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Fluw · 05-26-2021, 09:19 PM

Hello everyone, this is just a little origin story of myself and the league it was originally supposed to be 100k words but I got super lazy and decided to just drop it in the state that it is in. I hope you enjoy

Chapter One : The Beginning.

With my previous stint here in the SHL being a colossal failure in my books, some would tell you otherwise, I really wanted to make it up not only to the friends that I made on the site but up to myself and create a player I could really be proud of. I had just started a new job and finally grounded myself and realized that now with my life no longer being a mess I had the time and the effort to make have my SHL success story.

I honestly wasn’t sure what type of player I would make, did I want to be a goalie again? Maybe a defenseman? Or a forward? I had already previously made plans to create Remi-Alexandre Nadeau as a successor to my original player Patrice Nadeau however it really just became a thought in the back of my mind. So I sat down one evening and started theory crafting players and builds and what I would find most fun and then I randomly settled on created a playmaking winger.

The next question that arose was what nationality do I make him? My last player was Canadian born but went on to be the starting goalie for Team Japan as my old friend Astatine, probably spelt it wrong, had convinced me to abandon Canada with him. I then though to myself, what is a nation that I have always wanted to go to that has little representation in terms of sports. Then I came up with the idea of creating an Icelandic hockey player, which then presented another challenge, coming up with a name.

This challenge was a bit easier to overcome, as I then easily looked up Icelandic names and settled on Gudmundur Kristjansson, why you may ask? I have absolutely no idea. Now looking at the international portion of the league their obviously wasn’t an Icelandic national team for me to play for, so you would think I would play for Team World in the World Junior Championship, and more than likely Team Norway in the International Ice Hockey Federation Championship. Well your guess would be wrong because during my stint on my previous player in Japan, I had decided that I would make a promise to Gabe. Now I promised that I would be on Team Canada on my next player, as I had abandoned Team Canada on Patrice Nadeau. This got me a special role on the Team Canada discord, Gabe’s Prisoner until the prodigal son had finally returned under the guise of a new player.

Chapter Two: The SMJHL Draft

To be completely honest with you, I did not expect to go high in the SMJHL draft. You could argue that Patrice Nadeau was an SMJHL legend with the ability to land in the history books or be the top goalie in the SMJHL during his era, but I really felt like I honestly wouldn’t be selected high. Sure Nadeau had the accolades but I never really was much of a locker room presence, as I would often second guess myself at what I was typing or how it would be received and at times I would opt to just not speak at all. I thought for sure I would go in the later rounds, which to be fair I was fine with, but a little part of me wanted to go in the top 10 of the draft.

I created Kristjansson during the offseason, so I missed out on a lot of potential TPE which really sucked but I did that so that I would not leave the San Francisco Pride in a rough spot by making them lose Nadeau abruptly to which I felt wasn’t fair for the team. At this point I had expected to join the rookie discord at the time, which I heard was beans, but I never received an invite but I really didn’t mind as I wasn’t actively looking to join, just figured it was something that would happen, despite it not ever happening. So I just sat patiently alone waiting for the draft to happen and see if I could find my new home.

I had some pleasant conversations with some GM’s , my apologies as my memory is a bit hazy here, and I remember thinking that I didn’t really care where I ended up. My previous team was the Lethbridge Lions, which unfortunately do not exist any longer as they are now the Newfoundland Berserkers, and I’ll be honest with all of you, I was a bit intimidated to be potentially drafted by them. Now from my experience JNH is a great guy, I love him and the Newfoundland Berzerkers are a much better organization than the Lethbridge Lions ever were, no offense Lions family, HOWEVER since I was still in the locker room I could see how active it was in there. I was conflicted as part of me wanted Newfoundland to pick me in the first round, but the other part of me wasn’t sure if I would even fit in since the locker room changed so much since my Skeleton Crew Lethbridge era, but as fates would have it my new home would not be Newfoundland, however I now see that I would have fit in in Newfoundland anyways and my concerns were just me psyching myself out for no reason.
To my surprise I am watching the SMJHL draft stream and end up getting drafted 5th overall by the Colorado Raptors! All I can say was holy crap! I went in the top 5 of the draft!? What the hell! This was something I was not expecting and honestly it made me feel so warm inside, that a team wanted me this badly. NONAME had remembered me from my San Francisco days and I am surprised I even left a good impression on him as I was rarely if ever talkative in that locker room during that era.
I joined the team that season with some other new prospects most notably Lord Jumbo and Juni Panda, and we always used to joke about the God Lord Panda Line, which still needs to happens some day! I instantly felt like I found my home in the SMJHL, everyone I interacted with in the Colorado locker room during my first few seasons, Birdman, Jumbo, Panda, HHH, Wuma, Juni , Jurt, RESO and more recently JT3, Ruggsy and Micool, if I forgot anyone I am sorry I am bad with remembering names, made my time in Colorado, and continue to make it fantastic despite my activity in the locker room tapering off a bit in recent weeks. I was secretly scared of HHH, like the dad that you want to make proud and don’t want to get mad, but I had no reason for feeling that way since he has always been a cool dude and always very helpful when you needed it.

