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***Ace*** · 09-10-2023, 02:09 PM

I am not much of a writer these days, but with yesterday’s events finally settling down in my mind, I wanted to put some of these thoughts that I am having into written form. To say that being a GM in the SHL has been a journey would be a drastic understatement. I joined the SHL back on March 24, 2011. I joined the SHL when I googled “PC Hockey Game” while sitting on our bed with my crappy Acer laptop. I went by the handle “NordicBruin91” back then, believe it or not. I was 20 years old, a year and a half into dating my girlfriend, and we lived in our first studio apartment together. I was a gigantic Boston Bruins fan and regularly played goalie in men's leagues in our area. I was working a minimum-wage job to allow my girlfriend to keep pursuing her education so we could pay for our apartment.

Four thousand five hundred fifty-three days, or 12 years and six months later, my life has changed significantly. I sit here at my desk in the home we purchased together. I am that girl's husband, the father of our two wonderful daughters, ages 10 and 6, the guardian of three excellent dogs, and a master of a flock of 23 backyard egg-producers. I am just now going to school to get my Bachelors Degree in Digital Marketing, so I am not a hypocrite when I ask my daughters to consider doing the same. I am working for a software company as an Account Manager. Why am I sharing all of these things about my life? Well, that’s because, despite this journey bringing me down the path that it has, one thing that has stayed consistent has been this silly little hobby of mine, the Simulation Hockey League.

I cannot say, “I’ve been a consistent member of this community since I joined.” I have had lapses of inactivity, mainly during a seismic shift. These revolved around the birth of my two children, but eventually, the hook set previously had its slack reeled in, and I came stumbling back to this community. I’ve had many players in my tenure here in the SHL, some successful, some not. I have also had the privilege of working many jobs in this community, but none that matter to me so much as the role of a General Manager.

I started my GMing career when Diamond_Ace asked me to come on as co-GM of the Manhattan Rage somewhere around S6 or S7. That team we built didn’t get it done, and we had to liquidate assets to gain draft capital. The most appealing asset was my player, and we sent my first player, Erik Chisling, to the Calgary Dragons for a first-round pick and a couple of other small assets. This trade was made to help the Rage, but it ended up helping me personally as the Dragons hoisted the Challenge Cup with Chisling on the roster. It was not until I was drafted to the Hartford Hydra that an awful scenario occurred, and the GM of the team needed to be wiped from the history books. It all comes full circle because my good friend @OrbitingDeath was with me when this occurred, and we needed to distance our new team from the controversy of the previous manager. Between the two of us and a few other war room members I cannot recall, we brought the New England Wolfpack into the world of the SHL. Being a part of that team’s branding and history brings me immense pride, and I will always think fondly of the Pack.

After we rebranded the Hydra into the Wolfpack, I remained affiliated with the team and considered it my baby. I had three separate stints as the Head General Manager of the New England Wolfpack. These were from S13-S15, S20-S22, and S44-S55. My first two stints were shortened due to my being rather young and my tendency to lose focus on things if I was doing them for too long, and then fatherhood. However, the team was left in great hands and had more success without me at the helm than with me. A special shout-out goes to Eggy, Fever95, and PrettyBurn for their work with the club. What you did with the team that meant so much to me will always be immensely appreciated. It was so great to see them reach the ultimate pinnacle. The first time I made the Final as a GM was with the Wolfpack, and I fell short, getting beat by the Texas Renegades. After this failure against the Renegades and a meh subsequent season, I grew frustrated and resigned from my position as New England GM. I tried to come back and create a goalie, Ace Dafoe, but I didn’t stick around, and I ended up becoming one of the top backup goaltenders the Winnipeg Jets franchise ever had. Who knew that it’d all come full circle there?

I went through another period of inactivity, but the bug got me again, and I created another player. I was fortunate enough to be scouted by and get to know Karlssens, and my passion for the league was reignited. I wanted to do everything I could to help the Blizzard, the team that put their faith in me and drafted me relatively early. It wasn’t long before I was part of the war room and managed to weasel my way into convincing Karl to hand me the keys as Co-GM. I loved that job, and I loved the Blizzard. I told Karl that I wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. That was true, and it only became untrue when a specific post that meant so much to me became available. The New England Wolfpack role was open after Eggy resigned from that position, and I had amassed a decent resume during my seasons with Edmonton. We didn’t win a cup or anything, but I had to shoot my shot to get my old job back. I told my Blizzard teammates that I loved them, and they meant so much to me, but this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me to try to get that role back. There was some animosity towards my decision to apply for that job and eventually get awarded, and it was just. I can’t say enough great things about my teammates in Edmonton at the time and my friendship with Karlssens. I was fortunate enough to meet and go to a game with him in real life when a business trip took me to his neck of the woods. It was a treat, and I hope to hang out with him when life brings me back to that area.

