The Long & Short of It: The VHLM

[IamMOOSE 361]

            For this week’s, The Long & Short of It, we take a small break from deep player dives and instead embark on a journey through the VHLM, this season 74 in review, some feedback from GMs and players, what makes the VHLM so special, and perhaps what could come in the future for the league.

 

            Season 74 was a banner year for the VHLM, covering the deepest recruitment drive some players had ever seen and rivaling the drive of season 66/67. With over 200 new recruits and recreates, the deepest pool of the 70s classes thus far kicked off with dominant performances from perennial favorites Vegas, Ottawa, and Mississauga. But all were outclassed by the juggernaut Halifax 21^st, who were on the Miami of s73 road of having high value players throughout the roster. Beginning and seasoning the regular season in dominant fashion, the Halifax 21^st led in every statistical category and were set to breeze on through a playoff run. On the Western side of things, Vegas had built a strong enough lead through the trade deadline but began to split games as the season wound down. The real fight was deeper in the league however, as Yukon and Mississauga fought for home ice and the right to face an Ottawa team that got hot after the trade deadline but cooled as the season ended. The tail end of the field saw the Philadelphia Reapers desperately cling to 4-point deficit over the Miami Marauders for the 8^th and final playoff spot. Miami had struggles through much of the season but had formed a bond together in what we’d eventually dub the Waiver Warriors mentality. Miami after being behind 11 points following the trade deadline fought back to close the gap on the Reapers, winning their final four games of the season to overtake them and claim the final playoff spot.

 

            The playoffs immediately took on a different feel, as Ottawa pushed Yukon to seven games and the Miami Marauders who made the playoffs on the last day of the regular season downed the dominant Halifax 21^st in seven games. The second round had a feeling of uneasy tension to it as the Vegas Aces went down 3-0 to Miami. Elsewhere, Yukon and Mississauga were poised to go to a seven-game series with some questionable tactics from the Hounds’ camp. Vegas would show their might however, rallying back to force a game seven but couldn’t complete the reverse sweep as Miami pushed its ticket to the Founder’s Cup. Mississauga would overcome Yukon to meet them and for Miami GM Kris Rice, the battle of his past and present set the stage for his next attempt at a championship. Miami would go on to complete a four-game sweep of the Mississauga Hounds, completing the unlikely playoff run and cementing the Cinderella story for the Waiver Warriors in the VHLM.

 

            This season also saw another round of prime directive penalties, as teams road inactive players over signing new talent, resulting in many new creates not joining VHLM teams. The offending teams this time; Halifax (deducted a 4^th round pick), Mississauga (deducted a 3^rd round pick), Minnesota (who’s penalty was later lessened), & Ottawa (deducted a 1^st & 3^rd round pick). It was and is a problem that brings out the philosophical argument of the minor league as to the balance of competition and retention with the mandate being a league about developing and retaining active members over winning as a priority. It’s a violation that plagued Mississauga, even in the playoffs as many feel they were controversially not adhering to the mandate as IA players continued to get minutes even in the Semi Finals versus Yukon.

 

            So, what is next for the VHLM? Season 75’s draft is now behind us and a loom of another possible influx has opened the VHLM Juniors, a design to help VHLM teams sign more players and give everyone a chance to play. Under the guise of the STHS farm system, VHLM Juniors could easily come to be a regular thing as the league looks for more membership. The idea behind it, coming through with a cap of half the league filling the max roster size. If that were to happen, the Junior league would open. It is our expectation that by season 77, VHLM Juniors will be a full-time league. It’s an exciting prospect for the league, who just recently expanded its major division by four teams, a design that could, if this continues, follow to the VHLM.

