particularly picked up on that Helsinki, another quite successful team, had one of the longest current droughts – until they also won the cup. This means that the general VHL trend has kept going – whenever a franchise which was not once called Vasteras experiences a lean period, they swiftly end it to stop all nonsensical talk of a curse. As for Vasteras though, it's fairly grim reading for the young Stockholm Vikings, whose cupless run now goes back 19 seasons. The closest team in “pursuit” is Quebec, whose only championship to date came just 10 seasons ago and who have been to the finals since. I bet the Vikings can't wait until Season 51.

 

And finally, I was quite surprised to find out that Greg Clegane was named the league's top rookie last season, meaning I only need the most sportsmanlike and most improved awards in the VHL to catch them all. I generally try to avoid my own players in these articles but man needs inspiration after a lay-off.

[Victor 10,992]

270: Historic Helsinki

 

During my time of consistently pumping out Historical Significance articles on a weekly basis, my #1 rule was to avoid talking about my own players or teams unless something truly historic happened and instead focus on what people really like to read about: themselves. Acknowledging the achievements of others remains the goal of this column but getting re-acquainted in a sense with the VHL will take time and in any case I am planning only semi-regular submissions for the time being (and don't get your hopes up for that either). At this current moment, it is the safest and easiest option to write about something I am familiar with, but realistically speaking I don't think I could have avoided this topic even at the peak of my activity, for the Helsinki Titans have truly made history in Season 46.

 

Although the so-called “repeat curse” was not something I ever got on board with – after all, four teams had repeated before – it is fair to say that it had been a while since we saw one last. Many teams came ridiculously close in recent years, with Riga, Cologne, and Calgary falling just short in quick succession despite making it all the way back to the finals. The previous decade saw Davos and New York unsuccessfully chase the coveted back-to-back championships, instead having to settle for two in three seasons, and in truth it was probably me having a better memory of older seasons more than anything else which made me think Season 25 had just happened. In fact, it was almost half the league's history ago that a champion managed to repeat and claim the Continental Cup for two seasons' running.

 

Repeat champions:

S2 + S3 Calgary Wranglers

S4 + S5 Seattle Bears

S18 + S19 Calgary Wranglers

S24 + S25 HC Davos Dynamo

S45 + S46 Helsinki Titans

 

Undoubtedly a historic achievement and one which surpassed the expectations of anyone in Helsinki, despite many of us understanding that we lucked out and fell into the right place at the right time when the team was constructed through a couple blockbuster trades and the top two draft picks between Seasons 44 and 45. However, while it is significant to achieve a repeat in this day and age, possibly (not really though) breaking a curse, for me the biggest achievement of the S46 Titans is breaking what felt truly unbreakable: the dreaded rematch curse.

 

Due to the even lower likelihood of the same two teams making the finals in two consecutive seasons, we haven't seen a lot of finals rematches, but despite seven such occasions, the spoils were shared every time between the two rivals. Often this could be easily explained by the champions standing idly or dealing with departures while the runners-up stocked up for an even better run, but it reached farcical levels when Davos and Toronto kept alternating Continental Cups for three straight seasons. This season, at last the streak was broken as Helsinki defeated Calgary in the final twice in a row. Fortunately, the Wranglers managed to get one in S44 to lessen the pain.

 

S1: Vasteras defeats Calgary 4-2, S2: Calgary defeats Vasteras 4-0

S9: Toronto defeats Riga 4-3, S10: Riga defeats Toronto 4-3

S20: Davos defeats Toronto 4-3, S21: Toronto defeats Davos 4-1

S32: New York defeats Riga 4-3, S33: Riga defeats New York 4-2

S36: Davos defeats Toronto 4-3, S37: Toronto defeats Davos 4-0, S38: Davos defeats Toronto 4-2

S40: Riga defeats New York 4-1, S41: New York defeats Riga 4-3

S45: Helsinki defeats Calgary 4-3, S46: Helsinki defeats Calgary 4-1

[Victor 10,992]

273: A Bit of All-Star Game History

 

A startled yelp can be heard from the gathered crowd. “Victor is doing a Point Task!” the cry goes. Well of course I am, we're getting double the TPE for writing about something All-Star Game related this week. I need the TPE to reach my target of 50 TPE by my next pre-season update and of course, what better subject for Historical Significance there is than All-Star Games, considering I have myself created a list of all the rosters ever (you can find it the awards section of the Hall of Fame) and a list of teams and players with the most appearances on those rosters (which can be found pinned in league discussion).

 

NOTE: I am contemplating whether it makes sense to update that list after this season. For 46 seasons it was a roster of essentially the best players at the end of the season while now it is very plausible that someone goes on a hot streak before the end of the season and missed out on the mid-season game but wouldn't have if it was an off-season event. Oh wait, who am I kidding, assembling the roster was always a case of getting as many teams as possible involved and maybe giving All-Star debuts to any members/players who just missed out in the past. Anyway, let's move on to some historical dissecting.

 

Back when I was first compiling the list, it amused to watch the slow but inevitable collapse of Vasteras. They started off in first place for the VHL's first decade, buoyed by that S1 championship and actually remained home to many of the league's best talents for many seasons, just being let down by missing out on the finals. Eventually, those finals misses became years in the non-playoff wilderness and by now, Vasteras is just staying ahead of the expansion teams. Granted, the bottom of those lists also features Toronto and Seattle, which is strange to me because of how good these two teams once were. It's been a trying last 20 seasons or so, however, and when success was tasted it was usually done without a lot of “star” talent, meaning their ASG representation took a hit.

