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In honour of your overlord's (that's me) birthday, everyone who likes this post gets 1 TPE. #teepz #lovevictator #tpeinflation Edit: for anyone still here, check the date. This is a decade old and is no longer valid, please don’t try.

@Members Normally this would just go to the ban thread but given the circumstances I think it's best that everyone know what's going on. It has unfortunately come to the attention of myself and @Acydburn that @Josh has been embezzling league funds for his own purposes. Via his access to the league PayPal he was stripping donation funds as payments for portal, forum, and domain hosting with amounts far higher than were actually needed. Because the line items were things he was paying for we had no reason, for a number of years, to think anything of it and were unaware that the costs were actually far less than what he was reimbursing himself which amounts to potentially thousands of dollars; we're still working out the total figures. Obviously we are completely shocked at this behaviour and have immediately stripped Josh of his role as commissioner pending potential future legal action. We have always held firm that the league funds are used exclusively on league related activities so I am quite frankly pissed that a member of the blue team would take donation money for their own uses; whatever his excuses may be. Please be aware that we will be launching a further investigation and audit of all our costs and funds to be sure that no one else has done anything of the sort in the past. Sincerely, @Commissioner Edit: In case any future people see the is and don’t see the date; it was purely an April Fool’s joke, Josh was in on it (in fact it was his idea) and the donation money is not only safe but audited.

So hello everyone, I like to keep my topics here usually VHL related but I need to break character for a moment to announce something that’s happened very recently to me. All small handful of members knew what I’ve been going through the past 2 weeks. That is, I’ve been running for my American university’s student government vice president position (as a freshman). The pain staking 2 weeks of campaigning, repeating each presentation time after time to different groups, $600 in expenses, and countless nights of rough sleep…paid off. I’m beyond thrilled to announce that I will be my university’s next student government vice president. There were about 900 votes cast, and my ticket won by 8 votes. Now these results are unofficial but I as of now do not suspect that the outcome will change . i don’t know how it will impact my involvement here, I still hold the VHL very close a dear to my heart as it’s been a crutch the past 3.5 years for me. Thank you everyone for just reading this little rant but I’m beyond ecstatic right now.

Gonna keep it short here. You may seen or not my April 1st post in here where I was messing around on stepping down and thing. Except this was a hint, not joke. Following this season I'm no longer a Riga Reign GM. The reason is pretty basic, nothing left in the tank. My involvement in sim leagues is on the way to non existent at this point. And as Riga is close to competing again, there is a need of a way more energetic GM who can make this happen. I'm fairly sure that this time my interest won't come back the same way it did couple of times before. But it was fun times regardless, especially when I was on my prime. Just wish I had more cups lol (here is the part where I'll blame Simon for one last time). So yeah, nothing much else to say. Thanks everyone for the fish and good luck! P.S. don't show this thread to Bana, cause he bout to have a heart attack from happiness

NEED I SAY MORE?

Looking back at my first time scrolling the VHL forums, before I created an account, made a player, and learned the ropes, some I have yet to learn. As someone who struggles with Anxiety, pushing myself to say “fuck it” and go for it came with a lot of hesitance, but in the end, it was so worthwhile. The community is so welcoming, the people here are so kind, I have yet to interact with someone who even comes close to rubbing me the wrong way. All and all it’s been a good experience so far. My player, Oliver Loo, a name I just slapped together is a player or rather character that I didn’t think I’d be putting so much effort and creativity into although my writing is not the best, needing to be improved upon and I don’t exactly have the means to make graphics. I originally made him just to test the waters, and see if I like how the VHL works under the surface that is the forums. Within the Discord servers, the people and such. It’s a lot more laid back than what I first thought, it’s enjoyable. I like pretty much ever aspect that I have discovered so far and can see myself sticking around. Hell, I even already have plans for my next player and this one isn’t even close to done yet. 230 words

Player Information Username: aimkin Player Name: Ahsoka Tano Recruited From: Returning Age: 31 Position: D Height: 75 in. Weight: 165 lbs. Birthplace: Greenland Player Page @VHLM GM

Hello everyone, and welcome to ScoutsNet! I have been wondering how to approach a "new and improved" version of my scouting content to bring back to the forums, and this was the best I could come up with. For this season, I will be posting scouting content pretty sparingly, but next season, ScoutsNet will host a new version of my previous series, Tallinder's Draft Profiles. ScoutsNet is a media network aimed at providing scouting content for upcoming VHL draft classes, and it is has three hosts: Patrik Tallinder - S72 Continental Cup Winner & Host of the Draft Profiles series Nils Tallinder - Notorious bust, but makes a killer grilled cheese Lucas Tallinder - Previous owner of RavenSkill Agency/Development Program The three brothers are enjoying retirement in Sacramento, California, but they have felt an itch to be back near the game. ScoutsNet is the product of this, as they each aim to produce meaningful content in a number of ways. Patrik will be in charge of the draft profiles, scouting players and discussing their strengths/weaknesses. Nils will be in charge of the final mock draft upon the end of each season, and Lucas will be creating graphics for some of the top prospects. Now, without further ado, let's get into our very first article, hosted by Reign and Wrangler alumni Patrik Tallinder. AN EARLY LOOK AT THE S94 VHL DRAFT Welcome to ScoutsNet everyone! I'm so pleased to have you all on board for what should be an exciting revival of my draft content from the early S70s. I have already begun digging for research relating to this upcoming draft, and I have a few major points I would like to share with you all. First off, let's get the elephant out of the way; Here are my current top 16 rankings! These rankings are based on all TPE earned up until the week ending March 24, as this week is still ongoing. Remember that these are subject to change, and also far from objective truth, so don't take them too seriously. EARLY THEMES Upon first glance, it appears that this draft class is pretty top-heavy. There are several future superstars in the top ranks of this draft, but the talent does start to wear a bit thin after the first round. With that being said, there are certainly some diamonds to be found in the rough. Another primary theme in this draft is its strength on the blue line; Eight of my top 16 prospects from this draft are defensemen, including my projected first overall pick, Jillian Woods. Woods is a phenomenal prospect, but she will not have an easy claim to the pinnacle of this draft class, as winger Maverick Goncalves is neck and neck with her. Let's take a look at my projected top 2 picks in the S94 VHL Entry Draft. Also, remember that the TPE numbers reflect their amount earned up until the end of last week, not any earned this week. It would be impossible to update my spreadsheet every day, so my weekly updates will have to suffice lol JILLIAN WOODS | D | 244 TPE | @jacobcarson877 | Ranked #1 Overall The draft's top prospect thus far is one that could change the direction of an entire franchise. Woods is an elite two-way defender with an impressive 16 points in 16 games to begin her season in Ottawa. User @jacobcarson877 is an extremely active member and the GM of the VHL's London United, as well as coming off a career where he earned a ridiculous 2174 TPE. Woods looks to be another future superstar, with the build and TPE earning to back it up. Woods has earned an average of 23 TPE per week, including all 84 capped TPE available to her since creation. Expect to hear the name Jillian Woods very early in this upcoming draft, and expect to see her excellent mobility and hockey sense displayed at even the highest levels of play in the future. MAVERICK GONCALVES | LW | 245 TPE | @leandrofg | Ranked # 2 Overall Next, we look at the draft's top ranked forward. Choosing to play in the VHLE this season, Maverick Goncalves has not had it easy. Yet, despite being the youngest player in the league, he has managed to create chances and show flashes of brilliance, with 17 shots and 11 hits in only 14 games with the Cologne Express. The Swiss prospect is somewhat of a Swiss Army knife on the ice, able to play in all situations and pose an immense offensive threat as well. Goncalves' TPE earning has also been incredible, averaging 24 TPE per week and collecting all possible capped TPE. Much like Woods, @leandrofg is a known entity in the community, being the GM of the Calgary Wranglers and coming off a stellar previous career. Look for Goncalves to seriously challenge for the first overall selection this season, and don't be surprised if his name is announced first. A LOOK AT FIRST GENS Ahead of each draft, some of the most interesting storylines to follow are surrounding the draft's first gens. There are always some that go on to have hall of fame careers, and others that fizzle out rather quickly. In this draft, a couple first gens have really caught my attention as extremely promising prospects, but others have already began to blossom in potential as well. As for the two that have made my top 16, here what I can say about them: ANDREW SKILTON | D | 133 TPE | @ace_five_ | Ranked #13 Overall A defender with a tremendous two-way game and great vision, Andrew Skilton is a player that just oozes potential. I have sources inside the Halifax locker room (of which he is captain), and he is someone that just naturally garners the respect of his peers through his relentless work ethic, positive attitude, and his willingness to play the game the right way. It has now been two straight weeks of capping out for Skilton, and he has earned an insane 51 uncapped TPE in his three full weeks thus far. Expect to see this player soar in pre-draft rankings, as he is already doing so in mine. With 38 hits and 18 shots blocked in just 16 games, the Canadian is a nightmare to deal with in the defensive zone for any opposing forwards. Additionally, he has earned himself a very respectable 9 points in those 16 games with the 21st. KEVIN JONATHEN | D | 101 TPE | @meandyoc | Ranked #16 Overall Another first gen to keep an eye out for is Kevin Jonathen. Standing at a colossal 6'6", Jonathen is a bulldozer on defence with skill to match his physicality. So far in 15 games with San Diego, he has put up 40 hits, 37 shots blocked, and 5 points. User @meandyoc has already landed himself an AGM position in the VHLM, and he is a very active member in the community. His TPE earning, especially capped, has been steadily rising as well. He has squeaked into my top 16 this week, but expect him to potentially shoot up the rankings even more before the draft. A FINAL WORD I hope you all enjoyed the first instalment of ScoutsNet! I hope to release an article or two more between now and my final mock draft, and I will have regular articles starting next season. If you were not featured here and would like to be in the future, send me a message! I'm happy to discuss your player in an article in the future.

Okay, I am finding the weeks are either getting shorter or we are really speeding through this season as we now reach the halfway mark of the season, school is just starting for most here in Japan and Spirng is in full bloom; is that same situation for everywhere else as I thought that I had seen Alberta managed to get some more snow. I really live in a bubble now that I am an expat!! Eitherway you didn`t come here from me to talk about the weather but rather to see what I think of your teams chances and to rub some salt into the fact that I was most likely incorrect again!! Well, Lets get started since we didn`t have any think fake that I am aware of this week!! Current Standings: Standings Record Points Last Wk Prediction Last Wk 1. Toronto Legion 29-8-1 59pts 11-2-1 1st North American 2. D.C. Dragons 27-10-1 55pts 7-6-1 2nd North American 3. New York Americans 21-11-6 48pts 8-4-3 4th North American 4. Seattle Bears 22-14-2 46pts 8-5-1 5th North American 5. Chicago Phoenix 17-14-7 41pts 6-3-5 6th North American 6. Vancouver Wolves 15-19-3 34pts 8-5-1 7th North American 7. Calgary Wranglers 16-21-1 33pts 4-9-1 3rd North American 8. Los Angeles Stars 1-36-0 2pts 0-13-0 8th North American Next Week Predictions: 1. After post back-to-back weeks with eleven wins; it is very hard to bet against the Toronto Legion at this moment. The Legion should once again be looking at their third week with eleven wins and should hold down the top spot in the North American conference for a second week. Scoring by committee with five different players with more than twenty goals (Diego Machado @Dadam30(28-36-64pts), Harry Callahan @dstevensonjr (21-40-61pts), Jimi Jaks @ke1vi(27-31-58pts), Mac Atlas @v.2 (24-28-52pts) and Steve Lattimer @pugsood(25-27-52pts) already on the season shows how well the offense is spread. Add in another strong season from Bobby Bob @Baby Boomer and you have a unstoppable Legion marching to their own beat. 2. Battle of the Legion and Dragons should heat up this week as the teams face off against each other to start the week. In the end I cannot see the Dragons over taking Toronto but should at least keep pace with the team from the North American hockey capital of the world. Ugh!! If the Dragons have any chance at taking the fight to the Legion they will need Mark Calaway @Beketov(17-39-56pts) to climb back on top of the defensive scoring leader board and The Frenchman @OrbitingDeath (27-42-69pts) needs to stay as hot as coq au vin!! 3. Can New York prove that they are a contender in the North American conference? Well, if they have any chance it would be this week as they have a weak schedule and should actually pull away; and hopefully secure third in the conference. FISTED ANALLY BY A CIRCUS MONKEY Analfist @STZ(22-18-40pts) and Francesco Mancini @GioSivo(16-24-40pts) will need to be better if my prediction is going to come with fruits of my labor. 36W @rory(2.26ga & 0.933%) is still showing that you can never have enough W in one name. While I jest, will New York actually break the Longest cup droughts of all time or will this reach 40 seasons? Yes, I brought this up!! What!! 4. The Bears looks set to fall back slightly this week but I think they have locked themselves into a playoff spot; if asked at the start of the season would I have said the Bears make the playoffs? Double Hockey sticks no!! The Eagle finally learned how to fly in Henry Eagles @Greg_Di(23-34-57pts) and who knew ice cream and cookie could be so great in Oreo McFleury @JB123(23-30-53pts). Not to mention that the House Targaryen symbol was not that of Dragon but rather that of a bear making Severus Targaryen @Banackock(21-29-50pts) feel right at home in Seattle. Congrats on most likely proving this writer wrong and making the playoffs; now don`t mess it up!! 5. Chicago will try to raise this week but, in the end, I think they might be in tough just not to get burned by the ashes as the Phoenix are set for a European invasion. Chicago will either raise from the ashes this week or become ashes so will look to keep Yaroslav Trunov @qripll(30-25-55pts) hot!! Putting some shrimp on the bbq keeps them tasty as Babay Shrimp @Blazzer(13-34-47pts) has shown so far this season. Phoenix will need fan the flames of Ryan Artyomov @Enorama(3.53ga & 0.906%) and see if he catches fire and becomes a Phoenix reborn. Playoff are within reach if Chicago can just avoid being wrangled in or chased off by wolves!! 6. Hey, you know that trade? No not the fake one!! The one completed last week with Calgary; Well, Yeah, that seems to be working out just fine for the Wolves from Vancouver. As the Wolves seem more like a pack going 8-5-1 since that trade and announcement of a leadership group lead by Liv Slater @Subject056(16-23-39pts) or was it due to the bar fight with Calgary fans; in which fingers might have been gifted between players; bring the team closer together on and off the ice. More Seriously Logan Ninefingers @Scurvy(12-15-27pts) finally seems more comfortable and should help pack hunt down a playoff birth. It remains very close between Calgary, Chicago and Vancouver so I have no faith in this placement. 7. Last week I asked the question if Calgary was going to be contenders or pretenders. Well, With a resounding F bomb to my predictions; Calgary has proven that they cannot wrangle their way into a playoffs or higher up the standings. Calgary will need to wrangle up some wins and wrangle up some offense; which at this point of the season; I think we all know that is unlikely!! Phil Strasmore @Phil (9-26-35pts) has been a physical presence on the back end and is really wrangling up the defense for the Wranglers!! Calgary still has a chance at the playoff but they need to stop playing with the fire of the Phoenix and try to keep the wolves a bay!! 8. Huge week for Los Angeles as they once again look to lose every single game for the third straight week. Makes me wonder if they have any fans or stars left coming to their games. Battle for last will provide some star light but it might not be that bright!! Dim season for Los Angeles but the future will look much brighter after this week. Fans will be wishing to continue to see a falling stars. Current Standings: Standings Record Points Last Wk Prediction Last Wk 1. Moscow Menace 26-9-3 55pts 9-3-1 1st European Conference 2. London United 24-10-4 52pts 9-4-1 2nd European Conference 3. Malmo Nighthawks 24-9-4 52pts 8-3-2 3rd European Conference 4. Prague Phantoms 24-10-4 52pts 10-3-0 4th European Conference 5. Warsaw Predators 22-13-2 46pts 8-4-1 5th European Conference 6. Helsinki Titans 19-18-0 38pts 8-5-0 6th European Conference 7. Riga Reign 11-23-4 26pts 1-10-2 7th European Conference 8. HC Davos Dynamo 4-32-2 10pts 3-10-1 8th European Conference Next Week Predictions: 1. Moscow will continue to be a menace in the backsides of the European Conference as I once again have the club from Moscow finish a top of the conference as Axle Gunner @Steve(21-32-53pts) continue to gun down the league and Jeff Lewis @nerji(20-31-51pts) isn`t flipping out; just yet!! Moscow also has a grasp of that it is easier to be a menace as part of a gang with eight players at a point per game or higher. No I am not labeling them all here as these articles are long enough as they are. (that want she said!!) The Menace have the rest of the league looking at help self books on how to deal with a pain in the donkey as that is what the Menace are becoming!! 2. Tied for second, third and fourth isn`t that great is it? Actually if you are playing as united as the United are than you will be more than happy to looking at the playoffs. London is showing it is no Sjin @Sjin (21-29-50pts) to act like a Wann Kerr @VattghernCZ(29-39-68pts) as it is actually quite Leonard Triller @Triller(24-33-57pts). Was that a bit of reach? LOL!! Jesse Teno @aimkin(2.59ga & 0.923%) showing he still very much an artist like Jesse Reno!! London are banded together sing “Going to London” all the way to the playoffs. 3. The Nighthawks are trying to hawk everyone into believing that they are the best and are being down right hawkish!! Instead of using their obscurity to have the rest gawking come the playoffs. One of the peacocking hawks is Ash Sparks @DarkSpyro(2.61ga & 0.921%); who rightfully can be a bit hawkish but might want to watch sparking other teams!! Jacob Stone @scoop(12-36-48pts) will hope that Hawks don`t drop like a stone come playoff time once again. While Viktor Jensen @Advantage(21-29-50pts) will try to dictate a different outcome!! How Hawkish with the Nighthawks be come playoffs? 4. Last week I rather suggested that Prague should look at making a trade or two but I was rather ghosted on that one!! The Phantoms are proving a bit more than a hallucination after drinking too much John Jameson @Frank(29-43-72pts) and a kid with nightmares after eating too much Skor McFleury @Alex(13-47-60pts) while laying in bed looking at Spanish Moon Moth @Renomitsu (25-31-56pts) needing Matt Murdock @Acydburn (2.70ga & 0.934%) to solve a crime of how the Phantoms continue haunt the league with a limited roster. Prague will continue to haunt the league and have many concerned about the Phantoms wraith!! 5. Warsaw is still showing that they still have some teeth and are an animal of prey. Lachlan Summers @kirbithan(2.60ga & 0.934%) still looks like a lion on vacation that continue to be a man-eatting carnivore just devouring the league leading scorers. While Maxim Anisimov @McLovin(25-33-58pts) is proving that he is no fat cat like Vasily!! While Thor Reingaard @N0HBDY(26-27-53pts) might just be a god with more than amazing blond hair. None of that compares to the great defensive play of Rex Wolffe Gregor @oilmandan(11-29-40pts), but don`t look at this man being cloned. Can Warsaw continue to feast and prey to make the playoffs? 6. Helsinki has a behemoth of a task ahead of them just to try to get back in the playoff picture as the look more like a bulky monster of mammoth stranded on a mountain rather than a gods most associate with Titans. Daryl Dixon @Ricer13(20-26-46pts) must think he is back in the walking dead and might rather want to put his head into YaBoi Oven @Doomsday(11-32-43pts) and light a match. Helsinki season has been an Adi Dassler @BOOM(7-19-26pts) and will hope that it will stay Kronchy Kardashian @Garsh(12-26-38pts) rather than go soggy. Either way Fuukka Rask @Jubis(2.97ga & 0.918%) will need to be up to the task otherwise Helsinki will continue to flop around like a beached titan of a whale!! 7. The Monarch has fallen with the announcement of long-term GM @hedgehog337 tenure will come to a close ending a dynasty in Riga. Can he use his influence to rein it in for Riga to make the playoffs? Kimi Raikkonen @mattyIceman(11-17-28pts) on his day could rein in anyone in a formula one car but might not be able to sway things his way as the Reign are playing like they are wearing Elf shoes @ELF_SH0ES(1-1-2pts) while also playing like Reginald the Dodo @Esso2264(9-19-28pts) birds or a bit of a blockheads. Who will have the Eno Velvson @Nykonax(12-19-31pts) to turn these boobs into a new team of dynasty? 8. Holly Davos!! The achieved something that I didn`t expect last week. Yup, the generated a few wins through hard work and being a spak plug kids. Does that mean that they will win more this week. Yup, say hello to the fallen Stars of Los Angeles so I can almost say dynamo might be a mover and shaker this week but will still be last by the end of the week. Say hello to second overall; all depending the outcome of the lotto of course!! Final Thought: 68.75% this week or 11/16 and would have been much better if we didn`t find out that Calgary was a bunch of pretenders unable to wrangle in anyone in the North American conference. European Conference is where all the real action is taking place with top four teams all within reach the conference title but that also means overall the playoff teams are locked and loaded; only fighting for positions. While in the North American conference we have three polite guys all holding the door wide open for each other but no one has bothered to walk through; yet!! This might continue to a while and if it does it might become rather annoying rather than entertaining.

