The season is in full swing now, and you're in the thick of the SMJHL lifestyle. How have things been so far in your major junior hockey career?
Written option: Talk about how you have settled into life so far in the SMJHL, on and/or off the ice. How have you performed in this early portion of the season? Has the level of play been a huge adjustment? Are you enjoying the city itself? (These aren't questions you're required to answer; they're just possible prompts) (150+ words).
Graphic option: Make a graphic illustrating how your player has performed in the early part of this season. Must include a photo of your player/render, and three individual statistics of your player so far.
Reward
4 TPE for doing the thing. (Just one, not both.)
Only S58 SMJHL Rookies (S59 SHL Draftees) are eligible for this PT.
Link PBE or NSFL submissions here to get credit for Affiliate claims.
You cannot claim TPE for this PT until a post is made in the global claim thread.
It's been pretty shocking for Aleks Blixtstrom in his first few weeks in Carolina after living in Sweden his whole life. Americans are very loud and friendly, he's noticed. The restaurants give mountains of food, which is pretty great for him. He isn't used to the heat and the lack of snow after living in the northern city of Luleå.
Moving onto hockey, he is having a fun time with his new team mates. He is quickly building chemistry with the all rookie 3rd line. He is trying to adapt to the fast and physical play of the SMJHL. As far as the Kraken go, they have lost some really tough and close games recently, and have now lost 4 in a row after shutting out the Scarecrows in the opening game of the Sweden. But Aleks and the team have no doubt they can turn it around and make a push for the playoffs, and ultimately the Cup.
Settling into Colorado has been better than I could have ever expected. I absolutely love being a Raptor. We've had a slow start to the season, at 2-4, but we're still figuring things out. We have some awesome, young players in the locker room that are finding their way. Coaches are trying different line combinations and collective styles of play for each. I'm confident that we'll get it right soon enough. We just need to figure out how to win the close games and we're near the top of the standings.
Personally, I'm at 5 points through 6 games. I'm proud to have a few tucks, but would trade them all for more wins. I have seen a great deal of opportunity, having 15 shots on net, but need to do a better job converting. I'm continuing to work on my shooting accuracy in hopes of seeing the back of the net more. On the other end, I'm continuing to work more defense. I've never paid this much attention to the defensive aspect of the game, but this SMJHL is very physical. It's important to play physical in this league, even as a goal-scorer. Every game...battles are won and lost along the boards.
I am not happy to be carrying a minus-2 right now. I will be working on my shot blocking this week. I owe it to the fans and the organization to be better on both halves of the ice. But we're far from doom and gloom in Colorado. The Raptors future is very bright and we're hungry to win. We'll get to where we want to be.
With the season in full swing, it's safe to say that Cormac Pónaire is having a tough time adjusting to life in the States. Being from a small town in Ireland, he's used to a very different pace than he's experienced living in a major city in the US. However, the adjustment has been made a lot easier by his new teammates and his coaching staff.
With the adjustments to his living situation, he's found that it has had a direct improvement on his ability to get onto the ice and play the game that he loves to play. Through his first six games, he only had one shot on goal. His coached pulled him in and told him that they'd seen a big improvement in his defensive game over the last couple of days, and they'll be putting him on the ice for some penalty killing opportunities to try and reward him for his play. Hopefully he takes that confidence and can put it towards his offensive game as well.
Quote:Written option: Talk about how you have settled into life so far in the SMJHL, on and/or off the ice. How have you performed in this early portion of the season? Has the level of play been a huge adjustment? Are you enjoying the city itself?
Moving to the United States from Japan has been an interesting experience for Ryuuji Kawashima. Ryuuji had been to Tokyo before, but moving to Anaheim and actually living in a bit city has been a whole shift of culture for Kawashima. He seems to enjoy it, as he is getting more used to the western culture after experiencing a bit of a culture shock when he moved to Anaheim just after the draft. The change has not affected Kawashima's ability on the ice and in 6 regular season games so far, Kawashima has racked up 4 points. He has found the net twice and assisted his teammates twice aswell. He has been giving excellent minutets so far, being a regular center for the second line and has been effective on the power play so far, with 2 of his points coming off the power play. Kawashima is part of an Outlaws squad with a whole bunch of rookies, which has made the transistion some what easier as everyone is new to the situation. Kawashima hopes to continue to settle in and play great hockey for the Outlaws.
