Campbell's Corner #8

[Banackock 7,642]

 

Edition #8: New Year, New Season, New Campbell's Corner.

 

Leading up to the off-season, I always start to feel a bit of the pressure and the burn. I think that's what happens when you've been in a role for some time that consistently runs the same cycle of relaxation and coasting, to complete and utter, non-stop, megadeath, off-season hell. Only joking. It's probably not all that bad. For GMing, it was pretty damn simple. It's always been mostly simple. GMing is something I've always had a strong passion on here for and it's never been something I've ever struggled with. Seattle rolled into the off-season, fresh off our 2nd straight Continental Cup. We fired that gun off quick. We knew we didn't want to get caught without pants down, play the waiting game and see what's leftover once everyone else has had their share. It was my mission to get on shit, get the shit and get over the shit. Get it done ASAP and get it done to the best that we can. I think we can out extremely well. I am very pleased with how they went. For the VHLM and my commissioner role, it's always a grind baby but things always get done. I think this last season of the VHLM was a good one. We've seen a lot of wild shit from Saskatoon's massive season, to tons of new managers joining the squad and old ones moving up the ranks. Heading into the next season, the S70 VHLM GM Summit is already underway. It's something we hold seasonally to talk about the league, what's going on, making sure things are running smoothly and yeah. We're always about the betterment of the league. It's great to see.

 

Now, the off-season has come and gone. Man, it feel like we just won the cup again. I'm having flashbacks to the first one and I had this exact same feeling. Some people complain that the off-season is slow and wah, wah, wah. I don't know about that, Bucko. To me, they fly by. Did we even get a chance to enjoy anything? Nope. It was literally "Hey, congrats on winning the cup" and then the off-season dropping kicking our ass and saying "Party is over. You need to do this and this and this and also probably that". Shit. What a crazy off-season it was though for every single team. We have seen some crazy transitions for teams. We seen a lot of teams manage some shit situations and other teams juggle and stumble a tad. Some wild moments of others (new GM's coming, old GM's going) and some drama to keep you cold during these wintery, VHL/VHLM days. It was everything that we've ever hoped for. It feels like this was easily the best off-season we've had in a very, very long time. Has there ever been one this good? That has to be something our man Victor can answer, no? Either way, we're entering into a new year and VHL season. What an amazing start to 2020 we've had VHL. Let's keep up the amazing work and keep the consistency of growth and progression rolling. 

 

 

And that's a wrap. Off-season donezo. Bye, bye, off-season. Until we meet again (it actually doesn't even take too long. Blink. Boom, it's the off-season). The first sim of the VHL has already happened, with the VHLM index being posted as well, and we're already seeing signs of Jardy in the sim. I never had like massive interactions with the dude, but legends speak of a man with alcohol for blood. I think STHS may have sipped on the same stuff this guy was sucking back. After the first sim, Seattle played 2 games. They're 0-2-0, losing both games to Toronto, getting something crazy like 20+ penalties throughout the 2 games, and started the off-season during the first sim as the only team to not collect at least 1 point through their games. That's pretty nuts to me. Toronto, Calgary and Prague are teams that makeup 2nd to 4th. I think this surprises me a little bit more than Seattle losing. That statement also probably didn't surprise you. Seattle likes to pretend they don't know what they're doing in the regular season apparently. Slow learners. Who knows? But the league is going crazy. Teams that should be sleeping at the bottom are clapping ass at the top, and teams like Seattle, Vancouver, Malmo and company are all chunky dunking at the bottom of the VHL right now. However, I think that moving forward, the big dogs are going to figure their shit out and the bottom dwellers will eventually sick. I take a stab and say both Seattle and Vancouver steer the ship around fairly quick. Malmo might take a little more time but I do see them still in the mid-pack hunt for Euro. 

 

Now I've said a few times how crazy some of these teams were in the off-season and just how massive the off-season was. Fuck. It was a lot of fun and really good to see the league like this. It sweet to look and see how the league has evolved so quickly. For me, this is going to make things super interesting on the season. There's a lot of great teams and a majority of the teams this season and battling it out for playoff spots. Can we safely say that Davos and Toronto suck to the point that we don't have to worry, but everyone else - they do have a squeaky chance of hopping their way into playoffs? So to have a little fun, we're going to be making some predictions here. Predictions one. I think North America dominates the season again. I think Vancouver and Seattle find their ways. Vancouver is stronger. I think their path will be a little better. Prediction two. For Europe, it's Moscow's time to shine. Is it just me? I should find those stats again but Moscow has done things right twice in a  row. This season they've obviously done less I do believe but they really set themselves up last season. We can also call it the right timing. A few other teams took some significant tumbles and Davos should be some easy W's to steal in Europe. I think Moscow is going to capitalize. Prediction three. I'm even going to go as far as saying Moscow is going to be the team one of the North American teams meet in the finals. Prediction four. Gustav wins lottery with the Davos 1st as they tank incredibly hard to the point Davos soils themselves at the end of every game. But hey, lotto pick and lots of others to go along with it. Prediction five. Last season no players hit 100 points. This season, players will. I will go and say 3+. Let's have a good season. Prediction six. Final one. Hulk Hogan will leave the season with the belt. He is the true Heavy-weight CHAMPION!

 

Lastly, the wonderful VHLM. After such a wild season last year, I can't imagine what we're going to have in store this season. Every year I see growth in the league, or at least strong stability which is just as good. The VHLM has become stronger and stronger every season and there are so many great things that add to its success. While I do not have a good grasp yet on how the VHLM is looking this season and how each individual team is doing (or really players). What I do know is that the off-season has been a crazy one. You always lead into an off-season and you're like "oh shit, here we go". I'm always good on getting stuff going early. You got your templates and all that stuff to help you out. But this one was crazy. Trades were popping off. The time of year was poor as it was right in the thick of the holiday seasons and the holiday "aftermath" blues. We also replaced what felt like a crazy amount of GMs this prior season and into the off-season. What I'm hoping for there is that none want to go anywhere anytime soon and that we can slow down on this process. We have a really great group of managers. Lastly for the VHLM, our GM Summit is already on the go. It's where we discuss anything and everything VHLM related so that we never miss a thing and we're always doing our best to be the best. 

 

Closing Statement:

I hadn't really done anything official since prior to 2020. Just wanted to say a quick little Happy New Years despite being quite sometime later. I hope everyone enjoyed the holidays and that 2020 is treating you nicely so far. Reflecting back for Campbell's Corner, it's likely been a bland and meh ride. A cool little fact, however, is that the words have been incredibly pumping. I remember someone who was extremely large in being one of our best critics. Mostly, they didn't think it would last and that it would run into the ground. Campbell's Corner alone has had 14,000+ words written for it since November 2019 - which BLOWS MY MIND! Big thank you to all the hard work done by the members in the VSN, as well as the rest of the league. It keeps getting better and better. Let's get up the amazing work, VHL!

 

Executive President of the VSN 

Bana

 

 

Campbell's Corner Totals

Editions: 8

Words: 14,692

 

 

[Victor 10,536]

Enough Moscow praise for a like.

[Banackock 7,642]

11 minutes ago, Victor said:

Enough Moscow praise for a like.

I’m secretly a pretty big Moscow fan, Victor. 

[Victor 10,536]

7 minutes ago, Banackock said:

I’m secretly a pretty big Moscow fan, Victor. 

I don't know if this was the best off-season ever btw but deffo up there.

[Enorama 1,980]

3 hours ago, Banackock said:

Executive President of the VSN 

 

[Banackock 7,642]

50 minutes ago, Enorama said: