I apologize, upon further reflection I do not feel comfortable publishing a article that criticizes or insults others.

2. What’s Left?
With minimal news overtaking the VHL and with
the regular season only 5 games away from being
completed, this week the VHL magazine focuses
on a wide spread of topics, of which I’ll focus
on miscellaneous issues. The first one gives
props to the newer members of the league.
Over the past two weeks, the VHL has seen
an increase in memberships being issued and
draftees joining the VHLM. With guys like Kobe
Egan, Bryton Guerequeta, Jacob Elwood, Aldo
Nova, Brandon Wallace, Cam Fowler and Rhett
Gouldhawke joining the fold, it’s really nice to see
newer members continue to join, especially since
that is what will keep this league vibrant. Now, if
they could remain active and continue to be an
important part of the community, I could see the
league lasting another 10 seasons.
Ginzou Fujiwara
-Retires from the
Helsinki Titans

3. and through 428 career games (still with some remaining in the
regular season) Ginzou has tallied 121 goals, 337 assists for
458 points with a +87, 508 PIM, 507 hits and 668 career shot
blocks. During his playoff career performances, Ginzou earned
a cup win in S15 as a member of the Helsinki Titans, but on a
personal level, in 37 career playoff games, Ginzou only recorded
8 goals, but added 24 assists for 32 points to go along with
his -11 rating, 40 PIM, 41 hits and 63 shot blocks. The Hall of
Fame might be a stretch, but Ginzou had himself an admirable
career, which was shared between Vasteras and Helsinki. To fill
the Asian void in the VHL newly announced goaltender Daisuke
Kanou has surfaced as the head of the S18 draft class.
The latest retirement came today as Damien Shock, a highly
touted prospect, called it quits on his short lived career in the
minors. Shock was playing for the Toledo Scorpions at the time
of the announcement and while it’s a tough loss, that loss will be
made up with Chad Murphy, a defensive prospect. Both players
have or were listed by the Toledo Scorpions of the VHLM and
the Davos Dynamo of the VHL.
Inside the VHL
The next bit of news comes in the
form of the trade deadline. Last
week the VHL Magazine focused
on the deadline and more specifi-
cally from my point of view, the
buyers and sellers. Well, to be
completely honest, I didn’t think
much was going to amount from
this deadline and I was pretty
accurate. We did, however have
one trade take place in the VHL.
In a rare three-team trade, New
York, Riga and Calgary hooked
up to stamp out a deal. Head-
ing to New York was Pierre-Marc
Tremblay, Mark Aisen and a Riga
S17 2nd round draft pick. Heading
to Alberta was a Madrid S17 2nd,
a Helsinki S18 2nd and defense-
man Kristian Asgard. Finally, in
this trade, Riga obtained a defen-
seman by the name of Andrew
Able, as well as a Calgary S18
2nd. All in all, from the looks of
the trade, it appeared that each
team obtained something useful
to one another and from an out-
siders point of view, no one team
really “won” this trade, but more
three teams that addressed differ-
ent needs.
Other news in the league this
week is specified with retirements.
Many expected that once the
trade deadline took place, there
would be a flurry of retirements
and re-creations. Unfortunately
for those off-season enthusiasts,
only one retirement took place at
the deadline, which was Ginzou
Fujiwara from the Helsinki Titans.
Ginzou will have played out his
6th season at the end of the year

5. Plus/Mi-
VHL
The playoff picture has appeared to
be finalized. With the league an-
ticipating another successful year in
member recruitment, the VHL can
once again start enjoying the months with
more active new members. Lets hope they
can retain them for the remainder months.
Diversity in the league is still unap-
parent. Players are still worth too
much, and teams are still too pre-
dictable. Perhaps the league can fo-
cus on reducing the cap to limit the top end
players and spread them out to more teams.
Or simply add more lines and run a team risk
of more players vs. top lines.
Brooks has done an excellent job as
the VHL magazines graphic leader.
His continuous support for the maga-
zine has managed to put the magazine a
step above into a more professional image.
Despite what few would believe the mag-
azine is now making a permanent dent
in the VHL and will stay for many more
seasons. Next step - Website
The Trade Deadline saw few
moves as big deals are becom-
ing rare and FA is looking more
and more productive in terms of
retaining a solid team. Maybe GM’s can
learn the value of some players and re-
spect the activity it could have with the
league. Sure its best to get the best
price for your players in a deal but like
much of the real estate they are much
bloated to its true potential.

