I was prepared for the descent into chaos as soon as I heard about the gala. If there's one thing I can tell you about the players in this league it’s that they’re animals. Throw those animals into a party setting with an open bar and you’re just asking for it. I knew many, like me, would be pregaming the event so it was no surprise to me that things were loud from the get go. Not only were the fans gathered around the entrance screaming as their favorite players made their way towards the building, but the players themselves were hooting and hollering as their friends and SHL Superstars got closer. That energy really never died down throughout the whole event. I was in line for the bar when I saw Sulak O’Hritea sprint away from the bartender while double fisting vodka drinks. I knew then and there that was my cue. In the time it took me to sneak away to my car and grab my stash of craft beer the room exploded. Between the music, the people yelling (at each other or just for the hell of it), and the crashes of any type of glass you could think of… the hall was deafening. I quickly found a group of my teammates and held up my case of beer motioning them to a small round table in the middle of it all. Me, Barret, Alex, and Peter sat and watched and shared some beers as the world burned around us. There were fights, others wrestling just for the fun of it, tables flipped, one-uppers, soooo much puke, and stories told. Jakub Novak stumbled upon the table and pointed out a certain Aittokallio walking around wearing his only shirt as a hat. The whole thing was a sight to behold and that’s exactly what I did. After all... this is s50.
10-02-2019, 11:19 PM(This post was last modified: 10-03-2019, 07:33 AM by Leoben.)
Quote:C: As the night turns into morning and the drinks have been flowing, things start to get a bit unruly. Describe what's happening by the end of the night, once the older folks have gone home and the true party animals are in charge.
I'm not much on big parties to be honest and I'm sober these days so things got interesting from my perspective. Things started out normal enough as the usually do. A little social lubrication goes a long way to helping people have a good time. Once I heard the first glass break, I knew it was time to make my way to the side of the room. The ballroom turned rowdy pretty quickly. It doesn't take much to get a bunch of hockey players riled up. I took notes so I could recount the events to the participants in the morning.
- The Militia alumni and the current Kraken team got into a bloody brawl. I think someone had a machete at one point. Cops were called and arrests were made.
- Some guy in Vancouver announced his retirement after trying to pick a fight with virtually everyone (this one reminded me of something that happened a long time ago but I can't quite put my finger on it)
- The Renegades were just trying to have a good time but people kept talking shit to them telling them they don't even know how to have a good time
- Like half of the players took a break to do their podcasts
- Some guy who looked like King showed up and just said hi but everyone told him to fuck off, it wasn't even King
- Every time someone over the age of 30 stood up they were scolded and told to "sit down boomer"
- The guy who retired showed up again to say he was still retired for real
- Halfway through the party, Head Office kicked everyone out and said "This place is under quarantine, you can't come back in."
What an amazing event the SHL recently put on to begin the celebration of the 50th season. Stars from the past, present, and future were all in attendance and taking part in the festivities. The red carpet featured some awesome suits and dresses worn by players and their significant others. I decided to go with the classic black suit and had some enjoyable interviews as I made my way down the aisle. I was seated at a table alongside some of my San Francisco Pride teammates. I was lucky enough to speak with all of my past St. Louis Scarecrows teammates and most of the alumni of both the Pride and Scarecrow teams. There were some great speeches highlighting some crazy stories from the past. An amazing video package of some of the greatest goals and saves in SHL history was shown which showcased the amazing talent that have passed through this amazing league. The after party featured some really insane things that can not be discussed here to protect those involved. I look forward to how the 100th season is celebrated.
While at the Gala, Nicklaus Engel spent the early part of his evening celebrating with his DACH Teammates after their S49 WJC Gold Medal Victory, in what will probably be his last WJC. Afterwards he moved on to sit with his Kelowna Knights as they discussed this upcoming season. Still bitter from their Finals loss to Montreal, Engel and his new linemates Gylfi Eriksson(@pazuzu15) and Gordon Bombay(@RunnerBert11) discussed their styles of play and how they would approach this next season with a huge chip on their shoulders as Gordan and Nicklaus have been in the SMJHL for a few years now. As they were drinking some brews and laughing at the antics of the SHL and SMJHL players in attendance, all hell broke loose from the Militia Alumni and Kraken players brawling to players ransacking the alcohol bars. You know the normal shit you can expect when hockey players and alcohol are involved....thankfully it didn't spoil the night that was the Season 50 Anniversary Gala!
