Ranking the VHL GMs by How Well I Know Them

[Gustav 6,100]

I was originally going to write an article on "the three GMs I know the least about," or "the half of GMs I know less than the other half," but then I figured that I might as well just do a full list, because who doesn't like something extra? I've been the GM of Davos for over two seasons now, and I've crossed paths with and talked to every other GM at least once at some point now, but the fact remains that I still don't really have any sort of connection with some of them. So, anyway, let's get on with it, because I'm terrible with super-long introductions and would rather not write one here.

 

Note: this is not a ranking of who I like the most, just a ranking of who I know the best. You can be low on this list and I still might think highly of you. Just want to clear up some drama before it might start.

 

1. @diamond_ace  - It took me a couple seasons to get to know d_a on any level at all--I'm not sure I even knew he existed in S65 and I only knew he existed in S66-67 or so because he was my boss in the VHLM. In good time, though, I got to know him better than any other GM, and I can confidently place him at the top of the list. From being active in both team Discords I've run, despite never having played for me, to always being good for a late-night talk, to spending $42 in the EFL so he could have the rights to my Discord name over there for the next month, I've had a lot to do with d_a, and this was an easier placement than I thought it might be.

 

2. @Esso2264  - Here's where things start getting more difficult, as I'm on good terms with a good amount of GMs and there's a big range of people who I know a good deal about but none a whole lot more than the others. I'll put Esso here because he was probably one of the most helpful people in the early days of my career with the Hounds, answered a lot of my management questions, and has been an active part of my team Discords since I drafted him (and then promptly traded him) in S67 (and then traded for him and moved him out immediately again last season, making it twice Esso has been on my roster without ever having played a game for me). All in all, good enough for #2.

 

3. @Beaviss - I've only ever shared a server with Beav in one place where we were both active, and that's the league server. But, let's also remember that Beav lives in the league server. He's probably the GM I've talked to the most in there (for the aforementioned reason), and he also probably gave me more bits of advice than anyone else when I started out in Davos. In terms of how much I know about him as a person, it's just as much as anyone else and arguably #1 here. I have had less to do with him directly than the first two, so he's a very close #3 overall.

 

4. @Enorama - Eno is about the same deal as Beav; I've had less to do with him directly than others but I've picked up on quite a bit just from coexistence in the league server. Eno lives there slightly less than Beav, and I've also had a bit less to do with DC than with Vancouver on the business end of things. So this is pretty much the same idea as #3, but to a slightly lesser extent.

 

5. @Victor - Ask me this question six months ago, and I've probably got Victor in the bottom three or four. All I knew about Victor for a good long while was that he was some sort of big important guy who knew a bunch of obscure VHL stuff and never came on Discord. Actually getting to know Victor, for me, came about in a brief phase of my VHLM GM career when I was trying to figure out a bunch of league-related stuff and had a bunch of stupid questions, which, for reasons unknown to present-day me, I decided to take directly to the big important people rather than just ask in public (@Beketov can attest to his Discord inbox having something from me in it just about every other day at some point). Towards the end of this, I hit up Victor as well with my stupid questions, and got them answered while he was probably wondering why I kept messaging him. ANYWAY, since becoming GM, I've had a lot more to do with Victor directly than I previously did. He's one of the more fair people I've dealt with in trades, and has been a good guy overall whenever I've talked to him. His recent Discord activity, on top of this, is enough to move him up at least a few spots, and here he is.

 

6. @Banackock  - I kind of feel weird putting Bana in a spot that here amounts to more or less "average" because he'd easily be top two or three back when I was still in the minors and was one of the people who helped me out the most and made me feel most welcome getting started. That by itself is enough to warrant significance, but I'd say that I've had a good deal less to do with him since moving up (mind you, this is not purposeful on my part, nor do I believe it is on his). Overall, I'd say I do know Bana pretty well, which I guess is a testament to my relationship with the GM community as a whole given his placement on this list.

