Leaderboard

European Contenders Ranked: Goalies 1. Rhett DeGrath (Davos) - The veteran goalie comes in at number one. Tons of talent, pedigree and room to get better. He is the best goalie in the European Conference by a fair bit, and it will be interesting to see if he is enough to push his team over the top. 2. Astrid Moon (Helsinki) - any goalie coming off back to back world titles is going to look good. He is only a Season 53 player and therefore has a lot of talent and good hockey left to be played. 3. Markus King (Riga) - These rankings could easily be reversed for 1 through 3. King is looking like the best of the bunch in the early goings of this VHL season though he still has yet to prove it in the post season, which mean he is never going to be high up on the list. Only a Season 54 player and is looking to be Riga's franchise netminder for a good young team. for Sankara

@Zark *For Keller's PT

Charles Cote Las Vegas Aces Defenseman S57 Draftee 18 years old 6'1", 210lbs Quebec City, Quebec, Canada Overview Charles Cote is a defensive defenseman who played for the Quebec Remparts in the juniors. In his last year in the QMJHL, he won the Kevin-Lowe Trophy, presented to the best defensive defenseman, as well as the Emile-Bouchard Trophy, awarded to the defenseman of the year. He is a great team player who always wants to get each and every member of his team involved in the play and loves to spread around the puck. While not being a goal-scoring defenseman, he excels on the defensive side and is always willing to block a shot, taking one for his team. Charles will almost always stay at the blue line while being in the offensive zone, he will very rarely go further up the ice, the only scenario being when he's 100% sure that his movement won't get his team in trouble in the events of a turnover. He was top 3 in takeaways last year, with an impressive 71 takeaways in 68 games played. Also, he was without a doubt the best defenseman in "2 on 1" scenarios, while not allowing a goal in more than 15 occasions, in which the goaltender only made 6 saves. He recently signed a one-year deal with the Las Vegas Aces, whose management team is definitely looking forward to seeing those defensive prowesses on their ice. Pros Vision and knowledge Cote's first and most remarquable quality is his vision and hockey knowledge. He is able to read the play very well, sometimes looking like he can practically read his opponents' minds. He seems to know where every enemy offense is going, and doesn't hesitate to communicate to his teammates. With that skill in his arsenal, Charles is almost never caught flat-footed, always being at the right place at the right time. Over the course of a hockey game, Cote analyzes the opponents and their habits, which gives him a lot of power in predicting what their next move will be. Intelligence and discipline Another of Charles' top skill is his intelligence on the ice. Hardly ever will you see him making any dumb mistakes, if not never. He's not looking for attention by trying flashy stuff, his goal being to do his defensive role and to not get his team in trouble by his fault. He is as smart as they come physically, but also mentally. He doesn't let opponents play in his head, and makes sure not to take any dumb penalties. He's a master at the art of keeping his cool, but doesn't hesitate to protect his teammates, when the time is right. Sometimes will you see him laying a big clean hit to make a statement. Speed and skating Cote possesses above-average speed for a defenseman, especially amongst other defensive dmen. Charles can usually keep up with the elite forwards of his league, which explains his 2 trophies at the Golden Puck Awards Gala last year. He uses this speed to reposition quickly when the opposing team takes control of the puck, and makes sure he has time to think and analyze instead of getting caught in an emergency situation. His speed is a key asset of his play and helps him cause a lot of turnovers. It has definitely played a major role in his recent success in the takeaways category, as well as in odd man rushes. Cons Too passive What the scouts want to see the most in Cote is offensive production. Some criticizes that he takes his role as a defensive defenseman too seriously, and sometimes forget he can go help out his offense too. He doesn't like going far up the ice, but in some occasions he should, as it could put his name on the scoresheet. He's not aggressive enough with the puck and prefers to stay save, sometimes frustrating some of his teammates. Not for a long amount of time, of course. Physical aspect Charles doesn't use his body as much as he should, considering his 6'1, 210 lbs. He doesn't like getting physically involved, at the exception of protecting his teammates. This is another aspect of his game that the scouts want to see, as it could turn Cote into an even bigger defensive threat than he already is. Goal-scoring ability and puck handling While not having a bad shot, Cote lacks that ''fire'' that you can see in a pure goal-scorer. He's able to get the puck from point A to point B, but doesn't do too well when it comes to deeking around someone or orchestrating a big play. The scouts, as well as the fans, would like to see Charles spending more time puck handling, instead of always passing it around. He usually always stays at the same spot on the blue line in the offensive zone, passing the puck as soon as he touches it. They would also like seeing Cote taking more shots, as it could drastically improve his offensive contribution. Conclusion Overall, Charles Cote is a very strong defensive defenseman who everyone is looking forward to seeing perform on the ice. While lacking offensive talent, his defensive side is pretty much flawless and drags a lot of attention around him off the ice. The scouts don't have a final projection for him yet, but he could very well be a late first round pick in the draft. Everyone should keep a close eye on him, as he gives everyone another reason to watch the Las Vegas Aces this year.

