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Henrik · 02-17-2022, 05:28 PM

Well, it's officially over. I can hardly believe it's already been over 18 months since I got the job. Looking back at some of the comments on the hiring thread and on the trades that were made leading up to HOs announcement, I don't imagine I had much competition going into the job interview. And I think that was a lucky break for me in a way. Had the team been in better shape, more people may have applied and I doubt HO would have gone with a pretty quiet user with less than a year's worth of sim league experience under his belt. Although the rebuild has been very challenging at times, and I definitely don't want to have to go through it again anytime soon, it gave me a chance to really more or less build a team from scratch which is actually what I really wanted to do. Before getting this job, I had applied for an SMJHL expansion team on two separate occasions. First at the very start of 2020 (unfortunately that expansion never got anywhere) and second just 4 months later, just a short while before Nevada and Quebec joined the league. About a month and a half after learning that I would not be selected to receive a SMJHL team for the upcoming expansion, things got a little crazy in San Francisco. I won't bore you with all the details, most of you already know what happened, but at this point San Francisco was without a GM and I decided to throw my hat into the ring. At that time, at least for me, San Francisco felt like a blank canvas and there was a real sense of freedom for me in that. I looked at the opportunity just like it was an expansion team. I had the opportunity to change literally everything other than the branding to my exact specifications and having those first few seasons just to figure things out and set up the kind of team culture I wanted without any ties to the old team was liberating and looking back that mindset has worked really well for us I think.

All in all, it's taken 9 long seasons for this team to get back on its feet after what must be one of the roughest rebuilds in recent SHL history but I believe we have really developed something special over that time. I think going through a really lengthy and grueling rebuild like we have helps create a sense of camaraderie and ownership in everyone who is involved and that shows in our locker room. My goal from day one was to do this the right way, even though it might be a lengthier process. I wanted to be as transparent with the group as possible, at all times, I wanted to focus heavily on building a strong community and I wanted to do it internally for the most part. San Francisco now has a great core group of players that are still relatively young and I expect this team to be a real contender now for at least the next 3-4 seasons. Leaving the team in its current shape feels really good and I am glad we were able to put together a legitimate contending roster during my tenure, even though it pains me to admit that I did fail to win a single playoff series during my time as a GM. Would have loved to win at least one for this group, but that will have to be something that I leave for my successor to accomplish.

It has been a pretty incredible experience for me, I've never really been one to take on this sort of challenge before. I like to generally keep to myself and do my own thing and I really don't enjoy making decisions that will have direct effects on others. I know it sounds corny but this has been a great opportunity for me to do some personal growth. I'm glad I did and I'm glad I got the chance to do it with such an amazing group of people. When life calms down a little bit again, I would love to do this all again.

To all the users that wore a Pride jersey during my tenure, I want to sincerely thank you for believing in my vision and buying into the team. Thank you for being patient with me during the rebuild. Thank you for being a constant source of positivity to both myself and the rest of your teammates. Thank you for putting so much love into this team and for being willing to share your opinions openly with me. Thank you for making this such an amazing experience for me, it's been great, truly! Looking forward to seeing what the future holds for the Pride!

Finally, I just want to give a few shoutouts.

@LordBirdman & @traphag - No one would have blamed you for leaving as soon as I took over but you both gave me a chance, without that buy-in I doubt very much that the team would be in the position that it is today. A huge thank you to both of you for being so patient and open about any reservations you had about the team or the direction we were heading. I’m glad Petrenko has been rewarded with a great career and a couple of awards and I am really hoping Sven gets to lift the Mexico this season. He definitely deserves it.

@sulovilen & @Rancidbudgie - You two have been an invaluable part of our team both on and off the ice. Sulo, you are amazing bud. I think everyone in the SHL is familiar with your work at this point and the fact that you share your time and skill so generously with everyone in the locker room is a never ending source of hype. Rancid, you were instrumental in testing during the yearly days and really helped me figure out a lot of the things that have led to us being a successful team on the ice. Giving me a hand with testing also helped me keep my sanity and I am very grateful for the work you put in.

@tweedledunn - Without your help in the first couple of seasons I would have been completely lost. You helped answer all kinds of questions about GMing, gave great advice, kept the locker room alive and you indulged me every time I had some questions about the teams history. Thank you!

@hhh81 - From my time in Colorado, you set the standard of what a GM should be and what a locker room should look like in this league and you set that standard very high. You also had some very wise words for me during multiple parts of my tenure. I am very grateful that I got to be part of such a great locker room and for the advice you gave me when I needed it.

@leafsftw1967 - You didn’t wear a Pride jersey for particularly long but you were one of the first players I traded for with the intent of getting more competitive. It's all well and good to be stuck in your own little echo-chamber and think you are doing the right thing but when you ,as a long-time veteran of the site, came in and complemented the culture we had built up over the previous 5 seasons it really solidified in my mind that we were actually building a great community in SFP. It’s been a joy getting to know you and sharing the ice with you.

@KaleSalad & @Keven - You two are absolute beauts. Some of the most infectiously positive and fun people I have met in this site and I feel very fortunate to have shared a locker room with both of you. Keep on keeping on!

@AgentSmith630 - I mean, what can I say? I feel like anything I say here is going to look pale in comparison to all the nice things you’ve said about our tenure together. You’ve been an enormous help and incredibly supportive the whole way. Your love for this league and this team is easy for anyone to see and your positivity is infectious, which is exactly what a grumpy old Swede needs sometimes. A healthy dose of positivity. You are a wonderful person and I’m very thankful I had you as my co for so long. You deserve a lot of the credit for this team being what it is today, it wouldn’t be the same without you. Thanks for putting up with me over the last 18 months.

I could go on forever, but I think this is already starting to feel fairly long winded to most of you. But I do want to sincerely thank everyone who has played for the team during my tenure. You’ve all been absolutely fantastic and you ALL deserve a lot of credit for this (a tleast in my opinion) successful rebuild.

So, as is customary, I would now like to open the floor for some questions. If you have any, shoot!

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02-17-2022, 05:43 PMShylo_Moxii Wrote: you sticking around the league looking for a new journey?

Will definitely be sticking around, but I wont be as active as before. Real life has just become too busy for me to be able to reliably be able to put aside time to plan, scout, test etc.

HLO will still be active and I'm still hoping to hit the 1000 game mark. Still have about a third of the way to go! We'll see if he lasts that long in the great scheme of things but I'd really like to hit that benchmark.

Hoping to get back to some level of normalcy late this year as I still feel I have lots of things I would like to achieve in this league.

02-17-2022, 07:29 PMleafsftw1967 Wrote: Hats off to you HLO for all the hard work you put into building up SFP! You took them from nothing to establishing them into a serious contender in the west. More importantly you developed a great locker room culture that I am grateful to be part of and were always true players GM and someone I really enjoyed getting to know. Looking back what's your favorite memory as GM of SFP?

Favourite memory is a tough one. Theres been plenty of fun and interesting events over the last year ane a half but if I had to pick just one I think it would be taking Toronto to 7 games in S58. We were still a bottom dweller at the time and only managed to get into the playoffs because of the playoff format. The team was so hyped and it really gave us a boost in the locker room at a time when the rebuild was still weighting heavily over the team. A little sad to think thats the closest we've gotten to winning a series in my tenure but it was a really fun experience none the less.

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ready for grading, roughly 1800 words.