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*NaomiMannequeen* · 06-03-2024, 05:23 AM

“I AM HOME!!!!!!!!”

Those were my first words in the Québec City Citadelles server and at the time I had no idea how symbolic that message would be. 24,127 and counting messages later as of the time of writing this, those couldn’t be more true. There were many scouting conversations that were fantastic. From Frenchie and Slicer poking me for Carolina, Flue and HFFO for Yukon, Takk for Colorado, I honestly wasn’t sure where I was going to end up, all of them seemed great, and I’m sure I could have easily called all of those places home, but as Québec took me and I got SPAMMED with a bunch of DMs and pings being welcomed, I think “I am home” probably just came out naturally.

The rest of the draft went great for QCC. I was devastated with some of the picks other teams took and QCC missed out on. I was really hoping to play with certain people. Shadow Fenix for example, Squid and Jexter were others. Tsunny of course was highest on my priority list of course, we created together after all, twins who wanted to play together to earn together to rise to the top together. But I was by no means disappointed by the players we did end up drafting. Many people who had been rather active or high earning or high praised players, Dwight Knight, Johnny Patey, and then eventually three members who would become my best friends on the site. ThePyroAlpaca, Skyrrhawk, Vic03. Holy fuck I love you guys. It genuinely hurts me to have to leave each other, but I know we’re all going to be great SHL players, Patey and Shawn too. This draft class was such a good one for QCC.

We were told by Ramen and Lore that we likely wouldn’t win much for our first two seasons. That a team of rookies likely wouldn’t make a splash in the league. After finishing 10th in the league the team wouldn’t have too much improvement. Their speech served as a huge motivation to get us to win. That and the whole cult we suddenly built around our captain goaltender Net Man. We needed to get all of the Denny’s visits that season. Unfortunately we didn’t win the season like we wanted, but we did find the absolutely incredible cardio queen behind the Denny’s dumpster. Locrianmidwest was picked up off waivers and immediately became another fantastic addition to the locker room. From sending good vibes with music to jam to making memes constantly; her presence in the locker room filled us with joy and another good friend was made.

I don’t think I’m going to bore you all who choose to read this with my whole retrospective in QCC, but I wanted to highlight some great moments that bring me a lot of joy and say lots of thank yous to everyone who made QCC feel like home.

We’ve been through some great times and some rough times. You all named me captain after our first season, I hope I’ve been able to live up to all of your expectations. Despite us losing to Detroit in the playoffs… twice and then once to Colorado, I hope I was able to keep you all motivated enough to strive to become great longterm SHL players. I hope I was able to make you all proud and happy to be in QCC.

Our careers so far were rocky. Three Laurifer wins in a row which I’m so glad we were able to get for Ramen and Lore. One four star cup, unfortunately a few seasons too late for Net Man, for Ryland. We avenged you guys! We got it for you guys, in your honour. Lots of awards that were won together as well. This group has achieved so many things already. I hope we continue to show the SHL world the force that we are; one to be reckoned with.
I also remember the WJC wars, starting in S74, it was the first time the QCC 74s essentially fought each other. Tsunny and I for Norden, Pyro and Vic for Ucorcal, Sky for USW, locrian for CAR.Then in S75 we had Ramen and Caleb join in, the master tacticians coming in to show who was boss and most recently in S76. While there are things I do regret about those tournaments, I will admit it was rather enjoyable playing up against each other. We’ll see each other in IIHF and in the SHL for more fights against one another!

While I can’t mention what goes on in there as the first rule of the Front Office is not to share anything from the Front Office, I really enjoyed the moments we all have in there from the wacky zany, to the rants, to the intense hyper focus tactics and scouting sessions. I hope to serve in the FO for a long time and although we’ve unfortunately lost Pyro to Kelowna, I hope the rest of us stick there for a very long time.

I love all of you guys, from my fellow S74 owls, to the future owls of the S75, 76, 77 and now S78 classes, I want to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for making this place the one I hope to return to when I eventually recreate (although I do aim to respect the draft so… better start getting that 1oa trade ready! >:D Ramen, Lore)

And before I officially leave the nest, I’d like to make a few more personalised thank yous.

@RAmenAmen, @lore. Thank you for taking the time to scout me, to draft me, to listen to my request about getting Tsunny as well as my rants whenever I felt down. Thank you for protecting me or helping me back up when my anxieties were getting the better of me. You both are like SHL fathers to me and I don’t know how to repay you enough for the kindness, joy, and love you’ve brought in my life.