I hate you all.

i really do miss the purple though @kirbithan

VSN Presents: S93 Weekly Predictions After what seems like an extremely long off season; but one must not forget the importance of the off season as the general managers work to improve the teams or shape the future for the teams moving forward; either through Free agency, draft or trade. The biggest question on the minds of most will be “has our team improved enough to be contenders for the Continental cup at the end of the season. Well, I am not here for that I am here to try to predict the weekly standing and if your team is going to make big early season push or flop out of the gate like a dead fish looking for water. Either way let get into this week’s Predictions: 1. As one of the stronger teams in the conference after a solid off season Jebediah Big Ol Doinks in Amish @hylands via a trade with Malmo Nighthawks only strengthening the chances of taking the top spot in the North American conference this season. New York starts the season as the strong team in the conference with challenges coming from Toronto Legion and defending champions D.C. Dragons. New York plays both those teams twice this week but I feel at this time New York is slightly ahead of D.C. Dragons and I have them actually finish equal with Toronto by the end of the week but gave them the tie break via overall TPE strength. 2. Similar to New York, Toronto Legion will make up what I think should be a two-way race for the top of the conference but it didn`t look that way at points in the off-season until Toronto secured their defensive core by trading for Mason Rice @Sawyer13 from HC Davos Dynamo. While Toronto are one of the best two teams in the conference to start the season, it is unlikely to remain that way as I think other teams are bound to catch them as the season progresses. Add in being right against the salary cap and concerns around the defensive core. Similar schedule as New York means a similar result but the games between Toronto and D.C. will be interesting as I think they could be closer than I am current predicting. 3. Next, we have a group of these teams Calgary Wranglers, D.C. Dragons and the Vancouver Wolves that really should battle most of the season over third place and the wildcard placements. Vancouver lands here at third thanks in part to an busy off-season that sees Vancouver add veteran players Left Alone @okochastar, Sunglasses Joyo @JetsGoalie101, Larry Abass Jr @RileyL and Jens Lekman @Bobcat from Moscow and Los Angeles. Add in the addition of six rookies and Vancouver might really grow up this list this season. Easy start to the season should see Vancouver the top of these three teams at the end of the week and might be closer to Toronto depending on how the two game series between Toronto and D.C. goes. 4. Again, since it is early days, I have the next two teams tied in my predictions so I am giving the tie breaker of defending Champions to the Dragons this week. It would seem on paper a quiet off season but D.C Dragons made a controversial move just before the trade deadline when they flipped a S94 DCD 1st to Moscow for S93 VAN 2nd; having most question the trade. In the end it was a calculated risk reaching into the draft to grab goaltender Herald Benson @Benson and should secure the teams future in net; so doesn`t look as bad as when the trade was first made. D.C while the defending champions have question about the defensive side of the team with an below league average defense and middle of the pack goaltender. The Dragons are still a very good team and should at least stay in playoff conversation. This week the Dragons fall victim of the top two teams with a two game set against Toronto and New York; while I have them also in tough against Vancouver, Calgary and Warsaw. 5. Calgary Wranglers had one of the most interesting and likely stressful off seasons. Calgary started the off season needing to clear salary cap to sign star goaltender Merome Dilson @MexicanCow123to a new contract. Calgary managed to clear the space when they shipped Sadie St-Louis @sadie to Seattle Bears for a few picks but than shocked many by completing other trades shipping out Oreo McFleury @JB123, Skor McFleury @Alex and Rip Wheeler @ScottyP while bring back Moritz Stauffer @GoodLeftUndone and Kyle Toms @Ktoms22 making the team slightly younger but also left the team scrambling to find replacement forwards trading for Adam Rage @MrMom & Thor Odinson @GoalPlays. Without these moves Calgary might have struggled this season but fifth is the best that the Wranglers can salvage this week due to a fairly tough schedule; which should determine the pecking order in the North American Conference play six of the seven team in the conference, add in Moscow and I have them with a rather split record around five hundred. 6. What to say about the Bears? Made moves to improve their roster with additions of Henry Eagles @Greg_Di and Tullemore Dew @Spade18 via free agency and brought in depth scoring option via trade with Calgary in Oreo McFleury @JB123 and Sadie St-Louis @sadie. While I don`t have Seattle as playoff team come season end, I have them like a lurking animal at the edge of the camp fire ready to maul you should you make a mistake as the Bears are close enough to the three teams ahead to be a rather pain in the arse and could just sneak into a wildcard spot. Most likely team that Seattle will be mauling or at least harassing this season will be their pacific coast rivals Vancouver Wolves. The Bears should be just below five hundred this week but that could swing in their favor should the up-end any of the three teams above them in Calgary, Vancouver or D.C. Seattle will also have a good understanding where they stand in the North American conference as they play all team in the conference in the first week. 7. Chicago is a sort of weird team where they are not good enough to really contend for a play-off spot but not really bad enough to be fighting for a top pick either. Rather Chicago feels stuck but have improved by adding Babay Shrimp @Blazzer via UFA and Karol Lamb @dlamb joins the roster for their rookie season. Minor trade seeing Chicago ship out Michael Shotter @TacocaT9 to Helsinki. Chicago gets a bit of break this week as Los Angeles, HC Davos and a huge game against Seattle should seem them maybe climb higher than I am currently projecting them. 8. How the night sky must be a lite with beautiful shooting stars this season as the Stars have fallen!! If I am correct after the first week of last season the Stars hadn`t lost a game but I am predicting a much uglier fate for the team this season as I have them really going winless to start the first ten games of the season but it not about wins this season is it? Made moves in the off season to collect prospect and picks while selling off remaining assets as Eric Queefson @twists, Sunglasses Joyo @JetsGoalie101, Larry Abass Jr @RileyL and Jens Lekman @Bobcat. First season of rebuild always looks worse than it really is. 1. Moscow might not be the best team in the European conference but they should lead the conference after the first week due to a fairly easy schedule with the toughest game coming from London United, which could really go either way. Big series that could put Prague Phantom behind the Eight-ball early in the season with a three-game set and another two against Riga Reign are the most notable games of the week. Moscow surprised a lot of the league completing a trade to bring in last season ROY Grimgor Ironhide @FrostBeard from Helsinki Titans for ROY prospect Adi Dassler @BOOM; which should replace Dog Woodmaple @dogwoodmaple nicely as the forward retired at the end of last season. Moscow also moved on from aging forward Left Alone @okochastarto make room for Grimgor Ironhide @FrostBeard and Rookie George Richmond @badcolethetitan. This team should continue to improve quickly with a young developing roster. 2. London United have a much more difficult schedule with four swing games two against Malmo Nighthawks, a game each against Moscow Menace and Helsinki Titans. Which can either have them placing as high as second at the end of the first week or as low as fourth or fifth. It will be interesting to see how the United handle the early season challenge without Molly the Cat @JCarson; who retired at the end of last season and will look to Sjin @Sjin to try to provide much needed secondary scoring vacated by the Cat. Dustin Funk winning Nick Sansoe @Tipskid97 returned to London via free agency after a return to the VHLE Rome and a season with the Vancouver Wolves but made the interesting choice to move to defense this season. Question surrounding London once again being around the defensive core and if it can hold together like last season. Again London will rely heavily on Jesse Teno @aimkin as they did last season making the Continental Cup finals. 3. While my college has Helsinki Titans as the top team in Europe this season, I don`t share the same view as the loss of Pierre Emile Bouchard @Gaikoku-hito and mentioned trade of Grimgor Ironhide @FrostBeard have clearly set the team back slightly. While Kronchy Kardashian @Garsh and YaBoi Oven @Doomsday should be able to fill the void of Bouchard. I am less confident that Helsinki found the correct answer; if any at forward for replacing Grimgor Ironhide @FrostBeard; Owen Lazaro @traphag will be tasked with this role in supporting Daryl Dixon @Ricer13 but it is a rather large drop off in the depth charts after that; which might leave Helsinki looking for secondary scoring sooner than later. Helsinki will be tested in the first week with a three game set against Malmo Nighthawks and other notable game being against London; otherwise a fairly early schedule that should see them in third by the end of the week or as low as fifth if Helsinki struggles out of the gate. 4. Can you have a statement week in the first week of the season? Well, this is how I see Malmo Nighthawks opening week. Malmo will face Helsinki Titans in a three-game series, London United in two game set and Moscow in a single game that see them play every team in the European conference except Riga Reign. Malmo can very much set the tone of the conference this week if they end up higher in the standing than predicted as I feel that I am doing them injustice by placing them this low as Malmo could easily finish second this week in a tight European Conference but just too many swing games has them placed lower in the standings. Malmo Nighthawks off season included trading away Jebediah Big Ol Doinks in Amish @hylands to New York Americans in a trade that seen them aquire Jorgen Lovstrom @Pifferfish, who Malmo hopes is their goalie of the future. While also losing Henry Eagles @Greg_Di to the Seattle Bears via free agency. Malmo Nighthawks are a very good team but seem to lack any true star power outside Jacob Stone @scoop, the Jake Wylde co-winner. It will be interesting to see if a team can win a Championship without individual star power. 5. Warsaw Predators are in a group of two that should fight for Wildcard spot this season with Prague Phantoms and like the Seattle Bears; I see Warsaw playing the spoiler role. Key addition in Lachlan Summers @kirbithan from HC Davos Dynamo should keep the Predators hunting rather than being the prey most nights. Tough week to start the season but if Warsaw can upset Helsinki, Malmo or Moscow; if not all three than I can see them as high as second by the end of the week and putting the conference that they won`t roll over. Add in a huge two game series against Prague; which will establish how the season for Warsaw might just play out. 6. Similar to Malmo Nighthawks; Prague will face a statement week in the very first week facing every team in the European Conference and a huge three game series against Moscow Menace; not to mention the two game set against Warsaw Predators mentioned above. Prague, I have trying to hang on this week and not falling to far behind the other six teams above them so early into the season. If they fail to keep the standing close I feel that they could be on the outside looking in at the end of the season. A ton of change during the off season see new Manager in @Tetricide take control of the team and he completed a few huge deals bring in Skor McFleury @Alex and Rip Wheeler @ScottyP from Calgary Wranglers while shipping Moritz Stauffer @GoodLeftUndone and Kyle Toms @Ktoms22 the other way. The hope I am assuming is that Skor McFleury @Alex can rediscover his scoring touch from his HC Davos and Malmo days providing a much need set-up man for Nikolas Kauppi @Tetricide and John Jameson @Frank; both set to retire at the end of the season. While Rip Wheeler @ScottyP will try to add secondary depth scoring. Other minor trade sees Pope Francis @nurx arrive from HC Davos. 7. Riga Reign are still a very much young and developing team that needs; maybe, to become more aggressive in rebuilding their team as Riga just seems stuck always waiting for players to develop and has the team stuck at the bottom of the conference. While I don`t have Riga going winless in the first week playing the second worse team in the league, HC Davos Dynamo. To win more than a single game this week Riga will need to play spoiler against Vancouver, Warsaw and Prague but I still have them a clear lock for seventh this week and in the season standings. Only single move of note from Riga trading Gregger McKeggegger @TheNeonShaman for prospect Stefan Nikolaev @Is_thatok and S95 MAL 1st in a move that made a ton of sense for both the player and the team. 8. Another difficult season in Davos as the Dynamo currently waits for prospect to develop as HC Davos selected eleven players this past draft with Antonia Bucatini @CowboyinAmerica, opting to play a full season in the VHLE rather than joining the VHLE equivalent Dyanmo in the VHL. Biggest off season move came when Davos traded Lachlan Summers @kirbithan, while he still held value to Warsaw Predators for S95 WAR 1st and Prospects with Sunset Moth @McWolf being the most notable. Most other deals being what I consider minor deals even though Davos manager @Alex remain busy completing eight other trades on top of the Summers deal. Final Thoughts: Should be a very difficult season to predict as we have six teams in each conference that should be fighting for the playoff this season and while we have a few different groups within each conference every given night most of these teams can beat each other. Great for the league but mendosai for this writer as I try to predict what might happen every week so as always tell me how wrong I am in the comments below; as I am 100% sure you will be right at least this season!!

