As the excitement of the draft and the celebration with friends and family ended the realization about finally getting to be in the SMJHL hit during new player orientation today.  So far, Anchorage definitely seems like its going to be a great place to play.  Great management, players have been down to earth so far and even though it's a small arena the fans definitely packed it in and were loud during the SMJHL playoffs when I watched.  Plus, have you seen our jerseys?  Love the design and colors.  Can't wait to get going and get my sweater on for the first time in front of the fans.

As us new rookies were hanging out in the locker room checking out our new digs I asked if they wanted to play a game of Rank Five.  I wanted to get to know them a bit more before the season started.  The looked at me puzzled at first but quickly understood after I explained to them what it was.  So what you do for the game is go to Wikipedia and hit "random article" until you hit 5 topics/thing /people that would make sense to normal people (can get some strange ones).  So here's the responses and reactions from the game....

Matt Sawful @SAwful

• Fortnite
  
• Running Marathons
  
• Olympic Weightlifting
  
• New Jersey
  
• Beetles
  

Everyone laughs at Fortnite being first.  Corey Rigler exclaims "There's no way Fortnite is the very first thing you see, that's some great advertisement."  I swear to him I just hit random as Matt is carefully thinking about his picks.  This is what he decides to go with.

1. Running Marathons
   
2. Olympic Weightlifting
   
3. Fortnite
   
4. New Jersey
   
5. Beetles
   

"Definitely can see why he was the 2nd OA pick.  Likes to workout too much" Bork Lazer jabs at Matt.  I question Matt about his picks 3-5 and he explains "Well, I don't mind video games, not much time though anymore but the only reason that I picked New Jersey over beetles is that I think they could have some Chicago pizza there.  That's all that I care about in a state.  Plus c'mon, bugs?".  Good point.  I think Matt is going to have a hard time finding some Chicago pizza up here in Alaska unfortunately, but hopefully the seafood will make up for it.

Alexei Petrikov @mdubz

• France
  
• Comedy Films
  
• Meteorologists
  
• Protein
  
• US Football
  

"Wow, that one is easy" Matt follows up after I list the topics, "clearly Meteorologists are last.  No one likes the weatherman."  Alexei responds quickly and jokes back, "Man, you put working out over video games.  No one does that!" He has surprisingly great English for someone just entering the US for the first time.  The rest of the draft class is American and he can communicate quite easily.  He swiftly lists out his choices.

1. US Football
   
2. Comedy Films
   
3. Protein
   
4. Meteorologists
   
5. France
   

In typical Russian fashion he explains his number 5 pick "France has to be #5. Okay food but terrible at war."  I was also impressed with his knowledge about protein and US Football.  I guess Alexei dabbles in biochem in his free time and US football highlights are on quite a bit in Russia he told us.

Bork Lazer @Frick_Nasty

• Statistics
  
• Russia
  
• French Canadians
  
• Major League Baseball
  
• Airports
  

I start laughing and looking at Bork and Alexei after saying the topics because I know this is going to be a good one.  I try to make Bork more nervous by stating that I'm sure many SHL GMs are French Canadians but you might have a Russian D partner so think wisely.  Bork confidently goes "Oh man this one is going to be easy."  As you can imagine with someone with a name such as Bork, he's a very confident guy.  Here was his ordering

1. Major League Baseball
   
2. French Canadians
   
3. Airports
   
4. Statistics
   
5. Russia
   

"Looks like I'll be playing with Alexei then" , Matt announces.  Bork, while laughing and being sarcastic, goes "Obviously you haven't seen the Miracle on Ice. U S A!  Obviously America is the only country that matters.  Though I've never met a not nice Canadian so I had to rate them high."  Alexei laughs knowing that he's joking.  This one brings a lot of discussion and questions.  Corey goes "How are airports 3rd?"  "Airports have to be 3rd man.  Gotta love a good Security frisk," Bork states.  This is what I love about this game, people having to give ridiculous reasons on their rank choice as it is the obvious thing.