Chapter Three: First Season in the SMJHL

We enter my first season in the SMJHL and as expected I found myself playing on the 4th line, which to be fair was to be expected but this meant I ended up with minimal icetime, and of course not putting up the points that I was hoping to. I took pride in the fact that I wanted to build myself as a playmaking winger, however in my first SMJHL season I only managed to put up 6 assists for a total of 8 points in 50 games. For god knows what reason when the Colorado Raptors entered the playoffs of the S54 season I somehow managed to put up 5 points in 5 games despite us getting bounced in the first round. I guess I am just a playoff performer?

Chapter Four: Road to the SHL Draft

As I promised I kept chapter three short and sweet as I did not want to dwell much on my first season as a Raptor as not all the details are as fresh as I honestly wish they were. So as well all know I was set to be drafted into the SHL in S55, or rather the S54 offseason. Now because of Nadeau’s failures, and his peaking at 723 TPE, I for sure was not expected to go any higher than the third round I mean who would be willing to risk a pick on a recreate that fizzled out on his first player?

I personally didn’t care where I was drafted to as my goal was essentially to try and make an organization better with me playing there both on the ice and in the locker room, didn’t matter which team. I just wanted to get to know people that had interest in hockey as I honestly do not have any friends that enjoy hockey, they are all lame I know!
Now it goes without saying that everyone obviously has preferences as to which team they go to, or how they feel about certain teams. I would like to stress this again, I had nothing against any team and would have been thrilled to play for any team that gave me a chance, nonetheless these were my opinions on each team albeit they were not that well informed.

Baltimore Platoon:
For some reason in my head I had it ingrained that this was a team that was a team of champions. I keep thinking about the West Kendall location and seem to think or remember that this team was a damn powerhouse back in the day, but again my memory can be hazy. Overall I do like Baltimore’s logo and colours and their goal horn has really grown on me.
Buffalo Stampede:
I ended up taking a liking to Buffalo over the course of a couple of years, at the time of the draft I used to think to myself what would it be like playing with Luffy again? Recently I met WBF in the Colorado locker room and have taken a liking to him so honestly would have been a great place to play.

Chicago Syndicate:

I remember thinking to myself that this team is pretty damn cool from the name to the logo, to the colouring. My memory does not serve me as well as I would hope, but I knew I held it in my mind that I wanted this team to win a cup, for reasons unknown to me.
Hamilton Steelhawks:
So for me Hamilton was a powerhouse at the time of my draft, and of course they still are. I can’t really say I like or dislike Hamilton. You cannot deny the fact that they run a tight ship over there and receive championships because of it and that is something to respect from the management group. If I were to just base it off the name and colouring alone I love it. The logo for me is a bit meh but that really doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things.

Manhattan Rage:
My friend Peter Larson’s team. Another team I was actually hoping to play for, as I knew someone from the team and really saw that as a great place to play.

New England Wolfpack:
This was a team that to me screamed middle of the pack, I don’t know why, and again I had no real feeling towards this team. I love the branding, of course you could have probably guessed that, but I knew no one in the organization, and really was not able to for a strong opinion on them one way or the other.
Tampa Bay Barracuda:
Oh Tampa. I have no idea what it is, but I never really was attached to the team at all. I could not put words to it, but my old friend MCP played for Tampa and was drafted there, so I mean I would have loved to play with him again. Sorry Tampa people, I just can’t really explain what it is the makes me feel this way, none the less I wish you all the best.
Toronto North Stars:
Little bit of a homer bias but seeing as I am from Toronto and a Leafs fan , sorry not sorry, I actually wanted to play for this team. Carpy another old friend of mine was the goaltender of this team, and man would it have been something to have been reunited with him in Toronto. They were definitely at the top of my list at the time.
Calgary Dragons:
I remember having a feeling of respect for this team, something about them really resonated with me and I really felt like if I was drafted to this team I would go one to do great things. For whatever reason in my mind the two teams that stood out to me the most were Calgary and Edmonton I guess you could say the Old Guard.

Edmonton Blizzard:
See Calgary. Really respected this organization and loved the logo, again you could have easily just guessed that. I had them in my top 5 of teams to play for , that is guaranteed.

Los Angeles Panthers:

I really didn’t have any feelings about Los Angeles, and I still really don’t. I am sure that the people there are great and it is a great organization to play for, just not really sure I could make any comment on them, the new logo is great by the way.
New Orleans Spectres:

Yep, another expansion team and man I wouldn’t have minded being drafted by them as I really love it when expansion teams come into the league and win a championship. Now when I said expansion team I meant they were an expansion team back when I started in the league on Nadeau. Overall, I liked the team.

Minnesota Monarchs:
Okay so no offense Minnesota but I don’t know I just don’t like this branding. But that has nothing to do with anything as I would still play for your team given them chance, as things like that are pretty superficial. I would say you fall into the neutral category I really don’t have many feeling about the team, as I don’t think I have ever interacted with any of you before.

