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SMJHL State of the Union
#1
(This post was last modified: 08-03-2019, 09:37 PM by BadWolf.)

Welcome to the inaugural SMJHL State of the Union. These posts are a new initiative out of the SMJHL Head Office to provide visibility, transparency, and discussion opportunities for the SHL community at large regarding our progress and activities throughout the season. We will release a State of the Union at the end of each season, recapping our actions, summarizing our discussions, and listing our concerns to monitor next season.


RECAP

In S48, we had five SMJHL GM vacancies. We have filled or opened applications for all five positions. This was the most significant completed work for the season. In response to the number of vacancies available, I am planning a seasonal GM retrospective survey to help us monitor GM stress, fulfillment, and attrition.

SMJHL HO implemented one punishment in S48. The GM and Co-GM for the Lethbridge Lions were removed from their positions. This action is one we do not take lightly, but through community feedback and violation of an SHL rule with a punishment of dismissal, we elected to remove and replace the Lethbridge management team. In a new precedent, we opted not to punish the Lions organization. Early signs are good for the direction and momentum of Lethbridge, and we are optimistic that a large draft class will revitalize the franchise.

DISCUSSIONS

Head Office had four major initiative discussions in S48.

1 – Budget and Salary Cap
SMJHL has been operating without a salary cap since the record-breaking S45 SMJHL Entry Draft. Without a salary cap, SMJHL player movement is very limited and super-teams are easy to form. We have started discussions and planning for a new salary cap system which assigns values to rookies and send-downs, and provides new minimum contract values for low- and high-TPE IFAs and SMJHL Active signings. We are planning a soft roll-out of these budgets in S49. In this case, the soft roll-out entails a non-binding, live demonstration for SMJHL GMs. The non-binding budget will show throughout the season what the new budget would look like in practice, what their budget with their current team would be, and if their current budget would be compliant with the salary cap. Soft roll-out will allow us to adjust numbers, contract values, and IFA restrictions without impacting teams. This allows the teams a full season to learn how to adapt and apply the improved cap. We are currently planning a full roll-out in S50, but this is subject to change based on the success of the soft roll-out.

2 – TPE Cap
This has been a long time coming and has been widely advocated by GMs, especially coming out of recent first-gen classes. Seasons 3 and 4 of SMJHL are difficult to stay engaged for, and a big part of that is player progression coming to a halt. We are trying to relieve this issue by making changes to the TPE cap. We are currently working with the concept of a “veteran tag”, where season 3 and 4 players can apply additional TPE, but at the cost of an increased cap hit to their SMJHL team. This discussion is very much in progress and will be inexorably tied to the budget and salary cap, so don’t expect major action until S50.

3 – HO Communication and Transparency
HO can be opaque and evasive at times. Especially when it comes to current discussions. I have four minor initiatives for HO communication and transparency. First is these, the State of the Union addresses. I hope this is informative and helpful for those seeking more transparency. Second, I am implementing a much more open policy for personal communication. I have already been approached by several users with questions about the future of the league, and have been upright and honest about our direction and future. I honestly invite any individuals with major concerns or questions to message me on Discord or via PM to discuss. I don’t know something is a problem until I hear about it, so please let me know what’s troubling you. Third, I’m starting a new press conference policy to increase direct public communication. It feels like HO only engages the public in punishment threads and the thunderdome. I want to personally change that by making myself available to answer hard questions and give real answers. Finally, as stated above, we are going to engage GMs directly with an annual survey to ensure we are giving them what they need to succeed. These four initiatives together serve to increase our transparency and communication with not just the league at large, but with each player.

4 – Free Agent Contact Rule
There is currently an SMJHL rule that GMs cannot contact a player until they have been approved by the league, and that they cannot be offered a contract until Noon EST the next day. We don’t plan to change the contract offer rule, but we are concerned about the contact rule. It was initially envisioned as a way to even the playing field, and allow all GMs to notice the new player and prepare their welcome message. We are split right now—we are worried that this rule is unenforceable and may be bad for retention, but we also understand the need for fairness and equity in the league. We are discussing several possibilities, most notably removing the contact rule and transitioning to a waiver system. Both have pros and cons. This is an ongoing discussion that will continue into S49.

FUTURE CONCERNS

I’ll get the samey part out of the way. I am always, always, ALWAYS concerned about the new user experience and first-gen retention. These two issues are my top concern, and I believe we can always improve them. This paragraph will be in every single State of the Union to reiterate that the decisions made will always serve as the experience, retention, and growth first.
I am personally working with SHL HO and the recruitment team on the possibility of alternative recruitment streams. With reddit becoming increasingly resistant to recruiting, especially smaller subreddits, we need to be aware that recruitment may change.
The playoff experience kinda sucks when you’re eliminated in the first round and have to twiddle your thumbs for four full weeks before you play again. This is especially problematic because teams with the highest proportion of rookies typically have the lowest average TPE, and are more likely to struggle in playoffs. In S49 and S50, we are going to start discussing how to improve the playoff experience for eliminated teams and players.
Budget and the TPE cap will be our primary business for S49 into S50, so those outweigh many other future concerns we have.

CONCLUSION

I’m very excited about our direction and future. The current Head Office group is diverse in opinion about how the league should run and where the league is going, and it’s helping us really refine our initiatives and decisions going forward. Thanks for joining us in the first State of the Union, and we look forward to a great 49th season of SMJHL action soon.

- Written by: Grok

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#2

change ur font color

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#3

nice post i liked the part where i couldn't see it at all
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#4

sorry guys, forgot copy/paste doesnt work for dark theme. Should be fixed.

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#5

Really cool idea, good job!









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#6

Great start. Good luck.

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#7

Great stuff! thanks for the update, One thing id like to start conversations on is the Interested Prospects threads and how we can improve them so they are meaningful for everyone

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#8

08-07-2019, 09:51 AMTML99 Wrote: Great stuff! thanks for the update, One thing id like to start conversations on is the Interested Prospects threads and how we can improve them so they are meaningful for everyone
We'll certainly make note of it and are trying to constantly improve the entire SMJHL experience. We have some other things we're currently working on that are at more advanced stages, but your suggestion is noted. Cheers

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