I have not been drafted, but I am sitting here right now excited for my next chapter. Just because I missed the draft doesn’t mean that I can’t make an impact. The thrill of the waiver wire is almost like being drafted in a way, I’m still waiting for a phone call, anxious to know where I’ll end up. I’m open to being a part of any franchise, and whoever claims me will be getting a good earner and someone who works hard to be successful for their team! I can’t wait to meet my new teammates and I’ll do whatever it takes to be a good team player and fit in in the locker room. My bags are packed and I’m ready to travel to whatever city needs me, as I get back into being a goalie, my first time since I created my original player in S27, yes, 10 years ago. It’s crazy how time flies!

Matt Lewis-Flood || G || West Kendall Platoon || 1018 TPE
Name:
Age:
Height:
Weight:
Number:
------------------------------------------------------------

C.T. Carragher || F || Anaheim Outlaws || 511 TPE
Name:
Age:
Height:
Weight:
Number:
------------------------------------------------------------

Bellamy Blake || LD || Baltimore Platoon || 1107 TPE
Name:
Age:
Height:
Weight:
Number:
------------------------------------------------------------

Travis Coates || G || Maine Timber || 221 TPE
Name:
Age:
Height:
Weight:
Number:
------------------------------------------------------------

Bartholomew settled into Kelowna super easy. Not only was every single person super friendly, like @Rookyi and @Jagg102, you guys are amazing) but being drafted with back to back First Round Picks with your twin brother, Aartholomew, it made everything super easy. Arriving at the Arena the first day was surreal. It felt as if none of this was real, and we were living in a dream. The Locker rooms was the place I physically had to pinch myself to make 100% sure I was not dreaming. It was like being in a 5 Star Hotel, everything was clean, tidy, shiny, and there was hundreds on things to do, play pool, watch other hockey on the massive big screen TV’s, get a massage, or if you truly wanted, sit down and have as many Coors as you desire (not before a game of course). The best part for me was the literal ‘Hall of Fame’ walking to the dressing room. Jerseys, Four-Star Cups, and paintings legends of Kelowna’s legendary players, some that ended up becoming some of the best in the SHL too.

thanks maaaaaan, yall are pretty sweet too

Erik Johnson Career
S81 Waiver Pick-up
143 BLKs (lead team), 44 takeaways, 102 hits 
Drafted S81 to HAM 6oa 
WJC Gold S80 



Jagg102 GM Career
S81 WJC World GM

The thrill of a new home was always in the back of his mind, but getting the call to go to Quebec to strut his stuff finally brought all of those dreams to fruition.  3 years of French in high school will finally pay off, and the minute Greg landed he realized how wrong he was.  Everything was in French, from the drivers to the menus, even the stores!  

Upon settling into his first night at the hotel, he realized this was going to be his home for a few years.  It was time to start reaching out to all of his new teammates and coaches to brush up on that schooling that hadn't been used in so long the only thing he could remember was "Omelette du fromage."  At least he could get a cheese omelette without issue!

Hopefully he can use his skills on the ice to win over the crowd, cause post-game interviews definitely will be in English... at least for a few weeks

After a long flight north, Jonny Hockey has finally landed in Anchorage, Alaska. Accompanied by his father, he heads to his studio apartment located on the east side of the city, close to the Armada training facility. Once settled, he and his father grab a bite to eat at a local cafe before heading down to the arena, home of the Armada. 

Once inside, Jonny heads to the locker room where he meets up with some of his new teammates, as well as the other new rookies just drafted in the S81 SMJHL draft. The current members of the fleet are very welcoming to Jonny and the other rookies, asking about where they came from and what they were all about. They then take the rookies (baby boats) on a little bit of a tour of the facilities. Looking at different areas of the locker room such as the tactics room, workout area, gaming room and naval academy. 

After the tour, Jonny meets back up with his Dad, who had been having a few cold pops at a local pub. He tells him how easy going the guys were and expresses his excitement to be playing for Anchorage. They then head back to the apartment to say goodbye before Jonny’s Dad heads back to Ontario.

Now that Jonny’s all settled in, it’s time to get to work and begin season number 1!

