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Talls · 08-12-2021, 11:21 AM

How I Got to the Final Cuts With Minimal SHL Experience: A How To
August 12, 2021
Talls

I know there are a lot of people on the site confused as to why I made it to the final round of cuts (that I know of) and I want to help shed some light on that subject. Please note, that this is from my point of view and I have had no additional interaction from anyone with expansion decision making power in the J HO. With that being said, let me begin by thanking everyone involved in the process. Especially, my teams, my fellow contenders, and HO. My teams really helped me gain the confidence needed for this kind of venture. I had a few friends who were contenders that were in my court as soon as they, themselves were eliminated. Truly the best kind of friends to have. And I know the process could not of been easy for HO. Thanks for considering me until the end. Now, on to the meat of things.

I knew that I wanted a J team. To the point that I started working on branding two weeks before the announcement and even commissioned @DrunkenTeddy for a logo for my team. I wanted to leave my mark on the league with a team that would embody what is great about the J. Then, the announcement came out. Way before I was ready. But, I knew I had to at least apply and I figured I would be eliminated due my lack of experience immediately.

My experience consists of being the WJC Young Guns Co-GM for it's inaugural season, being member of the Colorado Raptors management staff, being a member of the San Francisco Pride war room, being a member of the development team, and finally being a Site Manager. This is all great but I have only been around for almost two seasons. That compared to the literal years of experience of the people I was competing against. All of this experience is specifically for the reason of being a full fledged J GM.

So why did I make it to the last round? I have a few ideas. First, what is most important to me in a team is team culture. If I would of came into the league on a team with a dead locker room, who knows how engaged I would be now. I want to create a similar experience for the members of my eventual team. Because if this fact, I tried to center my entire application on team culture with the goal of having an extremely engaged team that wants to stick around for seasons to come.

If people don't like what they are doing, they just won't show up.

To me, it's all about the community.

People like @Ruggsy, @LordBirdman, and @Jumbobone19 make the Colorado Raptors locker room. And that is just on the management side. The other coaches, veterans, and rookies are all great people. They provide that type of community that you just want to be a part of.

I want to create that for more people. Having a great culture leads to more engagement, which leads to people staying, which leads to better teams, on and off the ice. To help provide more background of my plans to achieve my goals, I expressed my interest of holding different events and avenues to keep my team engaged. Because I centered my application around that central theme, talking about scouting really helped to emphasize the point.

I have only got to experience one off season so far, but I immediately fell in love with scouting. I get a lot of excitement from talking to the prospects available during the draft process. I feel like I spoke to so many people that I can tell who will be a star and who will probably fizzle out. I wanted to really push this in my application. Any successful GM will need to find those people to build the culture they want to establish.

I hoped by getting letters of recommendations from a co-GM, a J GM, and a senior staff member would help. And I think it did. I knew that I did not have the experience of the other applicants and that I needed a leg up. So even now, continue to build relationships across the site that you can leverage when applying for positions, regardless of what it is. And remember to be grateful, those people writing your letter of recommendation do not have to and it is not the most entertaining thing to do.

Finally, I proposed multiple branding options for my desired location. I didn't know what HO would think is a good or a bad branding. Obviously, I had the one I had been planning on but I offered a few backups as well. I wanted to show that I was flexible and that I was willing to make changes to guarantee a great team and that branding was not a deal breaker for me. One of the big things I did was not just provide my ideas but WHY I decided on each of them. From the reason I wanted to use the names and the colors.

The intention was to assume HO knew nothing about my desired location and to teach them about the location and the people there. I didn't want it to seem like I just liked the name and that's why I wanted to use a team name. A branding has to mean something to me.

I hope that this incite into what I did helps all the future general managers out there. I want all of the current members of the S62 draft class to look at this as well to see if they have what it takes to become a future general manager one day. And hopefully, you don't use my techniques against me in any future expansion drafts.

Co-General Manager

I wanted to add a part 2 to this post because I've gone and did it again. Using the same techniques, I was able to make it to the final cuts for the Grizzlies Co job before being beat by @Fluw. Which I am 100% okay with. He definitely deserved it and I'm super excited for him and the team.

This process was less formalized and now about getting to know @Geekusoid.

