Written Option 2: Your team is taking part of this seasons SHL Global Series and they start their season with 2 games in Japan because HO has heard there is untapped market potential there. How does your player feel about the trip? Is it pointless travel to play in front of neutral crowd and missing on actual home opener? Or are they just exited to see the world and thrilled about the opportunity to win over the local fans? Does all this make the game feel more like showmatch than actual regular season game?
Of all the places in all the lands, it had to be Japan. We have to give up a game on PISS ICE for this? Troy doesn't fly well, so I had to take a bunch of anxiety medication just to arrive. Japan is beautiful, but Czechia is Betteria, and I'm upset the HO didn't pick our country to show some love. That is okay tho. Troy doesn't mind playing anywhere, as he is a true leader for Regina and will lead by example. For example, we had a team dinner at the KFC, and it was amazing. We also will force the crowd to love us, by any means necessary. Regina will attempt the Gold Dragon Dance, as well as showing respect to the culture in any way possible. Lastly, we will give away our jerseys at the end of the matches, win or lose, and sign them right on the ice for a fan give away. We will even put a little elk piddle on there for the true Regina experience.
Colorado Raptors Capitan S42-Until Forever! Czechia Wants you! Ask about a transfer!!
04-09-2024, 11:32 PM(This post was last modified: 04-09-2024, 11:35 PM by bjkman. Edited 1 time in total.)
Anchor: The Calgary Dragons played their first two games of the season overseas... and not just the United States like usual... our sports reporter has the story.
Reporter: The Dragons found themselves in the land of the rising sun this week playing 2 games in Japan in support of the SHL Global Series. In addition to the games on ice, they were also featured on a local game show called 大きな電気的勝利 or "The Big Electric Win"... teams of players took on physical challenges in a chance for a cash prize... if they lost... they got shocked.
Davies: That shock is no joke! I tripped on the first race, and got eliminated... but since I was first out the electric shock I took was no worse than any shot I take on the ice!
Reporter: While Davies didn't go home with a cash prize, he... and the rest of the Calgary Dragon have a story to bring home as well as 2 wins.
Anchor: Calgary has their first home game of this season next Wednesday... Tickets are still available for purchase.
Untapped potential in Japan, of all places? Where does HO get their stats? Doesn't really matter. Elena is freaking excited to go to Japan, even for a few days. It's the experience of a lifetime, after all. She'll load up on weird snacks and make sure to get as much Hello Kitty merch as she can because why the hell not. She'd also probably take the chance to see as much as she could and that would definitely affect her play. Yes, we will blame the Japan trip for her absolutely abyssal play to begin the season. Felt like an exhibition match. Didn't give full effort. It sounds fair. Having the "home opener" played in a foreign market sounds strange but then again, it's probably not the weirdest thing the league has ever done so Elena would just go with it. The team can have a proper celebration when they actually play in Minnesota after coming back from the trip.
Anthique SHL GM
Quebecer trying to make goalie TPE matter in Texas
It's fun to travel around the world just for playing hockey. With international tournament that happen every off season, we play in a lot of different countries and discover new cultures.
The home opener can be deleyed by a bit so it's not really a problem. It's fun to play in front of your fans, but they can wait like a week since they are seeing you live 33 times per season.
Japan is an interesting market, they are not really a power house hockey nation, but they got some really good players that played in the SHL and had amazing success.
They had a strong S75 IIHF tournament finishging ex-aequo at first position in the round robin, but lost against Canada (and me hehe) in the first round.
It's a completly different place from what Dionne is used to, but for a little trip to discover some new fans and see their passion about hockey, it's worth it.
If I was a professional athlete, I am already totally out of my comfort zone playing in a city that isn’t my hometown. Maybe I came from Europe to North America. Maybe it was from the US to Canada or vice versa. The chances Im even in the same province/state Im from are quite small. Let’s add on the fact that you can be traded from one adopted home to another with no opinion in the matter whatsoever, and you need to be able to enjoy the “now” and not want to get too attached to anything. So playing 2 games in another country would not phase me, no. In fact, I would be excited to experience that part of the world. It probably does feel more like a “showmatch” than a regular season game, but it wont really matter. Im sure there will be special patches on the jerseys, odd accommodations in the arena, and some logistical hiccups. No need to get frazzled, just roll with it.