@Noodle Enjoyer

The Houston Bulls achieve 1000 Franchise Regular Season Wins! Graphic Credit: @Vice Entering S93 the Houston Bulls had a total of 988 regular season wins all time. In our 12th win this season, Houston has officially reached the milestone of 1000 Franchise regular season wins. If you'd like to check our history, click me. I want to give a shoutout to the former GMs before me as well, here is the list of wins each GM contributed: S65, S71-S72 @Sonnet - 67 S66-S70 @FrostBeard - 162 S73-S79 @rjfryman - 248 S80-S82 @Moon - 142 (@mattyIceman in S80 too) S83 @Arce - 21 S84-S89, S92-present @AJW - 291 S90-S91 @STZ - 69 Total: 1000 It is very nice to be GM of a franchise with a deep history already, Houston only entered the VHLM in S65, so in 25ish seasons we have averaged roughly shy of 40 wins/season... Tradition, Playoffs, and Development Tradition is something I want to create more of for my team in Houston and reaching this milestone is huge for us. In 25+ seasons the Houston Bulls are still itching for our 2nd Founder's Cup, only hoisting it once in S68. Since my arrival in S84 I am unfortunate to say that I do not sit on the podium along side Frosty, but our playoff history in the last 10 seasons is something that is progressing! S84: 1st round exit S85: Missed Playoffs S86: 1st round exit S87: 2nd round exit S88: 1st round exit S89: 1st round exit S90: Missed Playoffs S91: 2nd round exit S92: 2nd round exit Current S93: 5th overall in standings Houston may hold the 2nd round curse I can't lie. I've been GM for 8 seasons here now and that is the furthest I have managed to push my team. With consistent failure eventually comes success, and I am finding Houston to have success in many other ways besides winning games and trophies. As well as team tradition in consistent playoff appearances and competitive rosters, our team pumps out a lot of young talent! We pride ourselves on development of our players and have seen a lot of recent draft success and gains in TPE. Here's a TPE update on last and current season's rosters to see how everyone's earnings are doing: S92 Roster Antonia Bucatini: 518 TPE Nathan Ecker: 312 TPE Chris Reynolds Jr: 307 TPE Tyler Lawson: 251 TPE Barry McOckiner: 231 TPE Filip Zinek: 175 TPE Jack Dickins: 201 TPE Miner vHLer: 341 TPE Micah Cederbaum: 162 TPE Benjamin Abenduct: 351 TPE Lucy Leitner: 385 TPE Cody Toland: 230 TPE Toby Cook: 150 TPE Ondrej Vencko: 290 TPE Herald Benson: 270 TPE S93 Current Season Roster Filip Zinek: 175 TPE Johnny Tsunami: 169 TPE Elf shoes: 158 TPE Charlie klepacki: 132 TPE Cole Stermer: 130 TPE Hulk Smash: 82 TPE Tommy James Longpre: 67 TPE Ray Stanton: 220 TPE Billy Joel: 214 TPE Wladyslaw Mintus: 206 TPE LaClapbomb Hitstick IV: 70 TPE Herald Benson: 270 TPE Already in last season's roster 12/16 players are ready to move up to the VHLE next season if they haven't already done so. So far with this season's roster we have 10/12 over the 100 TPE mark and 7/12 over the 150 TPE mark. This is really awesome for our team as it puts Houston on the draft map for VHLE and VHL teams to draft our players. With consistent draft success coming from the consistent TPE earning of these talented players, Houston can make a stronger name for itself in the development aspect of our league. It will always be our goal to put the best team on the ice in order to win trophies for our club! Development is the first key of success towards that, so I am pleased to bring in so many new faces who want to hop on board. If you're curious towards our roster this season, we actually made some recent moves! Starting off the season, Houston only acquired contract rights to goaltender Herald Benson. With that in mind and a short stock of draft picks, I traded for two forwards from Miami: Elf shoes and Charlie klepacki. After that, the draft was under way and Houston came out with 2 defenders: Billy Joel and Wladyslaw Mintus, and another forward: Cole Stermer, bringing our roster total to a 4-2-1. This was below bare minimum and thankfully two waivers decided to join right away, forwards: Hulk Smash and Tommy James Longpre. The season rolled on and Houston was only successful for one more waiver signing in forward: Johnny Tsunami, bringing our roster to a 7-2-1. With trade deadline around the corner, a second trade was needing to be made: Graphic Credit: @Vice Defenders Ray Stanton and LaClapbomb Hitstick IV enter the locker room for the cost of two future draft picks. Houston was in need of the support on the blue line in order to have a successful playoff run this season. With second season star Herald Benson putting up league leading numbers, and our second line of forwards: Cole Stermer, Charlie klepacki, and Elf shoes leading the charge on offense, this trade felt like the missing puzzle piece we needed. Before the trade, Houston was riding a last ten game record of 4-5-1. Since the trade, the Bulls have managed to come out of their slump and hold a winning 6-4 record heading towards the trade deadline. I feel good with our play as of late and Houston management will no longer be looking to move assets until the off-season. One more trade was made recently, here, where I made the trade in order to meet S94 pick compliancy. S95 pick compliancy will be a future problem to deal with. --- Now here we are in present date. Houston sits in 3rd, 1 point behind the Las Vegas Aces for 1st place in the Western Conference. It will be a battle to the finish line but I have full faith in the squad we have created this season to find another deep playoff run. The birdies have also been chirping and a recruitment drive may take place following this season's trade deadline. Will Houston see some new faces enter the locker room? Hopefully a fuller roster can be a reality for the Bulls as playoffs are only weeks away. Either way, thank you again to anyone and everyone who has contributed towards Houston's all time team success. 1000 wins is a huge accomplishment that I will hold high for us Houston Bulls

Some come to laugh their past away Some come to make it just one more day Whichever way your pleasure tends If you plant ice, you're gonna harvest wind -from the Grateful Dead's "Franklin's Tower" As of next season, I will have spent 30 seasons in the VHL. I've always been a big fan of the VHL's 30 in 30 series for telling me lots of stories about the league from before my time. These brought up things that I wouldn't necessarily have gotten from reading through old indexes and checking out records, and that's lived experience--people giving perspectives on the things that happened, instead of just lists of those things that happened. Thanks to those articles, I learned why lots of the things I'd heard about were significant, and the views offered in them also served as a valuable time capsule for me as I learned how important some things are to the league despite never being talked about anymore. So, because I hate myself, I'm doing one of my own. This isn't intended to be a comprehensive picture of league history over the past 30 seasons, nor is it a VHL 30 in 30 in its own right. I'm writing a Gustav 30 in 30, recounting not the league's history but my own and going through what's been most important to me across hopefully the next season and a half and probably a bit longer than that. And what's a better place to start than at the very beginning? It's a very good place to start, after all. Installment number one of 30, here we go It was 2019, and then-18-year-old me was on the floor of my bedroom lost on Reddit. I remember fairly clearly having been "in the middle of some homework," which to me meant that the second I came across anything I couldn't do off the top of my head, I'd pick up my phone and scroll through it for an hour like the degenerate I am. Seriously, my degree probably would have come pretty easily if I could make myself stop doing that. I also remember getting the sort of foggy head feeling that one gets after staring at a screen for hours on end. I'm not sure if this was from whatever I was doing, or my phone, or both, but you'd think that one little promotional post on r/sabres wouldn't tip the scales in favor of (let's be honest) a whole lot more staring at screens in that moment. I'm sure you know where this is going, because you're seeing the product of where it's gone. I joined the forum, made a few "please help me" posts, did my first press conference, and actually closed the VHL window and figured I'd seen about enough. The reason why I came back was that I was dumb enough to still sign up for things with an email address that I actually check, and later that day I got a scouting message from @Thranduil (then a long-time AGM in Halifax) in my inbox. So...yeah, whatever, maybe I'll see what happens after this "draft" people are talking about. After all, I read through the very short-lived and now entirely-nonexistent-on-the-forum VHLM newsletter (recruitment, take note!) and enjoyed it. VHLM Gustav lasted until the 5th round and was taken 36th overall. I'd been scouted two or three times at the time, having joined two or three days before the draft and not earned much yet. But it's pretty safe to say that first-ever Bulls GM @Rin hit on a pick, kicking off what would be a formative first season for me (and one that you'll see talked about across the first few installments of this series). I'd been invited to join the team server and was initially really hesitant--I'd never talked to random people online before and wasn't sure I wanted to--but jumped in late at night (in the middle of some other assignment that I wasn't really doing) and had a good conversation right away about player builds and stuff. I think that sort of thing was a bit intoxicating for an 18-year-old kid whose friends were suddenly all busy moving away and having responsibilities. I suddenly had a group to hang out with whenever I wanted it again, and that really built a sort of bond with this place that I don't think I'd have if I joined today. I'm not sure what I thought the VHL was when I joined. I don't remember being particularly surprised (I was never someone who thought we were a gaming community) but I also remember being mildly taken aback when I heard that our sim output was entirely text-based. I spent a few sims reading through the full play-by-play (because new people stuff; why not?) and thought it was cool anyway. In a way, I miss skimming through that and being excited to see that my player intercepted a pass or whatnot. As far as earning and being part of the community went, it took me a minute. I wasn't always the word-dumper I am today. Instead, my first mark on the league was made in team-specific shitpost articles with very long titles. This extended anywhere from my teammates being detained at airports for "looking too Nordic" to Halifax secretly being a satanic cult to me running player quotes through a colloquial Scottish English translator for some aggressively Groundskeeper Willie-type energy. I was well-entrenched in writing media spots by this point, but my first serious article didn't even come out until halfway through that first season. I won't give away the rest, but S65 was a great time. I learned a lot, got to know lots of people, and grew to appreciate the culture of the VHL. And if you're interested in hearing more of a deep dive into my history--stick around. It's coming just as soon as I can make it.

My first graphic back from break. Be gentle.

Happy birthday @Victor

On this day 10 years ago I was VHL Commissioner and chose my birthday to be a time of benevolence, handing out TPE to all those who liked my announcement on the day. The post has 114 likes, I don't think all of them are from back then as more filtered in over the years. Alas I no longer have the power to hand out TPE on the day of my birth but is it too much to ask for some well wishes? Thanks, love you all. Ten years is wild of course – that was my last year in school. The next year was my only birthday I actually came into the office for, until today, with weekends, COVID, and vacations helping me avoid that from 2016 to 2023. It's a pretty uneventful day today but with a long Easter weekend coming up I am claiming that for my birthday instead and it should be a fine time filled with drinks and debauchery. Anyway, what are you up to today? What were you up to 10 years ago? Do you think we should be given free TPE given it's the 10-year anniversary of free TPE? What's the best birthday present I could get from the VHL?

There’s something amiss in the VHLM right now. There’s definitely something strange going on. I cannot put my finger on it, but I know that I am onto something because the sun is definitely not lining up with the moon. Well apparently it did for a little while, but that doesn’t explain the phenomenon that is happening. And this is the topic I get to write about for my TPE; however, before I get into it, if you read through this I am asking for your help to provide some input and solve this anomaly because I’ve been racking my brain trying to figure it out. How can Halifax 21st be the nemesis of the Saskatoon Wild in season 93? Saskatoon is a dominating team and hands down is going to win the Founders Cup this season, yet every time Saskatoon matches up with Halifax the skies turn dark, the birds stop singing, the squirrels hide their nuts, and Halifax kicks the living shit out of Saskatoon. Halifax and Saskatoon have matched up four times this season, and Halifax has come out on top all four games. These two teams match up two more times in season play, and I’ve got to figure out how Halifax is cheating before the next two games take place. Saskatoon GM, @Dadam30, is doing everything right, and even with their expertise managing the team, cannot seem to overcome the trickery and dirty handed play by Halifax GM, @LucyXpher. Lucyxpher is no stranger to internal investigations, considering the recent jelly coin debacle. But to continue, it has come to the point of having to hire some private investigators to determine what means lucyxpher is doing to cause Saskatoon’s misery. With the help of Harry Bosch, Mitch Rapp, Scott Coleman, Joe Pike, and Elvis Cole, here are some of the potential suspicious actions by Halifax over the course of the season to cause Halifax to have a huge advantage over Saskatoon. When I say “huge advantage” one only needs to look to the record. Look what has happened over those four games. Saskatoon outshot Halifax 102 to 91, yet Halifax put the puck in the net 13 times to Saskatoon’s 4 goals. Halifax was unusually more aggressive in the competitions, outhitting Saskatoon 89 to 68. With the extra hits came more penalty minutes, as Halifax spent 69 minutes in the box while Saskatoon had 57 minutes in the sin bin, yet there was no advantage to Saskatoon. Saskatoon blocked 31 of Halifax’s shots, while Halifax blocked 27 of Saskatoon’s shots. Both teams scored two of their goals on power plays. Given these statistics, the biggest stat that is lopsided, and yes I agree its the most important stat, is the goals scored. What is Lucyxpher doing to give Halifax such an advantage? I asked Elvis Cole to look into this and here is what he found out. Elvis Cole spent a lot of time looking at the accommodations in Halifax, as well as in Saskatoon and he discovered that the conditions of the hotel rooms provided to Saskatoon were sub par. The heating was at uncomfortable levels and the air quality was just above hazardous levels, which is likely the reason the Saskatoon players seemed to be out of shape during the contests in Halifax. Barely breathing while on the ice, there’s no doubt Saskatoon was a victim of foul play. Investigating further, it was determined that Halifax AGM, @Will3, signed for all of the hotel adjustments. To make matters worse, the food provided to Saskatoon was determined to have been poisoned, which to no surprise caused some indigestion problems with Bollos de Trueno, as if Thunder Buns needed any help there. Scott Coleman conducted covert surveillance on a few of Halifax 21st players and reported that John Season, @dylanjj37, spent a lot of time at the Juan Ceson Zoo, which is not unusual, but what he found to be unusual was the secret laboratory that he found John Season going to every day. Coleman noted the unusual manipulation of the monkeys and the walrus. To make matters even more suspicious was the Geico team meeting with John Season and Halifax goaltender, John Webber III, @Webberj. Webber was providing some advice to Duncan the walrus. Coleman came to the conclusion that Webber was given a synthetic cocktail giving him super agility and vision which played a pivotal role in the inability of Saskatoon to score goals against Webber III. Harry Bosch conducted his investigation in the locker rooms and around the arenas to determine foul play. His report indicated that the Saskatoon sticks had been tampered with as there were several sticks with splinters causing a severe loss of power. Saskatoon goal scorer, Oliver Loo, @Misty, had complained about something being wrong with the sticks and this certainly explains why Loo didn’t more score goals against Halifax. Bosch also discovered that the Saskatoon blades had been dulled and all the sharpening tools were not functional. To make matters worse, there were steel weights found in the pads giving the Saskatoon players a sluggish feel on the ice to go with not having edges on their skates. Joe Pike helped Harry Bosch and he found the boards behind the Saskatoon goal to have been altered, giving Halifax an rebound advantage. You might ask, “what about when the teams change sides,” and Pike located wireless devices that automatically adjusted the boards to the desired rebound. Just ask Boston how Florida got their first goal in the last game. This was obvious as Halifax players, Pierre Marc Bouchard, @Gaikoku-hito, has scored 1/5th of his goals against Saskatoon; Maple Dogwood, @dogwoodmaple, put up 6 points against Saskatoon; Aanarsi Reingaard, @Laine, has 21% of his points credited when playing Saskatoon; and John Season has 4 of his 27 assists against the Wild. The final part of the investigation was completed by Mitch Rapp. Rapp spent some time investigating @lucyxpher, finding her to have secretly have been attending the workouts of Carson Tripp, @Cartripp14, and Micah Cedarbaum, @MicahC. Lucyxpher adjusted the tensions of the ropes, causing Cedarbaum and Tripp to have rubber arms just before game 3. Strategically having John Season create a general fight, GM Lucyxpher picked Dorji Kahn, @Oddpurplefly to fight Carson Tripp; and Ty Duke, @TheDuke, to fight Micah Cedarbaum. Both of these fights, which would have normally ended in Duke and Kahn getting their faces smashed in by Cedarbaum and Tripp, ended in draws and had no favorable bearing for Saskatoon. Luckily for Saskatoon, Leon Bruhmaninho, @BigBruhman, worked out at a different gym when Lucyxpher was commmitting the fouled play, and did not have rubber arms and Bruhmaninho kicked the shit out of an uninformed Robin Sierra, @ethanjaeda. Although the Saskatoon luck was not enough to come up with a victory as Halifax goaltender, Joe Webber III, was all jacked up on juice and stopped every puck that went at him. All of these allegations were found to be factual and everything has been turned over to VHL Commissioners, @Beketov, @Acydburn, and @Josh, who requested a $1000.00 filing fee, which was paid in small unmarked bills to Josh, as directed. We will all have to wait for games 296 and 331 to take place to determine if the commissioners did their jobs or if lucyxpher has juice and everything was overlooked. I can only hope that by the time playoffs start the moon is no longer aligned with the sun, the birds are singing again, the squirrels found their nuts, and the Halifax curse no longer exists. 1261 words To be claimed 04-21 and 04-28.