6. VHL
In the Slot
The VHL seems to have been hit with the con-
troversy bug lately, (it has simerer down a fair
bit over the past few weeks though). With sus-
pensions for acts towards new members, articles
that have crossed the line, and the emergence of
what some people call the “fun police” it seems
that there is a constant amount of stuff going
around that isn’t the “status-quo”. So my ques-
tion is simply, is controversy truly a bad thing?
To me the controversy of controversy is simple.
Unless it one-hundred percent crosses the line;
you know that line where if it where said in pub-
lic you would be facing the retributions, then it
really isn’t causing harm. One can point out that
in Robbie Zimmers infamous article a few weeks
back, if he had kept with the point of keeping
girls and boy’s sports separated, and then we
wouldn’t have seen the uproar that we did (ba-
sically keep the part about their use as good
when naked out of the article). Now while this is
a controversial topic, had it been written properly
it would also have been an effective article (that
could have created a good, not derogatory spin
on it).
Now what I would like to get to in this piece, this
week is that really controversy is great for almost
everyone around. It gets the board heated up, it
gets a lot posts, creates rivalries and unless it
is purposely hurting someone it is usually all in
good fun. When I said “fick Seattle” last year, it
was in good fun and it was a nice rallying cry for
the early part of the season. The same as when
I was GM of the Riga Reign and I played up the
whole everyone versus us angle, (even though
it really wasn’t the exact case). In the end it is
something that created activity, gave teammates
something to write about or do, and it never re-
Remember its all just a game.... so have fun and keep
it clean
Controversy…is it that bad?

7. In the Slot
VHL
ally hurt anyone. Hell I could argue that it kind
of helped us out by giving some tweener ac-
tives a reason to check back again. You just
have to remember it was all in good fun.
What I think we have to remember is that while
this sim league is indeed a fake league, the
people behind the keyboard are real. We need
to be able to show some respect to them, just
because you have an anonymous alias online
doesn’t make you exempt, it will just get you
kicked out, and piss off a lot of people in the
process
So not only would you be having some fun,
but you are also kind of helping the league
by creating some excitement. It gives people a
reason to come back, if anything to see how
it worked out, or where the rivalry is at now.
The controversy gives members an outlet to
express their feelings and is nothing short of a
hot button topic.
So go out there and start some controversy,
create a rivalry with another team (just remem-
ber to keep it somewhat clean).

