Should the VHLM Expand?

[JigglyGumballs 1,056]

So I know this topic kinda died down a bit as the new creates slowed down as well, but I thought of bringing this topic up again since it's a serious discussion that needs to be brought back especially since it's the playoffs as of now. And as an AGM who has no rights, this is probably the best way for me to express my thoughts and opinions on this. Anyways, this should be a something that people should at least take a look at. The way for me to properly show my point is to express certain pros and cons I think is relevant on whether or not the league should decide to expand or not. I don't want to pressure people into expanding, but again, this is a discussion for later.

 

Why are there questions about expansion in the first place?

 

Well. If you hadn't noticed during the middle of this season, we had a metric butt ton of new creates fly in via a new YouTube. This was a recruitment drive to help bring in new members to help grow the league, and this recruitment drive is one of the best ones we've seen so far. I can't get exact numbers since I don't wanna count, but it was so big that VHLM teams, yes even Houston, were starting to fill up quickly as more and more people joined. Contending teams who weren't too keen on signing new people as it fucks up their lines are required to give out offers so that everyone can be accommodated. As teams were getting more and more full, the question of "What happens if we can't sign them?" started popping up (or I assume so at least). Thus the ideas of expansion came.

 

Pros on Expansion:

 

1) The most obvious one here is that it provides room for new players. If new recruitment drives have a sort of similar magnitude or at least is effective enough to get a decent amount of recruits from all teams, then there should be extra room for more players to be accommodated. As I'm pretty sure a decent amount of people has heard, the VHLM isn't about winning, it's about retaining members so that they have a full 8 season career. One of the main arguments I can think of is the simple logic of "If we can't accommodate the people we're supposed to accommodate, then we should expand" This is a rather blunt and reckless way of thinking of a solution but it is a decent point to make. Either way, there should always be a decent amount of room for new players.

 

2) More jobs. I know that there are a few, including myself, who would love to be a GM in the M. Now I'm not saying we should expand so I can get a promotion. I think there are more people much more qualified than me, I'm still a first gen even though I don't feel like one at all. Plus I don't think I'll be getting a promotion soon until I get some more experience. The AGM market is also full of people who are looking to apply as well, so expansion can not only give people who want to be a GM a chance, but also gives people who want to be AGMs have a chance to get hired as well.

 

3) Places that should have a team could get a team. I'm pretty sure the team name and location is the choice of the GM in terms of expansion, but this can allow some interesting locations to get selected to be a new team. I know that this is a decently minor thing, but it's still something interesting to take not.

 

Cons on Expansion:

 

1) The biggest con I can think of is what if less people join in the future? What if teams are left barren forcing a contraction? There's no guarantee how things will go in the future, but this is something GMs don't really have much of an affect on. This is all on whether or not the people who do recruitment can do what they can to bring people in. I think they've done a fantastic job so far and the VHL is going to grow in time. I still think that this is probably the main argument against expansion. The uncertainty of the future. However, if the league continues to grow, then room is needed to accommodate the growth.

 

2) Speaking of room, what if this sort of thing happens again and teams fill up even after expanding? Then this argument will happen all over again. I think this problem won't arrive after some time, but I don't think we'll be at a point where a bunch of people join and they ALL are active. Another expansion won't be for a long time, hopefully. This case is a bit different considering I don't think everyone was super prepared for the amount of creates. The M expanded to Miami just a couple of seasons ago, and hopefully if we do expand this offseason, we won't need to for a long time. This becoming a continuous problem is something I don't see realistically. As there will be seasons where recruitment doesn't have a super big turnout. So teams can likely still be maintained and still have room.

 

3) Not everyone who join is going to stay. So why expand? I completely agree with this. I personally think only about 25% of the people who joined recently will actually stay, but this again is dependent on the future recruitment drives. What if 25% of the new guys do stay? And then we have another recruitment drive just as impactful as this one comes in? Then we won't have room again. I think this is a very valid point against expansion though. Our job is to retain as many people in the VHL as possible, but not everyone will stay. So there will always be room. But the question is, will there be enough room? Having like 15-16 skaters and 2 goalies is already considered full until recently.

 

 

My thoughts on what expansion should look like:

 

I think in terms of expansion, there should be a minimum of 2 teams, maximum of 4. The reason? To even out the divisions. There are currently 12 VHLM teams, so adding at least 1 to both conferences can work. Of course one division in that conference will be larger than the other, but that doesn't matter too much in the M, especially as the goal of the minors is retention and not winning cups. Location wise, I think that's up to the GMs, but I personally would like to see more interesting locations for hockey teams. Hawaii perhaps? This is just so we can spice things up a bit. The expansion teams' future roster should not be done through expansion draft, but the Dispersal Draft. Their picks should automatically be lottery picks since they are new, and the draft should be held normally but now with more teams. I think that's a decently fair way for draft eligible players to experience the new teams and as well be a part of something new without the current VHLM teams giving up anything besides trades. Plus this can help with waiver signings as the expansion teams would likely be required to sign waivers if they want to not be in the basement. There are problems with this but I think this is the best solution for terms of team competitiveness and helping accommodate new members.

