Alright let's get this going

09-22-2024, 08:58 AMluke Wrote: What was your favorite time of the SHL

What was your favorite moment in the SHL

That is really difficult to answer. To me it feels like it's not just the league who has gone through different eras with different engines and what not, but my user experiences has had different eras as well that come with different pros and cons. I always try to be vigilant when it comes to things like nostalgia, because I think it can be quite harmful when you lean into it too much. In regards to the SHL, this means that I really don't want to glorify the old days too much. The SHL of recent years has been so much better than the one I started out in, the overall league structure is healthier, people are friendlier and league leadership is so much better both in terms of personality and organisation. On the other hand, obviously things were more exciting when I started out with my very first player and experienced the different experiences the league has to offer for the very first time.

When I break down the actual times and moments that I have the fondest memories of, they do fall into the earlier days of the leage: Things like getting drafted to the Chiefs with my first player and winning a cup with them as a core piece just a few seasons later, the will-they-won't-they-saga I had with Hamilton on my first player, getting to help out in managing Team Germany and the NWJHLs Prince George Firebirds very early on in my career and having some very fun and crazy interactions with people back then. As a student my life also was so different back then and I got to stay up late all the time to watch the NHL or hang out with SHL people, which is something that just isn't possible anymore, so the experience was different. But there are other experiences and moments from later years mixed in there as well like my Cups number two and three that I finally got to win more than an SHL-century after my first one as well as so many other things that I'm probably forgetting right now. Especially those middle years have become kind of a blur at this point. I have lots of memories of about the S6-S20 era and then the more recent 20-30 or so seasons, but I tend to forget a bit about a lot of the stuff that happened between the two, even though there was still a whole lot.

Quote:Which one of your players is your favorite

I'll have to go with David Winter here, my very first player. The player building was a lot more boring back then than it is today but I didn't care. It also was the only time i was ever in a position in the league to actually break new ground, because I managed to reach a career length and longevity that nobody had ever achieved before, and that felt great. But I have enjoyed pretty much all my players, I think Philipp Winter would probably come second because I really enjoyed this whole low-key, spending your whole career with the same team through different eras approach.

Quote:When are you going to get drawn back in

Right now I have absolutely no idea. I could be back in a few months but I can absolutely see me being gone for good as well. We'll just have to wait and see I guess.