 

As it is strange to me to see Seattle and Toronto down in the dumps, so I feel similar about New York proudly taking up first place. I pointed it out in the VHL franchise history thread recently, the turnaround since S24 has been remarkable as the Americans have played catch-up in a big way after almost half of their existence mired in mismanagement. Now, the franchise image is so strong that anyone joining in recent years will see it as perfectly normal that New York has the most All-Stars ever. It wasn't always the case though.

 

Player-wise, there has been only limited change in recent years. It's partially expected, no one will really ever touch Scotty Campbell's records but there's also an element of my long-standing theory that there is less Hall of Fame quality in the VHL in recent years. The ballots reflect this and I think so does, however flawed, All-Star Game consistency. When a player struggles to string together consecutive seasons of domination, it then becomes a struggle to qualify them as great. Starting with S33 draftees, quite a long time ago, I have only added 14 names to that thread, which, proportionally, is quite a miniscule amount. On that note, I bid you farewell until the next spontaneous edition of this column.

[TheLastOlympian07 2,388]

def should put the FISTED ANALLY BY A CIRCUS MONKEY story in here

[Victor 10,992]

274: Goalies: Are we really bad or is it out of our control?

 

Twenty-eight seasons and almost exactly five years passed between the retirement of my first-gen goaltender, Vase Trikamaki (S16 pre-season, May 2010), and the creation of S45 draftee Greg Clegane (S43 trade deadline, May 2015). If I or anyone was living in a bubble in those five years and ignored VHL goaltenders completely, I would have thought that nothing really changed in the position between these two careers. Trikamaki was an unspectacular netminder competing against a a similarly uninspiring generation including the likes of Jonas Markstrom, Tayson Barabash, and Greg Harbinson (there's a list of names you may never have heard of and may never see uttered together again) and judging by the statistics and Aidan Shaw Trophy winners and contenders so far into Clegane's career, this hasn't truly improved.

 

Of course, I haven't been living in a bubble. It was clear as day that Trikamaki was the benefactor of a weaker class, having been preceded by Benoit Devereux and the era of the save percentage records and succeeded by the S18 generation spearheaded by the immortal names of Aidan Shaw and Daisuke Kanou. Shaw and Kanou trailblazed a path of recognition for goalies and it became quite common to see the position filled with VHL MVPs, with the likes of Benjamin Glover, Alexander Labatte, and Tuomas Tukio carrying the torch onwards. The argument could have been made that the S46 crop of Brick Wahl, Mike Szatkowski Jr., and Martin Brookside was a step down from their predecessors but even they have looked like superstars compared to those between the pipes today.

 

The question therefore arises as to why things look so dire at the moment. Perhaps I am a curse on the goaltending position and Greg Clegane has derailed the potentially legendary careers of Hans Wingate or Callum Sinclair. Wingate is undoubtedly the flag-bearer of this generation, both as the leading TPE earner and a two-time Shaw Trophy winner, but his results thus far struggle to stand the test of time.

 

Lowest save % by Aidan Shaw Trophy winners since S20:

S26: Andreas Bjorkman: .916

S25: Benjamin Glover: .919

S30: Marius Henchoz: .921

S45: Niklaus Mikaelson: .922

S44 & S46: Hans Wingate: .923

 

Season 47 thus far has seen some improvement but with less than a week to go in the season, it is unlikely we will see a goaltender hit the .930 mark, one which has often been the benchmark for consideration for the Aidan Shaw Trophy, let alone winning it. It's not all doom and gloom of course, as this is still a young generation of goalies with elder statesmen Sinclair and Blake Campbell still in his sixth post-draft seasons. However, as seen in the above list, the best goalies of weaker years often struggle in Hall of Fame discussions and the turnaround will have to start next year or perhaps in these playoffs. Goaltenders across the VHL will be pleased to see the back of Thomas O'Malley and Bismarck Koenig at the end of S47, but in age of continuously soaring TPE levels, that does guarantee instant respite. Like the goaltending legends of the past, we will have to step up to the challenge of talented goal-scorers or be relegated to a mere footnote among more illustrious names.

[Victor 10,992]

275: Stockholm vs Davos: The Rivalry That Never Was

 

As the Stockholm Vikings return to the playoffs and embark on a journey which could finally take them as far as they want, the race for the Terence Fong Trophy is notable by the absence of the HC Davos Dynamo, perennial bridesmaids for the previous four seasons. As Davos imploded last off-season through a combination of management inactivity, poor planning, and evidently not being good enough in the first place, it seemed to mark the end for these two franchises' playoff runs, two franchises which were predicted to be dynasties at the start of the decade. Stockholm's resurgence has postponed their obituary and perhaps will significantly alter its content, but we know for sure that the Vikings' short-term path does not go through Switzerland.

 

It wasn't meant to be like this. Stockholm vs Davos was poised to be the defining rivalry of a generation, having dominated the S41 and S42 entry drafts and built teams seemingly on the verge of greatness. More importantly, there were simmering tensions between the two franchises, with two GMs in Benoit Prevost and Jack Reilly who didn't back down from a fight, no love lost between two star names in Mason Richardson and Lord Karnage, and constant bickering over finances, led of course by Jody 3 Moons. While the VHL gained much enjoyment from the Quebec City Meute fighting everyone, we were starved for a classic two-team rivalry, something to hark back to the hostilities between Davos and Riga in S11 or Seattle and New York in the mid-to-late S20s. Surely two feisty young teams with so much time ahead of them could deliver the goods.

 

In Season 43, Cologne stood in the way of a proper playoff fight and ended up eliminating both teams separately, despite the Vikings' Victory Cup win, before infamously falling to a ragtag group with nothing to lose known as the Seattle Bears, a team supposedly much behind Stockholm and Davos. The following season, however, served up a chance to witness this budding rivalry in playoff action. A first-round match-up served up just what was needed, a Game 7, with Stockholm narrowly edging into the conference finals. Unfortunately, despite the significance of this early series between two very competitive teams, the headlines of the post-season were stolen by an even newer contender from Calgary. Additionally, it was once again Cologne representing Europe in the final, meaning Stockholm never had much to boast over Davos.

 

However, with the Express finally ending their most successful cycle to date, the time was perfect for Stockholm vs Davos to take centre stage. The battle lines were drawn, the two teams stacked with talent, but it wasn't to be. The balance of power in Europe swung on a single trade that off-season which took Thomas O'Malley and Christoph Klose from Cologne to Helsinki. It would be the Titans who would, with surprising ease, take the Express' place in the finals, while the concurrent emergence of Riga meant that the Vikings missed the playoffs altogether. The story largely repeated itself in Season 46 and the opportunity was lost.

 

We'll never know whether a rivalry between the Vikings and the Dynamo would have been good for the league but it feels like it would have been fun to witness. Instead, their failings show, even more than the Meute's just before, how increasingly hard it is to guarantee success in the post-expansion VHL even if it seems certain that a team is bound for it.

[Victor 10,992]

276: End of an Era

Season 47 is coming to a close and with it the end of the Season 40 VHL Entry Draft class, as those who stuck around for eight seasons must now retire. In fact, most S40 players have already played their final games in the VHL, as the Continental Cup finals feature only three representatives of that much-hyped class: Thomas O'Malley and Lloyd Light on New York and Jody 3 Moons on Stockholm. It was billed as possibly the greatest draft in VHL history, but as the dust settles on a generation, will Season 40 stand the test of time?

 

The runaway top two picks on draft day, both Cologne draftees Thomas O'Malley and Mason Richardson, have more or less remained the top two S40 players and appear to have the best hopes for a Hall of Fame induction. That O'Malley is a lock in the Hall is actually beyond question, as he has comfortably placed himself in the top five of the greatest VHL forwards ever, and it is now a question of which exact place in that top five he holds (more on that and the legendary center in a future mag). Based on historic Hall of Fame voting in regards to defencemen, Richardson is unlikely to make it in the same class as O'Malley, but would appear to have credentials to get inducted sooner rather than later. The aforementioned Light and 3 Moons, as well as O'Malley's long-time teammate Christoph Klose are probably the only other players from the draft who will make an appearance on the ballot, however, which would suggest a weaker class than expected.

 

Certainly when compared to the great Season 18 draft class, which was seen as Season 40's main competition eight seasons ago, it's a slightly disappointing result in terms of Hall of Fame talent. In particular, Season 40 was notable by its lack of star names in goal, unlike Season 18 which was arguably defined by them. This goes some way to explaining the fall in goaltending quality profiled here a few weeks ago and why S40 players might have enjoyed spending most of their careers playing against younger netminders. Season 33 might be a better comparison to Season 40 as with Wesley Kellinger still in limbo, we have only seen Odin Tordahl and Niklas Lindberg inducted thus far, despite S33 also being deep and seen as potentially generation-defining.

 

Of course, depth is what remains the Season 40 class' main advantage. At the time of the draft, it looked like we were getting two whole solid rounds of prospects with the potential for further steals, which was realised in the third round through King Czar III and Niklas Kurri (both of whom slowed down later on), as well as Marcus Hurley, who slowly but surely developed into a key piece for the best Calgary team in a decade, and was the team's long-term captain to boot. These lower-ranked prospects make up for some inevitable busts earlier on, although even then Season 40 was quite solid in that probably the first real bust was Ryan Cattrall at 15th overall and to be honest, his career was not much worse than the rest of the late second round. If there is a disappointment about this draft it's that the three top five picks by Toronto (Tyler Cote, Sachimo Zoidberg, and Jerrick Poole) all failed to realise their full potential (no surprise then that so did Toronto), but they nevertheless enjoyed solid, if generally unspectacular careers.

 

The S40 draft class in hindsight wasn't quite the greatest of all-time as was hoped, but it nonetheless defined a VHL era. Assuming S1 is still the best by default and is still followed by S18 (although S40 gave it a good run for its money on depth and lack of high-profile busts), then this was third best draft ever, which is a notable accomplishment and it will be interesting to see how the void is filled in Season 48, both in terms of departing players and the next great draft.

[Victor 10,992]

Actual 276: Thomas O'Malley's Place in History

 

The great sigh of relief you will have heard recently around the VHL was the realisation by opposing players, fans, and GMs that Thomas O'Malley had played his last game in the league. In typical O'Malley fashion, the living legend went out on top, providing a secondary assist for the Continental Cup-winning goal scored by E'Twaun Delicious in Game 5 against the Stockholm Vikings. It was New York's first championship since Season 41, in which time O'Malley had already picked up three cup rings, with this final one with New York being his third in a row and fourth overall.

 

Season 47 was a relatively quiet year for the S40 first overall pick, as he is unlikely to pick up any major individual award after 4 straight years of winning some combination of the Scotty Campbell, Brett Slobodzian, Mike Szatkowski, and Kevin Brooks Trophies, the most prestigious for a VHL forward. Despite this, O'Malley still made headlines when he became the first VHL player since Season 13 to score his 900th career point, eventually finishing 4th all-time with 913, just between Kevin Brooks at 914 and Christian Stolzschweiger at 912. For a long time, it has stopped being a question of whether O'Malley will be a first ballot Hall of Famer but instead what exact position among the VHL's greatest players he holds. There is an increasingly persuasive argument that the famous alley cat is actually in first place.

 

Prior to engaging in that discussion, let's have a look at O'Malley's most notable achievements and where he ranks all-time, with the following lists requiring little further comment.

 

Most Scotty Campbell Trophies (league MVP)

Scotty Campbell – 3 (S4, S5, S7)

Grimm Jonsson – 3 (S15, S16, S17)

Thomas O'Malley – 3 (S44, S45, S46)

 

Most Continental Cups

Leeroy Jenkins – 5 (S24, S25, S27, S28, S30)

Scotty Campbell – 4 (S1, S4, S5, S6)

Doug Schneider – 4 (S2, S3, S6, S8)

Thomas O'Malley – 4 (S42, S45, S46, S47)

 

Most Mike Szatkowski Trophies (top scorer)

Scotty Campbell – 5 (S2, S4, S5, S6, S7)

Thomas O'Malley – 4 (S43, S44, S45, S46)

Odin Tordahl – 3 (S37, S38, S39)

 

Most Brett Slobodzian Trophies (league MVP as voted by players, more recent Most Oustanding Player as voted by players)

Thomas O'Malley – 4 (S43, S44, S45, S46)

* - no one with more than two (first awarded in S11)

 

Winners of all 3 offensive awards in same season (Szatkowski, Brooks, Beketov)

Brett Slobodzian (S1, S3)

Scotty Campbell (S4)

Grimm Jonsson (S15)

Odin Tordahl (S38)

Thomas O'Malley (S44)

 

Scotty Campbell and Daisuke Kanou (playoff MVP) Trophies in same season

Scotty Campbell (S4, S5)

Alexander Chershenko (S34)

Martin Brookside (S42)

Thomas O'Malley (S45)

 

The above lists more or less cover all the names and then some of all those ever in conversation to be the VHL's greatest forward (and possibly player). The only constants, with the exception of the Slobodzian Trophy for obvious reasons, are O'Malley and of course Campbell. Are we ready to consider that O'Malley was better than Scotty Campbell, especially taking into consideration the fact he did not start at a level playing field with the rest of the league? In Season 30, I tried to argue that Leeroy Jenkins was that player who could compete with Campbell (and of course in pure stats he remains out of reach), but O'Malley's case is almost certainly more compelling. Where he places exactly will probably be open for debate for some time but just the fact that O'Malley is probably a top two forward of all-time is an amazing achievement and his retirement will leave a noticeable hole in the VHL starting in Season 48.

[Victor 10,992]

278: The Return of the Young Top Defenceman

 

Being a VHL defenceman is hard and quite often discouraging (goaltenders, put away your pitchforks please), but when it all clicks it can be worth it. Back in the day good things seemed to come in threes for the league's defensive elite as Sterling Labatte, Jochen Walser, and Tomas Jenskovic all won three Orrs (soon to become Labattes) in their careers. So did Ryan Sullivan many decades later, but of course the spotlight was stolen by Daniel Braxton and Conner Low, with four and five trophies respectively. The point here is of course that when defencemen start winning, they win big.

 

That is, most of the time that is the case. Between Jenskovic's last Labatte and Braxton's first, 12 seasons passed however, and despite some good defencemen being in action at the time, no one really asserted their dominance. Many, the likes of Henman, Bergqvist, Jannula, and Walcott, only won it in the twilight of their careers while others, like Scarlett or Bencharski, never got much of a streak going. Adam Schultz was probably the most consistent of that era with two Labattes, but arguably the generation's best blue-liner, Japinder Singh, won none at all.

 

That time was largely forgotten after Braxton and Low swept all before them more recently, but it appears that the last few seasons saw a return to defensive inconsistency. The brief periods on top by Matt Bentley, Jake Wylde, Lloyd Light, and Mason Richardson have all the hallmarks of players being overshadowed for most of their careers before finally breaking out just before retirement and making a case for the Hall of Fame. All these players had the potential to be the best straight out of their drafts but couldn't break through the cycle of oldest defencemen getting their turn and by the time they made it, it was too late to be considered amongst the all-time greats. To do that, a defenceman has to start winning almost straight away and the increasing pattern in the VHL has meant this has not been possible.

 

In Season 47, we may have seen the trend shift back again. Phil Hamilton's Labatte sweep in his third season in the league was an upset by pre-season standards, especially considering his main competition was not Richardson but brother Jeff and fellow S45 draftee Biggu Kyanon. Hamilton may not have won as early as Low or Labatte, who were crowned top defencemen in their rookie seasons, but it's par the course with the likes of Jenskovic, Braxton, and Sullivan and suggests the longest-serving of the VHL's Hamilton contingent has an excellent chance to leave a mark with his VHL career. However, the start of this season has been underwhelming for Hamilton and Helsinki as a whole and the battle has expanded to many other new names. Toronto's new anchor Francis York Morgan is the early front-runner a bit of a late-bloomer himself, drafted by Stockholm back in Season 42. A Labatte win for him would mean a return to the trend that Hamilton broke last season, but Hamilton's cause is being defended by many players younger than him, led currently by Arcturus Mengsk, sophomore Joel Jarvi, and rookie Black Velvet, but of course we should not discount last season's elite in the Hamiltons and Kyanon.

 

This season's Labatte race promises to be as close and unpredictable ever, while the result will go some way to show whether the VHL has once again moved on from the trend of old defencemen finally getting their win or if the old guard, led by Morgan, will hold down the fort.

[STZ 5,376]

Thanks, for not making it a 100 words as usual.. #blockoftext #lazyeditor

[Victor 10,992]

On 3/21/2016 at 1:43 AM, STZ said:

Thanks, for not making it a 100 words as usual.. #blockoftext #lazyeditor

When has this ever been 100 or 1,000 words?!

[Victor 10,992]

Edition 279:

 

Please note that the following article is written in HOF Builder format to be included in the Inducted Members of the Hall of Fame section. The irony was also not lost on me that I happened to decide to finally write this in the exact same edition of Sterling's editorial about the same member.

