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spidey · 01-04-2012, 02:15 PM

What a season! I wouldn't have believed it if I didn't just experience it myself. This may have been one of the greatest roller coaster rides I have ever been on. If this turns out to be the last season that the Seattle Stingrays exist at least we went out on a high note.

To my opposition I want to say thank you, Deezy nothing but mad respect and love for you. You were my junior GM and I tried to emulate my first season as a junior GM to be like you as MY JUNIOR GM. I know it worked out well as my players really enjoyed it. To the rest of the Montreal Impact, I have been right in your shoes I know exactly how you feel; I lost in the finals of my junior season too and it was Deezy as my GM. Thank you for the great series and thank you for the memories I know we will all share.

Now onto the team, there are a few personal thank you's I want to send out there, Rachel Belmont my right hand woman. Thank you for taking on so many responsibilities at times you were an amazing Captain and really lead this team by example. The Rage got a very special player in you.

Wagner, you may have taken a while to light up the red light but you pulled it off when it matter most. Also I take back about what I said earlier with you not really being in the locker room, the last month I couldn't get you out of the locker room. Your veteran presence was well met, thank you for the help guiding the team.

Zach Cuff, you may have been one of the best later draft surprises, and I am damn proud to have you on my team in the juniors. You can PM anytime with questions I will always be here to help. Also thanks for getting all your friends to join Snow and Ayles were some of the best late season additions a GM could ask for.

Paul Hurowitz you are my hero. You accepted the back up roll and when thrust into the spot light ran with it at the most important point of the season. I was worried when we lost Whatty, but you carried this team on your back when it mattered.

Vatty, I wanted you at the draft but I could not give up Wagner and Belmont. I am so glad we were able to trade for you at the deadline. You were the best defender in the playoffs as per game you had the best defensive stats in the NWJHL. We finally got you on the Rays like I told you I wanted from the start.

Finally to my CO-GM. Mike we did something great this year, I know neither one of us won a championship in our season in the NWJHL but it feels just as good to win it as a GM. Thanks for the hard work and picking up the slack when I was tired or to busy, we have made one hell of a team this season.

Now I won't lie this has been an up and down season. We have one hell of a draft getting the players we did, and a few names really stuck out. We had a great start to the season as we were in first place early on. Everyone was having fun participating and getting to know the league.

Once the Rays started to lose everything started to fall apart. We got the shit kicked out of us for the second half of the season and our record started to fall apart. Yet our team remained hopeful. Just when we started to turn a corner, Whattman our starting goalie was traded in the SHL and we were kicked again. I don't blame the Whattman trade, if I was in his same position I would have wanted to have been traded too, so I thank Agante for making that trade. Paul came in as a starter and we continued to lose.

All hope looked lost as we entered the playoffs I think on a ten game losing streak. Then something crazy happened. I adjusted the lines one last time before the game against the Knights and said to myself that is it, they are as good as they are going to get we will run with it and hope for the best. Then we did the unexpected, we won. We won again, and again and the team started to believe, I started to believe, and we swept the Knights!

All of a sudden all those feelings from the start of the season about the Stingrays being a powerhouse team came back! We went onto the Firebirds and battled out a great 7 game series and magically none of us gave up hope through out the entire series. Once again that team play and strong goaltending carried us through another series!

As we all know in the finals the Stingrays were able to beat the Montreal Impact in 6 games to cap off one of the greatest turn around seasons in NWJHL history and I just am ecstatic to be a part of it.

To each of my stars once again Thank You!

I do have the last three awards to hand out before I finish off this press conference. All are for the playoffs, and I would like to take a quick moment to name a few awards after previous Anaheim and Seattle members.

First to The Best Playoff Forward:
There were a couple of players who could have won this trophy as a number of you really stepped up your game but the three nominees that stood out, and I think to no ones surprise are:

Rachel Belmont

Zach Cuff

Anton Wagner

The Winner is:

ANTON WAGNER

11 goals in 17 playoff games are to much to ignore he was a major reason we made it to the finals, thank you for the effort you put forth during this playoff run!

Secondly to The Best Defenseman
Once again there were three real standouts for this award for various reasons:

Richter Belmont

Jarrko Vatinnen

Noah Johannson

The winner is:

JARRKO VATINNEN

The final award is going to Playoff MVP
This one is a tough one there were a lot of players that stepped up during the playoffs playing a certain role to help the team, the three choices for MVP were:

Anton Wagner

Paul Hurowitz

Jarrko Vatinnen

Through MUCH debate between Mike and myself the final winner of the Season is...

ANTON WAGNER

11 goals in the playoffs were once again too much to ignore!

Like I said I want to add a few more names to trophies at the end of this conference, so to start with let me introduce the playoff awards

Playoff best defenseman will be the Jarrko Vatinnen award
Playoff MVP will be the Anton Wagner award

There are a few more names I would like to add in as well:

Best Defensive Defenseman will now be the John Maxfield Award
Best Offensive Forward will be the Nicholas Mastromarino Award
Most Active Player will be the Rachel Belmont Award

Congrats too all award winners and those who are now named after awards!

Thank you for reading.

spidey · 01-04-2012, 02:16 PM

I am here for any questions.

Fisher · 01-04-2012, 02:20 PM

Congratz on GMing a winning team

spidey · 01-04-2012, 02:24 PM

You guys pushed us to our limit that is for sure!

jason97 · 01-04-2012, 02:33 PM

y did u not gimme an award for best fan?

spidey · 01-04-2012, 02:48 PM

Quote:Originally posted by Cornelius The 3rd@Jan 4 2012, 11:33 AM
y did u not gimme an award for best fan?

LOL, that one maybe coming along next year Cheers

THE FRANKIE GOOSENECK AWARD, UNOFFICIAL SEATTLE #1 FAN!

I love it, I think you will have that award for a very long, long time :lol:

jason97 · 01-04-2012, 02:49 PM

Quote:Originally posted by spidey@Jan 4 2012, 02:48 PM

LOL, that one maybe coming along next year

THE FRANKIE GOOSENECK AWARD, UNOFFICIAL SEATTLE #1 FAN!

I love it, I think you will have that award for a very long, long time  :lol: