The VHLM's Biggest Upset, Part 1: Introduction

[solas 1,952]

The VHLM’s Biggest Upset, Part 1: Introduction

 

The VHLM has a rule on draft picks.  Each team is only allowed to have three in the first two rounds, in order to ensure parity and prevent teams from tanking completely.  But this rule wasn’t in place for the entirety of the league.  One team forced this change by dominating the VHLM - and they didn’t even win the title that year.  Let me introduce you to Season 26’s Vasteras IK J-20.

 

This article will serve as an introduction to what will become either an additional, longer media spot or a series of them starting next week.  (I haven’t finished writing the rest of it yet.)  Because this is a story that happened 45 seasons ago, I’m assuming that this is a topic that will only really be familiar to either those who were around at the time or those who are particularly historically-inclined.  As a result, this introduction will be providing a bit of background on Vasteras IK J-20 before I delve further into the story of the Season 26 team.

 

You may have heard the name Vasteras before on this forum.  Maybe from one of the various people, myself included, who have stayed loyal to a hapless sim league team after all these real-life years since said team has ceased to exist.  This is not that team.  This is the VHLM version of Vasteras.  This team, up until Season 26, has probably been even more irrelevant than the VHL version.  

For most of the VHL’s first few twenty seasons, the VHLM was an afterthought.  Back then, minor league teams were affiliated with major league ones.  There were VHLM drafts, sure, but players would only stick with the team that drafted them for a season, until they were drafted into the VHL.  If they were still minor league players, they’d just get placed on their VHL team’s minor league affiliate.  As a result there were a few VHLM teams that would have names or locations related to their affiliates in some way: HC Davos Dynamo had the Bern Royals, Seattle had the Buffalo Jr. Bears for a period of time, Toronto’s affiliate was in Brampton, Helsinki’s affiliate was in Kolari.  Vasteras’ affiliate since the team had come into existence was in...Vasteras.  They even took the name from their parent team and just tacked on a “J-20” at the end.  When the original Vasteras moved to Madrid, Vasteras IK J-20 continued to exist, regardless of their name’s newly found irrelevancy.  Not many seemed to notice, or care.  

 

When Vasteras came back under the new name of “Iron Eagles”, VHLM affiliations didn’t even exist anymore thanks to changes that had occurred in Season 20.  The major league edition of Vasteras wasn’t even Vasteras IK.  Yet Vasteras IK J-20, against all odds, would continue to exist as a relic of seasons past (although they were often informally referred to as the “Baby Eagles”).  Up until this point, they’d only won one Founder’s Cup, back in Season 11.

 

This was a team that stubbornly continued to exist despite astounding irrelevancy.  Most other VHLM teams would’ve moved or rebranded at this point.  In fact, every other VHLM team had either moved or rebranded at this point.  But in Season 26, Vasteras IK J-20 would change from irrelevant to possibly one of the most interesting VHLM teams the league had seen thanks to a unique draft class, incredibly aggressive GM moves, and one of the most surprising playoff results that the VHLM (and possibly the entire VHL) had ever seen.
 

[Victor 11,009]

Oh no here comes the PTSD.

[ahockeyguy 110]

I love this! As a newcomer to VHL(M), I don't know the history, the players, the famous teams, Hall-of-Famers, anything. This read had me wanting more. I loved the background because it helped me to understand the basic context. You had everything for a newcomer to digest: how the VHLM was structured compared to now, the history of the team, how long players used to stay in VHLM, and how affiliations changed. You drew me in with a tease for how this team that seemingly teetered on irrelevancy used the draft (prior to the draft rule) to construct something league-altering. And now I am dying to know what it is, how it worked--the whole story! Great job, and I look forward to the next one. Score: 10/10.