Start a VHLM Alumni Tournament

[Gustav 6,139]

Okay, sure, you're reading the title of this article and you're thinking "yeah, it's been said multiple times in the past that we don't need any more tournaments."

 

And you're right, we don't need any more tournaments. But sit back and read carefully, because this may make you want this one. And that's all I'm looking for.

 

The problem with many of these tournaments (brands being the most egregious example) is that, simply put, nobody cares about them. Even for stuff like world juniors, the factor uniting everyone on each team, that being nationality, is for most people the weakest possible link. Lots of people want to care but simply don't. I'm one of them (and it doesn't help that Jerry tends to be invisible in tournaments). 

 

So, what makes this one different? 

 

 

Basically, what I'm suggesting is that we get each VHLM team's alumni together in a tournament, for the sake of that sweet VHLM nostalgia and such.

 

 

The benefits?

-That aforementioned sweet VHLM nostalgia and such. Who doesn't want to reunite with their old teammates and friends on the same team for a bit? Enough said.

 

-Even sweeter: retention. It's something for rookies and first-gens to look forward to later on in their careers, and as a tournament involving the people they grew with, it will serve as a reminder of just how far they've come and what they've accomplished in the league when it happens.

 

-It gives VHLM GMs the chance to work with and understand VHL-level teams. It's a different game up in the big leagues, and many VHLM GMs are the future of the VHL. Giving these GMs a chance to work with lines full of VHL players, to see what works and what doesn't at a higher level, is a valuable bit of education that should serve the league well if and when VHLM guys move up.

 

-Also, something I'm passionate about: IT REWARDS GMS FOR BEING GOOD TO THEIR TEAMS. You've heard it time and time again--the primary goal of being a GM in the VHLM is not winning. Rather, it's player development--a GM whose team sucks but cranks out members who love the league and are dedicated to staying every season is much more valuable to the league than a GM who wins the cup every other season but is generally uninvolved with the team on a personal level and doesn't create an atmosphere which will encourage people to stick around. What's the reward for this retention, though? There's nothing out there to reward VHLM GMs for doing the one thing they're supposed to do above all else and doing it well. Having a tournament which involves the use of team alumni--that is, former players who have successfully been engaged with, retained, and made into valuable community members--will be that reward as a "good GM" in the retention sense will have a solid team.

 

 

So, what are the specifics?

 

Eligibility:

 

First, we'll address the question of eligibility. Players can play for many teams for many different lengths of time, so who gets to play for who?

 

 

-A player is eligible to be selected to play for any team for which they have played half a season or more (36 or more games) in their VHLM career. They must be non-retired and on a VHL team's roster.

 

-If that player is selected by multiple teams for which they are eligible, they will go to the first team of this group for which they played. Example: Berocka Sundqvist played a full season with the Hounds in S66, and a full season with the Storm in S67. He is eligible to be picked by both, but if picked by both he will play for Mississauga as he played for them earlier. We'll call this "first priority" rights later on.

 

-Each team's GM will select a roster of 6 forwards, 4 defensemen, and 2 goalies from an eligibility list provided to them by whoever is running the tournament (Note: if we give this a go, I am willing to compile all lists and help with the tournament in any way that I can). If this is unable to be filled from the players who are eligible, remaining roster positions may be filled by players from the team's current roster.

A sample Hounds alumni roster would look like this (expect teams who aren't as new to have stronger-looking rosters as they've got more than three seasons of alumni to pick from):

 

F - Scott Greene (653 TPE) - @DoktorFunk

F - Berocka Sundqvist (570 TPE) - @Berocka

F - Jerry Wang (304 TPE) - @ColeMrtz (first priority rights held by Halifax)

F - Balentine Kidd (302 TPE) - @TukTukTheGreat

F - Patrik Tallinder (243 TPE) - @Patrik Tallinder

F - Kris Rice (244 TPE) - @Krice13

If Wang selected by Halifax:

F - Dan Gles (316 TPE) - @No_Dangles

 

D - Hulk Hogan (684 TPE) - @HulkHogan

D - Cody Smith (472 TPE) - @cody73

D - Brock Louth (421 TPE) - @Beaviss

D - Guy Sasakamoose (321 TPE) - @Cxsquared

 

G - Rayz Funk (780 TPE) - @Rayzor_7

G - Block Buster (286 TPE) - @Banana2311

 

If you're a recent expansion like us and you don't have 8 seasons of players up in the VHL, that's just tough luck and incentive to continue your player development!

 

 

Scheduling:

 

So, how does the tournament work schedule-wise? How do we make it all work?

 

-The tournament doesn't need to be an every-season thing. We could make it every other season, possibly alternating with the World Cup.

 

-As for the teams, there will be a preliminary round where each team plays every other team once. This means that every team will play every other team once, for a total of 10 preliminary round games.

 

-The top four teams will make a best-of-3 playoffs, 1 v. 4 and 2 v. 3. Tiebreakers will be determined by head-to-head record (which should be an easy tiebreaker with only one head-to-head game). If there arises a sort of rock-paper-scissors situation where there are three or more tied teams who all beat each other, the second tiebreaker will be total number of goals scored, then goal differential, then the width of the GM's left thumb, whatever.

 

 

I think that's just about all there is to say, though I'll likely do my usual "forget something and write something else big in the replies." What do you think?

@VHLM Commissioner

@VHLM GM

@BOG

[McWolf 3,112]

Ottawa would get Kastelic, McWolf, Wilinsky, Davison, Dahlberg, Svoboda, Gritty, Smitty.

[Nykonax 1,550]

6 minutes ago, McWolf said:

Ottawa would get Kastelic, McWolf, Wilinsky, Davison, Dahlberg, Svoboda, Gritty, Smitty.

pls nerf

[DoktorFunk 810]

I love this

[Gustav 6,139]

2 minutes ago, Sonnet said:

So I'm giving it a no for two reasons: 

1. There really are just too many useless tournaments, a point that's addressed here but pushed to the side unfairly. The league doesn't need more sims than it already has.
2. I'm overall against glorifying the VHLM past your time spent there. If we really want to start talking about retention, I think the VHL is the side that needs to improve and become more interesting. You only spend one or two seasons in the VHLM, and the whole point of the site is to come up and have your career where it really counts. While the nostalgia is a nice thing for some people, I'm sure, I'd rather get people more interested in the part of their careers that takes up the most time, rather than clinging to a past that doesn't have much impact on a player's overall evaluation.

At the end of the day, the VHLM exists to prepare you for the big leagues. You learn what the sim is like, how to submit tasks, how to build your player, etc. Once it's served its purpose, the focus should be the VHL. Adding something like this takes the focus/spectacle away from the main attraction of the site, I feel, which is something I'd definitely rather not do.

 

1. Fair point, and it's for that reason that I think that this won't end up happening, no matter what the votes end up being. As much as I'd love for this to happen, that's been the reason for not adding stuff in the past and will likely end up being the reason here as well.

2. Also a fair point, but I'll have to respectfully disagree with it. WJC exists, and I don't think anyone would say that it takes away from their enjoyment of the VHLM, or that it gets in the way of their focus on their VHLM team. If I made the Houston alumni roster (which I certainly would, unless Frost secretly hates me), that wouldn't make me care less about how I'm doing in Malmo. I think it's very possible to be actively interested in this sort of thing without losing interest in what's going on already.

[Josh 1,600]

38 minutes ago, McWolf said:

Ottawa would get Kastelic, McWolf, Wilinsky, Davison, Dahlberg, Svoboda, Gritty, Smitty.

 

No one remembers Davis

[Dil 1,744]

25 minutes ago, Josh said:

 

No one remembers Davis

Who?

[cody73 87]

@GustavMattias You don't have 1st dibs on me. Halifax does if this tourney existed. 

[Gustav 6,139]

Just now, cody73 said:

@GustavMattias You don't have 1st dibs on me. Halifax does if this tourney existed. 