San Francisco Pride:

Okay so this one was a tough one to type out. San Francisco picked me up on Patrice Nadeau, where I fizzled out and died. The GMs at the time were great to me, and were really helpful but I just really couldn’t find my way in that locker room, and found myself on the outside looking in a lot of times which is no fault of the Pride. However this stuck with me during the draft, and to be honest I did not want to be drafted by the Pride again. My feelings have since changed, and I do think that the Pride are an excellent team, I sometimes pop by to say hello, and can say that the feelings of not wanting to be drafted by them were an error on my part.

Texas Renegades:

Another team that I for some reason think of success when I hear there name or see their logo. I have really nothing else to say on the Renegades as I have very limited interactions with them if at all.

Winnipeg Aurora :

At the time they were the Winnipeg Jets and I held them in pretty high regard, thinking that I could potentially have a long career there if I was drafted by them. Sorry for not writing more I am sort of running out of steam at this point.

So finally this would be how my draft destination board would look, again I would have been happy with any team that wanted me:

1. Toronto North Stars
2. Calgary Dragons
3. Edmonton Blizzard
4. Buffalo Stampede
5. Manhattan Rage
6. Chicago Syndicate
7. New Orleans Spectres
8. New England Wolfpack
9. Los Angeles Panthers
10. Baltimore Platoon
11. Texas Renegades
12. Hamilton Steelhawks
13. Minnesota Monarchs
14. San Francisco Pride

The draft was approaching and I started getting pretty nervous about where I would go, and then I started getting messages from GMs and that is what really got my heart going.
I remember speaking with Kez, Luke, Ace, Hotdog and ML002 and honestly every interaction I had left me with a good impression on each of those GMs, legit felt like I would be blessed and happy to be on either of their teams, and they all seem like genuine people I would love to be friends with.

Chapter 5: The S55 SHL Draft

So the draft came around and I was sitting wondering where I would go, honestly I expected to go in the later round noting how much of a failure my previous player was, at least to me.

I remember sitting alone watching the stream, a bit nervous of which team would take their chance at me, and where I would find myself. Would the players of that team like me? Would they like my personality? All these things were running through my mind as I sat and pondered about what the next few hours would bring.
To my honest surprise I was drafted 11th overall by the New England Wolfpack and this honestly blew me away, I had no idea or expectation that I would be chosen in the first round of the SHL draft. This was something that made me super happy, and honestly gave me more motivation to earn my keep, and raise my stock as a first rounder.
When I was welcomed to the team discord I was immediately met with the friendliest bunch of people I had met, and instantly clicked with them, and had a lot of fun playing our Pictionary game, I think that’s the name, with me drawing my shitty spelunkers. That was probably one of the best evenings I had in a long time.

And now we find ourselves in the present, I am currently on the New England Wolfpack and every person I have met so far has been a blessing to me in life, even though everyone is just a person on the other end of my screen I do feel like I have made some honest to god great connections.

I am currently on the WJC HO and SMJHL HO teams and both teams are phenomenal with great people that really care about the health of the league and are all around great people, and I want to do my best to make this community a great one, the same way that it has been done for me.

I get that many of you probably don’t really care much to read this all, but this is a little bit of myself and my journey with the league.

There is a lot of people that I could have given a shout out, you know who you all are, but I am too lazy to type that up myself so I would rather just leave it at that.
That being said I cannot wait for what adventures are ahead!!!

2x if you can, if not it's okay (3303 words)

Jumbo · 05-26-2021, 10:21 PM

Great read Fluw! Love the behind the scenes type thoughts. The 4th line in Colorado was the best!
Keep doing great things my friend

Fluw · 05-26-2021, 10:21 PM

05-26-2021, 10:21 PMJumbobone19 Wrote: Great read Fluw! Love the behind the scenes type thoughts. Keep doing great things my friend

Love ya jumbo <3

ACapitalChicago · 05-26-2021, 10:43 PM

Aw shucks, thanks for the kind words! You've been a fantastic addition to the J HO team, you've been amazing since day one!

S66 Damian Littleton

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*Carpy48* · 05-27-2021, 01:18 AM

Skeleton Crew forever! Lions

Great story, I didn't know half of it before.

Btw we still need to make Godmother a thing.

Zema · 05-27-2021, 04:35 AM

Love you fluwwy boy. You write as beautifully as you are handsome.

***KaleSalad*** · 05-27-2021, 09:48 AM

Great read Fluw!

*AgentSmith630* · 05-27-2021, 10:09 AM

I'm glad your opinion on SFP has changed for the better! Always good to hear that as a GM Smile

***luke*** · 05-27-2021, 10:11 AM

Hey Fluw, I know we had some great conversations when I scouted you. I am glad you kept with it. I wished Manhattan could have drafted you, but alas you went where we picked anyway lmao.

DeletedAtUserRequest · 05-27-2021, 06:45 PM

+1

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