Calder O’Callahan is nine games into his VHLM career with the Las Vegas Aces. This article takes a look into O’Callahan’s role on the team and his production thus far. 1- Role Even Strength Lines Asipi-Komarov-Gudnason Clyne-O’Callahan-Lazarus Kenzie-Tabootie-McKinley Komarov-O’Callahan-Gudnason Powerplay Lines Lazarus-Komarov-Gudnason Kenzie-O’Callahan-Clyne Penalty Kill Lines Komarov-Gudnason O’Callahan-Clyne ES: O’Callahan is centering the teams second even strength line between Clyne and Lazarus. The Aces coaching staff immediately put him into a top six role and surrounded him with wingers that he can produce with. Further, O’Callahan finds himself playing also on the fourth line with Komarov and Gudnason on his wings, two of the teams best forwards. PP: O’Callahan also centers the Aces second powerplay unit between Kenzie and Clyne. Getting powerplay minutes is important for a player like O’Callahan, who can use his speed and skill in space to create high quality scoring chances. PK: The coaching staff also finds O’Callahan defensively responsible enough to play on the second penalty kill unit with Clyne. He has been working hard in practice on his face-offs and positioning in hopes of keeping his spot on the PK unit. 2 - Statistics Through nine games of VHLM action, O’Callahan has posted the following stat line: 3 goals – 6 assists – 9 points – Minus 2 rating – 15 shots A point per game pace for the young rookie is nothing to sneeze at, but looking into his stats on a deeper level leaves something to be desired. First, his minus-two rating on a first place Vegas team is not a positive. For a team that scores a lot of goals, we would like to see his plus/minus rating increase moving forward. Second, 15 shots on goal is among the worst on the team. For comparison, Komarov has 76 shots on goal through nine games. This shows that despite posting a point-per-game pace, O’Callahan is not generating enough shots on net and his shooting percentage (20%) will certainly not be attainable on a regular basis. As he continues to put in work on the ice, look for these numbers to improve.

Well I'm the idiot that forgot about air drop, now that I can send stuff over to my iPad I can actually make decent graphics. I kinda want to do home/away (and maybe third) jerseys for every team... We'll see if that ever happens.

@Tyler Let's get that synergy going on that second line, we're off to a pretty good start

Yeah @Beaviss! Happy for you man @der meister Gets a copy too woooooo. Long shipping for that one haha

Welp, trying to do graphics never pans out very well for me, but I'm going to try to stick to it and really learn to do it. GIMP is a mysterious creature and using it is like going through a maze, but I tried to do a fun little signature since I'm joining Calgary. @eaglesfan036

This looks great!

You are taking this joke far too seriously. I'm not doing this for any serious recognition from anyone, all I was after was a spot on top of a spreadsheet, because that's funny to me. I couldn't care less if people didn't recognize it as the "actual" record.