Coming from the bustle of Toronto, Ontario, to the beautiful but busy state of Carolina, Ryan Dino-Nugget Hopkins felt perfectly at home stepping off of the plane to his new team. Having spent some time at Pebble Beach growing up, he was already fairly familiar with the area, and was thrilled when the Kraken called his name at 9 to join them. RDNH spent his first day in town, checking out the sights and hunting down the best chicken nuggets that Carolina had to offer. To his surprise, they would be found at the team arena, accompanied by a thrilling selection of dipping sauces, arranged by the GM's in welcome. RDNH recalled having a conversation during the draft interview process with the co-GM talking about his favourite dipping sauce (McDonalds Szechwan), which was available as well. Following ingesting an ungodly amount of breaded chicken (to maintain his stately figure and reputation), Hopkins wheeled into the locker room for the first time, overwhelmed to see his stall and jersey already on the wall beside the other rookies, dreaming of a J championship in the near future.

Gary Bettman must be very proud to have another hockey team in Nevada. It is a great place to be considering I am not a fan of the cold. It's going to be a nice oppressive dry heat like you are in the oven during the day. Luckily hockey season is during the winter so it shouldn't get too hot during the day. Unluckily, the hockey season is during the winter, when the temps plummet during the night. It was very nice of the team to have all the rookies get together and help each other get settled. I just hope we don't get hazed like they do in the NFL and we get stuck footing a 100K dinner bill. We're rookies, we can't afford that! From what I've seen from the morning meet and greet skate everyone has been cool and enjoying each other's company. I can't wait to get the season started and see what us rookies can do to help the team.

Timothy Welch sat in the terminal, waiting for the plane to arrive. After being the sixty-fourth pick in the latest SMJHL draft, he was both excited and nervous to start this next chapter in his life. Being surrounded by his family and friends helped ease the nervousness he felt. Finally when the plane arrived at the gate and he made his way to his seat. After everyone had boarded the plane and the pilot had taxied to the runway, the plane took off. The pilot had said that the flight from Seattle to Quebec City would take about four and a half hours so Timothy got comfortable and took a nap.

After the plane arrived in Quebec City and everyone had gotten off the plane, Timothy was met by an intern of the team who was holding a sign with his name on it. The intern and Timothy went to baggage claim to get his baggage. From there it was off to the arena, about a forty five minute drive from the airport. On the way they stopped at an apartment building where Timothy could drop off his bags. After arriving at the arena, the intern gave Timothy a tour of the building. The GM’s office, the equipment room and the workout room were on the way to the locker room. Inside the locker room there was the GM and his new teammates waiting to greet him, which included trying on his new uniform for the first time and a meet and greet with his fellow draftees and teammates. All went very smoothly.

Mike is settling into the city of Anchorage very nicely so far. Most people think Cows don't like really cold climates, but that's not true for Mike. He's always been a fan of the colder weather, so the brisk air and mountain breeze of Anchorage suits him perfectly. The city skyline of Anchorage was the first thing Mike noticed when flying into the city and he spent his entire first day just exploring different parts of Anchorage. People have always given Mike weird looks when he takes strolls around towns, being a cow and all, but not in Anchorage. They were nice and friendly. They acted like he was just another person walking through their fine city, even though he's a cow walking on two legs.

Mike's first time entering the arena was magical. He immediately felt like he was in a home away from home as soon as he walked in. The locker rooms were immaculate, his teammates were friendly, the conversations were instantly easy going and fun, but the first time he stepped on the ice and felt the cold on his hooves, he knew he was home.

I had never been to Alaska before being drafted by the Anchorage Armada, it’s a very fun and alliterative team name. I live in Glenview, Illinois, home of about half a hundred thousand people, and a tower of a drinking fountain with a bear on top. It’s close to Chicago so my family has long gone too many many well landmarks in the metropolitan area. My grandmother is buried in the same cemetery as Virginia Halas McCaskey. Encourage using one of the two states that are not connected to the rest of the US. But it’s a very fun place there are mountains, grizzly bears, and great stores I was in a local Goodwill when someone noticed my Anchorage Armada shirt and said you play for the Anchorage Armada. And I said yes, want to come to our games? Alaska is a very cool place. And my teammates will help me settle in, but nothing beats Glenview on a wintry day in April.

