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Bingo97 · 02-08-2025, 01:55 PM

In this Interview I was able to sit down with the person that drafted me in the s79 SHL draft HHH81 he is now stepping down as the GM and promoting Wally as the GM but he was gracious enough to sit down in the heart draft seasons and handing over the reigns over to Wally

In this Interview we covered some questions about drafting me, their time as GM, and other topics that came up during the talks

Arvinder -What stood out to you about my game that made you want to draft me?
HHH81 - I can’t lie, your play had nothing to do with my drafting you. I wanted cool, active people, and your SMJHL Co-GM, Fancey, had positive things to say about you. I thought it was worthwhile to take a swing, and here we are! In hindsight, Singh’s done a great job of playing tough minutes on a not always great team, especially as a rookie. Every team can use a great power play specialist, and Singh through two seasons is really showing out as a solid all situations top 4 defender

Arvinder - Fancy is a great person and I'm glad that could be on the same team as him

Arvinder - How do you see me fitting into the team’s system and style of play if I ever to make it to the big leagues?
HHH81 - While I give Wally advice here and there, it’s really no longer my prerogative on what happens! I think the big thing that can be an area of growth is your defensive play—you are aggressive with the puck on his stick and seem adept at making the right reads when attacking with a versatile offensive skillset. You’ve come a long way in your conditioning and seem well-equipped to handle what is required of a top 4 SMJHL defender.
The good news is that Wally is a FHM maestro, so he’ll be able to put you in the best position to succeed, whatever role. Your first season or two in the SHL could be rocky, as the team will be in the midst of the rebuild, but if you stay excited and engaged, I have high hopes Singh can be a great defender for the Platoon. You and Twinkle Toes should come up at the same time, and would make natural sense to pair your offensive instincts with Toes’ more two-way acumen.

Arvinder- Do you feel you made the right choice in drafting me
HHH81- Heck yeah! I hope you keep with it, and remember it’s a marathon, not a sprint. Just find consistency, and you can go far in this league. I think this media will help a lot with supporting your bank account, which is huge in continually being able to do weekly training and earn TPE.

Arvinder - (said in my head) Glad I am doing something right

In the next part we got into HHH81 experience as a GM and things that came up through their career

Arvinder - What’s the most rewarding part of your job as a GM?
HHH81 - I think it’s always been the newer users I’ve met and helped shape into members of our community. While I can’t say I’ve done as good a job of developing new users as I did in Colorado, I still feel good about the people who’ve come through the Platoon over the last 17 seasons I’ve had an impact on. I can’t take all the credit for great users like @”Fancey13”, @MikeLiut”, and @”NYR73” who went onto J GMing gigs, and the many more who are up and coming. Philosophically, I think it really comes down to engaging new users and helping set them up to contribute to our community.

Arvinder - What’s the hardest decision you’ve had to make in your career?
HHH81- I’d been contemplating stepping down as GM for a few seasons now. I saw that we were aging rapidly, and I was worn out. I knew I didn’t have another full rebuild in me. I had to tear the team down to the studs and build everything back up not long after I took over Baltimore as GM, and it was an exhausting process. In a perfect world, I’d have found a Co-GM willing to really learn and carry a heavier load than has been the case in the past for me, and within 2-3 more seasons, I would gradually set them up as my heir. That didn’t happen, and I’m glad an experienced GM like Wally was ready to get back into the GMing chair and take over. The team’s in good hands, even if he’s a dirty Blackhawks fan.

Arvinder - (Takes note on my notepad) HHH81 shows that they had a great outlook and was realist approach in what they are doing with the Platoon and even had the heart to hand over the reigns to a blackhawks fan bold lets see if it pays off

Arvinder- Being the GM you have probably been put in a position where players are looking for bigger roles or more minutes how did you deal with something like this with the Platoons
HHH1- Shockingly, this really hasn’t been a huge issue, at least that anyone voiced to me. A few players may have asked for a trade here and there, but rarely for that reason. The one most salient memory of someone asking out was someone who entered things dishonestly and took advantage of me and future GMs who had the misfortune of having them on their roster. If someone had concerns or questions about their role, I was always happy to talk with people about it. In fact, I probably worked certain people into more opportunities than I should have for the team, and never really talked about it. I tried to head off concerns beforehand, especially in recent seasons trying to balance power play opportunities when we had Bryzi, Fry, and N’Zola as a clear top 3 blueliners. I liked being able to roll fairly equal forward lines while GMing, and getting people opportunities for minutes. If someone had a problem and didn’t say anything, well that’s on them. I can’t read minds!
Arvinder - You not having to deal with something really shows how much the team trust you with the strategies , line combinations and distribution of minutes
Arvinder - What’s the biggest challenge this team is facing right now?
HHH81- We’re heading into a rebuild—lots of the S68-71 core are aging rapidly or already moved on. We’re also in a bit of a budget issue for this season, but it should get a little better for S82, I think. We lost some quality younger players and users this offseason, which was really disappointing for me, all things considered. Minding the gap between the old guard and supporting this new core of S79-83 players will be huge, though! I think Wally’s up to the task. He’s been a GM for a loooong time (aka before I ever joined), so we’re in good hands.
Arvinder-What season with the Platoon was a memorable or fun season you had?

HHH81- How can you argue against S76, when we were President’s Trophy winners and then rode a hot goalie and balanced scoring to the Challenge Cup Finals? While we fell short, that was a really cool season and saw a lot of things go right for us. It’s a shame that we fell off the next season a bit, and couldn’t recapture the magic.