 

Mike Szatkowski

 

Joined: October 16, 2007

Member Number: 165

Positions Held: Grader, VHLM Commissioner, VHL General Manager a lot of times

 

The VHL has inducted members into the Hall of Fame as Builders for various reasons over the years. From commissioners to graders to visionaries and generally vocal people, going through every Builder's article provides a variety of combinations of positions held in the league. As can be seen above, this is not entirely different for Mike Szatkowski but of all entries into the HOF in this category, he is the one who stood out for me as being inducted for his time as General Manager, which for some reason has always been most closely associated with the title of Builder for me personally. From the moment he joined the VHL as a S3 draftee, Mike has seemingly always wanted to be GM and to his credit he achieved what he sought out to do for the vast majority of his time in the league.

 

Season 48 with Seattle is Mike's 21st as GM, an achievement spanning all five VHL decades and three franchises, not including time as co-GM with Lucas Tannahill in Vasteras before he got his break with Toronto in S9. There, he added the last details to turn a perennial underachiever into a Continental Cup champion and seemed set on a solid rebuild immediately thereafter, before abruptly going inactive just as it was getting started. That tainted Mike's Toronto legacy and seemed to be the end of that story, until he finally returned and made up for the old mistake near the end of the VHL's third decade. An unexpected choice to take over an immensely struggling Riga Reign team just after his return in Season 28, Mike repaid the commissioners' faith by turning the Reign into one of the league's dominant forces in the 30s. Almost leaving again at the end of that run, Szatkowski was motivated to help another fading force in Seattle, who he has helped turn around much faster than probably was expected five seasons ago.

 

Although he has been known to rub some people and his own players the wrong way, and Mike's GM style could be best described as unorthodox, at this point the track record speaks for itself. You can not fluke two decades of GMing, especially when they include two Continental Cups and a joint-record three David Knight Trophies (or Sam Pollock Memorial Trophies as they used to be known). Where Mike would rank among the league's all-time GMs is a debate for another day but as long as the franchise is moving in the right direction, longevity is an important trait and in Mike's case this has also been many seasons of colourful storylines and invigorating rivalries.

 

If rumour is to be true, and this article will be updated appropriately if so, and Mike's run is to end at 21 seasons as GM, this may well be an overall conclusion on his legacy in the VHL. Player-wise he has never topped his first-gen, the aptly named Mike Szatkowski, but of course very few have topped the achievements of the VHL's second-highest all-time scorer and the namesake of the league's Top Scorer award. Despite that, Michal Wozniak had some very bright moments and Mike Szatkowski Jr. is on the fringes of the Hall of Fame, with Arcturus Mengsk also impressing early on. However, this wouldn't be an article without the GM side of Mike and on that basis, this is a well-deserved induction.

[Victor 10,992]

280: Underwhelming Title Defences

 

The New York Americans solidified their position as the most successful post-expansion VHL franchise with a rather comfortable Victory and Continental Cup double in Season 47, the Game 7 nail-biter against Calgary notwithstanding. Following a championship, the triumphant teams have tended to go one of two ways: aim for the repeat or blow it up and rebuild. While the latter strategy obviously has ended up in some horrendous title defences, it's not necessarily worse than the former: a well-planned and executed rebuild can lead to even bigger and better things in the future. The Americans have clearly not tried to rebuild in Season 48 and thus were pre-season favourites, as is often the case for defending champions provided their team is still largely in tact. So far though, the retirements of Thomas O'Malley and Lloyd Light as well as the downgrade from Shaw Trophy winner Blake Campbell to rookie Atticus von Braxton in net have had much more of an impact than many expected and New York has fallen behind upstarts from Toronto and Seattle in the North American race. Their uninspiring start has got me thinking on other lacklustre attempts to repeat which were not obvious tanks.

 

S4 Calgary Wranglers

 

If ever there was a team which could have completed the threepeat, it was the original Calgary Wranglers dynasty. Finalists for three straight seasons and champions in the latter two, and amassing 138 points in S1 and then 127 in S3, Calgary was the team to beat in early VHL. That is, until the S3 off-season, which saw the retirements of Ondrej Skokan, Robert Sharpe, and most importantly, the great Brett Slobodzian. Slobodzian eventually went back on his decision but was never the same player again and it's important to note he was better than Scotty Campbell up to S4. Still, with Hall of Famers like Sterling Labatte, Joey Kendrick, and Scott Boulet still on board, the Wranglers should have done better than missing the playoffs that year. Granted, they would have finished first in Europe and would have put up a better fight than the Stockholm Rams in the finals, but instead legendary GM Boulet used the opportunity to build another dynasty from S5 onwards.

 

S12 and S14 HC Davos Dynamo

 

I'd like to think that Davos GM Scotty Campbell was onto something when he sold off half his team to retool immediately after a Continental Cup and it worked in Season 12, even if many members' pre-season predictions were way off the mark when the Dynamo missed the playoffs completely. Season 14 really didn't go to plan though, as this happened to be an era for bad drafts, Campbell more or less went inactive, and the weakness of the conference meant Davos tripped into a first round loss anyway. The Dynamo had to wait five seasons until the Daisuke Kanou era began to experience playoff action again.

 

S24 Calgary Wranglers

 

Another appearance for the Wranglers, although the S23 version of Calgary was significantly less star-studded than the one from S3. Nonetheless, they won the cup and retained much of the team going into S24 but just couldn't replicate their playoff form over a whole season. By the halfway point it was clear the Wranglers were headed for a first round exit at best, so GM Jardy Bunclewirth pulled the plug on that generation and sold off most of the team. A barren run ensued, notable for four seasons of Fernando Garcia Jr. in goal, before a much better team rose from the ashes.