With about 20% of the season left to play in S93, contenders in the VHL's European Conference are in the midst of a potentially unprecedented race for playoff positioning. Just a couple of days ago, teams one-through-five in the EU were *all* tied with 36 wins and separated by just two points in the standings overall. For five teams to be so tightly-packed is incredible, and certainly makes for an exciting ride for the fans! The teams aren't just close in terms of points in the standings either, as they have the second-through-sixth place goal differentials in the VHL as well, with a range of +43 to +60. All five teams seem poised to battle it out for positioning right to the bitter end. Malmo Nighthawks Leading the EU with a 38-15-4 record and 80 points are the Malmo Nighthawks. The Nighthawks have, to an extent, had some issues offensively this season, but they are riding strong team defense and goaltending to a contending spot. Their 190 goals for ranks 8th in the VHL, but their 144 goals against is fewest in the league. Netminder Ash Sparks @DarkSpyro is in the league's top-five in SV% (0.925) and is second among starters in GAA (2.43) and shutouts (4). Viktor Jensen @Advantage is the star of the show offensively, leading the team with 68 points, although Malmo's offense features a pretty balanced attack overall with six players right around or above the PPG mark. All-situations defender Jacob Stone @scoop is having his best year in the VHL, with 67 points, 178 hits, and 138 blocks as the #1 defenseman on the league's best defensive team. London United The London United are actually tied with Malmo at 80 points, but have one more game played and one fewer win (37-15-6). The United boast a formidable roster that's a little differently-constructed than Malmo. They're a lot more top heavy with less depth, but equally effective, with Wann Kerr @VattghernCZ leading the entire VHL with 102 points and linemate Leonard Triller @Triller with a remarkable 85 points in 58 games himself. London has the sixth-best offense but second-best defense in the VHL, with certified superstar Jesse Teno @aimkin between the pipes. Teno is in the final season of an eight-year VHL career spent entirely with London, and he is authoring yet another excellent campaign. Prague Phantoms The Prague Phantoms come next, currently one point back of Malmo/London (37-16-5, 79 points). Prague has a bit of a unique roster construction as they have played most of the season with two fewer players than most VHL contenders. The recent pickup of LeBen Aky now leaves them just one defenseman short of a "full" roster. They have not been punished for this, though, as they've been on a roll all year long. Prague has some true star power in the lineup with John Jameson @Frank, Nikolas Kauppi @Tetricide, and Skor McFleury @Alex, and all three players are living up to the hype. Jameson is second in the VHL with 101 points, Kauppi leads the league with 46 goals (93 points), and McFleury leads the league in assists (62) and defenseman scoring (82) points - while being top-5 in hits (231) and blocked shots (185), too. Moscow Menace The Moscow Menace are fourth in the conference but they, too, are sitting on 37 wins (37-18-3, 77 points) and boast the league's second-best offense with 214 goals for. Moscow are a young team with a roster built similarly to Malmo's in that they're very deep and balanced, and having nine players at the 50-point mark is a testament to that depth. Axle Gunner @Steve has been the team's best player since his rookie season in S91 and continues to improve, having gone from 73 points to 94 to now pacing for 103 this season (83 points in 58 games). On the back end, Leif Reingaard @Zetterberg is having a stellar year with 68 points in 58 games so far. The second-year pro is already one of the league's best offensive blueliners. Warsaw Predators Warsaw (36-20-3) sits in fifth place, with brick wall Lachlan Summers @kirbithan having a massive part to play in that. Summers was brilliant in S90 for Davos and captured some individual hardware then - he seems poised, now, to fill up that trophy case a little further in his first year outside of Davos. Summers has faced a tougher workload than most starters - the only goalies that have faced more shots are Matthew McCagg, Karl Pederson, and Red Panda who all play for rebuilding teams in LA, Davos, and Riga (for perspective - Summers has 32 wins himself; LA, Davos, and Riga combine for 34 wins all together). Despite facing 260 shots more than the nearest goaltender on a playoff team, he's atop the league with a .935 SV% and also has 4 shutouts. Their offense has been keyed by breakout seasons from their entire top line of King Kisslinger @Kisslinger (88 points in 59 games), Thor Reingaard @N0HBDY (86 points in 59 games), and Maxim Anisimov @McLovin(85 points in 59 games). Their biggest weakness is a lack of depth - they have six players over 56 points, but then nobody else with more than 17 - but they did make a recent move to pick up Sunglasses Joyo @JetsGoalie101 to help remedy that. This will mark the 21st season since the league's expansion to 16 teams, and only twice in that time have teams 1-through-5 in either conference been separated by even less than 10 points: S87 when first-place Davos was separated from fifth-place London by 9 points, and S77 when first-place Chicago was 9 points ahead of fifth-place Vancouver, making this season's race potentially historically-close. For the vast majority of S93 so far, these five teams have not been separated by more than 5 points. Remarkably, the first-through-seventh place teams were only separated by 11 points in S87, so there were higher stakes in that case, as two teams didn't even make the playoffs. Still, if the level of play shown by all five of these teams so far continues through the final 13-15 games, we could be witnessing the hardest-fought battle for positioning within a conference in recent VHL history. --- 1032 words, for this week and next

Captain of the Vancouver Wolves After a season where Vancouver Wolves decided not to name a single captain but ran with a rotating system of alternate Captains instead; Vancouver is set to name a new leadership group as the team looks to make the playoff again this season. “We have a young core of players that have joined the roster this season and we felt that it would be hugely beneficial to the younger players to have a veteran presence and leadership group this season.” Stated AGM Gaikoku-hito. “The Team voted and we have a clear direction that as team that we agree will provide a solid group for the younger players to learn from. And no, It isn`t like a Survivor voting!!” continued Gaikoku-hito. “So, without delaying this announcement any further here are our Captains for S93!!” Assistant Captains: Captain: Congrats to our New Leadership group!! @Frank@RileyL@JetsGoalie101@Smarch@Scurvy@Dom@Girts@okochastar@Cwalker@Minebro@Tipskid97@Subject056@wcats@KaleebtheMighty@Gaikoku-hito

Player Information Username: Phil Player Name: Phil Sakic Recruited From: Member (Knight) Age: 17 Position: LW Height: 71 in. Weight: 195 lbs. Birthplace: United Kingdom Player Page @VHLM GM

me and the owner of the Las Vegas Aces got into a gambling match legally I can't divulge much but lets just say i didn't lose

Brian Payne, Class of Season 91 User: @Scurvy TPE: 1818 Position: Defenseman Nationality: American Height: 6'1" Weight: 225 lbs. VHL Drafted: 26th Overall, by the Warsaw Predators VHLE Drafted: 20th Overall, by the Bratislava Watchmen Played for: San Diego Marlins, Bratislava Watchmen, Warsaw Predators, Vancouver Wolves -- Career Awards Individual All-VHL First Team | S85 All-VHL Second Team (4x) | S86, S88, S89, S90 Jake Wylde Trophy | S86, S85 Sterling Labatte Trophy | S85 Team Continental Cup | S84 Terence Fong Trophy | S84 Victory Cup | S85 -- Before the VHL Some players are born with natural talent. Easy on the eye and easy to catch on. Brian Payne, like others, was brought up with relentless work ethic and determination. This story begins in Spokane, Washington, where Brian grew up and developed his passion for hockey. Payne faced numerous challenges during his early years in hockey. He might have had the wildest passion for the sport but didn't have the talent to match it. Despite the rejections, he never waivered and kept fighting for spots on his teams. That determination paid off when he was drafted by the Everett Silvertips of the Western Hockey League. After four complete seasons in the WHL, Brian Payne became a pillar for the Everett Silvertips. He wasn't just the enforcer anymore, with his growth recognized enough by the coaching staff to be deemed worthy of 1st-Line duties on even-strength opportunities and Special Teams. He didn't, however, lose track of who he was and led the league in penalties and fighting majors during his last two amateur seasons. Despite leading the league in penalties and fighting majors, Payne's style caught the attention of scouts around the VHL. The Minor Leagues After so much progress, Payne hoped to see his name called in the upcoming VHLM draft, but that didn't happen. Instead, his legend as an underdog grew, and Payne signed a free-agent contract with the San Diego Marlins, a team then led by Nathan Powers, who went on to create the first dynasty in the VHLE. It was the moment of truth for Payne. As with most underdogs, they may crawl and fight for an opportunity, but it can vanish without notice. That season was of the utmost importance for Brian Payne, and he knew. During the regular season, it was evident Payne was still adjusting from his amateur enforcer role into a complete professional player. Although his scoring numbers weren't eye-catching, he was able to be the physical player the Marlins needed. During those playoffs, the world saw the first glimpse of what Brian Payne would eventually become. As he grew to a top VHLM player, Brian was paramount during the Marlins playoff run. As the 3rd seed in the West, the Marlins were considered an outsider but took down the Eastern Conference's 2nd-seeded Mississauga Hounds in six games. In the second round of the playoffs, they met the best team during the regular season and eventual champions, Ottawa Lynx - who they took to game seven! Even though their story ended there and the team had quality players, Payne's numbers were recognized as they should. This performance caused Brian's draft stock to rise. However, the VHL world remained skeptical. Drafted 20th in the VHLE and 26th in the VHL, Payne was shortly after those drafts considered a steal. How did management teams across the leagues make such a big mistake? Brian Payne didn't lose any sleep over this and got to work. Moving up to the VHLE meant the competition level would be higher again, but that never held him back. Quickly, he made connections with other players in the Watchmen roster, such as his counterpart, Bo Johansson. While both are defensemen, their style couldn't be any different. They did play off each other and led the Watchmen to the playoffs, but their story wasn't like the Marlins. Regular Season 82 (BRA), 72 Games Played, 12 Goals, 33 Assists, 45 Points, 2 Plus/Minus, 178 Hits, 109 Shots Blocked 81 (SDM), 72 Games Played, 11 Goals, 20 Assists, 31 Points, -21 Plus/Minus, 166 Hits, 76 Shots Blocked Playoffs 82 (BRA), 5 Games Played, 1 Goals, 1 Assists, 2 Points, 1 Plus/Minus, 8 Hits, 9 Shots Blocked 81 (SDM), 13 Games Played, 6 Goals, 11 Assists, 17 Points, -6 Plus/Minus, 43 Hits, 25 Shots Blocked Perseverance That was the word Brian Payne used to describe his time in the VHL. From Washington to Warsaw. From the Silvertips to the Predators. After being selected 26th overall, his goal was to become as valuable, if not more, than any of the 25 players taken before him - and make every team pay. As Payne got to the VHL, it seemed he was already the best version of himself. His presence on the ice was like no other, and his effect was undeniable. Coming up to a star-studded team in Warsaw, the expectation was for Payne to stand back and play second fiddle to the team's stars. Instead, he became one of them. Facing more difficult competition, Payne rose to the challenge admirably. Embracing his role as a physical defenseman, Payne quickly earned the respect of his teammates and opponents alike. With guidance from Dakota Lamb, Payne continued to improve his technique, culminating in a breakout season where he set personal records in multiple categories. Warsaw finished as the 3rd seed in the European Conference but couldn't get past the first-round matchup with the Riga Reign, who showed they were the better team in six games. Season 84 saw Payne's continued growth and success. Despite his defensive-first mentality, Payne's offensive contributions were starting not to be overlooked, and he played a pivotal support role for the Predators' offense. Repeating their previous season's feat, they finished the regular season as the 3rd seed in their conference. They did not repeat their previous performance during the playoffs and embarked on a championship-run playoff journey culminating in winning the Continental Cup. They beat the Helsinki Titans in the first round, the league favorites Moscow Menace in the second, and incumbent champions Seattle Bears in the Finals. This playoff run set the tone for the remainder of Payne's career, and his contributions would be for any team he'd play for. By Season 85, Payne had silenced his doubters and emerged as one of the VHL's premier defensemen. This season marked the start of his six straight 80-point season, and his all-around prowess was more prominent than ever. The Predators team improved throughout the season and became the top team in the league, winning the Victory Cup - but unlike the previous season, there was no Cinderella story in the making, and the Moscow Menace were feeling vengeful. The Predators were swept in the first round of the playoffs, giving life to the tale of the Victory Cup curse. Individually, Payne's dedication and perseverance had finally paid off, winning both the Sterling Labatte Trophy and Jake Wylde Trophy, awarded to the Top Defenseman and Top Defensive Defenseman in the VHL, respectively. From S86 to S88, Payne, already a leader in the Predators Locker Room, tried to galvanize the team towards the Continental Cup again but couldn't. In Season 86, the Predators couldn't get past the first round of the playoffs. In Season 87, the Wildcard round, and in Season 88, they didn't make the playoffs. Brian Payne maintained his elite status, anchoring the Predators' defense with skill and determination. His play and leadership propelled the team to success in the regular season, although they faced playoff disappointment. His level of play rewarded him with a deserved second Jake Wylde Trophy. Brian Payne found himself traded to the S86 champions, Vancouver Wolves. The move marked a significant shift in his career as he transitioned from a rebuilding phase with the Predators to a Vancouver Wolves team poised for a new championship run. His leadership and defensive prowess made an immediate impact, which propelled the team to the Continental Cup Finals. Brian found himself with the opportunity to do something unique and become part of a short list of players who led two different teams to a Continental Cup. The Wolves fought bravely but fell to the HC Davos Dynamo, a team that broke their decade-long cup-winning drought. As Payne entered his final season, the Wolves were poised to make another run at the playoffs, but the team wasn't as strong as the previous year, which amounted to an early playoff exit. It was unfortunate. The trade revitalized Payne as he pursued championship glory one last time. Payne's presence and skill were instrumental in guiding the Warsaw Predators and Vancouver Wolves in the VHL. Before Payne, only one previous Hall of Famer had combined more than 1.300 blocked shots with the point-per-game stat he had held for six seasons. Adding his more than 2.000 hits, and Payne stands alone. Regular Season 90 (VAN), 72 Games Played, 24 Goals, 58 Assists, 82 Points, 24 Plus/Minus, 245 Hits, 133 Shots Blocked 89 (VAN), 72 Games Played, 16 Goals, 68 Assists, 84 Points, 22 Plus/Minus, 261 Hits, 159 Shots Blocked 88 (WAR), 72 Games Played, 15 Goals, 69 Assists, 84 Points, 7 Plus/Minus, 272 Hits, 169 Shots Blocked 87 (WAR), 72 Games Played, 19 Goals, 65 Assists, 84 Points, 2 Plus/Minus, 303 Hits, 195 Shots Blocked 86 (WAR), 72 Games Played, 17 Goals, 63 Assists, 80 Points, 38 Plus/Minus, 246 Hits, 148 Shots Blocked 85 (WAR), 72 Games Played, 21 Goals, 67 Assists, 88 Points, 44 Plus/Minus, 241 Hits, 200 Shots Blocked 84 (WAR), 72 Games Played, 19 Goals, 50 Assists, 69 Points, 14 Plus/Minus, 261 Hits, 190 Shots Blocked 83 (WAR), 72 Games Played, 16 Goals, 36 Assists, 52 Points, 33 Plus/Minus, 235 Hits, 132 Shots Blocked Playoffs 90 (VAN), 11 Games Played, 4 Goals, 6 Assists, 10 Points, -7 Plus/Minus, 26 Hits, 19 Shots Blocked 89 (VAN), 16 Games Played, 3 Goals, 8 Assists, 11 Points, 6 Plus/Minus, 62 Hits, 46 Shots Blocked 87 (WAR), 3 Games Played, 0 Goals, 3 Assists, 3 Points, -1 Plus/Minus, 9 Hits, 8 Shots Blocked 86 (WAR), 7 Games Played, 2 Goals, 4 Assists, 6 Points, -1 Plus/Minus, 37 Hits, 31 Shots Blocked 85 (WAR), 9 Games Played, 4 Goals, 10 Assists, 14 Points, 5 Plus/Minus, 30 Hits, 23 Shots Blocked 84 (WAR), 20 Games Played, 4 Goals, 12 Assists, 16 Points, 1 Plus/Minus, 73 Hits, 42 Shots Blocked 83 (WAR), 6 Games Played, 0 Goals, 3 Assists, 3 Points, -5 Plus/Minus, 23 Hits, 15 Shots Blocked This induction pays tribute to a player who was often overlooked but was able to grow into his unique place in the VHL Hall of Fame. Congratulations on an incredible career, @Scurvy! -- Regular Season Career Stats 576 Games Played, 147 Goals, 476 Assists, 623 Points, +184 Plus/Minus, 2064 Hits, 1326 Shots Blocked Playoff Career Stats 72 Games Played, 17 Goals, 46 Assists, 63 Points, -2 Plus/Minus, 260 Hits, 184 Shots Blocked

