AlexanderRasputin

Members
  • Content Count

    196
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    30

Reputation Activity

  1. Like
    AlexanderRasputin got a reaction from Paul T in National Team: Italy   
    This is an interesting idea - I may do this with Russia as well. Great work!
  2. Thanks
    AlexanderRasputin reacted to Paul T in National Team: Italy   
    Carrying over a tradition from game world Biscuit, I present the Cage Italian National Team for Season 5.  This was a bit time consuming, but enjoyable to pull together. 
    Led by 88 overall power forward, Oscar Bresciano, and 87 overall offensive defenseman, Vitaliy Leon - both of whom play for GHL's Eldred Elite.
    There are also a few youngsters to watch who will be stars for years to come.  18 year old forwards Leonardo Piatti and Matias Boudianski, who were GHL 1st round picks this past season - along with defenseman Michael Papa Waigo, who was a GHL 1st round pick the season prior.
    Captained by 23 year old, 80 overall defenseman, Luca Bonera.

  3. Like
    AlexanderRasputin reacted to jdonutken in Season 8 Chat   
    I got my leading scorer back just in time for the last game of the GHL finals, after surviving without him for a 7 game injury.  Helped make the difference! 🏆

  4. Like
    AlexanderRasputin reacted to Steve in Cage Season 4 Individual Awards (GHL)   
    There's always next season!  ha!  Cutter really is a beast and should probably get the playoff MVP if they win the Cup.
  5. Hahaha
    AlexanderRasputin reacted to Paul T in Cage Season 4 Individual Awards (GHL)   
    Absolutely.  No explanation necessary.  I just needed to voice support for my guy.  I'm not like that other manager who used to get all butt-hurt over the awards and ended up quitting.😆  Also, it was a good opportunity to throw some shade at Shore and Lang 😉
  6. Like
    AlexanderRasputin reacted to Paul T in Cage Season 4 Individual Awards (GHL)   
    Thanks for pulling these together.  Is it just me or does someone from the Steelers always take the Roid Rage Trophy?  Their strength and conditioning coaches are doing something right over there!
    Slightly bummed that Pohl didn't get Vezina consideration.  Agree with Cutter winning, but Pohl is better than those other two scrubs, Shore and Lang.  It's my own fault for not realizing his greatness until midway through the season.  I need to do a better job of getting him more games.
  7. Thanks
    AlexanderRasputin got a reaction from Paul T in Cage Season 4 Individual Awards (GHL)   
    Congratulations to everyone on another great regular season! Good competition, some changing of the guard on certain teams, and another epic finish. Congratulations to Stealheads on the East title, and Hawks on the West title. 
     
    You know the drill.
     
     
    ART ROSS TROPHY (Most League Points)
     ELOUAN SCOTT (Slaughterville Red Tide) - 81 points    
     Joaquim Harter (Trojans)
    Theodore De-Nobile (Stealheads)
     
    OVECHKIN TROPHY (Top Goalscorer)
     JERALD WHITELY (Rome Trojans) - 37 goals              
     Elouan Scott (Red Tide)
    Dejuan Clymer (Stray Cats)
     
     GRETZKY TROPHY (Best Playmaker) 
     JOAQUIM HARTER (Rome Trojans) - 50 assists           
     Bryan Middlebrook (Ricochet)
    Theodore De-Nobile (Stealheads)
     
     
    VEZINA TROPHY (Best Goaltender)
     KWESI CUTTER (Victoria Regals) - RETAINED TITLE              
     Jean-Francois Shore (Rage)
    Osvald Lang (Minutemen/Dragons)
     
     
    ORR TROPHY (Best Offensive Defenceman)
     BRYAN MIDDLEBROOK (Ithaca Ricochet)                        
     
     NORRIS TROPHY (Best Defensive Defenceman)
     YAN SHARSHIN (Slaughterville Red Tide)                       
      
    ORR - Points leader among defencemen
    NORRIS - Calculated with the following formula among D-men [+/- + BKS - GVA + TKA], PER also taken into consideration 
     
    SELKE TROPHY (Best Defensive Forward)
     MIKAEL NIKULA (West Chicago Hawks)                   
     Elouan Scott (Red Tide)
    Quentin Eberhardt (Rage/Gators)
    Calculated with the following formula among F: [PTS + BKS - GVA + TKA]
     
    LADY BYNG TROPHY (Most Gentlemanly Player)
     RUSLAN LOSKUTNIKOV (West Chicago Hawks)               
     Douglas Giallombardo (Hawks)
    Dominik Corrado (Eastern Outlaws)
    Calculated with the following formula [PTS - PIM]
     