Corey Rigler @cdr99

• Tunnels
  
• Cartoons
  
• Rivers
  
• Birds
  
• Radio Stations
  

"Man, there's some good things on this list" Alexei states immediately after hearing the list.  He then begins to educate us that the state bird of Alaska is the Willow ptarmigan.  Ya, still have no idea what it really is but I guess it is some kind of fat little bird from what I can remember.  I guess they are also found in Russia is how he knows.  "Well now I hope I don't let Alexei down with my list like Bork because he seems to like birds." Corey states while laughing.

1. Rivers
   
2. Cartoons
   
3. Tunnels
   
4. Birds
   
5. Radio Stations
   

I immediately tell Corey that's the first list in the same order I probably would've had.  He states why he chose rivers first, "I just love water man, best drink known to man."  Didn't know that Philly waters were drinkable, and still don't, but I begin to tell them about why I love the rivers.  In case you didn't know, Texas rivers are the best to float down.  Nothing better than a cold one on a late summer day on a tube.  The guys agree that they definitely have to check it out sometime.  "I don't even know any cartoons were good anymore" Matt says.  Corey responds with "Nah, I don't really watch cartoons but I just love memes man".

Just after the first day of new player orientation I'm even more excited that the Anchorage management were interested in me and I have the opportunity to play here this year.  They definitely picked up a great group of guys who are itching to get going and bring a championship to Anchorage and our fans.  Hopefully this helps our fans get to know our new rookies and get them excited to watch us this upcoming season! #BoatGang

(1118 words)
Graders please split money 60% me, 10% @SAwful 10% @mdubz 10% @Frick_Nasty 10% @cdr99

Boat gang gang

Dieter Frühstück || D || Minnesota Monarchs || 1074 TPE
Birthplace: Rostock, Germany
Height/Weight: 6'9", 275 lbs
SHL Stats
S82 || MIN || GP: 66 G: 3 A: 25 PTS: 28 +/-: -28 H: 122 PIMS: 73 SB: 241
SMJHL Stats
S78 || ANC || GP: 66 G: 2 A: 24 PTS: 26 +/-: 11 H: 80 PIMS: 16 SB: 253
S79 || ANC || GP: 66 G: 0 A: 16 PTS: 16 +/-: -1 H: 49 PIMS: 28 SB: 224
S80 || ANC || GP: 66 G: 8 A: 23 PTS: 31 +/-: 38  H: 81 PIMS: 20 SB: 287
S81 || ANC || GP: 66 G: 5 A: 14 PTS: 19 +/-: -13  H: 58 PIMS: 14 SB: 289
Career SMJHL Regular Season Stats
GP: 264 G: 15 A: 77 PTS: 92 +/-: 35 H: 268 PIMS: 78 SB: 1053
SMJHL Playoff Stats
S78 || ANC || GP: 4 G: 0 A: 1 PTS: 1 +/-: -2 H: 8 PIMS: 4 SB: 18
S79 || ANC || GP: 16 G: 0 A: 7 PTS: 7 +/-: 13 H: 12 PIMS: 6 SB: 50
S80 || ANC || GP: 16 G: 1 A: 4 PTS: 5 +/-: 6 H: 15 PIMS: 0 SB: 78
S81 || ANC || GP: 4 G: 0 A: 1 PTS: 1 +/-: -6 H: 2 PIMS: 0 SB: 14
Career SMJHL Playoff Stats
GP: 40 G: 1 A: 13 PTS: 14 +/-: 10 H: 37 PIMS: 10 SB: 160
Player Milestones/Transactions
Drafted 14th overall by Anchorage, S78 SMJHL Draft
Drafted 31st overall by Minnesota, S79 SHL Draft
Winner of the Alexis Metzler Award, S78 and S80
named to SMJHL Defense All-Star team, S80 and S81
led SMJHL in blocked shots, S80 and S81
Hold SMJHL record for most blocked shots in a career



