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Rancidbudgie · 06-04-2020, 05:29 PM

Hello again everyone!

Word Count - 2550 words

In celebration of the SHL’s 10 year anniversary, I decided to delve back into some of the history of the league, and combine an all-time list for a category that is usually less talked about than the great players, stacked drafts, or juggernaut-esque teams: General Managers.

As an exercise, I created a (very rough) rubric for a points system that would help gauge the overall effectiveness and overall success of the GM’s from across its history, and including the present. I applied this in an earlier article for the SHL GM’s, and I thought it only fair to delve into the history of the GMs in the SMJHL in this article.

The metric I use is as follows:

Scoring:
5 points earned per season of GMing
PLUS
Overall winning record: Add overall Wins, minus overall losses - OTLs excluded (count for a net gain/loss of 0)
PLUS
20 points for a Laurifer trophy
PLUS
40 points for a 4-Star Cup

I didn’t include individual awards, like the one voted for best GM, as I felt that I wanted to focus on an objective numbers-based metric for this piece, as opposed to one that is voted on by members of the SHL community.

I wanted to reward longevity, as it is incredibly valuable in a league such as ours to have stability in organizations through consistent and active leadership. I wanted to give it a good weight, but hope I didn’t over-tune it.

Team trophies are what clubs and GMs aim for, and nothing more than the 4-Star Cup. Winners need to earn big points for snagging what has become a difficult trophy to win. The flaw here is that I haven’t weighed the trophies based on how many teams there were in the league - a 4-Star Cup or Laurifer Trophy in S1 is considered just as valuable and hard to win as one in S53 by this metric, which might be a little unfair, but I argue it is the end result that matters most when making a metric.

I have not included results from the ongoing season, for obvious logistical nightmare reasons.

Otherwise, applying this metric, I calculated GM’s scores as given in the History pages of the forum, and came up with these results. In reverse order, here is my top-10 All-Time SMJHL GM List for S54, as well as two honourable mentions for #11 and #12!!

(*Denotes currently active GM)
Green denotes the points earned for longevity
Blue denotes the points earned for overall win-loss ratio
Orange denotes the points earned for Laurifer Trophy wins
Purple denotes the points earned for 4-Star Cup wins
Red is the total score for the GM

Honourable mentions:

12. @Steelhead77 (S20-S23, DET falcons-old

): 20 + 42 + 40 + 40 = 142

I started the list at 12 because the two GM’s at rankings 11 and 12 deserve the honourable mention for different reasons. Steelhead77 is famous league-wide for his helmsmanship of the Calgary Dragons, and came 1st in my SHL GM Ranking metric by a wide margin. The most decorated and successful GM of the SHL, Steelhead77 got his management start with the Detroit Falcons before making the jump to coaching in the big leagues five seasons later. Much like their time in Calgary in the years to follow, Steelhead77 saw great success in the SMJHL, managing to snag both a president’s trophy and 4-star cup in his brief time coaching juniors. While certainly not tops in SMJHL records, Steelhead77 still demonstrated they had the GM savvy they needed to reach this high with the short time they had before moving up.

11. @JumpierPegasus (S8-S9 PGF

, S18-S23 STL

) 40 + 28 - 8 + 20 + 80 = 160

Just 2 points shy of making the top 10, JumpierPegasus is the only person to make this list while GMing for two different franchises, with the old Prince George Firebirds and the St. Louis Scarecrows. They are also the only GM in SMJHL history to win the 4-Star Cup with two different franchises, as they reached the end with each of the teams they managed. JumpierPegasus’ overall losing record with the Crows is what ultimately sank them just outside of the top 10, but otherwise made SMJHL history in their own way in an overall successful SMJHL tenure.

