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OVOXO · 06-16-2024, 10:21 PM

Words from my player Elliot Alderson:
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Walking into the locker room for the first time was like entering a new database—unfamiliar yet full of potential. The team looked up as I stepped in, a mix of curiosity and indifference. They didn't organize any grand welcome or ceremony. This isn't some fantasy where everyone is instantly friends.

One of the veterans nodded in my direction, a silent acknowledgment. A few of the guys introduced themselves, brief and to the point. Handshakes, eye contact…protocols of human interaction. There's a mutual understanding here.. respect is earned through performance, not through small talk. No one expects you to blend in right away. It's more about proving your value through your work, just like in any system.

The other draftees got similar treatment. We’re all variables in a larger equation, each contributing to the overall function of the team. No one rolled out a welcome mat, but that’s fine. I don't need a welcoming committee. I just need to understand the dynamics, find the vulnerabilities, and then integrate effectively.

It's a process, and I'm good at processes.

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Blastmeaway · 06-17-2024, 12:29 PM

After long travels via train through many other European countries and an extensive boat ride across the Atlantic Ocean, King first set foot on American land in the East. He continued his journey of considerable length being shuttled across the nation to Colorado by way of Donkey. Arriving to the Colorado Raptors training facility for the first time King was greeted in the entry area by the other three Raptors S77 Draftees, Zues Storm, HVAIK, and CAMPBELL FISCHERMANN. Raptors GM, Takk/NYR were nowhere to be seen but were allegedly making their way to the front when veteran teammate Nathangus McExplosion busted through the door playing hopscotch on an imaginary field. Upon seeing the new grouping of players sitting there staring back, McExplosion stopped his hopscotch, licked his hand and wiped it across his hair to "slick it back" and then stuck out the same hand and introduced himself, "Alternate Captain, Nathangus McEXPLOSION! Nice to meet you." Kind of a jarring introduction.

Shout out to ml002, schultzy, slashacm, tedward!
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09-05-2018, 10:04 PMBeaver Wrote: Wow look what the PT affiliation has done to our pristine league.

12-19-2018, 12:31 AMBeaver Wrote: I personally blame the PT affiliation for handing out massive amounts of free TPE to all these players, inflating the TPE they're at when they get called up.

[Image: Capture21.PNG?width=400&height=90]

will2044 · 06-18-2024, 09:26 AM

06-12-2024, 12:46 PMWill2044 Wrote:
I just got drafted to the SMJHL! What an experience!

As I entered the locker room for the first time, I felt the rush of a new and unfamiliar environment around me, but also it already felt familiar in a sense. Not because I had been there before, but because the team had been so wonderful outside the facilities and before I'd even stepped foot in there.

Seeing all the stalls around the room and searching for my own name was nerve wracking. Was it there? Sure enough, yes, it was. Right next to my friend's stall too, fellow SMJHL draftee Nick Sansone. The jerseys for each player were hanging up on the back of the stalls, hanging over clothes hangers. Seeing the number 88 facing out at me under the writing that spelled out my surname set my nerve endings alight as I raced over and dropped my kit bag at the foot, quickly pulling over the shirt with pride and wearing it. I knew it would have to wait, however, until I was fully ready. But it felt comfortable, warm, mine.

egregious · 06-18-2024, 11:42 AM

"Bonjour tout le monde ! Je m'appèle Peter et JE NE PARLE PAS BIEN LE FRANÇAIS."

That's how my stay in Quebec began. I came into the dressing room, having practiced those two sentences of French (in my fetching colonial British accent!) over and over, thinking it might endear me to my new teammates. Turns out since we're all simulated and none of us are real, everyone speaks English - I'm not sure how that works, exactly. Science!

When I look around the locker room now, I see I was a fool. There is no French to be had anywhere! I had reckoned wrongly. We have Italians and Vikings and English-speaking people whose names are from anywhere in Europe, really. A real triumph of the British Empire, that!

I was welcomed into this group. Other rookies were drafted ahead of me. So be it. I'm here to be the fellow who helps others succeed. Perhaps someone will coach me regarding my fear of approaching the enemy net.

jakkysosa · 06-18-2024, 04:47 PM

"When I entered the locker room it was a welcoming atmosphere full of celebration and that unified feeling of us joining the team. I wasn't the only first round pick for the Malamutes and honestly it felt proper for me, felt like I wasn't just one special flower since I'm coming from the VHL, I'm a hockey player just like everyone else here. Felt like a good place to call home for a bit. The atmosphere in the locker room is exactly what I was looking for and makes me feel comfortable. They're here to help me out and achieve my goals here, I understand the play of game is gonna feel different but I'm still giving my all for Yukon. When drafted by them at first I was a bit overwhelmed with all the scouts approaching as this was a much higher draft selection for me compared to when I first started in the VHL, though in the end it felt worth it all in the end. I first started out at the 10th overall pick and back then I thought that was a huge thing.. being the 4th overall pick makes this feel even more magical. They see something in me and now it's up to me to give that back to them. I got a roof over my head, food on my plate and a reason to keep kicking."

GrimmCrackers · 06-18-2024, 08:56 PM

When me and the rest of the rookies walked into the Detroit locker room for the first time, I think we all had similar feelings - excited but nervous and a little uncertain at the same time. Having gone through the same experience themselves, I think the older players knew to act like it was just a casual, normal day while still making it clear we were all welcome and certified members of the team. After casual introductions, led by captain Anastasia Söderström, I started to get settled into my stall in the locker room. Being Söderström's backup, they placed my stall next hers so I knew I would have plenty of opportunity to pick her brain and learn from the experienced and accomplished netminder. Considering she was not only on the rookie all star team but also the first all star team in her rookie season, I have some big shoes to fill in my first year in net for the Falcons but with any luck I will prove I deserve to be in the SMJHL.

bjkman · 06-18-2024, 10:39 PM

Anchor: The Detroit Falcons welcomed their rookies on draft night last week, and now they welcome them to their locker room for the first time this season. Our sports reporter has the story.

Reporter: Ever wondered what the first day on a new team is like for a rookie? We met up with draft pick, Jeffrey Bjelland to see what went down in the locker room.

Bjelland: The team welcomed me like a seasoned vet; I entered and right away the team was conversing with me and my fellow rookies like they had known us for years. I didn't know what to expect and while maybe I thought there would be a big welcome. I'm glad it was just a normal day as well.

Reporter: Bjelland also said, his experience with Kelowna last year was beneficial for learning the ins and outs of the locker room and he wouldn't have been as comfortable without it.

Anchor: The Detroit Falcons play their first pre-season game next month, but if you want to see Rookies like Bjelland in action before, they will have many free training sessions for fans available this month.

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Fluberwusterdinge · 06-19-2024, 02:59 AM

The eager entrance to the locker room gave room to the longed welcoming "ceremony". As Andrea finally got to meet his peers, the many people present would make sure to have a go at shaking hands or patting shoulders, ocassionally even messing his hair up. No malice to be found, just a sprightly welcome which nobody seemed eager to miss out on, especially considering he wasn't the only rookie to be joining the ranks of QCC. Some time would be spent exchanging names with the different players. Andrea made acquaintances in no time with a fellow italian Cristoforo, only to be spending a few minutes in an exchange of banter and ocassional jokes and friendly snarks in their native language. As the rookies warmed up to the environment, they would be presented, one at a time each of their respective shirts, name and number engraved in them in exquisite detail. And as expected, they'd share turns in trying them out for the first time while the team presented banter and jokes in response. Overall, a great time, and a great first experience to start with.

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