 

7. @Peace - Down at 7, and I'm still digging up people who I've spoken with fairly often. Peace made his way up the management ladder around the same time as myself, though a slight bit earlier. I don't think I've done a whole lot in terms of speaking to him directly, but we've existed in the same spaces for a good amount of time now. For all the time we've spent as GMs in the same league (must be 5-6 seasons now) we've never worked out a deal yet, in large part because our teams have, just about every season, been attempting to go just about the same direction, whether positive or negative. But, that doesn't take away from the fact that we've been in the same groups of people here for a while, and this position is still respectable.

 

8. @FrostBeard - This one is partly due to time zones and the fact that my sleep schedule can take up a huge part of Frosty's day, but it also feels a bit strange to have him at 8, seeing as he was in Jerry's draft class and has been a GM in the same league as me since S66. Oh yeah, and he was also my GM for a bit. As much as we've coexisted, it hasn't gone incredibly far beyond that. We've talked here and there, but I don't think we've had too many occasions where we were both awake at the same time and we both had the time to get into a conversation about one thing or another. Even though we're entering the bottom third, this is still pretty decent.

 

9. @hedgehog337 - Again, time zones. The fact that Hedge is in a perpetual state of deep hibernation due to the nature of his species (do hedgehogs hibernate? Whatever, I'll go with it) is enough to leave him out of the top tier of GMs that I know well. Funnily enough, the usual, consistently-good state of Riga makes Hedge one of the GMs that I have the most respect for, but outside of a couple trades I haven't really spoken to him directly apart from a passing comment or two every now and then in the league server.

 

10. @Bushito - I've only ever talked to Bush a few times, and I don't believe I've worked out any trades or anything with Calgary so far, but I at least know enough about him that he isn't a stranger. He's been able to make the right moves to make Calgary a solid team both now and for the future, and it should be interesting to watch what they can do this season and beyond.

 

11. @Jubo07 - Jubo has been fairly quiet, and that's OK. I can't say I know a ton about him, despite both of us being GMs for a while (and me being Hounds GM when he was the assistant in Philly for a bit). As far as trade talks and business go, Helsinki is probably middle-of-the-pack for me, but my path hasn't really crossed with Jubo at all outside of those things. Helsinki is better than expected at the moment, and for that I've got some respect for him as a GM, but as far as personal knowledge goes, he's probably bottom of the list.

 

For those of you who I don't know all that well, I hope we'll be able to get to know each other better in the future!

 

 

1,570 words, good for three weeks.

[Gustav 6,100]

Theme week claim!

[FrostBeard 1,975]

I think we should get to know each other a bit better, after all - you are one of the most awesome people in VHL @GustavMattias! 
Also, I think you have a great taste in music considering your player's name  

[Beaviss 4,949]

7 minutes ago, GustavMattias said:

Theme week claim!

 

me not being #1 is the biggest snubbing ive ever received.

[diamond_ace 3,106]

Great article, PragueBestPurple.

[Gustav 6,100]

4 minutes ago, FrostBeard said:

Also, I think you have a great taste in music considering your player's name  

 

Deadheads unite?

[Gustav 6,100]

Just now, Beaviss said:

me not being #1 is the biggest snubbing ive ever received.

 

Can't say that for your HoF chances now can you

[Beaviss 4,949]

Just now, GustavMattias said:

 

Can't say that for your HoF chances now can you

 

Now I demand to be 12th

[Banackock 7,642]

[Jubo 1,839]

@GustavMattias... been working my way up to this for a while.

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Will you go to prom with me?

[NotAVHLM-GM 1,858]

25 minutes ago, Banackock said:

@Poptart

[Victor 10,536]

1 hour ago, GustavMattias said:

big important guy who knew a bunch of obscure VHL stuff

sounds about right

[McWolf 3,111]

2 hours ago, GustavMattias said:

 

Can't say that for your HoF chances now can you

damn son

[Gustav 6,100]

2 hours ago, Jubo07 said:

@GustavMattias... been working my way up to this for a while.

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Will you go to prom with me?

[Victor 10,536]

Why didnt you rank yourself tho 

[Gustav 6,100]

Week deux

[Gustav 6,100]

Week troix