There have been plenty of surprises in my time here. Let's just face it, I have had a long life here in the SHL. So I'll throw together a few things.

First off, Jason Due becoming the first defenseman to win the Ron Mexico Trophy. While he was incredible as a player and had a fantastic season, it wasn't really the first great defensive season in the league. It was something that you would've thought would come sooner, realistically. It's a great surprise to see, of course. It's just surprising to find that a defenseman didn't win the MVP trophy until Season 14.

That's where we then get another interesting look, the first goalie to win the Ron Mexico Trophy came the season after. It makes sense that with so many fewer goalies in the league, it wouldn't be normal to see one winning the biggest award in the league. And yet, after the first defenseman wins it, the first goaltender does. And better yet for the surprise factor, it was me. I literally didn't even tune into the award ceremony, assuming I would lose automatically. Everybody had said for a while how goalies were worthless, how they'd never reward a goalie. Then there it went. It was huge.

How about we take a look at another shocker of my career, in that it was surprising that I was able to be the simmer for 12 seasons -- keep in mind that I was a bit of a more volatile member at the time and it was unlikely to see me get a higher ranking position. Then not only did I get it, I held it for longer than anybody else has.

Then comes one more big surprise to my career -- when I was named the Rage general manager. I've now held it way longer than anybody else ever had and won a Cup, but back when I got the gig I was working my way toward inactivity. I was beaten down after such a long time simming, and the then general manager left in what I'd say was a bit of a shocking situation and a hurry. There weren't many people on the team, but a few who definitely thought they were deserving of of the spot. However, I was asked to take over and I was able to turn things around with a plan.

That's where we end this because I'm just going on and on. I won a Cup after taking over a team with probably a handful of actives and no prospects and no picks, and really, that's a shock in itself. It's difficult to win a Cup, you need a bit of luck, and I just managed to get it once along the way.