It was the first time I met Geek and we clicked immediately (which makes me happy, since he beat me to be a general manager). We discussed all sorts of things and scenarios and just chatted over a series of days. We discussed difficult decisions, the process itself, and the tools we have made. Overall, I really enjoyed the experience.

This process, though entirely different from the expansion general manager selection process, proved that my method works. By preaching and living a team and culture first attitude, your chances of getting a team increase greatly. This method may not be true for an SHL general manager job but that remains to be seen.

If anything, it is a good check to see if you, the new applicant have a shot. If you only want a team for a location or name, you'll probably not make it. You have to want to improve and add to the overall community too get your shot.

This brings me to my final point. Why was I not chosen. And that is an easy answer. With all things equal, the people with the most experience and longest track record will always win. It is frustration but I agree with this methodology. The person who has put in the time should get a team over the newcomer. Experience does mean something in this league. You just have to be the right kind of person with the right kind of application for our to matter.

Insight From the Commissioner

With the additional time I have had, I want to thank @nour for giving me the opportunity to ask him more questions on this subject and give his prospective. He may be the commissioner but he is not all of HO, so like before, take it with a grain of salt. He verified to me my findings in this scenario. HO looks first for great people with a plan to continue to grow the league through member engagement. He did say that if there is a tie between members, that the tie breaker would be most likely be membership age of the candidates. This aligns perfectly with what I deduced before.

HO likes general managers that want to get their players involved in the site and to keep them around. It is way more important for a locker room to be successful than the team be. That being said, HO prefers their candidates to have at least some Franchise Hockey Manager experience so that they do not immediately become the laughing stock of the league. Perpetually losing is not fun either. It just goes to show, if you want to be a general manager, at least own and have some experience playing Franchise Hockey Manager.

Going Forward

My plans from here involve general managing with @ValorX77 the WJC World team, hopefully to another medal. I have expanded my coaching and tactics role with IIHF team Japan, so I am officially a coach in all four leagues. I was recently brought in to fill a void on the graphics grading team as an assistant and I have enjoyed it so far. This is an area I am personally terrible at, so I am hoping some of their talent sinks into me. I do have a logo I still need to create. I am going to continue working for the development team to keep making the site better. Hopefully, we can keep adding value to the index and the site as a whole. Finally, I am going to try to increase my involvement with the managerial side of the leagues by applying to any Head Office position, as they arise. I am hoping I can at least impact the league for the better there, while I wait for the right time to apply to be a general manager or a co general manager again. I know there are a few positions posted now, but I would feel bad getting a position on a team that I am not already a member. Some people do not mind that but I do. I think those positions should be promoted from within.

Finally, if anyone has any questions or any disagreements, feel free to DM me. I am much more likely to see those than a reply to this post. I fully intend to update this "guide" with any changes that may be warranted, even after if has been graded.

Special Thanks

I want to give a special thanks to @Fluw for helping me grow in this process and eventually beating me for that Co general manager position. You are the Franchise Hockey Manager master.

@lespoils, if you could please stop applying to everything I apply to, that would be great. I really need you to get a job so we don't have to compete for the same positions. Also, thanks for the encouragement, I'm sure you will get one before me.

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***Chevy*** · 08-12-2021, 11:48 AM

You have no idea, how painstaking it was to have to come down to the final decision. You were absolutely fantastic to talk to and I look forward to being able to talk to you again about various things. As Palpatine said in Episode 1: I'll be watching your career with great interest!.

Keep up being awesome!

SlashACM · 08-12-2021, 12:05 PM

Like, subscribe and hit the bell notification for more content

***Ruggsy*** · 08-12-2021, 12:19 PM

I looked through my up reps and not a single one from talls. I regret to inform you I will NOT be uprepping this post.

Nice writeup tho I like the part where you talk about how cool the raptors are

***Fluw*** · 08-12-2021, 12:23 PM

Talls <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

Grapehead · 08-12-2021, 02:48 PM

After reading this, I'd wager you'll get a GM job sooner or later. Keep up the good work!

monochroma · 08-12-2021, 04:51 PM

we stan talls

Talls · 08-12-2021, 07:19 PM

We only Stan @micool132

*micool132* · 08-13-2021, 10:18 AM

Thank you nerd

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