That's right...it's been a few seasons haha

[cody73 87]

2 hours ago, Sonnet said:

So I'm giving it a no for two reasons: 

1. There really are just too many useless tournaments, a point that's addressed here but pushed to the side unfairly. The league doesn't need more sims than it already has.
2. I'm overall against glorifying the VHLM past your time spent there. If we really want to start talking about retention, I think the VHL is the side that needs to improve and become more interesting. You only spend one or two seasons in the VHLM, and the whole point of the site is to come up and have your career where it really counts. While the nostalgia is a nice thing for some people, I'm sure, I'd rather get people more interested in the part of their careers that takes up the most time, rather than clinging to a past that doesn't have much impact on a player's overall evaluation.

At the end of the day, the VHLM exists to prepare you for the big leagues. You learn what the sim is like, how to submit tasks, how to build your player, etc. Once it's served its purpose, the focus should be the VHL. Adding something like this takes the focus/spectacle away from the main attraction of the site, I feel, which is something I'd definitely rather not do.

1. Okay then. Make tourney's matter. Let players earn TPE on them for participating and then extra for how they finish. The fact is, this is basically bringing back the old sponsorship tourney format in a new form. 

2. You mistreat the VHLM as if it doesn't matter, as if it's the AHL rather than being our league's version of the CHL. And truth be told, the juniors do matter. Some players become household names in junior and then never have success in the pros, and vice-versa. To say the 'M doesn't matter ignores a players true accomplishments, which I think should also factor in when it comes to VHL HOF nominations. Sure, it serves a purpose and it does it well, but that doesn't mean it doesn't matter cause it helps engage new members and helps forge friendships across the site.... and this encourages that, just like the WJC tourneys do. I agree that focusing on VHL retention is important, and this honestly addresses that in a format most are interested in. 

[DollarAndADream 3,356]

I wouldn't mind a tournament like this. It would definitely make me wish it happened in the past though. Also would kind of suck for me because my VHL player is about to retire and I'd have to wait for my next player.

 

I think a player should be able to choose which team they play for as well if they were on more than 1 VHLM team.

[Esso2264 772]

make StarLonen happen again @DilIsPickle

[Fire Tortorella 2,653]

If the World Juniors wasn't a thing, I'd be more open to this. In general, @Sonnet covered most of my concerns. At the end of the day, I don't see the need for another VHLM focused tournament.

 

Also...when exactly are the simmers supposed to have a break? Can't keep just throwing tournaments at them.

[DMaximus 1,045]

 

For me I think this tournament will be like the other tournaments mentioned, completely ignored by anyone not participating and half ignored by anyone that is participating. I agree that VHLM team is a stronger tie than nation in the VHL, so it could be slightly more exciting. But I still think it would only matter to a handful of people. 

 

With that being said is the fact it may be ignored by most a reason to not have it? I don't think so. What is the cost of running a tournament? I don't mean financial cost, because that's maybe $25 or something for another person to purchase a license to sim, which is nothing. I mean the time cost. What is the time cost to run a tournament? If that time cost is too burdensome for the current people that run tournaments, why can't this tournament have new people run it, so it creates minimal extra burden on the current duties of everyone?

 

I don't understand the logic that we don't want to highlight the VHLM as a reason to not have this tournament. To start, this tournament would feature VHL players and very few VHLM players. It would have VHLM team names and GMs, but the majority of the participants would be VHL players, so really it's not even a VHLM tournament.

But to the larger point that this is the VHL and the VHL is the main star and we shouldn't take away from that. I guess my response to that is do more things to generate excitement for the VHL rather than prevent excitement and enjoyment for others aspects of this site. To say that something shouldn't happen because it might make people too excited about the VHLM is a very negative, counter-productive stance to take. If there's a concern about the VHL being over-shadowed then the focus should be on making the VHL stand out more, rather than preventing other things from happening.

 

 

3 minutes ago, flyersfan1453 said:

Also...when exactly are the simmers supposed to have a break? Can't keep just throwing tournaments at them.

 

 

Can we add another simmer or two so that all of this activity doesn't fall squarely on their shoulders? It seems like meaningless tournaments like this are the perfect time to train new people in things like simming and commishing and anything else.

[Peace 1,518]

I approve. 