Code:
187 words
Thank you Fever, sköldpaddor and OD for the amazing sigs!
So I woke up in my lambo in Anaheim city again. Off ice I am usually eating or sleeping in my lambo, so most exciting things are on ice. So I played six games so far. Two assists so far, playing more defensively so only three shots on goal. I am very pleased with my job.
Already made nine hits and blocked six shots to make a statement - no easy goals when you play against me in defence. Coach said I am doing good and the Outlaws general manager is pleased with my work ethics.
My training is going well. Physical is better now, my stamina is better, I am skating faster. This week we decided to work on my checking and puck handling skills. I feel great about my progress so far.
Best thing in Anaheim is the locker room. Recently two more wingers joined us, who are into japanese culture so I am very interested to know them better and expand my knowledge about japanese culture too.
Gino Lombardo, defenseman for the Carolina Kraken, has had a bit of a hard time settling into the SMJHL. The rough and tumble world of the SMJHL is a far cry from his days of getting in fights at Christopher Morley Park in Roslyn, where you could find him when he was a kid - until he went off to Nassau Community College to learn radio broadcasting. What's been the hardest for Gino so far is keeping up with the pace of the SMJHL. Everything moves so much faster here than he's used to, and he's been having a hard time keeping up on training schedules and with general involvement.
On the ice, Gino has been able to at least keep up doing what he's good for - using his extra long frame to interfere with opponent's stick and puck handling. He's far from the most gifted of skaters, passers, nor shooters out on the ice, but what he lacks in overall hockey skill, Gino makes up for with a desire to win and a disregard for his own health and safety.
Moving from Latvia to USA was interesting. I always thought about how it will be to live in big city like New York or Los Angeles, but im very happy to live in Anchorage, because I think that living in city like Anchorage will help me get better. Anchorage is big city, but population is smaller than Riga. And I think its a plus for me, Im use to small and not very populous cities. But thing about Anchorage is that everyone knows you even if you arent teams main star. For example two days ago I went to local market to buy something to eat and I was recognized. I never thought that will happen to me. I think Anchorage is a great place to be if you move from small city across the ocean no SMJHL.
And club is fantastic too. I felt welcomed from day one. If I need something everyone from team tries to help. Its nice to have such teammates and training stuff. On ice its been great too. Of course I feel that level is higher from what I played before. Im still learning but I know I belong here. Playing in fourth line, i didnt expect to be higher. Played six games, got one goal already under my name. Played hard in defence too, seven hits, two blocked shots. Shockingly against Colorado I was games third star. I was so shocked about that.
(242 words)
Drafted 59th Overall in SMJHL S58 draft by Anchorage Armada Drafted 9th in SMJHL S60 expansion draft by Great Falls Grizzlies Drafted 36th Overall in SHL S59 draft by Calgary Dragons
Miguel Hefeweizen is having the time of his life so far in the SMJHL. Of course, it was a big adjustment moving from Vienna, Austria to Portland, Maine. Vienna itself has as many people as the entire state of Maine, so going from a highly urban area to one that is much more suburban and rural in comparison was a big change, not to mention the culture shock of “coming to America!” That said, Miguel loves it in Portland and has already found several great breweries with awesome beer. Unfortunately, he has not found a decent Mexican restaurant so far, and maybe never will. The Timber have an awesome locker room and great managers, and Miguel has made friends with a lot of his teammates. Unfortunately, Miguel hasn’t done great on the ice, with no goals or assists and only 7 shots on goal. With so many rookies the Timber aren’t expected to do very well this season, but currently they are 2-2. Miguel hopes that as he gets more ice time he’ll improve and can contribute more to the team!
