Good evening, SHL! It has been a very long time. For those who are unaware, I have found myself back in San Francisco management as BadWolf’s Co-GM for the time being while we continue to navigate this generation’s attempt at returning to a Challenge Cup victory. We are awfully proud of the community that is currently in San Francisco and something we figure that could be brought back to celebrate the people that make up said community is the San Francisco internal team awards! These awards were given out on a seasonal basis during Henrik and I’s tenures as GMs but as Caleb was a FHM fiend and mastermind, his focus went into destroying the curse that was hanging over the San Francisco franchise. He was successful in that and I couldn’t be happier to be part of the team that got to raise the cup recently and hopefully we’ll be right back there soon.

The San Francisco team awards have consisted of four awards. The first one we are going to present is the Jack Tanner Trophy. The Tanner is presented to the player whose teammates felt their play was crucial to the team’s success but did not get the acknowledgment from the league that their teammates felt they deserved. The nice thing about this is that it can come from any section of the ice/game and everyone plays their role in the team success so this award is open to everyone on the roster. Let’s take a look at the S78 finalists.

Dominik Winters - @39alaska39
Toasty - @Toast
Justin Time - @RAmenAmen

Centering the S71 line between Kluster and Bayley, Alaska has always been one of the most consistent players on the Pride but has not seen that breakout season that would put Winters in the league spotlight. What some may not realize is that Winters was chasing down a 100-point season and just about got there with enough to be the third top scorer on the team. Toasty was an anchor on defense and while his production did not match the expectations set by winning the Stevens in S77, he was still incredibly reliable in his own zone blocking shots and creating turnovers to keep the final nominee safe. Justin Time continues to approach catastrophic career leader stats and is already all over the San Francisco record books for seasonal performance. Playing in 55 games for the Pride, it’s not surprising that the team wanted to give RAmen a nod here.

Our S78 Tanner winner is…

DOMINIK WINTERS - @39alaska39

Congratulations, Alaska! As I wrote above, Winters has been a consistent force for the team and was an incredible get for the franchise back in the S71 draft. With many more seasons of prime performance to come it really just feels like a matter of time before the breakout happens and everyone is well aware of Winters.

Up next we have the Alex Petrenko Award! The Petrenko is our locker room leader role named after traphag who was one of the core members of the rebuilding Pride in the S50s era. Petrenko was also a defensive force on the ice for the team and had his jersey retired in the S60s following retirement. There are more than a few who you could argue deserve this award but the team was able to narrow it down to three finalists:

Edzus Ozolins - @Seany148
Logan Webb - @spidey
Sydney Shaw - @BadWolf

It’s funny to me that all of these players came to San Francisco in different ways. BW was a huge acquisition by Caleb sending a lot of future capital to Winnipeg in return for Shaw. Seany joined us through free agency and since then Ozolins has been a crutch on the ice for the Pride and a huge force in keeping the locker room going. Spidey joined us through the entry draft in S71 as mentioned in the last award and since returning to the league has been a positive voice that we are so lucky to have on the discord with us. That being said though, there is only winner and that person is…

@spidey !

As mentioned briefly, spidey is an absolute gem in the locker room and could never say anything negative. Quickly becoming one of the main chatters in the room following his draft, spidey has been someone who is active daily and is attached to the San Francisco brand since building up Logan into a great player and someone who is leading the leagues in goals as I type this though! More importantly for me and others though, he’s someone I’m proud to call a friend and someone I trust to continue to represent the Pride in the greatest ways possible. Congrats, spidey!

Our last award before the main event is the Kelly Rivet Award. The Rivet is presented to the player who shined on the ice as our most valuable player. In the past few seasons there have been countless players who have absolutely dominated and been forces for other teams to deal with but the team did a good job narrowing things down for us! Our nominees:

Justin Time - @RAmenAmen
Viktor Hargreeves - @lore
Dominik Winters - @39alaska39

While a couple of these players were nominated already for the Tanner, they’re still getting acknowledged by their teammates for being the most valuable players on the ice! I think that says something to the team wanting to shine a light on the players of the team that may be missed for the reason that the Pride are playing well and the team wants everyone to feel how crucial they were to the overall success of the team. You can make that argument for a whole bunch of players on the team like the nominations show but there was one who received more votes than the rest…

VIKTOR HARGREEVES - @lore

Viktor Netflix has been a leader for the team for what feels like a generation. A soon-to-be first ballot hall of famer, Hargreeves has put up several 100 point seasons for the team and this one was no different! Over 50 goals at 52 and nearly 110 points, Hargreeves was someone that the offense could rally behind. No matter what regression has been throwing at Viktor, it seems that nothing has been making an impact on him and the performances just keep piling on. It seems inevitable that Hargreeves will be leading point scorer in franchise history and that’s exactly what the team was hoping for when selecting him at the S68 Entry Draft to start off this new era.

