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KC15 · 09-08-2019, 10:45 PM

This is my very first media piece in the SHL and so I believe it qualifies for a double payout.

I am a new user in the SHL and, of course, my player is a new create in the SHL universe. This article is meant to introduce both of us to the league and so it will be in two parts.

Part I – SHL News Interviews Abel Skinner

Q. So, Abel, you are brand new to the SHL universe. Can you start by telling us a little bit about yourself?

A. Sure, I’m Abel Skinner and I am a defenseman and S51 prospect. I was born and raised in Pontypridd, Wales in Cwm Rhondda, the Rhondda Valley, about twelve miles north of Cardiff.

Q. Forgive us, but they play hockey in Wales?

A. Sure they do! Yeah, it’s not as popular as it is in Canada, Sweden or the United States, but we play. And there have been Welsh players that play for Team Great Britain. Actually, Wales has a women’s national team, as well and they’re pretty good, if I do say so myself.

Q. What brings you to the SHL?

A. Well, I started playing for the Cardiff Devils in the Welsh Elite League and my coach thought I had enough talent to make it in the SHL. I don’t know about that, but I trust him and thought why not take a shot. He even got me a tryout for Team Great Britain and they’ve put me on the expanded roster. I’m sure it’s going to take some time to develop and prove myself, but I’d like to make the national team playing for Great Britain in the IIHF. Can’t hurt to have a Welshman to round things out. If nothing else, I can teach them to sing. <Skinner winks and smiles>

Q. Wait a second. Again, forgive me as I’m not that familiar with your country, but Abel Skinner sounds like a quintessential English name. I thought Welsh was all double l’s, and a bunch of consonants all strung together.

A. Haha! Yeah, I forgive you and in any case, you’re right. Skinner is definitely more of an English name than a Welsh one. I’ve never really traced our family history. It’s really possible that we wandered across the border centuries ago. But all I know is that we have been in Wales for as many generations back as anyone in the family can remember. Heck, my first language is Welsh, though I started learning English as early as 4 or 5.

Q. So is your father a miner?

A. Actually, all of my family were miners back in the day, but they closed all the mines in Britain back in 2008. My family got retrained to work as electricians, carpenters, etc. By the way, we still burn coal in the UK – but it’s imported. Plans are to cease all use of coal by 2025, but I don’t know. It may be bad, but have you ever smelled the smell of the smoke from coal fires burning in family fire places? Heaven!

Q. So back to hockey. You say you are a defenseman. What’s your game like?

A. I’ve got a lot of grit, but I’m still not the biggest guy on the ice so I’ve concentrated on my skating and puck handling skills as well as being in position for the blocked shot. And I’ve always been one to jump up into the play to create some offense. I guess that would be the best way to describe me; I’m an offensive-minded defenseman. <grins>

Q. What are your goals in the SHL?

A. <laughs> Firstly, to get drafted by an SMJHL team! And I’d like to go early in the draft. That would give me a huge confidence boost. I really don’t want to disappoint my coach, my family – or myself. I could talk about winning Cups for my junior team, future SHL team and Great Britain, but doesn’t everyone want that ultimately? Basically, I’m trying to keep it simple for now. I just want a chance to prove myself and if/when I land on a team, I want to prevent the other guys from scoring on my watch and score a few goals myself.

Q. You may have heard that sometimes team need may require a player to play out of position. How do you feel about that?

A. That’s perfectly fine with me! I’ve got some skills on both sides of the puck and I just want to help the team win. I don’t know if there is anything like a full position switch in the SHL, like I’ve heard there is in the sister baseball league (PBE), but I’d consider anything that will help the team.

Q. Sounds like you’ve got a good attitude there, Abel. Best wishes for every success in your quest for a career in the SHL.

Part II – KC Philip Introduces Himself

Hello SHL world! My name is KC Philip and I have come to the SHL from the PBE – Professional Baseball Experience. I have been constantly hearing about the SHL from people on our discord and seeing the links to SHL PTs to cover our PTs so decided to come over and give it a try. Loving it so far! But more on that in a bit.

The PBE is my first experience in a sim league and I loved it so much over there that I’ve gotten very involved. I just finished up my fifth regular season in the league and my CF, Seth Crossland, has just crossed the 1000 TPE mark. I’m a near max earner never missing an Activity Check, Weekly Training, PT or JPT, Prediction. Don’t have every TPE possible though as I don’t always pick the right teams to win the prime time games or make the playoffs. <grin>

I’ve gotten involved in the league in other ways too. I’m currently GM of the Kansas City Hepcats in our minor leagues and Head Updater. The Hepcats were an expansion team this year and we came to within one game of making the playoffs in our first year. That’s thanks to some great drafting advice from my co-GM and a great bunch of players who stayed active and updated consistently. It was really a blast branding a new team and we waited to finalize our logo until we could have a discussion in our LR with the newly drafted team.

I’ve been Head Updater for the past 4 seasons and was an updater before that in my rookie season. I’ve also been co-GM of a major league club and a banker. I was even briefly in HO, but I left when an unexpected opening for co-GM of Crossland’s major league club presented itself.

So, back to my first impressions of the SHL. I’m pretty sure that there is the same kind of drama that you find in all online communities, which I hate, but I am really enjoying myself so far. Everyone has been so friendly and helpful. I’ve already been spending time in the Great Britain LR on discord and that’s been a great experience. I can’t wait to get good enough to get on the ice wearing the Union Jack. As for the drama, when it pops up, I’ll basically ignore it like I do in the PBE. I’m not really into wrangling over rules and who has done what thing (supposedly) wrong or running down other teams or players. I’m here to have fun and when people don’t behave as well as they might, I just turn away and spend more time with the good people who make up 90%+ of the community.

I’m really eager for the playoffs to wrap up so that we can get to the SMJHL draft and Abel Skinner can take the ice!

Flareon · 09-08-2019, 10:50 PM

***ProjectSaint*** · 09-08-2019, 11:18 PM

Insert Rule Brittania

**The__Y-man__100** · 09-09-2019, 12:18 AM

Welcome to the SHL Cheers

First ever Yukon Malamute draft pick (1st overall S65)

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