We had a great thing going on my final stint as New England GM and my longest-tenured one. We had a significant rebuild and core of players and were looking to bring it across the finish line. I had some fantastic teammates and a great co-GM in Hotdog. His strengths addressed areas of management where I was weak, and we were a tremendous team. We made it to the Challenge Cup Final again in S49, when we were the top team in the league and heavy favorites to win it all. What did STHS say to those odds? It punched me right in the mouth when the Edmonton Blizzard swept us in four games. It was sweet revenge for those who still resent me for leaving, and it was a bitter taste in my mouth that the team I helped build when I was in Edmonton handed me my 2nd Cup loss as a GM. I had now collected a respectable 0-2 record as a GM and tactician when it mattered the most. One of my best friends on the Pack at the time was acdangel. He had a player named Sasha Dangelchek, and he was always online to talk about the SHL, hockey, play games, and more. He cared so much more about all of his friends on the team than he did himself. Hotdog found out that he passed away at age 28 from a heart attack, which was heartbreaking. I still cherish those laughs late at night in Discord voice calls.

We began rebuilding again. Hotdog and I orchestrated a masterclass of a draft, and we had one of the top young cores in the league. Hotdog had gone on and was awarded the position of Head GM of the Atlanta Inferno, a job that he still holds today. I was so stoked for him to go and create his vision and get his team. I kept our plan going, however. Trader Ace was at it again, flipping aging players for draft capital and young assets, and the team was on the precipice of greatness. Have I mentioned that I have super attention deficit disorder and organization is not my strong suit yet? Let’s make that abundantly clear: It’s not where I shine. During a draft, I traded a pick not updated on the Head office-approved pick tracker and ended up trading one I didn’t have. In my haste during the draft, I forgot to take stock of the fact that I had already changed that pick I didn’t have and traded that very same pick in a package again. This resulted in a violation of the double trading picks rule, and after some deliberation, I was placed on probation for this act. These rules have since changed, but some time later, I managed to violate the rule again, and the Wolfpack momentum came to a halt as I was ousted from my position as Wolfpack GM in S55. I will not say that my firing was the reason that that core wasn’t thriving, as Kenvald was named the GM, but to me, the firing changed the team's mentality.

After I was fired, I remained bitter, seeing that the rules were shifted to eliminate auto-firing, such as the one I experienced. I was not permitted to be a GM for some time, but I still loved being a GM in the SHL, and I wanted to find a loophole to continue doing what I loved. In comes the SMJHL. I applied to be a GM of the Anaheim Outlaws, an SHL team with a fun history, but I was mired in some troubled times. I had never had the pleasure of managing an SMJHL team, and the windows of competition were so much shorter. I could challenge myself with a quicker turnaround window, and I took my shot. I applied for the job, had a few references, and was fortunate to be selected. The SMJHL GM role is foundational for our community, and I tried to bring a different mentality to the job than others. I collected all of the castaways and people written off in the spirit of second chances, and it worked for a bit until it didn’t. We were public enemy #1 in the SMJHL and liked it that way. Every community needed a heel, right? It was fun for a while, but we ended up not experiencing a lot of postseason success. Then, some of those abrasive personalities ended up doing what earned them their league reputation, and the team fell apart. I was preparing for another quick rebuild with the Outlaws when my SHL GM probation expired, and I saw a job opening for another SHL GM role. This was for the newly rebranded Winnipeg Aurora, formerly the Winnipeg Jets. I figured, why not? I will give it a go again. I cleaned up my application and fired it to the SHL Head Office.

