Toast Journal -- S74 Western Europe Roster and Captains!

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With the first few sims out of the way I wanted to take an in-depth look at the Western Europe team for the S74 World Cup and why I think we have one of the stronger clubs in the tournament. We have started 3-0-0 and I wasn’t sure what to expect going into it. Of course there are still two sims to go for the round robin before the games become do-or-die but I am feeling strongly that we are going to keep on this trend and hopefully place quite nicely in the medal round.

 

In this media piece I wanted to go over each of the selections and give some insight to why I made the choice. To wrap things up at the end of the post we are going to name the captains who will carry us through the rest of the World Cup! 

S74 WESTERN EUROPE ROSTER

 

I feel like the team is a good mix of ages. We got some guys like Chris Hylands who is coming up and will lead some World Cup teams in the future and we have some older players like Phil Marleau who we can hopefully get some Gold on as they head towards the end of their career. 

 

Chad Magnum, Center — Magnum was one of the easy selections for the team. Hovering at around 900 practice hours on the ice and recently in the spotlight of a blockbuster trade, I’m sure that most members are familiar with Magnum. Corco has been around the league for as long as I can remember as well and it is definitely nice seeing some familiar faces I can bring on board. 

 

Last season for Toronto he put up 32 goals and 89 points for over a point per game. Something else that caught my eye was the 385 hits that he dished out. I want the team to be a little physical on the puck despite the risk that it could get us into penalty trouble. Magnum is being relied on heavily if we want to make it far in this tourney.

 

Phil Marleau, Center — This is probably the last time that we are going to see Phil Marleau on the ice so I’m hoping that we are going to be able to get a gold medal to close out this career. Phil is another member who was around during my peak activity so it’s nice being able to get all these old faces on board to help me get reacquainted with everything.

 

Marleau is another similar player to Magnum and will be carrying the weight of the second line for us. While his faceoffs are not fantastic, his stats on the ice for Riga last season were. A point per game with 418 hits is insane and I’m not sure if I’m just out of touch with how the VHL is or if we have two terrifying two-way centers to hopefully carry the offense here. 

 

Uhtred, Winger — When I first saw this name on the eligibility list I had a hard time figuring out the pronunciation of it if I’m being honest. I’m not familiar with leafsman but taking a look and seeing a player with 800 practice hours was something that is hard to to over-look. Uhtred is one of the younger players on the team and hopefully someone we can rely on. 

 

Last season for Seattle Uhtred put up a ridiculous 101 points and was an offensive machine. It would be crazy not to want them leading the Western Europe group. While not physical like our two centers, I can see Uhtred putting a ton of pucks in the net for us and the scoring touch is definitely something that gets me excited to see each sim. 

 

Owen Nolan, Winger — Coming from the Dynamo, studentized is another member that I’m not familiar with from my past in the VHL but Owen Nolan was a player that I decided to bring in for Western Europe as another scoring winger and I think it’s nice to have a solid mix of players heading towards the end of their careers and those just starting.

 

At around 600 practice hours I wasn’t sure what to expect and was blown away when I saw Nolan has put up 43 goals last season with 95 points. Clearly this is another offense-first player but Nolan’s build makes me think that he is another solid option for the centers to go to either wing to hopefully finish off any rushes.

 

Jared Spaz, Winger — So we got through a couple members that I did know and now I’m lost looking at majority of the eligibility list for the rest of the team. Spaz was another winger that was near the top of the board for Western Europe but is still relatively young being a S70 guy. Spaz was also one of the guys to join us at the Discord server which is fantastic as well. 

 

Spaz has another shooting-first build which seems to be the common thing. Being a solid part of the Titans offense last season, Spaz also showed the ability to be a point-per-game player and that is ultimately why I wanted them on the team to compliment the rest of the style that we had going so far. Spaz can alternate between the top two lines depending on how things go through the next few games.

 

Chris Hylands, Winger — For our last piece on the offense, I’m going to the youngest skater on the team. I haven’t met Hylands but they’ve been the most enthusiastic member since the World Cup started and I’m sure this isn’t going to be their only World Cup.

 

Looking over these players, I’m starting to see a common theme that everyone is working towards for offense and it seems to be working! Malmo definitely seems to be one of the younger teams but Hylands still excelled with 46 goals and 95 points which is wild! 478 shots may be the most that I’ve seen from a player by going through their stats and the 700 practice hour build is exactly the style I was looking for. 

 

Roque Davis, Defense — The defense on Western Europe is our selling point. That’s not to say the forwards or goalies are weak but we may have the strongest defense in the entire tournament. Having Josh on board is fantastic for the team because it’s not hard to see the dedication to the league. The simmer of this World Cup can’t hurt to have on your team but I hope no one would ever think that’s a reason we’re performing well. 

