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EsAmYk · 06-15-2021, 11:56 PM

Hello! For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Sam Siege. I am a left-handed right winger who happens to be a deer. I hail from the beautiful Pacific Northwest city of Portland, Oregon. And this is the story of my hockey career in the SHL.

               My hockey career starts when I was a young lad. I was born in the mid-nineties, and the heyday of the hometown Portland Winter Hawks. From watching them play in the Western Hockey League, I was hooked. I watched them win the League along with the WHL playoffs, hoisting the Ed Chynoweth Cup, and playing, and winning the infamous Memorial Cup in 1998. From then on, I knew I wanted to play hockey. Whenever I could, I would go out and skate on one of the very few rinks in the city, watch whatever games I could on the TV, go to every Winterhawks game I possibly could, do whatever I could to learn and practice the most Beautiful Game on Ice. The problem was, there wasn’t a team I could join out here. Then, I heard about the SHL from someone in passing, and I decided to go for it. “Why not?” I thought. “What’s the harm in at least trying out?” And so I did.

               After signing up, and learning the ropes, I was ready for action. It was cool to have SMJHL teams calling me up even before I was able to show my stuff out on the ice. The interviews I got from the five or so teams that contacted me all seemed to be great! I was ecstatic and excited for this opportunity to do something I loved and had a passion for. I ended up on the Screaming Cacti team in the Prospect Showcase. It was exhilarating to be on a team to be able to show my skills and my potential in hopefully becoming an elite hockey player. Game after game went by, and I kept getting goals and assists. I was thoroughly enjoying my time in Phoenix, making friends with this guy named Steve Collins, a right-handed left winger from the little-known European country of Latvia. We ended up having similar shifts on the ice, and we very much complimented each other. After our hot start, we ended up being third in the standings of the four teams. We were a formidable team with the tendency to score lots of goals in games. When the playoffs came, we ended up losing in the first round to the Tokyo Yoshi’s. Although my team didn’t win, it was still a fun and entertaining experience. And we were only a few days away from the SMJHL Entry Draft.

               Draft day came. I remember being nervous and excited to hear my name be called. There were some teams in mind that I really wanted to join, just from the interviews, but I had no idea how it was going to turn out. Name after name was called, and I kept getting more and more nervous, not being able to sit still during the thing. Panic hadn’t quite set in, even after the third round, as I had heard that this particular draft was very deep this year, and there were a lot of players to sift through and look at. Finally, near the end of round 3, I get a call. Surprisingly, it wasn’t from any team that had interviewed me. They said they were willing to take me in the pick after the next, if I wasn’t taken by then. I hastily agreed. As excited as I was to finally be getting my chance, I was a bit sad to see the new friend I had made go to a different team. Well, my name wasn’t called before then, and so with the 45th pick in the 4th round of the draft, my name was called by the Nevada Battleborn. I would be moving to a not so far away club in Las Vegas.

               The drive to Vegas was a good one. It ended up being a two-day trip, stopping once in Reno. If it wasn’t for the fact that this would be my new home for the season, I would have flown in. This wasn’t the first time I had been here, however, as I had been once before for a vacation, being too young to gamble at the time. After dropping my things off at my new apartment, I decided to drive around a bit, and get a feel for where things were at. As it was getting late, I ended up getting some fast food, and crashing for the night. The next morning, I woke up early, making sure to be ready to meet my managers, coaches, team, and other staff members. Parking in the garage, I double and triple check myself before exiting my vehicle and headed over to meet everyone. Nervously excited, yet also anxious, I walked towards the door to the locker room. “What will my teammates think about me? Will I like them? The coaches? What if I mess up?” All these thoughts and more were scrambling around in my head. I had watched the draft results not long before, and remember nervously awaiting the call that I would be drafted. Of all the teams that had contacted me, Nevada was not one of those, so it was a shock to me when I received a call from them. I remember being excited to play with Melvin Moose, a creature in the same Animal family as I am. I remember playing with Doug Glatt and Peanut Butter on the Screaming Cacti in the Prospect Showcase, and enjoyed playing with them. But the rest I didn't know. Reaching the door, I hesitate, take a deep breath, and finally open it. What greeted me was a lot of commotion: just lots of talking and greetings and just all around goofing off. Some looked over at me, smiled, and waved me on in. Taking a sigh of relief, I enter, smiling, welcoming my new home. I'll have to get used to the desert heat, but I can tell I'll have good people behind my back.

               It has been a few days now since I met the team. Everyone I have talked to has been fantastic! The preseason is scheduled to start within the next week, so I have been training with and getting to know my team members. Interestingly enough, whether by accident or not, every player that the Battleborn General Managers had drafted, with the exception of the two drafted defensemen, are all left-handed, including the goalie! We hope that this will help us out in my first ever season in the league. I had also gained a new rival in the last few days. Well, friend turned rival anyways. My Latvian buddy that I got to know well has become a frenemy. I can’t wait to go against him when our teams meet up, especially when we will be playing against each other individually out on the ice and not just by team. With some exciting news today, along with the announcement of the Captain and Assistant Captains, and our fans hyped up and anticipating the start of the newest SMJHL season, The Nevada Battleborn are, well, as the name suggests, ready for battle. We were born for it.

***sköldpaddor*** · 06-16-2021, 06:55 AM

we are so excited to have you in Nevada, Sam, and we are so glad you decided to play hockey despite all of the adversity that deer face in professional sports!

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