Written Option 2: Your team is taking part of this seasons SHL Global Series and they start their season with 2 games in Japan because HO has heard there is untapped market potential there. How does your player feel about the trip? Is it pointless travel to play in front of neutral crowd and missing on actual home opener? Or are they just exited to see the world and thrilled about the opportunity to win over the local fans? Does all this make the game feel more like showmatch than actual regular season game?
Sean Davies is of the opinion that he is an ambassador for the game. Certainly arguments can be made that travelling to a different country to play in front of a neutral crowd is a waste of time, but he disagrees. If this helps hockey get a foot in the door in Japan and inspire some of the younger members of the crowd to start playing, then Davies will have been thrilled to help spark the next generation. This to say nothing of the many people who might come to the game who, while maybe not the most passionate of fans yet, may be struck by something he or one of his teammates does and becomes a lifelong fan of the Wolfpack. For Davies, there coujld be no better reward than this, and he would happily give up 2 games of the season to try and make it happen. Especially since he can tour a new country. How cool is that?
: Drafted 16th Overall by New England
| 66 GP | 4 G | 14 A | 18 P | +1 | 92 SB | 156 H| 68 TA
Being a native Japanese player, Minamino was nothing but excited when he heard there were plans to expand the game overseas. He already has been part of quite the Japanese hockey history as par tof a few teams who have won multiple gold, silver and bronze medals in their time. This alone made him him one of the icons as part of the teams playing in Japan. With that being said, he recognized that as much as it would be exciting to be playing in front of his fans, he had to downplay the significance of his own presence in the country. Especially given his stately age and where he was in his career, the most that he could hope for was a good game as there would be an incredible amount of eyes on him and the other members of the Japanese national hockey organization. This added a great deal of anxiety and pressure on him, probably a completely new experience in mixing both the patriotic excitement with his life long Chicago Syndicate colors.
Written Option 2:
Traveling to a new country to help spread the sport of hockey as well as the reach of the SHL and SMJHL is an important thing for the health of our league. We saw an addition of Japan as a nation in the IIHF competition as well as many wonderful players coming from Japan. It's always great to see new fans of the sport and league being able to watch and appreciate the games in person as well. I'm sure if you look back in 10-20 seasons you will find stories of future SHL stars that will be in attendance for these games. Seeing the game played in real life, helping steel their resolve to become some of the best in the world. The global series also serves to negate any home ice advantage either team would gain in such prestigious games. All of this combined with a chance to try out the cuisine of a new nation makes the Global Series a tremendou8s success.
04-14-2024, 10:23 PM(This post was last modified: 04-14-2024, 10:23 PM by Repgnar.)
Written Option 1: Slowpoke’s aloofness is the big draw I imagine when it comes to generating a fanbase. While he’s had some success on the ice he’s not an all-star by any means (despite being selected as one for one season.) While I’m not super familiar with the type of Japanese game shows that exist I’ve seen a few that are quite comedic in nature and I think Slowpoke’s nature would fit in perfectly. Just imagine the camera angles and the cut to a Slowpoke expression that hasn’t changed from the initial scene. The laughtrack would be being paid overtime for all of the involvement and I’m sure there’d be a number of viral clips. While Slowpoke wouldn’t be competing for any prizes (very similar to his time in the SMJHL so far) the fanfare would be through the roof. Honestly, I think this would be a great exit plan for a Pokémon that doesn’t have the highest ceiling. Thank you for the retirement plan if hockey doesn’t play out.
It can definitely be a disadvantage to lose home ice advantage for a few games a season, however it could potentially be a morale booster for the team. A free trip to an interesting foreign country could be a nice perk for the players, especially if the league allows them to bring their families with them. It could even result in a boost on the ice, making it a net positive for both the league in terms of merchandise sales and new fans and also for the teams selected to go who are appreciative of the trip. I think the players know that every game matters, so it would not feel like just a show match. In all honesty, every match is a show match; the goal is to entertain people and draw in large amounts of money for the big wigs. That said, the players are usually quite passionate about the game and are willing to go to great lengths to succeed in competition. This would be no different.