WC:168
The team was energized to go visit Japan to begin with, we were selected to compete in an international games during the regular season. I was excited, Tokyo is the gaming capital of the world, the history in Japan with their feudal Era had always intrigued me, and going there is like a peak into the future of North America with the technology they are producing.
Much to our surprise no sooner than we touched down at the airport a local TV interm was waiting for my team. They let us know news of our upcoming game had gone viral in Japan and we were instant celebrities. The Interm said they wanted us to compete in a local game show for charity, lots of fun for everyone on "Happy Game Time Hour." How could we say no.
We should of said no...
The moment we showed up we broken into groups and separated into different rooms. The lights kicked on and the first group started up. I didn't quite catch the name of the contest but the grumbling from the team coming back with brown stains on their mouth as the gagged and spat, "it was not candy."
The next group tried to climb to the top of stairs and hit a button. It looked like their were 100 steps, nothing crazy. Until you realized they were covered in slippery slime and they had to do it wearing almost nothing at all. After 20 minutes of comedy gold, Edžus Ozolins was about to reach the top and they threw a brick at him knocking him down to repeat the process once again.
The final contest was my group. We had to drop a 25 pound weight off a 10 foot building. Not that bad, but it was attached to a string attached to our favourite body part. It was a game of Russian roulette. We were told everyone but one of us had enough line to not get yanked. Each person that dropped a weight added to our charity total. Justin Time was the first to throw his weight, and down he went, being yanked junk first to the ground. As he withered in pain we all knowing we were now safe threw our weights next in full confidence we were helping charity while being safe.
Well jokes on us, or our translator wasn't very good becuase everyone but one person nearly had their dick yanked off as we threw the weight to the ground.
Needless to say, we were not in top form for our games in Japan.
Brooklyn Physt is no stranger to some international travel, after all no doubt many a Country has hosted world junior tournaments, to say nothing of the general travel between the United States and Canada for whether for pleasure during the off-season. I think we’ve gone on and on about her frequent trips to places like Hawaiian such for surfing as an example, as well as regular season, played in the junior league and now getting a taste of it up here in the SHL as a rookie.
Imagine your rookie experience being a kind of show match feel off in a far away country where you’re not good at the language, you’re much taller than the average person there, and instead of a home opener in your second home for her given the history there. No, instead you’re playing your first two matches in Japan.
Personally it feels rather special to be able to go and play your first rookie games, not in front of home fans nor in front of gruelling road fans, but general fans of the sport. Some who might have already heard of your team or SHL at large, others who are just excited to watch some very high-level hockey.
I don’t see how really anybody would be unhappy with the experience, whether young or old much less the opportunity as a bright, shiny rookie to have a very memorable first experience. You’re gonna be so focussed when it’s your first time in a foreign country like this I have no doubt that that excitement and general experience dated days is going to bleed over onto the ice and well for Brooklyn. That’s no different.
YOOOOOOOOOOO! So, check it out, right? Here I am, standing in the middle of Japan, and I swear, I didn't even know I was coming here until I stepped off the plane. Like, what? No heads up or anything. But guess what? They got me out here promoting the Simulation Hockey League. Yeah, you heard that right—hockey in Japan. Crazy, huh? Now, I'm all for spreading the love of the game and all, but seriously, why me? I'm a goalie, man. What am I gonna do, stand in the middle of Tokyo and stop imaginary pucks? But hey, they sent me, so here I am, trying to make sense of it all. I walk around, trying to get people hyped up about the league, telling them all about my legendary saves and stuff. But guess what? Nobody knows who I am. Like, zero recognition. So, I figure, maybe I'll lighten the mood a bit, you know? I tell them my name's Launchpad McQuack. Classic, right? But nah, they ain't rushing the stands or anything. Instead, I get these confused looks like, "Who's Launchpad McQuack? Is he, like, friends with Donald Duck or something?" Man, talk about a buzzkill.
