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yonggarius · 04-02-2021, 08:53 AM

Most people tend to laugh out loud when they first see Robot Sunfish. And they tend to laugh even harder when people tell them that Sunfish is a hocky player in a pro team. That's quite understandable, as Sunfish doesn't exactly look like a professional hocky player. In fact, it's even unsure if he should be called a player, as he is not human at all. Robot Sunfish is just what his name suggests- a robotic Sunfish which plays hockey.

Naturally, the next question will be 'why would you make a hockey playing robot into a shape of sunfish?'. And for that, the answer is that you don't. Sunfish was originally designed to be a dam cleaning robot. Unfortunate circumstances and a rather hasty modification finally made Sunfish become a hockey playing robot that he is today.

So it's not surprising that people didn't took Sunfish seriously when he first entered the pool for the SMJHL draft. Most people took one look at his appearance and thought he'll be a crappy low liner, at best. His low draft position- 45th overall in the fourth round to the Vancouver Whalers- is a testament that the GMs had a similar thought.

However, Whaler fans got a pleasant surprise when the season started. It turns out, Sunfish was actually a better hockey player than expected. Through the course of his rookie season Sunfish recorded 9 goals, 14 assists, 69 (nice) hits, 16 takeaways and 39 blocked shots among others. While nothing breathtaking, that statline is certainly more than decent for a rookie third liner. He held his own on both offense and defense, although his point plus/minus was a bit low at -2 and he spent a bit too much time in the box. (Although he had reasons behind that)

And that was not the extent of Sunfish's use. His true strength show when emotions heat up on the ice. As an ex- dam cleaning robot, Sunfish was constructed using very sturdy materials in order to withstand the water pressure and frequent bumps. And as weight reduction was not considered important for a robot for the use, Sunfish ended up being a big and heavy robot. And after the modifications, he became bigger and heavier. And Sunfish utilized this physical specification of his to the full extent. Sliding into the previously empty enforcer slot for the Whalers, Sunfish was always on the front when a conflict broke out on the rink. He was personally involved in 6 fights, and resoundingly beat his opponent in 3 occasions. And even when he was not directly involved, Sunfish acted as a great shield for his teammate with his unique body shape. His fights had positive effects in team morale, and gave the fans a much anticipated spectacle.

Despite his somewhat successful rookie campain in the junior league, there is still doubt regarding Sunfish's ability to really perform. SHL scouts argue that SHL level of competition is much higher than that of junior leagues, and some people question if a robot has the mindset and commitment to play hockey in the highest level.

Sunfish, however, sounded confident regarding those concerns when he was asked to answer the doubts of many hocky fans and mock drafters. "I'm quite confident that I'll be able to hold my own even in the big leagues" Sunfish said in his trademark artificial intelligence- like voice. "I'm consistently getting updates to my hockey playing software, and I even got some modifications to my hardware to make me go faster and stronger on the ice." When he was asked about the concerns regarding his mindset and commitment, Sunfish actually laughed out loud (or made a smiliar sound to that more like, in his robotic voice). "People do know that I'm a robot, right?" Was the first coherent word he said after that. "Robots don't exactly have a mind of their own. They mostly do what they are programmed to do. And while I have some moments that I can act on my own thanks to artificial intelligence, but on the hockey field I do just as the coach programmed me to. So don't worry about me causing off field issues or doing stupid things on the field- you can always re program me at a click of a button."

It seemed like Sunfish really wanted a chance to advocate himself to the scouts before the upcoming SHL entry draft. "You see, it's kinda hard to hold a private workouts for the scouts with the battery charge time and all that. Also it seems like some scouts were skeptical if they should stage an interview with a robot. So naturally I have quite a few things to say". When he was asked about his best selling points, Sunfish said: "as I said, I do exactly as I'm programmed on the ice. So if you want a player who can execute exactly what the manager wants, that's me. Also, I'm made of steel. So it's not exactly a good idea to punch me. One poor dude found it out the hard way when he had to be carted off the field to get his hand treated.... that's how I won one of my fights."

Robot Sunfish will begin the journey towards the big leagues in a few days. Whether he'll be a good player like he confidently says or if he'll succumb to uncertainty like the words of his doubters is a mystery for now. But whatever the end result will be, it will be very interesting to watch how the career of Robot Sunfish pan out. Where will he be selected this upcoming draft? Will he make it to the big leagues? The road towards being the greatest robotic player in SHL will be long and hard, but it certainly seems like Sunfish is up for the journey.

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Alright, that's enough of in- character writing. So this scouting process has been a very enjoyable experience for me. Being a prospect again is a lot of fun, especially after a long time being on the other side of scouting process albeit on a different league. Unlike the SMJHL draft process, where I physically didn't have time to do anything (as I literally created at the day before the draft) and therefore got drafted in a relatively low pick, this time I had plenty of time to enjoy the scouting process and 'raise my draft stock', so to speak. So naturally I'm looking to improve my draft position in this draft.

And so far, it seems like that effort is going relatively well. 9 teams- which amount to half of all SHL teams- have contacted me, and I had really good conversations with quite a few among those 9 GM/scouts. And now I want to explain what kind of a guy I will be as a user for the other half of teams that has not contacted me yet, as I want to boost my draft stock just a bit more.

First, regarding TPE, I'll most likely be a max earner. I tend to be immersed very deeply into hobbies that fit me well, and lose interest quickly to things that don't. If you translate that to sim league language, I'm a 'max earner or bust' kind of guy. And so far, I'm really into SHL, as I like the culture and the activities it provide very much. Also I don't think that'll change in the immediate future, either. So you can expect me to be a max earner or something close to that.

About my player, my plan with Sunfish is to be a team player. You see, I don't know much about hockey; there's no hockey league here in South Korea, and I couldn't even find the puck when I watched a hockey game during the 2018 winter olympics. Even though I learned a lot about hockey during the season I spent in SMJHL, the primary thing I'm looking for in SHL is a fun environment in the locker room, and the team winning (as that's one of the few things that I can actually understand lmao). So I'll gladly play whatever the team needs me to, and won't mind at all if Sunfish doesn't get good stats. My ISFL player is making a good argument towards hall of fame right now; and I think that's enough of those kind of players from me in both leagues.

As I mentioned, locker room environment is very important to me. I'd like an active and mature environment, and I will be very happy if there's some euro guys to keep me company while American guys sleep (my time zone is GMT+9, so that's 13 hours faster than EDT). I will most likely stay to be a franchise star for the team that drafts me unless I seriously dislike their culture as I like the idea of being a team's franchise star, and free agency and trades just don't strike my fancy for some weird reason.

When it comes to earning money, I'll probably pump out media pieces for my main source of money. And if I get more familiar with the workings of SHL, I will probably get a league job, maybe something along the lines of media grader, banker or rookie mentor type jobs, if SHL have those. I plan to earn enough money to be a max earner for a long time through the aforementioned methods.

So that was a brief overview of what kind of player and user I will be. I'm really looking forward to the SHL draft, especially since I'll be awake to watch it live unlike the juniors draft. It's also my first time watching a live draft, so it'll be a very interesting experience on that regards, too. I don't think I'll be too sad if I fell more than I thought, although I'll be very happy if I go higher than my expectation. I can't wait to find out where I'll end up, and I certainly hope that the team will be a place that my player will stay for his whole career! (1,686 words)

*ZootTX* · 04-02-2021, 09:39 AM

Who wouldn't want a Robot Sunfish on their team? Anyone who drafts you is getting a steal.

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