VHL Expansion: A Rundown

[StamkosFan 72]

The VHL will have a dozen teams after the most recent expansion adds two more teams to the mix. Many qualified candidates were said to have applied, which means that the newest GMs must be the creme of the crop. Enorama is a highly active and engaged member of the VHL who will likely work to get his team into playoff competition as possible, and diamond_ace is someone that I personally played for in my time in the VHL. I know diamond fairly well, and he's been an active sim league member for real life years. He has plenty of STHS experience on his hands from GMing Ottawa in the VHLM, and it wouldn't be surprising at all if he located his new VHL franchise in Ottawa as well out of familiarity. Or perhaps he puts his team in Pittsburgh, as he GMs a team called the Pittsburgh Paladins in another league. Wherever he puts the team, I expect diamond's team to be in North America rather than a European team. If we get a new European team, which I actually don't think we will this time around, it will more than likely be Enorama's team.

 

Expansion rules will have to be decided before the process can move ahead. Players from at least the most recent draft will probably be exempt, but the most difficult decisions will be protecting veterans who can help you win now, or saving prospects to build a powerhouse later down the line. A lot of strategy will be involved with devising protection lists, but at the least, we can expect every team to protect their starting goalie, so that's one spot gone from the start. I would be quite nervous to see if Riga protects me; as a top five pick who is nearing 1000 TPE, I feel like I would be protected, but you never know. Pat Svoboda has not lived up to the expectations recently, so it isn't completely absurd that Riga would cut their losses and pass him off like a hot potato. Riga wouldn't be the hardest hit team of course, teams like the Helsinki Titans would have the toughest decisions since they have so many high TPE players who could be considered "super stars". These expansion teams might be able to compete, as I dare say they will have more pickings to choose from than the expansion franchises of the past. I expect that at least one of them will sneak into the playoffs, not as a top team, but as one of the last clubs to qualify, and will probably be able to make a stand in the first round. It should be good for the league to be able to have more of a fight for the coveted Continental Cup, and these new teams should allow new players to have more opportunities and ice time out of the gate. VHL has often felt like a small community, but it's time to move beyond that and to grow into something more.