Rence Sykut has adored the country of Japan and their culture for many years and is thrilled to bring the game to them. While missing out on a home game is not ideal, spreading love for the game of hockey across the world should be a goal for the whole league. Japanese culture has a long history of competition in high skill, discipline driven athletics which should translate into a strong love for hockey, so I think this market just needs the exposure to potentially explode. The added benefit of a team from Seattle, a city with a large Asian American population, can further enhance the interest that such a trip could generate. Nothing would make Rence happier than seeing a young generation of Japanese kids growing their national development program, supporting SHL teams, and even expanding into Japanese culture with things like a hockey themed anime or manga franchise.
Fry felt a mix of emotions about the upcoming SHL Global Series in Japan. While he understood the marketing strategy behind tapping into new markets, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of regret for missing the home opener. The loyal hometown fans had always been a source of inspiration for him. Fry was also excited about the unique opportunity to see Japan and engage with local fans. He saw it as a chance to not only showcase his skills but also to contribute to the growth of hockey in a country with a budding interest in the sport. The idea of winning over a new fan base and experiencing a different culture filled him with anticipation. Despite these positive aspects, Fry couldn't shake the feeling that the games in Japan might feel more like show matches than regular season games. Playing in front of a neutral crowd, far away from home, was a new challenge that added a different flavor to the competition.
It isn't too much of a surprise that Robo Sven has grown popular in Japan, as he is basically a mecha hockey player. He really enjoys that a lot of the Japanese fans have metal hats with handlebar mustaches that they wear to the games. He jumped at the opportunity to be part of Ninja Warrior though, on a special episode dubbed "Robot vs. Ninjas". It was a great opportunity to build his brand, give the fans what they wanted, and get in a great workout on a day off. All of his diagnostics have been tuned for hockey, so he was very curious to see how his mechanical body would do in the obstacle course that is Ninja Warrior. Everything exceeded his expectations though, as "Robot" definitely prevailed over "Ninjas" on this day. He breezed through the obstacle course with time to spare and only a few stumbles. He's looking forward to the next opportunity, and he knows he will be well received no matter where he goes in Japan.
My player is excited to be in a different country, and showing off the game of hockey to a different set of fans that what he has previously performed in front of. Maybe this time he can be famous like some of the other players, and maybe the different ice surface will give him the chance to shine. Because so far he has been pretty lackluster in terms of point production, and seems to be destined to be another supporting character player. Maybe he can start up a Japanese hockey league which he will then dominate as Gretzky did the NHL, or maybe he will just be another dumb gaijin hockey player who is simply there to have a career since he could not make it in the SHL for real.
At any rate, Will Tomlander is enjoying being in Japan, especially sneaking out at night to go to 7-11, Lawson, and Family Mart to compare their fried chicken and find out which is best. Maybe he will just quit hockey and open up a fried chicken shop instead.
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Player: Oskar Scholz
Written Option 1: Your team is taking part of this seasons SHL Global Series and they start their season with 2 games in Japan because HO has heard there is untapped market potential there. As your team arrives at the arena your player discovers that they have become quite popular among local fans after their Chirper actions. On their offday between the games they get invited to some Japanese game show. What kind of game show it is and how does your player perform? Will this make them big in Japan?
Unaware of his popularity in Japan, Oskar Scholz was delighted to see the support for him and the San Francisco Pride when they touched down in Japan. When the offer to come on a local game show was made he was hesitant at first given his limited knowledge of game shows in general, let alone some of the more niche ones found in Japan. Nevertheless he agreed to participate. When he arrived he was asked to take off him suit and instead put on a Velcro body suit. It was at this point he started to become concerned, but they ensured him it wouldn't be anything too crazy. After a wild and colorful introduction Oskar was asked to fling his body at a moving dart board in order to score more points than his opponent, Oskar the Grouch from Sesame Street. Scholz won and proved to be the better Oskar. While not what he signed up for, it was a lot of fun and he'd certainly participate again.