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Z-Whiz · 03-02-2025, 09:14 PM

ISFL Aphileate

Ivornen · 03-02-2025, 09:17 PM

Matti is a winter kind of person. He generally loves snow. He loves skating (obviously), skiing, snowboarding, and he even enjoyed that one memorable experience on a dog sled when the team had a long layover in Yukon thanks to some weather.

That being said, he still thinks he has the most fun when the Grizzlies touch down for an extended stay in San Diego. Iceland is beautiful, and he'd loved growing up there, but there'd been limited opportunities for swimming in the ocean, what with the small number of sandy beaches, strong ocean currents, and temperature. San Diego and it's warm sandy beaches is a revelation, and Matti quickly becomes enamoured.

He can only imagine what it'll be like to visit Tampa Bay in the future.

For now, though, when the game's finished and they've still got time before they jet back across the Americas, you can reliably find Matti on San Diego's beaches.

(WC: 155)

***UptownCord*** · 03-02-2025, 09:24 PM

Kalakar · 03-02-2025, 09:25 PM

Demir Bellona is a big city guy. He loves walking around, visiting interesting museums, eating at top rated restaurants, enjoying the sights. That's why he's always excited to play the Manhattan Rage in New York City. Don't get me wrong, Montreal is still at the top of the list, but Manhattan is an incredible place to visit. From the Metropolitan Museum of Art, to the Museum of Modern Art to the Statue of Liberty, or Central Park, or the Empire State Building, and on and on he could continue, Manhattan has so many things to offer for any type of travellers. The cuisine available from all corners of the globe in one city is incredible although the New York style bagels are a bit of a let down after trying the legendary Montreal bagels. There are amazing cities in the SHL but without a doubt Manhattan would be a great place to live in if he weren't already in the best city in the league.

*Zerg* · 03-02-2025, 09:30 PM

A good expansion location can be judged by one simple question: is it Ohio?

Expansion hockey teams that have answered this question with a negative have included the Atlanta Thrashers, the Arizona Coyotes, the Quebec Nordiques (RIP), and the California Golden Seals. Obviously there have been success stories of expansion teams outside Ohio; in fact the odds of success with such an expansion are historically quite high. However, they are not guaranteed. There have been failures. Expansion hockey teams that answered this question with the correct answer of "yes" include the Columbus Blue Jackets, who, despite being the least successful franchise in North American sports, sold out one of the continent's biggest stadiums last night for its first outdoor game, packing this massive barn with its own fans despite playing against an original six team. This represents a 100% success rate.

"But what about the Cleveland Barons" you dare ask? You nerd? You dweeb? Well, buckle up for your history lesson, because the Cleveland Barons were not an expansion team, but a relocation of the California Golden Seals. Unless SHL HO is planning to relocate the Pride instead of awarding proper expansion teams, this is not a relevant example.

For a guaranteed successful expansion hockey team, expand to Ohio. QED.

***Faelax*** · 03-02-2025, 09:31 PM

Anna Skovgaard's favorite city to visit in the SHL is Montreal. It's a beautiful city to wander around, especially during the winter with a light dusting of snow on the ground. Everything about it makes for a perfect hockey road trip, the food is amazing, the city is lovely, and the people love their hockey. Another SHL city Anna loves to visit is one she gets to much more often, Seattle. The scenery is very nice, and it is a fun city to walk around before games and just take in the sights. Anna never gets tired of seeing the overview of the city from atop the Space Needle. Her favorite SMJHL city to visit was Vancouver. It has a very similar vibe to Seattle, as a fun coastal city with lots to do around town and plenty of cool places to visit both around the city itself and on a short ferry ride to Vancouver Island.

Prompt 1

***Wally*** · 03-02-2025, 09:31 PM

PT Pass

----
Forever remembered Jaywhy:
09-21-2016, 07:10 PM

To say the least, I'm very disappointed to not even be the first goalie off the board. Here I thought people would want the proven guy who runs the sim.