@Evok, @Faelax. Thank you for making this incredible home for us all, for all past, present and future owls. This place wouldn’t be nearly the same without your influence, your culture and presence. The Citadelle is a home of your creation, your nest and I hope I made you two proud as the little owlet I was and the grown owl I now am. I’ll see you in Calgary Flex!

@mer, Thank you for reaching out to QCC to let them know of mine and Tsunny’s existence due to our shenanigans in the Norway server. Thank you for making that server feel like a second home to me as well. I might not actually be Norwegian, but damn the patriotism is strong because of the love you give to your federation.

@Valpix, thank for giving me an interest in international hockey and women’s hockey, for helping me pick out my render before I even knew you were on QCC! Thank you for making gamenights super enjoyable and one day… one day we shall defeat you at Yahtzee!

@Hordle, thank you for dealing with the rookies’ antics revolving around the Net Man cult. I know it must have been difficult to deal with all of us treating you like a god when you have anxiety. Thank you for being my TFT buddy and inviting me to A tale of Mists even if I’m unlikely to make it. I won’t forget how happy I was that we were able to draft you once again to QCC and drafting you to Calgary. I’ll see you there next season my friend, win another cup with Flex before you come up, kay?

@Caleb, thank you for teaching me how to do tactics, teaching me not to overreact when things go wrong and not making too many changes at once, mostly by doing those yourself before Ramen had to restrain you from the file Tongue

I tease I tease. You’ve been very invaluable to my learning and I hope that I’ll give you a good challenge soon with Calgary :D

@Keven, @Matteo thank you for being the joys of the locker room and FO. From talking Fantasy picks to interesting drinks to a bunch of other fun topics, you’ve both been a joy to have as veteran presences in the locker room and I hope that now as a rookie Matty, you’ll give the rest of the new owlets a fine example to follow in.

@TonyW19, it’s time to join you! I’m coming to Calgary, I’m sorry we couldn’t win the cup while you were here. Let’s get a Challenge Cup together instead, how does that sound? Thank you for being the gentle voice and also the hype man whenever we needed one. Not the most vocal leader, but the right words at the right time always made QCC happy to hear from you.

@Puppy, thank you for joining Tsunny and I on this adventure. Though we may not be playing together in the SHL, I know you’ll amount to great things over in Montreal and I can’t wait to meet you in a finals match to score a few hattys on you! <3

My fellow owls whom we’ve won the cup with and aren’t graduating, thank you for time, your effort, your vibes in the locker room. I know that that things were rough for a while, but I’m glad I got to win the cup with you all. Good luck next season, I’ll be rooting for you lots!

To @vic03 and Molly (@locrianmidwest). Thank you for being some of the best teammates ever. Our victories, losses, and antics felt like we were a real family and I’m going to absolutely miss playing with you guys. Here’s to hoping we can meet again on the same side in the future!

@skyrrhawk, thank you for being one of my biggest rivals while also being one of my greatest friends in this league and linemate for the past two seasons. I’m sorry we couldn’t get you the points record, but I’m still proud you had the best J rookie season to date and no one can take that from you. Here’s to seeing each other again in the future!

@ThePyroAlpaca, thank you for being one of the best voices in the locker room. From the memes you post, to the speeches we’ve shared the honour of making for playoffs or for the start of the season, I’ve absolutely enjoyed my time with you and I wish you the best of luck in Kelowna. I think you’ll turn that team around in no time. And I appreciate it a lot that you call me the first friend you made in the SHL, while you may not be the first I made, you certainly are one of the best and I absolutely hope to have the chance to play on the same side once again in the future.

And last, but not least, thank you for joining me on this adventure, @Tsunny. It’s been a heck of a wild ride so far and I don’t expect it to get any less bumpy. I know we’re not leaving each other yet, and I don’t think we’ll be leaving each other on these players, but I know that my story here would be significantly different if it weren’t for you. While we’re only blood related in game, the bond we’ve forged over this feels like you really are my sister. I don’t regret inviting you with me on this adventure one bit. Let’s go destroy some fools in Calgary, okay? :D

WHEW, that was a lot of thank yous. I don’t expect many people to read this all the way through, to be honest I’m not too sure how coherent it is as I’m finishing this up at 5 in the morning while sick with a massive cough or maybe something worse, but I felt as with the new owlets finally joining the nest, it was my time to say goodbye as a player to QCC. The new generation is upon us and I’m sure they’ll be great. The future of QCC is with you all and don’t worry, I’ll still be around to make sure that we keep competing. We’ve got a cup to defend and a 4th Laurifer in a row to win. Let’s do it QCC! <3

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