Robo Sven has been around for a while, since this is technically his second stint in the J's. Having been a champion both times around he has plenty of experience and advice to hand off to new recruits. That being said, Vancouver didn't acquire too much through the draft, only picking up goalie Cristobal Khabibulin. Robo Sven has never played goalie, so he doesn't have a ton of advice there but he has been around the league a while, so he's been trying to help the new guy deal with the pressures of being a pro. But even besides that, there's plenty of other advice a veteran can give a rookie, such as the best restaurants to frequent in Vancouver. Obviously if you're in Canada, you've gotta get used to having lots and lots of poutine, so Sven has been pointing out all of the best poutine places which will obviously lead to a bigger goalie, which will then lead to fewer goals against. Win/win.
Option 2: Starting at the very beginning of my career in the SMJHL, the person who first believed in me was bad wolf. She reached out to me first and offered me a contract to join the Yukon Malamutes, and she said was the only person to offer me a contract at all. Second person to believe in me I’d say is probably Fluw. He encouraged and drove me to earn TPE, and pushed me into the starter role early. Sliceruser was probably the first person to believe in me in my SHL career. I’m pretty sure he pushed for the syndicate to draft me. Partially because I knew him before the SHL and partially because he believed I could be the syndicates starting goalie long term. Another person I’d say believed in me was Nike. I was struggling in the SMJHL and considered retiring and he talked to me and pushed me to keep going and to strive for greatness. Him and Slicer are the only reason I’m still playing in the SHL to this day.
*Thank you Nokazoa and Squid for the sigs!
karlssens Registered
S28, S45, S49 Challenge Cup Champion
Posts:4,031 Threads: 182 Joined: May 2015 Reputation:73
Discord: karl#3942
Pronouns: He/Him
Player: Oskar Scholz
Written Option 2: Your player has agreed to take part in a short documentary that highlights their career so far. For starters they want to go back to interview people who have helped at the beginning of your players career. Who were the people who first saw your players potential and helped them to take the next steps? What do they have to say about your player?
Oskar Scholz is the latest in a relatively long line of SHL lineage dating back to his grandfather Nikolaus Scholz who entered the league in S25. While no player is a sure thing, I like to think the GM's felt a certain degree of comfortability when drafting the latest Scholz to join their ranks and I believe that shows when Oskar was selected 5th overall in the SMJHL draft and later 4th overall in the large S69 SHL draft. He's gone on to become exactly as advertised, leading all forwards in his draft in TPE, 2nd in the entire class, collecting over 500 points in 6 seasons, 2nd only to the prestigious Viktor Hargreeves during that time in San Francisco, and helping them win their first ever Challenge Cup! During that time the young Oskar received help from many people, but the few key names would certainly be the management teams in Anchorage and San Francisco. They helped keep Oskar interested in the week to week grind as he slowly accumulated TPE and more importantly helped show him how to properly allocate it. When he was unsure on how to spend him time training they were always quick to provide friendly and helpful advice.
“The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again. ... There are neither beginnings nor endings to the Wheel of Time. But it was a beginning.”
Allegiant Historian
S3, S28, S36, S38, S41, S43, S47 Challenge Cup Champion
Written Option 2:
In his young career, there isn't much for a documentary to really capture, but an early outing for Windsor would look at the low expectations he received as the latest in a line of 'legacy players' in the shadow of Winston Windsor. Will Windsor earned notoriety at the junior level but suffered injuries and couldn't make it to the SHL, while Warwick Windsor wasn't even playable in juniors.
Weston Windsor has, so far, proven to be better than the latter of his brothers, but the quest to actually live up to his father's legacy is going to be long and arduous. It was most likely a combination of his coaching staff in Newfoundland that helped guide him to succeed as a waiver pick-up as well as, oddly enough, professional scouts who tried to help explain what he was missing to make it at the SHL level.