On the bright side...

I GET TO GO TO NEW YORK! FUCK PORTLAND!

zeagle1 · 03-02-2025, 09:42 PM

I think that a good expansion branding needs to either have a very catchy name that flows well with the location, or have some tie to the location where the expansion will be going. So something like an alliterative name could be ok if it was not related to the location of the team. I will always prefer a topical name though. Apparently the Ottawa Highlanders is topical and that's pretty great. Quebec City as well does a good job tying in local history to their branding. Additionally, I prefer expansion team colors that are at least tangentially related to the history of the location. I am a big fan of teams using a local flag, be it city state or county flag, to inspire the colors of the team. For instance, no sim league team from Chicago uses the light blue, red, and white of the Chicago city flag and that is disappointing. Overall I am happy with any team that does not use an AI generated logo!

*MikeLiut* · 03-02-2025, 09:49 PM

I believe a good expansion brand and location are the same as a good franchise brand and location. For me, the location comes first. A cool place before anything else. Being drafted or traded to a city you feel no connection to can be pretty dull. I think placing a team in a market too small for professional hockey isn’t the best idea. With now 36 teams in the SHL/SMJHL, I would be okay expanding the league to markets not traditionally linked to hockey, such as Honolulu, San Antonio, or New Mexico. Even a team in Scandinavia would be interesting. Or, in my opinion, some teams in the SMJHL making their way to the SHL would be a great idea. Maybe not Great Falls, but Detroit, St.Louis or Colorado for sure.

I think the brand should reflect the city's history or, at the very least, its culture. Frenchie did a great job with the Highlanders and Ottawa, for example. I might be a minority, but I think colors are even more important than the logo and should reflect a concept, an idea.

Code:
WC:182

***hockeyiscool*** · 03-02-2025, 09:50 PM

ISFL Affiliate
Different Forum Username: footballiscool

MightyMulder · 03-02-2025, 09:54 PM

PBE Affiliate PT

***sve7en*** · 03-02-2025, 10:19 PM

Written 2

A good expansion brand needs to be internally cohesive, externally cohesive, and appealing to the community.

Internal cohesion comes from the idea that your branding, location, colors, and ideas are all aligned. The simple examples of this are not giving a team in a landlocked state a nautical theme or a team in Arizona a snow theme, but the details matter too. A branding and ideas that fit the chosen city, and colors that match that as well. Cincinnati and Columbus have obvious Midwest/Blue Collar/Manufacturing industry ties but putting the Forge there would have been silly.

The themes also have to fit within the context of the league. Obviously a Lord of the Rings team is out but this unfortunately excludes Europe from contention as well. Mexico City might be something that works but it would require the appropriate applicant and ideas.

Finally the expansion has to be appealing to the community, people have to want to play for that team. Generally, cohesive ideas will pull that off just fine but there's additional value in lining a branding up with a userbase demand like the idea of a team in Ohio or a team that plays off of "retro" 90s themes.

***Anthique*** · 03-02-2025, 10:22 PM

Option 1
Being from a place up in the north, it's fun to visit place with another kind of temperature.
If it was up to me, I would not have chosen Texas as a place to live permanently as I would prefer a place like my home (Québec) to establish my family and live there all year long.
But It's where I got drafted and now I can see that it feel like home.
To visit it would be 100% in my top 5. Other than Dallas, big cities like Manhattan, Los Angeles, Toronto or Seattle is nice to visit. Places in the south like Tampa Bay, San Francisco or even New Orleans is something I like.
But since I'm in Dallas almost all year long, I don't really mind seeing some places that is a bit colder. For me, it's motivating to play in a city where you don't go to the arena in shorts and go on the beach after practice.
I need to focus on hockey during the season and use the off season to relax.

Repgnar · 03-02-2025, 10:26 PM

PBE AFfiliate

DarthDaevin · 03-02-2025, 10:30 PM

Graphic Option 1 (its Newfoundland)

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