 

 

Anyways that's my thoughts on VHLM expansion. I will casually and shamelessly mention @VHLM GM and @VHLM Commissioner so that they can see this and weigh in on this since this is merely my thoughts and not an actual method or solution. Should the VHLM expand? In my opinion, yes. But this is more or so a few points that should be taken into consideration and properly laid out and not lost in the depths of discord. I am an AGM without rights so they can beat the shit out of me then sue me for disturbing them, but please feel free to make other suggestions as well. I want this community to grow as much as everyone else does, and hopefully this can help. So until then, I'll see y'all next time. And again sorry for the mentions. I'm also not claiming TPE for this lol.

[Blazzer 759]

Holy shit, Houston filled up! And San Diego!!

 

[JigglyGumballs 1,056]

Also if I were to suggest anyone to become a GM soon, it would be @Zetterberg

 

#MakeZaGM

[Prout 373]

SDM has a great team n the goat on the team. All seriousness this is a great read! 

[diamond_ace 3,112]

Honestly, I'm for it, but between the blues, greens, and former blues, I'm generally not in the majority here. 

[Spartan 4,531]

I think as most people have discussed, there needs to be consistent signs that expansion is needed. One successful recruiting drive shouldn't be the sole reason for expansion. If we have another one this season (which I doubt because of the sheer number of draft eligible players), or if the next drive is this successful, perhaps it'll be something to consider.

 

However, if teams in the M are to mimic VHL teams and typically run a 6-4-1/2 to maximize ice time and therefore boost each players' stats, then I could lean more towards supporting it. But that's a structure that focuses on winning as well, which has been frowned upon in the M by the higher-ups. 

[IamMOOSE 361]

I think if we have another season of influx like we did this time around it'll get more heat and be a grander discussion. Right now we still have teams that don't carry two goalies, and even with a big pool of creations and new faces this season we're still in a good spot team size wise. If s75 sees another huge wave of new talent then yes, I think there should be a discussion for it and possibly and s77 or s78 VHLM expansion.

[Rayzor_7 741]

1. Ping, REEEEEE (Kidding, I don't mind pings)

2. This was unnecessary, BOG will already have this under discussion but I do like the write up.

3. Personally I want+need proof of sustainability due to my history of seeing failures.

4. There are other factors. If we go back to 6-4-1 then yes, if we stay at 9-6-1 or more than we may not.

5. If we get a repeat of this season next season then I can see expansion at the end of said season.

[JigglyGumballs 1,056]

1 hour ago, Rayzor_7 said:

1. Ping, REEEEEE (Kidding, I don't mind pings)

2. This was unnecessary, BOG will already have this under discussion but I do like the write up.

3. Personally I want+need proof of sustainability due to my history of seeing failures.

4. There are other factors. If we go back to 6-4-1 then yes, if we stay at 9-6-1 or more than we may not.

5. If we get a repeat of this season next season then I can see expansion at the end of said season.

 

6 hours ago, Spartan said:

I think as most people have discussed, there needs to be consistent signs that expansion is needed. One successful recruiting drive shouldn't be the sole reason for expansion. If we have another one this season (which I doubt because of the sheer number of draft eligible players), or if the next drive is this successful, perhaps it'll be something to consider.

 

However, if teams in the M are to mimic VHL teams and typically run a 6-4-1/2 to maximize ice time and therefore boost each players' stats, then I could lean more towards supporting it. But that's a structure that focuses on winning as well, which has been frowned upon in the M by the higher-ups. 

 

3 hours ago, IamMOOSE said:

I think if we have another season of influx like we did this time around it'll get more heat and be a grander discussion. Right now we still have teams that don't carry two goalies, and even with a big pool of creations and new faces this season we're still in a good spot team size wise. If s75 sees another huge wave of new talent then yes, I think there should be a discussion for it and possibly and s77 or s78 VHLM expansion.

Yeah, that's something I forgot to mention lol. It really depends on how successful the following. Regarding proof, it's a lot more difficult to find but hopefully there should be something that shows sustainability. As of now, the only thing I can think of is the amount of growth as of late but again, no guarantee and that's not much you can base your proof on. This season is likely just going to be the start of expansion discussion as we wait and see if another large influx of players come in. I think we would also likely have a much more better look at how well this current drive works post draft. I'm still all for expansion, but it's probably not this offseason.