Mr Bohannan

After arriving at the new hometown of Saskatoon for at least a season, hopefully few more as the town is super nice and the team looks in good shape, so Matt was more than happy to spend his minor league time in Saskatoon, he started to get into the training routine he agreed on with the Saskatoons coaches. Matt was focused to follow it and fullfill it to the fullest of his capabilities, so the next couple of weeks went by in a robot mode where he was just programmed to do what he was told to do. No fun times, no going out, nothing. Morning runs, practice, gym, practice, gym, bed time on the off days and of course morning run, gym, practice and game on the game nights. Full focus to better himself and to prove his new team that they made the right choice by offering him a spot in the team and also to prove to himself that he belongs in this league and that he belongs in this team. It has been a while since he worked so hard and had such a focus, but he enjoyed it. One of the main reasons he wanted to play in VHLM league was for the challenge that he was not receiving for some time now and finally it was here again!

1. In a recent VSN article, Saskatoon was ranked as the #5 team in the VHLM season thus far. What do you think about that ranking? - Trash! We are at least TOP3! 2. Losing Raphael Sonier, the team's top defenseman in terms of TPE, was not an ideal situation, but Saskatoon has managed to keep rolling regardless. How is the team picking up the slack? - No one player will ever be the reason of the teams success and while team leaders are important, when one leaves another comes in place! 3. Leroy Johnson @Vkobe-v has been an absolute rock for Saskatoon the past two seasons. How does it affect the team knowing that a wildly dependable goaltender is in net for you? - Tbf goaltender is the last person I want to see having a puck, so from my perspective yes it is good to have a dependable goaltender, but I try not to depend on him too much and make sure I as a player make sure he can depend on me! 4. Season 80 marks the inaugural season of the VHLE, and players over 200 TPE and less than 399 TPE will be eligible to play in it. Are you planning to play in Europe, or skip it and head to the VHL early? - Haven't decided yet! It's a big decision. 5. There has been a debate for years on what animal the Saskatoon Wild's logo depicts. What do you think it is? - I think it's a Racoon! 6. What is the absolute silliest thing you or someone else have used as an avatar? - A British countryball having a tophat and tea in his hands.

Dang, your piece is very "colourful"! Let's start with the fact that from what I understand it is made for 4 players, but for some reason you have 6 players there which idk who the other two are as you have pointed out the other 4 with their names above their heads. Speaking about the texts - the "LEGACY" is very hard to spot. I went over the picture like 3-4 times and only then only realized the text was there. I cannot say nothing about the style you have chosen to do this graphic as that is your own personal preference, but if you do "renders" or "cutouts" and it is super obvious how it is cut out and you can see the edges, then make sure you get rid of that with a soft eraser or something, so it blends with the background instead of being just a cut square around the players head. My Rating: 6/10

A lot of times people will say stuff like "oh, it's too messy", "oh, too much is happening there" and so on and it might be true, but this time Im loking at the piece you've made and I actually love it and I think you have done a great job. Good thing you did not leave it all grey and actually added some colours for contrast. The text is done quite good as well and although I see the idea and it seems cool, Im not 100% sure about the R going around his neck. Seems like he might be trying to hang himself haha. My rating: 8/10

What I find interesting in this piece is the fact that usually people on signatures struggle with the text the most. They can make the composition look super cool, but then struggle to add the text in a smooth and nice way so it fits and looks good. You seem to have it all around hahha. The text on the signature looks very nice and smooth. The composition gives me that old sticker vibe, that has been put on a desk 15 years ago and it is still there, surviving everything. Good job with the jersey change! All that being said, it is a lower tier graphic which feels like has too much done. Maybe that was the intentions with it, but who knows. My rating: 6/10

Alrighty, some review time! So Im looking at your piece and to be fair I am little bit confused. I dont know how the original resource of the player looks like, but let's say you have mastered the skill of making him look alive, half animated/drawn which looks super cool, but then we get to the background where the VHL logo is and the work there straight up lowers the quality of the whole piece. Maybe without the bevel and emboss on the logo it would be more smooth. And the last, but not least important piece - text. I kind of like the red text, but the "HOCKEY" is so, so. Im not a fan of the font used and the main problem is the white boarder. You can see that for some reason it is not smooth and gives that pixelate line around which yet again ruins a bit the whole quality of the piece. Overall I really love the players work and I think with little improvements the whole piece could have been done waay better. I understand that it might be the result of lack of skill, so excited to see how you improve. My rating: 6/10

1. What piece of clothing or accessory can someone wear that immediately makes you have a bad opinion of them as a person? - Was thinking about this for a while and realized that I don't really care what others wear and I although I might have an opinion about someone based on what they wear, it doesn't have to be bad one. 2.What company or franchise do you wish would go out of business? - Apple 3. What behaviours make you think a person is creepy? - Weird jokes at wrong times. 4. Who in the VHL seems the most down to earth? - Hard to tell. Everyone I've met so far seems to be chill. 5. What’s the funniest or most amazing cell phone cover you have seen? - Impossible to answer as I never use phone cases, so I don't know. 6. Which musical artist is greatly overrated? - All mumble rappers