 

S30 Toronto Legion

 

The last entry on this list is not too dissimilar to the one above. Indeed, prior to Seattle's underdog win in S43, S23 Calgary and S29 Toronto were probably tied for worst teams to win the cup. However, while the Bears knew all about their limitations and rebuild immediately, the Legion, like the Wranglers before them, thought they had more left in the tank. To be fair, they were after all regular season champions in S29 too, but it was an odd team with average veterans and a couple young future Hall of Famers in Alexander Labatte and Elijah Incognito. It wasn't all bad in fact, as the Legion ended the season with 96 points but this was only good enough for last place in the North American Conference. While a similar fate is unlikely for this season's New York Americans, they need to be extra careful to not stutter to an end of a promising group of players.

[Victor 10,992]

Edition 281:

 

Not an All-Star article as it doesn't need to be but this Builder article is about a member who definitely didn't miss out on VHL All-Star Games. Although, as you can see below, that's not really why he's in the Hall of Fame.

 

Pavel Koradek

 

Joined: September 3, 2010

Member Number: 5,096

Positions Held: Graphics Grader, VHL & VHLM General Manager, Unofficial Logo Designer

 

On March 7, 2011 I wrote a Media Spot about the young first-gen forward Pavel Koradek. It was the second part of a simple trade quite popular at that time, where a good sig-maker would make you a signature in exchange for a Media Spot. There was no doubt Koradek was one of the VHL's best sig-makers and so I tried to do his graphic justice with an article which not unreasonably predicted great things for the Davos rookie. It's fair to say that Koradek far exceeded those expectations, and not just on a player level.

 

The VHL has always prided itself on a selection of excellent graphics people and so it says something when a new member immediately stands out as a particularly strong sig-maker as Koradek did. He may not have been the greatest graphics maker to join the league, as this is after all a question of taste, but he was objectively very close. More importantly, unlike many talented members from that area, Koradek did not stop at earning a guaranteed 6 TPE a week and receiving regular acclaim – he made a significant effort to radically change the VHL's image for the better. The vast majority of the VHL and VHLM team logos which can be seen around the league were designed by Koradek, with only a couple VHL logos changed since they were introduced around Season 24. The same goes for the VHL and VHLM logos themselves, which gave both leagues a cleaner and more professional identity. On a visual level, and that can not be underestimated in the VHL's enduring appeal, Koradek's contribution has been probably greater than everyone else's combined.

 

Quiet and reserved throughout the career of Pavel Koradek, it would have not been a surprise if the multitude of logos had remained Koradek's only meaningful contribution to the VHL. Of course this wasn't the case as he officially consolidated his place in VHL lore by becoming an expansion GM alongside Joey Kendrick in Season 30. In addition to designing another two logos for both the Cologne Express and his own Quebec City Meute, he then went on establish the Meute as a credible VHL franchise, leading them to a Continental Cup as early as Season 35. Although it would be probably even unfair to say that the Meute's image as the league's pantomime villains was established by Koradek, as that is arguably largely the work of his successors, nonetheless his very practical use of the free agency and trade markets made the team a few enemies early on. With an expansion franchise there was a very strong possibility that things would go horribly wrong, especially with someone in charge who was unproven outside of a few seasons in the VHLM. Koradek proved any critics wrong and moulded the Quebec City Meute we know today, an achievement which can not be understated.

 

In the process of creating a good team in Quebec, Koradek also made his name with another Hall of Fame player, the goal-scoring defenceman Alexander Valiq, the only blue-liner in VHL history to score 300 goals. Two Hall of Famers out of two is an impressive achievement for anyone and it's notable that Koradek is only remembered for his great players as a mere footnote after acknowledging his contributions with the logos, the VHL's graphic-making community and establishing the Meute. It was pleasing to hear after his induction that Koradek has managed to use his time as the VHL's graphic guru to progress in the real world, which just shows that this sim league doesn't have to be a mere pastime and contributing here can also mean contributing on a much larger scale. He may not have been the most outspoken member, but I don't think anyone can deny that Koradek deserves any success he got and gets in the future for his time in the VHL.

[Victor 10,992]

283: A History of Grading

 

The role of VHL grader, both graphic but especially Media Spot, has had a long and wonderful history in the league. The title has been removed after the change of grading to feedback and the coming of the auto-6 TPE and for a while now the term has only stuck around through force of habit, like the 590 or XM Radio articles. Over the past few days, the killing blow has arrived in the shape of the removal of the FIGA rankings – more on them later. This has inspired me to write a brief history of grading, since this was probably the position of the most personal significance to me since I joined the VHL.

 

The Early Days

 

I joined the league in Season 10 and became a grader in Season 11 so can not vouch with certainty for how things were at the very start of the league. It appears there was a brief time where Graphics were only worth 4 TPE and were coupled with 2 TPE Scouting Reports, while Media Spots were always 6 TPE, but I can not say how and by whom these were graded.

 

When I became a grader, there was a rigorous application process instated by then-Head Grader Slobo which required you to grade a Media Spot or 2 sigs (depending on what you were applying to) through PM and the quality of your trial grade(s) got you the job. It was a good practice and one I would reinstate as Head Grader myself and it really prepared me for the arduous job ahead. This was of course a time when a grader had to properly grade a whopping ten Media Spots for 1 TPE (five Biographies also counted as 1 TPE) and this could be soul-destroying. I stuck with the job for over 15 seasons, but I would struggle to name another ten members who stuck around for more than two or three.