 

            Finally, we got to talk to some player, GMs, and even Acydburn about what makes the VHLM special, favorite moments, and what they’d love to see in the future. For our personal take, it matches much of the comments here about retention and the engagement with molding new players into long term members, those little moments in Discord chat that bring a team together, and the hopes of future expansion as when the VHLM expands it means the league is thriving. Here are some comments from VHLM GMs and players about the league:

 

 

1. What makes the VHLM special to you?

 

“The VHLM is special to me because it is the entry point into this great league. It is the first thing the players experience when they join. I get to be a part of trying to help them enjoy all the things this league has to offer and that is rewarding.” – Rice (Miami GM)

 

“Probably the engagement and excitement of the M community. it's always getting fresh faces that add to the excitement, and it's harder to maintain a dynasty here. that just ramps up everyone's competitiveness.” – Spartan (Vegas GM)

 

“I think the VHLM is special because of the role we play for the community. We’re the first interaction people experience when joining this league. We’re there for their 1st signing, their 1st game, their 1st goal, their 1st draft. Those experiences have a profound impact on their commitment to the league. If we’re not creating an enjoyable experience for everyone, we’re ruining the potential success and enjoyment of not just the VHLM, but the VHL, and the entire community.” – DMaximus (Philadelphia GM)

 

“It's a place where everyone who wants to play in the VHL gets their start. For me being in the Miami locker room this season, there was a lot of people who were new to the league coming together, putting in the work and pushing and supporting each other, and our management group did everything they could to help us get used to the VHL and develop as players.” – Trevor

 

“It obviously gets looked down upon by the players in the VHL, because it's a development league. But for a lot of guys, me included, it's our first time being part of a team on this site and it's special being in a locker room for the first time, and even though players mostly play to develop, there isn't a ton of pressure to perform and you can just have fun with fellow rookies.” – Ledge and Dairy (Vegas Defensemen)

 

“Being in the LR is amazing, I know they have them in the VHL but the vegas one has made this experience so enjoyable. Especially bc they drafted me and stuff. And also everyone is friendly in the VHLM so you can just talk to to whoever.” – Hoopydog (Vegas Forward)

 

“I guess it's like the old saying goes, you always remember your first. VHLM is everyones first. For me it was starting my rookie season in Saskatoon. And it really is a great place to start off your career. Much like real players in the minors hone their skills, I have been using my time in the VHLM to learn the ley of the land. This experience I've gained this season is invaluable.” – fromtheinside (San Diego Defensemen)

 

2. If you could see anything change/improve in the VHLM what would it be?

 

“My only critique is that it needs to become more about retention and less about winning. Winning is extremely important as it also helps with retention but the main focus is the journey along the way and keeping things fun and engaging for new members.” – Rice (Miami GM)

 

“In general, I think the league is well run and I think Acyd and d_a have shown they mean business with running the league and that’s a great thing. The primary thing I would change is I would eliminate all inactive players. The moment someone is inactive, they are removed from a roster. I think that would help all GMs maintain a strong focus on getting and maintaining active players. I would also eliminate Free Agents. I would also change the way we calculate the total number of seasons in a player’s career. It’s extremely difficult to join the league and leave the VHLM in a single season, meaning most players are going to spend more than 1 season in the VHLM. Every season spent in the VHLM is one less season you spend in the pros. I think that is unfair to most people, and we shouldn’t penalize people for growing their player at their own rate. Let them spend up to 3 seasons in the VHLM, then start their career seasons once they start playing in the pros.” – DMaximus (Philadelphia GM)

 

“The one thing that stood out to me as something I wish were different, from the moment I joined the league, was that I wish players didn't have to sign up, pick a team, play part of a season with that team and then switch to a different VHLM team at the draft. But it's a bit of a tough problem to solve. I do wonder what it might look like if players got to stick with the team they chose, if it was almost a college sports style model... I would worry that occasionally a team might find itself not being relevant for a long time though.” – Trevor

 

“Right now, expansion seems like a decent idea with all the new creates. Other than that, I think it's being run pretty well.” – Ledge and Dairy (Vegas Defensemen)

 

3. What is your favorite VHLM moment?

 

“This is a tough one because I have quite a few. Winning the S74 championship is right up there but my favorite was probably when the Marauders first joined the league and bringing in that first roster of players. That was a great season.” – Rice (Miami GM)

 

“Probably getting drafted in my first season, and also every M draft afterwards. drafts are fun, and I've enjoyed being in them and hosting them.” – Spartan (Vegas GM)

 

“I have a lot of personal favorite moments, like drafting a player in a later round and watching them grow, or seeing someone on my team write their first media spot, or having team members help out with the team like my AGM @spence king and my head scout @dariusmorimotoman. For a single favorite moment,  I really enjoyed Miami’s run this season.” – DMaximus (Philadelphia GM)