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Adjusting into Anaheim was actually harder than I would’ve thought. For starters, taking a long flight from Japan is already draining enough, but the fact that Videl also serves as an English translator for her friend and teammate, Shirakami Fubuki, who does not speak a word in English. Meanwhile on the side of playing, Videl has been quite efficient, putting up 2 goals and an assist in 6 games with Anaheim, and having a +/- of 7, making her to have a quite strong impression. When Videl isn’t playing hockey, she frequently drives up to Los Angeles to see the big league Panthers play, it’s meant to build up confidence for the young phenom, so she can study any potential flaw in her game and improve on it. Some days after practice, Videl and Fubuki-San go to In-N-Out Burger, well mostly because Fubuki has an addiction to burgers, which explains Fubuki’s +/- of -5 to start the season!
(163 words)
Daud Ramza's older brother Suleiman spent a great deal of time in Norfolk, Virginia, so the move to Charlotte, North Carolina was not as big of a culture shock as one might expect. In addition, with the fact that I had spent my time as a DFA here, I had already become a bit acquainted with the city. As far as fitting into the Simulation Major Junior Hockey League goes, the early season has not been the best. I managed to score in the first game and put up a few points, but our squad is still pretty young, and so there are still some growing pains, but we will get better. The pace of the Juniors is definitely a lost faster than some of us expected, but I feel fairly confident in saying that myself, and all my new teammates are all trying their best to keep up. No matter the rough start to the season, I can confidently state that I am very much looking forward to the rest of my time here in the Queen's City.
It's been a rude awakening for Sven after what was initially a very successful preseason. The Whalers posted a respectable 5-2 record in preseason and looked to be in a pretty good spot, but after 6 games they are sitting at 1-4-1. Sven has notched his first goal of the season already, but is struggling to keep up with the pace of the game in general. The locker room is still hopeful and confident we'll be able to right the ship, so it's easy to maintain confidence that the Whalers are better than their record indicates. Sven is ready to keep his head down and continue working, and eventually the results will match the work. The goal is to be the best Sven in the league, after all, and having seen a few already he knows that he has his work cut out for him.
02-15-2021, 12:55 PM(This post was last modified: 02-15-2021, 01:00 PM by GoonerBear.)
It hasn't been too odious for Speedwagon to make the transition into the SMJHL. Granted, he's had a bit more time with the DFA period he had in Vancouver. Performance has been okay so far, about as difficult as expected from how he was doing in Vancouver. A different lineup of players means having to adjust his play to a different pace than with the Whalers. The rebuild changes things, too, though he was prepared to go just about anywhere in the draft, whether they were cruising or struggling.
Off the ice, Newfoundland has been generally colder than in Vancouver, though coming from the mean streets of London, the weather is closer to home. Being on an island isn't as big a problem with regularly available flights, which he does take plentiful advantage of when he doesn't have to travel with the team or stick around for a home stand or back-to-back. The J pays surprisingly well enough, he can go places like New York, Toronto, and elsewhere in eastern North America on the regular. And have some left over to invest in a bit of extracurricular business...
On the whole, things are starting out sufficient so far for the Ogre Street Oligarch. Hockey has been surprisingly fun so far, and he could see this as a long-term deal while he still has a young, fit body for it. The investments will help later.
The Berserkers have been amazing so far. The comradery in the locker room is top notch and I love being able to talk to the guys every day. So far we have a winning record after a strong Day 2, and I’ve been enjoying my role on the 4th line. I notched my first point with a nice assist, but I would love to score my first goal. I’m at a +1 with 4 hits and 4 blocks. Coach has been telling me to play more physical so I look forward to increasing the block and hit numbers. Newfoundland has continued to be a cold wasteland, but it reminds me of home in Russia so it is what it is. I have a new linemate in Robert Black, so me and Mr. Speedwagon introduced him to our pub shenanigans and suffice to say he is looking to be a great linemate. Coming from Russia, this league is certainly more intense and more diverse, but I think it lends itself more to the physical style I’ve played my whole life. I look forward to continuing to grow with Newfoundland and pushing myself and the rest of my comrades to victory.
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hievements 5: Named Assistant Captain of Kelowna : Drafted 6 OA by Calgary : Named Captain of Kelowna
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Montreal Impact/Militia 
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