The Top 10:

10. @FuzzSHL * (S49-Present, CAR Kraken

) : 25 + 37 + 20 + 80 = 162

Managing to sneak into the top 10, FuzzSHL is actually only one of two active SMJHL GMs to be on this list. The position of SMJHL GM head is historically so turbulent that sticking with a team for only 5 seasons puts you above the middle of the pack, and FuzzSHL also has the added benefit of being quite successful at the head of the Kraken. A somewhat short tenure and overall decent record so far is built up by the team accolades acquired so far. FuzzSHL’s Kraken have claimed the 4-Star Cup twice already, and an added Laurifer trophy means that the youthful GM makes the top-10 cut. If a couple more seasons are put under the GM’s belt, and other accolades can be achieved, FuzzSHL has a good shot of climbing much higher on this list.

9. @Jenny and @ej27 (S30-S36, KEL Knights

): 35 + 18 + 40 + 80 = 173

The dynamic duo of Jenny and EJ led Kelowna to two Four-Star cups during their time splitting the GM duties. The strong Knights teams that the two were at the helm for also earned two Laurifer Trophies, pushing them into the 9th place position, ranking-wise. The overall record is much less impressive, as the later years of the duo’s time with the Knights undid the rampaging success that was achieved in the first few seasons. It is the impressive team accolades that brings Jenny and EJ27 up into the top 10.

8. @coolstar87 (S17-S22, VAN Whalers

): 30 + 58 + 20 + 80 = 188

Coolstar carved out their piece of SHL history while heading the Whalers through half of their Golden Years period (Hint: the GM of the other half appears further down on this list!), winning one Laurifer and Two 4-Star Cups during their reign of Vancouver, winning an accolade in three consecutive seasons. Coolstar87’s top-cut winning record is what brings them higher than others on this list, as you will notice there are actually quite a few GMs on this list that have the combo of one Laurifer and two 4-Star Cups.

7. @vbottas17 (S25-S32, HAL raiders

): 40 + 61 + 20 + 80 = 201

The inaugural GM for the Halifax Raiders (who recently relocated to Maine), Vbottas17 took just 2 seasons to win their first 4-Star Cup with the fledgling franchise, an SMJHL record for an expansion franchise that still stands (both the Anaheim Outlaws under Dangles13 in S47 and the Colorado Mammoth under ThatDamnWalrus in S27 did it in their 3rd seasons after joining the league). An excellent overall record compliments the team hardware, as well as getting a few extra points for sticking around as GM longer than most in the SMJHL leading to Vbottas17 scaling up to 7th on this list.

6. @Hallsy (S11-S16, VAN Whalers

): 30 + 57 + 40 + 80 = 207

If you read my last installment of this exercise at the SHL level, you might remember this name. Hallsy, the current GM of the Hamilton Steelhawks, is currently ranked at #7 all-time in my books for the SHL. Not to be outdone, their SMJHL career as GM brings them to #6 on this list. The only GM to appear in the top 10 for both the SHL and the SMJHL, Hallsy holds a special place in the histories of GMs as a whole. Hallsy led the first half of the Golden-Age Vancouver Whalers that were mentioned earlier in the article, and Coolstar87 had continued the work Hallsy had built, piloting the Whalers to two Laurifer trophies and two 4-Star Cups, edging out the team accolades of most GM’s to make this list by one Laurifer. Combine this with a very good winning record, and Hallsy stretches up the list with an impressive overall score.

5. @nour (S39-S43, KEL Knights

): 25 + 57 + 20 + 120 = 222

There are only three GMs in the history of the SMJHL to win three or more Four-Star Cups, and Nour is in this exclusive group, which almost single-handedly puts them this high in the rankings. Three Cups in 5 years as GM is the winning-est record in the SMJHL trophies-per season wise (not counting GMs who won in the 1 season they managed), and Nour is also one of only two SMJHL GM’s to pull off a three-peat, having all of their 4-Star Cups come back-to-back-to-back. A good overall record is a boost as well, but it’s the big wins when it counted that elevates Nour above the five previously listed GMs in the top 10.