It’s funny that Hamilton ended up playing in Japan, cause activity check plays for team Japan, so that obviously gave me that “inside edge” into the Japanese markets. The game show that I entered was a WHEEL OF FORTUNE LIKE game whereby I had to simply spin the wheel and I got stuff, I know.. it’s sounds super easy and Simple, and that’s all there was to it! I did in fact spin and spin, and kept wining a bunch of cool stuff like sushi and video games! However, I did feel bad at the end of the game because I won all this free stuff, so I stayed after the filming of the game show to spend time signing autographs for everyone who wanted — I had to spread that Hamilton steelhawks pride, plus I’m a fan favorite in Japan anyways! I had a blast and will be back soon during the INTL break!
“I thought I was a goalie, but STA told me forget being a goalie they make nothing, and no one cares about them. Guess what I was a center all along and I had no idea. Now I am the toast of the town, and I am getting offers from all the GMs and Scouts.”
Dominik is extremely excited about going to Japan as it is somewhere that his family spoke highly of from having visited previously in the past. It is a place that he feels has some important context in the global history as well as having cultural implications that can be seen across the planet. Also, it helps that Dominik enjoys Japanese food and he is looking forward to getting to try things that he can’t always find in the States or back in Czechia. Dominik hopes to use some of his free time to just wander around the city and things like that to see what he can find from just walking around. There is a lot that can be experienced from just seeing things and following the locals to see what it is that they do with their free time. If there was a country that would be good to do it, Japan is very high on that list.
WC: 159
Alex Winters (retired)
Matej Winters (retired)
Dominik Winters S45 Jesster Trophy Winner Challenge Cup Winning Goal Club: S52
my player is absolutely thrilled to have the opportunity to visit japan. obviously he gets a lot of opportunity to travel around north america being in the SHL, but there is never any time during the season to go out of the country, and when he does have time off he spends it at his place in baltimore with friends or back in chicago with his family because that is more important to him than traveling. But to be able to travel outside of the country during the regular season would be a no brainer. especially to a place as notable as japan, it is somewhere that a lot of people around the world desire to go to. it would be fun to see how popular hockey is in japan and to see how passionate their fans are. he would definitely take some time to himself to be a tourist and explore, never know when you'll get the chance to see japan again
Our team decided to partake in that game show where you have to fit your body into a moving wall that has different shapes cut out of it. It's dangerous because you fall into a pool of water if you fail so it was a really fun time. Cal Juice did a pretty well with the first one considering it's shaped like a person. The second one was a little harder because you have to turn yourself sideways but he's small so that was manageable. The third one you have to jump through and he absolutely screwed that one up no doubt about it. I'm not sure the audience for that show is very large because afterward despite expecting to be surrounded by fans there was only person on the street who recognized him and it wasn't a fan of the show, it was an American from Chicago who moved to Japan for work but still kept up with Chicago's players and prospects. I'm not sure this untapped market is untapped or just not interested...
04-14-2024, 11:34 PM(This post was last modified: 04-15-2024, 02:15 AM by dogwoodmaple. Edited 1 time in total.)
I could not be more excited about the trip to Japan. I've always wanted to travel there and this is a great opportunity to go with my teammates and truly explore a new culture. I definitely think there is some value in trying to get a foothold in Japan and I truly believe they have some desire for ice hockey. Anything that helps grow the game is something I'm in favor of, especially when it can bring in brand new fans. I was surprised by the crowd, to be honest. I sort of expected a lackluster group with maybe a half full arena, but it was anything but. There was a line to get in the door and there was not an empty seat in the whole place. The game itself did feel a little showy, but I think it was worth it to try and help the league. Not to mention the incredible food and sightseeing that we all got to do. I hope that we're included in the next international trip the league decides to organize!
Leo would be somewhat indifferent to going to Japan for 2 games. He obviously would enjoy spending the days in Japan and seeing new sights, but traveling has never been a huge thing he’s cared about. One thing he would miss would be the passion that home fans bring. Whether he’s the one that they’re rooting for, or the one that they’re all yelling at on away games, he feeds off the passion. Obviously the fans in Japan would have some energy but it wouldn’t be the same as the fans back home that live and die by their teams. Another thing is that Leo would understand even less. He already struggles with the French/English in Quebec that he would have absolutely no idea what’s going on at anytime. Perhaps he would be able to find a translator that spoke Japanese and Latvian but that might be too much work for only 2 games