Well isn’t this just the craziest night? What a whirlwind it has been since draft day started. First the Rage draft at me a 14th overall, training camp was a blast getting to know everyone, and now here I am sitting a table at the SHL Futures Past Gala. Looking around my table I see that the organizer decided to sit a lot of the people in the juniors together. All these rookies might have been intimidated by sitting with our idols and dreams and they really wanted us to kick back and relax. So surrounding me are my Kraken teammates dressed up in their SHL team livery. The table is interesting, but the company is better. With drinks being comped by the league, and no one checking IDs, the table has gotten a little rowdy. We started off the night with tequila shots and other celebratory drinks. We got as far as we did in one season, so I think we deserved it! They keep bringing little Hors d'oeuvre around and after several hours of strong drinks, and no real dinner it has become chaos. The boys are slipping into Kraken chants between presentations, comparing dick sizes, and making outrageous bets based on the upcoming season as to who can outdo the others. It’s a ton of friendly competition with an undertone of everyone realizing that our time together is limited. I spend a lot of time during this night in drunken happiness, but all soberly thinking about how these guys might one day be my biggest rivals on the ice.
All I can see is cheers as I down another Tequila shot.
B: What are you doing throughout the night? Who are you seated with? What's going on at your table throughout the night's events? How's the food and drink?
Rex Kirkby attended the event with a bunch of the other notable Anchorage Alumni. Rex travelled to the event with long time friend Peter Larson in a chauffeured Mercedes because both would be hitting the bottle and drinking responsibly is a priority when your entire life is in the lime light. There they met Mikhail Lokitonov, Jax Aittokallio and Cameron Carter II who for whatever reason had brought a goat with him on a leash. Being some of the biggest stars in the league they mostly kept to their own table and chatted amongst themselves although there was some slight drama when Carters goat disappeared and was cooked by one of the chefs by accident. The night was mostly uneventful apart from when Gabriel Johnson who clearly struggles to handle his liquor got shitfaced and knocked over a table before vomiting on himself and Jagger Fouqette who he was in attendance with. Fouquette could be heard questioning his life choices before making a hasty exit leaving Gabe Johnson on the ground in a puddle of his own sick.
Credit to Ml002, King, Wasty, Carpy, Bruins10, Rum_Ham, Turd Ferguson, Ragnar and Enigmatic for the sigs.
Quote:C: As the night turns into morning and the drinks have been flowing, things start to get a bit unruly. Describe what's happening by the end of the night, once the older folks have gone home and the true party animals are in charge.
Wait wait wait you've got this all wrong! It's not the older folks to go home for the party to really start, it's actually the old guns who are drinking the most and partying the hardest! Have you ever seen a 60-year old former enforcer with a beer belly the size of a keg and 45-years of drinking experience chugging them all night and then started breaking out his dance moves at 3 am? Well that's exactly what legendary Turd Ferguson did and while some of his moves might have looked a tad ridiculous, none of the youngsters dared to laugh because he is still as emposing of a figure as ever.
Ferguson isn't the only older gentlemen showing these youngsters what a lifetime of charity golf tournaments and alumni meetings has taught them. Former Swedish Defenseman Niclas Wastlund didn't indulge so much in the drinking side of things but was always surrounded by a cloud of lovely sweet smoke, and everyone who dared enter it was met with a half-hour speech about the genius of the Tesla. And flanking him was former German International and Wastlund's old teammate Christoph Klose who, with every additional drink, started to break out more daring and complicated soccer skill shots that broke more than a few glasses that night...
What a glorious occasion! Fifty amazing years of SHL history being celebrated in the best way possible. The lights! The music! The unlimited free booze! A truly unbelievable event.