4. @Ballerstorm (S26-S31, MTL Militia

): 30 + 98 + 60 + 40 = 228

The old GM of the Montreal Impact/Militia, Ballerstorm solely holds down the third-most Laurifer trophies ever achieved by a GM with 3. Not only is a 4-Star Cup factored into their success, but Ballerstorm has an excellent overall record in the SMJHL, which gives them the edge over other GMs, and cracks the top 5 for all-time
.
3. @Jedi (S21-S26, KEL Knights

): 30 + 85 + 20 + 120 = 255

The third (and if you count Jenny and EJ27 as separate, 4th) GM from Kelowna on this top-10 list, the Knights have boasted some great teams with some great dynasties, but Jedi led arguably the greatest of them. Three 4-Star Cups puts them in elite company, and is the biggest reason for appearing at #3 on this list. While spending a slightly-above average tenure in Kelowna, Jedi put together an overall dominant team, and rode it to success on the statline as well as the trophy case. The mid-S20’s Knights teams were terrors to the league, much like Nour’s early S40s blazing juggernaut, but Jedi gets the edge in longevity and overall competitive consistency.

2. @notorioustig * (S44-Present, DET Falcons

): 50 + 106 + 100 + 40 = 296

Only one of two GMs in the top 10 still active in the league, NotoriousTig finally hit pay dirt with their first 4-Star Cup last season. Before that however, Tig had already achieved a whopping five Laurifer trophies. The Falcons were always a powerhouse regular season team under Tig, and the overall record score shows it, but they hadn’t been able to replicate their regular-season success in the playoffs until last year. Hitting the 10-season mark doesn’t happen often in the SMJHL for GMs, so NotoriousTig also gets props for longevity, and is only looking to add to his score. A 40-point jump separates Tig from the GM in 3rd, and with top marks in longevity, record, and hardware, Tig has sectioned of a tier of their own, in between the #3-10 tier and the #1 spot.

1. @TML99 (S27-S52, STL Scarecrows

): 125 + 211 + 120 + 200 = 655

With no surprise, I present TML99 as the greatest SMJHL GM of all time, and much like my argument for Steelhead77, this one’s pretty much a no-brainer. In sole possession of the SMJHL records for Laurifer Trophy wins ( 6! ), 4-Star Cup wins ( 5! ), all-time GM wins, overall GM win-loss ratio, and more than doubling the next best record for seasons GMed. TML99 holds almost all the records in stand-alone fashion. TML99 is the second of two GMs to achieve the three-peat (the S40’s were a great decade for that, right?), and after finally retiring from the Head GM position two seasons ago, they leave behind a career that may never be matched in SMJHL history. The metric devised puts TML99 an easy 350 points ahead of the #2 ranked GM, creating a large abyss between the best all-time and the rest. It is my personal pleasure to place them at the top of this list, for all of my created players, two past and one present, have been with the Crows, and my first and second players played under TM99, being there for three of their five 4-Star Cup wins (S39 with my first player, S45 and S46 with my 2nd). Without a shadow of a doubt, by any metric put forward, TML99 is demonstrably the Greatest SMJHL GM of all time.

From the top 10 list: (reorganized based off of individual accolades):

Points from Seasons GMed:
1. TML - 125
2. NotoriousTig - 50
3. Vbottas17 - 40
4. Jenny and EJ27 - 35
5. Jedi - 30
6. Ballerstorm - 30
7. Hallsy - 30
8. Coolstar87 - 30
9. Nour - 25
10. FuzzSHL - 25

Points earned from Overall record:
1. TML99 - 211
2. NotoriousTig - 106
3. Ballerstorm - 98
4. Jedi - 85
5. Vbottas17 - 61
6. Coolstar87 - 58
7. Nour - 57
8. Hallsy - 57
9. FuzzSHL - 37
10. Jenny and EJ27 - 18

Points from Laurifer Trophies:
1. TML99 - 120
2. NotoriousTig - 100
3. Ballerstorm - 60
4. Hallsy - 40
5. Jenny and EJ27 - 40
6. Jedi - 20
7. Nour - 20
8. Vbottas17 - 20
9. Coolstar87 - 20
10. FuzzSHL - 20