Contract was signed and it was time to move to the new home - Saskatoon! Not being aware of the North American geography Matt did not know that he will have to actually move to Canada. It came as a little surprise, but it wasn't an issue. As a Brit he just hoped he will not have to learn any more French as Brits and French people often don't get along due to some historic events. A lot of people don't even understand the tension that still is going on. Matt was told that the city has some rich history and that people of Saskatoon are very proud people and for that reason the team is very important for them and they will support it no matter what. As long as you respect them and give out all you got on the ice and overall are a good team player, you will be viewed as one of their own! Matt had no other intentions to do just that and he was kind of moved by that as back in Britain ice-hockey is not really a big thing, although it has been growing, so the support is not the strongest. Matt met with the new team mates and was given a tour around the training facilities and was promised to be introduced with the best local places to visit for food and entertainment during his spare time.

My attempt to do a team wallpaper! Thanks!

Okey, so I can see from this work and also the work in your signature section that you are rather new and unexperienced with graphics. It is not a bad thing as we all start somewhere and with practice we grow, so I will point out what I think could have been done better in this specific graphic from my humble point of view. First thing that pops up for me is the darkness, feels like burn tool effect, of the players. I am not a fan of it as it does not nicely flow with the overall image. The texture of the scribbles (skated ice) is bit too much as well I think. It could have been put on as a pinch of effect, but with lower opacity maybe to blend in bit more and make it nice and smooth. And the last thing is the text. I guess the Carter part is fine as I can read it, but the Jared (I think) part is not the best as its dark on dark and you cannot really see the last letter at all. The font choice is not the best either as it makes it harder to read. My rating: 4/10

Okey, so I saw the name of the topic and I got excited to see a different type of gfx than the usual signatures, so I clicked and was bit confused - is this a wallpaper for a mobile phone or what type of wallpaper is this? Anyhow putting that question aside and talking about the image itself then I am quite happy with it. It is simple, nice colours, follows the team colour pallet and there is really nothing extra. I could totally see this as my background on my phone if I would be a fan of this player. My rating: 7/10

After sending out the highlight reel slash showcase edit, there was silence for around 2 or 3 days. During those days Matt continued to work out and practice as much as he could and did not allow the fact that no one has reached out yet to bother him. At the end of the day he understood that the coaches and management of the teams are busy people and it is not like they just sit around and watch highlight reels all day long, so he knew that it will probably take a week or two before anything will happen. Unexpectedly but in a good way he suddenly received a phone call from one of the VHLM teams and they said that they had seen the footage and they would be interested to sit down at talk to him about a contract to play for them. He passed the call to his manager and meeting was set. Before he knew and was ready to go to the first set meeting, his phone was buzzing like crazy and he had a meeting set after a meeting. His daily schedule changed from just some workouts at the gym to fully booked days at various locations and towns. Next two weeks went quick and were crazy as Matt sat down with almost all the teams in the league and listened to their pitch to him. He could have waited longer to see will the other teams get in touch, but he believed that there were plenty of offers and it was time to choose before he loses the chances. This was the very first time when he had such a decision to make and it was hard as hell and he kept going in circles and circles not knowing which team he should sign with. The offers were different but each of them had their own touch to them which made it extra hard. Slowly, slowly Matt started to make up his wishes, needs and expectations from the teams, therefore narrowing down the number of teams that fit his requirements until he was left with one - Saskatoon Wild! He dialled up the number and when the coach picked it up he said "Hey coach, this is Matt Avens, we spoke a week ago about me playing for Saskatoon Wild! I would like to accept your offer!" After that a contract was written up with all the details and Matt officially became the player of Saskatoon Wild team in VHLM!

1. What do you think of your player's performance after 6 games? - At the moment I am very happy. No goals, but 3 assists which I am totally fine as I dont mind being a team player. Im happy I am part of the scoreboard as much as I can. 2. Do you think our goaltending tandem gives us an advantage this season? - For sure! Goaltender is the difference between us loosing a goal and better the goaltender, bigger the advantage! 3. Who do you think will finish first in the VHLM? - Hopefully we will! haha 4. Did you watch the NHL expansion draft? If so, what did you think of the team selected? - I did not watch it, but I was informed about the picks. It was interesting choices by Seattle, but after the draft it made more sense than during it. 5. What was the temperature for you today? Here is was 36 degrees Celsius, which is about 97 fahrenheit. - Oh dang, the whole week it was around +30 by Celsius, but as it was humid heat it felt like +35. 6. What did you do over the weekend? - Worked! haha