At some point Casey is gonna start getting goals lol

Komarov key to success shot everything on net, hit everything that skates. Lol 89 shots in 10 games

Davos Struggling to Find Their Footing After a big off-season that was supposed to swing the winds of change in the favor of the Dynamo, the HC Davos Dynamo are struggling to find consistent play twelve games into Season Fifty-Six in the VHL. With the European Conference a three headed race this season, no one was expected to do a cake walk over the rest of the European teams, but fans and management in Davos were expecting more in the early season. Luckily for the Dynamo, the remaining two teams in the conference in Stockholm and Cologne are nowhere near ready to compete, but the team doesn’t want to limp into the playoffs as the third and final seed in the conference. In today’s article we’ll look more in depth into the roster to see if we can uncover what has gone wrong through the first twelve games. Goals For/Goals Against: The team currently has put thirty-five goals past VHL goaltenders, which translates to just under 3 goals per game. Although that seems like a good amount of goals, we’re talking about the VHL, a league that has always been known for the offensive fans flock to see each season. The stat is even more alarming when you look into the goals the Dynamo have allowed this season, which currently stands one above the amount they have allowed. The Dynamo also sit fifth in the VHL in goals against, allowing thirty-six goals in those twelve games. Of course it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that you’re not going to go far in the sports world if you can’t score more than you allow, so the Dynamo must find a way to address the issue as soon as possible for any chance at redeeming themselves over the next sixty games. Home Ice Advantage: No matter the athlete and no matter the sport, you’ll hear the same cliché answer about the advantages of playing in front of your home crowd. Davos seems to be taking the advantages of playing at home to heart, as the team has won five of six of the home games to start the season. While on the other hand the Dynamo have really struggled away from Zurich Center this season, posting a 2-3-1 record on the road. While it’s always nice to win the games in-front of your home supporters, if you want to make any noise in the league the young Dynamo team will have to learn how to win both at home and on the road. Maybe the Dynamo can look into a practice that some teams have turned to make being on the road more comfortable by creating a road atmosphere while playing at home, which may include staying at a hotel while in taking on a home stand in Davos. General Manager Problems: While it doesn’t appear to be a huge problem for the Dynamo with an active GM right now, but we have to remember that Conner Low hasn’t really been in the dog fight that is a VHL playoff race before. Low was been very active with his roster this season, even making himself present in the stands during practice to watch the line combinations being tried out. Low isn’t ready to panic and sell turn coat on the competing idea this season, but with twelve games already passed this season, Low will need to keep his finger on the pulse of this Dynamo team.

Let me know if you need questions

But that is why all of this is so poetic and completely in line with the show. Up until now what has been the standard rule of thumb? The show gives you characters to invest in, who are engaged in plot points for a season or so. Then, the smartest most manipulating characters shock everyone and make many of those heavily invested characters either die or there plot points irrelevant. See Ned, Rob, Oberyn, Joffre, Stannnis, Renly, the list goes on. Yet all the while it was the cunning consistently surviving, winning if you will. Then completely disconnected from that we had several sub plots about magic, dragons, faceless assassin's, ice zombies, resurrected warriors. Now what are we seeing that the high fantasy hit it's peak build? All the characters the show invested in for seasons upon seasons I referenced winning earlier, dying or their plots becoming irrelevant. The only difference is it's the magic making them irrelevant but it's still just as poetic and ultimately if you have seriously been paying attention that is at the heart of everything this show has been about. The poetic thing plays into the title of the books too A Song of Ice and Fire. Furthermore your silly if you think Dany is being presented as the saviour character. The marketing of the show made people think it's all about the Throne. But only the first book was subtitled that. Danys plot is about her fighting herself and trying not to be like her father the mad king. She tries to carry herself as better yet whenever things don't go her way what happens? Inferno. She won't survive the show. She'll probably go out in some typical poetic fashion. Jon is the saviour. He embodies the entire essence of the shows lore. Remember A Song of Ice and Fire? Let's see her a man born a Stark and a Targareyen, aka cold North and. Dragon house, who served on the icy wall and was resurrected by the Lord of Light and fire to boot? Yeah I'm pretty sure he's the saviour. Also, he won't rule anyway. The Throne isn't important in the end. Once Jon learns of his heritage and claim to Danys he will completely renounce it and talk about how Westeros needs leaders not rulers. Besides who in their right mind would want to inherit that useless chair anymore anyways? Only power hungry monarchs. Westeros has been at war for years the rulers in Kings Landing have been ruling by fear for ages now, they are in severe debt, and Dany just burned most of their food supply for long winter. If anything screams internal civil war King's Landing does. Add to that a soon to be proven undead army marching on the masses. Good keeping people from just fleeing where Dany came from all those seasons ago or to Dorne or basically off this doomed war ridden continent.

