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New Beginnings
#1
(This post was last modified: 07-01-2021, 05:17 PM by Tayjay.)

Code:
Ready to Be Graded
1155 words
It has been a long time since I have had a chance to reflect on my Simulation Hockey League career. Most people know that I was a undrafted free agent in the Juniors League and ended up winning a cup in my first season. Fast forward to the draft where Toronto drafted me near the end of the second round. I was incredibly excited to land with the North Stars since there were a few of my Anaheim teammates already rostered. They were also going through an extensive rebuild and I was chomping at the bit to be a part of that new core. Now as I enter my 8th season, 6th in the SHL, I have had to find a new home. I always thought it was a possibility that I would be exposed since I wasn’t a max earner and our GM had done a great job of building up one of the best pipelines of talent, but that doesn’t mean that it didn’t suck at the same time. I had grown from a fringe 3rd liner to a solid 2nd line contributor. Even though we only had 1 playoff appearance in those 5 seasons, we showed continued growth every year and in our only playoff appearance we were 1 game away from the Finals. To say leaving the team just as we trend into our championship window was hard is an understatement.

“I’ve gotten to know all of the people in that locker room and there isn’t a bad egg over there. Well, except Juni because Juni likes to fight a lot, but even Juni is nice. I’ve played with Ursin and Rhys since the Juniors and a couple others like Sato played in Anaheim as well. Veterans like Mika and Carpy were always there to help me with when I was a rookie or when I was struggling. Those first couple years were very hard for me as I tried to get accustomed to the physicality of the game. It really took a while for me to discover what my game was and they were always there. I also always got approval from the GM that I was on the right track and doing the right things. I like to think I was a team first player. Those are just a few of the things I’ll miss. “

As Season 59 came to a close, and due to the playoff structure at the time, Toronto would fail to qualify despite having a top 5 record in the league. With expansion looming it became more of a reality than a possibility that Taylor would be headed towards the expansion draft.

“I knew it could happen. I talked to ml and we had a good discussion. I was kind of in this limbo where I was still developing and still had untapped potential but with the incredible depth of our team and legit underclassmen we had it may have been good for both sides if I tried to develop somewhere else. I was losing playing time, and in that last year I regressed a bit statistically. It’s hard to get everyone playing time and I think I was just starting to lose to some great skaters. I want the team to be great, but at the same time I want to be great or at least contribute in more of a role that I had been given here in Toronto. That’s nothing against management. They drafted well for years so it was bound to happen. If Last-Name and I must be the sacrificial lambs so they can survive then so be it. Look at what First-Name Last-Name has been doing in Philadelphia! He has been incredible there.”

“One day, ml called me into his office, and I knew immediately that I was going to be exposed. It was a difficult decision, but those are decisions he gets paid to make. There wasn’t a guarantee I would get picked but it was almost a certainty teams would take me. Apparently, I had shown that I have what it takes to make it in this league. As the draft approached both General Managers dropped their branding and I paid close attention to the new teams.”

“Which team would be my new home. I had good conversations with both guys and was very upfront with them that I would be committed and that I wanted a chance to prove that I could play first line minutes and make an impact. After the interviews, I spent the rest of the offseason training and representing Sweden in the IIHF. I had seen some mocks that saw my lower in the expansion draft, but I heard from both GM’s that I was high up on their lists. So maybe like top 10 I thought. On expansion draft day I never thought I would go third overall. That was such a huge accomplishment for me coming from UDFA to mid-late second rounder. Not the same as being a first round pick but to be taken 3rd in expansion, one of the first picks a team wants to spend on their new franchise, felt great. It's a massive responsibility but I think I’m up for it. That’s all I wanted was to share a larger piece of that leadership pie they talk about. First-Name Last-Name, the other North Star that was also up for expansion gotten taken immediately after me. Two Toronto players in the top 5 just goes to show how good Toronto was. The move to Montreal wasn't that bad either. Just a couple hours over, and I guess it cuts off a couple hours on my trips back home to Sweden. ”

“So far this season my shots per game are at a career high and so are my minutes per game. The team has gotten off to a slow start, which is to be expected, which has stunted my scoring but I’m still trying to help as much as possible. My offensive and defensive grades per game are also at career highs. I should easily break my blocks and hits career numbers I set. While the results may not be immediate, it is a situation I feel comfortable in. I spent how many years losing in Toronto before we got good and now, I’m in a similar situation but I’m one of the elder guys now. So maybe all of those years were just preparing me for this.”

“I’d just like to say that to all of my former teammates in Toronto that I’ll miss you and I really enjoyed the seasons we had together. I’ll be rooting for you guys, but not too hard since we are in the same division! To my new teammates, it may not be pretty now but stay the course. There will be bumps but it will be worth it, and I hope that I’ll be around to lead the torch!”
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#2

Nice read.

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#3

At least we will always have Team Sweden, so still teammates Smile Hope the move to Montreal went well!

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#4

07-03-2021, 07:14 PMgurbs Wrote: At least we will always have Team Sweden, so still teammates Smile Hope the move to Montreal went well!

For the King! It's going well! It sounds like you were FORGE - unate to end up in Philadelphia.........

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#5

Forever a North Star in my eyes! Wish you all the best and we love you sticking around in the locker room Stars

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Thanks to @DELIRIVM, @Moreorless89 and @ValorX77 for the sigs!
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