As I wake up this morning at 7:45 (15 minutes before my 8:00am alarm clock) to my roommate's bangs on my door in expense of the key's to my car, I took a long pause to understand the reality I have woken up to. Once this puzzle in my brain was fully completed, my next move was swiftly grabbing my keys and opening the door without making a word. A "thank you" was all I needed to meet my satisfaction of this interaction and my roommate's response was just that. You see this roommate of mine does not have a way of transportation to his 8:00am workout, the same workout I will be doing later this morning since we are on the same sports team, so I granted his wishes as I like him and I want him to succeed on the same team that I play for. I respect when my roommates are appreciative when we do things for each other so thank you's are a big one to me. I scrolled through my phone for a bit before starting my morning routine of breakfast, emails and other communications, getting my shit together blah blah blah. As time rolls on I see a notification in the Calgary Wrangler's discord locker room, "HUGE DRAMA ON FORUMS" ~ @Phil A members tag, followed by an explanation of why all eyes should be witnessing this event, followed by the face of the VHL, the most famous name on our forum @Beketov announcing the removal of a long time beloved member @Josh. @Acydburn still having a blue colored name while Josh's color defaulted made me put my phone down. My untouched coffee got a good sip before I picked my phone right back up to read away. Some background knowledge of my relationship with Josh goes back to my first VHL Draft, my player AJ Williams was drafted 5th overall in the S79 VHL Draft to the Los Angeles Stars, Josh GM'd at the time. Josh has been a massive hand for this community and I have liked the guy since I first started getting to know him. Josh was claimed to have been taking earnings out of the VHL community's pockets for his own personal use and the legal amount of reimbursement could potentially be in the $1000 range. This really upset me, not only was I still cranky tired because I had a Philosophy paper worth 30% of my grade due at 12:00pm and I was not even halfway done it, but a once loved member had committed embezzlement and put me in full disgust. I have donated money to this community, I suggest my players donate if they are interested, many of you reading this have donated to fund our beautiful community once in your history here... and Josh put portions in his pockets!? I wanted to reply to this impactful thread to share my voice as a member of the VHL community with my thought process of "Dude, what the f---?!?!". 9 replies filed into the announcement thread before I could get a chance to finish what I wanted to say. The members before me were not answering any of the questions I still had, they were almost joking around with the situation. Calgary Wranglers GM @leandrofg was quoted in the discord Locker Room saying "holy shit" when seeing the announcement made. I couldn't understand this second strange situation I was put in today and my fingers started typing away, I filed my report and clicked send. Will this audit be made public? Will we be able to see how the money we earned from our real life jobs benefitted Josh or potentially others? Or will the use of our money still be for Blues and higher ups eyes only? Can we see how the VHL aims to spend our money moving forward so it is clear to us that this will not happen again? I beg for recruitment drive ads which definitely cost less than the money that went into Josh’s pockets. Let me know because I’d love to see how the VHL is trying to grow from this and from what your members give you to grow it. It’s in my eyes disgusting that a respected member did this, I don’t want to donate any money moving forward unless I actually know where it’s going. ~ AJW 10:08am. Shortly after settling my peace, I finished my breakfast and noticed a few reactions on my reply, then a few unexpected discord notifications from some big names. 10:12am, only 4 minutes after my reply was finalized to the forum, a very familiar and strong member to our community appeared in my discord direct messages. My VHLM Commissioner showed his face to me with a short but straight to the point question, "What day is it today" ~ @Spartan A quick glance to the bottom right of my computer screen gave my brain an immediate shock of reality. (My face after realization) I then replied to Spartan not even a minute later, "Are you fucked" ~AJW 10:12am I WAS SABOTAGED!! It was the first morning of the fourth month this year, the Lord of Joker's day... It was April Fool's... I felt so defeated and upset. I close my messages with Spartan to then open the second message by the same face who created the "I got you" announcement. Beketov answered all the questions to my forum thread reply and explained to me that this was all a joke. Josh is not a stealing thief - he even accidentally bought a steam game with league funds and then quickly reimbursed the league - and that we actually do audit everything to keep track of exactly every penny. I gave him my frustration as to why Josh and the Blues broke my heart, he then apologized to me and I was having Deja vu of the same feelings from this morning's interaction with my roommate's "thank you". My head then took a chill pill of calm peace knowing that all was good in my world and I dialed into my Philosophy Paper which I actually got to finish before the odd 12:00pm deadline. I then rode my bike to my workout and just got back to tell y'all about how crazy and eventful my brain's morning has been. Life is good now, we're chillin. To the Blues: I find this hilarious and I'm never forgetting April 1st again. I love this community and you guys just got me in the soft spot a bit while my brain wasn't shifting gears yet haha

Credits to @Dom for putting me on to this song! Don't look (away) now, but Moscow is enjoying a strong start to the season. Depth has been the key to success this season, as 7 players are at or over a PPG pace (rip Leif Reingaard 1 point shy). The Menace sit 4th in GF and 4th in GA as well which is really nice to see, both sides of the ice are playing as top 5 units in the league. I'm not sure if Moscow can still be called a "young" team considering how many players are off their ELCs now, but with the amount of TPA still yet to be added to builds before the depreciation begins to loom, I think there's still a fair amount of growth to be seen in the future. Adding Grimgor Ironhide @FrostBeard has given us an immediate injection of physicality that Moscow had been lacking behind Jarmo Ruutu @jRuutu, and the team is starting to feel more like the older Moscow teams I ran in the S80's - dominant centers and strong defensemen with excellent complimentary wingers. The main area for improvement seems to be special teams, where Moscow ranks dead last in PK% and 6th in PP%. Will definitely be an area to focus on and try to improve on for the future. Overall EU thoughts - WAR and PRG surprising with strong starts, most expected WAR to replicate their middling performance from last season considering they basically tried the same approach. Lachlan Summers definitely putting in work as usual. Prague running a 5-3-1 pulling an LA from a few seasons ago, curious to see how long that lasts. LDN/MAL/HSK all underperforming by a bit, but EU is always competitive so things can change at a moment's notice. HSK is especially concerning due to depth, running 4 forwards at/under 600 TPA. Curious to see if they take advantage of the seller's market depending on how sims go over the next week or so. They've got some fantastic assets that should both fetch a good price, and be eagerly snapped up. League wide news is a bit lacking, not too much change appears to be on the horizon. Goalie changes were the main topic in the past and results are going to be re-evaluated at the end of the season. Frankly I think scoring went up but goalies are simming even better than before, which is pretty opposite of how our admittedly limited test sims went. With a large class of goalies facing retirement soon, it might be an opportune time to revisit adjusting the goalie update scale. I feel like goalies can hit around 1.1k TPA and max out their core attributes and get secondaries in a really good spot and just bank, which is pretty counter to how skaters operate right now. 1.1k TPA seems like the threshold for a superstar, with 1.2/1.3k being a true max earner's peak. What else should be discussed in the BoG? Feel like we haven't opened up any channels for suggestions recently. Willing to take stuff into the back rooms if anyone has suggestions!

Graphic created by @Triller Welcome back to a new season in the VHL and last season we had twenty-six rookies start their careers. With a great three-way battle for the Christian Stolzschweiger Trophy handed to the best overall rookie at the season end. This season we have twenty-three rookies looking to make a name for themselves and have a impact in the VHL. Here once again I will try to determine rank the Top 10 Rookies that I feel have a chance at winning this award. So, lets get one with it!! 10th (S90) C - Eno Velvson @Nykonax A bit older rookie as season 90 drafted player but in the past this has helped rookies as they have matured nicely in the VHLE and Velvson should be very similar as he has maintained a point per game pace but the biggest question mark is can this player develop as fast as the others on the list; that I am not sure but if he can maintain a pace per game like he has in other league he will move up this list and see his name at least nominated at the end of the season. 9th (S92) LW - Kimi Raikkonen @mattyIceman Finds himself in similar situation as his team mate but much younger as season 92 draft pick so has a ton more upside, which has him placed one slot higher but lack of offensive ability at the moment has some scouts wondering if this player will stay on the list with such a strong honorable mention list. Time will tell if he has more offensive game than the scouts suggest and if he can keep up his development to stay on the list. 8th (S92) G - Giorgiy Costanzov @Mongoose87 Giorgiy Costanzov is one of four goaltenders that will make the rookie debut this season but should have the biggest impact for his team as he starts the season likely sharing duties with Justin Lion @Emperor_Fun but it won`t be long before he claims the net full time. As he goes so likely does the Bears chances to make the playoff this season; no pressure for a rookie right!! I also expect to see him move up this list as the season progresses but is still a long short for the Christian Stolzschweiger Trophy but that could change if Seattle remains in the hunt. 7th (S92) D - Vlad Von Carstein @Dom One of what should be a few Wolves on this list is my guess as the sixth overall pick by Vancouver could quickly move up this list but overall concern similar to Raikkonen @mattyIceman about his offensive game has scout having placed lower on the list than most would expect. Von Carstein has been a point per game player in the minors and if he gets anywhere close to those numbers as rookie in the VHL than he will rocket up this list quickly. His defensive partner might also add him depending on who is get paired with as Vancouver still have Liv Slater @Subject056 in jail after winning a few awards last season and should make whoever she is paired with better. 6th (S92) LW - Adi Dassler @BOOM Very tough ask for this rookie since Dassler was traded for last season Christian Stolzschweiger Trophy winner Grimgor Ironhide @FrostBeard so start the season on the back foot and ton of eyes judging to see if this was a correct move by the Titans. Dassler is a balanced player that slightly leans towards the offensive zone but at the moment seems to lack that wow factor; add in the fact that Dassler struggled last season in VHLE at under a point per game pace leaves most scout wondering what this player will become. Dassler does have the benefit of playing with Super-star Daryl Dixon @Ricer13, if slotted directly into Ironhide slot in the line up. Will be interesting to see if they can duplicate what Ironhide did last season or anything similar. 5th (S91) C - Theo Allard @InstantRockstar I feel that Theo Allard is a bit under the radar pick and has the nice benefit of joining the defending Champions in the D.C. Dragons but again as an older rookie that struggled his first season in the VHLE putting up only 43pts about half a point per game pace until Allard bounced back with a strong second season in the VHLE instead of moving up to the VHL with the Dragons by posting 83pts season campaign. So, What player are we going to see? The offensive player that the Dragons thought the drafted at 10th overall or the VHLE player that struggled. Luckily for Allard he has benefit of joining an offensive veteran line-up that should aid him in adapting to the VHL this season. 4th (S92) D - Guntis Gavilrovs @Girts Finally the second of what I was expecting to be many of the Vancouver Wolves rookies make an appearance and this one is an interesting case since Guntis Gavilrovs is more of a defensive defenceman that has put up a point per game pace in the minors that seen Vancouver draft this giant of a defender at 7th overall in season ninety-two. Not to mention ability to throw around his 6’8” frame to punish the opposing forwards. It will be hard to judge this player since hits and shots blocked are more likely be this players main stat lines but if he can find the same touch as he had in the minors than he could easily find himself higher on this list. 3rd (S92) RW - Riley Martin @Smarch The 6’2” American forward has all the skill set to score a ton of goals as he showed last season in the VHLE scoring an impressive thirty-two. Vancouver has an interesting problem after trading for a veteran forwards but one I don`t think they hate too much in the fact that they need to try to integrate their rookies into the line-up will giving them enough ice time to continue to develop. Depending on placement within the Vancouver line-up will determine if Martin has real chance at the Christian Stolzschweiger Trophy by season end. Issue might also be with Rookies taking points off each other in Vancouver or they could also lift each other up. We will see what happens. 2nd (S92) C - George Richmond @badcolethetitan Another big American at 6’6” in George Richmond ranks in at second to start the season and will look to bring his offensive tough to the VHL as similar to Riley Martin @Smarch has the skill set to score a ton of goals also scoring thirty-two last season but Richmond at the moment is more of two way power forward, which gives him a slight edge in the rankings. Not 100% sure where Richmond slot into a young and fast improving Menace team but it will likely see him start on the wing as Axle Gunner @Steve and Jarmo Ruutu @jRuutu seem to have the center positions locked down. So how will the young American transition to the wing is one of the biggest questions entering the season. Not to mention who will his line mates be? Either way clearly one of the favorites for the Christian Stolzschweiger Trophy to start the season. 1st (S92) RW - Logan Ninefingers @Scurvy A lot of eyes on Vancouver this season due to the 1st overall pick in season ninety-two all but set to break into the league with the Wolves this season but it is also coming on the back of what some might consider a down season in the VHLE with only a point per game pace after lighting up the VHLM for 152pts, yup, that isn`t a typo!! Most have a ton of expectations that Ninefingers might easily claim this trophy but he will need to find his spot in what is a much improved Vancouver line-up. Likely Ninefingers will line-up long side fellow rookies Mikko Borisyuk @Minebro and Riley Martin @Smarch to at least start the season. If this trio struggle expect them to move around the line-up to be insulated by the veteran players in Larry Abass Jr @RileyL, Left Alone @okochastar and Sunglasses Joyo @JetsGoalie101, the whole reason why Vancouver brought these players in during the off-season. Honorable Mentions: (S89) C - Mikko Borisyuk @Minebro– Vancouver Wolves (S89) LW - Chris Sanzone @handfullofbubba – Prague Phantoms (S92) D - Karol Lamb @dlamb – Chicago Phoenix (S91) LW - Behrens Minion @UnknownMinion– Warsaw Predators (S91) LW - Isaac mclflopper @sportexperts show– Helsinki Titans (S91) RW - Bryce Woodworth @SirRupertBarnes- Chicago Phoenix Final Thoughts: It should be another interesting race this season and since the season has started already, I know that some of these players have had amazing starts to their rookie season and well, some have rather struggled at the start. As mentioned at the end of last season I will cover Christian Stolzschweiger Trophy race every twenty-four games or so and I expect to see another surprise player jump up and grab the award like Ironhide did last season as Ironhide moved up from 6th on my first ranking last season to finish 2nd by the end of the season but was my pick to win the Christian Stolzschweiger Trophy as did the league. So who will win the Christian Stolzschweiger Trophy this season?

It's time.