     HART TROPHY (League MVP)
     ELOUAN SCOTT (Slaughterville Red Tide)   
     Kwesi Cutter (Regals)
    Yan Sharshin (Red Tide)
     
    CALDER TROPHY (Best Rookie)
     FREDRIK LIEN (Mount Airy Savage Storm)
     
    GOOD SAMARITAN AWARD (Most Giveaways)
     FABIAN FISCHER (Brownrigg Alligators)   
     
    ROID RAGE TROPHY (Most Hits + PIM + MP)
    CECIL BRANCO (Scandinavia Steelers)  
     
    *Notes: Calculations may not be entirely accurate due to limited visibility and inability to sort by position and outside Top 20 in GPHM stats format - if anyone sees mistakes, let me know and I will fix.
  8. Like
    AlexanderRasputin reacted to Paul T in Injuries   
    It doesn't get much more even than that, so that is not the issue.  I've seen teams play 40% line 1 and 50% first pair D with no problems.  My splits are very similar to yours.  When players get tired I'll usually adjust special teams as needed.
  9. Like
    AlexanderRasputin got a reaction from MarkZ in Injuries   
    No pattern or explanation that I've noticed aside from perhaps a Hard fairplay tactic or low physical ratings on your players.
  10. Like
    AlexanderRasputin got a reaction from Chris in Pro hockey   
    You could try Game Plan Hockey, which is an online sim that I highly recommend. You can read up on it on GMGames, well worth your time. 
     
  11. Like
    AlexanderRasputin reacted to Paul T in Assistants report   
    The reports do have useful information, but they are more indicative of the "on paper" matchup and less based on the actual game results.  Like how well your tactics stack up against your opponent and how well your line focuses match up.  So even if the wording doesn't necessarily reflect the game results, it may give you hints on how to improve your team for the next game.  In my response above, my scoring line has minor issues with their focus, but they were able to overcome those issues and there could be quite a few factors for that... the players are just that good, the other teams defense underperformed, or the other teams goalie underperformed.  Maybe I would have had even better results if I played that line as Two Way.  But I agree with you to an extent, the wording is very misleading, especially for new managers.  If my team is playing well, I tend to ignore the reports.  If my team wasn't playing well, I would look for clues in the reports to figure out why.
    I specifically look to see two things.
    1 - that my players fit the role and line focus.
    2 - how my captains impacted the game.
    Other than that, I don't rely on the reports much. 
  12. Like
    AlexanderRasputin reacted to rainsilent in Assistants report   
    I don't. I look at it to see if a player is comfortable in their role if they are struggling. Beyond that, it is interesting to look at.
     
    As for your team doing well defensively and losing by 3 goals, look at a few things. Did your goalie have a bad game? Alternately, do the game and player stats match up with that? Your team can still play well but be outdone by a few skilled players. Or the opposing team's special teams can get all of the goals effectively bypassing your team's D.
  13. Like
    AlexanderRasputin reacted to Paul T in Assistants report   
    I don't pay much attention to the wording on the reports.
    For example:


     
    Exactly this.
  14. Like
    AlexanderRasputin reacted to Paul T in Cage trash talk   
    Endurance is definitely an issue with my team and one of the 3 main weaknesses that I can point to right off the bat. That problem stems from my early perception that it didn’t matter all that much. It has especially impacted me with goalies. I seem to manage it well with forwards and Dmen by regulating their ice time, but endurance being a cause of my late season struggles is an interesting suggestion that could very well be true. The only thing I’ll say is that in earlier seasons, my team had better endurance and we still collapsed. Season 1 for example, my top line endurance was 99, 99, 99 and my goalie that season was 95. They all still disappeared late season and into the playoffs. 
  15. Like
    AlexanderRasputin got a reaction from Paul T in [SOLVED] Draft Preference   
    I agree, but Anders is one dev. Debugging something like this, making changes in code, testing, is not a simple process in such a complex sim. If there was a larger userbase, perhaps he could afford to hire another dev. Or perhaps a fan of the sim is a dev and can volunteer to work on bug fixes or at least QA some work. 
  16. Like
    AlexanderRasputin got a reaction from Paul T in Cage trash talk   
    Take a look at Endurance on your team, Paul. I would not be surprised to see a hidden Endurance meter that depletes throughout a season and is impacted by a player's Endurance score. Your team isn't exactly top in Endurance, especially your goaltenders - that may account for the late-season slides.