I spent the beginning of the night with my West Kendall Platoon brothers. Ludwig Koch Schroder was the leader of our group. He helped to wrangle in me and some of the other younger guys from getting too wild. We spent most of the night throwing down drinks and tossing shit at Tampa's tables. The drinks were amazing. If I could remember the food, I'm sure it would match the level of the drinks.
I spent the night tracking down Taylor McDavid and Alonzo Garbonzo the leaders in all time hits and shot blocks respectively. I tried picking their brains as much as possible to try and improve my game. Hopefully the booze didn't block out too much of the advice that I was given.
All in all it was a great night. Here is to fifty more years of the SHL!
The guys Nova wants to me are super OGs and the oldest of the lore. The guys with the most experience and knowledge of how things went down and where it all started. So shouldn't be surprising to see Nova was hanging out with the elders in the attendance, his companions of the event being Ron Mexico, Sarmad Khan, Jon Maxfield and other old guys that debuted in the SHL 50 seasons ago. After meeting the old heads who were heckling each other just like the old days, Nova mainly spent time listening his role models' game day stories and advice. He didn't say much because he was in awe of being in presence of the greats but he soaked in everything they had to say. After a while all the OGs fell asleep after dinner leaving Nova talking to himself about his upbringing so he linked back up with his entourage.
Doubt is a dream killer
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A: Many of the notable retired players from SHL lore are in attendance at the event. What legend from the SHL past are you seeking out at the event and what will you talk about with them? Describe who you're looking for and how you go about meeting them.
I'm most excited to see C.J. James who is a Hall of Fame goaltender with a very underrated resume. James was someone I watched growing up watching the SHL. I also would like to talk to him while Jackson Weekes is around. Weekes was James' closest rival but Weekes was also pumping his own tires while James was busy winning. Of course Weekes has a history with the Los Angeles Panthers and that is the team I'm hoping to have a long career with upcoming.
C: As the night turns into morning and the drinks have been flowing, things start to get a bit unruly. Describe what's happening by the end of the night, once the older folks have gone home and the true party animals are in charge.
Well this part would get messy because Gorlab would be invited back for this prime event and would probably keep a level head. However, Carlzner would be invited as well as we all figure he's a tiny puke that just has an online presence and can't actually fight. That's always the case when someone is usually a shit talker online but has no muscle on their bones. You'll probably have a bunch of old renegades come to the event and act surprised when the people they once tried to bully are all bigger and more fearless than they are.
A: Many of the notable retired players from SHL lore are in attendance at the event. What legend from the SHL past are you seeking out at the event and what will you talk about with them? Describe who you're looking for and how you go about meeting them.
The player I wanted to talk to the most was of course Esa Anrikkanen. He holds the record for most career games played, goals and points and is easily one of the greatest of all time. I'm a very young player but still I need to think about my career long-term, and one of the most important things is staying healthy. So my first question was how he managed to play 29 seasons in the league. Esa gave me some good tips about that and recommended a couple of good books. My next question was about goal scoring because ever since I started playing hockey I knew I wanted to score goals and I was really curious to ask Esa how he worked on his shot, and to compare his routine to mine. Then we talked about positioning because even if you have a lethal shot you need to get to the right areas to score. I showed him some of the game footage I had on my phone, and he pointed out my mistakes.
E: Describe the red carpet scene leading up to the event - who's making the biggest splash? Who's wearing the wildest outfit?
The Barracuda were well represented on the red carpet leading up to the event. They made quite a splash, pun intended, with some rather interesting outfits that definitely caught the eye of many. First up came Nolan Sawchuk dressed in a simple Barracuda blue suit. Maybe not the most flashy but he prefers to keep to himself most of the time and not draw so much attention to himself. Next up were Nikolai Evans and Anastasia O'Koivu, together of course as the two never seemed to make a public appearance alone. Last but certainly not least came Nickolas Klaus wearing nothing but a pair of swim trucks and scuba gear. Somehow he was also soaking wet but we suspect that he may have been swimming in the fountain outside. Anyways it was very hard to miss the 6'11, soaking wet man as he walked backwards down the red carpet in flippers. However he was escorted out by security before they realized that he in fact was not a homeless guy who made his way in but an SHL player. Klaus definitely made both the biggest splash and had the wildest outfit of the entire night.
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