The next phase of the interview we moved into more of the phone questions that I was dying to get answers too

Arvinder - What’s the most ridiculous trade offer you’ve ever received?
HHH81- Oh jeez, I blocked out a lot of them. I feel like I lost more trades than I won, and was reluctant to make a lot of deals (just not my style). The most ridiculous was during my SMJHL GMing tenure, where I had my first really intense bidding war between Anaheim and Carolina for 3rd overall I think it was in like S50. Both teams had someone they really wanted, and I admittedly wasn’t in love with anyone enough to turn down a huge return on picks. While I may have missed (badly) on who I eventually took with those picks, being able to be on the receiving end of a serious back and forth bidding war was fun.

Arvinder - Who’s the funniest guy in the locker room right now?
HHH81- That’s such a hard pick. There’s no one that specifically stands out as funniest to me. NYR when he was on could get a good zinger, and Ruggsy is always good for a good laugh, though he’s been departed for a while now. This feels like an impossible question! Who do you think is funniest?

Arvinder - I gotta go with NYR (heavy biased as I am Rangers fan)

Arvinder - If we win the SHL cup, what's the first thing you’re doing for the team to celebrate?
HHH81- Crack the case of champagne and let’s head to Tagliata downtown! Get everyone a good meal and celebrate bringing the Challenge Cup back to Baltimore! It’s been too long, I think.

Arvinder - If you could be the GM of any other sports team, which one would you pick?
HHH81- Well, I’ve GMed in mostly hockey leagues, but I did have a run of some GMing in basketball leagues as well for a bit. Those are my two sports I care about. I would never GM in football or soccer, for various reasons. At this point, I’m happy to settle into my rocking chair and leave the wheeling and dealing to others.

Arvinder - What is the most annoying part of being a GM?
HHH81- That’s tricky! I think not being on the same page, whether it’s with other GMs or your players, can be tough. Some GMs present and past don’t care about the league, as much as stealing as much attention and glory for themselves. To paraphrase Game of Thrones, some would see the league burn if they could be kings of the ashes. On the player side, you do your best in scouting, but sometimes it’s not the right fit, and you misjudge a pick. Those mistakes have a much longer shelf life than they do in the J, when you turn over a roster every 4 seasons. Here, if you miss on a top 10 pick, that can haunt you for the next 10 seasons.
Arvinder (Takes note on notepad)- This sounds like a GM that seem some things in their Tenure

Arvinder - If I break a team record, do I get a statue outside the arena?
HHH81- Maybe! It’s no longer my business, but I’m sure if you can break a team career record and go down as the greatest defender of all time in the Platoon sweater, a statue is possible. You have some stiff competition with people like Bojo Biscuit, Ludwig Koch Schroder, and the greatest goal scoring dman the franchise has had, Philip Fry, though!

Arvinder (Takes note on notepad) A blessing was all I needed

The last phase we got into HHH81 agency representing M’Baku Olubori, a winger for the Platoon, and their experience as a player
Arvinder -Your agency also represents, M’Baku Olubori, a winger for the Platoon, as well. Would you make a winger again if you could make your player again?
HHH81 - My next player will not be a winger, but that’s not for any negative reason. Winger is tricky in FHM, because sometimes you’ll pop off for a huge offensive season, and other times you end up a passenger on your line. Baku has played more center than winger at the SHL level, I think. His first four seasons with the Platoon, he was a right wing, and then shifted to center for the next 8 seasons. He only moved back to the wing this past season, and that was simply due to regression—I thought he’d be more effective for the team being able to focus TPE elsewhere. Baku is currently the Platoon’s only 1000+ point scorer with the team, which is crazy to think about for a team that’s been around as long as we have!

Arvinder - When you created your player in the SHL what were you expecting when you got your first locker room?
HHH81- Oh gosh, that’s so long ago, Bingo! (my nickname) I joined back in late 2018, so I’ve been around awhile (it was S44). I don’t know what I expected, but Buffalo turned out to be more supportive than their public persona might have indicated at the time. Met some good people, and even though it didn’t end up being the right place for me forever, have some good memories there. It was very different from Colorado, my J team, and I can’t lie and say I wasn’t more committed to my J locker room than I was my SHL team.

Arvinder - Who is the best player you ever drafted in your time as the GM, it could be stats wise or just a solid person?
HHH81- That’s so hard! I’ve drafted a lot of great people over the years. It’s hard to argue against Ekaterina Valieva @”MikeLiut”. How many times can you get a nearly 2k player in the 2nd round of a draft, who is the consummate team player and goes onto be a SMJHL GM? He’s also an all around swell guy, and I’m thrilled he’s been a huge part of my experience running this team.

Arvinder - What is the pre game meal looking like?
HHH81- Chicken parm is basic, but such a classic. You get your protein, some pasta, throw a vegetable or two in there, and you have everything you need for energy before a game (and delicious to boot!)

Overall the interview was great. I learned alot from HHH81 about themselves and how they view the team and the future. I feel HHH81 has reached a point to step down because he feels he is happy with what they have achieved and didnt have it in him for another rebuild and is stepping down happy

word count of 2464

HHH81 has agreed to a 75% and 25% payout

75% for me and
25% for HH81

hhh81 · 02-08-2025, 01:57 PM

Mmmm money, gimme!

Glad to chat!

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