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FuzzSHL · 08-28-2019, 11:55 AM

(Ready to grade || 4016 words)

So I posted a podcast questions thread before the season started hoping to be able to start up a podcast, but life sort of got in the way. The first session I tried to record, my mic just decided it wanted the day off and didn’t want to cooperate. Then by the time it was working again, it was time for me to get all of my wisdom teeth out (yay…). So that was another period of time I had to delay the podcast, at least until everything was healed. During that time, I had to move back up for my last semester of college. Here’s where the fun begins.

This calendar year, I have had 4 (FOUR) housing arrangements fall through on me. Then, when I finally thought I found one, the person I was going to sublease from decided they were going to push their move-out date back from the 19th of August to September first. Okay, no big deal, I’ll crash with a friend for two weeks.

Now that move-out date is mid -September, meaning I won’t be able to get in until October 1. So I’m crashing in a 250 sq ft (liberal estimate) studio apartment with zero cell service until further notice, and the podcast will have to be put on hold for now. So, I’m going to go ahead and write up an article covering the different questions I was asked in my podcast thread to get something out of it for the time being. I apologize to those who asked me questions expecting a podcast out of it, but hopefully this will do for now until life decides to be cooperative again.

I’m gonna start with a set of questions that were asked further down in the questions thread, but I think is a good place to start.

08-10-2019, 12:23 PMBonk Wrote: Could you tell me a little bit about yourself?

Who are your favorite sports teams ( NHL, MLB, NBA etc..)?

What was the last concert you went to?

And welcome to the SHL podcasting.

Thanks for the questions Bonk! Stoked to have you in NOLA!

I am a 5th year senior at Appalachian State in North Carolina, currently majoring in Psychology with a Business concentration and a Computer Information Systems minor. I play way too many video games (when I actually have my computer) and am practically always listening to music. I used to produce music and was almost signed to a label when I was 16 (it was a small Dutch electronic label that I don’t think exists anymore) but messed up a vocal splice and, well long story short, got told I couldn’t resubmit something by someone who was then fired after the fact, but that’s a story for another day. I love snowboarding but am ass cheeks when it comes to actual skill, but it’s still fun.

I am way too big of a sports fan for my own good. I still believe I made a mistake in going to school for Psychology instead of sports journalism or broadcasting, maybe I’ll be able to go back for that at some point. Anywho, starting with college sports. I spent 4th grade to 8th grade in Durham, so I am a huge Duke fan when it comes to college basketball. In terms of college football, I like Duke, and they’ve been better in recent years than they used to be, but it’s now App State all the way (yes, I remember Michigan). I haven’t missed a home App game in the 4 years I’ve been enrolled, and even got to go to the very first bowl game they ever went to. Ended with a time-expiring field goal to win it, that was a hell of a game. In terms of pro sports, I’m a HUGE New York Yankees and Carolina Panthers fan, and an even bigger Carolina Hurricanes fan. I’m hoping the Panthers can get their shit together in an odd year and make the playoffs again and I’m hoping the Canes keep up their momentum from last year and take over this year. Yankees are killing it right now.

The last concert I went to was a Dan + Shay/Chris Lane concert with my girlfriend. I’m not a huge country fan myself, but she is, and that was actually a pretty good concert. My favorite concert I’ve ever been to is probably a tie between Logic and Blackbear. Both put on amazing shows, but my appreciation for Blackbear’s music has faded over the past 2 or so years.

08-10-2019, 01:27 AMFlareon Wrote: Hi Fuzz big fan

What are your scouting and drafting strategies? What are some team secrets you wouldn't want other teams to know? How the hell are you top of the league after a big blowup? And finally, how would you feel about giving Halifax some of your S50 picks? It's okay you can trust me

-A loyal fan

Okay first of all, if you have any questions about the site or whether or not you’re doing something right, check out this man’s video tutorial in the Create A Player forum. It’s good stuff. Second of all, thanks for the questions!

Just to go in order, scouting and drafting are two of my favorite things to do in the offseason, but man are they time consuming. I honestly take scouting a little differently depending on whether I’m scouting for the SMJHL or the SHL. This question alone could merit a media article by itself, especially if I did a deep dive on certain players in the past (who went too early, too late, just right, and why), but that’s something maybe to look forward to this upcoming offseason. In my opinion, there are certain differences in each league that makes scouting for them just different enough. I’m gonna start with my ideologies for SMJHL scouting, as some of it helps to explain my thoughts on the SHL.

