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krazko · 08-10-2020, 12:47 PM

Calvin has settled in quite nicely in Maine, the Timbers have been nothing but supportive and a great locker room to join.
Both management and the other players have provided Calvin with helpful tips and help, not only with how to settle in, both in the league, team and the city but also with how to improve as a player and where to focus the efforts.
Calvin has already become a known face on the streets as he often is found walking or biking around town to familiarise himself with his new city, and neighborhood.

On ice the level of success has been varied. While Calvin has scored and produced a number of assists, he has taken too many penalty minutes and has been on the ice on quite a few too many goals against. He has worked on the defensive side lately to be a better player and ensure the teams defensive is more solid.

156 words

***yosh*** · 08-10-2020, 01:22 PM

Vaseline Podcalzone’s adjustment to Newfoundland went pretty smoothly, all things considered. Going from the rough, gritty life of Vladivostok and Moscow to the much more laid back environment of St. John’s, Newfoundland was a pleasant change of scenery for the rookie. On the ice, Podcalzone has greatly enjoyed his experience as a rookie in the SMJHL. He’s more than happy to be playing hockey for a living, and is trying his best to help Newfoundland win a title this season. Like he said in his Players’ Tribune media post, he’s going to give it his all every game, and play every shift as if it’s the last time he’ll ever skate in a professional rink again. He’s done alright for a rookie in a competitive league like the SMJHL, having potted a pair of goals and gotten a decent handful of assists in the process. Podcalzone will go into greater detail on his experience in his rookie season in a later Players’ Tribune piece to come out at a later time this season.

Word Count: 173

Ronniewalker · 08-10-2020, 01:41 PM

It’s been an interesting first few weeks in the SMJHL for Lemo Pihl. He was lucky to have been offered a decent contract pretty soon after offering his services to the league and the Anchorage Armada seem like a very good fit for him so far, both on and off the ice. Their management have done very well to help him get up to speed with things regarding the league and its processes and also provided him with a regular lineup spot on their fourth line that has already led to him recording his first assist and goal just in this past week. Of course, as still a very raw rookie, his advanced stats leave plenty better to aspire to, but Lemo has his sights set on improving his play (as witnessed already by the rigorous personal training package that he undertook just last week) and will be looking to raise his position both in the team depth chart and also the scouting lists of SHL teams preparing for the coming entry draft.

Word count: 174

Sigs by sulovilen , Ragnar , supertardis101 , Leviadan , High Stick King , Carpy & KaleSalad

S69 Challenge Cup Champion - Philadelphia Forge Forge

S59 & S62 Challenge Cup Champion - Texas Renegades

S57 Four Star Cup Champion - Anchorage Armada Armada

S57 & S58 WJC / S62, S64 & S66 IIHF Gold Medalist - Team Finland Finland

After 69 shots on net with still no SHL goals to show for it, even the opposition started to feel so sorry for Lemo, that they decided to help him out :D

- Bad pass by Jack Klompus, he gave it right to Lemo Pihl.

- Lemo Pihl rips it to the net...

- Lemo Pihl will find the empty net, that should do it!

TEX @ MAN, S59 game 31

DeathApple824 · 08-10-2020, 03:18 PM

I'm a bit of an odd case as I have not been here fore very long. In fact I've only been a part of a small handful of games. This is because I joined in as a a free agent around day 10, and everything has been awesome so far. I've gotten along famously with my teammates, and they've been nothing but awesome and helpful to me as I've been settling in. I'm extremely proud to call myself a Whaler, as we have some of the funniest guys I've met, as well as an awesome GM who has been nothing but helpful since day one. It has made me extremely excited for my future with the team as well as my future with the SMJHL, and I absolutely can't wait for future games with my crew. There hasn't been a single doubt in my mind that being a Whaler has been the best thing to have happened to me, and I'm extremely excited to see what the future holds for me and the rest of the lads.

lancedjack · 08-10-2020, 03:55 PM

This thing is quick. Like, quicker than quick. I didn't quite expect how much I'd make so little of an impact on fourth line. It took a while to settle some of the initial jitters just watching none of the numbers in the stat sheet change. Just constant 0's across the board like a brand new car. I managed to post my first point the other night and that was absolute elation. Since getting a bit more ice time I've managed a decent chunk of blocked shots, some good hits and even a couple shots on net. The first real apple and gino are still waiting in the wings, but we'll see when those come down. For now it's a case of grinding away at the minutes and training just trying to make it happen overall whilst I'm out there. We've gone to a tonne of shootouts recently so, hell, it might even end up that that's where my first goal comes from. Who knows? All I know it's quicker than quick and by the time the SHL comes knocking, should it come knocking, it's gonna be another shock to the system to see that.