 

“It was crazy to be a part of Miami's Cinderella run to the Founders Cup this year. The moment in our locker room when we all checked and saw that we'd beaten Halifax in Game 7 was incredible. From that point on, we had a lot of belief in ourselves, but it was still surreal when we actually pulled it off.” – Trevor

 

“When I scored my first goal, and I went into my LR and everyone there congratulated me. It's really like a family, being in a LR like that.” – Ledge and Dairy (Vegas Defensemen)

 

“Well my favourite personal moment was scoring my first game winning goal of my career vs the Houston Bulls in the regular season this year. It was the first time I felt like my player directly made an impact on the team and it felt awesome. Outside of my own personal achievements though, I'd lie if I didn't say watching Miami's miracle playoff run wasn't the coolest thing I've seen thus far. Knocking off two powerhouses in back to back series and then sweeping a very sound Mississauga Hounds team was nothing short of amazing.” – fromtheinside (San Diego Defensemen)

 

Acydburn (VHLM Commissioner)

Q: What makes the VHLM special to you?

 

“It’s the first thing someone gets to experience as a new player. The M is where you learn about the league and establish those first connections. I’ve met a bunch of great people in the VHL and a lot of them started from my days back in Halifax. If it wasn’t for the M I don’t think I would be a part of this league.”

 

Q: If you could see anything change/improve in the VHLM what would it be?

 

“There are a few things that I would like to see changed in the M. You’ll just have to stay tuned for those ;)”

 

 

Q: What is your favorite VHLM moment?

 

“Not quite sure I’ve had one, they all have their moments. I think When we had the entire team all pumped up for playoffs and were all active. The locker room was really popping off and made em enjoy the league a bit more.”

[IamMOOSE 361]

Absolutely huge thank you to everyone listed here who gave me some great feedback to pad this week's The Long & Short of It. When I first came up with the idea to start doing these this was what I had in mind. Beyond some hot takes and some surprise answers, I really wanted to focus the spotlight on players and in this case the league and hopefully give each article the shine and respect it deserves for the subject involved and I'm super proud of this one in particular. Thank you all for your time and effort and I apologize for the tags but I felt it was important to pay that respect back for your time. 

 

VHLM GMs

@Spartan

@DMaximus

@Ricer13

 

VHLM Players

@fromtheinside

Trevor (sorry dude, never gave me who your player was lol)

@Ledge_and_Dairy

 

VHLM Commissioner

@Acydburn

 

And a special thanks to @Prout, @Hoopydog, @DragonFire420, & @MexicanCow123 who all gave me some responses. Sorry I could include everyone's comments, this was already long winded at 2190 words lol

[Ricer13 2,795]

Masterpiece! Really nice work @IamMOOSE

[Spartan 4,388]

Lol, you should have told me this was going verbatim into the article. I wouldn't have done this on my phone lmfao.

[tcookie 896]

41 minutes ago, IamMOOSE said:

 

VHLM Players

 

Trevor (sorry dude, never gave me who your player was lol)

 

 

lol sorry about that, that's me

[Prout 373]

@IamMOOSE Cheers buddy ! I appreciate all you’ve fine for me here !

[IamMOOSE 361]

12 minutes ago, Spartan said:

Lol, you should have told me this was going verbatim into the article. I wouldn't have done this on my phone lmfao.

You should know better by now I like to leave quotes unedited

[diamond_ace 3,112]

Trevor

[fromtheinside 1,290]

Fantastic job Moose. Great read brother!

[mediocrepony 1,216]

@IamMOOSE HOLY COW this is great and very colorful and I might've gone a little blind

[fonziGG 1,068]

17 hours ago, IamMOOSE said:

“Not quite sure I’ve had one, they all have their moments. I think When we had the entire team all pumped up for playoffs and were all active. The locker room was really popping off and made em enjoy the league a bit more.”

Those were the days, weren't they? @Acydburn

[Acydburn 1,607]

15 minutes ago, fonziGG said:

Those were the days, weren't they? @Acydburn

Good times