For the SMJHL though, it varies depending on recreates vs first gen players. Anyone who has scouted I think already knows this, but for those who haven’t, you kind of know what to expect out of a recreate. You know how they like to build players, if they can build a good one, how active they’re gonna be, etc etc. For juniors, looking at their previous players really should just answer this question: are they going to reach the cap. You’re not so much concerned with whether or not they get to 1000 TPE or 1700 TPE, just whether or not they get to 350. Another thing you know about recreates is their attitude. Are they going to be helpful in the locker room? Are they going to be a good presence for any first gen players you get? Are they going to be quiet? Have they shown tendencies to be aggressive and mean towards people? All of these are things to think about, especially if you’re expecting (or currently have) quite a few first generation players, whose experience with other members plays a large part in how active they are and whether or not they stick around.

First generation players (we’re gonna stick with the FG abbreviation for them) are definitely trickier in some cases. I try my best to reach out to as many as I can once they create to try and talk to them, gauge their interest, how active they might be, and try to get answers to some of the same personality questions that you already know with recreates. Another thing to take into account is whether or not they do media. For FG players, this is basically the source of income for them. Some seem super excited and ready to get at building up their player, but get turned off by things when they realize they have to find a way to make money. At the end of the day though, my personal ranking of FG players lies solely on their personality and activity level for the SMJHL. If you find someone who is a good person and seems really excited about the site, it’s not too difficult to get them some help in the things they’re struggling with to help them out. I don’t necessarily draft by position, as noted by the fact that we drafted, what, one defenseman this past reddit draft? I’d rather have a team of guys who talk to each other and are having fun than to force myself to draft a less active/excited person at a position of need. That might just be me though, but whatever.

For the SHL, you kind of know the personalities of both recreates and FG players by the time the draft comes around. This is where you can start paying more attention to builds and positions, especially in a reddit draft where there are so many good players to choose from. I still follow the ideologies of @JKortesi81 where we want personality over position. This whole thing is supposed to be fun so I want to be able to find people that help continue maintaining a positive environment in the locker room.

Team secrets? Well, there was one “secret”, but it’s not so much a secret anymore. With that being said, if you’re reading this and have experience making original logos, send me a private message.

*sigh* Man I wish we were still at the top of the league, that hot start didn’t last too long. In fact, we’re 2-7-4 in our last 13 games. It has been a rough go of it lately for Montreal. The hot start was really nice though.

How would I feel about giving Halifax some of my picks? Well, how about I give you some aging players instead, turned out great in the Klozoff trade, right? In all seriousness, no one could have seen that coming and I’m sorry you got stuck dealing with that end of things. But if you want my picks, you know what I’m looking for and how to reach me. <3

08-10-2019, 02:00 AMfrithjofr Wrote: Hey Fuzz, long time listener, first time giving a shit-er.

Welcome to the wonderful world of podcasting and congratulations on taking over Montreal. Gabe's hometown is Montreal.

A couple questions for you;

1) How would you say your previous scouting experience has prepared you for the GM position, if at all?

2) What are some of the differences between scouting in the J and scouting for the big leagues?

3) You came in with a reddit draft, and next season the SHL is going to have a reddit of their own. Do you think the experience of coming in from a reddit draft will help you in scouting?

4) How are you preparing for the upcoming draft, both as an SHL scout and as a GM in the J? How are you prepping your boys in Montreal for the draft?

Hope those questions give you plenty to talk about!

Thanks for the questions Frith!
1) Honestly, I think the scouting aspect mainly helped in drafting. Getting that experience in both leagues, knowing what GMs look for and how they rank prospects, that definitely helped in this last draft. I think the thing that helped me the most though was (and is) being Co-Fed Head of Team USA. This gave me some experience with the sim engine and in engineering a roster. Those two things definitely worked together to help prepare me though. If I had only been in one of those positions I don’t think I would have been as well prepared as I was having been in both.

2) Check my response to Flareon above for the answer for this. Also, I might make a more in-depth post this offseason. Idk yet.

3) I think being a part of one helped me a little bit. I was talking with a bunch of people in the discord and that got some people’s attention. I’m not sure that being a part of one helped me a ton, but it did help in knowing how rookies interact in that environment. I think being a part of the drafting side of a reddit draft helped a bit more than actually being a part of the class itself though. Either way, I’m excited for the draft again, but I’m mainly focusing on getting Montreal through the rest of the season.