WildfireMicro · 08-10-2020, 04:01 PM

When David started in the Simulation Junior Hockey League, he wasn't expecting to start off well. He was drafted by an expansion team and was expecting the usual expansion woes. He was also a bit culture shocked to move from Minnesota to Qubec, especially considering he doesn't speak French. He has seemly settled in nicely if his stats are anything to go by. He currently has a .931% in saves and is definitely one to watch out for in the upcoming SHL draft.

Outside of the ice, he has tried his best to get over the slight language barrier. He has taken a class in French and is progressing quite well with it. H can currently do simple sentences in the language. Another big thing he has to get used to is Canadian dollars, given how used he is to American ones. But he is definitely getting used to life both on the ice and off and is eager to see where it all takes him.

Kyamprac · 08-10-2020, 09:53 PM

So far I have played 26 games with the Vancouver Whalers, averaging at 17:31 on the ice. With an overall game rating of 54 I don't exactly boast the most impressive stats, but it's been an exciting rookie season nonetheless. Recently I scored my first goal which feels like a cool achievement as a defensive player, and I've racked up 3 assists as well. Besides that, I have 23 shots on goal, 13 hits, and 7 takeaways worth mentioning. I'm hoping to show continuous improvement on the ice as we fight our way through the second half of the season.

Off the ice, I have been settling in with the team and trying to get to know everyone better. Not long ago we went on a team trip to Las Vegas and got up to some shenanigans, although exactly what happened I will not share here since, as the old adage goes, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Beyond that, I've settled just fine into Vancouver and take any downtime as an opportunity to explore what the city has to offer. So far, one of my favorite things to do is to wander down to the Granville Island Brewery and try their latest seasonal beers with some friends.

Overall, my experience both on and off the ice with the Whalers has been a good one and I look forward to seeing what the rest of the season has to hold.

canes2112 · 08-11-2020, 12:39 AM

The SMJHL has been off to an exciting start for Grape Fruit. Joining a defending champion such as the Carolina Kraken is more than he could have asked for, a team with great recent success set up for a strong chance to defend their title. Playing in a fourth line role, there isn't a lot of pressure to produce with great veteran scorers carrying most of the load. Scoring his first goal and getting his first points were awesome moments with hopefully more to come. An NC native, Grape Fruit has been right at home in the Carolinas and is enjoying the area greatly. Teammates and management have been very supportive and helpful as he figures out his path in the junior league with the goal of being drafted to an SHL team in the upcoming draft. With the season half over, hopefully Grape Fruit can grow some more and become an even more valuable member to the team as the push for playoffs continues against strong competition.

Salming · 08-11-2020, 04:04 AM

William Salming's debut season in professional junior league began from the fourth line together with Jst Maro and Zach Dolphin. I played about ten minutes per night but lately I've been promoted to third line I guess where I play with Stan Q. and Zdenko Beranek. Thanks to that, I have played lately 13-15 minutes per game which has been a positive surprise even though I haven't been able to perform very well when it comes to scoring.

I made 1+1 in the second game of the season. That game was so far the highlight of my rookie season because after that game I have zero goals and only a couple of random assists even though my passing, pukchandling, scoring, getting open and offensive read attributes should be fine for this level but apparently I still need to develop my physicality to get more scoring chances because now I have just 21 shots on goal in 24 games.

In 24 games my stats are 1+3 and -9. Plus-minus rating was pretty long close to even but during the last week it has drowned near to -10. Average game rating has been 51 and my goal is to improve it to 55 during rest of the season.

Word count: 213

jRuutu · 08-11-2020, 06:07 AM

After 26 games I have 8 points, 6 of those are goals, so in that sense I have been able to play on a decent level. I remember early in the season it was a culture shock for sure to notice how fast the game is in SMJHL, it's not as tactical as back home in Finland, but the speed and straight to the net type of hockey is something I did not get to play that much in the past, that is the reason why I also moved here - to get more familiar with this style of hockey. I should maybe have few more assists to be honest, but my thing is to try and score myself and not overthink the plays, that is perhaps one area that I need to work on a lot in the future. I need to pass the puck more and use my teammates more often.

What comes down to stuff off the ice, everybody in the team has been cool, the older players have been helping me out a lot especially off the ice, I did not know anything when I got here, but they have shown some good places to eat and spend time in around the city, so it has been smooth sailing. I feel good in Nevada and hopefully we can do big and good things here with this team.