Perhaps the biggest step he's taken recently was his move to defense, influenced heavily by conversations with SHL teams -- but his all-offense mindset honestly comes from his father, who himself preferred a high-octane, passing game. Weston already has a better shot than him, but with the way the game is played today, there aren't many goals on his highlight reel: just a series of strong passing plays that draw obvious comparisons.
Going to write on the pov as a co gm. I welcome players to Detroit well before they join our nest during the scouting period. I do not get to personally reach out to everyone, I am very much an early scouter and some people do not join the discord and or join the sight really late. Scouting is one of my favorite things to do as a co gm and I think the payout of doing it is super rewarding. One draft night I am in control with Ted and we make it a point to shake hands with our draftees and get them invited and into our locker. From there we do a speech and welcome them to Detroit. We are quite welcoming to help continue to answer questions and get the rookies to join our ranks. After words we like to grab something to eat and share a shot of fireball (its a Detroit thing). The first training we make sure that the rookies have a battle buddy and get to know about Detroit and our arena. We also bring in Nash for the first day of training. Last but not least we teach our code to communicate on the ice.
Hockey fan for life. I pack the heat and score the goals!
Yuri Boyka III has just started his 3rd season in the SMJHL. He is a player that has been gradually getting better as the seasons go by and he recently got the attention of "Sports Illustrated" who wants to put a short clip of Boyka's highlights in their documentary. Boyka III was excited and they asked for the people that first saw his potential. Boyka III listed his grandfather, the original legend, "Yuri Boyka", himself and Jess, the former GM of Nevada Battleborn. This is what the grandfather said about Boyka III,
"You know, I knew my grandson was special from the moment he was born. I don't know what it was but you can call it instinct. He had that "oomph" factor in him and I just knew he will surpass my in all my glory. Boyka III was able to walk and talk earlier than most kids i have known in my life. He picked things up quickly, where others had trouble and he would master them. He learned martial arts at the young age of 3 and as a result it helped him discipline himself as a man. His strength grew and so did his techniques. You wouldn't believe if I told you but my grandson could have made a better career in "soccer", but he went into hockey for my sake. Some referred to him as the next cristiano as he had the height and all the physical attributes. He also had great IQ for the game. We never claimed him to be the next messi because that man is an alien and his feats will never be repeated in our history. So the reason why he went into hockey was to prove to me that he was the better player. I trained him religiously and here we are today. He is a scoring phenom and if I had to compare him, he will become similar to Prime Stamkos in the NHL. I hope the best for my grandson and I know he will make me proud".
This is what Jess had to say about Boyka III, "You know, originally I had no idea about who this player is. It was time for our selection in in the s77 SMJHL draft, at the 42nd overall pick. We were running like chicken without heads and randomly picked Boyka III without assessing any of his background. To our surprise, he may have been the greatest sleeper in the entire draft. Boyka III was a gem to have and his discipline he had as a young boy definitely transitioned into this game. He would work hard everyday and stay longer in practice than anyone else. He knew he had to show the SHL world they missed out on a diamond in the rough when he was only selected 42nd. Here we are today, where Boyka III has become a point per game player. We only expect great things from him in the SHL. Unfortunately, I am no longer gm of Nevada Battleborn but I wish him the best. I know he will do well as he is currently the 5th highest TPE earning in his draft class."
There are a few approaches to take with rookies. Re-creates usually know what's going on by now and don't need any guidance or motivation. They know the drill by now and know what to do, so it's just a matter of them being engaged and if they get quiet, check in on them from time to time. For brand new rookies, sometimes they need to be reminded that it's a marathon and not a sprint. Missing out on TPE isn't the end of the world, especially when some of your ratings get high, you're talking about a fraction of an upgrade in the grand scheme. Remind them that they will see their player grow and evolve, especially in their second and third seasons. It's not about where you start or where you were drafted, but rather where you finish. I don't take people under my wing as there are much better and more personable presences in my locker room, but I offer a kind word of encouragement and stay engaged where I can.