 

The Liberation Begins

 

Slobo became commish and was replaced by the loveable David Knight, who then became commish and was replaced by the most loveable of all Bryan Svec (frescoelmo). At some point in this period Podcasts became Point Tasks which counted as bio grades (5 for 1 TPE), while MS grading was eased so that only eight pieces were required to be paid. Graphics grading remained at 10 for 1 TPE, which was still easier than grammar-checking, which could really slow down grading especially considering two grades were needed for a PT to be claimed. Sometimes a strong grading team would make things flow, as was the case at stages with the likes of myself, Svec, Phil, and Jardy. This never lasted though and we had inevitable downtime too, even as the slavery started to subside.

 

My Reign of Terror

 

Getting into my first position of power in S24, being the purist that I am, I definitely stalled the process of making grading easy. Instead of giving out more TPE, my innovation was the FIGA rankings (a play on FIFA, the governing body of world football), which were a grader leaderboard as incentive for a lot of grading. They also tied into the contentious grader awards, introduced by Knight or Svec, but now with more meaning.

 

Whether it was a success is up for debate. Some new graders, like my first hires Jericho and Higgins, adopted and benefited from it, while others didn't care. There was still probably the same amount of downtime as previously.

 

The Road to Today

 

I stepped down as Head Grader at the end of S31, prior to becoming commissioner myself (a clear pattern has developed of writing graders and commissioners as I suppose you need, or needed, a lot of free time to do either one). Squinty, both a good writer and amazing sigmaker, took over, followed by Jim Gow and a host of others I now can't remember. Over time, the chains were loosened, as 1 TPE started to be handed out for four grades (in all likelihood I sanctioned this suggestion) and perhaps as importantly the advent of welfare meant there was less to grade and less issues with backlog.

 

The current system is so far removed from what I first remember that it's a good thing that it's not called grading. It is shocking, in a bad way, that FIGA rankings have survived for so long, as they have as clearly as Melisandre lived for way too long. It's a shame, but a sign of the times, so goodbye to grading and everything you did for the VHL.

[STZ 5,376]

Wow.. Not even a shoutout to my obscene FIGA ranking on the old forum... #heartbreak

[Victor 10,992]

On 4/27/2016 at 7:38 PM, STZ said:

Wow.. Not even a shoutout to my obscene FIGA ranking on the old forum... #heartbreak

I forgot you were a grader.

 

 

[Victor 10,992]

285: Toronto Ends Drought; Continues League-Wide Trend

 

The Toronto Legion have just won a much deserved Continental Cup after a five-game series win over the Helsinki Titans and it is good to see the franchise back among the league's elite after the failed run during the end of Tyler Edgar's run as GM. For those who were not here or have forgotten, the Legion were one of the VHL's best teams in the mid-30s, led by legendary goaltender Remy LeBeau to three straight finals appearances against Davos from S36 to S38, winning it all in S37. That was the pinnacle of Edgar's tenure as despite a very promising rebuild based on the S40 draft, Edgar's dwindling activity, some bad luck, and an unfortunate goaltending situation, the Legion ended up winning one playoff game in their next two playoff appearances. This was especially damning in a sweep by surprise champions Seattle in S43, the season where Toronto had to win, promptly causing the team to implode.

 

Season 48 has been the culmination of the long road back to prominence. GM Mike Molholt took over a team without much going for it after Edgar stepped down and Sachimo Zoibderg lasted half a season and it is fitting that it all came together when Hans Wingate, Toronto's first franchise goalie since LeBeau, signed in the off-season. Without Molholt's hard work and that successful off-season, the Legion could have well floated down a path of mediocrity for a while, especially seeing as that S37 championship meant they had the third-longest cup drought in the VHL going into this season.

 

Toronto's resurrection has continued a pattern where no VHL franchise struggles for too long. When we thought Vasteras would never win a second Continental Cup, the Iron Eagles finally ended a 25-season in S26. The New York Americans became the laughing stock for becoming perennial runners-up but finally made amends in remarkable fashion in S32 by defeating Riga, who avenged their defeat and ended a drought of their own in S33. More recently, the Cologne Express looked to be the expansion team bridesmaid but finally got their maiden championship in S42, fittingly defeating expansion rivals Quebec in the final. Then it was Seattle's turn, as mentioned above, with the unexpected S43 triumph being the Bears' first since S28. Calgary continued the trend, having drifted through the end of Jason Glasser's reign for a decade, by pulling off their own underdog win in S44.

 

The Legion have slightly gone ahead of schedule as the next franchise in turn was Quebec, with the Meute now waiting for a second cup since S34, in part because of the Bears' and Wranglers' victories in S43 and S44. Even so, it seems that the Meute are addressing this issue seriously, with an ambitious move for Aleksi Koponen and Greg Clegane to kick-start the off-season and more allegedly planned. This is of course a moment to spare a thought for the Stockholm Vikings, relocated now almost 10 seasons ago, but still trying to match that S26 performance which kicked this all off. To be fair though, the Vikings surprised many by making it to the final just last season and could make a re-appearance in S49, so perhaps all is not lost. As long as even the longest-running cup drought still has hopes of ending, it provides incentive for all teams to fight the odds, as Toronto did to build the S48 Continental Cup winning squad.

[Victor 10,992]

286: A Brief History of the World Cup

 

The S48 World Cup has been a great success so far, in large part due to the stellar work of co-commissioners Phil and Streetlight. It was thought back in the early S30s that the tournament had got stale and the shift from every two seasons to three seemed logical with the implementation of the Super Cup. However, it was soon obvious that for all its good intentions, the Super Cup couldn't hope to live up to the World Cup's longevity and was removed after just four editions. Ultimately, it didn't provide anything in between tournaments, it was too short to be of interest when it happened, and everything about it was too meaningless to care. The World Cup trumps it with at least some sense of attachment to your team and a very storied history.

