07-01-2020, 12:15 PM(This post was last modified: 07-03-2020, 03:36 AM by FuzzSHL.)
Hello everyone. For those of you who don't know, @cpetrella and I took over as a GM duo for the then Montreal Militia in S49. After one season in Montreal, the team was moved to Carolina and rebranded as the Carolina Kraken. Trella and I have gone on to become the winningest GM duo in Montreal/Carolina's long and storied history with a regular season record of 166-110-24. Now, Trella is off to the big leagues, and our time as a GM duo is sadly coming to an end. To celebrate the seasons we've had together and the success we've had, we are holding a joint presser.
If you have a question for one of us specifically make sure to mention it, but if it is a question in general we will both answer it. Ask away!
07-01-2020, 12:22 PMreid_sutherland Wrote: New Co announcement when?
Fuzz: My new Co is already lined up and will be announced at the conclusion of the Kraken's playoff run!
07-01-2020, 12:25 PMPremierBromanov Wrote: How will you seek to undermine trella from the outside?
Fuzz: That's for me to know and Trella to find out
07-01-2020, 12:26 PMpeej2189 Wrote: What sparked the move from Montreal to Carolina?
07-01-2020, 12:33 PMbluesfan55 Wrote: why did you get rid of montreal
Fuzz: The more detailed version can be found in the linked article above about the move, but here's the short version. When Trella and I took over, Montreal had a dead locker room. At most 1 or 2 currently rostered players were talked, however the most recent conversation in that LR was from 2 months or so prior to when I joined it. Of the many alumni in the discord, only 2 or so actually talked with and helped out the new rookies from that first draft (shoutout to @Keygan and @.bojo. Disclaimer: there were a few alumni that talked when I first got in there to welcome me, but after the first few days it went back to being a ghost town). The people who had said cared about the team on the site had little to nothing to do with the team in Discord. I sent a form out to all alumni I could find that asked their opinion on the state of the branding. There was a 50/50 split between alumni who wanted to see it changed and those who wanted it to stay in Montreal. Of the group that wanted it to stay in Montreal, half wanted a new Montreal branding and half wanted the Militia. Of the group that wanted the militia, half wanted the current colors and half wanted the old burgundy and gold. With such a split decision when it came to the branding and no vocal support for the team in general (as a team, not the branding) in the locker room, we started to explore possible branding ideas. Contrary to popular belief, we did in fact explore possible branding ideas that kept the team in Montreal. We didn't come up with anything that we liked (fun fact: Montreal Citadels was an idea we explored, but thought it was too close to the AHL team) that kept the team in Montreal. We narrowed it down to a few and let the current roster at the time vote on what they liked. Another fun fact: the current branding was a suggestion of a rookie that was on the team in S49.
I know I said short version, but hopefully that answers your question.
07-01-2020, 12:28 PMWannabeFinn Wrote: The only GM in Carolina history is the winningest GM
Amazing
Fuzz: Amazing
07-01-2020, 12:30 PMGeekusoid Wrote: This is my second season doing WJC General Management, which I have found a bit of an addiction to (for lack of a better term).
What advice do you have to upcoming GM candidates about running an SMJHL team, or even an SHL team? What are some of the things you hate about it vs what you enjoy?
Fuzz: First of all, I want to say you've been doing an amazing job as USA WJC GM. It's sad (but understandable) that they've implemented a GMing cap for the WJC, and its going to be sad to see you go.
My first piece of advice would be to be careful about who you choose to be in your management. Your management group is going to be the group of people who helps you discuss trades, they're going to help bring a different set of eyes when test simming or doing lines, but most importantly they're going to be the group of people who represent your team in an "official" manner. The last thing you want is to have someone in management representing your team poorly as it will reflect poorly on you as well. (Disclaimer, this is not from personal experience)
I would highly suggest that a prospective GM know their way around FHM, or have a Co in mind who does. Make sure you (or someone you want in management) is also organized as you will have to keep track of draft prospects, your roster, draft picks, and your budget. There's a lot that goes into being an SMJHL/SHL GM that IIHF/WJC GMing just doesn't cover. as an IIHF GM, you can't control who creates in your nation. You can try to lure transfers and keep your players from leaving, but you're limited in both aspects. As a GM in the J or the SHL, your image and how people perceive you is 100% going to effect who wants to come to your team and who wants to stay.