I think the leadup to the VHL Draft is probably one of my favourite portions a career. Considering how the last draft cycle went for me, with me spending a large portion of my career with the team that drafted me, building a dynasty with them and eventually winning our Continental Cup together, my hopes are high. Looking forward to my VHL career, my goal this time around is being in the right place at the right time for my personal career. I had a blast riding on Daniel Janser’s coattails last time around, and I still hold that time very dear to me. But this time I’m giving myself the best odds to get myself a legendary personal career. I will be communicative, I will be helpful, I will give my all to whichever franchise has my contract currently. But I will have no objection to hitting FA or working towards trades. With that in mind, I want to outline my current thoughts toward each of the VHL Franchises and how I think they will fit my player, Jillian Woods. Calgary Wranglers Funnily enough, this is the only VHL Franchise to have drafted me. Never played for them the first time around, as they seem to have just picked BPA and then ended up with a bunch of random VHL-ish goalie prospects and shipped me off. Landon Wolanin obviously played a large chunk of time there. Seeing how Strasmore, McFleury and Stauffer have struggled to put up offense though, I am not sure this is a good fit right now. Chicago Phoenix Cole is a GM that I’ve always wanted to play for, and there are a decent amount of young prospects that should have a good amount of success. I’m not sure they have a Janser-level talent here, but this feels very reminiscent of what Calgary looked like coming into S84. I fear that I would probably ride along with Lamb and Collberg for a long while before I could ever step into my own. It would be a great ride, but I wonder if there are better options for my personal success. D.C. Dragons D.C is an interesting scenario. They’re very obviously putting their efforts into winning right here, right now. They’ve got the next couple of seasons lined up, assuming they can find a Tucker Jr replacement, but this could be a great shot for someone like me to shine. Sure, they’ve got Calaway and some really solid supplementary defenders, but a second defender here could get some really strong usage on a team that will certainly score goals. HC Davos Dynamo Davos has very little on their roster, but a ton of draft capital and prospects. This was an expertly planned rebuild, and should be a very potent team. They’ve secured Bucatini and Forum Content up front that should be high TPA players, some decent goaltending prospects, but their main lack here is on defense. Getting to be the player who can take advantage of some high-potential players, especially while the talent level is still low, would give me a great shot of shooting out the gate hot. Helsinki Titans I’m not really sure what to make of Helsinki at this point. This season was obviously not supposed to have happened this way for the team, they had lots of talent, but were a piece or 2 short of the rest of the insanity that is Europe at the moment. They have a lot of prospects, but very few in VHLE territory and none above 300TPA. Most of the team will be aging out by the time I’d be getting around, but for a couple seasons, maybe we could get up to some trouble. Not hugely optimistic though. London United ... hi guys. If you’ve been paying attention to the United roster over the last few seasons, I am a high-TPA defender hater. I much prefer to dump my cap into forwards and goaltenders, which yes, is ironic since I made a defender. I’m sure if I was on the board for myself I would take myself, but we both know that won’t happen, and I’ll be okay without that happening. Los Angeles Stars Not much here to talk about. Much like Helsinki they have a lot of prospects but not many that are near the VHL roster. I wouldn’t mind being one of the first pieces, but I’d probably prefer being the second draft of a rebuild. Malmo Nighthawks This has always been a very D-heavy franchise, and I’m sure Kaleeb knows how to sling D around by now. McFleury will be gone, and Stone aging out, could be a great chance for me to step inat the perfect time to become the next guy. The question is whether there will still be a contending team by that point. Moscow Menace Who keeps giving Moscow picks? Yeah this team is already a contender and has a boatload more picks coming. There’s no room for me I’m afraid, even if it would be a great ship to ride along on. New York Americans This team has been built from the back, and should be set there for the first half of my career. I don’t really think this is the spot that gets me the best start. I will cheer them on in their attempt to break the curse though, as I do always love a curse-breaker. If I were a forward, this would be a prime target for me. Prague Phantoms Prague is on a heater here in their last-ditch effort to get another Cup. By the time I’m up, there won’t much left from the current roster, if anything. They may not have much to sell and this may be a long rebuild. Much like the Stars, could be fun to be a first piece, but I’d much prefer to be in the second draft of a rebuild. Riga Reign Riga will have a new GM coming in for the first time in forever. This core didn’t really turn out, but some pieces could carry over, or some real assets could be recouped and a great team created. This is a really enticing spot for me, and I’m hoping that a great GM can be put in to run this rebuild. Seattle Bears I have always been a Seattle hater, as a Wranglers fan. But hey Leandro and Ricer have both done a stint there, so surely it can’t be that taboo. I can never really project what Seattle will be with Bana’s unique ability to just decide to compete and then it just happens. If I were to pick a positional need now though, it would be on defense and with a lot of talent retiring shortly, I could certainly find a spot in their retool, along with Mina. Toronto Legion Toronto is another team all in, and have a lot of talent retiring in the next couple of seasons. If they choose to ride to the end, this could be a tough rebuild, but they could also be the best team in the league for a couple more seasons. Really depends on what their plan is as to whether I would want to be in on this team. Could either be a really convenient timing on my part, or being the worst defender on a stacked, aging roster. Vancouver Wolves This is pretty much the same situation as Moscow, but a couple seasons behind. This team is loaded, will probably secure their final pieces this draft and move on to kick our asses until we change the rules again. Some things never change my friends and Vancouver winning in the finals against Moscow may once again be on the cards for the next 5 seasons. Oh, and there’s no room for me in this inn. Warsaw Predators This is the oldest, youngest team out there. I fear they may be perpetually cursed to have 3 good pieces forever. What it does mean is that the top couple of players on this squad rack up major success, but the team ends 5th or 6th. Would be a great launching point for me, and maybe I can help break the cycle! I have fond, distant memories of Warsaw, and would love to be back at some point. Anyways, that’s about it. Some final disclaimers here for legal purposes. This article does not replace a draft interview. This article does not exclude anyone. I will sign with whichever team drafts me. I may not extend beyond that, but this article does not imply the results of that future decision. This article is not meant to sway opinion, encourage tomfoolery, or break any rules. Any names and likenesses are purely circumstantial. I am not liable for any decisions made from here on out. This is not legal advice. Talk to your doctor before drafting Jillian Woods. Not available to citizens in Quebec, Texas, Florida and Nova Scotia. Also shoutout to this ridiculous S94 Class, and this wave of defenders who will inevitably kick my ass my whole career.

Hello there, my dear, amazing readers! Today, I have a special treat for you. I finally managed to get to do an interview with legendary Lucy Leitner. How this thing went? Pretty nice, as you can read right now. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Good afternoon, Lucy. First of all, thank you so much for finding time to do this interview. Second of all, even though actions speak louder than words and especially in your case, it is probably useless as everyone knows you, but.. Could you say a few words about yourself nevertheless? How would you introduce yourself? L: It's my pleasure! I guess I would say I'm a bit of a hockey nerd. I love playing and watching the game, but I also have some pretty eclectic interests away from the sport as well. I love music and creative writing and I really enjoy spending time with friends and teammates. For me, that's the most fulfilling part of being on a team-- sharing those experiences with good friends. Everyone knows that you are an amazing hockey player and you are very valued amongst your teammates. You proved to be a very solid piece in the rosters of teams you’ve been part of. Do you think that you’re becoming a young idol for upcoming generations of hockey fans/players? L: I appreciate the compliment! I don't know if I'm any kind of idol, but I do want to be a good role model for anyone who might look up to me. I just want to be the best I can be, both on and off the ice, and I think that comes with a responsibility to be a good person as well. So I guess that's my ultimate goal-- be a good player and a better person. Life of a hockey player can be tricky due to numerous reasons. You can get stressed from upcoming games, the thrill of play-offs, the news trying to shame you down for even the tiniest mistakes. And to add to all this, you frequently have to travel. Both when the team is on the road and when you change teams. Last time you made a major change, you moved from Houston to Europe. How do you deal with those stress-inducing factors? L: A lot of that change and travel is still kind of exciting to me, though I'd be lying if I didn't feel any kind of stress or nervousness with new places and situations. The best way to handle it, I've found, is not to dwell on any negative emotions, but just enjoy the excitement that comes with the stress. I try not to get too ahead of myself and just enjoy what's in front of me every day, no matter where I am. As I mentioned, the last major change for you was a change of continents. To Västerås, Sweden, specifically. How do you feel about this town, Sweden or Europe in general? Do you hang out with your teammates? L: Vasteras is a great city! I've really enjoyed being here so far and Sweden has lived up to every hope that I had so I can't complain at all! We've got a great group as well and we've had opportunities to hang out in the town or go out for drinks. Off the ice, I've had a lot of personal stuff going on so it's been a bit harder than usual to make time for teammates, but when I can, I love spending time with them. I believe that your career is steadily going up and up. And the leagues’ GMs think so too. After having an amazing season in Minors with Houston Bulls, you have been drafted in first rounds in both major drafts. That is VHL and VHLE, where you’re currently playing. Do you feel more star-ish than when you started? L: Haha, I guess I feel more star-ish! Being drafted 2nd and 3rd in those drafts is definitely a great feeling, but I also feel like that comes with a lot of pressure and responsibility to live up to the expectations and hopes of those teams that drafted me and used that high pick. I suppose that's what comes with feeling star-ish, but it's absolutely a great honor and I hope I live up to those expectations. I know your personality just flourishes, as if it didn’t flourish before, hehe, and that you like to socialize. However, hockey is a different thing and some people prefer to remain professional in the locker room. Do you often find yourself bonding with your teammates, both on and off the ice, or do you focus more on the practical things, like practise, talking about tactics, etc.? In the end, you have some Europeans on the roster, right? L: I do like to socialize, there's definitely a balance to strike between professional work and personal life. I do love spending time with my teammates though and I try to keep things fun around the rink. It is a game after all and it should always be fun, even if it is a job. I do take time for practice and I'm always happy to talk tactics to make our team better, but it's hard not to enjoy the company of teammates, especially with so many awesome people on the team. We do have some Europeans and so far I've learned that I can't keep up with them if we go drinking, but I do my best! There was Easter last week. How did you celebrate, if at all? I am sure that Czech traditions must have scared you a bit, at least. Did Ondra tell or show you? He told me about it and it seemed fun. L: My family was in town and we had dinner together for Easter, but not much more than that. It's just a good opportunity to be together as a family though, which is becoming a rarer thing as time goes by, so I do cherish those moments. And if Ondra did tell me about Czech traditions, I honestly can't remember, but my imagination goes to wild places! You’re a defenseman, a very good one, and that means you are in a direct connection with your goaltender. Do you find Jorgen and Ondra as good pieces to the defensive side of Iron Eagles’ game? That is, if Ondra is finally sober. L: I don't care what Ondra's drinking, he can do whatever he wants if he keeps playing like he has! Both goaltenders have been absolutely unreal this season. By far, I think we have the best goaltending tandem in the league with both of our goalies at the top of the league statistically. They've been a huge part of our team's success this season so they deserve a ton of credit! If Ondra's drinking, the next round is on me! Alongside Ondra, you managed to pull of some sort of a ‘miracle’ in the minors, where you made it all the way to the second round of the play-offs with Houston Bulls. I believe that the mood wasn’t filled with disappointment. More than that, you guys showed that you can fight and shocked some, to be sure! Do you think season will turn into a bigger success? Västerås is a much stronger team than Houston was at this point last season, currently sitting on a second place. L: I really hope that we can have some success in the playoffs this year with Vasteras. It would have been amazing to have won with Houston, but I feel our chances this season are a lot better with the quality of our roster, so I am hopeful. We can't be complacent though, and it's going to take commitment from our whole team to make a long playoff run, but I believe we have the pieces and people to accomplish it! Now for the final round of questions: Why is the vanilla ice cream light in colour, when vanilla itself is dark in colour? L: I have no idea... Aren't vanilla flowers white though? Maybe that has something to do with it. What would be the one and only thing that you’d eat for the rest of your life if you had only one option? L: I love Vietnamese spring rolls-- the kind with rice paper, not deep fried. I could eat those every day forever! And if you had to spend a month on a shutter island with one of your teammates, who would that be and why? L: That's easy, I'd bring Ondra because I need someone I can trust, but also someone who's a lunatic in the best way possible! Alright, that is all for this interview. Lucy, thank you so much for participating in this, even though you had to wait so long for it. I apologize for that. But it was amazing and sweet having you here, I hope we can repeat this joyful activity soon! L: Thank you! It was fun to chat with you and I'd love to do it again sometime! ------------------------------------------------------ I hope you liked this interview, dear readers. Thank you for reading it up until here, I will see you next time with fresh news and articles from the hockey world! - Ben Icio del Torro ------------------------- 1543 words capped for week ending 04/21/24 All answers of Lucy Leitner were written by @LucyXpher

This is based off of the time I bought the Las Vegas Aces and moved them to Quebec City. I made this version in French: Albeit I don't speak French let alone Quebecois French (ok je parle un peu але моя українська краща. ухххххх слухайте Ana Lua Caiano на Spotify, її музика чудова) so if it translates weirdly my apologies. idk why i talk so formally on here its really not that serious There's Lore I guess? There was an Expansion Draft, but I was too lazy to see how ACTUAL VHL(E/M) expansion drafts work so I just went based off of vibes. QUEBEC TALONS ROSTER - VHL VERSION: Connor Simard (Halifax 21st) Maple Dogwood (Halifax 21st) Cole Stermer (Houston Bulls) Johnny Tsunami (Houston Bulls) Nikita Yolishev (Las Vegas Aces) Eugene Ryanheart (Las Vegas Aces) Dakota Nachbaur (Mexico City Kings) Isaak Robinson (Miami Marauders) Aiden Paige (Miami Marauders) Taylor Swift (Mississauga Hounds) Matteo Stefano (Mississauga Hounds) Marek Nowaczyk (Ottawa Lynx) Jillian Woods (Ottawa Lynx) Staroseltsev Mikhail (Philadelphia Reapers) Magni Jinn (Philadelphia Reapers) Keith Perry (San Diego Marlins) Kevin Johnathen (San Diego Marlins) Austin Goulet lll (Saskatoon Wild) So. Yeah.

Tommy Shelby Age: 22 Position: C Height: 6' 0" Weight: 190lbs Born in Birmingham, Halifax 21st centreman Tommy Shelby's life did not follow the 'typical' path of a VHLM player. In fact, he only started playing a few short years ago when he was 18. Prior to that, he had a difficult childhood and led a rather tumultuous life that is worthy of a novel or a TV series. With his father passing away at a young age, Shelby's family consisted of his mother, two brothers, and a close aunt. The family was not well off, and although his mother worked various part time jobs, they always seemed to be just scraping by. As the boys got older, the family's plight led them to developing an entrepreneurial mindset and they spent their days trying to make some extra money anyway that they could. In the beginning it was normal kid stuff like selling lemonade on the streets but over time their business practices got a little more sketchy and they began to run various hustles like stealing and reselling goods and loansharking small amounts to other kids. Their drive paid off and in addition to making a name for themselves in the local community, the money they were bringing in was making a big difference in their homelife and had lifted the family out of poverty. On account of this, their mother fully embraced her sons growing business. As these things go, their lines of business continued to expand and the amount of risk they were willing to take on continued to increase. By the time Tommy was 16, the brothers were running gambling rings and engaged in the drug trade. And through a connection with a local liquor store, they were purchasing massive quantities of alcohol an reselling it at massive markups to their underage peers. The trio had long stopped attending school at this point and were generally consumed with conducting their business and bringing in cash. Although they didn't have much time for sport, the boys would, on occasion, pull the net out of the garage and play some street hockey. When they were kids this always their go to sport when the sun was shining and although they played less as they got older, they never completely abandoned it and tended to retreat back to it when they were having a tough time with the business. Unfortunately for the brothers, the success andd profit that they had come to enjoy didn't last very long. The fact is, this isn't 1920 and these types of things don't stay secret for long in the age of cameras everywhere. In the face of insurmountable evidence against them, all 3 brothers reached plea agreements with prosecutors. The agreements called for siezure of all proceeds of their crimes, a short stint in juvenie detention and lengthy community service. In detention, the brothers once again retreated to their old past time and Tommy started a street hockey league in the yard. The league was a huge success and the winning team (which was the Shelby team) even had a match against a team of guards. When Tommy was released, he was just shy of his 18th birthday and he knew that he had a choice to make. He could revert to his old habits, make some good money for awhile but he knew that eventually he would be caught and this time he wouldn't be considered a kid. Or he could find a legal way to have the life he wanted. As part of his community service, Shelby began volunteering at the local rink and it was here that he noticed an advertisement for tryouts for a local U18 team. Despite most of hockey experience being on the street with a ball, Shelby didn't hesitate to sign up and began devoting his time to hockey. He convinced the rink manager to let him use the ice overnight and would spend hours and hours practicing. Tryout day came and, perhaps partly due to his training and partly due to low turnout, he made the team. He was no superstar when he started that season but he continued to work at it relentlessly and he would later credit his coaches and teammates from that obscure team as teaching to him to be the player he is today. By the end of the season, Tommy was the best player on the ice, every game. One of Shelby's coaches was so impressed with his progress that he set up a tryout for Shelby with a professional team the following season. It came as no surprise to the coach when Shelby made it. And it was shortly after this that Shelby's new coach introuced him to a personal friend of his - former VHL player, commissioner, and agent Don Draper. Draper had been retired and this meeting was simply meant to be an opporunity for Shelby to get some career advice. By the end of the meeting, Shelby had convinced Draper to be his agent and get him on the fast track to the VHLM. And now, partway through his first VHLM season, Shelby has his sights set on the VHL Entry Draft.

@Ricer13

It's a tad off with the video and audio but only a second, maybe less. Enjoy my lookback at what I accomplished with Jesse. Thank you to everyone who supported me and Jesse over their career. I truly appreciate it.

Player Information Username: RileyL Player Name: Boris Bone-Breaker Recruited From: Returning Age: 29 Position: D Height: 78 in. Weight: 238 lbs. Birthplace: Russia Player Page @VHLM GM

Maybe an idea for a third jersey rather than a complete rebrand. Anyways, hope you like it.