4) As a GM, I’m trying to keep my guys focused on having fun. I’ve had a rough go of IRL stuff lately but my management team has been outstanding in helping out our rookies and talking every day. Every day I’m more and more excited about who we got out of the draft, it has been a really fun season so far. As a scout, I’m keeping an eye on the rookies in the locker rooms I’m a part of, who’s active and who’s not, who seems like their excitement is still there and whose has tapered off a bit. I will probably spend more time scouting in the offseason leading up to the draft, but for now I’m mainly just keeping an eye on the rookies on my team.

08-10-2019, 03:51 AMTnlAstatine Wrote: Who is your favorite player that you know the least about? Like loving from a-far?

Assuming you mean SHL player (or SMJHL for that matter), I actually haven’t really given this much thought before. Honestly, I’d probably say your player. We talked quite a bit in the rookie LR and you’ve put up some fantastic numbers the past few seasons.

08-10-2019, 11:51 AMSlashACM Wrote: Favorite song from 2010

Guess Cain's save percentage after 44 games

Well howdy, Slash! Without a doubt my favorite song from 2010 is Raise Your Weapon by Deadmau5, with One by Swedish House Mafia taking up a close second.

If I had actually done a podcast earlier this season, I would have guessed around .906, but you’re sitting at a .903 right now with a few games left to go. I personally believe that percentage goes up, with .906 being the ceiling. So anywhere from .904 to .906 would be my guess.

08-10-2019, 11:52 AMNictox Wrote: Talk about you plans for Montreal’s future.
Are you looking at a rebranding?
Vanilla or Chocolate
Hot Fuzz or Shawn of the Dead?
Who is your favorite player that you scouted from any league/team.

Hey Nic! So, this might be a little easier after the trade deadline has come and gone. When I took over in Montreal, the locker room was just a bit dead. Not many people were talking, and those who were were mainly alumni. So our plan heading into last draft was to get as many active rookies as possible to jump start the locker room activity.Without a doubt we managed to do that, each and every day the locker room reminds me that, as a team, we made some pretty good decisions on our picks. Some didn’t pan out, but you’re not gonna hit 100% every time. Moving forward, we have to seriously think about how we manage our draft picks and our roster. We currently run the risk of having a large majority of our team getting called up at the same time in a season or two, so we’ll have to think about roster management going forward. Regardless of this season’s outcome though, I am stoked for next season, especially after acquiring Kaspars Claude.

Well this is probably our worst kept secret. We are currently looking at rebranding the Militia. If/when it happens, I will go into more detail as to our thought process throughout this whole thing, but rest assured we are taking into account the thoughts and opinions of everyone that we can that have been associated with the Militia at one point or another. For those who have not been contacted about this and are an alum of Montreal, feel free to reach out to me via PM or on Discord.

Vanilla or chocolate honestly depends on the mood, but I’m gonna have to give the edge to chocolate here. So much better by itself.

Man, did you even have to ask? Hot Fuzz

Oh gosh, that’s a good one. Honestly, I think I think it has to be one of the guys from this most recent class. Legend and I had an amazing talk before the draft. Everything he was saying just kept checking the right boxes for me. He’s been an absolute trooper all season and he’s been so helpful with the first gen players, I was honestly thinking about taking him in the second round. I also had a really good chat with ACapitalChicago before the draft. A lot of how he was handling things and was looking at things reminded me of me when I made my player. He’s unfortunately had some bad sim luck this season, but he’s come into the locker room day in and day out with a team-first positive mindset. RaginCajun and ImASurvivor also were absolute steals in their own right, they’re killing it this season and are both really active in the LR. I don’t think I can bring myself to pick a favorite from this past class, or from anyone I’ve scouted in the seasons before for that matter.

08-10-2019, 11:54 AMClint Eastwood Wrote: Hi Fuzzy.

Favorite teammate on New Orleans?

Favorite GM on New Orleans?

Waffles or Pancakes?

Would you rather cheer for the Bruins or cheer for the Capitals?

Are you in on the raid?

Hey there Clint!

Cmon man, how are you gonna do me like that. If I had to pick, I’d say either Sloth or Nic. But to make me choose between anyone on that squad is just like Nic asking me who my favorite scouted player was. Truly.