What do I hate? There's really not much I hate. The sim can be frustrating sometimes, but the randomness has gone down severely since the STHS days, so I can't really complain about that. I enjoy working with spreadsheets (though I'm not as good as Luke/Blast when it comes to all that), but that can be tedious. The thing that I love most about being a GM though is the locker room, especially in the case of Carolina. Seeing a locker room go from nothing to bumping is amazing, but seeing players you've drafted staying around to talk even after aging out is really satisfying. Seeing the locker room get so pumped up about games, hyping each other up, building each other up when someone is having a down day, its truly something. No matter what happens in the sim I know my team has each others backs and will continue to do so even after leaving for the big leagues. I could honestly go on and on about this, but you probably get the point.
How are you guys handling the Co-GM transition? Can you share any more details about this change?
Biggest SMJHL rivals for Carolina?
Is it a Pork Roll or Taylor Ham?
Is it pop, soda, or coke?
Are you happy with the results of the Kraken goal pledge?
Any big offseason news you can leak?
Is there a question you guys want to be asked but haven't yet?
Fuzz: One of my favorite moments, not just with Trella, but on the site in general was either the first or second cup win when we had all those people in voice chat singing and celebrating the win. It's still to this day one of my all-time favorite moments in the league period.
Other branding choices? We almost went with the Carolina Reapers, derived from the pepper by the same name. However, without someone with the ability to do a good pepper logo and the inevitable clash with the Scarecrows (who have a reaper-style logo), we ditched this idea. It is still one of my favorite branding ideas that unfortunately didn't see the light of day.
I'll give you three people I looked (and still look) up to: @JKortesi81, @thedangazone, and @Scrufdaddy. Joe was one of the first people that scouted me when I joined the league. Our conversation didn't feel like it was some pre-typed copy and paste message. It genuinely felt like he was interested in me as a person and wasn't just trying to see if I would earn or not. The way he approached scouting me (and as I would learn, scouting in general) is something I try to carry out myself when I scout for Carolina and New Orleans. TDZ has always been a voice of reason wherever I've been, whether its been in St Louis, New Orleans, or Carolina. He's an amazing person all around and I really feel lucky to have been able to interact with him around the league in the ways that I have. Scruff was the captain of the Scarecrows when I got drafted in S45. He was there to answer literally all my questions and helped keep my head up when Fox wasn't really doing all too well his rookie season. As I got to know him better, I found out he is a super-chill dude and doesn't really have qualms with anyone. Everyone I've talked to has seemed to have a high opinion of him, and rightly so. I truly don't think I'd still be around the site if it weren't for him those first few seasons.
The worst moment I've had was by far the time I traded the same pick twice. If I had reddit-protected a 4th round pick that I thought didn't matter, I wouldn't have gotten Carolina punished. Instead, thinking the reddit draft was another season away, I traded a pick I had already traded, and essentially gave up a 2nd, 4th, and two 3rds for a rental. Not my brightest moment.
I plan on talking more about who my new Co is and how the process has been behind the scenes when the official announcement goes up.
I think our biggest rivals are Detroit and Maine. I wouldn't necessarily say either of these rivals are in bad blood, we've just been competing with them the most over the past few seasons. We knocked off Laurifer Trophy winners Detroit in S49 (I apologize if that one is wrong) in a series where they were heavily favored, and since then we have always been competitive with each other. Maine I think is largely from last season where we both battled for the last playoff spot, but even in the past our respective organizations have been rivals.