    Good assessment of my weaknesses - and I agree with the loose definition of "weakness", as well as seeing them as challenges to defeat. I just did a massive high-risk, high-reward trade in Buzzer that is going to bring new issues for my team - and I've never felt more alive  .

    The size issue with my D-men I've solved since the beginning of the season by pairing them with larger counterparts - worked well so far. 

    Goaltending...is complicated. Lie's stats are 2.86/90.2% - which is decent for a backup. Baudoin, on the other hand, isn't even in Top 20 in SV%, despite having 8 shutouts (Tied for 1st). That's how streaky he, or his cocaine supplier, is. I am nearly sure I've identified the exact issue with him (not Anxiety, surprisingly), but have not yet decided now to fix it. 

    The Spirit comment is interesting. Never was a fan of the "winning = who has the most heart" argument, but winning teams have had high-Spirit players often (i.e. Kegashka). I have some lower-Spirit players the past two seasons because of trades, and I have been worse defensively, so reasonable guess. But my offence has fired up as a result, and I like that exchange. For now, at least. I will keep an eye on this going forward, though - good observation.
  17. Like
    AlexanderRasputin reacted to Paul T in Player profiles [DONE]   
    Only question here is regarding Big Games.  What is considered a "big moment"? 
     
    Playoff games?... games toward end of season?... games against top teams?... 3rd period?... figure it out for myself?...
  18. Like
    AlexanderRasputin reacted to Paul T in Cage trash talk   
    Oh - and going back to a discussion that hasn't been had in quite some time.  Roster Limits!!!  I have always felt for GHL level it should be 30.  Maybe offer a bit more leeway for the lower leagues, but I can't imagine why any GHL manager would need more than 30 spots.  This would be the ultimate measure against hoarding players and creating a larger FA pool.
    6 C - 11 F - 9D - 4G = 30 players.  Easy peasy.  You can even get creative and do 7C and 12F and 2G, the options are endless.
  19. Like
    AlexanderRasputin reacted to Paul T in Cage trash talk   
    Just re-read this part and I see what you're saying.  Personally, I think the problem is contracts.  Players are signing way too cheap.  I had hoped that the release would have solved that - for example, players in the 90s should sign for 6M+.  I see some signing for less than 3M, which allows managers to hoard (along with potentially getting a team of all 90+ players, but that's another topic).  If hoarding is keeping other managers from getting players, then it seems like an effective tactic to be honest.  I personally don't agree with it because having too many players on your roster, especially on one way deals, will kill your confidence as those players would become anxious - and having too many salaries prevents managers from splurging on those top tier players.
    I think if the contracts were fixed it would solve a lot of this.
  20. Like
    AlexanderRasputin reacted to Paul T in Cage trash talk   
    Definitely agree with everything you said, rain.  I just understand the mentality behind managers finding comfort in signing their own players.  Many might think the current roster is good, they just need 1-2 more pieces to make it all work.  Season 3 FA was a great example for me.  I placed a 2nd/3rd line player on waivers to go after Rackley in FA.  That plan didn't work out and I lost the player to waivers, having my worst season so far.  But overall you are right.
    I think the FA market will continue to get better each season.  In S2 it was awful.  Got a little better for S3 and this past season there were plenty of players there for signing.  As new players continue to pour in, more players will become available - managers will start doing exactly as you said above in hopes of signing "better" players and improving their teams.  Just a bit limited at the moment.  I think we are a few seasons away from the FA pool being really good.
    In terms of trading, I think there are a fair amount of moves made each season.  Almost every manager has made a trade or two at this point.  But trading is tough in general.  You need to find a fair balance and also offer something that the other manager needs, taking into account team tactics and cap space.  If you find value in a player on another team, chances are that manager also values that player and it will take a bit to move them.  I thought the trade between Cedar and Slaughter was a great example of a fair trade benefiting both teams.  I also think the trade between me and Cedar was a benefit to both teams.  Cedar got the younger, better, bigger player on a cheaper contract, so on paper it looks lopsided, but I was up against the cap and it provided me some breathing room to make moves in case of injury... and it provided me positional balance in that I now have a C who can fill in in case of injury - and I already had depth at D.  I needed to move Obeng after this season anyways and Kozak is a great example of a player that will walk without a contact next season.  I've offered quite a few trades for G this year as well to no avail - and some of the offers I thought were really good, but can understand why they were rejected.
  21. Like
    AlexanderRasputin reacted to rainsilent in Cage trash talk   
    While there might be some truth to it there is a massive negative drawback that goes along with it. Holding on to those players is an active restriction to what you can do in FA while also being an active handicap to your teams performance. You are holding on to a player, bringing several detrimental side effects to your team in the process, just for a, most of the time, modest trade value. It isn't worth holding back your team because of that.
     