Finally, it is time to award the Henrik Lekberg Osterman Award for the season. The HLO Award is presented to the player who was considered to best represent the team in the past season. This could be through locker room or on-ice contributions or something entirely outside both those things. The purpose of the HLO is to acknowledge someone who exemplifies what we are looking for from the Pride roster members. We want to lift these people up to give them the biggest of thanks and show to the rest of the league the great users that make the Pride the Pride. Here are the nominees for this season:

Rowan O'Beirne - @Caleb
The out-going general manager of the team, the FHM guru, the chosen one. Caleb has cemented his place in history for San Francisco as the GM who was able to break the curse on the franchise and get the Challenge Cup. Caleb joined San Francisco as a third-round pick and as a first-generation user quickly got involved in front office work and quickly developed into a manager that likely will have a statue out in front of the arena for as long as we’re around. It’s clear why the team wanted to give a shout-out!

Sydney Shaw - @BadWolf
Of course with the out-going general manager there will also be the need general manager of the team, BW! Since being acquired by the team from Winnipeg BW has been a constant voice in the locker room and someone that has shined as a leader for the team over the past so many seasons. I was very excited when I found out that she was interested in taking on the general manager position after all her hard work to build a good community with Yukon in the SMJHL. I have no doubt that she’ll be able to keep this team competing and lead a new generation for the Pride as well. Here is what one of the Pride had to say: “BW is everywhere, at every time (she's awake). She's been a bright spot of the LR ever since we acquired her, and now she's taken in even more responsibility by being named Head GM after we lost both out Co and Head GMs within a month of each other. She deserves all the recognition she can get for this feat.”

Dominik Winters - @39alaska39
Alaska has been very involved with the team since being drafted in the top five of his draft in all areas of the locker room. Winters is a huge part of the team and things wouldn’t be how they are without Alaska. Alaska took on managing some things for the team to help his teammates feel more immersed in the game and is someone who will continue to be a huge part of the team moving forward. Here is what one teammate wrote as their reason for their vote: “Alaska is always hyping up the team in the LR and is the kind of user who glues a team together. He supports his teammates, quietly earns to give the most for the Pride, and has been a cornerstone of the team for as long as I've been here.”

Justin Time - @RAmenAmen
Acquiring Ramen was a huge turning point for the franchise that would point to signs of the curse finally being defeated. Arguably the face of the goalie position in this generation of players, it was a match made in heaven when the Pride needed some more consistency and Edmonton prepared to enter a new generation. Ramen brought a ton of experience and leadership with him to the Pride and quickly got to work helping wherever possible. The Pride would not have been able to win the Challenge Cup without his help both in the sim and in the locker room.

Levin Schattenaxt - @KlusteR
“He doesn't word vomit [Editor note: I have no idea who this is referencing…] as much as some of us do, but everything he does contribute is meaningful and always makes me happy and/or horrified (in a nice way). KlusteR is quality over quantity, and I hope he never changes.” We start with a quote from one of Kluster’s teammates to show how valued he is in the locker room. A first-overall selection for San Francisco, Kluster and Levin were what I looked at as someone you could build a team around. Kluster is a natural leader and helped keep everyone motivated while players were developing into the force the Pride is today. He is someone who contributes everywhere he can for the betterment of the team and the league and we are incredibly thankful to call him a friend and teammate.

Logan Webb - @spidey
Our final nominee for the HLO Award is Spidey! The Petrenko recipient for the season, it shouldn’t really be a surprise to see Webb come up again as a nominee for the HLO as well. Spidey always has a good morning for the team and is around throughout the day to keep conversations moving along. One of the older SHL members, spidey is a great example of the gem users that did exist back then in some… more interesting times for the league. He is someone who has become and incredible person in the San Francisco spaces and an incredible Father outside the league as well. We love having you around! We just don’t envy your old man back pain. )

The S78 HLO Award recipient is…

LEVIN SCHATTENAXT / @KlusteR !

While there are many users that would deserve this win, Kluster is a perfect recipient for the return of the team awards. I don’t think that the team comes together without Kluster being there to help advise the direction of the team and be an invaluable member of the league since returning. Thank you for being you and we hope you keep contributing the making San Francisco a place to be!

Thank you to everyone who took time to read this and most importantly, !rollpride