8. That’s right, ladies and gentlemen, it’s almost play-
off time in the VHLM. With only twelve games
to play for league leading Gothenburg, it’s almost
that magical time of year where, let’s be honest,
the game becomes that much more exciting and
every play matters more. Let’s take a look at the
current standings, and, for fun, make some playoff
predictions.
(1) Gothenburg Eagles [43-17, 89 points]
The Gothenburg Eagles have
established themselves as the
cream of the crop of the VHLM.
It took a while for one team to
step up and at first it seemed
like it would be Minot. How-
ever, General Manager Kaiser
Straf traded for stars such as Stefan Arnason and
Matthew Gunnarsson as he looks to make up for
the embarrassment the Eagles still feel from last
year’s sweep at the hands of Minot.
(2) Minot Gladiators [42-18, 87 points]
Minot was the best team in the
league until Gothenburg stepped
up in the trade markets and ac-
quired some key names. They
are still a great team but time will
tell if they have the ability to take
down the Eagles.
(3) Brampton Batallion [34-28, 76 points]
The talent level of teams drops
off after number two. The Batal-
lion are solid, but it will take a lot
for them to beat the two teams
ahead of them. The manage-
ment is not the problem, their
weakness has been goaltending
this year, and the same can be said for many
VHLM teams.
VHLM Season
Playoff Predictions
Proteau Type
VHLM
(4) Vasteras IK J-20 [29-27, 68 points]
It hasn’t been the best year
for the J-20, and they were
expecting much more with a
lot of talented young players.
Their problem is that they
cannot score goals: they are
second to last in the league
in goal scoring. Still, they are a team to watch
out for in the playoffs.
(5) Ottawa Ice Dogs [32-31, 66 points]
GM Janelle Henley has just
about admitted this team
is out of the playoff race
after trading away her star
player, the previously men-
tioned Arnason. The top
four teams are pretty much
set in stone at this point.
(6) Toledo Scorpions [29-30, 64 points]
Another team that traded
away talent, the Scorpions
still have the potential to
make a run, especially after
they acquired goaltender
Damien Shock via the GM
rule. They have shown the
ability to beat tough teams
such as Gothenburg, and should not be treated
as worse than the Ice Dogs.
(7) Kolari Wolves [24-38, 52 points]
The trend in the VHLM:
teams that trade away their
stars for picks wind up at
the bottom of the league.
The same goes for Kolari.
Hopefully for their fans and
players, they can use the
picks they acquired for
good players, but only time
will tell.

9. (8) Buffalo Jr. Bears [9-53, 21 points]
Well what can really be
said about this team?
One of the worst in VHLM
history, they were doomed
from the start, having only
two players on their roster
to start the year out. Not
a good start, not a good finish.
Playoff Predictions
Seeds
(1) Gothenburg Eagles
(2) Minot Gladiators
(3) Brampton Batallion
(4) Toledo Scorpions
Round 1
Gothenburg Eagles defeat Toledo Scorpions
4-0
This would simply be too tough for the Scor-
pions. The Eagles have the best goalten-
ding, scoring, and defense in the league,
especially after their big name acquisitions.
The Scorpions could potentially steal one
VHLM
Proteau Type
game, but you can’t look for any more than
that.
Minot Gladiators defeat Brampton Batallion
4-1
This is a veteran Gladiators team that boasts
the second best netminder in the league and
a lot of experience. You cannot count that
out when making predictions.
Finals
Gothenburg Eagles defeat Minot Gladiators
4-2
Gothenburg is too good
for Minot, and the recent
results between the two
teams make that point hard
to argue. The Eagles and
manager Kaiser Straf really
have done a great job this
year and while they haven’t put themselves in
a good position for the future, they have done
what matters for this year to take back what
they thought could have been theirs last year.

10. Before the start of the S16 season, Seattle Bears’ general manager Alex
McNeil decided to pass down the torch after four seasons of leading
the franchise. After he stepped down, many people narrowed down
the candidates to two Seattle players, Sandro Desaulniers and
Emerson Hrynyk. In the end, Desaulniers would win the job and
become the newest general manager in the VHL. In his inaugural
season as the Bears’ general manager, Desaulniers has led Se-
attle to a conference title and the first seed in the North Ameri-
can Conference, winning 50 games and posting up 104 points
with 2 games remaining in the season. Player wise, Desaulniers
has been a pretty solid threat for Seattle, placing fourth on the
Bears in scoring win 86 points this season. This week, we
here at On the Spot, were able to catch up with and get to
know the league’s newest general manager.
As many of you know, Sandro is a big fan of video games. So
to start off the interview on the right foot, we wanted to know
what his favorite game is. “Ah... I dunno,” replied Desaulniers.
“I’ve been playing the Medal of Honor beta a lot lately, but
obviously that’s really buggy. I’ll give you a top 3 be-
cause I can’t break it down. Metal Gear Solid 4,
Red Dead Redemption and
Assassin’s Creed II.”
Sandro Desaulniers
VHL
On The Spot