    Yet the reason the latter part of 2 and the entirety of 3 is true at all is because managers hoard players that don't work for them when they shouldn't. If they let them go to FA the FA pool would have many more players in it and so long as you went in looking for what you needed rather than strictly the best overall player there wouldn't be many bidding wars. The only getting lucky there would be would be in outbidding for the top players. Which, to be honest, should be how that sort of goes anyways. It is literally a self perpetuating issue. The fact that there is no real cap crunch for the really deep GHL teams only serves to add to it.
     
    If I had this same mindset I never would have gotten any of my current 4th line players. A 4th line that is, performance wise, one of the best 4th lines around. I traded better overall players for Stubna, Stang and Reason. I traded those players because they weren't working in the role that I had them filling. I didn't trade for Stubna, Stang and Reason knowing, or even thinking, that they would be as good as they are. I traded for them thinking that they had the skill set to perform good enough on the 4th line for the duration of the contracts that they were on. Meaning that they would fill that role until I let them go and filled their spots with better players.
     
     
    Some of those players were from AI teams. The rest Anders created because the player pool that was generated at the start was strictly to fill the teams meaning that there were no extra players to go around at any level. As I said above though, if managers weren't hoarding players that they didn't need or players that weren't performing for them the FA pool wouldn't be nonexistent. Top end players would still be a rarity, as they should be, but quality 2nd and 3rd line players would be notably more abundant if managers didn't unnecessarily hoard players. This is really going to become a pointed problem in the GHL the further we go because teams with great depth are allowed to keep their rosters due to players not increasing their salary demands enough. It was a serious problem in the past and it will be a problem in the future too if the two faster leagues are any indication.
  22. Like
    AlexanderRasputin reacted to rainsilent in Cage trash talk   
    Alex I don't think your backup is good enough to really be a good backup at the GHL level. He is a really good overall goalie regarding his skill set but 86 reflexes is bad when a lot of the shooters facing you have 95+ shooting.
     
     
    This is because a number of managers resign pretty much everyone on their roster, usually until they get really old, no matter their actual performance. It is, frankly, a stupid practice. If your team has issues why are you going to keep bringing back the same players and the same team and expect something different? If there is an issue with the performance of a player trade them or let them go when their current contract is up. I don't mean to bad mouth Erzac but his team is a prime example. After his S1 championship his team has been struggling to get the results despite the talent. At what point do you stop banging your head against the wall and accept that you need to change up the roster in some way? You don't have to go chasing 'better' overall players to get better results either.  If I had his team I would have turned over almost the entire lower half of that roster a season ago because many of them are just playing poorly for whatever reason. Too many managers get too overall focused and also get too locked up in the team that they have.
     
    As for your goalie issues, I think it is down to a lack of endurance in both goalies. Your backup is actually playing rather well on the whole. When both goalies have low endurance giving adequate rest for your starter is quite difficult when the backup has an occasional bad game. When my buzzer team was in its second season, down in the IHL, my starter and backup both had low endurance and a chain reaction happened where both goalies ended up yellow tired. Both of them got hurt in the next game that they started. In my opinion, finding a goalie you wouldn't mind splitting starting time with Amick would be the way to go. Try to get a two goalie system where your second goalie has more endurance and can play a few extra games like what I have with Wilcot.
  23. Like
    AlexanderRasputin reacted to Paul T in Cage trash talk   
    It is funny how each team seems to have their own unique problems and it's relatively consistent over multiple seasons.
    Probably not an ideal scenario unless you are developing a goalie, but have you considered signing some scrub to play in the affiliate to act as a 2nd backup?  When Amick needs a rest, which is often... and I mean OFTEN lmao, I'll recall Loiselle to play backup in case of goalie pull so that Amick doesn't get thrown into the game.  Even some 78-79 guy for like 400K. 
    For what it's worth, the last place Alligators beat me earlier this season when they started their 78 overall goalie.  It was a glorious moment for both teams.
  24. Like
    AlexanderRasputin reacted to Paul T in Cage trash talk   
    I wonder if Season 4 will turn out like the others?

  25. Like
    AlexanderRasputin reacted to Paul T in Discord: Anders AMA   
    I think this is a fantastic idea.  I'm not sure how it could be organized in a way that Anders could handle hundreds of questions coming his way at once, but this would be great from a community perspective.