Missing out on the draft due to some visa issues Matt finally arrived in states and it was time to do some portfolio. Yeah, he could have done it back in UK, but he wanted to do it in the states to not just make the protfolio but also show that he is already here and ready to go in no time. His manger already had made contact with some YouTube channel that specialises in filming different extreme sport videos like skateboarding, bmx'es and so on, so the next day after arriving they met up, talked about a plan and started to shoot the footage. The filming happened in two locations - gym and hockey hall. The first day was the gym shoot where Matt was just doing his usual training routines from back home, showcasing his agility, strength and speed. The gym shoot was rather simple as it had no time restrictions on it due to the fact that they used a small local gym. The next days shoot was bit different as it was in an ice hockey hall. Matt's manager managed to gain access to an empty rink for 1 hour, but it had to be in and out thing. No extra 10 minutes, no nothing. So without wasting time the whole team went straight in and starting the filming. Thanks to the plan that was done the day before, everyone knew what to do and it was nicely split 10-15min each type of shoot to get the best footage they could showcasing Matt's skills. All was done in an hour and now it was time to wait for the footage to be edited with some extra highlight footage from actual games back home. Around a week passed and the result was presented. After watching it Matt was excited to send it out to all the organisations that he might play for and that's exactly what he did. Not long after the first offers from organisations started to come in...

I will agree with what the reviewer above me said about the simplicity and with that ticking all the boxes that such graphic should do. Unfortunately for me the whole picture is little bit too pale. I dont mean that I want some crazy colour schemes now, but I kind of would like to have a little bit of personality by adding some parts that do stand out, besides the text. The stick could have stayed in the original colour or indeed as the person said above - a logo could have been put in the background as the design itself is nice, but it has too many empty spots for me. It almost feels like this is a templated design that any team could use by just adding their logo in the background and changing the colour scheme to the teams colours. My rating: 7/10

I can appreciate the attempt to use the Unite Kingdom colours and the London Bridge design to it, but the overall quality is bit rough. The render cut is a bit sharp as well, but we all learn with time and practice. I also think I see you tried to do "jersey swap" by placing the teams logo on the player. On the right hand render I would have erased or cut out the part where the stick should go over the logo, instead of leaving the logo on top of the stick. My rating: 5/10

1. With golf out of the question due to the weather, how have you been spending the offseason? Oh, I got the indoor golf set with the virtual ball and the projector. 2. 8th seeded Miami was able to defy the odds and take home the Founder's Cup. What do you think was their key to success? Winning the games and probably the players! 3. Are you excited for the VHLM draft? Who do you think goes first overall? This is too early for me to say as Im still browsing the league and all its players. 4. Who will you be cheering for in the offseason's World Cup? Fellow Europeans! 5. What video games have you been playing recently? A bit of Overwatch. The heat has been taking its toll to not have energy for stuff like that. 6. Who do you think wins in a fight, Steve Eso or Alex Zouzouambe? Steve!

I dont know why I keep making signatures when I stated, that I dont like to make them hahah

Wow, that is some serious number. Who would have thought! Congratulations on being around for so long and Happy Birthday!

I appreciate everyone who did come forwards with their offers and my apologies to those who did not manage to do their pitch, but I went through all the team info pages and was disappointed to see that almost no one managed to change their info and add jersey designs since 2018 when the threads were made, so that was the deal breaker for me as it showed me a little bit of how you take care of your team. It might not be important, but in the end it is your presentation and you guys failed in that. All that being said the choice is made - #SaskyBois it is!

At just age of 17, Matt Avens, believes that it is time to aim high, as high as he can, and join the VHLM league with the potential future in VHL. You could easily lose focus and interest in what you're doing if the fun you had was around the fact how good you were or at least you think you were. Very often, and that was the case for Matt as well, you have than natural talent for something, in this case for sports, and you at young age just dominate every other kid around you who does not have the same X factor what you do. You keep growing and growing and you get to a point where in order to move on in your career you cannot play with the same kids no more and have to join teams and leagues and that is when you meet players that are either the same as you - talented, or you meet kids who are hard workers and have reached the same skill lever, if not even higher, than yours. From scoring 5 goals per game you go down to none or few in couple of games and then you realize that the talent you had is not enough no more. The hard work is what is gonna keep you at the top from now on, therefore you either lose interest as you don't have that work ethic or you start grinding the game as hard as you can. For Matt, joining VHLM, is the next step to play against the best there are as the grind as of right now has become too easy.

I hate signatures, never been good at them.

I literally just submitted my own signature for this weeks capped TP and decided to check out what are others doing and what is the level I'm competing with. Oh booooy! First of all I do really like the colour choices even they might feel bit dark and sad. They definitely do not give a positive vibe that the peace sign should give. Also I've seen quite a lot of signatures in this specific style of making the player render very dark-ish, sharp, rough like (not sure how it's done). I like it in general, but yet again, if I look at the idea of the Peace sign and the meaning of it, this signature gives me more of apocalyptic vibes. Of course this is just my humble opinion and the feel that the signature is giving. For me it is hard to say how much actual work has been put into it, so I can only comment on the whole looks of it. Overall nice work and if it would be brighter and give more positive energy I would give one rating higher. My rating - 7/10

Appreciate you being nice hahha!