Sebastien Regazzoni || C || Hamilton Steelhawks || 1276 TPE
Birthplace: Bern, Switzerland
Height/Weight: 6'3", 200 lbs
SHL Stats
S71 || HAM || GP: 66 G: 17 A: 25 PTS: 42 PIMS: 32 +/-: -23 H: 75
S72 || HAM || GP: 66 G: 28 A: 31 PTS: 59 PIMS: 55 +/-: 7 H: 89
S73 || HAM || GP: 66 G: 24 A: 33 PTS: 57 PIMS: 34 +/-: -2 H: 81
S74 || HAM || GP: 66 G: 12 A: 37 PTS: 49 PIMS: 43 +/-: -8 H: 83
S75 || HAM || GP: 66 G: 11 A: 51 PTS: 62 PIMS: 39 +/-: 22 H: 66 
S76 || HAM || GP: 66 G: 33 A: 60 PTS: 93 PIMS: 37 +/-: -18 H: 87
S77 || HAM || GP: 66 G: 32 A: 32 PTS: 64 PIMS: 38 +/-: -34 H: 76
S78 || HAM || GP: 66 G: 14 A: 32 PTS: 46 PIMS: 20 +/-: -1 H: 57
Total SHL Stats
GP: 528 G: 171 A: 201 PTS: 472 PIMS: 298 +/-: -57 H: 614
SHL Playoff Stats
S71 || HAM || GP: 5 G: 2 A: 1 PTS: 3 +/-: -5 PIM: 2 H: 5
S72 || HAM || GP: 5 G: 1 A: 0 PTS: 0 +/-: -5 PIM: 0 H: 7
S73 || HAM || GP: 12 G: 4 A: 7 PTS: 11 +/-: 2 PIM: 10 H: 10
S74 || HAM || GP: 7 G: 2 A: 3 PTS: 5 +/-: -3 PIM: 0 H: 14
S75 || HAM || GP: 14 G: 3 A: 10 PTS: 13 +/-: -0 PIM: 2 H: 17
S76 || HAM || GP: 19 G: 6 A: 15 PTS: 21 +/-: -1 PIM: 4 H: 29
S77 || HAM || GP: 5 G: 1 A: 5 PTS: 6 +/-: -2 PIM: 0 H: 3
Total SHL Playoff Stats
GP: 67 G: 19 A: 41 PTS: 60 +/-: -14 PIM: 18 H: 85
SMJHL Stats
S67 || ANC || GP: 66 G: 25 A: 21 PTS: 46 +/-: -5 PIM: 6 H: 107
S68 || ANC || GP: 66 G: 20 A: 41 PTS: 61 +/-: 5 PIM: 30 H: 138
S69 || ANC || GP: 66 G: 20 A: 33 PTS: 53 +/-: -3 PIM: 18 H: 142
S70 || ANC || GP: 66 G: 12 A: 23 PTS: 35 +/-: -54 PIM: 28 H: 78
Career SMJHL Regular Season Stats
GP: 264 G: 77 A: 118 PTS: 195 +/-: -57 PIM: 82 H: 465
SMJHL Playoff Stats
S67 || ANC || GP: 5 G: 4 A: 1 PTS: 5 +/-: -2 PIM: 0 H: 11
S68 || ANC || GP: 10 G: 4 A: 3 PTS: 7 +/-: 7 PIM: 4 H: 24
Career Milestones
Drafted 20th overall by Anchorage, S67 SMJHL Draft
Drafted 4th overall by Hamilton, S68 SHL Draft
Voted Anchorage Armada captain, S69