For no other reason than because foxes are my favorite animal and Halifax is the VHLM team I'm most involved with, I introduce to you the Halifax Foxes! For anyone who might think this is serious, let me be clear, it's not. I think that the reference to Pier 21 in the Halifax 21st name is an amazing moniker for a VHLM team and I have no serious reason to suggest it change... but we can have fun here, and that was the goal when I put together this rebrand-- and it's not like Foxes aren't native to Nova Scotia, right? *Google confirms they are!* In any case, here are the jerseys! Home Away Alternate I'm not the biggest fan of the diagonal wordmark (unless it's the New York Rangers), but I didn't have an alternate logo to use and it looked decent enough with the gradient so I decided to stick with it. Let me know what you think and why the Halifax Foxes should never exist. And what other names would suit Halifax as a VHLM team? Foxes as a Vancover Wolves minor league affiliate anyone? ༻❁༺ Claimed for 04/14/24 theme week (rebrand)

Imagine being from Boston. Your city is big, important, and historically relevant. You're in a crowd of some of the most passionate sports fans around. You love a good bowl of clam chowder and you find it a little bit charming that you can sometimes tell who's your neighbor by listening to the way that they talk. It's a much better existence than that dump over in New York, where the people sound funny, the Giants fans won't stop reminding you of what Eli Manning did to the Pats, and don't even get you started on their idea of pizza! But what's to stop them from feeling the same sort of pride in themselves and the same sort of derision towards you? After all, you sound funny to them, the helmet catch was pretty sweet, and maybe living in a heavily Italian area has given some people a pretty good idea of how to make a pie. It's obvious to most on either side who take the time to think about it that all these things are silly, but that doesn't even stop lots of people who think it's silly to think that way from doing so regardless. I've seen this come up in the VHL time and time again over the years, which will make this a perfect intro to at least one other article I have lined up, but here it shall fit as I'm doing my best to put things in chronological order. My first experience with VHL tribalism came not long after I signed up. I distinctly remember one of my very first questions in the Bulls server being related to team rivalries and who I should write articles about--which led to me writing some of the anti-Halifax pieces I alluded to in my last article--but something a little more serious than friendly rivalry between @Rin and @McWolf was more serious conflict that arose between the VHLM's two expansion franchises that season, boiled over into personal issues between members, and had effects that persisted for seasons longer than they should have. Anyone who was around at the time is probably aware that I'm talking about Houston and Philadelphia and the conflict between Sonnet and inaugural Reapers GM @BladeMaiden. I'm going to stay out of anything personal related to this because I feel that isn't quite my story to tell, but I think there was a lot to sort out from the perspective of the players themselves. The expansion teams in S65 had quite a bit in common that would naturally lead to competition. They were led by very active first-time GMs with one or two seasons of VHL experience, they started with similar assets, and they both featured team servers that were among the most active the league has ever had to offer. VHLM expansion then was symbolic of a whole lot more than just having more teams--the league had just started to boom, its then-largest-ever draft class had just opened the floodgates, and everyone was out to prove that they were important in this whole sea of newness. And where most teams were active and built their identities on positively representing themselves to the wider community, Houston and Philly were really active and got there by hating each other. In my almost-30 seasons in the VHL, I've never seen anything like it and I've really never seen anything close. Both teams were full of first-gens (hello to fellow S65 Bull @Grape!) and the bad thing about that, if someone chooses to manipulate it, is that first-gens are super impressionable. I'm unfamiliar with how things got started in the way they did. All I know is that not long after I'd joined the team, I'd read through some really nasty exchanges on the forums, been snapped at a few times myself with not much reason, and heard a lot secondhand. Beyond just whatever GM conflict there may have been, the players were heavily involved. In Houston, we were never mobilized to join in arguments, nor were we ever told what to think (something that I don't think could have been said the same both ways. @FrostBeard has a great thread covering the Reapers' side of things that also happens to explain a lot about some of the interactions I remember having with people I'd have no reason to dislike normally). That said, we certainly had enough exposure to the situation that we knew what to think anyway and were often fueled by the need to do what we thought was necessary to defend our team. I remember being part of some Discord arguments. I remember being angry at some forum topics that should have had nothing to do with me. And you know what? It probably helped keep me active. I had people in Houston that I considered my friends and I wanted to see them treated right. I wasn't about to walk away from that situation. People who played for the Reapers probably felt the same way, and though my perspective is probably biased, it seemed absolutely insane how deep that ran. I remember multiple occasions when I saw one person fighting with someone else--and within a few minutes, that amped itself up into three or four. I don't believe any of the worst offenders there are still in the league, and I also can't say I'm disappointed by that. What I am disappointed by is some of the negative fallout that caused for some. I talked to a handful of people at the time who felt that they were treated very unfairly, and I remember a particularly unpleasant experience had by one of our active first-gens that he later cited as a major reason why he left the league altogether. Were this only a GM problem, it would be one thing. But players came to believe that being part of the problem equated to being part of things in general, and some who wanted to be important got sucked too far into that. It was also a shame that it led me to think negatively of some people who played for the Reapers (Frost is one example, but I can think of others) who weren't even part of the problem. I'm sure that some people also associated me negatively with the Bulls. And there was no reason why that should have been the case--former S65 Reapers like @McLovin and fellow Buffalo expat @DMaximus are people I genuinely like and people who I've never seen trying to fight anyone. But that sort of thing was hard to see in the moment when I saw others who I won't name coming after my GM and teammates simply for existing. It's something that I never hope to see again in the VHL and it's a problem that I'm glad to say our current group of GMs never has. It also happened to be something that was on my mind quite a bit in my first VHL season, enough so that there has to be some way that it shaped my course as a member. I think it made me realize early on that GMs are only human and that not every person I met online is worth my time and effort in stressing about. But do you know what else I learned? I had enough fun anyway that I learned that that's OK. Read my other articles for the full Gustav experience: #1: Lightning Glory Gonna Be My Name

@dogwoodmaple

It's roughly the midpoint of the season which means soon I will be putting up the HOF ballot up for BOG discussion. Most of you will see the results of that discussion and vote in around a month or so when the induction is announced in the off-season. Anyway, I like to use this time to look ahead at who currently playing might be joining the ballot after their retirement and on this occasion will share the (not particularly detailed) thought process. S85 draftees: John Jameson @Frank and Jesse Teno @aimkin are slam dunk Hall of Famers in my mind, perhaps even both first ballot entries. Teno has the two utterly dominant playoff runs in S88 and S92, plus a league-best regular season in S91 in between, and an overall consistent body of work dragging London to becoming an elite franchise. Jameson maybe had less trophies than expected, but is on track for a fourth 100-point season, has been ever-present in the Boulet conversation and also has transformed a middling franchise in Prague. Doubt anyone else from S85 makes it. S86: The Frenchman's @OrbitingDeath case is gathering pace, having won his first championship and individual trophy last season and likely adding to that in S93. Lachlan Summers @kirbithan is in the same boat as Teno, maybe needs another strong season to be slam dunk but has done enough for the ballot. Time is running out for the rest of the draft class and too early to tell for anyone younger.

April fools day played chaos around the league and delayed these predictions slightly as I had to re-collect some of the data since a fake trade announcement by a person that shall remain anonymous caused the re-simming of a few games. Overall, as far as I can see it didn`t effect the standing or my prediction but just rather altered some stat lines. Without further ado, lets get into this weeks predictions: Current Standings: Standings Record Points Last Wk Prediction Last Wk 1. D.C. Dragons 20-4-0 40pts 13-1-0 1st North American 2. Toronto Legion 18-6-0 36pts 11-3-0 2nd North American 3. New York Americans 13-7-3 29pts 9-4-0 3rd North American 4. Seattle Bears 14-9-1 29pts 8-5-1 7th North American 5. Chicago Phoenix 11-11-2 24pts 5-8-1 4th North American 6. Calgary Wranglers 12-12-0 24pts 8-6-0 6th North American 7. Vancouver Wolves 7-14-3 17pts 2-9-3 5th North American 8. Los Angeles Stars 1-23-0 2pts 0-14-0 8th North American Next Week Predictions: 1. The top two teams in the North American conference should really start to pull away from the chasing group behind but we see a change at the top due to a much weaker schedule that saw Toronto led by Diego Machado @Dadam30 (18-28-46pts) and Joel Castle @animal74 (2.30ga & 0.933%) leapfrog the D.C. Dragons in the standings. It would be rather surprising if they didn`t but I have been wrong before. 2. The D.C. Dragons will enter a tough stretch of hockey and depending on how they handle it will determine if they hold onto first in the conference at the end of the week or if they fall to second. It might be determined by the head-to-head games between Toronto and D.C. making these games a much watch. The Frenchman @OrbitingDeath (23-29-52pts) and Mark Calaway @Beketov (13-29-42pts) continue to be the best at their current positions offensively forcing teams to look at ways to slow them down; it hasn`t worked so far!! 3. A huge trade this week should shake up the group of five teams all fighting over the final playoff spots. Calgary managed to collect Larry Abass Jr @RileyL and Jens Lekman @Bobcat from the Vancouver Wolves for a S94 CGY 1st and Thor Odinson @GoalPlays; which greatly improves this team. Add in what should be easier schedule than other team and I see Calgary starting to climb the standings. How far they make it will be determined by games against New York and Seattle. It will be interesting to see the impact of the trade this week and if Calgary is now a true contender or pretender!! 4. All signs point this team to being better than what their record currently shows with scoring stars Jasper Davis @Josh (11-21-32pts) and FISTED ANALLY BY A CIRCUS MONKEY Analfist @STZ (13-15-28pts), not to mention a stud defender in Tord Yvel @Trazan (2-28-30pts) but New York just doesn`t seem to generate enough scoring a group and this is keeping them right around mid pack in the conference. Strong goaltending continues for 36W @rory (2.19ga & 0.934%) so the question remains is it time to shake things up in New York? 5. I keep expecting Seattle to fall back due to inconsistent or rather rookie goaltending as Giorgiy Costanzov @Mongoose87 (3.68ga & 0.895%) is just trying to keep his head above water. So how are the Bears continuing to win games? Enter former Vancouver Wolves Henry Eagles @Greg_Di (19-25-44pts) and Oreo McFleury @JB123(20-23-43pts); who have been reunited this season in their former rivals uniform. Simple put Seattle have been able to outscore most of their problems and I think this can continue. They will finish the week anywhere from 3rd to 6th this week and could be actually tied in points with a team or two. 6. Easy schedule should see Chicago hanging off the back and hopeful of wildcard spot by the end of the week but I am starting to see that this team will fall off the back. Chicago will miss the playoffs this season unless something changes defensively as Yaroslav Trunov @qripll(24-19-43pts) and Babay Shrimp @Blazzer(9-23-32pts) cannot out score the issue on the back-end. Ryan Artyomov @Enorama(3.66ga & 0.902%) continues to hold on but simple needs more assistance. 7. Hope to start the season has quickly faded to disappointment as the team has struggled with chemistry and decided to pull the trigger on a trade with Calgary to improve their future bringing in a S94 CGY 1st and Thor Odinson @GoalPlays while shipping out veteran players Jens Lekman @Bobcat and Larry Abass Jr @RileyL just brought in this season to provide guidance to younger Wolves players. What the future hold for the remainder of the season? Likely hood looking at more losses than wins and a date with a lotto pick. 8. Mclean Hoover II @McLean Hoover (8-14-22pts) is trying his best to keep Los Angeles from losing all remaining games in the season and that might not happen but only when they face the great HC Davos team from the European conference. Well, That doesn`t happen this week so we will see if they can at least steal a point or two; unlikely!! Current Standings: Standings Record Points Last Wk Prediction Last Wk 1. Moscow Menace 17-6-2 36pts 10-2-2 4th European Conference 2. Malmo Nighthawks 16-6-2 34pts 10-3-2 2nd European Conference 3. London United 15-6-3 33pts 11-2-1 3rd European Conference 4. Prague Phantoms 14-7-4 32pts 8-5-2 1st European Conference 5. Warsaw Predators 14-9-1 29pts 7-6-1 6th European Conference 6. Helsinki Titans 11-13-0 22pts 5-9-0 5th European Conference 7. Riga Reign 10-13-2 22pts 6-8-1 7th European Conference 8. HC Davos Dynamo 1-22-1 3pts 1-13-0 8th European Conference Next Week Predictions: 1. Moscow proved me wrong but also shows why I didn`t know what to make of their tough schedule last week as Moscow aced the week with two losses and two overtime losses; in what I would rather view as near perfect week. Moscow put fear into the European conference last week and that should continue for most of the season now. Jarmo Ruutu @jRuutu(14-29-43pts) is all set to have a career season and leads the Moscow attack. While Obuz Schneider Canet du Bocage @Grape(14-23-37pts) is turning into a star on the back-end. Moscow is showing why they are Men with Aces in the pockets!! Ugh!! 2. London was the best team in the conference last week and I think this continues as Wann Kerr @VattghernCZ(21-31-52pts) simply has been the one of best player in the league driving the offense that has become London’s calling card. While I think the United are not all that United in offensive ability; it doesn`t effect their United winning ways. It will be close between Malmo and London this week but I am giving London a slight edge here. 3. Yup, you guessed; if you actually read the whole article the next team in line is Malmo Nighthawks. Malmo is still one of the most complete teams as shown by having a different leading score again this week in Viktor Jensen @Advantage(16-25-41pts). While Jacob Stone @scoop (10-28-38pts) is showing that he is one of the best defenders in the league. Malmo should continue to roll but might take a small set back this week and fall to third. 4. When I seen the trade between Calgary and Vancouver earlier this week I cannot help but feel that Prague missed a huge opportunity to improve their roster and really set the tone for the remainder of the season. They cannot go back and change the past so look at why I think Prague continue to struggle; shot diff!! Prague gives up ton of shots when playing the top teams in the league and have only managed to stay in the playoff hunt thanks to the might and effort of Matt Murdock @Acydburn(2.86ga & 0.931%). If for whatever reason he falters, than Prague could be looking at the playoffs from the outside. John Jameson @Frank (22-29-51pts); Nikolas Kauppi @Tetricide(23-25-48pts) and Skor McFleury @Alex(10-33-43pts) are trying everything to keep Prague playoff relevant but Prague really needs to get a full roster to help them. 5. Nothing has changed from last week to this week as a lot of the success of the Predators is down to Lachlan Summers @kirbithan(2.81ga & 0.931%), as another team having issues with shots against shows the lack of true number one defender on the roster. I have Warsaw current locked in 5th and the final wildcard spot but that could change if Warsaw doesn`t find away to secure a strong defensive core and Helsinki actually turns their season around. The Predators are more like a lion without teeth at the moment and have no bite. 6. I almost don`t know what to say about the team from Finland as Helsinki should really be fighting for third in the conference and not playing five hundred hockey at best. With $4.5M in salary cap; the team really needs to find depth scoring and close the gap between their star forward Daryl Dixon @Ricer13(13-24-37pts) and Owen Lazaro @traphag(22-22-44pts). Otherwise they risk losing a season that really the Titans should be a playoff team. At the moment the Titans are more like the Titanic!! 7. A team that I am not concerned about at all since I don`t have them making the playoff but continue show that the Reign are not far from being ready to compete soon. Shubham Anand @Will3 (18-19-37pts) continue to lead Riga offense. If I do have any concern about this young team, it would be around the lack of true number one defender developing but Lucy Leitner @LucyXpher looks set to fill that role next season but Riga will need to find more defensive help if the team is going to take a step next season. 8. Hello we will see you next season!! Okay, I wish I could get away with that but I cannot, right? David Jokinen @Ahma(10-24-34pts) continue to lead Davos; which really should surprise anyone. Carson Walker Jr @Cwalker(10-10-20pts) is struggling in his second season in the league after having a strong rookie campaign. While James MacAvoy @Enraged(9-16-25pts) continues to have his name mentioned around the rookie of the year. Davos does have some depth pieces in place while they wait for future prospect to develop and once again should add a top pick at the end of the season. Final Thought: Nine for sixteen or a nice 56%!! Not a bad week when you consider that I complete got Prague and Moscow mixed up in the European Conference, While Vancouver and Seattle are completely different thought processes that I need to change; made easier by the fact that Vancouver looks to have moved into the sell now mode while looking forward to adding through next season draft. Prague, Helsinki and maybe New York need to shake a few things up! But overall the season doesn`t have that many surprise but that could change quickly as Calgary has improved and this could shake up the North American conference. We are starting to see groups form in both leagues and this could keep things interesting for most of the season.

Will this audit be made public? Will we be able to see how the money we earned from our real life jobs benefitted Josh or potentially others? Or will the use of our money still be for Blues and higher ups eyes only? Can we see how the VHL aims to spend our money moving forward so it is clear to us that this will not happen again? I beg for recruitment drive ads which definitely cost less than the money that went into Josh’s pockets. Let me know because I’d love to see how the VHL is trying to grow from this and from what your members give you to grow it. It’s in my eyes disgusting that a respected member did this, I don’t want to donate any money moving forward unless I actually know where it’s going.