Chappell walks into the Detroit locker room, somewhat confused but excited to play. As she gets settled into her first night, with hockey skates ready to go, hung up and prepared for the ice.

As she slowly drifts off to sleep, there is a sudden light in her room as a group of masked invaders grab her and throw a sack over her head, dragging her off the premises and into an unmarked van.
Panicked, anxious, and having no clue where they were taking her, she eventually arrives where the sack is removed from her head and she squints in the light, looking around at the doe-eyed members of the Vancouver Whalers. With celebration, they shout in excitement and welcome her in enthusiastically, Chappell smiling with confusion as they show her where she's going to be staying.

"Don't worry, you'll be okay-" The GM, Seany, pipes up

"We couldn't let you stay in Detroit. It smells bad."

Chappell shrugs her shoulders and chuckles.

This was going to be interesting.

Dydney Frosby was born in Nova Scotia on July 8th, 1978. He played hockey under the number 78 his whole life and he was very good at it. The SHL scouted him off his club hockey team, and they loved his charisma, swag, and charm. They asked him to play for the Ottawa Highlanders and he agreed. He took the train there to meet with the GM, Frenchie. Things were awesome. The first time Frosby got to the arena and checked the lockerroom, there were cow themed decorations EVERYWHERE (they are his favorite animal). He cried so many tears of joy. His teammates thought he was a little weird and off-putting, but amazing at the game nonetheless. He got his own apartment in Ottawa with his coffee shop money and he loved it. He even volunteered at cow sanctuaries nearby. Practices with the team went great, and he loved sharing his cow pictures with the team. No one was ever mad him even when he really thought they were, and this helped Frosby's anxiety disorder. Life was good.

Matt Smith and Maximus Decimus Meridius (@Bubba Tree) Getting welcomed to the DET Locker room!

Boone Breakaway has been settling into Great Falls with almost rabid enthusiasm. He spends the off season tackling outdoor adventures like backcountry hiking, fly fishing, and bouldering, so finding himself drafted to a place that has him surrounded by an outdoorsman’s paradise is basically the best case scenario.

Boone made the trip from Columbus on his own, although he did have the company of his trusty sidekick Puck, who is his pet rat, whose fur is as black as his namesake. The drive west was slow and scenic, a kind of cornerstone journey to signify a new chapter of life.

The rink looks great and already feels like home. The staff are friendly and helpful, always nice to see as a new player settling into somewhere strange. The locker room is as warm and inviting as Boone has ever been in. Immediately he could feel the camaraderie in the room, and that energy is building daily as the team practices and gels together preseason.

When Silver disembarks from the plane that brought him to Thunder Bay, he'd be doing so alone. Not really knowing anyone from his team, he'd rather not burden anyone with helping him, as he could deal with his bags alone. There would be time for team building later as for now, he had a place to get to.

After getting settled in at his new home, it's time to check out the arena he'll be playing at. There are already a few teammates getting ready for morning skate, and Silver would take the time to introduce himself to everyone there, as well as when everyone else arrives. Silver was a bit nervous about the introductions, but he would try and calm his nerves before hitting the ice and showing off a little for his new teammates. After the morning skate, there would likely be a small party to welcome all the new draftees and waiver claims to the squad.

 


Silver Tarandus || RW || Thunder Bay Walleye
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 194
Number: 25 (TBW)
------------------------------------------------------------
CAREER STATISTICS
------------------------------------------------------------
SMJHL Regular Season
S81 | Thunder Bay Walleye | Ongoing

Walking into the Detroit dressing room D immediately realized he was, in fact, the most handsome person on this team. Perhaps the entire city. Nonetheless, it will only be a matter of time before he becomes the face of this organization…maybe not on the scoreboard but still the face. Looking around he keeps quiet as some other guy runs around yelling “screeeeee”. He decides that man…. That man will be his new friend.
As for the city itself, D will distance himself from it as much as possible. He will look for something within an hour or two drive. Something smaller and quieter. More suited to his humble existence. Something with a decent local coffee shop, a must have morning ritual for him.

Looking forward, D hopes to make a physical impact on the team, and become a fan favourite not just due to his rugged good looks, but also his charming personality. He hopes to get as much media availability and autograph sessions as possible to support his new fans.

171