Mitchell van der Heijden || C || Philadelphia Forge || 925 TPE
Birthplace: Alkmaar, Netherlands
Height/Weight: 6'2", 205 lbs
SHL Stats
S54 | NOLA | GP: 50 G: 8 A: 10 PTS: 18 PIMS: 16 +/-: 0 H: 24
S55 | NEW | GP: 50 G: 15 A: 19 PTS: 34 PIMS: 14 +/-: 2 H: 70
S56 | NEW | GP: 50 G: 16 A: 11 PTS: 27 PIMS: 26 +/-: -17 H: 65
S57 | NEW | GP: 66 G: 20 A: 28 PTS: 48 PIMS: 10 +/-: -37 H: 62
S58 | HAM | GP: 66 G: 22 A: 38 PTS: 60 PIMS: 22 +/-: 25 H: 92
S59 | HAM | GP: 66 G: 21 A: 37 PTS: 58 PIMS: 29 +/-: 37 H: 101
S60 | HAM | GP: 66 G: 49 A: 50 PTS: 99 PIMS: 6 +/-: 14 H: 97
S61 | HAM | GP: 66 G: 30 A: 57 PTS: 87 PIMS: 10 +/-: 49 H: 122
S62 | HAM | GP: 66 G: 48 A: 38 PTS: 86 PIMS: 8 +/-: 32 H: 105
S63 | HAM | GP: 66 G: 30 A: 51 PTS: 81 PIMS: 18 +/-: 47 H: 103
S64 | HAM | GP: 66 G: 30 A: 43 PTS: 73 PIMS: 8 +/-: 9 H: 103
S65 | PHI | GP: 66 G: 13 A: 37 PTS: 50 PIMS: 20 +/-: 25 H: 134
S66 | PHI | GP: 66 G: 15 A: 24 PTS: 39 PIMS: 30 +/-: -19 H: 116
S67 | PHI | GP: 66 G: 8 A: 27 PTS: 35 PIMS: 20 +/-: 4 H: 140
Career Regular Season Stats
GP: 876 G: 325 A: 470 PTS: 795 PIMS: 237 +/-: 172 H: 1338
SHL Playoff Stats
S54 | NOLA | GP: 17 G: 7 A: 5 PTS: 12 PIMS: 4 +/-: 1
S56 | NEW | GP: 6 G: 0 A: 3 PTS: 3 PIMS: 4 +/-: -4
S57 | NEW | GP: 5 G: 1 A: 0 PTS: 1 PIMS: 2 +/-: 0
S58 | HAM | GP: 19 G: 3 A: 7 PTS: 10 PIMS: 2 +/-: 2
S59 | HAM | GP: 11 G: 2 A: 5 PTS: 7 PIMS: 0 +/-: 4
S60 | HAM | GP: 10 G: 2 A: 3 PTS: 5
S61 | HAM | GP: 19 G: 9 A: 16 PTS: 25
S62 | HAM | GP: 14 G: 7 A: 12 PTS: 19
S63 | HAM | GP: 25 G: 10 A: 12 PTS: 22
S64 | HAM | GP: 17 G: 7 A: 17 PTS: 24
S65 | PHI | GP: 7 G: 4 A: 5 PTS: 9
S66 | PHI | G: 7 G: 1 A: 2 PTS: 3
S67 | PHI | GP: 7 G: 0 A: 4 PTS: 4
Total SHL Playoff Stats
GP: 172 G: 55 A: 93 PTS: 148
SMJHL Stats
S50 | ANC | GP: 50 G: 14 A: 14 PTS: 28 PIMS: 6 +/-: -1 H: 21
S51 | ANC | GP: 50 G: 20 A: 27 PTS: 47 PIMS: 17 -/+: 11 H: 15
S52 | ANC | GP: 50 G: 25 A: 28 PTS: 53 PIMS: 29 +/-: 7 H: 62
S53 | ANC | GP: 50 G: 26 A: 26 PTS: 52 PIMS: 24 +/-: 12 H: 109
Total SMJHL Reg. Season Stats
GP: 200 G: 85 A: 95 PTS: 180 PIMS: 79 +/-: 29 H: 207
SMJHL Playoff Stats
S50 | ANC | GP: 11 G: 1 A: 4 PTS: 5 PIMS: 0 +/-: -6
S51 | ANC | GP: 12 G: 5 A: 7 PTS: 12 PIMS: 2 +/-: 7
S52 | ANC | GP: 6 G: 2 A: 2 PTS: 4 PIMS: 0 +/-: 1
S53 | ANC | GP: 7 G: 0 A: 3 PTS: 3 PIMS: 0 +/-: -1
Total SMJHL Playoff Stats
GP: 41 G: 8 A: 16 PTS: 24 PIMS: 2 +/-: 1
Accolades
Won S51 4 Star Cup with Anchorage
Won Silver Medal with Switzerland, S51 IIHF
named best forward, S51 WJC
named to second team all SMJHL, S52
named Anchorage alternate captain, S51/S52
named Anchorage captain, S53
named first team all SMJHL, S53
won Ideen Fallah Award (SMJHL Awards Committee MVP), S53
named SMJHL All-Star, S51-S53
won S54 Challenge Cup with New Orleans
scored Challenge Cup-winning goal, S54
named New England alternate captain, S55
#15 retired by the Anchorage Armada
Challenge Cup winner with Hamilton, S58/S61/S63
SHL All-Star, S60-S63
Karpovtsov and McDonald winner, S60
Sarmad Khan winner, S60
Ron Mexico winner, S60
led SHL in goals and points, S60
First Team All-SHL, S60
Gold medal winner with Switzerland, S65
Member of the Triple Gold Club
SHL Hall of Famer
Draft Things
drafted 11th by Anchorage in S50 SMJHL Draft
drafted 13th overall by New Orleans in S51 SHL Draft