 

1000 practice hours on a player is ridiculous. Having someone that can be relied on to be the best of the best regardless of where they are on the ice is not something I’m going to take for granted. Davis is going to get wild amounts of ice time for good reason. Being point per game on multiple occasions for Davos just further shows how valuable this will end up being for us. 

 

Lance Flowers, Defense — CowboyinAmerica is someone I recognize from the good ol’ days as well and someone who I’m happy to bring in on the team. A consistent person when it comes to building talented players seems like an obvious choice for any team and being at this stage of Flowers’ career can’t hurt!

 

Flowers is a monster for anyone who doesn’t know. Finding out that he is 6’7” was a blessing and explains why he is a force in his own zone. Regularly putting up 100+ blocked shots and a handful of hits to say the least, Flowers is going to be someone I rely on for the penalty kill as penalties seem to be crazy. I’m not familiar with the Dragons as a team yet either so it’s good to get more representation on the team!

 

Odin Omdahl, Defense — A newer member that I don’t recognize in zepheter was the first choice for the second pairing and apparently I’m just picking leaders from the Seattle locker room! Named a captain for the Berz this season it would be nice to try building some excitement with the World Cup by bringing in supposedly a strong LR player.

 

I don’t know what’s in the milk in Seattle but the points these people are putting up! Odin has a stronger build to be an offensive guy on the blue line but isn’t afraid to risk his game for the team. Well over a point-per-game the past couple seasons and over 150 shots blocked is someone that West Euro is going to need in both ends of the ice to hopefully lead us to Gold. 

 

Erik Summers, Defense — Nice. One of the older players from S69 and not someone I’m familiar with personally but has steadily built a solid defender that has been relied on in the past for us. I recognize the name and it’s nice to seemingly have a full skater roster for us.

 

Summers is up there at around 700 practice hours and has a decent build that doesn’t seem to be focused entirely on scoring which is good for us to have some difference. With high strength and skating hopefully Summers will be someone we can rely on to carry the puck for us. Putting up 82 points in Helsinki this season is great too and penalty minutes dipped significantly so hopefully this will be someone we can rely on to stay out of the box.

 

Nicolas Fomba, Goaltender — Nice. Our starting goaltender for the tournament is another S69 player and someone who has seen a few World Cups as well. This new era has me trying to figure out who all these new members are but it’s nice to see someone who is relatively active around the league. 

 

Another piece of the S74 Bears, Fomba was a back-up goalie who had some decent stats. At 400 practice hours and having a championship on their resume is something that is valuable and hopefully something that will work some STHS magic! A 89.7 save percentage is nothing fantastic but carrying the starter work load for Warsaw in S73 resulted in some nice performances and two shutouts. We’re going to hope STHS keeps playing nice with Fomba.

 

Peiro Angela, Goaltender — The youngest player on the roster! Peiro is a S74 and will serve as the backup for the team if things get messy. I’m not familiar with monkey but they have been a solid welfare and practice facility earner. Hopefully we can get them a medal early in their career. 

 

So there you have it, the S74 Western Europe roster is looking pretty damn good in my opinion! It has been a long time since I’ve had any sort of GM role but this is certainly exciting so far. Despite being away from STHS for a good four years it definitely catches on quick. I had some trouble making the final call on this roster but I love seeing how active the team is and I look forward to the next so many seasons in this new attempt to rejoin the VHL!

 

To close things off I want to announce who will be the captains for the remaining games we have this tournament: 

 

Assistant Captain - Roque Davis @Josh 
The first assistant captaincy is going to Josh. Roque is going to be someone this team relies on heavily for the rest of the tournament and I feel an ‘A’ is the very least of a thank you I can give for getting these games going.

 

Assistant Captain - Lance Flowers @CowboyinAmerica
It’s nice still seeing these familiar faces around the VHL and CiA is someone I remember fondly. Joining the Discord and getting involved was a big piece of these selections and I’m hoping that Flowers has a solid rest of the tournament.

 

Captain - Chris Hylands @Hylands
And finally, our captain for the S74 World Cup. While I may not know Hylands, I do love to see the dedication of the first West Euro member to join the World Cup Discord and being involved through the varying channels. I wanted to promote some excitement through this tournament and I’m happy to give the ‘C’ to someone who I feel is excited for the tournament. 

 

If you made it this far in this media piece for my ramblings, congratulations on joining the Western Europe hype train. Please join us over in the Discord to join in on the trash talk (https://discord.gg/f4VdeVjZ) and go Europe! Feel free to point things out to me that I missed or call me out on stupid comments, I need to learn everything the VHL has to offer all over again and I need the help!

 

 

 

2101 words. Using for PT weeks 11/08-11/15, 11/16 - 11/22, 11/23 - 11/29 and 11/30 - 12/6

[hylands 845]

Honoured to be named Captain of this world beating Team Western Europe!

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[CowboyinAmerica 2,891]

Proud to wear the A! Let's bring this home!

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