Pork Roll because that actually tells me what it is. Also, Coke is a specific drink, and pop is a sound. Its called soda, people, get with it.
I would have pledged myself if I had the income to do it. Seeing the team rally around the pledge and donate so much money was (and is) so heartwarming to see. I've always told people that Carolina brings all the intangibles to the table, and that pledge just proved that that statement was right.
No leaks
Honestly, I don't know. I'd do a podcast but something always comes up when I try to record so doing a presser like this is nice. I'm just enjoying the questions in general.
07-01-2020, 12:49 PMFitted2106 Wrote: As a duo you too seem to have worked amazing together. That being said with trella departure do you see yourself maybe putting the team into more of a mindset and build you prefer or will there not be much change on your team building philosophy? Said simpler will you start to truly make this team follow and look more like you
Fuzz: Fitted, my man, I could make a whole post about just you. I know this is a Trella question, but I just wanted to poke in and say you are the true example of what the SMJHL's purpose is. Truly honored to have had the luxury of having you on the team.
07-01-2020, 01:35 PMoverdoo Wrote: Which time, if you had to pick one, were either of you the most proud of the team, and which time maybe the most disappointed?
What were your original expectations for the Militia, and then the Kraken, when you took over?
What is your favourite type of pizza?
Fuzz: I think I answered this above, but maybe not. The most proud I've been was during last season (S53). The team in general wasn't simming well, we were losing a lot of our games, and it was the exact type of season that could cause rookies to go inactive or star players to ask out. Instead, the entire team embraced the idea that "If we put the work in now, it will pay off next season." We were able to go from far beyond dead last in the league to a playoff spot where we played DET in a tight series. This season, all that work is paying off, and we've got a Conference Finals matchup to focus on. I don't think I've truly been disappointed in the team, maybe in myself in general or in a specific player for something that was done or said, but nothing worth noting here.
My original expectations were that the first season would simply be for jump-starting the locker room activity and building for the next season. The roster was built kinda weird, we were losing a goalie to the SHL, and the locker room was dead. Instead, our 13 rookies led us to a Cup, something I don't think will ever be repeated. My expectations since then have simply been for everyone to get along and help build each other up. I've always thought that if the locker room is having fun, the rest will follow. If someone is having fun, what I've seen is they're more likely to go on the site and do PTs as opposed to someone who isn't having fun, they're more likely to lose interest. As long as the team is having fun and enjoying the company of everyone else, I see that as success. Any sim success is icing on the cake.
My favorite type of pizza is one of three different pizzas, depending on my mood: normal pepperoni (Red Baron Brick Oven or Dominos), Ham and Bacon (Dominos), or Chicken and Bacon with barbecue sauce instead of red sauce.
07-01-2020, 01:44 PMLordBirdman Wrote: What do you think is the most important aspect of your GM'ing that has resulted in on ice success?
Fuzz: I think part of this was answered unintentionally in the questions above by overdoo. I think the most important aspect of my GMing has been to do my best to make sure everyone is having fun, not only in the locker room but in real life as well. If a user is happy, they're more likely to stay around and earn more TPE, which in turn helps them in the sim. If someone is having issues with something in the league I do my best to help them work through it. If someone is having issues in real life, I make sure that they know my DMs are always open, whether or not they actually want to talk about it. Sometimes just knowing someone is there for you helps. This extends to anyone who reads this as well. If you have something bothering you in real life and you just want someone to talk to about it, my DMs are open.
This is my second season doing WJC General Management, which I have found a bit of an addiction to (for lack of a better term).
What advice do you have to upcoming GM candidates about running an SMJHL team, or even an SHL team? What are some of the things you hate about it vs what you enjoy?
As a duo you too seem to have worked amazing together. That being said with trella departure do you see yourself maybe putting the team into more of a mindset and build you prefer or will there not be much change on your team building philosophy? Said simpler will you start to truly make this team follow and look more like you
FuzzSHL
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