Will Tomlander is definitely helping the rookie players get used to the SHL, albeit probably in ways you are not thinking of. Will is showing the new players the locations of the best hiding spots to get away from the coach, who has the best massages on the training staff, where the best shopping for hockey gear is, where you can get the best discounts for food and drinks, who has the best smoothies in the area, how to get out of the arena without being seen by the fans and many other things besides. The Seattle Argonauts has a great leadership culture so this is something that organically grows within the team as each new generation of players come to the team and gets trained and instilled from the previous generation. Having Mr Argonaut himself Vaseline Podcalzone there also really helps sell the whole history and leadership portion of the team to new incoming players.
It's always exciting to have fresh faces join the team. It brings new dynamics to the locker room, but also energizes the team having a new player enter the team with the goal of helping us achieve great things. As a rookie, you feel that nervousness go away with the help of your new teammates and I always remembered that feeling. So now that I'm a couple of years into my SHL career, I want to make sure I can give that same support to any new faces that join us in Texas.
I find myself gravitating towards rookies more than vets who join the team. I'm still young so I feel I'm in a more appropriate place to help younger players get acclimated. I quickly introduce myself to the rookies and give them a rundown of the team and facilities. I try and give them advice that was passed to me and answer any questions they have as well. It makes them more comfortable being in the show and creates a bond with them as well. Carry it forward.
This season, Mia Lavoie is one of the fresh rookies joining the Atlanta Inferno. While she might be able to do something to help some of the other rookies along, she'll have to do a lot to get to know the team and figure things out for herself as well. Thankfully Atlanta makes it easy, and has already done a lot to engage with the newbies well in advance of them becoming an official part of the roster. As she and her fellow linemates grow into their new role, I have no doubt Mia will lead the best she can from her position and help both new and veteran players gel and progress through this season and beyond. Whether or not that involves taking a specific player under her wing, who knows. But she'll be there to support any teammate who needs any type of help she's able to offer at this stage in her career, even if it's just emotional support through a tough loss or bad night for them or something.
Jaden knows that, as a strictly defensive defenseman, he isn't the best mentor to everyone that comes onto the team. He knows that he doesn't have much to offer the Solbergs, and that getting involved isn't going to help all that much. He's content to just put in the time and work during practices and games and if someone learns from that, more power to them.
Someone like Pedersen is more suited to taking on a mentor role. He's been on the team what feels like forever and is still a force to be reckoned with, on both sides of the puck. He may not always be the most outspoken, but he's someone everyone on the team looks up to.
Although relatively young, Frøya Solberg is also taking on a bit of a leadership role, becoming team captain this year. She's very involved and quick to help anyone who needs it, so it's no wonder she got the C.
No This is Patrik hardly knows his teammatesA s for the incoming and outgoing each season, he never really notices, nor does he really care. However when it comes to the other teammates trying to welcome in the rookies to the team No This is Patrik is always down to mess around and screw with the new guys. He may or may not get to know them a little in the process but he enjoys gratification out of others misfortunes, which is almost one of his favorite part of hockey as there is misfortune all the time on the ice. Past the off/on ice pranking No This is Patrik is not the type of person to take a player under their wing. But bids those who do the best of luck should they bring that to his attention.
This season 3WW Wingmate Roc is the new face on the team, having been dealt from the Quebec City Citadelles to join the Nevada Battleborn, he'll have to find a way to incorporate himself on to the team. I think that as a vet of the SMJHL, it will be on Wingmate Roc to prove his quality and his leadership, especially as he was brought in to take on the 1 C role for the team and a potential playoff push. I am hoping for loads of goals this season, a lot of hard practices, and looking to work with the rookies coming in as they are kind of in a similar boat. I don't know yet who is on the team, but I do know people who were on it, so maybe there is an alumni connection between Wingmate Roc and some Battleborn alumni, espcecially the class that has just graduated into the SHL.