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Grandmaster Funk - Midseason Progress Tracker
#1
(This post was last modified: 08-09-2020, 08:35 PM by funk. Edit Reason: Formatting )

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Ireland Battleborn Grandmaster Funk - Midseason Progress Tracker Battleborn Ireland

As teams in the SMJHL are beginning to hit the 25-game mark, I feel like it would be appropriate to sit down and take a look at Grandmaster Funk and his professional and personal progression through the first half of his rookie year based on the season goals I set for him at the outset of the year.

In the dawn of my first SMJHL rookie season, I set some lofty goals for the rookie blueliner:

15 points. 65 DGR. Playoffs.

These goals were something I set in order to make myself a presence in the SMJHL. To make my name heard. To let the world know that Grandmaster Funk is here, and he's not playing around. The projection on these goals has varied a little throughout the season thus far and this will be an update on the road to completing each of them.



Let's start with the loftiest of these goals; playoffs in Nevada's inaugural season.
While playoffs may be out of reach for the 4-18-1 Battleborn, the team has shown some drastic improvement in the past week of sims by acquiring 3 of their 4 total wins against some tough competition. This includes a convincing win over the worse, Eastern expansion team, Quebec City. On a statistical note, the Battleborn are giving up about 45 shots and 4.5 goals against per game. These numbers are extreme and bound to come down as the team as a whole gains TPE. On the coaching side, if we learn to succeed under these conditions, we are bound to make huge gains in every statistical category going into our second season.

Ideally, our team won't have to lean on our All-Star (snubbed) goalie Phillip Weaver as much, as the season comes to a close.

Zelma Zuntnere was recently selected as an SMJHL All-Star and to say it was deserving is undermining to the sheer consistency of her offensive output, as the number one player on the Battleborn in both goals and points. She's been the driving factor for a surprisingly relevant Battleborn offense. While the Battleborn do have the fewest goals scored at this point in the season, the difference between Nevada and other lower goal volume teams is slim. Zelma has been the prime contributor in keeping Nevada competitive.

The biggest win here is how close Nevada's locker room has become through the trials of the season thus far. We're going into every game with a winner's attitude despite the less-than-stellar record we're boasting. We may not be the best team in the SMJHL, but we're the best damn team in the SMJHL. Our roster is brimming with personality, bolstering some of the friendliest and most talented members of the SHL community. Our GFX team is exceptional, we have very open lines of communication with the GMs and everyone from top to bottom is getting their shot to play good minutes and to make their mark. Nevada took a chance on me, a brand new player with virtually no sim hockey experience or indication of staying, in their inaugural entry draft. The experience of playing a core role on a budding team has been really special as my first experience on the SHL platform. 

Next, let's talk points:
Funk's numbers aren't quite as potent as I'd initially hoped with the creation of a playmaking defenseman. I thought I could walk into an expansion team and become their #1 option on the blue line. I was gladly mistaken as I've been blessed with the chance to play under some real blueline studs in Sachimo Zoidberg III and Tanjiro Kamado. These guys have been excellent on the left side of the first two pairs and on the powerplay, and their builds have been absolutely picture perfect for a rookie defenseman like myself to attempt to emulate for my desired results.

As for the Grandmaster himself, he's sitting at 1 goal and 4 assists for 5 total points in 23 games played. Less-than-stellar for sure, but pacing for 11 of my desired 15 points in 18:38 ATOI and only 0:29 of that on the powerplay is definitely reassuring. While I wouldn't say the 15-point-mark is entirely out of reach, look for that points goal to be crushed next season with some improved offensive attributes and possibly some heftier deployment in the offensive zone and on the man-advantage.

Finally, the defensive side of things:
This one, to me, felt like the tallest order out of any of my goals with how I initially planned my build.
To my surprise, this is the one category in which Funk has been outstandingly positive on a league-wide stage. Funk is currently tied for 14th on the DGR leaderboard among the entire SMJHL with 72. Nooooot a big deal. Funk is currently a defensive stalwart for the Nevada D corps, coming second to only the aforementioned, and great, Sachimo Zoidberg III in team-wide average DGR.

Due to the line matching, Funk has been playing a majority of his minutes matched against the opponent's top line on a defensively struggling Battleborn roster allowing 45 shots against per game. A 72 DGR is something I am very happy with at this point in the season.



In conclusion, the first half of Grandmaster Funk's rookie year has been a success. Not a resounding success by any means, but definitely something to be proud of. He's established himself as a defensive presence with upside on the offensive side of things. Using the second half of the season to prepare for an impactful sophomore campaign will be Funk's number one priority as Nevada comes upon the 25-game mark. 

Disappointingly, few SHL draft boards have featured Grandmaster Funk thus far and he has not spoken to any SHL GMs regarding the entry draft. This may change with time, but Funk is comfortable putting in the work, max earning, and trying to help his team get some Ws.

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#2

Love this and you. I think in the second half of the season as we all update you'll be able to contribute more and get on the score sheet more and reach your 15 point goal

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#3

08-08-2020, 11:27 PMAndy Wrote: Love this and you. I think in the second half of the season as we all update you'll be able to contribute more and get on the score sheet more and reach your 15 point goal
Kamado has been an excellent role model in the locker room. We'll turn heads next year and :pogram: all over the SMJHL.

Thanks for the comment, Andy-San Smile

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