Thank you all for your interest. Charles Cote is accepting the Las Vegas Aces' offer of $1 Million for the season !

Man, this is so sick! Great work !

You should do more of these @Tagger

@Sullvino Try this link here: https://app.box.com/s/so2x0e3ksiiigm337l3ugqyicp2zjh8g

@Beaviss

That's amazing! Defiantly rocking that one! thanks @STZ if your bored you can make me a general manager one!

It's definitely been a crazy time to be a goalie. Glad to get 2 Shaw's already, because with all these up-and-comers I don't see it happening again. 1. Moon 2. DeGrath 3. King Is my opinion, and that's until King jumps both of us next year.. Even those I won't be affected by Depreciation, still not sure I can hold up to the rest. It's a good thing #protectthealltimescorers

Review: Well written with solid formatting and pictures presentation. You also have done a great bit of research looking into ever little stat relevant to this article. Great article 10/10 would read again.

@Spade18 would you mind if I also did one of these for the Lynx?

Ask him what he though of Steve Young as a head coach? Also why was he a better head coach at 20 then Steve Young was? Also what did he think of Kelly Mccrimmon not pulling his goalie in the last game of the regular season, so Brouwer couldn't get his 50th goal in his 20 year old season

The first one was how was it coaching what should have been a WHL championship team?

I got a feeling about this guy rite hurr

Good game @STZ GG Calgary

I actually was looking I just missed Cowboy lol.. the first mistake was that I didn't know the positions I drafted

Dammit @MD9

@KGR just ask one of your teammates. I mean i thought you would have it posted in the LR by now

I wonder if my rankings are going to go up

When the Riga Reign went and traded four the quartet from the New York Americans many of the fans were absolutely excited. Then quickly they clued in that they have two starting goalies on their roster. M.T. Power and Markus King were both listed on the depth chart as #1 and #2 but it was unclear who would take each spot. Most figured it wouldn't be that fun for King to sit on the bench considering he is the younger of the two goalies. That wasn't the case though. M.T. Power is doing backup duties but King did state that he loves how Power has taught him a few things over the short time that Power has been in Riga. "I've learned a lot from M.T. so far and he is more than a backup goalie in our dressing room. He is a leader with a great understanding of positioning and communication with the defensemen. I'm stoked when he gets to start because I get to watch him and be come his cheerleader", stated Markus.

Ive seen you try hard

@STZ y u so gud?

Damn, I like it. Nice style to your graphics.

Here's the remade away graphic.

nice work Spade!

Highlight... Motherfucker Sharpe beats up Franchise Cornerstone at 2:55 of 3rd period

I was literally writing this for Ottawa..... time to start something new.

Ohohohoho, ya boi with an assist.

My second attempt with messing with Photoshop, includes more filters and text. I based most of this on Bushito's design on Kesingston PC, including the picture size.

It's almost a little washed out but the coloring is great. The text is ok, not my favorite font but not bad by any means.

THANK YOU!! VHL!!! News reporter: This just in Vancouver riots will in fact not happen!

Welp, first goal first game, time to put up the skates boys.

I fucking love Jaime. Guy's just got a crazy bitch of a girlfriend. He is all of us at some point.

I'll still be a backup, I was told as much by @punkhippie prior to the trade