Joseph Lombardi || RW || former Anchorage Armada co-GM || 969 TPE
Name: Joseph Lombardi
Position: Right Wing
Birthplace: Voorhees, NJ, USA (transferred to Ireland)
Height: very short (5'3")
Weight: 145 lbs
SHL Regular Season Stats
S38 | SFP | GP: 50 G: 13 A: 9 PTS: 22 PIMS: 6 +/-: -10
S39 | SFP | GP: 50 G: 12 A: 8 PTS: 20 PIMS: 8 +/-: -10
S40 | SFP | GP: 50 G: 14 A: 15 PTS: 29 PIMS: 7 +/-: 9
S41 | MIN | GP: 50 G: 7 A: 6 PTS: 13 PIMS: 0 +/-: -3
S42 | MIN/SEA | GP: 47 G: 14 A: 20 PTS: 34 PIMS: 6 +/-: 4
S43 | SEA | GP: 50 G: 20 A: 26 PTS: 46 PIMS: 8 +/-: 5
S44 | SEA | GP: 50 G: 18 A: 17 PTS: 35 PIMS: 18 +/-: -16
S45 | SEA/TOR | GP: 50 G: 20 A: 20 PTS: 40 PIMS: 0 +/-: 1
S46 | TOR | GP: 50 G: 25 A: 23 PTS: 48 PIMS: 0 +/-: 0
S47 | EDM | GP: 50 G: 17 A: 23 PTS: 40 PIMS: 10 +/-: 26
S48 | SFP | GP: 50 G: 21 A: 17 PTS: 38 PIMS: 10 +/-: 5
S49 | SFP | GP: 50 G: 6 A: 20 PTS: 26 +/-: -8 PIMS: 13
S50 | SFP | GP: 50 G: 15 A: 11 PTS: 26 PIMS: 10 +/-: 15
Career Stats
GP: 647 G: 202 A: 215 PTS: 417 PIMS: 96 +/-: 14
SHL Playoff Stats
S38 | SFP | GP: 5 G: 1 A: 1 PTS: 2 PIMS: 6 +/-: -3
S39-S40 | SFP | Missed playoffs
S41 | MIN | GP: 6 G: 1 A: 2 PTS: 3 PIMS: 0 +/-: 0
S42 | SEA | missed playoffs
S43 | SEA | GP: 6 G: 0 A: 6 PTS: 6 PIMS: 0 +/-: 1
S44 | SEA | missed playoffs
S45 | TOR | GP: 5 G: 2 A: 2 PTS: 4 PIMS: 0 +/-: 1
S46 | TOR | GP: 7 G: 2 A: 7 PTS: 9 PIMS: 0 +/-: -1
S47 | EDM | GP: 6 G: 1 A: 1 PTS: 2 PIMS: 0 +/-: -3
S48 | SFP | GP: 6 G: 0 A: 0 PTS: 0 PIMS: 0 +/-: -4
S49 | SFP | missed playoffs
S50 | SFP | GP: 4 G: 0 A: 0 PTS: 0 PIMS: 0 +/-: 0
Career Playoff Stats 
all you need to know is that I was shit
SMJHL Regular Season Stats
S35 | STL |  GP: 50 G: 1 A: 0 PTS: 1 PIMS: 2 +/-: -1
S36 | STL | GP: 50 G: 10 A: 7 PTS: 17 PIMS: 4 +/-: 0
S37 | STL | GP: 44 G: 16 A: 15 PTS: 31 PIMS: 8 +/-: -4
Total Stats: GP: 144 G: 27 A: 22 PTS: 49 PIMS: 14 +/-: -5
SMJHL Playoff Stats
S35 | STL | GP: 7 G: 1 A: 0 PTS: 1 +/-: 1
S36 | STL | GP: 6 G: 2 A: 2 PTS: 4 +/-: -1
S37 | STL | GP: 13 G: 4 A: 10 PTS: 14 +/-: -3
Total Stats: GP: 26 G: 7 A: 12 PTS: 19 +/-: -3
Things I've Done
Selected 40th overall in S35 SMJHL Draft by STL
Selected 30th overall in S36 SHL Entry Draft by POR
Won some team awards with the Crows, but no cup
won Presidents Trophy with San Francisco in S38
won a silver medal with Ireland (S38)
won two bronze medals with Ireland (S39, S41)
won a shit ton of golds with Ireland (S42-47)
was traded by San Francisco to Minnesota before S41
Traded to Seattle by Minnesota before S42 Trade Deadline
traded to Toronto by Seattle before S45 trade deadline
signed a one year, $6 million contract with Edmonton
signed a one year, $4.5 million contract with San Fransisco
named Pride alternate captain for S48
won president's trophy with SFP (s50)
wrote haters guides where I shat on every team