Points From 4-Star Cups:
1. TML99 - 200
2. Jedi - 120
3. Nour - 120
4. Hallsy - 80
5. Vbottas17 - 80
6. Coolstar87 - 80
7. Jenny and EJ27 - 80
8. FuzzSHL - 80
9. NotoriousTig - 40
10. Ballerstorm - 40

Overall, while the metric was the same one used for the SHL, you will notice the overall scores are lower, and most of the top-10 are within a slim margin from one another. Extrapolating from this and the historical data, the SMJHL is clearly more of a proving grounds for people who want to give their try at managing, and the market for SMJHL GMs is always in flux, with far more GM’s entering and leaving, and overall serving much, much shorter terms on average compared to the SHL. In fact, in the modern era of the SMJHL, I only found one instance of a period of time where the head GMs of every SMJHL team stayed on board - according to the records, the SMJHL had all the same head GMs in both S49 and S50. I couldn’t find a single other instance of this happening in the modern era, and the sheer number of people who have GMed an SMJHL team is far greater than at the SHL level. Many SMJHL GMs decide that management isn’t for them, or take another step to manage at the SHL level (exactly half of the current SHL GMs (8/16) were head coach of an SMJHL prior to their appointment to head coach of an SHL team, with many more current SHL coaches having co-Gmed an SMJHL franchise). To make this list, you basically needed at least one of each of the Laurifer Trophy and the 4-Star Cup, unlike the SHL list. As the turnover rate is as such, there are fewer points earned for longevity by most, and less opportunity to rack up multiple awards, which lead to overall lower scores and much closer competition in the top SMJHL GM conversation, which may make this iteration of the top-10 more controversial.

A big thank you to the History department of the SHL and @luketd, for compiling and keeping alive all of this historical data so that people can draw from the past to make content for the present. I hope you all enjoyed the article, and have a discussion about the best GMs in SMJHL history!

Thank you to Ham and Sulo for the sigs!

*Good_Ole_Kimmy* · 06-04-2020, 05:46 PM

good article Smile

Allegiant · 06-04-2020, 06:18 PM

smh no cuffy

(good work though)

***WannabeFinn*** · 06-04-2020, 06:22 PM

no Laurifers kills me.. 105 score

these are fun lists

***_Blitz_*** · 06-04-2020, 06:36 PM

Damn straight, TML is the best. Scarecrows

JumpierPegasus · 06-04-2020, 07:23 PM

Huh that's actually neat I had no idea I was the only GM to win the Four Star with two different teams

Great article, sucks to be just outside the top 10 haha, but most of my success was in the playoffs, not the regular season, I was usually shit at the regular season

JumpierPegasus · 06-04-2020, 07:28 PM

But if you include Chouinards JP GOAt Wink

***hhh81*** · 06-04-2020, 07:29 PM

06-04-2020, 07:28 PMJumpierPegasus Wrote: But if you include Chouinards JP GOAt

Has to have the highest win rate of anyone with more than 2

I should know for sure.

***WannabeFinn*** · 06-04-2020, 07:33 PM

06-04-2020, 07:23 PMJumpierPegasus Wrote: Huh that's actually neat I had no idea I was the only GM to win the Four Star with two different teams

Great article, sucks to be just outside the top 10 haha, but most of my success was in the playoffs, not the regular season, I was usually shit at the regular season

Well, you were the only one. Nour won his with Detroit last season (had 3 in Kelowna).

***notorioustig*** · 06-04-2020, 08:01 PM

I heard Tig sucks and he smells bad

JumpierPegasus · 06-04-2020, 08:26 PM

06-04-2020, 07:33 PMWannabeFinn Wrote:
06-04-2020, 07:23 PMJumpierPegasus Wrote: Huh that's actually neat I had no idea I was the only GM to win the Four Star with two different teams

Great article, sucks to be just outside the top 10 haha, but most of my success was in the playoffs, not the regular season, I was usually shit at the regular season
Well, you were the only one. Nour won his with Detroit last season (had 3 in Kelowna).

Honestly nour just ruins everything