I can only imagine the discussion behind the scenes regarding the optics of hiring someone they had just fired five seasons ago. I was fortunate enough to be selected and named the GM of the Aurora. A friend of mine and rival from my time in the SMJHL, Chevy, was the former Co-GM of the Aurora, and I was the GM of Kez, the current GM of the Aurora. I discussed my intention of applying for the franchise with them, and they both gave me their recommendations for the post as part of my application. I still am super appreciative of their votes of confidence. I got word that Bayley had also applied for the role, and I reached out to discuss possibly having them as my co-GM if I were given the position. Bayley graciously accepted, and we made a deal with the Wolfpack to bring Bayley to Winnipeg to facilitate his post as co-GM. Unfortunately, things didn’t work out well with that role, and I was back to square 1 on the co-GM search. As I previously indicated, I do best when working with someone who is detail-oriented, organized, and analytical. At the peak of the rebuild, there were barely any active people around, never mind someone that fit that bill. I had a few young players in the system who tried to leverage that vacant job post into a reason to stay, almost blackmailing me. And I did bite, but they quickly sputtered out to inactivity, and I let them go as Co-GM. Two fantastic young players indicated they wanted to be a part of what was next – By-Tor, who had Marcel Beck, and Tweedledunn, who had Gonzo Gobbledygook. They were my franchise cornerstones upon which our competition window would sit.

Eventually, with my mountain of draft capital (see By-Tor’s excellent article here: The Rise of Winnipeg: Rebuild (simulationhockey.com)), I began to put feelers out there for good organizational fits and perhaps even someone who could help me navigate this overflowing cupboard of draft picks. I hit it off with many great players, but none more than RashfordU. It became abundantly clear that he could assume the role that Hotdog filled for me for so many seasons. I just had to wonder if he would be satisfied with a co-GM part or if he would fly the nest to bring his team to fruition. I orchestrated what could be considered the most significant draft in SHL history, and before Rashford was even named to the post as Co-GM, he was working alongside me to make it all happen. We ended up selecting a whopping seven first-rounders that draft. Mikko Rashford at 2; Spack Jarrow at 4; Jay O’Neil at 5; Jaeger Jones at 11; Tommy Tightpants at 12; Christian Kinsinger at 14, and at 16, Rebecca Montagne. All of the players that ended up being max earners remain on the club today, and we were able to ship out for respectable draft capital for the two that sputtered out. It was upon this draft that championship aspirations were created.

S63 was rough – we finished the year with a record of 11-52-3. This was to be expected. We hoped to win the lottery, but it wasn’t in the cards. We did what we had to do to move up to the 1st overall pick, and we brought in another gem of a user, Jess. Lias Ekholm-Gunnarsson would be another giant in the locker room as the team continued their development. S65 was better, with the Aurora finishing 14th in the league standings. The march forward in the characters was beginning for the Aurora, with the youth still marinating down in the SMJHL. S65 saw the debuts of Jaeger Jones, Spack Jarrow, Mikko Rashford, Christian Kinsinger, and Jay O’Neil. Later in the year, Lias Ekholm-Gunnarsson made their first appearance in the league, and the Aurora punched their ticket to the postseason. The young-gun team dispatched the Specters in 7, forcing the Syndicate to a pivotal Game 7, where they fell in the second round. The future was now in Winnipeg, and the kids had a taste of the postseason. S66 had the Aurora make the playoffs but fall short in the first round against the Specters, teaching the core that it’s not easy to get over the hump.

Rashford, myself, and the war room remained diligent with our budget and the trade blocks to ensure we were maximizing our roster’s potential. This included maintaining highly active players and supplementing our core with top-tier players with full salary retention. The Aurora acquired Noel Blanchet from the Platoon and had hired guns Ryuuji Kawashima and Kaapo Kampainen in the wings. This team went the distance and made the Western Conference Final for the first time but fell short of the eventual Challenge Cup Champion Seattle Argonauts. The Aurora knew their window of opportunity was wide open, and they set their sights on S68.

S68 can be referred to as a massive disappointment for the young upstarts in Manitoba. They finished the regular season with a record of 54-10-2, and 2nd overall in the standings, trailing Seattle by only a point. They set their sights on the postseason, where they dispatched the Texas Renegades in five but got hammered by the Syndicate in 5 in a premature elimination compared to organizational expectations. Rather than panic, the front office and the team stayed the course, knowing that success was a matter of when and not if. It was always S69 where Rashford and I expected that we would be favorites, and it was then that we finally punched our ticket to the Final.