JstMaro · 08-11-2020, 08:58 AM

I am slowly getting adjusted to life here in Quebec, biggest problem is that half of city speaks french language. But I feel very well in my team and I feel that we are improving each day. I think future is looking bright for us.
I started this season as 4th line center and was quite surprised with my contributions; in about 10 minutes per game my +/- was only - 2 and I had over 50% at faceoffs. Last week or so I got promoted to 3rd line and only thing that got better is my ice time. That is normal since I am playing against better players now but to be honest it does affect my morale a bit. My +/- and faceoff % dropped a lot and I am still stuck at 4 points (two goals and two assists). I for sure need to train even harder, getting as many TPEs as I can. Then I need to invest those points wisely into right skills.
I believe I can evolve a lot and my team can be serious force in playoffs within 3 seasons.

sakrosankt · 08-11-2020, 10:30 AM

Michael Withecheck not only came over the pond into the US, to play SMJHL, he also went far up north-west to Anchorage to do so. There used to be cold winters in Austria sometimes, but those are long gone and nothing anyone is used to anymore. That‘s why the rough and cold climate far up north was something I had to get used to first. But standing on the ice rink is something completely different. It has something natural already, spending so much time on the ice since I‘m young, it‘s nothing that feels unnatural anymore, no matter where you are playing.

I love it in Anchorage though, although the weather can get rough. I got on an awesome team and I they immediately made clear I am one of them. It‘s just a cool feeling standing on the same side as my teammates and fight for wins no matter at home or away. I even got to score some points already, although being a rookie on the defensive side. 3 goals and 8 assists is by far more I expected in my rookie season. A +/- value from +6 is also something I can be proud of, I think, I want to keep it positive over the season. My grading can be something I have to work on, but overall I think I can be very satisfied with my rookie season.

W19eaver · 08-11-2020, 11:24 AM

Well being drafted into a city like Las Vegas, Nevada can be very overwhelming for a young man from a small town in northern Canada, but luckily as a first year junior player, Phillip Weaver isn't legal drinking/gambling age so the cities sinful temptations haven't been able to be an issue. Rumors are Weaver is a bit of a gambler already wagering a huge chunk of his contract earnings in off the book bets, so we will have to see if that becomes a problem for the young goalie as he gets older and becomes of age. On the ice Weaver has shown what a farmers work ethic will do for a promising young player. He comes to work every practice, sweating hard, trying his very best to stop every puck that comes his way. His hard work and no quit attitude has paid off so far for the young goalie as he's started every game for the Battleborn and leads the league in shots against. In the locker room Weaver has gelled right in with his teammates, getting along with everybody.

JumpierPegasus · 08-11-2020, 12:00 PM

Stamina is huge

Yngve Simonsson was absolutely tearing up the league as a rookie in his first 20 games. 12 points in 20 games, getting praise from coaches and GM's in Detroit, trying to work his way up into the top 6 at such a young age. The skill was absolutely there. But factors outside of skill can have a big effect on a player.

Two problems happened for Simonsson. First, he wasn't used to playing this many games in this short a time frame. Playing in the junior elit leagues in Sweden he didn't have the stamina to keep up. Simonsson has been working on this, training in the gym, trying to get his head around playing a longer schedule, but it will take some time. Second, the transition to living in North America is a weird one. Especially at the current times with Covid, where in Sweden when Simonsson left, it wasn't as bad.

It will take some time to get used to both of these things, but ultimately Simonsson is hoping for an incredible end to the season

LimJahey · 08-11-2020, 02:03 PM

For most players, they are not going to experience a massive change of scenery. In Boris' case though, traveling from the poor slums of Borisgrad to the glamorous city of Quebec, it is a night and day comparison. When Boris first stepped out of the plane and onto Canadian soil, it was exactly like the cold dead ground that he came from in Russia. Looking around though, instead of the old soviet era blocs and concrete towers he's known for his whole life, he saw gorgeous countrysides, towering glass skyscrapers, and beautiful buildings that put all of Borisgrad to shame. With his first paycheck clearing, no longer did he have to survive on salted beef and potatoes, he was eating fine steak and all the other luxuries that he could never have imagined back home. But the largest change of all, was being alone and away from his large family. While he had his cousins and brothers in the league as well, he would be away from his mother, father, and all of his other siblings still struggling back home to make it by. While Boris is enjoying his performance on the ice and his new life in a beautiful modern city, there is still a burning hole in his heart that a championship could not fill.

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