As for GM, I’ve got a lot of respect for TDZ and consider him a good friend, but I’ve got to give the edge to JoeK. He drafted me in St Louis and in New Orleans. He’s been there for advice every step of the way and has given me confidence in the different things I’ve done on the site so far. He’s just the goat all around. I hope to be even half the GM that he is.

Pancakes. Waffles are good, but sometimes you get a hard waffle and it’s just not pleasant to eat. Sure, if you’re too slow with pancakes they get really soggy, but that’s why you’ve got to manage the amount of syrup you put on them.

Oh dear God, man. That’s like asking if I’d rather eat garbage or lick a toilet. I’m going to have to say Capitals, and here’s why. Boston has been absolutely spoiled with sports success and its insufferable. I’d much rather listen to someone talk about how good Ovi is than to hear someone start a conversation about how Marchand isn’t really that bad before segueing into the Red Sox or Patriots. There are, admittedly, some Bruins fans who aren’t insufferable, and are actually pleasant to talk to. We have a few in MTL. But I have definitely ran into more insufferable Bruins fans than Caps fans, so if I had a gun to my head and had to choose, I’d first ask to be shot, then I would begrudgingly cheer for the Caps.

Raid?

08-10-2019, 12:21 PMbluesfan55 Wrote: hi fuzz thanks for listing out your resume and flexing on all of us
Why am I Bloss and not bloos
have you bought the yimz
favorite nip nug moments? List from 1 to 10

Hey Bloss. Thanks for respecting the flex.

We all make typos (both verbal typos and literal typos) when we’re drunk. You will continue to be Bloss until my drunken self determines otherwise.

The yimz are in the wishlist but I am but a broke boi.

That’s a novel within itself. Izzy’s arrival, the yimz, and Bloss are near the top, but I don’t know if I can do a 1-10 list right now.

08-10-2019, 01:54 PMHuck24 Wrote: Hey @FuzzSHL, what motivated you to become an SMJHL GM? And how will playing for two of the best franchises, help you in being a new GM? Lastly, how are the Hurricanes going to do this year?

08-11-2019, 01:45 PMztevans Wrote: Which goalie will end up starting the most games for the Hurricanes this season? Will the Mrazzle Dazzle continue for another season or will it be one of the new additions (or Ned omg)?

I’m gonna block these together as they are kind of related. Thanks to both of you for the questions!

When I first joined the site, I told JK that one day I wanted to be a part of management. Luckily, I got brought on to scout for both STL and NOLA, but I always had an itch to have a little more control. Test lines, make some trades, draft who I wanted to draft and who I thought would good. When I heard about the openings this past offseason, I talked to a few people who I thought would make a good Co, and I sent in my application. The days leading up to the announcement I was so antsy and anxious. I kept getting told not to worry and that I had a good shot, but I just couldn’t help it. It was such a relief getting the message from Grok saying I got the position. Playing for and working with two of the best franchises in the SHL/SMJHL helped me immensely. The advice and guidance from JoeK, TDZ, TML, Nic, Blast, it has been second to none. The management team we have right now also has played a big part in the team’s success and in my transition into the GM role.

To answer both of your questions, I think the Hurricanes can be even better this year than last, but it’s contingent on a few things. Does Erik Haula stay healthy? Do Svech/Foegele/Wallmark take steps forward like they should? How does the defense work together with Priskie/Bean/Fleury possibly making the roster? Does Mrazek keep form or regress? I’m confident in every player’s ability to go above and beyond expectations, especially with RBA at the helm, but I think I’m mostly concerned with Haula’s health. If he can bring his form from two years ago back, that’s a steal of a player and the team will take huge strides forward.

To more precisely answer Zach’s answer, it depends. If the Canes don’t trade Reimer, I think he gets the backup starts this season unless Ned beats him out in camp. I don’t think one more season in Charlotte will necessarily hurt Ned, but I do think he has earned his shot in the NHL.I think Mrazek, barring injury, gets the bulk of the starts this season.

Thank you everyone for the questions and I again apologize for this being a media article and not an actual podcast. Here’s to hoping I can get a podcast in soon.

Mentioned in this post: @Bonk @Flareon @frithjofr @TnlAstatine @SlashACM @Nictox @Clint Eastwood @bluesfan55 @Huck24 @ztevans @slothfacekilla @Blastmeaway @TML99 @JKortesi81 @ImASurvivor @ACapitalChicago @Legend

If I missed anyone, I apologize