The Aurora had the Presidents Trophy with a respectable 106 points in the S69 regular season, and they fought tooth and nail to punch their ticket to the Challenge Cup Final for the first time with this core. The Aurora started the Final strong with a 6-0 win at home, but the Forge struck back in G2 during Overtime and rattled off three wins, including a G5 overtime win to send the Aurora home for the summer as the biggest losers. This was bittersweet for us in Winnipeg. We made it to the show but got hammered when we arrived. We had to do better on S70. It’s a matter of when not if.

The Aurora finished 2nd in the regular season standings in S70. Fifty-three wins, 11 losses, 108 points. The Aurora knocked out the Monarchs in the first round in four games, the Syndicate in round 2 in six games, and the Argonauts in the Western Conference Finals in five. The Final started excellently for the Aurora, going up 2-0 after a score of 7-1 and 5-2. New England, my old franchise, went back to the drawing board and rattled off two wins in Boston by the score of 9-4 and 4-0, and we went back to Winnipeg with a tied series. It was an emotional moment when we won Game 5 and held a 3-2 series lead going back to Boston. With the cup in the building, Game 6 reached overtime, where the Wolfpack scored to force a pivotal Game 7 on home ice for the Aurora. Unfortunately, the hockey gods were not with them, and we were dealt a heartbreaking 6-3 loss and back-to-back Cup Championship losses. Many teams would fold with that adversity and pressure, but the Aurora personnel kept pushing forward.

S71 saw the Aurora retain their position as Presidents Trophy winners. They had 111 points in the regular season and were looking for revenge. Two losses in the Final in a row? Math was on our side. It was our turn if we could get there. It had to be. Winnipeg swept the Pride in the first round, won against Chicago in a colossal G7, and beat the Blizzard in five games. A new opponent on the opposite side of the ice was representing the East – the Buffalo Stampede. Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but Winnipeg wins the first two games of the Final by a score of 5-1 and 5-2. Game 3 in Buffalo had the Stampede getting their first win of the series in overtime, and Game 4 was a barnburner, with the Stampede winning by the score of 8-6, and the series was tied at 2. Back in Winnipeg, Buffalo stole a game on the road, and they ultimately punched the Aurora right in the teeth in Game 6 in Buffalo with a 3-2 win. Tic tac toe, that’s three Cup Final losses in a row. The word curse was thrown around the locker room, and a sense of despair and anger was palpable. I even almost stepped down from the role as GM, figuring that I would never get it done. As a GM, I had a remarkable record of 0-5 in a championship series.

We were frustrated but knew we were still good enough to get it done. This had to be the year. The season started with some adversity, but we went 32-1 at home and made Northern Lights Arena our absolute fortress. The team finished 2nd in the regular season standings, and we cruised to a 1st round sweep of the Specters, a 4-1 series win against the Syndicate, and a 4-1 series win against the Blizzard. What faced us? A rematch with my old squad, the Wolfpack. They were looking to capture the second cup of their competitive window, which began significantly after ours, and we were looking to say, “It’s our turn.” The series started as poorly as it could have, with the Wolfpack winning by a score of 7-3 in Boston. We knew we would play strong at home in Winnipeg, but we needed to steal a game in New England. It was an absolute barn burner, but they got it done in OT with a 7-6 win. The series was tied going home, and the S72 Aurora did what the S72 Aurora did: they went 2-0 at home with back-to-back shutouts by Rebecca Montagne, and they went back to New England with a 3-1 series lead. The Aurora stuck to their systems, and they collected another win on the road and the curse was over, and they were CHAMPIONS! I FINALLY captured my first Challenge Cup as a GM, so many of these users captured their first ever.

All of the adversity we faced as a group was worth it. All the anger, the pain, the frustration, I’d do it all again for that level of joy when we finally got it done, and it came against the Wolfpack... It is almost poetic. I totally get that everyone is most likely tired of seeing Winnipeg make it so far. It's got to be annoying for people outside of the club. It has taken so much work across the organization for us to have this consistent success. I’ve been on this road for 12 legitimate years of my life, and to accomplish this finally… it means so much. I can’t thank everyone who has invested a lot of their time and effort into the success of the Aurora. I would tag everyone, but it'd be a wall of pings, and no one needs that.

I have been rambling with this for quite a bit already, but I want to end this reflection with one simple message:

We’re not done yet.
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