Amazing article. Very informative.

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Matthew Sawful || RD || Anchorage Armada || TPE: 615
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Name: Matthew Sawful
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, USA
Height: 6'3"
Weight: 190 lbs
Shoots: Right
Number: 12
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TRANSACTIONS:
S53 | Drafted 2nd Overall by Anchorage Armada (SMJHL)
S53 | Transferred to Team Great Briton from USA (IIHF/WJC)
S54 | Drafted 3rd Overall by New England Wolfpack (SHL)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AWARDS & ACHIEVEMENTS:
S54 SMJHL All-Star
S54 WJC Silver Medal
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CAREER STATISTICS:
SMJHL Regular Season:
S53 | ANC | 50 GP | 6 G | 15 A | 21 P | +15 | 1 PPP | 14 PIM | 36 H
S54 | ANC | 50 GP | 6 G | 21 A | 27 P | 0 | 10 PPP | 12 PIM| 55 H
SMJHL Playoffs:
S53 | ANC | 7 GP | 1 G | 1 A | 2 P | -1 | 0 PPP | 0 PIM | 9 H
S54 | ANC | 7 GP | 1 G | 2 A | 3 P | 0 | 2 PPP | 0 PIM | 9 H
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
INTERNATIONAL CAREER STATISTICS:
WJC Round Robin:
S53 | BRI | 12 GP | 0 G | 2 A | 2 P | -3 | 0 PPP | 10 PIM | 17 H
S54 | BRI | 12 GP | 2 G | 3 A | 5 P | +1 | 1 PPP | 0 PIM | 14 H
WJC Finals:
S53 | BRI | 1 GP | 0 G | 0 A | 0 P | +1 | 0 PPP | 0 PIM | 1 H
S54 | BRI | 3 GP | 0 G | 0 A | 0 P | -1 | 0 PPP | 0 PIM | 10 H

Joined the fleet, here to win it all!  29th overall pick in S52 SMJHL draft