11. But we had more important things on our minds than video
games to talk about. Getting down to business, we wanted to
know how Sandro’s tender as general manager has started
out this season. “It’s been pretty good. We got a great team
of great guys together, the locker room is great.” Many gen-
eral managers would have died to be in Desaulniers’ shoes
when he inherited the Bears. With a team that was fresh off
a North American Conference championship victory and with
a roster boasting such names as Grimm Jonsson, Devon De
La Soul, and Emerson Hrynyk, it wasn’t to hard to get the
group of veteran players back into the playoffs. But, with a
roster so stacked with top VHL players, we had to know who
the newest GM thought was the biggest factor of the Bears’
success this season. “The entire team has been great,” said
Seattle’s GM, “but I think the fact that Alex Young really
stepped his game up is a big reason for why we are here.”
Young, who was drafted in S14, in fact did step up his game
a great deal. Coming off his rookie season, Alex put up 44
wins this season, while posting a .911 save percentage and
a 2.32 goal allowed average this season. But with our time
with Sandro winding down, we decided to ask him one more
question, what has been you fondest memory of the VHL
since joining the league. After a couple minutes of pondering,
he had this to say. “Probably my first little while in Seattle’s
locker room. I knew right away this was a franchise I wanted
to stay with. Great franchise, great players and great man-
agement.”
That is it for On the Spot with Sandro Desaulniers. We wish
Sandro the best of luck as he continues his tender as the
general manager of the Seattle Bears and also to Seattle,
as the Bears look to clinch the Continental Cup this season.
Until next week, this is On the Spot, good night.
VHL
On The Spot

12. VHL
In Your Face
Well most of you disagreed with number five on the list of
things wrong with hockey, but I got a gut feeling that you wont
have a problem with number four. The fourth thing that is
wrong with hockey is referees. You know the idiots that skate
around in striped shirts and call the oddest penalties at the
worst time?
Why are these morons one of the things wrong with hockey?
well it’s simple actually. Just try to picture this situation. Your
team is up by one goal with about 2 minutes left, a ref calls
simple and minor holding penalty. This could cost your team
the victory, because if the other team scores then it goes to
OT where anything can happen. If a game is decided on a
holding call then that is some bull right there. I mean come on
in my opinion refs shouldn’t be able to call minor penalties in
the last five minutes of the game. They should only be allowed
to call majors, now if things are getting out of hand then a
few minor penalties can be called to cool things down. But off
setting minors so no team has a advantage.
Or how about this situation, your team is on a rush the puck
goes into the corner. You battle for the puck and it squirts
loose, but you get tripped up and there is no call. The ref is
looking right at you, but still no call. The puck goes down the
ice, you or someone on your team trips or slashes someone
on the other team and the ref calls a penalty. Now that can
just be the ref has it out for your team, or it’s because they
are dumb as shlt. I would like to say they are dumb, they don’t
know when to call these penalties so they call them all willy
nilly. It’s getting to the point where the actual style of some
players is being affected by the bad calls.
When a certain ref that is known for bad calls is reffing
a game, players are more careful. They don’t really play
as rough, there is less fight
in there game. Refs should be
replaced by a system of cam-
eras and lights. The cameras
will be programmed to watch
for clear penalties and none
of these so called “penalties”.
Once a camera see’s a pen-
alty happen then a red light
would come on and a whistle
would be blown. Now this sys-
tem wouldn’t be exactly 100%
accurate, it would have bugs
and sometimes call bad pen-
alties. But I think it would be
able to be programmed to even
distinguish between a real trip
or a dive. Refs are just dumb
people who hardly even make
a living off of being a ref, so
they don’t care if they make a
bad call or not. They are not
the ones playing their hearts
game in and game out. They
don’t care about the outcome
of the game. It’s about time
something is done about the
morons that we call refs. This
has been In Your Face, if your
don’t like what I have said in
this article then get out of my
face.
Robbie Zimmers
‘in your face’
The following content is rated “M” for mature.
Reader discretion is advised.
Views expressed in this article are strictly of
the author and not the VHL magazine