 

It was only in S37, after the addition of the Super Cup, that the World Cup underwent a change of its own which ironically probably made it more popular than the Super Cup. For years we tried to balance the VHL's talent between six teams, but there was rarely enough of it. One of the teams, usually Russia or Germany/Europe, was a guaranteed sixth place almost all the time. For about 20 seasons, after a couple attempts to split Europe into regions, the World Cup teams were Canada, USA, Sweden, Germany, Russia, and Switzerland. It looks even more odd now than it did then but it was apparently very fashionable to make Swiss players in the early days of the VHL – Scotty Campbell, Scott Boulet, and Matt Bailey are just a few prominent representatives of the small nation.

 

It was around when Switzerland became an irrelevant team name featuring barely any Swiss players that the World Cup first looked at itself and thought it needed a facelift. In typical VHL conservative fashion though, the change was simply to move from Switzerland to the UK, since the country with barely any link to hockey suddenly became a VHL hotspot, featuring the likes of David Walcott, Phil Gerrard, and Leeroy Jenkins. However, the seeds for change were sown and gradually the tournament evolved. There was a long overdue move from Sweden to Scandinavia (the team regularly featured Finnish players even though Finland doesn't like to think of itself as Scandinavia but oh well) and a bit later Germany turned into Europe. There was still an odd balancing act every tournament though since the UK and Europe existed as separate teams, with the UK often taking on Swiss and Italian players because of its past. In an ill-advised move, the VHL also decided to rename Team Russia to the Soviet Union, which fortunately didn't actually upset any Ukrainians or Latvians before it was changed.

 

Then at last came S37 and the modern set-up. The remnants of UK and Germany were finally merged into (sometimes Western) Europe, which also explains why that team has finally become successful, replacing Scandinavia as the World Cup power. The USSR was dissolved, over 20 years after it happened in real life, and replaced by Team World, incorporating all the weird and wonderful birthplaces VHL members have picked for themselves. And finally, the best change was the long overdue introduction of Team Mercenaries, a guarantee that even the sixth team won't be terrible because there's always decent players left over. Ironically, we've ended up in a situation in S48 where USA might fail to win any of its 10 games, which would have been unthinkable previously. Unlike perennial bottom-dwellers like Germany and Russia though, we can expect the USA to bounce back with a new generation soon.

[Victor 10,992]

287: Two Unrelated Articles in One

 

In the final edition of Historical Significance before I start using this to rank all the Continental Cup winners ever I wanted to touch on two topics for which I never had a moment to write a full article and which will be too irrelevant by the time I'm done with my S50 plans. Fittingly, they both relate to the European Conference, which is definitely going through a transitional period in S49, moving on from a 5-team playoff race to a 5-team race away from the playoffs.

 

Helsinki's Tightly* Knit Defence

* - Titly? No. I need a headline writer.

 

Last season ended a run of 4 playoff appearances, 3 finals, and 2 cups for the Helsinki Titans and despite the success it's hard to pick something as the defining feature of the Titans. O'Malley's goals? He was only there for the first two, albeit most successful, seasons. The leadership of young superstars Aleksi Koponen and Phil Hamilton? Phil's Jonsson Trophies will definitely be linked to Helsinki but it feels both these players are bound for more individual success outside of the franchise where they made their name. Hopefully that is the case as well for Greg Clegane who was that awkward balance of “is he the product of the team's success or vice versa?”.

 

I managed to pick out something unique, however, when looking at the team's roster while we were planning for S48. For the four seasons of competing at the highest level, one thing remained constant throughout for the Titans: the back four. Hamilton was the star name but no less important were the contributions of Pablo Escabar, Souryuu Kaminogi, and Theo Matsikas. They joined the organisation before S45 and followed very different paths – Escabar a rookie champion with Seattle, Kaminogi a trade throw-in from Davos, Matsikas the homegrown unfussy blue-liner who the fans adore. Their names won't be on any individual awards but they are etched on the Continental Cup twice and for good reason too. It's quite a remarkable accomplishment for four defencemen to stay on the same team for four straight seasons in a very cyclical league which prioritises forwards and goaltenders and I can't think of a single exact parallel in VHL history, certainly not this successful. “The Seattle Six” is as close as it gets but only two of those were defencemen, which means S45-S48 Helsinki will have something very recognisable to look back on.

 

Stockholm's First Superstar

 

The Stockholm Vikings are currently going through a dark time made much worse by the fact the closest they have ever got to the Continental Cup was Game 5 loss with a ragtag group of inactive in S47. There were a few very promising signs after the move from Vasteras in S41, and the Victory Cup in S43 was a particular high point, but after failing to capitalise then, Stockholm fell out of the playoffs during the meteoric rise of the Titans.

 

There has been one player immediately associated with the Vikings and that is of course Lord Karnage. He is currently in the eighth and final season of a surefire Hall of Fame career, all of which was spent with Stockholm, a team which has only existed for nine seasons. Karnage's career is in effect a microcosm of the Vikings' existence to date – he is one of the most talented players in VHL history and has respectable enough awards case and stats, but it's very obvious that it could have been so much more. Even then, Karnage as the face of the new incarnation of Stockholm is a good thing. Vasteras was associated with failure and a pathetic playoff record over 40 seasons (including an ill-fated brief time in Madrid). More damningly, the main name associated with Vasteras was GM Lucas Tannahill, the architect of their “curse” with a close second being perennial captain but terrible player Alex Sclafani. Even when Vasteras seemed to break the curse in S26, which we can now see clearly they didn't, Tannahill was involved through Lasse Milo, a distinctly average player. Karnage might represent both the highs and lows of the Vikings' existence to date but his name in the rafters will be a much needed move away from the past into hopefully bright future for the beleaguered franchise.