Life as the GM of the Mexico City Kings – Trade talks As I noted at the beginning of the season, I am going to do a series of media spots about the ongoing thoughts I have related to being a first season GM. Up to now I have covered the offseason prep for the draft and then how I progressed through the draft itself. Originally, I thought that I would do my media spot this week on the ongoing drama of the waiver system, from following new players coming into the league to building a waiver pitch, to the frustration of watching players leave immediately after creating. It was set to be a dramatic piece filled with angst and frustration. But then early this afternoon another situation came up and I thought this might be a good topic to discuss while it was occurring. Now to protect individual teams and players I am not going to name anyone. And as I write this we are not extremely far into discussion and potentially nothing could happen but the beginning of trade talks have started. Now for those who don’t know I am going to give you a small glimpse behind the secret curtain. The VHLM GM have a private chat group on discord where we talk about several things, mainly asking the commissioners to clarify rules. However, this afternoon one of the GM noted that they had player(s) that they may consider trading. They provided reasoning which I am not going to share but let me reassure everyone it had nothing to do with the individual player(s). Looking to find a way to improve my roster and help secure a playoff position, I looked at the player(s) and thought there may be some potential as long as I didn’t have to give up too much. So, I reached out to the GM and a DM conversation started. Now I will fully admit that it is about how far things have gone so everything I am going to discuss are my thoughts. The first conundrum with trade talk is how do you evaluate players. More importantly how do you evaluate a player who at any time could become inactive and may not be on your team at the end of the season? How do you evaluate someone who is not fully developed? Then how do you evaluate what you may be willing to give for today without mortgaging the next season? The second conundrum is how do you position yourself in your first inter GM conversation, how do you build a reputation of being a fair but tough trade partner? Honestly, you don’t want the reputation of being a push over, but you also don’t want the reputation of being a jerk. How do you get the most, pay the least but gain respect in the process? All I know is that there are so many variables at play, and I can’t know for sure what is going to happen, but I can suggest that there is a unique level of excitement in the process. You will have to wait to find out what happens if anything.

I once again find myself in the middle of tax season grasping for these moments when I have some time to sit down and write for the VHL. As I wrote in my article yesterday, nothing comes to mind anymore besides updating Jesse’s weekly stats and how I feel about their performance. And there are only so many ways I can do it without becoming repetitive. I think that’s also a downside of being a goalie. Only so much comes down to your performance when we all know that forwards and defensemen are just as equally the reason for a win or loss. Sure, sometimes it comes down to someone pulling off a hat trick or a goalie managing a shutout or OT/shutout win, but for the majority, we all know the stats are the runner of the numbers. All that to say that it’s hard to build a story week after week when the player is approaching the end of their career. How many times can I type that Jesse is surprised by a win or disappointed in a loss? I feel like Fs and Ds sometimes have a bit of an easier time since they can talk more specifics like goals, fights, ice time, etc.. With Jesse being the starter for all but one season, I can’t even fabricate drama with a backup goalie coming in and taking their spot. Sometimes I wish it was easier to write a good story for Jesse. And while I am going to miss them when they retire and move on, I’m really excited to start all over again. The idea of being able to build a character from the ground up. Their personality, their family, their story. It’s all fresh and new and I can try different approaches. Maybe the next one will be a cocky asshole who becomes a heel within the VHL. Or maybe I’ll stick with the really like personality that seems to make Jesse really likeable amongst most members. Or, perhaps, my next player will land in the middle. Maybe they’ll be kind and caring to friends and teammates but a real thorn in the side of anyone who gets in their way. Who knows. From writing in general in the past, I know that characters take on a mind of their own the more you write them so I suppose I’ll have to see where the next one takes me when I write up their bio. So while on the subject, I’m trying to decide if I want to go goalie again or make a defensemen. I was talking with Kirby yesterday who agreed that it almost seems too hard of a pivot to go from goalie to forward when it’s your first recreate. The transition just seems too severe. Maybe my third player I’ll feel different but for now, I’ll stick to the defensive side of the ice. I’ve decided that I’ll wait and see if there is a drought for either when the TDL comes and I’ll probably make my decision off of that. Yes, I know I just complained that being a goalie makes me feel limited in what I have to talk about but at the same time, I kind of love the position. There’s something that feels good about being that last line of defense for a team. It’s also easier to be competitive since there are so many less of us. I don’t know. I suppose I’ll see what happens and go from there. As for the name and render? Well, you’ll just have to wait and see. I’m keeping that close to my chest and I’m hoping it’s going to be a great surprise for everyone. I’m sad to see Jesse go soon, but I’m excited to recreate. 629 words for week ending 3/31/2024

VSN Presents: S93 Weekly Predictions Due to the league not paying the bills this week, these predictions are a bit later than normal but as you read through understand that some of the stats are three days old and some a bit newer due to not being able to collect them all at the same time. I will have more time in the coming weeks so should be able to produce these Predictions/reviews a bit faster and should also be able to produce a bit different coverage of the VHL than the past two season so watch for some new articles coming in the next few weeks. Thanks for understanding and hopefully you enjoy the read. Current Standings: Standings Record Points Last Wk Prediction Last Wk 1. D.C. Dragons 7-3-0 14pts (7-3-0) 4th North American 2. Toronto Legion 7-3-0 14pts (7-3-0) 2nd North American 3. Chicago Phoenix 6-3-1 13pts (6-3-1) 7th North American 4. Seattle Bears 6-4-0 12pts (6-4-0) 6th North American 5. New York Americans 4-3-3 11pts (4-3-3) 1st North American 6. Vancouver Wolves 5-5-0 10pts (5-5-0) 3rd North American 7. Calgary Wranglers 4-6-0 8pts (4-6-0) 5th North American 8. Los Angeles Stars 1-9-0 2pts (1-9-0) 8th North American Next Week Predictions: 1. Defending Champions are showing that they are for real or is that the real deal? The Frenchman @OrbitingDeath (12-12-24pts) continue to domintate the league and Mark Calaway @Beketov(6-12-18pts) was happy being over looked at the awards last season and clearly has a goal to claim at least one this season. Henry Tucker Jr @NSG(2.32ga & 0.930%) showing that the old man still has some life left in his old bones. D.C. Dragons continue to roll and should maintain first in the North American conference. 2. If the Dustin Funk was to be award at this point of the season say hello to Walter Fitzroy Jr @Moon (1-18-19pts), who has clearly found his step this season. Joel Castle @animal74 (2.47ga & 0.925%) continue to carry the Legion as Toronto is playing a strong team game at the moment. No reason to drop them this week but they might need to watch over their shoulder as New York is coming fast. 3. New York will try to keep up with the two top team if they have any chance at winning the conference. Has Jasper Davis @Josh (4-14-18pts) re-found his S91 form? WWWWWWWWWWWW WWWWWWWWWWWW @rory (2.19ga & 0.940%) show that his rookie season was a fluke and New York should make up ground and move up to at least 3rd this week. 4. Yaroslav Trunov @qripll (9-12-21pts) is trying to drag the Phoenix out of the ashes and should keep them within the playoff if he can keep this pace. Lionel Collberg @Masu Chan (0-16-16pts) is currently having a breakout season and showing that he will be a star defender for season to come but I still have Chicago falling back this week as I think they struggle to play five hundred hockey this week. 5. Rookie Superstar Logan Ninefingers @Scurvy (2-3-5pts) continue to struggle to adapt to the VHL but luckily for Vancouver they add veteran forwards to carry the team as Left Alone @okochastar (10-13-23pts) has been caring the team on his aging back. Vancouver needs all their rookie firing on all cylinders or they will continue to spin their wheels. Five hundred hockey continues until they can figure it out but they should jump rival Seattle this week as it will remain close between Vancouver, Calgary, Chicago and Seattle. 6. Calgary seems to be the same team as last season but worse, if that is possible, well, they did trade most of their roster away during the off-season. Either way Calgary is hunting for goals as Catia Goncalves @cLoWn (4-8-12pts) and Raimo Tuominen @SlapshotWrangler (7-5-12pts) led the team at only a point per game pace. Luckily for Calgary they are getting above average goaltending from Merome Dilson @MexicanCow123 (2.42ga & 0.938%) ; the understatement of the season. Calgary should continue to play around five hundred hockey but don`t make up much ground. 7. Seattle Bears are currently led by Oreo McFleury @JB123 (9-13-22pts), Henry Eagles @Greg_Di(9-11-20pts) and Severus Targaryen @Banackock (6-11-17pts). Questions around the teams goaltender seems be ready to set the team back as Rookie Giorgiy Costanzov @Mongoose87 (3.68ga & 0.899%) has been having a tough time transitioning to the league and should see the Bears fall back this week in the standings should this continue. 8. Rebuild is about to get ugly as I have Los Angeles running off a rather impressively bad record this week and will be lucky to win a game. Very hard to say anything about a team that I think a VHLE team could most likely beat at the moment. Current Standings: Standings Record Points Last Wk Prediction Last Wk 1. Moscow Menace 7-4-0 14pts (7-4-0) 1st European Conference 2. Warsaw Predators 7-3-0 14pts (7-3-0) 5th European Conference 3. Prague Phantoms 6-2-2 14pts (6-2-2) 6th European Conference 4. Malmo Nighthawks 6-3-0 12pts (6-3-0) 4th European Conference 5. Helsinki Titans 6-4-0 12pts (6-4-0) 3rd European Conference 6. London United 4-4-2 10pts (4-4-2) 2nd European Conference 7. Riga Reign 4-5-1 9pts (4-5-1) 7th European Conference 8. HC Davos Dynamo 0-9-1 1pts (0-9-1) 8th European Conference Next Week Predictions: 1. Prague is simply rolling through most teams offensively as only two players as of writing are not at a point per game pace. Prague not surprisingly are led by John Jameson @Frank (12-16-28pts) and Nikolas Kauppi @Tetricide (13-13-26pts) with new comer Skor McFleury @Alex (4-17-21pts) clearly returning to form as I expected. Add in amazing goaltending for Matt Murdock @Acydburn(2.26ga & 0.943%) and you have a team that won`t be losing too many games in the near future at least. Weird to say Prague will move up when really they tied for 1st last week so I have them either moving into sole first place or staying tied with Malmo Nighthawks (spoilers). 2. Malmo doesn`t really have a player that really stands out as Star and the stats don`t really lie as Phillip Rave @tcookie(9-8-17pts) leds the offense for the Nighthawks and a goaltender that real has been only been serviceable in Ash Sparks @DarkSpyro (2.76ga & 0.905%) So how are they still ranked 2nd in the tough European Conference? Malmo Nighthawks is probably the most complete team in the league with depth through out the line-up and don`t rely on star power to win games. While this come back to hurt them a later in the season? I don`t know but for now they should continue their winning ways. 3. London continues to heavily relay on Jesse Teno @aimkin (2.35ga & 0.931%) and the offensive duel of Wann Kerr @VattghernCZ (9-19-28pts) and Leonard Triller @Triller (7-13-20pts). The aging team continues to show that London will be a playoff team again this season but the question I guess on everyone lips; is this the last season before London needs to get younger or enter a long rebuild? London did complete a trade this week to get young by trading for Alexandros Mograine @sliceruser giving up a second to Moscow and should join the team as yearly as next season. This week I have London third but could be putting pressure on the top two teams by the end of the week. 4. Moscow Menace have a tough schedule this week and I am not sure what really to make of it at the moment as it is too early in the season so I have Moscow splitting a lot of the games playing around five hundred but if continue to get solid goaltending from Olober Syko @Spartan (2.48ga & 0.916%) and continuing to play solid; as team as only two players are below a point per game pace similar to Malmo; Moscow might surprise everyone and finish higher up in the standing this week. Jarmo Ruutu @jRuutu (5-17-22pts) led the offense for the Menace with three or four players only three or four point back. (Axle Gunner @Steve, David Rashford @Knight, Obuz Schneider Canet du Bocage @Grape, George Richmond @badcolethetitan and Jeff Lewis @nerji) 5. Helsinki Titans are struggling at both ends of the ice at the moment as they are near the bottom of the league is goal scoring and while closer to mid table in goals against; this feels like it has more to do with Fuukka Rask @Jubis (3.16ga & 0.918%) than the team overall. Almost equal goals for and goals against usually means a five hundred record and that is what I am predicting for the Titans this week; boosted by HC Davos coming to town btw. Daryl Dixon @Ricer13 (10-12-22pts) and Owen Lazaro @traphag (7-14-21pts) continue to lead the offense but Helsinki needs to find some secondary scoring. Also of note YaBoi Oven @Doomsday (5-15-20pts) has also taken a huge step this season and might end up in the conversation for the Dustin Funk by season end. 6. The Predators are hunting again and that is largely thanks to new goaltender Lachlan Summers @kirbithan (2.61ga & 0.934%) allowing the team to cheat more towards the offensive side of the puck with Maxim Anisimov @McLovin (12-16-28pts), King Kisslinger @Kisslinger (6-18-24pts) and Thor Reingaard @N0HBDY (8-13-21pts) ripping a part the other teams defensively. Similar to other teams down fighting for a wildcard spot I have concerns about secondary scoring and this keeps Warsaw playing just around five hundred hockey. If they can pull off a few upsets in close games they can easily be as high as maybe fourth or fifth, but I also feel it is just a matter of time before this team fall off the back of the other teams in Europe. 7. Young Riga is clearly not ready to make the playoff this season but the Reign will continue to make life tough for any team that takes them lightly. Shubham Anand @Will3 (11-14-25pts) is clearly having a career season and Eric White Jr @Mysterious_Fish (8-14-22pts) looks more comfortable in his second full season in the VHL. Riga biggest issue at the moment is defensively as we would have liked to see Mina @Baozi (1-4-5pts) and Red Panda @Lemorse7 (3.60ga & 0.915%) take a larger step this season but that simply hasn`t happened. 8. When your team consists of six players in total and two are VHLE caliber; it is really hard to find any bright spots to take about but rookie James MacAvoy @Enraged (4-12-16pts) was one of them as he was second in Rookie scoring at the end of first week. Does he stay there? No, I don`t think so as this feels more like a boost of due to playing time as in a cruel fate he can play a full sixty minutes, if the team wasn`t force to dress some fans or staff members to give the poor players a bit of a rest. Maybe a single win this week if they can upset someone but I would place any money on it. Final Thought: Six for sixteen in the first week isn`t that good but isn`t that bad right? 37.5% correct so I take it as the first weeks are always the hardest to predict since we have no visual data and points/standings tend to stay close. So hopefully the tends become clear and the teams start to break away from each other a bit more but I also don`t think that will happen too much since European Conference clearly has five teams fighting for the playoff with Warsaw looking to make it tough on anyone and sneak into the conversation. We are starting to see a bit of split in the North American conference with three teams clear at the top but it is leaving four teams fighting for the final two playoff spots. It could be a great season of unpredictability, which is good for the league but very bad for me the predictor of the weekly standings.

CALGARY - “It feels so good to have them on the wings again. It was a pleasant surprise to see them acquire Catia Goncalves prior to last season and prior to this season they acquire Kyle Toms. I was convinced that I’d have to wait long in my career until the possibility of them becoming Wranglers opened up. Glad I didn’t have to wait as long as I thought.” Raimo was all smiles at practice as the newly formed “first line” got their first laps together. They caught up with Kyle Toms, who had come over from Prague. These three can’t seem to escape each other and Raimo couldn’t be gladder. “Catia was also a Houston Bull but only the season before I came in. Kyle and I played together on the Bulls for a season. Kyle was always a great teammate and an excellent goal scorer. Then after the season, I heard that I was going to be drafted by Oslo. And then to my surprise, Kyle also ended up being there. I met Catia at the JST and the WJC and we seemed to click there. Then poof! Catia was also in Oslo. I was eventually traded to Rome and had a slightly rough time there but we were a deep team.” Fate would catch up with them once more. “I was very very shocked at the Catia acquisition considering she was just with Riga. Kyle was also a sneaky good pick up. I hope we can recreate the chemistry we showed in Oslo. What surprised me the most is that I never talked to the GM about acquiring them but… the GM still chose on his own to get them. It is almost magical.”

The season has begun, and Vancouver’s young rookie Logan Ninefingers has struggled to say the least. In six games the powerful youngster has only tallied two goals and is a -5 as the young team tries to battle nightly. So what is the problem? We caught up with Logan and here is what he had to say. Reporter: “Hey Logan. It’s been a tough start to the season for you and the Vancouver Wolves thus far. What do you think is the problem.” Logan: “Well for me it’s just nerves, I think. I am playing against tougher talent and maybe I am gripping the stick just too tight right now. I need to be better defensively first and let the offense come. As for the team, I think its just a matter of playing with each other a bit and figuring out what works. Were a young team and nobody really has played together yet.” Reporter: “How do you think the rest of the season plays out for you? Its early and there is so much talent on this club, do you think you can turn it around in Vancouver?” Logan: “Well… I think there is so much talent on this club that we will for sure turn it around. Riley @Smarch, Guntis @Girts, and VVC @Dom are so damn good, added to the veteran talent on this club it will click, and we will be a menace for any team we play against. Reporter: “Thank you Logan and best of luck this season.” Logan: “Thank you. And a huge shoutout to the fans in Vancouver for being patient. We promise you better as we earn and learn to play together. We all want to hoist a Cup at some point here. Go Wolves!”