An 'alumni' tournament every four seasons or what ever is more than achievable. 

Hell this could replace Bana and Ace's 'commissioners cup' series that is ongoing and I'd be okay with it, no offense to our VHLM Commissioners. 

Edited November 23, 2019 by Peace

[Gustav 6,139]

5 hours ago, DollarAndADream said:

 

I think a player should be able to choose which team they play for as well if they were on more than 1 VHLM team.

I like this idea. Maybe make the choice come after they've been selected by both, so they can still have the option of being picked by either.

 

1 hour ago, DMaximus said:

Can we add another simmer or two so that all of this activity doesn't fall squarely on their shoulders? It seems like meaningless tournaments like this are the perfect time to train new people in things like simming and commishing and anything else.

I like this too. I think it would be a good idea to add a simmer who a) does tournaments and b) fills in for our regular guys when they aren't able to do it on one day or another. Simming is hard work and I think this would help eliminate the (perfectly valid) "this is a lot of work for the simmers" concern.

[Beketov 8,654]

1 hour ago, DMaximus said:

Can we add another simmer or two so that all of this activity doesn't fall squarely on their shoulders? It seems like meaningless tournaments like this are the perfect time to train new people in things like simming and commishing and anything else.

I mean that’s what we had Quik for but he’s disappeared on us.

[Nykonax 1,550]

11 hours ago, cody73 said:

And truth be told, the juniors do matter. Some players become household names in junior and then never have success in the pros,

wtf is this a shot at me

[Motzaburger 1,590]

Reunite @HenrikZoiderberg and MGS

[HenrikZoiderberg 469]

2 hours ago, Motzaburger said:

Reunite @HenrikZoiderberg and MGS

 

Make it happen @Nykonax

[Banackock 7,707]

17 hours ago, Sonnet said:

So I'm giving it a no for two reasons: 

1. There really are just too many useless tournaments, a point that's addressed here but pushed to the side unfairly. The league doesn't need more sims than it already has.
2. I'm overall against glorifying the VHLM past your time spent there. If we really want to start talking about retention, I think the VHL is the side that needs to improve and become more interesting. You only spend one or two seasons in the VHLM, and the whole point of the site is to come up and have your career where it really counts. While the nostalgia is a nice thing for some people, I'm sure, I'd rather get people more interested in the part of their careers that takes up the most time, rather than clinging to a past that doesn't have much impact on a player's overall evaluation.

At the end of the day, the VHLM exists to prepare you for the big leagues. You learn what the sim is like, how to submit tasks, how to build your player, etc. Once it's served its purpose, the focus should be the VHL. Adding something like this takes the focus/spectacle away from the main attraction of the site, I feel, which is something I'd definitely rather not do.

Kind of this. More #1. It's a pointless tournament. We have enough tournaments. If anything, do this for the VHL - not the VHLM...

 

My vote was 100% no.

[diamond_ace 3,106]

I actually like it, but only if there was an extra simmer.

[omgitshim 899]

On 11/23/2019 at 6:14 PM, diamond_ace said:

I actually like it, but only if there was an extra simmer.

 

That's my feelings as well. I'm not sure how much I'd actually be interested in the tournament itself, but I wouldn't want our regular simmers to have more of a workload.

[Corco 1,124]

Anything that promotes more activity from new members is a good thing; in a perfect world with unlimited resources, we’d have a bunch of tournaments like this, because in general, more games=more fun. But I think you need to look at things like this in a sort of cost vs. benefit mindset; what are the labor costs of a tournament that ultimately doesn’t mean much in the long run? Wouldn’t you rather have the simmers and league management focus on getting through the offseason as quick as possible in order to start the next VHL season ASAP (which is ultimately the most important thing)? Organizing these tournaments takes a lot of work, and I personally think the cost outweighs the benefit for this type of tournament.

[Bucky___lastard 75]

On 11/23/2019 at 3:47 PM, Banackock said:

Kind of this. More #1. It's a pointless tournament. We have enough tournaments. If anything, do this for the VHL - not the VHLM...

 

 

It would be for VHL players, as they are Alumni. You can't really be alumni for a team you're currently on.